A Glance at Genesis

Over the next four weeks I plan to take A Glance at Genesis. I would love to go through the entire book, but it is 50 chapters long! Therefore I will settle for a glance. My prayer is that this will be a help to anyone who wants to read it. I plan to post once a week for the next 4 weeks, on Tuesdays. Beginning today!

Book of Beginnings
The original Hebrew title of Genesis is bereshit, the first word of chapter 1, which means in the beginning. But our English Bibles don’t follow the Hebrew title. About 250 years before Christ, the Hebrew Old Testament was translated into Greek. This is known as the Septuagint or LXX. The Greek translators gave their own title, Genesis, to the first book of the Old Testament. Genesis means “origin, source, generation, or beginning.” Genesis is indeed a book of beginnings. In fact, the whole rest of the Bible begins in this book!

Here are some of the beginnings we find in Genesis

heaven and earth
1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth

time
1:5 And the evening and the morning were the first day

mankind
1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them

marriage, home, family
2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh

Adam and Eve were the first people, the first husband and wife, the first parents, the first grandparents.

sin 
2:17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it…

3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

death
3:6 …for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

5:5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.

This is now the testimony of every one, every single person after Adam.

the nations
10:1 Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth…

10:32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.

languages
11:6-9 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

Israel
12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation

the gospel of salvation
3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

49:18 I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.


There are many other things we could mention, but one we have not is God. Does Genesis tell us of the beginning of God? No, for God is. He has no beginning. The book opens, “In the beginning God.” God was at the beginning. God was before the beginning. God is the Cause of the beginning. “From everlasting to everlasting thou art God.” He is “the eternal God”; “the everlasting God”. “Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD?” “For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.”

Genesis was not just given to keep us busy reading its 50 chapters. It is the book of beginnings, the seed bed of everything else in the Bible. The truth is, we would not be able to understand the rest of the Bible without it.


Next Tuesday: The Outline of Genesis

John 3:1-15

Can you understand the Bible if you don’t know Greek?

You can read the Introduction here
You can read Romans 6 here
You can read 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 here

Today: John 3:1-15 This is the third and final passage submitted for this series.

As I’ve been doing, I will only use the English Bible (KJV). This is an excellent choice for this series and the question, Can I understand the Bible if I don’t know Greek? Why? Because there is one part of this passage that you cannot fully understand without the aid of a learned commentary; there are also a couple of Old Testament references that I have marked in orange, that, unless you are familiar with the Old Testament or have help, you might not see. Despite that, I’m confident we can understand what Jesus is saying. Let’s dive in!

1   There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
2  The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
Nicodemus was a Pharisee, one of the spiritual leaders of the Jews. Jesus clashed often with the Pharisees and they don’t seem to have liked him. Yet here is Nicodemus visiting Jesus and making quite the confession: “We know you are from God and that God is with you.” We know. He is the only one here, but there were others who had the same opinion of and respect for Jesus. But there is no question. What does Nicodemus want?

3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Ha! Jesus gets right to the point. Nicodemus asks no question, but Jesus gives him the answer.

Verily, verily, I say unto thee – Everything Jesus said was truth. He used verily for emphasis. When he used one he was indicating, “Pay attention, this is important.” When he used two he was saying, “You really need to pay attention to this.”

A note about the KJV. People often laugh at the thees and thous but they are rather helpful. Thee, thou, thy, thine are used to indicate 2nd person singular; ye, you, yours indicate 2nd person plural. Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus personally, I say unto thee.

Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God – Being born again is an absolute must. Jesus didn’t use the same phrases with everyone, he had this wonderful way of speaking to you in light of your need. In fact, I’m not aware of him telling anyone else they needed to be born again. But he said it to Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a Jew, the right people; a Pharisee, a religious/observant Jew (Pharisees were considered the best at being Jewish and obeying God); a ruler of the Jews, social distinction and probably wealth. This was a man of standing and respect. And Jesus says to him, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom.

4  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
How? How is this supposed to even happen? I’m too old and too big for my mother to birth me again.

5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Again, verily, verily. Jesus ignores his question and states it again in a slightly different way, Except a man be born of water and Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom. As if Jesus said, “Nicodemus, stop! Hear me - you must be born again.”

6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Now Jesus takes up his objection and offers a brief explanation of born again.

that which is born of the flesh is flesh – this is our first birth. Our mother gave us life; she passed on to us human life, personality, and physical characteristics. It is a life fit for living with other people on earth. But it is what I call limited life, it literally wears out and comes to an end. The even bigger problem is flesh life lacks the life of God. Even the best behaved, most educated, wealthiest, most powerful among us lack divine life.

that which is born of the Spirit is spirit – when we are born of the Spirit he gives us life, God’s life, God’s nature. We need to be born of the Spirit so we can have the life of God. That is what it means to be born again.

7  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
Don’t be shocked or surprised.

Ye must be born again – He has changed from thee to you, everybody needs to be born again.

8  The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
bloweth where it listeth, that is, where ever it wants to. You can’t see the wind, where it came from or where it’s going.

So is every one that is born of the Spirit – We don’t know who will be born again next.

9  Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
How? I don’t get it. I don’t follow you.

10  Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
This is a rebuke. Seems Jesus thought since Nicodemus was a master or teacher of Israel he should have understood this.

11  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
Again, verily, verily. “I’m just telling you what I know and have seen; remember, you yourself said I was a teacher come from God.” (Don’t know why Jesus said, We.)

ye receive not our witness – not only Nicodemus, but all the Jewish leaders. “I have told y’all what I know and you won’t receive it.”

12  If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
This is interesting. Does he consider being born again an earthly thing? Since being born again is necessary to entering the kingdom, maybe he is saying the new birth is elementary stuff, and heavenly things the deeper teachings.

13  And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
What an interesting and intriguing statement. I don’t know what Nicodemus is doing at this point, but if he was befuddled by “except a man be born again”. . . .

Jesus’ favorite way to refer to himself was “Son of man.” I’m persuaded he took this from Daniel 7:13-14. This may also be a reference to it. If this is so, he would be saying, “I am Messiah.”

14  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
15  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Another Old Testament reference. While v 15 is clear enough, you really need either a working knowledge of the Old Testament, a reference Bible, or a friend to consult in order to understand what Jesus is saying. He is referring to Number 21:6-9, where we read, 8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. Amen! That’s good news!


This is a very familiar passage, yet a difficult one, with portions that may not be understandable without outside help. Especially, born again and born of water and Spirit. I believe we can get the main idea, but there is information about Jewish beliefs and practices that would make this even clearer, for which you would need a good commentary to learn. You might also need help recognizing and finding the Old Testament references unless you are very familiar with the Old Testament. That being said, I am still persuaded that you can read this in English and get a good idea of what Jesus is saying, good enough to know, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God, and whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. So, read your Bible, depending on the Holy Spirit, with the confidence that you can understand what God is saying!

1 Corinthians 15:50-58

Can I understand the Bible if I don’t know Greek? 

You can read the Introduction here
You can read Romans 6 here

Today we will look at the second of three suggested passages, 1 Corinthians 15:5-58, using only my English Bible (KJV). There is one place where a reader might need a spot of help. I have provided that help, marking it in orange.

50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.  
Once again we see the principle of context. This whole passage is part of Paul’s teaching on the resurrection of the body. In verses 1-49 he has made it very clear, there is to be a resurrection of the dead; a literal, physical, bodily resurrection of believers, just like there was a literal, physical, bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

According to verses 42-44 our bodies will be raised, but there will be a change. Here he states it again: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom; that is, corruption cannot inherit incorruption.

51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,  
In the Bible a mystery is something that is now revealed that was not previously known. Saints in the Old Testament knew about the resurrection of the body, but not this.

We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed – Resurrection is for people who have died and been buried. Sleep describes the death of believers because it is only temporary. Here is the mystery, not every one will die. There will be a generation of believers who will be alive when Jesus comes. They won’t die, but they will be changed! This change is the new, incorruptible, spiritual body, the glorified body. Hallelujah! We shall all be changed, but we shall not all sleep.

52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.  
Just talking about it, first the dead raised, then the living caught up with them to meet the Lord in the air, sounds like this is going to take some time. I mean, there are a lot of saints to be raised. The resurrection includes Old Testament saints as well as New Testament saints. And then all those who are alive when he comes. That’s a lot of people! This has gotta take some time. Nope.

In a moment – not a day, not an hour, not even a minute. In a moment.

In the twinkling of an eye – Just thinking about this takes my breath away! How long will this take? The blink of an eye! All the righteous dead since creation, raised in the blink of an eye! All the living saints changed, in the blink of an eye! I don’t think about this often enough!!

At the last trump – he told us how long it will take, in the twinkling of an eye; now he tells us when it will happen, at the last trump. This will be the last trumpet call of this age, in fact the last event of this age. The Lord Jesus will descend from heaven with a shout, the archangel will cry out, the trumpet will sound, the dead will rise, and we will be changed. Glory to God! Come, Lord Jesus!

53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.  
This is the change.

Corruptible and mortal – This body has limited life, it gets old and dies. Not only that, it doesn’t operate at 100% and is susceptible to disease, infirmity, failure. Just consider my body. I was born with a bad eye; I have fallen arches, high blood pressure, my hair is falling out, my knees, my back, and other issues I won’t even mention. Oy vey!

Incorruption and immortality – I’m getting a new body!! One that will never die, or fall apart, or get sick, or work at anything less than 100% ! Bury me with my glasses because I want to grind them into the ground on that day!

54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 
This is not a new hope. He is quoting from the Old Testament [Isaiah 25:8]. I love this, Death is swallowed up in victory. It is not close, it is not overtime, it is not a made basket with the buzzer sounding, it is not just barely. No. Death is swallowed up in victory. There is so much victory it simply swallows death!

55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?  
This is another quote from the Old Testament [Hosea 13:14]. This quote is mocking death. We have to face reality, death is painful. Such loss. We lay loved ones in the grave and it sure feels like death and the grave have won. But in that day we will mock them: O grave, where is your victory now? O death, where is your sting?

56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.  
Sin and death. They work hand in glove to keep us in bondage. How in the world can we ever hope to mock death?

57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  
Our Lord Jesus Christ! He was crucified. He rose. He paid our sin debt. He defeated death. Jesus is victor! And he gives that victory to us. What a glorious gospel! What a gracious Savior!

58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
Don’t quit, don’t slack off, be steadfast because living for the Lord, working for the Lord, suffering for the Lord, none of it is in vain. He is coming. We will be raised. We will be rewarded. Glory to God!


This is really cool. Knowing Greek can help, using my Greek New Testament can help. But all I used was my English Bible and it was clear, powerful, exciting, glorious! Can you understand the Bible if you don’t know Greek? You sure can!!

Tomorrow: John 3:1-15

Romans 6

Can I understand the Bible if I don’t know Greek? Read the introduction here

Today, a simple commentary on Romans 6 using only my English Bible (KJV)

There are seven questions in this chapter – Paul often used questions as a teaching tool. I believe the chapter can be divided into two parts, 1-14 and 15-23, based on two similar questions: v 1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin? and v 15, What then? Shall we sin? Right away we know what this chapter is about! Let’s take a look!

1  What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
First thing we see is the principle of context – in order to understand what a passage is saying, we need to know what is going on around it. Chapter 6 flows out of chapter 5, where Paul had just said, But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. Does this mean we should continue to live in sin so grace might continue to abound? This is no doubt an objection he often heard from those who opposed the gospel of grace.

2  God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Ooh, he reveals something important here – We are dead to sin. How can we continue in sin when we are dead to it. When did this happen?

3   Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Ah! "Don’t you know what happened when you were baptized?" He is talking about water baptism. Something real and significant happened when we were baptized. We were baptized into Jesus Christ, that’s pretty significant in itself, but also into his death. He is going to explain all this, but notice the word know. In 1-14 the whole thought is carried forward by three words, the first of which is know. Our progress in the Christian life is based on knowing some things. Here, Do you know that when you were baptized into Jesus Christ you were baptized into his death?

4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Baptism is a burial. What am I burying? My old life, my past. As I used to pronounce over every one I baptized, “Buried with Christ in baptism; raised to walk in newness of life.”

5  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
6  Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7  For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Here we find know again. I’m telling you, there are some things we need to know.

Our old man is crucified with him. Paul speaks often of the old man. This is Adam and all that we were in Adam. Again, this is from chapter 5. Christ died for our sins, that we might be forgiven, but when he was crucified the old man was crucified with him. Adam introduced sin and death, this is the old man and we are all part of it. At the cross this old man was crucified. Jesus is the second Adam, more correctly, the last Adam, who by his coming and especially his resurrection began the new creation.

planted together in the likeness of his death – baptism is a burial, you gotta go under the water

[A note about the words in italics. The KJV used italics to indicate that there was no corresponding word in the original. They added them to help make better sense.]

Shall we continue in sin? No - henceforth, we should not serve sin.

8  Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
9  Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
10  For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
This is powerful stuff! One more time, there is something we should know – Jesus will never die again; he now lives unto God. He died for our sins once. He died once. No more. Never again. He lives! He lives means he died unto sin and now lives unto God. We have been baptized into his death, and we shall live with him! Do you know these things?

11  Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
I said his thought is carried along by three words. Here is the second, reckon. That is think; consider. Reckon yourself to be dead to sin and alive to God. How can I do this? Because of what I know. I know that I have been baptized into Jesus Christ who died unto sin once and is now alive unto God; I know the old man was crucified; I know the dominion of sin was broken.

Likewise - Christ died and now lives. I have been united with him in this death and resurrection. Therefore, reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God.

12  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
A great change has taken place. When I was still part of the old man I had no power over sin, it had power over me. Now, because of Christ, Let not sin reign in your mortal body. Shall we continue in sin? Uh, no!

13  Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
Here is the third word – Yield. Knowing and reckoning leads to action - yield.

First, Neither yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin. Stop yielding your members as instruments of unrighteousness.

Second, Yield yourselves to God. “Here I am. Redeemed by the blood. Forgiven. Freed from the old man. I’m alive with Christ. I’m yours!”

Third, Yield your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. “I want to think your thoughts; speak your truth; hear what pleases you; love you and what you love; my hands to do your works; my feet to walk in your ways.”

Shall we continue in sin that grace may about? No, because

14  For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

What a declaration. And why is it so? Grace. Grace literally changes everything. What I could not do, God did for me. Hallelujah! This is good stuff!

15  What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
Once again Paul anticipates an objection, and once he again he forcibly answers, God forbid.

16  Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
We are back to know. Here is a fundamental principle of the spiritual life that we need to know: We are the servants of whoever we yield ourselves to. There are two options:

We yield to sin [disobedience], which results in death.
We yield to obedience [to God], which results in righteousness.

17  But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
We used to be servants of sin…but

Ye have obeyed from the heart. I believe he means we heard the gospel, we believed in Jesus, and we were baptized into Jesus Christ. Baptism is not an add-on, a mere token. Have you believed in Jesus Christ but not been baptized? If so, you have not obeyed the gospel. You have not buried your past. How can you make progress in the Christian life carrying around that corpse?

18  Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
Hallelujah!

19  I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
Paul admits here he is using servant as a metaphor. He is trying to find a way to make this powerful truth clear as a bell. My past life was yielding to uncleanness and to iniquity, which he says was unto iniquity, such a life just produced more iniquity. Now I should yield my members to righteousness, that is obeying God., which will produce holiness.

20  For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
How sad. And sobering.

21  What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
What was the fruit of a life free from righteousness? A life of yielding to uncleanness and iniquity? Oh I know, people often boast about their wild lifestyle: parties, revelries, sex and such. Some of us were like that, now we are ashamed of the way we lived. But the worst part is the end of those things is death. The gospel is about life - Christ rescues us from sin, from shame, from death.

22  But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
This is awesome!

being made free from sin, and become servants to God – by the cross of Christ; by faith in Christ; by being baptized into Jesus Christ. This is what I know, reckon, and yield to.

ye have your fruit unto holiness – you have obeyed the gospel from the heart, you have yielded your members servants to righteousness, the fruit of such a life is holiness.

and the end everlasting life – Does this mean everlasting life is the reward of obedience? No. When you live a life of sin all you have to look forward to is death. When you live a life yielded to God and righteousness what is there to look forward to? Everlasting life!

23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Eternal life and everlasting life are the same thing. Everlasting life is the gift of God. You can’t earn it. Can’t deserve it. God gives it. And it is given to us through Jesus Christ.


What a chapter! Such powerful, life changing truths! And what a comfort it is to know we can come to the Scriptures, read them, and understand them without a knowledge of Greek. I didn’t use any commentaries, didn’t open the Greek New Testament, nor did I go online for any other language tools. Could any of these expand my understanding of the chapter? Sure. But they are not necessary to understanding what God says to us in His Word.

Tomorrow: 1 Corinthians 15:50-58

Can I understand the Bible if I don't know Greek?

A couple of weeks ago I started thinking about something I have often pondered. When I am writing about a Bible passage, I frequently say something like, “In the Greek this word is / means…” * Whenever I do this my aim is not to “correct” the translation, and definitely not to show off, but to enhance our understanding of the passage.  Preachers and teachers of the Word often do this. I like to think they have the same motive.

Understanding Greek and Hebrew can be a real help in understanding what the Bible says. Even if you don’t know the original languages there are tools available to help. However, I am concerned about a possible negative side effect of all this “in the Greek” talk, and that is that people might subconsciously begin to think they cannot understand the Bible if they are not conversant in the original languages. If this is indeed a side effect, it is a very sad one!

And to address that I began thinking about writing a post or a series of posts in which I take a passage and explain it without reference to the original languages, in an attempt to encourage Christians in their reading of the Scriptures, “You can indeed read your Bible and understand what it says.” And to this end I wrote to some family members, explained what I was planning, and asked, “Would you be willing to send me a passage or two for me to attempt to explain without any reference to original languages?” That way I couldn’t choose a favorite passage, a familiar passage, or a safe or easy passage.

I was given a couple of passages! So I will begin this week.

A couple of things before I begin:

+ I will be using the King James Version. There are a few reasons for this, but the main one in this context is that the KJV is what is known as a word-for-word translation. I prefer that method. You can read a brief explanation of translation philosophies here.

+ As I indicated above, I will not be using the Greek New Testament at all. This will be an explanation of the passages from the English Bible alone.

My point is that you can read, understand, and know what God is saying by reading your Bible! As helpful as language tools might be, the single most important thing to do when you are reading the Holy Scriptures is to begin by asking the Holy Spirit to help you understand.

The two passages submitted to me are: Romans 6 and 1 Corinthians 15:50-58. I still haven’t decided whether to split Romans 6 into two (shorter) posts or present it as one (long) post. We will all find out tomorrow!

Tomorrow: Romans 6


* Obviously this refers to the New Testament. The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew (and some portions in Aramaic). The same principle applies to Hebrew.

Redemption

Today’s $5 word: Redemption 

Our $5 words this week are major themes of the Gospel words! R.C. Trench, in his Synonyms of the New Testament, lists them as synonyms, all dealing with the cross of Christ. He says,

“Propitiation is linked with all the words and images which speak of Christ as a sacrifice, an offering, as the Lamb of God, as the Lamb slain.

With reconciliation is connected all that language of Scripture which describes sin as a state of enmity with God, and sinners as enemies to Him and alienated from Him; which sets forth Christ on the cross as the Peace, and the maker of peace between God and man

Redemption is linked with all those statements of Scripture which speak of sin as slavery, and of sinners as slaves; of deliverance from sin as freedom, or cessation of bondage.”

There is a family of words used in the Greek for redemption which paint a wonderful picture of the salvation of the Lord. Let’s look at each word in this family.

λύτρωσις (lutrosis)  Redemption, deliverance from the penalty of sin.

Luke 1:68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,

λυτρόω (lutroo) To release on receipt of ransom; liberate by payment of ransom

Titus 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

1 Peter 1:18-19 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

We were slaves to sin and Jesus bought us with his precious blood.

ἀντίλυτρον (antilutron) What is given in exchange for another as the price of his redemption

1 Timothy 2:5-6 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

This is the word ransom but you can see that it is in the family. It refers specifically to the price paid. Jesus gave himself as the ransom for us. His blood, his life was the payment for our deliverance from sin.

Reconciliation speaks of our participation in sin: we were alienated and enemies in our minds by wicked works; Christ made peace by the cross so we could be restored to God. Redemption speaks of our condition in sin: we were slaves, unable to free ourselves; Jesus paid the ransom so we could be freed.

There are two potential issues here. One, people today might find this talk of slavery distasteful, “You mean to tell me God approves of slavery? Worse, he’s in the slave trade?” We have to understand, this is a word picture. Slavery, both the owning and selling of slaves, was an everyday part of life in the first century. This is a metaphor they all understood right away: slavery to sin is bad; Jesus bought us and rescued us from this deplorable condition; that’s good!

Second, ransom, a price paid. There has been a lot of discussion, debate, and disagreement in the past concerning this – Who did Jesus pay? We were slaves to sin and Satan, did Jesus pay the devil? Unthinkable! This discussion also misses the point. This is a picture attempting to explain our plight and rescue. As captives are freed by payment of a ransom, so we were held captive by the devil and Jesus paid the ransom for our freedom. His death on the cross was the price he paid for our deliverance. The wages of sin is death, we couldn’t afford to pay our own ransom, so Jesus paid it for us, he died our death, took our sins on himself and paid the price. Now he offers forgiveness and life. That’s redemption!

Believe it or not, it gets even better!

ἀπολύτρωσις apolutrosis - a releasing effected by payment of ransom

Romans 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus

This is Paul’s favorite word for redemption. The picture here is, well, let’s let John Chrysostom, 4th Century Archbishop of Constantinople and a native Greek speaker, explain it, “And he does not say barely λυτρώσεως, but ἀπολυτρώσεως, entire redemption, to show that we should come no more into such slavery.” Amen! Hallelujah!

Actually, let’s take a look at the complete sentence in Romans 3:21-26

21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Wow! Righteousness, justification, redemption, propitiation, forgiveness all in one sentence! All together part of God’s salvation through Christ. Christ is our righteousness; he is our propitiation; he is our redeemer!

Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace

Through his blood. Redemption is through the blood of Christ. Reconciliation, propitiation, sanctification, justification are all through the blood. The cross of Christ is central to our salvation. Jesus Christ and him crucified is our faith and message.

And notice, redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. How important is the forgiveness of sins? Well, it is linked to redemption, reconciliation, propitiation, sanctification, justification. Through faith in his blood we are forgiven. Our sins are forgiven, we are justified. Our sins are forgiven, we are reconciled to God. Our sins are forgiven, we are redeemed. Precious blood of Christ indeed!

Jesus Christ gave himself a ransom for all. Have you been redeemed?

Addendum on Romans 5:11, atonement and reconciliation

Earlier today I posted the fifth installment of Them Five Dollar Bible Words. Today’s word was reconciliation. One of the verses I looked at was Romans 5:11

And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

This is what I said:

“I’m not sure why the KJV translated this as atonement, because it is the word reconciliation. Although I remember Derek Prince explaining that the word atonement is best understood as at-one-ment. I like that! That is reconciliation.”

This is one of those times when you say or write something and fail to listen to the little voice in your head. You see, I know that the KJV translators had a tendency to use a variety of words when the same Greek word occurs multiple times close together. I was also aware they had done this earlier in Romans 5. In verses 2, 3, and 11 Paul uses the same Greek word, yet the KJV translators use three different English words. They do the same thing in verses 10 and 11 where the word for reconciliation occurs three times, in keeping with their practice they translated it “atonement” the third time.

This afternoon I was reading an entry in Richard Chenevix Trench’s Synonyms of the New Testament. He said,

“the word ‘atonement,’ by which our Translators have once rendered katallage [reconciliation] (Rom. v. 11), has little by little shifted its meaning. It has done this so effectually, that were the translation now for the first time to be made, and words to be employed in their present sense and not in their past, ‘atonement’ would plainly be a much fitter rendering of ilasmo [propitiation], the notion of propitiation, which we shall find the central one of ilasmo, always lying in ‘atonement’ as we use it now. It was not so once. When our Translation was made, it signified, as innumerable examples prove, reconciliation, or the making up of a foregoing enmity; all its uses in our early literature justifying the etymology now sometimes called into question, that ‘atonement’ is ‘at-one-ment,’ and therefore = ‘reconciliation’: and that consequently it was then, although not now, the proper rendering of katallage.”

You see, I didn’t know that earlier! But, if you will re-read my comment, I still got it right!!

Reconciliation

Today’s $5 Word - Reconciliation

We actually use the word reconcile, “Dick and Jane reconciled today.” We know that means they had a falling out, but worked it out, and are now back together. So why would I include this among $5 Bible words? Because reconciliation in the Bible is a wee bit different.

The basic meaning of reconciliation is restoration to favor. So, there has been a falling out, but who did the falling and who did the restoring? The Bible is pretty clear!

Romans 5:10-11
10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

We were enemies of God. Such harsh language. It’s not that God was hostile, we were. We were sinners, rebellious sinners. It was God who took the initiative - he sent His Son to die for His enemies. and by the death of His Son He reconciled us.

11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

I’m not sure why the KJV translated this as atonement, because it is the word reconciliation. Although I remember Derek Prince explaining that the word atonement is best understood as at-one-ment. I like that! That is reconciliation.

2 Corinthians 5:18-6:2
5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

v 18 God has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ. God did it and we were the ones reconciled. Paul then says God gave him the ministry of reconciliation.

v 19 God was in Christ. What a powerful truth! Jesus was the Son of God. What does that mean? It means God was in Christ. It pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell. Yes, God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself. He took the initiative. There was no counselor involved, helping the two parties work out their differences: God, because of his great love for us, reconciled the world unto Himself. How? not imputing their trespasses unto them. Paul builds anticipation by making statements and then explaining them in the following verses.

v 20 Oh the love and grace of God! He was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself and now He has sent Paul with the message and invitation, Be ye reconciled to God.

21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.  

Here is how the reconciliation works. There is an exchange, a tremendous and uneven exchange: Christ was made sin for us, he took our sin upon himself on the cross; when we believe in Christ we are made the righteousness of God in him. That’s reconciliation!

6:2 For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I helped thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

Paul quotes Isaiah 49:8 to show this was the plan all along. I love this, Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. Be ye reconciled to God!

Colossians 1:19-23  
19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; 
20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.  
21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled  
22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:  
23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel…

At the beginning I asked, “Who did the falling and who did the restoring?” This passage makes it very clear - there was no problem on God’s side, the problem was us. Alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works. We were the ones running, hiding, resisting God. Despite this, God, in His great love, made peace through the blood of the cross. Oh the cross of Christ! By the cross God reconciles all creation unto himself; by the cross he restores those who believe in Jesus; by the cross he will present us, former enemies, holy and unblameable and unreproveable before him. That’s reconciliation!!

Reconciliation. A $5 word with a million dollar message. Be ye reconciled to God!

Propitiation

Today’s $5 Word: Propitiation 

This may be the quintessential $5 word (you like how I used a five dollar word to introduce today's $5 word?!). When I told Mary I was planning a series on $5 Words in the Bible, her immediate response was, “Will propitiation be one of them?” As you can see, the answer is, Yes!

I can still hear Dr. Crichton (President of Mid-South Bible College, where I went to school) explaining how to judge a new translation, “Open it up to 1 John 2:2. If you see the word propitiation, chances are it’s a good translation; if not, don’t use it.” I still think that’s good advice.

Propitiation means, “appeasing”, “appeasement of wrath”. That sounds great, and I used that for a long time, but what does that mean? A while back (remember, I’m old!) I became convinced God had provided his own definition, which we find in Isaiah 53:11, He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. The entire chapter is a prophecy of Messiah and in this one verse we see the cross (travail of his soul), propitiation (shall be satisfied), and justification through Christ (shall justify many). This is how I explain it today, “When you read propitiation think satisfaction."

Let’s check it out!

Since I’ve already mentioned 1 John 2, we’ll begin there

1 John 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

He is the propitiation for our sins. He is the satisfaction for our sins. Christ suffered for our sins on the cross and God was satisfied. This truth, when grasped, will be the death of depending on my good works, my trying to be good enough. If God is satisfied, what is there for me to offer? Once I believe this, oh what peace there is!

for our sins – the sins of those who believe. Jesus died for believers. He is the propitiation for our sins. The Father saw the travail of his soul for my sins and was satisfied.

And not for ours only, but also the whole world – Jesus died, not only for those who would believe, but for the whole world, for us all. He is the propitiation for the whole world. This means anyone and everyone who will believe in Jesus will be saved!

1 John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

God made the plan. God took the initiative. God sent His Son. He sent him to be the propitiation for our sins. Why did he do this? Because he loved us: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. This is love!

Romans 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood…

This is a different form of the Greek word. Actually, this word is used 27 times in the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament). 27 times! It is used for the mercy seat, the pure gold cover of the ark of the covenant in the holy of holies (in the tabernacle/temple). How intriguing! Once a year, on the day of atonement, the high priest would enter into the holy of holies and sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice on the mercy seat. Why? Inside the ark were the two tablets with the 10 commandments; the blood of the sacrifice covered the commandments and thus atoned for their sins. What is all this? They had sinned during the previous year, broken the commandments, and when sin is not dealt with it separates us from God; by sprinkling the blood of the sacrifice on the mercy seat their transgressions were covered, their sins forgiven, and fellowship with God was restored.

How perfect then that Paul spoke of the mercy seat and blood, what a picture he paints!

William Tyndale captured this in his translation: whom God hath made a seat of mercy through faith in his blood.

God has set Christ as the mercy seat through faith in his blood. Jesus died for us on the cross, shedding his blood as a sacrifice for our sins; when we believe Jesus died for us, trusting him as Savior, he is our mercy seat, his blood covers our sins, God forgives us our sins, and fellowship with God is restored. John Wycliffe captured this idea in his translation, Whom God ordained forgiver, by faith in his blood. Which is it? mercy seat or forgiver? Yes! Christ is the mercy seat, and through faith in his blood he is forgiver.

What a beautiful and powerful picture Paul painted! This is the foundation of our salvation: Jesus died for us on the cross, God was satisfied with this sacrifice of love, and forgives all who trust in Jesus!

Jesus is the propitiation for our sins. He is the mercy seat through faith in his blood. God has declared that he is satisfied this sacrifice. Are you resting in Jesus?

Sanctification

Today’s $5 word - Sanctification

As with justification, sanctification comes from Latin. Latin was the language of the western Church, so it’s natural that Latin words would become official church words. And, as with justification, English had its own words, which the chart shows:

Sanctification and holiness are used throughout the Scriptures. I use both but I prefer holiness.

Sanctification / holiness is a big theme in the Bible. So big I could write a book on it, but then there already is one – the Bible! So I will just touch the top of the mountain.

Essentially, sanctification means set apart. Things can be sanctified, such as the temple, the sacrifices, the anointing oil etc. People can be sanctified as well: the Levites were holy, that is, they were set apart for the work of the priesthood. But with people, while the basic meaning is still set apart, there is a moral aspect as well. The opposite of sanctified is not unsanctified, it is unclean, defiled. Things can become unclean when improperly used, but people become defiled by their behavior.

Sanctification involves a negative and a positive. It means to be set apart from sin and evil; it also means to be full of goodness and righteousness. God is holy. The Apostle John described this as God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. He has no sin and cannot tempt you to sin; he is also good, righteous, love. This is the moral aspect of holiness when it comes to people: separation from sin and the world;  devotion to Christ, full of love, goodness, righteousness.

The New Testament uses sanctification two ways. The first is what I call salvation sanctification.

1 Corinthians 1:1-2 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

They were sanctified in Christ Jesus, that is, by their faith in Christ Jesus they were set apart from the rest of the people in Corinth: they used to be Corinthians, now they were Christians; they used to be Greeks, people of the world, now they were people of the kingdom, people of the age to come.

Because they are sanctified, they are saints. We often stumble over the word saints, after all there is Saint Patrick, Saint Brigid of Kildare, Saint George of England, Saint Augustine - obviously saints are those who were really good at being Christians and who did great things for Christ. While this is common, it is not biblical. Every believer has been sanctified in Christ Jesus and is thereby a saint, a set apart one. I believe in Jesus, I’m a saint. If you believe in Jesus, you’re a saint. May not be anything special or great about us, but we are saints. One interesting note, saint is never singular in the Bible, as in Saint Paul, it is always plural, saints.

We are sanctified by faith in Christ, by the offering of his body on the cross, by God the Father, through the truth, by the blood of the covenant, through the Spirit. Oh yeah, by our association and affiliation with Jesus Christ we are sanctified – Christ Jesus himself is our sanctification!

But there is more to sanctification, there is a deeper work, a personal work.

1 Peter 1:14-16  As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

God is holy, we are to be holy like him. Be ye holy in all manner of conversation, all of your behavior. The rest of 1 Peter explains how to be holy in all manner of conversation.

2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Holiness is being changed from glory to glory. This is transformation. As we behold the glory of the Lord we are changed into the same image.

2 Corinthians 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Perfecting holiness? I have been sanctified by faith in Christ. Christ is my sanctification. How do I perfect holiness? Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. That's how. See how sanctification is more than being set apart?

1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: To the end he may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.

Love and holiness are knit together: increase and abound in love, your heart established unblameable in holiness. Holiness is not merely being set apart, it a matter of the heart. This is what Paul prayed for the Thessalonians, expecting God to do it. Surely we can pray this for ourselves.

1 Thessalonians 4:1-7 
1 Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.  
2 For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.  
3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:  
4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;  
5 Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:  
6 That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.  
7 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

Sanctification is concerned with how we live: how ye ought to walk / abstain from fornication / not in the lust of concupiscence / uncleanness. We have two words of comfort and encouragement in this: ye received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, this is the Word of God; this is the will of God, even your sanctification. It is God’s will that we live a life that is pleasing to him,  He has called us to holiness. His grace is sufficient for this!

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

Wholly sanctified? Preserved blameless? Faithful is he who calls you, who will also do it.

We were in Adam, lost, undone, condemned, but when we believed in Jesus we were set apart from the old creation and made new in Christ. We used to be Adam-ites, now we are Christ-ites or Christians. That is sanctification. And as I mentioned, there is more. We can grow in grace, we can go from glory to glory, we can perfect holiness, through the word of God and by the Holy Spirit. Oh the riches of the salvation of God!