Understanding The Bible Correctly

By Chad Daugherty

The Bible is the most amazing book ever written! Although many sources have tried to destroy it, it is the only book that has survived the ages. It is a collection of poetry, wisdom literature, prophecy, letters, songs, proverbs, and parables. It is a light that has guided humanity through history, and nations have been rooted in its truth. The Bible is a book that continues to be a source of God’s voice to humankind today. The issue is that many claim to hear different voices when they read the Bible. Therefore, what one person believes a scripture means may be vastly different from what another person thinks it means. Why is this the case, and how can we resolve the differences and come to the truth God intended?

The answer is by using a proper biblical interpretation method and understanding improper biblical interpretation methods. First, I will focus on two common improper biblical interpretation methods. The first one is “Allegorization.” Allegorization is using a symbol to represent a more complex idea. Clement of Alexandria was the first church father to use allegory as a means to “Christianize” and preserve the Old Testament. He felt that any passage could contain five levels of meaning: historical, doctrinal, prophetic, philosophical, and mystical. He determined that the historical or literal meaning was useful only for elementary faith, and all that seemed dark or immoral in the Bible simply served as an incentive “to transcend” the literal sense (Berkhof, 1950). If one uses the allegorical method, a reference to the sea could simultaneously refer to a gathering of water, the scripture, the present age, the human heart, or even baptism. A reference to Jerusalem could be teaching something about the city itself, the church, the human soul, and the heavenly Jerusalem simultaneously (Gibbs, 2004). The allegory method allows the Bible to mean whatever the interpreter feels it means.

The second improper interpretation method is “Spiritualization.” Similarly, the spiritualization of scripture is not taking the Bible literally. Spiritualization stresses an emotional, religious experience. It tends to exalt the authority of personal experience over biblical revelation, and experience is elevated to a position equal to the Scriptures. The interpretation is limited only by the imagination of the reader. One example is “Replacement Theology.” Some people say that when the Jews had Jesus crucified, it was the last straw for God. God lost His patience with Israel and the Jews, and now the church has replaced them. This is obviously a misinterpretation of scripture. Justin Johnson gives us an explanation of spiritualization:

Spiritualizing can be defined as detaching the Bible from its literal sense by:

• Denying God meant to say what was actually recorded in scripture.
• Changing the Bible into an allegory that addresses current events, movements, politics, or ideas.
• Removing the contextual limitations so that any passage in scripture can be used to help anyone in any way at any time.
• Diminishing any sense of dogmatism. No one can fully understand God, and so no one can claim to know right or wrong, truth, or good and bad for everyone.

Making the Bible a mystical book interpreted by one’s feelings and emotions. There is no absolute meaning. (Johnson, 2016)

These two types of interpretation expose the Bible to two dangers. One is that ingenuity replaces the divine message. The other danger is that such subjective systems of interpretation limit exposition to a privileged few.

God intended the Bible to be a book to guide all of humanity. It was never meant to be a book that only a few could understand. So, the question remains, “How do we interpret the Bible correctly?” The answer is that God gave us the tools within the Bible itself. Scripture interprets scripture. In scripture, the writer often states the meaning he is trying to convey. Other times we see that things are repeated multiple times. When things are repeated multiple times, God obviously wants us to get the literal meaning the passages have in common.

One important thing to do when interpreting scripture is to use study tools such as commentaries, Bible Dictionary, Bible Encyclopedia, and lexicons to understand the history and audience to which the scripture was speaking. Once we understand scripture the way the original recipients understood it, we can better apply the intended meaning to our lives today.

When interpreting scripture, it is essential to remember that a passage of scripture has one literal central truth. Whether one is interpreting songs, poems, parables, or other literary styles in scripture, the only way to ensure proper interpretation is by using a proper method of hermeneutics. Proper hermeneutics should focus on finding one central and literal message when interpreting scripture.. Fee and Douglas state:

To say a passage has only one interpretation does not imply that the eternal principles and current applications of a passage cannot be numerous. Nor does it imply that there is only one way to preach a given text. Surely each culture and generation will teach it with varying emphases and differing approaches. It does mean, however, that the significance of the text must be grounded on the intended meaning of the original author. As a tree’s trunk is the common source of the many branches and the branches the source of the leaves, so the single, original meaning of a text can produce many principles which in turn can be applied in many ways to our individual lives. (Gibbs 2004, 69)

Once we find the central message of scripture, then we can be confident of a solid understanding of what God intended for it to say to us. Knowing false interpretation methods and using correct interpretation methods is the key to understanding the Bible correctly.

Berkhof, Louis. 1950. Principles of Biblical Interpretation. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

Gibbs, C. 2004. “PRINCIPLES OF BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION.” Third Edition. Global University: Springfield, Mo.

Johnson, Justin. 2016. SPIRITUALIZING VS. SPIRITUAL APPLICATION. Graceambassadors.com.