Bible Study WELCOME TO AN IN DEPTH STUDY OF MATTHEW'S GOSPEL.

[Chopper]

Chopper, I understand you and others were probably shocked at what I said in my thread on The Spirit of Truth. There, I tried to tell a story and it didn't go over well. But seeing that you choose "The Holy Spirit Speaks" as the title for your topic, I feel compelled to share the thoughts that rest on my heart, but I shall try to do so a little more direct, and I believe this to be appropriate for your study. In that thread, I was hoping people would examine what it was that they attributed to the Holy Spirit, seeing that John 15:26 lets us know that Jesus sends the Holy Spirit, or the Spirit of Truth from the Father with the purpose of testifying of Christ.

A few weeks ago in this bible study tread, when covering the scriptures that straight is the way and narrow is the gate that leads to life and few there be that find it; you made a comment about Peter and his Revelation of Christ, for Jesus said unto him that Flesh and Blood had not revealed it unto him, but my Father which is in Heaven. John 15:26 only confirms this same thought, as Jesus sends forth Holy Spirit to testify of Him, being Christ.

In Luke 24, we find after that Jesus had risen, he appeared unto his disciples, and they knew him not. The very same disciples who had walked and talked with Jesus in the flesh, the same disciples that saw and witnessed the miracles that Jesus performed. Taught from the very lips of the master himself. And yet for all of this, they did not know the Spirit of Christ when he walked with them.

Luke 24:15-17 And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?

Luke 24:21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel:

Luke 24:25-27 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

Luke 24:30-32 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures.

Luke 24:43-45 And he took it, and did eat before them. And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures.

Luke 24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

2 Corinthians 3:14-15 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.

There are many different Spirits of God, but Jesus told us to listen the a particular one, The Spirit of Truth and Comforter that testifies of Him.

Luke 9:54-56 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them.

There is no denying that Elijah was a mighty prophet of God, as surely as the Spirit of the Lord was upon him. But when asked if they should call fire down from Heaven as Elijah did, Jesus rebuked them; saying know you not which Spirit you are of?

The scripture tells us that the Just shall live Faith. The scripture also tells us that Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God, who is the Spirit of Truth. We only have but to listen for Him in our hearts. Which Spirit should we be listening for: The Spirit of Wrath or the Spirit of Grace?

Could you please increase my understanding about this statement of yours? "There are many different Spirits of God, but Jesus told us to listen the a particular one, The Spirit of Truth and Comforter that testifies of Him." Are these "spirits" created beings? or are you speaking of the "nature" of a subject.

 

[Chopper]

You have given an observation of what transpired during this encounter, but you have not approached to considering the question that I asked. We are to listen for the Spirit of Christ that we may hear the Word of God, the spirit of truth. I do not ask about the words written on the page, I ask you to consider what you perceive within yourself when you hear these words. Do you think of yourself as Jesus passing judgement and condemnation to Pharisee? Or do you think of yourself as the Pharisee being judged?

I'm like Jesus, passing judgment on the Pharisees.

 

[Chopper]

When I think of being wise as serpents and harmless as doves, I think of these figures in the scriptures and how God used them symbolically.
YLT
Num 21:8 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Make for thee a burning serpent , and set it on an ensign; and it hath been, every one who is bitten and hath seen it--he hath lived.
Num 21:9 And Moses maketh a serpent of brass, and setteth it on the ensign, and it hath been, if the serpent hath bitten any man, and he hath looked expectingly unto the serpent of brass--he hath lived.

Those who were wise looked with faith.

Son 2:14 My dove, in clefts of the rock, In a secret place of the ascent, Cause me to see thine appearance, Cause me to hear thy voice, For thy voice is sweet, and thy appearance comely.
Son 2:15 Seize ye for us foxes, Little foxes--destroyers of vineyards, Even our sweet-smelling vineyards.
Son 2:16 My beloved is mine, and I am his, Who is delighting among the lilies,
Son 2:17 Till the day doth break forth, And the shadows have fled away, Turn, be like, my beloved, To a roe, or to a young one of the harts, On the mountains of separation!

The dove hides herself in the cleft of the Rock.
Watch out for the little foxes.

Son 2:4 He hath brought me in unto a house of wine, And his banner over me is love,

I'm His beloved and He is mine, His banner over me is love.

Wow Deb, what insight you have. Spirit led for sure. I really, really like V.14. His voice is sweet, and His appearance handsome....Thank you for posting that portion of Scripture, my spirit within me smiled.

 

[ezrider]

Could you please increase my understanding about this statement of yours? "There are many different Spirits of God, but Jesus told us to listen the a particular one, The Spirit of Truth and Comforter that testifies of Him." Are these "spirits" created beings? or are you speaking of the "nature" of a subject.

I may to some extent be speaking of the "nature" of a spirit, but I am talking about what we call the Spirit of God, or the Holy Spirit.

The book of Revelation talks of the Seven Spirits of God, the seven candlesticks and the seven churches. Seven Spirits of God, all referred to as the Holy Spirit, The Spirit sent forth from the Father. But the promise of salvation comes from listening to one particular Spirit amongst the Spirits of the Lord. Jesus in his teaching tells you which one to listen for: the one that testifies of him.

 

[ezrider]

I'm like Jesus, passing judgment on the Pharisees.

Take it for what it is worth to you, but I can tell you one thing: You have never truly heard the Word of God until you can hear it as the Pharisee being judged.
That is all I will say here. I have more that I would like to add, but I will take up a private conversation to discuss this further.

 

[th1b.taylor]

I may to some extent be speaking of the "nature" of a spirit, but I am talking about what we call the Spirit of God, or the Holy Spirit.

The book of Revelation talks of the Seven Spirits of God, the seven candlesticks and the seven churches. Seven Spirits of God, all referred to as the Holy Spirit, The Spirit sent forth from the Father. But the promise of salvation comes from listening to one particular Spirit amongst the Spirits of the Lord. Jesus in his teaching tells you which one to listen for: the one that testifies of him.

Revelation 3:1 indicates that Jesus Christ "holds" the seven spirits of God. Revelation 4:5 links the seven spirits of God with seven burning lamps that are before God's throne. Revelation 5:6 identifies the seven spirits with the "seven eyes" of the Lamb and states that they are "sent out into all the earth."

Jusy hoping to clarify EZ, they are not the Holy Spirit, one being, third person of the Triune God and is able, as one Spirit to live in the hearts of every man at the same time.

 

[Chopper]

NOTE: This will be my last teaching in this Bible Study. I'm sure all of you know what a wild couple of weeks that are ahead of us. I have a tremendous amount of time that I have to devote to my home in preparations for Christmas and the New Year. Basically, it appears impossible to spend the time presenting the Study and get the necessary work done. My Wife still works 40hrs

Karl....would you like to get your feet wet, so to speak, and comment on Matthew, starting at 10:24 until you start Leviticus? I would be able to post some comments when I get time and that would help me in a great way....I hate to bail out of teaching so early, and if it wasn't so necessary, I wouldn't.

Thanks everyone for your understanding. My Wife still works 40hrs a week and I have to do her duties plus mine.

 

[reba]

Chopper you are loved....

 

[Chopper]

Day 93 Friday 12/19/14 Matthew 10:21-23 Family Killing.

Matthew 10:21 "And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
10:23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come."

This portion of Scripture has terrible persecution written all over it! I can't even imagine a time when parents would turn over their children to be tortured and killed because they had left Judaism for a life of service to the Messiah of which the Jews refused to believe, and hated with a passion. For me, this portion is a little confusing because I can't seem to get my mind to picture an event where such persecution happened. I'm not a good student of the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70. Reba is a lot more knowledgeable on that subject than I am. I have never read of the events leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem or after.

Another thought of terrible persecution was in the time of rule in Rome with Nero as the head. Does anyone know if the families who had members that had converted to Christianity would "turn in" those who had converted to the authorities? It does seem likely that it did happen.

Another time might have been when Saul (Paul) was persecuting the Church of Jesus Christ.

V.21 What a picture of heathen persecution! I can't even imagine circumstances where by I would turn over my wonderful Daughter to the ugly and barbaric torture practices of of the heathen.

V.22 Whenever this kind of persecution took place, the Christians who did not apostatize and decide that Christianity wasn't worth that kind of treatment. But they would find in the end that their persecution was well rewarded by the Lord Who was with them all the way home. I'm sure that there must have been those "goody two shoes" that would teach, "Oh, Jesus wouldn't allow such treatment of real Christians." I'm sure that the old devil would be there getting those who make a profession of faith in Jesus to bail out!

V.23 The Christians who were escaping just ahead of the officials who were after them, were to keep running for their lives as fugitives. There were those who were basically thinking, I'm going to get caught at some time in the near future and this life of a fugitive stinks! I might as well give up and become a martyr for Christ. That was not Jesus' plan for His flock. They were to keep going, witnessing the Gospel as they fled from city to city until they were trapped.

Approximately 30 years after this account, Jerusalem was destroyed. I admit that the reference to the Lord coming is a mystery. I don't know if it refers to his appearance after His resurrection, or His coming back before the thousand year reign.

I'm really sorry to have to stop my teaching of this wonderful Gospel of Matthew. Unfortunately, as much as I try and "get in the Spirit" I find my mind torn between this study and all the things that are ahead of me that need to get done. To top it all off, my Wife has a list, oh yes! "the list" all husbands have a list of things that have to get done. So, I'll leave off, and get to work.

 

[reba]

Leave'em asking for more? The rule here is family first... ....

 

[Deborah13]

Thanks Chopper for all your hard work.

I'll pray that you get your 'honey do' list done with the least amount of effort. :wink

 

[ezrider]

Day 93 Friday 12/19/14 Matthew 10:21-23 Family Killing.

Matthew 10:21 "And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.
10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

I can't even imagine a time when parents would turn over their children to be tortured and killed because they had left Judaism for a life of service to the Messiah of which the Jews refused to believe, and hated with a passion. For me, this portion is a little confusing because I can't seem to get my mind to picture an event where such persecution happened. I'm not a good student of the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70. Reba is a lot more knowledgeable on that subject than I am. I have never read of the events leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem or after.

John Lennon once said its easy to imagine, only if we try.

If we were but to only listen to what the spirit saith, then you would see that we are the one's delivering up our own brothers to death. We do this when we accuse them of sin. We do this when we place on them the burdens of the Law as the measure of righteousness and perfection. We knowingly loose friends and family members over our interpretation of the Bible, and we set ourselves apart. We sit as a judge and condemn them to death for not believing, and because we find ourselves hated of all men, we make a fatal assumption about that hatred, and use it to re-affirm our own beliefs.

 

[Chopper]

Chopper you are loved....

Thank you Reba, that means a lot, especially because you said it.

 

[Chopper]

Thanks Chopper for all your hard work.

I'll pray that you get your 'honey do' list done with the least amount of effort. :wink

Deb, you're so sweet, you and Reba have been a huge encouragement to me. I always looked forward to your comments. The many times that I was discouraged by so few people commenting on the studies, you and Reba never failed to be positive and have uplifting words of comfort, and besides that, your comments were always "right on." I love you both more than I can express.

 

[Chopper]

John Lennon once said its easy to imagine, only if we try.

If we were but to only listen to what the spirit saith, then you would see that we are the one's delivering up our own brothers to death. We do this when we accuse them of sin. We do this when we place on them the burdens of the Law as the measure of righteousness and perfection. We knowingly loose friends and family members over our interpretation of the Bible, and we set ourselves apart. We sit as a judge and condemn them to death for not believing, and because we find ourselves hated of all men, we make a fatal assumption about that hatred, and use it to re-affirm our own beliefs.

Interesting.

 

[ezrider]

Matt 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Many would like to jump on the words without cause as if they are a lawyer, justifying their own actions pleading in their own defense. But what is your cause?

The Scripture says be ye perfect, even as I am perfect. Jesus said to forgive one another as I have forgiven you. The Lord has blotted out our sins, so that he does not see them any more that we might come back to a living relationship with him. If that is the covenant that you profess to proclaim, why then do you still look for sin in you brethren?

 

[Chopper]

Matt 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Many would like to jump on the words without cause as if they are a lawyer, justifying their own actions pleading in their own defense. But what is your cause?

The Scripture says be ye perfect, even as I am perfect. Jesus said to forgive one another as I have forgiven you. The Lord has blotted out our sins, so that he does not see them any more that we might come back to a living relationship with him. If that is the covenant that you profess to proclaim, why then do you still look for sin in you brethren?

I tend not to look for sin in a Brother. But, if I happen to observe a Brother who is committing a sin, I might approach that Brother according to James,
James 5:19 "Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
James 5:20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins."

I have even had the Holy Spirit speak to my mind to warn a Brother that he was in a bad situation. I suspected that it was another woman other than his Wife, but the Holy Spirit did not want me to question him about that. Later, approx. two months, he confessed that he did not heed the warning of God and now was in trouble, He also said that he believed that God told me to warn him. About 6 months later, I learned that he left his Wife and two Daughters for another woman and moved to Florida....How does that fit into your thinking?

 

[ezrider]

I tend not to look for sin in a Brother. But, if I happen to observe a Brother who is committing a sin, I might approach that Brother according to James,
James 5:19 "Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
James 5:20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins."

I have even had the Holy Spirit speak to my mind to warn a Brother that he was in a bad situation. I suspected that it was another woman other than his Wife, but the Holy Spirit did not want me to question him about that. Later, approx. two months, he confessed that he did not heed the warning of God and now was in trouble, He also said that he believed that God told me to warn him. About 6 months later, I learned that he left his Wife and two Daughters for another woman and moved to Florida....How does that fit into your thinking?

I am not really sure what you are asking me. How does what fit into my way of thinking? Perhaps you could re-phrase your question in our private conversation. We should let this study get back to the scriptures of the day.

I would like to point out one thing though:

James 5:20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins."

Beware of the temptation that the knowledge of this verse brings with it. We have seen the error of our own ways, and with this piece of knowledge we feel compelled to share with people the joy of our salvation. But instead of the joy of our salvation, we begin preaching a different gospel. Instead of the gospel of salvation and grace, we promise the wrath of God unless they turn from the error of their ways. But the knowledge of this scripture offers us an incentive; because if we can just convert one sinner, then we can hide a multitude of our own sins. And in our zeal to please the Lord we set out to do our own works to bring souls to Christ by teaching them the knowledge of sin so they might believe in the wrath of God and turn from the error of their ways.

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves"

Instead of the gospel of salvation and the Gospel of Christ, by our own works we have preached a message of obedience to the knowledge of sin and fear in the face of the judgement of God, and the promise of God's salvation in Christ. Presuming ourselves to be saving a soul from death, but without the true Gospel message, we have only delivered them to the knowledge of their death. Powerless to deliver on the promise of the Lord's Salvation. Do we even understand what the Gospel of Christ is all about?

 

[Chopper]

Hi folks, I was looking at Matthew 10:24 The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. 10:25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

I see a couple of things happening here. One is a caution to me that even thou I have had, over the years, very learned teachers, I must never consider that I have passed them in knowledge and practice. There is something in our ego that craves boasting of our achievements so that we become the learned teacher and people should come to me rather than the teacher who taught me. Oh my, that wretched ego. Second, any criticism that comes to my teacher will come to me as well because I have been taught by him, and that makes us as one. Back in time, I would have been taught by one man, not several. Therefore my teacher and me, are the same.

In this text, Jesus is warning His Disciples that as they go out and preach the Gospel, they will be attacked in the same way Jesus would be attacked. This danger to the Disciples minds was important because the Disciples might have been so discouraged over being slandered by what Jesus' enemies were calling Jesus, and not realizing that the Disciples were not what Jesus claimed to be, God in the flesh.

Beelzebul was the god of dung....Beelzebub was the fly god of which they were referring to Jesus as....A long time ago, I saw on TV, a pathetic picture of starving men, women, and children. They had fly's all over them, in their eye's, nose, etc. It wasn't until I realized that the fly was one of their god's, that of course they would not swat one of their god's. Pathetic!

 

[Karl]

Matt 10:24 The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.
10:25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

Hello all, I would like to thank you for this privilege in leading you into the study of the Word, so in continuing on where our dear brother Chopper has left off let’s bow our hearts in a word of prayer,

Father, we come before your throne of Grace to find mercy and help in time of need, we ask Father to open our ears and hearts so that Your Word may sink deep into our souls, that we will be fed by Your Holy Spirit, …in the name of Your Son Jesus Christ. Amen

We will be continuing on with the instructions Jesus was giving to His disciples before sending them out to preach the Gospel to the lost sheep of the house of Israel that started in vs 5 and lasts until the end of the chapter.

V 24. The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his Lord.

The very definition of a disciple is they are learners, one of the principle requirements to be a disciple is humility, along with this position of humility comes the ability/capacity to be teachable, without humility there can be a “know it all” attitude or an attitude of “preconceived ideas,” it’s this attitude that causes us to “resist” the Holy Spirit of Truth as Stephen accused the Sanhedrin Acts 7:51 and in so doing we rest in darkness as Judas Iscariot, one of these very disciples, is our proof.

In the second part of this verse we see Jesus raising the bar, if we are faithful disciples then the day will come when we might decide to become the Master’s servant, up until that time our lives remained our own, but when we become servants we give up the rights to our lives and become bond slaves, out of love for our Lord, to do His will and calling.

V 25. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

Again, a disciple can learn from his Master and be able to teach others, be distinguished, recognized in the community, find favor with/from men, but the very name, “servant” implies the opposite, …work, suffering, no recognition, and Jesus is telling them as His servants they can expect to be treated and misunderstood as their Lord was being treated and misunderstood, …but notice His loving encouragement, calling them of His household, …disciples go home when school is over, …servants rest in the house with their Lord.

It is my hope and prayer we would all pass from being disciples to becoming bond slaves (servants) for our Lord.

Comments, additions, thoughts are welcomed,

Lord bless you.