For future study

I keep on thinking about verses that I want to examine, but I don't get around to them. For my own amusement, I'm listing some of those verses here.

• John 3:14 and related Old Testament verses(just because I want to look at some of the verses surrounding John 3:16)


• Matthew 21:21, John 14:14, Matthew 7:7, Matthew 17:20, Mark 11:24, and related verses (such as 2 Corinthians 12:7-10) about answered prayer (see here and here)


• Colossians 2:6-10 (based upon an indictment of Christian psychologists that I heard over the radio one day)


• I Corinthians 11:27-32 (see here)

Perhaps some day I'll get to these.

2 Samuel 11-12; 1 Chronicles 20 Verses 1-3

Confession - in the past, I've regarded Samuel/Kings more highly than Chronicles, even applying the word "sanitized" to the latter.

For example, look at what is covered in 2 Samuel 11-12:

• Devious commander goes off to war


• King stays home


• King meets girl


• King kisses girl (etc.)


• Girl contacts king


• King summons girl's husband to come home


• Husband doesn't go all the way...home


• King gets husband drunk


• Husband doesn't go all the way...home


• King contacts devious commander


• Devious commander has husband killed


• King marries girl


• Girl has baby


• Nathan tells a story


• King reacts to story


• Nathan tells the rest of the story


• King feels really bad


• Baby gets sick


• King stops eating


• Baby dies


• King starts eating


• Servants criticize king


• King explains actions to servants


• Girl has another baby


• Oh yeah...king goes out to this war that's been going on

A very involved story about power, sin, and repentance. But here's how the author of Chronicles tells the same story in 1 Chronicles 20:1-3:

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1 Chronicles 20:1-3 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, Joab led out the armed forces. He laid waste the land of the Ammonites and went to Rabbah and besieged it, but David remained in Jerusalem. Joab attacked Rabbah and left it in ruins. 2 David took the crown from the head of their king [a] —its weight was found to be a talent [b] of gold, and it was set with precious stones—and it was placed on David's head. He took a great quantity of plunder from the city 3 and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes. David did this to all the Ammonite towns. Then David and his entire army returned to Jerusalem.

Footnotes:

a. 1 Chronicles 20:2 Or of Milcom , that is, Molech
b. 1 Chronicles 20:2 That is, about 75 pounds (about 34 kilograms)

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At first I thought that the Samuel version of the story was instructive, and that the Chronicles version of the story teaches us nothing.

But then I thought about it - in essence, the Chronicles version teaches us, in effect, that God can use every one of us.

The Chronicles writer didn't care about the sins that David had committed. What was important to the Chronicles writer was that David served God and was able to do God's work. And an important work it was, as the footnotes show - David destroyed an icon to Molech at the end of the battle.

When we read the story of David and Bathsheba in Samuel, we can potentially forget how it ends. No, it doesn't end with Solomon's birth - it ends with the story of what happened to Rabbah. I don't know if the story is told strictly chronologically - if it were, then the siege at Rabbah would have been at least 18 months long (beginning before the conception of Bathsheba's first son, and ending after the birth of Bathsheba's second son). However, the "meanwhile" in 2 Samuel 12:26 indicates that the siege and the Bathsheba/Uriah/Solomon episode were going on in parallel. Note that the whole story of Bathsheba is bracketed by the story of the siege of Rabbah. There's bound to be some significance in this.

Genesis 15 Verse 6; Romans 4 Verse 3; James 2 Verse 23; Genesis 22

Genesis 15:6 is a verse that is cited in several different contexts. Let's look at the verse itself:

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Genesis 15:6 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

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In my view, two of the most important citations are as follows [1] [2]:

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Romans 4:1-5 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

1What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? 2If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
4Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. 5However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.

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James 2:21-24 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. 24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

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Yep, Romans and James. Faith and works. Isaac and Isaac.

Isaac and Isaac. Both verses talk about Isaac, but in different ways.

Paul refers to the story in Genesis 15:1-6, in which God promises Abraham that he will have an heir. Abraham believed at this time (Genesis 15:6), showing his faith.

By chapter 16, Abram's faith must have wavered a bit, because he figured out another way to have an heir. By chapter 18, God's way was again foretold, and by chapter 21 God's promise began to be fulfilled. Needless to say I'm skimming over a bunch of stuff, but you know that a lot had happened to Abram/Abraham in the years since God visited him in Genesis 15.

Which brings us to Genesis 22, the incident cited by James. In fact, James says that the Genesis 15 scripture was fulfilled in Genesis 22. Abraham's faith had not lain fallow, but had continued to develop to a point where this "work" of placing Isaac on the altar could proceed from his deep faith.

I Corinthians 15 Verse 29, I Peter 3 Verse 19, and I Peter 4 Verse 6

We recently received a letter that cited I Peter 3:19 and I Peter 4:6. It didn't cite 1 Corinthians 15:29, but it could have.

So do these verses say that we should be baptizing dead people?

The I Corinthians verse falls within the context of verses discussing the resurrection - namely, 1 Cor 15:12-34. In essence, Paul is saying that if the Corinthians believe that there is no resurrection of the dead, then how can Christ have raised from the dead? In the process of this argument, but before verse 29, Paul says the following:

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1 Corinthians 15:18-19 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

18Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

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This statement, taken out of context, does not mean that we are lost. It means that if we do not believe in resurrection of the dead, then we are lost. Yet I'm certain that there's some anti-Christian group that claims that the Bible "proves" that Christians are lost.

Now let's look at verse 29:

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1 Corinthians 15:29 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

29Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them?

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It's interesting to note that Paul uses the third person plural here, which gives a clue about what's going on. Paul didn't say "...what will we do who are baptized for the dead?" There's no verse that records anything about Paul baptizing for the dead.

This statement, taken out of context, does not mean that we should baptize for the dead. It means that if we do not believe in resurrection of the dead, then it's ridiculous for third parties to baptize for the dad. Yet I'm certain that there's some anti-Christian group that claims that the Bible "proves" that we should baptize the dead.

Let's move on to I Peter 3:19, which speaks of preaching "to the spirits in prison." The surrounding verses, 13 through 22, happen to speak of baptism and resurrection. But they also speak a lot about suffering for doing good. Right before verse 19, Peter says the following:

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1 Peter 3:18 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

18For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,

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Christ died for sins once for all? Interesting.

But let's take a peek at I Peter 4:6, which says that the gospel was preached to the dead. Or does it?

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1 Peter 4:6 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

6For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.

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But if you always use the King James Version, you might read something slightly different:

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1 Peter 4:6 (King James Version)
King James Version (KJV)
Public Domain

6For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

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Yet even the KJV distinguishes between the preaching of the gospel (past tense) and the state of the persons as dead (present tense).

So if Peter isn't talking about preaching to dead people, then what is he talking about?

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1 Peter 4:1-6 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

1Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. 2As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. 3For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. 4They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. 5But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.

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One way to sum this up is to say that Christians are done with sin, and sin no longer has a hold on us. Assurance of salvation and everything else falls into this pot.

It can also be noted that the gospel is preached, people die, and then they are judged. The implications of this would require a much larger study.

I Corinthians 13, and 12, and 14

Context is important.

You know 1 Corinthians 13, don't you? It's the love chapter (or the "LUVVVVVV" chapter - long story).

But perhaps it's important to see where it falls within 1 Corinthians itself. The earlier Pauline letters tend to be somewhat orderly things that move from point to point. So what does Paul say BEFORE "love it patient and kind"? And what does he say afterwards?

Well, 1 Corinthians 12 speaks about spiritual gifts. Throughout the letter, it appeasr that Paul is answering questions that the people at Corinth posed to him. (I guess that makes Paul the Answer Man of his day.)

So what does Paul say in 1 Corinthians 12? First, he says that there are different spiritual gifts, but they all come from the same God. There are several lists of spiritual gifts throughout the Bible. Here are the ones cited in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10:

• Wisdom


• Knowledge


• Faith


• Healing


• Miraculous powers


• Prophecy


• Distinguishing between spirits


• Speaking in tongues


• Interpretation of tongues

Then comes the famous description of the interdependence of the parts of the body (two thousand years after Paul, Snoopy made the same points). Then in verse 28, we have another list of spiritual gifts, and it is again emphasized that all gifts come from the same God. And it is also noted that each gift is important ("...are all apostles?..."). Incidentally, here's the list of gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:28:

• apostles


• prophets


• teachers


• workers of miracles


• healing


• those able to help others


• administration


• speaking in different kinds of tongues

But before we concentrate on the gifts, Paul says "And now I will show you the most excellent way." THEN we transition into 1 Corinthians 13, and the first three verses speak about spiritual gifts again. But this time, Paul notes that spiritual gifts without love are useless.

Now we see the context of "love is patient" etc. Love is an important factor in the use of the spiritual gifts that have been bestowed to us. This is emphasized again in 1 Corinthians 13:8:

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1 Corinthians 13:8 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

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So while the spiritual gifts are important, love is much more important.

The first twenty-five verses of 1 Corinthians 14 continue the spiritual gifts theme, this time comparing two of the spiritual gifts - prophecy, and speaking in tongues. Paul clearly believes that the former is of more value to the congregation, because tongues without interpretation does not benefit the assembled people (including unbelievers), while (true) prophecy will benefit the assembly.

After all, it's loving.

Acts 17, Verses 11 and 13, and James 1, Verse 2

The best place to kick this off is at Acts 17, verse 11:

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Acts 17:11 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

11Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

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This is one of my favorite verses, and is oft-cited by others. In fact, years ago the First United Methodist Church in Upland, California had a Bible study group named "Bereans," and I bet there are countless others.

But - and I think this will come out as I post on this blog - you can't look at one verse in isolation in the Bible. Attempts to look at one verse and ignore all others have led to all sorts of falsehoods.

Obviously, many people look at the preceding verses about the Thessalonians, the mob that was organized, and the escape that Paul and Silas had to make. And people look at verse 12, where the preaching of Paul and the others bears fruit.

As Paul Harvey would say, there's the rest of the story. How did these wonderful Bereans treat Paul in the end?

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Acts 17:13 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

13When the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, they went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up.

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I confess that I often skip over this verse, ignoring the fact that the Bible-reading Bereans ended up reacting similarly to the "less noble" Thessalonians.

Bible reading isn't enough. A few nights ago I watched a 1980s-era VHS for children about the Bible. It had all sorts of cute characters and all sorts of cute songs, and one should not expect a fully developed theology from such a production. Yet there was a significant gap in the study, even considering the audience. First, let's see what the VHS did cover:

• The Bible consists of 66 books.


• The Bible includes some really great stories - believe it or not!


• The Bible includes multiple forms of literature.


• Many great men have said things about the Bible in the past.

Notice what's missing?

I do not recollect one mention of "Jesus" or "the Holy Spirit" in the entire video, and I'm not even sure that they mentioned the word "God" all that much. If so, He certainly wasn't prominent.

Even us "sola scriptura" Lutherans realize that the Bible itself is worthless except as the Word of God. And, as James points out, it's not enough to just study it:

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James 1:22 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

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