Bible Study Basics. Pt. 15

 Good evening to all of you. 

I apologize that it is taking me longer to get back up to speed with new lessons for you. Sometimes my energy is low and I have to lie down for a bit. Sometimes my focus is not as sharp as I need it to be. Other times, my physical therapy makes me very sore. 

These things cause some delay but rest assured I will keep at the task at hand, which is sharing God's wonderful Word with others. The speed will eventually come back.

What it means to interpret.

I looked up the words interpretation and interpret in a concordance to see if I could find out how God uses the words. There are basically two definitions that seem to apply throughout the Bible--explanation and translation.

The word interpret often means that we are to explain the truth of God’s word to someone at a level they can understand. The trick is that we must do this without changing what God has said in His word.

It also means to translate. If you would follow the word translate in the Bible, you would find that it means to explain something, without changing its real meaning. In most places where the Bible says “being interpreted” it almost always goes on to give the literal meaning of a person, place, name, or thing.

This tells us that Bible interpretation really means that we take God’s truth and explain it in the simplest terms that a person can understand. It means that we do not replace truth and doctrine with our opinions which might mislead people. 

Hermeneutics is the starting point of applying sound interpretation principles. 

What is this strange word? Well, if I spelled the English spelling of the Greek word translated "interpretation" you would readily see where the word comes from. This word is only used 2 times in the New Testament. 

The second text is from 1 Corinthians 14:26. It is helpful to remember why Paul wrote to this church. They had a lot of troubles. Spiritual gifts were being abused, people were following men rather than Christ, they had sexual sin in their midst and a host of other issues. We cannot forget that they did not hold a complete Bible in their hands like we do today. 

This church had a lot of strife, envy and confusion. This is the basic context where we find the word "interpretation" used. Paul is bringing this in front of them so that they can do things decently and in order. The confusion must be addressed.

This seems to be the primary function of this particular word. It is to skilfully teach and apply the word of God so that confusion is knocked down and the people begin to have understanding and true wisdom. 

1 Corinthians 14:26 How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying. 

1 Corinthians 12:1-11 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. 
Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. 
Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. 
Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 
And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 
And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. 
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. 
For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 
To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 
To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: 
But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

Interpretation has been at the center of some very bitter debates over the centuries. Today, however, Americans in particular are greatly blessed with the universal availability of the Bible.  We have access to a Bible and have no real excuse for not reading and cherishing it.

The matter of interpreting the Bible can still be a source of frustration for many of us. Some think that they lack the proper qualifications to interpret Scripture preferring to delegate that responsibility to someone more educated. Many others believe that interpreting the Bible is a matter of personal preference and is not that significant.

A careless attitude toward the Bible, God's Holy Scripture,  is an indicator of what's going on in this person's heart.  

If you attempt to share God's truth with someone, the following expression is an all too familiar refrain. From that we hear "It's all in how you interpret the Bible - that’s just your interpretation of it." 

The proper interpretation of a word or passage in the Bible is called "exegesis".  The word means "a scholarly explanation or interpretation of the Bible or of a passage in the Bible."   

Our Pastors are well equipped for sound exegesis because of their specialized training and the  reference materials that they tend to accumulate. A sincere student of the Word of God can also properly interpret the Bible. This is a reason why God gave to us His Spirit as a Teacher of the Scriptures.

Spirit's of the prophets are subject to one another. There must be conformity to previously established truth. 

The reference text is below.

There are certain rules of interpretation which were laid down by the Lord in His Word, however a failure to recognize them while interpreting scripture can lead to erroneous interpretations. 

The Apostle Paul explains the first rule of interpretation.  

" For the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets". 1 Corinthians 14 : 32 

This statement basically says that if someone prophesies in the church at Corinth, what they say must be supported by all other prophecy including the Old Testament prophets. 

AVOID PRIVATE INTERPRETATIONS

 A second rule governing interpretation of the Bible is that no "private interpretations" are allowed.  Many years ago a respected Sunday School teacher of my acquaintance, who was also ordained, invented a startling new interpretation of 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4.

            

2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand."    

"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."    

Most Christians generally believe that the next event in the sequence of prophecy will be the "rapture" which will conclude the age of the church. The rapture is when Jesus returns to the atmospheric heaven and the dead in Christ rise first, followed by living believers who are caught up in the air to meet the Lord.

The seven year tribulation period on earth will begin shortly after the rapture has occurred, and God will once more call the nation of Israel. The context of Paul's writing clearly has the time of Jacob's trouble in view, which is commonly referred to by the prophets as that great, terrible Day of the Lord.

The teacher I referred to claimed that 2 Thes 2:3 represented the rapture of the believer.  His reasoning was that as the rapture happens and we look at the earth while being caught up, the earth will appear to be falling away beneath our feet as we rise. He taught this view to several people and persuaded many that it was a correct interpretation. 

When he had finished explaining it to me, he proudly exclaimed that "we were the only ones who got that part of the Bible right." I said that certainly is novel, but the word translated "falling away" is a word that refers to apostasy, or falling away from sound doctrine. It cannot mean what he was teaching it to mean. He was not happy after I shared that with him. 

I relate this not to belittle that gentleman, but rather, to show how an error in judgment can lead to a false interpretation. This is one of the instances where the Strong's Concordance or a good Greek Lexicon can be very helpful. 

The phrase "falling away" is composed of one Greek word, which is "apostazia".  This particular word has been transliterated into our own language. To transliterate a word means to take the Greek letters and give them the exact English equivalent letters. Many words have become a part of our vocabulary in this manner.

The transliterated form of this Greek word forms our English word "apostasy".  An apostasy is the deliberate rejection of known truth, in this case, Biblical revelation. It represents a defection from the faith or an abandoning of what one previously held to be true. 

In the Bible, the act of apostasy is always condemned by God, because His People are inevitably led astray by following those who are promoting the defection. As with any rejection of Divine truth, there are consequences which will be measured out.

The context of the verses in 2 Thessalonians clearly indicates that the Apostle is addressing the distinctive truth of the great Day of the Lord's wrath and judgment. The falling away of which he writes refers to the global religion which will one day be under the control of the Anti-Christ. 

Since the meaning of the word "apostazia" in the Greek is identical with its English counterpart, any interpretation must acknowledge that there will be an eruption of false doctrine which will overthrow the faith of many professing believers. 

Paul called this the time of the "doctrines of devils" where many will follow the lies of "seducing spirits". One can compare this passage with 1 Thessalonians 4: 13 - 17, where the Apostle speaks of the event known as the rapture. It is obvious that he is not referring to the same event as in 2 Thessalonians.

Private interpretations often seem plausible enough at first but we must always compare scripture with scripture before leaping to conclusions. A private interpretation usually surfaces when someone is trying to understand a difficult part of the Bible. 

Rather than trying to force an unnatural interpretation upon a word or passage we sometimes will have to admit that we simply don't know what it means. Also, there are different lessons God teaches us at different points in life and His word speaks to us more impactfully during these times. 

Thus, we can summarize a literal view of the Bible as follows.

Accept that the text of scripture is God’s inspired, preserved word for mankind.

Allow the text to speak for itself, free from private or forced interpretations.  

      

The text should be considered within its context within a chapter, and within the context of the book it was recorded in. Questions should be asked such as: “What is the author trying to say, and to whom is he speaking?”  Then, the text must be considered in light of what the entire scope of scripture states.

Acknowledge the authority of the Bible in all subject matter that it touches upon, whether historical, moral or spiritual in nature.

The believer in Christ should be a “Biblicist” which is defined as Bible student who interprets the Bible literally. 

Points to Ponder....

• The beginning of really understanding, interpreting and applying the word of God is accepting that God inspired and preserved His Word.

• Faith means taking God at His word. This means acknowledging the authority of His Word over all areas of our lives. 

• We must allow the text of scripture to speak freely without any private or forced interpretations. 

• We must always take into account the context of  the scripture we are reading.

• We should try to stop in each text we study and try to see what God is doing and note how He expresses His heart on the subject matter. 

I have one more Bible study tool I would like to leave with you in our next post. It is one that I frequently use and that can bring good understanding as we consider a text of scripture. 

Bob