How does God communicate to us?

God speaks literally, not just metaphorically. That means the Scripture is not only inspired by God, it is a Word of God that requires illocutionary actions. This understanding calls us to pay attention to his words and to identify which one is said as writer’s perspective and which is the distinct speech of God spoken by way of the writer. God wants to communicate with us intimately. To say that God speaks literally does not mean to take Scripture literally. He wants to be understood, that’s why not only he reveals himself, but also he can speak to us- to make his intentions known. Our interpretation of the Scripture must also be guided by this perspective.

The Bible is a collection of books written by different authors of unique perspective and diverse personality. To interpret the part as the whole is to misinterpret the passage. One must also acknowledge that the infinite God conveys his message through the finitude of these biblical writers. To say that what one author has said represents the totality of the Scripture is to miss the point of other writers. It would be different to hear the voice of God by way of different writers than hearing it from one. Therefore, to interpret the passage in the light of the Scripture is to consider the perspective of all biblical writers—that requires reading the entire Bible!

Church history shows that the people in the past have gone a long and painful journey of understanding God. One’s lifetime isn’t enough to comprehend all about God. Because God is a community of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, no single person can fully understand God alone. We must interpret the Scripture in a communal living. Yet even God provides an aid for us to understand him better--- the person of the Holy Spirit. So apart from Him, it’s impossible to understand Him. We must depend on the Holy Spirit, not in our academic excellence, for a correct biblical interpretation.

Part of the dynamics of hearing God speak literally is to allow the Scripture correct our understanding of God. We come to the passage with our presupposition, but we must recognize the authority of the passage to replace our presuppositions. Faithful biblical interpretation requires interpreter’s humility. Only after this a dynamic transformation happens.