How to Understand the Bible

There’s a story in the Book of Acts about an Ethiopian man who is reading from the Book of Isaiah. The man was a court official, representing Queen Candace, so he would have been both intelligent and educated, considered competent to represent his kingdom, but he was unable to understand the Scripture until God sent Philip to explain it to him. Phillip, led by the Holy Spirit, approached the man and asked: “Do you understand what you are reading?”. The man replied: “How can I, unless someone guides me?”

We can often feel that way, and people can blindly accept the teachings of a so-called Bible expert, looking for someone like Philip to explain things to them. In the process, we can lose sight of Who should be our Teacher. Now I’m not saying to disregard what others have to teach us; Proverbs tells us to seek many counselors in the pursuit of wisdome. However, I’ve spoken with more than one person who sounded like that Ethiopian man, not knowing how to understand because they hear so many contradictory statements from different “Bible experts”. 

So who was Philip that he had the authority to teach the Ethiopian? He was not a member of the Sanhedrin, the ruling religious authority in Israel. He was simply a man who knew God, who listened to the Holy Spirit and followed obediently. In fact, had the Ethiopian been instructed by a member of the Sanhedrin, he would not have heard about Jesus. They were blind to the Truth about Jesus and even actively sought to hide the truth of His resurrection. (See Matthew 28:11-15) 

If you have experienced a similar frustration when trying to understand Scripture amdist the swirl of contradictory teachings, you are not alone. However, you are not without help. First understand that every follower of Christ may have something useful for you to learn, but every human teacher will fall short. It is only through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that we can understand the heart of God. (See 1 Corinthians 2:10-13) In fact, God has hidden His Word from the rulers of this age (See 1 Corinthians 2:6-10), but He encourages the heirs of His Kingdom to discover what He has concealed. 

So when reading Scripture, listen to other believers and lean on the Holy Spirit to discern if you should heed their words. There are good teachers and bad teachers, and all human teachers are flawed teachers. What else should we know in order to understand the Bible? 


Scripture interprets Scripture. In other words, we better understand the Bible by looking for other biblical passages that bring clarity to the text. Many people shy away from studying the Book of Revelation, but it is rich in imagery from other books of the Bible. And it is a book that carries a promise that it will bless the reader. It was the first book of the Bible that I read, and it made no sense to me at the time because I had no understanding of the other books in the Bible. However, as I read it the second time, having read through all the previous books, some things started to make sense. For example: it is not a book about the destruction of mankind as some people believe. Rather, it describes the victory of Christ and His people, and the promise of a better age. 

Another way to understand Scripture is to read it literally. Now that doesn’t mean that we take all the imagery literally or assume every parable is an historic account. The Bible is filled with all types of writing styles that holistically build understanding. When we read a parable, we look for a learning objective in the story. When we read a prophecy, we seek God’s help in understanding, looking for Scripture to interpret Scripture, and accepting the figurative nature of the imagery to impart understanding. Especially with prophetic Scripture, we appreciate that God has concealed something for us to investigate further. For example: Daniel’s vision of a goat is not a literal goat, but there is a literal meaning behind the image it represents. Yet Daniel’s description about the apparition of a hand writing on the wall is a documentary of an actual event as is Genesis’ description of the Flood in Noah’s lifetime. 

Finally, if a “Bible expert” teaches a different gospel other than the gospel of God’s Grace or encourages a reimagining of Scripture that evolves with mankind, do not listen to them. It is one thing to have different doctrinal understandings because we are flawed, but it is completely different to ignore what God has written in Scripture and lead people away from the unerring authority of the Bible. These “experts” are ministers of Satan, sent to deceive and confuse. Their teachings are to be rebuked and ignored, filled with half-truths and outright lies meant to lead others astray. (See the Book of Jude) 

So prayerfully listen to other believers, search Scripture yourself for greater understanding through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and ignore / rebuke the teachings of false teachers. This is how you grow in understanding the Bible. It is a journey and not a destination, a commitment to grow closer to God and not a prideful attempt to become a "Bible expert".

copyright ©2026 Mitchell Malloy (http://mitchellmalloyblogspot.com/)


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