I believe in one true and living Triune God. I believe that He has revealed Himself to
humanity in many different ways.
However, we learn the most about God, His character, and His plan for us
through the Scripture. Herein, I will
describe the nature of Scripture. Then I
will cover the manner in which a Christian should read Scripture in order to
connect with the word of God on a deeper level.
Finally, Christians read Scripture for a variety of reasons. But, why is Scripture relevant today? These are the areas I will touch on in this
statement on the Scripture.
Through the plenary guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
the 66 books of the Bible were written by man to convey God’s revelation of
love to humanity. In its original form,
Scripture is the inerrant, authoritative, spoken word of God whose
soteriological nature testifies to all things concerning the redemption and
salvation of humanity.
The Holy Spirit inspired men to write the books of the Bible. To say the Spirit’s inspiration is “plenary”
is to say that Scripture is fully or completely inspired by the Holy
Spirit. Scripture is the standard-bearer
of the Christian faith. However, this
inspiration was not limited to the original writers of the Bible.
The Bible was written over the span of around 1300-1600
years. So, it was not put together in
the form that we have it today until all of the books were completed. Someone had to put them together. Those who were involved in the councils and
formed the creeds that gave us the Christian Bible were also guided by the Holy
Spirit.
“In, through, or in spite of its clearly human, historical
characteristics, Christians confess that Scripture repeats, conveys, or
reflects the words of the living God” (Fowl, 2009, p. 2). Though the Bible has gone through many hands
and been the subject of countless attempts at interpretation and
re-interpretation, the core message remains the same. Because the possibility of errors in
transcribing and translation exists, “the earliest text available should be
sought, as well as the best translation” (Leclerc, 2013, p. 34). In these earliest forms of Scripture are
found the inerrant words of God.
The Bible “is a book addressed to the whole people of God” (Leclerc, 2013, p. 40). Its soteriological nature means that it
reveals God’s doctrine of salvation for all of humanity. It provides a backstory and a roadmap to
redemption. Through the backstory, God’s
character is revealed as well as His plan for us. That would be the Old Testament. The New Testament provides the roadmap to
redemption through Jesus Christ as well as the way to entire sanctification
through Christian living.
“Scripture fulfills its
purpose when God fulfills God’s purpose in us” (Leclerc, 2013, p. 40). What God wants most from us is obedience and
fellowship. Fulfilling that desire for
God should be the main motivation behind studying Scripture. The Bible teaches us how to communicate with,
fellowship with, worship, and be redeemed by Him. Fowl (2009) says that “Scripture reveals all
that believers need to sustain a life of growing communion with God and each
other” (p. 10).
“All Scripture is inspired by God—The Spirit of God not only once
inspired those who wrote it, but continually inspires, supernaturally assists,
those who read it” (Thorsen,
2004, p. 84). This is a process
called double inspiration and was also prescribed by John Wesley (Leclerc, 2013). As discussed, the Bible has a soteriological
nature. Therefore, “reading the Bible…is
always intended to aid in our progressive sanctification” (Leclerc, 2013, p. 38). A Christian should always read Scripture with
that in mind. Believers should allow the
Spirit to guide them to the message, and then apply it in a way that will grow
their relationship with God. “Christians
need to be sure that our interpretations and embodiments of Scripture are
always directed toward enhancing our prospects of reaching our true home” (Fowl, 2009, p. 39).
A Christian reader necessarily needs to be sure to remember that
“no single verse, or even passage, is to be interpreted in isolation from the
whole Bible” (Leclerc, 2013, p.
40). The message of Scripture is not
revealed in a single verse or passage.
It is only when readers consider the message of the Bible as a whole
that a valid interpretation can be made of any single part of the Bible. Reading the Bible in this manner prevents
Christians from picking out verses to satisfy a predetermined interpretation of
a passage—called eisegesis (Leclerc,
2013).
Biblical writers celebrate Jesus as the plumb line by which
everyone is measured—see Rom 14:15, 1 Cor. 8:11-12, and Eph. 4:21; 5:2. Therefore, when looking at Scripture,
“evaluate them by the standard of Jesus’ life and words” (Thompson, 1994, p. 78-79). It only makes sense that Scripture be
interpreted in light of the New Covenant.
Christians are no longer under the Mosaic or Davidic covenants of the
Old Testament.
The ultimate aim of reading Scripture is to allow God to reveal
himself to believers as they make their way toward entire sanctification
through the grace that He has shown to humanity. “For Christians, the ends of reading,
interpreting, and embodying Scripture are determined decisively by the ends of
God’s self-revelation, which are directed toward drawing humans into
ever-deeper communion with the triune God and each other” (Fowl, 2009, p. 6-7).
Another aim for reading Scripture is teaching. In order for a teacher to be believable and
effective, they must know the material.
It is no different for teachers of the Bible. Students will be easily turned off if most of
their questions go unanswered because the instructor does not know.
By unpacking the interpreter’s bag of Inductive Bible Study tools,
Scripture comes alive and is shown to be relevant in today’s world. Many biblical principles are universal and
are easily translated from one culture or situation to another. In these cases,
the cultural gap is not so broad. However,
in other cases the principles may be more specific to the original
audience. Here, the bridge between
cultures is very wide and requires much work to cross. By discovering the historical and literary
context, one can begin to move from the ancient world to the modern world. Understanding the world of the ancients
allows us to begin to understand the true meaning of a passage. From there, readers can evaluate the text and
apply the passage to the modern world.
“Reading and searching the Scriptures then are the food of the
Christian life that gives nourishment and energy in order for us to become all
that God has created us to be” (Leclerc,
2013, p. 38). Scripture is relevant
to Christians today because it is where God continually shows Himself. It is where readers can go to meditate on and
discover the plans God has for them.
Inside are truths that are as universal and timeless as God
Himself. His love and His word endure
forever.
It is through Scripture that Christians learn about God—His character,
His ways, His love and plan for humanity.
Through inductive interpretation, readers are able to go far beyond the
surface level of the text and discover true meaning of Scripture that God wants
us all to see. “God ‘authors’ Scripture
not to warrant some grand system of theological ideas to guide people in
orthodox confession, but rather to lead sinful people into thankful worship of
a forgiving Lord” (Leclerc,
2013, p. 38).
References
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