JESUS CHRIST: GOD-MAN - Vital Christianity

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Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart point out in their book, How to Read the Bible for All Its
Worth:
"The most important ingredient one brings to that task [of interpretation] is
enlightened common sense. The test of good interpretation is that it makes good
sense of the text."80
The dictum: "The plain thing is the main thing, and the main thing is the plain thing"81
goes to the heart of the issue of interpretation. For it is the aim of interpretation to know the plain
meaning of the text. What is obvious and straightforward in the text is the most significant point
for the reader to grasp.
The Golden Rule of Interpretation
"When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense.
Therefore take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless
the facts of the immediate context, studied in the light of related passages and
fundamental truths indicate clearly otherwise."82
This rule of interpretation is called the "literal-historical," "literary-historical" or
"grammatical-historical" method. This rule is based on the premise that God, in revealing His
Word, did not intend that the reader be confused. Rather, like any other teacher or parent, He
uses the obvious meanings of words to convey His thoughts with the greatest clarity to His
children. Otherwise the meaning of Scripture would only be available to the expert (biblical
scholar).
Metaphysical cults, theosophical cults, divine science cults, pantheistic cults (New Age
Movement) all base their interpretation of Holy Scripture on the theory that the meaning of
Scripture is plural. The first meaning is the ordinary historical or grammatical one; and the
second meaning is the one the cultist brings to Scripture from the particular metaphysical system
or religious system he is pushing.
The emphasis on the unity of the sense of Scripture puts an end to this cultic abuse of
Scripture. Unless Scripture can be interpreted in a literal way there is no basis for control—
anyone can interpret it anyway one prefers. The literal method acknowledges the importance of
the basic meaning of words and follows regular rules of grammar.
Principles of Interpretation
1. THE PRIORITY OF THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGES. The Scriptures were written in
Hebrew (Old Testament), and Greek (New Testament). All Bible study must take into
consideration the difficulty in translation, and all translations are subservient to the original
languages.