Romans 15:4; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Jeremiah 13:14; Psalm 145:9
The Big Idea: The Bible tells the amazing story of God’s love for God’s people.
Learning Goal: Learners will understand the history of the Bible, its role in the Christian life, and the Reformation insights into its canon and core message.
Biblical
If everything that Jesus did “were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25). How did the biblical authors decide what to include? John says that what he wrote is testimony (21:24). Luke wrote “so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed” (1:4). In Romans (15:4) Paul wrote, “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.” In 2 Timothy (3:16-17) we read, “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.” These reasons for writing the Bible help us know how to read the Bible.
Jesus Christ is God’s Word incarnate and God’s only Son, who has made God known (John 1:1-3, 14, 18). Jesus Christ-the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6)-is the lens through whom we read the Bible.
Theological
“Jesus Christ is the Word of God incarnate, through whom everything was made and through whose life, death, and resurrection God fashions a new creation. The proclamation of God’s message to us as both Law and Gospel is the Word of God, revealing judgment and mercy through word and deed, beginning with the Word in creation, continuing in the history of Israel, and centering in all its fullness in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the written Word of God. Inspired by God’s Spirit speaking through their authors, they record and announce God’s revelation centering in Jesus Christ. Through them God’s Spirit speaks to us to create and sustain Christian faith and fellowship for service in the world.” The Bible-”the Old and New Testaments”-is “the inspired Word of God” and “the authoritative source and norm of [the church's] proclamation, faith, and life” (ELCA Constitution 2.02.-2.03.).
The Bible is the Word of God and reveals the Word of God, Jesus Christ, the hope of the world. “Any interpretation of Scripture that weakens or removes our hope and encouragement is certainly contrary to the will and intent of the Holy Spirit” (Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration, XI:92. Kolb/Wengert, 655:92).
Historical
In the 19th century, most North American Protestants read the Bible relatively literally. Developments in knowledge-for example, in archaeology, linguistics, science, and literature-brought new understandings of the people, cultures, and languages of the Bible, of creation and history, and of how human beings create and respond to stories and literary forms. By the 1920s, North American Protestantism was dividing between two main approaches to biblical interpretation informed respectively by fundamentalism and modern biblical criticism. Both believe in the “inspiration” of Scripture, generally put, that it is the Word of God communicated by the breath of the Holy Spirit. Fundamentalist (not to be confused with Pentecostal) Christians regard the Bible as “inerrant.” Inerrancy means that the Bible not only has no errors of any kind, but is, for example, authoritative compared to science or historical research. Others, notably the mainline denominations, use the tools of contemporary biblical criticism and take scientific, historical, and literary knowledge into account. They acknowledge that the Bible is internally contradictory, and consider the context of the text-historical, linguistic, social, political, economic, literary-as well as the text itself.
Contemporary/Cultural
Today there are not only numerous print translations of the Bible but also print paraphrases, films, made-for-television productions, and other interpretations of the biblical texts. These are great ways to learn more about the Bible and to share the good news of God’s love. God’s Word comes to us in many ways-but be mindful! Remember that all interpretations have a perspective. View and read all interpretations with a critical mind. Whose perspective is represented in this retelling? With whom does this retelling ask you to identify and how does that relate to the heart of the story? Compared to the actual biblical text, what is missing or added to this interpretation? Most of all, does this retelling tell the truth that God loves all people and all that God has made? Compare different versions-for example, one translation with another, a movie or paraphrase with an actual translation-and do this with other people.
