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Last update, April 28, 2001
Dr.
Tod Kennedy
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Abundant Life
Apollos
Apologetics
Authority
Baptism
Baptism of the Holy Spirit
Barnabas
Blessings
Captain
Death of Christ
Christology
Chronology of Acts 1-12
Circumcision
David
Deacons
Dispensations
Divine Discipline
Divine Good
Divine Guidance
Election
Eli
Encouragement
Eternal Salvation
Evil
Faith
Feasts of Israel |
Forgiveness
God Consciousness
God-Fearer
Grace Giving
Happiness
Helping Believers
Hezekiah
Holy Spirit Ministries
Human History
Inheritance
Interest without
Interference
Joab
Jonathan
Josiah
Kinsman Redeemer
Knowledge of Gospel
Legalism
Mental Attitude Sins
Millennium
Ministry
Missions
Moab
Nazirite Vow
Pastor and Teacher
Permanent Spiritual
Gifts
Persecution
Peter: Not First Pope
Prayer
Priests in Jewish
System
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Psalms, Hymns,
Spiritual Songs
Redeeming the Time
Religion
Repentance
Resurrection
Revelation
Roman Army
Roman Authority
Sadducees
Saul
Sin Unto Death
Sins of the Tongue
Spirituality
Spiritual Royal
Birthright
Stone
Suffering and Testing
Temporary Spiritual Gifts
Tent-making
Tongues
Undeserved Suffering
Water Baptism
Witnessing
Witness by Teaching
Bible |
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Abundant life
- Abundant life is what we all want—that extraordinary and
supernatural and eternal kind of life in our day to day
experience.
- Peter wrote in 2 Peter 1.3-4 that God has granted to us
everything pertaining to life and godliness. This life is ours
to enjoy.
- The movie "It’s a Wonder Life" starring Jimmy Stewart
illustrates the point that we often reject or miss that which we
really want. George did not recognize and appreciate what he
already had until he thought he had lost it.
- God has given every believer the opportunity to live an
abundant life; whether we experience this kind of life depends
upon our day to day relationship with God and his Word.
- We often miss the opportunity to love life and to experience
God’s day to day blessings. Jesus said in John 10.10, "I came
that they might have life, and might have it abundantly."
- Jesus uses the word "life" in three ways in John 10—eternal
life, an abundant spiritual life in time, and physical life.
Peter wrote about the abundant spiritual life in 1 Peter 3.10;
he quoted the Psalmist, "Let him who means to love life and see
good days…."
- Both John and Peter have day to day life in mind—an abundant
and fulfilling and enjoyable temporal life that is possible
because believers possess eternal life.
- To enjoy eternal life in time, the abundant daily experience
of eternal of life, we must continue to live in a growing and
submissive relationship to Christ our Shepherd. John 10 includes
four elements for the abundant life (John 10.3, 4, 9, 10, 14):
 | A sheep-person must be a part of the shepherd’s flock
(believe in Christ). |
 | The sheep-believer must follow the shepherd (listen to him
and watch him). |
 | The sheep-believer must depend on the shepherd (trust him,
believe him). |
 | The sheep-believer must obey the shepherd (faith
application of the Word). |
The abundant life can be lived during days that are filled
with routine or suffering or testing or success or prosperity
because it does not depend on circumstances; it depends on
relationship with Jesus Christ our shepherd.
Jesus taught the disciples, in John 13-17, the central
truths that they would need to live the abundant life:
occupation with Christ, knowledge of the Word, faith-rest,
confession of sin, spirituality, prayer, and ministry.
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Barnabas
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Barnabas was Jewish, a Levite, and a believer in Christ.
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He was originally from Cyprus; he was generous; he had an
active, varied, and wonderful ministry.
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His original name was Joseph, but the apostles gave him the name
Barnabas, which means Son of Encouragement (Acts 4.36-37).
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He was the cousin of John Mark (Colossians 4.10).
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Barnabas, about A.D. 37, at a time when believers were still
somewhat afraid of Saul, took Saul in hand and introduced him to
the apostles in Jerusalem (Acts 9.26-27).
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Later, when the Jerusalem church heard that a large number of
Greeks at Antioch were believing in Christ, the leaders sent
Barnabas there to witness the ministry (Acts 11.22). After
seeing the good ministry, he encouraged the believers at
Antioch.
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Luke records that Barnabas was a good man and full of the Holy
Spirit and faith (Acts 11.23-24).
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Barnabas then went to get Saul who was in Tarsus; Saul and
Barnabas spent a year in Antioch teaching the Word of God (Acts
11.25-30).
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Barnabas was Saul’s partner on the first missionary trip (Acts
13-14, about A.D. 48-49) and at the Jerusalem council meeting
(Acts 15.1-5).
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Barnabas served in evangelism, teaching, reconnaissance,
financial responsibilities, and encouragement of believers.
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Though he was a grace oriented believer, even he gave in to the
pressures of the legalists in Antioch; these legalists objected
to Peter sitting down to dinner with Gentiles, and so Barnabas,
along with Peter, separated from the Gentiles until Paul
corrected them (Galatians 2.11-19).
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Barnabas and Paul disagreed on whether they should take John
Mark with them on the second missionary trip; Barnabas said yes,
Paul said no. The two men separated; Barnabas took John Mark to
Cyprus and Paul took Silas and began the second trip (Acts
15.36-40, about A.D. 50).
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Barnabas illustrates biblical application for us:
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Be flexible in the use of gifts and training.
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The prepared believer has a variety of ministry opportunities.
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No service is insignificant.
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Spiritual failure does not remove one from future ministry.
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Be an encouragement to others, not a discouragement
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Beware of legalism.
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Blessings
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Blessings are good things—a word, an act, a gift—that encourage
us, lift us, and help us.
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All blessing begins with God because he created the heavens and
the earth and all living creatures.
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The American Heritage Dictionary defines the verb bless
“to confer well-being or prosperity on” and the noun “something
promoting or contributing to happiness, well-being, or
prosperity; a boon.” These definitions are accurate for the
Hebrew (krb, berach,
hkrb berachah) and
the Greek (eulogew eulogeo, euloghto~
eulogetos, makario~
makarios) words for blessing.
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Believers receive unique blessings because of their relationship
with Christ.
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God blessed Israel in the past and will bless Israel in the
future because of the conditional covenant with Moses (Mosaic
law, Deuteronomy 28) and unconditional covenants for Israel
(Abrahamic, Genesis 12.1-3, Palestinian, Deuteronomy 30.1-10,
Davidic, 2 Samuel 7.14-16, and New, Jeremiah 31.31-34).
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God has blessed every church age believer with positional
blessings—the same blessings for all believers—simply because we
are believers in Christ (Ephesians 1.3; Romans 4.6-9; Galatians
3.14).
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He also blesses individual believers with experiential
blessings—individualized blessings for those who practice
accurately the Christian life (Acts 20.35; Romans 15.29;
Galatians 4.15; Hebrews 6.7; 1 Peter 3.14; 4.14; Revelation
22.7).
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God also has blessings for believers during the millennial
kingdom and eternity; these begin with Christ coming for his
church (Titus 2.13; Matthew 5.3-11; Revelation 19.9; 20.6).
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Captain
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The captain of the temple guard in Acts referred to the
commander of the temple security police.
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Death of Christ
- Christ died for
the sins of all mankind—sins past, present, and future.
- What kind of a
death did He die?
- The Bible says
that God the Father judged his Son, Jesus the Christ, while His
Son was on the cross.
- Christ was on the
cross for six hours.
- The last three
hours were the bad ones—He took the judgment for mankind's sins;
at the end of that period of time He voluntarily died
physically.
- Jesus was
crucified at 9:00 AM (Mark 15.25).
- The land was
darkened from noon until 3:00 PM (Matthew 27.45; Mark 15.33;
Luke 23.44). Matthew wrote, “Now from the sixth hour darkness
fell upon all the land until the ninth hour.” (Matthew 27.45).
- Why the darkness
for the second three hours on the cross?
- The judgment was
so catastrophic that the Father broke fellowship with the Son
while He was bearing our sins and the sun was darkened during
this time to indicate the terrible judgment and separation.
- Jesus voiced this
terrible separation from God the Father when He cried out to him
while in darkness and on the cross: “And about the ninth hour
Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama
sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken
Me?’” (Matthew 27.46. Also Mark 15.34).
- At the end of
this terrible judgment, Jesus voluntarily gave up His life in
physical death: “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice,
and yielded up His spirit” (Matthew 27:50. Also Luke 23.46).
- John was very
precise when he recorded Jesus’ physical death: “When Jesus
therefore had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’
And He bowed His head, and gave up His spirit” (John 19:30. Also
Matthew 27.50 and Luke 23.46).
- To what did
Jesus, still physically alive, refer when he said “It is
finished!”? He meant that God the Father had finished judging
Him for the sins of the world. He then died physically—the
second stage of His death on the cross.
- In mankind,
physical death is a result of spiritual death. Jesus Christ was
true man; He also died physically, not because He had sinned,
but because He had completed the payment for mankind’s sins and
now followed humanity in physical death.
- Because Jesus
died physically he was able to arise physically—physical
resurrection.
- Jesus Christ was
raised from the dead; He set the pattern as the first
resurrected man.
- Paul wrote about
this in 1 Corinthians 15.20-22: “But
now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of
those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a
man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in
Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive.”
- At the point of
His physical death the veil of the temple that separated the
holy place from the holy of holies tore into two pieces from top
to bottom (Matthew 27.51; Mark 15.38; Luke 23.45).
- The tearing of
the thick veil, which occurred when He said “It is finished!”
and died physically, demonstrated that He had completed the
redemption of mankind.
- No longer was
there a need for the temple sacrifices, including the day of
atonement sacrifice.
- Note, also, that
the soldiers offered Jesus a sedating drink at the beginning of
His ordeal on the cross.
- He refused it
(Matthew 27.34; Mark 15.23; Luke 23.36).
- Why? Because
Jesus wanted to be in full control of His mind and senses; He
had a world changing job to do: He had to be judged for sin.
- At the end of the
ordeal He requested a drink and was given one (Matthew 27.48;
Mark 15.36; John 19.28-30).
- Why did He take a
drink at this time? Because He had completed the agonizing work.
- Again the
question, What kind of death did He die?
- The Bible
indicates that Jesus went through two stages or two kinds of
death.
- The first was
the three hours of darkness and separation from the Father
while He was being judged for our sins: it was dark during the
day; He was alone; He was under the agonizing pain of our sins
and the physical crucifixion. This separation from fellowship
with the Father due to judgment for sin was a spiritual
suffering or a spiritual death.
- The second
stage or kind of death was a separation from His physical body
or physical death.
- Which does the
Bible emphasize as the most important and terrible part? The
three hours on the cross bearing our sins and separated from the
Father was the most important.
- The physical
torture on the cross was excruciating, yet He was strong enough
to survive it and maintain mental and physical self-control.
- He deliberately
and voluntarily gave up His physical life after He said “It is
finished!”
- The second stage
or kind of death demonstrated the completeness of His work and
prepared for His physical resurrection and rule.
- Adam and Eve and
then all mankind experienced this spiritual death or separation
from God due to sin (Genesis 2.19; Genesis 3.7; Ephesians 2.1,
5; Colossians 2.13; John 3.3).
- Adam and Eve’s
spiritual death was demonstrated in the garden when they fell:
“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that
they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made
themselves loin coverings” (Genesis 3.7).
- They were very
much alive physically.
- Paul wrote to
believers in Asia and said that they were spiritually dead
before they became Christians by faith in Christ: “And
you were dead in your trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2.1).
- In order
for Christ to substitute as our sin bearer, He had to die
spiritually, then die physically.
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Christology
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Christology is the biblical study of Christ. Christ (Cristov"
christos)
is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word for “anointed one,”
“Messiah” (j'yvim; massiah).
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Names for Christ:
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Jesus Christ is God (John
1.1-14; Hebrews 1.1-4,8).
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The Son of God (Luke
22.70; Hebrews 1.4-5).
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Man (Luke 2; 1 Timothy
2.5).
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Prophet (Luke 24.19; John
6.14).
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Priest (Hebrews 4.14;
5.5-10).
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King of Israel (Matthew
27.11; John 1.49).
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Savior (John 4.42; 1
Timothy 4.10).
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World ruler (Zechariah
14.9; 1 Corinthians 15.24-28).
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Jesus, His human name, means
savior (Matthew 1.21); Christ or Messiah is His title; LORD is
the personal name of the revealed covenant God of Israel; Lord
is a title for deity; Immanuel comes from Isaiah’s prophecy in
Isaiah 7.14 and means in the Hebrew “God with us” (lae
WnM;[;
lae el
means God,
Wn nu
means us,
M;[I im
means with ).
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Jesus was
virgin-conceived (Isaiah 7.14; Matthew
1.20-23) so that he would be undiminished deity and true
humanity without a sinful human nature (Luke
1.35; Hebrews
4.15). This means that he had no human father; God caused Mary
to become pregnant—a miracle.
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Christ became man
when he was born of Mary in order to die for the sins of the
world—to reconcile mankind (2
Corinthians
5.18-21; 1 Timothy
1.15); He
was the lamb of God (John
1.29).
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Besides not
having a sin nature,
He
never sinned (2
Corinthians
5.21; Hebrews
4.15).
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Christ is
undimished deity and true humanity in one person forever (John
1.1-14; Hebrews
1.1-13; 2.14); the theological name for this is hypostatic
union.
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When he came to
earth He
voluntarily restricted the independent use of certain divine
attributes, though from
His
birth on He
always is undiminished deity and true humanity; the theological
name for this truth is kenosis (Philippians
2.6-8).
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During
His
time on earth, in His
humanity, He
relied on the Holy Spirit (Luke
4.14,18).
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His purpose for
coming to earth was to die in our place for our sins;
He
was our substitute, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of
the world.
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During the three
hours of darkness, while
He
was on the cross, God the Father judged Christ,
His
son, for all the sins of all mankind (1
Timothy
1.15; 2 Corinthians
5.18-21; John
1.29; John
19.30; 1 John
2.1-2).
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He arose from the
dead on the third day (Luke
24; 1 Corinthians
15.4 ); He
ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of the
Father forty days after
He
arose (Acts 1.3-9 );
He
now intercedes for believers (Hebrews
4.14; 1 Jn 2.1-2); He
will return for the church to take church believers back to
heaven (1
Thessalonians
4.16-18; Titus 2.13), then after the seven years of tribulation
on earth, He
will come to earth to set up and rule
His
millennial kingdom (Matthew
24.27-31; Acts 1.10-11; 2
Thessalonians
1.7-10 ); at the end of the millennium, after one last Satan-led
rebellion which will be followed by the Great White Throne
Judgment, Christ will turn over the kingdom of God to the Father
and the Father will have
Him
continue to
rule the eternal
kingdom, which will reside in a new heaven and a new earth,
forever (Revelation
20; 1 Corinthians
15.24-28).
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Chronology of
Acts 1-12
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The chronology of Acts 1-12 helps our perspective of the events
covered by Luke’s history. I have taken this chronology from
Harold W. Hoehner.
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Pentecost, Sunday, May 24, AD 33 (Acts 2).
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Saul’s conversion, summer AD 35 (Acts 9).
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Peter’s trip to Cornelius’ house, AD 40-41 (Acts 10.-11.18).
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Barnabas sent to Antioch, AD 41 (Acts 11.19-24).
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Paul went to Antioch, spring AD 43 (Acts 11.25-26).
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Agabus predicted the famine, spring AD 44 (Acts 11.27-28).
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Agrippa killed James, spring AD 44 (Acts 12.1-2).
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Barnabas and Saul take the relief offering to Jerusalem, fall
AD 47 (Acts 11.30).
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Barnabas and Saul are back in Antioch, fall AD 47 to spring 48
(Acts 12.25-13.1).
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Circumcision
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Circumcision was a physical sign, a ritual, a human work showing
that one believed God’s covenant to Abraham.
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Circumcision is the surgical removal of the foreskin from the
male sex organ.
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It began with Abraham and the Mosaic Law included circumcision
(Leviticus 12.3).
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It is a ritual which signifies that the individual has accepted
the Abrahamic covenant—God’s unconditional covenant that He
would bless Abraham by giving him and his heirs a land, by
giving him children who would expand into a nation, and by
blessing the whole human race through one of his heirs (Genesis
12.1-3; 17; Romans 3.1-2)—by faith (Genesis 17.1-14; Romans
4.10-11).
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Circumcision was established for all male Jewish children 8 days
old (Genesis 17.12), male Gentile children born into the house
or purchased (Genesis 17.12-13), and male foreigners wishing to
celebrate the Passover or become citizens of Israel (Exodus
12.48).
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True circumcision was a sign that a particular Hebrew family
accepted by faith the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 17.1-14;
Romans 2.24-29).
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Circumcision was a prerequisite for eating of the Passover meal.
The Passover is indirectly a commemoration of the Abrahamic
Covenant (Exodus 12.40-51).
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Circumcision was never necessary for salvation (Romans
3.30-4.12; 1 Corinthians 7.19; Galatians 2.3-7).
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There have been two types of circumcision in Israel's history.
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True circumcision was the surgical procedure based upon faith
in correct doctrine.
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False circumcision was the surgical procedure based upon works
and incorrect doctrine (John 7.14-24; Romans 2.25-29; 9.1-9;
Philippians 3.1-7).
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Circumcision has no spiritual significance in the church age
(Acts 15; Galatians 2; 5.1-13; 6.12-18).
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The Baptism of the HS is the spiritual sign that a person is a
part of the church just as circumcision was a physical sign that
the person was a part of Israel under the Abrahamic covenant
(Romans 6.3-4; 1 Corinthians 12.13; Colossians 2.11-13).
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David
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David
was from the
tribe of Judah, a son of Jesse, king of Israel, and psalmist (2
Samuel 23.1).
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He was the second king in Israel and ruled after
Saul, though he was the first king from the ruling tribe, Judah.
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He began as a shepherd, was Saul’s armor bearer,
was anointed by Samuel to be God’s king of Israel (1 Samuel 16).
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He killed Goliath (1 Samuel 17), was pursued by
Saul (1 Samuel 19), and at Saul’s death was inaugurated King of
Israel (2 Samuel 5).
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God promised him (Davidic Covenant, 2 Samuel
7.4-17) that his descendents, and especially his greatest
descendant, Jesus the Christ (Matthew 1.1; Romans 1.3) would
rule forever over Israel.
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His most noted sons were Absalom (2 Samuel 3.3,
mother was Maacah), Nathan (1 Chronicles 3.3, Bathsheba), and
Solomon (2 Samuel 12.24, Bathsheba).
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He was noted for his faith and loyalty to the
Lord (Psalm 22 and 23), and though he publicly sinned numerous
times he always returned to fellowship with the Lord by
confessing his sin to Him (Psalm 32, 2 Samuel 12.1-15; Psalm 51;
1 Kings 15.3-5).
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God said that David was a “man after His own
heart” (1 Samuel 13.14; Acts 13.22, 36); that is, one who, in
spite of his sin, always returned to fellowship with God and
desired to do God’s will.
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David was a great military leader and author of
many at least 73 Psalms.
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David’s challenge and instructions to Solomon,
and the nation were applications of his understanding practice
of grace, humility, obedience, and faith (1 Chronicles 28-29,
and especially 29.10-21).
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David’s greatness was his consistent desire to do
God’s will, his faith in the Lord, his loyalty to the Lord, his
willingness to honestly confess sin and failure to the Lord, and
his spiritual and national leadership.
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Divine Discipline
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God disciplines believers in
order to bring about right thinking and right living; He wants
to protect, correct, train and bless us.
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God begins with warning
(Revelation 3.19-20), then proceeds to punishment if the warning
is ignored (Hebrews 12.5-11), and in certain cases He removes
the believer from temporal life—the
sin unto death (Acts 5.1-10; 1 John 5.16).
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Divine Guidance
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Divine guidance means that God makes His will known to
believers.
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Sometimes we know His will all at once (Jude) and sometimes He
reveals His will a step at a time (Peter).
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God guided Peter in the Cornelius situation through a
combination of Peter’s prayer, the Word (the sheet vision),
Peter’s thinking about the vision, circumstances, and through
the urging of the Holy Spirit (Acts 10.9-22 and Acts 11.4-12).
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Peter did not fully know to what end God was guiding him until
he arrived at Cornelius’ house and heard Cornelius’ explanation
as to why he had sent for Peter (Acts 10.34-35).
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Peter followed God’s guidance step by step.
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God guided Jude to change the subject of his letter from
salvation to an appeal that believers earnestly contend for the
faith because of the surrounding apostasy (Jude 1-4).
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God guided Jude through a combination of Jude’s knowledge of
Bible doctrine, the circumstances of apostasy, and a strong
inner necessity produced by the Holy Spirit.
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After the Scripture was completed, God stopped guiding by
visions or direct revelations; we now have his completed Word,
Bible doctrine.
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Therefore, we need to know the Word of God, walk in fellowship
with God, walk by the Holy Spirit, and listen to the Word and
the Holy Spirit.
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Eli
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Eli was the priest at Shiloh at the time of Samuel’s birth (1
Samuel 1:9) and a judge (1 Samuel 4:18).
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He was to serve as priest for
Israel and to care for the ark (1 Samuel 4:11-18).
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He was instrumental in the early training of Samuel (1 Samuel
2:11, 18-21; 3:1).
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His sons, priests under him (1 Samuel 1:3) were worthless rebels
whom he failed to discipline and train (1 Samuel 2:12; 3:13).
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