For God so loved the world that He gave . . . John 3:16 NASB World – Nearly sixty years of theological reflection on the meaning of the events in the life of Yeshua had passed by the time John wrote his gospel account. Perhaps that’s why John begins his account with a deliberate allusion…
He built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD has said, “In Jerusalem I will put My name.” 2 Kings 21:4 NASB Put – In the conversation with Nicodemus, Yeshua says that He must be “lifted up” just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. This appears to be…
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. James 3:17 NASB Without hypocrisy – Who is a hypocrite? Someone who says one thing but does another? Someone who acts in one way under some circumstances but in another way when the circumstances…
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. James 3:17 NASB Unwavering – Write up your list of excuses. Go ahead. Make sure you get them all. I’ll wait. The root behind the Greek word adiakritos is krino, a verb that means…
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. James 3:17 NASB Good fruits – What is “good fruit?” Don’t spiritualize. Don’t start telling me about love, joy and peace. Just tell me what you look for when you buy good fruit. You’re…
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. James 3:17 NASB Full of mercy – The Greek word mestos means “completely full, replete.” It is not a term that allows qualification. All or not all. Those are the choices. When James says…
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. James 3:17 NASB Reasonable – Is faith reasonable? In the post-Kiekegaardian era, this question might be answered, “No, faith goes beyond reason.” But Kierkegaard’s distinction between faith and reason never crossed James’ mind. Kierkegaard’s…
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. James 3:17 NASB Gentle – When I arrived at Trinity College, Oxford as a graduate student, I was invited to dinner with the president of the college. I assumed that this was a formal…
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. James 3:17 NASB Peaceable – James writes in Greek, but he isn’t thinking in Greek. The Greek word he uses is eirenikos. The root is eirene, and in the Greek world this is a…
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. James 3:17 NASB First – As you may know, the Greek word for “first” is proton. Not too hard to remember in this age of science and atoms. As we discovered, James made a…
