Tag: without blemish

1 Peter 1:19 – The Price of Peace

Posted on by Will

but with the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb without blemish and without spot.

Truth to Learn

The price of our salvation is exceedingly great!

 

Behind the Words

The word translated “precious” is the Greek word timiō, meaning “costly,” “honored,” or “of great value.”

“Without blemish” is translated from amōmos, a compound word made up of the privative a, meaning “not” or “without” and mōmos, meaning “a spot” or “a blemish.”

 

Meaning Explained

Remember the previous verse, ‘…you were redeemed, not with corruptible things, like silver or gold …” As much as we might like to think of these as having lasting value, as I said several days ago, these will pass away, they will wear out, they will disappear because they are corruptible things. We were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. To a Christian there can be nothing more valuable and precious than the blood of Christ. It is with this blood that complete and sufficient payment was made for all our sins. Hallelujah!

The reason that this blood was sufficient is because He perfectly fulfilled the requirement of the law that the paschal lamb was to be without blemish and without spot. He was (and is) sinless and perfect. His was the only sacrifice that could satisfy God’s righteous judgment, and it was applied to your sins and mine!

When Moses was about to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, God told him to instruct the Israelites about the Passover. On the tenth day of the month, they were to select a year-old lamb that was without defect. The word translated “without defect” is the Hebrew word tamiym, which means “completely whole, not lacking anything, completely righteous, pure, or perfect.” They were to watch this lamb for four days, and on the fourteenth day of the month, they were to sacrifice the lamb and sprinkle its blood on the sides and top of the doorway leading into their homes. The presence of this blood would indicate to the death angel to “pass over” the house and not kill the firstborn within that house.

Years later, after the children of Israel had built a temple in the Promised Land; they observed this “Passover” celebration every year. On the tenth day of the first month, a Passover lamb was selected and was lead through the sheep gate on its way to the temple. When it entered the temple, the people waved palm branches in all four directions and sang “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” and then laid the palm branches before the lamb. The lamb was kept under close observation for four days to determine its purity. Then, on the 14th of Nisan, the lamb was declared to be pure. It was to be placed on the altar from the third hour until the ninth hour when the high priest would kill it and declare, “It is finished.”

These Passover observations were a picture of the sacrifice that Jesus Christ was to make to pay the penalty for our sins.

 

Application

Jesus Christ perfectly fulfilled the Law and met all the requirements for the Passover Lamb. The Son of God was sacrificed for your sins and mine. Do you realize how valuable that makes your salvation?

How are you showing your appreciation to God for this priceless gift?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2016 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Ephesians 5:27 – No Blemishes or Wrinkles

Posted on by Will

that He might present the church to Himself in her glory, not having a stain or a wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

Truth to Learn

Christ did everything in order to make us perfect for Him.

 

Behind the Words

“He might present” is from the Greek verb paristēmi, a compound word made up of para, meaning “beside” or “near” and histēmi, meaning “to stand” or “to place.” Thus, it literally means “to place something in the presence of someone else,” that is, “to present.”

Endoxos is the Greek word translated “in … glory.” It is made up of en, meaning “in” and a form of doxa, meaning “glory.” The root meaning of doxa is “favorable opinion” and in a secondary sense it means “praise, honor, splendor, or brightness.”

The word “stain” is from spilon, which refers to “a stain or an unsightly mark of any kind.”

“Wrinkle” is translated from rhutis, based on the verb rhumē, meaning “to draw together” or “to contract.” Thus, rhutis refers to that which has been drawn together, “a wrinkle.”

The words “without blemish” are from amomos. This word is made up of a, meaning “without,” and momos, meaning “fault, or blemish.”

 

Meaning Explained

In Paul’s teaching on how husbands are to love their wives, he set before us the example of how Christ loves the church, His bride. He loves His bride so much that He went through the torturous death of crucifixion to sanctify (set her apart spiritually) and cleanse her. The reason for the sanctification and cleansing is given in today’s verse, to make her perfect, without a blemish of any kind.

As we mentioned in yesterday’s verse, a king’s bride often went through an extensive cleansing and purification process in order to make her fit for the king. Our king, however, is more than just the ruler of a country. He is the Ruler of all creation. There is no king greater than our God and there is no one more deserving of a perfect, spotless, radiantly beautiful bride than Jesus Christ. The problem is that we Christians are sinners. We are defiled and unclean. In order for us to be a worthy bride for Christ, we have to be made perfect and cleansed from everything that defiles. The only way for that to happen was for someone to pay the penalty for our sins, a ransom that we couldn’t pay. Jesus Christ paid that ransom with His blood and that blood cleansed every blemish and stain of sin. When we believed in the gospel message, we were cleansed and we were credited with the perfect righteousness of Christ.

However, there’s still one problem. As long as we are on this earth, we are dying; that is, we are getting older and developing physical decay, like wrinkles. As long as we have this body, we are unfit to be the bride of Christ. Therefore, before we can be presented as the perfect bride of Christ, we must receive a new, perfect body, which is the future aspect of our salvation. By the time we are presented, we will be without spot or wrinkle.

 

Application

It is obvious that God did not save us simply on a whim. In order to present to himself a perfect bride, he had to develop a plan and carry it through to the last detail. He did it all Himself. Men, how much are you doing to show your love for your bride? Remember, agape love is action, not a feeling!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2016 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Ephesians 1:4 – God’s Choice

Posted on by Will

just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, for us be holy and without blemish before Him in love,

Truth to Learn

God chose those who would accept Christ as Savior.

 

Behind the Words

“Chose” is translated from the verb eklegō, which is made up of ek, meaning “out” and legō, meaning “to choose.” Hence, we see that eklegō means “to choose out” or “to select.” It is expressed here in the aorist tense (past completed action) and the middle voice (action done by the subject to himself), so it could be interpreted as “He chose for Himself.”

The word “foundation” is from the Greek word katabolē. This is another compound word; it is made up of kata, meaning “down” and a form of ballō, meaning “to throw.” Hence, it literally means “to throw down.” It is the word used of deposited seed or of laying a building’s foundation.

The expression “for us to be” is translated as “that we should be” in some translations. In this form it appears to be a translation of the Greek subjunctive mood (the mood of probability or possibility), but it is not. It is the verb eimi, the verb of being (I am, you are, etc.), but it is written as an infinitive. In other words, it should literally be translated as “for us to be …”

“Without blemish” is the translation of amōmos, which is made up of the privative a, meaning “not,” and mōmos, which refers to “a blot, a flaw, or a blemish.” Thus amōmos means “without blemish.”

“Before Him” is katenōpion, which means “directly in front of” or “in His very presence.”

 

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse Paul told us that God the Father blessed (aorist tense, indicating a completed action in the past) us with all spiritual blessings. In the same way, before the foundation of the world, God the Father chose us for Himself. Paul also tells us that God’s purpose in choosing us was so that in Jesus Christ, we will be Holy and flawless in His very presence. Let’s look at this a piece at a time.

God chose us. Paul makes it very clear that God selected us (all who are saved). The fact that this verb is in the middle voice indicates that God chose for Himself, for His own reasons. Paul doesn’t tell us that God chose those of us whom He knew would one day accept Christ as Savior. In fact, we are not told what God’s criteria were for selecting us. However, he states very clearly that God chose us. It was His choice, not ours.

When did this choosing (election) occur? Paul says that it was before “the throwing-down of the world,” in other words, before time began. And what was the purpose for choosing us? It was not so that we could avoid the punishment of Hell. It was so that we will be able to stand in His presence, set-apart from the rest of humanity, with righteousness as spotless as the Lamb. God now sees us as perfect and He wants perfect fellowship with us!

 

Application

Does this mean that we are relieved of any responsibility in believing God’s truth and accepting the blood of Christ as payment of our sins? Absolutely not! God’s election and our responsibility are two opposites that are both taught in the Bible. How can this be? We don’t know, but God does! And, the fact that God chose us should at once drive us to our knees and put thanks and praise in our hearts and on our lips!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2015 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Ephesians 5:27 – No Blemishes or Wrinkles

Posted on by Will

that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

Truth to Learn

Christ did everything in order to make us perfect for Him.

Behind the Words

“He might present” is from the Greek verb paristēmi, a compound word made up of para, meaning “beside” or “near” and histēmi, meaning “to stand” or “to place.” Thus, it literally means “to place something in the presence of someone else,” that is, “to present.”

Endoxos is the Greek word translated “glorious.” It is made up of en, meaning “in” and a form of doxa, meaning “glory.” The root meaning of doxa is “favorable opinion” and in a secondary sense it means “praise, honor, splendor, or brightness.”

The word “spot” is from spilon, which refers to “a stain or an unsightly mark of any kind.”

“Wrinkle” is translated from rhutis, based on the verb rhumē, meaning “to draw together” or “to contract.” Thus, rhutis refers to that which has been drawn together, “a wrinkle.”

The words “without blemish” are from amomos, made up of a, meaning “without” and momos, meaning “fault, or blemish.”

Meaning Explained

In Paul’s teaching on how husbands are to love their wives, he set before us the example of how Christ loves the church, His bride. He loves His bride so much that He went through the torturous death of crucifixion to sanctify (set her apart spiritually) and cleanse her. The reason for the sanctification and cleansing is given in today’s verse, to make her perfect, without blemish or wrinkle.

As we mentioned in yesterday’s verse, a king’s bride often went through an extensive cleansing and purification process in order to make her fit for the king. Our king, however, is more than just the ruler of a country. He is the Ruler of all creation. There is no king greater than our God and there is no one more deserving of a perfect, spotless, radiantly beautiful bride than Jesus Christ. The problem is that we Christians are sinners. We are defiled and unclean. In order for us to be a worthy bride for Christ, we have to be made perfect and cleansed from everything that defiles. The only way for that to happen was for someone to pay the penalty for our sins, a ransom that we couldn’t pay. Jesus Christ paid that ransom with His blood and that blood cleansed every blemish and stain of sin. When we believed in the gospel message, we were cleansed and we were credited with the perfect righteousness of Christ.

However, there’s still one problem. As long as we are on this earth, we are dying; that is, we are getting older and developing physical decay, like wrinkles. As long as we have this body, we are unfit to be the bride of Christ. Therefore, before we can be presented as the perfect bride of Christ, we must receive a new, perfect body, which is the future aspect of our salvation. By the time we are presented, we will be without spot or wrinkle.

Application

It is obvious that God did not save us simply on a whim. In order to present to himself a perfect bride, he had to develop a plan and carry it through to the last detail. He did it all Himself. Men, how much are you doing to show your love for your bride? Remember, agape love is action, not a feeling!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2012 Will Krause. All rights reserved.