Biblical Principles for interpreting Scripture By Edwin Reynolds, Ph.D.

Why biblical principles? Biblical interpretation must first of all be biblical. Principles and methods for interpretation must come from within and be in harmony with the claims and demands of the text. If we want to know how to understand a piece of literature, we should ask the author how to go about the task, rather than establishing our own rules for interpreting the work. So, what are the biblical claims and principles? We ask Scripture.

The nature and purpose of scripture 1. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17 NKJV). 2. The Holy Scriptures are able to make you wise for salvation through the faith which is in Christ Jesus (2 Tim 3:15). 3. Prophecy is not of human origin or interpretation, but holy men of God spoke as their minds were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet 1:19-21; cf. 1 Cor 2:12-13).

The nature and purpose of Scripture—2 4. God does nothing without revealing His plans to His servants the prophets (Amos 3:7; cf. Deut 29:29). 5. God spoke through His servants the prophets and also through His Son (Heb 1:1-2; cf. 2 Sam 23:2; 2 Kgs 21:10; Num 12:6-8; Deut 18:15-22; Luke 1:70; 2 Pet 3:2) 6. The Scriptures bear witness to Jesus (John 5:39; cf. Luke 24:27).

The Reliability of Scripture 1. The prophet spoke the words that God commanded him (Jer 1:1-10; cf. Exod 7:1-2; Exek 1:1-3; 2:1-8). 2. The words of Scripture are not the words of men, but, in truth, the word of God (1 Thess 2:13; cf. Rom 9:17,25; Heb 1:5-13). 3. Scripture cannot be annulled or changed (John 10:35; cf. Ps 12:6-7; Isa 34:16-17; 43:13; 44:26; 46:10; 55:11; Mal 3:6; Jas 1:17). 4. Jesus did not abrogate or annul the authority of the Law and the Prophets but gave it fuller meaning (Matt 5:17-19).

The Unity of the canon 1. The Prophets and the Writings have equal authority with the Law (Pentateuch/Torah) (Rom 3:10-19; cf. Matt 4:4). 2. Paul’s writings are counted as Scripture by Peter (2 Pet 3:15-16; cf. 1 Cor 7:40; 14:37). 3. Paul apparently cites Luke 10:7 as Scripture (1 Tim 5:18). 4. Unity in diversity is provided for under the guidance of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:4-6; Rom 12:4-8; Eph 4:3-13).

Guidelines for Interpretation—1 1. God is actively involved in history (Gen 1:1; 6:5-7; 11:5-9; 19:24,29; Exod 13:14-16; 20:1-3; 31:18; 32:16; Isa 45:7,12; Matt 3:16-17; Luke 1:35; Acts 5:30-32; 17:24-28; Rev 16:5-7; 19:1-3). 2. God has unique acts or events (Isa 28:21; Matt 8:24-27; Luke 1:35; Acts 2:22-24; 1 Cor 15:12-20; Gal 4:4; Heb 9:26-28; 10:12-14; 11:3; 2 Pet 3:5-7,10; Rev 20:13-14; 21:1-5). 3. The things that happened of old were recorded for our benefit (1 Cor 10:6-11; cf. Rom 4:23-24; 1 Cor 9:9-10).

Guidelines for Interpretation—3 7. Even one word of Scripture may be important (Gal 3:16; Matt 5:17-19; 22:43). 8. Even the prophets did not understand all that they wrote about, since some of what they recorded was more for us than for themselves (1 Pet 1:10-12; cf. Dan 8:26-27; 12:4,8-9). 9. Scripture must interpret itself (1 Cor 2:13; cf. Isa 28:9-10; Luke 24:27; Acts 17:11).

Guidelines for Interpretation—4 10. We must study to show ourselves approved by God, workers that need not be ashamed, correctly handling the word of God (2 Tim 2:15; cf. Acts 17:11; 2 Cor 2:17). 11. If anyone is willing to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or not (John 7:17; cf. Ps 119:33-34; 1 Cor 2:10-16). 12. The Holy Spirit is the interpreter of Scripture (1 Cor 2:9-14; cf. John 16:13; 2 Pet 1:20-21).

Guidelines for Interpretation—5 13. Jesus Christ, God’s Son sent into the world for our salvation, is the focal center of Scripture (Isa 9:6-7; Luke 24:27, 44; John 1:45; 5:39; Acts 26:22-23; Rom 1:2-4; Heb 1:1-3; 1 Pet 1:10-13). 14. Take note of the significance of the genre used when making an interpretation (Gen 2:4; Matt 13:10-17,34-36; Rom 5:14; Gal 4:23-24; Col 2:16-17; Heb 9:9-10; 10:1; 1 Pet 3:21; Rev 1:1; 11:8). 15. Observe special principles for interpreting apocalyptic prophecy, such as its symbolic nature (Dan 8:20-21; Rev 1:1,20; 11:8; 17:7-18), or the day-for-a-year principle for time prophecies (Ezek 4:4-6; Dan 7:25; 8:14; 9:24-27; 12:7,11; Rev 11:2-3, 11; 12:6,14; 13:5).

Guidelines for Interpretation—6 16. God’s revelation unfolds progressively rather than revealing everything at once from the beginning with no further unfolding of truth (Gen 3:15; Dan 8:16-19,26; 12:8-9; Luke 24:25-27, 44-45; John 1:29-34; 16:12; Rom 16:25-26; 1 Cor 10:11; Gal 3:23; Eph 3:5; Col 1:26; 2 Thess 2:6; 2 Tim 1:10; 1 Pet 1:5,10-12; Rev 10:4,7,11). 17. We do not sit in judgment on Scripture, but it sits in judgment on us (John 5:45-46; 12:48; Jas 1:22-25; Heb 4:12; Rev 1:16; 2:16; 19:15).

Guidelines for Interpretation—7 18. Don’t use a single, difficult text to establish a teaching, but build doctrine with other, clearer texts and discover how the difficult text can harmonize with the clear ones (Acts 8:30-35; cf. Matt 4:5-7; Mark 9:48). 19. The medium is not the message, but the medium is inseparable from the message (John 1:1-4,6-9,14,19-23; Rev 1:1-2; 19:13). 20. While every statement is an inspired record (descriptive), not every statement is normative for every age; discover the principle before making application, since principles are always valid (Acts 15:5-11,19-21; Gal 3:16-29; Eph 2:11-22; Col 2:13-17; Heb 7:11-19; 8:7-13; 9:6-12)

Conclusion Scripture, as revelation from the Divine mind, is complete in and of itself for a knowledge of truth and the way of salvation. It is not to be interpreted by external presuppositions, philosophies, and preunderstandings, but by internal principles. God desires us to submit ourselves to understanding and doing His will as revealed in Scripture, and He promises His Holy Spirit to help us in the task of interpreting and applying it.