Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• The parable of the unworthy servant 17:7-10
  17:7-9 Jesus told this parable to teach His disciples that warning sinning disciples and forgiving those who sinned and repented was only their duty. It was not something for which they should expect a reward from God. The Ph...
• B. Jesus' teachings about motivation for service 21:15-23
  Jesus now proceeded to use the miracle that He had just performed as the background for important instruction. John presented Jesus doing this many times in this Gospel. The repetition of this pattern in the epilogue is an ev...
• Paul's address to the Ephesian elders 20:17-35
  "Paul's farewell address to the Ephesian elders is the nearest approximation to the Pauline letters in Acts. Its general content recalls how in his letters Paul encouraged, warned, and exhorted his converts. Moreover, its the...
• The loving motivation of Paul's conduct 1:23-2:4
  1:23 Paul's use of an oath should not disturb us."Our Lord's prohibition of swearing in Matt. 5:33ff. is directed against the casuistry that was prevalent among the Jews of His time, in accordance with which not only was swea...
• The preservation of unity 4:7-16
  Having described the basis of Christian unity Paul next explained the means by which we can preserve it, namely with the gifts that the Spirit gives.4:7 Whereas each believer has received grace (unmerited favor and divine ena...
• 3. Slaves and masters 3:22-4:1 (cf. Eph. 6:5-9)
  3:22 Paul probably made this section longer than the preceding two because he sent this epistle to Colosse with the Epistle to Philemon. Onesimus, Philemon's run-away slave, carried them.166Moreover there may well have been m...
• 1. Qualifications for elders 3:1-7
  The Ephesian church already had elders long before Paul wrote this letter (Acts 20:17-35)."If our identification of the false teachers as elders is correct, then Paul's reason for this set of instructions is that Timothy must...
• 2. The discipline and selection of elders 5:17-25
  Another group in the church deserved Timothy's special attention. Therefore Paul gave instructions concerning the care of elders to his young legate to enable him to deal with present and potential elders properly.The structu...
• VI. Women in the Ministry and Teaching of Paul and Peter
  A. Paul affirms the personal equality of man and woman in the new creation by stating that in Christ there is "neither male nor female"(Gal. 3:28).A woman obtains salvation by faith exactly as a man does (Eph. 2:8-9; 1 Pet. 1...
• The final purging of sin 9:11-28
  The writer now focused on the issue of sacrifice."The argument moves a stage further as the author turns specifically to what Christ has done. The sacrifices of the old covenant were ineffectual. But in strong contrast Christ...
• Outline
  I. Introduction 1:1-2II. The identity of Christians 1:3-2:10A. Our great salvation 1:3-121. The hope of our salvation 1:3-52. The joy of our salvation 1:6-93. The witnesses of our salvation 1:10-12B. Our new way of life 1:13-...
• D. The Importance of Mutual Love in End-Times Living 4:7-11
  To prepare his readers to meet the Lord soon Peter urged them to make the best use of their time now that they understood what he had written about suffering.4:7 Like the other apostles Peter believed the return of Jesus Chri...
• 1. The responsibility of the elders 5:1-4
  5:1 In view of the inevitability of trials and God's judgment Peter gave a special charge to the elders (overseers) of the congregations of his readers. Peter himself was an elder as well as an apostle. As an elder he spoke f...
• 2. The responsibility of the others 5:5
  "Younger men"is literally "younger ones"and includes females as well as males.190Nevertheless younger men were probably in Peter's mind since the contrast is with older men in verses 1-4."In the ancient world the division of ...
• Bibliography
  Bailey, Mark L., and Thomas L. Constable. The New Testament Explorer. Nashville: Word Publishing Co., 1999.Balch, D. L. Let Wives Be Submissive: The Domestic Code in I Peter. Chico: Calif.: Scholars Press, 1981._____. "Let Wi...
• 1. The first commission to write 1:9-11
  1:9 John now addressed the seven churches to which he sent this epistolary prophecy directly. He described himself to his readers as their brother in Christ and a partaker with them in three things. These were, first, the rel...