July - Reading 4

Good afternoon -

Our Scriptural readings for today are:

Luke 8:1-15

Colossians 2:8-15

Psalm 127

1 Chronicles 7-9

May God bless the reading of His Word.

 

Good evening –

Tonight we finish our reading of the long genealogical list in 1Chronicles. The lists end with a repeat of the lineage of Saul as an introduction to chapter 10 which will pick up the storyline at the suicide of Saul. Verses 8:6-27 are another example of a passage that is unique to the Book of 1Chronicles. Chapter 9 begins with the phrase “All Israel” showing the Chroniclers emphasis on the focus of this Book relating to both of the former kingdoms, both Judah and Israel. Chapter 10 actually gives us a little preview into the lessons will study in Nehemiah.

In Luke we read one of three parables that appear in all three synoptic Gospels, the parable of the Sower and the Seed. The other two parables that will repeat are the Mustard Seed (13:19) and the vineyard (20:9-19). One passage I found very interesting tonight was the fact that the women who followed Christ were attributed with supporting His ministry (verse 3). This one had escaped my notice before.

One note I would like to cite in Colossians this evening and that is in verse 14 there is mention of “the written code.” This was a business term that referred to a document of indebtedness. Paul’s analogy is that the written code is the Mosaic Law from which Christ freed us.

May God bless you

- Clint

 

Hi rsr! I'm very glad to have you join the forum. I'll answer what I can and whenever I am stumped I usually throw it out to the gang in the theology forum.

As we continue our reading in Luke we will come to the passage in Luke 9:9 in which Herod fears that Christ is John the baptist returned. Later in that same chapter we read the disciples response to whom Christ is according to the people. It is almost identical to the theory that Herod has. It would appear that word got around very fast in the towns of Jerusalem and Galilee. We also know from the account in Matthew 9:14 and Luke 7:18 that John's disciples were in constant contact with Christ and the Disciples. The steward's wife may have been the first to report the death to Christ but that is pure conjecture. John's disciples may have gotten word to him as well. There seem to have been few secrets in that day.

This I do not know. The Jamieson/Fausset/Brown gives a very colorful commentary on this passage but sheds no light as to the custom. Matthew Henry also sheds no new light. Therefore, it is off to the theology forum with your question.

http://www.baptistboard.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=58;t=001145

The line has been thrown out. We'll see if we get any bites.

[ July 04, 2003, 12:00 PM: Message edited by: Clint Kritzer ]

 

Sunday School lecture 11/16/03 part I

Colossians 2:8-23

Our lesson ended last week with the forthright statement of Paul’s appeal to the Colossians found in 2:6-7: as you received, do. In the conclusion of chapter 2, we will see Paul enforcing this appeal firmly. It is in this Passage that we glean many of the characteristics of the unnamed Colossian heresy. We will see that much like the legalism faced in Galatia, the danger ranged from the threat of ritualistic Judaism to the libertinism of paganism. Paul will reinforce his appeal in three ways: recalling his readers to the fullness of their past experience as they received Christ; recalling them from speculation to the realities of religious life; recalling them to a life consistent with their profession.

2:8-15 Recall to experience

The experience of their conversion and the word received from Epaphras as the Colossian Christians began to grow stood in stark contrast to the philosopher’s errors. The term “any one” or as the KJV phrases it “any man” may be pointing to a single individual who was the leader of the errorists. “Takes you captive” or the KJV’s “spoils” literally means “takes you into slavery.” The real and present danger was that the freedom found in Christ could be lost to this heresy.

Paul tells his audience that the beguiling philosophy is make-believe as it is (1) man-made, (2) demon inspired as it is “according to the elemental spirits of the world,” and (3) not according to Christ.

Some translators view the “elemental spirits (KJV-rudiments)” as the ceremonies of false religions. Others interpret this phrase, along with Galatians 4:1-8 as a reference to spirit beings. Either way, Christ is above both of these principles. He is the Head of all heavenly beings and He is the purpose of all rule and authority. That the fullness of all deity dwells in him bodily is a no nonsense statement that affirms that Christ is Divine now in His glorified state as well as when He was on earth in His physical state. He was all man, but yet all God.

Paul now lists six distinctives of the Christian experience.

1. The circumcision made without hands – It is not clear for what reason the errorists had raised circumcision. The Jews were not alone in this practice nor were they the first. The symbolism of the physical act was that a man put off part of his flesh in which sin dwelt. Paul contends that in the circumcision of Christ, the WHOLE body of flesh is put off. Though the phrase “circumcision without hands” is unique to this Passage and is somewhat uncharacteristic of the “circumcision is nothing” contention of Galatians 6:15, it is not unique to Pauline thought (Romans 2:29; Philippians 3:3) and was acknowledged by Old Testament theology as well (Deuteronomy 10:16; Jeremiah 4:4)

2. The symbolic act of baptism by immersion – We learn here that baptism symbolizes our death and burial in our repentance as we submerge, and our resurrection in faith as we are brought out of the water. Burial is the disposal of the body in the spiritual circumcision as reflected in Mark 8:34 and a sense of sharing in Christ’s death to sin. The rising is our trust in the Divine Power that raised Christ and also will raise us.

It should be noted that some faiths have interpreted the close proximity of circumcision and baptism in this Passage to show that baptism is the substitute for circumcision under the New Covenant. This is not at all what Paul is saying. This position is easily refuted as it makes the use of both acts by the Jews, including Christ inexplicable. It also counters why Peter would refuse to eat with uncircumcised, yet baptized, Christians. It also defies reason that Paul would not have used this argument in his various arguments against Christian circumcision.

Paul is not comparing the two acts. To the contrary, he is contrasting them. This is another strong support against paedobaptism. All that circumcision signified – the putting away of flesh – is accomplished through the convert’s faith. Baptism signifies the obedience displayed by the believer’s heart.

3. The convert, having experienced the circumcision made without hands and symbolically showing his death and burial in Christ and resurrection in faith is now made alive with Christ. In the situation in which the Colossians found themselves, this was a double quickening. They not only receive Grace as sinners, but also as aliens, those who were not members of the Jews, the original covenant family.

4. The believer experiences forgiveness of both debt and sin but the main point of the forgiveness is that includes all our trespasses.

5. The Christian also experiences emancipation from the law. The “record of debt (KJV - handwriting of ordinances)" that was against us is nailed to the cross. Whether this is in reference to the charge hung above Christ on the literal cross or a debt nailed to a public display as was the practice of the time is irrelevant in this case. Christ has paid the debt we owed and vindicated us of charges of the Law by taking them upon the cross.

6. The believer experiences victory over the rulers and authorities through Christ. This verse requires a bit more examination, as it is a bit ambiguous. The pronoun “He” may refer to God or Christ. Disarmed may mean discarded or divested. The rulers and authorities may refer to good angels or evil forces. There are two principle interpretations held for Paul’s intent here.

a. The verse may be seen as saying that Christ divested Himself of the angels who attended Him during His ministry as He was able to do without them. It may mean that God the Father through Christ divested Himself of the mediating angels who administered the Law in the Old Testament. The “public display” (KJV - made a shew of them openly) is a display in which they are displayed pleasurably. This interpretation elaborates the Christians freedom from the Law as discussed in verse 14.

b. The second line of thought is that the rulers and authorities are the evil forces in the world which Christ discarded by His work on the cross. It can also be read as saying that Christ discarded the evil forces of the world by triumphing over them in the flesh. In this interpretation, the “public display” (ESV – put them to open shame) is a victory procession.

continued

 

Sunday School lesson 10/24/04

Luke 8

In chapter 8, Luke's narrative now enters a sequence of Passages that show Christ and His assembled Twelve Disciples making an itinerant mission. In these Passages we find Jesus' evangelism moving rapidly to several towns and villages. Once again, these are familiar stories to anyone who ever went to Sunday School as a child.

Luke 8:1-3 Jesus' Companions

Our lesson begins with the mention that the ensuing Passages occur "soon after" the occurrence in Simon the Pharisees home. The Message Christ was carrying in this tour of the Sea of Galilee region was the Good News of the Kingdom of God. Once again, this is a very prevalent phrase in Luke's Gospel having a variety of implications including: the eternal Kingship of God; the approaching Spiritual form of the Kingdom displayed in the church; the future Kingdom; and in this case the presence of the Kingdom in the Person of Jesus. Luke stresses that the Good news of Christ is applicable to those of us who live between the time of Christ's earthly ministry and the Parousia.

Two sets of people are specifically mentioned as being with Christ at this phase of His ministry: the Twelve and certain women. Three of the women's names are given. It is significant that two of those named, Mary Magdalene and Joanna, are two of the women named as witnessing the Resurrected Christ (Luke 24:10). Establishing their presence this early in the Gospel testifies to the authenticity of their identification of the Resurrected Body. The Good News of the Kingdom had manifested itself in these women's lives as they had once been in bondage to "evil spirits and infirmities. In turn these women cared for the modest financial needs of Jesus (many manuscripts also include the Apostles) out of their own means.

Luke 8:4-8 The Parable of the Soils

While Mark places this Parable in chapter 4 of his Gospel before the calling of the Disciples, Luke sets it in the sequence of events surrounding the itinerant mission. It is not unreasonable to think that Jesus would repeat these lessons for various audiences. In Luke's narrative, a crowd has gathered to hear Jesus' teaching in an unspecified location and Jesus uses a Parable to explain the various reactions to the various groups who heard the Good News of the Kingdom of God preached to them.

The agricultural metaphor would have been well understood by His Palestinian audience. At the time for sowing, the farmer would widely broadcast his seed in his fields. The seed would then fall on both good and bad soil. The "path" is the hard soil hammered by the many feet of those who passed through the field as they traveled. This hardened soil would not respond well to the farmers attempt to plow under his seed. Those seed would be particularly vulnerable to birds who foraged the fields. The "rocky ground" would be areas that a thin layer of soil would cover large slabs of bedrock. The thin layer of soil would resist hydration and the roots would be inadequately nourished. The "thorns" grew at a faster rate than the crops and stole the nourishment from its domestic neighbor. The "good soil," however, was where the farmer's efforts met with success. The seed that falls in these areas germinates and grows to maturation.

It is fitting that this parable appears so early in Jesus' ministry. As it was, He was broadcasting His Message on to a great variety of soils. Despite the misunderstanding of His Disciples and His audience, Jesus knew He could look forward to a time when His sowing would be rewarded. Even in that joyous announcement, however, a note of the Judgment is hinted at. Those who "had ears should hear." There was a warning in this Parable as well.

Luke 8:9-15 The Parable of the Soils Explained

While the Parable itself is explained thoroughly in this section, our interpretation of the nuances of the explanations may vary somewhat. It comes as little surprise that the crowd would not perceive the veiled meaning of the Parables, but Luke has the Disciples asking for explanation. We must ask ourselves, was Jesus deliberately hiding the meaning of these object lessons from the masses and treating His Disciples with exclusivity? Or should we read into this Passage that Those who could not see the hidden truths of the Parables spiritually blind?

The use of the Parables fulfills the Scriptural prophecy of Isaiah in that they prevent understanding in the spiritually depraved. What is inherent in these Parables, however, is that the true revelation of truth provided within them requires a knowledge of Christ. The Message being taught throughout the northern areas of Palestine was indeed the Good News of the Kingdom of God, but as we read these accounts after the fact it becomes apparent how necessary it was that Christ be tied to them, that He is an integral part of that Good News.

The Passage itself is quite self-explanatory. The four reactions paralleling the four soils are as evident today as they were in the time of Christ. It is our goal as Christians to demonstrate ourselves as good soil that bears forth the fruit of the Master's labor. To grow to maturation requires a lifelong commitment to the Gospel from the moment we receive the Word to the day we are called home.

 

Hi Blessed -

While the first 9 chapters of 1 Chronicles may hold little significance for the modern believer out side of the scholarly realm, per se, for the original audience they were very important. The Chronicles were written at a point in Jewish history when they were coming together as a nation after 70 years of exile. They had been stripped not only of land but also of pride. Though they had suffered for their mistakes in disobeying God, now was the time that they would pick up where they left off in the land that had been promised to them.

In Jewish thoght, family lineage was of paramount importance. When one owned land it was not just that individual's but his descendants and his forefather's as well. These rosters we have preserved are a part of the effort to bring the people back to their national identity.

Hope this helps.

 

Our Scriptures for 7/5 are:

Luke 8:16-25

Colossians 2:16-23

Psalm 128

1 Chronicles 10-11

 

Our Scriptures for 7/5 are:

Luke 8:16-25

Colossians 2:16-23

Psalm 128

1 Chronicles 10-11

 

Our Scriptures for 7/5 are:

Luke 8:16-25

Colossians 2:16-23

Psalm 128

1 Chronicles 10-11

 

Our Scriptures for 7/5 are:

Luke 8:16-25

Colossians 2:16-23

Psalm 128

1 Chronicles 10-11

 

Our Scriptures for 7/5 are:

Luke 8:16-25

Colossians 2:16-23

Psalm 128

1 Chronicles 10-11