The Three Islands of Biblical Interpretation

So you’ve been reading your Bible more, but are struggling to understand it. That’s actually really normal. The Bible is a complex and ancient book. It was written in a different language than what you’re reading today. It speaks from a cultural perspective foreign to us. To top it all off, it speaks to the deepest aspects of the human experience.

The Bible is a difficult book to read, but it is also the singular most spiritually rewarding book you can read. In fact, there is no individual spiritual practice you can engage in that will have as immediate or deep an impact on your faith as simply reading your Bible. 

So how do you figure out what you’re actually reading? 

The trick here is remembering the two authors of the Bible. When I say this, I’m not referencing the fact that the different books of the Bible were written by different authors, but rather the idea that the Bible was written by both its earthly/human authors and by the Holy Spirit. Christians have believed for thousands of years that the Bible isn’t merely a human book. Even though the Bible was written by normal human beings like you and me, it was also supernaturally inspired, written, and preserved by the Holy Spirit. This means that you, as a Christian, can trust that God will speak to you through the Bible. It is His word and communicates His will and His gospel. However, you also have to do the hard work of interpreting the bible to most clearly hear his voice to you. 

Now, interpretation just means the work by which we come to understand the text and understand its meaning for us as individuals. 

So let me share one method of interpretation with you that has been helpful in my own Bible Study. A professor in my seminary called this the Three Islands Method of Biblical interpretation and while I don’t think it was original to him, a 5-minute internet search couldn’t find a source for me so I can’t credit this beyond Dr. Brett Vaden’s New Testament class. 

The three islands method refers to three specific stages of biblical interpretation to help you move from your reading of the text to a personal faith application of the text. So let’s work through each stage in turn. 

1 - Author’s Original Message

The first island is all about doing your best to understand the biblical text on its own terms. What was the original author’s original intended message to the original audience? This is where a lot of what we think of as Bible study steps into the picture. You’re going to dig into history, context, & culture. This is where the study notes at the bottom of the page in Study Bibles or commentaries come in handy. You can also check out online sources like the Bible Project. 

An example here would be considering Jesus’ parable of the “Good Samaritan” in Luke 10. You’d need to do some research to learn that the Samaritan people were generally hated by the Jews of Jesus’ day. Jesus’ presentation of Jewish religious leaders as selfishly disregarding an injured man while a random Samaritan cares for him, would have been culturally unexpected and even offensive. Jesus’ ending question in the parable “Who was a neighbor to the man?” when understood in the historical and cultural context shows his blunt message to his audience that a religious jew can be unrighteous and a hated samaritan can be righteous. 

The temptation of many Christians is to stop our study here. This is primarily head work and there is satisfaction gained from learning new facts about the Bible. But if your Bible study just consists of learning interesting trivia, you won’t see personal spiritual growth. This first island is invaluable, but it needs to move us toward the second one. 

2 - Universal Theological Principle 

Once we have a good grasp on the author’s original message to the original audience, the second step of interpretation is to extrapolate out a larger and universal theological principle at play in the text. What eternal truths about God, his character, and the gospel are on display in this text? 

This involves cross-referencing to see how the larger biblical teaching treats the specifics of your text, but it also involves making connections to systematic theology and Christian doctrine. Your Bible likely has cross references on the page and a subject index at the back, but openbible is a great online resource.

An example of this kind of work could be the story of Elijah’s discouragement following the confrontation with the prophets of Bael on Mount Carmel in 1 Kings 19. Following that narrative through the first island shows us a story about God caring for his anointed prophet in the midst of trial and reaffirming his calling upon his life. Taking this text to the second island we see a larger theological principle about God’s merciful care for humanity. Connecting 1 Kings 19 and God’s feeding Elijah and having him nap in his sorrow with texts like Psalm 103 and the statement that God remembers we are only human draws out this larger and universal theological principle that God is compassionate to humanity. He knows our limitations and treats us accordingly. 

This brings us perfectly to the last island. 

3 - Contextual Application 

The last step of interpretation is to take this larger theological principle on display in your text and contextualize it to your life right now. This work is all about asking how this particular theological truth applies, not just to the life of the believer now, but to your life. 

The trap here is to be content with a vague spiritual application that sounds beautiful but does not push you to actively practice your faith. 

For example, a study of John 21 and Jesus’ restoration of Peter after his betrayal might lead you to the theological truth that God is always faithful to forgive those who come to him. It would be easy to end a study like this by simply saying something like: “Wow. I need to trust God’s forgiveness for me more” This is true, but it’s not a contextualized application of the truth to you. HOW do you need to trust God’s forgiveness? Where are the repeated sin patterns in your life that cause you to doubt his heart of forgiveness for you? How are you going to encounter these tensions today? Don’t allow yourself the cop-out of a vague application. Get as specific as you can so that you have actual concrete steps to practice your faith today. 

All this is to say that God speaks to us through his word. You don’t have to be a pastor and you don’t have to have a seminary degree. God is speaking through his word and although it does take work to interpret that word, it is a worthwhile work that will absolutely help you grow in your faith. So jump in!