We might easily dismiss the community to which John, Peter and the forty-plus year old healed man return.
ACTS of these men at Solomon’s Portico in the Temple had gotten them arrested by Jerusalem’s highest authorities. Yet because so many had witnessed the healing of this lame man, the three return to the growing ‘community’ of believers who have become the constant companions of the Twelve Apostles in Jerusalem. The authority of Jerusalem’s leaders has been overruled by the mighty acts of God!
Apostles, Disciples & Community
As we reminded ourselves previously when these three men sat in prison overnight: Peter, John and others had also been disciples of John the Baptist. It is a TEACHER/STUDENT relationship in the faith. Rabbi, some called Jesus; while others called Him Master, acknowledging their humble servant-role of the religious student learning Scripture from God’s teacher.
The Twelve APOSTLESnow have disciples; that is, followers who become a constant community in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Luke’s description of these men and women to whom Peter and John return with their witness barely touches the surface of its depth in our English translations, but let’s take a brief look at ACTS 4:23:
And being let go, they went to their own company.. KJV
they went to their own companions.. NKJV
Peter and John returned to the other believers.. NLT
.. went back to their own people.. NIV
they went to their friends.. ESV
Peter and John went to their fellow believers.. NET
they came to their own company.. ASV
.. unto their own friends.. YLT
Do you get the idea?
The KJV translates Strong’s G2398 in the following manner: his own (48x), their own (13x), privately (8x), apart (7x), your own (6x), his (5x), own (5x), not translated (1x), miscellaneous (20x).
The Twelve Apostles with hundreds of disciples in Jerusalem now kept in constant community with one another.
In his Gospel Luke records:
Peter said, “Behold, we have left our ownG2398 homes and followed You.”
Luke 18:28
It is personally possessive; a constant reminder that turning to follow Christ Jesus both costs us and comforts us.
John reminds us in his Gospel:
“If you were of the world, the world would love you as its ownG2398; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.
Gospel of John 15:19 – Jesus’ possessive claim of believers as the Lord assured His Apostles prior to His Sacrifice
Constant communication in the Spirit
And being let go, they went unto their own friends, and declared whatever the chief priests and the elders said unto them, and they having heard, with one accord did lift up the voice unto God..
ACTS of the Apostles 4:23-24a YLT
LET US THANK THE LORD OUR GOD FOR THE SAFE RETURN OF OUR FRIENDS PETER AND JOHN TO OUR COMMUNITY OF FAITH.
Shout praises to the LORD for the Power of the HOLY SPIRIT who secured their release unto us.
Let us give thanks to God for His mercy.
Lord, it is You who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything that is in them, who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said,
‘Why were the nations insolent,
And the peoples plotting in vain?
The kings of the earth took their stand,
And the rulers were gathered together
Against the Lord and against His Christ.’
Why are the nations restless
And the peoples plotting in vain?
The kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers conspire together
Against the Lord and against His Anointed
..
Serve the Lord with reverence
And rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, that He not be angry and you perish on the way,
For His wrath may be kindled quickly.
How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!
Constant Praise, then Prayerful Petition
The LORD God has saved our friends for this moment, returning their lives safely to the company of believers.
You may have had a beggar at your door recently. My new neighbor asked me if he should expect any ‘trick or treaters’ invading our neighborhood. Probably not, I responded. We generally have sweets here for ourselves that I could give away to a beggar, I assured. But he thought it might be best to go out and buy some treats just in case.
My neighbor then left to buy some sweets so as to not disappoint some little child at his door expecting a blessing.
Continuing in Jerusalem from where we last left Peter:
You may ask what my neighbor buying a treat to bless some little beggar at his door has to do with Peter and the Apostles as they enter into the gates and public courtyards of the Temple in Jerusalem.
I can think of more than one parallel to our 21st century walk as disciples of Jesus Christ.
So as we resume our journey with Simon Peter in Acts of the Apostles, don’t miss the Apostles’ hearts of graciousness accompanying the powerful signs of the Holy Spirit continuing to attract crowds to yet another sermon by Peter.
Luke’s account begins with a brief look back at his first account, the Gospel.
To these [the Apostles] He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days.. – Acts 1:3a
[The risen Christ Jesus had assured them] “..but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.” – Acts 1:8
The Apostle Simon Peter has already preached to the crowds:
Peter stood up among the brothers and sisters (a group of about 120 people was there together) [in an upper room in Jerusalem]. – Acts 1:15b
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. – Acts 2:2
.. they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with different [languages], as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out.. [Those in the crowds of Jerusalem were amazed and asked each other] And how is it that we each hear them in our own [dialectin] which we were born? – Acts 2:4,7,8 excerpt
But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, [preaching in the power of the Holy Spirit from Old Testament scripture]:
And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind;
Acts 2:14a, 17a – Simon Peter preaching to the crowds of Pentecost in Jerusalem from the prophet Joel
[Simon tells the crowds: ] ..he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay. It is this Jesus whom God raised up, a fact to which we are all witnesses. – Acts 2:32
.. the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He has poured out this which you both see and hear.
Into this context and setting in first century Jerusalem we continue with Simon Peter and the Eleven as they obediently have remained in Jerusalem and the church continues to grow.
Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.
44 And all the believers were together
and had all things in common;
45 and they would sell their property and possessions
and share them with all, to the extent that anyone had need.
46 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple,
and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47 praising God and
having favor with all the people.
HERE ARE SINNERS REPENTANT, BLESSING EACH OTHER AND OTHERS — DAILY — IN WORSHIP AND COMMUNITY.
THIS is the WITNESS OF THE CHURCH to ALL who encounter them, THAT, an evidence and sign in itself.
And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
The Day of Pentecost is past and three thousand souls have been worshiping day by day with the Apostles.
And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple
What will be the next ACT of the Apostles Peter and John?
Christian Witness with an Everyday Beggar
Imagine it — this is no child at your door, a costumed beggar charming you out of some candy.
NO, these desperate men of no means were as familiar at the entrances and exits of the public places as defeated men by the highway having no place to go with temporary signs – beggars asking alms of ANY who might help the invisible poor.
Yet Luke reveals that this beggar must had friends. They carried him to the place of worship daily. Or perhaps these men were part of his family who relied on his help by generated mercy of others.
The crowds who passed him by knew who he was; NOT a child, but a man handicapped from birth. No fault of his, but what could they do?
And mostly, their alms on occasion made them feel a little better about their own charity to him.
Note: Peter and John do not simply give the man something (or look away from him and move on, but the Apostles engage this beggar in conversation of lasting consequence.
Peter and John had witnessed the power of Jesus’ compassion
The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; but the one who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”
Now the seventy-two returned with joy, saying,
“Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name!”
Turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see the things you see..
Eternal Life
25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
26 He said unto him, What is written in the law?
Jesus engages the man in conversation, meaningful conversation which the Lord illustrates with the now familiar to us parable of the Good Samaritan. (Remember, Judeans did not particularly like the Jews from Samaria and those from other distant states or regions.)
“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers..
But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion.”
Gospel of Luke 10:30b,33 CSB + Jesus addressing the question: ‘Who is my neighbor?’
This man who was robbed on his journey to Jericho was no beggar. But Jesus points out that he certainly needs help.
Jesus asks, ‘Which of the the three helped the man;’ that is, ‘who was his neighbor’?
The Apostles knew both the parable and the accompanying miracles. Seventy-two disciples of Jesus had just worked many miracles when the lawyer had asked what to do to inherit eternal life.
Returning now to Peter and John headed to the temple for worship:
Peter’s ACT of compassion
Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked for alms.
Do you suppose the two-way conversation between the eyes of the lame beggar and Peter continues in intense anticipation here?
You are the beggar at the door and the man says ‘I have no money.’
Peter is a neighbor who has gone out of his way to give a sweet blessing to this poor man…
So many do little or just pass by.. YOU lay there HELPLESS still.. you, a poor lame beggar.
Yet Peter and John continue with their own intense and compassionate stares…
They ACT personally, as if the two are alone in their transaction..
Then the man who has NOT passed by you, helpless at the gate of the place of worship continues:
In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk!”
The command of Peter: Acts 3:6b
Peter had witnessed Jesus Christ the Nazarene make a man walk!
And Simon Peter had touched and seen the Lord’s hands and feet which had been nailed to a Cross!
Peter and John had a commission from Christ to build His church once receiving the Holy Spirit.
Yet another sign of the Holy Spirit
With John at his side, as they had both been observers of Jesus healing a man like this lowered by friends into a room full of Jews listening to Jesus preach, Peter now reaches down to the man near the crowds before him:
And grasping him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened.
Act of Peter reaching down to a man lame from birth + Acts 3:7
Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret; and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s…
But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying,
“Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” ..
And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear; from now on you will be catching people.”
When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.
This had been three years ago. Since then, Peter and John have seen MANY more miraculous things — unexplainable signs from God — ACTS of Jesus’ power and authority over men and creation.
While He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” And He reached out with His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him.
One day He was teaching, and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the Law sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea, and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. And some men were carrying a man on a stretcher who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. But when they did not find any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus.
Simon Peter and John had witnessed the power of God through Jesus many times.
A Beggar Worshiping with the Apostles
And leaping up, he stood and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.
And all the people saw him walking and praising God; and they recognized him as being the very one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg for charitable gifts, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
The very sight of this crippled man everyone knew LEAPING UP must have taken away the breath of those who witnessed this great sign!
REMEMBER the lame man lowered by his friends into a crowded room so that Jesus could heal him?
What was it the Lord had said?
And seeing their faith, He said,
“Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” .. “I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher, and go home.”
Gospel of Luke 5:20, 24b NASB + Jesus commanding a Lame man to walk
Peter and John saw a beggar’s faith
And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.
Acts of the Apostles 3:11 Authorized Version
Friend, your sins are forgiven you, or at least they could be — IF only you would come to the Lord Jesus Christ.
For by our admitted failings, like Peter, we are all sinful men and sinful women.
In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk!”
The command of Peter: Acts 3:6b
Won’t you walk on in witness in the name of Jesus Christ beside John and Simon Peter and the Apostles? For they were, after all, just sinners like you and like me.
ALL are beggars before the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will greet us at the gate.
NEXT: Simon Peter walks to Solomon's Portico to preach to the crowds
ONLY FIVE – 5 Sola’s of the Protestant Reformation
You likely understand something of the history of the Church, especially if you’ve followed my previous Saturday posts on Doctrine or our current series in ACTS. Sola in celebration of ‘Reformation Day’ of the Protestant Church, I’ll ask: ‘Do you know what Protestants were protesting about the ‘Catholic Church?’
Jesus changes how sinners give glory to God.
The Apostles then set out on the sola journey of the faith grounded in Scripture and in Christ.
You may know about The Great Schism and certainly know something about a doctrinal line in the sand which marked the beginning of the Protestant Reformation when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Thesesto the church door at Wittenberg, on 31 October, A.D. 1517.
Today, however, I will nail just two doctrinal questions about the teaching of your ‘church’to the door of your thinking:
Do you know the 5 Sola’s of the Protestant Reformation?
How have these five doctrines defined differences even today betweenthose professing other faiths (including Roman Catholics) andProtestants?
HERE is a bit of researched HISTORY about October 31, in the year of our Lord 1517 AND events leading up to the PROTEST against the authority of 'The Church' from Rome.
Luther
Luther originally had no intention of breaking from the Catholic church, assuming that his call for theological and ecclesiastical reform would be heard, and ordinarily his theses would have been of interest only to professional theologians. However, various political and religious situations of the time, and the fact that printing had been invented, combined to make the theses known throughout Germany within a few weeks. Luther did not give them to the people, although he did send copies to the archbishop of Mainz and to the bishop of Brandenburg. Others, however, translated them into German and had them printed and circulated. Thus, they became a manifesto that turned a protest about an indulgence scandal into the greatest crisis in the history of the Western Christian church, and ultimately Luther and his followers were excommunicated.
Luther’s 95 complaints to the Church concerned indulgences and other imperfections of a politically-driven Papacy. He was by no means the only cleric who objected to Church corruption, defects in doctrine and cardinal crimes.
The Roman Catholic Church survived the fifth century fall of Rome by an authoritarian political intervention of an aristocratic league of bishops led by the Bishop of Rome.
In fact, by the fifteenth century the common people of Europe no longer had to rely on certain corrupt church officials who intentionally misinterpreted the Holy Bible.
The movable type of Gutenberg’s printing press lit the light of the Renaissance with its rebirth of Scripture in the hands of everyday saints, written in their everyday vernacular rather than ancient Latin.
The Protestant Reformation
“The Reformers did not see themselves as inventors, discoverers, or creators,” according to historian Stephen Nichols. “Instead, they saw their efforts as rediscovery. They weren’t making something from scratch but were reviving what had become dead. They looked back to the Bible and to the apostolic era, as well as to early church fathers such as Augustine (354–430) for the mold by which they could shape the church and re-form it. The Reformers had a saying, ‘Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda,’ meaning ‘the church reformed, always reforming.’”
It is translated by English refugees and published by John Calvin’s brother-in-law, William Whittingham. The Geneva Bible is the first English Bible to add numbered verses to the chapters. It becomes the Bible of the Protestant Reformation, more popular than the 1611 King James Version for decades after its original release.
To answer my first question to name five solas,first you must know what a sola is.
from Latin:– solus, sola, solum – alone, only, unique.. (similar to ‘solo,’ meaning one);
plural: solas or solae (similar to soli, i.e. multiple soloists)
consequently, each of the five ‘Solas’ has a singular focus.
Sola – a Singular focus
In time, the message of the Reformers became encapsulated in five slogans known as the solas of the Reformation: sola Scriptura (“Scripture alone”), solus Christus (“Christ alone”), sola gratia (“grace alone”), sola fide (“faith alone“), and soli Deo gloria (“the glory of God alone”).
You may encounter the five solas in different orders, but keep in mind the equal importance of EACH singular issue to the reformers of the Church we now call 'Protestants.' - RH
I can only speak briefly to each of these five solas; therefore we will address EACH as part of an ANSWER to my more difficult second question:
How do these five doctrines define differences even today between those professing other faiths and Protestants?
email your answers and questions to Roger@talkofJESUS.com or comment on this post as you share it.
by Scripture alone
Scripture of the HOLY BIBLE:
All Scripture is [God-breathed] inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for [reprimand or proof] rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness;
The short answer of Luther and the reformers is that IF HOLY SCRIPTURE is “God-breathed,” THEN it contains the final and only (sola) Authority of what God says; THEREFORE
NO Pope, Bishop, Priest or Preacher may cling to ANY authority to over-rule the Written Word of God.
sola Scriptura – ONLY Scripture, by the Holy Spirit of Almighty God can interpret Holy Scripture.
Learn more from my earlier post linked here: sola scriptura = ONLY SCRIPTURE: The Highest Authority of GOD!
* NOTE: For each of the 5 Sola's I will provide secure links for your further study to both the Hebrew & Greek roots containing additional Biblical references using the same word, as well as definitions.
For the LORD God is a sun and a shield. The LORD will give grace and glory. He withholds no good thing from those who walk blamelessly.
Tehillim 84:12 WLC; Psalm 84:11 HNV
Using this same Hebrew word for favor Zechariah prophesies:
“And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of pleading, so that they will look at Me whom they pierced; and they will mourn for Him, like one mourning for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.
Christians, of course, bring the Good News [Gospel] of grace through Jesus Christ to the world primarily from the (Greek) writings of the New Testament.
For of His fullness we have all received, and graceG5485 upon graceG5485. For the Law was given through Moses; graceG5485and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
Gospel of John 1:16-17 NASB20 – His emphasis on grace
The KJV translates Strong’s G5485 in the following manner: GRACE(130x), FAVOR favour (6x), THANKS (4x), THANK (4x), thank (with G2192) (3x)[*quoted below], PLEASURE (2x), miscellaneous (7x).
And I thank [καί echō g2192 – {to have, i.e. to hold} charis G5485 {with grace}] Christ Jesus our Lord [christos iēsous hēmōn kyrios], who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry
1 Timothy 1:12KJVΚαὶ Χάριν ἔχω τῷ ἐνδυναμώσαντί με Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ κυρίῳ ἡμῶν ὅτι πιστόν με ἡγήσατο θέμενος εἰς διακονίαν – Greek Textus Receptus with Strong’s links from blueletterbible.org
through Faith Alone
Faith is NOT just an unfounded belief, as some would accuse God’s faithful.
conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it
relating to God, relating to Christ, the religious beliefs of Christians, belief with the predominate idea of trust (or confidence) whether in God or in Christ, springing from faith in the same
fidelity, faithfulness
the character of one who can be relied on
Biblical faith was not changed from the Old Testament to the New or by challenges from faithful Protestant Reformers.
Roger@TalkofJESUS.com
Faithful Roman Catholic clerics like Martin Luther struggled with this.
Old Testament Prophet like Habakkuk and New Testament letters to Rome, Galatia and to the Hebrews (throughout the Roman world)ALL pointed through Scripture that the righteous will live by FAITH!
Even though Catholic Bishops with their emphasis on works (to fund their great cathedrals of worship) may have quoted James as Jesus’ brother writes to the church:
You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
As a Catholic cleric Luther had a Bible. He recognized that by taking Scripture out of context, FAITH can be discounted to the unread saints of the church in order that ALL will believe the Overseers of Church Authority.
Yet Luther and many more who READ and studied SCRIPTURE understood James’ context and a critical connection between FAITH and works.
For James wrote to saints under persecution, just as the Protestant reformers would soon suffer.
Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faithG4102produces [steadfastness] endurance. And let endurance have its perfect [Lit work] result, so that you may be [mature] perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
James 1:2-4 NASB20 – Jesus’ half-brother & ‘bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,’ leader of the Jerusalem church
The gloryH3519 of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. And to the eyes of the sons of Israel, the appearance of the gloryH3519 of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the mountain top.
“Has a nation changed gods, When they were not gods? But My people have exchanged their glory For that which is of no benefit. Yermiyahu (Jeremiah) 2:11
primarily denotes “an opinion, estimation, repute;” in the NT, always “good opinion, praise, honor, glory, an appearance commanding respect, magnificence, excellence, manifestation of glory;” hence, of angelic powers, in respect of their state as commanding recognition, “dignities,” 2Pe 2:10; Jud 1:8. See GLORY, HONOR, PRAISE, WORSHIP.
SHALL GLORY be given to a mere man in the pulpit?
To a Bishop over Bishops — a Shepherd of this world — a Saint long gone?
SHALL GLORY be given to a Father confessor —
Or as worship of a mortal mother who served the Son of God?
THESE are the questions of the Protesters and Reformers who asked for Soli Deo gloria – GLORY to GOD ALONE!
“anointed,” translates, in the Sept., the word “Messiah,” a term applied to the priests who were anointed with the hol for today in the city of David, oil, particularly the High Priest, e.g., Lev 4:3, 5, 16.
The prophets are called hoi christoi Theou, "the anointed of God," ..
The title ho Christos, "the Christ," is not used of Christ in the Sept. version of the Inspired Books of the OT. In the NT the word is frequently used with the article, of the Lord Jesus, as an appellative rather than a title, e.g., Mat 2:4; Act 2:31; without the article, Luk 2:11; 23:2; Jhn 1:41. Three times the title was expressly accepted by the Lord Himself, Mat 16:17; Mar 14:61, 62; Jhn 4:26.
It is added as an appellative to the proper name “Jesus,” e.g., Jhn 17:3, the only time when the Lord so spoke of Himself; Act 9:34; 1Cr 3:11; 1Jo 5:6.
It is distinctly a proper name in many passages, whether with the article, e.g., Mat 1:17; 11:2; Rom 7:4; 9:5; 15:19; 1Cr 1:6, or without the article, Mar 9:41; Rom 6:4; 8:9, 17; 1Cr 1:12; Gal 2:16.
The single title Christos is sometimes used without the article to signify the One who by His Holy Spirit and power indwells believers and molds their character in conformity to His likeness, Rom 8:10; Gal 2:20; 4:19; Eph 3:17.
As to the use or absence of the article,
the title with the article specifies the Lord Jesus as “the Christ;”
the title without the article stresses His character and His relationship with believers.
Again, speaking generally, when the title is the subject of a sentence it has the article; when it forms part of the predicate the article is absent. See also JESUS.
These things Jesus spake, and when he had cast up his eyes into heaven [and the eyes lifted up to heaven], he said, Father, the hour cometh, clarify thy Son, that thy Son clarify thee.
John 17:1 Wycliffe Bible
As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to all them that thou hast given him.
John 17:2 + 1599 Geneva Bible
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Excerpts from Scripture in the letter from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, and Timothy,
Note the small 's' in saints, the faithful worshipers in Christ Jesus who are His Church. - RH
To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ who are at Colossae:
We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; because of the hope reserved for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel..
For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation:
.. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
Colossians 1:15,17 NASB20
He is also the head of the body, the church;
and He is the beginning,
the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.
.. I was made a minister of this church according to the commission from God granted to me for your benefit,
so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God,
that is, the mystery which had been hidden from the past ages and generations,
but now has been revealed to His saints,
to whom God willed to make known what the wealth of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles is, the mystery that is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
.. Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.
For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over every ruler and authority..
Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
Let the peace of Christ, to which you were indeed called in one body, rule in your hearts; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Colossians 3:15-16 NASB20
“.. specifically seen in Colossians 3 when Paul commands the Church to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly when we meet together, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.” – Keith Getty
Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
from the letter to the saints at Collosae 3:17
sola: + by Scripture alone + by Grace Alone + through Faith Alone + to the glory of God Alone + in Christ Alone
The TEACHING & solaDOCTRINES OF GOD, CHRIST, GRACE, FAITH and SCRIPTURE as taught by JESUS and the APOSTLES remain foundational for THE CHURCH.
Amen.
Cookie Consent
We use cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using our site, you consent to cookies.
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests
10 minutes
__utmb
Used to distinguish new sessions and visits. This cookie is set when the GA.js javascript library is loaded and there is no existing __utmb cookie. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
30 minutes after last activity
__utmc
Used only with old Urchin versions of Google Analytics and not with GA.js. Was used to distinguish between new sessions and visits at the end of a session.
End of session (browser)
__utmz
Contains information about the traffic source or campaign that directed user to the website. The cookie is set when the GA.js javascript is loaded and updated when data is sent to the Google Anaytics server
6 months after last activity
__utmv
Contains custom information set by the web developer via the _setCustomVar method in Google Analytics. This cookie is updated every time new data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
2 years after last activity
__utmx
Used to determine whether a user is included in an A / B or Multivariate test.
18 months
_ga
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gali
Used by Google Analytics to determine which links on a page are being clicked
30 seconds
_ga_
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gid
ID used to identify users for 24 hours after last activity
24 hours
_gat
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests when using Google Tag Manager
1 minute
_gac_
Contains information related to marketing campaigns of the user. These are shared with Google AdWords / Google Ads when the Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts are linked together.
90 days
__utma
ID used to identify users and sessions
2 years after last activity
Marketing cookies are used to follow visitors to websites. The intention is to show ads that are relevant and engaging to the individual user.
