Lesson 7: Christ as the Key
A Theological Foundation
Four Questions about the Bible
In my house, we ask and answer several questions about the Bible whenever we read it together. These questions reflect what the Bible says about itself. They orient our hearts and minds to approach the Bible as the Bible demands. After laying out this big picture theological framework in this step, we will take a closer look at specific passages in the next step.
Question 1
Q1: Who gave us this book? A1: God the Father
Ultimately, God the Father gave us the Bible. He is the source of all things, especially the Bible. And in this gift, the Father reveals himself to us.
Question 2
Q2: Who is this book about? A2: Jesus, God the Son Incarnate
How does the Bible reveal the Father’s glory?
By giving us Christ!
Indeed, Jesus is the Word from the Father, the one who reveals God and is himself God (Jn 1:18). He is the Glory of the Father (Jn 1:14). It is in the humbling exaltation of his name that the Father is truly and forever glorified (Phil 2:9-11). And it is only in Jesus that the veil is taken away so that we can “behold the glory of the Lord” (2 Cor 3:18). Therefore, all of Scripture, as the Word from the Father, is about Jesus, who “became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (Jn 1:14).
Furthermore, the Son is the Father’s treasure, through whom and for whom all things have been made (Col 1:16). So, we ought to expect all of Scripture, as the Father’s gift, to give us Christ.¹
Question 3
Q3: Who wrote this book? A3: God the Holy Spirit through the prophets and the apostles
Here we begin to address Dr. Block’s concern: When we read the Bible with Christ as the key, do we obscure what the author intended?
But we must remember what the Bible declares about itself: God is the ultimate author of Scripture. We confess, with wonder and astonishment, that the Spirit worked through human authors and human words. But we must never forget that the Holy Spirit is the one Author who unites the many authors of the Bible (2 Pet 1:19-21).² And since the Holy Spirit shares and reveals Christ, we ought to expect that Christ would be the key to the book He authored. Indeed, to read without Christ as the key means that we actually reject what the Author intends for his book (Lk 24:25-27).³
Question 4
Q4: What is the Bible? A4: The Bible is God’s book about Jesus for us.
Yes! The Bible is God’s book, and it is for us!
The Bible fuels our joy in God and in one another. It is for our good and for our salvation. It is for our maturity and equipping. Ultimately, the Bible is for our communing with God in Christ. Yes, the Bible is for us!⁴
But in order for all this to be true, Christ must be the key. Apart from him, we remain dead to God, enslaved to darkness, sin, and death. Without Christ, we are blind. Without Christ, we remain God’s enemies. Without Christ, we are cut off from the people, the promises, and the Power of God. Thus, we must read all of Scripture from its promises to its demands with Christ as the key.
The Biblical Heart
In the Bible, the Holy Spirit reveals the Father’s glory in Christ. This is the heart of the Bible.
Oh how I hope and pray that this would be our heart as we interpret the Scriptures! May Christ so captivate our hearts that we become women and men like Charles Spurgeon as we interpret the Bible. Christ was the heartbeat of Spurgeon’s life and ministry, and he consistently called others to Christ-centered faith.
I would never preach a sermon—the Lord forgive me if I do—which is not full to overflowing with my Master. I know one who said I was always on the old string, and he would come and hear me no more; but if I preached a sermon without Christ in it, he would come. Ah! he will never come while this tongue moves, for a sermon without Christ in it—a Christless sermon! A brook without water; a cloud without rain; a well which mocks the traveller; a tree twice dead, plucked up by the root; a sky without a sun; a night without a star. It were a realm of death—a place of mourning for angels and laughter for devils. —quoted in Michael Reeves, Spurgeon on the Christian Life: Alive in Christ, 71.⁵
Write out a short prayer in response to this step.
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