Believing - Receiving the Word
Volume 3, Number 76Believe in the Gospel of John; Part 2:Something to think about this Christmas:Our last study began an examination of the use of the Greek word translated “believe” in the Gospel of John where it’s found 99 times, more than in any other New Testament book. This study turns out to be apropos while most of the world celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ with the big exception of Muslims and Jews who don’t believe Jesus Christ was their Messiah. The second place the Apostle John used the word “believe” in his Gospel we find it teaches the elements or action... Continue reading →
Introduction of John - Jesus the Author & Finisher of Faith
Volume 3, Number 75Believe in the Gospel of John; Part 1:After having examined each occurrence of the words faith, believe and variations thereof in Matthew, Mark and Luke, we come to the Gospel of John, which is unique in many ways. For one thing, the Greek word Pistis, normally translated “faith” is not found in John but the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle to use the Greek word “pisteuo” (Smith’s # G4000), usually translated “believe” some 100 times. This accounts for almost half the 248 occasions its used in the New Testament (NT). (Acts comes in second with 39 and Romans is third... Continue reading →
Introduction of John - Compared with The Other Three Gospels
Volume 3, Number 74Our last study finished an examination of every passage the Greek words listed below are found in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. We’ll now consider these words in the Gospel of John. The following recaps their use in Matthew, Mark and Luke compared to the Gospel of John:1. Pistis (Smith’s Greek-English Concordance # G4002.), usually translated “faith,”•Occurs 24 times in Matthew, Mark and Luke•Not found in the Gospel of John2. Pistos (Smith’s # G4003), usually translated “faithful,”•Occurs 11 times in Matthew and Luke•Used only once in John3. Pisteuo (Smith’s # G4000), usually translated “believe,”•Occurs 34 times in Matthew,... Continue reading →
The Unbelief of Jesus' Own Family
Volume 3, Number 73Unbelief in Matthew, Mark and Luke:Today we come to the last two in our study of all the Greek words meaning faith, believe, faithless, unbelief, etc., found in Matthew, Mark and Luke: 1) apistia, (Smith’s # G570) always translated “unbelief,” found 5 times in Matthew and Mark and 2) apistos, # G571) usually translated that believe not but sometimes as unbelieving, faithless, etc., found once in Matthew, once in Mark and twice in Luke. I find, however, that we’ve already studied all the passages/ incidents in which these two words are found when we studied the other words that... Continue reading →
Believed Not & Recap of Faith Words in the Gospels
Volume 3, Number 72Those who believed not:After a 10-study side trip (Vol 3, No 62 through Vol 3, No 71) examining the mysteries, or secrets revealed in New Testament Scripture we return to our primary subject of faith. Our method is to study the passages in which the Greek words translated “faith, faithful, of little faith, believe, believe not, unbelief” are found. The entire Word of God, including the individual words therein, were inspired by the Holy Spirit, 2 Timothy 3:16 & 17 & 2 Peter 1:21, so by studying each occurrence of a word and comparing it to its use elsewhere we... Continue reading →
The Mystery or Secret of Godliness
Volume 3, Number 71The Mysteries or Secrets of God revealed to the Apostle Paul - Part 10:(Defining Godliness and the Secret Thereof)This concludes our study of the Greek word “musterion,” which actually refers to a secret or secrets but is translated either “mystery or mysteries.” (It’s found 27 times in the New Testament, 20 of which are in the Pauline epistles.) Our text today: “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” 1 Timothy 3:16. To... Continue reading →
They Mystery or Secret or Iniquity
Volume 3, Number 70The Mysteries or Secrets of God revealed to the Apostle Paul - Part 9:Our last study was the first of a two parts on 2 Thessalonians 2:7: “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.” In order to fully understand this verse we need to understand the context in which it appears so the last study provided an explanation of the verses leading up to it. You can review it on my website if necessary but I’ll briefly recap last week’s study of 2 Thessalonians... Continue reading →
The Mystery or Secret of Iniquity
Volume 3, Number 69The Mysteries or Secrets of God revealed to the Apostle Paul - Part 8:Still taking a brief break from the study of faith we continue examining the 20 occasions Paul used the Greek word “musterion,” translated either “mystery or mysteries,” which actually refers simply to a secret or secrets. I stated last time that today’s would be the last in this series having forgotten two references so it appears we’ll have a few more on this. In this study and the next we consider 2 Thess. 2:7, which reads “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who... Continue reading →
The Mystery or Secret of the Gospel or of God
Volume 3, Number 68The Mysteries (Secrets) that God revealed to the Apostle Paul - Part 7:We’re almost finished examining the 20 occasions Paul used the Greek word “musterion,” translated either “mystery or mysteries,” in his epistles. This word refers to a secret or secrets. Today we consider the last time this word is found in Ephesians and the 4 occasions it occurs in Colossians.The last time Paul uses “mystery” in Ephesians is in reference to the mystery of the gospel. The unique gospel message Paul preached and wrote about in his epistles is the Word of God and in this verse he asked... Continue reading →
The Mystery or Secret of Christ and the Church
Volume 3, Number 67The Mysteries or Secrets of God revealed to the Apostle Paul - Part 6:We continue examining the various aspects of the mystery that God revealed to the Apostle Paul by tracing the 20 occasions Paul used the Greek word “musterion,” translated either “mystery or mysteries,” in his epistles. This word refers to a secret or secrets. It’s found 6 times in Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians, the most often in any New Testament book. This is consistent with the fact Ephesians contains the capstone of truth for the church of this age, the Body of Christ, which is made up... Continue reading →