Misunderstandings stink. I once got cussed out on the phone because of one.
The guy who did the cussing thought I’d scheduled an event on a certain date in order to purposely exclude him from attending. Well, he had misunderstood, and I wish he’d asked more questions before jumping to conclusions.
If he’d asked, I could have given more information (for example, I had no idea this fellow was unavailable on the proposed date, and I primarily chose the date to avoid conflicts with other events).
It is possible to misunderstand the Bible, but with careful interpretation it’s also possible to rightly understand it. God’s Word is a Knowable Word.
Interpretation is the second of three steps in the Bible study process. We’ve seen why we should interpret the Bible. We’ve seen two things that will hinder interpretation. But how do we interpret?
These three steps will help you to interpret any passage of the Bible.
1. Ask Questions of Your Observations
If you’ve observed well, you’re ready to interpret.
Take your observations and ask questions of them. Lots of questions. Tackle those observations from every direction.
Be as inquisitive as possible. Get better at asking questions, and you’ll get better at interpreting the Bible.
Note that your questions should be about your observations of the text. Don’t ask just any old questions. Don’t feel the need to be particularly clever. Your job is not to innovate, but to uncover. (Note how the disciples didn’t observe well, and so asked the wrong questions in John 21:22-23.)
2. Answer the Questions from the Text
Once you’ve asked your questions, answer them. There’s one critical rule, though: answer questions only if they are answered (explicitly or implicitly) in the text (Prov 30:5-6).
Don’t go on rabbit trails. Don’t use minor details to make the text say what you want it to say. Don’t build a whole theology from one verse. Instead, answer only those questions that are either assumed or addressed in the text. Let the rest go.
3. Determine the Author’s Main Point
As you answer all your questions, pull them together into a big picture. Your job is to understand the main thing the author is communicating through the passage (2 Pet 3:15-18).
Most theological disagreements among Christians take place when people focus on things other than the main points of passages. I’m not saying that theology is bad (in fact, it’s very important). I’m simply saying that it’s important to focus on the main points of the Bible and not on secondary, questionable, or implied points (Matt 23:23-24).
Missing the main point means misunderstanding the text. And misunderstandings stink.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll unpack each of these steps in greater detail.
Which of these steps seems most obvious to you? Which one is most difficult?
I’ve found asking questions of the text to often be a easier than answering them. Also, I think it can often be difficult to move from the questions you’ve asked/answered to the main point.
You mention only answering questions that are clearly implied in the text. How firmly do you hold to not looking at other passages to answer a question or get help with it? For example, our small group was studying the end of Colossians 1 a few weeks ago and was asking the questions, “What is lacking in Christ’s afflictions?” and “How is Paul filling up what is lacking there?” We found it quite helpful to look at Paul’s use of the same phrase in Phil. 2:30. It was a different context, and it took time to dig into that, but understanding the use in the Philippians passage really seemed to help with understanding it in Colossians. I’m not sure we could have done that (as well) without looking at both passages.
GREAT question Jeremy! I appreciate the example you mentioned, which shows that I need to be more precise on my suggestion. When I wrote “answer questions only if they are answered (explicitly or implicitly) in the text,” my goal was to limit WHICH questions to answer, not HOW to answer them.
In other words, we must be careful not to use a passage as a launching point for a topic until we have first made sure to understand the passage at hand. Otherwise, it’s possible to use any passage to “support” any idea.
But if we limit our questions to those assumed or addressed in the passage, then we’ll discipline ourselves to answer only those questions that actually illuminate the text. But, as for HOW to answer those questions, we often must go beyond the actual text (to another text, to a reference work, to a discussion group, to wise leaders, etc.) to get our answers. In the case you mentioned, going to Phil 2:30 was a great idea because it ILLUMINATED Col 1:24; it didn’t take you on a rabbit trail away from it. See Tom’s post on this very example!
I’ll explain some of these ideas further in another post in a few weeks. What do you think? Do you think I’m missing anything? Is my distinction unclear?
I really appreciate the concept of only answering interpretation questions that can clearly be answered from the text! That is a really practical way of figuring out what kind of questions to ask, and would really help keep Bible study discussions on-track if everyone would abide by that rule. 🙂
I can’t simply go without leaving a comment. This post is a great read. I hope you can take the time to read my post as well.
How to Study the Bible in 3 Basic Steps?
Hope this will also help, Thank you!
Learn the Hebrew words they used for certain things translation can be mis interpreted through language . Things or meanings get lost. Remember the tower of babel he did this so we would remain humble and only those who search will find ask yourself what Jesus searched for …God’s purpose .