One thing that is important to understand about the Bible is that it contains very human language. Of course, this set of books was inspired by God, so what it teaches is also divine. But nevertheless, it was written by human beings who used their own language to express things.
This means, for
example, that the writing styles of different biblical books vary. Some authors
use more colourful or free-flowing language than others.
It also means that Scripture
includes a wide variety of figures of speech. Metaphors, hyperboles, metonymys,
plurals or singulars according to the sense, and many other figures of speech
are often used.
That the Bible
contains features like these is well understood, and not many would even try to
dispute it.
Something that
is often not recognised
Despite the wide
agreement about the things I have just mentioned, there is one aspect of
biblical language that is often not recognised. This is the fact that Scripture
varies in how technically it talks about certain things.
Just as human authors
generally vary in how technically they express things, so the same is true of
the human authors of the Bible. Often Scripture expresses things very
technically, but often it doesn’t.
Seeing God as a
case in point
A good example to
illustrate this point is what the Bible says about seeing God.
In John 1:18, for
instance, John writes:
‘No
one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made
him known.’ (ESV)
Similarly, in 1
Timothy 6:16 Paul says this about God:
‘. . . who
alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever
seen or can see.’ (ESV)
These passages are explicit that no one has ever seen
God.
There are other biblical passages, however, that speak of
people seeing God.
For example, in Genesis 32:30 Moses says:
‘Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of
God”), for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been
spared.”’ (ESV)
And in Isaiah 6:1 the prophet says:
‘In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting
upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.’
(ESV)
Importantly, there is not the slightest suggestion in either
of these passages that Jacob or Isaiah are at all mistaken in thinking that they
have seen God.
So what do we make of all this? At first sight there
seems to be a contradiction. Some passages say that no one has seen God and
others say that certain people have seen God.
In fact, there is no contradiction. Instead, this can be
explained by seeing different levels of technicality in how things are
expressed.
John 1:18 and 1 Timothy 6:16 are speaking technically and
highly literally. God is immaterial spirit (John 4:24), so by definition He is
invisible. It is impossible literally to see God.
By contrast, Genesis 32:30 and Isaiah 6:1 are speaking
non-technically and non-literally. What these passages mean is that Jacob and
Isaiah saw visions that represented God. In this loose sort of sense they did
see God, so these passages say that they saw Him.
Less technical language isn’t inferior
language
It might be tempting for modern Western readers of the
Bible to think that speaking technically is really a better way of using
language than speaking non-technically. The mindset of us modern Westerners
tends to love this sort of precision.
To think in this way, however, would be a mistake.
Speaking loosely and non-technically is not inferior to speaking precisely and
technically, it’s just a different way of using language. Technical and
non-technical language each have their place. Both are capable of conveying
meaning in certain contexts.
A key to understanding passages on being
saved by faith
There are times when
understanding that different levels of technicality are in play can be a key to
resolving apparent problems in Scripture.
A good example of
this is how the Bible refers to the means of salvation.
Technically speaking,
Christians are saved from God’s punishment after death by faith in Jesus Christ
and not by doing good deeds.
Ephesians 2:8 makes
this clear:
‘For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this
is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,’ (ESV).
Also technically
speaking, this saving faith is always accompanied by good deeds.
As James 2:26 tells
us:
‘For
as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is
dead.’ (ESV)
The good deeds/works
that James refers to don’t save us, but where saving faith exists, these good
deeds tag along.
So technically
speaking, we are saved by faith alone, and good deeds accompany that faith
without contributing to our salvation.
If we speak loosely
and non-technically, however, we can say that we are saved by having the
faith-plus-good deeds package, and some Bible passages speak along these lines.
For instance, Matthew
25:34-36 is a passage that speaks loosely about this topic and whose focus is
only on the good deeds that accompany saving faith. In this passage, when Jesus
is referring to those who will end up eternally saved, He states that at the
final judgment He will say to them:
‘34 . . . Come,
you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was
thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I
was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison
and you came to me.’ (ESV)
Notice the word ‘For’ that begins v. 35. This word
indicates that the reason why God’s people will inherit the kingdom is because
they did the various good deeds mentioned in verses 35 and 36.
At first sight, this seems to be teaching salvation by
doing good deeds, and if we were to take these words technically and precisely
we would have no option but to conclude that they contradict verses like
Ephesians 2:8 that I quoted above.
Crucially, however, there is no need to take these words
technically. Instead, we can understand Jesus to be speaking loosely and to be
highlighting that those who will inherit the kingdom do the good deeds that are
part of the faith-plus-good deeds package.
Technically, it is the faith part of the faith-plus-good
deeds package that saves us. But in this passage Jesus isn’t interested in
speaking technically and precisely. His focus is on encouraging good deeds
among His followers. So He uses looser language instead.
Once we understand that Scripture varies in how
technically it uses language, such as in the passages I have mentioned, it
becomes clear that we have a key that can sometimes be used to resolve apparent
contradictions and difficulties in the biblical text.
See also:
Salvation
Is Not by Doing Good but Only Those Who Do Good Will Be Saved
The
Bible Is Often Very Imprecise about Things
The
Bible is True – But This Is a Bit More Complicated Than You May Think
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