Bible Commentaries

Romans 10:3 — ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. God's righteousness … as used here is not analogous to the usage of the same term elsewhere (Romans 1:17; Romans 3:24-25, etc.), but means "God's commandments," as is the meaning in Psalms 119:172 KJV, "For all thy commandments are righteousness." The inference in this verse that Israel should have subjected themselves to God's righteousness requires

Romans 14:11 — For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, to me every knee shall bow, And every tongue shall confess to God. This quotation from Isaiah 45:23 was frequently in the apostle's thoughts, as, for example, when he wrote the Philippians: In the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus

1 Corinthians 1:17 — here was the ADMINISTRATION OF THE RITE OF BAPTISM, there being nothing here to the effect that Paul preached salvation without baptism. He like all the apostles had been commanded to "make disciples of all nations, baptizing them" (Matthew 28:19). Not in wisdom of words … The great apostle renounced the pretentious rhetorical flourishes so dear to the Greek intellectuals, deliberately rejecting the complicated elocutionary devices which were the stock in trade of the philosophers.

1 Corinthians 11:3 — with the center stop; but there seems to have been a design in this. Paul, who was about to speak of the subordination of woman to her husband, would first speak to man with a reminder that he himself is subordinated to Christ the Lord. In Ephesians 5:22-33, Paul made it abundantly clear that the subjection of wives to their husbands was coupled with the sternest commandments with regard to the husband's duty to the wife. In the current era, there are those who would set aside the apostolic authority

1 Corinthians 15:47-50 — by which he identified himself with the earthy. God created Adam, but he was still earthy, having been made of the dust of the earth; but Christ had ever been with the Father. As Jesus expressed it, "I came forth and am from God" (John 8:42). And again, "I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world" (John 8:23). One can only marvel at the type of Scriptural illiteracy which cannot find the virgin birth in Paul, John and other portions of the New Testament. The

1 Corinthians 2:1 — of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. Paul had been educated at Tarsus which Strabo preferred as a school of learning above either Alexandria or Athens, and also had been schooled "at the feet of Gamaliel" (Acts 22:3), the famed scholar in Jerusalem. "Paul was a university man, the outstanding scholar of his generation." Henry H. Halley, Bible Handbook (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1927), p. 545. Nevertheless, he despised the pedantry,

1 Corinthians 3:1 — Lord, no longer continuing as "babes in Christ." The CARNAL were those who were continuing to live like the unconverted, full of envy, jealousy and strife. The background of Paul's words here was probably the allegation of false apostles (2 Corinthians 11:12-15), or teachers, who had made the simplicity of Paul's teaching (when the Corinthians were converted) an excuse to "criticize him as a shallow teacher," J. W. McGarvey, Commentary on First Corinthians (Cincinnati: Standard

2 Corinthians 6:4 — but he also called himself the "servant of Christ" (Romans 1:1). In this, of course, he could not have meant that he was the servant of two masters, because Jesus had flatly declared that "No man can serve two masters" (Matthew 6:24). The meaning is plain. Paul considered God and Christ as one. In much patience … Regarding the word thus rendered, Barclay said: It is an untranslatable word … It describes the ability to bear things in such a triumphant way that it

2 Corinthians 7:1 — Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. This is a reiteration of the command to "be ye separate" (2 Corinthians 6:17), only here it is reinforced by Paul's appeal to the promises certified to the Corinthians because of their status as God's true temple. Holiness in the fear of God … Only those who are holy shall see God (Hebrews 12:10; Hebrews

2 Corinthians 7:12 — this type of presumption: When Paul had visited Corinth there had been a ringleader to the opposition. The short, unhappy visit had been poisoned by the activity of one man. This man had clearly personally insulted Paul! William Barclay, op. cit., p. 201. While true enough that there was a second, and probably "painful" visit, little is known of it. It is extremely doubtful that there was any single ring-leader in Corinth, for there were many factions. The ring-leader is merely a postulation

2 Corinthians 7:2-4 — Paul's words here, death is mentioned first and life later. Broomall was probably correct in his explanation that for the Christian "death must precede eternal life in glory." Wick Broomall, Wycliffe Bible Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1972), p. 673. Glorying, comfort and joy … In 2 Corinthians 7:4, these words indicate that "There rushed upon Paul's memory the recollection of the good news that Titus had brought"; E. H. Plumptre, op. cit., p. 388. therefore, he poured

Galatians 1:24 — the glory of God, see under Galatians 1:5. As Pink said, "To honor that blessed One whose we are and whom we serve, to so conduct myself that fellow saints glorify God in me, that is to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things (Titus 2:10)." Arthur W. Pink, op. cit., p. 231. Ridderbos commented on the fact that the churches of Judea glorified God in Paul, despite their having suffered so much at his hands "How different the attitude among the Galatians who had received only

Philippians 2:12 — efforts of those holders of the heresy to diminish the impact of this place is discernible in the following comments: Salvation (in this verse) has emphasis on that aspect of salvation which is called sanctification. William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 121. Salvation, not in personal terms … this can hardly be taken in a personal sense? R. P. Martin, op. cit., p. 111. Here is no denial of justification by faith, for it is Christians, not unbelievers, who are being addressed. Salvation is something

Colossians 2:14 — whole. For Paul, the hostile character of the Law is peculiarly associated with the moral side of it. The Law which slew him is represented by the 10th Commandment, and the ministry of death was engraved on tables of stone? A. S. Peake, op. cit., p. 527. Written in ordinances … as in this verse, signifies the tables of stone inscribed by the finger of God. As Wallace pointed out, it is deplorable that "By omission of `handwriting of ordinances' the revisionists break this connection."

1 Thessalonians 4:1 — "to sum up"; but as Morris said, "This is not the thought; `finally' of English Revised Version (1885) and RSV is better. Perhaps `for the rest' will give us the sense of it." Leon Morris, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, 1 and 2 Thessalonians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1956), p. 72. We beseech and exhort … Kelcy stated that these two words "are practically synonymous though the second is stronger." Raymond C. Kelcy, The Letters

2 Timothy 1:18 — qualifying rather as a prayerful hope, and not as a petition in the form of a specific request. Carl Spain wisely observed that, "If Onesiphorus was awaiting trial, Paul avoids language that might be used against him." Carl Spain, op. cit., p. 123. Before any proposition that justifies prayers for the dead could be supported by this passage, it would have to be proved that Onesiphorus was dead, and Paul's omission of his name in 2 Timothy 1:16 simply does not constitute any such proof. As DeWelt

Hebrews 1:10-12 — They shall perish; but thou continuest: And they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a mantle shalt thou roll them up, As a garment, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, And thy years shall not fail. This quotation is from Psalms 102:25-27; and the great significance of its use here is in the fact that words originally addressed to Jehovah are unhesitatingly applied to Jesus Christ. Westcott was quoted by Hewitt writing of this verse that it is "the application to the Incarnate

Hebrews 2:1 — said, "Like the acknowledged epistles of Paul, this is characterized by frequent, sudden, and brief departures from the general outline of thought." C. New, The Pulpit Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1962), Vol. 21, Hebrews, p. 67. The basis of the exhortation here is that more is required of them to whom more is given, a principle taught by Christ (Luke 12:48); Christ the Son of God, being far greater in dignity than any of those who communicated the

Hebrews 6:19 — gloriously true that the Christian's hope is in heaven where the Lord has already entered; and, with that hope, all else that really matters is also there. For the Christian, his treasure is there (Matthew 6:19), his citizenship is there (Philippians 3:20), his name is written there (Luke 10:20; Philippians 4:3), his Lord is there (as here, and in John 14:1-6), and his affections should be there (Colossians 3:2 KJV).

James 2:2 — religious connotation, being used in Genesis 1:9 for the gatherings of water." J. W. Roberts, op. cit., p. 70. In time, however, the word came to have very definite religious overtones, John referring to "the synagogue of Satan" (Revelation 2:9). It appears from the usage of the word here that in Jerusalem, from which James presumably wrote, the Jewish name of the meeting house was currently used by Christians of their own meeting houses, a usage which, at that time, had no doubt already