Lesson 1: Laying the Foundation

Rooted in God

The nature of the Bible is rooted in the nature of God. When we think about the nature of who God is, there is no better place in the Bible to turn than where God reveals his name. Note what this text teaches us about God’s nature.
Then Moses said to God, "If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I am who I am." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'I am has sent me to you.'" God also said to Moses, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations."

—Exodus 3:13–15
God is who he is, and nothing we think or do can change that; God remains the LORD.
So too, the Bible stands forever as the Word of God. We live in a day and age where people love to talk about “my truth.” But what is “true for you” has no impact on who God actually is, nor on the meaning of his word. God has spoken by the Holy Spirit. Our calling now is to interpret what he has said and submit to his word. We do not stand over the Bible as judges who decide what we want it to mean or what we should take from it. We submit to the Bible as creatures and servants.
If we are prone to be critical rather than changed, we should put our hands on our mouths and listen. We are sinful and finite. God is infinite and holy.

My thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isa 55:8–9)

...let the word of God create new categories of thinking rather than trying to force the Scripture into the limits of what you already know.

—John Piper, Providence, 14–15.
This reality can be awkward to communicate because it is so simple and obvious. But, sadly, such things may not be assumed. Take a careful look at the following implications of the absolute nature of the Bible to ensure the foundations for your interpretation are firmly laid.
Implications of Having an Unchanging Word
When we read the Bible, we either understand what God is actually communicating, or we understand wrongly. 
True meaning originates from the authors (God and men), not the reader. Hence, what something means “to me” is irrelevant. The real question is, “What has God said and what does this require of me?”
Meaning is not relative or fluid. It does not change just because people do.
Everyone’s interpretation is not equally valid.
Others would add an additional point, namely, that every passage has only a single interpretation. But this point is too simplistic and does not stand the scrutiny of biblical examples involving double-fulfillments and types. Neither does it accord with the nature of God. For example, would any Christian really claim that God is only ever doing one thing at a time in the providence of history?
The God Who Speaks
Our modern world also has an agnostic inclination. Instead of suggesting that each individual can define his or her own meaning, some will point to our limitations as humans and insist that we cannot possibly know the certainty of any spiritual claim. And left to ourselves, they are right.

However, the word of God from “the beginning” teaches us that God delights to speak. Yes, God does have good purposes in concealing certain things, but at the right time he reveals such mysteries to us. This he has done in the Bible, and it is glorious! Through the prophets and the apostles, the Father has revealed himself in Christ by the Holy Spirit. We hear God speak in and through the syntax, conjunctions, and words of the Bible's human authors. Their words are His Word.
It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.

—Proverbs 25:2
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

—Hebrews 1:1-2
Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

—Romans 16:25–27
To sum up, the Bible is neither pliable nor opaque. It is the revelation of the God who is who he is.

Is there a universal way Christians should interpret the Bible?A well-written article on biblical hermeneutics making some of these same points and others.