NECESSARY INFERENCE
by Dave Brown
God’s Authority — Necessary Inference
In another article within the Bible Study Methods topic we show that we obtain authority and direction from the bible by Command, Example and Necessary Inference. We saw that approved apostolic examples are binding because God commanded us to follow them. This applies to both the examples of Christ (1 Pet 2:21) and the approved examples of the apostles (1 Cor 11:1, Phil 3:17; 4:9). In this article we will show, by example, that both Jesus and the apostles used necessary inference (NI) to resolve key issues of biblical interpretation.
But first, what is it? Some call it necessary implication, some obvious conclusions, and still others just “plain old common sense.” We use it every day in communication. When Dad tosses a $5 bill at Junior and and says: “Please go down to the store and get us some milk,” there are a large number of necessary inferences involved. Some examples:
(1) That Junior will choose some expedient means of getting to the store,
(2) That he will purchase just what Dad told him to — at least with Dad’s money, and
(3) That he will choose the quantity/type of milk that is appropriate, etc., etc.
Now Dad could have specified much more (like whether to take the family car or Junior’s bicycle), and if he did then these things would no longer be within Junior’s realm of judgment. However, no matter how much Dad does specify, Junior will always have to make some judgments on his own.
When Dad does not specify a detail, Junior is still authorized (by the inference of the command) to do his best in making these decisions. However, to be a necessary inference the conclusion must be inescapable. It is not enough for it to be a possibility, or even a likely possibility. It must be the definitive result of the commands and examples given by scripture.
For example, the fact that Dad gave Junior $5 and that the milk would not cost quite that much does not within itself authorize Junior to spend it on anything that he wants. Junior might want to infer such a thing, but Dad might take issue with that conclusion. That conclusion is not consistent with Dad’s command, while the means of getting there and his choice of milk brand are essential to accomplishing Dad’s command. There is nothing difficult about this – it is the same type of reasoning that we use every day in our family, business and social relationships
An example of Jesus’ use of necessary inference can be found in (Mt. 22:31-32): “But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” Jesus was quoting from Exodus 3:6, which says nothing specifically about the resurrection from the dead. However, Jesus chastises them for not drawing the obvious conclusion, one that is necessarily inferred from the tense of a verb (I am, not I was).
If Jesus used this method, can it be wrong? In Mt. 22 (and many other places), Jesus draws conclusions that must follow from the scriptures even though they are not explicitly stated. This is exactly what we mean when we talk about necessary inference. To draw such conclusions, however, one must know the premises. Knowing only what other people state about the bible is not sufficient. Thus, the necessity to study (2 Tim. 2:15) and to become as those “who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil” (Heb. 5:14).
Let us apply this to a simple example today. Most religious people recognize that God has commanded them to meet each first day of the week (Hebrews 10:25). Meeting requires a place. So, the command to meet necessarily infers that we will establish a place to meet. There is no other alternative. A place to meet can be borrowed, rented or owned by the local church – those are the only three alternatives, but none of them are uniquely specified in the New Testament. It is therefore up to the local church to make the determination of the best possible way that it can arrange a place to meet. When it does this, it is acting on the authority that God has given it. We are to do nothing without such authority.