The Quick Church

Hermeneutics : Exegesis vs Eisegesis

In our last post, we defined hermeneutics and exegesis. We looked at the factors to be considered for proper exegesis.

There is something called EISEGESIS.

Eisegesis means interpreting a passage in the Bible according to one’s preconceived ideas. It’s subjective and can cloud the meaning of verses that ought to be quite straightforward. And this doesn't allow us receive the truth of scripture

The hermeneutic process asks and answers four questions:

- What does the passage say?
- What does the passage mean?
- How do I know that’s what it really means? (Do other Scriptures confirm this meaning?)
- What is the genre of this passage? (History? Poetic? Doctrinal teaching?)
- How was the passage understood by those who read it when it was first written?
- Was the human author, under the Spirit’s inspiration, teaching? Was he correcting false teachings? Was he dealing with moral issues? Was he revealing essential truths about God’s character? Salvation? Sanctification?

We must consider the author’s specific words and how he constructed sentences. How does he build up an understanding of an important doctrine by approaching it in different ways? How does this passage compare to other similar passages?
Why is this important? How do I apply it?

Hermeneutics considers the grammatical (syntax) , historical, cultural.

The Bible is to be interpreted literally except there is obvious use of symbolism, metaphors, and figure of speech.

We must remember that interpreting Scripture is not merely an academic exercise. We must apply what we read to our lives, morality, and understanding of who God is and who we are. We must do the things it tells us to do. We need to consider the whole counsel of God. If we hang everything on one verse (that might be taken out of context), we’re ignoring all the other things the Bible has to say about the topic. We’re not getting the whole picture. And that might lead us down a path of misplaced priorities and eventually disillusionment when God doesn’t do what we think He’s supposed to do.