Introduction Continued

5. THE LAWS OF BIBLE INTERPRETATION
1. The Law of the Words
1. Every word of God is pure (Proverbs 30:5-6 [5] Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. [6] Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
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2. A word’s usage determines its meaning; therefore, the meaning of a Bible word is determined by how that word is used in the Bible
3. Tools: English and Bible dictionaries
4. The Bible must be the final authority in all questions of definition and meaning (see 1 Samuel 9:9(Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to enquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.)
   See All...; Matthew 1:23Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
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5. All words have a specific purpose chosen by their author.  All scriptural words are verbally (each word) and plenarily (exactly chosen) inspired
1. thee, thou, ye, you
2. will, shall
2. The Law of the Text
1. Understand the grammatical sense of the reading (Nehemiah 8:8So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.
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2. The key to what a passage means is what the passage says
3. Tools: Grammar books
4. The argument Christ uses in Matthew 22:31-32 [31] But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, [32] I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
   See All... uses grammar to prove its point
3. The Law of the Context
1. Each interpretation must agree with all the counsel of God (Acts 20:27For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
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2. All truth must be understood in the light of surrounding truth.  This includes history, geography, custom, literary context, purpose of passage, speaker, recipient(s), time, surrounding events, dispensational context and many other factors
3. Tools: Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias; Bible atlases; reference books on Bible history and customs
4. Consider the under-the-sun theology of Ecclesiastes 1:18For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
   See All...; Ecclesiastes 2:11Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.
   See All...,15-16,24; Ecclesiastes 4:2-3 [2] Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive. [3] Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
   See All...; these scriptures are made plain be considering context
4. The Law of Comparison
1. Compare spiritual things with spiritual (1 Corinthians 2:13Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
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2. By adding scriptures one to another truth is multiplied
3. Tools: Bible concordance like Strong’s Bible Concordance; cross reference tools like The treasury of Scriptural Knowledge or Nave’s Topical Bible
4. Compare Romans 9:27Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:
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5. Compare Psalm 22:22I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
   See All..., Hebrews 2:12Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
   See All... and Matthew 26:30And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.
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5. The Law of Construction
1. Precept must be built upon precept (Isaiah 28:9-10 [9] Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. [10] For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
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2. Doctrines must be carefully built from all the Bible says about that subject
3. Tools: books on Bible doctrine
4. Consider the sufferings of Christ: John 5:39Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
   See All...; Luke 24:25-27 [25] Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: [26] Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? [27] And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
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6. The Law of Division
1. The truth of God must be rightly divided (2 Timothy 2:15Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
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2. The divisions of scripture must be correctly discerned
3. Tools: Rightly Dividing the Word by C. I. Scofield; Dispensational Truth by Clarence Larkin
4. Differences in knowledge (Ephesians 3:2-6 [2] If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: [3] How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, [4] Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) [5] Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; [6] That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
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5. Differences in practice (Deuteronomy 14:1-20 [1] Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. [2] For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth. [3] Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing. [4] These are the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat, [5] The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the chamois. [6] And every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws, and cheweth the cud among the beasts, that ye shall eat. [7] Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you. [8] And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase. [9] These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat: [10] And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you. [11] Of all clean birds ye shall eat. [12] But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, [13] And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind, [14] And every raven after his kind, [15] And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind, [16] The little owl, and the great owl, and the swan, [17] And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant, [18] And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. [19] And every creeping thing that flieth is unclean unto you: they shall not be eaten. [20] But of all clean fowls ye may eat.
   See All... with 1 Timothy 4:3-5 [3] Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. [4] For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: [5] For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
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