Inspired In Christ
Scripture Insights - KEY Bible Studies®
Love Scripture Study? Now You Will:)
Inspired In Christ
Scripture Insights - KEY Bible Studies®
Love Scripture Study? Now You Will:)
WITH THE GRACIOUS ASSISTANCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, I WILL SHOW YOU WAYS THAT WORK FOR ME!
I LOVE TO USE DIFFERENT TRANSLATIONS IN MY SCRIPTURE STUDY - GUARANTEED TO KEEP YOUR INTEREST.
I ALSO LIKE TO SEARCH FOR ORIGINAL GREEK AND HEBREW MEANINGS - EASILY SOURCED ONLINE NOW.
(My 30 Year big Exhaustive Strongs Concordance has mostly retired)
IN ADDITION TO THE A FORE MENTIONED, I USE A FEW BIBLE WEBSITES (there is instant access to on this website) AND A FEW
EXCELLENT SOFTWARE PROGRAMS I LET YOU KNOW ABOUT AS WELL.
(They are not expensive and some are Free)
AT THIS STAGE, I HAVE A HANDFUL OF ENRICHING STUDIES WHICH I DID RECENTLY FOR Worship-Jesus.Com
TO BLESS YOU ALL and SHOW YOU HOW All Of Us CAN FIND BIBLE STUDIES ENJOYABLE -
IT'S SIMPLE, IT'S EASY, IT'S NOT ALL THAT COMPLICATED.
IT'S FLEXIBLE TOO - YOU CAN DO AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE (In-depth wise) OR AS LITTLE AS YOU LIKE.
PERSONAL BIBLE STUDIES IS THE KEY TO LIFE!
Key as in Vital, Necessary, Essential, Imperative.
And Central because they keep you Centered on Christ.
Ask The Lord to show you how to APPLY His Words too.
YOU CAN ALSO DO A Family Research IF YOU LIKE, WITH BIBLE STUDIES:
YOU CAN HAVE A FEW FAMILY MEMBERS or BELIEVER-FRIENDS RESEARCHING A TOPIC (inquiry we have in mind)
ASSIGNED TO DIFFERENT TASKS (we can switch roles if we like too).
ie ONE CAN FIND SCRIPTURES, ONE CAN SEARCH COMMENTARIES (with inspired revelation from theologians who share precious gems with us)
ONE CAN SEARCH A BIBLE DICTIONARY (which gives insight about things in Bible Times that give further understanding
what is meant by certain Scriptures - how something relates).
WE CAN CALL OURSELVES The Researchers HEY?
THIS IS A NIFTY LITTLE IDEA THE HOLY SPIRIT GAVE ME TO PASS ON, AS I'M WRITING HERE.
THIS WOULD BE GREAT INTERACTION WITH YOUNG ONES TO ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION IN PROJECTS,
"TWO OR THREE (Believers) GATHERED IN (His) NAME" Mt 18:20........OR EVEN NEW BELIEVERS
(which will set them on a good path in their Faith in Christ).
I WILL SHARE THE FOLLOWING WITH YOU, I WAS READING TODAY THAT SHOWS WHAT A Life In Christ IS ALL ABOUT
(AND SCRIPTURE STUDIES). THERE ARE MANY DEVOTIONALS AVAILABLE THESE DAYS AND THIS ONE IS UNIQUE
DUE TO ORIGINAL NEW TESTAMENT GREEK WORDS AND CHOICE OF CONTENT, COVERING SOME VITAL THINGS TO KNOW
AND IMPORTANTLY THE Absolutes And Essentials FOR OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD AS SONS AND DAUGHTERS
OF THE LIVING GOD - YOU WILL See Things Afresh WHEN YOU READ THIS. I PRAY YOUR EYES WILL BE OPEN
TO THESE SPIRITUAL REALITIES AND YOU WILL BE BLESSED INDEED. Enjoy!
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Excerpts from A Word For The Day
by JD Watson
Knowledge (ginosis – Greek)
Today we consider a very common NT word (appearing 224 times) but one that carries great significance. Few things are as important as knowledge. In Classical Greek, ginosis (verb ginosko 1097, "to know") originally meant recognition, to know something or someone by sight. Later it came to refer to knowledge gained by personal experience.
One of the most vivid usages of this word occurs in Philippians 3:10, where Paul reflects, "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death" Paul's greatest desire was to know the Christ, to be more deeply and intimately acquainted with His Lord and Master.
He didn't just want to know things about the Lord, but rather to know the Lord Himself.
There are several ways of knowing someone. We can know someone historically, but this touches only the mind, not the heart. We can know someone contemporaneously; we can read so much about someone that it's almost like knowing them, but still we do not. We might also know someone contactually, that is, we might actually meet the person,
but this is still only an acquaintance, not intimate knowledge.
In contrast, we know some people personally. We not only know them by name but also by Nature…….. We know their mind, ways of thinking, feelings, reactions, disposition, temperament, habits, and idiosyncrasies. That is how Paul wanted to know his Lord. Is knowing our Lord that way our foremost desire? Do we want to know Him above all other knowledge? But how do we get to know Him? Through His Word.
Knowledge (epignosis – Greek)
We pondered the word gnosis, which means "experiential knowledge." In Ephesians 1:17, however - "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him" - Paul uses an intensified form of this word, epignosis (1922). By adding the prefix epi (1909, "motion upon or toward"), the word takes on the meaning of "an experiential, personal knowledge that is full and thorough." It also speaks of "precise and correct knowledge." 41 How vital it is that we have full, precise, thorough, and correct knowledge of God.
Paul's prayer for the Colossian believers: "For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing
in the knowledge of God" (Col. 1:9-10).
Made Us Sit (sunkathizo – Greek)
Concluding our thoughts of the last few days, there is still another word that underscores our new life in Christ. Ephesians 2:6 declares that God has "made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." The words made us sit are sunkathizo (4776), which means "to cause to sit down together." The root is kathizo, "to cause to sit down."
The idea conveyed by this word is that of honor. In fact, this word is used of Christ in 1:20 to convey the fact that He is "seated with honor in the heavenlies." Then, when the prefix sun (4862) is added, we have the meaning, "to cause to sit together in Christ." What does all that mean in practice? Simply this: Since we are already seated with Christ in heaven, let us now act like it on earth. Meditate on Colossians 3:1-3: "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For your old life has died, and your life is (now) hid with Christ in God."
Being heavenly minded means exactly what Paul says - setting our thoughts, values, words, deeds on the things of Heaven.
Workmanship (poiema – Greek)
Ephesians 2:10 again declares, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
There's a beautiful Greek word behind workmanship, namely, poiema (4161), which refers to what is made or created. Another form of the word, poietes, refers to one who makes something or to a work of art. In ancient Greek this referred to an author or poet. In fact, our English word poem is derived from poiema. So, we are God's workmanship, His "work of art," His "masterpiece," His "poem," if you will. While Milton's epic poems Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained are true masterpieces, they pale in comparison to the masterpiece of the true child of God.
Notice more specifically that we are His, that is, God's workmanship. There's an important contrast between the English and Greek texts. In the English, this statement begins with "we," but in the Greek it - in fact, the whole verse - begins with "Him." Literally the verse reads: "For of Him we are a product."
Draw Near (proserchomai – Greek)
Hebrews 10:22 declares, "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water." Draw near is proserchomai (4334), to approach, accede to. It is usually used in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew qerab (7126H), which also means to come near or approach but also pictures the idea of closeness to the object being approached.
The Greek likewise pictures such closeness. This word appears in Matthew 4:11, for example, where the angels "came and ministered unto [Jesus]" after Satan tempted Him and then departed. Jesus' disciples also "came to Him" often (5:1; 8:25; etc.) showing their closeness to Him. Of special note is 1 Timothy 6:3-5, where Paul writes that we should withdraw ourselves from anyone who does not "consent" to (i.e., accede or agree to) sound doctrine.
What, then, does it mean biblically to draw near to God?
First, and foremost, drawing near to God means having a sincere desire for truth. The words true heart are alethines kardias. As we studied on February 1-3, both the English word truth and the Greek behind it (aletheia, 225) speak of that which is absolute, incontrovertible, irrefutable, incontestable, unarguable, and unchanging. The specific form of the Greek here also refers to "sincerity." Kardia (2588, heart, see Nov. 14) refers not just to the emotional nature, but also to the reason and to the faculty of intelligence.
Give Attendance (prosecho – Greek)
In light of the centrality of preaching in Christian ministry, Paul wrote to Pastor Timothy, "Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine" (1 Tim. 4:13). Most ministries today are built on entertainment, personality, programs, and many other things that simply appeal to the flesh. But the truly biblical minister builds solely on the Word of God. Paul makes it very clear that until he returned, Timothy had to do one thing only: keep preaching the truth in which Paul had instructed him (cf. 2 Tim. 2:2, "And the things that you have heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also").
Give attendance translates prosecho (4337), which was a nautical term for holding a ship in a direction, to sail onward. The idea, then, was "to hold on one's course." And what course was Timothy to hold? Not entertainment or people's "felt needs." His course was to be the Word of God alone. Paul used the same word in his letter to Titus, "Not giving heed [prosecho] to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth."
Exhortation (paraklesis – Greek)
We considered Paul's command to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:13: "Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine." Not only did Paul instruct Timothy to "set his course" on the reading of the Scriptures, but He also told him to practice exhortation.
The Greek paraklesis (3874) refers to an "admonition or encouragement for the purpose of strengthening and establishing the believer in the faith (see Rom. 15:4; Phil. 2:1;
Heb. 12:5; 13:22)."116 In short, exhortation is the application of the exposition (see May 18). It challenges God's people to obey the truth of God's Word and warns them of the consequences of not doing so.
Interestingly, while we tend to view exhortation as a negative word, paraklesis is actually translated as the words comfort and consolation many times in the NT. In Romans 15:4-5, we read, "For whatsoever things were written in previous times were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus." What really comforts and consoles? Does some little cliché or clever saying console? No. What truly brings comfort to the troubled heart and consolation to the confused mind is the Word of God.
Unsearchable Riches (anexichniaston plouton – Greek)
We've been considering the importance of preaching. That being understood, then, what exactly should we preach? Paul tells us in Ephesians 3:8: "That I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." What a wondrous and staggering thought!
Unsearchable is anexichniastos (421), "that which cannot be traced out." The root is a noun that means "a track or a trail." The verb appears only one other place in the NT:
"Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" (Rom. 11:33). The word is also found in the Septuagint. It was one of Job's favorite words, in fact: "Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number" (Job 5:9; 9:10).
Riches is ploutos (4249), which literally means "wealth." The meaning here, however, is figurative; it speaks of the whole wealth of salvation and growth in Christ. It's interesting that Paul was the only Scripture writer who used the figurative meaning of ploutos, and that five of those fourteen usages are in Ephesians (1:7, 18; 2:7; 3:8, 16).
Putting all that together, then, we see: The wealth we have in Christ is a pathway we cannot trace; it is unfathomable from human understanding. Instead of the fluff and shallowness of most contemporary preaching, Paul declares that we are to preach unfathomable truths. Calvin called this "the astonishing and boundless treasures of grace."
Now, to what riches is Paul specifically referring? He is referring back to the riches spoken of in Ephesians 1. How can any of us fathom ("trace out") redemption, forgiveness, acceptance, election, adoption, God's Will, or the ministry of the Holy Spirit? We can't! From human understanding we cannot understand ("trace out") such truth…….it's the Holy Spirit who gives us understanding.
Do you see? Paul was to preach all that truth, and it was the Holy Spirit who would illumine it to us.
So, instead of shallow sermons, motivational talks, feel-good discussions, and bad theology, every preacher should be preaching the doctrine of the unsearchable riches of Christ.
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Proverbs 3:13-22 (NLT)
Joyful is the person who finds Wisdom, the one who gains understanding. For Wisdom is more profitable than silver, and her wages are better than gold. Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. She offers you long life in her right hand, and riches and honor in her left. She will guide you down delightful paths; all her ways are satisfying.
Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her; happy are those who hold her tightly.
By wisdom the Lord founded the earth; by understanding he created the heavens. By his knowledge the deep fountains of the earth burst forth, and the dew settles beneath the night sky. My child, don’t lose sight of common sense and discernment. Hang on to them, for they will refresh your soul.