Again I don’t take credit for the study, I admit to using a large part of John MacArthur’s work. Below is the outline for the coming weeks.

1. Introduction and the Gospel of Truth 1:1-8
2. Paul prays for the Colossians 1:9-14
3. Christ’s preeminence 1:15-23
4. Paul’s view of ministry 1:24-29
5. Christ over philosophies 2:1-10
6. Christ over legalism 2:11-23
7. Christian conduct 3:1-17
8. The Christian home 3:18-21
9. Master and slaves 3:22-4:1
10. The speech of the new man 4:2-6
11. With a little help from my friends 4:7-18

In my next post I will put last week (our first week) on the blog.

L – Learning together
I – Impacting culture
F – Fostering transformation
E – Enjoying God

Thanks
Mike

The final area we will be looking at is Application. How does the text that has been observed and interpreted apply to your life? Or another way to look at it is how do you apply and put into action what has been read? In James 1:22 we are told the following, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says”.

So how does this look in everyday life? This is where you need to be praying and asking God to show you were in your life he wants you to use what you have been reading. Are there circumstances in your life that you can apply what you have read? Maybe you have been talking with someone who you can pass along what you have read. By telling others what you have been reading it accomplishes a couple of things. 1. You re-enforce what you read to yourself. 2. You are edifying the body and maybe giving someone a word they needed to hear.

Can’t come up with anything at the moment? Don’t worry. Through pray and being watchful in your life you will find a way to apply God’s word. With that watchful attitude and meditating on what you have read you are getting God’s word into your heart. By doing that you are like the Psalmist, in Psalms 119:11 it says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you”.

As you get into God’s word, you are getting God’s word into you. Remember God will change you from the inside so let him work in your life by reading his book.

The area we will be looking at is Interpretation which is answering the question, “What does the text mean?” Remember the inductive study bible method is allowing scripture to interpret scripture.

When reading a passage to understand what it is saying, remember that context is the most important aspect. How does the passage fit in with the passages above and below it? This is a natural question to ask and is an outgrowth of observation. Context can be the immediate passages around the one you are reading and can go out from there. How does it fit within the chapter, book and ultimately the entire bible. Knowing the context allows you to start letting other passage shed light on the one you are reading.

Read the passage literally. Now there are a lot of things in the bible that are symbols, Jesus saying he is a door for example. We know he is not a literal door but is the way to the Father. Again this goes back to context of the passage, what is being said. The bible is clear and it is not difficult to tell when symbols are being used or parables for that matter.

Look for the plain meaning of the passage you are reading. Don’t get wrapped up into secret meanings or read something into the text that is not there. This is how false teachers can twist the scripture to fit their beliefs. We should be allowing God’s word to change are minds to what he is telling us. We should be conforming to the bible not the other way around.

Looking closer at each of the three areas we will start with observation. Remember that observation is asking the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How of the passage. So let’s break that down a little more;

-Who: Who is speaking? Who is the passage about? Who are the main characters? Who passage being written to?

-What: What is the main idea/subject being written about? Is it a person, place, or event?

-When: When is this happening? What year did this happen? What other events where taking place at this time? When did this happen in the person’s life? Is this a future event?

-Where: Where does the event take place? Where was the person when the event happens? Where was the person when writing passage?

-Why: Why was the passage written? Why did the event take place? Why did the person do what they did?

-How: How did the event take place? How did the person react? How will the event happen in the future? How is this relevant to other passages?

By asking these questions you begin to get a better picture of the passage. You are digging deeper and finding out what the real meaning of the text. As you are asking these questions look for key words, phrases or lists that help you answer these questions. Also look for comparisons and contrasts, i.e. light/dark, good/evil, etc..

Underline the key words and phrases. This will allow you to reference back to them later if you want to do a word study. Also look for chapter themes and write them in your bible. This will help you remember the passage and internalize it better.

There is much more that can be written about observation but this should give you a good overview of how to apply it to your bible study.

Inductive Bible Study is a method that allows you how to discover God’s Truth for yourself. The idea behind the inductive study method is to get the follower of Christ up close and personal with the God’s word and making careful observations for themselves. This allows the student of God’s word to let Scripture interpreter Scripture.

Think of the inductive bible study method as an investigative way to look deeper into the Biblical text. The outcome of this investigation puts what is being study in context with the rest of scripture. It enables the student of God’s word to see the principles he has for our lives. Once those principles are understood then they can be applied to our daily lives giving us a Biblical worldview.

There are three steps to Inductive Bible Study:

1. Observation

This is asking the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How of the passage.
This will help you slow down to focus on God’s Word, and see what it really says.

2. Interpretation

With observation comes the ability to understand the context of the passage. This is where Scripture interprets Scripture. Find out what the meanings of the key words of the passage are. See how the passage fits into the immediate and broader context of Scripture. Even look at the cultural aspect of the text.

3. Application

This is where you can put into action what you have read and learned. Wisdom is the application of knowledge, so we must be wise and apply what we have learned. We are allowing God to speak to us through his word and becoming obedient to him. The other outcome is others will see Christ in us.

The goal of the Inductive Bible Study method is not to gain knowledge but to allow God to change our lives. It will bring us in a closer relationship with Christ and give us purpose and meaning in our lives. So study God’s word and let him change you from the inside out.