What is the Bible? What is its' purpose? Many would refer to it as a mystery, while others say it is a source of confusion for them. According to Webster's dictionary a bible is "a publication that is considered authoritative for it's subject." I believe the Bible to be God's living word written for the purpose of training and admonishing His people. The Bible tells us in Colossians 3: 16 (NIV) what its purpose is: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. The word of Christ is God's Word because they are one. This passage is telling us the Word (the Bible) brings wisdom. How do we gain wisdom? Through training.

Next comes the question of how to decipher the Bible if we are to learn from it. It is one thing to have a text book which clearly states one plus one equals two. It's another thing to sit down, read a few chapters in Genesis and then try to understand what it is our heavenly Father is telling us. I have done this many times only to draw a blank and end the evening frustrated. On the other hand there are many passages in the Bible which can give us specific direction such as Ecclesiastes 4: 9-10: Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! This passage gives you the idea that everything is easier with a friend. This is a simple one, but we all know there is much, much more to the Bible than a few easy directives.

There are numerous clues in the Bible to help us interpret what it is God wants us to soak in from His word. The use of parables, allegory, signs, biblical symbols, types and shadows, memorials, and tokens and pledges, are things we need to understand if we are going to attempt to define God's Word (the Bible.)For your ease of reading, I have separated each one.

Parables
Allegorys
Signs
Biblical Symbols
Types and Shadows
Memorials
Tokens and Pledges

After reading each of us these, I'm sure you can agree that the Bible is the best reference for understanding God's purposes for our lives. By understanding His way of communicating with us, we can begin to interpret His Word.