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Showing 1551 to 1575 of 4977 results

1551. Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

Romans 6:1-14

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... that one cannot separate justification and sanctification, faith and obedience, and still be faithful to the gospel. “The following two propositions hold good and are equally true: only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes. It is quite unbiblical to hold the first proposition without the second” (Bonhoeffer’s emphasis; The Cost of Discipleship, trans. R. H. Fuller [New York: Macmillan, 1966], p. 69). 6:3–4 On the idea of Christian faith as public faith, Augustine tells a ...

1552. Ingrafted Branches

Romans 11:11-24

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... analysis to exhortation and admonition. As we noted in the Introduction, surely one reason that Paul wrote Romans was to heal the breach between Gentiles and Jews after the latter returned to Rome following their expulsion under Claudius. Verses 13ff. quite probably were penned with this in mind, although the message was certainly not limited to Gentiles in Rome, for the issue was larger than whatever might have been happening in the capital. Jewish society as a rule regarded Gentiles with condescension ...

1553. Love

Romans 12:9-21

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... the reason for doing good to enemies is to cause them severer punishment, “In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” But considering the importance of motive in NT ethics (above all in the Sermon on the Mount, Matt. 5–7), it is quite impossible to reconcile a malicious intent with the agapē of God, who demonstrated his love by sending his Son to die for sinners (5:8). Rather, heaping burning coals on his head intends to bring shame on wrongdoers so that they will repent of their evil ...

1554. Love, for the Day Is Near

Romans 13:8-14

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... claims about their faith, for faith, like life, cannot be reduced to purely logical categories. A parent, for example, can love and hate a child at the same moment, or so it seems. Christians likewise assert one thing about God and then another thing quite different—but also quite true. Early in Romans Paul spoke of justification as though it were entirely of God. “When we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son” (5:10). It sounds as though we had nothing to do ...

1555. Thanksgiving

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... concise. Rather, Paul modified the form of the salutation by expanding it and giving it a distinctively Christian cast. Even when Paul’s salutation is brief, as it is in 1 Thessalonians, it has a clearly theological tone. The salutation here in 1 Corinthians is quite elaborate. 1:1 Paul describes himself as one called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. This designation emphasizes God’s divine initiative in setting Paul about the work that he did in founding and forming churches in the ...

1556. Love

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... clear that even extraordinarily powerful faith, which can accomplish great feats, is of marginal value or even useless if the one with such faith has no love. Through a series of dramatic images, Paul makes his understanding of the “most excellent way” quite clear. Paul’s twin verdicts in these verses are that without love I am nothing and I gain nothing. According to Paul’s teaching about Christian belief and practice, human lives and achievements are ultimately judged by the presence or absence of ...

1557. The Resurrection of the Dead

1 Corinthians 15:12-34

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... most pitiful.” Whether or not one perceives a Corinthian motto in this material, the phraseology of Paul’s statement is ambiguous. The adverb only may be read with the words this life or the words we have hope. Thus, Paul could have made two possible and quite different statements: “in this life we have only hope,” i.e., in life the believers have nothing but hope; or “in this life only we have hope”—i.e., only in this life is there hope. The NIV translation, “If only for this life we have ...

1558. The Resurrection Body

1 Corinthians 15:35-58

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... of eschatological teaching that Paul offered in chapter 15. 15:50 Verse 50 introduces a new idea or line into the reflection. In a sense, the concern is the same as that named explicitly in verse 35a. Now, however, as Paul re-presents the issue, quite naturally, from Paul’s statement that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, one would ask, “Then how? How are the dead raised?” Paul assumes that unstated question and uses the following lines to answer the query. In this verse Paul’s ...

1559. The Grain Offering

Leviticus 2:1-16

Understanding Series

W. H. Bellinger, Jr.

... their everyday diet to God. 2:7 The third method of preparing the grain offering is in a pan. The offering was probably fried in oil until crisp in a deep pan with a lid. 2:8–10 The procedure for presenting the cooked grain offerings is quite similar to that for the uncooked offerings (vv. 1–3). The entire offering is brought, only the memorial portion burned on the altar, and the remainder goes to the priests. This portion of the Manual of Sacrifice is addressed to the whole community, while chapters 6 ...

1560. Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses

Numbers 12:1-16

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

... of Moses’ siblings and calls a meeting of the three leaders at the Tent of Meeting. Then God descends in a pillar of cloud and stands at the entrance to the Tent and calls Miriam and Aaron forward. While the danger of the divine presence is still quite clear in Numbers 11–12, the image of God here is more immediate (especially in the dialogue) than in Numbers 1–10. 12:6–12 The divine response, in poetic form, is in verses 6–8. The speech affirms the validity of prophecy, but the revelation comes ...

1561. David Spares Saul's Life

1 Samuel 24:1-22

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

... value his action was to try to persuade Saul that, in spite of his fears, David posed no direct threat to Saul’s position. In fact the situation was the reverse because he had acted to keep Saul safe. However, David’s behavior may not be quite as disinterested as it first appears. There is something melodramatic in David’s extravagant act of obeisance to Saul (v. 8), but Saul is not a stranger to melodramatic action, and the symbolism of David’s prostration is clear. David is not seeking, and has ...

1562. Eliphaz's Second Speech to Job

Job 15:1-35

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... negation of Psalm 1:3, where a tree metaphor describes the righteous: “He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” The vocabulary is quite different, but the sentiments quite parallel (in a negative fashion). Like a vine, the wicked puts forth grapes that are stripped off before they ripen. Finally, the wicked is compared to an olive tree that puts forth blossoms that fall before they are pollinated. As a ...

1563. Elihu

Job 32:1--37:24

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... ” weakened by age are unable to withstand the expansion and crack under the strain. The phrase ready to burst is an apt description of Elihu’s explosion of words after having been restrained for so long. 32:20 I must speak. Although the Hebrew does not carry quite the same sense of necessity, the jussive form expresses the urgent desire of the speaker to let his words out of confinement. As in the case of Jeremiah (20:9), the only way to find relief from the building sense of compulsion is to speak out ...

1564. The Lord Speaks

Job 38:1--41:34

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... fear as he lurks in wait for his prey. The hippopotamus lies almost completely submerged, hidden among the reeds with his protuberant eyes above water. The lotuses and poplars provide shade from the sun. When the river rages. The hippopotamus is very buoyant and quite a strong swimmer, so he is not alarmed by swift river currents but remains secure. The poet has the Jordan in mind as the location, although the abundant water and the “lotus” lead many to think of the River Nile instead. 40:24 Can anyone ...

1565. The Baptism of Jesus

Matthew 3:13-17

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... later accounts (e.g., no mention is made of him at the wedding at Cana, John 2:1–12), and since it appears that he was quite a bit older than Mary, most writers conclude that Jesus, as the eldest son, took responsibility for the family when Joseph died and provided for them ... 57) is based on the assumption that had John said what he is purported to have said he would have had to quit baptizing and become a follower of Jesus. The exchange is not at all unnatural, however, when we consider the context and pay ...

1566. Jesus at the Temple

Matthew 21:12-17

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... beginning of Jesus’ final week, John tells of a similar cleansing at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry (John 2:13ff.). It is quite possible that there were in fact two cleansings and that the initial cleansing was not a part of the tradition that the ... the transactions in the temple as being exorbitant, I. Abrahams holds that everything was under strict control and, on the whole, quite fair (Studies in Pharisaism and the Gospels, vol. 1, pp. 82ff.). 21:14 Blind and the lame: The “blind and lame” ...

1567. Daniel’s Dream of Four Beasts

Daniel 7:1-14

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... in parallel with “lion,” while Daniel leaves it unspecified. There are other differences as well in the details of Daniel’s beasts, such as wings. Daniel may also be drawing on the art and iconography of the ancient Near East, where images of hybrid creatures were quite common, especially in Mesopotamia (see ANEP, pp. 212–13). The first beast was like a lion with the wings of an eagle (7:4). Just as the lion is the most exalted beast on four legs and the eagle is the most magnificent creature that ...

1568. Daniel’s Vision of a Ram and a Goat

Daniel 8:1-14

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... , or whether he is really affirming that in the heavenly battle some of the good angels were defeated and thrown down, is difficult to say. It is bold imagery to say the least. While it may seem incredible to the modern Christian reader, the latter meaning is quite believable for this Jewish writer of the second century B.C. This was his way of wrestling with the problem of evil. How was it possible for this wicked monarch to prevail over the Jews? How was it conceivable for him to desecrate the holy temple ...

1569. The Parable of the Tenants

Luke 20:9-19

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... 22:28–30; Acts 1:15–26). 20:17 Some have suggested that Ps. 118:22 was related to the Parable of the Wicked Tenants because of a word play involving “son” and “stone.” In Hebrew the expression “the son” and “the stone” sound quite similar. This is probably the reason that the Aramaic version (the Targum) of Ps. 118:22 actually reads: “the son which the builders rejected.” Thus, the parable and the Psalm quotation are linked together by the related theme of the rejected son. For this ...

1570. Accusations

2 Corinthians 2:12--3:6

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... subject is different. Paul merely uses the idea of the Roman triumphal procession in order to convey another set of associations—the thought that God on his throne-chariot leads the apostle captive. The divine throne-chariot is found in both the OT and Jewish tradition. Quite commonly, the “chariotry/chariot of God” in Psalm 68:17–18 is taken to refer to the merkabah in which God descended to Mount Sinai. Ezekiel’s prophetic call-vision by the river Chebar (Ezek. 1:4–28; cf. 10:1–22; 43:1–4 ...

1571. Two Kinds of Wisdom

James 3:13-18, James 3:1-12

Understanding Series

Peter H. Davids

... 18). 3:10 The obvious problem here is the fickleness of speech: Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. The problem is not so much that of blessing and cursing per se—one might, for example, curse sin quite properly: “May every angry thought that would invade my mind be buried in the depths of hell!” The problem is that both cursing and blessing are directed at the same object: God and a person-in-the-image-of-God. That shows double-thought and thus sinfulness ...

1572. The Plague of Hail

Exodus 9:13-35

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... wanted the cacophonous storm to stop. Moses interpreted the pharaoh’s response when he said, I know that you and your officials still do not fear the LORD God. The king used his rhetoric to make an admission of convenience. He addressed the presenting problem quite practically. Moses’ God, Yahweh, had brought a terrible storm, so Moses must see to its removal, as he had in the past. Moses was willing to ask the Lord to remove the storm, in spite of the pharaoh’s unchanging heart. Moses explained God ...

1573. The Ten Commandments

Deuteronomy 5:1-33

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... they commit the people of Israel to obedience (We will listen and obey). 5:28–29 God’s response is warm and positive: God accepts what they say as good. But awareness of their past and their likely future generates a divine wistfulness, Oh that . . . , which surfaces quite often in the OT (cf. Isa. 48:18f.; Jer. 2:1–3; 3:19–20; Hos. 11—the climax of such divine longing is reached when Jesus himself weeps over Jerusalem, Luke 19:41–44). 5:30–31 The people’s commissioning of Moses to be their ...

1574. Jeroboam Rebels Against Solomon

1 Kings 11:26-40

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... out about God and his ways (cf. 1 Kgs. 4:33–34). Jesus was also known to commend a worldly-wise attitude to the world, as in Matthew 10:16, “be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” Solomon, it will be recalled, was quite good at playing the snake, if not quite so convincing as the dove (1 Kgs. 2). As far as wisdom in administration is concerned (1 Kgs. 4–5), the NT is plainly in favor of it (e.g., Acts 6:3). Yet the NT is, like the Solomon story, keenly aware of the inadequacies of ...

1575. Solomon's Death

1 Kings 11:41-43

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

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