Friday, March 11, 2016

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 2:1
1 Corinthians 4:20  Power
1 Corinthians 16:22  Relationship between Love for the Lord & Curse

1 Corinthians 2:1

Κἀγὼ ἐλθὼν πρὸς ὑμᾶς, ἀδελφοί, ἦλθον οὐ καθ’ ὑπεροχὴν λόγου ἢ σοφίας καταγγέλλων ὑμῖν τὸ μαρτύριον τοῦ Θεοῦ.

And I, when I came to you, brothers (ἀδελφοί; adelphoi), did not come proclaiming to you the testimony (marturion; μαρτύριον) of God with excellency (hyperochēn; ὑπεροχὴν) of speech (λόγου; logou) or wisdom (sophias; σοφίας).

Paul is clear in this verse that he did not come and proclaim the gospel of God with eloquence of his speech or wisdom. The testimony of God was not proclaimed through Paul's eloquence of speech or wisdom but rather the gospel of God itself, though may sound foolish to those who are perishing, is actually the wisdom of God for salvation of many souls.

Paul gives answers to the church in Corinth in the next verse that what he came with, however, is the knowledge of Jesus Christ, our Lord, and Him crucified on the cross. This is the essence of the gospel itself. Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The most important knowledge to Paul at the time when he visited Corinth was not how he could sound eloquent or wise, but rather the demonstration of the power of the gospel of God in the message proclaimed, namely, the good news, that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died on the cross for our sins, for our salvation.

ヨハネの黙示録:追い出すと許す

ヨハネの黙示録 2:1-7

1 エペソにある教会の御使に、こう書きおくりなさい。
『右の手に七つの星を持つ者、七つの金の燭台の間を歩く者が、次のように言われる。
2 わたしは、あなたのわざと労苦と忍耐とを知っている。また、あなたが、悪い者たちをゆるしておくことができず、使徒と自称してはいるが、その実、使徒でない者たちをためしてみて、にせ者であると見抜いたことも、知っている。
3 あなたは忍耐をし続け、わたしの名のために忍びとおして、弱り果てることがなかった。
4 しかし、あなたに対して責むべきことがある。あなたは初めの愛から離れてしまった。
5 そこで、あなたはどこから落ちたかを思い起し、悔い改めて初めのわざを行いなさい。もし、そうしないで悔い改めなければ、わたしはあなたのところにきて、あなたの燭台をその場所から取りのけよう。
6 しかし、こういうことはある、あなたはニコライ宗の人々のわざを憎んでおり、わたしもそれを憎んでいる。
7 耳のある者は、御霊が諸教会に言うことを聞くがよい。勝利を得る者には、神のパラダイスにあるいのちの木の実を食べることをゆるそう』。

今日はこの黙示録のエペソの教会に向けたメッセージについて話したいと思います。まず、一説では今イエス様が自分自身がどんな方なのかに関して語られています。彼は右の手に七つの星を持つ者、つまり七つの天使がイエス様の命令によって七つの教会といられていることが分かれます。金の燭台はもちろん、七つの教会の象徴であります。さっきの1:20で書いてるようです。

1:19 そこで、あなたの見たこと、現在のこと、今後起ろうとすることを、書きとめなさい。 1:20あなたがわたしの右手に見た七つの星と、七つの金の燭台との奥義は、こうである。すなわち、七つの星は七つの教会の御使であり、七つの燭台は七つの教会である。

ここで最も重要なのはエペソの教会の信徒たちが初めの愛から離れてしまったということなんです。これをもともとのギリシャ語の文字通りに訳すると離れてしまったと訳された動詞が〝追い出す″の意味になります。このギリシャ語のアフィエイミは追い出すの意味だけじゃなくて、〝許す″の意味もあります。どうやって、追い出すと許すの二つの意味が共存するんだろうと聞くと、実は我らがもし誰かを許そうとしたら、それは私に犯された誰かの罪を私の考えや心から追い出してもうそ罪の代価をもう払わなくてもいいっての状態になることなんですね。

そして、"悔い改めて初めのわざを行いなさい"とイエス様は語られてます。悔い改めるの意味はギリシャ語でメタノイアでメタの意味が変化、ノイアの意味は考え方なので、考え方を変化する、変えるの意味になります。だから、もし、はじめの愛を忘れて自分が好きな生き方でイエス様の事を忘れて生きていってたら、これからはメタノイアして、また初めのわざを行うべきですね。

それはもちろん、神様の言葉を読んで、祈って、神様が教えていただいた、生き方のように導かれる。

Revelation ヨハネの黙示録

ヨハネの黙示録 2:1-7  追い出すと許す
Revelation 3:20  I Stand At the Door and Knock

Matthew

Matthew 2 Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh
Matthew 10:37  The Cost of Following Jesus

The Cost of Following Jesus

Matthew 10:37
  • Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

Jesus is clear in this verse that we cannot and must not love anyone more than him, even if that someone is a member of one's family.

One of the reasons for this commandment is the issue of lordship. Who is the lord of my life? Whose will do I follow? Whose word, expectation and example dominate my mind?

 If, for example, let's say that I love my earthly father more than my heavenly Father. And that my earthly father is an unbeliever and wants me to stop reading the Bible and going to the church. If I loved my earthly father more than my heavenly Father, I would follow my earthly father's instruction and disobey my heavenly Father's commandments. I would be submitting to my earthly father's commandments, will, word, and expectation.

 Also, if Abraham loved his son, Isaac, more than God then he would not have offered Isaac on the altar, which would have resulted in a different course of history (even though, it was providential, that God worked in Abraham to inbirth faith so that he would submit to God, believing that God is good and He does what is right always.).

 It is important to remember that God did not spare His own Son, Jesus Christ and gave Him for us and let Him die on the cross for our sins. If God spared His own Son, there would be no cross, or atonement or salvation for us.

 Matthew 10:38
  • And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

When we suffer i.e. take our cross and follow him, we get a glimpse of suffering he went through for us. Choosing to suffer for someone else is sacrificial love, and Jesus died for us while we were still sinners.
  • Romans 5:8 "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

And God wants the best for us.

 Romans 8:29 "for those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers."

 Ephesians 5:27 "so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish."

Philippians

Philippians 4:2, 3  Whose names are in the book of life

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Whose names are in the book of life

Philippians 4:2, 3
  • I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. 3Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

Paul knew the names of these brothers and sisters (at least, Clement and the rest of Paul's fellow workers, as the immediate context would dictate) in Christ were written in the book of life. 

Revelation 3:5
  • The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.

Revelation 20:12, 15
  • And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
  • And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 13:8
  • and all who dwell on earth will worship it(beast; devil), everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.

Revelation 21:27
  • But nothing unclean will ever enter it (New Jerusalem, the City of God, in the new heaven and new earth), nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.