אבנימ

Biblical Hermeneutics Part Second Chapter 33

Terry now traces the progressive nature of God’s revelation through Scripture, and against that backdrop presents the “analogy of faith” as an essential hermeneutical principle. It is important for the interpreter to rightly understand that as God revealed Himself “in many portions and in many ways” (Hebrews 1.1) through the centuries, His revelation was cumulative, becoming ever more full and specific, especially with respect to the coming of the Christ. We see this, for example, in the successive records of “generations” in Genesis, in the increasingly particular covenants made with Adam, Noah, Abraham and David, in the advance of typological understanding of tabernacle and temple, and in the development of messianic themes in the prophets. Terry aptly describes the proto-evangelium of Genesis 3.15 as “a fountainhead from which a gradually increasing stream went forth.” Moreover, as the Pentateuch contains the essence of Old Testament teaching which is thence expanded and expounded by the later prophets, so also the gospels contain the germ of Christian teaching which the Spirit-inspired apostles explained and elaborated.

Thus comprehending the progressive nature of revelation, we may better appreciate and apply the hermeneutical principle known as “the analogy of faith.” This principle holds that Scripture is self-interpreting, that one text cannot be construed so as to contradict a doctrine established by many texts, and that obscure texts must be interpreted in the light of those which are plain. There are two degrees to this principle, known as the positive and the general. The former is the highest, in which a doctrine is plainly set forth by many distinct passages. The latter, on the other hand, is not built upon explicit declarations, but upon the general scope and significance of Scripture taken as a whole.