Life-study of the Bible
John 5:39 You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that testify concerning Me.
John 5:40 Yet you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.
John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and may have it abundantly.
The Life-study of the Bible is a unique method of Bible study, different from traditional, knowledge-based exegesis. The purpose of the Life-study of the Bible is to understand and receive the truth of the Bible from the perspective of life, not merely to acquire a knowledge-based understanding. The characteristics of the Life-study of the Bible include:
The core of the Life-study of the Bible is centered on life, not on knowledge or doctrinal form. It focuses on excavating God’s life from the Bible and ministering this life to the readers, enabling them to grow in life. This is different from traditional methods of exegesis, which emphasize knowledge-based understanding and doctrinal interpretation.
The Life-study of the Bible requires not only diligent Scripture reading but also prayer as a support. When reading the Scriptures, one must use the spirit to contact God’s word, not just the mind to understand it. This way of prayer-reading enables readers to genuinely contact God’s life, not just acquire knowledge.
The Life-study of the Bible not only focuses on the knowledge of life but also emphasizes the experience and practice of life in daily living. It pursues the two orthodox lines of life and living, focusing both on how God’s life works within man and how man lives out this divine life in his daily living. Such a way of Scripture reading can edify readers in both life and living.
The messages released through the Life-study of the Bible contain the essence of the saints’ understanding and experience of the Bible over two thousand years, plus the author’s many years of research and experience; therefore, the content is rich and can genuinely supply the readers’ need for life. In comparison, general exegetical works often remain at the knowledge level and find it difficult to truly nourish man’s life.
The Life-study of the Bible not only supplies life but also helps to enlighten man’s understanding and comprehension of the Bible. It not only provides answers to difficult questions in the Bible but also expounds the mysteries of the Bible from the perspective of life, enabling readers to comprehend God’s word more deeply. This is of great help to believers who pursue the truth.
Further Reading:
- Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1985, vol. 2, “The Spreading of the Gospel and the Administration of the Church,” ch. 4
- Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994-1997, vol. 3, “Crystallization-study of Song of Songs,” ch. 5
- Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1963, vol. 4, “Being Transformed for the Practice of the Church Life,” ch. 1
- Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1985, vol. 2, “The Initiative That Those Who Serve the Lord Should Take,” ch. 4
- Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1985, vol. 3, “The Vision and Practice That Young People in the Lord’s Recovery Should Have,” Message 1
- Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1987, vol. 1, “Bearing Remaining Fruit,” ch. 13
- Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1969, vol. 2, “Further Light concerning the Crucial Revelation of Life in the Holy Scriptures,” ch. 1
- Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1958, vol. 1, “Reading the Bible in Its Original Color and Central Line,” ch. 9
- Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1953, vol. 3, “The Knowledge of Life,” ch. 1
- Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1987, vol. 3, “The Scriptural Way to Meet and to Serve for the Building Up of the Body of Christ,” ch. 18
