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Showing 3426 to 3450 of 3926 results

3426. God’s Faithfulness

Romans 3:1-8

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... , the Helper, the Judge, and the Redeemer; not man” (Romans, p. 80). God is not a speculative truth, but a living and subsistent truth who helps, aids, restores, and saves. It is precisely because God is not like us that he is able to help us. In support of this Paul includes a quotation, “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge” (v. 4). This comes from Psalm 51:4, where David acknowledges his sin against Uriah and Bathsheba and confesses that God is true and just in ...

3427. Abraham Justified by Faith

Romans 4:1-25

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... Abraham, being used to show the merit of faith, i.e., that Abraham’s faith was itself a work of obedience and thus a ground for justification. It was a bold venture for Paul to cite a verse which his opponents assumed supported their position, and by it to demonstrate a diametrically opposite view. In mounting his counterattack Paul emphasizes two words: believed and credited. Abraham was justified because he believed, not because he did something (v. 2). Paul’s Jewish contemporaries understood the word ...

3428. Peace and Joy

Romans 5:1-11

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... but has peace with God. A variant tradition in verse 1 (noted in the NIV) reads, “let us have peace with God,” thus exhorting the reader to fulfill or enter into the condition established by Christ. Although this reading claims the stronger support among the ancient manuscripts, it remains the weaker reading. Internal evidence suggests that Paul’s original wording was not an exhortation but an indicative, we have peace with God. In general when Paul speaks of peace between humanity and God it is God ...

3429. Struggling with Sin

Romans 7:7-25

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... the general arguments for each position and choose the most reasonable path—which in this instance is the least unsatisfactory path—over the terrain. Twentieth-century scholarship has tended toward the view that verses 7–25 describe Paul’s pre-Christian experience. The chief supporting argument contends that if the Christian—including Paul—has died to sin and now lives a new life in Christ (6:22; 7:4; 2 Cor. 5:17), then how can Paul consider himself “sold as a slave to sin” (v. 14), or “a ...

3430. Life Through the Spirit

Romans 8:1-17

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... in Str-B, vol. 3, p. 240. The Greek text presents a difficult choice at 8:2. The NIV reads, “through Jesus Christ the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” The pronoun “me” is supported by many and varied ancient manuscripts, plus it agrees with the eight occurrences of the first person singular pronoun in chapter 7, all of which argue in its favor. But an alternative reading of “you” (singular), although it claims fewer manuscripts in its favor, nevertheless ...

3431. The Remnant of Israel

Romans 11:1-10

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... human failure. The outcome is a hardening from God so that they cannot see what they will not see, or hear what they will not hear. From this perspective hardening is not an obstacle to Israel, but God’s judgment on Israel. The bulk of the supporting quotation from Deuteronomy 29:4 in verse 8 recalls Israel’s resistance to God in the wilderness. The phrase, spirit of stupor, however, is adopted from Isaiah 29:10 as part of Isaiah’s scathing attack against the city of David for its faithlessness. The ...

3432. All Israel Will Be Saved

Romans 11:25-32

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... of Gentiles, v. 25, also Acts 13:48), and of Israel as a whole (i.e., all Israel, v. 26). The apostle thus envisions a point in the future when by grace greater Israel will embrace the gospel by faith, as have Gentiles in the past. This is supported by a quotation in verses 26–27, whose first three lines come from Isaiah 59:20–21, and the fourth from Isaiah 27:9. Whether or not “The deliverer who will come from Zion” was understood messianically in Paul’s day (see Cranfield, Romans, vol. 2, p. 578 ...

3433. Paul the Minister to the Gentiles

Romans 15:14-22

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... purposes? The waters of 15:14–33 may at first reading seem trouble free, but a closer look reveals a number of reefs and shoals lurking below the surface. Here as elsewhere Paul needed to interpret his mission pastorally in order to enlist understanding and support from those to whom it was addressed. 15:14 The apostle Paul is commonly thought of as a theologian—perhaps a rather forbidding one. A theologian he was, but his first calling was to be a missionary pastor to the churches he founded. Both his ...

3434. Divisions In the Church

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... to Cephas here and in Gal. 1:18 and 2:11 regularly motivate scholarly discussion of whether in fact Cephas is to be identified with Simon Peter. From time to time suggestions are made that the two are distinct, but such interpretations have not found support among the vast majority of scholars. P. Lampe (“Theological Wisdom and the ‘Word About the Cross.’ The Rhetorical Scheme in 1 Corinthians 1–4,” Int 44 [1990], pp. 117–31) argues that this reference to Apollos and Cephas is a key to all of ...

3435. Warnings from Israel's History

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... Numbers (cf. Ps. 78:30–31) the bodies of the dead Israelites are strewn around in the wilderness. Nevertheless, Paul introduces the final phrase of this verse with the Gk. word gar (“for”), clearly indicating that he is offering evidence as explanation or in support of his contention that God was not pleased with most of the Israelites. No harm is done by the NIV rendering, but the basic flow of Paul’s thought is broken down needlessly. Paul’s contention that God was not pleased with most of them ...

3436. The Believer's Freedom

1 Corinthians 10:23--11:1

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... in diatribe at this point, seems the best understanding of the passage. Otherwise, Paul’s logic explodes on itself, and he contradicts his advice of the following verses with no indication of the reason. One further, somewhat speculative observation may lend support to the foregoing exegesis. One should note that Paul writes to the Corinthians as a group. But when the objections come in verses 29b–30, one finds them in the first-person singular. This self-centered point of view is the perspective ...

3437. Propriety in Worship

1 Corinthians 11:2-16

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... this verse and others J. Murphy-O’Connor (“St. Paul: Promoter of the Ministry of Women,” Priests & People 6 [1992], pp. 307–11) argues that Paul was bothered in this particular instance by the blurring of sexual distinctions in Corinth, although he was supportive of women’s ministry. See also J. Murphy-O’Connor, “Sex and Logic in 1 Corinthians 11:2–16,” CBQ 42 (1980), pp. 482–500. 11:7 See Conzelmann, 1 Corinthians, pp. 187–88 for more on the synonymous understandings of image (Gk. eik ...

3438. The Lord's Supper

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... do these things, God’s memory of Christ or Christ’s own memory of his disciples is jogged toward realization of the Parousia (or both)? Both interpretations are suggested by scholars, although the first option finds by far the most support. The determination of the original meaning of the Lord’s original words is an important matter, both historically and theologically. Paul’s understanding of these words and the interpretation of the sayings that he taught the members of the congregations ...

3439. One Body, Many Parts

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... , I Corinthians, p. 287). 12:28 In this list of gifts or parts, Paul uses image-laden language to name certain phenomena: those able to help others is antilēmpseis in Gk., a word normally indicating a “helper,” “protector,” or “supporter” that can be used metaphorically in relation to cultivated plants to mean “giving a return.” Similarly, those with gifts of administration is kybernēseis in Gk., a word meaning “guidance” in the sense of “steering” or “piloting.” A form of ...

3440. The Scroll and the Lamb

Revelation 5:1-14

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... God, thereby glossing over an important textual problem. Some ancient mss include the pronoun “us” (hēmas), rendering the phrase, “you purchased us for God.” The decision can not be decided on textual grounds alone, since both readings enjoy significant external support. In the context of the composition itself, if we take the elders, who sing the song, to be angelic beings, then the pronoun should be omitted on christological grounds: Christ did not die for angels. If however we take the elders ...

3441. The Woman and the Dragon

Revelation 12:1--13:1a

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... Bride, Mother, Beautiful Woman: Jonathan Edwards’ Feminine Images of the Church,” presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Church Historians, 1990. Chastain contends that the “mother” motif envisions the present church—nurturing and supporting believers for their struggle against sin and evil. The “bride” motif envisions the eschatological church, “repristinated” to take its place within a new and purified creation. 12:5 In resolving the problem of the “gap” between ...

3442. The Sin Offering

Leviticus 4:1--5:13

Understanding Series

W. H. Bellinger, Jr.

... suggested that these remaining parts of the animal are not sacrificed because they are polluted by the sin of the one offering sacrifice (Leviticus 1–16, pp. 239–40), but the destruction of these remaining parts of the animal in a place ceremonially clean does not support that view. The mixing of clean and unclean is not desirable. The parts of the animal are destroyed as a further symbol of the removal of the effects of sin and uncleanness, and to show that no one could benefit from the effects of sin ...

3443. Clean and Unclean Animals

Leviticus 11:1-47

Understanding Series

W. H. Bellinger, Jr.

... organizing principle regarding the clean and the unclean. One would hope for a better explanation. Other commentators give a cultic explanation. What is unclean is that which is used as part of idolatrous worship in that day. There is some evidence to support this view about some of the animals, but it clearly does not account for much of the textual information. A more popular rationale could be called the hygienic one. Health concerns account for the distinctions between clean and unclean. Certain animals ...

3444. Eating Blood Forbidden

Leviticus 17:1-16

Understanding Series

W. H. Bellinger, Jr.

... wild goats. The image is of harlotry, as the people are said to have prostituted themselves to such idols. These verses clearly warn against any syncretism and reflect how pervasive are the concerns for holiness. The text also means to support priests’ control of sacrifice, a significant economic and political practice in ancient Israel. The priests were to screen any idolatry from the sanctuaries. Ancient Israel’s history documents this threat of idolatry and a mixed history of worship, a particular ...

3445. Reward for Obedience

Leviticus 26:1-13

Understanding Series

W. H. Bellinger, Jr.

... sufficiently plentiful to keep everyone busy for this whole period of time. The promise is of economic blessing and peace, security and safety, without savage beasts or violence. Victory is also promised; the few will defeat the many with Yahweh’s support. The population will grow as a part of the divine fulfillment of covenant, but there will still be abundant provision for the people. Yahweh will look upon the people graciously. The covenant language continues with the promise of divine presence in ...

3446. The Census

Numbers 1:1-54

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

... , in contrast to the postexilic tendencies toward exclusivism in writings such as Ezra-Nehemiah (In the Wilderness, pp. 35–41). 1:20–46 The huge census number has been a matter of significant debate. Most interpreters think it unreasonable that the wilderness could support such a huge number of people or that they could move in any organized fashion. Budd (Numbers, pp. 6–9), Olson (Numbers, pp. 12–17), and Davies (Numbers, pp. 14–18) all give helpful summaries of the history of the question. Some ...

3447. Offerings at the Dedication of the Tabernacle

Numbers 7:1-89

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

... upon its dedication (see Exod. 25:22). Perhaps this conclusion also indicates that God accepts the gifts brought in this chapter. Numbers 7 continues the positive tone of the structuring of God’s community. The people are meticulously obedient in supporting the sanctuary establishment. They are generous in their gifts. Each tribe is equally involved in the undertaking and a full participant in the community. The effect of this longest chapter in the Hebrew Bible, excepting Psalm 119, is to impress ...

3448. Supplementary Offerings

Numbers 15:1-21

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

... ways to chapters 11–14 on the one hand and to chapter 16 on the other. Also, in contrast to a number of other commentators, he understands chapter 15 to exhibit an internal coherence (Numbers, pp. 90–101). What follows will in general support Olson’s view. The chapter is clearly from the hands of the Priestly tradents. It provides a temporary halt to the intensifying sequence of narratives of rebellion and brings attention back to God’s instruction of the people. The chapter contains several ...

3449. Korah, Dathan and Abiram

Numbers 16:1-50

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

... leader of the people. Should Korah, Dathan, and Abiram die a natural death, that would be a sign that Moses’ leadership does not come from God. If, in contrast, the rebels are swallowed up by the earth in death, that would be a sign of divine support of Moses as leader of the people. Immediately the earth opens and swallows Korah, Dathan, and Abiram with their households and all Korah’s men and all their possessions. The earth closes over them, and they exist no more. Then fire came out from the LORD ...

3450. Arad Destroyed

Numbers 21:1-3

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

... piece of poetry may not be possible to determine. Presumably Waheb is a town in the area of Suphah, and then there is reference to the ravines and slopes of the ravines that lead to Ar, a significant city in Moab. Is the point simply to support the statement that the Arnon is the border of Moab, or does the poetry imply Israelite victory or divine presence at these places? The fragment is too brief to know (see Davies, Numbers, pp. 220–21, and the literature cited there). The Israelites then continued to ...

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