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‘Hermeneutics’ Category

  1. Filled with the Spirit: Reading Acts in Light of Luke

    December 29, 2011 by Jeff

    The good doctor Luke’s writing is absolutely saturated by the miraculous work of God through the Spirit in the Son of God.  This Trinitarian view of history should shape our own view of history.

    However, Luke’s writings have been blamed for much of the confusion we see in our day regarding the role of the Spirit in God’s activity among His people.  Paying close attention to Luke should help us dispel much of the fog around what has been called the Charismatic Gifting of the Spirit.

    One example of this is the phrase filled with the Spirit.  When you hear that you might think of Acts 2:4 – “…they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”   I don’t have to tell you that this text has been used to justify the idea that the sign of the filling by the Spirit is speaking in tongues.

    One of the most significant problems with that position is that it fails to keep in mind that Acts was written under the assumption that its readers would have read Luke first.  Luke introduces the concept of being filled with the Spirit long before we get to the 2nd chapter of Acts.  Luke actually brings the phrase to his reader in the first two chapters of his gospel (1:41-42 and 67-79).  For Luke the activity of the Spirit begins with the proclamation of God’s Word in what we would call preaching.

    That being filled with the Spirit results in proclaiming the Word of God in a way understandable to one’s hearers (as is obviously the case with Elizabeth and Zechariah) controls the way we read the Acts text, particularly when Acts 2:4 is read in the context of 5-13.

    This reading of Acts in light of Luke also controls the way we read Acts 10:45-46 and 19:6.

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  2. Living by the Book: Lesson 18

    July 4, 2008 by Jeff

    Living by the Book
    Lesson 18

    Things That Are Alike and Unlike

    Things That Are Like

    I. Similes
    Simile – a word picture that draws a comparison between two things.

    “The two most common words to look for are as and like.” – Howard Hendricks, Living by the Book

    Examples:

    Psalm 42:1 – “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for Thee, O God.”

    1 Peter 2:2 – “As newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.”

    Isaiah 44:6-7 – “This is what the Lord says – Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. Who then is like me?”

    II. Metaphors

    Metaphor – comparison is made without using as or like.

    Example:

    John 15:1 – “I am the vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.”

    “Get in the habit of looking for [comparisons like these]. You’ll find them especially in the wisdom literature, particularly in the psalms.”

    Things That Are Unlike

    I. Use of but
    “The word but is a clue that a change of direction is coming.”

    Examples:

    1 Corinthians 6:9-11 and Ephesians 2:1-7

    “But is one of the most important words you’ll ever come across in your study of Scripture. Whenever you see it, always stop and ask, what is the contrast being made?”

    II. Metaphors
    Metaphors can be used to show how two things are unlike just as well as they can be used to show what they are like.

    Example:

    The Parable of the Unrighteous Judge in Luke 18.

    “Jesus is setting up an effective contrast. He is saying, in effect, ‘If a corrupt and indifferent human judge finally gives in to the persistent pleas of a widow, how much more will the heavenly Father respond to the petitions of His children?”

    III. Irony

    John’s Gospel makes frequent use of irony.

    Examples:

    John 4:12 – (The Samaritan woman addressing Christ) “Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”

    John 8:40 – “…now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this.”

    John 9:40-41 – “Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, ‘Are we blind also?’ Jesus said to them ‘If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.”

    “Things that are alike and unlike make use of the strong human tendency to compare and contrast. As you study the Scriptures, listen to that voice inside your head saying, ‘Hey, this is like that passage I looked at yesterday,’ or, ‘This section is different from anything else in this book.’ Those are clear signals that the author is using things alike and unlike to communicate his message.”

    Note: Lesson 19 was read entirely from the book so I won’t be posting any notes for it.

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  3. Living By The Book: Lesson 17

    June 25, 2008 by Jeff

    Living by the Book
    Lesson 17

    Things That Are Related

    “…things that have some connection, some interaction with each other.” – Howard Hendricks, Living by the Book

    I. Movement from the general to the specific
    “This is the relationship between the whole and its parts, between a category and its individual members, between the big picture and the details.”

    Example: Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

    That’s the broad statement. The rest of Genesis 1 and 2 fills in the details.

    II. Questions and Answers
    “The question is one of the most powerful tools of communication.”

    Example: Romans 6:1, 15 and Job 38

    “Questions and answers demand your attention. They are important keys to help you unlock a text.”

    III. Cause and Effect

    Example: Acts 8:1. Persecution breaks out against the church in Jerusalem. The church scatters. Verse 4 says, “Those who had been scattered went about preaching the Word.”

    Persecution: Case, Effect: Preaching of the Word abroad.

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  4. Living By The Book: Lesson 16

    June 25, 2008 by Jeff

    Living by the Book
    Lesson 16

    Six Clues to watch for in Scripture

    1. Things that are emphasized.
    2. Things that are repeated.
    3. Things that are related.
    4. Things that are alike.
    5. Thinks that are unlike.
    6. Things that are true to life.

    Last week we looked at things that are emphasized by (a) amount of space devoted to them, (b) stated explicitly, (c) given strategic order, and (d) moving from lesser to greater and vice versa.

    This week we’re looking for things that are repeated.

    “There’s probably no tool of teaching more powerful than repetition.” – Howard Hendricks, Living by the Book

    Example from the writings of John:
    “Have you ever noticed how often Jesus repeats things to His disciples? The gospels record at least nine times that He said ‘He that ha[s] ears to hear, let him hear.’ And when John was recording the Revelation, what do you suppose the Lord told him to write to the seven churches? That’s right: ‘He that ha[s] ears to hear, let him hear.’”

    Ways Scripture Emphasizes Material through Repetition

    I. Terms, Phrases, and Clauses
    “Scripture constantly repeats terms, phrases, and clauses to emphasize their importance.”

    Read Psalm 136. What is the writer trying to emphasize in this passage?

    You can see this in Hebrews 11 as well. The phrase “by faith…” appears no less than eighteen times.

    II. Characters

    “Barnabas is a good example [from the book of Acts]. We really don’t know too much about the man. His given name was Joseph, but the apostles called him Barnabas, meaning Son of Encouragement (Acts 4:36). And that’s really the most important thing about him: he was an encourager. Whenever somebody in the early church needed a hand, they would pop Barnabas to help him out: Saul (Acts 9:27); the believing Gentiles at Antioch (Acts 11:22); and John Mark (Acts 15:36-39). Luke brings Barnabas into the story at strategic points as a model of spiritual mentoring.”

    III. Incidents and circumstances
    “Sometimes a writer makes his point by repeating a particular incident or set of circumstances.”

    Example: Judges. The writer begins each section of the book (and each introduction of another Judge) with the phrase “Then the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.”

    Basically, Judges can be seen as a repeating cycle. The people rebel in sin, God appoints a spiritual leader who leads a civil and spiritual renewal – if not revival – then passes from the scene, after which the people rebel in sin again.

    IV. Patterns

    Examples: Parallels between the life of Joseph and the life of Christ or the juxtaposition between Saul’s rebellious conduct and David’s obedient life in 1 and 2 Samuel.

    V. New Testament and Old Testament passages
    “A final and obvious case of repetition is the citation of Old Testament scripture by the New.”

    Two examples:
    1. Matthew 12:39-41. Who, reading Jonah before they knew anything about the New Testament, would connect his strange voyage to the Messiah? And yet the connection makes both texts all the more rich.
    2. Read Psalms 110:1 then read Matthew 22:44. Would you have made that connection? Again, the connection makes both texts more understandable and rich.

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  5. Living By The Book: Lesson 15

    June 22, 2008 by Jeff

    Living by the Book
    Lesson 15

    Six Clues to watch for in Scripture

    1. Things that are emphasized.
    2. Things that are repeated.
    3. Things that are related.
    4. Things that are alike.
    5. Thinks that are unlike.
    6. Things that are true to life.

    Things That Are Emphasized

    Ways the Bible emphasizes material:

    1. Amount of Space
    “A book can emphasize something by devoting a large portion of space to it.”

    Example:
    “We can see that in Genesis. It has fifty chapters. The first eleven cover the creation, the Fall, the Flood, the tower of Bable, and other details. All those major events are compressed into just eleven chapters. By contrast, the writer devotes chapters 12-50 to the lives of four individuals: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.” – Howard Hendricks, Living by the Book

    2. Stated Purpose
    “Another way the biblical writers may emphasize their points is by telling us straight out what they are up to.

    Example:
    “[In Proverbs] Solomon launches that fascinating collection of wisdom sayings by telling the reader why he ought to read the book.”

    Read Proverbs 1:2-6
    What reasons does Solomon give as motivation toward reading Proverbs?

    (a) To know wisdom and instruction
    (b) To discern the sayings of understanding
    (c) To receive instruction in wise behavior
    (d) Righteousness, justice, and equity
    (e) To give prudence to the naïve
    (f) To the youth knowledge and discretion
    (g) A wise man will hear and increase in learning.

    3. Order
    “A third way to emphasize something is to give it a strategic placement in the material.”

    Example:
    “…in Genesis 2, God places Adam and Eve in the garden ‘to cultivate it and keep it,’ the text says (2:15). Then in chapter 3 the couple sin, and God drives them out of the Garden and curses the earth (3:17-24). That order becomes important when we talk about work, because some people believe that work is a part of the curse. But the order of events in Genesis disallows that interpretation.”

    4. Movement from the lesser to the greater, and vice versa
    “These are special cases of what we’ve just looked at in terms of order.”

    Example:
    “In the life of David, 2 Samuel 11-12 records what are probably the most crucial events of David’s life – the murder of Uriah and his sin with Bathsheba. These chapters form a sort of pivot to the book. Everything before leads up to them, everything after goes down after them.

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  6. Living By The Book: Lesson 14

    June 21, 2008 by Jeff

    Living by the Book
    Lesson 14

    Work With a Paragraph


    - This chapter brings together everything we’ve been studying for the past eight lessons.

    “The paragraph is the basic unit of study – not the verse, not the chapter…the paragraph represents a completed thought. It is a group of related sentences and statements that deal with one main topic or idea.” – Howard Hendricks, Living By the Book

    Note: “…originally the Scriptures were not divided into chapters, paragraphs, and verses…Twelve hundred years after Christ, scholars began carving them up into the divisions we have today…their efforts were by no means inspired by the Holy Spirit…so sometimes we have to ignore them to read the books properly.”

    Study Object: The Prayer of Nehemiah
    Nehemiah 1:4-11

    I. Check the Context
    - Verse 4 begins with the word “Now.” What is the significance of the word “now?” It is a connective.
    - Verse 4 also contains the phrase “these words.” That compels the reader to ask “What words?”
    - Both of these questions cause the reader to go back to the beginning of the book to check out the context.

    Verse 1 provides some of the needed information.
    (1) Who wrote the book? Nehemiah.
    (2) When did these events take place? The month of Chislev, in the twentieth year.
    (3) Where did these initial events take place? In Susa, the capitol.

    These answers also raise further questions.
    (1) When did the month of Chislev fall in year? This is where a Bible dictionary is very helpful. Reading one we would find that “Chislev was [the Jewish] ninth month, beginning in November and extending into December.
    (2) Where is Susa? Again, the Bible dictionary would tell us it was the winter palace of the Persian Empire. Thus we know these events took place in the northern hemisphere and thus it was winter time.

    There is a left over question. Earlier, the author wrote “in the twentieth year.” The twentieth year of what? That question won’t be answered until Chapter 2.

    Going back to verse 4, what happens?

    Hanani comes to [Nehemiah] and Nehemiah asks him two questions:
    (1) He asks “concerning the Jews”.
    (2) He asks “about Jersualem”.

    Notice Hanani’s answer:
    (1) The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame.
    (2) The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.

    II. Label Your Observations

    “Once he hears about the people and the place, what does Nehemiah do?”
    (1) Wept
    (2) Mourned
    (3) Fasted
    (4) Prayed

    Here’s where labels come in handy. Hendricks’ examples:
    (1) Verse 1b – The Report
    (2) Verse 4 – The Response
    (3) Verse 5 – The Request

    III. No Detail Is Trivial

    What is Nehemiah’s occupation? Verse 11 tells us he was the king’s cupbearer. What is significant about that position?
    (1) It was necessary because of attempts on the King’s life through poisoned food and drink.
    (2) Considering the first point, the cupbearer would by necessity be an individual who the King trusted greatly.
    (3) It likely was a position with a great deal of prestige. Hendricks goes so far as to say “The cupbearer was virtually the prime minister. He had a personal expense account and direct access to the king.”

    Summary:
    “You’ve seen how to observe a verse, and now a paragraph. You’ve also discovered that you’ve got to learn to read better and faster, as for the first time, and just as you would a love letter. And you’ve been exposed to ten strategies that are guaranteed to turn you into a first-rate Bible reader.”

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  7. Living By The Book: Lesson 13

    June 4, 2008 by Jeff

    Living by the Book
    Lesson 13
    Reading Well: Acquisitively and Telescopically

    Reading Acquisitivey    y

    “We’ve got holes in our minds, and as a result they’ve become like sieves. They don’t retain much – at least little of value. We read a book and a week later can’t recall what it was about. We attend a class and afterward haven’t the foggiest idea what the teacher presented. We hear a sermon on Sunday morning, and by Sunday night we don’t even remember what passage it was from. It’s as if we have Teflon-coated brains: nothing sticks.” – Howard Hendricks, Living by the Book.

    - The aim is to “read not only to receive it but to retain it.” The key, according to Hendricks, is “personal, active involvement in the process. There’s an old proverb to that effect: ‘I hear, and I forget. I see, and I remember. I do, and I understand.’…We remember at most only 10 percent of what we here; 50 percent of what we see and hear; but 90 percent of what we do, see, and hear.”

    - The basic idea of “Reading Acquisitively” is to do whatever it takes to retain what you read in the Bible. Hendricks gives some suggestions toward this end:

    · Rewrite the text you are reading (try Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, Luke 9:1-10, or 1 Corinthians 13).
    · Take “a concentrated, month long biographical study of a particular character in Scripture. Look up every reference to that person in the text. Get a Bible dictionary and read about the cultural and historical background in which he or she lived. Locate the places in an atlas where the person lived and traveled. Also develop a psychological profile: What sort of person was he? What attitudes and feelings did he have? What biases? What ambitions? What was his family background? What motivated him?
    · Another option is re-read rather than read more. For example, let’s say you want to increase your Bible study time from reading two chapters. Rather than reading further into the text, read what you’ve covered twice. Then move on and repeat.

    Read Telescopically

    “Telescopic reading means viewing the parts in light of the whole…the Bible…is not simply a collection of parts. It is an integrated message in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts…every time you read and analyze Scripture, every time you take it apart; realize that you’ve only done half the job. Your next task is to put it back together again.”

    I. Look for the connectives

    and, but, and therefore

    II. Pay attention to context

    “…whenever you study a verse or a paragraph, always consult the neighbors of that verse or paragraph to find out what the broader context is.”

    III. Evaluate the passage in light of the book as a whole

    Study the gospel of John helps us understand this principle. When you think you’ve got a good grasp on what the author intended to communicate go back and evaluate what you’ve arrived at in light of what John says he wrote the gospel for. Are the two compatible?

    IV. Look at the historical context of the book

    · Where does this book fit in world history?
    · When was it written?
    · When did the events take place?
    · Where does this book fit in Biblical history?
    · Does this book come before, during, or after Christ?
    · How much of the Bible was complete when this material was written?

    “God is the God of history. He works in and through real people in the real world.”

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  8. Living By The Book: Lesson Twelve

    February 4, 2008 by Jeff

    Living by the Book
    Lesson 12
    Reading Well: Purposefully

    “2 Timothy 3:16-17…says that all Scripture is given by divine inspiration and is ‘profitable.’ In other words, it serves a purpose – four purposes, as a matter of fact: teaching, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteous living.” – Howard Hendricks, Living by the Book.

    “Purposeful reading looks for the aim of the author. Your challenge as a reader is do discern that meaning. [On of the ways to do so] is to look for structure.”

    I. Grammatical Structure
    “…grammar is determinative for doctrine…”

    (A) Verbs
    “They’re the action words that tell us who is doing what.”

    Example: Ephesians 5:18. Paul writes “be filled”, which is passive as opposed to “fill yourself.” Thus we see that the filling of the Holy Spirit is not something we accomplish.

    (B) Subject and Object
    “The subject of a sentence does the acting, and the object is acted upon.”

    Example: Philippians 2:3 – “Let each of you regard one another as more important than himself.”

    Verb: Regard. Subject: Each of you. Object: One another.

    (C) Modifiers
    “They enlarge the meaning of the words they modify.” (Adjectives and Adverbs)

    (D) Prepositional Phrases
    “[These] tell you where the action is taking place [such as] in, on, upon, through, to, and so on.

    (E) Connectives
    These link individual thoughts together sometimes in support or relation and other times in contrast.

    Examples: Psalm 37:4 – “Delight yourself in the Lord; and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
    James 4:8 – “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

    II. Literary Structure
    Note: Becomes more important as we move in to the interpretation stage of Biblical study.

    (A) Biographical Structure
    “…biographical structure builds on the key persons in the story.”

    Example: Judges (“[Which] structures itself around the leaders of Israel in the period between Joshua and the nation’s first king Saul.

    (B) Historical Structure
    “Key events are the basis of historical structure.”

    Example: Joshua, in the Old Testament. In the New Testament John “presents seven key miracles that promote on central purpose: [faith in Christ].”

    (C) Chronological Structure
    “[The] author organizes material around key times.”

    Example: “1 and 2 Samuel use biographical structure…but they also employ chronological structure.”

    Look for words and phrases like “Then…” and “After these things…”

    (D) Ideological Structure
    “[These writings] are structured around ideas and concepts.”

    Examples: Most of Paul’s writings, including Romans and Galatians as well as the book of Hebrews.

    “Ideological structure makes it easy to outline a book. Once you understand the central theme and purpose, you can determine what each part contributes to the understanding of that theme and purpose.”

    Home Exercise:

    “The books of the Bible are filled with statements that express the purpose of the writers. John 20:30-31 is one of the most straightforward. Others are less obvious. But an observant reader can usually find them. Here are a number of purpose statements. Read each one carefully, then skim the rest of the book in which it is found. See how the writer accomplishes his purpose in the way he presents his material.

    · Deuteronomy 1:1; 4:1, 32:44-47
    · Proverbs 1:1-6
    · Ecclesiastes 1:1-2; 12:13-14
    · Isaiah 6:9-13
    · Malachi 4:4-6
    · Luke 1:1-4
    · 2 Corinthians 1:8; 13:1-10
    · Titus 1:5; 2:15
    · 2 Peter 3:1-2
    · 1 John 5:13

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  9. Living By The Book: Lesson Eleven

    February 4, 2008 by Jeff

    Living by the Book
    Lesson 11 (Covering Chapter 14)
    Reading Well: Meditatively

    Read the Bible Meditatively

    “In other words, learn to reflect on it.” – Howard Hendricks, Living by the Book

    “…there’s no such thing as instant spirituality.”

    Bible References to Look Up

    Joshua 1:8 – “That verse shows that there is a close connection between meditating on God’s Word and acting on it.”

    Proverbs 23:7 – While this verse apparently ties what one thinks to what one is in reality, the author takes the principle too far. He writes, “Scripture teaches the basic principle that you become what you think.”

    I realize this book was written before the days of The Power of Positive Thinking being accepted as mainstream Christian theology so I don’t want to be too harsh. However, we live in the days of Olsteen and Creflo Dollar so we have to be careful with statements like this. Scripture does work to change our life through changing our mind. However, this is a process in the hand of God, directed by His Spirit through His Word and not a strategy we control to bend reality to our wishes.

    Psalm 1:1-2 – The point of our attention in this passage is the “day and night” portion. Hendricks: “It’s not an exercise you carry out for a few minutes then check off your list. It’s a mental discipline that you carry throughout your day. It’s a mind-set and a lifestyle in which the Word courses through your mind.”

    The Difference between Eastern and Biblical Meditation
    “Meditation as popularly taught by the Eastern philosophies tells you to empty your mind – the exactly opposite of what the Scriptures say. Biblical meditation means filling your mind with the truth that God has revealed.”

    Psalm 119:97 – Communicates the time-investment aspect of Biblical meditation.

    Read Psalm 19 in its entirety

    “Use your time – at the beginning, of the day, at coffee break, during your lunch hour, riding home from work, before you go to sleep at night – to reflect upon the truth that you study.”

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  10. Living By The Book: Lesson Ten

    February 4, 2008 by Jeff

    Living by the Book
    Lesson 10 (Covering Chapter 13)
    Reading Well: Imaginatively

    Read the Bible Imaginatively

    “It is sad but true that the average person thinks that reading the Bible is dreadfully boring. In fact, the only thing more boring would be listening to someone teach from the Bible. – Howard Hendricks, Living by the Book

    Note: This section is helpful but we must be very careful in applying the practice. The author himself will give us an example of how unhealthy this practice can become.

    A helpful prayer: “Lord, clothe the facts with fascination.” This should help us to bear in mind that the truth of God should be of chief interest to us.

    An example of this principle being taken to far, from the book: “our church used to have a pastor who was a master at dramatic presentations of Scripture. He had a background in theater, and he used it to his advantage. Frequently he assumed the role of a biblical character in front of the congregation. He put on makeup and a costume” – Hendricks

    That, plainly, is ridiculous. Two reasons:
    1. The Pastor is called to Preach the Word, not act or dramatize.
    2. This can and does ruin our tastes for what we should desire. Our desires should be for what God has provided (text) and not something else (entertainment). By embracing entertainment we ruin our appetites for the best (what God has given) in the same way cookies spoil a child’s appetite for dinner.

    I. Use different translations and paraphrases

    - Have you heard this before? Hendricks himself says he will “mention this again and again.”

    I won’t belabor the point but I think by now it should be obvious that other translations can be helpful to our devotions.

    II. Rewrite the text in your own paraphrase

    - This is an interesting idea I hadn’t heard of before and I commend it to your practice. This will be helpful not only in comprehension but also retention. My dear wife, the teacher, frequently reminds me that one must hear, say, and write information for it to be properly retained in the mind. This step would help that process.

    III. Read Scripture in a different language

    - I’m not sure how many of us this will benefit but if you can, do. As Hendricks says, the benefit will be akin to reading another translation.

    IV. Have someone read the text out loud

    - This is more covered ground for us. We’ve discussed the benefits of hearing the text. Suffice it to say there are numerous benefits and we should be taking advantage.

    V. Vary your setting

    “…many of Jesus’ parables were given by the Sea of Galilee. So if you live near a lake or the seashore, consider taking your Bible there to read and reflect on the Lord’s teaching.”

    - The idea here is to do whatever it takes to see the Word from a different perspective. If we always read scripture in the same way and in the same place time after time, we run the risk of making it into a routine exercise with little interest or excitement. What a tragedy, especially when we consider that history’s greatest works of art and music have been created by people who learned to read the Bible imaginatively.

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