Acts 6
Murmuring in the church verse 1
And in those days
when the number of the disciples was multiplied
there arose a MURMURING of the Grecians
against the Hebrews
BECAUSE their widows were neglected
in the DAILY ministration
Division of leader’s responsibility verse 2- 4
THEN the twelve called the multitude of the disciples
unto them and said
It is not reason that we should leave the word of God
and serve tables
wherefore brethren look you out among you
seven men of honest report
full of the Holy Ghost – and wisdom
whom we may appoint over this business
BUT we will give ourselves continually to prayer
and to the ministry of the word
Seven deacons chosen verse 5- 6
AND the sayings pleased the whole multitude
and they chose Steven
a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost
and Philip – Prochorus – Nicanor
Timon – Parmenas
Nicolas – a proselyte of Antioch
whom they set before the apostles
and when they had prayed
they laid their hands on them
Church grew verse 7
AND the word of God increased
and the number of the disciples multiplied
in Jerusalem greatly
and a great company of the priests
were obedient to the faith
Stephen’s ministry verse 8- 10
And Steven – full of faith and power
did great wonders and miracles among the people
THEN there arose certain of the synagogue
which is called the synagogue of the Libertines
Cyrenians – Alexandrians
and of them of Cilcia – Asia
disputing with Stephen
AND they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit
by which he spoke
Jewish leaders found men to lie about Stephen verse 11- 15
THEN they suborned men – which said
We have heard him speak
blasphemous words against Moses
and against God
AND they stirred up the people – and the elders – and the scribes
and came upon him – and caught him
and brought him to the council
and set up false witnesses which said
This man ceases not
to speak blasphemous words
against this holy place
and the law
FOR we have heard him say
that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy
this place and shall change the customs
which Moses delivered us
And all that sat in the council – looking steadfastly on him
saw his face as it had been the face of an angel
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 1 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. (1248 “ministration” [diakonon] means service, contributions, provision, aid, support, relief, ministry of the ministration of those who render to others the offices of Christian affection esp. those who help meet need by either collecting or distributing of charities)
DEVOTION: Here we have the first church conflict. The leadership was busy preaching the word and baptizing all those who were coming into the church. They were doing what they felt the LORD wanted them to do. Their gift was one of apostle. They were the first missionaries to the world. They started in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.
The church grew fast. The ones converted to Christianity were of all nationalities. There was complaining right at the beginning of the church that they were prejudice. The Hebrews and the Grecians were having problems with the way the daily food supplies were being passed out to the widows. The Grecians thought that their widows were being neglected.
Satan likes to have problems in the church. He started early in the history of the church to have Christians fighting with one another instead of loving one another. Remember that those who were first believers were all Jews that Jesus had called to be HIS apostles. Now the church was full of all people. The Jews had their own culture. The Gentiles had their own culture. Now the two cultures came into close contact. Where there are differences there needs to be compromise. Each culture has their habits. The early church was no exception.
How were the apostles going to settle the problem? They had the people of the church pick men that were honest, full of the Holy Spirit and wise. WOW!! Can the common people see these traits in others in the church? YES!! Maturity showed in the early church and it still shows even today. The church members should see these traits in the men they chose to minister to the needs of the widows.
Deacons are supposed to be men who are honest, full of the Holy Ghost and wise. Are the deacons in our churches men who are full of the Holy Spirit?
We have changed our thinking over the years regarding the office of deacon. Are the widows being neglected today in our churches by the deacons? Are the shut-ins in our churches being neglected by the deacons today? Are the people in the church today still murmuring? It needs to end. The problems need to be solved today as they were in the early church. The world is looking on and they need to see that we love one another.
CHALLENGE: If you know of a shut in or a widow that needs a visit. They all do. VISIT THEM!!! If you find a need – meet it if you can and if you can’t bring it to the attention of the leadership in the church.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 3 Wherefore, brethren, look you out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. (5532 “business” [chreia] means need, necessity, duty, needed task, work that person is obliged to perform for moral or legal reasons, what is necessary, or necessary work)
DEVOTION: The division of responsibility in the leadership of the church was important from the very beginning. The apostles couldn’t do everything. They needed help with a church of at least eight thousand men alone. The families had to be big. The elderly had to make up a good portion of the congregation.
Remember there were no church buildings. The apostles had to meet either at the Temple or a large area where people could gather or in homes. They had the responsibility to train the next group of people to reach the world for Christ.
The decision to pick men from the congregation who were qualified to work with the widows and help with other ministries was a very important decision. They wanted men who were qualified to work with others. As we read further into the chapter we see that one deacon excelled in his ministry.
Once we become a believer we should seek training and responsibility. Training must come first. The qualifications of deacons were supposed to be noticed by the rest of the congregation. They were to be men that were filled with the Holy Spirit. Responsibility was given only to those who had these qualities. We should seek to have these qualities.
Too often today we find that people who have been in the church a long time are elected to be deacons. These men can be chosen by the congregation but not because of their spiritual qualification but their willingness to serve because no one else will. Many churches have suffered under leadership that is not qualified and even doesn’t care to be qualified for the office of deacon.
Many pastors who are to train the congregation are busy with other things and are not spending the time necessary in prayer and teaching the Word of God. It is not an occupation. It is a ministry. There is a big difference. Many go into the pastorate looking to earn a lot of money or to be looked up to when the LORD wants them to be servants that pray and train.
CHALLENGE: Each believer has a ministry to do for the LORD. It might not be one that includes being in front of people in the church but it is one that is to help people in the church.
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: 7 And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith. (5219 “obedient” [hupakouo] means hearken, to listen, of one who on the knock at the door comes to listen who it is, to harken to a command, submit to, adhere to, or be subject to)
DEVOTION: When there is teamwork in the church things happen. When each person takes their responsibility seriously things happen. A group of people working together can change their world.
We find that after the problem was settled the church continued to spread the Word of God. The words included all that Jesus had taught. It was not just the Old Testament but the apostles taught the people what Jesus had taught them.
Not only did the common man become a follower of Jesus Christ but the priest that worked in the Temple came to understand the truth of the teachings of Jesus and became believers as well.
Starting at the Old Testament we can see the truth of what Jesus was teaching HIS disciples and those who would listen. HE applied the Old Testament to HIMSELF. HE was the “cornerstone” that the builders rejected.
The hardest people to reach are those who are leaders of another religion. The Jewish priests wanted to keep the Temple as the center of worship when those who follow Christ want HIM to be the center of worship. There had to be a change in the hearts of the priests for them to understand and begin following Jesus.
To say that it is impossible to win those who are strong believers in false doctrine or teaching is wrong. It was done in the first century and can be done today. We just have to know what we believe enough to show those who believe a false religion their wrong beliefs. If we don’t study we will not be able to do it.
If we are not students of the Word of God we have to question whether we are really true believers in the Word of God. If we believe we will desire to learn because we want to be obedient to the LORD. Disobedience doesn’t honor the LORD.
CHALLENGE: The priest needed to change. We need to change too once we become a follower of Jesus.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 13 And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceases not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law. (989 “blasphemous” [blasphemos] means railing, speaking evil, slanderous, abusive, speaking against God, or personal mockery)
DEVOTION: The religious leaders had to do something about all the people who were become followers of the LORD Jesus Christ.
Here they had one deacon who spoke so well about the LORD that they were not able to resist his wisdom or the Holy Spirit that was working in his words.
They didn’t have answers and therefore looked foolish to the people. They decided to hire men to lie about Stephen. They had to say things that would excite the people to do something against this man.
So they lied about what Stephen was saying. They said that he was speaking against God because he repeated what Jesus had said to the woman at the well. There was going to be a time when worship was not going to be in their mountain or in the Jewish Temple. People who truly worship the LORD would worship in spirit and in truth.
Jesus stated that HE was going to fulfill the Law of Moses. HE came to this earth to be the ultimate sacrifice for sin. There would no longer be a need to offer animals to the LORD. There would no longer be a need for the High Priest to enter the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement for the sins of the nations. That is the reason the veil between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies was rent from top to bottom when Christ died on the cross. There was no need for anymore atonement in the Holy of Holies.
We can now go straight to God with our prayers. We can go straight to God for our forgiveness. We can go straight to God without going to a priest with our sacrifices. No animals or other offerings are necessary for our salvation.
The only reason we give offerings in church today is to say “thank you” to the LORD for HIS gift to us of salvation. God wants us to bring our offering with rejoicing not because we feel we have to please HIM for our salvation.
Don’t believe the false teaching that we are under law. We are under grace.
CHALLENGE: False teachers will teach that you have to earn your salvation by good works instead of doing good works as a means of saying thank you to the LORD for HIS gift of salvation.
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Laid hands on deacons verse 6
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Apostles gave themselves continually to prayer verse 4
Apostles prayed for new deacons verse 6
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Synagogue verse 9
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Law verse 13
Moses verse 11, 14
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
God verse 2, 7, 11
Word of God verse 2 , 7
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
Jesus of Nazareth verse 14
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Holy Ghost verse 3, 5
Full of the Holy Ghost verse 3, 5
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Stephen had face as an angel verse 15
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Grecians verse 1
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Murmuring verse 1
Neglecting widows verse 1
Suborned verse 11
Blasphemous words verse 11, 13
False witnesses verse 13
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Disciples verse 1, 7
Honest verse 3
Full of the Holy Ghost verse 3, 10
Wisdom verse 3, 10
Prayer verse 4, 6
Ministry of the word verse 4
Obedient to the faith verse 7
Great wonders verse 8
Miracles verse 8
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Hebrews verse 1
Jerusalem verse 7
Great company of priests converted verse 7
Certain in the synagogue verse 9
Synagogue of Libertines
Cyrenians
Alexandrians
Them of Cilicia
Them of Asia
Disputing with Stephen
Not able to resist
Wisdom and Spirit
Hired suborned men
Lied against Stephen
Moses verse 11, 14
Elders verse 12
Scribes verse 12
Council verse 12, 15
Set up false witnesses verse 13
Lied about Stephen verse 13
Church (New Testament people of God)
Disciples multiplied verse 1, 2
Daily ministration verse 1
Twelve verse 2
Preach the Word verse 2
Deacons serve tables verse 2
Deacons care for the widows verse 2
Brethren verse 3
Standards for deacons verse 3
Honest report
Full of the Holy Ghost
Wisdom
Appoint over serving tables
Full of faith verse 5, 8
Great wonders verse 8
Miracles verse 8
Pastor’s responsibility verse 4
Continually to prayer
Ministry of the word
Lay hands on leaders verse 6
Converts verse 7
Disciple’s multiplied
Priests were obedient to faith
Stephen verse 5, 8- 15
Full of faith
Full of the Holy Ghost
Full of power
Great wonders
Miracles
Face of an angel
Philip
Prochorus
Micanor
Timon
Parmenas
Nicolas – a proselyte of Antioch
Apostles verse 6
Apostles laid hands on deacons verse 6
Word of God increased verse 7
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
11–14 The subject “they” of the verbs of these sentences refers to those members of the synagogue of the Freedman represented in v. 9 by the masculine plural indefinite pronoun tines (“some”; NIV, “members”). Four things are said about them: (1) “they secretly persuaded some men to say” that Stephen had spoken blasphemy; (2) “they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law” on their trumped-up charge against Stephen; (3) “they seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin”; and (4) “they produced false witnesses” at his trial.
The rumors had to do with Stephen’s being “against Moses and against God”—“against Moses” because his arguments appeared to challenge the eternal validity of the Mosaic law, and “against God” because he appeared to be setting aside that which was taken to be the foundation and focus of national worship—the Jerusalem temple. In so doing, the rumors struck at the heart of both Pharisaic and Sadducean interests. Later rabbinic law held that “the blasphemer is not culpable [and therefore not subject to the penalty of death] unless he pronounces the Name itself” (M Sanhedrin 7:5, based on Lev 24:10–23). But in the first century of the Christian Era, the definition of blasphemy was more broadly interpreted along the lines of Numbers 15:30: “Anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or alien, blasphemes the Lord, and that person must be cut off from his people” (cf. G.H. Dalman, The Words of Jesus, tr. D.M. Kay [Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1909], p. 314).
The testimony of witnesses who repeated what they had heard a defendant say was part of Jewish court procedure in a trial for blasphemy (cf. M Sanhedrin 7:59. But this testimony against Stephen, Luke tells us, was false. “We have heard him say,” they claimed, “that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us” (v. 14). Like the similar charge against Jesus (Matt 26:61; Mark 14:58; cf. John 2:19–22), its falseness lay not so much in its wholesale fabrication but in its subtle and deadly misrepresentation of what was intended. Undoubtedly Stephen spoke regarding a recasting of Jewish life in terms of the supremacy of Jesus the Messiah. Undoubtedly he expressed in his manner and message something of the subsidiary significance of the Jerusalem temple and the Mosaic law, as did Jesus before him (e.g., Mark 2:23–28; 3:1–6, 7:14–15; 10:5–9). But that is not the same as advocating the destruction of the temple or the changing of the law—though on these matters we must allow Stephen to speak for himself in Acts 7. (Longenecker, R. N. (1981). The Acts of the Apostles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: John and Acts (Vol. 9, p. 336). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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They were not able to withstand (οὐκ ἰσχυον ἀντιστηναι [ouk ischuon antistēnai]). Imperfect active of ἰσχυω [ischuō], to have strength, and ingressive second aorist active (intransitive) infinitive of ἀνθιστημι [anthistēmi]. They continued unable (without strength enough) to take a stand against. Stephen knocked them down, Saul included, as fast as they got up. Stephen was like a battery charged and in action. The wisdom and spirit (τῃ σοφιᾳ και πνευματι [tēi sophiāi kai pneumati]). Dative case. They stood up against Stephen’s wisdom and the Holy Spirit “by whom he spoke” (ᾡ ἐλαλει [hōi elalei]). Instrumental case and the relative agrees with “Spirit.” He kept on speaking so (ἐλαλει [elalei], imperfect active). It was a desperate situation. (Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Ac 6:10). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.)
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This Spirit-filled man did not limit his ministry to the serving of tables; he also won the lost and even did miracles. Up to this point, it was the Apostles who performed the miracles (Acts 2:43; 5:12), but now God gave this power to Stephen also. This was part of His plan to use Stephen to bear witness to the leaders of Israel. Stephen’s powerful testimony would be the climax of the church’s witness to the Jews. Then the message would go out to the Samaritans and then to the Gentiles.
Jews from many nations resided in Jerusalem in their own “quarters,” and some of these ethnic groups had their own synagogues. The freedmen (“libertines”) were the descendants of Jews who had previously been in bondage but had won their freedom from Rome. Since Paul came from Tarsus in Cilicia (Acts 21:39), it is possible that he heard Stephen in the synagogue and may have debated with him. However, nobody could match or resist Stephen’s wisdom and power (see Luke 21:15). Their only alternative was to destroy him.
Their treatment of Stephen parallels the way the Jewish leaders treated Jesus. First, they hired false witnesses to testify against him. Then, they stirred up the people who accused him of attacking the Law of Moses and the temple. Finally, after listening to his witness, they executed him (see Matt. 26:59–62; John 2:19–22).
The Jews were jealous over their Law and could not understand how Christ had come to fulfill the Law and to bring in the new age. They were proud of their temple and refused to believe that God would permit it to be destroyed. Stephen faced the same spiritual blindness that Jeremiah faced in his ministry (see Jer. 7). The church faced the opposition of Jewish tradition for many years to come, from within its own ranks (Acts 15) and from false teachers coming in from the outside (Gal. 2:4).
The enemy surprised Stephen and arrested him while he was ministering (“having came upon him suddenly” is Wuest’s translation of Acts 6:12); and they took him before the same council that had tried Jesus and the Apostles. It was not even necessary for Stephen to speak in order to give witness, for the very glow on his face told everybody that he was a servant of God. Certainly the members of the Sanhedrin would recall Moses’ shining face (Ex. 34:29–30). It was as though God was saying, “This man is not against Moses! He is like Moses—he is My faithful servant!” (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 430). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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10. To resist. That is, they were not able to answer his arguments.
The wisdom. This properly refers to his knowledge of the Scriptures; his skill in what the Jews esteemed to be wisdom—acquaintance with their sacred writings, opinions, &c.
And the spirit. This has been commonly understood of the Holy Spirit, by which he was aided; but it rather means the energy, power, or ardour of Stephen. He evinced a spirit of zeal and sincerity which they could not withstand; which served, more than mere argument could have done, to convince them that he was right. The evidence of sincerity, honesty, and zeal in a public speaker will often go farther to convince the great mass of mankind, than the most able argument if delivered in a cold and indifferent manner. (Barnes, A. (1884–1885). Notes on the New Testament: Acts. (R. Frew, Ed.) (p. 115). London: Blackie & Son.)
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In this chapter we see brought out very vividly Satan’s two master methods by which, throughout the centuries, he has endeavored to hinder the progress of the work of God. In the first half of the chapter we see him endeavoring to hinder by inward dissension; in the other half by outward persecution. In the Epistle to the Philippians Paul, in urging the believers to go on together in the unity of the Spirit, tells them that as long as they work together in love and unity they need never be afraid of the attitude from without. Even their adversaries realize it is impossible to hinder those who stand together in Christian harmony; but if that inward peace is destroyed, then the Church becomes very, very weak when it has to face a godless world. (Ironside, H. A. (1943). Lectures on the Book of Acts. (p. 151). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers.)
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Ver. 10. And they were not able to resist the wisdom, &c.] In Beza’s most ancient copy, and in another manuscript ’tis added, which was in him; that divine wisdom, which the spirit of wisdom gave him; they were not a match for him with respect to the knowledge of divine things; they could not answer the wise arguments he made use of, fetched out of the Scriptures of truth, in which he was well versed, and had a large knowledge of: and the spirit by which he spake; that is, the Holy Spirit, as the above exemplars of Beza, and the Ethiopic version read; the meaning is, they could not resist the Holy Spirit, by which Stephen spake, so as to overcome him, or put Stephen to silence, or confute him; otherwise they did resist him, or oppose themselves to him, but in vain, and without success; for they always resisted the Holy Ghost in Christ and in his apostles, as their fathers before them resisted him in the prophets, as Stephen observes to them, ch. 7:51 hereby was fulfilled what our Lord promised to his disciples, Matt. 10:19, 20; Luke 21:15. (Gill, J. (1809). An Exposition of the New Testament (Vol. 2, p. 192). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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FROM MY READING:
But it was in those very days that “there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.” It is so easy to misunderstand this. It might look as though Jews and Gentiles were all together in that church in Jerusalem. This was not the case. Those converted on the day of Pentecost were all of Israel. There were some from Gentile lands who were perhaps proselytes, but those who came out for Christ were all linked with the house of Israel, for up to this time the Gentiles had not yet been brought in. A little later God was to begin that mighty work. The word “Greeks” here does not mean “Gentiles.” It should be translated “Hellenists.” It means Jews who were born not in Palestine, but in other lands where Greek was the language commonly used. In other words, they were Greek-speaking Jews; and these Hellenists had a great many Gentile ways about them because they were brought up amongst the Greeks. The Hebrews were the Jews of Palestine who were much more rigid observers of the law of Moses than the Hellenists. A great deal of bitterness existed between these two groups. The Hebrews of Palestine, very proud of their heritage, looked with suspicion and sometimes with contempt upon their fellow-Jews who were born among the Gentiles. The Hellenistic Jews, who gloried in their wider freedom, felt that the Hebrews of Palestine were very narrow-minded and self-centered. (Ironside, H. A. (1943). Lectures on the Book of Acts. (pp. 153–154). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers.)
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1 John 4
Anyone is not of God who denies that Jesus is the Son of God who came in the flesh.
INSIGHT
Whenever you are uncertain about someone’s teaching, find out what they teach about Jesus. If the truth about God’s Son has been twisted, their belief system will be flawed. To test the truthfulness of a particular teaching, ask them these questions:
If the answer to any of these questions is “No,” be cautious. Do not believe everything someone says. (Quiet Walk)
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I was getting into my car when the glint caught my eye: a nail, embedded in my rear tire’s sidewall. I listened for the telltale whistle of air. Thankfully, the hole was plugged—at least for the moment. As I drove to a tire store, I wondered: How long has that nail been there? Days? Weeks? How long have I been protected from a threat I didn’t even know existed?We can sometimes live under the illusion that we’re in control. But that nail reminded me we’re not. But when life feels out of control and unstable, we have a God whose reliability we can trust. In Psalm 18, David praises God for watching over him (vv. 34-35). David confesses, “It is God who arms me with strength. . . . You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way” (vv. 32, 36). In this poem of praise, David celebrates God’s sustaining presence (v. 35).I personally don’t march into combat like David; I even go out of my way not to take unnecessary risks. Still, my life is often chaotic.But I can rest in the knowledge that, though God doesn’t promise us protection from all of life’s difficulties, He always knows where I am. He knows where I’m going and what I’ll encounter. And He’s the Lord of it all—even the “nails” of our lives. By Adam Holz (Our Daily Bread)
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MY VIEW OF THE WORLD
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. 1 John 5:13
What is my view of the world when I know for certain that I have eternal life? What is my attitude to the world in which we are all living, the world as we see it in the newspapers? Is that what interests me? What am I anxious to obtain? Or am I more interested in other things—spiritual things? According to John, Christians are men and women who have come to view the world in an entirely new manner. They see that it is governed by sin. They have come to regard it as a place in which evil forces are at work and whose whole mind is but the working of the spirit of the world. They know that it is something they have to fight, something to withstand, and they realize that unless they do so, they will be defeated by it.
Do I hate the world? A good way of answering is this: The apostle Paul, looking at his surroundings, said, “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory…for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). In looking at “the things which are seen,” how much time do I spend in thinking about the Lord God? How much do I think about the glory that is with Him? Which do I meditate upon most—the eternal or the worldly?
A Thought to Ponder
How much do I think about the glory that is with God? Which do I meditate upon most—the eternal or the worldly? (From Life in God, pp. 97-98, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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Zechariah’s Visions: One Candlestick, Seven Lamps, Two Olive Trees
“I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.” (Zechariah 4:2-3)
This vision has three main messages. It represents “the word of the LORD” given to Zerubbabel, which is “not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit” (Zechariah 4:6). It also foretells the finishing of the temple by Zerubbabel wherein the “mountain” will become a “plain” and the “small things” will become the “plummet” in the hand of Zerubbabel (Zechariah 4:7-10). Finally, the vision presents “the two anointed ones that stand by the LORD of the whole earth” (Zechariah 4:14).
The golden candlestick symbol was used in the tabernacle with seven lamps on each branch (Exodus 25). Ten duplicate candlesticks were in the temple of Solomon (1 Kings 7:49). Seven individual candlesticks are revealed in Revelation 1 that represent “the seven churches.” The similarities and differences suggest something about the “mystery” that God kept from the Old Testament saints (Ephesians 3:9).
The two olive trees are unique to Zechariah. God called Judah a “green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit” (Jeremiah 11:16). God called the New Testament church “the olive tree which is wild by nature” (Romans 11:24). Some have suggested that Revelation 11:3-4 speaks of these “two witnesses” as the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth.
(HMM III, The Institute for Creation Research)
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