Bible Commentaries

Acts 10:32-33 — of God, to hear all things that have been commanded thee of the Lord. Thou hast done well that thou art come … The meaning here is not exactly certain, being (1) either the equivalent of a "thank you" for Peter’s response, or (2) a complimentary notice of the dispatch with which Peter had come, or perhaps something of both. All here … to hear all things commanded thee of the Lord … Cornelius, by such a remark, made it clear that his only concern was in knowing

Acts 21:8 — gospel";<footnote> R. Milligan, Analysis of the New Testament (Cincinnati, Ohio: Bosworth, Chase Hill, Publishers), p. 389.</footnote> such preachers were ranked after apostles and prophets and above pastors and teachers in Ephesians 4:12. Timothy was another evangelist in the New Testament sense (2 Timothy 4:5). The use of the word as a title for authors of the gospels did not arise until much later. We abode with him … As McGarvey said, "His house must have been a capacious

Acts 22:4-5 — priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and journeyed to Damascus to bring them also that were there unto Jerusalem in bonds to be punished. The way … See under Acts 9:2. The high priest … It is not known if Paul meant the current high priest Ananias the son of Nedebaeus, who was an unqualified son of the devil, "whose rapacity and greed became a byword,"<footnote> F. F. Bruce, op. cit., p. 449.</footnote>

Acts 23:31-33 — Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. But on the morrow they left the horsemen to go with him, and returned to the castle: and they, when they came to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, presented Paul also before him. Antipatris, 26 miles south of Caesarea, was rebuilt by Herod the Great in honor of his father Antipater (hence the name).<footnote> New Bible Dictionary, op. cit., p. 43.</footnote> Plumptre gave the distance from Jerusalem as 42 miles;<footnote>

Acts 27:1 — being taken to Rome to amuse by their death in the arena the idle populace, habituated to enjoy such cruel sights. Few people, like Paul, had the distinction of being remitted for trial before the highest court of the Empire.<footnote> Ibid., p. 302.</footnote> Julius … For a list of centurions mentioned in the New Testament, see my Commentary on Luke, Luke 7:2. Invariably, these Roman officers are presented by the sacred authors in a favorable light. The Augustan band … This

Acts 27:9-10 — lives. It is altogether possible that Paul was invited to give his opinion; and so we reject the notion that "this prisoner was out of place" in making such remarks. Paul was a man of wide experience, having already suffered shipwreck three times (2 Corinthians 11:25); and the respect in which Julius held Paul makes it nearly certain that Paul’s opinion had been asked. The Fast was gone by … is a reference to the Jewish Day of Atonement, usually occurring about the time of the autumnal

Acts 7:1 — And the high priest said, Are these things so? Hervey thought that the high priest at that time was Theophilus or Jonathan,<footnote> A. C. Hervey, The Pulpit Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans, Publishers, 1950), Vol. 18, p. 214.</footnote> both being sons of Annas and both having held the office; but it appears that Bruce was more probably correct in saying that "The high priest was probably still Caiaphas, as at the trial of Jesus; he remained in office until

Romans 8:24 — saved." Translators and commentators are sensitive about salvation’s being ascribed to anything else except faith; but the word of God honors no such inhibitions, affirming positively that people are saved "by grace" (Ephesians 2:8), "by the gospel" (1 Corinthians 15:1,2), "by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth" (Acts 4:10-12), "by his (Christ’s) life" (Romans 5:10), "by the washing of regeneration" (Titus 3:5), "by his (Christ’s)

1 Corinthians 7:18-19 — creation." Any reconciliation of these epic pronouncements with the Protestant heresy of salvation "by faith alone" is impossible. As the apostle John said, "And hereby we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments" (1 John 2:3). Let him not be circumcised … is an order applicable to all of every class who become Christians; and it may not be allowed that the practice of this rite, which is essentially racial and religious, could be acceptable under any circumstances

2 Corinthians 11:23 — himself) I more; in labors more abundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in deaths oft. Ministers of Christ … This is not, as suggested by some, a reference to a sinful "Christ party" at Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:12); for, if it had been, Paul would not have said, "I more." As one beside himself … The RSV descends to the level of a ridiculous paraphrase in rendering this "I am talking like a madman." As Wallace said, "That certainly

2 Corinthians 11:7 — Or did I commit a sin in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I preached to you the gospel of God for naught? The bitter sarcasm of this is evident. "Professional Greek rhetoricians (alluded to in 2 Corinthians 11:6) would be suspect if they failed to demand fees."<footnote> Norman Hillyer, The New Bible Commentary, Revised (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1970), p. 1085.</footnote> Paul’s sarcastic

2 Corinthians 13:5 — church had become "reprobate," a possibility that Paul rejected in the last clause. Again, there is witness here to the fact that the major part of the Corinthian congregation was entitled to all the wonderful things Paul said about them in 2 Corinthians 1-9, a further attestation of the unity of the epistle. In the faith … is a significant word, as used here, being a synonym for the Christian religion. In many references where Paul speaks of "faith," it has exactly the

2 Corinthians 2:12-13 — Lord, I had no relief for any spirit, because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went forth into Macedonia. I had no relief … Paul had gone to Troas after the riot at Ephesus (on his way to Macedonia) as recorded in Acts 20:1; and, from what is said here, it is clear that great opportunities for the gospel strongly inclined Paul to take advantage of those opportunities; but the anxious uncertainty that he felt because of the still unresolved situation in Corinth made

Ephesians 4:25 — each one with his neighbor: for we are members one of another. Harper pointed out that Paul made the application in practical living concerning what he meant by putting off the old man and putting on the new man. From this verse through Ephesians 5:20, the contrast between the two is dramatically presented: falsehood vs. truth (Ephesians 4:25). resentment vs. self-control (Ephesians 4:26,27). stealing vs. generosity (Ephesians 4:28). evil speech vs. edification (Ephesians 4:29,30). malice vs. love

Colossians 4:14 — corroboration of what is stated here. And Demas salute you … As Peake said: Demas’ being mentioned here without commendation is commonly explained as due to a foreboding of Paul that he would turn out badly, suggested by the reference in 2 Timothy 4:10.<footnote> A. S. Peake, op. cit., p. 546.</footnote> Harry Emerson Fosdick preached a sermon on the three New Testament references to Demas, calling them three points that enable the plotting of the parabola of Demas’

1 Thessalonians 5:7 — accepted that when Peter defended the apostles against a charge of being filled with new wine on Pentecost, he appealed to a universally accepted truth, "These are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day" (Acts 2:15). There has always been something about wickedness which makes it inappropriate to indulge in it in the daytime. Night is the time for the deeds of darkness. George Elliott has a beautiful passage on this, quoted by Moffatt: There are few of us who

2 Timothy 3:4 — noted that this expression is a well-known figure of speech, meiosis, or understatement for the sake of emphasis. "In literal fact, they always please themselves and do not love God at all!"<footnote> Ronald A. Ward, Commentary on 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus (Waco: Word Books, Publisher, 1974), p. 188.</footnote>

Titus 1:9 — holding to the faithful word which is according to the teaching, that he may be able both to exhort in the sound doctrine, and to convict the gainsayers. As DeWelt noted, "This has been taken by many to be a commentary on 1 Timothy 3:2, in which Paul states that the elder must be ’apt to teach’";<footnote> Don DeWelt, op. cit., p. 147.</footnote> and that view would appear to be correct. The primary duty of elders, namely, that of watching over and protecting

Hebrews 5:12 — in the words "milk" and "solid food." Perhaps there is even a more advanced classification to be discerned in the words of Paul who said, "For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God" (1 Corinthians 2:10). The metaphor of milk and solid food will be noted under Hebrews 5:13-14. It should be noted specifically that there are certain elementary, basic, and foundational truths in the Christian system that should be known and received by all. These things

James 2:23 — however, explode any possibility of "faith only" having been the grounds of that justification, even in the teachings of Paul. And he was called the friend of God … References to Abraham as the "friend of God" are found in 2 Chronicles 20:7 and Isaiah 41:8. Tasker’s explanation of why God called Abraham his friend is this: God did not hide from Abraham what he proposed to do (Genesis 18:17); Abraham rejoiced to see the day of the Messiah (John 8:56). Similarly …