Here are some other Bible memory resources I have found:
My Favorite 100 Best Verses To Memorize
Navigators Topical Memory System
Top 100 Bible memory verses
Scripture Typer
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Monday, April 21, 2014
Christ Fully Man
Some have mistakenly argued that if Christ is God, He cannot be fully human. Docetism was "a Christian heresy and one of the earliest Christian sectarian doctrines, affirming that Christ did not have a real or natural body during his life on earth but only an apparent or phantom one."
Among our basic memory verses, there are two key verses that establish the humanity of Jesus. In John 1:14 it says: "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." Luke 1:37 says that "nothing shall be impossible with God." If a barren woman, Elizabeth, could be made to conceive, then the omnipotent God could also cause conception to occur in a woman who had not had relations with a man. He was the Holy One, but he was also born, just as any other of us starts our life, as an helpless baby (Luke 1:35). He displayed all the characteristics of a human. For instance:
He was born (Luke 2:6-7; Gal. 4:4)
He grew in wisdom and stature (Luke 2:52)
He slept (Matt. 8:24)
He thirsted (John 19:28)
He became hungry (Mark 11:12)
He suffered pain (1 Peter 4:1)
He was tempted, but without sinning (Heb. 4:15)
He died (1 Cor. 15:2,3)
The other key memory verse is Gal. 4:4-5, "But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons."
The reason why Jesus had to be born, and born under the Law, was that He had to fulfill the requirements of the Law, becoming the perfect sacrifice for sin, a man who could die, but as the God-Man, he was able to lay down His life and take it up again, just as it says in John 10:17-19:
" For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. 18 No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”
As an infinite Person, He could take upon Himself an infinite penalty for all the sin of mankind, for all time, yet do so in a limited time period while on the cross. As man, He could die, satisfying the penalty for sin, i.e., death (Rom. 6:23).
This concept of being fully God and fully man, united in one Person forever, neither co-mingled nor lacking in either aspect is called the "hypostatic union." You can read more about it here.
Among our basic memory verses, there are two key verses that establish the humanity of Jesus. In John 1:14 it says: "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." Luke 1:37 says that "nothing shall be impossible with God." If a barren woman, Elizabeth, could be made to conceive, then the omnipotent God could also cause conception to occur in a woman who had not had relations with a man. He was the Holy One, but he was also born, just as any other of us starts our life, as an helpless baby (Luke 1:35). He displayed all the characteristics of a human. For instance:
He was born (Luke 2:6-7; Gal. 4:4)
He grew in wisdom and stature (Luke 2:52)
He slept (Matt. 8:24)
He thirsted (John 19:28)
He became hungry (Mark 11:12)
He suffered pain (1 Peter 4:1)
He was tempted, but without sinning (Heb. 4:15)
He died (1 Cor. 15:2,3)
The other key memory verse is Gal. 4:4-5, "But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons."
The reason why Jesus had to be born, and born under the Law, was that He had to fulfill the requirements of the Law, becoming the perfect sacrifice for sin, a man who could die, but as the God-Man, he was able to lay down His life and take it up again, just as it says in John 10:17-19:
" For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. 18 No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”
As an infinite Person, He could take upon Himself an infinite penalty for all the sin of mankind, for all time, yet do so in a limited time period while on the cross. As man, He could die, satisfying the penalty for sin, i.e., death (Rom. 6:23).
This concept of being fully God and fully man, united in one Person forever, neither co-mingled nor lacking in either aspect is called the "hypostatic union." You can read more about it here.
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Christ Fully God
There are many verses that could be used to demonstrate that Jesus Christ is fully God, and I have posted another post about that. But, there are two key memory verses to remember, John 1:1 and Hebrews 1:8.
John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
The Gospel of John focuses upon the Divine nature of Christ. It starts with a verse that harkens back to Genesis 1 with the parallel phrase, "In the beginning was the Word." This was the beginning of all things, just as "in the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth." But, what is seen here is that the past progressive form of the verb, translated, "was," shows that when the heavens and the Earth came into being, the "Word" already was in existence. "In the beginning was the Word." What is this "Word" that was already in existence in the beginning? The "Word" is the "Lógos," the word
"Lógos" embraces an exceptionally wide semantic field, including the ideas of account, proportion, explanation, principle, reason, thought, as well as continuous statement (e.g., narrative, story, speech, history), individual utterance (e.g., proverb, maxim, command), discussion, debate, and, as a grammatical term, phrase or sentence. (from International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, revised edition, Copyright © 1979 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. All rights reserved.) All these concepts imply an active expression of truth, logic, and thought.
We find that this pre-existent "Word" was both "with" God and "was" God. How could one be God and "with" God simultaneously? Theologians struggled with this concept for centuries. What was concluded was that there was only one God, just as the great "shema" from Deuteronomy 6:4 says, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one." There is only one God. Yet, John 1:1 says that the Logos was also God. Was the Logos the same Person as the Father? No, because the Logos was also "with" God. The resolution that Christian theologians reached is that there is one Spirit "essence" of God, but there are three subsistence "Persons." The Logos is one of those three Persons, the others being the "Father" and the "Holy Spirit."
We find that in John 1:14, it says, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us..." and in verse 18 is says that "No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him." Jesus was the result of the Word taking on human flesh. By that act, the express thoughts of God were revealed in bodily form to the world, so if one wonders what God is like, they need only look to Jesus and they will find the expression or explanation of God's unique nature. Jesus was fully God, but.....He was also fully man, united in one Person.
There are some who have mistranslated John 1:1 because their Greek language skills are deficient, and it has led to the false doctrine that somehow Jesus is "a god" but not "the God." The reason for this mistranslation, they claim, is that there is a definite article in the phrase "the Word was with God" before the word God, pedantically translated, "the Word was with the God." But, they note that there is no definite article in the phrase "and the Word was God" before the word "God". So, they conclude that the word God is indefinite, and should be translated "a god," implying that somehow the Son of God is not quite God, that He is something like a demi-god. This mistranslation is indeed unfortunate, and is the result of poor scholarship. The fact is that there is a grammatical rule in Greek that when an anarthrous (lacking the definite article) predicate nominative appears prior to the verb "to be," that it is ALWAYS definite; in fact, it is not only definite, but it is emphatically so. This is exactly the case in this verse. So, what the writer is saying is exactly opposite to what the Jehovah's Witnesses, and others like them, try to make the text say. The text may be pedantically translated, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with THE God, and THE God was the Word." In fact, John is emphatically identifying the Word as fully God, but he is also distinguishing the Son as a separate person as the Father. Both Father and Son are fully God, one essence, but subsisting of two persons. It is a mystery, but not less true. The grammar fully supports it. It could not be stated any clearer.
Hebrews 1:8 says something similar.
Here, we see the righteous God, but in verse 9 it also says, "therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy companions." So, we see two persons, one who has an eternal throne and a righteous scepter, but that same person has been anointed by "God" with the oil of gladness. The only way to resolve this is to conclude that both are God, but there are two persons, the Son and the Father, who anointed the Son. This reinforces the deity of Christ.
Heb. 1:8
John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
The Gospel of John focuses upon the Divine nature of Christ. It starts with a verse that harkens back to Genesis 1 with the parallel phrase, "In the beginning was the Word." This was the beginning of all things, just as "in the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth." But, what is seen here is that the past progressive form of the verb, translated, "was," shows that when the heavens and the Earth came into being, the "Word" already was in existence. "In the beginning was the Word." What is this "Word" that was already in existence in the beginning? The "Word" is the "Lógos," the word
"Lógos" embraces an exceptionally wide semantic field, including the ideas of account, proportion, explanation, principle, reason, thought, as well as continuous statement (e.g., narrative, story, speech, history), individual utterance (e.g., proverb, maxim, command), discussion, debate, and, as a grammatical term, phrase or sentence. (from International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, revised edition, Copyright © 1979 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. All rights reserved.) All these concepts imply an active expression of truth, logic, and thought.
We find that this pre-existent "Word" was both "with" God and "was" God. How could one be God and "with" God simultaneously? Theologians struggled with this concept for centuries. What was concluded was that there was only one God, just as the great "shema" from Deuteronomy 6:4 says, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one." There is only one God. Yet, John 1:1 says that the Logos was also God. Was the Logos the same Person as the Father? No, because the Logos was also "with" God. The resolution that Christian theologians reached is that there is one Spirit "essence" of God, but there are three subsistence "Persons." The Logos is one of those three Persons, the others being the "Father" and the "Holy Spirit."
We find that in John 1:14, it says, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us..." and in verse 18 is says that "No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him." Jesus was the result of the Word taking on human flesh. By that act, the express thoughts of God were revealed in bodily form to the world, so if one wonders what God is like, they need only look to Jesus and they will find the expression or explanation of God's unique nature. Jesus was fully God, but.....He was also fully man, united in one Person.
There are some who have mistranslated John 1:1 because their Greek language skills are deficient, and it has led to the false doctrine that somehow Jesus is "a god" but not "the God." The reason for this mistranslation, they claim, is that there is a definite article in the phrase "the Word was with God" before the word God, pedantically translated, "the Word was with the God." But, they note that there is no definite article in the phrase "and the Word was God" before the word "God". So, they conclude that the word God is indefinite, and should be translated "a god," implying that somehow the Son of God is not quite God, that He is something like a demi-god. This mistranslation is indeed unfortunate, and is the result of poor scholarship. The fact is that there is a grammatical rule in Greek that when an anarthrous (lacking the definite article) predicate nominative appears prior to the verb "to be," that it is ALWAYS definite; in fact, it is not only definite, but it is emphatically so. This is exactly the case in this verse. So, what the writer is saying is exactly opposite to what the Jehovah's Witnesses, and others like them, try to make the text say. The text may be pedantically translated, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with THE God, and THE God was the Word." In fact, John is emphatically identifying the Word as fully God, but he is also distinguishing the Son as a separate person as the Father. Both Father and Son are fully God, one essence, but subsisting of two persons. It is a mystery, but not less true. The grammar fully supports it. It could not be stated any clearer.
Hebrews 1:8 says something similar.
8 But of the Son He says,
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
And the righteous scepter is the scepter of [a]His kingdom.
And the righteous scepter is the scepter of [a]His kingdom.
Here, we see the righteous God, but in verse 9 it also says, "therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy companions." So, we see two persons, one who has an eternal throne and a righteous scepter, but that same person has been anointed by "God" with the oil of gladness. The only way to resolve this is to conclude that both are God, but there are two persons, the Son and the Father, who anointed the Son. This reinforces the deity of Christ.
Heb. 1:8
Sin's Penalty
So, we have learned about God's nature, the He is righteous in all His ways. And we have learned that we all of us have sinned and fallen short of God's standard of righteousness. As a result, there must be a righteous and just penalty for our sins.
Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Anyone who has ever had a job understands what a wage is. After you complete your work, you are paid whatever is owed you, what has been contractually agreed upon beforehand when you were hired. It is not a gift, it is an obligation by the employer to pay you what you deserve. This illustrates the concept revealed in Romans 6:23. The consequences of sin is death. In a sense, we have "earned" death as a consequence of falling short of God's standard of perfection.
The structure of this verse is A-B:A-B, i.e., the "wages of sin" contrasts with the "free gift of God"; and "death" contrasts with "eternal life in Christ." The wages of sin are through works. But, eternal life is a free gift. How could eternal life, that which has infinite value, be offered freely? The word "in" is derived from a dative case, which could be interpreted as "through the agency of". Christ Jesus offers life freely on the basis of His substitutionary death. The debt owed for the "wages of sin" was paid. With the debt fully paid, He could offer life, and life eternal as a free gift. Only if someone rejects His offer of eternal life and insists upon going their own way could they be subject to the penalty rejecting the payment for their sins. How tragic indeed would it be should someone to reject an offer of eternal life. Yet, many choose exactly that, and experience eternal death, that is, separation from the life that is offered through the agency of Christ.
Some claim that they will get a second chance, that they may die but return to work things out in a second, third, or a string of lives. But, Hebrews 9:27 says, "And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,..." This tells us that we all have an appointment with physical death, and after physical death, we have an appointment with God where we will be judged, whether we accepted Christ's offer of eternal life through faith in Him, or whether we will be separated from that life forever.
Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Anyone who has ever had a job understands what a wage is. After you complete your work, you are paid whatever is owed you, what has been contractually agreed upon beforehand when you were hired. It is not a gift, it is an obligation by the employer to pay you what you deserve. This illustrates the concept revealed in Romans 6:23. The consequences of sin is death. In a sense, we have "earned" death as a consequence of falling short of God's standard of perfection.
The structure of this verse is A-B:A-B, i.e., the "wages of sin" contrasts with the "free gift of God"; and "death" contrasts with "eternal life in Christ." The wages of sin are through works. But, eternal life is a free gift. How could eternal life, that which has infinite value, be offered freely? The word "in" is derived from a dative case, which could be interpreted as "through the agency of". Christ Jesus offers life freely on the basis of His substitutionary death. The debt owed for the "wages of sin" was paid. With the debt fully paid, He could offer life, and life eternal as a free gift. Only if someone rejects His offer of eternal life and insists upon going their own way could they be subject to the penalty rejecting the payment for their sins. How tragic indeed would it be should someone to reject an offer of eternal life. Yet, many choose exactly that, and experience eternal death, that is, separation from the life that is offered through the agency of Christ.
Some claim that they will get a second chance, that they may die but return to work things out in a second, third, or a string of lives. But, Hebrews 9:27 says, "And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,..." This tells us that we all have an appointment with physical death, and after physical death, we have an appointment with God where we will be judged, whether we accepted Christ's offer of eternal life through faith in Him, or whether we will be separated from that life forever.
All Have Sinned
All the "seeds" verses are integrated. If you understand God's standard, it is easy to understand the verses that reveal that "all have sinned." Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." The "glory of God" is the "standards" of God's perfection, the righteousness of God in all His ways and His kindness in all His deeds. Every person has fallen short of compliance with the standard of God's nature.
Perhaps an illustration that will help us understand this verse is this. If we were to stand on the seashore and I were to ask you to pick up a rock and throw it, you might throw it farther than me, or I might throw a stone farther than you. But, if our target were to throw a stone all the way to Hawaii, we both would "fall short" of that standard. Similarly, God's standard of perfection is so unattainable by those who are living with a sin nature that we are simply unable to live up to it. We all fall short of God's perfection, either by our commission of bad deeds, or by our omission of good deeds. We all fall short of God's righteousness.
Isaiah 53:6 further explains that we have all sinned. Isaiah 53:6 says, "All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him." All of us have in our minds that our own way is right. But, left to ourselves, we all choose to go astray from God's ways and choose our own ways, the ways of our sin nature. The result is iniquity, the failure to live up to God's ways for our lives. Praise God that He has caused the iniquity of all of us to fall on Jesus, who walked in God's ways perfectly and gave Himself up as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.
In a sense, it is like we all had a cancer, the cancer of sin and iniquity. But, it is as though God took all the cancer out of us and put it into Christ. Then when Christ died, the cancer died with Him. It is in that way that He offers us new life, that He has taken all that was killing us into Himself and offered new life to us.
The next in the series of memory verses addresses the penalty for our sins.
Perhaps an illustration that will help us understand this verse is this. If we were to stand on the seashore and I were to ask you to pick up a rock and throw it, you might throw it farther than me, or I might throw a stone farther than you. But, if our target were to throw a stone all the way to Hawaii, we both would "fall short" of that standard. Similarly, God's standard of perfection is so unattainable by those who are living with a sin nature that we are simply unable to live up to it. We all fall short of God's perfection, either by our commission of bad deeds, or by our omission of good deeds. We all fall short of God's righteousness.
Isaiah 53:6 further explains that we have all sinned. Isaiah 53:6 says, "All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him." All of us have in our minds that our own way is right. But, left to ourselves, we all choose to go astray from God's ways and choose our own ways, the ways of our sin nature. The result is iniquity, the failure to live up to God's ways for our lives. Praise God that He has caused the iniquity of all of us to fall on Jesus, who walked in God's ways perfectly and gave Himself up as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.
In a sense, it is like we all had a cancer, the cancer of sin and iniquity. But, it is as though God took all the cancer out of us and put it into Christ. Then when Christ died, the cancer died with Him. It is in that way that He offers us new life, that He has taken all that was killing us into Himself and offered new life to us.
The next in the series of memory verses addresses the penalty for our sins.
God's Standard
Two of our memory verses address the perfection of God's holy nature. The first is Psalms 145:17
17 The Lord is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His deeds.
It's such a simple, straightforward statement. In all God's ways He is righteous. There is not hint of darkness, no compromise with evil, no blemish in his thoughts or eternal essence. Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty. As righteous as God is in all His ways, He is also kind in all his deeds. He causes the rain to fall upon the just and the unjust. He remembers that we are but dust. And in the execution of His justice, He gave His only Son as the propitiation for our sins, the satisfaction of His righteousness and justice. God is kind in His patience. As it says in 2 Peter 3:9, "9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." In every way, God is righteous, not punishing any who are righteous. Yet, there are none who are righteous, not even one. So, that we are not immediately consumed by God's righteous judgment, but we are given time to repent and come to God through Jesus by faith, is an example of God's kindness in all His ways.
The second verse that addresses the perfection of God's holy nature is Matthew 5:48.
"Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Some commentators attempt to minimize the impact of this statement by saying that the word "perfect" means "mature" or "complete," so they imply that this somehow means something other than an imperative that we are to actually aspire to be perfectly righteous. But, in fact, that standard is God's nature, and as we have read in Psalms 145:17, God is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His ways. So, if we are to be "perfect," or "mature," just as our heavenly Father is "perfect" or "mature," then we should also be as righteous and kind as God is. We now, that is a very tall order indeed. In fact, that standard is perfection. And we shall see that we all fall short of that standard. In fact, if it were not for God's grace through Christ, we would indeed have no hope of standing before God on the basis of our deeds. If we fail, even in one point of God's righteous standard, then we are condemned and deserving of righteous condemnation.
It is important to know God's love, but also to understand God's standards for behavior. Without that understanding, we would not understand why we are in need of a Savior.
17 The Lord is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His deeds.
It's such a simple, straightforward statement. In all God's ways He is righteous. There is not hint of darkness, no compromise with evil, no blemish in his thoughts or eternal essence. Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty. As righteous as God is in all His ways, He is also kind in all his deeds. He causes the rain to fall upon the just and the unjust. He remembers that we are but dust. And in the execution of His justice, He gave His only Son as the propitiation for our sins, the satisfaction of His righteousness and justice. God is kind in His patience. As it says in 2 Peter 3:9, "9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." In every way, God is righteous, not punishing any who are righteous. Yet, there are none who are righteous, not even one. So, that we are not immediately consumed by God's righteous judgment, but we are given time to repent and come to God through Jesus by faith, is an example of God's kindness in all His ways.
The second verse that addresses the perfection of God's holy nature is Matthew 5:48.
"Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Some commentators attempt to minimize the impact of this statement by saying that the word "perfect" means "mature" or "complete," so they imply that this somehow means something other than an imperative that we are to actually aspire to be perfectly righteous. But, in fact, that standard is God's nature, and as we have read in Psalms 145:17, God is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His ways. So, if we are to be "perfect," or "mature," just as our heavenly Father is "perfect" or "mature," then we should also be as righteous and kind as God is. We now, that is a very tall order indeed. In fact, that standard is perfection. And we shall see that we all fall short of that standard. In fact, if it were not for God's grace through Christ, we would indeed have no hope of standing before God on the basis of our deeds. If we fail, even in one point of God's righteous standard, then we are condemned and deserving of righteous condemnation.
It is important to know God's love, but also to understand God's standards for behavior. Without that understanding, we would not understand why we are in need of a Savior.
He is Risen
The Empty Tomb
John: 20:Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Jesus Appears to Thomas
24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
The Purpose of John’s Gospel
30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe[b] that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Is Jesus God?
Jesus Claimed to be God:
Claim of eternal pre-existence as "I AM" (John 8:58)
Claim of living on into eternity future (Matt. 28:20)
Claim to be the Son of God (Mark 14:62; Luke 22:70)
Claim of belonging in the position of authority in heaven (Mark 14:62)
Claim of God being His Father (Luke 24:49; John 8:19)
Claim of being the source of eternal life (John 6:35; 51)
Claim of being able to resurrect people from the dead (John 11:25)
Claim of being the source of light (John 8:12)
Claim of a heavenly origin (John 6:38; 8:23)
Claim of doing the works of God (John 10:36-39)
Claim that "I and the Father are one (neuter "one" indicates same essence) John 10:30
Claim to be Lord (John 13:13)
Claim that God the Father is "in Him" (John 14:10)
Claim of omnipresence (an attribute of God) (Matthew 18:20)
Liar, Lunatic, or Lord?
Consider this, if someone claims to be God, either they are telling the truth, so they are, indeed, God; or, they are lying; or, they are crazy. There are no other options.
But, did Jesus show any signs of insanity? If He was insane, His enemies would not have regarded Him as a threat that they needed to kill. There is no evidence of mental imbalance of a deranged person; quite the contrary, we see calmness, serenity, and control He does not show evidence of megalomania; He was humble in spirit.
Did He show evidence of deceitfulness? If He was lying, Pilate could not tell (John 19:4). It is inconsistent to think that someone that no one could accuse of any sin, would commit such a grievous sin as to lie about being God. No on had ever heard Him lie about anything before. If He lied about being God, all His moral teachings are the greatest hypocrisies. If He was lying, He was so convincing that those who were with Him night and day never caught Him in any inconsistency, and they were willing to go to their deaths, which was unlikely for a known lie. Further, if He were lying, what would have been His motive? Personal gain? No, He rejected Satan's offer of the world's riches. Fame? No, He actually withdrew from the crowd that wanted to make Him king by acclamation. Personal worship and adulation? No, what would the benefit be of worship if He knew it was false? If personal adulation was the goal, once the adulation stopped and ridicule and scoffing was what He received, wouldn't He have backed down from the lie, especially if He expected it to result in His death (unless He were insane, which was already addressed above).
Jesus Displayed the Attributes of God
Did Jesus back up His claims by doing works that demonstrated the attributes of God? Here are key verses that demonstrate His divine attributes:
Omnipotence (Matt. 28:18)
Omniscience (John 1:48; John 13:19)
Life giver (John 5:25)
Holiness in word and deed (Matt. 5-7; John 8:46)
Healing miracle by word only over distance (Matt. 8:13)
Power over nature (Matt. 8:23-27)
Power over demons (Matt 8:28-34)
Power over death (Matt. 9:18-25)
Source of Truth (John 14:6)
Source of Forgiveness (Luke 7:48)
Healing power over leprosy (Matt. 8:3)
Healing power over blindness (Matt. 9:28)
Knowledge of the future (Matt. 20:22)
Predicted His own resurrection (Matt 27:63)
Power over His own death through resurrection (Matt. 28:6)
Claim of eternal pre-existence as "I AM" (John 8:58)
Claim of living on into eternity future (Matt. 28:20)
Claim to be the Son of God (Mark 14:62; Luke 22:70)
Claim of belonging in the position of authority in heaven (Mark 14:62)
Claim of God being His Father (Luke 24:49; John 8:19)
Claim of being the source of eternal life (John 6:35; 51)
Claim of being able to resurrect people from the dead (John 11:25)
Claim of being the source of light (John 8:12)
Claim of a heavenly origin (John 6:38; 8:23)
Claim of doing the works of God (John 10:36-39)
Claim that "I and the Father are one (neuter "one" indicates same essence) John 10:30
Claim to be Lord (John 13:13)
Claim that God the Father is "in Him" (John 14:10)
Claim of omnipresence (an attribute of God) (Matthew 18:20)
Liar, Lunatic, or Lord?
Consider this, if someone claims to be God, either they are telling the truth, so they are, indeed, God; or, they are lying; or, they are crazy. There are no other options.
But, did Jesus show any signs of insanity? If He was insane, His enemies would not have regarded Him as a threat that they needed to kill. There is no evidence of mental imbalance of a deranged person; quite the contrary, we see calmness, serenity, and control He does not show evidence of megalomania; He was humble in spirit.
Did He show evidence of deceitfulness? If He was lying, Pilate could not tell (John 19:4). It is inconsistent to think that someone that no one could accuse of any sin, would commit such a grievous sin as to lie about being God. No on had ever heard Him lie about anything before. If He lied about being God, all His moral teachings are the greatest hypocrisies. If He was lying, He was so convincing that those who were with Him night and day never caught Him in any inconsistency, and they were willing to go to their deaths, which was unlikely for a known lie. Further, if He were lying, what would have been His motive? Personal gain? No, He rejected Satan's offer of the world's riches. Fame? No, He actually withdrew from the crowd that wanted to make Him king by acclamation. Personal worship and adulation? No, what would the benefit be of worship if He knew it was false? If personal adulation was the goal, once the adulation stopped and ridicule and scoffing was what He received, wouldn't He have backed down from the lie, especially if He expected it to result in His death (unless He were insane, which was already addressed above).
Jesus Displayed the Attributes of God
Did Jesus back up His claims by doing works that demonstrated the attributes of God? Here are key verses that demonstrate His divine attributes:
Omnipotence (Matt. 28:18)
Omniscience (John 1:48; John 13:19)
Life giver (John 5:25)
Holiness in word and deed (Matt. 5-7; John 8:46)
Healing miracle by word only over distance (Matt. 8:13)
Power over nature (Matt. 8:23-27)
Power over demons (Matt 8:28-34)
Power over death (Matt. 9:18-25)
Source of Truth (John 14:6)
Source of Forgiveness (Luke 7:48)
Healing power over leprosy (Matt. 8:3)
Healing power over blindness (Matt. 9:28)
Knowledge of the future (Matt. 20:22)
Predicted His own resurrection (Matt 27:63)
Power over His own death through resurrection (Matt. 28:6)
What Did Jesus Say About Himself?
I have given you a list of key verses to memorize, and outlined some key concepts, such as forgiveness of sin. To be considered a disciple of Christ, or if you are considering following Christ, you should consider very carefully whom you are choosing to follow. Who did He claim to be? It makes a big difference how you regard Him, and how you respond to Him, don't you think? So, let's take a look at what Jesus said about Himself.
Let's take a look at John, chapter 8.
21 Then He said again to them, “I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” 23 And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. 24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” 25 So they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “What have I been saying to you from the beginning? 26 I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.” 27 They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. 29 And He who sent Me is with Me; He [i]has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” 30 As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.
The Jews were confused about Jesus' sayings, so He clarified things with two contrasting statements about identity. The Jews were from "below." He said He was from "above." The Jews were "of this world." Jesus said He was "not of this world. What does that mean? Was He claiming to be some kind of space alien, and extra-terrestrial? Perhaps He was alien to this world, in a way. But, all these statements offer is that something about Jesus' nature was not "of this world" and His home or origin was somewhere "above." Who comes from "above"? That's a good question to ask.
The Jews asked "Who are You?" Jesus did not answer directly, but said, "What have I been saying to you from the beginning?" Even from the beginning of His ministry, He had presented Himself as the Messiah. But, more than that, through His words and His works, He had been showing them that He was much more than a prophet or just a man sent from God, like John the Baptist.
I find it fascinating that Jesus said, "I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world." John 5:22 says "For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son,..." The Jews were facing the one who knew them, who had much He could say about them, and He would judge them someday, but while on this Earth, He came not to judge. That was not His mission. His mission was to save mankind, not to judge it. "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him" (John 3:17). But, after accomplishing His mission, He would one day fulfill another mission, to judge all things: creation, believers, non-believers, both humans and spirits...all.
I want you to take note of some interesting statements that Jesus made about Himself. For example, in verse 24 it says, "unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins. The translator inserted the pronoun, "He," but the Greek text says, "Unless you believe that I am (ego eimi). The Jews missed it this first time, and thought Jesus had forgotten to fill in the blank...who? "Who are you?" they asked. Well, the Jews still didn't get it, so Jesus said in verse 28, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me." Note that curious phrase again, "then you will know that I am....without the object. I am whom? But, the Greek just says, "ego eimi," "I am." Some heard, and understood the words, and believed Him.
But, still some of the Jews did not comprehend the impact of His words. So, Jesus continued.
31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” 33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.”
39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus *said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. 40 But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do."
Note well here that Jesus does refer to Himself as a man. This great passage highlights the deity of Christ, but He, Himself, also highlighted His humanity also. But, He was a sinless man. Note that in verse 46 He challenged them to convict Him of sin, and He was met by their silence. He spoke the truth, but gave the reason why they did not believe Him, because they were being influenced by the "father of lies," the devil, that fallen archangel, Lucifer, who tried to usurp the throne that belonged to the Son. The unbelieving listeners had chosen sides against the Son, and by doing so, had become "not of God," and their spiritual insight was darkened, so they could not see to Whom they were speaking, nor believe in Him.
41 You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”
48 The Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. 50 But I do not seek My glory; there is One who seeks and judges. 51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death.” 52 The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste of death.’ 53 Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’; 55 and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” 59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.
Although, Jesus has used the phrase "ego eimi," "I am," twice before, the context might have been unclear to the Jews what He was saying, that He was claiming to be divine, identified with the "I AM" of the Pentateuch. But, in the context of talking about Abraham, He could not have made it any clearer. "Before Abraham was born, I am." The grammar is a bit odd here, as "I am" is present tense, but to be consistent with the first phrase, Jesus could have said, "Before Abraham was born, I was born," but, it doesn't say that. This time He clearly implied that before Abraham was born, He already existed. The Jews understood His grammatical play on words, and took up stones to try to kill Him, because in their minds He had committed blasphemy, making Himself equal with the great "I AM," whose name they would not even speak.
As a side note, Jesus said that Abraham rejoiced to "see His day." It is likely that this refers to the appearance of the appearance of the "Angel of the Lord," the pre-incarnate Christ. The word "angel" means messenger. Some of the "messengers" sent by God in Genesis 18 "appeared" to be men. But, to one of the three, Abraham referred to Him as "Lord." In Gen. 18:22 it says that Abraham stood before "the Lord."
So, what have we learned? Jesus, Himself, referred to Himself as a man. But, He also identified Himself as "I AM." Jesus Christ has two natures, a human nature, but also divine. His human nature was fixed in time, beginning at conception. But, His divine nature had no beginning, an eternal "present tense" of being as the Son, distinct from the Father, yet having the same divine nature as the Father. Believing that Jesus is God, the "I AM," is essential to being born again unto eternal life. And those who continue believing, who allow His word to permeate their being, will be freed from the power and the penalty of sin, becoming "free indeed."
We have skipped a few stones off this very deep pond. I hope you will continue your study. We will continue the study of Jesus' claims about Himself with a study of Matthew 28:20, regarding His claim of living eternally into the future.
Let's take a look at John, chapter 8.
21 Then He said again to them, “I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” 23 And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. 24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” 25 So they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “What have I been saying to you from the beginning? 26 I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.” 27 They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. 29 And He who sent Me is with Me; He [i]has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” 30 As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.
The Jews were confused about Jesus' sayings, so He clarified things with two contrasting statements about identity. The Jews were from "below." He said He was from "above." The Jews were "of this world." Jesus said He was "not of this world. What does that mean? Was He claiming to be some kind of space alien, and extra-terrestrial? Perhaps He was alien to this world, in a way. But, all these statements offer is that something about Jesus' nature was not "of this world" and His home or origin was somewhere "above." Who comes from "above"? That's a good question to ask.
The Jews asked "Who are You?" Jesus did not answer directly, but said, "What have I been saying to you from the beginning?" Even from the beginning of His ministry, He had presented Himself as the Messiah. But, more than that, through His words and His works, He had been showing them that He was much more than a prophet or just a man sent from God, like John the Baptist.
I find it fascinating that Jesus said, "I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world." John 5:22 says "For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son,..." The Jews were facing the one who knew them, who had much He could say about them, and He would judge them someday, but while on this Earth, He came not to judge. That was not His mission. His mission was to save mankind, not to judge it. "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him" (John 3:17). But, after accomplishing His mission, He would one day fulfill another mission, to judge all things: creation, believers, non-believers, both humans and spirits...all.
I want you to take note of some interesting statements that Jesus made about Himself. For example, in verse 24 it says, "unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins. The translator inserted the pronoun, "He," but the Greek text says, "Unless you believe that I am (ego eimi). The Jews missed it this first time, and thought Jesus had forgotten to fill in the blank...who? "Who are you?" they asked. Well, the Jews still didn't get it, so Jesus said in verse 28, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me." Note that curious phrase again, "then you will know that I am....without the object. I am whom? But, the Greek just says, "ego eimi," "I am." Some heard, and understood the words, and believed Him.
But, still some of the Jews did not comprehend the impact of His words. So, Jesus continued.
31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” 33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.”
39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus *said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. 40 But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do."
Note well here that Jesus does refer to Himself as a man. This great passage highlights the deity of Christ, but He, Himself, also highlighted His humanity also. But, He was a sinless man. Note that in verse 46 He challenged them to convict Him of sin, and He was met by their silence. He spoke the truth, but gave the reason why they did not believe Him, because they were being influenced by the "father of lies," the devil, that fallen archangel, Lucifer, who tried to usurp the throne that belonged to the Son. The unbelieving listeners had chosen sides against the Son, and by doing so, had become "not of God," and their spiritual insight was darkened, so they could not see to Whom they were speaking, nor believe in Him.
41 You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”
48 The Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. 50 But I do not seek My glory; there is One who seeks and judges. 51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death.” 52 The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste of death.’ 53 Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’; 55 and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” 59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.
Although, Jesus has used the phrase "ego eimi," "I am," twice before, the context might have been unclear to the Jews what He was saying, that He was claiming to be divine, identified with the "I AM" of the Pentateuch. But, in the context of talking about Abraham, He could not have made it any clearer. "Before Abraham was born, I am." The grammar is a bit odd here, as "I am" is present tense, but to be consistent with the first phrase, Jesus could have said, "Before Abraham was born, I was born," but, it doesn't say that. This time He clearly implied that before Abraham was born, He already existed. The Jews understood His grammatical play on words, and took up stones to try to kill Him, because in their minds He had committed blasphemy, making Himself equal with the great "I AM," whose name they would not even speak.
As a side note, Jesus said that Abraham rejoiced to "see His day." It is likely that this refers to the appearance of the appearance of the "Angel of the Lord," the pre-incarnate Christ. The word "angel" means messenger. Some of the "messengers" sent by God in Genesis 18 "appeared" to be men. But, to one of the three, Abraham referred to Him as "Lord." In Gen. 18:22 it says that Abraham stood before "the Lord."
So, what have we learned? Jesus, Himself, referred to Himself as a man. But, He also identified Himself as "I AM." Jesus Christ has two natures, a human nature, but also divine. His human nature was fixed in time, beginning at conception. But, His divine nature had no beginning, an eternal "present tense" of being as the Son, distinct from the Father, yet having the same divine nature as the Father. Believing that Jesus is God, the "I AM," is essential to being born again unto eternal life. And those who continue believing, who allow His word to permeate their being, will be freed from the power and the penalty of sin, becoming "free indeed."
We have skipped a few stones off this very deep pond. I hope you will continue your study. We will continue the study of Jesus' claims about Himself with a study of Matthew 28:20, regarding His claim of living eternally into the future.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Devoted to Fellowship
"They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching
and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer" (Acts 2:42 NIV)
One of the pairs of verses from the "Seeds of Maturity" list is Acts 2:42 and Heb. 10:24-25. Since we have been discussing the concept of fellowship, bringing these two verses up now seems appropriate. Why don't you use the memory process on both these verses now. Then come back and let's discuss them, along with the other verses used for "koinonia."
The NIV translation of Acts 2:42 is listed above. Once you start memorizing, you should stick with the same version. You can always consult other versions, to get a different perspective, but the verse will stick better if you learn it in a single translation. Similarly, when you select a study Bible, I suggest you get a quality, bound version, and always use the same one when conducting your studies. The reason is you will become so accustomed to certain familiar passages, that you will be able to visualize them. You will see them on the left or right-hand side of the page, and you will know where certain verses are. I have also made notes in my Bible, and made "chain" references, so if I can remember one key verse for a theological topic, then the arrow up will be toward a reference that comes before this reference, and an arrow down will be to another reference that comes after. I have used this when talking with someone about an important Bible theme or theological issue, letting my Bible guide me forward or back to the key references, since I cannot always remember every key verse on every major theme.
Heb. 10:24-25 says, "and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near." Acts 2:42 and Heb. 10:24-25 reveal some important themes about "fellowship." In Acts 2, Christ fulfilled His promise to send the "Helper," the Holy Spirit, who indwelt all the believers in a new and powerful way, spiritually uniting them as the "Body of Christ." Because of this, they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, and to "fellowship," and to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Fellowship, in this context, refers to the sharing that was taking place, both of the expression of their new spiritual gifts, the sharing of the hospitality of the houses of the people who lived in Jerusalem with the many visitors for the feast of Pentecost, and the sharing of even their material possessions, or the proceeds of the sale of those possessions, in order to meet the needs of any visitors who had not planned to stay so long, but who wanted to continue receiving teaching from Peter and the other disciples.
The Prerequisites for Fellowship
Since the time of Pentecost, those who have put their faith in Christ share a common fellowship. True fellowship in Christ has some prerequisites.
A Common Gospel - 1 Jn. 11:3
What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— 2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— 3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
A Common Calling - 1 Cor. 1:9
God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
A Common faith - Philemon 6
"and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ’s sake."
A Common Spirit - Phil. 2:1-2
Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.
A Common Path in the Light - 1 John 1:6-7
"If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin."
A Common Future - 1 Thess. 4:14-18
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
The Prohibitions to Fellowship
Avoid Darkness
"If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;" We see from the context that this does not mean that Christians will never sin. In fact, 1 John 1:9 exhorts believers to confess their sins so that they may restore fellowship with God and one another. The point of 1 John 1:6 is if a person lives continually in manner that embraces false doctrine, worldliness, immorality, or allegiance to spirits that are opposed to the Son of God, then they will not have fellowship with the Son or His followers.
Avoid False teachers
" If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; 11 for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds." As discussed previously, this passage talks about not extending the fellowship of the church, which, at the time of the writing, met in people's houses, to false teachers. A "greeting" was likely far more than merely saying "hello," but was an expression of welcome or approval, in a sense, having the leaders of the church tacitly approve of the teachings of the false teacher.
Avoid Binding Agreements with Non-Believers
"Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?" A "bound" situation could be anything from a marriage to a business partnership, or an alliance between a church and a non-believing organization or individual.
The Practice of Fellowship
Partakers in communion (Acts 2:42; 1 Cor. 10:16)
Partners in giving (Rom. 12:13; 15:26-27; 2 Cor. 8:4; 9: 1; Gal. 6:6; Phil. 1: 5; 4:15; Heb. 13:16
Partners in the work of ministry (Matt. 23:30; Luke 5:10; 1 cor. 10:18; 2 Cor. 8:23; Phile. 17;
Gal. 2:9
Partakers in suffering (1 pet. 4:13; Phil. 3:10; 2 Cor. 1:7; Heb. 10:33
The Prerequisites for Fellowship
Since the time of Pentecost, those who have put their faith in Christ share a common fellowship. True fellowship in Christ has some prerequisites.
A Common Gospel - 1 Jn. 11:3
What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— 2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— 3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
A Common Calling - 1 Cor. 1:9
God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
A Common faith - Philemon 6
"and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ’s sake."
A Common Spirit - Phil. 2:1-2
Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.
A Common Path in the Light - 1 John 1:6-7
"If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin."
A Common Future - 1 Thess. 4:14-18
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
The Prohibitions to Fellowship
Avoid Darkness
"If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;" We see from the context that this does not mean that Christians will never sin. In fact, 1 John 1:9 exhorts believers to confess their sins so that they may restore fellowship with God and one another. The point of 1 John 1:6 is if a person lives continually in manner that embraces false doctrine, worldliness, immorality, or allegiance to spirits that are opposed to the Son of God, then they will not have fellowship with the Son or His followers.
Avoid False teachers
" If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; 11 for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds." As discussed previously, this passage talks about not extending the fellowship of the church, which, at the time of the writing, met in people's houses, to false teachers. A "greeting" was likely far more than merely saying "hello," but was an expression of welcome or approval, in a sense, having the leaders of the church tacitly approve of the teachings of the false teacher.
Avoid Binding Agreements with Non-Believers
"Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?" A "bound" situation could be anything from a marriage to a business partnership, or an alliance between a church and a non-believing organization or individual.
The Practice of Fellowship
Partakers in communion (Acts 2:42; 1 Cor. 10:16)
Partners in giving (Rom. 12:13; 15:26-27; 2 Cor. 8:4; 9: 1; Gal. 6:6; Phil. 1: 5; 4:15; Heb. 13:16
Partners in the work of ministry (Matt. 23:30; Luke 5:10; 1 cor. 10:18; 2 Cor. 8:23; Phile. 17;
Gal. 2:9
Partakers in suffering (1 pet. 4:13; Phil. 3:10; 2 Cor. 1:7; Heb. 10:33
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