Author's Intent and Context (3)

When you write a letter don't you have a reason to write, to inform, or encourage maybe? Have you ever told someone about what happened to you the other day? Did you ever to it randomly and without warning you jump some unsuspecting friend with a pointless story, maybe not? Scripture is the same its letters and stories have a purpose to them.

Think about this quotes?

In the Bible itself, the two authors, human and divine, do not simply stand side by side. Rather, each points to the other and affirms the presence and operation of the other… God Himself points out the importance of the human authors… God Himself requires us to interpret the words of Scripture against the background of what we know about the human author. We cannot simply ignore the human author, when we concentrate on what God is saying… [The human author] is not just any human author. He is the one through whom God speaks. His own intentions are that we should reckon with this. It is not a denial of human authorship, but an affirmation of it, when we pay attention to God speaking… Hence there is a unity of meaning and a unity of application. [1]

The quote above reminds us of the two-fold nature of scripture. It also points us towards the aim of this study. We will look at the importance of answering two questions when we study a passage. (1) What is the author’s purpose for writing this passage? And, (2) What is the context of this passage?

1. The Author’s Purpose

1. Each book in the bible has a specific intention and we should interpret each of its parts in light of this intention ... If we gain some insight but miss the author’s purpose then we haven’t really understood the book at all.
1. We know the biblical writers were inspired by God; therefore, their purpose for writing is God’s purpose. What they intent the text to mean is what God wants the text to mean.
2. Sometimes this is easy to do the author explicitly tells us his intentions:

• Jonh 20.30-31, “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John’s gospel was written with evangelism in mind.
• 1 John 5:13 “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” John’s letter is about assurance of salvation.

              3. Try this for yourself: Identify the author’s intent in the following passage.

• Luke 1.1-4, “Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eye-witnesses and servants of the Word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.”

1. Biblical Blue’s clues: Sometimes the author does not explicitly state his purpose, so we must examine the text for clues; trying to understand why it has been written and what its main themes are. The children’s show Blue’s clues make for a helpful analogy. In the Show, blue the dog is looking for clues because it is a show for young kids the clues are obvious. This is much like examining a text for clues, they are often obvious and can only be missed if you’re trying too hard.

            A. When dealing with a NT epistle or OT Prophet ask these questions:

                               a. Who is writing to whom? (audience)
                               b. What is the situation of the author and reader? (Setting)
                               c. Are there any problems or issues explicitly identified as things to be addressed?
                               d. Are there repeated Themes or a single idea holding the book together?

     When dealing with narratives (storys), consider what the author chooses to put in and leave out of the text.. This helps to understand his intention. This is especially important when reading different accounts of the same event. A good example is David’s sin with Bathsheba. The author of I & II Chronicles does not record David’s adultery because his intent is to celebrate what is best about Israel’s and Judah’s kings in anticipation of the greatest King of all, Jesus. II Samuel keeps this story in because he has a different purpose, to show that even King David is a sinner and in need of a Savior.  Other books may be a little more difficult, like Ecclesiastes or Song of Solomon; in this case, continue to search for dominate themes and hints of what the author is concerned about.

2. Context

1. We should read the bible more like a novel and less like a spiritual encyclopedia. If you make the bible into a self help manual or ‘how to’ handbook you’re on your way but in the wrong direction. Proof texting is when someone quotes a verse to prove (give biblical authority to) a point.
2. Read in view of the wider context - Verses, chapters, and books are connected to a single narrative.

• A negative example: what if one Sunday morning the worship leader call the people to songs of praise by quoting John 12:32, “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” It is fine to encourage each other to praise Jesus in song; but, we should not use this verse to do so because Jesus is making a clear statement on the nature of his death, not his role in the Sunday service. The confusion is over the meaning of “lifted up.” Context makes it clear he is speaking of the cross not being worshiped.

1. When studying a passage of Scripture, it is essential that we ask how this passage fits into what comes before and after it.

• For example, read Exodus 20.3, “You shall have no other God’s before me,” or the rest of the ten commandments in isolation, you may be tempted towards legalistic understanding of how man is saved.
• But if you read 20.2-3, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me,” you realize that God has already saved his people and is calling them to live in light of their deliverance, not telling them how to earn salvation. This is reinforced when you read the preceding 19 chapters describing Israel’s rescue from Egypt.

      2.  Try it for yourself: find the the context of John 3.16

• Sentence: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
• Paragraph: John 3.16-21 ... God has acted and Jesus is the one who saves sinners and exposes the sins of the lost.
• Chapter: John 3.1-21 ... Jesus teaches Nicodemus that men must be “born again,” explaining his own role as Savior in verse 16. Then, in 22-35, John records John the Baptist confirming what Jesus says about himself, saying, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”
• Book: As we discussed in the author’s purpose section, the book of John was “written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” You see here that verse 16 is perhaps the most concentrated expression of the whole purpose of the book ... Jesus is the Savior!
• Bible: In many ways John 3:16 can be considered the crescendo of the biblical narrative. For thousands of years God has been revealing that He is a loving and Saving God; that he has called out a people for himself--not because they are worthy, but so that he may be known as a Gracious God; that his people have rebelled against Him leaving them unable to restore themselves to him and are thus rightly deserving of eternal punishment. He himself would provide a savior for his people and that this savior would live a sinless life, innocently suffer, die for our sins, and be raised again so that we might know the power of God. And then we come to John 3.16, this Savior has arrived and is offering us the Salvation that has been promised. Moving forward from John 3.16, we see the completion of God’s work on our behalf and then the rest of Scripture details how we are to live in light of this Salvation, ultimately lifting our eyes to heaven where we will spend eternity with our Savior.

Today we have seen that the Bible is a single, integrated revelation of the mission of God expressed in his intention to redeem and restore His people. We are able to see and study this intention only by first examining the intentions of the inspired biblical authors and then placing these writing within their immediate and ultimate context. The tools of purpose and context are among the most fundamental and will constitute the basis of fruitful bible study for the rest your life. Praise God that he has provided these tools for us so that we might know Him and His word in truth.

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[1] Vern Poythress, The Right Doctrine from the Wrong Texts, Edited by: G. K. Beale, (Baker, grand rapids 1994,) 96-97.