The only infallible interpreter of Holy Scripture is the Holy Spirit in the Holy Scripture. This is a fundamental principle of Reformed hermeneutics. Since the Bible is inspired by God (and, therefore, infallible in all its assertions), any and every use of the Bible by itself is infallible. Granted, not all such uses are interpretive; however, many are. We ought to assume, then, that when the Bible interprets itself (inner-biblical exegesis), its interpretation is infallible. All Evangelicals, as far as I know, agree that the Bible’s interpretation of itself is infallible. But should we also assume that the Bible’s interpretation of itself is paradigmatic for all subsequent interpreters? Should the Bible’s interpretation of itself become the soil from which we garner at least some of our principles of interpretation? Before the Enlightenment the answer was yes, though with a few detractors. The hermeneutical method of the apostles, for example, is both divinely inspired and authoritatively paradigmatic for all subsequent interpreters. This position argues that Jesus taught his disciples how to interpret and apply the Old Testament while he was on earth (Luke 24:25-27; 44-49). The apostles’ subsequent interpretations and applications, therefore, were simply extensions of the principles taught to them by our Lord. This view has Patristic, Medieval, Reformation, Post-Reformation, and current adherents.
Dr. Richard Barcellos is associate professor of New Testament Studies. He received a B.S. from California State University, Fresno, an M.Div. from The Master’s Seminary, and a Th.M. and Ph.D. from Whitefield Theological Seminary. Dr. Barcellos is pastor of Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Palmdale, CA. He is author of Trinity & Creation, The Covenant of Works, and Getting the Garden Right. He has contributed articles to various journals and is a member of ETS.
Courses taught for CBTS: New Testament Introduction, Biblical Hermeneutics, Biblical Theology I, Biblical Theology II.
