# verses

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“Men, <n>The term used here refers exclusively to males—so also in 1:21, 2:5, 2:14, 2:22, 2:29, 2:37, 3:12.</n> brothers: It was necessary that this Scripture be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by David’s mouth <n>Notice that Peter evidently held to a ‘dictation’ view of Inspiration, the Holy Spirit used David’s mouth.</n> concerning Judas, who was guide to those who arrested Jesus;


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(In fact this man acquired a field with the wages of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle, and all his innards were spilled out. <n>Matthew 27:5 says that Judas hanged himself, and here it says he fell headlong—well, to fall headlong there has to be a cliff, and you would have to dive off. Putting the two accounts together we understand that there must have been a tree near the edge of the cliff, with a branch reaching out beyond the edge; Judas tied a cord around that branch and his neck and jumped—either the cord or the branch broke, and the impact was sufficient to split him open. Matthew also states that it was actually the chief priests who bought the field, using the money that Judas had thrown on the temple floor; so Judas made the purchase posthumously.</n> 


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And it became known to all who lived in Jerusalem, so that in their own language that field came to be called ‘Akeldama’, that is, ‘Field of Blood’.)


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“Because it stands written in Book of Psalms: ‘Let his residence become desolate, and may no one live in it’ and, ‘Let another take his office’. <n>See Psalms 69:25 and 109:8.</n> 


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So then, of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,


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beginning from the baptism of John until the day when He was taken up from us, of these one must become a witness with us of His resurrection.” <n>Notice that the crucial thing is the resurrection. ‘Let another take his office’ would appear to be the basis for Peter’s assertion.</n> 


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And praying they said: “You, Lord, Knower of all hearts, show which one of these two You have chosen <n>Wait a minute! How do we, or Peter, know that holding that election was God’s idea? If it wasn’t God’s idea then Matthias wasn’t really God’s choice. (Perhaps Peter did like we so often do, bring our ideas to God and ask Him to bless them, although Peter’s idea was evidently based on Psalm 109:8.) In any case, this is the first and last time Matthias is mentioned in the New Testament.</n> 


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to receive the portion of this ministry and apostleship, out of which Judas turned aside to go into his own place.” <n>Judas turned aside “out of” Jesus’ group, to go “into” his own place. Peter doesn’t name the place, but the Lord Jesus had declared in their hearing that Judas was lost (Jn. 17:12; see also Mt. 26:24).</n> 


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And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven Apostles.


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<i> Pentecost</i> When the day of Pentecost had come, <n>This is no more than eight days after the Ascension. In John 14:18 the Lord had said, “I will not leave you orphans”—they only had to wait one week for the Holy Spirit. Albeit on resurrection night Jesus had breathed on them at least a portion of the Holy Spirit.</n> they were all together with one purpose. <n>See 1:14. What was that ‘purpose’? I assume that they were obeying the Lord’s command, they were waiting for ‘the promise of the Father’, the baptism with Holy Spirit.</n> 


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And suddenly a roar came out of the sky, like the rushing of a violent wind, <n>Why the noise? Presumably to attract attention—God wanted to impact the whole city. Since everyone moved on foot, people would be arriving for a number of minutes, depending on where they started (the city was small in those days).</n> and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. <n>They were sitting, so presumably the ‘house’ wasn’t the temple; I imagine it was the ‘upper room’.</n> 


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Fiery tongues appeared and were distributed to them, and it [a tongue] landed <n>I understand from the grammar that the tongue actually touched down on the person, there was contact.</n> on each one of them.


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And they were <i>all</i> filled with Holy Spirit and began to speak different languages, <n>These are human languages, spoken somewhere on earth, as the following context makes clear.</n> as the Spirit was granting to them to speak out. <n>“Speak out” translates a different word than the “speak” in the middle of the verse; the idea is to proclaim or project the voice. Notice that the speaking was controlled by the Spirit. The Text is emphatic that they were all filled, but they didn’t all start spouting languages; the languages were directed to specific hearers, as the following context makes clear. As the crowd began to gather the Spirit presumably sent the disciples (probably the same 120, at least) out to mingle with the people, and the Spirit proclaimed ‘the great works of God’ to each one in his mother tongue, using the mouths of the disciples. But there would also need to be a miracle in the ear of each hearer, to filter his own language out from the welter of sound (many languages being proclaimed at the same time). I would imagine that this activity lasted at least 10 or 15 minutes.</n> 


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<i> People from all over</i> Now there were devout men, Jews, from every nation under heaven, dwelling in Jerusalem. <n>If these were people who had come for a short time, they would not be tied to business activities, and might even be bored, so any promise of something different would be welcome. So the ‘foreigners’ probably outnumbered the local citizens in that crowd.</n> 


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So when that roar occurred, the crowd came together, and was bewildered, because each one was hearing them speaking to him in his own dialect. <n>The word rendered ‘dialect’ is different from the word rendered ‘language’. What each one heard was what was spoken in his hometown, complete with peculiarities—the only explanation for what was happening was supernatural activity.</n> 


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So they were amazed and marveled, saying to one another: <n>I gather that the material within quotes represents a sampling from a variety of speakers.</n> “Hey, aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?


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Parthians and Medes and Elamites; those dwelling in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, in Pontus and Asia,


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in Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene; and visitors from Rome—both Jews and proselytes—


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But different ones were jeering, saying, “They are full of sweet wine!” <n>In ‘sweet’ wine the fermentation process was just beginning, so the alcohol content was still low; but if you drank enough of it you got ‘happy’. So the mockers are saying that the disciples had tanked up and were feeling the effects. (On the other hand, 120 belly-fulls would represent a respectable quantity of liquid, much more than would normally be available, so the mockers’ hypothesis is not very plausible—and being drunk doesn’t give you the ability to speak a different language [in fact, you don’t even speak your own correctly].) But as Peter points out in verse 15, it was 9:00 a.m., too early for anyone to be drunk.</n> 


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<i> Peter’s proclamation</i> So Peter, standing with the eleven, <n>Many versions render ‘standing up’, as if Peter and the others had been sitting in the house all this time (did the crowd invade the house?). The basic meaning of the verb here is more like ‘standing still’ (stopping)—I take it that the Eleven had been mingling with the crowd too, but Peter now gathers them to form a nucleus upon which the crowd can focus its attention.</n> raised his voice and proclaimed to them: “Men—Jews and all who are dwelling in Jerusalem—let this be known to you; indeed, listen to my speech!


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‘It will be in the last days, says God: I will pour out from my Spirit upon all flesh; your sons and your daughters will prophesy; your young men will see visions; your old men will dream a dream. <n>“Visions” is plural, but “dream” is singular, in the Text. When I was young I had all sorts of ‘visions’ of what I thought I was going to achieve in my lifetime. Now that I am old I am pretty well reduced to one ‘dream’. One’s focus must accompany his energy level. (My personal experience is probably not the intended meaning of the Text, but I’m not sure what it might be—do all old men have the same dream?)</n> 


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In those days I will indeed pour out from my Spirit upon my male slaves and upon my female slaves, and they will prophesy. <n>As is typical in Hebrew, verse 18 repeats part of verse 17. Similarly, verse 20 complements verse 19. I take it that verses 19 and 20 will be fulfilled during the Great Tribulation, literally, so it was verses 17 and 18 that were immediately applicable to what was happening there. So why did Peter quote the material in 19 and 20? Perhaps he (and the others) thought that ‘the day of the LORD’ had already started—so much so that no one went home; the believers stayed on in Jerusalem until the persecution sent them running (8:1).</n> 


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I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below: blood and fire and smoke vapor.


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The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into ‘blood’ before the great and glorious day of the LORD will come.


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And it will be: whoever calls on the name of the LORD <n>To call on the ‘name’ of the Lord is to call on Him. To ‘call’ on Him is to place yourself under His protection, which involves a recognition of His rulership.</n> will be saved!’


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“Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Natsorean, <n>‘Natsorean’, not ‘Nazarene’. The Text has ‘the’ Natsorean, the Branch-man (see Mt. 2:23 and Isa. 11:1).</n> a man from God attested to you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by Him in your midst, as you yourselves well know, <n>Peter here addresses specifically the Israelites, presumably residents of Jerusalem and Judea, since they had been eye-witnesses of what Jesus did.</n> 


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<i> Him</i> —being delivered up by the established purpose and foreknowledge of God—you murdered, having taken Him with lawless hands and crucified Him; <n>“You took with lawless hands”—‘take’ and ‘lawless’ clearly give the idea that they were responsible for their actions. “Being delivered up by the established purpose and foreknowledge of God” is a clear statement of God’s sovereignty in action. So here we have divine sovereignty and human responsibility side by side; they are both true, whether we understand it or not. (Less than 3% of the Greek manuscripts, of inferior quality, omit ‘took’.)</n> 


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whom God raised up, ending the labor pains of death, <n>In Rev. 1:5 Jesus is called “the firstborn from among the dead”. Death is pictured as a huge womb, pregnant with all the dead, and Jesus Christ was the first one out, literally the ‘firstborn’. Resurrection is the process by which one is ‘born’ out of physical death. The figure of death as a womb is strong, but effective. That ‘womb’ had been holding people for thousands of years, but now finally ‘gives birth’. (People like Lazarus who were returned to this life for a while had to die all over again; they have to wait for the resurrection like the rest of us.)</n> because it was not possible that He should be held by it.


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For David says concerning Him: ‘I always saw the LORD before my face, because He is at my right side so that I not be shaken. <n>Nothing like having God at your side, literally, to give you confidence, but nothing like the awareness that He’s looking at you to keep you in line! The quote is from Psalm 16:8-11.</n> 


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 Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced. Furthermore, even my flesh will repose upon hope, <n>I take it that the emphasis here is upon the physical body; Jesus’ body was preserved from decay by divine intervention—there was no bad smell in the empty tomb. The resurrection accounts refer to the wrappings, but not to the 100 pounds of spices—I wonder what happened to them (you know, that much spice would be hard to ignore).</n> 


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 You have made known to me roads of life; <n>Life, not death.</n> with Your presence You make me full of gladness.’ <n>If you are a God-lover there’s nothing like His presence to make you glad (on the other hand, for a God-hater that Presence is the worst thing in the universe [which is why a God-hater would rather be in hell than in heaven]).</n> 


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“Men, brothers, be it permitted to speak to you plainly about the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. <n>David was buried in Jerusalem, and evidently his tomb could still be identified.</n> 


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So then, he being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn to him with an oath that of the fruit, according to flesh, <n>Peter is being theologically precise here; David’s genes contributed only to the Messiah’s body, not His soul and spirit.</n> of his loins <n>The term rendered ‘loins’ when singular refers to the waist, where a belt is worn. When plural it was used to refer to the place of the reproductive organs—actually, the prostate gland isn’t all that far below the waist.</n> He would raise up the Messiah <n>The Text, being Greek, has ‘Christ’, but king David spoke Hebrew and to him it was ‘Messiah’ (and Peter was presumably speaking in Hebrew). Peter makes the overt connection to Jesus in verse 32. Two percent of the Greek manuscripts, of inferior quality, omit “according to flesh, He would raise up the Messiah” (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> to sit on his throne,


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he foreseeing this <n>“He foreseeing this” is parallel to “he being a prophet” in verse 30.</n> spoke about the resurrection of the Messiah, that His soul <n>Two percent of the Greek manuscripts, of inferior quality, omit “His soul” (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> was not abandoned in Hades, nor did His flesh see decay. <n>Peter’s reasoning is impressive, a prime instance of illumination. (By ‘illumination’ we mean divine assistance in interpreting divinely inspired writing. ‘Inspiration’ attaches to the writing, ‘illumination’ attaches to the interpretation of inspired writing.)</n> 


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Therefore, having been exalted to God’s right hand, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this that you now see and hear.


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Further, David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says: ‘The LORD said to my Lord: <n>Peter was there when Jesus used this text to silence the Pharisees (Mt. 22:41-46).</n> Sit at my right hand


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Therefore, let all the house of Israel know <i>assuredly</i> that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom <b>you</b> crucified!” <n>Nothing like making sure your audience gets the point! But why “both Lord and Christ”? Perhaps there were a variety of ideas about the ‘Messiah’ out there and Peter nails down His identity as the Lord.</n> 


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<i> The reaction</i> Now upon hearing this they were cut to the heart and said to Peter, and the rest of the Apostles, “Men, brothers, what shall we do?!”


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So Peter said to them: “Repent and be baptized, each one of you, upon the name of Jesus Christ, <n>This is the first use of the title, Jesus Christ, after the Gospels; the Lord had Himself inaugurated the title fifty days before (Jn.17:3)—it affirms that Jesus is the Messiah. Anyone being baptized upon that name would be publicly declaring allegiance to Jesus <b>as the Messiah</b>. Notice that Peter promises forgiveness of sin and the gift of the Holy Spirit to any who enter into that commitment.</n> for forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.


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For the promise is <i>to you</i> , and to your children, and to all who are far away <n>I assume that the reference is to Gentiles (‘far away’), and the promise applies only to the ‘called’.</n> —as many, <i>that is</i> , as the Lord our God may call.”


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With many different words he both testified and kept exhorting, saying, “Escape from this perverse generation!” <n>The ‘generation’ in question was the one that had crucified the Messiah; by being baptized upon the name of <b>Jesus Christ</b> they would be formally disassociating themselves from that generation, and the judgment that was coming upon it. The worst curse in all human history is recorded in Matthew 27:25, “And all the people answered and said, ‘His blood be on us and on our children’.” Terrible, terrible, terrible—just terrible! (The persecutions later sent them scattering and probably very few were in Jerusalem when it was destroyed in AD 70.)</n> 


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<i> The beginning of the Church</i> Then those who gladly <n>Perhaps 3% of the Greek manuscripts, of inferior quality, omit “gladly” (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.). The word is significant and should not be omitted on such flimsy evidence. It emphasizes sincerity and commitment.</n> received his word were baptized, and that day about three thousand souls were added.


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And they continued steadfastly in the Apostles’ teaching and in the fellowship, both in the breaking of the bread and in the prayers. <n>I take “the breaking of the bread” to refer to the Lord’s Supper, which with the “prayers” gives the content of the “fellowship”, but that fellowship cannot be disassociated from the Apostles’ teaching.</n> 


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they started selling both possessions and goods and were distributing to all according as anyone had need. <n>No one wanted to go home to his own area; they didn’t want to miss anything. But what happens after all the goods and possessions have been sold? God sends persecution, and if there’s nothing to leave behind it’s easier to go somewhere else and start over.</n> 


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So day by day they continued steadfastly with one purpose in the temple <n>Since Jesus had formally abandoned the temple, Matthew 23:38-24:1, why were they still using it? It was probably the largest structure in town, and the only one that could hold their increasing number. It would also be strategic for evangelizing unconverted Jews. But it later became a snare, as illustrated by the episode that resulted in Paul’s imprisonment.</n> and broke bread from house to house; <n>Here we have the regular meals.</n> they received their share of food with gladness and singleness of heart, <n>This sort of thing can work for a while, but tends to go sour; see 6:1. [Many years ago I observed a community in Ann Arbor, Michigan try this, but they had trouble with free loaders and moochers.]</n> 


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praising God and having favor with all the people. And day by day the Lord added <n>Notice who does the adding, and He cannot be deceived.</n> to the Church <n>Three percent of the Greek manuscripts, of inferior quality, omit “the Church” (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> those who were being saved.


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<i> A man lame from birth</i> Now Peter and John were going up together into the temple at the hour (the ninth) <n>If Luke is using Hebrew time, it was 3 p.m., if Roman, it was 9 a.m., both being Jewish times for prayer. But from 4:3, that says it was already evening, it appears that Luke uses Hebrew time here.</n> of prayer.


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And a certain man, who had actually been lame from his mother’s womb, was being carried (they would lay him daily at the temple gate, the one called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple),


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But Peter said: “I don’t have silver and gold, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ the Natsorean, get up and walk!” <n>Alack! Many churches now have silver and gold, but can no longer say, “Get up and walk!”</n> 


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And grasping him by his right hand he lifted him up; <n>This was an act of faith on Peter’s part; if nothing happened the man would fall back down.</n> immediately his feet and ankles were strengthened.


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So jumping up he stood, and began to walk! <n>He had never learned to walk (lame from birth), so how could he just start walking, not to mention leaping? The miracle included his head, not just his limbs.</n> And he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping <n>Don’t you know he had a bouncing good time!</n> and praising God.


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and they recognized him—that he was the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, with a view to alms—and they were filled with wonder and amazement because of what had happened to him.


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<i> Peter preaches</i> Now as the lame man who had been healed held on <n>I assume that he was literally hanging on to them, perhaps their clothes—for whatever reason he didn’t want to be separated from them. Some 11% of the Greek manuscripts omit ‘the lame man who had been healed’ (as in NIV [the beggar], NASB, LB, TEV [the man], etc.).</n> to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the portico, the one called ‘Solomon’s’, really wondering.


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So upon observing this Peter responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why are you marveling at this, or why are you staring at us as if we have made him walk by our own power or godliness? <n>Well, what had happened was extraordinary, to say the least, and probably deserved a little staring.</n> 


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The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom <i>you</i> delivered up; and you repudiated Him to Pilate’s face, when he was intending to release Him. <n>Comparing Matthew 27:11-26, Mark 15:2-19, Luke 23:3-25 and John 18:33-19:15 it becomes clear that Pilate wanted no part of killing Jesus and tried hard to release Him. But they not only repudiated Jesus, they repudiated their claim to the Messiah, saying, “We have no king but Caesar”.</n> 


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Yes <i>you</i> repudiated the holy and righteous One, and you asked that a <b>murderer</b> be granted to you, <n>Peter does not mince words; he is emphatic about their guilt.</n> 


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while you killed the Originator of life, <n>A curious expression! How could anyone kill the Originator of life? Well, it was certainly their intention to kill Jesus, and Peter declares their guilt, but Jesus gave up His own life, as John 10:17-18 makes clear.</n> whom God raised from among the dead, to which we are witnesses.


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Well His name, based on faith in His name, <n>A name represents the person, so it was faith in Jesus that produced the healing; but Peter put his faith into action.</n> made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith that is through Him has given him this wholeness in the presence of you all.


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But the things that God foretold through the mouth of all His prophets, that the Messiah would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.


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Repent therefore, and turn around, so that your sins may be erased, in order that times of refreshing may come from the Lord’s face <n>Although the Lord’s return is still future, by His grace, and by walking in the Spirit, we have the privilege of experiencing our own little ‘times of refreshing’.</n> 


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and that He may send Jesus, who had been ordained to be your Messiah, <n>That’s what the Text says. There was God’s side, ordaining, and there was their side, recognizing and receiving. If Jesus had been received as Messiah while He lived among them, presumably history would have been different. But now Jesus will only return when it’s time to ‘restore all things’. But comparing the first clause of vs. 19 with that of vs. 20 it almost seems that Peter is saying that they could bring Jesus back right away.</n> 


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whom Heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, <n>I take this to be a reference to the Messianic Kingdom, the Millennium.</n> of which <i>times</i> <n>The relative pronoun here is ambiguous as to the antecedent, it could refer to “things” or “times”, but verse 24 below makes clear that it is “times”.</n> God spoke long ago by the mouth of all His holy prophets.


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“For example, Moses said to the fathers: <n>Some 4% of the Greek manuscripts omit “to the fathers” (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> ‘The Lord our <n>Instead of ‘our’, perhaps 40% of the Greek manuscripts read ‘your’.</n> God will raise up for you a Prophet, like me, from among your brothers. You must listen to <b>Him</b>, in all that He may say to you.


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It will be that every person who will not listen to that Prophet will be extirpated from among the people.’ <n>Peter is saying that those who didn’t listen to Jesus are under the sentence of an early death, and quite possibly with spiritual implications.</n> 


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“Yes and all the prophets, from Samuel on down, <n>Samuel was a prophet.</n> as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days.


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You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘Yes, in your seed <n>“Seed” is singular. Paul runs with this in Galatians 3:16.</n> all the families <n>The reference is to patriarchal families, units much smaller than whole tribes or ethnic nations; God emphasizes the importance of the family, while Satan works to destroy it.</n> of the earth will be blessed’.


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God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, <n>Perhaps 4% of the Greek manuscripts, of inferior quality, omit “Jesus” (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> sent Him to <b>you</b> first, <n>Wait a minute! When did this ‘sending’ take place? It was after the resurrection, but Jesus never showed Himself to the people at large during the forty days. I take it that God is doing the ‘sending’ through the Apostles, who started their ministry in Jerusalem (‘to you first’).</n> to bless you by turning each of you away from your iniquities.” <n>To be turned away from one’s iniquities is a major blessing, because of the consequences of those iniquities, both now and later.</n> 


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<i> Peter and John arrested</i> Now as they were speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came at them,


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being upset because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. <n>The high priest and family were Sadducees; they did not believe in resurrection (for anybody). So they were doubly disturbed, because the Apostles were affirming that Jesus had already done it, and in consequence others would too.</n> 


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And they laid hands on them and put them in custody until the next day, because it was already evening.


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(However, many of those who heard the message believed; the number of the men <n>The word used refers exclusively to males, so with women and children the total number of believers would have been several times larger. In 2:41 it was 3,000 ‘souls’, which presumably included everybody. The total number has probably grown 4-5 times since Pentecost.</n> came to be about five thousand.)


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So the next day an assembly of their rulers, both elders and scribes, occurred in Jerusalem, <n>The impression one gets is that they were called in from surrounding areas.</n> 


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along with Annas the high priest, <n>Annas was the real high priest—once installed, the office was for life.</n> and Caiaphas, John and Alexander, and as many as were of high-priestly descent.


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And having placed them in the middle [of the assembly] they started questioning: “By what power, or by what name did you do this?” <n>“This” suggests that the healed man was present, as verse 10 confirms.</n> 


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<i> Peter’s defense</i> Then Peter, full of Holy Spirit, <n>Again, no definite article.</n> said to them: “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: <n>Perhaps 2% of the Greek manuscripts, of inferior quality, omit “of Israel” (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> 


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If we are being examined today about a good deed <i>done</i> to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well,


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be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Natsorean, whom <i>you</i> crucified, whom God raised from the dead, <n>Peter is being neither cautious nor conciliatory! In affirming the resurrection he goes right to the sore point.</n> by <b>Him</b> this man stands here before you whole.


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This is ‘the stone which was despised by you, the builders, which has become the chief cornerstone’.


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Also, the salvation <n>The Text has the definite article; there may be many ‘salvations’ in life, but this is a very specific one. Notice that Peter makes an absolute statement: Jesus is the only way.</n> does not exist in anyone else, because there is no other name under heaven, given among men, by which we must be saved.”


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<i> Rulers impressed</i> Now upon observing the boldness of Peter and John and perceiving that they were uneducated and unskilled men, <n>The disciples had not received a theological education nor been trained in verbal skills.</n> they marveled; and they recognized that they had been with Jesus.


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saying: “What can we do to these men? Because, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we can’t deny it. <n>They knew that Jesus was the Messiah but had repudiated Him anyway. Here again the facts are clear, but they are determined to maintain their repudiation of Jesus, and to impose their view on the people. Having committed the unpardonable sin, they were under satanic control.</n> 


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But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them to no longer speak to anyone in this name.”


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<i> They are forbidden to use the name ‘Jesus’</i> So summoning them they commanded them absolutely not to speak or teach in the name of ‘Jesus’.


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But in answer Peter and John said to them: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, judge for yourselves;


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because we cannot help but speak the things we have seen and heard.” <n>There are times when we must not obey those in authority; mainly when they demand that we deny God’s truth and His values.</n> 


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So threatening them some more they released them, not finding any way to punish them, because of the people, since they were all glorifying God over what had happened;


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<i> The reaction of the believers</i> So upon being released they went to their own <i>group</i> and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.


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Well upon hearing it, with one mind they called out <n>The Text actually says ‘they lifted voice to God’.</n> to God and said: “O Sovereign! <n>Our ‘despot’ is a transliteration of the Greek word here. The term is stronger than ‘master’ or ‘lord’. But ‘despot’ by itself has a negative connotation to us, so we sometimes say ‘benevolent despot’, but not as a form of direct address! Hence, ‘sovereign’.</n> You are God, <n>Perhaps 2% of the Greek manuscripts, of inferior quality, omit “God” (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> the Maker of sky and earth and ocean, and all that is in them;


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<i> You</i> who said through the mouth of Your servant David: <n>Some 8% of the Greek manuscripts replace the opening clause with, “You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David” (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> ‘Why did nations snort <n>One can ‘snort’ in anger or in disdain, or perhaps both. There is no definite article with either ‘nations’ or ‘peoples’ (and so in vs. 27).</n> and peoples plot vain things?


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The kings of the earth took a stand and the rulers were gathered together against the LORD and against His Messiah.’


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Well, in fact, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, together with Gentiles and peoples of Israel, were gathered together against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed,


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to do whatever <i>Your</i> hand and <i>Your</i> counsel foreordained to happen. <n>They have a clear understanding that God’s Plan prevailed, while not denying human responsibility.</n> 


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As for the present, Lord, consider their threats, and grant to Your slaves to speak Your word with all boldness,


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while You stretch out Your hand to heal and that signs and wonders may occur through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”


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Well when they had prayed, the place where they were gathered was shaken, and they were all filled with Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness. <n>Their request was granted. Notice that they did not ask for a free ride. (Again, there is no definite article with Holy Spirit.) But where did they do the speaking? Presumably out among the people.</n> 


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<i> The young Church consolidates</i> Now the multitude of those who believed was of one heart and soul; indeed not one was saying that any of his belongings was his own, but they had all things in common.


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(Also the Apostles were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus with great power. <n>So how did that work? It was power in action, presumably signs and wonders (see 5:12), performed in the name of the resurrected Jesus—if He were rotting in a grave, what could He do?</n> ) Yes, great grace was on them all,


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because there weren’t any needy among them—as many as were owners of lands or houses were selling them and bringing the proceeds of the sold items


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and placing them at the Apostles’ feet, and they were distributed to each according as anyone had need.


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So Joses, who was named Barnabas by the Apostles (which is, being translated, ‘Son of encouragement’), a Levite of the country of Cyprus,


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having a field, sold it, brought the money and placed it at the Apostles’ feet. <n>Since many were doing it, one wonders why Luke singled out Barnabas; perhaps because he would be an important player later on.</n> 


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<i> Ananias and Sapphira</i> Now a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession


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and kept back part of the price for himself, his wife also being party to it; bringing a certain part he placed it at the Apostles’ feet.


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So Peter said: “Ananias, on what basis <n>The familiar ‘why’ is not adequate here; Satan needs no reason for attacking us. But by asking ‘because of what’ Peter is saying that Ananias gave Satan an entrance into his life (which evidently isn’t a very good idea). So what sort of thing gives Satan an entrance? One way is to harbor an attitude contrary to God’s will and character.</n> has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the price of the land?


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While it remained <i>unsold</i> was it not yours, and once sold was it not in your power? How is it that you have conceived this thing in your heart? You did not lie to men but to God.” <n>As the context makes clear, the problem was that Ananias lied. He wanted the credit for doing like the others, but he was hedging his bet. If he had honestly stated that it was only a part, he would have lived on. He evidently figured it was only a little ‘white’ lie that wouldn’t do anybody any harm (no victim)—it didn’t occur to him that he was really challenging God.</n> 


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Well upon hearing these words Ananias fell down and expired! (Great fear came on all who heard these things.)


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So the young men got up and wrapped him, and carrying him out they buried him. <n>Apparently they didn’t have a coroner.</n> 


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Now after an interval of some three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. <n>She was probably looking for him, wondering why he hadn’t come home.</n> 


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So Peter addressed her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much”. So she said, “Yes, for so much”.


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Peter said to her: “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry <i>you</i> out.”


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So she immediately fell down at his feet and expired! So upon entering the young men found her dead, and carrying her out they buried her beside her husband. <n>There are times when ‘togetherness’ isn’t all that good an idea.</n> 


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So great fear came on the whole assembly and on all who heard these things. <n>Really. Can you imagine if this sort of thing started happening in our churches today?</n> 


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<i> The Apostles distinguish themselves</i> Now many signs and wonders were being performed among the people by the hands of the Apostles; and they were all in Solomon’s Porch with one purpose. <n>I take it that the primary reference is to the Apostles; they were holding court, as it were, in Solomon’s Porch where there was plenty of room.</n> 


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None of the rest dared to join them, <n>The Eleven had a stature that set them apart; no one else was pretending to be an Apostle.</n> but the people were magnifying them.


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Believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, <n>After Pentecost we find the expression ‘both men and women’—the participation of women in the Church is overtly stated.</n> 


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to the point that they kept carrying the sick into the streets, placing them on cots and pallets, so that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. <n>Well now, the Lord Jesus recuperated Peter with a vengeance. This would appear to be one of the “greater things” of John 14:12, since we have no record of Jesus using His shadow. Evidently people kept getting healed in this way, and once healed their places would be taken by new arrivals. The local residents had the first chance, and if they were all healed it would be the ones from outlying areas that maintained the flow.</n> 


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Further, the multitude from the surrounding cities also kept coming into Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed. <n>This is reminiscent of the Lord’s ministry, when all who came were healed. Should we be able to do this today?</n> 


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<i> Sadducees X Apostles</i> Then the high priest rose up, and all those with him (being the sect of the Sadducees); they were filled with jealousy <n>They were being upstaged, and how, and didn’t like it—the true merits of the case were beside the point.</n> 


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But, during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison, and leading them out he said,


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“Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life”. <n>That’s what the Text says, “this Life”. To belong to Jesus not only means spiritual life in the place of spiritual death, but it means a way of life—a system of values, a set of presuppositions, a worldview.</n> 


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So upon hearing it they entered the temple about daybreak and started to teach. Then the high priest and those with him arrived and convened the Sanhedrin, even all the council of elders of the sons of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.


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 Well, upon arriving the operatives did <i>not</i> find them in the jail, so they returned and reported,


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 saying: “We certainly found the prison securely locked, and the guards standing in front of the doors, but upon opening them we found no one inside!”


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 Now when the high priest, the captain of the temple, and the chief priests heard these words, they were really perplexed as to what the implications might be. <n>Come now, the only possible explanation was supernatural intervention. There is no one more blind than he who refuses to see.</n> 


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But someone came and told them, “Hey, the men whom you put in the jail are standing in the temple and teaching the people!”


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Then the captain went with the operatives and brought them without violence, because they were afraid that the people might stone them.


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saying: “Did we not emphatically command you not to teach in this name? Just look, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood on us!” <n>‘But Grandmother, what a short memory you have!’ Those very men had said, “His blood be upon us, and upon our children!” But of course, a good memory isn’t always convenient. However, in this case the priest was just being perverse. Well, actually, having committed the unpardonable sin he was under satanic control.</n> 


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<i> Apostles infuriate Sadducees</i> So in answer Peter and the Apostles said: “One must obey God rather than men.


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<b>Him</b> God has exalted to His right hand as Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. <n>I was tempted to render, “to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel”, but the Text doesn’t have that order (though it could have), perhaps so as not to limit the forgiveness of sins to Israel.</n> 


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And we are witnesses to these statements about Him, as also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those obeying Him.” <n>The Apostles are impressive—no fear, no apology, no toning down. “You murdered Him!” “God raised Him!” “He is Prince and Savior!” “The Holy Spirit exists!” All these affirmations were things they absolutely did not want to hear, as their reaction attests. Many in our day do not want to hear that the Holy Spirit is given to those who obey God.</n> 


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<i> Gamaliel counsels Sadducees</i> Well upon hearing it they became infuriated and started plotting to kill them.


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But someone in the council stood up <n>I gather that Gamaliel just took over, and something about his demeanor made the high priest let him do it.</n> (a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law respected by all the people) and commanded to put the Apostles out for a bit.


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He then said to them: “Men, Israelites, take heed to yourselves concerning these men, as to what you are about to do.


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For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody; with whom about four hundred men joined up; who was killed, and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing.


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Later Judas the Galilean rose up, in the days of the census, and drew away many people after him. He also perished, and all who obeyed him were dispersed.


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So now I say to you, keep away from these men and leave them alone; because if this counsel or this work should be of men, it will be abolished;


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but if it is of God, <n>The conditional clauses are not the same—the first is a condition of doubt, the second is a condition of fact. Gamaliel makes clear that he personally thinks it is of God.</n> you will not be able to overthrow it—lest you even be found to be fighting against God!” <n>Of course they were fighting against God, and presumably knew it, but Gamaliel gives them the benefit of the doubt.</n> 


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<i> Sadducees beat and threaten Apostles</i> Well they were persuaded by him, <n>Up to a point—they didn’t kill them, but still beat and threatened them. They had known all along that they were in fact fighting against God, but for some reason they decided to humor Gamaliel.</n> and summoned the Apostles; after beating them they commanded them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.


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So they went out rejoicing <n>The impression I get is that they started rejoicing right there in the council. What do you suppose the effect was upon the members?</n> from the presence of the council, in that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of the Christ. <n>I here follow what I consider to be the best line of transmission, albeit making up only some 35% of the manuscripts. But the evidence is badly split: 35% have ‘of the Christ’, 24% have ‘of Jesus’, 20% have ‘his’, and 21% omit.</n> 


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And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they didn’t stop teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ. <n>It bears repeating: the Apostles are impressive.</n> 


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<i> Enter deacons</i> Now in those days, as the disciples were multiplying, a complaint arose from the Hellenists against the Hebrews, because their widows <n>Wait a minute! Where did all those foreign widows come from? (There must have been a fair number, to have caused the problem.) Would a widow have traveled alone from Asia to Jerusalem to attend the Passover? Had their husbands died in Jerusalem? I would imagine more probably the latter, since time was passing and there were many thousands of believers; people would be dying, getting married, etc. as usual.</n> were being overlooked in the daily distribution.


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So summoning the multitude of the disciples the twelve said: “It is not advantageous that we should forsake the Word of God to serve at tables.


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Therefore, brothers, select from among you seven men <n>The term here refers only to males.</n> of <i>good</i> reputation, full of Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we will appoint over this need.


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But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word.” <n>Prayer and the ministry of the Word—how many pastors, missionaries, ‘apostles’ and such today would fit that description? Don’t you suppose we ought to start moving back in that direction?</n> 


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The statement pleased the whole multitude; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and Holy <n>Perhaps 3% of the Greek manuscripts, of inferior quality, omit “Holy” (as in NIV and NASB.).</n> Spirit, and Philip and Prochorus and Nicanor and Timon and Parmenas and Nicholas, a proselyte from Antioch, <n>Nicholas is declared to be a foreigner, but some of the other names also sound foreign, so the plaintiffs were well represented. Here we see love and grace in action.</n> 


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Well the Word of God kept spreading, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem kept multiplying at a great rate, and a large company of the priests were obeying the faith.


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While Stephen, full of faith <n>For ‘faith’ some 20% of the Greek manuscripts have ‘grace’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. <n>Wouldn’t signs and wonders already be miraculous, without being “great”? Stephen was something else! Please notice that Stephen was not an Apostle, so the doing of miracles was not limited to them. Stephen and Philip (chapter 8) were deacons.</n> 


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<i> Stephen in a kangaroo court</i> Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia), disputing with Stephen.


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Then they instigated men to say, “We have heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God.”


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And they stirred up the people, and the elders and the scribes; <n>What follows is obviously a put up job; the Sanhedrin is waiting for him.</n> and coming upon him they seized him, and brought him in to the Sanhedrin;


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and they put forward false witnesses who said: “This man never stops speaking blasphemous words against the holy place and the law;


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for we have heard him saying that this Jesus the Natsorean will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses delivered to us.” <n>Big deal! Those guys were really hard up.</n> 


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All who sat in the council, looking intently at him, saw his face like the face of an angel. <n>I wonder how many of them had ever seen an angel, to know what one looked like. Perhaps his face had a supernatural shine.</n> 


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<i> Stephen’s discourse</i> Then the high priest said, “Can these things be so?” <n>The man knows it’s all a farce, but he pretends astonishment.</n> 


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So he said: “Men, brothers and fathers, listen: <n>Stephen knows he’s in a kangaroo court, so he wastes no time with the ridiculous charge; he delivers a prophetic, and condemnatory, sermon.</n> The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he resided in Haran,


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and said to him, ‘Leave your country and your relatives, and come into a land that I will show you.’


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Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and resided in Haran. <n>But he took his father and a nephew along. ‘Our father Abraham’—the Jews began their history with Abraham, who started out with incomplete obedience.</n> From there, after his father died, <n>There went fifteen years of his life. And he took his nephew Lot along, who would be a <b>big</b> headache (he fathered the Moabites and the Amonites—not good news—under circumstances that would not have happened had he been left in Haran).</n> <i>God</i> moved him to this land in which you now live; <n>Stephen ties his hearers into the story.</n> 


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yet He did not give him an inheritance in it, not even a footstep. He promised to give it to him for a possession, that is to his seed after him, though he had no child. <n>Abraham was 100 when he begot Isaac, who was 60 when he begot Jacob and Esau. Abraham died at 175, so lived to see his two grandsons. But before Isaac there was Ishmael . . . .</n> 


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Further, God spoke like this: that his offspring would be aliens in a foreign land—and that they would be enslaved and oppressed—four hundred years. <n>Stephen cites Genesis 15:13, which should be understood as a chiasmus, a frequent structure in the Bible:a. his offspring would be aliens in a foreign landb. and they would be enslavedb. and oppresseda. four hundred years.A careful comparison of the relevant texts shows that the 400 years includes from the weaning of Isaac to the Exodus (1891 to1491 BC); since Jacob moved to Egypt in 1706, Abraham’s descendants were aliens in Canaan for 185 years, then were aliens in Egypt, where they came to be enslaved, for 215 years (the Exodus was 144 years after Joseph’s death, so the period of slave labor was presumably somewhat less, perhaps around 100 years). (I owe the understanding given above to Dr. Floyd N. Jones.)</n> 


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‘I will judge the nation to which they will be in bondage’, said God, <n>And He did, with a vengeance. By wiping out the Egyptian army God guaranteed that Egypt would not be a threat to the developing nation of Israel for hundreds of years.</n> ‘and after that they will come out and serve Me in this place’.


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And He gave him a covenant of circumcision; <n>Women whose husbands are circumcised do not get cervical cancer—the procedure is not a sadistic bit of gore; there is a medical reason for it.</n> and so he begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; <n>Modern medicine has verified that on the eighth day of a male’s life his defenses against infection are at their peak—it’s the best day in his whole life for minor surgery. Now then, 3900 years ago who but the Creator could know that?</n> and Isaac did the same to Jacob, and Jacob to the twelve patriarchs.


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and delivered him out of all his adversities, and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.


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And a famine came upon all the land of Egypt and Canaan, even a great affliction, and our fathers couldn’t find food.


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On the second <i>trip</i> Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family was presented to Pharaoh.


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Joseph sent and summoned his father Jacob and all his relatives, seventy-five souls. <n>Comparing this verse with Genesis 46:26-27 we get three numbers: 66, 70 and 75. The 66, being ‘out of his loins’, of course excludes Jacob himself and the wives (Joseph is already there). The 70 includes Jacob, Joseph and his two sons. The 75 excludes Jacob and Joseph, but includes nine wives; some had evidently already died in Canaan.</n> 


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and they were transferred to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor of Shechem. <n>The only record we have of someone buying from Hamor is Jacob (Gen. 33:19); Abraham bought from Ephron (Gen. 23:17)—Shechem and Hebron are presumably different places. Assuming that Stephen’s statement is correct (if he was full of the Spirit as he spoke, vs. 55), then presumably Abraham actually bought both places, though Moses only records one, and Jacob was obliged to re-buy one or bought a larger area around it. A variety of historical records existed, made during OT times, that were not included in the Canon and of which we have no copies—but they were still available in Stephen’s day. (For instance, Jude [v. 14] cites Enoch—we have no Hebrew copy of Enoch’s prophecy today, but Jude must have had access to one.)</n> 


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<i> enter Moses</i> “Now as the time of the promise was approaching which God had sworn to Abraham, the people increased and were multiplied in Egypt,


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until a different <n>The word here suggests a different kind; either a different dynasty or a different race.</n> king arose who had not known Joseph.


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This man took advantage of our race and oppressed our fathers, making them expose their babies so that they wouldn’t stay alive. <n>My rendering here is round about because the Text is round about.</n> 


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At that time Moses was born, and was well pleasing to God; he was nurtured in his father’s house for three months.


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Well seeing one of them being wronged, he defended and avenged the one being oppressed, striking down the Egyptian.


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Now he supposed that his brothers understood that God was giving them deliverance by his hand, <n>This evaluation of Moses’ thinking isn’t in the O.T., at least not at this juncture. Did Moses really suppose that killing an Egyptian would make a difference, or that God would give deliverance in that way? When we see him in heaven we can ask him. But comparing this with verse 23 we may conclude that it was God who put the idea of visiting his people in his heart.</n> but they didn’t understand.


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The next day he appeared to them as they were fighting and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you wrong one another?’


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But the one who was wronging his neighbor pushed Moses away, saying: ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?


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Well Moses fled at that word, and became a stranger in the land of Midian, where he begot two sons. <n>I find Stephen’s selection of details to be curious. Moses’ two sons were not prominent in the history of Israel, so why mention them? Well, Moses’ failure to circumcise them almost cost him his life! See Ex. 4:24-26. Although Moses himself was certainly circumcised as a baby, he was brought up as an Egyptian, and the importance of the procedure had not been ingrained in him; his wife wasn’t an Israelite and was against it. But how could Moses lead the covenant people while ignoring the sign of the covenant?</n> 


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<i> Moses commissioned</i> “And when <i>another</i> forty years had passed, Angel of the LORD <n>There is no definite article with “angel”. Comparing Exodus 3:2 and 4 it is clear that “the Angel of the LORD” was Jehovah Himself, presumably the Son. Perhaps 2% of the Greek manuscripts, of inferior quality, omit ‘of the Lord’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, <n>Moses was in Midian, so the real Mount Sinai is in Midian, which is part of Arabia, not the peninsula between the ‘rabbit ears’ of the Red Sea.</n> in a flame of fire in a bush.


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Well upon seeing it Moses was amazed at the sight, but as he approached for a closer look the voice of the LORD came to him:


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‘I am the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.’ <n>See Exodus 3:6. The Lord Jesus made use of this passage to demonstrate the fact of resurrection (Mt. 22:32). Perhaps 5% of the Greek manuscripts omit “the God” before Isaac and Jacob (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> Moses started trembling and didn’t dare to look.


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So the LORD said to him: ‘Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.


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I have definitely seen the mistreatment of my people in Egypt, and have heard their groaning; and I have come down <n>‘Come down’ from where? From Heaven, presumably—I imagine that whenever God ‘comes down’ it is to intervene in human affairs.</n> to deliver them. So now come, I will send you to Egypt.’


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“This Moses whom they refused, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—God sent <i>him</i> as leader and deliverer by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush.


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This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea, and for forty years in the wilderness.


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<i> Israel’s rebellion</i> “This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘The LORD our <n>Perhaps 2% of the Greek manuscripts, of inferior quality, omit “the Lord”, and they are joined by another 3% in omitting ‘our’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> God will raise up to you a Prophet from among your brothers, like me.’ <n>I take it that here Stephen sets up the main thrust of his speech: God sent Moses, but his contemporaries rejected him; God sent the Prophet, but those present rejected Him. Both rejections resulted in judgment. Some 15% of the Greek manuscripts add ‘Him you shall hear’ (as in AV and NKJV).</n> 


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This is he who was in the assembly in the wilderness, who was with the Angel who spoke with him on Mount Sinai and was with our fathers, <n>I take it that Stephen is emphasizing that Moses was with both the Angel and the people; he was a mediator, as would be ‘the Prophet’—“like me” (vs. 37).</n> who received living oracles <n>What makes an oracle ‘living’? It continues to function, to be applicable.</n> to give to us;


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to whom our fathers didn’t want to be obedient; rather they rejected him and turned back in their heart to Egypt,


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saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods that will go before us; because this Moses, who led us out of the land of Egypt—we don’t know what has become of him.’ <n>See Exodus 32:1.</n> 


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Well they made a calf in those days and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and started rejoicing in the works of their hands.


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But God turned away and gave them over to serve the army of the heaven, <n>Presumably the reference is to Satan’s army of fallen angels, see Eph. 2:2. Those who choose idolatry are really turning themselves over to Satan [even if they don’t believe in him].</n> just as it is written in Book of the Prophets: ‘House of Israel, did you offer me slaughtered animals and sacrifices during forty years in the wilderness?


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Actually you took along the tent of Moloch, and the star of your god, Rephan, the images that you made to worship; so I will relocate you beyond Babylon.’ <n>See Amos 5:25-27. Amos appears to be saying that the Israelites took these gods with them out of Egypt, kept them all the time in the wilderness, and even took them into the Promised Land!</n> 


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<i> a dwelling for God</i> “The tent of the testimony, according to the pattern that Moses had seen, just as the One speaking to him had commanded to make it, was with our fathers in the wilderness;


text:
which, having received it in turn, our fathers with Joshua brought into the possession of the nations, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers, until the days of David;


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who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God <n>The same handful of early manuscripts of inferior quality that NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc. usually follow have ‘house’ instead of ‘God’, but are abandoned by their usually faithful followers.</n> of Jacob,


text:
‘Heaven is my throne, while the earth is a footstool for my feet. What kind of house will you build me, says the LORD , or what place for my rest?


text:
Did not my hand make all these things?’ <n>See Isaiah 66:1-2. This could be an oblique defense against their allegation that he had blasphemed the temple—if God doesn’t dwell there (and in fact Jesus had formally abandoned it) it has lost its importance.</n> 


text:
<i> Stephen attacks</i> “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always oppose the Holy Spirit; <n>In fact, the Sadducees refused to acknowledge His existence.</n> as your fathers did, so you do.


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Which of the prophets didn’t your fathers persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you have now become betrayers and murderers; <n>Stephen states plainly that they murdered the Messiah.</n> 


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<i> Stephen is martyred</i> Well as they heard these things their hearts were being sawed in half, <n>That’s what the Text says. It is a graphic figure of speech. If you are sliced with a sharp object you may scarcely feel it at the moment, but if someone starts sawing on you . . . . No wonder they were mad! (They had long since figured out that Stephen wasn’t being conciliatory.)</n> and they started gnashing their teeth at him.


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But he, being full of Holy Spirit and looking intently into the heaven, he saw the glory of God and Jesus standing <n>There are several texts that have Jesus seated at the Father’s right, not standing. Apparently the Lord stood up to receive Stephen—he got a hero’s welcome.</n> on God’s right,


text:
Yelling at the top of their voice <n>They tried to drown out his voice, as well as covering their ears—they really didn’t want to hear any more! Not a few today don’t want to hear the truth either.</n> they covered their ears and rushed at him all at once,


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and throwing him out of the city they stoned him. <n>They were beside themselves with rage, and forgot all about getting permission from the Roman authorities—typical mob action.</n> (The witnesses placed their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.)


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Then kneeling down he called out at the top of his voice, “Lord, don’t hold this sin against them!” And upon saying this he fell asleep. <n>Sleep is frequently used as a figure for death in the Bible, especially with reference to believers. Stephen’s death reminds me of the Lord’s—both let out a shout, and then died. In the Lord’s case we are explicitly told that He dismissed His spirit. I wonder if Stephen was somehow able to dismiss his (if he was able to shout he still had strength, and death by stoning took a while). Both also asked forgiveness for their murderers.</n> (Saul was in full agreement with his murder.)


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<i> Under persecution the Church moves out</i> At that time a major persecution arose against the church that was in Jerusalem, so all, except the Apostles, were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria.


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As for Saul, he was trying to destroy the Church; invading house after house and dragging away both men and women, he was putting them in prison.


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<i> Philip’s ministry</i> Now Philip, having gone down to a city of Samaria, was proclaiming the Christ to them;


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and the crowds gave heed with one accord to what Philip was saying, as they heard the words and saw the signs that he kept performing. <n>He didn’t just talk, he demonstrated God’s power. So how about us—do we just talk?</n> 


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Because unclean spirits came out screaming from many who had them, and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed.


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<i> Simon, the sorcerer</i> Now a certain man named Simon was in the city first, practicing sorcery and astounding the people of Samaria, affirming himself to be someone great,


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to whom they used to pay attention, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God.” <n>That’s what the Text says. I would expect ‘has’ the power or ‘shows’ it, or whatever, but the Text has ‘is’. Perhaps the Samaritans thought he was the Messiah. We have no record that Jesus was ever in the city of Samaria itself—Simon would presumably not have gotten by in Sychar.</n> 


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But, when they believed Philip, as he proclaimed the good news concerning the kingdom of God and the name, Jesus Christ, <n>He was proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah.</n> they were baptized, both men and women.


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Even Simon himself believed, and having been baptized he stayed right with Philip; observing miracles and signs occurring, he was amazed. <n>Why? If he himself had really been producing miracles and signs, he could have said, “business as usual”. Presumably he had been faking it (or else doing it by demonic power), so when he saw the real thing, by God’s power, he was genuinely impressed.</n> 


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Now when the Apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them,


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because He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized into the name of Jesus, the Christ. <n>Some 30% of the Greek manuscripts read ‘Lord’ instead of ‘Christ’, as in most versions.</n> 


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Well, upon observing that the Holy <n>‘Holy’ is omitted by two (2) manuscripts (against over 600), to be followed by NIV, NASB, TEV, etc.</n> Spirit was given through the laying on of the Apostles’ hands, Simon offered them money


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But Peter said to him: “May your silver go with you into perdition, <n>Peter is really upset and doesn’t mince words; he evidently felt that the sin was so serious as to place Simon’s eternal destiny in doubt (see verse 22, “in case”). Well, the Lord Jesus Himself had taught them that to blaspheme the Holy Spirit was unpardonable, and Peter evidently figured that Simon had come close.</n> for thinking that the gift of God could be acquired with money!


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Turn away therefore from this your wickedness and make petition to God, <n>Some 5% of the Greek manuscripts read ‘Lord’ instead of ‘God’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> in case the intent of your heart may be forgiven you;


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for I see you being into a gall of bitterness and a fetter of unrighteousness.” <n>The Text has ‘into’ not ‘in’, thereby emphasizing (I suppose) that this was a long-standing condition. Since gall is bitter, very, I take it that Peter is saying that Simon was controlled by a terrible bitterness. Isaiah 58:6 speaks of “fetters of wickedness”, where the fetters have been placed on the victim(s) by wicked men (or angels), presumably [the LXX uses the word that Peter uses here, ‘unrighteousness’]. We don’t know if Peter was thinking of this text, and since Simon was into sorcery/spiritism, the fetter could have been of his own forging. The inspired author says that Simon believed, so I take it that he really did. But the consequences to his soul of years spent in sorcery/spiritism were not immediately, miraculously obliterated. Those in our day who have discipled people converted out of Satanism/spiritism (especially mediums—witches, warlocks) know that those consequences can hang around for quite a while, and be difficult to eliminate.</n> 


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So in answer Simon said, “<i> You</i> <n>The Text is emphatic. Simon isn’t being disrespectful; he doubts that his own pleading will do much good, so he begs them to do it for him (God is much more likely to listen to them).</n> make petition to the Lord on my behalf, so that nothing of what you have spoken may come upon me.”


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So when they had both <n>This word goes with the verbs ‘testify’ and ‘speak’, not Peter and John. I suppose the ‘thorough testifying’ would be with reference to the Lord’s ministry, teaching, death and resurrection (they were eye witnesses).</n> thoroughly testified and spoken the word of the Lord they returned to Jerusalem; they also evangelized many Samaritan villages.


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<i> The Ethiopian treasurer</i> Then an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Get up and go south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza; <n>From Samaria to the Gaza road would be a walk of at least 60 miles, over accidented terrain.</n> it is desolate.”


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So he got up and went; and there, a man, an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court-official of Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasury, who had come worshipping to Jerusalem <n>So how did this man know about Jehovah, and why had he learned to read Hebrew (unless he was reading a Greek translation)? Although nearly a millennium had intervened, this could be a result of the Queen of Sheba’s visit to Solomon.</n> 


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So running up Philip heard him reading the prophet Isaiah and said, “Do you really understand what you are reading?”


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So he said, “Well how can I, unless someone guides me?” And he urged Philip to come up and sit with him. <n>The Holy Spirit was obviously in charge of this whole operation and moved upon the man to trust Philip.</n> 


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Now the portion of the Scripture that he was reading was this: “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He does not open His mouth.


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In His humiliation His justice was removed, and who will recount His generation? Because His life is removed from the earth.”


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So continuing the eunuch said to Philip, “I ask you, about whom does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?”


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Now as they were going down the road they came upon some water, and the eunuch said: “Look, water! What is keeping me from being baptized?”


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- - - <n>The AV and NKJV have verse 37: Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” It’s the sort of thing that makes us think, “If Philip didn’t say that, he should have.” And maybe he really did, but the question immediately before us is whether Luke wrote it. 88% of the Greek manuscripts, including the best line of transmission, do not have the verse—I imagine that the verse originated in the Latin tradition, during the second century. Philip doubtless recounted the event many times, and if the exchange recorded in vs. 37 actually took place it would be part of the story and could easily have been added to the Text of Acts. (The addition appears in eighteen slightly different forms.)</n> 


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So he ordered the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.


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Now when they came up out of the water, Spirit of the Lord <n>Again there is no definite article with ‘Spirit’, nor with ‘Lord’—I would like to translate ‘Spirit of Jehovah’, but God’s personal name never occurs in the New Testament.</n> snatched Philip away, and the eunuch didn’t see him any more, because he went on his way rejoicing. <n>He didn’t stop to look for Philip or attempt any further contact with him; Ethiopia was a long way away and he just kept on going. He doubtless understood that Philip’s ‘visit’ was a supernatural present, and let it go at that.</n> 


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Philip was found at Azotus, <n>The verb is in the passive voice, but I am tempted to translate, ‘found himself’. The Spirit put Philip down in a near-by town, perhaps 10-15 miles away. Caesarea was some 50 miles on up the coast; speaking of which, Philip evidently decided to settle there.</n> and as he passed through he evangelized all the towns until he came to Caesarea.


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<i> Saul of Tarsus</i> Meanwhile Saul, still exhaling murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest


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and asked for letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he should find any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.


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<i> Jesus chooses Saul</i> So it happened, as he was going, that he got close to Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him;


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So he said, “Who are you, Lord?” So the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting; <n>At this point AV and NKJV, following the TR, add: “It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “…” The addition comes from the Latin tradition; the Greek manuscripts don’t have it. Some of the information may be found in the parallel accounts in Acts 22 and 26.</n> 


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Then Saul got up from the ground, and upon opening his eyes he saw no one; so leading him by the hand they brought him into Damascus.


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He was without sight for three days, and neither ate nor drank. <n>Saul was in total shock; his world was being turned upside down.</n> 


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<i> Ananias sent to Saul</i> Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias!” So he said, “Here I am, Lord.”


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So the Lord said to him: “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas inquire by name for Saul of Tarsus; because, you see, he is praying,


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and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and placing a hand on him, so that he might recover <i>his</i> sight.”


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But Ananias answered: “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how many evil things he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem.


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Moreover <i>here</i> he has authority from the chief priests <n>I find it to be curious that the authority of the chief priests extended all the way to Damascus.</n> to bind all who are calling on Your name.”


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But the Lord said to him: “Get moving, because this man is a chosen vessel to me, to carry my name before nations and kings, also the children of Israel;


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So Ananias went and entered the house, and placing his hands on him he said, “Brother <n>That was a nice touch. At that moment it no doubt meant a lot to Saul to be called ‘brother’.</n> Saul, the Lord, <n>Some 10% of the Greek manuscripts add ‘Jesus’, to be followed by most versions.</n> who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me so that you may recover your sight and be filled by Holy Spirit.”


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Immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he recovered his sight forthwith; <n>Perhaps 70% of the Greek manuscripts do not have ‘forthwith’, and they are followed by printed editions of the Majority Text. However, the best line of transmission does have the word, as in AV and NKJV.</n> and getting up he was baptized,


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and upon receiving food he was strengthened. So Saul was with the disciples in Damascus for a number of days.


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<i> Saul starts preaching</i> Immediately he started proclaiming Jesus <n>‘Jesus’ is read by Family 35 and the earliest MSS, representing only some 20% of the Greek MSS; the rest have ‘the Christ’. To teach that the Messiah was the Son of God would be ‘old hat’, no problem—but Saul was showing that Jesus was God’s Son. Notice the end of verse 22, “this is the Christ”—what is the antecedent of “this”? To say that the Christ is the Christ would be stupid, which neither of the authors is.</n> in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.


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Well, all who heard him were astounded and started saying: “Isn’t this the one who tried to destroy, in Jerusalem, those who called on this name? Even here he had come with that purpose, that he might take them bound to the high priests.”


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But Saul kept growing stronger and kept on confounding the Jews who lived in Damascus, proving that ‘This One is the Christ’.


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but their plot became known to Saul. They started watching the gates day and night, so that they might kill him;


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so the disciples <n>Evidently Ananias was not the only disciple of Jesus in Damascus, but we are not told how many there may have been. Of course, Saul’s preaching may have added to the number. In fact some 3% of the Greek manuscripts add ‘his’ [i.e. Saul’s] (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> took him by night and passed him through the wall, lowering him in a hamper. <n>From Paul’s mention of this in 2 Corinthians 11:32-33, I gather that he felt this to be humiliating.</n> 


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<i> Barnabas vouches for Saul</i> Now upon arriving in Jerusalem Saul kept trying to join himself to the disciples; <n>I get the impression that he made repeated efforts; after all, he probably had a very good idea of where different groups could be found. Either he didn’t know where the apostles were, or lacked the courage to approach them. It was probably after several efforts that Barnabas got wind of what was happening; however, the news doubtless spread through the community quite quickly.</n> but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.


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But Barnabas took him in tow and brought him to the apostles, and described to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken fearlessly in the name of the Lord Jesus. <n>How did Barnabas know all that? Perhaps he grilled Saul, before deciding he was on the up and up. I follow some 45% of the Greek manuscripts, including the best line of transmission, in reading ‘Lord Jesus’.</n> 


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So he was with them in Jerusalem, going in and out, and speaking fearlessly in the name of Jesus. <n>Some 67% of the Greek manuscripts have ‘Lord Jesus’; I follow the best line of transmission (just 24% of the manuscripts here) in reading ‘Jesus’; (another 8% have only ‘Lord’).</n> 


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<i> A brief respite</i> So then the congregations <n>8% of the Greek manuscripts have ‘church’, singular (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.). The true Text emphasizes that there were groups of believers scattered throughout that whole area.</n> throughout all Judea and Galilee, and Samaria, had peace and were built up; and proceeding in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit they were being multiplied.


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<i> Peter’s ministry</i> Now it happened, as Peter went through all <i>those parts</i> , that he also went down to the saints who were living in Lydda.


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<i> Peter heals Aeneas</i> And there he found a certain man named Aeneas who was paralyzed—he had been lying on a pallet for eight years.


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Peter said to him: “Aeneas, Jesus the Messiah <n>The Text being in Greek has “Christ”, but Peter was probably speaking Hebrew, and he was declaring Jesus to be the Messiah. Perhaps 2% of the Greek manuscripts, of inferior quality, omit the definite article (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> is healing you. Get up and make your bed!” And immediately he stood up!


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All who were living in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned <n>The idea is of a change of direction in belief or course of conduct.</n> to the Lord.


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<i> Peter raises Dorcas</i> Now there was a certain disciple in Joppa named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds that she kept doing.


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But it happened in those days that she took sick and died; so when they had washed her they placed her in the upper room. <n>The upper room of her house.</n> 


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Now Lydda was near Joppa; the disciples, having heard that Peter was there, sent to him imploring him not to delay in coming to them.


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So Peter got up and went with them; upon arriving they took him up to the upper room; all the widows stood around him weeping and showing the coats and garments that Dorcas was making <n>That’s what the Text says; I get the impression that Dorcas used a production line method, and left a variety of unfinished garments. </n> while she was with them.


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So Peter put them all out, <n>You couldn’t hear yourself think in there; he had to do that so he could hear the Holy Spirit.</n> kneeled down and prayed. Turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, get up!” So she opened her eyes, and upon seeing Peter she sat up.


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Then he gave her a hand and lifted her up, and calling the saints and widows he presented her alive.


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<i> The case of Cornelius</i> Now there was a certain man in Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment,


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devout and fearing God with all his household, both giving alms generously to the people and praying to God about everything. <n>How about us; do we pray to God about everything?</n> 


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About the ninth hour of the day, <n>That would be 3 p.m. in Hebrew time, one of the Jewish hours of prayer.</n> in a vision, he saw clearly an angel of God entering his presence and saying to him, “Cornelius!”


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Well, staring at him and being frightened he said, “What is it, Lord?” So he said to him: “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God.


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he is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” <n>The familiar “He will tell you what you must do” (as in AV and NKJV) comes from the TR, which is here based on a very few late Greek MSS plus part of the Latin tradition.</n> 


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So when the angel who spoke to him had departed, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier from among those who were faithful to him,


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<i> God prepares Peter</i> Now on the next day, as they were traveling and drawing near to the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray at about noon. <n>The Text has “the sixth hour”.</n> 


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and he saw the heaven opened and a container like a great sheet descending to him—it was tied at the four corners and was being let down to the earth—


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in which were all <i>kinds</i> of four-footed <i>animals</i> of the earth (both wild animals and reptiles) and birds of the sky. <n>What the Text actually says, literally, is: “all the four-footed of the earth, and the wild animals, and the reptiles, and the birds of the sky”—a re-run of Noah’s ark! Well, if the sheet were large enough . . . . However, from Peter’s response it appears that no ‘clean’ animals or birds were included. I am tempted to translate: “all the four-footed of the earth—that is, the wild animals and the reptiles—and the birds of the sky” wherein the ‘birds of the sky’ are carrion fowl (songbirds and game birds generally stay close to the ground).</n> 


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But Peter said, “No way, Lord! Never have I eaten anything ‘common’ <n>That is, something ritually or ceremonially impure (and therefore not to be eaten).</n> or unclean!”


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<i> the messengers arrive</i> Now as Peter was really perplexed within himself as to what the vision that he had seen might mean, well the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having inquired and found Simon’s house, stood before the gate,


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So going down to the men <n>Some 35% of the Greek manuscripts add “who had been sent to him from Cornelius”, as in AV and NKJV.</n> Peter said: “Yes, I am the one you are looking for. For what reason have you come?”


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So they said: “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man, well spoken of by all the nation of the Jews, was divinely instructed by an angel <n>I follow the best line of transmission in not adding ‘holy’, although here representing only 20% of the manuscripts. To be giving divine instruction the angel was evidently from God.</n> to summon you to his house, and to hear words from you.”


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So he invited them in and put them up.<i> on to Caesarea</i> The next day Peter set out with them, also some of the brothers from Joppa went with him;


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 and the following day they entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them, <n>Let’s try to get the ‘feel’ of this watershed event. Cornelius is a Gentile, but he REALLY wants to know God; yet he ‘knows’ that Jehovah has a thing with the Jews and isn’t too big on Gentiles. But he is convinced that Jehovah is the true God and is doing his very best to please Him. So one day God gives him a special dispensation of grace; He sends an angel! Was Cornelius excited, or was he excited!! Like, <b>wow</b>. So he sends his messengers hotfooting it to Joppa (some 60 km), and they do it in less than 24 hours. So what does Cornelius do while he waits? He prays and fasts. Sure, he was already a man of prayer (v. 2) so how is he going to show his appreciation to God for the special favor? He fasts—now that he has God’s attention, marvel of marvels, he wants to stay tuned in so as not to miss anything. And after allowing for the minimum time necessary for the roundtrip, he’s at the door looking down the road—well, being a military commander he doubtless had lookouts and probably had someone on duty to tell him when the group came into view. Enter Peter. He lays on the bit about Jews not contaminating themselves with Gentiles, but God told him to come, and so what does Cornelius want. Now it’s his turn—he’s looking at a Jew who isn’t exactly oozing enthusiasm at being there, but he’s Jehovah’s messenger and the centurion understands about rank and authority; so he plays the only cards he has: his own sincerity and seriousness and God’s revealed will. (See the second note down.)</n> having called together his relatives and close friends.


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 Then he said to them: “You know how it is unlawful for a Jewish man to associate with or to approach a different race; but God has shown <i>me</i> that I should not call any man ‘common’ or unclean.


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 Therefore also I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. So I ask, for what reason did you send for me?”


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So Cornelius said: “I have been fasting <n>Some 3.5% of the Greek manuscripts omit the ‘fasting’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> during four days until this very hour; yes, <i>it was</i> the ninth hour, <n>“I have been fasting during four days until this very hour” (the first card) and “the ninth hour . . . .” (the second card). About the sequence, we observe the following:v. 3—1st day: Cornelius sees angel, about 3 p.m., and sends messengers forthwith;v. 9—2nd day: Peter has vision, after 12 noon, and messengers arrive (& are lodged for the night);v. 23—3rd day: Peter and company leave Joppa;v. 24—4th day: they enter Caesarea (probably before noon).So, by western reckoning we have not quite three full days, but by Hebrew and Brazilian reckoning we have a situation that involves four days.The messengers, under urgent orders, did the 60 km in under 24 hours (whether they went all night, we don’t know, but they were probably obviously tired when they showed up at Peter’s gate). Peter was not about to be stampeded into action; he had to eat, sort things out in his mind, talk it over with the others—since they decided to send a committee preparations had to be made. So they set out the next day, but they are dignified Jews and are not going to run—they set a steady pace and probably make some 45 km before stopping for the night. The remaining 15 km they knock off before noon the next day. So, the “this very hour” refers to the time of Peter’s arrival.</n> I was praying in my house when <i>wow</i> , a man stood before me in shining clothing


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Send therefore to Joppa and summon Simon, who is surnamed Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea; upon arriving he will speak to you.’


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So I sent to you at once, and you did well to come. Now then, we are all present before God to hear all the things commanded you by God.” <n>Cornelius doesn’t beat around the bush, he wants to hear from <b>God</b>. Instead of ‘God’ some 5% of the Greek manuscripts have ‘the Lord’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> 


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<i> Peter preaches</i> So opening his mouth Peter said: “Really, I comprehend that God is not One to show partiality,


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but in every ethnic nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is acceptable to Him. <n>This statement of Peter’s doesn’t fit in very well with the doctrine of salvation (soteriology) as taught in many schools and churches. God deals with people where they are, within the context that they are.</n> 


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The word that He sent to the sons <n>‘Sons’ is often translated ‘children’ when referring to the descendants of Jacob—Peter is referring to the current generation, the one that received the revelation of ‘Jesus Christ’.</n> of Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all—


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that spoken word you know, that was proclaimed throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee, after the baptism that John preached: <n>As soon as John was put in prison, which was the end of his preaching and baptizing, Jesus moved out of Judea into Galilee—He spent over a year there before returning to Judea. Peter is assuming that Cornelius would have followed the career of Jesus with interest. He gives a very brief, almost disjointed, review of some salient points.</n> 


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<b>Jesus of Natsareth</b>, how God anointed Him with Holy Spirit and power, who went about doing good and healing all those being oppressed by the devil, <n>The devil is Satan. Did Peter mean that every time Jesus saw an oppressed person He healed them, or did he mean that everyone whom Jesus healed was oppressed, or both? The episode at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:2-13) would appear to eliminate the first option, that every time He saw an oppressed person He healed them, because there was a “great multitude” of oppressed people there, and Jesus obviously saw them, but He did nothing to help them. This leaves us with the clear conclusion that it is the second meaning that is correct, everyone whom Jesus healed was oppressed, which means that Satan is involved in all maladies. [With reference to John 5:2-13, less than 1% of the Greek manuscripts, of objectively inferior quality, omit the last clause of verse 3 and all of verse 4 (as in NIV, NASB, LB, [TEV], etc.). But obviously all those people wouldn’t stay there (in discomfort) day in and day out, year in and year out, if nothing was happening. Obviously people got healed, and verse 7 makes clear that it had to do with the stirring of the water—so why didn’t those manuscripts omit verse 7 as well? The UBS editions do us a considerable disservice by following a very small minority of manuscripts and making the angel “of the Lord”. Since angels can be good or fallen, it seems most likely to me that the angel involved was fallen. A capricious, occasional healing condemned all those people to added suffering (being at the pool instead of the comfort of home), including the frustration and despair of those who never made it (like the man Jesus healed). A sadistic procedure is just like Satan.]</n> because God was with Him


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—yes, <i>we</i> are witnesses of all that He did, both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem—whom they also killed, hanging Him on a tree.


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not to all the people but to witnesses who had been chosen beforehand by God, to <i>us</i> , who ate and drank with Him after He arose out of the dead.


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And He ordered us to proclaim to the people, that is to testify that <i>He</i> is the One who has been ordained by God as Judge of living and dead.


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To <b>Him</b> all the prophets bear witness <n>Presumably the prophets all bear witness to the Messiah in some way.</n> that through His name <n>I take “through His name” to mean something like ‘because of His identity’ as Messiah and Jehovah the Son.</n> everyone who believes into Him will receive forgiveness of sins.” <n>This was the crucial bit of information they were waiting for, what they had to do to be saved. The minute Peter said, “believe into Jesus”, they did! And the Holy Spirit came upon them! Believe “into” not “in”—a change of location is involved, from being outside to being inside, which requires commitment.</n> 


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<i> the Holy Spirit falls</i> While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all who were hearing the message. <n>If anyone present was not ‘hearing’ they would neither believe nor receive.</n> 


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Well the believers of the circumcision [Jews] who had come with Peter were astonished, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had also been poured out on the Gentiles,


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in that they heard them speaking in tongues <n>‘Tongue’ is the ordinary word for ‘language’—these were presumably real languages, though unknown to the hearers (and speakers). What happened here went against the Jews’ worldview.</n> and magnifying God. Then Peter responded:


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“Surely no one can forbid the water, can he, that these should not be baptized <n>Baptism followed immediately upon conversion (not after weeks of instruction and observation). I believe they were formally severing any and all connection with Satan and the world controlled by him, and placing themselves under the protection of the Lord Jesus. The sooner a new convert does that the better.</n> who received the Holy Spirit just like we did?”


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So he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. <n>The Greek manuscripts are divided among three main variants here (‘the Lord Jesus’, ‘the Lord’, ‘Jesus Christ’); I have followed what I understand to be the best line of transmission.</n> Then they asked him to stay a few days.


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<i> Peter has to explain</i> Now the Apostles and the brothers throughout Judea <n>Talk about news spreading like wildfire; well this news was really ‘hot’!</n> heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.


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When Peter went up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision <i>party</i> started contending with him,


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saying, “You went in to uncircumcised men and ate with them!” <n>In Matthew 28 the resurrected Jesus had commanded that disciples be made among all ethnic nations—so how can you disciple someone without talking to him? In fact, the ‘Great Commission’ imposed a significant shift in worldview upon Jesus’ Jewish followers. The transition was not easy, and many never made it.</n> 


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“I was in the town of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision: a certain object like a great sheet coming down out of the sky, being lowered by its four corners; and it came to me.


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Upon peering into it I observed and distinguished the quadrupeds of the earth—both the wild animals and the reptiles—and the birds of the sky.


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But the voice answered me, a second time, from heaven, ‘Things that God has made clean you must not call “common”.’


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At that very moment three men stopped in front of the house where I was, having been sent from Caesarea to me.


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The Spirit told me to go with them, doubting nothing. These six brothers also went with me, <n>Peter presumably knew he would be called on the carpet, so he took his witnesses along.</n> and we entered the man’s house.


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He then related to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying to him, ‘Send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter,


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Well as I began to speak, <n>Peter was set to give a proper discourse, but the Spirit intervened.</n> the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as on us at the beginning.


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I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you will be baptized with Holy Spirit’. <n>See Acts 1:5. This was spoken by the Lord Jesus just before His ascension.</n> 


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So if God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed upon the Lord Jesus, <n>Notice that there is no mention of keeping the Law, being circumcised, or following Jewish customs. Peter is saying that what God did indicates that the key to salvation is believing upon the Lord Jesus, whether Jew or Gentile. I follow the best line of transmission that reads ‘the Lord Jesus’; some 75% of the Greek manuscripts add ‘Christ’.</n> who was I to be able to withstand God?”


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Upon hearing these things they acquiesced and started glorifying God, saying, “So then, God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance into life!” <n>Their religious culture had twisted the OT Scriptures so as to exclude Gentiles. So now they are surprised.</n> 


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<i> Enter Barnabas</i> Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that came about in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews only.


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But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who upon entering Antioch started speaking to the Greek-speakers, <n>In verse 19, those who spoke to Jews only presumably used Hebrew, which would not be understood by outsiders. In verse 20, by preaching in Greek, the whole populace could understand, even if Greek-speaking Jews were the main target. Verse 21 implies that the number of believers exceeded the number of Jews, so Gentiles also were believing.</n> preaching the good news of the Lord Jesus.


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Well the report concerning them reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch.


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Upon arriving and seeing the grace of God, he was glad, and he kept encouraging them all to remain true to the Lord with purpose of heart


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(for he was a good man, full of Holy Spirit and of faith). And a considerable crowd was added to the Lord.


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and upon finding him he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they met with the congregation and taught a great many people. The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.


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One of them, named Agabus, stood up and indicated by the Spirit that a great famine was about to come upon the whole world (this indeed happened while Claudius was Caesar).


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Then the disciples, to the extent that any had plenty, each of them determined to send relief to the brothers who lived in Judea;


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<i> Enter Herod</i> Now about that time, Herod the king laid hands on some from the church to mistreat them.


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James, the brother of John, he put to death by sword. <n>So far as we know, James was the first of the Apostles to die (discounting the Iscariot), and he was martyred.</n> 


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When he saw that it was pleasing to the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter as well (it was during the days of the unleavened loaves)


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—upon seizing him he put him in prison, turning him over to sixteen soldiers <n>Why so many? Had he heard about Peter’s spiritual power?</n> to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover.


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<i> Enter angel</i> Well Peter was being held in the prison all right, but the congregation was making earnest prayer to God on his behalf.


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So when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, with guards protecting the prison in front of the doors.


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Suddenly, an angel of the Lord was there, and a light shone in the cell; striking Peter on the side he roused him saying, “Quick, get up!”, and the chains fell away from his wrists.


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Then the angel said to him, “Fasten your belt and put on your sandals”. So he did. Then he said to him, “Put on your cloak and follow me”.


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So he went out and started following him, not realizing that what the angel was doing was real; he supposed he was seeing a vision.


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Passing through the first and second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, that opened for them by itself; <n>The angel used supernatural power; and if we ever learn how to do it, we can too—Ephesians 3:20.</n> upon exiting they advanced one block, and suddenly the angel left him.


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<i> Enter Rhoda</i> When Peter had come to himself he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord sent His angel and delivered me out of Herod’s hand and from all the expectation of the Jewish people”.


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Upon reflection he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John (the one called Mark), where a considerable number had gathered and were praying.


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Upon recognizing Peter’s voice, she was so glad she didn’t open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing before the gate!


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But they said to her, “You’re crazy!” but she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, “It is his angel”.


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But Peter kept on knocking; so when they opened the door and saw him, they were astounded. <n>They evidently did not expect their prayer to be answered. After all, they had probably prayed for James first, and he was killed anyway. When we pray about a difficult situation, we should start out by asking what the Father is doing—John 5:19.</n> 


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Motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he related to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. Then he said, “Tell these things to James <n>This James is the Lord’s half-brother; he became the leader of the church in Jerusalem.</n> and the brothers”. And going out he went off to a different place.


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<i> Poor guards!</i> Now as soon as it was day, there was no small commotion among the soldiers about what had become of Peter!


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Well after searching for him and not finding him, Herod examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Going down from Judea to Caesarea, he stayed there. <n>He had doubtless told the Jews that he had Peter, and when he couldn’t produce him he lost face. But the circumstances probably left him uncomfortable as well, so he decided to get away for awhile—none of which saved the poor guards. The guards were part of an evil system, and presumably would never have converted (although, if Peter had preached to them, some may have believed before the execution).</n> 


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<i> Herod gets his ‘comeuppance’</i> Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; so they came with one accord to him, and having won over Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country was supplied with food from the king’s. <n>The famine mentioned in chapter eleven may have made them especially dependent.</n> 


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So on an appointed day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on the throne and started to deliver an address to them.


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Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give glory to God, and being eaten by worms, he died. <n>The worms, of unusual size and impressive number, would come out of the corpse, indicating the cause of death—really gross!</n> 


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And the Word of God kept growing and multiplying. <n>Growing in influence and multiplying its effects.</n> 


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<i> The Gentile Church</i> Now Barnabas and Saul returned to Antioch, <n>We have here an important set of variant readings, wherein the evidence is rather badly divided. I have decided to give the Greek, for those who can handle it, but will here give a literal rendering of the seven variants, for those who can’t:1) to Antioch; 2) from Jerusalem; 3) from Jerusalem to Antioch; 4) out of Jerusalem; 5) out of Jerusalem to Antioch; 6) to Jerusalem; 7) to Jerusalem to Antioch.1) εις αντιοχειαν (<b>f35</b>=27.8%) (5.1%)2) απο ιερουσαλημ (<b>f35</b>=8.9%) D (10.9%) lat(syh)3) απο ιερουσαλημ εις αντιοχειαν (<b>f35</b>=12.7%) (7.3%) itpt(syp)4) εξ ιερουσαλημ (<b>f35</b>=1.3%) א A (3.6%) bo(syh) OC,TR5) εξ ιερουσαλημ εις αντιοχειαν (<b>f35</b>=11.4%) (12.2%) sa(syp)CP6) εις ιερουσαλημ (<b>f35</b>=36.7%) B (60%) RP,HF,NU [15 out of 29 <b>f35</b> MSS are at M. Lavras!]7) εις ιερουσαλημ εις αντιοχειαν (<b>f35</b>=1.3%) (0.6%)(one other reading) (0.2%)There is indeed a majority reading, albeit a weak one, but within the context it can scarcely be correct. [Note that scholars with presuppositions so diverse as Alford, Burgon, Hort or Metzger have reached the same conclusion.] Consider:a) Acts 11:30, ο και εποιησαν αποστειλαντες , “which they also did, having sent . . . by B. & S.” An aorist participle is prior in time to its main verb, in this case also aorist—their purpose is stated to have been realized. The author clearly implies that the offering did arrive, or had arrived, in Judea/Jerusalem. [In Acts the author seems almost to use “Jerusalem” and “Judea” interchangeably, perhaps to avoid repetition. E.g.: 11:1 Judea, 11:2 Jerusalem (were the apostles not in Jerusalem, or immediate environs?); 11:27 Jerusalem, 11:29 Judea, 11:30 the elders (would not the ruling elders be in Jerusalem?); 12:1-19 took place in Jerusalem, but v. 19 says Herod went down from Judea to Caesarea; 15:1 Judea, 15:2 Jerusalem; 28:21 letters from “Judea” probably means Jerusalem.] Note that the next verse (12:1) places us in Jerusalem.b) Acts 12:25 (12:1-24 is unrelated, except that verses 1-19 take place in Jerusalem), βαρναβας και σαυλος —the action includes <b>both</b>.c) Acts 12:25, υπεστρεψαν . . . πληρωσαντες την διακονιαν , “they returned . . . having fulfilled the mission”. Again, both the participle and the main verb are aorist, and both plural. “Having fulfilled the mission” defines the main verb. Since the mission was to Judea, which of necessity includes Jerusalem as its capital city, the ‘returning’ must be to the place where the mission originated.Barnabas could be viewed as returning to Jerusalem, having completed his mission to Antioch, but this could not be said of Saul. I conclude that “to Jerusalem” cannot be correct here even though attested by 60% of the MSS. We observe that the other 40% of the MSS, plus the three ancient versions, are agreed that the motion was away from Jerusalem, not toward it. <b>However</b>, they are divided into five main variants, so how shall we choose the original wording? I suppose that in a case like this we must indeed appeal to the basic ‘canon’ of textual criticism, prefer the variant that best accounts for the origin of the others.We must begin with presuppositions. Those who presuppose that the original text was not inspired, was not inerrant, will presumably choose variant 6). [Please note that I am not saying that they are the only ones who might make such a choice, nor even that they will necessarily do so.] It is the ‘harder’ reading, being at odds with the context. Many copyists noticed the problem and attempted remedial action, producing variants 1), 2) and 4) [on that hypothesis]. Variants 3) and 5) would appear to be conflations and thus subsequent developments. Variant 7) is an obvious conflation. It is none the less curious that although “to Jerusalem” is evidently ancient, none of the early versions follows it.I am among those who presuppose that the original text was indeed inspired and therefore inerrant; it follows that I am predisposed against variant 6), it evidently being in error. [Please note again that I am speaking only of myself. I am making the point that presuppositions must always be taken into account since they heavily influence the interpretation of the data. This is true of all practitioners in any discipline. (Consider Luke 11:23, John 7:17 and Ephesians 2:2.)] What then? If 3) and 5) are conflations, then 1), 2) and 4) are earlier. Variants 2) and 4) would appear to be independent attempts to ‘fix up’ variant 6). [υποστρεψω εκ is unprecedented (in the NT), υποστρεψω απο occurs four times, υποστρεψω εις occurs 17 times. The reading of the TR is highly improbable, statistically speaking. If we had to choose between απο and εκ, απο would win on all counts.] Forced to choose between 1) and 6), my presuppositions guide me to variant 1); but how did 1) give rise to 6)?Well, a superficial reader could have focused on Barnabas and assumed that he was returning to Jerusalem, having finished his ministry in Antioch. Since 12:25 is the first mention of Barnabas (and Saul) after 11:30, and since 11:30 does not overtly say that they ‘went’, ‘returned’ or whatever, a superficial reader could easily decide that he had to get Barnabas back to Jerusalem. If the original of 12:25 read “to Antioch” this would be perceived as a problem, since to the superficial reader they would still be there, having never left. This ‘correction’ evidently happened quite early, and possibly more than once, independently—if a number of separate copyists misunderstood the text in the way suggested, and felt constrained to ‘correct’ it, presumably most of them would simply change “Antioch” to “Jerusalem”.Although 25.2% of the MSS, plus syp and sa, read εις αντιοχειαν , only 5.1% do so without conflation. But then, variant 4) has only 3.6% alone and 15.8% with the conflation. Variant 2) has 10.9% alone and 18.2% with the conflation. So, variant 1) beats 4) both alone and with conflations; variant 1) loses to 2) alone, but with conflations comes in ahead. I submit that variant 1) best explains the origin of all the others, and given the complexities of this case has the best claim upon our confidence. I conclude that the Autograph of Acts 12:25 read vεις αντιοχειαν , which is presumably precisely what happened (they returned to Antioch); it also leads nicely into 13:1—comparing Acts 1:1 with Luke 1:3 we may reasonably conclude that Acts also is designed to be an orderly account.It seems to me that there is only one way to ‘save’ the majority variant here: place a comma between υπεστρεψαν and εις , thereby making “to Jerusalem” modify “the ministry”. But such a construction is unnatural to the point of being unacceptable—had that been the author’s purpose we should expect την εις ιερουσαλημ διακονιαν or την διακονιαν εις ιερουσαλημ . The other sixteen times that Luke uses υποστρεψω εις we find the normal, expected meaning, “return to”. As a linguist (PhD) I would say that the norms of language require us to use the same meaning in Acts 12:25. Which to my mind leaves εις αντιοχειαν as the only viable candidate for the Original reading in this place.Implications: the whole contour of the evidence is troubling. It is evident that all the variants were created deliberately; the copyists were reacting to the meaning of the whole phrase within the context (in this situation it will not do to consider the name of each city in isolation; the accompanying preposition must also be taken into account). Variants 1) through 5) are all votes against 6), but we must choose one of them to stand against 6)—the clear choice is 1). “To Jerusalem” has ‘Number’, ‘Antiquity’ and ‘Continuity’.” To Antioch” has ‘Antiquity’, ‘Variety’, ‘Continuity’ and ‘Reasonableness’. As Burgon would say, this is one of those places where ‘Reasonableness’ just cannot be ignored.It will have been observed that not only have I espoused a minority reading with reference to the total attestation, I follow a minority within <b>f35</b> as well. The difficulty is precisely the seven-way split within the family. In the Epistles and Revelation there are a number of places (and a few here in Acts) where <b>f35</b> divides more or less evenly between two readings, but this is the only case I have seen where it splinters. We have already noted that variants 1) – 5) are all votes against 6); this continues to be the case as we narrow our focus to <b>f35</b>. Of the 87 member MSS, 8 are vacant here, so the following percentages are based on the remaining 79. For 6) we have 36.7% [15 of its 29 MSS are at M. Lavras, so the geographic distribution is limited], while against it we have 62% [variant 7) is a conflation of 1) and 6), so I do not count its 1.3%]. As I have already argued above, we must chose one candidate from the ‘opposition’ to go against 6), and the clear choice is 1). Its 27.8% is second only to the 36.7% of 6), and with the conflations [not counting 7)] 51.9% have ‘to Antioch’—I have no doubt that εις αντιοχειαν is the archetypical reading of the family.</n> having fulfilled their mission, also taking with them John, the one called Mark.


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<i> Missionary journey I—Barnabas and Saul→Paul</i> Now in the congregation that was in Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon (the one called Niger), Lucius the Cyrenian, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch), and Saul.


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As they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart to me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them!”


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<i> 1st stop—Cyprus</i> So, having been sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia; and from there they sailed to Cyprus. <n>Recall that Barnabas was a native of Cyprus (4:36); he was doubtless eager to evangelize his own country, and would also know his way around.</n> 


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And upon arriving in Salamis, they started proclaiming the Word of God in the synagogues of the Jews (also they had John as assistant).


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Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew named Bar-Jesus,


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who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul, really wanting to hear the word of God.


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But the sorcerer Elymas (for so his name is translated) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.


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said: “O full of all deceit and all trickery, son of a devil, enemy of all righteousness! <n>To be an ‘enemy of all righteousness’ one would have to be pretty bad! If ‘son of a devil’ is literal, Elymas was a humanoid, and would indeed be completely evil.</n> Will you not stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord?


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Well <i>now</i> , the Lord’s hand is against you and you will be blind, not seeing the sun until <i>next</i> season!” Immediately mist and darkness engulfed him, and he started going around looking for someone to lead him by the hand.


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Then the proconsul believed, when he saw <n>Demonstrated supernatural power has a way of lending credence to the spoken word.</n> what had happened, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.


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<i> On to Pisidian Antioch</i> Then Paul and his party set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphilia (here John left them and returned to Jerusalem). <n>When the party arrived in Cyprus, Barnabas was the leader; when it left, Paul had taken over. Barnabas was John’s uncle, and quite possibly John didn’t like the change.</n> 


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Going on from Perga they arrived in Antioch of Pisidia; and entering the synagogue on the Sabbath day, they sat down.


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After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue leaders sent to them, saying, “Men, brothers, if you have a word of encouragement <n>Or ‘exhortation’.</n> for the people, do speak”.


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<i> Paul expounds the Gospel</i> So standing up and motioning with his hand, Paul said: “Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen.


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The God of this people chose our fathers, and prospered the people during their sojourn in the land of Egypt, and brought them out of it with an uplifted arm.


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And when He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He gave them possession of their land.


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After these things <n>Some 5.5% of the Greek manuscripts change the word order, making the 450 years go with the content of verse 19, to be followed by NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.</n> (it was about four hundred and fifty years), He gave judges until Samuel the prophet. <n>Along with his other functions, Samuel was a prophet.</n> 


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And then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul, a son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. <n>Saul reigned for forty years—a considerable period of time.</n> 


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And removing him He raised up for them David as king, about whom He gave witness and said: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will’.


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God, from this man’s seed, according to promise, has brought <n>Instead of ‘brought’, some 25% of the Greek manuscripts have ‘raised up’, as in AV and NKJV.</n> Salvation <n>Instead of ‘Salvation’, some 15% of the Greek manuscripts have ‘a Savior, Jesus’, as in most versions.</n> to Israel,


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John having heralded beforehand, in advance of His coming, a baptism of repentance to Israel. <n>Instead of ‘to Israel’, some 20% of the Greek manuscripts read ‘to all the people of Israel’, as in most versions.</n> 


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Well as John was fulfilling his course, he said: ‘Whom do you suppose me to be? No I’m not—but indeed He comes after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie’. <n>At first people speculated that John the baptizer might be the Messiah, but John was quick to deny it.</n> 


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“Men, brothers, sons of the stock of Abraham, and those among you who fear God: to <i>you</i> <n>Instead of ‘to you’, perhaps 4% of the Greek manuscripts have ‘to us’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> the word of this salvation has been sent.


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The Jerusalem dwellers and their rulers, understanding neither Him nor the voices of the prophets that are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning Him.


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When they had fulfilled all things that were written about Him, they took Him down from the cross <n>Literally ‘tree’. Note that Paul emphasizes the fulfillment of prophecy.</n> and placed Him in a tomb.


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and for many days He was seen by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are <n>Paul says ‘are’—evidently many/most of the original Apostles were still alive.</n> His witnesses to the people.


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God has fulfilled the same to us, their children, when He raised up Jesus; <n>The resurrection of Jesus is crucial; without it we have no Gospel.</n> as also it stands written in the second Psalm: ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you’. <n>See Psalm 2:7.</n> 


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And that He raised Him from the dead, no longer to return to corruption, <n>People like Lazarus who were returned to life, had to die again (and decompose); with Jesus it was different: His resurrection was definitive.</n> He has spoken thus, ‘I will give you the holy things guaranteed to David’. <n>See Isaiah 55:3.</n> 


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Further, it is stated elsewhere, ‘You will not allow your Holy One to see decay’. <n>See Psalm 16:10.</n> 


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Now David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw decay;


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but the One whom God raised up did not see decay. <n>Only supernatural intervention could forestall decay after physical death.</n> 


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Therefore, let it be known to you, men, brothers, that through this One forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you;


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and by Him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the Law of Moses. <n>The Law as a means of justification was sadly deficient; the resurrected Jesus is marvelously efficient.</n> 


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‘Look you despisers, marvel and perish! For I am working a work in your days to which you will <i>not</i> give credence, even if someone were to explain it in detail to you’.” <n>See Habakkuk 1:5.</n> 


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<i> the reaction</i> Now as the Jews were going out of the synagogue, the Gentiles implored repeatedly <n>We have here an important set of variant readings, wherein the evidence is rather badly divided. I have decided to give the Greek, for those who can handle it, but will here give a literal rendering of the four variants, for those who can’t. However, the discussion includes ‘the Gentiles’, as being part of the puzzle:1) now as the Jews were going out of the synagogue; 2) now as they were going out; 3) now as they were going out of the synagogue of the Jews; 4) now as they were going out of the synagogue.1) εξιοντων δε εκ της συναγωγης των ιουδαιων <b>f35</b> (60.2%) HF,RP,TR2) εξιοντων δε αυτων א A,B,C,D (16.2%) lat,syr,cop,NU3) εξιοντων δε αυτων εκ της συναγωγης των ιουδαιων (20.8%) OC,CP4) εξιοντων δε αυτων εκ της συναγωγης (2.3%)(two other readings) (0.4%)I believe this variant set must be considered along with the presence of τα εθνη after παρεκαλουν , but TuT does not include the second set. However, from UBS3 it appears that virtually the same roster of witnesses, including the three ancient versions (!), read variant 2) and omit “the Gentiles”. Where then is the Subject of the main verb παρεκαλουν ? Presumably for those witnesses it would be the Jews and proselytes who had just heard Paul and wanted to hear it all over again the next Sabbath. So why are they (Jews and proselytes) mentioned overtly again in verse 43? And on what basis would the whole city show up the next week (v. 44)? But to go back to verse 42, why would the first hearers want to hear the same thing (τα ρηματα ταυτα ) again anyway? The really interested ones stuck with Paul and Barnabas to learn more (v. 43), just as we would expect.The witnesses to variants 1) and 3) join in support of “the Gentiles”, giving us a strong majority (over 80%). So the Subject of παρεκαλουν is τα εθνη —<b>they</b> want a chance to hear the Gospel too, and the whole city turns out. It fits the context perfectly. So, variant 3) appears to be a conflation and the basic reading is variant 1). The witnesses to variant 3), because they have “the Gentiles”, are really on the side of variant 1), not 2), so presumably 1) may be viewed as having 80% attestation. For the witnesses to variant 1) the antecedent or referent of εξιοντων must be Paul’s group, since the Gentiles would presumably address their request to the teacher.In variant 2) αυτων presumably serves as Subject of both the participle and the main verb, but in that event the main verb should take precedence and the pronoun should be nominative, not genitive. However one might explain the motivation for such achange—from 1) to 2) and deleting “the Gentiles”—variant 2) is evidently wrong, even though attested by the three ancient versions. Perhaps someone faced with variant 1) took “of the Jews” to be the referent of the participle instead of modifying “synagogue” (like NKJV), and thought it should be Subject of the main verb as well—then, of course, “the Gentiles” were in the way and were deleted. Then 1) might have been shortened to 2) for ‘clarity’.I take it that the original text had: εξιοντων δε εκ της συναγωγης των ιουδαιων παρεκαλουν τα εθνη etc.</n> that these words might be spoken to them the next Sabbath.


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When the synagogue service was dismissed, many of the Jews and the devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who started addressing them urging them to continue in the grace of God.


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Well the next Sabbath almost the whole city was gathered to hear the word of God. <n>Instead of ‘God’ perhaps 4% of the Greek manuscripts have ‘the Lord’ (as in NIV, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> 


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But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with envy <n>Isn’t human nature wonderful?</n> and started speaking against the things said by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.


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But Paul and Barnabas speaking boldly said: “It was necessary that God’s word should be spoken to you first. But since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, <n>This sounds a little bit like sarcasm to me.</n> <i>now</i> we are being turned to the Gentiles.


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Because that is just how the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have set you to be a light for ethnic nations, that you should be for salvation up to the last place on earth’.” <n>See Isaiah 49:6. The prophecy refers to the Messiah, but Paul and Barnabas are representing Him.</n> 


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Now upon hearing this, the Gentiles rejoiced and glorified the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal live believed. <n>Here God’s sovereignty and human responsibility are placed side by side—God appoints, but we have to believe.</n> 


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But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, and raised up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their borders.


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So they shook off the dust from their feet against them, <n>They were following an instruction given by the Lord Himself (Matthew 10:14-15, Luke 9:5), and that He illustrated by example (Matthew 11:23-24), although He spoke the curse.</n> and went to Iconium.


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<i> Iconium</i> Now it happened in Iconium that they went together into the synagogue of the Jews, and they spoke to such effect that a large number of both Jews and Greeks believed.


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Even so they stayed there a considerable time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of His grace, giving signs and wonders to take place by their hands.


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But when a plot was hatched by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat and stone them,


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they became aware of it and escaped to the cities of Lycaonia—Lystra, Derbe and the surrounding area—


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<i> Lystra</i> Well in Lystra a certain man with helpless feet was sitting (lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked).


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This man was listening to Paul speaking; who looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be healed,


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said with a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet!” And the man jumped up and began to walk! <n>As in chapter 3, the miracle included his head, not just his limbs, since he had never learned to walk.</n> 


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Now when the crowd saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!”


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Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of their city, brought bulls and garlands to the gates, intending to make a sacrifice, along with the crowd. <n>Within their belief system this was the appropriate thing to do.</n> 


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But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they tore their clothes and rushed into the crowd, crying out


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and saying: “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, giving you good news, telling you to turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them;


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Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, doing good, giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” <n>Now there you have an extemporaneous speech! It was a totally unexpected situation, and they had no prepared sermon. They emphasize the Creator God.</n> 


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<i> Paul stoned</i> Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came, and having persuaded the crowd and having stoned Paul, <n>Crowds can be fickle, and the apostles had called their religion “useless”. Several days had elapsed, presumably, which gave them time to mull things over. There was probably some demonic involvement as well.</n> they dragged him out of the city, <n>He was probably dragged by the feet, like an animal.</n> supposing him to have died.


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But as the disciples stood around him, <n>I suppose that the attack was sudden and unexpected (planned that way), so the disciples didn’t have time to try to defend him. Paul certainly looked dead, but as the disciples were standing there trying to assimilate what had happened, he got up! His recovery was such that he could set out the next day on foot.</n> he got up and entered the city. The next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.


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<i> The return to Antioch</i> When they had evangelized that city and discipled a good number, they returned to Lystra <n>One might suppose that they would avoid Lystra, but no. Perhaps upon reflection the locals were ashamed of what they had done; besides, what do you do to a man you have already killed?!</n> and Iconium and Antioch,


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strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God”. <n>Is that what they preach in your church? Does that sound like ‘easy street’?</n> 


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When they had appointed elders for them in every congregation, <n>The congregations needed some sort of leadership.</n> having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord into whom they had believed. <n>People need to learn to walk with God on their own.</n> 


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From there they sailed to Antioch, from where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had completed.


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So upon arriving and gathering the congregation, they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.


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<i> The Jerusalem Council The conflict</i> Then some men came down from Judea and started teaching the brothers: “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved”.


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Well this provoked serious dissension and argument between Paul and Barnabas and them, so Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with certain others of them, to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question.


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So being sent on their way by the congregation, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brothers.


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Upon arriving in Jerusalem, they were received by the congregation and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them.


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But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the Law of Moses”. <n>In essence they were demanding that the Gentiles become Jewish proselytes, as a prior condition. These Pharisees did not understand salvation by faith.</n> 


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When there had been plenty of discussion, Peter got up and said to them: “Men, brothers, you know that a good while ago God made a choice among you, <n>I follow the best line of transmission in reading ‘you’; some 60% of the Greek manuscripts have ‘us’, as in AV and NKJV.</n> that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the message of the Gospel and believe.


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Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?


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Rather, we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, <n>Some 5% of the Greek manuscripts add ‘Christ’, as in AV and NKJV.</n> in the same manner as they.” <n>Peter states the crucial point: salvation comes through grace and faith, not by keeping the Law. Legalism is out.</n> 


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Then the whole assembly kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul reporting what signs and wonders God had done among the ethnic nations through them.


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‘After these things I will return, and I will rebuild David’s tent, the fallen one; yes, I will rebuild its ruins and restore it;


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so that the remnant of mankind may seek the LORD , even all the Gentiles—the ones, that is, upon whom my name has been called—says the LORD who does all these things.’ <n>See Amos 9:11-12.</n> 


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All His works are known to God from eternity. <n>God hadn’t changed; it was always His purpose to include the Gentiles. Perhaps 5% of the Greek manuscripts omit ‘all His works . . . to God from eternity’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> 


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Therefore I judge that we should not create difficulty for those who are turning to God from among the ethnic nations, <n>This way of stating it leaves an opening for making a distinction between Gentile and Jewish believers. By chapter 21 this had become a serious problem.</n> 


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but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from fornication, from what is strangled, and from blood.


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For from ancient generations Moses has in every city those who preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”


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<i> The edict</i> Then it pleased the apostles and the elders, with the whole congregation, to send chosen men from among them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas: Judas (the one called Barsabas) and Silas, leading men among the brothers.


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They wrote by their hand the following: “The apostles and the elders and the brothers, to the Gentile brothers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings.


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 Since we have heard that some who went out from among us have disturbed you with words, unsettling your souls, saying that you must be circumcised and keep the law <n>Perhaps 4% of the Greek manuscripts omit ‘saying that you must be circumcised and keep the law’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> —to whom we gave no such authorization—


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 it seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,


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 So we have sent Judas and Silas, who will also confirm these things by word of mouth. <n>The Law required at least two witnesses.</n> 


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 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, <n>James affirms divine approval for the decision.</n> to place no greater burden upon you than these necessary things:


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 to abstain from things offered to idols, from ‘blood’, from anything strangled and from fornication; <n>In the Greek Text each item in the list is a single word; such brevity could give rise to ambiguity. However, items 1 and 4 seem clear enough. Item 3 presumably harks back to Genesis 9:4, where ingesting blood is forbidden. So item 2, ‘blood’, must mean something else. In the Bible ‘blood’ is repeatedly used to refer to violent death and the responsibility for it. This harks back to Genesis 9:5-6. The prohibition against fornication is implied in Genesis 2:24. That God did not accept Cain’s offering (Genesis 4:3-5) implies that He had given instruction on the subject, which would presumably include idolatry. So the four items in the list are all far older than the Law of Moses and are independent of it.</n> it will be in your own best interest to keep away from these things. Farewell.”


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<i> Good results</i> So when they were sent off they came to Antioch, and gathering the crowd they delivered the letter.


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Both Judas and Silas, also being prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words.


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- - - <n>Verse 34, as in the AV, is to be found in about 30% of the Greek manuscripts, but contradicts verse 33, that seems to require that Silas returned to Jerusalem; “they were sent back . . . to the apostles”, and “they” refers to Judas and Silas. The ‘problem’ is that in verse 40 Paul chooses Silas to accompany him, so he had to be in Antioch, not Jerusalem. Accordingly the longer reading was created to solve the ‘problem’. The “some days” of verse 36 could well have been a month or two. From Antioch to Jerusalem would be a trip of some 400 miles. Silas had time to go to Jerusalem and get back to Antioch.</n> 


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But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.


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<i> Missionary journey II—Paul and Silas Paul and Barnabas separate</i> Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return now and visit our brothers in each city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, to see how they are doing”.


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But Paul insisted on not taking someone who had deserted them in Pamphilia and not gone with them to the work.


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Well the contention became so sharp that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus; <n>This is the last we hear of Barnabas, but not of Mark. Barnabas was an encourager. He had seen the potential in Saul of Tarsus and helped him along on at least two occasions. Now he sees the potential in Mark and invests in him, to such good effect that Paul himself later recognizes Mark’s value (2 Timothy 4:11). Peter had taken Mark under his wing and helped him write the second Gospel.</n> 


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while Paul chose Silas and set out, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of God. <n>Perhaps 3% of the Greek manuscripts have ‘Lord’ instead of ‘God’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> 


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<i> Paul finds Timothy</i> So he came to Derbe and Lystra. Well now, a certain disciple was there named Timothy, son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was a Greek;


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Paul wanted to have him go on with him, so he took and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, because they all knew that his father was a Greek. <n>Paul had been stoned at Lystra, at the instigation of the Jews, so why is he concerned to please them? And after he joined Paul how much time was Timothy going to spend in his home town? A curious proceeding.</n> 


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As they were going through the cities they were delivering the dogmas to them, to keep—the ones that had been determined by the apostles and the elders in Jerusalem. <n>One of the dogmas was that circumcision was not necessary, so was Paul hedging?</n> 


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So the congregations kept on being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily. <n>Evidently they were enthusiastically sharing the Good News.</n> 


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<i> The ‘Macedonian call’</i> Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia,


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they approached Mysia and tried to go to Bythinia, but the Spirit <n>Perhaps 6% of the Greek manuscripts add ‘of Jesus’ (as in NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> did not permit them.


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So they bypassed Mysia and went down to Troas. <n>Paul and Silas were sufficiently in tune with the Holy Spirit that He could lead them. The areas mentioned were basically unevangelized, so their attempt was a ‘natural’, but those areas would be reached later as the News radiated out from Ephesus to all Asia. God wanted to get the Church started in Europe, and in particular the area where Greek was the mother tongue.</n> 


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A vision appeared to Paul during the night: a man of Macedonia was standing, appealing to him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us”.


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So when he saw the vision, we <n>At this point Luke joined the party.</n> immediately prepared to go over to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord <n>Perhaps 5% of the Greek manuscripts have ‘God’ instead of ‘Lord’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> had called us to evangelize them.


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<i> Philippi</i> So setting sail from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and the next day to Neapolis;


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and from there to Philippi, which is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. <n>A Roman colony—this conferred status and some privileges.</n> We stayed some days in that city.


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On the Sabbath day we went outside the city by a river, where prayer was customarily made, <n>Instead of “where prayer was customarily made”, perhaps 2% if the Greek manuscripts, of inferior quality, have ‘where we supposed a place of prayer to be’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> and sitting down we started speaking to the assembled women. <n>Evidently there was no synagogue in Philippi. Prayer meetings usually have more women than men.</n> 


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A certain woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who worshipped God, really listened, whose heart the Lord opened to give heed to the things spoken by Paul.


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When she and her household were baptized, she appealed saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay”. So she persuaded us.


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<i> prison</i> Now it happened, as we were going to prayer, that a certain slave girl having a spirit of divination met us, who brought considerable profit to her owners by divination.


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Following Paul and Silas <n>I follow the best line of transmission in reading ‘Silas’; some 60% of the Greek manuscripts have ‘us’, as in most versions. Luke, who was there, is focusing the account on the two who were put in prison.</n> this girl kept calling out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to us the way of salvation!” <n>I find it to be curious that what the demon said was precisely true!</n> 


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She kept this up for many days! <n>The ‘hour of prayer’ was observed every day by God-fearing Jews. So the apostles would pass at a predictable time each day.</n> So Paul, becoming increasingly annoyed, <n>But Paul, she was giving you free advertising! Evidently he didn’t want advertising from the enemy, and in this he followed the Lord’s example (Mark 3:11-12).</n> turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out that very hour.


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But when her owners saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market place to the rulers, <n>This was a put up job. It would take a day or two to make clear that the girl was now useless. The magistrates had probably been getting a ‘cut’. Some rabble had been mobilized to join in—the whole proceeding had been organized in advance. They figured they could beat up on two Jews with impunity.</n> 


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The crowd joined in the attack against them, and the magistrates tore the clothes off of them and ordered a beating with rods.


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When they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them securely;


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who, having received such a charge, threw them into the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. <n>Their backs are bleeding from ‘many stripes’ and their feet are in stocks (you try to sit up so as not to lie on your wounded back; all of which gets pretty ‘old’ pretty fast)—a great time for a praise meeting!</n> 


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<i> the jailer converts</i> Well about midnight Paul and Silas were singing hymns to God in prayer; and the <i>other</i> prisoners were listening to them.


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Suddenly there was a great earthquake, enough to shake the foundations of the prison; immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. <n>A proper earthquake could shake the doors open, but not unlock chains (unless it was their anchors that came loose from the walls).</n> 


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But the jailer, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, drew sword, intending to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. <n>Better a quick death than the humiliation that would follow (culminating in a slow death).</n> 


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But Paul shouted out, “Don’t harm yourself, because we are all here!” <n>For the prisoners to be free and not run was really supernatural! The jailor understands that he is in the presence of a higher power.</n> 


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He then brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” <n>Philippi wasn’t all that large, and the members of his household would be information gatherers. He was doubtless aware of the slave girl’s ‘advertising’, etc.</n> 


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So they said, “Believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ <n>Perhaps 3% of the Greek manuscripts, of inferior quality, omit ‘Christ’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> and you will be saved, you and your household”.


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In that same hour of the night he took them aside and washed their wounds, and thereupon he and all his family were baptized. <n>Very appropriate—he washed their wounds and restored their dignity, so they could baptize him. Note again that baptism followed immediately.</n> 


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Then he brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he was really rejoicing, having believed in God with his whole family.


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<i> magistrates rebuked</i> Now when it was day the magistrates sent the officers saying, “Let those men go”.


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So the jailer reported these words to Paul: “The magistrates have sent to release you; so now you can leave and go in peace.”


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But Paul said to them: <n>The officers were still there. Paul decided to give the magistrates a much-needed lesson, but then acquiesced in leaving the city without further fuss.</n> “After severely beating us in public, although we were uncondemned Romans, they threw us into prison, and now do they toss us out on the sly? No way! Rather, let them come themselves and escort us out!”


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So the officers reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans;


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So exiting the prison they entered Lydia’s place, and upon seeing the brothers they encouraged them and departed.


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<i> Thessalonica</i> Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.


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So Paul, as was his custom, went in to them and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,


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explaining and demonstrating that the Messiah had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and that “this Jesus whom I proclaim to you is the Messiah”.


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Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of devout Greeks and not a few of the prominent women.


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But the disobedient Jews <n>They were fundamentally disobedient to God, and so fell in with Satan’s agenda. (Some 20% of the Greek manuscripts add ‘becoming envious’, but they do so in a variety of ways—the confusion is reflected in the versions.)</n> rounded up some wicked men from the marketplace, and forming a mob they created an uproar in the city; and attacking the house of Jason, they wanted to bring them out to the crowd.


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But not finding them they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials vociferating: “These who have upset the whole world <n>Of course this was not intended as a compliment, but I personally wouldn’t mind having this epithet/epitaph on my tombstone.</n> have come here too,


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to whom Jason has given lodging. These all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king—Jesus.”


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<i> Berea</i> Immediately, during the night, the brothers sent both Paul and Silas away to Berea; on arriving they went into the synagogue of the Jews.


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Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all good-will, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things might be so. <n>So I wonder why Paul wrote to the Thessalonians and not the Bereans.</n> 


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But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was also being proclaimed by Paul in Berea, they came too, agitating the crowds.


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So then, without delay, the brothers sent Paul away, as if to go by sea, while both Silas and Timothy remained there.


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But those who were conducting Paul actually took him all the way to Athens; <n>They started toward the sea, to mislead any pursuers, but actually went overland to Athens; his escort stayed with him all the way.</n> and receiving a command to Silas and Timothy that they should come to him as quickly as possible, they started back.


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<i> Athens</i> Now while Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was increasingly aroused within him as he observed that the city was full of idols.


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So he reasoned both in the synagogue with the Jews and devout persons, and in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.


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Then certain philosophers, both Epicureans and Stoics, encountered him. Some said, “What might this idea-scavenger <n>They were not trying to be nice.</n> want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign deities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.


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So taking him in tow they led him to the Areopagus and said: “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?


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Because you are bringing some strange things to our ears, and we would like to know what they might mean.” <n>Here they are reasonably polite.</n> 


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(Now all Athenians and resident foreigners spent their time in nothing else but to tell, or else to hear, some novelty.)


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<i> Paul’s Areopagus address</i> So standing in the middle of the Areopagus Paul said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious;


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because as I went along and scrutinized the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO UNKNOWN GOD . Now then, the one you worship as ‘unknown’, this is the One I proclaim to you:


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The God who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples built by hands,


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neither is He cared for by men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself has always given life and breath to all. <n>I would say that Paul illustrates the best strategy to use with an audience that has no biblical background—start with the Sovereign Creator.</n> 


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And from one blood <n>Modern medicine has discovered this to be true; blood transfusions across racial boundaries are perfectly possible. Some 4.5% of the Greek manuscripts omit ‘blood’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> He made every ethnic nation of men to dwell on all the surface of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, <n>God is involved in human history.</n> 


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so that they should seek the Lord, <n>Instead of ‘the Lord’, some 45% of the Greek manuscripts read ‘God’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;


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because in Him we live and move and have our being. <n>Here is a fundamental truth, whether people recognize it or not. All God has to do is deprive you of oxygen for a few minutes and you die.</n> As also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring’.


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Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divinity is like gold or silver or stone—something shaped by human skill and imagination. <n>If we are God’s offspring He must have all the capabilities we have, only bigger and better; and we are not metal or stone.</n> 


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Such times of ignorance God did indeed overlook, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent,


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because He has appointed a day in which He will judge the inhabited world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained; He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”


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Well when they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some started scoffing, <n>Satan hates the resurrection, and people controlled by him almost always react adversely to it (as Festus will do in chapter 26).</n> while others said, “We will hear you again about this”. <n>Evidently they never got another chance. People who try to impose their agenda on God usually don’t do very well.</n> 


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And with that Paul went out from among them. <n>Corinth became the hub of the Church for Greece, not Athens (see 18:11 below).</n> 


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However some men believed and joined him, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, also a woman named Damaris, and others with them.


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<i> Consolidation of the Gentile Church Corinth</i> Now after these things Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.


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And encountering a certain Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to depart from Rome), he joined them;


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and because he practiced the same trade, he stayed on with them and worked (their trade was tentmaker). <n>Paul supported himself.</n> 


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But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was constrained by the Spirit, <n>Instead of ‘Spirit’, some 6% of the Greek manuscripts read ‘word’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.)</n> solemnly insisting to the Jews: Jesus is the Christ. <n>Paul could now turn physical details over to Silas and Timothy (who evidently did not get to Athens before Paul left there) and concentrate on the spiritual. The Holy Spirit has him really bear down on the Jews, obliging them to make a choice. Paul then turned his full attention to the Gentile population.</n> 


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But since they kept contradicting and blaspheming, he shook his clothes <n>The idea was presumably to get rid of any dust; this was far less serious than shaking the dust off the feet, but he was clearly severing ‘diplomatic relations’ with them.</n> and said to them: “Your blood be upon your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”


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<i> The house of Justus becomes the base</i> So he moved from there into the house of a man named Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next door to the synagogue.


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Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household; and as they were hearing, many of the Corinthians were believing and being baptized.


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Now the Lord said to Paul by a vision at night: “Do not be afraid; rather speak and do not keep silent,


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because I am with you and no one will attack you to harm you, <n>He had been stoned and left for dead in Lystra, and been severely beaten in Philippi, so this was doubtless an encouraging word.</n> because I have many people in this city.”


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So he stayed on for a year and six months, teaching the Word of God among them. <n>They got a reasonably good theological education (which, however, did not exempt them from problems).</n> 


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<i> Gallio</i> Now while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him to the judgment seat,


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But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews: “If there really was some misdeed or wicked crime, O Jews, there would be reason for me to bear with you;


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but since it is an issue over a word and names and your own law, see to it yourselves; because I refuse to be a judge of such matters.”


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Then all the Greeks <n>Less than 2% of the Greek manuscripts, of inferior quality, omit ‘the Greeks’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> took Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, <n>Since Crispus had ‘defected’ to Christianity, he was replaced as ruler of the synagogue by Sosthenes.</n> and beat him in front of the judgment seat. But none of this was a delay to Gallio. <n>Instead of ‘delay’, some 15% of the Greek manuscripts read ‘concern’, as in most versions.</n> 


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<i> To Ephesus and Antioch</i> Paul still remained there a good while, then took leave of the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila (he had shaved his head in Cenchrea, because he had a vow).


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He came to Ephesus and left them there (after having entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews).


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rather he took leave of them saying, “I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; <n>Perhaps 3% of the Greek manuscripts, of inferior quality, omit ‘I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> but I will return again to you, God willing”. <n>In fact, God did will it.</n> Then he set sail from Ephesus.


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When he had landed at Caesarea, and gone up and greeted the church [in Jerusalem], <n>Because Jerusalem was at a higher elevation than most of the rest of the country, travel to and from there is almost always described as ‘up to’ and ‘down from’.</n> he returned to Antioch.


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After spending some time there, he departed and went through the region of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.


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<i> Apollos</i> Now a certain Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, an eloquent man, mighty in the Scriptures, arrived in Ephesus.


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This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in the Spirit he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, <n>I follow the best line of transmission in reading ‘Jesus’; some 65% of the Greek manuscripts read ‘the Lord’, as in AV and NKJV.</n> although he knew only the baptism of John.


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So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.


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When he decided to go across into Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to receive him; upon arriving he was a great help to those who had believed through the grace;


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because he kept refuting the Jews vigorously, publicly, demonstrating Jesus to be the Christ, from the Scriptures. <n>Since he explained the Scriptures the same way that Paul did, it was no longer just one man’s interpretation.</n> 


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<i> Back to Ephesus</i> Now it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper country, came to Ephesus.<i> Disciples of John</i> And finding certain disciples


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 he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “But we have not so much as heard that there <i>is</i> a Holy Spirit!”


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 So he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s baptism”. <n>Perhaps they were the result of some of Apollos’ early ministry.</n> 


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 So Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe into the One who would come after him, that is, into Jesus, the Christ”. <n>Perhaps 4% of the Greek manuscripts omit ‘the Christ’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> 


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 And as Paul laid his hands on them the Holy Spirit came upon them, <n>This was an important confirmation that Paul’s clarification was correct.</n> and they started speaking languages and prophesying.


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<i> The school of Tyrannus becomes the base</i> During three months Paul kept going to the synagogue and speaking boldly, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the Kingdom of God.


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But when some became hardened and disobedient, maligning the Way before the crowd, he withdrew from them and separated the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of a certain Tyrannus. <n>Paul had already done this sort of thing in Corinth; it was a good strategy.</n> 


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Now this continued for two years, so that all who lived in Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord Jesus. <n>Perhaps 13% of the Greek manuscripts omit ‘Jesus’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> 


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so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that he touched were applied to the sick, and the diseases left them and the wicked spirits went out from them.


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<i> Some fake exorcists</i> Well some among the itinerant Jewish exorcists attempted to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had wicked spirits saying, “We adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches”.


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But a particular wicked spirit reacted and said, “Jesus I know, and I am acquainted with Paul, but who are you?”


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And the man in whom the wicked spirit was jumped on them and overpowered them; he was so much stronger that they ran out of that house naked and wounded.


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Now this became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was being exalted.


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In fact, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them up, in front of everybody <n>When people start doing this, you know their faith is real.</n> (they had calculated their value and it totaled fifty thousand <i>pieces</i> of silver).


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Now after these things were accomplished, Paul resolved in his spirit to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome”. <n>His apostolic spirit wanted not only Rome, but Spain (Romans 15:28).</n> 


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So he sent two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, on to Macedonia, while he himself stayed on in Asia for a time.


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<i> Demetrius</i> Now it was during that time that a serious disturbance concerning the Way occurred.


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A certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, habitually brought in plenty of business for the artisans;


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he called them together, along with the workmen in related trades, and said: “Men, you know that our prosperity depends on this trade.


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And you observe and hear that not only in Ephesus but throughout almost all Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that hand-made things are not gods.


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So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, <n>The crucial point was the threat to their finances, not that to Diana’s reputation!</n> but also the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be discredited, and even her own majesty be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship.”


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Now upon hearing this they were filled with anger and began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”


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So the whole city was filled with confusion, and they rushed into the theater with one accord (they had seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul’s traveling companions).


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Even some of the officials of Asia, being his friends, sent word to him and urged him not to venture into the theater. <n>After two years of fruitful ministry, some of the city officials would have converted, or at least appreciate the healing and deliverance he had brought.</n> 


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The assembly was in confusion: some were shouting one thing and some another; most of them did not know why they had come together.


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Then the Jews pushed Alexander forward, <n>I wonder whether these Jews were friends or foes, and what they hoped to achieve.</n> out from the crowd. So Alexander motioned with his hand and would have made a defense to the people.


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But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours, <n>How could their voices last for two hours? And what animated them to keep on going for so long? I suspect there was a little demonic participation.</n> “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”


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When the city clerk had quieted the crowd, he said: “Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess Artemis and of what fell from Zeus? <n>They had an image that reputedly had fallen intact from the sky.</n> 


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Now if Demetrius and his fellow artisans have a complaint against anyone, courts are available, and there are proconsuls; let them bring charges against one another.


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Indeed, we are in danger of being charged with a riot, because of today, there being no reason at all that we can give to account for this commotion.”


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<i> Paul makes his own plans Greece</i> Now after the uproar had ended, Paul summoned the disciples, took leave of them, and set out for Macedonia.


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When he had stayed three months, as he was about to set sail for Syria, the Jews made a plot against him, so he decided to return through Macedonia.


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Now Sopater of Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, Gaius of Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia were going to accompany him as far as Asia; <n>Just 1.1% of the Greek manuscripts, of inferior quality, omit ‘as far as Asia’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> 


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But it was after the Days of Unleavened Bread that we sailed from Philippi, and in five days we joined them at Troas, where we stayed seven days.


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<i> Troas</i> Now on the first day of the week, <n>Note that the disciples are meeting on Sunday.</n> the disciples being assembled to break bread, Paul started addressing them, and because he intended to leave the next day he continued his message until midnight.


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Well a certain young man named Eutychus sat in a window and was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul kept on talking; when he was overcome by the sleep he fell down from the third story and was picked up dead.


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So Paul went down, threw himself on him and embracing him said, “Don’t be distressed, because his life is in him!”


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(On their part, they led the boy away alive, and were greatly comforted.) <n>One gets the impression that Paul simply imposed his will on the local congregation (he has already taken the bit in his teeth and is doing things his own way). They let him do it, but were probably relieved when he left. Apparently they walked Eutychus back to his home.</n> 


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As for us, we went to the ship and set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul on board there—so it had been arranged, he himself intending to go on foot. <n>His baggage went on the boat, so he walked without a load—good exercise.</n> 


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Sailing from there, the next day we arrived opposite Chios, and the day after we crossed over to Samos and stopped in Trogylium; <n>Samos is an island, so Trogylium was presumably a settlement on that island (though we are no longer sure just where it was). Some 6% of the Greek manuscripts omit ‘and stopped in Trogylium’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> the following day we came to Miletus.


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(Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, to avoid being detained in Asia, because he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost, if he possibly could.)


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<i> Miletus</i> From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and summoned the elders of the congregation. <n>The distance was some 30 miles, as the crow flies, and the elders had not received advance warning, so at least two days would have elapsed before they arrived (even if the messenger ran, the elders would not).</n> 


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So when they had come to him he said to them: “You yourselves know, from the first day that I arrived in Asia, how I lived the whole time I was with you,


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serving the Lord with all humility, and with many tears and trials, the ones that happened to me by the plots of the Jews;


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how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, teaching you publicly and from house to house,


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solemnly proclaiming to both Jews and Greeks the repentance toward God and the faith into our Lord Jesus. <n>Some 25% of the Greek manuscripts add ‘Christ’, as in AV and NKJV.</n> 


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Now then, I am going to Jerusalem bound in my spirit, <n>This was his own spirit, not the Holy Spirit. I have a hard time trying to understand what happened to Paul. The Holy Spirit kept telling him not to go to Jerusalem, but he is bound and determined to go anyway, only to spend years of his life in chains. Why did he do it?</n> not knowing the things that will happen to me there,


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except that the Holy Spirit keeps warning me in every city, saying that fetters and afflictions are just waiting for me.


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However none of this moves me, nor do I regard my life as valuable to myself, <n>Paul’s statement is a <i>non sequitur</i>. When the Holy Spirit gives repeated warnings, He is telling us to STOP!</n> just so that I may complete my course with joy, <n>How can you complete your course with joy if you are disobedient? He is not thinking clearly. Some 3% of the Greek manuscripts omit ‘with joy’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> even the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to solemnly proclaim the Good News of the grace of God.


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“Furthermore, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the Kingdom of God <n>Some 3% of the Greek manuscripts omit ‘of God’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, etc.).</n> will ever see my face again. <n>How did he know this?</n> 


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because I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. <n>The congregation in Ephesus had been very well grounded indeed, but even so they lost their ‘lampstand’ (Revelation 2:5).</n> 


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So take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has placed you as overseers, to shepherd the congregation of the Lord and God <n>The sheep belong to the Lord, not to the elders. Some 7% of the Greek manuscripts omit ‘the Lord and’, as in most versions.</n> which He purchased with His own blood.


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Because I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.


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Yes, men will rise up from among you yourselves, speaking distorted things, to draw away the disciples after them.


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Therefore be alert, remembering that during three years, night and day, I never stopped admonishing each one, with tears.


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“And so now, brothers, I entrust you to God and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all those who have been sanctified. <n>Yes. When we receive God’s Word as having objective authority over us, and interpret it honestly under the Holy Spirit’s direction (without preconceived doctrinal ‘packages’), we will indeed grow in understanding and sanctification.</n> 


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You yourselves know that these hands have supplied my own needs, and of those who were with me. <n>He did receive offerings from time to time, but material gain was never an objective.</n> 


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In every way I showed you that working hard like this it is necessary to help the weak, and to remember the word of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’.” <n>This precise statement is not recorded in the Gospels, but Paul got it from one of those who actually heard it. It is an important truth.</n> 


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sorrowing most of all because of the word that he had spoken, that they would see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.


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<i> Paul is warned—again</i> So after disengaging ourselves from them we were able to set sail, and running a straight course we came to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.


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When we had sighted Cyprus we passed it on the left, sailed on to Syria and landed at Tyre, because it was there that the ship was to unload the cargo.


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Upon finding disciples we stayed there seven days; these, through the Spirit, told Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. <n>After repeated warnings, God plainly tells Paul not to go! What sort of mental block might Paul have had that would cause him to disobey a plain command?</n> 


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But when our time was up, as we left to go on our way, they all, including women and children, <n>Luke makes a point of recording that even the children went along—interesting. Evidently those families actively involved their children in their practice of the Christian Faith.</n> accompanied us out of the city, and kneeling down on the beach, we prayed.


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Now upon arriving in Ptolemais, the voyage from Tyre ended; so greeting the brothers we stayed with them one day.


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Leaving the next day, we came to Caesarea; and entering the house of Philip the evangelist (being of ‘the Seven’), we stayed with him.


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<i> Agabus</i> Now as we stayed there a number of days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.


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Joining us he took Paul’s belt, bound his feet and hands, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit: ‘In this way, in Jerusalem, the Jews will bind the man who owns this belt, and will deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles’.”


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Well, when we heard these things, both we and the local residents, we pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem.


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But Paul answered: “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die <n>His being willing to suffer and die was totally beside the point—God told him not to go!</n> in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”


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When he would not be dissuaded, we stopped, saying, “Let the will of the Lord be done”. <n>What else could they do, short of tying Paul up?</n> 


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Some of the disciples from Caesarea also went with us, bringing us to a certain Mnason, of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we were to lodge.


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The next day Paul, with us, went to see James, and all the elders were present. <n>This was obviously a put up job. They were ready and waiting for him.</n> 


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After greeting them he reported one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.


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<i> Paul submits to a false agenda</i> But after listening they ‘glorified’ the Lord <n>Instead of ‘the Lord’, some 30% of the Greek manuscripts read ‘God’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> by saying to him: <n>They listened politely, but had a different agenda. What follows is an obvious ‘put down’. There probably were not ‘tens of thousands’ of believing Jews, and if they were genuine followers of Jesus Christ, they should not have been so bound to Jewish customs. Besides ‘putting Paul in his place’ they were imposing a false legalism on him, to which he should not have capitulated. But he was disobeying God anyway, just by being there.</n> “You see, brother, how many tens of thousands are the Jews who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law;


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but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to our customs. <n>I suspect that this was a false charge.</n> 


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What then? The assembly will certainly gather, <n>Perhaps 2% of the Greek manuscripts, of inferior quality, omit ‘the assembly will gather’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> since they will hear that you have come.


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Take them and purify yourself with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads, and that all may know that there is nothing to the things that they have been informed about you; rather that you yourself are in line, keeping the law.


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But concerning the Gentiles who believe we have written, having judged that they need observe no such thing, except <n>Some 2% of the Greek manuscripts, of inferior quality, omit ‘that they need observe no such thing except’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> that they should keep themselves from that offered to idols, from the blood, from anything strangled, and from fornication.” <n>What happened here was exceedingly serious: to James there were two classes of Christian, Jew and non-Jew. He still sees the Jew as superior to the Gentile, which is contrary to the doctrine of the Church as expounded in Paul’s letters, that we believe to be inspired. To James it was not enough for a Jew to believe into Jesus; he still had to obey the Law of Moses <b>and</b> the Jewish customs. This was evidently the prevailing view in Jerusalem and environs. Then came judgment: Jerusalem was destroyed and the Aegean area became the heartland of the Church. For centuries Judea was no more than a backwater on the fringes of the Christian river.</n> 


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<i> Paul arrested</i> Then Paul took the men and purified himself with them; the next day he entered the temple to give notice of the completion of the days of purification, when the offering would be made for each one of them.


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Now when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews from Asia, having seen him in the temple, mobilized a whole crowd and seized him,


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shouting: “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place. Not only that, he has even brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place!”


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(They had seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.)


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The whole city was aroused and a mob of people formed. So having seized Paul they dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut.


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As they were trying to kill him, <n>Why didn’t they succeed?</n> news came to the commander of the garrison that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.


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He immediately took soldiers and centurions and ran down among them, and when they saw the commander and the soldiers they stopped beating Paul.


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Then the commander came up and took hold of him, <n>I like this commander; he didn’t hide behind his men.</n> commanded that he be bound with two chains, and started inquiring who he was and what he had done.


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Well some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another; so when he could not ascertain the truth, because of the uproar, he commanded him to be taken into the barracks.


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When he reached the stairs, he had to be carried by the soldiers, because of the violence of the mob. <n>But since they had really been trying to kill him, he was doubtless wounded and weak.</n> 


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Because the crowd kept following and shouting, “Away with him!” <n>But really, why should they be so stirred up?</n> 


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As Paul was about to be led into the barracks, he said to the commander, “May I speak to you?” So he said: “Do you know Greek?


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Aren’t you the Egyptian who some time ago started a revolt and led the four thousand men of ‘the Assassins’ out into the wilderness?”


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But Paul said, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of a not insignificant city; but I beg you, allow me to speak to the people”.


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So when he had given him permission, Paul stood on the stairs and motioned to the people with his hand. When there was a great silence, he addressed them in the Hebrew language, saying:


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When they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they were even more quiet, and he said:


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“I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, just as you all are today.


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as also the high priest and all the council of elders can bear me witness. I even obtained letters from them to the brothers in Damascus, to bring those also who were there bound to Jerusalem to be punished.


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Now it happened, as I was going and approaching Damascus, about noon, suddenly a strong light from heaven shone around me.


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So I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Natsorean, whom you are persecuting.’


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Those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, <n>Some 10% of the Greek manuscripts omit ‘and were afraid’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> but they did not understand the voice of the One speaking to me.


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So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told about all that has been appointed to you to do.’


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And since I could not see, because of the brightness of that light, I entered Damascus being led by the hand of those who were with me. <n>But they too had been in that light, so the blindness was a judgment applied specifically to Paul (Saul).</n> 


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Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived in Damascus, <n>Paul is establishing the credibility of Ananias as a witness, since he will attest that it was ‘the God of our fathers’ who was dealing with Paul (Saul). Some 25% of the Greek manuscripts omit ‘in Damascus’, as in most versions.</n> 


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came to me, and standing by me said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I looked up at him.


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Then he said: ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you to know His will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear words from His mouth. <n>Jesus had identified Himself as ‘Jesus’ on the road, and was obviously supernatural. Here Ananias confirms that Saul saw the Messiah, and adds that all is under the Father’s direction. Saul was chosen to be a world-wide witness; indeed, through his letters he continues to be one!</n> 


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And now why hesitate? Get up, be baptized and wash away your sins, invoking the name of the Lord.’ <n>By invoking the Lord he was placing himself under His direction and protection, which was what took care of his sins, not the baptism. There probably was not enough water in the house for a complete bath, in any case, so the baptism was by aspersion (as it was in the house of Cornelius, the house of the Philippian jailor, etc. etc.). Instead of ‘of the Lord’, some 6% of the Greek manuscripts read ‘his’ (as in NIV, NASB, TEV, etc.).</n> 


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“Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I came to be in a trance


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and saw Him saying to me, <n>This is the only record we have of this encounter. Perhaps Paul is reinforcing that his going to the Gentiles was at God’s insistence.</n> ‘Hurry up and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not receive your testimony concerning me’.


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So I said: ‘Lord, they know that I used to imprison and beat those believing into you, from one synagogue to another;


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and when the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I myself was standing there and agreeing to his murder, <n>Some 2.3% of the Greek manuscripts, of inferior quality, omit ‘to his murder’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, etc.).</n> even guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’


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<i> A Roman citizen</i> Well they kept listening to him until this statement, and then they raised their voice and shouted, “Rid the earth of this fellow, for it isn’t fitting for him to live!”


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the commander ordered him to be taken into the barracks, directing that he be interrogated with lashes, in order to learn for what crime they kept shouting against him like that. <n>Poor commander! He presumably did not understand Hebrew, so Paul’s speech meant nothing to him. But he saw that the mob listened quietly, and then suddenly erupted! He had already tried to get an answer from the mob, without success. He doubtless did not understand the Jewish mindset either, so by Roman logic Paul must have done something pretty awful to provoke such a violent reaction. So by proper Roman procedure, he orders a flogging.</n> 


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But as they stretched him out with the thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?”


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Well when the centurion heard that, he went and reported to the commander saying, “Consider what you are about to do, because this man is a Roman!”


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The commander replied, “I acquired this citizenship at considerable cost”. <n>He wasn’t just making conversation; he was trying to be sure that Paul wasn’t lying.</n> And Paul said, “But I was so born”.


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So those who were about to interrogate him withdrew immediately; and even the commander was apprehensive when he realized that he had put chains on a Roman. <n>Perhaps the reference is to the ‘when’ and ‘how’ they were first used, since chains became part of Paul’s life.</n> 


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<i> The Sanhedrin</i> But the next day, desiring to know for certain why he was accused by the Jews, he freed him from the bonds <n>Some 10% of the Greek manuscripts omit ‘from the bonds’ (as in NIV and NASB).</n> and ordered the chief priests and all their council to come, and brought Paul down and set him before them.


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Then Paul, looking intently at the council, said, “Men, brothers, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day”.


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Then Paul said to him: “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! <n>One is reminded of the Lord’s calling the Pharisees ‘whitewashed tombs’ (Matthew 23:27); what Paul said was probably not as bad, but definitely not a compliment!</n> You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you command me to be struck contrary to the law!”


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Then Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he is high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil of a ruler of your people’.” <n>See Exodus 22:28. Ananias was presumably the true high priest, but someone else was probably the political ‘high priest’ that year, and the political one would be wearing the priestly attire; presumably that is why Paul didn’t recognize the real high priest. Note that he sort of apologizes, but he does not revoke the curse!</n> 


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Now when Paul perceived that one part were Pharisees and the other Sadducees, <n>I follow the best line of transmission in putting ‘Pharisees’ first; 80% of the Greek manuscripts reverse the order, as in most versions.</n> he called out in the council, “Men, brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of a Pharisee; I am being judged concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead!”


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When he had said this, an argument started between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. <n>That was presumably Paul’s intention, only the situation got out of hand!</n> 


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(Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel or spirit, but Pharisees confess both.) <n>The Greek term here means precisely ‘both’; angel and spirit are treated as a single category.</n> 


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There was a great clamor, and the scribes of the Pharisee party stood up and started arguing vigorously, saying, “We find nothing wrong with this man; but if a spirit or angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God!” <n>Some 4.5% of the Greek manuscripts omit ‘let us not fight against God’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> 


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Well the dissension became such that the commander, fearing that Paul might be torn in pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and snatch him out of their midst and bring him into the barracks.


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<i> A plot exposed</i> Now the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, Paul, because as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome”. <n>Paul is in Jerusalem in disobedience against a clear divine prohibition, and things definitely are not going well. God appears to Paul and assures him that he will indeed get to Rome [although he is not going to enjoy the trip!].</n> 


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And when it was day, some of the Jews formed a conspiracy by binding themselves with a curse neither to eat nor to drink until they had destroyed Paul. <n>When the plot failed, they presumably did eat and drink and resume normal life, but I wonder if they suffered any consequences of the curse.</n> 


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They came to the chief priests and the elders and said: “We have bound ourselves with a terrible curse not to taste anything until we have killed Paul.


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Now you, therefore, together with the council, explain to the commander that he should bring him down to you tomorrow, as though you are going to determine more accurately the facts in his case; but we are ready to destroy him before he comes near.”


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But when Paul’s sister’s son heard about the ambush, he went and entered the barracks and told Paul.


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So Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander, because he has something to tell him”.


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So he took him and brought him to the commander and said, “Paul the prisoner called me over and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you”.


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So taking him by the hand, <n>This is cute! The commander has a sense of humor.</n> the commander went aside and asked privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?”


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So he said: “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow as though intending to inquire somewhat more accurately concerning him.


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But you should not believe them, because more than forty of their men are lying in wait for him, who have bound themselves with a curse neither to eat nor to drink until they have destroyed him; even now they are ready, looking for your promise.”


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Then the commander dismissed the young man commanding, “Don’t tell anyone that you have revealed these things to me!”


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<i> Paul sent to Felix</i> Summoning two of the centurions he said: “Prepare two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen <n>A centurion commanded 100 men, so there were probably at least five centurions that set out with Paul.</n> to go to Caesarea at the third hour of the night; <n>Earlier in the book, referring to the Jewish hour of prayer, Hebrew time is used, and on that basis this would be 9 p.m. But I find it scarcely credible that a Roman commander (not a Jew) addressing his troops (none of whom were Jews) would use Hebrew time; I would expect him to use Roman time, which would make it 3 a.m.</n> 


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and provide mounts to set Paul on so as to deliver him safely <n>Why more than one horse for Paul? Was he allowing for the chance that they might have to run for it? Well, the nature of the curse implied some level of desperation, and 40+ desperate men could cause unforeseen complications.</n> to Felix, the governor.”


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This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them; but I came with the troops and rescued him, having learned that he is a Roman. <n>Nothing like stretching the truth to make yourself look good.</n> 


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I found that he was being accused about questions of their law, but there was no accusation worthy of death or bonds.


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When I was told that the Jews <n>Perhaps 11% of the Greek manuscripts omit ‘the Jews’ and ‘about to’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, etc.).</n> were about to execute a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, also directing his accusers to state the charges against him before you. Farewell.”


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When they entered Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him.


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he said, “I will give you a hearing when your accusers also arrive.” And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod’s Praetorium. <n>The quarters would be reasonably decent, not a dungeon.</n> 


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<i> Caesarea Felix</i> Now after five days the high priest Ananias went down with the elders and a certain orator, Tertullus, and they informed the governor against Paul.


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So when he had been called in, Tertullus began his accusation, saying: “Seeing that by you we enjoy much peace, and your foresight has brought prosperity to this nation,


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We have found this man to be a plague, a creator of discord among all the Jews throughout the world, a ringleader of the Natsorean sect,


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and he even tried to profane the temple; so we arrested him. <n>We have here a bothersome set of variants, and the only way to do justice to the situation is to give the evidence in Greek. Even those who don’t read Greek can get some notion as to the high level of confusion. The translation of the addition (more or less) may be had from AV or NKJV.1) (without the long addition) <b>f35</b> א A,B (58.9%) latpt,cop,HF,RP,NU2) - 36): 7 και κατα τον ημετερον νομον ηθελησαμεν κριναι παρελθων δε λυσιας ο χιλιαρχος μετα πολλης βιας εκ των χειρων ημων απηγαγεν κελευσας τους κατηγορους αυτου ερχεσθαι επι σε . The five principle variations hinge on the three underlined words; they are:2) κριναι . . . επι σε (9.7%) latpt,syr [6 variants]8) κριναι . . . επι σου (10.5%) [14 variants]22) κριναι . . . προς σε (5.3%) [8 variants]30) κρινειν . . . επι σου (4.4%) [4 variants]34) κρινειν . . . επι σε (1.7%) OC,TR [3 variants] [OC is in small print]37) replaces απηγαγεν with five words, plus two other changes:	κριναι . . . επι σου (3.2%) [2 variants]39) completely rewrites the material:	κριναι . . . προς σε (3.4%) CP [6 variants](eight further variants) (2.9%) [8 variants].Variant 2) presumably has the best claim to be the standard form of the addition: κριναι clearly beats κρινειν, επι clearly beats προς, σε barely beats σου . [Although variant 8) appears to be slightly stronger than 2) numerically, the 14 internal variants, compared to 6, effectively diminish its credibility. The main variant in 2) is far stronger than that of 8).] It is also attested by syr and latpt. However, although some form of the addition commands 41.1% of the MSS, there are no less than 51 variants!What about the context? The addition makes good sense, and it fits nicely. But, it is not really necessary; that information Felix already knew. The text reads quite well without the addition also. I conclude that the short form was judged to be abrupt or incomplete, giving rise to the addition; presumably the Autograph did not contain it. Since Tertullus was an orator he may well have actually said what is in the addition, plus a good deal more besides, but did Luke write it? (The incidents recorded in Acts were well known by many contemporaries, and there were many written accounts in circulation [Luke 1:1], so it was entirely predictable that a variety of historically correct material would be added, here and there, to Luke’s account.)The external evidence, though divided, is adequate to resolve this case: 58.9% against a severely fragmented 41.1%. The ancient versions, being divided, do not help us much this time. Although 59% is not a strong majority, by any means, still, the severe fragmentation of the 41% sort of leaves variant 1) without a worthy opponent. Variant 1) wins in “Antiquity”, “Number”, “Variety” and “Continuity”, so I have no doubt that it is original. [The reading of the TR, variant 34), really has little to commend it.]</n> 


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When the governor had nodded to him to speak, Paul answered: “Knowing, as I do, that you have been an equitable judge of this nation for many years, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself,


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because you can ascertain that it is not more than twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship.


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They did not find me disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd—not in the temple, not in the synagogues, not around the city.


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But I do profess this to you, that according to the Way that they call a sect, that is how I worship the ancestral God, believing all things that stand written throughout the Law and the Prophets,


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having hope in God, which these themselves also look for, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, <n>Some 6.6% of the Greek manuscripts omit ‘of the dead’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, etc.).</n> both the just and unjust. <n>Everyone will be resurrected, but the two resurrections are very different—which is why Paul applied himself.</n> 


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in the midst of which certain Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, with neither crowd nor confusion.


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They are the ones that had to be here before you and make accusation, if they had anything against me. <n>According to Roman law, the accusers had to be there.</n> 


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unless it be for this one statement that I called out, standing among them, ‘Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am being judged by you today’.”


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Upon hearing these things Felix, having an accurate knowledge of the things concerning the Way, adjourned the proceedings and said, “When Lysias the commander comes down I will decide your case”.


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And he ordered the centurion that Paul should be kept in custody but have some freedom, and not to forbid any of his friends to provide for or to visit him. <n>Both Lysias and Felix knew that Paul wasn’t really guilty; and the Jews had figured out that they were not going to get what they wanted from either of them. Felix should have released Paul, but it wasn’t part of the Plan.</n> 


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Now after some days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith into Christ Jesus. <n>Some 45% of the Greek manuscripts omit ‘Jesus’, as in AV and NKJV.</n> 


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But as he expounded on righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix became afraid and answered, “Go away for now; when I have occasion I will summon you”. <n>To believe into Jesus would require changes that Felix wasn’t prepared to make.</n> 


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At the same time he was also hoping that Paul would give him money, that he might release him; so he frequently summoned and conversed with him.


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But after two years, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus; so Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul in prison.


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<i> Festus</i> Now upon assuming the province, after three days Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem.


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Then the chief priests <n>Some 60% of the Greek manuscripts have ‘high priest’, as in AV and NKJV.</n> and the principal men of the Jews informed him against Paul and started importuning him,


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begging a favor from him, that he would summon him to Jerusalem—preparing an ambush to kill him along the way. <n>Those guys were really good haters!</n> 


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However Festus answered that Paul should be kept at Caesarea, he himself being about to go there shortly.


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He said, “So let those who are competent among you go down with me; if there is anything against this man, let them accuse him”.


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When he had stayed among them more than ten days, he went down to Caesarea; the next day he sat on the judgment seat and commanded Paul to be brought.


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When he had come, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem made a circle, <n>This was presumably a tactic to intimidate, and to form a decent circle would require a number of people. Paul was not impressed, but Festus may have been.</n> bringing against Paul many serious charges that they could not prove,


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while he defended himself: “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar did I commit any sin.”


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But Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor, <n>I wonder if those Jews had been involved in the decision to replace Felix (who didn’t play ball with them) with Festus. If so, and if Festus was aware that he owed them a favor, that would account for his attitude here.</n> answered Paul by saying, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem to be judged by me there concerning these things?”


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So Paul said: “I am standing before Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be tried. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as even you know very well. <n>Paul could tell that Festus was not on the ‘up and up’.</n> 


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Now if I really am in the wrong and have perpetrated anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die; but if there is nothing to the things of which these are accusing me, no one has the right to give me to them. <n>Paul knew, and Festus knew, what the Jews had in mind.</n> I appeal to Caesar!”


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Then Festus, when he had conferred with his counsel, answered: “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you shall go!” <n>I suspect that this took Festus by surprise; and it put him in a bad light—on what basis is he going to send an innocent man to the Emperor?</n> 


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<i> Agrippa</i> Now when some days had passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived in Caesarea to congratulate Festus.


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Since they were spending many days there, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying: “There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix;


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about whom, when I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, asking for punishment against him;


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to whom I answered that it is not a custom with Romans to deliver any man to destruction <n>Some 7.5% of the Greek manuscripts omit ‘to destruction’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> before the accused has his accusers face to face and has opportunity for defense against the accusation. <n>I wonder if he really said that.</n> 


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So when they had assembled here, without any delay, the next day I sat on the judgment seat and commanded the man to be brought.


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but had certain issues against him about their religion, and about a certain dead Jesus whom Paul affirmed to be living.


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And since I was at a loss how to investigate such matters, <n>This would likely be true, whether or not it was his motivation at the time.</n> I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and be judged there concerning these things.


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But when Paul appealed to be reserved for the decision of the Emperor, I commanded him to be kept until I can send him to Caesar.”


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Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I myself would also like to hear the man”. So he said, “Tomorrow you shall hear him”.


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So the next day, when Agrippa and Bernice had come with great pomp and entered the auditorium, with the commanding officers and the more prominent men of the city, at Festus’ command Paul was brought in.


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And Festus said: “King Agrippa, and all you men who are here with us: consider this man, <n>Festus is not being complimentary.</n> about whom the whole Jewish community petitioned me, both at Jerusalem and here, vociferating that it was not fitting for him to live any longer.


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But when I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death, besides he himself having appealed to the Emperor, I decided to send him.


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But I have nothing certain to write to my lord concerning him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the examination I may have something to write.


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Because it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner and not to specify the charges against him.” <n>Precisely. Festus is in a pickle (of his own making).</n> 


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<i> Paul’s defense</i> Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself”. So Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense:


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“I consider myself fortunate, King Agrippa, in that I am to make my defense before you this day concerning the things of which I am accused by the Jews,


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especially because you are expert in all the Jewish customs and issues; therefore I beg you to hear me patiently.


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Really, the Jews all know my way of life from my youth, which was spent from the beginning among my own nation in Jerusalem,


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since they have known me for a long time, if they were willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived as a Pharisee.


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to which our twelve tribes, earnestly serving <i>God</i> night and day, hope to attain. It is because of this hope that I am accused by the Jews, King Agrippa.


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Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead? <n>The resurrection was the sticking point.</n> 


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<i> how he persecuted Christians</i> “However, I myself thought that I had to perpetrate many things in opposition to the name of Jesus the Natsorean;


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I actually did this in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death I cast my vote against them.


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Yes, I punished them often in every synagogue, trying to force them to blaspheme; I was so excessively enraged against them that I persecuted them even to foreign cities. <n>Paul states his blame very plainly.</n> 


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<i> how Jesus chose him</i> “It was on one of those journeys, as I was going to Damascus with authority and a commission from the chief priests,


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at midday, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven brighter than the sun, blazing around me and those traveling with me.


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Well we all fell to the ground and I heard a voice speaking to <i>me</i> and saying in the Hebrew language: ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’


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Now get up and stand on your feet; because I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and a witness both of the things you have seen and of the things I will reveal to you,


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to open their eyes, so as to bring them back from darkness into light and from the authority of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified, by faith into me.’ <n>Of specific interest to us here is the missionary commission that Paul (he was still Saul) received. Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:15 and Acts 1:8 took place between the resurrection and the ascension, but to commission Paul Jesus returned from Heaven! One other detail deserves special notice—the responsibility that Paul received was primarily concerned with the ethnic nations (“Gentiles” is a translation of the same word that in Matthew 28:19 is rendered “nations”). For these reasons it seems to me that this missionary commission takes on a special importance for us, and the more so for whoever is going to do transcultural work. So let’s consider this commission in more detail.Paul is sent to the nations (defined ethnically), “to open their eyes so as to bring them back from darkness into light and from the authority of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified, by faith in Me.”I rendered the second verb as ‘bring back’ rather than ‘turn’ or ‘convert’ because I take that to be the nuance of the correct Text (there are several variants). It gives the impression that someone is in the wrong place or situation and needs to be returned to the correct one. And now for the main point: the purpose clause introduced by the conjunction ‘that’ is subordinated to the verbal phrase dominated by the verb “bring back”. In other words, before someone can receive forgiveness of sins, even, he must be freed from the power of Satan! Before a person can be saved someone must do something about Satan’s influence upon him.The Lord Jesus had already said the same thing in different words during His earthly ministry. We find it in Mark 3:27. “No one can plunder the strong man’s goods, invading his house, unless he first bind the strong man; then he may plunder his house.” I have used the definite article with the first occurrence of ‘strong man’ because the Greek text has it, the point being that this particular strong man has already been introduced in the immediate context. ‘The strong man’ here is Satan. (The Jewish leaders tried to explain Jesus’ authority over the demons by saying that He expelled them by the power of Beelzebub, prince of the demons. In His retort Jesus doesn’t waste time with that name but uses the enemy’s proper name, Satan.)So then, the Lord Jesus declares that it is impossible to steal Satan’s goods unless we bind him first. (From His use of ‘no one’ it seems clear that the Lord is enunciating a general principle or truth.) And what might the nature of those ‘goods’ be? In the context (see Matthew 12:22-24) Jesus had delivered someone from a demon that caused blindness and dumbness, and in their comments the scribes and Pharisees include other instances where Jesus had expelled demons—it seems clear that the ‘goods’ are people who are subject to Satan’s power, in one way or another. Thus we have the same essential truth as that declared in Acts 26:18—we have to do something about Satan’s power over a person so that he or she can be saved! But what does Satan do to people that makes it necessary to ‘bind’ him?We find the answer in 2 Corinthians 4:4. Let’s begin with verse 3. “If our gospel is veiled it is veiled to them who are perishing, in whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers so that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not shine in them.” The Text clearly states that Satan, ‘the god of this world’, is in the business of blinding the minds of unbelievers when they hear the Gospel, so they won’t understand, so they won’t be convicted, so they won’t repent and convert. This is a terrible truth. The enemy has access to our minds, access in the sense that he has the power or ability to invade them, whether by introducing thoughts or by jamming our reasoning. The Lord Jesus had already declared this truth previously, when He explained the parable of the sower. “These are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown; but, as soon as they hear it Satan comes and takes away the word that was planted in their hearts” (Mk. 4:15). In the parallel passage in Luke 8:12 Jesus adds the following words: “lest they believe and be saved.” Note that the Word is already in the mind or heart of the person, but then Satan comes, invades the mind and ‘takes away’ that word. I’m not sure just how this intrusion by the enemy works, perhaps he causes a mental block of some sort, but the practical effect is that the Word becomes ineffective, as if the person hadn’t even heard it.It seems obvious to me that whoever doesn’t take this truth into account will be condemning himself to produce little effect in the spiritual realm, to work hard and achieve little.</n> 


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—first to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, then to all the region of Judea and to the ethnic nations, I still preach: ‘repent and turn back to God, doing works worthy of repentance’.


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So then, having experienced the help that is from God, I stand to this day testifying to both small and great, saying nothing beyond what both the prophets and Moses said would happen


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—that the Messiah would suffer; that as the first to rise from the dead <n>Yes, Jesus was the first one out, but only the first!</n> He would proclaim light to both ‘the people’ and the ethnic nations.”


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<i> Festus interrupts</i> Well as he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice: “Paul, you are crazy! Your great learning is driving you insane!” <n>Festus is not happy. Paul is talking to Agrippa, not to him. As a ‘son of disobedience’ (Ephesians 2:2) he was open to demonic interference, and Satan does not like the resurrection. So Paul’s mention of Jesus’ resurrection is Festus’ clue to interrupt, which he does in rather insulting terms.</n> 


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So he said: “I am not crazy, most excellent Festus; rather I pronounce words of truth and reasonableness.


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For the king knows about these things, before whom I speak freely; for I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, since it was not done in a corner.


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King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.” <n>Paul knows that the hearing is over, but he likes Agrippa and nudges him to believe.</n> 


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So Paul said, “Whether sooner or later, I pray to God that not only you but also all who are hearing me this day may become such as I am, except for these chains.”


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Upon his saying this, the king stood up, along with the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them;


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and when they had withdrawn they started talking among themselves, saying, “This man is doing nothing deserving of death or chains”.


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And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free, if he had not appealed to Caesar”. <n>Of course, but now it’s too late.</n> 


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<i> Paul sent to Rome</i> Now when it was decided that we <n>I take it that Luke has been around all the time.</n> should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners to a centurion named Julius, of the imperial cohort.


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So we embarked in a ship of Atramytium, being about to sail to points along the Asian coast, and we put to sea; Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us.


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The next day we landed at Sidon; Julius treated Paul kindly and permitted him to go to his friends and receive care.


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And when we had sailed across the sea that is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia.


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When we had sailed slowly many days and scarcely arrived opposite Cnidus, the wind did not allow us to go forward, so we sailed for the lee of Crete <n>They had been sailing west along the coast of Asia Minor and now turn south to Crete.</n> by way of Salmone;


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sailing along it with difficulty we came to a certain place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.


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<i> A difference of opinion</i> Much time had been lost and sailing was already dangerous, because even the Fast had already taken place; Paul repeatedly warned them


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saying, “Men, I perceive that the voyage is about to be with damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but even of our lives”.


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But the centurion <n>It appears that the centurion had the last word.</n> was persuaded by the pilot and ship owner rather than by what Paul said.


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And since the harbor was not suitable to winter in, the majority advised sailing on, to see if they could get to Phoenix in order to winter, it being a harbor of Crete facing southwest and northwest. <n>I suppose the point to be that it was completely open to the west; there is such a spot on the present coastline of Crete, though the name ‘phoenix’ has disappeared.</n> 


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<i> The storm</i> So when the south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close to shore.


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Well the ship was caught and could not head into the wind, so we gave up and were driven along. <n>The blast of wind was sudden and they were too close to the shore to have much room to maneuver. To remain broadside to the wind was to be swamped, so they turned tail and the wind drove them out to the open Mediterranean. I imagine that a little supernatural activity was involved.</n> 


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when they had hoisted it aboard, they used cables to undergird the ship; and fearing that they might fall into the Syrtis, <n>By the time they finished undergirding the ship they were probably about a fifth of the way across the Mediterranean (the wind was driving them south, in a hurry). The Syrtis evidently referred to two shallow bays on the African coast that had shifting sand bars and liked to snare boats. The sea anchor was presumably dropped off the stern to provide drag and slow their progress.</n> they lowered the sea anchor and so were driven along.


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When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and a major storm was still pounding us, all hope that we would be saved was now taken away.


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Now after long abstinence from food, Paul stood up in the midst of them and said: “Well men, it would have been better to take my advice and not sail from Crete, only to ‘gain’ this damage and loss. <n>Paul’s “I told you so” is really quite bland, and is followed by good news.</n> 


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But now I urge you to take heart, because there will be no loss of life among you, only of the ship.


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and said: ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. Furthermore, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’


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Now when the fourteenth night had come, as we were being driven here and there in the Adriatic, <n>This term presumably took in a larger area than it does today.</n> about midnight the sailors sensed that they were nearing some land.


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They took a sounding and found twenty fathoms; going on a little they took a sounding again and found fifteen fathoms.


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So fearing that we might be driven into a rocky area, they dropped four anchors from the stern and started praying for day to come.


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Now under pretense of putting out anchors from the prow, the sailors lowered the skiff into the sea, intending to flee from the ship;


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so Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, “Unless these stay in the ship, you cannot be saved”.


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Then the soldiers severed the ropes of the skiff and let it fall away. <n>This seems a pity, since a skiff would have been useful in getting people to land later.</n> 


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While the day was coming on, Paul started urging them all to receive food, saying: “Today is the fourteenth day of waiting—you continue without eating, having taken nothing.


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Therefore I urge you to take nourishment, because this is for our survival, since not a hair will fall from the head of any of you.”


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Upon saying this he picked up some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all; then he broke it and began to eat.


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So when they had eaten enough, they started lightening the ship by throwing out the wheat into the sea.


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When it was day, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, onto which they planned to run the ship if possible.


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Casting off the anchors they left them in the sea, at the same time untying the rudder ropes; and hoisting the foresail to the wind, they made for the beach.


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But they fell into a place where two seas met and ran the vessel aground; the prow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern began to be broken up by the violence of the waves.


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Now the plan of the soldiers was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim away and escape.


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But the centurion, wanting to save Paul, stopped them from doing it and ordered those who could swim to jump in first and go toward the land,


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followed by the rest, some on planks and some on things from the ship. And in this way they all escaped safely to the land.


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Now the natives showed us unusual kindness, in that they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold.


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But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and placed them on the fire, because of the heat a viper came out and fastened itself on his hand.


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So when the natives saw the beast hanging from his hand, they started saying to each other, “This man must be a murderer, whom Justice has not allowed to live, even though rescued from the sea”.


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Well they were expecting him to swell up, or suddenly fall down dead; but after waiting for quite a while and seeing nothing unusual happening to him, they changed their mind and started saying he was a god.


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Now in that region there were properties belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and in a friendly manner took care of us for three days. <n>To feed 276 people for three days would be a considerable expense—and they were hungry!</n> 


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Well it happened that the father of Publius was sick in bed with fever and dysentery; Paul went in to him, prayed, and laying his hands on him, healed him.


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So, when this had happened, the rest of those on the island who had diseases started coming and being healed;


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who also honored us in many ways, and when we put to sea they provided the necessary things. <n>Paul proved to be a valuable person to have along, the more so since they were there for three months.</n> 


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<i> Rome</i> Now after three months we put to sea in an Alexandrian ship that had wintered in the island, whose figurehead was ‘the Twin Brothers’.


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from there we tacked back and forth <n>Since Luke makes a point of saying that at Rhegium they got a south wind, between Syracuse and Rhegium the wind was not favorable and they had to tack.</n> and arrived at Rhegium. After one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli,


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where we found brothers who urged us to stay there seven days <n>The seven days gave them time to send news on ahead so there would be a welcoming committee at Three Inns. The centurion evidently cooperated.</n> —that was how we went toward Rome.


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And the brothers there, when they heard about our circumstances, came out to meet us as far as Appii Forum and Three Inns. When Paul saw them he thanked God and took courage.


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Now when we entered Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the commander; <n>Perhaps 5% of the Greek manuscripts omit ‘the centurion delivered the prisoners to the commander’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> but Paul was allowed to live by himself, with the soldier who guarded him. <n>This was surely an unusual proceeding; I assume it was a privilege granted in recognition of services rendered.</n> 


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<i> Paul and the Jews</i> It happened that after three days Paul called together the leaders of the Jews; and when they had assembled he said to them: “Men, brothers, though I had done nothing against ‘the people’ or the ancestral customs, still I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans,


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who, when they had examined me, were intending to release me, because I was not guilty of any crime deserving death.


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But when the Jews spoke against it, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar; not that I had anything about which to accuse my nation.


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For this reason therefore I asked to see you and speak with you; it is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.”


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So they said to him: “We have neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of the brothers who came reported or spoken any evil about you.


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But we desire to hear from you what you think; because as for this sect, we know that it is spoken against everywhere.”


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So arranging a day with him, even more people came to him at his lodging, to whom he kept expounding from morning until evening: solemnly testifying about the Kingdom of God and trying to convince them concerning Jesus, from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets.


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So being in disagreement among themselves they started to leave, after Paul had said this one word: “The Holy Spirit spoke correctly to our fathers through Isaiah the prophet,


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saying: ‘Go to this people and say, “You will keep on hearing, but never understand; you will keep on seeing, but never perceive”;


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because the heart of this people has become sluggish, and their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; in order that they not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor understand with their heart, nor turn back, so I could heal them.’ <n>See Isaiah 6:9-10.</n> 


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Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; <i>they</i> will listen!”


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And when he had said these things the Jews went their way, having a great dispute among themselves. <n>Perhaps 5% of the Greek manuscripts omit verse 29 entire (as in NIV, NASB and LB, but all three have a footnote saying that “some manuscripts” add the verse—their way of referring to 95%! Will not the uninformed reader be misled?).</n> 


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<i> Two tranquil years</i> Paul stayed two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to see him,


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proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, with all boldness, without hindrance. <n>It has often been observed that the book seems to lack a proper conclusion. If we consider that the book is actually about God working through people, then of course that work has been in operation throughout the intervening centuries and continues in our day—even through us.</n> 


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<i> Salutation</i> Paul, a slave <n>All human beings are slaves—we are born that way, live that way, die that way. As the Lord Jesus said, “whoever commits sin is a slave of sin . . . if the Son makes you free you will be free indeed” (John 8:34, 36). The Lord Jesus offers us a choice of owner: the only way to escape slavery to sin is to become a slave of Jesus Christ.</n> of Jesus Christ, a called apostle, <n>Apostles are not ordained by man; they are designated by God, who has a reason for doing so.</n> having been set apart to the Gospel of God,


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which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures: <n>The promise begins in Genesis 3:15, and reappears in passages like Genesis 12:3, 28:14, 2 Samuel 7:16, Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6-7.</n> 


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concerning His Son, who became a physical descendant of David, <n>Literally, ‘of the seed of David according to the flesh’. Jesus’ body contained genes from David that came through His mother Mary, a descendant of David’s son, Nathan (Luke 3:31) (and presumably still does, at the Father’s right hand). Isaiah 9:7 makes clear that the Messiah will occupy the throne of David; see also 2 Samuel 7:16, Isaiah 11:10 and Micah 5:2.</n> 


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who was established to be God’s powerful Son (according to His spirit of holiness) <n>Because of this He never sinned.</n> by resurrection from the dead <n>A ‘mere’ human cannot decide to rise from the dead; Jesus had this authority, as He affirms in John 10:17-18—“My Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.” The cross did not kill Jesus; He dismissed His spirit.</n> —Jesus Christ our Lord—


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through whom we have received grace and apostleship to promote obedience of faith among all ethnic nations concerning His name <n>One’s name represents his person—the obedience of faith is to be directed toward the person of Jesus Christ.</n> 


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to all the called saints <n>They were called to be saints.</n> who are in Rome, beloved of God: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. <n>“The Lord Jesus Christ” is now the proper name/title of Jehovah the Son. This text clearly presents the Father and the Son as distinct persons.</n> 


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<i> To Gentiles Paul has been hindered from visiting Rome</i> First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. <n>Not bad.</n> 


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Further, the God whom I serve with my spirit <n>See 7:14-25.</n> in the Gospel of His Son is my witness, how without ceasing I always remember you in my prayers,


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begging that perhaps now, at last, I may be prospered by the will of God to come to you. <n>What we think we want is not always what God wants.</n> 


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For I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established


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—that is, that I may be encouraged among you by our mutual faith, <n>To see someone established in the mutual faith is a genuine encouragement.</n> both yours and mine.


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I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), in order that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the rest of the Gentiles. <n>‘Gentiles’ and ‘ethnic nations’ are renderings of the same Greek noun; the choice is governed by the context, but that choice is often difficult. The reader should keep the two options in mind.</n> 


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I am a debtor <n>Why was Paul a debtor to people he had never seen? He had the cure for their ills, and a command from God.</n> both to Greeks and to non-Greeks, both to wise and to foolish.


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<i> Faith</i> I am not ashamed <n>Where did Paul get the idea of ‘shame’? A world controlled by Satan does all it can to cow any who dare to proclaim the Truth.</n> of the Gospel of Christ, <n>Perhaps 3% of the Greek manuscripts omit “of Christ”, to be followed by NIV, NASB, TEV, etc.—an inferior proceeding.</n> because it is the power of God for the salvation of each one who believes <n>The Gospel is the power for the salvation. As the Lord Jesus said in John 14:6—“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” There are not many ways, only one.</n> (for the Jew first, then the Greek);


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because in it God’s righteousness is revealed, from faith to faith; just as it is written: “The righteous one will live by faith.” <n>See Habakkuk 2:4. To ‘live by faith’ you must move from one exercise of faith to another.</n> 


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<i> Unrighteousness</i> Now the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven upon all ungodliness and unrighteousness of the people who suppress the truth by unrighteousness, <n>To ‘suppress the truth’ is a deliberate act, an evil choice that invites God’s wrath. To hear a sermon about ‘the love of God’ is easy enough, but how many have you heard (or preached) about ‘the wrath of God’? “God hates sin but loves the sinner” is standard fare, but consider Psalm 5:4-6—“For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, nor shall evil dwell with You. The boastful shall not stand in your sight; You <b>hate</b> all workers of iniquity. You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.” This is not an isolated text; there are a fair number of others in the same vein. Someone who deliberately chooses to be and promote evil thereby makes God his enemy. In John 6:44 the Lord Jesus said: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” Do you suppose that the Father will ‘draw’ someone He hates?</n> 


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precisely because what may be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them.


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Because His invisible attributes, namely His eternal power and divine nature, are clearly seen from the creation of the world, being understood from what has been made, so that they are inexcusable; <n>All scientific experiment and true human knowledge is based on the principle of cause and effect—we observe an effect and try to isolate its cause. As a logical corollary, the cause must be as great or greater than the effect, otherwise it could not produce it. Any human being who is both honest and intelligent, confronted with the observable universe, with its incredible order and complexity, must conclude that there has to be a CAUSE who is both incredibly intelligent and powerful—to refuse to do so is perverse. Since we have personality, He must as well. So Paul’s argument is precisely correct.The science of physics tells us that the entire known universe, taking only what is inorganic (not part of any living system), can be described using perhaps 250 bits of information. To describe the smallest protein molecule (unable to live alone, but part of a living system) requires some 1,500 bits of information (the ecoli bacterium some 7 million; one human cell some 20 billion). Now just where could chance plus nothing find 1,250 bits of <b>new</b> information (to produce the simplest protein), if in the whole universe there was only 250? The evolutionary hypothesis as an explanation for the origin of life is ridiculously, stupidly impossible!The science of genetics, with its genome projects, has discovered that a change of just 3 nucleotides is usually fatal to the organism. The genetic difference between a human being and a chimpanzee (closest relative) is at least 1.6%—this represents a gap of some 48 million nucleotide differences. Since a random change of only 3 nucleotides is fatal to an animal, and a dead animal can’t reproduce, there is no possible way that a chimp could evolve into a human. Each individual species had to be assembled separately, just like Genesis says. The ‘geologic column’ is a fiction, since there are multistrate tree fossils. Symbiotic plants and insects could not possibly evolve. And so on.</n> 


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precisely because, knowing God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks; <n>To turn against the Creator, to deny His existence, is a deliberate, culpable choice, since it goes against the observable scientific evidence.</n> so their reasonings became worthless and their senseless hearts were darkened. <n>When you deliberately turn out the light, you condemn yourself to grope about in darkness, and you can’t see what is attacking you. ‘Were darkened’ is in the passive voice, so the necessary question is, by what or by whom? Ephesians 2:2 refers to Satan as “the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience”. When someone rejects the Creator he also rejects His protection; by choosing to become a ‘son of disobedience’, a person invites Satan into his mind, and Satan brings darkness.I am reminded of our Lord’s words in Matthew 6:22-23. “The lamp of the body is the eye. So if your eye is sound your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is evil your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” Of course we have two eyes, but the Text has “eye” in the singular. I take it that the reference is to the way we interpret what we see (which is our real “eye”)—two people, one pure and one vile, observing the same scene will give very different interpretations to it. “Evil” here has the idea of malignant—aggressively evil. Someone with a malignant mind will give an evil interpretation to everything he sees, and in consequence his being will be filled with unrelenting darkness. Cf. Titus 1:15.</n> 


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Claiming to be wise, they became fools, <n>‘Modern man’ struts about, thinking that he is smarter than former generations. Anyone who embraces materialistic, relativistic humanism is a true fool.</n> 


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and exchanged for themselves the glory of the incorruptible God for an image resembling a perishable man <n>Any god you create will be smaller than you are—totally worthless!</n> —even birds and quadrupeds and reptiles!


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Therefore God also gave them up, through the cravings of their hearts for vileness, to the degrading of their bodies among themselves


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—they had exchanged the truth of God for the lie, <n>Note that they turned their backs on God first; His giving them up was a consequence of their choice. All the evil in the world is a consequence of men’s evil choices—God should not be blamed. That said, however, any time a person chooses evil he invites Satan into his mind, and Satan will push the person toward ever lower levels of depravity. I believe that Hebrews 2:7 is relevant here: “You made him [man, verse 6] lower than the angels, for a little while” (quoting Psalm 8:5). The human being is superior to the angelic being in essence; we bear the Creator’s image and they don’t, and once glorified that superiority will be obvious, but only for the redeemed. Those who serve Satan subordinate themselves to him, and thus can never rise above him. If Lucifer’s rebellion was provoked, as I suppose, by the creation of a being superior to himself, he is doing very well at getting his ‘revenge’, by depriving the vast majority of humanity of that superiority [and so verse 8 would not apply to them]. Now Satan is controlled by spite; he was demoted. Since he is unable to create, he gets his satisfaction by degrading and destroying. His greatest ‘pleasure’ must be to drag the image of the Creator through the mire, and for that purpose anal sex is just the ticket. Since it is a man’s seed that transmits the ‘image’ (see Hebrews 7:10, etc.), anal sex mixes the image of God with feces—a monstrous insult! The practice of anal sex is the equivalent of spitting in the face of the Creator; it is an extremely serious offense (worse than a buck private spitting in the face of a four star general). So then, as soon as God removes His hand, Satan pushes men toward anal sex.</n> and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.


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<i> Depravity</i> For this reason God gave them up <n>If God gives you up, you are in a bad way!</n> to degrading passions; in fact even their females exchanged the natural sexual function for that against nature;


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likewise also the males, abandoning the natural use of the female, were inflamed <n>The verb is in the passive voice, so the necessary question is, by whom? The answer has already been given in the note above. I doubt that anyone performs anal sex without a demon present.</n> in their lust toward one another, males committing the disgraceful act <n>The noun here is singular and with the definite article, ‘the act’. The seriousness of this has been explained above.</n> with males, and receiving in themselves the due penalty <n>Whatever this ‘penalty’ is, why would any sane person want it?</n> for their error.


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So precisely because they determined not to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them up to a debased mind, to do wrong things:


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having been filled <n>The passive voice again.</n> with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, greed, depravity; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity; gossips,


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slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, braggarts, contrivers of evil things, disobedient to parents,


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who, knowing full well God’s just sentence, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do them but also approve of other practitioners. <n>Is this not a perfect picture of ‘modern man’? Note “are deserving of death”; the verb is in the present tense, and Paul wrote this years after Pentecost, and consequently within the age of Grace. Through Moses the Creator articulated the death penalty for certain practices. Paul’s use of ‘<b>are</b>’ indicates that the penalty has not been revoked or annulled.</n> 


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<i> Judgment</i> Now then, you there, whoever you are who judges someone else for things you practice yourself—you condemn yourself and are inexcusable.


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Further, we know that God’s judgment against those who practice such things <n>The ‘such things’ refers back to the content of 1:29-31.</n> is according to truth.


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So then, you who judge those who practice such things while doing the same, do you really imagine that you will escape God’s judgment? <n>What sort of blindness could this be, for such a person to imagine that he will escape judgment?</n> 


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Or do you scorn the riches of His kindness, tolerance and longsuffering, not recognizing that the goodness of God is leading you toward repentance? <n>Just because God is good, kind, tolerant and longsuffering people imagine that He is weak, or even non-existent [!]—how wrong they are!</n> 


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Rather, due to your hardness and unrepentant heart, you are treasuring up wrath for yourself in the day of God’s wrath and revelation and righteous judgment, <n>The full revelation of God’s wrath and righteous judgment is going to take a lot of people by surprise.</n> 


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who will repay each one according to his works: <n>See Psalm 62:12, Proverbs 24:12. Each one of us must give an accounting, based on what we did (not on what we said we believed).</n> 


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to those who seek for glory, honor and incorruption, by persevering in doing good—eternal life; <n>One is reminded of Cornelius as a case in point (Acts 10).</n> 


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but to those who, due to self-seeking, <n>The essence of sin is self.</n> are disobeying the truth (while obeying the unrighteousness)—fury and wrath,


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but glory, honor and peace to everyone who works the good, whether Jew (first) or Greek. <n>Working good looks to be a better deal than working evil!</n> 


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For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law; while as many as have sinned with law will be judged by law. <n>God is just, and His judgment takes into account the amount of light that a person had, but all will be judged. Our Lord’s words in Luke 12:47-48 spell this out.</n> 


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For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law will be justified


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(indeed, whenever the ethnic nations that don’t have law do by nature the things of the law, these, although not having law, are a law to themselves;


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who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their reasonings among themselves accusing or even excusing)


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in the day when God, according to my Gospel, will judge people’s secrets by Jesus Christ. <n>In John 5:22 the Lord Jesus stated plainly that the Father has committed all judgment to the Son, developing the theme in verses 23-29; see also Acts 17:31 and Revelation 19:15. That there are no ‘secrets’ unknown to God is made clear in passages like Psalm 139:1-16 and Hebrews 4:12-13.</n> 


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<i> To Jews Law</i> Look, you declare yourself a <i>Jew</i> , and rest on the Law, and boast in God,


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Further, you are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those in darkness,


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an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and truth. <n>“The embodiment of knowledge and truth” is an excellent description of the Scriptures.</n> 


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For, just as it is written: “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” <n>See Isaiah 52:5, Ezekiel 36:22. The problem of not practicing what one preaches has been around for quite a while.</n> 


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<i> Circumcision</i> Now circumcision does have value if you keep the Law, but if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.


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So if the uncircumcised keeps the righteous requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision?


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And will not the physically uncircumcised who fulfills the law judge you, complete with written code and circumcision, who are a transgressor of the Law?


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Because a person is not a [true] Jew who is <i>only</i> one outwardly, nor is [true] circumcision something outward in the flesh;


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but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart—in spirit, not letter—whose praise is not from men but from God. <n>God looks on the heart. Those who worship Him must do so ‘in spirit and in truth’ (John 4:23-24). We do not choose who will procreate us, nor does a baby boy choose to be circumcised, so such factors cannot guarantee God’s acceptance.</n> 


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Much in every way! <n>For a fuller list of the advantages, see 9:1-5.</n> First of all, because they were entrusted with the oracles of God. <n>Job was written by a pre-Jew, but all the rest of the Old Testament, which is what Paul is referring to, was written by Jews. For that matter, all the books of the New Testament were also written by Jews (with the possible exception of Luke).</n> 


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Of course not! Rather, let God be found true, but every man a liar; just as it is written: “That you may be justified in your words, and may overcome when you are judged.” <n>See Psalm 51:4. “If we are faithless, He remains faithful—He is incapable of denying Himself” (2 Timothy 2:13).</n> 


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<i> A conundrum</i> Now if our unrighteousness highlights God’s righteousness, what shall we say? God is not unrighteous for inflicting His wrath, is He? (I speak as a man.)


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Still, if the truth of God abounded to His glory by my falsehood, just why am I still judged as a sinner? <n>If I choose falsehood, it is an evil choice, and I deserve to be punished, quite apart from any highlighting of God’s righteousness.</n> 


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However, we must not say, “Let us do evil so that good may come” (as some people slanderously claim that we do)—their condemnation is well deserved!


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<i> All are under sin</i> What then? Are we any better? Not at all! For we have already charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.


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All have turned aside, together they have been made useless; there is no one who shows kindness, no, not so much as one.” <n>See Psalm 14:1-3, 53:1-3; Ecclesiastes 7:20.</n> 


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“Their throat is an opened grave; they habitually deceive with their tongues.” <n>See Psalm 5:9.</n> “Viper’s venom is under their lips”; <n>See Psalm 140:3.</n> 


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“There is no fear of God before their eyes.” <n>See Psalm 36:1. The picture painted in verses 10-18 is not pretty! The description includes both Jews and Gentiles. Since the Creator is the only one who is competent to dictate moral values, someone who denies His authority (or worse, His existence) will not be bound by such values. We have already commented on what Satan does with a ‘son of disobedience’.</n> 


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Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be shut and the whole world become accountable to God.


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It follows that no flesh will be justified in His sight by the works of the law, because through the law comes the knowledge of sin. <n>The final accounting is based on our works, what we did—no one will be justified on that basis.</n> 


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<i> Righteousness by faith</i> But <i>now</i> , apart from law, a righteousness from God has been revealed, being attested by the Law and the Prophets,


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namely, a righteousness from God through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and upon all <n>Perhaps 7% of the Greek MSS omit “and upon all”, to be followed by NIV, NASB, TEV, LB, etc.—an inferior proceeding.</n> those who believe. There is no difference:


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all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, <n>What do you think ‘the glory of God’ refers to? In this context it can scarcely be brilliance or effulgence. I suggest that God’s true glory is what He Himself <b>is</b>, His essence—truth, holiness, justice, love, among others. Although pristine Adam presumably reflected that essence quite well, the Fall resulted in a barrier that man cannot cross, apart from divine assistance. I suspect that modern man is but a poor reflection of what pristine Adam once was. Alas, we fall far short!</n> 


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whom God has openly made available as a propitiation through the faith in His blood, to demonstrate His righteousness because of the passing over, in God’s forbearance, of the previously committed sins; <n>“Without the shedding of blood there is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22). “When I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Exodus 12:13, 22-23). “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). 1 Peter 1:18-20 states that the Lamb, with His blood shed, was so foreknown before the foundation of the world. All the animal blood shed in the Old Testament only covered sin; it did not pay for it. All those sacrifices looked forward to Christ’s perfect sacrifice. But all of that was only validated by the death of God’s Lamb. So as verse 25 here states, the true propitiation is now available “through the faith in His blood”. This propitiation also benefits the Old Testament saints.</n> 


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to demonstrate His righteousness at this present time, so as to be just, Himself, and the justifier of him who is of the Faith of Jesus. <n>I take the reference to be to the Faith that revolves around the person and work of Jesus.</n> 


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Where then is the boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law, that of works? No, but by a law of faith.


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since indeed there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through the Faith. <n>How could a ritual performed on a baby justify that baby? A circumcised person had to demonstrate faith in God by shedding animal blood to cover his sin; this before the perfect Sacrifice. Now justification comes through the Faith.</n> 


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Do we then nullify law through the Faith? Of course not! Rather, we uphold law. <n>The proper function of the law is recognized within the Faith.</n> 


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So what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” <n>See Genesis 15:6.</n> 


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But to him who does not work <n>We work because we have been justified, not in order to be justified.</n> but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.


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Blessed is the man to whom the LORD will <i>not</i> impute sin!” <n>See Psalm 32:1-2. The negative is emphasized.</n> 


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<i> Before circumcision</i> Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? Since we say that faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness,


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how then was it credited? After he was circumcised or while still uncircumcised? Not circumcised, but uncircumcised!


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And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness from his faith while still uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all those who believe while uncircumcised, in order that this righteousness may be credited to them also, <n>We non-Jews may wonder why Paul is spending so much time on the subject of circumcision, but to the Jews of that day it was BIG.</n> 


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and the father of the circumcised—not only those who are circumcised, but especially those who follow in the footsteps of the faith of our father Abraham while still uncircumcised. <n>The point is that physical circumcision is not enough; one must believe.</n> 


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<i> The promise</i> Now the promise that he would be the heir of the world <n>Now what might ‘heir of the world’ mean? “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). Galatians 3:16 makes clear that the Seed, singular, refers to the Christ. In Matthew 5:13-14 the Christ called His disciples “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world”. Paul states, “all things are yours . . . and you are Christ’s . . . and Christ is God’s” (1 Corinthians 3:21-23). But during the millennial Messianic Kingdom the whole world will obey the Christ, who will rule the nations with ‘a rod of iron’ (Revelation 19:15).</n> was not to Abraham, or his seed, through law, but through the righteousness of faith.


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For if those who are of law are heirs, the faith is made empty and the promise has been invalidated;


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because the law produces wrath, since where there is no law neither is there transgression. <n>How can you cross a line that isn’t there?</n> 


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For this reason it is of faith so that it may be according to grace, in order that the promise be guaranteed to all the seed—not only to those of law, but also to those of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all;


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just as it is written: “I have made you a father of many ethnic nations” <n>See Genesis 17:5.</n> —in the presence of Him whom he believed: God, who gives life to the dead and calls the non-existent things as though they did exist. <n>God can create just by speaking: if He says, “Let there be . . .”, there is.</n> 


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Contrary to hope, Abraham in hope believed, so as to become a father of many ethnic nations, according to what had been spoken: “So shall your seed be.” <n>See Genesis 15:5.</n> 


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And not being weak in faith, he did not <n>Perhaps 3% of the Greek manuscripts omit “not”, to be followed by NIV, NASB, TEV, LB, etc.—an inferior proceeding.</n> consider his own body, already dead (being about a hundred years old), or the deadness of Sarah’s womb.


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He did not waver at God’s promise in unbelief; rather, he was strengthened by the faith, giving glory to God,


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but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, we who believe on Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,


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who was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification. <n>The grammatical construction is the same in both clauses: ‘because’, ‘because’. The resurrection was the proof that the Father had accepted the price paid for our justification.</n> 


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<i> To believers Peace with God</i> Therefore, having been justified by faith, let us be at <n>The Greek manuscripts are about evenly divided between the Indicative and the Subjunctive form of the verb (the difference is between two similar sounding vowels). Most versions follow the Indicative, but the best line of transmission has the Subjunctive, and I follow it. Remember the ‘from faith to faith’ in 1:17.</n> peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,


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through whom also we have had the access, by the Faith, into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.


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Not only so, but we should also rejoice <n>The form of the verb is ambiguous between Indicative and Subjunctive; I take it that the Subjunctive is intended. The same ambiguity attaches to the same verb in verse two, where I chose the Indicative, since the thought is reinforced in 5:11.</n> in the sufferings, knowing that the suffering produces perseverance;


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and the hope does not humiliate, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.


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<i> Reconciliation</i> Now then, when we were incapacitated, even so Christ died for the ungodly, at the right moment.


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Now scarcely even for a righteous person will someone <i>offer to</i> die (although on behalf of a good man someone might dare even to die),


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So now that we have been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from the wrath through Him!


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Because since we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, while we were enemies, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! <n>As it says in 2 Peter 1:3, “His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness,” so once we are reconciled we have every reason to succeed! But it is a process, and the result is not automatic.</n> 


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No wonder we rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation! <n>Yes! Amen! Praise God!</n> 


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<i> Death X Life</i> Now then, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, just so death spread to all men, because all sinned <n>The structure here is a ‘chiasmus’: abba.</n> 


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Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin in the likeness of Adam’s transgression <n>Well dear me, how does that work? If sin is not ‘imputed’, why is there death? The verb ‘imputed’ refers to an account made up of a list of specific items. If I run up a bill at a local store, when I meet the owner on the street we both know I’m in debt, even without an itemized bill in hand. The debt affects our relationship, and may affect my standing in the community, and that of my family, etc.—the consequences derive from the fact, not the itemized list. So “death reigned from Adam to Moses” based on the fact of sin, not on an itemized list.”“The wages of sin is death”, so since we are sinners by inclination (birth) and choice, death reigns. Although there is no explicit instruction about animal sacrifice in the first chapters of Genesis, it is implied. For God to accept Abel’s sacrifice and reject Cain’s, there must have been instruction about such things (Genesis 4:3-5). Indeed, God had given the example by killing an animal to cover the nakedness of the fallen pair (Genesis 3:21). In Genesis 8:20-21 the implication is clear that Noah knew what he was supposed to do. And Job, who lived before Abraham (presumably), knew about sacrifice for sin (Job 1:5).</n> (he is a type of the coming one). <n>As a transgressor, Adam is not a type of Christ, so I take the reference to be to ‘the man of sin’.</n> 


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Now the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one, how much more did God’s grace and the bounty by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many!


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Again, the gift is not like what came from one man’s having sinned: because the judgment into condemnation followed one offense, while the gracious gift into justification followed many offenses.


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Further, if by the offense of the one man death reigned through that man, much more will those who receive the abundance of the grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.


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So then, as through one offense there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is life-giving justification for everyone. <n>The comparison is interesting, but there is a fundamental difference—we are born condemned, but not justified! There is a way to escape the condemnation, but you have to take it, or remain condemned. The life-giving justification is available, but you have to believe into Jesus to get it.</n> 


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For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were constituted sinners, <n>Because of Adam’s rebellious choice, sin became part of the genetic pool that defines a human being.</n> so also through the obedience of the One the many <n>The phrase ‘the many’ occurs twice in this verse, but the roster of included people is presumably not the same—the second roster is smaller.</n> will be constituted righteous.


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However, law came on the scene so that the offense might abound; but where the sin abounded, the grace superabounded,


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so that just as sin reigned in the death, <n>‘The death’ refers to the world controlled by Satan, where sin reigns; to be separated from God is spiritual death.</n> so also the grace might reign through righteousness into eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.


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<i> Newness of life</i> So what shall we say? Shall we continue in the sin so that the grace may abound?


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Or are you unaware that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? <n>In Paul’s day (at least) there were those who thought that the physical rite of circumcision was a passport to heaven. We have already seen in 2:25-29 that Paul rejects that notion—God looks on the heart. In our day there are those who think that the physical rite of water baptism is a similar passport, but we probably all know individuals who had their ‘bath’ and are now living for Satan—God looks on the heart. 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 explains that it is the Holy Spirit who baptizes us into Christ: “. . . so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.” If we become part of Christ’s body, then whatever happens to that body happens to us. If that body died, we did. If it was buried, so were we. If it was raised from the dead, we will be too. Correction—we already have new life in Christ, and are to live on that basis.</n> 


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Therefore, we were buried with Him by means of that baptism into that death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by means of the Father’s glory, we also should walk in newness of life.


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Now if we have become united with Him in His death, we will certainly be in His resurrection as well;


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knowing this, that our old self <n>Literally ‘man’. The reference is to the old, or fallen, nature, with which we are all born. Only those who are regenerated by the Holy Spirit acquire a new one.</n> was crucified with Him in order that the body of the sin <n>That is, the body that resulted from ‘the sin’ (Adam’s); that is, a fallen body, whose natural inclination is not toward holiness.</n> might be set aside, so that we no longer be enslaved to that sin—


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because he who has died has been released from that sin. <n>Presumably a dead person doesn’t do much sinning.</n> 


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knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, cannot die again; <n>No one kills Jesus twice. Consider Hebrews 6:4-6: “Because, it is impossible to bring back into repentance those who were once for all enlightened, who have partaken of the heavenly gift and were made sharers in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have experienced God’s good event and capabilities of the coming age, 6 and yet have fallen away—they would be crucifying the Son of God all over again, just for themselves, holding Him up to contempt.” No amount of theological shifting and squirming can nullify the plain meaning of verse 6. The only way to crucify Jesus <b>again</b> is if you have already done so once before. No one is going to kill Jesus twice; if the first time wasn’t good enough for you, you’ve had it! As He Himself said in John 10:17-18: “Therefore my Father loves me, becauseI lay down my life that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.” He laid it down once, freely, but that’s all.</n> death can no longer master Him


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Thus you also, consider yourselves to be dead indeed to the sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. <n>Some 3.5% of the Greek manuscripts omit “our Lord”, to be followed by NIV, NASB, TEV, LB, etc.—an inferior proceeding.</n> 


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<i> Down with sin!</i> Therefore do not let the sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey it with the body’s evil desires


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—do not present any part <n>Literally, ‘the members’.</n> of your body to sin as an implement for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead, and your body parts to God as implements for righteousness.


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<i> Grace, not license</i> What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Of course not!


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Do you not know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey them as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether of sin into death, or of obedience into righteousness?


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But thanks be to God that although you used to be the slaves of the sin you wholeheartedly obeyed that pattern of doctrine into which you were delivered.


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So having been emancipated from the sin, you became enslaved to the righteousness. <n>Recall the note about slaves at 1:1.</n> 


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I continue to speak on a human level because of the weakness of your flesh. Now just as you used to present your body parts as slaves to uncleanness and to ever increasing lawlessness, <n>Sin, and mere gratification of physical desire, obey the law of diminishing returns. To maintain the same ‘kick’ from any drug, you have to keep increasing the dose—this is a slavery that keeps on dragging you down to ever lower levels.</n> so now present your body parts as slaves to righteousness with a view to sanctification.


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So what ‘fruit’ did you have at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? The end of those things is death! <n>Yea, verily!</n> 


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But <i>now</i> , having been emancipated from the sin, and having become enslaved to God, you have your ‘fruit’ into sanctification—and the end is eternal life!


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Because the wages of sin is death, <n>Sin results in two deaths, physical and spiritual. The spiritual one is by far the more important since it lasts for eternity. Belonging to Jesus does not exempt us from physical death, but it does from the spiritual one—He gives us eternal life instead of eternal death.</n> but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.


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<i> More about law</i> Do you not know, brothers (for I am speaking to those who know law), that the law has authority over someone only as long as he lives?


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For example, a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if the man should die, she is released from the law about the husband.


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So then, if she should ‘marry’ another man while her husband is living, she will be labeled an adulteress; but if the husband should die, she is free from that law, not being an adulteress if she marries another man.


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Therefore, my brothers, you also were put to death to the law through the body <n>This refers to His physical body, and probably to the death of that body.</n> of the Christ so as to belong to another—to Him who was raised from the dead—so that we should produce fruit to God.


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Because when we were in the flesh, <n>‘In the flesh’ contrasts with ‘in Christ’ and probably refers to the natural/old man.</n> the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our body parts to produce fruit to death.


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But now we have been released from the law, having died to what was gripping us, so as to slave in newness of spirit and not in oldness of letter. <n>We are slaves in any case. What is in view is a change of owner.</n> 


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<i> Law and sin</i> So what shall we say then? Is the law sin? Of course not! Indeed, I would not have come to know the sin <n>If not a synonym for the fallen nature, or ‘the flesh’, ‘the sin’ appears to be closely related to it. ‘The flesh’ is Satan’s ally inside us while ‘the world’ is his ally outside us. So without the Holy Spirit a person is in a bad way.</n> except through the law: I would not have recognized covetousness if the law had not said, “You must not covet”.


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But the sin, grasping an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of coveting. Now without the law sin is dead.


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 Once upon a time, without law, I was actually ‘alive’; but when the commandment came, the sin came to life and I died.


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 Because the sin, grasping an opportunity through the commandment, completely deceived me, and used it to ‘kill’ me.


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<i> Indwelling sin</i> So has what is good become death to me? Of course not! Rather the sin, that it might be exposed as sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment the sin might become extremely sinful.


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—you see, I don’t understand what I’m doing: I don’t practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate! <n>In this interesting passage Paul contrast his two natures. As an aid to the reader, I will attempt to identify the two natures throughout the passage.14 We know that the law is spiritual, but I [old] am fleshly, having been ‘sold’ under sin 15—you see, I [new] don’t understand what I’m [old] doing: I [old] don’t practice what I [new] want to do, but I [old] do what I [new] hate! 16 But if I [old] do what I [new] don’t want to do, I [new] agree with the law that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I [new] who am doing it, but the sin dwelling in me [both]. 18 Further, I [new] know that nothing good dwells in me [old], that is, in my flesh; because to will is present with me [new], but I [old] don’t find how to perform the good. 19 Because I [old] don’t do the good that I [new] want to do; rather I [old] practice the evil that I [new] don’t want to do. 20 Now if I [old] do what I [new] don’t want to do, it is no longer I [new] who do it, but the sin dwelling in me [both]. 21 So I [new] find this ‘law’, when I [new] want to do good, evil is right there with me [both]. 22 I [new] joyfully agree with God’s law according to the inner man [new], 23 but I [new] see a different ‘law’ in my body parts [old], warring against the law of my mind [new] and taking me [both] captive to the law of the sin that is in my body parts [old]. 24 What a wretched man I am [both]! Who will deliver me [new] from this body of death [old]? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself [new] serve God’s law, but with the flesh [old], sin’s law.</n> 


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Further, I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; because to will is present with me, but I don’t find how to perform the good.


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but I see a different ‘law’ in my body parts, warring against the law of my mind and taking me captive to the law of the sin that is in my body parts.


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What a wretched man I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? <n>A body that insists on sinning is a body that is condemned to death.</n> 


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I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve God’s law, but with the flesh, sin’s law.


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<i> Deliverance</i> Now then, there is no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit, <n>“Who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” is omitted by 2.3% of the Greek manuscripts, to be followed by NIV, NASB, TEV, LB, etc. Those who follow the 2.3% like to claim that the clause was imported from verse four. But Paul is a Jew, and they like to repeat things. In 7:14-23 Paul described the conflict of the two natures within himself—he was not ‘home free’. That he is not through with the topic is clear from 8:5-17, where he describes in detail the conflict between flesh and Spirit. The reader may rest assured that the 97.7% are correct.</n> 


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because the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me <n>Perhaps 1% of the Greek manuscripts read ‘you’ singular, to be followed by NASB and LB. But ‘you’ in English is ambiguous as to number, and neither NASB nor LB tells the reader that ‘you’ is singular (because in the context it is obviously wrong). Both versions favor the reader with a footnote informing that “some” manuscripts read “me” [their way of referring to 600 against 6].</n> free from the law of the sin and the death.


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Further, what the law could not do, in that it was weak due to the flesh, God has done by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned the sin in the flesh, <n>The sin in our flesh having been condemned, it is now possible to walk according to the Spirit.</n> 


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so that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.


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<i> Spirit X flesh</i> Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.


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Further, the mind-set of the flesh yields death, but the mind-set of the Spirit yields life and peace;


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because the mind-set of the flesh represents enmity against God, since it does not submit to God’s law, nor indeed can it.


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So, those who are ‘in flesh’ cannot please God. <n>This is a ‘genetic’ incapability, so we need a new birth.</n> 


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You, however, are not ‘in flesh’ but ‘in Spirit’, if indeed God’s Spirit dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.


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But if Christ is in you, the body is dead through sin, but the Spirit is life through righteousness.


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And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then He who raised the Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies <n>Where, down here? If it is “because of His Spirit who dwells [present tense] in you”, presumably so. Consider 1 Thessalonians 5:23—“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” I take it that the grammatical structure of this phrase, “the spirit and the soul and the body” (in Greek), demands a tripartite/trichotomous view of the human being. I confess that I have trouble imagining complete sanctification for the body, in this life, but there it is.</n> because of His Spirit who dwells in you. <n>In these verses we have ‘Spirit of God’, ‘Spirit of Christ’, ‘Christ’, ‘Spirit’ and ‘Spirit of Him who raised Jesus’; so how many spirits or persons are there? I would say that Paul is just using different ways of referring to the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Triune God. Comparing all the relevant passages, the Godhead is made up of just the three persons.</n> 


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because if you live according to the flesh, you are about to die; but if you put to death the practices of the body, by the Spirit, you will live.


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—you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fear all over again, but you did receive the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “<i> Abba</i> , Father!” <n>‘Father’ is a translation of the Aramaic <i>‘Abba’</i>.</n> 


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—if children, also heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ (if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him). <n>The clear implication is: no suffering, no glory. In the next verse the sufferings are treated as a fact.</n> 


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<i> Redemption of the body</i> I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is going to be revealed in us.


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because without choice the creation was subjected to futility, due to the One who did the subjecting, based on the hope


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that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the freedom of the glory of God’s children. <n>In the beginning, when the Creator turned the administration of this planet over to Adam, everything was ‘good’. But then came the Fall, and the administrator was no longer good. How could a fallen ruler administer a perfect creation? Since the creation was merely a setting for the man, the Creator reduced it to the same level, based on ‘the hope’ of a future restoration for both man and nature (see 1 Peter 1:19-20).</n> 


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Not only that, we ourselves also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even <i>we</i> groan within ourselves, eagerly awaiting adoption, the redemption of our body.


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Yes, we were saved in the hope, <n>Since the restoration of the planet depends on the restoration of Adam’s descendants, at least some of them, and since this is a time consuming process, we start out in ‘the hope’.</n> but a hope that is seen is not hope—why would anyone hope for what he sees?


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Likewise also the Spirit comes to the aid <i>of the hope</i> in our weaknesses, since we do not know what we need to pray for. Indeed the Spirit Himself intercedes on our behalf with inexpressible groanings,


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while He who searches the hearts knows what is on the Spirit’s mind, since He prays for the saints in accordance with God. <n>The intercession of the Spirit represents two members of the Trinity!</n> 


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<i> Glory</i> Further, we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to purpose.


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Because whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, <n>If you aren’t being conformed to the Son’s image, there’s something wrong, because this is probably the ‘purpose’.</n> so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.


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Further, whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. <n>All the verbs in verse 30 are in the past tense, reflecting God’s sovereignty.</n> 


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<i> Summary to this point</i> What then shall we say to these things? Since God is for us, who is against us?


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He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up on behalf of us all, how shall He not with Him also graciously give us all things? <n>2 Peter 1:3 again.</n> 


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Who is he who condemns? Christ is He who died, but even more, was indeed raised, who indeed is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes on our behalf. <n>Comparing this with verse 27, all three members of the Trinity are cheering us on!</n> 


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Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Will it be affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword?


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(As it is written: “For your sake we are being put to death all day long; we are accounted as sheep for slaughter.” <n>See Psalm 44:22.</n> )


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Because I am persuaded that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities nor powers, neither things present nor things to come,


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neither height nor depth nor any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. <n>God’s love is like a sphere, with us on the inside—nothing can reach us without first passing through that love.</n> 


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<i> Israel</i> I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience is testifying with me in the Holy Spirit—


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For I keep wishing that I myself could be accursed away from the Messiah for the sake of my brothers, my physical relatives,


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the Israelites. To them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple service, and the promises.


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The patriarchs are theirs, and from them came the Christ (the physical part), <n>Both “the Christ” and “who is over all” are in the masculine gender, separated by <i>to kata sarka</i>, often rendered as ‘according to the flesh’. But the article, <i>to</i>, is in the neuter gender, and so must have a different referent. Paul is being precisely correct: it was only the physical part of the Messiah that came through Israel.</n> who is over all, God forever blessed. Amen.


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<i> Children of the promise</i> However, it is not as though the Word of God has failed! <n>The covenants and the promises involve human participation, so they only come to fruition for those who obey God (almost always a minority of the population).</n> For not all who have descended from Israel are ‘Israel’.


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Neither are they all ‘children’ because they are Abraham’s descendants; but, “in Isaac will your seed be called”. <n>See Genesis 21:12.</n> 


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That is, it is not the physical children who are God’s ‘children’, but the children of the promise are regarded as ‘seed’.


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For this is the word of promise: “At this season I will come, and Sarah will have a son.” <n>See Genesis 18:10, 14.</n> 


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(though they had not yet been born, not having done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls),


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As it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” <n>See Malachi 1:2, 3. Of course Malachi was written long after the two had demonstrated their characters by their lives.</n> 


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<i> It is pointless to fight God’s Sovereignty!</i> So what shall we say, there is no injustice with God, is there? Of course not!


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For He says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whomever I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I have compassion.” <n>See Exodus 33:19.</n> 


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For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” <n>See Exodus 9:16. If you check the record, Pharaoh hardened his own heart the first five times; after that God did the hardening.</n> 


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Really now, just who are you, O man, to talk back to God? What is formed will not say to the one who formed it, “Why did you make me like this,” will it?


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Or has the potter no right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?


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What if God, wishing to display His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,


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just in order to make known the riches of His glory on vessels of mercy, <n>Presumably by way of contrast.</n> which He prepared beforehand for glory,


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As He also says in Hosea: “I will call the ‘not my people’, ‘my people’, and the ‘not loved’ (f), ‘loved’.” <n>See Hosea 2:23.</n> 


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“And it will be in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people’, there they will be called sons of the living God.” <n>See Hosea 1:10.</n> 


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And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved;


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because He is finishing and cutting short an accounting in righteousness; yes, the Lord will impose a condensed accounting <n>“In righteousness; yes, the Lord will impose a condensed accounting” is omitted by less than 3% of the Greek manuscripts, to befollowed by NIV, NASB, TEV, LB, etc.—an inferior proceeding.</n> upon the earth.” <n>See Isaiah 10:22-23. It has always been the case that those who really want to walk with God represent a small minority of the population sample.</n> 


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And as Isaiah had said previously: “Unless the LORD of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom, and we would have been made like Gomorrah.” <n>See Isaiah 1:9.</n> 


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<i> Their present condition</i> So what shall we say? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained to righteousness, namely the righteousness that comes from faith;


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Why not? Because it was not from faith, but as from works of the law. They stumbled over the ‘stumbling stone’;


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as it is written: “Look! I am placing in Zion a stumbling stone and a rock of offense, and no one who believes on Him will be put to shame.” <n>See Isaiah 8:14, 28:16. They had to ‘believe on’ the ‘stumbling block’, the Christ.</n> 


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<i> Israel needs salvation</i> Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is for their salvation.


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For they, failing to understand God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to God’s righteousness.


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<i> How to be saved</i> Now for everyone who believes into righteousness, Christ is the end of the law <n>That is, as a means of salvation.</n> 


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—Moses writes about the righteousness that is from the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.” <n>See Leviticus 18:15.</n> 


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But the righteousness that is from faith speaks like this: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” <n>See Deuteronomy 30:12.</n> (that is, to bring Christ down)


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“or, ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” <n>See Deuteronomy 30:13. The ‘abyss’ here is presumably not the eschatological one.</n> (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).


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So what <i>does</i> it say? “The message is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” <n>See Deuteronomy 30:14.</n> (that is, the message of faith that we proclaim):


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That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord”, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.


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Because with the heart one believes into righteousness, and with the mouth one promises <n>This refers to a solemn commitment made publicly.</n> into salvation.


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Because the Scripture says: “Everyone who believes on Him will never be put to shame” <n>See Isaiah 28:16.</n> ; 


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because there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, since the same Lord of all is rich to all who call upon Him;


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<i> The message is necessary</i> How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe on Him of whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without someone proclaiming it?


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And how will they proclaim unless they are sent? As it is written: “How timely is the arrival <n>Literally, ‘beautiful the feet’.</n> of those who bring good news of peace, <n>“Of those who bring good news of peace” is omitted by 10.5% of the Greek manuscripts, to be followed by NIV, NASB, TEV, LB, etc.—an inferior proceeding.</n> of those who announce the good things.” <n>See Isaiah 52:7, Nahum 1:15.</n> 


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(However, they did not all obey the gospel; because Isaiah says: “LORD , who has believed our message?” <n>See Isaiah 53:1.</n> )


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So, the faith is from a message, and that message is by the Word of God. <n>Perhaps 2% of the Greek manuscripts read ‘Christ’ rather than “God”, to be followed by NIV, NASB, TEV, LB, etc.—an inferior proceeding. It is the Word of God that gives authority to our message.</n> 


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<i> A rebellious people</i> But I say, did they really not hear? Indeed yes: “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the inhabited world.” <n>See Psalm 19:4.</n> 


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Again I say, did Israel really not know? First Moses says: “I will provoke you to jealousy by a non-nation, I will move you to anger by a senseless nation.” <n>See Deuteronomy 32:21.</n> 


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But Isaiah is so bold as to say: “I was found by those who were not seeking me; I was revealed to those who were not asking for me.” <n>See Isaiah 65:1.</n> 


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But concerning Israel he says: “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.” <n>See Isaiah 65:2. To be ‘disobedient’ and ‘contrary’, there must be a revealed will.</n> 


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<i> The remnant</i> So now I say, God did not reject His people, did He? Of course not! Why I myself am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin! <n>Observe that Paul knew what tribe he belonged to; this at the beginning of the Christian era. If God would save Paul, then He is still saving Jews.</n> 


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God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says about Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel saying:


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“LORD , they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to take my life!” <n>See 1 Kings 19:10, 14.</n> 


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But what does the divine response say to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand men <n>The term here refers specifically to males.</n> who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” <n>See 1 Kings 19:18. Evidently Elijah knew nothing about them, and perhaps each of them also thought he was the only one. I see a practical application here: I must never assume that what God is doing to and through me is the whole show, or even a major part of it. Now, much more than in Elijah’s day, God is doing all sorts of interesting things all over the world!</n> 


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Now if by grace, it is no longer from works; otherwise the grace is no longer grace. But if from works, it is no longer grace; otherwise the work is no longer work. <n>“But if from works, it is no longer grace; otherwise the work is no longer work” is omitted by 3.5% of the Greek manuscripts, to be followed by NIV, NASB, TEV, LB, etc.—an inferior proceeding.</n> 


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What then? What Israel is seeking, this it did not obtain; but the election <n>‘Election’ acts as a mass noun, including all the elected individuals.</n> did obtain it, while the rest were dulled.


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Just as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that were not to see and ears that were not to hear, to this very day.” <n>See Deuteronomy 29:4, Isaiah 29:10.</n> 


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And David says: “Let their table be made into a snare and into a trap, into a stumbling block and into a retribution to them.


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Let their eyes be darkened so as not to see, and their back always be bowed down.” <n>See Psalm 69:22-23.</n> 


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<i> The restoration</i> So now I say, surely they have not stumbled so as to fall [and stay fallen]? Of course not! Rather, through their transgression the salvation has come to the Gentiles, to provoke them to jealousy.


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Now if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss riches for the nations, how much more their fulfillment!


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So I am speaking to you Gentiles (inasmuch as I am ‘apostle to the Gentiles’, I magnify my ministry),


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if somehow I can provoke my own people <n>Literally, ‘flesh’.</n> to jealousy and save some of them.


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For if their being rejected means reconciliation for the world, what will their restoration be but life from the dead?


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Now if the ‘firstfruit’ is holy, so is the whole batch; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.


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<i> Grafted olive branches</i> Now if some of the branches were broken off, while you, being a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them, and with them have become a partaker of the root and the rich sap of the cultivated olive,


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do not boast against those branches (since if you do boast—it’s not you who support the root but the root you).


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Granted. Because of unbelief they were broken off, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but fear!


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So consider the kindness and severity of God: upon those who fell, severity; but toward you, kindness, if you continue in that kindness; otherwise you too will be cut off. <n>Here is a plain statement. ‘Continuing’ wins.</n> 


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And even they, if they do not persist in the unbelief, will be grafted back in, because God has the power to graft them in again.


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For if you were cut out of a wild by nature olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?


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<i> Hardening</i> Brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant of this ‘mystery’ <n>This term is used of information that God has not yet made generally available, not about something mysterious.</n> (so that you not be conceited): hardening has come upon Israel in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.


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And so all Israel will be saved, just as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn ungodliness away from Jacob; <n>‘Jacob’ is Jacob, not the Church!</n> 


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this is my covenant with them, when I take away their sins.” <n>See Isaiah 59:20-21, 27:9. When will this happen? Presumably at the beginning of the millennial Messianic Kingdom. The conversion of the last Gentile will be followed by the Rapture. All the Israelites that enter the Kingdom will be saved.</n> 


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On the one hand, regarding the Gospel, they are enemies because of you; on the other, regarding the election, they are beloved on account of the forefathers.


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For just as you also were once disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy through their disobedience,


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so also these have now been disobedient that through the mercy shown to you they also may be shown mercy.


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Yes, God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that He might show mercy to all. <n>A bitter pill, but apart from God’s mercy we don’t obey Him.</n> 


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<i> Doxology</i> Oh, the depth of the riches of God’s wisdom and knowledge! How unsearchable His judgments and untraceable His ways! <n>This is the ‘answer’ for all of us who would like to understand just how election works, and so on. God is too big, and we are too small!</n> 


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Because “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor?” <n>See Isaiah 40:13, Jeremiah 23:18.</n> 


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<i> The will of God</i> Now then, brothers, I exhort you, in view of God’s compassions, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, <n>Any animal in the Old Testament had to die in order to become a sacrifice, so what does Paul mean by a ‘living’ one? In 1 Corinthians 15:31 he said that he died every day. Paul could not have been referring to actual physical death, obviously, since Hebrews 9:27 affirms that it is appointed to men to die only once (no re-incarnation). He may well have faced possible death often enough, but I suppose he is referring to dying to himself. I suppose this is also the meaning of our Lord’s words in Luke 9:23-24—“If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever desires tosave his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” In that day a cross was an instrument of death. We must die to our own will in order to embrace God’s. To present the body is presumably a metonym for presenting one’s whole self.</n> holy, satisfying to God—your intelligent duty.


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Yes, stop conforming to the pattern of this world; rather, be transformed by the renewing of your mind so as to be able to experience the good and satisfying and perfect will of God. <n>‘The pattern of this world’ belongs to Satan, so it must be rejected in order to do God’s will.</n> 


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<i> Be sensible</i> Based on the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to set your sights higher than you should, but set them sensibly, as God has apportioned a measure of faith to each.


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Since we have different spiritual gifts according to the grace that was given us, <i>let us use them</i> : if prophecy, according to the analogy of the Faith; <n>Any prophesying needs to be in accordance with Scripture.</n> 


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if exhorting, in the exhortation; <n>One might feel that Paul is being repetitious, but we all know people who try to operate in someone else’s area of gifting, and the results are not good. If an ear tries to be an eye, both hearing and sight suffer.</n> the sharer, with simplicity; the leader, with diligence; the mercy-shower, with cheerfulness. <n>Nothing like cheerfulness when helping someone who is hurting.</n> 


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distributing to the needs of the saints; practicing hospitality. <n>I take it that the whole paragraph is explaining just how love is to be genuine—very practical!</n> 


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Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. <n>If a boss is mistreating you and you curse him, will he get better or worse? That said, however, I believe we must distinguish between things done against us personally and things done against the Kingdom.</n> 


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Regard each other as being on the same level—do not distinguish the upper classes, but associate with the lower classes; do not exalt yourself. <n>I take it that this text is dealing with social position, not personal abilities.</n> 


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Dear ones, do not avenge yourselves; rather give place to the wrath; <n>Wrath is normally expressed through physical violence, and perhaps in our day through legal action. These are the sort of reaction that an ‘enemy’ will expect, not acts of kindness, which may even make him feel ashamed of himself. In any case, we are not to descend to his level, but let God do any avenging.</n> for it is written: “Vengeance is up to me; I will repay”, <n>See Deuteronomy 32:35.</n> says the Lord.


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Therefore, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing this you will heap coals of fire on his head.” <n>See Proverbs 25:21-22. Presumably the ‘coals of fire’ are not literal.</n> 


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<i> Submit</i> Let every soul submit to the governing authorities, because there is no authority except under God, and the existing authorities have been placed by God.


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Therefore whoever resists the authority is opposed to God’s ordinance, and those who oppose will bring judgment on themselves. <n>God does not like anarchy.</n> 


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Now rulers are not a terror to good deeds but to bad ones. So if you wish not to fear the authority, do the good and you will have praise from the same;


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because it is God’s minister to you with a view to the good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not bear the sword for nothing; because it is God’s minister, an avenger with a view to wrath on the wrongdoer.


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Therefore it is necessary to submit, not only because of the wrath, but also because of the conscience. <n>Presumably regimes that are overtly evil are not in view. Where a regime overtly combats the good, divine guidance is especially necessary for representatives of the good, because even an evil regime exists by God’s permission.</n> 


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This is precisely why you pay taxes, for they are God’s servants, continually attending on this very thing. <n>Have you ever seen a government that didn’t want more money?</n> 


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Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes, customs to whom customs, respect to whom respect, honor to whom honor.


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<i> Love</i> Owe no one anything except to love one another, since he who loves the other has fulfilled the law.


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Because—“You shall not commit adultery”, “You shall not murder”, “You shall not steal”, “You shall not bear false witness”, “You shall not covet”, <n>See Exodus 20:13-17, Deuteronomy 5:17-21.</n> and whatever further commandment—everything is summed up in this word, namely: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” <n>See Leviticus 19:18.</n> 


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<i> Put on Christ</i> Besides this, knowing the time, it is high time for us to be awakened from sleep, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.


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The night is nearly over, and the day is near; <n>When a servant of Christ dies physically, he leaves the ‘night’ of this world behind and his ‘day’ of glory begins. Each day we live brings us closer to that moment, so we need to make the best possible use of the time we have left.</n> so let us get rid of the works of the darkness, and let us put on the weapons of the light. <n>That’s right, ‘weapons’. Light repels darkness.</n> 


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Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual orgies and licentiousness, not in strife and jealousy.


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But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, with a view to lusts. <n>Of course we have to eat and drink to maintain life and health; it is the abuse of these appetites that is in view.</n> 


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<i> The law of liberty</i> Receive someone who is weak in the faith, but not for disputes over arguables.


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One who eats must not look down on one who does not, and one who does not eat must not judge one who does, because God has accepted him.


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Who are you to judge someone else’s household servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And stand he will, for God has the power to make him stand. <n>Christ is the Master of the Church.</n> 


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One man esteems one day above another; another esteems everyday alike. Let each one be fully convinced in his own mind.


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He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. <n>“And he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it” is omitted by 4.6% of the Greek manuscripts, to be followed by NIV, NASB, TEV, LB, etc.—an inferior proceeding.</n> And he who eats, eats to the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; while he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, also giving thanks to God.


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Because if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.


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For this very reason Christ both died and rose, and lived, <n>Although seemingly out of sequence, I assume that the reference of “and lived” is to His earthly life—without the incarnation He could not have died and conquered death. However, the perceived difficulty was enough to lead perhaps 2% of the Greek manuscripts to omit “and rose”, to be followed by NIV, NASB, TEV, LB, etc., except that they then make “and lived” refer to the resurrection.</n> so as to rule both dead and living. <n>Most presentations of the Gospel I have heard revolve around the selfish interests of the hearers, what they are going to get out of it. But the clearest statements in Scripture giving the ‘why’ of the cross tell a different story. Here in 14:9 we have a very explicit one: He died to be <b>Lord</b>! 2 Corinthians 5:15 is also explicit: “He died for all so that those who now live should no longer live for themselves but for the One who died for all and was raised again.” Philippians 2:8-11 refers to the final victory. Hebrews 2:14 refersto destroying Satan. How about preaching a Gospel that revolves around Christ’s interests!</n> 


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<i> The Judgment Seat of Christ</i> But you, why do you judge your brother? And you too, why do you look down on your brother? Because we will all stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ. <n>2.4% of the Greek manuscripts read “God” instead of “Christ”, to be followed by NIV, NASB, TEV, LB, etc.—an inferior proceeding.</n> 


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For it is written: “‘As I live,’ says the LORD , ‘every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall acknowledge God.’” <n>See Isaiah 45:23.</n> 


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Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another, but rather resolve this: not to put a stumbling block or pitfall in a brother’s way.


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I know and have been convinced by the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean of itself <n>For a Jew to say this, he had to be convinced by a higher power.</n> (still, to someone who considers a thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean),


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but if your brother is offended because of food, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not, with your food, ruin someone for whom Christ died.


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because the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.


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Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are ‘clean’; however it is wrong for the man who gives offence by eating.


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It is good not to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles, or is offended, or is weakened. <n>“Or is offended, or is weakened” is omitted by 1.8% of the Greek manuscripts, to be followed by NIV, NASB, TEV, LB, etc.—an inferior proceeding.</n> 


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Do you have faith? Have it privately before God. Happy is he who does not judge himself in what he approves.


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But he who eats with doubt stands condemned, because it is not from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin. <n>Well now, faith would appear to be a rather important commodity! But just why is everything else ‘sin’? If the basic idea in ‘sin’ is to miss the mark, or to fall short (<n>Romans 3:23</n>), then faith is of the essence. Habakkuk 2:4, “the just shall live by faith”, is repeated three times in the New Testament—Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 10:38. “That no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for ‘the just shall live by faith’” (Galatians 3:11). So to depend on the law (or any equation based on works) is to fall short. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). If God demands faith, then anything else will fall short, will miss the mark.</n> <i>Doxology</i> [<n>14:24</n>] Now to Him who has power to establish you according to my Gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret through long ages, [<n>14:25</n>] but now revealed and made known through the prophetic Scriptures, <n>Since it is being revealed ‘only now’, these ‘prophetic Scriptures’ must be New Testament writings, given by God!</n> according to the command of the eternal God, with a view to obedience of faith among all ethnic nations [<n>14:26</n>] —to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ—to Him be the glory forever! Amen. <n>5.2% of the Greek manuscripts place verses 24-26 at the end of the book, rather than here. Paul habitually places doxologies throughout his letters—they do not occur only at the end.</n> 


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<i> Summary</i> Now we who are strong ought to bear with the limitations of the weak, and not to please ourselves.


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Because even the Christ did not please Himself; rather, as it is written: “The revilings of those reviling you fell on me.” <n>See Psalm 69:9.</n> 


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Whatever things were written before were so written for our instruction, so that through the fortitude and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.


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Now may the God of that fortitude and that encouragement grant you to be of the same mind <n>It is only as a group of people are habitually exposed to the same Scriptures that ‘the same mind’ has much chance.</n> among yourselves according to Christ Jesus,


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<i> Glorify</i> Therefore accept one another, just as the Christ also accepted us, <n>Perhaps 40% of the Greek manuscripts read ‘you’, but the 60% includes the best line of transmission. The verb I have rendered as ‘accept’ can also mean ‘receive’.</n> to the glory of God.


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Now I say that Christ Jesus <n>“Jesus” is omitted by perhaps 4% of the Greek manuscripts, to be followed by NIV, NASB, TEV, LB, etc.—an inferior proceeding.</n> has become a minister to the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth, in order to confirm the promises to the fathers;


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and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, <n>We generally don’t even trust someone who does not keep his promises, much less ‘glorify’ him. So it was necessary to fulfill the promises made to the patriarchs.</n> as it is written: “For this reason I will give praise to you among the Gentiles, O LORD , <n>Less than a third of the Greek manuscripts have “O LORD”, but that third includes the best line of transmission, that follows the Hebrew Text of both 2 Samuel 22:50 and Psalm 18:49.</n> and will sing psalms to your name.” <n>See 2 Samuel 22:50, Psalm 18:49.</n> 


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And again: “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and laud Him, all you peoples!” <n>See Psalm 117:1.</n> 


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And again, Isaiah says: “The Root of Jesse will appear, even He who rises up to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will place their hope on Him.” <n>See Isaiah 11:10.</n> 


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Now may the God of the hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in that hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.


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<i> Paul’s mission</i> Now I myself am really confident about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish others.


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Nevertheless I have written to you quite boldly on some points, brothers, as a reminder to you, because of the grace given to me by God,


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that I should be a minister of Jesus Christ to the nations, serving the Gospel of God as a priest so that the Gentiles might become an acceptable offering, <n>The concept is interesting: Paul is a priest, and the nations are his offering. I habitually present my own work to God as an offering.</n> sanctified by the Holy Spirit.


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because I do not presume to speak of anything except those things that Christ has accomplished through me to make the Gentiles obedient —by word and deed,


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by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of God’s Spirit, so that I have fully proclaimed <n>Note the ‘word and deed’, the ‘signs and wonders’. Can someone who has only ‘word’ claim to have ‘fully proclaimed’ the Gospel?</n> the Gospel of the Christ from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum. <n>Illyricum lies to the north of Macedonia.</n> 


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It has always been my aim to evangelize where Christ has not been named, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation;


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rather, as it is written: “Those to whom He was not announced will see, and those who have not heard will understand.” <n>See Isaiah 52:15.</n> 


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But now, no longer having a place in these parts, and having a longing these many years to come to you,


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whenever I travel to Spain I will come to you. <n>“I will come to you” is omitted by 4.1% of the Greek manuscripts, to be followed by NIV, NASB, TEV, LB, etc.—an inferior proceeding.</n> Because I hope to see you while passing through, and to be sent on my way there by you, if I may first enjoy your company for a while.


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Because Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.


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Yes, they were pleased, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are also obligated to minister to them in physical things.


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So when I have finished this and have sealed to them this ‘fruit’, I will go by way of you to Spain. <n>I am not aware of any record that Paul ever got to Spain.</n> 


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And I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of the Gospel <n>“Of the Gospel” is omitted by 3.7% of the Greek manuscripts, to be followed by NIV, NASB, TEV, LB, etc.—an inferior proceeding.</n> of the Christ.


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Now I implore you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in prayers to God on my behalf, <n>If Paul needed prayer, how about us?</n> 


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that I may be delivered from those in Judea who do not believe, and that my service to Jerusalem may be well received by the saints;


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<i> Closing remarks Phoebe</i> I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the congregation in Cenchrea,


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so that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and assist her in whatever matter she may need from you; for indeed she herself has been a helper of many, including my own self.


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who risked their own necks for my life; <n>So far as I know, we don’t have a record of just how, when or where this happened.</n> to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the congregations of the Gentiles.


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And greet the congregation that is in their house. <n>In the beginning, congregations met in people’s homes. This avoids the expense of erecting buildings. I believe the days are upon us when all serious followers of Jesus Christ will be increasingly persecuted, including in North America and Europe. An underground Church will have little use for ‘buildings’.</n> Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who is the first convert to Christ from Achaia. <n>4% of the Greek manuscripts read “Asia” instead of “Achaia” (these are very different places), to be followed by NIV, NASB, TEV, LB, etc.—an inferior proceeding.</n> 


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 Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you. <n>Although scarcely a fourth of the Greek manuscripts read “you” (instead of “us”), that fourth includes the best line of transmission.</n> 


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 Greet Andronicus and Junias, my countrymen and my fellow prisoners, who are outstanding among the apostles, and who were in Christ before me.


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 Greet Herodian, my countryman. Greet those who are of the household of Narcissus, who are in the Lord.


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 Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, who have worked hard in the Lord. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked very hard in the Lord. <n>The three in this verse are women.</n> 


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 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, also his mother, and mine. <n>If Rufus were his physical brother, presumably Paul would have expressed himself differently, so the ‘mother’ here is not literally Paul’s.</n> 


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 Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, also Olympus and all the saints who are with them.


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<i> Warning</i> Now I exhort you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine you have learned, and avoid them.


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Because such people do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. <n>Guileless people are often not prepared to recognize guile in others. So those who are responsible for the spiritual welfare of the flock need to warn the people about who should be avoided.</n> 


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I rejoice over you because your obedience has become known to all, but I want you to be wise as to what is good, yet innocent as to what is evil. <n>When the first pair ate of the forbidden tree, this was not the result.</n> 


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The God of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet! <n>The sooner, the better!</n> <i>Sign off</i> The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ <n>1% of the Greek manuscripts omit “Christ”, to be followed by NIV and NASB—an inferior proceeding.</n> be with you.


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Gaius, host to me and the whole congregation, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, greets you, as does brother Quartus. <n>One gains the clear impression that the people mentioned in verse 23 knew that Tertius was penning this letter. Not only that, they asked to be included! I wonder who Quartus may have been.</n> 


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The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us <n>I have followed perhaps 20% of the Greek manuscripts, including the best line of transmission, in putting ‘us’ rather than the familiar ‘you’. If verses 22-24 were not dictated by Paul, then the first person is especially appropriate, coming from Tertius.</n> all! Amen. <n>3.2% of the Greek manuscripts omit verse 24, while 7.2% supply 14:24-26 at this point.</n> 


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<i> Opening Considerations Greeting</i> Paul, a called apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and brother Sosthenes,


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to the church <n>Since there were probably several local congregations meeting in homes in Corinth, not to mention “everywhere”, I have rendered ‘church’. Note that Paul obviously intended that his letter have a wide circulation, very wide.</n> of God in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, <n>If your life style is still that of the world, you have not been ‘sanctified’.</n> called saints, along with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—ours, theirs and yours: <n>‘yours’ is the reading of the best line of transmission, as I see it.</n> 


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Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. <n>‘The Lord Jesus Christ’ is now Jehovah the Son’s official name/title.</n> 


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<i> A word of thanksgiving</i> Concerning you, I always thank my God because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus;


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even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, <n>As the Message was progressively confirmed in them, they were progressively enriched with the things mentioned.</n> 


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so that you lack no spiritual gift as you expectantly await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, <n>It appears that the early Christians expected the Lord to return at any time, which would tend to have a sobering effect upon one’s style of living.</n> 


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who will also confirm you until the end, blameless in the Day of our Lord Jesus Christ. <n>The “Day of our Lord Jesus Christ” includes the accounting for all those who are in Him. So the promise here is major, and verse 9 starts with ‘God is faithful’.</n> 


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God is faithful, by whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. <n>To the ‘Western’ mind it may seem like Paul was being a bit repetitious; but Paul was a Jew—he is making very sure that they know where he is coming from, and where he wants to take them.</n> 


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<i> A word of exhortation</i> Now I appeal to you, brothers, by the name <n>The name represents the person.</n> of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing <n>They are not being told to repeat things like parrots, but to be in essential agreement about important points.</n> and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be restored <n>They have drifted.</n> to the same mind and to the same purpose.


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You see, my brothers, it has been reported to me concerning you, by some from Chloe’s household, <n>Paul cites his source.</n> that there are contentions among you.


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What I mean is that you are individually saying: “I am of Paul”, or “I am of Apollos”, or “I am of Cephas”, or “I am of Christ”!


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Has Christ been divided? It wasn’t Paul who was crucified for you, was it? You weren’t baptized into the name of Paul, were you?


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<i> A disclaimer about baptism</i> I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius,


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O yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanus; besides them I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.


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Because Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the Gospel <n>If water baptism were essential to salvation, I fail to see how Paul could have expressed himself in this way—he is clearly implying that water baptism is not an essential part of the Gospel. In the early Church people were baptized immediately, not after weeks of ‘preparation’, because the convert was publicly breaking with Satan and his kingdom and formally placing himself under Christ’s protection. Such baptism is an important procedure, and its value should be explained to any new convert.</n> —not with eloquent ‘wisdom’, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of power. <n>Dear me, is eloquence the enemy of power? Does not eloquence give glory to the speaker rather than to Christ? Perhaps not inescapably, but the tendency is definitely there.</n> 


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<i> The nature of the Gospel Foolishness to the lost</i> The message of the cross, you see, is foolishness to those who are being wasted, <n>We are accustomed to ‘perishing’. The verb here has a considerable semantic area and can be rendered—destroy, kill, deprive, void, lose, perish—depending on the context, but I believe the root idea is ‘waste’. The only way to fulfill the purpose for which you were created, to realize your potential, is to turn your life over to Jesus. The alternative is to waste your life, both now and forever. Of course the enemy works to make people think the opposite.</n> but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.


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For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and confound the shrewdness of the intelligent.” <n>See Isaiah 29:14.</n> 


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Where is the wise one? Where is the scholar? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?


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For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through its ‘wisdom’ did not get to know God, it pleased God to save the believing ones through the ‘foolishness’ of what was preached—


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but we proclaim a crucified Christ: an offense to Jews, foolishness to Greeks. <n>To the Jews, their Messiah would be a conquering king, and since death on a cross was viewed as a curse (Deuteronomy 21:23, Galatians 3:13), a crucified Messiah was simply unthinkable. What did the Greeks want with someone else’s Messiah, especially a dead one—sheer nonsense!</n> 


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Now to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God,


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because the ‘foolishness’ of God is wiser than men, and the ‘weakness’ of God is stronger than men. <n>We like to forget this, but it is best not to do so.</n> 


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<i> God uses ‘nothings’</i> Just look at your calling, brothers: not many are wise, not many are powerful, not many are of noble birth, by human standards;


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but God has chosen the foolish things of the world that He might put the wise to shame, and God has chosen the weak things of the world that He might put the strong things to shame;


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and God has chosen the lowly things of the world and the despised things—even the ‘nothings’—that He might nullify the ‘somethings’;


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so that no flesh should boast in God’s presence. <n>This is the bottom line. Several times the Text declares that God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.</n> 


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It is from Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God—also righteousness and sanctification and redemption <n>We receive Christ’s righteousness to get started; the sanctification is to keep us clean along the road; the redemption is the final victory.</n> —


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so that, as it is written: “He who boasts, let him boast in the LORD .” <n>See Jeremiah 9:24. Since God has given us all we have, to glory in self is wrong.</n> 


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<i> Not with human wisdom but with God’s power</i> So when I came to you, brothers, I did not come proclaiming God’s testimony to you with a ‘superior’ speech or wisdom.


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Yes, my message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power,


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so that your faith not be in men’s wisdom, but in God’s power. <n>How many missionaries and pastors today are following Paul’s example? How many of us know how to demonstrate God’s power? Faith is to be based on power, not human wisdom.</n> 


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<i> Wisdom for the mature</i> However, we do speak wisdom among the mature, <n>This is important. Paul is not championing ignorance or stupidity. In teaching Christians he certainly used God’s wisdom. It was in his evangelizing that he avoided ‘human wisdom’.</n> albeit not the wisdom of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are being set aside; <n>‘Being set aside’ how, and when? If God’s people would really be ‘salt’ and ‘light’ (Matthew 5:13-14) they could transform any culture.</n> 


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but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden <n>In the Bible a ‘mystery’ is something hidden.</n> wisdom that God ordained before the ages for our glory,


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that none of the rulers of this age have understood (because if they had understood, they would not have crucified the Lord of the glory).


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However, as it is written: “Things no eye has seen and no ear has heard, and no heart of man has imagined, such things has God prepared for those who love Him.” <n>Wonderful! Thank you, God! See Isaiah 64:4.</n> 


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But to <i>us</i> God has revealed them by His Spirit; because the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.


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Now who among men knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man that is in him? So also no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.


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We have not received the spirit of the world <n>‘The spirit of the world’ evidently must exist. If the reference is not to Satan directly, he is certainly behind it.</n> but the Spirit who is from God, so that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God; <n>Evidently one of the things the Holy Spirit wants to do is to illumine us on the subject of God’s free gifts—if we would only listen!</n> 


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which things we also expound, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Holy Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to spiritual people.


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Now a soulish <n>That’s what the Text says. A ‘soulish’ person cannot understand spiritual things, which sounds rather like a congenital defect—the reference might be to humanoids <i>à la</i> Genesis 6 (Matthew 24:37).</n> man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; indeed, he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.


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But he who is spiritual evaluates everything, while not being himself subject to anyone’s judgment. <n>The same verb is used three times, to which I have given different renderings—‘discerned’, ‘evaluates’, ‘subject to judgment’ (the middle one is in the active voice, the other two in the passive). The king of interpretation is the context, and the verb (<i>anakrinw</i>) covers a considerable semantic area.</n> 


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For “who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct Him?” <n>See Isaiah 40:13. Compare John 3:8, where the Lord Jesus says that the Spirit controlled person is like the wind, unpredictable—other people will have trouble figuring him out; when they expect him to ‘zig’, he will ‘zag’.</n> But we have the mind of Christ. <n>Well now, do we or don’t we?</n> 


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<i> The nature of the ministry It is not to be sectarian</i> Brothers, I was not able to address you as spiritual, but as fleshly, as infants in Christ.


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because you are <i>still</i> fleshly! For since there is envy, strife and divisions among you, are you not carnal and acting like ordinary people?


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<i> God’s coworkers</i> Who then is Paul, who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord has given to each one?


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So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who makes it grow. <n>God is the One who makes things grow. No farmer should call himself an atheist.</n> 


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Now he who plants and he who waters are at one, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. <n>This is a point worth remembering. The lazy won’t get much.</n> 


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<i> There will be an Accounting</i> According to the grace of God that was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid a foundation, while another builds on it. But let each one be careful how he builds;


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for no one can lay any foundation other than what is laid, which is Jesus Christ. <n>I would say that the primary reference here is to leaders of local congregations, who need to be careful how they ‘build’ God’s ‘house’. But I believe it also clearly applies to anyone whose personal life is based on Jesus Christ. Each of us will give an account of how we built our lives on that foundation. Note that we are not offered the option of changing the foundation. Anyone who attempts to do so does not belong to God.</n> 


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the work of each will become evident; because the Day will make it clear, because it will be revealed by fire. Yes, the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.


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If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, albeit so as through fire. <n>Paul is talking about the Day of Christ wherein those in Christ will be called to account. The Text plainly states that what we have done will be tested by fire. Someone who spent most of his time living for himself rather than for Christ’s Kingdom will be surrounded by nice, dry straw (all that any fire could ask for!). So the angel aims the blowtorch at the straw—the fire is high, hot, but short-lived. The person is left standing in a pile of fine ash, somewhat the worse for the wear.The price you pay for not living for Christ’s kingdom is to lose your life. That’s all it costs, just your life! Consider the words of the Lord Jesus recorded in Luke 9:24-25. Let’s begin with verse 23. “If anyone desires to come after me let him deny himself, take up his cross each day and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it. For what will it profit a man to gain the whole world but waste or forfeit himself?” What does the Lord mean when He speaks of losing one’s “life”? One does not lose one’s soul for love of Christ. Nor is the reference to being killed. Rather, Jesus has in mind the life we live, the accumulated results of our living. All that I have done up to this moment plus all that I will yet do until overtaken by death or the rapture of the Church, whichever happens first—that is the “life” that is at risk (in my own case).Let’s look at our Lord’s words a little more closely. There seems to be a contradiction here—if you lose, you save; if you want to save, you lose. How can it work? The following context helps us out. In verse 26 Jesus explains verses 24-25 in terms of His second coming. The parallel passage, Matthew 16:27, is clearer. “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of his Father, with his angels, and then he will repay each according to his deeds.” Christ was thinking of the day of reckoning. In other words, “we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ” (Romans 14:10) and “each of us will give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12). “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive his due according to what he has done while in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10). I understand that 1Corinthians 3:11-15 is referring to the same occasion, the day of reckoning. After declaring that Jesus Christ is the only foundation, Paul speaks of different materials that one might use in building on it: “gold, silver, precious stones” or “wood, hay, straw”. The point is, our deeds will be tested by fire. If fire has any effect upon gold or silver it is only to purify them, but its effect on hay and straw is devastating! Okay, so what?Let’s go back to the beginning. God created the human being for His glory; to reflect it and contribute to it. I suppose we may understand Psalm 19:1 and Isaiah 43:7 in this way, at least by extension. But Adam lost this capacity when he rebelled against God. For this reason the sentence that weighs against our race is that we “fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). But the Son came into the world to restore our lost potential. Ephesians 1:12 and 14 tell us that the object of the plan of salvation is “the praise of His glory” (see also 2 Corinthians 1:20). And 1 Corinthians 10:31 puts it into a <b>command</b>: “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Now then, the point of all this is not to ‘ruin’ our lives, to take all the ‘fun’ out of them (as many seem to think). God isn’t being arrogant, unreasonable, too demanding. Quite the contrary—He is just trying to save us from throwing away our lives. Sure, because the glory of God is eternal (Psalm 104:31), and when I do something for His glory that something is transformed and acquires eternal value—it becomes “gold, silver, precious stones”. Works done for the glory of God will go through the fire without harm. On the other hand, what is done with a view to our own ambitions and ideas is “straw”. We all know what fire does to straw!So there it is. To be a slave of Christ means to live with reference to the Kingdom; it means to do everything for the glory of God. In this way the slave “saves” his life because he will be building it with “gold and silver”, which will pass through the fire at the judgment seat of Christ without loss. In contrast, the believer who refuses to be a slave of Jesus builds his life with “hay and straw”, which will be consumed by the fire—and so he “loses” his life; he lived in vain; the potential that his life represented was wasted, thrown away. What a tragedy!</n> 


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<i> We are a temple of God</i> Do you (pl) not know that you are a temple of God and the Spirit of God dwells in you?


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If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; because God’s temple, which you are, is holy. <n>This passage contrasts with 6:19; there each individual believer is a temple of the Holy Spirit, while here the local congregation is stated to be God’s temple, with the Holy Spirit indwelling the members.</n> 


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Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become ‘foolish’ so that he may become wise.


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Because the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness;” <n>See Job 5:12.</n> 


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and again, “The LORD knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are futile.” <n>See Psalm 94:11.</n> 


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whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, whether the world or life or death, whether things present or things to come—all are yours, <n>In what sense? I suppose this refers to potential use, not ownership.</n> 


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<i> As stewards we must be faithful</i> Let a man consider us like this: as Christ’s subordinates and stewards of God’s mysteries.


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Moreover, what is required of stewards is that each be found faithful. <n>By the owner; see the last clause of verse 4, below.</n> 


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So to me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court; in fact, I do not even judge myself.


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For I am conscious of nothing against myself, although I am not justified by this; it is the Lord who judges me.


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Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and expose the motives of the hearts. <n>Part of judging correctly is knowing why the accused did it. Since ‘knowing the motives of the hearts’ is generally beyond us [even our own at times], we had better leave the judging up to the Judge.</n> At that time the praise that comes to each will be from God. <n>I was brought up on the AV that says: “then shall every man have praise of God”, which led me to believe that everyone would get some praise. However, I believe the Text says something different, as indicated in my rendering. Paul is not affirming that all will get praise (of what use is ‘praise’ to someone in the Lake of fire?), but that the Judge will distribute whatever praise is merited.</n> 


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<i> No room for boasting</i> I have illustrated these things using myself and Apollos, brothers, for your sakes, so that you may learn from us not to think beyond what is written, <n>Where? By whom? I suppose the reference is to principles in the Scriptures.</n> that no one of you be puffed up in favor of the one against the other.


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Now who is distinguishing you? Or what do you have that you did not receive? <n>Here is the fundamental recipe against boasting. None of us chose who our parents would be, where we would be born, what language would be our native tongue. But these circumstances dictate the opportunities that a person will have, quite apart from talents and abilities. Things that were given to us do not form a proper basis for boasting.</n> So if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?


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You are already stuffed! You are already rich! You have become ‘kings’ without us! I could wish that you really did reign, so that we might be kings with you too! <n>Presumably a bit of sarcasm.</n> 


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<i> The cost of being an apostle</i> For I keep thinking that God has displayed us, the apostles, at the end of the line, like men sentenced to death; <n>The reference seems to be to a returning Roman commander’s victory march, where some of the conquered enemy soldiers would be displayed at the end of the line, and be executed later.</n> because we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men.


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We are fools for Christ while you are wise! We are weak but you are strong! You are esteemed, we are despised!


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To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty; we are poorly dressed, brutally treated, and wander homeless;


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yes, we labor, working with our own hands. Upon being reviled, we bless; upon being persecuted, we endure it;


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upon being slandered, we exhort. We have been made as the refuse of the world, the off-scouring of whatever, to this moment. <n>Wow, what a ‘job description’! Any applicants? How many of the plague of self-styled ‘apostles’ in our day meet these qualifications?</n> 


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<i> Children imitate fathers</i> I am not writing these things to shame you; I am admonishing you as my dear children.


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Because even if you were to have thousands of tutors in Christ, you would not have many fathers, because I am the one who begot you in Christ Jesus, through the Gospel.


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Therefore I am urging you, become my imitators. <n>Our spiritual children will naturally look to us for example. If people imitate us, how badly will they be damaged?</n> 


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That is why I sent you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every congregation.


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But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those who have been puffed up, but the power.


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Because the Kingdom of God is not in word but in power. <n>Here is a plain statement. On this basis, how many churches and ministries that you know of are part of God’s Kingdom?</n> 


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<i> The nature of the Christian life Immorality must be punished</i> It is actually reported that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as not even pagans talk about <n>It was reported that a man had his father’s wife, a type of fornication such that not even the pagans talked about it. However, the eclectic Greek text currently in vogue (following 3.2% of the Greek manuscripts—this includes the earliest ones, that are of objectively inferior quality) affirms that this type of incest does not even exist among the pagans, a plain falsehood. Every conceivable type of sexual perversion has existed throughout human history. Strangely, such evangelical versions as NIV, NASB, LB and Berkley propagate this error.</n> —that someone has his father’s wife!


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And you are puffed up and not even grieved, so as to exclude the one who has done this deed from your fellowship.


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For I indeed, as present in spirit <n>Interpreters have generally spiritualized ‘present in spirit’, but I suspect that it may be literal. A number of people who converted out of Spiritism have told me personally that they used to project their spirits away from their bodies (with demonic assistance), something that Spiritists and Satanists openly avow (they call it ‘astral projection’). When I lived among an indigenous people in the Amazon jungle, the shamans claimed the same thing. At first I resisted the idea, but the accumulated evidence became too strong.Then I began to think of possible cases in the Bible. In 2 Kings 5:26 Elisha tells Jehazi that his ‘heart’ went along and witnessed what he did. According to 2 Kings 6:12 apparently Elisha projected his spirit over to the Syrian king’s bedroom! How about the Lord Jesus? In Mark 6:47-48 the boat was in ‘the middle of the sea’, or several miles from land (John 6:19), and it was night; yet Jesus ‘saw them straining at the rowing’ (He perceived by the eye). In John 1:48 Jesus tells Nathanael that He saw him ‘under the fig tree’ (perceived by the eye), something that was physically impossible; so much so that Nathanael immediately declares Him to be God. (See also Matthew 17:25, and so on.) How about Paul? In Colossians 2:5 Paul says that he ‘observes’ their orderliness. The basic meaning of the verb rendered ‘observe’ is to observe with the physical eye, which implies being within range and with no obstacles. But Paul obviously was not there as he wrote, in fact had never been there. He affirms that it is his spirit that is doing the seeing and rejoicing.The Protestant Reformation was a result, in part, of the Renaissance, with its emphasis on reason, so Protestants in general have had trouble understanding the spirit world. So the tendency of commentators has been to ‘spiritualize’ Paul’s statement, rather than take it literally. Of course they have done the same with 2 Kings 5:26 and 6:12, not to mention John 1:48. Here in Brazil we have many former Spiritists and Satanists who have been converted and they affirm that they used to project their spirits outside their bodies and go all over the place—several of my former students, now genuinely converted, have told me they used to do it—but they could do so only with the assistance of a fallen angel (demon). Satan’s ‘thing’ is to be like the Most High, so he is always trying to imitate Him; perhaps God’s servants used to know how to do this, only without such assistance [I have heard of a few in our day who still do].Returning to 1 Corinthians 5, notice that in verse 4 Paul says, “you and my spirit being together”, which sounds sort of literal to me.</n> though absent in body, have already judged the one who created this situation, as though I were present:


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in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, you and my spirit being together, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,


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we must hand such a one over to Satan for a destruction of the ‘flesh’, that the spirit may be saved in the Day of the Lord Jesus. <n>I don’t understand this. If while in the group the man fell into such sin, how can excommunicating him (verse 13) and turning him over to Satan bring about an improvement? I would expect Satan to lock him up tight. Unless it be that the shock treatment would somehow wake the man up.</n> 


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<i> Down with moral ‘yeast’</i> Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough?


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Therefore purge out the old leaven, so that you can be a new batch, like you are, without yeast. Especially since Christ our Passover has been sacrificed in our place.


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So then let us observe the feast, <n>Presumably the Passover (our Easter)—having mentioned Christ as our Passover lamb, he applies the idea to their daily life.</n> not with old leaven, nor with the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened loaves of sincerity and truth.


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<i> Avoid contaminators</i> I wrote to you in my letter <n>Evidently this was a prior missive, so this present letter is really number two.</n> not to associate with fornicators—


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not of course the fornicators of this world, or the greedy, or the swindlers, or the idolaters; since then you would have to exit the world!


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But now I write you not to associate with anyone <i>who calls himself a brother</i> who is a fornicator, or greedy, or an idolater, or abusive, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such. <n>Since we cannot exit the world, we are obliged to deal with the sinners in it; but we do so without identifying with them and their lifestyle. But within the circle of believers there is identification, communion, mutual commitment, and a life style very different from that of the world [well, at least it’s supposed to be]. What is at stake is not only the spiritual power of the congregation, but also its testimony before the world—someone who wants to keep on sinning like the world has not been transformed and does not belong in the circle, and this should be made very clear to one and all. Paul is saying that they should not do anything that could be construed as an acceptance of his conduct.</n> 


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Now just why should it be up to me to judge those who are outside? Won’t you judge those who are inside?


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<i> Down with lawsuits!</i> How can anyone of you who has a dispute with another dare to have it judged before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?


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Don’t you know that the saints are to be judging the world? <n>The question, “Don’t you know?” indicates that if the person addressed doesn’t know, he should, and his ignorance is culpable. For Paul to write in this way, his addressees had to have had a reasonable opportunity of knowing, or it would be an unfair gambit on Paul’s part. On such a topic the information should be available in God’s written revelation, and I believe it is. Consider Psalm 149:5-9. “Let the saints exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance upon the nations, and punishments upon the peoples; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute upon them the written judgment. This honor is for all His saints.” Note that the saints are in their beds! So the activity that is described in the following verses must take place in the spiritual realm. I assume that the ‘kings’ and ‘nobles’ includes both men and fallen angels. It seems clear to me that the intent of the Text is that we be doing this right now, in this life. There is no lack of ‘written judgments’ to be imposed: Zechariah 5:2-4, against thieves and liars; Proverbs 20:10, against those who use diverse weights and measures; Isaiah 10:1-2, against those who make unjust laws; Romans 1:26-32, against homosexuals and a variety of others (note that verse 32 says that “those who practice such things <b>are</b> deserving of death”, ‘are’ not ‘were’—since Romans was written after Pentecost, within the Age of Grace and of the Church, this judgment still applies). God’s moral character cannot change; Psalm 34:16 says: “The face of Jehovah is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.” Presumably before wiping out the remembrance He will have to cut off the evil people themselves.Returning to 1 Corinthians 6:2, the only difference between present and future tense for ‘judge’ is the accent, and since the earliest Greek manuscripts generally do not have accents, in them the verb is ambiguous as to tense. Most, but not all, later manuscripts accent the verb as future and every version that I have seen follows suit. But if Paul is thinking of Psalm 149, then the present tense is correct—in fact, the immediately following passive form of the verb is present tense. I take Paul’s point to be: if we are supposed to be judging the world, how can we possibly ask the world to judge us? To do so is illogical.</n> So if the world is to be judged by you, are you not competent to judge the smallest matters?


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Don’t you know that we will judge angels? <n>When will this happen? I don’t know. But the implication is clear that we are superior to them.</n> How much more the things of this life! <n>Obviously, if we are to judge the things of this life, it has to be during this life!</n> 


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Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint those who are least esteemed in the congregation to judge! <n>This is almost cute. In effect Paul is saying that the humblest believer will be a more competent judge than whatever is in the world!</n> 


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I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is not a single wise man among you who would be competent to conduct a hearing <n>I have not only followed a minority of the Greek manuscripts (about 25%), but even the family that represents the best line of transmission is divided, yet I have no real doubt about the choice. Paul is not looking for one person to impose a ruling on everyone else, but someone to conduct a hearing that will result in a consensus among those present.</n> among his brothers?


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Actually, the very fact that you have lawsuits among you already represents a defeat for you. <n>They are allowing themselves to be controlled by the world’s values—clearly a defeat!</n> Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why not rather accept being cheated?


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<i> How to avoid inheriting the Kingdom</i> Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, <n>Note that ‘fornicators’ and ‘adulterers’ receive separate mention, so they cannot refer to the same thing. ‘Adultery’ does not include ‘fornication’, nor vice versa.</n> nor catamites, <n>‘catamites’ refers to those who fulfill the role of ‘female’ in anal sex, the ‘passive’ partner. ‘sodomites’ refers to those who fulfill the ‘male’ role in anal sex. A catamite is someone who participates voluntarily; a victim of rape is altogether different.</n> nor sodomites,


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nor the greedy, nor thieves, nor drunkards, nor the abusive, nor swindlers can inherit the Kingdom of God, absolutely.


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And that is what some of you were; <n>Paul makes clear that it is possible to be saved out of any of the practices mentioned, but anyone who dies while still practicing is out, ‘absolutely’.</n> but you were bathed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. <n>The Spirit is the agent.</n> 


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<i> Fornication is bad!</i> All things are ‘permissible’ for me, but not all things are expedient. All things are ‘permissible’ for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.


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Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. <n>We have to eat to live, but anyone who lives to eat will face an angry Creator.</n> Now the body is not for fornication but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. <n>I don’t think I understand this.</n> 


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Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Not ever!


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Can you not know that the one who joins himself with a prostitute is one body <i>with her</i> ? For “the two”, He says, “will become one flesh.” <n>See Genesis 2:24.</n> 


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Flee from fornication! Every sin that a man may commit is outside the body, but he who fornicates sins against his own body. <n>Precisely. Verse 16 above states plainly that whoever joins himself to a prostitute becomes one flesh with her. “The two will become one flesh” is not a poetic expression; it is a medical fact. During coitus there is an exchange of enzymes, such that the participants are affected in their bodies, literally. It follows that a promiscuous person is damaging his body, progressively. But it may be worse even than that. Proverbs 6:32 says: “Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; he who does so destroys his own soul.” Verses 33-35 describe the social consequences, but I believe the participants suffer consequences within themselves as well. I suspect that along with the enzymes goes a bit of the soul, so a professional prostitute has a seriously weakened soul, and a promiscuous male keeps on lousing up his soul, quite apart from the physical consequences. No wonder the Text says to flee!!</n> 


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Do you not know that your <n>In 3:16 the pronoun was plural, here it is singular.</n> body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?


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Because you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. <n>The eclectic Greek text currently in vogue omits, “and in your spirit, which are God’s”, following 3.7% of the Greek manuscripts—this includes the earliest ones, that are of objectively inferior quality (it is followed by NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).</n> 


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<i> About marriage</i> Now concerning the things about which you wrote to me: it is good for a man not to touch a woman.


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But because of the fornications, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. <n>Observe that it’s just one wife, and just one husband.</n> 


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Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband.


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The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; similarly also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.


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Do not deprive one another except by mutual consent for a season, so that you may devote yourselves to fasting and to prayer, and come together again so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. <n>The whole paragraph is talking about sexual intercourse.</n> 


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Now I say this <n>I take the pronoun to be cataphoric, referring to what follows (most are anaphoric, referring to something in the prior context).</n> as a concession, not as a command


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(though I wish that all men were even as I myself; but each has his own gift from God, one like this and one like that).


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but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry; since it is better to marry than to burn. <n>This is usually understood as ‘burn with passion’, but if practicing fornicators don’t enter the Kingdom, the more literal meaning may obtain.</n> 


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<i> Mixed marriages</i> Now to the married I command (not I but the Lord): a wife is not to be separated from her husband


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(but if she does separate herself, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband), and a husband is not to divorce his wife.


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But to the rest I (not the Lord) say: if any brother has an unbelieving wife and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her.


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And a woman who has an unbelieving husband and he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him.


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For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are consecrated. <n>The believing parent consecrates the child to God.</n> 


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But if the unbeliever separates, let him separate—in such cases the brother or the sister is not enslaved, but God has called us to peace. <n>In verses 10 and 11, where both are believers (evidently), the Lord forbids divorce and re-marriage. Here in verse 15 the subject is a mixed marriage where the unbeliever wants out (verses 12-14 make clear that the believer is not to take the initiative in a separation). There are those who argue that if the unbeliever leaves, the believer is free to re-marry, but how can that be true? If re-marriage is not allowed if a believing partner leaves (verses 10-11), with what logic can it be argued that the rule changes if the partner is an unbeliever? It simply doesn’t follow. On the contrary, the believer is called upon to make a special effort to win the other. However, if the unbeliever is determined to leave, an effort by the believer to go along at any cost will only prolong a climate of strife, and God has called us to peace. The point of marriage is not to make one’s life a hell on earth—it is better to live alone than in unrelenting strife.</n> 


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For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife? <n>In any place where the Gospel arrives for the first time, it is predictable that at first only one partner in a marriage will convert. This causes a strained atmosphere in the home, but if they can stick it out, the second partner stands a good chance of converting as well.</n> 


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<i> About other situations</i> Otherwise, as God has distributed to each, as the Lord has called each one, so let him live (this is what I command in all the congregations).


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Was anyone already circumcised when called? Let him not reverse it. <n>Attempting to reverse a circumcision was a known surgical procedure at that time, but would be totally unnecessary for a Christian.</n> Was anyone uncircumcised when called? Let him not be circumcised.


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For the one in the Lord who was called while a slave is the Lord’s freedman. Similarly, the one who was called while free is Christ’s slave.


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Brothers, let each one remain with God in the social condition in which he was called. <n>We are not to fret, but if the Lord opens the opportunity to improve our situation, I take it that we may (and should) do so, as with the slave.</n> 


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<i> About virgins</i> Now about the virgins I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who has obtained mercy from the Lord to be trustworthy.


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I consider therefore that this is good because of the current distress—that it is good for a man to remain as he is:


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Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek release. Have you been released from a wife? Do not seek a wife.


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However, should you marry, you haven’t sinned; and if a virgin should marry, she hasn’t sinned. Still, such will have trouble in the flesh, and I want to spare you. <n>Since we have the indwelling Holy Spirit, we should ask His specific direction before taking on such a serious responsibility.</n> 


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<i> A sense of urgency</i> Now I say this, brothers, the time has been shortened, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none,


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and those who weep as though not weeping, and those who rejoice as though not rejoicing, and those who buy as though not possessing,


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and those who use this world as though not abusing it; because this world’s mode is passing away. <n>If the time was short two thousand years ago, it is now that much shorter. The point is that our lives should revolve around Jesus Christ and His Kingdom, not around our own desires and ambitions. There is no lack of marriage seminars that teach how to make each other happy, as if that were the major purpose in life. Not so. Everything in our lives should be subordinated to the interests of Christ’s Kingdom, not stroking each other’s ego. We like to forget 1 John 2:15-17, but to do so is not smart.</n> 


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<i> Marriage again</i> Now I want you to be without anxiety. He who is unmarried cares about the things of the Lord: how he will please the Lord.


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While he who is married cares about the things of the world: how he will please his wife. <n>Paul is not being sarcastic; he’s just stating a plain fact (as we who are married know).</n> 


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The wife and the virgin are also different. She who is unmarried cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit; while she who is married cares about the things of the world: how she will please her husband.


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I am saying this for your own profit, not to put a leash on you, but for what is appropriate, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction.


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Now if anyone thinks he is behaving inappropriately toward his virgin, if she is past her prime and thus it should be, let him do what he desires; he does not sin; let them marry.


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But he who stands steadfast in his heart, not having necessity, but has control over his own will, and has determined in his heart to preserve his own virginity, does well.


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A woman is bound by law for as long as her husband lives, but if the man should die, she is free to be married to whom she wishes—only in the Lord.


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But she is more blessed if she remains as she is, according to my judgment—and I think I also have God’s Spirit.


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<i> About things offered to idols</i> Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.


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But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him. <n>That’s one way to make sure God knows who you are!</n> 


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<i> Idols are really nothing</i> Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and no one else is God except the One.


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For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on the earth (since there are many ‘gods’ and many ‘lords’),


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yet for us there is one God, the Father, out of whom are all things and we into Him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and we through Him.


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<i> Respect the other’s conscience</i> However, this knowledge is not in everyone; but some, with consciousness of the idol, still eat it as offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.


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But food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we better off, nor if we do not eat are we worse off.


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For if someone who is weak sees you with your knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience be emboldened to eat things offered to idols?


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So then, if food causes my brother to fall, I will never eat meat again, lest I cause my brother to fall. <n>The ‘fall’ here is serious, including the possibility that he may not get up again.</n> 


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<i> The ‘rights’ of an apostle</i> Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? <n>One of the requirements for a replacement for Judas Iscariot was to have seen the risen Christ (Acts 1:22).</n> Are you not my work in the Lord?


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If I am not an apostle to others, yet at least I am to you, because you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.


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Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, just as the rest of the apostles and the Lord’s brothers <n>This refers to the sons that Mary had with Joseph after Jesus was born. ‘Cephas’ was another name for Peter.</n> and Cephas?


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Who ever serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not drink of its milk?


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For it stands written in the Law of Moses: “You shall not muzzle an ox that is threshing.” <n>See Deuteronomy 25:4.</n> Is it really about the oxen that God is concerned, <n>Obviously human beings are more important to God than are the animals, but God is telling us to treat the animals with some consideration.</n> 


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or does He surely say it for our sakes? Yes, it was written for us, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should partake of his hope.


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<i> To live from the Gospel</i> Since we planted spiritual things in you, is it a big deal if we reap material things from you?


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If others have a share in this right from you, do not we even more? Nevertheless we have not used this right, but we put up with everything so as not to cause any hindrance to the Gospel of Christ.


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Don’t you know that those who minister the sacred things eat from the temple, and those who serve at the altar have a share in the altar?


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So also the Lord has instructed those who proclaim the Gospel to live from the Gospel. <n>When was that? When Jesus sent out the twelve and later the seventy, He told them not to take money but to depend on the hospitality of those to whom they ministered.</n> 


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<i> To forego a right</i> Now I have not used any of these rights, nor have I written these things that it should be done so in my case; for it would be better for me to die than that anyone should make my boasting void


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—I cannot boast because I preach the Gospel, because I am compelled to do so; indeed, woe is me if I don’t preach it!


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(If I do this of my own volition, I have a reward; but if otherwise, I have been entrusted with a commission.)


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So what is my reward? That when I evangelize I may present the Gospel of Christ without charge, so as not to use my rights in the Gospel. <n>If you only do something because you are compelled, because you can’t get out of it, you get no credit for it. Paul preaches the Gospel because he has to, he is compelled, so gets no credit. But Paul wants some credit, some reward! So how can he get it? Not by preaching, since that is obligatory—by preaching without charge! Paul has the right to charge but foregoes it so as to get some credit/reward. Evidently this was rather important to him (verse 15).</n> 


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<i> All things to all men</i> Though being free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, in order that I might win the more:


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To the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those under law as under law, that I might win those under law;


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to those without law as without law (not being without law toward God but under law toward Christ), that I might win those without law;


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to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.


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Now I do this for the sake of the Gospel, so as to become its partner. <n>If you are a partner, you get a share of the profits.</n> 


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<i> Even an apostle can be rejected</i> Do you not know that in a stadium race all the runners run, but one gets the prize? Run like that, that you may win.


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All athletic competitors exercise general self-control—they do it in order to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.


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Yes, I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, having preached to others, I myself should be rejected. <n>This is a strong term. If Paul was concerned, we had better be too! Note that this has to do with disciplining the body.</n> 


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<i> Learn from Israel</i> Now I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea


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and drank the same spiritual drink; because they kept drinking from a spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that Rock was the Christ. <n>I would say that wherever Jehovah appears in the Old Testament it is Jehovah the Son, who became the Christ at His incarnation.</n> 


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For all that, God was not pleased with most of them—their <i>carcasses</i> were scattered around the desert! <n>The apostle is not concerned to spare our sensibilities; quite the contrary. He is issuing a very strong warning. God’s blessing does not necessarily indicate His approval.</n> 


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<i> Examples</i> Now these things became examples for us, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.


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And do not become idolaters, just like some of them; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to amuse themselves.” <n>See Exodus 32:6.</n> 


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And let us not fornicate, just as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand died! <n>See Numbers 25:1-9. Another thousand died after the first day, giving a total of twenty-four thousand deaths.</n> 


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Neither let us test the Christ, just as also some of them did—and were destroyed by the snakes! <n>See Numbers 21:6-9.</n> 


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And do not grumble, just as also some of them did—and were executed by the destroyer! <n>See Numbers 14:37 and 16:49. Just because God is no longer striking us down like that, people think they are getting away with doing the same things. They are in for an unpleasant surprise. If the examples were written ‘for our admonition’, it is because they are still relevant to us.</n> 


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Now all these things happened to them as examples and were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends <n>One would expect the singular here, but the Text is plainly plural. Well, I suppose each of the ages would have a distinct end, and the effect could be cumulative.</n> of the ages have come.


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No testing <n>The Greek word here can mean either ‘test’ or ‘tempt’ (test with a moral nuance), depending on the context. James 1:13 states plainly that God does not tempt us, and since in this context God is clearly involved, the correct choice is ‘test’. </n> has overtaken you except what is common to man, and God is competent, <n>The best line of transmission (albeit representing only a third of the manuscripts) has ‘competent’ rather than ‘faithful’; that fits very well with the idea of testing, especially if it is God who is doing it.</n> who will not allow you to be tested beyond what you can stand, but with the testing will also provide the way out, that you may be able to endure it.


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I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. <n>This is cataphoric; they are to judge what follows.</n> 


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The cup of blessing that we bless, <n>Those officiating bless the ‘cup’, which then blesses those who partake.</n> is it not a sharing of the blood of Christ? <n>Although one finds it difficult to agree with the Roman doctrine of transubstantiation, that the words of the one officiating transform the wine into literal blood, Paul evidently takes a very serious view of the ‘Lord’s Table’. It is not a mere symbolism.</n> The bread that we break, is it not a sharing of the body of Christ?


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Since the loaf is one, we, the many, are one body, because we all partake of that single loaf. <n>Evidently they did not cut/break the bread up into little pieces beforehand—there was a whole loaf on the table.</n> 


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<i> Idol = demon</i> So what am I getting at? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything?


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Rather, that the things pagans sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God. I do <i>not</i> want you to become participants with the demons. <n>Obviously demons exist.</n> 


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You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.


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<i> About conscience</i> All things are ‘permissible’ for me, but not all things are expedient. All things are ‘permissible’ for me, but not all things edify.


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If some unbeliever invites you and you decide to go, eat whatever is set before you, asking no questions for the sake of conscience.


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But if anyone says, “This was offered to idols”, do not eat it for the sake of the speaker and of the conscience; since “the earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness”. <n>At first blush this repetition of the quote seems out of place. I suppose Paul’s point to be that the stated truth cuts both ways: it allows me to eat or to refrain.</n> 


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‘Conscience’ I say, not your own but that of the other.<i> Do all to the glory of God</i> Now just why should my freedom be judged by another’s conscience?


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 If I partake with thanks, why be slandered over something I give thanks for? <n>Paul wants to avoid being slandered, even if it is for doing something good and legitimate.</n> 


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 Therefore, whether you eat or you drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. <n>Here is a basic principle that furnishes us with the key for deciding about doubtful things, and things produced by modern technology that are not mentioned in the Bible. If I want to go watch a movie, I should ask myself, “Why do I want to do this? Is it for the glory of God?” If I want to buy a new, super-duper cell phone, I should ask the same questions. If we really want to please God, we will give an honest answer and act accordingly.</n> 


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 Give no offense, either to Jews or to Greeks or to the Church of God <n>This text makes clear that during the Church Age there are three categories of people: Jews, non-Jews and the Church (made up of both Jews and non-Jews who are in Christ). Before Pentecost there were two categories: Jews and non-Jews. There are those who think that after Pentecost there were still just two: Church and non-Church, wherein the Church replaced Israel. But it isn’t so; Israel still exists as a separate entity in God’s plan. Chapters nine, ten and eleven of Romans go into some detail on this point.</n> 


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 —even as I try to please everyone in every way, not seeking my own profit but that of the many, that they may be saved.


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Become my imitators, just as I am Christ’s. <n>Well now, how many of us would have the nerve to say that to someone? It is a good goal to aim for.</n> 


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<i> The nature of Church life About women</i> Now I praise you, brothers, that you remember me in all things and hold the traditions just as I delivered them to you.


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But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, while a wife’s head is the man and Christ’s head is God.


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But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head <i>un</i> covered dishonors her own head—it is one and the same as if it had been shaved.


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So if a woman does not cover herself, let her also be shorn. But if it is shameful for a woman to be shorn or shaved, let her be covered. <n>This doesn’t make for very popular teaching nowadays, but there it is.</n> 


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Indeed, a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man.


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and neither was man created for the woman, but woman for the man <n>The Creator’s purpose in making the woman was to give the man an appropriate helper, which means that it is the man who is supposed to have a project, to which his wife is supposed to contribute.</n> 


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—for this reason the woman needs to have authority upon her head, because of the angels <n>I believe verse ten constitutes an aside that derives from verse nine, not from verses five and six. The general practice in the versions of adding ‘symbol of’ before ‘authority’ is unwarranted, and does damage to the Text. The woman was created for the man, but since there are no female angels, the angels are very fascinated by the female of our species (remember Genesis 6). For this reason women need the protection of male authority. (Those feminists who peremptorily reject any semblance of male authority are just asking for a demon, and what little demon is going to object?)</n> —


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Because as the woman came from the man, so also the man comes through the woman; but all things are from God.


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But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her, because that hair has been given for a covering.


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But if anyone decides to be contentious, neither we nor the congregations of God have any other practice.


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<i> About the Lord’s Supper Some local abuses</i> Now in giving the following instruction I do not praise you, since you are not coming together for the better but for the worse.


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Because, to begin, I hear that when you come together in an assembly there are divisions among you, and I partly believe it.


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For there would really need to be factions among you so that the ‘approved’ ones may be recognized among you. <n>I take it that Paul is using a bit of irony here.</n> 


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Because in eating, each one tries to get his meal first, <n>Compare verses 33-34 below.</n> and one goes hungry while another gets drunk!


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Now really, don’t you have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise God’s congregation and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? Indeed not!


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<i> How the Lord inaugurated it</i> For I received from the Lord that which I also transmitted to you: The Lord Jesus, during the night in which He was betrayed, took bread;


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and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said: “Take, eat; this is my body that is being broken <n>The eclectic Greek text currently in vogue omits ‘take, eat’ (following 8.3% of the Greek manuscripts) and ‘broken’ (following some 2% of the manuscripts); and so NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc. do the same.</n> on your behalf; do this in remembrance of me.”


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In the same way, after they had dined, He took the cup, saying: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”


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<i> Be careful to partake worthily</i> So then whoever eats this bread or drinks the Lord’s cup unworthily will be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord.


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Because he who eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks judgment to himself, not distinguishing the Lord’s <n>The eclectic Greek text currently in vogue omits ‘Lord’s’ (following just 2% of the Greek manuscripts, to be followed in turn by such versions as NASB and LB). Here in Brazil there are many who claim, based on this variant, that ‘the body’ here is the church, not Jesus’ physical body. So they walk around, trading bread and wine with each other, laughing, talking, slapping each other on the back, having a general good time [their way of distinguishing the church]. Surely the appropriate way to ‘remember the Lord’s death’ is to be in an attitude of penitent thanksgiving, confessing any sin, renewing one’s commitment—this is something you do alone with God. Those who party instead of examine may well discover that they were partaking unworthily.</n> body.


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Because of this many among you are weak and sick, and a good many have died. <n>Ever since the Flood the Creator has imposed and exacted the death penalty for those who shed innocent blood (Genesis 9:5-6). There are dozens of passages in the Old Testament that deal with the theme of blood guiltiness. Here are a few: Genesis 21:12, “shall surely be put to death”; Exodus 21:14, a murderer was even to be dragged away from the altar and killed; Numbers 35:31, “you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer, . . . he shall surely be put to death”; 2 Kings 24:4, “he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which the LORD <b>would not pardon</b>”. Here in verses 27 and 30 Paul says that God had killed ‘a good many’ because they were ‘guilty of the blood of the Lord’. Romans 1:32, written decades after Pentecost, affirms that murderers are still deserving of death. We all need the shed blood of God’s Lamb for cleansing from sin, but please don’t take it lightly!</n> 


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But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord, so that we may not be condemned with the world. <n>Remember Hebrews 12:6.</n> 


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But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together into judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come.


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<i> About spiritual gifts</i> Now concerning the spiritual things, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.


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You know that when you were pagans you were always led toward the mute idols, <n>By whom or what? I would say that it was by Satan’s emissaries, in one way or another.</n> being carried away.


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Therefore I inform you that no one speaking by God’s Spirit calls Jesus accursed, and no one can declare Jesus to be Lord <n>Of course anyone, including demons, can mouth the phrase, ‘Jesus is Lord’; Paul is talking about personal commitment.</n> except by the Holy Spirit.


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And there are allotments of activities, but the same God is He who works them all, in all. <n>If gifts, ministries and activities are all allotted by God, then the life of any congregation is supposed to be under His direct control.</n> 


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But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the common good. <n>Nothing that God gives is with the intent of feeding our ego.</n> 


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<i> A list of gifts</i> So to one a word of wisdom is given, by the Spirit; to another a word of knowledge, by the same Spirit;


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to a different one faith, by the same Spirit; to another presents of healings, <n>There is no such thing as ‘the gift of healing’, at least not in the Text. ‘healings’ is always a noun, not a verb, and is always plural; ‘gifts’ is also always plural, never singular. So the Spirit distributes gifts or presents of healings. That said, it also appears to be true that certain people receive an unusual number of such presents, giving rise to a ‘ministry of healing’.</n> by the same Spirit;


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to another workings of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discernings of spirits; <n>Why ‘discernings’ (pl), which is what the Text says? I suppose one could say it was discerning at different times, but if a gift is used more than once, that meaning is automatic. Could it refer to the different kinds of spirit beings? I can think of five: the Holy Spirit, good angels, demons (fallen angels), a normal human spirit, and a projected human spirit (all of which are usually invisible to us, which is why special discernment is needed).</n> to a different one kinds <n>The Text plainly says ‘kinds’ (plural) of languages. I never understood this until I heard a student of mine using more than one language. I am a linguist (PhD) and I know when I am listening to a real language (it has structure). This student had (and presumably still has) one language for worship, another for intercession, another for warfare, and I think there was at least one more—they were very different, but were clearly real languages. Later I got to know a competent surgeon who has at least four languages. Whoever claims to have the gift of tongues should have more than one; after all, in all Bibles ‘tongues’ is plural, and plural means more than one.</n> of languages, to another interpretation of languages.


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However, the one and the same Spirit produces all of these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. <n>No one gets a gift just because he wants it; the Holy Spirit has His own criteria for distributing them.</n> 


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<i> An analogy from the body</i> Now just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of that one body, though being many, are one body, so also is the Christ.


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For we also were all baptized into one body by one Spirit—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and were all given to drink into one Spirit. <n>The imagery here seems awkward; but if you drink something, it is then inside you, and once regenerate we have the Holy Spirit inside us. But He is much, much bigger than we are, so we wind up inside Him (perhaps a little like swallowing water while swimming).</n> 


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If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” it would not therefore cease to be of the body.


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And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” it would not therefore cease to be of the body.


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If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would the smelling be?


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But God has really placed the members in the body, each one of them, just as He pleased. <n>This is true of our physical bodies, but it is also true of any congregation.</n> 


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But in fact the parts are many but the body one.) <n>To the ‘Western’ mind this may seem redundant, but recall that Paul was a Jew.</n> 


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Further, the eye can’t say to the hand, “I don’t need you;” nor again the head to the feet, “I don’t need you.”


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And the parts of the body that we consider to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentables have special modesty,


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while our presentables don’t need it. Yes, God has blended the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacks it,


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so that there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another;


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and if one member suffers, all the members should suffer along, or if one member is honored, all the members should rejoice along. <n>Since both the <i>Textus Receptus</i> and the eclectic Greek text currently in vogue have ‘suffer’ and ‘rejoice’ in the Indicative (following 60% of the Greek manuscripts), most versions do too. But the 40% includes the best line of transmission and has the verbs in the Subjunctive. Since Paul is applying the figure of a body to people, it is obvious that although we should share, we are not obliged to do so, and often don’t.</n> 


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And those whom God has appointed in the Church are: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; after that miracles, then <n>It should be observed that the terminology here is clearly hierarchical: ‘1st, 2nd, 3rd, then, then, . . .’ (similar lists in other places lack this terminology) [the Kingdom of God is not a democracy]. Next, if God has appointed these functions, there must be a good reason for them, and to deliberately exclude any of them is to go against God. Here in Brazil, with a few exceptions, the churches have no place for teachers; they simply are not allowed. The consequences are not pretty.</n> presents of healings, helps, administrations, kinds of languages.


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All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not miracle workers, are they?


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All do not have presents of healings, do they? All do not speak languages, do they? All do not interpret, do they? <n>The Greek grammar of verses 29 and 30 is plain: no gift is given to everybody—not everyone is an apostle and not everyone speaks languages. Those churches that teach that speaking in tongues is the necessary sign of being ‘baptized in the Spirit’ (and until you are ‘baptized’ you are a 2nd class citizen, if a citizen at all), have done untold damage to their people. Since the Holy Spirit simply does not give ‘tongues’ to everybody, those who don’t get it are out in the cold. But the social pressure is intolerable, so many end up faking it. Since many of the leaders are also faking it, the social problem is solved; the person is ‘in’. But since Satan is the source of all lies, someone who fakes it is living a lie and invites Satan into his life. I have been in many Pentecostal, neo-pentecostal, charismatic, whatever churches and have heard thousands of people ‘speaking in tongues’—a large majority were faking it, while a few were speaking a real language, but under demonic control. A church that teaches a lie invites Satan into the church.</n> 


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But earnestly desire the best gifts.<i> About agape love</i> And now I show you a most excellent way. <n>Most versions oppose love to the gifts, either by calling it ‘more excellent’ or by adding the definite article (that is not in the Text) ‘the most excellent’. I seriously doubt that the author had that in mind. The term <i>huperbolê</i> refers to an extraordinarily high level of quality, but is not inherently exclusive. Had Paul put the definite article it would be exclusive, but he did not. Since God is not the author of confusion, and since He gives both gifts and love, I would say that they are supposed to work together. See 14:1.</n> 


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 If I speak the languages of men and of angels, <n>I would say that this is an argument <i>a fortiori</i>, which being freely translated would be, “If I speak the languages of men, or even of angels (if there were such a thing).” Since angels are spirit beings (Hebrews 1:13-14) and do not normally have physical bodies (although they can materialize in our world), they do not have literal tongues and ears, and consequently do not use sound to communicate among themselves—I suppose they use some sort of thought transference (something we cannot do). The claim of any group that calls the gibberish they speak an angelic language I consider to be a plain falsehood, besides being a pitiful insult to the angels.</n> but have not love, I have become a sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.


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 And if I have prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, <n>Evidently it takes a special level of faith to actually move a mountain.</n> but have not love, I am nothing.


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 Even if I give away all my possessions and hand over my body to be burned, <n>We have here a rather bothersome set of textual variants. For those who can handle Greek I reproduce the statement of evidence from my Greek Text: καυθησομαι <b>f35</b> (50.6%) (lat,syr) OC || καυθησωμαι C (44.7%) (lat,syr) HF,RP,TR,CP || καυθησεται (1%) || καυθη (0.8%) || καυχησωμαι P46א A,B (1.5%) cop,NU || καυχησομαι 048 (0.5%) || four further variants (0.8%). Until 1991, when the collations for select variant sets done by the Institute for New Testament Textual Research in Münster, Germany appeared, statements of evidence presented the Future Subjunctive form (that of the <i>Textus Receptus</i>) as being attested by the heavy Byzantine majority. Since Greek grammar does not have a Future Subjunctive, there were those who made sport of the <i>Textus Receptus</i> for reproducing a non-existent form—usually they were partisans of the Aorist Subjunctive form, that changes the verb and is attested by only 1.5% of the manuscripts. We now know that the real majority form is the Future Indicative, but since it immediately follows ἱνα , that usually takes the Subjunctive, many scribes may have made the change virtually without thinking. The verb ‘to boast’, as in the eclectic Greek text, is totally out of place here—how can you boast with love?</n> but have not love, it profits me nothing.


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<i> Love described</i> Love is patient and kind; love does not envy; love does not brag, is not proud,


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is not indecent, is not self-seeking, is not ‘short-fused’, is not malicious; <n>All the negative qualities mentioned derive from self.</n> 


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love never fails.<i> Love contrasted</i> Now as for prophecies, they will be set aside; as for languages, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will be superseded;


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 (When I was a small child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; but when I became a man, I put away the things of the child.)


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 Because <i>now</i> we see blurred images as in a metal mirror, but <i>then</i> face to face. <i>Now</i> I know in part, but <i>then</i> I will know fully, just as I also am fully known. <n>“To be, or not to be; that is the question.” Verses 7b-10 have received more than their fair share of mistreatment, partly because commentators have not linked verse 12 to them (seeing verse 11 as parenthetical). Consider verse 10: “But whenever the complete should come, then the ‘in part’ will be done away with.” If we can pinpoint the ‘then’, we will have also pinpointed the ‘when’; and verse 12 pinpoints the ‘then’. When will we see ‘face to face’, when will we know as we are known? 1 John 3:2 has the answer: “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” It is at the return of Christ that we will see ‘face to face’, so “whenever the complete should come” refers to Christ at His second coming. The problem with ‘prophecy’, ‘tongues’ and our present ‘knowledge’ is that they are ‘in part’, but after the return of Christ we will have no further need for them. Since Christ hasn’t returned yet, these ‘in part’ things are still certainly with us. The claim that ‘the complete’ refers to the completed New Testament canon and that the miraculous gifts ceased when the last shovel of dirt fell on the Apostle John’s grave is an historical falsehood. Christians who lived during the 2nd, 3rd and 4th centuries, whose writings have come down to us, affirm that the gifts were still in use in their day. No 20th or 21st century Christian, WHO WAS NOT THERE, is competent to contradict them.</n> 


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For now these three obtain: faith, hope, love; and the greatest of these is love. <n>We won’t need faith and hope in Heaven, but love will continue.</n> 


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<i> Prophecy is better than Tongues</i> Pursue love, and desire the spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.


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Because he who speaks in a ‘language’ isn’t speaking to people but to God, since no one understands; in spirit he speaks mysteries.


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But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to people. <n>Prophecy is not only for foretelling the future, but all true prophecy comes directly from God. Many churches today give ‘prophesy/prophecy’ an unbiblical meaning, wherein the people tell each other all the good things they hope will happen to them. That is just wishful thinking, not true prophecy.</n> 


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I could wish <n>The verb here is ambiguous as to mode; it could be either Indicative or Subjunctive. Since Paul has already stated that not everyone receives ‘languages’, and that the Holy Spirit distributes as He chooses, the Subjunctive is the correct choice.</n> that you all spoke in ‘languages’, but even more that you might prophesy; because the one prophesying is greater than the one speaking in ‘languages’ <n>For someone to argue that he is being humble in seeking and using the lesser gift won’t pass muster, because in 12:31 we are commanded to seek the best gifts.</n> (unless he interprets), so that the congregation may receive edification.


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<i> Messages need to be intelligible</i> Now then, brothers, what good will I do you if I come to you speaking in ‘languages’ instead of addressing you with revelation, or with knowledge, or with prophecy, or with teaching?


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Take lifeless things like a flute or a harp; if they make no distinction in the notes when they produce sound, how will it be known what is being piped or harped?


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So it is with you: if you do not deliver an intelligible message with the ‘language’, how will it be known what is being said? You will just be speaking into the air.


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There are probably a great many kinds of sounds in the world, and none of them is without significance.


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But if I don’t know the force of the sound, I will be a foreigner to the speaker, and he will be a foreigner to me.


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And you too: since you are zealous for spiritual things, aim at the edification of the congregation, that you may <i>all</i> grow.


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So what then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will also pray with the mind; I will sing with the spirit, but I will also sing with the mind.


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Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the outsider say the “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he doesn’t know what you are saying?


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<i> Paul’s example</i> I thank my God speaking in ‘languages’ more than you all, <n>Since Paul obviously wouldn’t use a ‘language’ in public, he made heavy use of them when alone with God. People who follow Paul’s example have told me that it recharges their spiritual ‘battery’ in short order. No wonder Paul did it!</n> 


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but in the congregation I would rather speak five words with my understanding, precisely so as to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a ‘language’.


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In the law it stands written: “I will speak to this people in foreign languages and with different ‘lips’, but not even then will they listen to me,” <n>See Isaiah 28:11-12 and Deuteronomy 28:49.</n> says the LORD .


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Therefore the ‘languages’ are for a sign, not to believers but to unbelievers; while prophesying <n>The term here can mean either ‘prophecy’ or ‘prophesying’; the context calls for the second option. God normally speaks through believers, not unbelievers.</n> is not for unbelievers but for believers.


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So if the whole congregation comes together and all are speaking in ‘languages’, but outsiders or unbelievers come in, won’t they say that you are raving?


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But if everyone is prophesying, and an unbeliever or outsider comes in, he is reproved by all, he is examined by all.


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And thus the secrets of his heart are exposed, and so, falling on his face he will worship God, affirming, “Truly God is among you.”


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<i> There are limits</i> So what goes on, brothers? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a ‘language’, has a revelation, has an interpretation. <n>Can it be that there was a little competition going on?</n> Let all things be done for edification.


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If anyone speaks in a ‘language’, let it be two—at the most three—and in turn, and let <i>one</i> interpret. <n>Since someone with the gift of interpreting can interpret any and all such utterances, there should be only one interpreter at work during a particular session.</n> 


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Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others evaluate. <n>Prophecy must always be evaluated.</n> 


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Yes, spirits of prophets are subordinate to prophets. <n>A prophet cannot control what messages he receives from God, but he can control when and how he delivers them (and may even decide not to).</n> 


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Further, God is not a God of disorder but of peace.<i> Wives are not to speak</i> As in all the congregations of the saints,


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 your wives <n>The eclectic Greek text currently in vogue omits ‘your’ (following some 3% of the Greek manuscripts), which allows the translation ‘women’ rather than ‘wives’, as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc. Since ‘wives’ excludes single women, the difference is significant.</n> should keep silent in the assemblies, for they are not permitted to speak, but to be in subordination, as the law also says.


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 If they want to learn about something, let them ask their own husbands at home, for it is shameful for women to speak in church. <n>The crucial factor here is authority, and the underlying need is to protect the structure of the home, the foundational unit of society, including the church. If a woman teaches her husband in church, crossing the street to their house will not make her want to submit to him; the human being just doesn’t work that way. That is why the Text does not allow for female pastors or teachers, since to teach is to exercise authority. But here in verses 34 and 35 Paul goes even further; to protect the husbands’ authority, wives should not publicly request an explanation from pastor or teacher, since that could allow a wife to play the teacher against her husband in the home. If a wife requests an explanation from her husband, and he doesn’t know the answer, he can consult the pastor and then transmit the explanation—this preserves the authority structure in the home (which goes back to Genesis 3:16).</n> 


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<i> Paul gets ‘authoritative’</i> If anyone thinks that he is a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things I write to you are the Lord’s commands. <n>Was Paul on an ego-trip, or was he aware that he was writing under inspiration? Since he says something similar in a number of his letters, it is clear that he believed he was writing Scripture.</n> 


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So then, brothers, seek to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak in ‘languages’. <n>Here is the inspired conclusion to the extended discussion of the charismatic gifts. Isn’t it strange that most churches disobey this verse, in one way or another? ‘Traditional’ churches tend to forbid not only tongues but also prophecy (to ‘seek’ it is totally out of the question). ‘Pentecostal’ churches generally elevate tongues above prophecy, which is plainly contrary to the Text.</n> 


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<i> About resurrection A review</i> Now, brothers, I want to add information to the Gospel that I proclaimed to you, that you also received, and in which you stand;


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through which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word that I proclaimed to you—unless you believed in vain. <n>Is this just a ‘scarecrow’?</n> 


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Because I transmitted to you at first that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,


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and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the Twelve. <n>Evidently ‘the Twelve’ became like a technical term to refer to the recognized group of apostles. When Jesus first appeared to that group during the evening of Resurrection Day, there were actually only ten present—the Iscariot was no longer a member and Thomas was absent.</n> 


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After that He was seen by over five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, while some have fallen asleep. <n>A euphemism for death used mainly of believers in the New Testament.</n> 


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For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God.


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But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me has not been in vain; in fact, I have worked harder than all of them—well, not I, but the grace of God that was with me.


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<i> Resurrection is a fact</i> Now if Christ is being proclaimed as having been raised from among the dead, how can some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?


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Further, we are even discovered to be false witnesses of God, because we have testified about God that He raised the Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.


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If it is only for this life that we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most pitiable. <n>Because of the contrast in expectations. Paul comes at the question from several angles precisely because the resurrection of Christ is the center piece of our faith. Without it there is no Gospel.</n> 


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<i> The sequence of events</i> But indeed, Christ has been raised from the dead; He became the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.


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For since death came through a man, resurrection of the dead also came through a man. <n>Although Jesus was God, it was as a man that He defeated Satan.</n> 


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For as all in Adam are dying, so also all in the Christ will be made alive. <n>Since all human beings are in Adam, all are dying; but it is only those who are in Christ who will be made alive.</n> 


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But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then those who belong to Christ at His coming;


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then the end, <n>The ‘first’ resurrection refers to that of the saved (the ‘second’ being that of the lost), and apparently occurs in three stages: 1) Christ, the firstfruits, and those He took with Him at that time; 2) the Rapture; 3) after the Millennium.</n> when He hands over the Kingdom to the God and Father, whenever He puts an end to every ruler and all authority and power.


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The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. <n>Death is definitely our enemy, having been introduced into human experience by sin.</n> 


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For “He has put all things under His feet.” <n>See Psalm 8:6.</n> But when it says that all things have been subordinated, it is obvious that He who put all things under Him is excepted.


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Now whenever all things have been subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subjected to Him who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.


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<i> Consequences of denial</i> Otherwise, what will they do who are being baptized in place of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, just why are they being baptized in the place of the dead? <n>To be ‘dead’, they were once alive, and will be judged on the basis of what they did while alive; once dead their account is closed. So Paul is here presumably referring to those who are replacing the dead in the ranks of believers by being baptized. If there is no resurrection, what is the point of doing so, especially if all you’re going to get is persecution?</n> 


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I die every day <n>Paul could not have been referring to actual physical death, obviously, since Hebrews 9:27 affirms that it is appointed to men to die only once (no re-incarnation). He may well have faced possible death often enough, but I suppose he is referring to dying to himself.</n> —so I affirm by the boasting about you that I have in Christ Jesus our Lord.


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If I fought human ‘animals’ in Ephesus, <n>Many versions have Paul actually fighting wild animals, but had he done so as a punishment in an arena, he would have lost his Roman citizenship, which he claimed to have until the end. (And presumably the only place in the city of Ephesus where you could fight with wild animals would be in the arena.) The Text has ‘against man’, that the above mentioned versions give as ‘for human purposes’ or ‘in the manner of men’. But 16:9 refers to many adversaries in Ephesus, and if their tactics were especially nasty, Paul may have felt it appropriate to liken them to animals.</n> what did I gain? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” <n>See Isaiah 22:13.</n> 


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Sober up righteously, and stop sinning, for some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. <n>Dear me, what is Paul saying? As long as anyone around us does not know about God, we should be ashamed—we are not taking our responsibility seriously, which is sin. Ouch!</n> 


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<i> A philosophical objection</i> But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?”


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And what you plant is a bare seed (perhaps of wheat or some one of the others); you do not plant the body that it will become.


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All flesh is not the same flesh: that of humans is one kind, and the flesh of animals is another, <n>Human meat is not the same as animal meat!</n> that of fish is another, that of birds is yet another.


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There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the heavenly is one, while that of the earthly is another.


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There is one splendor of the sun, another splendor of the moon, and another splendor of the stars; and star differs from star in brightness.


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The resurrection of the dead is like that: the body is ‘planted’ in deterioration and it is raised in incorruptibility;


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it is ‘planted’ in dishonor and it is raised in glory; it is ‘planted’ in weakness and it is raised in power;


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it is ‘planted’ a natural body and it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body. <n>The spiritual body is still a body.</n> 


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So also it is written: “The first man, Adam, became a living being;” <n>See Genesis 2:7.</n> the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.


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The first man was of the earth, of soil; the second man was the Lord <n>The eclectic Greek text currently in vogue omits ‘the Lord’ (following 2.4% of the Greek manuscripts); and so NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc. do the same—now really, to omit ‘the Lord’ is clearly an inferior reading, and to do so on such slender evidence is irresponsible.</n> from heaven.


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As was the earth-man, just so are the earth-people; and as was the heaven-man, just so are the heaven-people.


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And just as we have borne the image of the earth-man, we should also bear the image of the heaven-man. <n>Since both the <i>Textus Receptus</i> and the eclectic Greek text currently in vogue have the Indicative here (‘we will bear’), almost all versions so read. But over 80% of the Greek manuscripts, including the best line of transmission, have the Subjunctive, which I have followed. It is not automatic; it is up to us.</n> 


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<i> Our turn is coming</i> Now this I say, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God; neither will deterioration inherit incorruptibility.


text:
—in a split second, in an eye twinkle, at the last trumpet—the trumpet will blast and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed.


