ChristocentricBy George Gunn

One of the most precious of all truths to me as a Bible-believing Christian is that the Bible tells me all I need to know about the Lord Jesus Christ.

Most Christians would agree that the Bible is essentially a book all about Christ. From beginning to end, the purpose of the Bible is to point men and women to Jesus. Sometimes this truth is referred to as the Christocentric principle of interpretation. Christocentric is simply a fancy way of saying “centered on Christ.” Jesus Christ is the focal point, the central and main message, of the Bible. Jesus Himself seems to have affirmed this when He said, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me” (John 5:39). The history of Christianity, as well as many contemporary Christian scholars, affirms this important principle. For example, at the time of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther held to six principles of interpretation. His sixth principle was, “The reference of all Scripture [is] to Christ.” The great 19th century commentator Frédéric Louis Godet wrote, “From . . . Genesis down to Malachi, in studying the Scriptures for himself, [Jesus] had found himself in them everywhere (John 5:39, 40).” And that great expositor of Scripture Warren Wiersbe wrote in his commentary on Luke, “The key to understanding the Bible is to see Jesus Christ on every page.”