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Notes on the International Sunday School Lessons
Spring 2002
by Jarl K. Waggoner
Lesson 1 - Romans 1:1-17
Background - Romans was written by Paul during his second visit to Corinth in A.D. 56 or 57 (cf. Hoyt, 14-15; Bruce, 13-14).
1:1 - "servant" = doulos, a slave, or bond servant (Bruce, 67).
1:2 - "promised afore by his prophets" - The "gospel of God" (v. 1) was not something new but was promised by the OT prophets (cf. Luke 24:27, 44).
1:3 - "according to the flesh" = by natural descent (Bruce, 68; cf. NIV).
1:4 - "declared to be the Son of God with power, . . . by the resurrection" - Jesus, "who during his earthly ministry 'was the Son of God in weakness and lowliness' became by the resurrection 'the Son of God in power'" (Bruce, 68-69). McClain, however, states, "The word declared means literally 'to mark out with signs.' He was declared deity by the resurrection" (41).
1:4 - "spirit of holiness" - There is a contrast here between the "flesh" (vs. 3) and the "spirit" (vs. 4). Bruce (69) identifies the "spirit" here with the Holy Spirit (cf. BKC, 440; NIVBC, 36) and says the allusion in verses 3 and 4 is not to the two natures of Jesus but to the "two states of humiliation and exaltation." McClain just as forcefully argues that "flesh" refers to Jesus' human nature and "spirit" refers to his divine nature (40; cf. Griffith-Thomas, 45).
1:5 - "obedience to the faith" - "This division closes with the purpose, the scope, and the motive of Paul's apostleship (1:5). The purpose is to promote 'obedience to the faith.' The scope is 'among all nations.' The motive is 'for His name.'" (McClain, 42). Cf. Acts 9:15.
1:7 - "called to be saints" - "to be" has been added by KJV translators. Literally, it is "called saints." Sainthood is not something to be attained in the future but a present possession of believers. "Saints" means holy ones or set apart ones.
1:11 - "impart . . . some spiritual gift" - This probably means "either to exercise his own spiritual gift on their behalf or to bestow on them spiritual favors, i.e., blessings" (BKC, 440).
1:14 - "I am debtor" - In other words, Paul felt an obligation or responsibility to give the gospel to all people (cf. NASB; NIV). This sense of obligation probably arose from his own sense of unworthiness to receive salvation.
1:17 - "righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith" - "This is Paul's way of saying that there is a righteousness of God that is available to men which meets all the requirements of God for full and complete salvation. The present tense of the verb 'is revealed' indicates that there is a progressive unfolding of this experience in every life. From the moment of the initial act of faith, the believer moves out of one dimension of faith into another, continuously appropriating the righteousness of God to meet every need" (Hoyt, 34). Note the NIV translation "a righteousness that is by faith from first to last."
1:17 - "The just shall live by faith" - This is a quotation of Habakkuk 2:4 (cf. Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38). The "just" is the one who has been declared righteous. Bruce translates it, "It is he who is righteous (justified) through faith that will live" (76).
Lesson 2 - Romans 3:1-4, 19-31
3:1 - "What advantage then hath the Jew?" - Paul raises this anticipated question in response to his teaching in the previous section that all stand condemned before God.
3:2 - "oracles of God" - The one advantage of the Jews that Paul mentions here (the thought is picked up again in 9:4-5, where other advantages are listed) is that they had been entrusted with the very words of God. This was a privilege but it also imposed upon them the responsibility to respond in faith and obedience, which is where they failed (vs. 3).
3:3 - "what if some did not believe" - Actually, of course, many did not believe, or were unfaithful. Paul affirmed that their unbelief did not nullify God's faithfulness to his Word (BKC, 448).
3:19 - "the law saith" - Since this seems to be a reference to the quotations in the verses immediately preceding, "law" here probably means the OT as a whole, for the quotations are from Psalms and Isaiah (WBC, 1191). The whole OT declares that there is no defense to be made for sin. The whole world stands condemned before God.
3:20 - "deeds of the law" - Here the narrower sense of the Mosaic law may be in view. The works prescribed by the Mosaic law cannot justify; they only make one aware of his sin (WBC, 1191). However, "law" here does not have the definite article; thus McClain argues that the meaning is that law of any kind (whether the law of Moses, the law of Christ, etc.) cannot justify (99).
3:20 - "Therefore" - This is better translated "because" as in NASB. (Robt., 4:346).
3:21 - "the righteousness of God without the law" - "God's 'righteousness' (i.e., his method of bringing people into right relation to himself; . . . is 'apart from law'" (NIVBC, 536). God's righteousness has been revealed in Christ, but it was spoken of by the OT, the Law and the Prophets.
3:23 - "sinned, and come short of the glory of God" - The word for "sinned" means to miss the mark (Vine's, 577; C #1). To sin is to miss the mark of God's glorious perfection.
3:24 - "justified freely" - To be justified is to be declared righteous. The present tense of the verb used here can be translated "'keep on being declared righteous,' i.e., each person as he believes is justified" (BKC, 451).
3:26 - "just, and the justifier" - Through Christ's substitutionary death, "God's righteousness is vindicated and the believing sinner justified" (Bruce, 103).
3:25 - "propitiation" - Propitiation is the turning away of wrath by an offering (EDT, 888). Christ's death is a propitiation, "a means of removing the divine wrath." The same word is translated "mercy seat" in Hebrews 9:5.
3:31 - "establish the law" - "The purpose of the Mosaic Law is fulfilled and its place in God's total plan is confirmed when it leads an individual to faith in Jesus Christ" (BKC, 452).
Lesson 3 - Romans 4:2-3, 13-25
4:3 - "counted" - Also translated "imputed" (vss. 22-24) and "reckoned" (vs. 9), it means to put to one's account (Robt., 4:350; McClain, 113-14). The quotation is from Genesis 15:6.
4:13 - "heir of the world" - This may refer to the worldwide blessing promised to and through Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3 (BKC, 454) or to his being the father of all believers (WBC, 1194).
4:14 - "if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void" - The Jews considered the law "the basis for their special standing before God" (BKC, 453). The promise to Abraham preceded the law and was based on faith, not law keeping.
4:15 - "the law worketh wrath" - "Any promise based on law would have ended up in wrath with no one to inherit the promise" (Hoyt, 67).
4:16 - "the father of us all" - That is, Abraham is the father of all believers, those who have faith (cf. vv. 11-12).
4:17 - "God, who quickeneth the dead" - While Paul may have had Christ's resurrection in mind here (WBC, 1195), it seems more likely in this context that it is used "with special reference to Abraham's 'own body, which was as good as dead' and the 'barrenness . . . of Sarah's womb' (verse 19)" (Bruce, 112).
4:18 - "father of many nations" - The reference is to the promise God made to Abraham in Genesis 17:5.
4:19 - "deadness of Sarah's womb" - Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90 at the time of the promise that they would have a son (Gen. 17:17). It was not so much their age, however, that was an obstacle to the promise but the "deadness of Sarah's womb." She had never been able to conceive.
4:24 - "for us also" - Paul cited Abraham's faith "not primarily to honor . . . the patriarch" but to show that justification is by faith for all who believe. "Paul asks no more than Abraham exhibited in his life. He asks the same-faith in God who raises the dead. . . . On the ground of such faith [Abraham] was saved, and no one can be saved on any other" (Stifler, 84-85).
4:25 - "raised again for our justification" - More properly translated "because of our justification" (cf. NASB). The resurrection of Christ was "the proof . . . of God's acceptance of Jesus' sacrifice (cf. 1:4). Thus because He lives, God can credit His provided righteousness to the account of every person who responds by faith to that offer" (BKC, 455). "He was raised to demonstrate that faith in Him declared us righteous" (Hoyt, 68).
Lesson 4 - Romans 5:1-11, 18-21
5:1 - "justified" - Justification is the act of God's declaring one righteous (EDT, 593).
5:2 - "rejoice in hope" = "Keep on rejoicing" (Robt., 4:355). "Our joy lies in the hope that we shall shortly be conformed to the image of Christ, who is the glory of God (Rom. 8:29; John 1:14)" (Hoyt, 69).
5:3 - "glory in tribulations" - "Glory" is the same word translated "rejoice" in verse 2. The Christian can rejoice in trials because of what they produce in him (cf. Jas. 1:2-3).
5:4 - "patience, experience; . . . hope" - Stifler comments, "Justification does not give patience, constancy, or endurance; this quality does not come at the hour of conversion, but the trials and buffetings of the way thereafter serve to evoke it" (89). "Experience" is translated "character" in NIV and "proven character" in NASB. The word describes "the effect of proving, approval" (Vine's, 218). The meaning is "You enter into tribulation and that tribulation makes you steadfast, and your steadfastness becomes an experience, or a proof that you are a child of God" (McClain, 128). Proven character results in hope, or confidence that God will see the believer through (BKC, 456).
5:8 - "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" - Having introduced God's love in verse 5, Paul now describes that love in contrast to the highest of human love (v. 7). Some people might even sacrifice their lives for a "good" person. Christ, however, demonstrated God's love by dying for ungodly sinners.
5:9 - "justified by his blood" - "Blood" here "denotes his sacrificial death" and stands parallel to the phrase "by the death of his Son" in verse 10 (Bruce, 117).
5:10 - "reconciled" - Reconciliation refers to the "removal of enmity that stands between people and God" (BKC, 457) so that unity can be restored (cf. EDT, 917).
5:11 - "atonement" - This is the noun form of the word translated "reconciled" in verse 10. NIV, NASB, NKJV, NRSV, and NJB all translate "reconciliation."
5:18 - "offence of one . . . righteousness of one" - Adam's "offence" refers to his initial sin that affected the whole human race. The "righteousness of one" refers to Christ's sacrifice and is translated "one act of righteousness" in NASB and NIV.
5:20 - "that the offence might abound . . . grace did much more abound" - The law resulted in sin abounding, for it brought consciousness of sin (cf. Rom. 3:20). "Only where sin is seen in its maximum expression can divine grace truly be appreciated" (NIVBC, 548). Wherever sin flourished, however, "grace exceeded it (v. 20). Though sin has exercised a rule to death, grace overcame it and reigned through righteousness to eternal life (v. 21)" (Hoyt, 71).
5:21 - "death" - Death here refers to both physical and spiritual death, both of which are the result of sin (cf. 5:12; LBC, 2231; BKC, 458).
Lesson 5 - John 20:1, 11-17; Romans 6:3-8
John 20:11 - For harmony of post-resurrection events, see BKC (91) or Walvoord, Jesus Christ Our Lord (192-195). Apparently Mary had seen the stone had been removed from the tomb (Mark 16:1-4; John 20:1) and assumed the body had been stolen. She left to inform Peter and John (John 20:2) without looking inside the tomb as the other women did (Mark 16:5-8). She had returned to the tomb later and stood outside weeping (John 20:11).
20:12 - "two angels" - Cf. Luke 24:4, which describes them as "men," as angels often appear. Matthew and Mark mention only one of the angels.
20:14 - "knew not that it was Jesus" - Why did Mary not immediately recognize Jesus? Some have suggested that her eyes were blinded by tears (Bruce, The Gospel and Epistles of John, 388). There could have been some external differences in Jesus' post-resurrection appearance (cf. Mark 16:12; Luke 24:16). "Perhaps of more importance in the explanation is the condition of Mary herself. Grief-stricken, despairing, and completely unprepared to expect a resurrection, she was not ready in mind to accept the reality of such a circumstance" (Kent, Light in the Darkness, 219).
20:16 - "Rabboni" - It is translated "Master," or "Teacher," by John. It was the "respectful form of address among the Jews used for those regarded as occupying a higher rank than the speaker" (Kent, 219). The term is "not materially different in sense from "Rabbi."
20:17 - "Touch me not" - a present imperative, thus the idea is probably, "Stop clinging to me" (cf. NASB; Robt. 5:312; Morris, 840. Michaels, John, 342) says it could also mean "Stop trying to cling to me." As to the meaning of "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father," there is no clear consensus. Note the following interpretations: (1) "Mary needed to be taught that the Lord was not with her on the basis of the old relationship. He was already glorified. He belonged now to the heavenly realm, even though he was willing to tarry for a time to meet with his friends" (WBC, 1119). (2) "Mary had lost Jesus once before (at His crucifixion) and it was natural to fear the loss of His presence again. Jesus said, in effect, 'This (the physical contact) is not My real presence for the church. A new relationship will begin with My Ascension and the gift of the Holy Spirit to the church'" (BKC, 342-343). (3) "The point of the words . . . is . . . simply that because he is on his way to the Father, he cannot stay and talk with Mary. There is time only to give her the message she must deliver to the other disciples" (Michaels, 342). (4) "It is as though Jesus were saying, 'Stop clinging to Me. There is no need for this, as I am not yet at the point of permanent ascension. You will have opportunity of seeing Me'" (Morris, 841). (5) "By [clinging to Him], she could not keep the Lord there with her. His destination was to go the Father" (LBC, 2122; cf. Kent, 219-220).
20:17 - "brethren" - Most agree this refers to the disciples, though the term usually refers to His biological family (Morris, 841-842; BKC, 343).
20:17 - "I ascend" - This is in present tense, and some have taken it to mean that Jesus was about to ascend to heaven at that very time, only to return again that evening (cf. Chafer, Systematic Theology, 5:262-263). Most, however, take the present as referring to the certainty of His future (and only) ascension (Morris, 841; Walvoord, Jesus Christ Our Lord, 220-221).
Rom. 6:3 - "baptized into his death" - This speaks of the spiritual reality of the believer's union with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection. "The spiritual reality Paul spoke of is that by faith believers are 'baptized (placed) into Christ' and thereby are united and identified with him. This spiritual reality is then graphically witnessed to and pictured by believers' baptism in water. The one baptism (by water) is the visible picture of the spiritual truth of the other baptism (identification with Christ)" (BKC, 462).
6:4 - "newness of life" - "This is the new mode or quality of life which results from the impartation of Christ's risen power to the believer" (Bruce, 130). "Newness" speaks of freshness or newness of quality, not of time (Vine's, 431).
6:6 - "old man is crucified" - The old man is all that we were before salvation (McClain, 144). NIV translates it "old self." The person the believer once was has been (in the past) crucified by identification with Christ.
6:6 - "body of sin might be destroyed" - Stifler (109) says the "body of sin" is almost the same as the "old man." Bruce (131) identifies it with the "flesh." McClain (144) regards it as the physical "body we have, in which sin finds an instrument . . . Sin finds it source in the will, but uses the body as an instrument. Because we were crucified with Christ the body of sin is actually powerless in our lives." "Destroyed" means to render powerless, not to eradicate (BKC, 462; Vine's, 3 [abolish]).
6:7 - "freed from sin" - Literally, this reads "is justified from sin" (Robt., 4:362; Bruce, 131).
Lesson 6 - Romans 8:18-28, 31-34, 38-39
8:18 - "the glory which shall be revealed in us" - The future glory that awaits God's children far outweighs the temporal sufferings they face in the present world. This future glory is elaborated in the following verses. NASB translates "to us" (cf. Stifler, 143), though the idea of "in us" may also be present as KJV suggests (cf. Bruce, 163).
8:19 - "the creature waiteth" - "Creature" is better translated "creation" (cf. NIV; NASB). All of creation is personified here and pictured as waiting, or more literally, "eagerly expecting" (Vine's, 663, #2) the day when God will redeem his creation.
8:19 - "manifestation of the sons of God" - This refers to the redemption of the body at Christ's return (v. 23).
8:20 - "the creature was made subject to vanity" - "When men fell into sin, the creation too suffered some change from its original constitution. A curse fell on it so that in the cycles of change there is a sort of uselessness, a failure to accomplish a reasonable purpose" (Hoyt, 92).
8:21 - "the creature (creation) . . . shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption" - The curse God brought upon the earth because of man's sin will be lifted when God's plan of salvation is completed and the children of God "experience their glorious freedom from sin, Satan, and physical decay . . . This will take place in two stages. First will be the renovation of the present cosmos in conjunction with the return to earth of the Lord Jesus and the establishment of the messianic kingdom on earth . . . The second stage will be creation of 'a new heaven and a new earth' (Rev. 21:1; cf. 2 Peter 3:7-13)" (BKC, 472).
8:23 - "firstfruits of the Spirit" - The Spirit himself is the "firstfruits." His presence in believers is the guarantee that God's work of redemption will be completed (cf. 2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:14).
8:23 - "groan . . . waiting for the adoption, . . . the redemption of the body" - The groaning is the believer's "sighing to himself because he lives in a sinful world" (WBC, 1207). The adoption here is the "redemption of the body." Although Christians have already been received the adoption and are sons of God (Gal. 4:6-7), they "still anticipate their adoption in its completeness" (BKC, 473). The "redemption of the body" is the same as "the manifestation of the sons of God" (Rom. 8:19) and "the glorious liberty of the children of God" (v. 21). It refers to the "raising and changing of the body, so that it will be like the body of [Christ's] glory" (Hoyt, 92-93). This takes place at Christ's coming (I Cor. 15:42-54; Phil. 3:20-21; 1 Thess. 4:13-18).
8:24 - "we are saved by hope" - NASB makes it clearer: "in hope we have been saved." The tense of "saved" "implies that the salvation is already ours; the phrase 'in . . . hope' indicates that our full enjoyment of it lies in the future" (Bruce, 165). Hope is "the expectation of some future reality that has not yet been experienced" (Hoyt, 93). It is not seen but it is eagerly expected.
8:25 - "with patience wait for it" - Our hope and expectation of the redemption of the body produces "patience," or steadfast endurance, perseverance (Vine's, 462-63).
8:26 - "the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities" - "The Spirit helps us in our weakness" (NIV). "Weakness" is a "general expression for the Christian's limitations while still in the human body" (NIVBC, 564). The Spirit overcomes our weakness and inability to know what or how to pray by interceding for us.
8:28 - "all things work together for good" - "Here Paul abandons particulars to show generally that the whole activity of God is directed toward the ultimate good of those that love Him" (Stifler, 146).
8:33 - "It is God that justifieth" - "God himself, the judge of all, has pronounced acquittal and justification" (Bruce, 169). No one, then, can bring a charge against God's elect.
8:34 - "Who is he that condemneth?" - See the punctuation in NASB, which puts this question with last phrase in verse 33: "God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns?"
8:34 - "Christ . . . maketh intercession" - The thought is similar to that in verse 33. Because Christ died and continually intercedes for his own, they need not fear condemnation.
Lesson 7 - Romans 10:1-17
10:3 - "ignorant of God's righteousness" - While the Jews knew about God and knew him as righteous, they did not understand "the righteousness that comes from God" (NIV). They sought to establish their own righteousness through the law and so did not submit to the "righteousness that God provides through Christ by faith" (BKC, 480).
10:3 - "not submitted themselves" - Their will were unyielded to the truth for they were determined to establish their own righteousness (cf. WBC, 1214). McClain comments, "God's righteousness is something not only that we believe, but also something to which we should be submitted. One of the primary reasons why more men do not believe the simple gospel of God is because of human pride and human reason. They are determined not to submit" (188).
10:4 - "Christ is the end . . ." - "End" (telos) can mean either purpose (goal), meaning that the law is that which brings people to Christ, or termination, meaning that the law has run its course and no longer applies to "every one that believeth." Most commentators seem to favor the idea of termination (cf. NIVBC, 574; Stifler, 174), though some combine the two ideas (WBC, 1214).
10:5 - "shall live by them" - Paul was quoting Leviticus 18:5. The meaning is that the one who seeks righteousness by the law is "obligated to keep all of the law, all of the time, and each item must be kept perfectly" (Hoyt,113). Since this was impossible, the one who sought to be righteous by the law was condemning himself.
10:6-7- "the righteousness which is of faith . . . who shall ascend . . . who shall descend?" - Paul here contrasts the righteousness that is by faith with the righteousness that is by law (v. 5) by quoting phrases from Deuteronomy 30:12-14. Unlike the demands of the law, the righteousness that comes by faith requires no impossible acts or conditions for its reception. No one is required to ascend into heaven to bring Christ down, for he has already come. No one is required to descend into the deep to bring Christ up, for he has already been resurrected (cf. BKC, 480; Hoyt, 113).
10:8 - "The word is nigh thee" - Paul is stressing the fact that the message of God's righteousness, the gospel Paul preached, is accessible to the Jews. "In thy mouth, and in thy heart" may simply mean close at hand. LBC (2251), however, suggests the gospel was in their mouths and hearts by virtue of Paul's preaching in the Jewish synagogues and the Jews' subsequent discussion of it.
10:9 - "confess with thy mouth . . . believe in thine heart" - "Since Christ has already come down from above, has died, and has been raised from the dead, nothing remains for the Jew or for anyone else to do but to confess it with his mouth and believe it in his heart" (Stifler, 177). "The confession is an acknowledgment that God has been incarnated in Jesus (cf. v. 6), that Jesus Christ is God. Also essential is heart-faith that God raised Him from the dead (cf. v. 7) The result is salvation. The true order is given in verse 10" (BKC, 481).
10:10 - "confession is made unto salvation" - Confession is the evidence of faith in the heart.
10:13 - "whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord" - Paul here quotes from Joel 2:32, which supports the universality of the gospel offer.
10:15 - "How beautiful are the feet" - This is a quotation from Isaiah 52:7. The reference in Isaiah is probably to those who carried the news to Jerusalem that the Babylonian Captivity was over (LBC, 2252). The beauty of the feet of gospel messengers may refer to their eagerness to carry the good tidings (WBC, 1215) or to how they are welcomed by those who receive the message (Stifler, 180).
10:16 - "report" - The quote is from Isaiah 53:1. "Report" refers to a message one has heard. "A message heard" might be a better translation. The same word (akoe) is translated "hearing" in verse 17 (McClain, 192-93; TDNT, 1:221).
10:17 - "by the word of God" - "Christ" is the preferred reading in most modern translations (cf. NIV; NASB; NRSV). "Word" is rhema, which denotes that which is spoken (Vine's, 683), i.e., it is the word, or message, about Christ that produces faith (cf. Robt., 4:390). There is not great distinction here from the written Word of God since that is the source of the message about Christ.
Lesson 8 - Romans 12:1-3, 9-21
12:1 - "present your bodies" - "Bodies" here represents "the totality of one's life and activities, of which his body is the vehicle of expression" (BKC, 487).
12:1 - "reasonable service" = "spiritual service of worship" (NASB); "spiritual act of worship" (NIV). The word can mean "reasonable"; thus "the service of obedient lives is the only reasonable or logical response to the grace of God." However, many commentators believe that here it means "spiritual worship" in contrast to the external rites of Israel's religion (Bruce, 213). Robt. (4:402) says the phrase means "'worship rendered by the reason (or soul)'." See also NIVBC, 882; Vine's, 509.
12:2 - "be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind" - The force of the first imperative is "stop being conformed, or fashioned" (Robt. 4:402). "World" is not kosmos but aion, meaning "age" (cf. Vine's, 685). "Transformed" translates the Greek word from which we get our word metamorphosis. It refers to a complete change, which finds expression in character and outward conduct (Vine's, 639; cf. McClain, 208). "The key to this change is the 'mind' (noos), the control center of one's attitudes, thoughts, feelings, and actions (cf. Eph. 4:22-23). As one's mind keeps on being made new by the spiritual input of God's Word, prayer, and Christian fellowship, his lifestyle keeps on being transformed" (BKC, 487).
12:2 - "prove" - To prove (dokimazo) means to prove by testing with the expectation of approving (Vine's, 495). "It refers to spiritual discernment, which is the inevitable result of inward transformation" (Griffith-Thomas, 327). One who is consecrated to Christ (v. 1) and transformed (v. 2) will know and approve of God's perfect will.
12:3 - "not to think of himself more highly than he ought" - Humility is probably viewed here as the first outcome of transformation (LBC, 2259).
12:3 - "measure of faith" - Faith here is not saving faith but "the spiritual power given to each Christian for the discharge of his or her special responsibility" (Bruce, 215; cf. WBC, 1219).
12:9 - "Let love be without dissimulation" - "without dissimulation" is "without hypocrisy" (NASB), and thus "sincere" (NIV). "Hypocritical or pretended love is no love at all" (Robt. 4:404).
12:10 - "kindly affectioned" - Translated "devoted" in both NIV and NASB. It describes the mutual love of parents and children (Robt., 4:404), or "family affection" (BKC, 489)
12:11 - "Not slothful in business" - KJV stands alone in translating "business." Even NKJV translates, "not lagging in diligence" (cf. NIV; NASB; NRSV). The context of serving the Lord, however, suggests to some commentators that the idea is "not lacking in zeal or diligence in the business of the church" (McClain, 213; LBC, 2260; cf. NJB).
12:11 - "fervent in spirit" - "Spirit can refer here to either one's inner, human spirit (Stifler, 210) or the Holy Spirit (Bruce, 216).
12:12 - "continuing instant in prayer" = "devoted to prayer" (NASB); "continuing steadfastly in prayer" (NKJV).
12:14 - "Bless them which persecute you" - Cf. Matthew 5:44. Blessing our enemies involves doing good to them and praying for them (cf. NIVBC, 587).
12:16 - "mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate" - NASB is clearer: "Do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly."
12:17 - "Provide things honest" - The idea is "see to it that all your life is such that you do not awaken the prejudice or contempt of men; let your conduct commend itself to them" (Stifler, 212; cf. NASB; NIV). Cf. 1 Peter 2:12.
12:19 - "Avenge not yourselves" - God has promised to avenge his children (Deut. 32:35), and such vengeance should be left to him; that is, we are to give place to God's wrath.
12:20 - "heap coals of fire on his head" - This is a quotation from Proverbs 25:21-22. The meaning is debated. The two primary interpretations are: (1) This reflects an Egyptian ritual in which one who was truly repentant expressed his repentance by carrying a pan of burning charcoal upon his head. Thus the idea is that doing good to an enemy will bring about a change of attitude or even repentance (cf. BKC, 490; Bruce, 217-218). (2) The burning coals "refers to a sense of shame, punishment, or remorse which is engendered in the mind of our enemy when we show kindness to him" (LBC, 2262; cf. McClain, 216; NIVBC, 587; Griffith-Thomas, 347).
12:21 - "evil" - The word here is kakia, which refers to the "evil habit of mind" (Trench, Synonyms of the NT, 38), as opposed to poneros, which is "the active outcoming of the same."
Lesson 9 - Romans 14:1-13
14:1 - "him that is weak" - These people are probably to be identified "with the Jewish element in the church, those who had avoided certain foods because of the dietary laws of the OT" (NIVBC, 591). McClain comments, "These men are not men who are morally weak. . . . These men . . . were exceedingly sensitive to sin. They were so sensitive to sin that they picked out indifferent things, things that were neither moral nor immoral" (229). They were "not yet mature enough to grasp that all kinds of food are equally kosher ('fit'), all days equally holy" (Bruce, 231).
14:1 - "receive [him] but not to doubtful disputation" - He is to be received but not "for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions" (NASB). "A believer with certain scruples is not to be welcomed into the fellowship with the intent of changing his views or opinions by quarreling with him about them" (BKC, 492).
14:2 - "eateth herbs (vegetables)" - It may have been that the vegetarian diet was adopted in order to avoid eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols (cf. 1 Cor. 8). However, the motive is not addressed, only the action (cf. BKC, 492).
14:3 - "despise . . . judge" - Because God has received both groups in the church, they should not "despise" or "judge" one another. "Despise" means "to treat as nothing and so with contempt" (Robt., 4:412). To "judge" here has a similar idea. It means to condemn or simply criticize in an unloving way (Robt. 4:412; Vine's, 337).
14:4 - "Who art thou that judgest another's man's servant?" - Each Christian is a servant of the Lord, and his master will judge him. Fellow Christians have no right to.
14:4 - "God is able to make him stand" - "Even if a believer despises the scruples of another Christian, God can defend the second person" (BKC, 492). "A servant was bound to the master for life; and even if he failed to do his best, the master did not fire him. He retained him and initiated such means to bring his service up to commendable level. In the same way, . . . Christ works in His servants to perform all the good pleasure of His will (Phil. 2:13)" (Hoyt, 162).
14:5 - "one man esteemeth one day above another; another esteemeth every day alike" - The idea is that "one man picks out a certain day [presumably the Sabbath] and gives honor to it. The other man [the 'strong' one] says, 'They are all holy'" (McClain, 234). Both, however, are motivated by a desire to honor the Lord and thus should not be judged by the other. It is a matter of personal conscience, not a moral matter. Note that "alike" is not in the original text.
14:7-8- "none of us liveth to himself . . .we live unto the Lord" - Life and death encompasses all of one's existence. Each Christian's life is lived out in the Lord's presence as his servant and is accountable to him. However, "each Christian's life affects his fellow-Christians and his fellow-men and women in general; therefore he should consider his responsibility to them, and not consult his own interests only" (Bruce, 232).
14:10 - "we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ" - Because all believers will stand before Christ at the judgment seat to give an account of himself (v. 12), there is no room for Christians to pass judgment on one another. "God" rather than "Christ" is probably the reading here (cf. NASB; NIV), though there is no real difference (cf. 2 Cor. 5:10). This is a judgment of believers only (1 Cor. 3:10-15), not to be confused with the judgment at the great white throne (Rev. 20:11-15). At the judgment seat, it is the believer's service and faithfulness that is in view, not his salvation. See Ryrie, Basic Theology, 512-13.
14:11 - "every knee shall bow" - This is a quotation from Isaiah 45:23 and points to the fact that all people, saved and unsaved, will stand before God and acknowledge Him as Lord. Even unbelievers who are judged at the great white throne will be forced to acknowledge Him (cf. Phil. 2:10-11). Christians, who stand before the judgment seat of Christ, will willingly confess Him.
14:13 - "judge . . . but judge rather" - The first "judge" means to condemn; the second is used in the sense of "make up your mind" (cf. NIVBC, 593).
14:13 - "stumblingblock . . . occasion to fall" - The two words are synonyms. "Stumblingblock" (proskomma) refers to something one trips over; "occasion to fall" (skandalon) is something that causes stumbling; a trap, or snare. See Vine's, 441 ("offence," numbers 1 and 2), for distinction.
Lesson 10 - Galatians 1:1-2, 6-9; 2:15-21
1:2 - "churches of Galatia" - Galatian was a province in Asia Minor. Commentators are divided on whether the churches Paul wrote to were in Northern Galatia or Southern Galatia. Most modern scholars prefer the Southern Galatia theory (cf. BKC, 587-88; NIVBC, 703-706; Kent, 15-19). The date of the epistle is also debatable and depends on several factors, including whether Galatians 2:1-10 is identified with the council in Acts 15. It could have been written as early as A.D. 49. See commentaries above.
1:6-7 - "another gospel: which is not another" - Two different words (heteros and allos respectively) are translated "another" here. Some scholars see no difference at all in meaning of the two words and thus see Paul saying that the whole idea of another gospel is absurd. There is no other gospel (cf. Ridderbos, 48). Others, however, see the traditional distinction between the two terms maintained here. Heteros meant another of a different kind; allos meant another of the same kind. Thus Paul was saying that the Galatians were embracing a totally different gospel, not just another of the same sort (cf. Kent, 33-34). See Kent (23-24) for a description of the agitators in Galatia. NIVBC (703) says, "Jewish teachers who were legalizers had arrived from Jerusalem . . . and had begun to teach that Paul was wrong in his doctrine. They contended that Gentiles had to obey the law of Moses to e saved. To the grace of Christ must be added circumcision."
1:8 - "accursed" - The Greek word is anathema. It is translated "eternally condemned" in NIV. The idea is that of being delivered up to divine wrath (TDNT, 1:354-55).
2:15 - "We who are Jews by nature" - Paul is here speaking of Jewish Christians such as himself and Peter. They were Jews "by nature," that is, by birth, and not sinners, which is here equated with the Gentiles.
2:16 - "a man is not justified by the works of the law" - The point Paul is stressing here is that "even Jewish Christians must depend on Christ alone for justification" (Kent, 72) and thus were no different from Gentiles in that respect.
2:17 - "if . . . we . . . are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin?" - Many different interpretations have been applied to this verse (cf. Lightfoot, 116-17). Kent offers perhaps the best explanation: "[Paul's] question means this: If Jews who believe in Christ for their justification then proceed to forsake their traditional adherence to all the rules of the Mosaic Law and begin living apart from it as did the Gentiles . . . was this actually a sin against God, and one which Christ had prompted them to commit? To Paul such a thought was monstrous, and he proceeds to show that it was the reverting to law which involved transgression, not the opposite" (74). Cf.. BKC (595).
2:18 - "if I build again the things which I destroyed" - Although Paul wrote in the first person, most commentators believe he had Peter's actions in mind here (cf. 2:11-14). The verse is closely related to verse 17. It can have either of two very slightly different meanings: (1) By returning to the law after being justified by faith, one is declaring that his initial departure from the law was sin (Kent, 74; Wiersbe, 55). (2) "If a believer would return to the Law after trusting Christ alone for salvation, that Law would only demonstrate that he was a sinner, a lawbreaker" (BKC, 595; cf. Ridderbos, 102-3).
2:19 - "dead to the law" - "The Law demanded death for those who broke it, but Christ paid that death penalty for all sinners. Thus the Law killed Him and those joined to Him by faith, freeing them to be joined to another, to live for God" (BKC, 596). The law has exacted the penalty and thus the law has been satisfied. "It has no further claim on Paul or any other believer" (Kent, 75).
2:20 - "crucified with Christ" - This is an elaboration of verse 19. The perfect tense of the verb indicates past action with continuing effects. Paul has died to the law (vs. 19) because of his union with Christ in his death and resurrection (cf. Rom. 6:4-8). "The resurrection life he is now living he is living through the presence of the Lord Jesus within him" (NIVBC, 719).
Lesson 11 - Galatians 3:6-9, 23-29; 4:1-7
3:6 - "accounted to him for righteousness" - The reference is to Genesis 15:6. The point is that Abraham was declared righteous on the basis of faith alone. This was before the law and before the institution of circumcision. "Accounted" here translates the same word translated "counted" in Romans 4:3.
3:7 - "children of Abraham" - "Paul says that the true sons of Abraham are those who share his faith. Those who are 'of faith'-that is, whose relationship to God is derived out of faith-are the ones who enjoy the spiritual kinship with Abraham which brings eternal blessing" (Kent, 85-86).
3:8 - "preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed" - "Gospel" here should be understood in its literal sense of "good news" rather than a technical term for the message of salvation in Christ. In speaking of all nations being blessed through Abraham (Gen. 12:3), Paul was showing that the "justification of uncircumcised Gentiles was anticipated in the universal aspect of the Abrahamic covenant (BKC, 597).
3:23 - "before faith came, we were . . . shut up" - "Faith" has the definite article the and should be understood here as the Christian faith (Kent, 103). It was before this faith came in the person of Christ that we were "shut up" by the law. "Shut up" pictures the law as a jailer, keeping people "locked up and therefore out of trouble until Christ, the liberator, should come to set them free" (NIVBC, 726). The thought may include the idea of being locked in to the sin the law revealed. The law "imprisoned men so that they might find true liberty in Christ; it cuts off ever other way of escape" (LBC, 2388; cf. JFB, 6:385).
3:24 - "our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ" - The "schoolmaster"(paidagogos) in reality "was not a schoolmaster, but a slave who had charge of children from the age of seven to about eighteen. He trained the child in general deportment, took him to school each day, . . . and was in almost total charge of the management of the boy. . . . Paul . . . was emphasizing the temporary character of the law and its inferiority. The law was Israel's guardian and trainer until Christ. When the Christian era arrived, justification by faith was made clear, and the inability of the law to provide justification was demonstrated" (Kent, 105).
3:26 - "children of God" - Literally, this is "sons of God." Paul is making a contrast between children in verses 24-25 and mature sons in verse 26 (Kent, 106).
3:27 - "baptized into Christ" - Although some interpreters believe this is a reference to the rite of water baptism (cf. NIVBC, 727), it most likely refers to the baptism of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13), the work by which believers are identified with Christ and spiritually placed into the body of Christ. It is by virtue of this supernatural act that they "put on Christ" (Kent, 106; BKC, 600).
3:28 - "There is neither Jew nor Greek, . . . all are one in Christ" - While various distinctions remain (racial, sexual, etc.), of course, these earthly distinctions "have no significance as to the validity or quality of one's relationship with God. . . . All believers . . . are equally a part of one spiritual entity. . . . in a vital union with [Christ] whereby they share His life, His perfect righteousness, and prospect of participating in the promises He will receive as the Messianic Heir" (Kent, 107).
3:29 - "Abraham's seed" - Paul has already stated that Christ is uniquely Abraham's seed (v. 16). Those who are in Christ, therefore, are likewise Abraham's seed and heirs of the promises made to Abraham.
4:1 - "the heir . . . differeth nothing from a servant" - This continues the contrast Paul has been discussing between God's people before and after Christ's coming (3:23-29). "Paul has been stressing the temporal nature of the change. At this point he dwells on their status, moving from being slaves to becoming sons and daughters of their heavenly Father" (NIVBC, 728). The illustration he uses is that of a servant and a minor child in a family. There is little difference in their status in the family.
4:2 - "under tutors and governors until the time appointed" - A child, in fact, is under the authority of servants-tutors (guardians) and governors (managers)-until the time his father has determined that he will be formally acknowledged as an adult son and heir. The illustration seems to come specifically from Roman custom (BKC, 601; WBC, 1292; NIVBC, 728).
4:3 - "when we were children, we were . . . under the elements of the world" - "Children" speaks of the spiritual immaturity that characterized both Paul and the Galatians before coming to Christ. They were "in bondage" to "the elements of the world." (1) Some argue this refers to the law, especially since the law is to some degree in view in the context (Kent, 109-110). (2) Others see the expression having a much wider meaning, since most of the Galatians had been pagans. They believe the "elements of the world" refers to the "elementary stages of religious experience, whether of Jews under the Law or Gentiles in bondage to heathen religions. . . . all were enslaved until Christ emancipated them" (BKC, 601). (3) Finally, others argue that the expression refers strictly to Gentiles and "the basic elements that the ancient world saw as making up the world . . . Hence, [Paul] would be thinking of a demonic bondage in which the Galatians had indeed been held prior to the proclamation of the Gospel" (NIVBC, 728).
4:5 - "redeem them that were under the law" - That is, those who were under the law's bondage. "The emphasis is not on the penalty of the Law as in 3:13, but on its bondage. Since Christ redeemed and set free those who were under the Law, why should Gentile converts now wish to be placed under it?" (BKC, 601).
4:5 - "adoption of sons" - Christ's redemption enables all who believe in him to be treated as "sons of full age, no longer under a guardian. 'Adoption as sons' refers to the conferring of the rights of sonship. Here it describes the believer's installation as a full son after the period of childhood (represented by the law) was past" (Kent, 111). Cf. Vine's, 15-15.
4:6 - "sent forth the Spirit . . . crying Abba, Father" - The Holy Spirit is given to all who are "sons" and assures them of their sonship. The Spirit moves the believer to address God as "Abba," an Aramaic term of endearment often equated with our "Daddy" (BKC, 601).
Lesson 12 - Galatians 5:1-15
5:1 - "Stand fast . . . in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free" - The command is to keep on standing or to stay free since Christ has set you free (Robt. 4:309). There are a number of textual variants here. See NASB, NIV, NRSV, which all follow the reading, "For this freedom Christ set us free."
5:1 - "the yoke of bondage" - The article is indefinite in Greek; thus "a yoke." Since most of the Galatian Christians were not Jewish, it "was not merely 'the yoke' of the Mosaic Law which must be avoided but 'a yoke'-that is, any legalistic system, whether Mosaic, pagan, or any other" (Kent, 142).
5:2 - "Christ shall profit you nothing" - Anyone who submits to circumcision because he is seeking righteousness by it was adding works to faith and was not trusting Christ alone.
5:3 - "debtor to do the whole law" - Cf. Galatians 3:10; James 2:10.
5:4 - "whosoever . . . are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace" - "Are justified" here "depicts attempted action. The sense is 'whoever are trying to be justified by the law'" (Kent, 144). To fall from grace is "to fall into legalism. Or to put it another way, to choose legalism is to relinquish grace as the principle by which one desires to be related to God" (NIVBC, 736).
5:5 - "wait for the hope of righteousness" - This refers to the future time when God will publicly declare the believer righteous (Ridderbos, 189; Kent, 145) and he will "be completely conformed to all the requirements of God's will" (BKC, 605).
5:9 - "a little leaven" - The danger in Galatia was that the false teaching, apparently somewhat contained at this point, would spread like leaven. Cf. Matthew 16:6; 1 Corinthians 5:6.
5:11 - "if I yet preach circumcision" - Apparently some charged that Paul advocated circumcision and law keeping. "The most likely explanation is simply that Paul's words are a reply to an accusation that he did preach circumcision when it suited him, however unfounded or unlikely that accusation was"(NIVBC, 737). He answered that if that were the case, why were the Judaizers-who advocated such things-persecuting him.
5:12 - "cut off" - Paul expressed his desire that those who advocated circumcision as necessary to salvation were "cut off." This probably suggests mutilation. NASB says, "I wish that those who are troubling you would even mutilate themselves." Castration was practiced in Galatia by the worshipers of Cybele. Paul was saying that if circumcision was so important, they should go all the way as their pagan neighbors did, for "in principle they were no different" (Kent, 151; cf. Lightfoot, 207).
5:13 - "use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh" - Whereas it is important to understand and to remain grounded in the liberty Christ gives and not fall back into legalism (v. 1), so it is also important not to let that liberty become license to sin. "Occasion" (aphorme) is literally "the starting-point or base of operations for an expedition" (BAG, 127).
5:14 - "all the law is fulfilled" - "Fulfilled" here means to perform, or complete (Lightfoot, 209). The entire law is summed up in the injunction to love one's neighbor as himself (cf. Lev. 19:18). "Regeneration by faith produces within the heart a love which desires to accomplish the very things that the law specified but could not produce" (Kent, 155).
Lesson 13 - Galatians 5:16-6:5, 7-9
5:16 - "Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" - "Walk" speaks of daily living and is in the present tense here, thus meaning "keep on walking." To walk in the Spirit is to "let [oneself] be ruled by the Spirit. The principle of the Spirit does not make human effort unnecessary, but arouses it and equips it to put all its forces into the service of the Spirit" (Ridderbos, 203). The "flesh" is the "dynamic principle of sinfulness" within all people (EDT, 418). The NIV translates it "sinful nature." BKC (607) comments, "While no believer will ever be entirely free in this life from the evil desires that stem from his fallen human nature, he need not capitulate to them, but may experience victory by the Spirit's help."
5:17 - "cannot do the things that ye would" - This is not meant in an absolute sense. Rather, it is often the case, as Paul himself had learned (cf. Rom. 7:15-25), that the spiritual conflict thwarts the Christian's good intentions (Kent, 157; Ridderbos, 204).
5:18 - "if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law" - The law had been given to guard people until Christ's coming (Gal. 3:24). "Then the Spirit assumes control and directs the child of God into the fullness of the life in our Lord. . . . To be led by the Spirit demonstrates freedom from law" (WBC, 1296).
5:19 - "works of the flesh are manifest . . . adultery . . ." - "Manifest" means "evident" (NASB) or "obvious" (NIV). "Adultery" has poor manuscript support and is omitted from most modern versions. "Fornication" is a broad term for sexual immorality (BKC, 607). "uncleanness" is a broad term for moral or ceremonial uncleanness (NIVBC, 740); "lasciviousness" refers to "shameless contempt of what is proper" (NIVBC, 740).
5:20 - "variance . . ." - "Variance" is discord (cf. NIV). "Emulations" is "jealousy" ( NIV; NASB). "Strife" refers to a "selfish and self-aggrandizing approach to work" (NIVBC, 740). "Seditions, heresies" are divisions and divisiveness (Kent, 160; WBC, 1296).
5:21 - "revellings, and such like" - The word suggests excessive feasting, carousing (BAG, 462). NIV translates it "orgies." "And such like" indicates the list of sins is only representative.
5:21 - "they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God" - Both the verb "do" and the tense of the verb (present) indicate habitual practice. Continual practice of the works of the flesh is evidence of one's unsaved condition (Robt., 4:313; Kent, 160).
5:22 - "love, joy, . . ." - "Joy" is an inner contentment that is not dependent on circumstances. "peace" speaks of an inner quietness; "gentleness" is best translated "kindness" (NIV; NASB); "goodness" is similar to "gentleness" but is a "more active term" (NIVBC, 741) that seems to emphasize generosity; "faith" is best understood as faithfulness here.
5:23 - "Meekness . . ." - "Meekness" combines the ideas of strength and gentleness (Kent, 162). It is translated "gentleness" in NIV and NASB.
5:23 - "against such there is no law" - This is an "understatement used for rhetorical effect" (NIVBC, 742). It is obvious that such behaviors do not need to be restrained by laws as do the works of the flesh (vv. 19-21) with which they are contrasted.
5:24 - "they . . . have crucified the flesh" - This is a past act. All Christians are identified with Christ in his death and thus their sinful nature is crucified with him. "This does not mean that their sin nature is then eradicated . . . but that it has been judged, a fact believers should reckon to be true" (BKC, 609). Cf. Romans 6:11-12; Galatians 2:19-20; 6:14. Victory over the sinful nature's "affections and lusts" has been provided in Christ. "It is our responsibility to believe this and act upon it" (Wiersbe, 132).
5:25 - "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit" - The idea here is that since we (Christians) live in the Spirit (cf. v. 24), we are to conform our conduct to this new life (Lightfoot, 214). "Walk" (stoicheo) means to "walk in line," or in accordance with a standard (Vine's, 664). NIV translates, "let us keep in step with the Spirit."
6:1 - "restore" - The word (Katartizo) was used of mending nets (cf. Matt. 4:21) and of setting a broken bone (Vine's, 403 ["mend"]; Lightfoot, 215). Thus the idea is "to straighten out the problem, repair the damage, and thus to equip the offender for renewed usefulness in the church" (Kent, 168). The one who is "spiritual" is the one who walks by the Spirit (Gal. 5:16).
6:2 - "Bear . . . one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ" - While the principle here has broad application, the context indicates that here it refers to the "burdens" of temptation, spiritual failure, and remorse (BKC, 609; Kent, 169). The word for "burdens" here is bare; the word used in Galatians 6:5 is phortion. See note on verse 5. "The law of Christ" refers to the law of love (Gal. 5:14).
6:4 - "prove his own work" - This is a warning against comparing oneself to another, especially one who has fallen into sin (v. 1). Every believer has his own work to do, and he must "prove" or test the quality of his work by God's standards.
6:5 - "bear his own burden" - Compare this statement to verse 2. Here the burden is the "work" of verse 4, or the "normal duty which falls upon every man" (Ridderbos, 215), or the "responsibilities of practical discipleship which our Lord expects His followers to accept" (Kent, 170). Cf. Matthew 11:30. Paul seemed to distinguish between the "burden" (bare) of verse 2 and the "burden" (phortion) of verse 5. There is no sharp distinction between the two words (cf. Lightfoot, 217; Robt., 4:315-16), but Paul apparently used different words to avoid a seeming contradiction. Many commentators see the difference in this context as being between a heavy, oppressive burden in verse 2 and a soldier's backpack in verse 5 (cf. NIVBC, 744; BKC, 610).
6:7 - "God is not mocked" - "Mocked" literally means to turn up the nose, and thus conveys the idea of contempt (BAG, 531).
6:7 - "whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" - The principle is universal, but many see it as referring here primarily to the financial support of Christian teachers mentioned in verse 6 (cf. BKC, 610; Kent, 172). Others see the advice in verse 6 being "enlarged to benevolence in general, [by stating] the principle that ties everything together" (NIVBC, 744; cf. Ridderbos, 218).
6:8 - "corruption . . . life everlasting" - "Corruption" here speaks of "the physical and moral decay or rottenness that follows sins of the flesh" (Robt., 4:316). It is "the positive existence of grief and woe, temporal and eternal" (Ridderbos, 219). It is not normally used of eternal destruction, though here it stands in contrast to "life everlasting." Some see this verse as relating to Christians only (WBC, 1297-98); thus a "selfish Christian" can sow to the flesh. However, the contrast in Galatians 5:19-24 suggests that one who "sows to the flesh" proves by his life that he is not a Christian.
6:9 - "let us not be weary in well doing" - "Generous acts toward others do not always bring instantaneous commendation. At times Christians may suffer rather than prosper after doing good (I Peter 2:20). They must remember that the reaping of the spiritual harvest comes when God determines that the time is right" (Kent, 174).
Abbreviations
BAG -- Bauer, Arndt, Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament
BKC -- Bible Knowledge Commentary
Bruce -- F. F. Bruce. Romans
Griffith-Thomas -- W. H. Griffith Thomas. St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans
Hoyt -- Herman A. Hoyt. The First Christian Theology: Studies in Romans
JFB -- Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown. Commentary on the Whole Bible
KJV -- King James Version
Kent -- Homer A. Kent, Jr. The Freedom of God's Sons: Studies in Galatians
LBC -- Liberty Bible Commentary (aka, KJV Parallel Commentary)
Lightfoot -- J. B. Lightfoot. Epistle of Paul to the Galatians
McClain -- Alva J. McClain. Romans: The Gospel of God's Grace
Morris -- Leon Morris. The Gospel according to John
NASB -- New American Standard Bible (Updated Edition)
NIV -- New International Version
NIVBC -- NIV Bible Commentary
NJB -- New Jerusalem Bible
NKJV -- New King James Version
NRSV -- New Revised Standard Version
Ridderbos -- Herman N. Ridderbos. Epistle of Paul to the Churches of Galatia
Robt -- A. T. Robertson. Word Pictures in the New Testament (6 vols.)
Stifler -- James M. Stifler. The Epistle to the Romans
TDNT -- Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (10 vols.)
Vine's -- W. E. Vine. Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words
WBC -- Wycliffe Bible Commentary
Wiersbe -- Warren W. Wiersbe. Be Free (An Expository Study of Galatians)
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