The Study of the Scriptures
Session 4,
Wednesday 11 MAR 2015
Faith
Baptist Fellowship Church
Lake Ariel,
PA
I. Review Sessions 1-3
Hebrew 1:1-3
“How
firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
You, who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?”[1]
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
You, who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?”[1]
2 Timothy 3:13-17
1. Placing trust in God: The ability of God and the
sufficiency of the Scriptures — Coming to the Scriptures with Faith
2. Putting man in his place: The inability of fallen
man and an understanding of the responses of the creature to the revelation of
God — Coming to the Scriptures with Humility
Historical and Personal Parameters in the
Spectrum of Abilities
for the Understanding of the Scriptures:
Created Unfallen Man
|
Fallen Unregenerate (Natural)
Man
|
Fallen
Regenerate
(Spiritual) Man
|
Maturing Regenerate
(Spiritual) Man
|
Maturing Regenerate Man: Maximizing
Resources
|
Glorified
Man
|
1. Eyes to see
2. Ears to hear
3. Mind to know
4. Heart to believe
5. Unhindered communion
with God
*********
What could be better?
|
1. Eyes Blind
2. Ears Deaf
3. Mind Dark
4. Heart hard
5. Neck stiff
6. Rebellion towards God
7. Suppression of the
truth of God
*************
The problem is obvious!
|
1. Eyes to see
2. Ears to hear
3. Mind to know
4. Heart to believe
5. Spirit to teach
*************
So, what is the problem?
|
1. Read
2. Memorize
3. Meditate
4. Obey
5. Testify
|
1. Knowledge of Ancient
History and Culture
2. Knowledge of Ancient
Languages (vocabulary, semantics, grammar, syntax)
3. Awareness of
Spiritual Warfare including Satanic Subversion of the Word of God through
False Teachers throughout history
|
Know as we are known
|
3. The Unity of the Word of God and
the First, Progressive, and Full Mention Principles of Interpretation — Coming
to the Scriptures with Hope
The Means God Uses: The Scriptures, the Holy Spirit,
and the Church
David Cooper’s Golden
Rule of Interpretation
Myles Coverdale’s “Preface”
The story of Agassiz and the Fish, or The Student the Fish and Agassiz
“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have
eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” (John 5:39)
II. Introduce Session 4
Peeling an onion from the
inside out, or from the outside in
Context and Canon
Multiple levels of context
The hermeneutical spiral
1. Contextual, Grammatical, and Literal Interpretation
In real estate it is “location, location, location.”[2]
In Bible study it is “context, context, context.”
Context determines meaning. It has often been repeated
that “a text without a context is a pretext.”
Proof texting without due attention to context results in
the Scripture twisting that is a hallmark of the cults. Their “grasshopper
hermeneutic” jumps from text to text to text without respect for the limits of
the various contexts involved on the meanings of the words and sentences being
quoted to support false teachings.
Let us observe how this works as we examine a few
examples taking two different, yet related approaches to how this is done.
In the first example we will peel the onion from the
inside out!
1) Context level 1 — The word: body (1 Cor. 11:19b)
“Humpty Dumpty
took the book, and looked at it carefully. 'That seems to be done right—' he
began.
'You're holding
it upside down!' Alice interrupted.
'To be sure I
was!' Humpty Dumpty said gaily, as she turned it round for him. 'I thought it
looked a little queer. As I was saying, that SEEMS to be done right—though I
haven't time to look it over thoroughly just now—and that shows that there are
three hundred and sixty-four days when you might get un-birthday presents—'
'Certainly,' said
Alice.
'And only ONE for
birthday presents, you know. There's glory for you!'
'I don't know
what you mean by "glory,"' Alice said.
Humpty Dumpty
smiled contemptuously. 'Of course you don't—till I tell you. I meant
"there's a nice knock-down argument for you!"'
'But
"glory" doesn't mean "a nice knock-down argument,"' Alice
objected.
'When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said in
rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more
nor less.'
'The question
is,' said Alice, 'whether you CAN make words mean so many different things.'
'The question
is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master—that's all.'”[3]
How many different meanings may this
word convey in Paul’s culture, and in his own inspired writings?
2) Context level 2 — The verse/sentence: 1 Cor. 11:29
For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh
damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
3) Context level 3 — The paragraph: 1 Cor. 11:21-29
21
For in eating every one taketh
before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. 22 What?
have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What
shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. 23 For I have received of the Lord that
which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he
was betrayed took bread: 24 And
when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body,
which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
25 After the same manner also he took the
cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood:
this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and
drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. 27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this
bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body
and blood of the Lord. 28 But
let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that
cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh
unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
A Play on
Words to Make a Point:
The eat/drink,
bread/cup, body/blood interplay
and the
missing element in 1 Corinthians 11:21-29
Verse
|
“A” Eat/Bread/Body
|
“B” Drink/Cup/Blood
|
Remarks
|
21
|
hungry
|
drunken
|
“Thirsty” and “full” are assumed.
|
22
|
to eat
|
to drink
|
|
23
|
bread
|
Only the “A” element is
|
|
24a
|
eat
|
present in verses
|
|
24b
|
body
|
23-24.
|
|
25a
|
the cup
|
Only the “B” element is
|
|
25b
|
This cup
|
present in verse 25.
|
|
25c
|
my blood
|
||
25d
|
drink
|
||
26
|
eat this bread
|
drink this cup
|
|
27a
|
eat this bread
|
drink this cup
|
|
27b
|
body
|
blood
|
|
28
|
eat of that bread
|
drink of that cup
|
|
29a
|
eateth
|
drinketh
|
|
29b
|
eateth
|
drinketh
|
|
29c
|
body
|
The second (“B”) element is missing.
|
4) Context level 4 — The chapter:
One way to avoid getting lost in the woods is by looking
back from time to time to see how the woods look in the “rear view mirror.” It
helps to have your “head on a swivel” as it is referred to in the military, or
to put it another way, to have a 360 degree situational awareness. This works
in Bible study also. Asking questions like, “where did this come from,” and
“where is this going,” and seeking answers to them will help in observation of
the flow of a passage. That way the “trees” will be seen as part of the
“forest.”
1 Cor. 11:2 - Now
I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the
ordinances, as I delivered them to
you.
Note: It may be argued that 1 Cor. 11:1 belongs with
the previous chapter, as the final verse of chapter 10!
1 Cor. 11:17 - Now in
this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come
together not for the better, but for the worse.
The “bookends” of this passage – vv. 17-20, 33-34 — must
not be forgotten!
1 Cor. 11:17-20 - 17 Now in
this that I declare unto you I praise
you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. 18 For
first of all, when ye come together in
the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe
it. 19 For
there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made
manifest among you. 20 When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper.
1
Cor. 11:33-34 - 33 Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for
another. 34 And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not
together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.
This final resolution of the original presenting problem clarifies
the Apostle’s intended connection between despising the Church of God (11:22), and
failing to discern the Lord’s “body” (11:29).
2. Canonical, Contextual and Grammatical
Interpretation
Now let’s go at this differently with an example of
peeling the onion from the outside in!
1) Context level 7 — The Canon:
(1) Tabernacle: Exodus 25-27, 35-40
Two primary Hebrew words for tabernacle — mishkan and ohel
Two primary Hebrew words for sanctuary — miqdash and qodesh
(2) Temple: 1 Kings - 2 Chronicles
Two primary Hebrew words for temple — heykal and bayith
(3) Problem: Ezra-Nehemiah
(4) Development of the Samaritan Religion in the
Intertestamental Period (“400 Silent Years”), and the beginning of the
construction of the Third (Herodian) Temple
2) Context level 6 — The Testament:
(5) Background to John 4:20-21 - 20
Our
fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place
where men ought to worship. 21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe
me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at
Jerusalem, worship the Father.
Compare:
Dt. 11:29 - And it shall come to pass, when the LORD thy God hath brought thee
in unto the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt put the
blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the
curse upon mount Ebal.
Dt. 27:12 - These shall stand upon mount
Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are come over Jordan; Simeon, and
Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin:
Josh. 8:33 - And all Israel, and their elders, and
officers, and their judges, stood on this side the ark and on that side before
the priests the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, as
well the stranger, as he that was born among them; half of them over against mount Gerizim, and half of them over
against mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded before, that
they should bless the people of Israel.
Contrast:
Dt. 12:5-14 - 5 But
unto the place which the LORD your God
shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek,
and thither thou shalt come: 6 And thither ye shall bring your burnt
offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your
hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your
herds and of your flocks: 7 And there ye shall eat before the LORD
your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your
households, wherein the LORD thy God hath blessed thee. 8 Ye
shall not do after all the things
that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes. 9 For ye are not as yet come to the rest
and to the inheritance, which the LORD your God giveth you. 10 But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the
land which the LORD your God giveth you to inherit, and when he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that
ye dwell in safety; 11 Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall
choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I
command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the
heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the
LORD: 12 And ye
shall rejoice before the LORD your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and
your menservants, and your maidservants, and the Levite that is within your gates; forasmuch as he
hath no part nor inheritance with you. 13 Take heed to thyself that thou
offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest: 14 But in
the place which the LORD shall choose
in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there
thou shalt do all that I command thee.
(cp. also vss. 18, 21, and 26)
Ps. 122:1-5 - 1 I was glad when
they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.
2 Our feet shall stand within thy gates,
O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is
builded as a city that is compact together:
4 Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, unto the
testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the LORD.
5 For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the
house of David.
We are going to jump ahead, skipping context levels 5 (the
book), 4 (the chapter), and 3 (the paragraph), back down to level 2.
In the following notice the emphasized singulars (bold font),
and plurals (bold red font). The singularity of the tabernacle/temple is
maintained throughout consistent with what is found elsewhere in the canon of
Scripture (apart from the aberration of the Samaritan worship on Mt. Gerizim!).
3) Context
level 2 — The verse/sentence: 2 Cor. 6:16
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple
of the living God; as God hath said, I
will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
4) Context level 1 — the word: temple
Now let us move back up to level 3 in another one of
Paul’s epistles, remaining in the context of one human authors writings, where
he deals with the same theme.
5) Context level 3 — the paragraph: 1 Cor. 3:9-17 and
6:15-20
(1) Example #1 — 1
Cor. 3:9-17
9 For we are labourers together with God:
ye are
God's husbandry, ye are God's building. 10 According to the grace of God which is
given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another
buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. 11 For
other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if
any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay,
stubble; 13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall
declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every
man's work of what sort it is. 14 If any man's work abide which he hath
built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man's work shall be
burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
16 Know ye not
that ye are
the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 17 If any
man defile the temple of God, him
shall God destroy; for the temple of
God is holy, which temple ye are.
(2) Example #2 — 1
Cor. 6:15-20
15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them
the members of an harlot? God
forbid. 16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is
one body? for two, saith he, shall
be one flesh. 17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. 18 Flee
fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. 19 What? know ye not
that your body is the temple of
the Holy Ghost which is in you, which
ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price:
therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
Sola Scriptura, Soli Deo Gloria,
John T. “Jack” Jeffery
Pastor, Wayside Gospel Chapel
Greentown, PA
Appendix A: Basic Bible Study Materials — A
Suggested Bibliography (with links to Amazon)
This is the book
that I recommend as collateral reading for the "Scripture Study
Seminar":
Sinclair
Ferguson, From the Mouth of God (Carlisle, PA: Banner of
Truth, 2014); paperback (no Kindle available at this time) for $10.59 on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Mouth-God-Sinclair-B-Ferguson/dp/1848712421/ [accessed 18 JAN 2015].
1. In addition to Sinclair Ferguson's work
that I am recommending as collateral reading the following five recent works on
the subject may be the most helpful:
J. Scott Duvall, and J. Daniel Hays, Journey into God's Word: Your Guide to Understanding and Applying the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008);
J. Scott Duvall, and J. Daniel Hays, Journey into God's Word: Your Guide to Understanding and Applying the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008);
on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Journey-into-Gods-Word-Understanding-ebook/dp/B000SEJRJI [accessed 14 JAN 2015].
Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How To Read The Bible For All Its Worth: A Guide to Understanding the Bible, 4th ed. (Grand Rapids: Academie Books, 1982, 1993, 2003, 2014);
on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Bible-All-Worth-ebook/dp/B00GS084YA/ [accessed 18 JAN
2015].
Peter Krol, Knowable Word: Helping Ordinary People Learn to Study the Bible (Minneapolis: Cruciform Press, 2014);
on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Knowable-Word-Helping-Ordinary-People/dp/1936760894/ [accessed 10 NOV 2014].
Grant Osborne, The Hermeneutical Spiral: A Comprehensive Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, 2nd ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1991, 2006);
on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Hermeneutical-Spiral-Comprehensive-Introduction-Interpretation/dp/0830828265/ref=sr_1_sc_1 [accessed 10 NOV 2014].
R. C. Sproul, Knowing Scripture, 2nd ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1977, 2009);
on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Knowing-Scripture-R-C-Sproul/dp/083083723X
[accessed 10 NOV 2014].
2. Here are five recommended older works whose
value does not fade!
James M. Gray, How to Master the English Bible: An Experience, a Method, a Result, an Illustration (London: Oliphant Anderson & Ferrier, 1907);
James M. Gray, How to Master the English Bible: An Experience, a Method, a Result, an Illustration (London: Oliphant Anderson & Ferrier, 1907);
in public domain, available online or as a
free downloadable digital file (PDF or ePub) on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=AOUOAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
[accessed 18 FEB 2012].
J. Edwin Hartill, Principles of Biblical Hermeneutics (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1947);
available online or as a free PDF file download (60
mb) on Seminario LAMB at
http://seminariolamb.com/biblioteca/lib/lib-biblical%20analysis/Principles%20of%20Biblical%20Hermeneutics%20-%20J%20Edwin%20Hartill.pdf [accessed
9 MAR 2014];
print editions available on Amazon at
[accessed 18 JAN 2015].
Arthur T. Pierson, The Bible and Spiritual Criticism: Being the Second Series of Exeter Hall Lectures on the Bible Delivered in London, England in the Months of February, March and April, 1904 (Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship, Inc., n.d.; 1970 reprint of 1905 original by The Baker and Taylor Co., New York);
Arthur T. Pierson, The Bible and Spiritual Criticism: Being the Second Series of Exeter Hall Lectures on the Bible Delivered in London, England in the Months of February, March and April, 1904 (Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship, Inc., n.d.; 1970 reprint of 1905 original by The Baker and Taylor Co., New York);
on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Bible-Spiritual-Criticism-Arthur-Pierson/dp/B0045PPI6W/
[accessed 18 JAN 2015].
Robert A. Traina, Methodical Bible Study: A New Approach to Hermeneutics (Wilmore, KY: self-published, 1952; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1980);
on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Methodical-Bible-Study-Robert-Traina/dp/0310246024 [accessed 9 MAY 2014].
Oletta Wald, The New Joy of Discovery in Bible Study, rev. ed. (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2002);
on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/New-Joy-Discovery-Bible-Study/dp/080664429X/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1 [accessed 9 MAY 2014].
Note: This newly revised edition is
also available in Kindle.
Compiled
by:
John T.
“Jack” Jeffery
Pastor,
Wayside Gospel Chapel
Greentown,
PA
28 JAN 2015
End Notes:
[1] In John Rippon, A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors
(1787); “attributed variously to John Keene, Kirkham, and John Keith;”
on Cyber Hymnal at http://nethymnal.org/htm/h/f/hfirmafo.htm [accessed
26 JAN 2015]. The four possibilities for the “K-” ascription in Rippon (Robert
Keen(e), George Keith, Thomas Kirkham, and Kennedy or Kennady) are discussed on
Hymnary.org at http://www.hymnary.org/person/K [accessed
26 JAN 2015].
[2] William Safire, “On
Language: Location, Location, Location” (26 JUN 2009), in The New York Times at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/28/magazine/28FOB-onlanguage-t.html
[accessed 11 MAR 2015].
[3] Lewis Carroll (Charles
Lutwidge Dodgson), Through the
Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (New
York: Macmillan Co., 1871), pg. 88; on Project
Gutenberg at http://www.gutenberg.org/files/12/12-h/12-h.htm#link2HCH0006 [accessed 11 MAR 2015], s.v. Ch. VI. This is the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865). Cited by Roy B. Zuck, Basic Bible Interpretation (Colarado
Springs, CO: Chariot Victor Publishing, 1991), pg. 76.
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