How To Study The Bible Like A Pro - Class #7b - Foundational Rules Of Bible Interpretation - Continued Series

A. Eight Rules of Hermeneutics

1. Rule of Context

a). The three most important rules of interpretation are context, context, and context!

Context is the first and most important principle for accurate interpretation. A word can only mean what the original author meant. A text out of context is a pretext for a proof text which makes a preacher subject to teaching things that can lead people astray from sound historical and orthodox doctrine. That is what the devil used when he spoke to Eve in the Garden (Gen 3:1).

Bible scholars use the term ‘context’ to discuss various aspects of the original writing of the text. A writer follows a logical line of thought in what they write. What they said in the previous verses or chapters and what they said in those following will help make the text clear.

b). A person must never read Bible verses that have been ripped from their context.

A good rule of thumb is to read 3 to 4 verses before a verse AND 3 to 4 verses after.

Once a person accounts for the literal, historical, and grammatical nature of a passage, they must focus on the outline and structure of the book, then the chapter, later the paragraph.

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.” (1 John 4:7-12 ESV)

c). Taking phrases and verses out of context always leads to misunderstanding.

For instance, taking the phrase "God is love" (v8) out of its context, a person might come away thinking that God loves everything and everyone at all times with a gushing, romantic love. But, in its literal and grammatical context, “love” here refers to ‘agape’ love, the essence of which is sacrificed for the benefit of another, not a sentimental, romantic love.

The historical context is also crucial because John was addressing Born-Again Christians in the first-century church and instructing them not just about God’s love, but on how to identify those who are receivers of Jesus and Born-Again, not just those who are merely believers or false professors of faith.

True love - the sacrificial, beneficial kind - is the mark of one who is genuinely Born-Again (v7), those who do not love do not belong to God (v8), God loved us before we loved Him (vv. 9-10), and all of this is why Christians should love one another to prove that they are His (v. 11-12).

The phrase "God is love" must be considered in the context of all of Scripture (synthesis). That will keep a person from coming to the false, and all-too-common, conclusion that God is only love or that His love is more significant than all His other attributes, which is not the case. Many Bible passages state that God is also holy, righteous, faithful, trustworthy, graceful, merciful, kind, compassionate, omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient, as well as many, many other things. The Bible also tells us, God not only loves, but He also hates. (See Prov 6:16-19)

d). The Bible is the written Word of God, literally "God-breathed" (2 Tim 3:16).

We are commanded to read, study, and understand it through the use of proper study methods, and always with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to guide them (1 Cor 2:14).

The study of Scripture is greatly enhanced by maintaining diligence in the use of context because it is quite easy to come to wrong conclusions by taking phrases and verses out of context. It is not difficult to point out places that seemingly contradict other portions of Scripture, but if they carefully look at the context and use the entirety of Scripture as a reference, they can understand the meaning of a passage. “Context is king” means that the context often drives the meaning of a phrase. To ignore context is to put one’s self at a tremendous disadvantage.

e). When reading the Bible, it is not wise to ask the question “what does this verse mean to me” because it will virtually guarantee that the reader will never understand the true meaning of it.

The meaning of a verse must be gathered from the context of the verse within the passage, the chapter, and even the whole book. Every word read must be understood in the light of the words that come before and after it.