One of the indispensable habits of a follower of Christ is to feed on Christ through the Word of God. Yet one of the urgent needs today is for us to learn how to read the Bible to enjoy the gospel.
Honestly, my relationship with God’s Word has gone through ups and downs. Though I see the Bible as the ultimate authority—inspired, inerrant, and infallible—I have struggled to read it and even avoided it. Dare I say, sometimes reading the Bible felt like work. I found it boring and even hated the thought of reading it. There, I said it.
I was not enjoying God’s Word because I was not enjoying the gospel. When I began to see the Bible through the lens of the work of Christ, it changed how I approached God’s word. Reading the Bible became about listening to Jesus, not just reading a book (John 10:27).
Seeing the Gospel in the Bible Changes Everything
Reading the Bible is not a chore or another item on a spiritual checklist. It is an opportunity to feast and commune with God. Through Christ, I can rest in God’s presence. Some days I am hurried and anxious. Other days I am tired and weary. Then the gospel reminds me that Jesus invites the weary, broken, tired, and anxious to feast on him and remain in his Word (Matt. 11:28-30, John 15:4).
One of my favourite verses of Scripture is Luke 24:32, which says, “They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”
Reading the Bible is not a chore or another item on a spiritual check-list.
What if this was our experience in reading the Bible and listening to Jesus? Is that possible? How can the word of God shape my head, heart, and hands to transform my mind, satisfy my heart’s longings, and move me to action? The answer is in how you approach the Bible.
If you come to God’s word merely as rules to follow, then it becomes a duty. Instead, we need to learn to come to God’s word through confidence in God’s Son (Eph. 3:12, Heb. 12:2). When you learn to see Christ in all of Scripture, it changes all of your life.
Seeing Jesus in the Bible Leads to Adoration
The disciple Philip once asked Jesus to show them the Father. Jesus answers his request, saying “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).
We know the Father through the Son. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him (Matt. 11:27, Luke 10:22). Not only do we encounter the Father through the Son in his Word, we encounter the Spirit who bears witness to Jesus in the Word (John 15:26).
To see Jesus in the Word is to read the Bible through a Trinitarian lens.
We Know the Triune God Through the Work of Christ
The Father and the Spirit draw attention to the Son and glorify him (John 17:1, John 16:14). Therefore, to glorify the Son is to glorify the Triune God and to know the Son through the Word is to know the Triune God.
To see Jesus in the Word is to read the Bible through a Trinitarian lens.
We know the Triune God through the work of Christ and we know Christ through the work of the Triune God. This is the core of the gospel (John 17:3).
The Father sends the Son to accomplish the work of salvation on the cross as our substitute. The Son sends the Holy Spirit who gives us new life and makes the power of God bear fruit in our hearts (2 Cor. 3:18, Gal. 5:16, 22-23).
We Know the Work of Christ Through the Triune God
Jesus is the ultimate hero of every story in the Bible. He is the fulfilment of every theme, image, and symbol in the Bible (Luke 24:44).
Jesus is the servant who suffers on our behalf. He died for our sins and lived for our righteousness. He is the substitute who died the death we should have died and the one who lived the life we could not live (2 Cor. 5:21).
When we begin to see Jesus in the Word, it leads to adoration. You cannot help but worship. You are not encountering words on a page but a person who loves you deeply.
He went to the cross so that you can be saved. He has redeemed you and adopted you as God’s own so that you can be seated with him in the heavenly realms (John 1:11-12, EPh. 1:3-6). By God’s grace, we are co-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17).
Sensing Jesus in the Heart Leads to Confession
When one sees the glory of Christ in Scripture, the Spirit of God renews our minds. We begin to sense Jesus in our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit. He makes us taste the goodness of the Word of God in our hearts. We sense the compassion and the affection of Christ. He makes us feel the warmth of his presence, the joy of his acceptance, and the rest he offers to us feels real to us.
Jesus is the ultimate hero of every story in the Bible.
The result of sensing Jesus in our hearts leads to humility. His love humbles us and we feel safe confessing our deep, dark secrets to him. He has paid the price for all our sins. So the Spirit calls out to our souls, “Repent and rest in the salvation of God!”
Our encounter with Jesus in the Word melts our hearts of anything that hinders deep communion. It is not fear or guilt that invites us to confess. Rather, it is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance (Rom. 2:4, Titus 2:11-12).
We can overcome self-condemnation and freely confess our sins (Rom. 8:1). With confidence, we can bring our hurt into his gentle presence (Heb. 4:16). He assures us of his forgiveness and gives us hope (Rom. 15:13).
Since our reading of scripture is anchored in the gospel of grace, our confession is in response to Christ’s love. We are not trying to earn his love and acceptance through confession and obedience. Rather, we confess and obey out of God’s endless and extravagant love and acceptance in Christ. When we confess as a result of sensing Jesus in our hearts, it leads to freedom and joy.
Serving Jesus in the World Leads to Purpose
Seeing Jesus in the Word and sensing Jesus in our hearts leads us to joyful obedience. The shepherds who heard the good news from the angels could not contain it. They rushed to share it with others (Luke 2:17). Similarly, the men on the road to Emmaus were eager to share their encounter with Jesus with the other disciples (Luke 24:33-35). In the same way, the love of Christ compels us to share him with our families and friends.
We will not only see this as an opportunity for personal transformation but to be on mission for God. The Spirit of Christ reminds us of someone to pray for, someone who needs encouragement, someone who needs to hear that God loves them, or someone who has a need. We move into this world with Christ, in obedience to the Spirit, to be his witnesses (Acts 1:8).
Encountering Christ in Scripture changes how you approach God’s word. Reading the Bible becomes more than a discipline. It brings delight, gives power, and transforms lives. The Word of God sends you into the world for God.
This new year, may it be that the longing of the psalmist becomes the longing of your heart: “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?” (Ps. 42:1-2)
