Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To the church of God in Corinth, together with all his holy people throughout Achaia:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
- 2 Corinthians 1:1-2
Last week, we finished going through 1 Corinthians, so the logical next step is to begin taking a look at 2 Corinthians. But before we get there, what has transpired for the Corinthian church between these two letters? While we don’t know a lot of details, scholars have some general ideas of what may have transpired.
In 1 Corinthians, Paul addressed many issues that were occurring in the church at Corinth. It’s likely that the Corinthians fixed some of these issues before 2 Corinthians, as we don’t see Paul bringing them up again. For example, we do not see anything in this second letter regarding practicing the Lord’s supper or about lawsuits among believers.
But, even though they may have made some issues better, others got worse. Paul did not want to make another “painful visit” to them (2 Corinthians 2:1), but he did end up visiting them again (2 Corinthians 12:14, 13:1-2). An in-person visit from Paul would provide them with much more specific instructions to correct their ways than a letter could.
Paul sent Titus from Ephesus to Corinth with a severe letter for them. We do not have the contents of this letter available to us, but we know it existed at one time due to the references to it in Scripture. Paul and Titus were to meet in Troas, but Titus did not show up there, so they ended up meeting in Macedonia instead. After leaving Ephesus after the riot (Acts 19:23-20:1), Paul spread the gospel in Troas, did not see Titus there, and then traveled to Macedonia (2 Corinthians 2:12-13). Paul and Titus met up in Macedonia, and Titus shared his report of the Corinthians being responsive to the severe letter (2 Corinthians 7:5-16).
Paul worked in Macedonia for a while, and after he heard about additional problems at the church in Corinth, he wrote 2 Corinthians to them. The authorship of this letter is rarely disputed, given that Paul calls himself the author twice (2 Corinthians 1:1 and 10:1). Writings of other early church fathers outside of the Bible also quote this letter, including Polycarp, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian. It is likely that while Paul spent a few months in Greece (Acts 20:2-3), likely in Corinth, he wrote Romans.
This letter of 2 Corinthians was likely written at least a year and a half after 1 Corinthians. Scholars give a probable timeline of 1 Corinthians being written in the spring of AD 55, Paul having his “painful visit” to Corinth that summer, writing the “severe letter” (that we don’t have) in the spring of AD 56, Paul and Titus arriving in Macedonia during the summer of AD 56, and then Paul writing 2 Corinthians in the fall of AD 56.
The letter is divided into three major sections: Paul discussing his apostolic ministry (chapters 1-7), discussing generosity specifically for the saints at Jerusalem (chapters 8-9), and more about being an apostle and Paul’s travel plans (chapters 10-13). Some of the key themes in the book can be seen in words or phrases that are often repeated, including comfort, affliction, and joy.
This greeting at the start of the letter is consistent with what Paul would typically write. He calls himself “an apostle” (2 Corinthians 1:1) of Jesus even though he was not one of the twelve who walked with Jesus during His earthly ministry. Paul considered himself equal to the twelve because of the special revelation he received from Jesus during his conversion to the faith.
Paul mentions Timothy during this greeting, which is significant for the Corinthians. Timothy was supposed to be Paul’s representative in Corinth (1 Corinthians 4:17, 16:10-11), but it appears that Titus had replaced Timothy in that position by the time 2 Corinthians was written. It is possible that Timothy did not have great success in working with the church at Corinth, hence the change in personnel.
Paul promotes unity between this church and others in verse 1, specifically calling out the province of Achaia, which contained multiple churches. This congregation was just part of the church that God was building in that region, and Paul makes sure that they know there are others who are part of God’s “holy people” in that area.
Paul’s characteristic greeting in verse 2 combines both the traditional Greek greeting (chairein, which became charis, “grace”) and the traditional Hebrew greeting (shalom, or “peace”). This further should bring unity among the people who were from different traditions.
As we journey through this letter from Paul to the first-century church at Corinth, I believe that we will see that its themes and instructions are still relevant to us as twenty-first-century believers.
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God is not the author of confusion. He only says one thing, one message, and His message does not change. While He may change His mind to give mercy over judgment, that is consistent with His character. However, we live in days where there is a lot of confusion about what God said. It seems nearly everyone is looking everywhere else except at themselves about where that confusion is coming from. We know ultimately it comes from Satan, however, when we first believed the lie. When we have our own sin to deal with, we are just as easily culpable of rejecting what God said and then blaming God or other Christians for it being “confusing.”
I have written about an absolutely vital doctrine called the perspicuity of Scripture. This is the teaching that the Bible is simple, clear, not confusing, and straight to the point. God said what He said, and He meant what He meant. He gave everything we need for life and godliness, which includes every aspect of our lives. However, there are some things that God left in the seed form and didn’t have full “codification” if you can call it that. The Councils and Reformation were among the movements and courts that sought to bring clarity to certain doctrines because they were under siege. I will address two of them briefly here.
In early church history, false teachers came in and attacked the deity of Christ directly, namely via a man named Arius. While Christ’s deity was clearly taught by the Apostles and in Scripture, because it was under siege, Athanasius and others would codify who Jesus was as fully God and fully man at the same time, giving birth to the Nicene Creed. Later, by the 1500s, the Roman Catholic Church went full apostate and began selling indulgences so sinners could “buy” their way into heaven. Martin Luther and others realized that Scripture taught salvation by grace alone and not by works, so they began the Protestant Reformation. A big part of that was going back to what Scripture taught on the topic at hand to bring clarity and confirmation of what had always been taught.
But before these two events, there was another church conflict that Paul himself needed to address regarding speaking in tongues. Charismatics teach this is angelic language that requires a full interpretation for us to understand. Cessationists teach that this is regarding different known languages. I won’t deal with that here. Regardless of the interpretation, what Paul emphasized in 1 Corinthians 14 was order and clarity. If anything is from God, it brings clarity and it has order. It may be strange and different than what we are used to, but there is order and structure.
Several years ago, John MacArthur hosted the infamous Strange Fire Conference. He took on the Charismatic/Word of Faith Movements and put them to the test. In his sermon during the conference, he made this point in testing any movement. This would be a good test for any “revival” such as the Asbury Revival earlier this year. MacArthur’s test is, does this movement or this teaching bring clarity to Scripture? Where there is confusion, does what someone brings give us any clarity on the matter? God does not leave things in confusion for long unless man wants to stay confused. MacArthur claimed that the Charismatic Movement has brought nothing beneficial to the body of Christ. It was totally extraneous and did very little to actually build the body of Christ, to lead her towards holiness and purity and righteousness. What it has offered instead is personal interpretations, giving “new revelation,” a lowering of Scripture as the authority, and the lust/desire for earthly things to be the goal and purpose of the faith. While there are Charismatics who are genuinely saved, MacArthur claims that the teachings of the Charismatics have not benefited anyone spiritually.
There are numerous other teachings along this line. In origins, the teachings of “millions of years” have benefited no one Biblically. These old earth ideas have brought no one closer to Christ, no one to a holier lifestyle, no one more separated from the world. While there are some who have done such things, it is always despite those teachings not because of them. If you listen to the arguments, they bring nothing out of Scripture to support their position. They always have to muddy the waters so they can insert their teachings. Many people say, “I can be a Christian and still believe in millions of years.” No one ever says, “I can be a Christian and still believe in the virgin birth” or “I can be a Christian and still believe the earth is young.” Why not? Because those actually are what the Bible teaches. Ideas outside the Bible are the ones that get this treatment. This argument alone is evidence that “old earth” is unbiblical; it’s evidence that people want to be religious and keep their idols, too. Critical Race Theory, Progressive Christianity, LGBT ideology, Christian Nationalism, ecumenical approaches, etc. are also in this camp. In all these teachings, you won’t find the seeking of clarity, structure, and order for the church. Instead, you will find confusion, the lowering of Scripture, and the elevation of man’s opinions.
Throughout church history, there are only two directions people go: towards Scripture or away from Scripture. They either elevate Scripture and lower man’s opinions, or vice versa. Now, because we are fallible people, even in our seeking of clarity, we can still get things wrong. The Reformation didn’t solve all the issues they were facing. One of the reasons why I am a young earth creationist and give none of the other models any space is on this issue of clarity. From the non-YEC arguments I hear, not one of them goes along the lines of “This is what Scripture is saying and here is where I am getting my position from.” There is no, “The Bible doesn’t teach that there, it actually teaches this, this and that because of this word, phrase, and context.” The best I have heard is “It doesn’t necessarily say ‘x’.” I never get a straight answer when I ask in response, “So what does it say?”
Test what you hear. One analogy I have heard is with music. Every teaching makes a sound. If the sound fits the whole piece, then we have music. But if each sound does its own thing, then it is just noise. The teachings that bring clarity have the vision of the whole and understand the whole piece. The teachings that want self’s opinions and to give man a say in how reality operates will never harmonize with each other, let alone Scripture. This is also why we need to have a Gospel worldview, not just a Biblical worldview. If we truly understand and believe the Gospel, then we’ll align all our teachings to give rise and support to all the images and logical conclusions of the Gospel, and it will make our readings of Scripture clearer.
Seek clarity, not confusion. That will often require you to put your understanding of things aside and let God speak clearly to you. You can still use your head, but even your brain and thinking need to be submitted to the will of God, otherwise you will only have confusion and no idea what is going on. Trust the Lord; He makes great music if you listen.
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As Christians, we are commanded to go out and preach the Word and make disciples of all peoples. Paul emphasizes to preach the Word – not to preach opinions, not to preach culture, and not to preach your own additions or subtractions. We are to preach the Word, explain it, and showcase the practical living of the truths of it. Yet what has happened today is a near complete abandoning of this command of how we are to preach. While expository preaching keeps a preacher on the text and topical preaching enables a preacher to address specific issues a church needs to deal with (both are valid), most preachers are not preaching what the Bible says but what they want to say or what they think the audience wants to hear.
In the ancient days, when a king sought to send out a message to his people, he would send a herald to proclaim the message to the masses. The herald had a clear job: to proclaim the message, answer a few questions, and never ever give a different message. If it was discovered that a herald was changing the message the king gave, it was a death sentence. The kings weren’t the first to do this either; the Bible did it first.
In Deuteronomy, God sets the standards for how a prophet (a person who claims to speak for God to man) should deliver the message and those who professed to speak “Thus says the Lord” when the Lord did not speak. They were to be put to death. God took those who used His name very seriously. The preacher behind the pulpit, the missionary, the evangelist, the author, those in any para-ministry, the apologist, and anyone who has a platform and proclaims the faith and proclaims the Gospel is under this category. I am included, too. The bigger the platform, the stricter the standard is held. While there is room for growth and maturing, just as there was for the prophets, it is absolutely imperative that when we profess to represent the faith, we represent it correctly and we proclaim what God said, not what we want Him to say. Any person who has ever understood the severity of this job does not want this job. They know how serious it is to preach and how they will be held accountable to God for how they represent Him. We can’t mess around with this.
The first sin came about because of not taking God at His Word and by adding and subtracting to it. In Genesis 3, the serpent came in and asked, “Has God indeed said…?” What was Eve’s response? “We can eat from any tree, but from the tree in the middle of the garden we may not eat nor touch lest we die.” Go back to Genesis 2 and see what God actually said. He said do not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He did not say to not touch it. Eve added to God’s command and thus did not believe it. But Eve mentioned the tree in the middle of the garden: singular. There was not just one tree in the middle of the garden; there were two. The Tree of Life was also there. God gave Adam and Eve a choice: the Tree of Life or the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eve left out the Tree of Life in her answer. So with that noted, it is reasonable to suggest that Adam and Eve created their own barriers from BOTH trees, lest they be tempted from the wrong one. Because they did not believe what God said and both added and took away from His command, they were easy prey for Satan to lead them to temptation and into sin.
When we change the message from what God said even in the slightest manner, we set ourselves up for severe trouble. Now, please don’t read what I am not saying here. I am not saying we can only directly quote Scripture and that is all we can say when we have a platform. That is not what I am saying. I am saying that we cannot make the message something different. We do have freedom to explore, dig deeper, and explain and apply the text. But all of that has to be done within the framework from which it is given.
There is a controversy about the show The Chosen. It is a fictional supposition about how the ministry of Jesus may have looked. There are people who object to such things because they are “adding to Scripture” things that were not there. I have two problems with such notions. 1) They aren’t calling their work “Scripture,” so they aren’t adding anything to it at all. That said, those watching it should know that it is not Scripture and still let Scripture be the standard. 2) These people who are reading commentaries, writing commentaries, preaching, and effectively doing the same thing.
So what does it mean to “add” or “subtract” from Scripture? It does not mean we cannot explore what and how things may have looked like from the people who lived through the Bible’s accounts. People say that the geological models of the Young Earth Creation position are “adding” to Scripture because the Bible does not speak about volcanoes and earthquakes during the Flood. I find such arguments extremely weak and frankly extremely hypocritical. Who is objecting to such models? Those who are turning to the outside, the secular community, sources completely outside Scripture, and whose work takes no input from Scripture (or minimal at that). THEY are the ones “adding to Scripture” because they are going completely outside the Bible to answer questions they believe the Bible is silent on. They do not stay within the framework or the facts that are explicitly given. Could the Young Earth geology models be wrong, be incomplete, or have problems? Absolutely. But the alternate models have much bigger problems, namely the willful denial of the history of Scripture. Even those who believe that a flood happened in Noah’s day believe that if such a flood does not fit ALL the details that are explicitly given, it is not Noah’s Flood and it demonstrates unbelief in the account of Scripture. The Flood describes a global event and ANY model that does not have those details is taking away what God did say and adding what He did not say. While it is possible such people may be saved, the Biblical standards showcase that such people are not fit to be heralds of the faith because they are not accurately representing what God said.
Some will say I over emphasize on Genesis and don’t emphasize the Gospel enough. Those who get Genesis wrong rarely get the rest of the Gospel right. We now have preachers who say that God loves homosexuals just as they are and will not make them change their ways. We have replaced God’s method of evangelism and teaching within the church with secular models of age-segregation. We have replaced God’s method of responding to the Gospel of repentance and faith to just saying a prayer. We have removed God’s teaching of holiness and purity and added to God’s love and mercy that we will be rich here on earth, enjoying pleasure all now. And as one preacher said, “Americans’ theology is 3000 miles wide and only 6 inches deep.” He’s not wrong. Why? Because we have taken away what God actually said and added what we want to hear instead.
It is a very dangerous thing to give God’s message. We must learn how to rightly divide the Word and preach it correctly. Those who have a problem with this need to step down. They need to be silent and not speak. The consequences for speaking about God wrongly are deadly. Take God seriously. Take His Word seriously. Any departure from it is sin. If we profess His name yet depart from His Word, no good thing will ever come of it.
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The first and perhaps most important theology “system” we can have regarding the Christian faith is Bibliology – the study of the Bible. Check out my numerous posts about the Bible (including my recent series on how to read the Bible) and my book Ten Reasons to Believe the Bible for more on this, but I’ll provide a quick recap here. The Bible is the source for all Christian doctrine, and it simply amazes me how many professing Christians seem to constantly resist the Bible, even while proclaiming they believe it and that it is inspired.
For the Christian, the Bible is supposed the ultimate authority on all matters. It is supposed to be our go-to for any decision, big or small, and every interaction we make in life. And frankly, as I explained in my last series on how to read the Bible, it has the authority over ALL authorities, includes pagan and secular. It is not an ordinary book. Until just the past one hundred years or so, even secular intellectuals who did not agree with the Bible believed that they could not consider themselves educated unless they had some working knowledge of what the Bible said. And I believe I have a fair argument that the reason secular society lost any respect for the Bible, even though they hate it, is because the church in the West lost respect for it.
I will blame the acceptance of “millions of years” into the Church as the catalyst for this. The moment the big names in Christianity in the 1800-1900s caved on Genesis 1, the world saw that as “open season” to fire upon the Church, and the Church has been totally powerless to stop it. The Scopes Trial pitted Day-Age Creationist William Jennings Bryan against Clarence Darrow, and it was clear that Darrow knew his Bible better than Bryan did. Darrow publicly embarrassed Bryan in his attack on Genesis, and Bryan had no answer for it. This did even more damage that Samuel Wilberforce’s loss to Huxley in the “Great Debate” of 1860. Though Darrow lost on a “narrow” decision because he did teach Evolution, which was illegal at the time, it was shown to be a great victory for the anti-Christians. In 1962, just 40 years after Scopes, God was removed from the public square over the Creation/Evolution debate, and the Church sat back and did nothing, with the exception of a small group of men spearheaded by Henry Morris and John Whitcomb whose book The Genesis Flood, published one year prior to the Supreme Court’s decision, finally gave the church a weapon to fight back with. How did they do that?
They believed the Bible on what it actually said and used it to combat Evolution and the compromised preachers to get people back to actually believing the Bible. They knew the Bible taught a 6-day creation and a global flood, and guess what? Many of the compromised preachers did too. They just didn’t know how to account for the “science” part of it. But they made a fatal mistake: they let science override the clear meaning of Scripture. In regards to origins, they thought it was a secondary issue, partly because origins was not part of the formal list of theological systems, despite being formally codified as part central doctrines in the Creeds and namely the 1647 Westminster Confession of Faith that specifically states 6-day creation (Q9). These compromised preachers did not defend the Bible against the attacks of the “enlightened” deists who were known to vocally oppose the Bible.
What has happened since? It is getting harder and harder to find a preacher who actually preaches from the Bible anymore. As I’ve mentioned, look at the creeds and the confessions of the faith throughout the ages. If not explicitly stated, it is clear they all held Scripture at the top and chief authority by which they get all their facts and ways of thinking. Today, even many top defenders of the faith by the Christian community can hardly be seen with a Bible in their hands. It’s as though they pride themselves on being able to defend the faith without the Bible directly. As a result, they may be able to win some intellectual arguments against bad logic users, but there is no real power in their messages. Despite being able to refute atheism and liberalism left and right, these guys really are not seen as threats by the world system and by compromised churches/pastors. Despite claiming to believe the Bible, they seem to never actually USE it. Do we believe this book or not?
Some will accuse me of “biblidolatry,” the worship of the Bible, but you will find that those who make that accusation are always looking to something else besides the Bible to “supplement,” or rather override, what the Bible actually teaches. But the fact remains that the Bible is our only physically tangible connection to God. It is the only thing that we can physically handle to tell us about God, what He is like, and how we should respond to that knowledge. It is also the authority God gave us to check and confirm any teaching we hear. There is a reason the early Church fathers all cited it to the point that we can easily confirm the transmission of Scripture from their writings alone. There is a reason why Paul and the other apostles wrote “according to Scripture” so many times. There is a reason the creeds and confessions all have the Bible as the source for every statement they make. And there is a reason why those who pioneered the fields of science were predominately Christian and held theology as the “Queen of the Sciences.” Instead, what we see now is more and more that the Bible is not actually treated as the inspired Word of God but a mere feel-good inspirational book – only the parts people like.
All our doctrine come from the Bible. It is the Bible that gives us the authority and the standards of how we should act, speak, and think. And despite what some may say, the Bible has the authority and the final say on every topic. Even if the topic is not explicitly covered, such as quantum physics, if the study of quantum physics leads to any idea that does not fit in or agree with the framework the Bible offers, then that study has false premises and therefore false conclusions. God gave us everything we need to have a fully informed framework for reality by which we can test and examine everything. And the biggest key to all that is that man’s own understanding and way of thinking is never going to cut it. We have to rely upon God revealing to us what reality is because only He sees things clearly.
Over the next couple months, I am going to look at the nine other major categories of systematic theology. There is a category for each person of the Godhead, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There are categories regarding mankind, sin, salvation, the church, angles, and the end times. In each case, I’m going to address how origins affects each category as well as the key things we need to know about it. What we believe about these categories actually says more about our worldview than most doctrine tests that are given today. So, let’s see what the Bible shows us about each of these.
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We live in times with the information superhighway, and most access to commentaries and study guides and sermons of all time, and yet we have to actually teach people how to read again. It is no exaggeration when I say that while we have the most access to information of all time, we are also the most illiterate of all time. Not only do so few people actually read books anymore (they read blog posts or hear commentaries on social media, but few actually read), it’s left a generation that is truly the dumbest of all time. Don’t believe me? Watch Jeopardy! Why have we had several excessively strong winners all in a row? Look at the questions. They are getting easier. The reason we have three of the top winners all in the last few years is because they have little competition. I’m not taking away anything from them academically. They did their job. But so few can rival them because we have an illiterate generation.
There is a saying: as goes the family, so goes the Church. As goes the Church, so goes society. Yes, I will put a big chunk of this problem on the Church from the past 50-some years. When Barna released their latest polls last year, 6% of professing Christians have a Biblical worldview and 34% of pastors (and I think that’s being generous). Where are you going to find a pastor actually preaching from the Bible? Hardly anywhere on TV today. Where are you going to find a pastor who strives to teach his congregation how to read the Bible? I’m glad I am part of a church that wants to do that. My previous church touched on it, but overall, there is an assumption that those in the congregation are reading the Bible regularly and know how. We know that is not true because of how many false teachings pastors are letting through their doors and proclaiming themselves. And we have to ask as well: how many pastors are actually reading the Bible besides to find something for a sermon? What is going on here?
The only solution for any of this is to get back to reading the Bible and actually believing it. For this post, I am going to give you tools and tips on how to read the Bible, and these are not magical formulas by any means. It is simply putting to words what should be practiced in normal reading. This is about what the Bible says; what the Bible means is a separate topic that I will address next week.
The first tip is to identify the genre. We do this naturally and subconsciously with nearly anything else we read. We know what a historical document is, what a poem is, what a metaphor is, what a myth is, what legal document is, what fiction is, etc. After all, I do assume we passed basic English or literature classes here. The Bible is written in multiple genres and the only ones it does not have are myth and fiction. Even if you don’t agree with it, at least be honest about what genre it is. Genesis (for example) is a historical document. Despite many scholars trying to say otherwise, there is no legitimacy to any such argument. Each argument boils down to, “I know what the text says, I don’t believe it, but I want to show I believe the Bible, so it must not actually mean what it says.” And these are people we have deemed to be good preachers saying this, not just your average academic. The language, the grammar, the syntax, and the verb conjugations all speak of plain, simple, historical narrative, just as much of the rest of the Bible is. But many try to make Genesis anything other than this so they can be justified in holding positions that are directly contrary to what it actually says.
The next thing to learn is called exegesis. Don’t panic over this theological term; it simply means to let the text speak for itself. We do this with every other document. Yet why is it so hard with the Bible? When the Bible says “the first day,” it MEANS “the first day.” When the Bible says, “The waters parted and Israel crossed on dry land,” it means that waters parted and Israel crossed on dry land. When the Bible says Jesus rose on the 3rd day, it means He rose on the third day. When the Bible says that Jesus is the ONLY way into heaven, it means Jesus is the ONLY way. That is what it says. That is what the words say. “But how do we account for modern science?” We don’t try to account for modern science. Not at this stage. The first stage is: “What does the Bible say?” Once we get that straightened out, THEN we can go try to figure out how it all works.
My friend Bobby Maddox is a business lawyer and to help address this topic, he came up with a list of ten principles that we all normally do anyway. If we keep these principles in mind, we’ll avoid the traps and errors that so many have fallen into. In this video, he explains his structure, so take the time to listen for more details. Here are just a few of the ten principles.
• The plain meaning is to be the intended meaning unless the context demands something different. The adage goes: “Adding more sense to the plain sense leaves you with nonsense.”
• Stay within the four corners of the document. In other words, get as much out of the document as you can from within the document itself. The phrase preachers use is “Scripture interprets Scripture.” Follow this and most confusions will clear up.
• Use of other sources should be limited and only used for help to clarify what the document is saying, never for interpreting and making it say something it didn’t. These outside sources are only to be used after all other internal sources have pretty well been exhausted.
• Keep it simple. Don’t try to overthink it. The mental gymnastics people do in order to try to keep track of their misinterpretations is simply mind-boggling. God did not write a book that takes a super genius and 80 years of scholarship to figure out. He made it simple so even a child and the uneducated can get at least the basic message.
One final tool is the acronym OIA, which stands for Observation, Interpretation, Application.
Observation: What does the text say? Get all the data you can before you start putting the facts together. Don’t read a single verse and lift it out of context. Keep it in context.
Interpretation: I’ll emphasis this more next week, but only put together your interpretation after you gather all the facts. Don’t be like those CSI teams that quickly jump to a conclusion too early and then a new piece of evidence reveals the actual truth. Get all the facts as much as you can. And please, test your interpretation against the whole message of Scripture.
Application: The purpose of the Bible is first to be believed then obeyed. It is not meant to be academically scrutinized (though there is great truth to be found in unpacking Scripture, which I will address in a couple weeks). You cannot obey the truth that you don’t know. And if you misinterpret it because you left out some of the facts, how can you obey the truth?
Read the Bible – all of it. It pretty well clears itself up. There will be some things that are harder to understand than others; I get that. But the whole message is pretty clear. It is clear enough that Jesus’ audience understood perfectly what He was saying, and they hated Him for it. Please do not confuse unbelief with “it’s hard to understand.” That’s just a cop-out to cover for unbelief. Next week, I’ll address how to understand the Bible, rather than “interpreting” it according to our own understanding.
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One of the greatest unfortunate side-effects of modern academia is that because it is based on man’s ideas and man’s interpretations, even the most elite scholars have actually forgotten the most fundamental thing behind academics: reading. Now, I am not saying that these people do not read at all, but that they do not know how to read. They know how to make ideas fit with their ideals, but do not know how to actually let a text say what it actually says. This is especially true when it comes to the Bible and Christianity. And I am not merely talking about the world “out there” either. I am talking about professing Christians and defenders of the faith in our apologetic communities. When I hear some of these people talk about the Bible, I seriously have to ask, “Do you even know how to read anymore?” Because what they say the Bible says is nothing like what the Bible says. People want to boast about the salvation and sanctification of Christianity, but for the life of them they cannot figure out what the word “day” means in Genesis.
This has compelled me to write a series about how to read and understand the Bible. God’s timing is perfect, because I just completed a series about returning our homes to a Biblical structure and format, to be a place that God directs and owns and where it is a place of production and value, rather than a place of consumption and about self. How can we return to the old paths, how can we go back in order to go forward, unless we know what God is actually saying through Scripture? We need to get back to the basics, return to the foundations. There is nothing wrong with studying things academically, but there is something dreadfully wrong with how academia is done today.
This post will start a series about the fundamentals of how to read and understand the Bible. While I will at times throw in some “academic” terms, those are merely fancy words for things we normally do anyway. The Bible is a simple book in that even a child can read and understand; but it is also a deep book that the most learned scholar will have only scratched the depths of its richness. And one thing I will make clear: if the “deep” meaning contradicts in any way the “simple” meaning, it is not a “deep” meaning at all but a perversion. I will not be as some of the academics that talk down to the non-scholars and say “you have to know the original Greek and Hebrew” to understand the Bible (which is useful, but not necessary), but I want to re-open the Bible to people. It is a book that is to be cherished, loved, and respected, but it is primarily meant to be understood, believed, and obeyed. If people want to reject the Bible, that’s their call, but they had better accurately represent it when they do so if they want to be known as an academic.
So, what is the Bible? What is this book? First off, it is not one book. It is a collection of 66 books written by 40 authors from all sorts of walks of life, in all different political and religious contexts, different locations, different languages, different primary audiences, different genres, all over a 1600-year span, and yet it all says the same message. It is not an anthology either, but it actually reads as though it is a single book with a single mind. There is no other book that is like it. No anthology compares. No academic text compares. No historical document compares. No religious text compares either. It is unique among all other books. You can get more details about this in my book Ten Reasons to Believe the Bible.
The Bible is not just a book of Jewish writings about the Jewish people, but rather a book by Jewish authors through whom God is sending a message to the whole world. The primary audience of the Bible is not Jews, but rather the Church throughout the ages. While many academics often look at the Bible from the lens of the Ancient Near Eastern culture, that is not an appropriate way to interpret it. Even though Israel was geographically in the Ancient Near East, culturally they were vastly different. God set up their culture to be different from the rest. This was to be a physical demonstration for the church age to come.
The Bible’s historical writings have a two-fold purpose. First, to give an accurate history. That history was primarily as a test to prove who the Messiah would be. Jesus had to come from Adam, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and then David. The historical records are not only the most accurate accounts of history ever written, but their accuracy is part of what enables us to know that Jesus is indeed the Messiah. Second, to give all its readers examples of every type of situation we could face. These are not myths nor fables but records of actual events. They actually happened as described. They were not mythicized. There are countless examples where I have seen the exact same tactics and moves used by the people recorded in the Bible today.
The Bible has laws, teachings, wisdom writings, songs, prophecies, parables, group and personal letters, apocalyptic literature, and even metaphors and allegories. The primary genre is history or historical narratives – giving an account of what happened. Unless the text demonstrates to be otherwise, this should be the default. I’ll deal with this more as the series progresses.
The Bible is unique from every other book in that it is inspired by God. While God did indeed use human authors to physically pen the text, each were moved and carried along by the Holy Spirit. In some cases, it was direct dictation such as the prophecy books. In other cases, the Holy Spirit utilized the author’s personality and writing style and yet still carried on the divine spirit in the text. Not just any book or author could claim this, though many tried. Moses and the Apostles in particular were validated as divine authors because they were given power to perform miracles that showed they were from God. The prophets were authors were tested by the tests of a prophet which included a death sentence for prophesying wrongly. So not only were these books written under the direct influence of the Holy Spirit, but they were publicly recognized as such at the time they were written. It is this inspiration that gives the Bible its position as the first, final, and ultimate authority over every matter it speaks on.
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This post will wrap up my series on what is going on with our culture for the time being, but there is far more to be said about these issues. We need to face some facts. The fact remains that our culture here in the U.S. is not Christian and is in fact quite hostile towards Christianity. We aren’t bleeding for our faith yet, but we are fast approaching that, and there are people who intend to harm us as much as possible in high positions. This is simply fact.
The fact also remains that American Christendom has long departed the tenants of the faith. While many of us long to go back to the good old days when there actually was morality, to be honest, I do not believe there is any going back for this country. I do believe we have crossed the point of no return. That’s as a country. But what about us as individuals?
One thing we have to remember is that we are not of this world. The United States is not our home. While we should cherish what is left of this once-great country and praise God for the little freedom we have left, the U.S. is not paradise. It is not our final destination. Eternity with God in the New Earth is our ultimate destination.
That said, when God judges a nation, the one thing He says to all who may believe is to come out from among them. While that sometimes means actually physically leave the country, sometimes that is not an option. What is does mean in every situation is to come out of that culture. Do not partake in that culture any longer. The church needs to actually obey this. We’ve heard it, but few are listening. The world has so deeply infiltrated the church that it is nearly impossible to identify a genuine sheep anymore. And even when there are genuine sheep, there is no power behind them. Why? Because the world has gotten so deep into our roots that we cannot comprehend what to do apart from it. Need an example? “Youth ministry.” I am not against churches ministering to youth, but how are we doing it. It is exactly as the world does it in our schools: age segregation and be “youth focused” instead of “Gospel focused.”
The church is dead. It has a reputation for being alive, but it’s dead. There is no life in it. Where is the church in which people are genuinely getting saved, holiness is sought, the world is being shunned, and spiritual eyes and ears are being opened? It’s hard to find. Why? The answer is because we have followed the world and left the narrow path.
We have departed the path for so long that we cannot just stop and leap over to the narrow path. We actually have to go backwards and repent of our departing the path. One thing I’ve greatly enjoyed in my pastor’s teachings on Exodus is that God didn’t merely take Israel out of Egypt from bondage to slavery. He took them through the wilderness so He could get Egypt out of Israel. Israel was still hooked to Egypt’s gods, Egypt’s “luxury living,” and Egypt’s authority. The wilderness was scary, and not even the promise of their own land could keep them believing. God had to strip that all away so only teenagers were those alive during the Plagues and the Red Sea Crossing who remembered it when they finally entered in, in their 50s.
Over and over again, we see the same central message: Go back to the ways God taught us from the beginning. To do so, we have to backtrack and pull away from the direction we are going. We cannot simply steer this ship back onto the right course. We made a wrong turn in the maze of life and there is no route out except turning around and going back.
Israel did this during the time of the Judges. They would sin, then God would hand them over to enemies, then they’d cry and go back to God, and then God would send a deliverer. But Israel kept going back to their sin because they really weren’t sorry for their sin. They were sorry they were being oppressed. They went back to just get the difficulty over with, but they never actually went back to their roots and what God established from the start.
The American home departed the path of the Biblical home at late as the Industrial Revolution. Which homes today are actually following the Biblical mandates and the parents can point to which Scriptures they are using for their decisions? Can we find anyone giving examples? We will follow the Bible’s moral standards, but how have we followed Biblical principles for home decisions, job decisions, kid decisions, what we watch and read, who we hang out with, and all that stuff? Is the Bible playing a role in any of it? I’ll be honest: it may be difficult for me to actually say “I do this, this, and that, because Scripture commands me according to this, this, and that passage.” There are things that are there in general principle, but have I actually directed and guided my life according to Biblical principles or just modern “Christian” home traditions? One thing I have been chewing on is to really get a set of “advisors,” a board of directors, good friends who can give me a whopping when necessary. I’ve never had any real mentors in my life with whom I can talk face-to-face. I am so grateful for my current church because they see that need too, and steps are being made to get some kind of mentorship going again. We need to get back to the Biblical principles of Christian living, not American culture living with Christian flavors.
How do we get there? There is one word to describe it all: repentance. We need to completely abandon the world’s way of doing things, turn around, and go back to the basics. There is a reason I keep harping about origins, and a key reason why is that is where most of the departure has taken place. While not a universal statement, if you trace the demise of a church, a seminary, an educational institution, a denomination, etc., many times you will find a caving on origins at or near the beginning of that path towards death. There are other issues such as morality, but when origins go, Biblical authority goes, and everything else spirals. This is a key point of the Romans 1 spiral to depravity. If we want to truly go forward in our walk of faith, we have to go back and return to the very spot where we departed. We cannot just look for a path back to the good path. We have to completely backtrack. And that may include destroying and abolishing “traditional” ministries that have long lost their purpose and have now become institutionalized. We need to cut off and prune the dead branches that are no longer producing fruit or multiplying and get our resources to branches that are producing.
So, as I conclude this series on what has gone wrong with the home and getting back to a Biblical-based home, we need to abandon modern psychology; we need to abandon the American culture of consumerism; and we need to return to the Bible, strip away all that theology and tradition and reset God’s way. The nations want a “Great Reset.” We need one, too. The way forward is back: back to the basics, back to the foundations. And let me warn you what Jesus warned us all: if we do not reset things ourselves, God will do the resetting for us, and He will strip us down to nothing so there is nothing of self or the world dominating our lives.
How can we reset? How can we go back so we can truly go forward? This was not intended as I wrote this series, but my next one is on how to understand the Bible. We have so drifted away from Biblical truth and Biblical foundations that religion is just a matter of interpretations. And it has gotten so bad that in order to justify unfounded positions, people actually turn to hide behind illiteracy. So likely to end 2022, I will do a study on how to read and understand the Bible, and there will be no need to go to seminary to follow up with it.
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I began studying Biblical Greek in 2007 when I started my master of divinity degree at Winebrenner Theological Seminary, and it was through that class that God revealed my love for languages, particularly Biblical Greek and Hebrew (which I began learning the following year). One of my favorite aspects of these original languages of the Bible is the words that we just don’t have good English equivalents for. It takes multiple words in English to get to the general idea of these words, which adds so much beauty to these languages.
Before I get back into writing through the book of Hebrews next week, I wanted to write a post on one such word: teleios (τελειος), pronounced like TE-ley-ahs. This is an adjective (a word that describes a noun), and generally speaking, it means perfect, mature, finished, or complete. In the Greek New Testament, there are 17 occurrences of this adjective form, one of the related noun form, and 23 of the related verb. I won’t go over all 41 occurrences in this blog post, but I do want to highlight a few of them to give an idea of what this word means in its various usages.
The noun form has the meaning of perfecter, and the one occurrence happens in Hebrews 12:2a: “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” You can read more about that verse’s context here. Most common English versions translate this word as “perfecter” in that context, though a few translate it as “finisher.” Either of those meanings is good, of course, but the idea in context is that of the beginning and the end. The word translated above as “pioneer” is sometimes translated as author, source, or origin. These two words together have the idea of the beginning and the end. Jesus is the beginning and the end of faith, and everything in the middle too!
Here are some of the uses of the adjective of teleios in the New Testament, with that word highlighted for you in English. I’m quoting the NIV for each of these.
“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)
“Jesus answered, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’” (Matthew 19:21)
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2)
“We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.” (1 Corinthians 2:6)
“For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.” (1 Corinthians 13:9-10)
“Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.” (1 Corinthians 14:20)
“Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:13)
“He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.” (Colossians 1:28)
“Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:4)
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17)
“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18)
The other uses of the adjective form that I’m not directly quoting here are in Philippians 3:15, Colossians 4:12, Hebrews 5:14, Hebrews 9:11, James 1:25, and James 3:2.
You can see from these verses that the translators of the NIV do use different English words for teleios depending on the context of the passage. That’s the thing with translating the Bible; context is king! Most words do not have a one-to-one English equivalent that’s always used for every occurrence. But with all of these translations, we get a better picture of the idea of teleios – the idea of maturity, perfection, and completeness. None of these English words fully capture this idea, though they all give us a piece of the teleios puzzle.
The occurrences of the verb form (the root is teleiow, pronounced te-ley-AH-oh) also help us get a fuller picture of this idea. A few of the occurrences are in John 4:34, Acts 20:24, Philippians 3:12, and 1 John 4:12. Look up those passages (or click the links) and see if you can find them.
You may be wondering, why am I writing so much about this one Greek word? Teleios is the goal of every person who believes in Jesus Christ. We all strive to live like Jesus, who is fully mature, complete, and perfect. We all aim to grow and mature in our faith, and the epitome of that maturity is this idea of teleios. Remember that there is only one occurrence of this word’s noun form in the New Testament, and that is describing Jesus as the perfecter of faith. Jesus embodies teleios, and we all strive to become as close as possible to imitating Jesus.
We will never fully reach teleios this side of heaven, but it is still the goal of every believer – to become perfect, mature, whole, and complete in Jesus Christ. Keep growing in your faith, growing in relationship with God, and growing in teleios.
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by Steve Risner
Editor’s note: Due to the upcoming Christmas holiday, we’re re-posting this blog post today for your enjoyment.
Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Last Thursday, I released a blog post about the origins of some of our more popular or well known Christmas holiday traditions. You can read that here. Today, I wanted to look at some of the historical facts that some skeptics take issue with – things like the census that Luke reported and who was governor at the time of Christ's birth. Also, what was the star that led the wise men to Bethlehem? Why are there differences in the genealogies of Matthew and Luke? Some of these alleged issues have been covered literally for hundreds of years while others have found a more contemporary response. Either way, we can trust the Gospel story as it's written in the 4 books dedicated to the life of Christ we find in the Bible and, specifically for today's writing, the 2 Gospels that give us details of the birth of Jesus.
For Bible believers, it's accepted that the Bible is very likely accurate in all it records (with a few exceptions that can be traced back to copying errors and are of no consequence at all). Luke is considered by many to be a top rate historian who was very concerned with accurately recording things in an orderly fashion so the reader may know the account is true. He didn't take things lightly and he interviewed those who were there (or he himself was there) for his historical account of the life of Jesus and the early church. It's unlikely Luke would include something of minute detail if it was not correct since he was primarily concerned with accuracy and orderliness. Let's look at some alleged issues.
The census that had Joseph take his pregnant soon-to-be-wife to Bethlehem is an area history has an issue with. It's one of the toughest to answer satisfactorily, but I'm okay with unanswered questions. There are certainly some things from God's Word that we're not 100% clear on, but none of these things are of major importance from a theological stand point. They are the details. We, as believers, must be united on the essentials but allow freedom in those things that are more preferential than essential. If we stand united on the important stuff, we'll make a great deal of headway for the Kingdom. But this issue does have some options as for an answer. The issue here is that Quirinius wasn't governor of the area when Jesus was born nor did he have a census taken during the time generally accepted as the time Christ was born—about 4 BC. His census was done around 6 AD. He also claims that Herod the Great was ruling at the time. Herod died probably early in 1 BC. Many suggest it was 4 BC, but more recently that has been questioned for various reasons. It seems to make more sense it was 1 BC. So this means we cannot assume the census spoken of was done in 6 AD and this was the census Luke wrote about for the time of Christ's birth. Early church father Tertullian indicates that Saturninus was in charge during Christ's birth, as Roman records seem to indicate as well.
There are several explanations that have been put forth for this issue. One is that Quirinius was put in charge of the census only during the time Saturninus was over the area. Another is that Quirinius finished the census, which was first imposed by Augustus over the Roman world, going from province to province. The Jews may have been allowed to use their “own town” as the text suggests rather than their Roman town. This has historical support. But it is possible the Quirinius is credited with the census because he, in fact, finished it. Another possible explanation is that Quirinius had some other official position that put him in a leadership role at the time. The text uses words that can indicate governor but also other positions are possible. There is historical documentation that indicates an official around this time held office twice. That could well have been Quirinius.
Still another possible explanation is the text itself. Reading ancient Greek can be tricky. It's possible the text doesn't say it occurred during the reign of Quirinius but prior to the reign of Quirinius or prior to the census of Quirinius. We need to understand how the grammar works here. The census of Augustus was not a one time, empire-wide event but multiple events over a longer time period. Luke indicates this with his use of the present tense in reference to Augustus's census of the world (the Roman world that is). It was ongoing. Then he hones in on the area known as Syria. It's also likely from the text that Luke is referring to one of two censuses that took place near that time. He indicates it was the first census, rather than the more commonly referred to one of 6 AD. Any of these, or some other explanation, could adequately deal with the skeptic's complaint. Some other historical documents may be found to further confirm the accuracy of Luke's narrative.
Let’s look at another question. Joseph should not have had to go to Bethlehem but to his current home town, and Mary should not have been required to accompany him at all since she wouldn't need to register. This is not so. There Egyptian records that indicate Rome frequently allowed local cultural traditions to be used during certain things. There is no reason to suggest it wasn't okay in this instance. In Jewish culture, property (which Joseph may likely have owned in the area of Bethlehem since his family was from the area) was passed down through the father. This would have demanded Joseph go to his own town and register. Why did his pregnant fiance join him? A couple good reasons, I think: 1) she was about to give birth and wanted to be with Joseph at the time, and 2) she and Joseph were aware of the Messianic prophecies indicating where Jesus would be born. They knew the child she carried was the prophesied Messiah, so she needed to get him to Bethlehem. Watching the Lord work out the details that not only allowed for her to be in Bethlehem but even required her to be there was probably a faith builder for the couple.
What was the star the Magi saw? I don't know. Many have suggested a few different things that, to me, don't follow. A common thought is a conjunction of multiple planets that made some sort of super star in the night sky. Another is the idea that a comet may have been in the sky, leading the wise men on their journey. Still another possible explanation is a supernova—an exploding star. None of these work for me. The star rested over a house and led the men on their journey. A conjunction of planets or exploding star in the sky wouldn't lead them. A comet wouldn't lead them. It's likely it was a supernatural event, like the pillar of fire at night and pillar of cloud during the day that led the Hebrews as they left Egypt. The text seems to tell us that only the Magi saw the star and that it led them from Jerusalem to Bethlehem which is north to south. Normal objects in the sky travel from east to west.
The apparent differences in the genealogies of Jesus from Matthew to Luke are very simple to address. Luke was referencing Jesus’s mother's lineage while Matthew was highlighting Joseph's—Jesus’s legal father. However, Mary's lineage through David was not cursed while Joseph's was. Christ could not have been the King if his real father was Joseph due to Jehoiachin. The grammar used in Luke's list indicates he was giving us Mary's line up until Joseph, who was indicated by the text as the son-in-law.
I'm sure there are other issues skeptics have, but that's what they do: they seek out reasons to not believe rather than accepting the obviousness of the accuracy and authority of the Bible to proclaim God's Word to us. This Christmas, praise Him for His amazing acts. He became flesh and dwelt among us. Christ's birth is, in my opinion, the second greatest event in the history of the universe only topped by the Resurrection. Celebrate and worship Him! Rest in the facts of the day—Jesus was born! God sent us the greatest gift of all—that of His Son. God is with us.
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by Chad Koons
Have you stopped believing in “unspoken prayer requests”? If so, then you are in good company. Let’s cut to the chase and review 5 great reasons why unspoken prayer requests should be forever stricken from our vocabulary.
1. Unspoken requests are simply not Biblical. This sounds heavy, but it’s true. A great example for this point would be the Apostle Paul. Paul requested prayer many times – Romans 15:30-32, Ephesians 6:18-20, and Colossians 4:2-4, just to name a few. Since he lived within the ancient world where letters and messengers were the means of correspondence, Paul’s prayer warriors didn’t always know every detail of what was going on with him. Yet Paul knew his situation and therefore gave them direction in how to pray! Read the passages above and you’ll see that Paul made specific requests. You will never find where Paul told the churches that he has an “unspoken request.” Paul’s prayer warriors knew what to pray because he told them! If we are wise, we will follow this example.
2. If it’s worth asking for prayer, then it’s worth being selectively transparent. Often, we use the unspoken prayer request because of privacy. And rightfully so, because not everyone should know your business! But some people should know what you’re going through, especially if you are asking them to pray for you. We all have a circle of family and friends who love and care for us. These are the people with whom we must be vulnerable; we should be transparent enough to share our specific prayer requests with them. Forget the unspoken, social media, shotgun blasts; instead, we need to confide with those whom the Lord has given us. Trust them with the information they need to go the Lord on your behalf! Paul had relationship with those whom he asked for prayer, and he put much faith in their specific prayers. Which brings me to #3…
3. We need to respect our prayer warriors. Whenever someone asks me to pray for their unspoken prayer request, it’s always an awkward feeling. I am left wondering and pressured with, “So… what should I pray for?” I cannot go to the Lord unless I know what I’m going to Him about. I’m not going to waste my time, or worse yet fumble around before the King of all kings! I take prayer seriously, as we all should. I’ll pray for you, sincerely I will, but if you can’t tell me what I’m praying for, then maybe I’m not the guy to do it. Think about this: when you ask for prayer, you are asking someone to present themselves before the throne of God Almighty on your behalf. Do we realize the gravity of this? Unspoken requests put your prayer warriors in awkward position, somewhere between sympathy, bewilderment, and struggle. This is not something I would ask anyone to experience on my behalf. Your prayer warriors are going before the Lord for you, so make sure that you have respected their time, fervency, and faith by not putting them in that awkward “unspoken” position.
4. Recognizing the gift of prayer itself. Within earthly kingdoms, it is a fearful and honorable thing to be summoned before the king, and nobody treats that summons lightly. In the same way, prayer is a fearful and honorable thing. It is an awesome gift from the Lord, so please ask for and use it wisely. The Lord calls us to come boldly before His throne (Hebrews 4:14-16), so we must respect this holy opportunity. When the apostle Paul considered the prayer of those supporting him, he approached it with the utmost respect. “For I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance” (Philippians 1:19). Paul understood the gravity of the gift of prayer. He realized that it was not mere good vibes, positive thoughts, nor was it something to enter into flippantly. He recognized that prayer was a holy endeavor where we meet with our King, that prayer is a vehicle through which much power is made available! Unspoken requests are vague and not developed enough to bring before the Lord. Which brings me to my last point…
5. Prayer must be specific and based on His Word. Did you know that there is a protocol when it comes to prayer? When we pray, we must pray according to His will and know that He hears us (1 John 5:14-15). We cannot do this unless we know the will of God. What is God’s will? It’s actually not mysterious; God’s will is found in the Bible! The Bible is specific about many things, therefore you must find out what the Bible says about your situation before you go before the Lord with it.
Instead of issuing a non-specific “unspoken prayer request,” begging God, or giving up, how about doing what it takes to search the Bible regarding your situation? Take the time, put in the effort, and even Google it if you need to. And once you know what the Lord has said about it, then you can pray boldly, specifically, and according to His will! What is God’s will? Again, God’s will is found within His Word.
Now for a practical example. Since many people battle anxiety, let’s just use that. If you battle anxiety, you would need to search the Bible and find out what it says about anxiety. You will find verses in Matthew, Philippians, 1 Peter, and 2 Corinthians that talk about anxiety and how to deal with it. Now that you know what the Word of God says regarding anxiety, you can take those Scriptures before the Lord. Having armed yourself with the will of God, here’s what you could say:
“In Matthew 6:25-34, the Lord Jesus commanded me to not be anxious or worry, therefore I realize that I must obey that command. Philippians 4:6-7 tells me not to be anxious about anything, but instead to tell the Lord what I need and to be thankful, and then the peace of God will guard my heart and mind. According to 1 Peter 5:7, I now know that the Lord doesn’t want me to keep my anxiety, but instead He wants me to cast my cares upon Him because He cares for me! 2 Corinthians 10:5 says that I am to destroy every argument and opinion that is contrary to the knowledge of God, and that I am expected to take every thought captive and make it obey Christ!”
Now that I know the will of God regarding anxiety, I will now pray according to the Word and will of God:
“Lord, I will no longer be anxious. You said to cast my cares upon You, so here are my cares, I cast them upon You (taking a moment to tell him what your cares are). I thank You for hearing me and I thank you because you are taking them away from me! Because I cast my cares upon You, I believe that Your peace will now guard my heart and mind. I will obey your command and I will no longer worry. I will focus instead upon You and Your Kingdom. I refuse and destroy every anxious thought that comes against me because they go against the Word of God. I will take my thoughts captive and I will make them obey Christ in Jesus’ name!”
It’s not magic. It’s not positive thought. No, it’s far better; it’s praying specifically according to the Word of God! Prayers like this get answered. They are specific, based upon the will of God, and full of faith.
This, my friends, is so much better than non-specific, wishy-washy, half-hearted prayer. When you search the Bible to see what He has to say about it, then you may go before His throne and pray with boldness according to His will!
So please, never again utter the words, “I have an unspoken prayer request.” Confide in those whom the Lord has given you, find out what the Bible says about it, and go before the Lord with this awesome gift of prayer! The Lord is waiting.
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"To be an effective warrior in the battle for truth today, several old fashioned, Christlike virtues are absolutely essential: biblical discernment, wisdom, fortitude, determination, endurance, skill in handling Scripture, strong convictions, the ability to speak candidly without waffling, and a willingness to enter a conflict."
~John MacArthur: The Truth War, page 146
When we deal with apologetics, there is nothing more important in terms of your knowledge than skill in Scripture. The rest of the virtues have to deal with character and mindset. This one is the only of MacArthur’s list that deals with actual content. When I opened this series, one of the statements I made is that apologetics must have one of two goals if not both: 1) to proclaim from Scripture or 2) to show the reliability of Scripture, then in all that to reveal Christ. If we aren’t doing these two things, we may be able to present truth about the existence of God or good political talk, but we’ve completely missed the point of doing apologetics. If our apologetics point to and praise the works of men over God, we preach a false position. As much as I love listening to men who preach the truth, I must be careful about idolizing them. While I can learn truth from those who speak it, the only value they have is when they speak the truth of Scripture. The same is true about me. The only thing of true value that I know is that which has its source in Scripture, in the words of God. As much as I love science and I love to talk about science, that is a very weak source when compared to the Holy Scriptures.
Voddie Baucham gives an excellent analogy for this issue. He describes two knights going head-to-head in a duel. Knight 1 draws his sword. Knight 2 proclaims, “I don’t believe in your sword.” Knight 1 has three options: 1) put his sword away and don’t use it b) put his sword down and explain why his sword is dangerous to the other knight, or c) hit Knight 2 anyway and ask, “Do you believe in it now?” What is Baucham addressing here? He is answering the ludicrous idea that if someone doesn’t believe in the Bible, you can’t use it as your authority. Why? Why let them dictate the “rules”? I reject the principles of naturalism and uniformitarianism. I reject the premise that “science” is the only valid way to know if something is true. I reject the premise that ANY authority that man has discovered or contrived has any influential say on what Scripture states nor can it override what Scripture states.
So, what does that say about the person who rejects these things? If someone rejects the Bible, perhaps we should throw their own argument back at them. “I don’t believe in your ‘scientism.’” Make them answer for their own standards. In all, the Bible is our authority as Christians and it saddens me how few actually use it as such, especially in apologetics. When I first tried my hand at apologetics, I thought I could prove a young earth without the Bible (and I parroted Kent Hovind’s presentations). Needless to say, I didn’t get far because I didn’t understand how the arguments or authorities worked. The Christian apologist needs the Bible as their primary authority, and then they need skill in using it.
As I’ve written about the Armor of God, when I talk about the “feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of peace,” I describe how in any sport or activity, footwork, proper footwear, and having grip of the ground are the most important thing. If your feet are in the wrong place, if you don’t have traction, if they are heavy and don’t move, you are toast. The same is true in the spiritual battle field. You must know the Scriptures, and you must be able to “rightly divide” the Word of God. No one on this planet today is ever going to get it 100% correct, nor will anyone ever exhaust the mine of truth it contains, but we must know what it says and how to use it.
We must have proper exegesis. The Bible is not a book you “interpret” based on what you think or what you know. The true Christian doesn’t “read the Bible.” The Bible reads the true Christian. It’s the instruction manual for life. It’s the mirror that shows you who you truly are. It’s the lens through which we can see reality. If you want me to tune out of anything you have to say about the Bible, open with “I think.” The Christian is not to operate that way regarding the Bible. When we put our opinions about things to the Bible, we are putting our intellect and our ideas and our thinking as the authority over Scripture; enabling us to pick and choose what we like, and what we don’t like. Instead, we must submit to Scripture. We don’t dictate what it says; it tells us what it says.
We must have more than mere surface level understanding of Scripture. I need to make this clear: different does NOT mean deeper. In a debate between Kent Hovind and Hugh Ross, someone in the audience suggested that “day” meaning ordinary day is the initial meaning, but then meaning long period of time is a “deeper meaning” and offered that as a solution to the YEC/OEC debate. The true answer to this suggestion is that any deeper meaning MUST be in perfect agreement to the initial meaning. Just as calculus is a deeper level of math than addition and subtraction, if the calculus denies basic arithmetic, it’s not math. Likewise, ANY model that suggests “day” is not a normal day (as the language commands) is not a deeper understanding of anything. It’s an entirely different construct.
I have had conversations with some people who proclaim Christ, but their knowledge of the Gospel is very superficial and surface-level at best, and they are trying to “educate” me about theology and tell me that I need to listen to the Holy Spirit. If someone picking your brain on a topic can only get to the surface level and not get further, then you don’t know it well enough. My former pastor told me after hearing me speak that if someone were to pick my brain, they would not be able to hit the bottom in Bible knowledge and general apologetics. But there are fields where I am not afraid to admit that my knowledge doesn’t go very deep on that field. I also don’t talk about those fields very much. On the other hand, I have had people tell me that their theology is far more important than their studies of geology, yet when they talk, they are extremely articulate in geology and can’t or won’t dig into the theology of their claims. Which one have they really studied?
We must be skilled in Scripture. Jesus was a master of it. He didn’t merely have it memorized; He knew precisely what it said, what it meant, and how to use it. We should learn from His model. Study Scripture and keep studying Scripture. Get to know the author through Scripture. It will not merely help you through defending your faith; it will help you live your life. Next week, I will conclude my study of this MacArthur quote with the last phrase: “having strong convictions, speaking candidly, and being willing to enter a conflict.” After that, we’ll take a thorough examination of 2 Timothy 2:24-26 and the surrounding context.
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“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” -Hebrews 4:12-13
While I wrote last week on Hebrews 4:6-11, verse 11 is really a transition verse between the following section and these important verses we’ll discuss today. Verse 11 says, “Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.” This summarizes the previous section, where the author instructs us that our main goal as believers is to obey God with our lives.
Why should we obey God? Because of the description we get of His word in today’s verses. It has been said that a person is only as good as his or her word, and that is true of God as well. God’s Word in the Bible and Jesus as the living form of that Word are how God has specifically revealed Himself to us. While there is more to God than what we can comprehend from His word with our simple human brains, if His word is not valid, then neither is God.
While our English version quoted above splits verse 12 into two sentences, it’s really all one sentence in the original Greek. The structure of the verse has the word of God as the subject, and then the rest of the clauses describe it. The word of God is alive, active, sharper than every double-edged sword, penetrates to dividing, and able to judge. All of those phrases are equally joined into one sentence. That would make for a long sentence to read in English, but it’s important to note that each of those attributes of the word of God are portrayed equally in one grammatical piece, rather than a little more separated like we see in English.
Does the word of God here refer to the written word of the Bible, or the person of Jesus (as in John 1? Yes. Some scholars believe that this phrase in this context means anything that God has spoken, which would include the Bible and the words spoken by Jesus. Other scholars believe this refers to the person of Jesus also. However, the specific distinction is not very important, as the whole Bible points to the person and work of Jesus, so they are essentially one in the same.
The idea of the word being “alive and active” means that the revealed word of God is actually doing things, not just passively sitting there in a book gathering dust. Have you ever had the experience where you re-read a passage of the Bible, and it almost feels like you’ve never read it before? That’s the dynamic, living, and active essence of God’s word; when we give it the opportunity to work in our lives, transform us, and help us to mature as believers, it will definitely do so!
What specifically does the word do? It is sharper (literally “more cutting” in the Greek) than a double-edged sword, and it penetrates to our inmost being. The word of God is unique, and nothing else can do what it does. The author is not referring to the sword as dividing or splitting our body apart by saying “even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow.” Rather, that refers to it being able to reach deep inside of us where nothing else can. We have absolutely no secrets from God, and there is nothing that we can keep to ourselves; His word will be able to reach there! Our whole person is open to God, and there’s nothing we can do to prevent that.
The word of God “judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Again, we see that the word can see fully inside us, even to our very intentions. No one can fully discern our thoughts and attitudes except God. Not only does God know them, but his word judges them. We cannot keep any secrets from God; everything we think and even our very attitudes are scrutinized by God.
Verse 13 echoes this same idea but with a different metaphor. Rather than a double-edged sword digging into the core of our very being, we now see that it is impossible to hide anything from God. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before Him. There is nothing in all of creation that can ever hide from God’s knowledge and presence! Even our thoughts and our attitudes cannot hide from Him, and they will be exposed to Him.
The last phrase of this verse, translated in the NIV as, “before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” makes sense in context and is a good translation. But, it causes us to miss that the final Greek words in this verse are ha logos, which means “the word” - it’s the same phrase used at the start. The word essentially bookends these two verses, at the start and the end. This further shows the all-encompassing nature of the word of God.
Is the word of God active and alive in your life? It will be active and alive no matter what our thoughts or opinions of it are, because we do not control the word. But we do control our attitudes and the thoughts of our hearts; are those aligning with the alive and active word of God? Or are we disobeying God even with our innermost beings?
How does it make you feel that the word of God penetrates to your inmost being, and that even your thoughts and attitudes are exposed to God? If we recognize the evil nature of our ways as fallen humans, then that will likely make us feel pretty uncomfortable and anxious, knowing that the perfect God of the universe knows every evil little detail about us. But, that is why Jesus is so important! The sacrificial death of Jesus and His resurrection have covered all of our sinful thoughts and attitudes when we put our faith in Him. What was uncovered and exposed to God has been covered by the blood of Jesus, so we need not worry.
As a follower of Jesus Christ, seeing the word of God in this way is a comfort and not a threat. If you feel uncomfortable about the word of God knowing and judging every little detail about your life, it’s time to put your faith, hope, and trust fully in Jesus Christ today!
This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration. All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved. Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.
