PRINCIPLES FOR INTERPRETING SCRIPTURE

 

 

We interpret everything according to its context. For example, “Barbara cried when she saw him” can be interpreted in many ways depending on the context.

1.     It was a cry of relief when she found that her husband hadn’t died in the plane crash.

2.     It was a cry of despair when she heard that he did die.

3.     It was a cry of joy to hear that he did die. Now she could marry Bob.

 

Without the context to pin it down, the possible interpretations are endless. To give us a fullness of understanding, we would have to understand the context of her entire marriage.

Interpreting any verse of Scripture, requires an understanding of the immediate context but also an understanding of the Bible and its purpose and even its theology.

Instead, you might think that since each book has its own author, it also has its own distinctive theology, which might conflict with the other books of the Bible. For example, many scholars contrast the theology of Paul against that of James. However, this will lead to errant interpretations. Why? Because the Bible consistently claims that it has One supreme Author:

·       2 Timothy 3:16–17 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

We must also regard the Scriptures as Jesus had. Although whatever He said was Scripture, He consistently points our attention back to the Word:

·       Matthew 4:4 But [Jesus] answered [Satan], “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

·       Luke 24:45–46 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead.”

The human writers of the Scriptures didn’t always understand what they were writing:

·       1 Peter 1:10–12 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

·       2 Peter 1:20–21 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, we should not merely try to understand the Scriptures from the perspective and motivations of its human authors, since they were writing as led by the Holy Spirit. Consequently, since the Bible has One supreme Author, these principles of interpretation should prevail:

·       The Bible should be interpreted as one unified work, as the Word of God.

·       We should expect that all the apparent contradictions can be reconciled, even when we fail to reconcile of them. It is like interpreting a novel of a single author. When we encounter sentences which we cannot harmonize, we assume that the author had a purpose for the seemingly irreconcilable statements and read on in hope of reconciling them.

·       We allow Scripture to interpret Scripture. Because it is one consistent revelation from its omniscient Author, there shouldn’t be any contradictions. Nor should we expect it to contradict God’s creation, like science, a secondary expression of God and His Word. Consequently, since God does not contradict Himself, we believe that the findings of science should coincide with the Bible. When they don’t, we must ask whether we are failing to understand either the Bible or the findings of science.

Therefore, we should consider the overall theology of the Bible to understand any single verse. For example, from this verse, some have charged that Jesus teaches “hate”:

·       Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”

However, this false charge can be easily dismissed once we regard the parallel verse in Matthew:

·       Matthew 10:37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

Here is a verse that is more difficult to reconcile with the rest of the Scriptures:

·       Colossians 1:24–25 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known.

However, elsewhere we read that there is nothing “lacking in Christ’s afflictions,” which are adequate to cover all our sins! Nevertheless, we can reconcile these verses with the rest of the Scriptures once we notice that Paul’s sufferings did not add to anything lacking in the Cross but were necessary to enable his own ministry!

 

THE INTERPRETER

According to Jesus, Scripture can only be interpreted accurately with the help of the Triune God:

·       John 6:45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—

Therefore, our Lord must open our minds:

·       Luke 24:45 Then he [Jesus] opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

Otherwise, our minds remain hardened in rebellion:

·       1 Corinthians 2:13–16 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

Consequently, the least educated believer has more Scriptural wisdom than the most educated rebels:

·       Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

·       2 Corinthians 3:14–18 But [Israel’s] minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Nevertheless, God also provides pastors, teachers, and the family of God to guide and correct us (Ephesians 4:11-15).