Bible Basics

“Scripture is composed of ‘ordinary’ language and ‘ordinary’ literature.”

- Vanhoozer

Presuppositions for correct interpretation (about the nature of the Bible):

·      Divinely inspired revelation

·      Authoritative and true

·      A spiritual document

·      Characterized by both unity and diversity

·      An understandable document

·      Forms the canon of Holy Scripture

The heart of biblical study:

1. In humility, seeks to understand what God has/is communicating to His people about the world, themselves, and Him.

2. In understanding, seeks to wisely apply God’s Word to our lives in practical and spiritual ways, which enables humanity to flourish according to God’s design.

3. In living, seeks to encounter the risen Christ in all things and through His Word find life but knowing that life is not found in simply following a pattern or set of instructions.

Understanding the Bible

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in Us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. I have given them the glory that You gave Me, that they may be one as We are one – I in them and You in Me – so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me.”

- John 17:20-23

Interpretation involves weighing all the evidence pertaining to the text’s most probable meaning and the interpreter’s personal biases. Personal biases include things like:

·      Prejudice and excessive narrowness of interests or views

·      Sin and depravity

·      Social, sexual, racial, political, economic, and religious factors

How do we then interpret considering personal biases:

·      Read and listen to others.

·      Assess whether the interpretation works in real life and in the praxis of the church.

·      Consult with the community of believers: near and far.

·      Agree to disagree when committed, faithful interpreters come to different conclusions.

Fruits of interpretation:

·      To gain information and understanding

·      To motivate and enrich worship

·      To create liturgy

·      To formulate theology

·      To preach

·      To teach

·      To provide pastoral care

·      To promote spiritual formation in the Christian life

·      To enjoy its beauty as literature

Interpretive Guardrails:

·      Context is KING.

·      A verse cannot mean what it never originally meant.

·      Pray the Holy Spirit helps you understand.

·      Pulling a verse out of context can create a dangerous misunderstanding and misapplication that God did not intend.

·      The reader is to be shaped by God’s Word; they are not to shape, alter, or change the Word.

Inductive Bible Study is the predominant methodology woven into this discipleship curriculum. There are other methods of studying the Bible, but all that is required to achieve good interpretation is a solid understanding of what it means to read God’s Word inductively. This simply means that we can draw general conclusions from reasonable observations. Typically, we do this naturally with the Bible, but we can sharpen these skills through an intentional understanding of some basic principles.

These notes will also be helpful in answering some of the fundamental questions we must ask of the reading. For example, we should always ask:

1. What is the point of this verse/passage?

2. What is the author saying?

3. What does he intend for the audience to understand?

4. How did the audience hear this passage?

Historical Context involves:

·      When was the book written?

·      What was the occasion for the letter?

·      Is there a stated purpose of the book (Luke 1:3-4, John 20:31)?

·      What is the situation of life for the author and audience? What is going on in the culture, city, or church that may be influencing the nature, tone, and content of the book?

Literary Context involves:

·      The numbering of Chapters and verses was placed in the text years after the Bible was formed.

·      Each passage/verse must derive its intended meaning from what is written before and after it.

·      Words have meaning in phrases, phrases in sentences, sentences in paragraphs, paragraphs in Chapters, Chapters in Books and so on. The small must be understood in light of the larger wholes.

·      Genres are forms and styles of writing. We use genres every day to understand the messages being transmitted to us through news, comics, novels, manuals, poems, etc. Each has its own way and rules of communicating the author’s intent. Understanding genres will help us interpret the Bible's various literary styles.

Genres

Historical Narrative (e.g. Genesis – Esther)

Historical narratives are primarily descriptive rather than prescriptive.

·      God is the hero of every story.

·      The Old Testament can be read in three layers:

1.     God and His redemptive plan

2.     The status of God’s people

3.     The events, individuals, and details of the narrative

·      Often, the Old Testament people of God are examples of what not to do (1 Corinthians 10:1-11).

·      OT narratives are not full of hidden spiritual gems.

·      Narratives are not written to answer all our theological questions.

·      Verses/passages take place within a story and occasion. Verses/passages taught without the whole story in mind will often be taken out of context.

The Law (e.g., portions of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy)

1.     Civic Laws – these laws, of which there are over 600, guided the people of God in areas of dress, action, and food in specific civic situations. These laws made Israel unique and set apart for God which invited Israel’s neighbors to come and see how good God is. Many civic laws are no longer applied to God’s people.

2.     Cultic Laws – these laws dictated how God’s people was to approach Him (priesthood, sacrificial systems, the religious calendar, and the ceremonies of the Tabernacle). These laws not only dictated actions and ceremonies but pointed to the need and nature of the coming Messiah.

3.     Moral Laws – these laws are based on God’s holy nature. The 10 Commandments are expanded and internalized by Jesus’ teaching. Jesus moves us from conformity to radical internal transformation (Matthew 5:17-18; Galatians 3:23-25; Deuteronomy 6:4-6; Mark 12:30-31).

*Note: Believers approach Jesus directly, not through the tabernacle or temple. It is through Jesus, not a sacrificial system, that we are forgiven and saved. This is because Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the Law. He ushers in the New Covenant through which are both “come and see” people and “go and tell” people living every day as missionaries in our families, neighborhoods, places of work, and circles of influence.

Poetry and Wisdom (e.g., Job, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Proverbs)

·      The Psalms are unique because they are spoken to God and yet still inspired by God.

·      They guide us in worship. They teach us how to interact with God intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually.

·      They show us how to relate to God honestly and openly.

·      They help us reflect and meditate on God.

·      As poetry, the Psalms speak to the whole human experience in laments, thanksgiving, praise, sorrow, celebration, wisdom, and trust.

1.     Poetry uses figurative language, simile, and metaphor.

2.     Poetry often has an intentional poetic structure.

3.     The theme of a Psalm may be understood through repetition, structure, or occasion.

·      Job is God-breathed, but contextually, it is important to realize that the words of Job’s friends are not necessarily correct or helpful.

·      Job shows that the “retribution principle” of ancient wisdom does not apply as was commonly thought.

·      Job also demonstrates how the spiritual world around us can impact our daily lives.

·      Proverbs are holy probabilities, strong likelihoods, and wise ways to live. They are not promises or legal guarantees from God.

·      Proverbs function as practical advice and are worded to be memorable more than technically precise.

·      It helps to read them as collections that are often topically arranged to provide different angles and perspectives.

·      They are intensely practical and not necessarily theological. Something like poetic guidelines for wise/good behavior.

Prophecy (e.g., Isaiah – Malachi)

·      There are 5 major prophets and 12 minor prophets (so called due to the amount of work produced, not prestige).

·      Within the prophets are poetry, historical narrative, and apocalyptic literary styles. Prophecy is also found in other books of the Bible (i.e., Matthew 24).

·      Prophets lived in a particular moment in time, and most of their words spoke to the people in that moment.

·      It is important to know at what point in history the prophet is speaking because the people of God went through transitions as a nation/kingdom.’

·      Prophets primarily acted as “covenant truth tellers” rather than future foretellers.”

·      Prophets spoke from God to humanity (and to nations) regarding blessings and curses based on their keeping or forsaking of their covenant with God.

·      Often, the foretelling of prophets applied to the near future and does not represent an eternal principle or promise.

·      The prophets show us the difficulty and impossibility of living faithfully under the Law. They point to our great need for a Messiah who gives God’s Holy Spirit.

·      If there is a genre that could use outside commentaries and deeper study, Prophecy is the one.

The Gospels and Acts (Matthew – John and Acts)

·      The Gospels are all about the life, ministry, actions, words, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. Each gospel presents the same story told from a different perspective with a specific audience in mind:

1.     Matthew – to Jewish readers

2.     Mark – quickly summarizing and then focusing on the last week of Jesus’ life

3.     Luke – to give an orderly account for Theophilus

4.     John – to inspire faith in the early Christian communities (and the reader)

·      Different perspectives enable a more complete picture to emerge and should not be interpreted as contradictions.

·      Jesus teaches through various communication styles: narrative, parable, hyperbole, similes, metaphors, poetry, questions, irony, and even prophecy.

·      Acts is primarily a historical narrative, but also points to the activity of the Holy Spirit in the life and expansion of the Church.

·      Acts is not a manual, but it does highlight principles we can observe in the Epistles.

·      Not all the details of every passage/story are given because they are selective and serve the purposes of the overall themes.

The Epistles (e.g. Romans – Jude)

·      Each author is writing a particular audience dealing with a specific set of circumstances.

·      Understanding the purpose of the author is key to rightly understanding the text.

·      Often, the purpose can be detected by following the author's train of thought and observing keywords and repeated themes, phrases, and connecting words (i.e., therefore, but, in order that, that, because, so, so that, when, by, as, then, although).

Apocalyptic Literature (e.g., Revelation)

·      Revelation is part epistle, prophecy, and apocalypse (unveiling).

·      Apocalyptic literature is presented in the form of visions and dreams. Its language is often symbolic and cryptic, with layered meaning and not always chronological.

·      Allegory is often designed to be seen as a whole; details are not designed to be overly analyzed or to authoritatively stand on their own.

·      Revelation is reflective of Old Testament prophetic influence and was popular in Jesus’ day.

·      Prophetic writing is often repetitive in nature. Isaiah and Hosea teach the same things in a circular fashion seven times. The same pattern can be observed in Revelation.

·      Claiming certainty of meaning and interpretation of apocalyptic literature can be fraught with danger. The reader must take care not to force things into a timeline or to make strong statements of certainty about many details in the book.

·      If one is not encouraged by the content and pages of Revelation, then they are not reading it and understanding it correctly (Revelation 1:3).

Applying God’s Word

The application should follow a thoughtful interpretation of the Word.

·      The closer the circumstances are between what we read and our current situation, the easier it will be to apply the passage (i.e., strong prohibitions against sexual immorality and drunkenness).

·      There are many potential applications to a singular interpretation of a specific verse/passage.

·      We can change our thoughts, perceptions, attitudes, emotions, actions, words, relationships… the Bible speaks to all of these, and often passages will impact multiple areas of our lives (see Matthew 5-7)

·      Discussing God’s Word is for everyone! Deuteronomy 6:5-9 reminds us that talking about God’s Word is a normal part of our family life.

·      Colossians 3:16, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, and Hebrews 3:13 remind us that encouragement from Scripture is a normal part of our fellowship. It is a source of encouragement and accountability.

·      Everyone is a leader and a learner in our process of growing together in Christ. Everyone has something to contribute and something to learn.

·      Community discussions about understanding and applying God’s Word are an infinitely replicable model in every stage of life, region of the world, and/or culture.

Here are some helpful questions to ask when applying the passage/verse:

1.     What do I learn about the Lord? How can I strive to be more like Him?

2.     What do I learn about myself? What about other people?

3.     What is the sin or struggle that the authors and audience are dealing with?

4.     How do I struggle with the sin or situation being discussed? Have I repented for this sin?

5.     How can I apply the Bible’s principles to my struggle, sin, or situation?

6.     How should this passage/verse impact my thoughts, emotions, relationships, perspectives, attitudes, and behaviors?