Jesus – Page 5 – God Breathed Words

Posted on June 16, 2020June 22, 2020 by christianwordsblog

Church

‘…And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.’ (Matthew 16:18)

This much-misunderstood verse follows Simon Peter’s profession of faith in Jesus as God the Son; the rock, the foundation of the church, is faith not Peter, even if Jesus blesses him for his profession. Church then is simply the earthly host of like-minded believers. The Greek word translated ‘church’ is ἐκκλησίᾳ, ekklēsia from the prefix, ek ‘out, from and to’ and kaleo ‘to call’. This was a common, secular word meaning an assembly, specifically that of a political party literally called out of their homes to assemble in the forum or agora, the market square.

Peter describes the church in this way:

(Those of Christ are…) a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9) Read more

Posted on June 13, 2020 by christianwordsblog

Doubt (of the faithful)

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. (Matthew 28:16-17)

Now the Greek word in this passage that is translated as doubt is the verb διστάζω distazo, which means literally two-fold or double stance. To be caught between two positions, to vacillate.

Posted on June 9, 2020June 10, 2020 by christianwordsblog

GOODNESS (of God)

‘Why do you ask me about what is good?’ Jesus replied. ‘There is only One who is good…’ Matthew 19:17

Jesus is approached by a man; the text identifies him as possessing youth and wealth, a heady combination, yet his question to Jesus is directed toward his salvation.

‘Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?’ (ibid 19:16)

Posted on June 7, 2020 by christianwordsblog

REDEEMER (Kinsman)

I know that my redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand on the earth

(Job 19:25)

Job prophesies, here in full:

I know that my redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet in my flesh I will see God;
I myself will see him
with my own eyes – I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me! (ibid 19:25-27)

Posted on June 2, 2020June 3, 2020 by christianwordsblog

HEAD (Covering)

Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? (1 Corinthians 11:13)

The Greek word for veil is καλύπτρα kalyptra gives rise to the verb κατακαλύπτω katakalyto ‘to completely veil’ or ‘to cover up’, and the resultant adjective (above) ἀκατακάλυπτος akatakalyptos ‘uncovered’ or ‘revealed’.

Posted on May 20, 2020 by christianwordsblog

FAITH (and works)

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? (James 2:14)

Many of a Calvinist persuasion object strongly to Jesus’ half-brothers linkage of faith and works, some even advocate the epistle be removed from the canon of the Bible, Read more

Posted on May 16, 2020May 29, 2020 by christianwordsblog

CHIASM (also chiasmus)

‘For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’ (Matthew 23:12)

Latin word: chiasmus derives from the Greek χιασμός‎ (khiasmós) from the letter χ‎ (kh, “chi”) referring to the cross-shaped form of the letter.

Posted on May 9, 2020 by christianwordsblog

PRAYING (in tongues)

What is praying in tongues?

…if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. (1 Corinthians 14:14)

The context of this verse is instruction to the church of Corinth on how to behave as a collective. The word translated as ‘tongue’ is γλῶσσα glossa ‘language’ which means it is not a meaningless set of sounds but a structured speech with the purpose of communication.

Posted on May 4, 2020May 29, 2020 by christianwordsblog

PRAYER

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. (Mark 1:35)

It is notable that Jesus often sought solitude to pray, but what exactly did he do or say? The Greek verb used in the verse above is προσεύχομαι proseuchomai, which derives from pros ‘towards’ and euchomai ‘to wish’. Thus praying is literally an interaction of wishes.

Posted on April 30, 2020April 30, 2020 by christianwordsblog

FASTING

While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. (Acts 13:2-3)

In Greek, the verb ‘to fast’ is νηστεύω nesteuo from ne,implying negation, and ἐσθίω esthio ‘to eat’, thus nesteuo is literally ‘to not eat’. But in the context of the Bible, this is abstinence not starvation. Thus, a Biblical definition of a fast is to refuse food in order to better focus on God – or put in the negative, and especially in a modern context, fasting without prayer is merely dieting.