Phil. 4:8-13, Learning in the Body of Christ

Christians are to be learners.  We already have seen this in the previous post and it really comes out in most of today’s passages.  In the Church everyone was a learner, including women.  We mention this because in much of the first century world women were deprived of that privilege.  Therefore Paul addressed this on several of his letters.  Let’s begin with that group of references.

·       1Ti 2:11: The woman was to learn in quietness, with full submission.

·       1Co 14:31,35: Each can prophesy so all may learn; women to learn at home. Paul was giving instructions concerning the regular meeting of the churches.  For a woman to learn at home was not to restrict her but to put it in the context of her husband’s Christian responsibility to manage his family.  At home they could be on the same page, both in what was learned and in the application.

·       1Ti 5:13: Young widows learn to be idle, gossips, etc.

·       2Ti 3:7: There were women loaded with sins, always learning but never coming to knowledge of truth. These two passages addressed common situations that Paul had seen.  There is nothing prejudicial here, only real life then and now.

·       1Co 4:6: Paul applied truths to self and Apollos so they can learn from them.  In this and the next two passages we understand that learning was not just about doctrinal truth but also life application, living according to the doctrine.

·       Phil 4:9: Whatever you learned from me put into practice.  We learn better if we have examples.

·       1Ti 5:4: Learn to put religion into practice 1st by caring for parents, etc.

Now we ask, having learned Christ, what else should we learn?

·       Mt 24:32: Learn from the fig tree; from leaves you can tell summer's near (Mk 13:28).  The fig tree speaks of Israel and it’s future in God’s plan.

·       Phil 4:11: "I have learned to be content."  Contentment is not natural but learned!

·       Titus 3:14: Our people must learn to do good, to provide needs, not be unproductive.

·       Hb 5:8: Although a Son, Christ learned obedience from what he suffered.  We have not learned when our minds are renewed but when our lives are changed.

·       Gal 3:2: Paul wanted to learn: did you receive the Spirit by law or faith?  When we learn Christ we learn to walk in Christ.

And finally, these passages to think about.

·       Jn 7:15: Jews amazed, How did this man (Jesus) get such learning?

·       Ac 23:27: The Roman commander rescued Paul having learned he was a Roman.  Don’t be stubborn, unwilling to learn and change based on what you learn.

·       Rev 14:3: No one could learn the song except the 144,000 redeemed from earth.

Psalm 116

This Hallelujah Psalm is part of the hymnbook of praise for all the saints, but nevertheless it is a very private hymn.  It reflects the personal experience of deliverance by one person followed by his desire to show his appreciation to God for what He has done.  Personal hymns are appropriate in the book of public praise because they will resonate with some in the crowd, either now or at a time in the future.  After all, our temptations are common to man (1 Cor. 10:13).

We should also note that this Psalm is a perfect example of one of the great truths taken from the New Testament: We love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).  The Hymn begins, I love the Lord.  In Hebrew the word for love (ahab) is general in the sense that it us used of family love (Abraham for Isaac), the love of friends (David and Jonathan), sexual love (even of Amnon, David’s son whose love led him to rape his sister), as well as both our love for God and His love for the righteous.  The first use of the term (which often in Hebrew is significant in understanding the term) is in Gen. 22:2 when God calls Abraham to take his only son Isaac, whom he loves, and offer him to God in sacrificial worship.  That story is, of course, the type of God’s love for the world by which He gave His only Son whom He loved as the sacrifice for our sins (John 3:16).

It actually takes the Bible to give love its highest definition.  The world uses the term for a variety of things such as fuzzy feelings in the tummy, intense infatuation, giving one’s life for his country and so forth.  The New Testament gives us more variety in terms with agape (the love of sacrifice) and phileo (the love of friends).  Greek also had a term for lust or sexual desire to differentiate it.  Jesus said there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (John 15:13), making His act of sacrifice the epitome of love (1 John 4:9-10).

But do not fail to notice that love is a major theme in the giving of the law and in God’s expectations for Israel.  God shows mercy to those who love Me and keep My commandments (Ex. 20:6).  Thus 21 references to love occur in Deuteronomy, the review of the Law before entering the Promised Land.  God supremely displayed His love in bringing Israel out of Egypt (Deut. 4:37).  The greatest command was a call to love God: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength (Deut. 6:5).  Duty became the essence of religion for Israel; but mere duty was never what God called for.  Israel’s obedience to God was to be founded in her love for God.  Jesus said the same thing: If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word (Jn. 14:23).

As you read this Psalm, reflect on God’s goodness to you.  Do, but don’t just go back ten or twenty years; think about yesterday or today.  Then consider how you can offer Him the sacrifice of thanksgiving (116:17).  Consider how to publicly praise Him in the presence of all His people (116:18).  Praise the LORD!

2 Timothy 1:3-5; 3:13-17, Learn Christ!

Here is a word that lends itself wonderfully to the devotional study of the Word of God.  I hope you will do as I am doing: stop and consider what we need to learn. Manthanō is a verb meaning “to learn, be apprised.”  We will take our time working through this list, in order of the NT.

·       Mt 9:13: To the leaders Jesus reproved them to go and learn what this means: I will have mercy, not sacrifice, for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.  The Jewish leaders were the OT scholars, and yet they had not learned this.  Jesus is quoting the OT (Hosea 6:6).

·       Mt 11:29: Take my yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  Learn of Christ!  I’m going to move some other NT passages up that agree with this same thought.

·       Jn 6:45: All who listen to the Father and learn from Him come to Christ. We can only come to the Father through Christ.  Thus, if we listen to the Father He will speak to us of Christ.  Pray this for your unsaved friends, that they will listen to the Father as the Holy Spirit does His work of conviction. Pray that the light of the gospel will shine in them to the glory of God (2 Cor. 4:4).

·       Eph 4:20(-22): You did not come to learn Christ in that way.  What is this about?  In the preceding verses Paul is talking about the life of the unsaved person, full of self-centeredness.  But you did not so learn Christ, if so be that ye have heard Him, and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus.  We learned how to live the Christian life when we learned Christ through the gospel.  Paul says, “in the past” you learned Christ, and what you learned is not consistent with continuing to live in the sin of which you repented.  We never leave the gospel!

·       Col 1:7: In 1:6 Paul says of the Colossian Church, they knew the grace of God in truth.   This came through the gospel.  Their understanding of grace was not corrupted as, say, those false teachers in Jude 1:4: For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord ^[b]God and our Lord Jesus Christ.  How had they learned this?  1:7 says, they learned the truth from Epaphras, a faithful brother who ministered in Colosse.

·       Ro 16:17: In that same vein, Paul warns the Romans to watch out for those divisive people who are contrary to the teaching you have learned.  What we learned of Christ will never need to be changed or added to or taken from!

·       2 Ti 3:14ab: In what are some of Paul’s last earthly words to Timothy, he encourages him to continue in what you learned, knowing from whom you learned.  I’m sure Timothy learned from Paul, but v15 indicates he is talking about what Timothy learned from childhood from his mother Eunice and grandmother Lois (2 Tim. 1:4).

2 Cor. 1:3-11, Deliver me! Set me free!

There is “salvation,” meaning that God preserves us in and through trials.  And then there is “deliverance,” that God causes us to literally “flow out” of the trial.  Let us now consider the latter (Greek ruomai, to deliver, rescue from).

·       Mt 6:13: Lord's prayer, "deliver us FROM evil" (Lk 11:4).  We have worked on this in the previous posts.  Some translate “evil” as “the evil one.”  Either way the effect is to place us in a dangerous situation spiritually.

·       Mt 27:43: He trusts in God, let God deliver him now.  These words were said by those who mocked Jesus on the cross.

·       Lk 1:74: Zacharias, in his praise at the birth of John the Baptist, noted that God made an oath to deliver Israel FROM the hand of their enemies so that they might serve Him without fear.  Not just so we feel better but so we serve God.

·       Ro 7:24: Wretched man that I am, Paul cried out! Who will set me free FROM this body of death?  The answer in v25 is that Christ has done this!

·       Ro 11:26: The Deliverer (participle, one who delivers) will come from Zion to bring salvation to Israel.

·       Ro 15:31: Paul asks for prayer to be delivered FROM the disobedient in Judea.

·       2Co 1:10abc: God who raises the dead delivered Paul FROM so great a peril of death (i.e. to Paul this was like a resurrection), shall deliver him from the current issue, and will deliver him in the future.  Past, present, future!  And our confidence rests in the fact that God raises the dead.  Abraham had this bold faith as well when he took Isaac to Mount Moriah (Heb. 11:17-19).

·       Col 1:13: God delivered us FROM the domain of darkness, transferred us INTO the kingdom of his dear Son.  Deliverance if “from” and “into.”

·       1Th 1:10: The Son from heaven will deliver us FROM the wrath to come.  Later in 1 Thess. (5:9) we are also saved from wrath.

·       2 Th 3:2: Paul asks prayer to be delivered FROM perverse & evil men.

·       2Ti 3:11: the Lord delivered Paul OUT OF all persecutions (though he endured them, yet he never died from them, did escape).

·       2Ti 4:17,18: Before the emperor Paul was delivered OUT OF the lion's mouth; the Lord will deliver him FROM every evil deed and bring him safely to heaven.

·       2Pt 2:7,9: God rescued righteous Lot, so He knows how to rescue the godly FROM temptation and keep the ungodly for judgment. 

1 Cor. 10:13 explains what is behind all this “rescue”: No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.  Whether it is Israel’s deliverance, ours from the world, the flesh, or the Devil, Christ Jesus is at the center of it all!

Luke 11:1-13, Deliver Us From Evil (2)

We are still not ready to leave behind Jesus’ teaching us to bring imperatives to the Father.  We noted that all six requests in the Lord’s Prayer are imperatives.   But there are also a couple of differences.

·       The first three requests (hallowed, come, done) are presented in the “third person” while the last three (give, forgive, deliver) are the more typical second person.  What does this mean?  The first three do not ask that God would do something but that something would be done for or to Him.  Hallowed by Thy name … Thy kingdom come … Thy will be done.  The last three do ask the Father to do something: Give us this day … Forgive us our trespasses … Deliver us from evil.  One thing this indicates is that the Greek forms give us a proper way of understanding Jesus’ prayer.  We are to come to the Father first about “His things” and then come with the same confidence concerning “our things.” 

·       One other distinction is between Matthew and Luke.  Concerning our “daily bread” Matthew uses the aorist tense which suggests certainty or finality about something.  Luke uses the present tense which suggests a continuous answering of this request.  Both certainly fit the request, that it be done with certainty on a daily basis.  There are other differences between the two inspired writers.  There are “trespasses” and “debts.”  One ends with the benediction of David (1 Chron. 29:11) and the other does not.  Of course, the historical context of each is different.  Luke says Jesus taught this prayer when asked by the disciples after they had seen Him praying.  Matthew records it as part of the “Sermon on the Mount.”  It is no surprise or conflict that Jesus said these words on both occasions.  And all the words are true, even with the differences.

·       Here are a couple other notes.  In John 17 Jesus seeks many things, but there are two requests He makes that are in the imperative: keep them (17:11) and sanctify them (17:17).  The other requests are “hina clauses” (cf. the previous post).  When the keeping and sanctifying happens, it will produce the unity and relationship and demonstration to the world that Jesus desires to see.

·       We also discovered that the OT Hebrew also has two forms of “imperatives” involving the 2^nd and 3^rd person language.  In Joshua 1:9 we read, Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.  “Be strong and of good courage” (also in 1:6,7) are imperatives.  The negatives are “jussive of which the BLB says, Used to issue a command in the third person—that is, the command is given to one person but is concerned with another.  They are negative commands, and they support the imperatives.  If Joshua gives in to fear and discouragement he will not be obedient in strength and courage. 

Our Father, help us to pray, and to pray effectively (Jas. 5:16) as did Jesus.

Matt. 6:5-15, Deliver Us From Evil (1)

We set out to study “ruomai,” the Greek verb “to deliver, rescue.”  But we could not get past the first reference for a lengthy time.  The first use is in “The Lord’s Prayer,” deliver us from evil (same as in Luke 11:4).  What I was reminded of was that often in the NT prayer requests are in the Greek imperative mood.  Does that mean we “command God” to give us what we ask for?  One online person took that to be the case as he sought to tell us to “command” God for healing and other miracles.  Permit me to share some things I discovered in my studies.

·       Each of the six requests in the Lord’s Prayer (hallowed, come, done, give, forgive and deliver) are imperatives.  The Blue Letter Bible description of the “imperative mood” in Greek is this:

Corresponds to the English imperative, and expresses a command to the hearer to perform a certain action by the order and authority of the one commanding. Thus, Jesus' phrase, "Repent ye, and believe the gospel" (Mk.1:15) is not at all an "invitation," but an absolute command requiring full obedience on the part of all hearers.

·       That might sound too strong for use in prayer.  Here are some thoughts on this. First, Jesus is saying these words and teaching the disciples to pray.  God the Son would certainly come with confidence to make request of God the Father, and He would encourage His disciples to do the same. 

·       Second, we should also have such confidence since Jesus gave us authority to pray “in His name.”  Third, a study of Paul’s prayers shows that he used other forms.  For example, in Eph. 1:17 (give) and 3:16 (grant) he uses the Greek “subjunctive,” the mood of possibility.  He recognizes that his request has certain conditions attached, primarily that those he intercedes for are walking in faith and thus able to receive what Paul asks God to do. 

·       Paul also uses “hina clauses” (Greek purpose word, in order that) often in his praying.  In Eph. 3:16 “that (hina) He would give you.”  This term indicates Paul’s confidence that the Father desires to do what he asks. 

·       In the end, what is essential in any of this “confident” (free, bold, Heb. 4:16; 10:19; Eph. 3:12) praying is that we are assured that our prayer is “in His will.”  We come with imperatives because we are not coming asking Him to do our will but His will.  All six of the requests in the Lord’s Prayer fit that qualification.  So Jesus comes with assurance.  The imperative indicates we do not come with doubt, because that is never appropriate when we approach the Lord.   Matt. 14:13: Oh you of little faith; why did you doubt.  Mt. 21:21: if you have faith and do not doubt … it will be done. James 1:6: let him ask in faith with no doubting. 

There is more to come, but let us consider our coming before the Lord.  Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is (Eph. 5:17).

Job 4:1-11, Job’s Hope! Get it right!

Today’s reading is part of the first words of Eliphaz, one of Job’s friends.  By the end of the story those friends will need to repent because, the Lord says, you have no spoken of Me what is right (Job 42:7).  As I read this today I was blessed by the fact that God recorded their “not right” messages, which helps us see the wrong so that we trust and obey the right.  I am just wanting today to consider one of several words for “hope” or “expectation” or “waiting” in the Hebrew.  The root verb is qava (5x in Job) and the noun tiqva (12x in Job).  The first use of the noun is translated “chord” and describes the scarlet chord Rahab dropped down the walls of Jericho so as to be saved out of the destruction of the city (Josh. 2:18,21).  The next is used in Ruth 1:12 by Naomi who says she has no “hope” of getting a husband for her daughters-in-law.  In other words, this term has tremendous salvation/redemption significance.  Here are some references to “hope” in Job.

·       3:9 (v): May the day of Job’s birth look for light but find none.  Do you see the “hope” there?  When in darkness we look for the dawning, the light.  In 30:26 (v) Job expresses hopelessness, saying when I waited for light, then came darkness.

·       4:6: Eliphaz says Job’s hope is in his reverence and integrity.  But that is not right.  It should be in his God whom he fears and before whom he walks in integrity.  This is the problem in religion: it counts on the works of the adherents rather than solely in God.  I ought not tell people to have hope because I am praying for them, but to have hope because of the God and the word of the God to whom I pray.

·       5:16: Thus, when Job says the poor have hope it is bec. of the Lord he just described and Whom he seeks and to Whom he commits his cause (5:8-9-15).

·       6:8: What you “long for” is what you hope for.  What are my “yearnings” today?

·       7:2 (v): Job “hopes” like a hired man who eagerly looks for his wages.

·       7:6: Yet, the days go by quickly without hope (without seeing an answer).

·       8:13: Bildad warns Job the hope of the hypocrite shall perish.  He is barking up the wrong tree: Job’s suffering is not for hypocrisy. God called him blameless.  Job, in 27:8, recognizes the hypocrite has no hope.  

·       11:18,20: Zophar tells Job he would be secure because of hope if he would prepare his heart and reach out toward God (11:13), whereas the only hope for the wicked is loss of life.  Again, that is not Job’s problem.

·       14:7,19: Job says there is hope for a tree that is cut down because it can sprout again. Job feels hopeless because God has destroyed his hope.  Also, not true.  In 19:10 Job says, My hope He has uprooted like a tree. 

·       17:13,15: Job feels his only hope it so wait for the grave.  Where then is my hope? As for my hope, who can see it?

We cannot live our lives without persevering hope.  It’s a big deal in Job, as it is in everyone’s life.  We do need to think accurately, Biblically, about our hope.