How to live as a Christian, Hebrews 9 Saturday, Feb 28 2009

As someone who did not grow up within the Jewish tradition of blood sacrifice, this chapter is hard to understand.  I understand Jesus was the perfect sacrifice, but all of these requirements and demands are incredible.

9:1  The first covenant had regulations for worship

         and also an earthly sanctuary.

9:2  A tabernacle was set up.

         In the first room were

                       the lampstand,  [holding 7 lamps]

                       the table,

                       and the consecrated bread;  [12 loaves]

         this was called the Holy Place.

9:3  Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place,

9:4  which had the golden altar of incense

         and the gold-covered ark of the covenant.

         This ark contained

                       the gold jar of manna,

                       Aaron’s staff that had budded,

                       and the stone tablets of the covenant.

9:5  Above the ark

          were the cherubim of the Glory,

          overshadowing the atonement cover.

          But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.

9:6  When everything had been arranged like this,

         the priests entered regularly into the outer room

         to carry on their ministry.

9:7  But only the high priest entered the inner room,

        and that only once a year,

        and never without blood,

        which he offered for himself and for the sins the people

        had committed in ignorance.

9:8  The Holy Spirit was showing by this

         that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed

         as long as the first tabernacle was still standing.

9:9  This is an illustration for the present time,

          indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered

          were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper.

9:10  They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings

           —external regulations applying until the time of the new order.

9:11  When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here,

           he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle

          that is not man-made,

          that is to say,

           not a part of this creation.

9:12  He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves;

           but he entered the Most Holy Place

          once for all

          by his own blood,

          having obtained eternal redemption.

9:13  The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer

           sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean

           sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean.

9:14  How much more, then, will the blood of Christ,

           who through the eternal Spirit

           offered himself unblemished to God,

          cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death,

         so that we may serve the living God!

9:15  For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant,

           that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance

           —now that he has died as a ransom

          to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

9:16  In the case of a will,

           it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it,

9:17  because a will is in force only when somebody has died;

           it never takes effect while the one who made it is living.

9:18  This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood.

9:19  When Moses had proclaimed every commandment of the law

          to all the people,

          he took the blood of calves,

         together with

                            water,

                           scarlet wool

                          and branches of hyssop,

         and sprinkled the scroll and all the people.

9:20  He said,

                  “This is the blood of the covenant,

                   which God has commanded you to keep.”

9:21  In the same way,

           he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle

          and everything used in its ceremonies.

9:22  In fact,

            the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood,

           and without the shedding of blood

           there is no forgiveness.

9:23  It was necessary, then,

            for the copies of the heavenly things

           to be purified with these sacrifices,

            but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

9:24  For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary

           that was only a copy of the true one;

          he entered heaven itself,

          now to appear for us in God’s presence.

9:25  Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again,

           the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year

           with blood that is not his own.

9:26  Then Christ would have had to suffer many times

           since the creation of the world.

           But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages

           to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.

9:27  Just as man is destined to die once,

            and after that to face judgment,

9:28  so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people;

           and he will appear a second time,

           not to bear sin,

           but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

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How to live as a Christian, Hebrews 8 Friday, Feb 27 2009

8:1  The point of what we are saying is this:

        We do have such a high priest,

        who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,

8:2  and who serves in the sanctuary,

        the true tabernacle set up by the Lord,

        not by man.

8:3  Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices,

         and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer.

8:4  If he were on earth,

         he would not be a priest, 

[Jesus was from the tribe of Judah, not the tribe of Levi, which was the tribe set up to the priesthood.]

         for there are already men who offer the gifts prescribed by law.

8:5  They serve at a sanctuary

         that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven.

         This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle:

                 “See to it

                  that you make everything

                  according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”

8:6  But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs

         as the covenant of which he is a mediator

         is superior to the old one,

         and it is founded on better promises.

8:7  For if there had been nothing wrong with that covenant,

         no place would have been sought for another.

8:8  But God found fault with the people and said,

                 ”The time is coming, declares the Lord,

                   when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel

                   and with the house of Judah.

8:9            It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers

                   when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt,

                   because they did not remain faithful to my covenant

                   and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.

8:10          This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel

                   after that time, declares the Lord.

                   I will put my laws in their minds

                   and write them on their hearts.

                   I will be their God,

                   and they will be my people.

8:11          No longer will a man teach his neighbor,

                   or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’

                   because they will all know me

                   from the least of them to the greatest.

8:12         For I will forgive their wickedness

                  and will remember their sins no more.”

8:13  By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete

          and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.

Part of this puzzles me.  If God puts his laws in our minds and hearts…and there is no longer need to teach a neighbor or a brother, then it sounds as if everyone will know without being told.  And yet we are also told to share the good news with others.  Perhaps it means inside every person there is that which recognizes God and will respond once they hear.  If they don’t respond, they are deliberately turning away from God. 

I do understand that God writes his laws on the hearts of those who follow him; we do need to learn to listen or heed, but they are there.  This new law is one of love instead of the rigidity of following a set of rules.

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How to live as a Christian, Hebrews 7 Thursday, Feb 26 2009

This particular chapter gives some insight, but for someone who was not a Jew who became a Christian, it seems pretty intricate and convoluted.  Because the book of Hebrews was written for Jewish Christians, with their unique background, I suspect they would not strain to understand this as much as I’ve had to.

7:1  This Melchizedek was king of Salem

        and priest of God Most High.

       He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings

        and blessed him.

7:2  And Abraham gave him a tenth of everything.

        First, his name means “king of righteousness”;

        then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.”

7:3  Without father or mother,

         without genealogy,

         without beginning of days or end of life,

         like the Son of God he remains a priest forever.

[Melchizedek is a prefiguration of Christ.  Normally a priest's lineage matters.]

7:4  Just think how great he was:

         Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder!

[The one who collects the tithe is greater than the one who pays it.]

7:5  Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests

         to collect a tenth from the people—that is, their brothers—

         even though their brothers are descended from Abraham.

7:6  This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi,

         yet he collected a tenth from Abraham

         and blessed him who had the promises.

7:7  And without doubt

         the lesser person is blessed by the greater.

7:8  In the one case,

         the tithe is collected by men who die;

         but in the other case,

         by him who is declared to be living.

7:9  One might even say that Levi,

         who collects the tenth,

          paid the tenth through Abraham,

7:10  because when Melchizedek met Abraham,

           Levi was still in the body of his ancestor.

7:11  If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood

          (for on the basis of it the law was given to the people),

          why was there still need for another priest to come

         —one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron?

7:12  For when there is a change of the priesthood,

           there must also be a change of the law.

7:13  He of whom these things are said

           belonged to a different tribe,

           and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar.

7:14  For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah,

           and in regard to that tribe

          Moses said nothing about priests.

7:15  And what we have said is even more clear

           if another priest like Melchizedek appears,

7:16  one who has become a priest

           not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry

          but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life.

7:17  For it is declared:

           “You are a priest forever,

              in the order of Melchizedek.”

7:18  The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless

7:19  (for the law made nothing perfect),

           and a better hope is introduced by which we draw near to God.

7:20  And it was not without an oath!

           Others became priests without any oath,

7:21  but he became a priest with an oath

           when God said to him:

           “The Lord has sworn

               and will not change his mind:

            ‘You are a priest forever.’”

7:22  Because of this oath,

            Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.

7:23  Now there have been many of these priests,

            since death prevented them continuing in office;

7:24  but because Jesus lives forever,

            he has a permanent priesthood.

7:25  Therefore he is able to save completely

            those who come to God through him,

           because he always lives to intercede for them.

7:26  Such a high priest meets our need

           —one who is holy,

                                      blameless,

                                     pure,

                                     set apart from sinners,

                                    exalted above the heavens.

7:27  Unlike the other high priests,

            he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day,

           first for his own sins,

          and then for the sins of the people.

          He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.

7:28  For the law appoints as high priests mean who are weak;

            but the oath,

           which came after the law,

           appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.

I understand what Jesus did; it’s the history related to Melchizedek that strains my brain!

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How to live as a Christian, Hebrews 6 Wednesday, Feb 25 2009

6:1  Therefore, let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ

        and go on to maturity,

       not laying again the foundation

        of repentance from acts that lead to death,

        and of faith in God,

6:2  instructions about baptisms,

        laying on of hands,

        resurrection of the dead,

        and eternal judgment.

6:3  God permitting, we will do so.

6:4  It is impossible for those

         who have once been enlightened,

         who have tasted the heavenly gift,

          who have shared in the Holy Spirit,

          who have tasted the goodness of the word of God

                                                    and the powers of the coming of age,

           if they fall way,

           to be brought back to repentance,

           because to their loss

           they are crucifying the Son of God all over again.

6:7  Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it

         and that produces a crop useful for those for whom it is farmed

         receives the blessing of God.

6:8  But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless

        and is in danger of being cursed.

        In the end it will be burned.

6:9  Even though we speak like this,

         we are confident of better things in your case—things that accomplish salvation.

6:10  God is not unjust;

           he will not forget your work

          and the love you have shown him

          as you have helped his people and continue to help them.

6:11  We want each of you to show this diligence to the very end,

           in order to make your hope sure.

6:12  We do not want you to become lazy,

           but to imitate those

          who through faith and patience

          inherit what has been promised.

6:13  When God made his promise to Abraham,

           he swore by himself, saying,

6:14  “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”

6:15  After waiting patiently,

          Abraham received what was promised.

6:16  Men swear by someone greater than themselves,

          and the oath confirms what is said

          and puts an end to all argument.

6:17  Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature  and his purpose

           very clear

           to the heirs of what was promised,

          he confirmed it with an oath.

6:18  God did that so that,

           by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie,

           we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us

           may be greatly encouraged.

6:19  We have this hope as an anchor for the soul,

           firm and secure.

          It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,

6:20  where Jesus,

           who went before us,

           has entered on our behalf.

          He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

“It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened if they fall away to be brought back to repentance.”  I don’t understand this…impossible to be brought back to repentance?

According to the following site, it is a mistake to read the above out of context, which I’m doing.  http://www.reformationtheology.com/2006/02/biblical_reflections_on_hebrew.php

“The passage that warns the Hebrews against falling away is warning them against one thing: abandoning trust in Christ alone by going back to now worthless and obsolete things, such as trusting in the temple sacrifice and the Law in order to be justified. The warnings are given to those in the community that they would not be tempted to turn from trusting Jesus alone (who is God over all) for some lesser or meaningless ritual act that supposedly now can curry God’s favor. Trusting in anything except Christ alone, who is the light that scatters all shadows, is said to be tantamount to “trampling under foot the Son of God” believing that His once of all sacrifice is insufficient in itself to save. If something in place of, or in addition to, Jesus is trusted in it is no different than a denial of Him. So in context, the persons who go back by trading in Christ for the now-empty ritual of the temple (that itself was meant to point to the fulfillment in Christ), are then re-crucifying the Son to their shame. Hebrews 6:4-8 is often read in isolation apart from this context. “

Because the letter to the Hebrews is written to Jewish Christians, the author is very aware of all of the historical practices the Jewish people followed to be redeemed before the time of Christ.  He is warning them not to go back and add on things from past practice, but to rely fully on Jesus’ sacrifice, which is complete and needs nothing added.

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How to live as a Christian, Hebrews 5 Tuesday, Feb 24 2009

In reading this chapter, I needed to know more about the significance of Melchizedek, so I did some googling and found this.  I’m providing the website in case anyone else would like to check what it said.  There were other sites, but I felt this one answered my question better than the others.

“1) Context – The priesthood of Melchizedek is a like Christ’s priesthood. Christ existed BEFORE Melchizedek in order of time, in order of nature Melchizedek’s priesthood existed before Christ’s. The priesthood of the Son of God, ordained and appointed by the Godhead was the original, and Melchizedek’s priesthood was the copy, providing the TYPE.

“1) Priest of the most high God.
“2) Royal priest possessing personal majesty and authority
“3) King of righteousness
“4) King of Peace
“5) As the one who “blessed Abraham”
“6) As the one who received the gifts of God’s people represented by Abraham.
“7) No owing his priesthood to natural genealogy.
“8) A priest beyond the bounds of the Levitical limitations”
http://www.scripturessay.com/printpage.php?id=569

5:1  Every high priest is selected from among men

         and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God,

        to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.

5:2  He is able to deal gently

         with those who are ignorant and are going astray,

         since he himself is subject to weakness.

5:3  This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins,

         as well as for the sins of the people.

5:4  No one takes this honor on himself;

        he must be called by God,

         just as Aaron was.

5:5  So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest,

        but God said to him,

              “You are my son;

               today I have become your Father.”

5:6  And he says in another place,

               “You are a priest forever,

                in the order of Melchizedek.”

5:7  During the days of Jesus’ life on earth,

         he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears

         to the one who could save him from death,

         and he was heard because of his reverent submission.

5:8  Although he was a son,

         he learned obedience from what he suffered

5:9  and, once made perfect,

        he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him

5:10  and was designated by God

          to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

5:11  We have much to say about this,

          but it is hard to explain

          because you are slow to learn.

5:12  In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers,

          you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word

          all over again.

          You need milk not solid food!

5:13  Anyone who lives on milk,

          being still an infant,

         is not acquainted with the teachings about righteousness.

5:14  But solid food is for the mature,

           who by constant use

            have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

Sometimes I do feel I’m still in the infant stages of understanding; other times, I feel I get it.  Reading as I’ve been doing since October has helped my understanding grow, but I have a long way to go.

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How to live as a Christian, Hebrews 4 Monday, Feb 23 2009

4:1  Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands,

         let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.

4:2  We also have had the gospel preached to us,

         just as they did;

        but the message they heard was of no value to them,

       because those who heard did not combine it with faith.

4:3  Now we who have believed enter that rest,

         just as God has said,

        ”So I declared on oath in my anger,

        ’They shall never enter my rest.’”

        And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world.

4:4  Somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words:

         “And on the seventh day

          God rested from all his work.”

4:5  And again in the passage above he says,

        “They shall never enter my rest.”

4:6  It still remains that some will enter that rest,

         and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in,

        because of their disobedience.

4:7  Therefore God again set a certain day,

         calling it Today,

         when a long time later

         he spoke through David,

         as was said before:

         “Today, if you hear his voice,

          do not harden your hearts.”

4:8  For if Joshua had given them rest,

         God would not have spoken later about another day.

4:9  There remains, then,

         a Sabbath-rest for the people of God:

4:10  for anyone who enters God’s rest

          also rests from his own work,

          just as God did from his.

4:11  Let us make every effort to enter that rest,

          so no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.

4:12  For the word of God is living and active.

           Sharper than any double-edged sword,

           it penetrates even to dividing

                  soul and spirit,

                 joints and marrow;

           It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

4:13  Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.

           Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him

           to whom we must give account.

4:14  Since we have a great high priest

           who has gone through the heavens,

           Jesus the Son of God,

           let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.

4:15  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize

          with our weaknesses,

          but we have one who has been tempted in every way,

         just as we are—yet was without sin.

4:16  Let us then approach the throne of Grace with confidence,

          so we may receive mercy and find grace

         to help us in our time of need.

It feels to me as if the Sabbath here has two meanings:  here on earth, resting on the seventh day; later in heaven for those who have believed.  I had gotten away from keeping the Sabbath, especially in my last years of teaching.  Often I’d be grading papers on that day.  Now, since I’ve retired, I’m attempting to remember it, not doing regular housework on that day.  I don’t want to be rigid about it, but now that I’m attending church in the morning on Sunday, the afternoons are for relaxing.  I’m aware, though, that if I go out to eat in a restaurant, the workers ARE working on the Sabbath.  And my eating there, causes them to work.  Years and years ago, my dad preferred not to eat out on the Sabbath, but later after we kids had left home, I know he and my mom would eat Sunday dinner out after church and considered that a treat.

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How to live as a Christian, Hebrews 3 Sunday, Feb 22 2009

3:1  Therefore, fix your thoughts on Jesus,

        the apostle and high priest whom we confess.

3:2  He was faithful to the one who appointed him,

        just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house.

3:3  Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses,

        just as the builder of the house has greater honor than the house itself.

3:4  Every house is built by someone,

        but God is the builder of everything.

3:5  Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house,

        testifying to what would be said in the future.

3:6  But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house.

        And we are his house,

       if we hold on to our courage

       and the hope of which we boast.

3:7  So, as the Holy Spirit says:

         “Today, if you hear his voice,

3:8         do not harden your hearts

          as you did in the rebellion,

               during the time of testing in the desert,

3:9  where your fathers tested and tried me

               and for forty years saw what I did.

3:10  That is why I was angry with that generation,

           and I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray,

          and they have not known my ways.”

3:12  See to it that none of you has a sinful unbelieving heart

           that turns away from the living God.

3:13  Encourage one another daily,

           as long as it is called Today,

          so none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

3:14  We have come to share in Christ

           if we hold firmly to the end

          the confidence we had at first.

3:15  As it has just been said:

           “Today, if you hear his voice,

            do not harden your hearts

           as you did in the rebellion.”

3:16  Who were they who heard and rebelled?

           Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt?

3:17  And with whom was he angry for forty years?

            Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert?

3:18  To whom did God swear that

           they would never enter his rest

          if not to those who disobeyed?

3:19  We see that they were not able to enter because of their unbelief.

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How to live as a Christian, Hebrews 2 Saturday, Feb 21 2009

2:1  We must pay attention to what we have heard

         so we do not drift away.

2:2  If the message was binding

         and every violation and disobedience

         received its just punishment,

2:3  how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?

         This salvation,

         which was first announced by the Lord,

         was confirmed to us by those who heard him.

2:4  God also testified to it by

         signs,

        wonders,

        various miracles,

        gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

2:5  It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come.

2:6  …there is a place where someone has testified:

               “What is man

                         that you are mindful of him,

               the son of man

                         that you care for him?

2:7         You made him

                         a little lower than the angels;

                 you crowned him with glory and honor

2:8          and put everything under his feet.”

        In putting everything under him,

       God left nothing that is not subject to him.

        Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him.  [hardly!!]

2:9  But we see Jesus

        now crowned with glory and honor

       because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God

        he might taste death for everyone.

2:10  In bringing many sons to glory,

           it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists,

          should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.

2:11  Both

          the one who makes men holy

         and those who are made holy

        are of the same family.

        So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.

2:12  He says,

                 “I will declare your name to my brothers;

                 in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises.”

2:13  And again,

                 “I will put my trust in him.”

           And again he says,

                “Here am I, and the children God has given me.”

2:14  Since the children have flesh and blood,

           he too shared in their humanity

           so that by his death

          he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—

          and free those who

          all their lives were held in slavery

          by their fear of death.  [which is often a theme in music, drama, art, literature]

2:16  It is not angels he helps,

           but Abraham’s descendants.

2:17  For this reason

            he had to be made like his brothers in every way,

            in order that he might become

            a merciful and faithful high priest

            in service to God,

           and that he might make atonement

           for the sins of the people.

2:18  Because he himself suffered

           when he was tempted,

           he is able to help those who are being tempted.

This is a good review.  What catches my attention is the beginning statement, which includes the words, “pay attention,” even though in this case it’s referring to what we’ve learned about God/Jesus/Spirit.  When I traveled to Scotland that was my inner mantra.  Sometimes I miss things because I’m not focusing, so I deliberately instructed myself to pay attention as I was traveling, to others’ presence, to the morning/evening prayer services, to needs in communities we visited, to officials in both religious and secular situations.  I learned a lot and became aware of the larger global community of faith.  It was good.

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Friday, Feb 20 2009

The writer of Hebrews is in question.  First, Paul was considered; while the ideas are compatible, the style is not.  Second, Barnabas was a possibility; he knew Paul, ministered with him, had authority in the apostolic church and was an intellectual Hebrew Christian well versed in the Old Testament.  The third candidate was Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth and a Jewish Christian with intellectual and oratorical abilities.

Hebrews was probably written before the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. because no mention is made of destruction or the end of the Jewish sacrificial system.  The author also uses the present tense when speaking of the temple and priestly activities associated with it.

Hebrews was addressed to Jewish converts who were familiar with the Old Testament and who were being tempted to revert to Judaism or to Judaize the gospel.  It is also suggested the recipients were priests who became obedient to the faith.

The theme is the absolute supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ as revealer and as mediator of God’s grace.

There can be no turning back to the old Jewish system.  Now people must look only to Jesus, whose death, resurrection and ascension opened the way to God’s presence.  Believers must persevere in the spiritual contest.

1:1  In the past God spoke through the prophets,

1:2  but in these days he has spoken to us by his Son.

1:3  The Son is the radiance of God’s glory

        and the exact representation of his being,

       sustaining all things by his powerful word.

       After he provided purification for sins,

       he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

1:4  He became as much superior to the angels

        as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

1:5  …to which of the angels did God say,

        “You are my son;

                      today I have become your Father.”?

         or

         “I will be his Father,

                  and he will be my Son.”?

1:6  Again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,

         “Let all of God’s angels worship him.”

1:7  In speaking of the angels he says,

         “He makes his angels winds,

                 his servants flames of fire.”

1:8  But about the Son he says,

        ”Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever,

        and righteousness will be the sceptor of your kingdom.

1:9  You have loved righteousness and

                   hated wickedness;

          therefore God, your God, has set

                   you above your companions

         by anointing you with the oil of joy.”

1:10  He also says,

           “In the beginning, O Lord, you laid

                   the foundations of the earth,

            and the heavens are the work of your hands.

1:11  They will perish, but you remain;

               they will all wear out like a garment.

1:12  You will roll them up like a robe;

               like a garment they will be changed.

          But you remain the same,

               and your years will never end.”

1:13  To which the angels did God ever say,

                   “Sit at my right hand

          until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”?

1:14  Are not all angels ministering spirits

          sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

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How to live as a Christian, Philemon Thursday, Feb 19 2009

Paul wrote this letter to Philemon, a slave holder in Colosse, c. 60 A.D.  One of Philemon’s slaves had stolen from him and run away (in Roman law, this was punishable by death).  While Onesimus, the slave, was away, he met Paul and became a Christian.  Paul is now writing to ask that Philemon accept his slave as a Christian brother.  This is a very short letter—only one chapter.

1:1  Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother.

        To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker,

1:2  to Apphia our sister, [presumed to be Philemon's wife]

       to Archippus our fellow solder

       and to the church that meets in your home:

1:3  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1:4  I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers,

1:5  because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus

        and your love of all the saints.

1:6  I pray you may be active in sharing your faith,

        so you will have a full understanding of

        every good thing we have in Christ.

1:7  Your love has given me great joy

        and encouragement,

       because you have refreshed the hearts of saints.

1:8  Therefore,

        although in Christ I could be bold

         and order you to do what you ought to do,

1:9  yet I appeal to you on the basis of love.

        I, then, as Paul—an old man and also a prisoner of Christ Jesus—

1:10  I appeal to you for my son, Onesimus,

           who became my son while I was in chains.

1:11 Formerly he was useless to you,

          but now he has become useful

          both to you and me.

1:12  I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you.

1:13  I would have liked to keep him with me

           so he could take your place

           in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel.

1:14  But I did not want to do anything without your consent,

          so that any favor you do will be spontaneous and not forced.

1:15  Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while

          was that you might have him back for good

1:16  —no longer as a slave,

           but better than a slave,

           as a dear brother.

           He is very dear to me

           but even dearer to you,

           both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.

1:17  So if you consider me a partner,

           welcome him

            as you would welcome me.

1:18  If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything,

           charge it to me.

1:19  I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand.

          I will pay it back

          —not to mention that you owe me your very self.  [How could Philemon say no?!]

1:20  I do wish, brother,

           that I have some benefit from you in the Lord;

           refresh my heart in Christ.

1:21  Confident of your obedience,

          I write to you,

          knowing you will do even more than I ask.

1:22  And one thing more:

           Prepare a guest room for me,

           because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers.

1:23  Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus,

           sends you his greetings.

1:24  And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow coworkers.

1:25  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

We are not to hold out for punishment of others, even if it is the way the law is written.  We have been forgiven much; therefore, when we have the opportunity, we are also to forgive.

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