Tag: not

1 Thessalonians 5:3 – Peace and Destruction

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For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.

Truth to Learn

The Day of the Lord will begin with a period of peace.

Behind the Words

Hotan is the Greek word translated “when.” It is composed of hote, meaning “when” and the preposition an, indicating uncertainty or possibility.

The words “they say” are from legō, meaning “to relate in words” or “to say.” It is expressed here in the subjunctive mood, indicating the possibility or probability of action.

“Safety” is translated from asphaleia, composed of a, meaning “without” or “not” and sphallō, meaning “to throw down” or “to fail.” Thus, asphaleia refers to “security” or “safety.”

The word “sudden” is from aiphnidios. This word is composed of the negative particle a, meaning “not” and a form of phainō, meaning “to shine” or “to make apparent.” Therefore, aiphnidios means “not apparent,” “unexpected,” or “suddenly.”

“Destruction” is translated from olethros. This is from ollumi, meaning “to destroy.” Olethros refers to “destruction” or by implication, “death.”

The words “labor pains” are from the Greek words ōdin en gastri, which literally translates to “pain in the stomach” or “pain in the womb,” that is, “birth pain.”

The word “not” is from ou mē, a double negative indicating “absolutely not” or “no way!”

“Escape” is from ekpheugō, made up of ek, meaning “out of” and pheugō, meaning “to flee.”

Meaning Explained

Paul is now teaching about the Day of the Lord, called the Tribulation or Daniel’s seventieth week (see Daniel 9:24-27). It is a time period in which God will both judge the world (the earth dwellers) and accomplish the final salvation of the “remnant” of Israel (see Zephaniah 3:13 and Romans 9:27).

Keep in mind that Paul is writing this letter to the Christians in Thessalonica and all Christians in general. Back in 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17 Paul repeatedly used the personal pronouns “you” and “we” referring to Christians and the rapture. Now in today’s verse, observe that he is using the personal pronouns “they” and “them.” Paul is not talking about Christians, he is talking about those who will be on this earth when the Day of the Lord arrives. Notice that “they shall not [no way] escape.” This is further evidence that the rapture and the Day of the Lord are separate events. It is also evidence that Christians will not be on earth when the Day of the Lord arrives. This is because, as we have already learned, the rapture will occur before the Tribulation (the Day of the Lord).

Now we learn a little bit about the conditions on earth when the Day of the Lord arrives. This time of God’s judgment will begin with a period of peace (perhaps world-wide, but at least for Israel.) Then, suddenly, that peace will evaporate and the world will be consumed by destruction (see the first two of the four horses of the Apocalypse in Revelation 6:1-4).

Application

Once again, we have an opportunity to give thanks to God for His loving care of His children (Christians). Is it time to pray?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2012 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Luke 2:8-10; Matthew 28:5-7 – He Is Risen!

Posted on by Will

8Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9And behold, an angel of the Lord stood over them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people … 5But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead,

Truth to Learn

Let us proclaim the good news that He is risen!

Behind the Words

The word “angel” is transliterated from the Greek word angelos. This word literally means “messenger.” Hence, we see that angels are God’s messengers.

The expression “Do not be afraid” is translated from the Greek words mē phobeisthē. The word mē means “not” and the word phobeisthē is a form or phobeō, meaning “to frighten” or “to make afraid.” It is expressed here in the passive voice (to be frightened) and the imperative mood (a command.) Hence, it means “Do not be frightened!”

Meaning Explained

So, what in the world am I doing using a Christmas verse to talk about the resurrection? Have you ever noticed that at both Jesus’ birth and His resurrection, there were angels ministering to people? At His birth the angel delivered the glorious message to the shepherds that the Savior, Christ the Lord, was born. At His resurrection, it was angels who announced the glorious message that He had risen from the dead. And, in both cases the people who saw the angels were afraid. As a result, the first message from the angels was, “Don’t be afraid!”

But, after encountering the angelic messenger, those who saw them immediately went into action. The shepherds immediately went into town to see the Christ child, then went out praising God and spreading the message of His birth. On Resurrection Sunday, the women, Peter, and John, immediately went to tell others that He has risen! In each case, the witnesses started out being afraid and in each case they left full of joy, spreading the word of peace and joy.

At the end of the day on Resurrection Sunday, our Lord gave His disciples the following instructions:

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. (Matthew 28:18-20)

This year, as we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior, let us not be afraid. Let us go out and spread the good news!

Application

Do you ever get afraid? In addition to the angels giving comfort, our Lord frequently comforted His disciples with the words, “Don’t be afraid” and “Peace be unto you.” Therefore, let us not be afraid, let the peace of God rule in our hearts, and let us proclaim the good news that He is risen!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2012 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Ephesians 2:9 – Unearned and Secure

Posted on by Will

Ephesians 2:9  – Unearned and Secure

not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Truth to Learn

We didn’t do anything to earn our salvation.

Behind the Words

“Not” is translated from the Greek particle ou, meaning “no or not.” It expresses direct and full negation, independently and absolutely.

The word translated “works” is ergon, from which we get our English word ergonomics. Ergon refers to “any work, deed, act, or action;” that is, it refers to “something done.” It is expressed here in the genitive case, which implies “of” or “from.” But here it is coupled with ou by means of the preposition ek, which means “out of” or “from.” Thus we could translate the first part of this verse as “not as a result of something you do.”

“Lest” is from two Greek words. The first is the conjunction hina, meaning “to the end that” or “in order that.” The second Greek word is mē, which indicates a conditional negation.

“Anyone” is translated from tis, which is an indefinite pronoun. It is variously translated as “anyone, someone, or a certain one.”

The words “should boast” are from the verb kauchaomai, meaning “to boast, glory, or exalt, either in a good or a bad sense.” It is expressed in the subjunctive mood, indicating something that is not happening but might have the possibility of happening.

Meaning Explained

In order to get the full meaning of today’s verse, let’s look at it along with yesterday’s verse.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

In the preceding verses Paul has been talking about the incredible value of God’s grace. We saw in verse seven that God’s purpose in salvation is to shine the spotlight on His marvelous grace. Paul went on to point out in yesterday’s verse that our salvation is the result of this grace of God. We also learned that His grace and our faith unto salvation are a gift to us from God. Now he completes that thought.

Paul tells us that salvation is not the result of any action or actions taken on our part. If we did something to gain this salvation, then it is not a gift; instead, it would be something that we earned. Here’s what Paul says in the book of Romans about earning something as opposed to receiving it as a gift:

Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, (Romans 4:4-5)

Now, if we did not do anything to earn this salvation which we count so precious, then we cannot “un-earn” it. That is to say that if we didn’t do anything to earn it, we can’t do anything to lose it, and God does not take away the gift of salvation.

Application

The precious truth which we see in this verse is that we didn’t earn salvation, so we can’t lose it once we have it – ever!

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2011 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

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Romans 11:2 – Securely Chosen

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Romans 11:2 – Securely Chosen

God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying,

Truth to Learn

God does not reject or desert any of His children whom He has chosen.

Behind the Words

The words translated “did not cast away” are the Greek words ouk apōsato. The word ouk is a form of ou, which we talked about in the previous verse. It expresses the absolute negative. The word apōsato is a form of apōtheomai, which means “to thrust away from oneself, to cast off, or to reject.”

“Foreknew” is translated from the Greek word proegnō, which we talked about back in Romans 8:29. It is a compound word made up of pro, which means “before, in place or time” and a form of ginōskō, which means, “to know in a completed sense, that is, to have full knowledge of.”

The word “pleads” is from entugchanō, which is made up of en, meaning “in or by” and tugchanō, which properly means “to affect or to obtain.” Entugchanō, therefore, refers to “meeting with someone for the purpose of obtaining a request.”

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse Paul asked the rhetorical question, “Did God put away His people?” Then he immediately answered it with the declarative, “No way!” He is now giving more clarification as to why he said that. He starts off this verse by stating, “God did not cast away his people.” Paul is saying that God absolutely did not thrust away or reject His people.

The next phrase describes an attribute of God’s chosen people, those whom He did not reject. They are those, “whom He foreknew.” You may recall that in Romans 8:29 Paul said:

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.

In other words, these are the elect, the chosen ones of God. Paul is saying that God did not reject His people whom he foreknew and chose as His children. In fact, God can’t reject those whom He has chosen, which Paul pointed out in the earlier chapters of this book. Next, Paul will quote a passage from Elijah, but since this is so closely tied to the next verse we will cover it there.

The thing I want us to get from the current verse is the fact that God chose some of the Jews to be saved, but not all of them. And even though He will turn from Israel as a nation, He will not turn away from those Israelites whom He has chosen. God does not change! Let me repeat that, God does not change!

Application

If God did not reject his chosen ones from the Old Testament dispensation, He is not going to reject those whom He has chosen in the church age. That’s another way of saying, “Once you are saved, you are saved for good.” That means that no amount of grieving the Spirit or willfully sinning against God is going to cause you to lose your salvation. Remember that you did not do anything to get it in the first place (God chose you), so there’s nothing you can possibly do to lose it (God won’t reject you).

That’s eternal security!

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

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Romans 10:18 – Worldwide Music

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Romans 10:18 – Worldwide Music

But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed: “their sound has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.”

Truth to Learn

The Gospel message continues to be proclaimed worldwide.

Behind the Words

“Have they not heard” is from the Greek mē ouk akousan. Both mē and ouk are negative particles. In Greek grammar the double negative amplifies the negative. Akousan is a form of akouō, which Paul has been emphasizing throughout these last few verses. We could paraphrase this as, “have they really not heard?”

The words “Yes indeed” are translated from menounge, an unusual word which we looked at back in Romans 9:20. We could paraphrase this as “Now wait just a minute” or “Of course they have!”

“Sound” is from phthongos, which refers to “a musical sound, whether from a musical instrument or the voice.”

The word “ends” is translated from peras, which refers to “the extreme end or the farthest parts.”

Finally, “world” is translated from oikoumenē, which refers to “the place where people live.”

Meaning Explained

Paul has just declared that faith comes by hearing the Word of God, that is, the good news (Gospel) of the Messiah. He now anticipates the objection from the Jewish Christians in Rome that not everyone has heard God’s message. He responds to this theoretical objection by asking one of his rhetorical questions, “Have they really not heard?” And his response is even more emphatic, “Of course they have!”

Remember how beautiful God considers those who proclaim the gospel message? Paul refers to the sound of that message being like a musical sound and he declares that it has gone out to the very ends of civilization.

Paul’s quotation here is from Psalms 19:4 in the Septuagint version of the Old Testament. Here’s what the first part of that Psalm says:

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. (Psalms 19:1-3)

The Gospel message continues to be carried to all inhabited parts of the earth. That is our responsibility as Christians. We are to boldly proclaim it to everyone. And even though there may be some who have not heard the gospel message of Jesus’ death and resurrection, they are not innocent because there is sufficient evidence in God’s creation that proclaims God’s magnificence and man’s sinfulness.

Application

Today when you walk outside, take a good look at God’s handiwork and think about how foolish and ashamed those people who want to believe in evolution rather than creation are going to feel when they appear before their Creator and their Judge! They may ridicule us and call us fools, but we are to love them with God’s love and tell them the glorious gospel message. Life is neither meaningless nor hopeless for those who believe God’s truth, and it is undeniable.

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

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