Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
Revelation 2:10 (ESV)
Scripture
Quote #16 – Scripture
One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.
Psalm 27:4
Quote #11
This is something I believe we all forget from the Scriptures at least from time to time.
For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.
James 2:10-11
Quotes #1
. . . let me guide you in some ways we can uphold the truth both individually and corporately:
1. Believe it
2. Memorize it.
3. Meditate on it.
4. Study it.
5. Obey it.
6. Defend it.
7. Live it.
8. Proclaim it.
The supreme mission of the church is to uphold the precious legacy of God’s Word. What privilege to support the truth!
Pastor Jack Jenkins
This above quote came from the message “Proper Conduct & Confession Within the Church (part 2)“.
Apostasy
What is apostasy?
Dictionary.com
- a total desertion of or departure from one’s religion, principles, party, cause, etc.
Etymonline.com
- late 14c., “renunciation, abandonment or neglect of established religion,” from Late Latin apostasia, from later Greek apostasia for earlier apostasis “revolt, defection,” literally “a standing off,” from apostanai “to stand away” (see apostate (n.)). General (non-religious) sense “abandonment of what one has professed” is attested from 1570s.
Discussion/Explanation
This word brings up others like heresy which is considered by some to be synonymous. It is incorrect to do so.
I would disagree with dictionary.com’s use of the word “total” as apostates (those in apostasy) often reject only portions of the faith though there are those who step away entirely. However, heresy is often included as they will turn around and add or alter things that were previously not there. It is possible to be just apostate as it is possible to be just a heretic (though often heretics are also apostate).
To be clear, terms like apostasy and heresy are used towards those who previously espoused the faith. These are not terms applied to those who never were part of the faith. Also, just because someone can be described as being in apostasy, it doesn’t mean they’ll always be so. There are various early church figures that others have described as apostate based upon a certain period in that individual’s life but in later life could easily be described as orthodox.
It is natural to be bitter towards those who have misrepresented the faith, but we must be willing to genuinely accept them as fellow believers when it is clear they have turned from their wrong.
For further reading on this term & its relation to others:
Greek Verbal Formulas
The following chart gives a convenient one-stop place to compare and contrast the various verbal formulas. Use the following along with the Four-Quad chart to understand verbal formations.
See the verbal endings here.
| aug. | stem | connector | verbal ending | |
| Aorist Active | stem | + σα + | B | |
| Aorist Middle | stem | + σα + | D | |
| Aorist Passive | stem, may change | + θη + | B | |
| Future Active | + σ + c.v. + | A | ||
| Future Middle | + σ + c.v. + | C | ||
| Future Passive | same as Aorist passive stem | + θησ + c.v. + | C | |
| Imperfect Active | + c.v. + | B | ||
| Imperfect Middle | + c.v. + | D | ||
| Perfect Active | stem, may change | + κα + | A | |
| Perfect Middle | stem, may change | + | C | |
| Present Active | + c.v. + | A | ||
| Present Middle | + c.v. + | C | ||
| Second Aorist Active | aor. stem | + c.v. + | B | |
| Second Aorist Middle | aor. stem | + c.v. + | D | |
c.v. = connecting vowel, aug. = augment
A Woman’s Conduct – 1 Timothy 2:9-15 (Part 1)
There are many things misunderstand by the world when they glance at the Scriptures. 1 Timothy 2:9-15 is no different. Even followers of Christ have been known to misinterpret such a passage. This face emphasizes all the more the need for careful study of any text – especially every inch of the Bible!
In verse 9-15 we see a call for women to not make themselves a distraction in the church. To be clear, we are talking about within church gatherings and functions – especially worship times.
“I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments,” (v. 9)
When we look into the original Greek it was written and the context, we see a few things:
- This is a command. Not a suggestion or opinion. The command goes to each individual woman and not some sort of external “fashion police”.
- “adorn” comes from the Greek word kosmeo. It is the same word cosmetics comes from. It encompasses not only clothing but the entire person – the whole look as well as demeanor.
- “modestly and discreetly”. Modest specifically has sexual overtones. The idea is to avoid dressing in seductive or suggestive ways in the worship of God. This includes how she carries herself. “discreet” is aimed at being self-controlled such that she isn’t flaunting her sexuality.
- The overall idea here is not to institute a bunch of external rules but that a woman in public worship would cultivate a heart that exemplifies a personal intent to not draw others away from the true point of being at the public worship – to glorify God in worship.
- The remaining points about hair and jewelry has a cultural element. We must not forget that the original Greek letter was written to a particular audience. In those times, elaborately braided hair was a way to show off to people that a woman could afford what was commonly considered an extravagant luxury. Even in our own culture today, there would be counterparts to such a practice as you think about it. The same goes for the costly garments and jewelry. It was common then to dress up in such things when you wanted to flaunt your wealth in those times – not something that is beneficial in a worship time. Committing to such elaborate actions would be a clear sign of vanity.
- The passage also speaks to the practices of prostitutes who would also deliberately dress and decorate themselves in ways to draw attention to themselves. Not a manner one should emulate when the point is to gather to worship God.
Following on the heels is verse 10:
“but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness.“
Intent of the heart flows out into one’s actions. A woman following after God will make clear such intent in her actions resulting in good works that ultimately point back to the God that has influenced their heart to act so.
No where is this passage saying women cannot wear nice things to church, have nice hair, or wear jewelry. The core, the chief point is the intent of the heart and the actions that flow out of this. This will naturally include a cultural sensitivity to the norms the people of the gathering are most accustomed in the surrounding culture to gauge what would be excessive. In my mind, what would be considered typically great to look like at prom wouldn’t be a good idea for church worship (as an example).
On the points of culture, no where do I intend to suggest that culture should trump Scripture. In what has been said so far, the point was to bring attention and understanding to the context of the audience Paul was writing to in 1 Timothy. This context helps us to understand the reason for why the particular words were stated in this letter as they were. It would be no different today. We see politicians deliberately ripping what opponents have said out of the original context in order to twist the original meaning to their own ends. Considering the context of any particular passage in Scripture helps us to ensure we avoid twisting the original meaning of the text as it was written and reading the Greek helps all the more with this.
Continue onto Part 2.
A Woman’s Conduct – 1 Timothy 2:9-15 (Part 1)
Why Study Koine Greek?
Why would you want to study a particular version (Koine) of Greek that no one speaks anymore?
The straightforward answer is because it is the language in which the New Testament (NT) was written. In addition, there was written a Koine Greek translation of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint.
Koine (sounds like coin-ay) effectively means common so we have “common” Greek and this was the common tongue in the time of Jesus and the Apostles as well as beyond. Any time you study languages, you will come across the term lingua franca which is used to refer to the common language of a time. For NT times, this was Greek.
- With the above in mind, you have to study Koine Greek if you want to be able to read the NT in its original language and grasp a deeper understanding of the text.
- What was written in Greek may not have a direct counterpart in English. This is a great reason for the different translation approaches used between the different English translations of the Bible. Read the Greek to get to the source.
- The culture in which the original text written in Greek is different from our own present-day culture. This is important for understanding difficult texts that our present-day culture hates or is confused about. 1 Timothy 2:9-15 is a great example. People have often responded to such a passage by siding with worldly culture and thereby rejecting the Scripture (at least on the target passage), or you get those who read it without seeking to understand the full context and thereby conclude, improperly, to take on abusive, error-filled practices. This point also serves to re-emphasize point 2.
- Revival. Historically, the early church did all its worship in Greek. This became a problem as the western church and the eastern church grew further and further apart. Eventually, the west broke entirely and did things in Latin and the people largely spoke their own native tongue at this point. This brought about a period of spiritual darkness that stuck around until the Reformation. We are in danger of the same sort of spiritual darkening if we fail to continue to seek out the Greek, the original text of the NT Scriptures. Thankfully, we do have many good English translations today, but we wouldn’t have had them without the Greek; if we forget the Greek, we can endanger ourselves to those who would push forward altered translations of the Bible.
- For the one studying Greek (or any language for that matter), their minds become sharpened. As you learn Koine Greek, you come to understand the Scriptures as those did in the times that it was written and beyond. You also become sharper at noticing key details in the text that can have profound implications to its interpretation. For one, this helps to notice what was originally being said in a given text when in the English it may look like something contradictory is being said when compared to another area of Scripture. Such a scenario speaks to the difficulties of translation and emphasizes the benefit of understanding the original language in which it was written.
I’m sure I could make more points but already you can see how each point made easily feeds into the others. Also, many of these reasons to study Greek would also apply to study Hebrew which is the original language of the Old Testament Scriptures. Sure, you could just stick to the Greek Septuagint but that work is a translation of the original Hebrew. Once again, it is good and profitable to get to the original language.
Now, with all that said, I am not trying to say that every Christian must learn Greek, Hebrew, or whatever other languages. I would highly recommend it though. Between Greek and Hebrew, most English speakers will find Greek relatively easier to learn as there are clear similarities between the two languages.
Other languages used in the time of Christ and thereafter include Aramaic and Latin which can also prove useful.
Messiah
Dictionary.com
- the promised and expected deliverer of the Jewish people.
- Jesus Christ, regarded by Christians as fulfilling this promise and expectation. John 4:25, 26.
- (usually lowercase) any expected deliverer.
- (usually lowercase) a zealous leader of some cause or project.
- (italics) an oratorio (1742) by George Frideric Handel.
Etymonline.com
c. 1300, Messias, from Late Latin Messias, from Greek Messias, from Aramaic (Semitic) meshiha and Hebrew mashiah “the anointed” (of the Lord), from mashah “anoint.”
This is the word rendered in Septuagint as Greek Khristos (see Christ). In Old Testament prophetic writing, it was used of an expected deliverer of the Jewish nation. The modern English form represents an attempt to make the word look more Hebrew, and dates from the Geneva Bible (1560). Transferred sense of “an expected liberator or savior of a captive people” is attested from 1660s.
Discussion/Explanation
Messiah has counterparts, as can be seen above, in Late, Greek, Aramaic, and Hebrew. It is in the Septuagint – the Greek translation of the Old Testament (OT) – that we see the related term from which we get Christ.
Regardless of which translation used, it remains a term that marks the deliverer, the anointed one foretold to come and save His people. As Christians, we know the Messiah to be Jesus. We call Jesus the Christ or Jesus Christ as this designates the same thing, the same truth about Jesus. The works of the New Testament (NT) were written in Greek which is why we see the term “Christ” so often whereas the OT commonly used “Messiah” as it was written in Hebrew.
God is Never a Copilot
People will sometimes say, “God is my copilot.”
On the surface and in a western culture this may sound fine at first hearing but it is not biblical.
There are numerous examples in Scripture that point to a complete and utter submission to God as his follower. This puts God in the pilot’s seat and you back with the rest of the passengers of followers. You are either on the plane and therefore with Him or you are not on the plane and therefore outside God.
We are called to imitated Christ.
Eph. 5:1-2
“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
As children follow after their parents, we are to do the same with Christ. This clearly puts Him before us. He is the one who has set and will set the direction of our lives as followers.
Philippians 1:21
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
In life, we are to live not simply like Christ but here we see “is” which can be also translated as “equals” (=). That’s how far we are supposed to go in our following after Him – to the very point that people look at us and inevitably see Christ. We should be invoking a double-take out of those who meet us.
If we die, we get to be with Him (the gain part) – by no means should this be taken as a call to suicidal behavior. This reflects that for the true Christian, death is not the end but the beginning of being in God’s presence!
Our savior, Jesus Christ, lives to God – our greatest example.
Romans 6:10-12
“The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.”
We are to be dead to the sin so common in this world and through Christ we are empowered to turn from this sin. This is not our power but it is from Him. What other thing is it we think we need to pilot ourselves toward besides His perfect example?
Exodus 20:3
“You shall have no other gods before Me.”
John 14:6-7a
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.””
Christ is very clear that there is no other way but through Him.
What is it we think we need to be a copilot for? The term “copilot” in this context reeks of pluralistic tendency and suggests that somehow God is just an add-on in life. After all, copilots are not an absolute necessity to flight (though they come highly recommended).
Faith in Christ, however, is a necessity. Not an add-on and not a legit option among many.
With all this in mind, the line should read: “God is my pilot.”
