# The Literal Principle of Biblical Interpretation, and Q&A

An episode of [Bible Answer Man Podcast with Hank Hanegraaff](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/569236334), 18 Mar 2026, 28 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/70658956/bam20260318.mp3

On today’s Bible Answer Man broadcast (03/18/26), Hank shares on the importance of learning and practicing the literal principle of biblical interpretation. Hank also answers the following questions: When the alcoholic removes alcohol from his life, he is not physically maimed. Doesn’t this contradict Jesus’ teaching in Mark 9:45-47? Abraham - Lincoln, NE (5:29) Can a divorced Christian remarry? Is this a sin? Dave - Louisville, KY (8:12) The Anabaptist tradition, particularly the Amish-Mennonite faith. Are these churches within the pale of orthodoxy? Wayne - KY (15:14) A coworker mentioned a woman created out of sand and given to Satan as a wife. Her name was Lilith. Is there any truth to this? Melissa - Asherville, MO (20:12) Is the Trinity an essential doctrine? Orlando - High Point, NC (23:17)

## Transcript

[0:07] Speaker 1: Heard all across the United States, Canada, and around the world.
[0:11] Speaker 1: This is the Bible answer Man Broadcast with Hank Hannagraph.
[0:15] Speaker 1: Hank is president of the Christian Research Institute at CRII.
[0:19] Speaker 1: Our desire is to equip you to not only defend
[0:22] Speaker 1: the historic Christian faith, but become an apprentice of Jesus Christ,
[0:27] Speaker 1: because life and truth matter. To learn more or to
[0:31] Speaker 1: find resources to help you grow in grace, call eight
[0:34] Speaker 1: eight eight seven thousand CRII. That's eight eight eight seven
[0:39] Speaker 1: thousand two seven four or go to our website at
[0:42] Speaker 1: equip dot org. The following program was pre recorded. Now
[0:48] Speaker 1: here's Hank Hanagraph.
[0:50] Speaker 2: Thank you very much for Andy a couple of words
[0:51] Speaker 2: before we go to our callers. One of the resources
[0:54] Speaker 2: we like to put into people's hands is a little
[0:57] Speaker 2: four x six laminated flip chart. Lights on your path
[1:00] Speaker 2: or reading the Bible for all it's worth. Do remember
[1:04] Speaker 2: that those lights begin with the L the literal principle
[1:09] Speaker 2: of Biblical interpretation, which will serve to remind you that
[1:15] Speaker 2: you are called to interpret the Word of God just
[1:19] Speaker 2: as you interpret other forms of communication in the most obvious,
[1:27] Speaker 2: the most natural sense, as has been well said, to
[1:32] Speaker 2: interpret the Bible literally is to interpret the Bible as literature. Thus,
[1:39] Speaker 2: when a Biblical author uses a symbol or an allegory,
[1:45] Speaker 2: we do violence to his intentions if we interpret him literalistically. Consider,
[1:52] Speaker 2: for example, the Lord's words in John two nineteen. Destroy
[1:58] Speaker 2: this temple, said Jesus, inn I will raise it again
[2:02] Speaker 2: in three days. The Jews understood Jesus in a wooden
[2:09] Speaker 2: literal fashion. They thought he was saying that the temple,
[2:17] Speaker 2: which had taken forty six years to build, could be
[2:23] Speaker 2: destroyed in three days and rebuilt again in that period
[2:28] Speaker 2: of time. Jesus, however, spoke figuratively, as the apostle John
[2:34] Speaker 2: explained that temple he had spoken of was the temple
[2:39] Speaker 2: of his body. Likewise, when the apostle John described Satan
[2:45] Speaker 2: as a dragon or variously as an ancient serpent, would
[2:54] Speaker 2: be seriously mistaken to suppose that he intends to communicate
[2:59] Speaker 2: that Satan is it's literally a smoke spouting snake. My
[3:06] Speaker 2: point is simply this, a literalistic method of interpretation does
[3:10] Speaker 2: as much violence to the text as does a spiritualized
[3:14] Speaker 2: interpretation that empties the text of objective meaning. So to
[3:21] Speaker 2: avoid either extreme you, as a believer need to adeptly
[3:28] Speaker 2: employ the literal principle of biblical interpretation. You need to
[3:32] Speaker 2: pay strict or careful attention to what's called form or genre,
[3:39] Speaker 2: figurative language, and even the kind of fantasy imagery that
[3:45] Speaker 2: the apostle John uses in the Book of Revelation. And
[3:49] Speaker 2: when we talk about Satan being a dragon, dragons are
[3:54] Speaker 2: obviously the stuff of mythology, not the stuff of theology.
[3:59] Speaker 2: So you need to exercise your mind to grasp what
[4:04] Speaker 2: the author is driving at. Metaphors, when we use them,
[4:09] Speaker 2: even in common parlance, are used in a way that
[4:16] Speaker 2: have significant meaning. They have sharp teeth. So it doesn't
[4:22] Speaker 2: mean when you use metaphorical language that you're not pointing
[4:25] Speaker 2: to something concrete or something substantive. It means that you
[4:30] Speaker 2: have to use your mind to get what the author
[4:34] Speaker 2: is driving at. And this is certainly true with biblical
[4:40] Speaker 2: forms or figures of speech. So again, as a believer,
[4:47] Speaker 2: you need to learn to read the Bible for all
[4:50] Speaker 2: it's worth. I've produced elaminated flipchart Memboraboo keys to understanding
[4:54] Speaker 2: what God has said. Lights on your path are reading
[4:57] Speaker 2: the Bible for all it's worth. If God has spoken
[4:59] Speaker 2: the question is what has God said? Using this flip chart,
[5:04] Speaker 2: you can master the principles of biblical interpretation in minutes
[5:08] Speaker 2: and remember them for a lifetime. It's a memorable guide
[5:12] Speaker 2: to the art and science a Biblical interpretation. It's an
[5:16] Speaker 2: art and that the more you do it, the better
[5:18] Speaker 2: you get at it's a science and that rules apply.
[5:21] Speaker 2: You can find this resource as well as many others
[5:24] Speaker 2: on the web had equipped dot org. A lot of
[5:26] Speaker 2: you hanging on. We'll go right to the phone callers.
[5:29] Speaker 2: First up today, let's talk to Abraham. Abraham is listening
[5:34] Speaker 2: in Lincoln, Nebraska. Hi Abraham, Hello, Hank, how are you.
[5:39] Speaker 2: I'm well, Thank you.
[5:41] Speaker 3: I have a question I'm struggling with Okay, I need
[5:43] Speaker 3: your help.
[5:44] Speaker 2: Sure.
[5:45] Speaker 3: The verse is in Mark chapter nine. If your foot
[5:50] Speaker 3: causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better
[5:54] Speaker 3: for you to enter the enter life lane than having
[5:59] Speaker 3: your two feet be cast into hell. And basically all
[6:03] Speaker 3: the way to through forty seven. My question to you,
[6:07] Speaker 3: if Hank, is if a person, and I'm going to
[6:10] Speaker 3: use this as an example, an alcoholic and they remove
[6:14] Speaker 3: alcohol from their life, now they will not be maimed
[6:19] Speaker 3: and they'll be set free. So I don't understand the verse.
[6:24] Speaker 2: I guess yeah. Well, the verse again is very much
[6:26] Speaker 2: in concert with what I was saying at the opening
[6:28] Speaker 2: of the broadcast. The Bible uses what is called hyperbole.
[6:34] Speaker 2: Hyperbole is a figure of speech that employs exaggeration for effect.
[6:40] Speaker 2: In other words, this is a way of emphasizing something,
[6:43] Speaker 2: and the emphasis is this. What happens in the present
[6:48] Speaker 2: pales by comparison to what will happen for all eternity.
[6:54] Speaker 2: So we're better off crippled in this life than having
[6:59] Speaker 2: a perfectly operational body and spending an eternity apart from God,
[7:06] Speaker 2: apart from his glory, apart from his goodness, apart from
[7:10] Speaker 2: his grace, forever and ever and ever. Remember the rich
[7:15] Speaker 2: man who died and ended up in torment. He wanted
[7:19] Speaker 2: to go back and warn his five brothers that they
[7:22] Speaker 2: wouldn't come to a place like this. But the response was,
[7:26] Speaker 2: they have Moses and the prophets. If they don't listen
[7:29] Speaker 2: to them, they're not going to listen even if someone
[7:31] Speaker 2: rises from the dead. The further point, in terms of
[7:34] Speaker 2: your question is this, he was now in torment, and
[7:37] Speaker 2: he would have given up anything, his luxury, his well being,
[7:46] Speaker 2: his place, of prominence. He would have traded with the
[7:51] Speaker 2: beggar that was lying by his gait, probably crippled and hurt, hungry, downtrodden,
[7:58] Speaker 2: and yet he would trade with him in a moment.
[8:02] Speaker 2: And that is the point that this hyperbole is driving
[8:06] Speaker 2: directly too.
[8:08] Speaker 3: Okay, well, thank you very much.
[8:10] Speaker 2: You got it. Thank you so much for your call.
[8:11] Speaker 2: Let's go back to the phone lines. We'll talk next
[8:13] Speaker 2: to Dave listening in Louisville, Kentucky.
[8:15] Speaker 4: Hi, Dave, Hi, Hank, bless you for taking my call.
[8:18] Speaker 4: I appreciate it so much.
[8:20] Speaker 2: Oh my pleasure.
[8:21] Speaker 4: When I try my best to remain non emotional, but
[8:26] Speaker 4: this is an emotional subject for me. The question is simply,
[8:32] Speaker 4: gan a previously divorced Christian marry another Christian and well
[8:39] Speaker 4: one or the others.
[8:40] Speaker 2: Then if they do that, well, it depends on circumstances.
[8:45] Speaker 2: There are biblical grounds for divorce and remarriage, and in fact,
[8:51] Speaker 2: we felt that this was such an important issue that
[8:53] Speaker 2: we devoted an entire article in the Christian Research Journal
[8:57] Speaker 2: to explicating the grounds for divorce and remarriage. But remember
[9:03] Speaker 2: the words of Jesus, who says, anyone who divorces his
[9:06] Speaker 2: wife except for merital and faithfulness and marries another commits adultery,
[9:12] Speaker 2: and Paul follows up in Fort Corinthians chapter seven, saying
[9:16] Speaker 2: that if an unbelieving spouse leaves, the other person is
[9:21] Speaker 2: not bound in that circumstance. If, however, the unbeliever is
[9:26] Speaker 2: willing to stay in the relationship, the other party must
[9:30] Speaker 2: not get a divorce. So Paul gives ground for divorce,
[9:34] Speaker 2: as does Jesus give ground for divorce. Obviously, divorce, ultimately
[9:40] Speaker 2: from a Biblical perspective, is because of the hardness of
[9:42] Speaker 2: our hearts. So it's the best option in all cases,
[9:47] Speaker 2: even in the exceptions just mentioned that we work towards reconciliation.
[9:51] Speaker 2: That's the greater good principle of all. So if the
[9:55] Speaker 2: door is open to reconciliation, we should try to walk
[9:58] Speaker 2: through that door. But if the the other party closes
[10:01] Speaker 2: the door to reconciliation, we're not bound in that circumstance you're.
[10:05] Speaker 4: Talking about, Matthew nineteen, Is that correct?
[10:08] Speaker 2: Matthew nineteen, as well as First Corinthians chapter seven.
[10:12] Speaker 4: Okay, because I've got a very good pasture. But that's
[10:16] Speaker 4: where the debate comes in.
[10:18] Speaker 2: Well, I think what would really help you Dave, not
[10:21] Speaker 2: just because I'm short on time, but I think it
[10:23] Speaker 2: really bears diving into. And the article by Michael Ross
[10:29] Speaker 2: which appeared in the Christian Research Journal, and if you
[10:32] Speaker 2: hang on, I'll just send it to you. I think
[10:34] Speaker 2: that's one of the best instructive pieces to not only
[10:38] Speaker 2: give you a grasp of what the Bible does or
[10:41] Speaker 2: doesn't say in this regard, but it is a direct
[10:44] Speaker 2: application to circumstances that many people find themselves in. So
[10:49] Speaker 2: it really helps them contextualize what the Scripture is saying,
[10:53] Speaker 2: so that you're thoroughly biblical and whatever your actions are. Again,
[10:57] Speaker 2: the article is available. Hang on, we'll put that article
[10:59] Speaker 2: in your hands. Were right back with more of your questions.
[11:03] Speaker 1: The famous British apologist GK. Chesterton once noted, the true
[11:08] Speaker 1: soldier fights not because he hates what is in front
[11:11] Speaker 1: of him, but because he loves what is behind him.
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[11:24] Speaker 1: the costs are great. We will stand to join like
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[11:53] Speaker 1: a few moments. Has God Spoken? Are the words of
[12:08] Speaker 1: Scripture merely human in origin? Or are they, in fact
[12:11] Speaker 1: the very words of God himself. Three years in the
[12:16] Speaker 1: making and based on two decades of research and reflection,
[12:20] Speaker 1: Hank Henagraph's monumental book Has God Spoken answers what is
[12:24] Speaker 1: surely the most important question facing our world. In Has
[12:28] Speaker 1: God Spoken? Memorable proofs of the Bible's Divine inspiration, Hank
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[12:39] Speaker 1: or wishful thinking. It is the only logical conclusion after
[12:43] Speaker 1: an honest examination of overwhelming evidence. Order Has God Spoken
[12:48] Speaker 1: from the Christian Research Institute by calling eighty eight seven
[12:52] Speaker 1: thousand CRII, or go online to equip dot org. Equip
[12:57] Speaker 1: dot org. The number of wolves surrounding the Christian flock
[13:03] Speaker 1: is growing, and they relish nothing more than docile's sheep,
[13:07] Speaker 1: utterly incapable of defending themselves from militant secularists at home
[13:12] Speaker 1: to militant Islamists abroad. The assaults on Biblical Christianity are
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[15:09] Speaker 1: broadcast and your host and canagraph.
[15:12] Speaker 2: Thank you very much, Randy, and let's return to our callers.
[15:14] Speaker 2: Next up is Wayne listening in Kentucky.
[15:17] Speaker 5: Hi, Wayne, I think thanks for taking my call.
[15:20] Speaker 1: I appreciate it. My call has to do with.
[15:22] Speaker 5: The Conservative Ana Baptist churches. About three years ago, my
[15:26] Speaker 5: family and I moved from Protestant Christianity into what would
[15:29] Speaker 5: be known as Yamish Mennonite faith, not the horse and
[15:32] Speaker 5: buggy type, but a more modern branch of the faith.
[15:36] Speaker 5: I have found it to be very strong on the
[15:38] Speaker 5: fundamentals and very outreach minded, but Over the last year,
[15:43] Speaker 5: I've become concerned overall with two of the great pillars
[15:46] Speaker 5: of it seemed to be separation nonconformity in the sense
[15:50] Speaker 5: that being non conformed to the world goes above and
[15:53] Speaker 5: beyond what I say and what I do. And it
[15:56] Speaker 5: has to do with how you comb your hair, the
[15:58] Speaker 5: color of your clothing, the type of cars that you drive,
[16:01] Speaker 5: things of that nature. And I guess what my question
[16:04] Speaker 5: is your evaluation these types of churches. Is this within
[16:08] Speaker 5: the pale of Orthodoxy?
[16:10] Speaker 2: Well, it depends. I mean, there certainly are many that
[16:13] Speaker 2: are within the pale of orthodoxy within the Omish and
[16:16] Speaker 2: Mennonite movement, within the Anabaptist movement in general, they hold
[16:21] Speaker 2: to a central Christian doctrine with an emphasis on law
[16:24] Speaker 2: and holiness. But there certainly are also big segments within
[16:30] Speaker 2: that movement that put a wrong emphasis on law and
[16:35] Speaker 2: holiness such that you end up with legalism. And we
[16:40] Speaker 2: want to make sure as Christians that we don't transgress
[16:44] Speaker 2: either the laws of legalism or license, that we stay
[16:49] Speaker 2: balanced within the pale of orthodoxy on a central Christian
[16:53] Speaker 2: doctrine and never raise how you comb your hair or
[16:57] Speaker 2: what you drive, or whether you wear a particular kind
[17:02] Speaker 2: of garb to the level of an essential and sometimes
[17:06] Speaker 2: this does happen, and then legalism encroaches upon what would
[17:11] Speaker 2: otherwise be a wonderful movement that has its own peculiarities,
[17:16] Speaker 2: but yet is grounded in essential orthodoxy.
[17:20] Speaker 5: Do you think, though, that there's a danger in that
[17:23] Speaker 5: that Another key concept of it is the idea that
[17:25] Speaker 5: the individual conscience is subject to the collective conscious of
[17:29] Speaker 5: the church. In other words, the authority of the church.
[17:31] Speaker 5: It has the ability to make practical applications that are
[17:34] Speaker 5: binding on its membership that go into these areas.
[17:37] Speaker 1: Is that a.
[17:38] Speaker 2: Danger, Well, it's dangerous where legalism reigns. And you also
[17:44] Speaker 2: have to be very careful in terms of what you
[17:48] Speaker 2: are adhering to when you join, because you have a
[17:51] Speaker 2: rejection of infant baptism. They're opposed to capital punishment or
[17:56] Speaker 2: serving in the military, they reject serving in public office
[18:01] Speaker 2: as ministers of the state. There are a lot of
[18:03] Speaker 2: things that I simply could not adhere to. So while
[18:08] Speaker 2: there are distinctives that I appreciate, I would not want
[18:11] Speaker 2: to be under the authority or the collective consciousness of
[18:15] Speaker 2: the Anabaptist movement.
[18:17] Speaker 5: Okay, so by and large it is to simply depend
[18:21] Speaker 5: on which circle you would be in as far as
[18:23] Speaker 5: whether it would be within the pill of orthodoxy or not.
[18:25] Speaker 2: Well, yeah, I think the main thing, even though I
[18:27] Speaker 2: could have fellowship with Anabaptists that I disagree with because
[18:31] Speaker 2: we share a foundation of a cential Christian doctrine, when
[18:36] Speaker 2: it would come to certain strands of the Anabaptist or
[18:40] Speaker 2: Mennonite movement where the non essentials are elevated unduly to
[18:45] Speaker 2: a status that they shouldn't have, then I'd be very uncomfortable.
[18:49] Speaker 2: And there are secondary issues obviously that I disagree on.
[18:52] Speaker 2: I just mentioned a few of them.
[18:53] Speaker 5: Okay, I guess the tough thing there you run into
[18:56] Speaker 5: is the idea you run into, you know, taking everything
[18:58] Speaker 5: literal things you've talked about before, and that's one thing
[19:01] Speaker 5: that you're running into. The idea that even if there's
[19:04] Speaker 5: one verse in the Bible that speaks on a subject,
[19:07] Speaker 5: if Jesus said it and he said, or if it's
[19:09] Speaker 5: taught and Jesus said, if you love me, you'll keep
[19:11] Speaker 5: my commandment, the idea is that if there's a direct
[19:14] Speaker 5: command given in scripture, you keep it. Everything from the
[19:16] Speaker 5: head covering to you know everything else that goes.
[19:19] Speaker 4: Along with that.
[19:20] Speaker 2: So well, you know, I want to make sure that
[19:23] Speaker 2: I keep the law as it is intended, not read
[19:26] Speaker 2: an unintended meaning into it. And you know that's part
[19:29] Speaker 2: and part of what I was talking about at the
[19:31] Speaker 2: opening of the show. The literal principle of Biblical interpretation
[19:34] Speaker 2: means you take the Bible literally. But that doesn't mean
[19:37] Speaker 2: that you take the Bible in a wooden, literalistic fashion,
[19:39] Speaker 2: but in the sense in which it's intended. So if
[19:42] Speaker 2: I'm told that I am to greet my brother with
[19:46] Speaker 2: a holy kiss, it doesn't mean that I walk up
[19:48] Speaker 2: to my brother give them a smack on the lips.
[19:50] Speaker 2: There's an intent to the passage, and I want to
[19:53] Speaker 2: keep the intent of the passage. How it's communicated from
[19:56] Speaker 2: one culture to another is different, and so it's the
[20:00] Speaker 2: intent that animates the command.
[20:04] Speaker 5: Okay, thank you so much. Think I really appreciate your
[20:06] Speaker 5: insight on that, and God bless you for your ministry.
[20:09] Speaker 5: I really appreciate it.
[20:10] Speaker 2: Well, thank you, appreciate your car. I want to go
[20:11] Speaker 2: back to the phone lines. Talk to Melissa. She was listening
[20:14] Speaker 2: to Ashville, Missouri. I'm Melissa.
[20:18] Speaker 6: My question was just about the people at work were
[20:21] Speaker 6: talking about God and everything, and one of them brought
[20:25] Speaker 6: up like different books that weren't necessarily in the Bible,
[20:28] Speaker 6: but it falls close to it. And one of them
[20:30] Speaker 6: was talking about a woman that was created for Adam,
[20:35] Speaker 6: that was made out of the sand, and she turned
[20:38] Speaker 6: out to be pure evil, so God gave her to Satan.
[20:41] Speaker 6: I was wondering if that was accurate or if it's
[20:45] Speaker 6: in the Bible. Where is it in the Bible? And
[20:48] Speaker 6: I'll hang up. Let you answer my question.
[20:49] Speaker 2: Did they tell you what the name of the woman was?
[20:52] Speaker 6: It started with L. I can't remember. I think that's it.
[20:57] Speaker 2: Okay, Well, there is an alphabet have been surraw It's
[21:02] Speaker 2: a commentary on the Bible written between the seventh and
[21:06] Speaker 2: the tenth centuries, and the idea was when God created Adam,
[21:11] Speaker 2: he also created a woman named Lilith. And since the
[21:16] Speaker 2: nineteen seventies this idea has reappeared in various guises in
[21:22] Speaker 2: Jewish poetry and in Jewish fiction, and Lilith, as in
[21:27] Speaker 2: that way, been reclaimed by American Jewish women as a
[21:30] Speaker 2: model for female independence. In fact, there is today a
[21:36] Speaker 2: Jewish feminist magazine named Lilith, and it has reinvented the
[21:42] Speaker 2: genesis account of creation to include the creation of Lilith.
[21:45] Speaker 2: But for most Jews, lilith has been relegated to medieval superstition,
[21:50] Speaker 2: and that's where it belongs. At superstition, it has no
[21:53] Speaker 2: basis in reality. We trust the word of God, and
[21:57] Speaker 2: there's a reason for that. It's not because we have
[21:59] Speaker 2: decided to trust the word of God over the alphabet
[22:03] Speaker 2: of Ben Sarah. It's because the Bible demonstrates itself to
[22:07] Speaker 2: be divine as opposed to being merely human in origin.
[22:11] Speaker 2: So one is superstition, the other is substance. And we
[22:16] Speaker 2: can demonstrate that the Bible is divine as opposed to
[22:18] Speaker 2: merely human in origin. Not only can, but should be
[22:22] Speaker 2: able to do that, because that's the way in which
[22:24] Speaker 2: we are able to say to a watching world that
[22:27] Speaker 2: our authority warrants all the authority in the world. In
[22:32] Speaker 2: other words, it is the thing that really matters. If
[22:36] Speaker 2: you look at the Book of Mormon, it doesn't stand
[22:38] Speaker 2: up to scrutiny. If you look at the Qur'an, it
[22:41] Speaker 2: does not stand up to scrutiny. If you look at
[22:43] Speaker 2: the Bible, what is concealed in the soil demonstrates that
[22:48] Speaker 2: what is revealed in the scripture is actually true. The
[22:51] Speaker 2: Bible is based in history and evidence. The people, the particulars,
[22:56] Speaker 2: the places all end up being genuine, and that along
[23:01] Speaker 2: with a cumuative case that can be built through manuscript
[23:04] Speaker 2: evidence and predictive prophecy, is why we say the Bible
[23:10] Speaker 2: is our authority for faith and practice and can be
[23:13] Speaker 2: demonstrated to be divine as opposed to merely human in origin.
[23:15] Speaker 2: Let's go back to the phone lines. Let's talk next
[23:18] Speaker 2: to Orlando listening in high Point, North Carolina. Hi, Orlando,
[23:23] Speaker 2: how you doing good?
[23:24] Speaker 4: Her?
[23:24] Speaker 7: Are you good? My question is about the Trinity? Is essential?
[23:29] Speaker 7: Is that non essential?
[23:31] Speaker 2: Well, it's essential. And virtually every single theological heresy begins
[23:36] Speaker 2: with the misconception of the nature of God. What does
[23:38] Speaker 2: the Bible say about God? The Bible reveals that there's
[23:40] Speaker 2: only one God, so we can't be polytheis We have
[23:43] Speaker 2: to believe it only one God. The Bible reveals that
[23:46] Speaker 2: the Father is God, the Son is God, and the
[23:48] Speaker 2: Holy Spirit is God. We have to believe that. We
[23:51] Speaker 2: have to believe that the Bible reveals that Father, Son,
[23:55] Speaker 2: and Holy Spirit are eternally distinct. So while I cannot
[23:58] Speaker 2: fully comprehend them, I apprehend that in the pages of Scripture,
[24:02] Speaker 2: and therefore I bow my need to God's revelation of
[24:06] Speaker 2: himself to me. The trinity is a word that codifies
[24:09] Speaker 2: what I've just said, One God revealed in three persons
[24:11] Speaker 2: who are eternally distinct. Now again, that takes them explaining,
[24:15] Speaker 2: because when I talk about persons, I'm not talking about
[24:17] Speaker 2: three people walking around. I'm talking about identity formed and
[24:20] Speaker 2: completed on the basis of relationships within the Godhead. When
[24:24] Speaker 2: I talk about the one God, I'm talking about essence
[24:26] Speaker 2: or nature. So in saying I believe in one God
[24:30] Speaker 2: revealed in three persons who are eternally distinct, I'm talking
[24:32] Speaker 2: about one God. When I talk about that substance of
[24:35] Speaker 2: that one God, I'm talking about ontology, essence or nature.
[24:38] Speaker 2: There's one. When I talk about the interaction between Father,
[24:42] Speaker 2: Son and Holy Spirit, or identity formed and complete on
[24:45] Speaker 2: the basis of relationships within the Godhead, I'm talking about three.
[24:49] Speaker 2: So person has to do with identity formed and completed
[24:53] Speaker 2: on the basis of relationships within the Godhead, subject object distinctions.
[24:57] Speaker 2: That's why Jesus can say the Father and the Son
[24:59] Speaker 2: are two distinct witnesses and two distinct judges. So again,
[25:03] Speaker 2: do I comprehend all of that? No, do I apprehend
[25:05] Speaker 2: that very clearly, and therefore I bow my knee to
[25:10] Speaker 2: an essential God's revelation of himself to me in scripture.
[25:13] Speaker 7: But that's not a humanistic way of looking at it,
[25:16] Speaker 7: like putting God into a box and saying it has
[25:19] Speaker 7: to be that way.
[25:20] Speaker 2: No, because I'm not saying that at all. The Bible's
[25:23] Speaker 2: saying that. The Bible is saying there's only one.
[25:25] Speaker 7: God, but the Trinity is nowhere to be found in
[25:27] Speaker 7: the Bible. I mean, it just talks about title that
[25:30] Speaker 7: talks about being the Father, being the Son, being the
[25:33] Speaker 7: Holy Spirit, but he never talks about being three persons.
[25:38] Speaker 2: Well, it does. Actually, what the Bible teaches very simply
[25:41] Speaker 2: is this, there's one God. The Father is God. The
[25:45] Speaker 2: Bible teaches that the Son is God. The Bible teaches
[25:49] Speaker 2: that the Holy Spirit is God. And the Bible is
[25:51] Speaker 2: very clear that the Father never becomes the Son, the
[25:56] Speaker 2: Son never becomes the Holy Spirit. And that's why I
[25:58] Speaker 2: quoted the passage in the Bible the Father and Son
[26:02] Speaker 2: are two distinct witnesses and two distinct judges. We're out
[26:06] Speaker 2: of time. We'll see you next time. Right here for
[26:08] Speaker 2: more of the Bible answer Man Broadcast.
[26:11] Speaker 1: We appreciate you tuning in to the Bible answer Man Broadcast.
[26:15] Speaker 1: If you've been blessed by the broadcast and want more
[26:18] Speaker 1: information to help you grow in the grace and knowledge
[26:21] Speaker 1: of God, go to our website at equip dot org.
[26:24] Speaker 1: That's equip dot org. To contact a resource consultant, call
[26:30] Speaker 1: eight eight eight seven thousand CRII again, that's eight eight
[26:34] Speaker 1: eight seven thousand, two seven four, or you can write
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[26:46] Speaker 1: Bible answer Man Broadcast is supported by listeners like you.
[26:50] Speaker 1: We're on the air because life and truth matter. Has
[27:05] Speaker 1: God Spoken? Are the words of Scripture merely human in origin?
[27:10] Speaker 1: Or are they in fact the very words of God himself?
[27:15] Speaker 1: Three years in the making and based on two decades
[27:18] Speaker 1: of research and reflection, Hank Henagraph's monumental book, Has God
[27:23] Speaker 1: Spoken answers what is surely the most important question facing
[27:27] Speaker 1: our world? In Has God Spoken? Memorable proofs of the
[27:31] Speaker 1: Bible's divine inspiration. Hank counters the contentions of the Bible
[27:35] Speaker 1: attackers and clearly shows that belief in the Holy Scriptures
[27:38] Speaker 1: is not a guess or wishful thinking. It is the
[27:41] Speaker 1: only logical conclusion after an honest examination of overwhelming evidence
[27:46] Speaker 1: ordered Has God spoken? From the Christian Research Institute by
[27:50] Speaker 1: calling eighty eight seven thousand CRII or go online to
[27:54] Speaker 1: equip dot org. Equip dot org

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