Deutero Q

When reading the Bible, it is important to allow the Holy Spirit to teach us, remembering that God is the Author behind the human authors of Scripture. We read in 2 Timothy 3:16 that all Scripture is God-breathed (theopneustos). And in Second Peter 1:20-21 we read, "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

It is also important to allow biblical texts to speak on their own terms, being careful not to impose our personal prejudices or theological biases. Coming to terms with the Bible as it is must be of primary importance in the area of interpretation. Furthermore, it is important to let Scripture interpret Scripture, particularly when dealing with difficult passages. We should interpret the difficult passages in light of the clearer passages and not vice versa, keeping in mind what the Bible says in its entirety. Like a mosaic, the Bible is best viewed and understood as a unified whole.

While keeping in mind that the Bible is the living Word of God that speaks to us today, we must also remember that books of the Bible were written to specific people. Understanding context is of great importance as we seek to discover what an author intended his original audience to understand.

For example, consider the oft-quoted verse, "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19). That verse is often cited as proof that God will meet needs in Christians' lives. And of course God certainly does meet our needs. But if we look at the surrounding context of the passage, we see that it has to do with Paul thanking the Philippians for their generosity. They gave generously to Paul in his time of need--and it is against this backdrop of giving that Paul said God would meet their needs. Perhaps we should examine our lives to see if we are a giving people the next time we quote that verse in a personal context!

Another example of quoting a verse out of context is the way Revelation 3:20 is often used evangelistically to call sinners to faith in Christ. Yet the words "Behold, I stand at the door and knock" were directed to the church at Laodicea. In this passage, Jesus was not calling unsaved sinners to faith, He was saying to the community of believers that He wanted them to let Him be part of their church life!

Once again, responsible interpretation of the Bible involves careful consideration of context. That is not to say that the Bible does not speak to our situations today--it very much does, for the Bible is living and active (Hebrews 4:12)--but that we must be careful about divorcing interpretation from context.

--Deutero Q

# posted by Deutero Q @ 6:47 AM