A Few Thoughts on Luke 2:8-18

 

Luke 2:8-18

The familiar news of the angels, the shepherds, Mary, Joseph, and the Messiah.

The angels were delegated to give a message.

They obeyed.

The shepherds heard the message.

They interpreted it in its plain, normal sense.

They believed the message.

They acted on the message.

They confirmed that the message was true.

They left with the message and its confirmation.

They told others the message.

The principle for us is clear to read the Scriptures, interpret them in the plain, normal sense, know its meaning, believe it, and to show we believe, we do the message.

Let us be encouraged to do the same.

 

A Few Thoughts on Acts 9:7 and Acts 22:

Acts 9:7 KJV And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.

Acts 22:9 KJV And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.

Is this a contradiction?

B1 Hearing a voice

B2 Not hearing a voice

Greek

B1 Acts 9:7 …ἀκούοντες μὲν τῆς φωνῆς...

B2 Acts 22:9 ...δὲ φωνὴν οὐκ ἤκουσαν τοῦ λαλοῦντός μοι…

Same words but Acts 9:7 they hear and in Acts 22:9 they do not hear

Acts 22:9 adds this part however...τοῦ λαλοῦντός μοι.

Acts 9:7 the words hearing the voice does not mention any speaking, just a voice, that is, sound. In Acts 22:9 they did not hear, that is understand, the voice speaking with me. That is in both verses they heard something, but they did not discern, that is, understand the speaker. They heard the speaker but did not understand what he was saying.

Other’s comments

B1 Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges:

ἤκουσα φωνῆς, I heard a voice. As in chap. Acts 9:4; Acts 9:7, so here, and below in Acts 22:9, the case of the noun is varied, so as to mark that the hearing in St Paul’s case was different from the hearing of his companions. The verb can be connected with either a genitive or accusative case. In both the narratives a variation is made, and it was not without its significance (see notes on chap. 9). St Paul heard intelligible words, the others heard a sound, but it was not speech to them. Cf. the narrative in Daniel 10:6-9.

B2 Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers:(9) They heard not the voice . . .—i.e., they did not hear it as a voice uttering articulate words. It was for them as though it thundered. (See Notes on Acts 9:7, and John 12:29.)

B3 Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament: But they heard not the voice (την δε πωνην ουκ ηκουσαν — tēn de phōnēn ouk ēkousan). The accusative here may be used rather than the genitive as in Acts 22:7 to indicate that those with Paul did not understand what they heard (Acts 9:7) just as they beheld the light (Acts 22:9), but did not see Jesus (Acts 9:7). The difference in cases allows this distinction, though it is not always observed as just noticed about Acts 22:14; Acts 26:14. The verb ακουω — akouō is used in the sense of understand (Mark 4:33; 1 Corinthians 14:2). It is one of the evidences of the genuineness of this report of Paul‘s speech that Luke did not try to smooth out apparent discrepancies in details between the words of Paul and his own record already in ch. 9.

B4 Schaff's Popular Commentary on the New Testament: Acts 22:9. And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me. Much has been said as to the seeming discrepancy between the statement here that Paul’s companions ‘heard not the voice of Him that spoke to me,’ and the words in the narrative, chap. Acts 9:7, ‘hearing a voice.’ Dr. J. A. Alexander well explains this apparent difference: ‘There is a distinction between hearing a voice speak and hearing what it says, as nothing is more common in our public bodies than the complaint that the speaker is not heard, i.e. that his words are not distinguished, though his voice may be audible and even loud. It might be said with equal truth, that Paul’s companions heard the voice, i.e. knew that it was speaking, and that they did not hear it, i.e. did not know what it said. See St. John’s Gospel, John 12:29, where a similar confusion seems to have occurred in the listeners’ minds. Here as there, the Divine Voice to the ordinary bystander was a voice, but not one uttering articulate words.

1 Peter 3:1-7 and Submission

1 Peter 3:1-7 is often cited by those who wish to control wives. These are those men and pastors who feel a woman needs the strong hand of a man to guide her.

In reality, those types tend to be abusive. Abusive people are evil. There is no love, if there is any abuse.

A careful study of the passage in the plain, normal sense and understanding English language will NOT interpret this passage to dominate women.

The plain sense of Scripture in 1 Peter 3:1-7 shows

• The situation of a Christian wife and non-Christian husband. The situation can be either husband or wife. It refers to one spouse being a Christian and the other is not.
• The nonbeliever will not obey God’s command to repent and believe the Gospel.
• The Christian can then, live the Gospel, by living the Christian life required by Messiah Jesus for both men and women, instead of pleading, perhaps nagging the unbeliever.
• Hopefully, the non-Christian will see the superiority of the Christian life, repent, and believe the Gospel.
• The Apostle reminds the Christian, whether wife or husband, to speak respectfully.
• Be respectful and give honor to each other.
• The Christian (this especially refers to the husband) will not have God answer his prayers, if he treats his wife with any hint of abuse.

In summary:

• A controlling spouse cannot lawfully use this Scripture passage to force the other.
• Word meanings in English have changed. Care must be taken to understand its use.
• God is supreme. He is omniscient and omnisapient. His will and lifestyle is the best.
• We must be of the mindset to do God’s will. To know God’s will, we must study the Bible and pray for wisdom.
• Love your spouse as I have written in other articles about love.

A better translation understanding that the Greek word implies no defiance or resistance: 1 Peter 3:1-7 God’s Word Wives, in a similar way, place yourselves under your husbands' authority. Some husbands may not obey God's word. Their wives could win these men for Christ by the way they live without saying anything. 2 Their husbands would see how pure and reverent their lives are. 3 Wives must not let their beauty be something external. Beauty doesn't come from hairstyles, gold jewelry, or clothes. 4 Rather, beauty is something internal that can't be destroyed. Beauty expresses itself in a gentle and quiet attitude which God considers precious. 5 After all, this is how holy women who had confidence in God expressed their beauty in the past. They placed themselves under their husbands' authority 6 as Sarah did. Sarah obeyed Abraham and spoke to him respectfully. You became Sarah's daughters by not letting anything make you afraid to do good. 7 Husbands, in a similar way, live with your wives with understanding since they are weaker than you are. Honor your wives as those who share God's life-giving kindness so that nothing will interfere with your prayers.

Basic Bible Study Form (Lenos)

Basic Bible Study

(Use this form after learning basic Bible interpretation).

Passage

Pray

Read

1. The whole passage at one sitting
2. By paragraph
3. By verse
4. By phrases

Study

1. Who wrote this?
2. Where was it written?
3. To whom was it written?
4. What does the passage mean?

Apply

1. How can I do this (or avoid this)?
2. How will this affect my life?

Example:

A psalm by David. O LORD, who may stay in your tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? The one who walks with integrity, does what is righteous, and speaks the truth within his heart. The one who does not slander with his tongue, do evil to a friend, or bring disgrace on his neighbor. The one who despises those rejected by God but honors those who fear the LORD. The one who makes a promise and does not break it, even though he is hurt by it. The one who does not collect interest on a loan or take a bribe against an innocent person. Whoever does these things will never be shaken. (Psalms 15:1-5 GW)

Pray

Read

1. The whole passage at one sitting
2. By paragraph—there is only one paragraph because this is short and poetry.
3. By verse
4. By phrases
   1. A psalm by David. O LORD,
   2. who
   3. may stay
   4. in your tent?
   5. Who
   6. may live
   7. on your holy mountain?
   8. The one who
   9. walks
   10. with integrity,
   11. does
   12. what is righteous, and
   13. speaks
   14. the truth
   15. within his heart.
   16. The one who
   17. does not slander
   18. with his tongue,
   19. do evil
   20. to a friend, or
   21. bring disgrace
   22. on his neighbor.
   23. The one who
   24. despises those
   25. rejected
   26. by God
   27. but honors
   28. those who
   29. fear the LORD.
   30. The one who
   31. makes a promise and
   32. does not
   33. break it, even though
   34. he is hurt by it.
   35. The one who
   36. does not
   37. collect interest
   38. on a loan or
   39. take a bribe
   40. against
   41. an innocent person.
   42. Whoever
   43. does
   44. these things
   45. will
   46. never
   47. be shaken. (Psalms 15:1-5 GW)

Study

1. Who wrote this? David the King
2. Where was it written? It doesn’t say.
3. To whom was it written? The Lord, for this was a prayer.
4. What does the passage mean?
5. For each phrase, think what that phrase means.

Apply

1. How can I do this (or avoid this)?
2. How will this affect my life?

Four Steps to Study Bible Texts

I posted this when this blog was hosted elsewhere on 5 Jan 2016

Using the four steps to study Bible texts

Category          Daily Bible Study

[From my Christian Brother Daniel Dickey]

Using the Four Steps to Study Bible Texts

Try using the four steps on a text of your choice from any Bible book. All you need is a Bible, a pen, some paper, and about 30 minutes.

1. Pray: Pray before and throughout your study of the Bible

Start by praising and worshiping God. Confess your sins. Ask God for the Holy Spirit’s help so you can correctly understand and apply God’s Word to your life today. Do not proceed to the next step until you have done this.

2. Say: What does the text say?

Select a text to study from any Bible Book. Write the reference (book, chapter, and verse) here:

Now read the text carefully and study the text you chose. All observations should be based on what the text actually says. Write your observations here.

Some Additional Guidance

Observe:[1] Ask questions like…

·       Who is talking?

·       What is the theme?

·       Where is this happening?

·       When is this happening?

·       Why did this happen?

·       How is god working?

3. Mean: What does the text mean in its context?

Determine what the author intended to communicate to the first readers according to the context. The following questions will help you do this for your text.

What is the immediate context for the text you chose? (Hint: use paragraph breaks, subtitles, and chapter breaks to help you.) . What is the larger context? Remember that it always helps to study a larger context than is necessary, but studying too small a context can lead to error.

Now read at least the immediate context and answer the following question to the best of your ability. For some texts, you may need to read a larger context. According to the context, what did the author intend your text to communicate to the first readers?

Briefly write down any questions you have about what the text means. These questions can be helpful for future study. God can use them to help you understand the Bible better.

The complete context of every text also includes the language, the culture, the historical background, and the setting of the author and first readers. Helpful resources would be a Study Bible, Bible Dictionary, Bible Encyclopedia, Greek Lexicon and Interlinear/Reverse Interlinear Bible.

4. Apply: How will I apply this text to my life today?

Whenever we study the Scriptures we should also determine what God is saying to us personally and make a plan to put that into practice. To do that, you can ask God, “What do You want me to do as a result of my study of Your Word?”

While praying, make a practical plan to apply what you have learned from God’s Word to your life. To make a plan, answer the following questions:

•     What will I do?

•     When will I do it?

•     Where will I do it?

•     How will I do it?

Review your plan. Is it something you can do today? Does it include a way for you to know when you have completed it? If not, revise your plan.^[2]

Here is an Acrostic to help Apply God’s Word

PRECEPTS: Prayer to pray, Reason to praise, Error to avoid, Command to obey, Example to follow, Promise to claim, Truth to believe, Sin to Confess.

So remember PRECEPTS and after studying the text ask yourself, is there a…

ü  Prayer to pray

ü  Reason to praise

ü  Error to avoid

ü  Command to obey

ü  Example to follow

ü  Promise to claim

ü  Truth to believe

ü  Sin to Confess

From my Christian brother Daniel Dickey

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[1] How to Study the Bible (Answers in Genesis)

^[2] French, R. A. (1999). Diving for pearls in God’s treasure chest: an easy way to study the Bible. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.