This article is the first is a series of five focusing on how to write and lead Bible studies. It is based on the material used to run a workshop based on those lines at Summer Wine 2003 in Masterton. The first 3 articles will focus on methods of Biblical interpretation, and the final two articles will examine how these methods should be used to prepare, and then lead Bible studies. The three parts of Biblical interpretation that will be examined are: exegesis, exposition, and application.

Exegesis is looking at what the passage actually says; exposition looks and what the passage means; and the application looks at what the passage means for us today – i.e. what should we do about it.

Throughout this series of articles, I am going to be using the book of Colossians as an example of putting these principles into practice.

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Exegesis

Exegesis is determining what the passage actually says. In particular, it looks at understanding the passage in the context of the type of book, the style of writing, the historical situation, and other relevant issues. The passage would have been written for a particular purpose in a particular manner, to a particular group of people, and so to fully understand what the passage actually means for us today, we must first discover what it actually says, by understanding the author’s intended meaning.

Exegesis tends to involve two steps: firstly, looking at the background and overview of the book in question, followed by a more detailed examination of the contents of the book.

Background

This step typically involves asking lots of questions about the book such as:

1. What is the type of book?
   
   
   
   1. Narrative (Genesis through Esther and Acts)
   
   
   2. Prophetic (Isaiah through Malachi)
   
   
   3. Gospel (Matthew through John)
   
   
   4. Law (parts of Exodus through Deuteronomy)
   
   
   5. Poetry (Psalms)
   
   
   6. Wisdom (Job, and Proverbs through Song of Songs)
   
   
   7. Letters (Romans through Jude)
   
   
   8. Apocalyptic (Revelation)
   
   

   Note that some books are of multiple types (for example, Matthew is a Gospel, but Matthew 24 is also apocalyptic).
   
   The type of book affects how we interpret it. For example, if we are studying a narrative book, then we need to remember that it is primarily recording events that happened, which are not necessarily examples for us to follow. The apocalyptic style of Revelation means that we must be very careful about insisting on a literal interpretation of everything recorded there, as apocalyptic literature by its very nature makes great use of symbolism.
   
   Example: Colossians is quite obviously a letter. It occurs within the epistles section of the New Testament, but more importantly, it says so in the book. Col 1:1-2 is a standard greeting at the start of the letter, 4:18 is a sign-off greeting, and 4:16 explicitly says that this is a letter.



2. Who was the author?
   
   For some of books of the bible, we do not actually know who the author was, but when we do know, or can guess with a fair degree of certainty, then we should investigate what we know about them. As Christians we believe in what is called the dual authorship of Scripture. This means that the bible is 100% the work of God, but is also 100% the work of humans. The Holy Spirit used the style and experience of each writer to communicate God’s truth. So the Bible is inerrant (contains no errors), but the style of writing is influenced by the human author. Therefore, the more we know about the author, the greater certainty there is of correctly understanding what their intention was. Since several biblical authors actually wrote multiple books, this also allows us to compare their different writings to see if a common pattern emerges.
   
   Example: The authors of this letter are the Apostle Paul, and Timothy (Col 1:1). Given that Timothy’s name does not occur at the end of the letter, the relative seniority of Paul, I think we can safely assume that he is the primary (human) author of this letter. Since Paul also wrote a substantial portion of the New Testament, we have lots of other material to compare this letter to. His other letters, and the book of Acts, also contain a fair amount of biographical material.



3. Who were the intended recipients? What was the relationship between the author and the recipients?
   
   If the author had a particular audience in mind then the style of the book is likely to reflect this. The author is likely to focus on the issues that are most relevant to the recipients, and possibly omit otherwise important doctrine/application because it is not relevant at this time. A number of the New Testament letters are written to address problems in the early church, and so consequently focus a lot less on some other issues that did not need attention at that stage.
   
   Example: The intended recipients of Colossians were the church at Colosse (Col 1:2), and the church at Laodicea (4:16). Colosse was a second-rate market town in Asia-Minor (present day Turkey). Laodicea was nearby, but was a considerably more powerful and important city. Paul had never actually been to Colosse. He had been to Ephesus for three years, and during that time he converted a man named Epaphras, who subsequently carried the gospel message to Colosse.



4. What were the circumstances of the author and the recipients when the book was written?
   
   Obviously, the situation of the author and the recipients is going to have some influence on how the book is written. The book may have to written is specially take advantage of, or counter, the circumstances of the recipients. The circumstances of the author may explain certain references within the book that would otherwise be meaningless.
   
   Example: Paul wrote Colossians while under house arrest in Rome (his first imprisonment), awaiting trail before Caesar. The church at Colosse was under heretical attack and so the believers were subject to a number of false teachings.



5. Were there any special historical or cultural issues surrounding the writing of the book?
   
   This is similar to the previous question, but invites more investigation regarding what was going on in the world when this was written.
   
   Example: The main historical event of interest here was the Colossian heresy, which was an early form of Gnosticism. Paul actually never tells us exactly what this heresy was, but we can guess a fair amount based on the statements he makes in opposition to the false teachers. From this we can deduce that it was an early form of Gnosticism, with some Judaic influences.



6. Why was the book written?
   
   For some books, the answer may be as simple as to record history. In other cases, however, we need to understand the reason why it was written to make sure that our interpretations fit into that framework.
   
   Example: Colossians was to written to refute the Colossian heresy of Gnosticism.



7. Where and when was the book written?
   
   The time of writing of the book is useful so we can place it within the historical events of the day. For New Testament books, the date 70AD is of particular importance, as this was when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the temple.
   
   Example: Colossians was written from Rome around 60AD, during Paul’s first imprisonment. Consequently, it was after the initial persecution of Christians in Jerusalem (all the New Testament was after this), but before the later persecution that eventually saw the martyrdom of the remaining Apostles (except John).



8. What is the tone of the book?
   
   The tone of the book refers to the manner in which it is written. Is it written like a general giving orders to his troops, an underlying trying to apologise for a drastic mistake to his boss, as a friend offering encouragement, or something else?
   
   Example: I would describe the tone of Colossians as ‘Authoritative Teaching’. He is proclaiming the true gospel as opposed to the false heretical teachers.



9. Are there any recurring words or ideas in the book?
   
   This helps us identify the theme of the book, and what the author wants the recipients to get out of it.
   
   Example: Words/ideas such as: Supremacy of Christ, Christ is the fullness of God, in Him all things hold together, knowledge, understanding, wisdom, in Him, with Him, in Christ etc.



10. Can you identify the theme for the book?
    
    This is important for fairly obvious reasons.
    
    Example:The theme of Colossians is the complete adequacy of Christ compared with the inadequacy of human philosophy.

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Examining the Text

After going through these questions to get the big picture of the book, I will generally go through the book more slowly, dividing it up into various sections. At this stage, it can often be useful to have an unmarked version of the bible. The NIV, for example, divides everything up into nice paragraphs with headings for each section. Although this is useful for a quick reference, it is not a good way to do inductive bible study. Consequently, when doing this exercise, I tend to use my NRSV which still has paragraphs (the paragraphs are often debatable in the Greek), but it does not have the labelled sections of the NIV, or any study notes.

When dividing the book up, I first look for themes for each chapter, and then try to divide up the chapter as appropriate. Then for each section (or sometimes only the sections I feel are particularly important) I try and give it a unique title that describes it, and to summarise it in my own words. In particular, I am on the
lookout for the key verses of each chapter and the book. In a small book, there may only be a few of these, but in larger books it can sometimes seem that every verse is a key verse.

Example

Getting an overview of the book

Chapter: 1
Theme: Supremacy of Christ
Title: Standing Firm
Main Divisions:
Introduction

• Greetings (1-2)
• Thanksgiving (3-8)
• Prayer (9-14)

Supremacy of Christ (15-23)
Paul’s ministry for the church (24-29)

Chapter: 2
Theme: Fullness of Christ (adequacy)
Title: Freedom From Law
Main Divisions:
Paul’s concern for their spiritual welfare (1-7)
Freedom from regulations

• Warning against false teachers (8-15)
• Reject false teachers (16-19)
• Analysis of heresy (20-23)

Chapter: 3
Theme: Holiness
Title: Belief That Behaves
Main Divisions:
Old self and new self (1-17)
Christian households (18-4:1)

Chapter: 4
Theme: -
Title: Personal Notes
Main Divisions:
Further instructions (2-6)
Greetings (7-18)

Colossians In More Detail

Ch.	Paragraph Title	What is says
1	Greetings to Colosse (1-2)	Greetings from the Apostle Paul and Timothy to the church at Colosse
	Thanksgiving for Colosse (3-8)	Thanks to God for the faith and love of the Colossians, the hope stored up for them in heaven, and how the gospel is spreading all around the world.
	Prayer for Colosse (9-14)	Prayer that the Colossians might grow in knowledge of God, be strengthened with all power, so that they may grow towards spiritual maturity.
	Supremacy of Christ (15-20)	All things were made through Jesus and are sustained by him. He is the head of the church and the firstborn from the dead. He is the fullness of God in bodily form.
	Alienation to Reconciliation (21-23)	Their evil behaviour used to alienate them from God, but now Christ has reconciled them by the cross so they are free from accusation. This same message is for everyone.
	Paul’s Labour for the church (24-29)	Paul says that he suffered afflictions because of his preaching. He was commissioned by God to preach the once hidden mystery which is the complete word of God. He is working to bring everyone to maturity in Christ.
2	Concern for spiritual welfare (1-7)	Paul wants to see them all encouraged and united in love so they may receive full understanding of Christ, and so will not be deceived.
	Warning against false teachers (8-15)	Do not be deceived by false teachers as Christ is the fullness of God, and has reconciled you with God. He forgave our sins and cancelled the law and regulations and achieved victory on the cross.
	Reject false teachers (16-19)	Do not let anyone judge you by legalistic standards – these were fulfilled in Christ. Do not get side-tracked by the proud who pretend to be spiritual by their boasting.
	Absurdity of the heresy (20-23)	Since you died to the law, why do you still submit to it. These laws are based on human teachings and though may appear wise, they have no value in God’s eyes.
3	Look to things above (1-4)	Set your hearts on things above since you have been raised up with Christ.
	Remove the old self (5-11)	Take off the old self – the immoral actions, thoughts and attitudes. The new self is continuously renewed in the image of God.
	Clothe yourselves with Christ (12-17)	Clothe yourselves with the virtues of Christ, binding them together in love. Live in peace and grow in your understanding of Christ.
	Rules for Christian households (18-4:1)	Instructions for how Christian households should run in regard to husbands, wives, children, slaves, and masters.
4	Further instructions (2-6)	Final instructions and request for prayer.
	Greetings (7-18)	Greetings from others and request to exchange letters with the church in Laodicea.

Two important verses from Colossians (there are more) are 1:15 and 1:19-20.

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Next - Exposition

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