- From scripture:
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15 ESV).
- From What Does It Mean? by F. F. Bruce:
The question, ‘What does it mean?’, may be understood in more ways than one. It may imply, ‘What does it mean for me, or for us, today?’ Or it may imply, ‘What did it mean when it was first said? What did the speaker or writer intend to convey by this, and how was it understood by those for whom it was first designed?’ When we have found the answer to the last question (or set of three questions), we have found the primary interpretation. We have to do more thinking if we are to discover what it means for us today, but if its meaning for us today is to have any validity it must arise out of its primary meaning. The plenary sense of Scripture consists of its primary meaning plus whatever further meaning has been validly discerned in it by the people of God in succeeding generations. The plenary interpretation of Scripture in the church, it has been said, accrues like compound interest, but there must be a secure relationship between the compound interest and the primary deposit.
Learn more:
- Simply Put: Exegesis and Eisegesis
- Kevin Gardner: What Is Exegesis?
- Daniel Doriani: The Importance of Sound Exegesis
- J. I. Packer: The Interpretation of Scripture
- Kevin DeYoung: Your Theological System Should Tell You How to Exegete
Related terms:
Do you have a a theological term you’d like to see featured as a Theological Term of the Week? Email your suggestion using the contact button in the navigation bar above.
Clicking on the Theological Terms button above the header will take you to an alphabetical list of all the theological terms.