Experience Your Bible by Josh McDowell

Author:Josh McDowell
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780736941334
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers

THE MEANING OF THE WORDS

Language is composed of words, of course. Words are the building blocks of ideas. And when we assemble words together in sentences and paragraphs they become the basic unit of communication. This is true of any literary work. And the Bible is a literary work of words, sentences, and paragraphs that communicate God’s truth to us, the truth that is applied to life through the person of the Holy Spirit.

But how we interpret those words is important because words change their meaning as they are associated with other words and phrases. So are the words of the Bible to be interpreted literally, figuratively, or what? And this is where understanding the use of metaphors and grammar comes in. Take, for example, Jesus’ statement in John 6:35. Look up that passage and read verse 35.

Metaphor: What did Jesus mean when he said he was the “bread of life”? Part of interpretation is applying common sense, rather than taking words literally. We can understand passages better if we allow language to speak in ordinary ways, instead of imposing some kind of special, artificial standard for language usage in the Bible. As we said, the Bible is literature, and the same linguistic principles apply to it as to other writings. This means we cannot take every word of the Bible as literal. While we are correct to believe the Bible is true, we must allow metaphors, similes, and analogies to be what they are, and not force them to be literal.

For example, when Jesus says, “I am the bread of life,” does he mean that he is a loaf of ground grain mixed with yeast and baked? If not, then what does he mean? He is saying metaphorically that he provides sustenance for our spiritual life, just as a loaf of bread provides sustenance for our physical life. This example is too obvious to question, of course. But you would be surprised at the contrived interpretations you hear when people try to make biblical metaphors read literally.

Grammar: In interpreting a passage we must not only look for metaphors, but also give attention to grammar. Grammar involves such things as verb tenses, questions, commands, subjects, and objects. These elements determine the structure of the language, and they are important factors in determining exactly what is being said.

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