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Part 1 - Understanding of Scripture
Exegesis - drawing out of a text the original meaning.
There are many cultural aspects in scripture that we don’t understand from first glance due to our own limited cultural background.
How do we interpret the Bible? (Thoughts for Ministry in the 21st century)
Marcion of Sinope wrestled with the connection of Christ and the Old Testament.
He decided that there are 2 Gods. Jesus was the greater God.
Marcion was also anti-Semitic.
He decided that Christians should only read Paul and Luke since they were gentiles.
The church called him out on his heresy and they called out his system of how he reads the Bible and tells others to read it.
How do we get the big picture of the Bible from the 66 books?
It is one overarching story, not separated or divided.
Meta-narrative - overarching story.
Some people say an overarching narrative is impossible and it’s better to doubt the entire word.
Systematic Theology
We can test Christianity through historical events.
Biblical Theology
Biblical Theology as Historical Description
Biblical Theology as History of Redemption
Biblical Theology as Worldview Story
Biblical Theology Canonical Approach
Biblical Theology as Theological Construction
Redemptive-Historical View Of Biblical Theology
Geerhard Vos - made a great impact in understanding this view.
This narrative begins when God created the universe out of nothing. He spoke and there it was and it was good.
He called humanity to be fruitful and multiply.
The rest of the book is how humans messed up the plan of God and He is repairing it.
The parallels in the beginning (garden of Eden) as well as in the book of Revelation point out the restorative and redemptive plan of God.
How do we get from the place of sin to the new heaven promised?
God is regularly intervening to restore that relationship.
Redemptive-historical hermeneutics recognizes that the bible throughout is christian scripture, all of scripture, whether it is in the old or new testament, not only points to but also reveals and applies jesus christ. Just as the full tree is present in the acorn, so also is the gospel present in the old testament in embryonic form. Without this
Assumption, our understanding of any text in any part of the canon will be, at root, a misunderstanding.
One of the greatest ways to show this narrative is by the reality that God creates multiple covenants with people to show His good will for mankind to be with Him once again.
The Covenantal Funnel
Noahic -> Abrahamic -> Mosaic -> Davidic -> Christ <- Incarnational <- New Covenant <- Re-creation
The prophets continued to prophesy the same theme.
God says He will make a new covenant with them. He will write the law on their hearts.
Jesus was the fulfillment of all the promises and covenants made by God the Father.
He was born of the seed of a woman as Genesis 3 predicts and proclaims. There was no contribution of an earthly father.
The narrative continues in Acts when the baptism of the Holy Spirit takes place.
The first gentile convert through the preaching of Peter was a Roman Centurion. This was amazing and seemed impossible at the time.
God meets humanity where they are.
He prepared them to recognize that Jesus was the redeemer of all humanity.
Part 2 - Experiencing Scripture
Jesus is at the center of Scripture.
God has laid out for a record of His work in Christ by continuity.
There is continuity with intensification.
The Image of the Temple and Tabernacle in Scripture
The House of the Lord - where He lives.
The garden is a temple image.
Genesis 3:8 - we were made for His presence but when sin came, His presence brought fear and we sought separation. In other words, we gave our temple away.
David wanted to make a temple of God, but God promised David an eternal temple that He will build.
They thought this promise referred to the temple Solomon would build, but it was actually a prophetic revelation about Christ.
Haggai 2:9 - God does not care so much about the physical temple as the relationship with His people. The latter glory will be greater…
Ezekiel 37:26-28, Micah 4:1-2 - This is speaking that there is an everlasting kingdom to come that isn’t just for the people of Israel but for the nations.
Matthew 12:6, John 2:19-22 - The ultimate presence isn’t the building, but the person.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 - Because we are in Christ and His Spirit dwells in us, we become the dwelling place of God, we become His temple.
Revelation 21:22 - His presence pervades fully all of creation. It’s eternal and unhindered.
How does this affect our experience?
Experience happens to be remarkably individual.
How do we put our story as a part of God's story revealed in God's work?
When we do that, we have experiences that are real and from the Lord but may be different from what others experience.
Ex: Jesus with his disciples at the transfiguration. Peter wanted to build some tents.
We sometimes want to build a tabernacle on our experience when it’s not necessary and not the experience other Christians are having.
Ex: Paul’s apron healing people. It’s called extraordinary over “extra special” in scripture.
We at times take an unusual moment and make it the center point of human experience. We don’t want to make this normative.
There are things in scripture that are meant to be on the long thread of continuation.
The first time we see people filled with the Spirit of the Lord is the builders of the temple (Oholiab & Bezalel)
The Spirit of God remains on David but departs from Saul.
The Spirit empowers mankind for acts of service and ministry. This reality is in the Old Testament and continued in the New Testament.
The Spirit of God had been made accessible for everyone.
The manner of introduction to the faith is diverse in scripture. But there are normative things that must happen (ex: repentance, sanctification).
These things are prescriptive. They are demonstrated all throughout scripture.
Ex: The bronze serpent later became an idol.
The serpent did not heal them, but the obedience to God’s word to look at the serpent.
This doesn’t mean your experience wasn’t from the Lord, but don’t box it in as something everyone has to experience.
There are experiences that are completely outside plausibility and are contrary to God’s word and truth.
There is also room for the plausibility of different experiences.
Part 3 - QnA
Why are young people often influenced by different movements and spiritual experiences?
Young minds are more flexible.
“Great [Scientists] of the world make their biggest contributions in their 20s and early 30s because after that they get too locked in to a system of thinking, to a paradigm that locks in their thinking and they dont have the expansiveness to think outside of their boxes anymore. I think there is inherent within youth a drive (we have limited experience and we want more experience, and we are more flexible and we have a larger paradigm to explore things)."
Not only we have flexible minds, powerful minds, because of sin we have fallen minds. Now when we’re falling that pursuit after experience will sometimes lead us down paths that will make us self-serving, self-grandizing, in contradiction where the Lord takes us.
Lord has experiences for us, but let us anchor ourselves within the scripture.
What role do we as leaders play in encouraging, guiding or correcting people’s spiritual experiences?
Ephesians 4 - Ministry gifts were given for the equipping of the saints.
Paul and Barnabas example.
Times, when we need Paul to lay down a hard rule/ correction.
Times when we need Barnabas to say “It's gonna be ok, don’t give up,” and encourage us.
There will be times when you as a leader will need to be a Paul, and times when you need to be a Barnabas.
There are times when emotionalism and the voice/presence of the Spirit are muddled. How do we as leaders help others sort the two out?
Scripture - become a good student of God’s word.
His Word anchors us so that we don’t run into “extremes”.
We don’t separate the emotions and mind, embrace emotions and rational mind, both anchored in God’s word.
How do we encourage someone to grow in their faith when they are discouraged by not having these extraordinary experiences in their own life?
Begin by relieving the stress and experience of pursuing an experience (and creating hierarchies based on peoples experiences) because these are God’s gifts.
Just trust that God is in control, and He will meet you when and where you’re ready.
The experience of the Holy Spirit is for empowerment for witness.
We ought not to be seeking the experience - we ought to be seeking Christ and His fullness. Experience will fully consummate it at the right time.
How would you respond to someone who says, “our church is dead, there are no healings, miracles, casting out demons … that should be the norm?”
I would say - “The same Spirit thats working through me is working through you!”
1 Cor 6:19 “YOU (collectively, as church) are the temple of the Holy Spirit”
“Maybe your discontent that there has not been a healing or a miracle - maybe its God trying to speak to you to step out in faith and go and pray for somebody”
Presence of God is not controlled or dictated by outward manifestations.
What order is best to read the Bible in to understand it in this redemptive-historical view? How do we effectively study the Bible to have this understanding?
You have to understand little parts to understand the whole, but you need the whole to understand little pieces.
To understand the Good News of Jesus Christ you must first understand divine holiness, the reality of sin, the reality of the need for redemption and reconciliation.
The entire Scripture is about Jesus.
I would probably start with the gospels: In western context - Mark. He wrote to Romans. Portrayed Jesus as active, powerful, constantly moving. Jesus as man of action, of power. Matthew - pointing back to Prophecies. John - Connecting God to Reason - Theological and Philosophical argument with miracles as proof. Those who suppress the truth in wickedness - Romans.
Effective Bible reading is reading it in context - in fewer sittings. Challenged the church and read the Bible in 90 days.
Do you see sensationalism as a heresy of the modern church, or as a thing throughout church history?
Church history - but we can popularize it much quicker.
Do you see cessationism as a heresy of the modern church, or as a thing throughout church history?
Cessationists still believe in the gift of a teacher, of administrations, but wouldn’t believe in prophecies, tongues, etc - but ITS IN THE SAME LIST (1 Corinthians 12:28).
What's one piece of advice you want to leave with young ministers here?
Life in ministry is lived within tension - tension of eternal, immovable, unbending, objective truth, and vibrant, changing, living experience.
Tendency to want to gravitate towards extremes, because that's where comfort is found.
“Prepare yourself to live in a constant state of uncomfortable tension”
