Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Biblical words on the procreation of the Son of God

Genesis, Mat 1.1, 18.

"source, origin: equivalent to תּולְדות סֵפֶר, Genesis 5:1, etc." Thayer's

Gennao, cp. Luke 1.35; Mat 1.20.

“To cause something to come into existence, primarily through procreation.” Rahlfs, Genesis 1926, 39;

“To generate, produce,” Liddell & Scott;

“To procreate,” Webster & Strong’s.

Ginomai, cp. Gal 4:4

“To come into being, existence through the process of birth.” Bauer’s Lexicon

“To become, i.e. to come into existence, begin to be, receive being.” Thayer’s Lexicon

Monogenes, John 3.16. A compound Greek word monos = unique = only one; genes = kind, from the Greek verb gennao.

Prototokos, Col 1:15, either first in time (of all creation) or rank, position, preeminence.

Tuesday, April 12, 2022

The Greatest Story Ever Told

by Michele Cox

When I was 10 years old, I remember hearing of a movie called “The Greatest Story Ever Told.” I don’t think I ever saw the movie. But I think you guys have movies that you might think are great. How about Lord of the Rings? You probably think that’s a great movie, but The Greatest Story Ever Told is about another Lord….THE ULTIMATE LORD… The REAL Lord…It’s the story about God’s son, the Savior of all mankind, Jesus Christ.

Today is a special day. It is the Sunday after the Passover. As I taught you in my lessons this time last year, Jesus was crucified at the time that the Jewish people were killing perfect lambs for their Passsover dinner. The Passover this year was yesterday, and so this is the first Sunday after the Passover, which means it is the anniversary of the Sunday when Jesus was raised from the dead. We call this Resurrection Sunday.

So I thought we should hear some what happened on this day over 2000 years ago.

As you know, Jesus lived his whole life with out ever sinning. He was tempted to, but he was strong and resisted that temptation.

He taught the people a new way to obey God, and he showed the Jewish teachers and leaders of the day how they were not being good teachers of God’s law and his plan. They were afraid Jesus would be too powerful with everyone wanting to follow him and not them. And so they wanted to have him put to death. There were other reasons, but basically, the church leaders convinced the “police” of the day, the Roman government, to crucify him like a criminal. They beat him and nailed him to a cross. It was a horrible, painful way to die.

Jesus’s friends and followers, the Apostles, didn’t want Jesus to die. They didn’t really understand that this was a part of God’s plan for all mankind, which was for a sinless person, the son of God, to die to pay the penalty for the sins of all mankind. But this is like what they had been doing for hundreds of years for Passover, when they killed a perfect lamb and spread its blood on their doorposts to remember when the Angel of Death passed over their houses in Egypt so their firstborn would be saved. They didn’t understand, that the perfect lamb symbolized Jesus.

His followers understood that Jesus came to teach them about the coming Kingdom of God. But they did not yet understand the rest of why Jesus came. He explains to them about his mission in

Luke 9:22 “The son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.”

I won’t go into all the details of the trial and killing of Jesus. But I do want you to understand that this was the plan of God for him. So that the penalty for sin, which is death, would be paid by Jesus, so all mankind can repent and follow him, and when a person accepts that penalty for his or her own sins, and chooses to live a righteous life, and be baptized, they will be able to live forever in God’s Kingdom.

Jesus taught them that even if they die in this physical life, (and face it, we pretty much all die eventually) they will not remain dead forever but will be resurrected to eternal life. That’s found in John 11:25-27

So on Friday, Jesus was crucified, and after several hours of hanging on the cross in lots of pain, he finally died. Some of the gospel writers say there was a great earthquake right when he died, and some of the onlookers believed that he was the Messiah after all.

His followers took his body off the cross and laid him in a cave-like tomb that a good man let them have for Jesus. They wrapped his dead body in white cloth.

The Roman soldiers put a huge boulder over the entrance to the cave to keep anyone from going to remove Jesus’s body. They also put Roman soldiers outside the cave to guard it.

The next day was Saturday and a holy day, so no one was allowed to do any work and no one came to the cave.

Early in the morning on the following day, which was Sunday, some of the lady friends of Jesus came to his tomb to prepare his body with oils that would keep his dead body from smelling bad. This was a custom of how they took care of a dead body.

Very early on Sunday morning some women who were Jesus’ friends, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several other women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.

So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes. These men were actually angels.

The women were terrified. Then the angel asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day?”

Then they remembered that he had said this. So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened. They told the apostles what had happened, But the story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn’t believe it. However, Peter jumped up and ran to the tomb to look.

Jesus’ friend John ran there too.

They looked in and saw the empty linen wrappings that Jesus had been buried in; They were wondering what had happened, and decided just to go home.

That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to a little town of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem.

As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. But God kept them from recognizing him.

He asked them, “What are you guys talking about that is so serious?

They stopped short, and looked sad. Then one of them replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.”

Jesus asked “What things?”

“The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth,” they said. “He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher who taught us about the plan of God.

But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him.

We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago.

“But then today some women from our group of his followers went to his tomb early this morning, and they came back with an amazing report.

They said his body was missing, and they had seen angels who told them Jesus is alive! So Peter and John ran out to see, and sure enough, his body was gone, just as the women had said.”

Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you guys get it?! It’s not so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?”

Then Jesus went through the writings of Moses and all the prophets in the Old Testament, explaining how many of these scriptures were about Jesus, the Messiah.

By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he were going to keep walking, but they begged him, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late.” So he went with them to their house.

As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. It was just like when he broke bread at the last supper!

And at that moment he disappeared!

Then They said to each other, “When he talked with us along the road and explained the Scriptures to us, didn't our hearts burn inside us?” So they got up and returned to Jerusalem.

The two disciples found the eleven apostles and the others gathered together. The Apostles there told the 2 men that the Lord was really alive and had appeared to Peter. Then the guys who were walking to Emmaus told them how they met up with Jesus as they were walking and talking, but they didn’t know it was him until he broke the bread.

While Jesus' disciples were talking about all these things that had happened, Jesus appeared and said “Hey guys, peace!” They were frightened and terrified because they thought they were seeing a ghost.

But Jesus said, “Why are you so frightened? Why do you doubt? Look at my hands and my feet and see who I am! Touch me and find out for yourselves. Ghosts don't have flesh and bones as you see I have.”

After Jesus said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. The disciples were so glad and amazed that they could not believe it. Jesus then asked them, “You guys have anything to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish. He took it and ate it as they all stared in amazement.

Jesus said to them, “Look, While I was still with you, I told you that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Books of the Prophets, and in the Psalms had to happen.”

Then he explained the Scriptures to them to help them understand. He told them the Scriptures say that the Messiah must suffer, then three days later he will rise from death. (Remember he had told them this before, but they just didn’t understand what he meant)

Jesus then tells them what we call the Great Commission…that they must proclaim the good news about him and the kingdom of God to every nation, so people can believe and obey Jesus and repent of their sinful ways, and be able to have life in God’s kingdom forever.

They all went outside and walked to Bethany. Jesus told them that once he was in heaven, he would send holy spirit from God to help them understand all these things.

He said a blessing for all of them and then raised his arms and went up through the clouds to heaven.

I hope you agree that this amazing story of the Lord Jesus, which is not a made-up story, but is TRUE, that tells us how every person who ever lived or ever will live can live in peace forever in God’s wonderful kingdom…this actually is the greatest story ever told!

Thursday, April 7, 2022

Did the Jews say Jesus was "God"?

JW Disclaimer: I am not a current or former Jehovah's Witness and I am not promoting their New World Translation that wrongly teaches Jesus was "a god" (see John 1:1c, 18).

A combination of bad translations led by equally bad dogma has led most Christians to misunderstand the real Jewish charge against Jesus in John 10:33. For example, most translations have the Jews answering Jesus:

“For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy; and because you, being a man [or a mere man], make yourself out to be [or claim to be] God.” [That is, capital G “God.”]

But Judaism, then and now would never dream of accusing anyone from actually “claiming to be,” let alone making themselves the one God of Israel. If anything the only accusation such a claim should have warranted was that of insanity! As a matter of fact, some well-known modern-day Trinitarian scholars seem to agree.

British Methodist minister C.K. Barrett admitted “it’s simply intolerable that Jesus should be made to say, I am God, the supreme God of the OT, and being God I do as I am told, and, I am God, and I’m here because someone sent me.”

The Anglican cleric and scholar R.T. France was right to note that this sort of talk, “as a public relations exercise…would have been a guaranteed disaster.”

So this begs the question: Did the Jews say Jesus was "God"?

The Jews full well knew that God could and did appoint personal agents who represented him with full authority. That’s why scripture calls Moses and the judges of Israel “god” (Ex 4.16; 7.1; Ex 22:8; Ps 82:6, etc.). So the real Jewish charge is that Jesus, "a mere man,” i.e., an illegitimate agent of God, is claiming to be or making himself “a god", i.e., a legitimate agent of God (like Moses and the judges of the OT).

Another Trinitarian scholar, Dr. James McGrath, rightly noted that Jesus’ real “conflict with the Jews [throughout the Gospel of John] did not concern a supposed abandonment of Jewish monotheism.” [The inevitable result of someone else claiming to be the one God.] Rather, the issue is whether Jesus is an agent carrying out God's will and purposes, or a blasphemer who is seeking glory and power for himself in a manner that detracts from the glory due to the only God."

Dr. McGrath concludes that the real “issue is therefore not equality with God per se” but whether or not this lowly Jesus from Nazareth was just another “upstart, one of a number of messianic pretenders and glory-seekers to appear on the scene during this period of Jewish history.”

The charge of Jesus as “a god” as opposed to “God” is supported by the context of John 10. For example, in v.34 Jesus himself uses the aforementioned Ps 82:6 as a “proof text”: “Is it not written in your Law, I said, you are gods?”

36 “Why do you call it blasphemy when I say, I am the Son of God? After all, the Father set me apart [i.e., commissioned me as His personal agent] and sent me into the world.”

37 “If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me.”

38 “But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”

The “a god” translation is also supported by other notable Trinitarians.

A Translator's Handbook on the Gospel of John by Newnan and Nida, p 344, 1980: "Purely on the basis of the Greek text, therefore, it is possible to translate [John 10:33 as] a god, as NEB does, rather than to translate God.”

The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, vol 3, p 187, 1986: "The reason why judges are called `gods' in Ps. 82 is that they have the office of administering God's judgment as `sons of the Most High'. In context of the Ps. the men in question have failed to do this.... In trying to arrest him ([John] v. 39) and in disregarding the testimony of his works (vv.32,38), they were judging unjustly like the judges in Ps. 82:2....On the other hand, Jesus fulfilled the role of a true judge as a `god' and `son of the Most High'."

One last thing to note is that the Greek words translated “man” [a mere man] and “god,” do not appear with the Greek article. But translators consistently render the Greek anthropos as “a man” yet the Greek theos as capital G “God” and not “a god.” Regardless, the Jews sadly denied the claims of Jesus until the end.

“We have a law, and according to the law he ought to die, because he made himself/claimed to be the Son of God!” The Jewish leaders say to Pilate in John 19:7.

For the Jews Jesus remained just another usurper to the unique authority that would have been his by birthright alone, as the promised Messiah: “The King of the Jews.” These false charges added fuel to their case for the death penalty.

Saturday, April 2, 2022

Vital “holy spirit” Connections

Kenneth LaPrade, Theological Conference 2022.

What are some of the key Scriptural indicators that genuine Christians truly have holy spirit? Which doubtful modern paradigms about the reality of holy spirit should be carefully avoided?

First off, we should note briefly that “holy spirit” does not biblically mean “the Third Person of the Trinity”, a misguided philosophical/theological paradigm, mainly developed in the fourth century CE. It [holy spirit] never sends greetings to Christian assemblies in any New Testament letters, and it is never approached in prayer (or worshipped) throughout the whole Bible! Since the earliest of creation records (Genesis 1:2) when God effectively brought order to a disordered chaos, the “spirit of God” was active, “moving over the face of the waters.” The term “spirit”, among its varied uses, is rendered “breath” (Job 4:9 – Hebrew: ruach) or “wind” (John 3:8 – Greek: pneuma). God’s “breath”, so to speak, or “holy breath”, is indicative of God’s personal, active involvement with his creation, including his intimate interaction with human beings, created originally in His image. God’s “spirit” or “breath” is no more a distinct “Person” - apart from God [the Father] than your “breath”, (perhaps as a metaphor for your heartfelt thoughts), could be a separate “person” – a “person” other than you!

Jesus was metaphorically “baptizing” folks in holy spirit (John 1:33) throughout the gospels, as clearly evidenced by his powerful commissioning of the twelve in Luke 9:1-2 and then the seventy in Luke 10: 1-2, 17. He spoke prophetically in John, chapter 7 of a future, more complete outpouring of the spirit:

“On the great, last day of the feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stood up and shouted out, ‘If any of you is in need of drink let him come to me and let him drink. He who believes and obeys me, out of his heart, as Scripture has said, will come rivers of living water.’ He meant by this the spirit which would be given to those who believed and obeyed him. The Spirit was not yet present because Jesus had not yet been glorified.” (John 7:37-39 – OGF)

It is relevant that Jesus, here in John 7, essentially used the same vocabulary about “living water” – (as associated with “Life of the Age to Come”) which he had used previously with the Samaritan woman (John 4:7-26). In that John, chapter 4 context Jesus and the Samaritan woman discussed the vital subject of worship. Jesus’ striking conclusion was, “… The hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem.” (v. 21b) In other words, the worship of the Father (the one true God) would no longer be confined to (or dependent on) being at certain physical locations, such as the temple in Jerusalem.

“‘Yet a time is coming, and has now come, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is looking for such people to worship Him. God communicates through spirit [Literally: ‘God is spirit’], and those who worship Him must worship Him on the basis of spirit and truth.’” (John 4:23-24 – OGF)

So, God is “spirit”, just as “God is light” (1^st John 1:5) and “God is love” (1^st John 4:8), meaning that He is full of such pure, dynamic qualities! As reflected in the OGF translation above (in John 4:24), God is extremely capable and desirous of communicating spiritually to true worshippers!

Notice that true worship, in this context, has nothing at all to do with having a certain spiritual gift! We will briefly consider a few ideas about such “gifts” toward the end of this presentation.

Upon mentioning solid, prerequisite information, it has to be truly grasped that the seed of the Gospel of the Kingdom (Mark 1:1, 14-15/Mt. 13:19) must be carefully assimilated with repentance (authentic change) for a person to experience a genuine, biblical “new birth” – 1^st Peter 1:3, 22-25! Within such repentant Kingdom thinking, according to the Apostle Peter, “holy spirit” is given to those who obey God (Acts 5:32), just as salvation is given to those who obey Jesus, according to Hebrews 5:9. To vaguely proclaim that God freely gives his holy spirit to all who latch onto a few unclear, partial truths mixed with a batch of traditional lies would be a wildly far-fetched proposition! The “spirit of truth” is not congruent at all with blatant falsity!

Along with the above observation, it can be noted that bona fide Christians receive the holy spirit by initially believing the true Gospel - and by the obedient action of being baptized. (In Ephesians 1:13 – OGF): “In him [Messiah Jesus], after you heard the word of the truth, the Gospel of your salvation, you believed it and were sealed with the holy spirit of the promise, which is a down-payment on our future inheritance, until the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.” (In 1^st Cor. 12:13 - OGF): “For in one spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free; we all were made to drink of one spirit.” Peter clarified these basic, ordered ideas in Acts 2:38-39 (OGF), when he said, “Repent and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of holy spirit. This promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off – as many as the Lord our God will invite to Himself.” [The unique changed order of events (for obvious, contextual reasons - in Acts 10:34-48) involving the first group of believing Gentiles, does not really contradict this general order in Acts 2.] Among other things, one sees plainly that holy spirit reception, biblically, does not involve “a second work of grace” (or a third), according to some budding, erroneous theologies near the year of 1900 CE. The gift of holy spirit is obviously linked in the Bible to initial, obedient faith.

A section of 1^st Corinthians chapter 2 (v. 9-16 – OGF) elucidates the essential, enlightening benefits of having God’s spirit which is equated with “the mind of Christ.” Having holy spirit and truly walking in it stands in stark contrast with the natural (unspiritual) condition of others:

“But as it is written [in a beautiful reference to our future Kingdom inheritance], ‘Things that no eye has seen, and no ear has heard, things which have not entered the mind of man; all these God has prepared for those who love Him.’ But to us God revealed them through the spirit, because the spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. Who among men knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? In the same way no one knows the things of God except the spirit of God. But we did not receive the spirit of the world, but the spirit which comes from God, so that we might understand the things that are graciously given to us by God. And we speak these things not in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by spirit, explaining spiritual things with spiritual words. Now an unconverted person does not receive the things of the spirit of God, because it is foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The person who is spiritual discerns all things, but he himself is evaluated by no one. For ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to instruct Him?’ But we have the mind of Messiah.”

Part of a footnote in the OGF Translation (p. 409) states - about v. 16 here, “The Hebrew of Isa. 40:13 cited here has ‘spirit’ and the LXX which Paul cites has ‘mind.’ This shows that mind and spirit (and often ‘heart’) are more or less synonymous.” We might remember Jesus’ brief statement (in John 6:63) about his own spiritual teachings: “The words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” Several similar terms like “holy spirit”, “spirit”, “the anointing” (1^st John 2:20, 26), “the spirit of God”, and “the spirit of Jesus” (Acts 16:7) are altogether used hundreds of times in the N.T. in multi-faceted ways to indicate God’s very personal “heart”, so to speak, being poured into actively loving, obedient children. Such uses are never hazy or nebulous, but they are focused on the understanding of concepts expressed with plain words!

For example, one can read 1^st Thessalonians 4:1-8 and view how having holy spirit is linked to absolute integrity in sexual matters, or see in 2^nd Corinthians, chapter 3 that being “written on” (metaphorically) “with the spirit of the living God” makes us competent as servants of a new covenant “in the spirit”, instead of the old, “fading away” Mosaic covenant which is “in the letter.” One can perceive in Romans, chapter 8 that having God’s spirit – and living by it - is linked to victory over the current inclinations of human nature, and it (God’s spirit) testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, “heirs of God” and “fellow heirs with the Messiah” in the hope to “share in the [future] glory with him.” One can also grasp the deep hope-love connection in Romans 5:5, “And hope does not disappoint us, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the holy spirit which was given to us.” Along with that foundation of unselfish love, one can discern that in severe contrast (Galatians 5:19-21) with dark, negative, demeaning, divisive tendencies; one can live by fruitful, spiritual norms: “But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the [Mosaic] Law…. But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” (Galatians 6:18, 22-23 – OGF) I might add here that, according to accurate Scriptural integrity, this “fruit of the spirit” described in Galatians (along with the other few, basic aspects of holy spirit which we have observed so far) are simply dependent upon the obedient, loving response of authentic faith in the words of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. They are not at all based on having (or not having) a certain “spiritual gift” or operating a specific, so-called “manifestation” - other than having the vital connection of holy spirit itself.

Slowly reading John, (chapters 13-17) provides a full, rich context for Jesus’ last set of instructions to his disciples before his intense time of suffering. Within those chapters, Jesus highlights what would be given spiritually to his followers after his death and resurrection:

“’If you love me you will keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. This is the spirit of truth. The world is incapable of receiving it, because it does not see it or know it, but you do know it, because it remains with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you…. If anyone loves me, he will preserve and obey my Gospel of the Kingdom word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our residence with him. I have spoken these things to you while I am still with you. But the Counselor [parakletos], the holy spirit, which the Father will send as representing and reproducing my presence, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.’” (John 14:15-18, 23b, 25-26 – OGF)

“’When the Counselor comes, the one I will send you from the Father, the spirit of truth which proceeds from the Father, this Counselor will testify about me.’” (John 15:26 – OGF)

“’Nevertheless I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I am going away, because if I do not go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you. When he [The Counselor] comes he will convict the world about sin, doing right, and judgment …. I still have many things to tell you, but you are not able to bear them now. When that spirit of truth comes, it will guide you into all the truth. The spirit will not speak on its own initiative, but it will speak whatever it hears, and it will declare to you what is going to happen in the future. It will glorify me because it will receive from me and show it to you. Everything which the Father has is mine. That is why I told you that the spirit will take from what is mine and declare it to you.’” (John 16:7-8, 12-15 – OGF)

There is a Scriptural passage in 1^st John 2:1-2 (OGF) which is intimately linked to what we have glimpsed about the Counselor in John 14, 15, and 16. The Counselor [parakletos] essentially means one who stands alongside another to counsel, to guide, to comfort, to help, or to defend. “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins we have an advocate [parakletos] with the Father – Jesus Messiah, the righteous one. He himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only ours, but for the whole world.”

The “advocate” of 1^st John 2:1 should not be thought of as something distinct from the “Counselor” of John, chapters 14-16, but as spiritually referring to the same thing. The resurrected, ascended Jesus is “the lord” and “the spirit” in 2^nd Corinthians 3:17-18 whom we should look at as we are transformed! So, our Counselor or Advocate is the spiritual “great high priest” Jesus - to whom we have continual, intimate access, according to Hebrews 4:14-16.

One might prayerfully consider how much the Counselor’s work (in accurately reminding us of Jesus’ words and actions) was initially accomplished throughout years and decades of early, first century folks preaching Jesus’ Gospel words - and eventually during the actual writing and preserving of N.T. Scriptures. Nowadays, when we grow in grace, while embracing this masterful, coherent written testimony about Jesus’ Kingdom Gospel, holy spirit from God’s mighty heart energizes our faithful, obedient, loving response!

Part Two

Before closing this introductory “holy spirit” presentation, I would like to briefly comment on a type of modern “spirituality” which I heartily embraced during previous decades. Nowadays, I feel compelled to lovingly warn folks about some possible dangers embedded in my own, once-cherished background, coupled with strong feelings. I speak of such things from having been a long-time “insider” (over 40 years) in Pentecostal-Charismatic activity in an intimate way.

The movement of which I was a part is rooted in the unquestioning idea that “speaking in tongues” is the initial evidence (potentially for all Christians) of being “baptized in holy spirit.” With a heart full of prayerful kindness toward my beloved, enthusiastic colleagues, I know I should respectfully challenge this relatively modern doctrine of “initial evidence” and the assumption that “speaking in tongues” is for all Christians. I do not engage here in an argument of “cessationist” thinking vs. “continuationist” beliefs, but I do freely make a few observations, while carefully comparing certain biblical standards with the assertive mentality of a fast-growing modern movement - already for a bit more than 120 years. This has been an area of focused personal study for me for about five years now; frankly, before these last few years, I had only studied such “spiritual” ideas (for decades) from a zealously defensive one-sided view.

To give some historical background, interested people should know that this bold “initial evidence” theology (associated with “latter rain” symbolism) and the priority of tongues for all believers - was specifically developed by Charles Fox Parham (perhaps in the late 1890s) leading up to vivid claims of a new outpouring of holy spirit, with a new outbreak of “speaking in tongues” in Topeka, Kansas on January 1^st, 1901. Parham’s new doctrinal focus and practice was soon moved to Houston, Texas where a student named William J. Seymour accepted Parham’s teachings. Seymour then took these ideas to Los Angeles where he initiated the fervent Azusa Street revival from 1906 to 1909. Basically, this whole development of 120 years of Pentecostal/ Charismatic activity stems from the theology and practice of these two men: Parham and Seymour. To grasp the significance of Parham’s unique, pioneering role, you might want to check out this kindly written, thorough biography: Fields White Unto Harvest: Charles F. Parham and the Missionary Origins of Pentecostalism by James R. Goff, Jr. To merely get a brief overview of the notable impact of these two men, you can read pages 42-62 of The Pentecostal-Charismatic Movements: The History and the Error by David W. Cloud.

One thing which I have noticed about my specific background and its indoctrination in “spiritual matters” is how certain Bible passages had to be either ignored or vastly distorted (taking advantage of a certain KJV weakness) in order to ardently promote the “tongues for all” bandwagon. Early in 1^st Corinthians, chapter 12, certain verses were explained in the following way, using the KJV. Verse 7 was highly emphasized: “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.” The word “but” was adamantly assumed to introduce a strong contrast to the overall, previous context of diversity in gifts, services, and activities being distributed by God in distinct ways. Nevertheless, the word “but” is not the strong contrasting Greek word alla, but rather it is the weak connective de which is most often translated “and.” Even though the word “manifestation” is singular, we were taught to regard it as involving a “package deal” of the nine evidences listed in verses 8-10. Even though the Greek text (in verses 8-10) is not at all conducive to the following rendering, we would boldly assert that the “to one” and “to another” had nothing to do with individual people being designated, but that this vocabulary was connected to the word “profit” in verse 7. So, (in v. 8) we wrongly regarded the text as saying, “For one [profit] is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, for another [profit] the word of knowledge, etc.” I have checked more than a hundred translations (English and Spanish), but none corroborate this wildly distorted explanation, which is the zealous doctrinal basis for the “all nine all the time” mentality of the old Way ministry.

With this incongruent “For one profit” emphasis firmly in mind, we were led to dishonestly disregard an important clear passage in the latter part of chapter 12, (in verses 27-31 - OGF):

“Now you are the body of Messiah, and each one is a part of it. God has appointed in the church: first Apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then those who perform miracles; then gifts of healings, of helping, leadership, and different languages. Are all apostles? No. Are all prophets? No. Are all teachers? No. Do all perform miracles? No. Do all have gifts of healing? No. Do all speak in different languages? No. Do all interpret languages? No. But you should earnestly desire the best gifts [collectively, as God wisely distributes them]. And now I will show you the most excellent way.”

Without reading carefully here, and, by using deceitful suppositions to support our distorted rendition of verses 7-10 (of 1^st Cor. 12), we would lightly chalk off verses 27-31 to mean that, even though all believers can inherently operate all 9 “manifestations” listed in verses 8-10, they would not do so in a church meeting, so the meetings would not run too long! How sloppy we were to explain away this significant passage! Everyone knows that not all are Apostles or prophets – whether at a “meeting” or not! These verses (27-31) are dynamically compatible with the whole thematic context of chapter 12, which indicates extremely diverse functions and gifts distributed differently according to God’s sovereign choices. All of 1^st Corinthians, chapter 12, flows harmoniously with the distinctive giving of diverse gifts to individual folks with quite different functions in Romans 12:4-8.

When analyzing some phrases in chapter 14 (of 1^st Cor.), we would isolate certain partial phrases, and give them a contradictory spin. We would promote a downright strange interpretation of a partial quote of v.4 to suggest that all could and should speak in tongues a lot (in their private lives) in order to edify themselves spiritually. Thus, we would violate the clear context in which efforts at self-edification are actually being scolded; public utterances must be to edify the whole congregation! Verse 5a (another partial quote) was used to exalt “tongues for all” thinking, as if God wills all believers to do it (obviously contradicting 1^st Cor. 12:27-31.) Nevertheless, Paul’s wise use of rhetoric in the whole of verse 5 is to emphasize that even if all could speak in languages (which would be great – hypothetically), it is of greater importance and priority that all speak “prophecy” - in a language understood by all present!

We could go on here (in verse 18) and see the same type of distortion, through another exalted partial quote of Paul’s overall rhetoric – v. 18 (which almost certainly uses hyperbole to make a dramatic contrast.) Verse 19 emphatically completes the thought. By the way, I am not suggesting that all people from any Pentecostal-Charismatic background twist the Scriptures in the same way in which I was badly misled.

Anyway, the “initial evidence” theology of being baptized in holy spirit (with tongues for all) can certainly be challenged in many more ways; I have merely scratched the surface so far. One unfortunate consequence of my former mindset is that there exists a zealous compulsion to “lead” people into the experience of tongues – something never seen in Acts 2, 10, 19 or 1^st Corinthians 12-14. I was personally involved in guiding hundreds into such an exuberant experience! We (in our old group) would get folks to relax, open their mouths, and engage in deep breathing for a few minutes (after having taught them our detailed, distorted analysis of 1^st Cor. 12-14.) We would then discuss the mechanics of speech with them: how one must vocalize utterances by pushing up sounds from the throat, while moving one’s tongue and lips to formulate unknown “words” – supposedly. If one would follow such a procedure, and begin to emit syllable-like noises, it was boldly assumed that they were speaking real languages! (Of course, that is a huge assumption, especially when no evidence of genuine language is present.) The whole system was a blatant manmade approach to producing unintelligible sounds.

Sadly, all this was done for decades (in my old group) among folks without any inkling of the Scriptural Gospel of Kingdom, since we were terribly misled, convinced dispensationalists - who regarded Jesus’ words as not addressed to Christians. Due to the overwhelming evidence of pure gibberish among us along with clever sounding, invented “interpretations”, it is most likely that none of us had “holy spirit” at all.

I remember well the strange obstacles we often faced, such as the prevalence of very, very repetitive “tongues.” For example: “ham – ara -kava – shava / ham – ara – kava – shava, etc., in which one vowel sound: “ah” (in this case) would be constantly used. We would consider this as an example of “baby tongues” and engage in repeated “practice sessions” to try to remedy the situation. In addition to this weakness, many would speak in tongues for perhaps 30 seconds and give an interpretation of about 5 seconds (or some other such disparity.) So, we would practice timing. Personally, I was extremely zealous about leading such practice sessions for years!

Also, formulaic, bland, pedantic “interpretations” badly plagued our meetings: “My little children”, “I love you so much”, or “I am closer to you than your very breath.” Some phrased their messages in King James vocabulary: “Yeah, verily, thou shalt stand fast on my word.” It did not dawn on me until many years later that we were all involved in speaking (and falsely interpreting) sheer gobble-de-gook, even among those of us whose tongues were more language-like than others. None of what I have described here in our recent times even closely resembles what was going on in Acts 2, 10, and 19 and what Paul needed to earnestly correct among those at Corinth, where bona fide languages were truly spoken – but sadly misused.

I know very well how difficult it is to change after being trained for years to follow certain mental patterns regarding spiritual matters, while confidently supposing that one has been fully in sync with Scriptural integrity. I do not doubt the sincerity of those who pursue the type of spirituality to which I was formerly addicted for decades, but I did come to question the authenticity of the “fruit” among us who have zealously assumed that modern “tongues for all” theology (and “latter rain” assertions) are somehow parallel to records in Acts and 1^st Corinthians. For example, my old adherence to “tongues as absolute proof” coupled with “once saved, always saved” theology – inspired me to be extremely arrogant, rash, and even reckless in many of my decisions for years, instead of being biblically humble (Mt. 5:3.) I am not presuming that others have been as haughty as I once was. I even rejected obedience to God regarding getting baptized for many years, since I proudly asserted dogmatically that my tongues were proof of essential holy spirit baptism, as replacing water baptism (according to a misguided theology.) I was also guilty at times of looking down at Christians who did not speak in tongues, as if they were somehow less spiritual than I was. In addition to my defects, I sadly witnessed the increasing, defensive hostility of my peers when I began to question several dubious traditions among us.

I do not expect anyone at all to change his/ her views simply because I urgently needed to undergo a dramatic paradigm shift in my own life. Nevertheless, I am hopeful that some folks, whether from my background or from a similar set of experiences, might be motivated to re-study this whole “holy spirit” subject slowly and carefully, while being open-minded toward distinct, possibly valid points of view. I know how easy it is to reject new information out of hand, due to strong emotional attachments and being prone to knee-jerk reactions, but I am sure that none of us really want to be stuck in fruitless ruts of self-deception! Two books which carefully analyze how real, miraculous speaking of previously unlearned languages powerfully served as a striking sign to unbelievers (1^st Cor. 14:22) in 1^st century culture (a relatively unknown topic nowadays) are Tongues Will Cease… But When? by Raymond C. Faircloth and Tongues Shall Cease? by Tony Watts. Two other books which provide some keen, valuable research about the growing, modern “tongues” movement are Speaking in Tongues: A Cross-Cultural Study of Glossolalia by Felicitas D. Goodman and Tongues of Men and Angels (a controversial and sympathetic analysis of Speaking in Tongues) by William J. Samarin. Another source of thoughtful research into the modern phenomenon is The Psychology of Speaking in Tongues by John P. Kildahl. Finally, I attach here a website address for an online study (presented in Two Informative Parts) which specifically offers some thoughtful, gentle rebuttal for those whose doctrinal background in understanding the subject of “tongues” is perhaps similar to my previous mindset:

http://www.godskingdomfirst.org/SpeakingInTongues.htm

Vital “holy spirit” Connections

What are some of the key Scriptural indicators that genuine Christians truly have holy spirit? Which doubtful modern paradigms about the reality of holy spirit should be carefully avoided?

Along with the above observation, it can be noted that bona fide Christians receive the holy spirit by initially believing the true Gospel - and by the obedient action of being baptized. (In Ephesians 1:13-14 – OGF): “In him [Messiah Jesus], after you heard the word of the truth, the Gospel of your salvation, you believed it and were sealed with the holy spirit of the promise, which is a down-payment on our future inheritance, until the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.” (In 1^st Cor. 12:13 - OGF): “For in one spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free; we all were made to drink of one spirit.” Peter clarified these basic, ordered ideas in Acts 2:38-39 (OGF), when he said, “Repent and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of holy spirit. This promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off – as many as the Lord our God will invite to Himself.” [The unique changed order of events (for obvious, contextual reasons - in Acts 10:34-48) involving the first group of believing Gentiles, does not really contradict this general order in Acts 2.] Among other things, one sees plainly that holy spirit reception, biblically, does not involve “a second work of grace” (or a third), according to some budding, erroneous theologies near the year of 1900 CE. The gift of holy spirit is obviously linked in the Bible to initial, obedient faith.

“’When the Counselor comes, the one I will send you from the Father, the spirit of truth which proceeds from the Father, this Counselor will testify about me.’” (John 15:26 – OGF)

Part Two

With this incongruent “For one profit” emphasis firmly in mind, we were led to dishonestly disregard an important clear passage in the latter part of chapter 12, (in verses 27-31 - OGF):

http://www.godskingdomfirst.org/SpeakingInTongues.htm

AT YOUR WORD: What is the basis of our gospel and ministry?

Theological Conference, Joe Martin, April 2, 2022

INTRODUCTION:

As I was thinking about the mountains that Rebekah and I went on, in Israel, I remembered several, the Mt. of Olives, Mt. Zion, Mt. Gerizim, the Mt. of the Beatitudes, Mt. Carmel, etc. Those were some exciting times especially 1978, when we went into the “occupied territory” at Shechem, Nablus (Jacob’s well).

We hired an Arab taxi to take us to the top of Mt. Gerizim, which according to the Samaritan’s was the rock of Isaac’s sacrifice. (John 4:20, “this mountain”) It was a very windy day, and the only thing up on top were about twelve Israeli soldiers, a gun emplacement, and a blue sign, “The Rock of Isaac’s sacrifice.” It was a beautiful day, we could see all the way down to the Jordan river to the east, and across to the north of Shechem, Mt. Ebal.

I was remembering the covenants of the Old Testament about Ebal and Gerizim, and Joshua. However, almost immediately, the Israeli soldiers “got on our case” with tough words, basically saying, “you dumb Americans,” this is occupied territory! They kidnap Americans and you’re coming up here in an Arab taxi? They took us down the mountain, loaded us up in a military vehicle, with soldiers and automatic machine guns and drove us out of “occupied territory” saying, “Don’t do this again!” Exciting times I tell you!

The historic Ebal and Gerizim event is found in Joshua 8. “…The ark of the covenant of the LORD, the stranger as well as the native. Half of them stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had given command at first to bless the people of Israel (Joshua 8:33 ) “There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly… .” (Joshua 8:35) Bill Schlegel, in his Satellite Bible Atlas, has a great picture of both Ebal, and Mt. Gerizim. (p.44)

Rebekah & Arab taxi!

Another mountain I love, is Mt. Mulanje, about 40 miles east of Blantyre, Malawi, near the Mozambique. The reason I like it, is that it sits near the border and in the middle of our churches there. Anthony Buzzard, Jim Mattison, Rebekah and I, etc. spent many days, hours, at the Mulanje View Motel in the gazebos, teaching the pastors, Abrahamic, biblical faith. We would also have regional meetings which included the Mozambique pastors who would come across the river on the border about twenty miles away. There will be more on this later, related to teaching there.

MT. CARMEL STUDY:

Still another mountain of biblical fame is Mt Carmel. It is beautiful also, especially looking across to the west viewing the gorgeous Mediterranean sea and the beaches below and the port of Haifa just to the north. We could also see over to Har Megiddo, Mountain or Hill of Megiddo, 15-20 miles SE, and across the Jezreel valley over towards Nazareth, about 30 miles away. It got a little freaky when I started thinking about the Jezreel Valley, and Har Meggiddo, then Armageddon! While on top of Carmel, I remembered the GREAT battle of Elijah there, as recalled in I Kings 18. I’ve done a lot of thinking about that for this presentation!

AT YOUR WORD… I Kings 18:36

“At the time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and said, ‘Yahweh, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that at Your word I have done all these things.’ ” (CSB)

Here is a short review of the situation. Elijah is in the northern kingdom Israel, about 850 b.c., with Ahab and Jezebel ruling what has become a very idolatrous kingdom. He challenges the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table to a “showdown.” (I K. 18:19) Each side gets a bull to put on each altar. You know the story, the idolaters get the first try to call down “fire from heaven” to consume the bull on the altar. From morning until noon (I K. 18:26)… they leap around the altar, cried with loud voices and cut themselves. Verse 29 says, “…they raved until the time of the evening sacrifice.”

Elijah is pretty detailed when he takes over:

V, 30- he repaired the altar of YHWH which had been torn down

V, 31- he took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes…

V, 32- he built an altar in the name of YHWH and dug a trench around…

V, 33- he arranged the wood, cut the ox in pieces, and laid it on…

V, 34- he said, “fill four pitchers with water and pour it on the burnt offering

“Do it a second time” and they did it a second time

“Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time

V, 35 The water flowed around the altar and he also filled the trench…

NOW comes the big prayer that I think we should focus on:

36-"O LORD (YHWH), the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word. [Heb. Rt. DBR, DVR]

37-"Answer me, O LORD (YHWH), answer me, that this people may know that You, O LORD, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again."

38-Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water

39- When all the people saw it, they fell facedown and said,

"Yahweh, He is God! Yahweh, He is God!" (1Ki 18:39 CSB)

Hallelujah! ( Zondervan, NIV Interlinear, Kohlenberger )

What could our ministry be like if we did things totally, or at least as close as possible, “at His Word?” I would like to review the OT, and NT notions of the word of God, and emphasize that we should concentrate our ministries around the major points of the sure Word of God. I would also like to point how Jesus is the walking, talking Word, giving to us the same … word of God to evangelize and go out with, especially the Kingdom message.

Dabar, etc., DBR, דָּבָר

Dabar or Davar (modern pronunciation) is the “big one” for “word” in the Hebrew. It occurs in various forms about 2,662 times (Bibleworks). It could be speech, word, words, speaking, and things. “Word of the LORD”, in the lemma forms occur 440 times. The first one is in Genesis 15:1, “After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision… .” (דְבַר־יְהוָה ) “Word” is also emer, omer, emrah, imrah, with often a meaning of saying or speech.

God’s first two words in the Bible, Gen. 1:3 YeHiy OR יְהִ֣י א֑וֹר

Jeremiah has dabar YHWH occurring the most with 68 times; Ezekiel 58, Numbers 57, I Kings 38, Leviticus 37, Exodus 32, Deut. 20, etc. I remember several old time preachers saying “If it doesn’t say THUS SAITH THE LORD we shouldn’t be preaching it!” Maybe not a bad idea? Even the “protoeuangelion”, first gospel (Gen. 3:14,15) has “The LORD God said… I will put hostility (enmity KJV) between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will strike you head, and you will strike his heel.”(CSB) The second big good news according to Paul was preached to Abraham (Gal. 3:8) in Genesis 12:1-3 which says, “The LORD said to Abram… in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” Most of us would think that means the plan of the Kingdom through Jesus.

Exodus 7:1 and John 10:35b help us to understand that it was important for early leaders to focus on the word of the LORD. Moses, one of the first reluctant prophets, was told, “The LORD said to Moses, ‘See, I make you as God to Pharaoh… .” (Exodus 7:1) [note, the italicized is NOT in the Hebrew, it is elohiym, neither is the capitalizing of God/god ] With Jesus saying, “If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came…why do you say I am blaspheming, because I said, ‘I am the Son of god?’ “ (John 10:35,36 NASB) I SAID, “Uios tou Theou eimi !” I am the SON of God!

Working towards Jesus, one has to review another evangelical prophecy. Deut. 18:18,19דְבָרַי֙ בְּפִ֔יו וְדִבֶּ֣ר אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם My Words… in his mouth & he will speak to them...

דְבָרַי֙ = ,suffix, 1st person singular, Noun Common Masculine Plural

'I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. ¹⁹ 'It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him. (Deut. 18:18-19 )

“My words” is the singular construct debaray, Word/Message, first person singular, MY! The warning of verse 19 seems to be clear. As the prophet speaks MY WORDS and someone does not listen to him, “I myself will require it of him.” The Hebrew, is maybe, “seek him out”? But, it appears NOT good for the person that rejects that particular prophet. The LXX, has ekoikeo, to vindicate, to avenge, first person singular, I will avenge, seek out? Ex. 34:7 Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished.

We will get to it more in Jesus’ message, if it is Jesus ( J ), but if we do not take up Jesus’ message, which is God’s message, God himself will call us to account.

In Amos 8:11, we seem to have a prophecy of a famine of the word of the LORD. “Hear this! The days are coming-- this is the declaration of the Lord GOD-- when I will send a famine through the land: not a famine of bread or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. (Amos 8:11 CSB)

EXAMPLES TO CONSIDER:

Adam and Eve

God said, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat:

¹⁷ But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shalt not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die. (Gen 2:17 )

Eve said, …unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

³ But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die (Gen 3:2-3 KJV)

… ⁶ And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. (Gen 3:6 KJV)

Noah

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD (Gen 6:8 KJV)

¹³ Then God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence (hamas) because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.

¹⁴ "Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch.

¹⁵ "This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.

¹⁶ "You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and set the door of the ark in the side of it; you shall make it with lower, second, and third decks. (Gen 6:13-16 )

Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did… (Gen 6:22 )

( What would have happened if Noah HAD NOT followed directions? Capsized in a storm?)

Abraham, Gen. 12:1-3 The Abrahamic Covenant

Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you;

² And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing;

³ And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."

[He suggested, and tried other ideas. L ]

¹⁶ "I will bless her [Sarah], and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her."

¹⁷ Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?"

¹⁸ And Abraham said to God, "Oh that Ishmael might live before You!" (Gen 17:16-18 )

Eventually Abraham got true Abrahamic Faith. If God SAYS it, it will happen.

Moses

FIRST TIME: Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water that we may drink."

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.

⁶ "Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink." (Exo 17:2, 5-6 )

And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. (Exo 17:6 )

SECOND TIME: "Why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us in to this wretched place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink." (Num.20:5)

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

⁸ "Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink."

"Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?" (Num 20:10 )

Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly (Num 20:11 )

The Prophets

Isaiah: Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; For the LORD speaks, (Isa 1:2 )

Hear the word of the LORD, You rulers of Sodom; (Isa 1:10 )

"Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool. (Isa 1:18)

For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. (Isa 2:3 )

So the word of the LORD to them will be, "Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line

(Isa 28:13)

⁵ Hear the word of the LORD, you who tremble at His word: (Isa 66:5)

Isaiah 49:6: (A big one from the first Suffering Servant Song!) My God is my strength!

My Salvation Yeshuah-tiy, 7 times Hebrew, 12 times English H to T for feminine

Jeremiah:

1:1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests …

² to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah (Jer 1:1-2 NAU)

The word of the LORD came to me saying, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" (Jer 1:11 NAU)

(almond tree…)

¹³ The word of the LORD came to me a second time saying, "What do you see?" (Jer 1:13 )

(boiling pot…)

The LORD appeared to him from afar, saying, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness. (Jer 31:3)

מֵרָח֕וֹק יְהוָ֖ה נִרְאָ֣ה לִ֑י וְאַהֲבַ֤ת עוֹלָם֙ אֲהַבְתִּ֔יךְ עַל־כֵּ֖ן מְשַׁכְתִּ֥יךְ חָֽסֶד׃

(Jer 31:3 WTT)

From a distance, YHWH appeared to him…VeAHaVaT Olam, Loved you Olam!

Root, DBR YHWH… Jeremiah 68x, Eze. 58, Num 57, I K. 38, Lev. 32, Et. 20, etc.

Logos, Rhema, etc NEW TESTAMENT

In the New Testament, logos, occurs 330 times, rema, in the lemma, occurs 68 times. The English, “word,” occurs some 206 times. There are many renderings of logos. Of course this is a giant study, especially with John chapter one. Several meanings of logos can be reviewed, reason, speech, statement, communication, what’s in the mind alone, plan, blueprint, etc.

The T.D.N.T., Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. 4, has seventy-four pages on this discussion, much by Kittel. A few of my favorite tidbits:

“The development of logos is exactly parallel to that of lego… the sense of collection, counting, reckoning, calculation, account, narrative, word, speech, etc.”

(Vol. 4, 73-74)

“After the age of the ancient epic, logos is used for ‘what is spoken’ in the widest and most varied sense.” (74)

“From the second half of the 5^th century (BC) it is used subjectively for man’s ratio, his ability to think (synon. with nous), reason.” (78)

“No matter how we construe it as used by the Greeks, it stands in contrast to the “Word” of the OT and NT.” (79) [VERSUS… what God or Jesus SAID… Preached]

In Hellenism, “the particular logos of man is only part of the great general logos.” (85)

“In connection with theological logos speculation, …Osiris is the half personified logos created by Isis, a spiritual reflection of the world. … Hermes tells how by God’s mercy he became logos and hence uios Theou.” (86)

[ then along comes Philo “the Jew” circa 1^st century b.c.}

“The Logos concept plays a considerable role in Philo. This is shown at once by the fact that he uses it over 1300 times…. . logos Theou…(or Theios logos) in the sense of the ‘divine reason,’ the ‘epitome of divine wisdom.’” (88) [ Versus… only ~300x NT !! ]

“This logos Theou or Theios logos, as the new use with the gen. shows, is no longer God Himself… It is an ergon of God. It is a god, but of the second rank.” “God has begotten the kosmos noetos as His first-born son. This is equated with the logos.” (89)

Onward… “It seems that Philo did his utmost to make the relation between God and the logos as complex as possible.” ( plato.stanford.edu, “Major Philosophical Themes and Methods in Philo”) I remind you, and me, of the old Jerusalem Bible quote of Ecc. 7:29, “God made man simple, his complex problems are of his own devisings.”

The T.D.N.T. continued with some clarity, “The roots AMR [to say] and DBR [word, speech] are the main Hebrew equivalents of the Greek logos, also logion, rema, resis. … The basic classical word for logos in history and law, prophecy and poetry, is however, dabar, ‘word.’” ( 92-93)

BACK TO THE BIBLE:

If one were to take Jesus at his word (J), he says in John ,

"He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. (cp. Dt. 18:19)

⁴⁹ "For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak.

⁵⁰ "I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me." (Joh 12:48-50 NASB)

When anyone hears the word (logos) of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart (Mat 13:19 )

Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. (Luke 8:11)

WORD of… Occurs 89 times in the New Testament. (NASB) Forty-two times it is the “word of God,” 16x word of the Lord, 4x word of truth, 2x word of his grace, 2x word of Jesus, etc. Etc. includes, word of… the Kingdom, the woman, Isaiah, exhortation, promise, faith, the cross, wisdom, reconciliation, of life, mouth, His Power, righteousness, the oath, my perseverance, their testimony.

My Words… Jesus:

John 14:24 the word which you hear is not Mine (Joh 14:24 NASB)

Matthew 24:35 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

Mark 8:38 "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."

Mark 13:31 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

Luke 1:20 because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time."

Luke 6:47 "Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them Luke 9:26 "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

Luke 21:33 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

Luke 24:44 Now He said to them, "These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled."

John 5:47 "But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"

John 14:24 "He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me.

John 15:7 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

KEY –Parable of the SOWER (Mt. 13, Mk 4, Lk 8), & Jesus’ Sending

When anyone hears the word of the kingdom (Mat 13:19 ) 9x seed

As he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road (Mar 4:4 ) 8x seed

Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. (Luk 8:11 ) 7x seed

The euangellion of God, is based on God, His Thought, His Plan; it is based on the coming Kingdom prepared for believers since the foundation of the world; it is based on a way to cleanse us to enable us to enter. When Jesus said, “it is finished” the ultimate sacrifice, “once for all,” was made for us to enter the Kingdom. Lord help us live lives accordingly.

Paralleling, is the importance to Jesus in Luke, 4:43, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose,” are the directions to believers to follow Jesus’ example.

Luke 8:1: Soon afterwards, He began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God.

Luke 9:2,3 And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing. And He said to them, ‘Take nothing for your journey…’

Luke 10:1 Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him

Luke 10:9 … heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'

Acts 1:3 He also presented Himself alive… (and for) Forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.

Acts 1:8 …You shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth…

Acts 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.

Acts 8:12 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. (KJV)

Let’s look at Paul a little closer. Jesus was a preacher of the Kingdom of God, the “Son of Man” that was to rule it, and grace and truth, how about Paul? In the last chapter of Acts, Luke gives us the kathexis, orderly report of things at the end of Paul’s life. Please pay careful attention to the emphasis when Paul had to defend the “sect,” that was spoken against everywhere! His preaching, teaching, included, ONE God, versus Rome’s Polytheism. See I Cor. 8:6… “Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things… .”

It included the Kingdom of God versus the empire of Caesar. WE have a similar situations!

Romans 10:14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?

2 Tim. 2:2 The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others

Heb. 2:2,3 ² For if the word (logos) spoken through angels proved unalterable…

³ how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?

Heb. 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two- edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit…

Rev. 5:9,10 "Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

¹⁰ "You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth."

Rev. 11:15 The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. (KJV)

Rev. 19:6 Hallelujah, because our Lord God, the Almighty, has begun to reign!

Rev. 19:13 He wore a robe stained with blood, and His name is the Word of God

Rev. 21:3 …they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,

Rev. 22:3,4 There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; ⁴ they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.