Thankful for the keys on How the Bible interprets itself

[Steve Jaynes]

We have been so bless and helped in our lives because we have learned how the Bible interprets itself. We know that the Scripture interprets itself in the verse, or in the context, or where it has been used before and lots more. I wrote a book that came from a Class that I taught titled “How to Read the Bible for Understanding and Power.” Here is how I ended the chapter on “How the Bible interprets itself, with a little editing just for you.A question that I hear from time to time is. It says in God’s Word that He knows before we pray what things we have need of. God asked us to pray. Why? This is the questions I hear from time to time. Why do we have to pray to God when He knows what we need before we ask? Do you know what the answer is? I don’t know. God says to pray. That’s all I know. I don’t try to guess. I don’t make something up. I don’t use my best working knowledge of what I think it might be. (I am not saying there is not an answer, I am just saying I do not know.) This has been the problem, too much speculation, too much guessing. We need to let the Word interpret itself. We need to search the Scriptures and to say what the Scripture say without embellishing them with our opinions. We need to let the Scripture say what they say without adding misleading terms. We need to consider the exact words that are written in each verse and to consider those words in their context. We should read and look carefully at the words in each verse along with the context. We may need to read the entire book in which the record is written in to get the complete context.Some people who have some knowledge of God’s Word have been asked questions, and not wanting to look unintelligent or to look smart have said, “I think it means this”. We should tried very hard never use those words “I think it means”. I don’t mind saying “I don’t know.” But if the Scripture doesn’t interpret itself in the verse or in the context, the story around it, then the interpretation might be found in previous usage, or where it has been used before. Bibles are like dictionaries. They are, because if you come across a word or a group of words and you don’t understand what that word means, you can look at the first use of that word. You can look up the word where it was used before, and get a real good understanding of what that word means. The first use of a word is very important and it expresses an idea, an explanation. The explanation is usually complete enough to carry throughout the entire Bible. If God ever changes the usage of a word or an expression, he always explains it. To show you this, I want to go to Genesis chapter 1 verse 5 and it says.Genesis 1:5And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.“And God called the light day and the darkness he called night”. Now we know what the light is called. God calls it the day. Now we also know what the darkness is called. God calls it night. Now, throughout the entire Bible, this will be true unless God changes it. Look at the rest of that verse. “The evening and the morning were the first day.” In the Bible reckoning of time they start their day at sunset. We will need to recognize this in God’s Word. This becomes very important in the records of the crucifying of Jesus Christ. They needed to get him buried before the sun went down, because then it will start the next day. He needed to be buried before the high Sabbath with started at sunset in biblical reckoning of time. A usage of a word and its meaning remains true throughout the entire Bible, and it will not change unless God changes it. This is true of all the truths in God’s Word. That’s why a Bible is like a dictionary at times. The first time a word is used will usually give you the meaning of the word.It may be necessary at times to consult concordances, lexicons, dictionaries, and other resources to find the first use of words or to find where other places where the word is used for more scope on how the word or words are used in their context, and to see if God has made any changes to the word or words. However, it is especially important to consider all resources in light of what the Scripture says, in the verse, its contexts, and other Scriptures dealing with the same subject.We should always keep the Scripture as our primary source for what is truth. Remember what Dr. Wierwille taught us, It the Word and nothing but the Word. But Dr. Wierwille was not the only one that said it, Jesus Christ said it too and so did the apostle Paul.Remember what these verses say.John 5:39Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.It does not say search what someone has said is means. It plainly says to search the scriptures.Acts 17:11These 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 [true].It is the Scripture we are to search to find the answers. We use research resources to help us find the Scriptures that we want to search. What about Biblical studies and books that we can read? The Bible says that we are to search the Scriptures daily to see if it is true. The only real profit in these studies or books is the Scriptures that are written in them and a little pointing out things here and there. The Scripture is what has been given to us for profit. Some of these books are even bigger than the Bible itself. This doesn’t make that much sense to me. It is like saying that God did not do a good enough job in given us His Word. He needs some man who is so smart to fix it, and to make it better. I believe that God did a great job and that no man can do as good a job as God did. God in His Word ask us to search the Scriptures not what man says about it. With so much writing and ink used there is no way not to have some speculation, opinion or misleading terms. We should search the Scripture and to say what the Scriptures say without embellishing them with worldly terms, philosophy, history, or any other outside influence. The Scriptures themselves as they were originally given ought to be consulted and considered as the final word.Something else that I have notice is that in all the manifestations that I have heard God says things like. “Go to My Word, in My Word are the answers to that you need, trust in My Word and so on.” I never hear, “Go and get so and so book and read it.”Colossians 2:8Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.I once was reading all around the Word myself. I had piles of Biblical studies on my desk and piles of CD’s and tapes. I knew what others have worked out from their study of the Bible. But that is not what the Bible says to do. What they taught may have been right, but it could just as easily been wrong. A few years ago I was reminded of what my teacher of God’s Word taught me. That if I put all my other reading material away and read nothing but the Bible that people would not recognize me and that I would not even recognizes me. So I did it. I packed up all Biblical studies put them away for three months, and started to read and search just the scriptures. That was a few years ago now and those boxes are still packed away. I found the benefit and profit to my life as I search the Scriptures. If I hear something that I think may make sense I search the Scriptures to see if it is true. I have learned never to take any man’s word as truth, but to search the Scriptures daily to see if it is.You might ask me, is my book another Bible study? That is a good question. I have a few reasons for doing this book. One of them is to get you to God’s Word or back to the Word, to get you to start reading the Bible for yourself, to get you to start searching the Scriptures daily for yourself. One other reason for the book is to assist people who want to know how to read their Bible by giving them an outline or a road map through the Bible. My pray for my book is, that others would use this book alongside their own Bibles to see where the Scriptures are written in your own Bibles. Then you could read the context around verses. And as students learn how to navigate through the Bible and get more comfortable with their Bibles that you will no longer need my book.I ended the chapter there.I recorded the class and wrote a book on “How to Read the Bible for Understanding and Power” if anyone is interested. Information about the book and class is on my web site. www.howtoreadthebible.net There is an outline and other information.In His LoveSteve Jaynes

[Steve Jaynes]

Thank you Ken, for the kind words. I will read your blog a little later this morning. I have been questioning Non-Biblical terminology for a while now as I have been read and searching the scriptures. Term like “lift list” “to or from God”, where are these terms used in the Bible. I just do not use these types of terms. I have come across many more as I have been reading the Bible without others opinions. In putting the Class together and then later the book I had to examine all the things that I was taught. I saw that I could not say or print some of what I was taught because I could not back them up with the Word. I am not even saying that they are wrong as much as saying if I cannot back it up by Scripture I try very hard not to say it. Some people think of my class and book as a rehashing over a class that we once took. But it is not. It is simply setting forth the keys on how to read the Bible using the Bible to teach us. Some of what is in the book is from what we were taught, but some is left out because I could not back it up with the Word. Much in the book is also new or different. More than I could write in a comment.

Thanks again for the kind words

Steve

[Ken & Sue Brown]

Hi Steve,
I enjoyed your post. I especially liked "Do you know what the answer is? I don’t know. God says to pray. That’s all I know. I don’t try to guess. I don’t make something up." The "I don't know" principle was one of two principles that frequently kept me out of the soup during my years in the research department at HQ. The other principle was that the truth is simple. I was confronted by many complicated theories. The truth isn't always short. There can be many parts to some concept and lots to learn about it, but if it really is the truth it will always be uplifting, full of grace, pure, and peaceable (not an academic burden unintelligible by mere normal humans).
I also appreciated your "We need to let the Scripture say what they say without adding misleading terms." The following is from my blog post Two Natures? Part Two:
"Use of a term that does not appear in God’s Word to identify a concept allegedly in God’s Word is always suspect. If a concept is proclaimed in God’s Word, then we should use the words God’s Word uses to proclaim it. If we cannot do so, then we must question whether or not the concept indeed is presented in the Word of God. Non-Biblical terminology nearly always brings in associations in addition to God’s written Word, even if not directly contrary to it."
We in TWI often pointed to "trinity" as the classic example of corrupting the truth by bringing in a non-Biblical term. Unfortunately, we also violated this principle, not with anything as dramatic as "trinity," but with other non-Biblical (and therefor misleading) terms i.e. "in fellowship", "out of fellowship", "broken fellowship", "old nature", "sin nature", "new nature", "spirit nature" etc. (None of these terms are in God's Word.)
Congratulations on your class and book. Keep up the good work.
Bless,
Ken