Weekly Scripture Readings

Characterizations of God in the Pauline Writings, I: The Epistle to the Romans. (Warning: a long one.)

2005-08-19T08:28:00.000-05:00

note:The following post was composed by John Edminster and isbeing posted to the blog by Rich Accetta-Evans via e-mail;
With this week's readings I'm going back to a larger project that I started on 4/10/2005 with "Characterizations of God in the Psalms" and continued with "Characterizations of God in the Synoptic Gospels." You may have noticed that the Jesus of the Synoptics, though he said much, didn't have a whole lot to say about God; but what He did say about our Heavenly Father (a characterization of God that we owe to Jesus) was powerful and memorable. Before we go on to the Gospel of John I want to lead us first through the writings attributed to Paul. It seems like Paul couldn't stop marveling about God, always expressing, in one way or another, his wonder that a Being as severe as God could also be so tender and all-loving. I
found Romans quite difficult to break into passages that could be classified as one thing or the other.
We have about as many different mental images of God as there are souls in creation, and I'm sure that that's as it should be: to some God is the unspeakable formless Ground of Being; to some God is a Person, fierce or tender, according to the qualities of the worshipper's soul: "With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful;...with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward," Psalm 18:25-26. According to James 2:19, even the devils believe in God - and tremble! Hindu devotees of the One God vary widely in their characterizations of God: to the followers of the Sankhya philosophy of India, God is a person, eternally separate from all other persons, omniscient but without power over nature, whose doings God merely witnesses, while to followers of the philosophies of Yoga and Vedanta God is at once the Self at the heart of all beings and also the Prime Mover of nature.

To some God is truth and integrity, which may lead the person to refuse on
principle to believe in God - until the Source and Author of Integrity surprises the believer with a revelation that says, "I am!" To others God is our Father, our Mother, our Owner, our Very Self, or our Only Beloved; and then God may surprise us by appearing to us as Something Else Than We Had Thought, when the time seems right for our understanding to be expanded. Always beyond the grasp of the intellect, but always loving us and present to our love, God ever remains the Indescribable One. - JJE

God the good, our loving Adoptive Parent, the Giver of grace, eternal life, and all good

Romans 1:7
[Paul...] To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 2:4
Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

Romans 5:15b
For if through the offence of one [Adam] many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

Romans 5:5-8
And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. [6] For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. [7] For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. [8] But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 6:21-23
What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. [22] But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. [23] For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 8:11-18, 21
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. [12]Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. [13] For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. [14] For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.[15] For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. [16] The Spirit itself beareth witness with
our spirit, that we are the children of God:[17] And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. [18] For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Romans 8:26-28
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. [27] And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. [28] And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:29-31
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. [30] Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. [31] What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

Romans 8:32
He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

Romans 10:12-13 [Verse 13 is a direct quote from Joel 2:32.]
For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. [13] For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Romans 11:29
For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

Romans 12:2-3
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. [3] For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Romans 11:1-8 [God the Savior of the elect]
I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed ofAbraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. [2] God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, [3] Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. [4] But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. [5] Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. [6] And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. [7] What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election
hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded [8] (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.

Romans 11:11-12, 15, 22-27 [God the Savior of all Israel]
I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. [12] Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?... [15] For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? ...[22] Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. [23] And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again. [24] For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree
which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree? [25] For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. [26] And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: [27] For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

Romans 11:30-36, 12:1 [God the merciful Savior of all]
For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: [31] Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. [32] For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. [33] O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! [34] For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counseller? [35] Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? [36] For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. [12:1] I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Romans 14:3-4 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him. [4] Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.

God the righteous and impartial, the incorruptible; the Rewarder of good and evil deeds

Romans 1:16-17
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. [17] For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

Romans 1:22-23
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, [23] And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

Romans 2:6-8
Who will render to every man according to his deeds: [7] To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: [8] But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath....

Romans 2:10-11
But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: [11] For there is no respect of persons with God.

Romans 3:5-6
But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man) [6] God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?

Romans 8:3-4
For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: [4] That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Romans 9:14
What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.

Romans 10:1-3
Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. [2] For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. [3] For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

Romans 12:19 ["Vengeance is mine" a quotation (Deut. 32:35) from the Song of Moses, which makes up the 32nd chapter of Deuteronomy, given by God, as Moses turned 120 and prepared to die, to sing to the people of Israel, Deut. 31:19, 22]Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

The Wrath of God the Judge, who "cannot be pleased" by the carnal mind

Romans 1:18-19
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; [19] Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

Romans 1:32
Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Romans 2:2-3
But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. [3] And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?

Romans 8:5-8
For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. [6] For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. [7] Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. [8] So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

The Quickener of the dead<

Romans 4:16-17
Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, [17] (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,)before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

Romans 4:24
And therefore it [faith] was imputed to him [Abraham] for righteousness. [23] Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; [24] But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; [25] Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Romans 6:3-6
Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? [4] Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. [5] For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: [6] Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

Romans 10:9
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

The Witness; the Hearer of Prayer; our Owner

Romans 1:9-10
For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; [10] Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.

Romans 14:7-8, 11-12
For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. [8] For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.... [11] For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. [12] So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

The only source of power

Romans 13:1-6
Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. [2] Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. [3] For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: [4] For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. [5] Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. [6] For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.

The Revealer of God's own Nature, and of the Saving Gospel

Romans 1:1-2
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, [2](Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)...

Romans 1:19-21
Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. [20]For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: [21] Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Romans 9:6-8
Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: [7] Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. [8] That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.

The God we serve

Romans 6:10-13
For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. [11] Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. [12] Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. [13] Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

Romans 7:4
Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

Romans 7:14-25
For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. [15] For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. [16] If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. [17] Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. [18] For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. [19] For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. [20] Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. [21] I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. [22] For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: [23] But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity
to the law of sin which is in my members. [24] O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? [25] I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

The God of Patience and Consolation, and of Peace, the Everlasting and Only Wise

Romans 14:17-18
For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. [18] For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.

Romans 15:4-6
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. [5] Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: [6] That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 15:33
Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Romans 16:20
And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

Romans 16:26-27
But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: [27] To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.

Bible Readings for First Day, 7/10/2005: The Manifestations of the Holy Spirit, III

2005-07-08T07:50:00.000-05:00

With this I conclude the material in the four gospels and the Book of Acts.
Next week I begin the uses of the term "Holy Ghost" (Greek, "to agion pneuma") and "Spirit" (Greek, "to pneuma," used in the sense of "the Spirit of God") in the Epistles, which show interesting differences. - je

The Inspirer of prophecy and Opener of hearts to hear

Acts 1:1-2
The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, [2] Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:

Acts 1:16 [Peter speaks to the 120 disciples on the need for someone to take Judas Iscariot's place:]
Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.

Acts 7:51 [Stephen reaches the end of the sermon that provokes his hearers to stone him to death:]
Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.

Acts 11:27-28
And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. [28] And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.

Acts 13:9-11 [Paul, in Paphos, rebukes the sorcerer Elymas Bar-jesus, who is struck blind:]
Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, [10] And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? [11] And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.

Acts 15:28 [from the letter of the apostles and elders to the church at Antioch:]
For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; [29] That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

Acts 21:10-11 [Paul and his company sojourn in Caesarea at the house of Philip:]
And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus. [11] And when he was come unto us, he took Paul's girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.

Acts 28:25-29 [Paul rebukes the Jews of Rome:]
And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, [26] Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: [27] For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. [28] Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it. [29] And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves.

The Director of Footsteps

Acts 8:29, 39 [The Holy Spirit directs Philip to approach the Ethiopian eunuch, and then "catches him away." Note that it was an angel, not the Holy Spirit, that had directed Philip to travel southward for this meeting.]
Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.... [Philip baptizes the eunuch;] [39] And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.

Acts 10:19-20 [The Holy Spirit advises Peter to be receptive to the embassy from Cornelius:]
While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. [20] Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them. [Peter re-tells this at Acts 11:12.]

Acts 13:1-4
Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. [2] As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. [3] And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. [4] So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.

Acts 16:6-7 [Paul, Silas, and Timotheus are twice forbidden to travel off course; Paul is about to receive a vision, Acts 16:9, calling him across
the sea to Macedonia:]
Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, [7] After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.

Acts 18:5-6 [Paul, in Corinth, "shakes his raiment" against its Jews:]
And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. [6] And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.

Acts 19:21
After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome.

Acts 20:22-25 [Paul bids farewell to the elders of the church at Ephesus:]
And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: [23] Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. [24] But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. [25] And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.

The Spirit of Truth, the Comforter

Acts 9:31
Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. - 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Bible Readings for First Day, 7/3/2005: The Manifestations of the Holy Spirit, II

2005-07-05T07:44:00.000-05:00

Four prophecies of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit

Isaiah 44:1-4
Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen: [2] Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen. [3] For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:[4] And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.

Ezekiel 11:17-20
Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble youout of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. [18]And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. [19] And I will give them one heart, and I will put a newspirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: 20] That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

Joel 2:28-32

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: [29] And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. [30]And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. [31] The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. [32] And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

Zechariah 12:10
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

The outpourings of the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts

Acts 1:4-5
And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. [5] For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

Acts 2:1-21
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. [2] And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. [3] And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. [4] And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

[5] And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. [6] Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. [7] And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? [8] And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? [9] Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, [10] Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, [11] Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.

[12] And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? [13] Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.

[14] But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: [15] For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. [16] But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; [17] And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God,I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: [18] And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: [19] And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath;blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: [20] The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: [21] And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Acts 4:31 [Peter, John, and their company in Jerusalem "lift up their voice with one accord:"]
And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, [30] By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. [31] And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

Acts 10:44-46a [Peter's mission to the Roman centurion Cornelius in Caesarea]
While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. [45] And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. [46] For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God.

Acts 19:1-7
And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, [2] He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. [3] And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. [4] Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. [5] When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. [6] And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them;
and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. [7] And all the men were about twelve.

"Full of the Holy Ghost" as a personal attribute
Acts 6:2-6
Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. [3] Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report,full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. [4] But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. [5] And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch: [6] Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.

Acts 7:54-58a [the response of the men of Jerusalem to the sermon of Stephen:]
When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. [55] But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, [56] And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

[57] Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, [58] And cast him out of the city, and stoned him....

Acts 9:17 [Ananias of Damascus restores Paul's sight:]
And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. [18] And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.

Acts 11:24 [of Barnabas, sent to Antioch from the church at Jerusalem:]
For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much
people was added unto the Lord.

Acts 13:52 [Paul and his company, expelled from Antioch, come to Iconium:]
And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.

Circumstances of the gift of the Holy Spirit

Acts 1:7-8 [Jesus to His disciples, just before His ascension, says that the gift is to bring power:]
And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. [8] But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Acts 2:32-33 [Peter, at Pentecost, describes the gift as "received of the Father" and "shed forth" by Jesus:]
This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. [33] Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.

Acts 2:37-38 [Peter, at Pentecost, says that the gift follows repentance and remission of sins:]
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? [38] Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 5:32 [Peter tells the high priest and his company that God gives the gift "to them that obey him:"]
And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.

Acts 8:14-23 [Peter and John impart the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands, prompting Simon Magus to try to buy that power:]
Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: [15] Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: [16] (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) [17] Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.

[18] And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, [19] Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. [20] But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast
thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. [21] Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. [22] Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. [23] For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.

Acts 10:38 [Peter, as Cornelius's guest, describes Jesus as having been anointed by the Holy Spirit:]
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

Manifestations of the Holy Spirit: 1 - Readings for 6/26/2005

2005-07-01T13:43:00.000-05:00

Note from Rich Accetta-Evans:
John Edminster created the following post. I attempted to post it semi-automatically (using e-mail) but was unsuccessful, so will now post it manually. My apologies to John and the readers for the delay.
Since John no longer feels able to post these weekly readings directly, I plan - at least for a time - to do so in his place. The actual selections and the written comments will still be John's

Note from John Edminster:
On a strong impulse, I'm interrupting my series on characterizations of God in the Bible to compile passages about the manifestations of the Holy Spirit. From the Lord God's breathing the breath of life into the nostrils of man, so that "man became a living soul," Gen. 2:7, to the great visitation of the Holy Spirit that seems to have produced the Book of Revelation, the scriptures are full of the Holy Spirit's workings; I'm unlikely to get them all, so please tell me what you think I've left out. The Nicene Creed mentions two "offices" of the Holy Spirit, "quickening" (_et vivificantem_) and "having spoken through the Prophets" (_qui locutus est per prophetas_). My own current interest in the Holy Spirit is in Its being what Jesus called "the Spirit of Truth" (John 15:26).

The Holy Spirit as Quickener and Baptizer

Genesis 2:7
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Matthew 1:18-21
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. [19] Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. [20] But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. [21] And she shall bring forth a son, and
thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Luke 1:34-35
Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
[35] And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Mark 1:6-8 [= Matthew 3:11 and Luke 3:16, "he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire."]
And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey; [7] And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. [8] I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.

Luke 3:21-22
Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, [22] And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

John 1:32-33
And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. [33] And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.

John 3:1-8
There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: [2] The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. [3] Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. [4] Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into
his mother's womb, and be born? [5] Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. [6] That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. [7] Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born
again. [8] The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

John 7:37-39
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst,let him come unto me, and drink. [38] He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. [39] (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

Matthew 28:18-20
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. [19] Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: [20] Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

John 20:21-23
Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. [22] And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: [23] Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

The Inspirer of prophecy and Opener of hearts to hear

Luke 1:13-16
But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. [14] And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. [15] For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. [16] And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

Luke 1:41-45
And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: [42] And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. [43] And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? [44] For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. [45] And blessed is she that
believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

Luke 1:67-70
And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, [68] Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, [69] And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; [70] As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: ...

Mark 12:35-37
And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the Son of David? [36] For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. [37] David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly.

The Director of Footsteps

Isaiah 30:20-21
And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: [21] And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

Luke 2:25-32
And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. [26] And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. [27] And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, [28] Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God,
and said, [29] Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: [30] For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, [31] Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; [32] A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

Luke 4:1-2
And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, [2] Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.

The Spirit of Truth, the Comforter

Luke 12:10-12 [Luke 12:10 = Matthew 12:31-32, Mark 3:29; Luke 12:11-12 = Mark 13:11.] And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven. [11] And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: [12] For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.

John 14:15-20
If ye love me, keep my commandments. [16] And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; [17] Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
[18] I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. [19] Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. [20] At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

John 14:23-26
Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. [24] He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me. [25] These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. [26] But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

John 15:26-27
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: [27] And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.

John 16:7-15
Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. [8] And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: [9] Of sin, because they believe not on me; [10] Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; [11] Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. [12] I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. [13] Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. [14] He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. [15] All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

The Spirit of Acceptable Worship

John 4:21-24
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. [22] Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. [23] But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. [24] God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Characterizations of God, No. 1 in a series

2005-04-08T22:11:00.000-05:00

Psalm 66:5
Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men.

Revelation 21:4a
And he shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Psalm 139:6
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.

Characterizations of God in the Psalms, I

Psalm 18:25-27
[25] With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;
[26] With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.
[27] For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks.

Psalm 17:7
Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.

* * *

Psalm 24:8-10
Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.
[9] Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
[10] Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.

Psalm 8:1, 3-4
O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
...[3] When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
[4] What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

Psalm 19:1-6
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
[2] Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
[3] There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
[4] Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
[5] Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
[6] His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

Psalm 139:7-12
Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
[8] If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
[9] If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
[10] Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
[11] If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
[12] Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

* * *

Psalm 18:1-2, 6-16
I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.
[2] The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
...[6] In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
[7] Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
[8] There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
[9] He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.
[10] And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
[11] He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
[12] At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.
[13] The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.
[14] Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.
[15] Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.
[16] He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.

* * *

Psalm 9:16
The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.
[Evidently directions for musical performance: "Higgaión," from hâgâh, "to murmur," a "murmuring" or solemn sound; "Selah," from sâlâh, "to suspend," used seventy times in the Psalms, a pause.]

Psalm 11:7
For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.

Psalm 9:8-10
And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.
[9] The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
[10] And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.

Psalm 5:4
For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.

Psalm 7:8-11
The LORD shall judge the people: judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me.
[9] Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.
[10] My defence is of God, which saveth the upright in heart.
[11] God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.

* * *

Psalm 139:17-18
How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!
[18] If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.

Psalm 12:6
The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

* * *

Psalm 23
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
[2] He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
[3] He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
[4] Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
[5] Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
[6] Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

E-mail j0hnedminster@yahoo.com to request this as a MS Word document.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
- 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Spiritual healing, No. 7 and last in a series

2005-04-02T18:00:00.000-05:00

Additional teachings of Jesus [cf. readings for 2/27/05, 2nd in the series]

Matthew 20:24-28 [The ideal of servant leadership]
And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.
[25] But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. [26] But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; [27] And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: [28] Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Luke 9:23-27 [The daily cross]
And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. [24] For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. [25] For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? [26] For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels. [27] But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.

The Story of Tobias and the Archangel Raphael

Tobit 2:1-10 [Tobit, Tobias's father, tells of his early life as a covenant-keeping Galilean Naphtalite when the rest of his people had fallen away into Baal-worship, and his later career as purveyor to King Enemessar in Nineveh after Israel had been carried away in the Assyrian captivity. Under Enemessar's successor Sennacherib, Tobit falls from royal favor, flees into hiding, and loses all of his property. Sennacherib having been killed, Tobit's nephew Achiacharus intercedes with the new king Sarchedonus to rescind Sennacherib's death sentence against Tobit, and he returns to Nineveh, free but impoverished. In Chapter 2, Tobit tells how he became blinded:]
[1] Now when I was come home again, and my wife Anna was restored unto me, with my son Tobias, in the feast of Pentecost, which is the holy feast of the seven weeks, there was a good dinner prepared me, in the which I sat down to eat. [2] And when I saw abundance of meat, I said to my son, Go and bring what poor man soever thou shalt find out of our brethren, who is mindful of the Lord; and, lo, I tarry for thee.
[3] But he came again, and said, Father, one of our nation is strangled, and is cast out in the marketplace.
[4] Then before I had tasted of any meat, I started up, and took him up into a room until the going down of the sun. [5] Then I returned, and washed myself, and ate my meat in heaviness, [6] Remembering that prophecy of Amos, as he said, Your feasts shall be turned into mourning, and all your mirth into lamentation.
[7] Therefore I wept: and after the going down of the sun I went and made a grave, and buried him.
[8] But my neighbours mocked me, and said, This man is not yet afraid to be put to death for this matter: who fled away; and yet, lo, he burieth the dead again. [9] The same night also I returned from the burial, and slept by the wall of my courtyard, being polluted and my face was uncovered:[10] And I knew not that there were sparrows in the wall, and mine eyes being open, the sparrows muted warm dung into mine eyes, and a whiteness came in mine eyes: and I went to the physicians, but they helped me not: moreover Achiacharus did nourish me, until I went into Elymais.

Tobit 5:1-12 [Tobit sends his son Tobias to the city of Rhages in Media to collect ten talents of silver he had once left in the custody of his kinsman Gabael, and Tobias chooses a traveling companion who identifies himself as "Azarias," though in reality he is the Archangel Raphael.]
[1] Tobias then answered and said, Father, I will do all things which thou hast commanded me: [2] But how can I receive the money, seeing I know him not?
[3] Then he gave him the handwriting, and said unto him, Seek thee a man which may go with thee, whiles I yet live, and I will give him wages: and go and receive the money.
[4] Therefore when he went to seek a man, he found Raphael that was an angel. [5] But he knew not; and he said unto him, Canst thou go with me to Rages? and knowest thou those places well?
[6] To whom the angel said, I will go with thee, and I know the way well: for I have lodged with our brother Gabael.
[7] Then Tobias said unto him, Tarry for me, till I tell my father.
[8] Then he said unto him, Go and tarry not. So he went in and said to his father, Behold, I have found one which will go with me. Then he said, Call him unto me, that I may know of what tribe he is, and whether he be a trusty man to go with thee. [9] So he called him, and he came in, and they saluted one another.
[10] Then Tobit said unto him, Brother, shew me of what tribe and family thou art.
[11] To whom he said, Dost thou seek for a tribe or family, or an hired man to go with thy son?
Then Tobit said unto him, I would know, brother, thy kindred and name.
[12] Then he said, I am Azarias, the son of Ananias the great, and of thy brethren.

Tobit 6:1-17 [Raphael identifies the medicinal properties of a fish's heart, liver, and gall bladder; the smoke of the first two drives away an evil spirit, and the bile from the third cures Tobit's blindness.]
And as they went on their journey, they came in the evening to the river Tigris, and they lodged there. [2] And when the young man went down to wash himself, a fish leaped out of the river, and would have devoured him.
[3] Then the angel said unto him, Take the fish. And the young man laid hold of the fish, and drew it to land.
[4] To whom the angel said, Open the fish, and take the heart and the liver and the gall, and put them up safely.
[5] So the young man did as the angel commanded him; and when they had roasted the fish, they did eat it: then they both went on their way, till they drew near to Ecbatane.
[6] Then the young man said to the angel, Brother Azarias, to what use is the heart and the liver and the gall of the fish?
[7] And he said unto him, Touching the heart and the liver, if a devil or an evil spirit trouble any, we must make a smoke thereof before the man or the woman, and the party shall be no more vexed. [8] As for the gall, it is good to anoint a man that hath whiteness in his eyes, and he shall be healed.
[9] And when they were come near to Rages, [10] The angel said to the young man, Brother, to day we shall lodge with Raguel, who is thy cousin; he also hath one only daughter, named Sara; I will speak for her, that she may be given thee for a wife. [11] For to thee doth the right of her appertain, seeing thou only art of her kindred. [12] And the maid is fair and wise: now therefore hear me, and I will speak to her father; and when we return from Rages we will celebrate the marriage: for I know that Raguel cannot marry her to another according to the law of Moses, but he shall be guilty of death, because the right of inheritance doth rather appertain to thee than to any other.
[13] Then the young man answered the angel, I have heard, brother Azarias, that this maid hath been given to seven men, who all died in the marriage chamber. [14] And now I am the only son of my father, and I am afraid, lest if I go in unto her, I die, as the other before: for a wicked spirit loveth her, which hurteth no body, but those which come unto her; wherefore I also fear lest I die, and bring my father's and my mother's life because of me to the grave with sorrow: for they have no other son to bury them.
[15] Then the angel said unto him, Dost thou not remember the precepts which thy father gave thee, that thou shouldest marry a wife of thine own kindred? wherefore hear me, O my brother; for she shall be given thee to wife; and make thou no reckoning of the evil spirit; for this same night shall she be given thee in marriage. [16] And when thou shalt come into the marriage chamber, thou shalt take the ashes of perfume, and shalt lay upon them some of the heart and liver of the fish, and shalt make a smoke with it: [17] And the devil shall smell it, and flee away, and never come again any more: but when thou shalt come to her, rise up both of you, and pray to God which is merciful, who will have pity on you, and save you: fear not, for she is appointed unto thee from the beginning; and thou shalt preserve her, and she shall go with thee. Moreover I suppose that she shall bear thee children. Now when Tobias had heard these things, he loved her, and his heart was effectually joined to her.

Tobit 8:1-3
[1] And when they had supped, they brought Tobias in unto her. [2] And as he went, he remembered the words of Raphael, and took the ashes of the perfumes, and put the heart and the liver of the fish thereupon, and made a smoke therewith. [3] The which smell when the evil spirit had smelled, he fled into the utmost parts of Egypt, and the angel bound him.

Tobit 11:1-17
[1] After these things Tobias went his way, praising God that he had given him a prosperous journey, and blessed Raguel and Edna his wife, and went on his way till they drew near unto Nineve. [2] Then Raphael said to Tobias, Thou knowest, brother, how thou didst leave thy father: [3] Let us haste before thy wife, and prepare the house. [4] And take in thine hand the gall of the fish. So they went their way, and the dog went after them.
[5] Now Anna sat looking about toward the way for her son. [6] And when she espied him coming, she said to his father, Behold, thy son cometh, and the man that went with him.
[7] Then said Raphael, I know, Tobias, that thy father will open his eyes. [8] Therefore anoint thou his eyes with the gall, and being pricked therewith, he shall rub, and the whiteness shall fall away, and he shall see thee.
[9] Then Anna ran forth, and fell upon the neck of her son, and said unto him, Seeing I have seen thee, my son, from henceforth I am content to die. And they wept both.
[10] Tobit also went forth toward the door, and stumbled: but his son ran unto him, [11] And took hold of his father: and he strake of the gall on his fathers' eyes, saying, Be of good hope, my father.
[12] And when his eyes began to smart, he rubbed them; [13] And the whiteness pilled away from the corners of his eyes: and when he saw his son, he fell upon his neck.
[14] And he wept, and said, Blessed art thou, O God, and blessed is thy name for ever; and blessed are all thine holy angels: [15] For thou hast scourged, and hast taken pity on me: for, behold, I see my son Tobias. And his
son went in rejoicing, and told his father the great things that had happened to him in Media.
[16] Then Tobit went out to meet his daughter in law at the gate of Nineve, rejoicing and praising God: and they which saw him go marvelled, because he had received his sight.
[17] But Tobias gave thanks before them, because God had mercy on him. And when he came near to Sara his daughter in law, he blessed her, saying, Thou art welcome, daughter: God be blessed, which hath brought thee unto us, and blessed be thy father and thy mother. And there was joy among all his brethren which were at Nineve.

E-mail j0hnedminster@yahoo.com to request this as a MS Word document.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
- 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Spiritual Healing, No. 6 in a series

2005-03-25T21:39:00.000-05:00

The Healings of Jesus, continued

For First Day, 2/27/2005, I had begun a section on the ministries of Jesus entitled "The Healings, Cleansings, Exorcisms, and Raisings from the Dead," to which I now return. Next week I intend to venture into the apocryphal Book of Tobit, in which the Archangel Raphael, "God heals," makes his only appearance in Scripture, check the rest of the Bible for anything I might have left out related to healing, and so finish this series. It would make me very happy to learn that someday, if the Spirit of Truth should move someone to write a book about spiritual healing and healing prayer, this gathering of passages I'm now doing will be available to ease the author's task of research.

While I worked on this gathering, I received in the mail, unsolicited but, I think, providentially, a copy of Dr. Ahmed H. Sakr's The Book of Healing, which seeks to gather together all the material on healing in the Qur'an and the Hadith, the chief sacred sources within Islam. I've also just learned that my dentist is a Talmudic scholar, which opens the possibility of my expanding my knowledge of Jewish traditions about healing, if God so wills. But in this blog I don't expect to go outside the sphere of Christian scripture.

In some sense the entire Bible is about healing: about God's creating a world that was "very good," and a man and a woman that were innocent and "in His image;" and then corruption came in. Eventually, Christian doctrine teaches, one sinless Man died a painful and humiliating death to heal this corruption, or, in Paul's words, to reconcile all things in heaven and earth back to God (Colossians 1:20). As a mark of this reconciliation, John tells us, God will "wipe away all tears from our eyes" (Revelation 7:17, 21:4). To me this state of corruption is not an abstraction or a theological notion, but a very present and painful reality. Two American soldiers are now threatened with courts-martial for allegedly having tortured two prisoners that died in custody in Afghanistan, one of whom, Mullah Habibullah, called on the name of God over and over again as the blows came down on him. I hear Jesus' voice saying to Pfc. Brand and Sgt. Boland, "Insofar as you did it to the least of these my brethren, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:40,45). But insofar as we United States citizens condemn soldiers that torture and murder in our name, we also condemn Christ, who must now suffer under our vengeful hands in the persons of Pfc. Baird and Sgt. Boland and anyone else we can punish as an "evildoer." Just as Christ is everywhere, so is cruelty everywhere, cruelty is in the hearts of every one of us, and we are none of us innocent of the crucifixion of the One that died for us. No matter that we were tricked into these wars by great liars, and then lied to about what went on in them: have we not been liars, each of us?

I'm writing this on the day called Good Friday by most of the Christian world. Having the day off from work, I slept late this morning, and the news from the radio wove its way into my dreams. I dreamed that separate prayer vigils were being held for Terri Schiavo by those who wanted her kept on her life-support system and those who wanted her taken off it. I proposed that one member of each vigil switch places with one from the other, as a token of the soon-to-die Jesus' last-minute commandment to us to love one another (John 15:12, 17), and I volunteered to be one of the place-switchers myself, to hold my opponents in prayer as faithfully as if I agreed with them. I woke feeling that I'd been blessed with a vivid reminder of what it's all about. - JJE

Matthew 12:22-32 [Jesus heals a blind and dumb demoniac (but no mention of blindness in Mark or Luke), and preaches, "How can Satan cast out Satan?" - cf. Mark 3:22-27, Luke 11:14-23; this story is partly duplicated in Matthew 9:32-34. Jesus ends by making a point, "He that is not with me is against me," that seems to contradict the one He makes in Mark 9:38-41, quoted below; but there He speaks of people that are "not with Him" in a different sense.]
Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. [23] And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? [24] But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
[25] And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: [26] And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? [27] And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. [28] But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. [29] Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.
[30] He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. [31] Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. [32] And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

Matthew 12:43-45 [The return of the evil spirit, a simple lesson in demonology in Luke 11:24-26, but made into a parable in Matthew by Jesus' addition, at the end, of "So shall it be also with this evil generation."Jesus is continuing the speech begun in the last selection:]
When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. [44] Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. [45] Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

John 5:2-30 [The healing at the Pool of Bethesda]
Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. [3] In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. [4] For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. [5] And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.
[6] When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
[7] The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
[8] Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
[9] And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.
[10] The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.
[11] He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk.
[12] Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?
[13] And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. [14] Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
[15] The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.
[16] And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.
[17] But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
[18] Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
[19] Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. [20] For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. [21] For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. [22] For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: [23] That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
[24] Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
[25] Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. [26] For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; [27] And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
[28] Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, [29] And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
[30] I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

Mark 6:53-56 [Healings at Gennesaret; cf. Matthew 14:34-36]
And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore. [54] And when they were come out of the ship, straightway they knew him, [55] And ran through that whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was. [56] And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole.

Matthew 15:21-28 [The Canaanite or Syrophoenician woman. Mark's version (Mark 7:24-30) adds the detail that the woman "went home, and found the child lying in bed, and the demon gone."]
Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. [22] And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
[23] But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
[24] But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
[25] Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
[26] But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.
[27] And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.
[28] Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

Mark 7:31-37 [Jesus heals a deaf mute with the command "Ephphatha;" in Matthew's version (Matthew 15:29-31) "great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the dumb, and many others,... and he healed them..."]
And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. [32] And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him.
[33] And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; [34] And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.
[35] And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. [36] And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it; [37] And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.

Mark 8:22-26 [The blind man at Bethsaida; Jesus uses his spittle as well as laying on of hands]
And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him.
[23] And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.
[24] And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.
[25] After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. [26] And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.

Mark 9:38-41 [The strange exorcist; cf. Luke 9:49-50. The gift of a cup of water is paralleled in Matthew 10:42]
And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us.
[39] But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. [40] For he that is not against us is on our part. [41] For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.

Luke 13:10-17 [The bent woman healed on the Sabbath]
And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. [11] And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. [12] And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.
[13] And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.
[14] And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.
[15] The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? [16] And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?
[17] And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.

Luke 14:1-6 [The man healed of dropsy on the Sabbath]
And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him. [2] And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy.
[3] And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day?
[4] And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go; [5] And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?
[6] And they could not answer him again to these things.

Matthew 17:14-21 [The disciples' abilities as exorcists limited by their apistía, "unbelief" or "want of faith." In Luke 17:5-6, Jesus speaks of the power of "faith as a grain of mustard seed" in response to their plea, "Increase our faith!" rather than to their query, "Why could we not cast it out?" In Mark 9:28-29, Jesus answers this query, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer." Some ancient manuscripts of Mark read "...by anything but prayer and fasting."]
And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, [15] Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. [16] And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
[17] Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. [18] And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
[19] Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
[20] And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. [21] Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.

Luke 17:11-19 [The cleansing of the ten lepers]
And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. [12] And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: [13] And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
[14] And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.
[15] And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, [16] And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.
[17] And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? [18] There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. [19] And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

John 9:1-41 [Jesus heals the man born blind]
And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
[2] And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
[3] Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
[4] I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
[5] As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
[6] When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,
[7] And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
[8] The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged?
[9] Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he.
[10] Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened?
[11] He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight.
[12] Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not.
[13] They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind.
[14] And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.
[15] Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see.
[16] Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.
[17] They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet.
[18] But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight.
[19] And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see?
[20] His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind:
[21] But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself.
[22] These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.
[23] Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him.
[24] Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner.
[25] He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.
[26] Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes?
[27] He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples?
[28] Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses' disciples.
[29] We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is.
[30] The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.
[31] Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.
[32] Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind.
[33] If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.
[34] They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.
[35] Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?
[36] He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?
[37] And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.
[38] And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.
[39] And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
[40] And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
[41] Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

John 11:1-44 [The raising of Lazarus]
Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. [2] (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) [3] Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
[4] When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.
[5] Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. [6] When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was. [7] Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again.
[8] His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?
[9] Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. [10] But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him. [11] These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
[12] Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
[13] Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. [14] Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. [15] And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.
[16] Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellowdisciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.
[17] Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already. [18] Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off: [19] And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. [20] Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.
[21] Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. [22] But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.
[23] Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
[24] Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
[25] Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: [26] And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
[27] She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.
[28] And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee. [29] As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him.
[30] Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him. [31] The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there.
[32] Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
[33] When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, [34] And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.
[35] Jesus wept.
[36] Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him! [37] And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?
[38] Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. [39] Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
[40] Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
[41] Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. [42] And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
[43] And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
[44] And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

Luke 22:47-53 [Jesus, arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, restores the cut-off ear of the high priest's servant. The incident is told in all four gospels (Matthew 26:47-56; Mark 14:43-52; John 18:2-12), but only in Luke does Jesus heal the wounded man. Only in John is the swordsman identified as Peter, and only in John and Matthew is he told explicitly to put his sword back into its sheath. John has Jesus add, "shall I not drink the cup which the Father has given me?" while Matthew has Him add, "for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?"]
And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him.
[48] But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?
[49] When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword?
[50] And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear.
[51] And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.
[52] Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him, Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves? [53] When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.

John 19:28-30 [Jesus finishes His ministry:]
After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.
[29] Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. [30] When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

These weekly scripture readings are now available on the web at the following address:
http://weeklyscripture.blogspot.com/. E-mail j0hnedminster@yahoo.com to request this as a MS Word document.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. - 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Spiritual Healing, No. 5 in a series

2005-03-17T22:15:00.000-05:00

After this second installment from the Book of Acts I expect to return to the healings of Jesus. - JJE

The Healings in the Book of Acts, continued

Acts 10:34-43 [Caesarea: Peter preaches to Cornelius, telling how Jesus of Nazareth "went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him."]
Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: [35] But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.
[36] The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)
[37] That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; [38] How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
[39] And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: [40] Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly; [41] Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.
[42] And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. [43] To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

Acts 14:8-10 [Lystra: Peter heals a cripple, provoking an attempt to hail Paul and Barnabas as the gods Mercurius and Jupiter "come down in the likeness of man," 14:11.]
And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked: [9] The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, [10] Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked.

Acts 16:16-18 [Philippi: Paul exorcises a damsel with a spirit of divination.]
And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: [17] The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. [18] And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

Acts 19:11-17 [Ephesus: During Paul's two-year sojourn at Ephesus, sweat-bands and workmen's aprons brought from Paul's hands convey God's power to heal the sick and exorcise demons; exorcisms by others fail.]
And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: [12] So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
[13] Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. [14] And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
[15] And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
[16] And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. [17] And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.

Acts 20:7-12 [Troas: Paul raises Eutychus from the dead by lying on top of him, as did Elijah and Elisha.]
And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight. [8] And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together.
[9] And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead. [10] And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him. [11] When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed. [12] And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted.

Acts 28:1-6 [Malta: Paul exhibits immunity to a viper's bite.]
And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita. [2] And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold. [3] And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
[4] And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.
[5] And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. [6] Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.

Acts 28:8-9 [Paul heals Publius' father of a fever, and bloody diarrhea, and then other sick people of Malta.]
And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him. [9] So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed:

Spiritual Healing, No. 4 in a series

2005-03-12T15:41:00.000-05:00

I've selected fourteen passages in the Book of Acts that are relevant to the subject of spiritual healing, to be stretched over two weeks. After that I expect to return to the healings of Jesus. - JJE

The Healings in the Book of Acts, Part 1

Acts 3:1-12 [Jerusalem, the gate called Beautiful: Peter commands the lame man to rise up and walk, then begins to preach "repentance unto salvation" to the onlookers, 3:12-26.]
Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. [2] 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; [3] Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
[4] And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. [5] And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
[6] Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. [7] And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ancle bones received strength. [8] And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
[9] And all the people saw him walking and praising God: [10] And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him. [11] 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.
[12] And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?

Acts 4:29-31 [Jerusalem: The Apostles' company prays the Lord to "stretch forth His hand to heal.]
...And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, [30] By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.
[31] And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

Acts 5:12-16 [Jerusalem: Signs and wonders; people seek healing from the passage of Peter's shadow; a multitude from other cities receives healing from the Apostles.]
And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch. [13] And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them. [14] And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.) [15] Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.
[16] There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.

Acts 8:5-8 [Samaria: Philip's mission includes healing.]
Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. [6] And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. [7] For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. [8] And there was great joy in that city.

Acts 9:10-18 [Damascus: Ananias restores Paul's sight.]
And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.
[11] And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, [12] And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.
[13] Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: [14] And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.
[15] But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: [16] For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.
[17] And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. [18] And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.

Acts 9:32-35 [Lydda: Peter heals Aeneas of palsy.]
And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda. [33] And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy. [34] And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately.
[35] And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him, and turned to the Lord.

Acts 9:36-42 [Joppa: Peter raises Tabitha from the dead.]
Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did. [37] And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber.
[38] And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he would not delay to come to them.
[39] Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them.
[40] But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up.
[41] And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive. [42] And it was known throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord.

E-mail j0hnedminster@yahoo.com to request this as a MS Word document.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
- 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Spiritual Healing, No. 3 in a series

2005-03-05T12:52:00.000-05:00

The Healings of Moses

Numbers 12:1-15 [The Lord smites Miriam with leprosy for her disrespect to her brother Moses, then heals her after Moses beseeches Him to do so, 12:13. Several times during the Exodus, the Lord relents after Moses appeals to Him for mercy toward the offending Israelites, sparing them a threatened disinheritance (e.g., Numbers 14:13-25) or saving their lives. But nowhere in the Torah is Moses himself portrayed as a "healer" in the way that Elijah and Elisha are in the Books of Kings.]
And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. [2] And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it. [3] (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)
[4] And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.
[5] And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth. [6] And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. [7] My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. [8] With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
[9] And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed. [10] And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.
[11] And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned. [12] Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother's womb.
[13] And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.
[14] And the LORD said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again.
[15] And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.

Numbers 21:6-9 [The plague of the fiery serpents, and Moses's serpent of brass, which Jesus refers to in John 3:14:]
And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. [7] Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
[8] And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
[9] And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

The Healings of Elijah and Elisha

I consider it important, particularly for a contextual appreciation of the healings of Jesus, that the people to whom He ministered had, as a basis for their faith and hope, a historical tradition in which holy men had served in the past as instruments of divine healing, including three raisings from the dead. In addition to directly conveying healing, Elijah and Elisha also demonstrated prophetic gifts of being able to tell whether an ill person would recover or die: thus Elijah reproaches King Ahaziah for inquiring of "Baalzebub" rather than of God whether his injury would be fatal, II Kings 1:2-6, and Elisha foresees the death of the ailing King Benhadad, II Kings 8:7-15, as later the prophet Isaiah foretells both the death of King Hezekiah and the rescension of his death sentence, II Kings 20:1-11, Isaiah 38. Not included in the following list of healings is Elisha's "healing" of the waters of Jericho with salt, II Kings 2:19-22, nor his detoxification of the poisonous pottage with meal, II Kings 4:38-41. - JJE

I Kings 17:17-24 [Elijah has been sent to the home of the widow of Zarephath ("Sarepta" in Luke 4:26) after the drought has dried up the brook Cherith, where the ravens had been feeding him. Note that Elijah comes close to reproaching God (verse 20) before imploring God for the child's return to life.]
And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. [18] And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?
[19] And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed.
[20] And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? [21] And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again.
[22] And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. [23] And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth.
[24] And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth.

II Kings 4:18-37 [Elisha restores the Shunammite woman's son to life. Elisha, like Elijah in the foregoing passage, "stretches himself upon the child" to help restore life:]
[25] So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite: [26] Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well.
[27] And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.
[28] Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?
[29] Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child.
[30] And the mother of the child said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her.
[31] And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked.
[32] And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.
[33] He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD. [34] And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm.
[35] Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. [36] And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son.
[37] Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out.

II Kings 5:1-19 [Elisha cures Naaman the Syrian of his leprosy, later transferring it to his own servant Gehazi, 5:27, "and unto his seed for ever." Elisha's boast to the king that Naaman "shall know that there is a prophet in Israel," 5:8, implies some expected connection between prophecy and healing in the contemporary mind. Note that Elisha also absolves Naaman of guilt for future involvement in his king's idolatry, 5:18-19.]
Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper. [2] And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife. [3] And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.
[4] And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.
[5] And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.
[6] And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.
[7] And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.
[8] And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.
[9] So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. [10] And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.
[11] But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. [12] Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.
[13] And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?
[14] Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. [15] And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant.
[16] But he said, As the LORD liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused.
[17] And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules' burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the LORD. [18] In this thing the LORD pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon thy servant in this thing.
[19] And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way.

II Kings 13:20-21 [Elisha's final healing work: the Christian tradition that touching a saint's bones might restore health or even life finds its biblical source in this story.]
And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year. [21] And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.

E-mail j0hnedminster@yahoo.com to request this posting as a MS Word document.

Spiritual Healing, No. 2 in a series

2005-02-26T18:29:00.000-05:00

Jeremiah 32:26-27
Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying, [27] Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

I. The Teachings of Jesus relevant to healing ministry and prayer

[A note on the language: The Greek soteria, "salvation," and related words like sozo, "to save," have "healing"or"making whole" as one of their subsidiary meanings (and are so used in the medical writings of Hippocrates), like the Latin salus, salvare, salvatio. Thus in the original Greek text the woman with the issue of blood esothe, "was saved," by touching Jesus' garment, and He then told her that her own faith had "saved" her (that is, healed her), Matthew 9:21-22. Jesus was on His way, at the time, to minister to Jairus' daughter. On being told that the daughter had already died, Jesus replied, "Fear not: believe only, and she shall be saved (sothesetai)," in this context meaning "she shall be brought back to life," Luke 8:50. An article by James Orr, "salvation, Saviour" in Hastings's Dictionary of the Bible explains the many nuances of meaning attaching to soteria in the New Testament. - JJE]

Matthew 7:7-11 [from the Sermon on the Mount. Luke11:9-13 uses almost identical language, substituting a-scorpion-for-an-egg for Matthew's a-stone-for-bread, and "the Holy Spirit" for Matthew's "good things" in the concluding line. The same point is made, using different imagery, in John 16:24, 14:13-14, and 15:7 - "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you."]
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: [8] For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
[9] Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? [10] Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? [11] If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

Luke 18:26-27 [Jesus' answer to the Parable of the Camel and the Needle's Eye - cf. Matt. 19:23-26, Mark 10:23-27.]
And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?
[27] And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

Matthew 18:19-20
Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
[20] For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Luke 9:23-25 [Cf. Matt. 16:24-26, Mark 8:34-36, both of which omit "daily" after "take up his cross," and John 12:25, which parallels verse Luke 9:24 only.]
And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. [24] For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. [25] For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?

Matthew 10:40 [Cf. John 13:20, Luke 10:16]
He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

II: The Commissions to healing ministry and prayer

Luke 4:16-21 [Jesus first speaks of His own divine commission]
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. [17] And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, [18] The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, [19] To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. [20] And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. [21] And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

Matthew 10:1 [Jesus commissions the Twelve - cf. Mark 3:14-15]
And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

Luke 10:1-12 [Jesus commissions the Seventy; much of this material parallels Matthew's account of the commissioning of the Twelve, Matt. 10:1-16.]
After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. [2] Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
[3] Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. [4] Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way. [5] And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. [6] And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again. [7] And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house. [8] And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you: [9] And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
[10] But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, [11] Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. [12] But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.

Mark 16:15-18 [The "Great Commission," from the Longer Ending of Mark (Mark 16:9-20), so called because some of the most ancient authorities end the Gospel of Mark with verse 16:8]
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. [16] He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. [17] And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; [18] They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

Luke 10:36-37 [The ending of the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus asks:]
Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
[37] And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

John 15:16-17 [Jesus' commandment to love one another, the conclusion of a longer passage, beginning with "I am the true vine...ye are the branches," John 15:1-5)]
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. [17] These things I command you, that ye love one another.

III: Jesus' Healings, Exorcisms, and Raisings from the Dead [first installment]

Mark 1:23-34 [Jesus heals the demoniac in the synagogue, Peter's mother-in-law, and the sick at evening - cf. Luke 4:33-41, Matt. 8:14-16. Matthew 8:17 adds this commentary at the end: "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses."]
And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, [24] Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.
[25] And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him.
[26] And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him.
[27] And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him. [28] And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.
[29] And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. [30] But Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her. [31] And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.
[32] And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils. [33] And all the city was gathered together at the door. [34] And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.

Mark 1:40-2:12 [Jesus cleanses a leper, and heals the paralytic let down through a hole in the roof, thereby demonstrating His authority to forgive sins - cf. Luke 5:12-26, Matt. 9:1-8.]
And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
[41] And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. [42] And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.
[43] And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away; [44] And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.
[45] But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.
[2:1] And again he entered into Capernaum, after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. [2] And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them. [3] And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. [4] And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.
[5] When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
[6] But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, [7] Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?
[8] And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? [9] Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?
[10] But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) [11] I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.
[12] And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.

Mark 3:1-12 [Jesus heals the man with the withered hand, and the multitudes by the sea - cf. Matt, 12:9-14, 4:24-25, 12:15-16; Luke 6:6-11, 17-19]
And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. [2] And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.
[3] And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.
[4] And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.
[5] And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.
[6] And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him. [7] But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea, [8] And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him.
[9] And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him. [10] For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues.
[11] And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. [12] And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.

Luke 7:1-17 [Jesus heals the centurion's servant at a distance at Capernaum, and raises the widow's son from the dead at Nain. The first story is paralleled by Matt. 8:5-13; the second is unique to Luke.]
Now when he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum. [2] And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die. [3] And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. [4] And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this: [5] For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue.
[6] Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof: [7] Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed. [8] For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
[9] When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. [10] And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick.
[11] And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. [12] Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. [13] And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.
[14] And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.
[15] And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.
[16] And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people. [17] And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region round about.

Mark 5:1-20 [Jesus exorcises the demoniac who lived among the tombs. Cf. Luke 8:26-39, and Matt. 8:28-34, which refers to two demoniacs, not one]
And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. [2] And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, [3] Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:
[4] Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. [5] And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.
[6] But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, [7] And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.
[8] For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. [9] And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.
[10] And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.
[11] Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. [12] And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.
[13] And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea. [14] And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done.
[15] And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. [16] And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine. [17] And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts.
[18] And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. [19] Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. [20] And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.

Matthew 9:36-38 [Jesus heals in Galilee, and urges the Disciples to pray for more laborers for the harvest - cf. Mark 6:34, Luke 10:2, John 4:35]
And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.[36] But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. [37] Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; [38] Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

Spiritual Healing, No. 1 in a series

2005-02-20T06:46:00.000-05:00

Bible readings for 2/20/2005, on spiritual healing

James 5:13-16
Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. [14] Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: [15] And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
[16] Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

1 Corinthians 12:6-11
And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. [7] But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
[8] For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; [9] To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; [10] To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: [11] But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

1 Corinthians 12:27, 30-31a
Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular....[30] Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? [31] But covet earnestly the best gifts....

[There follow readings relevant to the subject of spiritual healing from every part of the Bible but the Gospels and the Acts, which are so rich in relevant material that I hope to make a separate selection of readings from them for next week. I make two exceptional inclusions from them here because of the important points they make. – JJE]

Jeremiah 17:14
Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.

Deuteronomy 32:39 (from the Song of Moses)
See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.

Psalm 6:2
Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed.

Psalm 30:1-4
I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.
[2] O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.
[3] O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
[4] Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

Psalm 41:1-4
Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.
[2] The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.
[3] The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.
[4] I said, LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.

Psalm 107:17-21
Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted.
[18] Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.
[19] Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.
[20] He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
[21] Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Isaiah 19:22
And the LORD shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the LORD, and he shall be intreated of them, and shall heal them.

Isaiah 57:17-21
For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart. [18] I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners. [19] I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him. [20] But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. [21] There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.

Hosea 14:4 [here the Hebrew raphah, to heal, mend, repair, invigorate, make whole, etc., is used of a moral injury:]
I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.

Job 5:17-18 [Eliphaz the Temanite is speaking:]
Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: [18] For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.

Hosea 6:1-2
Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. [2] After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.

Isaiah 53:4-5
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. [5] But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

1 Peter 2:20-24
For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. [21] For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: [22] Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: [23] Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: [24] Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

Psalm 38:5
My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness.
[This quotation may serve as an example of the common belief that afflictions all come as punishments for sin. But note how, in the quotation following, Jesus challenges that understanding:]

John 9:1-3
And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. [2] And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? [3] Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

Ezekiel 47: 1-12 [from Ezekiel’s vision of the new temple, Ezekiel 40-48]
Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar....
[8] Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. [9] And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh....
[12] And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.

Revelation 22:2 [in imagery reminiscent of Ezekiel’s vision]
In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

Malachi 4:2 [of the “day that shall burn as an oven:”]
But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-3
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
[2] A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
[3] A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up…

Genesis 20:17-18
So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.
[18] For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife.

2 Kings 20:1-7
In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.
[2] Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying, [3] I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
[4] And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying, [5] Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD. [6] And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
[7] And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
[There follows the account of the Miracle of the Sundial, 2 Kings 20:8-11.]

2 Chronicles 30:18-20 [From the story of Hezekiah’s revival of the observance of Passover at Jerusalem:]
…But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good LORD pardon every one [19] That prepareth his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary. [20] And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people.

Jeremiah 6:13-14 [Line 6:14 is repeated at Jeremiah 8:11]
For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. [14] They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

[Paul was made to understand from the first that his ministry was to involve suffering, and taught his flock to understand that he was “appointed thereunto.” Nonetheless he prayed for relief for the “thorn in his flesh,” whose nature we are not told, until God gave him understanding of its purpose:]

Acts 9:15-16 [The Lord is speaking to Ananias of Damascus about Paul:]
But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: [16] For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10
And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. [8] For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
[9] And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. [10] Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

1 Thessalonians 3:1-3
Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone; [2] And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith: [3] That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.

2/13/2005: Another set of readings related to Spiritual Warfare

2005-02-11T14:51:00.001-05:00

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (New Jerusalem Bible translation)
For although we are human, it is not by human methods that we do battle. [4] The weapons with which we do battle are not those of human nature, but they have the power, in God’s cause, to demolish fortresses. It is ideas that we demolish, [5] every presumptuous notion that is set up against the knowledge of God, and we bring every thought into captivity and obedience to Christ[.]

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (my own close-to-literal translation, for closer study)
For though we walk about in flesh (en sarki), we do not wage war after the manner of flesh (kata sarki), [4] for the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but powerful with God (dynata to theo) toward the casting down of fortifications, casting down reasonings (logismous) [5] and every exalted thing (hypsoma) raised up against the knowledge (gnosis) of God, and taking captive every thought (noema) into obedience to Christ.

Matthew 4:1-11
Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. [2] And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. [3] And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.[4] But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
[5] Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,[6] And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.[7] Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.[8] Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;[9] And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.[10] Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. [11] Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.Matthew 11:12
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
Matthew 12:25-26
And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: [26] And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?

Matthew 16:24-26
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. [25] For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. [26] For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Romans 7:11-25, 8:5-8
[11] For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me…. [15] For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. [16] If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. [17] Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. [18] For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. [19] For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. [20] Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. [21] I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. [22] For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: [23] But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. [24] O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? [25] I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin….
[8:5] For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.[6] For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. [7] Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. [8] So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
Romans 12: 17-21
Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. [18] If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. [19] Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. [20] Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. [21] Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

Philippians 2:12
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Revelation 12:7-12And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, [8] And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. [9] And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. [10] And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. [11] And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. [12] Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

Revelation 13:4-8
And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? [5] And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.[6] And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. [7] And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. [8] And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.Revelation 18:4
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

Revelation 19:11-16, 19
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. [12] His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. [13] And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. [14] And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. [15] And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. [16] And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS…. [19] And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army….
Revelation 22:10-15And he [the angel of the Lord] saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. [11] He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. [12] And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. [13] I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. [14] Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. [15] For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

Bible readings for 1/30/05, chiefly about Salvation

2005-02-10T22:27:00.000-05:00

Psalm 91:14-16
Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. [15] He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. [16] With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

Psalm 149:4
For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.

Isaiah 45:20-22
Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save. [21] Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. [22] Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

Mark 13:3-13 (of the Second Coming)
[3] And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, [4] Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?[5] And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you: [6] For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. [7] And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. [8] For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows. [9] But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them. [10] And the gospel must first be published among all nations.[11] But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost. [12] Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death. [13] And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Mark 16:15-16 (after the Resurrection)
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. [16] He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

John 3: 1-21
There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: [2] The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. [3] Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. [4] Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? [5] Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. [6] That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. [7] Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. [8] The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. [9] Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? [10] Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? [11] Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. [12] If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? [13] And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. [14] And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: [15] That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. [16] For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. [17] For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. [18] He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [19] And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. [20] For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. [21] But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

John 5:24-26, 34Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. [25] Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. [26] For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; [27] And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.… [34] But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved.John 10:7-9
Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. [8] All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. [9] I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.Acts 2:14-21 (the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost)
[14] But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: [15] For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. [16] But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;[17] And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: [18] And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: [19] And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: [20] The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: [21] And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. [The reference is to Joel 2:28-32, in which the KJV reads “whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered,” although the Greek verb sothêsetai, “shall be saved,” is the same in Acts and in the LXX (Septuagint, Greek) version of Joel.]

Acts 4:8-12 (after the Jerusalem temple authorities had arrested Peter and John)Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, [9] If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; [10] Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. [11] This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. [12] Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Acts 16:29-31 (the jailer at Philippi, after the earthquake had opened the doors and broken the bands of Paul and Silas)Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, [30] And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?[31] And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth…
2 Corinthians 6:2(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) [The quotation is from Isaiah 49:8.]Ephesians 1:12-14
That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. [13] In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, [14] Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 2:8-10
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: [9] Not of works, lest any man should boast. [10] For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Revelation 12:10
And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
- 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Bible Readings for 2/6/2005 On Spiritual Warfare

2005-02-07T08:53:00.000-05:00

2 Corinthians 10:3-6
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: [4] (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) [5] Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; [6] And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

2 Corinthians 4:7-11
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. [8] We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; [9] Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; [10] Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. [11] For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

2 Corinthians 12:10
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Ephesians 6:10-18
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. [11] Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. [12] For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. [13] Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. [14] Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; [15] And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; [16] Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. [17] And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: [18] Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints...

John 16:33
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

1 John 5:4
For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

Jude 8-9
Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. [9] Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. [Cf. Zechariah 3:2.]

1 Samuel 14:6 (Jonathan and his armourbearer alone mount a successful attack on the Philistines)
And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD will work for us: for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few. [Note that Jonathan makes the attack conditional on a sign, 1 Sam.14:9-10, in a manner comparable to the sign of Gideon's fleece, Judges 6:36-40.]

Romans 8:31
What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

Jeremiah 1:8
Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.

Ezekiel 2:6
And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.

Acts 5:38-39 (Gamaliel persuades the high priest and his company not to slay the Apostles)
And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: [39] But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.

Acts 9:4-5 (Paul's encounter with the Lord on the road to Damascus)
And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? [5] And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

Acts 19:11-16 (Paul at Ephesus)
And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: [12] So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
[13] Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. [14] And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
[15] And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? [16] And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

Revelation 13:10
He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

Isaiah 25:6-26:4
And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. [7] And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.
[8] He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.
[9] And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. [10] For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill.
[11] And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands. [12] And the fortress of the high fort of thy walls shall he bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, even to the dust.
[26:1] In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.
[2] Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.
[3] Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
[4] Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
- 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Scripture Readings Blog

2005-02-07T08:32:00.000-05:00

My Friend John Edminster, of 15th Street Meeting, has for some time been making a regular practice of selecting a group of scripture readings each week, usually united by some theme, and sharing them with interested members of 15th Street Meeting and others. A few Friends, under the care and sponsorship of the Ministry and Worship Committee, have been reading from these selections in a small group on Sunday mornings just a few minutes prior to the 11 a.m. worship.

John's selections often bring together passages whose connection, or relevance to a common subject, would not have been obvious otherwise. I personally have been very much helped by the practice of reading and considering the passages he calls to our attention. With his permission, I have now established this blog with the purpose of making the selections available to others. It is possible that I, too, will recommend other passages from time to time.

John tells me that he regularly takes his readings from the Authorised (King James) Version of the Bible, not because he believes that it always provides the best available translation of every passage, but because it’s the translation he knows best, and he loves the majesty of its language. He also says that he tries to present his selections without editorial comment, unless his comment has to do with the translator’s choice of words to render the original idea, and he tries to include passages that illustrate different sides to the issue at hand: the doctrine of damnation alongside that of God’s expressed wish to save everyone, for example, or the doctrine of “an eye for an eye” justice alongside Jesus’ teaching of love for one’s enemy. He says that in his experience wrestling with the “hard sayings” of scripture can often bring unexpected wisdom.