hermeneutics lecture i - grace valley

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,

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.


Motivation

John Murray writes,

the Bible is the only sufficient rule of faith and life as well

as the only infallible rule.


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 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 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.


• 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





Genre –

Context–



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





Genre –

Context–



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)

hermeneutics lecture i - grace valley

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