08. General Principles for Theological Interpretation

8. General Principles for Theological Interpretation 8.1 Scripture must be interpreted grammatically before theological 8.2 Doctrine is only Biblical when it sums up all that Scripture says about that doctrine 8.3 If two doctrines appear to contradict each other, assume that both are true 8.4 Implied teaching is only Biblical when related verses support the passage 8.5 The unity of Scripture 8.5.1 Both contain the same doctrine of redemption.

8.5.2 The true Israelite is one not of flesh but of faith.

8.5.3 Most of the differences between the people of God in the Old and New Testaments were privileges and duties in terms of relativity, not absolutes.

8.5.4 The New Testam ent is a commentary on the Old.

8.5.5 The OId Testament is the key to correct interpretation of the New.

8.5.6 Both the Old and New Testaments are important and neither one should be minimized.

8.6 The unifying principle of Scripture is God’s glory, not redemption.

8.7 Clarity of Scripture 8.8 Make Christ central.

8.9 Revelation is accommodated.

8.10 Israel and the Church are separate distinct entities.

8.11 One must ask the question. Why is this here?

8.12 Dispensations 8.13 Scripture interprets Scripture.

8.14 The doctrine of progressive revelation 8.15 The analogy of faith 8.16 The unity of the meaning of Scripture 8.17 The rule of the simplest alternative 8.18 Interpretation and application

Biblical hermeneutics is generally considered apart from theological discussions, but one can see how theological presuppositions and assumptions could influence and even determine one’s hermeneutical models.

History cannot explain all that is in Scripture; some things are found only in God as the auctor primarius. Psychological factors and historical cone s cannot account for such things as (1) the Bible is the living Word of God come in the flesh; (2) the Bible must be considered as a whole and is therefore not just the sum of its parts; (3) the Old Testament and the New Testament are a part of each other; one explains the other.

"The name ’Theological Interpretation’ deserves the preference, as expressive, at once, of the fact that its necessity follows from the divine authorship of the Bible, and of the equally important consideration that, in the last analysis, God is the proper Interpreter of His Word" (Louis Berkhof, Principles of Biblical Interpretation, 1950, p. 134).

Theological Guidelines for Interpretation

Both the Old and New Testaments form essential parts of God’s special revelation. God is the author of both, and in both has the same purpose in mind. The following indicate this principle:

The Scriptures can be understood normally.

"The internal clarity of Scripture is the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart or mind of the believer, illuminating his mind to see the truth of Scripture as the truth of God" (Bernard Ramm, Protestant Biblical Interpretation, 1970, p. 98).

Christ is the center and focus of all history--past, present, and future.

The human mind can understand.

"Holy Scripture is the truth of God accommodated to the human mind so that the human mind can assimilate it" (Ramm, p. 99).

A dispensation is a period of time in which man is tested in respect to some specific revelation of the will of God. A dispensation is a progressive and connected revelation of God’s dealings with man, given sometimes to the whole race and at other times to a particular people, Israel. While the dealings of God are different under different dispensations and periods of time, the only basis for salvation has always been the death of Christ.

Clear passages in Scripture will interpret obscure passages. "The entire Holy Scripture is the context and guide for understanding the particular passages of Scripture" (Ramm, p. 104).

The complete revelation of God was revealed to man progressively and gradually, not all at once in a complete form, but in stages and periods of time.

"The principle of the analogy of faith demands that every interpretation be in harmony with the uniform teaching of Scripture. No interpretation is allowable which does not harmonize with the uniform teaching of the Bible on that given subject. Passages are to be explained, not on the basis of individual texts, but by the whole tenor of Scripture" (Paul Tan, The Interpretation of Prophecy, 1974, p. 110).

There is only one meaning to a given passage of Scripture: "one meaning, many applications."

"That meaning which most readily suggests itself to a reader or hearer is, in general, to be required as the meaning and that alone" (Milton S. Terry, Biblical Hermeneutics, 1911, p. 103). To restate what Terry said, during the interpretation of Scripture, when alternative interpretations seem equally plausible and contain equally good sense, the general rule of thumb is to choose the one interpretation which imposes the least strain on credulity.

"The true purpose of Holy Scripture is to be God’s immediate and earthly instrument for spirituality affecting mankind" (Ramm, p. 112). In other words, interpretation intends application.