Context1Open workspace

A study workspace for Scripture

Slow down.
Read deeply.
Understand the context.

Context takes you through a passage the way a careful reader would: the text first, then its structure, history, language, and the range of credible interpretation. Every claim shows where it comes from.

Choose a passage  →How the method works
Ephesians 3:6WEB

6that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakersc of his promise in Christ Jesus through the Good News,

c
Explicit in the text

Three parallel compounds, each beginning with syn-, “together with”.

Historical evidence

σύσσωμος is glossed “of the same body” in Abbott-Smith’s lexicon.

[SBLGNT][Abbott-Smith]

The signature question

Two questions, kept apart.

What does the text actually say?

  • Paul calls himself a prisoner on behalf of the Gentiles. 3:1
  • The mystery was hidden for ages and is now revealed. 3:5, 9
  • He prays they would know a love that surpasses knowledge. 3:19

What am I bringing into the text?

  • He wrote from a Roman prison. Scholarly
  • The four dimensions picture the cross. Tradition
  • This is about my own sense of belonging. Personal

Highlight any phrase in the workspace and ask Text or Assumption? Context sorts what is on the page from what readers commonly bring to it, and shows the evidence for each.

Method

Seven steps, in order.

Interpretation comes sixth. Reflection comes last. The order is the point.

I

Read

The text, slowly.

II

Observe

What’s on the page.

III

Context

Who, when, and why.

IV

Language

Words that carry weight.

V

Connections

Where else this appears.

VI

Interpretations

Where readers differ.

VII

Reflect

What you bring.

Provenance

Every claim is labelled.

Six categories, used consistently across the workspace. The label tells you how much weight a statement can bear before you decide what to do with it.

  • Explicit in the textThe words are on the page.

    e.g. Paul bows his knees to the Father (3:14).

  • Strong inferenceFollows closely from the text.

    e.g. Paul was physically imprisoned (3:1; 4:1; 6:20).

  • Historical evidenceFrom manuscripts, lexicons, or ancient sources.

    e.g. The earliest copies omit “in Ephesus” (1:1).

  • Scholarly interpretationA reasoned reading others dispute.

    e.g. “Powers” includes social and political structures.

  • TraditionHanded down in the church, not derived from the passage.

    e.g. The four dimensions picture the cross.

  • Personal reflectionWhat the passage raises for you.

    e.g. “I treat some people as outsiders.”

Principles

A research assistant, not an authority.

It cites.

Each explanation links to the text, manuscript, lexicon, or commentary it relies on. “Show me why” opens the chain.

It shows disagreement.

Where credible scholars differ, the main views sit side by side, with who holds them and why.

It doesn’t speak for God.

Context explains what the text says and how it has been read. What it means for you is left to you.

“by which, when you read, you can perceive my understanding…”

Ephesians 3:4 · WEB

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