HOLY WORDS--HOLY WRIT

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HOLY WORDS--HOLY WRIT

• The discussion of the Word of God too often
  limits itself to either the text or the person
• This overlooks that before the text and before
  the Incarnation there was already the Word of God
  spoken, and the oral word continued to be called
  Word of God
• This is not surprising since the Bible arose in
  predominantly oral cultures

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HOLY WORDSHOLY WRIT

• In an oral culture the spoken word was surpreme
  and seen as a living thing, especially in its
  prophetic form
• Both the ANE cultures and the Greco-Roman world
  believed in prophetic pronouncements from a
  divine source
• Jews and Christians were no different in this
  belief as monotheists they called it the Word
  of God

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HOLY WORDSHOLY WRIT

• It was a fundamental belief of monotheistic Jews
  and Christians in Biblical times that an Almighty
  God could indeed speak the divine word accurately
  and adequately through human vessels whether
  they were prophets, priests, or kings, or
  ordinary people (see my Jesus the Seer
  Hendrickson Press)
• To deny the reality of this phenomenon was to
  deny that true prophecy was possible

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HOLY WORDSHOLY WRIT

• Jews reasoned that if God could speak all of
  creation into existence (Gen. 1) that God was
  perfectly capable of truthfully revealing his
  word and will through human agents and oracles
• It is then not surprising that we find the
  equation already in the Hebrew Scriptures that
  what Torah says, God says (Ps. 119)

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HOLY WORDS HOLY WRIT

• Thus the idea of Holy Writ was not a new one in
  NT times, much less an idea that the church
  dreamed up after NT times
• In fact we see it clearly, applied to the OT in 2
  Tim.3.16 all Scripture is God-breathed and is
  useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and
  training in righteousness.
• Notice the stress on God ex-spiring breathing
  out these words.

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HOLY WORDSHOLY WRIT

• While 2 Tim. 3.16 enunciates a theology of Holy
  Writ, this is not a new innovation, nor a
  specifically Christian one.
• Notice that it is given in a context where there
  is a strong belief that oral proclamation is also
  Word of God
• 1 Thess. 2.13 when you received the Word of
  God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not
  as the word of humans, but as it actually is the
  Word of God

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HOLY WORDSHOLY WRIT

• Notice Lukes penchant for speaking of the fact
  that the Word of God grew/spread/increased
  Acts 6.7 12.24
• The idea is of a living Word which can grow or
  spread or increase
• To sum up, the concept Word of God was applied to
  oral communication, and written communication
  from God, before it was applied to a person
  Jesus.

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HOLY WORDS HOLY WRIT

• It appears clear that in the NT period there were
  already two developments that went beyond the
  idea of Holy Word (oral) or Holy Writ (Hebrew
  Scriptures)
• The first of these was the treating of Christian
  documents as also Holy Writ. 2 Pet. 3.16 speaks
  of Pauls letters as containing some things that
  the unstable distort as they do the other
  Scriptures

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HOLY WORDS HOLY WRIT

• This move, treating Pauls letters as one form of
  sacred text, is not surprising, since the NT
  movement was initiated and carried on by
  prophetic figures Jesus, Peter, Paul and others,
  people who were inspired to speak Gods Word, and
  the inscripturation of it was simply the natural
  further step to preserve the God-whispered words.
• Oracles spoke verbatim Gods words, being Gods
  mouthpieces1 Cor. 14.36-37

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HOLY WORDS HOLY WRIT

• The final and in some ways most intriguing step
  in this process was the identification of Gods
  Word with the pre-incarnate Son of God, who took
  on flesh John 1 The Word became flesh
• What was previously predicated of Wisdom (Prov.
  3,8 Wis. Of Sol.) and of Torah (Sirach), is here
  predicated of an historical person Jesus, or in
  Rev. 19.13 of the returning exalted Christ

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HOLY WORDSHOLY WRIT

• CONCLUSIONS A clear and multifaceted Word of God
  theology already existed in Biblical times. It
  was not later imposed on a series of texts which
  were not thought to convey Gods message.
• This theology involved oral proclamation, texts,
  and a personJesus.
• Texts like Ps. 119 and 2 Tim. 3.16 show it was
  believed that what Scripture said, God said, and
  it was trustworthy and true.

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THE WORD AND THE WORK

• Hermeneutical issues How much of the OT applies
  to Christians, since we are under the new
  covenant not the old ones?
• Hermeneutical move 1 all that is not
  specifically abrogated in the NT still applies
• Hermeneutical move 2only that which is
  reaffirmed in the NT are Christians obligated to
  keep or follow

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THE WORD AND THE WORK

• An understanding of covenantal theology and
  church historical usage leads to the conclusion
  that the second hermeneutical move was deemed to
  be the correct one.
• This conclusion arose because texts like the
  Sermon on the Mount or Pauls letter to the
  Galatians assumed that the followers of Jesus
  were in an eschatological situation and no longer
  bound to the Mosaic Law

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THE WORD AND THE WORK

• HERMENEUTICAL ISSUESIt needs to be stressed that
  claims about the Word of God applied in
  antiquity, as today, directly to the original
  text in its original languages not to some
  specific translation in whatever language.
• Every translation is already an interpretation,
  unavoidably so.
• This is why original language study of Gods Word
  is essential to good preaching.

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THE WORD AND THE WORK

• Nevertheless, in a derivative sense, a careful
  and accurate translation while not infallible or
  inerrant can certainly adequately convey the Word
  of God, and as such be called the Word of God in
  this derivative sense
• A text without a context is just a pretext for
  whatever one wants it to mean. The Word should
  always be studied and preached based on a
  knowledge of the various contexts

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THE WORD AND THE WORK

• Careful contextual study of the Word is the best
  hedge against anachronism, or reading into the
  text things that are not there
• It is also the best protection against asking the
  wrong sorts of questions of the Bible. For
  example, the Bible says nothing about whether we
  should fly in planes or not, or elect Presidents
  or not. All too often misunderstandings come from
  misreadings and false presuppositions.

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THE WORD AND THE WORK

• At a minimum an openness to the concept of
  miracle, including the concept of revelation from
  God is necessary is one is going to deal with the
  Bible fairly and on its own terms
• There is also always the temptation to whittle
  off the hard edges of the texts we find
  offensive this is a mistake. Those texts will
  tell us some uncomfortable things we need to know
  about ourselves and God.

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THE WORD AND THE WORK

• The dictum of J. Bengel was a good one apply
  the whole of the text to yourself apply the
  whole of yourself to the text In this context
  one can deal with problem passages and
  problematic ideas. In this fashion one avoids
  assuming a posture of standing as an authority
  over the text and assuming ones own judgment
  should have the last word and be the arbiter of
  truth.

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THE WORD AND THE WORK

• Rather Gods Word should have the first and last
  word, in ones dialogue with Scripture. The
  Reformers including the Anglican ones did not
  come up with the slogan sola Scriptura for
  nothing.
• The authority of tradition, reason, or experience
  should not be allowed to trump the authority of
  Scripture. Otherwise it ceases to be canon the
  measuring rod of truth.

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THE WORD AND THE WORK

• Rules of thumb if the Bible is indeed a
  perspicuous though not exhaustive expression of
  Gods truth and will, then one must beware of
  those who say the Spirit (or experience or
  reason) is now saying to the church. when the
  content of those remarks clearly contradicts
  Scripture. This is a recipe for moral relativism
  and anarchy in the Church. Experiences can be
  genuine and at the same time false and deceptive.

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THE WORD AND THE WORK

• Careful contextual exegesis in dialogue with
  commentaries and other resources is the first
  step in a clear proclamation of the Word of God
  in the Bible.
• Like it or not, ministers are called to be the
  resident experts in the Bible in their parish,
  since they are the primary exponents and
  expositors of the Word.

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THE WORD AND THE WORK

• There is a leading of the Spirit into all truth
  of course, but what that leading entails is
  Christological in character. As the Gospel of
  John suggests the Parakletos is one who calls to
  mind the teaching and example of Jesus. The
  Parakletos is Christs agent and does not speak
  on his own authority.

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THE WORD AND THE WORK

• Tips for interpretation NT books should be
  interpreted according to their ancient genre
  (biography, historical monograph, letters,
  sermons, apocalypse)
• Ancient writers were not nearly so concerned
  about chronological precision as we are
• There are both figurative and literal types of
  material in the Bible

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THE WORD AND THE WORK

• Tips for Interpretation apocalyptic prophecy is
  perhaps the most complex material in the NT. One
  should never start the study of the NT with this
  material
• Parables in early Judaism are a form of wisdom
  literature that involves extended metaphor or
  analogy, but can have allegorical elements.
  Riddle, proverb, aphorism, parable, allegory all
  fall under the heading mashal/parabolos

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THE WORD AND THE WORK

• Errors are to be defined within the parameters of
  assessing what the author was trying to do for
  example if the author was trying to give a
  general description of an event, not a precise
  one, he should not be faulted for imprecision
• Accurate reports of lies, mistakes, literary
  fictions, jokes, dramatic hyperbole likewise do
  not fall into the category of errors

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THE WORD AND THE WORK

• Paraphrastic or midrashic use of the OT was
  common in early Judaism and does not constitute a
  misquotation of the Scripture. Again one has to
  ask what the author is attempting to do and how
  he is using the text.
• Mistranslations by modern translators do not
  constitute ancient errors (e.g. Heb. 12.1-2 or
  Phil 2.4).