How to Read & Study the Bible for YourselfSýnishorn

I bought my wife some canary yellow lilies recently. They were beautiful… and a week later we threw the lifeless carcass of these flowers in the trash.

The same thing can happen to my lawn. I love it when my grass is green and thick, but in summer if we don’t get enough rain, it withers and the blades turn brown.

We’ve all experienced firsthand the contrast Isaiah uses in today’s passage. Grass and flowers are wonderful in their moment of existence. But even in their bloom, decay is already at work. The Word of God, however, stands the test of time. It is permanent. Dependable. Something you can build your life on.

When you engage with Scripture, you’re accessing wisdom that has held up for thousands of years. And 2 Timothy 3:16–17 spells out exactly how you benefit; it tells us that Scripture is profitable for six things.

1. Doctrine

2. Reproof (Yes, sometimes the Bible tells us we need to change.)

3. Correction

4. Instruction for righteousness

5. For the people of God to be complete (I love that word.)

6. And for equipping us for good work

Notice the progression of how the Bible works in us. It starts with beliefs, then it corrects us, changes us, challenges us, completes us, and finally, we live differently.

The power of a book to do all those things could come only from God. The academic phrase to describe this is verbal plenary inspiration.

What does that mean?

“Verbal” means choice of words and “plenary” means complete. In simple terms, every word in the Bible comes from God. But the miracle of it is that he used imperfect human beings as the vessels for delivering his words. The authors of the Bible’s many books used their personalities, culture, and emotions as they wrote, yet the finished product is inspired by God.

What a gift. And unlike the flowers I gave my wife, it is a gift that won’t wither and die. As Isaiah says, it’s a gift that “endures forever.”