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Creative Bible Study
INTRODUCTION
Bible scholars have written special books that are helpful in studying the Bible. This chapter explains how to use these Bible study tools. All of these materials are available in digital format. See the Resources section of this site. While these tools are helpful, this course teaches you how to study the Bible yourself. All that is necessary for you to have is a Bible.
Bible study tools are important, but they cannot substitute for studying the Bible itself. You should use these tools only after you have done your own study of the Word. Consulting a Bible study book before studying the Bible itself influences your mind with the comments of man before you have studied the words of God. Those who wrote Bible commentaries and other study tools obtained their material the way any student can get it: From the Bible itself.
It is not necessary to depend on the research of others. If Bible study tools are not available to you, do not despair. Within you dwells the creative power of the Holy Spirit. He is the special teacher sent by God who will guide you into all truth. That is better than all the Bible study tools provided by men. If these tools are available, learn to use them to supplement your own study of God's Word, but do not depend on them. Depend on the creative revelation of the Holy Spirit.
BIBLE CONCORDANCE
A Bible concordance provides an alphabetical listing of the main words in the Bible with the immediate context of each word. If you have limited funds with which to purchase materials, this is the most important tool for Bible study and should be your first choice.
Two good concordances are:
The Analytical Concordance to the Bible by Robert Young published by Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.A.
Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible by James Strong published by Abingdon Press, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A. (Strong's is used for the following study explaining the use of a concordance.)
A concordance is helpful in three ways:
1. To Locate All The References To A Word:
For example, if you want to study about angels you can look up the words "angel" and "angels" in a concordance. You will find a complete listing of each place these words are used in the Bible. This will enable you to look up each reference on the subject. You can also look up names of Bible characters and do biographical studies using the concordance. For example, if you look up the name "Moses" it lists all of the Bible references to him.
Each reference to a word is represented by the first letter of the word. For example, look at the listing for the word "begotten":