“Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God” Matthew 5:8 NASB Shall see – Now that we have some appreciation for the meaning behind these words (see yesterday’s edition of Today’s Word), let’s ask another question. If purity of heart is a gift, why do we struggle so much to see God…
Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God Matthew 5:8 NASB Shall see – Years ago I wrote something about this verse. It’s probably time to look at it again. We can begin with a comment on the Greek word horáō. The translation “they shall see God” uses this verb. Here it is…
But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 NASB You might be so familiar with the three categories that you’ve never asked what’s missing from Paul’s list? But a first century Mediterranean person would immediately spot the problem. What’s missing is gnosis—knowledge. In fact, in…
The Deity of Jesus Christ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1 NASB The Deity of Jesus Christ – Of course, this little phrase is not in the verse. That doesn’t prevent most Christian translators from adding it, just to make sure the reader understands what…
But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, Romans 11:13 NASB Apostle of Gentiles – What does Alexander the Great have to do with Paul the apostle? Most people probably couldn’t answer this question, or, if they could, they would suggest that…
“Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things;” Deuteronomy 28:47 NASB Glad heart – “The first and most common cause of suffering is sadness. Nothing invokes such severe judgments as one’s complaints and dissatisfaction with one’s lot in life. The Torah emphatically cites sadness…
Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth, 1 Corinthians 1:1-2a NASB To the church – Let’s make some corrections to the way that we read the letters of Paul. Let’s start by removing the anachronistic verbiage and its accompanying theological implication. Mark Nanos offers three…
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5:10 NASB According to what he has done – I guess Paul was mistaken. He doesn’t sound very much like…
Now the man called his wife’s name [h]Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. Genesis 3:20 NASB Eve – If you’ve read Guardian Angel, you know that Adam did not call his wife Eve. The name he used was Havvah, and it does not mean “mother of all living.” According to the research, this name…
O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 1 Corinthians 15:55 NASB Death – thanatos. The end. Dead. Finished. Qohelet is right. Without a resurrection, the rabbis provide a stark assessment: “We know nothing about death, nothing beyond the one fact that we shall ‘die’—but what is that, to die? We do not…
