Revelation 3:22 (KJV) He Speaks “Unto the Churches”

Revelation 3:22 (KJV)
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. 

The Spirit spoke to the churches. Churches of course are made up of individuals and the message in each letter has application to individuals but the Spirit spoke this message unto the churches.

• We will hear from the Spirit when we are in and part of a church 
• We will hear from the Spirit a message that is connected to our church
• We will hear a message related to our church but
• We will only hear it when we “will” to hear it.

Someone in every church had an ear. Someone didn’t have an ear. I think the difference is the choice to listen. We only receive it as individuals in the church. The message is spoken to a church and in context of the church but, as an individual in the church, I must hear it personally.

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Revelation 3:22 (KJV) He Speaks “Unto the Churches”

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Revelation 2:23 (KJV) All the Churches

Revelation 2:23 (KJV)
And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. 

I was struck by the phrase, “all the churches” today and intended to invest my meditation on what it is that all the churches shall know. In study however, I came to see the hardness of hearts concerning that thing Christ loves so much. This passage says churches but with few exceptions the writers see church, as in Catholic.

Pulpit CommentaryThough treating the actual verse pretty fairly, the Pulpit Commentary introduces their study of the seven churches thusly, “They refer primarily to the actual condition of the several Churches in St. John’s own day, and then are intended for the instruction, encouragement, and warning of the Church and the Churches throughout all time. The Catholic Church, or any one of its branches, will at any period find itself reflected in one or other of the seven Churches.”

Jameison-Faucett-BrownDoesn’t even attempt a fair show by writing, “implying that these addresses are designed for the Catholic Church of all ages and places.”

Adam ClarkeAvoids the church issue altogether and applies it directly to individuals, “That is, the design of this judgment will be so apparent that it will convince all that I know what is in the hearts of people, even the secret acts of wickedness that are concealed from human view.”

John GillInterprets these seven letters strictly as a prophecy against Papacy and writes of all the churches, “that shall be in being at the time of Rome’s destruction.”

I see these seven churches:
As literalThey literally existed and literally received these letters as their own.

As representativeThe strengths, weaknesses, and sins of each of the churches may be found in churches throughout history. Any church can find some instruction for themselves in the letters to the seven churches.

As doctrinalThe Lord said “all the churches” because there is no such thing as a Catholic Church, visible or invisible. The doctrine of the universal church into which all believers are baptized by the Holy Spirit is a doctrinal error. It is dangerous and destructive to the souls of men. The forefathers of our Baptist faith were willing to die rather than concede to this heresy. Believers today ought to at least acknowledge that it is heresy. The only sort of church the Bible speaks of is the local church.

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Revelation 2:23 (KJV) All the Churches

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Psalms 37:18 (KJV) Here and in Heaven

Psalms 37:18 (KJV)
The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.

Two things this passage says concerning the relationship between the Lord and the upright:

• The Lord knows their days
• Their inheritance (from the Lord) is forever 

God has us covered both here and in heaven.

Life on the earth, though often challenging, is not lived aloneGod has his eyes upon us. Every moment is observed. He never leaves us or forsakes us. He knows to the last moment what our life holds.

When the last day here is lived then forever awaitsLife can feel so temporary. Years pass so quickly and things deteriorate and change all around us. In the midst of such instability it relieves the soul to remember that God’s promises, God’s plan, and life with God is never ending; forever.

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Psalms 37:18 (KJV) Here and in Heaven

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Psalms 35:13 (KJV) Love Your Enemies

Psalms 35:13 (KJV)
But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.

There are, I think, three representations of David in relationship to his enemies:
When they attacked, he prayed aggressively against themHe knew it was without cause and he had zero qualms about seeking God’s intervention against them. The bulk of this Psalm is made up of such prayers.

When they were afflicted he poured out his heart for themHis goal was not their destruction but their friendship. He would fight when he had to but he would beg God sincerely on their behalf when they needed it.

In public speaking he addressed only the righteousness and goodness of GodWhatever was his issue with his enemies was taken up privately in prayer. When he spoke publicly he avoided the issue be focusing on the glories of God.

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Psalms 35:13 (KJV) Love Your Enemies

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Psalms 34:21-22 (KJV) An Argument In Our Favor

Psalms 34:21-22 (KJV)
Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

I notice that each of these verses ends with the same phrase “shall be desolate.” But each phrase has a much different outcome.

• Those who hate the righteous shall be desolate 
• None that trust in the Lord shall be desolate  

The Hebrew word for desolate means “found guilty” or “to be treated as guilty.” I think of desolate as without argument against guilt. All of us are in fact guilty. Faith provides an argument in our favor despite that guilt.

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For this and more than 3000 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

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Psalms 34:21-22 (KJV) An Argument In Our Favor

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2 John 1:1-2 (KJV) The Bond of Truth

2 John 1:1-2 (KJV)
The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;For the truth’s sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.

Because we are social beings we unite together; we form bonds. Those bonds may be manifold:

• Politics 
• Safety concerns 
• Special interests 
• Health issues
• Family
• Traditions
• Etc

The apostle speaks of unity around the bonds of the truth.

• He loves them in the truth
• Others love them in the truth and
• They love them for the truth

Truth is the glue that holds people of faith together like no other because truth never changes and because we will carry this truth of Jesus Christ with us into eternity.

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2 John 1:1-2 (KJV) The Bond of Truth

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1 John 5:1 (KJV) A Bible Truth That Can Send People to Hell

1 John 5:1 (KJV)
Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.

We have in this verse an absolute truth.This is as comforting a promise as anyone will find within the pages of the Holy Word. We find here a truth so simple to understand and so easy to obey that it pours light and hope into the darkest regions of despair.

We have here also a passage that can lead masses to hell if misappropriated.Here then is the great lesson of the Bible; there is nothing in it too hard but there is nothing in it that ought to be taken for granted. The simplest truths of the Bible must be illuminated in the rays of the whole Word of God.

To believe in Christ is the means of salvation but it is not merely believing about Him. Believing  that Jesus is the Christ necessitates our understanding:

• Who the Christ is and
• What the Christ came to accomplish 

Foremost of all, believing that Jesus is the Christ means trusting His work as our saving merit. We are saved through the merit of Christ alone and it is in that merit the born of God rest.

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1 John 5:1 (KJV) A Bible Truth That Can Send People to Hell

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1 John 4:6 (KJV) Gay, Giddy and Garish

1 John 4:6 (KJV)
We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

I cannot help but notice the confidence of John in these words. And why not? He had:

• Seen
• Handled
• Heard and 
• Watched 

the Lord. He had fellowship with Him and the other apostles who had fellowshipped with him. He had no reason to doubt because his was a personal relationship with the Lord.

The apostle then simply says, “Those who hear us possess a spirit of truth and those who don’t possess a spirit of error.” The person who ignores the Bible is wrong.

Of those in error Adam Clarke writes,
“The doctrine and teacher most prized and followed by worldly men, and by the gay[1], giddy, and garish multitude, are not from God; they savor of the flesh, lay on no restraints, prescribe no cross-bearing, and leave every one in full possession of his heart’s lusts and easily besetting sins. And by this, false doctrine and false teachers are easily discerned.”

Boy can I think of a few men who fit this bill!

[1] We know, of course, that the term “gay” is used quite differently than it was when Clarke penned these words.

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1 John 4:6 (KJV) Gay, Giddy and Garish

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1 John 3:7 (KJV) What Righteous People Do

1 John 3:7 (KJV)
Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

The subject being addressed is whether sin is a concern for the Christian. There is a doctrine, which seems to declare that the believer may sin with no eternal consequence. This doctrine is a lie on a number of grounds:

• Sin in a saved person’s life breaks his fellowship with God, thereby causing him a loss of confidence in eternity. 
• Sin in the saved person’s life breaks fellowship with other believers thereby removing the edifying benefit of that fellowship
• Sin in the life of a saved person will certainly lead to chastening which is not pleasant. 
• Sin in the life of a professing believer is evidence of a possible false profession

John’s answer to this deception is that the person who possesses the righteousness of God does righteousness. Many read this passage wrongly interpreting it to mean that righteousness is earned by doing righteousness. The better understanding is that those who are righteous by nature do righteousness. When we get saved we are given a new righteous nature. If that nature is not manifested to some degree we may rightly question whether we possess that nature.

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1 John 3:7 (KJV) What Righteous People Do

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1 John 2:5 (KJV) Assurance of Salvation

1 John 2:5 (KJV)
But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

The word perfected means completed or fulfilled. The proper interpretation then is not of any sort of sinless perfection but that, whenever a sinner hears the gospel and obeys it, God’s love for that sinner comes to its fulfillment which is their salvation.

No Christian is sure of his salvation by the keeping of the commandments of the Bible. If this were so none would ever have assurance because none keep His Word perfectly. Assurance comes from the confidence that God’s plan for saving sinners is perfect and functions perfectly.

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1 John 2:5 (KJV) Assurance of Salvation

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Psalms 21:4 (KJV) Too Many to List

Psalms 21:4 (KJV)
He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever.

It should not be forgotten that God’s Word promises that Christ has made us to be kings and priests. It would not inappropriate then to make some application of this Psalm to believers today. God’s blessings upon the believer are almost too numerable to list:

God has given us our heart’s desiresVs 2

God has poured upon us the blessings of his goodnessVs 3

God has blessed us with gladnessVs 6

In this verse the king asked for life and God gave it. We can apply this to our own salvation. When we ask for salvation we in fact ask life of God. The good news is that when we ask for it, He gives it. And it is not life as the world might think to give it. It is better than a good life, it is better than a rich life, it is better than success or fame. God gives life forever and ever. It is life with God and in glory.

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Psalms 21:4 (KJV) Too Many to List

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1 John 1:1-2 (KJV) Communicating Our Faith

1 John 1:1-2 (KJV)
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)

There is a transition in speaker and audience that takes place as the First Epistle of John develops. The author begins with the plural pronoun “we.” He continues the use of this pronoun through the first part of the second chapter when he shifts to the singular, “I.”

At the first he speaks of himself and the apostlesVs 1-5

The “we” then shifts to include all of his audience.Vs 6-10

This is, I believe, signaled by his pointing to his audience in verses 3-5. The transition moves from John and the other Apostles to all of the Apostles and those reading this epistle.

Finally he shifts to more of an “I and you” discourse2:1

I think I see what could be likened to the experience of believers
There is that experience we have as a part of our church.It is corporate within our church but it is very personal too.

Then there is that experience we have along with all believers.Some things are true of us as members of a local church that are not necessarily true of every Christian. Some things are true of all Christians in general. The smaller the group we identify with, the more personal and specific are the things we have in common.

There is that experience we have as communicators of our faithWhether that is to the lost who need to be saved or the saved that need to be built up, we each have some responsibility to communicate our faith to others.

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1 John 1:1-2 (KJV) Communicating Our Faith

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Psalms 19:11 (KJV) Something More

Psalms 19:11 (KJV)
Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.

This Psalm is a cheerful one delineating benefit after benefit received through the Word of God:

• It’s perfect
• It’s sure
• It’s right
• It’s pure
• It’s clean
• It’s true
• It’s rich
• It’s sweet

God’s Word:

• Converts the soul
• Makes wise the simple
• Rejoices the heart
• Enlightens the eyes
• Endures forever and is
• Righteous altogether

But it is something more. We have to remember that the Bible is more than uplifting and encouraging. The Bible:

• Warns us of error
• Points out the way of correction and
• Rewards the obedient

If we wake up each morning to taste its honey but then step out of our house to ignore its warnings we have missed the purpose altogether and will suffer loss because of it.

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Psalms 19:11 (KJV) Something More

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Psalms 17:13 (KJV) Sorry to Disappoint You

Psalms 17:13 (KJV)
Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:

David prayed that God would disappoint his enemies. The word, as I understand it, means to come before. Literally David prayed for God to get in between his enemies and their plans.

This appears to me to be a “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.” type prayer. David asks that God would do for him in his lifetime what God’s Word assures us He will do in His sovereign plan.

• Satan
• The governments of this world and 
• The pervasive world view 

all conspire together in an effort to prevent God’s final plan. Their conspiracy, we are assured, is fruitless, as God will finally step in between them and their plot to once and for all disappoint them.

As for us, we will not be disappointed if we trust God and stay next to him.

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Psalms 17:13 (KJV) Sorry to Disappoint You

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2 Peter 1:1 (KJV) Something Worth Getting

2 Peter 1:1 (KJV)
Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:

Peter writes, he says, to a people who have obtained “like precious faith.” The object obtained is faith. The adjectives define and describe that faith

It is like faithThere is a difference in faiths. One is not the same as or as good as another. The old phrase “it doesn’t matter what you believe so long as you are sincere” is a falsehood. It does matter. Peter looked for those who had obtained faith like his.

It is precious faithThe adjective describes something’s value or worth as in “precious metals.” It is often associated with rarity. Those metals have value because there is little of it. The word also has attached some sense of emotion. They are precious jewels because they are enjoyed by the owner. A daughter is often called precious by her father.

This faith of Peter’s is rare. It is a small number of people who come to possess it. And all those who do possess it find it to be precious to their heart.

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2 Peter 1:1 (KJV) Something Worth Getting

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Psalms 16:3 (KJV) A Channel of Blessing

Psalms 16:3 (KJV)
But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.

There are so many different opinions on how to interpret these verses it is only with some trepidation I enter my attempt. My plea is that these entries are primarily meant to be a record of my own study and devotional thoughts. If they seem to have little application to others, I appeal for mercy.

It seems to me that the biggest problem with interpretation is the verse separation. These verses obviously carry on thought. The psalmist is being honest with his own soul. God is his Lord. Goodness flows from God to him and not the other way around. The next verse completes the flow by saying that the goodness that extends to him from God then flows out to others.

God’s goodness is overwhelming and abundant but it it never meant to be hoarded. The goodness of the Lord extends to us so we can be channels delivering that goodness to those around us.

This is a Psalm of David. Picture him as the king of Israel, in some ways her figurehead. God poured His grace and blessings upon David but He so in order to pour them upon the nation. Each one of us has a sphere of influence; lives we touch in greater or lesser extents. What blessings God rains down on us is so we may channel those same blessings upon our circle of influence.

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Psalms 16:3 (KJV) A Channel of Blessing

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Psalms 14:5 (KJV) There Never Was a Fool

Psalms 14:5 (KJV)
There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous.

The fool says in his heart that there is no God and then makes a lot of noise on the outside to prove it to himself. In the end though, he is in great fear. The fact is he is unable to drive from his heart the truth. God is and everywhere he turns there is evidence of God.

The word generation is commonly thought of as an age or era. In an example of how important it is that we define terms according to the context of Scripture and not according to our previous cultural conformities (herein is suggested the necessity of study) the term is used in this context as a class or race of people known here as, “the righteous.”

In the New Testament we find three classes of people, Jews, Gentiles and the church of God. Churches are made up of the righteous, people whose backgrounds may be either Jew or Gentile but they have come out of that background to create a new generation.

There have always been those who have trusted in the Lord for righteousness so there has never been a fool who could carelessly say there is no God.

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Psalms 14:5 (KJV) There Never Was a Fool

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1 Peter 3:8 (KJV) A State of Being

1 Peter 3:8 (KJV)
Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:

This verse caught my attention for two reasons:

• First, the word “be” is found three times
• Second it is an added word all three times

Be is a verb having to do with identity, personality. It is added in this verse to aide us in seeing what is the character of the believer. (My wife described it as “a state of being verb.”) The state, the character, the personality of the Christian is:

• Of one mind
• Pitiful and
• Courteous

It must be reminded and stirred up in us because we struggle with the flesh, but it is possible for us because we possess a new quickened spirit.

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1 Peter 3:8 (KJV) A State of Being

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Psalms 11:4 (KJV) His Eyes and His Eyelids

Psalms 11:4 (KJV)
The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.

The punctuation in this verse completely changes the meaning of the verse. It should not be read, “His eyes, (think carefully about this), His eyelids …” The verse gives us two separate actions:

His eyes beholdHe looks, perceives and contemplates upon the children of men.

His eyelids tryHe investigates, examines and proves them. The use of the term “eyelids” could be in reference to how men squint the eyelids when we want to examine a thing more closely.

God is in heaven but He is very

• Aware of 
• Up to date and 
• Active in

the affairs of men on earth.

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Psalms 11:4 (KJV) His Eyes and His Eyelids

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Psalms 9:1-2 (KJV) The Privilege of Persons of Free Will

Psalms 9:1-2 (KJV)
I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.

No doubt the majority of those viewing this will be familiar with the “I wills” of Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12-14). Satan’s fall was the direct result of his own will. He exercised his right of free will to his own destruction.

“I” and more specifically “I will” is one of the most self-damning attitudes any person may have. However, having a will is not evil in and of itself. Here God’s Word gives us four wholesome “I wills” to which every human being is wise to affirm:

I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heartHis praise is not half hearted. He pours all of his heart into praising God.

I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.The psalmist determines to manifest, proclaim, make known all God’s marvelous works. This necessarily implies that he has undertaken to learn them.

I will be glad and rejoice in theeRejoicing is not always a natural response to the circumstances of this life. In order to be glad and rejoice in God one has to have determined to do so.

I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.This is not necessarily difficult except that first, singing exposes oneself and it is not in the nature of all to do that and second, the natural man prefers music of a different sort than glorifies God.

I will, the self determinate privilege of persons of free will, may be exercised for evil or good.

Exercise yours for godliness.

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Psalms 9:1-2 (KJV) The Privilege of Persons of Free Will

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James 5:6 (KJV) No Sin in Being Rich

James 5:6 (KJV)
Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.

An envious person, or one jealous of another’s successes, is prone to use James 5:1-5 to scold and otherwise browbeat those “rotten rich” people. Secretly I think they want their riches, they just aren’t willing to do what they had to do to get there.

Barnes Notes says of rich men… “There is no sin in merely being rich; where sin exists peculiarly among the rich, it arises from the manner in which wealth is acquired, the spirit which it tends to engender in the heart, and the way in which it is used.”

I find Barnes’ three-point category of the wrong sort of riches to be helpful.

• The manner in which it is acquired
• The spirit which it tends to engender and
• The way in which it is used 

But James 5:6 really isolates and fixes which rich men this passage intends, it is

• Those who have condemned and killed the just.

The point I want to make is that it is not all rich who are here targeted but those who, perhaps due to their riches, have a proud heart and an aggressive spirit against people of faith.

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James 5:6 (KJV) No Sin in Being Rich

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James 4:5 (KJV) The Sense of the Scripture Everywhere

James 4:5 (KJV)
Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

John Gill has an interesting remark concerning this passage,

• “Some think that the apostle refers to a particular passage of Scripture others think he had in view some text in the New Testament; 
• some have imagined that he refers to a passage in the apocryphal book: and 
• others have been of opinion that it is taken out of some book of Scripture then extant, but now lost, which by no means can be allowed of:[1]

but it seems best of all to conclude that the apostle has no regard to any one particular passage of Scripture, in which the following words are expressly had, since no such passage appears; but that his meaning is, the sense of the Scripture everywhere…”

It is often that a preacher is confronted by a person who wants one verse to prove some point of Biblical truth. In the case of most truths of God’s Word a single verse cannot be produced as conclusive and irrefutable proof. Truth, in order to be firmly established, requires “the sense of Scripture everywhere”.

This is the case with:

• The closed ordinance of the Lord’s Supper
• Baptism under the authority of a local and Scripturally organized Baptist church
• The preservation of the Bible in an inerrant fashion in the English language
• The pre tribulational rapture of the saints

Even the doctrine of the Trinity, which is agreed upon by all who are orthodox in doctrine, Requires a student of the Bible to grasp “the sense of the Scripture everywhere”.

Nothing in the Bible is said in vain. Every word has purpose, meaning and value. Most important of all is that the Bible as a whole has purpose, meaning and value. It is that message which is in the whole that we must not think vain.

[1] Bullet points are added by me

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James 4:5 (KJV) The Sense of the Scripture Everywhere

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James 3:1-2 (KJV) A Message for the “Masters”

James 3:1-2 (KJV)
My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.

It may be that the most appropriate way to read this chapter is in the context of verses one and two. Interpreted this way, the instruction is to the master (teacher of God’s Word) as to how to prevent their falling under condemnation as far as is possible. James 3:1-2 A Message for the “Masters” Viewing the chapter that way the instruction would go something like this:

Conquer your mouth-Do not enter ministry hastily
Vs 1

-Bridle the mouth
Vs 2-3

-Steer the tongue
Vs 4-5

-Fight the fiery tongue
Vs 5-6

-Tame the words
Vs 7-8

Course toward blessing-Choose to bless, not curse
Vs 9-12

Contain godly wisdom-A wise man is meek
Vs 13

-Envy is devilish
Vs 14-15

-Pure wisdom is peaceable
Vs 16-17

To my readers:
I would love to hear from you. Leave comments below.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others

James 3:1-2 (KJV) A Message for the “Masters”

Please consider helping our church’s teen department by signing up for cash back shopping at Bible Baptist Church Fundraiser. This program has three levels of participation, the first being completely free