1 HOW TO INTERPRET THE BIBLE Principles of ... - Vital Christianity

1HOW TO INTERPRET THE BIBLEPrinciples of InterpretationObviously the Bible alone does not interpret itself. Anyone who has talked with aJehovah's Witness or Mormon has found how true this is! Therefore what guides us in ourinterpretation?Our theology (our thoughts and speech about God) is supposed to be based uponprinciples of biblical interpretation (hermeneutics) to provide basic guidelines and rules for"correctly handling the word of truth" (2 Ti 2:15). Too often the reverse is true. Cultists (over4,000 in the U.S.) in particular read their deviant theologies into the biblical text rather thanallowing the text to speak for itself. The history of interpretation helps us in spotting deviantteachings. As the old maxim states: there are no new heresies, only old ones in new wrappers.Difficult TextsSome people argue that the reason they do not read and study the Bible is because it is toodifficult to understand. They have a point. Peter referred to some of Paul's teaching as "hard tounderstand" (2 Pe 3:16).Yet he pointed out that the primary problem in misunderstanding waslocated in the ignorance and unstable character of the people who read Paul's teachings: "ignorantand unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction" (2 Pe 3:16).While it is true that certain parts of the Bible are difficult, most parts are quite simple. Ifyou can read the newspaper, you can read the Bible. In fact, there are probably more difficultwords and concepts expressed on the front pages of the newspaper than on most pages of theBible.General ApproachIt is vital that the Scriptures are interpreted according to their purpose and context inreverent obedience to the God who speaks through them with power. The first assumption is thatthe Scriptures were written for, and in particular historical situations, they must be "interpretedaccording to their purpose and context." The second assumption is that since the Scriptures areGod's Word to us, they communicate God's thoughts and feelings with power and thus are to beinterpreted in "reverent obedience."

2The Golden Rule of InterpretationGordon Fee and Douglas Stuart point out in their book, How to Read the Bible for All ItsWorth:"The most important ingredient one brings to that task [of interpretation] is enlightenedcommon sense. The test of good interpretation is that it makes good sense of the text." 1(Emphasis added)The dictum: "The plain thing is the main thing, and the main thing is the plain thing" goes tothe heart of the issue of interpretation. For it is the aim of interpretation to know the plain meaning ofthe text. What is obvious and straightforward in the text is the most significant point for the reader tograsp. Therefore The Golden Rule of Interpretation is"When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense. Thereforetake every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the facts of theimmediate context, studied in the light of related passages and fundamental truthsindicate clearly otherwise." 2This 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 HisWord, did not intend that the reader be confused. Rather, like any other teacher or parent, Heuses the obvious meanings of words to convey His thoughts with the greatest clarity to Hischildren. Otherwise the meaning of Scripture would only be available to the expert (biblicalscholar).Metaphysical cults, theosophical cults, divine science cults, pantheistic cults (New AgeMovement) all base their interpretation of Holy Scripture on the theory that the meaning ofScripture is plural. The first meaning is the ordinary historical or grammatical one; and the secondmeaning is the one the cultist brings to Scripture from the particular metaphysical system orreligious system which he is pushing.The emphasis on the unity of the sense of Scripture puts an end to this cultic abuse ofScripture. Unless Scripture can be interpreted in a literal way there is no basis for control--anyonecan interpret it anyway one prefers. The literal method acknowledges the importance of the basicmeaning of words and follows regular rules of grammar.

3A Coherent and Unified MessageIf the argument regarding canonicity and divine inspiration of the 66 books constitutingthe Bible is valid, a necessary corollary is that the Bible sets forth a coherent or unified message.God's spokesmen, who came later in history, not only provided new material, but they reemphasizedfacets of earlier revelations as part of the whole counsel of God.Paul, as one of the last revelatory spokesmen, regards anyone who teaches a messagecontrary to what has already been given, as worthy of hell (eternal damnation—Gal 1:8f.). Paulalso considered the teaching which he gave as being so in line with the message of the earlierspokesmen that he used quotations from these earlier sources of revelation to affirm his point (Ro3:9) that all the people of the earth are under sin (Ro 3:10-18).Later revelatory spokesmen also viewed their interpretation of contemporary revelatoryevents to reflect so accurately God's moving of redemptive history toward its final climax, thatthey could view an event, whose occurrence and meaning they reported, to be a partial ortypological fulfillment of prophecy uttered by an earlier revelatory spokesman (e.g. Ac 2:16-21;Joel 2:28-32; Mt 3:1-5).In establishing the unity of the Bible, each literary unit of the Bible must be allowed tocontribute its teaching to every other literary unit.Thus it is only as we handle Scripture through the literary-historical method ofinterpretation that we come to a knowledge of divine revelation in the same way we come toknowledge about everything else in our experience, namely, by a process of trying out variouspossibilities until coherency or unity is attained.We must grapple with difficult passages of Scripture until we find it fitting in with the restof Scripture. If we are unable to do so, we must humbly acknowledge our limited understandingand allow for mystery as we recognize, as Paul did, that "we only see but a poor reflection as in amirror . . . [that we] know in part" (1 Co 13:12). Instead of pressing Scripture to fit our ownpreconceived ideas or opinions, there are times when we must humbly bow before Him whoseWord is much greater than our understanding of it. We dare not come to conclusions thatcontradict Scripture since God, who inspired Scripture, does not contradict Himself. We mustallow Scripture to interpret Scripture!

4The Role of the Holy Spirit as InterpreterWhat, if any place, does the Holy Spirit play in this issue of interpretation? Since it is theSpirit of God who gave Scripture, He speaks in and through it. This is indispensable to soundunderstanding. The Spirit does not replace the task of interpretation. After all, He speaks throughthe text of Scripture. Knowledge of the text and its natural sense is thus demanded. Yet it ispossible to have this and still miss understanding in the deeper sense. This is where the help andguidance of the Spirit are needed.The Spirit is God's Spirit bearing witness to God's word and work in Jesus Christ. Hetakes the word of Scripture and makes it clear to the heart, the mind and the will—the wholeman--in its total reach and dimension. God is His own interpreter, and He will make it plain.Humble ResponseA certain condition, therefore, is necessary in order to have an authentic, deep and fruitfulexperience with the Word of God. The condition is our humble yielding to the enlightening of theHoly Spirit. The Bible protects itself from presumption and scholarly unspirituality as its deepertruths are luminous only to the illuminated (1 Co 2:14-15), those intent to reverently obey.The same Spirit who inspired its writers now waits to illumine its readers. This is achallenge to study it prayerfully in a spirit of teachableness which leads to Spirit-given enlightenmentwhen we do (Jn 14:26; Eph 1:18).We all need illumination from the Holy Spirit. Even the best-intentioned among us can slipeasily into a prideful, self-sufficient attitude in our learning the Bible which results in informationand knowledge without wisdom and insight.Since we as human beings "see through a glass darkly" (or "see but a poor reflection"—1 Co 13:12 NIV) humility is in order. It is to be aware of human limitations in interpreting theBible. This means that we realize that the certainty with which we propose, debate, and evenargue for our own interpretations, must be tempered with gentleness since our own interpretationsare seen thorough our own sinful human nature. Sin distorts everything, including ourunderstanding of God's pristine revelation.Does this mean that we must lack conviction in our understanding of Scripture? No, but itmeans that while the church corporate must be bold about its faithful adherence to the Word ofGod, we as individual interpreters must understand the provisional nature of our own views.Unless our views square with the understanding of historic Christianity, we must hold themtentatively.

5To achieve balance in our apprehension and application of God's Word it is vital to see themarriage between the theoretical and the practical. Devotional reading and academic studytogether form the heart, mind and will to hear and obey God's Word to us. Exegetical skill andspiritual discipline together provide the contexts out of which we are to interpret the Word. It isonly as we diligently and prayerfully read and study and reverently obey the Bible that we grow inour knowledge and understanding of who God is and what His purpose and will is for our lives.NOTES1Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart, How To Read The Bible For All Its Worth (GrandRapids: Zondervan, 1993), 33.2Tim LaHaye, How To Study The Bible For Yourself (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Pub.,1976), 122.