Bible Commentaries

Genesis 23:1-2 — economy. N.T. references stress her status as "a type of the Jerusalem above which is our mother" (Galatians 4:26 ff). Peter pointed Christian women to the example of Sarah, "whose children ye now are" (1 Peter 3:6). And the author of Hebrews extolled her faith along with that of the greatest of the patriarchs (Hebrews 11:11). "Kiriath-arba (the same is Hebron)" The allegation that this is an anachronism is ill-founded. As Keil pointed out, Hebron was the original name of this city, that Kiriath-arba was

Exodus 4:2-4 — and overthrow the all powerful enemies of God's people. The might and glory of Egypt would be humbled and destroyed by it, yet it was merely an instrument in the hands of an instrument (Moses) of God! "Take it by the tail" This was a test of Moses' faith. "Snake charmers usually take snakes by the neck to prevent their biting."J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 5,2. The almost certain way to be bitten by a serpent is to take it by the tail! As

Job 42:1-6 — and E. C. Jack, Ltd., 1924), p. 365. As we come to the end of Job, we are amazed that no answer whatever has been provided for the overriding question regarding the reason behind human suffering. "God is not so much concerned with strengthening man's faith by giving him answers to his questions, as he is with encouraging the kind of faith that does not demand answers."R. B. Sweet Publishing Company, No. 216, p. 82. As the great Apostle to the Gentiles stated it, "The wisdom of this world is foolishness

Psalms 68 overview — however, the psalm is often extolled in superlative terms: "This is one of the most magnificent songs of triumph in the entire Old Testament. Its dramatic comment upon a memorable event, its wide perspective of thought and speech, its spirit of invincible faith in God, and its presentation of the historic past and the envisaged future, combine to make it an outstanding portion of the Psalter."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 491. "This is one of the grandest of the Psalms."J. R. Dummelow's Commentary,

Zechariah 9 overview — covenant.Zechariah 9:12. "Prisoners of hope" has reference to those who patiently waited for the kingdom of God. Paul spoke of himself in this terminology, "Hope of Israel, for which I am bound with this chain" (Acts 28:20); and in Galatians 3:23, he wrote:Before faith came, we were kept in ward under the law (that is, prisoners), shut up unto the faith which should afterward be revealed. This is exactly the metaphor Zechariah used in Zechariah 9:12; and, although Paul did not quote this passage, he was surely

Deuteronomy 11:8-12 — Publishing House, 1979), p. 294. Not only did ancient Israel fail to understand this vital truth, but countless Christians all over the world today look upon their eternal salvation as a thing already achieved and settled because of their claim to have "faith" in Christ, relegating "obedience" to the status of something nobody does anyway, and which is, in fact, impossible! This paragraph sets forth a favorable contrast of Palestine with Egypt. In Egypt, the agriculture depended upon extensive irrigation,

John 14:3 — Stephen, and still others to the coming of the Holy Spirit. We think these positions inadmissible. The reference is not to Christ's return from the grave, but to his return from heaven, the second coming of the Lord, which is a part of the Christian faith. C. E. W. Dorris, A Commentary on the Gospel by John (Nashville: The Gospel Advocate Co., 1939), p. 200. THE SECOND ADVENT Not only here but in Acts 1:11; Acts 3:21; 2 Thessalonians 4:13-17, etc., the doctrine of the second coming of Christ is emphatically

John 3:5 — that both elements are absolutely necessary in the new birth. Born of water is a reference to the ceremony of baptism; but there is no magic in water, nor does the ceremony itself contribute anything to sanctification, as often alleged. Millions of faithful Christians can testify that submission to the commandment of baptism did not automatically give them a new nature, the new nature coming through a growth process in consequence of the endowment of the Spirit. Care should be taken to distinguish

Acts 18:1 — Revell Co., 1965), p. 58. Even as late as the seventeenth century, the "Corinthian" in Shakespearean dramas was always a debauchee, making his entry on stage in a state of drunkenness. How great was the power of the gospel that established faith in Christ in such a center! In the times of Paul, Corinth was the capital of Achaia, Encyclopedia Britannica, op. cit., p. 441. and, as Ramsay said, "the greatest center of trade and exchange in Greece from the beginning of Greek history onward."

Romans 1:20 — truth is understood by every normal child and adult. Dr. Andrew Conway Ivy, in The Evidence of God in an Expanding Universe (New York: G. P. Putnam and Sons, 1958), p. 229. Dr. Ivy developed his thoughts along this line at length and concluded that faith in God could never be destroyed from the earth as long as children are being born into it; for, he continued: The basic principles of unsophisticated and rational thought and belief will always rise again with the birth of every child. …

Romans 2:27 — ordinance of God by remaining so; but this is nowise the case with so-called "unbaptized believers." Consider the monstrosity of the "unbaptized believer," who in truth does exist necessarily for that small time between the coming of faith in his heart and his actual submission to God's ordinance of baptism, but who is not the "unbaptized believer" spoken of by the commentators. All no, he is presented with full status as a believer with no intention of being baptized; and

Romans 7:24 — Ibid. The body of death to which every unregenerate is chained is that of his own unregenerated nature. It is his freedom from that, that a man must have to escape the wretchedness mentioned here. Acceptance of the gospel of Christ, through obedient faith, cuts the chains that bind people to their former selves, enabling them to be born again. After conversion, the sins that people commit do not remain upon them and bind them, as formerly, but are cleansed and forgiven continually during the Christian

1 Corinthians 13:12 — incorrect to suppose any deficiency in the blessed Saviour, mortal life is limited. Nothing is dim about Christ as God's image except the tarnished mirrors by which mortal men behold it. There shines in these words the essential need for people to walk by faith; because what they may "see" even under the best of circumstances must be described as seeing "darkly." See my Commentary on Hebrews, pp. 209-210. Then face to face … In the resurrection, we shall behold the face of the

2 Corinthians 3:6 — spiritual." Philip E. Hughes, op. cit, p. 99. It is precisely in such a supposed distinction that much error flourishes, and has flourished for centuries. William Tyndale mentioned it in his day: Some preach Christ, and prove whatsoever point of faith thou wilt, as well out of a fable of Ovid or any other poet, as out of St. John's gospel or Paul's epistles. Yea, they are come to such blindness, that they not only say that the literal sense profiteth not, but also that it is hurtful and noisome,

Colossians 2:11 — and reconciliation to God. E. Earle Ellis, op. cit., p. 792. If circumcision should be made a type of baptism, then only men could be baptized; it would have to take place on the eighth day of their lives; there could be no prior conditions such as faith, repentance or confession; and it could be received only by those already in covenant relationship with the Lord; and how could that be applied to an eight-day-old infant? The obvious reference to the death of Christ (which was the metaphorical

1 Timothy 1:15 — save sinners; of whom I am chief: Faithful is the saying… There are five of these expressions in this group of letters, the other four being: 1 Timothy 3:1; 1 Timothy 4:9; 2 Timothy 2:11, and Titus 3:8. "These axiomatic truths of Christian faith would be easily memorized; and, being frequently repeated, they soon became almost proverbial in the early church." Alan G. Nute, op. cit., p. 508. Despite the above, however, it is precarious to identify these "faithful sayings"

Titus 2:13 — deity of our blessed Lord. The marvelous glory of Jesus Christ will be in the cataclysmic events of the Second Advent, the same being the primary affirmation of this great text. Paul was encouraging the beleaguered saints on Crete to hold fast the true faith until that moment in the fullness of time when Christ has promised to return, the second time apart from sin, robed in the glory of the eternal world, for the purpose of redeeming the righteous and casting evil out of his universe. Apart from the

Hebrews 12:15 — grace which has appeared to all people (Titus 2:12) and brought salvation to the world, may yet be ineffective in some because of their failure to abide by the conditions upon which salvation is offered. It should be noted that it was not merely the faith of those which the author questioned, but their conduct. Root of bitterness is reference to an evil man, as Macknight said, "A root of bitterness is a person, utterly corrupted, and who by his errors and vices corrupts others." James Macknight,

Hebrews 7:8 — the righteousness of Christians should exceed it, certainly included the giving of tithes, a fact acknowledged approvingly by Christ who said, Ye tithe mint, anise, and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, mercy and faith; but THESE YE OUGHT TO HAVE DONE, and not to have left the others undone (Matthew 23:23). Nor is it proper to believe that giving "merely" a tithe (tenth) fully discharges a Christian's obligation in this area of duty. A Christian's duty

1 Peter 5:10 — suggests the strengthening that comes to steel, or iron, when it is heated with fire and suddenly cooled, thus "tempering" it and giving it much greater hardness and strength. The onset of the fires of persecution would harden and strengthen the faith of many.