Tools To Illuminate the Word of God
Be FOUND Bible Study Method - Part 11
Human nature. Human not so kind.
There are moments in mankind when we catch glimpses of the undeniable fact that we are indeed a damaged people. Broken pieces that make up the hole that is humanity. Damaged by sin. Damaged by our flesh within.
Moments when we, living on the edge, eventually fall off. Whether by accident, or deliberate motion. We free fall into the face of our own demons. It is in these times that our humanity is most obvious, for had we not fallen, we would have reached perfection… or sanctification depending on which side of the fight you fall.
All the more reason for why we so desperately need to know God. A right knowledge of God can only come from God, Himself. It is only through a right knowledge of God that we can have a right knowledge of ourselves.
We, with our finite minds, are not fully able to comprehend the infinite Being that is the one true God. Were we in some way able to force God to fit within the confines of our finite minds, what a small god he would be. Let’s look at God as how He would choose to define Himself in and through His own Words.
This is one of the steps in the Found inductive bible study! How to see God. I actually have a new acronym to give you!
F.O.U.N.D.
Frame of Reference
God chose His human hands on purpose: who was it, where was he when he wrote it, and who was the target audience?
Observe: WHO, WHAT, WHEN.
Who will hold you accountable? Let’s face it. It is human nature to not want to be accountable for anything. Look no further than the Garden of Eden for proof. “The woman you gave me, the serpent you made…” Lack of accountability leads to the blame game. Accountability is key! It is very difficult to catch yourself when you fall.
What level are you at? Give yourself an honest assessment of the investment that you are willing to put in today from a scale of 1-10, with 1 being the least amount of investment and 10 being the most. Then take that number and multiply it by 3.That should give you a good gauge in minutes of how long you are prepared to sit at the table with the Word specifically for bible study. So, if you are at a 5, then you are looking at 15 minutes.
When you drive keep this in mind: C.A.R.S
Contrast (use two colors to high light the contrasts and then use an arched arrow to connect them)
Action (highlight all action phrases and then make 3 columns: God/Man/Enemy Place the highlighted verbs from the passage within the column it best fits. We need to be sure to identify the enemy at every turn or he will most certainly try to identify/define us.
Repetition (use one color to encircle each specific word or phrase that is repeated- use a different color for each repetition)
Seeing God: to taste and see that the Lord is good, B.I.T.E.
By God
In God
Through or To God
Explanation of God
(Underline in pencil, everywhere you see any variation of these phrases)
Understand what this would have meant to the original audience. It can never mean what it never meant.
Now what does it mean to me? In light of all that you have observed and in-spite of the baggage you bring to the table, now what does it mean to me?
Dwell “Meno” to be continually held.
"Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." Colossians 3:16
It is as simple as holding and being held by the Word of God.
To illuminate the Contrast and Action from C.A.R.S. we will use Ephesians chapter 2:1-10.
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
| GOD | MAN | ENEMY |
| is rich in mercy | were dead | is now at work in those who are disobedient |
| made us alive with Christ | used to live | |
| raised us up | followed the ways of this world | |
| seated us with him | lived among them | |
| might show the incomparable riches of his grace | gratifying the cravings | |
| expressed in his kindness | following its desires | |
| prepared in advance | we were by nature deserving of wrath | |
| we were dead in transgressions | ||
| have been saved | ||
| have been saved | ||
| no one can boast | ||
| are God’s handiwork | ||
| created in Christ Jesus | ||
| do good works |
By highlighting these things we are able to clearly see the hand and heart of God reaching through all of time and space in pursuit of humanity, though broken we are.
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ...” Ephesians 2:4
But God. But God.
But God.
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