Notes on the International Sunday School Lessons

Fall 2004

by Jarl K. Waggoner

 

Lesson 1 - Genesis 2:4-7, 15-24

Background - While Genesis 1 gives an account of Creation week, Genesis 2 presents a more detailed account of the creation of man and woman and forms an introduction to the events of chapter 3.

            2:4 -      “generations” - The Hebrew word is toledoth.  It occurs in the recurring phrase “these are the generations” (2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10; 11:27; 25:12; 25:19; 36:1; 37:2) and is used to outline the book. 

            2:5 -      “every plant . . . before it was in the earth” - See NIV.  There was as yet not plant life on the earth.  This describes events at the beginning of the third day of Creation.

            2:5 -      “not caused it to rain . . . not a man to till the ground” - Both these deficiencies were met, as described in verses 6 and 7.

            2:6 -      “a mist . . . watered the . . . ground” - Some understand this mist as indicating the presence of a vapor canopy over the earth, creating a tropical climate worldwide (cf. Whitcomb, The Early Earth, 36; Morris and Whitcomb, The Genesis Flood, 241-2).

            2:7 -      “formed” - The Hebrew word is yatsar, meaning to mold or shape as a potter or goldsmith (Davis, Paradise to Prison, 76; BKC, 30; WBC, 5).

            2:7 -      “living soul” is the same Hebrew phrase used of animals in 1:20, 21, 24.  The image of God (vss. 26-27) is what separates man from the animals.

            2:15 -    “put” - The word means rest, or settle down.  It is a different word from the word for “put” in verse 8 (TWOT, 2:562).

            2:15 -    “dress” - “Dress” means to serve, or work (TWOT, 2:639; Leupold, Exposition of Genesis, 1:126).

            2:15 -    “keep” - “Keep” means to watch or guard (Leupold, 1:126; TWOT, 2:939).

            2:17 -    “surely die” - Death, in its essence, means separation.  Here it speaks of spiritual death, separation from God, and would be immediate–“in the day that thou eatest thereof” (Thiessen, Lectures in Systematic Theology, 271-272; Leupold, 1:128).  Physical death is also a consequence of sin, but it was not immediate.

            2:17 -    “The tree of the knowledge of good and evil” apparently produced an experiential knowledge of good and evil (BKC, 30).

            2:18 -    “meet for him” - The expression literally means “agreeing (corresponding) to him,” i.e., his counterpart (cf. Leupold, 1:130; BKC, 31; NASB; NIV).

            2:19 -    “formed every beast” - Leupold (1:130) says, “He had molded (formed)” is an appropriate translation (cf. NIV).

            2:19 -    “brought” - The Hebrew verb indicates the animals were caused to come to Adam (BDB, 98-99, Hiphil).

            2:21 -    “deep sleep” - The idea is that this was a supernaturally caused sleep (TWOT, 2:833-834; Davis, 78).

            2:22 -    “rib” - The word refers to the side or side part and is usually used as an architectural term, describing the sides of a structure (TWOT, 2:768; BDB, 854).  Most commentators agree it refers to the rib and the flesh around it (Davis, 78; Leupold, 1:134-135).  For its significance, see Leupold (1:135) and Foh, Women and the Word of God (60-61).

            2:22 -    “made” - The Hebrew word means to build and is used of construction (TWOT, 1:116-117; JFB, 1:45).

            2:23 -    “Now” - Leupold (1:136) translates “now at length” (cf. JFB, 1:46).  It does not imply the passage of a long period of time, however (Whitcomb, The Early Earth, 35).

            2:23 -    “woman, because she was taken from man” - “Man” is ish; “woman” is ishah.  Most scholars do not see an etymological connection here but rather a play on words with similar sounds (cf. TWOT, 1:38; WBC, 6).

            2:24 -    This is probably a parenthetical statement by Moses.  It is quoted by Jesus in Matthew 19:5.

            2:24 -    “Cleave” - To “cleave” means “to glue himself to” (WBC, 6).

            2:24 -    “one flesh” - “‘Becoming one flesh’ involves the complete identification of one personality with the other in a community of interests and pursuits, a union consummated in intercourse” (Leupold, 1:137).

 

Lesson 2 - Genesis 6:5-8; 7:1-5, 17, 23; 8:14-16; 9:1, 16

            6:5 -      “imagination” - The word is probably better translated “intent,” or “purpose” (Davis, Paradise to Prison, 115; TWOT, 1:396).

            6:6 -      “repented” - When used of God, repentance refers to a change in his actions in response to a change in the people He is dealing with (Davis, 116).  It does not suggest a mistake or miscalculation on His part.  BKC (37) simply says it means God was sorrowful.

            6:7 -      “destroy” - The meaning is “wipe out, blot out” (Davis, 117; BDB, 652.  Cf. 2 Kings 21:13).

            6:8 -      “grace” - Grace is unmerited favor (Leupold, Exposition of Genesis, 1:262; Davis, 117; TWOT, 1:303). This is the first occurrence of the word.                               

            7:2 -      “Clean . . . unclean” - Noah obviously recognized the distinction between clean and unclean animals, a distinction codified in Lev. 11.  Whether he knew this from divine revelation or it was a traditional distinction that was later incorporated into the law is not known. 

            7:2 -      “sevens” - Literally, “seven seven.”  It most likely means seven of each clean animal (Leupold, 1:290; cf. NIV).  The additional clean animals would provide food for the occupants of the ark, as well as animals for sacrifice.

7:4 -      For questions regarding the size of the ark, the gathering of the animals, depth and duration of the Flood, etc., see Whitcomb, The World That Perished, 24-64.

            8:14 -    “And in the second month . . . the earth dried” - The duration of the Flood was 371 days (cf. 7:11; Whitcomb and Morris, The Genesis Flood, 3).

            9:1 -      “replenish the earth” - Following the flood, God repeated his command to the first couple (cf. 1:28) to be fruitful and multiply.  God’s purpose had not changed. 

            9:16 -    “bow shall be in the cloud . . . that I may remember the everlasting covenant” - The covenant was made with Noah and his sons and all their descendants, i.e., with all mankind.  The covenant is one-sided and unconditional and thus equivalent to a promise of God.  God’s promise was not to again destroy the earth with a flood (v. 11).  The sign that God was remembering his promise would be the rainbow (vv. 12-15).  That God will “remember” his covenant upon seeing the rainbow is simply a way of emphasizing God’s faithfulness to his covenant.

 

Lesson 3 - Exodus 3:1-12

            3:1 -      “backside” - Literally, the word means “behind,” with the assumption being that one is facing east; thus the meaning is essentially “west” as the NASB translates (cf. Childs, Book of Exodus, 49).

3:1 -      “Horeb” - This is another name for Sinai (cf. Exod. 19:10-11; Deut. 4:10).  It is usually identified with Jebel-Musa in south central Sinai or a neighboring peak (Davis, Moses and the Gods of Egypt, 60).

            3:1 -      “mountain of God” - Horeb is so called here by Moses in retrospect (cf. NIVBC, 68).

            3:2 -      “angel of the Lord” - The expression is used here, as it often is, for an appearance of the Lord Himself (cf. vs. 4; Davis, 60-61).

            3:2 -      “flame of fire” - The fire here may be symbolic of “God’s powerful, consuming, and preserving presence (cf. 19:18; 24:17; et al)” (NIVBC, 68; cf. BKC, 111).

            3:2 -      “the bush was not consumed” - Davis (61-62) lists a number of proposed naturalistic explanations, none of which can be seriously considered.

            3:5 -      “put off thy shoes” - See Josh. 5:15.  Taking off the shoes was an expression of respect; “a confession of personal defilement, and conscious unworthiness to stand in the presence of unspotted holiness” (JFB, 1:285). 

            3:5 -      “holy ground” - This is the first occurrence of the word “holy” in Scripture.  The ground was holy, or separated apart to God, simply because of God’s presence (NIVBC, 68).

            3:6 -      God’s words here are used by Jesus as proof of the resurrection of the dead (cf. Matt. 22:32; Mark 12:26-27).

            3:8 -      “come down” - an expression used to describe divine intervention (BKC, 111-112).

            3:8 -      “a land flowing with milk and honey” - i.e., an ideal place, where herds could prosper and produce milk, and where bees’ honey was found in abundance (BKC, 112; JFB, 1:285).

            3:8 -      “Canaanites . . . Jebusites” - See BKC (112) and the appropriate articles in NBD (184, 529, 31, 968, 529, 601).  Canaanites is the more general term for all the various tribes inhabiting Canaan, though Amorites is sometimes used for all the tribes (cf. Gen. 15:16).

            3:10 -    “that thou mayest bring forth my people” - God’s plan was to deliver the people from Egypt and take them into the Promised Land.  Moses’ task, however, concerned only the first of these. Ultimately someone else would bring the people into the land.

            3:12 -    “token” - A “token” was a sign (TWOT, 1:18-19).  The sign that the Lord was with Moses and had truly sent him was that he would lead the people back to “this mountain.”

 

Lesson 4 - Deuteronomy 29:2-15

Background - Deuteronomy consists of a series of messages by Moses to the nation of Israel just prior to his death.  Chapter 29 follows the recounting of the blessings and curses associated with obedience or disobedience to the covenant. The Israelites were in Moab, east of the Jordan River and on the brink of entrance to the Promised Land (Deut. 29:1).

            29:3 -    “temptations” - The word is properly translated “trials” in NASB, NIV, NKJV, NRSV.  It refers to the trials that came upon the Egyptians when they refused to let the Israelites leave.

            29:4 -    “the Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive” - Apart from a divine work, people cannot fully comprehend God’s work.  In this case, Israel’s “disobedience and rebellion originated from a mind-set that could not fully understand the implications of God’s saving works” (BKC, 314).

            29:6 -    “Ye have not eaten bread . . .” - In recounting the Lord’s provision for his people during the wilderness travels, Moses recalled that they had not eaten bread or drunk wine.  They were unable to provide for themselves by planting crops or vineyards, but the Lord faithfully had provided for their needs so that they might know that the Lord is God.

            29:7 -    “we smote them” - Moses recalled Israel’s defeat of Sihon and Og, kings who ruled lands east of the Jordan (cf. Num. 21:21-35).  These lands had been given to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh (Deut. 29:8; cf. Num. 32).

            29:12 -  “enter into covenant . . . this day” - Moses was calling the nation to a renewal of their covenant with the Lord that was initiated at Mount Sinai.  “The emphasis in this passages is upon the present . . . not in the sense that a new covenant was being initiated, but rather in the sense that the renewing of the covenant was a revitalizing of the relationship” (Craigie, Deuteronomy, 357).

            29:13 -  “That he may establish thee . . . for a people unto himself” - The “formation of Israel as the people of God is in fulfillment of the promise to Abraham” (NIVBC, 274).  See Genesis 17:7.  Canaan, which the people of Israel were about to enter, also had been promised to the Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their descendants.

            29:14 -  “Neither with you only” - The covenant involved not only the present generation of Israelites but their descendants as well.  “Not only their own future, but also the future of their posterity would be contingent upon their obedience to the law of the covenant” (Craigie, 357-8).

 

Lesson 5 - 2 Samuel 7:18-29

Background - David desired to build a house, or temple, for the ark of the covenant, but the Lord spoke to Nathan the prophet forbidding this because David was a man of war (2 Sam. 7:1-11; 1 Chron. 28:3).  David’s son Solomon would be permitted to build the temple.  David, however, was promised an everlasting dynasty (2 Sam. 7:12-16).  This promise, known as the Davidic covenant, is fulfilled in the Son of David, Jesus Christ, who will reign forever from David’s throne (cf. Isa. 9:6; Luke 1:32-33). Verses 18-29 is David’s prayer in response to God’s covenant promise to him.

            7:18 -    “sat before the Lord” - Apparently David entered the tent where the ark of the covenant was kept and there offered his prayer.

            7:18 -    “what is my house?” - “House” here refers to David’s undistinguished family (Baldwin, 1 & 2 Samuel, 217).

            7:19 -    “this was yet a small thing” - NIV translates, “if this were not enough.”  The idea seems to be that the Lord had gone far beyond merely blessing David’s house (v. 18) but had blessed David’s distant descendants as well.

            7:19 -    “Is this the manner of man, O Lord God?” - The meaning is unclear.  The KJV and NIV translate it as a question, suggesting that God’s dealings with David are unlike the way any man would deal with him.  NASB translates it as a statement: “And this is the custom of man” suggesting that God was acting as an earthly friend would.

            7:21 -    “according to thine own heart”- NIV translates “your own will.”  This catches the essence.  Baldwin (217) suggests it means “in keeping with God’s character.”

            7:25 -    “And now” - These words mark the transition from David’s review of God’s past blessing to his petition for the fulfillment of God’s promises.

 

Lesson 6 - Isaiah 43:1-2, 10-13, 18-19

Background - Chapters 1-39 of Isaiah emphasize judgment. The second major portion of the book begins with chapter 40 and emphasizes restoration and deliverance. When Isaiah wrote chapters 40-48, during the reign of Hezekiah and after 701 B.C. (Freeman, Introduction to the Old Testament Prophets, 194), "Judah still had over 100 years of difficulty ahead of her before she fell to Babylon, and then she faced 70 years of captivity. Anticipating the future Captivity and God's restoration, Isaiah wrote to encourage the Judahites to live righteously in the present, despite forthcoming difficult circumstances" (BKC, 1091).

            43:1 -    “Jacob . . . Israel” - The two terms are parallel and thus identical here.  They refer to all twelve tribes of Israel (cf. BKC, 1093, on 40:27).

            43:1 -    “I have redeemed thee” - This is a reminder that the Lord had “redeemed” Israel from slavery in Egypt.  Thus the nation belonged to him.

            43:2 -    “waters . . . rivers . . . fire” - These are symbols of trials.  The Lord promised to be with his people to protect them through their trials. 

            43:10 -  “Ye are my witnesses, . . . and my servant” - Israel is called to be “a witness to the truth and faithfulness of the living God–in contrast to the pagan devotees of idolatry, who could testify to nothing like this in their own gods” (WBC, 639).  “Servant” here is applied to the nation, whereas elsewhere in this section of Isaiah it is often applied to the Messiah, the Suffering Servant (cf. 42:1; 52:13–53:12).

            43:12 -  “I . . . have saved, . . . when there was no strange god among you” - The salvation here is physical deliverance from the then future captivity.  NIV translates, “I, and not some foreign god among you” (cf. NASB).  The thought is that it was the Lord and not some foreign god who delivered them; thus the people of Israel were witnesses that the Lord is God.

            43:13 -  “I am he . . . I will work, and who shall let it?” - NASB translation is much clearer.  The verses affirms the eternality and omnipotence of God.  “Not only can no one hinder Him, but no one can change what He has established” (Vine, Isaiah, 118).

            43:19 -  “I will do a new thing” - Verse 14 puts this statement in the context of the still-future Babylonian Captivity.  God reminded Israel of his prior deliverance of his people from Egypt (vv. 15-17).  Now he tells them to forget about that deliverance (v. 18), for he will do a “new thing.”  The idea is that the “new thing” the Lord does will be so wonderful that past deliverances will be forgotten in comparison (JFB, 3:699).  In delivering them from Babylon, he will “make a way in the wilderness” rather than a “way in the sea” (v. 16).

            43:19 -  “rivers in the desert” - This is probably “figurative for the sustaining provision [God] would grant the pioneers through their early years of privation and suffering” (WBC, 639), though some apply it more literally to a more complete fulfillment in the millennial kingdom (cf. Vine, 120; BKC, 1097).

 

Lesson 7 - Jeremiah 29:10-14; 31:31-34

Background - The prophecies of Jeremiah 29 and 31 were given during the reign of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah (cf. 28:1).  Jeremiah 29:1-23 is a letter Jeremiah sent to the Jewish exiles already in Babylon, having been taken there in 597 B.C. Jeremiah remained in Judah as the ultimate fall of Jerusalem approached.  The prophet told the exiles in Babylon to settle down and prepare for a long period of time in Babylon, in contrast to the soon returned predicted by the false prophets (vv. 1-9).

            29:10 -  “after seventy years” - Jeremiah told the exiles that only “after seventy years” would they return to Israel; thus they should settle down for a long wait.  The seventy years can be reckoned from the taking of the first exiles in 605 B.C. till the return in 536 B.C.  Some measure it from the fall of Jerusalem in 586 till the completion of the rebuilt temple in 516 (Wood, Survey of Israel’s History, 373; Jensen, Jeremiah and Lamentations, 74).

            29:10 -  “I will visit you” - The Hebrew word (paqad) “points to action that produces a great change in the position of a subordinate either for good or for ill” (TWOT, 2:731).

            29:11 -  “thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” - NASB gives a literal and clearer translation: “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”  God’s discipline was for the welfare of his people.

            29:12 -  “Then shall ye call upon me” - The captivity would eventually move the people to seek the Lord with all their heart.  He would answer and deliver them (v. 14).

            29:14 -  “turn away your captivity” - The meaning is “restore your fortunes” (NASB), that is, return them to their land.

            29:14 -  “gather you from all the nations” - While this should certainly be applied to the return from the Babylonian Captivity, many commentators believe it also “looks far beyond the Jews’ return from Babylon to their future restoration from worldwide dispersion” (NIVBC, 1218).

            31:31 -  “new covenant” - This new covenant will be made with “Israel, and . . . Judah.”  The death of Christ was the basis for the new covenant (cf. Matt. 26:28; Luke 22:20) and Christians participate in it, but the national fulfillment is when Israel as a restored nation turns to Christ in faith and “all Israel shall be saved” (Rom. 11:26).  For an exposition of the new covenant and how it relates to Christians, see Kent (Grace Theological Journal, Fall 1985, 289-98) and Pentecost (Things to Come, 116-28) and NIVBC (1225-26).

            31:32 -  “the covenant that I made with their fathers” - The new covenant is contrasted with the old (Mosiac) covenant, the one made with the Israelites’ forefathers at Sinai.

            31:33 -  “I will put my law in their inward parts” - The new covenant will be internal.  It will “include a revolutionary change in will, heart, and conscience. . . . The law now becomes a principle of life (Rom 8:1-4), a part of the nature of God’s people” (NIVBC, 1226).  The new covenant “will give Israel the inner ability to obey His righteous standards and thus to enjoy His blessings.  Ezekiel indicated that this change will result from God’s bestowal of the Holy Spirit on these believers (cf. Ezek. 36:24-32)” (BKC, 1171).

31:34 -  “they shall teach no more . . . for they shall all know me” - All Israel “shall be saved” (Rom. 11:26) and thus all will know the Lord.  “God will be known instinctively and his will performed spontaneously” (NIVBC, 1227).  This does not mean instruction will not be needed, but none will need to be exhorted to “know the Lord” (BKC, 1171).

            31:34 -  “forgive their iniquity” - The new covenant will provide for complete forgiveness, something the old (Mosaic) covenant could not do (cf. Heb. 8:7; 10:4).

 

Lesson 8 - Ezekiel 37:1-14

Background - Ezekiel was taken to Babylon, along with King Jehoiachin and other Jews, in 597 B.C. (2 Kings 24:8-16).  His prophetic  ministry began in the “fifth year of Jehoiachin’s captivity” (Ezek. 1:3), or 593.  From Babylon he prophesied judgment against Judah, until the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.  After that his prophecy “was one of consolation, predicting the restoration of the nation with its temple and worship” (Freeman, Introduction to the Old Testament Prophets, 295).  The prophecy of Ezekiel 37 was given about 585 B.C., shortly after the fall of Jerusalem (cf. 33:21).

            37:1 -    “carried me out in the spirit” - The Spirit here is the Holy Spirit.  Several times he is said to have transported Ezekiel to various locations in order to give him a message (cf. 3:14; 8:3; 11:1).  This was not a physical change of location but took place in visionary form.

            37:2 -    “very dry” - The bones were the human bones of those who had been “slain” (v. 9).  The fact that they were dry suggests they had been there for some time, being “bleached and baked under the hot sun” (BKC, 1298).

            37:3 -    “Son of man” - This title is used over ninety times in Ezekiel to refer to the prophet.  It emphasizes “the frailty and weakness of a human being humbled before the mighty and majestic God.  By this title Ezekiel was reminded continually of his dependence on the Spirit’s power” (NIVBC, 1278).

            37:6 -    “I will . . . put breath in you” - The Hebrew word for “breath” (ruach) is the same word translated “spirit” and “wind” in this passage.  Here is refers to the animating spirit or life principle (cf. Gen. 2:7).

            37:11 -  “these bones are the whole house of Israel” - Here is God’s interpretation of Ezekiel’s vision.  The bones represented Israel.  Their dry condition represented the hopelessness of the captive nation. 

            37:12 -  “cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel” - God promised to restore the nation of Israel, picturing this restoration as a resurrection.  This restoration would involve bringing Israel back into their land.  “The vision showed that Israel’s new life depended on God’s power, not outward circumstances” (BKC, 1298).

            37:14 -  “put my spirit in you, and ye shall live” - See Ezekiel 36:25-30.  This describes a spiritual renewal, not just a physical restoration to the land.  Thus, this promise goes beyond the promised return to Israel after seventy years of captivity.  “A national regathering of Israel from among the nations in the end time, a spiritual conversion of Israel, and a reestablishment of the nation in the land of promise are all in view in 36:16-38 and in this apocalyptic vision” (NIVBC, 1334).

 

Lesson 9 - Psalm 73:1-3, 12-13, 16-18, 21-26

Background - Psalm 73 was written by Asaph, the author of a dozen psalms (50; 73-83).  He was

                        a Levite and the chief musician under David (1 Chron. 16:4-5; cf. 2 Chron. 29:30).

            73:1 -    “God is good . . . to such a are of a clean heart” - The psalmist affirmed God’s goodness, in spite of having experienced a time of doubting this truth.  Leupold (Exposition of Psalms, 524) says that “these words were written after the problem had been solved and the difficulty had been overcome.”  “Clean heart” basically means “totally committed to God” (Kidner, Psalms 73-150, 259).

            73:3 -    “I was envious . . . I saw the prosperity of the wicked” - What had brought about the psalmist’s near fall (v. 3) was the “prosperity of the wicked.”  This had caused him to envy the wicked.  This observation seemed to contradict God’s nature, for “all men have a more or less instinctive feeling that God should and does, as a general rule, reward the godly with tokens of His favor and punishes the wicked by withholding good or bringing down trouble on their heads” (Leupold, 525).  Leupold also notes “Generally speaking, that is a reasonable approach if it is not regarded as a broad rule that permits no exceptions.”  Asaph, however, struggled with the question, “Why should the people who oppose God be better off than those who trust Him?” (BKC, 847).

            73:13 -  “cleansed my heart in vain . . . washed my hands in innocency” - The prosperity of the wicked had brought Asaph to the faulty conclusion that he had vainly kept his heart and hands clean, i.e., pursued justice and righteousness (NIVBC, 875).

            73:16 -  “When I thought to know this, it was too painful” - “This” refers to the “painful perplexity: not so much the fact of the exalted state of the godless, and depression of the godly, as the perplexity thereby suggested concerning God’s righteousness” (JFB, 3:255).

73:17 - “understood I their end” - God is “an object not of speculation but of worship” (Kidner, 262).  The psalmist gained relief and understanding only when he went into “the sanctuary,” or temple.  There he grasped the truth that in the end the wicked will suffer ruin.  “Overwhelmed by the greatness, glory, and majesty of God, the psalmist rediscovers that the Lord is just!  In the end evil is not and never will be victorious” (NIVBC, 875).

            73:21 -  “heart was grieved . . . pricked in my reins” - “Reins” (kilyah) is literally “kidneys,” which in Hebrew thought represents the innermost feelings (LBC, 1072).  NIV gives a better translation: “When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered.”  Leupold (527) translates it, “Whenever my thinking was embittered, and my inmost feelings were aroused.”  The psalmist was expressing his repentance for his previous attitude, which he described as “foolish” (v. 22). 

            73:23 -  “I am continually with thee; thou hast holden . . . my right hand” - The key to Asaph’s dilemma was seeing both himself and the wicked as they truly are.  Regardless of outward circumstances, the wicked are on “slippery places” (v. 18) and bound for destruction, but he enjoys God’s continual presence and guidance.

            73:24 -  “receive me to glory” - This can be translated “into glory” or “with glory.”  If the first, it speaks of entering God’s presence in heaven (Kidner, 263; NIVBC, 875); if the latter, it means eventually being honored in this life (BKC, 848).

 

Lesson 10 - Matthew 5:17-18, 21-22, 27-28, 38-39, 43-44

            5:17 -    “law, . . . prophets” - This expression refers to the whole Old Testament (cf. Hendriksen, Matthew, 288).

            5:17 -    “fulfill [the law]” - “Christ answers the objection that he was flouting the OT by denying any effort to annul or abrogate the Law. . . . Christ fulfilled the OT by obeying the Law perfectly, by fulfilling its types and prophecies, and by paying the full penalty of the Law as the Substitute for sinners” (WBC, 937).

            5:18 -    “jot . . . tittle”- “Jot” refers to the yod, the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet.  The “tittle” is the small projection on some Hebrew letters (cf. WBC, 937).

            5:21 -    “in danger of the judgment” - The judgment here is punishment by death (Hendriksen, 295) as meted out by the Jewish civil court (WBC, 937-8).

            5:22 -    “angry . . . without a cause . . . Raca” - “Without a cause” does not have strong manuscript support, “although Eph 4:26 indicates that some restriction may properly be inferred” (WBC, 938).  “Raca” is probably an Aramiac word meaning “empty-head” (Hendriksen, 297).  Some see a progression from anger to calling one “Raca” to calling one a “fool.”  Such a progression is not necessary and is certainly not the point of Jesus’ teaching.

            5:22 -    “judgment . . . council . . . hell fire” - “Judgment” refers to a local court; “council” is a reference to the Sanhedrin.  “Hell” is Gehenna, the Greek form of the name for the Valley of Hinnom.  There “fires were constantly burning to consume the refuse of the city” (LBC, 1888).  The term was used as a figure for the place of eternal punishment of the wicked (EDT, 480).  “Jesus is teaching just one lesson, a very important one.  He is saying that sinful anger–the kind that leads to bitter words–is in its very nature murder.  It is murder committed in the heart.  Unless he repents, the person with this kind od attitude faces everlasting punishment in hell” (Hendriksen, 297).  The scribes and Pharisees saw the command only in terms of the outward act; Jesus said that the command extends beyond the act to the underlying attitude.

            5:28 -    “whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her” - Again, Jesus indicates that the prohibition against adultery goes much deeper than avoiding the physical act.  NIVBC (27) notes that the Old Testament command “is often treated in Jewish sources not so much as a function of purity as of theft: it was to steal another’s wife.  Jesus insisted that the seventh commandment points in another direction-toward purity that refuses even to lust after any woman.”

            5:38 -    “an eye for an eye” - Cf. Exodus 21:24-25; Leviticus 24:20; Deuteronomy 19:21.  The purpose of the Old Testament law was to provide for punishment of evildoers and to discourage the practice of pursuing private vengeance.  “The Pharisees, however, appealed to this law to justify personal retribution and revenge.  They quoted this command in order to defeat its very purpose” (Hendriksen, 310).  This is what Jesus was responding to.

            5:39 -    “resist not evil” - This does not mean we are to allow evil to go unchecked.  Rather, Jesus is “condemning the spirit of lovelessness, hatred, yearning for revenge” (Hendriksen, 310).  The principle is applied on a personal level, not a national one (Wiersbe, Meet Your King, 39).  “Evil” here probably refers to the evil person, though it could mean the evil deed (NIVBC, 28; Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament 1:47-48).

            5:43 -    “love thy neighbour . . . hate thine enemy” - The command to love one’s neighbor is found in Leviticus 19:18.  There is no Old Testament command to hate one’s enemy; nevertheless this was the common teaching of the Pharisees (BKC, 31; WBC, 939).

 

 

Lesson 11 - 1 Corinthians 15:42-57

            15:42 -  “so also is the resurrection of the dead” - Here Paul deals with the second question set forth in verse 35: “With what (kind of) body do they come?”  He does so by giving five contrasts, showing the condition of the body “‘before and after’”the experience of death and resurrection” (Boyer, For a World Like Ours, 144).

            15:42 -  “sown in corruption . . . raised in incorruption" - The contrast between the natural, earthly body and the resurrection body is here illustrated by seed that is sown.  Unlike the earthly body that dies (is sown), the resurrected body is incapable of decay or destruction; it is imperishable (Boyer, 144).  “Like a seed sown in the earth and the plant which proceeds from it, there is continuity but a gloriously evident difference” (BKC, 545).

            15:43 -  "sown in dishonour . . . raised in glory" - JFB (6:331) says “dishonour” answers to "our vile body" (Phil. 3:20), that is, the body is "liable to various humiliations of disease, injury, and decay" (cf. Chafer, Systematic Theology, 2:158).  Morris (227) notes the Greek word is “sometimes used of loss of the rights of citizenship.  A corpse has no rights.  Whether Paul has this in mind or not, there is nothing particularly honourable about a decaying body as it is put into a grave.” “Glory” is the very opposite of dishonor.

            15:44 -  "natural body . . . spiritual body" - The substance of the two bodies is not in view here.  Rather, the natural body is one suited to the present world; the spiritual body is one suited to life on the level of the Spirit.  "Our present body is of the earth and suited to habitation on the earth.  Our resurrection body will be fashioned after the pattern of the Lord from heaven, and suited to a life in heaven" (Boyer, 144; See also Morris, First and Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, 227-228; WBC, 1258; Hoyt, The End Times, 205-206).

            15:45 -  "first man Adam . . . last Adam" - The point is that "from Adam we received our present, natural bodies.  From Christ, by way of resurrection, we shall receive our spiritual, heavenly bodies.  Christ, the last Adam, was made a quickening (life-giving) Spirit when he was raised from the dead . . . Before resurrection He too had a natural body" (Boyer, 144-145). 

15:46 -  “afterward that which is spiritual” - The point seems to be simply that just as Adam  preceded Christ, so physical life and the physical body must precede the resurrection body of believers.  Paul may be expanding here on the thought of verse 22.

            15:47 -  “first man is . . . earthy: the second man is . . . from heaven” - “Earthy” means “made of earth” (Vine’s, 191).  Adam, the first man, is contrasted with the last Adam, Christ, in terms of their origin.  Adam is of the earth; Christ, though he lived on earth, “is not to be thought of as originating from the earth, as is Adam, but as from heaven” (Morris, 229-30).  “From heaven” may refer to Jesus’ incarnation, or it may look forward to his second coming (Morris, 230; WBC, 1258).

            15:50 -  “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” - Paul now began to address the “nature of the Resurrection for those who are still living at the time of the second coming of Christ” (LBC, 2330).  “Flesh and blood” refers to the natural, physical body.   Such bodies are not suited for eternity; thus a transformation must take place.

            15:51 -  “I shew you a mystery” - “Mystery” in the Bible is usually defined as “a divine secret, truth which is undiscoverable apart from divine revelation” (WBC, 1233).

            15:51 -  “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed” - Paul affirmed that not all believers will die physically (“sleep”), but they all will be changed at Christ’s return.

            15:52 -  “at the last trump” - The trumpet announces the arrival of the king.  It also places this verse parallel to 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18.  In 1 Thessalonians Paul “said nothing about the condition of those who were alive and remained when they went up.  Now in this Corinthian passage he explains what will happen.  Before these saints, living in their present natural bodies are ready to be taken up a change must take place” (Boyer, 145).

            15:54 -  “the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory” - The quotation is from Isaiah 25:8.  “What God had planned long since, and had revealed to His servant the prophet, He will fulfil in the way Paul outlined.  The expression points to the complete destruction of death” (Morris, 234).  Cf. 1 Corinthians 15:26.

            15:55 -  “O death, where is thy sting?” - The words perhaps allude to Hosea 13:14.

            15:56 -  “The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law” - Death is the result of sin. It is not death itself but death that is the result of sin that is harmful (Morris, 234-5).  Thus without sin death would have no sting. “Where sin is pardoned, death has no sting” (Morris, 235).  Sin is “aggravated as well as revealed by the law” (Boyer, 146).  The law condemns us as sinners (cf. Rom. 4:15; 7:7-14).

            15:57 -  “the victory” - The victory here is victory over death.  “Paul sees resurrection, and the resurrection body, as the ultimate victory over man’s greatest enemy, death. . . . resurrection is the undoing, the reversal, of death” (Boyer, 146).              

 

Lesson 12 - 2 Corinthians 5:11-21

5:11  ‑  "terror" - The Greek word is phobos and is usually translated “fear” (cf. NIV; NASB).  This is a reverential fear as a result of the thought of one day standing before the judgment seat of Christ (v. 10).

5:11 ‑   "persuade" ‑ It is not clear what Paul persuaded men of.  Some possibilities (cf. WBC, 1271):  1) The gospel (Tasker, II Corinthians, 83);  2) Paul's integrity as a minister (Kent, A Heart Opened Wide, 86);  3) Coming judgment (cf. WBC, 1271).

5:12 ‑    “commend not ourselves” - Paul was not interested in self‑promotion.  He was giving loyal Corinthians arguments to employ in his defense against his detractors in Corinth (Kent, 86; Tasker, 84).

5:13 ‑   "beside ourselves" ‑ NIV translates “out of our mind.” The word stands in contrast to “sober,” or of sound mind (BAG, 809).  Paul may have been accused by his enemies as being out of his mind.  He contends that whether he was charged with being out of his mind or sober, his purpose was always to benefit the Corinthians (WBC, 1271; Vine's, 63).

            5:14 ‑   "love of Christ" ‑ This is Christ's love for Paul, not Paul's love for Him (Kent, 87).

5:14 ‑    "all dead" ‑ See Tasker (85‑86) for various interpretations.  Kent (87) follows Tasker's view that it simply means that Christ died the death that all should have died.  He died “the death of all, in the sense that He died the death they should have died” (Tasker, 86).  Others believe this refers to the believer’s “death to sin and self” (NIVBC, 678) or to the believer’s identification with Christ in his death (WBC, 1271).

            5:16 -    “henceforth know we no man after the flesh” - NIV conveys the meaning with the translation, “from a worldly point of view.”  While Paul had previously evaluated others, including Christ, from such a perspective, this was no longer the case after his conversion.

            5:17 -    “he is a new creature: old things are passed away” - A Christian is “in Christ.”  He is “in vital union with Christ, and this makes him not merely a reformed person but a new creation [cf. NIV; NKJV; NRSV]. . . . The unregenerate life with the old nature in control is no longer the description of any true believer.  Instead, ‘new things have come’” (Kent, 88).

5:18 ‑    "all things are of God" ‑ This refers to all things related to the dramatic change described in verse 17 is derived from God (Tasker, 88; Kent, 89).

5:18 ‑    "reconciled . . . reconciliation" - To be reconciled means to be changed completely and refers to a change in attitude or relationship.  In this case it refers to the change in man’s relationship to God resulting in peace (Kent, 89; EDT, 992).  Chafer (Systematic Theology, 3:91-93) delineates two aspects of reconciliation: 1) of the world; 2) of individuals.  Others who follow this include Kent (89); Thiessen, Lectures in Systematic Theology (327‑330); Walvoord, Jesus Christ Our Lord (181ff). 

            5:19 -    “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself” - This is the content of the “ministry” (v. 18), or “word” (v. 19) of reconciliation. 

            5:19 ‑    "not imputing their trespasses unto them" - This is the negative aspect of God’s reconciling work.  To impute is to take account of, or apply to one's account; reckon (Vine's, 322, #1).  Not imputing their sins to them is equivalent to forgiving them (LBC, 2349). 

5:21 ‑   "made him to be sin" ‑ There is disagreement over whether "sin" here should be taken as "sin offering" (cf. NIV note), or whether the idea conveyed here is that man's sin was imputed to Christ (cf. Kent, 90; WBC, 1272; Tasker, 90).  The latter seems to be the most popular view of commentators; however, everyone agrees that the concept of substitution is certainly taught here (cf. Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross, 53‑54).

            5:21 ‑    "made the righteousness of God" ‑ This describes the imputation of God's righteousness to believers (WBC, 1272; Kent, 90).

 

Lesson 13 - Ephesians 2:11-21

            2:11 -    “Gentiles in the flesh” - “The bulk of the Ephesian church must have been Gentiles” (Kent, Ephesians: The Glory of the Church, 41).  As such they had been held in contempt by the “Circumcision,” that is, the Jews.

                2:12 -    "without Christ" - Verse 12 lists 5 privileges Gentiles had lacked.  See BKC (625), NIVBC (760), and MacArthur, Ephesians (71-74) for explanations.  For “strangers,” see comment on verse 19 below.

            2:13 -    "sometimes" - The word means “once, formerly” (BAG, 701; cf. NIV).

            2:13 -    "made nigh" - “Brought near” is the better modern equivalent (cf. NASB).  To what have Gentiles been brought near?  There are three suggestions:

(1) They have been brought near to God (Kent, 43; MacArthur, 75; LBC, 2411).

                        (2) They have been brought near to Jews (Robt. IV:526).

(3) They have been brought near to both God and Jews (Foulkes, Ephesians, 81; BKC, 625).

            2:14 -    "wall" - “Wall” can be translated "barrier" (NIV).   To what does the "wall" refer?  See BKC (625-626) for discussion of various views.  (1) Many believe this refers to the wall separating the Court of the Gentiles from the Court of the Jews in the Jerusalem temple.  Since this wall was still standing at the time Ephesians was written, however, it must be seen as illustrative of the spiritual barrier (MacArthur, 77-78; Foulkes, 81).  (2) Some see the barrier as the "law of commandments" in verse 15 (Kent, 44; NIVBC, 760).  (3) Some identify the barrier as the spiritual enmity between Jews and Gentiles (BKC, 626).  In this case, the law is not the enmity but the cause of the enmity.

            2:15 -    “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments” - The Mosaic law separated Jews from Gentiles and its exclusiveness created hostility between the two groups.  “Christ, however, by satisfying its demands and meeting its penalty, made the law inoperative.  Thus the cause of estrangement between the two groups was removed” (Kent, 44).  “Abolished” (katargeo) means to make inactive or inoperative (Vine’s, 3).

            2:16 -    “reconcile both unto God in one body” - The basis for the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles in one body is their reconciliation with God.  The two concepts are closely linked here and in verse 17.

            2:17 -    “came and preached peace to you” - Christ is said to have preached peace to both Gentiles and Jews.  This refers to the “preaching of peace by the apostles rather than Christ Himself” (BKC, 626) because the message of peace was given on the basis of Christ’s death (cf. Kent, 45).

            2:18 -    “access by one Spirit” - “Access” (prosagoge) was sometimes used “to designate the official in an oriental court who conducted visitors into the king’s presence” (NIVBC, 761; cf. Foulkes, 84).  Is the one providing the access Christ or the Spirit?  The phrase can be translated either “by one Spirit” (KJV; NIV), in which case the Spirit provides access to the Father (NIVBC, 761; BKC, 626), or “in one Spirit” (NASB), in which case Christ may be seen as providing the access (MacArthur, 80-81; Kent, 46).

            2:19 -    "strangers" - “Strangers” are short-term residents, or visitors from another country; "foreigners"are non-natives living in a community.  Neither of these two groups enjoyed the benefits of citizenship (NIVBC, 761; Kent, 46).

            2:20 -    "foundation of the apostles and prophets" - The prophets here are New Testament prophets.  They and the apostles either are the foundation (BKC, 627; Kent, 47) or built the foundation (MacArthur, 82).  See BKC (627) for discussion of the grammar.

            2:20 -    "chief corner stone" - Cf. 1 Cor. 3:11, where Christ is described as the foundation.  Here He is pictured as the chief cornerstone in the foundation, that which governs the alignment of all the others (Kent, 47-48).  Some take "corner stone" as referring not to a foundation stone but to the "capstone" (UBD, 223), though this does not seem likely in the context.

            2:21 -    "groweth unto an temple" - The “household of God” (v. 19), consisting of both Jewish and Gentile believers, is here pictured as a building under construction (the NASB translation conveys the continuing process).  The Greek word for “temple” is naos and refers to the inner sanctuary, the holiest place, of the temple (BKC, 627).  Paul uses the same figure elsewhere for both individual believers (1 Cor. 6:19-20) and the church (1 Cor. 3:16-17; 2 Cor. 6:16).

 

 

Abbreviations:                       

            BAG -       Bauer, Arndt, Gingerich, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament

            BDB -       Brown, Driver, Briggs, Hebrew-English Lexicon of the Old Testament

            BKC -       Walvoord and Zuck, eds., The Bible Knowledge Commentary

            EDT -       Walter Elwell, ed., Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2^nd Ed.

            Girdlestone - Robert B. Girdlestone, Synonyms of the Old Testament

            JFB -        Jamieson, Fausett, and Brown’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments.

            LBC -        Falwell, et al., Liberty Bible Commentary (aka, KJV Parallel Bible Commentary)

            NASB -     New American Standard Bible

            NBD -       Douglas, ed., The New Bible Dictionary

            NIV -        New International Version

            NIVBC -    Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary (Note that this is an abridged version of the 12-vol. Expositor’s Bible Commentary)

            NJB -        New Jerusalem Bible

            NKJV -     New King James Version

            NRSV -     New Revised Standard Version

            TWOT -     Harris, Archer, Waltke, eds., Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament

            UBD -       Unger’s Bible Dictionary                           

            Vine’s -     Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words

            WBC -       Pfeiffer and Harrison, eds., The Wycliffe Bible Commentary

                                                                                                                                               

 

 

             

Home | Bio | Articles | Sunday School | Reviews | Plays/Skits | Homeschool | Resources