Author: David Petts

Great Bible Truths Podcast Episode 127

The Promises of God Talk 8

The Promise of Victory over Death

In Talk 3 we saw that the resurrection of Jesus was a key part of the fulfilment of God’s promises (Acts 13:32-33). We also took a brief look at 1 Corinthians 15 and saw that Christ’s resurrection guarantees ours. Today we’re going to examine this in more detail. Focusing our attention largely on 1 Corinthians 15, we’ll be considering:

• Why we can be sure about Christ’s resurrection
• Why we can be sure about our resurrection
• What our new bodies will be like
• The certainty of final victory over death

Why we can be sure about Christ’s resurrection

The basic answer to this question is found in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8:

3. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
4. that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
5. and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
6. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
7. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
8. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

Note that the verb here also means ‘he was seen’. He appeared to, and was therefore seen by:

• Peter (v5) (cf. Luke 24:34)
• the Twelve (v5) (a title rather than a number)
• 500 brothers (v6) (cf. Matthew 28:7,10, 16)
• James (v7) (referred to only here in NT) – James the Lord’s brother who ‘did not believe in him’ during his earthly ministry
• all the apostles (v7) (including Thomas? Or does this refer to a wider company than the 12?)
• me also (v8) (note the importance of personal experience)

Paul goes on to argue that, if Christ did not rise from the dead, their faith was futile, their sins were not forgiven, they were of all people the most to be pitied, the apostles must be liars and there was no point in all the persecution he had just suffered.

Much has been written on the evidence for the resurrection – see, for example, the relevant chapter in You’d Better Believe It – but the argument can be summarised as follows:

• There can be no serious doubt that Christ died.
• There are numerous witnesses who state that they saw him alive after he had died.
• The reliability of these witnesses is evident in that many of them died rather than deny the truth of their testimony.

But Paul’s purpose in 1 Corinthians 15 is not only to establish the fact of Christ’s resurrection. In verses 20-26 he goes on to show that Christ’s resurrection guarantees ours.

Why we can be sure about our resurrection

1 Corinthians 15:20-28

20. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
21. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
22. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
23. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.
24. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.
25. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
26. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

The firstfruits referred to in vv 20 and 23 is an allusion to Leviticus 23. 

The first sheaf of the harvest was brought as an offering to God.

It was representative of the full harvest that would follow.

This happened on the day following the Sabbath after the Passover,

which was the day Christ rose from the dead! 

Christ is the firstfruits of resurrection.  We are the harvest that will follow.

So in vv21-22 Paul says:

21. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
22. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

What does this mean?

Genesis 1:26-28 God gave humanity dominion over creation.

Genesis 3 indicates that at the Fall that authority was diminished and humanity became subject to death.

Romans 5:12-17 tells us that because of Adam’s sin death spread to all humanity because all sinned, but that those who through God’s abundant grace receive his free gift of righteousness will reign in life through Jesus Christ.

Paul sees Christ as the last Adam (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:45)

Christ succeeded where Adam failed (temptation)

Adam is the representative head of unredeemed humanity (those in Adam)

Christ is the head of a new redeemed humanity (those who are in Christ)

These are the only two groups of people in the world.

Either you are in Christ or you are still ‘in Adam’.

But when you receive Christ as your Lord and Saviour

you are no longer in Adam. You are in Christ.

You have become part of the new redeemed humanity.

Christ’s resurrection is the guarantee of yours!

Paul develops this further in 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 which we’ll look at in a moment. But what does he say next in vv27-28?

27. For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him.
28. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.

All things have been put under Christ’s feet 27 (cf. Ephesians 1:19-22)

Christ is reigning and must continue to reign 25

He must continue to reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet 25

He will destroy every rule, authority and power 24

The last enemy to be destroyed is death 26

Then the end will come 24

Christ will deliver up the Kingdom to the Father, to whom the Son will be subject, that God might be all in all 24+28

So our physical bodies are subject to death because we have inherited them from Adam.

Death has been conquered by Christ but not yet destroyed.

But if we are in Christ, when Jesus returns we will be given a new spiritual body just like Jesus’ resurrection body.

Paul goes on to explain this in vv35-50.

What our new bodies will be like (1 Corinthians 15:35-50)

They will be Necessary

        50. I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

        53. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

Note the words cannot and must. Our present bodies will be totally unsuitable for life in the coming kingdom of God.

They will be Different

35. But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.

And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.

They will be Spiritual

44. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
45. Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

The natural body we inherited from Adam is as different from the spiritual body which will be our inheritance in Christ as Christ is different from Adam himself.  Adam is of the earth, earthly.  Christ is the Lord from heaven (vv 45-50). The natural earthly body from Adam is mortal and perishable. It is ‘sown’ (when we are buried) in weakness and dishonour. The spiritual heavenly body we receive from Christ will be immortal and imperishable and will be raised in glory and power (vv42-43). It will be incapable of sickness and death.

They will be like Jesus’ resurrection body

46. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.
47. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.
48. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

You might like to read again the accounts in the Gospels of Jesus’ resurrection and consider the implications of this.

The certainty of final victory over death (50-58)

The closing verses of the chapter form one of the most powerful passages to be found in the Bible.  When the trumpet sounds at Christ’s coming, Christians still alive will be changed in a split second.  Their corruptible, mortal bodies will become incorruptible and immortal.  The dead, too, will be raised with incorruptible bodies.  So will be manifested the final victory over death.

“The long chain of decay and death inaugurated by the first Adam will finally be irrevocably broken by the last Adam” (Fee p 803).

Final victory is ours, over law and sin and death – through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Our labour is not in vain.  Christ is risen.  Because he lives we shall live also.  The knowledge of these certainties should inspire us to practical Christian discipleship.

50. I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
51. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52. in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
53. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
54. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55. “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
56. The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
57. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labour is not in vain.

Great Bible Truths Podcast Episode 126

The Promises of God Talk 7

The Promise of Sonship

In Talk 3 we saw that one aspect of the salvation that God has promised is the fact that all those who have put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ are the children of God. As Paul says in Romans 9, it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring (v8). As believers in the Lord Jesus then we are the children of the promise. We are the children of God.

Now there are two ways in which it is possible to become someone’s child. By birth OR by adoption. Clearly, from the natural perspective, it can’t be both. You’re either born as someone’s child or your adopted as their child. But when it comes to the relationship we have with God when we accept Christ as our Saviour, the New Testament teaches that we are both born AND adopted as his children!

There’s no real contradiction here. They’re simply two different metaphors that enrich our understanding of our relationship with God. Actually in New Testament times adoption was not common in the Jewish world. A person’s standing was based on his birth. Whereas in the Roman world, adoption was a common practice. So in the New Testament these two different metaphors are used so that everyone, whatever their cultural background, might understand that as Christians we really are God’s children.

We’re born again

When we receive Jesus as our Saviour, we are not only saved from our sins and their consequences, but we actually become a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) and this comes about by our being born again. In John 3 Jesus made it abundantly plain that if we are to enter heaven, we must be born again.

John 3:1-7 ESV

1. Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
2. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”
3. Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4. Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
5. Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

Nicodemus was not only a deeply religious man, but he would have been well educated by the standards of his day and a man of considerable social and political position. He even acknowledged that Jesus was a teacher who had come from God. He recognised that the miracles that Jesus was performing were undoubtedly an indication that God was with him (v.2). Yet it was to this man that Jesus said, You must be born again (v.7). In fact, if anyone is to see the kingdom of God, they must be born again (v.3).

Jesus is here teaching very clearly that our education, our social or political position, even our religion, will not save us. Whatever we do, we are so far short of God’s standards and glory that our only hope is to become an entirely new person altogether! We must be born again! But how? John 1:12-13 gives us the answer.

John 1:12-13

12. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
13. who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Notice first that it starts with God. We are children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God (John 1:13 NIV). He chose to give us birth through the word of truth (James 1:18). It is the will of God that men and women be born again.

The new birth is not of natural descent – it cannot be inherited from our parents.

It is not of human decision – it is in no way a natural event.

It is not by a husband’s will – it cannot be humanly imparted.

God and God alone can regenerate. This fact is emphasised by the frequently recurring phrase born of God (John 1:13, 1 John 3:9, 4:7, 5:1, 4, 18), and the expressions born of the Spirit (John 3:5) and rebirth by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5) show us which person of the Godhead is the agent of the new birth. We are born again by the agency of the Holy Spirit.

But what is the instrument the Spirit uses? James 1:18 tells us that he gave us rebirth through the word of truth, and 1 Peter 1:23 assures us that we are born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. The preaching of the word of God under the anointing of the Holy Spirit creates by God’s grace an opportunity for the sinner to believe in Jesus and receive him as their Saviour (John 3:1-16, John 1:12-13, and 1 John 5:1). If he does so, he is instantaneously regenerated by the Holy Spirit. He is born again.

So the first great result of our being born again is that we immediately become children of God (John 1:12-13). And if we really are the children of God then we should live like it. And that means living in victory:

Everyone who is born of God is victorious over the world (1 John 5:4).

The world around us will claim our attention and our loyalty. Sin will always be present to tempt us. But we have been born again. We are members of the heavenly family. We are dead to sin and alive to God (Romans 6:11) and consequently we do not habitually practise sin because God’s nature is in us because we are born of God:

No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God

(1 John 3:9).

This verse does not mean that if we sin at all we cannot possibly be born again. It refers to habitual attitudes, not to occasional actions. John was writing his letter to combat the Gnostic heresy that taught that knowledge was superior to righteousness and that right living was not important! Christians do sin, but, thank God, 1 John 1:9 tells us that

if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins, and purify us from all unrighteousness.

However, God has made provision for us to live in victory. He has implanted within us his own divine nature. We have been born again. We are his children. Our old sinful nature was crucified with Christ (Romans 6:6) and we need no longer listen to its desires. We are new creatures in Christ. Old things have passed away. All things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17). That is why we not only have victory over the world and over sin; we also have victory over the devil:

We know that anyone born of God does not deliberately and knowingly practise committing sin, but the One who was begotten of God carefully watches over and protects him – Christ’s divine presence within him preserves against the evil – and the wicked one does not lay hold, get a grip on him or touch him (1 John 5:18, Amplified Bible).

There is absolutely no need to live in defeat! We are born again. We are born of GOD! Let us live as his children. We should live in victory!

We’re adopted

As we have seen, adoption is another metaphor used in the Bible to explain how Christians are brought into the family of God. To adopt someone is to make that person a legal son or daughter. But in the Roman world adoption meant something rather different from adoption as we know it today. It was older boys or men who were adopted. If a man had no sons or felt that his sons were incapable or unworthy of managing his wealth, he would adopt someone who would make a worthy son.

The adopted son would have all his debts cancelled and would receive a new name. He would be entitled to all the rights and benefits of a son. In fact, although a father could disown his natural-born son, an adoption was irreversible. Similarly, when we receive Christ as our Saviour, our debts are cancelled, we are given a new name, and we are given all the rights that heirs of God possess!

Galatians 4:4-7

4. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,
5. to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
6. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
7. So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

There’s a wonderful mixing of metaphors here. In verse 5 Paul talks about redemption and adoption. No one metaphor is sufficient to explain the wonder of the salvation that Jesus has accomplished for us. In redemption the picture is of a slave being set free because the price has been paid for his redemption. Paul says that before Jesus came we were slaves to the law, but now we have been set free and have been adopted as God’s sons and daughters.  And that makes us heirs!

He says something similar in Romans 8.

Romans 8:15-17

15. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
16. The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
17. and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ..

We’ll be talking about what it means to be an heir later in this series, so for now let’s summarise what we’ve seen today. The New Testament uses two different metaphors to show us how as Christians we have become children of God. We have been born into God’s family and we have been adopted into God’s family. Whichever metaphor we think about, the truths about our relationship with God as our Father remain the same. It is God who has taken the initiative in making it possible for us to be his children. All we have to do is believe and receive him. And when we do, our debts are cancelled, we are given a new name, and we are given all the rights that heirs of God possess! Because of these amazing privileges, as children of God we should live accordingly. And his nature within us enables us to do so – to live in victory over sin, over the world, and over the devil.

Great Bible Truths Podcast Episode 125

The Promises of God Talk 6

The Promise of Righteousness

In Talk 3 we saw six aspects of our salvation that in the NT are related to the word promise.

• We are made righteous by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ
• We are God’s children
• We will rise from the dead
• We have eternal life
• We have a glorious inheritance awaiting us
• We have a foretaste of our inheritance in the gift of the Holy Spirit.

In this talk we’re going to look at the first of these in a little more detail – the promise of righteousness.

In Galatians 3:21-22 we read:

21. Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law.
22. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

These verses directly connect the promises of God with the righteousness we receive by faith in Jesus. Paul teaches very clearly that the law of the Old Testament could not give life because no one was able to keep it. So the righteousness we need to enter heaven could not come through the law. But in God’s mercy he counts us as righteous through faith in Jesus. This is also known as justification.

A. The meaning and scope of justification

This English word comes from two Latin words:

Justus which means righteous

Facio which means I make.

So to be justified simply means to be made righteous. But to give a more theological definition:

‘The term refers to that act by which, on the basis of the infinitely righteous and satisfactory work of Christ on the cross, God declares condemned sinners to be free from all the guilt of sin and from its eternal consequences and declares them to be fully righteous in his sight’ (Daniel B. Pecota).

This does not mean that we’re not really righteous but God sees us as if we are. In Christ we really are righteous!

And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30).

The moment we believe the gospel we are included in Christ. Ephesians 1:13 tells us:

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed…(NIV)

And because we are in Christ, Paul tells us that God credits his righteousness to our account. He counts us as righteous. The Greek verb is logizomai. Paul uses it repeatedly in Romans 4:1-12.

1. 1.What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh?
2. For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
3. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”
4. Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.
5. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,
6. just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
7. “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;
8. blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
9. Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness.
10. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised.
11. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well,
12. and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

In this passage Paul is clearly teaching that we cannot be righteous in God‘s sight by our good works but only by faith. He uses Abraham and David as examples from the Old Testament to illustrate his point. In verse 3 he quotes Genesis 15:6 which says that Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.

And this was not just true for Abraham. In verse 5 Paul applies this teaching to anyone who believes:

And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.

In verses 6-8 he backs this up by referring to what David said in Psalm 32:2.

6. just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
7. “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;
8. blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”

And this promised blessing is not confined to the Jewish people. It’s for everyone who believes. Paul makes this clear in verses 9-12 where he points out that God counted Abraham as righteous before he obeyed God’s command about circumcision. From this we learn two things:

1. He was not counted righteous because of his obedience re circumcision because he was counted righteous before he was circumcised.
2. God’s purpose was to make Abraham the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well (v11).

He develops this point throughout the remainder of the chapter, concluding with:

20. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,
21. fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.
22. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.”
23. But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone,
24. but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord,
25. who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”

B. Benefits of justification

Peace with God

Romans 5:1

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Preservation from God’s wrath

Romans 5:9

Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

Present and future freedom from condemnation

Romans 8:1

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:33-34

Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised— who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”

Assurance of final glorification

Romans 8:30

And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

A wonderful inheritance

Titus 3:5-7

5. he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
6. whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour,
7. so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

C. How does justification take place?

1. It’s not because of any good works on our part

Galatians 2:21

I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

Galatians 3:10-11

10. For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”
11. Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Galatians 5:2-4

2. Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you.
3. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.
4. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.

2. It’s because of the grace of God in sending Christ to die for us

Romans 3:23-25

23. for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24. and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus
25. whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith…

3. We receive it by faith

Ephesians 2:8-9

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Acts 13:39,

…and by him (Jesus) everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.

Romans 3:28

…one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

Romans 4:3, 5

3. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.

5. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness

Romans 5:1

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Galatians 2:16

…we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Galatians 3:8

And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”

So justification – being counted righteous – is a gift from God and is received by faith. It’s not because of faith but through faith (dia pisteos not dia pistin). You can’t earn it by faith. You receive it as a free gift from God.

If you’re listening to this podcast and you’re not yet sure that you’re in right standing with God, if you’ve never received his forgiveness for your sins, I urge you now, reach out and receive it. Admit that you’re a sinner. Believe that Jesus died for you. Accept the salvation that is so freely offered to you in Christ.

4. The message of reconciliation is committed to us

And finally, a word to Christians. The message of reconciliation is committed to us.

2 Corinthians 5:19

…in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

Great Bible Truths Podcast Episode 124

The Promises of God Talk 5

Principles for interpreting God’s promises

In Part One of this series of talks, which we entitled Identifying God’s promises, we saw that:

• God’s promises are fulfilled in Christ
• God’s promises are fulfilled in the gospel
• God’s promises are fulfilled in our salvation

We also identified six aspects of our salvation that the New Testament describes as promises:

• We are made righteous by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ
• We are God’s children
• We will rise from the dead
• We have eternal life
• We have a glorious inheritance awaiting us
• We have a foretaste of our inheritance in the gift of the Holy Spirit.

We also saw that not every verse in the Bible is a promise and that it’s important to distinguish between promises, statements and commands. We discussed what we can learn from promises God made to others even if they’re not made directly to us. We concluded by considering how we can identify promises that are not actually described as promises in the New Testament (i.e. verses that do not contain the word ‘promise’).

Now in Part Two, which I have entitled Understanding God’s promises, we will be looking in greater detail at the promises we identified in Part One so that we can understand them better, along with other aspects of our salvation that we might well regard as promises (e.g. healing). But first, in this talk, I would like us to consider why it’s important to understand them correctly before explaining how to do so.

Why it’s important to understand God’s promises correctly

Now at first sight the answer to this question seems to be obvious. If God says anything it must clearly be important that we understand what he is saying. But sadly we know from experience that many Christians do misunderstand some of God’s promises and this can lead to:

• False hope
• Unwise behaviour
• Misguided practice.

False hope

Clearly if we misunderstand what God is saying and expect God to do something for us because we believe that he has promised it, this likely to lead to frustration and disappointment.  A common example of this is when people misunderstand God’s promises with regard to answers to prayer.

For example, it’s all too easy to read verses like John 15:7 where Jesus says, Ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you, without paying attention to the condition attached to it: If you abide in me, and my words abide in you…

In our last talk we saw the importance of examining the context in which a verse (or part of a verse) is set, and later in this talk we’ll be considering why we need to compare scripture with scripture. With regard to the verse we’ve just used as an illustration, it’s failure to do both these things that leads to a misunderstanding of what Jesus meant and an unrealistic expectation of how God will answer our prayers.

Unwise behaviour

Another result of misunderstanding God’s promises is unwise behaviour.  For example, if we don’t understand God’s promises of healing correctly, we might decide to refuse medical treatment. This is particularly likely if we’ve been persuaded that Jesus died for our sicknesses in exactly the same way that he died for our sins. The only logical outcome of this doctrine is that the use of medical means is at best unnecessary and at worst a lack of faith. I will be devoting a whole talk to healing later in the series. For the present, I am just using it as a clear example of unwise behaviour resulting from a misunderstanding of God’s promises. Meanwhile please see my PhD thesis or my book Just a Taste of Heaven for a rejection of this doctrine.

Misguided practice

Closely connected with unwise behaviour is misguided practice. Continuing with the theme of healing by way of illustration, one example of misguided practice would be the insistence by some that when ministering to the sick we should always command healing rather than pray for it.

Now there are undoubtedly occasions when it’s right to command healing, as Peter did in Acts 3, but we should only do so when clearly led by the Holy Spirit. Even Jesus did nothing except what God first showed him (John 5:19) and commanding a healing without the leading of the Spirit will not glorify God and dishonour the name of Jesus.

And telling people that they are healed when clearly they are not can lead to disastrous consequences, as in the case of Wesley Parker whose parents sadly let their son die by withholding the medication he needed in the misguided belief that he was healed.

So misunderstanding God’s promises can lead to false hope, unwise behaviour, and misguided practice, all of which can have serious consequences.  But there is, of course, absolutely no need to misunderstand them if we will only follow a few basic guidelines.

How to understand God’s promises correctly

In this section I’m going to suggest five keys to understanding God’s promises correctly:

• Examining the context
• Interpreting OT promises in the light of the NT
• Distinguishing between the literal and the figurative
• Comparing scripture with scripture
• Asking for the help of the Holy Spirit

Examining the context

This is so important that I’m going to repeat what I said in our last talk. Examining the context means looking at the surrounding verses to see if they shed light on what the verse means. It may sometimes be necessary to look at the book as a whole, then the surrounding chapters before considering the verses in the immediate context. This isn’t always necessary, but if we do take the trouble to do this, we’re more likely to arrive at a correct understanding of what the verse is saying.

Then, having looked at the wider context, as we come to consider the immediate context, it may be helpful to ask questions like:

Who said it? To whom? When and where was it said? And why?

Other helpful questions to ask would be:

Does this passage apply to everyone?

Does this passage apply to all Christians?

Interpreting OT promises in the light of the NT

As we mentioned in earlier talks, Hebrews 1:1-2 shows us that, although God formerly spoke through the OT prophets, his final revelation to us is in his Son. Indeed all the promises he made through the prophets find their fulfilment in Christ. And it’s in the New Testament that we find clearly explained the meaning of OT promises about him.

For example, in Isaiah 53:4 we read:

Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering… (NIV).

This has often been used to support the doctrine I was talking about earlier – that on the cross Jesus carried our sicknesses as well as our sins. It’s an attractive idea that at first sight might easily appear to be correct. But was Isaiah really saying that Jesus would bear our suffering on the cross? The question is settled when we look at the New Testament where the verse is quoted only once. Matthew 8:16-17 says:

16. When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all who were ill.
17. This was to fulfil what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: ‘He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.’ (NIV).

Here the NT makes it clear that this part of Isaiah 53 was fulfilled by Jesus healing the sick early in his ministry years before he was crucified. Nowhere does it say that Jesus carried our sicknesses on the cross. But that leads us to the next important key to understanding God’s promises correctly – distinguishing between the literal and the figurative.

Distinguishing between the literal and the figurative

Still continuing with the theme of healing as an illustration of how to understand God’s promises correctly, we need to discern whether a word is being used literally or metaphorically. A classic example of this is where Peter says:

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed (1 Peter 2:24).

The last part of this verse is often used to support the view that Jesus carried our sicknesses on the cross. But the context makes it clear that Peter is using the word ‘heal’ metaphorically.  The first part of the verse is talking about Jesus bearing our SINS on the cross and the next verse goes on to say:

For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Note the little word ‘for’. It connects v25 to v24. By his wounds you have been healed FOR you were like straying sheep but now you have returned to the Shepherd… This clearly connects the word ‘healed’ to the conversion of his readers. They were ‘healed’ from the wounds of sin when they returned to the Shepherd.

Comparing scripture with scripture

We have already said quite a lot about the importance of reading Bible verses in their context. We talked about the immediate context and then the wider context of the book. But there is an even wider context to consider – the Bible as a whole.

If we believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God then it follows that there will be a consistent message throughout. It’s important, therefore, to compare the scripture we are looking at with other scriptures in order to see whether the way we may want to interpret the verse is in line with the overall teaching of the Bible. If it does not, then it follows that we are possibly misunderstanding exactly what the promise means.

For example, in Ephesians 5:18 Paul tells us to be filled with the Spirit. His readers clearly understood what he meant by this, so in the immediate context Paul didn’t need to explain what he meant. But in the book of Acts we are given very clear descriptions of people being filled with the Spirit, and so by comparing scripture with scripture we gain a clearer insight into what it means. In fact the narrative passages of the NT (the Gospels and Acts) will often help us understand the terminology that’s used in the epistles.

So comparing scripture with scripture is an important way of making sure we’re correctly understanding what the Bible is saying. Now obviously, the better understanding you have of the overall teaching of the Bible, the easier it will be for you to do this. So the more you read the Bible the greater your understanding will become, but, if you feel that you might need some help in this area, may I recommend my book, You’d Better Believe It, which I wrote to help people get to know the Bible better. It’s available from my website www.davidpetts.org.  There are 20 easy to read chapters with questions at the end of each chapter which will help you check that you’ve understood what I’ve written.

Asking for the help of the Holy Spirit

And last, but by no means least, if we want to understand the Bible correctly, it’s a good idea to ask the Author what it means. In John 16:13 Jesus promised his disciples that the Holy Spirit would guide them into all the truth. For some of them that would include the help of the Spirit as later ther wrote the books of the New Testament. And if they needed the Spirit’s help to write it, how much more do we need his help as we read it?

So, to summarise, our five keys to understanding the Bible correctly are:

• Examine the context
• Interpret OT promises in the light of the NT
• Distinguish between the literal and the figurative
• Compare scripture with scripture
• Ask for the help of the Holy Spirit

Great Bible Truths Podcast Episode 123

The Promises of God Talk 4

Identifying further promises

In our first three talks we have concentrated mainly on Bible verses that contain the word promise. We saw that all God’s promises centre on Christ and the salvation that he offers us. They are primarily fulfilled already by the coming of Christ, but they will find their ultimate completion at his second coming. Some of God’s promises we see fulfilled already, but others we must patiently wait for knowing that their fulfilment is guaranteed in Christ.

In this talk we’ll be looking at verses in the New Testament where the word promise is not directly mentioned. We’ll be considering:

• How to identify them
• How to decide if they are for us
• What we can learn from those that are not for us

How to identify them

It’s important to know how to identify which Bible passages contain promises and which do not because, as we saw in our first talk, not every verse in the Bible contains a promise. Some are commands, some are questions, some are expressions of praise, and some are simply statements of fact. So how do we identify God’s promises? Quite simply, by remembering the definition.

Based on how the New Testament uses the Greek word epaggelia (promise), we said in our first talk that:

when God makes a promise it is his assurance of something good he is going to do for someone.

This may be taken to include not only things God will do for us but also things he has done that will be of benefit to us in the future. For example, Christ died for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3) is a statement about the past but which will, if only we will believe it, radically affect our future! Strictly speaking it’s not a promise, but we may justifiably see it as one because, as we know from elsewhere in scripture, implicit within it is the promise of eternal life for all who will believe. So our understanding of what Bible passages include one of God’s promises needs to be broadened to take this onto account.

This means that, generally speaking, if we find a passage that fits in with this definition, even if it does not contain the word promise, we may trust it as a promise from God. However, there are some exceptions to this, where the scripture makes clear that the promise is made by someone other than God. For example, when Satan promised to give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if Jesus would fall down and worship him (Matthew 4:8-9), or when Peter promised Jesus that he would not deny him but later went on to deny him three times (Matthew 26:34-35, 74-75).

I’m not suggesting that anyone would seriously mistake these as promises from God, but they illustrate very clearly that some promises in the Bible were of human or even satanic origin. However, apart from cases like these where it is obvious that the promise was not of divine origin, we are right to assume that the promises of scripture are the promises of God himself, because all scripture is given by the inspiration of God. As Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3:16-17:

16. All Scripture is breathed out (inspired) by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
17. that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

So, to identify God’s promises all we need to do is check that the verse or passage we are looking at:

• fits the definition of the word promise
• does not make it clear that the promise it contains is not being made by someone other than God.

Then, having established that it is a promise from God, our next question must be, How do I know the promise is for me?

How to decide if they are for us

I have already suggested in these talks that it’s a mistake to assume that all the promises in the Bible are for us. However, in my experience many Christians believe that they are. This view is largely based on 2 Corinthians 1:20 which says that all the promises of God find their Yes in him (Christ). This is taken to mean that all God’s promises are available to us as Christians.

However, based on what we’ve been saying in earlier talks, it’s much more likely that Paul is saying that Christ is the fulfilment of all the promises God made to Abraham and others back in the Old Testament. This means that the promises are already fulfilled. So if you have Christ there’s a sense in which you don’t really need the promises because they’re already fulfilled in him. Once you’ve received a gift that someone has promised you, you no longer need the promise, because you have the gift!

Nevertheless, as we have seen already, although God’s promises to Abraham are already fulfilled in Christ, the final outworking of God’s promises will not be complete until Jesus comes again. Once he has come, promises will no longer be needed. They will all be finally fulfilled. Meanwhile God has given us precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature… (2 Peter 1:4). These promises are not the promises God made to the patriarchs which have already been fulfilled in Christ, but the promises that relate to our salvation, which we were considering in our last talk.

So, if I’m reading a passage of scripture that contains a promise, how do I decide that the promise applies to me? The answer is quite simple. Examine the context. Examining the context is the golden rule when it comes to interpreting any passage of scripture. Someone once said that a text taken out of context is a pretext. It’s all too easy when we desperately want God to say something to us to take a verse out of context and ‘claim’ it as ours. And while this may give us some temporary comfort or encouragement, in the long run it will only lead to frustration.

So how do we examine the context? Basically this means looking at the surrounding verses to see if they shed light on what the verse means. However, it may sometimes be necessary to look at the book as a whole, then the surrounding chapters before considering the verses in the immediate context. This isn’t always necessary, but if we do take the trouble to do this, we’re more likely to arrive at a correct understanding of what the verse is saying.

Then, having looked at the wider context, as we come to consider the immediate context, it may be helpful to ask questions like:

Who said it? To whom? When and where was it said? And why?

Other helpful questions to ask would be:

Does this passage apply to everyone?

Does this passage apply to all Christians?

Clearly, if we’re trying to answer the question, Does this promise apply to me?, then these questions would be particularly helpful. If the passage applies to everyone (like John 3:16), then clearly it applies to you, even if you’re not yet a Christian. And if it applies to all Christians (but not to those who are not), then, provided you are a Christian, the promise applies to you.  Consider the following example. In 1 Corinthians 1:8-9 we read that Christ will

sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

This was written to the Corinthians almost 2000 years ago. How do we know it’s for us today. Verse 2 gives us the answer. The letter is addressed to:

…the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours.

So we know that the promise contained in verse 9 is for us because it’s a promise made to all Christians. But what about promises that are not for us?

What we can learn from promises that are not for us

In talk 1 we gave an illustration of a promise that’s not for us. We saw that in Genesis 12:1-2 God tells Abraham that he will make him the father of a great nation. This promise was made to a specific person at a specific time and clearly cannot be claimed by a Christian today. But does that mean that there is nothing that we can learn from Abraham’s story? By no means. We learn that God does keep his promises and we can expect him to do so for us today.

Perhaps the best way to understand it is this. It is in the Bible that we learn the true nature and character of God. So whether it’s through the promises he makes, or the commands he gives, or the accounts of the things he did, we are constantly learning about him, his love, his power, his holiness, his justice, his faithfulness and so on. We see these things particularly in the life of Jesus. Hebrews 1:1-2 tells us that

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

Today, says the writer, God speaks to us by his Son, not so much by the promises made about him by the prophets. The Bible is a progressive revelation to all mankind of the nature of God. But now the revelation is complete – in Jesus. So the Bible reveals to us what God is like through his dealings with mankind throughout its history. But in Jesus we see the one who is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature (Hebrews 1:3), and the more we get to know him, the more we get to trust him. Faith is not an abstract quality. It’s trusting a person. Christian maturity involves not so much looking for promises to claim as trusting the person who made them.

This concludes Part One of our series of talks on the promises of God. In Part Two we will be looking in more detail at:

• Biblical principles for interpreting God’s promises
• How to understand the specific promises that relate to our salvation.

Great Bible Truths Podcast Episode 122

The Promises of God Talk 3

God’s promises are fulfilled in the salvation offered to us in Christ

In our last talk we saw that all God’s promises find their Yes in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). He is the fulfilment of all God’s promises. Some we have seen fulfilled already. Others we must patiently wait for, knowing that Christ is the guarantee that God will do what he has promised us because he IS the fulfilment of the promises.

In this talk we shall see six facts about our salvation that are directly connected with the word promise:

• We are made righteous by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ
• We are God’s children
• We will rise from the dead
• We have eternal life
• We have a glorious inheritance awaiting us
• We have a foretaste of our inheritance in the gift of the Holy Spirit.

We are made righteous by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ

In Galatians 3:21-22 we read:

21. Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law.
22. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

These verses directly connect the promises of God with the righteousness we receive by faith in Jesus. Paul teaches very clearly that the law of the Old Testament could not give life because no one was able to keep it. So the righteousness we need to enter heaven could not come through the law. But in God’s mercy he counts us as righteous through faith in Jesus. This is known as justification. As Paul says in Romans 5:1, we have been justified by faith and as a result we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

We are God’s children

In Romans 9 Paul warns his fellow-Jews that being physically descended from Abraham does not necessarily mean that you are one of God’s chosen people.

6. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel,
7. and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring

It is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring (v8). As believers in the Lord Jesus then we are the children of the promise. We are the children of God.

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is (1 John 3:2).

Notice that the promise has already been fulfilled. We ARE God’s children now. But there’s another promise in this verse that has yet to be fulfilled – we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is!

We will rise from the dead

The next wonderful aspect of our salvation that is connected with the word promise is the fact that when Jesus comes again we will rise from the dead. We have already seen that the resurrection of Jesus was a key part of the fulfilment of God’s promises.

And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus (Acts 13:32).

But, as Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 15, Christ’s resurrection guarantees ours:

20. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
21. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
22. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
23. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.

In the Old Testament the first sheaf of the harvest was offered to God (Leviticus 23). This was known as the firstfruits and it was offered on the day after the sabbath following the Passover. Now Jesus was crucified during the Passover – Paul describes him as Christ our Passover who was sacrificed for us (1 Corinthians 5:7) – and the day after the sabbath is Easter Sunday! Jesus rose from the dead on the day that the firstfruits were offered to God.

But the first sheaf of the harvest was not the only sheaf. There were many more to follow. Just as the first sheaf was the sign of the harvest that was to follow, Paul sees Christ’s resurrection as just the beginning of a much greater  resurrection. All in Christ will be made alive. Because he lives, we shall live too. Whether we are dead or alive when Jesus returns, our bodies will be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed (1 Corinthians 15:52). This is all part of what it means to have eternal life.

We have eternal life

In 1 John 2:25 we are told that eternal life is the promise that he made to us.

and James 1:12 says:

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

Now the fact that these verses use the word promise might well suggest that eternal life is something we will receive in the future. We have already said that the resurrection of our bodies when Jesus comes again is part of what it means to have eternal life. Indeed, the majority of references to eternal life in the New Testament speak of it as something we will receive. But other verses seem to indicate that we already have it.

1 John 5:11-13, 20

11. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
12. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
13. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.

20. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

John 17:3

And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

These last two verses show that to know Jesus is to have eternal life. So we already have eternal life because we know Jesus. But how much better will we know him in the future! As Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:12,

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

So eternal life is both present already and yet in the future. Eternity transcends time! This is yet another aspect of the already/not yet of our salvation.

We have a glorious inheritance awaiting us

Another aspect of the salvation which is promised to us as Christians is the fact that there is a glorious inheritance waiting for us. We will not take time to develop this in this talk, but later in the series we will dedicate a whole talk to this important subject. For the time being, please note the following verses.

Galatians 3:29

And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

Hebrews 9:15

Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

James 2:5

Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?

We have a foretaste of our inheritance in the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The gift of the Holy Spirit is frequently referred to as a promise (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4-5; 2:33, 39, Galatians 3:14 etc.) We will return to this theme in more detail in later talks, but here we’ll consider just two passages.

2 Corinthians 1:20-22

20. For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.
21. And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us,
22. and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

Ephesians 1:13-14

13. In him you also, when (or after) you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
14. who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

In both these passages the Holy Spirit is seen as both a seal and a guarantee of the inheritance which God has promised to us. As we shall see  later, the Greek words which are used in these passages indicate that through our experience of the Holy Spirit we already have a foretaste of our eternal inheritance. Through the Spirit we have already tasted of the powers of the age to come (Hebrews 6:4-5).

Conclusion

God’s promises are primarily fulfilled already by the coming of Christ, but they will find their ultimate completion at his second coming. Some of God’s promises we see fulfilled already but others we must patiently wait for knowing that their fulfilment is guaranteed in Christ.

Meanwhile God has made available to us through the gift of the Holy Spirit a wonderful foretaste of the powers of the age to come. We are in the tension between what is already and what is not yet, but in that interim we have the Holy Spirit.

Finally, in this talk we have looked only at verses which contain the word promise, and have seen six wonderful aspects of our salvation. But clearly there are promises in the Bible which do not mention the word promise itself.

In our next talk we will seek to show how we can identify God’s promises even where the word promise is not mentioned.

Great Bible Truths Podcast Episode 121

The Promises of God Talk 2

Christ fulfils all the promises

In our last talk we saw that, although God has made many wonderful promises in the Bible, not every verse is a promise and not all the promises are for us, because some of them were made to specific people for a specific purpose. We used God’s promise to Abraham as an example. What God promised to him he is not necessarily promising to us. So we need to be very careful about ‘claiming’ verses taken out of context.

We looked at 2 Peter 1:1-8 and saw that Peter describes God’s promises as precious and very great and that it is those who have come to faith in Jesus as their God and Saviour that have access to them. The purpose of God’s promises is that we might know him, become increasingly more like him, and ultimately share in his glory.

We suggested that the promises Peter was referring to were not so much a selection of Bible verses as specific themes such as God’s promise of the Holy Spirit and the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, both of which Peter describes as promises elsewhere. It is through the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives that we can become more like Jesus, and the knowledge that he has promised to come again is a wonderful incentive to do so.

But the gift of the Holy Spirit and the glorious prospect of Christ’s second coming are not the only promises.  There are many others, but as we examine other New Testament passages we discover that God’s promises all centre on:

• the Lord Jesus Christ (the subject for this talk)
• the salvation offered to us in Christ (the subject for our next talk)

The Lord Jesus Christ

The word promise first occurs with regard to Christ back in the Old Testament with the great promises that God made to Abraham. The key passages are Genesis 12:1-3; 15:1-6; 17:1-8 and 22:15-18:

Genesis 12:1-3

1. Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
2. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
3. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Genesis 15:1-6

1. After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”
2. But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
3. And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.”
4. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.”
5. And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
6. And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

Genesis 17:1-8

1. When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless,
2. that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.”
3. Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him,
4. “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.
5. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
6. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.
7. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.
8. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”

Genesis 22:15-18

15. And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven
16. and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,
17. I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies,
18. and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”

In these passages God promises to bless Abraham and to make him a blessing. Abraham will become the father of a multitude of nations and his offspring will be as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. God’s purpose in this is that all families and nations on earth will be blessed through Abraham’s offspring.

As we look at these promises in the light of the New Testament, we find that the ‘offspring’ through whom the the nations will be blessed is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. This is made clear in Galatians 3:16 where Paul says:

Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.

The point Paul is making here is that in the verse he is quoting the word offspring is in the singular. God’s promise to Abraham is fulfilled in and through one particular descendant, Christ. Romans 15:8 tells us that Christ came to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs and 2 Corinthians 1:20 says that all the promises of God find their Yes in him.

This means that all God’s promises find their fulfilment in Christ. By the fact that he has come to earth God has owned his promises; for they are all fulfilled in him. It is in Christ that we who were strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world… have been brought near by the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:12-13).

Before Jesus came we were without hope and without God. But, because Jesus died for us and we have accepted him as our saviour, we have entered  into relationship with him. In receiving Jesus we received the promise of salvation. Jesus is the fulfilment of the promise of salvation.

This is further confirmed in Acts 13:32 where Paul says:

And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus.

This verse confirms that God’s promises are fulfilled in Christ and by his resurrection in particular. But it also identifies the gospel as their fulfilment too. (Interestingly, in Greek the words for gospel – euaggelion and promise – epaggelia are very similar). There is no contradiction here. Jesus himself is the good news. The message of Christ is the message of the gospel which Paul summarises in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4:

1. Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand,
2. and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you— unless you believed in vain.
3. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
4. that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.

So the promises are fulfilled in the gospel, which is the good news of Christ’s death and resurrection. Yet the final outworking of God’s promises will not be complete until Jesus comes again. This is sometimes referred to as the eschatological tension of the ‘already/not yet’ of our salvation.

For example, Hebrews tells us that the new covenant which is brought about by the death of Christ (9:15) is established on ‘better promises’ (8:6). The new covenant is already in force, but it gives to those who are called the promised eternal inheritance (9:15) which the patient believer will receive at the second coming (10:35-37). So it’s already but not yet.

The same writer tells us that Abraham lived in the land promised to him yet he lived as a stranger there awaiting the final fulfilment of the city of God which he saw contained in the promise given to him (Hebrews11:8ff). The fathers died in faith, not having received the promises but seeing them from afar they sought a heavenly country (Hebrews 11:13-16). It’s the same with us. We have already entered into the territory where God’s promises are fulfilled, yet

According to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13).

The fulfilment of God’s promises started with the first coming of Christ, but the final consummation of those promises will not be seen until his second coming. And, as we shall see in future talks, this fact is an important key to our understanding of all God’s promises and how we may appropriate them.

So Christ is the fulfilment of all God’s promises. Some we have seen fulfilled already. Others we must patiently wait for knowing that Christ is the cast iron guarantee that God will do what he has promised us because he IS the fulfilment of the promises!

And for this reason New Testament writers also see our salvation as the fulfilment of God’s promises. This will be the subject of our next talk where we will consider six facts about our salvation that are directly connected with the word promise:

• We are made righteous by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ
• We are God’s children
• We will rise from the dead
• We have eternal life
• We have a glorious inheritance awaiting us
• We have a foretaste of our inheritance in the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Great Bible Truths Podcast Episode 120

The Promises of God Talk 1

The Bible is not a promise box

In this series we’ll be looking at what the New Testament teaches about God’s wonderful promises and learning how to identify, understand, and receive them. But first let me tell you about my grandmother’s promise box.

Ellen Petts died at the age of 86 when I was just 16. She had lived with us for the last six years of her life and I had had plenty of opportunity to witness the evidence of her strong Christian faith – the time she spent in prayer and reading her Bible, her determination to get to church every Sunday, her perseverance despite the loss of her husband at a relatively young age and the physical difficulties that came with advancing years.

Another evidence of her faith was her promise box. This contained pieces of paper, each rolled into a scroll with a verse of the Bible written on it. The idea was that you could pull out a scroll at random each day to see what the Lord wanted to say to you that day.

I’m not sure how seriously my grandmother took this, or whether she made it a regular practice, but the problems with promise boxes should be obvious. The verses are never read in their context and the things that God might want to say to us are limited to the number of scrolls in the box. And, although God undoubtedly does make promises to his people, that’s surely not all that he has to say to us? Doesn’t he sometimes give us commands?

I’m glad to say that I’ve seen little evidence of promise boxes in Christian circles today, but I am concerned that some people treat the Bible itself rather like a promise box. They take verses at random and claim them without regard to the context in the belief that God is now honour bound to do for them whatever they understand the verse to be saying!

I will be dealing with this in more detail later in the series, but here’s an example of what I mean. In Genesis 12:1-2 God tells Abraham that he will make him the father of great nation.

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing…

I will make of you a great nation is certainly one of God’s promises found in the Bible, but it was made to a specific person at a specific time and clearly cannot be claimed by a Christian today, although we can certainly learn from Abraham’s story that God does keep his promises and we can expect him to do so for us today.

But can’t some Bible verses be understood as promises for today? Of course they can. Indeed, there is a sound biblical basis for this. For example, in Ephesians 6:1-3  Paul quotes Exodus 20:12 and says:

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honour your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”

But this does not mean that every verse in the Bible is a promise. Some are commands, some are questions, some are expressions of praise, and some are simply statements of fact. Nor does it mean that all the verses that are promises are promises for you and me, as we just saw in the case of Abraham.

So it’s going to be important that we examine very carefully what the New Testament actually teaches about God’s promises and we’ll begin by looking at 2 Peter 1:1-4, where Peter describes God’s promises as precious and very great. As we continue in the series we’ll be learning how to identify, understand, and receive these wonderful promises of God.

2 Peter 1:1-4 (ESV)

1. Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ:
2. May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
3. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,
4. by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

The word Peter uses is epaggelma which is a variant of epaggelia (pronounced epangelma or epangelia) which has been defined as:

• a divine assurance of good
• a self committal by assurance of conferring some good.

So when God makes a promise it is his assurance of something good he is going to do for us.

Now let’s look in more detail at the passage we have just read. In it we learn who God’s promises are for and what his purpose is in making them.

Who God’s promises are for

Peter says that God’s promises are granted to ‘us’ (v4). His readers have obtained a faith of equal standing with his (v1). They have escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire (v4). This is not through any merit of their own, but by the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ (v1). Notice carefully how Jesus is described here. He is our God and Saviour. Through his sinless life and sacrificial atoning death all those who, and only those who, have come to faith in Jesus as their God and Saviour have access to these precious and very great promises.

God’s purpose in making these promises

But God’s purpose for our lives is much more than escaping from the consequences of sin. He has called us to his own glory and excellence (v3). He wants us to become partakers of his nature (v4). He has already granted us everything we need to live godly lives (v3). He has accomplished this by making it possible for us to know him (vv2-3). And we know him because of his very great and precious promises (v4).

So, God wants us to know him, he wants us to be like him, he wants us to share in his glory. And to make this possible he has granted to us his precious and very great promises.

What specific promises is Peter referring to here?

Now in the immediate context Peter does not tell us what these promises are. But, as we shall see in our next talk, New Testament writers tend to use the word promise to refer to major aspects of our Christian faith like the promise of the Holy Spirit and the promise of Christ’s return. Preaching on the day of Pentecost Peter refers to the gift of the Holy Spirit as the promise which may be received by all who repent and are baptised (Acts 2:38), and in 2 Peter 3:9 and 13 he talks of the promise of Christ’s second coming.

It seems likely that it is these promises that Peter has in mind when he says that God has given us promises in order that we might be like him and ultimately share in his glory. The verses which follow clearly support this view. It only through the gift of God’s Spirit and the fruit that he produces in our lives (cf. Galatians 5:22-23) that we can hope to increase in the qualities Peter talks about in verses 5-8.

5. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,
6. and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness,
7. and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
8. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And it is the promise of the Lord’s return that gives us the incentive!

11. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

So the purpose of God’s promises is that we might know him, become increasingly more like him, and ultimately share in his glory. No wonder Peter calls them precious and very great!

But for his promises to become effective in our lives we will need to:

• Identify them
• Understand them
• Receive them

The talks in this series will help you to do just that.

Great Bible Truths Podcast Episode 119

1 Corinthians Talk 21

Concluding Exhortations (16:13-24)

Welcome to the final talk in our series on 1 Corinthians. Today we are in chapter 16.

We will be concentrating on verses 13 and 14 which contain five short commands which conveniently summarise all that Paul has been teaching in this letter.

But first let’s read the entire passage from v13 to the end of the chapter.

13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.

14 Do everything in love.

15 You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the Lord’s people. I urge you, brothers and sisters,

16 to submit to such people and to everyone who joins in the work and labours at it.

17 I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived, because they have supplied what was lacking from you.

18 For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Such men deserve recognition.

19 The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house.

20 All the brothers and sisters here send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss. 

21 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand.

22 If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed! Come, Lord!

23 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.

24 My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Now, back to vv13-14

13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.

14 Do everything in love.

There are in fact 5 commands in these verses, but for reasons I will explain later, we will deal with them under 4 headings:

1. Be on your guard
2. Stand firm in the faith
3. Act like men, be strong
4. Do everything in love

These instructions summarise everything that Paul has been teaching in this letter

1. Be on your guard (ESV be watchful) v13

This verb is used in three main ways in the NT:

          (1) To be watchful in the light of the Lord’s return

                  (1Thessalonians 5:6, 10, Mark 13:34-37)

          (2) To be watchful with regard to the enemy (1 Peter 5:8)

          (3) To be watchful against men who distort the truth (Acts 20:31)

In the context of 1 Corinthians be watchful could apply to:

Divisions in the church

Tolerating wrongdoing

Sexual immorality

Causing weaker Christians to stumble

Inappropriate behaviour at the Lord’s Supper

Misuse of spiritual gifts

Denying the resurrection

1. Stand firm in the faith v13

The faith relates directly to the Lord Jesus Christ

In ch. 1 He is the power and wisdom of God

2:2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

3:11 He is the foundation of the church

4:4-5 He is the Lord who is coming to judge the world

5:7 He is our Passover lamb who has been sacrificed for us

6:11 He is the One in whose name we have been washed, sanctified and justified

7:17 He is the Lord who assigns to each person their purpose and calling

8:6 He is our one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist

9:1 He is our risen Lord whom Paul had seen on the road to Damascus

10:13 He is the faithful God who enables us to overcome temptation

11:25 He has brought us into a new covenant with God through the shedding of his blood

12:1-4 It is the confession that JESUS IS LORD that marks a person out as a Christian

13 His character is revealed in Paul’s sublime description of love

15 His triumphant resurrection guarantees ours and our final victory over death

16:21 If anyone does not love him, let him be accursed!

1. Act like men (ESV), be strong v13

I am taking these two commands together because in the Greek they are very similar in meaning

Be courageous (NIV) = andrizomai = act like men

Be strong = Krataioo which can have a similar meaning

Used by Luke to refer to JB and Jesus growing strong as children

The Corinthians needed to grow up:

1. a) In their understanding of Christian leadership

Leaders are servants through whom they had believed

3:1-3 mere infants re Paul/Apollos etc

Leaders have authority which needs to be recognised

15 You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the Lord’s people. I urge you, brothers and sisters,

16 to submit to such people and to everyone who joins in the work and labours (works till weary) at it. (Cf. 1 Tim.5:17)

18 For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Such men deserve recognition.

Part of Christian maturity is knowing our place in the body of Christ (cf. Ch.12). When we come to recognise the authority of those in leadership, it shows that we are becoming mature.

If we are called to be leaders we will have reached maturity when we hold in correct tension the paradoxical truths that we are both rulers and servants. The NT uses both these terms but rarely, if ever, uses the term ‘leader’.

1. b) In their use of spiritual gifts

14:20 in your understanding be adults

Resisting satanic counterfeits

Recognising that every part of the body is needed Ch. 12

Remembering to put other people first 14

Realising that edification is the great principle

Recognising Paul’s apostolic authority

1. Do everything in love.

This reflects ch.13 and covers everything that he has written in the letter. Love was the answer to all the problems he had raised.

The first requirement is to love the Lord

22 If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed!

Come, Lord!  Μαράνα θά⸃.”

The second requirement is to love one another

14 ESV Let everything you do be done in love

20      Greet one another with a holy kiss

This is one of five such appeals in the NT. Its background in Judaism can be found in the greeting of both family (Genesis 27:26, Luke 15:20) and friends (1 Samuel 20:41).  It was also the evidence of reconciliation (Genesis 33:4).

If the Corinthians truly loved their fellow Christians:

There would be no divisions among them

They would forego their rights for the sake of weaker Christians

They would put others first at the Lord’s Supper

They would seek for spiritual gifts that would build others up

They would joyfully join in the collection for the poor

Finally, note how Paul sets the example. He tells them that he loves them.

24 My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Great Bible Truths Podcast Episode 118

1 Corinthians Talk 20

About the Collection and Apollos’ Coming (1 Corinthians 16:1-12)

Paul has now dealt with the major matters, but two items remain:

– the collection for the poor in Jerusalem

– and their request that Apollos return soon.

These are dealt with in verses 1-12.

The remainder of the chapter is comprised of concluding exhortations and final greetings (13-24).

a) Arrangements for the Collection (1-4)

1 Now about the collection for the Lord’s people: do what I told the Galatian churches to do.

2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.

3 Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem.

4 If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me.

These verses teach us much about principles of giving and the handling of financial matters, but first I want to deal with what Paul means by ‘the first day of every week’ (which is of course Sunday, not Monday as in many modern calendars).

The first day of the week

This verse offers some indication that the Christians used Sunday for worship rather than the Jewish Sabbath (although there is no evidence that the early Christians referred to Sunday as the sabbath).

Fee makes the following observations:

(1)     The fact that Paul mentions Sunday at all (rather than saying ‘once a week’) suggests that there is some significance to this particular day.

(2)     The view that it was only a matter of when people were paid has no known support from history

(3)     The terminology reflects the Gospel accounts of the resurrection of Jesus

(4)     Acts 20:7 strongly implies that Paul waited in Troas until the first day of the week precisely because that is when the Christians gathered for the breaking of bread. (However the Greek construction in this verse need not imply a regular gathering – KJV could be misleading here).

To this I would add that there is no NT requirement for Christians to apply OT regulations re the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday) to what they may or may not do on a Sunday! Paul teaches very clearly in Romans 14 that the observance of special days is a matter of individual Christian conscience.

Now about the collection

1 Now about the collection for the Lord’s people: do what I told the Galatian churches to do.

Now about…

This is the fifth ‘now about’ since 7:1 and suggests that Paul is responding to their letter in response to his previous letter (5:9).

the collection

Elsewhere Paul uses more theological terms:

                    fellowship koinonia (2 Corinthians 8:4, 9:13, Romans 15:26)

                    service diakonia (2 Corinthians 8:4, 9:1, 12, 13, Romans 15:31)

                    grace charis (2 Corinthians 8:4, 6, 7, 19)

                    blessing eulogia (2 Corinthians 9:5)

                    divine service leitourgia (2 Corinthians 9:12)

This was a special collection that Paul was organising to meet the needs of the poor Christians in Jerusalem. So it’s not the equivalent of the modern Sunday morning offering, but many of the same principles apply. As we shall see, giving should be planned, regular, and proportionate to income. Finances must be seen to be handled with integrity.

2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.

in keeping with his income

Note the principle that giving should be proportionate to income (cf. tithing).

so that when I come no collections will have to be made

Paul’s plan would ensure a greater gift than a single collection at the time of his arrival! Do you have a systematic plan for giving to the poor?

3 Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem.

letters of introduction

These were a regular part of business dealings in those days.

Cf. Acts 15:23-29, Romans 16:1-2, 2 Corinthians 8:16-24.

men you approve

Paul decided to send representatives of the congregations to accompany the gifts. They were not chosen by the apostle but appointed by the churches (cf. Acts 6). There were three good reasons for this:

          (1)     They would be carrying a considerable sum, in coin, and there was safety in numbers

          (2)     This method ensured the various churches of the basic integrity of the entire enterprise

          (3)     The personal representation would have been as important as the gifts themselves.

4 If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me.

If it seems advisable …

Paul is uncertain as to whether he will go personally. Cf. note on perhaps v 6. In fact, by the time he wrote 2 Corinthians, he had decided to accompany the gift (2 Corinthians 1:16, cf. Romans 15:25).

b) Travel Plans – Paul’s and Timothy’s (5-11)

Paul

5 After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you – for I will be going through Macedonia.

6 Perhaps I will stay with you for a while, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go.

7 For I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits.

v 5     I will be going through Macedonia

It was several years since he had visited Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea. He planned a tour of inspection.

v 6     Perhaps…

Note the open-ended nature of Paul’s travel plans (cf. if the Lord permits v7).

Cf. Also James 4:13-15.

Paul did not receive prophetic revelation about everything!

He trusted in the over-ruling providence of God.

It is noteworthy that according to 2 Corinthians 1:15-2:4 Paul explains why he did exactly the opposite.

Note the human side in the writing of Scripture.

help me on my journey

A technical term for providing a person with food, money, and travelling companions so as to ensure a safe arrival at their destination.

Bearing in mind what he had said in Chapter 9, this may be seen as something of a ‘peace offering’. He will let them have a share in his ministry after all!

8 But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost,

9 because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.

v 8     Pentecost

This reference may simply reflect Paul’s Jewish heritage, but his readers were predominantly Gentiles.

More likely, the church saw very early a Christian significance to this feast in the light of the events of Acts 2.

What happened at Pentecost must inform our understanding of all that was written afterwards.

v 9     a great door… many who oppose

This fits in very well with the description of events in Acts 19.

Timothy

10 When Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, for he is carrying on the work of the Lord, just as I am.

11 No-one, then, should treat him with contempt. Send him on his way in peace so that he may return to me. I am expecting him along with the brothers.

Timothy worked with Paul in the founding of the Corinthian church for over a year.

In 4:17 Paul had sent Timothy to remind them of his (Paul’s) ways.

This may account for Paul’s insistence that they see that he has ‘nothing to fear’. The NT indicates elsewhere that Timothy may have been of a naturally timid disposition.

c) About the Coming of Apollos (12)

12 Now about our brother Apollos: I strongly urged him to go to you with the brothers. He was quite unwilling to go now, but he will go when he has the opportunity.

Here we have the final ‘now about’.

This suggests that the Corinthians had requested in their letter that Apollos come and minister to them.

Bearing in mind the problems mentioned in chapters 1-4 it is surprising that Paul not only acceded to their request but actually urged Apollos to go.

But Apollos was unwilling, probably because, like Paul, he did not want to be a party to their internal strife.

‘If the church in Corinth were Paul’s, the last person in the world he would want to return would be Apollos… Here is another piece of clear evidence… of the incredible bigness of the Apostle to the Gentiles’ (Fee, p 825).

Conclusion

There is much that we can learn about Paul himself in this chapter:

His concern for the poor in Jerusalem

His ability in organising the collection

His determination that everything should be seen to be done with integrity

His humility in leadership

His commitment to the gospel

His trust in the overruling providence of God

His security in his gifting