LHIM Classes

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LHIM Classes episodes

August 08, 2024 5. I am the Resurrection and the Life
John 11:1-53
Lazarus < Elazar – “God is a help”
Bethany = House of Dates
Mary and Martha: Luke 10:38-42
John 10:39. Therefore they were seeking again to seize him, and he eluded their grasp.
John 13:36-38
11:19. “Jews” – the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory
11:23. “Rise again” – anistēmi, verb = “rise up”
11:24. “Resurrection” – anastasis, noun = “a rising up”
11:23-26. Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise up. Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise up in the rising up on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the rising up and the life; he who believes in me will live even if he dies. And everyone who lives and believes in me will no not die – unto the age. Do you believe this?
Old Testament references to resurrection:
Daniel 12:1-2; Hosea 13:14; Isaiah 25:8; Ezekiel 37; Psalm 16:8-10
Romans 1:1-4
Why was Jesus troubled:
Lazarus’ death
Wailing of the people
Unbelief of people
Thinking about what lay in store for himself
11:53-54
John 8:59. Therefore they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the Temple.
John 10:39. Therefore they were seeking again to seize him, and he eluded their grasp.
The post 5. I am the Resurrection and the Life first appeared on Living Hope.
48 min
August 01, 2024 4. I am the Good Shepherd
John 9:35-41; John 10:1-18
John 9
Jesus, as he leaves the Temple area, tells the man born blind to go wash in the Pool of Siloam [Sent];
The man goes and is healed.
Pharisees get involved, question the man, are upset that healing took place on the sabbath.
Man is just grateful; Pharisees excommunicate him.
Jesus hears that the man is being condemned by the Pharisees and tracks him down.
Jesus confronts the Pharisees who gave man born blind a hard time.
10:1. Door = gate; fold = courtyard or corral; open air, walls of stone
“Thief” = kleptēs – implies stealth
10:6. “Figure of speech” – proverb, “a short symbolic narrative”
10:8. “All who came before me” is referring to false messiahs, false prophets, selfish leaders, etc.
10:11. Shepherd: poimēn = “one who tends to”
Used metaphorically of a person’s care for others
Ephesians 4:11
English word “pastor” derived from Latin: “pastor”
Ps 23:1-2
Ezekiel 34:1-4; Jeremiah 23:1-5; Ezekiel 34:23-24
John 10:11. “…the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
John 10:15. “…I lay down my life for the sheep.”
John 10:17. “…I lay down my life.”
John 10:18. “…I lay it down….”
The post 4. I am the Good Shepherd first appeared on Living Hope.
28 min
July 25, 20243. I am the Light of the World
John 7:1-15; 37-52
John 8:12-20; 9:1-7
John 7
Feast of Booths (Tabernacles) – Leviticus 23:39-43; Deuteronomy 16:13-17
Mark 3:21-22. Family thought Jesus had “lost his senses”.
7:15. Luke 2:46-47 Teachers were amazed at understanding of 12 year-old Jesus.
John 7:37. John 6:35b “He who believes in me will never [no not] thirst.”
7:39. Isaiah 32:15; 44:3; Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26-27, 39:29; Joel 2:28-29
7:40. THE prophet – Deuteronomy 18:15 “YHWH your God will raise you up a prophet … you shall listen to him.”
John 7:52. Jonah and possibly others came from Galilee.
John 7:53-8:11. Not contained in the earliest and best Greek manuscripts (MSS)
Some MSS place it after Luke 21:38.
John 8:12
Light – phos (photon)
2 Peter 1:19. And so we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.
Morning star – phosphorus (light-bearer)
Follows = accompany (as a disciple)
“I am” – ego eimi, pronoun ego denotes “I” is emphatic; occurs in all “I am” statements
Messianic prophecies related to light
Luke 2:28-32. A light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel
Isaiah 9:1-2. The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.
Isaiah 42:1, 6-7. I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations, to open blind eyes
Correspondence between “light” and “sight” and “darkness” and “blindness”
Isaiah 49:6. I will also make You a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth
John 8:12-20
John 9:1-7
Six events recorded in the Gospels that the Pharisees considered that Jesus was breaking the Sabbath:
Picking grain
Healing man with a withered hand
Healing woman who was bent over
Healing man with dropsy [swollen limbs]
Healing crippled man at the Pool of Bethesda
Healing man who was born blind
9:7
Pool of Siloam, south of the Temple, downhill, near convergence of Kidron and Hinnom valleys; about ¼ mile
“I am the Light of the World”
“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” ― C.S. Lewis
Jesus is not only the source of our light, but through him we “see” everything else.
John 1:18. Jesus explains the Father
John 14:9. He who has seen me has seen the Father.
Isaiah 49:6b. “I will also make You a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
The post 3. I am the Light of the World first appeared on Living Hope.
43 min
July 18, 2024 2. I Am the Bread of Life
John 6:22-58, 66-69
Sea of Galilee
Sea of Tiberias
Sea of Chinnereth [“harp”?]
Lake of Gennesaret
Sea of Ginosar
Kinneret
90 miles north of Jerusalem
“Lake”
35 miles circumference
13 miles long, 8 miles wide;
64 square miles
Lowest freshwater lake on earth; 700 feet below sea level
Caesarea Philippi 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee 1,150 feet above sea level. Headwaters of the Jordan River.
North of Caesarea Philippi is Mt. Hermon – elevation 8,000 –10,000 feet
Dead Sea 105 miles south of Sea of Galilee; 1,400 feet below sea level (lowest place on earth); 10Xs saltier than the ocean; mineral salts; 25 miles east of Jerusalem, rise of 4,000 ft.
Feeding of 5,000; only miracle in all 4 Gospels:
Matt 14; Mark 6; Luke 9; John 6
No other miracles in John are in other Gospels.
Mark 6:34; Matt 14:13-14; Luke 9:11
John 6:14-15
John 6:22-60
6:22-24. The Message: The next day the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there, except one, and that Jesus had not entered with His disciples into the boat, but that His disciples had gone away alone. There came other small boats from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus.
Background about manna
Israel in Egypt, after about 400 hundred years, ended up in bondage
Moses leads Israel out of Egypt, across Red Sea; wilderness.
45 days later, hungry and thirsty
Exodus 16:1-7, 14-16
Exodus 16:15 “What is it” – “man hu”
“Give us this day our daily bread”
“Came from heaven” means God provided it.
John 6:35 “I am the bread of life” – egō eimi o artos tēs zōēs
“I (egō) am (eimi)”- pronoun egō, emphasizes the pronoun “I”
Exodus 17:1-6 God provides water.
1 Corinthians 10:3-4. and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.
God’s provision of bread and water was a TYPE of what the Messiah would accomplish on a bigger scale.
6:40 “Eternal” = “age” – pointing to life in the age of the Kingdom of God.
“Eat his flesh and drink his blood” means believe in what he will have accomplished in his atoning work on the cross.
The only way back to the tree of life is to trust in the one who hung upon the tree of death. —Trevor Laurence
John 6:35. Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.”
John 6:41. Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.”
John 6:48. I am the bread of life.
John 6:51. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”
The post 2. I Am the Bread of Life first appeared on Living Hope.
53 min
July 10, 20241. Introduction & Background
It is in these seven statements that Jesus reveals much about his ministry and mission, and even though there is no record in the Gospels of him specifically stating, “I am the Messiah”, we will see that it is in making these proclamations, that he is indeed saying he is YHWH’s Anointed, the Messiah
Mark 8:27-30
“Who is Jesus?”
A: a prophet; a philosopher; a moral teacher, just like the Buddha, Confucius, Mohamed; was he “nice guy” who accepted people for who they were, that got caught up in the politics of his day, a “wanna be” Jewish Messiah, who lead his followers down the road to heresy and died the death of a Roman criminal, only to have his disciples make up some wild story about him being raised from the dead.
Or
B: the true Messiah, the Son of God who was prophesied of in the Old Testament, sent from God and carried out his mission as the Messiah, including his death, whom God raised from the dead.
John 20:30-31. the purpose of the Book of John
Background
Matthew, Mark and Luke are called the “synoptic” gospels.
“Synoptic” = taking the same point of view
Use of Words in the Greek Text of the Four Gospels
Word
Matt
Mark
Luke
John
glory doxa, glorify doxazō
12
4
22
42
work ergon, ergazomai
15
3
8
35
abide, remain menō abode monē
3
2
7
43
light phōs
7
1
6
23
“Amen, amen” amēn amēn
0
0
0
25
“my Father”, “the Father”
58
5
21
156
love agapē agapaō
9
5
14
44
love phileō
5
1
2
13
life zōē live zaō
13
7
14
54
sign sēmeion
13
7
11
17
truth alētheia
5
6
7
51
world kosmos
9
3
3
79
Jews Ioudaios
13
7
15
54
believe pisteuō
11
15
9
100
world – kosmos orderly arrangement of something; a decoration or ornament
Jeremiah 2:32. (Septuagent) Can a virgin forget her ornaments (kosmos) or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten me
Order of the heavens and earth
The people that are a part of that arraignment
The sinful people and evil systems that make up the “world”; that part of the world that is separated and opposed to God
“this world” in John usually spoken by Jesus; that which is contrary to God
John 18:36. “My kingdom is not of this world”
Jews – In John the word “Jews” (Ioudaios)
A general term for those who are ethnically Judean and/or religiously following Judaism. Paul referred to himself as of the tribe of Benjamin and yet he also called himself a Jew.
Used of those who lived in the region around the area of Jerusalem, [Judea] ( Ioudaia) as opposed to Samaritans and Galileans. Some supportive, others antagonistic towards Jesus.
Often of the Jewish leaders, most of whom were against Jesus.
Believe – “believe in” or “believe on” Jesus
Believe UNTO (eis) denotes all the way into; faithfulness, commitment, loyalty
Over 30 verses used in reference “believe in” John 2 – John 16
John 2:11. This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.
John 2:23. Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing.
John 3:14-18. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
John 3:36. He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
John 4:39. From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.”
John 6:29. Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”
John 6:35. Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.
John 6:40. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
John 6:47. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.
John 7:5. For not even His brothers were believing in Him.
John 7:31. But many of the crowd believed in Him; and they were saying, “When the Christ comes, He will not perform more signs than those which this man has, will He?”
John 7:38-39. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'” But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
John 7:48. No one of the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Him, has he?
John 8:30. As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.
John 9:35-36. Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”
John 10:42. Many believed in Him there.
John 11:25-27. Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.”
John 11:45. Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him.
John 11:48. If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
John 12:10-11. But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also; because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.
John 12:37. But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him.
John 12:42. Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue;
John 12:44-46. And Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.
John 14:1. “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.
John 14:12. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.
John 16:9. concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me
Christ Not Jesus’ last name
English for Greek christos = “anointed”
Equivalent to Hebrew mâshı̂yach = “anointed (one) < mâshach = smear, anoint (with oil)
Bread for use in the Tabernacle was “anointed” with oil
Used when designating someone for an office or function: kings, priests, some prophets
Psalm 133:1-2. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, coming down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard, coming down upon the edge of his robes.
Throughout Old Testament, there would be “the anointed one” who would be a part of God’s promises of a future restoration.
Equivalent titles:
Son of God: it was Jesus’ claim to be the son of God that offended the Jewish leaders
Psalm 2:6-7. “But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain. I will surely tell of the decree of YHWH: He said to me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You.
Son of David points to lineage of David as King
King
Son of Man Numbers 23:19a God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent;
When God addresses Ezekiel, He address him as “son of man” [93 X’s]
Daniel 7:13. I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven one like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him.
THE Prophet Deut 18:15 “YHWH your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.
The post 1. Introduction & Background first appeared on Living Hope.
37 min
March 29, 202418: Helpful Tools to Understand the Bible
18 Helpful Tools to Understand the Bible – Notes Download
Why do we need extra-biblical tools to help us understand the Bible?
Different geography
Different history
Different cultures (ancient Near Eastern, first-century Jewish, Greco-Roman)
Different economics
Different literacy rates
Different scientific and philosophical knowledge
Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)
Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)
Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (2015)
The IVP Bible Dictionary Series
Dictionary of OT: Pentateuch (2002)
Dictionary of OT: Historical Books (2005)
Dictionary of OT: Wisdom, Poetry, & Writings (2008)
Dictionary of OT: Prophets (2012)
Dictionary of NT Background (2000)
Dictionary of Jesus & Gospels (2013)
Dictionary of Paul & Letters (2023)
Dictionary of the Later NT (1997)
Commentaries
Fee & Stuart: “Jesus says, ‘…It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’ You will sometimes hear it said that there was a gate in Jerusalem known as the “Needle’s Eye,” which camels could go through only by kneeling, and with great difficulty. The point of this “interpretation” is that a camel could in fact go through the “Needle’s Eye.” The trouble with this “exegesis,” however, is that it is simply not true. There never was such a gate in Jerusalem at any time in its history. The earliest known “evidence” for this idea is found in the eleventh century(!) in a commentary by a Greek churchman named Theophylact, who had the same difficulty with the text that many later readers do. After all, it is impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, and that was precisely Jesus’ point. It is impossible for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom. It takes a miracle for a rich person to get saved…”1
Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary (ZIBBC – 10 vols.)
New International Commentary (NICOT – 30 vols.; NICNT – 20 vols.)
New International Greek Testament Commentary (NIGTC – 12 vols.)
The New Testament for Everyone by N. T. Wright (18 vols.)
Bible Project Videos
Book Overviews (OT – 39 videos; NT – 26 videos)
How to Read the Bible (19 videos)
Themes (41 videos)
Word Studies (21 videos)
Many more at com/explore/
Software
Lots of translations
Original language resources
Cross-references
Outlines
Search tools
Accordance & Logos
Search Tools
Artificial intelligence chat bots (openai.com)
Crowd sourced websites (info/topics)
Review
Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias provide short articles on places, individuals, and topics in the Bible.
Older and free research tools sometimes contain inaccuracies that more recent scholarship has overturned or updated.
A good commentary tells you the options for interpreting a verse, reasons for each of those options, and a suggestion for which one makes the most sense.
The Bible Project’s book overview videos are really helpful to get a general understanding of a book of the Bible.
Bible software on PCs, tablets, and phones provide worldclass research tools to help you study scripture.
When searching for a phrase, a topic, or something specific, you can use a Bible app, openbible.info, or AI.
Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014). p. 29.
The post 18: Helpful Tools to Understand the Bible first appeared on Living Hope.
31 min
March 27, 202417: How to Choose a Bible Translation
17 How to Choose a Bible Translation – Notes Download
Translation basics
Fee & Stuart: “Your Bible, whatever translation you use, which is your beginning point, is in fact the end result of much scholarly work. Translators are regularly called upon to make choices regarding meanings, and their choices are going to affect how you”1
“Every translation is a commentary” -Lee Brice
The Bible is in three languages.
Hebrew: Old Testament except the Aramaic part
Nearly 99% of the OT (22,945 of 23,213 verses)
Aramaic: half of Daniel and two passages in Ezra
Daniel 2.4b-7.28; Ezra 4.8-6.18; 7.12-26
About 1% of the OT (268 of 23,213 verses)
Greek: New Testament (all 7,968 verses)
How to begin learning Hebrew or Greek
Immersion program in Israel or Greece
Whole Word Institute offers a 9-month program.
In-person college class (usually 2 semesters)
Local colleges, RTS offers an 8-week summer program.
In-person classes at a Jewish synagogue or Greek church or community center
Online program with live instructor
Biblical Language Center, Liberty University, etc.
Digital program with pre-recordings
Aleph with Beth (YouTube), Bill Mounce’s DVD
course, etc.
How to improve your existing knowledge of Hebrew or Greek
Reading group in-person or online
Read a portion each week together.
Daily dose of Hebrew/Greek/Aramaic
Daily YouTube videos of one verse each (email list)
Read every day.
Read the Bible; read devotionals; read comic books (Glossa House produces great resources)
Watch modern Hebrew and Greek shows.
Izzy is like Netflix for Israel/Hebrew
Greece has lots of channels streaming online.
Translation process (1 Timothy 2:5 example)
Greek New Testament (NA28)
Εἷς γὰρ θεός,
εἷς καὶ μεσίτης θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων,
ἄνθρωπος Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς
Literal translation
One for god,
one and mediator of god and men,
man Christ Jesus
Finished translation
For (there is) one God, and (there is) one mediator between God and mankind, (the) man Christ Jesus.
New Testament critical editions
Nestle Aland 28th Edition (NA28) based on the Editio Critica Maior (ECM), which employs the coherence based genealogical method (CBGM)
Tyndale House Greek New Testament (THGNT) prioritizes trusted physical manuscripts over the CBGM.
Old Testament critical editions
Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS) and the partially completed Biblia Hebraica Quinta (BHQ) print the Leningrad Codex in the main text, but include alternative readings in the footnotes.
Hebrew Bible Critical Edition (HBCE) by Ronald Mendel is a project of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) to develop a critical edition.
Resources to see decisions about alternative readings
NET Bible (accessible at org)
New Testament Text and Commentary by Philip Comfort
A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament by Bruce Metzger
Formal equivalence translation philosophy
Fee & Strauss: “If the Greek or Hebrew text uses an infinitive, the English translation will use an infinitive. When the Greek or Hebrew has a prepositional phrase, so will the English…The goal of this translational theory is formal correspondence as much as possible.”2
Ron Rhodes: “Formal equivalence translations can also be trusted not to mix too much commentary in with the text derived from the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. To clarify, while all translation entails some interpretation, formal equivalence translations keep to a minimum in intermingling interpretive additives into the text. As one scholar put it, ‘An essentially literal translation operates on the premise that a translator is a steward of what someone else has written, not an editor and exegete who needs to explain or correct what someone else has written.’”3
Dynamic equivalence translation philosophy
Ron Rhodes: “Dynamic equivalence translations generally use shorter words, shorter sentences, and shorter paragraphs. They use easy vocabulary and use simple substitutes for theological and cultural terminology. They often convert culturally dependent figures of speech into easy, direct statements. They seek to avoid ambiguity as well as biblical jargon in favor of a natural English style. Translators concentrate on transferring meaning rather than mere words from one language to another.”
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Formal vs. dynamic comparison
Formal Equivalence Dynamic Equivalence
Formal Correspondence Functional Equivalence
Word for Word Thought for Thought
Literal Readable
Transparent to Originals Replicates Experience
Transfer Interpretation Interpretation Built In
Accurate Easy to Understand
Formal equivalence Bibles
ESV: English Standard Version
NASB: New American Standard Bible
LSB: Legacy Standard Bible
NRSV: New Revised Standard Version
HCSB: Holman Christian Standard Bible
Gender Accuracy5
“Man” used to mean “men and women”
“Men” used to mean “men and women”
“he” used to mean “he or she”
Translations are changing with the changes in the English language so that female readers recognize the relevance of scripture to them
See Eph 4:28; Mat 11:15; etc.
Combatting bias
To combat bias, look at translations from different thought camps.
Evangelical: NIV, NLT, ESV, NASB, NET, CSB, HCSB, LEB MSG, Passion, Amplified, LSB, CEV, TEV/GNT, NCV, NIrV
Jewish: JPS, KJB, Stone, Robert Altar, Shocken
Catholic: NABRE, NAB, RNJB, NJB, JB, Douay-Rheims
Mainline: NRSV, NEB, NKJ, RSV, ASV, KJV
Unitarian: REV, NWT, Diaglott, KGV, Buzzard, NEV
Review
If you can, learn the biblical languages so you can read the actual words of scripture rather than depending on a translation.
Translations of the New Testament depend on the Greek critical text known as the Nestle Aland 28th edition (NA28).
Translations of the Old Testament depend on the Leningrad Codex, which is printed in the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS) and the partially complete Biblia Hebraica Quinta (BHQ). In addition, translators of the Old Testament are expected to look through the footnotes and commentary in these resources to judge readings from other sources.
Over generations, textual critics have developed strategies and computer tools to more closely approximate the original text. As a result, newer critical texts contain reconstructions of an older stage of the text.
Translation is the art of rendering a source text into a receptor language accurately.
Formal equivalence translations focus on transparency to the source text and a minimum of added interpretation.
Dynamic equivalence translations focus on readability in the receptor language. They seek clarity over ambiguity.
Formal equivalence translations are safer, because they leave it up to the reader to figure out what a text means. However, they can contain awkward English and be difficult to read.
Gender accuracy refers to the translation practice of including the feminine when a hypothetical singular masculine pronoun can refer to either sex or when masculine plurals include both genders.
Bias is intrinsic to translation, especially with reference to doctrines that are widely held by committee members.
The best way to expose and combat bias is to check translations from different thought camps. Although evangelical translations are better known, checking Jewish, mainline, Catholic, and unitarian translations provides a helpful corrective.
Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014), 23.
Gordon Fee and Mark Strauss, How to Choose a Translation for All Its Worth (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007), p. 26.
Ron Rhodes, The Complete Guide to Bible Translations (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2009), p. 30. Quotation from Leland Ryken, Choosing a Bible (Wheaton: Crossway, 2005), p. 27.
Ron Rhodes, The Complete Guide to Bible Translations (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2009), pp.
32-33.
For a much deeper dive into this interesting topic, see session 15 from How We Got the Bible: Gender in Bible Translation, available on lhim.org or on YouTube.
The post 17: How to Choose a Bible Translation first appeared on Living Hope.
52 min
March 13, 202415: How to Read the General Epistles
The General Epistles
Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude
Some consider Hebrews to be Pauline, but even if Paul wrote it, it’s not to a church or a pastor, so it still fits as a general epistle
2 John and 3 John are technical to specific individuals and thus not general epistles
Hebrews
Authorship
Evidence for Paul
Associated with Timothy and Rome (Heb 13:23-24)
Pauline themes
Evidence against Paul
Non-Pauline themes
Ancient uncertainty (Origen, Eusebius, etc.)
Non-standard opening
Not an eyewitness (Heb 2:3)
Daniel Wallace suggested Barnabas with help from Apollos.
Audience
As title indicates, the audience was Jewish.
Persecuted (Heb 10:32-36)
Occasion
Became aware of some falling away from faith (Heb 3:6; 4:14; 6:4-6; 10:23, 26-27)
Concern that they will return to Judaism
Purpose
Convince Jewish Christians to endure in the faith instead of falling away (presumably back into Judaism)
Mode
Show that Jesus is better
Ch 1: Jesus as God’s promised Messiah is better than the angels who gave the Law.
Ch 2: Jesus’ salvation is better b/c he is human.
Ch 3: Jesus is better than Moses.
Ch 7: Jesus’ priesthood is better than Aaron’s.
Ch 8: Jesus’ covenant is better than the old covenant b/c it has better promises.
Ch 9: Jesus’ heavenly priestly service is better than the priests serving at the temple on earth.
Ch 10: Jesus’ sacrifice is better than animal sacrifices.
Ch 11: The unshakable Mt. Zion covenant is better than the covenant at Mt. Sinai.
Overall rhetorical effect to ask, “Why in the world would Christ-followers want to downgrade to Judaism after they’ve tasted something so much better?”
1 John
Authorship
No author in the document itself (1 John 1:1)
Early Christians refer to this letter as written by John
Irenaeus (a.d. 180) attributed the Gospel of John and 1 John to “John, the disciple of the Lord”1
Later Christians agreed, including Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and the Muratorian Canon
Eusebius says, “But of John’s writings, in addition to the Gospel, the first of the letters is unambiguously accepted [as genuine] both by people today and by the ancients” (H.E. 3.24.17)2
Definitely the same John who wrote the Gospel of John (John the Apostle)
Same vocabulary and writing style
Audience
Christians that John is worried about
Occasion: concern over rogue Christians
“They went out from us, but they did not belong to us”
(1 John 2:19).
They are trying to deceive the regular Christians (2:26; 3:7).
Many false prophets have gone out (4:1).
They are denying that Jesus is the Christ (2:22).
They may have been teaching that sin is ok (3:7-10).
Purpose
Equip Christians to discern and resist false teachings
Encourage them to
Live righteously
Believe correctly about Jesus
Love one another
Mode
Christology
“Confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh” (4:2)
“Testify that the Father has sent his son as the savior of the world” (4:14).
“Confess that Jesus is the son of God” (4:15)
“Believes that Jesus is the Christ” (5:1)
“Believes that Jesus is the son of God” (5:5)
“Believes in the son of God” (5:10)
“Life is in his son” (5:11)
“Believe in the name of the son of God” (5:13)
Behavior (1 John 3:7-10)
“It is unlikely that John has in mind absolute sinless perfection, since earlier he has denounced those who say they are without sin (1:8, 10). Rather, John has in mind the blatant sinning to which those who have left the community have fallen prey (2:19). In view of the letter as a whole, such sinning probably involves denial of Christ’s human nature (4:2-3; theological lapse), flaunting of God’s (or Christ’s) commands (2:4; ethical lapse), failure to love (4:20; relational lapse), or some combination of these grave errors.”3
Many appeals to live righteously (1 John 1:.5-6; 2:1-6; 3:4-10, 23-24; 5:18)
Live differently than the world (1 John 2:15-17; 3:1, 13; 4:4-6; 5:4-5, 19)
Love your brother/sister in Christ (1 John 2:10-11; 3:11, 14-18; 4:7-12, 16-21; 5:1-3)
Review
General epistles are for Christians in general rather than a specific church or person.
In order to understand the general epistles, it’s helpful to figure out authorship, audience, occasion, purpose, and mode.
Authorship is explicit for James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, and Jude, but takes some work to figure out for Hebrews and 1-3 John.
Hebrews was probably not written by Paul but by someone who spent time with him like Priscilla, Luke, Barnabas, or Apollos.
Audience and occasion are often intertwined and determinable by gleaning bits of historical information from the epistles themselves. As you read, ask yourself, “Who was the original audience?” and “What was going on with them?”
To discern the purpose, ask, “What is the author’s main goal in this epistle?”
Mode is answering the question, “How does the author go about achieving his purpose?”
Once you’ve figured out the author, audience, occasion, purpose, and mode, understanding the rest of the epistle’s particulars is much easier.
Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.16.5, 8. ANF translation.
Eusebius, 148.
Yarbrough, Robert. “1 John” in Hebrews to Revelation, vol 4 of ZIBBCNT, ed. Clinton E. Arnold (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 176-212.
The post 15: How to Read the General Epistles first appeared on Living Hope.
44 min
March 08, 202414: How to Read the Pastoral Epistles
The Pastoral Epistles
1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon
Philemon is not always included as a pastoral Epistle since it only deals with a specific issue regarding a single person.
Household
Paul employs the metaphor of a household in the pastorals to illustrate the order he’d like to see in the churches (1 Tim 3:14-15).
ZIBBC: “In Xenophon’s essay, the husband instructs his fourteen-year-old bride (the average age for marriage among Greek and Roman girls was fourteen to sixteen) on her vital role in managing the household resources, including the care and supervision of household slaves, while he supervised the gathering of produce from the farms. Because of the presence of slaves and freedmen in an average ancient household, management of sometimes large households could be demanding.”1
Lynn Cohick: “The family in the Greco-Roman world valued the community over the individual and promoted corporate honor and fortune. Those living in the domus (“home”) included parents and children, and perhaps extended family, such as adult siblings, cousins, and grandparents, as well as slaves, freedmen, and freedwomen. Each individual had a specific status within the home, and each family member deemed the social status of the family, including its wealth and social prestige, as of equal or greater value than their personal happiness.”2
Paul is concerned for how outsiders will perceive the churches (1 Tim 3:7).
Everyone has a place and a role.
Men’s role (1 Tim 2:8), older men (Tit 2:2), younger men (Tit 2:6-8).
Women’s role (1 Tim 2:9-15), older women (Tit 2:3), younger (Tit 2:4-5)
Respect elders (1 Tim 5:1-2, 17-19).
Young widows should marry (1 Tim 5:11-15).
Take care of your own family (1 Tim 5:7-8, 16).
Support real widows (1 Tim 5:3-6, 9-10).
Slaves obey & submit (1 Tim 6:2; T 2:9-10)
Rich be humble/generous (1 Tim 6:18-19)
Godliness (Eusebia)
1 Tim 4:7-8; Tit 2:11-12 (See also 1 Tim 2:1-2; 5:4.)
Translated “godliness” but has nothing to do with being like God or imitating God.
Showing expected reverence
Piety (Latin = pietas)
Pious, reverent, dutiful
Shown not just to God (or gods) but also to the city and to one’s household
Church Leadership
Overseer’s qualifications (1 Tim 3:2-7; T 1:7-9)
Elders’ qualifications (Tit 1:6)
Deacon’s qualifications (1 Tim 3:8-13)
Standards are high for service in the church.
Overseers must manage their own households well (1 Tim 3:4-5).
Warnings Against False Teachers
Some strange Jewish teachings (1 Tim 1:4, 6-7; Tit 1:10-11, 14)
Asceticism (1 Tim 4:1, 3)
Proto-gnostics (1 Tim 6:20)
Unlabeled false teachings (2 Tim 2:14, 16, 23, 25; Tit 3:9)
Warn those who cause divisions (twice), then have nothing more to do with them (Tit 3:10-11)
Names individuals: Hymenaeus & Alexander (1 Tim 1:20), Phygelus & Hermogenes (2 Tim 1:15), Hymenaeus & Philetus (2 Tim 2:17-18), Alexander the coppersmith (2 Tim 4:14)
Sound Teaching (Healthy Doctrine)
Sin is when you live contrary to healthy doctrine (ὑγιαινούση διδασκαλία) (1 Tim 1:10).
Sound teaching nourishes you (1 Tim 4:6).
Encouraged to hold the standard of sound teaching (2 Tim 1:13)
“People will not put up with sound teaching” (2 Tim 4:3).
“Rebuke them sharply, so that they become sound in the faith” (Tit 1:14).
“Teach what is consistent with sound instruction” (Tit 2:1).
Reading the Pastoral Epistles
Mostly focused on church leadership
Church leaders NEED to read them.
The pastorals tell us who is qualified and who is disqualified for church leadership.
It’s good for everyone to know what they say so you can hold your leaders accountable.
Philemon
Philemon was a wealthy Christian leader who had a house church.
His slave, Onesimus, ran away and later became a Christian.
Paul sent Onesimus back to Philemon, asking Philemon to treat him as a brother.
This Epistle is a masterful piece of rhetoric, Paul at his finest.
Ben Witherington III calls Philemon the emancipation proclamation of the NT.
Review
Paul wrote the pastoral Epistles toward the end of his life.
The metaphor of a household illustrates how the churches should function.
Everyone should play their role according to their duty, whether men or women or elderly or young.
Godliness is a major concept in the pastoral Epistles. It refers to performing your duty with proper honor. It’s important that Christians live respectfully and with proper dignity before a watching and suspicious world.
The pastoral Epistles include clear qualifications for church leaders, including that they manage their own households well.
The churches in Ephesus and Crete were beset with false teachers from both Jewish and Greco-Roman sources.
Paul encourages Timothy and Titus to adhere to sound teaching (healthy doctrine), so that people will escape the dangers of false teachers.
Philemon was a wealthy church leader who managed a household that included slaves.
Paul sent Philemon his runaway slave, instructing him to accept Onesimus as a brother.
Paul told Philemon to charge any debt Onesimus owed him to his account.
Such a request radically reconfigured social norms in a way that undermined the system of slavery.
Baugh, S. M. “1 Timothy” in Romans to Philemon, vol. 3 of ZIBBCNT-5, ed. Clinton E. Arnold (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), 444-478.
Lynn H. Cohick, “Women, Children, and Families in the Greco-Roman World,” in The World of the New Testament, ed. Lee McDonald Joel Green (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013), 179.
The post 14: How to Read the Pastoral Epistles first appeared on Living Hope.
35 min
March 06, 202413: How to Read the Church Epistles
Letters in the First Century
Letters written on papyrus with ink by a professional scribe (amanuensis)
Though most letters that have survived from the ancient world were short and to the point, Paul’s Epistles are extremely long.
Because there was no postal system, someone had to carry the letter to its destination.
Upon arrival, most people couldn’t read, so a professional would need to read it aloud.
This was difficult because there were no chapters, verses, paragraphs, punctuation, or spaces between words (scriptio continua).
Name
Greek Words
English Words
Verses
Chapters
Romans
7113
9506
432
16
1 Corinthians
6832
9532
437
16
2 Corinthians
4480
6160
257
13
Galatians
2232
3227
149
6
Ephesians
2424
3047
155
6
Philippians
1631
2261
104
4
Colossians
1583
1993
95
4
1 Thessalonians
1484
1908
89
5
2 Thessalonians
826
1065
47
3

Church Epistles in Chronological Order
Galatians 48
1 Thessalonians 49-51
2 Thessalonians 49-51
1 Corinthians 53-55
2 Corinthians 53-55
Romans 57
Philippians 62
Colossians 62
Ephesians 62
Developing Your Knowledge of the Greco-Roman World
Get background books like The World of the New Testament by Green and McDonald and Zondervan’s Illustrated Bible Background Commentary by Clinton Arnold.
Read the literature that has survived. Hundreds of volumes are available in the Loeb Classical Library.
Learn about archeology in the Mediterranean world around the time of Christ (Biblical Archeological Review).
Take a tour to visit the sites in Greece and Turkey (Spirit and Truth International).
Study the geography of the region on maps that show the correct place names for the first century.
Deciphering the Occasion
Each letter arose out of a specific circumstance. What was going on among the Christians in that city that caused Paul to write?
Galatians: Judaizers had visited churches Paul founded, telling people they needed to follow the law of Moses.
1 Corinthians: Chloe sent word of divisions in Corinth; Paul also received a letter asking specific questions.
2 Corinthians: false teachers had ensconced themselves in Corinth who criticized and undermined Paul.
Philippians: Epaphroditus brought Paul financial assistance from Philippi.
Reading the Church Epistles
The first time through, just get your bearings. Read for scope.
What’s going on in that church? What’s going on in that city? What are their concerns? What are the doctrinal errors that Paul is correcting?
The second time through, read more slowly, paying attention to major units of thought (usually paragraphs). Ask yourself how each section contributes to the whole.
Sometimes it is difficult to understand a particular sentence or phrase.
1 Cor 15:29 “baptism on behalf of the dead”
1 Cor 11:10 “because of the angels”
No one understands everything. It’s more important to get the main point than understand every little nuance.
Form of ancient letters1
Author(s)
Recipient(s)
Greeting
Prayer/thanksgiving
Content
Final greeting(s) and farewell
Content Section
These Epistles are loaded with theology and practical application.
Not systematic theologies, neatly organized
Rather, they move from topic to topic based on the need of the congregation, oftentimes based on a previous (now lost) letter or communication they made to Paul.
Romans and Ephesians come closest to laying out a theological system.
Application
What is Paul asking them to do?
Are my particulars similar enough to say this instruction applies to me as well?
How much of what he said is culturally conditioned?
Can I derive a principle that applies in general today?
Review
Sending long letters in the Roman world was expensive and difficult due to the cost of materials, the skill required to write, and the need to have someone carry and read your letter aloud to the recipients.
Paul sent the Church Epistles to Christian churches living in major Greco-Roman cities.
We know much about the culture, politics, and geography of these cities due to surviving literature, archeological discoveries, and the ability to travel to them.
Deciphering the occasion for which Paul wrote is the single most beneficial piece of information to help you understand an Epistle’s overarching purpose.
As you read through an Epistle for the first time, try to get the big picture. Then as you read through it again, try to figure out how each section relates to the whole.
It’s ok not to understand a particular verse. It’s more important to understand the point Paul is making rather than the particulars.
When applying the Epistles to your life, look for comparable circumstances and general principles.
See Fee & Stuart, p. 59
The post 13: How to Read the Church Epistles first appeared on Living Hope.
43 min

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