In this video, Rev. Joel Kim discusses balancing academic Bible study with spiritual engagement, emphasizing prayer and dependence on the Holy Spirit for true biblical understanding.
Seminary is an interesting place. You are learning to read the Bible academically and you recognize that your desire upon graduation is that you’re an expert in the Bible, at least a specialist in the Bible. And the danger that we can often have is that the study of the Bible becomes more academic and less pastoral—or at least personal in terms of what happens, which I think is the reason for the question that we have.
And the way that we want to keep in mind—overall, in terms of the study of the Word—is to recognize that there is a detailed academic study of the Word that’s involved in our classes, but at the same time, the devotional engagement and meditative reading of the Word is an essential part of one’s engagement with the Word. And personal time spent in the Word is something that we try to encourage at the same time.
At the end of the day, this is the Spirit’s work. It’s His words. Which means that the illumination of the Word comes not from our ability to know all the languages the best that we can, not all the tools that are out there, but in dependence upon the Lord. And so, reminding as well as modeling for our students that we approach the Word recognizing that only God in the Spirit can reveal the truth to us. And so, prayer as a preparation for reading of the Word, becomes an essential point for not only seminarians who are studying the Word, but also for future pastors as well.