The Bible is not one-size-fits-all. There is a development from the beginning to the end. It should be borne in mind that statements about the earliest times are not necessarily at the beginning and statements about the last things are not to be found on the last page of the Bible. There is also a development within the New Testament and there is even a development in the letters of the apostle Paul. Let’s try to understand what it’s all about.
We are travelers
We are on the move in our lives and in our world. This applies to everyone. If we read the Bible, we can also recognize something like a journey. The biblical message does not simply describe ethics, nor is it a set of laws. It is more the report of a development. It is an adventure with a view.
The Bible describes the problems of our world and the solution to them. This is called “redemption”. The main problems described in the Bible are death and its consequences as well as the inadequacy of human beings (failure to achieve goals, also known as “sin”). The beginning of Scripture describes how sin and death entered the world. We read about this in Genesis 3. Through transgression man became mortal and mortal men lack the glory of God (Paul describes these things much later, for example in Rom 3:23 and Rom 5:12).
However, he did not stop at identifying the fundamental problems facing mankind. There was also an outlook on solution and redemption. In the same third chapter of the first book of Moses we read:
“And Yahweh God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, you shall be cursed above all cattle and above every beast of the field. You shall crawl on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he will crush your head, and you will crush his heel.”
Gen 3:14-15
The highlighted last part of these verses is also called the proto-gospel (pre-gospel). It is the prospect of a solution and redemption for the problems mentioned. However, this is still not described in detail here. The view is there, but you didn’t have more than these few words back then. It’s like hearing about a distant country, but only knowing the name of that country.
One goal in mind
We continue from the Protoevangelium. Further details will be announced in the course of time. According to Christian understanding, the development of the message culminates in God sending his Son, who brings salvation. Through Him, the two main problems of humanity, sin and death, are solved and replaced by righteousness and life. This is, in a nut shell, the development and outlook of the biblical message. It is not the whole story, but it is the core that Paul describes in other words: God is for us (Rom 8:31). This is good news. It is a long way from the proto-gospel to its realization as described in the New Testament. However, more details are gradually becoming known.
God is for us. This is good news.
Realistically, we are still in the middle of this story. Although we find the announcement in the Bible, it has not yet been implemented. We have an outlook, a goal in mind, but no fulfillment yet. Paul describes the world’s desire for salvation as follows:
“For the creation was made subject to vanity (not voluntarily, but for the sake of the subordinate) in the expectation that the creation itself will also be set free from the slavery of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”
Rom 8:20-21
This applies to the whole world. Everyone, believers and non-believers alike, is waiting for better times. Does this mean that believers and unbelievers are standing in the same place? Yes and no. Everyone is involuntarily in a predicament and longs for a solution. However, because this salvation was promised, Paul speaks of a certain expectation (gr. elpis), not merely of a vague hope (gr. prosdokia). Believers stand in this predicament with a concrete expectation. Faith gives confidence. The situation is the same for everyone, but not everyone is in the same situation.
Living in expectation
We are therefore somewhere between the beginning and the end, between origin and destination. We can state in general terms, as Paul does in a doxology, that:
“For from Him and through Him and to Him is the universe! To Him be the glory for the eons! Amen!”
Rom 11:36
According to Paul’s understanding, the origin, course and goal of all things must be sought in God. This is foresight that does not get stuck in the here and now and the troubles of our time and our lives. Those who trust in God’s work and His statements can see themselves as believers. He experienced what Paul describes in the same letter to the Romans:
“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God; but if children, then also partakers, and indeed partakers of God; but partakers together with Christ.”
Rom 8, 16-17
The future of believers is linked to Christ. This also applies to the world, as we have already seen, but we have an earlier expectation:
“In Him [in Christus] also the lot has fallen upon us, who have been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we should be to the praise of His glory, who have a former expectation in Christ. In Him you are also [Gläubige aus den Nationen], you who hear the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation – in Him you who believe are also sealed with the Spirit of promise, the Holy One (who is a deposit of our lot until the redemption of the one assigned to us) to the praise of His glory.”
Eph 1:11-14
The solution and redemption are promised, but have not yet been achieved. (I am aware that the expression “prior expectation” can be explained differently in context). However, we were sealed with the “spirit of promise”. Christians live in confidence. That is a great asset. But it also shows that we are all still on the move, the world as well as believers. Even if we have an earlier expectation than the rest of the world, our own imprint and confidence and an enormous vision, we still haven’t achieved it. Our confidence is spiritual. This confidence is something like a down payment until the divine promise becomes reality.
From the proto-gospel to today’s confidence, there is a tremendous development of the message. Many interim goals are mentioned and many aspects are gradually worked out. Israel appeared, the church from all nations was called out. It is a development in the best sense of the word.
This development is gradual and can be traced in the Bible. If we do this, then we can recognize that we too are part of a bigger story. It’s as if we can find our own position on a map and a marked route.
This includes
As a human being, you belong to humanity (Acts 17:26). As a believer, you belong to the family of God (Eph 2:19). However, this is not very specific. If I want to know specifically what concerns me, I have to dig a little deeper.
Too simple is the unfortunately much-heard answer that the Bible is God’s word and “therefore” the whole Bible is “eternal truth” and “therefore” concerns me. This is a statement without differentiation, which leads to many false assumptions. They are merely conclusions. Here is the differentiation: although the whole Bible is for us, it does not speak of us everywhere. So we can learn from the whole Bible, but it doesn’t always apply to me. In one place we read and learn about God, in another place about the expectation for Israel and in yet another place people are reached through a gospel of grace. Not all statements are in the same chapter. Not everything is aimed at today’s believers.
Example:
Noah
Even though there are many “good thoughts” that I can include throughout the Bible, not everything speaks of me. Only Noah, for example, was given the task of building an ark. Not even in the context of the time was that a statement for all people. Today, it is much less something that we have to follow. The same applies to many other statements in the Bible. Here is the differentiation: we can learn a lot from the story of Noah, but we do not have to build an ark. Today, it would be a sign of unbelief if we thought we had to build an ark, because God has expressly said that there would never be another flood like this (Gen 9:11). If we read what Peter writes about this, we should rather build something fireproof today (2Pet 3:10). However, there is no such order.
If I want to understand how God speaks to me and to us and where exactly I can find this in the Bible, then I need to take a closer look at the Bible. Many people shy away from this. The Bible is extensive and difficult to understand. That’s true, of course. However, it is precisely this fact that should serve as a warning to exercise caution. The Bible is not difficult, but it is indeed extensive if you have never dealt with it before.
Another problem is that many churches and congregations do not promote Bible knowledge (Israel had a similar experience, Hos 4:6). You usually hear an excerpt from popular doctrines preached. However, this does not teach you how to deal with the Bible. No wonder many Christians are overwhelmed by the Bible. I get that. But I would like to add: You don’t have to understand everything to gain a better insight.
There are approaches to a better understanding of the Bible:
1. read and believe
A first approach is: Believe what it says. Believe what it says and don’t believe what is not mentioned at all. Here are some examples:
- For example, the idea that the 10 commandments apply to all people and all times is popular. Of course they are good commandments, but were they given for all people? No, they were explicitly given to Israel, the people who were led out of Egypt (Exodus 20). The other nations did not receive these instructions. Rather, God let all the other nations go their own way (Acts 14:16).
- The idea that today’s church represents the “new covenant” is also popular. However, if we read Jeremiah 31:31, the passage in which a new covenant is promised, we read that the new covenant will be made with the people of Israel. The reason is simple: anyone who is promised a “new” covenant must already have an “old” covenant. This is true for Israel. The idea that the church receives a new covenant, even though there is no old covenant with this congregation, seems absurd.
- Many Christians deny death. Those who die go to heaven, or at best to hell, or perhaps somewhere else, such as an intermediate state. This is strange because the Bible describes death as the absence of life. Life and death are mutually exclusive (Eccl 9:5). The dead are cut off from God (Ps 88:6). The psalmist wonders whether the dead will ever return (Ps 88:10-12). Death is the end for the living. The biblical hope is not life “in death”, but life “after death” through resurrection and making alive (1 Corinthians 15:22).
Believe what it says, but with understanding. Too often I hear people say things like “that’s what it says” when they completely ignore the context and relate everything to themselves and to the present day. This is often incorrect and disregards what the Bible says. If I want to deal seriously with Scripture, I have to listen and pay attention to the context.
2. the Bible as history in development
A second approach is to understand the Bible as a story in development. This makes it suddenly clear that it does not say the same thing everywhere.
- Moses was not a contemporary of Jesus
- Jesus was only sent to Israel and spoke about Israel’s expectation (Mt 15:24; Rom 15:8)
- Before the cross is different from after the cross
- First there were 12 apostles, then a 13th was added (Paul)
- Only Paul is set apart as an apostle to the nations (Acts 13:2; Romans 11:13; Ephesians 3:1-10)
- Today’s church from all nations therefore only comes into being through Paul.
- In the Gospels, Jesus only speaks to Israel
- In his letters, Paul speaks to all nations.
These are already stunning thoughts, because today in churches and congregations the sermons are mostly preached from the Gospels, which, however, explicitly only concern Israel. What we learn from the Gospels is often not to be applied literally, but can only be interpreted in a figurative sense. We find church teaching for today in Paul and nowhere else. That means: everything in the whole Bible is for edification, but not everything concerns me directly. Key points such as those mentioned above help to differentiate.
3. key points
It is particularly helpful to ask whether there are any indications in the Bible itself as to how the Bible is to be understood? Are there any key passages that suggest a continuous development and differences in the Bible? Are there helpful passages in the Bible that can serve as a key to a broader understanding?
Yes, there are such passages in the Bible. Some of them are mentioned above. These are biblical passages that cannot be interpreted arbitrarily. They talk about specific groups, situations and people. This places statements in a specific context. Although I find general statements about people, God and this world throughout the Bible, not all of them speak about the church today.
Key passages become particularly interesting when we are looking for concrete answers about the validity of certain statements. God is always the same, but times change. In it, He speaks about different people, peoples and often has a different message. Statements have their own context and key passages help to recognize and appreciate these contexts.
Paul exhorts Timothy to “rightly divide the word of truth”:
“Make every effort to present yourself approved to God, as an unashamed worker who cuts the word of truth correctly.”
2Tim 2:15
In the context, Paul immediately mentions the contrast with another attitude of faith, in which derailments occur. Specifically, he mentions two people who spoke of the resurrection. The resurrection itself is part of the proclamation. There is nothing wrong with that. Resurrection is a “truth”. However, these two people claimed that “the resurrection had already happened”. It was wrongly timed because the resurrection is still to come. A false assignment of biblical truth turns it into untruth. As a result, these two had destroyed the faith of many people. Timothy should therefore take care to cut the word of truth “correctly”, i.e. to interpret it correctly and assign it correctly. Paul emphasizes this, so it is not self-evident.
Key passages can help us to interpret the word of truth correctly. We get a feel for the context when we pay attention to such places. This will help us to solve completely different questions, such as:
- Are healings standard today?
- What did the healings of Jesus in the Gospels tell us about? What were they done for?
- Do Christians also have to keep the commandments and prohibitions addressed to Israel?
- How do I pray today? Is the “Our Father” appropriate today?
- Do we have to be baptized because it is mentioned in the Gospels?
These and other approaches help us to read the Bible not mindlessly, but with understanding and genuine faith. Blind faith in traditional ideas is not the same as constant learning about and from the Bible. The fact that you can and are allowed to do this is uncharted territory for many people. I would therefore like to encourage you to start taking the Bible at its word.
A pastor once told me that he found Bible study “dangerous”. In this way, laypeople would simply try to confirm their own thoughts and not understand the context. He feared that the discussion of the Bible would only encourage sectarian thoughts and attitudes. This can happen, of course, and I have observed it time and again. However, people should not be incapacitated and patronized. Maturity in matters of faith should be a declared goal of healthy community development. This is not possible without a serious debate. A healthy community will, as Paul told Timothy, make sure that the word of truth is interpreted correctly, so that the man of God may be equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Not as a dictate from above, but as promotion within the community.
We should encourage each other to learn so that we understand what is at stake.
