Explicit and Implicit Teaching Protestant/Evangelical Caucus and Devotional)

[Gamecock]

“These things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come” (v. 11). - 1 Corinthians 10:1–11

Continuing our look at the basic principles for sound biblical interpretation, we will now consider one of the most important rules for identifying the meaning of a biblical text. Whenever we read the Scriptures, it is vital that we keep in mind the principle that the explicit, direct teaching passages of the Bible must control our interpretation of passages that convey their teaching less directly and more implicitly.

As an example of the distinction between passages that teach implicitly and those that teach more explicitly, let us consider what the New Testament has to say about the resurrection of Jesus. The accounts of the resurrection in the four Gospels all describe the event in such a way as to make it clear that a miracle occurred in Jesus’ rising from the grave. The presence of angels, an extremely heavy stone being rolled away, and appearances of Jesus all add up to a miracle having taken place, and since only God has the power to perform miracles, we can draw the conclusion that the Gospels implicitly teach that God raised Jesus from the dead. None of the Gospels, however, at least in their narration of the resurrection events, say directly that “God raised Jesus from the dead.” But, we do find such explicit statements elsewhere in passages such as Ephesians 1:20. That text from Paul’s letter would be an example of a passage that makes an explicit, direct teaching statement.

The implicit teaching passages of Scripture will shape our theology, but if we allow implicit teaching to contradict what the Bible says explicitly and directly, we will draw erroneous conclusions. For example, several passages of Scripture describe the Lord as relenting or changing His mind (for example, Ex. 32:14; Jonah 3:10). If we allow such texts to control our theology and override more explicit teachings found in God’s Word, we will believe that like us, God sometimes encounters new information, unforeseen circumstances, or something else such that He experiences an actual change of mind as we might. Yet, the more explicit and didactic portions of Scripture tell us otherwise. Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man that he should change his mind.” Here we have a text that tells us directly that God does not do what certain passages seem to suggest. We conclude, then, that descriptions of God’s changing His mind are anthropomorphic. God relents, but He knew He would do so all along. He does not change His mind like we change ours.

Coram Deo

Cults typically base their doctrine on obscure passages of Scripture and on conclusions they draw from implicit teaching that contradict the explicit teaching of Scripture. We must be careful never to do that. If our belief contradicts an explicit teaching of Scripture, we can be sure that we are believing something in error.

Passages for Further Study

Deuteronomy 4:15 “Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since you saw no form on the day that the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, 16 beware lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, 17 the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, 18 the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. 19 And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, ball the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. 20 But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day. 21 Furthermore, the Lord was angry with me because of you, and he swore that I should not cross the Jordan, and that I should not enter the good land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance. 22 For I must die in this land; I must not go over the Jordan. But you shall go over and take possession of that good land. 23 Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make a carved image, the form of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you. 24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

Nehemiah 8:1 And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel. 2 So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, won the first day of the seventh month. 3 And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. 4 And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand, and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand. 5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. 6 And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. 7 Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites,1 helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places. 8 They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly,2 and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

Mark 4:1 Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. 2 And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: 3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and ca hundredfold.” 9 And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

10 And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, 12 so that

“ ‘they may indeed see but not perceive,

and may indeed hear but not understand,

lest they should turn and be forgiven.’ ”

13 And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.1 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

James 3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

[Gamecock]

Ping!

[HiTech RedNeck]

I’m not so sure that we must use propositional truth as the absolute measure of how far illustrative truth can go. I sure don’t see this passage of scripture saying that, at any rate.

[HiTech RedNeck]

I mean... while propositional truth can not be violated, it is not a superior form to illustrative truth. Sometimes deeds speak louder than words; Jesus’ reticence to address the topic of whether He is God (even though it is now obvious to us that He is) is one such illustration. He didn’t have to preach to us that He was God, because His deeds preached that.

[SubMareener]

For the past two years I have been listening to the Word of Promise, New King James Version while I sleep at night. I can’t tell you how much sleeping in His Word means to having a firm grounding in the Word and how much more comfortable it makes you with what is happening today.