WITNESS ~ INSTRUCT ~ NURTURE / Volume 1 Issue 8
Apr 13, 2005
Hi !
In this issue, you'll read:
THE BOOK OF EPHESIANS - PART THREE
BACK TO THE KINGDOM - PART SEVEN
PREPARATION BEHIND THE GIFT
A WORD FROM THE EDITOR - WEEK EIGHT The agility and speed of wild rabbits makes them elusive targets for even the most capable of their natural predators. Apparently this characteristic, being hard to catch, lead to the slang terms “rabbit” and “chasing rabbits.” In some circles, the term “rabbit” means a crazy idea, flawed theory, or a failed argument or procedure. The term “chasing rabbits” refers to the irrational, futile pursuit of “rabbits.” 2 Timothy 2:15; "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." KJV James 1:22-25; As we see from these verses of Scripture, it is important for us to study to show ourselves approved unto God, to rightly divide the Word of Truth, and to be a doer of that Word. If we are careful to follow these guidelines, we will not need to be ashamed, but instead will be blessed, first in this life, and then with eternal life to follow. Blessings to all, All editions of The W.I.N. E-Mail Newsletter are available on the Internet. To find them, navigate to www.fcgm.org and click on the "Newsletter" link. Feel free to copy as many as you want and pass them out to family and friends. If you would like to be added to our mailing list, send an e-mail containing your name and e-mail address to winsubscribe@fcgm.org. In your devotions this week, read Psalm 63. As you read, talk to the Lord about the content of this psalm. When you have finished, go back and choose one or two verses and meditate prayerfully on them. Repeat this procedure each day for the coming week. II. Bible Study As we continue to study the book of Ephesians, we will begin this week to take a closer look at one particular section of Ephesians. If you have not previously read the entire Book of Ephesians completely through in one sitting, we strongly recommend you obtain copies of the W.I.N. E-Mail Newsletter, Volume 1, Editions 6 & 7, and follow the instructions given in the Bible studies entitled, The Book of Ephesians, Parts 1 & 2 prior to beginning this part of the study. To download these editions from the Internet, navigate to The first natural section of Ephesians falls between Ephesians 1:1 and Ephesians 2:10. This section can also be divided into three sub-sections, as Paul artfully builds his message, premise upon premise. Now read the following subsections and answer for yourself the questions associated with them. Jot the answers down on a piece of paper and place in your Bible for further review. Read Ephesians 1:1-14 1. How is the content of verse 3 expanded on in the following verses? Read Ephesians 1:15-23 1. Paul starts off with the statement: "For this reason..." For what reason is he talking about? (Read the verses immediately beforehand to find out). Read Ephesians 2:1-10 1. What is the description of our lives found in 2:1-3? III. Memory Verse Here are a few suggestions that may help you to memorize your memory verses: 1. Ask the Lord to help you remember his Word (see John 14:26). 2. Use the version of the Bible you are most familiar with. What you normally read in your Bible is what you need to be memorizing. 3. Don't just memorize the contents of the verse; memorize its “address” (the verse reference) as well. You can do this by following this pattern: Step 1: reference; Step 2: verse content; Step 3: reference. Then repeat steps 1-3. Note that you are quoting the reference twice as many times as you quote the actual verse content. This gives the verse a clear “reference tag.” 4. After you have read your memory verse out aloud several times, try going through your memory verse without reading your computer screen. 5. Look up your memory verse in your Bible. Look at its immediate context and read the verses that come before and after your memory verse. 6. Print out your memory verse or jot it down on a piece of paper. Take this paper with you when you go to work or do other daily activities. Meditate on the meaning of the verse throughout the day. 7. During your noon appointment with the Lord, take out your memory verse and go over it again. Talk to the Lord about what this verse means to you personally. 8. In the evening (at either your evening study or your evening devotions), see if you can quote your memory verse from memory. Then, without looking at the memory verse itself, see if you can find it in your Bible. 9. The next day, before you begin committing a new verse to memory, rehearse your previous day’s memory verse and see if you can remember it (without cheating!). 10. Finally, at the end of the week (possibly on Sunday), collect all your week’s memory verses, rehearse them and see if you can recall them without reading them. Spend a little extra time on any verses you have difficulty recalling. 11. Remember: Don't just memorize a verse. Put it into practice (James 1:22). It is not being able to quote a verse from memory that counts. It is His Word abiding in your heart that counts (John 15:7). When you actually apply a verse consistently to your daily life, that is when you truly know that verse! Acts 2:42-47; " Last week, we finished verse 43 and in this edition, we are going to change our format slightly. Even though they contain three separate actions, we are going to examine verses 44 and 45 together in their entirety because all three actions are so closely related that it is hard to separate them. Let's take a look. " To help us better understand verse 44, we are going to turn to John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible, Dr. John Gill (1690-1771). "Acts 2:44 - And all that believed were together,.... Not in one place, for no one house could hold them all, their number was now so large; but they "agreed together", as the Arabic version renders it: all these believers were of one mind and judgment, as to doctrines, they agreed in their sentiments and principles of religion; and they were of one heart and soul, were cordially affected to each other, and mutually were assisting to one another in temporals, as well as in spirituals: and had all things common: that is, their worldly goods, their possessions and estates; no man called anything peculiarly his own; and whatever he had, his brother was welcome to, and might as freely take, and use it, as if it was his own." As we can see from Gill's explanation, this was not a commune as some have argued in the past. The early Christians did not all live in one house or on one tract of land, crowded together and living as one big family, in the natural sense. However, they were one big family, in the Spiritual sense, and had such an agreement of doctrine and beliefs as to be "one." In addition, they took care of their own, making sure that whatever anyone in the church had need of was provided. Each person had control over their own property, but did not horde it as selfishly as some in today's society. Now, let's turn to an adaptation from Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible, Albert Barnes (1798-1870), in order to further understand more fully the actions displayed in verse 45. "Acts 2:45 - And sold - That is, they sold as much as was necessary in order to procure the means of providing for the needs of each other. Possessions - Property, particularly real estate. This word, ktemata, refers properly to their fixed property, as lands, houses, vineyards, etc. The word rendered “goods,” huparxeis, refers to their personal or movable “property.” As every man had need - This expression limits and fixes the meaning of what is said before. The passage does not mean that they sold all their possessions, or that they relinquished their title to all their property, but that they so far regarded all as common as to be willing to part with it if it was needful to supply the needs of the others. Hence, the property was laid at the disposal of the apostles, and they were desired to distribute it freely to meet the needs of the poor, Acts 4:34-35. This was an important incident in the early propagation of religion, and it may suggest many useful reflections: 1. We see the effect of religion. The love of property is one of the strongest affections which people have. There is nothing that will overcome it but religion. That will; and one of the first effects of the gospel was to loosen the hold of Christians on property. 2. It is the duty of the church to provide for the needs of its poor and needy members. There can be no doubt that property should now be regarded as so far common as that the needs of the poor should be supplied by those who are rich. Compare Matt. 26:11. 3. If it be asked why the early disciples evinced [showed] this readiness to part with their property in this manner, it may be replied: a. That the apostles had done it before them. The family of the Saviour had all things common. 4. If it be asked whether this was done commonly among the early Christians, it may be replied that there is no evidence that it was. It is mentioned here, and in Acts 4:32-37, and Acts 5:1-7. It does not appear that it was done even by all who were afterward converted in Judea; and there is no evidence that it was done in Antioch, Ephesus, Corinth, Philippi, Rome, etc. That the effect of religion was to make people liberal and willing to provide for the poor there can be no doubt. See 2 Cor. 8:19; 2 Cor. 9:2; 1 Cor. 16:2; Gal. 2:10. But there is no proof that it was common to part with their possessions and to lay them at the feet of the apostles. Religion does not contemplate, evidently, that people should break up all the arrangements in society, but it contemplates that those who have property should be ready and willing to part with it for the help of the poor and needy. 5. If it be asked, then, whether all the arrangements of property should be broken up now, and believers have all things in common, we are prepared to answer “No.” Because: a. This was an extraordinary case. As you can see, the early church had no need for a government welfare program to take care of its members, because those who had wealth sold their possessions and brought the proceeds to the Apostles to be used for the care of the widows, orphans, and poor. This does not mean that they sold everything they owned, gave the money away and then had nothing for themselves. It simply indicates that they were good stewards of their material possessions and used what they had to help others. The needs at that time were so great that the Apostles even had to appoint deacons (see Acts 6:3) to oversee the temporal things so they could spend their time in prayer and meditation of God's Word and continue to preach and teach with boldness. The needs of today's church is just as great as the early church in Jerusalem, but it appears that the deacons are not properly caring for the poor. This is partly due to the fact that the modern church, in some cases, is short of funds and goods with which to help because of a lack of giving on the part of its members. Another reason is that so long as the government will take care of the poor, we can save our money for more building programs. The only problem with this way of thinking is that church membership is on the decline and the buildings are being converted for secular use. It's time we as Christians and members of God's family started taking care of one another. When we do so, we will then see less and less of our brothers and sisters walking around wounded for all the world to see. And when we do so, we will once again experience our desired result, "And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." Until next week, we are on a journey "Back to the Kingdom." Bishop Sam T. Leigh To make this birthday project complete, stacks of photographs had to be searched through until just the right ones were found. We agreed to use pictures of Ieysha and Ilayna, respectively, at their first birthday parties. Of course, each of them was wearing their "special" party hats. Then the pictures had to be scanned, cropped, resized, printed on special photograph paper, and placed in the frames before the present could be wrapped for presentation. But wait! Each of the individual jewelry items had to wrapped separately and placed into the drawers as well. Finally, we were able to place the completed gifts into their gift bag, surround them with crepe paper, tie ribbons on the bag, and deliver the entire ensemble, together with a birthday dinner and cake to a very tired mother of the two little girls, whose eyes sparkled like the stars in heaven as they waited anxiously for her to open the gift. God prepared a plan of Salvation and foreordained that His Son Jesus would be the perfect "lamb that was slain" for our sins. Acts 4:12 tells us that; " Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." KJV That means "NO OTHER" name will do; "NO OTHER" sacrifice is good enough! The gift has been prepared and delivered. His Name is Jesus the Christ, and He is the "crucified, buried, risen, and ascended to the right hand of the Father" Lamb of God. Won't you receive the gift today? After all, a lot of love and effort went into making it special just for you. Blessings to you all in His Name! Bishop Sam T. Leigh Unless otherwise noted: All Scripture is taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Welcome to another stirring edition of the W.I.N. E-Mail Newsletter. I trust that each of you have been inspired by our Bible study on the Book of Ephesians. It has been truly exciting to present this method of study in the hopes of encouraging others to look at Scripture from a fresh prospective. While the Word of God is unchangeable, it is sometimes difficult for some to read an entire book of Scripture without going off on a side tangent, or "chasing rabbits." Let me explain why this is not a safe approach to Bible study.
Rev. Sam T. Leigh
Presiding Bishop
Freedom Covenant Global Ministries
E-mail:
Website: www.fcgm.org
Bishop's eCorner: www.fcgm.org/ecorner/
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THE BOOK OF EPHESIANS - PART THREE
I. Devotional Reading
2. Note how many times the word "chosen" (or "called" in some Bibles) is used.
3. What is Paul seeking to get across to the Ephesians in this subsection?
2. In 1:18-19, what are the three things Paul wants us to have revelation in?
3. What is the major revelation of Jesus Christ in this subsection and how does it affect us?
2. 2:4-5 is the pivot scripture in this subsection. Why?
3. How does 2:6 connect with 1:19-23?
4. Go through this subsection and count the number of times the words "grace" or "mercy" are used. What is the main message, then, of this subsection?
Ephesians 2:8-9;
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BACK TO THE KINGDOM - PART SEVEN
We are examining the twelve actions of the early church listed in Acts 2:42-47 with the goal of establishing, for comparison sake, a pattern of conduct within the early church, then determining how far removed the 21st century church has become from this pattern in order to better understand its present condition. We are working on the premise that "with all things being equal, we can expect the same end result." With that in mind, let's take a moment and read the entire passage again.
And parted them to all - They distributed them to supply the needs of their poorer brethren, according to their necessities.
b. It was the nature of religion to do it.
c. The circumstances of the persons assembled on this occasion were such as to require it. They were many of them from distant regions, and probably many of them of the poorer class of the people in Jerusalem. In this they evinced [showed] what should be done in behalf of the poor in the church at all times.
b. It was not even enjoined by the apostles on them.
c. It was practiced nowhere else.
d. It would be impracticable. No community where all things were held in common has long prospered. It has been attempted often, by pagans, by infidels, and by fanatical sects of Christians. It ends soon in anarchy, licentiousness [lacking morality], idleness, and profligacy [recklessly wasteful]; or the more cunning secure the mass of the property, and control the whole. Until all people are made alike, there could be no hope of such a community; and if there could be, it would not be desirable. God evidently intended that people should be excited to industry by the hope of gain; and then he demands that their gains shall be devoted to his service. Still, this was a noble instance of Christian generosity, and evinced [showed] the power of religion in loosing the hold which people commonly have on the world. It rebukes also those professors of religion, of whom, alas, there are many, who give nothing to benefit either the souls or bodies of their fellow-men."
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PREPARATION BEHIND THE GIFT
Wow, I can hardly believe it! It seems like it was just yesterday that our daughter April was learning to ride a bike, but on Thursday evening, we celebrated her 25th birthday (actually on Friday). What a joy for Rosezetta and I to spend the day with our two granddaughters, Ieysha, age 6 and Ilayna, age 2 (almost) years. We went out to breakfast, then went shopping together for birthday presents for their mother. After much searching and discussing, we settled on an oak jewelry box with drawers and a lid that opened to reveal a velvet lined tray and photo frames for special pictures built into the inside of the lid. And of course, the girls convinced us that a jewelry box is no good without a special necklace and a special set of earrings to put in it. At this point their part of the project was finished until time to give "mommie" the gifts. But not so for Grandpa and Grandma!
This entire process brings to mind our Salvation through Jesus Christ. We may not realize it but a lot of preparation went into the gift before it was finally delivered to a lost and dying world. It was not just a spur of the moment decision on God's part to send Jesus. Scripture says in Ephesians 1:4; "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love...," and in Romans 5:8; "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." KJV
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