How to study the Bible
Part 4
“Interpret and Apply”
Last time we looked at the inductive study method, which is to:
OBSERVE
INTERPRET
APPLY
We learned that for good OBSERVATION you should answer these questions as you read:
• Who is in the passage? Who is speaking or narrating? How are they described?
• Where are they? What is their location? Are they traveling?
• What are they doing?
• When? Make a note of the timeframe.
• Why? Is there a reason these events are happening? A reason why the person is speaking on that topic?
Now this time we’re going to look at:
How to Interpret what you read.
Good Bible interpretation requires two things: humility and the right tools.
First, HOW you approach the text.
We should not open our Bibles determined to prove our own points. We open the Bible to learn what God has to say, which is called exegesis from a Greek word meaning “Out of.”
Good Bible interpretation is all about applying the right study techniques so that we can draw OUT of the Word what God intended to say to us!
This is the task of INTERPRETATION.
Good study of Scripture requires us to be careful not to step into interpretation too early. You should spend the majority of your Bible study time on the OBSERVATION step covered last time.
Once we have done diligent work to know what the text says in plain words, we can dive into what those words mean.
You may be asking, why do I need to do all this work, can’t I just read the plain text? Absolutely you can! But reading at the surface level will give you only surface-level understanding. Shallow understanding can create a shallow-rooted faith that can be easily uprooted by the storms of life.
To go deeper in your study of Scripture is to go deeper in your relationship with Jesus, because it is His truth that sets you free.
Paul told the Romans to, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (12:1).
This takes place solely and only by time in the Word. And if our time is brief and shallow, the renewing process won’t take place as it should. So here are some helpful tips for interpretation:
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Step One—Paraphrase your passage
Put the verse or verses you’re reading in your own words. Take the verse and summarize it.
For instance, in one of my devotional times I noticed in Psalms 10 how David describes the inner thoughts of the wicked with the phrase “He has said in his heart” 3 different times.
Vs. 6 “He (the wicked) has said in his heart, “Nothing will ever shake me.” He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.” I summarized this by writing in my margin, The wicked believe they’re invincible.
Vs. 11 “He has said in his heart, ‘God has forgotten; He hides His face; He will never see.’” I summarized this with, The wicked believe God isn’t taking notes.
Vs. 13 “He has said in his heart, ‘You will not require an account.’” I summarized this with, The wicked believe there will be no consequences for sin.
And just for good measure, in Ps 14:1 David tells us a fourth thing the wicked says in his heart, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” The wicked believe they are unaccountable to a divine being.
So in a nutshell, the wicked believe 1. they’re invincible, 2. God isn’t watching them, 3. there are no consequences for sin, and 4. there is no God to whom they’re accountable.
So by simply isolating a repeated phrase in Psalms 10, I learned some of the lies sinners are deceived by!
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Two—Put It In Context
The three golden rules for Bible interpretation are context, context, and context.
Another little saying is, “A text without a context is a pretext for a proof text.” In other words, you’re using a verse to prove your point, not to teach its true meaning!
—Scriptures are not meant to be read in isolation but with the surrounding Scriptures and the Bible as a whole.
Verse jerked out of context are one major way bad or false teachings are born.
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There are three important types of context we need to understand in order to grasp the meaning of any passage. The first two are:
Historical/Cultural Context
The historical context refers to what was happening in and around the time a particular book was written.
Context varies from book to book and it is imperative for us to know what was happening within the culture of the author and their audience.
What was happening that prompted that book to be written? What was the purpose?
It certainly makes a difference for us to know what was happening in the city of Corinth during the 1st century when we dive into first and second Corinthians.
Knowing that city’s deeply immoral culture, complete with idol worship and temple prostitution, helps us understand Paul’s repeated references to sexual sin like—flee fornication, don’t be joined to a prostitute, and so on.
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Then third, there is the Literary Context
Just like today, literature has many different genres that change how you read a book. What type of literature is the book you’re reading?
In the Old Testament, we have narrative (telling Israel’s story), law, poetry, prophecy, and wisdom books.
In the New Testament, we have the gospels, history, letters, and apocalyptic literature.
How you find meaning in each of those books is going to be different based on the type of literature used. Poetry is very different from narrative. Law books are very different from apocalyptic literature.
The Bible is full of metaphors and symbolism, especially in prophecy and apocalyptic literature. The use of metaphor versus a literal reading can radically change the understanding of a passage.
For instance, when we read of “a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars” (Rev. 12:10), Or, “A beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns” (13:1), we know this is not literal, but metaphorical, symbolic.
But when we read that Jesus stood at Lazarus’s tomb and said, “Lazarus, come forth!” And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes” (John 11:43-44), this is to be taken literally!
Context is also about how a verse or passage relates to, not just the chapter, but the book as a whole. To understand the whole book is to better understand a verse.
The Song of Solomon, book of Revelation, the prophetic books are all best interpreted by understanding the bigger picture the whole book provides.
So some questions to ask when trying to understand a verse or verses are:
• What is the meaning of this word?
• What is the significance of this phrase?
• What is the main point of this passage?
• What did the character(s) learn in this passage?
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More Tips For Sound Interpretation
#1 Scripture Interprets Scripture
In areas where Scripture is unclear or vague, we defer to where Scripture is clear. For instance, when Jesus says in Mark 11:24, “Therefore l say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”
Many take this verse out of its context and believe it applies to anything and everything they want. Just believe it and its yours! But sometimes taking a verse in context applies not just to the chapter its in, but to the context of the rest of the Bible. In this case, John expands on Jesus’s words in 1 John 5:14,
“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”
Now we have a far better understanding of what Jesus was saying in Mark 11. Again, the best interpreter of Scripture is Scripture!
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#2 Make good use of Cross-references
What is a Cross-Reference?
A cross-reference is a verse or verses found somewhere else in Scripture that is related to the passage or verse you are reading.
Make note of these as they come up while you are reading. If you are using a study Bible, these should be noted right on the pages. Don’t ignore them. Take the time to look them up and read them to see the connections with other Scriptures.
EXAMPLE:
a“He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the b wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36).
The cross-reference a leads me to, among other verses, Ro. 1:17 “For in it (the gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.”
The cross-reference b leads me to Ro. 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.”
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And finally—Consult Your Commentaries
Now that you have gathered all of the necessary information and made your own observations and interpretations of the text, you may seek out good commentators to see what their interpretation is.
This can be blogs, podcasts, commentaries, sermons, etc.
The reason it is so important to leave this step for last is to be sure that the meaning you uncover for yourself is not muddied by the opinion of someone else.
One last golden rule of interpretation is:
“When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense; therefore, take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in the light of related passages and fundamental truths, indicate clearly otherwise.”
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Next time, APPLICATION!