Bible Commentaries

Romans 3:11 — not designed to be God's permanent order of things. Their greatest specific error was doubtless their failure to understand the dual nature of the Messiah, the great Immanuel (God with us, or God in flesh) who would take away human sin (Matthew 22:41-45). They indeed knew what the Old Testament said of Messiah, but they split the prophecies into two categories, supposing that there would be two Messiahs, one of them the suffering priestly Messiah, and the other the glorious kingly Messiah; and it was

1 Corinthians 10:4 — legend about a literal rock that followed the Israelites in their wanderings. The rock to which Paul referred here was clearly stated: "The rock was Christ." The miracle of Moses' bringing forth water from the rock in the wilderness (Exodus 17:5 ff) provided literal water for Israel; but much more than that is in evidence here. As Marsh said, "The rock was Christ, not `is' or `is a type of' … and this is a clear statement of the pre-existence of Christ." Paul W. Marsh, op.

1 Corinthians 2:7 — always accompanied by vastness depth and power. John William Russell, Compact Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1964), p. 406. THE MYSTERY The New Testament refers to many mysteries: of Christ and his church (Ephesians 5:32), of lawlessness (2 Thessalonians 2:7), of seven stars and seven candlesticks (Revelation 1:20), of the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:51) of the blindness of Israel (Romans 11:25), of the harlot church (Revelation 17:7), and of the kingdom of heaven

1 Corinthians 3:12 — constitute the reality indicated here. If these words had been directed primarily to Christian teachers, it seems inconceivable that Paul would have used the words "each man" and "any man" no less than six times in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15. Ministers as a class of persons different from the rank and file of Christians were not a feature of the churches of that era, every Christian being a builder in God's temple; and such is indicated by these words. Regarding the view that the six classes

1 Corinthians 9:27 — Wallace, Jr., said: "The translators (in this place) were evidently attempting to circumvent the possibility of apostasy." Foy E. Wallace, Jr., A Review of the New Versions (Fort Worth, Texas: The Foy E. Wallace Jr., Publications, 1973), p. 435. There is no excuse for rendering the word here [@adokimos] as either "rejected" (English Revised Version (1885)) or "disqualified" (RSV). It means "reprobate" and is so translated elsewhere in the New Testament (Romans

2 Corinthians 3:1 — necessary to deduce from this verse, as many do, that the charge of self-praise had already been leveled against Paul." R. G. V. Tasker, The Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1958), p. 59. The type of deduction usually made from this verse is that "They had sneered at him for always commending himself." E. H. Plumptre, Ellicott's Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1959), Vol. VII, p. 370.

Ephesians 1:13 — having believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit … (English Revised Version). In whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit … (KJV). This very interesting discrepancy between the English Revised Version (1885) and the KJV reveals the error in the English Revised Version (1885). It is not a mere case of choice of words. The two versions teach different things, and there is no way both of them can be correct. The KJV rendition shows that the sealing of the

Ephesians 6:11 — by which Satan had sought to hinder and thwart his apostolic labors. He mentioned a glaring instance of this (1 Thessalonians 2:18), knew that the most intimate human relationships could be exploited to the detriment of Christianity (1 Corinthians 7:5), and pointed out that the devil could even take the form of an angel of light so as to lead believers away from the truth (2 Corinthians 11:3; 2 Corinthians 11:14). So-called "moderns" who are so far above the word of God that they reject

1 Timothy 5:9-10 — mutual obligation between the church and those widows, who were to consecrate themselves to the service of the church, which would have been altogether intolerable, if there was still a likelihood of their being married. Wilbur B. Wallis, op. cit., p. 857. There are many questions about this list of widows which we are not able to answer. As Lenski said, "Everybody would like to know more about this listing, but this one sentence is all we have." R. C. H. Lenski, op. cit., p. 665. Certainly,

Hebrews 1:4 — end of the chapter; meanwhile, let it be observed that there are no less than seven points of superiority of Christ over angels, catalogued by the nineteenth-century scholar, Adam Clarke, as follows: he has a more excellent name than they (Hebrews 1:4-5); the angels of God adore him (Hebrews 1:6); the angels were created by him (Hebrews 1:7); even while being a man, he was endowed with greater gifts than they (Hebrews 1:8-9); he is eternal, but they are not (Hebrews 1:10-12); he is more highly exalted

Hebrews 11:3 — according to Macknight, who also admitted that the word can be used for the placing of the parts of any body or machine in their right order, as in Ephesians 4:12; but he also said that: It means "to make" or "produce" simply (Hebrews 10:5; Matthew 21:16) … In the passage under consideration this word is used to express, not the orderly disposition of the parts of the universe, but their "production." James Macknight, op. cit., p. 560. This verse coincides with Paul's

Hebrews 3:12 — that it is possible for Christians to fall away from the living God; (2) that such a disaster is due to an unbelieving heart; (3) that an unbelieving heart is evil (not merely `smart'); (4) that God is not a mere influence but a living person; and (5) that there are adequate grounds upon which a Christian may avoid falling away. The tenderness of the author appears in his use of "haply." Not wishing to write flatly that they were in mortal danger of being lost, he proposes such an awesome

Hebrews 3:16 — majorities, people should have the courage of Caleb and Joshua. They should have the grace to accept the sentiments of an old motto once said to be over the gates of the University of Glasgow; "What do they say? Who are they? Who cares?" (5) The most important and all-encompassing reason for their failure was their unbelief, a condition bluntly noted in Hebrews 3:19 and Hebrews 4:2, below. Instead of glorying in their faith and exhorting one another daily to maintain it, they permitted

Hebrews 7:18 — Spirit to enable them to obey, nor by giving them assurance of pardon upon their repentance in case of failure. The only source from which the Israelites derived their hope of these things was the covenant with Abraham. James Macknight, op. cit., p. 539. In connection with the allegation by some that "the law" here spoken of as "annulled" or the commandment said here to be abrogated was merely the "ceremonial" of Moses' law, it should be pointed out that the weakness

2 Peter 3:4 — is apparent in the fact that "nowhere else in the New Testament does this expression mean anything other than the Old Testament fathers." Michael Green, op. cit., p. 139. It should have been translated "patriarchs" as in Romans 9:5, where the same expression is used. Raymond C. Kelcy, op. cit., p. 154. All things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation … If the fall of Jerusalem had already occurred at the time 2 Peter was written, scoffers would not have

1 John 2:1 — 1 John 2:18.John R. W. Stott, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, Vol. 20 (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1964), p. 79. The other word is used in 1 John 2:12; 1 John 2:28; 1 John 3:7; 1 John 3:18; 1 John 4:4, and 1 John 5:21. See more on this under 1 John 2:13 and 1 John 2:18. By John's use of "little children" as a reference to the whole church, some have concluded that John was an old man when he wrote this. That ye sin not … Despite the fact that

Revelation 1:10 — Many speculations about this have yielded little or no valuable information. On the Lord's day … This expression is found only here in the New Testament, "and beyond all reasonable doubt it means on Sunday." T. Randell, op. cit., p. 5. "There is every reason to believe the church used the word in protest against Caesar-worship." Finis Jennings Dake, Revelation Expounded (Lawrenceville, Georgia: Dake, 1950), p. 32. Some have thought this means the day of judgment, indicating

Revelation 12:14 — earlier dispensation was a strength often used for, rather than in, the people of God; the strength of the latter is a strength in them." W. Boyd Carpenter, Ellicott's Bible Commentary, Vol. VIII (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1959), p. 595. There is a plain indication in this passage that the experiences of the church are the antitype of the escape of Israel from Pharaoh, "and her preservation in the wilderness." A. Plummer, op. cit., p. 314. The church also has her

Revelation 5:8 — true is not possible of any contradiction, because, as Paul expressed it: There is one God, one mediator also between God and men, himself man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all; the testimony to be borne in its own times (1 Timothy 2:5-6). Thus, we must not look for any priestly service, nor any mediatorial function whatever, being performed by those four and twenty elders in heaven. As a matter of fact, they were not offering any prayers at all in the vision. As Barnes pointed out,

Revelation 9:5 — locusts, and as soon as one dies, a hundred others take its place. Satan has plenty of them! Of course, some seek a specific, dated, historical fulfillment of these "five months." They have been viewed as: (1) five years of Gothic rule; (2) 150 years of Saracen control; (3) 79 1/2 natural years (A.D. 510-589); (4) Muslim conquests (A.D. 612-672); and (5) merely a short time, etc. A. Plummer, op. cit.. p. 264. Lenski's suggesting that the ten plagues of Egypt are in mind, with the meaning