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EDWARD D. ANDREWS (AS in Criminal Justice, BS in Religion, MA in Biblical Studies, and MDiv in Theology) is CEO and President of Christian Publishing House. He has authored over 140 books. Andrews is the Chief Translator of the Updated American Standard Version (UASV).
Herein I will help you find the path to continued understanding of God’s Word. You might be asking yourself sometimes, “How is it that I, desire the light of God’s Word, and I have yet to fully discover it? Why do I feel like a blind person groping for the wall, and yet stumble around at midday as if it were midnight? Why hasn’t God fully revealed himself to me?” It can be that you have been seeking the light of God’s Word in the Wrong way or in the wrong place, or in both.
Some have argued that head knowledge is very important in one’s spiritual growth, while others have said that head knowledge is no path to spirituality, it is one’s heart relationship with God. I am here to inform you that it is 50/50. You cannot have one without the other. Just for a moment, let’s return to the basics. The Following three are needed, and none of the three can be missing.
(1) Knowledge (2) Belief (3) Obedience
To become a well-grounded Christian, one must
(1) obtain a real, broad knowledge of Bible truth (1 Timothy 2:3-4), (2) put faith in the things we have learned (Hebrews 11:6), (3) repent of your sins (Acts 17:30-31), and (4) turn around in your course of life. (Acts 3:19); (5) Then our love for God should move us to dedicate ourselves to Christ. (Matt. 16:24; 22:37) (6) Finally, baptism (Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 1:9-10; Acts 8:36)
Romans 10:14-15 Updated American Standard Version (UASV) 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how will they hear without someone to preach? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who declare good news of good things!”[79]
If one is missing the knowledge department, he cannot believe in something he has no real in-depth knowledge of. My recommendation to you is to ponder what explicitly is it that has contributed to your struggle to take in the light of God’s Word fully, and even any doubt that may exist.
Step 1: What is the historical setting and background for the author of the book and his audience? Who wrote the book? When and under what circumstances was the book written? Where was the book written? Who were the recipients of the book? Did you find anything noteworthy about the place of the recipients? What is the theme of the book? What was the purpose of writing the book?
Step 2a: What would this text mean to the original audience? (The meaning of a text is what the author meant by the words that he used, as should have been understood by his readers.)
Step 2b: If there are any words in this section that one does not understand, or that stand out as interesting words that may shed some insight on the meaning, look them up in a word dictionary, such as Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words.
Step 2c: After reading this section from the three Bible translations, do a word study, and write down what you think the author meant. Then, pick up a trustworthy commentary, like Holman Old or New Testament commentary volume, and see if you have it correct.
Step 3: Explain the original meaning in one or two sentences, preferably one. Then, take the sentence or two and place it in a short phrase.
Step 4: Now, consider their circumstances, the reason for it being written, what it meant to them, and consider examples from today that would be similar to that time, which would fit the pattern of meaning. What implications can be drawn from the original meaning?
Step 5: Find the pattern of meaning, the “thing like these,” and consider how it could apply in modern life. How should individual Christians today live out the implications and principles?
Biblical Interpretation Explained in Greater Detail
Step 1: What is the historical setting and background for the author of the book and his audience? Who wrote the book? When and under what circumstances was the book written? Where was the book written? Who were the recipients of the book? Did you find anything noteworthy about the place of the recipients? What is the theme of the book? What was the purpose of writing the book? The first step is observation, to get as close to the original text as possible. If you do not read Hebrew or Greek; then, two or three literal translations are preferred (ESV, NASB, and UASV).[1] The above Bible background information may seem daunting, but it can all be found in the Holman Bible Handbook or the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary.
Step 2a: What would this text have meant to the original audience? (The meaning of a text is what the author meant by the words that he used, as should have been understood by his readers.) Once someone has an understanding of step 1, read and reread the text in its context. In most Bibles, there are indentations or breaks where the subject matter changes. Look for the indentations that are before and after the text and read and read that whole section from three literal translations. If there are no indentations, read the whole chapter, and identify where the subject matter changes.
Step 2b: If there are any words in the section that one does not understand, or that stands out as interesting words that may shed some insight on the meaning, look them up in a word dictionary, such as Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. For example, if the text was Ephesians 5:14, ask what Paul meant by “sleeper” in verse 14. If it was Ephesians 5:18, what did Paul mean by using the word “debauchery” in relation to “getting drunk with wine.” I would recommend Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words by William D. Mounce (Sep 19, 2006) Do not buy the Amazon Kindle edition until they work out a difficulty. If you have Logos Bible Software, it would be good to add this book if it did not come with the package.
Step 2c: After reading the section from the three Bible translations, do a word study, and write down what you think the author meant. Then, pick up a trustworthy commentary, like Holman Old or New Testament commentary volume, checking to see if you have it correct. It can be more affordable to buy one volume each time a project is assigned so that it is spread out over time. If one cannot afford each volume of these commentary sets, Holman has a one-volume commentary on the entire Bible. Also, check with the pastor of your church because he may allow you to take a volume home for the assignment.
Step 3: Explain the original meaning in one or two sentences, preferably one. Then, take the sentence or two and place it in a short phrase. If you look in the Bible for Ephesians chapter five, you will find verses 1-5 or 6 are marked off as a section, and the phrase that captures the sense of the meaning, is “imitators of God.” Then, verses 6-16 of that same chapter can be broken down to “light versus darkness” or “walk like children of light.”
Step 4: Consider their circumstances, the reason for it being written, what it meant to them, and consider examples from our day that would be similar to the time they lived, which would fit the pattern of meaning. What implications can be drawn from the original meaning? Part of this fourth step ensures the Bible student stays within the pattern of the original meaning to determine any implications for the reader.
An example would be the admonition that Paul gave the Ephesian congregation at 5:18, “do not get drunk with wine.” Was Paul talking about beer that existed then, too? Surely, he was not explicitly referring to whiskey, which would be centuries before it was invented. Yes, Paul refers to the others because they provide implications that can be derived from the original meaning.
Step 5: Find the pattern of meaning, the “thing like these,” and consider how it could apply in modern life. How should individual Christians today live out the implications and principles?
Preparing for Christian Meetings
Almost every church hand out a weekly flyer of some sort to its flock, which outlines the upcoming week’s meetings, as well as what is to be studied or heard in those meetings. Almost every church has a Bible study or book study meeting once a week, where the groups work their way through a publication. Usually, the publication is a study publication, meaning that it has review questions throughout the chapters or at the end of each chapter.
These books are designed as a Bible study course. How is it to be used? We suggest the following program: The review questions go with specific paragraphs. Read all the chapter questions first, ponder over them. Then, read however many paragraphs go with the first question. After that, look up any Scriptures cited in the paragraph. Now, read the first question and highlight the answer in the paragraph(s). Also, write any additional thoughts in the margin of the study book. Then, if any of the verses are standouts, look them up in a commentary, digging a little deeper. If there are any highly important words in that verse, look them up in a word study dictionary. Now, write down any other important points that you learned. You are now done with the first question and its corresponding paragraphs. When you have finished all the chapter questions, in the same manner, go back and review all the questions.
Phrase-By-Phrase Research of a Verse.
It is best to study a Bible verse phrase-by-phrase. Let us use Matthew 24:14 as our example. It reads, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the inhabited earth[2] as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” What did Jesus mean by the gospel of the kingdom? What is the kingdom? What did Jesus mean by it will be proclaimed? What was meant by in all the inhabited earth? What is meant by in all the inhabited earth? What did Jesus mean by a testimony to all the nations? Finally, what was meant by then the end will come? Well, let’s investigate these phrases.
Matthew 24:14
this gospel or good news: The Greek word euangelionis made up from the words eu, meaning “good; well” and aggellos,“one who brings news; one who proclaims or announces good news.” It is rendered “gospel” in some English Bibles. The related term rendered “evangelizer” (Greek, euaggelistes) means “a proclaimer of good news.”—Ac 21:8; Eph. 4:11; 2 Tim. 4:5.
the Kingdom: Namely, God’s Kingdom. Throughout the Greek New Testament, the “good news” or “gospel” is closely tied to the kingdom of God. This was the theme of Jesus Christ’s ministry.
The Greek word basileia is a reference to a royal government, as well as to the region and the peoples under the rule of a king. Of the 162 occurrences of this Greek word in the Greek New Testament, 55 of them can be found in the Gospel of Matthew, with most of them referring to God’s heavenly rule. In fact, Matthew uses the term to frequently, his gospel could be called the Kingdom Gospel.
proclaimed: The Greek word (kēryssō) basically means to announce, in an official capacity (Rev 5:2); 2. LN 33.207 tell, announce publicly (Mk 5:20); 3. LN 33.256 preach, proclaim with the goal to persuade, urge, warn to comply (Ro 10:14; 1Pe 3:19; Mk 16:15, 20).”[3] The promise is that the gospel will be proclaimed in all of the inhabited earth, not that every person ever living would hear the gospel. What will happen to the unevangelized? See the CPH Blog article: THE UNEVANGELIZED: What Happens to People Who Have Never Heard the Gospel?[4]
all the inhabited earth . . . all the nations: Both expressions highlight the scope of the evangelism work. In a broad sense, the Greek word for “inhabited earth” (oikoumenē) refers to the earth as the dwelling place of humankind. (Lu 4:5; Ac 17:31; Ro 10:18; Re 12:9; 16:14) In the first century, this term would have referred to the immense Roman Empire where the Jews had been dispersed. (Lu 2:1; Ac 24:5)[5] In its general sense, the Greek word for “nation” (ethnos) refers to “a people, a large group based on various cultural, physical or geographic ties,”[6] who are basically related to one another by blood, who share a common language.
end: The Greek here (telos) is referring to as a point in time, where a combination of events takes place, and Satan’s rule over the earth comes to an end and he is abyssed.
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[5]earth, the world (Lk 4:5; Ro 10:18); 2. LN 1.83 empire, the entire Roman world (Ac 11:28; 17:6; 24:5; Lk 2:1); 3. LN 9.22 people, humankind (Lk 21:26; Ac 17:31; Rev 3:10; 12:9) – James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
[6] James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
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