"Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, that each person who belongs to God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work"
2 Timothy 3:16,17
Do you read God's word each day? No scripture requires you to read every day. But Psalm 1 promised blessing to those who meditated on God's word day and night.
In Psalm 119:99 David wrote, "I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation." So, David had more understanding than all of the prophets and priests who taught him, because he meditated on Gods words. This is an astounding truth.
The book of Revelation promised a blessing to those who read it (Revelation 1:3).
How to Read
As you read, I prayerfully suggest that you read using one of the intimate reading methods presented in subchapter 1.1 titled, "Learning to Read".
Once you progress to the Third Path, you will be interacting with God in every sentence, phrase and word. As you do that, the Holy Spirit can reveal and interact with you in every sentence, phrase and word.
How you read is critical. Reading scripture can be fruitless. Jesus said to the Pharisees: "You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and these are they which testify about me. Yet you will not come to me, that you may have life" (John 5:39-40).
It's true, one can read scripture without coming to Him. We must come to Him as we read.
To experience the intimate reading methods, please click here to read the short but very important introduction to this book. The first subchapter after the introduction will present the intimate reading methods (subchapter 1.1). The introduction and five reading methods can be read in about 20 minutes... a small investment to change your life.
After you have learned how to read in subchapter 1.1, this reading plan can guide you as to what to read each day.
Bible Reading Plan in the Age of the Holy Spirit:
- Mon - Wed: Old Testament (Pre-Law & Under Law)
- Thurs: Gospels (Transitional Books)
- Fri - Sun: Post-Pentecost Books (Not Under Law, Age of the Spirit)
You may be wondering about the terms Pre-Law, Under Law, Transitional, Not Under Law and Age of the Spirit. Each of these terms represent a different age. God has interacted with man in different ways in each age. I will explain in brief:
Pre-Law
God created Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden roughly six thousand years ago (Genesis). Many generations later, God delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt and gave Moses the Ten Commandants in fire and smoke on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19). The Ten Commandments and the numerous laws related to them are called the Law. Mankind had existed for about 4500 years before the Law was given. That 4500 year period is Pre-Law. It is the era before the Law.
Under Law
After the law was given in Exodus 20, the law was in effect for roughly 1500 years, through the birth, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of Christ, until the disciples received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in the book of Acts chapter 2.
The four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) are really Old Covenant books even though they are included in the New Testament of your Bible. That is because Israel was still under law through period of the Gospels. Israel was still under law until the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost in Acts, chapter 2. So, this period of scripture from Exodus, chapter 20 through Acts, chapter 1 is under law.
Transitional Books
The four Gospels cover a time when Israel was under law. But they point to the transition from the law to the Spirit. In other words, the Gospels speak to people under law, but also speak to the next age, the age covered by the Post-Pentecost books. So, these four books are transitional books. They speak to the transition from law to Spirit. The New Covenant, the age of the Spirit, began at Pentecost, in roughly 33 AD (Acts 2:1).
Not Under Law: The Age of the Spirit
The age of the Spirit began in Acts 2:1, when the Holy Spirit came into the disciples at Pentecost (roughly 33 AD). In the age of the Spirit, we are not under law. Instead, we are in the New Covenant. The children of God have now been in the Covenant of the Spirit for almost 2000 years. The age of the Spirit, the Post-Pentecost period spans from Acts, chapter 2 through the book of Revelation. These are the Post-Pentecost books.
All together, 6% of the Bible is Pre-Law. 81% is Under Law. 13% is in the Age of the Spirit.
What Difference Does it Make?
Adam and Eve, Abraham, Job and many others lived and died before the law was given in Exodus 20. We shouldn't expect those people to live by the law if they didn't have the law. Israelites in the Old Testament didn't have the intimate spiritual communication and power that we have in the Post-Pentecost age. So, we should expect our interactions with God to be quite different from theirs. God has higher expectations of us. He lives inside of us. We use different methods. We conduct spiritual warfare with different weapons.
The books under law are instructive for us in the current age. The law is a ministry of death (2 Corinthians 3:7). It is a shadow of the good that has come to us (Hebrews 10:1, Colossians 2:17). But the clearest and most conclusive books regarding the most applicable models and instructions for our lives are in the Post-Pentecost books. For in depth scriptural details regarding the transition from Law to Spirit, see the appendix (A3) titled, "After Pentecost: From the Law to the Spirit".
The books of Pre-Law and Law shed light on the Post-Pentecost books. They show the layers of theology as God laid them, step by step, from the beginning. For example, very early in the Bible, in Genesis 15:7, we see that man receives righteousness by faith, not works. It is on page 14 in my Bible. This foundation of theology was in place for nearly five-hundred years before the law was given in Exodus 20. Righteousness by faith was not changed by the law. Romans makes this very clear. The Post-Pentecost books include mysteries not presented in earlier books. They also provide divine commentaries on earlier books.
Contextual Reading Plan
The reading plan I present here is a contextual reading plan. As such, it has many advantages over random readings and other types of reading plans. First, you will read enough text in each reading to have context for your readings (context within a particular book). Second, you will be aware of which era a particular scripture was directly addressed to (context of a particular book within the Bible).
Context Within a Book
Reading a few verses or even a whole chapter will provide too little context to understand a passage. You simply can not understand chapter four of Romans if you didn't read the first three chapters of Romans. To understand scripture, one must read entire books of the Bible, from beginning to end. One must remember the content of early chapters in a particular book in order to understand later chapters in that book. This can not happen if we take a month to read the book of Romans, for example. Romans needs to be read through in one, two or maybe three sittings.
Context of a Book in the Whole Bible
The primary ages to which the books of the Bible were directed are:
1) Pre-Law
2) Under Law
3) Transitional (from Law to Spirit)
4) Age of the Spirit (Not Under Law)
If you spend much time reading in the Old Testament without an awareness that those passages deal with a people who are fundamentally different from yourself, you may conclude that fellowship with God is basically obedience to rules. Old Testament saints (believers) were not indwelt by the Holy Spirit and did not have the intimate spiritual communication which is available in the Post-Pentecost era. In this era, the Age of the Spirit, we obey the Spirit. See subchapter 4.7 titled, "Walk by the Spirit" for more on this.
I will repeat the reading plan again for your convenience...
Bible Reading Plan in the Age of the Holy Spirit:
- Mon - Wed: Old Testament (Pre-Law & Under Law)
- Thurs: Gospels (Transitional books)
- Fri - Sun: Post-Pentecost Books (Not Under Law, Age of the Spirit)
Your Bible is organized into the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament comes before the New Testament in your Bible. The first book of the Old Testament is the book of Genesis. Matthew is the first book of the New Testament. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are called the four Gospels. Each of them present an account of Christ while He was on the earth at His first coming. The four Gospels are the first four books of the New Testament. Acts through Revelation make up the remaining books of the New Testament (Post-Pentecost books).
The Post-Pentecost books deal directly with the age in which we now live, the age of the indwelling Holy Spirit, not under law. A whole new level of spiritual interaction is available in the Post-Pentecost era. The Gospels point to this new life of the child of God. Hence, the Gospels are transitional books, transitioning from law to Spirit. But the books prior to the Gospels reveal little of this spiritual life. In fact, they only mention the Holy Spirit three times in 900 pages. The law was only a shadow of the good to come (Hebrews 10:1, Colossians 2:17). Believers in the Post-Pentecost age are dead to the law (Romans 7:4, 7). For these reasons, my reading plan emphasizes the Gospels and the Post-Pentecost books.
I will repeat the reading plan again for your convenience...
Bible Reading Plan in the Age of the Holy Spirit:
- Mon - Wed: Old Testament (Pre-Law & Under Law)
- Thurs: Gospels (Transitional books)
- Fri - Sun: Post-Pentecost Books (Not Under Law, Age of the Spirit)
In this plan you read a certain number of chapters per day. Five chapters per day has often been good for me. In other periods I have read one chapter per day. You could read more or less each day. But, if you read five chapters per day, these are the chapters you will read in your first week.
Monday: Genesis 1-5
Tuesday: Genesis 6-10
Wednesday: Genesis 11-15
Thursday: Matthew 1-5
Friday: Acts 1-5
Saturday: Acts 6-10
Sunday: Acts 11-15
If you read five chapters per day according to this plan, you will end up reading the Old Testament roughly once per year. The Gospels and Post-Pentecost books will have been read 3 and 5 times per year, respectively.
I have three bookmarks in my Bible. One marks where I left off in the Old Testament. Another shows my place in the Gospels. The third tells me where to pick up in the Post-Pentecost books. Let's assume that I read on a Tuesday. On Tuesday's I read from the Old Testament. So, I will look for my bookmark in the Old Testament to see where to start reading. I use Path 3, Reading to God. So I will read at least one chapter to God, while stopping to pray and praise along the way.
In this contextual reading plan you will be aware of what period the readings were to be directly applied. It recognizes the four ages which scripture covers:
- Before Law (Genesis - Exodus 19)
- Under Law (Exodus 19 - Malachi)
- Transitioning from Law to Spirit (Matthew - John)
- Age of the Spirit, not under law (Acts - Revelation)
Technically, the first chapter of Acts is prior to the age of the Spirit and still under law. But for the sake of simplicity, I show Acts - Revelation as the age of the Spirit.
What does "under law" mean?
You may be wondering what it means to be under law or not under law. This is addressed from the scriptures in the appendix (A3) titled, "After Pentecost: From the Law to the Spirit".
Ask God to draw you into a disciplined reading plan
I do not say that this reading plan is the only way. Neither do I say that is is the best way. The only and best way for you is to read as God leads you, by His Spirit within you. If God leads you to intimately read and pray daily in the book of Ephesians, then do that. In my twenties I spent nine months in that book. Nearly every day for nine months I read Ephesians.
So, I suggest that you ask God to draw you into a disciplined reading plan. Ask Him to draw you into the plan of His choosing... for such a time as He wills... for as long as that may be. Please do not read alone. Interact with God as you read using one of the intimate reading methods you experienced in subchapter 1.1. Talk to Him about those words which touch your spirit. Meditate on those words through the day with prayers and requests. Be like David who knew more than all of his teachers because he meditated on God's words (Psalm 119:99).
How Much Should You Read Each Day?
Ask God to draw you into His word. Then read as much as you can, while reading intimately. Use one of the intimate reading methods presented in subchapter 1.1. Do you remember what Jesus said to the Pharisees? "You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and these are they which testify about me. Yet you will not come to me, that you may have life" (John 5:39-40).
It's true. One can read scripture without coming to Him. We must come to Him as we read. The intimate reading methods show you how to do that.
That said, I must repeat something. This is very important. Please do not miss it:
Ask God to draw you into His word. Then read as much as you can, while reading intimately!
In reading God's word, both quantity and quality are important. Sometimes I revert back to reading alone ( Path 1 in subchapter 1.1). When I read alone, I get sleepy and bored. Reading scripture becomes a duty to perform... actually an act of the flesh. When I read a chapter alone I remember little of what I read. I have trouble thinking of things from the chapter to praise or ask for. When that happens, I go back and read the chapter again, typically using Path 3. In Path 3 I am having fellowship with God as I read. He is revealing the meaning of the passage and how I am to react. His words easily turn into prayer. But if you prefer to read in Path 2 (Heart), then read in that way until God draws you to read in Path 3.
So, What is the next step?
Ask God to draw you into His word. Then read as much as you can, while reading intimately.
Ask God to show you which words of His to memorize and meditate on.
Ask God to cause His word to spread rapidly through you into all the earth1... that He will be glorified... that His name may be lifted higher and higher and higher!
Footnote:
1) Endorsed Prayer for the spreading of God's word, micro-subchapter 4.4h.