Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 14. The sacrifice of Isaac 22:1-19
  In obedience to God's command Abraham took his promised heir to Moriah to sacrifice him to the Lord. Because Abraham was willing to slay his uniquely begotten son God restrained him from killing Isaac and promised to bless hi...
• 1. Preparation for the Covenant ch. 19
  Moses revealed God's purpose for giving the Mosaic Covenant in this chapter.19:1-6 The Israelites arrived at the base of the mountain where God gave them the law about three months after they had left Egypt, in May-June (v. 1...
• Conclusion
  Genesis reveals how people can have a relationship with God. This comes through trust in God and obedience to Him. Faith is the key word in Genesis. God proves Himself faithful in this book.Exodus reveals that God is also sov...
• The presumption of the people 14:39-45
  Having received their sentence from the Lord, the people then presumptuously proceeded to go up on their own to take the land (vv. 40-42)."They are like children who had broken a valuable vase and decided to make it better' b...
• The fourth commandment 5:12-15
  This is the most positively stated of the Ten Commandments. Only one other commandment appears in the affirmative, namely, the fifth. The fourth commandment is a charge to refresh oneself physically and spiritually. The Hebre...
• Preventing accidental death 22:1-8
  Love for one's neighbor comes through in several concrete situations in verses 1-4. Failure to get involved and help a neighbor in need is also wrong under the New Covenant (James 2:15-16; 1 John 3:17).Men appeared in women's...
• David's anointing 16:1-13
  This time God's choice was not a king for the people according to their desires, but a king for Himself (v. 1) who would put Yahweh first (13:14; cf. Gal. 4:4-5). Saul would have perceived Samuel's anointing another man as ki...
• Contrasts with the present 60:17-22
  60:17 Everything will be better in Israel's future. The contrasts appear to be with regard to Zion (v. 14). Peace and righteousness will be the governing principles in that city. If peace and righteousness are the slave drive...
• A. Israel's spiritual renewal and deliverance 2:28-32
  2:28-29 After this, namely, after the deliverance from the northern invader just described, God promised to pour out His Spirit on all mankind without gender, age, class, or position distinction.29In Old Testament times God g...
• A. The title of the book 1:1 (cf. Luke 3:1-2)
  Mark may have intended this sentence to introduce the ministry of John the Baptist since that is what follows immediately. It could also refer to the inception of Jesus' public ministry and therefore be a title of the Gospel'...
• 1. The message of the Servant 1:14-15 (cf. Matt. 4:12, 17; Luke 4:14-15)
  This topic sentence summarizes Jesus' whole ministry in Galilee. It identifies when it started, where it happened, and the essence of what Jesus' proclaimed that was the basis of His ministry.1:14 Jesus began His Galilean min...
• Jesus' sufferings in Gethsemane 14:32-42 (cf. Matt. 26:36-46; Luke 22:40-46)
  This incident contrasts Jesus' humility and dependence on the Father with Peter's self-confidence (vv. 27-31). It is a remarkable revelation of the humanity of Jesus."So far from sailing serenely through his trials like some ...
• 1. The companions and supporters of Jesus 8:1-3
  Luke's account stresses that concern for the multitudes motivated Jesus' mission. Mark, on the other hand, presented opposition from the Jewish religious leaders as a reason for His activities. Matthew stressed Jesus' desire ...
• The Lord's Prayer 11:1-4 (cf. Matt. 6:9-13)
  Luke's record of Jesus' teaching the Lord's Prayer differs significantly enough from Matthew's account that we can safely conclude that Jesus gave similar teaching on separate occasions. This repetition illustrates the import...
• C. The appearance of the Light 1:9-13
  The first section of the prologue (vv. 1-5) presents the preincarnate Word. The second section (vv. 6-8) identifies the forerunner of the Word's earthly ministry. This third section introduces the ministry of the Incarnate Wo...
• 5. The explanation of Jesus' preeminence 3:31-36
  This pericope explains why Jesus must become greater. It also unites several themes that appear through chapter 3. John the Apostle or John the Baptist may be the speaker. This is not entirely clear.3:31-32 The incarnate Son ...
• The challenge to professing believers 8:31-47
  Jesus next addressed those in His audience who had expressed some faith Him (v. 30).8:31 The mark of a true disciple is continuation in the instructions of his or her teacher. A disciple is by definition a learner, not necess...
• The descent of the Spirit 2:1-4
  Luke introduced the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry with His baptism with the Spirit (Luke 3:21-22). He paralleled this with the beginning of Jesus' heavenly ministry with the Spirit baptism of His disciples (Acts 2:1-4)...
• The Abrahamic Covenant 7:2-8
  Stephen began his defense by going back to Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation, and to the Abrahamic Covenant, God's foundational promises to the Jews.7:2-3 Stephen called for the Sanhedrin's attention addressing his hea...
• The career of Moses 7:17-36
  Stephen's understanding of Moses was as orthodox as his view of God, but his presentation of Moses' career made comparison with Jesus' career unmistakable. As in the previous pericope, there is a double emphasis in this one, ...
• Saul's preaching in Damascus 9:19b-22
  9:19b-20 How verses 19b-20 fit into the chronology of events in Saul's life is not perfectly clear. They could fit in any number of ways. We should probably understand "immediately"in a general sense. As soon as Saul became a...
• C. The guilt of all humanity 3:9-20
  Having now proven all people, Jews and Gentiles, under God's wrath Paul drove the final nail in mankind's spiritual coffin by citing Scriptural proof.3:9 The phrase "What then?"introduces a conclusion to the argument that all...
• 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...
• 1. The law's authority 7:1-6
  7:1 "Those who know law"--the article "the"before "law"is absent in the Greek text--were Paul's Roman readers. They lived in the capital of the empire where officials debated, enacted, and enforced laws. They of all people we...
• The attestation of the believer's condition 8:14-17
  Verses 14-17 explain the Spirit's ministry of confirming the reality of the believer's position as a son of God to him or her. Paul believed that the believer who is aware of his or her secure position will be more effective ...
• 1. The reason God has set Israel aside 10:1-7
  The reason for Israel's failure mentioned in 9:32-33, namely her rejection of Christ, led Paul to amplify that subject further in this section.10:1 This pericope opens with Paul returning to his feelings of compassionate conc...
• 3. Conduct in view of our hope 13:11-14
  Paul's thought moved from identifying responsibilities to urging their practice. What lies before us as Christians provides essential motivation for doing so.13:11 "This"refers to the duties urged earlier, not only in this ch...
• 1. The manifestation of the problem 1:10-17
  The surface manifestation of this serious problem was the party spirit that had developed. Members of the church were appreciating their favorite leaders too much and not appreciating the others enough. This was really a mani...
• The reason participating in prostitution is wrong 6:18-20
  Sexual immorality is wrong, Paul concluded, because it involves sinning against one's body, which in the case of believers belongs to the Lord through divine purchase.6:18 In conclusion, believers should flee from fornication...
• The tragic example of Israel 10:1-5
  The point of this example is that God's people can practice idolatry, and persisting in idolatry has dire consequences. Paul stressed the similarity of experience that the church, the Corinthian church particularly, and Israe...
• 1. The argument from culture 11:2-6
  Paul introduced the first of the two subjects he dealt with in this chapter, the Corinthian women's participation in church worship, with praise. He did not introduce the second subject this way (vv. 17, 22). As with the othe...
• Outline8
  I. Introduction 1:1-10A. Salutation 1:1-5B. Denunciation 1:6-10II. Personal defense of Paul's gospel 1:11-2:21A. Independence from other apostles 1:11-241. The source of Paul's gospel 1:11-172. The events of Paul's early mini...
• B. Denunciation 1:6-10
  In these opening words Paul rebuked his readers for turning away from the gospel that he had preached to them and for turning toward a different "gospel."He accused them of being religious turncoats. He did so to impress them...
• II. PERSONAL DEFENSE OF PAUL'S GOSPEL 1:11--2:21
  The first of the three major sections of the epistle begins here. We could classify them as history (1:11-2:21), theology (chs. 3-4), and ethics (5:1-6:10).". . . Paul was . . . following the logic of the Christian life: Beca...
• B. Interdependence with other apostles 2:1-10
  Paul related other events of his previous ministry, specifically his meeting with the Jerusalem church leaders. He did so to establish for his readers that although he was not dependent on anyone but God for his message and m...
• C. Correction of another apostle 2:11-21
  Paul mentioned the incident in which he reproved Peter, the Judaizers' favorite apostle, to further establish his own apostolic authority and to emphasize the truth of his gospel.2:11 Peter had shaken hands with Paul in Jerus...
• III. THEOLOGICAL AFFIRMATION OF SALVATION BY FAITH 3:1--4:31
  Here begins the theological section of the epistle, which Paul led up to in his preceding historical account of his own conversion and calling culminating in his confrontation with Peter over justification.79Paul first vindic...
• A. Vindication of the doctrine ch 3
  Paul explained the meaning of justification and sanctification by faith alone. He argued their validity from experience (3:1-5), from Scripture (3:6-14), and from logic (3:15-29) to dissuade his readers from returning to reli...
• The blessing of faith 3:6-9
  3:6 The Judaizers, in emphasizing the Mosaic Law, appealed to Moses frequently. Paul took them back farther in their history to Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation. He cited Genesis 15:6 to prove that God justified Abrah...
• The curse of works 3:10-14
  "In vv. 6-9 Paul set forth a positive argument for justification by faith. In vv. 10-14 he turned the tables and argued negatively against the possibility of justification by works."933:10 Living under the Mosaic Law did not ...
• The continuance of faith after the giving of the Law 3:15-18
  3:15-16 Paul now turned to the objection that when God gave the Law He terminated justification by faith alone. He reminded his readers, with a human analogy, that even wills and contracts made between human beings remained i...
• The purpose of the Law 3:19-22
  3:19 In view of the foregoing argument, did the Law have any value? Yes, God had several purposes in it. Purpose, not cause, is in view, as is clear in the Greek text.There have been four primary interpretations of what "beca...
• The conditions of people under Law and faith 3:23-29
  "Continuing the perspective of salvation history introduced in vv. 13f. and developed in vv. 15-22, Paul gives further consideration to the place of the law in the divine economy by showing the relation between law and faith ...
• B. Clarification of the doctrine ch. 4
  In chapter 3 the Jews' preoccupation with the Law of Moses was foremost in Paul's mind. In chapter 4 he reiterated his argument for the benefit of Gentiles for whom religious syncretism and pagan idolatry were primary concern...
• The illustration 4:1-7
  4:1-3 Already Paul had compared the Law to a prison warden (3:22) and a baby sitter (3:24). Now he compared it to a trustee appointed to care for a young child and his property, a guardian. The purpose of all three comparison...
• The allegorical interpretation 4:24-27
  4:24 Paul then interpreted these events figuratively. Note that he said the story "contained"an allegory, not "was"an allegory. He acknowledged the historicity of the events. He saw in this story an illustration of the confli...
• The practical application 4:28-31
  4:28 Paul drew three applications from his interpretation. First, Christians are similar to Isaac in that they experience a supernatural birth and are part of the fulfillment of God's promise. Therefore they should not live a...
• IV. PRACTICAL APPLICATION TO CHRISTIAN LIVING 5:1--6:10
  Paul moved next from theology (chs. 3-4) to ethics, from doctrine to exhortation.
• 1. Living without the Law 5:1-12
  The apostle warned his readers not to think that they could satisfy the demands of the Mosaic Law by obeying only a few of its commands. Only complete compliance satisfies its demands.5:1 Paul's readers were in danger of retu...
• Other sins (v. 21)
  Things like these (similar violations of God's moral will)"The common feature in this catalogue of vices seems to reside not in the precise ways in which these fifteen items manifest themselves but in the self-centeredness or...
• Bibliography
  Allen, Kenneth W. "Justification by Faith."Bibliotheca Sacra135:538 (April-June 1978):109-16.Andrews, Mary E. "Paul and Repentance."Journal of Biblical Literature54:2 (June 1935):125.Barclay, William. The Letters to the Galat...
• 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...
• The significance of Gentile believers' union with Jewish believers 2:14-18
  Essentially Jesus Christ's death has resulted in peace between Gentile believers and Jewish believers and peace between Gentile believers and God.2:14 To understand this verse we must discover what dividing wall Paul had in m...
• The consequences of Gentile believers' union with Jewish believers 2:19-22
  2:19 Because of this union Gentile believers are no longer strangers (foreigners) and aliens respecting Israel. They are fellow citizens with Jewish believers in the church, God's new household (1 Tim. 3:15). Christians are a...
• 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...
• 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 ...
• C. The false doctrines of men 2:16-23
  Having revealed what believers have in Christ, Paul next pointed out the errors of the false teachers more specifically to help his readers identify and reject their instruction."Sad to say, there are many Christians who actu...
• 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...
• 2. Things to put on 3:12-17
  Paul urged his readers not only to divest themselves of behavior that is inappropriate to their union with Christ but also to clothe themselves with attitudes and actions that are appropriate. He did so to complete their unde...
• 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...
• A. Slaves 6:1-2
  As he had done previously (e.g., 5:1-2) Paul urged the adoption of proper attitudes toward others that would normally make it easier to produce proper actions. Christian slaves were to "regard"their masters as worthy of all h...
• 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. Paul's appeal 8-11
  v. 8 Paul's confidence (Gr. parresia) was his assurance that if he commanded Philemon to do as he requested because Paul was an apostle, Philemon would do it.16Nevertheless he declined to appeal on that basis. Rather he appea...
• E. The Son's Solidarity with Humanity 2:10-18
  The writer next emphasized the future glory that the Son will experience to heighten his readers' appreciation for Him and for their own future with Him. He did this by reflecting on Psalm 8. He wanted his readers to apprecia...
• The imperfection of the Levitical priesthood and the Mosaic Law 7:11-14
  7:11 The writer's point was that since God promised in Psalm 110:4 that the coming Messiah would be a priest after Melchizedek's order, He intended to terminate the Levitical priesthood because it was inadequate. If the Levit...
• The better covenant 8:6-13
  The writer proceeded to explain the superiority of the New Covenant that Jesus Christ ratified with His blood that is better than the Old Mosaic Covenant that He terminated when He died. He first explained the reason for the ...
• 4. The goodness of God 1:16-18
  James now defended God before those who doubted His goodness or reliability or who had given up hope in a time of testing and had concluded that this was their "fate."551:16 James wanted his readers to have no doubt about God...
• 3. The nature of the choice 4:4-5
  4:4 The real issue is whom will I love, God or the world?"In the simplest sense of the word, the world is each man's natural environment, that into which he enters at birth, and from which he departs in death. It is the immed...
• 2. A life of reverence 1:17-21
  Peter continued the exposition of Leviticus 19 that he began in verse 16.48"Peter's point is that if he and his readers have a special relationship to God by virtue of their calling and their new birth, then it is all the mor...
• 2. Slaves' respect for their masters 2:18-25
  Peter proceeded to address the situation of Christians working under the authority of others."The unusual fact, unnoticed by most Bible readers, is that he [Peter], along with Paul (1 Cor. 7:21; Eph. 6:5-8; Col. 3:22-25; 1 Ti...
• B. The Positive Instruction of the Readers vv. 20-23
  v. 20 The contrast Jude introduced with "But"distinguishes Jude's readers from the false teachers. Since we are God's temples under attack by hostile enemy forces, we need to build ourselves up, to strengthen ourselves spirit...
• 2. John's first vision of the New Jerusalem 21:2-8
  21:2 In the same vision, John next saw a city descending out of heaven from God (cf. v. 10; 3:12; Heb. 11:13-16). It was holy in contrast to the former Jerusalem (cf. 11:8; Isa. 52:1; Matt. 4:5; 27:53). As the old Jerusalem w...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• The Son Sent
  When the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, that He might redeem them which were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.'--Gal. 4:4-5. (R.V.).IT is genera...