Which Commands and Promises in the Bible Only Apply to Those Being Immediately Spoken to and Which Apply to All Believers?

How can Christians know which biblical commands and promises apply to all believers? Today, Joel Kim explains how to read Scripture faithfully by honoring both its context and its enduring wisdom.

NATHAN W. BINGHAM: Joining us this week on the Ask Ligonier podcast is Reverend Joel Kim, who’s president and assistant professor of New Testament at Westminster Seminary California. Rev. Kim, how does one determine which commands and promises in the Bible only apply to those being immediately spoken to and which apply beyond those individuals to all believers?

REV. JOEL KIM: This is an issue that most writers and theologians continue to have debate over. It’s a spectrum, obviously, in terms of what commands are to be applied or not, and there’s a lot of movement in this regard and a lot of discussions about how we go about thinking about these things.

Acts is a book that I enjoy. One of the discussions that has often taken place is, What is simply descriptive, and what is prescriptive in terms of commands for us to do? When they drew lots to pick a new leader, is that something that’s mandated for the rest? The same thing can be said for Paul’s writings or the epistles that we have. How do we know certain commands that are local and just historical moment, and which are permanent in what takes place? And we realize that this is actually much more complex than meets the eye.

When our children were young, and they rush into the kitchen, and they’re about to approach a hot oven, we would command them by saying, “Do not touch.” But when they’re twenty years old and they’re cooking in the kitchen, that same command does not apply then. Though the situation—that is, you have to be careful when you’re around hot things—remains the same, the particular of that occasion is no longer applicable. So, we realize that even in our daily living, there are ways of distinguishing those things that are particularly occasional and principles that are applied situationally—that is, in categories that are similar to one another.

Without belaboring every detail, I wonder if we can summarize some of the things that we should keep in mind as we think about the commands, as well as the descriptions in history, in this way. On the one hand, repetition is very important. If it’s something that has universal value or command, it’s often repeated, and it’s repeated over and over again. Drawing lots to choose a leader is not repeated for us either in the book of Acts or in the writings of Paul. Likely it was an occasion. It’s something that was done. I’m not trying to say you cannot do it; I’m simply saying that that’s not mandated. However, praying is something that you see descriptively over and over again—the church gathered to pray. And then, not only that—there are commands to pray. This is clearly universal, in terms of how we are to live dependent upon the Lord, in terms of what all takes place. So, repetition in terms of our reading is an important component of our exegetical eye in noticing these things.

And I think secondarily, how prevalent is this, not just in one book, but in other books? That is, is this found only in the particular book of 3 John, or is this something that is repeated for us in 2 John and 1 John? But not only in Johannine literature, but in Paul, whether it’s repeated for us in Colossians, Philippians, and so on—the more you see the repetition in different books and genres, you come to recognize the reinforcement of what’s taking place.

And the third thing to keep in mind is, while the historical situation for making the commands occasional seems clear at times, principles still apply. That is, as I was indicating before, even if “do not touch” no longer applies in those particular occasions, here the overall situational command of saying, “You should be careful around fire,” is a good thing. When he says “holy kiss,” this may be one of those occasional ways in which particular groups of people apply their greetings to one another. Here, in our context, it may not be appropriate for me to approach you, Nathan, and give you a kiss right away. Although, in Europe they would do so. There are occasional differences, but the principle of greeting one another and loving one another in this way is something that is universally applied. So, even if it’s very specific to a time and period, the principle behind that command ought to be thought about and applied to our lives as well.

I recognize that there are many more details that we can get into. But I wonder, if we begin there, we might be able to start distinguishing some of those things that are particularly for a location and time versus universal applicational principles.