Saturday, November 15, 2008

Commentaries for Philippians Chapter 2

Commentaries for Philippians Chapter 2

The Appeal Renewed: Unity Through Humility

Having acknowledged his friends' suffering by offering a christological reason for it, Paul now returns to the urgent matter at hand: the appeal in verse 27 that in the face of the opposition that is causing suffering, they stand firm in the one Spirit, contending for the gospel as a united body...
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The Example of Christ

You probably know people who, like the present author, when all else fails finally read the manual! That's what Paul is now up to, showing the Philippians "the manual...
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Application and Final Appeal

From heaven back to earth; from the worship of the Son and glory of the Father back to Philippi with its suffering and threats of disunity...
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What's Next Regarding Paul's and Their Affairs

After the heights of the preceding section, it is easy to skim past these "everyday" matters to get on to the next "good stuff" (usually 3:3-21)...
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Timothy and Paul to Come Later

True friendship, especially between Christians, can have a fragile side...
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Epaphroditus to Come Now

From his plans to hear about their affairs (now in response to this letter) and to come himself as soon as possible, Paul turns to the more immediate matter at hand--the return of Epaphroditus, who is also the bearer of the letter...
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Philippians 2

Imitating Christ's Humility
1If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature[a] God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature[b] of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Shining as Stars
12Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

14Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16as you hold out[c] the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. 17But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

Timothy and Epaphroditus
19I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. 20I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. 21For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. 23I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. 24And I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon.

25But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. 26For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. 27Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. 28Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. 29Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor men like him, 30because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me.






Friday, November 14, 2008

He Is Waiting

At any time of the day or night we can call on Jesus.
He is always waiting, listening for our call.
What a wonderful blessing.
No phone needed, no e-mails, just a whisper.



Commentaries for Ephesians Chapter 2

The riches of God's grace towards men, shown from their deplorable state by nature, and the happy change Divine grace makes in them.
Sin is the death of the soul. A man dead in trespasses and sins has no desire for spiritual pleasures. When we look upon a corpse, it gives an awful feeling. A never-dying spirit is now fled, and has left nothing but the ruins of a man. But if we viewed things aright, we should be far more affected by the thought of a dead soul, a lost, fallen spirit. A state of sin is a state of conformity to this world. Wicked men are slaves to Satan. Satan is the author of that proud, carnal
disposition which there is in ungodly men; he rules in the hearts of men. From Scripture it is clear, that whether men have been most prone to sensual or to spiritual wickedness, all men, being naturally children of disobedience, are also by nature children of wrath. What reason have sinners, then, to seek earnestly for that grace which will make them, of children of wrath, children of God and heirs of glory! God's eternal love or good-will toward his creatures, is the fountain whence all his
mercies flow to us; and that love of God is great love, and that mercy is rich mercy. And every converted sinner is a saved sinner; delivered from sin and wrath. The grace that saves is the free, undeserved goodness and favour of God; and he saves, not by the works of the law, but through faith in Christ Jesus. Grace in the soul is a new life in the soul. A regenerated sinner becomes a living soul; he lives a life of holiness, being born of God: he lives, being delivered from the guilt of sin,
by pardoning and justifying grace. Sinners roll themselves in the dust; sanctified souls sit in heavenly places, are raised above this world, by Christ's grace. The goodness of God in converting and saving sinners heretofore, encourages others in after-time, to hope in his grace and mercy. Our faith, our conversion, and our eternal salvation, are not of works, lest any man should boast. These things are not brought to pass by any thing done by us, therefore all boasting is shut out. All is the
free gift of God, and the effect of being quickened by his power. It was his purpose, to which he prepared us, by blessing us with the knowledge of his will, and his Holy Spirit producing such a change in us, that we should glorify God by our good conversation, and perseverance in holiness. None can from Scripture abuse this doctrine, or accuse it of any tendency to evil. All who do so, are without excuse. (Eph 2:11-13)

Ephesians 2

Ephesians 2
Made Alive in Christ
1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

One in Christ
11Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)— 12remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
14For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Commentaries for Philippians Chapter 1 - The Greeting

The Greeting
In comparison with Paul's other letters, several elements of this greeting stand out: its comparative brevity, the fixed nature of the greeting proper (v. 2), and the inclusion of overseers and deacons. Several items call for comment.The Writer(s) (1:1a) This is one of six letters where Timothy, who was well known in Philippi (see 2:20-22), is included in the greeting. Since the rest of the letter clearly originates from Paul alone (e.g., 1:12-26, 30), Timothy probably served as Paul's secretary. In the other letters where it appears in the greeting, Timothy's name is separated from Paul's, since Paul begins by identifying himself as "an apostle of Christ Jesus," and Timothy is not an apostle. But Timothy is a fellow servant (or slave), so here their names are linked: Paul and Timothy, servants [slaves] of Christ Jesus. Paul's reason for not identifying himself as an apostle in this case is most likely related to the matter of friendship (between "equals") noted in the introduction, which has no place in it for reminders of status.
The word translated servants is actually the Greek word for "slaves" and probably carries a double connotation. Gentile hearers would have instinctively understood the word to refer to those owned by, and subservient to, the master of a household. Although the institution of slavery in antiquity was a far cry from the racial slavery that blighted American society--and the English society that made it possible by the slave trade--the slave in the Roman Empire was still not a free person but "belonged to" another. At the same time, however, in the Greek translation of the Old Testament (the LXX), which would have been well known to the Philippians, this word was also used to translate the term "servant of Yahweh [the LORD]." "The slave of the Lord" thus carried a sense of distance from and dependence on God, while at the same time being a kind of honorific title for those in special service to God (e.g., Moses, 2 Kings 18:12; Joshua, Josh 24:29).
This double connotation is probably at work in Paul's present usage. He and Timothy are "slaves" of Christ Jesus, bound to him as slaves to a master, and also servants of the Lord (now Christ Jesus!) whose bond is expressed in loving service on behalf of Christ for the Philippians--and others. This designation anticipates a significant moment later in this letter, where Christ himself is said to have taken the very nature of a servant (2:7). Elsewhere Paul uses this terminology to designate any and all who serve God as free bond-slaves--that is, as those who are free in Christ Jesus but have used that freedom to perform the duties of a slave (Gal 5:13) in the service of God and of his people. This is the closest thing to status one finds in our letter. And this is also the first of at least sixty-one mentions of Christ in the letter. Whatever else is said, everything has Christ as its cause and focus.The Addressees (1:1b) Saints is one of several Old Testament terms used to designate Israel that was appropriated by New Testament writers for the people of God newly constituted by Christ and the Spirit. Its origins can be traced to the covenantal setting of Exodus 19:6, where God addresses Israel as his people, "a holy nation"--a people consecrated and subject to Yahweh and his service. Its New Testament usage most likely derives from Daniel 7:18, where God's end-time people, who receive the kingdom as an eternal inheritance, are called "the saints of the Most High." A preferable translation might be "God's holy people," which keeps both dimensions of the term intact--believers in Christ as constituting God's people, who are by that very fact also called to be his holy people, set apart by the Holy Spirit for God's purposes and distinguished as those who manifest his character in the world. Concern that the believers be God's holy people in Philippi will be picked up throughout Paul's letter (Phil 1:10-11; 2:14-15; 3:17-19; 4:8).
Their becoming "God's holy people" is the direct result of their relationship to Christ Jesus; they are the saints in Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus is responsible for their becoming the people of God. As the crucified and risen One, he also constitutes the present sphere of their new existence. They live as those who belong to Christ Jesus, as those whose lives are forever identified with Christ. This theme is thoroughgoing in Philippians, both in Paul's reflections on his own life (1:20-23; 3:7-11) and in his affirmations of and exhortations to the Philippians (1:27; 2:1, 5-11; 3:3; 4:7).
The most striking feature of this salutation is the addition of the phrase with the overseers and deacons. Surprisingly, this is the first designation of its kind in Paul's letters; even more surprisingly, after being thus singled out in the address, they are not hereafter mentioned or spoken to. As with the salutation itself, the letter in its entirety is always addressed to the whole community. Our difficulty from this distance is to determine who these people are and how they functioned in the community of faith. Nonetheless, some things seem clear enough.
First, exactly as one finds in the earliest (1 Thessalonians) and later (1 Timothy) letters, both references are plural. No evidence exists for a single leader as the head of the local assembly in the Pauline churches. The most probable reason for this relates to the role Paul himself played in his churches. Although he was not regularly present with them, they were his churches and owed their existence and obedience to him (cf. Phil 2:12).
Second, the language used for this addition, together with or "along with," is a sure giveaway as to the role of leaders in the Pauline churches. The community as a whole is addressed, and in most cases therefore the overseers and deacons are simply reckoned as being within the community. When they are singled out, as here, the leaders are not "over" the church but are addressed along with the rest, as a distinguishable part but clearly as part of the whole, not above or outside it.
Third, like all Paul's designations of church leaders, these terms first of all refer to people who function in these ways rather than hold an office. The noun overseer derives from a verb whose primary meaning is to "visit" in the sense of "looking after" or "caring for" someone. The people who bore this designation probably held the primary leadership roles in the local church and were responsible for caring for the people.
The word deacon, which means "servant," is most commonly used by Paul to designate those who serve others (Christ, Rom 15:8; government officials, Rom 13:4; Paul himself, 1 Cor 3:5; 2 Cor 3:6; his coworkers, Col 1:7; 1 Thess 3:2). From our distance it is nearly impossible to know either what their function was or how they differed from the overseers. If the latter most likely gave general oversight to the congregation, deacons probably were distinguished by their actual deeds of service.
Why only in this letter are the overseers and deacons singled out in the salutation? The most likely clue is to be found in 4:2-3, where Euodia and Syntyche, who are probably among these leaders, apparently are not in full accord with each other. Thus both the all with which the address begins and the addition of with the overseers and deacons at the end anticipate the problem of friction that has arisen within this community, perhaps within the leadership itself.The Greeting/Blessing (1:2) The greeting proper is a marvelous example of Paul's "turning into gospel" everything he sets his hand to. The traditional greeting in the Hellenistic world was chairein--the infinitive of the verb "to rejoice," but in salutations meaning simply "Greetings!" (see Acts 15:23; Jas 1:1). In Paul's hands this now becomes charis (grace), to which he adds the traditional Jewish greeting shalom (peace, in the sense of "wholeness" or "well-being"). Thus instead of offering the familiar "greetings," Paul salutes his sisters and brothers in Christ with "grace to you--and peace," reminiscent of the form of an ancient Jewish blessing.
In a profound sense this greeting nicely represents Paul's larger theological perspective. The sum total of God's activity toward his human creatures is found in the word grace; God has given himself to his people bountifully and mercifully in Christ. Nothing is deserved, nothing can be achieved. The sum total of those benefits as they are experienced by the recipients of God's grace is peace, God's shalom, both now and to come. The latter flows out of the former, and both together flow from God our Father and were made effective in our human history through the Lord Jesus Christ.
The collocation of the Father and Son in such texts as these must not be overlooked. In the theology of Paul, whose central concern is salvation in Christ, God the Father is understood to initiate such salvation, and his glory is its ultimate reason for being. Christ is the One through whom God's salvation has been effected in history. But texts such as this one, where Father and Son are simply joined by the conjunction and as equally the source of grace and peace, and many others as well, make it clear that in Paul's mind the Son is truly God and works in cooperation with the Father and the Spirit for the redemption of the people of God.
Although one hesitates to make too much of such relatively formal matters, the contemporary church fits into this salutation at several key points. Those in roles of primary leadership too easily slip into a self-understanding which pays lip service to their being slaves/servants of Christ Jesus but prefer the more honorable sense of this term found in the Old Testament to the paradigm either of Christ (in 2:6-8) or of Paul (2:17). Not only so, but the emphasis on all of God's holy people, together with the leaders, could use some regular dusting off so as to minimize the distance between clergy and people that too frequently exists in the church. All of us are in Christ Jesus; and all are in Christ Jesus in whatever "Philippi" God has placed us, since contemporary Western and westernized cultures are no more friends to grace than theirs was to these early believers. And finally, as for them, the key to life in Christ in our Philippi lies first of all in our common experience of grace and peace . . . from God our Father provided by Christ our Lord.

Hosea 12:6

Hosea 12:6
6 But you must return to your God;
maintain love and justice,
and wait for your God always.

Philippians 1

Philippians 1
1Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:
2Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving and Prayer 3I thank my God every time I remember you. 4In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
7It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. 8God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
9And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
Paul's Chains Advance the Gospel 12Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. 13As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
15It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.[d] 20I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.
27Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel 28without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. 29For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, 30since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Commentaries for Philippians Chapter 1

Introductory Matters
In grammar school I was taught some rudimentary rules about writing letters: that there are basically two types (personal/friendly and business); that one (business) has an inside address, while friendly letters do not; but that both begin and end the same way (with a greeting, such as "Dear Father," and a closing, "Your son, Gordon").
Letters in the Greco-Roman period had this pattern in reverse, with a threefold salutation at the beginning: "Gordon, to his father: Greetings." Very often the next item in the letter was a wish (sometimes a prayer) for the health or well-being of the recipient. Paul's letters, which follow this standard form, usually include a thanksgiving report and sometimes, as here, a prayer report (telling his recipients specifically how he prays for them). In contrast to most first-century letters, where (as in ours) these formal items were stereotyped, Paul tends to elaborate them; and in his hands they become distinctively Christian.

Psalm 27:14

Psalm 27:14

14 Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.

Monday, November 10, 2008





Wandering In the Dark - John Alan Turner

Wandering In the Dark
Most people I know — probably most of you reading this blog — own a Bible. But do they know what it is? Do they know how many people literally gave their lives to secure the availability of Bibles to common people? More importantly, do they even bother to open them up and read what they say?

In the Bible, God has provided a gigantic feast of blessings, promises, warnings, hopes, assurances, encouragements, guidelines, principles — pretty much everything we need to know in order to navigate the rough waters of life. But most people I know are all too willing to just make life up as they go along. We get into a jam and, rather than consulting the wisdom God provides for us, we just “wing it”.

Maybe we trust our gut and don’t realize the wisdom and clarity of God’s Word. Or maybe we have a pretty good idea what we’d find if we cracked open the Bible, and we’d rather just do what we feel like doing. If we don’t read it to find out for sure, we can always claim ignorance and ease our guilty conscience.

The Bible is called a lamp (see Psalm 119:105), but — like any other lamp — it has to be turned on to be of any use. If we want to allow God’s Lamp to illuminate our darkened path, we have to open it up and shine it in the direction of our problems.

So many lamps; so many wandering around in the dark. Do you suppose they prefer the dark? Or do you think they don’t realize what exactly the Bible is and how it could be useful for them? What do you suppose the problem really is?

Thursday, November 06, 2008






Ephesians 1:9-10

“And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.” (Ephesians 1:9-10) (Read by Max McLean. Provided by The Listener's Audio Bible.)Powered by BibleGateway.com