Carefully note the following:

Take the Bible literally and in its simple meaning, unless it directly contradicts other Scriptures or is opposed

to known and proven facts. In this case possibly a figure of speech is being used. We will say something about

figures of speech later on. Just as a human writer presumably means what he sets down in writing, so God must

mean what He says and have a meaning for everything He says, otherwise His Word can never speak with authority

to the human mind.

Remember that every text has a context, something goes before it and something comes after it. To take a

text from its context is dangerous and can nullify its meaning. Much error has resulted from this practice.

Aim to discover the meaning of the original text, that is the Hebrew of the Old Testament and the Greek of

the New Testament. If one has not the knowledge to do this, then obtain several good translations and compare

them, such as the Revised Version, Rotherham, Weymouth, etc. By this means various shades of meaning will

become apparent.

Try to find what the passage in question meant to the original readers. While the Word of God is a Unity,

yet each of its books was sent by God to a section of His people at a particular time when they needed a particular

aspect of truth, and while this may be amplified in course of time if it has a prophetic significance, it will never

conflict with its original meaning. All the books of the Bible are very much like letters; they have their names and

addresses on the envelope at the beginning. The book of Isaiah was written concerning Judah and Jerusalem (Isa.

1:1), and therefore its message is primarily to Judah and Jerusalem. The epistle of James is addressed to the `twelve

tribes scattered abroad', i.e. the Hebrew Christians of the Dispersion (1:1).

Note how the word `send' is used in the Acts of the Apostles. Peter speaks of `the word which God sent unto the

children of Israel', referring to the early ministry in this book (Acts 10:36). Later on, Paul says, `Men and brethren,

children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent'

(Acts 13:26). The Divine purpose at this point was widening, the salvation of God being sent to the Jew first and

then to the Gentile. Genesis 12:3 is in view. At the end of the Acts, Israel by their rejection of the Divine offer of

mercy and forgiveness recorded in Acts 3:19-26, go into their present spiritual blindness and darkness, and the

apostle then declared `The salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles (i.e. apart from Israel the nation), and that they

will hear it' (Acts 28:28).

We do well to note to whom God addresses His Word. There is a type of believer who imagines that every page

of the Bible is addressed to him and is about him. Such often complain of being robbed of truth when the error of

this idea is pointed out. They need to remember that the eighth commandment, `Thou shalt not steal', can be broken

in more than one way. Such spiritual selfishness must be avoided if light and blessing is desired. All is indeed

written for our learning and profit, but not all the Scripture is specifically addressed to us as Gentiles, or members of

the Church, the Body of Christ.

The Bible is not only the Word of God. It is made up of the Words of God. The apostle Paul does not

hesitate to speak of `Words ... which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual' (1 Cor.

2:13), and the Lord Jesus not only said `I have given them Thy Word' (John 17:14), but also `I have given unto them

the Words which Thou gavest Me' (17:8). This means that Scripture should be compared with Scripture. The Bible

is its own commentary, and difficulty in one passage may be solved by comparison with other passages. There is no

need to go outside the Word of God to solve spiritual problems. Note also the way the Holy Spirit uses words He

has caused to be written. This is most important and here a concordance is a necessity. We can be sure that `words

which the Holy Ghost teacheth' are used with exactness and will bear the closest examination we can put upon

them. One of the delights of the seeker after Truth is to discover the perfection of God's Words. They are indeed

`pure words' (Psa. 12:6).