Reading the Bible through Three Lenses
Recap from Last Time
Last month we talked about how doubt is not the enemy of faith; silence is.
We want to be honest readers of the Bible, together. Remember: questions are a normal and healthy part of faith!
We explored how the Bible is not a single book but a diverse library, shaped over centuries, filled with challenging, strange, and sometimes uncomfortable passages that often raise more questions than they answer.
Rather than ignoring these tensions, we want to read the Bible with awareness of genre (is it poetry, history, prophecy, a letter?), context, and in community, just like we did on Sunday.
If you’d like to revisit Part 1, you can do so here: https://www.oakscc.org.uk/scripturepart1/
The Three Lenses
On Sunday, I introduced a simple framework for reading the Bible through 3 different lenses:
- The lens of God
- The lens of Jesus
- The lens of Holy Spirit
The lenses work together…
1. The Lens of God (The Big Story Lens)
When reading a passage, ask:
- ‘What does this passage show us about who God is?’
- ‘What is God doing in the overall story?’
This lens focuses on:
- God’s character
- God’s purposes
- God’s faithfulness over time
It helps us see the Bible as one story, God as an active, patient God who is committed to His creation, and that the Bible is primarily about God, not us.
If you don’t know the whole story of the Bible, this lens can feel difficult but there are excellent resources out there to help such as the Bible Project.
Example
When reading a difficult Old Testament passage, ask:
- ‘What does this reveal about God’s holiness, justice, mercy, or patience?’
- ‘Where does this fit in to God’s bigger plan?’
This lens prevents us from reducing the Bible to moral lessons only, self-help advice, or isolated verses out of context.
2. The Lens of Jesus (The Christ-Centred Lens)
Ask:
- ‘How does this passage point to, anticipate, reflect, or get re-interpreted by Jesus?’
Remember: Jesus is the clearest picture of God that we have.
He is God in the flesh – God con carne(!)
In the Gospel of Luke chapter 24:27 Jesus himself taught others to reread the Bible around himself:
“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”
He challenged interpretations people had in his day that missed God’s heart.
This lens asks: what does this look like in light of Christ?
Example
When reading violent or legal passages, ask:
- ‘How does Jesus deepen or transform this?’
- ‘What does Jesus’ life show us about how God deals with power, enemies, and love?‘
Jesus doesn’t discard the Old Testament – he says it points to him! He fulfils it and reveals its true intention.
3. The Lens of the Holy Spirit (The Living Voice Lens)
Ask:
- ‘How is the Holy Spirit speaking through this text to me — here and now?’
This lens focuses on:
- Revelation
- Guidance
- Transformation
The Bible is a living document, not just an ancient text. Meaning and application are connected but not always the same and reading the Bible is relational, not merely intellectual. People can study the Bible who aren’t Christian and have no revelation of God. It isn’t a magic book. It’s by God’s Spirit that it comes alive.
Example
Ask
- ‘What is the Spirit highlighting today?‘
- ‘How does this shape my life, attitudes, or actions?’
How the Lenses Work Together
God lens → What is God doing in the big story?
Jesus lens → How is God revealed most clearly?
Spirit lens → How is God speaking now?
Reflect
Which lens do you naturally default to? Which lens do you find hardest? How might using all three change the way you read difficult passages?
Remember
- The Holy Spirit will not contradict Jesus, or the Bible.
- Jesus reveals God, not replaces Him, he is begotten of the Father (God con carne).
- Personal insight does not override the wider story of Scripture.
This is why it’s so important to also read the Bible in community, with the people of God, seeing it through the life of Jesus, and by the guidance of the Holy Spirit — trusting that God still speaks today. This is a very powerful (potentially dangerous) book; people have misused and weaponised it throughout history to oppress others. Yet, if we let him, God can, by his Spirit, transform us from the inside out by reading it.
We ‘Ad a Go
On Sunday, you became the teachers. If you weren’t there, don’t read ahead too quickly. Try the scenario yourself first.
The Scenario
Matthew 5:48 says: Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
I’ve concluded, from reading the above verse at face value, that God expects flawless moral performance from me and everybody else. I am therefore trying to live totally without sin and expecting other Christians to do the same. I try. I fail. I keep failing. I feel ashamed. I start doubting my faith. I get resentful towards others who aren’t perfect either.
How you would go about correcting my understanding? Remember the lenses!
We then ran through an example approach of researching the true meaning of this verse (not necessarily the only approach!):
God lens
First: context. It’s dangerous to take a verse out of context. On Sunday, we learnt a saying which is helpful and easy to remember (thank you Kathryn!):
“when there’s a therefore, find out what it is there for!”
Find out the context – read a bit before and maybe a bit after: Start at 5:44, and if that doesn’t help, go a bit further back.
It’s also good to look up the word perfect and find out what it means…
Teleios: perfect, full-grown, whole or complete.
Is the story in the other gospels? Or the word used anywhere else in Matthew?
It is also used in Matthew 19:
“Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want eternal life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honour your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbour as yourself.’” “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.””
So to be perfect, do I need to sell all my possessions? This doesn’t help me as much as I’d hoped. Let’s carry on.
Where else is the word used in the New Testament?
[If you’ve never done this before, you do not need to spend lots of money on study Bibles. Here’s the website I use which is a free online study Bible: https://app.biblearc.com. Here’s the search I used for this verse in Matthew: https://app.biblearc.com/#search=%23G50460.]
Romans 12:2:
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (teleios)
1 Corinthians 2:6:
Yet among the mature (teleios) we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away
Okay, so it can also be translated as ‘mature’ as well as ‘perfect’, interesting, let’s keep going…
1 Corinthians 14:20:
Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature (teleios).
Ephesians 4:13
until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature (teleios) manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
From looking at the bigger picture in God’s story, “perfect” is starting to look less like sinless flawlessness and more like spiritual maturity (not my definition of perfect, but God’s)- becoming whole, growing up to be like Jesus? It’s not about crushing moral pressure, but transformation
Jesus lens
Does Jesus’ life and what he accomplished on the cross support the idea that God demands flawless behaviour? No. God’s grace is central to the Christian faith, he knows I have a sinful nature. Jesus died for me when I was still a sinner.
We can be blameless before God, because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, without being faultless. If it’s about becoming more whole, maybe God cares more about me being a kind of person not just a kind of behaviour?
Do you know what a hyperlink is? It is a link from one webpage or document to another and the Bible is full of them! The writers make references to other parts of the Bible and they just assumed the reader/hearer will know what they are referring to. In certain Bibles (like the online one above), it tells you what those hyperlinks are. This verse from Matthew links to Leviticus 19:2:
‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.’
In the book of Leviticus, holiness is not this mystical unattainable thing; it’s deeply practical:
- Do not steal
- Do not lie
- Do not oppress
- Care for the poor
- Love your neighbour as yourself (19:18)
It shows up in justice, mercy, honesty, and compassion.
According to Mr. Google: “The Pharisees interpreted Leviticus 19:2 as a command to emulate God’s holiness through strict, daily adherence to the ritual purity laws, separation from non-observant Jews and Gentiles, and the application of the “oral law” (traditions of the elders) to every aspect of life. They understood this verse not just as a ceremonial mandate, but as a holistic call to piety that required meticulous obedience to both the written Torah and their oral traditions.”
Jesus swapped the word holy for perfect. Why? Had the Pharisees, in their interpretation, missed God’s heart?
Yes, the standard in each verse is not human personal effort, or becoming the best human. There are lots of good humans who don’t know God. The command isn’t “be better than others.” It’s “mirror your Father.”
In Matthew 5, it’s part of the Sermon on the Mount where perfection is expressed as radical love, especially toward enemies.
Holiness → expressed as love
Perfection → complete love, even for your enemies
So “be perfect” comes in the context of radical love. Radical love which Jesus demonstrated. We are to grow up in our faith to become more like Jesus, that is what the perfection is measured against; we are to become more loving, like our God, who is love.
Here’s the key hyperlink then: Leviticus 19:18 — “Love your neighbour as yourself.”
Jesus quotes that very verse just 5 verses before in Matthew 5:43 and elsewhere and treats it as central to our faith. So the command in Matthew 5:48 is not detached from Leviticus — it builds on it.
Okay, so we now know that being perfect isn’t about crushing moral pressure.
It’s about identity.
Maturity in the faith means growing up to become more like Jesus reflecting him – transformation into Christ-likeness.
That’s demanding — yes. But it’s also directional. It tells us what growth actually looks like. It’s good news. If you accept Jesus as your lord and saviour, he will help you to grow in love for others. You can expect that as part of a Spirit-filled Christian life! Because, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. I can expect these good fruit if I walk in step with the Spirit in my life. He will help me become more complete, whole and perfect (for those there on Sunday wanting to see the dancing slug video, here you go, you can thank me later: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG9SbXG9BaY)
I love this summary from the Bible project:
“The biblical Greek word teleios is often translated as “perfect,” but it more generally refers to when something fulfills its purpose or achieves the goal for which it was made. God is the source and the purpose of everything. So God is teleios because he is the goal of all things. But everything else is on a journey of becoming teleios—”whole” or “complete.” For Jesus, this word is connected to being “pure in heart” and having a “righteousness that surpasses the scribes and Pharisees.” Teleios is a high calling. It’s an image of a human living as the image of God, singularly devoted to the love of God and neighbour.”
Which brings us to the final lens:
Holy Spirit lens
What is God saying to me through this? What offends me about this verse? Where might God be inviting me to grow?
Go Deeper
Here’s the real question:
What kind of person are you becoming?
Are you accepting Jesus’ invitation to become whole, mature, complete in love?
God isn’t standing over you measuring your performance, he’s inviting you to be formed by His Spirit. This often takes a long time! Hence why we are encouraged to walk in step with the Spirit, taking it one step at a time.
So, in light of the practice of Scripture, as you read the Bible this week, take your time:
- Look for the Big Story of God
- Look for Jesus
- Listen for the voice of the Spirit in you
Don’t know where to start?
‘Av another go
Try one (or all!) of these passages:
1. John 8:1-11
Ask:
- God lens: What does this reveal about God’s holiness and mercy?
- Jesus lens: How does Jesus handle sin, shame, and power differently from the accusers?
- Spirit lens: Where might I be quick to condemn? Where do I need grace?
Ask:
- God lens: What does this reveal about God’s nature?
- Jesus lens: How does Jesus redefine power and greatness?
- Spirit lens: What would humility look like in my relationships this week?
Ask:
- God lens: What kind of faith is God forming in you?
- Jesus lens: Does this align with how Jesus speaks about fruit and obedience?
- Spirit lens: Where is my faith intellectual but not practical?
