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- Philippians 2:9-3:11Philippians 2, continued:Philippians 2:9-18 – Jesus Christ is Lord; be children of God
- Philippians 2:10 – See Isaiah 45:23.
- Philippians 2:13 – See I Thessalonians 2:13; II Timothy 3:15; Hebrews 4:12
Philippians 2:19-24 – Timothy- Philippians 2:19 – Paul loved the brethren. He loved hearing good news about them.
Philippians 2:25-30 – Epaphroditus- Philippians 2:25 – “my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier”: this is quite a commendation! See Philippians 4:14-18. Evidently they had sent Epaphroditus to bring money to Paul.
Philippians 3Philippians 3:1-11 – What Paul gave up to gain Christ- Philippians 3:2 – “Mutilation” here is a different word for circumcision.
- Philippians 3:3 – See Romans 2:28-29. Physical vs. spiritual Jews:
Romans 2:23-29“He is not a Jew who is one outwardly”“he is a Jew who is one inwardly”Romans 2:23-29“circumcision … outward in the flesh”“circumcision … of the heart”Romans 2:23-29“those who mutilate the flesh”“we are the circumcision … who put no confidence in the flesh”- Philippians 3:5 – Paul had Jewish lineage of the tribe of Benjamin.
- Philippians 3:8 – Whatever we have to give up to follow Christ is worth it!
40 min - Has God Authorized Instruments as Worship? Part 1Introduction
- Scriptures that refer to worship with music in the New Testament:
- Acts 16:25
- Romans 15:9
- I Corinthians 14:15
- Ephesians 5:19
- Colossians 3:16
- Hebrews 2:12
- Hebrews 13:15
- James 5:13
Why don’t we add instruments to that?- The simple answer is: because God does not authorize us to do so.
God didn’t say NOT to.God didn’t say NOT to … carry the ark on an ox cart.- Exodus 25:14; Numbers 4:15; 7:6-9 – God’s specifications for the ark.
- I Chronicles 13:7-12; 15:2, 2, 12-15
- God’s instructions:
- Poles
- Kohathites
- Shoulders
God didn’t say NOT to … appoint a priest from Judah.- Numbers 13:10; Hebrews 7:11-14; 8:4
God didn’t say NOT to … offer strange fire.- Leviticus 10:1-2
God didn’t say NOT to … preach circumcision.- Acts 15:5-6, 24
If God only authorized:Then that leaves everything else unauthorized:The Kohathites using poles to carry the ark on their shouldersOx cart, etc.Priests to comes from the tribe of LeviPriests from Judah, etc.A certain fireSome other fire, etc.Preaching the gospel of ChristPreaching circumcision, etc.Singing as musical worshipInstruments, etc.Instruments are just aids, like pitch pipes or song books.- Mark 16:15 – “Go”: how?
- II Timothy 2:2 – “Teach”
- I Corinthians 16:1-2 – “collection … put aside and save”
- Psalms 150:1-6 – Instruments were regarded as worship under the Old Covenant.
33 min - Matthew 1:18-2:18The story of Jesus
- Luke 2:1-7
- Matthew 2:5-6
- Matthew 1:18-25 – the birth of Jesus
- Luke 2:8-20 – Shepherds are visited by an angel and go to visit Jesus.
- Isaiah 9:6 – Jesus would bring peace
- Philippians 4:7
- John 14:27
- Colossians 1:20 – Jesus made peace between man and God.
- Romans 5:21
- Luke 2:17 – The word of Jesus birth spread quickly.
- Many now teach that men are born in sin.
- If that were true, Jesus was born in sin. But Jesus knew no sin, thus the premise is false.
- Some hold to the doctrine of the immaculate conception, which teaches that Jesu was born without sin because Mary had no sin. This, in the eyes of those who believe it, makes it possible to pray to Mary since she has no sin.
- Luke 2:21-24 – See Leviticus 12:6-8. If Mary had to make a sin offering for herself, that indicates she had sin.
- Matthew 2:1-8 – The magi evidently came a while after Jesus was born. Despite songs like “We Three Kings,” there is no evidence that the wise men were kings.
- Matthew 2:9-12 – The magi fell down and worshipped Jesus – not Mary.
- Matthew 2:13-18 – Mary and Joseph flee to Egypt with Jesus. Herod discovers that he has been tricked and kills all the children two years old and under. All of this is according to prophecy.
- Luke 2:41-54 – Twelve years later, Jesus and his family return to Nazareth.
44 min - How Would You Describe a Successful Life?“Fulfilling relationships”
- Luke 20:19-26
- Matthew 10:34-37 – Family relationships are not the top priority.
- I Peter 2:21
“Major accomplishments”- Daniel 4:27-31 – Nebuchadnezzar had many major accomplishments yet God took them from him because of his pride.
“Enjoyable experiences”- Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 – Solomon tried everything and didn’t find fulfillment.
King SolomonJohn the Baptist“Solomon in all his glory” – Matthew 6:29“his food was locusts and wild honey” – Matthew 3:4Solomon: “I considered all my activities … and behold all was vanity” (Ecclesiastes 2:11)Jesus: “there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist!” (Matthew 11:11)So, what’s the answer?- Matthew 22:36-40
- Philippians 3:8, 14
- Luke 6:40
- To lead a Biblically successful life, I need to set aside certain things.
Questions- What am I doing with my life?
- Is this the way my life should be going?
- In 100 years (when my soul is somewhere), will I regret not adjusting the course of my life?
- Matthew 25:34
29 min - Philippians 1:7-2:8Philippians 1, continuedPhilippians 1:1-11 – “I have you in my heart”
- Philippians 1:10 – The “day of Christ” is probably referring to the judgment. See Philippians 1:6; 2:16.
Philippians 1:12-20 – “Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice”- Philippians 1:12-13 – Paul’s imprisonment gave him the opportunity to speak to the guards. It also emboldened other people to keep preaching the gospel. Paul’s positive attitude set the tone for others.
- Philippians 1:19 – The “Spirit of Jesus Christ” is probably the Holy Spirit.
Philippians 1:21-30 – “to live is Christ and to die is gain”- Paul is not dreaming about the luxuries of life.
- Two different philosophies:
Bryan JohnsonThe apostle Paul“Don’t die”“to die is gain”dontdie.bryanjohnson.comPhilippians 1:21- Philippians 1:24 – If I continue to live …
- Will sinners stand a better chance of knowing Jesus?
- Will brethren be better off?
- Will my spouse benefit from my companionship?
- Will my kids be strengthened in the faith?
- Philippians 1:27 – See Ephesians 4:1
- Philippians 1:29-30 – See II Timothy 3:12.
Philippians 2Philippians 2:1-8 – Be united, and be humble like Christ.- Philippians 2:7 – This passage has been used for centuries to argue that Jesus did not use attributes of deity.
- But that cannot mean He emptied Himself of the attributes of Deity.
- Jesus was justified in accepting worship (Matthew 14:33; John 9:38)
- Jesus forgave sins (Mark 2:3-12; Luke 7:48)
- Jesus performed miracles by His own power (Luke 2:11; John 5:21)
- Just as Jesus humbled Himself, if we are to be His disciples, we should humble ourselves.
47 min - PentecostIntroduction
- Galatians 4:3
Pentecost was the first time the FULL gospel was preached.- Luke 24:36-53 – Jesus told them to wait in Jerusalem until they would receive power from on high.
- Deuteronomy 16:16 – The Jews were to assemble to observe the feast.
- Acts 2:9-11 – People from all nations were gathered to hear the gospel.
- Acts 2:1-13, 23
- Acts 2:38-41
- Jesus had already preached much of the good news, but on this day the full picture was finally put together.
We can all be part of this.- Acts 2:39 – “all who are far off” may be referring to Gentiles
- Ephesians 2:11-13
It was not popular them; it is not popular now.- Acts 2:41; 4:4 – This was a good number of people, but still just a fraction of the total number gathered.
- Acts 13:45; 14:2; 17:13; 18:6; 19:9
This is it. There’s nothing else coming. No updates needed.- Galatians 1:6-9
29 min - Matthew 1:1-17Matthew 1Matthew 1:1-17 – Genealogies
- Importance, use of genealogies
- Ezra 2:59-63 – There were serious consequences if you could not be found in the genealogies.
- Nehemiah 7:63-65
- Matthew’s genealogy
- Began his gospel with
- Began with Jesus the Messiah, the son of David (II Samuel 7) the son of Abraham (Genesis 12)
- Matthew arranged his genealogy into three clearly defined groups of 14 each (Matthew 1:17)
- Why?
- Abraham to David – Patriarchs
- Rise of nation (14 including David)
- David to Jeconiah – Kings
- Downfall of nation (14 beginning with Solomon and counting Jeconiah)
- Jeconiah to Christ – Citizens
- Luke’s genealogy
- Not until chapter 3
- Began with, “the son of Joseph, the son of Eli, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi”
- Not arranged in any particular order
- The Messiah
- Messiah means “anointed”
- Greek form “Messias”: used only twice – John 1:41; 4:25
- Hebrew form: used only twice – Daniel 9:25, 26
- Jesus claimed to be the Messiah (Christ) in Mark 14:61-64
- What evidence was there that these Messianic claims were valid?
- The character of Matthew and Jesus
- “The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham” - Matthew 1:1
- Where did Matthew (and other Jews) get this genealogy?
- Eusebius (“father of church history”) says the writing of Matthew occurred about twelve years after the death of Christ. Some scholars believe that this would place the writing of Matthew as early as AD 40-45 and as late as AD 55. (See When Were the Gospels Written)
- Matthew gives Christ’s legal succession through Joseph.
- Luke traces his biological succession through Mary.
- Either way, you want to examine His genealogy. It ties Jesus legally and biologically to the Old Testament Messianic promises.
- If Matthew’s and Luke’s genealogy are faulty, Jesus’ claims to be the Messiah are bogus.
Note on abortion- According to Dr. Luke, the Bible makes no distinction between …
Pre-natal lifePost-natal lifeJohn: she conceived a son (Luke 1:36)Jesus: She gave birth to her firstborn son (Luke 2:7)John: the babe leaped in my womb (Luke 1:44)Jesus: The babe lying in the manger (Luke 2:16)42 min - Objective TruthIntroduction
- Proverbs 23:23
- Objective – truth that exists independently of individual perspectives, emotions, or biases.
- Subjective – based on my individual experience, and not to be universally applied.
- John 8:44
Truth is inescapable- Acts 17:16-21, 30-33 – Did their rejection mean that what Paul said wasn’t true? No!
- Some things are universally true.
- Some people believe people can choose to be cats.
- If you try to say there is no objective truth, you are making a statement about objective truth and are inconsistent with yourself.
Humans often have a flawed perception of truth, but that doesn’t mean truth doesn’t exist.I may be opposed to the truth.- II Timothy 3:7-9, 1-6
I may be mistaken.- Hebrews 5:11-14
- Dan Barker tried to argue that since all Christians don’t agree, God may not exist. But all atheists don’t agree either!
I may be sincerely mistaken.- Acts 26:9
I may be deceived.- II John 1:7
- Matthew 7:15-18
- I John 4:1
- If I am deceived, I need to become more discerning.
Truth exists, even in the moral and spiritual realm.- John 14:6 – Is this objective or subjective?
- John 17:17 – Is God’s word only true sometimes? No!
- John 8:31-32
- John 12:48 – God’s word will judge us.
- Romans 1:28-31, 18, 25
- Romans 2:5-8 – “the truth”
29 min - Philippians 1:1-6Introduction
- People often name Philippians as their favorite book of the Bible, mainly because it speaks so much about joy.
- Paul visited Philippi during his second missionary journey.
- Acts 16:6-15 – Paul arrives in Philippi after receiving the “Macedonian call” and immediately has success teaching the gospel, teaching Lydia and others.
- Acts 16:16-18 – Paul encounters a girl with an unclean spirit, which Paul casts out of the girl.
- Acts 16:19-24 – Paul and Silas are thrown in prison on false charges by the men who were using the girl for fortune-telling.
- Acts 16:25-30 – Paul and Silas were praying and singing when God released their bonds. The Philippian jailer asked what to do to be saved. He evidently knew enough to ask the question.
- Acts 16:31-34 – The Philippian jailer is baptized, along with his entire family.
- Acts 16:35-40 – Paul and Silas were released and escorted out of the city. Paul evidently wanted to make the point that they had done nothing wrong with regard to the gospel. He may have also been trying to make life easier for the disciples he was leaving behind.
Paul’s contact with the Philippians- Second journey (Acts 16) – 50-53 AD
- Third journey (Acts 20:6) – 54-57 AD
- Letter from prison (Rome, Acts 28) – 61-63 AD
Philippians 1- Philippians 1:1 – “Saints” just meant “holy ones” and was a common term for Christians. It did not have the special connotations that some apply to the term today.
- New Testament terms for local church leaders
- Presbuteros: translated as elder or presbyter
- Episkopos: translated as overseer or bishop
- Poimen: translated as pastor or shepherd
- How do we know these words all refer to the same men? The words are used interchangeably in Acts 20:17, 28; I Peter 5:1-2.
47 min - Wise MenWhat does scripture say?
- What is a wise man?
- Context is everything
- In New Testament, Greek “Magos”
- Can mean magician, astronomer, scientist, doctor, etc.
- True meaning usually derived from text
- Acts 13:6 – Bar-Jesus (Elymas)
- Hebrew “Chakam”
- Wise men – 124 times
- Cunning – 10 times
- Unwise – 2 times
- Wiser – 2 times
- Subtle (shrewd) – 1 time
- Not the same as sorcerer (Kashaph) or magician (chartom)
Wise men in Old Testament- Pharaohs had wise men AND sorcerers
- Genesis 41:8
- Exodus 7:11
- Nebuchadnezzar’s wise men – Daniel 2:2
- Magicians – occult knowledge
- Sorcerers
- Conjurers – astrologers
- Chaldeans – smartest people in the land (compare Bohemian)
- There were men who were wise
- Their virtues were extolled
- Deuteronomy 1:13-15
- Proverbs 13:20; 29:8
Wisdom in the New Testament- Compared to foolish – Matthew 7:24-27
- Their wisdom compared to God’s majesty – Romans 1:20-23
- Wisdom desirable for a Christian – Romans 16:19; Ephesians 5:15
- But not in one’s own eyes – Romans 11:25
- Not in the wisdom of this world – I Corinthians 1:20
What about the magi?- Translations divided between “magi” and “wise men”
- Transliteration versus translation
- Selection of “wise men” over other possibilities
- Dodging the issue by transliteration
- Similar to “baptism”
- What happened
- Matthew 2:1-12
- Matthew 2:6 – This is a quote from Micah 5:2.
- Took place “… after Jesus was born in Bethlehem …”
- Not the night of His birth
- Wise men from “the East”
- Likely Persia (Iran)
- One-way trip of 800-900 miles
- Daniel 9:24-27
- Written in Persia
- Timeline given
- Balaam’s prophecy? Numbers 24:17
- Were they Jews?
- Many had remained after the captivity
- At the time, outnumbered Jews in Judea
- “His star” was their signal of the event
- Went to Jerusalem
- Began inquiring whereabouts of Jesus
- Stated intent to worship Him
- Herod’s trouble
- Scribes and priests understood prophecy of Micah
- Herod got the timing of Jesus’ birth from appearance of star
- Herod’s lie – intent to worship
- Wise men go, find, give, worship
- Star indicated where Jesus was
- They rejoiced
- Three gifts or gifts of three things?
- Gold
- Valuable, could fund journey to Egypt
- Representative of royalty, divinity
- Frankincense
- Sap from the Boswellia tree – Arabian Peninsula, East Africa, South Africa, India
- Also valuable in trade
- Used in offerings (see Leviticus 2:1-2 – grain offerings)
- Exodus 30:34 – Kept in the testimony of the tabernacle
- Symbolic of Jesus as high priest?
- Myrrh
- Sap of Commiphora tree
- Purification ritual – Esther 2:12
- Anointing tabernacle, high priests, kings
- Bitter taste – Mark 15:23
- Embalming – John 19:39-40
- Aided in Jesus’ escape
- How did they know not to go back to Herod?
- Herod’s subsequence action – Matthew 2:16-18
What can we say about the wise men?- Read, understood, believed God’s word
- Sought Jesus – despite great effort involved
- Saw Him as God – to be humbly worshipped
- Saw Him as valuable – opened their treasures to Him
- In conflict of commands – Herod and God
- Chose to obey God
41 min
About ScriptureStream
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Just the gospel, plainly spoken. ScriptureStream compiles lessons presented at the Benchley church of Christ, located just north of Bryan, TX. Visit ScriptureStream.com for full notes on each lesson…
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