Sep 12, 2018
Easier to Condemn Sins Than Mortify Them
It is easier to declaim, like an orator, against a thousand sins of others than it is to mortify one sin, like Christians, in ourselves; to be more industrious in our pulpits than in our closets; to preach twenty sermons to our people than one to our own hearts.
JOHN FLAVEL
Elliot Ritzema and Elizabeth Vince, eds., 300 Quotations for Preachers from the Puritans, Pastorum Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2013).
PHARISEES—separatists---BIBLE PRESBYTERIAN?
PHARISEES—separatists (Heb. persahin, from parash, “to separate”). They were probably the successors of the Assideans (i.e., the “pious”), a party that originated in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes in revolt against his heathenizing policy. The first mention of them is in a description by Josephus of the three sects or schools into which the Jews were divided (B.C. 145). The other two sects were the Essenes and the Sadducees. In the time of our Lord they were the popular party (John 7:48). They were extremely accurate and minute in all matters appertaining to the law of Moses (Matt. 9:14; 23:15; Luke 11:39; 18:12). Paul, when brought before the council of Jerusalem, professed himself a Pharisee (Acts 23:6–8; 26:4, 5).
There was much that was sound in their creed, yet their system of religion was a form and nothing more. Theirs was a very lax morality (Matt. 5:20; 15:4, 8; 23:3, 14, 23, 25; John 8:7). On the first notice of them in the New Testament (Matt. 3:7), they are ranked by our Lord with the Sadducees as a “generation of vipers.” They were noted for their self-righteousness and their pride (Matt. 9:11; Luke 7:39; 18:11, 12). They were frequently rebuked by our Lord (Matt. 12:39; 16:1–4).
From the very beginning of his ministry the Pharisees showed themselves bitter and persistent enemies of our Lord. They could not bear his doctrines, and they sought by every means to destroy his influence among the people.
M. G. Easton, Easton’s Bible Dictionary (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1893).
THE EXAMPLE TO BE AVOIDED
THE EXAMPLE TO BE AVOIDED (Philipians 3:2–3)
One particular group in Paul’s day was especially guilty of putting confidence in the flesh. These were the Judaizers. They plagued Paul and his converts constantly. Confused about the gospel, they added works of the law to faith in Christ, both for salvation and for Christian living. The Old Testament rite of circumcision was of special concern to them. They insisted that it was necessary for salvation. They did not omit faith in Christ but added works of the flesh. Paul called such men “deceitful workmen” (2 Cor. 11:13).
3:2. Paul also called the Judaizers dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. He considered their work dangerous and not of God. The saints were not to follow these people, but to beware of them, to watch out for them.
It was common for some Jews to refer to Gentiles as dogs, which were considered unclean animals. Paul used the term to describe those Jews who mutilated the gospel by insisting on the need to mutilate the flesh in order to be rightly related to God. What they did was actually evil, even though they may have had good intentions.
3:3. The Old Testament rite of physical circumcision was not only a sign of covenant relationship, but it was also intended to be related to spiritual circumcision of the heart (cf. Deut. 30:6). Writing to Gentiles, Paul made it clear that he and they were the true circumcision. This was because they had no confidence in the flesh and instead worshiped by the Spirit of God and gloried in Christ Jesus alone.
Instead of boasting in human accomplishments, as the Judaizers and Jews did, a child of God should glory in Christ Jesus alone. The word glory (kauchōmenoi) used here means “boast” or “exult” (cf. 1:26; 2:16; 2 Cor. 10:17).
Robert P. Lightner, “Philippians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 659.
One particular group in Paul’s day was especially guilty of putting confidence in the flesh. These were the Judaizers. They plagued Paul and his converts constantly. Confused about the gospel, they added works of the law to faith in Christ, both for salvation and for Christian living. The Old Testament rite of circumcision was of special concern to them. They insisted that it was necessary for salvation. They did not omit faith in Christ but added works of the flesh. Paul called such men “deceitful workmen” (2 Cor. 11:13).
3:2. Paul also called the Judaizers dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. He considered their work dangerous and not of God. The saints were not to follow these people, but to beware of them, to watch out for them.
It was common for some Jews to refer to Gentiles as dogs, which were considered unclean animals. Paul used the term to describe those Jews who mutilated the gospel by insisting on the need to mutilate the flesh in order to be rightly related to God. What they did was actually evil, even though they may have had good intentions.
3:3. The Old Testament rite of physical circumcision was not only a sign of covenant relationship, but it was also intended to be related to spiritual circumcision of the heart (cf. Deut. 30:6). Writing to Gentiles, Paul made it clear that he and they were the true circumcision. This was because they had no confidence in the flesh and instead worshiped by the Spirit of God and gloried in Christ Jesus alone.
Instead of boasting in human accomplishments, as the Judaizers and Jews did, a child of God should glory in Christ Jesus alone. The word glory (kauchōmenoi) used here means “boast” or “exult” (cf. 1:26; 2:16; 2 Cor. 10:17).
Robert P. Lightner, “Philippians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 659.
How Changes in English Affect our Reading of the KJV
Changes in English over 400 years affect our reading of the King James Version in ways neither we nor the KJV translators could be expected to know. It's no one's fault that the KJV is no longer in the vernacular.
https://sermons.faithlife.com/sermons/179442-how-changes-in-english-affect-our-reading-of-the-kjv
What Does It Mean When Someone Is "Not King James Only"?
https://sermons.faithlife.com/sermons/179442-how-changes-in-english-affect-our-reading-of-the-kjv
What Does It Mean When Someone Is "Not King James Only"?
SCHISM
The Greek word schisma literally denotes a rent, or cleft (cf. Matt. 9:16; Mark 2:21); hence metaphorically, discord or division (John 7:43; 9:16; 10:19). This is its meaning in 1 Cor. 1:10; 11:18; 12:25.
1 Corinthians 12:25 is vital to a proper understanding of a schism: “That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.” Thus, schism is a rending of the body of Christ. It is a sin that exhibits a carelessness about the welfare of the body in general and its other members in particular. It is a sin against charity, a selfish introduction of dissention and division where there ought to be mutual tolerance and love.
This distinguishes schism from scriptural separation.* Scripturally, heretics (see Heresy) must be rejected (Titus 3:10) for they are schismatics from the body of true believers, having followed a self-willed opinion in preference to God’s revealed truth. Thus, separation from a communion on the grounds of the purity of fundamental Christian doctrine is not schism. For example, Calvin argued that the scriptural marks of a true church are the preaching of the pure gospel and the valid administration of the sacraments. Rome did not maintain these basic marks of a true church. Therefore, in separating from her the Reformers were not guilty of schism. Rome was the party, or sect, guilty of schism, for she had departed from the faith of the gospel.
The same argument holds good today. In an age when ecumenism is rampant, those who stand for Biblical separation are denounced as schismatics and are frequently likened to such sects as the Donatists.* But no Christian can deny that the ecumenical movement progresses by compromising the essentials of the gospel. Christians should therefore separate from ecumenical churches. The same goes for churches where modernism* and liberalism* dominate.
It is not right to remain in such fellowships merely because they nominally retain their ancient confessional standards. The argument is frequently put, for example, that while a Presbyterian church retains the Westminster Standards, it would be schism to separate from it. However, when the Reformers separated from Rome, she avowed her acceptance of the ancient creeds of the church. But that did not make her a pure church. It merely denoted the fact that lying and falsehood were added to her other impurities. Calvin said, “If the Church is ‘the pillar and ground of truth’ (1 Tim. 3:15), it is certain that there is no church where lying and falsehood have usurped the ascendancy.” If that was true of Rome with her professed acceptance of the ancient creeds of the church, it is no less true of those once Protestant churches that are seeking reunion with an unrepentant Rome, or are open to all great doctrinal impurity.
To sum up: schism is an expression of self-will or of heresy that leads to the setting up of sects—any group that is built on heresy is a schism from the body of Christ. Separation is on Biblical grounds, is commanded by the Lord (Eph. 5:11; 2 Cor. 6:14–18; 1 Tim. 6:3–5), and aims at maintaining essential Christian doctrine and practice.
Alan Cairns, Dictionary of Theological Terms (Belfast; Greenville, SC: Ambassador Emerald International, 2002), 404–405.
1 Corinthians 12:25 is vital to a proper understanding of a schism: “That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.” Thus, schism is a rending of the body of Christ. It is a sin that exhibits a carelessness about the welfare of the body in general and its other members in particular. It is a sin against charity, a selfish introduction of dissention and division where there ought to be mutual tolerance and love.
This distinguishes schism from scriptural separation.* Scripturally, heretics (see Heresy) must be rejected (Titus 3:10) for they are schismatics from the body of true believers, having followed a self-willed opinion in preference to God’s revealed truth. Thus, separation from a communion on the grounds of the purity of fundamental Christian doctrine is not schism. For example, Calvin argued that the scriptural marks of a true church are the preaching of the pure gospel and the valid administration of the sacraments. Rome did not maintain these basic marks of a true church. Therefore, in separating from her the Reformers were not guilty of schism. Rome was the party, or sect, guilty of schism, for she had departed from the faith of the gospel.
The same argument holds good today. In an age when ecumenism is rampant, those who stand for Biblical separation are denounced as schismatics and are frequently likened to such sects as the Donatists.* But no Christian can deny that the ecumenical movement progresses by compromising the essentials of the gospel. Christians should therefore separate from ecumenical churches. The same goes for churches where modernism* and liberalism* dominate.
It is not right to remain in such fellowships merely because they nominally retain their ancient confessional standards. The argument is frequently put, for example, that while a Presbyterian church retains the Westminster Standards, it would be schism to separate from it. However, when the Reformers separated from Rome, she avowed her acceptance of the ancient creeds of the church. But that did not make her a pure church. It merely denoted the fact that lying and falsehood were added to her other impurities. Calvin said, “If the Church is ‘the pillar and ground of truth’ (1 Tim. 3:15), it is certain that there is no church where lying and falsehood have usurped the ascendancy.” If that was true of Rome with her professed acceptance of the ancient creeds of the church, it is no less true of those once Protestant churches that are seeking reunion with an unrepentant Rome, or are open to all great doctrinal impurity.
To sum up: schism is an expression of self-will or of heresy that leads to the setting up of sects—any group that is built on heresy is a schism from the body of Christ. Separation is on Biblical grounds, is commanded by the Lord (Eph. 5:11; 2 Cor. 6:14–18; 1 Tim. 6:3–5), and aims at maintaining essential Christian doctrine and practice.
Alan Cairns, Dictionary of Theological Terms (Belfast; Greenville, SC: Ambassador Emerald International, 2002), 404–405.
What is Bible Presbyterian Church
A small Presbyterian denomination born out of the modernist-fundamentalist controversy. In 1936 The Presbyterian Church of America (later Orthodox Presbyterian Church) was founded by a small group of pastors and elders who left the Presbyterian Church-U.S.A. The immediate cause for this exodus was the suspension of J. Gresham Machen and J. Oliver Buswell, Jr., from the Presbyterian ministry due to their support of an independent mission board that sought to insure biblical teaching on Presbyterian mission fields. The newly formed denomination was soon drawn into internal conflict. Genuine differences in doctrine, ethics and church government, coupled with suspicions and disagreements, led Buswell, Carl McIntire, Allan MacRae and others to separate and form the Bible Presbyterian Church (BPC) in 1937.
At its first synod the BPC amended the Westminster standards to teach premillennialism. A piety which included alcoholic abstinence was enjoined, and a church government allowing greater freedom to the local church and both independent and church-controlled agencies was established. The chief characteristic was a self-conscious denominational “testimony” for the Bible and Jesus Christ, which issued in separatist stance calling for separation from apostasy as well as from those having fellowship with apostates. This ultimately isolated the BPC and hindered evangelistic efforts.
The BPC was originally supportive of the American and International Councils of Christian Churches (ACCC; ICCC) presided over by Carl McIntire. Disagreement during the 1950s over the denomination’s association with the ACCC and ICCC and the autonomy of BPC agencies led to the withdrawal of McIntire and others at the 1956 General Assembly to form the Bible Presbyterian Church, Collingswood Synod. The majority continued as the Bible Presbyterian Church, Columbus Synod, until 1961, when the denomination changed its name to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). In 1965 the EPC then merged with the Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America, General Synod, to form the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. G. P. Hutchinson, The History Behind the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod (1974); The Constitution of the Bible Presbyterian Church (1946).
Daniel G. Reid et al., Dictionary of Christianity in America (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1990).
Unity
Unity
Unity among believers pleases God (Psalm 133:1)
Christians are not supposed to live in isolation (John 17:11)
Unity includes bearing one another’s joys and burdens (Romans 12:9–16)
Believers must seek unity in all essentials (1 Corinthians 1:10)
There can be great unity even in great diversity (Ephesians 4:3–13)
The love Christ commanded should create unity among believers (Philippians 1:3–11)
Unity ought to be a distinctive mark among Christians (Philippians 2:1–2)
Tyndale House Publishers, Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2013).
Fellowship
Mcintire, n.d.
Karate Kids in Bible Presbyterian Church
Jeffrey
Charles
Suan Yew
Prabudas Koshy
Collin
There all good in kong fu fighting.
Fighting until today, no end.
Charles
Suan Yew
Prabudas Koshy
Collin
There all good in kong fu fighting.
Fighting until today, no end.
Loving in BP Club
One day, Bro. Jeffrey Khoo and Bro. Charles Seets went to a club, after some glasses of wine, they were drunk, Jeffrey said to Charles, "I love you" and punched Charles' face fiercely. Charles then say to Jeffrey, "I love you too." Then he punched back Jeffrey forcefully.
After that Jeffrey pinched Charles on the ground, and said. "I love you." Grabbing Charles' neck and punched his nose until bleeding.
Then Charles fought back, and said, "I love you too." He twisted Jeffrey's arm and broke Jeffrey's hands, and then Charles punched Jeffrey's face with his hand until one eye bleeding.
When the master came, both of them are scared to death, in the end they hugged each other and cry bitterly!
This is the way they loved each other in BP Club
Weird but true!
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." John 13:34
After that Jeffrey pinched Charles on the ground, and said. "I love you." Grabbing Charles' neck and punched his nose until bleeding.
Then Charles fought back, and said, "I love you too." He twisted Jeffrey's arm and broke Jeffrey's hands, and then Charles punched Jeffrey's face with his hand until one eye bleeding.
When the master came, both of them are scared to death, in the end they hugged each other and cry bitterly!
This is the way they loved each other in BP Club
Weird but true!
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." John 13:34
Jan 24, 2017
Unity
B-P Pastors and Leaders Retreat
I wish all of you, peace and "Faith, Hope, Love." The greatest is love......love one another, so that the world may know you are my disciples.
Both will cancel each other
Life Bible-Presbyterian Church and Far Eastern Bible College will cancel one another!
Number of full time student in Far Eastern Bible College will reduce 30%
Numbers of student in ERBL Lecture in Life Bible-Presbyterian Church will reduce another 30%
The rest of the 40% will go to Singapore Bible College...........
Both ERBL and Far Eastern Bible College are losers..........
At last, Bible-Presbyterian Church in Singapore will learn a lesson,
HUMBLENESS.......
And at last they are on the track to become "Evangelical Christian"
Number of full time student in Far Eastern Bible College will reduce 30%
Numbers of student in ERBL Lecture in Life Bible-Presbyterian Church will reduce another 30%
The rest of the 40% will go to Singapore Bible College...........
Both ERBL and Far Eastern Bible College are losers..........
At last, Bible-Presbyterian Church in Singapore will learn a lesson,
HUMBLENESS.......
And at last they are on the track to become "Evangelical Christian"
Bible-Presbyterian Church reap what they sow
Bible-Presbyterian Church likes to attack other denominations,
so this is what they reap,
now they have to live with heretics in Giltead Road, Singapore.
To teach them a lesson, "next time, mind your own business!!!!!"
so this is what they reap,
now they have to live with heretics in Giltead Road, Singapore.
To teach them a lesson, "next time, mind your own business!!!!!"
When you come to Gilstead Road, Singapore
When you meet some one in Life Bible-Presbyterian Church in Gilstead Road, Singapore, you better ask him or her, "To whom you are following, Jeffrey Khoo or Charles Seet?"
Some will say, "I follow Jeffrey Khoo." Some will say, “I follow Charles Seet." Some will say, "I follow Timothy Tow." Some will say, "I am for Verbal Plenary Preservation." Some will say, "I am against Verbal Plenary Preservation." Some will say, "I follow Christ." Some will say, "I am neutral." Some will say, "No comment."
Divisions!There are divisions in one small piece of land, Gilstead Road, Singapore!
Listen, what Paul wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians.
1Co 1:11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
1Co 1:12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
1Co 1:13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
1Co 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
1Co 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
1Co 3:4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?
For when one saith (hotan gar legēi tis). Indefinite temporal clause with the present subjunctive of repetition (Robertson, Grammar, p. 972). Each instance is a case in point and proof abundant of the strife.
Of Paul (Paulou). Predicate genitive, belong to Paul, on Paul’s side.
Of Apollos (Apollō). Same genitive, but the form is the so-called Attic second declension. See the nominative Apollōs in 1Co_3:5.
Men (anthrōpoi). Just mere human creatures (anthrōpoi, generic term for mankind), in the flesh (sarkinoi), acting like the flesh (sarkikoi), not pneumatikoi, as if still psuchikoi. It was a home-thrust. Paul would not even defend his own partisans.
To me, honestly speaking, Far Eastern Bible College and Life Bible-Presbyterian Church in Singapore are carnal Christians, they are not spiritual, they are babe in Christ. They are acting in flesh, mere man.
But sad to say, both Far Eastern Bible College and Life Bible-Presbyterian Church are thinking the other way, they think they are very spiritual.......!!!!
Some will say, "I follow Jeffrey Khoo." Some will say, “I follow Charles Seet." Some will say, "I follow Timothy Tow." Some will say, "I am for Verbal Plenary Preservation." Some will say, "I am against Verbal Plenary Preservation." Some will say, "I follow Christ." Some will say, "I am neutral." Some will say, "No comment."
Divisions!There are divisions in one small piece of land, Gilstead Road, Singapore!
Listen, what Paul wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians.
1Co 1:11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
1Co 1:12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
1Co 1:13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
1Co 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
1Co 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
1Co 3:4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?
Commentary of 1 Corinthians 3:4
For when one saith (hotan gar legēi tis). Indefinite temporal clause with the present subjunctive of repetition (Robertson, Grammar, p. 972). Each instance is a case in point and proof abundant of the strife.
Of Paul (Paulou). Predicate genitive, belong to Paul, on Paul’s side.
Of Apollos (Apollō). Same genitive, but the form is the so-called Attic second declension. See the nominative Apollōs in 1Co_3:5.
Men (anthrōpoi). Just mere human creatures (anthrōpoi, generic term for mankind), in the flesh (sarkinoi), acting like the flesh (sarkikoi), not pneumatikoi, as if still psuchikoi. It was a home-thrust. Paul would not even defend his own partisans.
To me, honestly speaking, Far Eastern Bible College and Life Bible-Presbyterian Church in Singapore are carnal Christians, they are not spiritual, they are babe in Christ. They are acting in flesh, mere man.
But sad to say, both Far Eastern Bible College and Life Bible-Presbyterian Church are thinking the other way, they think they are very spiritual.......!!!!
FEBC and Life BPC are Church of Sardis
Revelation 3 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. 6 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Re 3:1–6.
Wake Up—The Message to the Church in Sardis (3:1–6)
The two most adverse reports are sent to Sardis and to Laodicea. In this letter to Sardis, Jesus passes over any estimate of their “deeds” and their “reputation” to give the bottom line: “You are dead” (Revelation 3:1). Their only hope is to “Wake up!” How do they do this? They must complete the deeds they began at a former time, “Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent” (Revelation 3:3). What will the consequences be if this is not done? Certainly it will be no less than His warning to the Ephesians, “I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place” (Revelation 2:5). Or to Pergamum, “Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth” (Revelation 2:16). But to Sardis, Jesus simply warns, “I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you” (Revelation 3:3).
“You Are Dead!” (1–3)
The two most adverse reports are sent to Sardis and to Laodicea. In this letter to Sardis, Jesus passes over any estimate of their “deeds” and their “reputation” to give the bottom line: “You are dead” (Revelation 3:1). Their only hope is to “Wake up!” How do they do this? They must complete the deeds they began at a former time, “Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent” (Revelation 3:3). What will the consequences be if this is not done? Certainly it will be no less than His warning to the Ephesians, “I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place” (Revelation 2:5). Or to Pergamum, “Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth” (Revelation 2:16). But to Sardis, Jesus simply warns, “I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you” (Revelation 3:3).
A Few Still Live (4–6)
Even in a congregation judged as dead, a few individuals have managed to stay alive and refused to be entangled in either the sin of the world or the apathy of a dying congregation. They “have not soiled their clothes.” Jesus promises, “They will walk with me, dressed in white” (Revelation 3:4). He promises the one who overcomes, “I will never blot out his name from the book of life” (Revelation 3:5). By inference, Jesus is saying unless a person remains faithful, his name will be blotted out.
As Jesus introduces himself to this church, He is described as holding the sevenfold Spirit (the Holy Spirit) in one hand and the seven stars (angels or messengers) in the other. This is appropriate to the deepest need of the congregation. They need life, and the Spirit is associated with giving life: “The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life” (Job 33:4).
Lewis Foster, Revelation: Unlocking the Scriptures for You, Standard Bible Studies (Cincinnati, OH: Standard, 1989), 54.
Trinity and Revelation 3 WORD BY WORD
The English-Greek Reverse Interlinear New Testament New International Version (2011)
Revelation 3:1
Καὶ τῷ ἀγγέλῳ τῆς ἐν Σάρδεσιν ἐκκλησίας γράψον· Τάδε λέγει ὁ ἔχων τὰ ἑπτὰ πνεύματα τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τοὺς ἑπτὰ ἀστέρας· Οἶδά σου τὰ ἔργα, ὅτι ὄνομα ἔχεις ὅτι ζῇς, καὶ νεκρὸς εἶ. | NIV2011 NT RI
“To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. | NIV
Revelation 3:2
γίνου γρηγορῶν, καὶ στήρισον τὰ λοιπὰ ἃ ἔμελλον ἀποθανεῖν⸃, οὐ γὰρ εὕρηκά σου τὰ ἔργα πεπληρωμένα ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ μου· | NIV2011 NT RI
Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God | NIV
Revelation 3:3
μνημόνευε οὖν πῶς εἴληφας καὶ ἤκουσας καὶ τήρει, καὶ μετανόησον· ἐὰν οὖν μὴ γρηγορήσῃς, ἥξω ὡς κλέπτης, καὶ οὐ μὴ γνῷς ποίαν ὥραν ἥξω ἐπὶ σέ· | NIV2011 NT RI
Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. | NIV
Revelation 3:4
ἀλλὰ ἔχεις ὀλίγα⸃ ὀνόματα ἐν Σάρδεσιν ἃ οὐκ ἐμόλυναν τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτῶν, καὶ περιπατήσουσιν μετʼ ἐμοῦ ἐν λευκοῖς, ὅτι ἄξιοί εἰσιν. | NIV2011 NT RI
Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy | NIV
Revelation 3:5
ὁ νικῶν οὕτως περιβαλεῖται ἐν ἱματίοις λευκοῖς, καὶ οὐ μὴ ἐξαλείψω τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐκ τῆς βίβλου τῆς ζωῆς, καὶ ὁμολογήσω τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐνώπιον τοῦ πατρός μου καὶ ἐνώπιον τῶν ἀγγέλων αὐτοῦ. | NIV2011 NT RI
The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels | NIV
Revelation 3:6
ὁ ἔχων οὖς ἀκουσάτω τί τὸ πνεῦμα λέγει ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις. | NIV2011 NT RI
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. | NIV
Interpretation:
3 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. 6 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Re 3:1–6.
Doctrine of Trinity in this chapter
1. Jesus Christ is holding the seven spirits of God. He is the Son of God. He mention the Holy Spirit here in verse 1
2. Jesus Christ said He is seeing his God in verse 2.
3. He said He is coming like a thief.
4. Jesus Christ acknowledged God the Father as "my Father." Christ taught the same in the gospels—that whoever would confess Him before men, in turn, He would confess before His Father and the angels (Mtt. Mat. 10:32; Luke Luke 12:8). What powerful incentive this is for our witness of Him in the face of skeptics and mockers! When standing before such men, let us consider ourselves to be standing before the very throne of the Father in our confession of the Son. “Coming immediately after the promise of not erasing the overcomer’s name from the book of life, this promise implies that on that future day of reckoning the judge will acknowledge the names written in the book as those who belong to Him.”
Even in the last book of the Bible, we learned that Our God is one, The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. Our God is eternal. Three Persons in One God. Amen.
Can Bible-Presbyterian Church unite as one? The answer is no! Big No.....
They like to quarrel, everyday quarrel, Tiam-Tiam Quarrel, TTQ......TTL
Can Bible-Presbyterian Church unite as one? The answer is no! Big No.....
They like to quarrel, everyday quarrel, Tiam-Tiam Quarrel, TTQ......TTL
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