The Nugget:
1Co 4:6 And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another. (KJV)
1Co 4:6 I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another. (ESV)
1Co 4:6 Brothers and sisters, I have applied this to Apollos and myself for your sake. You should learn from us not to go beyond what is written in Scripture. Then you won’t arrogantly place one of us in opposition to the other. (GW, God’s Word translation)
My Comment:
About 10 days ago (October 12, 2023) I commented several times in a discussion about the fact that we are not to add to or subtract from what the Bible states.
I learned from the Opening Post that 1 Corinthians 4:6 is a passage which affirms this Bible truth–something I had missed in my own Bible reading and study until now. It is always good to learn new things from the Bible as we continue to read it.
From the Opening Post:
The Bible alone is the final authority.
We are also told “Do not go beyond what is written” (1 Corinthians 4:6). That means not to add to Scripture so-called sacred tradition, the writings of the Ante-Nicene Fathers, the Book of Mormon, Qur’an, or anything else. ALL Christian doctrine, correction, training in righteousness and reproof must come from the BIBLE alone to be valid (2 Timothy 3:16, 17).
IF your spiritual beliefs are not based on Scripture, they are NOT TRUE. IF your salvation is not based on Scripture, it is NOT real!
RD commented:
“Bible alone” has many loop holes. It is mere self interpretations.
My reply to RD:
The Bible interprets and explains itself. A mistaken interpretation of a particular verse, passage, or Bible theme or subject will be corrected for the honest reader when a full comparison of all related Scriptures is made, and the Rules of Interpretation are carefully followed.
Administrator replied to me:
I truly wish this was true, but it clearly is not. The fact that well-meaning and well read Protestants disagree with one another on the meaning of biblical passages should suffice to prove that Scripture isn’t self-interpreting.
Look at the fruits of self-interpretation. People starting churches with no guidance than their own interpretations of scripture, possibly leading others to heresy without even realizing it.
RD responded to Administrator:
this is totally true
I responded to Administrator:
You are totally mistaken. You state:
“The fact that well-meaning and well read Protestants disagree with one another on the meaning of biblical passages should suffice to prove that Scripture isn’t self-interpreting.”
Being “well-meaning and well read” has no relationship to whether they are carefully following the rules of interpretation I have specified and repeatedly alluded to.
“Look at the fruits of self-interpretation. People starting churches with no guidance than their own interpretations of scripture, possibly leading others to heresy without even realizing it.”
You are committing the fallacy of equivocation. I am using the expression “The Bible interprets and explains itself” in an altogether different sense than your inaccurate restatement of my claim using your term “the fruits of self-interpretation.”
The fact that some churches or denominations have been founded on the basis of “self interpretation” has absolutely no bearing upon the fact that the Bible is a self-interpreting, self-correcting Book. There is no evidence that shows that such churches or denominations are basing their foundation upon the careful kind of Bible study I am commending when I state:
“The Bible interprets and explains itself. A mistaken interpretation of a particular verse, passage, or Bible theme or subject will be corrected for the honest reader when a full comparison of all related Scriptures is made, and the Rules of Interpretation are carefully followed.”
Here are the links to the 24 Rules of Interpretation I have mentioned:
Thank you for your kind response to my comment.
Administrator responded to me:
if this is true, then show me specific examples of churches who do follow your rules of interpretation.
It is not a false equivocation to state that if the Bible interprets itself, then it would be manifest in churches that align with each other through that self interpretation.
I mean no disrespect, am I appreciate your opinion, there’s just too many variances of opinion throughout Protestantism on key doctrines to state that the Bible is self interpreting.
Which group of Protestants would you say is adhering to the rules of interpretation? I don’t see any.
My response to Administrator:
All churches and denominations are likely to be provably mistaken on some part of their understanding, interpretation, and application of the Bible. I believe this is true of the Roman Catholic Church as much as any other because by official Roman Catholic teaching about one of a very few Bible verses they have taken an official stand on, they are absolutely wrong. The verse I am referring to is John 3:5.
I am not referencing churches which follow the Rules of Interpretation. I am referencing the need of individual Bible readers to follow the rules of interpretation.
Authoritative teaching or authoritative interpretation is not an institutional matter but a matter of arriving at the correct interpretation of what the Bible teaches using the Rules of Interpretation. That way, we as Bible believing Christians can make an accurate judgment as to the correctness and truth of what any church or other source of teaching presents.
Administrator responded to me:
so then what is the role of the church? Are there any churches who follow the rules of interpretation? Is salvation then only for those who can read and interpret the Bible? Who decided on these rules?
Not to pepper you with questions, but assuming everyone who opens a Bible will innately apply these rules as they read is far fetched, and I would say, applying a level of complexity to salvation that is not God’s intention.
My response to Administrator:
Thank you for your good questions!
What is the role of the church?
The church as well as individual Bible-believing, Bible obeying Christians ought to be obeying the commands of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (KJV)
Mat 28:19 Going therefore, teach ye all nations: baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.
Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world. (DRB, Douay-Rheims Bible)
Mat 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Mat 28:20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (ESV)
Thus, we are to make disciples. I have placed a very complete list of the commands of Christ in a note at 1 John 2:3 in my book, The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
There are many commands of Christ recorded in the New Testament, but the chief of them is stated in 1 John 3:23,
1Jn 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
Notice the words “one another.” I placed this note and associated cross references in my digital Bible study resource, The Ultimate Cross Reference Treasury:
one another. Reciprocal pronoun, accusative case, plural number, masculine gender. The reciprocal pronoun reinforces the notion that love must be “both ways,” or reciprocated, so mutually displayed by believers in the Christian fellowship. 1Jn 4:11, +Rom 12:5; +**Rom 15:7, 2Jn 1:5.
Another proper role for the church that is largely neglected is specified in the command recorded in Romans 15:7. Most churches are not structured for fellowship whereby members and newcomers can get acquainted with each other such that all feel welcome, all are encouraged, all are discipled, all are taught how to read and study the Bible so they can feed themselves spiritually, all are taught hermeneutics (the Rules of Interpretation) so they can know that they understand the Bible correctly, all are taught apologetics (1 Peter 3:15; 2 Peter 1:16) so they can defend the faith and answer the questions others may have about the faith (Jude 1:3).
Rom 15:7 Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. (KJV)
Rom 15:7 Wherefore, receive one another, as Christ also hath received you, unto the honour of God. (DRB)
Rom 15:7 Honor God by accepting each other, as Christ has accepted you. (CEV, Contemporary English Version)
Reading the cross references I have assembled for Romans 15:7 will show just how important obeying and practicing this command is:
receive. %Rom 1:31 mg, Rom 12:10; Rom 12:13; *Rom 14:1-3; Rom 16:2, Exo 20:12, Lev 19:3, Job 19:3; +*Job 31:32, **Psa 15:1; **Psa 15:4; %+*Psa 31:11; Psa 34:21; Psa 91:1 note. +**Psa 119:63; Psa 119:74; Psa 133:1; +*Psa 142:7, **Jer 15:16 note. **Jer 37:14 note. Eze 34:4, Mal 1:6; +*Mal 3:16, *Mat 10:14; *Mat 10:15; *Mat 10:40-42; Mat 18:5; Mat 25:35; Mat 25:40; Mat 25:43; Mat 25:45-46, Mar 6:11; *Mar 9:37-41, *Luk 9:5; *Luk 9:48; Luk 10:8; Luk 10:10; Luk 10:16; Luk 10:38-39; Luk 15:2, Joh 13:20; Joh 13:34, *Act 9:17; *Act 9:26-28; *Act 9:43; *Act 11:1; *Act 11:25; *Act 11:26; Act 15:4; *Act 16:15; +Act 17:5; +Act 17:7; Act 21:17, +*1Co 12:21, +*2Co 6:9; +*2Co 6:17; 2Co 7:2; 2Co 7:15, Gal 6:1, Php 2:29, Col 2:19 note. Col 4:10, 1Ti 5:17, Phm 1:12; Phm 1:17, Heb 13:1-2, 1Pe 2:17; 1Pe 3:8; +*1Pe 4:8-10, **1Jn 1:3 note, 1Jn 1:7 note. 1Jn 3:14, %2Jn 1:10; %2Jn 1:11, %3Jn 1:8-10.
The symbols mean:
* clear verse
**critically clear verse–don’t miss reading it
+ find more at this reference on this theme
% contrasting verse
+** very extensive set of cross references at this verse
Not many may take the time to read all these cross references, but those who do will learn just how important this theme is.
I look forward to coming back to answer more of your very good questions.
More of my response to Administrator:
You ask:
“Are there any churches who follow the rules of interpretation?”
There well may be individual pastors and their congregations who are aware of these things.
There are significant modern authors who have written textbooks on the subject that are used in seminaries across the country. I have some of those textbooks in my Logos Bible software library.
They go into much more depth than the 24 Rules of Interpretation I have written. But I believe that anyone can make use of the list I have given to help make sure they are following the principles needed to correctly understand the Bible.
More of my response to Administrator:
You ask:
“Is salvation then only for those who can read and interpret the Bible?”
If a person is in the position that he or she cannot read the Bible, they ought to be able to hear it read.
Readers and non-readers must learn to discern truth from error.
The basic knowledge required for salvation would be quite clear to anyone who can read or listen.
The Rules of Interpretation are guidelines for solving complex or more difficult questions should these be encountered.
Still more of my response to Administrator:
You ask:
“Who decided on these rules?”
I made a list of such basic rules of interpretation when I was still a high school student at Cass Technical High School in Detroit where I was a student in the electrical and electronics curriculum.
The first Christian book I bought was a large volume by Milton S. Terry titled Biblical Hermeneutics. I saw it for sale on a shelf at the Grand Bible and Bookstore in Highland Park, Michigan. I also bought a copy of the original Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. I often studied the Bible about three hours a day using the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. I read Milton S. Terry’s book three times while I was in the eleventh grade, if I recall correctly.
When I became an English teacher at Cass Technical High School I used my list of Rules of Interpretation to help my students see the basis for judging the quality and validity of an interpretation of a work of poetry or short story. I shared that list of rules with many of my classes for the rest of my teaching career.
A Graduate School professor at Wayne State University in a seminar I participated in was shocked and in horror when I described the procedure I used to teach poetry. She thought hermeneutics was only used for the theological interpretation of religious works like the Bible.
I discovered years later that well before that seminar I had purchased a book but had not yet read it that fully affirmed the methods I used to teach poetry and interpretation.
It turns out that the author of that book taught poetry the same way I did. The name of that book is Practical Criticism: A Study of Literary Judgment. It is authored by I. A. Richards.
The back cover reads:
“Mr. Richards is a master of the psychology of criticism” –Saturday Review
“I have set three aims before me,” says the author of this famous book, one of the landmarks of twentieth century criticism. “First, to introduce a new kind of documentation to those who are interested in the contemporary state of culture whether as critics, as philosophers, as teachers, as psychologists, or merely as curious persons. Secondly, to provide a new technique for those who wish to discover for themselves what they think and feel about poetry (and cognate matters) and why they should like or dislike it. Thirdly, to prepare the way for educational methods more efficient than those we use now in developing discrimination and the power to understand what we hear and read.”
The edition of the book I have was published by Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., HB 16 Harvest Books, 1956. Originally published in 1929. 362 pages.
Mr. Richards was part of a school of thought that included the scholars and translators behind the Bible in Basic English.
In any case, my point is that these principles of interpretation are well known and are used in interpreting literature and actually any written or oral communication, whether the law or the weather report.
MW asserted:
Show me in the Bible that the Bible is the final authority.
“If you have a different view than the Apostles you are not more holy than the Apostles. You are wrong.” Father Josiah Trenham
MW to Opening Post author:
do not add or take away is not the same as the Bible is the final authority. Where does it say in the Bible that the Bible is the final authority? It doesn’t. Your whole post is bearing false witness and you know it
My reply to MW:
It may be that you are not as knowledgeable of what the Bible actually teaches as you need to be when you state above:
1. “so show me in the Bible that it says the Bible is the final authority”
The Bible most certainly says it is the final authority:
Isa 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. (KJV)
That this is the very subject addressed in Isaiah 8:20 is confirmed by reading the immediate context:
Isa 8:16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.
Isa 8:17 And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
Isa 8:18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion.
Isa 8:19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?
Isa 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. (KJV)
They will say to you, “Seek oracles at the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, from the magicians who chirp and mutter incantations. Should people not seek oracles from their gods, by asking the dead about the destiny of the living?”
Isa 8:20 Then you must recall the LORD’s instructions and the prophetic testimony of what would happen. Certainly they say such things because their minds are spiritually darkened. (NET Bible)
Many other statements in Scripture tell or warn us not to add to God’s Word:
Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
Pro 30:6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar. (KJV)
Cross references given for Proverbs 30:6 lead to many more statements in the Bible that teach we are not to add to God’s written word in the Bible. See Deuteronomy 4:2. 12:32. Ecclesiastes 3:14. Isaiah 29:13. Matthew 15:9. Galatians 1:8, 9. 2 Peter 3:15-18. Jude 1:3. Revelation 22:18, 19.
2. “I’ve proven the Bible is not the final authority.”
It is not possible to “prove” the Bible is not the final authority when the Bible itself states in many places that it IS the final authority.
Jeremiah 23:22 But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.
Jer 23:28 The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD.
1Th 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
BZ replied to me:
the OP said, THE BIBLE ALONE is the final authority.
Even using OP criteria, because he mentioned about rosary for an example not in the bible.
I will asking you now, where in the bible has says the bible ALONE is the final authority to The Church of Christ????
My reply to BZ:
The very verses I quoted from Isaiah 8:20 and context as well as Proverbs 30:5-6 assert that we are to go by the Bible alone.
“Pro 30:6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar. (KJV)”
1Co 4:6 I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another. (ESV)
Clearly, “what is written” refers to what is written in Scripture. See 1 Corinthians 1:19, 31. 3:19, 20.
2Ti 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. (KJV)
2Ti 3:14 However, continue in what you have learned and found to be true. You know who your teachers were.
2Ti 3:15 From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures. They have the power to give you wisdom so that you can be saved through faith in Christ Jesus.
2Ti 3:16 Every Scripture passage is inspired by God. All of them are useful for teaching, pointing out errors, correcting people, and training them for a life that has God’s approval.
2Ti 3:17 They equip God’s servants so that they are completely prepared to do good things. (GW)
Holy Scripture is the only source of doctrinal and spiritual authority for the Christian. This passage teaches the sufficiency of Scripture: Scripture furnishes all that the Christian must know to be saved and to grow in grace, and tells us all we need to know to live a life which is well pleasing to God. No source of doctrine or revelation outside of Scripture is valid, for such a source would be adding to the written word of God, which is absolutely forbidden by Scripture (Rev 22:18).
BZ responded to me:
About rev 22:18.
that is about the prophecy in the book of revelation that revealed to apostle John not about the bible alone as the final authority.
Revelation 22:18
[18]For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Now, which man/who has the authority to interpret the bible and how the earliest church doing that?
here another question.
Is the church give authority by The Lord in the bible?
My response to BZ:
You ask the interesting question, “Who has the authority to interpret the Bible?”
Anyone who is reading or hearing the Bible with some degree of understanding the Bible is interpreting the Bible. This is true of reading all written language, literary or non-literary.
The key issue arises when there are differences between or among readers of the Bible, differences in understanding or interpretation.
Given two differing or even contradictory interpretations of the same text, it is possible, by using what I call the Rules of Interpretation, to determine which, if either, is correct.
As for the authority and correctness of the earliest church, the same Rules of Interpretation apply. The interpretations recorded and affirmed in the Bible itself are correct. All other interpretations must be carefully checked against and compared to the teaching of the Bible itself by comparing Scripture with Scripture taking into account the immediate, near, remote, and total context of Scripture.
Is the church given authority by the Lord in the Bible?
No new revelation is valid beyond the lifetime of the original authoritative teaching of Jesus himself and his chosen and commissioned apostles as recorded in the 27 first century historical documents which now comprise our New Testament, to which may be added the Hebrew Scriptures used by the Jews in Israel in the time of Christ, which comprise the 39 books of our Old Testament.
As to the applicability of Revelation 22:18, it certainly applies to the book of Revelation itself. But its application is not limited to the book of Revelation alone because of the many parallel Scriptures which state the same principle.
I agree with the sentiments of Matthew Poole when he remarks about the applicability of this warning text:
“Divines generally do further extend the sense of these two verses, considering this as the last portion of holy writ, not only placed last in our Bibles, but revealed and written last. They conceive these verses the seal of all canonical Scripture, and that God here denounces a curse to those who shall pretend any new revelations of his will… as also against all those who shall deny, corrupt, or deprave any part of them.”
BZ asked:
so how we can know which interpretations the correct one if anyone that reading the bible and with some degree of the understanding got their own interpretations?
Because one person can interpreted the bible based on one verse, or more but the interpretation would be differs from each other?
Any solution to this, or perhaps looking from outside the bible?
I answered:
For the most part, the solution to solving and resolving differences in proposed interpretations will be found within the Bible itself by carefully comparing Scripture with Scripture. I find the most helpful way to compare Scripture with Scripture is to make use of Bible study resources designed to supply what are called cross references for each verse in the Bible.
I make use of the free Bible study software program available from e-Sword. It includes a resource titled The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. This resource is also available as a printed book. I have written three published expansions of The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge titled (1) The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (1992, newly released in 2023); (2) The Ultimate Cross Reference Treasury (2016, digital premium module available for the e-Sword Bible software program); (3) Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible (printed book, 2007, no longer in print).
I have compiled a list of 24 Rules of Interpretation available in the October 2010 Archives section of my Real Bible Study dot com website. These rules are a summary statement of the principles of Biblical hermeneutics, the science and art of interpretation employed in both Bible and literary interpretation.
Correct interpretations align with those rules while mistaken interpretations violate them.
There are indeed many published resources which can help Bible readers understand the cultural background of the Bible, the original languages of the Bible, the archaeological findings which illuminate Bible times and confirm the historical accuracy of the Bible, and much more.
BZ asked:
can anyone that even using your rules of interpretation and compare other verses, will make other persons interpreration as same and not to make any mistake interpretations?
I answered:
For the most part, yes.
Some individuals have their minds made up already.
Those who are able to consider that they might be mistaken and are open to modifying their views and understanding of the Bible will change their mind when presented with an interpretation which is based upon better evidence than the mistaken view they originally held.
BZ responded:
ok thanks for your replies.
I responded to BZ:
Thank you for asking such good questions!
I responded to MW:
Roman Catholics quote 2 Thessalonians 2:15 to argue we must follow tradition in addition to the Bible. Read this verse again in the English Standard Version:
2Th 2:15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.
Notice whose traditions we are commanded to follow: the teachings (the meaning of the underlying Greek word translated traditions) of the Apostles of Christ.
These teachings are found in one place only: the 27 primary source first century historical documents contained in the New Testament and nowhere else.
Defenders of Roman Catholicism, known as Roman Catholic apologists, engage in a logical fallacy called the fallacy of equivocation which means in this case they set forth an argument about tradition but use the word in two quite different meanings.
Roman Catholics are required to believe the ever-changing and expanding unwritten traditions which the Roman Catholic Church claims to possess. The Bible uses the term in 2 Thessalonians 2:15 to refer to the oral teachings and written letters and documents of the Apostles which are now contained in their final and unchanging form in the New Testament.
My comment elsewhere in the discussion thread:
I believe the Bible clearly asserts that it is the final and only authority:
Isaiah 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. (KJV)
Isaiah 8:19 They will say to you, “Seek oracles at the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, from the magicians who chirp and mutter incantations. Should people not seek oracles from their gods, by asking the dead about the destiny of the living?”
Isa 8:20 Then you must recall the LORD’s instructions and the prophetic testimony of what would happen. Certainly they say such things because their minds are spiritually darkened. (NET Bible)