Category Archives: joebib writes

“Ah, Lord, let me die!”

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This statement — or plea — which was spoken by Augustine, who lived around 400 A.D., has been on my mind, and weighing upon my spirit of late.  

The full quote is from his Confessions: 

“Why dost Thou hide Thy face? Happily, Thou wilt say none can see Thy face and live. Ah, Lord, let me die! That I may see Thee; let me see Thee, that I may die.” 

And this, in turn, hearkens back to what the Lord told Moses on Mt. Sinai when he made a similar request: 

18 Then Moses said, "I pray Thee, show me Thy glory!"…20 But He said, "You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!"  (Exodus 33:18-20, NASB) 

Given the flack that “scholar-types” often receive for being so cold and calculating, I find this prayer to be a most intriguing look at the heart-cry of one considered to be the greatest scholar/theologian of Church History.  Wink

It seems to me (and perhaps others may read it differently) that what Augustine was really saying, in so many words, was that to whatever degree we wish to draw close to God and experience His Presence, and His Will — however much of His Character and Attributes we wish to see absorbed, as it were, into our lives — to that same degree, our flesh, our selves, that which we want, must be surrendered to Him. 

And even though the context is that of responding to his disciples’ concern about Jesus’ greater public acclaim, I see an application of this truth in what John the Baptist said: 

30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30, NASB)

And I think Paul saw this same principle, as well, when he admonished the Church at Galatia: 

20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal. 2:20, NASB) 

Speaking for myself, this has probably been the one of the most difficult things to develop in regard to my own relationship with the Lord…that of truly desiring what He wants in all aspects — and in all situations — of my life. No matter what the consequences and no matter what the cost.   

It’s not that I haven’t prayed for this — for God to have His way, or will, to be done — because I have, many times. It’s mostly been when I’ve joined with someone in prayer and agreed with them about some thing or another that they were wanting in their life.  You know, along the lines of  “Lord, have Your way in this situation,” or, “Lord, IF it be Your will, let ______________ get that job.” It sounds so spiritual, and even biblical, to pray like this, does it not? (Mark 14:36, NASB) 

However, I’ve been bothered by the recognition that it’s been much easier for me to pray for what God wanted in someone else’s life, and for the will of God to be done in someone else’s situation, than it was for me to want it in mine. And I must confess that most of the time I prayed for the will of God in my own situation, I don’t think I was truly interested, deep down, in what God’s will actually was.  I think the thing I was really doing — subconsciously — was wanting God to give His “stamp of approval” on either what I was wanting, or already doing, or was planning to do.  

I suppose the reason for this was that there was always that secret fear, deep down, that what God wanted for my life would probably be so terribly difficult to bear up under, that I would end up wishing I wouldn’t have asked for Him to do it in the first place.  That I didn’t trust Him enough to know what was best for my life. 

Can anyone else relate to this? 

-joebibstudent         

Gospel of John, Pt. 4

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Having pretty much irrefutably resolved, I think — to any open-minded person who accepts the authority of the Word of God — the question of Christ’s Deity in the previous post (hopefully that was helpful, in spite of the length), let us proceed. 

Anyone who has spent any time at all in reading the four Gospels will soon notice that the Gospel of John is markedly different from the other three.  

So much so that Matthew, Mark and Luke have been grouped together and referred to under the name Synoptics, which basically means “same view.” These Gospels record many of the same parables, miracles, and teachings from the Life of Jesus in a similar style, chronological order, and oftentimes, in almost identical language.  

But John’s Gospel is another story. It is quite unique in both style, wording, and content. Scholars believe that it was the last of the Gospels to be written, probably sometime around 90-100 A.D., towards the end of John’s life. It has been surmised that at that time, John was the Pastor of the church at Ephesus, and that since he was so close to their Savior — John 13:23, 20:2, and 21:7,20 all refer to John as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” — the Christians of John’s day were constantly asking him to give his account of the Good News as he remembered it: a spiritual record of the Life of Jesus. 

The Early Church Father Irenaeus (died ca. 185 A.D.) states that John wrote his Gospel to specifically refute the Gnostic heretic Cerinthus. Church history tells an interesting story of John, who upon encountering this Cerinthus in a public bath house, cried to his disciples, "Up! Let us leave, lest the building fall down upon us; for Cerinthus the enemy of the truth is among us!”

Quite a strong response to false doctrine, as well as perhaps an example for us in our day! Surprised 

John does not open his Gospel with a genealogy of the natural life of Jesus the Man, as do Matthew and Luke, nor with action as does Mark, but instead goes back to Eternity past, and describes Jesus as God Himself. 

Also, it may be noticed that the wording of the Gospel of John is different. The way he describes things, and the words he uses, are more simple and straightforward. Notice the subdued, almost understated way John begins in chapter one:  

“In the beginning” 

“was the Word” 

“the Word was with God” 

“the Word was God” 

“in Him was life” 

“the life was the light of men” 

This is especially apparent from his usage of the Greek language, which is of an extremely simple and basic construction. So much so, in fact, that all beginning students of Greek start out their study of this intricate and complex language in the writings of John, usually in this very Gospel. After that, it’s on to more intermediate Greek such as is found in James, the Gospel of Mark, and the Epistles of Peter. Finally — almost as punishment — one concludes with the baffling perplexities of Paul’s scholarly Greek, very complicated indeed. Cry

It should be noted that while John does use the most basic constructs of language to communicate his message, the words are nevertheless deeply profound in spite of their simplicity. Jerome (died ca. 420 A.D.), the writer of the Latin Vulgate, remarked that “John indeed excels in the depths of divine mysteries.”  

Students of the Bible have also noticed certain distinctive overall themes in the four Gospels.  

Matthew has been recognized as being directed to the Jews — it is believed to have originally been penned in Hebrew — and being replete with O.T. citations, is thought to have been written to prove the Messiah- and King-ship of Jesus. Thus, it is perhaps addressed to the religious man. 

Mark is thought to be addressed to the Roman world, to the man of action. Mark does not open his Gospel with a genealogy, but instead goes directly into the Ministry of Jesus. Inasmuch as Mark was known to be Peter’s companion (see 1 Peter 5:13 and Colossians 4:10), who also was connected to Rome — the “Babylon” reference in 1 Peter 5:13 is thought to be a reference to Rome — it is thought to have essentially been the Gospel according to Peter, and thus it truly seems to be the “Gospel of Action.” If you look up the words “straightway,” and “immediately” in a concordance, you will find that they occur in Mark more times than any other book. 

Luke is the longest of the four Gospels, and as he was probably a Gentile (compare Paul’s distinctions in Colossians 4:7-14), his Gospel has been recognized to have been addressed to the Greek world. His Gospel has more parables than the others, and is thought to have been directed to the thinking man. 

John focuses his Gospel on the Deity of Jesus Christ (see 20:31), and selects 8 major Miracles from the Life of Jesus to show this. This book has traditionally been recognized as being addressed to the believer. 

Thought: Many people say John is their favorite Gospel, the one they turn to in times of difficulty.  

Question: What is your favorite Gospel?

-joebib

Gospel of John, Deity of Jesus

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Inasmuch as this post has generated open attempts at proselytization Surprised, and though I really didn’t intend for it to be a purely doctrinal/theological discussion, I think a brief detour concerning the Deity of Christ might be useful here. 

If you look at most of the world’s cults and religions, the one thing they all have in common is their view of Jesus Christ: nearly all false religions and cults deny His Deity.

I have heard people say, “the Bible does not teach that Jesus of Nazareth was God.” 

Which statement, of course, is patently false.  

These doubters would be better off saying, “I don’t believe what the Bible says about Jesus.” That, at least, is their prerogative, i.e., to disbelieve the Bible. But to assert that the Bible does not teach Christ’s Deity is intellectually dishonest. 

In fact, the NT very clearly records the Seven Characteristics of Deity as being seen in the Life of Jesus.  

At the risk of being a bit ponderous, please allow me to present the following study from my notes, culled mostly from Shedd and Thiessen, as well as Conner, for your consideration. Though I have reduced it substantially, there’s still a lot of information. I have quoted certain passages in full, and merely listed the references of others.

Perhaps this could be useful for later reference if one wished to save it to their files. 

Here are the seven areas at which we will be looking:

1. DIVINE NAMES ARE APPLIED TO JESUS.

 2. DIVINE ATTRIBUTES ARE ASCRIBED TO JESUS.

3. DIVINE WORKS ARE ATTRIBUTED TO JESUS.

4. DIVINE PRAYER IS ADDRESSED TO JESUS:

5. DIVINE WORSHIP IS ACCEPTED BY JESUS

6. DIVINE SINLESSNESS IS ASSERTED OF JESUS.

7. DIVINE PREROGATIVES ARE ASSUMED BY JESUS.

____________________________________________

1. DIVINE NAMES ARE APPLIED TO JESUS: 

A name is that by which something or someone is marked or known. In regard to the Names of God, these are descriptions of His Person, Attributes and Purposes. 

A. Jesus is called LORD, or Jehovah.   

    1) By Jeremiah: 

5 "Behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "When I shall raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land. 6 "In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell securely; And this is His name by which He will be called, 'The LORD our righteousness.’” (Jer. 23:5-6, NASB)  

    2) By Paul: 

3 concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, 4 who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 1:3-4, NASB)  

    3) By James: 

1:1 James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad, greetings. (James 1:1, NASB)  

    4) By Peter: 

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (1 Pet. 1:3, NASB)  

    5) By Jesus Himself: 

21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. 22 "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ (Matt. 7:21-22, NASB)   

    6) Additionally, it is an interesting study to compare the many OT passages which refer to the LORD — Yahweh or Jehovah in the Hebrew — with the NT writings which interpret these passages as referring to Jesus.  

Here are a few:

  a. Compare Joel 2:32 with Romans 10:9-13, where Paul refers to the OT Jehovah, as Jesus.    

  b. Compare Isaiah 6:1-10 with John 12:34-41, where John quotes the OT Jehovah, whom Isaiah saw, as Jesus.    

  c. Compare Psalm 102:25-27 with Hebrews 1:8-12, where the writer of Hebrews refers to the OT Jehovah, as Jesus.    

  d. Compare Psalm 68:17-18 with Ephesians 4:7-10, where Paul refers to the OT Jehovah, as Jesus.  

B. Jesus is called Savior:    

  1) In the OT, Jehovah calls Himself “Savior,” and furthermore, says He is the only One who is Savior. (See Ps. 106:21, Isaiah 43:3,11, 45:15,21, 49:26, 60:16, Hos. 13:4 and Ps. 3:8)    

  2) Note how the NT calls Jesus, “Savior”: 

11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:11, NASB) 

31 "He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. (Acts 5:31, NASB) 

3 but at the proper time manifested, even His word, in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior; 4 to Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. (Tit. 1:3-4, NASB)  

C. Jesus is called the First and the Last, the Beginning and the Ending, Alpha and Omega:    

  1) This is a title/name addressed to the LORD, Jehovah, of the OT: 

4 "Who has performed and accomplished it, Calling forth the generations from the beginning? 'I, the LORD, am the first, and with the last. I am He.'" (Isaiah 41:4, NASB)  

Also, see Isaiah 44:6, 48:12.    

  2) In comparing these verses from the OT to the following passages in the Book of Revelation, we see this title/name as being applied to Jesus: 

7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. Even so. Amen. 8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty”…12 And I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; 13 and in the middle of the lampstands one like a son of man…17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as a dead man. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last.” (Rev. 1:7-17, NASB) 

Also, see Rev. 21:6, 22:13.  

D. Jesus is called “God.” 

This, after all, is the ultimate proof of Deity.    

  1) By demons. Matt. 8:29.    

  2) By Isaiah. Isaiah 7:14, 9:6.    

  3) By Gabriel. Luke 1:35.    

  4) By Peter. Matt. 16:17.    

  5) By Paul. Tit. 2:13.    

  6) By Thomas. John 20:20.    

  7) By the Father. Heb. 1:8.    

  8 ) By Christ Himself: 

70 And they all said, 'Thou, then, art the Son of God?' and he said unto them, 'Ye say it, because I am;' (Luke 22:70, Young’s Literal Translation) 

It is sometimes claimed that Jesus never referred to Himself as "God," nor wanted anyone to think He was God, which the above verse shows to be untrue. Christ’s followers knew He asserted that He was very God, as did His enemies, which is why they opposed Him: 

17 But He answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working."  18 For this cause therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. (John 5:17-18, NASB) 

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2. DIVINE ATTRIBUTES ARE ASCRIBED TO JESUS: 

An attribute may be defined as the qualities of a person. There are five of these distinctly Divine qualities, called the Incommunicable Attributes, which are possessed only by God, and which are not found in His creation. All five of which are ascribed to, and manifested in the Life of Jesus. 

  A. God is ETERNAL.   

By this we mean that God has no point of beginning nor point of ending. He has always been, and will always be. He is free from all succession of time, and abides in an ever-abiding present tense. Gen. 21:33; Ex. 3:14; Deut. 33:27; Ps. 90:2; Isaiah 57:15; 1 Tim. 1:17; Rev. 1:4.

    1) Jesus is ETERNAL: 

2 "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity." (Mic. 5:2, NASB)

The NT interprets this verse from Micah as referring to Jesus in Matthew 2:6. 

6 For a Child hath been born to us, A Son hath been given to us, And the princely power is on his shoulder, And He doth call his name Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6, YLT) 

11 They will perish, but Thou remainest; And they all will become old as a garment,12 And as a mantle Thou wilt roll them up; As a garment they will also be changed. But Thou art the same, And Thy years will not come to an end." (Heb. 1:11-12, NASB) 

24 but He, on the other hand, because He abides forever, holds His priesthood permanently. 25 Hence, also, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. (Heb. 7:24-25, NASB) 

18 “…and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.” (Rev. 1:18, NASB)  

B. God is OMNIPRESENT.  

By this we mean that God is everywhere present at once. He transcends the limits of the universe, and is immanent in every part of it, with His whole Being. He is not bound by the constrictions of time and space. 1 Kings 8:27; Ps. 139:7-8; Jer. 23-24; Acts 17:27-28.

  1) Jesus is OMNIPRESENT: 

13 “and no one hath gone up to the heaven, except he who out of the heaven came down — the Son of Man who is in the heaven.” (John 3:13, YLT) 

20 “for where there are two or three gathered together – to my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matt. 18:20, NASB)  

C. God is OMNIPOTENT.  

By this we mean that God is all-powerful, which power is underived and irresistible. Nothing is impossible for Him to accomplish if He so wills it. God can bring to pass whatever He wishes through the mere exercise of His Will. Gen. 1:1, 17:1, 18:14; Jer. 32:17; Rev. 19:5-6. 

  1) Jesus is OMNIPOTENT:    

    a. Over demons. Mark 5:1-15; Luke 4:33-41.    

    b. Over disease. Matt. 4:23-24; Mark 1:30-34.    

    c. Over nature. Matt. 8:23-27, 21:19; John 6:6-14.    

    d. Over death. Matt. 9:18-26; Luke 7:12-17; John 11:1-46.    

    e. Over angels. 1 Pet. 3:22.    

    f. Over all things. Matt. 28:18; Eph. 1:20-22; Rev. 1:8.  

D. God is OMNISCIENT. 

By this we mean that God is all-knowing, and knows all things at all times, immediately, simultaneously, exhaustively, and perfectly.  There is nothing that He does not know, and has not known, from all eternity. He knows all of what will come to pass, as well as what might have happened. He has nothing to ever learn. 2 Chron. 16:9; Ps. 139:1-6, 147:5; Isaiah 46:9-10; Dan. 2:28; Acts 15:18; 1 John 3:2.  

  1) Jesus is OMNISCIENT:   

    a. He knew how He would die.  Matt. 16:21; John 12:31-33, 13:1.    

    b. He knew all men.  John 2:23-25.    

    c. He knew the personal history of people.  John 4:16-19,29, 21:18-19.    

    d. He knew His betrayer.  John 13:21-30.     

    e. He knew the future.  Matt. 7:21-33, 23:34-39, 24:1-51.    

    f. He knew all things.  John 16:30, 21:17; Col. 2:3; Heb. 4:12-13.  

E. God is IMMUTABLE.  

By this we mean that God is constant and unchanging in His Being and in His Will. He remains forever the same, faithful to Himself and to His Word. 1 Sam. 15:29; Ps. 33:11; Mal. 3:6; Heb. 6:17-18; Jas. 1:17.  

  1) Jesus is IMMUTABLE:   

Compare Heb. 1:10-12 with Ps. 102:26-27.

8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever. (Heb. 13:8, NASB)  

_________________________

3. DIVINE WORKS ARE ATTRIBUTED TO JESUS: 

There are certain works that are restricted to God, and are only capable of being performed by God. We see these works performed in the Life of Jesus: 

  A. Jesus created all things. John 1:1-3; Col. 1:16-17; Heb. 1:1-3,10. 

  B. Jesus gives eternal life. John 1:4;1 John 5:11-13,20. 

  C. Jesus will raise all the dead and give them immortal bodies. Phil. 3:20-21. 

  D. Jesus will judge all things. Acts 10:42, 17:31; 2 Cor. 5:10; 2 Tim. 4:1; Rev. 19:11, 20-21. 

_________________________

4. DIVINE PRAYER IS ADDRESSED TO JESUS: 

See Matt. 8:25; Luke 5:8; Acts 1:21-26, 7:59-60; Romans 1:7-8; 1 Cor. 1:2.

_________________________

5. DIVINE WORSHIP IS ACCEPTED BY JESUS: 

Worship is only to be directed to God Himself. Ex. 20:3-5; Deut. 5:7-9.

 A. Jesus is worshiped by angels. Rev. 5:11-12; Is 6:1-5,10 with John 12:37-41; Heb. 1:6; Luke 2:9-14. 

 B. Jesus was worshiped by the Three Wise Men. Matt. 2:1-2,11. 

 C. Jesus was worshiped by men. Matt. 8:2, 14;33, 15:25, 28:9,17; John 9:38. 

  D. Jesus is worshiped by all creation. Rev. 5:13-14. 

Jesus never refused this worship, which would have amounted to deception — as well as blasphemy — if He was not God: 

14 — for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. (Exodus 34:14, NASB) 

10 Then Jesus said to him, "Begone, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.'" (Matt. 4:10, NASB) 

See also Acts 10:25-26; Rev. 19:10, 22:8-9.     

_____________________

6. DIVINE SINLESSNESS IS ASSERTED OF JESUS: 

Sinlessness is derived from the Divine Attribute of Holiness. By this we mean that God is absolutely pure in all He thinks, says, and does, and maintains His own moral excellence without effort or thought. He absolutely abhors sin. Ex. 3:5; Lev. 19:2; 1 Sam. 2:2; Is. 6:1-5, 57:15; Hab. 1:13; and compare 1 John 4:14. 

The NT asserts this Holiness/Sinlessness of Jesus: 

  A. By Gabriel. Luke 1:30-35. 

  B. By demons. Mark 1:23-24. 

  C. By men. Matt. 27:19; Luke 23:39-41; John 18:38, 19:4. 

  D. By the Apostles. Matt. 27:3-4; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15; 1 Pet. 1:18-19. 

  E. By Himself. John 8:46, 15:10. 

Also compare Ps. 40:6-8 and Isaiah 53:1-12.  

The sinlessness of Jesus is important for several reasons: 

  1) If Jesus was sinful, he couldn’t be the Savior of the world.  See Heb. 7:24-28.  

  2) If Jesus was sinful, He would have needed a Savior Himself. See Matt. 1:21; 1 Tim. 1:15; and compare Luke 1:47. 

  3) If Jesus was sinful, he would not have been able to be raised, nor raise Himself, from the dead. See John 10:15-18; Acts 2:24-27; Rom. 1:4 with 6:23; and compare 1 Cor. 15:12-22. 

  4) If Jesus was sinful, He would not have been God, for God is absolutely Holy.  

_________________________

7. DIVINE PREROGATIVES ARE ASSUMED BY JESUS: 

  A. Jesus claimed to be able to raise the dead. John 5:27-29, 6:39-40,54, 11:25-26. 

  B. Jesus claimed to be the Judge of all. Matt. 25:31-34,41; John 5:22,27-30. 

  C. Jesus claimed to be able to bestow eternal life. John 4:7-14, 5:24-25, 10:27-28, 11:20-26, 17:1-3. 

  D. Jesus claimed to have All-power. Matt. 28:18.  

  E. Jesus claimed to be Omnipresent. Matt. 18:20, 28:20. 

  F. Jesus claimed that prayer should be made to Him. John 14:13-14 

  G. Jesus claimed to be able to forgive sin. Mark 2:1-12; Luke 7:36-50; Acts 5:30-31. Compare Acts 8:14-22. 

  H. Jesus claimed to have the same Glory as the Father. John 17:5. 

  I. Jesus claimed to be God. Matt. 26:63-64, 27:11; Luke 22:70. 

34 Jesus answered them, "Has it not been written in your Law, 'I said, you are gods'? 35 "If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), 36 do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God '? (John 10:34-36, NASB)

-joebib

Gospel of John, Pt. 2

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Continuing with our discussion of the Gospel of John. 

"and the Word was God."

John is the only NT writer who refers to Jesus as the Word. In the Book of Revelation, when John sees Jesus returning to the earth at His Second Coming, he says this:

11 “And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war. And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems; and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself.  And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God.” (Rev. 19:11-13, NASB) 

Though I’m not generally a big fan of the (too?) many different versions of the Bible which have flooded the market today — as I feel a lot of them play a bit too fast and loose with the words of Scripture —  I do like how a couple of them have rendered this particular verse in John 1:1. The CEV has, “The Word was with God, and was truly God,” and the REB has, “…and what God was, the Word was.”

I think these do a good job in bringing out what John was really trying to say…that this Word was equal to, or the same as, God. 

Now, the New World Translation, the official version of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, renders this verse as follows: 

1 In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god. (John 1:1, NWT) 

In glossing through many of the other 400 or so English translations of the Bible that I could find, I notice that there are a few —  less than 1%, I suppose — which render this verse like the Witnesses do, and make the Word to be merely “divine” (little “d”), or “a god” (little “g”). Their rationale rests on their interpretation of a rule of Greek grammar known by the high-falutin title of “The Anarthrous/Articular Use of the Definite Article,” and also whether or not another grammatical rule — Colwell’s — applies.  

To save a lot of boring reading, the bottom line comes down to this: the overwhelming majority of Greek scholars behind these 400-some translations have rendered this verse with the word “God” — using a capital “G” — and thus understood John’s intention to present the Word as God Himself.  

And setting forth the Deity of Jesus is nothing new for John. A bit later in this same chapter, he states: 

18 No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. (John 1:18, NASB) 

Towards the end of his Gospel, John records the confession of Thomas to Jesus: 

28 "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28, NASB) 

And three verses later, John gives the reason he wrote his Gospel in the first place: 

31 but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. (John 20:31, NASB) 

Later, at the end of his life, John wrote the following about Jesus in his First Epistle: 

20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding, in order that we might know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. (1 John 5:20, NASB) 

In case you may be interested, in all of these four passages, John uses the definite Greek article in referring to Jesus as (the) God. 

Interestingly, the New World Translation translates this last passage very similarly to the NASB: 

20 But we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us intellectual capacity that we may gain the knowledge of the true one. And we are in union with the true one, by means of his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and life everlasting. (1 John 5:20, NWT) 

I suppose their punctuation checker overlooked the capital “G” in that verse, since it’s so close to the back of the Bible  Wink 

Question:  

Would it matter to you if the NT did not, in fact, teach the Deity of Jesus Christ? If He was merely some sort of super-angel, but not God Himself? Would it affect the way you feel about your salvation?

-joebib 

Gospel of John

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Taking inspiration from Reformed Pope's recent study on Matthew 5-7 (BTW, Pope, when are we gonna get some more of that?), I thought maybe we could do the same thing with John's Gospel, which is most people's favorite anyway.

1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (NASB)

One of the most familiar verses in the Bible, I suppose, at least to believers.

"In the beginning"

The words remind us of Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning, God…."

The beginning…a tough concept to wrap the mind around.

I mean, what "beginning" is this? The beginning of the earth? The beginning of the universe? The beginning of heaven itself, wherever that is? I suppose one could say that the beginning goes back to eternity itself. 

Um, whenever that was.

My "beginning" was at Emmanuel Hospital, in Portland, Oregon, in 1957. Which may seem long ago to someone in their 20s, but 50 years is really nothing in comparison to a couple of thousand years, and is a mere blip on the scope in comparison to a million years. Or a billion. Or a trillion. Or a "goolgolplex," which is the largest officially named number, consisting of a one followed by a thousand zeroes.

Whenever this "beginning" was, it had to be eons and eons ago.

"was the Word,"

The Greek scholars say that this verb "was" means something like, when you go back to whenever (and wherever) the beginning began, this Word was already there, and had been there. Forever.

Kind of like backtracking a trail which leads up a mountain. When you finally get to the top, you look out into the haze and see that you're not at the beginning of the trail at all, but that it extends back from where you are, way out beyond to a mountain in the distance where your eyes can barely even focus. So, you hop back into your Land Rover and drive back to that mountain. When you get there, you find the trail continues on past it to a another mountain in the blurry distance. So, off you go, again. When you finally arrive at that one, you find the same thing…the trail goes on and on, as far as the eye can see. You notice the gas gauge is perilously close to "E," as opposed to "F," and begin to suspect that you will never get to the beginning of this trail.

In other words, there really is no specific time when the Word started or began. It just always — and already — was.

"Word" is the familiar Greek term logos, which describes the communicating of the meaning of a thought. So, the Word here is revealing someone's thoughts. Whose?

"and the Word was with God,"

Okay, so we now see the Word is in connection with God. "God" is theos in the Greek, from where we get the word theology, which literally means,"words about God," or "God-words."

So, the Word is the one who communicates or reveals God's thoughts. Sounds simple enough.

"and the Word was God."

Here's something a bit perplexing…how can the Word be with God and also be God, all at the same time?

Well, if you could explain that to the satisfaction of all, I suppose you could probably unite all world religions, and get rid of those pesky Muslims. The thought in the original is that whatever God was, and is, the Word was, and is, the same thing.

And don't let those Jehovah's Witnesses tell you that the Greek should say "the Word was a god." That's not only baloney, but violates Greek grammar as well.

And, which goes to show that some people will try anything in order to stuff their pre-conceived, pet doctrines into the Bible. Even going so far as to create their own version of the "original" Greek text, called the "Emphatic Diaglott," which all Greek scholars outside of the JW movement know is a joke.

Still though, I wonder how many of our doctrines, what we believe, are contrived, and not really biblical at all? Which we hold with great fervor and pride.

I remember one occasion, long ago, when I was defending that wonderful "doctrine" (theory) of Dispensationalism, and the whole discussion almost ended up devolving to the point of fisticuffs. "If I have to, I'll beat my doctrine into you." Great witness there, Mr. Christian. Didn't even know I was wrong, until years later. Embarassed

Which makes me worry…if any — and if so, how many— of my current beliefs are wrong now? Surprised

Thoughts?

-joebib

 

Faith

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One of the key words in the life of the believer in Christ is “faith.” Faith occurs some 400 times in the King James Version of the Bible. We come to Christ by faith.  In faith, we believe He forgives our sins. We are commanded to have faith. To live by faith. To walk in faith. We read of little faith. Of great faith. Of being full of faith. Of empty faith. Of faithlessness.

Faith, faith, faith.

But, have you ever wondered about the true nature of faith and what it really means?  Most Christians I know would probably say something along the lines of, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1, NASB). A good, biblical answer. But, what does that mean, exactly? Is faith something you must seek, or do you already have it? Is it difficult to find? Or, is it not so difficult to find, as it is difficult to have and keep? Why do some people seem to have so much of it, and others of us don’t?

All of this leads me to share something the Lord has been dealing with me about recently, about having faith in my life. Not faith as in the Christian Faith, or as in having faith in Jesus as my Savior. But, faith as in trusting in God in the midst of a difficult situation.

This fall, my oldest son has been finishing up his last year at PBC. He has a real burden for the lost, and so one day, a few weeks ago, he informed me of his intention to go and spend some time among the homeless people around the Burnside Bridge, in downtown Portland. Just reach out to them, maybe give them some clothes he no longer used. He wanted to get to know what these people had to go through living there, and try to share the Gospel with them, and was wondering what I thought about the idea.

Well, there’s nothing like getting out of one’s sheltered environment and seeing the real world up close and personal, so I told him I thought he should go ahead. Why not? It sounded like a good idea…that is, until he mentioned he was planning to do this for an entire three days and three nights. Hold on a minute! Spend every night there? Live there? Out of contact with everyone? No cell phone? No nothing? Just like one of them?   

Needless to say, I was aghast! Now the idea was terrible, and I began to panic. My son can be rather stubborn at times (gets it from his mom), and once he gets an idea into his head, there is pretty much no convincing him otherwise. So many thoughts began to race through my mind, as I strived to somehow convince him of the folly of this.   

What exactly would he be doing there?

“Nothing in particular, just hanging out with them.” 

Would he be taking any money?

“No, what for?”

Well, how would he eat?

“The same way they do.”

Where would he sleep? 

“The same place they do, right on the ground.”

What if you get cold?

“They get cold every night.”

Did you talk to your teachers about this? (Good one, Dad!)

“Yep, they’re all for it.” (Thanks a lot, guys!)

What if something happened?

“Like what?”

Well, what if you were attacked?

“Look Dad, don’t worry, the Lord will take care of me.”

Yeah, I know, but….

I heard the voice of God, echoing in my mind…..“Yeah, but what? Don’t you trust Me?”

So, what could I do? — I gave him my blessing — since he was going to do it anyway. And I then proceeded to fret and worry for the next week, hoping he would change his mind. When the dreaded day he was to go down there finally arrived, I was just a mess, wasn’t sleeping well, my stomach was upset 24-7, all the time thinking about what could happen to him. I watched the clock constantly. “What’s he doing now?…it’s getting dark…the Portland weather report says rain…Lord, why is he doing this?…maybe he’s in trouble…Lord, help him…I hope he brought warm clothes…what will he eat?…maybe he’s getting beaten up right this very instant!…OH LORD!”

So, for three long days — and even longer nights — I went through sheer torture. Those with children can probably imagine what it was like for us. We prayed like never before, we fasted, we worried.  I couldn't concentrate on even the simplest of tasks, and my mind wandered constantly, to thoughts of my son. And finally, after 72 hours of agony, on the third night when he was supposed to be done with it and back at the dorms, I started calling his cell phone. I must have called him 20 times, praying he would answer. When at last he did, I breathed a huge sigh of relief, and asked him how it went.   

He said, “What are you talking about?”

How were the three days under the Burnside Bridge?

“Dad, I’m not going until tomorrow!”

You've got to be kidding me! I had gotten the dates mixed up! I closed my eyes and prayed “No…no…Lord…I can’t handle going through that again.”  

Well, to fast-forward to the end of the story, he made it through just fine. Stuck to it for the entire three days and nights. Although there were a couple of hairy situations, he didn’t get stabbed or beaten up, or even hurt, thank the Lord.  Gave away some clothes. Shared the love of Jesus with a lot of hurting people. And had his life forever changed.

And, me? Well, I felt ashamed at my lack of trust in the Lord. This was probably the greatest test of faith I had had in my entire Christian walk, and I had failed miserably, worrying and doubting and questioning God for three days.

But, I also learned a very valuable lesson through it all. I found out it is so easy to tell someone else — as I have done hundreds of times over the years — to just put everything, all your worries, in God’s hands, and trust Him to work it out.

To just have faith.

But, when it happened to me, when it was my life, when I was powerless to do anything but just to trust Him, when I was the one who had to stand on faith, and faith alone, I found out it’s a totally different ballgame. 

 "Increase our faith!" (Luke 17:5, NASB)  

-joebib 

Pride

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A while back, one of the sisters on the blog mentioned in passing that she had a hard time justifying her lifestyle, in regard to having (nice) stuff.

I know exactly what she meant. I, too, have felt a bit guilty at times about what I have in the way of personal possessions. I mean, all you have to do is read about what believers in other countries are going through, just to survive each day, and you wonder why we have so much here in America. Can it be attributed to a mere coincidence, or is it the hand of God?

When I was younger, in my 20s-30s, it wasn't as much of a consideration, as the financial constraints of trying to provide for a wife and three children themselves forced me to keep my "stuff" down to a bare minimum. I bought the cheapest of everything I personally needed ($10 tennies at K-Mart), and then a bit nicer stuff for what the kids needed, within reason and practicality.

But, lately, now that my children are all grown and out on their own (hurrah!), and the finances are flowing a bit more freely, I find myself acquiring nicer "stuff." Instead of buying older trucks, like I did for years, I now buy brand new trucks, when a good, used truck would probably work just as well. And that's not all. On this last one, I also threw on a nice, loud Flowmaster, just so when I rev up the motor, it will rumble. Now, why did I do that? The Flowmaster provides only negligible benefits as to efficiency, but scores serious bonus points for oozing power.

I wonder…is it from a root of pride?

What about our SUV? Did we really need leather seats? Are they actually more functional than cloth seats, or are they a subconscious attempt at having a status symbol? I find myself scrunching down at stoplights when someone in the next car looks over at us. Guilty conscience, no doubt.

I have also noticed this with our road bicycles. We have several, and they are all expensive. We do use them all the time, putting several thousand miles a year on them, and hey, one needs to stay in shape, doesn't one? Not only that, one should buy quality products that won't break down all the time, and end up costing more, right? Sounds good to me.

Still though, a Pee-Wee-Herman-cheapo-nerd-bike will get me from point A to point B just fine. Admittedly with just a bit more laughter and pointing along the way, but who can't use a little more humility?  Embarassed

I do give regularly to help support various worthy causes in the Lord's work, so it's not that He is getting shortchanged. But I also know how fickle one's desires can be, and how easy it is to justify our actions with reason and logic, without taking the time to look at things with an honest and open heart.

An example of this is when Sennacherib came up against Jerusalem to destroy it in 2 Kings 18 — he says "the LORD" told him to do it. It seems possible he really did believe God was helping him do that, and yet, he was dead wrong.

And I'm sure these preachers with their personal Lear jets, $1000 suits, limousines, pillared mansions, and 24k gold doorknobs attribute it all to "the hand of God." Amen.

I guess what I am getting at is this: can this stuff truly be considered the Lord's "blessing" in one's life, or is it simply the fruit of our catering to the flesh?

I don't know. Maybe it's a natural by-product of the living-in-California-thing.

Anyone else feel this way?

-joebibstudent

Mark

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It was Monday and the start of a new job in Fairfield, CA. I noticed we had a new guy, and as it was still early, he was just kind of standing around. No one seemed to be talking to him, so I went over and introduced myself. He said his name was Mark, and was from Vallejo, just down the freeway a bit. Seemed like a nice guy, slender, kinda quiet, maybe about 30 years old, or so. 

Over the next couple of days, I went out of my way to talk to him some more, here and there, nothing too deep, just chitchat really. Finally, on Friday, I asked him if he wouldn't mind having lunch with me. He said, "Sure." 

After a bit of small talk, I said to him, "Mark, do you mind if I ask you something?" He said, "No, go ahead." I said, "Do you believe in miracles?" This is one of the questions I've used over the years in sharing the Lord with people. 

He looked straight at me and smiled and said, "You bet I do. I'm living proof miracles exist." 

Well, I was somewhat taken aback. Most people kind of hem and haw around a bit when you ask them something like that. But not Mark…he was dead sure. 

So I asked him what he meant by that, and he shared with me this story…

Mark had grown up on a farm, and was always helping his Dad work the fields. One day, one of the pieces of machinery he was riding on got jammed up, so he turned it off, and he jumped down to the ground to see if he could fix it. But when he jumped off, he miscalculated and came down on one of the blades, which tore a deep cut right through the inside of his thigh. Mark instantly cried out in pain and collapsed on the ground, his leg spurting blood. He screamed out for his father, who was in the farmhouse, a short ways off.

"Dad!"

"Dad!!"  

His father came rushing out of the house to see what all the commotion was about. Seeing his son lying on the ground next to the big machine, he began sprinting towards him. As he got close enough to Mark to see what had happened, and all the blood which by now was starting to go everywhere, he suddenly stopped, turned around, and bolted back for the house.  

Mark thought, "Good, he's going back for bandages."  

He told me he thought to himself at this time that he might die, and it scared him. His mind began to wonder. He thought of his family, his mom and brothers.

He then heard the screen door of the house slam, and he lifted his head up and saw his father running wildly towards him. He was carrying something, but it didn't look like white bandages. As he got closer, Mark saw what was in his hand.  

It was his Dad's Bible. 

He rushed up and collapsed on his knees next to Mark. He opened the old Bible and began turning the pages frantically. He finally found the place he was looking for, and with shaking hands and trembling voice, began to read these words:  

"Thou wast cast out in the open field…and when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live." (Ezekiel 16:5-6)  

Mark laid his head back on the ground, and began to pray, "Please, Lord, don't let me die!" He was getting so light-headed, that as he looked up to the sky everything began to swirl and fade in and out of focus.

His father was by now almost screaming out the words, repeating them over and over…

"I saw thee in thine own blood,  

"I said unto thee, Live, 

"I said unto thee, Live, 

"Live…Live…Live!" 

He didn't know how much time had passed. It began to grow quiet. Mark seemed to feel a sense of peace begin to flood over him, and he noticed the pain in his leg was going away. His fear gave way to a strange tranquility. He wondered to himself if this was what it felt like to die. He felt something, a pressure, on his thigh, and looked up to see if his dad had put his hand there to stop the blood.

But his father was, by now, laying next to him facedown on the ground, with his face buried in the open Bible, weeping softly, his out-stretched hands clenching at the dirt. 

He glanced at his thigh to see what it might look like. It was strange, but Mark was feeling so peaceful, he almost didn't care how badly it might be mangled. 

Although his pants were torn wide open, his leg wasn't mangled at all. Just a deep cut.

And it had stopped bleeding.

_____________________________

Later that afternoon, after his Dad had carried him back into the house, and he was laying on the sofa, Mark commented to his father that when he first saw him, he thought he had turned back to the house to go get some bandages. His father told him the way he could see the blood was squirting out, he knew they would've done no good anyway. All he could do was turn to God. 

A lot of people will tell you that the Bible is just a book, like any other, that it isn't relevant for our day. They will tell you that it shouldn't be called "God's Word." I mean, after all, how can we know for sure, since science and archaeology contradict it, right? Oh, well yes, they admit, it may contain a few wise sayings, with a little truth sprinkled here and there, but a lot of the stuff in it is just not true at all. It's mostly just a collection of nice old stories and tales. Nothing special really. 

But don't ever say that to Mark or his Dad. They know better. 

-joebib