hermeneutics lecture i - grace valley
TRANSCRIPT
Hermeneutics
Lecture I
May 27, 2018
Prepared by
R. Spencer
What is Hermeneutics?
Hermeneutics is the science of interpretation; in •
other words, it is the method, or set of rules,
used to properly interpret Scripture
Exegesis is the practice of applying these rules •
to a particular passage to discover the true
meaning
• We want to learn how to properly exegete the
Scriptures so that we can be transformed by
them and live a life that is pleasing to God and
which bears good fruit for his kingdom
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your
mind. Then you will be able to test and approve
what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect
will.
Romans 12:2
Our Purpose
We want to learn how to properly exegete the •
Scriptures so that we can be transformed by
them and live a life that is pleasing to God and
which bears good fruit for his kingdom
Do your best to present yourself to God as one
approved, a workman who does not need to be
ashamed and who correctly handles the word of
truth.
2 Timothy 2:15
Our Purpose
We want to know and obey the whole counsel of •
God
Our Purpose
• God has prepared works for each of us to do and
he provides his Word, his Spirit, pastors,
teachers, parents and others to equip us
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for
teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in
righteousness, so that the man of God may be
thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in
advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10
God’s Purpose
Suggested References
1. J. Murray – Collected Writings, Vol. 1, Ch. 1
2. J. Boice – Foundations of the Christian Faith,
Ch 8
3. A.B. Mickelsen – Interpreting the Bible
4. J.R. Beeke & M. Jones – A Puritan Theology,
Ch 2
5. R.C. Sproul – Knowing Scripture
6. D.A. Carson – Exegetical Fallacies
7. C. Hodge – Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, pp
187-188
8. J.I. Packer – Concise Theology, pp 6-8
Starting Assumptions
We assume that the Word of God, consisting of •
the autographs of the Old and New Testaments,
is the infallible Word of God
We assume that the Bible is •
Sufficient–
Necessary–
Authoritative–
Clear (perspicuous)–
for salvation and godly living
That we must be born again to properly •
understand God’s Word (1 Cor 2:14)
Motivation
John Murray writes,
what I am going to stress is the necessity for diligent and
persevering searching of the Scriptures; study whereby
we shall turn and turn again the pages of Scripture; the
study of prolonged thought and meditation by which our
hearts and minds may become soaked with the truth of
the Bible and by which the deepest springs of thought,
feeling and action may be stirred and directed; the study
by which the Word of God will grip us, bind us, hold us,
pull us, drive us, raise us up from the dunghill, bring us
down from our high conceits and make us its
bondservants in all of thought, life and conduct.
J. Murray, Collected Writings, Vol. 1, pg. 3
Motivation
John Murray writes,
what I am going to stress is the necessity for diligent and
persevering searching of the Scriptures; study whereby
we shall turn and turn again the pages of Scripture; the
study of prolonged thought and meditation by which our
hearts and minds may become soaked with the truth of
the Bible and by which the deepest springs of thought,
feeling and action may be stirred and directed; the study
by which the Word of God will grip us, bind us, hold us,
pull us, drive us, raise us up from the dunghill, bring us
down from our high conceits and make us its
bondservants in all of thought, life and conduct.
J. Murray, Collected Writings, Vol. 1, pg. 3
Motivation
John Murray writes,
We need to stop and consider what hopeless darkness,
misery and confusion would be ours if we did not
possess the Bible. We would be without God and without
hope in the world, endlessly stumbling over our own vain
imaginings with respect to God, with respect to his will
for us and with respect to our own nature, origin, and
destiny.
J. Murray, Collected Writings, Vol. 1, pg. 4
Motivation
John Murray writes,
the Bible is the only sufficient rule of faith and life as well
as the only infallible rule.
J. Murray, Collected Writings, Vol. 1, pg. 7
These are the two pillars of faith and life – the whole
organism of Scripture revelation and the promise of the
Spirit to guide us into all the truth. Ibid, pg. 8
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach
and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you
sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in
your hearts to God. Colossians 3:16
Motivation
God does not accept willfully negligent worship, •
nor does he bless half-hearted and sloppy
obedience
Consider these examples:•
Nadab and Abihu (Lev – 10)
Uzzah (– 2 Sam 6 & 1 Ch 13)
Saul with the Amalekites (– 1 Sa 15)
Motivation
Consider these Scriptures:•
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might
Eccl 9:10
They offer sacrifices given to me and they eat the meat,
but the LORD is not pleased with them. Hos 8:13
I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand
your assemblies. Even though you bring me burnt
offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have
no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs! I
will not listen to the music of your harps. Am 5:21-23
Motivation
“The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign LORD,
“when I will send a famine through the land— not a
famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of
hearing the words of the LORD. Men will stagger from
sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for
the word of the LORD, but they will not find it.”
Amos 8:11-12
• In our day we are swimming in a sea of heretical
views of Christianity – it is not a famine of water,
but of fresh water! It is like dying of thirst while
surrounded by salt water – We need to know
what the Word of God really says!
Outline
Necessary Attitude•
The first rule: Let Scripture interpret Scripture•
The second rule: Literal meaning•
Grammatical– -historical method
Genre–
Context–
Christological Focus–
Covenant Theology–
Typology–
Examples•
Necessary Attitude
We must approach the Word of God with •
Humility–
A sincere desire to know God– ’s will
Serious effort–
Regularity–
Under authority–
We must pray and ask for the Holy Spirit to help •
us properly understand, believe, apply and then
obey the word
If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good
gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in
heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!
Luke 11:13
Need for the Holy Spirit
Negatively:•
The man without the Spirit does not accept the things
that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness
to him, and he cannot understand them, because they
are spiritually discerned. 1 Co 2:14
Positively:•
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you
into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak
only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to
come. John 16:13
Outline
• Necessary Attitude
• The first rule: Let Scripture interpret Scripture
• The second rule: Literal meaning
– Grammatical-historical method
– Genre
– Context
– Christological Focus
– Covenant Theology
– Typology
• Examples
The First Rule of Hermeneutics
We must let Scripture interpret Scripture•
This is also called the analogy of faith, or the •
analogy of Scripture
It is a necessary result of the fact that there is •
unity to the Scripture – which is, in its entirety,
the Word of the perfect and unchangeable God
who cannot lie, and therefore, it cannot
contradict itself
Sola Scriptura• – The Bible alone is the infallible
authority and, therefore, is the only rule for faith
and conduct
The First Rule of Hermeneutics
The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is •
the Scripture itself: and therefore, when there is
a question about the true and full sense of any
Scripture (which is not manifold, but one), it must
be searched and known by other places that
speak more clearly.
WCF, Ch. I, Par. IX
The First Rule of Hermeneutics
The Westminster Shorter Catechism says:•
Q2. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may
glorify and enjoy him?
A. The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures
of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct
us how we may glorify and enjoy him.
Q3. What do the Scriptures principally teach?
A. The Scriptures principally teach, what man is to
believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of
man.
The First Rule of Hermeneutics
• As we said, this rule is a direct consequence of
God’s perfect, infallible, immutable and truthful
nature, consider these Scriptures:
He is the Rock, his works are perfect Deut 32:4
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matt 5:48
As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is
flawless. Ps 18:30
The law of the LORD is perfect Ps 19:7
… God, who does not lie, … Tit 1:2
… it is impossible for God to lie … Heb 6:19
This Rule was Followed in the NT
The Old and New Testaments are completely •
consistent – independent of modern teachers
wanting to pit them against each other
– “because of the unity of revelation and the unity of
what we call both Testaments, what is patent in the
New is latent in the Old.”
J. Murray, Collected Works, Vol. II, pp 172-173
Therefore, we consistently see Jesus, the •
apostles and others comparing new teaching
with the Old Testament
This Rule was Followed in the NT
Consider:•
Jesus answering – “It is written” (Matt 4:4, 7, 10)
In the Jerusalem Council– ’s deliberations, look at
James’ conclusion: “The words of the prophets are in
agreement with this, as it is written” Acts 15:15
– “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than
the Thessalonians, for they received the message with
great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every
day to see if what Paul said was true.” Acts 17:11
Paul defending his teaching to King Agrippa: – “I am
saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses
said would happen” Acts 26:22
Example Use of 1st Rule
Consider Matthew • 7:1, “Do not judge, or you too
will be judged.”
We can correct the common misunderstanding of •
this verse by looking at the rest of the passage,
but we can also dismiss the idea that judging is
always wrong by looking at the teaching in the
rest of the Bible (e.g., 1 Cor 5:11-12, 2 Th 3:14,
2 Tim 3:5)
Example Use of 1st Rule
• Consider these verses:
we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from
observing the law. Rom 3:28
You see that a person is justified by what he does and
not by faith alone. James 2:24
• According to the first rule, we must not conclude
that they contradict each other (which should
also be our starting assumption with something
written without inspiration)
• The solution is straightforward …
Paul and James on Justification
Paul and James are using the words • “faith” and
“justified” in different ways
When Paul says that • “a man is justified by faith
apart from observing the law” he is using:
– “justified” to refer to a right legal standing before God
– “faith” to refer to true saving faith
When James says that • “a person is justified by
what he does and not by faith alone” he is using:
– “justified” to refer to proof that faith is real
– “faith” to refer to a claimed, but unproven, faith
Outline
Necessary Attitude•
The first rule: Let Scripture interpret Scripture•
The second rule: Literal meaning•
Grammatical– -historical method
Genre –
Context–
Christological Focus–
Covenant Theology–
Typology–
Examples•
The Literal Meaning
Each verse in the Bible has only one correct •
meaning, although it may have many
applications
The correct meaning is the • “literal” meaning; that
is, the plain meaning of the text when you take
into account the literary genre, figures of speech
and so on
Prior to the reformation, the • Qaudriga (four-fold
meaning) was popular; by which each verse is
assumed to have a literal, a moral (tropological),
an allegorical and a spiritual (anagogical)
meaning
Example of Quadriga
• Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread
and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and
he blessed Abram Gen 14:18-19
– Literal meaning: King of Salem refreshed Abram and
his soldiers
– Moral meaning: Something is to be given to the poor
– Allegorical meaning: The Priest does offer up Christ in
the mass
– Spiritual meaning: Christ in like manner being in
heaven, shall be the bread of life to the faithful.
Taken from Joel R. Beeke & Mark Jones, A Puritan Theology:
Doctrine for Life, Reformation Heritage Books, 2012, pg. 33
Example of Quadriga
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was
over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was
hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be
light,” and there was light. Gen 1:1-3
Literal meaning: Heaven, earth and light–
Moral meaning: Soul, body and active intelligence–
Allegorical meaning: Adam, Eve & the light of grace–
Spiritual meaning: Angels, men & the vision of God–
View of Girolamo Savonarola (1294-1517), Taken from Philip
Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol. VI, pp 717-718
Outline
Necessary Attitude•
The first rule: Let Scripture interpret Scripture•
The second rule: Literal meaning•
Grammatical– -historical method
Genre –
Context–
Christological Focus–
Covenant Theology–
Typology–
Examples•
Literal = Grammatical-Historical
The Chicago Statement on Biblical Hermeneutics •
correctly states, in Article 15,
We affirm the necessity of interpreting the Bible –
according to its literal, or normal, sense. The literal
sense is the grammatical-historical sense, that is, the
meaning which the writer expressed. Interpretation
according to the literal sense will take account of all
figures of speech and literary forms found in the text.
Others call it the • “historical-literal” sense, it is the
plain meaning of the text in its historical context
Outline
• Necessary Attitude
• The first rule: Let Scripture interpret Scripture
• The second rule: Literal meaning
– Grammatical-historical method
– Genre
– Context
– Christological Focus
– Covenant Theology
– Typology
• Examples
Genre
To get at the plain literal meaning of a text, we •
must know what kind of writing it is
Examples:•
Proverbs are not laws or promises–
Poetry is not historical narrative–
Narrative is not directly didactic–
Parables are not allegories–
Prophecy is not primarily to tell us about the future–
Proverbs are Not Laws or Promises
Compare:•
Ex – 20:14 You shall not commit adultery.
This is a law and should always be obeyed –
with•
Pr– 4:25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your
gaze directly before you.
If this is interpreted as law it could be dangerous when –
crossing a street!
Consider:•
Pr– 10:22 The blessing of the LORD brings wealth,
and he adds no trouble to it.
Was Paul blessed? Was Jesus?–
Proverbs are Not Laws or Promises
Consider:•
Pr– 26:4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or
you will be like him yourself.
Pr– 26:5 Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will
be wise in his own eyes.
Read as laws, these contradict one another!•
But the point is that we should consider, as •
Carson puts it, “Will my ‘foolish’ response be
bringing me down to the other’s level (26:4), or
will it be pricking the other’s pretensions and
warning him of his course (26.5)?”
Poetry is Not Historical Narrative
• Consider:
– Ps 19:1-3 The heavens declare the glory of God; the
skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night
they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language where their voice is
not heard.
• This obviously cannot be read as historical
narrative
Narrative is Not Explicitly Didactic
Consider:•
Ex – 32:14 Then the LORD relented and did not bring
on his people the disaster he had threatened.
Jer– 26:19 "Did Hezekiah king of Judah or anyone else
in Judah put him to death? Did not Hezekiah fear the
LORD and seek his favor? And did not the LORD
relent, so that he did not bring the disaster he
pronounced against them? We are about to bring a
terrible disaster on ourselves!"
Narrative is Not Explicitly Didactic
Open theists say verses like these tell us that •
God learns and changes, but these passages
are not explicitly didactic – we need to be careful
in basing doctrine on narratives!
We also read:•
Nu – 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a
son of man, that he should change his mind.
This verse is in a section of narrative, but it is explicitly –
didactic and we know from Verse 16 that this message
was given to Balaam by God himself, so we must
interpret Ex 32:14 and Jer 26:19 in light of this!
(this is really the first rule again)