Bible Commentaries

Exodus 24 overview — foolish efforts to confuse or deny. As Fields said, "Those chapters of the deepest spiritual significance and meaning are the very ones upon which the critics concentrate their attacks. `The devil has blinded the minds of the unbelieving' (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)."Wilbur Fields, Exodus (Joplin: College Press, 1976), p. 530. Allegations of foolish, blinded men are unworthy of any detailed examination. "The Exodus account is too harmonious with itself to permit us to accept extreme ideas about its production"Wilbur

2 Corinthians 11:14 — says people "are not justified by faith alone" (James 2:24). (2) As Satan promised Eve that she and Adam would "be as gods," the sophisticated false teachers of this generation are doing everything in their power to deify humanity. (3) The same triple allurements of fleshly delight, pride of life, and lust of the eye which overthrew Eve are today carrying the thoughtless into every kind of sin. (4) As Satan pretended to be wise, so do the false teachers of all generations masquerade

Galatians 3:11-12 — man is justified by the Law before God, is evident: for, The righteous shall live by faith; and the Law is not of faith; but, He that doeth them shall live in them. No man is justified by the Law … The reason this is true is cited in Galatians 3:10. There was another important indication of the same truth, which Paul then quoted from Habakkuk 2:4, i.e., "The righteous shall live by faith"; thus the prophets had borne testimony to the fact that the purpose of God, even in the Old Testament,

Ephesians 4:20-24 — on … Note that the "new man" is not man's doing at all, but God's. "That after God hath been created!" This simply means to "put on Christ." How is this done? Note: Christians put on Christ in baptism (Galatians 3:26-27). They put on the name of Christ (Matthew 28:18-20). They put on (or receive inwardly) the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5). They put on "the body of Christ" in the sense of belonging to his spiritual body, the church. They put on the

Ephesians 5:1-2 — should in any sense "play God" by usurping to themselves judgments that pertain to God alone. As Mackay said, "To copy God is to be like a Person, to reflect his image." John Mackay, God's Order (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1953), p. 170. Christians should strive to be like God in forbearance, goodness and love. The reference to Jewish sacrifices in Ephesians 5:2 has puzzled commentators who have variously understood the nature of Christ's sacrifice (as mentioned here) to be

Philippians 1:27 — reference to faith in the New Testament a subjective trust/faith inwardly experienced by Christians. According to Lightfoot and others, "the faith" is here objective, that which is believed, the content of the gospel message, as in Judges 1:3, "to contend for the faith:" if so, it may be the earliest New Testament instance of this use of the word. H. C. Hewlett, A New Testament Commentary, Philippians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1969), p. 473.

Philippians 2:10 — Christ. Barclay has a precious passage on the term "Lord," thus: This great title by which Jesus came to be known in the early church was [@kurios]: (1) It began by meaning master or owner. (2) It became the official title of the Roman emperors; (3) it became the title of the heathen gods; and (4) it was the title used to translate the sacred four-letter unpronounceable name of God in the Old Testament. So then when Jesus was called [@Kurios] (Lord), it meant he was the Master and Owner of Life,

Colossians 1:27 — agree with Ashby that "There is no need to suppose that Paul borrows this term from the Greek-mystery religions, but rather from the Old Testament (Daniel 2:18)." Ernest G. Ashby, op. cit., p. 486. Also Christ used it himself (see Matthew 13:11). Christ in you … This is the essence of the "mystery" as Paul expounded it here; but a comparison with other Pauline writings on the subject reveals the mystery to be somewhat complex. There are eight expressions in the New Testament,

Colossians 4:5-6 — most similar to that given by the apostle Peter who commanded: Sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord: being ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, yet with meekness and fear (1 Peter 3:15).

1 Timothy 2:5 — American Standard Version translation of this verse, affirming the meaning actually to be: One (is) God, not two or more. One also (is) Mediator for God and men, not several. Nor should these two facts be separated, for they have been joined in 1 Timothy 2:3 where "our Saviour God" joins them; and they are again joined here. This Mediator is Mediator "for this one," namely, for God and men. R. C. H. Lenski, op. cit., p. 546. One mediator … There are exactly as many mediators as

2 Timothy 4:14-15 — his works: of whom do thou also beware; for he greatly withstood our words. Lockyer lists five characters bearing this name in the New Testament. Herbert Lockyer, All the Men of the Bible (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1958), p. 43. They are (1) the one here mentioned, (2) a prominent member of the high priestly family in Jerusalem (Acts 4:6), (3) the son of Simon who bore the cross of Jesus (Mark 15:21), (4) the man identified with the tumult at Ephesus (Acts 19:35), (5) a Christian

Hebrews 5:2 — and shortcomings, an excellent example being Paul, who said, "I have great sorrow and unceasing pain in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were anathema from Christ for my brethren's sake my kinsmen according to the flesh" (Romans 9:2-3).

Hebrews 7:15 — various views of scholars as to just what is "more abundantly evident," as follows: (1) The distinction between the Levitical priesthood and that of the New Testament (Chrysostom); (2) the fact that our Lord sprang out of Judah (Ebrard); (3) that the Law of Moses is abrogated (Alford); (4) that perfection was not attainable through the Levitical priesthood (Delitzsch); and (5) that a change of the priesthood involves of necessity a change of the law (Tholuck). R. Milligan, op. cit., p.

Hebrews 9:15 — except upon the basis of Christ's atonement; and this is so mountainous a truth that God was said by Paul to have justified his "passing over the sins done aforetime" through the means of setting forth his Son to be a propitiation (Romans 3:25). The author shows here that Christ made an atoning death for the forgiveness of the sins under the old order, thus actually accomplishing their forgiveness, a thing which the old law could not achieve. This being done, the author continues, God

2 Peter 1:21 — to be more dependable than a voice from heaven heard with the natural ear. Stephen W. Paine, op. cit., p. 994. Moved by the Holy Spirit … "This is the only reference to the Holy Spirit in this epistle." R. H. Strachan, op. cit., p. 132. However, as Peter credited the Holy Spirit as being the "mover" of all Scripture, no neglect of the blessed Spirit could be inferred. It is a mistake to suppose that Peter by his reference to scripture intended to restrict his meaning to

2 Peter 2:14 — "This is a compressed phrase for, 'always looking for a woman with whom to commit adultery.'" Ibid., p. 1256. Barnett understood it to mean, "Whenever they see a woman, they have licentious thoughts." Albert E. Barnett, op. cit., p. 193. Enticing unstedfast souls … The imagery here is that of using a lure, "bait" to catch the unwary. The New English Bible (1961) translates this, "lure to their ruin unstable souls." "The metaphor is from fishing, and

2 Peter 2:22 — other manifestations and fulfillments of this prophecy have appeared at other times previously. Furthermore, Peter was not finished with the prophecy at the end of this chapter; but he would go on to elaborate even more fully on these matters in chapter 3. There is no logical way for people to deny that the Spirit of the Lord spoke through Peter in this epistle.

1 John 2:24 — vine (John 15:1-10). Thus John takes his place alongside Paul in the presentation of salvation "in Christ." A heavy emphasis upon this has been given throughout this whole series of commentaries; and, for a fuller discussion of it, see Romans 3 in my Commentary on Romans. Significantly, John here made adherence to the original gospel a prerequisite of abiding in God and in Christ. As Stott noted: Christian theology is anchored not only to certain historical events, culminating in the saving

1 John 4:16 — of these: God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, and love all abide, indwell, or reside in Christians. There are other significant additions to this list, such as "the mind of Christ" (Philippians 2:5), and "the word of Christ" (Colossians 3:16), both of which are flatly represented as dwelling "in Christians." It is the conviction repeated several times in this series of commentaries, that it is absolutely impossible to distinguish such expressions as indicating different states

3 John 1:14 — but I hope shortly to see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be unto thee. The friends salute thee. Salute the friends by name. On the tenderness of the greetings here, see under 3 John 1:13, above. I hope shortly to see thee … It is usually supposed that the contemplated visit here is the same as that mentioned in 2 John. Peace be unto thee … This was the best wish which the apostle could form: it was our Lord's