Dr. Barclay's Bible Study - The Book of Romans Part 42

Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - MYSTERIES

 MYSTERIES

Mystery is defined in the dictionary as “anything that is kept secret or remains unexplained or unknown.”* Most people are interested, at least to some extent, in a mystery; which explains to a large extent why so many books involving a mystery are sold each year. Some people will even join certain societies or organizations in order to be part of the mystery or mysteries which that body claims to hold. 

Mysteries in the Bible have a bit of a different meaning in that they refer to “any truth that is unknowable except by divine revelation.”* In other words, it refers to a purpose of God which remains unknown until He reveals it to us. And to that effect, the Bible reports 7 mysteries of God for us to consider.

1. In spite of all we can read and study in the Bible there remains, in part, a mystery of the gospel. Paul referred to this in Ephesians 6:18-19: “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints - …that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel.” It is evident that for a more complete understanding, continued prayer with requests for that understanding is required.
   
2. When Jesus was speaking one day, the disciples came and asked Him: “Why do you speak to them [the people] in parables?” (Matthew 13:10) Jesus replied: “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.” (Matthew 13:11) It must have been through their relationship with Christ on an ongoing basis that enabled them to be aware of these mysteries.
   
3. Paul said, in the book of Ephesians, that God revealed to him the mystery by which “you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ” (3:4). And that which “has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel”(3:5-6). That the Jews should accept and understand how the Gentiles, whom they reviled with a passion, could be recipients of the same benefits as they themselves were, was indeed, at that time, a true mystery.
   

4. The mystery of the body at resurrection.

…The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. 

It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory. 

It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. 

It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. 

There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body…

However, the spiritual is not first, 

but the natural, and afterward the spiritual…

As we have borne the image of the man of dust, 

we shall also bear the image of the heavenly man. 

We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.

(1 Corinthians 15:42-46; 49,51)

5. The mystery of evil and our reaction to it. Paul referred to the next coming of Christ and our gathering together to Him this way:

…we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled…

Let no one deceive you by any means

for that Day will not come 

unless the falling away comes first 

and the man of sin is revealed…

who opposes and exalts himself above all 

that is called God or that is worshiped…

and now you know what is restraining…

 for the mystery of lawlessness(evil) is already at work; 

only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.

(2 Thessalonians 2:2-4;6-7)

6. The mystery of the conversion of Israel. The Jewish people believed that they were the chosen people of God and, therefore, destined for heaven due to this one fact. But because they rejected Jesus as the Messiah, they fell.

…through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, 

salvation has come to the Gentiles…

because of unbelief they were broken off [separated from God] 

if they do not continue in unbelief,

[they] will be grafted in [reunited with God] 

for God is able to graft them in again…

And so all Israel will be saved. 

(Romans 11:11,20,23,26)

7. The mystery of the Completion of God. “[But] in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.”(Revelation 10:7) From this verse, it is evident that the answers to many of these mysteries have already been revealed to the prophets of old and would likely be available to us, if we really studied their teachings as we should. 

Mysteries in the Bible: those truths made known by divine revelation and something we should all more often think about.

*Dictionary.com

Dr. Barclay's Bible Study - The Book of Romans Part 41

Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - NEED FOR FAITH

 NEED FOR FAITH

The Bible defines faith as “…the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) Now, we all exhibit faith every day in many ways without really thinking about it: faith in what we do, how we go from place to place, and even in the use of everyday objects. For example, just sitting in a chair shows faith in that you expect the chair will support you without collapsing.

But at the same time faith is not just believing for the Bible also states that: “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble.” (James 2:19) But belief with faith is still important for “…without faith it is impossible to please Him, for  he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6) 

So having faith to believe is essential but it is not the whole story; for true faith implies much more and it also gives us the real reason for the necessity of faithful belief. For you see, the Bible states that: “…by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God…” (Ephesians 2:8).

In addition, the Bible indicates that each person with true faith has “…been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God…” (Galatians 2:20). Also, Romans tells us that: “Because of unbelief they [the Jewish people] were broken off and you stand by faith…” (Romans 11:20).

Further, 2 Corinthians 5:7 says that: “…we walk by faith, not by sight.”

And in Acts, it tells us that not only are we “…among those who are sanctified by faith in Me” (Acts 26:18) but also that by receiving the Holy Spirit, as did the Apostles, we Gentiles as well received a “…purifying [of our] hearts by faith” (Acts 15:9). 

This all sums up what it said about Abraham initially: “By faith Abraham obeyed…” (Hebrews 11:8) and “…he believed in the Lord and He accounted it to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6).

And that truly summarizes the meaning of faith; that which allows one to believe in the Lord to the extent that He is obeyed in a way that leads to righteousness. So, it was with Abraham, and so it should be with us.

Just something to think about.

Dr. Barclay's Bible Study - The Book of Romans Part 40

Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - CHOICES 3

 

CHOICES 3

Rev. John Hagee once said that it was a mystery how the future of the world can be predestined while at the same time how man can have free will. We, however, often don’t accept the consequences of that freedom of will that we have been given. How often, when something goes wrong, does God get blamed for not intervening and taking control but when something goes right do we then pat ourselves on the back for doing such a good job? So when we see tragedies such as recently happened in Turkey and Syria the question is raised as to where is God. The same applies to a situation involving a single individual when something goes wrong, but when such an event turns eventually all right, do we then recognize that just perhaps God did intervene after all?

Free choice is something that has been with us since the earliest time. In Deuteronomy God gave us the foundation on which this is based and the consequences of the choices that we do make.

… I command you today to love the Lord your God, 

to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments,

His statues, and His judgements, that you may live and multiply;

and the Lord your God will bless you…

But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, 

and are drawn away, and worship other gods 

and serve them..you shall surely perish. 

I have set before you life and death, 

blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, 

that both you and your descendants may live. 

(Deuteronomy 30:16-19)

The choices that we make may, therefore, greatly influence our lives, and also the lives of many who follow. And making the wrong choices, such as acknowledging God without any other interaction, may also have an effect in ways we don’t expect. In Romans, it tells us:

…although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, 

nor were thankful..professing to be wise, they became fools…

[For this reason], God gave them up to uncleanness…

vile passions [and] to a debased mind.

(Romans 1:21,22,24,26,28) 

When Moses was on the mountain and delayed descending, the people made the choice to make their own god and persuaded Aaron to make a golden calf. This ultimately resulted in about 3000 people dying because they had made the wrong choice.

When Lot made the choice to get drunk after his escape from Sodom, both his daughters ended up sleeping with him and becoming pregnant. Their descendants became the founders of the Moabites and the Ammonites, both groups eventual enemies of the Israelites.

And again, when Noah, after the flood, became drunk, drinking from the fruit of his vineyards, his son Ham saw him naked when he chose to enter his father’s sleeping area. As a result, he was cursed, as were his descendants who became the Canaanites, another bitter enemy of the Jewish nation.

Now these are old stories but perhaps they have more meaning today than we are willing to accept. Perhaps we are just being left to our own devices because God has given us up to such and is allowing us to wallow in the stew that we ourselves have created, by the choices we have made. He hasn’t left us nor has He created our problems, but for the most part, He has stepped back and allowed us to enjoy the curses we have chosen. The prerogative to intervene, however, remains, and still occurs, when He sees fit to do so.

We continue to blame God for many things which really result from our own choices and our own behaviour; choices which God revealed a long time ago would lead to curses and death instead of blessings and life.

It really is something to think about.    

Master's Hand Church Service - Feb. 19, 2023 at 2 PM at Summer Street.

 

We will be having a service on Feb. 19, 2023 at 2 PM at Summer Street.

Everyone is welcome. Come and bring a friend.

Dr. Barclay's Bible Study - The Book of Romans Part 39

Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - FOUR FACES

 FOUR FACES

The Book of Revelation is a book of symbolism. One of these symbolic elements is found in chapter 4 where it states that:

…around the throne, were four living creatures 

full of eyes in front and in back. 

The first living creature was like a lion, 

the second living creature like a calf*, 

and the third living creature had a face like a man,

and the fourth was like a flying eagle. 

(Revelation 4:6-7)

These living creatures, if one compares them to Ezekiel 1 and 10, are apparently cherubim, spectacular angelic beings around God’s throne. But what exactly does the appearance of these angels represent?

There have been many interpretations put forward over the years in an attempt to answer this question. Some have said that the four faces represent the four elements, others the cardinal virtues, the powers of the human soul, the orders of churchmen, the principal angels, etc. In reality, however, none of these are really satisfactory.

One other explanation is that the faces are representative of the four apostles. In fact on many of the great cathedrals there are statures of the apostles with a representative “face” associated. For example, Matthew is often associated with the lion. Mark with the calf or ox, Luke with the man, and John with the eagle. They are apparently represented as such because of the type of Gospel that each wrote.

Matthew for instance, wrote primarily to the Jewish nation and emphasized Jesus as the “King of the Jews” (Matthew 27:29). This also refers back to Genesis where it states that: “…Judah is a lion’s whelp…” (Genesis 49:9) and as well the symbol of Judah was a lion. As a lion is often referred to as the ‘king of the beasts’, and Matthew wrote about the kingship of Christ; we can therefore see the relationship of the lion with the apostle Matthew

In like manner, Mark represented Christ primarily as a servant who was there to do what He could for the people, in like manner of a calf/ox who was, and still is, a servile beast. The ox was also the symbol of Ephraim, the son of Joseph who was humbled, and who rose to a position of power and influence in Egypt during the height of its power.

Luke in contrast, was a physician who emphasized the human and healing nature of Christ and therefore represented by the face of man. He represented Christ as the “Son of Man” more than any other of the Apostles indicating that Christ was 100% human during His time on earth.

Finally, John expounded more on the divine nature of Jesus as the Son of God. “And the word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father…” (John 1:14). The eagle, who lives and flies higher than most other birds, is often associated with the heavens and God’s divine nature and glory.

Thus, the Apostles are associated with the living creatures in Revelation but more important still is the fact that the faces on these living creatures represent the four main characteristics of Christ Himself.

• His Kingship as “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (Revelation 19:16)
• His servant’s heart which comes from the fact that He “did not come to be served, but to serve” (Matthew 20:28)
• His humanity because “…the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them…” (Luke 9:56)
• His divinity - “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6)

It appears to me that the four faces described on the living creatures in Revelation really represent the four primary characteristics of Christ.

At the very least, it is something to think about.  

* an ox in some translations