In the last post, we looked at a passage of Scripture that many have taken too broadly; namely, that Paul in calling himself "the worst of sinners" was not referring to his present state but to his past - before Christ. In this case, Christians have made too much out of what Paul said. We cannot make a doctrine out of it.
In this post, we will look at a verse that has sometimes been taken too narrowly often by scholars. We will look at Philippians 4:12-13
I (Paul) know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through him who gives me strength.
I have put in bold letters the part of this which is often quoted. Christians have applied this principle to just about any situation. They declare that God empowers us to go through all kinds of circumstances particularly when we are answering his call.
Biblical scholars cry foul on this. They say that the context of the latter part of this only applies to the situation of Paul having much or little in terms of material things and does not relate to anything else. In other words, it is said that the time that God gives us strength and ability is in regards to our material circumstances only. Now they would have an excellent point if that was the only biblical passage that spoke of this. It is not.
We not only need to know the immediate context of a verse, we need to understand it in the context of the whole Bible. To say it a little differently, we have to ask ourselves if this principle is only applicable to this situation, or is it a larger principle that Paul has applied right here and we can apply it to other situations as well. I think it is the latter.
Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
This is a promise from the Old Testament that God will strengthen us and uphold us by his right hand. Who is God's right hand? It is Christ. Now the context of this verse is referring to the return of the exiles from the Babylonian Captivity. But notice how similar it is to what Paul said. We can see exactly the same principle applied to very different circumstances.
And there are many such examples of God strengthening His people to accomplish His will. It is a principle that applies to many more situations that what we find in Philippians. So, it is proper to interpret Philippians 4:13 more broadly than some scholars would allow.
I hope that you have noticed that we have done something similar in last week's and this week's post. We have looked at the immediate context and we have looked at the larger context of the whole Bible. In last week's post, we showed that the immediate context was of great importance. Paul clearly said that he had been an awful sinner. Things he said elsewhere showed that he considered a born-again Christian to be righteous before God.
This week we saw that the context of the whole Bible was actually the more important one. So, you might ask the question, "How do we know which one is more important?". Well, that's where we have to keep studying the Scriptures. The more we know, the better we can interpret any verse.
One thing you can do is word studies. You can take prominent words and study how they are used in the Bible. Better yet, you can study certain subjects in the Bible. That means the whole Bible and not just the New Testament though the New Testament does interpret the Old.
So, I encourage everyone to keep reading, studying and meditating on the Word of God.
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