Word of the Week: Exegesis

Posted on January 13, 2019January 13, 2019 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

The thread of Christianity from generation to generation depends on a mutual understanding of our important words. Hence the Word of the Week.

Past Words of the Week have included Justification, Transcendence, Immanence, Propitiation, Sanctification, Glorification, Orthodoxy, Heresy, Omniscience, Aseity, and Immutability. I then went to a series examining each of the 9 characteristics of the Fruit of the Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and on December 29, 2018, wrapped up the Fruit series with Self-Control. Now it’s back to individual words of the week. Last week I chose Angel.

This week the word is EXEGESIS

Exegesis – the study of a particular text of Scripture in order to properly interpret it; the process of understanding a text and making plain its meaning (see 2 Timothy 2:15)

Exegesis is when a person interprets a text based solely on what it says. That is, he extracts out of the text what is there as opposed to reading into it what is not there (Compare with Eisegesis). There are rules to proper exegesis: read the immediate context, related themes, word definitions, etc., that all play a part in properly understanding what something says and does not say.

Ex- means out of. As in excuse, Latin for ‘out of’ and cause, literally, free from a charge.

Expel, ex- meaning out and pellere, to drive.

Excentric (eccentric) out of, and center.

Exegesis: exēgéomai, (Greek) I explain, interpret and ex, out

The author of the exegesis definition immediately above puts to practice the rules for interpretation he’d outlined in the Exegesis essay. He shows how to interpret Matthew 24:40, the famous statement by Jesus about two people in the field and one taken and one left. Most people who do not apply the rules for exegesis interpret that by looking at the surface and thinking it means the rapture. But does it? See for yourself.

At Ligonier, Anthony Carter’s essay outlines the Consequences of Poor Exegesis.

John MacArthur asks and answers in this sermon, How Should We Interpret the Bible?

Tim Challies’ essay on two examples of exegetical fallacies (misinterpretations)

greek

Word of the Week- Fruit of the Spirit, Self-Control

Posted on December 30, 2018 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23).

In past essays, I explored the previous characteristics in the verse, from the first, joy, to gentleness, the second to last. Now we look at self-control.

In a previous essay it was noted that the 9 characteristics Paul outlines in the verse can be grouped by three threes.

Warren Wiersbe notes the triple triad within the verse. The first three characteristics of the fruit are love, joy, and peace. Those reflect the Godward aspect of Christian life.

The next three are patience, kindness, goodness; characteristics reflecting the manward aspect of Christian life.

Faithfulness, gentleness, self-control are aspects reflecting the selfward part of the Christian life.

Self-control…what does that mean, exactly? As with everything in the Bible, it’s both simple and clear on the surface, but if you dig deeper, valuable truths come out that prick the conscience and grow the believer.

In Barnes’ Notes we learn

The word used here, (ἐγκράτεια egkrateia), means properly “self-control, continence.” It is derived from ἐν en and κράτος kratos, “strength,” and has reference to the power or ascendancy which we have over exciting and evil passions of all kinds. It denotes the self-rule which a man has over the evil propensities of his nature. … It includes the dominion over all evil propensities, and may denote continence, chastity, self-government, moderation in regard to all indulgences as well as abstinence from intoxicating drinks. See the word explained in the notes at Acts 24:25.

The sense here is, that the influences of the Holy Spirit on the heart make a man moderate in all indulgences; teach him to restrain his passions, and to govern himself; to control his evil propensities, and to subdue all inordinate affection.

A Christian must be a temperate man; and if the effect of his religion is not to produce this, it is false and vain.

We see this is so in the 1Timothy 3:2-3 regarding elder qualifications

Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.

The man has self-control in demonstrating he won’t drink to excess, thus losing control. He isn’t violent because he controls his anger, and this is an important one because angry situations are full of pressure. Can he control himself when the circumstances become chaotic emotionally or physically? If he is growing in the fruit of the Spirit he will be.

We see self-control again in 2 Timothy 2:24 where again he controls his anger,

And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing.

In 2 Timothy 1:7 Paul again remarks about self-control

for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

And more, the following verses remark about having self-control, and it’s not exhaustive,

2 Peter 1:6, Acts 24:25, Proverbs 25:28, Proverbs 16:32, 1 Corinthians 9:25, 1 Timothy 2:15, 1 Timothy 2:9, Titus 1:8…

Possessing self-control means you are growing in the fruit of the Spirit as the Galatians verses shows. It means one’s sanctification is progressing. It’s proof that we are relying on the Spirit to resist our depraved and evil impulses. Christ died for us so that we may die, to our sins. Having self-control demonstrates Spirit-led mastery over them.

self-control

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Further Resources

Focus on the Family: Got Self-Control?

GotQuestions: What does the Bible say about self-discipline?

Ligonier Devotional: Self-Control

Head Heart Hands blog: Pumping up the Self-Control in the Age of Temptations

theology, word of the week

Word of the Week: Fruit of the Spirit, Gentleness

Posted on December 16, 2018December 16, 2018 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Warren Wiersbe notes the triple triad within the verse. The first three characteristics of the fruit are love, joy, and peace. Those reflect the Godward aspect of Christian life.

The next three are patience, kindness, goodness; characteristics reflecting the manward aspect of Christian life.

Faithfulness, gentleness, self-control are aspects reflecting the selfward part of the Christian life. Below, Wiersbe’s longer explanation:

When a person lives in the sphere of love, then he experiences joy—that inward peace and sufficiency that is not affected by outward circumstances. (A case in point is Paul’s experience recorded in Phil. 4:10–20.) This “holy optimism” keeps him going in spite of difficulties. Love and joy together produce peace, “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding” (Phil. 4:7). These first three qualities express the Godward aspect of the Christian life.

The next three express the manward aspect of the Christian life: long-suffering (courageous endurance without quitting), gentleness (kindness), and goodness (love in action). The Christian who is long-suffering will not avenge himself or wish difficulties on those who oppose him. He will be kind and gentle, even with the most offensive, and will sow goodness where others sow evil. Human nature can never do this on its own; only the Holy Spirit can.

The final three qualities are selfward: faith (faithfulness, dependability); meekness (the right use of power and authority, power under control); and temperance (self-control). Meekness is not weakness. Jesus said, “I am meek and lowly in heart” (Matt. 11:29), and Moses was “very meek” (Num. 12:3); yet no one could accuse either of them of being weak. The meek Christian does not throw his weight around or assert himself. Just as wisdom is the right use of knowledge, so meekness is the right use of authority and power. The Bible Exposition Commentary, Warren Wiersbe

The word gentleness as it is used in the verse means ‘derived from the root pra-, emphasizing the divine origin of meekness (“gentle strength”) which expresses power with reserve and gentleness.’

Gentleness, ladies, does not mean doormat, but restrained power combined with kindness, peace, and the other characteristics of the fruit. That’s why the fruit of the Spirit is one fruit displaying many aspects, not many fruits.

Wiersbe again with the reason the Spirit grows the fruit in us:

We must remember that this fruit is produced to be eaten, not to be admired and put on display. People around us are starving for love, joy, peace, and all the other graces of the Spirit. When they find them in our lives, they know that we have something they lack. We do not bear fruit for our own consumption; we bear fruit that others might be fed and helped, and that Christ might be glorified. The flesh may manufacture “results” that bring praise to us, but the flesh cannot bear fruit that brings glory to God. It takes patience, an atmosphere of the Spirit, walking in the light, the seed of the Word of God, and a sincere desire to honor Christ.

gentleness

theology, word of the week

Word of the Week: Fruit of the Spirit, Goodness

Posted on November 25, 2018November 25, 2018 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23).

What is goodness? If you ask most people, they would declare that they “are a good person.” But is man’s view of goodness the same as God’s? No.

The word for goodness as it’s used in Galatians 5:22 is agathōsýnē occurs four times in the NT. Paul and only Paul uses it. It is apparently strictly a biblical term, i.e. it does not seem to appear at all in secular Greek. The occurrences of this particular Greek word for goodness appear in Galatians 5:22, Romans 15:14, Ephesians 5:9, 2 Thessalonians 1:11.

Goodness (agathōsynē) may be thought of both as an uprightness of soul and as an action reaching out to others to do good even when it is not deserved. (The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, J. F. Walvoord)

In the note on Romans 3:12 (All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one) MR Vincent explains goodness,

It is rendered kindness in Eph. 2:7; Col. 3:12; Gal. 5:22. Paul, and he only, also uses ἀγαθωσύνη – agathōsynē for goodness. The distinction as drawn out by Jerome is that agathōsynē represents a sterner virtue, showing itself in a zeal for truth which rebukes, corrects, and chastises, as Christ when He purged the temple. [The normally occurring Greek word for goodness], chréstotés is more gentle, gracious, and kindly. (Vincent, M. R., 1887, Word studies in the New Testament (Vol. 3, p. 35).

John MacArthur explains

There’s a third virtue in this little trio – and we’ll close with that one. “Goodness” is it, goodness, verse 22: agathōsunē. Goodness was a deep-down virtue of moral sweetness, moral excellence; and we can’t even find the word in secular Greek sources. It sort of was coined by believers as a way to express a kind of goodness that was deeper than anything the world experienced. It usually is compared with righteousness; and that’s really helpful to kind of get the meaning of it.

In Ephesians chapter 5 we read in verse 9, “The fruit of the Light” – the Light, capital “L,” the divine Light, the heavenly presence our Lord. “The fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth.” So there “goodness” is connected to “righteousness.” And I think that’s very helpful, because righteousness can tend to be the hard edge. Righteousness can tend to be the stern aspect of Christian character, right?

You are righteous: you have righteous standards, you have righteous convictions, you know what is right, you expect people to do what is right, you uphold the standard of what is right, you defend what is right. That is the sterner aspect of Christian character. But the backside of that – and that’s what Light produces, according to Ephesians 5:9 – the backside of that righteousness is goodness. That’s the soft side of your convictions.

That’s the kindlier expression of your convictions. It’s right to have those convictions, it’s right to hold those convictions, it’s right not to compromise those convictions, but it’s also right to be full of goodness so those convictions don’t wind up bashing people.

When you have the full knowledge, the full understanding of the Word of God, when you have the full picture, it doesn’t just make hard-nosed convictions, it produces strong, immovable convictions that have a soft side of goodness. Look, you don’t have convictions stronger than God, right? And yet the goodness of the Lord extends to the highest heavens.

So if interpreters say goodness as it’s used here means a strong moral rectitude, an excellence and uprightness, tinged through and through with gentleness and kindness, how does that relate to your and my actions? Our growth in sanctification? Are we growing a righteous goodness in our lives?

I’ve seen the sad slide of people drawn into harsh discernment ministries who believe they are standing up for Jesus, but are simply bashing people with a hardness that is far from ‘good.’ I’ve also seen people soften into jellyfish in refusing to correct or rebuke, claiming that kind of hardness isn’t “good.” The Christian life is one where we seek God’s guidance through His word at all times, so we stay on the center line.

Prayer: Valley of Vision

Thou hast revealed to me myself
as a mass of sin,
and thyself as the fullness of goodness,

The rest is here, it is worth the read

fruit goodness verse 1

theology, word of the week

Sunday Word of the Week: Fruit of the Spirit, Kindness

Posted on November 18, 2018 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

kindness here in Greek (xrēstótēs) means a useful kindness, referring to meeting real needs, in God’s way, in His timing (fashion). Hence 5544 (xrēstótēs) is listed as a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22). With the believer, 5544 /xrēstótēs (“divine kindness”) is the Spirit-produced goodness which meets the need and avoids human harshness (cruelty). Strong’s

People have shown me kindness before in the big things in meeting physical needs, which is always amazing and welcome. Kindness shown in the little things too, are also a welcome act and often more precious than the big acts. A hug well-timed, a kind word, a surprise donation, a small gift for no reason, deference shown, restraint in a tough situation, all these are kindnesses. Below in Further Resources, Alistair Begg preaches that kindness softens peoples’ hearts to hear the Gospel.

At Ligonier, we read that patience and kindness are tied together. Excerpt:

“Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor” (Prov. 21:21).

As we continue our study of Christian character, let us remember that the fruit of the Spirit as listed in Galatians 5:22–23 provides a helpful way to see if we are imitating Christ. Jesus alone perfectly displayed these fruits in His life, and we must strive to do the same if we have trusted in Him. As we seek to follow the example of Christ, we must recognize that we are able to follow Him on account of the Holy Spirit. …

The Lord has not only been patient to us, He has been kind. Therefore, we must mimic this kindness in our dealings with other people. We must avoid the temptation to be petty in our dealings with other people. We must overlook minor faults in love, and we will only be able to do this when we are patient, recognizing that not every situation is equally deserving of our correction.

In Acts 28:2 we read that

The native people showed us unusual kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold.

They showed us not little kindness. So far were they from making a prey of this shipwreck, as many, I fear, who are called Christian people, would have done, that they laid hold of it as an opportunity of showing mercy. …

When in the extremities of bad weather we find ourselves fenced against the rigours of the season, by the accommodations of a warm house, bed, clothes, and a good fire, we should think how many lie exposed to the present rain, and to the cold, and pity them, and pray for them, and help them if we can. ~Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible

The Maltese people came out in the torrential rain to serve and save those drenched sailors washed up on shore. It was winter, cold, storming, and these people put themselves out in order to show kindness. There were several hundred sailors, on commenter says. It must have been no small thing to mount a bonfire large enough to warm all of them, and in the drenching winter rain, too.

In the end, kindness defined is simple but doing it Christ’s way is hard. We must meet needs (extravagantly) and avoid harshness (at all times). Be kind.

Further Resources

Alistair Begg sermon – Cultivating Kindness

Ligonier Devotional – A Call to Kindness

word cloud

theology, word of the week

Sunday Word of the Week- Fruit of the Spirit: Patience

Posted on November 11, 2018November 11, 2018 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22).

The fruit of the Spirit is singular. It’s all one fruit. It’s not like the believer works on love one month and then patience the next and then moves on to self-control. It’s all one, and the one is love. If one loves the Savior, they will be joyful, and that joy will permeate all that he or she does, including relationships with believers and non-believers. Same with peace. Peace will characterize their relationships, and patience will be a hallmark of relationships, and so on.

What IS patience? GotQuestions explains:

Answer: There are two Greek words translated as “patience” in the New Testament. Hupomonē means “a remaining under,” as when one bears up under a burden. It refers to steadfastness in difficult circumstances. Makrothumia, which is used in Galatians 5:22, is a compound formed by makros (“long”) and thumos (“passion” or “temper”). “Patience” in Galatians 5:22 literally means “long temper,” in the sense of “the ability to hold one’s temper for a long time.” The KJV translates it “longsuffering.” A patient person is able to endure much pain and suffering without complaining. A patient person is slow to anger as he waits for God to provide comfort and punish wrongdoing. Since it is a fruit of the Spirit, we can only possess makrothumia through the power and work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

More here

Be patient in prayer. Be patient in sanctification. Be patient in persecution. Be patient with the children. Be patient with mockers, slanderers, and gossips.

I’ve found that praying for people brings patience, because it casts my cares and worries onto the Lord, who has His own timeline. Once an issue is on His timing, it makes being patient easier.

Patience is a fruit of the Spirit. When He works through us, we can exhibit the fruit. He grows it. As the sap that runs through the tree, His growing of us will yield beautiful fruit, an honor of the King.

Spurgeon Sermon: The Pearl of Patience

Ligonier Article: The Fruit of Patience

Ligonier Devotional: Patience and Kindness

patience is a fruit of the spirit

theology, word of the week

Sunday Word of the Week: Sovereign

Posted on November 4, 2018November 24, 2019 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

In addition to the familiar Bible verses speaking to God’s sovereignty, one of which is at the conclusion of this essay, there is a famous quote from RC Sproul that exalts God’s sovereignty:

If there is one single molecule in this universe running around loose, totally free of God’s sovereignty, then we have no guarantee that a single promise of God will ever be fulfilled.

It is a great quote because it speaks to how God created and upholds every single atom in the universe. He is the author, architect, and absolute king over all.

Jesus, His Son, has been given all power and authority as God. (Matthew 28:18). Jesus is the exact imprint of His Father.

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, (Hebrews 1:3).

We Americans are unfamiliar with sovereignty. We shed our King back in 1783 when we signed the peace treaty at Paris, concluding the Revolutionary War. Today, sovereignty has changed somewhat from the kings of old. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, sovereignty means

Sovereignty, though its meanings have varied across history, also has a core meaning, supreme authority within a territory. … Historical variants can be understood along three dimensions — the holder of sovereignty, the absoluteness of sovereignty, and the internal and external dimensions of sovereignty.

Sovereignty can also be absolute or non-absolute. How is it possible that sovereignty might be non-absolute if it is also supreme? … absoluteness refers not to the extent or character of sovereignty, which must always be supreme, but rather to the scope of matters over which a holder of authority is sovereign.

Today, many European Union (EU) member states exhibit non-absoluteness. They are sovereign in governing defense, but not in governing their currencies, trade policies, and many social welfare policies, which they administer in cooperation with EU authorities as set forth in EU law.

The major change to international sovereignty happened in 1648 with the signing of a treaty called the Peace of Westphalia. Please bear with me for a brief history lesson. The rise of the Holy Roman Empire and the Catholic Church had caused friction, Martin Luther’s theses complicated matters, and the continent of Europe had been at war ecclesiastically and politically for a very long time (Thirty Years War, Eighty Years War, etc). The Westphalia treaty effectively ended those wars, and also limited the Roman Catholic Church’s widespread and growing power. In addition, the RCC’s claim as the only moral and spiritual truth was now effectively void. Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Calvinism were officially recognized as religions, within which, an adherent could worship freely.

Henry Kissinger wrote:

The Westphalian peace reflected a practical accommodation to reality, not a unique moral insight. It relied on a system of independent states refraining from interference in each other’s domestic affairs and checking each other’s ambitions through a general equilibrium of power. No single claim to truth or universal rule had prevailed in Europe’s contests. Instead, each state was assigned the attribute of sovereign power over its territory. Each would acknowledge the domestic structures and religious vocations of its fellow states and refrain from challenging their existence

The Treaty itself is explained here–

The Peace of Westphalia was a series of peace treaties signed between May and October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster, largely ending the European wars of religion. The treaties of Westphalia brought to a close a calamitous period of European history which caused the deaths of approximately eight million people. Scholars have identified Westphalia as the beginning of the modern international system, based on the concept of Westphalian sovereignty.

The Peace of Westphalia established the precedent of peace established by diplomatic congress. A new system of political order arose in central Europe, based upon peaceful coexistence among sovereign states. Inter-state aggression was to be held in check by a balance of power, and a norm was established against interference in another state’s domestic affairs. As European influence spread across the globe, these Westphalian principles, especially the concept of sovereign states, became central to international law and to the prevailing world order.

Of course, the Roman Catholic Church was furious at this continental limit to the Holy See’s sovereignty, with Pope Innocent X calling the Treaty “null, void, invalid, iniquitous, unjust, damnable, reprobate, inane, empty of meaning and effect for all time” in the papal bull Zelo Domus Dei.

People today aren’t aware that the Pope is the world’s last absolute monarch. In framing the concept of sovereignty, of course we understand that our nation has sovereign powers with its globally recognized borders. Every nation is recognized so, and this is codified in the UN Charter. Political sovereignty is a normal, natural concept readily understandable by even a young person learning history.

The RCC is spiritual entity as well as a global power with a territory, standing army (The Swiss), internationally recognized borders, taxes extracted, a treasury, and sovereign power, in fact, an absolute power that cannot be contested. The Pope is the last absolute sovereign power in existence on the planet today.

The Holy See is the last absolute monarchy in the world today. The pope, when he is elected, is answerable to no human power. He has absolute authority over the entire Roman Catholic Church, direct authority that reaches down to individual members.

All of the governing officers in the Vatican itself, what we call the Vatican Curia, operate on delegated authority from the pope. They speak in the name of the pope. In the Roman Catholic Church, there are no separation of powers as we know of in most democratic societies. In the Roman Catholic Church, the office of pope includes the three main offices of government. He is the supreme judge, the supreme legislator and the supreme executive, so there’s no separation of powers. There is no possibility of checks and balances. Source PBS

The problem comes in with the Roman Catholic Church’s view of supremacy and sovereignty. The Protestant Church acknowledges Jesus as Head of the Church in heaven and on earth. The RCC acknowledges Jesus as head of the Church in heaven only. The Pope is supreme on earth in matters spiritual. Vicar of Christ means the pope operates as a vicarious substitute for Christ on earth. That God has handed the Pope the jurisdiction of earth in the sovereign execution of matters spiritual.

Paragraph 937 of the Catechism of the RCC states,

Papal supremacy is the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church that the Pope, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ and as pastor of the entire Christian Church, has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered: that, in brief, “the Pope enjoys, by divine institution, supreme, full, immediate, and universal power in the care of souls.”

Of course this is wrong. It competes with Jesus’s own statement in Matthew 28:18 that all authority in heaven and on earth has been granted Him. The difference in a Catholic’s view of sovereignty of God and the Protestant’s view of the sovereignty of God is vast. It is an eternally damning error. Only Jesus enjoys, by divine bestowal from God and in conjunction by the working of the Holy Spirit in Truine unity, supreme, full, immediate, and universal power in the care of souls- on heaven AND on earth. What it comes down to is, do you serve a sovereign Pope, or a sovereign God?

What’s so great about the sovereignty of God?

Many people do not believe in God’s sovereignty, yet still serve the Lord. But there is a great difference. Those who see the Lord in His sovereign glory have an inward compulsion to serve this God. Serving God is the glory of their lives. Their service is measured not so much in what they achieve–or what God achieves through them–but rather in the sheer wonder of the God they serve. Like little boys dividing up into teams on the playground, being picked to play on this team is the greatest joy imaginable, especially for those who are so unworthy. “Here am I! Send me,” is not merely the response of those who see God’s sovereign glory, it is their delight. Since God is certain to be glorified, they want to be among those glorifying God.

I’ll finish with AW Pink

“What do we mean by [the sovereignty of God]? We mean the supremacy of God, the kingship of God, the god-hood of God. To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that God is God. To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is the Most High, doing according to His will in the army of Heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, so that none can stay His hand or say unto Him what doest Thou? (Dan. 4:35).

To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is the Almighty, the Possessor of all power in Heaven and earth, so that none can defeat His counsels, thwart His purpose, or resist His will (Psa. 115:3). To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is “The Governor among the nations” (Psa. 22:28), setting up kingdoms, overthrowing empires, and determining the course of dynasties as pleaseth Him best. To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is the “Only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords” (1 Tim. 6:15). Such is the God of the Bible.” A. W. Pink, The Sovereignty of God, chapter 1.

1 Sunday sovereignty verse

theology, word of the week

Sunday Word of the Week: Fruit of the Spirit, Peace

Posted on October 28, 2018October 28, 2018 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

On Sundays I usually post a theological word with its definition, then an explanation, and use it in a verse. I also use a picture to represent the concept. This is my effort to maintain a theological literacy among the brethren and between generations, something I believe is critical. We have to know what we believe, why, and know the words to express it. Words like Justification, Immanence, and Perspicuity have all been a Sunday Word of the Week.

Similarly, when we discuss other words representing the fruit of the Spirit, such as love, peace, and joy, we think we know what they mean, but often times these culturally embedded words have a totally different flavor when used from a biblical context. It is true of the words pertaining to the Fruit of the Spirit. Even these ‘simpler’ biblical words are misunderstood.

Therefore, over the next few weeks the Word of the Week will be one of the Fruit of the Spirit. Previously I published short essays about Love, and Joy. This week it’s Peace.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

What does ‘peace’ mean? I hear people saying in their decision-making, “I have a peace about it.” Is Galatians talking about that kind of peace? Or, is it the peace that comes after a war or a struggle with someone?

The Greek word as it’s used in the verse is (they think) from eiro. It means in this verse, a harmony and an accord.

Once we possess the Spirit, we are no longer at enmity against the Lord. (Ephesians 2:16). We have peace with Him since we are no longer rebelling against Him. We have relational peace. Strong’s defines it partly as:

According to a conception distinctly peculiar to Christianity, “the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoerer sort that is”: Romans 8:6; namely, is used of those who, assured of salvation, tranquilly await the return of Christ and the transformation of all things which will accompany that event,

John Gill Comments on the two kinds of peace, peace with God and peace with each other, on the Gal 5:22 verse,

which is another fruit of the Spirit: and designs peace with God in a man’s own conscience, produced there by the Spirit of God, in consequence of peace being made by the blood of Christ; and that through the application of the blood of Christ for pardon, and of his righteousness for justification to the soul of a sensible sinner by the blessed Spirit, the effect of which is peace, quietness, and tranquillity of mind; also peace with men, with the saints, and with all others; for such who are under a work of the Spirit of God, and are influenced and led by him, seek after the things which make for peace and edification among the brethren, and are desirous if possible to live peaceably with all men: hence appears another grace in them,

But beyond that, as the verse in John 13:34-35 says,

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

We cannot have peace with one another if we are feeling less than loving.

What was “new” about this commandment? Love wasn’t new, it is in the Ten Commandments. What was new was the depth and the extent of the love Jesus commanded His people to do. Jesus loved His own to the end, fully and consistently and completely. He gave the sop to Judas. Giving the morsel to someone at a dinner was a manner and custom in Israelite banquets. The host showed utmost respect and love to a person, by personally handing him a morsel, sometimes even placing it in the recipient’s mouth himself. Judas was to betray Jesus in mere hours, but Jesus still loved Judas to the end. He gave him the sop. THAT is the new kind of love.

The fruit of the Spirit is all one fruit. It isn’t that we work on peace one week and then patience the next… The first fruit mentioned is love. ALL other fruit stem from this one fruit. If we are loving we will be patient, we will be joyful, we will be gentle, we will employ self-control, and so on. Jesus was at peace relationally with Judas the Betrayer and demonstrated that peace through His loving act of giving the morsel.

Peace with one another is to be sought because we love.

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Here is a wonderful 45 minute sermon by Harry Walls at Grace Community Church about the kind of love Jesus expects from us.
Connecting with Quality Love by Harry Walls

Here is an article about Peace from Compelling Truth:
In What Way is Peace a Fruit of the Spirit?

theology, word of the week

Sunday Word of the Week: Fruit of the Spirit, Joy

Posted on October 14, 2018 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

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Similarly, when we discuss other words such as love, peace, and joy, we think we know what they mean, but often times these culturally embedded words have a totally different flavor when used from a biblical context. It is true of the words pertaining to the Fruit of the Spirit. Even these ‘simpler’ biblical words are misunderstood.

Therefore, over the next 9 weeks the Word of the Week will be one of the 9 Fruit of the Spirit.

Joy

The following is from the systematic theology book Biblical Doctrine, by John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue, eds.

Joy is a happiness based on unchanging divine promises and eternal spiritual realities. It is a sense of well-being expressed by one who knows that all is well between oneself and the Lord. (1 Peter 1:8). Joy is not the result of favorable circumstances but occurs even when those circumstances are the most painful and severe. (John 16:20-22; 1 Thessalonians 1:6). Joy is a gift from God, and as such, believers are not to manufacture it but to delight in the blessings they already possess. (Philippians 4:4).

Produced by the Holy Spirit, (Romans 14:17), joy is appropriate both in the good times (3 John 4) and in the times of testing (James 1:2-4). Joy is a deep, abiding inner thankfulness to God for His goodness that is not diminished or interrupted when less-than-desirable circumstances intrude on one’s life.

joy verse

theology, word of the week

Sunday Word of the Week: Love

Posted on October 7, 2018 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

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Therefore, over the next 9 weeks the Word of the Week will be one of the 9 Fruit of the Spirit.

You notice the fruit is singular. The Holy Spirit develops fruit, not fruits. Believers can and do manifest all its elements simultaneously. The nine representative qualities refer to the whole work of the Spirit’s sanctifying labor in the believer. One doesn’t work on patience today and then love tomorrow and then joy, etc. The fruit is one fruit with various characteristics.

Paul began with identifying love as the first fruit of the Spirit. Jesus said that love is the greatest commandment.

Love in the biblical context doesn’t mean what it means in the songs. The culture says we are always falling in and out of love (Pure Prairie League, Amie), as if love was a tide we had no control over and washes in and out. Whitesnake wanted to know Is This Love? They weren’t sure. Foreigner famously pleaded with the universe, that I Want to Know What Love Is.

Love addles people. Romance is mistaken for love. So is lust. The world thinks it knows love as an external thing that comes upon people who must grab it and plead for it not to go away. As if it can dissipate like steam. But that is not what love is according to the Bible.

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via GIPHY

I found the section from the MacArthur/Mayhue systematic theology book Biblical Doctrine helpful and illuminating here. The section on the Fruit of the Spirit of love reads as follows:

Christ’s substitutionary death provided the ultimate example of love. (Greek: agape). He said, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13). Paul called for this supreme love to be characteristic of a husband’s love for his wife: “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” (Ephesians 5:25). First Corinthians 13:8 promises that “love never fails.” (NASB).

Thus, love is a communicable, divine attribute that is central to the Father’s character, (1 John 4:8), put on display by Christ at the cross, enabled in believers by the Holy Spirit. Love can be defined broadly as the conscious, sacrificial, and volitional commitment to the welfare of another person, in obedience to God’s Word (2 John 6), regardless of the person’s response or what one does or does not receive from him or her, or what love costs one to give. The love of Christians toward other Christians (Colossians 1:8), as might be expected, is the most commended “one another” response in the New Testament.

That’s what love is.

love verse 1a