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What Is Christ-Centered Hermeneutics?

Here at The Daily Grace Co., we firmly believe that all Scripture points to Jesus Christ—but some Bible passages may take a little more work to see the Christ connection than others. In fact, the New Testament passages that were written after Jesus was born takes up only 25% of our Bibles. The remaining majority of our Scripture—the Old Testament—was written hundreds of years before Jesus Christ was ever born. So, how can all of Scripture point to Jesus Christ when He is only present in a small percentage of our Bible?    


The process of seeing Christ connections in all of Scripture is called Christ-centered hermeneutics. We’ll spend some time breaking down this term and seeing how you can implement it into your everyday Bible study! 

All Scripture points to Jesus | TDGC

What Does Hermeneutic Mean?  


Let’s start at the beginning—what is hermeneutics? 


Imagine you receive a letter in the mail. Immediately, you rip open the letter without even checking who it was sent from. You pick a random sentence in the very middle of the letter, read it, and then set the letter on the table and walk away. Obviously, you would not have the necessary information available to correctly understand the contents of that letter you have just received. 


Who was the letter from? Was it a bill? Was it a message from a friend? Were there instructions for you to follow? Did it require immediate response? All of this information is necessary to correctly interpret a letter that arrives in your mailbox. And the same is true for understanding the Bible. 

Christ-centered hermeneutics interprets Scripture according to our redemption in Jesus | TDGC

The process of interpreting Scripture is called hermeneutics. Hermeneutics looks at the context of a biblical passage according to its author, date, original audience, and purpose. It encourages us to correctly understand the necessary background information of the Scripture text, which then helps us apply it to our lives today. (If you want to learn more about hermeneutics, check out our blog, What Is Hermeneutics.) 


So, if that is hermeneutics, then what is Christ-centered hermeneutics? 


Christ-centered Hermeneutics


Christ-centered hermeneutics interprets Scripture according to our redemption in Jesus Christ. In other words, it shows how each Bible passage points to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, no matter if we are reading from the Old Testament or the New Testament. So, if hermeneutics takes a look at the background context of a Bible passage, then Christ-centered hermeneutics takes a look at the redemptive context. There are four stages of redemptive history in the Bible: 


  1. Creation – God created a good world and gave human beings the task of ruling over it and worshiping Him alone (Genesis 1–2). 

  2. Fall – Humans sinned against God, and as a consequence, sin and death now mark our experience in this world. We are sinners who deserve God’s judgment (Genesis 3). 

  3. Redemption – Out of grace and love, God pursues sinful human beings to bring them back into a peaceful relationship with Himself. 

  4. Restoration – At the end of time, God will create a new earth that is free from sin and death, and humanity will live in peace with God forever (Revelation 21–22).   


All passages in the Bible fit within one or more of these categories. So, how can you practice Christ-centered hermeneutics in your Bible study today? 

Every book of the Bible points to Christ in some way | TDGC

How to Apply Christ-centered Hermeneutics to Your Daily Bible Study


Now that we understand what Christ-centered hermeneutics is, let’s learn how we can implement it in our daily Bible study! 


  1. Take a look at background context


When we begin reading a book of the Bible, it is important to check out who the author was, when they wrote it, where they wrote it, and who the letter was written to. You can learn this information from a study Bible, a commentary, or The Daily Grace Co’s Bible Handbook. Our Bible Handbook is a book-by-book guide to help you understand the context of each book of the Bible, including beautiful and in-depth illustrations. In addition to this, The Bible Maps Handbook helps bring to life the geographical context of the Bible with beautiful maps of the Bible stories.  


  1. Determine the redemptive context


When you are reading a passage in the Bible, the next step is determining where it fits within the four stages of redemptive history mentioned above. Is the passage written before or after Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection? Is it pointing to our lives now or our lives in the new creation? What does it teach us about God’s redemption of His people? These are all helpful questions to ask when determining the redemptive history of the text. The Daily Grace Co.’s Bible Themes Handbook is a great tool that will help you discover the redemptive and biblical themes throughout the entire Bible! 


  1. Make the Christ connection


Once we’ve determined the historical and redemptive context of a book, it’s time to see how the text points to Jesus Christ. Again, Jesus may not be explicitly mentioned in the Bible passage, but every book in the Bible points to Christ in some way. Here is a list of four questions that can help you make a Christ connection during your daily Bible study. (These questions are from The Daily Grace Co’s Bible Study Handbook, which is an in-depth guide to help you study the Bible no matter if you are a beginner or an expert!)        

 

Tips for finding the Christ connection in Scripture: 

  • Does it show a need for Christ? 

  • Is there a promise or prophecy about Christ?

  • Is Christ present in the text?

  • Is there an aspect of the gospel revealed?


We wouldn’t open a letter in the mail without understanding the correct context, and the same is true for reading your Bible. At The Daily Grace Co, we are passionate about equipping disciples to study God’s Word, and we hope that this article has helped you gain a better understanding of learning biblical context from a Christ-centered perspective. With these tools, you can begin using Christ-centered hermeneutics in your Bible study today! 



Sources:

“How to Read a Book of the Bible Independently.” The Daily Grace Co., August 27, 2022. https://thedailygraceco.com/blogs/the-daily-grace-blog/how-to-read-a-book-of-the-bible-independently.

The Daily Grace Co. The Bible Study Handbook | A Comprehensive Guide to Reading, Understanding, and Applying the Bible. Spring, Texas: The Daily Grace Co., 2024.

White, Beth. “How to Understand the Bible.” The Daily Grace Co., April 24, 2024. https://thedailygraceco.com/blogs/the-daily-grace-blog/how-to-understand-the-bible?srsltid=AfmBOopXFj-suYuvyQmaBV-QaxTA5CkwVoL_0qMrrUFJEE9WKqmr4mTQ.

DeRouchie, Jason. How to Understand and Apply the Old Testament: Twelve Steps from Exegesis to Theology. Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2017, 6–11.


Additional resources for studying the Bible in context:

 

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