The Interpreter Has Arrived!

By Jason Strange
6/15/2010

Jeremiah says, "Israel broke the covenant." God was their husband as he betrothed them to himself, but his bride was unfaithful and went whoring after other lovers, thus committing spiritual idolatry. This was all due to the hermeneutical failure of their first parents that had wide sweeping effects. Goldsworthy has said, "ever since the disastrous upheaval of sinful man there is now a hermetic of suspicion which now characterizes rebellious humanity."

And as a result of Israel's hermeneutical suspicion and confusion they were characterized as having ears, but not hearing, eyes- but not seeing; spiritually deaf, blind, and dumb as they did not understand or discern the will God (Is. 6:9-10). They had become like the idols they worshipped. Most of these people though possessing the promises and covenants walked in darkness; the law of God was only external, written only on stone and not on their hearts. Isaiah again says, "the ox and ass knew their master, but Israel did not understand (Is. 1:3)." Even dumb farm animals know their owners, but Israel was worse off and had less sense then the ass and the ox not recognizing their Master.

When the times had reached there fulfillment God in his sovereign grace sent the Interpreter, his Son. This is why the New Covenant is a fundamental consideration to Hermeneutics because when Christ came Hermeneutics changed. (now that Messiah has come we can do Biblical theology-he gives color to the shadows, and they begin to dance in three dimensions; he takes that Messianic consciousness and gives it flesh and bone, he says I am the One who was streaming through the minds of the prophets, and the priest, and the kings). The Interpreter has arrived and as such he interprets the New and unpacks the old pealing back the layers of Old Testament history and in essence says, 'look at me! see me there, see me here'; I am God I fill the Heavens and I fill every word found in Scripture and I am its focal point .

Isaiah says now within the land of deep darkness a great light has shined. The light of the world comes and shines forth the hermeneutical beacon. Jesus says' "He who follows me will never walk in darkness." There is a darkness to hermeneutics when it is separated from Christ. There is dark exegesis, dark systematics, and dark dogmatics without Christ Jesus as the hermeneutical principle and the exegetical interpreter. The New Covenant is such that when one partakes of New Covenant realities he is moved up out of a deceased Hermeneutic and is transferred into a new realm of Hermeneutical clarity. Paul said this to the Corinthians that the 'Jews had a veil covering their hearts, but when one comes to Jesus the veil is removed (2 Cor 3).'

The Christ event inaugurates the New Covenant. It is new in the sense that it is distinct, unique, one of a kind, not a spin-off of the old, but has characteristics that set it apart as exclusively special. Israel is promised that she will be given a new heart and a new spirit; new faculties to internalize God's law which will be written on the heart. These partakers in the New Covenant will all know God; they will have an awareness of who he is. And now God vindicating his holiness through Christ death and resurrection sprinkles clean water on us giving us a cleansed conscience, removes the heart of stone, removing sin and iniquity forever. Only through Jesus could all the conditions be met and the full realization of Hermeneutic ability comes to its beach-head on Pentecost where they receive the Spirit of Christ, who now indwells his people 'leading them into all truth', guaranteeing an accurate Hermeneutical outcome for all time. He promised that he is with us till the end, and so the Church is assured that Christ will continue to illuminate his Word until He illuminates the world upon his return.

The Author's Communication: Interpreting Textual Particulars

By John Ambro
6/4/2010

Communication is a funny thing. If we don't pay attention to the particulars within the context of the whole message we miss out on the true and intended meaning of the message, and we misinterpret it to mean something completely different than the original communicator intended. We have all done this to one extent or another. A prime example of this is communication between a father and son. The son is sitting in the living room playing a video game and his father is in the kitchen. The father calls to his son to “Will you take the garbage out.” The son replies “yes” but continues to sit there. That is because he understood the particulars apart from the context. He failed to realize that his father was standing there holding a disgusting, smelly, bag of trash and wanted it taken out right then and there.

We must be very diligent that we do not do the same thing with Scripture. Taking particular verses and interpreting them apart from the full context in which we find them. Isolating particulars outside from their context leads to all sorts of issues and errors. The first issue that arrises is that when one removes the particular (i.e. an individual verse) from its surrounding context, it makes the original author mute. It places a gag order on the author and states, “what you have said has no bearing on what I read from the text”. The second thing that it does is that it not only makes the author mute but it replaces the author with the reader as the interpretive authority of the isolated particulars, and makes the reader/hearer the author.

These two things lead to all types of wacked out doctrines, heresies, and outright evil lies. No where else is this most prevalent than in the Prosperity / Health and Wealth movement. Everyday thousands of “christians” are drawn away from the true gospel of Christ, yet come running to embrace the deaf, mute, and dumb idols of “self-christianity”. Pulling scripture out from here and there, like pithy little “christian fortune cookies” focussing all on self and failing to stop and see (and read) that it is little about us and all about Christ.

But is it not just the crack pots of Christianity that this happens to. Strong Evangelical pastors and leaders, that take scripture out of context (possibly unknowingly) to fit a schema or agenda. One very respected pastor (whose name I will not mention) has isolated verses out of their surrounding context to prove a point that he wishes to drive home, unfortunately instead of knocking a home run he hits scripture out foul and knocks people out with improper isolation of texts that give others leeway to do the same. We also see the effects of isolating particulars in many Evangelical churches with their dogmatic rules and doctrine that they hold on to. This error is however in the reverse, they pull verses out of the historical, non-normative context and apply it to the 21 century church body to the detriment of the body by hindering the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the believers. For example a church that I know of has no musical instruments, and no one sings on stage (but only in the congregation) because, that is how they did it in the early church, yet they have no issues using mics for the pastor, video displays, or recording the sermons.

The error of interpreting textual particulars outside of their context can affect anyone, no one is immune to falling into this trap. So the way to stay out of this trap is to keep verses in their context of the original paragraph, chapter, book, and the whole cannon of scripture. Only then will our interpretation of scripture fall in line and under the authority of scripture itself.

The New Covenant as a Fundamental Consideration of Hermeneutics

By John Ambro 5/22/2010

“Having eyes do you not see? And having ears do you not hear?” (Mark 8:18) These should be frightening words from Christ. In today's Christendom we have many that fail to see Christ as what He claimed to be, the New Covenant. Christ established a New Covenant among His people (both Jew and Gentile). Not only did the New Covenant bring a completion of the previous covenants but it brought full illumination to shine on the shadows of the Scriptures (the Old Testament). Christ as the New Covenant has Himself established the proper interpretive hermeneutic in which we must use to interpret the whole cannon of Scripture. The New Covenant of Christ reshapes the hermeneutical grid that the Old Testament was interpreted through. Christ and the Apostles used ALL of the scriptures to show the unbelieving and blinded that Christ was there (Luke 24). This is nothing “new” as some would claim, it has been that was from the foundation of the world (Gen 3:15). If Christ and the Apostles reasoned from the Old Testament scriptures that Christ was the Messiah and the fulfillment of the covenants, then shouldn't we do the same?

There are those that do not (or do not want to) see Christ in the Old Testament, and in doing so do themselves a disservice and also a discredit to Christ. Sure they will say that there are “prophetic illusions” to Christ in the Old Testament, as in Is. 53, Ps.110, Is. 11, etc... but they stop there. They don't see Christ within the whole of the Old Testament, but they rather see Israel as the main theme throughout it all. But Christ is not the “team's” water boy, going here and there where we see short little glimpses of Him doing some remedial task while waiting for the incarnation. No, we see Him as the Quarterback, the one calling the plays, organizing the players to reach the final goal of redemption for all of those in the stands, for the cheerers and the jeerers. We see throughout the whole of scripture archetypes of Christ. From Adam, to Noah, to Moses, Joseph, David, etc... all dimly lit signposts showing the redemptive path that points to Christ. Using an Israel-centric hermeneutic in order to interpret the Old Testament leaves one wanting more, as someone panting for water as they wander through the desert. When an Israel-centric hermeneutic is used, the foundational “theme” of the OT becomes Israel and not the redemptive plan of God. It removes God from the focus placing Him on a dusty shelf to be brought out when it is suits our needs. Israel is not the unifying theme of the scriptures, the unifying theme that runs through the whole cannon of scripture is redemption for those that God has called, in the Christ.

In order for one to bring God back to the focus one must see the redemptive foundation that is throughout the Old and New Testaments. The whole redemptive plan for God's people is worked out and completed through and in Christ in the Old and New (Heb. 11:24-29). One only has to look into the first chapter of Genesis to realize that Christ is and the active participant in the redemptive story. We see Christ at creation, Gen.1:26 and John 1:1ff., and more importantly we see Christ in Genesis 3:15 which is the first covenant that God makes to man and it involves Christ, the skull crusher, the serpent destroyer, as a promise to redeem His people. It involves the redemptive plan of God to bring His Messiah to the pivot point of human history. “The meaning of truth and reality is thus asserted to reside in the Christ.” (GSH, pg. 81) Not only is Christ a participant of the redemptive story He is the culmination of the redemptive story, the fulfiller of the story, and ultimately He is the Author of it all.

New Covenant Implications on Hermeneutics

By Max Strange 5/25/2010

Adam and Eve ushered into this beautiful world a hermeneutical disaster. They brought into God’s universe an alternate way to interpret God’s Word and all of reality. They exchanged God’s interpretation for one that is rooted in autonomous human reason. This created an upheaval that made man the center of all knowledge and understanding. And as the ages pass, this new and deadly hermeneutic cause’s mankind to drift further and further into the lonely ocean of his own alienation and suspicion of God. Yet, God in His great mercy and kindness, before all the ages, had a plan. He has orchestrated a program to reinstate His interpretation of Himself and of His Universe by Himself and eject man from his own hermeneutical center. Jesus, the Word of God, brings home the new hermeneutic in the Gospel. The catastrophe in Eden is now overturned by a hermeneutical salvation. For those who believe on Jesus Christ, a true and right understanding of God and all things begins afresh. We can see that the New Covenant promised this in the Old Testament and now with the arrival of Jesus, the New Testaments declares that the New Covenant finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. Thus, each Testament is actually a uniform and seamless Testament about the Christ and His New Covenant reversal of the hermeneutical revolt so long ago.

The New Covenant in a Nutshell & Its Implications on Hermeneutics

The New Covenant is a promise of restoration. After the Fall, God promised in Genesis 3:15, despite everything that had transpired that plummited the universe into a black pit of sin, a light would shine. This foreshadow announced the first clue of many to a New Covenant, even before the Old Covenant was broadcasted! As Biblical history progresses throughout its redemptive storyline, there is a Messianic consciousness. This Messiah anticipation grows throughout Israel’s history as one who will bring about a great day of salvation and overturn the spiritual deadness and remove the veil that cloaked their understanding of God. The Messianic shadow materializes in the New Testament as the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus fulfills the New Covenant and began the process of a hermeneutical renewal to the cosmos, which will find its completion at the last and great eschatological Day. He came to inaugurate the New Covenant by offering Himself as a sacrifice for sins, once for all, and absorb the wrath of God and all the damning effects of unregeneration. Jesus stood in the place of sinners and gives His righteousness to the believing sinner by grace and thus reversing the effects of the primeval rebellion of our first parents. No longer would there be a great clash of authority between creature and Creator. No longer would God’s people be a discern less, dull-eared, blind-eyed, more dumb than the ox and ass who knows not his master (Is. 1:3; 6:9-10; 44:18). The New Covenant declares that God has overturned the dreaded effects of sin by His Son Jesus. Jesus accomplished what the New Covenant promises and abundantly pardon, unstop deaf ears, open blind eyes, guarantee obedience, deposits the Spirit of God, and bring a genuine and everlasting understanding of God (Is. 35:4-5; Jer. 31:31-3; Ez. 36:26-27). The New Covenant is the grand unilateral move of God to lovingly act upon chosen sinners and bring the new creation within the human heart and eventually into an all encompassing scope of cosmic liberation (Is. 55:6-9; Rom. 8; 1 Cor. 15; Ez. 36-37). By a rational act of repentance and faith initiated grace by God’s grace, a restored knowledge of God would result(Jer. 31:31-34). All the defects of the fall and the unregenerate heart and mind are transformed to see and hear and love the Lover.

The New Covenant impacts hermeneutics because Jesus has made it certain that in relationship with Him by salvation through grace, the dead, blind, veiled, and calloused soul, is made alive. Thus, the sinner becomes able and free from His bondage to divine illumination and becomes illuminated. New ears and eyes, new desires, grace enabled action cause the believer to do God’s will and for the first time cause God to smile upon him. Jesus gives us His Spirit as the hermeneutical key to the Scriptures, which breaks wide-open new horizons of understanding, thought, and comprehension of God and of all reality. Saved sinners begin the journey of a continual awakening to spiritual realities of the glory of God. The New Covenant allows us, even with a greater intimacy than Adam, to walk with God not only in the cool of the day, but in every second of life.

Scriptures
(1) John 5:39, 46; Luke 24:27; 44-45; Isaiah 1:3; 6:9-10; 9:27; 35:4-5; 44:18; 55:6-9; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36-37

Hermeneutics: Parts To The Whole Machine

By Max Strange
6/4/2010

What are KO E36 OBD1 and VPO E36? They are parts to the same car. The first is a manifold kit that improves speed and air flow and the second is an under-drive pulley that adds 5-11 extra horsepower to BMW 3M series. Vital to the overall car’s performance are the parts. We see that parts work together for the good of the machine. Likewise, the Bible is made up of parts that fit together to make the whole work. We see this clearly in Biblical interpretation as the interpreter looks at words and how words fit the whole redemptive storyline. Engaged in word analysis, the interpreter seeks to understand what the original A/author’s intended by the terms he used. The terms must also be understood in view of the whole of Scripture, and in this way creating a comprehensive Biblical theology employed by a whole-canon-exegesis. In this way, the Scriptures maintain itself and God’s Word continues to be its own innate interpreter. Therefore, discovering a terms’ meaning and context, and being alert to some pitfalls of word analysis, seems the best starting point for exegetical discovery and maintains the integrity of God’s Word.

Words consist of s-y-m-b-o-l-s that when placed together have an assigned meaning to them. The meaning comes from the context. Sometimes words have a range of meaning but the goal of the interpreter is to understand the meaning in which the author used them and in the context in which he spoke. The interpreter knows that words have different meanings. Some meanings are implicit, some emotional in their force (ex. “ouch!”), some words reveal new meaning and significance (interpreting the O.T. in light of the N.T.), some words have a wide range of meaning, while other words are figurative. Analyzing the meaning of the word and the way the author used the word in it’s context is a good start to understanding a term.

It is helpful to study words that are repeated, used once (hapax legomena), used rarely, unclear, apparent synonyms/autonyms, or terms that carry the weight of a passage (structure of a text). Knowing this will help determine which words to zoom in. Yet, there are some pitfalls to watch out for as one seeks to dissect and know a term.

The following are common errors in word analysis:

1. The Etymological Fallacy: This is also know as "root fallacy" and assumes that the meaning of a word is governed by the of its root.

2. Illegitimate Totality Transfer: This assumes that a word carries all of its senses in one passage. It could be called meaning overload. The meaning of the term here is often imported from other contexts.

3. Semantic Anachronism: This error happens when a later meaning of a word is read back into an earlier term. This problem occurs, for example, when later Greek materials are used to support a first-century term that lacks clarity.

4. Semantic Obsolescence: This happens when one assigns to a term an early meaning that is no longer used. This occurs when terms no longer carry the meaning they once had as in the case with the KJV 1611 version.

5. Word-Idea Fallacy: This assumes that the word under study is the study of a whole idea. When one studies the word "King" they can also study other relevant terms such as "rule," or "reign."

6. Referential Fallacy: This error happens when one goes beyond the meaning/s that the author is referring to. This is when the author refers back to an earlier Old Testament text and interprets his situation in light of that O.T. reference.

7. Verbal Parallelomania: This refers to the practice of some who notice the same term (word) in several different context and automatically assumes that they are parallel concepts. Philo's use of the term logos does not mean the same thing as the Apostle John meant for that same term.

8. Prescriptive Fallacy: This argues that a word has only one meaning and it means the same thing in every passage.

9. Selective Evidence Fallacy: This is the most serious error wherein one cites only the evidence that favors the interpretation one wants to defend.

Overall, despite the pitfalls and challenges to word study, it is very rewarding to know what words mean. The interpreter ought to know the A/author’s parts for the parts make up the whole and the whole contains the parts. To know the specificity of random BMW car parts help us see the whole machine and appreciate, at first glance, those arbitrary parts in a more profound way. The parts by themselves do little, but as the interpreter moves from parts to whole in a exegetical pendulum/ladder/spiral fashion (from N.T. to O.T. and back again), the importance of parts KO E36 OBD1 and VPO E36 are truly revealed. Especially when all is known, embraced, and the machine is cruising at 120 mph.

How to Find the Author’s Meaning

By Max Strange

4/16/2010

In understanding the text of a book, in this case the Bible, one can use certain procedures to ascertain the Author/author’s intended meaning. These procedures do not negate dependence upon the Holy Spirit for divine illumination. They do, however, aid the Christian to mine God’s word with hermeneutical tools that dig into buried treasure. Here are some tools to think on.

First, the Christian must assume several things before reading the text called pre-understanding (a.k.a. presuppositions). Consciously, the Christian must be aware of his own presuppositions. Identifying and building a set of solid Biblical presuppositions will aid the Christian to determine the author’s meaning. The following are a few vital presuppositions:

• The Bible is truly God’s Word

• God’s Word can be known & Interpreted

• God is communicator

• Man is receiver/interpreter

• Man is fallen

• Man lives within a hermeneutical disaster

• Man needs God’s Spirit to overcome this disaster

• God’s Word is couched in Redemptive History

• Jesus is the main theme of all the Scriptures

• Jesus is bringing about the New Creation

Second, the Christian must take his set of presuppositions and read the text. This is not a profound statement but it is a profound activity. This procedure is technically called recognition. Recognition does not dissect the Word or proceed critically or advance technically upon. The Christian simply goes to the texts to breath in what God has breathed out. C.S. Lewis said that this should be a love activity where “tireless curiosity…intensity of imagination…unspoiled appetite…and readiness to wonder…” are all pulled together to hear God-speech. It is a time to hear from the Timeless. It is the reading of the Word where the Christian doesn’t meet himself, his ideas, or his opinions, but His God. He runs face-first into the Author with a capital ‘A.’ The Christian reader engages in active reading for a time of recognition, observation, for Gospel saturation.

The third step is called comprehension. This is what I call the “What-cha-talk'n About-Willis-Hermeneutic?” This interpretive tool basically asks questions and the most important question is this: what is the Author/author talking about? The active reader, seeking comprehension ought to ask questions. Here, the reader employs the questions of who, what, when, where, and the why. These will help to determine the immediate verse, the surrounding paragraphs, the book as a whole, and how that author elucidates how his message fits the whole of redemption within the entire Canon. This comprehension phase will also determine essential theological themes and finally the Author/author’s main purpose.

Last of all, in order to find the author’s intended meaning, one moves into interpretation. With all the previous data, a crystallized statement will be formed to know with certainty the Author/author’s intent and meaning. Here, the interpretive key is the question, “What is the Author/author talking about” within the immediate and far reaching context. It is here that the questions previously asked are now answered.

These steps are rough guidelines in order to determine the meaning of a text. When a Christian sees his own presuppositions, moves into the text to read and hear from God, seeks to comprehend with the right questions and answer them, he will arrive at a clear and faithful understanding what the Author/author in fact meant to communicate.

A Brief Review of Walter Kaiser’s Four Levels

By Max Strange
4/16/2010

Walter Kaiser submits four levels necessary for one to have knowledge of a Biblical context. These four are:

• Sectional context

• Book context

• Canonical context

• Immediate context

Sectional context tells us that one goal for the reader is to locate sections or slightly exposed seams that aid the reader to see the author’s meaning. These sections can be identified by repeated phrases, key words repeated, conjunctions or adverbs, rhetorical questions, change in time and location, or a shift from one group to another. Book context tells us the plan of the book when one joins these sectional parts together. Sometimes the author tells us the purpose plainly (John 20:31-32; Luke 1:1-4). However, in most books the purpose must be more diligently sought out by pulling the contents and transitions together from section to section and from paragraph to paragraph. Sections, details, themes, and observation are gathered to help determine the Author/author’s implied theme. Canonical context, for Dr. Kaiser, is a side item in which after all the exegetical work is performed, is used to see what God has to say on the topic. This seems to create two interpretations, one for the immediate audience and one in the far-reaching story-line, which dislocates the text under investigation from redemptive history. This also seems to communicate that the task of exegesis discovery cannot include a meta-narrative/Canon/big picture presupposition for fear that this would detract the hunt for the one meaning for the original audience. Dr. Kaiser appears to place the author at odds with the Canon and the immediate audience at odds with God’s meta-narrative or overall scope of the entire Bible storyline. Given the fact the God is the author of all of Scripture, and Genesis 3:15 is moving all of history to it climax, then it would not seem so impossible to do the work of exegesis with an overarching principle in a Christian’s presuppositional framework. Lastly, the Immediate context helps the reader to consider the prose paragraphs and assists him to discover how various sections of a book relate to one another.

Mr. Kaiser is right by stating that the “primary obligation is to find this thread of thought which runs like a life stream through the smaller and larger parts of every passage” (71). Kaiser speaks of this life streams as the thread running through it all, but he cuts this thread into little pieces that start and end with each book in the Bible. This life stream never flows through all of Scripture in a marvelous and historically redemptive way because he builds 66 dams that halt the stream. Kaiser is scared to look down the barrel of the Canon.

It should be said that the unifying theme, this Life Stream that Kaiser so speaks of, is Jesus Christ. Genesis 3:15 is the Stone in the pond that in every direction sends Jesus ripples. Christ goes out in every direction and is either there explicitly or implicitly. As Charles Spurgeon once said, “I’d rather see Jesus where He isn’t, than to miss Him where He is,” which is to say that Spurgeon’s presupposition when approaching a passage was to see Jesus Christ as that Life Stream running through it all. Even though he articulates it, Canonical context is where Dr. Kaiser is most weak and fails to employ his own advice.

Dr. Kaiser gives a good summary to help Christian’s determine context. Yet, he sells short the Canon, this Jesus Life Stream, which runs through the Bible. Perhaps, and no doubt with good intention, Dr. Kaiser reacted too strongly against Liberal theologians, and created a narrow grid to keep out those poisoners. Unfortunately, he cornered himself by only looking for the author’s meaning instead of the Author/author’s meaning. He cannot see the entire Redemptive Life Stream of Christ that harmoniously connects the 66 books of the Bible and opts for solitary and isolated book meanings. When one actually uses the Life Stream in his or her hermeneutic, Scripture interpreting Scripture makes complete sense and rising up over the hill one will finally see the great vista of historic redemption in Jesus Christ.

Edward Scissor-Hands and Bible Abuse

By Max Strange
4/7/2010

Since the beginning of the Church Age, the Word of God has been handled by many people who resemble the fictional character Edward Scissor-Hands. Inside and outside the church, people approach God’s Word with scissor hands and cut it into subjective shreds. Dangerous methods are employed as the reader becomes the new author of the material, inserting his own opinion and interpretation. These "new Bible authors" say what they want it to say instead of allowing the Bible say what it is meant to say. What emerges from many Bible interpretations an imaginary creation imposed on the text of the Bible, a quasi-spiritual meaning fashioned after the reader’s own image. The following examples demonstrate in brief, a few ways the snippers have snipped the Bible into shreds.

People often approach the Bible only from the perspective of their immediate personal circumstances. This means they interpret strictly in terms of the events going on around them. One such instance, a woman told a Christian counselor that God had told her to divorce her husband and marry another man (with whom she was romantically involved). She cited Paul’s command in Ephesians 4:2, “Put on the new man…” as the key to the decision. Yet, this new man is not literally a new “husband.” This new man is the Christian who is no longer the old man but one who has been born from above and commanded to be what one already has become. Another example that makes the point is of a young man who, at the brink of decision, had to determine whether to enlist in the Armed Forces or go to college. Opening his Bible at random, he saw a passage in Ezekiel that spoke of people coming from Tarshish to Tyre in ships (27:25). Based on that, this young man saw this as his call to join the Navy.

Next, we see how some people do not see the cultural distance between us and the original audience. In Leviticus 19:19, God commands His people not to wear garments that are made of two kinds of material. If this is so, we might as well throw out everything in our closets that blend fabrics such as wool, polyester, micro fiber and cotton and go back to the organic fig leaf. It is important to understand the context, the author’s meaning and the intended audience before one goes so far as trashing all his clothes that are made of two fabrics.

Other verses are grossly slashed by proof texting. People use Philippians 4:13, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength” to mean that they can succeed in anything they set out to do. Also, Psalm 127:3-5 speaks of sons as a heritage from the Lord and a man who has many has a full quiver of arrows is surely blessed. This popular passage, used often in weddings, is interpreted by to mean that God is commanding couples to have large families. In 1 Samuel 26:11, Pentecostals often say how one should not question the authority of the pastor or prophet. The text says, “The Lord forbids that I should put out my hand against the Lord's anointed…”

Because of the Fall of Adam, we are all led to do the above examples, and are continuously led away from a Christless interpretation. We are prone to rip verses from their context, perform wild proof-texting, employ Bible roulette, neglect the context, banish the Author/author, and make our personal interpretation reign and rule. We, so often, embody Edward Scissor-Hands as we rip through God’s precious Word with sharp blades of subjectivism and erroneous presuppositions. This is why Christian must depend on God’s Spirit to illuminate the mind of Christ they now possess. Therefore, Christians must have a sound hermeneutic that arises and builds out from God’s own Word. Let us put away our negligent Edward Scissor-Hands-Hermeneutic and have sharp minds that conform to God’s Word (Rom. 12:2).

The Hermeneutical Christ (Senus Christos)

By Jason Strange
4/3/2010

Man's big failure happened when he misinterpreted Gods word. Through the cunning and craftiness of the serpent man has lost his ability to rightly interpret God, God's world, and his relationship to both. Satan had introduced a bold new hermeneutic deconstructing Gods word and then reconstructing it in a way that led Eve to be the first human practioner of eisegesis, thus leading the human race into an epistemological wilderness.

Ever since that dark day we needed someone to step in and interpret Gods will for man. God did not see fit that we should be left in this dismal state without proper interpretation . Israel was chosen out of all the nations to be a mediatorial race, a light to the nations, an epistemological beacon. God sent mediators by way of the prophets, priest, and judges to mediate on behalf of the nation, but they failed as they bought into the Satanic man-centered Hermeneutic of the surrounding nations and they too like their parents were led away to a false interpretation of God's word. The tabernacle and the temple were the meeting grounds for this mediation, but then God's presence departed just before their deportation (Ez. 10).

We see the travesty when Gods interpretation of reality is stiff-armed: Angels rebel, man is ousted from his paradise, Gods presence is removed, Cain kills Abel, wickedness increases in the earth, Gods watery wrath is unleashed on the world, Babel is built, Sodomites are blinded, Lots wife becomes a salty pillar, Sarah laughs, Esau sells his birthright, Jacob walks with a limp, Joseph is sold into slavery, Moses strikes the rock, David commits adultery, Solomon sleeps around. Israel resorts to cannibalism. When man becomes his own interpreter he begins to unravel . Thus God's glory is profaned.

But the time of Reformation had come and the final mediator has arrived. He being the very Word of God, the first communicator before the world began, the one who spoke everything into existence comes to earth and speaks again. He communicates the message as Gods perfect messenger, that he is the focal point of all of Scripture, all of life, and all of history. He perfectly takes the words given to Him by his Father and communicates the gospel message to the world. He comes to fulfill a message already given and gives the proper interpretation of it. He incarnates Gods word, so that he is Word walking, Word talking, Word, receiving, and word responding; He is Word suffering, Word dying, Word resurrecting, Word purchasing, Word conquering, and now Word sending through His Spirit. He is the One who perfectly unveils all of history's meaning as He himself is the originator, and in Him history finds its apex.

This is also the reason way Jesus is the interpretative norm for all of Scripture. Colossians 1:15-16 says that all reality was created by Christ, through Christ, and for Christ and in Colossians 2:2-3 it says that in Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and understanding. Jesus has created all things for himself and He is the one who ascribes meaning to all that he has made. And being that all treasures of wisdom are found in him he is the only key to unlock those treasures. Man may be able to cut across the grain of certain truths about the universe but he can never tap into the weighty mysteries of the Godhead and the profound nature of Christ and the Gospel. Without Christ as the interpretative norm- the Scriptures become vandalized and the interpretative graffiti of the world is sprayed over the pristine wall of truth. Nevertheless, Christ stands as the epicenter for all interpretation. He makes all Scripture quake with seismic activity. Just as Galileo discovered that the sun is the center of our solar system and made astonishing gains in scientific study and inquiry so too, when we see that every passage orbits around Christ, the Church will realize its blazing center.

And last, I agree that the whole of the Bible is the Gospel. John 20:31; *Heb. 4:1-2,11; Romans 15:4; *John 5:39, *Lk 24:27, *Lk 24:24; *2 Tim. 3:15. The OT was a book of promise and the NT is a book of fulfillment, therefore the Gospel is a uniting of both, and the message of the Gospel is interwoven throughout the whole story line.

'The 3:15 Hermeneutic'

By Jason Strange
4/3/2010

In Genesis 3:15 a curse is given to Satan concerning his demise and this by the one who will crush his serpentine skull. This One who makes all this happen, this 'skull crusher' is Jesus Christ; he comes from the seed of the woman and his offspring are at war with the seed of the serpent. This is the Biblical pattern we see unfolding throughout all of the Bible.

This is what I call the 3:15 Hermeneutic , whereby this becomes the silhouette laid on top of all redemptive History. This is God's meta-narrative, his over-arching map, this becomes the paradigm , the state of things. So that all of history, every person, every decision ever made, God in his providence is working all history's minor and major events to the culmination of this one great ending, this climatic finish. This is astonishing to think about... that all of history has to bend and contort and conform and move as God is making it so, that the revelation of 3:15 can occur. This is the bulldozer pushing throughout history's time line carving out God's plan and shoving the darkness out to its edge and dumping it into hell. 3:15 hums and echoes throughout Scripture and we can begin to see it along the story line, Cain kills Abel (3:15); The flood (3:15); Sodom and Gomorrah (3:15), Israel's deliverance from Egypt (3:15) Salvation through Joseph includes not only rescue from famine, but a change of heart in his brothers (3:15), David-the giant slayer and Israel's military general subduing the nations (3:15), Jonah in Nineveh (3:15); Elijah on Mt. Carmel (3:15) ect...

When we consider how this impacts our Hermeneutics we must realize that there is an overlapping cohesive relationship between history, revelation, and salvation; Reason being: God gives revelation in real time and space. God's word creates the timeline, his word upholds and sustains the timeline and is constantly intersecting the historical timeline; this word is the message of salvation so that they are all moving in tandem with one another. The relationship is such that as we engage in biblical hermeneutics we are engaged in events that have happened in history and this history has one end in mind, one purpose, that Christ be glorified through the salvation of his people. Revelation (God's word) is moving history and redemption is its theme. Just as the sun is dragging our solar system throughout space so too is God's word carving a path and dragging us with it. So when we interpret the Bible we obviously don't disengage in history but history is in our face, we can use grammatical historical means to gain a better understanding of the people and the times, but we can also use a redemptive historical Hermeneutic so that we can see the skull crusher (as he truly is without imposing him upon the text, because he is already there) working along the time line, showing forth the Gospel and rescuing his people from enslavement of sin and death, and bringing them home.

3:15 has been partially fulfilled through Christ death and resurrection (as he has disarmed the enemy), but the complete fulfillment comes when He returns in glory and then a new-age will dawn and the enemy of our souls will be disposed of and detained, and this will usher in a new hermeneutic .

Apostolic Churches and the Apostolic Age

By Ben Zemmer

The current state of the western world bears a striking resemblance to the world at the time of the early church. George Hunter points out that functional pluralism and practical secularism – (the absence of substantial Christian influence) marked the days of Paul in ways very similar to today (Hunter, p.20). Rather than viewing the demise of “Christendom” in despair, Hunter sees the current era as a time of extraordinary opportunity (Hunter, p.22-24). He holds that if the church maintains traditional methodologies and structures, many within its ranks will follow the same fate as socio-political Christendom. To avoid this outcome and grasp the opportunity for growth, Hunter presses the importance of reaching secular un-churched non-Christians (Hunter, p.25). To those that accomplish this task well, Hunter gives the title “Apostolic Churches” because they recognize the importance of their calling and mission just as the Apostles did (Hunter, p.28). Churches that bear this title focus on the “gospel of early apostolic Christianity” and adapt “to the language and culture of the target population” (Hunter, p.28).

Hunter correctly diagnosed one of the significant problems with American Evangelicalism. Whether it is American individualism or the plain tendency of human sinful nature to be self-focused and complacent, there are great numbers of professing believers who “believe evangelism is very important, but...still don’t do it” (Hunter, p.24). Hunter made some insightful prescriptions including a renewed focus on the Scriptures, prayer, compassion, and commission (Hunter, p.29). While a focus on these areas is absolutely necessary, I would only add that such a focus and such a desired change cannot happen without the faithful proclamation of the word. The only thing that will sustain vital and real compassion for the lost is gospel reality worked in the hearts of God’s people by the Holy Spirit. The local body of believers need to see continually how the lines connect between the gospel and its outworking, particularly compassion for the lost that results in sharing the gospel. Hunter’s prescriptions because they are not laden with gospel have a tendency to man-centeredness, rather than Christ-centeredness.

Clearcreek has historically been among the category of churches that does not as a community continually reach out to un-churched un-believers. There are some wonderful individuals within the body who are gifted with evangelism, but this has not been a mark of the body as a whole. However, in recent years, Clearcreek has been growing and it is clear that the body is beginning to cast is eyes outward and gain a passion for the commission from our Great Shepherd. This is not due to any seeker-sensitive methodology, but rather the careful exposition of the Word. Greater growth will come as we corporately step out with confidence on the truths we know by grace.

Lee Stroubel’s Four Populations

By Ben Zemmer

In explaining the different types of numeric growth in American churches, Lee Stroubel charted out four different groups: churched Christians, churched non-Christians, unchruched Christians, and unchurched non-Christians (Hunter, p.26). These categories are helpful in understanding how large congregations can popup in one place or another without a significant number of conversions. However, the third item in the list is problematic, “unchurched Christians”. Within this title is the dangerous presumption that just because someone claims to be a believer but has never been involved in a local church is actually a believer. The Apostle John made it very clear that those who are true believers express love for other believes in the context of community. George Hunter called unchruched Christians, “people who believe but do not belong” (Hunter, p.26). This is a direct contradiction to the biblical theme explained and detailed in several of the epistles regarding the body of Christ. It is not possible for any member of the human body to survive if it is severed from the rest. The same is true for professing believers. No true believer will deny his need for and identity within the body of Christ. Nearly all the imperatives in the New Testament take place in the community of believers. Look for instance, at the repetition of the phrase of “one another” all across the books of the New Testament.

It is indeed helpful to understand where growth in numbers is coming from, but every believer must be wary of selling the gospel short. The vast majority of people who wander about in the western world apart from the local church are demonstrating themselves to be apart from Christ, and they need to hear a loving and clear proclamation of the gospel.

The Antioch Tradition and a Strategy for this Current Age

By Ben Zemmer

Long after Paul and Barnabas are off the scene, there is significant evidence that the missionary outlook of the church in Antioch continued planting churches as far away as North India (Pasquato and Simonetti, p.48). What kind of thinking and structure sustains mission outlook over hundreds of years as it did in Antioch? Admittedly, the early church was not the picture of perfection. As the centuries passed, what was at first only a hint of error became a gaping hole in the ramparts of Christian theology. In spite of the lurking presence of error, it is fascinating to see traces of the passion and gospel witness recorded in the book of Acts in the continued expansion of the gospel over the centuries in the regions surrounding Antioch of Syria. As one scholar said in reference to the mission outlook of Antioch in the first few centuries of the early church, “it was the local Episcopal churches who sustained the mission in the territories of the Empire” (Baus qtd in Pasquato and Simonetti, p.48). It is important to note the continued involvement of local congregations in the spread of the gospel to the far reaches of the Roman Empire.

It may be fascinating to examine ancient architecture and culture and observe the annals of kings and conquests at the time of the early church, the most important surviving record of the church in Antioch resides in the pages of Scripture.

 Acts 11:19-21 – The persecution following the execution of Stephen scattered believers from Jerusalem to Antioch who shared the gospel and made converts as they went particularly among the gentile Hellenists.

 Acts 11:22-25 – Seeing the growth of the gospel in Antioch the church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to guide and strengthen the believers. Needing help in the growing ministry Barnabas sought Paul. Together the two labored among the believers proclaiming the gospel.

 Acts 11:27-30 – It was not only Barnabas who came from Jerusalem for ministering among the people of Antioch. Following the initial growth of the church in Antioch, a flow of leaders (prophets) came down from Jerusalem. Due to their ministry the believers in Antioch desired to send help by the hands of Barnabas and Paul, to fellow believers in Jerusalem suffering from a famine.

 Acts 12:25 – Clearly the mission of Barnabas and Paul to deliver aid to Jerusalem was not a mere drop off operation, but rather involved time in order to complete their service to the brothers in Jerusalem. On their return to Antioch they brought a coworker John Mark

 Acts 13:1 – Luke gives a glimpse into the leadership of the church in Antioch which included prophets and teachers

 Acts 13:2-3 – In the context of worship and fasting the Holy Spirit called Barnabas and Paul for ministry beyond the borders of Syria. After more fasting and prayer the leaders of the Church in Antioch recognized the call of the Holy Spirit by laying hands on the two of them (ordination) and sent them out.

 Acts 14:26-28 – Upon returning from their work of gospel proclamation and establishing of churches, Barnabas and Paul reported what God had done among the gentiles. This was a report that was not a mere exchange of information, but rather a reunion of close family whose sweet fellowship required “no little time” (v.28). Luke also makes it clear that it was in Antioch that they were “commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled” (v.26). This adds further significance to the laying on of hands they received at their sending. Luke reminds of an important preceding event namely their commissioning when recounting their return.

The example of the church in Antioch is both a striking and compelling one. Clearly, the outward-looking gospel-centered focus of the church there is normative because Luke weaves Antioch as one of the primary themes in his narrative in Acts. No true church willingly lives in isolation from other gospel believing churches. Antioch had much to benefit from Jerusalem, which in turn had much to benefit from Antioch. Together, the churches in both cities accomplished much for the expansion of the Kingdom of Christ through the proclamation of the gospel and the establishment of new churches.

In all actuality, the differences between the Antioch church in the first century and the gospel embracing church in the western world today are quite minimal. Just as the church expanded in Antioch through the proclamation of the gospel and the establishing of churches, so it does and will today. The western world in recent years has been in the throws of cultural upheaval. Segmented individualism paired with relativist postmodernism creates a wide variety of social demographics. It is tempting for those who have bought into a man-centered worldview, to cater ministries and even entire churches to given social groups (Gibbs, p.69). Because recent generations are increasingly postmodern, Eddie Gibbs argues that the church “authority base must be less positional and far more relational than in previous generations”(Gibbs, p.69). In his opinion, this involves a “flattening of hierarchical ecclesiastical structures”(Gibbs, p.72).

If the Scriptures had nothing to say on the matter this concept might actually be innovative. But instead, such a concept runs against the distinct pattern of church leadership laid out in Acts and the Pastoral Epistles. Instead of removing biblically instituted hierarchy, the church must increasingly call unbelievers who have been disillusioned by sinful use of hierarchy in to close relationship and interaction with the believing community (Belcher, p.101-103). While this must be distinguished from the popular postmodern concept of “belong before believe”, there is great potential to overcome harmful preconceptions about authority by the live and personal gospel witness of believers’ love for one another. The state of the unregenerate heart is exactly the same today as it was in the first century, and since the fall in the garden for that matter. Faithful proclamation of the Scriptures through preaching is absolutely necessary for the growth of the church in this age as it was in the first century (Romans 10, 2 Timothy 4). This proclamation will overflow in a desire to expand the gospel to local communities and globally. This expansion must not be a project of individual churches, but rather a interdependent undertaking of churches of like mind as seen in the relationship between Jerusalem and Antioch. There may be a great deal of variety in the outworking of these concepts, but the heart is still the same: a Christ-centered passion for his bride the church and the expanse of His fame to the ends of the earth.

A Vision for Church Leadership in the Antioch Church Tradition

Ben Zemmer

The church in Antioch played a significant part in the expansion of the gospel in a large part of the Roman Empire. The power of their example does not come from the methods they used but rather from the gospel they faithfully proclaimed (Acts 11:20). Just as it was fitting that the Jerusalem church send Barnabas to aid in the growth of the church, so it was fitting for the very leadership of Antioch to send its two most experienced shepherds for the establishing of new churches in the far reaches of the empire (Acts 11:22; 13:1-3). Antioch embodied the normative thread in Luke’s narrative which is the proclamation of the gospel and the planting of new churches (13:48-49; 14:21-23).

Just as it was fitting that Jerusalem and Antioch send out their leaders, so it is fitting that churches in nowadays do the same. The leadership of churches that embody the example of Antioch recognizes that the expansion of the gospel through the proclamation of the Word and the planting of new churches is integral to the very identity of the church. Such churches recognize the need to share the best of their resources both financial and personal with fellow believers for the strengthening of the Body and the spread of the gospel. These churches recognize that they have much to give but also to receive and learn. Relationship among sister congregations is not a condescending one, but rather a cooperative relationship for the sharpening of one another in the gospel (Acts 11:22-30; 12:25). The leadership of such churches send their own not as token representatives but rather as a very extension of themselves for the blessing of those they are set to serve (Acts 13:1-3: 14:24-28). To pattern after the church in Antioch is to follow the biblical example.

Complementary Spheres of Ministry and Authority

By Ben Zemmer

The ministry of the church cannot be biblically separated from exercise of authority (Matt. 28:18-20). This statement might fall uncomfortably on the ears of many typical Americans. For many, the word authority resonates with domineering pride and dictatorial control. This could not be farther from the biblical use of authority in the church (1 Peter 5:1-5). Authority and ministry are not two competing entities, but rather complementary aspects of the leadership Christ has established in His church.

God has lovingly given the gift of servant leaders to the church for the growth of the body into the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:11-13). The offices of Elder and Deacon compose the leadership structure through which the ministry of the church is to be directed and guided for the glory of His name (1 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-5). Paul appealed to the Ephesian elders that they follow his example leadership in his tireless service (Acts 20:17-38). Peter exhorted elders including himself among them to serve the flock under their care with all humility and eagerness (1 Peter 5:3-5). In both these situations neither Peter nor Paul appeal for better care of the body by removing hierarchy, but rather calling for a Christ-like exercise of the authority that God has instituted for the good of the church. It is clear from many examples in Acts that the elership provided significant ministry oversight and direction (Acts 6:1-6; 11:30: 15:2-6,22-23; 16:4; 21:18).

In addition to functioning in humble service of local congregations as elders and overseers, the leadership also formed and maintained significant and substantial ties with other churches of like mind. When the young believers in Antioch need leadership, the church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas (Acts 11:22). When the believers in Jerusalem were suffering from a widespread famine, the church in Antioch sent help by the hands of their two most experienced leaders Barnabas and Paul (Acts 11:29-30). This pattern of relationship further extended from Antioch to the churches that Paul and Barnabas later planted (Acts 14:24-28). It also manifested itself in the generosity of the Macedonian believers for the sake of the suffering believers in Judea (Rom. 15:26, 2 Cor. 8:1-5). Financial relief and physical help were not the only results of this interdependent concern. These churches encouraged and spurred each other on by their example (Phil. 4:15, 1 Thess. 1:7).

What a joy it is to serve under the leadership of elders committed to steward well the authority given them by Christ and oversee and guide ministry according to commission Jesus gave. Just as true church grows increasingly into conformity to the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:13), so Clearcreek has grown noticibly in recent years. Certainly it has grown in number, but its outlook and mission passion have grown as well. Clearcreek has increasingly awakened to its glorious priviledge and call to partake in Christ’s expanding work through the proclamation of the gospel and the planting of new churches. This awakening has been a prime example of the relationship that biblical authority has to ministry. The elders are leading the body in ministry as they contemplate more closely the relationship this church has with other like-minded churches in the area, the possibilities of a new church plant, and the vital sending role it must have to the missionaries and evangelists that are commissioned by the church. If there is an aspect of ministry and authority that Clearcreek lacks in it is this one: a corporate comissional outlook.

Both the leadership and the body desperately need to hold fast to the captivating vision of God’s work locally and among the nations through the proclamation of the word and the planting of churches. There are many practical and specific ways that Clearcreek can demonstrate its interdependence with other likeminded churches. One example would be the inclusion of other pastors in important leadership formation activities such as training in the Biblical Theology Studies Center, and in the ordination of new elders. Another might be the interaction with other likeminded churches by means of informal hospitality at the flock and family levels. Such nurturing of relationships would then grant greater visibility into other ways that the church body can individually or corporately serve one another. It would also open doors for Clearcreek’s receiving of wisdom, insight, and admonishment from other believers on the basis of the Gospel. Even the planning for a future church plant could benefit from the understanding that Clearcreek is not an island. Many solid gospel embracing churches have progressed in many ways that Clearcreek has not. It would be good for Clercreek to nurture relationships with churches that are strong where Clearcreek is week and not just borrow their materials and implement our church plant on our own in isolation.

All the above suggestions with some effort could certainly be accomplished, yet with a legalistic determination and superficial sterility that is foreign to the gospel. Such a work in the congregation and among the leadership is only accomplished by the overflow of a passion for the supremacy of Christ in all things and an awe of the gospel. This is only a work of God through the Holy Spirit. Let us all pray to this end even as we trust that He is working in us to do it because Christ has done it.

Paul’s Concept of Establishing Churches

By Ben Zemmer

A cursory study of the usage of the Greek word sterizo in Acts and the epistles yields the idea of further deepening and strengthening of the believing community as a vital part of the maturing of a new local church. In the NASB, the word sterizo is translated “confirm” (1 Peter 5:10), “establish” (Romans 16:25; 1 Thessalonians 3:13), “established” (Romans 1:11; 2 Peter 1:12), “strengthen” (1 Thessalonians 3:2, 2 Thessalonians 2:17, 3:3; James 5:8), and “strengthening” (Acts 18:23). In his epistles, Paul often uses the word to describe his relationship with the newly formed churches – newly converted believers still in many ways young and week in their understanding of the Scriptures (1 Thessalonians 3:2). Luke used a derivative of sterizo (“episterizo”) when describing the work Paul and Barnabas did when returning to their newly planted churches on their way back to Antioch (Acts 14: 21-23).

Clearly included in sterizo is the ordering of the church and appointing elders (Acts 14:23, Titus 1:5). The health of a local church is in many ways tied to how well it is established in the truth – the gospel. Paul longed to preach the gospel to believers in Rome who had already heard the gospel upon their conversion, but they still needed to hear it in all its fullness and depth in order to be strengthened and established as a mature believing community (Romans 1:15). It would be incorrect to summarize Paul’s mission work as merely proclaiming the gospel and having made converts to progress on to the next city without any regard for or contact with the new believers in the new fledgling local church. In many ways his ministry was a full orbed process of leading churches from youth to adulthood, immaturity to maturity in their knowledge and application of the gospel.



Paul’s Establishing Process:

Studying Paul’s letters to the churches in conjunction with Luke’s account of in Acts can provide some helpful insight into how these churches progressed to maturity through Paul’s ministry in the gospel. Below is an approximate chronology of Paul’s pattern of establishing churches.

1. Proclaim the gospel (Acts 13:5; 14:15-17; 17:2-3; 18:4)

2. Recognize the believers (Acts 13:12, 48-49)

3. Appoint elders (Acts 14:21-23)

4. Address individual problems as they arise all the while applying the gospel (Acts 15:30; 2 Corinthians 1:15-2:4)

Paul: Household Management and Church Order

By Mr. Ben Zemmer

When giving instructions to Timothy as to how the church should function, he used the picture of a household. The common household of the day was very structured and had very defined roles and expectations. Paul took a common every day structure fundamental to the society of the day and used significant pieces of that structure as analogies for biblical truth. He was not blindly baptizing an entire social structure into Christianity, rather he was using the household structure as an effective teaching metaphor (Verner, p.106). In fact, under the lens of God’s sovereign rule over history, families exist and were created in part to demonstrate the close relationship of God to his people and His people to each other (Pythress, p.9).

All of the Scriptures and Paul’s writings in particular are rich with family terminology. The standing that believers have as adopted children of God the Father through Christ is a family picture (Galatians 4:1-7). Consistently throughout the Old Testament God referred to Israel in family terms. He spoke of his love to Israel as an adulterous bride (Hosea 4-9). In other times he spoke of Israel as His beloved son (Exodus 4:22). The Jesus Himself spoke of believers as his true family (Mark 3:35). In all the future promises for His people God scatters rich analogies of family relationship (Pythress, p.8). At the final crescendo of redemptive history Jesus Himself will dwell in fullness and glory with his people who stand before God as sons of the Father (Revelation 21:7).

Not only are the Scriptures rich with family terminology, their usage of family metaphors un-veil normative patterns for God’s people. Primary in Paul’s writings concerning the household of God is the imperative that just as one would care for an immediate family member – a father, a mother, a brother, or a sister – so should every believer care for spiritual family members in the body of Christ (Pythress, p.10). Or as Pythress stated it, “The church is like a family; therefore you must treat fellow church members like family members”(p.13). The scripture speaks in very strong terms for those who do not care for family members. Jesus even said it would be better for someone to have massive stone tied around his neck and cast into the sea than to not care for one of his children and cause them to stumble. It is in the family metaphor that believers better see their reconciliation with God in salvation which is the basis for how they should relate in love to fellow members of the household of faith (Pythress, p.14).

In sum, a primary way that the Scriptures and Paul in particular describe the people of God is in family terms. Not only are those terms descriptive, they are normative. It was Paul’s imperative to set in order the things that remain (Titus 1:5). And this order is in household terms. What a glorious truth that believers in Christ relate to God as Father in the closeness of family.

A New Testament Local Church

By Mr. Ben Zemmer

The New Testament local church is the focus of God’s redemptive work on earth. Paul describes the church as the blood bought bride of Christ (Eph. 5:25-27). Elsewhere he describes the church as a field (1 Cor. 3:9), a building (1 Cor. 3:10), a temple (Eph. 2:10), a tree (Rom. 11:17-24), a batch of dough (1 Cor. 5:6-7), a body (Rom. 12:4-5), and a household (Eph. 2:19). Primary among these metaphors is the picture of a household (Banks, p.53). In many ways the household metaphor builds on the other metaphors through its concepts of unity and intimacy of relationship (Banks, p.54). Just as households were ordered and had distinct roles and functions, so the church exists under God’s guidance through the word and with Christ as the head (Clark, p.83). In His role as head over the household, God defines what the church is through His Word. Anything outside His definition does not truly qualify as a church and His specific promises regarding the church do not apply to the group whatever it may be. Some of the essential characteristics of the local church could be summarized as the following:

1. Right Preaching of the Word (Dever, p.2).

The proclamation of the Scriptures is essential to the life and spiritual wellbeing of the church. “So faith comes from hearing , and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). These are no uncertain terms that highlight the fact that God uses His word as it rests on the hearer’s ear in the midst of His transforming word. This is particularly true of believers, but also of the unbelievers that God is drawing to himself. The Church cannot and must not abandon this means of grace lest it shrivel up and die.

2. The “Right Administration of the Ordinances” (Dever, p.3).

There were two particular commands in the scripture regarding the structure and content of gathering together as a body of believers. Baptism is a proclamation of trust in God and an entering into community. The Lord’s Table is a picture of the unity within the body. Each part is equally dependent on God just as the branch must be connected to the trunk if it is to survive.

3. A Careful Practice of Membership (Dever, p. 3).

Membership is a tool for determining whether or not lives are matching up with the confession. When Paul called on the leaders in Corinth to remove the sinful brother from the group he indicates that there was some level of knowledge already which delineated who is in and who is out. Membership in its essence is just that: a tool to show which people are abiding by and holding to their confession.

4. Qualified and Correctly Ordered Leadership (Dever, p.4).

Paul made it crystal clear in both letters to Timothy and to Titus the office of leader is to be regarded carefully and all people must be examined according to the Scriptures.

5. Faithful Practice of Church Discipline (Dever, p.4).

Church discipline is to be primarily restorative in its outlook. Disciple is merciful because it points people closer towards Christ and it demonstrates the serious consequences of unbelief.

6. Participation in God’s Work of Expansion (Dever, p.5).

The entire book of Acts clearly lays out how God continued his work in the days of the Apostles expanding the local church. By definition, the church must follow the emphasis on outward expansion and proclamation of the gospel. No true church remains stagnate. The outward expansion of the kingdom of God on earth through the gospel in the hearts of people to the glory of God is indeed the purpose of the local church.

A Strategy for Establishing a New Group of Believers

By Ben Zemmer
4/10/2009

The expansion of the church in the first century happened many times in large spurts (Acts 2:41, 11:19-25). Such phenomena have repeated themselves at intervals throughout church history. Current times are certainly not exempt from examples of God drawing to himself many believers in a certain area in a small amount of time. In the event that this happened in this geographic area and I was an elder responsible for a large group of new believers, I would follow the following points in seeking to fully establish this group as a mature church.

1. Preach the Word.

Just as God used the words of Ezekiel to bring life to the dry bones, so he uses the words of under-shepherds who preach the Word of God to bring life out of death. The preaching of the Word must be the pivot point of the gathering of the new body of believers. Just as young children must not be deprived of food in order to grow and mature, so new (and old) believers must not be deprived from the life giving proclamation of the Word. Churches exist through the objective work of the Spirit in the hearts of people drawing them to Christ through the understanding of the Word. Thus, the foundational aspect of church life must be the teaching of the Word, for by it the church comes into being. When the Word is preached it must also be taught and explained carefully in every possible context so that all the members understand it and begin living out the “first principles” of the faith.

2. Appoint elders.

Paul returned either in person or in proxy to all the cities in which he had preached the gospel for the purpose of “setting in order the things that remain” and to “appoint elders”. Just as a human being is not alive without the head, so a local church does not truly exist without biblically qualified elders. Biblical roles within the church are essential to its very existence. Likewise without such men the observance of the ordinances is emptied of its meaning and validity. These qualified men give biblical direction and fatherly care for the miniature household of God over which they preside. One must take care in the selection of elders and deacons using Scriptures and their household lives as barometers for their qualification to oversee the church. In no place are the desires and motives of the heart more evident than in the context of the home.

3. Instruct and exemplify life within the household of God.

Paul took great care and went to great lengths to instruct the young churches under his care “how to behave in the household of God”. He often stayed long in cities in order to make sure the believers were firmly grounded in the truths he had taught and understood the difference between God’s Word and the false teachings around them. In the same way, mature churches are those that know what it means to live as members of the household of God and use the understanding of their objective standing before God as a launching pad for greater service and expressions of unity and love saturated with God’s Word. A mature body of believers is one that exemplifies love and care for one another just as individual family members care for one-another.

4. Assist in the training up of the next generation of leaders.

Paul spent a great deal of effort including younger men in his ministry, not just because he needed extra help, but also for the purpose of preparing them to faithfully lead the church as well. This is very clear in Paul’s relationship with Timothy and Titus, but it is also clear in the effective structure of the older teaching and training up the younger. This is just as applicable for men as it is for women. The task of passing on the faith to the next generation of believers is a whole bodied task. The ministry that women have to younger women is one that men could not and should not have. Their ministry to younger children is effective in ways that men could not be. These relationships are necessary for the propagation of new believers and the raising up of new leaders of both men and women within the church.

5. Guide the “commissional” outlook of the church.

At the heart of what it means to be a church is the commission Jesus gave his disciples and the example the Apostles gave in the book of Acts. A mature and established church is one that seeks to expand the reach of God’s word in the hearts of people through the proclamation of the Word and the establishment of new churches. This is not a natural outlook for believers, since by nature all tend towards an inward focus. But a deep and true delight in God cannot help but produce an outward looking that seeks to see the gospel flourish inside and beyond the walls of the local church. Engendering this sort of outlook comes through much biblical exposition and patient teaching. Despite the difficulty of the task this must be the goal for a fully established church.

Jesus- Unlocking the Hermeneutical door

Jason Strange
3/21/2010

I would have to say that most people who are professing Christians have never heard of the word Hermeneutics and for the few that have I believe would confess that they would not see the necessity as long as you have God in your heart and a Bible in your hand. I anticipate that their rational would be somewhat-biblical, but also at the same time some-what mystical. I hear them saying “Why do Hermeneutics when it’s the Holy Spirit that will lead me into all truth, or why trust in Hermeneutics when they are the methods of fallible men.”) Why should we get all technical and muddy up the simple Gospel? Some might even scoff at those who would suggest the necessity. If I were stranded on an island with just me and my Bible would I be deficient in my exegesis? The exception does not make the rule. Did God intend for us to operate in isolation, just me in my corner, with my Bible, a Vines dictionary, a highlighter and the Holy Spirit peeping over my shoulder just to make sure I get it right; or did he intend for us to employ these skills in community, using all the means available to us so that we might understand His word and his work in Redemptive History.

Hermeneutics is necessary when dealing with any literary work, but since we are dealing with sacred Scripture the stakes are much higher and “cutting the pieces straight” could mean life or death. It is also necessary because we are dealing with an ancient literary work that is thousands of years old, written to a particular people, in a distinct culture, who spoke a different language, along with many other factors.

Biblical Hermeneutics necessitates itself because we are seeking to understand the meaning of what is before us, we are seeking to know the mind of Christ. The question is why would we not employ all means necessary at our disposal to get to the heart of any text? I think for the most part evangelicals tend to be lazy thinkers and just end up tinkling with Gods word. Many Christians are just looking for the fire-side chat or the starbucks devotional.
Goldsworthy says that the function of Hermeneutics is to bridge build across cultural gaps between that world at that time in history and the present world at this time history. John Stott even has said “it’s our job to connect the two worlds.” The goal of doing this would be to draw out application from the significance within the biblical text. And as we observed Goldsworthy’s gaps we find that they are helpful to recognize as we begin our exegesis, but the danger is that “we might focus too much on the gaps and end up with a worldly or earthy hermeneutic, consumed and bogged down with cultural issues. (Not having a Biblical theological heavenly hermeneutic” Bridges and ladders).
Goldsworthy aligns himself with some of the neo-orthodox theologians such as Barth and Bultmann on the gap idea, when the critics argued that there is a gap, actually a huge gulf, one that is caused by human depravity and sin, thus shifting the emphasis from the cultural to the more pressing matters of spiritual alienation and reconciliation. We concluded that the gaps are artificial when the emphasis shouldn’t be on bridging the cultural gaps but on the Christ who is the spiritual ladder, he is the one who connects heaven to earth, and God to his people, and that we as his people are participating in the same eschatological age as the saints of old, and we are listening in, peering into and partaking in the same covenant, promises, and are connected by the same story line, the same Christ event, the same unfolding drama.
There is also a Hermeneutical necessity in the community life of the church. For this is where Gods people are fed and nourished when Gods word is properly understood. This is where grace is dispensed for fainting hearts and straying saints. This is where truth is heralded to make glad the people of God and to convict dead sinners. This is where the body is visibly united and God is glorified. This is where Hermeneutics and song connect in joyful praise and adoration. If sound Hermeneutics are not being employed by the elders and encouraged by the elders to the people than that congregation is in danger and they ought to take heed (Rev. 3) That church will most likely become imperative-driven and instead of reflecting Christ they’ll begin to, by and large, reflect the culture and lose their distinctive quality as Gods unique people. “The Hermeneutic must be Gospel-driven and if it loses the Gospel plot than it ceases to be evangelical.“ The Gospel becomes the interpretative norm for the whole of the Bible. And since Jesus is God and all meaning is derived from him (the gospel itself) becomes the hermeneutical principle for everything that exists. If all of life is not interpreted through the gospel one can not properly understand his world. So for those who go so far as to attack the gospel you actually harm yourself because you are moving further away from the center which rightly interprets all reality, and you perpetuate your confusion.

If I could boil down Goldsworthy’s diagram’s I would say that Jesus is the Chief Hermeneutic. He unites the communicator, the communication, and the receiver into one.

He is the true receiver and interpreter of the Father’s word. And now our receiving of this same word is tied to our union with him. “And as we have been united to the God-man, he provides the paradigm for our understanding as we come to the text where human words and divine words are fused together.”

Hermeneutical Motivation

Jason Strange
3/17/2010

Why should I be motivated to accurately handle Gods word? It’s a simple answer yet a profound answer, because it is God’s word. If God is who He declares himself to be, worthy of all honor, glory and praise; If he is a holy, omnipotent Creator of all things, then is he must be at the apex of our affections and our chief desire. This God has spoken and articulated a message for mankind through a medium ( a book), and this book is the only way out of the mess man has made, it is the only way by which man has any hope now or for the future. It is the only source of truth in the world that explains all that we see and experience, and it is the only way by which we can know the true God and his thoughts about us and His world. For those reasons alone the Bible ought to be handled with the greatest care and diligence.

This is Gods word to mankind. If it is not than we can burn it or stick on a shelf next to the Koran or the book of Mormon. God has entrusted his people who by the intervention of the Holy Spirit are to be the custodians and caretakers of his word. Man alone would mess it all up, but God has not left man alone to not only preserve his words but to accurately handle his word. God gives His people the tools to work with a document that is living and active.

What happens when Gods word is not accurately handled? Men are left in their sins, God is not glorified, he is distorted and falsely represented, the church is not fed, growth is stunted, hell is populated, heaven ceases to celebrate, false doctrines are not challenged, cults abound, darkness rules, demons don’t tremble, the culture is not confronted, tongue speaking abounds everything begins to wither and die when the Word is not handled accurately. The church no longer is salty but tasteless. Inaccuracy allows for any and every kind of aberration of teaching to pervade and people are tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. This is the poison in the cool-aid.

But when it is handled accurately the meaning is transmitted, and when the meaning is understood than the power of Gods word takes flight and becomes effective to its hearers. Only then are hearts convicted, only then are stony hearts plowed up, only then will man fall on his knees and cry for mercy, only then will people be transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of Light, only than will Jesus be displayed as the Great and Glorious King of kings and Lord of lords. When Gods word is “cut straight” people have an accurate understanding of not only who God and Christ are, but of the Gospel message.

The Gospel was eclipsed because of the magesterium for hundreds of years until an Augustinian monk came along and unveiled it because he had accurately interpreted the doctrine of justification by faith. When Gods word is unleashed it can drop like an Atomic bomb in all its power and force. This is what Reformers do- recaptures truth that has been mishandled, but this is what God has called his people, his church, to do since the beginning. This is our mandate, our sacred trust, for this is the only means by which anyone is saved, this is the means by which God is glorified on the earth.

The Necessity & Aim of Hermeneutics

Max Strange
3/17/2010

The hope for anyone who comes to the Word of God is to know the God of the Word (Phil. 3:10). This, I hope, is the immense drive for any and all who scan the pages of Scripture and applies hermeneutic principles. The great Apostle to the Gentiles had this same ambition to know Christ. Paul said, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings…” For Christians today, we have this same Spirit-propelled ambition and struggle. The struggles are many that keep us from seeing the Word of God rightly and because of this, we must understand the great necessity for hermeneutics and have its goals in mind. 

First, we have the necessity of hermeneutic. God is a communicator and by nature a revealer. Within His own Trinitarian perfection, long before the world ever existed, God communicated. All things were planned within the Godhead to speak, create, send Christ, redeem a people, etc. In a most basic sense, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are by nature communicators.

From this same and only God comes man. God designed man to utilize language, to understand, to apply truth, and to ultimate communicate back with God. Man was designed to be a receiver and proclaimer of a Christ-centered revelation. When God spoke to Adam to “Be fruitful and multiply,” Adam automatically interpreted rightly what God had said and he was to proclaim it to Eve and to future generations. Adam was made to receive, interpret, and communicate God’s Word. He had a perfect hermeneutic of God and he perfectly understood God’s speech-acts. Adam was meant to find his meaning, destiny, existence, and purpose in the communication of God and in his perfect God-given interpretation of that communication. He was meant to interpret his entire world in the way God the Communicator communicated it to him. Unfortunately, man fell into sin and lost his way.

Adam rebelled against God and his perfect hermeneutical grid was thrashed. The way Adam could understand God was shattered like a pair of glasses thrown from a high office building. His framework was not distorted but pulverized into a million bits of confusion, creating an “epistemological disaster” (the science of knowing God). This shattering presupposes the greatest urgency for hermeneutics. However, hermeneutical skills alone cannot undo the fallen sinner’s condition to understand God’s meaning and significance.

In order to understand God, one must have the Spirit of God living at home in the heart. The new creation must take place with the Spirit dwelling and imparting the mind of Christ in the soul to begin a reverse of the curse. Noetic salvation takes places, a sort of redemption of the mind commences (1 Cor. 2:16). The mind goes through a transformation process to know and love the God he was alienated from (Romans 12:1-2). Everything attached to the curse grows dim and everything concerning Christ grows big and beautiful as the Christian’s interpretive framework realigns with God’s Word. Yet, our remaining sinfulness and confusion “conspire to lead us always away towards a Christless interpretation.” Many inside and outside the Church twist God’s Word and do damage to the Word of God by unnecessary allegorization and spiritualization of the text. They banish the Biblical authors, who stood in the presence of God, from their meaning, and fail to see the big storyline in favor of nearsighted personal application. Many do their best to unsupernaturalize the Bible and deem that the most significant process of interpretation is the readers' own meaning. Most often, we simply approach the Bible with all of our presuppositions that confuse the interpretation. Therefore, after all this, the necessity for hermeneutics should be plain to see.

Second of all we see the goal and function of hermeneutics. The initial goal of hermeneutic method is to find the author’s intent. The hope is to close the gap between the text and its world and the reader with his present world. History, culture, grammar, syntax, accumulated theological context, are all ways in which to understand the meaning that the author intended for his audience and the application the audience would have walked away with. However, the process does not end there. The author’s mind is not the goal but the Christ who author’s all Scripture. The interpreter creates a theology of many parts to see how it fits the whole and therefore ought not to leave out the redemptive-historical significance, the overarching theme; the meta-narrative of God’s story.  One who does walks up to the edge of the Grand Canyon and simply stairs at his feet. 

Hermeneutical principles also establish authority. It shows us that God’s Word isn’t a jar of clay that one uses to mold into some subjective ash tray. Hermeneutic principles, one’s that we naturally had before sin, reveal to us that there is an objective standard of authority above and beyond our own taste, feelings, opinions, likes, dislikes, and intuitions. It shows us that there is an art and a science to God’s Word and that it stands in authority over us and not some toy-thing to played with or trifled with.

Finally, hermeneutics functions as a saint unifier. Hermeneutics is a good tool for the entire Christian community (Acts 17:11). The church meets and understands God’s Word together creating a dynamic understanding of God. This unifies the people in truth and in spirit and cultivates a camaraderie of love, not merely in emotion but all according to the truth of God’s Word.