The Imperativeness of Context
Please consider the following scriptures:
- Go and make disciples…
- Behold I stand at the door and knock
- Money is the root of all evil
- The truth will set you free
- All things work together for good
What do all these passages have in common? At first glance there doesn’t really seem to be a commonality among these scriptures, but as we consider these phrases, we will discover that they are all basically employed, or usually used, out of context and thus take on a different flavor or meaning. By context, I mean the following: Context is the general overview that gives understanding and meaning to the specifics contained within.
It can be compared to using a macro lens versus a wide angle lens in photography. I can take a close-up picture of a tiger using a telephoto lens and it could look as if I were dangerously face to face with a ferocious beast! However, a wide angle shot of the same scene would show the first picture was taken safely outside of a confining cage with a telephoto lens. To properly interpret the specific, it was necessary to have the general.
Context is essential in correctly understanding and interpreting Scripture. In Mark 3 we read the story of the healing of the man’s withered hand. However, the larger story, the greater context, reveals that the “wide angle” view of the passage is really the larger story of the chief priests and elders maliciously seeking to entrap Jesus so they could have cause to put him to death.
Unquestionably, it is possible to have a story within a story. That truth notwithstanding, it would be very dishonest to portray the inner story in a manner that was inconsistent with the greater picture. For example, several years ago, a very popular, nationally televised evangelist/pastor built an entire teaching, if not a doctrine, on the basis of the following words taken from Isaiah 45:11, specifically, “Command ye me.”
His teaching was predicated on the contention that “Command ye me” was declarative in nature and therefore believers should command or order God. However, the context is affirming the extreme power and significance of God while setting forth His power and providence in establishing the predominant place of Cyrus on the world stage. Additionally this passage was all about Israel’s deliverance from Babylon.
First, there is no punctuation in Hebrew as we know it so one has to know the context of this phrase in order to properly exegete its meaning. Once you read the full passage you would understand “command ye me” to be an interrogative rather than a declarative phrase. Actually God was posing a rhetorical question to this people. This pastor was either incredibly ignorant or just not honest in his misleading exegesis.
“Command ye me” was in the King James Version of this verse, but NLT, along with several other translations gave a better translation along the lines of: “This is what the LORD says— the Holy One of Israel and your Creator: ‘Do you question what I do for my children? Do you give me orders about the work of my hands?’”
I have recently been studying the concept of the will of God and one of the passages I was dealing with was from Hebrews 10 wherein Jesus is quoted as saying, “I have come to do thy will, O God.” In fact this phrase is included twice (verses 7 and 9). Now there is much I could say regarding this key phrase, but I would be remiss, if not disingenuous, if I failed to include the larger message in expounding on my chosen phrase. In this case one would have to consider both the context of Psalm 40 and Hebrews 10 since the phrase came from Psalm 40.
There are many passages from the Word wherein the respective contexts are conveniently overlooked or set aside. One of these phrases is “Behold I stand at the door and knock…” This passage is often quoted to unbelievers while witnessing. In truth these words were spoken to the believers in the Laodicean church, Rev 3:20.
Another salvation scripture that is used frequently is from Matt 28:18-20. “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations…” The emphasis in the context of this passage is on discipling and teaching but obviously not principally getting people saved. Understanding what a true disciple really is makes for a good study in itself. We need to ask the question, what does it mean to be an authentic disciple of Christ? For a deeper study on this subject you can read Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book, The Cost of Discipleship.
Another oft misused and abused word is from John 8. We mostly hear “you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” Mostly overlooked is the first part which says, “if you continue in my word.” The second part of this word won’t have much meaning if the first part is ignored.
“Cherry picking” pet portions of Scripture because they fit our personal agendas is sloppy exegesis at best and bordering on dishonesty at worst. Intellectual laziness may also play a part in this. As sincere believers it behooves us to thoroughly understand the biblical context of the scripture we are expounding. We will always benefit from the additional exercise.
It would be a worthy exercise to look up the passages listed at the beginning of this article in order to ascertain the true intended meaning based on their context, and decide whether or not from your experience these passage are used properly.
