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Are there some general rules we can use to help us in our understanding of God's word?
Please share your thoughts.
Never read a Bible verse. Always read in context. Full context. When quoting a verse, one must do so knowing the full context of that verse so that the actual intention of the author comes through. And I like What @brinny said: precede it with prayer.
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.Can you give one example where a verse seems to mean one thing, but in context it means quite another?
Thanks! Great example, and well explained.
This is such important stuff, and it's something I'm passionate about. It took me over 20 years of being a Christian to begin to gain an understanding of this, because everyone I knew, including my (former) pastor mishandled scripture this way. I simply knew no better for many, frustrating years.
Sure, first and foremost and the starting point is this is a promise to the exiles in Babylon but God's word is not bound. Are we free to claim it for our own? Well that sounds like a new thread to me but what I am sure of is that God is free to lay those words, as a sure promise on the heart of whomever He wants to.By reading the entire story, we see that vrs 11 isn't a promise to us, it's a promise to the exiles in Babylon. This doesn't mean that God doesn't know the plans he has for any of us or that God doesn't even have plans. But this verse, vs 11, isn't a promise to us. It is a promise to a specific people and we're not free to take that verse and "claim it for our own."
Not at all. All four are always applicable, just one or another may be emphasised more depending on the context by a specific preacher or reader.What do you mean by this? Do you mean that you can simple choose to apply any of the 4 to whichever texts you wish to?
Yo Brinny, Your new image is cool but I'm gonna miss dem socks ><>Ask God to shed His Light on it, through His Holy Spirit, and pray to be "hungry" for, and to "delight" in His Word?
Are there some general rules we can use to help us in our understanding of God's word?
Please share your thoughts.
Sure. One would be: Be careful about interpretations of Scripture that other Christians may give you, especially when their sole claim is that they are "Spirit Lead."
Another one would be: Don't assume that because you think you understand a passage--or even a sentence--in the Bible, that you really do.
All the rest of what I'd say can be found in various books on hermeneutics and/or exegesis, one of which is:
"Out of Context" by Richard L. Schultz.
2PhiloVod