As we start to look at the Bible more, we will see that it is a fantastic love-letter from God to each of us. God has gone to a great deal of trouble to preserve His word for everyone.
The word “testament” means a covenant, promise or agreement. So, the "Old Testament" is a promise of a coming Saviour and the "New Testament" is the fulfilment of that promise in Jesus Christ. The whole Bible speaks firstly of God and all He has done, then of humanity and all that we can receive at the mercy of His hand. It contains sixty-six books written by forty authors, each of whom was inspired by the Holy Spirit. The compilation and collection of these books took over 1,600 years.
God's promise offers amazing new life for the here-and-now, plus eternal life with Him, giving endless peace, love and joy. All we have to do is believe and receive His promise. This involves actively living a new life, whilst putting our continuous trust in Jesus Christ and His word. Therefore, we need to study the Bible as if our lives depended on it - because it does!
“All of the Bible comes from the breath of God, words spoken by the Spirit of God and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience and for training in righteousness [that is in holy living in conformity to God's will in thought, purpose and action], so that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 - Amplified version)
The Bible is an action book
“But be doers of the word [obey the message] and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the truth].” (James 1:22 - Amplified version)
The Bible needs the Holy Spirit to interpret it to us
“Those without the Spirit do not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolish to them and they cannot understand them.” (1 Corinthians 2:14) Unless we are born again of the Holy Spirit of God, we will find it difficult to get God's full depth of meaning from the Bible, because the lines of communication with God are not clear.
The Bible must be spoken to put power into the word
“The Word of God should not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it: for then you shall deal wisely and have good success.” (Joshua 1:8) The word of God has the answer to life's problems: seven thousand promises of wealth, wisdom, health and success. How can we find the promise for our situation?
- READ
- LISTEN
- PRAY
- PRAISE
READ - preferably aloud - until a verse or section excites your spirit.
LISTEN - to what the Holy Spirit is telling you about it. Fix your eyes on the promise, not the problem.
PRAY - and bring the problem to God. Cast it on Him and remind Him of His promise in the word.
PRAISE - God for the positive answer. He is faithful and will do everything He says He will do. Be patient.
NB: Only let what God says about the situation come out of your mouth, because that never changes. (Joshua 1:8) What you see is subject to change.
There is advice in the Bible on every subject under the sun and, if we follow the direction given, we will see dreadful situations completely changed around.
“For the word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energising, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life [soul] and [the immortal] spirit and of joints and marrow, [of the deepest parts of our nature] exposing, shifting, analysing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12 - Amplified version)
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105)
Tha value of God's word
Jesus teaches (in Matthew 7:24-29) that any person who hears the word of Jesus and puts it into practice is very wise and can keep standing through any storm.
How blind and foolish to call Jesus nothing more than a good man or a moral teacher! Yet, even if we like God's word, we sometimes act as if it is not true. We casually toss around His words and go about living our own way. As we learn through this study that Jesus is the only Son of God, we should pay close attention to His divine identity and life-giving message.
We must make a commitment to work through the study and discipline ourselves to follow all that God is saying to us personally. We have to make studying the Bible the number one priority in our lives. As we achieve this, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will see that it is "more desirable than fine gold; sweeter also than the honeycomb." (Psalm 119:103)
There are more and more testimonies all over the world of what has happened to people when Jesus has entered into their lives. Desperately unhappy people, wealthy people, very sick people - without exception their lives have been changed, turned upside down, given new meaning and hope, a future and a plan. If we take this study seriously and make it a priority in our lives, we can get to know Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit better by obeying the word and allowing God to move in on our lives. As He did for those in the New Testament, He will do for us.
God's Word changes lives!
The Gospel of John
In this series of studies, we shall be looking at one of the four "gospels" - the books that form the first part of the New Testament. Each "gospel" was written by one of the twelve "apostles" - the men that Jesus chose to accompany Him on His preaching tours around the nation into which He had been born: Israel. These men were called "disciples" but, in our day, we might well call them apprentices or interns. The word "gospel" means "good news" and the intention of the four "gospels" (written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) was to describe how Jesus brought good news to the people of Israel, but also to those in the rest of the world (known to the Jewish people as "gentiles").
John's gospel was written some time after the other gospels - in about 80 AD. Jerusalem had been destroyed and John himself has been exiled to the island of Patmos. In his early life, John had been a fisherman on Lake Galilee, together with his brother, James, and their partner, Peter. John was known amongst the other disciples as "the beloved disciple" because of the special relationship with Jesus that he seemed to have.
His record of the time spent with Jesus was written especially for new believers in the Christian faith and those who had not yet come to faith at all. "Jesus performed many other 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 Messiah ("anointed one") - the Son of God - and that, by believing, you may have faith in His name." (John 20:30-31) This is borne out by the fact that, in this gospel, Jesus is quoted, thirty-five times, describing God as, "my Father".
In the book, we see Jesus meeting with individuals, preaching to great crowds, training His disciples and debating with the religious leaders. The message that He is "the Son of God" receives a mixed reaction. Some worship Him; some are puzzled; some shrink back and some try to silence Him. We can see the same reactions today when people read John's record. Are you prepared to see yourself in some of these encounters that Jesus had with people? Can you imagine yourself there as a by-stander? What will be your response? My hope and prayer is that you will want to respond by recognising Jesus as "the Son of God", worshipping Him and being prepared to follow Him.
When we face God on the Day of Judgment, we shall have to answer the question: "What do you think of Jesus Christ?" I pray that these studies in "Power Up!" will allow you to find answers for yourself. You may find it helpful, along the way, to think about the following questions:
- Is Jesus only the world's greatest teacher or is He actually God?
- Was Jesus just a prophet or is He the saviour of the world?
- Is Jesus alive today by the power of resurrection?
Now is the time to being all your doubts and questions to God. As you read John's gospel, the Holy Spirit will reveal to you the answers. You'll find it helpful to make a daily appointment with God. (This may involve the sacrifice of some activity in order to make the necessary time.) Ask yourself these questions:
- How many minutes am I going to give to God each day?
- What will be the best time for my appointment with God?
- Where is the quitest place for me to pray and study?
You'll need a Bible, your computer device and perhaps a notepad and pen (or a text editor!) Ask God's Holy Spirit to guide you and speak to you through God's word. John's life was totally transformed when he met Jesus. Are you ready for the same thing to happen to you? You're about to begin a fascinating study, focused on the greatest person who ever lived... JESUS CHRIST.
Click on the button below to load the QUESTIONS for this study in a new browser tab. You can opt to print the question sheet or simply follow the questions and write down your answers in a notebook or a separate file on a computing device, such as a laptop or mobile 'phone.