A ‘Storied’ Worldview Helps Interpret the Bible

Every statement you ever hear, has the meaning it has in the conversation it’s part of. We all know that.

Same with the Bible. Every statement in the Bible has the meaning that it had within the ‘story’ that the author was living in.

If we mistake the overarching story - the controlling narrative - then we could mistake what a Bible-passage really meant, and misapply it.

That would be like overhearing someone talking on the phone, but not knowing what his conversation was about.

Or like reading instructions, without noticing what project the instructions applied to.

The New Testament writers lived within a ‘story’ - a ‘worldview’ - and they were making certain claims about that story.

In a ‘storied’ worldview, everyone of us is answering questions like:

Who am I?

Where did we come from?

Where are we going?

What is the problem?

What is the solution?

And, What time is it?

The answers we give to that set of questions equals our ‘worldview’.

The same goes for Abraham, Israel, John the Baptist, the Lord Jesus, and the New Testament writers. They lived within a certain ‘story’ that was going somewhere. In their case they believed in the One true God; in election; and Old Testament eschatology.

By the first century AD there was a sense of the ‘problem’ and the ‘time’ in Israel: the ‘gospel’ is presented as the solution and climax to that ‘story’.

Israel’s One God had come, in the person of His Son, on time, judged evil, inaugurated the redemption of His people - entered His glory, and was presiding over the new-creation project -  through His ministry, cross, resurrection, ascension, seating, reign, Spirit, and true people - with the promise to come again and consummate that project.

Any statements found within the New Testament therefore have the sense that they made within the author’s claim and announcement about that ‘story’ in which he, as an Israelite, lived.

The New Testament writers even made claims about the real meaning of Israel’s (Old Testament) Scriptures (promises, covenants, shadows, figures and prophecies). Their claim about the climax of the story, gave the meaning to Old Testament passages that those passages and themes were always going to have.

If we instead approach the Bible with our own ‘story’ (or our denomination’s, or our favourite teacher’s) - and lift Bible-statements and passages out from the story in which they existed, and try to understand those themes in terms of our own story - we could miss part of what the Bible-statements were really telling us. We could even end-up painting a quite different picture in our own minds altogether.

This can help provide perspective on a number of questions today, like: eschatology; sloppy-grace versus legalism; and Calvinism versus Arminianism.

Bible-statements are often lifted out from the author’s worldview story, and given a meaning which exists in the reader’s own ‘story’. But when we discover the meaning that the Bible-statements had within the author’s story, very often rather than answer our modern questions we find it dissolves the issue itself. Because sometimes the controversy only began in the first place because of misreading the Bible passage due to not grasping the meaning it had in the conversation it was part of.   

Your Fish is Ready - by Diane David

We are in exciting times! Things are slowly opening up again after Coronavirus. Our country is doing really well in its quest to eliminate Covid-19. Our church is also back on next month (yay!!). We are now in what we can call a post-pandemic season!

A lot of people have identified what we’ve been through in the last three months or so as a ‘Divine reset’. As much as the passing season was hard and challenging and could be traumatic, there were also some great things that came out of it. One of the best things we sometimes hear people say about the isolation was that it was a time to rest and be still.

I personally enjoyed that season, although I missed the fellowship. However, we need to step forward and face the reset that is now in front of us. The question is: What is the reset going to look like? Will things be the same as before? Can we really go back to ‘normal’? What will the ‘new normal’ look like? I had an impression in my spirit that fish has something to do with the season that we’re currently in. Three people in the Bible came to mind in relation to fish.

The first person who came to mind was Jonah. He too had a reset. He also experienced isolation while he was inside the fish’s belly. The Lord wanted him to go to Nineveh, but he went in the opposite direction – to Tarsus. We read that there was a tempest. The lot was cast, and Jonah was exposed to be the one disobeying the God of the heavens and the earth, and was thrown out of the boat into the water where a big fish swallowed him. In Jonah chapter 2 we found Jonah inside the fish’s belly, in isolation, praying to the Lord. Jonah’s isolation ended and his reset started, after he prayed this prayer:

^“But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord” (Jonah 2:9). 

And then: 

“…the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land. And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee” (Jonah 2:10-3:1,2).

We saw that Jonah gave thanks to the Lord in his iso time. He committed himself to doing the Lord’s will this time. He acknowledged that salvation comes from the Lord. And the Lord spoke unto the fish – then Jonah was given a second chance, and the fish spat him out where he needed to be.

So what kind of ‘new normal’ are we going back to, after our reset? What will our church, our family life, career, ministry and personal life look like after the reset? The answer is: it’ll be the church, the family life, career, ministry and personal life you are developing during your time inside the fish’s belly!

How you spent your time in isolation over the last three months will determine what this reboot will look like for you. If you’ve been praying the same prayers as Jonah’s, then just like Jonah’s big fish, your fish is ready to spit you out to the exact place you’ve been asking God to take you! Your fish is ready to let you out, as an answer to your own prayers during this isolation – to reset you to your rightful place.

• Where is God calling you? 
• Take your place!
• Go back to the better version of you. Without prejudice, ready to do His will.
• Don’t neglect to make good use of this time inside the fish’s belly. 

If you haven’t yet prayed that bold prayer of “I will pay the vow I have vowed,” there is still time. Don’t step out of isolation into this reset without first squaring-up with the Lord a new determination to do His will.

Another person in the Bible who had a reset was Peter. For some reason Peter seemed to have an affinity with fish. Jesus called Peter while fishing – Matthew 4:18-22. Jesus asked Peter to cast the net: and miraculously he caught a multitude of fishes – Luke 5:1-11. Jesus multiplied bread and two fishes in front of Peter – John 6:1-12. Jesus told Peter to fish and get a piece of money from the fish’s mouth to pay tax – Matthew 17:27.

In John chapter 21, we see Peter in what we can call if you will, a time of isolation. During this time Jesus was no longer physically with the disciples. In the previous three years prior to Jesus dying on the cross and resurrecting, Peter had been hanging out with Jesus. But after the death of Jesus, the disciples were forced to hide as they felt they also might get chased by the Jewish leaders. So Peter couldn’t go back to his previous normal life anymore. He’d given-up everything three years beforehand to follow Jesus – but now at this time he wasn’t sure what to do next. He was anxious – and could have been bored – so he decided to go fishing.

You know the story. Peter went fishing. The other disciples went with him. They were trying all night to catch fish, but to no avail. But when dawn came, Jesus was on the shore and directed them to cast the net one more time on the right side. And there were fishes ready for them. This scenario seemed familiar to Peter. It looked like Luke 5:1-11 all over again. I believe Peter was reminded of when the Lord called him to be a fisher of men. 

At the shore, Jesus was waiting for the disciples to land. Notice in John 21:9, there was already a fire of coals, and fish and bread was ready. Jesus already had fish waiting for them even before they could bring their catch to shore!

Peter is at the end of his isolation. Not many days later from that fishing-day, in the upper-room, the Holy Spirit would come and would set him on fire for the anticipated reset of his lifetime! So, like Peter, in your reset, remember that fish is ready and waiting for you. As we step into this season of the unknown, always remember how God provided your fish. 

Now that we are in reset, be reminded of the fish:

• What God has called you to do (the prayers you pray inside the fish’s belly, as in Jonah’s case; or how Jesus called you as a fisher of men, like Peter).
• How God has provided for you (like the miraculous catch).
• How God has expanded your supply (like the miraculous multiplication of fish and bread).
• How God helped you fulfil your responsibility (like the tax-money inside the fish’s mouth).
• How He keeps preparing fish for you (like how Jesus was cooking fish even before the catch came).

Finally, the third person who I was reminded of by fish, is Jesus Himself. 

In the first century, a symbol of fish was used by believers as a secret code to identify themselves as followers of Christ. The word fish in Greek is ichthus or ichthys. It is spelled in the Greek alphabet as ἰχθύς. Early Christians used this as an acronym for: Jesus Christ, Son of God, our Saviour.

In this season and in our Divine reset, please be reminded that Jesus is ever ready to lead and guide us. Your fish is ready. There is no need to be anxious about what’s ahead. How God provided for you in the past are now your tools for how you can tackle the new normal. And knowing that Jesus is ever ready to help, is your guarantee that this next season is your chance to walk in the path that He has set before you.

Whenever you see fish, always remember that God is never late, never in a hurry, God is always on time. Sometimes He allows times of silence and darkness – like our isolation-time – for us to really reflect and consider what should be the most important thing in our life. But now a Divine reset is before us. Let us take this opportunity – recognising God’s abounding love to give us a second chance – to reboot our lives. Fish is ready and waiting for us in our reset.