Recap: context, clarity, scripture interprete
- Let the Clear scripture interpret the Obscure scripture
Not everything in the Bible is equally clear. Some texts are stated clearer than others and some texts are downright obscure. the Bible contains many different genres or types of literature.( literary, history/narrative, letters, poems, songs, prophetic)
Some types of literature are better suited than others for different types of communication. For example, if a writer’s primary goal is to evoke emotion or stir the imagination, then poetry or a fictional narrative or parable is usually a good vehicle. On the other hand, if the writer desires primarily to teach or instruct his readers on a particular topic, then a didactic form of writing is often best. intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive. By “didactic” I mean a text that provides straight-forward instructional material that is NOT, for the most part, “dressed up” in figurative, poetic, or narrative language.
Therefore, if a subject is addressed in Scripture in more than one type of literature, including didactic literature, then the place to start is with the didactic literature. The less clear nondidactic should be understood in the light of the clearer instructional material. This is not to say, of course, that poetic, prophetic, and narrative passages do not teach. Of course they do. The point is that material that is primarily didactic in form and content is usually clearer and less subject to misunderstanding than other types of literature.
Example Genesis 18v1 And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, cp John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. Joh 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
èTheophany(Appearance of God)-God appeared as a man, burning bush, pillar of cloud, fire etc
2.Interpret earlier revelation in light of later revelation. This principle is grounded in the concept of progressive revelation. The idea is that God has revealed himself and his will in the Scriptures progressively.
So passages of Scripture that were written later will provide us a clearer and fuller understanding of God and his will than earlier passages.
example, Trinity Christians believe that God is triune – that there is one God who exists in three eternal persons. Yet, the Old Testament saints did not have this understanding of God. Though there are Old Testament text s that hint at the doctrine of the trinity Testament text s that hint at the doctrine of the trinity 14), the fullest revelation of God’s triune nature did not come until the time of Christ.
Example: Unclean foods: e.g. Leviticus 11:42 forbids Gods people to eat certain kinds of animals, [Lev 11:41 And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten. Lev 11:42 Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all four, or whatsoever hath more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they are an abomination.] yet Acts 10:11-15 permits those animals to be eaten. [Act 10:11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.
understand the apparent contradiction
In addressing this problem, the first thing to note is that Peter (whom God tells to eat these animals) and Luke (who wrote Acts) understand that God had previously forbidden this practice. So, it is not as if the author of Acts is contradicting Moses, the author of Leviticus, as if to say that he was wrong. Rather, Luke is recording for us the fact that God’s commands have changed in the New Testament era. In other words, there has been a progress in redemptive history and in Gods revelation. The explanation for the change is that the Old Testament dietary laws, like the sacrificial laws, were not moral precepts that are eternally binding, but ceremonial laws that served a theological purpose in the Old Covenant, but are now obsolete. Shadows pointing to reality
W e must guard against an important error at this point, however. The concept of progressive revelation must not be understood in such a way that later revelation is allowed to imply that earlier texts were false or mistaken. Later revelation supplements, clarifies, or (as in the example discussed above) supersedes previous revelation, it does not correct it.
3.Let the New testament realities predominate interpretation
“The New Testament is in the Old concealed; the Old Testament is in the New revealed.”
The New Testament – since it provides the fullest and final revelation of God, and since it speaks often about the meaning of the Old Testament – is our primary guide to understanding the Old Testament. If something in the Old Testament is not clear, the New Testament can often help us understand it. If there appears to be a conflict between what the Old Testament says and what the New Testament says, the New Testament has priority. E.g. polygamy. Abraham, David, Jacob
Conclusion
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