Many people, including many Bible scholars, neglect the most important principle of Biblical interpretation. Because of this, they come up with a lot of cynical theories that sound logical and plausible, yet they are completely false. What is this essential Biblical principle of interpretation? Simple, the whole Bible testifies of Jesus. When we read scriptures without remembering the cross, we replace truth with our own distorted and shallow understanding of inspired writings.
The Bible states its purpose clearly, yet we ignore its own internal claims. In John chapter five, Jesus clearly announced that the scriptures testify about Him. “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life” (John 5:39-40). After His resurrection, Jesus opened up the Old Testament to His followers so that they could clearly see that the Messiah was everywhere in the holy scrolls of Israel. “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). “Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:44-45). Paul had to relearn the scriptures after his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. In fact, in Second Corinthians, Paul makes it clear that anyone who is reading the Old Testament without seeing Jesus there, is looking at the Bible while wearing a kind of blinder that warps the true meaning of the Word of God. “But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed” (2Corinthians 3:14-16). Thus, Paul made it clear that when we read the scriptures through the filter of the knowledge of Jesus, we will be able to gain true insight into God’s word. In fact, the New Testament authors filled their writings with quote after quote from the Old Testament as their unveiled eyes saw how the ancient words of the Bible applied to life in the light of their present knowledge of Jesus.
There have been many Christians throughout history who have read the Bible with a veil over their minds. They have claimed that the God of the Old Testament is different from the God of the New Testament. They look on Jesus as loving and kind, but they see the Father as harsh and judgmental. To them, the Father is an angry egotist who punishes without mercy and kills off groups of people who displease Him like a power-hungry dictator. They excuse these actions with platitudes like the idea that since God is our all-powerful Creator, He can do what He wants, or they say that God is unknowable, or they say that the Father is full of justice while Jesus is full of mercy. These confused followers of Jesus can dress their ideas up in fancy words, but the reality is that they are believing the same lies about God that led Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit. However, this picture of the Father directly contradicts Jesus’ own words. Jesus told His disciples that the Father was just like He was. “Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves’” (John 14:8-11). This was not the only time that Jesus claimed that the Father was the same as He was. “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). Then there is the most famous verse in the Bible that we recite to show Jesus’ love for us, but the focus of the verse is actually the Father’s love for us. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). By the way, notice that Jesus said that the Father loved “the world,” not only Israel. The final evidence of the Father’s character that I will present here is given in First John chapter four. “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1John 4:15-16). With these New Testament declarations, it is clear that the God of the Old Testament is love and has a character like Jesus.
Why are these basic principles important for understanding the Bible? Simple, there are numerous passages in the Bible that only make sense when examined with the prerequisite understanding that whatever is happening must be interpreted through the later actions of Jesus, especially as we see Him on the cross. From this basic principle, several other principles can be derived.
The first derived principle is that just because people who belong to God are acting a certain way, it does not mean that God approves of their actions. In many situations, God either condemned the behavior or He allowed the situation to continue temporarily until a later time when corrective action would be possible. An example of a case where God disapproved was the many wives of David, Solomon, and other kings. How do we know this was God’s position even though God does not seem to have sent any warnings to David and Solomon through the prophets of their time? God did not need to send a prophet because He had already clearly made His desires known previously through Moses! In Deuteronomy, Moses predicted that Israel would demand a king and gave rules for how the kings must conduct themselves. One of those rules included the prohibition against many wives. “And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold” (Deuteronomy 17:17). The kings knew God’s prohibitions, yet they ignored them. Their actions did not meet with God’s approval and did not reflect God’s character. With regard to the second idea where God allowed and even gave rules regulating behaviors that seem to contradict the actions of a God of love, Jesus Himself explained what was happening when He spoke of divorce. “‘So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.’ They said to him, ‘Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?’ He said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery’” (Matthew 19:6-9). Thus, there are times in the Bible when God gives regulations to limit abuse, but this does not mean that God approves of the activity. He is attempting to steadily bring human society to a place where they will accept the principles of heaven. Slavery is another example of God giving regulations to prevent abuse until such time as there is neither slave nor master, only children of God. When reading the Bible, always follow the principle that God may be accommodating sinful humans until He can bring about transformations in their personal lives and in their societies. He is displaying His merciful character as He brings His children closer to His choices for living.
The second derived principle is that God is working towards the salvation of every human that He can save, and thus, any act of destruction by God is a necessity for the survival of humans. The flood is an example of this kind of situation. God did not just get frustrated with humans and decide to destroy everyone, except his favorite guy Noah. Knowing God’s character of love, we must conclude that something else must have been going on in this situation. In the English Standard Version, it says “And God said to Noah, ‘I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth’” (Genesis 6:13). However, if you look at other word-for-word translations you find a little different take on this situation. Young’s Literal Translation says “And God said to Noah, ‘An end of all flesh hath come before Me, for the earth hath been full of violence from their presence; and lo, I am destroying them with the earth’” (Genesis 6:13). Neither translation is wrong, but when we know God’s character and desire for the survival of humans, the second translation helps us to see that God knew that the violence and evil of humankind would take them all to extinction if He did not drastically intervene. The present generation of humans could not be saved, but the next generation could. The flood was a rescue mission for the survival of the human species. However, if you operate under the principle that the Old Testament God is different in character from Jesus, you will look at translations of this verse like that in the ESV and decide that God lost patience with humans and chose to arbitrarily destroy them and start over with a new experimental group like some mad scientist throwing out the old lab rats and starting with a new set of guinea pigs.
The final derived principle of Biblical interpretation is that there are more players in the game than simply God and humans. Thus, not everything that happens is because of God’s choice. The actions of other supernatural beings are also affecting humanity. We Christians know that there are demons and Satan and angels, but we ignore them much of the time, except as they affect our lives personally, or maybe when we read a mission story or hear of a miracle. However, we need to apply this knowledge to our understanding of the scriptures. The Bible provides us with clues that there is much more happening than we know about. In Job, we see a heavenly council. Revelation speaks of war in heaven. In Luke 10:18, Jesus tells us that He saw Satan fall from heaven like lightening. When we consider the implications of these and many more clues found in the Bible, we know that there is a war happening, and humans have been caught up in the middle of it through our own choice. God is desperately trying to save as many of us as He can using the rules of love while Satan is lying and destroying humans in an attempt to grab power. Thus, as we read the scriptures, an important Biblical principle in understanding the Father’s actions is to remember that He is dealing with more than saving individual humans from themselves. He is in a fight to save us from supernatural forces who want to keep us enslaved and who desire our demise.
If you remember to view every action that you read about in the Old and New Testament starting from the premise that the Father looks like Jesus on the cross, you will start to see situations that previously made you feel uncomfortable from a new perspective, and you will find amazing insights in old “outdated” stories. Most of all, you will be astonished as God’s beauty opens up more fully to your wondering gaze and say with David, “From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised!” (Psalm 113:3).