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EAT THE FOOD

A. Introduction: For the last several years we have opened the New Year with a series on the importance of
learning how to read the Bible for yourself. This year is no different.
1. We’re going to build this year’s series around a statement Paul the apostle wrote, shortly before he was
executed for his faith in Jesus. Paul wrote that: All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God
may be perfect, throughly (or thoroughly) furnished unto all good works (II Tim 3:16-17, KJV).
a. Paul was one Jesus’ most ardent followers. Not only was Paul an eyewitness of Jesus, Jesus
appeared to Paul a number of times after He was raised from the dead, and gave Paul the message
that he preached. Gal 1:11-12
b. There’s a lot in Paul’s statement that we will discuss in more detail over the course of this series, but
for now, notice that a man (or woman) of God (or someone who belongs to God) is supposed to be
perfect, and that he is perfected through the written Word of God—the Scriptures, the Bible.
2. We just completed a series on Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, and we pointed out that in
His sermon, Jesus set the standard for Christian behavior. He summed it up with these words: You are
to be perfect even as your Father in Heaven is perfect. Matt 5:48
a. Jesus’ words were originally written in Greek. The Greek word that is translated perfect means
complete, finished, or reaching the goal. Perfection is Christ-like character and behavior.
1. Jesus is God become man without ceasing to be God (a mystery beyond our comprehension).
In His humanity, Jesus is the model for Christian behavior (Rom 8:29; I John 2:6). He was
fully pleasing to God the Father. Christian perfection is Christ-like character and behavior.
2. If you have bowed your knee to Jesus as Savior and Lord, then a process of transformation is
underway that will ultimately restore you to all that God created you to be—His son or daughter
who is fully pleasing to Him, just like Jesus is. In other words you will be perfect or complete.
b. If Jesus is your Lord and Savior, you belong to God, but you need to be perfected. Note that in the
key verse for our new series, Paul wrote that the man of God is perfected, or made complete or
Christ-like, through the Scriptures (the Bible).
1. Paul originally wrote in Greek. The Greek word Paul used for perfect is a synonym for the
word Jesus used. It also means to put in appropriate condition, to complete entirely.
Throughly (thoroughly) furnished means to finish out or fully equip. Profitable means useful.
2. Paul made it clear that the Bible is critical to our growth in Christ-likeness. It is vitally
important to the process of being perfected transformed into someone who is fully pleasing to
Almighty God in every motive, thought, word, and action, someone who is Christ-like.
c. As we begin this series, remember that you can actually be perfect before you are fully Christ-like, if
your heart is set on growing up in Him, you are putting forth effort to develop Christ-like character,
and are doing the best you can where you’re at in your development. No one expects a five year old
to act like a twenty-five year old. But he is expected to act like a five year old.
3. In this new series we’re going to examine the role that the Bible plays in perfecting us, and discuss how
we can use the Bible effectively to help us grow into the perfection that God intends for all of us.
B. The Bible is unlike any other book in existence in that it is a supernatural book. Supernatural is defined as
of or relating to an order of existence beyond the visible, observable universe (Webster’s Dictionary). 1.
Note that in our key verse, Paul stated that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God (II Tim 3:16).
The idea in the original language is that the Scripture is “breathed out by God” (II Tim 3:16, ESV).
a. God didn’t merely inspire the authors who wrote the Scriptures by moving them emotionally. The
Bible is a book from God. The Bible doesn’t just contain the words of God. The Bible is the
Word of God Himself, put on paper by human hands.
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1. To say it another way, the words in Scripture came from the innermost essence of God Himself.
They are His Words, and He breathed out something of Himself through His words.
2. The various men who wrote the Scriptures were aware that they were writing God’s own words.
Ex 17:14; Jer 1:9; Ezek 1:3; Hosea 1:1, etc.
b. Not only is the Bible God’s Word, Almighty God expresses His power through His Word. And
God affects change in those who hear His Words and read His Words.
1. God created the material world through His spoken Word: The entire universe was formed at
God’s command…what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen (Heb 11:3,
NLT); He sustains the universe by the mighty power of his command (Heb 1:3, NLT).
2. Paul stated that the Word of God…is effectually at work in you who believe—exercising its
[superhuman] power in those who adhere to and trust in and rely on it (I Thess 2:13, Amp).
A. Jesus is God become fully man without ceasing to be fully God. He called the words He
spoke the Word of God (Matt 7:21-27) and said His words are spirit and life (John 6:63).
B. Note this paraphrase of Jesus’ statement: All the words through which I have offered
myself to you are meant to be channels of the Spirit and of life to you, since in believing
these words you would be brought into contact with the life in me (J. S. Riggs Paraphrase).
2. Jesus compared the Scriptures (God’s Word) to food: It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God’ (Matt 4:4, NKJV).
a. Bread made up over half the diet of the average 1st century Jew and was vital to their survival. They
would have understood this passage to mean you can’t truly live without the Word of God. Food
provides sustenance and vitamins and nutrients essential to proper growth.
1. You don’t have to understand how food provides nourishment, but to benefit from it, you must
eat it or take it in. To benefit from God’s Word you must hear and read it.
2. By referring to His Word as bread and channels of His Spirit and life, Jesus indicated that God’s
Word will produce inward changes in those who receive it, hear and believe it.
b. If Jesus is your Lord and Savior, God (the Holy Spirit) is now in you to help you in this growth
process. And the Bible is the unique instrument that the Holy Spirit uses to perfect you.
1. II Cor 3:18—And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the
Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His
very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this
comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit (Amp).
2. We must take responsibility for our spiritual growth and put forth effort to grow, or become
increasingly Christ-like in our character and behavior, until we reach the goal.
A. Because the Bible is critical to our growth in Christ-likeness, putting forth effort to grow
involves reading the Bible (the written Word of God), or eating the food.
B. We’re to grow in Christ-likeness “until…we (become) mature and full grown in the Lord,
measuring up to the full stature of Christ” (Eph 4:13, NLT), “become full-grown in the
Lord—yes, to the point of being filled full with Christ” (Eph 4:13, TLB).
3. Peter the apostle, an original follower and eyewitness of Jesus, wrote that those who have
become sons or daughters of God through faith in Jesus should: as newborn babes, desire the
pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby (I Pet 2:2, NKJV).
A. Just a few verses prior, Peter wrote that, by believing God’s Word, we have received life
from God through faith in Jesus: For you have been born again…through the living and
enduring word of God (I Pet 1:23, NASB).
B. Then he wrote that just as new born babies must have milk from their mother (the one who
gave them life) and cry until they get it, so we must desire the nourishment that comes from
the Word of God. The Holy Spirit gives us life (we’re born of the Spirit) when we believe
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on Jesus, and He will help us grow through the very words He inspired (the Scriptures).
c. I realize that this kind of talk can make sincere Christians feel condemned because they know they
fall short and or because Christ-likeness seems to be an impossible goal. Consider these thoughts.
1. Right now we’re finished works in progress—fully God’s sons and daughters through faith in
Jesus, but not yet fully Christ-like in our entire being—and the process won’t be fully
completed until we see Jesus face to face. But He who has begun a good work in you will
complete it. I John 3:2; Phil 1:6
A. God is well aware that there is a process of growth and you are not yet fully perfected. But
your shortcomings and failures are forgiven on the basis of Jesus’ sacrifice at the Cross.
B. John (another eyewitness of Jesus), in the context of setting a very high standard for how
Christians are to behave reminded his readers: I write to you, little children, because your
sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake (I John 2:12, NKJV).
2. If growing in Christ-likeness is truly the intent of your heart and you are working on it, then
God is pleased with you now, before you are fully perfected. Phil 3:12-15
3. This is why understanding the big picture (what God is working toward) is so important. Jesus died, not
only to give us the position of sons and daughters of God, but to open the way for us to be made holy and
pure in all of our being (our character and behavior) just as He is pure and holy.
a. Paul wrote that Jesus: Gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse (or purify) us, and
to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing what is right (Titus 2:14, NLT).
1. He wrote that Jesus loved us and gave Himself for the church (believers): that He might sanctify
(make holy) and cleanse (purify) it with the washing of water by the Word (Eph 5:26, NKJV).
2. The night before Jesus died He prayed for His followers: (Father) make them pure and holy by
teaching them your words of truth (John 17:17, NLT); Your word is truth (John 17:17, NKJV).
b. The Word of God (the Scriptures) has a purifying and cleansing effect on those who read it and obey
it. God works in us to transform and restore us by His Spirit through His Word as we hear and read.
1. Paul wrote: Be even more careful to put into action God’s saving work in your lives, obeying
God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey
him and the power to do what pleases him (Phil 2:12-13, NLT).
2. Remember that Paul is the one who wrote that the Word of God…is effectually at work in you
who believe—exercising its [superhuman] power in those who adhere to and trust in and rely on
it (I Thess 2:13, Amp).
c. The Lord Jesus, through His written Word, teaches or instructs us as to what He expects from His
followers. Then, through His Spirit and His Word in us, He empowers us to do what He expects of
us, as we choose to obey Him.

C. One of the goals of this new series is to help you learn how to eat the food that will cause you to grow by
helping you become an effective Bible reader.
1. First, you need to know what the Bible is. It’s actually a collection of sixty-six books and letters written
over a 1500 year period (1400 BC to100 AD) by more than forty authors on three different continents.
a. Despite the number of authors and years that it took to write its contents, the Bible has a continuity
and cohesiveness that runs throughout because it was inspired by God.
1. Altogether these sixty-six books tell the story of God’s desire for a family of holy, righteous
sons and daughters, and the lengths to which He has gone to obtain His family through Jesus.
2. Every book adds to or advances this story in some way. The Bible is roughly 50% historical
narrative (much of which is verifiable through secular historical records and archeology), 25%
prophecy, and 25% instruction in living.
b. These sixty-six books are divided into two major sections, the Old Testament (39 books) and the
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New Testament (27 books).
1. The Old Testament was originally written mostly in Hebrew. It is primarily the history of the
Jewish people, the people group through whom Jesus was born into this world.
2. The New Testament was written after Jesus came into this world, by eyewitnesses of Jesus (or
close associates of eyewitnesses). It was originally written in Greek.
2. Every year I make the point that to read the Bible effectively, you must read systematically and regularly,
especially the New Testament. (The Old Testament is much easier to understand once you are familiar
with the New Testament.)
a. For far too many people, reading the Bible means opening it at random and reading the first lines
their eyes fall one. But the documents in the Bible were not written to be read that way. They
were written to be read from beginning to end, as are all books and letters.
1. Other people look for a verse or two that will address their specific need or problem. But the
Bible was not written in chapters and verses. Those were added centuries after the Bible was
completed to serve as reference points to help find specific passages.
2. If you read at random or read only a few isolated verses, you can easily misinterpret passages
and draw wrong conclusions because you don’t see the context of the various statements.
A. Everything in the Bible was written by someone to someone about something. Real
people wrote to other real people to communicate information about God’s unfolding plan
for a family.
B. The Scriptures can’t mean something to us that they would not have meant to the original
hearers and readers.
b. To read systematically means to read each book from start to finish, just as it was written to be read.
To read regularly means you read the books over and over until you become familiar with them.
1. Don’t worry about what you don’t understand. Don’t stop to look up all the words or consult a
Bible commentary. (Do that at another time.) Just keep reading. Understanding comes with
familiarity and familiarity comes with regular, repeated reading.
2. Getting teaching from a competent Bible teacher is also critical to this process. The number
one job of those in pulpit ministries is to accurately teach the Scriptures to those in their charge
so that they can grow in Christ-likeness. Eph 4:11-13
3. Last year we spent a lot of time talking about the fact that Jesus calls men and women to follow Him
(imitate Him, seek to be like Him) and to learn from Him. Matt 11:29
a. To do this, we must read the Bible because Jesus reveals Himself to us through the written Word of
God—the pages of the Bible. Jesus Himself said that the Scriptures testify about Him. John 5:39
b. This year, I want to challenge you to read the New Testament gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and
John) from start to finish, over and over, to become familiar with them.
1. The gospels are eyewitness accounts of Jesus, written to tell people who He is, what He did, and
how He wants His followers to live. We’ll say more about the gospels in upcoming lessons.
2. Note this statement in John’s gospel: But these (things are written so that you may believe that
Jesus is…the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life (John 20:30-31, NLT).
c. Learn what Jesus is like—how He lived in relation to God the Father and how He treated His fellow
man. Learn His teachings—what He taught His followers to believe and do. Let Him reveal
Himself to you through His Word and change you through His power.
D. Conclusion: We have much more to say in upcoming weeks. Let’s close this lesson with our key Scripture:
All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the faith and correcting error, for re-setting the
direction of a man’s life and training him in good living (II Tim 3:16, J. B. Phillips).