Lay Leader

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Comunicación y Gerencia

• Lay Leader
• Training Institute

HERMENEUTICS

• Click to add Text

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INTRODUCTIONS

• Name
• What church are you from?
• What are your responsibilities there?
• What is your motivation for this program how do
  you hope to use it?
• Share a Bible story, text or verse that has been
  meaningful in your life recently.

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SYLLABUS - Course Goals

• To have an understanding of
• Reformed hermeneutical principles
• Relationship between Reformed hermeneutics and
  Reformed theology its functioning in ministerial
  context and church in general

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SYLLABUS - Course Goals

• To have the ability to
• Explain verbally or in writing any exegetical
  point discussed in class
• Perform some basic exegetical procedures with
  scripture
• Apply exegesis to the writing of a sermon

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Syllabus - Course Requirements

• Participate in class discussion and activities
• Read How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth
  Due May 30
• Write 3-5 page reflection paper on assigned
  reading Due May 30
• Do a 2-page exegesis assignment Due June 21
• Meet with mentor ½ page summary of conversation
  Due June 21

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Definition of Hermeneutics

• Science of Biblical Interpretation

• Interpret the will of the gods to the people

• Hermes

When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they
shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have
come down to us in human form!" Barnabas they
called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because
he was the chief speaker. Acts 1411-12
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Definition of Hermeneutics

• Two Fundamental Tasks in Hermeneutics
• Find out what the text originally meant (what the
  author intended to say) aka exegesis.
• Understand what that same text means for us today.

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Definition of Hermeneutics

• The concern of the scholar is primarily with what
  the text meant (past tense)
• The concern of the layperson is usually with what
  it means (present tense)
• As pastors and lay pastors we are concerned
  with both.

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Challenge in Hermeneutics Today

• THE NATURE OF TRUTH
• TRUTH vs. Truth
• 2005 word of the year truthiness
• The quality of stating concepts one wishes or
  believes to be true, rather than the facts.

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Assumptions in approach to Hermeneutics My 5 As

• AUTHORSHIP Dual Authorship
• ? God as Author (Divinely inspired /
  God-Breathed)
• All scripture is inspired by God and profitable
  for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and
  for training in righteousness, that the man of
  God may be complete, equipped for every good
  work.
• 2 Timothy 316-17

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Assumptions in approach to Hermeneutics

• Man as Author (Humanly Inscribed i.e. Written
  in a particular human context)
• The Bible is the Word of God given in the words
  of men in history. George Ladd
• Book of Confessions The Scriptures, given under
  the guidance of the Holy Spirit, are nevertheless
  the words of men, conditioned by the language,
  thought forms, and literary fashions of the
  places and times at which they were written.
  (C-67, 9.29)

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Assumptions in approach to Hermeneutics
2.AUTHORITY The Bible is true. Ordination
Question 2 Do you accept the Scriptures of the
Old and New Testaments to be, by the Holy Spirit,
the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus
Christ in the Church universal, and Gods Word to
you? Infallible in matters of faith practice

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Assumptions in approach to Hermeneutics
3. ACCESIBILITY Everyone can understand the
Bible. The waters of
scripture are shallow enough for children to wade
safely deep enough to plumb the depths and never
touch bottom.
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Assumptions in approach to Hermeneutics
Reformation principle Sola Scriptura
(Scripture Alone) Required that the Bible be
translated and printed in the common language.
(blessing) Required private interpretation to be
done responsibly. (danger)
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Assumptions in approach to Hermeneutics
Counter Reformation (Council of Trent) To check
unbridled spirits it (the Council) decrees that
no one, relying on his own judgment shall in
matters of faith and morals pertaining to the
edification of Christian doctrine, distorting the
Holy Scriptures in accordance with his own
conceptions presume to interpret them contrary to
that sense whcih Holy Mother Church to whom it
belongs to judge of their true sense and
interpretation has held or holds or even contrary
to the unanimous teaching of the Fathers, even
though such interpretations should never at any
time be published.
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Assumptions in approach to Hermeneutics
4. ANIMATION The Bible is ALIVE
Living book God speaks through the Bible
TODAY. Hebrews 412-13- For the word of God is
living and active, sharper than any two-edged
sword, piercing to the division of soul and
spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the
thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before
Him no creature is hidden, but all are open and
laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to
do.
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Assumptions in approach to Hermeneutics
Confesion of 1967, 9.29 As God has spoken his
word in diverse cultural situations, the church
is confident that he will continue to speak
through the Scriptures in a changing world and in
every form of human culture.
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Assumptions in approach to Hermeneutics

• Example
• For to me to live is Christ, and to die is
  gainMy desire is to depart and be with Christ,
  for that is far better. But to remain in the
  flesh is more necessary on your account.
  Convinced of this, I know that I shall remain and
  continue with you all, for your progress and joy
  in the faith Philippians 1.21-25
• Gods Word AS the Word Original meaning as
  general truth
• Application of Text To live in the joy of
  Christ on earth, unafraid and even welcoming of
  death because we always know that it gets better
  after we die, while trusting in Gods plan for us
  on earth.

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Assumptions in approach to Hermeneutics
2. Gods Word THROUGH the Word Applied meaning
as personal truth. a. Intended Meaning for
ME (original intent applied specifically in my
context) Application of the text In a life
and death situation, God affirms to me that I
will not die, but continue to serve his purposes
on earth.
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Assumptions in approach to Hermeneutics

• 2. Gods Word THROUGH the Word Applied meaning
  as personal truth.
• b. Transplanted Meaning for ONLY ME (Holy
  Spirit intent applied specifically in my
  context)
• Application of the Text In a non life
  death situation, God affirms to me that I should
  stay in the situation I am in and not leave,
  until God tells me my work is done. (i.e. job,
  ministry, etc.)

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Assumptions in approach to Hermeneutics
Personal Examples Isaiah 4316-19 This is
what the Lord says he who made a way through
the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who
drew out the chariots and horses, the army and
reinforcements together, and they lay there,
never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out
like a wick Forget the former things do not
dwell on the past. See, I am doing anew thing!
Now it sprins up do you not perceive it? I am
making a way in the desert and streams i nthe
wasteland.
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Assumptions in approach to Hermeneutics
Personal Examples 2 Corinthians 1.8-11 We do
not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about
the hardships we suffered in the province of
Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond
our ability to endure, so that we despaired even
of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the
sentence of death. But this happened that we
might not rely on ourselves, but on God, who
raises the dead...Many will give thanks on our
behalf for the gracious favor granted us in
answer to the prayers of many.
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Assumptions in approach to Hermeneutics
5. APPLICATION Not information,
transformation. James 122 But be doers of the
word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
Book of Order, G.1.0304(4) That truth is in
order to goodness and the great touchstone of
truth, its tendency to promote holiness... We are
persuaded that there is an inseparable connection
between faith and practice, truth and duty.
Otherwise, it would be of no consequence either
to discover truth or to embrace it.
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DISCUSSION

• Ways we learn or receive something
• from Scripture
• Share an experience/time when the
• meaning of some part of the Bible came
  alive to you. You knew it was God speaking TO
  YOU through the scriptures, either by the
  application of the exact intended meaning of
  scripture or by a transplanted meaning of
  scripture.

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PRINCIPLES of Biblical Interpretation

• Interpret scripture with scripture.
• a. Interpret the LESS CLEAR by the MORE CLEAR
• James 224 You see that a man is justified by
  works and not by faith alone.
• Ephesians 28-9 For by grace you have been
  saved through faith and this is not your own
  doing, it is the gift of God not because of
  works, lest any man should boast.

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PRINCIPLES of Biblical Interpretation
Immediate context of the surrounding verses
v.19, Show me your faith apart from your
works, and I by my works will show you my faith.


Extended context of the New Testament Gal.
216ff yet we know that a man is not justified by
works of the law but through faith in Jesus
Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, in
order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not
by works of the law, because by works of the law
shall no one be justified. Matt. 721 Not
everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall
enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the
will of my Father who is in heaven.
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PRINCIPLES of Biblical Interpretation
b. Interpret the OLD TESTAMENT in light of the
NEW TESTAMENT OT Joel 228 And it shall
come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my
spirit on all flesh your sons and your daughters
shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions... NT
Acts 214ff But Peter, standing with the eleven,
lifted up his voice and addressed them, Men of
Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be
known to you, and give ear to my words. For
these men are not drunk, as you suppose, since it
is only the third hour of the day but this is
what was spoken by the prophet Joel And in the
last days it shall be, God declares, that I will
pour out my Spirit...


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PRINCIPLES of Biblical Interpretation

• b. Interpret the OLD TESTAMENT in light of the
  NEW TESTAMENT
• NT Hebrews 911 But when Christ appeared ... he
  entered once for all into the Holy Place, taking
  not the blood of goats and calves but his own
  blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For
  if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the
  blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a
  heifer sanctifies for the purification of the
  flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ,
  who through the eternal Spirit offered himself
  without blemish to God, purify your conscience
  from dead works to serve the living God.
  
  

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PRINCIPLES of Biblical Interpretation

• 2. Interpret according to the
  Grammatico-Historical method
• They reflect views of the life, history, and the
  cosmos which were then current. The church,
  therefore has an obligation to approach the
  Scriptures with literary and historical
  understanding. (C-67,9.29)
• BASIC RULE A text cannot mean what it never
  could have meant to its author or his or her
  readers. - Fee
  

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PRINCIPLES of Biblical Interpretation

• a. Historical context
• 1. Time and culture know the historical period
  of the time.
• 2. Occasion know the situation in which the
  books were written (who wrote what ...to whom...
  Under what circumstances)

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PRINCIPLES of Biblical Interpretation

• HERMENEUTICAL CHALLENGE How to
  translate non-twentieth-century problems so they
  speak to twentieth-century Christians?
• (1) Do exegesis with particular care so that we
  hear what Gods word to them really was. In most
  cases a clear principle has been articulated,
  which usually will transcend the historical
  particularity to which it was being applied.
• (2) The principle does not now become timeless
  to be applied to every situation it must be
  applied to genuinely comparable situations.
  (This is key!)

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PRINCIPLES of Biblical Interpretation
Example 10 Bring the whole tithe into the
storehouse, that there may be food in my house.
Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and
see if I will not throw open the floodgates of
heaven and pour out so much blessing that you
will not have room enough for it. 11 I will
prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the
vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,
says the Lord Almighty. 12 Then all the nations
will call you blessed, for yours will be a
delightful land, says the Lord Almighty. (Mal
310-12).
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PRINCIPLES of Biblical Interpretation

• SECOND RULE Whenever we share comparable
  particulars (i.e. similar specific life
  situations) with the first-century hearers, Gods
  Word to us is the same as his Word to them.
• Guidelines for dealing with Cultural Relativity
• See How to Read the Bible for All Its
  Worth,
• Chapter 4, especially pp. 71-74

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PRINCIPLES of Biblical Interpretation

• b. Literary Context
• What is being said here? i.e. Whats the
  point?
• Know grammar, syntax, word meanings, etc.
  
• Recognize questions, commands,
  comparisons,
• repetitions, prepositions, etc.

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PRINCIPLES of Biblical Interpretation

• 3. Interpret according to Genre Analysis
• LITERARY FORMS
• Pre-History - (Gen 1-11)
• History/Narratives (Ex.)
• Law (Leviticus)
• Wisdom/Poetry (Psalms)
• Prophets (Isaiah)
• Gospels (Matthew John)
• Parables (Matt John)
• History (Acts)
• Letters (Romans)
• Prophecy (Revelation)

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PRINCIPLES of Biblical Interpretation
FIGURES OF SPEECH Metaphor, simile,
personification, anthropomorphism, zoomorphism,
hyperbole, paronomasia etc. OTHER RELATED
CONCEPTS Typology Symbols
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PRINCIPLES of Biblical Interpretation

• 4. Interpret using Source Criticism
• Material in Mark that is found in both
  Matthew Luke
• Material in Matthew and Luke but not in Mark
  (Q)
• Material only in Matthew, only in Luke, and
  only in Mark

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RESOURCES

• Books
• ? BIBLE
• Translation
• Literal (as close as possible to exact words in
  original language, yet still make sense in
  receptor language)
• Dynamic Equivalent (translate words, idioms and
  grammatical construction of original language
  into precise equivalents in receptor language)
• Free (translate ideas from one language to
  another, with less concern about exact words
  also called paraphrase)

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RESOURCES
1. Books ? Bible Handbook Historical context
issues ? Bible Dictionary Historical,
theological ? Word Study Literary ?
Commentary Historical Literary ?
Concordance Literary ? Theological
Dictionary Historical Literary
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RESOURCES

• 2. Software
• ? Bible Study software

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EXEGESIS

• Understanding and Interpreting the meaning of a
  passage.
• Exegesis (to guide out of) ex from or
  out of
• Objectivity vs. Subjectivity
• Eisogesis Eis into

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Overview of Exegetical Process

1. Read the passage
2. Literary analysis
3. Historical analysis
4. Theological analysis
5. Consult commentaries
6. Interpretation conclusion of what it mean
   then...and means now
7. Applications Putting the now meaning into
   action
8. Prepare message or lesson

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PRACTICE EXEGESIS

• ? POETRY
• Parallelism
• 1. Synonymous Parallelism
• Whither shall I go from thy Spirit?
• Or whither shall I flee from thy
  presence?
• Psalm 139.7
• 2. Antithetical Parallelism
• Better a meal of vegetables where
  there is love
• than a fattened calf with hatred
• Prov. 15.17