What are the words you will most likely hear in a history lecture?

Context is key

I have had that ingrained in me ever since I began my history undergraduate some years ago. Yet, they are also the words we should be thinking about when we open the Word and read Scripture. Context is key.

Reading the Word without the context

Ever since the Reformation we have the gift of each one of us having our own Bibles. It is a great and wondrous thing, the ability to examine the Word in our time. Yet, there is an issue that we are often oblivious to.

We often read the Word individualistically and take things widely out of the context in which they were written and try to apply them directly to our own lives. Those who know me know how much I hate out-of-context verses spammed everywhere. For example, Jeremiah 29:11:

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

A verse often applied to the individual’s plans and life, when in fact the Lord is speaking to the Israelites in exile!  Its application is far bigger than our careers or plans, it is directed to us as the remnant church, and our hope of a glorious future in eternity. The verse, when put into context, is so much better! So let us think about Philippians 4 for a moment.

2I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Our first approach is most likely to avoid verse 2 as just a minor dispute, and go straight to verses 4 to 7. We might say to ourselves, “Okay, I must not be anxious about anything and take everything to God in prayer, and then peace will be mine.” The application is not necessarily a bad one, but it misses the point Paul is making.

Reading the Word with the context

Who is Paul writing to? He is not writing to an individual, rather he is writing to the whole church in Philippi. For example, he addresses verse 1 of the letter to ‘all the saints’. The whole frame and thread of the letter is focused on them as a collective. 

What is Paul’s own situation? He is about to face a Roman court and could die any day. He is in chains, he is suffering, yet he hears about bickering going on in a church he dearly loves as brethren. He pleads with the church that, if he is to die, then may they strive to find unity in the face of disunity. 

However, the verses need to be shaped by what goes before, i.e. verse 2, because that verse is key to unlocking the whole passage. Paraphrasing for a moment, Paul is writing to the church in the context of this disagreement and pleads with them, Brethren, do not bicker, as a church find your unity and joy in Christ, as a church may people see that you are kind to one another. Do not be anxious about the situation around you but as a collective take it to God in prayer. Stop trying to find fault in one another, but find the good in each other.

But the issue today is that our view of church is so individualistic. We probably apply those verses straight to ourselves, and don’t stop to think that Paul is referring to the church as a collective in regards to our attitude to one another. This approach often ensures that we ignore what Paul is saying, and we let pride lead us in how we treat one another. I am, after all, the most important and the one who is always right, no? This overflows into our attitude to church. We often treat church like a pick and mix…I want this style of worship and this style of preaching and this outward-looking, extrovert-thinking church…the list goes on and on and on as we tick boxes on our personal list of preferences. Yet, you will always find a fault! The main question should be: does this church preach, sing and pray truth? Does it proclaim Christ and the Word?

Paul yearns for deeper unity in the church. So in the context, the whole passage and meaning shifts, it makes it less about us and our own individual application and more about our brothers. It makes us realise that yes, the church is really important. I’ve often debated this point with people, what comes first after our relationship with the Lord, is it our blood family, church, career? I think this passage makes a good point. Through Christ, we find that our local church is our family, and should be the focus of our attention.

In sum, Paul wants them, and likewise us, to be unified in Christ. To be one body with Christ as our head. So before we open our lips to complain, let us all meditate on what Paul is saying in these verses, to think better of our brothers and sisters than ourselves. Who knows, it might completely shape how we see church?

Reading the whole Word with the context

But I do not want to leave this article thinking that it is just the letter to the Philippians where context is important. Throughout all the NT letters and gospels, understanding what is happening, what is going on behind the scenes, and who the intended audience is, helps us understand why things are being said. Take Romans, everyone goes on about its meaning to us individually and will undoubtedly hold it up as the beacon to the doctrines of grace. But think, why is Paul writing it, what is the context? For example, one big issue is that the church in Rome was separated into many small house churches, their pride gets in the way, Jew and Gentile distinctions; they are all separated! Paul tells them to stop that, they are brothers! Once we understand the why question, it completely reshapes how we view Scripture and one another!

At the same time, I do not want to ignore the Old Testament. For example, Isaiah 7:14:

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

We often take this verse and think straight of Christ. Of course, it has a New testament context, Mathew in his gospel makes a reference to it as Scripture being fulfilled. Yet, at the same time it has an immediate context to think about. Isaiah will have a son by a woman who was meant to be a virgin, a prophetess. This child Maher-shalal-hash-baz, is a sign that the Lord is with Israel at that particular moment! He was given the nickname of Immanuel because it was through his birth that it was evident of God’s protection for the nation. We can learn wonders too from the immediate context of this verse, as well as the Lord fulfilling it in all its glory in Christ.  

Final thoughts

I am not saying in this article that we need to become avid and professional historians, but before you start a book, or a letter, have a think. What is the wider context, who is the audience, what are the main themes, how can this shape things in my own context?

Of course, understanding the context is nothing unless we have the help of the Holy Spirit to interpret it and apply it to our hearts.. Nonetheless, grasping the context, shifts how we approach Scripture. It helps to stop us standing over the Word in judgement, and it helps us to glimpse into the world of Paul, his thoughts and sufferings. We can see his meaning, his love and passion. Too many of us come to the Word with a twenty-first century lens, a mindset that has been warped and twisted. Rather, let us come afresh, see what Paul is actually saying to the church, and let us, through the power of the Holy Spirit, truly be shaped, body, mind and soul to become more like our Saviour.