He Gave Us Scripture: Foundations of Interpretation
Preparation for
Interpretation
Lesson 2
Lesson Guide
© 2014, 2025 by Third Millennium Ministries
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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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CONTENTS
HOW TO USE THIS LESSON GUIDE 1
II. Dependence on Holy Spirit (1:18) 7
III. Need for Human Effort (27:43) 10
HOW TO USE THIS LESSON GUIDE
This lesson guide is designed for use in conjunction with the associated video. If you do not have access to the video, the lesson guide will also work with the audio and/or manuscript versions of the lesson. Additionally, the video and lesson guide are intended to be used in a learning community, but they also can be used for individual study if necessary.
- Before you watch the lesson
- Prepare — Complete any recommended readings.
- Schedule viewing — The Notes section of the lesson guide has been divided into segments that correspond to the video. Using the time codes found in parentheses beside each major division, determine where to begin and end your viewing session. IIIM lessons are densely packed with information, so you may also want to schedule breaks. Breaks should be scheduled at major divisions.
- While you are watching the lesson
- Take notes — The Notes section of the lesson guide contains a basic outline of the lesson, including the time codes for the beginning of each segment and key notes to guide you through the information. Many of the main ideas are already summarized, but make sure to supplement these with your own notes. You should also add supporting details that will help you to remember, describe, and defend the main ideas.
- Record comments and questions — As you watch the video, you may have comments and/or questions on what you are learning. Use the margins to record your comments and questions so that you can share these with the group following the viewing session.
- Pause/replay portions of the lesson — You may find it helpful to pause or replay the video at certain points in order to write additional notes, review difficult concepts, or discuss points of interest.
- After you watch the lesson
- Complete Review Questions — Review Questions are based on the basic content of the lesson. You should answer Review Questions in the space provided. These questions should be completed individually rather than in a group.
- Answer/discuss Application Questions — Application Questions are questions relating the content of the lesson to Christian living, theology, and ministry. Application questions are appropriate for written assignments or as topics for group discussions. For written assignments, it is recommended that answers not exceed one page in length.
Notes
Introduction (0:19)
Dependence on Holy Spirit (1:18)
Biblical interpretation is commonly treated as an impersonal event.
Hermeneutics involves interaction between human interpreters and the Holy Spirit.
Inspiration (3:15)
Holy Spirit moved human beings to write God’s revelation as Scripture and superintended their work in a way that made their writings infallible.
- Romantic: Scripture isn’t God’s infallible truth, but only the personal reflections and opinions of the human authors.
- Mechanical: The Holy Spirit essentially dictated the Bible and human writers passively recorded what he said.
- Organic: The Holy Spirit used the personalities, experiences, outlooks, and intentions of human authors as he supervised and directed their writing.
Peter acknowledged that Paul’s letters represented God’s wisdom because of the guidance of Holy Spirit (2 Peter 3:15).
Divine Source (11:24)
The Holy Spirit has intimate knowledge of the Bible’s meaning and of the way it communicates that meaning.
Biblical authors openly and directly acknowledged the Holy Spirit’s inspiration as they dealt with the Scriptures (Acts 4:25; Hebrews 3:7-8).
Part of our preparation for interpretation should be to affirm the absolute trustworthiness of the Holy Spirit and of the Scriptures he inspired (John 14:16-17).
Many portions of Scripture challenge even the best interpreters and their solutions differ because of the interpreters’ attitudes toward God:
- Critical interpretation: Rejects the divine inspiration of Scripture and elevates their understanding over the Spirit’s authority.
- Submissive interpretation: Affirms the divine inspiration of Scripture, expecting and assuming it to be true and harmonious, even when they can’t demonstrate or prove its truthfulness.
Human Means (19:54)
God had the Scriptures composed by means of human authors, revealing himself through the gifts and abilities of different human beings.
The Scriptures were written by different people, and they reflect the diversity of that human authorship.
Illumination (22:44)
The Holy Spirit’s work of conveying a proper understanding of Scripture to a human being.
Through his illumination, the Holy Spirit grants us knowledge of his Word.
Without the work of the Spirit, we have no hope of grasping the thoughts of God as we should (1 Corinthians 2:11-13).
Need for Human Effort (27:43)
Importance (27:53)
Well-meaning Christians often minimize anything that looks like human effort when they prepare to read the Bible.
Paul encouraged Timothy to be “a workman” (ergates) who “correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
Dependence on the Holy Spirit doesn’t imply that we should be passive when we interpret Scripture.
The Holy Spirit ordinarily illumines us by means of the efforts we put into preparation.
Some passages of Scripture are clear and require very little effort to understand, while others are very difficult, and may even be impossible to understand fully.
When we deal with more difficult passages in Scripture, adequate preparation usually requires increased levels of human effort.
Influences (33:58)
- Exegesis – drawing meaning out of biblical texts
The exegesis of Scripture prepares us for further interpretation of the Bible and further study.
- Interaction
Our Interaction with other people is one of the most influential, but frequently underestimated, influences on our efforts to understand the Scriptures.
All of our interpretations of Scripture are and should be deeply influenced by other people.
- Experience
Anything we encounter in our lives is part of our Christian experience and these personal aspects contribute to our interpretations of Scripture.
All believers have had experiences that shape the way we think, feel and behave, and influence our efforts to interpret Scripture.
Conclusion (41:31)
Review Questions
1. What is the doctrine of inspiration?
2. Describe the two important aspects of organic inspiration.
3. What is the doctrine of illumination?
4. Why is human effort important when preparing to interpret Scripture?
5. Describe the three major influences on our efforts when we prepare to interpret Scripture.
Application Questions
- How do you practice dependence on the Holy Spirit as you interpret Scripture?
- How does the doctrine of inspiration affect the way you read and interpret the Bible?
- How are you staying in touch with the Holy Spirit in the midst of your current circumstances?
- What comfort and encouragement do you draw from the fact that God had the Scriptures composed by human authors?
- What blessings have you received from the Holy Spirit’s standing with you and opening your mind to understand the Bible?
- What type of work do you do in preparation to interpret Scripture?
- How are you exhibiting the importance of depending on the Holy Spirit in your current spheres of influence?
- What benefits have you gained from being an exegete of Scripture?
- How has interacting with other people influenced your understanding of the Bible?
- How have past experiences affected your ability to interpret the Scriptures?
- How are your present circumstances influencing your efforts to interpret Scripture?
- What is the most significant thing you learned in this lesson?
Glossary
Augustine – (A.D. 354-430) Bishop of Hippo who believed in the Scriptures as our final authority in doctrine and considered the creeds of the church to be helpful summaries of scriptural teaching; wrote numerous works that continue to influence the church today
ergates – Greek term (transliteration) meaning “a worker” or “a laborer”
exegesis – From a Greek term meaning "led out of" or "derived from"; the process of drawing out the proper interpretation of a passage of Scripture
illumination – Divine gift of knowledge or understanding, primarily cognitive, attributed to the work of the Holy Spirit
inspiration – Theological term that refers to the way the Holy Spirit moved human beings to write God’s revelation as Scripture and superintended their work in a way that made their writings infallible
mechanical inspiration – View of inspiration that proposes the Holy Spirit essentially dictated the Bible, and human writers passively recorded what he said
organic inspiration – View of inspiration that asserts the Holy Spirit used the personalities, experiences, outlooks, and intentions of human authors as he authoritatively and infallibly guided their writing
Owen, John – (1616-1683) English theologian, pastor and author of numerous important theological works
romantic inspiration – View of inspiration that proposes the Holy Spirit inspired biblical authors to write but did not superintend their writings
theopneustos – Greek term (transliteration) meaning “inspired” or “breathed out” by God