Is the Bible Open for Interpretation? Is There One Right Meaning or Many?
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Have you ever heard two people preach from the same passage of scripture and bring two different perspectives on the same verses? Forget preachers. Have you ever read the same passage of Scripture and discovered a fresh revelation from the first time you read it? Same passage, same words, different understanding. Is this a coincidence, or does a verse or passage of Scripture only have one meaning, or is the Bible open to interpretation? The answer lies in how you view the Bible and the ways you discover the truth in it.
When It Comes to the Bible, What Do We Mean by "Interpretation"?
Interpreting the Bible means understanding what God is saying through his written word. While I believe the Bible is the inerrant word of God, given to us by God, the Bible is also literature. Obviously, it is more than just literature; however, from that perspective, it is usually the job of the reader to interpret what the writer is trying to say.
There are some general rules for interpreting Scripture that can help us understand what the Bible is trying to say. However, even those rules don’t always prevent people from having two different understandings of the same passage. This does not mean all interpretations are valid; just that there can be more than one.
Why Do Readers See Different Things in Bible Passages?
We must be humble enough to recognize an important fact. Though God's Word is perfect, our understanding isn't. It is extremely difficult to read Scripture and ignore the lens of your own background, experiences, and preconceptions. I don’t mean this to be a bad thing; it is a human thing. Now, this may not always be the best way to view Scripture, but you cannot ignore this reality.
How many times have you seen yourself in the characters of the Bible and wondered how you may have reacted in their situation? Or maybe you have found a situation in the Bible that parallels something you are experiencing in your own life. When this happens, it is natural to extrapolate the truth of Scripture into your situation. This does not make your interpretation wrong; it just explains how you can arrive at different meanings.
This is not only true of the readers but also of the writers. Think about the four gospels. All four gospels tell the story of Jesus' life, but each writer offers a unique perspective. Each one brings some nuances that, combined, help paint a complete picture of Jesus’ life and ministry on earth. We could argue that interpretation is the same way. God may reveal something different to us at different times, and the collective revelation helps us understand what God is saying to us.
Is the "Your Truth, My Truth" Interpretation of the Bible Valid?
We're living in a time when many (Christians included) have embraced the "your truth, my truth" mentality. They'll say things like, "Well, that's your truth, but my truth is different." I will acknowledge there can be differences in interpretation, but that does not mean there can be differences in truth. That’s why we must rely on some standard guidelines of interpretation, because if we don’t, then we can have people running off with crazy, inaccurate interpretations of the Bible that were never part of God’s intended meaning.
The Guardrails of Bible Interpretation
While the Bible is open to interpretation, it's not open to just any interpretation. To reach the right interpretation, here are four important guardrails you should incorporate into your Bible study.
1. Context Matters
People get into trouble with interpretation when they pull verses from Scripture and apply meaning to them without considering the context. When you think of context, you can view it from three different levels. Level one is the context in relationship to the surrounding verses. Level two context expounds to see how it fits within the context of the book. Level three context is looking at the context within all of Scripture. Ignoring the context can lead to many false or misleading interpretations of Scripture. Sadly, this happens way too often. Here is a simple example to help you understand what I mean.
Have you ever heard someone say, “You have not because you ask not.” This comes from James 4. If you stop there, you would think the reason you don’t have something from God is because you didn’t ask. However, when you read this in context with the surrounding verses, you will see it is more than just that:
"…You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures" (Jam. 4:2b-3).
As you can see, the context transforms the understanding of what this passage means. That’s why it matters so much. If you ignore context, then you can make the Bible say almost anything. That might seem like interpretation, but it is really manipulation.
2. Original Meaning Matters
It is important to remember that Scripture was written to a specific audience, and it had a specific meaning for that audience. Before you can understand what a passage means for you today, it helps to know what that passage might have meant to the original audience. This requires us to consider the culture of the day, the historical events, and what was happening when the words were written. This is also a way of taking more precautions so your interpretations don’t become simply a product of your own preconceptions.
3. Let Scripture interpret Scripture
Whenever there is a question of what a verse may mean, one of the fundamental principles of studying the Bible is to let Scripture interpret Scripture. While the Bible does not contradict itself, there are passages of Scripture that may appear to or are simply difficult to interpret. When this happens, it requires further study. In these cases, the Bible becomes the best interpreter of the Bible. Looking for clarity in other passages that address the same topic can help bring understanding to more difficult passages.
4. Everything does not have a deeper meaning
One challenge we face when interpreting Scripture is believing that everything in the Bible has a deeper meaning. Not everything is symbolic; often, the text provides a complete picture, and you don’t need to take it beyond that. Yes, the details matter in telling the story, but be careful in trying to read something deeper into every detail. You may be looking for or adding something that does not exist.
What Role Does the Holy Spirit Play in Interpreting the Bible?
Before Jesus left, he promised he would send the Holy Spirit, who would teach you all things (John 14:26) and guide you into truth (John 16:13). The Holy Spirit will never lead you into a truth or interpretation that contradicts the written Word of God. The Holy Spirit operates in cooperation with the word, not in contrast to it. If you feel the Holy Spirit is teaching or revealing something to you and it contradicts what is written in the word, then you can be certain the revelation is not coming from the Holy Spirit and it is probably a good idea to ignore it.
A humble approach for sound Biblical Interpretation
We should always approach interpreting Scripture from a place of humility, not arrogance or pride. Here are some ways to approach it in that fashion.
1. Pray
Any study of the Bible should begin with prayer. The purpose of praying is to seek help from the Holy Spirit to understand what you are reading, but also for him to help you apply it to your life. God uses his Word to speak to our hearts and lives, and one thing the Holy Spirit does through the Word is to highlight things in us he wants to address or change.
2. Check your heart
While we cannot ignore our history and experiences when we look at Scripture, we need to make sure we always check our motives in interpretation. If the interpretation appeals to motives that are selfish, prideful, or anything that reflects our fleshly nature, then it is highly likely that it is a misinterpretation.
3. Be open to correction
Despite the best efforts, it is possible to misinterpret Scripture. That’s why we should make it a practice to discuss Scripture with other believers and always approach Scripture from a posture of continuously learning. As you learn more and grow in your walk, then it is possible to gain deeper and better understanding of Scripture. This can be corrective and may even mean you interpret some things differently than you have before.
Final Thoughts
There are some essential truths of Scripture where the interpretation should not change and cannot change. However, since God’s Word is a living word, God will often reveal what we need at the moment we need it. While we can be dogmatic about the absolutes of Scripture, there will be times when what we discover is open to interpretation. This is when we apply all the tools in our Bible interpretation toolbox to ensure we are doing our best to get the interpretation right.
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