Bible Study on 1John 5, verses 6 to 9, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost

 

1John 5:6 ¶  This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7  For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 8  And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. 9  If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.

The heresy of Gnosticism was apparently a problem during the time of the early church as John combats it. This Gnosticism, the perfectability of man, the secret knowledge of an elite, the idea that matter was part of a fraud perpetuated by the God of the Old Testament who was evil, that God could not come in the flesh because of that, a sort of the movie Matrix played out in history where Jesus came to enlighten us and deliver us from the evil God, a type of Satan, and denying that there could be a God in the flesh who could have died on the Cross, and finally that every person was responsible for their own salvation. Now that Gnosticism has come down to us in the form of Communism/Socialism/Marxism where early philosophers talked about returning to the innocence of the Garden of Eden without God as in the Crosby, Stills, and Nash song made famous at the Woodstock music festival of the 1960s. By the way, Woodstock, NY was where the Communist Party was instituted in the early 20^th century.

Anyway, back to John’s letter, there are two interpretations of the water and the blood. One is that Jesus came to earth in the water birth, born of water, and that He ended His life by shedding His blood for us. This has justification in John’s gospel.

John 3:3  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. 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? 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. 6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Another, more popular interpretation, is that Christ began His ministry in Baptism and ended in shedding His blood for us, as meanings for the water and the blood.

Verse 7 is one of the most hotly disputed verses in Bible history and yet, that is odd, because it is alluded to or quoted by early church fathers in every century of the early church. In spite of that, some “bible scholars” insist it was added in the 7^th century. It is in Jerome’s Latin Vulgate from the early 5^th century and many insist that it reflects the Old Latin Bible of the second century in controversial arguments that are too long to explain here. I recommend reading In Defense of the Authenticity of 1 John 5:7  by C. H. Pappas and A History of the Debate over 1 John 5:7-8 by Michael Maynard, the latter of which I’ve read from cover to cover. If the verse is not in your Bible then you should get a different Bible.

This verse is the hinge on which the theology of God, the Godhead, swings. As I’ve noted before regarding the Targums, or the Jewish understanding of the Bible in the first century and before, in the Godhead was the living Word of God, the angel of the LORD, who appeared to men and interacted with them. It is how Adam and Eve could have walked and talked in the Garden of Eden with God. It is who appeared to Moses in the burning bush. It is, among many other incidences which you will see if you watch or read my commentaries, the preincarnate Christ.

There are three in heaven who are one. They are one God with three parts; God the Father, invisible, the Son of God, the Word by which all things exist and who interacted physically with mankind, the Holy Ghost, His very mind in action as God’s Spirit, the operative side of the Holy Ghost working within the universe and indwelling each believer. I’ve gone over this many times so I won’t belabor the point here.

See my comments on 1John 1:1-4.

John 10:30  I and my Father are one.

The Spirit of God, His very mind acting in and upon creation, the living Word of God entering into human flesh as in the water birth, the only time God was born as a human being, and the blood, His blood by which we are all saved, agree and point to the God of heaven and earth. The physical world and the physical universe all point to the invisible God and His living Word by which all things were created.

Christ’s birth, death, burial, and resurrection and the indwelling of the Holy Ghost in His believers all manifest this foundational truth of Christian belief.

Christ bears witness to the eternal God as the eternal God bears witness to the Son of God, God walking in human flesh on the earth by whom we are saved and God’s Biblical ministry of reconciling mankind to Himself is finally complete.

Bible Study on Genesis 26, verses 6 to 11, Isaac caught sporting with Rebekah

 

Genesis 26:6 ¶  And Isaac dwelt in Gerar: 7  And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon. 8  And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife. 9  And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her. 10  And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us. 11  And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.

Here again we have a picture of a righteous heathen king and a picture of one of God’s men acting in a most unbecoming and cowardly manner. Isaac repeats the lack of faith in God’s protection as did his father, Abraham. Clearly, the possibility of being killed and having your wife taken for another man’s pleasure must have been a cultural practice and a grave danger in the ancient world for Isaac, like Abraham, to be too afraid he might be killed for his wife.

Abimelech, though, after a long time, looks out a window and sees Isaac sporting with his wife. This, we assume, is some kind of sexual play that would not be expected between a brother and a sister. Sporting can mean play or a jest or even mocking but common sense tells us that this play would have to be in such a manner as to reveal Isaac and Rebekah’s relationship. See here how sport and sporting are used elsewhere.

It can be to take delight in;

2Peter 2:13  And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;

Proverbs 10:23  It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.

Perhaps to mock and make fun of if the following has no more sinister meaning considering the nature of the ancient world’s culture and religion;

Judges 16:25  And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars…27  Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.

Or clearly just to mock and make fun of;

Proverbs 26:19  So is the man that deceiveth his neighbour, and saith, Am not I in sport?

Isaiah 57:4  Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood,

In any event, this righteous Abimelech has caught the deception played on him and announces that anyone who touches Rebekah or Isaac will die. Here is a heathen man who understands righteousness and God’s standard regardless of his culture and we will see that again. This brings to mind Peter’s statement;

Acts 10:34 ¶  Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: 35  But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

It was not so many hundreds of years ago that all men would have known God’s standards of righteousness through Noah and clearly, as that knowledge became degraded over time, the strains of judgment and righteousness were still present in some form. Some heathen knew in their heart, or at least acknowledged they knew, what God regarded as right and wrong, unlike even many Christians today.

Bible Study on 1John 5, verses 1 to 5, Who is he that overcometh the world

 

1John 5:1 ¶  Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. 2  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 5  Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

Verse 1 is a very straightforward statement. If you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, and all that entails you are born of God.

John 1:12  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

 

John 6:29  Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

John 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. 8  Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

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.

Underscoring John’s previous statements he says that if you love Christ you must love those begotten by Him, your brothers and sisters in Christ. We know we love God’s children specifically when we love God and keep His commandments. Matthew Henry wrote this in his commentary;

“II. The apostle shows, 1. How we may discern the truth, or the true evangelical nature of our love to the regenerate. The ground of it must be our love to God, whose they are: By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, v. 2. Our love to them appears to be sound and genuine when we love them not merely upon any secular account, as because they are rich, or learned, or kind to us, or of our denomination among religious parties; but because they are God's children, his regenerating grace appears in them, his image and superscription are upon them, and so in them God himself is loved. Thus we see what that love to the brethren is that is so pressed in this epistle; it is love to them as the children of God and the adopted brethren of the Lord Jesus. 2. How we may learn the truth of our love to God—it appears in our holy obedience: When we love God, and keep his commandments,”

John 13:34  A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

And we overcome the world by our faith in Christ.

1John 4:4  Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

Notice how verses 4 and 5 apply to statements made in Revelation.

Revelation 2:7  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. 11  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death…17  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it…26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:

Revelation 3:5  He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels…12  Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

Bible Study on Genesis 26, verses 1 to 5, Go not down into Egypt

 

Genesis 26:1 ¶  And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. 2  And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: 3  Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; 4  And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; 5  Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

Now we are returned to the narrative, the story of Isaac and Rebekah, after the flash forward about Esau and Jacob. Sometimes the Bible not only flashes back to explain why something happened but in this case flashes forward to prepare us for what is going to happen.

Here, Isaac follows in his father’s footsteps and seeks relief in a famine in the land of the Philistine king, Abimelech. Remember, I said Abimelech may be a title like Pharaoh and might not be the name of the king. It is most likely that this is a different king than the one which encountered Abraham earlier. But whether it is or isn’t God had specifically told Isaac not to go into Egypt but to stay in Canaan, the land which his seed would eventually inherit. God repeated His promise to Isaac that He made to Abraham about the grant of land He will provide which will be completely fulfilled upon Christ’s return to rule from Jerusalem. God says this is because Abraham obeyed Him and kept His part of the agreement, and make sure you understand how the Holy Spirit speaking through Moses has provided for our understanding here; charge, commandments, statutes, and laws. These words are synonyms and you should keep this in mind as you read these words throughout the Bible.

In addition, you can see that the word LORD has every letter capitalized. This is the translation of the word Jehovah, 6510 times as LORD, four as God, and four as Jehovah according to Strong’s. God’s name is provided and translated as LORD.

Amos 5:8  Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name:

Bible Study on 1John 4, verses 14 to 21, God is love

 

1John 4:14 ¶  And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. 15  Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. 16  And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

The essence of salvation is belief and faith. We confess that Jesus Christ is and was God in the flesh. He loved the world at the Cross and loves those who believe in Him for eternity and we love our brothers and sisters in Christ because He loved us first.

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.

 

1John 4:17 ¶  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. 18  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. 19  We love him, because he first loved us. 20  If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? 21  And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

Our love is completed, finished, and made entire and full when we stand before God in judgment. We have shared in the divine mind on this earth being filled with the Holy Ghost upon our receiving of Christ as our Saviour and as God in the flesh. We have the mind of Christ who are born again. We need not fear or worry as we are eternally saved. I have been over this many times in other letters such as Hebrews. Because He loved us first we are able to love Him. Loving God is only possible because of His love for us first. But we cannot say we love God if we hate our brothers and sisters in Christ. The person who loves God loves the brethren also. This is a fundamental of the Christian faith.

This is a recurrent theme of John’s letters.

Luke 10:27  And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

Bible Study on Genesis 25, verses 29 to 34, Esau sells his birthright

 

Genesis 25:29 ¶  And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: 30  And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. 31  And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. 32  And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? 33  And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. 34  Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.

The narrative of Jacob and Esau is provided as an introduction before Moses returns to the story of Isaac. These passages are a foundation that will explain why Jacob and Rebekah felt justified to deceive Isaac and rob Esau of his legal due. The point here is that Esau did not regard his birthright and sold it to Jacob. In the ancient heathen world and even up to today in some countries the oldest son was to inherit his father’s property and religious duties within the family. Esau was willing to sell his sacred right and privilege to his brother.

The question will become, now that Esau swore to give up his birthright and sold it for a bowl of stew, how to get Isaac to bless Jacob first and grant him the birthright.

Sod, we can figure out from the context is made or cooked. Notice how sod is used again in 2Chronicles 35:13. Sodden used to be the past participle of to seethe or boil. Sod is short for that.

Exodus 16:23  And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.

Exodus 23:19  The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.

Pottage is soup or stew.

2Kings 4:38  And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.

Esau will sell his birthright for a bowl of red stew and Edom comes from that. Edom, according to Strong’s dictionary, means red.

This is why the Red Sea is called the Red Sea.

1Kings 9:26  And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom.

What is the birthright that Esau surrendered to Jacob for a meal? As the oldest Esau was, by custom, to inherit his father’s wealth and be head of the family, and his father’s standing before God. It was also of religious significance among the heathen, as the eldest son would inherit the family, the wealth, and the religious responsibilities to maintain the family gods and the family fire as De Coulanges tells us in his book The Ancient City. Later, Jacob’s son, Reuben, will forfeit his birthright by a grievous sin against his father. Esau surrendered his birthright to be the head of the family for a meal. Of course, we know that God chose Jacob because of this and in retrospect Esau gave up the privilege of having the Messiah come through his lineage, of having God come to earth to live as a man, the Son of God and the Son of man in one person, through his descendants, for a bowl of soup.

Notice it says that Esau despised his birthright. Despise is a synonym of hate in the Bible. It simply means to hold in contempt or to disregard or to view someone lower in your eyes than they should be naturally.

Proverbs 5:12  And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;

Amos 5:21  I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.

Matthew 6:24  No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Despise is the opposite of honoring someone or something, meaning to hold them in low esteem.

 1Samuel 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.

Understanding this will help you understand difficult verses such as this where in comparison to Christ it is said;

Luke 14:26  If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

We can find examples in this in Americans who despise their right to vote and don’t do it, not out of protest, but just because they don’t think it’s a big deal. It’s not worth the trouble to them. We find examples of this in Christians who despise uniting with other Christians in worship as the Church, not because they have moved to a new place and don’t know any Christians or believe that that institutional churches are not Biblical, but, because it’s too much trouble and they’d rather sleep in.

Esau is an example of a great many people in the world throughout history. And so, it is said that God held him in contempt, as well;

Malachi 1:2 I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,3  And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.

Romans 9:13  As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

Bible Study on 1John 4, verses 7 to 13, let us love one another

 

1John 4:7 ¶  Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 8  He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 9  In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 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. 11  Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 12  No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13  Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.

For you Greekophiles out there this is the same love as noted in 1Corinthians 13 and translated as charity. This, like in that chapter, is a reference to a Christian’s love of their brothers and sisters in Christ.

The concept of love is a problem for many modern Christians who read the Bible by going back to the Greek. Let's look at another darling of liberal Bible expositors; 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.

But, there is a problem. My friend who pretends to be a Greek expert is about to burst. He excitedly points out that 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. My pseudo-scholarly friend 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 my friend 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 15:9 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? 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 phileo's here?

Now, my point in saying all of this is very clearly, in a limited time, and taking only a few examples, is that you will gain no valuable insights in the Bible by going back to the original languages. It's like telling me you are going to really get to know the Gettysburg Battlefield and then immediately digging the deepest hole in the ground that you can. I would tell you to compare verse with verse in the Bible or tour the entire battlefield. Keep in mind Paul's admonition in 1Corinthians 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

Dictionaries, encyclopedias, and even Strong's Concordance are not inspired by God. Compare scripture with scripture and ignore the scholar who says the original languages give more insight than the English. All they are trying to do is to take the authority of your Bible from you and replace it with their own intellect as your final authority.

So back to the passage here in 1John. If we don’t love our brothers and sisters in Christ then we cannot say we know God because God loved us so much that He lived as one of us and died for our sins, raising Himself from the dead to justify us so that we might live in eternity with Him. With such a great love expressed to us and for us how can we not love others sacrificially whom He also died and rose for?

God loved us first and the Son of God, or God made flesh, satisfied His own anger at our rebellion, was a propitiation to Him for us by Himself. Because He loved us, we should love each other. God’s love is completed or perfected in us when we love our brothers and sisters in Christ properly. Consider the following passage among many.

Romans 8:1 ¶  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4  That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

1Peter 1:21  Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. 22  Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: 23  Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

Bible Study on Genesis 25, verses 11 to 28, part 2, the carnal man

 

PART 2 Why is Jacob favored over Esau? Esau was a carnal man who was willing to give up his birthright to appease his appetite and lost his blessing. Jacob was clever and crafty, which we think of as not being very good character traits especially since he used them to obtain a blessing from his father by deceit and treachery. Why did God choose Jacob over Esau? The history of the carnal man of uncontrolled appetites is a history of war and rebellion. It is a history of corruption and injustice. Esau represents what is wrong with charismatic leaders who cause young women to think things they should not and cause young men to deliver up their common sense to follow blindly. He is a man of the earth, a natural man.

1Corinthians 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

The natural man is lusty and everything he sees exists to serve him; either his appetites, his sexual lust, or his need to dominate others for fear of being dominated himself. He is praised in our literature and media and millions will follow him. The trouble is that he would trade God’s inheritance for another meal, approval and validation from others, and a chance to have what he wants at the moment. He despises what he calls, “pie-in-the-sky religion,” and concerns himself only with satisfying his immediate needs in the here and now. He could not envision eternity for all he was worth. He cannot even perceive of the idea of God usually. He is too busy putting food in his belly, perhaps a beer, glass of wine, or liquor to his lips, or pursuing the latest tech gadget or get rich scheme to even consider the fate of his soul. The question you should ask yourself, young man, is, are you an Esau?

Hebrews 12:14  Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: 15  Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; 16  Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. 17  For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

On the other hand, Jacob, though clever and resourceful, deceitful even, who will wrestle with God Himself, can be molded into God’s man. Full of flaws himself, character flaws, fearful and uncertain at times but obedient as often as he can be, in the end, God’s choice of him to further God’s work of reconciliation, of bringing mankind to God, bears fruit in Joseph and his brethren, the forebears of the Hebrew “race” from whence the Redeemer of mankind comes and from whom God’s ministry of reconciliation flows.

Bible Study on 1John 4, verses 4 to 6, greater is he that is in you

 

1John 4:4 ¶  Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. 5  They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. 6  We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

Again, John uses the phrase little children which, as I said previously, may be a reference to how new the converts are or simply an affectionate title for the disciples of Christ and students of John, under his care.

We have the Holy Spirit indwelling each of us, the very power that raised Christ from the dead. The world system is not stronger than He, the Holy Ghost, the very mind of God who is also God. Note what Paul said.

Romans 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Romans 8:11  But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

We should have this confidence when we are facing the world system, its oppressions, and its temptations. God is stronger than all. I am also reminded of this Psalm.

Psalm 124:1 ¶  «A Song of degrees of David.» If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, now may Israel say; 2  If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us: 3  Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us: 4  Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul: 5  Then the proud waters had gone over our soul. 6 ¶  Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth. 7  Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped. 8  Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

Those who are antichrist are of the world and cannot and do not know the God who created them. There are a bunch of verses that would applicable to this sentiment but here are some that stand out to me as an inspiration.

1Corinthians 2:12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

James 4:4  Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

John 14:17  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

Those who hear and believe the doctrines put forth by Christ and His apostles know the truth and those who reject the truth are in error and as an old time preacher once said, “It is impossible to pursue righteousness when one is zealously clinging to error.”

John 17:14  I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Bible Study on Genesis 25, verses 11 to 28, part 1, of Ishmael and Isaac

 

Genesis 25:11 ¶  And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahairoi. 12  Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s handmaid, bare unto Abraham: 13  And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, 14  And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa, 15  Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah: 16  These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations. 17  And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people. 18  And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: and he died in the presence of all his brethren.

Genesis 25:19 ¶  And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham begat Isaac: 20  And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian. 21  And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22  And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD. 23  And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger. 24  And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25  And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. 26  And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them. 27  And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. 28  And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.

This passage of Scripture starts off with an account of Ishmael’s death and of his progeny who grew to great numbers and occupied what has come to be known as Arabia. Then, an account is given of the birth of Esau and Jacob. Esau was his father’s favorite while Jacob was his mother’s favorite. Esau was an outdoors kind of guy who liked to hunt and Jacob hung around the house or tent. He was probably a big help to his mother and a “momma’s boy.” As we will see though, he was not a wimp or a “simpering milquetoast.” The elder shall serve the younger is a prophecy of Esau playing second fiddle to Jacob. He will be willing to give up his birthright for a bowl of stew and Isaac will be tricked into giving his blessing to Jacob.

Esau will lend his name to Edom which eventually will be known as Idumea.

Genesis 36:1  Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom…8  Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom.

Ezekiel 35:15  As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Idumea, even all of it: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

The kingdom of Edom no longer exists but its geography lies within the southern reaches of the country known as Jordan. Some commentators believe that it is the location of the wilderness where the survivors of the Beast of Revelation’s final fight against the Jews will flee in Revelation 12. There lies the famous rock city of Petra. Esau’s legacy then runs throughout history and Jacob and Esau will be united in a manner of speaking in the end, if this is correct.

Bible Study on 1John 4, verses 1 to 3, that spirit of antichrist

 

1John 4:1 ¶  Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 2  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 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.

Here is an argument for the discernment of Christians. John is arguing against the heresy of Gnosticism. Gnostic, from gnosis meaning knowledge of spiritual mysteries, was an ancient belief that included many different things over time and through cultures. But the essence of it was an elite possessed of a secret or arcane knowledge. In this belief generally, mankind was perfectable and would become a god. It has come down to us in the form of Communism, a religion disguised as a political ideology. In Communism man is perfected after much death and destruction and becomes his own god, the socialist man. He goes back to the garden of Eden only without the God who created him, which the Communist denies exists. People are tricked and deceived into it by being told that it is the only compassionate philosophy, an ideology where people get what they need to survive. What is not said is that results from a dictatorship where an elite determines what you need and will withhold it if it suits their will and murder you if you don’t go along with them. All efforts at Communism have resulted in mass murder.

The Gnosticism that John objected to held that the God of the Old Testament wasn’t really the Creator but Satan, although they typically don’t use that or Lucifer to describe him, the Demiurge, who holds mankind in a deception where the physical world is an illusion. That God is evil and Jesus Christ came to free us from Him. Think in terms of the movie The Matrix. People are freed from the illusion in Christ. But Christ was not God in the flesh because since all matter, and hence flesh, is part of the illusion and therefore evil, God would not actually come in the flesh. Christian Gnosticism was the mixture of many Judaic, Egyptian, Roman, and others’ ideologies and philosophies and was a great enemy of the truth of the gospel in the early years of the church. This is the spirit of the Antichrist.

If a religion acknowledges that Jesus Christ existed but denies that Christ was God in the flesh, or denies that He died on the Cross, even saying it was an illusion, and denies that He rose from the dead, then that religion is a form of Gnosticism.  

This is the spirit of antichrist, which will feature so prominently in Revelation’s end times prophecy although the term is not used in that book. However, we typically call the Beast of Revelation, the Antichrist.

Bible Study on Genesis 25, verses 1 to 10, Abraham gave up the ghost

 

Genesis 25:1 ¶  Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. 2  And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. 3  And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim. 4  And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. 5  And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. 6  But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country. 7  And these are the days of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years. 8  Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people. 9  And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre; 10  The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.

Abraham’s second wife, or third, if you count Hagar, (concubines are a type of lesser wife, a cultural phenomenon not ordered by God) is named Keturah and she gives him Midian, the father of a tribe who will later be a problem for the Israelites trying to get into Canaan and once they are in the Promised Land. But, a priest of this tribe will provide a wife for Moses and be his sanctuary in the wilderness after he flees from Egypt.

But keep in mind that, like we do, people give names to their children that are often known and already existing, in use by others. For instance, Cush had grandsons named Sheba and Dedan in Genesis 10:7. There is a man named Sheba who rebelled against King David in 2Samuel 20. In modern times we have examples where a former Rock and Roll performer and wannabe politician named himself Jello Biafra after a secessionist Nigerian state, Biafra. On a soberer note there are many children named after famous places like London, Brooklyn, Paris, and even India. So, while naming customs were more based on religious reasons in the ancient world and for reasons of already having an ancestor with that name we must be careful about making genealogical links as a matter of fact between two people or a person and a tribe bearing the same name in the Bible.

Still, Keturah most likely was a Canaanite who had Sheba and Dedan as part of her own heritage and passed these respected names down through her son, with Abraham’s supposed blessing and involvement, of course.

It must be remembered, as stated in verse 5, that all of Abraham’s inheritance goes to Isaac so that it is the Jews, not the Arabs, who were given the land of Canaan. As stated before all of these promises are in Christ so that the fulfillment of that promise of land will not be complete until Christ physically returns. The political Israel of today is a puny representative of this enormous grant of land from the border of Egypt to the Euphrates. See previous comments on this subject.

Abraham’s wives other than Sarah are called concubines. Abraham lived 175 years and gave up the ghost which is his spirit (see Luke 23:46) and was gathered to his people. Gave up the ghost is a reference to dying that is used later for Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Jesus, Ananias, and Herod.  Gathered to his people is referenced again for Ishmael and Jacob at their deaths.

Abraham is said to be eminent in Paradise, the garden of God, when it was in the heart of the earth, separated from Hell, and called Abraham’s bosom (see Luke 16.) Paradise comes from a Persian word meaning a walled garden or a hunting preserve. The garden of God, called Eden, was once on the earth but, after Adam’s fall, was hidden by cherubim (see Genesis chapters 2&3, Ezekiel 28:13, 14; 31:8,9). Jesus went to the heart of the earth, to Paradise, Abraham’s bosom, the garden of God, to preach after the Cross. (see Luke 23:43; Matthew 12:40; 1Peter 3:19; 4:6). Paradise was separated from Hell and is now taken up into Heaven because of Christ (Revelation 2:7) which we can see because Paul went “up” there as stated in 2Corinthians 12:4.

Why is Paradise called Abraham’s bosom? Because Abraham represents all of those who believe God. Salvation is predicated upon believing what God said. It is as clear as a bell.

The Greeks, flowering as an intellectual culture much later around the 5^th century BC, had great contact with the Ancient Near East as mercenaries, traders, and settlers before that and derived their concept of Hades from the Hebrews. Greek philosophers stated that they did not know the origin of their mythology but the first mention of Hades is in Homer, writing perhaps in the 9^th century BC, nearly a thousand years after Abraham’s life and three hundred to four hundred after Moses’ put the account in writing. The 9^th century BC is also the time when most scholars believe that the Greeks derived their alphabet from the Phoenicians who we will see derived it from the Hebrews who got it from God at Mount Sinai. Before then, picture writing was used by the cultures of the world, from the Sumerians on the plain of Shinar, called Cuneiform, to the Egyptians, called Hieroglyphics, to China, and even down to the civilizations of South and Central America over two thousand years later.

As an example of Greek involvement in the Near East, when Nebuchadnezzar and Pharaoh Necho’s armies fought at Carchemish (Jeremiah 46) both sides used Greek mercenaries extensively.  In addition, a prophet lamented how Hebrew children had been taken as slaves to Greece. (Joel 3:6). There were Greek cultural influences in the Near East and Greek language influences as well. However, the Greeks who wrote about Hades wrote after this period of time and were influenced by what they learned from the Hebrews as they were by what they learned about other cultures’ practices and beliefs. The Greeks themselves even admitted they learned a great deal in Egypt and the Near East. In the later Greek myth, Hades was a place for not only the wicked but the good persons’ souls to abide after death while Tartarus was where their supreme god, Zeus, cast the Titans, giants, and there were different places for enjoyment and punishment based on a person’s behavior in life as well as their relationship to the gods. In the Ancient world, then, it was understood that the abode of the dead, good or bad, was in one location.

Isaac and Ishmael bury Abraham with Sarah. It is probably the last time the Jew and the Arab will cooperate in much of anything.

God’s ministry of reconciliation, of reconciling mankind to Himself, was carried on in a dramatic way through Abraham. Abraham remains an important figure in human history. Abraham believed what God said. Do we?

James 2:23  And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

Bible Study on 1John 3, verses 23 and 24, by the Spirit which he hath given us

 

1John 3:23 ¶  And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. 24  And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

Here are fundamentals of the Christian faith, what it means to be a Christian. We believe on the name of Christ and we love our brothers and sisters in Christ. Keeping the commandments of Christ, the Word of God, show that we have His Spirit, His very mind, inside of us.

We believe Jesus was who He said He was.

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.

John 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. 8  Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

When we believe in Him the Spirit, the very mind of God, indwells us.

John 14:23  Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

Romans 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

And there are outward proofs, evidence that we have that very mind of God indwelling us.

Galatians 5:22  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.

John 13:34  A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Matthew 22:35  Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36  Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38  This is the first and great commandment. 39  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

A Psalm for Sunday, Psalm 61, verses 1 to 8, lead me to the rock that is higher than I

 

Psalm 61:1 ¶  «To the chief Musician upon Neginah, A Psalm of David.» Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. 2  From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 3  For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. 4  I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah.

 

David’s praise here of God is truly remarkable and it is a prayer we can use almost in its entirety with few changes.

 

Bible students, Rabbis, and commentators are unsure if a Neginah was a musical instrument, a note, or a tune. It is the singular of Neginoth found in Psalm 4:1’s introduction.

 

The metaphor of wings in this Psalm is used elsewhere as one would expect if one person were behind most of writing. We’ve already talked about the use of wings to represent God’s deliverance.

 

We cry out when our hearts are overwhelmed with fear or grief or even regret and plead for God to lead us to a safe place above all our enemies. God is our strong tower, a castle’s keep. We will trust in God forever and abide with Him for eternity. He indwells each believer through His Spirit, His mind working in us. We should trust in that deliverance.  

 

Christ is that rock that is higher than I, our shelter in life’s storm, a strong tower against our enemies.

 

Psalm 61:5 ¶  For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name. 6  Thou wilt prolong the king’s life: and his years as many generations. 7  He shall abide before God for ever: O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him. 8  So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows.

 

In verse 5 David says that God has heard him in the vows he made pleading for deliverance.

 

Verse 1 said, Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.

 

God has given David and we ourselves an everlasting inheritance. That is the heritage of those that fear thy name.

 

Some might say though that from an immediate perspective David is talking about the faithful of Israel of his day. The large application of the verse is appropriate, too, I believe.

 

David says that God will add days to his life and years to his posterity. As a reference to Christ we can see that of his kingdom there will be no end.

 

Isaiah 9:6  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7  Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

 

David affirms that he will abide with God for ever which is also a reflection of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Psalm 41:12  And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever.

 

David declares that he will sing praise to God for ever, which is what he must have vowed in his distress.

 

Psalm 30:12  To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.