CHAPTER SIX

HOW TO ENJOY GOD IN READING THE WORD

Scripture Reading: 2 Tim. 3:16; John 1:1, 4, 14; 6:63; Matt. 4:4; Heb. 4:12

In the previous chapter we saw how to enjoy God in prayer. In this chapter we will consider how to enjoy Him in reading the Word. In other words, we want to see how we should study the Bible. Since this is a broad subject, we will focus only on how to absorb God through reading the Word.

Whoever is experienced in fellowshipping with God knows that the way to receive and assimilate God is either in prayer or in reading the Word. Prayer and reading the Word are the two best ways for man to contact God. Although many people pray, they do not contact God, and although many people study the Word, they do not absorb God. There are different kinds of prayer, and there are different ways to read the Bible. In order to know how to assimilate God when reading the Bible, we need a basic understanding.

READING NOT FOR TEACHING 
BUT FOR ASSIMILATING GOD

In the last chapter we pointed out that prayer is not asking God to do many things, but it is breathing in God. Similarly, reading the Word is not digging out many teachings from the Bible but assimilating God. Although the Bible is full of teachings, and it is difficult to find another book that contains as many teachings as the Bible, when we seek God through the Word, we should realize that the Bible is not merely a book of teachings. When we study the Word, we should not look for teachings, just as when we pray, we should not ask for many things. The purpose of our prayer is to breathe in God. Similarly, the purpose of our reading the Bible is to assimilate God. The subject and the center of prayer is God Himself. The subject and the center of reading the Word should also be God Himself. Just as we breathe ourselves out and breathe in God through prayer, we deny ourselves and receive all that God is through reading the Word. The real reading of the Word has nothing to do with acquiring teaching in the mind. Rather, it is a fresh assimilation of God in the spirit.

God’s children need this basic understanding. Whenever we come to the Bible, we should not have the concept that it is for the purpose of gaining some teachings. Instead, we should have the concept that we are here to touch God Himself. Instead of being taught by the Bible, we are here to assimilate God Himself through the Bible. Whenever we open the Bible, we should not desire teachings; our desire should be to gain God Himself. Considering the Bible as a book of teachings is not the proper Christian attitude in reading God’s Word. The proper attitude for every child of God when coming to the Word is to consider it as another opportunity to contact God Himself. We should be deeply impressed by this, and we should have this basic change in concept. Let us now consider how to study the Word.

THE BIBLE BEING GOD’S BREATH

We should realize that the Bible is God’s word, that is, His breath. In the universe words are a mysterious yet tremendous thing. The Bible says that God created all things by His word. By God’s word we have the heavens and the earth. Not only are all things created by God’s word, but the very existence of all things is also sustained by His word. Both the old creation and the new creation came into existence through His word. We are regenerated by His word, and every spiritual experience we have after our regeneration comes as a result of God’s word. Our entire Christian existence is involved with God’s word.

Unbelievers may consider us to be very odd people. Even though they may be attracted by movies, an avid movie goer will still be bored if he visits the theater every day. We Christians, however, meet every day, and the more we meet, the more we love to meet. Unbelievers wonder what we do in our meetings. In our meetings the only thing we do is speak and speak and speak. I spoke the night before last, I spoke last night, I am speaking this morning, and I will speak again next Lord’s Day. We speak in the prayer meetings, and we speak in the fellowship meetings. We speak in the bread-breaking meetings, and we speak on Lord’s Day morning. There is no place on earth that has as much speaking as in our meetings.

There is no end to our speaking. If we spoke every day for a thousand years, we would still be unable to exhaust our speaking. Speaking is a wonderful thing. Words can kill a person, and they can give life to a person. We can incite people to anger with a few words, and we can also make them happy with a few words. We can cause people to sit still with a few words, and we can cause them to stand up and leave with a few words. This shows the power of words.

God is the Word. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. He was not only with God; He was God Himself (John 1:1). The Bible is not a book of knowledge, science, or philosophy. The Bible is called the Word. The original meaning of the word Bible is “book,” which is a collection of words. The Bible is a collection of words that were first spoken and then written. It is a collection of God’s words, not man’s words. In fact, these words are the embodiment of God Himself.

A man’s words represent and express him. If I stood here without saying a word, everyone would see my outward form but not know what is inside of me. In order for others to know and clearly understand what is inside of me, there is a need for words. Once words come out, my desires and intentions are expressed. After speaking for an hour, others begin to know what is inside of me. In the same way, the whole Bible is God’s word, His breathing. Every word in the Bible, from the beginning to the end, is God’s expression, His embodiment. In spirit these words become God Himself. Please do not misunderstand my words. This does not mean that the physical Bible is God Himself. That is mere superstition.