Too often people take Bible verses out of their proper context and thus distort, obscure, or otherwise alter their original meaning. Every once in a while this happens to verses that because popular out of context. My goal here is to correct common misconceptions that stem from verses taken from their context.
Verse: "casting all your care upon Him, because He cares for you." – 1 Peter 5:7
Contextual Meaning: This verse is not even an entire sentence, but is a dependent clause attached to verse 6, which reads as follows, "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you in due time…" This verse in turn follows Peter's exhortation to be humble towards each other, submitting your will to theirs. What impact does this have on 1 Peter 5:7? While God does care for you, He does not want you to expect Him to help you in your cares if you refuse to submit yourself to Him and His people. So, when quoting 1 Peter 5:7 remember the necessity of humility.
Verse: "because if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and knows all things." – 1 John 3:20
Contextual Meaning: Like the previous verse, this is not an entire sentence. It is dependent on verses 28 and 29. The full sentence reads as follows: "Little children, we must not love in word or speech, but in deed and truth; that is how we will know we are of the truth, and will convince our hearts in His presence, because if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and knows all things." This is part of a long exhortation by John to love other Christians, and his discourse on how those who lack love for Christians are not truly saved at all. So, then, what does context add to this verse? We can only be sure that God sees our innocence in spite of our feeling guilty if we are living with love for our fellow believers. God knows all things, including how we love our fellow believers. It is God's knowledge of our love that allows Him to justify us even if our hearts condemn us. If God sees that we are not walking in love for believers, then He does not contradict the condemnation of our hearts. In fact, the primary implication of this verse is actually negative. If our hearts condemn us in that manner, when we are not walking in love, then God, being greater than our hearts and knowing all things, gives a much greater condemnation than our own hearts do.