Remember in my first article how I said that I would do an aspect of study and then you do it after me? After learning about Paul so I can understand what he wrote better, I read the book start to finish. For Ephesians, it took me less than 15 minutes start to finish. We can focus for that long, right? We watch sit-coms on NetFlix for longer than that. I try to make sure throughout a study of a book that I pause every couple of weeks to read through the whole book, thus ensuring I don’t lose sight of the forest while I study individual trees.
We’re talking about Ephesians specifically right now, but my hope and desire for all of us is to take the principles from our study of Ephesians to study other books of the Bible. So if the book we’re studying is Isaiah with 66 chapters, it would present some logistical problems to read in one sitting. Perhaps reading over the course of a week rather than one sitting would be appropriate.
Keep in mind that actual good Bible study takes time. Not a 10 minute and I’ve got the box checked session. Bible study is focused-with-a-purpose time.
Having the discipline to sit through the reading of a reasonably sized book in one sitting is beneficial for a number of reasons.
1. Context of the whole book.
As I’ve mentioned, I struggle with seeing the forest for the trees. Specifically one tree. I like to snuggle up to that tree and study it beyond what it was meant to be. Reading the whole book in one sitting helps to belay this tendency. I try to be disciplined to read the book straight through every week or so just to keep my eyes open to the big picture.
2. Reading the whole book in one sitting will help us to see what the author intended.
Culturally, these epistles (letters) were received by churches and then publicly read aloud. It was basically their sermon. For us to ignore the original intent of delivery is an injustice to the intent of the author.
3. As we read in one sitting, we have opportunity to notice the repetition of key words, phrases, and ideas.
Reading through start to finish helps us students of the word to be able to get the major themes throughout the letter. If we exclusively zero in on 10-15 verses at a time, we can get a misunderstanding or skewed view of what the author’s point is.
4. If we regularly read the book start to finish, we will have familiarity with the book as a whole.
When we get to the step of interpreting, it is proper technique to allow scripture to define scripture. That means that if I don’t understand a passage in Ephesians 1, and there is something is Ephesians 3 that sheds light on my question, that is where I would start my investigation: same book, obviously same author. After that in my investigation, I would go specifically to Colossians while studying Ephesians because in my gathering of background on Paul, I found that he wrote Colossians at the same time. So the same topics would be on his mind. Subsequent to that, any books that Paul wrote would be investigated, then what Jesus spoke about the topic, next any of the authors of the New Testament would be consulted, until at last we could consider anything the entire Bible says of the question. After that, then we might turn our attention to Josephus or church fathers or other extra-biblical sources. Do you see how there are these concentric circles by which we spread our sleuthing out? If we are more familiar with the context of the whole book, this process will be a little easier and a lot more profitable.
Now that I’ve demonstrated there is benefit to reading through Ephesians in one sitting, let’s go do that. You don’t need to take notes, you don’t need a highlighter, you just need to hear Paul as he pours forth truth as he was lead of the Spirit. Remember to pray before you begin, because as with anything we attempt with a spiritual component, we need the Holy Spirit to be opening our hearts and minds to what we need to hear. Enjoy spending quality time with the Lord!
