Scripture

January 23, 2017 By B. Baylis Leave a Comment

Advent Wreath Lesson Three: Joy

Can you believe we’re more than halfway through January and more than 5% of 2017 is already in the books? How are you doing with your Advent Wreath Resolution? Are you still reflecting on the Advent Wreath Lessons? This week we’ve come to the third candle lit during Advent, which is the pink “Joy” candle. What is the significance of this candle?

Image used under creative commons license available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

When many people think of Christmas joy, the first two things that come to their minds are the angelic greeting given to the shepherds and some very familiar Christmas music.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

In terms of Christmas music, possibly the second best known Christmas carol is “Joy to the World” written by Isaac Watts. This is ironic since Watts didn’t write this piece to be an Advent hymn. Watts claimed Psalm 98 as his inspiration for this hymn.

The Last Judgment by Jean Cousin the Younger, also called Jehan Cousin Le Jeune (lived c. 1522–1595). – Blunt, Anthony. Art and Architecture in France: 1500–1700. New Haven (CT): Yale University Press, [1957] 1999 edition. ISBN 0300077483. Page 99., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2874303

O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory. The Lord hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen. He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. Sing unto the Lord with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm. With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King.Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together. Before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity. (Psalm 98: 1-9; KJV)

With the possible exception of the first verse Watts was obviously not celebrating the Messiah’s nativity, or first coming to earth, but rather His triumphant return to judge and reign.

Verse 1

Joy to the world! The Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.

Verse 2

Joy to the earth! the savior reigns;
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

Verse 3

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make his blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

Verse 4

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness,
And wonders of his love,
And wonders of his love,
And wonders, wonders, of his love.

(Lyrics by Isaac Watts, published in 1719; copyright status is public domain.)

In 1739, Charles Wesley wrote a Christmas poem based on the angelic message of joy to the shepherds. To use it as a Christmas hymn, the words were put to the same music as his Easter hymn, “Christ the Lord is Risen Today.” Wesley’s version begins with the lines “HARK how all the Welkin rings. Glory to the King of Kings” In 1751, George Whitefield tweaked the lines closer to what we sing today: “Hark the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King!” Over the next century, a chorus of sorts was added to the end of each verse, repeating Whitefield’s opening lines, “Hark the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King!” In 1840, William Cummings adapted music from a Mendelssohn cantata. This is music with which we are most familiar today. Because “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” uses the same meter, we sometimes sing that tune to the Mendelssohn music.

Hark the herald angels sing
“Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled”
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim:
“Christ is born in Bethlehem”
Hark! The herald angels sing
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Christ by highest heav’n adored
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a Virgin’s womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! The herald angels sing
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Hail the heav’n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris’n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
“Glory to the newborn King!”

As we wind down the month of January, are you preparing your heart to receive the heaven-born prince when He comes as King to judge and reign over this world? Are you spreading this message of joy to everyone with whom you come into contact?

January 14, 2017 By B. Baylis Leave a Comment

Advent Wreath Lesson Two: Love

As we approach the end of the second week and the beginning of the third week of 2017, in the spirit of my New Year’s Resolution post A Different Kind of New Year’s Resolution: Instead of Packing Away the Advent Wreath for Another Year, Reflect on Its Lessons During All of 2017, it’s time to consider the second blue candle of the Advent Wreath.

In many Christian traditions that use the Advent Wreath, the second blue candle represents love. Advent and Christmas tell the story of God’s unfailing love for mankind. From the dawn of creation, mankind has held a special place in God’s world.

So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (Genesis 1:27 – 31, KJV)

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons; originally published in 1906 a Bible card published 1906 as a Bible Card Illustration by the Providence Lithograph Company

God looked and saw that everything He had created was good. He enjoyed His creation. Genesis 3 seems to imply that God would visit his Creation and spend time in the Garden. During these visits, it seems that God spent time visiting and talking with Adam and Eve.

And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? (Genesis 3: 8 & 9, KJV)

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons; Adam and Eve hiding from God and covering their nakedness in the Garden of Eden. Etching by J.E. Ridinger after himself, c. 1750. In Public Domain

By disobeying one simple command “Don’t eat of the fruit of one specified tree!” Adam and Eve separated themselves from fellowship with God and participation in the benefits of God’s mercy and love.

And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. (Genesis 3: 2 & 3, KJV)

Image by Ludela (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Because of their sin of disobeying God and eating of the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve were driven from the Garden of Eden. Because of one man’s sin, all men became separated from God. The expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden is a picture of the expulsion of all sinful men from the presence of God.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, under open content license. Illustration from Bible Picture by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, with brief descriptions by Charles Foster, published in 1897

A holy, righteous God could not condone sin. However, because of His love for creation, He had a plan to redeem mankind.

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5: 1-21, KJV)

One major step in this plan was the Advent, the appearance of Jesus Christ as a sinless baby, born of a virgin.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons under open content license. It is a photograph of the painting Madonna with child and angels is a picture painted in the 17th century by Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato and kept at Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica di Palazzo Corsini.

Christ, coming to earth in human form was not enough to satisfy the penalty of sin that all men are under. Jesus had to die on the cross as a sacrifice for our sin, and then be resurrected in glory.

Image from Biblical illustrations by Jim Padgett, courtesy of Sweet Publishing, Ft. Worth, TX, and Gospel Light, Ventura, CA. Copyright 1984. Released under new license, CC-BY-SA 3.0

The death and resurrection of Christ satisfied the punishment for our sin and sealed our pardon from God. With such a great show of love from God, we should be willing to show our love for God by obeying Him and telling others about this wonderful love gift. Philip in the middle of an evangelistic crusade was willing to drop everything and go to the Judean desert where he wasn’t sure who he would possibly run into. But God had a plan for him that would eventually lead to millions of people coming to know and accept God’s great love gift.

And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. (Acts 8: 30-38, KJV)

Philip and the eunuch, from Biblical illustrations by Jim Padgett, courtesy of Sweet Publishing, Ft. Worth, TX, and Gospel Light, Ventura, CA. Copyright 1984. Released under new license, CC-BY-SA 3.0

During 2017, are you under the conviction of God’s love? Are you ready to be a Philip and run to the side of any seeker and explain the gospel message?

January 6, 2017 By B. Baylis Leave a Comment

Advent Wreath Lesson One: Hope

As we approach the end of the first week and the beginning of the second week of 2017, in the spirit of my New Year’s Resolution post A Different Kind of New Year’s Resolution: Instead of Packing Away the Advent Wreath for Another Year, Reflect on Its Lessons During All of 2017, let’s consider the first blue candle of the Advent Wreath.

In many Christian traditions that use the Advent Wreath, the first blue candle represents hope. In modern English, the word hope has become a wishy-washy word of desire and uncertainty. It implies the desire of a specific result but uncertainty as to whether it will occur. In the English Bible, the word “hope” is used both as a verb and a noun. Used as a verb the word “hope” means to trust in someone or something or to expectantly wait for a beneficial result. The Hebrew word that is translated most often as “hope” in the King James Version is yachal ( יָחַל). This word and its variations occur 40 times in the Old Testament and are translated 27 times as “hope.” In the other 13 occasions, the words are translated as variations of “wait” and “trust.” In the Old Testament time “hope” carried the connotation of resting securely in the certain knowledge that an event will occur.

In the King James New Testament, the word “hope” is used as a noun or a verb. Most of these occurrences were derived from the Greek noun elpis (ἐλπίς) or its verb relative elpizo (ἐλπίζω). In total, elpis and elpizo or their variants occur 84 times in the Greek New Testament. Of the 11 times that “hope” appears as a verb in the KJV, all of them were variations of elpizo. Of the 20 times elpizo is not translated “hope” it is translated with a variation of the verb “trust.” Thus, we see in the NT the same message as we saw in the OT. Whether it is used as a noun or a verb, “hope” carries the connotation of assured expectation of fulfillment.

In Scripture, according to the Hebrew and Greek words translated by the word “hope” and according to the biblical usage, hope is an indication of certainty. “Hope” in Scripture means “a strong and confident expectation.” This use of the word “hope” is generally archaic today.

“Hope” as a noun refers to the activity of hoping, or to the object hoped for—the content of one’s hope. By its very nature, hope stresses two things: (a) a time yet to come, and (b) something not yet seen. It deals with things we can’t see or haven’t received or both.

For centuries the world looked forward with a steadfast hope for the coming Messiah. The following passages speak of that unwavering trust without using the terms “hope” or “trust.”

But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law..” (Galatians 4:4, KJV).

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14, KJV)

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. (Micah 5:2, KJV)

And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for He shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. (Matthew 1:21-23),

When it was time for Mary and Joseph to present Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem to be presented to the Lord, they were met by an elderly man, who was kept alive by the hope of the coming of the Messiah.

And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. (Luke 2:25 -32, KJV)

Jesus during his ministry raised up a small band of disciples who were convinced that He was the Messiah, the anointed one. They were dismayed and heartbroken when He was arrested and crucified. Even though He had told them that He would have to suffer and die, they didn’t understand this part of His message. Even when He appeared to them after the resurrection, they were still looking for an earthly kingdom. They didn’t know what to do or believe when He ascended into heaven right in front of their eyes. Angels which had announced His first coming reassured His disciples that He would be coming again. The disciples and the rest of the world had to settle back into the sure hope of His second coming.

When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. (Acts 1: 6-11, KJV)

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, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, (I Peter 1:3-4, KJV)

In this Christmas season, are you reflecting the light of Christ’s salvation to a world trapped in darkness? Are you spreading the gospel of hope of God’s salvation?

September 22, 2016 By B. Baylis Leave a Comment

Four Lessons from Five Verses: Part IV

Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully. (II TImothy 2:1-5, KJV)

St. Paul in Prison, by Rembrandt [Public domain],1627, via Wikimedia Commons

This is the final installment of lessons from five verses in the second chapter of Paul’s second epistle to Timothy. In this post we concentrate on the first verse, Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. (II Timothy 2:1, KJV)

Paul begins the second chapter with the conjunction “Therefore.” In doing this, he is telling TImothy to “be strong” because of what he said in Chapter 1. What did Paul say in Chapter 1 that should prompt Timothy to be strong? I see at least three things.

The first is Timothy’s faith and God’s priceless gifts. Immediately after Paul’s salutation, he reminds Timothy of his faith and the upbringing and grounding in God that his faith has given him. “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (II TImothy 1:5-7, KJV) What were those precious gifts? “the spirit of…power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

The second point relates to the circumstances under which Paul was writing the letter. Many scholars believe that Paul wrote this letter to Timothy during his second imprisonment in Rome. Three times in chapter 1, Paul mentions prison, suffering, afflictions or chains: “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;” (II Timothy 1:8, KJV); “For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” (II Timothy 1:12, KJV); and “The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain:” (II Timothy 1:16. KJV). Paul was telling TImothy that because of his faith and service to Christ, he was suffering in ways similar to how Christ suffered. So Paul didn’t want TImothy to be discouraged or get caught off guard,when he was called upon to suffer for Christ’s sake. Suffering for Christ is our reasonable duty since Christ died for us.

The third point is God’s grace that is bestowed not only on Timothy, and Paul, but on everyone who is saved. Paul writes “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:” (I Timothy 1:9&10, KJV). This passage echos the thoughts of Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus, of which Timothy was the minister.

“Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:5-10; KJV)

Our Christian life all comes down to God’s grace, which is wrapped up in Jesus Christ, who through his sinless life, death and resurrection secured our salvation. We need to live strong in that thought. However, it’s not our strength. It is Christ living in us. As Paul said in his letter to the church in Galatia, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20, KJV).

Image courtesy of Wikimedia-Creative-Commons-Attribution-2.0-Generic-license.-e1466009718389

Have you ever heard the expression, “the elephant in the room?” In the picture above, you can’t miss the elephant in the room, even though it is upholstered with the same fabric as the curtains hanging at the window. The picket fence in the room would be no hinderance to a real elephant, if that animal wanted to get out of the room. Thus the phrase and the image are obviously meant to be facetious allegories of a situation or truth that many people wish to avoid. The truth of Galatians 2:20 that many people hope to avoid is the idea that we must die to ourselves to partake in the eternal life offered in Christ by grace through faith. The elephant allegory may be facetious, but the truth that stands behind it is sharply and unmistakably real and has devastating consequence for those who avoid the truth in this world. They will not avoid it in the next one.

September 17, 2016 By B. Baylis Leave a Comment

Four Lessons from FIve Verses – Part III-B

As indicated in the previous post, Lesson III-Part A , from my Four Lessons from Five Verses series, I took my Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day posts from the first five verses of chapter 2 of Paul’s second letter to his protege Timothy. The first post focused on the attributes of a good soldier taken from verses 3 and 4. The second looked at how to be a winner using verse 5 as the text, while the third began to look at the repetitive, self-sustaining cycle of Biblical Teaching from verse 2. It looked at the office, qualifications and work of a Biblical teacher. This post continues looking at that same verse:

And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. (II Timothy 2:2, KJV)

I freely admit that the wording in the KJV of this verse baffled me at first. My initial reading was that Paul was suggesting to Timothy that he concentrate on things that he heard “about” Paul from many people who had observed Paul’s action and preaching. However, Timothy didn’t need to hear about Paul from others, because Timothy had sat directly under Paul’s teaching. He had lived with him, and traveled with him. Timothy had personally witnessed and heard Paul preach and live out the winsome gospel with his own eyes and ears. I believe that Paul is telling Timothy in this passage to concentrate on those things Timothy heard and saw Paul say and live out in the presence of many witnesses.

In the King James Version, this verse begins with the phrase “And the things that thou heard of me among many witnesses,..” The English preposition “of ” comes from the Greek preposition para which together with its variation par appears 200 times in the New Testament. These two Greek words are all purpose prepositions. They are translated at least seven different ways in the King James Version, with another 10 variations in other versions of the Bible. Three things help determine the meaning of the word para in particular situations. We begin with a grammar lesson. A preposition is a word that shows the relationship of the noun or pronoun following the preposition, known as the object of the preposition, and some other word or element in the sentence known as the subject. In II Timothy 2:2, the preposition “of” is describing the relationship between “things,” the subject, and “Paul”, represented by the pronoun “me,” the object. In Greek we have one additional clue to the meaning of a preposition. That clue is found in the grammatical case of the object. In English, the most distinctive use of grammatical case is the Genitive case signifying possession. In the sentence “We are going in my car,” the subject is “We”; the preposition is “in” and the object is “car.” With the possessive pronoun “my”, we know the car belongs to me.

In the Greek, objects following the preposition para (παρά) take three different cases. These cases are the genitive, accusative and dative. In the Greek, the case of a given noun or pronoun can be visibly seen by the form of the word. In English, the case of nouns and pronouns are more generally defined by their usage. The only exception to this is with the genitive case which signifies possession. The genitive pronoun for a male person is “his” while the dative and accusative pronouns take the same form “him.” The accusative case reflects the direct object of a preposition, while the dative case represents the indirect object of a preposition. In II TIm 2:2, in the preposition phrase “things…of me” the Greek word translated “me” is emou (ἐμοῦ) which is in the genitive case. This signifies that the subject of the preposition “things” belonged to or were inherently part of Paul. Thus, it makes more sense to think of the things spoken of here to be the actual words, teachings and life of Paul.

However, there is far more to be gleaned from this verse. Verse 2 also lays out a multi-step family tree that can be extended indefinitely. It begins with Christ, who commissioned and ordained Paul as a master teacher, who received his commissioning and marching orders from Jesus Christ. Timothy was Paul’s student, apprentice and protege. Timothy was in turn destined and charged with the responsibility of becoming a teacher for the next generation of students and teachers. In this passage Paul is giving us God’s plan for the spread of the gospel and his teachings. God was going to raise up a self-sustaining tree of preachers and teachers who would in turn nurture and train the next generation of preachers and teachers.

While Christ was present with the disciples, he could teach them directly. After his resurrection and ascension into heaven, was anyone going to teach and help Paul and the other apostles? God the Father had made provision for that. In John 14, Jesus tells his disciples that he would not always be with them, but that God was not going to leave them alone.

¹⁵If ye love me, keep my commandments. ¹⁶And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; ¹⁷Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. ¹⁸I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. ¹⁹Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. ²⁰At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. (John 14:15-21, KJV)

Through the Holy Spirit, God’s Comforter, Paul and Timothy had direct access to help from God. But this aid was not available to only Paul and Timothy. Since the time of Christ’s ascension, it has available to every Christian, especially those commissioned as teachers.

Chart created by author using ClickChart Professional

What was Paul’s responsibility as a Master Teacher? According to I Corinthians and Ephesians, Paul was to follow Christ and faithfully teach the next generation. What was the responsibility of the next generation? They were to remember what Paul did and taught. They were to keep the ordinances that Paul delivered unto them. They were to help teach and perfect the next generation so that they would mature in faith. They were not just to strive to resemble Paul. They were to be like Christ.

Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you. (I Corinthians 11: 1 & 2, KJV)

But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: (Ephesians 4: 7 – 15, KJV)

In the two centuries since Christ taught and commissioned that first level of teachers, we have seen more than 60 levels of students, turned teachers. We no longer have the physical presence of Christ or Paul to follow. However, we have the scriptures and we have the Holy Spirit to guide in our study and interpretation of the Word of God. We also have the stories and the lives of the saints who have gone on before us.

I end this post with Paul’s statement about scriptures to Timothy:

But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. (II Timothy 3:14-17, KJV)

We need to remember a big part of “all good works” is teaching and leading the next generation.

September 6, 2016 By B. Baylis Leave a Comment

Four Lessons from Five Verses: Lesson III-Part A

Structural diagram of II Timothy 2:2, created by author using ClickCharts Professional

I took my Memorial Day and Independence Day Posts from the first five verses of chapter 2 of Paul’s second letter to his protege Timothy. One focused on the attributes of a good soldier, while the second looked at how to be a winner. I didn’t plan this series of posts to be a holiday series. However, the first two coincided with Memorial Day and Independence Day. This post coincides with Labor Day, which may be very appropriate, as verse 2 opens the door for us to look at the office, qualifications and work of a teacher. It also opens the door for us to look at much more than we can cover in one post. Thus, this post will become a wormhole for us to investigate more fascinating topics dealing with the process and responsibilities of teachers, and the cyclic, self-sustaining patterns of biblical teaching.

It seems very appropriate to look at teaching this Labor Day, since many have declared teaching to be a labor of love. The dictionary definition of a labor of love is work “done as an end onto itself, rather than a means to an end. It is work that benefits others rather than significantly rewarding the laborer materially.” In Paul’s case, it was definitely a labor of love. He did it out of his love of his Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul also did it for the heavenly reward or benefit that others might receive.

Love is central to all of Christian theology. We love God because He first loved us (I John 4:19). In fact, God loved us so much that he sent His Son to die for us and be a propitiation for our sins. (I John 4:10). Propitation is a big word that means “turning away one’s wrath.” Christ’s sacrifice on the cross satisfied the demands of a righteous God, turning away his wrath against our sin. As demonstrated in I John, the Apostle John could be called the disciple of love. In his gospel, after Mary Magdalene discovered the empty tomb, she ran to Peter and “to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved.”

However, love is just as central to Paul’s view of theology, as it was for John. In Romans 5:8, Paul wrote, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” In his first letter to the Christians in Corinth, Paul wrote what’s known as the Love Chapter. He begins Chapter 13, with these words “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” and ends it with “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity,” The word translated “charity ” could just as easily have been translated “love.” Without love, there is no harmony, only discord.

We are to love as Christ loved. However, our love doesn’t originate in us. We can’t generate our own love. It is a reflection of God’s love, as Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:1-2, “Be ye therefore followers [imitators] of God, as dear [beloved] children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour.” The Ephesian 5 passage is not the only time Paul talked about imitating Christ. Paul begins Chapter 11 of I Corinthians with these words, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” Do you see the repetitive pattern starting to form? Follow Paul, as Paul followed Christ. Teach others to follow you, as you follow Christ.

So just as Christ taught his disciples how to love God, Paul is teaching Timothy “the same things.” So what is Timothy to do? He is to find faithful men, capable of teaching others, these “same things.” It is the cyclic, repetitive, self-sustaining pattern of Biblical teaching. It is a labor of love.