Sermon
Series: Philippians, Part 5
The Shared Strife of Sanctifying Faith
Philippians
1:27-30
[Audio file on Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/Philippians127-30.]
27
Only let your conversation be as it
becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be
absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one
mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; 28 And in
nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of
perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. 29 For unto you
it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to
suffer for his sake; 30 Having the same conflict which ye saw in me,
and now hear to be in me.
Introduction:
We have already moved in this first
chapter of Paul’s Epistle to the believers in the Church at Philippi from:
1) Paul — Paul addressing their
concerns for him given his present incarceration, and impending imperial trial
(1:12-13), to
2) Other Preachers — their
concerns about the impact of his incarceration on others (1:14-20), and then to
3) The Philippian Christians —
Paul’s concerns for them affecting his personal desires (1:21-26).
Transition:
Now Paul’s concerns for them are made specific, and pointed
at them rather than at him, or at others. In other words, if they were to ask
Paul not what he really wanted for himself, but what he really wanted and
needed from them verses 27 to 30 would be the answer. Paul wants most of all to
hear good news from them, and he is very explicit about what such good news
would look like. Before he is done doing so he will close the circle by making
a direction connection between what he sees them experiencing at Philippi with
his own at Rome.
Outline:
I. The Conduct of the Gospel (1:27)
II. The Proof of Perdition/the Sign of Salvation (1:28)
III. The Calling of Christ (1:29)
IV. The Fellowship of Conflict (1:30)
I. The Conduct of the Gospel (1:27)
Only
let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I
come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand
fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the
gospel;
1. How You Should Then Live (1:27a)
2. Looking For Good News (1:27b)
1. How You
Should Then Live (1:27a)
Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of
Christ
Tit. 2:10 — Not purloining, but shewing all good
fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.
“only” — cp. 1
Cor. 7:39; Gal. 2:10; 2 Th. 2:7; A. T. Robertson, Paul’s Joy in Christ: Studies in Philippians, A. T. Robertson
Library (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1917; 1979 reprint), pg. 102, note 1.
1 Cor. 7:39 — The wife is bound by the law as long as her
husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to
whom she will; only
in the Lord.
Gal. 2:10 — Only they would that we should remember the poor;
the same which I also was forward to do.
2 Th. 2:7 — For the mystery of iniquity doth already
work: only he
who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
“becometh” —
cp. G.
Adolf Deissmann, Bible Studies:
Contributions Chiefly from Papyri and Inscriptions to the History of the
Language, the Literature, and the Religion of Hellenistic Judaism and Primitive
Christianity, trans. Alexander Grieve (Winona Lake, IN: Alpha Publications,
n.d.; 1979 ed., reprint of Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1923, combining both Bibelstudien and Neue Bibelstudien), pg. 248; cited by Robertson, op. cit., pg. 103, note 2.
Deissmann lists as examples of this adverb in formulaic
expressions in the Koine:
1 Th. 2:12 — That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you
unto his kingdom and glory.
Col. 1:10 — That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all
pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of
God;
3 Jn. 6 — Which have borne witness of thy charity before
the church: whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do
well:
[“in a manner worthy of God” — NKJV, NASB, ESV, NIV,
HCSB, NRSV]
Two other examples Deissmann mentions parenthetically as
possible examples of this formula, one used in a repeated negative refrain, and
the second with the reflexive:
Mt. 10:37-38 — 37 He that loveth father or
mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or
daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And he that taketh
not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
Wisdom of Solomon [Apocrypha] 3:5 — And having been a
little chastised, they shall be greatly rewarded: for God proved them, and
found them worthy
for himself.
“conversation”
— The New Living Translation expands
the words of this verse in order to bring out the sense of this word.
“Above all, you must live as
citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News
about Christ.”
In so doing the translators of the NLT have forced the
words of Phil. 3:20 into this verse, and then went on to translate the word
that is here as “conducting.” In Phil. 3:20 the phrase “of heaven” followed the
noun translated there as “citizenship.”
Phil. 3:20 — For
our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the
Lord Jesus Christ:
That is not the case here, so there are no equivalent
words in the original language that would warrant the addition of “live as
citizens of heaven.” At best, in an expanded paraphrase these words could have
been included parenthetically following “conducting yourselves.” If that were
done the expanded paraphrase (not a translation) would appear as follows, e.g.:
“Above all, you must conduct
yourselves (live as citizens, “of
heaven” being understood) in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ.”
Even granting that this is the
sense of the word — with the implication of living responsibly in community — no
other modern translation that I have so far encountered opted to that this
route to bring that out whether in a dynamic equivalent or expanded paraphrase
fashion.
2. Looking For
Good News (1:27b)
that whether I come and see you, or else be absent,
I may
hear of your affairs that ye stand fast in one spirit,
with one mind striving
together for the faith of the gospel;
What Paul longs to hear about the Philippian Church has
two aspects with a common element although with a meaningful distinction.
Pr. 25:25 — As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good
news from a far country.
Pr. 15:30 — The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart:
and a good report maketh the bones fat.
1) Holding the Fort
2) Working Together
Stand…striving
Stand fast…striving together
in one spirit with one mind
for the faith of the gospel
1) Holding
the Fort
that ye stand fast in one spirit
This is the what:
Stand
fast
In one spirit
2) Working
Together
with one mind striving together for the
faith of the gospel
This is the how and the why:
How — Striving
together
With one mind
Why — for
the faith of the gospel
This theme may be found woven throughout the tapestry of
the epistle:
Phil. 1:5 — For your fellowship in the gospel from
the first day until now;
Phil. 2:2 — Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be
likeminded, having the same love, being
of one accord, of one mind.
Phil. 4:1 — Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved
and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.
Elsewhere in the Prison Epistles:
Eph. 4:1-3 — 1 I therefore, the prisoner of
the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are
called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering,
forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of
the Spirit in the bond of peace.
And in Paul’s Corinthian corrrespondence:
1 Cor. 1:10 — Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of
our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no
divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind
and in the same judgment.
1 Cor. 16:13 — Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit
you like men, be strong.
Elsewhere in the New Testament:
Acts 4:32 — And the multitude of them that believed were
of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things
which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
Jude 3 — Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto
you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and
exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once
delivered unto the saints.
II. The Proof of Perdition/the Sign of Salvation (1:28)
And
in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of
perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.
1. The Fourth Freedom:
Freedom From Fear For the Faithful (1:28a)
2. The Proof of Perdition (1:28b)
3. The Sign of Salvation (1:28c)
1. The Fourth Freedom: Freedom From Fear
For the Faithful (1:28a)
And in nothing terrified by your adversaries
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, address to Congress 6 JAN
1941:
“In the future days, which we seek
to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human
freedoms.
The first is freedom of speech and
expression--everywhere in the world.
The second is freedom of every
person to worship God in his own way--everywhere in the world.
The third is freedom from
want--which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which
will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its
inhabitants-everywhere in the world.
The fourth is freedom from
fear--which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of
armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be
in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any
neighbor--anywhere in the world.”
Source: “Our Documents: Franklin Roosevelt's Annual
Address to Congress - The "Four Freedoms" January 6, 1941” on Our Documents: Four Freedoms at http://docs.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/od4frees.html
[accessed 16 DEC 2016].
Norman Rockwell, “The
Four Freedoms”
“The Four Freedoms is a
series of four 1943 oil paintings by the American artist Norman Rockwell. The
paintings—Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom
from Fear—are each approximately 45.75 inches (116.2 cm) × 35.5 inches (90 cm),
and are now in the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The
four freedoms refer to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's January 1941 Four
Freedoms State of the Union address in which he identified essential human
rights that should be universally protected. The theme was incorporated into
the Atlantic Charter, and became part of the charter of the United Nations. The
paintings were reproduced in The Saturday Evening Post over four consecutive
weeks in 1943, alongside essays by prominent thinkers of the day.”
“These are his
best-known works, and by some accounts became the most widely distributed
paintings. At one time they were commonly displayed in post offices, schools,
clubs, railroad stations, and a variety of public and semi-public buildings.”
“Rockwell created 322
magazine covers for The Saturday Evening Post, which was once the most widely
read American magazine.”
“Rockwell's Four
Freedoms—Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom
from Fear—were first published on February 20, February 27, March 6, and March
13, 1943 along with commissioned essays from leading American writers and
historians (Booth Tarkington, Will Durant, Carlos Bulosan, and Stephen Vincent
Benét, respectively).”
Source: Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Freedoms_(Norman_Rockwell) [accessed 18 DEC 2016].
Freedom of Speech
(February 21, 1943)
Freedom of Worship
(February 27, 1943)
Freedom from Want
(March 6, 1943)
Freedom from Fear
(March 13, 1943)
Source: The
Saturday Evening Post at http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2009/01/01/art-entertainment/norman-rockwell-art-entertainment/rockwells-four-freedoms.html
[accessed 16 DEC 2016].
We cannot bear the Name of Christ in this world without
opposition. Those who have bowed the knee to him, and confessed Him as the
resurrected, ascended and enthroned Lord will have enemies. It cannot be
otherwise, and is consistent with the opposition of sin and sinners who commit
sin to the Holy God, and the conflict between the flesh and the Spirit. This
will continue until God’s kingdom has truly and fully come in the New Heavens
and New Earth. This is the teaching of the entire New Testament.
In the Gospels:
Mt. 5:10-12 — 10 Blessed are they which are
persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all
manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be
exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the
prophets which were before you.
Jn. 15:20 — Remember the word that I said unto you, The
servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will
also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
In Acts:
Acts 14:22 — Confirming the souls of the disciples, and
exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much
tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
Acts 7:52 — Which of the prophets have not your fathers
persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the
Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:
Acts 22:4 — And I persecuted this way unto the death,
binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.
Acts 26:11 — And I punished them oft in every synagogue,
and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I
persecuted them even unto strange cities.
In the Epistles:
1 Cor. 4:12 — And labour, working with our own hands:
being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:
1 Cor. 15:9 — For I am the least of the apostles, that am
not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
2 Cor. 4:9 — Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but
not destroyed;
Gal. 1:13 — For ye have heard of my conversation in time
past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of
God, and wasted it:
Gal. 1:23 — But they had heard only, That he which
persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed.
Gal. 4:29 — But as then he that was born after the flesh
persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
1 Th. 2:15 — Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their
own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary
to all men:
2 Tim. 3:12 — Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ
Jesus shall suffer persecution.
In the Revelation:
Rev. 12:13 — And when the dragon saw that he was cast
unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.
2. The Proof of
Perdition (1:28b)
which is to them an evident token of perdition
This is both an interesting statement, and a startling
truth.
We must ask — to be sure that we understand what Paul
wanted the Philippians in the first place to comprehend — what it is that is “a
proof of perdition” (NKJV), “a sign of destruction” (NASB, HCSB), “a clear
sign…of their destruction” (ESV), “a sign…that they will be destroyed” (NIV),
“a sign…that they are going to be destroyed” (NLT), or “a token of destruction”
(YLT)?
What is the significance of the token being modified by
“evident”?
Evident to who? Don’t miss this! Could it be evident to
them? Do they have eyes to see?
In any case, it is evident to the saints!
The destruction spoken of here is as inevitable as it is
eternal for any and all outside of Christ in that day of Final Judgment which
is coming very, very soon.
2 Th. 1:4-6 — 4 So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your
patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: 5
Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may
be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: 6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to
them that trouble you;
3. The Sign of
Salvation (1:28c)
but to you of salvation and that of God
How the same answer provides an opposite confirmation is
amazing, that is, apart from the truth of the Gospel. The divide between
salvation and perdition, faith and unbelief, sin and holiness, etc. is nowhere
more clearly seen than in the spiritual warfare that only increases in
intensity as the time of the Second Advent approaches.
“The signal of life or death comes from God, not from the
fickle crowd at a gladiatorial show.”
— Robertson, op. cit.,
pg. 107.
“Thumbs up” from God on the throne!
III. The Calling of Christ (1:29)
For
unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but
also to suffer for his sake;
See Robertson, op. cit.,
pg. 107, note 2 on the “broken structure” of this sentence.
1. The Gift Given for the Giver (1:29a)
2. The Faith in Christ that Justifies (1:29b)
3. The Suffering for Christ that Sanctifies (1:29c)
1. The Gift
Given for the Giver (1:29a)
For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ
What follows is expressed as a gift of God’s grace. Don’t
miss this.
The exact same construction is found in the original
language here translated as “in the behalf of Christ” and “for his sake.” Some
translations have observed this, and maintained the identity in the translation
(NASB, ESV, YLT).
There are two aspects to the calling of Christ’s
disciples that flow from God to His people which are here presented as “grace
gifts”:
1) believe on Him
2) suffer for His sake
Both elements are seen as “for His sake,” but it is the
second that is the point being emphasized in the context Scripturally and
historically for the Philippian recipients. Even with that being understood the
first element becomes very interesting when considered as “in the behalf of
Christ”!
2. The Faith in
Christ that Justifies (1:29b)
not only to believe on him
Faith is a grace gift of God. It is not an intrinsic
ability of mankind. We are commanded in the Gospel to believe, but this is
impossible for the natural man to obey apart from the regeneration of the Holy
Spirit of God enabling and empowering the new nature begun in that new birth to
respond obediently to the call to believe on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
On Eph. 2:8-9; Acts 18:27; 2 Pet. 1:1; and Acts 13:48 see
my file on “Faith is the Gift of God”
(in the Appendix of this sermon).
3. The
Suffering for Christ that Sanctifies (1:29c)
but also to suffer for his sake
Throughout the New Testament — consistent with the
experiences of the redeemed in the Old Testament — faith is linked to
suffering. Believing the Gospel of Jesus Christ is directly connected to
persecution by those without such faith. The wrath of man exhibited in the
crucifixion of the Son of God has not been exhausted. There is an ample supply
of antichristian wrath in the world today, and more can be expected as the end
draws near.
Oh, and by the way, “What happened to the “Health &
Wealth” false gospel?” Don’t you believe a word of it! Christians should expect
to have more in common with the realities experienced in the lives of Job,
those in the cloud of witnesses in Hebrews 11, and the saints in the 1st
century, the intervening centuries, and many places in the world in our own day.
False teachers have factored these Scriptural truths out of their theology. The
realities in the history of God’s dealings with His people is not in view in
the teachings of “Health & Wealth” heretics.
Heb. 11:35-40 — 35 Women received their dead
raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that
they might obtain a better resurrection: 36 And others had trial of
cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: 37
They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the
sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute,
afflicted, tormented; 38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they
wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 39
And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the
promise: 40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they
without us should not be made perfect.
The true Gospel is about Christ the Suffering Servant
offering Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the redemption of His people. The
reality of the suffering of His people on His behalf seems strange, especially
if it is understood as somehow benefiting Christ. In one sense, it almost seems
like a reversal or mirror image of the Gospel.
IV. The Fellowship of Conflict (1:30)
Having
the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.
Now Paul comes full circle closing the ring by connecting
the experiences of the Philippian Christians to himself and his own
experiences. There is a temporal and geographical triangle involved in these
words that take us from Paul’s experiences at Philippi, to his present
experiences in Rome, and then back to Philippi with the present experiences of
the Philippian Christians.
1. Remember What You Saw (1:30a) — The Past with Paul at
Philippi
2. Nothing Has Changed in What You Hear (1:30b) — The
Present with Paul in Rome
3. It Is No Different With You (1:30a) — Closing the
Circle — The Present with the Philippian Christians
1. Remember
What You Saw (1:30a) — The Past with Paul at Philippi
which ye saw in me
Their connection to what they observed of Paul’s
suffering for the faith in Philippi first hand
Acts 16:19-40 — [the account of “the prison break” and
the conversion of the Philippian jailer]
1 Th. 2:2 — But even after that we had suffered before,
and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God
to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention.
1 Tim. 6:12 — Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on
eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good
profession before many witnesses.
Heb. 10:32 — But call to remembrance the former days, in
which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions;
Heb. 12:1 [Gr.] — Wherefore seeing we also are compassed
about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and
the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race
that is set before us,
2. Nothing Has
Changed in What You Hear (1:30b) — The Present with Paul in Rome
and now hear to be in me
Their connection to what Paul is enduring in Rome which they
learned of second hand
Col. 1:29 — Whereunto I also labour, striving according
to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
2 Tim. 4:7 — I have fought a good fight, I have finished
my course, I have kept the faith:
3. It Is No Different With You (1:30a) — Closing the Circle — The Present with the
Philippian Christians
Having the same conflict
[Sermon preached 18 DEC 2016 by Pastor John T. “Jack”
Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA.]
Complete Outline:
I. The Unity of the Gospel (1:27)
1. How You Should Then Live
(1:27a)
2. Looking For Good News (1:27b)
1) Holding the Fort
2) Working Together
II. The Proof of Perdition/the Sign of Salvation (1:28)
1. The Fourth Freedom: Freedom From Fear For the Faithful (1:28a)
2. The Proof of Perdition
(1:28b)
3. The Sign of Salvation (1:28c)
III. The Calling of Christ (1:29)
1. The Gift Given for the Giver
(1:29a)
2. The Faith in Christ that
Justifies (1:29b)
3. The Suffering for Christ that
Sanctifies (1:29c)
IV. The Fellowship of Conflict (1:30)
1. Remember What You Saw (1:30a)
— The Past with Paul at Philippi
2. Nothing Has Changed in What
You Hear (1:30b) — The Present with Paul in Rome
3. It Is No Different With You
(1:30a) — Closing the Circle — The Present with the Philippian Christians
Appendix: Faith
is the Gift of God
Acts 18:27 is the verse the Lord used to convince me that
faith is a gift of God's grace.
“And when he was disposed to pass
into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who,
when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace:”
If the structure of the last phrase in Acts 18:27 is
compared to Eph. 2:8 it should be seen as a “game changer” for any who would
deny that faith is the gift of God.
“For by grace
are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”
If it is insisted
that it is the “salvation” and not the “faith” that is the “gift of God” there,
just as it is “by grace,” that insistence is silenced by the phrasing of Acts
18:27. That simply will not work in Acts
18:27, and should give sufficient pause to rethink the conclusions usually
drawn from Eph. 2:8 on this subject.
I would add 2 Pet. 1:1,
“Simon Peter, a servant and an
apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us
through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”
On this verse I would direct attention to the treatment
of the Greek verb “lagcanw” (“to obtain”) by
Hermann Hanse (1910-1942):
“Even where there is no casting of
lots, the attainment is not by one's own effort or a as a result of one's own
exertions, but is like ripe fruit falling into one's lap. This is always to be kept in mind." (IV:1)
"In this sentence the point of
lagcanein is that faith has come to
them from God with no co-operation on their part. That faith is the work, not of man, but of
God or Christ, is not stated with equal clarity in all parts of the NT, but it
must be constantly borne in mind. It can
be seen plainly in Ac. 13:48....God does not merely give to both Jews and
Gentiles the possibility of faith; He effects faith in them. Eph. 2:8 makes it especially plain that all
is of grace and that human merit is completely ruled out....Faith is not the
presupposition of the grace of God. As a
divine gift, it is the epitome and demonstration of the grace of God. “Those
who have attained to faith” points finally, then, to predestination as a free
act of divine grace. Here one is at the
very frontiers of theological utterance.
All is of grace, and yet God is righteous.” (IV:2)
Source: Theological Dictionary of the New Testament,
ed. Gerhard Kittel, trans. and ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley (Grand Rapids: Wm. B.
Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1967; from Theologishces
Worterbuch zum Neuen Testament, Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer Verlag, n.d.),
IV:1-2., s.v. “lagcanw.”
In a footnote following the first sentence cited from pg.
2 Hanse includes as supporting documentation Bengel (Gnomon of the New Testament), C. Bigg (ICC commentary), and J. B.
Mayor (The Epistle of Jude, 1907).
Hanse made reference to Acts 13:48
which should “seal the deal:”
“And when the
Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as
many as were ordained to eternal life believed.”
Note:
Hanse died at a very young age (32) presumably during WWII in
Germany. Little else is known about him,
but considering where he lived and when, it may be safe to assume that he had
“no axe to grind” when it came to Calvinist and Arminian controversies. That should make the strength of his
treatment of this verb all the more worthy of consideration by objective
students.
Sola
Gratia, Soli Deo Gloria,
John T. "Jack" Jeffery
Pastor, Wayside Gospel Chapel
Greentown, PA
to
the Wayside Gospel Chapel blog at http://waysidegospelchapel.blogspot.com/2012/02/faith-is-gift-of-god.html [accessed 10 FEB 2012].
Faith is the Gift of God
by John T. Jeffery
Copyright 2012 by
John T. Jeffery.
All rights
reserved.
The use of
excerpts or reproduction of this material is prohibited
without written
permission from the author.
Contact the author
at:
johntjeff at verizon dot net
