CHRISTIAN STUDENTS ON CAMPUS

NEW LIFE LESSONS | SECOND SEMESTER 2016

READING THE BIBLE

God has given us two great spiritual inheritances: the
invisible Holy Spirit within us and the visible Bible in our
hand.
This lesson will guide you into the rich treasury which
God has prepared for you in the Bible.
I. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE BIBLE
...the sacred writings, which are able to make you
wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ
Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for
teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:15-16
What God speaks to man today is based on what He has
already spoken. Hence, if a believer desires to know God
well, he must read the Bible.
You search the Scriptures, because you think that in
them you have eternal life, and it is these that testify
concerning Me. John 5:39
The Lord Jesus is the subject and content of the Bible.
The Bible is the explanation and expression of the Lord
Jesus. Through the Bible, the Lord Jesus is known and
understood by man in a concrete way.
II. WHAT THE BIBLE IS
1. THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is
of ones own interpretation; for no prophecy was ever
borne by the will of man, but men spoke from God,
being borne by the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1:20-21
All the words of the Bible are spoken by men being borne
by the Holy Spirit, just as a sailboat is propelled forward
by the wind.
These words of the Bible explain:
(1) The Triune God (the Father, Son, and Spirit)

(2) The economy of Goda. His plan, b. His work

(3) The creation, fall, and redemption of man
(4) The history of the universe
2. THE BIBLE IS THE REVELATION OF GOD
In many portions and in many ways. God, having
spoken of old to the fathers in the prophets, has at the
last of these days spoken to us in the Son. Hebrews
1:1-2
The whole Bible is the complete revelation of God; every
word and every sentence is inspired by God.
God has spoken, and has revealed Himself.
3. THE BIBLE IS THE BREATH OF GOD
All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for
teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16
The words which I have spoken unto you are spirit
and are life. John 6:63b
God is Spirit, and whatever is breathed out by Him must
also be spirit. Therefore, the very element and substance
of the Bible is Spirit, just as phosphorous is the basic
substance of matches.
We must use our spirit to strike the Spirit of the Bible to
catch the divine fire.
III. A SIMPLE INTRODUCTION
TO THE BIBLE
* THE BIBLE IS DIVIDED INTO
TWO SECTIONS, THE OLD TESTAMENT
AND THE NEW TESTAMENT
1. The Old TestamentIt was written mostly in the
Hebrew language. There are altogether 39 books, which
took about 1100 years to complete. According to its
structure it can be divided into (refer to the list of the
books in the Bible):
(1) The Pentateuch, consisting of five books
(2) History: a total of twelve books

(3) Psalms: a total of six books

Therefore, every time you open up the Word of God, you

should pray from the depth of your being:

(4) The Prophets: a total of sixteen books

2. The New TestamentIt was written in Greek. There
are altogether 27 books, which took over 50 years to
complete. According to its structure it can be divided into:
the four Gospels (a total of four books), Acts, the Epistles
(a total of twenty-one books), and Revelation.

O God, I am coming to read Your Word.

I am coming to You,
to contact Yourself;
my heart longs for You,
my spirit is also open to You,
that I may be enlightened by Your Word.
V. THE BEST WAY TO READ THE BIBLE
PRAY-READING

GOD planned and

created

MAN fell and

became lost

SATAN rebelled and

destroyed

CHRIST redeemed
and built

* A KEY VIEW OF THE BIBLE

* THE FOCUS OF THE BIBLE
CHRIST AND THE CHURCH

Take in the Word of God by means of prayer, letting your

reading and your praying be mingled together as one.
And receive the helmet of salvation, and the sword of
the Spirit which is the word of God, by means of all
prayer and petition. Ephesians 6:17-18a
The best way to pray-read is to practice it together with
other saints.
Four Keys:
Quick! Do not hesitate.

This mystery is great, but I speak with regard to

Christ and the church. Ephesians 5:32
The focus of the Old Testamentleading to Christ for
redemption.

Short! Do not compose.

Real! Be genuine, not pretending.
New! Be fresh, not old.

The focus of the New Testamentthe church redeemed

and built up in Christ.

VI. THE PRACTICE

OF READING THE BIBLE

IV. ATTITUDE IN READING THE BIBLE

1. READ DAILY
1. TO CONTACT GOD HIMSELF
You search the Scriptures...and you are not willing to
come to Me [the Lord] that you may have life. John
5:39-40
2. TO RECEIVE THE SUPPLY OF LIFE
Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy
word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine
heart. Jeremiah 15:16
3. TO RECEIVE ENLIGHTENMENT
The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth
understanding unto the simple. Psalm 119:130

They received the word with all eagerness, examining

the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were
so. Acts 17:11
2. READ CONSECUTIVELYread both the Old
Testament and the New Testament each time.
3. READ AT MOST ONE CHAPTER AT A TIME (IN
PRINCIPLE)
4. LEARN TO PICK UP THE FACTS AND THE MAIN
POINTS
5. MEMORIZE THE PRECIOUS VERSES

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all

wisdom... Colossians 3:16a

Read one chapter in the Old Testament and one in the

New Testament.

6. MUSE

Pray-read one verse.

But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his

law doth he meditate [muse] day and night. Psalm 1:2

If you would take care of the Bible given by God in this

way, in time you will reap the highest blessings of life.

VII. THE MOST VALUABLE AID

IN READING THE BIBLE
The Recovery Version
of the Bible
with the Life-study Messages

CHRISTIAN STUDENTS ON CAMPUS @ JRMSU

The four functions of the Life-study messages are:

NEW LIFE LESSONS | SECOND SEMESTER 2016

MEETING
MEETING IS THE LIFE PULSE
OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE AND
THE CENTER OF THE CHURCH LIFE

1.

To release the truths

2.

To supply lifelife-study means to study in life

3.

To solve difficult problems in the Bible

1. MEETING IS THE LORDS COMMAND

4.

To open up the treasures in the Bible chapter by

chapter

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as

the custom with some is, but exhorting one
another. Hebrews 10:25

VIII. THE BLESSINGS

OF READING THE BIBLE
God has many blessings of life, most of which are
received through mans reading of the Bible. Among them
the main blessings are:
1. ENLIGHTENMENT
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my
path. Psalm 119:105
2. NOURISHMENT
As newborn babes, long for the guileless milk of the
word, that by it you may grow unto salvation. 1 Peter
2:2
After reading through this lesson, you must be eager to
become one who reads the Bible and knows God. If you
do not yet have a plan and a life of reading the Bible, we
hope that by the grace of the Lord you will make a
resolution that from now on you will practice the
following:
Spend twenty minutes every day in the Word.

I. THE IMPORTANCE OF MEETING

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together is

the Bibles command, as well as Gods command to His
children.
If we cease meeting together, we interrupt the church
life, because our meeting life is the church life. Meeting
is to a Christian as water is to a fish, air to a bird, and
breathing to a man.
2. MEETING IS THE CHARACTERISTIC OF
CHRISTIANS
Christians, like sheep and bees,
like to flock together.
Since meeting is a demand of our inner life,
it must be our way of living.
For this reason, not only must we meet often, but we must
meet to such an extent that it becomes a habit, thus
producing a meeting life.
It is like the need to eat and drink daily in the human life.
3. RECEIVING THE CORPORATE GRACE IN THE
MEETINGS

Gods grace to man is twofold:

(2) Expounding the Bible, teaching the truths

The individual sidethrough ones own reading of the

Bible, praying, seeking, and fellowshipping with God.

Goal: That all the saints may know the truths and may
live in Gods New Testament economy

The corporate sidethrough meeting together.

2. The home meetings: Home nurturing, as in a family

For example:

Method:

(1) Bible reading: The light we receive when we read the

Bible by ourselves is limited, but in the meetings it is
abundant.

(1) Continuing in the apostles teaching and fellowship

(2) Prayer: Many matters that cannot be solved by

individual prayers are readily solved by corporate
prayers.

(3) Prayingcalling on the Lord

(3) Spiritual problems: Weaknesses and problems that are

insurmountable individually are taken care of many times
in the meetings.

(5) Speaking the truth

(4) The Lords presence: It was during a meeting that the

Lord appeared to the disciples on the night of His
resurrection.

(1) Upholding the saintsshepherding and caring for

them

All these blessings are given to us by the Lord in the

meetings and only in the meetings.
II. THE KINDS OF MEETINGS
And they were continuing steadfastly in the teaching
and the fellowship of the apostles, in the breaking of
bread and the prayers. Acts 2:42
And day by day, continuing steadfastly with one
accord in the temple and breaking bread from house
to house... Acts 2:46
And every day, in the temple and from house to
house, they did not cease teaching and bringing the
good news of Jesus as the Christ. Acts 5:42
How I did not shrink from declaring to you anything
that was profitable, and to teach you publicly and
from house to house. Acts 20:20

(2) Breaking bread to remember the Lord

(4) Preaching the gospel

Functions:

(2) Recovering the ones who have not been coming to the
meetingsseeking and contacting them
(3) Bringing in the new onespreaching the gospel to
relatives, friends, and neighbors
Thus we can see that the home meetings are the
foundation of the building of the church.
The heaven and the earth may pass away, but the
home meetings must not be forsaken.
III. THE CONTENT OF THE MEETINGS
1. CALLING ON THE NAME OF THE LORD
To...all those who call upon the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ in every place. 1 Corinthians 1:2
Calling on the Lords name is a sign of the believers in
Christ.

The New Testament shows us that there are two kinds of

church meetings, each having its function:

2. SINGING AND PRAISING

1. The big meetings: educational, as in a school

Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and

spiritual songs, singing and psalming with your heart
to the Lord. Ephesians 5:19

(1) Releasing the truth, supplying life

A normal meeting life should be one that is overflowing

with singing and praising.
3. PRAYING AND SUPPLICATING
And they were continuing steadfastly in the teaching
and the fellowship of the apostles, in the breaking of
the bread and the prayers. Acts 2:42
Prayer is our cooperation with the Lord in the heavens to
execute Gods New Testament economy on earth.
4. TEACHING THE BIBLE
They received the word with all eagerness, examining
the Scriptures daily. Acts 17:11
The purpose of teaching the Bible in the meetings is that
all may come to know the truth and receive the life
supply.

Before coming to the meetings, we should have some

experiences of the Lord, some enjoyment from His Word,
or some words received from the Lord through our
fellowshipping with Him in prayer. We should bring all
these to the meetings to share with others that they may
receive the benefit, and the Lord may get the glory and be
satisfied.
This is like the feast of tabernacles celebrated by the
ancient Israelites. They brought the rich produce, the
harvest of their labor on the good land, to the feast to
offer to God. There they enjoyed fellowship with the Lord
and with one another.
2. PROPHESYING
Desire earnestly...that
Corinthians 14:1

you

may

prophesy. 1

To prophesy is to speak for the Lord and to speak forth

the Lord. It is also to minister Christ to others.

5. EXERCISING THE GIFTS

And having gifts that differ according to the grace
given to us, let us exercise them accordingly. Romans
12:6
Every believer has God-given gifts. Everyone should
enjoy the Lords grace and function for the building of the
church.
In all the activities in the meetings, Christ should be the
center. He is the living Spirit. When we meet together, we
should exercise our heart and our spirit and open our
mouths to enjoy Him.
IV. FUNCTIONING IN THE MEETINGS

For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may
learn and all be encouraged. And the spirits of
prophets are subject to prophets. 1 Corinthians 14:3132
We are not like the prophets in the Old Testament who
had to wait for the Spirit of Jehovah to fall upon them
before they could prophesy. Today the Lord has become
the Spirit, and this Spirit has been mingled with our spirit.
Not only so, this spirit is also subject to us. Hence, we do
not have to wait for the Spirit to fall upon us. Rather, we
should just exercise our spirit to practice speaking the
word of God in the meetings.
3. LEARNING TO COORDINATE

Now you are the body of Christ, and members in

particular. 1 Corinthians 12:27

Teaching and admonishing one another. Colossians

3:16

The church is the Body of Christ, and the meetings are a

manifestation of the function of this Body. Since every
believer is a member of the Body of Christ, he should
learn to participate and function in the church meetings.

To speak in the meetings, we must learn to follow the

spirit of the meeting, to coordinate with one another, and
to strengthen one another.

1. EXHIBITING AND SHARING CHRIST WITH

OTHERS

Now you see the importance of the meetings and

understand what a proper meeting life is and how to
function in the meetings.

Whenever you come together, each one has a psalm,

has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an
interpretation. Let all things be done for building
up. 1 Corinthians 14:26

From now on you need to have a proper daily life, that is,
to walk according to the spirit. In addition, you should
attend a few church meetings regularly, and exercise to
function in the meetings.

In this way you will surely live a proper Christian life and
church life.

Are you presently attending a home meeting?

Which kind of meeting do you like the best?

We would like to know: