InterpretingtheBibleAscent

WinterSession,Lesson1WhatistheBible?

Kids on the Bible: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51zIRCRvQEc

The Bible is an inspired, inerrant, and authoritative account of God’s revelation.

Goal:Treatitasamine,notamuseumEmbody2Timothy2:15

Introductiontohermeneutics–Luke24:25-27,32FourPrinciplesofhermeneutics:

1. TheLiteralPrinciple

2. TheHistoricalPrinciple

3. TheGrammaticalPrinciple

4. TheContextualPrinciple

Needforspecialattention:

Historicalnarrative

Parables

ProphecyTheBiblePathwayHelpfulToolsDiggingDeeper:https://carm.org/how-interpret-bibleNextweek:WhoisGod?

Devastated Stephen Curry Discovers Context Of Philippians 4:13 June 20, 2016

OAKLAND, CA—Thoroughly baffled after losing game 7 to the Cleveland Cavaliers Sunday night despite his frequent assertion that he “can do all things through Christ who strengthens him”—which he assumed would include winning as many NBA titles as he desired—Stephen Curry reportedly pulled his Bible out of his locker and hastily flipped to Philippians 4:13 to make sure he had been reading his life verse correctly all these years, only to discover, much to his devastation, multiple additional verses before and after the text.

“Wait—what are all these other words?” sources reported Curry as exclaiming after the unbelievable loss which made the Golden State Warriors the first team in NBA history to surrender a 3–1 series lead in the NBA Finals. “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content,” he slowly read aloud. “Seriously? In whatever situation?”

A shocked Curry reportedly then sat on the locker room floor in disbelief. “It doesn’t mean that I can do anything at all because of Jesus? I . . . I can’t believe it,” he reportedly muttered to himself in horror.

At publishing time, sources confirmed that a wave of relief had washed over Curry as he realized that, while it would be nice for Philippians 4:13 to be an iron-clad promise that any believer can literally do anything because of Jesus, the meaning he now understands it to have because of the context—that Jesus is enough for any believer to be content in any situation he or she faces—is even better, “especially after the most disastrous Finals collapse in NBA history.”

http://babylonbee.com/news/devastated-stephen-curry-learns-context-philippians-413/

AscentWinter2018BibleInterpretationTools&Resources

Outline

• TheBibleitself• Wehaveresourcesthatthechurchcouldnotimaginethroughout

mostofitshistory• Briefintroductiontothevariousresources,whattheydo,andhow

theycanbeusedWhatWeWillNotDiscuss

• Inerrancy• Authorship,etc.

WhatWeKnow• GodisSovereignOverAll!

TranslationsTheBibleItself&theDeep,DeepWaterofTranslations

• WebelievetheBibleisinerrantasitwasoriginallywritten• English(esp.modernEnglish)isnottheoriginallanguage• Translationsaretheworkofmenandarethereforenotinerrant• ThejourneyfromGreektoLatintoEnglishtomodernEnglish• Better–GreektoEnglish

OverviewofTranslations• Literal/word-for-word• Free/paraphrase• DynamicEquivalent/thought-for-thought

NASB NewAmericanStandardBible(1971;update1995)AMP AmplifiedBible(1965)ESV EnglishStandardVersion(2001)RSV RevisedStandardVersion(1952)KJV KingJamesVersion(1611;significantlyrevised1769)NKJV NewKingJamesVersion(1982)HCSB HolmanChristianStandardVersion(2004)NRSV NewRevisedStandardVersion(1989)NAB NewAmericanBible(Catholic,1970,1986(NT))NJB NewJerusalemBible(Catholic,1986)NIV NewInternationalVersion(1984)TNIV Today’sNewInternationalVersion(NT2001,OT2005)NCV NewCenturyVersionNLT1 NewLivingTranslation(1sted.1996;2nded.2004)NIrV NewInternationalreader’sVersionGNT GoodNewsTranslation(alsoGoodNewsBible)CEV ContemporaryEnglishVersionLiving LivingBible(1950)Mess. TheMessagebyEugenePeterson(1991-2000s)

TranslationsLiteral/Word-for-Word

• NASB,ESV,KJV,NKJV• Advantages:asliteralaspossiblefromtheoriginal;faithful• Disadvantages:oldlanguagestructurecanbestiltedorwoodenfor

somereadersDynamicEquivalent/Thought-for-Thought

• NIV• Advantages:canbesmooth-readingandaccurate• Disadvantages:mustbeverycarefulonwhoisdeterminingthe

original“Thought”;sometranslationsslipintotoo“free”aforminordertomakeitsuitabletomodernears

• Free/Paraphrase• GoodNews,Living,TheMessage• Advantages:veryeasytoread;shortwordsandsentences• Disadvantages:oftenveryliberal,withtheauthorcastingasidethe

originaltopresentaparaphrasetosuithisownpurposeOtherResourcesBibleEncyclopedias

• SimilartoBibleDictionaries,butfarmoreextensive• Goodfordetailedresearch• Recommended:Zondervan,InternationalStandardBible

Encyclopedia,BakerBibleEncyclopediaBibleAtlas

• Maps&detailedgeographicalinformationBibleHandbooks

• Introtobooks&a“justthefacts”overviewofmostpassages• Recommended:Richards,Unger,Halley

OtherResources(Deep!)SystematicTheologies

• In-depthreviewofChristiandoctrine,organizedbysubject(WhoisGod,WhoisMan,TheFall,WhoisChrist,Redemption,LastThings,etc.)

• Irreplaceablesourceofthedepth&breadthofChristiandoctrine• TraceseachdoctrineasitismanifestedthroughoutallofScripture• Recommended:Calvin,Berkhof,Hodge,Milne

BiblicalTheologies• In-depthreviewofredemptivehistory,organized

chronologically• The“unfoldingofthemindofGodthroughhistory”,itstitches

togetherallofBiblicalrevelationinto oneseamlessgarment

• Recommended:Vos

Commentaries!Advantages

• TheHolySpirithasbeenteachingthechurchforcenturies;weshouldprofitfromwhatHehassaid

• Wearelikelynotthefirsttostrugglewithadifficultpassage• Majorsourceofinspiration&edification

Disadvantages

• Canbea“crutch”• Tendtoacceptthefirstopinionwesee&makeitourown,withoutthe

heavylifting• Canbeasubstituteforcriticalthinking

&meditationThreeGeneralTypes

• Exegetical/text-by-text• Devotional/topical(MyUtmostforHisHighest)• Homiletic/sermons,esp.appliedsermons(Spurgeon)

One-VolumeWholeBible• Singleauthor:MatthewHenry(D)• Multipleauthor:NewBibleCommentary(D),Wycliffe(E),

International(E),BibleKnowledgeCommentary(E)Multi-VolumeOT&NT

• Singleauthor:Calvin(E/D),Poole(D), Henry(D),Barnes(E/D)

• MultipleAuthor:Expositors(E),Tyndale(E), BibleSpeaksToday(E),Word(E), Expositors(E)Commentaries!(Recommendations)OtherRecommendations(NT)

• Singleauthorsets:Hendriksen(E),Lenski(E), Barclay(E)

• Otherauthorstolookfor:Bruce(E),Stott(E), Lane(E),Ryle(D),Carson(E),Boice(H),McArthur(E/H),Calvin(H), ANYTHINGBYLloyd-Jones(E/H)orSpurgeon(E/H)

Luke15:20(ParableoftheProdigalSon)ABriefLookatOneVersefromaWell-KnownPassage

• StartingwithanInterlinearBible,weseetheNASB,NIV,Greek,anddirecttransliteration

• NotesmalldifferencesbetweentheGreekandEnglishversions• “theFatherofhimself...”awonderfultouch• “wasmovedwithpity...”

“WasMovedwithPity...”

• Acompoundword,usuallysignifyingemphasis• FromtheEnglishpartoftheConcordance,weseetheGreekwordis

4697• TheGreekDictionarygivesusthenumber,Greekword,

transliteration,reference(ifapplicable),definition,andhowitistranslated

• “Compassion”and“pity”aresynonyms,butnotetherootword“...andFellUpontheNeckofHim...”

• NoteEnglishwords–“embracedhim,”“threwhisarmsaroundhim”• Thesonhadnotyetsaidaword!• Fromthreewords:“tofallupon,”“epi”(intensification),and“neck”• Impliesthesonwaskneelingbeforehisfather• TheGreekimpliesmuchmorethanawarm“welcomeback!”

“...andferventlykissedhim.”• BothNASBandNIVsimplysay,“kissed”• ButtheGreekclearlystatesmuchmorethanthat• Anothercompoundword–“kata”(alsointensifies,greatly),and

“phileo”(love,fromtheprimeword“philos,”or,beloved• So,is“kissed”therightword?Rememberourinterpretationrules!• Shouldithaveanadjective?Possibly,butatleastwecanlearnmoreof

thefather’sdeeploveandjoy“...running...”

• Literallymeans...running!• Butwelearnfromotherresourcesthatthiswasanundignifiedthing

foraelderlyJewishmantodo• Butthisonedidnotcare

AFuller“Picture”ofGod• “HowMuchMore...?”

TheDepthandBreadthofScripture