Have you ever found yourself in a heated discussion about what a particular Bible passage “really means”? The tension rises, voices elevate, and suddenly what should be a journey of discovery becomes a battleground of rigid positions. This tension points to something profound about Scripture itself—it’s living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, yet also infinitely deeper than our limited human understanding can fully grasp. The richness of God’s Word invites us not to flatten it into simplistic readings, but to approach it with both confidence and humility, recognizing that the same text that speaks clearly on essential truths also contains depths that generations of faithful believers have plumbed without exhausting.
Biblical Insight
One of the most illuminating passages about Scripture interpretation comes from 2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the person of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” Notice that while Paul affirms the divine inspiration of Scripture, he immediately connects it to multiple purposes. The text doesn’t just have one fixed meaning or application but serves various functions in the believer’s life—teaching, reproving, correcting, and training—suggesting layers of meaning and application.
This multi-faceted nature of Scripture is further illustrated in Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” The imagery here is striking—Scripture isn’t presented as a static text with fixed meanings but as something dynamic and penetrating. It’s “living and active,” capable of addressing different needs in different times while maintaining its essential truths. This living quality suggests that while Scripture’s core message remains unchanging, our engagement with it can yield fresh insights across different contexts and seasons.
The Jewish interpretive tradition that Jesus Himself participated in demonstrates this richness. When the Messiah quotes Isaiah 61:1-2 in Luke 4:18-19, He deliberately stops mid-verse, omitting the phrase about “the day of vengeance of our God.” This wasn’t a mistake but a profound interpretive act showing that prophecy often has multiple fulfillments across time—some aspects fulfilled in His first coming, others awaiting His return. This approach to Scripture recognizes what Jewish interpreters have long understood: the biblical text contains “PaRDeS”—multiple layers of meaning (Peshat/plain, Remez/hint, Derash/sought, and Sod/secret) that invite us to dig deeper rather than settling for simplistic readings.
Practical Wisdom
Perhaps the single most important principle in scripture interpretation is holding two truths in balance: the clarity of Scripture on essential matters and the humility to recognize its unfathomable depths. When we approach the Bible, we should come with confidence that God has spoken clearly enough for us to understand what’s necessary for salvation and godly living. At the same time, we must approach with the humility that recognizes no single interpreter or tradition has exhausted the fullness of God’s revelation.
This balanced approach transforms how we engage with fellow believers who see things differently. Instead of immediately assuming that divergent interpretations signal unfaithfulness, we might consider that we’re encountering different facets of the same divine truth. The Messiah Himself is described both as the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6) and the one who brings “not peace but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). These aren’t contradictions but complementary truths that remind us of the complexity of divine revelation.
This doesn’t mean embracing interpretive relativism where anything goes—Scripture has boundaries, and some readings clearly contradict its central message. But within those boundaries, there’s room for faithful diversity that reflects both the text’s richness and our human limitations. When we recognize this, our discussions about Scripture can become less about defending our territory and more about collective discovery, where different perspectives help us see aspects of God’s truth we might otherwise miss. In this spirit, we fulfill Paul’s admonition to “maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3) even amid interpretive differences.
Clearing up misunderstandings
One common misunderstanding is equating interpretive certainty with spiritual maturity. Some believers assume that the more advanced you are in faith, the more rigid your interpretations should become. This often manifests as an attitude that says, “If you were really studying the Bible correctly, you’d come to exactly the same conclusions I have.” Yet Scripture itself challenges this assumption. When Paul addresses interpretive differences in Romans 14, he doesn’t demand uniformity but calls for mutual respect: “The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord… the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord” (Romans 14:6). What matters isn’t that everyone reaches identical interpretive conclusions but that each believer seeks to honor the Lord in their approach.
Another misconception is that allowing for interpretive diversity diminishes Scripture’s authority. Some fear that acknowledging multiple valid readings undermines the Bible’s power to guide and correct. But this confuses unity with uniformity. Scripture’s authority remains intact even while generating diverse applications across different cultures and contexts. In fact, its ability to speak meaningfully in varied situations across millennia demonstrates its divine inspiration rather than undermining it. The early church recognized this when addressing the question of Gentile inclusion—they didn’t abandon scriptural authority but discerned through the Spirit how ancient texts applied in new contexts (Acts 15:15-18).
Conclusion
The most important thing to remember when interpreting Scripture is that God’s Word, like God Himself, cannot be confined to our limited understanding. This doesn’t mean Scripture is unclear—it speaks with remarkable clarity on what matters most—but it does mean approaching the text with both confidence and humility. Confidence that God has spoken intelligibly through His Word, and humility that recognizes our own interpretive limitations.
This balanced approach transforms Bible study from a quest for control into a journey of discovery. Rather than wielding Scripture as a weapon against those who see things differently, we can engage it as fellow travelers seeking to know more of God’s heart and mind. When we do this, we honor both the clarity and the depth of Scripture, and we position ourselves to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches today through this ancient yet ever-fresh revelation.
Did you know?
The ancient Jewish interpretive tradition recognized four levels of meaning in Scripture through the acronym PaRDeS: Peshat (the plain, literal meaning), Remez (the allegorical or symbolic meaning), Derash (the comparative meaning derived from similar passages), and Sod (the hidden, mystical meaning). This layered approach to interpretation was familiar to Jesus and His disciples and helps explain why many New Testament uses of Old Testament passages seem unexpected to modern readers who prioritize only literal meanings.
