KNOWING THE BIBLE
Chapter 4
THE THEME, THE CENTRAL THOUGHT
AND THE SUBDIVISIONS OF THE BIBLE
WEEK 3 - THURSDAY
Bible Reading: Ps 91; Mt 3:11-12; 4:7
Read and pray: “Jesus answered: Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5)
For example: the Lord Jesus said in John 3 that if a person is not born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Many expositors of the Bible have interpreted water spiritually in this passage, referring to the word of God. However, in the following sentence, they take the Spirit literally, referring to the Holy Spirit. This type of interpretation is wrong and contradicts the principle of interpreting the Bible.
If the Spirit in the second sentence must be interpreted literally, then water in the first sentence must also be interpreted literally, and vice versa. Since the Spirit cannot be interpreted spiritually, neither can the water in this passage; it must be taken literally.
In Matthew, chapter 3, John the Baptist said: "I baptize you in water for repentance; but He who is coming after me is mightier than I (…) He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire" (vv. 11-12).
Some expositors of the Bible interpret fire here spiritually, as tribulations and trials. Some even interpret it as the Holy Spirit burning like fire. All these interpreted the word fire spiritually.
But in this verse, the water mentioned by John is real water, and the Holy Spirit is literally the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the fire in the last part should not be interpreted spiritually, but literally. If the word fire should be interpreted spiritually, then water must also be interpreted spiritually, which is impossible.
This is an important principle of interpreting the Bible: different parts within the same passage must all be interpreted either literally or spiritually; there cannot be a mixture.
Therefore, when reading and interpreting the Bible, we must pay attention to the words "it is also written". These words are spoken by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 4:7. When the Lord was tempted, the devil quoted the words of Psalm 91 to Him, in which God would command His angels to support Him so that He would not strike His foot against a stone.
The devil argued that He could throw Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple and would not be hurt, since such a promise was in the Old Testament. When the Lord heard this, He immediately answered: "It is also written: You shall not tempt the Lord your God." This shows us that we cannot consider only one isolated portion of the Bible. Instead, we must consider two, three, or more portions of the Word together.
If we neglect the principle of "it is also written", and apply the words of the Bible in an isolated way, we will easily be deceived by the snares of the devil. If the devil cannot prevent a person from following the Bible, he will lead them to take isolated passages of the Bible.
It is clear that Satan would like us to do nothing according to the Bible. But many times, he knows this is impossible. All those who love and fear the Lord desire to walk according to the Bible. The devil cannot stop us from following the Bible or walking according to it. He can only use other ways, one of which is to make us follow the Bible in an isolated way. Thus, we are led to extremes and forget the words that say: "it is also written".
The word "also" is a very great word. We should draw a circle around it. This shows us that when we follow the Bible, we must not do so in an isolated way. We must consider both sides, even all sides.
No isolated portion of the Bible can represent the whole truth, just as no single facade of a house can completely represent the entire house. We ourselves are like this. If someone takes a picture of us from behind, no holes in the head can be seen. But if they take a picture of us from the front, seven holes can clearly be seen.
No single side of a man can represent the person as a whole. The same can be said about the Bible. No isolated portion of the Bible can represent a complete truth, and we must be very balanced in everything. Therefore, we must remember the principle "it is also written".
On the other hand, when defining any truth, all the verses must be considered. Every verse in the Bible contains all the truths. Once, a brother said that any verse of the Bible requires the whole Bible to explain it. This is very true. If someone wants to understand Genesis 1:1, he must understand the whole Bible. On the one hand, Genesis 1:1 cannot contain the whole truth; on the other, Genesis 1:1 includes all the truths of the Bible.
Therefore, when defining any truth, we cannot rely only on one portion of the Bible. Instead, we must depend on all the other words of the Bible. In the same principle, the explanation of any verse cannot be based only on its own context, but must be based on the whole Bible.
The Second Epistle of Peter 1:20 says that no prophecy of Scripture is of private interpretation (IBB-Rev.). The original meaning of this verse is that prophecy in the Bible should not be interpreted according to its own context. This means that, to interpret any prophecy, one must study all the prophecies in the Bible and make decisions based on all the prophecies in the Bible. Only then will the interpretation be complete.
Enjoy more:
Hymn Study of the Word - "The Function of the Word"
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