The Centurian's Servant Healed
Volume 3, Number 12A Centurion's Faith, Part 2: Our last study pointed out the first time the Greek word “pistis,” translated with our English noun “faith,” is found in the New Testament: “When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” Matthew 8:10. Jesus was talking about a Centurion who asked Him to heal his servant who was at another location. (See Matthew 8:5 - 13) We noted the anomaly of this man's faith to the intent of Jesus' ministry, i.e., the Centurion was... Continue reading →
The Centurian's Servant Healed
Volume 3, Number 11A Centurion's Faith, Part 1: The men who wrote the Scripture were separated unto the task and inspired by the Holy Spirit in not only what they wrote but in the actual words they used, 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21. Our last study identified seven Greek words in the original New Testament having to do with various aspects of faith, i.e., faith, of little faith, believe, unbelief, faithful, etc. It is instructional to examine how each word is used and the context thereof so we will examine some of them in the Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke and John where... Continue reading →
Recap of the "Faith" Words in the NT
Volume 3, Number 10Faith lived and taught by Jesus:Before we proceed with our study of the faith of Jesus we must identify the various Greek words relating to faith in the New Testament and examine their use in the 4 Gospels recording His ministry. There are 7 different Greek words translated in the King James Bible with various English words having to do with faith or the lack thereof. Smith's Greek-English Concordance was consulted to determine how each Greek word was translated and where they are found in the four Gospels. These seven words are found 191 times in Matthew, Mark, Luke and... Continue reading →
Jesus, The Author & Finisher of Faith
Volume 3, Number 9The Faith of Jesus:God's relationship with man has always been through His Word. Man's role has always been through faith in God's Word whether it was in innocence (Adam); conscience (after Adam's fall up to the flood); human government (from Noah until the promise to Abraham); the law (given through Moses) up until this age of Grace (as revealed to the Apostle Paul.) Thus throughout the Bible in ages past and present faith connects man to God, the created with the Great Creator. "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe... Continue reading →
Satan Trying Jesus' Faith in the Wilderness
Volume 3, Number 8The faith of Jesus: Satan's testing in the Wilderness - Part 5 - Recap:Our last four Faith Studies examined the three temptations of Jesus by the Devil as recorded by Matthew (4:1 - 11) and Luke (4:1 - 13.) We noted the temptations in Matthew are basically the same as those in Luke, but not exactly, and the differences were pointed out as we studied them. This study will attempt to explain those differences. First we note again that the Gospel writer Mark also alludes to the temptation/s, but without detail: "And straightway coming up out of the water, he... Continue reading →
Satan Trying Jesus' Faith in the Wilderness
Volume 3, Number 7The faith of Jesus: Satan's testing in the Wilderness - Part 4:Recap to date: The Gospel writers Matthew and Luke both record three temptations of Jesus by the Devil in the wilderness. We have already examined two in Matthew along with the two similar ones in Luke. The first had to do with turning stones into bread, to which Jesus quoted the Scripture passage: "man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live." Matthew 4:4 & Luke 4:4, as quoted from Deuteronomy 8:3. Our last study... Continue reading →
Satan Trying Jesus' Faith in the Wilderness
Volume 3, Number 6The faith of Jesus: Satan's testing in the Wilderness - Part 3:The Gospel of Matthew (4:1 - 10) records three specific temptations of Jesus, as does the Gospel of Luke (4:1 - 12). The temptations in Matthew are similar to those recorded by Luke but there are differences in the circumstances, the words used to describe them and the order in which they appear in the two Gospels. We will address a possible explanation for these differences after we finish reviewing them.Our last study examined the Devil's first recorded temptation of Jesus in Matthew and Luke: "If you are the... Continue reading →
Satan Trying Jesus' Faith in the Wilderness
Volume 3, Number 5The faith of Jesus: Satan's testing in the Wilderness - Part 2:We continue here with the first incident after Jesus' introduction into public life/ ministry when the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness where He existed for 40 days and nights without food and the Devil tempted Him. In this we see, at least in part, Jesus as the antitype of David when David went up against Goliath, as recorded in 1 Samuel 17 (Faith Studies Volume 2, No's 44 - 47.) At that time the faith of God's son Israel was tried for 40 days while the Philistine... Continue reading →
Satan Trying Jesus' Faith in the Wilderness
Volume 3, Number 4The faith of Jesus: Satan's testing in the Wilderness - Part 1:We observed in our last study that the first incident after Jesus' introduction into public life/ ministry was when the Devil tempted Him in the wilderness.Here we note the stark difference in (the first man) Adam's faith, or lack thereof, as compared to that of Jesus. Adam lived in a beautiful lush garden, with a helpmate God created from Adam's body to provide emotional, intellectual and physical companionship. All the food necessary surrounded him, just for the picking. All the animals created by God were his companions and playmates,... Continue reading →
Faith and the Four Gospel Authors
Volume 3, Number 3The faith of Jesus in the Gospel Accounts:Matthew, Mark, Luke and John each recorded the life and ministry of Jesus Christ according to their unique perspectives and as inspired by the Holy Spirit. The first three give a brief glimpse of His background and/or early 30 years of life and the rest deal with His three years of actual public life/ ministry.Matthew was one of Jesus' apostles. Before Jesus called him he was a tax collector or publican for the Roman government. In the first sentence of his book Jesus is introduced as the son of David and thus the... Continue reading →