Reading for February 8th

Read Ephesians 5.3-14
In 5.3-14: Believers as children of light.
In verses 3-7: Paul (Gal 5.19-21; 1 Cor 6.9-10) uses the vice list, here expressing the former life of darkness (5.8).
In verses 8-14: Live (walk) as children of the light (1 Thess 5.5) to influence the world through the church's character.
In verse 14: The hymn's origin is unknown; it recalls Isa 60.1.
Comments or Questions..

Reading for February 7th

Read Ephesians 4.17-5.2
In 4.17-5.2:Old and new walks.
(See 2.1-10.)
The new walk, which avoids the walk of the gentiles (4.17a) with its futility, vices, opposition to instruction (4.17b-24), has practical implications (4.25-51).
In verse 17: Affirm and testify, a pleonasm (deliberate repetition) drawn from legal language.
In verse 20: Learned ... heard ... taught, instructions preceding baptism.
In verses 22-24: Put away, clothe yourselves with new self, baptismal terms.
In verses 25-26: Speak truth, Zec 8-16; be angry and sin not, Ps 4.4.
In 5. 1-2: Imitators of God, never used by Paul, though he speaks of imitating Christ (1 Cor 11.1), himself (1 Thess 1.6; Phil 3.17) or others (Phil 3.17).
Comments or Questions..

Reading for February 6th

ETHICAL EXHORTATIONS
4.1-6.20: This section contains exhortations to unity and full statue in Christ, admonitions against vice, encouragements to worship, and even household rules, in order to participate in the love of Christ.
Much of this material is also in Col 3.1-4.6.

Read Ephesians 4.1-16
In 4.1-16: Maintain unity.
Unity comes from the Spirit (vv. 1-6), and diversity of gifts of the Spirit brings the church to maturity (vv. 7-16).
In verse 1: Calling: see 1.18; 2.11.
In verse 2: Patience, literally, the ability to endure the pressure of heat.
In verses 7-10: Ps 68.18 explains the origin (Christ) and goal (Christ filling) of Christian gifts.
In verses 11-16: The gifts are essential for the church to reach maturity (contrasted with immaturity).
Comments or Questions..

Reading for February 5th

Read Ephesians 3.1-21
In 3.1-21: Paul's imprisonment and ministry.
In verse 1: The prayer (vv. 1,14-21) is interrupted by vv. 2-13 (see Col 1.23-27) clarifying Paul's work on behalf of gentiles.
On Paul as a prisoner, see 2 Cor 6.5; 11.23; Philem 1.9; Phil 1.13-14.
In verse 2: Commission, a management or stewardship position.
In verse 3: As I wrote above, uncertain, but possibly the mission to the gentiles (2.11-12) or Christ's revelation (1.9-10).
In verse 10: The church manifests the wisdom of God's plan of reconciliation.
In verses 14-21: the prayer resumes in a single sentence (vv. 14-19 and closes with a doxology (vv. 20-21).
In verse 14: A play on father ("patera") and family ("patria").
In verses 16-19: The goal is the fullness of God by way of the love of Christ.
In verses 20-21: The doxology recalls the emphasis on power and abundance (1.19-20; 2.7).
Comments or Questions..

Reading for February 4th

Read Ephesians 2.11-22
In verses 11-22: Jews and gentiles are reconciled to God in the body of Christ.
In verse 12: Aliens, those without knowledge (Co1. 1.21).
In verse 13: The far off ... brought near (also 2.17), possibly drawn from Isa 57.19.
Inverse 14: Dividing wall, possibly the Temple barrier separating the court of the gentiles from the parts of the Temple open only to Jews.
In verse 18: Access, the right of approach, as if to a king (3.12).
In verse 19: Household of God: For the patriarchal writer, God is father over the social relations in the believers' family (1.3, 17; 2.18; 3.14; 4.6; 5.20; 6.23).
In verse 20: Paul speaks of Christ as the foundation (1 Cor 3.10-15), but not apostles and prophets.
Cornerstone or keystone,a messianic term (Isa 28.16, perhaps Ps 118.21-23).
Comments or Questions..

Reading for February 3rd

Read Ephesians 2.1-10
In Ephesians 2.1-22: God's reconciling grace.
God saves humankind from enemy powers and Christ ends the enmity between Jews and gentiles.
In verses 1-10: Contrast between past walk (vv. 1-3) and present walk (4-10).
In verse 2; Lived literally "walked," connects the former walk (2.2) and the new way of walking in 2.10 (see 4.1, 17; 5.2, 8, 15).
Ruler of the power of the air, Satan (4.27; 6.11-12).
In verse 3: Flesh, fleshly disposition.
In verses 5-6: By grace you have been saved, similar to Paul's language elsewhere, but he never views resurrection of believers as a present reality.
In verse 10: The good works of that the community does are possible because God created them in Christ.
The life they lead is the way (literally "walk," v. 1) God has made possible.
Comments or Questions..

Reading for February 2nd

Read Ephesians 1.15-23

In 1.15-23: A Thanksgiving:

In verse 18: Heart, the seat of knowledge and understanding.

Because of the hope to which he was called you, the church must live out its calling, as described in 4.1-13.

In verses 20-22: At the right hand, the most honored position (Col 3-1); under his feet, a sign of victory; both quoted from Ps 110.

In verse 22: Christ as head of the church (compare Col 1.18) is not found in the undisputed Pauline letters, which speak of local churches, not the universal church.

Comments or Questions..

Reading for February 1st

Read Ephesians 1.1-14
In 1.1-2: The epistolary opening is typical for Paul's letters: identification of the letter's sender and recipients, followed by words of greeting.
In verses 3-14: Praise to God.
The repetitions of praise (vv. 6, 12, 14) divide the one Greek sentence into three parts (vv. 3-6, 7-12, 13-14).
In verse 3: Heavenly places occurs nowhere else in the New testament but Ephesians (1.20; 2.6; 3.10; 6.12).
In verses 5-6: Adoption, a favorite concept for Paul (Gal 4.15; Rom 8.15, 23; 9.4)); Paul never beloved to characterize Christ through later Christian writers, like Ignatius, do.
In verse 7: For Paul, redemption (a purchase payment) covers all of the believers' lives and is completed only at the second coming ('parousia").
(See 3.24; 8.23; 1 Cor 1.30; see also 1 Cor 15.23)
Ephesians holds a similar view but never mentions parousia.
In verse 8: Wisdom and insight emphasize adequate perception; the recipients should avoid deceit and spread truth (4.14, 25; 5.6; 6.14).
In verse 9: Mystery, Colossians reserves this expression for Christ (Col 1.26-27; 2.2; 4.3); here it indicates God's reconciliation of all things, including Jews and gentiles in the body of Christ (3.3-4,9).
In verse 10: Gather up, "head up; Jesus is the head of the body and the church grows towards that head.
In verse 11: Paul links adoption to inheritance vv. 7-12 to 13-14, anticipating the direct address to gentiles in 2.1 and 3.1.
A seal confirms authenticity; a pledge is a deposit against a full amount to be paid later; both are used similarly in Paul's undisputed letters (2 Cor 1.22; 5.5; Rom 8.23).
Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 31st

Read Ruth 4.1-22
In 4.1-22: At the gate.
In verse 1-2: In ancient Israel, business was transacted at the city gate and was witnessed by elders.
In verses 3-6: Boaz offers to buy Naomi's land (implying that she owned the property) if the other man does not wish to do so.
The next-of-kin retracts his offer when Boaz links land redemption to the marriage of Ruth.
If the man begets a child with Ruth, the land reverts to Naomi.
In verse 7: The removing of a sandal to seal a business deal differs from the practice in Deut 25.9, in which a man who refuses to perform levirate marriage is shamed by the dead man's widow.
In verses 9-10: Boaz announces his intention both to redeem the land and to marry Ruth.
In verse 11-12: The crowds link Ruth with other biblical character: with Rachel and Leah, two sisters who struggled for love and children (Gen 30); and with Perez, born after Tamar trick Judah into fulfilling the duties of levirate marriage (Gen 38).
In verse 13-17: Naomi's security is sealed by the birth of a male child, whom Boaz designates as the redeemer of her land.
In a story that assumes the inheritance rights of men, the praise that Ruth is more to Naomi then seven sons is striking.
In verses 18-22: Boaz, like many other important biblical figures, appears in seventh place in the genealogy traced from Perez (4.12).
While the book began with a man's decision and ends with a list of male names, the women Ruth and Naomi remain solidly in the heart of the story.
Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 30th

Read Ruth 3.1-18
In 3.1-18: At the threshing floor.
In verses 2-3: At Naomi's initiative, Ruth washes and anoints herself and goes to the threshing floor, where the grain is winnowed in the early evening breeze.
An important man like Boaz might not personally winnow or protect the grain some believe that he was performing religious responsibilities.
In verse 4: Uncover his feet and lie down: the instructions of Naomi are provocative.
The word for feet ("margelot") is related to the more common word "regel" which often in the Bible refers to sexual organs.
In verses 6-11: Ruth requests not only that Boaz act as next of kin but also spread his cloak over her suggesting marriage.
In verses 12-13: Another kinsman more related than I: The complication of a closer relative is seen as referring to the practice of levirate marriage, in which the brother of a deceased man is expected to have sexual relations with his widow in order to sire an heir for the dead man (Deut 25.5-10).
The situation in Ruth does not fit the levirate marriage, since Boaz's speech may indicate that two issues are at stake in Ruth's proposition: marriage and the redemption of Elimelech's land.
In verses 14-18: Ruth's visit must be kept a secret until the encounter with the other relative, so she leaves in the darkness.
Boaz gives her an unidentified six measures of barely.
Ruth's report, unlike Boaz's speech, mentions Naomi.
Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 29th

Read Ruth 2.14-23
In verse 15-18: Boaz extends Ruth's gleaning privileges even further.
She gathers an ephah of grain, variously calculated at 29-50 pounds.
Ruth shares the grain, as well as her lunch leftovers, with Naomi.
In verses 19-22: Naomi reveals to Ruth what the reader already knows: Boaz is a relative, one obligated to keep land within the family (Lev 25.25)..
Ruth alters Boaz's words in her report to Naomi (stay close by my servants, v. 21; keep close to my young women, v. 8).
In verse 23; As both the barley and wheat harvests draw to a close, the women face difficult months ahead.
Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 28th

Read Ruth 2.1-13
In 2.1-23 Ruth in Boaz's field.
Although the reader is told about the relationship between Boaz and Naomi, Ruth seems unaware of this information (it was as it happened that she arrived in Boaz's field v. 3).
In verse 4: As she arrived, just then Boaz came.
These felicitous "co-incidences" hold a key to the theology of Ruth, demonstrating a God who works behind the scenes and through human action.
In verse 7: Ruth's request to glean among the sheaves (Lev 19.9;23.22; Deut 24.19), and thereby requires consent of the landowner.
Boaz not only approves of Ruth's request, but grants her more favors in the field. he offers her protection and the familial privileges of sharing water and the common meal.
Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 27th

Read Ruth 1.6-22
In 1.6-22: Two return to Bethlehem.
Naomi decides to return the Bethlehem (reversing Elimelech's decision to go to Moab).
Her impassioned speech assumes that if she cannot offer Orpah and Ruth husbands then they have no future with her.
In verse 8-14: Told to return to the house of their mothers (house of the father" is more common), Orpah obeys Naomi, but Ruth clings to her (in Gen 1.24, this verb describes martial union).
In verse 16-17: Ruth beautiful poem of loyalty states her willingness to exchange her gods, family, and land in order to be with Naomi.
May the Lord do thus and so is a typical oath formula.
In verse 19-22: Naomi's silence, her insistence on being called Mara ("bitter") upon entry into Bethlehem, and her reference to returning empty indicate that Naomi is not initially comforted by the presence of her Moabite daughter-in-law.
Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 26th

Read Ruth 1.1-5
In 1.1-5: Famine and death.
In verse 1: When the judges ruled sets the story of Ruth before the rise of kingship, when charismatic leaders led Israel against its foes.
The book of Judges portrays this period as one of instability, when faithfulness to God led to success, but idolatry led to failure (see Judg 3.10).
When Ironically, Bethlehem (literally: "house of bread") becomes a place of famine, a man, his wife, and his two sons move to Moab, a suspect place in biblical tradition (Gen 19.37; Deut 23.3).
In verse 2: Elimelech: "my God is king."
The rhyming names Mahlon and Chilion mean: "weakness" and "consumption."
Ephrathites: elsewhere, Ephratha is linked with Bethlehem (Mic 5.2; 1 Sam 17.12) and may refer tot he large clan in which Bethlehem was located.
In verse 3: In a sudden reversal, Naomi takes center stage.
Elimelech (now called Naomi's husband) dies and, after ten years, so do Mahlon and Chilion, leaving Naomi without her husband and her two sons.
Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 25th

Read Galatians 6.11-18
In verse 11-18: Paul's closing appeal.
In verse 11: This reflects his customary practice (1 Cor 16.21).
In his own hand writing, he summarizes themes already treated in the letter.
In verse 12: He attacks the motives of his opponents (4.17-18).
In verse 13: Criticizing their inconsistent practice recalls Rom 2.17-24.
By "boasting" of the number of converts they have won, they violate Jer 9.23-24.
In verse 14: Paul states his central claim: the crucified Christ is his sole focus (1 Cor 2.2).
The crucifixion marked two deaths: the collapse of the world that defined him (law) and the eclipse of the self-understanding that derived from that world.
In verse 15: Ethic identity no longer matters (3.26-28;  5.6; 1 Cor 7.19).
What matters is participating in God's reordered universe brought about by Christ (2 Cor 5.17).
In verse 16: Israel of God possibly refers to those opposed to him, but could be God's people as originally envisioned in the promise to Abraham: those who have lived by faith, both Jews and gentiles.
In verse 17: His apostolic life imprinted the crucifixion on his body (2 Cor 4.17).
Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 24th

Read Galatians 6.1-10.
In 6.1-10: Moral exhortations.
In verse 1: Church discipline should seek to restore, not just punish (Mt 18.15-20; 1 Cor 5.1-8).
Its overall tone is defined by 5.22-23.
In verse 2: The law of Christ expresses the way of love (2.20).
It produces mutual responsibility (Rom 15.1).
In verse 3: Arrogance thrives on self-illusion (1 Cor 8.2).
In verses 4-5: The expresses the other side of responsible behavior.
In verse 6: Teachers are entitled to (financial) support from their students (1 Cor 9).
In verses 7-10: V.7 expresses popular wisdom (Job 4.8; Prov 22.8).
In verse 9: Harvest time points tot he final judgment (Mt 13.11-12).
Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 23rd

Read Galatians 5.13-26
In 5.13-26: Living in freedom.
Having just discussed what returning to slavery would mean (5.2-12), Paul now expounds on freedom (5.1).
In verse 13: Self-indulgence captures the sense of the flesh("sarx").
Now the slave imagery is used positively: Love requires a new form of submission (Rom 6.15-19).
In verse 14: Lev 19.18; Rom 13.8-10.
In verses 16-17: Spirit and flesh define opposing spheres of life and loyalties (Rom 8.5-7).
In verse 18: The law is associated with flesh (Rom 7).
In verses 19-21: Works of the flesh: This vice list enumerates various forms of self-indulgence (v. 13; see Rom 1.29-31).
Sexual sins head the list, followed by sins leading to social disorder, then personal excess.
Kingdom of God is God's future reign (1 Cor 6.9-10).
In verse 22-26: Fruit of the Spirit is what living by the Spirit produces (2 Peter 1.5-7).
In verse 24: The moral life is similarly described in Rom 6.6.
In verses 25-26: Rom 8.5-8.
Life in the Spirit recognizes different gifts and mutual need, thereby devaluing interpersonal rivalry (1 Cor 12).
Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 22nd

Read Galatians 5.2-12
In 5.2-12: Why circumcision should be refused.
Here Paul gets to the central issue that is dividing the community.
The opposing teachers thought God required the gentile Christians in Galatia to be circumcised.
In verse 3: Circumcision indicated willingness to live by the Torah (Gen 17.9-14).
The emphasis here is entire law 3.10).
In verse 4: Cut yourself off can be rendered "You were estranged."
To choose the law is to abandon Christ, the symbol of God's grace (1.6, 15;2.20-21; Rom 5.15).
In verse 5: Rom 8.18-25.
In verse 6: Christ redefines the meaning of ethnic identity (6.15; 1 Cor 7.19).
Faith working through love is generally taken as "faith made effective through loving acts" (5.13-14).
It could be "faith that becomes effective by responding to Christ's love" (2.20).
In verses 7-8: The call to follow the law does not come from God.
In verse 9: 1 Cor 5.6.
In verse 10: The curse of 1.6-9 will take effect.
In verse 11: To convince the Galatians, the opposing teachers apparently argued that Paul approved of circumcision.
In verse 12: Not only would circumcision hurt physically, it would also banish them under the law (Deut 23.1).
Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 21st

Read Galatians 4.21-5.1
In 4.21-5.1: The allegory of Hagar and Sarah.
The mother image of v. 19 is developed in the comparison of these two famous mothers (Gen 16-21).
In 4.21: Attraction to the law requires an argument from the law.
In verse 23: Flesh: Ishmael's birth occurred through human conniving.
Isaac's birth fulfilled God's promise to Abraham and Sarah (Gen 17).
In verses 24-26: The allegory, things referred to in a text are understood to have another, often deeper, meaning.
Gen 16 describes Hagar as a slave girl.
Since Paul associates the Mosaic law with slavery (3..2; 4.3), Hagar an stand for Mount Sinai, where the law was given to Moses.
It is now practiced in present Jerusalem.
Sarah, by contrast, is free.
She has no association with slavery (the Mosaic law), but instead symbolizes another reality, Jerusalem above.
In verse 27: Isa 54.1.
In verse 28: Those who have responded to God in faith (3.26) are like Isaac, Abraham's children.
Now as the, the two children fight: flesh (law) and against Spirit (faith).
In verse 30: Gen 21.10 gives scriptural basis for rejecting the Mosaic law.
In verse 31: According to scripture, Abraham has two family lines, one leading through Hagar to slavery under the law, the other through Sarah to freedom as embodied in the promise.
Paul urges the Galatians to trace their lineage through the latter.
In 5.1: Since Christ is Abraham's promised offspring (3.16), he is the link to freedom represented by Sarah.
To begin observing the Mosaic law is to switch bloodlines and revert to the yoke of slavery.
Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 20th

Read Galatians 4.20-20

In verses 12-20: Paul recalls his founding visit.

In verse 12: Paul's meaning is not clear.

Perhaps, "Come back over to me, just as I once came to you."

In verses 13-15: His much discussed physical infirmity is not known.

His reference to eyes may be a figure of speech expressing their generosity rather than an allusion to some health problem (v. 15; 2 Cor 12.7-8).

In verse 16: This recalls his blunt speech (1.6-9; 3.1-5).

In verse 17: The false teachers of 1.7 are in mind.

Exclude you: they are charged with trying to cut the Galatians off from Paul, or possibly from Christ.

In verses 19-20: Paul is now the anxious mother fretting over her children (1 Thee 2.7).

Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 19th

Read Galatians 4.1-11
In 4.1-11: No longer slaves, but children.
In verse 1: Heirs: Comparing life under the law to being minor-continues the illustration introduced in 3.15.
Slaves introduces a second image, which is developed in chs. 4-5.
Elemental spirit of the world (Gk., "ta stoicheia tou kosmou") is difficult.
Rudiments captures the sense of "stoicheion" as something fundamental-elements or principles.
These may perhaps be elementary forms of religion that were superseded by Christ, or the four elements (fire, air, water, earth) understood as heavenly  forces.
See 4.9.
In verse 4: The language sounds confessional (Rom 8.3).
here Paul succinctly states what the gospel birth stories present more fully, especially Luke (1-2; Mt 1-2).
Emphasized are Jesus' humanity and Jewishness.
In verse 5: Redeem, literally "buy back," suggests buying the freedom of young slaves in order to adopt them as children..
In verse 6: The reality of 3.26 is presupposed.
"Abba! Father!" expresses Christ's obedient spirit (Mk 14.36; Rom 8.15).
In verse 7: Being able to address God the way Jesus did signals the change in status from slave to child.
In verse 8: This is a typical language for living as gentiles (1 Thess 4.5).
In verse 9: The difference between "knowing of God" and "being known by God" is an important  distinction for Paul.
One borders on arrogance, the other sees knowledge as God's domain (1 Cor 13.12).
Weak and beggarly elemental spirits: Jews criticized pagans for blindly submitting to forces with no real power.
In verse 10: Given the Galatians attraction to the law, these are doubtless Jewish observances (5.4; Col 2.16).
In verse 11: This reference to his founding visit triggers the following discussion.
Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 18th

Read Galatians 3.19-29
In verse 18-29: Why the law was given.
Paul shows similar concern to defend the law in Romans (7.7-12).
In verses 19-20: Because of transgressions: This is a very difficult phrase: as a way of dealing with transgressions that could be dealt with no other way? as a way of naming our transgressions?
Ordained through angels by a mediator: The particular event this refers to is unclear, its intent is to show that the law expressed God's will indirectly.
In verse 21-22: This would seem to follow from vv. 17-18 (Rom 3.31).
As in Rom 7, sin is seen as a powerful, almost personal, force capable of using the law to its own advantage.
Faith in Jesus Christ: See comments on 2.15-21.
In verses 23-29: Faith refers to the way of faith, anticipated by Abraham not exemplified in Christ.
In verse 24: Disciplinarian refers to a teacher responsible for a child's upbringing on behalf of the parents, a temporary role.
In verse 26: In Christ Jesus: Believers now enjoy the status of full-fledged children who no longer need a surrogate parent.
Faith marks the way one "enters" Christ.
In verse 27: Through baptism believers "die and rise" with Christ, thereby entering the sphere where God's life-giving power is operative.
So engulfed are they by Christ, it is like putting on a garment (Col 3.9-11).
In verse 28: The elimination of ethic, social, and gender distinctions derives from the oneness experienced in Christ (1 Cor 7.17-24).
The language here is probably drawn from an early baptismal formula.
In verse 29: This is the point toward which Paul has been building.
God promised Abraham that the gentiles would receive blessing through his "seed."
This occurred with Christ, the seed of Abraham, who enabled Abraham's way of relating to God to become reality-the way of faith.
Those who respond to Christ in faith, both gentiles and Jews, become Abraham's children.
Who, then, are Abraham's children Jews alone? No. Everyone who shares the faith of Abraham.
Christ, first, then those who exhibit faith like Christ.
Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 17th

Read Galatians 3.6.18
In 3.6-18: God's promise to Abraham.
This treatment of Abraham should be compared with Rom 4.
In verse 6: Gen 15.6; see Rom 4.3.
In verse 7:Abraham's true descendants are not the circumcised, but those who have faith like his (Rom 4.16).
In verse 8: Gen 12.3; 18.18.
In verse 9: Those who believe, both Jews and gentiles, share Abraham's capacity for faith.
In verse 10: Deut 27.26.
The emphasis is on all things: obligation to do everything the law says,
Since this is impossible, the law is a curse.
Romans omits this argument (See James 2.10).
In verse 11: For Paul, faith as an alternative way of relating to God expressed in Hab 2.4, however it is understood (see Rom 1.17).
In verse 12: Paul uses Lev 18.5 to show that the law is based on doing, not believing (Rom 10.5).
In verse 13: The curse of the law is not being able to do everything in the law (v. 10).
A curse was needed to break the curse: Christ's death by crucifixion broke the law (Deut 21.33).
In verse 14: The blessing of Abraham is God's promise to Abraham mentioned in v. 8.
In verses 15-18: The illustration of the will based on Gen 13.15; 17.8; 24.7.
Paul sees the singular use of offspring, literally "seed" ("sperma") as significant.
Since it is singular, it cannot refer to Abraham's many descendants.
Rather it must refer to a singular descendant of Abraham who made God's promise possible-Christ (v. 16).
In verse 17: Ex 12.40.
The covenant with Abraham envisioned that through a single person the gentiles would be blessed.
Since this was like a ratified will, the law that came later did not void the earlier agreement.
This can only mean that the law was not the channel through which the promise was kept alive.
The promise bypassed the law.
Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 16th

Read Galatians 3.1-5
In 3.1-5: Recalling the Galatian's conversion.
In verse 1: Paul's preaching and lifestyle publicly displayed Christ's crucifixion (1 Cor 2.1-2; 2 Cor 4.10-12).
In verse 2: Receive the Spirit: The mark of genuine conversion is experiencing God's life-giving Spirit through Christ (Rom 8.9).
In verse 3: Flesh and law are closely identified in Paul (Rom 8.3).
In verse 5: Work miracles (literally "working powers") signified the presence of the Spirit (1 Cor 12.10).
Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 15th

Read Galatians 2.11-21
In verse 11-14: Paul opposes Peter at Antioch.
In verse 11: When the Antioch visit occurred is not known.
In verses 12-13: This hypocrisy: eating with gentiles indicated full acceptance.
Refusing to do so implied their "uncleanness" before God.
For Paul, gentile Christians were accepted by God.
Their status before God did not change with the coming and going of conservative Jews.
Th circumcision faction, literally "those of the circumcision," required gentile Christians to be circumcised (5.2-6).
In verse 14: "How can you meet gentiles half way (not keep food laws), then require them to go the whole way (be circumcised)?"
In verses 15-21: Paul's gospel: we are justified through Christ, not the law.
In verse 15: Gentile sinners: 1 Thess 4.5.
In verse 16: Reckoned as righteous (by God) well expresses justified; see Rom 3.21-26.
Faith in Jesus Christ: Christ is the object of our faith; we trust him as God's agent of redemption.
Faith of Jesus Christ: Christ's own faithfulness to God enables our salvation (Rom 3.22, 26).
In verse 17: Does Christ serve sin's purpose by exposing us as sinners?
In verse 18: What Paul tore down was Torah observance as the only basis for relating to God.
In verse 19: Paul found the demands of the law suffocating (Rom 7.9-10)
In 19b-20: Crucified with Christ: Paul reenacted Christ's death as a co-participant.
Like Christ, he experienced a death of the self (Rom 6, 10).
Now filled with the living Christ, his life exhibits faith defined by Christ-either trust placed in Christ or the pattern of faithfulness Christ himself displayed before God.
Christ's death exemplifies love for other (1.4; 2 Cor 5.14).
In verse 21: This briefly states Paul's position.
Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 14th

Read Galatians 2.1-10
In 2.1-10: The Jerusalem summit meeting.
In verse 1: Acts 15 reports Paul and Barnabas visit to the Jerusalem conference but not the visit of Titus.
The content of that meeting differs substantially from what Paul reports here.
In verse 2: Revelation: Paul left compelled by God to go.
In verse 3: An an uncircumcised gentile, Titus serves as the test case.
In verse 4: These false brothers remain unidentified.
"Brothers" suggest they are Christians (Acts 15.5).
In verse 6: Acknowledged leaders: the Greek reads, "Those who were supposed to be something."
They appear to be different from those named in vv. 7-9.
In verses 7-8: How Paul came up with this division of labor is not clear.
Acts presents Peter preaching both to Jews and gentiles, although Paul is mainly responsible for the gentile mission outside Palestine.
V. 8 refers to Paul's call (1.15-16).
In verse 9: Jame is probably the brother of Jesus, not the apostle (Acts 15.13-21; 12.1-5).
Cephas is Peter (v. 7).
John is nowhere else mentioned by Paul; he is probably the apostle (Acts 3-4; Mt 4.21).
James and Peter are mentioned in Acts 15; John is not.
Acknowledged pillars may be sarcastic: "supposedly pillars."
It nonetheless indicates their status as leaders.
In verse 10: Acts 15 does not mention the collection (see Acts 11.27-29).
It figures prominently in Paul's letters (1 Cor 16.1-4; 2 Cor 8-9; Rom 15.25-27).
Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 13th

Read Galatians 1. 13-24
In verse 13-24: Paul remembers his past.
In verse 13: His role as persecutor was a key memory informing Paul's understanding of his apostleship (1 Cor 15.9; Acts 8.3).
In verse 14: His formal training as a Pharisee is in view (Phil 3.5-6; Acts 22.3).
In verse 15: The language recalls Old Testament prophetic calls (Isa 49.1; Jer 1.5).
In verse 16: The experience changed Paul into the apostle to the gentiles (Rom 15.15-16; Acts 9.15).
In verse 17: Paul's autobiographical account differs slightly from the story of his call in Acts 9,
In Acts 9.26-30; 22.17-21, Paul returns to Jerusalem immediately after his conversion.
Arabia was a nearby region.
The return to Damascus locates the events of v. 15 (Acts 9; 2 Cor 11.32-33).
In verse 18-19: This visit is sometimes identified with Acts 9.26-30, although Acts 9 mentions neither Cephas (Peter) nor James.
In verse 20: 2 Cor 11.31.
In verse 21: Syria is the region of Damascus: Cilicia is eastern Asia Minor.
In verse 22-23: This is difficult to harmonize with Acts 9.26-30.
Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 12th

Read Galatians 1.1-12
In verses 1-5: Greeting.
In verse 1: Paul's strong denial of the human origin of his apostleship (1.11-12) is a hint of the controversy that drives this letter.
In verse 4: Gave himself: Christ's death is understood as a sin offering for others (Eph 5.2; Lev 4-5).
In verses 6-12: Paul defends his gospel.
Paul omits his normal opening prayer of thanksgiving for his readers, showing how angry he is with them (contrast 1 Cor 1.4-9).
In verse 6-7: Different gospel refers to the views Paul opposes in the letter, manly, that God requires gentile Christians to observe the Mosaic law (4.21; 5.2-4).
In verse 8-9: The use of a double curse is especially emphatic (1 Cor 16.22).
In verse 10: The perspective of Paul's critics.
In verses 11-12: Human origin renders "kata anthropon," literally "according to man," thus human.
Revelation of Jesus Christ: paul's understanding of the gospel occurred through a revelation whose content was Jesus Christ (v. 16).
Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 11th

Read Judges 21.15-25
In verses 15-25: Capturing wives at Shiloh.
In verse 17: Although not blotted out, Benjamin remained one of the smaller tribes.
In verse 21: This may reflect an on-going custom of obtaining wives by ritualized capture at the annual festival at Shiloh.
In verse 22: Brothers are the natural protectors of their unmarried sisters (Song 8.8-9), and fathers would lose financially if marriage bypassed the usual negotiations.
In verse 25: Rape, civil war, genocide-all result because Israel had no king.
Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 10th

Read Judges 21.1-14
In 21.1-14: Wives for Benjamin from Jabesh-gilead.
In verse 1: This oath is considered unbreakable (v. 5).
In verse 8: Although others from Gilead had participated (20.1), Jabesh-gilead did not.
In verses 10-11: As a result of their vow, they treat this as holy war and devote to destruction everyone not useful to their plan.
In verse 14: This tradition may explain why Jabesh-gilead and King Saul (a Benjaminite from Gibeah) had friendly relations (1 Sam 11.1-11; 31.11-13).
Four hundred women are not enough for six hundred surviving men.
Comments or Questions..

Reading for January 9th

Read Judges 20.29-48
In verse 29-48: Israel crushes Benjamin.
In verse 33: The tactics of ambush and simulated retreat parallel Josh 8.3-23.
In verse 35: The magnitude of the disaster is clear when the number killed (v. 46) is compared with Benjamin's starting total (v. 15).
In verse 36: The course of the battle is recounted twice in overlapping parallel stories: vv. 29-36 and vv. 36-44.
In verses 40-41: The role of the smoke is the same as in Josh 8.20-21.
In verse 42: Benjamin is trapped and butchered between the main army (the Israelites) and the ambush (those who came out of the city).
In verses 47-48: These six hundred are the only survivors.
Near total annihilation of the Benjaminites sets up the situation for the next chapter.
Comments or Questions..