For the Love of God's Word

An Introduction to Biblical Interpretation

Andreas J. Köstenberger, Richard D. Patterson

• Publisher: Kregel Publications
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9780825486531
• Topic: Théologie et religion
• Subtopic: Études bibliques

An introduction to a clear method of biblical interpretationFor the Love of God's Word is an abridged, less technical version of Köstenberger and Patterson's acclaimed Invitation to Biblical Interpretation. Students, teachers, and pastors alike will find this introduction to biblical hermeneutics to be an accessible resource with both breadth and substance.Built on the premise that every passage requires careful scrutiny of its historical setting, literary dimension, and theological message, this volume teaches a simple threefold method that is applicable to every passage of Scripture regardless of genre. In addition, the book sets forth specific strategies for interpreting the various genres of Scripture, from poetry to epistle to prophecy. A final chapter is devoted to helpful Bible study resources that will equip the reader to apply Scripture to life.This book will serve as a standard text for interpreting Scripture that is both academically responsible and accessible for pastors, teachers, and college students. This volume will enable students of Scripture to grow in love for God's Word as they grow in the disciplines of study and discernment.

Chapter 1

INTRODUCING THE HERMENEUTICAL TRIAD: HISTORY, LITERATURE, AND THEOLOGY

INTRODUCTION

COME ON IN, AND STAY for a while! Make yourself at home, and acquire vital skills in understanding the most important book ever written—the Holy Scriptures. The volume you are holding in your hands invites you to embark on the quest of sound biblical interpretation or as it is also called, “hermeneutics.” As in Jesus’s parable of the wedding feast, the invitation goes out to all who care to listen. And as in Jesus’s parable, the terms are not set by those invited but by the one who issues the invitation and by the book to be interpreted.

In our quest to understand the Bible, author, text, and reader each have an important part to play. Every document has an author, and the resulting text is shaped by his or her intention. It is this authorial intention the interpreter must aim to recover. The text is not “just there,” left to be interpreted any way a given reader chooses. When my friend talks to me, I dare not give her words my own preferred meaning. The rules of proper communication demand that I seek to understand the meaning she intended to convey.

It follows that the text of Scripture, likewise, is not neutral, that is, malleable to a great variety of interpretations that lay equal claim to represent valid readings of a given passage. Nor is the text autonomous, that is, a law unto itself, as if it existed apart from the author who willed and wrote it into being. It is an authorially shaped and designed product that requires careful and respectful interpretation.

There is therefore an important ethical dimension in interpretation. We should engage in interpretation responsibly, displaying respect for the text and its author. There is no excuse for interpretive arrogance that elevates the reader above text and author. The “golden rule” of interpretation requires that we extend the same courtesy to any text or author that we would want others to extend to our statements and writings (Matt. 7:12). This calls for respect not only for the intentions of the human authors of Scripture but ultimately for God who chose to reveal himself through the Bible by his Holy Spirit.

This volume is based on such respect both for the ultimate author of Scripture and for its human authors. We are committed to taking the text of Scripture seriously and to practicing discerning listening and perception. We aim to take into account the relevant historical setting of a given passage and to pay close attention to the words, sentences, and discourses of a particular book. We purpose to give careful consideration to the theology of the Bible itself and to interpret the parts in light of the canonical whole. Last but not least, we seek to operate within the proper framework of the respective genres of Scripture.

Why would we want to take the time and exert the effort to learn to interpret Scripture correctly? First of all, we will want to do so because we are seekers of truth and because we realize that truth sets free while error enslaves. Many cults have arisen because of their flawed interpretation of Scripture. There is an even more powerful motivation, however: embarking on the quest for accurate biblical interpretation out of our love for God, his Word, and his people. If you and I truly love God, we will want to get to know him better, and this involves serious study of his Word.

As seekers of truth and as lovers of God and others, then, we set out to discover revealed truth and to acquire biblical wisdom as one sets out to mine gold and precious stones. Our conviction that God’s Word is the most precious commodity there is fuels a desire to extract even the last ounce of meaning from the biblical text no matter how much effort or learning it takes to recover it. In our quest for revealed divine truth, we will be prepared to pay whatever price it takes to hear God speak to us in and through his Word and to proclaim his life-giving message authentically and accurately to others.

NEED FOR SKILLED BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION

“Do your best,” Paul wrote in his final missive to his foremost disciple, “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 Tim. 2:15). In a day when people are confronted with a flood of information and are struggling to keep up and set priorities, Paul’s words bring into sharp focus what ought to be our primary object of study: Scripture, “the word of truth.” Like Peter, we ought to say, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). We ought to be driven by a hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matt. 5:6); we ought to be longing for the life-transforming, “living and active” word of God (Heb. 4:12).

In keeping with Paul’s exhortation, we need to work hard at interpreting Scripture. We must “do our best” as “a worker.” Biblical interpretation is hard work. The one who wants to master the handling of God’s Word must be like the apprentice of a master craftsperson. Over time, and through practice, that apprentice will learn to skillfully use many tools. Likewise, the biblical interpreter must know what interpretive tools to use and how to use them. This is what it means to “correctly handle” the word of truth.

While the analogy holds well between the realm of craftsmanship and biblical interpretation, the argument is clearly from the lesser to the greater. If it is important for craftspeople to wield their tools skillfully, how much more important must it be for those who are called to handle God’s “word of truth” with utmost care and expertise? No sloppy or shoddy work will do. Everything must be done in proper sequence, appropriate proportion, and with the purpose of producing an end product that pleases the one who commissioned the work. Background information, word meanings, the context of a given passage, and many other factors must be judiciously assessed if a valid interpretation is to be attained.

Also, no worker labors without regard for the approval of the one who assigned a particular task. Once again, the argument is from the lesser to the greater: for in the case of biblical interpretation, the one to whom we have to give an account is none other than God himself. It is his approval we are seeking, for if God approves, no one else’s approval, or disapproval, ultimately matters. Our love for God and our conviction that God’s Word is so precious that we ought to spare no effort to comprehend it as precisely as possible will be powerful motivators as we embark on our interpretive journey. In so doing, we will long to hear God’s words of approval, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter the joy of your master.”

COST OF FAILED BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION

Not only are there great rewards for faithful biblical interpretation, there is also a considerable cost if we fail in this effort. This cost, too, is mentioned in 2 Timothy 2:15. It is shrinking back in shame at God’s judgment by the one who is unwilling to acquire the skills needed to interpret Scripture accurately. The equivalent of improper biblical interpretation is shoddy workmanship, due either to a lack of skill or carelessness. In the area of hermeneutics, this translates into fallacies arising from neglect of the context, prooftexting (reading one’s preferred meaning into the text rather than deriving it by careful study from the text), improper use of background information, and other similar shortcomings.

Scripture is full of examples of those who failed in the task of biblical interpretation and were severely chastised, because their failure did not merely bring ruin on these individuals themselves but also on those they taught and influenced. A case in point are the false teachers Hymenaeus and Philetus, who erroneously taught that the final resurrection had already taken place (2 Tim. 2:17–18). Biblical interpretation is not an individualistic enterprise. Rather, it takes place in the community of believers, and the failure or success of the interpretative task affects not merely the interpreter but other believers as well.

Biblical interpreters are charged with a sacred task: handling Scripture with accuracy. They are entrusted with a sacred object, God’s Word of truth, and their faithfulness or lack thereof will result in God’s approval or in personal shame. God’s Word commands our very best because, in the ultimate analysis, it is not a human word, but the Word of God. This means that our interpretive enterprise must rest on a robust doctrine of biblical revelation and a high view of Scripture—as Jesus taught, Scripture is “the word of God” and thus “cannot be broken” (John 10:35). Though conveyed through human means, using human language and thought forms, Scripture is ultimately the product of divine inspiration and therefore completely trustworthy.

CHARACTERISTICS REQUIRED OF THE BIBLICAL INTERPRETER

Rather than adopting a critical stance toward Scripture, we should rather submit to it as our final authority in all areas of life. An essential quality required of the biblical interpreter is therefore humility. As sinners saved by grace, we must humbly submit to Scripture rather than arrogantly asserting our right to critique Scripture in light of our modern or postmodern presuppositions and preferences. Instead of accepting only the teachings we find acceptable in keeping with contemporary sensibilities, we should be prepared to conform our presuppositions and preferences to the teachings of Scripture and to act accordingly. We must come to Scripture willing to obey what it says.

Part of this humility is acknowledging our finiteness and need for instruction and correction. As Paul wrote in his final letter to Timothy, “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 Tim. 3:16–17). Proper instruction and, if necessary, correction are therefore a function of Scripture itself, though God may choose to administer these through those who rightly interpret the Bible and teach it to others (cf. 2 Tim. 2:2).

Note also that biblical interpretation is not an end in itself but interpretive competence equips the interpreter for “every good work” (2 Tim. 3:17; cf. Eph. 2:10). Rather than being exclusively, or even primarily, a scholarly pursuit, interpretation is required of every believer. While it is true that God has given to the church certain individuals who are to serve as teachers and pastors (Eph. 4:11), he expects every believer to progress toward spiritual maturity (Col. 1:28–29). For this reason, we all should assume responsibility for our spiritual growth and make every effort to grow in our ability to handle God’s Word accurately and with increasing skill (2 Pet. 3:17–18).

Another quality that is essential for the biblical interpreter is to listen carefully to the Word and to study it perceptively. In a time when listening is largely a lost art and many are approaching Scripture primarily for the purpose of validating their own predetermined conclusions, this is a much-needed reminder. In James’s words, and in keeping with Old Testament wisdom, interpreters should be “quick to listen” and “slow to speak” (Jas. 1:19). As the ancient preacher pointed out, “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools . . . Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few” (Eccl. 5:1–2). Deplorably, the opposite is far more common: people are often quick to air their opinions but slow to hear the actual Word of God. Listening to Scripture requires discipline, self-restraint, wisdom, and love for God.

One final set of desirable (in fact, essential) attributes for biblical interpreters: they should be regenerate (that is, have experienced spiritual rebirth) and be Spirit-filled and led. The role of the Spirit in biblical interpretation warrants extended treatment, but for a start read Paul’s concise treatment ...