Bible Interpretation Lesson Four

Bible Interpretation

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INTRODUCTION

V. THE LAWS OF BIBLE INTERPRETATION

A. The Law of the Words

1. Every word of God is pure (Proverbs 30:5-6)

2. A word’s usage determines its meaning; therefore, the meaning of a Bible word is determined by how that word is used in the Bible

3. Tools: English and Bible dictionaries

4. The Bible must be the final authority in all questions of definition and meaning (see 1Samuel 9:9; Matthew 1:23)

5. All words have a specific purpose chosen by their author. All scriptural words are verbally (each word) and plenarily (exactly chosen) inspired

a. thee, thou, ye, you

b. will, shall

B. The Law of the Text

1. Understand the grammatical sense of the reading (Nehemiah 8:8)

2. The key to what a passage means is what the passage says

3. Tools: Grammar books

4. The argument Christ uses in Matthew 22:31-32 uses grammar to prove its point

C. The Law of the Context

1. Each interpretation must agree with all the counsel of God (Acts 20:27)

2. All truth must be understood in the light of surrounding truth. This includes history, geography, custom, literary context, purpose of passage, speaker, recipient(s), time, surrounding events, dispensational context and many other factors

3. Tools: Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias; Bible atlases; reference books on Bible history and customs

4. Consider the under-the-sun theology of Ecclesiastes 1:18; 2:11,15-16,24; 4:2-3; these scriptures are made plain be considering context

D. The Law of Comparison

1. Compare spiritual things with spiritual (1Corinthians 2:13)

2. By adding scriptures one to another truth is multiplied

3. Tools: Bible concordance like Strong’s Bible Concordance; cross reference tools like The treasury of Scriptural Knowledge or Nave’s Topical Bible

4. Compare Romans 9:27 with 11:26

5. Compare Psalm 22:22, Hebrews 2:12 and Matthew 26:30

E. The Law of Construction

1. Precept must be built upon precept (Isaiah 28:9-10)

2. Doctrines must be carefully built from all the Bible says about that subject

3. Tools: books on Bible doctrine

4. Consider the sufferings of Christ: John 5:39; Luke 24:25-27,44-46

F. The Law of Division

1. The truth of God must be rightly divided (2Timothy 2:15)

2. The divisions of scripture must be correctly discerned

3. Tools: Rightly Dividing the Word by C. I. Scofield; Dispensational Truth by Clarence Larkin

4. Differences in knowledge (Ephesians 3:2-6)

5. Differences in practice (Deuteronomy 14:1-20 with 1Timothy 4:3-5)

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Bible Interpretation Index Lesson Five

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