Author: Administrador

1 CORINTHIANS 1:14–17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel (1 Cor. 1:17). Although it was Paul’s duty to baptize (Matt. 28:19), he was thankful that he had administered the ordinance only to a few people in Corinth. False teachers were already accusing him of making disciples for himself, … Continue reading “BAPTISM AND THE GOSPEL”

1 CORINTHIANS 1:18–25 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing (1 Cor. 1:18). Paul lets the arrows of the Gospel fly into the hearts of the Corinthian congregation by proclaiming Christ crucified instead of the wisdom of the world. Paul did not come to baptize or to make disciples … Continue reading “PREACHING CHRIST CRUCIFIED”

1 CORINTHIANS 1:1–3 … to the church of God which is at Corinth … (1 Cor. 1:2). Questions had been raised in Corinth concerning Paul’s right to exercise authority over the church. Realizing this, Paul prefaces his letter stating that he did not receive his apostleship by his own efforts but only by the choice … Continue reading “GREETINGS TO THE SAINTS”

1 CORINTHIANS 1:4–9 God is faithful, by whom you were called … (1 Cor. 1:9). Paul thanks God for His gift of grace in bringing the Corinthians to Christ and enriching them with knowledge. Some were prophets, some teachers, some had the gifts of tongues. These were different forms of the gift of utterance (v. … Continue reading “KNOWING AND PERSEVERING”

1 CORINTHIANS 1:10–13 … be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment (1 Cor. 1:10). The church of Corinth, being composed of Gentiles and Jews, had divided itself into separate groups. Instead of thinking as a single body, unified in Christ, they found their identity among those who were most … Continue reading “IS CHRIST DIVIDED?”

MARK 4:1–20 “… but to those who are outside, all things come in parables” (Mark 4:11). Parables can provide great insights, but they can also create problems in interpretation. The first problem resides in the original intent of the parable. Jesus was obviously fond of using the parable as a teaching device. The puzzling question, … Continue reading “PERPLEXING PARABLES”

MARK 9:2–13 “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things … Elijah has also come” (Mark 9:12–13). The handling of predictive prophecy is one of the most abused forms of biblical interpretation. Interpretations range from the elimination of predictive prophecy to the wild, bizarre method that sees in every contemporary event a clear fulfillment … Continue reading “UNTANGLING PROPHECY”

MATTHEW 24:29–44 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Matt. 24:35). Many people assume the Bible is not relevant in today’s modern society because they think it was written for an ancient culture. While we answer this objection with the statement that God’s Word is eternal and … Continue reading “THE RELEVANCE OF CULTURE”

EXODUS 20:1–17 “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Ex. 20:3). A common mistake in biblical interpretation and application is to give a proverb the weight of a moral absolute. Proverbs are designed to express practical truisms. They reflect principles of wisdom for godly living. They do not reflect moral laws that should be … Continue reading “PROVERBS AND LAWS”

MATTHEW 5 “Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees …” (Matt. 5:20). We all know of the Pharisees in Scripture who labored to keep the letter of the law but were lax to keep the spirit of the law. What we might not realize is how often we are guilty of … Continue reading “SPIRIT AND THE LETTER”