4 - Unity and Diversity of Scripture
November 11, 2004 | Comments: 3SYS 501 – Hermeneutics – Lecture 4 – Unity and Diversity of Scripture
I. Unity of Scripture
A. One central theme – Jesus Christ
B. One primary author
C. Progressive nature of revelation
D. Frequent quotes of OT in NT, e.g. Rom. 3
E. One true interpretation
1. Univocal – one meaning
2. Veracity of God
3. Purpose of God revealed
II. Diversity of Scripture4. Language intended to communicate and be understood
A. Diversity of subjects relating to the one central theme
B. Difference between OT and NT revelation
1. Promise in former, fulfillment in latter
2. Prophetic in former, apostolic in latter
3. Types in former, antitypes in latter
4. Hebrew language in former, Greek in latter
C. Different forms of revelation
1. Historical narrative
2. Didactic writings
3. Prophecy
4. Poetry
Qualifications for an Interpreter of Scripture:
1. Must be born again – Scripture must be understood by the Spirit
2. Must have a passion to know God’s Word – Psalm 1
3. Must have a reverence for God, and His Word
4. Must have a complete dependence on the Holy Spirit
Comments
I am not so sure that I would list “Jesus Christ” as the central theme of the Bible. The “theme” central to all Scripture is redemptive history. I teach my students at St. Stephen’s that “the main story of the Bible is God redeeming his people. For Paul, training Titus, the key is “God our Savior.” The Person and work of the incarnate Son of God is the apex/climax of Redemptive History.
Nathan.
nathan on December 01, 2004 at 09:28 AM
one meaning?
May objective truth have more than one meaning? -levels and nuiances of meaning? primary and secondary meanings?
What does the WTS ch.1 say about this?
nathan on December 01, 2004 at 09:38 AM
On the central theme of Scripture, I could argue that we are saying the same thing, or at least that “Jesus Christ, (Yahweh is salvation-the anointed One)” is the Title, and “Redemptive History” is the subtitle of The Book. Jesus Christ is redemptive history – foretold, prefigured, fulfilled. He was the One by Whom God spoke creation into existence. He was the seed promised in the garden. He was the rock in the wilderness. He was captain of the Lord’s hosts who met Joshua. His Spirit spoke by the prophets who foretold His coming. All the types and shadows point to Him. He came in the fullness of time. And now redemptive history is concluding with all things being made subject to Him, until God is all in all.
At the risk of being branded an heretic, I have to say with care that I believe objective truth can have “multi-faceted” meaning. Not one truth for you, and another for me, nor one meaning in one case, and a contradictory meaning in another. But rather I speak of cases where there is an intentional semantic broadness, as in Gen. 22.8 where Abraham’s reply to Isaac is grammatically ambiguous in the original Hebrew. It could be read “God will provide Himself a lamb” but it can also be read “God will provide Himself as a lamb.” May we not understand it as both? And it is clear that many prophecies had both an immediate fulfillment as well as an eschatological fulfillment, in which the immediate fulfillment was itself prophetic of the ultimate fulfillment. To insist that all true speech must be binary (on or off, 1 or 0), reduces us to machines. That cabernet was not just 1(good) or 0(bad). It was all at once mellow, smooth, slightly smoky, with a hint of plum.
Levels and nuances? Yes, I would think so, since we are human beings made in God’s image, Who is not just the biggest computer, the ultimate Logic Machine. As humans we both use and understand levels and nuances in our speech. Where did we get this ability, if not from God. Surely he may speak this way also.
Primary and secondary meanings? No, I don’t go that far. WCF 1 says that the full sense of any Scripture is not manifold, but one. If the writers were, as I think, denouncing hermeneutical methods like allegory and anagogy, then I am in hearty accord.
andrew on December 05, 2004 at 06:12 PM
