ACCESS: This video is in English with the addition of American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and English captions. You can find the original video HERE.

What is the “meaning” of a text? Part 4

John Piper will continue to answer these questions:
1. What do we mean by the word “meaning”?
2. How do we use the word “meaning” in these LABS?
3. Specifically, what is the “meaning” of a written text?
Answer: The meaning of a text is what the author intended to communicate by his words.

Reason #4: This definition of meaning reflects the biblical worldview that God is absolute Reality, and that he created and upholds a world of reality that has objective existence outside our minds, so that the aim of reading his word is not to create meaning, but to discover it in what the God-inspired author intended to communicate – an intention that has real objective existence outside ourselves. Reality is not just an echo of our own subjective preferences.

Scripture References
Psalm 14:1, Exodus 3:13-14, Hebrews 1:1-3, Ephesians 3:3-4

John Piper is founder and teacher of Desiring God and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary.

For more information on John Piper and Desiring God, check out desiringgod.org

For more information on Bethlehem College & Seminary, check out bcsmn.edu

Special thanks to John Piper and Desiring God for graciously letting us translate their material into sign language for the deaf to enjoy and benefit from.