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

[Deborah13]

 

[eddif]

Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 16:14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 16:15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

So hell is a structure too? Why mention this? All things have a foundation / creator(?). Matthew 25:41

So what is the foundation? Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
The Father is implied?
The Father and The Son. The father and the son are one.

The father is part of the foundation?

Are the apostles of Revelation 21:14 the first course of living stones?

Nothing like a few questions.

eddif

 

[Chopper]

NOTE: Opps! I forgot to post Verse 13.

Matthew 16:13-20

See also Mar_8:27-29, and Luk_9:18-20.
Cesarea Philippi - There were two cities in Judea called Caesarea. One was situated on the borders of the Mediterranean (See the notes at Act_8:40), and the other was the one mentioned here. This city was greatly enlarged and ornamented by Philip the tetrarch, son of Herod, and called Caesarea in honor of the Roman emperor, Tiberius Caesar. To distinguish it from the other Caesarea the name of Philip was added to it, and it was called Caesarea Philippi, or Caesarea of Philippi. It was situated in the boundaries of the tribe of Naphtali, at the foot of Mount Hermon. It is now called Panias or Banias, and contains (circa 1880’s) about 200 houses, and is inhabited chiefly by Turks. The word “coasts” here now usually applied to land in the vicinity of the sea - means “borders” or “regions.” He came into the part of the country which appertained to Cesarea Philippi. He was passing northward from the region of Bethsaida, on the coasts of Magdala Mat_15:39, where the transactions recorded in the previous verses had occurred.

 

[Chopper]

Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 16:14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 16:15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

So hell is a structure too? Why mention this? All things have a foundation / creator(?). Matthew 25:41

So what is the foundation? Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
The Father is implied?
The Father and The Son. The father and the son are one.

The father is part of the foundation?

Are the apostles of Revelation 21:14 the first course of living stones?

Nothing like a few questions.

eddif

Good questions eddif. It is my opinion that God the Father is the foundation of all matter.

As far as the foundation of the New Jerusalem goes, It is called the "Bride of Christ". Therefore we must conclude that we are looking at the Church age in which the Apostles were the workers on what the great Architect, Jesus Christ laid down the plans past, present, and future, of which, under the direction of Jesus, founded the first century Church. It is only fitting that Jesus Christ would be the Corner Stone, and the twelve Apostles would be named the other foundation stones to make up the whole foundation of the glorious City of God.

 

[Chopper]

June 6th 2015 Matthew 16:21-23 Things Of Men.

Matthew 16:21 "From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 16:22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you." 16:23 But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."

We now have moved to a place where Jesus changes from hinting that He would eventually go to Jerusalem and die because the Disciples were still quite new in this spiritual information. Now that they had been with Jesus for quite some time, Jesus makes it plain now that the time has come for a clear picture of Him being a sacrifice in Jerusalem.

In the fashion that Peter so often operated in, he immediately responds with a sort of rebuke which according to Jewish rules was out of line for a student to rebuke his Master. I think I would have done the same. I can think of many folk, including myself, that when it came to news that a loved one had a terminal disease that would take a life, almost always, our response is "God forbid".

Jesus knew that it was His old enemy Satan who was up to no good and inspiring Peter to respond the way he did. I don't believe that Jesus was calling Peter Satan, He was simply identifying the source of the statement of Peter. I think the next statement of Jesus was to Satan and Peter. "For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."

This last quote is a reminder to all of us to "abide" in Jesus as much as is possible for mortal man. If we are watchful for the coming of Jesus to return for His Bride before the "tribulation", if we are watchful for the signs of the times (A personal note on those signs, is this; please don't look at America for those signs, look at most of the heathen nations of the world. Our observation of those nations will cause us to realize that Jesus is due at any time. The prophesy's have and are coming about.)

 

[ezrider]

This last quote is a reminder to all of us to "abide" in Jesus as much as is possible for mortal man. If we are watchful for the coming of Jesus to return for His Bride before the "tribulation", if we are watchful for the signs of the times (A personal note on those signs, is this; please don't look at America for those signs, look at most of the heathen nations of the world. Our observation of those nations will cause us to realize that Jesus is due at any time. The prophesy's have and are coming about.)

If I may Chopper, because I think it is important in how we perceive things, let me ask this question. If you are watching for the signs of the times, what are the signs that you are looking for? Are you looking for signs of judgement or the signs of the righteousness of Christ and the assurance of your salvation?

 

[eddif]

I Corinthians 15:3
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Salvation came from a specific plan in scripture. Both the Matthew passage and the Corinthians passage agree. Peter was hindering the importance of the death of Jesus. The father had a plan. Jesus was following the plan from scripture.

eddif

 

[Malachi]

"For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."

This is the key to this passage. The things of man pertain to this life and are equated with "the things of this world" -- pride, possessions, prosperity, power, position, progress, politics, etc. By going to the Cross, Christ would be rejecting all the things of this world which Satan had already offered Him at the very beginning (in the wilderness) but which Christ had flatly refused.

Christ would be taking the place of a common criminal and would be mocked and scorned by all. But in God's eyes He would be the Lamb of God -- the one great sacrifice for sins forever.

Additionally He would suffer (body, soul, and spirit) as no man had suffered. No one other than the Godhead knew at this point that the Cross was a Divine necessity. Satan knew to some extent how critical it was to the redemption of mankind and the universe (as well as his own destruction), so he used impetuous Peter to try and deflect Christ from His objective.

The lesson for us is to always set our minds on things which are above, since they are eternal. Everything else in temporal. The Prosperity Gospel, the Emergent Church, and all the false teachings of Christendom are an attempt to deflect Christians from the true purpose of life, which is a preparation for the afterlife. When we try to use human psychology and human philosophy to understand things, we deceive ourselves and fail to understand God's truth.

 

[Chopper]

If I may Chopper, because I think it is important in how we perceive things, let me ask this question. If you are watching for the signs of the times, what are the signs that you are looking for? Are you looking for signs of judgement or the signs of the righteousness of Christ and the assurance of your salvation?

Thank you my friend for that reply. I'm afraid that many times I make a statement, thinking that everyone knows what I'm referring to. I must not do that because there are folk who are unlearned as yet to these things, and there are two events that signs point too. 1. The destruction of Jerusalem. 2. The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His Bride and the end of this life as we know it.

Sign #1 Matthew 24:37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man....Some say that this refers to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD.70. I see this as referring more to our day and age. I don't think we are quite there yet, but close. Again, it's wrong to evaluate the signs looking at the USA.

Sign #2 2Thessalonians 2:3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction....I am witnessing, here in Massachusetts and the New England States, a falling away from Faith in Jesus Christ like no other time.

Sign #3 Matthew 24:6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 24:7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 24:8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

Again, there are folk who place these signs prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. Others like myself place these signs just before the coming of the Lord to gather His Bride (pre-trib) and later His Church (mid-trib). So I see reward for the Church, leading to tribulation on earth's inhabitants who reject Christ Jesus.

 

[ezrider]

Again, there are folk who place these signs prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. Others like myself place these signs just before the coming of the Lord to gather His Bride (pre-trib) and later His Church (mid-trib). So I see reward for the Church, leading to tribulation on earth's inhabitants who reject Christ Jesus.

Thank you Chopper for your response. I do have a few comments to share, so let me first start with the significance of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD. I do believe the signs that you speak of were directed toward that generation and that they were fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD, and yet at the same time they speak prophetically to us in the Spiritual sense rather than the physical destruction, for the kingdom of God exists within us by his eternal Spirit. Know you not that you are the temple of God? (1 Cor 3:16).

Then I find this scripture.

Hebrews 9:8-9 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience.

The believers in Christ during in that time were in a very unique point in history because they had obtained the promise of the Father, yet the temple still stood, and they had to wrest with its obligations. The promise of the heavenly Jerusalem, the New Jerusalem could not be realized while the first tabernacle was yet standing. The destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD was the revelation of the new Tabernacle in Heaven.

 

[ezrider]

Again, there are folk who place these signs prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. Others like myself place these signs just before the coming of the Lord to gather His Bride (pre-trib) and later His Church (mid-trib). So I see reward for the Church, leading to tribulation on earth's inhabitants who reject Christ Jesus.

The second comment I would like to make it that all of these signs that you point out are signs that are outward, and signs of the world. Yet Jesus said the Kingdom if Heaven is within you, and His promise has always been that His Spirit would would come and dwell inside of you and walk with you (2 Cor 6:16). So if the kingdom is inward, why do we look outward? Did not Jesus tell us to first pull the beam out of our own eye?

When people bring up the passage about the signs of earthquakes and such, I do not discount them out of hand, and I must confess that I watch the usgs.gov website for earthquake activity regularly, but more for my own curiosity of the plate tectonics than anything else, but none the less the though is always present. But there is another scripture that I should call to your attention that you might consider.

1 Kings 19:9-12
And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts:for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

The Lord was not in these things, but was found in the still small voice. The voice of God that dwells within our hearts yearning to be heard so that his fellowship might begin. But how can we hear when we do not listen, and how can we see when we do not look.

The scripture says the He shall come as the rain, as the former and the latter. For I shall pour out my Spirit and your sons and daughters shall prophesy. So if I were to be watching for the signs of His Kingdom, what signs would I be looking for?

How should I describe for you the falling of the rain?

.

 

[Chopper]

The second comment I would like to make it that all of these signs that you point out are signs that are outward, and signs of the world. Yet Jesus said the Kingdom if Heaven is within you, and His promise has always been that His Spirit would would come and dwell inside of you and walk with you (2 Cor 6:16). So if the kingdom is inward, why do we look outward? Did not Jesus tell us to first pull the beam out of our own eye?

When people bring up the passage about the signs of earthquakes and such, I do not discount them out of hand, and I must confess that I watch the usgs.gov website for earthquake activity regularly, but more for my own curiosity of the plate tectonics than anything else, but none the less the though is always present. But there is another scripture that I should call to your attention that you might consider.

1 Kings 19:9-12
And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts:for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

The Lord was not in these things, but was found in the still small voice. The voice of God that dwells within our hearts yearning to be heard so that his fellowship might begin. But how can we hear when we do not listen, and how can we see when we do not look.

The scripture says the He shall come as the rain, as the former and the latter. For I shall pour out my Spirit and your sons and daughters shall prophesy. So if I were to be watching for the signs of His Kingdom, what signs would I be looking for?

How should I describe for you the falling of the rain?

.

I truly thank you for your instruction and remarks. I receive them as Truth....There is a fire in my heart with an urgency to call as many folk as I can in my sphere of witness to be prepared for the Lord Jesus' return. This is what I'm all about at the present. I see a Church in general as asleep concerning the coming of the Lord. Obviously there is a Remnant of believers who are awake and watching daily for the consummation of the ages.

Rather than a doctrinal discussion on the Kingdom of God within me, my point has been the "Coming of the Kingdom of God" with it's ruler and King, Christ Jesus.

Quite a while ago I had a ministry of the Word of God on "Facebook". For a while it was fruitful. There came a time when my presentation of the Word of God began to be refused. At the beginning, it seemed to me that my role in those messages was a "watchman". God, it seemed, wanted me to warn the Church of Jesus Christ to awake and watch for the coming of the Lord. Comments were made that Paul thought Jesus would return soon and that was two thousand years ago and I was beating a dead drum.

I still have that burden for the Church, just as the Apostle Paul had for his kinsmen to come to the Faith.

My main focus is, Mark 13:32 "But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 13:33 Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. 13:34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 13:35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— 13:36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 13:37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake."

AND, 1Thessalonians 5:6 "So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober."

Again, as both of us have pointed out that there are two events that signs are pointing too, the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 and also, the coming of Jesus for His Church.

 

[eddif]

Ain't bible study fun?

Want to really have fun?
Fathers baptism - hell fire and brimstone
Son's baptism - suffering servant
Holy Spirit baptism - empowerment from on high.

Teach it all. Jesus was covering the suffering part in Matthew 16. Not all want to hear the wrath of the Father has to be handled by the death of the Son. The Holy Spirit is an embarrassment in some circles, but probably not understood is a lot of the problem.

I am so glad Jesus understood he had to die for our sins.

eddif

 

[DanielGarneau]

Hello,

I'd like to suggest the following questions, if I may, to get this thread moving again, based on Matthew 16:24-27 :

• How do our past life (before we knew God) relate to our present life (now that we know God) ?
• How do our present life (having lived for Christ a number of years) relate to our life to come (when we see Christ face to face) ?

God bless!

 

[reba]

Mat 16:24 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.
Mat 16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
Mat 16:26 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?
Mat 16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

 

[eddif]

Galatians 2:20
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

eddif

 

[Chopper]

Hello Bible Study lovers. I must apologize for not informing all of you before this of my situation and health. For several months now, I believe that both my Wife Debi and I have been under a demonic attack. Right after the death of Debi's identical twin Sister and our accepting the responsibility of raising Jordan, Nancy's (Debi's twin) adopted 11 year old Son, it seems that all hell broke out on us.

Three weeks ago Debi landed in the emergency room because she could hardly breath. She was in the hospital with a critical pneumonia, partial collapsed lung and an infected sac which was attached to one of her lungs. 8 days later she was discharged. She continues on meds for the infection and struggles with breathing.

On July the 6th, I thought I had a stroke. since then I've had an MRI which didn't show anything wrong. I am very weak, and it's like I have "motion sickness" constantly with nausea.

As of yesterday, I decided to fight back!! I called upon the LORD for healing. As far as I can see, there is no physical reason for my sickness. I am very careful about the possibility of sin in my life and am asking the Lord to search out my heart for any sin that I need to repent of.

Could those of you who love our Bible Study please pray with me that my healing will come and that all demonic activities on my body be rebuked and loosened? Debi needs prayer as well to be completely healed. I am going to fire up this Bible study today in an effort to fight back! Thank you for your patience. I love you all!

 

[Chopper]

August 4th 2015 Matthew 16:24 & 25 Take Up His Cross.

Matthew 16:24 "Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 16:25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

"Take up his cross" Death on a cross is the demand of God the Father in order to have a saving relationship with His holy and righteous Son and to become a child of God. That relationship is to embrace God's will no matter the cost to follow Christ Jesus in Salvation's holy walk!

I don't believe that most folk who come to Christ Jesus for Salvation realize just what it means to be saved. I'm afraid that in certain parts of the world, the message of Salvation is painted a rosy picture rather than a serious change of nature and life practices. Having said that, a good friend of mine, David Dayasagar, the Head Pastor at Hebron Believers Assemblies of India, describes coming to faith in Jesus is no easy matter. Many times, those believers are persecuted. Salvation has a mighty cost in parts of the world.

I think that 2 Corinthians 5:14 thru 17 has a great message to us.

2Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 5:15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. 5:16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

The fact that "the new has come" implies a complete change in the believers new life. It is not "If it feels good do it", it is now, If Jesus commands it, do it! The following is the test of true Christianity.
1John 2:3 "And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 2:4 Whoever says "I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 2:5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 2:6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

So, what about, 16:25 "For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." What a statement! I believe that the greatest reason that folk refuse to accept Jesus Christ on biblical grounds is because they don't want to loose the very familiar lifestyle that they presently live for the unknown....A long time ago, I was doing research on the practices of the early churches in the first few centuries.

I was amazed at the seriousness that the Leaders placed on folk who were being saved. The person who desired Salvation was called a "seeker". That seeker would spend seven days with an elder in a local church (probably a house church) and the seeker and the Elder would discuss the danger of persecution as well as other serious matters that confront a new believer in Christ Jesus. The most important that I can remember was "repentance" from sinful acts.

In those early local assemblies, becoming a Christian was a very serious commitment to a new way of living that was drastically different than their old life. In V.25, we see an individual who after hearing the Gospel, and the seriousness of such a change of life might decide within himself that he/she would rather remain as a leader in worldly matters and not want persecution, a simple way of living, and the party life would not want to be forsaken. In this case, this individual will loose what real life in Christ would be, in favor of a worldly life which in the end is death. For the wages of sin is death.

On the other hand, if a person who is confronted with the Gospel, and he/she realizes that there will be a future of spiritual life that he/she does not presently have, will decide to put to death the past worldly life, and begin a new life in Christ Jesus which in the end proves to be real life.

NOTE: I may not have presented these Scriptures the way I should have because since I asked you folk to pray for my deliverance from the demonic struggle going on in my life, the oppression has been today very very bad. I have struggled to respond to the Holy Spirit in my mind but the Lord has helped me to finish this study of which I give Him praise.

 

[reba]

Chopper please forgive my absence,,, Being so caught up in the work of moving at our age i have not taken to time to be concerned for my family in the Lord.. ... Christ took up His cross for others, for us ... I have taken up my cross for poor ol me ... Lesson heard today i do hope a lesson LEARNED...

Doesn't seem right to grasp onto verse 27 and ignore 24,25, 26

On a more personal note Chopper yes yes you and Debi will be lifted in prayer. As for presenting this lesson I HEARD it..

 

[Chopper]

Chopper please forgive my absence,,, Being so caught up in the work of moving at our age i have not taken to time to be concerned for my family in the Lord.. ... Christ took up His cross for others, for us ... I have taken up my cross for poor ol me ... Lesson heard today i do hope a lesson LEARNED...

Doesn't seem right to grasp onto verse 27 and ignore 24,25, 26

On a more personal note Chopper yes yes you and Debi will be lifted in prayer. As for presenting this lesson I HEARD it..

Thank you so very much Reba. I know that you've had a lot on your plate with moving and all, I do hope all is going well. I've been knocked down for a while, but now I have risen to do battle with my Lord Jesus Christ, and with His fresh anointing, both of us will rattle hells gate once more.