In this first session of a new Sunday School series, we begin exploring how the Early Church read the Scriptures, and why recovering that way of reading might deepen our own relationship with God. The conversation grows out of questions submitted through Ask the Church: How do we read the Bible well? What do we do when we feel uncertain about or intimidated by certain passages of Scripture?
We begin with several foundational convictions: that practice matters more than theory, that Scripture is best read within the life of the Church rather than in isolation, and that our ultimate aim in reading is not mastery of a subject, but rather communion with the living God. From there, we introduce the Early Church’s fourfold approach to interpretation—often described through the image of a four-horse chariot (the quadriga): the historical, the Christological, the moral, and the eschatological. Together, these four “horses” work together to carry the reader toward a fuller vision of Christ.
This session lays the groundwork by naming and describing these four modes of reading. In the weeks ahead, we will practice using them together, trusting that Scripture, read prayerfully and in the company of the Church, draws us more deeply into the life of God.