Jarrett Stevens - The Person Formerly Known As You

Praise for
four small words

I've been waiting for this book for a long time. Jarrett Stevens does more with four words than most people are able to accomplish with an entire book. My four words are simple, "Buy this book today!"

JON ACUFF, New York Times Bestselling Author of Do Over: Rescue Monday, Reinvent Your Work, and Never Get Stuck

Jarret is both a longtime friend and terrific communicator. Blessed is the reader who can sit at his feet.

JOHN ORTBERG, Senior Pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in California and Author of All the Places to Go

Years ago, Jarrett and I worked together, which meant I was lucky enough to hear him teach hundreds of times. His teaching made complicated things simple, and his love for Gods word was contagious. Im so happy to report that this book captures the very best of his teachingthat same ability to distill easily tangled concepts into clear and meaningful insights, and that spirit of warmth and invitation.

SHAUNA NIEQUIST, Author of Bread & Wine; Bittersweet; and Cold Tangerines

There are so many different tools and thoughts on how to understand Scripture better. However, the combination of Jarretts storytelling and knowledge on how to study the Bible is such a refreshing take on a crucial skill. Everyone should read this important work.

TYLER REAGIN, Executive Director of Catalyst, A Community of Change Makers

ZONDERVAN

Four Small Words

Copyright 2015 by Jarrett Stevens

ePub Edition November 2015: ISBN 978-0-310-56346-4

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Stevens, Jarrett.

Four small words : a simple way to understand the Bible / Jarrett Stevens.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-310-27115-4 (pbk.) ISBN 978-0-310-56346-4 (ebook) ISBN 978-0-310-06614-9 (mobile app)

1. Bible Hermeneutics. 2. Bible Criticism, interpretation, etc. 3. Bible Reading. I. Title.

BS476.S765 2015

220.6 dc23

2015025681

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Other Bible versions quoted in this book are listed on , which hereby becomes part of this copyright page.

Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Cover design: Faceout Studio

Interior design: Kait Lamphere

First printing October 2015

I dedicate this book to our amazing children, Elijah and Gigi.

The two of you are our greatest source of joy and our
greatest reminder of Gods goodness and love.

Your mom and I love how the two of you
love God and love his story.

Thank you for cheering your daddy on to write this book.

Im so proud to be your daddy.

I love you heart and soul.

And I dedicate this book to Soul City Church.

You are my people.

Your stories fill the pages of this book and
are forever a part of my story.

Thank you for giving me so many reasons to write.

Its unbelievable to consider all that God has done,
all that he is doing, and all that is to come.

Only God!

contents

Scripture quotations marked TNIV are taken from The Holy Bible, Todays New International Version. TNIV. Copyright 2001, 2005 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Thank you to my wife, Jeanne, for your belief, support, encouragement, and patience as God worked this book out in me. You are my partner in every sense of the word. I love you heart and soul.

Thank you to my editor, Carolyn McCready, for holding me to the vision of this book and not letting me settle for anything less. Thank you for pushing me, for being patient with me, and for partnering with me in this endeavor.

Deepest gratitude to Elizabeth Marshall for helping me find this book in the midst of many piles of pages. You brought clarity and direction and helped me to befriend the delete button. I simply could not have done this without you.

Id like to thank Londa Alderink and her team at Zondervan for their belief in this book and their desire to get it into as many hands as possible. Your creativity and commitment to peoples spiritual growth are inspiring.

And thanks as well to Jim Ruark for making sure that every i was dotted and every t was crossed. Thank you for all your work to make sure that my voice and the message of this book came through with care and clarity.

Thank you to the Elders of Soul City Church who empower, encourage, and expect me to use my God-given gifts to their fullest and truest potential. Thank you for how you loved, cared, and carried me through this book.

And lastly, I want to thank my first grade Sunday school teacher, Mrs. Dopart. Thank you for giving me my very first Bible. You planted a seed in me that has borne fruit throughout every season of my life.

One Big Idea. Four Small Words.

Lets be honest: The Bible is not an easy book to read. Its one complete work broken into two distinct parts, containing 66 different books written by 40 unique writers over the period of 1,600 years! It was written in several different styles: biographical accounts, historical accounts, poetry, wisdom writings, prophecy, personal letters, and letters to churches. It was originally written in three different languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. And it has been translated into more languages than any other book in human history.

This is a book that has been printed roughly six billion times (and that is before it became an app!). It is a book that wars have been waged over, and a book used to bring peace. A book read at the inauguration of presidents and the coronation of kings, and a book read at the execution of death-row inmates. It is a book that has been the source text for much of humanity for the last 3,500 years. It is a book so complex that people have dedicated their lifes work to studying it, and yet so simple that even a child can understand it.

As if all of its unique features werent enough to contribute to its complexity, the content itself can at times be... well... quite complex. Outside of the eyewitness accounts of those involved in the events of the Bible and the oral history that echoed after them, the Bible is one of the primary ways that God conveys His message to the world. Some verses are so deeply layered with transformational truth that some 2,000 years later they are still a mystery yet (if ever) to be fully understood. There are books and chapters and verses and even single words that are to this day held up like a precious gem, each turn revealing a fresh reflection on God and us. This is no ordinary book.