Why are fire engines red?

Fire engines are red because they have 8 wheels and 4 people ride it. 8 and 4 is 12. Twelve is a foot. A foot is a ruler. Queen Elizabeth was a ruler. Queen Elizabeth was the name of a ship that sailed in the sea. Fish swim in the sea. Fish have fins. The Finns faught the Russians, which are red. Fire engines are always rushin', so they have to be red.

Meaning and Application

10. Who Controls the Meaning?11. Levels of Meaning12. The Role of the Holy Spirit13. Application

Unit 3

• Central issue — communication

– If we view the text as communication between the author and the reader, we should follow the authorial- intention approach.

– If we don’t care what the author is trying to communicate, we are free to follow the reader response approach.

– Central question—is the Bible merely inspiring literature or is it inspired communication from God?

– Since we believe strongly that the Bible is God’s communication of himself and his will to us, we follow the authorial intention approach in Grasping God’s Word.

– In biblical interpretation, readers do not create or control the meaning. Rather, we seek to discover the meaning that has been placed there by the author.

• Definitions

This is the response of the reader to the author’s meaning communicated in the text. Application will vary from Christian to Christian.

This term refers to what the author intended to communicate when he wrote the text. Meaning will be same for all Christians.

With reference to the Bible, the term “author” refers to both the human and divine author. God works through human authors to communicate.

Levels of Meaning– Does the Bible have multiple levels of meaning?

– Are there deep “spiritual” meanings hidden in the text of the Bible that are unrelated to the historical-cultural and literary contexts?

• Spiritualizing• Allegorizing• Typology• Bible codes

• Spiritualizing

– Looking for deep, secret, “spiritual” meanings apart from what the author communicated in the text. Poses a dichotomy between spiritual and literary.

– Since God used literary conventions to communicate to us, the real spiritual meaning of the Bible will be the same as the literary meaning!

– Question – will we seek the literary (and truly spiritual) meaning intended by the author or the “meaning” created by our own speculation?

• Spiritualizing• Allegorizing• Typology• Bible codes

• Allegorizing

– Allegory – a story that uses an extensive amount of symbolism (e.g., Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress)

– Allegorizing (or allegorical interpretation)

• Looks for deeper, “spiritual” meaning below the surface of the text

• The details of the biblical text stand for many different things (e.g., tent pegs representing Jesus)

• Goes far beyond comparison or symbolism• Limited only by the fanciful imagination of the reader

• Spiritualizing• Allegorizing• Typology• Bible codes

• Typology

– Event or person in the OT that serves as a prophetic pattern or example of a NT event or person.

– OT sometimes foreshadows or points to what is fulfilled in the NT. • Example – entire sacrificial system foreshadows the

ultimate sacrifice of Christ• Part of one salvation story where we see a promise (OT)

and later see its fulfillment (NT) • General connections made explicit by the NT (and

therefore intended by the divine author)

• Spiritualizing• Allegorizing• Typology• Bible codes

• Bible codes

– Gematria – letters of the Hebrew alphabet represent numbers and words are analyzed for their numerical value

– Equidistant Letter Sequencing (ELS) – uses computers to string together the text of the Bible without spaces and search the string for hidden messages

• Consensus of biblical scholarship that ELS is a sham!• Problems with probability (e.g., Moby Dick)• Unaware of variations in the Hebrew text of the OT

• Conclusion

– Does the Bible have different levels of meaning?

• We believe the answer is “no.”

• One level of meaning—the literary meaning (intended by the divine/human author). Includes:

– Meaning for the biblical audience (Step 1 of The Journey) and– Theological principle (Step 3 of The Journey)

• The Spirit as divine author

Holy Spirit’s work of bringing believers to understand and receive the truth of Scripture. An ongoing work.

Holy Spirit’s work in the lives of the human authors of Scripture with the result that they wrote what God wanted to communicate (2 Tim. 3:16). A finished work.

– The Spirit and the Word work together and must never be set over against one another.

– The Spirit-inspired Word of God stands above personal experience and community tradition.

– The Spirit does not add new meaning to the Bible; instead, he helps believers understand and apply the meaning that he inspired in the first place.

• Can we grasp God’s Word apart from the Spirit?

– “Yes” – cognitive grasp of basic grammatical and historical content

– Yes, but only to a degree”

Cognitive Discerning Dimension Truth Application

Holy Spirit’s Role

– The Spirit does not create new meaning or provide new, secret information.

– The Spirit does help us grasp the meaning of God’s Word by discerning theological principles and applying them to our lives.

– The Spirit does not change the Bible to suit our purposes or to match our circumstances.

• Meaning and application

– Meaning – what the author intended to communicate when he wrote the text. Meaning will be

same for all Christians.

– Application – the response of the reader to the author’s meaning communicated in the

text. Application will vary from Christian to Christian.

– Question – “What does this passage mean and how do I apply this meaning to my

life?”

• How to apply meaning

1 – Grasp the text in their town by summarizing the original situation (historical-cultural

context) and the meaning of the text for the biblical audience.Paul told the Philippians that he had learned to be content in a variety of

difficult circumstances through Christ, who gives him strength.

Paul is an imprisoned apostle. We are not. Neither are we members of the Philippian church. But we are members of Christ’s body, the church, and we are under the same covenant. In addition, many of us experience difficult situations as we seek to live out our faith. The river is narrow.

2 – Measure the width of the river. What are the differences between the biblical situation and

our situation?

3 – Cross the principlizing bridge. List the theological principle communicated by the

text.Believers can learn to be content in a variety of circumstances through Christ, who gives them strength.

or

Christ will give believers strength to be content in a variety of trying circumstances that come as a result of following him faithfully.

4 – Grasping the Text in Our Town. a. Observe how the principles address the

situation. Note the key elements present in the intersection.

Element 1 – A Christian (Paul)

Element 2 – A Christian who is experiencing a variety of trying circumstances as a result of following Christ

faithfully

Element 3 – Christ will give the Christian strength to endure whatever the circumstances

Parallel situation = contains all the key elements

b. Discover a parallel situation in contemporary life.

c. Make your applications specific

• Real-world scenarios or contemporized stories- Faithful to the meaning of the text and- Relevant to the contemporary audience

Are all the key elements present in your scenario or story?