2Timothy 2:1 ¶ Thou
therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things that thou hast heard of me
among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able
to teach others also. 3 Thou therefore
endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with
the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to
be a soldier. 5 And if a man also strive
for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully. 6 The husbandman that laboureth must be first
partaker of the fruits. 7 Consider what
I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.
Paul exhorts Timothy, his protégé’ and spiritual son, to be strong
and bold in the unmerited mercy that Christ has given him. He needs to teach
what Paul has taught him, which has not been done privately or secretly but in
front of many eyewitnesses. He needs to teach the doctrines of the faith to
faithful men who will then teach others. That is what we do, expect what we
teach to be taught to others. It is the focus of, “The Great Commission.”
Matthew 28:19 Go ye
therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:
and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
And these people who teach must handle God’s word faithfully.
1Corinthians 4:1 ¶ Let a
man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the
mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is
required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
Then Paul makes three analogies of Timothy’s commission. First, he
uses a military analogy to encourage Timothy to act with all the discipline
expected of a soldier on duty.
Notice Paul’s admonitions to the Christian in Ephesians.
Ephesians 6:10 ¶ Finally,
my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may
be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,
but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness
of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of
God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to
stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your
loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the
preparation of the gospel of peace; 16
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to
quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is
the word of God: 18 Praying always with
all prayer and supplication in the
Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and
supplication for all saints;
Paul then uses the analogy of an athlete competing in a sporting
event expecting to win by the rules laid out before him.
1st Corinthians 9:24 ¶ Know ye not that they which run in a race run
all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. 25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is
temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we
an incorruptible. 26 I therefore so run,
not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: 27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into
subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself
should be a castaway.
Finally, Paul refers to his firm belief that the preacher of God’s
word is entitled to have his living from his efforts even though he did not
expect this for himself.
1st Corinthians 9:3 ¶ Mine answer to them that do examine me is
this, 4 Have we not power to eat and to
drink? 5 Have we not power to lead about
a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord,
and Cephas? 6 Or I only and Barnabas,
have not we power to forbear working? 7
Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a
vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and
eateth not of the milk of the flock? 8
Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? 9 For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou
shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take
care for oxen? 10 Or saith he it
altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he
that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be
partaker of his hope. 11 If we have sown
unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal
things? 12 If others be partakers of
this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless we have not used this
power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ.
13 Do ye not know that they which
minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which
wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? 14 Even so hath the Lord ordained that they
which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.
On a deeper level though this admonition to Timothy states that
the fruits of God’s grace, the doctrines, and the promises should be
established in the preacher first. He, the husbandman, of God’s words is the
first partaker. Consider that all preachers, when they preach, are preaching
first to themselves, or should be.
Paul prays that God would give Timothy a complete and perfect
understanding. This is something we should all pray for as we read the Bible.
This comes from God Himself.
2Timothy 2:8 ¶ Remember
that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my
gospel: 9 Wherein I suffer trouble, as
an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound. 10 Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s
sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with
eternal glory. 11 It is a
faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:
12 If we suffer, we shall also reign
with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: 13 If we believe not, yet he abideth
faithful: he cannot deny himself.
Paul wants to reinforce the gospel, glad tidings, or good news of
the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, born in human form as a Jew of the seed of
David, to Timothy to keep him in remembrance of what they are doing.
1Corinthians 15:1 ¶
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto
you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in
memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that
which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the
scriptures; 4 And that he was buried,
and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the
twelve: 6 After that, he was seen of
above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this
present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After
that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of
one born out of due time.
Paul has suffered like a criminal, even imprisoned for the gospel
but nothing can restrain God’s word.
2Corinthians 11:22 ¶ Are
they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of
Abraham? so am I. 23 Are they ministers
of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes
above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. 24 Of the Jews five times received I forty
stripes save one. 25 Thrice was I beaten
with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I
have been in the deep; 26 In journeyings
often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own
countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the
wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings
often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 28 Beside those things that are without, that
which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is
offended, and I burn not? 30 If I must
needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities. 31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not. 32 In Damascus the governor under Aretas the
king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me:
33 And through a window in a basket was
I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands.
Several times Paul refers to his imprisonments. Please see an
example here;
Ephesians 6:20 For which I
am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to
speak.
God’s word cannot be held back, though.
Isaiah 55:11 So shall my
word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but
it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing
whereto I sent it.
Paul willingly endures all things so that those people who will,
will receive Christ and eternal salvation. Though we be dead we shall live now
and in the future.
Galatians 2:20 I am
crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of
God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
1Thessalonians 4:16 For the
Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
All Christians will suffer some kind of persecution and will reign
with Christ.
2Timothy 3:12 Yea, and all
that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
Revelation 20:6 Blessed and
holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death
hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign
with him a thousand years.
But those people who reject His presence on earth in bodily form,
deny His Crucifixion and Resurrection, and deny His divinity as the Son of God,
God in the flesh, will not see salvation.
Matthew 10:33 But whosoever
shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in
heaven.
The unbelief of man does not make void His faith or faithfulness.
Romans 3:3 For what if some
did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? 4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every
man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings,
and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
Christ will not go contrary to His word or His nature even if no
man or woman believed on Him. He has made the offer to us and is glorified
whether we accept it or not.
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ
the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
2Timothy 2:14 ¶ Of these
things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord
that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of
the hearers. 15 Study to shew thyself
approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing
the word of truth. 16 But shun profane and
vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. 17 And their word will eat as doth a canker: of
whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; 18 Who
concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already;
and overthrow the faith of some.
Timothy should discourage those under his charge, to those
faithful men spoken of in the first part of this chapter, not to spend time
arguing about the words they’ve been taught to no purpose, actually corrupting
what people will hear. Paul wants Timothy to devote himself to studying God’s
word. We read the Bible to have God speak to our hearts through His word but we
need to study His word, a separate thing, cross-referencing the verses and
understanding the dispensations, recognizing what the Law given to Moses is and
how we are not under that Law nor justified by it even though it shows us God’s
standards. We need to rightly divide the word, not to seem like we are trying
to put the new Christian back under the Law or make them think they can lose
their salvation and get saved over and over several times a day, thereby
crucifying Christ afresh in their minds.
Note from the Old Testament;
Deuteronomy 6:25 And it shall be our righteousness, if we
observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath
commanded us.
And yet, remember what Paul wrote about the Law;
Galatians 3:24 Wherefore
the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be
justified by faith. 25 But after that
faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
And about the impossibility of being saved, lost, and saved again.
Hebrews 6:4 For it is
impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly
gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the
powers of the world to come, 6 If they
shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to
themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
It is incumbent upon us to be clear in our understanding of both
Old Testament and New Testament doctrine, rightly dividing the word of God.
Incessant arguing about if there will be a Rapture or when it will
occur, if Christ will return or has returned, if we are living in the
Millennium or if it is future, and many other things do not lead to the
behavior and obedience to Christ to which we are called. Many false doctrines,
statements of belief of cults, and false teachers have overthrown the faith of
many such as Preterism, insisting that the events of Revelation have already
occurred.
Christians have not been served well by preachers who have not
read the Bible through, who do not cross-reference the verses, who do not take
every opportunity to study the word of God rather than the opinions of their
favorite celebrity preachers, or who do not avail themselves of the volumes of
documents, commentaries, and Bible studies we have access to today. Some even
hold as equal to the canon of the Bible apocryphal and pseudepigraphal writings
like the Book of Enoch or the Gospel of Peter which may be interesting to study
but contradict the Bible and are no more reliable than an ancient philosopher’s
opinion. Much of the problem boils down
to a lack of reading comprehension or approaching the Bible without believing
that it in its entirety including translations and versions is given by
inspiration of God. Not being able or willing to examine translating methods
and the attitudes of translators, including political and social influences on
them, leads to spiritual blindness as we are led to destruction by someone with
an agenda of which we are ignorant.
2Timothy 3:16 All scripture
is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Peter 3:15 And account
that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother
Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
Job 32:8 But there is a
spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.
2Timothy 2:19 ¶
Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The
Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of
Christ depart from iniquity. 20 But in a
great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood
and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. 21 If a man therefore purge himself from these,
he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and
prepared unto every good work.
God knows us. God knows our hearts. He knows who is saved and who
is not. Here Paul insists that we Christians must depart from the moral rot
that plagues mankind. Still, even within Christianity there are those who
choose to do wickedness. We need to be useful for God and we do not do that by
disregarding what He has given us as the standards we are to live by.
Paul has laid out standards for Timothy, as a young preacher,
standards for his congregations. He then goes on to focus on certain specifics.
2Timothy 2:22 ¶ Flee also
youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that
call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23
But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender
strifes. 24 And the servant of the Lord
must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
25 In meekness instructing those that
oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the
acknowledging of the truth; 26 And that
they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken
captive by him at his will.
Here is an important warning for all young people to consider.
When we are young and strong of body, a body which seems to forgive us rather
quickly, we tend to spend our youth like so much spare change, not realizing or
understanding that we are setting patterns and laying foundations for all of
our future behavior and life.
Youthful lusts include everything that Paul and Peter warned about. Let me
include here comments I made on 1Peter, chapter 4.
1Peter
4:3 For the time past of our life may
suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in
lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable
idolatries:
Peter refers to the believer’s past
life, when he walked in the ways of the world. This is a very dangerous place
for the young person but an older person who has not known Christ’s salvation
may find himself in this unending cycle of pleasure, misery, and eventual
regret. Lasciviousness and lusts, excess of wine, have to do with sexual
immorality brought on by drunkenness.
Revellings is used in Galatians 5:21
as a work of the flesh.
Galatians
5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness,
revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told
you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom
of God.
This is partying, usually drunken,
usually resulting in immoral behavior that typically hurts the innocent
eventually and burdens the guilty with regret. It is a lifestyle evidenced by
the old Country-Western song by Willie Nelson that went, “night life ain’t no
good life, but its my life.” Many of you Christians used to soak in that
practice until you stank of alcohol. In the ancient world after a drunken party
sometimes young men would parade through the streets singing songs to Bacchus
or some other pagan god, often not satisfied until they had accosted some
stranger and beaten him nearly to death. It became a word for drunken, group
behavior.
Banquetings is a word denoting
activity of a similar nature, as large ornate meals of many courses were
enjoyed, devoted to a god or gods, and winding up in a sexual orgy or
revellings of some sort.
Abominable idolatries accompany all of
this behavior as their actions were dedicated to the gods. We engage in
idolatry today but don’t call it such. Bars and lounges are sprinkled
throughout virtually every city and town, little temples to self, as lost
people and sometimes, blind and carnal Christians, indulge themselves in
self-worship and lowering the inhibitions with alcohol so that what God has
given to man to enjoy in the marriage bed can be trodden underfoot like
something for which man is not only not grateful but holds in utter contempt.
The more extreme versions of this modern paganism are STD Parties where people go to try to get a sexually transmitted
disease, Raves, popular in the
1990’s, which could degenerate into a drug and alcohol inspired orgy like Foam Parties, and all kinds of night
time get-togethers where under cover of night everything from immoral,
consensual behavior takes place to rape, gang-rape, and even murder are the end
result. This happens all over the world today, but more so in the Western,
former predominantly Christian, industrialized countries. It’s terrifying what
happens when God takes His hand of protection against sin from a person or a
country.
Your former friends thought it was odd
that you refused, once you were saved, to go with them anymore to these things.
They condemned you for thinking you were too good for your friends after that.
Some new Christians, feeling isolated and alone, will succumb to this
guilt-trip and fall back into sin for a time, but are never truly happy again
in that environment.
Your former friends will give an
account to God at the Great White Throne judgment if they do not eventually
believe and are given faith.
Revelation
20:11 ¶ And I saw a great white throne,
and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and
there was found no place for them. 12
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books
were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the
dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according
to their works.
Paul tells Timothy to flee, to run from these sins of sexual
immorality and drunkenness. Of course, we would include illegal drugs in this
list. It is not enough to just think you are too disciplined or good not to get
caught in a trap. You need to turn your back on these things and get as far
away from them as you can.
I’d like to repeat some things I said in my comments on Galatians.
While these warnings were for all ages they particularly apply to young people
and youthful lusts.
Galatians
5:19 Now the works of the flesh
are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred,
variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders,
drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I
have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall
not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against
such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ's
have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let
us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not be desirous of
vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
What Paul
lays out here starting in verse 19, the works of the flesh, are really
typical human behaviors. Most of these are obvious and you and I both know what
they mean but there are some that require a closer look to understand. Starting
with Adultery, which we know is not being faithful to your marriage vows, see
the Biblical definition;
Leviticus 20:10 And the man that
committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that
committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the
adulteress shall surely be put to death.
Ezekiel
16:32 But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh
strangers instead of her husband!
Fornication
is also defined from the Bible as having sexual relations with someone with
whom you are not married before God. It is typically mentioned in the Old
Testament as spiritual in Israel consorting with foreign gods.
Isaiah 23:17 And it shall come to pass after
the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to
her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the
world upon the face of the earth.
Ezekiel 16:26 Thou hast also
committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, great of
flesh; and hast increased thy whoredoms, to provoke me to anger.
But is
also linked with bastardy. See one accusation of the Jews against Christ.
John 8:41 Ye do the deeds of your father.
Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father,
even God.
It is
linked here in the passage with Galatians with other sexual sins such as uncleanness
and lasciviousness, linked elsewhere meaning sexual sins of action
and attitude.
2 Corinthians 12:21 And lest, when I come again,
my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned
already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication
and lasciviousness which they have committed.
These sins
of lasciviousness and uncleanness also have religious undertones. There is
ritual uncleanness in the context of the Israelites and you can see Leviticus
15 and 16 for a number of applications.
Leviticus
15:31 Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness;
that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle
that is among them.
Romans
1:24 carries with it the double intention of the uncleanness of a forbidden
sexual act and the uncleanness of idolatry in pagan worship so riddled with
sexual implications as I discussed in my comments on Genesis. Read the whole
context in Romans, chapter one, to see where the Holy Spirit is talking about
the sexual acts associated with worship from Canaanite temples to the Temple of
Aphrodite in Greece.
Romans
1:24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts
of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Right
after that, guess what, Paul mentions idolatry. Idolatry would refer to
worshipping anything, putting anything, ahead of God. Covetousness is
considered idolatry.
Colossians 3:5 Mortify therefore your members
which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil
concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
So, again
sexual sins are linked with false worship.
Witchcraft
carries with it a
connection to rebellion against God.
1Samuel
15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as
iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath
also rejected thee from being king.
The witch,
not unlike some religious folks, seeks power of their own to oppose God. They
deal in casting spells, alleged magic, and consulting with spirits, which are
disembodied minds, incorporeal and often malignant. This is not about some old
woman who uses herbs as medicine. This is more malevolent and against God than
that. See how it is linked with child sacrifice in the Old Testament.
2 Chronicles 33:6 And he caused his children to pass
through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times,
and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar
spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to
provoke him to anger.
Hatred comes in many forms but linked
here next to witchcraft it has a special meaning. Think of it has hatred
of God and holding in contempt all of His testimonies and commandments and each
other in the congregation. He will not regard such an individual kindly.
1 Samuel 2:30 Wherefore the LORD God of Israel
saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk
before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them
that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be
lightly esteemed.
Variance’s
Greek word is
translated elsewhere as strife, contention, and debate. Do we dare argue with
God? Is such an attitude useful in the Church? Of course not.
Emulations are quarrels, wrangling,
divisions, and strifes linked as a synonym by placement with variance
but tied to those traits as the products of envy and imitation, trying to be
established as more or higher socially than one is. These are not acceptable in
the Christian church. See what else Paul wrote. We say “to emulate someone”
meaning to be like them.
Romans 12:3 For I say,
through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think
of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according
as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Wrath is the physical expression of
anger, perhaps, by using previous contexts to study it’s meaning in the Bible.
But it is a synonym of anger in any event.
Genesis 49:7 Cursed be
their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will
divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
Christians
are told to refrain from both, though.
Colossians 3:8 But now ye
also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication
out of your mouth.
How
are you in the flesh? It has been said by one observer that a fundamentalist is
an evangelical who is angry about something, usually social change that they
feel overwhelmed by. In the context we have this work of the flesh inside the
church body itself since these are things Christians are being warned about and
not congratulated for not having the taint of on them. There is nothing worse
than an angry fundamentalist in a church where he or she is angry at someone in
particular or just everyone in general.
Strife is something we understand pretty clearly in our modern world and
in our modern churches. It is conflict with others and it is often sewn by
wicked people in a church setting or at least people with otherwise good
intentions acted wickedly.
Proverbs 16:28 A froward
man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends.
It is
often caused by envy of one over another.
Philippians 1:15 Some
indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:
Seditions in the church body, among
Christians is, according to some Bible scholars and commentators, dividing into
factions in a church body.
We know
that heresies from 1Corinthians 11:18 & 19 are linked to divisions
within the church. The schisms that Paul, John, Peter, and others had to deal
with included the Gnostic heresies that denied the reality of physical form of
Christ.
2Peter 2:1 ¶ But there were
false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers
among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord
that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
1John 4:2 Hereby know ye
the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in
the flesh is of God:
1John 4:3 And every spirit
that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and
this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come;
and even now already is it in the world.
2John 1:7 For many
deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come
in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
Then comes
envyings. As Solomon wrote;
Proverbs 27:4 Wrath is
cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?
Did
not the Jews hate Christ because of envy?
Matthew 27:17 Therefore
when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I
release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? 18 For he knew that for envy they had delivered
him.
When church members are envious of each other and appear to be
vying for position there is tension and conflict in the congregation. The
feeling of discontentment one gets aroused by someone else’s seeming position
in the church is wickedness, of a carnal mind.
We might
think that murders is out of place in this list and wouldn’t that be an
obvious sin not needing to be listed as a work of the flesh?
While we
live in a different world that is not bound by blood oaths and vendettas we
still have the capacity to disobey our Lord by our murderous hearts.
Matthew 5:21 ¶ Ye have
heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever
shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry
with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and
whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council:
but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
One
scholar I read noted though that, “at no point in this period did the
government concern itself with private acts of violence that did not threaten
the stability of the res publica.” As long as the social order was not
threatened or a government official or important person not the victim then
murder was something more likely to be punished by a member of one’s family or
friends.
See Judy
E. Gaughan, Murder Was Not a Crime: Homicide and Power in the Roman
Republic. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2010.
In the
provinces legal government was under the authority of the Roman governor. There
was no police force. Murder was common and was not considered a crime by the
state says writer Emma Southon in her A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Murder in Ancient Rome (Abrams Press). Yes, Christians
could and probably did murder each other. It was possible. Paul condemns the
possibility in the context of these works of the flesh.
Drunkenness was and is a great issue
among both men and women and is not excluded from the Christian church.
Drinking alcohol is not the issue. Christ did turn water into wine and although
there were dozens of different kinds of non-alcoholic wines in that world we cannot
assume logically that all of the references to wine were of grape juice. But
drunkenness is a sin against God. We are not to go to excess in anything and
let any thing control us which alcohol can and will.
Romans 13:13 Let us walk
honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and
wantonness, not in strife and envying.
If
you realize the connection between drunkenness and immorality and what was
commonplace in the ancient world it is clear why drunkenness is prohibited.
Even in the church it was warned against.
1Corinthians 11:20 When ye
come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper.
21 For in eating every one taketh before
other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. 22 What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink
in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I
say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.
Then we
come to revellings. What was a revel? According to Strong it was a, “a
nocturnal and riotous procession of half drunken and frolicsome fellows who
after supper parade through the streets with torches and music in honour of
Bacchus or some other deity, and sing and play before houses of male and female
friends; hence used generally of feasts and drinking parties that are
protracted till late at night and indulge in revelry.” We could say partying
with alcohol and drugs today. Anyone who has attended a secular college away
from home for several years would probably understand what I am meaning.
Then, Paul
goes on to add unnamed sins using the phrase and such like.
People who
do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God he says but
we need to be careful in our interpretation. We should think of a shall to be a
result of a will and that it is possible to repent and not to do these things
again because Paul also states that the saved audience he was writing to had
been guilty of things like this but were now clean of guilt.
1Corinthians 6:9 ¶ Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not
inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor
idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with
mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous,
nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of
God. 11 And such were some of you: but
ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the
Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
But there
should be the flip side of these evils given. What follows next is the fruit or
proof, evidence, that you have the Spirit of God, capital S, the very mind of
God, in you. These things are present in a Christian who is truly surrendered
to Christ by way of the Holy Spirit.
Love is not just a feeling. The Greek
language had several words for love. Eros is romantic passion and lust, not
used in the Bible. Storge is love of family and is considered unconditional.
Phileo was brotherly love between people, as in friendship. Agape is empathy,
charity, and means a love for someone in that you want what is best for them,
perhaps want what they want for themselves, a universal love that means good
will and acts charitably toward God or mankind. It is even sacrificial but is
always of the best and most kind-hearted intentions. It is the love
here. Of course, there are other words for love as well.
With
regard to translating different words as love or charity let's look at John
21:15-17.
After
the resurrection Jesus asks Peter three times if Peter loves Him, which calls
into sharp, painful memory that Peter had denied His Lord three times as Jesus
predicted He would. And there are many other great sermons from this passage,
I'm sure.
The
first and second time Jesus asks the question He uses the word Agape' for to
love someone from esteem or respect and also used for divine love. Each of
those times Peter responds with Phileo, the love that comes from friendship or
brotherly love. The last time Jesus Himself uses Phileo and once again Peter
responds with the same. Modernists will say that this lends much more meaning
to the conversation because Jesus is asking for a different kind of love, a
divine love, which Peter is not capable of and this reflects a fundamental
failure in mankind's capacity or willingness to love God in the right way blah,
blah, blah.
What
the modernist who likes to think he is more intelligent and knowledgeable than
a Christian janitor who can read English has done is to reveal his own
ignorance. Agape' and Phileo are words for love that are used interchangeably.
No extra insight into these verses is gained by playing ping pong with them. In
Matthew 6:5 hypocrites phileo to pray standing in the synagogues, in Matthew
19:19 you are told to agape' your neighbor as yourself, John 15:19 says the
world won't phileo the disciples, 1 Corinthians 16:22 says that if any man
phileo not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be Anathema Maranatha, and when we are
repeatedly told to love our neighbor as ourselves with agape' the Scriptures in
no way imply that this is superior to our brotherly love for our brothers and
sisters in Christ. I doubt anyone would imply that the kind of love Jesus says
we are to have for each other, which distinguishes us as His followers, is
inferior to the love we are supposed to have for a stranger who is in need.
Titus
3:4 doesn't have the love of God our Saviour toward man as agape'. Paul's
admonition in Titus 3:15 isn't agape'. 1 Peter 1:22 uses both words for the
same thought with phileo first and then agape'. Does knowing this change your
understanding of the text? Does it help you know what you are to do? In spite
of all the so-named Agape’ ministries out there is your lack of access or
availability of access to the Greek a determinant of your ability to understand
God's words? Finally, in Revelation 3:19 does it matter to you that Jesus
phileos here?
So,
be wary of modernists. The context determines the meaning of a word and love
and charity are interchangeable often just as phileo and agape are as well.
Joy
is linked with gladness in verses.
Psalm 32:11 Be glad in the
LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in
heart.
Psalm 35:27 Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that
favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be
magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.
1Peter 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of
Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad
also with exceeding joy.
I was a believer a long
time before I knew what joy was. We have joy with gladness when we are grateful
for our eternal destiny in Christ and for His abiding with us in this life. Too
many Christians seem to have more anger and bitterness than they have joy.
Peace is again something I
did not feel long after I became a Christian. What is important is that we have
peace with God through Jesus Christ. In Ephesians there is a great chapter on
how Christ made peace between us and the Father. This alone should make us rejoice.
Ephesians 2:1 ¶ And you
hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to
the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the
spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation
in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh
and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
4 ¶ But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great
love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when
we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are
saved;) 6 And hath raised us up
together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the
exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should
walk in
them.
11 ¶ Wherefore remember, that ye being in time
past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is
called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 12 That at that time ye were without Christ,
being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants
of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: 13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were
far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
14 ¶ For he is our peace, who hath made both one,
and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity,
even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of
twain one new man, so making peace; 16
And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross,
having slain the enmity thereby: 17 And
came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
18 For through him we both have access by
one Spirit unto the Father. 19 Now
therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the
saints, and of
the household of God; 20
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus
Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 21
In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy
temple in the Lord: 22 In whom ye also
are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
In this passage we see in verse 14 of Ephesians 2 that Christ is
our peace, the peace between the rebellious humankind and the One who created
them and is so very furious with those who do not believe in Christ.
John 3:36 He that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not
see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
We should have peace in our spirit.
Longsuffering we equate with patience. Longsuffering is a Godly attribute
because God has been longsuffering with mankind.
Psalm 86:15 But thou, O
Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous
in mercy and truth.
In fact, it is why we have been given so many chances to accept
God’s offer of amnesty through Christ for our rebellion against Him.
2Peter 3:3 ¶ Knowing this
first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own
lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the
promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue
as they were from the beginning of the creation. 5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that
by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the
water and in the water: 6 Whereby the
world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now,
by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of
judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
8 ¶ But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one
thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years
as one day.
9 ¶ The Lord is not slack concerning his promise,
as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that
any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Your
longsuffering through trials, tribulations, sickness, disappointment, and want
as you trust completely in God and accept His will for your life is more proof
that the Holy Spirit indwells you.
Gentleness
is an even more wonderful characteristic of a true Christian in that
the person who has the ability to be ungentle but chooses to be gentle shows
something about themselves. Gentleness is connected to meekness, the meekness
of Christ.
2Corinthians 10:1 Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness
and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent
am bold toward you:
The
meekness of Christ as opposed to, say, Moses’ meekness, is important. Moses was
meek towards God’s will. Christ meekness was power under restraint.
Anyone
who has ever handled baby animals or baby humans knows what gentleness should
be like. Anyone who has not verbally attacked someone who was immature or naïve
but tried to help them to mature or ‘bring them along’ as we would say in
Boxing knows what I mean.
Goodness
is linked by Paul to God’s patience in giving us chance after chance
to receive Christ.
Romans 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness
and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth
thee to repentance?
He also links it to
righteousness and truth as evidence of the Spirit of God indwelling us.
Ephesians 5:9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all
goodness and righteousness and truth;)
We are taught that God,
not Humanistic philosophy, defines what is good.
Mark 10:18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me
good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
Faith
is given to us when we believe and is hardly distinguishable from our
belief except in its action.
Romans 3:22 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:
Back in Galatians, chapter
3, Paul wrote;
Galatians 3:22 But the scripture hath concluded all under
sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that
believe.
Faith is the beginning
of a whole series of events. We are called to add things to our faith by Peter.
2Peter 1:5 ¶ And beside
this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6 And to knowledge temperance; and to
temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to
brotherly kindness charity.
Faith to be saved is given to us by God’s word, through God’s
words preached to us.
Romans 10:9 That if thou
shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart
that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto
righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth
on him shall not be ashamed.
12 ¶ For there is no difference between the Jew
and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. 14 How
then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they
believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a
preacher? 15 And how shall they preach,
except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that
preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For
Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? 17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing
by the word of God.
Faith
is primary, the foundation of our salvation. It should sustain us through every
trial. You believe that a chair will hold your weight but you must have faith
that it will to sit down in it. The Book of Job basically tells us that bad
things will happen to good people but that God has it under control and we must
have faith in His power, justice, wisdom, goodness, and love for us among many
other things.
Also,
without faith, without our faith, it is impossible to be accepted by God.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please
him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a
rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Now
meekness is a funny word. We think of it as a humble person who usually
is treated like a doormat by others. However, there are a couple of Biblical
interpretations to consider.
In
the first instance, Moses is said to be the meekest of all men.
Numbers 12:3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all
the men which were upon the face of the earth.)
Moses led a couple of
million people over a forty-year trek and looked God in the face in the form of
the preincarnate Lord Jesus Christ. He was certainly no doormat. What could
this mean?
Moses’ meekness was
toward God and on several occasions, he pleaded with God for mercy for his own
family, as in Numbers 12, and for his people. We can then be talking about
meekness towards God and toward His will.
It is said of Jesus
that He was meek and lowly.
Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I
am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
And yet, He could have
called on a heavenly host to settle things with the world that wanted Him dead.
Matthew 26:53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my
Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
So, as Deryl Hughes
pointed out to me, Jesus’ meekness refers to His immense power under restraint.
When we do not exert power and force that we are capable of displaying we show
evidence of a meek spirit. Meek towards God’s will and meek in power under control
are two definitions of meekness.
The meek and meekness
are defined as those who seek God’s will, who perform His will, and who desire
His will be done.
Zephaniah 2:3 Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth,
which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be
ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’S anger.
I
think the safest way to view meekness is in submission to the will of
God and in exercising restraint. This would also fit in with Romans 14 where we
are not to use our liberty to harm a weaker Christian.
Temperance
comes after knowledge given by God and before patience.
2Peter 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to
temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
Temperance in this
context, coming after meekness but keeping in line with it is not necessarily
moderation, as we think of it often, but is self-control. The person who
masters themselves is far stronger than the greatest athlete or conqueror. To
control your own passions, to not be the victim of the winds of impulsive
behavior or addiction or compulsion is a sign of virtue and proof of the
indwelling Spirit of God in the context of the other fruits of the Spirit.
Proverbs 14:29 ¶ He that is
slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit
exalteth folly.
Proverbs 16:32 He that is
slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he
that taketh a city.
Proverbs
25:28 ¶ He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken
down, and without walls.
Ecclesiastes
7:9 Be not
hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
We,
as Christians, must have our spirit, our human spirit, under control. Those of
us who lose our cool regularly over circumstances, both serious and trivial
need prayer and God’s support to overcome. Temperance is fundamental to the
Christian walk.
There
are no laws against these fruits. Even if the doors of every church were barred
by the government and we were forbidden to meet in our homes in groups of more
than three families this fruit of the Spirit, this proof of having God’s Spirit
indwelling us could have no law against it.
People
who study numbers point out that there are nine fruits of the Spirit, that
Galatians is the ninth book of the New Testament, and that there are
twenty-seven books in the New Testament, which is three times nine, three for
the trinity. So, they will say that nine symbolizes fruit-bearing in the Bible
according to this interpretation.
Verse 24
is a bold statement from Paul stating that if we do belong to Christ we have
crucified our flesh and the affections and lusts that proceed from it. It is a
model of self-discipline and temperance.
Notice
what Paul says elsewhere;
Galatians 2:20 I am
crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of
God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
In our
flesh lies no good thing toward God.
Romans 7:18 For I know that
in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present
with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
This is
not a call to walk around wringing our hands about our natural desires and
needs. God has given us many wholesome and healthy avenues to satisfy them in
ways He has ordained. Nor is it a call to mutilate ourselves like the early
church “father” Origen to keep from having desires in a twisted interpretation
(which he came to understand) of Matthew 19:12.
We just
must understand that our spiritual nature united with God is of vastly more
importance than our physical self. For instance, we all know that physical
exercise is healthy and beneficial but in comparison to our spiritual nature it
is not very important.
1Timothy 4:8 For bodily
exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having
promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.
What
is important to the Christian is that they realize the fruit or proof of having
the Spirit of God in them and not to give way to their flesh which often leads
to suicide, sexual sins, violence against others, and addiction.
Paul has
given Christians specific instructions on what it means to live in the Spirit.
What is required of man and woman is also outlined in Micah.
Romans 12:1 ¶ I beseech you
therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world:
but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is
that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Micah 6:8 He hath shewed
thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do
justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
When we
walk in the Spirit, uppercase S, the very mind of God indwelling us we seek His
glory not our own. We do not try to provoke each other with our envy desiring
personal glory, but we live in the Spirit giving all glory to God and shunning
the sin that so easily promotes our wicked Self.
Expressing
the proofs or fruit of having the indwelling Spirit of God in us manifests our
faith in Christ. It is not expressed in our self-righteous indignation at
others. It does not allow for us to compete with our brothers and sisters in
Christ, to try to make them to fall, or to glory in ourselves.
After youthful lusts Paul writes here in 2Timothy…but
follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord
out of a pure heart.
Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness.
Genesis 15:6 And he
believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
The Israelites had to follow God’s commandments. They had to do
right, the basis of the word righteousness.
Deuteronomy 6:25 And it
shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before
the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.
While Christ is our righteousness.
Romans 10:4
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that
believeth.
2Peter 1:1 Simon Peter, a
servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like
precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus
Christ:
We are given faith when we believe.
Galatians 3:22 But the
scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus
Christ might be given to them that believe.
It is impossible to be accepted by God without faith.
Hebrews 11:6 But without
faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe
that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Charity
is the concept of the Christian’s love for their brothers and sisters in
Christ.
2Peter1:5
¶ And beside this, giving all diligence,
add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to
temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to
brotherly kindness charity.
It
is essential, Paul noted, for the Christian life.
Colossians
3:14 And above all these things put on
charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
Note
in this chapter in 1Corinthians that Biblical charity is not just about giving
to the Red Cross.
1Corinthians
13:1 ¶ Though I speak with the tongues
of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a
tinkling cymbal. 2 And though I have the
gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I
have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am
nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my
goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not
charity, it profiteth me nothing.
4 ¶
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity
vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5
Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily
provoked, thinketh no evil; 6 Rejoiceth
not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7
Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth
all things.
8 ¶
Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail;
whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it
shall vanish away. 9 For we know in
part, and we prophesy in part. 10 But
when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done
away. 11 When I was a child, I spake as
a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a
man, I put away childish things. 12 For
now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part;
but then shall I know even as also I am known. 13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these
three; but the greatest of these is charity.
Paul
calls us to live in peace with all men as much as we are able.
Romans
12:18 If it be possible, as much as
lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
But
the bigger point here is peace with God as explained in the passage previously
mentioned in Ephesians 2.
Luke
2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on
earth peace, good will toward men.
A
pure heart would link to the verse in the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 5:8
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
A
pure heart is a clean heart, a new heart in Christ.
Ezekiel
36:26 A new heart also will I give you,
and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart
out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Romans
10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy
mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him
from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation.
The
rest of the passage here in 2Timothy 2 goes like this…23 But foolish and
unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. 24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive;
but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, 25 In meekness instructing those that oppose
themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging
of the truth; 26 And that they
may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by
him at his will.
The man of
God should not be engaging in petty arguments over unimportant trivia but keep
the main thing the main thing, that is the doctrines of Christ. Don’t be
combative, be gentle to everyone and willing to teach patiently. Understand
that you were where they are at one point in your life if you got saved as an
adult. We work hoping that the person we are talking to and teaching will become
a believer. It is God’s desire that everyone get saved.
1Timothy
2:4 Who will have all men to be saved,
and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
Removing
someone from Satan’s deadly grasp and giving them victory in Christ is our goal,
not making points in a debate.
No comments:
Post a Comment