Something amazing about God is that he is a speaking God.

It was through speech that God created (Genesis 1:3). It was through speech that God revealed himself to Adam (Genesis 2:16). It was through speech that God prophesied of the coming Messiah (Genesis 3:15). It was through speech that God gave the Law to Moses (Exodus 20:1). It was through speech that God ministered through the prophets, heralding the New Covenant of Christ’s blood (Jeremiah 31:31). God ordained that it would be through means of speech that his Gospel would spread throughout all the world (Romans 10:14-15). It is also through a confession of the mouth (and the heart) that we are saved (Romans 10:9). God has demonstrated language to be the specific means by which he reveals himself.

In fact, God is so committed to revealing himself to us through words, that the Son of God is presented to us by the apostle John to be the very Word of God (Revelation 19:13). Jesus Christ is, himself, the Word of God incarnate (John 1:14). And it is by the word of this Word's power that the entire universe is upheld (Hebrews 1:3). Let that stun you! The same mouth that spoke to the wind and the waves, “Quiet! Be Still!” is the mouth that reigns over all the universe. All creation hangs upon the word of Jesus.

We are so blessed to have a God that revealed his nature and personhood through speech. God didn’t create mankind only to leave us to foggy, subjective notions about who he is and what he is like. God didn’t leave it up to us to figure out what he wanted. He didn't leave us in the dark and to feel our way toward him (Acts 17:27). Rather, he has been in the business from the beginning of speaking to mankind in concrete, objective ways -- whether directly from heaven, or through an angel, or through the prophets, and finally through his Son and his apostles (Hebrews 1:2, Eph. 2:20).

So as you hold the Bible in your hands (whether through paper and ink or electronic medium), consider the weight of what it is you possess. You are holding the very revelation of God. The God who reveals himself by speaking has spoken to you through his word. God has not revealed himself to you only through the general revelation of creation (Romans 1), but he has made himself known to you by writing words.

What does this mean us and our approach to the Bible? Here are a few thoughts that I hope will help stir your mind and your heart as you approach God’s word:

1. Words are meant to communicate thoughts. Therefore, read the Bible with the intention of learning God's thoughts.

It should go without saying, but the purpose of speech is to communicate thought. As I write these words to you now, what is (hopefully) transpiring is that my thoughts are being conveyed to you in a manner that you can understand. The words are simply vessels that carry the thoughts across the ocean of noise from my mind to yours. But notice that the words themselves amount to nothing. Words must be woven together with one another if they are to communicate ideas. So it is not merely the words that communicate thought, but sentences, paragraphs, subjects, verbs, prepositions, commas, semi-colons, gerunds, etc. -- all the things that make a high school English teacher giddy!

The same applies to God's word. He hasn't given us isolated words. He's given us his thoughts through words! He teaches us about himself through subjects and verbs and prepositional phrases. He gives us arguments, parables, narratives, psalms, and proverbs. These are the vehicles through which God reveals himself in Scripture. In this sense, I would say that we are meant to read the Bible like we would read any other book, in that our goal is to understand the thoughts of the author through the words he conveys. The goal of Bible reading is not to decide "what it means to me," but rather to understand what God is actually meaning to say. We aren't to approach the Bible as a collection of disconnected one-liners, or an arcane book of incantations and mantras. The Bible was written to work on us through conscious, thoughtful teaching (2 Tim. 3:16, Romans 15:4), not magic.

God's word invites us to reason through it (Isaiah 1:18), to the end that we may glory in knowing God (Jeremiah 9:23-24). And as we think through it, God promises to illuminate it to us. As Paul encouraged Timothy, "Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything." (2 Tim. 2:7)

Since words are meant to communicate thought, let us approach the Bible with a hunger to know the mind and the heart of God.

2. Words are meant to be understood. Therefore, take the time to understand words.

In order for thoughts to be successfully communicated through words, the listener must be able to discern the words that the speaker is using. Words do no good if they can't be understood (1 Cor. 14:8-9). Therefore, the speaker and the listener have to have something in common if they are to be able to communicate -- a language and a vocabulary. This involves effort from both the speaker and the listener.

We are told that when Paul preached in Iconium, he spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed (Acts 14:1). Paul also asked the Colossians to pray for him, that he might speak the mystery of Christ clearly to his hearers (Colossians 4:4-5). These texts, and others like them, demonstrate that a speaker should aim to be wise to speak in such a way as to maximize the clarity of the Gospel to his listeners.

However, we as the listeners of God’s word also have a role to play in understanding what’s being spoken. God is the speaker in his word, and he has not failed to speak clearly. As Elihu reminded Job, “God speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not perceive it” (Job 33:14). In other words, we can't accuse God and say "You didn't speak clearly enough," or, "you didn't use words I can understand." No. God has spoken clearly, and if we fail to hear, he should not be regarded as the culpable party.

Therefore, don’t be slack in your pursuit of God’s word. Don’t say to yourself, “I’m not very smart. I’ll leave Bible reading to the scholars and pastors of the world.” While we should very much be thankful that God raises up teachers to help us understand the Bible (Nehamiah 8:8), that doesn’t mean we’re to be “second-hand” knowers of God’s word. To know God only through someone else's experience of him is like knowing what honey tastes like because someone described it to you. We need to taste the sweetness of the word of God firsthand. Teaching should have the effect of stirring our hearts to be hungrier to know God's word personally; to stimulate our taste buds so that we find it sweeter for ourselves.

As we read the Bible, we will certainly encounter words or statements we don’t immediately understand. When that happens, don’t disregard and move on. Press on to find out what the author means. Remember, God means to communicate something concrete here. Try to find out what that is. Use commentaries, dictionaries, and use each other in the church! In this age, God has given us incredible access to resources to help us read the Bible. Put them to good use!

Come to the Bible with an understanding that we sometimes have to labor to understand it. We must search for it as silver, and as hidden treasure (Proverbs 2:4), and sometimes that involves digging. Let us not be naive to think that the treasure is always going to be laying out on open ground, ready to be grabbed without effort. Only take heart, God has not left us to dig alone!

Which leads to the next point.

3. God will grant you understanding. Therefore read the Bible with confidence.

In case I’ve accidentally made Bible-reading sound like hard work, take comfort to know that God has not left you to read his word in your own strength. That would be impossible. We need a Helper. We need the Holy Spirit.

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 2:11 that without the Spirit of God, none of us could understand the mind of God. “For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” Without the Spirit, Bible-reading would be a vain endeavor. We’d be left forever like the Ethiopian eunech, holding the Bible in our hands crying, “How can I understand unless someone guides me?” (Acts 8:31).

But God has given us his Spirit. And through the Spirit, we have access to the mind of God. Amazing. 

As I mentioned earlier, Paul told Timothy, “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” (2 Tim. 2:7). Notice it is the Lord who gives understanding. It is not Timothy’s labor that will grant the understanding, but God’s. This is so encouraging. As we apply ourselves sincerely to God’s word, God will grant us understanding. He will not leave us as orphans (John 14:18). He comes to us in his Spirit.

So as you read God’s word, take heart. As you labor to see Christ more clearly in the Bible, be comforted to know that he will grant you understanding. While you may labor, it is not you who labors, but the power of Christ in you (1 Cor. 15:10, Phil. 2:13). He will see to it that his word gets into you, if you simply come and seek him. He has promised that his word will not return to him void (Isaiah 55:10-11).

Marvel at the fact that God speaks. Go after his word. Taste it! Consume it, and let it consume you! May you be able to say with the prophet Jeremiah:

"Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts." (Jeremiah 15:16)