Interpretation
Interpretation has to do with what do the scriptures mean. What the scriptures say we get simply by reading but what do the scriptures mean can be difficult and must be properly interpreted. A scriptural passage may have many applications but it only has one correct interpretation.
Aids for Biblical Interpretation
Get God's Help
Pray and ask God to help you understand.
God wants you to understand what he means when he speaks to you. He is the ultimate author of the book. There is no one better to ask than Him.
Psa. 119:18
Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.
Consider the Audience
Who is being addressed in the passage? Was the instruction for a specific person or persons?
was it a message to a nation or to a specific group of people?
this is important to note because the Bible has been recorded for us but it was not written to us. Specific Instructions may not apply directly to us, even though we can always learn from them.
Identify the Context
no word or phrase or passage, is an island it always sits in the midst of a context. understanding the context will help a great deal in understanding the meaning of a passage.
Notice the Clarity
Does the passage contain a command to repent? Some passages are so very clear that there is no need to interpret them they simply mean what they say. If what the passage says makes good, common sense then don't seek any other sense. on the other hand when Jesus said "I am the door", He was not telling the audience that he was something crafted out of wood with a handle and hinges!
Look for Internal Confirmation
Sometimes you will find when reading the entire context, that the interpretation or meaning has already been clarified for you. for example when Jesus gave the parable of the sower, in the same section he gave the exact meaning for the hearers.
Cross-Reference with other Scriptures
The very best way to interpret the Bible is by using the Bible! cross reference in compared to other verses in the Bible that say nearly the same or similar things. This is a primary method the Holy Spirit uses to teach us thus comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1 Cor. 2:10-14
[10] But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
[11] For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
[12] Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
[13] Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
[14] But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Understand the Meaning of the Words
If you do not understand a word look it up in the dictionary. Visit the resources page for a list of archaic King James words and links to dictionaries and concordances (useful for cross referencing passages).
Avoid Study Bibles and Commentaries
Study Bibles are Bibles that have additional notes written by some human author included on the pages of the Bible. Commentaries are separate books (explaining the Bible) written by human authors that are separate from the Bible.
Many times they will guide you into believing things that you would never come to believing on your own by just comparing scripture with scripture and being sensitive to the Holy Spirit . This is not good!
Recommended Bible Study Resources
Be a Berean Believer!
When you hear see or watch some teaching from the Bible always perform your due diligence. Go study it yourself!
A Biblical Principle:
Ability brings responsibility and responsibility demands accountability.
But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. - Luke 12:48
If you can read and you can get a copy of God's word in your language God expects you to get it and read it!
Acts 17:10-12
[10] And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
[11] These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
[12] Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.
The Bereans readily received God's word that Paul was preaching to them, they searched the scriptures themselves daily and they came to their own conclusions about whether or not what they were being taught was true and should be believed!
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