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 1376 to 1400 of 4999 results
Understanding Series
Arthur G. Patzia
... of God. Are they objects of God’s redemptive activity, or are they merely cosmic spectators to a drama that is being worked out on earth through the church? The rest of the NT is silent on this subject, and only a few verses allude to some kind of intelligent activity among the angels (cf. 1 Cor. 4:9; 1 Pet. 1:12). The author describes the unity of the church as the manifestation of the wisdom of God—wisdom to the extent that God’s divine purposes were being accomplished throughout all the “past ...
Understanding Series
Arthur G. Patzia
... goal that remains to be fulfilled as they appropriate God’s gifts and grow in their capacity to receive them (1:14; 4:30). The apostle seems to be emphasizing the reality of this within the context of the church and is not alluding to some kind of heavenly perfection that awaits God’s people when this earthly pilgrimage is over. Additional Notes On 3:14–21, see W. E. Hull, Love in Four Dimensions (Nashville: Broadman, 1982). 3:15 For further discussion on whole family in 3:15, see Abbott, pp. 93–94 ...
Understanding Series
Gordon D. Fee
... This section forms the first part of an appeal—extending through 2:13—that urges Timothy to be steadfast and loyal in the face of increasing gains by the false teachers, on the one hand (2:16–18; 3:13; 4:3–4), and increasing defections of various kinds (1:15; 4:10–16) due to Paul’s (apparently political) imprisonment (1:8, 12; 2:9; 4:16–17), on the other. In light of these circumstances, he appeals for Timothy’s continued loyalty to his own Spirit-given ministry (vv. 6–7, 13–14; cf. 1 ...
Understanding Series
James K. Bruckner
... ah). This covers a host of actions against God and others. The general meaning of the Hebrew word khattaʾah is walking off the Lord’s path. The point of the Lord’s using the three major words for sin is that God will forgive every kind of sin. Being forgiven by God does not mean that a person did not commit sin. It means that God’s grace, love, and faithfulness restore the person to relationship. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished. This difficult phrase is better translated, “He certainly ...
Understanding Series
Michael S. Moore
... in his house—the opposite of what faithful patriarchs do. By contrast, Boaz’s vision of pastoral care utterly astonishes Ruth. Boaz, as Andersen puts it, “‘does hesed’; he does not merely appear to be like a man who ‘does hesed’” (“Yahweh, the Kind and Sensitive God,” in O’Brien and Peterson, eds., p. 82). Unlike the Levite’s father-in-law, Boaz convinces a council of his peers to let him take a foreign widow “under his wing.” Unlike the old Gibeahite, Boaz courageously takes a ...
1381. David’s Victories
1 Chronicles 18:1-13
Understanding Series
Louis C. Jonker
... . First Chronicles 18:3–6 narrates the campaigns in the far north and northeast; 18:7–8 gives an account of the booty taken from Hadadezer and his men; 18:9–11 recounts the friendly approach by Tou king of Hamath, who brought David all kinds of articles of gold and silver and bronze; and 18:12–13 reports on the victories over the Edomites. First Chronicles 18:14–17 stands somewhat outside the line of the battle narratives, although these verses were taken over from the source text in 2 Samuel ...
Understanding Series
Roland E. Murphy
... 15:8, and the so-called prophetic critique of sacrifice; also Sir. 34:21–35:8). 21:4 The MT is ambiguous. Verse 4a is a kind of casus pendens that is taken up by lamp in verse 4b. Thus the hubris of the sinner is the guide to wrongdoing. This interpretation ... man, who can bring about such destruction. 21:13 13a is a casus pendens, taken up in 13b in an emphatic way. By a kind of lex talionis (law of retaliation), such an insensitive person will not be answered in an hour of need (whether by man or by ...
Understanding Series
Roland E. Murphy
... sinner. 28:15 An implicit comparison by means of juxtaposition. A tyrant’s affliction of poor subjects is compared to the instinctive roar and speed of wild beasts (cf. 29:2b). 28:16 Antithetic. The text is uncertain; see Additional Notes. The NIV understands verse 16a as a kind of continuation of verse 15. On verse 16b see 10:2. 28:17 Synthetic. The NIV supposes that a murderer will be driven on by a sense of guilt till the end of his life. A command is issued that no support be given him (lit. “do not ...
1384. I Am a Rose of Sharon
Song of Songs 2:1-17
Understanding Series
Elizabeth Huwiler
... for lily, Hb. šôšannâ, is cognate with the Egyptian word for lotus. In any event, the lily is not what we think of as a “lily of the valley.” 2:3 Apple tree: Many interpreters believe that apricot or quince is more likely—at any rate, a kind of fruit tree native to Israel. 2:4 His banner over me is love: The sense of this verse is unclear. The word for banner (Hb. degel) is used only here and in Numbers, where it is used in connection with different tribal groups apparently bearing their standards ...
1385. Gedaliah Assassinated
Jeremiah 40:7--41:15
Understanding Series
Tremper Longman III
... in the open country. These appear to be elements of the Judean army that were still on the loose. Today we might call them insurgents. They could still cause some havoc even after the Babylonian defeat of Judah, and so the Babylonians issue a kind of amnesty through their Judean governor, and they appear to accept its terms. A group of specific army officers are then named: Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and ...
Understanding Series
John Goldingay
... of being a real person. As God, Yahweh is not an abstract principle or a being remote from emotions, but one with the whole gamut of strong feelings that characterize a person. So when people despise Yahweh or treat other people wrongly, that arouses strong feelings in Yahweh, the kind that drive Yahweh to take action rather than sit back and do nothing (e.g., Isa. 9:7; 37:32; 42:13; cf. John 2:17). The further good news is that Yahweh is a God who takes redress (naqam). The NIV has avenging, which might be ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... say something nice to me--you know, like, ‘You keep hanging in there,’ or something like that. But all he did was look at me, and then he said in his little kid’s voice, ‘You stink!’” (1) Out of the mouths of babes . . . that’s not the kind of encouragement you hope for at a moment like that, is it? “You Stink!” I want you to keep that story in mind as we look at our lesson today from John’s Gospel. The disciples of Jesus are demoralized. They’re ready to quit. That might surprise us ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... world flipped upside down. This was the night before Jesus went to the cross. And he’s trying to prepare them for the kind of challenges they will have to face. After all, these are men who are preparing to go into battle. They don’t know ... every day. Each year it would have to tick 63,072,000 times, and in ten years it would have to tick 630,720,000 times. Those kinds of numbers were just too much for the clock’s nervous system, and it “passed out.” But when it came to again, it had a flashing ...
Children's Sermon
King Duncan
... , because he knew it was in God's hands. Some of the most inspiring people who have ever lived have had some kind of handicapping condition. Do you know the name Franklin Roosevelt? Roosevelt was one of the greatest presidents our country has ever had ... happen to us and we end up on crutches, or in a wheel chair, or needing special glasses, or maybe kids tease us about our size. All kinds of "thorns" come into our lives. But that doesn't have to be the end of the world, does it? With the help of God and good ...
Children's Sermon
King Duncan
... of power. One is the power of working together. If I took one of these sticks out of this bundle, I could easily break it. Breaking a bundle of sticks, however, would be difficult. That is one source of power. The other kind of power we have in the church is prayer. Whose power do we rely on when we pray? That's right--God's power. Since God is all powerful, His power is the greatest power we can have. Some of us may never have very big muscles, but we can ...
1391. The Raising of Lazarus
John 11:17-37, John 11:38-44
Understanding Series
J. Ramsey Michaels
... the early Christians later expected him to come gloriously to earth a second time in his Parousia (e.g., 1 Thess. 4:15–17; 1 Cor. 15:23; 51–57; like the returning Lord of Paul’s expectation, Jesus is coming to Bethany to raise the dead). It is a kind of triumphal entry told in advance, more private than public, in a small village instead of a great city. It is not so much an anticipation of the public entry into Jerusalem (12:12–19) as the beginning of the chain of events leading up to it. To Martha ...
1392. Walking in the Light
1 John 1:5--2:14, 1 John 2:15-17
Understanding Series
Thomas F. Johnson
... v. 9: people who do not love brother and sister Christians are lost and blinded in the darkness, despite their claim (v. 9) to be in the light. Note the continuing use of pairs of contrasting words in this passage: light/darkness and love/hate. This kind of moral and spiritual antithetical language is used throughout the letters of John. The Elder sees the world and his community’s part in it in black-and-white, dualistic terms. He prefers to state situations in language which leaves no middle ground, no ...
Understanding Series
John E. Hartley
... straw and fodder and there was room for him to spend the night. Before such a gracious display of hospitality and grateful for God’s leading, the servant bowed down and worshiped Yahweh, uttering words of praise. He declared that Yahweh had shown his master kindness (hesed) and faithfulness (’emet) by guiding him to the house of his master’s relatives. 24:28–32 Full of excitement, Rebekah ran back to her mother’s household and told them of her meeting at the well. The fact that the text emphasizes ...
Understanding Series
Christopher J. H. Wright
... level, there are habits to be put to death (Col. 3:5–11). Even in the context of the Christian’s freedom, there are idolatries to be shunned in fear of arousing God’s jealousy (1 Cor. 10:14–22; 1 John 5:21). Certain kinds of alliance with unbelievers are also prohibited; this may include marriage, though the text probably does not mean that specifically (2 Cor. 6:14–18, a text that follows the prohibition on “unequal yokes” with OT warnings about idolatry and the importance of separation). But ...
Understanding Series
Christopher J. H. Wright
... is no less true for the God of Israel. Such “forgetting” is felt as deliberate rejection, not just as a mental lapse. So much of the pain of God expressed through the prophets (who frequently shared it in their own lives) is the result of this kind of forgetting. Secondly, forgetting God is defined in verse 11b as moral disobedience, as failing to observe God’s commands. In the OT memory is closely linked to obedience. It is possible, according to this verse and those following it, to be enjoying the ...
1396. Fear the Lord
Deuteronomy 10:12-22
Understanding Series
Christopher J. H. Wright
... 13; 10:20; 11:13). To observe the LORD’s commands is to give careful, conscientious, and constant attention to the terms and stipulations of the covenant relationship (cf. 7:11; 11:1, 8, 13, 22). As can be seen, the five phrases function as a kind of text for the remainder of the preaching in chapters 10 and 11, which are essentially a twisting kaleidoscope of all the colors and patterns that flow from the central commandment—to love God (which naturally stands central in the list of five). For your own ...
Understanding Series
Christopher J. H. Wright
... 11), then Christian concern to protect the name of Jesus Christ from being equated with any other names (for example in certain kinds of public multifaith worship) should be as keen as Deuteronomy’s passion for the uniqueness of the name of Yahweh over ... The repeating sections (vv. 6–7 and 11–12) call for two things: (a) that the people should bring their offerings of all kinds to the sanctuary of Yahweh, and (b) that they should eat and rejoice there in a community-inclusive way (v. 12). The list ...
Understanding Series
Christopher J. H. Wright
... guilt is found when, for example, Christians are invited to write down their sins or besetting failures of the past, and then burn the paper or nail it to a symbolic cross. Any benefit of such action lies, of course, not in the ritual itself or any kind of sympathetic magic, but in the objective basis of God’s atoning grace. In the same way, the elders pray for God’s forgiveness of the people, not merely because of the ritual they have carried out, but on the basis of God’s historical redemption and ...
Understanding Series
Iain W. Provan
... . The recurrent complaint has been that the high places “were not removed” (Hb. habbāmôṯ lōʾ sārû, 1 Kgs. 15:14; 22:43; 2 Kgs. 12:3; 14:4; 15:4, 35). The possibility has always existed, therefore, that they would become focal points for the kind of slide from authentic worship into apostasy that happened during the reign of Solomon (compare 1 Kgs. 3:2–3 with 11:7–8, noting the continuing effects in 14:22–24). This is precisely what has occurred during the reign of Ahaz (2 Kgs. 16:4; the ...
Understanding Series
John Goldingay
... 5:27). The city will be a place of . . . rivers and streams like the ones that Egypt was to have spoiled (19:5–8), broad like the one into which Shebna was to be cast (22:18, a rare idiom). It will be troubled by no galley of the kind that Tarshish possessed (23:1, 14) with oars. The word otherwise occurs in the OT only at 28:15 (NIV “overwhelming”), where it is followed by the verb here rendered sail (there “sweeps by”). No mighty ship will attempt to confront the Mighty One (see 10:34). Yahweh ...
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