Bible Commentaries

Luke 17:30 — of man is revealed. Harrison pointed out that "Both in the case of Noah, and that of Lot, God's people were taken away from the scene of Judgment before it occurred."Everett F. Harrison, Wycliffe Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1971), p. 249. Paul indicated that the same will be the case with Christians when the final Disaster falls (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Other analogies which we are perhaps justified in drawing are: (1) faith will virtually have ceased on earth; (2) men will be

John 12:24-25 — beareth much fruit. He that loveth his life loseth it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. Three applications of this metaphor are: (1) in nature, the death of seeds is necessary to their production of fruit; (2) Jesus consented to die as a means of winning the world to himself; and (3) for all who would be saved, the process is the same. One must renounce himself, loving not his own life, but losing it, and taking up fully the identity of Jesus in order to

John 14:27 — become invested with immense significance. There are moments when into one human word may be condensed the love of a lifetime. Christ does but pour through these common words the fire of his eternal and infinite love. H. R. Reynolds, op. cit., II, p. 230. Peace … This is the peace that passes understanding (Philippians 4:7). Let not your heart be troubled … These were the opening words of the chapter, and they are appropriately repeated here. Neither let it be afraid … Literally,

John 18:28 — They led Jesus therefore from Caiaphas into the Praetorium: and it was early; and they themselves entered not into the Praetorium, that they might not be defiled, but might eat the passover. This and John 18:24 are John's only reference to the formal trial in the Sanhedrin. He also omitted the all-night examination before Caiaphas, and the trial before Herod. Of the six trials before: (1) Annas, (2) Caiaphas, (3) the Sanhedrin, (4) Pilate, (5) Herod, and

John 7:38 — These two verses (John 7:37-38) refer to Christians receiving the Holy Spirit (John 7:39); and when this promise was fulfilled, they received the Spirit "after they believed" (Ephesians 1:13), and after they repented and were baptized (Acts 2:38 ff and Galatians 4:6). Therefore these two verses are a reference to the future giving of the Holy Spirit to Christians in consequence of and subsequently to their believing in Christ and obeying the gospel, obedience being the meaning of "come

John 8:26 — Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1971), p. 137. Some of the judgments Jesus would speak against those men followed at once, as when he identified them as sons of the devil (John 8:44). Other such denunciations were in the three parables of: (1) the two sons, (2) the wicked husbandmen, and (3) the marriage of the king's son. In the latter, he prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem.

Acts 17:18 — encountered him. And some said, What would this babbler say? others, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached Jesus and the resurrection. Epicurean and Stoic philosophers … In Athens there were: (1) the Academy of Plato, (2) the Lyceum of Aristotle, (3) the Porch of Zeno, and (4) the Garden of Epicurus. Followers of Zeno, called Stoics, took their name from "Stoa," the Greek name of the painted porch where he taught. The groups mentioned here by Luke were the

Acts 17:31 — final judgment of all men, sometimes called the "Great White Throne Judgment," but, in any case, the one and only judgment day mentioned in the New Testament. This is not the day of death, for "after this" cometh judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Christ will preside over the Great Assize, rewarding all men according to the deeds done in the body. For more on the judgment, see my Commentary on Hebrews, Hebrews 6:2; also my Commentary on Matthew, Matthew 12:41-42 and Matthew 25:30. The fact

Acts 21:32 — their unbelief and accept the Savior. Only about a decade from the uproar in this chapter would elapse before Vespasian and Titus would unknowingly implement the Lord's great prophecy of the temple's utter ruin. See my Commentary on Mark under Mark 13:2 for ten reasons why God destroyed it.

Acts 25:21 — send him to Caesar. The emperor … Caesar … Two titles given here to Nero should be noted. The first of these is actually "Augustus" (English Revised Version margin), which was the title given by the Roman Senate on January 17, 27 B.C. to Gaius Caesar Octavianus (63 B.C. to A.D. 14). Encyclopedia Britannica (Chicago: William Benton, Publisher, 1961), Vol. 2, p. 686. "Augustus" also translates "Sebastos," and sometimes emperor, as in this verse. It was later

1 Corinthians 2:13 — are left with no explanation whatever of what Paul meant. Combining spiritual things with spiritual words … is a disputed rendition. Grosheide translated it, "comparing spiritual things with spiritual"; F. W. Grosheide op. cit., p. 72. Macknight rendered it, "explaining spiritual things with spiritual words," James Macknight, op. cit., p. 41. holding that Paul had in view here what Paul called "the form of sound words" (2 Timothy 1:13). The theory that God gave

1 Corinthians 9:1-3 — of the evil." George W. DeHoff, Sermons on First Corinthians (Murfreesboro, Tennessee: The Christian Press, 1947), p. 73. Paul refuted the charge that he was not a genuine apostle with two indubitable proofs: (1) he had seen the Lord Jesus, and (2) God had marvelously blessed his apostleship, the Corinthian church itself being the stark proof of it, "the seal," as Paul called it, of his apostleship. It is important to see in this short paragraph the impossibility of any man's being

Galatians 6:16 — … It is surprising that any could misunderstand this, as if Paul were, in any manner, invoking a blessing upon racial Jews. "Israel of God," in the true sense, with Paul, was never racial Israel, but the spiritual Israel. See Romans 2:28-29; Romans 4:13-16 and Romans 9:6-8. This meaning of "spiritual Israel," of course, included all of every race, including Jews, who accepted Christ. "Israel of God," according to Wesley, means "the church of God, which consists

Ephesians 3:6 — divisions in which there were definite and undeniable foreshadowings of his own mission to the Gentiles; "but the thing not visible in the Old Testament was that the Gentile sharing of these blessings involved the creation of `one new man' (Ephesians 2:15)," Ibid. and that there would be no separate organization for either Jews or Gentiles, both being incorporated into the one body, the church. As Alfred Martin put it: "The mystery was not that the Gentiles should be saved — there

Ephesians 4:28 — the impact of "cease and desist from all sin." While those who "had been" criminals were welcome, their sins were not welcome. The word of God reveals some acceptable methods of acquiring property, these being: (1) by inheritance, (2) by work, (3) by reception of it as a gift, (4) through merchandising, (5) through investment, etc.; two of the acceptable methods and one of the unacceptable methods appear in this verse, the latter being, of course, stealing.

Philippians 1:10 — may approve the things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and void of offense unto the day of Christ. Approve the things which are excellent … This is very similar to "distinguish things that differ" as Paul wrote in Romans 2:18; and both here and there, "It is impossible to decide exactly what Paul means. John Murray, The Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1968), p. 82. One thing is evident, Paul wanted the Philippians

1 Thessalonians 2:2 — the New Testament of the proclamation of the gospel and denotes freedom from stress." Peter A. Cousins, A New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1969), p. 493. Other passages in which it occurs are Acts 9:27 and Ephesians 6:20. In our God … This expression also appears in 1 Thessalonians 3:9; 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, and 1 Corinthians 6:11. In the greater sense, all things are in God, for as Paul said, "In him we live and move and have our

1 Timothy 6:3 — here between teaching which is "healthful" and teachers who are "sick" (see the English Revised Version margin (1885)). Teaching is continued as "sound" or "wholesome": (1) by having Christ as its author and (2) by the God-fearing conduct of the teacher. A. M. Stibbs, The New Bible Commentary, Revised (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1970), p. 1175. Lenski denied that this verse has primary application to the false teaching leading

2 Timothy 3:3 — which are the glue which holds the social order together. As Lipscomb said, "The affection here is common to every class of brutes; consequently, men and women without it are worse than brutes." David Lipscomb, New Testament Commentaries, 2 Timothy (Nashville: The Gospel Advocate Company, 1976), p. 228. Implacable … is the attitude of a person unwilling to make a truce or to agree to peace under any circumstance, a vicious fighter who fights for the sheer enjoyment of it. Slanderers

Hebrews 2:2 — reward. The mediation of angels in the giving of the Law of Moses was not stated at that time, the nearest thing to it being found thus: "He came with ten thousands of saints; from his right hand went a fiery law before them" (Deuteronomy 33:2). Paul stated it clearly, saying that the Law "was ordained through angels in the hands of a mediator" (Galatians 3:19); and Stephen also made reference to it, speaking of them "who received the law as it was ordained by angels, and kept