Introduction To Understand Scripture

To understand scripture is to understand God.  He is God and He wants to be worshiped by all the people on the earth.  The scripture gives us a clear understanding as to why we should worship Him, and how to worship Him. 

Why should we worship Him:  He has created all things and man has sinned against Him.  But in His grace and mercy He has made provision for sin. 

How should we worship Him:  Love Him with all our heart and love our neighbor.

In Proverbs God tells us where understanding comes from.

​

Proverbs 9:10 The reverence of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and the knowledge of the holy one (God) is understanding.

 

The scripture is clear that listening to God and believing what He says is the beginning of wisdom.  With this in mind we will go thru the scripture to see how we will grow in our understanding of God.  The result of understanding scripture and knowing God we will have a peace that passes understanding.  Without the peace of God, we have no message for the people who rejects the things of God.

In the first 3 chapters of the scriptures God lays out of His plan for all of creation.  The rest of the scriptures He lays out the details of what He will do and how He will do it.  Let’s begin.

 

The Old Testament

 

The Law

 

Genesis

In the first book of the bible, in the first verse, God introduces Himself to the reader with:

 

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

 

This is an overwhelming statement that God makes about Himself.  In the rest of chap 1 He creates light, dark, the sun, moon, the animals on the earth, and the animals in the sea.  Believing this is the start of believing what God says. 

 

Now He creates man and woman.

 

Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

People are the only ones that God created specifically in His own image. God continues,

 

Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it …

 

God instructs Adam and Eve to have children.  This is an interesting command God gives them.  Through out scripture God keeps making reference to fathers having sons.  In fact, in scripture there is a single genealogy in that covers over 4000 years.

​​

Now He places them in the Garden of Eden.

​

God begins laying out the rules of how man will interact with God. God gives one command, along with the consequence of what will happen if man disobeys the command.  This disobedience God calls sin.

 

Genesis 2:16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it; for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.

 

God brings up the issue of good and evil.  In Deuteronomy God tells us what good and evil refers to:

 

Deuteronomy 30:15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil.

 

All God ever wanted man to know was good, or life.  He never wanted man to know about evil, or death.  Now with sin in the world man knows about death.

Back to Gen 2:17 God says that in the day that you are disobedient, which is called sin, to God’s command, you will be separated from God, and it will eventually lead to your bodily death.  Now God continues with,

 

Genesis 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

 

They were not ashamed of their nakedness because as of yet they had not been disobedient to God’s command.  Now sin enters into the world as Adam eats of the fruit of the tree that God had made unlawful for him to eat.

 

Chap.3 of Genesis tells us what happened.  Adam had all his needs met in the garden, but he was not satisfied.

He was enticed by the serpent to expect more out of life.  The serpent indicated to Adam that God was holding something back from him.  If he ate of the forbidden fruit his eyes would be opened and he would know good from evil.  Somehow this would make man’s life better than what God was providing.  After Adam partook of the fruit both he and Eve’s eyes were opened, and they were now aware of their nakedness.  They attempted to cover it up with fig leaves, but they still knew they were naked.

 

God now lays out the punishment for serpent, the woman, and Adam for breaking God’s command.

 

And now God demonstrates His grace toward Adam and Eve.  After they were disobedient, He covers their nakedness.

 

Gen 3:20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.  21 And to Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins and clothed them.

 

This is where God points out He provides a covering for sin.  God made coats of skin for Adam and Eve which means it could be a sacrifice of a lamb to provide the coat of skins.  Later on, in the scriptures, God will lay out that the only way to make atonement for sin will be the death of an animal. 

 

Now Adam and Eve begin having children.

 

This website is being updated.  There is more to come.