Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• Writer
  The writer did not identify himself as the writer anywhere in this Gospel. There are many statements of the early church fathers, however, that identify John Mark as the writer.The earliest reference of this type is in Eusebi...
• Writer
  Several factors indicate that the writer of this Gospel was the same person who wrote the Book of Acts. First, a man named Theophilus was the recipient of both books (Luke 1:3; Acts 1:1). Second, Acts refers to a previous wor...
• The generosity of Barnabas 4:36-37
  Luke now gave a specific instance of what he had just described in verses 34 and 35. This reference to Barnabas is significant because it introduces him to the reader. Barnabas becomes a major character in Acts later. Further...
• The supernatural deliverance of Peter 12:1-19
  "Peter's rescue from prison is an unusually vivid episode in Acts even when simply taken as a story about Peter. Because it is not connected with events in the chapters immediately before and after it, however, it may seem ra...
• 1. The divine appointment of Barnabas and Saul 12:25-13:3
  Luke recorded these verses to set the stage for the account of Barnabas and Saul's first missionary journey that follows."The world ministry which thus began was destined to change the history of Europe and the world."51512:2...
• The beginning of Paul's second missionary journey 15:36-41
  15:36-39 Some commentators have overestimated the "sharp disagreement"between Paul and Barnabas over John Mark, in my opinion.634The text says they disagreed vigorously over this issue, but there is no statement or implicatio...
• Ministry in Thessalonica 17:1-9
  17:1 Paul, Silas, Timothy, and perhaps others left Philippi and headed southwest on the Egnatian Road. Luke evidently stayed in Philippi since he again described Paul's party as "they"instead of "we"(cf. 20:5-6). Paul and Sil...
• Paul's general approach to ministry in Ephesus 19:8-12
  19:8 Paul followed his standard procedure of preaching to the Jews in the synagogue at Ephesus as long as possible. Here the Jews were more tolerant than they had been in some other towns that Paul had evangelized, and he was...
• The voyage from Caesarea to Crete 27:1-8
  27:1 Luke appears to have remained with Paul from the time he left Philippi on his third missionary journey (20:5). He may have ministered to him during his entire two-year detention at Caesarea. We know he travelled with Pau...
• Paul's situation in Rome 28:16
  Paul was a Roman citizen who had appealed to Caesar and had gained the respect (to say the least) of his centurion escort. Therefore he was able to reside in a private rented residence with a Roman guard (v. 30).This is the e...
• Love for all 12:14-21
  12:14 Paul repeated Jesus' instruction here (Matt. 5:44; Luke 6:27-28). To persecute means to pursue. Blessing involves both wishing God's best on people and praying for them."The principle of nonretaliation for personal inju...
• B. Final greetings and benediction 16:19-24
  "The letter now concludes with a series of standard (for Paul) greetings (vv. 19-22) and the grace-benediction (v. 23). But Paul cannot quite give up the urgency of the letter, so he interrupts these two rather constant eleme...
• V. CONCLUSION 6:11-18
  In this section Paul summarized some of his more important points. He also appealed to his readers again to urge them to follow through and to put into practice what he had taught them."Before concluding his letter Paul retur...
• I. SALUTATION 1:1-2
  In most of his epistles Paul began by setting forth foundational truth and then concluded by applying that truth to the lives of his readers. This pattern is very obvious in Ephesians where the first three chapters deal with ...
• 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...
• IV. CONCLUSION 6:21-24
  Paul's anticipation of his defense before Nero brought him back to the present in his thinking. His exposition of the mystery of the church to his readers had ended. He had also explained their proper conduct in view of their...
• 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...
• 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...
• B. Thanksgiving 1:3-8
  Paul gave thanks to God for his readers frequently. He told them so to enable them to appreciate the fact that he knew of their situation and rejoiced in their good testimony.1:3-4 Whenever Paul and Timothy prayed for the Col...
• C. Prayer 1:9-14
  Paul told his readers that he prayed for their full perception and deepest understanding of God's will for them and for all believers. He did this so they would be able to glorify God in their conduct. He told them this to re...
• 2. Paul's exhortation 2:6-7
  "Verses 6 and 7 occupy a pivotal position in the letter. They serve as the basis of Paul's interaction with the Colossian heresy (vv 8-23) having summarized much of what has already been written in the epistle."1032:6 In part...
• C. The fundamental relationships 3:18-4:1
  Paul next set forth certain principles to guide his readers in their most important interpersonal relationships. He did this to enable them to understand what behavior is consistent with union with Christ in these relationshi...
• 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...
• A. The bearers of this epistle 4:7-9
  4:7-8 Paul sent Tychicus with this letter for two primary purposes. He wanted to provide more information about himself and his present ministry than he felt led to record in this letter. He also wanted to encourage the Colos...
• B. Greetings from Paul's companions 4:10-14
  Paul mentioned six individuals five of whom he also named in Philemon.4:10 Aristarchus came from Thessalonica (Acts 20:4), had been with Paul in Ephesus (Acts 19:29), and accompanied him to Rome (Acts 27:2). "Prisoner"(v. 10)...
• C. Greetings to others 4:15-17
  4:15 In addition to the neighboring Laodicean Christians, Paul sent greetings to Nympha, possibly the hostess of a Laodicean house-church. There is no evidence that Christians met in church buildings until the third century.1...
• VI. CONCLUSION 3:16-18
  Paul concluded this epistle with an emphasis on unity in the church to motivate his readers to work out their problems and reestablish peaceful conditions that would glorify God.3:16 He concluded with two more prayers, his fo...
• 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...
• 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...
• A. Fellow workers and an opponent 4:9-15
  4:9-10 Paul urged Timothy to join him in Rome soon. He did not expect to live much longer (cf. v. 6)."The constitutional method of inflicting capital punishment on a Roman citizen was by the lictor's axe. The criminal was tie...
• I. GREETING 1-3
  Paul began this letter by introducing himself and Timothy, by naming the recipients, and by wishing them God's grace and peace. He did so to clarify these essential matters and to set the tone for his following remarks.v. 1 P...
• IV. CONCLUDING MATTERS 22-25
  v. 22 Paul expected release from his house arrest in Rome soon (cf. Acts 23:29; 24:13; 25:25-27; 26:31-32; Phil. 2:24). This happened, but we have no record that Paul did or did not fulfill his desire to visit Philemon. The p...
• VII. Conclusion 5:12-14
  Peter concluded this epistle with a final exhortation and greetings from those with him and himself to encourage his readers further.5:12 Silvanus is the Roman form of the Greek name Silas. This Silas may very well have been ...
• G. The letter to the church in Laodicea 3:14-22
  Jesus Christ sent this letter to shake the Laodicean Christians out of their self-sufficient complacency and to exhort them to self-sacrifice for higher spiritual goals (cf. Col. 2:1-2, 4:16)....

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• I. First, Then, The Name Jesus Is The Name Of The Man, And Tells Us Of A Brother.
  There were many men in Palestine who bore the name of Jesus' when He bore it. We find that one of the early Christians had it; and it comes upon us with almost a shock when we read that Jesus, called Justus,' was the name of ...
• Without And Within
  Them that are without.'--Col. 4:5.THAT is, of course, an expression for the non-Christian world; the outsiders who are beyond the pale of the Church. There was a very broad line of distinction between it and the surrounding w...
• Marcus, My Son
  So doth Marcus, my son.'--1 Peter 5:13.THE outlines of Mark's life, so far as recorded in Scripture, are familiar. He was the son of Mary, a woman of some wealth and position, as is implied by the fact that her house was larg...