Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• Purpose
  "Though the covenant arrangement up to this point clearly specified the need for Israel, the vassal, to appear before her Lord on stated occasions and singled out first Moses and then the priesthood as mediators in this encou...
• The appeal to gain wisdom 8:32-36
  On the basis of all that precedes Solomon exhorted his sons to live by his words and thereby gain wisdom. Again wisdom leads to life, but those who lack wisdom begin to die."Many have equated wisdom in this chapter with Jesus...
• The Servant cast off 53:7-9
  Isaiah continued the sheep metaphor but applied it to the Servant to contrast sinful people and their innocent substitute. Here it is not the sheep's tendency to get lost but its nondefensive nature that is the characteristic...
• A lament during drought 14:1-16
  14:1 A message came to Jeremiah from Yahweh concerning some droughts (Heb. plural) that overtook Judah.241Droughts were a punishment for covenant violation in Israel (cf. Lev. 26:18-19; Deut. 28:23-24).14:2 Judah was in mourn...
• The purpose of the parables 13:10-17 (cf. Mark 4:10-12; Luke 8:9-10)
  13:10 The disciples wanted to know why Jesus was teaching in parables. This was not the clearest form of communication. Evidently the disciples asked this question when Jesus had finished giving the parables to the crowd (cf....
• The request for unity 17:20-23
  17:20 Jesus now identified future believers as the objects of His intercession, as well as the Eleven. He described them as those who would believe through the witness of the Eleven. All Christians have come to Jesus Christ e...
• 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...
• A. The description of justification 3:21-26
  Paul began by explaining the concept of justification.92"We now come to the unfolding of that word which Paul in Chapter One declares to be the very heart of the gospel . . ."933:21 The "righteousness of God"here refers to Go...
• D The benefits of justification 5:1-11
  Paul's original readers would have had another question because of what he had written in chapters 1-4. Is this method of justification safe? Since it is by faith, it seems quite unsure. Paul next gave evidence that this meth...
• B. Thanksgiving 1:4-9
  Paul followed his salutation with an expression of gratitude for his original readers, as he usually did in his epistles. In this case the focus of his thanksgiving was on God's grace in giving the Corinthians such great spir...
• The content of the way of knowledge 8:4-6
  Paul resumed his discussion of knowledge after digressing briefly in verses 2 and 3 to comment on the superiority of love over knowledge.8:4 In this verse Paul returned to the original subject of eating meals in idol temples ...
• The contrast between the message and the messenger 4:7-15
  Paul presented many paradoxical contrasts involved in the sufferings and supports of the Christian to clarify for his readers the real issues involved in serving Jesus Christ."This passage, which is about suffering and death ...
• The ministry of reconciliation 5:18-21
  This section and the first two verses of chapter 6 constitute the crux of Paul's exposition of the apostolic office (2:14-7:4) and of the entire letter.1895:18-19 The basis of this total change (new attitudes, v. 16, and new ...
• 2. Paul's warnings 13:1-10
  13:1 There are at least four possibilities about what Paul meant by the two or three witnesses that would confirm his credibility and his critics' guilt. First, he may simply have been saying that the church would pass judgme...
• The selection of the Father 1:4-6
  The spiritual blessings that have come to us are the work of all three members of the Trinity. God Himself is the basis of these blessings.1:4 The first blessing is election. God has sovereignly chosen some people for salvati...
• The sacrifice of the Son 1:7-12
  1:7 The "Him"in view is the beloved Son (v. 6).Redemption (Gr. apolytrosin) means release from slavery (cf. v. 14; 4:30; Luke 21:28; Rom. 3:24; 8:23; 1 Cor. 1:30; Col. 1:14; Heb. 9:15; 11:35). It involves buying back and sett...
• 2. Past ignorance 3:1-13
  Paul began to pray for his readers again (cf. vv. 1, 14), but he interrupted himself to tell them more about the church. What he said in this section gives background information concerning the church as a mystery.3:1 "For th...
• The example of Christ 2:5-11
  This paragraph is the most important one in the epistle and the most difficult to interpret."By anyone's reckoning, 2:6-11 constitutes the single most significant block of material in Philippians."582:5 Paul introduced an ill...
• Historical background
  The city of Colosse lay in the beautiful Lycus Valley about 100 miles east of Ephesus. It had been an important town during the Persian War of the fifth century B.C. Since then new trade routes had carried most traffic to its...
• Message9
  The whole message of this epistle finds expression in 2:9-10a. The two declarations in this sentence are the great revelations of the Colossian letter.The fullness of the godhead is in Christ. This is an eternal fact that is ...
• Outline
  I. Introduction 1:1-14A. Salutation 1:1-2B. Thanksgiving 1:3-8C. Prayer 1:9-14II. Explanation of the person and work of Christ 1:15-29A. The preeminent person of Christ 1:15-201. In relation to God the Father 1:15a2. In relat...
• A. Salutation 1:1-2
  Paul began his letter with this salutation to introduce himself to his readers and to wish God's blessing on them.1:1 Paul cited his apostolic calling and office to lend authority to what follows. "Paul"was the name the apost...
• 2. In relation to all creation 1:15b-17
  "First-born"(Gr. prototokos) may denote either priority in time or supremacy in rank (cf. v. 18; Exod. 4:22; Ps. 89:27; Rom. 8:29; Heb. 1:6; Rev. 1:15). It may also denote both of these qualities. Both seem to be in view here...
• 3. In relation to the church 1:18-20
  So far everything Paul had written about Christ other New Testament writers also revealed, but what follows in verse 18 is uniquely Pauline.In 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 and Romans 12:4-8 Paul used the human body to illustrate th...
• 1. As experienced by the Colossians 1:21-23
  The apostle moved on next to the application of Christ's reconciliation.1:21-22 The church at Colosse was predominantly a Gentile congregation as is evident from Paul's description of his readers' preconversion condition. Pau...
• 2. As ministered by Paul 1:24-29
  Paul had received a unique function to fulfill in the body of Christ. He ministered the gospel of reconciliation to unevangelized Gentiles primarily (v. 25). He explained his ministry to his readers so they would appreciate t...
• Paul's sufferings 1:24
  This verse is ". . . probably the most controversial in the letter."76It might have seemed ironical that Paul was in prison, in view of what he had just said about the success of the gospel. Therefore he quickly explained tha...
• Paul's message 1:25-27
  Paul's role in the household of God (the meaning of "stewardship") was that of a servant who fully expounded God's revelation for the benefit of his Gentile readers."He was a servant of the church, but in the deepest sense he...
• Paul's purpose 1:28
  Paul proclaimed this new revelation as a completed fact. The word katangellomen, translated "proclaim,"implies its completed character."Counseling' (nouthetountes) and teaching' (didaskontes) describe two attendant circumstan...
• 1. Paul's concern 2:1-5
  2:1 Paul used an athletic metaphor to describe his anxieties and deep concerns for his readers and their neighbor Christians. His strivings (1:29) included specific struggles and conflicts for them. Laodicea was about 11 mile...
• B. The true doctrine of Christ 2:8-15
  Paul revealed what his readers enjoyed in Christ in this pericope to encourage them to remain faithful to the true revelation they had received and believed."The apostle now makes his most direct attack against the Colossian ...
• 1. Things to put off 3:5-11
  On the basis of their position in Christ, Paul urged his readers to separate from the practices of their former way of life. He did this to enable them to realize in their experience all that Jesus Christ could produce in and...
• D. The essential practice 4:2-6
  Paul concluded his exhortations concerning Christian living with instructions pertaining to three essential practices for those in Christ. He wanted to impress their importance on his readers. One exhortation dealt with his r...
• Bibliography
  Abbott, T. K. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistles to the Ephesians and to the Colossians. International Critical Commentary series. Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark, 1897.Barclay, William. The Letter to the Philipp...
• Message16
  We could summarize the message of this epistle in the following words. We will only realize our full eternal reward as believers if we appreciate the greatness of Jesus Christ and continue to trust God rather than turning awa...
• 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...
• V. Conclusion vv. 24-25
  Jude concluded his brief epistle with a formal doxology. It included a prayer for his readers. He wanted to assure them of God's ability to help them remain faithful in spite of the apostasy that threatened them."The concludi...
• 2. The salvation of the great multitude 7:9-17
  There are a number of contrasts between the 144,000 and this great multitude. The number of the first group is not only smaller but definite whereas the number of the second group is larger and indefinite. People from the 12 ...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• IV. Paul's View Of What Makes The Gospel The Remedy.
  In Romans 3:21-22 it was stated generally that Christ was the channel, and faith the condition, of righteousness. The personal object of faith was declared, but not the special thing in Christ which was to be trusted in. That...
• Christian Endeavour
  I also labour, striving according to His working, which worketh in me mightily.'--Col. 1:29.I HAVE chosen this text principally because it brings together the two subjects which are naturally before us to-day. All Western Chr...