Archive for the ‘Commentary’ Category
Hebrews - Chapter 13
Hebrews 13:1-25 from the Commentary in Translation Version
(1) Let brotherly love last.
(2) Stop neglecting hospitality, for by this some were unaware that they had entertained angels
(3) Bear in mind the prisoners, as if you were imprisoned with them; the ones that are mistreated, as yourselves being mistreated in the body.
(4) Marriage is precious for all, and the bed undefiled, but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.
(5) Let you way of live be free of the love of money, being contented with the things that you have, for he himself said: By no means shall I desert you, no in any way abandon you.
(6) So that we may with full confidence say: I can call upon the LORD to help and so I will not fear; what then shall man do unto me?
(7) Remember them had once led you, who have spoken to you the word of God; consider the outcome of their life, and imitate them.
(8) Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever
(9) Stop being carried away by various and strange doctrines, for it is good for the heart to be established with grace and not with meats, which those that follow that way of life could not benefit.
Again a warning against doctrines not of the Church.
(10) We have an altar, and those that still serve the tabernacle have no right to eat
(11) For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp.
(12) Therefore, Jesus also, to set the people apart as holy with his own bloodm suffered outside the gate.
(13) So let us there fore go out the camp, bearing his reproach.
(14) For here we have no lasting city, but - but! - we are seeking that which is to come.
(15) Therefore, through him, let us through all things, offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips, giving thanks to his name.
(16) But stop neglecting to do good and to share with othersm for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
(17) You yourselves obey those that lead you, and accept their authority, for they watch over your souls, as they will render and account, that they may do it with joy and not with groanings, for this would be detrimental to you.
(18) Pray for us, for we are confident that we have a good conscience, in all things desiring to conducts ourselves honorably.
(19) But I urge you to do this, so that I will be soon restored to you
(20) Now, may the God of peace who did bring up from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the eternal covenant,
(21) Make you perfect in every good work in order to do his will, working in you the acceptable thing before him, through Jesus Christ, to whom is the glory forever and ever. Amen.
(22) But I urger you, brethern, listen carefully to the words of this exhortation, for indeed through a few words, I wrote unto you.
(23) Know that the brother Timothy has been released, with whom, if he is come quickly, I will see you.
(24) Greet all the ones that lead you, and all of the saints. The Italians greet you.
(25) Grace be with you all, Amen.
Hebrews - Chapter 12
Hebrews 12:1-29 from the Commentary in Translation Version
(1) Therefore, let us also keep running our race which is set before us with perseverance, having put away every weight and the sin that readily entangles, seeing that we, yes we, have lying about us a vast mass of witnesses,
Encouragement against apostasy includes the veiled warning against stopping our race to the Crown of Life. If that that have gone on before (Chapter 11) can resist profaning God, even to the point of death, then we have no excuse.
(2) Fixing our eyes upon Jesus, the founder and perfector of the faith, who to obtain the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame and is sitting down at the right hand of the throne of God.
(3) For consider him that endured such hostility at the hands of sinners against himself, less you grow wearied and grow faint in your souls.
(4) You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood, striving against sin.
Christ was not disobedient, and if He was obedient even to death, then we can do no less.
(5) And you have completely forgotten the encouragement which reasons with you as children, saying: My son, stop thinking lightly of the correction of the LORD, and stop becoming discouraged when being admonished by him.
(6) For whom the LORD loves, he corrects, and he punished every son whom he accepts.
(7) It is for correction that you endure. God deals with you as with sons, for what son is there whom a father does not correct?
(8) But if you without the correct of which we all share, then you are fatherless children and not sons.
(9) Furthermore, we have had earthly fathers who corrected us, and we gave them respect; would we not rather be subject to the Father of our spirits and live?
(10) For they, yes they, indeed were correcting us for a short while in what seemed good to them; however, God corrects for our advantage, to share of his holiness.
(11) Now indeed, no present correction seems joyfull, but painful! Yet afterwards it yields the fruit of righteousness that is a quite heart to those who have been exercised by it.
(12) For this reason, brace up the hands that hang down and the feebled knees,
(13) And make straight paths for your feet, so that the lame limb will not be dislocated, but rather healed.
(14) Pursue peace with all men and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord,
(15) Looking after one another less anyone fall back from the grace of God - unless any bitter root spring up trouble you, causing the many to be defiled,
(16) Lest anyone be a fornicator or a profane person like Esau, who for one piece of meat sold his birthright.
(17) For you know how that later on, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected, for he could find no way for repentence, although he pleaded with tears.
The threat of Esau is not hollow, or hypothetical, but real. Esau sold his birthright, which was the promise of Abraham, which is Christ and His Church. The same may be said of the person who has Christ but for acceptance by this world tramples the blood of the Covenant and therefore rebells against God.
(18) For you have not come up to the mount that is touchable, and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and whirlwind
(19) And the sound of a trumpet, and the sound of words, which voice they that heard, begged that no more words should be added.
(20) (For they could were not bearing that which was commanded, and even if an animal were to touch it, it was to be stoned, or thrust through with an arrow)
(21) And so awesome was the sight that Moses said: I am terrified and trembling)
(22) But you, yes you!, have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the numberless multitude of angels in joyful assembly,
(23) And to the church of the firstborn, who are recorded in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous men made perfect,
(24) And to the Mediator of the new covenant - Jesus, and to the sprinkling of bloos, that speaks better things than Abel.
(25) See that you do not refuse him that speaks. For if they who refused him that spoke on earth didn’t escape, shall we then escape if we turn away from him that speaks from heaven?
(26) Whose voice then shook the earth, but now he has promised, saying: Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
Is it possible to turn away from God? This writer says that it is and further says that if we do, we cannot escape. But who is he talking to? Sinners? Or Christians. Throughout the letter, and indeed, every book written after Acts, the audience is the Church.
(27) And this word: Yet once more, clearly shows the removal of the things shaken, as of things having been created, so that he things not being shaken shall remain.
(28) For this reason, since we receive an unshakable kingdom, let us have grace, through which we may acceptably sacred serve God with reverence and godly fear.
(29) For our God is a consuming fire.
Acts 20.28 from the Economic Perspective: Whose blood is it?
I have not had the chance to write about one of the topics that has interested me, the Godhead, but since there is a current discussion concerning this verse, I feel that it might a time to interject a bit.
Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God[3] which He purchased with His own blood. (Acts 20:28 NKJV)
Watch out for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son. (Acts 20:28 NET)
προσεχετε ουν εαυτοις και παντι τω ποιμνιω εν ω υμας το πνευμα το αγιον εθετο επισκοπους ποιμαινειν την εκκλησιαν του θεου ην περιεποιησατο δια του ιδιου αιματος Act 20:28
I was not happy to find the NET had added the word ‘Son’ (RSV, NRSV, CEV, NJB), however, it impressed me that the NLT read,
“And now beware! Be sure that you feed and shepherd God’s flock–his church, purchased with his blood–over whom the Holy Spirit has appointed you as elders.” (Acts 20:28 NLT)
The ASV, using the Westcott-Hort text (which does NOT underlie the current translations) says ‘Church of the Lord’. On this textual variant, the Student’s Guide to New Testament Textual Criticism, says,
While it is possible that the phrase “the church of the Lord” (found nowhere else in the New Testament) was replaced with the more familiar “the church of God” (found eleven times in the writings of Paul), it is more likely that “church of God” is original but copyists took offense at “[his] own blood” and changed “God” to “the Lord.” When the two are abbreviated, as they often were in manuscripts, there is only one letter’s difference between them. The reading “the church of the Lord and God” is a combination of the two readings, as is “the church of the Lord God” which is read by many of the Byzantine manuscripts.
There are some problems with taking this passage as a definite reference to Christ as the one God, not the least of which is the fact that there are several variant readings in the extant manuscripts (MSS) and we have demonstrated with the RV/ASV which used the manuscripts of Westcott and Hort. Some MSS read “the church of the Lord” (ekklesia kuriou) as opposed to “the church of God,” while other, later MSS combine both readings together so that we have “the church of the Lord and God.” It should be noted that the textual variant, like most textual variants, pose no threat to the Deity of Christ. The Ekklesia of the Lord (ekklesia kuriou) is used seven times in the Septuagint. (Deuteronomy 23.2-4, 8 LXX, which is usually translated as ‘assembly of the Lord’ in the NETS; 1st Chronicles 28.8; Micah 2.5)
Whether is the ‘Church of God’ or ‘Church of the Lord’ plays into the discussion concerning the Blood, which Tertullian tells us in chapter 3, book 2 of his book, ‘To His Wife’, is the blood of God,
So far as I know, “we are not our own, but bought with a price and what kind of price? The blood of God.
Robertson says,
With his own blood (dia tou haimatos tou idiou). Through the agency of (dia) his own blood. Whose blood? If tou theou (Aleph B Vulg.) is correct, as it is, then Jesus is here called “God” who shed his own blood for the flock. It will not do to say that Paul did not call Jesus God, for we have Romans 9:5; Colossians 2:9; Titus 2:13 where he does that very thing, besides Colossians 1:15-20; Philippians 2:5-11.
This is an important Christological passage and clearly points to Christ being God, without the idea of a distinction of person. The Father, who is Spirit, had no blood, but according the Economy of God, God became Incarnate (literally, in the Flesh) and due to this nature, had blood flowing through His veins.
There is also a debate whether to translate dia tou haimatos tou idiou as “which he obtained with his own blood” or “which he obtained with the blood of his own.” The translation “the blood of his own” can imply that it wasn’t the blood of God that purchased the Church, but the blood of one dear to God, such as a child or more specifically his beloved Son. To note, nowhere in Scripture is Christ called ‘His own’. As noted by the NET translators:
114tn Or “with his own blood”; Grk “with the blood of his own.” The genitive construction could be taken in two ways: (1) as an attributive genitive (second attributive position) meaning “his own blood”; or (2) as a possessive genitive, “with the blood of his own.” In this case the referent is the Son, and the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. See further C. F. DeVine, “The Blood of God,” CBQ 9 (1947): 381-408.
This method is used by several modern translations and supplemented with the words ‘of the Son’ which is to add Doctrine to the Scriptures when none exist. As a matter of fact, apologist Robert Bowman notes “that it was not until the latter half of the nineteenth century that anyone proposed that the words here in question did not mean ‘his own blood.’” Elsewhere, the New Testament speaks of Christ purchasing the Church either with His blood or through a reference to His death on the Cross,
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:7 NKJV)
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. (Titus 2:11-14 NKJV)
Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.
(Hebrews 13:12 NKJV)knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. (1 Peter 1:18-19 NKJV)
And they sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, And have made us[4] kings[5] and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.” (Revelation 5:9-10 NKJV)
In discussing the NWT’s translation (the Jehovah Witnesses’ translation made by unknown translator’s using unknown principles) addition of the word ‘his own son’ , Robert M. Bowman Jr, explains,
To get around the reading “which he purchased with his own blood,” some scholars in the past century or so have argued that the clause should be translated, “which he purchased with the blood of his own.” What is at dispute here, in technical terms, is whether to take TOU IDIOU adjectivally (”his own”) or substantivally (”of his own”). The simplest reading in terms of the grammar is the adjectival reading, “through his own blood.” (Greek often places the adjective after the noun in this construction, article-noun-article-adjective, called the second attributive position.) The NWT Reference Bible, in an appendix on Acts 20:28, admits that this would be “the usual translation” (p. 1580). However, Harris and some other scholars favor the substantival reading. On this reading, “his own” is a kind of description or title of Christ. They admit that Christ is nowhere else in the NT called “his own,” but they compare this way of construing the words to other titles of Christ using adjectives, such as “the Righteous One” or “the Beloved.”
The NWT reflects a similar approach; it translates the text, “the blood of his own.” The NWT Reference Bible appendix does not state whether this translation is based on the text-critical view of Hort that “Son” was originally in the text or on the grammatical view that TOU IDIOU is to be construed substantivally. The appendix presents both explanations and leaves it at that.
I don’t find the arguments for these views persuasive. There is zero manuscript evidence to support Hort’s speculation, despite the fact that there are several other textual variants in the manuscripts for this verse. So I think that view may be safely set aside as both unsubstantiated and improbable.
The view that TOU IDIOU is a substantive is at least plausible, but I think it is also unlikely. Against it I would make the following six arguments.
1. The other titles of Christ based on adjectives (e.g., “the Beloved”) all have multiple attestations in the NT and continued to be recognized as Christological titles and used by the early church. This is not the case with the hypothetical title “His Own.” Moreover, in the case of these other titles there is no grammatical ambiguity about their usage as there is here.
2. The smoothest and simplest reading is the adjectival reading, “his own blood.” I don’t know of anyone who disputes this fact. Again, as noted above, the NWT Reference Bible appendix acknowledges that this would be “the usual translation.”
3. It is prejudice against the text speaking of God’s “blood” that drives the substantival reading, as Harris himself candidly states. The NWT Reference Bible appendix makes this clear as well, observing, “That has been a difficult thought for many.” But ultimately this begs the question.
4. The early church clearly did not even entertain the substantival reading. Copyists who were bothered by the text altered “God” to “Lord” (as noted above) or made other changes, attesting to their understanding TOU IDIOU adjectivally. As best I can determine, the substantival reading is only about a hundred years old. This doesn’t make it certainly false, but it does place a heavy burden of proof on the substantival reading.1
5. As Harris himself points out, as quickly as the early second century Ignatius could write about “God’s blood” (Ignatius’s Epistle to the Ephesians, 1:1). Where did Ignatius get such language? Is it best explained as an Ignatian innovation or as reflecting Paul’s words in Acts, originally spoken to the Ephesian Christians (Acts 20:17, 28)? The Ephesian connection gives weight to the latter view.
6. The Bible elsewhere speaks in similar language of Christ’s blood, e.g., “through his blood” (DIA TOU hAIMATOS AUTOU, Eph. 1:7), “through his own blood” (DIA TOU IDIOU hAIMATOS, Heb. 13:12). (Again, the position of TOU IDIOU cannot be said to make any difference in the absence of some evidence for that claim.) Admittedly, the Bible can also use a substantival expression in the final position, as in “through the blood of his cross” (DIA TOU hAIMATOS TOU STAUROU AUTOU, Col. 1:20), but again, here the adjective AUTOU functions adjectivally to mean “Christ’s,” not “the Father’s.”
It is interesting to note that the very idea that God had shed blood is sited as the reason that scribes replaced ‘God’ with ‘Lord’ and would later conflate the text to read ‘God and Lord’. During the Christological debates, it was often cited that God was impassible and thus could not have blood. Raymond E. Brown, an Catholic New Testament Scholar, admits,
“The Holy Spirit has made you overseers to feed the church of God which he obtained with his own blood.” There are two problems about the italicized words: One concerns a variant reading (”the church of the Lord”); the other concerns grammatical understanding. As for the variant, “the church of God” is slightly better attested than “the church of the Lord.” Moreover, the reasoning why later copyists might have changed an original “the church of God” to “the church of the Lord” is somewhat stronger than for a change in the opposite direction. Overall, then, the weight of the argument favors “the church of God” as more original.
251. Although “the church of the Lord” occurs seven times in the Greek OT, it does not occur elsewhere in the NT, while “the church of God” occurs eleven times in the epistles attributed to Paul; thus here copyists of the NT might have changed an original but highly unusual “the church of the Lord” to the more customary expression. On the other hand “the church of God” could have struck copyists of the NT as objectionable because the sequence would then seem to be speaking of God’s blood; accordingly they might have changed the phrase to refer to “the Lord (Jesus).” (Brown, An Introduction to the New Testament [Paulist Press, Mahwah NJ, 1994], pp. 177-178; bold and underline emphasis ours)
Our beloved Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, writes,
I have become acquainted with your name, much-beloved in God, which you have acquired by the habit of righteousness, according to the faith and love in Jesus Christ our Saviour. Being the followers of God, and stirring up yourselves by the blood of God, you have perfectly accomplished the work which was beseeming to you. For, on hearing that I came bound from Syria for the common name and hope, trusting through your prayers to be permitted to fight with beasts at Rome, that so by martyrdom I may indeed become the disciple of Him “who gave Himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God,” Ephesians 5:2 [you hastened to see me]. I received, therefore, your whole multitude in the name of God, through Onesimus, a man of inexpressible love, and your bishop in the flesh, whom I pray you by Jesus Christ to love, and that you would all seek to be like him. And blessed be He who has granted unto you, being worthy, to obtain such an excellent bishop. (Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians, Chapter 1)
I can find no objection to understanding that ‘God’ in this verse is fully meant to refer to Christ, as it has been demonstrated elsewhere in the New Testament, as well as the Church Fathers (Ignatius and in some part, Melito of Sardis), that it was Christ, not God’s own, Who shed His blood for the redemption of the Church. No mention of the Godhead as understood by the Trinity can be seen unless it is stretched and developed; what can be seen is the Incarnation and the humanity of that Incarnation which bleed for the the lost. We can hear Paul’s call to remember the Cross of Calvary and to remember the Son for He is our God, Jesus Christ and according to the economy of God, conceived in the womb by Mary, of the seed of David, but by the holy Spirit of God. He was born and baptized, that by His passion He might purify the water.
From the Bible that is Rarely Read: Sirach 39.1-11
*I am not trying to design these as a commentary, but as a point for discussion and perhaps as a bit of a devotional. They are a spiritual and mental exercise for me. If I find an error in Sirach that I cannot rectify, then it must be considered mortal and merely a good read. Until then, if then, I will continue to read and learn from Sirach. Please feel free to point me in the right direction.
In studying the book of Sirach, I found nothing to disagree with the Christian faith as handed down by the Apostles. Instead, it often times edifies that Faith. In this passage, we find what might be considered a prophecy of the Apostle Paul as well as a picture the ideal disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ.
As a fundamentalist (although that is arguable) I approach the Bible as the Word of God, divinely inspired, and without imperfection in the Original. I believe that the spirit of God moved the holy men of old to write His words and His thoughts and because this, they are scared and must never be removed. In Sirach, although not recognized as inspired by Protestants and others, is a book of immense value and spiritual insight. It has provided many of the early Christian writers with a foundation to stand on, even in opposition to the Jews who dismissed it. Perhaps, it is because of passages like this, which point, seemingly to Christianity, even in part.
As a fundamentalist, I am not shy about my belief that biblical prophecy is a direct revelation from Jesus Christ, nor am I shy in saying that we find these prophecies, most of the time, after they happen. With reason, I am ready to hesitantly say that I believe that the Lord foresaw the Apostle Paul and through Inspiration, we read Sirach’s words,
From the Bible that is Rarely Read: Sirach 5.1-7
Sirach 5:1-7 from the Revised Standard Version
(1) Do not set your heart on your wealth, nor say, “I have enough.”
(2) Do not follow your inclination and strength, walking according to the desires of your heart.
(3) Do not say, “Who will have power over me?” for the Lord will surely punish you.
The Prophet Amos preached against the idea that wealth will shield you from the natural course of this world. It will buy you neither salvation or security from death. The greed that plagues our society is a great disease, bringing with it destruction, hatred, evil. It is not a sin to be wealthy; however, it is a sin to trust so much in your wealth that it becomes a shield to you from the Lord. The Apostle Paul gave to Timothy a great Charge in his ministry, and in one of those aspects, we read,
Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; (1st Timothy 6:17 from the King James Version)
We can read of the similarities of Paul the Pharisee and Sirach the Jewish Master and see the agreement that produces an idea that those who would entertain themselves with the fantasy that wealth will bring great and eternal things will suffer a great disappointment.
John Chrysostom says,
Rich in this world, for others are rich in the world to come.
Implied in Sirach is Paul’s thought of the other riches. It is the Lord in whom we are to trust, and in whom we can gain a steadfast wealth.
The one LORD tells us through His prophet, Jeremiah,
Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. (Jeremiah 17:5-8 KJVA)
Before Sirach was this warning against trusting in ourselves. Salvation is not of ourselves, but of God, and is the riches of salvation that much occupy our goals.
(4) Do not say, “I sinned, and what happened to me?” for the Lord is slow to anger.
The Apostles Peter, writing to the diaspora, says,
Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:3-9 KJVA)
In our society and world today, there seems to be a silent hope among those that know by tradition the way to Christ but are eager to seek the path of the Prodigal Son, that perhaps they may keep God at bay until their death bed, and upon their death bed, in their final moments, when there is one left to impress and no more sin to pleasure themselves with, that upon this bed they may seek repentance. This is a foolhardy assumption and a dangerous method of living.
Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; (Ecclesiastes 12:1 KJVA)
If the Lord is slow to anger of your sin, then perhaps you no longer have the way of repentance.
Augustine comments,
O evil Christians, O ye, who in filling only press the Church by your evil lives; amend yourselves before the harvest come. (Augustine, Sermons on the New Testament)
Returning to Sirach, we read,
(5) Do not be so confident of atonement that you add sin to sin.
(6) Do not say, “His mercy is great, he will forgive the multitude of my sins,” for both mercy and wrath are with him, and his anger rests on sinners.
Sirach here writes of anger and wrath that awaits the sinner who continues to trust in the wealth of this world, waiting for the opportune moment for salvation. The Apostle Paul wrote,
Whom God had publicly put forward that by the shedding of his blood he would be a mercy seat, through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint, God had overlooked previously committed sins to declare at this present season his righteousness — That God might be righteous and declare everyone righteous who has faith in the name of Jesus. (Romans 3:25-26 Commentary in Translation Version)
Now that there is an exclusive hope in Christ, we must no longer wait to be overlooked. There is no other Gospel, no other remission of sins, no other Hope for the sinner. We cannot hope to out wait the Gospel of Jesus Christ that calls for sinners to repent.
John Chrysostom speaks of the sinners who wait,
Many of the more careless sort of persons, using the lovingkindness of God to increase the magnitude of their sins and the excess of their disregard, speak in this way, “There is no hell, there is no future punishment, God forgives us all sins.” (Chrysostom on John)
Sirach issues his call for repentance, some that must be done daily.
(7) Do not delay to turn to the Lord, nor postpone it from day to day; for suddenly the wrath of the Lord will go forth, and at the time of punishment you will perish.
The one Constant in this World is the promise of the Lord. He has said that there is no other way, no hope for the sinner with Christ. He has promised that He will return one day, to bring the final judgment and to bring the Body of Christ into the same relationship that Adam had. His promises are secure and His Word eternal. Knowing this, Sirach in doubt a moment where the Divine Author gripped the pen, and seeing that soon there would come a time that would hasten all of humanity to repentance, warned those that would read his words not to delay in turning to the Lord.
Have we not wept when we seen those that have had the path to repentance slip away in death without ever having traveled the avenue? God is a merciful God, and He has required but the Faith in Jesus Christ to be saved and yet so many are unwilling to give up the riches of this life for the wealth of the World to Come.
The young man again, let him also consider the uncertainty of death, and that oftentimes, when many older persons continued here, the young were carried off before them. For, for this reason, that we may not make traffic of our death, it is left in uncertainty. Wherefore also a certain wise man adviseth, saying, “Make no tarrying to turn unto the Lord, and put not off from day to day: for thou knowest not what to-morrow shall bring forth. For by putting off there is danger and fear; but by not putting off manifest and secure salvation. Hold fast then by virtue.” (Chrysostom on 2nd Corinthians)
Let us be like David who wrote, no doubt with Joy,
Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones grew old
Through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was turned into the drought of summer.Selah I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I have not hidden.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”
And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.Selah
(Psalms 32:1-5 NKJV)
Commentary on Wisdom, 1:12-16
See other posts in this Category
Wisdom 1:12-16
(12) Do not seek death by the sin in your life, nor drag along destruction behind you by the works of your hands;
The word ’seek’ here is used of attempting admission into one of the religious sects of the author’s day, therefore it brings to mind the picture of a sinner who instead of seeking the way of the Living God, instead seeks to enter into a cult of death by his sin. In doing this, destruction follows him and will plague him, but it is by his own hands that he does this.
But what kind of death? It is the death of Adam - spiritual and physical - separation from the living God. The immortality of the soul is not in question here, only the removal from God.
(13) God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living.
See Deut. 30.19. Except in certain narratives that involved historical accounts, (16.13, 16.16, 20), the author usually defines death in the spiritual sense, often ignoring physical death and having no moral significance. Physical death is barely a reality for the righteous who ‘appears to die’ (3.2) but lives forever (5.15). The immortality that is expressed in the passage, and indeed this book, is concerning the spiritual nature, of which the righteous will partake fully when they once again walk with the Lord, and in some small measure enjoy here through the Church when they are resurrected after Baptism.
(14) For he created all things that they might continue to exist, as the genesis of this world is preserved, and there is no self-destructive poison in them; for the dominion of the Grave is not on earth.
Here, ‘genesis’ carries with it several possible meanings,
- Here the word means either races of creatures or generative powers
- The Rabbi’s saw it as creative forces that became harmful only after Adam lost his immortality due to the Fall
It is the combination of these two ideas in which we find the meaning of the entire phrase. It emphasizes to the Jews and the Greeks God’s concerns to keep His creation going, not to seek and to destroy it, but to redeem it. God did not make Death, but Death was made by the works of the hands of man - sin. Church needs remember that the Grave - Hell, Death - does not reign on earth. It is interesting to note here the similarity of thought between this verse and the verse in Matthew 16.18, which reads,
And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of the grave shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18 NKJV
The Church is the living and immortal body of Christ, and we are enlivened by the Spirit of our God, and because of this, we will not longer face death and destruction, but eternal life. No more does the grave prevail and build palaces on earth. Because God’s righteousness is immortal (v15), and because He did not create death, this author points us to a future Redeemer, which becomes apparent in the following few chapters.
(15) For God’s righteousness is immortal.
(16) But ungodly men by their words and deeds summoned death; considering him a friend, they pined away, and they made a covenant with him, because they are fit to belong to his party.
See Isa 28.15. This verse rightly belongs to the second chapter.
Here the ungodly are pictured as ‘pining away’, or wasting away as in the Greek. They have fallen in love Sin and thus they yearn for the fulfillment of their covenant which is the Grave.
Hebrews - Chapter 11
This is perhaps one of the most well known passages in the entire bible, dictating a virtual hall of fame of faith as an encouragement for the audience to keep pressing forward. There is no warning here against apostasy by the idea that if through all of these things, these people made it through, then Christians, even today, can overcome persecution and temptation to keep traveling onward.
Hebrews 11:1-40 from the Commentary in Translation Version
(1) Now faith is the beginning foundation of things being confidently expected, the demonstration of unseen accomplishments.
(2) For in this, the men of the past received approval
(3) By faith, we understand the ages to have been prepared by a saying from God; for the things which are visible, did not come from things unseen.
(4) By faith, Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he testified to be righteous, God testifying concerning his gifts, and through faith, he himself still speaks, though having died.
(5) By faith Enoch was taken up so as not to see death - he was no longer found, because God took him up; for before his removal, he had stood on record to as having been pleasing to God.
(6) But with faith, it is impossible to please him, for it necessary for the one that approaches God to believe that he is the I AM, and that he becomes a rewarder to those who craves for him.
(7) By faith Noah, having been warned of God concerning the things not yet seen, having been moved with reverence, prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world and became an inheritor of the righteousness according to faith.
(8) By faith Abraham, being called, did obey, to go out to the place which was about to receive for an inheritance, and we went out not knowing where he is going.
(9) By faith he lived as a stranger in the land of the divine promise, as a foreigner, having lived in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the joint-heirs of the same promise from God.
(10) For he was looking forward to the city having the foundations who architect and builder is God.
(11) By faith also Sarah herself received power for the founding of a remnant, and she gave birth after the time of life, seeing that she judged him faithful who had promised.
(12) And so from one were born - and in these things having been as good as dead - as the stars of the heaven in number and as innumerable as the sand that is by the sea shore.
(13) All these died in faith, not having received the divine promises - but! - but, having seen them from a afar off and having been persuaded, welcomed them, confessing that they are strangers and sojourners on the earth.
(14) For the ones saying such things make it clear that they are seeking a native land.
(15) And if, indeed, they had continued mindful of that land from which they had came out, they might have had an opportunity to return.
(16) But now they long for a better, that is a heavenly land. For this reason, God is not ashamed of them, to be called their God, for prepared a city form them.
(17) By faith Abraham, while still being tested, had already offered up Isaac; the one that had glady received the divine promises was offering up his only son,
(18) (Of whom it is was said: Your descendent’s will come through Isaac.)
(19) Having taken into account that God is able to raise him up even from the dead, from where he indeed received him (in the symbolic sense).
(20) By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
(21) By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing , leant upong his staff.
(22) By faith Joseph, coming to the end of his life, remembered the exodus of the sons of Israel and gave orders concerning his bones.
(23) By faith Moses, having been born, was hid three months by his parents, because they saw the beautiful young child and were not afraid of the mandate of the king.
(24) By faith Moses, having become great, refused to be called a son of the daughter of Pharaoh,
(25) Having chosen rather to share the hardship of the people of God than to have the temporary pleasure of sin,
(26) Having regarded the disgrace of Christ as greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking away from all else to the reward.
(27) By faith, he left Egypt behind, not fearing the king’s rage, for he endured, as seeing the invisible one.
(28) By faith he had kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the one destroying the first-born would not touch them.
(29) By faith they passed through the Red Sea as through dry land, which the Egyptians meeting the trial of, were swallowed up.
(30) By faith the walls of Jericho fell, having been encircled for seven days.
(31) By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with the ones who refused to obey, having received the spies with peace.
(32) And what more shall I say? For the time will run short for me is I fully tell about Gideon, both Barak and Samson, and Jephthah, both David and Samuel, and the prophets,
(33) Who through faith conquers kingdoms, brought about justice, obtained divine promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
(34) Extinguished the power of fire, escaped the mouth of the sword, were made strong from weaknesses, became mighty in battle, routed foreign armies.
(35) Women received back their dead by a resurrection, but others were tortured, not accepted their release so that they would obtain a better resurrection.
(36) And others received trials of public ridicule and beatings with a whip, and in addition, chains and imprisonment.
(37) They were stoned; they were cut in two; they were tested; they were murdered with a sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, being afflicted, being tormented,
(38) (Of whom the world was not worthy) wandering about in desolate places and in mountains and in caves and in canyons of the earth.
(39) And all these, having received approval through their faith, did not receive the promise from God,
(40) Because God provided something better concerning us, that they should not be made perfect without us.
Hebrews - Chapter 10
Of the issues that we run across in speaking about apostasy is to define exactly what apostasy is. The writer of Hebrews does that for us. It is not the sinning that might happen as we grow in Christ, or the sinning that happens with the flesh comes alive, but it is the deliberate sin whereby we knowingly defy Christ as our Lord and Saviour. Apostasy is the falling away from Christ Himself. Where as chapter 6 defines who can commit apostasy, chapter 10 defines what it is.
Hebrews 10:1-39 from the Commentary in Translation Version
(1) For the Law, which was a rude outline of the good things to come and not the very reality of the matter, cannot with the same sacrifices which they offer yearly make the approachers perfect.
(2) Otherwise, they would cease being offered because the ministering ones if they had once for all been cleansed should have had no more consciousness of sins, would they not?
(3) But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance of sins every year,
(4) For it is impossible that the bloods of bulls and goats should take away sins.
(5) For this reason, coming into the world, he says: Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you did prepare for me;
(6) In burnt offerings and sacrifices made for sin, you took no pleasure.
(7) Then I said: Look, for I have come to do your will, O God (In the beginning of the book it stands written concerning me.)
(8) Earlier, when he said: Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offerings for sin, you desired none, neither did you take pleasure in them (which are offered according to the Law).
(9) Then he said: Look, for I have come to do your will, O God. He abolishes the first that he may establish the second.
(10) By God’s will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time!
(11) And indeed, every priest had stood daily to minister and to repeatedly offer the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
(12) But he himself, having offered one sacrifice forever for sins, has sat down on the right hand of God,
(13) And from that time onward, waiting until his enemies are made his footstool.
(14) For by one offering he has perfected for all times the ones being sanctified.
(15) Moreover, the holy spirit also testifies to us,
(16) For after having said: This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD, putting my laws on their hearts and upon their minds I will inscribe them.
(17) Then he adds: And I shall by no means remember their sins and their iniquities any longer.
(18) Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer an offering for sin.
(19) Therefore, brethren, we have a confident assurance for the entrance to the holy of holies in the blood of Jesus,
(20) By a way newly slain but living, which he has inaugurated for us through the veil, which is say, his flesh,
(21) And having an high priest over the house of God,
(22) Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled free from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water,
(23) Let us keep holding fast to the profession of our hope that it waver not, for God is faithful that promised.
(24) Let us continuously take care one for another to spur to love and to good works,
(25) Not abandoning the assembling of ourselves together, as the habit of some is; instead encouraging one another, and so much more so as you see the Day approaching.
The Danger of Apostasy
(26) For if we, yes we, sin deliberately after the receiving of the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
‘Deliberately’ excludes sins of infirmity and weakness of will; ‘knowledge’ excludes ’sins of ignorance’. Once you reject the Gospel there will be no more that will supplant or supplement it as it did with Judaism.
(27) But only a terrifying expectation of judgment and wrath of fire that is ready to devour the adversaries.
(28) If anyone rejecting the Law of Moses dies without mercies under two of three witnesses,
What then is this Law of Moses? Remember, this entire book as drawn together the Old and New into one seamless Testament of God.
“If there is found among you, within any of your gates which the LORD your God gives you, a man or a woman who has been wicked in the sight of the LORD your God, in transgressing His covenant, who has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, either the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded, and it is told you, and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an abomination has been committed in Israel, then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has committed that wicked thing, and shall stone to death that man or woman with stones. Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness. (Deuteronomy 17:2-6 NKJV)
“If your brother, the son of your mother, your son or your daughter, the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods,’ which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers, of the gods of the people which are all around you, near to you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth, you shall not consent to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him or conceal him; but you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. (Deuteronomy 13:6-9 NKJV)
The worship of God has moved from the physical of Judaism to the spiritual of Christianity, so the physical death that is demanded by the Law is the spiritual death wrought under Grace. If you were to serve even another ‘Jesus’ than the true one once you have the knowledge of the truth, then what standing do you think you have? Would you presume to debate doctrine with God?
(29) How much worse the punishment do you think that he will be deemed to merit who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, counting the blood of the covenant with which he was sanctified an unholy thing, and having outraged the spirit of Grace.
The idea here is some public dishonour - such as publicly denouncing the doctrine of the Church or even accepting the doctrine of another equal with the Church. It is also dismissing the doctrine as false. The RV has ‘common’ thing, referring to the blood. The idea is the same: when you fail to make the distinction between the blood bought, the separate, and the world, then you have denied Christ.
(30) For we know him that said: Vengeance belongs unto me; I will repay, says the LORD. And again: The LORD will judge his people.
(31) Terrifying is the fall into the hands of the living God.
This deliberate sin is the same sin that is found in Numbers,
“And if a person sins unintentionally, then he shall bring a female goat in its first year as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement for the person who sins unintentionally, when he sins unintentionally before the LORD, to make atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him. You shall have one law for him who sins unintentionally, for him who is native-born among the children of Israel and for the stranger who dwells among them.
“But the person who does anything presumptuously, whether he is native-born or a stranger, that one brings reproach on the LORD, and he shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has despised the word of the LORD, and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt shall be upon him.”‘ (Numbers 15:27-31 NKJV)
1st John has the same theme,
If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death. (1 John 5:16-17 NKJV)
The idea is the same in Hebrews. There are two types of sin - the one that is unintentional owing itself to human frailty and eyes that are growing dim; there is a sin though that has always brought death, it is the sin that brings a reproach upon the Lord. The Law of Moses and the Grace of Christ allows for the sins of the former type, but neither gives room for the latter sin.
The writer of Hebrews warns again of apostasy - the intentional sin whereby a person counts the blood of the covenant void. Take the example of Joel Hemphill, who recently denied the deity of Christ in favor of the ancient heresy of Arianism. He willingly did this and thus the songs that he wrote and sang, the years that he preached, the many times that he would have called Jesus Christ God is made a reproach to him. What if you denied the doctrine of the Church? The baptism? The very name of God? The very Church of God?
Note the emphatic ‘we’ of the author - he puts himself in the same place as those that hear him. If he too sins deliberately, with a high hand, he too will find nothing more than the expectation of judgment. Paul said the same,
But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. (1 Corinthians 9:27 KJVA)
This is a sin that eternally separates a person from God.
Continue to Persevere
(32) Call to remembrance your former days, in which after you were enlightened, you endure a great fight of afflictions.
(33) Sometimes, while you were made a public example both by insults and afflictions and on other occasions you companioned with those that were treated this way.
(34) For indeed you sympathized with me in my chains, and you accepted the seizure of your property with joy, knowing that you have a better and lasting possession in the heavens.
(35) Therefore, throw not away your confident assurance, which has a great reward,
(36) For you have need of patience, that after you have done the will of God, you might receive his promise.
(37) For in a very little while, he that shall come will come and will not delay.
(38) Now the just will live by faith, and if he draws back, my soul has no pleasure in him,
(39) But we, yes we!, are not of them that draws back unto destruction, but we, yes we, are they that believe in the securing of the soul.
Again, the writer turns to the illumination of the Saint - being made aware of who Jesus Christ is. He encourages them to hold to that revelation, to stand upon it, and if persecution comes, knowing that Christ Himself is still on the way.
In verse 38-39, the writer makes a clear distinction concerning those that are moving forward and those that have shrunk back. He did not say, as some would suppose, that those that withdrew themselves from Christ where never really saved; instead, he says that they were once righteous and living by faith but because they turned their back on Christ. Thus, he could not fellowship with them; however, he was going forward.
Commentary on Wisdom, 1.7-11
See other posts in this Category.
Wisdom 1:7-11
(7) For the Spirit of the Lord that has filled the world holds all things together and knows what is said;
This thought of Wisdom’s author is expressed throughout the book, that God holds the world together through His spirit,
But thou sparest all: for they are thine, O Lord, thou lover of souls. For thine incorruptible Spirit is in all things. (11.26-12.1)
As well as being found in the New Testament,
And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. (Colossians 1.17)
Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, (Hebrews 1:3 NKJV)
Clearly this has lead to the Orthodox view of panentheism, or God-in-all. (This is opposite of the pagan belief that all material things are god). In panentheism, God is viewed as creator and/or animating force behind the universe, and the sole source, or perhaps first principle, of universal truth. This concept of God can be closely associated with the Logos of Heraclitus and Justin Martyr, in which the Logos pervades the cosmos and whereby all thoughts and things originate. An opposing thought may be that God, as any Creator, as imparted some of Himself into His creation. We note that in both Creation accounts (Genesis 2.7 and John 20.22) the Creator is seen as imparting His breath into the new Creature (Man in Genesis and the Church in John). The thought, which may interpreted differently, seems not so much as permeate this work, nor the epistles or theology of Paul, but serves as a backdrop as to why, especially in the New Testament, God would care so much for His Creation.
Is this the Spirit of God, or the spirit that is Wisdom? Does God have two Spirits, or are they one with different attributes. On the Old Testament, the Spirit of God is God’s activity in the World. The Logos has been described as God active, of God in motion. One way of interpretation that is often overlooked is to interpret the pneuma in this verse as breath. Then we can connect this verse to the two creation accounts.
The author continues to emphasize the fact that God’s spirit which holds all things together is made manifest to the world of men as power, wisdom, and spirit, which becomes important as we deal with the next few chapters, and especially in the latter half of the book when Wisdom plays an intricate part in the Exodus story.
The author, still in the mind set of the Old Testament writers, uses the fluidity of manifestations as extensions of the God Absolute.
(8) Because of this no one who speaks unrighteous things will escape notice, and justice, when it punishes, will not pass him by.
(9) For inquiry will be made into the counsels of an ungodly man, and a report of his words will come to the Lord, to convict him of his lawless deeds;
Who will make these examinations? The Greek is passive and leaves the interpretation open. We can take the last attribute mentioned, Justice, or we may take the Spirit of the Lord who we are told knows all things that are said. Justice is a personification of God that the author uses later in 11.20. We have to turn to the Jewish belief that along with the book of life there is a book of remembrance written to record the deeds of man.
Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. (Malachi 3:16 KJV)
We see here that this Spirit of the Lord will search the counsels of the unrighteous and a conviction will be made. The thought is echoed in Jude who quotes from the Book of Enoch,
And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convict all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. (Jude 1:14-15 KJV)
In Jude, just as in these verses, we have the Lord who will convict the ungodly of their ungodly deeds as well as the ungodly words spoke against Him.
(10) because a jealous ear hears all things, and no whispered syllable escapes the vigilant ear.
(11) So, then, beware of useless murmuring, and keep your tongue from slander; because no secret word is goes unpunished, and a lying mouth destroys the soul.
See Numbers 21.5, Psalms 78.19 (77.19 LXX). These ‘hard speechs’ of Jude, or defiant words, against God, whether whispered or shouted, will be remembered when Justice passes by.
From the Bible that is rarely read: Sirach 10.1-25
I have grown to enjoy these posts a great deal. (Here, here, here, and here) It is my blog, after all, and it has allowed me to discover the style and manner of writing and investigation into scripture that I like, and this seems to be one of them. Sirach, or Ecclesiasticus to the Protestants out there, was written well before Christ and was wrestled over until after Christ by the Jews.
I endeavored to read this book one a while ago, but go no further than the 10th chapter when i realized that at that time it was futile to investigate this book if the results would do no one any good. Now, I focus on my own edification and hope that others will be built up as well. I don’t mean to be selfish here, but there are times that we have to strengthen ourselves (1st Samuel 30.6) in the LORD our Great God. I have found encouragement in the pages of Sirach and hope to continue to do so.
We can approach this passage from Sirach in one of two ways:
- First, we can see it in the socio-political light that most likely it was written in. Here in the States, we are embroiled in a political election for the President of these united States. It will get ugly and bitter and cause much strife even among those that call each other brother. If we should choose to do this, then we cause a division in the universal body of Christ, be it British or American, Chinese, or Indian. Further, we fail to show our separation from this world that is so well illustrated in Diognetus chapter 5.
- Second, we can understand that with Christ, rather since Christ, and His Church, those things that once applied nationally to Israel now apply to the Church. In doing this, we understand that the leaders and magistrates of Sirach are the pastors and ministers of the Body of Christ. If we take this second route in understanding, we pay heed to Christ’s command to render to Caesar and to the understanding that the Kingdom of God is not a physically attainable goal, but the Church which is both visible and invisible.
I will approach it primarily, if not in totality, from the second stance.
Sirach 10:1-25 from the Revised Standard Version-Modified
(1) A wise leader will educate his people, and the rule of an understanding man will be well ordered.
(2) As the leader of a people, so are his officials; and the inhabitants of the city will reflect the ruler.
(3) An undisciplined king will ruin his people, but a city will grow through the understanding of its rulers.
(4) The authority of the earth is in the hands of the Lord, and over it he will raise up the right man for the appointed time.
(5) The success of a man is in the hand of the Lord, and he confers his honor upon the person of the scribe.
(6) Do not cherish anger with your neighbor for any injury, and do nothing by acts of insolence.
We are talking about these wise leaders, or magistrates as older translations have them (judge in the NETS) - who are prevalent among the people of God. In Sirach’s time, most likely these were perhaps the Hasmonean Kings, or even the generation earlier, both in which the temple priesthood was being used by those in power. We know from history that Judas Maccabeus saw the near complete degradation of the Jewish elite as they gave away to paganism and encourage the people to do so.
We have pastors and ministers, or those that say that they are such, that are neither wise nor well-ordered. I speak, of course, from experience. Now, I am not speaking about the wisdom of books or man’s words, but the beginning of all wisdom - the fear of the LORD (Psalms 111.10). They are filled with arrogance and this pride will cause not only them to fall, but the congregation as well. It by the leader that the city will either grow into glory or fall into perdition.
Have you every seen a congregation bitter and destroy by gossip or sin or by apathy for the things of God. I am not speaking about one or two, but the entire congregation. (There will always be those that choose not to live up to the examples set by the pastor or ministers and called for by the Scriptures). Look at the pastor of that congregation. What example is he setting? Does he gossip? What about his fear of God? The reverence paid to the things of the Lord? What of his love of the the Spirit? Are they themselves disciplined? Do they in a godly reverence watch over your souls so that when the accounting is called, they may give a good one?
Remember King Saul who, when had disobeyed God, had his kingdom taken from him. God alone is the giver of liberty and sovereignty. Too many people desire to be a pastor or a minister and for what? For what glory, rather, for whose glory? For God? More than likely it is for themselves. We see numerous pastors and so-called evangelists stand in the spot light but give no room for God. Even in the local congregations, how many desire the holy titles of Bishop, or Pastor, Elder, minister, deacon? Who many would choose them if they were all called servant and called no vestments of authority?
Verse 4 connects well to Wisdom 6.3
For power is given you of the Lord, and sovereignty from the Highest, who shall try your works, and search out your counsels.
Yes, there are times I believe that God will set us up to fail, so that we may be useful to Him when we remove ourselves.
Sirach, as you know, is a translation into Greek of the Hebrew original. In the Hebrew original, ’scribe’ is ’statute-maker’, or perhaps it is better to say ‘law-maker’. The authority that God gives His judges and leaders is an awesome power, and one which God will grant success if you abide in His fear.
(7) Arrogance is hateful before God and all of humanity, and injustice is outrageous to both.
(8) Sovereignty is transferred from nation to nation on account of injustice and insolence and wealth.
(9) How can he who is dust and ashes be proud? for even as he lives, he insides are decaying.
(10) The physician scoffs are a long illness, but the king of today will be dead tomorrow.
(11) For when a man is dead he will inherit reptiles, and wild animals, and worms.
(12) The beginning of man’s arrogance is to depart from the Lord, for his heart has forsaken his Maker.
(13) For the beginning of arrogance is sin, and the man who clings to it will pour out an abomination. Therefore the Lord will bring upon them extraordinary afflictions, and completely destroyed them.
(14) The Lord has pulls down the thrones of rulers, and seats the gentle in their place.
(15) The Lord plucks up the roots of the nations, and plants the humble in their place.
(16) The Lord overthrows the lands of the nations, and destroys them to the foundations of the earth.
(17) He has removes some of them and destroys them, and puts an end to the memory of them on the earth.
(18) Arrogance was not created by humanity, nor fierce anger by the offspring of women.
The original Hebrew serves as an interesting backdrop to the Greek here. As this is not a pure commentary, I will not go into detail here, but only provide a few points.
In this section, we find the beginning of arrogance, or pride, and in some ways, the end result of pride. We find that pride is hateful before a holy God and even before all of humanity. Both must consider pride as an injustice.
In 8b the Hebrew reads (replace on account of…) ‘because of violence of pride). Because of the violence that pride causes, or perhaps pride itself is a violence before God and Man, the sovereignty of a nation (or the ministry of a man) is removed and bestowed upon another. We know of all manners of violence - abuse, rape, libel, slander, physical, emotional - but pride? Is pride really a type of violence? Think of it this way: Pride causes a sin; sin is a rebellion against God; rebellion is violence; thus pride is violence.
Verse 9 is made the more poignant in the Hebrew which reads, ‘Why should dust and ashes be proud when his entrails are decaying even as he lives?”
In verse 12 the Hebrew reads ‘The beginning of arrogance is when a man becomes shameless’. The Hebrew and the Greek both offer the truth. When a man forgets his Maker, Saviour, Redeemer, and becomes his own ruler, judge, god and lord, he is without shame and has departed from the Lord, the only God.
(19) What race is worthy of honor? The human race. What race is worthy of honor? Those who fear the Lord. What race is unworthy of honor? The human race. What race is unworthy of honor? Those who transgress the commandments.
(20) Among brothers their leader is worthy of honor, and those who fear the Lord are worthy of honor in his eyes.
(21) The fear of the Lord goes before the gain of authority: but in roughness and pride one will loose it.
(22) The rich, and the eminent, and the poor - they glory in the fear of the Lord.
(23) It is not right to despise an intelligent poor man, nor is it proper to honor a sinful man.
(24) The nobleman, and the judge, and the ruler will be honored, but none of them is greater than the man who fears the Lord.
(25) Free men will be at the service of a wise servant, and a man of understanding will not grumble.
Sirach closes this section with the passage that has stuck with me for the past 5 years, so I will start there. A bishop has a great job indeed, as does the pastor and the evangelist. The music director is talented. The youth leader is great with children. The grounds committee has the best looking campus in town. The bulletin and newsletters are done with professionalism. The well-off fund every project needed. The pastor has well-prepared sermons. The evangelists are leaders revivals all over the world. Yet, the man who fears God is greater than all of these.
What? Do I think that these wonderful things can be done with the fear of God? Yes. It is well written and documented that God is not always behind the scenes in the things that ‘give Him glory’. Yet the poor wise men and women who glory in the the fear of the Lord, in whose fear the authority is gained, and who is honoured among the brothers and sisters, in these men and women, often nameless, is the greatest work of the Lord.
Finally, let us say that in wisdom do we fear the Lord and it is the fear of the Lord that is the beginning of wisdom. Let us support our clergy and pray that God strengthens them. Let us pray that we no more than the wise servant, no more than one who fears the Lord. Let us ora et labora that our city will not see ruin, but grow and prosper for the Kingdom of God
Hebrews - Chapter 3
Hebrews 3:1-19 from the Commentary in Translation Version
(1) Therefore, holy brethren, sharers of the heavenly calling: fix your eyes up the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus,
Notice how the writer addresses the audience - Holy Brethren. This is not to sinners, but fellow Christians.
(2) Who is faithful to him that appointed him, as Moses was also faithful in all of his house.
(3) For this one was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, because the one having built the house has more honor than the house itself.
(4) For every house is built by someone; however, he that established all things must be God.
(5) And indeed Moses was faithful in all of his house as a trusted servant, serving as a testimony for those things which were to be spoken later,
(6) However, Christ as a son over his house, whose house we are — supposing we have held firmly, if we are joyfully fearless, and hold to our confident expectation to the end.
Again, notice the subtle warning. Hold firmly to the hope until the end (of our life) and we will be a part of the House of Christ, eternally.
(7) (For this reason, just as the holy spirit says: Today, if his voice you may hear —
(8) Stop hardening your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness,
(9) When your fathers put me to the test, examined me, and saw my work for forty years.
(10) For this reason, I was angry with that generation and said: They are always being led astray in their heart and they have not known my ways.
(11) So in my anger I swore: They shall not enter into my rest!)
The writer relates a history lesson to the audience, warning them through the example of Israel in the wilderness which some suffered irreversible apostasy. The Rest of the Lord was denied to them.
(12) Always watch, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief which apostatizes from the living God.
(13) Instead, build up one another daily, while it is called Today, lest any of you are made stubborn by the deception of sin,
(14) For we have become sharers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our assurance firm until the final consummation,
Again, the writer addresses his brothers and sisters in Christ, warning them - pleading with them - not to turn away from God. The Greek word here means to depart from, to incite to revolt. In the “New Testament this sense occurs in Acts 5:37; 15:38; 19:9. Decline from God is the meaning in Heb. 3:12. In 1 Tim. 4:1 apostasy involves capitulation to heretical beliefs as an eschatological phenomenon. An absolute use is found in Luke 8:13 and cf. Rev. 3:8. Only the personal use is important theologically, and in the LXX the term becomes almost a technical one for religious apostasy (Dt. 32:15; Jer. 3:14; Isa. 30:1), usually from God or the Lord, and leading to idolatry and immorality.
The writers urges his brothers and sisters, even us today, not to depart from the Living God, but to build each other up, so that in the very End of All Things, we will have assurance.
(15) While it is being said: Today, if you hear his voice, stop hardening your hearts as in the rebellion.
(16) Who were they that heard and yet were rebellious? However! Was it not all those who left Egypt under the leadership of Moses?
(17) And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?
(18) And to whom did he swear that they should never enter his rest, but to those who were willingly disobedient?
(19) So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
Again, this writer returns to the historical example as a warning. If this warning was hollow, then why go through this trouble? Is God, the very One who inspired these words, a God of shallow fear?
Hebrews - Chapter 1
The Epistle of Hebrews has a rather shady past - no one knows who wrote it. It was originally written in Greek, using the Septuagint as the basis for nearly all of the Old Testament quotations. The readers were most likely Alexandrian Jews, or at the very least familiar with the thoughts of the Jewish community there. Some have postulated that it was Apollos, others Barnabas while others, and the thought is still prevalent today, that the Apostle Paul wrote it. While all those may be likely, Apostolic authorship is assured as it has existed within the Church since the very first generation.
Some modern ‘theologians’ believe that the book of Hebrews are only for the Jews, but that is a great mistake, as the same could be said about the books of Timothy and Titus. Just because they are addresses to a specific group of people, or person, does in no way dismiss the fact that they are for the entire Church. Luther, at one time, had sought to regulated it to a New Testament apocrypha, most likely because he could not move beyond the issues of apostasy that is raised by the Epistle.
Granted, the Epistle covers more ground than just the issue of apostasy. In the opening salvo, we have the very notion that the Son emanates from the Father and that the Son is higher than the angels. The writer then moves to the explanation of Old Testament themes by the New Testament. It often takes the form of early homily material, or perhaps even a midrash. The writer states an Old Testament passage and then attempts to explain it under the new covenant.
The situation of the readers is clearly seen - they are on the verge of shrinking back, of retreating to Judaism after having tasted of Christ. (Hebrews 6) This letter serves as a personal warning to them, and indeed to all that come to Christ in Truth, and later reject Him for another religion or perhaps even a false Christianity. I am posting this first chapter; in the next few weeks, I will post the complete book, examining the details of the reality of apostasy in the Church. It is a doctrine that is hated and disbelieved, however, it is still a doctrine. I hope that those that read it will join in the discussion. It will be the main goal of posting this book to discuss the doctrine of apostasy, or the lack thereof. I truly value each measure of input that I receive.
It is my position that the doctrine of eternal security is false, and that apostasy is an ability of the believer by exercising his or her free will to reject Christ.
This is my personal translation, and it is still crude. Please let me know what you think as we progress.
Heb 1:1-14 from the Commentary in Translation Version
(1) God, who in stages and various ways of old spoke unto the fathers in the prophets,
(2) Has in the end of those days spoken to us in his son, whom he has appointed the inheritor of all things, through whom he also made the ages
(3) Who, being the emanation from the glory of God, and the precise mirror of his substance and maintaining all things by his all-powerful utterance—through himself he has achieved purification of our sins, assumed his seat on the right hand of the Majesty on high,
(4) Having become so much better than the angels, as he has inherited a more excellent name than they.
(5) For to which individual angel has he ever said: You are my son, today I have begotten you? And again: I will be to him a father and he will be to me a son?
(6) Again, when he brings in the firstborn into the inhabited earth, he says: and let all the angels of God prostrate themselves in worship before him.
(7) And indeed, to the angels he says: who is making his angels winds and his ministers a flame of fire.
(8) But unto the son he says: Your throne, O God, is age to age and a scepter of justness is the scepter of your kingdom.
(9) You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity; for this reason your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions.
(10) And you, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands,
(11) They will perish, but you remain always, they will grow old like a garment
(12) Like a mantle, you will roll them up and then will be changed, but—you are the same; your years will not fail.
(13) Unto which of the angels did he ever say: sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies as your footstool?
(14) They are spirits in divine service, sent forth to render service for the sake of the ones about to inherit salvation—are they not?
Exploring the Church in Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians, pt 1
The Editors of the Orthodox Study Bible say,
“One of the tragic aberrations of the so-called modern religion is ‘Churchless Christianity.’ The assertion is that it is Christ who saves us, not the Church, so ‘all you need is Jesus’.”
It is very true that we need Christ as the single element of our Salvation. However, simply believing in Him does not suffice. If it did, then His appearance on this planet would have erased the need for the Cross. It is not through a mere ‘belief’ in Him that we are saved, but through His death (repentance), burial (baptism) and resurrection (indwelling) that we are saved. It is through Doctrine and Tradition, based on the Word of God, that we actually learn that repentance is necessary, that baptism is as well, and that it takes the Indwelling to create a new man to walk with God.
In Ephesians 4.4, Paul writes,
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; (Eph 4:4 NKJV)
People seem to understand this in individual terms. The ‘one body’ that Paul is speaking about is the Church - Jew and Gentile. He continues his thought from the second chapter, when he writes that we both Jew and Gentile are united by the blood of Christ into the body of Christ.
Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. (Eph 2:15-16 NKJV)
This new body, the New Man, is the Church that Jesus Christ Himself built (Matt 16:18). It is His household.
Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
(Eph 2:19-22 NKJV)
This new b