1 HERMENEUTICS Understanding N.T. Epistles  How to Read the Bible for All its Worth (3rd ed.) by Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, Chapter 3  How to Read the Bible as Literature by Leland Ryken, Chapter 9

2 Epistles: Key Questions  What form do epistles generally follow? How closely does this epistle (the one I am studying or reading) follow that form?  What is the occasion of the writing of the epistle?  What is the historical context of this epistle?  What is the literary context of this epistle?

3 Epistolary form. PartFunction Greeting / Salutation To identify the sender and greet the recipients Icebreaker / Thanksgiving To form and/or strengthen bonds and get the readers’ attention Body To state and develop the main points of the epistle Paraenesis / Exhortation To give final moral directions to the readers Closing / Farewell To wish well and say goodbye

4 Let’s Try This Out: 1 Corinthians Part Beginning & Ending Point Greeting / Salutation Icebreaker / Thanksgiving Body Paraenesis / Exhortation Closing / Farewell

5 Let’s Try This Again: 2 Corinthians Part Beginning & Ending Point Greeting / Salutation Icebreaker / Thanksgiving Body Paraenesis / Exhortation Closing / Farewell

6 Sniff Out the Occasion  What specific situation brought about the need to write?  We will not succeed in understanding the epistle if we  Fail to realize the occasional nature of all epistles in general  Fail to look hard for the occasion of the epistle we are reading  Task theology is the product of each epistle

7 What was the occasion of …  Philemon?  Paul has come upon an escaped servant, Onesimus, of a believer named Philemon (vs. 10)  2 John?  Many deceivers have gone out into the world (vs. 7)  Jude?  Godless men have secretly slipped in among the believers (vs. 4)  2 Thessalonians?  Someone had told them that the day of the Lord had already come (2:1-2)

8 Why is knowing the occasion of an epistle so important?  Clues to authorial intent  Experiential immediacy  Demonstrates the pragmatic value of Christian faith  Limits the interpretation options

9 Historical context  Reconstruct the setting  External resources may be very helpful for this  Read the whole epistle through in one sitting  Take notes  What do you notice about the recipients themselves?  What is the writer’s attitude toward them?  What clues can you gather about the occasion of the epistle?  What are the epistle’s logical, natural divisions?

10 Literary context  READ & THINK paragraphs  Note where one paragraph ends and the next begins  What (if anything) links the two?  Ask, “What’s the point of this paragraph?”  Ask, “Why did the writer use this word (or phrase) and not a similar word?”

11 Dealing with problem passages  What do you know for certain?  What meanings are possible but not certain?  What difference does each of the possible meanings make to the main points of the epistle?  Can I afford to suspend judgment about this passage?  The things you can be certain about in an epistle will often lead to logical answers to the problem passages.  Remember the occasion of the epistle.

12 Literary genres within the NT epistles  Proverbs  1 Cor. 15:33  Formulas  Jas. 1:13-15, 4:1  Creeds & Hymns  Phil. 2:6-11, 1 Ti. 3:16, Col. 1:15-20  Vice lists  Gal. 5:19-21, Rom. 1:29-31  Virtue lists  Gal. 5:22-23, 2 Peter 1:5-7  Imperative clusters  1 Thes. 5:16-22, Col. 3:18-4:6

13 Literary devices within the NT epistles  Metaphor  1 Corinthians 15:53  Simile  1 Corinthians 9:26  Rhetorical questions  Romans 10:15  Paradox  1 Corinthians 15:42-44  Question-and- exclamation  1 Corinthians 15:35-36  Apostrophe  1 Corinthians 15:54-55  Repetition  1 Corinthians 15:43-44  Balance  1 Corinthians 15:9-11  Antithesis 1 Corinthians 15:21-22  Parallelism  1 Corinthians 15:53

14 2 BASIC RULES OF HERMENEUTICS 1. A TEXT CANNOT MEAN WHAT IT NEVER COULD HAVE MEANT TO ITS AUTHOR OR TO THE ORIGINAL AUDIENCE 2. WHENEVER WE SHARE COMPARABLE SPECIFICS WITH THE NT SETTING, GOD’S WORD TO US HAS THE SAME MEANING AS GOD’S WORD TO THEM

15 THE PROBLEM OF EXTENDED APPLICATION A TEXT’S MEANING MAY NOT ALWAYS BE APPLIED TO A CONTEXT WHICH IS NOT SPECIFIED BY THAT TEXT CORROBORATION IS NEEDED

16 THE PROBLEM WITH PARTICULARS THAT ARE NOT COMPARABLE DETERMINE HOW THE ANSWERS TO 1 ST CENTURY ISSUES APPLY TO CONTEMPORARY ISSUES –FIND THE PRINCIPLE –COMPARE MORALLY RELEVANT PARTICULARS –RESIST THE URGE TO OVER-APPLY

17 THE PROBLEM OF CULTURAL RELATIVITY God’s eternal Word has been given to us in historical particularity 1.Distinguish between core and periphery 2.Distinguish between what is inherently moral and what is not inherently moral 3.Distinguish between issues where the NT has a uniform, consistent position, and issues where the NT reflects differing positions

18 THE PROBLEM OF CULTURAL RELATIVITY (continued) God’s eternal Word has been given to us in historical particularity 4.Distinguish between principle and specific application 5.Consider the options available to the NT writer in his culture 6.Be alerted to possible differences between 1 st and 21 st century cultures 7.Practice Christian charity in resolving disputes

19 THE PROBLEM OF TASK THEOLOGY Epistles give theology as a response to a task being worked on 1.Our understanding of the full occasion is limited, so don’t presume more than is probable 2.Your question may not be the one being answered by the epistle 3.Don’t proof-text!