I had the benefit of a Christian education as a child. And no, that does not mean that I was homeschooled by Christian parents during my formative years - I did about 3 months of homeschooling as a freshman in high school. And no, that does not mean that I went to Christian schools from grades 1-12.
I did go to Christian schools for a few years, but the majority of my schooling was done at the public schools. So what do I mean? I mean that I received a Christian education predominantly from my parents, and not even predominantly during school hours.
My parents gave me a Christian education by teaching me the Bible at home, while walking on the way, while driving down the road, and well, you get it - they taught me while doing life together. This was supplemented by teaching at church, augmented by Christian camp and conferences, and backed up by having godly grandparents. I am forever grateful for their efforts to teach me who Jesus Christ is and what He has done for me.
But that has nothing to do with OICA. OICA is simply an acronym that I did learn from a Bible teacher in high school that has stuck with me for many years, and it has to do with a simple formula for studying the Bible.
“O” stands for observation. Simply put, what does the verse or passage say? Observation answers the question, what do I see? What is emphasized or repeated? How are things in the passage related? How are they alike or unlike? Observing the passage must occur before we can figure out what the passage means, which brings us to “I”.
“I” stands for interpretation. What does the passage mean? When Phillip went to meet the Ethiopian on the road between Jerusalem and Gaza in Acts 8, he asked the Ethiopian if he understood what he was reading. And in verse 31, the Ethiopian replies “How can I, unless someone guides me?”
Scripture does not have much value to us if we do not understand the meaning. Or even worse, Scripture can be, and often is twisted to make it fit a desired end. Therefore, there is a whole study of theology devoted to the interpretation of Scripture - its called hermeneutics.
There is a proper science to interpreting Scripture, and without using that proper science to figure out what Scripture means, we can end up with all kinds of disastrous interpretations. Context, namely, seeing how a verse fits within the entire passage is one of the most important keys to good interpretation.
Another key is to examine how the passage compares to other, similar passages in the Bible. This brings us to our next letter of the acronym, “C”.
“C” stands for correlation. How does the passage fit with the rest of Scripture? How can other Scriptures help us understand this passage?
Much of the Old Testament is quoted and further explained in the New Testament. Since the Bible is God’s inspired Word, and since God does not contradict Himself, Scripture cannot contradict Scripture, and no proper interpretation of a passage can lead to a meaning that is not consistent with the meaning of another passage. And, once we have a good understanding of what the passage means, we can apply it to our lives, letter “A”.
“A” stands for application. What does the passage mean for my life? How should it affect how I live? What practical difference should it make to me today? And this really should be the end goal of studying the Bible. The Bible is given to us by God to reveal Himself to us and to reveal what He requires of us, and when we study it to this end, it can provide a lifetime of exciting and enjoyable study.
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