Dec 7 2012

Ephesians 6 – The Whole Armor of God

Paul closes his letter to the Ephesians in this chapter beginning with the admonition for children to “honor your father and mother,” referring to the fifth of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:12) as being “the first commandment with a promise, ‘that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.'” It was the only one of those ten commandments to contain a promise; and the emphasis throughout the Bible on children being expected to obey their parents is nothing to be taken lightly. Consider the opposite of the aforementioned promise, for example. Verse 4, as with all of these “submission passages” reminds fathers of their duty to them – to love their children enough to “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” As Proverbs 22:6 teaches, such instruction will stay with them.

Paul was a prisoner in Rome, under house arrest, but he was free to preach the Gospel to many who came to listen (Acts 28:16-31).

He continues the theme of Christians submitting one to another that he began in Chapter 5:21 with similar instructions for bondservants and their masters. Verses 5-9 do not constitute an endorsement of slavery or servitude on the part of the Apostle. Its applications then and today are relevant to the relationship of people to any lawfully established authority (and vice-versa, which is sometimes forgotten).

The “meat and potatoes” of this chapter come in verse 10 and following. The “whole armor of God” described in these verses correlate to a fully armed soldier, and the descriptions would be familiar to people throughout the Roman Empire. Verse 12 reminds us that the spiritual forces of evil – the devil himself – is a very real adversary, not some imagined foe, but the very real “roaring lion” (1 Peter 5:8). Christians arm themselves for this battle with a list of items he relates to this armor and weapons – truth, righteousness, and the readiness given by the gospel of peace. Faith, he says, is our shield against “flaming darts of the evil one.”

As he encourages them to be strong in prayer, he asks also for their prayers for him to be strong, as he declares himself their “ambassador in chains.”

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog. All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility. When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com. For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Dec 3 2012

Ephesians 2 – By Grace Through Faith

The ruins of the Roman Theater in Ephesus, Turkey. Paul visited here on his Second Missionary Journey and later wrote the epistle Ephesians to the Christians of Ephesus

Paul, addressing the Ephesians, interchanges the pronouns “you”, “we”, and “us” (verses 1, 3, and 4, for example), pointing out that we were all lost in our sin. But God, being rich in mercy, made us alive through Jesus Christ, in whom we were raised up, along with Him. He says that we are saved by grace through faith. The significance of that statement is emphasized by making clear that it is not by anything that we did (verse 8), but it is the gift of God. But one must take account of the whole of Scripture in order to understand this part, as is always the case. It is by grace that we are saved, certainly. But it is not by grace alone, otherwise the entire world would be saved without even having belief. Therefore, faith is a necessary part of that salvation, but faith alone, without grace, cannot save us. But one must also remember that, as James said (James 2:24), “a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.”

He then goes on to remind that the Gentiles were once separated by the Law of Moses, a wall that in Christ Jesus was broken down (verses 13-16); and through Him, Jews and Gentiles alike have access “in one spirit to the father” (verse 18). Such salvation for all people of the world was always the plan of God through Jesus (Titus 2:11), on which foundation He is the cornerstone (verses 20-21, Isaiah 28:16).

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Oct 25 2012

1 Thessalonians 4 – A Life Pleasing to God

This chapter begins with Paul urging the brothers and sisters at Thessalonica to remain pure and to abstain from sexual immorality. Having been converted from the paganism and idolatry that the city was corrupt with, sexual immorality would have gone hand in hand (as it always had) with such practices, and they would need to be on their guard to keep each other from slipping. It is believed that Paul was writing the letter from Corinth (the patron “goddess” of which was Venus), where promiscuity abounded. D. D. Whedon said of social impurity that “heathenism had made sexual immorality trivial, jocular, rather smart, and even religious and right”. Sounds very similar to the so-called “new morality” of this day and age, does it not? But the brothers there were strong, and an inspiration to all Macedonians in the region. They just needed some extra encouragement.

Paul is continuing this admonition against sexual immorality in verse 6 with “…that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter…,” rather than beginning a new thought. The word translated “wrong” in the ESV is better translated “defraud” and “exploit” in other versions. The sexual relationship that God intended for a man and his wife, when used otherwise, often hurts someone in the here and now; and the fleeting pleasure is always at the ultimate expense of both parties.

Finally, it is implied, as Paul addresses them, that there had been several deaths of brethren at Thessalonica since he left; and those remaining seemed to be sure that Christ was going to return during their lifetimes. Their grief for their departed appears to have included the misguided notion that those who have died were going to “miss out” on Christ’s return. Paul offers some encouragement for them, saying that those who are alive when Christ returns will go with Him after He has gathered those who have “fallen asleep.”

It is Jesus’ victory over death, he reminds in verse 14, that assures us that God will, through Jesus, bring with Him those who have fallen asleep. This use of the term “asleep” occurs in several passages in Scripture, a few of which include Matthew 27:52, John 11:11, Luke 8:49-56, and 1 Corinthians 15:20. While some of Paul’s Apocalyptic description of that great and spectacular day is figurative, his assurance of the resurrection of the dead is not. One of the most beautiful reminders of that fact in Scripture is Jesus’ conversation with Martha in John 11:23-27, before he raises her brother Lazarus from the dead:

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

As Paul says of Jesus’ return to us in 1 Corinthians 15:26, “The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Oct 18 2012

Galatians 2 – Justified By Faith

Paul continues in this chapter with two important purposes – to defend his apostleship, and by doing so, to reinforce the correct teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ that he had done there previously. Some see the visit to Jerusalem referred to in verse one as being the famine relief effort of Acts 11:29-30. But that occurred at a time of great persecution in Jerusalem (Acts 12) – so much so that James the son of Zebedee was executed, and Peter was thrown in prison. It was no time for the type of conference described in verses 1-5. Clearly, these events correspond more closely with the Jerusalem Conference outlined in Acts 15:1-5. Verse 9 confirms the conviction of Peter and James, the Lord’s brother, that bringing the gospel to the Gentiles was indeed God’s will. Had this been the case with the trip in Acts 11, the matter would have been settled then – with no need for the Jerusalem Conference to take place at all.

Paul reports the decision of the Jerusalem council to the Christians at Antioch (Acts 15:1-35)

There are aspects of Paul’s rebuke of Peter in verses 11-14 that are much debated. Did Peter’s hypocrisy about occur before or after the Jerusalem Conference? What did Paul mean when speaking of the men of the circumcision party who “came from James?” We do not all of the answers. We know from Acts 15:13-19 that James was certain of God’s will toward the Gentiles. Paul’s relating of these facts to the Galatians showed not only that he was equal to the other apostles, but that this truly was the Lord’s will.

Paul then underscores all of this in verses 15-21 by pointing out that we as Christians are not justified (counted as righteous) by works of the law. Through the faith in Christ (some translations more accurately say “faith OF Christ”) we have died to the law (verse 19, Romans 7:4-6). As Paul says in verse 20, we “have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” We were “buried therefore with him by baptism” (Romans 6:4-6). He settles the matter in verse 24 by pointing out that “if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.” If we could earn our salvation through works of the law, we would have no need of the grace that we have in Christ.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Oct 11 2012

James 2 – Faith Without Works Is Dead

This chapter begins with the warning about showing favoritism to the wealthy, or more to the point, less partiality to those of lesser means. God has always made it abundantly clear how much He cares for the poor. Besides idolatry, oppression of the poor was one of the main reasons for God’s judgment of destruction and captivity on His people in the Old Testament (Amos 2:6-7). If we are the most Christ-like in all things, but show favor to some over others because of their station in life, we become accountable for all sin (verse 10).

James continues the same point in verses 10-13. God’s word is to be followed in all things. Christians do not have the luxury of ignoring part of God’s word. The example of one person abstaining from adultery but committing murder makes the point in the extreme.

Abraham’s supreme example of obeying God (Genesis 22)

Verses 14-26 are often misquoted and more often misunderstood. Paul says that we are justified by faith – James says by works. The problem, as is often the case, is that people tend to “section off” passages of God’s word and either pretend that supplementary passages do not exist, or that they are in conflict. Coffman summarized these verses best:

“This paragraph is perhaps the most disputed and misunderstood passage in the New Testament; but the interpretation presented here flows out of deep convictions: (1) that here indeed we have the inspired word of God; (2) that this portion of the New Testament is as easily understood as any other; (3) that the simple answers are the true ones; (4) that there is not the slightest contradiction between Paul and James; (5) that Paul’s affirmation that we are justified “by faith” and James’ declaration that we are justified “by works” mean simply that we are indeed justified “by both,” and that it is a sin to assert that men are justified either (a) “by faith alone,” or (b) “by works alone”; (6) that all of the alleged contradiction between the sacred writers James and Paul derives not from what either of them said, but from the false allegations of theologians concerning what they meant…”

The point, as expressed in verse 17 is that “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” Abraham’s works referred to in verses 21-23 did not occur without faith, but rather they occurred because of his faith.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Mar 28 2012

Joshua 1 – God Commissions Joshua

Joshua prepares to lead

We move past the end of Deuteronomy and the death of Moses and into Joshua. God speaks to Joshua and gives him the same charge that Moses did in Deuteronomy 31:6-8. Many of God’s words here are identical to the text in Deuteronomy (Moses was speaking for the Lord, after all), and God repeats that He will be with him, will not leave or forsake him. Three times Joshua is told to be strong and courageous – but he is also told to meditate on, and not to turn aside from, all of the law that the Lord commanded Moses. One can surmise from this that there are going to be times during the taking of the land that it would be easy for Joshua as a leader to become frightened, dismayed, or both.

Indeed, the people he is charged with performing this task will face large numbers of opposing forces and there will be blood shed. But the Lord said in verse 5 “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life.” With that, Joshua takes charge, and has his officers prepare to pass over the Jordan river in three days (verse 11). he then reminds the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh of their responsibility. They acknowledge and pledge their allegiance (verses 16-18).

God repeats Himself as He does in the opening verses of Joshua in other places in the Bible, which is a good clue that what He is saying to us has great importance. He reinforces His covenant now with Joshua, and promises that as long as he keeps God’s commandments, he will be successful in achieving the goal. Our charge to keep the Lord’s commandments come from the lips of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and from His apostles repeatedly (John 14:23-24, 1 John 5:3-5,). His promise to us is that if we do so, we will make our home with Him in the end.

As we will see again soon in this very book, God always keeps His promises.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Robert

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Mar 26 2012

Numbers 21:4-9 / Num 25 – Baal Worship at Peor

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Much has happened in the wilderness as we come into this reading. We have skipped over Aaron’s death in chapter 20; and Moses has descended Mount Hor with Aaron’s son Eleazar. The first part of this reading is about the bronze serpent in chapter 21, on the heels of their first victory against the Canaanites (brought on by the attack by the king of Arad). The people have been grumbling about the “miserable food” and God has begun dealing with them in a dramatic way – with fiery serpents. At God’s instruction, Moses makes the bronze serpent, which saves the lives of those who look upon it. Verse 5 suggests that their grumbling was more than just a little bit disrespectful. After the close brush with self-destruction in the golden calf fiasco, it is almost surprising to see that any of them would dare to behave in that way. But, as we will see in the second part of this reading, it gets worse.

So why make such note of the bronze serpent passage – just about 6 verses? Great question, actually. First, it begs some questions – what actually saved the people? Was it just the fact that they looked at the bronze serpent? Did they have to believe that it would save them? Could that belief alone have saved them – without actually doing the act of looking at it? Jesus refers to this event in John 3:14, where he tells Nicodemus (and us) how to achieve salvation. This reference by and about our savior is “sandwiched” between Jesus telling Nicodemus he must be born again, and the baptisms and lessons in obedience to Christ in the verses all the way to the end of John 3. Do yourself a favor and read this entire chapter of John (36 verses) after reading Numbers 21:4-9. Jesus’ references to being lifted up has other meaning here, as it does in John 8:28 and John 12:32.

In chapter 25, Shittim is the last encampment before the people cross the Jordan, and apostasy again rears its ugly head in a horrible affront to God. Some scholars think this may be Tell el-Hammam (about 16 kilometers east of Jericho). The sins are numerous and include the worship of Baal with the Moabites. we do not find out for sure until chapter 31, but it is Balaam who leads them to this. We are not reading his story from the last few chapters in this schedule, but he is referred to again in 2 Peter 2:15 and Jude 1:11. Eleazar’s son, Phineas gains favor with the Lord and keeps the ensuing plague from getting any worse (verses 7-9). But this sin at Peor will not keep the Lord from sending His people to conquer the Canaanites. It is not for their righteousness, as Moses will remind them – but for the evil of the Canaanites themselves.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Robert

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image © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Mar 23 2012

Numbers 14 – The People Rebel

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Once again, the people who have seen the power and the Glory of the Lord with their own eyes forget His promise and this time, believing the report of the spies and (as Joshua and Caleb aptly put it in verse 9) rebelling against the Lord will cost them dearly. God is once again fed up with their disobedience; and in verse 12, He tells Moses (as He did in Exodus 32:10) that He will destroy them and start over with Moses.

But Moses again intercedes and passionately pleads with the Lord in verses 13-19. It is this blogger’s opinion that the Lord relented on their destruction not because of Moses’ argument in those verses about what the nations around them will think. The Lord’s time is His own, and He would do as He wills and the nations would see His power anyway. Consider instead, His simple statement afterward in verse 20. “I have pardoned, according to your word.” That was it. Moses favor and his request were enough to grant their pardon.

So just as Pharaoh decided the fate of his own in Exodus 11:5, siding with the spies and disobeying God would mean that these people decided their own fate. Instead of their little ones becoming a prey as they said in verse 3, those little ones will be the ones to enter Canaan – only after these people all die in the wilderness. But except for Caleb and Joshua, the spies would all meet their doom more quickly (verse 38).

Having received this news, the people have a change of heart and despite Moses’ warning that God would no longer be with them, they make an attempt to enter Canaan anyway – and are soundly defeated (verses 40-45). The time for obeying God is always now.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Robert

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image © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Mar 22 2012

Numbers 13 – Spies Sent into Canaan

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We take the story of God’s word up now almost half way into the Book of Numbers. The people of Israel left Sinai in chapter 10 and the Lord makes the command for one leader from each of the tribes of their fathers to be sent into the land of Canaan to spy. Notice the reminder in verse 2 that this is the Land that He is giving to the people of Israel. But except for Joshua and Caleb, the spies forget the promise. After 40 days travel through the Negeb (or Negev), Hebron. Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, they bring back a report that the land is indeed good. But their description of the way the land is defended, and indeed the people themselves (verses 32-33) is calculated to persuade the people that taking the land would be impossible.

(Side note: Some background on the Negeb (or Negev) along with a modern photo are provided in this article at Ferrell’s Travel Blog)

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Robert

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Mar 11 2012

Blazing Through Exodus \ Week 9 Summary Posted

This week after the ten commandments, we will finish with chapter 24 of the Book of

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Exodus – with men eating in God’s presence – closeness not experienced since “the fall” in Genesis 3. We will continue a fast pace, leaving Exodus by next Tuesday, as we continue to try to get the overall story of the Bible in this year – reading just one chapter a day. I will address on next Sunday’s summary post the fact that we will be skipping Leviticus altogether, as we will be in Numbers 13 by next Wednesday! I believe Leviticus has gotten a “bad rap” so to speak, because it can be tedious reading. So although we will not be in it with this schedule, I may blog a bit on that book in the future because it has much more than sacrifice at an altar that is importation to teach us.

Summing Up

Each weekend, I am now posting a page-length PDF of one week of chapter summaries (on the website’s “Summaries” page), current to the beginning of the previous week. I have posted the summary for Week 9 (February Week 4) of the schedule I am following. This short PDF document contains condensed comments about Exodus chapters 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, with hyperlinks to the ESV version of each chapter for listening or reading, and joins the summaries for other weeks already posted there.

/Robert

image © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

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Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog. All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility. When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com. For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.
/Robert