Rightly Dividing The Word of Truth

If you have been a Christian for even a short time, you probably have your favorite verses you quote. I mean, who has not even memorized the "Lord's Prayer"? You probably don't even have to be a Christian to know that, or even John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, will no perish, but have everlasting life." And so taking this verse at face value, you could easily interpret the meaning one way, but is that correct?

Do you know what the next verse says? And does what the next verse says change your interpretation of the first verse... even a little? John 3:17 "God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." So now what do those two verses mean put together? How do you interpret what is being said now? And does the verse before or the verse after affect the meaning you have? What about the whole chapter? What about the whole book? And while most people know the books of the bible were not written with chapter and verse; sometimes quoting just some verses as though they are complete in themselves can almost most assuredly lead to grave errors in interpretation. 

My thoughts are to write a few posts that will point out some common verses I have even memorized, and also have heard quoted by others many times, that are taken out of context with the meanings intended by the writer. I don't intend to write in such a way as to explain much more than some obvious observations, and I am rather hoping that by pointing out some of these common verses, the reader will search their own favorite verses for correct context.

In no particular order, other than what comes to mind the first verse I will write about is taken from 1 Cor. 2:9 "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."  Now this seems pretty clear, however a little digging will surprise you. What I left off of the quote is five words at the beginning which say: "But as it is written" which would indicate that Paul is quoting this from the TeNaKh which is what the Hebrew Scriptures are called. (as a side note, there was no old and new testament at the time of the biblical characters. and if you were to talk to a Jewish person and quote verses they would know, it might give some credibility to refer to those verses as having come from the Tenakh.)

Okay, so now onto the next verse, where Paul changes the meaning of the verse he quoted by explaining: "BUT God has revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searches all things, yes the deep things of God."  Doesn't that change the meaning often used of the previous verse? And yet to be even more clear lets read what Paul continues to explain. "For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of man which is in him? Even so, the things of God knows no man, but the Spirit of God." Oh, okay, that seems clear that the verse was being interpreted correctly, because Only God knows, and man does not know except what is in his own heart. But don't stop there. Remember context. Let Paul finish his point.

Verse 12 "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which IS OF GOD, that we might KNOW THE THINGS FREELY GIVEN TO US OF GOD. 13. Which thing also we speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Ghost teaches, COMPARING spiritual with spiritual." And so now Paul explains the difference of how it used to be before Christ, and how it is now for the New Creation Man...

Verse 14: "But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned," This is why it has not entered into the heart of man the things God has prepared for him, BECAUSE the natural man cannot receive them... BUT we are not natural men anymore, and so it is freely given to us to know by the spirit!

And so let's finish Paul's thought in this chapter. "But he that is spiritual judges all things, het he himself is judged of no man." (side note about don't judge lest you be judged. how do you compare those two verse meanings?)

Okay, read verse 16 carefully which sums up Paul's teaching and proper interpretation of the verse. "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But WE HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST!"

I had a friend point this out to me probably 35 or more years ago, and it has stuck with me over the years, and perhaps if you have not heard it explained like this before, it may help you to be another step closer to Rightly Dividing The Word of Truth.