Fuller chair

Proposal for the Chair in Hermeneutics of Sensus Plenior

Vision

To establish a dedicated faculty Chair at Fuller Seminary focused on training pastors and scholars in a rule-based, Spirit-illuminated method of biblical interpretation—the sensus plenior—which reveals the unified voice of God declaring the death and resurrection of Christ through every name, pattern, structure, symbol, and word of Scripture.

This is not merely a Christocentric reading. It is the discovery of the deeper meaning God encoded in the original text—through the design of the Hebrew language itself, the interplay of letter meanings, word formations, and symbolic structure, to reveal the cross of Christ on every page.

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Curriculum: MDiv and PhD Tracks

Core Areas of Study

1. The Meaning of Hebrew Letters
   • Students will learn the consistent symbolic meanings of Hebrew letters, rooted in their form and function (e.g., א as “He spoke and created,” ב as “He revealed Himself to man”).
   • These meanings become foundational to interpretive work, as the Spirit constructed words with intention.
2. Word Formations and Symbolic Gates
   • Exploration of how word-pairs (gates), reversals, and internal consonant structures communicate deeper truths.
   • Tools like two-letter gates (e.g., אב vs בא), nested gates (e.g., א(ה)ב), and positional meaning (e.g., right = spirit, left = flesh) will be taught.
   • Students will learn to map words back to their conceptual roots, showing how Christ is hidden in the very structure of the language.
3. Patterns, Riddles, and the Cross
   • All Scripture speaks of the cross—not just prophetically or typologically, but symbolically and structurally.
   • Students will be trained to recognize cross-shaped patterns in narrative (death and resurrection arcs), names (e.g., Er, Tamar, Cain), and symbols (e.g., lifted stones, thorns, split animals, judgment waters).
   • They will be equipped with reproducible rules to identify these as the Spirit’s consistent testimony that “the Christ must suffer and rise.”
4. Sensus Plenior: A Second Telling
   • Every historical narrative in the Old Testament contains a literal surface and a spiritual second telling—written by the Spirit and only discernible through the cross.
   • Students will learn to treat the text not only as history, but as prophecy through structure, name meanings, and symbolic logic.
   • This second telling is always verifiable (by multiple witnesses), reproducible (by rules), and Christ-revealing (never abstract or Gnostic).
5. Practical Applications
   • Sermon construction and discipleship that help congregations see Christ in every passage—not by theological imposition, but by following the Spirit’s design.
   • Use of tools like symbol dictionaries, word maps, and rule-based exegesis to build a foundation for deep study.
   • Students will leave with not only theological fluency, but a spiritual framework that models how to hear God in Scripture as verifiably and faithfully as the apostles.

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Theological Foundation

1. God as Primary Author and Linguist
   • God didn’t merely inspire thoughts—He created language itself to embed revelation.
   • The Hebrew language was divinely formed so that the very letters, roots, and patterns bear testimony of Christ.
   • This is the basis for a revelatory hermeneutic that is scientific (rule-based), spiritual (Spirit-revealed), and Christological (cross-centered).
2. Christ as the Only Meaning of Scripture
   • All Scripture prophesies the death and resurrection of Christ—not through selective verses, but through every genealogical list, battle, ritual, and narrative.
   • Just as Jesus said, “Moses wrote of me,” this hermeneutic insists that every word Moses wrote speaks of the cross, when read with Spirit-taught eyes.
3. Apostolic Method as the True Hermeneutic
   • The early apostles re-read Scripture through the cross, discovering patterns that were always present but hidden.
   • This Chair restores that method—not through mysticism, but through disciplined, reproducible rules guided by the same Spirit.
4. Hearing God Propositionally
   • The Spirit’s voice in Scripture can be heard propositionally, not mystically. When a symbol consistently means the same thing (e.g., water = Word, hand = works, virgin = bride in the Spirit), we are not guessing. We are being taught.
   • Students will learn a reproducible approach that verifies its meaning across multiple contexts, returning to the confidence of the early church.

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Why Fuller? Why Now?

• Fuller has long stood at the intersection of scholarship and Spirit. This Chair would renew that legacy, offering:
  • A fresh reason to study Scripture deeply—not merely devotionally or critically, but as a Spirit-authored codebook of the cross.
  • A way to restore confidence in Scripture’s unity and authority—not by apologetics alone, but by showing how every part must speak of Christ.
  • A bridge to renewal—reigniting wonder, intellectual rigor, and spiritual life by returning to the Emmaus method Jesus Himself taught.