This article is the second in a series of five focusing on how to write and lead Bible studies. It is based on the material used to run a workshop based on those lines at Summer Wine 2003 in Masterton. The first 3 articles will focus on methods of Biblical interpretation, and the final articles will examine how these methods should be used to prepare, and then lead Bible studies. The three parts of Biblical interpretation that will be examined are exegesis, exposition, and application.

Exegesis is looking at what the passage actually says; exposition looks and what the passage means; and the application looks at what the passage means for us today – i.e. what should we do about it.

If you haven't already, read part one now.

Throughout this series of articles, I am going to be using the book of Colossians as an example of putting these principles into practice.

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Exposition

Exposition goes beyond looking at what the passage says to what it actually means. It involves applying several principles of Biblical interpretation to the passage so as to determine what the author intended.

Principles of Biblical Interpretation

1. Keep the verse in context
   No verse should be understood in isolation from the rest of the passage, the book, and the Bible itself. Without the context of a verse, we can actually make the Bible say virtually anything we want. For example, Luke 12:19 says: ‘You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink, and be merry.’ Without the context of this passage, we may assume that the goal of life is just to have fun, and enjoy ourselves. However, the context of this passage (in fact the very next verse) makes it clear that such a person has missed the whole point of life.
   
   Ignoring the context of a passage, we can also make the Bible say that there is no God (Ps 14:1). Of course, the context of this passage says that ‘The fool has said in his heart “There is no God.”’ Failing to keep the verse in context is probably the most common mistake of Biblical critics.
   
   When studying a passage, there are several concentric circles of context to keep in mind.

   1. The immediate context
   2. The Book context (including theme and structure)
   3. The Author’s writing context
   4. The Testament context
   5. The Overall Bible context


2. Interpret Scripture with Scripture
   When a particular concept is taught in many parts of Scripture, it often assumes or implies knowledge of the other references. This simply means that a particular teaching may be taught in many parts throughout Scripture, and so to interpret this teaching correctly, we must understand all the passages that refer to it. An example of this is found in John 15:7, where it says “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” In this passage it does not clearly indicate what it means to remain in Christ and how this relates to asking ‘whatever you wish’. In Matthew 18:19 it says, “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.” Does this literally mean that if we agree about absolutely anything, even something totally repugnant to God’s nature, he will do it? No it does not. In several other verses, it says things like ‘The Father will give you whatever you ask in my name’ (Jn 15:16, 14:13). So it is not just a matter of two of us agreeing on something – it must be asked in Jesus’ name. This is not just a matter of tagging ‘in Jesus name’ to the end of the prayer, but the prayer itself must fit with the character of Jesus.
   
   This principle applies to other teachings as well. Each verse should be interpreted in light of what of other Scriptures say on the subject.


3. Interpret literally unless there is a valid reason not to
   If we are free to spiritualse any passage of Scripture, we can easily avoid some of the clear teachings of the Bible. In particular, the passages of the Bible that are written as a narration of events, cannot be spiritualised away, so as to avoid the implications of the passage recording events in actual space-time history. This rule is often broken by those taking a very liberal theological position, and will generally speak of miracles as being a spiritual reference to something, rather than a real event in history.
   
   However, many passages of the Bible are not supposed to be interpreted literally. The Bible uses many figures of speech such as similes, metaphors, and others, and if these are interpreted literally, they actually miss the point that the author was trying to make. For example, when Jesus said, “If your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out”, he was using a hyperbole, that is, an exaggeration to make a point.
   
   It is hard to give hard and fast rules for when not to interpret literally, but these are normal hints I look for:

   1. The passage cannot be understand literally, normally because it results in absurdity. This is generally fairly obvious to spot.
   2. The passage can be understood in both a literal and spiritual sense, but other passages in Scripture show that the spiritual interpretation is the correct one. An example here is from Isaiah 61:1-2 where it says that the Messiah is to set the captives free. Interpreting this literally would lead us to conclude that he would release prisoners from actual prisons, whereas the New Testament shows us that it was really referring to the Messiah setting free those captive to sin and to the devil.
   3. If the passage makes great use of symbols and other figures of speech, then it probably cannot be understood literally. An example here is Revelation 20:1-6 where the key, the chain, the dragon, and the serpent, are all symbols within the first two verses.


4. Look for the author’s intended meaning of the passage
   A text cannot mean to use what it could never have meant to its author or original readers. The application of the passage may be different, because of cause we live in a different culture today, but the meaning of the passage itself cannot differ wildly from its intended meaning.


5. Interpret difficult passages in light of clear passages
   This is just a specialisation of interpreting passages in context, and interpreting Scripture with Scripture. An example of this is Galatians 2:20 and John 3:16. In Gal 2:20, Paul says that the Son of God ‘loved me and gave himself for me’. If interpreting this on its own, we may assume that Jesus died solely for Paul’s benefit, but if we look at this in the context of other passages, including Jn 3:16, it is obvious that Jesus died for everyone, and so this obviously includes Paul. Jn 3:16 is the general case; Gal 2:20 is a specialisation of this.


6. Interpret narrative passages using didactic passages
   Narrative passages are those that describe events that occurred. Didactic (which means teaching) passages are those that specifically teach about certain subjects. These may be included within narrative passages, for example, particularly in John, the didactic passages come out of Jesus meeting people (described in narrative passages). The reason that it is important to give priority to the didactic passages is that we may misunderstand the point if just reading from the narrative passages. For example, in Acts 2 at Pentecost, if just reading the narrative, we may assume that tongues must always be in another human language, as that is what appeared to happen at Pentecost. However, if we interpret this in the light of 1 Co 14, which specifically teaches on tongues, then we can see that the tongues may also be ‘the tongues of angels’.
   
   Another example is Gideon’s fleece in Judges 6. He laid the fleece out in front of God asking God to prove that Gideon was the one through whom God was going to rescue Israel. However, this is not a good example of how to seek God’s guidance. Gideon already had been clearly told what God’s will was. He was afraid and uncertain rather than immediately obedient. This is recorded in the Bible because that it was happened, not as an example of how to seek the will of God.


7. Do not base doctrine on an obscure passage of Scripture
   A good guide for doctrines is ‘the main things are the plain things, and the plain things are the main things’. If a doctrine is important, then it will be clearly taught in Scripture, probably in several places. It is very unwise to try and create a doctrine out of a simple verse, particularly when we are unsure what the verse really means. An example of this is the Mormon practice of baptism for the dead, which is based on 1 Co 15:29. It is not very obvious exactly what Paul is talking about here, and since this is never mentioned anywhere else in the Bible, it is a little unwise to base a doctrine on it.


8. The Bible uses non-technical, everyday language
   The Bible was not written as a police report, or as a scientific paper. Consequently, it uses round numbers instead of exact figures, and communicates concepts using common language, rather than words that always technically correct. For example, Luke 4:40 says that the people brought to Jesus ‘all who had various kinds of sickness’, but clearly he does not mean literally every single person who had any sickness came to Jesus. He really means a great number of people did. While the statement is not 100% correct from a scientific viewpoint, when used in everyday language, such an exact meaning is not required.


9. The Bible uses different literally devices
   The Bible uses literally devices such as:

   1. Similes (e.g. Ps 32:9 – ‘Do not be like the horse or the mule’)
   2. Metaphors (e.g. Ps 62:2 – ‘He alone is my rock’)
   3. Personifications (e.g. Is 55:12 – ‘All the trees of the field will clap their hands’)
   4. Hyperboles (e.g. De 1:28 – ‘The cities are large, with walls up to the sky’)
   5. Irony (e.g. 2 Sa 6:20 – ‘How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today..’)
   6. Allegories
   7. Parables
   8. Typology
   9. Anthropomorphisms

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Examining Key Verses

Once key verses have been identified, these should be examined in more detail. We need to examine:

1. The context of the verse
   A verse taken out of context can be made to mean almost anything we want. Consequently, the context of the verse is likely to shed light on its meaning. The author did not just write a series of independent and unconnected sentences.


2. Cross references
   What other verses in the book and in the rest of the Bible say similar things? These help us understand what is being taught in this verse.


3. Word or grammatical insights
   Is the tense of the verse relevant here? Are there any unusual words that may require further study?


4. Outline of the verse
   Outlining the points made in the verse can help us with the meaning.


5. Meaning of the verse
   What does the verse actually say, taking account of everything we have looked at.

Example

Verse: Col 1:15
Context: Paul is talking about the supremacy of Christ: how all things were created through him and are sustained by him. He also speaks of how Jesus is also the head of the church and the firstborn from the dead.
Cross References:Heb 1:3 – ‘son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being’, 2 Co 4:4, Jn 1:18, 14:9
Grammatical Insights:This verse is in the present tense – Jesus is still all these things. Firstborn – rather than implying that Jesus was created, this could mean that he was the rights of the firstborn.
Verse Outline: Jesus is:

• image of God
• firstborn over creation

Meaning: The invisible God is seen through the person of his Son, Jesus Christ, who has been granted firstborn rights (authority) over all creation.

Verse: Col 1:19-20
Context: Paul has just been talking about the supremacy of Christ as in Col 1:15. This teaching on Jesus’ supremacy might be an indication that there was a heresy around suggesting that he was not sufficient for salvation.
Cross References: 1:15, Heb 1:3, 2 Co 5:18, Eph 2:13
Grammatical Insights: This is in the past tense – ‘God was pleased’. This is an indication of the completed work of Jesus on the cross – nothing more is required.
Verse Outline: All the fullness of God dwells in Christ. All things are reconciled to God through Christ’s blood.
Meaning: Jesus is fully God, and his death on the cross provided our means of reconciliation with God. Jesus appeased the righteous wrath of God through his blood, and so made peace with God for us. Although it speaks of all things, other parts of the bible clearly do not teach universal salvation, so I would take ‘all’ to refer to God’s elect, not literally to everyone.

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Examining Key Words

When studying the key verses of the book, we should also be keeping an eye out for the key words in those verses. These words could be those that are crucial to the correct interpretation of the verse, or alternatively, they could be words that are used frequently throughout the book.

When examining the meaning of the key words, we should look at the following:

1. Why is the word important to understand this passage?
   Is the word used infrequently, or very frequently? Is the exact meaning of the word important theologically?


2. Examine the meaning of the word from a Bible Dictionary.
   In particular, look at the meaning of the Greek, Hebrew or Aramaic word used originally. A Bible Dictionary is useful here, as the good ones generally have a lot of research on how the word is used elsewhere (both inside and outside the Bible), giving us a very good indication of what it actually means.


3. Examine the meaning of the word by looking up where it is used elsewhere in a Concordance.
   Note that sometimes multiple Greek/Hebrew/Aramaic words are translated as the same English word and vice versa).

   1. Does the same author use this word in other ways in the same book or in other books?
   2. Does usage of this word by another author shed light on its meaning?


4. Look at other words with similar meaning (synonyms).
   Do these words throw any light on the meaning of the word in this passage?


5. What does THIS word mean in THIS passage?
   What does the word mean, taking account of everything we have looked at.

Example

Verse: Col 1:15
Word: firstborn
Why Important? Crucial as firstborn could imply that Jesus is a created being instead of being the Creator.
Meaning: Gk – prototokos
Used 10 times in NT – only once does it refer unequivocally to the process of natural birth (Lk 2:7). All other uses use it as a title for Jesus for the mediator of creation in an eschatological sense, and it is also used in the plural with reference to the church.
Other Uses: ~100 uses in OT. 10 uses in NT including 4 by Paul, but only once outside of Colossians. Except for the usage in Luke, every other NT usage is as a title, not as someone who is literally firstborn.
Similar Words: “First” denotes priority within an order implying dependence or secondary status of others.
Meaning in this passage: Firstborn is used here as a title for Christ and does not imply that he is a created being. Rather, it emphasises his important role in creation – he has the rights of the firstborn.

Verse: Col 1:19, 2:9, 2:10
Word: fullness
Why Important? Crucial to understanding multiple sections of the book.
Meaning: Gk – pleroma
Can have multiple meanings including “full inclusion” (Ro 11:12), “full number” (Ro 11:25), “fullness” (Ro 15:29), and “fulfilling” (Rom 13:10).
Other Uses: Dt 33:16, Jn 1:16, Ro 11:12, Eph 1:23, 3:19, 4:13, Col 1:19, 25, 2:9, 10. There are only 2 uses outside Pauline writing, and Colossians uses it the most. Other Pauline uses of the word seem to indicate something that is completed and is completely full.
Similar Words: NIV Exhaustive Concordance notes “fill” as a synonym, however, this too often refers to the act of filling, not to something that has already been completed. As a contrast, though, it is useful.
Meaning in this passage: In this passage (1:19), fullness refers to the fact that Jesus was completely God. He did not just have some of the attributes of God, but had them in all their fullness. He is not some intermediary creature between God and man, but is both God and man.

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Next - Application

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