Every statement of Scripture is given in an immediate setting. This context provides clues as to what was on the author's mind. In the immediate setting there are similar or recurring ideas and words that help to signal the author's main idea. Once you identify the main idea, it becomes a key to opening up the meaning of the text you are studying. For example, the same person may write a love letter or a business letter using some of the same words such as 'care', 'concern' or 'value'. Yet those words would mean very different things. The understanding or meaning is determined by the setting or reason for writing.
To discover the flow of ideas streaming through a passage, Bible students ask a series of questions: Who is the author? To whom is he writing? Why did he write this? When did he write this? Where was he when he wrote? Careful students dig into the passage to expose its logic and flow of ideas. They don't assume that they know what the author is saying until they have done their 'spade' work. In other words, they don't try to extract an idea from 'unworked ground'. They dig and turn over the soil of the immediate setting until they discover the living, life-changing ideas God has planted in the passage.
By working hard to interpret a text within its own context, the student will be able to discern the author's intent in a passage. The intent is what the author was trying to communicate to the readers of his writing. Observing the immediate context keeps you from misquoting and misinterpreting the Scripture. It gives God the same consideration that we want for ourselves in communication: we don't want to be misquoted; we want to be heard clearly and accurately. By looking at a passage in context of the verses that precede and follow it, you will greatly enhance your understanding of the Bible.
For example, Paul's letter to Philemon was written to encourage him to accept back the runaway slave, Onesimus, who had robbed his owner but had now become a Christian. On the other hand, Paul's letter to the Galatians was written to counteract heretical teaching related to legalism. In both texts he speaks of 'faith' or 'belief'. However, the meaning of these terms are quite different due to the cause for writing, or the setting.
