In “Reading the Bible Critically—Part 1,” I stressed the importance of paying careful attention when we read Scripture. We sometimes inadvertently lack the focus required to grasp its meaning. The antidote to that syndrome:
Be a serious reader of the Bible!
But what does that mean?
Someone might say, “I want to understand the Bible, but being ‘serious’ doesn’t sound like fun. I want to enjoy reading the Bible, and so I don’t want to take it too seriously. I just want to know what it says.”
Well, that’s where the dilemma starts: “Knowing what the Bible says means knowing what the Bible says.” I don’t intend for that to be taken as some cheesy cliché, but it is, in fact, what oftentimes lies at the heart of the issue. People want to understand the Bible, but they fail to realize what it takes to get that understanding.
Now, I’m not talking about the Bible being incomprehensible without strenuous effort; the overall message of the good news of Jesus Christ and salvation by grace through faith is readily discernible and simple to grasp from a cursory reading. But that’s not everything that has been revealed to us in the Bible, nor does it primarily deal with the largest portion of the Bible—the Old Testament.
So then, how can we be serious readers of the Bible and avoid getting bogged down and derailed by focusing too much on minute details or trying to decipher fine nuances in the text (which, let’s be honest, few people are probably interested in).
As Gordon Fee and Douglas Stewart explain in their book How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth,
“The first reason one needs to learn how to interpret is that, whether one likes it or not, every reader is at the same time an interpreter. That is, most of us assume as we read that we also understand what we read. We also tend to think that our understanding is the same as the Holy Spirit’s or human author’s intent. However, we invariably bring to the text all that we are, with all of our experiences, culture, and prior understandings of words and ideas. Sometimes what we bring to the text, unintentionally to be sure, leads us astray, or else causes us to read all kinds of foreign ideas into the text.”[1]
Therefore, the primary reason that we all must be serious readers of Scripture is because, one way or another, we are forming meaning out of what we read. There is no understanding without meaning, and as we read, our minds naturally work to assimilate and synthesize meaning from the words. But where do our minds get the proper information in order to correctly synthesize the meaning that God inspired to be understood?
But what stops us from misinterpreting what we read? Well, there’s nothing that can ultimately “stop” us from misinterpretation, but there are principles and ways of reading that reduce the likelihood that we will assign our own meaning to the text rather than understanding it on its own terms and discovering the author’s intended meaning.
To that end, we need a framework within which we can read the Bible carefully so that we can grow in knowing what it says and understand the meaning that the author wanted to communicate.
Thus, the goal of this article is to begin providing that framework by describing one of the most important components necessary to being a serious reader and guarding against potential pitfalls that can lead us astray when reading the Bible.
Biblical Presuppositions
The primary reason we need sound methods for interpreting the Bible is because we cannot understand it completely apart from ourselves and our accumulated knowledge. Total objectivity is IMPOSSIBLE when interpreting the Bible. Methods of biblical interpretation are not meant to strip away everything we think we know and our prior understanding. Instead, these principles of reading and understanding the Bible are intended to help us approach Scripture in a less-arbitrary way that limits the degree of personal subjectivity involved in determining the meaning of the text. And along with that, some forms of preunderstanding are quite appropriate and necessary to keep in mind when reading the Bible. However, a distinction must be made between our own personal preunderstanding and certain valid presuppositions that are held by Christian believers. This collective body of preunderstanding that we endorse when coming to the text of Scripture can be referred to as biblical presuppositions.
But what distinguishes biblical presuppositions from our personal preunderstanding? A good way to describe the difference is that our personal preunderstanding can change as we read the biblical text and interact with it. In contrast, biblical presuppositions are not a form of preunderstanding that is intended to undergo constant modification as we read and grow in our knowledge of Scripture. Biblical presuppositions are not derived from our heritage, cultural environment, family/friends, or past experiences. Unlike our personal preunderstanding that we can question, re-define, improve, and overwrite as we gain a clearer and deeper knowledge of Scripture, biblical presuppositions are ideas and understanding about the Bible that form part of the foundation for how we determine what a text means. One might call them “basic beliefs” about the Bible. They relate to our overall view of the Bible and entail what we believe the Bible is and how we are to read and understand it. Such beliefs undergird the very fabric of our biblical study and interpretation, and thus, they guide and shape the way we enter into dialogue with the text as we read.
Below are a few of the basic biblical presuppositions that are helpful to affirm and use when reading the Bible.
The Bible is Inspired
The Bible contains God’s words to humankind. It is God’s self-revelation to His creation. Through His spirit, God inspired the writing of Scripture in human language that would be for the purpose of communicating and revealing Himself to the world (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21). Thus, as to the origin of the message in the Bible, it is God’s alone, not humans’. But it is composed of human words, through human agents, by way of human conventions of language and communication. In this sense, the Bible is both divine and human. Its message was not conceived by humans, but the message was communicated through humans, as God’s spirit moved chosen individuals to speak and write what God wanted. God did not write the Bible Himself. Rather, people spoke and wrote the message that God wanted to reveal. Therefore, the Bible is called the “Word of God” (1 Thess. 2:13)—it contains God’s message to His people including all the ideas, concepts, truths, realities, promises, covenants, hope, faith, and love of God, everything that God inspired people to write with His spirit working in them.
The Bible is Spiritual
God placed His spirit upon certain people and inspired them to write words of spiritual origin to explain spiritual wisdom and truth (1 Cor 2:10-13). The Bible is not just another ancient writing, or piece of literature. Through the revelation of God, the Bible conveys a dualistic reality of physical and spiritual realms interfacing in ways not perceivable by the human mind or senses. The truth about reality that it reveals is something that people without God’s spirit cannot fully grasp because it is spiritually discerned. Thus, the Bible is to be read from a spiritual perspective. In other words, we are to read the Scriptures with the help of the spirit of God to enlighten our eyes so that we might understand what He has revealed.
The Bible is Trustworthy
Since the Bible is inspired by God, He is the source of its message. And therefore, the words in the Bible are true words—they are trustworthy (Prov. 30:3; Ps 12:6). They express God’s goodness and love and are effective in communicating God’s purposes. They are meant to guide and direct God’s people and to be a testimony to the world, leading people to Him. Furthermore, the Bible is truthful and is without error or fault regarding what it teaches. Therefore, as God’s instruction and self-revelation to humankind, everything the Bible affirms, commands, promises, and condemns is true and is to be believed and obeyed as the instruction of a wise and all-powerful loving Creator.
The Bible is Authoritative
What the Bible reveals is not just for our understanding of reality and truth, but it is meant to be a guide and standard by which we learn how to live beneath the rule of God as the one true King and Lord of the universe (1 Cor. 14:31; Eph. 1:11). God revealed His will through the Scriptures so that we could gain a knowledge and understanding of how we should live in a right relationship with Him. Therefore, the Scriptures are authoritative for all matters of faith and life since God is their source (Gal. 1:11-12). As we read Scripture, we must read not just for knowledge but for personal transformation and obedience to what it says. We are to align ourselves with Scripture, for we cannot argue with God about His commandments. He knows the right way to live and worship Him, and that is what He has revealed to us through the Scriptures.
The Bible Reveals God’s Will, Plans, and Purposes
The Bible contains everything that God desires to communicate about Himself and His will for creation—His desire and purposes for creation, His decrees and commandments regarding the conduct and mission of humankind, and the way in which He expects to be worshiped and served (cf. Acts 20:27). Reading the Bible with this in mind helps us to see why God has revealed certain things at certain times and not revealing other things until a later time. All of Scripture is intentional and has been revealed at the time and in the ways that God so desired it to be.
The Bible Contains Many Writings, But Is One Book
The Bible contains a unified story that is diverse, intricate, and filled with challenging sayings, stories, and prophecies, but it is not self-contradictory or giving conflicting information or messages. The Bible has different parts to it and various writers (Heb 1:1-2), but it all contributes in a complimentary way to communicating God’s will, plan of redemption, and the hope of the restoration of all things (2 Tim. 3:15; Acts 3:21). And so, we can read the Scriptures as the unfolding of a grand narrative that has multiple parts to it, and at the same time, reveals a unified and coherent overarching story of reality.
Conclusion
While reading the Bible critically with these presuppositions in mind will help make reading more effective and profitable, they are only one part of how to be a careful reader of Scripture. No one has all the pieces in place all at once. Reading the Bible critically takes time to learn and develop, just like any skill. But as we continually seek to read the Bible more carefully, we will grow in our understanding and appreciation for what God has revealed to us and how we can benefit from knowing what it says.
One last thought is that the Bible can seem intimidating as there is so much to know about it. We can’t know everything, so let’s not fool ourselves. We are all on a journey to become better and more faithful readers of Scripture. and we can’t have a deep knowledge of Scripture unless we regularly practice reading the Bible critically.
So, my encouragement is to build a passion for the Scriptures and become more adept at reading the Bible; and this only happens one step at a time. I hope that the foundation of understanding biblical presuppositions brings you one step closer to your goal of being able to read the Bible critically and grow in your understanding of the truths and purposes God has revealed for our instruction and blessing.
[1] Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth (4th ed; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014), 22. Emphasis original.
