HERMENEUTICS WK 2

INTRODUCTORY ARTICLE

• interpres “go-between, agent, interpreter”

• interpretari “expound, explain, interpret”

• hermeneuo “to explain, interpret, speak plainly, to be a spokesman for”

Introductory article• You are the agent that explains what

the Bible text means!

Bridge THE GAPS• History• Culture• Grammar/

Literature

THE HISTORICAL GAP

• “You have to pay attention to the cultural and historical context—to the factors that led to the writing of the passage, the influences they had on the text, and what happened as a result of the message.”

-Hendricks, Howard

The Historical gap• Example: Psalm 24• What in the world is this talking

about?

THE HISTORICAL GAP• “Life up your heads, O gates!

And be lifted up, O ancient doors,that the King of glory may come in,Who is this King of glory?The Lord, strong and mighty,the Lord, mighty in battle!”

THE CULTURAL GAP• Example:

Jesus Washes the Disciple’s Feet (John 13:1-20)

The grammatical/literary gap

• Understanding the language, grammar, and literature is key to understanding the text.

• Example (Language): Genesis 1:1

• Example (Grammar): Hebrews 12:1-2

• Example (Literature): Psalm 18:1-2

THE FIRST GOAL OF BIBLE STUDY

• The first goal of studying the Bible is to determine the divinely inspired message as it was intended to be understood by the original audience who received it.

• We do not make the truth; the Bible is the truth and we are simply seeking to understand it.

• “The aim of good interpretation is not uniqueness; one is not trying to discover what no one else has ever seen before.” –Gordon Fee

The Second goal of Bible study

• The second goal of studying the Bible is to apply the truths and principles to the Christian’s life.

• John 13:17

• James 2:22-25

• Knowledge without transformation is useless.

WARNING!• Interpretation should always precede

application.

• Incorrect interpretation leads to incorrect application.

• Example: Matthew 7:1“Judge not, that you be not judged.”

The Divine Human Combo

• Spirit – Hard Work = Subjectivism/Mysticism

• Hard Work – Spirit = Man’s Wisdom

• Spirit + Hard Work = Understanding!

TAKING VERSEs OUT OF CONTEXT

• POINT: Context determines meaning of verses

• Example: Matthew 18:20

“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

TAKING VERSEs OUT OF CONTEXT

• Philippians 4:13“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

When impossible situations occur, I can rely on Christ’s strength and He will see me through.

IN OR OUT OF CONTEXT?

TAKING VERSEs OUT OF CONTEXT

• 1 Corinthians 13:11“When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.”

Describes our present understanding of spiritual things compared to our future understanding in heaven.

IN OR OUT OF CONTEXT?

TAKING VERSEs OUT OF CONTEXT

• Luke 7:47“Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many,

are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

Those who have sinned more in their life end up loving Jesus more than those who have sinned less.

IN OR OUT OF CONTEXT?

TAKING words OUT OF CONTEXT

• POINT: Context determines meaning of words.

• Example: Colossians 1:15“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”

TAKING words OUT OF CONTEXT

• John 12:32“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

If we “life up” Christ and ascribe glory to Him, the power of Christ is released to transform the hearts of those listening and they are drawn to Him.

IN OR OUT OF CONTEXT?

TAKING WORDS OUT OF CONTEXT

• Philippians 3:13“Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.”

We are to not let what is “behind,” our past, hold us back from moving forward in our Christian life.

IN OR OUT OF CONTEXT?

PROOF-TEXTING

• Proof-texting is taking verses out of context in support of a theological position, or stringing verses together to make a point without studying the context of those verses.

• Just lazy systematic theology!

Wrongly determining word meanings

• EXAMPLE: Overemphasizing subtle points of vocabulary– John 21:15-17– agapao vs. phileo

• POINT: Words sometimes have synonymous ideas.

Wrongly determining word meanings

• EXAMPLE: Determining meaning apart from context.–monogenes = begotten; unique, one of

a kind– John 3:16– Hebrews 11:17

• POINT: Context determines the meaning of words.

Wrongly determining word meanings

• EXAMPLE: Limiting meaning to one definition.– sodzo = to save; to rescue; to deliver; to preserve– Sometimes means salvation, other times not.– 1 Timothy 2:15

“Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.”

• POINT: Words have a range of meanings.

READING ENGLISH MEANINGS INTO GREEK

WORDS• EXAMPLE: Romans 1:16• dunamis = dynamite?• Actually means “innate ability or power”

• EXAMPLE: 2 Corinthians 9:7• hilaron = hilarious?• Actually means “happy, glad or cheerful state of

mind”

• POINT: Just because we got our English word from a Greek word does not make the meaning the same.

Dangers associated with studying historical/cultural

background• #1 Watch out for inaccurate background

information.– Matthew 19:24– “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go

through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

– Eye of a needle?

Dangers associated with studying

historical/cultural background• #2 Be careful to not elevate the

background of the text above the meaning of the text.–Matthew 14:22-33

Dangers associated with studying

historical/cultural background• #3 Do not let yourself slowly evolve into

nothing more than a walking database of ancient facts.

• We study the historical-cultural context not as an end in itself, but as a tool to help us grasp and apply the meaning of the biblical text.

QUIZ QUESTIONS• List the 3 Gaps to Bridge

• Give the First and Second Goal of Bible Study

• Explain the Divine Human Combination

In or out?• John 14:6“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

• Jesus was not making claims about one religion being better than all other religions. That completely misses the point, the depth, and the truth. Rather, he was telling those who were following him that his way is the way to the depth of reality. This kind of life Jesus was living, perfectly and completely in connection and cooperation with God, is the best possible way for a person to live. It is how things are.