Day 10: The Bible is a Revelatory Book

What have we learned in this study?

• God wrote a book where he reveals himself to us.
• He inspired humans to record his divine revelation and give us his authoritative truth.
• He transmitted and preserved his revelation miraculously across more than twenty centuries so that we can study it today.
• When we use the tools and methods of biblical interpretation, his Spirit will guide us to his intended truth and its application for our lives.

What was his purpose behind all of this?

Very simply, so we can know him personally.

To know God

John the Apostle, Jesus' beloved disciple and best friend, gave us the purpose of his gospel and all of Scripture when he explained, “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:30–31).

The first key to life-changing Bible study is to seek God in his word.

Ask about every passage you study:

• What does this say about God?
• About me?
• About my relationship with my Father?
• How does this truth reveal God to me?
• What should I do now to know God better?

If your life is not transformed every time you study Scripture, you have not yet discovered all that God intends you to learn and do.

God's word has fulfilled his purpose for it when you know your Father better, are more like his Son, and live in the power of his Spirit.

John Calvin, the great Protestant reformer and theologian, offered this prayer to God when he opened the Bible: “O Lord, heavenly Father, in whom is the fullness of light and wisdom, enlighten our minds by your Holy Spirit, and give us grace to receive your word with reverence and humility, without which no one can understand your truth. For Christ's sake, Amen.”

Make that prayer your own today.

And may God use his word—the God-written, revealing, inspired, authoritative, miraculous, challenging, revelatory book we call the Bible—to change your life for your good and his glory.

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