Bible and the Gospel Final (Dr Marsh)
Biblical Clarity
"The clarity of Scripture is that quality of the biblical text that, as God's communicative act, ensures its meaning is accessible (and epistemically knowable) to all who come to it in faith" - "Scripture is clear, but hard."
Biblical Inerrancy
"The inerrancy of Scripture means that Scripture in the original manuscripts does not affirm anything which is contrary to fact"
Verbal Meaning
"Verbal" meaning represents the view that the author's intent is expressed in the words (verbal) he uses for writing purposes. To understand the biblical text, we assume that the author has meant to say what his words say and mean.
Explain why "responding" to the Bible is preferable to what is often understood by "applying" the Bible?
"[M]y goal in interpreting the Bible is not to see what I can get out of the text, but is to seek to identify and understand what God has put into the text. I am to recognize, to re-think, and to follow God's own thoughts, which through inspiration he has communicated via a human author. I can only submit to God's voice if I am listening for his intent. I cannot hijack the text to serve my own selfish desires, whether by accident or purposefully"
Setting
"narrative world" of the biblical text. Attention to what the author chooses to tell us about the setting of the story, and the way he describes it presents to us the textual clues to the overall force and meaning of the text. It shapes our proper response to it. -Place. -Time.
Verbal-Plenary
"verbal" = words; "plenary" = full/every: Emphasis is placed upon the inspiration of texts, not authors. The Bible is inspired at the level of sentences and words, not just its message. God has "breathed-out" exactly what he wanted to say through his chosen prophets and apostles to produce the written Word of God. Every written Word of Scripture is equally inspired by God.
Mosaic Covenant
(The Old Covenant) Agreement between God and the Israelites that was given to Moses on Mount Sinai. God agreed to make the Israelites God's special people and the people agreed to make God their only god and to obey God's other laws. (Ex. 19-20)
What are the three Interpretive Presuppositions?
1. Confessional 2. Compositional 3. Canonical
Name and describe the three main literary types found in the Bible.
1. Narrative 2. Poetry 3. Discourse
What three major elements does biblical narrative consist of?
1. Setting 2. Characters 3. Plot
Re-Presentation
1. The truthful course of the historical event itself. 2. The author's viewpoint who recounts the event for the sake of instruction.
On Practical Sufficiency
1. We keep tradition in its place. 2. We will not add to or subtract from the Word of God. 3. We can expect the Word of God to be relevant to all of life. 4. This doctrine invites us to open our Bibles to hear the voice of God.
What are the three main interpretive questions that one should ask for understanding the Bible?
1. What is the Bible all about? 2. What is the Book all about? 3. What is the passage all about?
What do Beynon and Sach mean by calling biblical interpretation both a art and a science?
1. science= principles and methodology 2. art= can be practiced
Compositional
Communion of Divine and human authorship; biblical authors use literary strategies to compose units into a literary whole
Davidic Covenant
Covenant that says the Messiah will come from the House of David (2 Samuel 7)
Discourse
Discourse is a text that presents a logical sequence of ideas.
Abrahamic Covenant
God's covenant to Abraham in which he promised Abraham descendants, a land for his descendants, and a Messiah that would come through his seed. (Gen. 12-17)
Noahic Covenant
God's covenant with Noah to never again flood the earth (Gen. 6-9
What is the Biblical book about?
Identifying the authors communicative purpose through the textual features, authors associate their work with other biblical books through quotations, allusions, common themes, and vocabulary
Confessional
Inspiration & Revelation; the Word(s) of God
What is a historical narrative?
It is "the re-presentation of past events for the purpose of instruction"
Biblical Inspiration
It is the supernatural activity of the Holy Spirit to speak through the human authors of Scripture so that what they wrote was what God intended to communicate about his truth and the gospel.
Infallibility
The Bible does not lead us astray in matters of faith and practice.
Biblical Illumination
The Spirit-inspired nature of the biblical texts leads to the necessity of the same Spirit to grant illumination to what has been "spiritually" revealed (1 Cor 2:6-16; Eph 1:16-18). Illumination not only makes the reading of Scripture effectual, but also it is the means of the Bible's ability to be "selfauthenticating/attesting."
Biblical Authority
The authority of Scripture means that all the words in Scripture are God's words in such a way that to disbelieve or disobey any word of Scripture is to disbelieve or disobey God"
Authorial Intention
The communion of divine and human authorship entails that to grasp what the Holy Spirit is saying in Scripture is to discern the human author's intention. The author's intention is communicated and discerned through literary forms and practices.
Adamic Covenant
The covenant that God made with Man; the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the instructions he was given concerning them comprise this covenant. (Gen. 1-2)
What is the role of other teachers of God's word in light of the doctrine of illumination?
The holy spirit illuminates the bible through the body of Christ, its the science part.
Text & Testament
The interpretive task is one of faith seeking understanding of the Bible's textual meaning within the bounds of Christian Scripture as a TwoTestament canon.
New Covenant
The new "dispensation," or order, established by God in Jesus Christ to succeed and perfect the Old Covenant. The New Covenant is the means of bringing the Abrahamic Covenant and the Davidic Covenant into actuality. (Jer. 31)
What is the distinction that Ferguson wants to draw between "inspire" and "ex-spire" regarding theopneustos
The scripture was not created by man and then inspired by God, instead it was "ex-pired" by God meaning that they are God breathed.
Doctrine of Scripture
What you believe about the bible will determine how you approach and study it
Identify the following doctrine of scripture: This doctrine is that quality of the biblical text that, as God's communicative act, ensures its meaning is accessible (and epistemically knowable) to all who come to it in faith.
clarity of scripture/ biblical clarity
This interpretive presupposition asserts that biblical authors use literary strategies to form units into a literary whole.
compositional (the other options were confessional and canonical)
What are the central implications of the divine inspiration of scripture?
human authors wrote Gods words through the inspiration of the holy spirit
What are the pitfalls of viewing the Bible as only a divine text?
it is simply viewed as a mystery and is over-spiritualized
What are the pitfalls of viewing the Bible as only a human text?
it is simply viewed as an object of study and is over-mastered
What kind of questions should you ask of the text?
questions should be: a) textual b)theological
What is the passage about?
Any individual passage should be interpreted in light of its placement in the book (with some awareness of basic placement in the canon). Introductions, conclusions and transitions are often "ripe" with textual clues.
THE BIG IDEA (Author's Textual Meaning)
Authors typically place the individual parts of their message within the grander context of the composition of an entire book. Therefore, a reader needs to be able to discern the "big idea" of a biblical author's composition (book) in order to render a faithful interpretation of its parts.
Why is prayer so important for bible reading/study?
Because prayer is communication with God and allows Him to reveal Himself and His wisdom to us through our bible reading.
Characters
Biblical authors (truthfully) shape characters in their narratives in many ways that impact how we perceive them. Characters are the "who" of the narrative/story. -Narrator comment -Indirect & Direct speech -Thoughts -Action & Abilities -Location -Contrast/Comparison with others
Canonical
Biblical books are associated, collected, and circulated; a twoTestament Christian Bible = diverse voices bearing witness in unity to the same, one Triune God and the one gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ
Narrative
Biblical narrative is a text that makes its point primarily by telling a story.
Plot
Biblical narratives teach God's truth and instruction through story. What happens and how things happen constitute the plot of the story. It is a chain of interconnected events intentionally arranged to convey meaning and truth. Authors draw us into the story by causing us to identify with what is happening to characters in the plot whether positively or negatively. -Stages: Opening, Conflict, Rising Intensity, Climax, Resolution, Ending -Things to consider: Style, Allusion, Forms, Gapping/Suspense, Pace, Tone/ Feel, Narrator comment
Poetry
Biblical poetry is a text where normal language is modified to intensify its impact. Various poetic devices are used that affect how sentences are structured, and there is usually a high concentration of figures of speech (word pictures).
Textual Questions
Questions that reflect the compositional strategies and the literary forms and practices of biblical authors to convey their meaning through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Theological Questions
Questions that reflect the primary character of Scripture as THEOlogical, that is, the Bible as special revelation foremost reveals the Triune God made known through the Lord Jesus Christ. God's discloses himself as supremely absolute, and all else as relative to him.
Biblical Sufficiency
Scripture is sufficient in every way to make God known for each successive generation, revealing all that we need for salvation and godliness to live in a manner that pleasing to him by faith.
