Context is our friend

I want to continue talking about interpretive issues that we face when attempting to study the bible. Today, let's look at a passage found in Galatians chapter 6 as an example.

Gal 6:1-5
1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
4 But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.
5 For every man shall bear his own burden. (KJV)

There is so much that could be said about this passage, but since I'm not preaching this text (and this is only a blog...not a novel), let's deal specifically with the phrase in verse one "ye which are spiritual". Immediately, one might ask "who are the spiritual people in the body of Christ?". Using purely subjective methods, we might draw our own conclusions. Perhaps the spiritual are those who are the most demonstrative in times of praise and worship. Could it be those who say "Amen" in response to the eloquence and force of the preacher's words? Or maybe one who is especially gifted in the area of prophecy?

Well, theoretically, all of those could be possible answers, but a better method of evaluation is context. Did Paul make any remarks near or around chapter 6, that might indicate to us who the spiritual truly are? Well, if we back up just a few verses, we find this discourse which might give us a good indicator of who the "spiritual" are. Let's take a look:

Gal 5:22-26
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. (KJV)

So by using the tool of context (a word that simply means "with the text"), we see that Paul addresses who the spiritual truly are. It has little to do with the criteria I listed earlier. Instead, the "spiritual" are those who demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit, and those who do so in humility and without an envious attitude. So an objective look at spirituality (at least in this context) shows that character defines who the spiritual are, and thus makes them qualified to participate in the ministry of restoration.

We may not always have a clear contextual argument to help us understand a questionable phrase or passage, but it's always a good practice to see if the answer is close by, before jumping to conclusions or producing subjective interpretations based on faulty premises.

Until next time....

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