Creating World Christian Bible Studies
by Dave BryantThe following guidelines are designed to help you turn ordinary Bible studies into world Christian studies. They will help you put the world dimension into every passage you explore, whether during your daily quiet times, or in a group study. Of course, no one Bible study should try to draw on all of these guidelines; some are more appropriate to one passage than another. Nor are they presented here to suggest a formal, stiff approach to understanding Scripture. On the contrary. The variety should give you a feel for how the Bible can open to you God's worldwide perspective on life and godliness, in creative but practical "earth shaking" ways. Once you get the feel for this, you will never approach the Scriptures the same way again!
1. Go for freedom.
Every world Christian Bible study should focus on one or more kinds of personal freedom so that you or your group can leave the study released to get more meaningfully and fully involved in the world mission of the Church.
2. Catch! Keep! Obey!
A world Christian Bible study should help you grow in every way necessary for a world Christian. It should help you get a better look at Christ's global cause. It should help you develop the basic framework for world Christian discipleship.
3. Watch the context.
Interpret each passage within the context of the global scope of God's concerns, as developed by each biblical author. Then, apply your study to your own life in the context of that same global concern.
4. Stay in four dimensions.
Set your Bible studies into the progressive, outward flow of God's one increasing purpose. Make every passage stay in four dimensions: the redemptive, kingdom, eternal and (therefore) global dimensions. The promises and prophecies in the Old Testament may have an immediate fulfillment for Israel; that is, a local one. But now in Christ there is an intermediate fulfillment of these things through the world missionary movement, leading to a future universal fulfillment when Christ comes again. Living on this side of the cross, we must study all Scripture in light of the fulfillment that has already come for the whole world through Jesus Christ. Even passages whose primary focus is local must be lifted up into the four larger dimensions.
5. Inject some variety.
Ask yourself as you prepare your study: Can the topic of this Bible study be enlivened, illustrated or enlarged upon by injecting some of the insights, facts, questions or projects found in missions-related materials? In other words, what can be drawn from missions related materials (of a dynamic variety) that would not only make every Bible study one that relates somehow to being a world Christian, but would also help me apply that study to specific aspects of the world mission of the Church right now?
Let's Get Down to Basics
With these five guidelines as a background, where should we start in creating a world Christian Bible study? Focus your Bible study on four basic questions:
- What does it say?
Investigate the passage with: What? Where? When? How? Why? And then: How do my various discoveries relate to one another?
- What does it mean?
What is God trying to say through this passage? What are its implications for other biblical truths? What warnings does He give? What promises? What principles for daily living? What should be the impact of the passage on God's people anywhere?
- What does this mean to me?
Apply the passage in a very personal way: What does it mean to my walk with Christ? To my dreams? My needs? My lifestyle? My daily responsibilities? My priorities? My relationships to other people? To my church? My family?
- What does it mean to me as a world Christian?
What aspects of my world vision does it help me build? Purpose? Possibilities? People? Part? How could it help equip me, train me, direct me and challenge me in the specific ways I am seeking to reach out in love right now? How could it help me give a world vision to someone else? What have I found here that I could share with another Christian to help them grow as a world Christian?
For a group Bible study you may want to wrap up with a fifth question:
- What does it mean to us as a team of world Christians?
How do the discoveries we have made in the study apply to our on-going plans to follow Christ together into the Gap? How does it stimulate, reinforce or reshape all we are trying to do together with him?
(Excerpts taken from "How to Create World Christian Bible Studies") by Dave Bryant, © InterVarsity Missions
Unless otherwise noted, all materials on the urbana.org web site are Copyright InterVarsity Christian Fellowship / USA. All rights reserved.
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