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PREACHER’S ACADEMY BY STEPHEN PRADO

SESSION 01: HERMENEUTICS

THE BIBLE
The Bible is the account of God’s action in the word, and his purpose with all creation. The word “Bible” comes
from the Latin and Greek words meaning “book”.

Bible is not merely a collection of quotes or one-liners but is literally the word of God. They include books of
law, such as Leviticus and Deuteronomy; historical books such as Ezra and Acts; books of poetry, such as Psalms
and Ecclesiastes; books of prophecy, such as Isaiah and Revelations; biographies such as Matthew and John; and
epistles (letters) such as Titus and Hebrews.

• THE AUTHORS
About 40 different human authors contributed to the Bible, which was written over a period of about
1500 years. The authors were kings, fishermen, priests, government officials, farmers, shepherds and
doctors. From all this diversity comes an incredible unity, with common themes woven throughout.

The Bible’s unity is due to the fact that, ultimately, it has one Author –God himself. The Bible is “God-
breathed” according to 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for
teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”

The human authors wrote exactly what God wanted them to write, and the result was the perfect and
holy word of God. So, when the Bible speaks, God speaks. How we read it, memorize it and quote it
should be of outmost importance.

• THE DIVISIONS
The Bible is divided into two main parts: The Old Testament and the New Testament. In short, the Old
Testament is the story of a nation, and the New Testament is the story of a Man. The nation was God’s
way of bringing the Man –Jesus Christ –into the world

• THE CENTRAL CHARACTER

Jesus is the central character in the Bible –the whole book is really about Him. The Old Testament
predicts His coming and sets the stage for His entrance into the world. The New Testament describes
His coming and His work to bring salvation to our sinful world.

Jesus is more than a historical figure; in fact, He is more than a man. He is God in the flesh, and His
coming was the most important event in the history of the world. God Himself became a man in order
to give us a clear, understandable picture of who He is. What is God like? He is like Jesus; Jesus is God
in human form. (John 1:14, 14:9)

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THE PREACHING OF THE WORD

There are many ways God could have come to us. But God has chosen to primarily make Himself known to us
through preaching. As the apostle Paul wrote, “Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never
know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe.” (1
Corinthians 1:21)

One of the central acts of worship is hearing the Word preached. Calvin said that where the Word is not
preached and heard, there is no church. To be the Body of Christ and to worship God, we need preaching. That
is how important it is.

THE PREACHER OF THE WORD

The preacher must be mentally and spiritually prepared. It was assumed that the preacher would have a
Christian character molded by such virtues as love and humility. But it is equally important as well that the
preacher know and love the Word.

A neglected element of faithfulness today –often neglected by preachers and congregations –is time. A preacher
who does not take or have time to study is not faithful to his calling. A good sermon requires time to prepare.
John Stott in his book for preachers, Between Two Worlds, suggests that the preacher needs at least twelve
hours to prepare a sermon. Most preachers probably need more time than that and must insist as part of their
pastoral responsibility that they be given that time. Congregations must insist that the preacher take that time.

Preaching is important and wanting to be a great preacher must not overshadow the mission to reach people.
The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Preachers must use the best of their time and abilities to nourish
their flocks with the Word of God.

HERMENEUTICS

• WHAT IS HERMENEUTICS?
Hermeneutics is the science of interpretation.
Hermeneutics are rules, methods and principles that govern the interpretation of the scriptures.
Hermeneutics is also known as exegesis

The terms hermeneutics and exegesis are sometimes used interchangeably. Hermeneutics is a wider
discipline which includes written, verbal, and non-verbal communication. Exegesis focuses primarily
upon the word and grammar of texts.

Exegesis is from the Greek word that means “to lead out or out of”. So, exegesis is a critical explanation
or interpretation of a text.

• WHY IS HERMENEUTICS IMPORTANT?

A. THE BIBLE SAYS ITS IMPORTANT

2 Timothy 2:15
Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one
who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.

Correctly explains the word of truth in the Greek means Ortho which means upright or correct.

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We are all interpreters. We are all interpreting the bible. But, there is a right way and wrong way
of interpreting the scriptures because there is only one intended meaning.

Scriptures only has one meaning. Who determines it? The author. There is an author’s original
intent. We don’t want to deliver twisted message of the bible. Self-interpretation without further
study is dangerous because the Bible was written at a different time (Ancient), Geography and
Culture.

The Bible has only one meaning but with different applications. We don’t create the meaning, but
we let the meaning unfold to us. And after we understand the single meaning, we can now ask,
“How can I apply it into my own life?”

In Matthew 4, the devil quoted a scripture. He asked Jesus to jump in the building but it doesn’t
mean it’s the correct interpretation. That is a demonic way to misquote the scripture. Sadly, the
world is reinterpreting the scriptures and Christian pastors quote the teaching of Jesus and
attached their own interpretation of it.

B. THE BIBLE IS ALIVE AND ACTIVE

Hebrews 4:12 -For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-
edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost
thoughts and desires.

Joints and Marrow are inseparable. Soul and Spirit are inseparable

The Scriptures is not about a man talking about God instead, it is about God talking about Himself.
Through the scriptures, we understand (to the best of our ability) God.

C. TO AVOID ERRONEOUS CONCLUSIONS

The people who do not know Christ cannot understand scriptures. According to 1 Corinthians
2:14, “But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds
foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what
the Spirit means.”

To some unbelievers, they say they can understand scripture just as well as a believer can because
for them, it’s just a book, any literate person can read and understand a book. But they do not
recognize the role of the Holy Spirit. As a believer, we recognize the role of the Holy Spirit.

So, what is the role of the Holy Spirit in Hermeneutics?

o Bring understanding of the things of God (John 16:13-14)
o Apply and Convict

But the Holy Spirit cannot:

o Do all the work for you
o Guarantee accurate intellectual understanding
o Create new meaning
o Do your homework (hermeneutics homework)

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OBSERVATION VS INTERPRETATION

• Observation is:
-Act of noticing or perceiving
-Act watching or viewing

• Interpretation is:
-To set forth meaning or explanation
-To understand in particular way

For example:
• “A student fails to submit homework.” (Observation)

What is your interpretation?

A. He is lazy.
B. He had a family emergency (Interpretation)

• The man opened the door for a woman (Observation)

A. He has romantic relationship
B. The guy is just being helpful

Observation generally answers: Who? What? When? Where?

Observation is factual. No one can disagree with it.

The rule is: If someone disagree with you, you probably made an interpretation. So, it is not wrong to interpret
but interpretations must be supported.

EXAMPLES OF MISUSED AND ABUSED VERSES IN THE SCRIPTURES

o Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

o Matthew 18:20
For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

o Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to
give you a future and a hope.

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THE DIFFICULTIES OF HERMENEUTICS

• LANGUAGE
The bible is written in three different languages
A. Hebrew (Old)
B. Greek (New)
C. Aramaic

Words, grammar, syntax, conjunctions are different from English language. Hebrew reads right to left
while Greek like English reads left to right.

• GEOGRAPHY AND CULTURE GAP

A. Wide Historical Context

We don’t share the same history and culture as the biblical authors. They have different ideas,
connotations, vocations and traditions. Popular example: Jesus spoke to Samaritan Woman (weird,
odd, out of place)

Beware of anachronistic information

Anachronistic Information is a thing belonging or appropriate to a period other than that in which
it exists, especially a thing that is conspicuously old-fashioned.

Brainstorm:
Romans 14:13-23 (Meat/Vegetables/Food/Food offered to idols)

B. Narrow Historical Context

o Author
-Does it give a name?
-Can you determine the author’s ethnicity? (Jew or Gentile)
-Is the author an eyewitness of recorded events?
-What kind of person is the author? Background of the author?

o Audience
-Who is the intended/original audience of the writing?
-Are they people in a specific geographic location?
-Can you determine the social/economic background?
-What is their spiritual state?
-What is their relationship to the author?
-Is the author with them or writing from a distance?
o Date
-Can you specify the year and time range?
-If the author has multiple texts, when has this text written in comparison to others?

o Purpose
-Does the author state a purpose for writing?
-What events or information prompted the author to write to these people at his time?
-What does the author want the audience to do?

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C. Literary Gap
The Bible is filled with literatures, prophecies, proverbs, poetry, stories, parables, etc. The way
they do poetry is different from the way we did poetry. We use rhymes. They use parallelism.

Psalms 24
1 The earth is the Lord’s, and all that is in it, the world and those who dwell therein.
2 For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.

Psalms 1:6
And the Lord protects the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked the Lord dooms.

D. HISTORICAL GAP
The Book of Acts is Historical Narrative. For example: Selling of Properties (Historical not
Doctrinal; Descriptive not Prescriptive)

Activity: Acts 1:21-26

Are these valid conclusions?

A. Casting lots is a satisfactory means of determining God’s will
B. Prayer is necessary means of seeking God’s will
C. Jesus’ apostle cast lots and prayed to seek God’s will

Activity: Acts 2:42-46

Are these valid conclusions?

A. It is wrong for rich Christians today to hold on to their possessions rather than selling their
possessions in order to provide for those in the church who are in need.
B. The Christian form of government is communism (believers hold everything in common)
C. If churches could follow this model, then God will add to the number of those being saved
each day
D. Studying the apostle’s teaching, fellowship, breaking bread and prayer are activities that are
appropriate for God’s people.

Preacher’s Academy Global by Ps Stephen Prado

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