Bible Study 101: Why Context Changes Everything: Hearing Jesus, Bible Study, Daily Affirmations

Bible Study 101: Why Context Changes Everything: Hearing Jesus, Bible Study, Daily Affirmations

Hey friend, welcome to part two of Bible Study 101. Today Rachael digs into why it matters that real people, in real places, with real problems, actually wrote down the words of Scripture. She walks through the most misquoted verse in America, Philippians 4:13, and shows what it actually meant coming from a man writing in a Roman prison, plus a handful of other common pitfalls that keep us from understanding the Bible the way it was meant to be understood.

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Why does it matter that real people wrote the Bible?

Because Scripture didn't drop out of the sky. It's God breathed, but God partnered with real people to write it down, someone sitting somewhere in a particular year, in a particular place, writing to other real people who had names and problems. Rachael compares it to finding a bundle of your grandmother's handwritten letters. You wouldn't pull a random sentence from the middle of one and apply it to your Tuesday without first asking who wrote it, who they wrote to, and what was happening at the time.

Why should I think of the Bible as a library instead of one book?

Because that's literally what it is: 66 separate documents, written by around 40 different people, over roughly fifteen hundred years, in three languages, on three continents. Kings, shepherds, a doctor, a government official, and a man in a Roman prison all contributed, often without knowing their words would ever sit together in one book. Different books are different genres too: letters, poetry, law, history, prophecy. You already know not to read a text message the same way you read a mortgage statement. Scripture deserves that same instinct.

Why is "what does this verse mean to me" the wrong first question?

Because Scripture was written for you, but it wasn't written to you. The better first question is what a passage actually means, since it was written to a specific person or church about specific circumstances. Once you understand what it meant to them, it becomes God's word to you by first being God's word to them.

What does Philippians 4:13 actually mean?

Paul wrote it from prison in Rome, chained, with no guarantee he'd survive. Writing to the church in Philippi, a congregation that had supported him financially for years and had just sent him a gift through a man named Epaphroditus, Paul says:

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction. You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone; for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs. Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account. But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (Philippians 4:10-20, NASB)

Is "my God will meet all your needs" a blanket promise?

Not the way it's often quoted. Paul says it to a specific church, right after describing their gift to him as a fragrant offering and an acceptable sacrifice. It's what Paul says to people who have given sacrificially, spoken from prison, with a heart of gratitude, not a slogan to recite before an offering plate goes around.

Why does it matter that some books of the Bible are only half a conversation?

Because letters like 1 Corinthians are Paul's replies to questions and reports he received, questions we don't have in front of us. That's why some passages can feel like the subject jumps around. Once you realize you're reading a reply, you start asking a better question: what must have been going on for him to say that?

What do I do if all of this feels like too much?

Start with three simple, mostly free tools. Read your Bible's introduction page for each book before you start it, since a study Bible will usually tell you the author, audience, date, and reason it was written in just a page or two. Pay attention to what the text tells you outright about itself. And read the whole book in one sitting before studying any part of it, so you can feel its shape before you slow down.

Where do I send a question about this series? Leave a voicemail through the SpeakPipe link in the show notes, or send an email. Questions from listeners help shape future episodes in this series.

What's the homework before the next episode? Read the introduction page in your Bible for the book of Philippians (or the first few verses if your Bible doesn't have one), and consider picking up a study Bible if you don't already have one.

How do I enter the Bible Study 101 giveaway? Join the email list at rachaelgroll.com/newsletter. Entry is automatic, no extra steps, and there are three separate giveaways over three weeks.

• 0:01 Welcome back to part two of Bible Study 101

• 0:31 The Bible was written by real people, in real places, for real reasons

• 2:24 Reading Scripture like a bundle of letters instead of random sentences

• 4:37 Pitfall one: the Bible is a library, not a single book

• 7:40 Pitfall two: stop asking "what does this mean to me?"

• 10:35 Pitfall three: the most misquoted verse in America

• 11:47 Reading the full passage: Philippians 4:10-20 in context

• 14:09 What "I can do all things through Christ" is actually about

• 15:27 A second misquoted verse: "my God will supply all your needs"

• 17:39 Pitfall four: you're only hearing half the conversation

• 20:37 Pitfall five: giving up before you start

• 24:30 Closing thoughts and prayer

• 25:26 Before you go: tonight's homework

• 26:25 The Bible Study 101 giveaway

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