Tag Archives: New Testament
The rest of the story of losing memory – almost there – almost got it by heart!
Lets continue on with the next three :
It is too Early for Phil to Care!( do you see what I did there?)
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
And here we go again with those 1 and two books!
The we have the end of the T books with
Titus
And then there’s that fella
Philemon
And then we have Hebrews ( that is who brewed up all that tea above!!)
And that is all the Pauline Epistkles(Just for convience sake we are going to include Hebrews in the Pauline Epistles).
James stands all alone – lonely James!
And now we go one one and two books and then to a 123 book!
1 Peter
2 Peter
1 John
2 John
3 John
And then we go see (Hey Jude!)
Jude
and finally we get the end and have a
Revelation!
That is all the New Testament books! Now we jump back to the Old Testament to the prophetic books! They aredivided into the major and minor prophets. Lets tackle the the major prophets first!
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Notice there are four major prophets but five major prophets book, that is because Jeremiah also wrote Lamentations and it was oiginally all one work.
More memory please! Need more memory- a few more books to know their order!
It has been a few days since we have touched on memorizing the order of the books in the Bible. By now you should have the historical books of both testaments down. The next section in the OT are what is called the poetic books and the next section in the NT are the letters or epistles. There are five poetic books in the NT and 21 letters in the NT. The first thirteen letters are the Pauline Epistles (the letters written by the Apostle Paul) They are in order of the length of the letters with Romans being the first and longest and Philemon being the last Pauline Epistle and the shortest. The other letters were written by the Apsotles John, Peter, and James. There is doubt as to actually wrote the letter titled Hebrews. Lets look at the OT poetic books first:
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Songs ( aka Song of Solomon)
Lets keep doing this in fives!
Romans- there is the longest because there were a lot of Romans!
( 1 and 2 book again!)
Galatians – glad you done with these five?
The rest in awhile !
A short Review and Some Memory Tips!
The Bible is God’s Word. The Bible was written by over 40 different authors over a period in excess of 1500 years yet there is a continuity throughout that could have only been concieved of by one mind- that would be the mind of God. The authors penned their words under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They were allowed to use their own style and own rhetoric but the words are God’s. They were allowed to write when they wanted and what the wanted under the direction of the Holy Spirit. The Bible is without error, without contradiction, and is Absolute Truth. From the first book of Genesis to the last book of Revealtion, the Bible is about Christ Jesus. He is the main character of the entire book- the Bible is the totality of the Revealtion of God speaking to man, through the person of Jesus who is the Christ. The Bible is divided into two main section, the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament is the account of the beginning of the nation of Israel, through which God chose to bring the Savior into the world. In Genesis we see sin entering into the world and the effects of that first sin on all of mankind and the need for a redeemer. In the New Testament we see the arrival of the Redeemer and the prohecies of His return and the final defeat of satan. The Old Testament and the New Testament are the major divisions of the Bible. The Old Testament is the promise of a Savior and the New Testamentis the fullfillment of that promise. Each testaments is further divided into books which are divided into chapters which are divided into verses. The Bible is actually a compilation of 66 book in the recognized Protestant Canon. The Old Testament is also the Jewish Bible. Jesus called the Old Testament “the scriptures” and the “Word of God”. Both the Old and New Testaments openm with historical books and close with prophetic books. There is only one prophetic book in the New Testament and that is the book of Revealtion, which is also the last book in the Bible. The Old Testament contains 39 books. There are historical books, the law, the books of wisdom or poetry and then the major prophets and closes with the minor prophets. There are about 400 years between the Old Testament and the New Testament. This 400 years period is called “the silent years”because Israel had no prophet to reveal the message of God. This period ended with the appearance of John the Baptist. The New Testament contians 27 books, the four gospels, the Book of Acts which is a history of the early church, the Pauline Epistles ( that is a fancy word for letters) and the General Epistles, these epistles or letters are written to various churches and address the problems that the early church encountered and are the beginnings of today’s church doctrines. The New Testament closes with the book of Revealtion. Each book in the Bible was orginally a seperate document and when reading and studying the Bible this must be kept in mind. It is a good idea to memorize the books of the Bible and it is not really that hard- that way you not fumbling through the pages to find the verse you want- once memorized you will be able to turn right to it. The best way is memorize the books of the Bible by sections and we will look at those here:
Lets take a look at the books of the Bible and how they are arranged. Again, each testament opens with historical books and closes with prophetic books. Lets begin with the Old Testament books:
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Dueteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1Samuel
2Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclestiaes
Song of Solomon
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezkeil
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Zecharia
Malachi
Now that is quite a list to memorize! Lets see if we can’t brak it down a little bit. Remember the Old Testament is divided into the historical book, the poetic books and prophetic books. Lets start with the first five books , which are historical books but they also have some other distinctions. The Jewish people called and still call the first five books of the OT the Torah, which is Hebrew for “law” Since the contain the laws that God gave to Moses. These same five books are also called the Pentutach which is Greek for “five books.” So to beging with we need to memorize just five books, called the Torah or the Pentutach.
These five books are also historical books, and they are:
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Dueteronomy
That is the first five books of the Old Testament – now lets jump to the historical books of the New Testament – of which there are a total of five historical books in the New Testament and they are the four gospels and the book of Acts. Here they are in order:
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Acts.
Matthew, Mark and Luke are called the synoptic gospels and are about the life and teachings of Jesus. The gospel of John is more theological than the synoptics-more about that later for now focus on memeorizing the order of the books. The book of Acts is a history of the early church. Again the historical books of the New Testament are”
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Acts
Now you have the order first five books of each testament memeorized. And now we will jump back to the Old Testament, there are a few more historical books in the OT than in the New.
The Torah of Pentutach
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Dueteronomy
Now we have JJR ! That would be the books of
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
Then we go to the 1 and 2 books!
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
Now Samuel anoitned David as King so we go to
1 Kings
2 Kings
and then things got a little crazy and we go to
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Then these two gusy just hang out on their own
Ezra
Nehemia
And in this case ladies are last!
Esther
That is all of the historical books of the Old Testament and all of the historical books of the New Testament.
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The Conclusion!
We will finish up 1 Peter this time but first I want to talk about a little about the church being persecuted today- here is a link to a story I have been following for sometime now- this is not a unique story but is very common:
Here is a link with information on which countries are currently persecuting Christians.
Peter is writing this letter to encourage the churches that were being persecuted. In the early days of the church the persecution came from the Jews. We can read in the book of Acts how the Apostle Paul, then known as Saul of Tarsus, originally persecuted the church. He sent many Christians to prison and even to their deaths, then we can read about his conversion experience also in the book of Acts. After an encounter with the risen Lord- and the Lord changing Saul’s name to Paul, we see that the now Apostle Paul did more to advance Christianity than any one else since. Paul died a martyr for the Christian faith and wrote over one third of the New Testament. Then it was the government persecuting the church, the church was considered by many government officials as a threat and at one time was even declared to be a secret society by the Roman Government and was outlawed. Christianity is still outlawed by many countries today, most of them that are under Islamic rule and those that adhere to Sharia Law have outlawed Christianity. Another problem the early church faced was some false teaching that had infiltrated the church- mainly the heresy of Gnosticism was being taught by false teachers. What is Gnosticism?
Gnosticism traces its roots back just after the beginning of the Christian Church. Some researchers state that evidence of its existence even predates Christianity. Whichever the case, the error of gnosticism had affected the culture and church of the time and possibly even a earned a mention in 1 John 4.
The word “gnosticism” comes from the Greek word “gnosis” which means “knowledge.” There were many groups that were Gnostic and it isn’t possible to easily describe the nuances of each variant of Gnostic doctrines. However, generally speaking, Gnosticism taught that salvation is achieved through special knowledge (gnosis). This knowledge usually dealt with the individual’s relationship to the transcendent Being.
A more detailed Gnostic theology is as follows. The unknowable God was far too pure and perfect to have anything to do with the material universe which was considered evil. Therefore, God generated lesser divinities, or emenations. One of these emanations, Wisdom desired to know the unknowable God. Out of this erring desire the demiurge an evil god was formed and it was this evil god that created the universe. He along witharchons kept the mortals in bondage in material matter and tried to prevent the pure spirit souls from ascending back to god after the death of the physical bodies. Since, according to the Gnostics, matter is evil, deliverance from material form was attainable only through special knowledge revealed by special Gnostic teachers. Christ was the divine redeemer who descended from the spiritual realm to reveal the knowledge necessary for this redemption. In conclusion, Gnosticism is dualistic. That is, it teaches there is a good and evil, spirit and matter, light and dark, etc. dualism in the universe.
What we know about Gnosticism is gained from the writings of Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Tertullian, Origen, and some later manuscripts discovered in the eighteenth century such as the “Codex Askew, Codex Bruce, the Berlin Gnostic Codes and, most recently, the Nag Hammadi collection.” Nag Hammadi is a town in Upper Egypt near ancient Chenoboskion and 13 codices discovered were discovered about 1945.
The danger of gnosticism is easily apparent. It denies the incarnation of God as the Son. In so doing, it denies the true efficacy of the atonement since, if Jesus is not God, He could not atone for all of mankind and we would still be lost in our sins.
There is debate whether or not this is a Christian heresy or simply an independent development. The evidence seems to point to the later. Nevertheless, the Gnostics laid claim to Jesus as a great teacher of theirs and as such requires some attention. It is possible that 1 John was written against some of the errors that Gnosticism promoted.
Ok now lets finish up with the last chapter of 1 Peter.
1 Peter 5
New King James Version (NKJV)
Shepherd the Flock
The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly,[a] not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.
Submit to God, Resist the Devil
5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for
“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”[b]
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because[c] your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may[d] the God of all grace, who called us[e] to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Farewell and Peace
12 By Silvanus, our faithful brother as I consider him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand.
13 She who is in Babylon, elect together with you, greets you; and so does Mark my son. 14 Greet one another with a kiss of love.
Peace to you all who are in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Footnotes:
- 1 Peter 5:2 NU-Text adds according to God.
- 1 Peter 5:5 Proverbs 3:34
- 1 Peter 5:8 NU-Text and M-Text omit because.
- 1 Peter 5:10 NU-Text reads But the God of all grace . . . will perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
- 1 Peter 5:10 NU-Text and M-Text read you.
The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly,[a] not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.
Whenever one enters into spiritual leadership there comes with that great temptations. Peter here is warning the elders to resist the baits that the devil lays out in the forms of pressure, profit and power. An elder should serve out of eager willingness, not out of greed or under some kind of compulsion. A pastor should not abuse the power that they have but be a servant leader and the pastor’s life should set the proper example for others to follow. It has been said that the best sermon one can preach is how you live your life. Those who lead the flock well will be rewarded by the Lord, the Great Shepherd, Himself.
5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for
“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”[b]
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because[c] your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
These passages are very similar to James 4:6-10. Both passages quote Proverbs 3:34. Peter is simply encouraging his readers to humble themselves before God and to resist the devil. James was written before 1 Peter so it is possible that Peter used some of the ideas that James presented in his letter. Peter was also aware of Paul’s letters. ( 2 Peter 3:15)
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because[c] your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 1
This is a perfect description of spiritual warfare. The Bible makes it clear that the devil is not a myth or the product of the imagination. The Bible makes it clear the not only is the devil real but is also the fiercest enemy of God’s people. The Christian life is an ongoing battle against satan and all the dark spiritual forces of evil. Peter repeats over and over again in this letter that the persecutions and the suffering they are going through are a direct attack by satan. We can resist and oppose the devil with the strength that God provides for His people. It is by faith that we have already been rescued from satan’s power. The power of Christ far exceeds the power of the devil. Do not let satan scare you, march forward under the banner of Christ in His name, and you will defeat the devil and his ploys through the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus will one day defeat and vanquish satan forever.
9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may[d] the God of all grace, who called us[e] to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Peter beginning in v 10 is encouraging his readers to look forward to God’s final redemption and reward.
14 Greet one another with a kiss of love.
The cultural practice of kissing cheeks took place regularly among family and friends. Paul instructed his readers to greet one another with a “holy kiss”. Peter says with a “kiss of love”.
This concludes the study of 1 Peter. Thus far we have been doing what is called book studies. I would like to change direction a bit and do some subject studies. I have been thinking to start with a study on angels. The last two books we have covered are the most challenging of all the books in the Bible to study, that would Revelation and 1 Peter. Revelation is symbolic and convoluted with reaching farther back into eternity and farther ahead into eternity than any other book of the Bible and 1 Peter, each word is so profound and deep that one could spend a life time analyzing just a few verses of either book.
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More on Husbands, Elders, Overseers, Bishops, and Deacons
Now that we have talked about wives submitting to their husbands, we need to cover how husbands are to love their wives.
A Word to Husbands
1 Peter 3
7 Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and asbeing heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.
Ephesians 5
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 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. 28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. 30 For we are members of His body,[d] of His flesh and of His bones. 31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”[e] 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Husbands, you are to be understanding of your wife, know her hopes, dreams, desires, and goals. Love your wive as Christ loved the church. That is He laid down His own life and suffered for the church. I think, husbands,ladies correct me if I am wrong here, that if you love your wive in this manner that there would be no question of having her respect and her loving and voluntary submission to your leadership. Now we leave leadership in the home and come to leadership in the church. The titles we see here are elder, bishop and overseer, theses titles are used interchangeably in the New Testament for the same office- that one of which we use pastor for today. We come to the final chapter of this epistle.
1 Peter 5
New King James Version (NKJV)
Shepherd the Flock
The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly,[a] not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.
Submit to God, Resist the Devil
5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for
“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”[b]
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because[c] your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may[d] the God of all grace, who called us[e] to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Farewell and Peace
12 By Silvanus, our faithful brother as I consider him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand.
13 She who is in Babylon, elect together with you, greets you; and so does Mark my son. 14 Greet one another with a kiss of love.
Peace to you all who are in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Footnotes:
- 1 Peter 5:2 NU-Text adds according to God.
- 1 Peter 5:5 Proverbs 3:34
- 1 Peter 5:8 NU-Text and M-Text omit because.
- 1 Peter 5:10 NU-Text reads But the God of all grace . . . will perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
- 1 Peter 5:10 NU-Text and M-Text read you.
Peter identifies himself as a fellow elder. Peter was an eyewitness to Christs suffering. When Peter uses the term partaker here he is referring to sharing the reign in Christ’s coming kingdom and that he was already experiencing the glory now in part that will be revealed fully one day. As all believers will.
The word pastor comes from the word shepherd and a shepherd leads the sheep by going in front of them, he does not drive them from behind.Church leaders are to lead in the same way, the role of the pastor is:
1. To pastor or “sheperd” God’s church-feed, lead, guide, and nuture
2. to administrate or rule God’s church
3. to teach and to preach
4. to represent the church
5. to pray for the sick
I come from a background of the independent Christian Churches where the Pastors considered themselves as paid elders. Each church was independent from one another and there was no central or denominational headquarters. There was a board of elders- elected by the congregation and a board of Deacons also chosen by the congregation. The elders on the board had the same duties as the Pastor- remember the terms bishop, elder, and overseer are all titles for the office. The elder is responsible for the spiritual needs of the church. The Deacons are responsible for the physical needs of the church. In Acts 6 we find the appointment of the first Deacons.
Acts 6
New King James Version (NKJV)
Seven Chosen to Serve
6 Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists,[a] because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. 2 Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables.3 Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; 4 but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, 6 whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them.
7 Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.
We will leave of here and pick up the rest of Chapter five next time!
Elder, Overseer, Deacon, Bishop What exactly do they do??
The first century Christians suffered severe persecutions. We see in the book of Acts, which is a history of the early church, that Christians were slandered, defamed,mobbed, imprisoned, boycotted, and even killed for their faith. Christians were targets for these attacks because they had left the pagan religious ritual and because of this they were blamed for everything from economic downturns to natural disasters. Many Christians were also strangers in town because they may left their home to flee persecution, and also many Christians in the first century had come from Jewish backgrounds. The early Christians had little security, many were slaves or of a very low social status and little or no recourse from the governing officials. Peter wrote this letter to encourage those being persecuted.
Peter in the next chapter or two discusses the role of the church leaders. You will see the terms Overseer, Bishop, Elder, and Deacon. These are the only titles you will see in the New Testament for leaders of the church. Overseer, Elder, and Bishop are used interchangeably for the same office. Then we have the Deacons. Lets look first at the first terms. Overseer, Elder, and Bishop all come from the Greek word, presbuteros, which means literally, “aged” which explains why it is commonly translated as elder. What is the role of the overseer, elder, or bishop?
1. To pastor or “sheperd” God’s church-feed, lead, guide, and nuture
2. to administrate or rule God’s church
3. to teach and to preach
4. to represent the church
5. to pray for the sick
The qualifications for this office are found in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. I find it interesting that the biblical standard does not mention being a graduate of a Bible College or Seminary. The qualification have much more to do with one’s character and moral standards than with education or social status. The main stream churches and denominations are doing themselves and God a great disservice by requiring advanced degress to pastor a church.
Now lets take a look at what the biblical role of the deacon is- Our word deacon comes from the Greek word diakonos which literally means servant. The biblical role of the deacon is to tend to the physical needs among the believers. See Acts 6:1-6. The qualifications to be a deacon are almost the same as those of the overseer, elder, bishop. Again they are found in 1 Timothy 3.
1. blameless (v 10)
*2. husband of one wive ( v12)
3. not given to wine ( v 8)
4. not greedy for money ( v 8)
5. Rules own house well ( v12)
6. reverent (v 8)
7. not double tongued (v8)
8. has a pure conscience ( v9)
9. tested (v 20)
* This qualification has been cussed and discussed over the years to the point of causing splits among churches. I have a little different interpretation on this – this verse does not bar women from ministry nor does it bar a dicvorcee from serving in either of these capacities. Here again, many churches are doing themselves and God a disservice by misapplying this verse and not understanding it’s proper context.
Tune in to ULC Radio tomorrow(Wednesday Jan 18, 2012) from 9:00 pm for the rest of 1 Peter!
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