Can We All Understand the Bible Alike?

There are a number of popular beliefs being taught about the Bible that we need to explore--perhaps you have heard people say some of them:

• The Bible is not meant to be understood.
• The Bible says different things to different people
• What is important is not so much what the Bible says but what the Bible says to me.
• The New Testament addressed the culture of the first century and really doesn't speak to us.
• It doesn't matter what you believe as long as you are sincere.
• You can make the Bible say anything you want it to. One idea that seems to keep floating around is, "Take a passage of Scripture and read it to a group of people. There will be as many interpretations of that passage as there are people in that room." Is this really true?
• Was the Bible meant to be understood?
• Was the Bible intended to be understood alike?

• Deut. 30:11-14 the word is not out of reach.
• 31:9-13 to be read to men, women, children every seven years, an enduring process
• It was to all Israel: smart, dumb, conservatives, liberals
• those who didn't know it were expected to learn it Luke 1:1-4 Luke carefully investigated the life of Jesus that you might know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
• 2 Cor. 1:13 Paul wrote no other thing but what you can understand.
• Eph. 3:3-4 Paul wrote so that "you can understand when you read."
• 1 John 2:21 John said Christians can know the truth and can distinguish a lie.

• John 8:24 Jesus is the Messiah, and our salvation is dependent upon our believing the right thing about him.
• Gal. 5:1-4 Some fell from grace and were severed from Christ because they bound the Law in addition to gospel.

1. Familiarize yourself with the sixty-six books of the Bible. The Bible is actually a library of books. Note that there is an Old Testament and a New Testament, which are written to different audiences. The OT addressed the nation of Israel or the Jews, while the NT is addressed to Christians, both Jews and Gentiles. The books of the Bible are written in different styles of literature: history, narrative, poetry, wisdom, prophetic, exhortation, and apocalyptic. The Bible was written over a period of 1600 years by forty different authors who lived in a variety of places. Each book has its own historical and cultural setting.
   
   
2. Select good Bible study helps. It will help you greatly to acquire a Bible dictionary, a Bible atlas, and a concordance. These tools will help you define people, places and things that may be unfamiliar to you. The concordance will give you the passages, which have the key terms you are studying.
   
   
3. Read each individual passage in its context. Each passage of each book has a context in which it is to be read an understood. Many passages are misunderstood because the reader has never taken time to investigate the context of the Scripture he is reading. Some questions he must ask of the passage:
   
   • Who is writing the passage?
   • To whom is the author writing? Not everything in the Bible is written to every person. The OT was written to Jews, and the NT was written to Christians.
   • When was the passage written?
   • What was the author's intent and purpose in writing? The direct or literal sense of a sentence is the meaning of the author, when no other is indicated; not any figurative, allegorical, or mystical meaning.
   • What circumstance may have prompted the writer to give rise to this lesson?
   • What kind of literature is he using to make his message known?
   • What are the historical and cultural circumstances that bear on this passage?
   • What would this message mean to its original recipients?
   
   To interpret a passage and not regard its context is to misinterpret it; to interpret it contrary to its context is to teach falsehood for truth. The meaning of a word or phrase in a later book of Scripture is not to be transferred to an earlier book, unless required by the context.
   
   There are four circles of context:
   
   The Historical-Cultural Circle of Context. Many concepts are not properly understood when one does not think about the customs of the people and the historical circumstances of the time. Further, since the OT was written originally in Hebrew and Aramaic and the NT was written in Greek, the sense of a sentence, and the relation of one sentence to another, must be determined according to the grammar of the language in which it is written.
   
   The Biblical Circle of Context. Because the whole Bible is the product of inspiration, no two passages of Scripture conflict or contradict one another. No two passages should be thought to teach contrary doctrines. Often the problem is that the reader has not studied enough to see how the passages harmonize with each other. The meaning of NT words and phrases are often influenced by the OT and should be determined in harmony with OT usage; not by Greek against Hebrew usage.
   
   The Specific Author and Specific Book Circle of Context. Words and phrases sometimes take on a particular meaning whenever they are used often in the same book or by the same author. This particular meaning may not be normally understood if found used in another book or by another author.
   
   The Immediate Context. The most important context for understanding any verse of Scripture is the verses before and after it. The final determinate of the meaning of any word is the way that it is used in its immediate context.
   
   
4. Learn to draw out the meaning of a passage; do not read into the passage anything that was not originally there. There is a difference between exegesis and eisegesis. Exegesis is the drawing out of the meaning of the passage. Eisegesis is the reading into the passage things that were never there. Those who study the Bible must be careful not to read into it their own personal prejudices or concepts that they think ought to be in the Bible. One must read God's Word with an open mind to learn what He has said and to understand the Bible for what it says for itself. The Bible is always its own best interpreter.
   
   Let the Bible explain itself. A difficult prophecy in Joel 2 finds its fulfillment in Acts 2. On the day of Pentecost, Peter said, "This is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel" (Acts 2:16). In Eph. 4:4 Paul says that there is "one body"; this body is defined as the church (Eph. 1:22,23). In Rev. 1:20 John explains that the seven stars are angels or messengers and the seven golden lampstands are the seven churches. There is no further need of wondering. The Bible is indeed its own best interpreter. A plain, clear passage should always be used to make the dark and abstruse passages clear. A difficult passage never denies or contradicts the plain teaching of the Scripture.
   
   The Scriptures admonish us not to add or take away from what is revealed (Deut. 4:2; 12:32; Prov. 30:6; John 8:31,32; 2 John 9; Rev. 22:18,19). We must learn to stay within the teaching and observe the teaching carefully, completely, lovingly and accurately.
   
   The Scriptures do contain a law of inclusion and exclusion. We must do all that God commands us to do (Matt. 28:19,20), yet we must also realize that specific commands exclude substitutes and additions. When God told Noah to build an ark of "gopher wood," this excluded all other kinds of wood. When God gives us an instruction in general terms, He allows us to use our common sense to fulfill that command in a variety of ways. For instance when God tells us to "go into all the world," He allows us to walk, run, swim, take a car, take a boat, take a plane, ride horseback, use a morcycle, use a bicycle, or any other way that we choose. The good Bible student knows how to distinguish between general instructions and specific instructions. He accurately observes the specific.
   
   
5. Take all that the Scriptures teach on any subject. All the truth on any one subject is not usually in one passage. There is a difference between a true statement and the whole truth of a matter. John 5:24 says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life." It is true that we are saved by faith, but that is not the whole truth. Faith apart from repentance or baptism will not save (Luke 13:3; Acts 2:38).
   
   
6. Recognize figures of speech. There are many figures of speech in the Bible. Many problems occur because uninformed students interpret a passage literally when they should interpret it figuratively. "It may truly be said that most of the gigantic errors have their root and source, either in figuratively explaining away passages which should be taken literally, or in taking literally what has been thrown into a peculiar form or Figure of language: thus, not only falling into error, but losing the express teaching, and missing the special emphasis which the particular Figure was designed to impart to them." (E.W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, p. xvi.).
   
   Important Figures of Speech:
   
   Simile: a comparison of two things in one or more aspects, usually employing the words "like" or "as." Example: "Is not my word like a fire?" declares the Lord, "and like a hammer which shatters a rock?" (Jer. 23:29; cf. Isa. 53:6; Matt. 10:16; 17:2; 23:27).
   
   Metaphor: the comparison of two things without the use of "like" or "as." Example: "You are the salt of the earth" (Matt. 5:13; cf. Gen. 49:27; Matt. 5:14; 7:15; Jude 12,13).
   
   Parable: a comparison, an extended simile; a short, supposed story from real life that points to a moral or spiritual truth. Examples: The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37); The Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32); The Ten Virgins (Matt. 25:1-13).
   
   Allegory: an extended metaphor. An allegory differs from a parable, in that a parable typically keeps the story distinct from its interpretation, while an allegory intertwines the story and its meaning. Examples of allegories: the Christian armor (Eph. 6:10-20); the true vine (John 15:1-17); and Paul's allegory of Ishmael and Isaac (Galatians 4).
   
   Fable: an illustration story made by attributing human qualities to animals, plants, and inanimate things. Unlike the parable, which uses characters that are true to life, the fable uses actors that are unreal. There are only two fables in the Bible: Jotham's fable (Judges 9:6-21) and Jehoash's fable (2 Kings 14:9). (The NT uses "fable" as a translation of the word "myth" ( ), which may be defined as a religious story that has no connection with reality and contrasted with an eyewitness (cf. 1 Tim. 1:4; 4:7; 2 Tim. 4:4; Tit. 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:6).
   
   Personification: representing an inanimate object or abstract idea as endowed with the personal attributes of a human being. Example: "tomorrow will be anxious for itself" (Matt. 6:34; cf. Num. 16:32; Prov. 8:1; Psalm 19:1; Isa. 55:12).
   
   Anthropomorphism: the representation or conception of God as having human attributes. Example: the Lord God "walking in the garden in the cool of the day" (Gen. 3:8; cf. Gen. 11:5; Psalm 8:3; Prov. 15:3; Isa. 59:1). God, of course, is spirit (John 4:24) and should not be considered as made of matter (Acts 17:22-30).
   
   Irony: a method of criticizing or judging by seeming to praise or congratulate. Example: Elijah's mockery of the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:27; cf. 1 Cor. 4:8-13).
   
   Euphemism: a soft or moderate expression for a more direct and perhaps shocking one. For example, those who are dead are called "asleep" (1 Thess. 4:13 cf. Gen. 15:15; 42:38; Judg. 3:24; 2 Sam. 18:32; John 11:11). Other phrases: "spreading the skirt" for marriage (Ruth 3:9); "them that are afar off" are Gentiles (Acts 2:39). To "uncover nakedness" is to have sex with (Lev. 18:6).
   
   Hyperbole: the intentional use of exaggeration for effect. Example: "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 19:24; cf. John 21:25; Psalm 6:6,7; Judg. 7:12).
   
   Paradox: the assertion of two propositions as true which seem to be contradictory, but in fact are not contradictory. For example: "but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away that which he hath" (Matt. 13:12; cf. Matt. 5:5).
   
   Metonymy: the use of one noun for another that it suggests. For example, 1 Cor. 11:27 speaks of drinking "the cup," a reference to the contents not the container. Or "they have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them," the writings of Moses and the prophets not the men (Luke 16:29). John turned to see a voice speaking, a reference to the speaker (Rev. 1:12). God so loved the world, not the earth but the people who live in it (John 3:16).
   
   Synecdoche: a form of expression where a part represents the whole or a whole represents a part. For example, "preach the gospel to every creature" would not include dogs and cows (Mark. 16:15). In Matt. 12:40 Jesus is to spend "three days and three nights in the heart of the earth," yet he remains buried only about 37 hours, not 72. The apparent discrepancy is solved when one recognizes that in Jewish thought, any part of a day is counted as if it were a whole day.
   
   Riddle: a riddle is a concise saying which is intentionally formulated to tax the ingenuity of the hearer or reader when he tries to explain it. Samson's riddle is found in Judg. 14:12-20. The number 666 in Rev. 13:18 also contains a riddle.
   
   "Figurative language is a pervasive feature of human discourse. It lends vivacity to expression and adds depth of meaning. In order to understand any figure, one must of course first recognize the literal meaning and then, by reflecting on the relevant points of similarity, interpret the significance of the figure."
   
   How can we know the language is figurative?
   
   • The sense of the context will indicate it.
   • When the literal meaning of a word or sentence involves impossibility.
   • If the literal makes a contradiction.
   • When the Scriptures are made to demand that which is wrong.
   • When it is said to be figurative.
   • By the use of common sense.
   
   
7. One must come to the Word of God with the right attitude. Open-mindedness and humility are essential to good Bible study. The point of view that a miraculous event can't possibly have happened will lead one to endless speculation. One must have a good and honest heart if one is to bring forth fruit with patience (Luke 8:15). Christians are to "buy the truth and not sell it" (Prov. 23:23) and so hold a high view of the truth. Christians must also come with a willingness to apply what they learn to themselves.
   
   
8. Apply the message of the Bible to your life. We ought to bring the message of the Bible home by responding to the passage with our hearts and lives. Here are some questions we can ask the Scriptures that will help us apply them to our lives:
   
   
   • Does this command something I'm not doing?
   • Does this suggest a change in my behavior?
   • Does this reflect a spirit or an attitude I'm not manifesting?
   • Does this confirm a belief I already hold?
   • Does this suggest further study or a change in my beliefs?
   • Have I accepted this promise and trusted God to fulfill it?
   • Have I seen this promise fulfilled in my life?
   • How would it change matters if everyone obeyed this command?
   • What would Jesus do in my place?