Box Tops, Thesis Statements, and Herman Who?
"Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.” ~Psalm 119:18
I’d like to offer a few insights that have helped me in understanding God’s Word. Hopefully, these ideas will prove beneficial to you as well.
1. Jesus is the box top of all of Scripture!
There is no question that when one is working on a jigsaw puzzle, it is very helpful to look frequently at the box top because it allows us see how all the pieces fit together. Some would even argue that using the box top is cheating. With every book of the Bible and every passage of Scripture, we should ask, “How does this passage point to God’s purpose in the person and work of Christ?”
If you believe that the entire Bible, including the Old Testament, is about Jesus, you are in very good company. Jesus Himself and all the apostles certainly did. While on a seven-mile walk to Emmaus with two of His disciples, Jesus revealed this to them. Luke tells us that “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). In those days, “the law and the prophets” was code for what we now call the Old Testament. Likewise, the New Testament writers unpacked their Bible, the Old Testament, and demonstrated how it testified to the doing and dying of our Redeemer. In Acts, for example, Peter’s “those men are not drunk as you suppose” sermon and every subsequent sermon in the book preached Christ and Him crucified. It really is all about Jesus! And it’s not cheating to use the box top!
2. Keep the Bible’s thesis statement in mind as you read Scripture.
The Gospel’s “mother verse,” Genesis 3:15, is arguably the thesis statement of the Bible: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” From Genesis through Revelation, we see this war play out throughout all of human and redemptive history. The seed of the woman, of course, is Christ, who will ultimately triumph over the seed of the serpent and all his works.
3. Read the Scriptures with a covenantal framework.
If you want to learn or refresh yourself on what that entails, listen or re-listen to Pastor Kyle Lockhart’s Sunday School overview available on our website here. Like many of you, once I understood the so-called “doctrines of grace,” it all began to make more sense.
4. Before you read Scripture, pray.
Ask God the Holy Spirit to help you understand what you are about to read. I forget this far more often than I would like to admit, even though I know it’s vitally important. And remember, as J.I. Packer famously said, “You’ll know when the Holy Spirit is present because Christ will be magnified.” And Jesus said, “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me” (John 15:26).
5. Learn principles of sound hermeneutics.
That’s a fancy word defined as the science of interpretation. It is derived from the name of the Greek god Hermes, the messenger of the gods. Below I’ll list just a few of those principles. (I’d be happy to send a more comprehensive list to anyone who requests it.)
Scripture interprets Scripture.
The implicit is to be interpreted by the explicit. In other words, interpret the obscure in light of the clear. Scripture is clear in its basic message. What is obscure and difficult in one part of Scripture is stated more clearly and simply in other parts of Scripture.
The New Testament interprets the Old Testament. The NT writers and Jesus’ words about the OT interpret the significance of these events.
Do we interpret scripture literally? Yes, in the sense of literary norms of following rules of grammar, speech syntax, and content. Understand literary forms, figures of speech, and style in accordance with the genre. Acknowledge hyperbole. (For example, Jesus said a mustard seed was the smallest of seeds, but there are smaller seeds. Was Jesus errant? Of course not.) Also, acknowledge the Bible uses metaphors. (For example, Jesus said, “I am the door,” but Jesus’ navel wasn’t a doorknob or hinge.)
Ask: “What’s the big picture?” When reading a patch, keep the quilt in mind. Where is this passage considering redemptive history?
Marshall Clement, Elder