The Place of the Holy Spirit in the Exegetical Process
We can do no better at this point than to note D.P. Fuller’s statement:
In others words, the message which Paul and others were inspired to transmit can be “received” and “known” only by those who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Obviously, then, the Holy Spirit does play an indispensable role in enabling the interpreter to gain the proper meaning of the text. But what is his role? And how does this role urge the exegete always to acknowledge his complete dependence on the Holy Spirit, and at the same time urge him to develop his skill in using valid exegetical means to determine the meaning that was intended by the words which the Holy Spirit inspired the biblical writer to use? 2
Certainly then, I Corinthians is a pivotal verse for our discussion and brings us to the heart of the issue. By looking at a number of key words in this text, we hope to offer a place in the exegetical process. One that follows the careful perimeters of the grammatico-historical method and is “experientially” fulfilling for the interpreter.
Receive
The first word that demands careful attention is that of dechomai. Although Paul had the option of using the word lambano he chose not to use it. Though both words connote the idea of receiving something, dechomai carries with it the special nuance of receiving something with pleasure.3
The point we feel Paul is making is that the reason man is culpable before God is precisely that he has the ability to have cognition of what God has said and demands.
In Romans 1:18-21 Paul argues that the fact that God is the creator is evident, “clearly perceived” in the world. The evidence is everywhere, even though people do not acknowledge the truth. If people refuse to accept the evidence, it is because of the hardness of their hearts, because they “suppress the truth,” not because the evidence is not clear. Hardening of the heart in Scripture means willful and inexcusable rejection of the truth. 4
Also in this same verse Paul states that the things of God are “foolishness to him.” Consequently for man to reject something as foolishness he must have a reasonable cognition on which to base his rejection. Obviously then, Paul is arguing that the “natural man” does have an adequate knowledge of what is being said but fails to embrace God’s truth claims because of the darkness and hardness of his heart.
To sum up we ought to note Zuck’s observation:
The verse does not mean that an unsaved person, who is devoid of the Holy Spirit, cannot understand mentally what the Bible is saying; instead it means that he does not welcome its message of redemption into his own heart. He rejects the message, refusing to appropriate it and act on it. By contrast, people in Berea “received (from dechomai) the message with great eagerness” (Acts 17:11), and the Thessalonians “received (from dechomai) the Word…with joy of the Holy Spirit” (1 Thess. 1:6).5
Category: Biblical Studies, Winter 1999
Followers
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