The central principle behind The Biblical Pattern is simple:
ALLOW SCRIPTURE TO INTERPRET SCRIPTURE.
But what does that actually mean?
It means that when we encounter a difficult passage, symbol, doctrine, or biblical expression, our first source for understanding it should be the Bible itself.
Instead of beginning with what we have been taught, what a denomination teaches, what is popular, or what we personally believe, we begin with the Scriptures.
ALL SCRIPTURE COMES FROM GOD
Paul wrote:
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”
2 Timothy 3:16
Because Scripture comes from God, one portion of God’s Word will not contradict another portion of God’s Word when both are properly understood.
Therefore, we should seek an interpretation that respects all that Scripture says about a subject.
COMPARE SPIRITUAL THINGS WITH SPIRITUAL
Paul wrote:
“Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.”
1 Corinthians 2:13
The Bible provides its own vocabulary, themes, patterns, symbols, and explanations.
When Scripture uses language elsewhere that helps explain a passage, we should allow those passages to illuminate one another.
CONTEXT MATTERS
A verse should never be separated from its context simply because a few words appear to support something we already believe.
We should ask:
Who is speaking?
To whom are they speaking?
What is being discussed?
What comes before the passage?
What comes after it?
Is the language literal or figurative?
Has this language appeared elsewhere in Scripture?
How would the original audience have understood it?
These questions help prevent us from forcing our own ideas into the text.
READ EVERYTHING GOD HAS SAID
One passage may emphasize one part of a subject while another passage supplies additional information.
Consider salvation.
One passage says:
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…”
Acts 16:31
Another says:
“Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins…”
Acts 2:38
Another says:
“And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins…”
Acts 22:16
Another says:
“He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved…”
Mark 16:16
Do these passages contradict one another?
No.
Each contributes to our understanding.
The mistake comes when someone selects one passage and uses it to eliminate what God revealed elsewhere.
Instead, we put the passages together.
SCRIPTURE INTERPRETS SCRIPTURE.
THE CLEARER PASSAGES HELP US UNDERSTAND THE MORE DIFFICULT
Some passages are immediately understandable. Others require considerably more study.
Peter acknowledged that some things Paul wrote were:
“…hard to be understood…”
2 Peter 3:16
What should we do when we encounter such passages?
We should not build an entire doctrine upon an uncertain interpretation while ignoring clearer passages elsewhere.
We examine the immediate context and then compare the passage with everything else Scripture reveals concerning the subject.
BIBLICAL WORDS AND SYMBOLS HAVE BIBLICAL BACKGROUNDS
This principle becomes especially important when studying prophecy.
If Revelation speaks of beasts, we should examine how beasts were used in earlier prophecy.
If it speaks of a harlot, we should examine how God previously used harlot imagery.
If it speaks of clouds, trumpets, stars falling, heaven and earth, or other prophetic imagery, we should search the Scriptures to see whether God had already used those expressions.
This prevents us from simply assigning modern meanings to ancient biblical symbols.
JESUS USED SCRIPTURE THIS WAY
When Satan tempted Jesus, Jesus repeatedly answered:
“…It is written…”
Matthew 4:4
Again:
“…It is written again…”
Matthew 4:7
And again:
“…for it is written…”
Matthew 4:10
Jesus appealed to Scripture.
When questioned about marriage, He went back to Genesis:
“Have ye not read…”
Matthew 19:4
When discussing the resurrection with the Sadducees, He asked:
“…have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God…”
Matthew 22:31
Again and again, Jesus directed people back to what God had revealed.
THE BEREANS TESTED WHAT THEY HEARD
Even when the apostle Paul preached, the Bereans did not accept his teaching merely because he said it.
Scripture says:
“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”
Acts 17:11
That is precisely the attitude we should have.
Do not believe something simply because Kevin L. Walker writes it.
Do not believe something simply because a preacher says it.
Do not believe something because a church teaches it.
Do not believe something because your family has believed it for generations.
SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES.
If what is being taught is true, Scripture will support it.
If Scripture contradicts it, we should be willing to abandon it.
OUR GOAL IS NOT TO PROVE OURSELVES RIGHT
Bible study should not begin with a conclusion and then search for verses that appear to support it.
Our goal should be to discover what God has actually revealed.
That requires humility.
Sometimes serious Bible study confirms what we have always believed.
Sometimes it forces us to reconsider what we have always believed.
When that happens, Scripture—not tradition, preference, or pride—must prevail.
The pattern is:
READ THE TEXT → EXAMINE THE CONTEXT → COMPARE PARALLEL PASSAGES → TRACE THE BIBLICAL LANGUAGE → CONSIDER THE ORIGINAL AUDIENCE → HARMONIZE ALL RELEVANT SCRIPTURE → DRAW THE CONCLUSION
That is the approach behind The Biblical Pattern.
Don’t simply accept the conclusions presented here.
Test them.
Open your Bible.
Read the passages.
Examine their context.
Compare Scripture with Scripture.
And determine whether these things are so.
ALLOW SCRIPTURE TO INTERPRET SCRIPTURE.
The Biblical Pattern
Biblical Studies & Books by Kevin L. Walker
The Biblical Pattern 