October 29 2011

Bible Study #1
 
Reading: I Peter 5:1, Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed,

Each month there will be a Bible Study, in an effort to give you the tools that you need to fill the role as spiritual leader of your home. One of the first and most important lessons to learn about studying the Bible is to read it and to study it in its context. There are plenty of denominations and religions based upon verses taken out of context. Has someone ever taken something you said out of context? It can be very frustrating. With written work, it is even more important to focus on context because you do not have demeanor, facial expressions or tone of voice. In Bible study, you have the context of a verse, the context of the passage, the context of the book, the context of the entire Bible. One way that people often get confused in discussing a passage with someone with whom they disagree, they say, “Oh, that is your interpretation.” Men, there is only one interpretation… there are many applications. This is very important because the author had a specific purpose for writing what he wrote. It should be our goal to find out what that is. To test context, look at this sentence and the differences in its context. “He got out of his chair in the living room and made his way to the refrigerator to get something to drink” What does this sentence say? Now, in context, there could be multiple ways that the same sentence could be understood. Context #1 - “After watching 8 hours of football and eating an entire pizza by himself, he slowly moved his 300lb. figure to the edge of his recliner ‘He got out of his chair in the living room and made his way to the refrigerator to get something to drink’.” Context #2 - “Since he lost his legs in the war, he has never left his wheelchair without assistance but, since no one was around and he didn’t have anything to drink all day in the intense heat, ‘He got out of his chair in the living room and made his way to the refrigerator to get something to drink’.” It’s the exact same sentence with a very different context. After reviewing I Peter chapter 5, who are the “elders” in I Peter 5:1?


KEY NOTE: this does mean that “elders” in all passages mean the same.
End of the Day Review
  
How were you able to determine who the “elders” were in this particular context?
  
Does this differ from the impression that you previously had of “elders”?

Answer: in context, in vs.5, alternatively speaking to “younger men”, the “elders” in this passage is referring to older men.