Feb 6 2015

The Dividing Wall – Ephesians 2-3

Paul continues his letter to the Christians at Ephesus in Ephesians chapter 2, telling them that, like all Christians, they have been saved by grace, which is a gift from God, and not by anything that they have done. In verses 11-22, he talks about how Gentiles had been “alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise.” But now they have been brought near by the blood of Jesus Christ “who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments…”

Jerusalem, model city, Herod’s Temple, court of the Gentiles.

This “dividing wall of hostility,” figurative in one respect, alludes to an actual wall at the temple that separated the Court of the Gentiles from the inner courts. Of this, the historian Josephus wrote:

“Proceeding across this (the open court towards the second court of the temple, one found it surrounded by a stone balustrade, three cubits high and of exquisite workmanship; in this at regular intervals stood slabs giving warning, some in Greek, others in Latin characters, of the law of purification, to wit that no foreigner was permitted to enter the holy place, for so the second enclosure of the temple was called.” (cf. Jos. War 6, ii, 4)

In chapter 3, Paul calls himself a “prisoner for Christ Jesus,” reminding us of the fact that this was one of the letters that he wrote from prison. He speaks of the “Mystery of Christ,” and “the mystery hidden for ages in God.” And he tells them that the mystery is “that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”

His prayer in the closing verses is for God to grant them “…strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

The “love of Christ that surpasses knowledge” is not an empty metaphor. We may have an inkling of Christ’s love for us because of our knowledge of what He gave of Himself in sacrifice. But what kind of love must He have for us to be willing to endure such an ordeal so that even those who curse Him in this world can have hope?

Bible Reading Schedule for this month
Click here to read or listen to audio of this week’s chapters in Galatians and Ephesians

/Bob’s boy

___________________

some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Feb 3 2015

The Riches of His Grace – Eph 1

Paul loves the church at Ephesus, and that fact is no more evident than in his letter to the Ephesians. In chapter one, he speaks to them of the saving grace of Jesus:

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the Jordan River because Jesus told him to do it — Matthew 3: 13-17.

But it is verses 4-5 that cause much controversy and misunderstanding, when really the message is simple. The verses say:

…he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will…

Some take this to mean that God chose certain specific people to be saved and certain specific people to be lost. Not only does that interpretation misrepresent these verses, it also misrepresents God’s will. If that interpretation is correct, then 1 Timothy 2:4 is a lie, and God cannot lie (Numbers 23:19, Titus 1:2). God would rather have everyone saved. Would He then decide, before they even lived, those that would be lost? Nonsense!

It simply meant that it was always God’s plan that all those Jew or Gentile who were crucified with Jesus in baptism would be adopted, according to the purpose of His will.

Bible Reading Schedule for this month
Click here to read or listen to audio of this week’s chapters in Galatians and Ephesians

/Bob’s boy

___________________

some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Feb 1 2015

Walking With the Spirit – Galatians 5-6

As we reach the last two chapters of Paul’s letter to the Galatians, the subject matter in the first half of chapter five is circumcision because that is one of the tenants of the doctrine that they have been deceived about. He then moves in verses 16-25 to “walking with the Spirit.” The contrast he gives is with the works of the flesh because, as he says, they are in opposition to the Spirit. He names some of the works of the flesh:

…the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

It is certainly not a comprehensive list, but entire sermons could be preached concerning each of those listed. The contrasting fruits of the Spirit are then given:

the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Belonging to Christ, we have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. But what does that mean, really? Are we not tempted by such passions? And in giving in to those passions, do we not belong to Christ? WE shall be tempted, and we shall sin. We know that to be true because the Bible tells us that no one is without sin. With all good intentions, I will not go through the rest of my life without sinning. But by putting on Christ in baptism, I have renounced that way of life, and I will strive each day to walk with the Spirit.

Those nine “fruits” of the Spirit are characteristics that we must put to work consciously, so that they will most certainly choke out the works of the flesh from our lives.

Paul close the letter in chapter 6 with a final word about the law and circumcision. But before he does, he gives them other important admonishment. “Bear one another’s burdens,” he said. It is one of many reminders the Bible gives that everyone who thinks they can serve God without “going to church.” should heed. It is not about you. It is not even about just your relationship with the Lord. We are commanded to encourage one another in fellowship with the Lord, and bear each other’s burdens. Those things do not happen in the right way from one’s own living room.

Bible Reading Schedule for this month
Click here to read or listen to audio of this week’s chapters in Galatians and Ephesians

/Bob’s boy

___________________

some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Jan 30 2015

Abraham’s Offspring – Gal 3-4

Paul speaks harsh to the Galatians he addresses when chapter 3 begins, calling them foolish. They had received the Spirit and now they were questioning the gospel. Did they think they had received it by works of the law? Paul is still working on the doubts and fears that these false prophets had instilled in them that they were under the law. And if they were Gentiles, their only hope in that case would be to become Jews first.

Paul makes his best case in this chapter when he cites Genesis 12:7, where God made the promises to Abraham and his offspring. He did not say “offsprings,” as to mean many. Paul says that God was talking about Jesus as his offspring. He also tells them that God had told Abraham that in him, all nations would be blessed. It is this promise that means through Jesus Christ, we are all Abraham’s offspring. The law, he said, had come after the promises to Abraham, and could not nullify them:

For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

And in chapter four, as he continues to confirm this, he addresses in verse 17 those false teachers who have endeared themselves to them. He tells them their true motives: “they make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them.” They were not teaching them these things to bring them into the kingdom. They wanted to shut them out!

Bible Reading Schedule for this month
Click here to read or listen to audio of this week’s chapters in Mark and Galatians

/Bob’s boy

___________________

some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Jan 27 2015

Only One Gospel – Galatians 1-2

Paul addresses the Galatians in chapter one, beginning by establishing his authority as an apostle “not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father.” We can infer, as has been the case elsewhere, that some had called his status as an apostle into question. It is clear from his writing that there were some that were teaching false doctrine, as he begins this chapter with a rebuke to them. He couldn’t have said it any plainer or stronger: “…even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.”

The ancient territory of Galatia, in central Asia Minor, surrounds modern Ankara, Turkey.

The words are just as relevant to us today. There are still false prophets. One need only surf the television channels for a short time to find one. There are those who preach health and wealth and almost anything that the gospel does not teach, sometimes throwing in a bit of the truth for good measure. We must guard against believing what we wish to be true preached by man and coming only from man.

In defending his apostleship, he begins a narrative of his conversion from a persecutor of the very church he now served — which he continues in chapter 2. He even speaks of his confrontation with Peter in Galatians 2:11-14 over Peter “pulling back” from the Gentiles because he feared the circumcision party.

In verses 15-21, we learn that it is members of that party that must have been causing the strife in Galatia, which is, of course, the reason for his narrative. He wanted to reassure them of the gospel, and that they were not under the old law, as those teachers were trying to make them believe. He tells them “through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me…for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.”

Bible Reading Schedule for this month
Click here to read or listen to audio of this week’s chapters in Mark and Galatians

/Bob’s boy

___________________

some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Jan 25 2015

The Resurrection- Mark 16

Mark 16 “marks” the end of his gospel with the most important event in the history of the world — the resurrection. The events described in the four gospels seem to differ in some details on the account (Mark’s is the shortest, of course). This writer’s attempt at harmonizing those accounts, which (I believe) demonstrates that they complement rather than contradict each other, can be read in this previous post.

Some early manuscripts do not include verses 9 and following of this chapter (a favorite fact of those skeptics, who try to discredit the Bible). But there are very good arguments that make the case that they are part of the inspired word. And it should also be remembered by Christians faced with accusations of a Bible that is inconsistent that out of the thousands of verses in the 66 books, only a miniscule number are disputed. And none of those contain in any doctrinal significance. And these verses from verse nine to the end contain events that are found in other gospels.

The important thing for us is that the tomb was found to be empty, though it had been under guard. And our Lord showed Himself to about 500 witnesses, including the apostles. He conquered death then, and has promised to do so for us.

Bible Reading Schedule for this month
Click here to read or listen to audio of this week’s chapters in Mark and Galatians

/Bob’s boy

___________________

some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Jan 23 2015

Who Was the Naked Runner? – Mark 14-15

Mark 14 is the longest in his gospel and one of the longest in the New Testament at 72 verses. It truly demonstrate the fast pace of Mark’s writing we spoke of earlier, as there is a lot of history in the chapter. It covers Jesus’ anointing at Bethany, the institution of the Lord’s supper, prayer in the garden of Gethsemane, Judas’ betrayal, and Peter’s denial. This makes a detailed study of the chapter in this blog practically impossible. But there is so much to be learned from such a study, considering all of those events. Most of them have been covered in previous posts here.

Sunrise over the Mount of Olives. The Garden of Gethsemane is to the left of the large building on the right.

That being the case, I want to focus on two verses that are almost always overlooked because of all of the other important details. When you read (or listen to) the chapter, pay attention to verses 51 and 52, which seem to be out of step with the entire chapter. The context is the arrest of Jesus, during which His followers ended up fleeing:

And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.

Why is this seemingly insignificant and strange account included in such a succinct gospel account? Does it have any meaning for us? There are some scholars who believe that the young man spoken of here is John Mark himself, and that the passage serves as a sort of signature for the author — somewhat like John’s reference to “the disciple that Jesus loved” in his gospel. That has a ring of truth, and well may be the case.

But it does serve to illustrate that Jesus’ captors did seek to arrest those who followed Him, and would certainly have loved to get their hands on the apostles. But this insignificant man was the only one they got their hands on — and he got away. The Lord had indeed guarded His disciples from harm in this ordeal. It was His will that they would not be harmed. Just one in a long line of examples that God’s will always gets done.

Chapter 15 is only 47 verses, but once again, it is filled with many important events. Jesus appears before the Sanhedrin, who send Him to Pilate, who has Him scourged (trying in vain to get the crowd to have him release Jesus instead of Barabbas). He is mocked and beaten and spat upon, and then led to be crucified. At His death, he utters the famous words taken from Psalm 22 — “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

After His death, it was a respected member of the Sanhedrin council itself who went to Pilate and obtained permission to take the body for burial. It was a truly courageous thing for a man in his position to do; and Mark tells us that he “was also himself looking for the kingdom of God.” As is so often the case, God used one of the most unexpected of people to see His will done. And that is always a reminder to us that everyone who seeks the Lord has the ability to do something meaningful in His kingdom.

Bible Reading Schedule for this month
Click here to read or listen to audio of this week’s chapters in Mark

/Bob’s boy

___________________

some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Jan 20 2015

Not One Stone- Mark 12-13

Reading the whole NT this year – less than 5 minuter per day – Mon thru Fri (This week: Mark 11-16)

Chapter 12 begins with Jesus telling the crowd the parable of the tenants, which is obviously about God sending His Son to the world, only to have the people kill Him. To solidify that, in verse 11 he quotes Psalm 118:22-23 — which is a clearly Messianic passage. Verse 12 demonstrates that the Pharisees were on the verge of having Him arrested already, especially upon realizing that He was talking about them.

Herod’s Temple, Jerusalem model city.

In verses 19-26, the Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, tried to stump him with a question about it. But what is important to us in His answer is his affirmation of the resurrection, as well as the fact that in the end, there will be no real death because death is the last enemy Jesus defeats for us:

…have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.

Verses 41-44 are about the Widow’s offering. It lets us know that even if we are not wealthy, our gifts from the heart are just as valued by the Lord as those from the rich, and often even more so.

In chapter 13, the disciples were pointing out the majesty and beauty of the temple, when Jesus makes an obvious prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem to come in A.D. 70:

Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.

Verses 3 -24 are somewhat difficult, and many have interpreted those verses in different ways. Some of it has apocalyptic language such as in the book of Daniel (the “abomination of desolation” and other poetic language). To some, it seems clear that Jesus is a first talking about the destruction to come in A.D. 70 (and that must be the case). But some also believe that he then shifts in verse 24 to speak of the second coming.

This latter theory is problematic, however. It seems unmistakable that Jesus is giving the people warning of the signs to look for, so that Christians can get away from Jerusalem before the Romans destroy it. This writer believes that the apocalyptic language in verses 24 and following are just that, and that the entire discourse is about the same event. Note how He finishes in verse 30: “Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.”

But then in verse 32 and following, it begins to sound more like He is talking about the second coming. In this case, I think it is logical to consider that He may very well have been referring to both A.D. 70 and the second coming in these verses. Both of them fit very well, and His audience would not likely have understood at that time that the A.D 70 event would take place.

Bible Reading Schedule for this month
Click here to read or listen to audio of this week’s chapters in Mark

/Bob’s boy

___________________

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Jan 18 2015

Of Prayer and Faith – Mark 11-15

Jesus entering Jerusalem, the Triumphal Entry.

This week, we read Mark 11-15 in our five day per week journey through the entire New Testament this year. Chapter 11 begins with mark’s account of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. he then cleanses the temple and further angers the Pharisees. There is also the account of the fig tree that he caused to wither. His statement that it would not bear fruit again is symbolic of His beloved Jerusalem. they had been given the stewardship of God’s word, along with His love and favor. But now their rejection of His Son, was too much.

The last account of the chapter is of another challenge by the chief priests, scribes, and the elders demanding to know by what authority He does the things that He has done. His answer is especially shrewd. He will only answer if they tell Him by what authority John the baptist did his baptisms – of heaven or of man. If they answered that it was of man, the people would become angry, for they knew John was a prophet. So they refused to answer.

The portion of the chapter that grabs your attention, however is when Jesus explained the lesson of the fig tree:

Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be taken up and thrown into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Grove of fig trees, a mature size.

Moving a mountain in Jewish literature was a metaphor for doing that which seemed impossible (just as it would be for us). Jesus does not mean that God is our magic genie, to whom we only need to incant the proper words in prayer and get whatever we want. We must remember also that the Bible is a unified teaching, and that it has much else to say about prayers — such as in James 4:2-3: “…You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”

So clearly, we are expected first of all to pray according to God’s will. But more importantly, we must examine why we should “move the mountain” in first place. Jesus said in Matthew 6: 33: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” So following His word, and trying hard to be the “light of the world” and “the salt” that He spoke of in Mark 9:50, must be our primary driving force in life. That’s is easy to say, but hard to really do.

At least as important, and possibly more so, is the lesson Jesus gave to the apostles in that same chapter, when they were arguing about which of them was the greatest. In Mark 9:35, He told them: “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” Jesus taught that being righteous in His kingdom is not about one’s self. It is about how we can serve others in order to help carry them to heaven with us. And that, my friends, is the hardest part of all.

Knowing this then, when we pray for the mountains” that we wish to move, we must ask ourselves how, in doing so, we might be able to put others first, build someone up, and nurse them along life’s journey and into His kingdom. Jesus was the King they had waited for so long to come. But they missed the fact that He was to be the greatest servant — the “Suffering Servant” of Isaiah 53. By following his example, and becoming a servant to others, there is truly no mountain we cannot move from faith in our prayers.

Bible Reading Schedule for this month
Click here to read or listen to audio of this week’s chapters in Mark

/Bob’s boy

___________________

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.

Jan 16 2015

The Kingdom of God- Mark 9-10

Mark chapter 9 begins with a stark reminder that the chapter divisions of the Bible, unlike the scriptures themselves, are not divinely inspired. In point of fact, like many other chapter beginnings, verse one clearly should have been the end of chapter 8. But the fact that it was made the first verse of this chapter instead has resulted in a plethora of misunderstandings and theories. Here is what the verse says:

And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”

The rich fool in Jesus’ parable was not only rich and a fool, but very greedy and covetous. He wanted to keep his riches to himself and not share it with others in need

The first five words indicate that Jesus was still talking to the same crowd that He had called to Him with His disciples in Mark 8:34-38. But alas, some scholars have still tried to link the meaning of the verse to the Transfiguration that follows in the chapter. Frankly, that explanation of “seeing the kingdom of God come into its power” seems the most ludicrous of all the explanations that scholars have offered. Well, perhaps not. Some have offered that it refers to His second coming. That certainly cannot be the case because He has not yet returned, and none of that crowd still lives today. It is the opinion of this writer that the kingdom of God that He refers to is Jesus’ church.

Jesus goes on to cast out a demon that the disciples could not deal with. Jesus makes it pretty plain in verse 19 that it was a matter of faith on their part. A few verses later, they are arguing about which one of them was the greatest. The lesson Jesus tries to teach them is that serving in His kingdom is not about being the greatest. It is about serving.

In verses 42-50, Jesus talks about cutting one’s hand or foot off, or plucking out one’s own eye if they cause you to sin. This is not a literal command obviously — any more that He is saying that they are literally salt in verses 49-50. The point is that one must make big changes in their life in order to avoid temptations. Sometimes that mean removing one’s self from the company of those who would tempt them, or avoiding places and things that cause temptation.

Chapter 10 begins with the Pharisees trying to trap Him about divorce. His answer is that God takes the marriage vow very seriously, and just as He says in Matthew 5:32, it is His expectation that they stay married, with adultery being an acceptable exception. But clearly, God would prefer that a man and woman stayed married even then. God can forgive any transgression. So can we.

The rich young man who Jesus spoke to in verses 17-22 was told that what he lacked in order to please God was to sell all he had and give it to the poor. This makes some wonder whether this is what is expected of everyone. Jesus knew this man’s heart, and that heart belonged to his possessions. Many people are rich and serve God well. But this man could not. There are some who probably would be better off if they did not have so much material wealth. No man can serve God and money.

Bible Reading Schedule for this month
Click here to read or listen to audio of this week’s chapters in Mark

/Bob’s boy

___________________

Please visit this site’s menu item “The Author’s Books” for info on the author’s books, website, and Facebook page.

All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.