Acts 17

Verses 24-27:

^.24the God, the (God) having made the world and all the-things in it, this-(God) being-from-the-beginning Lord of heaven and of earth does not dwell-down in handmade interior-temples, ^.25nor is He attended-to by menly hands (as though He is) supplicating-for something.

 

He (is the God) giving life and blowing and all-things to all-people, ^.26and He made out-from one-(man) every nation of men to dwell-down on all (the) face of the earth – having marked-out-definitely (the) times having been arranged-towards² (them) and the marked-boundaries of their dwelling-down-place – ^.27to seek-after God if consequently indeed they may touch-after Him and they may find (Him), and indeed being-from-the-beginning not distant from each one of us;

Paul continues: “The God, emphatically and specifically the God Who has made the world (the ordered-arrangement of the whole universe) and all the-things within it (not only a certain portion of it like the gods you have who only represent some phase of human life or nature or something else)…

·         this God from the beginning (the start)

o   being Lord (Master; this is the Greek word kurios and it emphasizes and confirms the validity and authenticity of God’s lordship, dominion and authority over and relative-to themselves, plus the respectful submission due to Him; also, this word is used in Greek as a translation for the Hebrew word Jehovah (Yahweh) and refers to God in His covenant-relationship to that-which He created)

o   of heaven (everything above the earth) and of earth (everything on or in the earth),

·         does not dwell down (permanently dwell, settle-down, fixedly house or inhabit)

o   within handmade interior-temples (the holiest temple areas made by the hands of mankind like your idols fit inside your shrines and grottos),

·         nor is He attended-to (treated therapeutically, taken care of as necessary, as to heal Him and make Him better)

o   by the power of menly (human) hands, as though this God is supplicating for something (in need of something and is expressing His lack towards mankind so that they would provide it for Him).

·         Emphatically He (He Himself, this same God) is the One giving (presenting in an unforced manner, yielding)

o   life (referring to physical life, which is the antithesis to death)

o   and blowing (referring to the action of breathing air in and out by mankind; refer to Genesis 2:7 and Acts 2:2)

o   and all-things (everything),

·         to all people (not just a certain nation or race, or something else which may be used by mankind as a criteria of separation),

·         and He made out-from one man (originating from one single man [some Greek texts have the word “blood” here and this would also refer to the first man, Adam])

·         every nation of men (this includes all Judeans / Israelites and all the Gentiles / different ethnic groups) to dwell down on all the face of the earth (to permanently dwell, settle-down, fixedly house or inhabit the whole earth, not only portions of it)

o   having marked out definitely (set or separated the boundary, horizon, limits, the limited-area relative to)

§  the specific times (the seasons, occasions, the opportune times) which He arranged (put/set in order and they have not changed since He marked them out) towards/with all of mankind

§  and the marked boundaries of their dwelling-down-place (the definite limits, horizons, limited areas of their permanent dwelling place, their habitat, habitation – God did not do this arbitrarily or haphazardly!)

·         to seek after God (for the purpose that they would look for Him) if in correspondence to seeking after Him, they would touch after Him (feel after Him as though with their hands stretched-out searching for God)

o   and they would then find (locate) Him,

·         and indeed being-from-the-beginning not distant from each one of us (emphatically from the start God is not far away from any one of us; in other words, people would not have to spend their whole lifetime looking for God because they would find Him quickly since God makes Himself known).”

God has given mankind freedom of will – it is each individual’s decision to seek after God.

[Reference: Genesis chapters 1 – 4, 11:8; Exodus 20:11; Deuteronomy 4:29, 32:8; Psalm 74:16 and 17, 145:17-20; Isaiah 42:5, 55:6; Matthew 11:25; Acts 1:7, 7:48, 14:17, 19:24; Romans 1:19 and 20, 5:6, 10:18; I Corinthians 3:16 and 17, 4:5; II Corinthians 6:2 and 16; Ephesians 1:10, 2:19-22; I Thessalonians 5:1; I Timothy 2:5 and 6; Titus 1:3; Hebrews 9:9 and 10; I Peter 1:5 and 10-12.]

 

Ephesians 6 armor

Verses 10-12:

^.10From-now-on, you must be enabled in (the) Lord and in the strongness of his strength, ^.11you must clothe-yourselves-with the full-armor of God towards (the purpose of) you to be able to stand against the methods of the devil, ^.12because the wrestling is not for you against blood and flesh but against the rulerships, against the authorities, against the world-strong-ones of this darkness, against the spiritual-things of the evilness, in the heavenlies;

Having taught regarding how holy-people ought to behave ourselves towards one-another while being in submission to our Lord Jesus Christ – whether wives or husbands or children or fathers or slaves or lords – Paul now addresses all holy-people teaching us how to behave ourselves and what resources we have available as we carry-out the activities of our everyday lives relative to the spirit realm.

From now on (of the rest, pertaining-to the time remaining, henceforth) it is imperative that you holy-people are enabled (caused to be made able, have able-power, given ability, empowered, made capable or dynamic from inside of you)…

·         within the sphere of action of the Lord (your Master, who is Christ Jesus; you have received the spirit of Christ in you making you limbs/members of the one spiritual body of Christ; it is in the Lord’s sphere of action that you are to be enabled)

·         and within the strongness of his strength (the exerted-force, power-in-effect, exerted-strength of the Lord's inherent-strength, the strength which he now is/has, which he received from God when He raised him up from among the dead-people – within the strongness of the Lord Jesus Christ’s strength, not your physical strength, nor your intellectual ability, nor your money, nor your career track, etc; refer to Ephesians 1:19-23, 3:16-18),

…you must clothe yourselves with (put-on as a garment by going inside of it, envelop yourselves with)…

·         the full-armor of God (the whole weaponry belonging-to and proceeding-from the only true God, all/every part of it, the complete panoply, the full set of tools or implements of war/battle needed for protection, offense and defense, fully armed – God is the source of this full-armor)

o   towards the purpose of (in motion to, for the purpose, direction, and intent of)

o   you to presently be able to stand (to have the able-power, ability, capability to actively stand firm, to be set in place as opposed to being caused to fall or fail)

o   against/towards the methods of the devil (in motion against the manner of the systematic ways, following after the procedures, the step-by-step processes pertaining-to, belonging-to, and proceeding-from the devil; refer to Ephesians 4:14 and 27),

…because the wrestling (the swaying or vibrating struggle which you are engaged in; this word draws attention to the truth that there are two opposing sides contesting against each other – the wrestling)…

·         is not for you (relative to holy-people [some Greek texts have the word “us” instead of “you”])

·         against/towards blood and flesh (the two parts of natural mankind, human-beings – in motion against blood containing soul-life evidenced by breathing, and flesh being the physical body – the physical, natural, fleshy category)

…but on the contrary, the wrestling that all holy-people are involved in is…

·         against/towards the rulerships (in motion against those in the first-placed, chief, dignified hierarchical positions, which some spirits and people have been given or have taken for themselves),

·         against/towards the authorities (in motion against those with authoritative-powers or permitted-rights, which some spirits and people have been given or have taken for themselves),

·         against/towards the world-strong-ones (in motion against those being strong, having strength, exerted-force, being mighty in the present ordered-arrangement that fell because the first man Adam gave it to the devil as recorded in Genesis chapter 3, which some spirits and people have been given or have taken for themselves)

o   of this darkness (specifically belonging to, pertaining to and consisting of the devil’s absolute darkness, the complete absence of light, lack of the only true God's light),

·         against/towards the spiritual-things (in motion against those matters belonging to, determined by, influenced by and proceeding from spirit, including the beings which are spirits)

o   of the evilness (belonging to, pertaining to and consisting of the devil’s active malignancy, the exercised badness that issues from the evil-one, the devil/satan),

…in the heavenlies (the plural word "heavenlies" gives great emphasis and expansive greatness to this location, which is literally anywhere above the earth, but here it is used metaphorically referring to God's spirit realm, all that is upon and pertaining to God – within the sphere of action of all that pertains to the heavenly realm).

All holy-people are in the heavenlies – spiritually (refer to Ephesians 1:3 and 20-23, 2:6, 3:10) and therefore this is our sphere of action. We have not yet received our spiritual bodies like the Lord Jesus Christ already has received from God, plus he has already ascended into the heavens. We have received the spirit of Christ in us – this is our spiritual standing with God and our Lord Jesus Christ and all the things of God, and we are against all that is against God.

The devil and his angels do not have a location for them to be present within the heaven since the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ into God’s presence in the heavenlies (refer to Revelation 12:7-12) – and therefore their ability to disrupt God's and the Lord Jesus Christ's realm in heaven is no longer available to them.

All holy-people must be enabled in the Lord and in the strongness of his strength. We must clothe-ourselves-with the full-armor of God towards the purpose of us being able to stand within the sphere of action of the heavenlies against the methods of the devil, because the wrestling is not for us against blood and flesh but against the rulerships, against the authorities, against the world-strong-ones of this darkness, against the spiritual-things of the evilness.

It is interesting to note that the papyrus P46 has the word “methods” in verse 12 (as verse 11) instead of the words “rulerships, against the authorities”; plus it omits the words translated "in the heavenlies" – therefore it reads: “because the wrestling is not for you against blood and flesh but against the methods, against the world-strong-ones of this darkness, against the spiritual-things of the evilness.”

[Reference: Matthew 22:18; John 8:44; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:29, 13:12; I Corinthians 2:6-10; II Corinthians 6:7 and 14, 10:4; Ephesians 1:3 and 19-23, 2:6, 3:10 and 16-19, 4:14, 24 and 27, 5:8, 11 and 16; Philippians 4:13; Colossians 1:13 and 27; I Timothy 1:12; II Timothy 2:1; James 4:7; I Peter 5:8; I John 5:18-21; Revelation 12:7-12. Also refer to the article The devil, satan, and evil (http://www.truebiblestudy.com/devil_satan_evil.htm).]

Romans 1:1 and 2

The Apostle Paul wrote this letter (epistle) in accordance with the information that God and the Lord Jesus Christ revealed to him.

Romans 1:1 and 2:

^1:1Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called, an apostle, having been separated² into God's good-message, ^.2which He promised-beforehand by means of His prophets in holy writings,

Paul begins this letter by first identifying himself by name (Paul) to those to whom he is writing. Then he identifies himself by 'job-title' or 'work-function' relative-to his working/service relationship with Christ Jesus. When Paul writes "Christ Jesus" he is emphasizing the truth that the Lord Jesus Christ is the resurrected, anointed-one of God.

Paul was a slave, bound to serve Christ Jesus, his Master as regards his work being a holy-person. This service as a slave meant that his whole being was at the service of, in service to – Christ Jesus. Paul carried-out his service by his own freedom of will.

Wherever Paul was and whatever he was doing he was to behave as a slave of Christ Jesus, not a slave serving anybody or anything else, even though at times during his life he was physically-bound with physical-chains to soldiers in prison! Even so, Christ Jesus was his Lord, the one whom Paul believed and obeyed and from-whom Paul took his instructions.

During Biblical times, a master was obligated to take-care of his slave (bond-servant) and the slave was obligated to do all his master would ask of him. It was a mutually-beneficial relationship between the master and his slave. [Some Greek texts read "slave of Jesus Christ."]

Paul’s standing was that he was “called.” The word "called" could also be translated as "invited" – he was an invited person. He had been issued an invitation by Christ Jesus and he had accepted it. As we read on we will find out what the call (invitation) was and how Paul responded to that invitation.

Paul’s service was to do the work of an apostle. An "apostle" is a person sent-forth or sent-away by someone on a specific mission or assignment to someone else. In this context, we read that Paul was an apostle of Christ Jesus.

It is clear that Paul had not decided this all by himself, nor was there some "unknown force" driving him to do the things that he was doing, nor was he deluded into thinking that he was somebody else, nor did he decide that he had reached the level of being "good enough" to be an apostle to his neighbors or to the whole world (he was not self-appointed), nor was there a committee involved in this decision, nor had he "forced" God or Jesus Christ into making him an apostle!

Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called, an apostle…

·         having been separated and still separated (set off by bounds, limited off, set apart/away for a specific purpose, the limited-off area of my assignment, the limits within which I am to stay is)

o   into God's good-message (with a view to, for the gospel, the evangel from God),

o   which He promised-beforehand (God previously proclaimed or declared the message of His intentions regarding this in advance of it actually happening)

§  by means of His prophets (through the people who spoke-forth God's words being revealed to them concerning the past, present and/or future to, before, in front of a person or people)

§  in holy writings (scrolls, scriptures, God's Word; these writings are sanctified, set-apart from the state of being common, defiled or unclean against God; these holy writings correspond to the essence of God)….

Paul is referring to the books of the prophets already written in what is part of the old covenant writings (often referred to as 'old testament'). Much of what these old covenant prophets spoke was recorded in written form, and it concerned the subject matter of the good-message regarding which Paul was an apostle.

[Reference: Acts 9:1-20, 13:2, 22:1-21, 26:1-23; Romans 8:28, 15:4; I Corinthians 1:1 and 24; Galatians 1:15 and 16, 3:8; Ephesians 4:11-13; I Peter 1:10-12.]

Second Peter chapter 3

Verses 17 and 18:

^.17Therefore you, loved-people¹, knowing-beforehand must keep-watch in order that you may not fall-from (your) own setting-fast having been led-away-together with (the) wandering of the rejecters; ^.18but you must increase in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – to him (is) the glory both now and into (the) day of (the) age, with-certainty.

Following-on logically from what is written above, emphatically you…

·         loved-people¹ (as verses 1, 8 and 14 above),

o   who are knowledgeable beforehand (you have personal knowledge of the events described in this letter prior-to, in-advance-of them occurring)

·         must keep-watch (be vigilant to watch yourselves, keep yourselves safe, guard yourselves)

·         for the purpose and result that

o   you would not fall out from your own setting-fast (your state of being firmly fixed, established in the truth of God’s Word)

§  which would happen after being conducted away from the truth in conjunction with

§  the wandering (the error, not staying in their rightful place, the leading astray away-from the truth of God's Word)

§  of the rejecters (those who reject what God says, who un-put the truth, put it from themselves, they displace it during their everyday living);

…but it is imperative that you increase (augment, be continually growing, expanding)…

o   within the cause and sphere of action of

o   grace and knowledge pertaining-to and issuing-from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (during the everyday living of your lives; refer to II Peter 1:1 and 2) –

§  to him is the glory (to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the importance, splendor, and renown)

§  both now (at the present time, right-now)

§  and into the day of the age (referring to the full length of the specific age that began when God resurrected him and that will not end, for the time-period of his lifetime, throughout the duration of his life),

§  with-certainty (amen, truly, surely! [some Greek texts omit “with certainty”]).

[Reference: II Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 4:15; Philippians 3:10 and 21; Colossians 1:27, 3:4; II Timothy 4:18; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 2:7 and 9, 5:6, 6:20, 7:24; James 2:1; I Peter 1:11 and 21, 2:2, 5:1 and 4, 4:13; II Peter 1:12, 2:7 and 18.]

Dead are dead.

In I Corinthians 15:51-54, however, Paul’s detailed explanation gives us the knowledge and understanding of the truth:

·         The dead holy-people will be raised up from death and will receive their new spiritual bodies –

o   this will be the second time that a human-being who was dead will be made alive by receiving a spiritual body, because Jesus has already been raised up alive from death;

·         then the living holy-people will be changed directly from having their fleshy bodies into having their new spiritual bodies, without dying in-between –

o   this will be the first time that a living human-being will be changed.

Also it is worth noting here that people who die (dead-people) remain dead until the time of their resurrection. Dead-people are dead (they are not alive in any form) until they are resurrected from being dead. At that point they will be judged and they will either receive eternal life or their second/final death being completely destroyed.

Today – while all holy-people (true Christians) await the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to gather us all together with him in the air away from the earth – the only human-being who has already been raised up by God and given a new spiritual body, and will never die again, is the Lord Jesus Christ.

[Reference: Numbers 10:1-10; Romans 8:11; II Corinthians 5:4; Philippians 3:20 and 21; I Thessalonians 4:13-17.]

New heaven and earth and Jerusalem

Following the completion of the final judgments being implemented as recorded in Revelation chapter 20, John next records information regarding the new heaven and the new earth – together (refer to Revelation 21:1 – 22:5).

Revelation 21:1-4:

^21:1And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth went-away, and the sea yet is not.

^.2And I saw the city, the holy (city) - new Jerusalem - descending out-from heaven from God, having been prepared² as a bride having been orderly-arranged² for her adult-male. ^.3And I heard a great sound out-from the throne saying, "Look!, the tent of God (will be) with the men, and He will tent with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them - their God, ^.4and He will wipe-out every tear from their eyes, and the death yet will not be, neither mourning nor crying-out nor pain yet will not be - because the first-things went-away."

John writes: And I perceived (knew with my mind)...

·         a new heaven and a new earth (the heaven and earth referred to here will be newly-made and different compared to the old heaven and earth previously in existence, new in comparison to what existed previously, new replacing the former heaven and earth),

o    for the first heaven and the first earth went away (the first of two referenced in this context – the first/former heaven and earth are those in existence today),

o    and the sea is not still on earth where it was before (the sea is no longer, it is not there anymore).

And I perceived (knew with my mind)...

·         the city (the fortified, walled town),

o    emphatically and specifically the holy city (this city is sanctified, set-apart from the state of being common, defiled or unclean against God, the city that corresponds to the essence of God which is holiness - He is the standard of being holy) -

§  new Jerusalem (not the city that was previously on earth which exists during the 1,000 years referred to in Revelation 20:4-6 – but this is referring to the Jerusalem which will be newly-made and different compared to the old Jerusalem previously in existence, new in comparison to what existed previously, new replacing the former Jerusalem) -

·         descending (moving downwards, coming down)

o    out-from heaven (from the sky above)

o    from God,

·         having been prepared and she continues prepared (made ready; refer to Revelation 19:7-9)

o    as a bride (an unmarried woman about to get married; refer to Revelation 19:7)

o    having been orderly-arranged and continuing orderly-arranged (ornamented, adorned)

§  for her adult-male (the grown-man to whom she is promised, the bridegroom who will be her husband after the marriage).

And I heard a great sound (a large voice or uttered-tone, loudly) originating from the throne (the high seat designated for a king and so it would include all the regal authority associated with that position - referring here to God's throne - emphasizing His royalty) saying...

·         "Look (behold, see, pay attention - calling attention to what is being spoken)!,

·         the tent of God (God's covering or sheltering structure)

·         will be in company and association with the men (human-beings, mankind),

o    and He will tent with them (God will pitch or spread His tent, tabernacle with mankind; the context indicates that this will be a permanent dwelling place in a covered sheltered structure and not a temporary dwelling as previously; refer to Revelation 7:15 and 15:5),

·         and emphatically they will be His people (in Greek there is a definite word for “they” plus the verb meaning “they will be” giving emphasis – they themselves will be God's people; the word “people” is a singular noun laos meaning: a mass or group of people collectively as one unit, one united assembly [some Greek texts have the plural form "peoples"]),

o    and God Himself will be in company and association with them -

§  their God (the God of them [some Greek texts omit this phrase "their God"]),

·         and He will wipe-out (erase, blot-out, smear and completely obliterate)

o    all/every tear from their eyes (refer to Revelation 7:17),

·         and the death (the end of life, the point of dying, being without life; "the death" refers to lacking God's life which is holy spirit-life – here referring to the cause with its effect on people which had previously resulted in their death)

o    will not still be (the death will no longer be in existence, it will not be there anymore; refer to Revelation 20:14),

·         neither mourning (lamentation)

·         nor crying-out (outcry, shouting, wailing in pain or grief)

·         nor pain (by reason of their labor or stress resulting in pain)

o    will not still be (these will no longer be in existence, they will not be there anymore) -

§  because the first-things went-away (the things pertaining to the former or previous age have gone away)."

Notes:

In verse 1 above, the heaven and the earth which will go away at that future time refers to those currently in existence:

·         First/old heavens and earth – Genesis 1:1 to Genesis chapters 7 and 8 (refer to II Peter 3:5 and 6).

·         Second/current heavens and earth – Genesis 8 to the end of Revelation 20 (refer to II Peter 3:7-10).

·         Third/future heavens and earth – Revelation 21:1 onwards (refer to II Corinthians 12:2-4 and II Peter 3:13).

In verse 2 above, the root of the Greek verb translated as “orderly-arranged” is the same as the noun usually translated “world (kosmos)” which is the ordered arrangement that God created, the universe – arranged as an ornament, adornment, cosmetic.

[Reference: Genesis 3:16-19; Isaiah 25:8, 51:6, 65:17-19, 66:22; Ezekiel 37:27; Zechariah 8:8; Matthew 5:18, 24:34 and 35; Romans 8:19-22; II Corinthians 5:16 and 17, 6:16, 12:2-4, 15:26; Galatians 4:25 and 26; Hebrews 5:7, 8:1, 2 and 10-12, 9:11-15, 11:10 and 16, 12:22-29; II Peter 3:7-13; Revelation 3:12, 7:15-17, 13:6, 15:5-8, 16:10, 11 and 17, 19:7-9, 20:11 and 14, 22:3.]

 

First Corinthians chapter 15

^.3for I gave-over to you among (the) first-things that-which also I received: that Christ died on behalf of our sins according to the writings; ^.4and that he was buried, and that he was raised-up² the day, the third (day), according to the writings;

In truth, I gave over to you (I handed over, delivered beside or alongside, handed along to you), as part of the first things that I taught you, that-which also I received (the information that the Lord Jesus Christ presented to me and I took it beside or alongside myself):

·         that Christ died on behalf of our sins (in the interest of the sins of all of us – he died in our place, instead of us because of our sins)

o   in accordance with the writings (the previously written old covenant writings foretold of Jesus Christ's crucifixion, death, etc);

·         and that he was buried (in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights, 72 hours),

·         and that he was raised-up and continues raised-up (Jesus was caused to rise up alive from being dead by God – and he is still alive today!)

o   the day, emphatically and specifically the third day (72 hours having passed, for that was the legal requirement for a person's death to be completely established),

o   in accordance with the writings (the old covenant writings also foretold of Jesus Christ's resurrection).

The truth that the Christ (Messiah) would die on behalf of the sins of mankind, so as to save mankind, was not a secret. God had first spoken of it in Genesis 3:15 and God continued to speak about man's redemption by the blood of the sacrifice of the redeemer throughout the ages. It had also been written down in the old covenant writings by the prophets.

The Lord Jesus Christ himself did not commit any sinful acts against God his Father (refer to II Corinthians 5:21). He gave himself to be the sacrificial offering encompassing or encircling our sins (our aberration from God's Word), thereby making sure that everything was included and no sin was forgotten-about or left-out.

Paul repeats that the information regarding the Christ had already been foretold and written-down. God's people were to know this and to have looked forward to it coming to pass. Now it has come to pass – and Christ has been raised up from among the dead-people never to die again. He is alive!

[Reference: Genesis 3:15, 4:4; Leviticus chapter 1; Isaiah 53:2-12; Daniel 9:26; Jonah 1:17; Matthew 12:38-40, 16:21, 17:23, 20:19, 26:32, 27:57-60, 28:1-10; Mark 9:12, 10:34; Luke 22:37, 24:46; (plus many other old covenant scriptures referring to the reign of the Christ after his resurrection); Acts 2:22-27, 3:12-26, 10:34-43, 26:13-23; Romans 5:6-8, 10:8-10; I Corinthians 11:23; II Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 1:4 and 12; I Thessalonians 5:10; Hebrews 10:12; I Peter 2:21-24, 3:18.]