The Context Principle
a. That principle by which God gives light upon a subject through either near or remote passages bearing upon the same theme. Every sentence or verse in the Bible has something that precedes it and something that follows it—except Gen. 1:1 and Rev. 22:21.
- Every verse must be studied in the light of its context. Never take a verse out of its setting and give it a foreign meaning.
Examples.
a. Ram and He-goat— Dan. 8.
Ridiculous statements will be made unless one studies the context; in this case, the rest of the chapter.
b. Valley of dry bones—Ezek. 37. This is not the Church. The context says it is the whole house of Israel. There are some passages in Scripture that will be absolutely dark without the context.
c. The Bible can be made to prove anything, but NOT when studied in the light of the context. You can pick out a verse or part of a verse, and use it to prove a theory, and make it mean something God never intended it to mean. That is not treating Scripture fairly. - Phil. 2:12.
“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” What about the context? God works in you, and then you work it out. Verse 14 gives the method of doing His will. - Rom. 8:28.
“All things work together for good.” This is not what the scripture is saying. “To them that love God,” and more than that, “to them that are the called according to His purpose.” - John 6:37.
“Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.” But notice the first of the verse—“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh tome… etc.”
a. Psalm 2:8, 9.
This is quoted as a missionary text perhaps more than any other verse. People talk as though the reign of Christ would begin when they ask for it They seem to think that we have to work and to go on and on, and when the whole world is saved, then the kingdom will come. - This is not a missionary text. It does not say that the faithful worker on the field will be given the heathen. The next verse says, “thou shalt break them with a rod of iron.” This is not the way a missionary does. Verse 8 hasn’t anything to do with missions. It has to do with the Son of God and His kingdom. It does not refer to converting the world by the gospel, but to the rule of Christ.
- God’s wish is that the world shall be evangelized before Christ returns. It does not mean that the world is growing better and better, and will some day be perfect. The world is growing worse and worse. When the Kingdom is set up, it will be a kingdom of judgment. This world is going down even as in the days of Noah, and the day will come when God must say, “I can stand it no longer.” Christ will rule the Kingdom with a rod of iron.
a. Acts 16:31.
This verse is often read without the context. The last part of the verse says “And thy house,” which was a special commandment. From the context we find that this verse was spoken to a man who was under conviction. That jailer had seen himself in the presence of God. When the earthquake took place, this jailer thought that the prisoners had fled, which would mean death to him, under the Roman law. So he was going to save the government the trouble and was ready to take his own life. Since it was dark, he could not see that the prisoners were there. When Paul cried to him, “We are all here,” he did this because he knew what was in the mind of the jailer. Then the jailer called for a light, and coming to Paul and Silas, he said, trembling, “What must I do to be saved?” He was not referring to a physical death, but he was under conviction of sin. To this Paul and Silas said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” This then, is a word to be spoken to the man who is under conviction. A man who is not under conviction needs something else. This is not a command to those who are not under conviction of sin. If a man is not under conviction he must be shown that he needs a Saviour. He must be brought under conviction. “Believe” is not all he must do; he must have something to believe on. You must tell him about Christ before he can believe. They spoke unto him the Word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house, with the result that the jailer rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. Of course, each person had to believe for himself.