Skip to content

Add your phone number?

Optional. Nothing is sent unless you choose it.
The Historic Faith
Sign in

Jumpstarter 9 of 10

Ideas to help restart your discussion
Historical Theology I : MMT201  /  The Apostolic Quadrilateral (Intensive Week – Day 1b)  /  Discussion Questions
All Questions
Question 9
The “soundboard solo” and binoculars images lead to his claim: “You don’t interpret Paul through Jesus; you interpret Paul through Jesus,” and he highlights 1 Corinthians 7 (“not I, but the Lord… I, not the Lord”); what doctrines or practices in your tradition would shift most if Jesus’ teaching became the primary interpretive lens for Paul and the rest of Scripture?
Another way to ask: If we read Paul and the rest of the Bible mainly through Jesus’ teaching, what beliefs or church practices in your tradition would change the most?

Direct Answer Clifton’s point suggests that any doctrine or practice built mainly by prioritizing Paul (or other parts) over Jesus would have to be rebalanced, so that Jesus becomes the “solo” and interpretive center. The transcript doesn’t list specific denominational doctrines that would shift, but it strongly implies ethics and church practice would move closer to the Sermon on the Mount.

Support from Transcript:

  • He compares wrong reading to binoculars backward: it makes what should be “large” become “real small,” meaning Christ can get minimized.
  • He uses the soundboard image: “Whole Bible is true… but there’s one solo… Jesus Christ.”
  • He quotes Ignatius: “the archives… is Jesus,” meaning the Old Testament points to him.
  • He states the hermeneutic bluntly: “You don’t interpret Paul… through Paul. You interpret Paul through Jesus… Jesus is the interpreter.”
  • He cites Paul’s own pattern in 1 Corinthians 7: “not I, but the Lord” versus “I, not the Lord… I think I also have the Spirit of God,” showing Paul distinguishes direct Jesus teaching from his apostolic judgment.
Discussion Follow-ups Where has your tradition tended to build its ‘main emphasis’—more from epistles or from the Gospels? If Jesus’ teachings (especially Sermon on the Mount) became the controlling lens, what would change in church discipline, ethics, or daily discipleship expectations?

Jumpstarter 9 of 10
Back Questions Next