In reading and studying the Bible, it is tempting to treat it as a magic book of detached verses that mystically guides me along life’s path. Many people open the Bible at random places and pluck out individual verses in an attempt to hear God speaking to them.
A classic example of reading verses out of context is that of a desperately depressed man praying to God for wisdom. He then opens the Bible and reads the first verse he sees. It reads:
“Then Judas went away and hanged himself.” (Matthew 27:5)
The disconcerted man thinks this is bizarre, so he quickly prays again and opens the Bible in another place. It reads:
“Jesus told him, ‘What you are about to do, do quickly.’” (John 13:27)
He speedily commits suicide.
Obviously, this is a fictional story, but it highlights an important truth.
God does indeed speak to us through the Bible, but treating it as a magic book of disconnected verses is a very unhelpful way to read God’s Word. When we isolate verses, we read them out of their surrounding context and completely miss the biblical author’s intended meaning.
The temptation in isolating verses is to read them in the way we want and in the way that suits me best.
Another classic example is Philippians 4:13:
“I can do all things through Christ.”
This verse is often used to assure God’s power for personal success, sports victories, and career achievements. Yet, in its original context, it means contentment in all circumstances. The Apostle Paul was not saying Christ empowers us to win, but that Christ sustains us even if we lose everything.
The verse is about strength to endure, not strength to play your best round of golf.
The Bible was indeed supernaturally inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16–17), but God used human authors—with their own diction, personalities, and historical situations—to speak and write (2 Peter 1:21).
Therefore, by reading verses in their context and considering how they would have been understood by their original audience, we are better able to grasp the inspired biblical author’s main point and the proper implications of the passage for us today.
The original authors were inspired by the Holy Spirit, so what they wrote was exactly what God intended them to write.
While the Holy Spirit enables us to understand and appreciate the Bible, we are not inspired. We are prone to misunderstanding and misapplying Scripture, and therefore we should make every effort to read the Bible carefully and correctly.
We would never open any other book at a random place and expect to understand its plot and meaning, so why do we treat the Bible this way?
Yes, the Bible is God’s supernatural and sufficient Word to us, but it must be read and understood rightly.
To better understand the inspired author’s main point, we should consider three levels of context:
- Literary context: the flow of the argument or story by looking at the larger section around the verses we are reading
- Historical context: the circumstances or situation of the original audience who first received the book or letter
- Biblical context: how the author uses other biblical passages that he and his audience would have known
A good question to ask is: Why has the author placed this passage here in the book?
Reading the Bible in context changes everything.
Helpful hints:
- Read the chapters on both sides of your verse or passage.
- Over a week or month, read through the entire book—twice if you can—and note any major themes and emphases.
- If possible, try to gather information about the specific historical context in which the book was written and how it would have influenced the original audience (e.g., introductions in the ESV Study Bible or resources from The Gospel Coalition).
- Read any corresponding Bible passages (e.g., read 1–2 Samuel for some Psalms, or Acts for some Pauline epistles) and look up any verses quoted or other biblical verses mentioned.
In the first Narcegesis article, I wrote that the Bible is not about you; it is about Jesus. However, although it is not about you, it is for you.
In the second Narcegesis article, I wrote about the difference between passages that tell us what has happened and passages that tell us what should happen.
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Thank you to the Charles Simeon Trust for their very helpful material on Biblical Exegesis and Exposition.