WHICH DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE THE MOST IMPORTANT PRINCIPLE OF INTERPRETATION? WHY?
Hermeneutics is defined as the science and art of biblical interpretation. There have been huge tomes written on hermeneutics, but I want to boil it down to the essence of the most significant principle of interpreting the Bible.
I consider the Principle of Intended Meaning or the Face Value Principle to be the most important courtesy of the following reasons:
This is a system or method of interpreting a text that interprets terms in their normal, routine and customary designation. Each word is given the basic meaning it would have in normal, ordinary usage, whether employed in writing, speaking or thinking. Author’s of the bible doesn’t have it in mind that a variety of meanings should be drawn from their utterances and the correspondences. Assigning echelons of meanings to a statement is very erroneous.
This method is also referred to as the historical-grammatical method of interpretation by many scholars. In this method, the principal goal is to be identified with the original intent of the author when he wrote. The underlying assumption of the face value method is that God intended to communicate His word to man so that we could understand it. God did not try and hide truths in the Scriptures; His intent is not to make it as difficult as possible to understand. Rather, He wants us to read and understand His word. The apostle Paul says the same thing to the Corinthians when he writes: “For we write nothing else to you than what you read and understand, and I hope you will understand until the end.” (2 Cor. 1:13).
The overriding principle of our Bible study must be to understand what the human author (and divine Author) intended to communicate. The only way to accurately do this is to take words in their normal meaning. As the adage goes, “if the plain sense makes sense you have the right sense.” All Scripture must be taken in its proper context. This means that the interpretation of Scripture should be looked at in the light of the verses and book in which the passage is found. The argument of the author must be taken into account. The historical and cultural context should be remembered as well. This is possibly the most desecrated of all the principles and is, in my opinion, the number one violation of biblical interpretation which plagues the church today. A text without context is a pretext! No interpreter can cleave unto a literal interpretation of every word in the bible.
The primary meaning of a text is its original intent by the original writer to the original audience. The Implied Meaning is the full original intent by the original author.
The Extended Meaning is based upon this Primary Meaning and reaches to the reader with application to his/her life.
I want to clarify this point by offering an example from the bible:
“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” (Ephesians 5:18)
The Primary Meaning is the command that the Ephesians [and others the letter circulated to] are not to be drunk with wine, but to be filled with the Spirit. The Implied Meaning is that the Ephesians are not to be drunk on ANY alcoholic beverage or other mind-altering drug, but to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Extended Meaning is that Christians are not to let a medication, drug, or alcohol influence our mind so that we cannot be led by the indwelling Holy Spirit. God may even use this verse to rebuke a single reader living 2,000 years later by speaking directly to his heart through the text of Scripture. “For the word of God is living and active; sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” [Hebrews 4:12]
bernard kuffuor