The Upper Room Daily
SAINTS DO NOT POSSESS an extra layer of muscle. They are not taller, and they do not sport superior IQs. They are not richer, and their parents are not more clever than yours or mine. They have no bat-like perception that enables them to fly in the dark.
They are flesh and blood, just like you and me, no stronger, no more intelligent. And that is the point. They simply offer themselves to God, knowing they are not the elite, fully cognizant that they are inadequate to the task, that their abilities are limited and fallible.[James C. Howell, Servants, Misfits, and Martyrs]
From page 17 of Servants, Misfits, and Martyrs by James C. Howell. Copyright © 1999 by James C. Howell. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
What is your understanding of saint? how would you describe the characteristics of a saint?
Today’s Scripture:
Every day I will bless you, and praise your name forever and ever.[Psalm 145:2, NRSV]
This Week: pray for farmers.
They are flesh and blood, just like you and me, no stronger, no more intelligent. And that is the point. They simply offer themselves to God, knowing they are not the elite, fully cognizant that they are inadequate to the task, that their abilities are limited and fallible.[James C. Howell, Servants, Misfits, and Martyrs]
From page 17 of Servants, Misfits, and Martyrs by James C. Howell. Copyright © 1999 by James C. Howell. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
What is your understanding of saint? how would you describe the characteristics of a saint?
Today’s Scripture:
Every day I will bless you, and praise your name forever and ever.[Psalm 145:2, NRSV]
This Week: pray for farmers.
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In need of prayer? The Upper Room Living Prayer Center is a 7-day-a-week intercessory prayer ministry staffed by trained volunteers. Call 1-800-251-2468 or visit The Living Prayer Center website.
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This week we remember: Donald M. Baillie (October 31).
Donald M. BaillieOctober 31
Born in 1887, Donald M. Baillie was a Scottish pastor, teacher, systematic theologian, and ecumenist; considered one of the most influential Presbyterian scholars of the twentieth century. Baillie was Professor of Systematic Theology at St. Andrews University from 1934 until the time of his death in 1954.
Baillie believed that any Christian spiritual or devotional life needed a foundation based on a sense of the Trinity as a living reality. Beyond this, just as Jesus bore the essence of God through the incarnation in his life, he also bore the divine nature of atonement through his passion and death on the cross. For Baillie, the church truly becomes the body of Christ in the world to tell the sacred story of what God has done in Jesus Christ.
In The Theology of the Sacraments (1957) Baillie argued that the sacraments were concentrations of the much more widespread sacramental significance of everyday life. Why else, he posited, would Jesus incorporate the divine essence in something as mundane and commonplace as bread and wine? For him the sacraments were the vehicle through which the divine word broke into the wider world and sanctified it.
If Donald M. Baillie had taken the Spiritual Types Test, he probably would have been a Sage. Donald M. Baillie is remembered on October 31.
[Excerpted with permission from the entry on Donald M. Baillie by Samuel F. (Skip) Parvin, from The Upper Room Dictionary of Christian Spiritual Formation, edited by Keith Beasley-Topliffe. Copyright © 2003 by Upper Room Books®. All rights reserved.]
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Lectionary Readings:
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, Year C
Sunday, 6 November 2016
Haggai 1:15b-2:9
Psalm 145:1-5, 17-21
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17
Luke 20:27-38
Scripture Text: Haggai 1:15 This was on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month of the second year of Daryavesh the king.
2:1 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, this word of Adonai came through Hagai the prophet: 2 “Speak now to Z’rubavel the son of Sh’alti’el, governor of Y’hudah, and to Y’hoshua the son of Y’hotzadak, the cohen hagadol, and to the rest of the people; say this to them: 3 ‘“Who among you is left that saw this house in its former glory? And how does it look to you now? It seems like nothing to you, doesn’t it? 4 Nevertheless, Z’rubavel, take courage now,” says Adonai; “and take courage, Y’hoshua the son of Y’hotzadak, the cohen hagadol; and take courage, all you people of the land,” says Adonai; “and get to work! For I am with you,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot. 5 “This is in keeping with the word that I promised in a covenant with you when you came out of Egypt, and my Spirit remains with you, so don’t be afraid!” 6 For this is what Adonai-Tzva’ot says: “It won’t be long before one more time I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land; 7 and I will shake all the nations, so that the treasures of all the nations will flow in; and I will fill this house with glory,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot. 8 “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot. 9 “The glory of this new house will surpass that of the old,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot, “and in this place I will grant shalom,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot.’”
Psalm 145:(0) Praise. By David:
(1) I will praise you to the heights, my God, the king;
I will bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you;
I will praise your name forever and ever.
3 Great is Adonai and greatly to be praised;
his greatness is beyond all searching out.
4 Each generation will praise your works to the next
and proclaim your mighty acts.
5 I will meditate on the glorious splendor
of your majesty and on the story of your wonders.
17 Adonai is righteous in all his ways,
full of grace in all he does.
18 Adonai is close to all who call on him,
to all who sincerely call on him.
19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
20 Adonai protects all who love him,
but all the wicked he destroys.
21 My mouth will proclaim the praise of Adonai;
all people will bless his holy name forever and ever.
2 Thessalonians 2:1 But in connection with the coming of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah and our gathering together to meet him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be easily shaken in your thinking or anxious because of a spirit or a spoken message or a letter supposedly from us claiming that the Day of the Lord has already come. 3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way.
For the Day will not come until after the Apostasy has come and the man who separates himself from Torah has been revealed, the one destined for doom. 4 He will oppose himself to everything that people call a god or make an object of worship; he will put himself above them all, so that he will sit in the Temple of God and proclaim that he himself is God.[2 Thessalonians 2:4 Ezekiel 28:2]
5 Don’t you remember that when I was still with you, I used to tell you these things?
13 But we have to keep thanking God for you always, brothers whom the Lord loves, because God chose you as firstfruits for deliverance by giving you the holiness that has its origin in the Spirit and the faithfulness that has its origin in the truth. 14 He called you to this through our Good News, so that you could have the glory of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.
15 Therefore, brothers, stand firm; and hold to the traditions you were taught by us, whether we spoke them or wrote them in a letter. 16 And may our Lord Yeshua the Messiah himself and God our Father, who has loved us and by his grace given us eternal comfort and a good hope, 17 comfort your hearts and strengthen you in every good word and deed.
Luke 20:27 Some Tz’dukim, who say there is no resurrection, came to Yeshua 28 and put to him a sh’eilah: “Rabbi, Moshe wrote for us that if a man dies leaving a wife but no children, his brother must take the wife and have children to preserve the man’s family line.[Luke 20:28 Deuteronomy 25:5] 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife and died childless, 30 then the second 31 and third took her, and likewise all seven, but they all died without leaving children. 32 Lastly, the woman also died. 33 In the Resurrection, which one’s wife will she be? For all seven were married to her.”
34 Yeshua said to them, “In this age, men and women marry; 35 but those judged worthy of the age to come, and of resurrection from the dead, do not get married, 36 because they can no longer die. Being children of the Resurrection, they are like angels; indeed, they are children of God.
37 “But even Moshe showed that the dead are raised; for in the passage about the bush, he calls Adonai ‘the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz’chak and the God of Ya‘akov.’[Luke 20:37 Exodus 3:6] 38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living — to him all are alive.”
The John Wesley's Notes-Commentary: Haggai 1:15b-2:9
Verse 3
[3] Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?
That saw — Near fourscore years ago.
This house — The temple built by Solomon.
Verse 5
[5] According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.
My spirit — Of strength and courage, of wisdom and understanding.
Verse 6
[6] For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;
Yet once — After many confirmations of the new covenant, one more, remains to be made.
A little while — Tho' above five hundred years, yet this was but a little time compared with that between the promise to Adam and Christ's coming.
I will shake — Whether it be metaphorical or literal, it was verified at the time of Christ's coming into the world. After the return of the captivity, by the commotions among the Grecians, Persians, and Romans, which began soon after this time; this was metaphorically fulfilled. And it was literally fulfilled by prodigies and earthquakes, at the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ.
Verse 7
[7] And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
All nations — Which was literally fulfilled in the overthrow of the Persian monarchy by the Grecians, in the civil wars, and succeeding troubles among Alexander's successors, the growth of the Roman power by subduing their neighbours, and their dissentions and home-bred wars.
The desire — Christ the most desirable, to all nations, and who was desired by all that knew their own misery, and his sufficiency to save them who was to be the light of the Gentiles, as well as the glory of his people Israel.
With glory — The first temple had a glory in its magnificent structure, rich ornaments, and costly sacrifices; but this was a worldly glory; that which is here promised, is a heavenly glory from the presence of Christ in it. He that was the brightness of his father's glory, who is the glory of the church, appeared in this second temple.
Verse 8
[8] The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts.
The silver — The treasures of both: doubt not therefore but I will give enough to build this house.
Verse 9
[9] The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.
In this place — In my house, a type of Christ.
Peace — A spiritual, internal, and heavenly peace.
Psalm 145:1-5, 17-21
Verse 18
[18] The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
Nigh — To answer their prayers.
In truth — With an upright heart.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17
Verse 1
[1] Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
Our gathering together to him — In the clouds.
Verse 2
[2] That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
Be not shaken in mind — In judgment.
Or terrified — As those easily are who are immoderately fond of knowing future things. Neither by any pretended revelation from the Spirit, nor by pretence of any word spoken by me.
Verse 3
[3] Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Unless the falling away — From the pure faith of the gospel, come first. This began even in the apostolic age. But the man of sin, the son of perdition - Eminently so called, is not come yet. However, in many respects, the Pope has an indisputable claim to those titles. He is, in an emphatical sense, the man of sin, as he increases all manner of sin above measure. And he is, too, properly styled, the son of perdition, as he has caused the death of numberless multitudes, both of his opposers and followers, destroyed innumerable souls, and will himself perish everlastingly. He it is that opposeth himself to the emperor, once his rightful sovereign; and that exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped - Commanding angels, and putting kings under his feet, both of whom are called gods in scripture; claiming the highest power, the highest honour; suffering himself, not once only, to be styled God or vice-god. Indeed no less is implied in his ordinary title, "Most Holy Lord," or, "Most Holy Father." So that he sitteth - Enthroned.
In the temple of God — Mentioned Revelation 11:1.
Declaring himself that he is God — Claiming the prerogatives which belong to God alone.
Verse 13
[13] But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
God hath from the beginning — Of your hearing the gospel.
Chosen you to salvation — Taken you out of the world, and placed you in the way to glory.
Verse 14
[14] Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
To which — Faith and holiness.
He hath called you by our gospel — That which we preached, accompanied with the power of his Spirit.
Verse 15
[15] Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
Hold — Without adding to, or diminishing from, the traditions which ye have been taught - The truths which I have delivered to you.
Whether by word or by our epistle — He preached before he wrote. And he had written concerning this in his former epistle.
Luke 20:27-38
Verse 27
[27] Then came to him certain of the Sadducees, which deny that there is any resurrection; and they asked him,
Matthew 22:23; Mark 12:18.
Verse 28
[28] Saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any man's brother die, having a wife, and he die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
Deuteronomy 25:5.
Verse 34
[34] And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage:
The children of this world — The inhabitants of earth, marry and are given in marriage - As being all subject to the law of mortality; so that the species is in need of being continually repaired.
Verse 35
[35] But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:
But they who obtain that world — Which they enter into, before the resurrection of the dead.
Verse 36
[36] Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.
They are the children of God — In a more eminent sense when they rise again.
Verse 37
[37] Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
That the dead are raised, even Moses, as well as the other prophets showed, when he calleth - That is, when he recites the words which God spoke of himself, I am the God of Abraham, etc. It cannot properly be said, that God is the God of any who are totally perished. Exodus 3:6.
Verse 38
[38] For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.
He is not a God of the dead, or, there is no God of the dead - That is, tho term God implies such a relation, as cannot possibly subsist between him and the dead; who in the Sadducees' sense are extinguished spirits; who could neither worship him, nor receive good from him.
So that all live to him — All who have him for their God, live to and enjoy him. This sentence is not an argument for what went before; but the proposition which was to be proved. And the consequence is apparently just. For as all the faithful are the children of Abraham, and the Divine promise of being a God to him and his seed is entailed upon them, it implies their continued existence and happiness in a future state as much as Abraham's. And as the body is an essential part of man, it implies both his resurrection and theirs; and so overthrows the entire scheme of the Sadducean doctrine.
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The Upper Room Ministries
PO Box 340004
Nashville, Tennessee 37203-0004, United States
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(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, Year C
Sunday, 6 November 2016
Haggai 1:15b-2:9
Psalm 145:1-5, 17-21
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17
Luke 20:27-38
Scripture Text: Haggai 1:15 This was on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month of the second year of Daryavesh the king.
2:1 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, this word of Adonai came through Hagai the prophet: 2 “Speak now to Z’rubavel the son of Sh’alti’el, governor of Y’hudah, and to Y’hoshua the son of Y’hotzadak, the cohen hagadol, and to the rest of the people; say this to them: 3 ‘“Who among you is left that saw this house in its former glory? And how does it look to you now? It seems like nothing to you, doesn’t it? 4 Nevertheless, Z’rubavel, take courage now,” says Adonai; “and take courage, Y’hoshua the son of Y’hotzadak, the cohen hagadol; and take courage, all you people of the land,” says Adonai; “and get to work! For I am with you,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot. 5 “This is in keeping with the word that I promised in a covenant with you when you came out of Egypt, and my Spirit remains with you, so don’t be afraid!” 6 For this is what Adonai-Tzva’ot says: “It won’t be long before one more time I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land; 7 and I will shake all the nations, so that the treasures of all the nations will flow in; and I will fill this house with glory,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot. 8 “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot. 9 “The glory of this new house will surpass that of the old,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot, “and in this place I will grant shalom,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot.’”
Psalm 145:(0) Praise. By David:
(1) I will praise you to the heights, my God, the king;
I will bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you;
I will praise your name forever and ever.
3 Great is Adonai and greatly to be praised;
his greatness is beyond all searching out.
4 Each generation will praise your works to the next
and proclaim your mighty acts.
5 I will meditate on the glorious splendor
of your majesty and on the story of your wonders.
17 Adonai is righteous in all his ways,
full of grace in all he does.
18 Adonai is close to all who call on him,
to all who sincerely call on him.
19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
20 Adonai protects all who love him,
but all the wicked he destroys.
21 My mouth will proclaim the praise of Adonai;
all people will bless his holy name forever and ever.
2 Thessalonians 2:1 But in connection with the coming of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah and our gathering together to meet him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be easily shaken in your thinking or anxious because of a spirit or a spoken message or a letter supposedly from us claiming that the Day of the Lord has already come. 3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way.
For the Day will not come until after the Apostasy has come and the man who separates himself from Torah has been revealed, the one destined for doom. 4 He will oppose himself to everything that people call a god or make an object of worship; he will put himself above them all, so that he will sit in the Temple of God and proclaim that he himself is God.[2 Thessalonians 2:4 Ezekiel 28:2]
5 Don’t you remember that when I was still with you, I used to tell you these things?
13 But we have to keep thanking God for you always, brothers whom the Lord loves, because God chose you as firstfruits for deliverance by giving you the holiness that has its origin in the Spirit and the faithfulness that has its origin in the truth. 14 He called you to this through our Good News, so that you could have the glory of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.
15 Therefore, brothers, stand firm; and hold to the traditions you were taught by us, whether we spoke them or wrote them in a letter. 16 And may our Lord Yeshua the Messiah himself and God our Father, who has loved us and by his grace given us eternal comfort and a good hope, 17 comfort your hearts and strengthen you in every good word and deed.
Luke 20:27 Some Tz’dukim, who say there is no resurrection, came to Yeshua 28 and put to him a sh’eilah: “Rabbi, Moshe wrote for us that if a man dies leaving a wife but no children, his brother must take the wife and have children to preserve the man’s family line.[Luke 20:28 Deuteronomy 25:5] 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife and died childless, 30 then the second 31 and third took her, and likewise all seven, but they all died without leaving children. 32 Lastly, the woman also died. 33 In the Resurrection, which one’s wife will she be? For all seven were married to her.”
34 Yeshua said to them, “In this age, men and women marry; 35 but those judged worthy of the age to come, and of resurrection from the dead, do not get married, 36 because they can no longer die. Being children of the Resurrection, they are like angels; indeed, they are children of God.
37 “But even Moshe showed that the dead are raised; for in the passage about the bush, he calls Adonai ‘the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz’chak and the God of Ya‘akov.’[Luke 20:37 Exodus 3:6] 38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living — to him all are alive.”
The John Wesley's Notes-Commentary: Haggai 1:15b-2:9
Verse 3
[3] Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?
That saw — Near fourscore years ago.
This house — The temple built by Solomon.
Verse 5
[5] According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.
My spirit — Of strength and courage, of wisdom and understanding.
Verse 6
[6] For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;
Yet once — After many confirmations of the new covenant, one more, remains to be made.
A little while — Tho' above five hundred years, yet this was but a little time compared with that between the promise to Adam and Christ's coming.
I will shake — Whether it be metaphorical or literal, it was verified at the time of Christ's coming into the world. After the return of the captivity, by the commotions among the Grecians, Persians, and Romans, which began soon after this time; this was metaphorically fulfilled. And it was literally fulfilled by prodigies and earthquakes, at the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ.
Verse 7
[7] And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
All nations — Which was literally fulfilled in the overthrow of the Persian monarchy by the Grecians, in the civil wars, and succeeding troubles among Alexander's successors, the growth of the Roman power by subduing their neighbours, and their dissentions and home-bred wars.
The desire — Christ the most desirable, to all nations, and who was desired by all that knew their own misery, and his sufficiency to save them who was to be the light of the Gentiles, as well as the glory of his people Israel.
With glory — The first temple had a glory in its magnificent structure, rich ornaments, and costly sacrifices; but this was a worldly glory; that which is here promised, is a heavenly glory from the presence of Christ in it. He that was the brightness of his father's glory, who is the glory of the church, appeared in this second temple.
Verse 8
[8] The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts.
The silver — The treasures of both: doubt not therefore but I will give enough to build this house.
Verse 9
[9] The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.
In this place — In my house, a type of Christ.
Peace — A spiritual, internal, and heavenly peace.
Psalm 145:1-5, 17-21
Verse 18
[18] The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
Nigh — To answer their prayers.
In truth — With an upright heart.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17
Verse 1
[1] Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
Our gathering together to him — In the clouds.
Verse 2
[2] That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
Be not shaken in mind — In judgment.
Or terrified — As those easily are who are immoderately fond of knowing future things. Neither by any pretended revelation from the Spirit, nor by pretence of any word spoken by me.
Verse 3
[3] Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Unless the falling away — From the pure faith of the gospel, come first. This began even in the apostolic age. But the man of sin, the son of perdition - Eminently so called, is not come yet. However, in many respects, the Pope has an indisputable claim to those titles. He is, in an emphatical sense, the man of sin, as he increases all manner of sin above measure. And he is, too, properly styled, the son of perdition, as he has caused the death of numberless multitudes, both of his opposers and followers, destroyed innumerable souls, and will himself perish everlastingly. He it is that opposeth himself to the emperor, once his rightful sovereign; and that exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped - Commanding angels, and putting kings under his feet, both of whom are called gods in scripture; claiming the highest power, the highest honour; suffering himself, not once only, to be styled God or vice-god. Indeed no less is implied in his ordinary title, "Most Holy Lord," or, "Most Holy Father." So that he sitteth - Enthroned.
In the temple of God — Mentioned Revelation 11:1.
Declaring himself that he is God — Claiming the prerogatives which belong to God alone.
Verse 13
[13] But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
God hath from the beginning — Of your hearing the gospel.
Chosen you to salvation — Taken you out of the world, and placed you in the way to glory.
Verse 14
[14] Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
To which — Faith and holiness.
He hath called you by our gospel — That which we preached, accompanied with the power of his Spirit.
Verse 15
[15] Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
Hold — Without adding to, or diminishing from, the traditions which ye have been taught - The truths which I have delivered to you.
Whether by word or by our epistle — He preached before he wrote. And he had written concerning this in his former epistle.
Luke 20:27-38
Verse 27
[27] Then came to him certain of the Sadducees, which deny that there is any resurrection; and they asked him,
Matthew 22:23; Mark 12:18.
Verse 28
[28] Saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any man's brother die, having a wife, and he die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
Deuteronomy 25:5.
Verse 34
[34] And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage:
The children of this world — The inhabitants of earth, marry and are given in marriage - As being all subject to the law of mortality; so that the species is in need of being continually repaired.
Verse 35
[35] But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:
But they who obtain that world — Which they enter into, before the resurrection of the dead.
Verse 36
[36] Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.
They are the children of God — In a more eminent sense when they rise again.
Verse 37
[37] Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
That the dead are raised, even Moses, as well as the other prophets showed, when he calleth - That is, when he recites the words which God spoke of himself, I am the God of Abraham, etc. It cannot properly be said, that God is the God of any who are totally perished. Exodus 3:6.
Verse 38
[38] For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.
He is not a God of the dead, or, there is no God of the dead - That is, tho term God implies such a relation, as cannot possibly subsist between him and the dead; who in the Sadducees' sense are extinguished spirits; who could neither worship him, nor receive good from him.
So that all live to him — All who have him for their God, live to and enjoy him. This sentence is not an argument for what went before; but the proposition which was to be proved. And the consequence is apparently just. For as all the faithful are the children of Abraham, and the Divine promise of being a God to him and his seed is entailed upon them, it implies their continued existence and happiness in a future state as much as Abraham's. And as the body is an essential part of man, it implies both his resurrection and theirs; and so overthrows the entire scheme of the Sadducean doctrine.
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