Synonyms: replica, copy, representation, mock-up, dummy, imitation, double, duplicate, lookalike, reproduction, prototype, stereotype, archetype, type, version, style, ideal, paragon, perfect example, specimen, perfect specimen, fashion model, supermodel, mannequin, sitter, poser, subject, artist's model, photographic model, design, mark, configuration, variety, kind, sort, original, original design, exclusive, toy, miniature, facsimile, prototypical, prototypal, archetypal, illustrative, perfect, exemplary, classic, flawless, faultless, consummate, impeccable
Antonyms: deficient, imperfect
Showing 276 to 300 of 5000 results
Teach the Text
Ronald W. Pierce
... and a half years. Either way, it fits into the same short time of suffering in Daniel. Third, a spiritual struggle against evil need not degenerate into a political agenda. Daniel distinguishes only between the kingdoms of this world and the kingdom of God. Illustrating the Text Remember what you learned in the light as you live in a dark and needy world. Bible: Ephesians 6:10–13. Imagine being held in a strange place of darkness under the control and evil intent of a hostile person—in part, because ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... manslaughter, going to war, and capital punishment. The punishment for murder is the death penalty (Exod. 21:12). Seventh Commandment · With the seventh commandment (20:14), God forbids adultery. Violation of the marriage covenant leads only to disaster, graphically illustrated on the human level in Proverbs 5:1–23; 6:20–29; 7:1–27. The gift of sexuality is both rapturous and potentially destructive to individuals and whole communities, as it evokes desires that can overwhelm reason. Thus sexuality ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... 35). In the first section (6:1–5), the parent/speaker begins exceptionally by immediately sketching a dangerous scenario the youth should escape. The subject of guaranteeing loans is addressed elsewhere in Proverbs (11:15; 17:18; 20:16; 22:26; 27:13) and is illustrated by Judah’s actions in Genesis 43:8–9; 44:30–34. Whether one formally seals the deal with a neighbor or a stranger, one has in effect been trapped by one’s words. Since such a transaction is not regulated by Mosaic legislation, there ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... in profusion. The vine, Israel, is of a good variety. The soda and soap (mineral and vegetable alkalis) metaphor stresses the deeply ingrained nature of Israel’s evil. The young camel, wobbly on its feet, illustrates how directionless Israel is as she crisscrosses her ways. The donkey at mating time illustrates the passion with which Israel pursues the Baals even in the valley, which, if the Hinnom Valley, would be the place for child sacrifice. In sarcasm, God warns Israel in all this pursuing of other ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... the temple. Here it is Joshua who does the same thing. Together they are a type of the Messiah to come.) This passage, which clearly has reference to the future, serves to illustrate the far reach of the visions in chapters 3 and 4. Zerubbabel finished the temple as promised in 4:9. But the completion of that project served as the illustration of a far greater fulfillment yet to come. The words “It is he who will build the temple” (6:13) stress the fact that Christ the Branch, and no other, will ...
281. Parables of Preparedness
Matthew 25:1-13, Matthew 25:14-30, Matthew 25:31-46
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... to join the bridegroom and enter the wedding banquet (25:10). Jesus’s parable calls all his followers to be ready for his reappearing, since they “do not know the day or the hour” (25:13; cf. 24:36, 42). The second parable of Matthew 25 illustrates what preparedness looks like (25:14–30). Three servants are entrusted with large sums of money (a “talent” equals approximately six thousand denarii, with a denarius being a day’s wage; see NIV note to 25:15) from their master and expected to use it ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... fasting altogether (cf. Matt. 6:16–18; also Luke 4:2; 22:16, 18); however, the early church did not regularly practice fasting but reserved it for special occasions (see Acts 13:1–4; 14:23; cf. 9:9). Jesus then tells two parables that illustrate the incompatibility between Judaism and the new community. One cannot combine the new garment of the gospel with the old garment that focuses on religious practices. Any attempt to patch up the old garment will result in the tearing of the new one, and the ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... why Paul can be confident that there are experienced believers in the churches in Rome who can instruct the Christians responsibly and competently (15:14). The inclusion of eight women, whom Paul acknowledges with joy and thanksgiving, illustrates the importance of the ministry of women in the early church. The presence of Greek, Latin, Roman, and Jewish names and the presence of the names of slaves and freedmen (e.g., Ampliatus, Asyncritus, Junia, Tryphosa, Tryphena) attests to the cultural and social ...
284. The Rights of an Apostle
1 Corinthians 9:1-27
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... way, it becomes possible for him to bring about their continuing allegiance to the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. For Paul, as their apostle, also shares in the blessing of their entrance into a growing faith (9:23; see also Col. 2:5). A last illustration allows Paul to compare his restraint with that of a runner who gives up much in “strict training” to attempt to gain the winner’s “crown” in “the games” (9:24–25). Paul does not renounce his rights to no purpose, like a halfhearted runner ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... than it was the true rest of God for Israel (Heb. 4:8–9). God “is not ashamed” to be called the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that is, not of the dead but of the living who wait in hope (Matt. 22:31–32). The supreme illustration of Abraham’s faith as an invincible confidence in the promise of God and in God’s ability to fulfill it in defiance of appearances is his obedience in offering Isaac as a sacrifice (11:17–18). That such indeed was Abraham’s reasoning appears to be suggested ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... , to be more precise, two questions (2:14). In the Greek, it is clear that the assumed answer to these questions is no—this faith, the faith that certain people claim to have but that is without deeds, cannot save them from the judgment of God. The illustration in verses 15–16 drives home this point. What good have we done the fellow Christian who lacks the essentials of life if we simply dismiss him or her with words? Not that words are unimportant or that there will not be occasions when words are all ...
Sermon
David G. Rogne
... the struggles of a dying child, she began to think of slave mothers who were parted from their children by slavery. There was born within her the desire to move the conscience of the country to end slavery. She set about to write Uncle Tom's Cabin to illustrate the evils of slavery. She saw all people as children of God and recognized that as long as the well-being of one part of the family is based upon the misery of another part, there cannot be happiness for either part. Happiness is the result of ...
Understanding Series
James R. Edwards
... if he were God but as if he were as they themselves imagine him for themselves!” (Lectures on Romans, p. 25). In a withering criticism of religious aspirations Feuerbach asserted that “god” is simply a projection of the human imagination. This is supremely illustrated by Milton’s Satan, who, seeing the Son of God at the Father’s right hand, suffered a “sense of injur’d merit,” and “thought himself impaired” (PL 1.98; 5.662). Plotting to usurp the Son’s position, Satan commits the folly ...
Understanding Series
James R. Edwards
... law. Abraham was an heir not by virtue of family lineage or works, but through the righteousness that comes by faith, that is, by grace. Paul could have alluded to the same motif in the life of Jesus. The call of Levi the tax collector manifestly illustrates the offense of grace (Mark 2:13–17). Had Levi been a former tax collector who had washed his hands of a dirty profession, his call might have been understandable. True, Jesus called him from tax collecting, but the call came while he was at his tax ...
Understanding Series
James R. Edwards
... it is surely a reminder of the wide chasm which separates humanity from God. There is indeed a “madness in the human mind” which presumes to fathom God’s every purpose and which calls him to account when it cannot. That is the point of the potter illustration, which was well-known in Judaism (Isa. 29:16; 45:9; Wisd. of Sol. 12:12). A potter makes vessels for various purposes. God likewise ordains times and events and peoples for purposes of his choosing, some for noble purposes and some for common use ...
Understanding Series
Marion L. Soards
... he had articulated in 1:18–25: God’s work defies and even reverses the standards of this world. He had already provided one kind of explanation in 1:26–31, but now he focuses on himself, especially his style of ministry and his message, as illustrations of the truth of the gospel of Christ-crucified. The initial statement is awkward in Greek, but it echoes and amplifies the previous remark in 1:17 that led to Paul’s theological exposition of the cross in 1:18–25. Paul writes, “And when I ...
Understanding Series
Marion L. Soards
... of the Israelites in the wilderness may seem peculiar, but the development is logical; for as Paul used himself and the apostles as a personal lesson on Christian rights and responsibilities in chapter 9, and as he drew images from the athletic games to illustrate and register his teaching (9:24–27), now Paul takes up one of the best-known and most-loved stories from the OT to form analogies to the Corinthian situation in order both to document and to authenticate his instructions. This section is a ...
293. One Body, Many Parts
1 Corinthians 12:12-31
Understanding Series
Marion L. Soards
... body parts in forming his analogies and arguments. 12:15–18 The NIV translation of vv. 15–18 is accurate in its colloquial and vivid style of rendering Paul’s lines at this point. Paul’s energy and wit are both evident in his imaginative illustrations that the NIV brings over into excellent English translation. In this vein, the NIV correctly conveys the importance of Paul’s declaration in v. 18 by rendering nuni de (lit. “but now”) But in fact. 12:18 There is a striking linguistic similarity ...
Understanding Series
W. H. Bellinger, Jr.
... vultures, falcons, ravens, owls, and marsh or sea birds make up most of the list. 11:20–23 These verses continue with flying creatures and consider flying insects, or winged insects. Here a principle is identified, a physical characteristic, and the text gives illustrations. The method of locomotion is key. Insects with wings must be able to fly. If they also walk on all fours, they are unclean; animals—not flying creatures—are to walk on all fours. If they have jointed legs for hopping, however, they ...
295. Elihu
Job 32:1--37:24
Understanding Series
Gerald H. Wilson
... —so Job’s suffering can only be his justly deserved punishment for sin. 34:18–20 God’s power is such that he calls even the most powerful of human rulers to account. He is the One who says to kings . . . and to nobles. This illustrates the principle that verse 17 established: justice and power must go hand in hand. If the powerful fail in their administration of justice, God is quick to declare them worthless or wicked. (Of course, this also suggests that the unjust abuse of power by human rulers ...
Understanding Series
Craig C. Broyles
... me up could denote resurrection, but, within the horizon of the Psalms and the OT, they probably denote rescue from near-death distress (cf. 30:1, 3; 40:2; 69:1–2, 14–15). The phrase, “from the depths of the earth,” illustrates how the psalms use cosmic language to describe experiences of personal salvation. 71:22–24 This section consists of another vow of praise, this time emphasizing its formal, public performance with musical instruments, the harp and the lyre (obviously both cannot be played ...
Understanding Series
Robert H. Mounce
... what it probably meant to the Gospel writer. Others believe that, although the parable is useful for teaching in a variety of settings, the Gospel writers have transmitted to their readers the meaning Jesus intended when he used the parable. 13:31–32 Jesus illustrates the remarkable growth of the kingdom of heaven by comparing it to a mustard seed, which in time grows into a tree large enough to have birds nesting in its branches. The mustard seed was proverbial for its smallness. It was the smallest of ...
Understanding Series
Robert H. Mounce
... :33; 2 Bar. 70:2; etc.), and the harvesters are angels (cf. 1 Enoch 46:5; 63:1). Matthew emphasizes with this parable that a period of final judgment awaits the return of Christ. What it will be like at the end of the age is illustrated by the gathering and burning of the weeds. Beginning with verse 41, the interpretation of the parable gives way to a description of final judgment in the traditional terms of Jewish apocalyptic. The Son of Man will send out his angels to uproot from his kingdom “everything ...
Understanding Series
Craig A. Evans
... from the scene, leaving the church to carry out the task of evangelism (as seen in the Book of Acts). During Jesus’ absence, while the church is preparing for the Lord’s return, fasting will be appropriate (see Acts 13:2–3). 5:36–39 Jesus illustrates this with two similitudes, both teaching the incompatibility of the new and the old. Just as a patch of new (i.e., not shrunk) cloth does not patch an old garment well nor can new (i.e., unfermented) wine be accommodated in old wineskins, so the ...
Understanding Series
J. Ramsey Michaels
... as a genuine miracle-worker and a possible Messiah (v. 31), but others are ready to turn him over to the authorities. The statement that they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come (v. 30) is illustrated by the failure of the Pharisees and chief priests in verses 32–36. When the guards are sent to arrest him, Jesus turns them back with his mysterious words (vv. 33–34). If Jesus’ origin is unknown to the crowds and the religious authorities, so too is his ...
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