Topical Bible Study: How to Study the Themes of the Bible
Why study the Bible topically?
It is my personal opinion that the best way to study the Bible is to choose a book and walk through it from beginning to end. However, there is value in knowing how to find what the Bible says about a particular topic.
And I’m not talking about just googling.
We may be curious about what the Bible says about anxiety or fear or the characteristics of God. In these cases, we need to know how to find those answers for ourselves. This is why we need to study the Bible by topic.
Doing a topical Bible study makes it easy to pull verses out of context, so be sure to do this kind of Bible study carefully and do your due diligence to understand the context as best you can with many verses.
Using Prewritten Topical Bible Studies
One way to discover what the Bible says about a particular topic is to utilize a Bible study on the topic you are curious about. This is a completely valid way to study the Bible, especially for beginners.
Using a prewritten topical Bible study is a great option for those who are new to studying the Bible or women who are in seasons of life where capacity is limited.
These tools are very helpful for new moms, those in college or graduate school, someone recovering from an illness or surgery, or someone walking through a season of grief.
I have personally written two topical Bible studies, one on Identity in Christ and another on Biblical gratitude. Both are fantastic resources for studying those topics, as are other reputable studies written by incredible Bible teachers.
Begin Your Topical Bible Study With Prayer
Any time you are studying God’s Word, you want to begin with prayer. Reading the Bible is about getting closer to the author, so take time to posture your heart to listen for His Voice and what He wants to teach you through Scripture.
Pray for clarity and supernatural understanding. Pray for His word to teach, correct, convict, equip, and encourage you to live more like Jesus.
The first step in your topical Bible study should be to pray about what God wants you to study. Before you choose your topic, ask for His direction and what He wants to teach you in your season of life.
Choose Your Topic
The first step in studying the Bible topically is to choose a topic to study!
The Bible covers such a wide variety of topics, but the best one for you is a topic you are interested in that is relevant to where you are on your faith journey.
If you are brand new to the faith, topics like the life of Jesus, salvation, sanctification, prayer, or Heaven would be great topics to start with.
If you struggle with anxiety, research what the Bible says about that. When want to learn what God’s promises are for you, research them.
The best topics to study are the ones that are the most applicable to your life.
Define Your Terms
This step may seem unnecessary, but we want to define our topic according to Biblical standards. How your topic is defined now may be different from how it was used when the Bible was written.
Take the time to define your topic in English, and then utilize a Bible dictionary to write out a Biblical definition of the word.
Next, do a word study on your topic and look up the original Greek or Hebrew definition.
Gather Your Verses
The next step in studying the Bible by topic is researching to find your verses. During this process, you can write out your verses in a notebook or gather them in a spreadsheet or Google Doc.
I would advise you to avoid simply googling “what does the Bible say bout XYZ” because the internet is not a reliable source for building your Biblical literacy. Anyone can write an article and throw verses together.
While searching online can be a helpful starting point, it’s important to verify sources and build your research skills. AI tools like ChatGPT can also assist in gathering verses, but they should never replace personal study and biblical context.
While you may come across a perfectly reputable list online (I even have some of these helpful articles on my website), you want to learn to do this research for yourself so you aren’t relying on someone else or their interpretation of what a verse is referring to.
Building these research muscles is how we keep ourselves from being deceived and begin to study God’s Word with confidence.
There are a variety of ways to gather verses related to your topic, and doing a Google search or utilizing ChatGPT is one of those options. However, below is a list of more reliable and reputable sources.
1. Use a Concordance
A concordance is a Bible study reference tool that lists words used in the Bible and all of the verses associated with that word.
Many Bibles include a concordance or index but are not as thorough or complete as a separate concordance.
The most thorough and well-known Concordance is Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance.
2. Utilize Cross-References
As you begin to gather your list of verses on your topic, utilize the cross-references listed in your Bible or study resource. These cross-references will likely be related to your topic.
You can find cross-references in the pages of most Bibles, study Bibles, and online study resources.
For example, on Biblehub.com, you can type in your first verse and click on the “cross” link. That will bring up all of the cross-references for your verse.
3. Use Your Study Bible
Many Study Bibles have a topical index and also include cross-references. Your study Bible is a great place to start gathering your verses.
Using a physical Bible can also help you if you are new to the Bible and need to orient yourself to the structure and location of books, verses, and reference tools.
The Thompson Chain Reference Bible is a great example of a study Bible with a thorough topical index and cross-reference system.
4. Online Study Software
Many reputable online Bible study resources are completely free for you to use. Using online resources can also be much more efficient than using physical study tools, so these are a great option.
While building your physical library of reference tools is ideal, it can be expensive and take time. While you are saving, waiting for deals, or searching discount bookstores, utilize these free online tools to help you with your topical Bible study.
Here are some of my favorite online Bible study tools:
5. ChatGPT or other AI Software
While many of us are hesitant to utilize AI, tools such as ChatGPT can be useful for the gathering stage. However, I would not advise you to utilize AI for any of the study of your verses.
While asking AI your questions may be efficient, we must build our Biblical literacy muscles and be cautious of where we seek clarity on Scripture.
Example ChatGPT prompts for gathering verses for topical Bible study:
- What are the most popular topics in the Bible?
- What topics are referenced the most in the Bible?
- What does the Bible say about XYZ?
- List all of the verses in the Bible that reference XYZ
Study Your Verses
Once you have gathered all of the verses about your topic, it is time to dive into what these verses say. To study each verse, utilize the in-depth verse mapping steps in this blog post.
Choose 1-2 verses or passages per day and study those until you have a solid understanding of your topic. Many topics in the Bible are widespread and may have many weeks’ worth of content for you to study through.
My Identity in Christ study is 10 weeks long because this topic is talked about over and over in the Bible.
Observe
Your first step will be to make observations about the verse or passage you are studying. You will want to gather background information to be sure you understand the context of your verse.
To answer these questions, you may need to read the chapter your verse is in and look up information about the book it is in.
- Who is in the passage? Who is speaking or narrating? How are they described?
- Where are they? What is their location? Are they traveling?
- What are they doing?
- When? Make a note of the timeframe.
- Why? Is there a reason these events are happening? A reason why the person is speaking on that topic?
Define any words you need clarity on in this step.
Interpret
In this step of your topical Bible study, you seek to understand the author’s intended meaning. We are asking what this verse means in the context in which it was originally written and how it relates to me in the present.
One of the best exercises for interpreting Scripture is to paraphrase your verse. Take all of the information you gathered in the observation step and use it to rewrite the verse in your own words.
You can also summarize the verse by answering the question, “What is the main point of this verse?” and write your analysis in your own words.
Apply
Your last step will be to apply the verse or passage to your life. This is where you will draw conclusions and ask how this Scripture applies to your life.
Here are some questions to ask when applying Scripture:
- What is God saying to me through this verse?
- What has this verse taught me about my topic?
- How does this Scripture call me to live?
- Is there any command or direction here I need to obey?
- Are there any promises here for me to cling to?
- How does this verse change my actions or character?
- How does this verse change my relationships with others? (marriage, friendships, family, etc.)
- Is there an action or attitude in this verse I need to emulate in my own life?
Summarize Your Topical Bible Study
Once you have studied through all of your verses, take time to read through all of your notes and reflect on what you have learned about your topic as a whole.
Write out a summary in your own words as a final step. This will help you to remember what you have studied and make a general conclusion about what the Bible says about your topic.
Here are some prompts to help you summarize your topic:
- What main takeaways did you learn about your topic? Write out some bullet points.
- What key verses stood out to you?
- How has your understanding changed from before this study?
- Is there anything about this topic you are struggling with?
- What further questions do you have about this topic?
I pray this topical Bible study guide was a blessing to you, friend. May the Lord bless your endeavors as you seek to better understand His Word!
Your Sister in Christ,
