7. “To rightly divide the word of truth, we must simply allow the Bible to interpret itself.
You may recall that I briefly expounded this truth in Part 1. Upon reflection, I perceived that more detail was required:
2 Peter chapter 1 verse 20.
“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private(Greek: idios- one’s own) interpretation.”
If this scripture is true? and I believe that to be the case; we are not to allow ourselves to bring OUR OWN interpretation to the scriptures. That leaves us with the fascinating truth that: the Bible interprets itself.
So, how can we allow the scriptures to interpret themselves?
The following truths are vital if we desire to see this come to pass.
(a) First usage.
The first occurrence of words, expressions and phrases, used in scripture, are often essential to their consequent biblical interpretation.
2 Corinthians chapter 12 verses 1 and 7.
Verse 1
“It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.”
This verse establishes the context of the following six verses: “visions and revelations of the Lord.”
Verse 7
“And lest I should be exhalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me A THORN IN THE FLESH, the messenger of satan to buffet me, lest I should be exhalted above measure.”
Is this expression: “thorn in the flesh” explained or interpreted in the verses that precede or follow it?
The answer is no.
The verse does reveal the origin of the “thorn in the flesh”:
“the messenger of satan…”
I have heard many teachings on Paul’s “thorn in the flesh”: each one different from the rest.
One proclaimed it to be an eye infection. Another, that it was a digestive problem and one even claimed that the disorder was of a sexual nature! All: speculation and private interpretation.
It is obvious to me that the phrase “thorn in the flesh” is a figure of speech: a metaphor.
A metaphor(for rhetorical effect) directly refers to one thing by mentioning another; which is interesting, but it still does not shed any light on this phrase’s interpretation. If the Bible does not interpret this phrase, somewhere else in the scriptures, the Holy Spirit does not intend us to understand it.
Fortunately, that is not the case.🙌
Numbers chapter 33 verse 55.
“But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the lands wherein ye dwell.”
The Holy Spirit, by the mouth of Moses, commands the children of Israel to drive out all the Gentiles from the promised land, and warns that if any are allowed to remain they would be “thorns in their sides” and would vex(trouble)them as they began to dwell there.
The Holy Spirit uses a figure of speech, a metaphor, to draw our attention to the subject matter. He could simply have intimated that any Gentiles allowed to remain in the promised land would be vexatious or troublesome to the Israelites, but instead, metaphorically speaking, He paints a picture of the Gentiles as a thorn in the flesh.
I am an avid gardener, and, over my 68 years on this earth, I have been pricked by many a thorn: some big and some small. Not only are they a nuisance as they painfully enter the flesh; but usually a small piece remains there and the area around the thorn becomes extremely sensitive to the touch. Every time the affected area, usually in a finger, brushes, unwittingly, against an object, a sharp pain is felt: vexatious and troublesome.
This is the first usage of the phrase and we must interpret, biblically, all other consequent usages in a similar fashion: the ” thorn in the flesh” represented people.
Judges chapter 2 verses 2 and 3.
” And ye shall make no league(alliance)with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?
Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their Gods shall be a snare unto you.”
Here again the Holy Spirit reveals God’s will to the Israelites: Remove the Gentiles from the promised land. Failure to do so implies that they would intermarry and also begin to worship the Gentiles Gods. If left to remain, the Gentiles are described as” thorns in your sides” constantly causing friction and pain to the Israelites.
We have allowed the scriptures to interpret themselves: the “thorns in the flesh/sides” metaphorically represent people; people who cause trouble and often inflict pain on those who follow the one true God.
With this in mind, let us meditate upon these revelations in regard to Paul’s” thorn in the flesh.”
2 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 24.
“Of the Jews five times I received forty stripes save one.”
The Jews would punish the worst offenders against their religious beliefs and doctrines with forty lashes of a leather whip. If the person administering the punishment, mistakenly, struck the prisoner more than 40 times; he himself would receive a similar punishment. That is the reason Paul received only 39 lashes on 5 separate occasions.
Who sentenced Paul and who administered the punishment? The Jewish religious leadership: people.
Verse 25.
“Thrice(3 times)was I beaten with rods, once I was stoned…..”
Again, because Paul preached “Christ and Him crucified” he received, from the Jewish religious leadership 3 beatings with rods. He would have been struck 39 times; each beating, with willow rods tied together and with bone fragments, stones and metal inserted at the top of the rods which were designed to rip and tear the flesh.
Who ordered these beatings?- the Jewish religious leadership -people.
Acts chapter 14 verse 19.
“And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.”
Who incited the people and stoned Paul?- the Jews from Antioch and Iconium: people.
2 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 26.
“In journeyings often, in perils(dangers-the Greek word kindunos)of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren.”
Who put Paul’s life in constant danger? – people.
We can be in no doubt. Paul’s thorn in the flesh was not an eye infection, a digestive disorder or a problem of a sexual nature; but constant harassment and injury, primarily from the Jewish establishment, but also from robbers, the heathen, his own countrymen and false brethren.
As we read of his ministry we begin to understand why the Holy Spirit labelled this constant interference his “thorn in the flesh.” Just like a thorn, he suffered, not only the pain of the beatings initially, but also the continual hardships, inflicted by people, on a body that was extremely sensitive to pain.
Let us not forget that the source of all this hardship was an attempt, by satan, to prevent Paul preaching “Christ, and Him crucified…”
He did not succeed🙌
There we have it. We have allowed the Bible to interpret itself. By travelling back to the first usage in the Old Testament the true scriptural meaning of the phrase “thorn in the flesh” has been revealed to us. However, it is only when we read of Paul’s ministry in the book of Acts and the Epistles that we appreciate the fullness, scripturally, of it’s meaning.
If in doubt of a phrase or figure of speech, as you study the scriptures, always return to it’s first usage for spiritual enlightenment.
(b) To allow the Bible to interpret itself, we must understand it’s origins.
2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 16.
” ALL scripture is given by inspiration of God (Greek: theopneustos- God breathed) and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”
2 Peter chapter 1 verses 20 and 21.
“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but (in contrast)holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”
These scriptures attest to the truth that the scriptures were, and are, “God breathed” and that they were not given by the will of man, but spoken out by Holy men/ women “..as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”
These scriptures were written upon papyrus sheets, by scribes, made from reeds. In the case of Old Testament scriptures,
papyrus sheets were then joined together to form large scrolls, usually wrapped around two wooden rollers, to assist in unraveling. In synagogues today, Old Testament scriptures are recorded on skins of kosher animals: cattle, goats and deer, but continue to use a roller system in their worship. We have an example of this when the Lord Jesus announced His ministry:
Luke chapter four verses 16 and 17.
“And He(Jesus)came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
And there was delivered unto Him the book(Greek: biblion-scroll)of the prophet Esaias. And when He had opened (Greek:anaptusso-
unravelled) the book(scroll) He found the place where it was written.”
(Just as an aside; can you see how much the interpretation of the translator changed the truth of this verse. By attempting to modernize the verse for simplicity by translating “biblion” as book and not scroll; and “anaptusso” as opened and not unravelled: the entire imagery and truth of this verse is diminished, if not lost. Now you know my reasons for constantly referring back to Greek words in my research 😃)
New Testament scriptures however were compiled in rough books called codices for ease of study and carriage.
In both Old and New Testament manuscripts it must be noted that due to the expense of papyrus there was no spacing between verses; there was no punctuation; there were no chapter divisions and consequently no chapter headings. These were all added in later centuries, by translators, for ease of study, and are therefore devoid of spiritual inspiration. It is important to remember these details if we are serious about allowing the Bible to interpret itself.
(c) To allow the Bible to interpret itself, we must remember that all punctuation in modern Bibles is not spiritually inspired, but merely the private interpretation of the translator and destitute of either divine or human authority.
As stated in point (b) above, the ancient Hebrew and Greek manuscripts contained no punctuation whatsoever. It first appeared in Hebrew translations in the 14th.century and in the Robert Stephen’s Greek text of the New Testament in 1551. It is generally accepted that punctuation was introduced, like spacing between and numbering of verses: to make the scriptures easier to study and locate.
I cannot stress highly enough that all these aids for study purposes were not divinely inspired.
You may ask: “what difference does it make if punctuation is incorrect?”
Churches have split in two over incorrect punctuation in Bible texts. Families have been divided, and husbands and wives set at variance with each other as a consequence of it.
Luke chapter 23 verse 43.
“And Jesus said unto him, verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.”
The context of this verse is of course the conversation between Jesus and the two malefactors, all crucified on Calvary Hill. One verbally abused Jesus, the other asked Jesus in verse 42 , “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom.”
By placing the comma after thee and before Today the translator, possibly because of his religious beliefs, leads us to believe that paradise and the Kingdom was available immediately, to the malefactor, after his death.
However if you look at other Bibles, verse 43 is punctuated differently.
“And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee today, shalt thou be with me in paradise.”
Punctuated thus: “today,” emphasises the timing of Jesus’s statement not the timing of entrance into Paradise: “shalt” places entrance into Paradise at some time in the future.
So which punctuation and interpretation is correct?
When confronted with an interpretation difficulty such as this, I instantly remove all punctuation from the verse. I then meditate upon the verse, praying in tongues as I do so, asking the Holy Spirit for guidance.
If there appears to be two possible biblical interpretations, as in Luke chapter 23 verse 43, I simply compare each interpretation with all other scriptures on the same subject in the Bible.(simply achieved by using a Concordance) Whichever biblical interpretation agrees with all other scriptures, unless the Holy Spirit tells me otherwise, is the biblical interpretation that I would accept.
Now I know that you all want me to tell you which interpretation of Luke chapter 23 verse 43 is the biblical interpretation, but I leave you to do so. That is your homework for today.😃
Allowing the Bible to interpret itself is an integral part of rightly dividing the word of truth: Realizing that punctuation is destitute of divine or human authority, allows us to achieve that objective.
(d) To allow the Bible to interpret itself, so that we can rightly divide the word of truth, it is important to choose the most accurate Bible to read and to study.
Students of the scriptures and spiritual truth seekers all agree that the 1611 Authorised Version of the Robert Stephen’s translation, commonly called the King James version, is the most detailed and accurate version available today. However, due to it’s use of Old 17th Century English(thees and thous etc.) many pastors and mega church ministries refuse to use it, in favour of more modern, less accurate, versions.
The reason why the King James version is preferred among all others, among students of the scriptures, is because of the vast resources King James put at the translators disposal to ensure that the version was accurate and legible
for all at that time.
In 1979, when I received salvation by grace, I was encouraged by my spiritual mentors to purchase and study the King James version of the Bible, and to this day, I use no other.
Throughout the intervening years, many have tried to discourage me from using this version of the Bible because of the Old English language used, but I have a Strong’s Concordance and a Vine’s Dictionary of Old and New Testament words on my phone which reveals to me the exact meaning of Old English words used in this version.
1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 15.
“For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not PREVENT them which are asleep.”
Immediately, we are struck by the word prevent. It just doesn’t seem compatible with the other words in the verse; indeed, it muddies the waters rather than clarifies them.
However, a quick click on my phone to Strong’s Concordance and Vine’s indicates that the Greek word for prevent is “phthano” and translated” to precede/to come before: in old English, “prevent” meant ” to precede”.
Now the verse is crystal clear: those that are dead in Christ shall rise first and be caught up together with Him, at His coming, before those, in Christ, that are alive. The living shall not precede the dead.
Hallelujah 🙌
It has been said of the King James version that: “It’s sentence structure is clearer and more direct than modern versions despite occasional obselete vocabulary.”
I wholeheartedly agree. It has a clarity that modern versions do not possess. In an effort to make the Bible more amenable to present day readers, modern versions have lost the accuracy of the King James version.
Yes, we might have to work a little harder when we study the King James version, but what are you seeking: “accuracy” or ” simplicity?”
The choice is yours.
Another advantage of using the King James version of the Bible is that the translators italicized(put into different print font)words which they added to verses to simplify them or to elucidate them.
However, like punctuation, these added words are not spiritually inspired and have caused no end of confusion in the Church.
As workmen/women of the scriptures we must recognize this truth if we desire to allow the Bible to interpret itself.
Churches have split, friends have been parted and families divided because ministries have, unwisely, established doctrines based upon these added words.
1 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 1.
“Now concerning spiritual GIFTS, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.”
In the King James version of the Bible, the word “gifts” is italicized to make clear to us that it was added to the verse by the translator. There is no word in the Greek text for gifts in this verse.
The Greek word for spiritual in this verse is “pneumatikos” and can be translated “spiritual matters/ things concerning the Spirit.”
This added word “gifts” birthed an erroneous doctrine, in many American ministries, that having received, by grace, the gift of the holy spirit, you would be rewarded with further spiritual “gifts” of:
- The word of wisdom.
- The word of knowledge.
- Faith.
- Gifts of healing.
- Working of miracles.
- Prophecy.
- Discerning of spirits.
- Kinds of tongues.
- Interpretation of tongues.
This doctrine informs us that if you are very spiritual you will certainly receive one of these “gifts”, but you must be extremely spiritual to receive more than one.
Amazingly, in these ministries it seems that only pastors, their wives and children, worship leaders and the elders of the church are the only ones deemed “spiritual enough” to receive these “gifts” while the rest of the church are discouraged from even daring to believe that these 9 “gifts” could possibly flow them.
There are 2 problems with this doctrine.
1. Romans chapter 2 verse 11.
“For there is no respect of persons with God.”
We do not receive “pneumatikos” because we are spiritual, pious and holy; we receive that gift of the holy spirit immediately after we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord. It is by grace, not our works in the Church.
We all receive the same measure of that which is holy and spirit from God.
1 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 7.
“But the manifestation(Greek: phanerosis; meaning the evidencing/showing forth)of the spirit is given to EVERY man(woman) to profit (benefit) withal.”
2. I find it hard to fathom that ministry leaders and pastors alike find the gift of the Holy Spirit wanting.
It is as if they believe that that which comes from God, which is holy and spirit, is insufficient for us: that we need extra spiritual gifts to compensate for the inadequacies of the gift of the Holy Spirit.
I reject this doctrine completely: There are many millions of faithful saints, whose spiritual potential is untapped, simply, because they are not encouraged, by leadership, to unlock it.
We must ask the question – why is this so?
This erroneous doctrine came to pass because it was based on a word: “gifts” that was added to the King James version by a translator.
I have a rule of thumb when I endeavour to allow the Bible to interpret itself and come across italicized words in the King James version.
I simply lay them to one side. These added words are devoid of any spiritual or human authority.
If we are to rightly divide the word of truth, we must allow the Bible to interpret itself.
You see, my mind, having studied the scriptures for 47 years, day in and day out, automatically runs through all these keys that I have shared with you in this 6 part series.I utilize them all.
When I am confronted with troublesome scriptures that are at variance with all other clear verses on the same subject, my mind clicks into overdrive:
- Am I asking the Holy Spirit for guidance?
- To whom are the scriptures addressed?
- Context?
- Used before?
- Am I allowing the scriptures to interpret themselves?
- Am I privately interpreting these scriptures?
- Am I reading what is written?
- Do I take note of italicized words in verses?
You will notice that there are a lot of I’s in that list. It is up to US, individually, to rightly divide the word of truth, so that we can understand fully, our spiritual approval, by grace, before our Heavenly Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Timothy 2:15.
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman(woman)that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
We, as individuals, are required to rightly divide the word of truth: not our pastors, and ministry leaders: for us. We are to search the scriptures, meditate upon them and finally to change our lifestyles to harmonize with them. Yes, we are to study the scriptures, but that is only the half of it. I believe that as we incorporate His scriptures into our lives; then, and only then, will we understand and appreciate fully His approval of us by grace.
Again, I must commend Dr. E. W. Bullinger’s book “How to enjoy the Bible” to you all. This thesis has been a constant, and inspirational, companion of mine for over 40 years.
I pray that this series will bless you and encourage you to rightly divide the word of truth, that you might understand fully His spiritual approval of you as sons and daughters, through our Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that like the prophet Jeremiah you will proclaim:
“Thy words were found, and I did eat(assimilate)them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.”
Jeremiah chapter 15 verse 16.
Amen and Amen.🙌
Blessings.