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Luke 2:12 – Poor Messiah

Posted on December 21, 2017 by Will

And this is the sign to you: You will find a newborn baby wrapped up, lying in the manger."

Truth to Learn

The conquering Messiah arrived as a very poor baby.

Behind the Words

Sēmeion is the Greek word translated “sign.” This is based on the verb sēmainō, which means “to mark,” “to indicate,” or “signify.” Sēmeion is used throughout the New Testament to specify a miracle with a spiritual message. Here it is both a miraculous sign as well as an identifying mark.

The words “newborn baby” are translated from brephos, which specifically refers to “an unborn child,” but it is also used to refer to a newborn child.

“Wrapped up” is from the Greek verb sparganoō, which is from the noun sparganon, meaning a strip of material. Thus, the verb refers to wrapping something in strips of cloth. The rich had blankets or “birth robes” for newborn children. Mary and Joseph could only wrap Jesus is strips of cloth.

The word “manger” is translated from the noun phatnē, from the verb pateomai, meaning “to eat.” A phatnē was where animals ate. It refers either to the stall in which an animal was fed or the feeding trough itself. Here, it probably refers to the feeding trough.

Meaning Explained

Having been startled and amazed by the appearance of an angelic being suspended in mid-air above them with his glory shining all around, the shepherds were told that the Christ had just been born. The Christ (Greek equivalent of Messiah) was the One for whom all of Israel had been waiting since the time of Abraham. The Messiah was to be a conquering king who would sit on the throne of David and who would rescue Israel.

The Jews believed that their Messiah would be born of the kingly line of David. Therefore, they expected that He would be born in a king’s palace with all the accoutrements that royalty and wealth could afford. The Prophet Isaiah had said:

For a Child has been born to us, A Son has been given to us; And the government is on His shoulder; and His name is called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. There is no end to the increase of His government and of peace on the throne of David, and on His kingdom, to order it, and to sustain it with justice and with righteousness, from now and forever. The zeal of Jehovah of Hosts will do this. (Isaiah 9:6-7)

After hearing the angelic announcement that the Messiah had been born, there is no doubt that the shepherds wanted to go see Him, but they probably knew they would not be admitted into His presence, expecting royal soldiers to have been guarding Him. But the angel then told them how they would be able to identify this child. He gave them a sign, this baby would be wrapped in strips of cloth and He would be found lying in a manger. This was not the way they expected the Messiah to be born.

The King of kings and the Lord of all creation could have come into this world with all the celebration and show of wealth beyond anything that you or I can ever imagine, but this was God’s way. And that’s the way with the gospel message today. Salvation doesn’t come with a great outward show of conquest with celebration and ceremony. It comes with humility and submission and an inward presence of peace.

Application

Most people spend their lives seeking wealth, power, and prestige. God, in the person of Jesus Christ, has shown us that it is better to be poor than rich and it is better to be humble than proud. During this Christmas season, let’s evaluate what our life goals really are and how we want to achieve them. Jesus’ birth was not for his own glory, it was for us. Likewise, our life in Christ is not for ourselves, it is for Him. This Christmas, do you want more “stuff” or do you want to be more like Jesus?

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 4:11 – Signed and Sealed

Posted on November 12, 2017 by Will

And he received a sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still in uncircumcision, resulting in his being the father of all those who believe being in uncircumcision, and righteousness being imputed to them also,

Truth to Learn

Abraham’s circumcision was a seal of his righteousness.

Behind the Words

The Greek word translated “sign” is sēmeion, which means “a sign, a mark, or a token.” The same word is used of Jesus who performed many signs in the form of miracles which “marked” Him as the true Messiah.

“Seal” is translated from the Greek word sphragis, which means, “a signet or a seal which is used as an indication of genuineness.”

Meaning Explained

In the previous two verses we learned that faith was imputed to Abraham for righteousness while he was still uncircumcised. As noted in the previous verse, it was probably about 15 years after his experience of faith that God reaffirmed His covenant with Abram (meaning exalted father), renamed him Abraham (meaning father of a multitude), and commanded him to circumcise himself and every male in his household who was at least 8 days old (read Genesis 17 for the details).

Why was there such a lengthy period between Abram’s being declared righteous and Abraham receiving the sign of circumcision? Perhaps God did this so that there would be no doubt that faith was imputed well before circumcision. And, according to this verse, circumcision was given to Abraham as a sign that he had a special covenant relationship with God.

In the current verse we see that it was also given to Abraham as a “seal.” It was God’s guarantee that He had proclaimed Abraham righteous through faith. That makes Abraham the spiritual father of everyone who believes whether or not he is circumcised.

This righteousness, which God declares for a person as a result of faith, comes regardless of whether a person is circumcised or not. Based on Paul’s line of reasoning and the carefully laid argument and evidence that he has just placed before the predominantly Jewish Christians in Rome, there is no way they could ever again insist that a person had to become a Jew and be circumcised in order to become a Christian.

One more thing to notice from Genesis 17:1: when God gave Abraham the sign of circumcision, he also commanded Abraham to be “perfect” (“blameless” in some translations). The Hebrew word tamiym means “to be without blemish” or “to be morally clean.” He was not given the commandment to be righteous until well after he was declared righteous. In other words, Abraham didn’t earn his righteousness by being morally pure; it was commanded of him after he was declared righteous. This is another piece of evidence that we don’t earn our salvation (righteousness), it is given to us!

Application

Righteousness and moral purity are things that God expects of us. But, as long as we have this sin nature we will never be completely righteous or morally pure by ourselves. Praise God that He declares us righteous when we believe the good news about Christ’s sacrifice for us. And He gets all the glory!

In God's service, for His glory,

2 Thessalonians 3:17 – Read Your Bible

Posted on September 19, 2016 by Will

The salutation of Paul with my own hand, which is a sign in every letter; so I write.

Truth to Learn

We must read the Bible to learn God’s message to us.

Behind the Words

Aspasmos is the Greek word translated as “salutation.” It is based on aspodzomai, which means “to salute.” Thus, aspasmos refers to “a salutation or greeting.”

The expression “with my own hand” is from tē emē cheiri, which literally means “by me the hand.” The word order in Greek indicates that Paul is emphasizing the fact that it was done with his own hand.

The word “sign” is sēmion, which refers to “a sign, a mark, or a miracle with a spiritual end and purpose.” It is commonly used to indicate a signature or mark of a person’s identity. In the gospels and other places in the New Testament, this word is also used to indicate a miraculous occurrence that is given as a sign of God’s mighty power.

Meaning Explained

Most of the Apostle Paul’s letters were written by an amanuensis (a scribe), who did the physical writing of what Paul dictated. We see distinct evidence of this in his letter to the church at Rome:

I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle, greet you in the Lord. (Romans 16:22)

One possible reason for him using a scribe is that Paul may have had a problem with his vision. In Galatians 6:11 he said,

See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand!

Note that the word translated “letters” (the Greek word gramma), could also refer to an entire epistle, but since we know of only one letter that he wrote to the Galatians, it is reasonable to assume that he was referring to the size of his lettering, not the size of the epistle. If Paul did, in fact, have a problem with his vision, it would explain why he used a scribe.

Paul put a similar statement of a salutation from his own hand in his letters to other churches (1 Corinthians 16: 21).

But, why would Paul indicate that this letter was from him and not a forgery? You may recall, back in 2 Thessalonians 2:2 he said the following:

not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us …

It was not uncommon during the early years of the Church for letters to be written to other believers in which the writer claimed to be Paul, Peter, John, or another of the apostles. For this reason, and because the subject matter of this letter is so vital in correcting false teaching, Paul gave irrefutable proof that this was a genuine letter from him.

Application

What we have in the Bible today is God’s word, revealing Himself to us. He used many different human authors, but they were all controlled by the Holy Spirit so that their writing is inspired (God breathed). What we do with God’s Word is up to us. We cannot live a fruitful Christian life is we don’t read it regularly and put into practice what He tells us. Read your Bible, my friend. Read your Bible. Read your Bible!

In God's service, for His glory,

Luke 2:12 – Poor Messiah

Posted on December 17, 2015 by Will

And this is the sign to you: You will find a Baby wrapped up, lying in the manger."

Truth to Learn

The conquering Messiah arrived as a very poor baby.

Behind the Words

The word “baby” is translated from brephos, which specifically refers to “an unborn child,” but it is also used to refer to a newborn child.

Meaning Explained

For a Child has been born to us, A Son has been given to us; And the government is on His shoulder; and His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. There is no end to the increase of His government and of peace on the throne of David, and on His kingdom, to order it, and to sustain it with justice and with righteousness, from now and forever. The zeal of Jehovah of Hosts will do this. (Isaiah 9:6-7)

Application

In God's service, for His glory,

1 Corinthians 1:22 – Signs and Wisdom

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Will

For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom;

Truth to Learn

God is not found in miraculous signs or worldly wisdom.

Behind the Words

The word translated “since” is epeidē, which is made up of epei, meaning “as” or “because” and dē, a particle of affirmation or emphasis meaning “indeed.” Therefore, we could translate epeidē as “as indeed” or “whereas.”

“Request” is from aiteō, meaning “to ask, to request, or to beg.” It is a word that is used of a person of inferior rank requesting something from a person of superior rank.

Sēmion is the Greek word translated “sign.” It refers to “a mark, a token, or a miracle with a spiritual significance.”

“Seek” is translated from dzēteō, which means “to look for” or “to seek for.” As used here, it carries the idea of an earnest and eager attempt to find something.

Meaning Explained

In order to drive home his point, in the past few verses Paul has been making a play on words between “wisdom” and “foolishness.” He has contrasted the foolishness of worldly intellect and attainment of the revered wise men of Greek culture (the philosophers) and the revered scholars of the Jewish culture (the scribes) with the true wisdom of God. These “wise” men of the world and of religion believe in their own wisdom and think that faith in God is foolishness. In reality, it is the other way around; their wisdom is foolishness and God’s foolishness is great wisdom.

He now gets even more specific regarding those who are religiously wise and those who are worldly wise. As a representative of the religiously wise, he talks here about “the Jews.” From the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel), the Israelites have been followers of the One True God; however, over the years they perverted true worship by including man-made rules and ordinances. By the time of Christ there were so many rules that they had to have men who had studied the laws all their life interpret the law for them. These were the intellectual giants of Jewish culture. In fact, it became so difficult for the average Jew to understand their own religion that they didn’t even recognize their own Messiah when he came. And, when He did come, they demanded miraculous signs from Him to prove that He was the Messiah. By the middle of the first century, the Jews were still demanding signs instead of simply believing.

The Greeks, however, believed that wisdom was the ultimate accomplishment of man. They gave great reverence and honor to the philosophers of their time. These men studied science, mathematics, literature, and culture. Their ultimate quest was to obtain wisdom, to know the meaning and purpose of life.

Today, man seeks after riches and power. Some do so through religion while most do so through education and politics. Many “religious” leaders today employ miraculous signs as an indication of their spirituality. The “wise” men of our time use their power and position to get what they want.

Application

Things haven’t changed very much in the past two thousand years. Instead of seeking God through faith, people seek after riches and power as their God, trying to prove to themselves that they don’t need God or His “foolish” system of faith.

In God's service, for His glory,

2 Thessalonians 3:17 – Read Your Bible

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Will

The salutation of Paul with my own hand, which is a sign in every epistle; so I write.

Truth to Learn

We must read the Bible to learn God’s message to us.

Behind the Words

Aspasmos is the Greek word translated as “salutation.” It is based on aspodzomai, which means “to salute.” Thus, aspasmos refers to “a salutation or greeting.”

Meaning Explained

I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle, greet you in the Lord. (Romans 16:22)

One possible reason for him using a scribe is that Paul may have had a problem with his vision. In Galatians 6:11 he said,

See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand!

Paul put a similar statement of a salutation from his own hand in his letters to other churches (1 Corinthians 16:21 and 1 Corinthians 16:21).

But, why would Paul indicate that this letter was from him and not a forgery? You may recall, back in 2 Thessalonians 2:2 he said the following:

not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us …

Application

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 4:11 – Signed and Sealed

Posted on January 4, 2010 by Will

Romans 4:11

And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also,

Truth to Learn

Abraham’s circumcision was a seal of his righteousness.

Behind the Words

“Seal” is translated from the Greek word sphragis, which means, “a signet or a seal which is used as an indication of genuineness.”

Meaning Explained

In the previous two verses we learned that faith was imputed to Abraham for righteousness while he was still uncircumcised. As noted in the previous verse study, it was probably about 15 years after his experience of faith that God reaffirmed His covenant with Abram (exalted father), renamed him Abraham (father of a multitude), and commanded him to circumcise himself and every male in his household who was at least 8 days old (read Genesis 17 for the details).

One more thing to notice from Genesis 17:1: when God gave Abraham the sign of circumcision, he also commanded Abraham to be “perfect” (“blameless” in some translations). The Hebrew word tamiym means “to be without blemish” or “to be morally clean.” This was not commanded of him until well after he was declared righteous. In other words, Abraham didn’t earn his righteousness by being morally pure; it was commanded of him after he was declared righteous. This is another piece of evidence that we don’t earn our salvation (righteousness), it is given to us!

Application

Righteousness and moral purity are things that God expects of us. But, as long as we have this sin nature we will never be righteous or morally pure by ourselves. Praise God that He declares us righteous when we believe the good news about Christ’s sacrifice for us. And He gets all the glory!

In God’s service, for His glory,

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