PT-2 "Apostles and Prophets" (Eph. 4:11)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/20/2019 9:48 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                Focus:  PT-2 “Apostles and Prophets”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Ephesians 4:11

 

            Message of the verses:  “11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,

 

            We are learning more about the apostles and also the prophets in this section as seen in the very first part of Ephesians 4:11.  We ended up writing yesterday talking about two classes of apostles, those who were with the Lord Jesus Christ, including Matthias who replaced Judas and then the addition of Paul, as these are in the first section of apostles, and then we learned that people like Titus and Timothy were also called apostles using a different Greek word.

 

            Now we want to go on and state that the apostles in both groups were authenticated “by signs and wonders and miracles.”  Let us look at 2 Corinthian 12:12 “The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles.”  “Neither group of apostles was self-perpetuating” (MacArthur).  Definition of Self-perpetuating:  “having a system that prevents change and produces new things that are very similar to the old ones.”  MacArthur goes on to write “In neither sense is the term apostle used in the book of Acts after 16:4.  Nor is there any New Testament record of an apostle in either group being replaced when he died.”     

 

            Now we want to move onto prophets and similar to the apostles they were also appointed by God as specially gifted men, and differ from those believers who have the gift of prophecy as seen in 1 Corinthians 12:10 “and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.”  John MacArthur writes “Not all such believers could be called prophets.  It seems that the office of prophet was exclusively for work within a local congregation, whereas that of apostleship was a much broader ministry, not confined to any area, as implied in the word apostolos (‘one who is sent on a mission’).  Paul for example, is referred to as a prophet when he ministered locally in the Antioch church (Acts 13:1), but elsewhere is always called an apostle.”

 

            Let us look at a couple of examples from Scripture that show us that the prophets sometimes spoke revelation from God as seen in Acts 11:21-28 “21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 The news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. 23 Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; 24 for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord. 25 And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul; 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.  27 Now at this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them named Agabus stood up and began to indicate by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine all over the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius.”  Sometimes the prophets simply expounded revelation that was already given which is implied in Acts 13:1, where they are connected with teachers.  “Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.”  MacArthur writes that “They always spoke for God but did not always give a newly revealed message from God.  The prophets were second to the apostles, and their message was to be judged by that of the apostles (1 Cor. 14:37).  Another distinction between the two offices may have been that the apostolic message was more general and doctrinal, whereas that of the prophets was more personal and practical.” 

 

            Just like the apostles, however the office of prophets ceased with the completion of the New Testaments, like the OT prophets disappeared when the OT was completed, and this happened 400 years before the Lord Jesus came to planet earth.  Once again let us read in Ephesians 2:20 showing that the church “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,” So once the foundation was laid, the work of the apostles and the prophets was finished.

 

            After these two offices, the apostles, and the prophets were done they were not replaced as stated earlier, however the evangelists and also the pastors and teachers did pick up the baton from the first generation of apostles and prophets.

 

            The church owes much to the apostles and the prophets, for without the apostles we would not have much of a New Testament.  Luke and Mark were not apostles, but their writings were certainly inspired by not only the Holy Spirit, but also the apostles.  As for Hebrews we don’t really know who wrote that letter, but we can be sure that whoever did they were inspired by the apostles.

 

            MacArthur concludes this section by writing “The prophets, though they did not usually receive direct revelation from God, nevertheless were greatly instrumental in building up and strengthening the early church.  Both apostles and prophets have passed from the scene (Eph. 2:20), but the foundation they laid is that on which all of Christ’s church has been built.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I can praise the Lord for how He inspired the apostles and prophets so that I can read and study and know more about my Lord Jesus Christ.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue looking and studying Ephesians 4:7 along with Romans 12:3 to teach me more about being humble.

 

Verse that goes along with yesterday’s quotation:  “The kings heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of waters; He turns it wherever He wishes” (Proverbs 21:1).

 

3/20/2019 10:31 AM

           

Apostles and Prophets (Eph. 4:11)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/19/2019 9:59 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                             Focus: Apostles and Prophets

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Eph. 4:11

 

            Message of the verse:  “11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,”

 

            We will begin to discuss apostles and prophets in this SD, and some of the things that I wrote towards the end of yesterday’s SD may be repeated in this SD.

 

            Let us first of all look at 1 Corinthians 12:28 “And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues.”  As we look at the statement in this verse we can see that it first of all adds weight, not only to the idea of divine calling but also to the chronological significance in the giving of these gifted men to the church as we can see in this verse first, second, third, and so on.

 

            Now we want to begin to look at the first two classes of these gifted men as they were given three basic responsibilities.  We will be looking at a lot of Scripture verses to help us understand these three basic responsibilities. 

 

The first responsibility is to lay the foundation of the church as seen in Ephesians 2:20 “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,”(2) second is to receive and declare the revelation of God’s word as seen in Acts 11:28 “One of them named Agabus stood up and began to indicate by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine all over the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius.”  Acts 21:10-11 “10 As we were staying there for some days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11  And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, "This is what the Holy Spirit says: ’In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’"”  Ephesians 3:5 “which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;” (3) The third responsibility is to give confirmation of that Word through “signs and wonders and miracles” as seen in 2 Cor. 12:12 “The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles.”  We can also compare Acts 8:6-7 and Hebrews 2:3-4.  “6 The crowds with one accord were giving attention to what was said by Philip, as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing. 7 For in the case of many who had unclean spirits, they were coming out of them shouting with a loud voice; and many who had been paralyzed and lame were healed.”  “3 how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, 4 God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.”

 

            Now I find the following very interesting and that is that the first of the gifted men in the NT church were the apostles, of whom Jesus Christ Himself is foremost.  (That was something that I may have forgotten about the fact that Jesus was first and foremost and apostle.)  Hebrews 3:1 “Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession;”  Let us now look at the basic meaning of apostle (apostolos) and this simply means one who is sent on a mission.  In its primary and most technical sense apostle is used in the New Testament only of the 12 that Jesus chose minus Judas and with the addition of Matthias who was the one who replaced Judas as seen in Acts 1:26 “And they drew lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.”  We mentioned yesterday that Paul was also an apostle as He was chosen by God to go to the Gentiles.  This fact

is seen in Gal. 1:15-17 “15 But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased 16 to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus.” 

 

            Now we want to look at the qualifications for apostleship, as they were chosen directly by Christ and having witnessed the resurrected Christ as seen in Mark 3:13 and Acts 1:22-24.  “13 And He went up on the mountain and summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him.”  “22 beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us-one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection." 23 So they put forward two men, Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also called Justus), and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two You have chosen 25  to occupy this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.’”  We mentioned that Paul was an apostle and Paul was the last apostle to see the resurrected Lord.  Romans 1:1 tells us that Paul was an apostle: “Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,” 

           

            I believe that I mentioned at the end of yesterday’s SD that it is not possible to have apostles today because the thirteen apostles have all died many, many years ago.  John MacArthur writes that “Some have observed that the apostles were like delegates to a constitutional convention.  When the convention is over, the position ceases.  When the New Testament was completed, the office of apostle ceased.”

 

            We can read in the New Testament that the term apostle was used in a more general sense of other men in the early church, such as Barnabas and also Silas and Timothy and a few other outstanding leaders.  In 2 Corinthians 11:13 we see some false apostles spoken of “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.”  MacArthur writes “The true apostles in the second group were called ‘messengers (apostoloi) of the churches’ (2 Cor. 8:23, whereas the thirteen were apostles of Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:1; 1 Pet. 1:1; etc.).”  “As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you; as for our brethren, they are messengers of the churches, a glory to Christ” (2 Cor. 8:23).” 

 

            We will pick up on this subject in our next SD, Lord willing.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  These studies are very important to me even so some of it is a reminder of what I learned earlier in my walk with the Lord.  I enjoy better understand how the church is suppose to work and continue to look forward to learn more is its workings.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to work on what I am learning from both Ephesians 4:4 and Romans 12:3.

 

Quotation for today:  “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power” (Abraham Lincoln).

 

3/19/2019 11:00 AM

Intro to "The Gifts of Christ to the Whole Church" (Eph. 4:11)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/18/2019 2:43 PM

 

My Worship Time                              Focus:  Intro to “The Gifts of Christ to the Whole Church”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Ephesians 4:11

 

            Message of the verses:  “11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,”

 

            We begin what will probably be a long time in looking at just one verse from the book of Ephesians.  As I follow the outline from John MacArthur’s commentary I see that “The Gifts of Christ to the Whole Church” is just the main point, and then there will be three different sub-sections with the last one that speaks of Pastors and teachers taking up the most time to look at.  We will just begin with this introduction to this very important verse from Ephesians, and one of the most important verses that speak about the New Testament church.

 

            We have mentioned that verses 9-10 were from the 68^th Psalm and that was actually a parenthetical analogy and then after that Paul once again goes back to his explanation of spiritual gifts.  We have learned that Jesus Christ not only gives gifts to individual believers, but He also gives them to the total Body.  Christ gives each believer special gifts of divine enablement, and then to the church overall He gives specially gifted men as leaders (“This is why it says: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men” [Eph. 4:8 NIV]).  As we then look at verse eleven we see these gifts that Christ gave to the whole church and they are “as apostles” “prophets” evangelists,” and “pastors and teachers.” 

 

            John MacArthur then finishes his very short introduction to this section by writing “He gave’ emphasizes the sovereign choice and authority given to Christ because of His perfect fulfillment of the Father’s will.  Not only ‘apostles’ and ‘prophets’ but also ‘evangelists,’…pastors and teachers are divinely called and places.”

 

            Now if we go back to the time of Christ when He was on the earth we see that He chose 12 men, one of which would betray Him, and so that one would have to be replaced.  These twelve men, not including Judas, along with the Apostle Paul would begin to take the message of the gospel to the whole world.  Now we probably can see it best in the life of the Apostle Paul, in that he would then train others like Timothy to continue to give out the gospel.  Timothy was not an apostle, but a Pastor/Teacher who would then in his life do the same thing.  We can see from the book of Acts that in Paul’s missionary trips, especially the later ones that his group would then appoint deacons and elders, and bishops, to care for the church.  Once the apostles all died off, and John was the last one, then there were no more apostles, but it was the apostles that Christ used to lay the ground work to build His church. 

 

            A pastor is called by the Lord to fulfill his position, and this takes me to a point that I want to make, and that is when you attend a church make sure that the pastor has been called by the Lord to be at that church.  How can you find that out?  Ask him, and if it is a woman then you are in the wrong church for as you look at the qualifications of pastors from Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus they say that a Pastor must be the husband of one wife, so that leaves women out of becoming pastors. 

 

            Another thing that I want to mention is that not only is a Pastor called by the Lord to serve Him, but they are given special insight into the messages that they preach to their congregations.  The Holy Spirit will led called Pastors into what He wants them to preach to their congregations, and this means that Pastors are to be in the Word of God and in prayer in order to know what the Spirit of God wants them to preach about.

 

            It is the obligation of those attending these churches to consistently pray for their Pastors, and do it on a daily basis.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful to the Lord for the Pastors that we have at the church that I worship at, knowing that all of them have been called by the Lord to serve Him there.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to continue to work on my heart in regard to humility, knowing that all that I do for the cause of Christ is done in the will of God and also from the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

 

Scripture that goes along with yesterday’s quotation:  “Be still and know that I Am God” (Psalm 46:10 NIV).

PT-4 "How Christ Won the Right to Give Gifts" (Eph. 4:8-10)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/17/2019 9:45 PM

 

My Worship Time                              Focus:  PT-4 “How Christ Won the Right to Give Gifts”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Eph. 4:8-10

 

            Message of the verses:  “8 Therefore it says, "WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN." 9  (Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10  He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)”

 

            We have been talking about where it was that Jesus, at least His spirit went after He died on the cross, and stated that he had gone to a place called Sheol.  Sheol has another part that is not clearly distinguished from the other by Old Testament writes, as it was believed to be a place of happiness and bliss, and was inhabited by the righteous dead who had believed in God.  When we look at Luke 16:22-23 we see a place called “Abraham’s bosom.”  In Luke 23:43 it is called “Paradise” and apparently were common designations for Sheol at the time of Christ.  I have always been taught that the place where the OT saints went was not in heaven and that they could not have gone to heaven until Jesus died and completely paid for their sins.  John MacArthur writes “Figuratively speaking, the early church Fathers said that, after announcing His triumph over demons in one part of Sheol, He then opened the doors of another part of Sheol to release those godly captives.  Like the victorious kings of old, He recaptured the captives and liberated them, and henceforth they would live in heaven as eternally free sons of God.

 

            “It must be suggested that such a view seems strained in the Ephesian context, because ‘the lower parts of the earth’ is a general phrase and cannot be proven to refer to Sheol.”

 

            We have to remember that in this 4^th chapter of the book of Ephesians that Paul is laying the groundwork in order to talk about gifts, and in this section he wants to make the point that Jesus Christ is the One who has the right to give gifts as He is now exalted “above all the heavens” (that is, to the throne of God). 

 

            MacArthur asks “Does ‘all things’ mean all prophecies, all assigned tasks, all universal sovereignty?  Surely the answer is yes in regard to each of those aspects.  But the context would dictate that His filling ‘all things’ primarily has to do with His glorious divine presence and power expressed in universal sovereignty.  He fills the entire universe with blessing, particularly His church, as the next verse illustrates.”

 

Today’s quotation is from Charles Swindoll:  “Soul surgery transpires as serenity replaces anxiety.”  (Perhaps we all need some of that .)

 

 

PT-3 "How Christ won the Right to Give Gifts" (Eph. 4:8-10)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/16/2019 10:32 AM

 

My Worship Time                                    Focus:  PT-3 “How Christ won the Right to Give Gifts”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference: Ephesians 4:8-10

 

            Message of the verses:  “8 Therefore it says, "WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN." 9  (Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)”

 

            Paul is explaining the application of the Old Testament passage, Paul says, “Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth?”  The He that Paul is speaking of is of course Jesus Christ, “Who fills all in all” (1:23).  The word ascended refers to Jesus’ ascension from earth to heaven as seen in Acts 1:9-11.  Jesus ascended from earth to heaven to forever reign with His Father.

 

            So the ascended means as we just said that Jesus went up into heaven, and then Paul talks about that He descended and this must refer to His coming down from heaven to earth.  Jesus, the captain of our salvation was abased and then exalted.  “Divestiture came before investiture, incarnation before glorification (see Phil. 2:4-11).  The truth is repeated in proper chronological sequence in verse 10: ‘He who descended is Himself also He who ascended’” (MacArthur).

 

            MacArthur writes “The depth of Christ’s descent in incarnation is said to be ‘into the lower parts of the earth.’  This reference is presented to provide a striking contrast in terms of His ascent ‘far above all the heavens,’ emphasizing the extreme range of our Lord’s condescension and exaltation.  To understand the phrase ‘the lower parts of the earth’ we need only examine its use elsewhere in Scripture.  In Psalm 63:9 it has to do with death, being related to falling by the sword (v. 10).  In Matthew 12:40 a similar phrase, ‘the heart of the earth,’ refers to the belly of a great fish where the prophet Jonah was kept.  In Isaiah 44:23 the phrase refers to the created earth containing mountains, forests, and trees.  Psalm 139:15 uses it in reference to the womb of a woman where God is forming a child.  The sum of these uses indicates that the phrase relates to the created earth as a place of life and death.  In the majority of the uses it appears in contrast to the highest heavens, as here and in Psalm. 139:8, 15 and Isaiah 44:23.”

 

            Now as we look at this phrase in this letter to the Ephesians it is not to point to a specific place, but it is to refer to the depth of the incarnation.  Now as we look at the phrases that go along with this phrase as seen in the quote MacArthur gave we can see the following as they relate to the incarnation:  He was formed in the womb as seen in Psalm 139:5, and he lived on the earth as seen from Isaiah 44:23, AND IN His death we see it is consistent with the use of the phrase in Psalm 63:9. 

 

            There, however is more to this and I think it is best to again quote what MacArthur writes in the following paragraphs so we do not miss this important point:  “It should be noted further that our Lord’s descent went even beyond the womb, the earth, the grave, and death—to a descent into the very pit of the demons.  Peter sheds light on the meaning of ‘He also descended into the lower parts of the earth.’  In his first letter he says, ‘For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison.’  This does not refer to preaching the gospel (from euangelizo) but to making a triumphant announcement—in this case Christ’s announcement of His victory over the demons even while they tried to hold Him to death.

 

            “The Old Testament refers to the place of the departed dead as Sheol (Deut. 32:22; Job 26:6; Ps. 16:10; etc.).  Part of Sheol was a place of torment and evil, occupied by the unrighteous dead and by the demons who had been confined and bound there because of their wicked cohabitation with women during the period before the Flood (see Gen. 6:2-5; 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6).  When Christ ‘descended’ to Sheol, He proclaimed His victory, because ‘He had disarmed the rulers and authorities [and] made a public display of them, having triumphed over them’ (Col. 2:15; cf. 1 Pet. 3:19). At that time came the announcement to the demons, both bound and loose (the ‘angels and authorities and powers’), that they all were subject to Christ (1 Pet. 3:22; Eph. 1:20-21).  To ascend to heaven, He also passed through the territory of Satan and his demons in the air (Heb. 4:14 uses dia, through) and no doubt celebrated His triumph over them.  Whether or not Paul had this event in mind in his reference here is difficult to establish; nonetheless, it does demonstrate the depth of Christ descent.”

 

            There is more to this event, but we will save it until the next SD, Lord willing.

 

Verses that go along with yesterday’s quotation:  “Don’t lose your grip on love and loyalty.  Tie them around your neck; carve their initials on your heart.  Earn a reputation for living well in God’s eyes and the eyes of people” (Proverbs 3:3-4 The Message).

 

3/16/2019 11:49 AM

PT-2 "How Christ Won the Right to Give Gifts" (Eph. 4:8-10)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/15/2019 7:37 AM

 

My Worship Time                                   Focus:  PT-2 “How Christ Won the Right to Give Gifts”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Ephesians 4:8-10

 

            Message of the verses:  “8 Therefore it says, "WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH,

HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN." 9 (Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)”

 

            We want to pick up by looking at the phrase “When He ascended on high” as this depicts a triumphant Christ returning from battle on earth back into the glory of the heavenly city with trophies of His great victory.

 

            I want to look at several verses from Colossians to help set the stage of what we will be talking about next:  “13 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.”  I want to focus in on verse fifteen as this helps us to see that Jesus Christ conquered Satan, sin, and death, and by that great and wonderful victory we see that He ‘led captive a host of captives, who once were prisoners of the enemy, however now are returned to God and the people who belong to Him even though they are naturally in Satan’s grasp and would have remained there if it were not for Christ by His death and also His resurrection made provision to lead them into the captivity of His kingdom into which they had been called by sovereign election as seen in Ephesians 1:4 “before the foundation of the world.’”  The following verses from Acts are a vision that Paul received while at Corinth.  “9  And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, "Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; 10  for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.’”  Notice the highlighted portion of verse ten as this shows us that there are many people in Corinth who belonged to the Lord, and yet at that time had not been saved, but would be through the ministry of Paul and his helpers.  Let us now look at John 10:16 “"I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.”  John 11:51-52 “51 Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, 52  and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.”  One more from Acts 15:14-18 “14 Symeon has shown how in the first place God decided to choose a people from among the nations who should bear his name. 15 This is in full agreement with what the prophets wrote, as in this scripture: 16  After these things I will return, And I will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen; And I will build again the ruins thereof, And I will set it up: 17 That the residue of men may seek after the Lord, And all the gentiles, upon whom my name is called, Saith the Lord who maketh these things 18 known from the beginning of the world” (Phillips).

            John MacArthur writes “Upon arriving in heaven, ‘He gave gifts to men.’  Paul here uses yet another term for ‘gifts’ (domata) to express the comprehensiveness of this gracious provision.  Like a triumphant conqueror distributing the spoils to his subjects, so Christ takes the trophies He has won and distributes them in His kingdom.  After His ascension came all the gifts empowered by the Holy Spirit (John 7:39; 14:12; Acts 2:33).  When the Savior was exalted on high, He sent the Spirit (Acts 1:8, and with the coming of the Spirit (Acts 1:8), and with the coming of the Spirit also came His gifts to the church.  Before Paul identifies the gifts he has in mind, he first gives a brief parenthetical explanation of the analogy he has just used.”

 

            We will continue to look at these verses in our next SD.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Having the gift of the Holy Spirit in my life causes me to be able to serve the Lord as the Spirit helps me to better understand the Scriptures.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Spirit of God to help me to better understand Romans 12:3.

 

Today’s quotation “If I take care of my character, my reputation will take care of itself” (D. L. Moody).”

 

3/15/2019 8:22 AM

 

             

PT-1 "How Christ Won the Right to Give Gifts" (Eph. 4:8-10)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/14/2019 12:51 PM

 

My Worship Time                                   Focus:  PT-1 “How Christ Won the Right to Give Gifts”

 

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Ephesians 4:8-10

 

            Message of the verses:  “8 Therefore it says, "WHEN HE ASCENDED ON

HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN." 9  (Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10  He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)”

 

            It looks like Paul was ready to write about some of the gifts that Chris has given, but before that Paul goes back to Psalm 68:18 as a comparison passage that will show how Christ received this right to bestow those gifts.  MacArthur writes “The obvious differences between both the Hebrew and Greek (Septuagint) Old Testament texts of Psalm 68:18 and Paul’s citation of it suggest that he is probably making only a general allusion to the passage for the sake of analogy, rather than specifically identifying it as a direct prediction of Christ.”  One thing that I want to point out here is that what Paul did he did under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and what He wrote is a permanent part of the New Testament.

 

            We have been covering on my other blog the book of Psalms as I went back into my Spiritual Diaries to go over what I wrote back in 2012, and so if one wants to look at this Psalm they can go to my other blog to see what I wrote about this 68^th Psalm.  ““Read the ‘Song of Deborah’ (Judges 5) as preparation for studying this psalm, and compare the parallels:  Psalm 68:4; Judges 5:3, 7-8, 4-5, 12-30, 13/16, 18/12, and 27, 14, 18.  The emphasis is on God’s mighty acts on behalf of Israel resulting in His decision to dwell on Mount Zion.  Several names of God are used, including Elohim (23 times), Jehovah, Jat (short for Jehovah, as in hallelujah, Elijah, etc), Adonai (6 times), and Shaddai. The psalm is Messianic; Paul quotes verse 18 in Ephesians 4:8 and applies it to the ascension of Christ.  The use of ‘temple’ in verse 29 doesn’t prohibit Davidic authorship since the word hekal was applied to the tabernacle as well (1Samuel 1:9, 3:3; and see Psalm 5:7; 41:4; 18:6; 27:4; 65:4).  The psalm is a jubilant hymn of praise to Jehovah in which the nation of Israel gives four expressions of triumph through their God.”  (This comes from my writings on Psalm 68.)  However John MacArthur writes “Psalm 68 is a victory hymn composed by David to celebrate God’s conquest the Jebusite city and the triumphant ascent of God (represented by the Ark of the Covenant) up Mount Zion (cf. 2 Samuel 6-7; 1 Chron. 13).  After a king won such a victory he would bring home the spoils and enemy prisoners to parade before his people.  An Israelite king would take his retinue through the holy city of Jerusalem and up Mount Zion.  Another feature of the victory parade, however, would be the display of the king’s own soldiers who had been freed after being held prisoner by the enemy.  These were often referred to as recaptured captives—prisoners who had been taken prisoner again, so to speak, by their own king and given freedom.

 

            “The phrase ‘when He ascended on high’ depicts a triumphant Christ returning from battle on earth back into the glory of the heavenly city with the trophies of His great victory.”

 

            I have studied this passage at different times and have found it very interesting as I hope all will see.  We will continue (Lord willing) to look at different ways on how we can understand what Paul was writing about in our next SD, and will probably be camped out on these verses for a few days.

 

The following are the verses that go along with yesterday’s quotation:  “I will lift up my eyes to the hills—from whence comes my help?  My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1-2)

 

3/14/2019 1:16 PM