Bible Commentaries

John 6:56 — equivalent (in Christ, in him, in whom, etc.), is used 169 times. This is the Holy Spirit's manner of declaring that the concept of being "in Christ" is about the most important thing in divine revelation. See my Commentary on Romans, p. 112. He that eateth and drinketh, etc. … abideth in me … The person who is faithfully observing the Lord's command regarding the Lord's Supper is abiding in Christ; and those who remove themselves from such faithful observance also remove

Acts 13:1 — York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 833. The men named in this verse were official prophets, having the gift in its fullest extent; and they were regarded, along with the apostles, as being the foundation upon which the church was built (Ephesians 2:20). The chief product of Christian prophecy is the inspired New Testament. Barnabas … heads the list here. He was the uncle of John Mark who wrote the gospel and a brother of Mary whose home was the scene of Peter's reunion with the church mentioned

Acts 22:3 — according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, even as ye all are this day. Dummelow gave an excellent outline of Paul's speech which properly begins with this verse: Paul was accused of: (1) hostility to the Jews; (2) contempt for Jewish law; and (3) desecration of the temple. He replied to all three charges thus: (1)    He was a Jew by birth, educated in Jerusalem under the noted Gamaliel, was zealous for God, and a persecutor of the Christians, (2)    His

Romans 10:9 — verse contains "doctrine of the gospel" as stated in the foregoing verse. Significantly, it is a pairing of CONFESSION and FAITH as coordinates among the conditions of salvation, that is primary salvation, or pardon from "old sins" (2 Peter 1:9), such as takes place in conversion to Christ. If this passage stood alone in the New Testament, it might be fairly inferred that these are THE TWO conditions of salvation; but it does not stand alone, for there are other similar pairings

Romans 5:17 — 5:18-19) that the universal justification in Jesus Christ (potentially) is the counterpart of the universal condemnation in Adam. Immediately, in the next two verses, Paul would state the great conclusion which he had in mind as far back as Romans 5:12, but which he did not state until he had laid the logical ground of it in the intervening paragraph, which although not set apart by marks of parenthesis, is, despite that, truly parenthetical. The gift of righteousness … is a mistranslation,

Romans 9:4 — God's will on earth. Israelites … is an extension of the word "Israel," which means "prince of God," or "one who contends with God," the same being the name given to Jacob by an angel of heaven at Peniel (Genesis 32:28-30). This God-given name implied more than membership in the covenant race, imputing to them status as God's children (Exodus 4:22; Deuteronomy 14:1; Jeremiah 31:9); but the sonship of Israel was of an inferior kind, compared to that of Christians,

2 Corinthians 1:23-24 — cit., p. 49. Not even the apostle Peter, upon whom such an overwhelming burden of overlordship has been imposed during the historical progression of Christianity, did not consider himself as an ecclesiastical overlord any more than did Paul (1 Peter 5:2). For in faith ye stand fast … The literal Greek rendition gives this as "In the faith ye have stood firm." The Emphatic Diaglott (Brooklyn: Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society). The meaning is clearly that the Corinthians are continuing

2 Corinthians 13:14 — Testament nowhere mentions by name the doctrine of the Trinity; and there are doubtless aspects of that doctrine which are not fully scriptural; but the fact of there being three persons in the Godhead unmistakably shines in passages like this and Matthew 28:18-20. For further thoughts on this subject, see my Commentary on Matthew, pp. 33, 34, 525. Commentators are agreed that there is nothing formal or stylized about this doxology; otherwise, the Father would have been mentioned first. As Clines said,

Galatians 1:15-17 — conferred not with flesh and blood; neither went I up to Jerusalem to them that were apostles before me: but I went away into Arabia, and again I returned unto Damascus. The whole burden of Paul's defense of his apostleship in this and in Galatians 2 was summarized thus by Hayes: I was an apostle before I ever saw an apostle; I was recognized as an equal by the apostles the first time they ever met me or heard what gospel I preached … I have preached it with the official sanction of the apostles,

1 Timothy 1:8 — prophecies point to the coming of Christ, some 333 of these being the most convincing evidence on earth to the effect that Jesus our Lord is indeed the divine Messiah "whose goings forth are known from of old, even from everlasting" (Micah 5:2). 2.    The old Israel is a type of the new; and the study of the history of the old Israel affords many glimpses of what is to be expected in the unfolding history of the new Israel which is the church of the living God. As there

1 Timothy 5:9-10 — necessarily preclude aid to widows who were younger and in need; but these were the ones who were to be enrolled in the class whom the church maintained in comfort and in honor. David Lipscomb, Commentary on 1 Timothy (Nashville: Gospel Advocate Company, 1942), p. 166. There are some who fancy that they find here the beginnings of monastic orders, but full agreement is felt with Wallis, who said: Here are details about the qualifications of widows to be supported by the church. (1) It was proper that they

Hebrews 3:16 — relative security of their lives as slaves seemed preferable to the unknown dangers ahead. People have always counted it a privilege to fight and die for liberty, if need be; but here was a generation that simply could not bring themselves to do it. (2) They exaggerated the dangers that confronted them, saying, "The land eateth up the inhabitants thereof" (Numbers 13:32). (3) They failed to manifest that essential self-respect which is an ingredient of all success, saying, "We were

James 3:2 — Lenski who labeled this "James' great confession of sin." Ibid. The "we" in this place is accommodative, through considerations of tact, and is used in exactly the same manner as Paul's frequent use of it in such passages as Hebrews 2:3; Hebrews 6:3, etc. (where it is likewise misunderstood by many). James was not here making some great confession of his own sins, but rather pointing out the universality of sin and error in all men, not excluding himself of course, nor meaning it

2 Peter 3:4 — 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 been saying such a thing as this; for that event was enough of a cataclysm to silence the gainsayers for a generation. The Lord had clearly predicted the fall of the Holy City, the destruction of its sacred

1 John 4:20 — is true with loving God. The true test is found in the way we respond to people whom we know and with whom we associate, and whom, in many cases, we see every day. In this verse, it is clear why John so boldly introduced the proposition in 1 John 4:12 that, "No man hath seen God at any time." He was leading up to the argument here. In struggling to understand and walk in the light of a verse like this, many will encounter problems. One wrote to F. F. Bruce the following question: I have

Jude 1:9 — of this whole verse is excellent: "If the greatest of good angels refused to speak evil of the greatest of evil angels, even in circumstances like that, then surely no human being may speak evil of any angel."William Barclay, op. cit., p. 221. It is absolutely unnecessary to suppose that Jude was here quoting from Philo, or the apocryphal book of Enoch, or Josephus, or "The Assumption of Moses," nor any one of half dozen alleged "sources." The last clause of this verse

Revelation 1:4 — the book is addressed to a limited circle of Asian churches, the author's purpose was to reach beyond these to all the churches throughout the world." Isbon T. Beckwith, The Apocalypse of John (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1919), p. 423. The evidence of this universal destination of the book is found in the repeated injunction, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches." Of Asia … In the New Testament, Asia always means the Roman province

Revelation 11:4 — These are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks, standing before the Lord of the earth. These are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks … This pinpoints the vision of Zechariah 4:2-6, which contains a vision of the same seven candlesticks, representing the Lord's churches, with which this prophecy began (Revelation 1:12 f); but John needed a "two" here instead of a "seven"; so he fastened upon "the two

Revelation 5:8 — book, the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. As Morris said, "Worship is reserved only for God (Revelation 22:9); that the Lamb is worshipped is evidence of his full divinity." Leon Morris, op. cit., p. 98. This verse has a very important bearing upon the mediatorial office of Christ, as revealed in the New Testament. Bruce was of the opinion that "the

Revelation 9:5 — months"? Instead of disappearing, the hurt enters Phase II in the sixth trumpet (See under Revelation 9:13). The repetition of this "five months" in Revelation 9:10 "makes it doubly significant." R. C. H. Lenski. op. cit., p. 291. "The very fact that these monsters are not to kill indicates that this torment is only half of what is to occur." Ibid. The other half will appear in the next woe (Revelation 9:13 f). Just as in the first four trumpets, the destruction