Bible Commentaries

Acts 8:15-17 — … The special power of the Holy Spirit in view in this passage was conveyed only through the laying on of the hands of the apostles. Plumptre was correct in seeing the gift here as: Distinct from the new birth of water and the Spirit (John 3:5) which was given through baptism. The apostles looked on the Samaritans as qualified for the higher gift as well for admission into the kingdom; and it was given to them, and not to Philip … to be the channels of communicating it. E. H. Plumptre,

Romans 10:21 — But as to Israel he saith, All day long did I spread out my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people. This quotation of Isaiah 65:2 summarizes Isaiah's whole paragraph at that place (through the 7th verse), where it is plain that God's anger with Israel was not due merely to their disobedience, but also to the high-handed and arrogant manner of it. Their conduct was called "gainsaying"

Romans 5:12 — partake of Adam's penalty. Even the Saviour, perfectly innocent though he was, through his entry into our life incurred its penalty. Him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in him (2 Corinthians 5:21). Thus, God's law regarding sin and death was proved to be operative invariably and without partiality or exceptions, even upon God himself "come in the flesh"! How truly marvelous is the absolute righteousness of God. No thoughtful person

Romans 5:20 — And the law came in besides, that the trespass might abound; but where sin abounded, grace did abound more exceedingly. Here is the fifth of the great series of "much more's" which mark this portion of Paul's letter. See under Romans 5:17. Paul used "law" here without the article; but the translators are correct in supplying the article, for it cannot be doubted that the law of Moses was Paul's subject, not merely here, but everywhere this term is mentioned in Romans. The

1 Corinthians 14:27-28 — tell the audience every word that was spoken. To these prohibitions, there must be added a number of others which are given in this chapter, including these: 4.    Everything must be done unto edifying, and tongues do not edify. 5.    Love is a better thing to practice than speaking in tongues. 6.    Five intelligible words are to be preferred to ten thousand in an uninterpreted tongue. 7.    Under no circumstances let

1 Corinthians 4:5 — time, until the Lord come, who will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then shall each man have his praise from God. It is a mistake to read into such passages as this and in 1 Corinthians 15:51 that "Paul evidently expected the Advent of Christ within the lifetime of himself and his converts." J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 898. Since the time of the Second Advent was unknown

Galatians 6:4-5 — reveals that burdens may be handled in three ways. Some may be shared with others; other burdens must be borne by every man himself (see under Galatians 6:1); and of a third class, the Scriptures command, "Cast thy burden upon the Lord" (Psalms 55:22, English Revised Version margin (1885)). A.    Burdens that may be shared with others. There is many a load of life that grows infinitely lighter under the touch of a friendly hand or the sound of an encouraging word. When the

Ephesians 6:4 — the chastening and admonition of the Lord. In this matter of making basic human obligations to be reciprocal rather than limited to the ones required to obey, the Christian religion swept away the whole philosophy of pre-Christian ages. In Ephesians 5:25, Paul laid it upon husbands that they must love their wives, even as Christ loved the church enough to die for it! Here he confronted parents, fathers particularly, with their obligations to their children. They must instruct and discipline them

Colossians 1:12 — the Father, who made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. Who made us meet … This is rendered "qualified us" in RSV, which is a definite improvement over the rendition in the English Revised Version (1885). HOW GOD QUALIFIES PEOPLE TO BE SAVED I.    People must hear the truth to be saved; and it is God who sends out preachers to all the world that people may hear it. See Romans 10:14 ff. II.    People's hearts

Colossians 2:13 — baptism into death that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4). Wherefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things are passed away (2 Corinthians 5:17). Even in the sequence of verses before us, baptism is mentioned in Colossians 2:12 and the being made alive in the next verse, where it logically belongs. Before leaving these three verses, it is proper to note certain widespread, persistent and

1 Thessalonians 4:13 — fall asleep; that ye sorrow not as the rest, who have no hope. SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST We would not have you ignorant … This was one of Paul's favorite ways of introducing a new and important subject. It is also found in Romans 1:13; Romans 11:25; 1 Corinthians 10:1; 1 Corinthians 12:1, and 2 Corinthians 1:8, in all of which, as here, the term "brethren" is used with it for the sake of conveying the idea of tenderness and affection in what he was about to say. Concerning them that

1 Thessalonians 4:16 — it might become a great red giant with a new mass so gigantic as to envelop the earth; Kenneth F. Weaver, "The Incredible Universe," National Geographic Magazine, May, 1974 (Washington, D.C.: The National Geographic Society, 1974), Vol. 145, No. 5, p. 607. (2) it could become a super-nova flaming to a million times its present size, and (3) it could conceivably collapse altogether with a gravitational field strong enough to draw all the solar satellites into a very small and exceedingly

1 Timothy 4:3 — marriage to church rulers and ministers, despite the fact of Old Testament priests and New Testament elders having been required to be "husbands of one wife." Apostles were permitted to take their wives with them on mission tours (1 Corinthians 9:5). T. Croskery, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 21, 1 Tim. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), p. 75. Wesley explained the meaning here thus: Forbidding priests, monks and nuns to marry, and commanding all men to abstain from

2 Timothy 3:15 — White, op. cit., p. 174. The sacred writings … In the next verse, Paul used the word "Scripture." Why the distinction? Paul did this for the simple reason that he wishes to draw a distinction between the Old Testament (2 Timothy 3:15) and WHATEVER has a right to be called divinely inspired Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16). The latter comprises more than the former. William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 300. The earnest conviction of this writer supports Hendriksen's comment on this, and no

Hebrews 11:12 — promise, gave them strength for the birth of Isaac, it was plainly through the intervention of the divine will. If that was the case, the question arises, how then could Abraham have later married Keturah and have fathered by her numerous sons (Genesis 25)? The explanation is that Moses, in giving a history of Keturah and her sons, did not do so chronologically; but, as the best historians do, he dealt with the primary line of Isaac first, though Isaac was the last of Abraham's sons. Keturah was probably

Hebrews 11:5 — meant, namely, that he was received into eternal fellowship with God without being obligated to pass through the experience of death. Of all the souls ever to live on earth, only Elijah and Enoch enjoyed the blessed privilege of translation (Genesis 5:24; 2 Kings 2:17). The character of Enoch was summed up by Moses who said simply that "Enoch walked with God." This means that all of his earthly sojourn was enacted with constant respect to the divine presence of God; and it was doubtless

Hebrews 3:1 — Holy Spirit subsequent to their being baptized into Christ (Acts 2:38). Thus their holiness was not in any sense a consequence of their being born of Jewish parents, a preponderantly Gentile congregation receiving the same designation (1 Thessalonians 5:26, margin). Partakers of a heavenly calling is a reference to the universal and eternal dimensions of the Christian vocation, which is a heaven-centered faith, its emphasis being emphatically upon the things in heaven, rather than upon the things of

James 2:13 — here indeed we have the inspired word of God; (2) that this portion of the New Testament is as easily understood as any other; (3) that the simple answers are the true ones; (4) that there is not the slightest contradiction between Paul and James; (5) that Paul's affirmation that we are justified "by faith" and James' declaration that we are justified "by works" mean simply that we are indeed justified "by both," and that it is a sin to assert that men are justified

1 Peter 1:22 — unto unfeigned love of the brethren, love one another from the heart fervently: Hart paraphrased the meaning of the first clause here thus, "They must realize that they have cleansed themselves ideally at baptism"; J. H. A. Hart, op. cit., p. 52. and that this is surely the meaning of it appears to be certain when the passage is compared with Acts 2:40. On Pentecost Peter admonished those whom he was exhorting to be baptized to "save yourselves from this crooked generation." Here

1 Peter 5:2 — appear; and "The omission of this clause from the Vatican and Sinaitic manuscripts was prompted by ecclesiastical reason," B. C. Caffin, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 22, 1 Peter (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), p. 206. for the fear that elders might be supposed to have equal authority with bishops, which was of course true. Incidentally, the close kinship of the Vatican and Sinaitic Manuscripts is evident in a thing like this, accounting for the fact of