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The New Testament has much to say about the importance of knowledge for the Christian (Philippians 1:9; etc.). But what exactly is “knowledge” – is it understanding of important Christian doctrines or of the Christian way of life? The second epistle of the apostle Peter answers this question for us.
Peter begins his letter with the greeting: “Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord” (2 Peter 1:1), and if we did not notice what the knowledge is that Peter had in mind, he continues by saying that through his divine power God “has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us” (2 Peter 1:2–3). In the same way, Peter closes his letter with the command: “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).
So Peter bookends everything he has to say in his second letter to fellow believers by stressing the importance of knowledge, and between these two statements Peter repeatedly returns to the same point (2 Peter 2:20; etc.). In every instance he makes it clear that the knowledge we need and need to seek is not simply doctrinal or practical Christian knowledge, but knowledge about God and Jesus Christ.
What Peter means by this is that Christian growth is not somehow guaranteed by what we do. It does not automatically come as a result of attending church enough – any more than just sitting in a gym is going to make us stronger, or of studying our Bibles enough – any more than reading a book about cars is going to make us auto mechanics. It is only as we come to know God and Jesus Christ through a relationship with them that we really grow toward them and become more like them.
When Peter writes “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18), the two are related – we grow in the grace of Christ by growing in the knowledge of Christ. This affects every aspect of our Christian lives. The more we grow in that kind of knowledge the more we grow in obedience and love (1 John 4:7–8). As Peter says: “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge … For if you possess these qualities and continue to grow in them, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter1:5,8).
It is not just Peter who tells us these things. The Old Testament tells us that God desires “the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings” (Hosea 6:6), and Jesus himself prayed “this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3). The apostle Paul frequently refers to this truth, telling the believers at Ephesus, for example: “I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him” (Ephesians 1:17 CSB), and those in Corinth “We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:9–10).
As Christians we need to produce the fruit of good works in our lives (Matthew 7:16–20; Ephesians 2:10; Titus 2:7; Colossians 1:10; etc.), but we must never forget that the growth of those fruits comes not from study alone or from some kind of religious exercise, but from becoming more like God through the work of the Holy Spirit as we grow in our knowledge of the Father and the Son of God.
There are now a good many websites competing for your online Bible study time. Most publishers of individual translations have a dedicated site for their own Bible version, and there are numerous sites which compare multiple translations and offer other study helps. Which site is best? To some extent, the answer depends on your needs and study preferences, and each site has its own strong points – so comparing the options makes sense. In making our own comparison we found that most of the sites we looked at can be helpful and are providing a valuable service, but we did find that some sites are more useful than others. This article compares five sites (all of them free to use) that we consider to be among the best. There are certainly other good sites – such as the fine Blue Letter Bible – which may be perfect for your needs, but the ones we list have the most translations and features. We look at them in reverse order – saving what we consider the best for last …
#5: Bible Study Tools has a limited number of other-than-English language translations available – but it includes most major English versions and allows side by side comparison of verses or chapters in different versions, which not all sites do. It has a type of “interlinear” Hebrew and Greek text with individual words linked to Strong’s concordance entries, but although the English linkage is word by word, those with no knowledge of the biblical languages may find this feature difficult to use. The site has a selection of devotionals, basic commentaries, Bible dictionaries and other resources, and also has a “My Bible” feature which allows users to add and save notes to scriptures and to highlight, bookmark, and categorize verses with tags. Overall, this is a fine, simple to use site.
#4:StudyLight.org has an excellent selection of translations (though not always listed in alphabetical order), including many in foreign languages and with Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek and Latin texts of the Old and New Testaments. StudyLight claims to have more Bible commentaries, encyclopedias, dictionaries, lexicons and original language tools than any other site on the internet, and the selection is extensive. It also includes the complete text of many important background works such as those of Josephus and the writings of the Early Church Fathers. The site’s “interlinear” version is like that of the Bible Study Tools site with word-by-word translations, but is a little clearer. The site is often excellent for deeper study, but is limited by the inability to compare different translations side by side.
#3: Bible.com (the You Version site) claims over three thousand total versions in well over a thousand languages. We didn’t count to check, but the list has every translation we have ever seen and many more. Even seldom heard of translations such as Cook Islands Maori (in addition to New Zealand Maori!) are included, and some versions are available in audio format. You can save highlighted verses, tabs and notes. The site also offers a good number of reading plans and devotionals ranging from 7 days to a year. A mobile app is offered as well as a way to be involved in live discussions of sermons, Bible studies and questions (you can schedule your own discussion event). These are all good features, though the core aspect of the site – the translation interface – is limited in terms of search and commentary features and only allows side-by-side view for comparison of two versions at one time. The “Recently Used” tab is helpful, however, in allowing the user to go back and forth between versions. We did not find any way to work with the Hebrew or Greek texts on this site.
#2: BibleGatewayis a solid pick. It is not only the most visited Bible site in the world (with astronomical usage statistics), but it also has a great many useful features. The site has hundreds of available translations and while it may not have quite as many as Bible.com, it has more than most of us would ever need in all major languages (for example, seventeen Spanish translations alone). At this time it has limited study tools in the biblical languages available only with paid subscription. It also takes a little extra clicking and scrolling to get to commentaries and some other features compared to some other sites, and the advertising can be a little heavy sometimes. But despite these minor points BibleGateway has many useful features. It has audio capability and is available for desktop use and as a smartphone app, and registered users (free) can insert and save highlights, notes, tabs, etc., as they study. BibleGateway’s search capabilities are unparalleled, and its ability to pull up instances of a given word or phrase from any or all parts of the Bible – in as many translations as one wishes – is also tremendous for deeper comparative study.
#1: Bible Hubis our current top pick for fast and effective study. It has as a quick link bar at the top of the screen for selecting major translations, which some may find more convenient than repeatedly scrolling through drop down menus. The range of translations is relatively limited compared to some other sites, but a major plus of Bible Hub is its fine parallel Bible feature which compares any verse in over thirty major translations. It gives the option to instantly click up to the whole chapter when context is needed. A selection of entries from major commentaries is available for each verse, and like StudyLight.org, Bible Hub has true word-for word interlinear versions of the Hebrew and Greek texts as well as a number of other features, but we think one of its best characteristics is the time-saving ability to see multiple translations of the same verse – and commentaries on it – together on the same page without repetitive menu surfing. Overall, this is an excellent site and combining it with the search capabilities of BibleGateway and the enormous number of translations available on Bible.com when needed provides everything one could normally want for effective online Bible study.
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