1 Peter 1:20 is the foundational scripture regarding the Word of God interpreting itself.
1 Peter 1:20 Knowing this first that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
This is the first thing one must know if he is going to understand the greatness of God’s revelation in His Word.
No prophecy, not one verse of Scripture, is of any private interpretation.
If I say, “This is what I think it means,” I am giving my private interpretation. If you say, “This is what I think it means,” or if any denomination writes, “This is what our denomination says it means,” we have private interpretation.
Give two men the same Scripture verse and, by privately interpreting it, they will come to two completely divergent conclusions.
All our splits in Christianity come because we do not study the Word of God from its inherent accuracy. It matters nothing what we think, what our opinions are. The crucial element is what The Word says. You and I have to do our thinking according to the accuracy of The Word.
1Peter 1:20 is the only place the word idios (Greek text) is translated “private.” At the other places in the Bible it is translated either “one’s own” or “his own.”
The word “interpretation” is the Greek word epilusis, which occurs at no other place in the Bible. The Greek verb form of epilusis is epiluo meaning “to let loose upon, as a hunting dog is let loose upon the game; one does not let his mind wander and give all kinds of interpretations to the Scripture.
1 Peter 1:20 "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any personal letting loose.”
After eliminating private interpretations, two alternatives remain.
Either the Word must interpret itself, or the Word cannot be interpreted. If there is no interpretation possible; then we might as well forget the whole project of understanding The Word. But this is not the case. There is another answer—
God’s Word interprets itself!
2 Timothy 3:16 has great significance in this study of how the Word of God interprets. itself, for we first must know that God’s Word is God-breathed.
2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
Well, let me ask you, does the word “all” mean all?
Yes, "all without exception.". The phrase, “given by inspiration of God” is the one Greek word, theopneustos, which, when interpreted in English, is, “Godbreathed”. It is the figure of speech, anthropopathia = pathos of man, or the ways of man (condescension) in Latin from where we get the English word ‘condescension.” It gives God the attributes of man. We know that in John 4:24, that God is spirit, so we see the human attributes given to God in 2 Timothy.
So, back to how the Word of God interprets itself.
Three ways: (1) in the verse, (2) in the context, (3) previous usages. The vast majority of the Word does interpret itself right where it is written in the verse. Some examples:
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Matthew. 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
There is no question in understanding, and absolutely no guesswork. And also, another important consideration is that some words used may have different meanings when they were originally written than they do today.
For instance,
1Thessalonians 4:15 uses the word “prevent.” For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
“Prevent” when originally written was the word to mean “precede”. Now that makes much more sense for the believers who have not died before the return of our Lord will not precede, or go before those believers who have already died.
These examples illustrate that even though it’s interpreted in the verse, the word or words must be understood according to their usage when the translation was made.
Mark 7:9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
“Full well” in today’s understanding is “with full knowledge”. The Pharisees had full knowledge that, for the sake of keeping their own traditions, they rejected the commandments of God.
Things have not changed. Most "religious" folks would rather keep their traditions, their ways, even if they go against the Scriptures.
James 5:1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
“Go to now” used in the KJV when it was transcribed to mean “come now,” or, “listen now.”
Hebrews 11:5a By faith Enoch was translated so that he should not see death;…
Enoch was transported to another location so that he would not see (physically with his eyes) death; meaning, he never saw anyone die. This truth works in reverse as well.
In our day and time, we would use words or phrases such as “lead foot” Describing a fast driver.
But years ago, you would not hear that if someone were driving a fast chariot.
“Deceived” would be a word you would have heard many years ago, but Today, the word “scammed” could be used depending on the situation.
So it’s very important that we consider the words used at the time of the writing or transcribing.
To be continued…