ChristadelphianBooksOnline The Agora Bible Articles and Lessons: P-Q

What should be written, in a brief introduction such as this, about a man like Paul? He was, quite simply, the greatest man ever to follow the Lord Jesus Christ — a man whose heart throbbed always with love for God and love for his brethren, despite their failures, despite even their sins against him. He was a man who truly “filled up”, or completed, that which was lacking in the sufferings of Christ (Col 1:24); for he surely took up the cross and followed his Saviour, even unto death. With no pride or arrogance, but in simple truth, he was able to say of himself that he had been: “In labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches” (2Co 11:23-28).

Originally “Saul” (which may sig “appointed by God), he changed his name to Paul — or perhaps adopted his Greek name more regularly — a name sig “small, or little”. He was a man small in stature (2Co 10:1,10), and perhaps he had become “small” in his own eyes (1Co 15:9; 2Ti 1:15). At any rate, it was a Gentile name for an apostle to the Gentiles (Gal 2:9).

Paul was “a chosen vessel”, to bear the gospel of Christ before the Gentiles (Acts 9:17). He was learned in all the Law and the prophets, having been taught by the famous Gamaliel (Acts 22:3), who was a member of the Sanhedrin. But more importantly, he was directly instructed by Christ (Gal 1:12). No man ever carried out a commission better. It goes almost without saying, therefore, that his writings are fully inspired by God (2Ti 3:16,17).

The Pastoral Epistles (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus) were Paul’s last recorded writings, written after the first imprisonment at Rome (Acts 28:30). Although some (mostly modern) writers would contend otherwise, the general consensus of expositors and historians (which seems more likely) is that Paul lived and worked some years after the captivity related in the last chapter of Acts. Early Christian testimony informs us that Paul’s appeal to Caesar (Acts 25:11) had a successful conclusion, and that after his first imprisonment he was released in approximately 63 AD. After this he appears to have spent a couple of years of freedom before he was again arrested and condemned. In these last several years he wrote, first of all, 1 Timothy and Titus — which have much in common. (That Paul was at liberty when he wrote to Titus is substantiated by Tit 3:12.) At the very last, Paul wrote 2 Timothy from prison, in his second confinement, fully expecting to die soon afterward (2Ti 4:6).

With a very few exceptions, Paul’s letters were written to meet immediate situations. They were not dispassionate treatises written in the peace and silence of a well-stocked study. There was some threatening situation in Corinth, or Galatia, or Thessalonica, and he wrote a letter to meet it. Or there were dearly beloved “sons” in the faith, like Timothy and Titus, whose hands needed strengthening in difficult positions — and, again, Paul took time out of an unbelievably busy life to meet the need.

But we must not think that a composition is of no consequence to us because it was written to address an immediate situation which has long since ceased to exist. Indeed, it is just because the frail flesh we all bear does not change that God still speaks to us today through the letters of Paul. In these little letters, a great and good and truly humble man still “lives” and pours out his heart and mind in love to us, his beloved children in the Truth.

Paul’s letters

First, as to an overview: Paul’s fourteen letters seem to fall into five groups:

1. The earliest, 1 and 2 Thessalonians (and possibly Galatians), were written on his second missionary journey when he first went to Europe.

2. Romans and 1 and 2 Corinthians were written during his third journey, when he spent most of his time in Ephesus. (This was at the time of the troubles in Corinth, when Titus was sent there: 2Co 8:16,23; 12:18.)

3. Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, Philemon, and Hebrews were written near the end of his first imprisonment in Rome (Acts 28:30), when he was expecting soon to be released, as he indicated in several of them.

4. Titus and 1 Timothy were written in the period after his release, when he was back working in the same area of Greece, Asia Minor, and Macedonia again.

5. Finally, 2 Timothy was written, right at the end of his life, from prison again in Rome.

There are several different types of Pauline letters: fourteen letters in all. Nine were written to seven ecclesias (if Galatians be reckoned as an ecclesia) — there being two each to Corinth and Thessalonica. Just as Jesus Christ in the Apocalypse sent messages to seven ecclesias, so did Paul. (Seven is the Scriptural number of completion and perfection, suggesting that Paul’s ecclesial letters contain the complete gospel and perfect instruction for all ecclesias.) Some of the nine ecclesial letters were written to answer special questions (as the two to Corinth); some to oppose special false doctrines (as that to the Galatians); and others to upbuild and strengthen generally.

From a different aspect, these nine ecclesial letters may be divided into three basic groups:

4 doctrinal: Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, and Galatians.

3 practical: Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians.

2 concerning Christ’s return: 1 and 2 Thessalonians.

Paul’s five other letters were also written for several purposes. They consist of one thoroughly personal letter (Philemon); one general letter, to Hebrew Christians with dangerous leanings toward Judaism (Hebrews); and three letters to individuals (Timothy and Titus) who were leaders of ecclesias.

ChristadelphianBooksOnline The Agora Bible Articles and Lessons: P-Q

Paul’s ecclesial letters	Christ as…	In Christ we find…
Rom	Power (Rom 1:16)	Justification
1Co	Wisdom (1Co 1:30)	Sanctification
2Co	Comfort (2Co 1:3,4)	Consolation
Gal	Righteousness (Gal 2:21)	Liberation
Eph	Riches (Eph 1:7)	Exaltation
Phi	Sufficiency (Phi 1:21)	Exultation
Col	Fullness (Col 1:19)	Completion
1Th	Promise (1Th 1:10)	Translation
2Th	Victory (2Th 1:7)	Compensation

ChristadelphianBooksOnline The Agora Bible Articles and Lessons: P-Q

The purpose of Yahweh may be summarized in the Heb titles of the first five books of the Bible. As is not widely known, many of the titles in our English Bibles are based on the Greek translation; they bear little or no resemblance to the Heb titles:

English title	Hebrew title	Translation
1. Genesis	“Bereshith”	“In the beginning”
2. Exodus	“Ve-elleh shemoth”	“These (are) the names”
3. Leviticus	“Vayyikra”	“He (Yahweh) called”
4. Numbers	“Be-midbar”	“In the wilderness”
5. Deuteronomy	“Haddebarim”	“These (are) the words”

In each of the above cases, the Hebrew title is the first word or phrase of the book, which serves as the keynote of its message. In carrying the observation one step further, we notice that the five phrases or titles, taken in order, provide a message. In poetic fashion [and supplying the elliptical phrase at the end], they speak eloquently of God and His comprehensive purpose, as Creator, Lawgiver, and Savior of the world:

“In the beginning these were the names which Yahweh called. In the wilderness these were the words [which Yahweh spoke].”

ChristadelphianBooksOnline The Agora Bible Articles and Lessons: P-Q

People marry for four reasons: for passion, for wealth, for honor, or for the glory of God. If they marry for passion, their children will be given over to their own passions, and will grow up stubborn and rebellious. If they marry for wealth, their children will learn to be greedy. If they marry for honor, their children will one day become proud, ambitious, and ruthless. But if they marry for the glory of God, then their children will be righteous, and they will preserve Israel.

ChristadelphianBooksOnline The Agora Bible Articles and Lessons: P-Q

If you find the perfect ecclesia Without one fault or smear, For goodness sake don’t join that one — You’d spoil the atmosphere!

If you find the perfect ecclesia Where all false doctrines cease, Then pass it by, lest, joining it, You mar the masterpiece!

And, finding the perfect ecclesia, Then don’t you ever dare To tread upon its holy ground — You’d be a misfit there!

But, since no perfect ecclesia exists Within this world of sin, Then let’s stop looking for that one — And love the one we’re in!

No, it’s not a perfect ecclesia; That’s easy to discern, But you, and I, and all of us Could cause the tide to turn!

What a fool you’d be to leave your post, Looking for a place to please ya; It could be that, where problems form Is where GOD builds HIS ecclesia!

So let’s keep working in OUR ecclesia Until the Resurrection, And then we each can join THE ecclesia With no imperfection!

ChristadelphianBooksOnline The Agora Bible Articles and Lessons: P-Q

ChristadelphianBooksOnline The Agora Bible Articles and Lessons: P-Q

“Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve… And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?” (Mat 26:20,22).

They came together as a body of believers, they looked upon their Lord, and they questioned — each one individually — their commitments to Jesus. This attitude of humility, of awareness of frailty, and of self-examination, became an integral feature of the memorial instituted there, as much so as the bread and the wine themselves. Thus Paul commands:

“Let a man examine himself, and so (ie, in that spirit of self-examination, and in that spirit only!) let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup” (1Co 11:28).

“Thou shalt deny me”

“And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives” (Mat 26:30).

Leaving the brilliant candlelight of the upper room, and the warmth induced by wine and fond memories, they went out into the murky shadows of the city, and the cold of an early spring night. The mood of their leader was not the same, and though he continued to speak to them in his usual fashion, they sensed that a profound change had taken place. They had walked many miles together on dusty roads. But just now he had knelt before each one of them and washed their feet. Could this mean their journey with him was coming to an end?

Now they had reached the familiar confines of Gethsemane. Here they had spent wonderful hours with him, comforting their souls — they the sheep, he the shepherd. But now… all was different, strange, frightening. The time of testing was at hand:

“All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written: I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered…” (v 31).

Peter’s mind was in great distress. Waves of shock and incredulity poured upon him. Had not the Master just told them, “One of you will betray me”? And Peter had looked at the Lord whom he loved so, and at himself; and he had found the answer to his troubling question: “No, it is not I!” But now, how could Jesus say such a thing? There must be some mistake!

“Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples” (vv 33-35).

Don’t we all deny Christ? We say, “I will never deny thee.” But likewise said all the disciples, and their vigorous assertions availed them not, only hours later, when their feet developed minds of their own. “They forsook him and fled.” So why should we be any different?

Every sin, even one of weakness, and every evil thought are in reality denials of God’s majesty and supremacy, and denials of Christ’s power and authority to judge his followers. Or when we know of someone’s distress or trial, and we don’t bother to help and encourage… or of someone’s need, and we neglect to offer aid. We smile our best Sunday-morning smile, shake the hand firmly, ask the traditional “How are you?” and then hurry on without waiting for an answer. But as we pass along in our self-centered thoughts, do we hear an echo from the epistle of James?:

“Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled” (James 2:16).

This too is a denial of Christ, since he has said that what is done (or left undone) to the least of his brethren is done (or left undone) to him (Mat 25:41-45)

We wrap ourselves in the “fig leaves” of conventional Christadelphian exercises — Bible readings, study classes, breaking of bread — until finally it becomes commonplace, ordinary. But meanwhile we may be guilty of forgetting Paul’s warning. We may eat and drink unworthily because we have failed to discern the Lord’s body (1Co 11:29).

The Lord’s Body

And what is the Lord’s body? It may seem obvious, but I would suggest that there are several answers, some not quite so obvious as we might first think:

There was of course the literal body, symbolized in the bread and wine, which was soon to be torn and mutilated and drained of blood on the cross. Christ’s body, given for us. Even this was not obvious to the men in the upper chamber. But it should be to us! We were purchased from “King Sin” with a great price. For us, God gave up His only-begotten Son.

And there is the spiritual “body” of Christ, the ecclesia. Do we fail to discern the ties that intertwine and bind us all together, all the brethren for whom Christ died? Look around you: This is the body of Christ! Do you perceive it? We are members of one another, and Christ is our head.

We see that Christ’s body is single, it is plural, and it is singular again: If a prominent or well-to-do brother comes into our midst, he will probably be besieged with offers of care and hospitality. But when an obscure, poor brother ventures into our meeting, do we rush forward to greet him with the same generosity and love, to make him feel as much a part of us as the influential or the rich? Do we see in him the face of Christ? If not, then this too is a denial of Christ, and a failure to discern his “body”!

Two disciples

In the Gospel records we meet two followers of Christ: Peter and Judas. Both sinned against their Master in some way — as, lest we forget, all the others did.

If we say today that we do not deny Christ, then we are either proud or fools (the same thing?). So let us start with that assumption: We all, at one time or another — probably many times — deny Christ.

Peter

“And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly” (Mat 26:75).

How do we react to the awareness of our denials of Christ? Do we “weep bitterly”… or do we instead excuse ourselves? Do our sins “afflict” us… or do they just annoy us a bit? Are they a massive burden, like leprosy (so the Scriptures teach!)… or just a minor inconvenience, a sore toe, perhaps?

The words were wrenched from his parched lips as he hung on that cross: “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” Why indeed? Because Jesus, though sinless, was treated by God as a sinner, separated for a short time from God’s presence. It was his worst trial. Our sins separate us from God more or less constantly (Isa 59:1,2). Do we grieve at our loss of communion with God? Do we weep bitterly? Or do we act as though it scarcely bothers us at all?

For Peter, there was no one else to blame. He had been so sure of himself, so proud, so “strong”. Now he stood face to face with his own sin, his own weakness, and there remained no pretense, no “fig leaves”. His sin was naked and open before God. “And he went out and wept bitterly.”

Judas

“Then Judas… repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders… and departed, and went and hanged himself” (Mat 27:3,5).

Judas was “grieved” — that is what the word here translated “repented” really means. But he did not weep! He could not change — which is the true test of Scriptural “repentance”. He tried to hide the reward of his betrayal, to undo what had been done. But he could not. All hope was lost (or was it?) — he went out and hanged himself. Was Judas’ sin unforgivable, while Peter’s was not? Or did Judas, when faced with the enormity of his sin, only suppose that it was unforgivable?

The difference

The real difference between Judas and Peter was not in the degree of sin, but in the attitudes toward sin. Peter saw his sin exposed before God, and he wept. Judas tried to cover his sin by returning the money, but found it did no good. He could not weep, and he gave up hope. If we are rejected at the judgment seat of Christ, it will not be because we have sinned, — all have sinned! It will not be because we have denied or even betrayed Christ — for all disciples do so.

We will be rejected because we are too proud to see our sins for what they really are… because, during our probation, we made excuses and sought to hide ourselves from God. “Is it I?” we ask. “Is it I, Lord, who betrays you?” But we do not really want to hear his answer. We hastily eat and drink in his presence, and then — like that tortured twelfth disciple — we look for the first opportunity to escape the searching look of our Lord. Real self-examination? No, thank you! Not for me!

Why? Because, if we really heed his answer, it will mean that we will have to change, to cry bitter tears, to face and dethrone the sheer vanity of entrenched, comfortable human pride which we worship so fondly! Judas could not do this — he was too proud. He could not change. Why, he would rather die! And he did.

“Feed my sheep”

On the shore of the Galilean Sea, for the second time in a month, Peter kneels by an open fire and gazes into the eyes of Jesus. It is painful, it is humiliating, and there is no evading it… to look closely at one’s own sins, and see the sadness in the eyes of the one we betrayed.

“Simon, do you love me?” Three times, and it felt as though his heart would break. “Then feed my sheep.”

We are all betrayers, all guilty. We eat Christ’s body and drink his blood, and then we grow fearful and deny his claims upon us. We say, “Lord, is it I? But I would never betray you!” And he says, “Yes, you will”. And we do.

And, because I am a sinner, it would be easy to give up hope, to go out and hang myself from the nearest tree.

But if we find the grace to cry, and wait out the days after the cock crows and sorrow breaks our hearts, then, finally, he will be there. His words will burn like fire, but a fire that purifies even as it hurts: “Do you still love me?”

We hear that question, in different forms and from unexpected sources, whenever a new opportunity arises to serve Christ through helping our brethren. “If you still love me, if you are truly repentant for your wrongs against me, then prove it by demonstrating your love for my brethren. Feed My sheep. Inasmuch as you help one of the least of these, you repay me for your denial.” And when Christ gives us such a chance, then we know that our sins, though grievous, have not conclusively separated us from him. We know that he has provided yet another way that, despite our repeated sins against him, we may still show our humbled and repentant love.