A Bible Study, One Verse at a Time: January 2012

Monday, January 30, 2012

The Beatitudes: Today's verse is Matthew 5:8

Today we continue our verse by verse look at what is often referred to as The Beatitudes, Matthew 5:2-12. We will be looking at Matthew 5:8.

The overview of Matthew 5:2-12 can be found here, while an important word study on the term blessed can be found here. The verse overviews of Matthew 5:2-7 can be found here, here, here. here, here, and here

For any person who does not have easy access to Bible software you can look up all cross references listed in this blog at the Bible Gateway website. It is easy and quick to use and you can choose from many different translations. The cross references are a big part of any Bible Study that we may undertake!

Matthew 5:8

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

(Matthew 5:8)

Grammatical Considerations

Cause and effect: Effect is that those who are pure in heart will be blessed! The cause is that "they shall see God."

ARE and FOR: As in all the previous Beatitudes, Jesus makes it clear that what He is NOT stating probabilities. What He is stating are truths and they will occur given the circumstances He sets forth.

Important Terms

All definitions were culled from the Complete Word Study Dictionary from AMG Publisher, Vine's Expository Dictionary and/or Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary.

Blessed:

see word study at this link.

pure:

ESword Concordance Search--- 1Ti 1:5 2Ti 2:22 Psa 24:4 Psa 73:1 Psa 73:13 Pro 20:9 Psa 51:10 Heb 10:22 Mar 7:17-19 Php 1:17 Php 4:8 Tit 1:15 1Jn 3:3 Joh 13:10 Joh 15:3 Psa 24:3-5 Psa 119:9-12
Definition--- Clean in a spiritual sense from the pollution and guilt of sin. (can also mean sincere)
Mounce further clarifies this as being morally free of guilt. Morally clean.

heart:

ESword Concordance Search--- Mat 6:21 Mat 15:8 Mat 18:35 Mat 22:37
Mar 11:23 Mar 12:30 Luk 8:12-15 Rom 10:9-10 Col 3:12 Eph 6:5 Heb 10:22 1Pe 3:4
(also see above search for pure)
Definition--- seat of desires, feelings affections, passions and impulses. (pure in heart=those whose center of life has been made pure by Jesus Christ!)

see (God):

ESword Concordance Search--- Mar 9:1 Luk 3:6 Joh 3:3 Joh 11:40 Isa 35:2 Rev 22:4
Definition--- to see. Also not just the mere act of seeing but also actual PERCEPTION. (differing from the Greek work blepo which just means to see. The Greek word in our current text (horao) includes perception, understanding. Can also mean to have personal acquaintance and fellowship with.

Summation

To be pure is to be morally free of sin or guilt. The heart is often used as a metaphor as the seat of our passions, desires. So the pure in heart are morally free of guilt and also have only the purest of passions and desires. This would mean that they are focused on God's will and wants. (ie: the meek as that word is used in Matthew 5:5) To see God CAN mean to see and to perceive (understand) and be in fellowship with. I think those are all pretty self-explanatory.

Why will the pure in heart see (understand, perceive, have fellowship with) God? Because to become pure in heart (free from moral guilt) one must become righteous! The only way to become pure and righteous is through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And this creates a right relationship with God.

Jesus Himself tells assures this Joh 16:26-27!!

Thursday, January 26, 2012

The Beatitudes: Today's verse is Matthew 5:7

Today we continue our verse by verse look at what is often referred to as The Beatitudes, Matthew 5:2-12. We will be looking at Matthew 5:7.

The overview of Matthew 5:2-12 can be found here, while an important word study on the term blessed can be found here. The verse overviews of Matthew 5:2-6 can be found here, here, here. here, and here.

Matthew 5:7

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy."

(Matthew 5:7)

Grammatical Considerations

Cause and effect: Effect is that those are merciful will be blessed! The cause is that "they shall receive mercy."

ARE and FOR: As in all the Beatitudes Jesus makes it clear that what He is saying are not probabilities. They are true and will occur given the circumstances He sets forth.

Important Terms

All definitions were culled from the Complete Word Study Dictionary from AMG Publisher, Vine's Expository Dictionary and/or

Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary.

Blessed:

see word study at this link.

merciful:

E Sword Concordance Search--- Luk 6:36 Luk 18:13 Heb 2:17 Heb 8:12 Jas 5:11 Psa 86:15 Psa 145:8 Pro 11:17 Hos 6:6
Definition--- The Greek word is usually used as a quality or action from God. The word is only used as a quality of believers in Mat_5:7 or in proverbs Pro_11:17
Actual definition is compassionate, benevolently merciful involving thought and action. As the previous beatitudes indicate, this state of blessedness is a permanent condition due to a person's belief in Jesus Christ and subsequent right relationship with God.

receive (obtain) mercy: (this is all one word in Greek!)

Definition--- to show compassion or mercy. Extend help for the consequence of sin.
mercy is the application of grace (God's grace that has allowed us to be forgiven for our sins!)
Many times people asked Jesus for mercy: Mat 9:27 Mat 15:22 Mat 17:15 Mat 20:30 Mat 20:31
God shows us mercy (Jesus in His earthly ministry also showed mercy): Mar 5:19 Luk 1:58 Luk 1:78 Rom 11:32
Mercy is not something we earn, it is God's prerogative: Rom 9:15 Rom 9:16 Rom 9:18
To be merciful is to forgive other their trespasses against us. Blanket forgiveness of sins is God's domain.
It is not necessarily in OUR nature to forgive. But Jesus wants us to forgive others (Mat 6:14-15 ). So as this beatitude is listed after the one dealing with those who hunger for righteousness due to their realization of their poor spiritual state (caused by sin) and enabled through their humbleness to realize that only through God can their sin be forgiven and only through God can they obtain mercy, then they should be able (and desire) to show mercy. A good example of this thought can be found in Matt 18:23-33
Other relevant cross-references: Mat 9:13 Luk 10:30-37
Mercy is also acts of kindness and compassion not just forgiveness.
God wants us to be merciful to all those in need. And part of that is forgiveness. Mat 6:12-15
And again it is important to note that this ability (which also seems to be a command from God) to forgive others is given after the person has acknowledged the need for God (and forgiveness of one's own sins), which leads to humility and humbleness, and then thirsting and hungering for that righteousness that come only from God (which God will fill...when we believe on and accept His Son Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord), then we will show mercy because we will be able to! Because WE HAVE BEEN shown mercy. ...it is a cycle! a good one...but we SHOULD NOT break the cycle!
God's mercy also includes His acts of kindness to all of us in need and definitely includes the forgiveness of our sins through God's grace!
We must also know that mercy is an action. (sprung from compassion and/or empathy?)

How do we go about being merciful?

In many ways! But the simplest are:

To forgive those who trespass against us because the Father has forgiven us our sins, Mat 6:14-15 Mat 18:21-35 For it is important to remember that by forgiving our sins God has shown us the ultimate mercy! A mercy we did not earn!
And by showing kindness to our neighbor (in other words everyone)!! Luk 10:30-37 (among other examples!)

Sunday, January 22, 2012

The Beatitudes, Today's verse is Matthew 5:6

Today we continue our verse by verse look at what is often referred to as The Beatitudes, Matthew 5:2-12. We will be looking at Matthew 5:6.

The overview of Matthew 5:2-12 can be found here, while an important word study on the term blessed can be found here. The verse overviews of Matthew 5:2, 5:3, 5:4 and 5:5 can be found here, here, here. and here.

Matthew 5:6

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."

(Matthew 5:6)

Grammatical Considerations

Cause and effect: Effect is that those who yearn for righteousness will be blessed! The cause is that "they shall be satisfied."

ARE and FOR: As in all the Beatitudes Jesus makes it clear that what He is saying are not probabilities. They are true and will occur given the circumstances He sets forth.

Important Terms

All definitions were culled from the Complete Word Study Dictionary from AMG Publisher, Vine's Expository Dictionary and/or

Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary.

Blessed:

see word study at this link.

Righteousness:

ESword Concordance Search--- Mat 3:15 Mat 5:6 Mat 5:10 Mat 5:20 Mat 6:1 Mat 6:33 Mat 21:32 Luk 1:75 Joh 16:8-10 Rom 1:17 Rom 3:5 Rom 3:21-26 Rom 4:3 Rom 4:5-9 Rom 4:11-13 Rom 4:22 Rom 5:17-18 Rom 6:13 Rom 6:16-20 Rom 8:10 Rom 9:30-31 Rom 10:10 Rom 14:17 Gal 5:5 Eph 4:24 Eph 6:14
Definition--- Righteousness (in both the OT and NT) is the state commanded by God and standing the test of His judgment. God is the standard of righteousness.
In Vine's: of whatever is right or just in itself, whatever conforms to the revealed will of God We are expected to conform to this.
Paul often refers to righteousness as something that comes from or is given by God. We can not make ourselves righteous. Jesus also seems to be saying this, especially in Mat 6:32-33 We can only live up to this righteousness by receiving and accepting the GIFT of righteousness as given to us when we repent our sins and receive Christ as our Savior and Lord!!
In other words, righteousness is not achieved or earned! We can not earn it on any merit of our own. We only obtain righteousness (right relationship with God) through faith in Jesus Christ! IT is given to us by God when we accept His standards and His will which we can only do when we accept His Son Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord! We must acknowledge Jesus' sacrifice for our sins and His resurrection that defeated sin.
Mounce clarifies this even more by explaining (summarizing Paul) it this way: The law is God's standard of righteousness and we can not ever live up to that. But Jesus did live it up to that standard and died for our sins! And then rose again defeating sin forever. When we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord we are accepting the gift of HIS righteousness so that we may be counted as righteous.

hunger:

Definition--- to long for

thirst:

Definition--- desire ardently

satisfied:

Definition--- to be filled!

A few other cross-references--- Psa 24:3-5 Psa 119:9-12

Summation

Basically Jesus is stating quite clearly that those who truly desire (long for, hunger!) righteousness will be filled. Completed. The thing is that we must know what righteousness means! Jesus is saying that we who hunger to be right with God (and there is only one way to be right with God---thru faith and belief in His Son, Jesus Christ) will be filled. If we accept the righteousness of Jesus as the gift from God that it is, our hunger for righteousness will be filled. We will become right with God, through God! NOT through anything we have done or earned! (very important)

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

The Beatitudes, Today's verse is Matthew 5:5

Today we continue our verse by verse look at what is often referred to as The Beatitudes, Matthew 5:2-12. We will be looking at Matthew 5:5.

The overview of Matthew 5:2-12 can be found here, while an important word study on the term blessed can be found here. The verse overviews of Matthew 5:2, 5:3 and 5:4 can be found here, here, and here.

Matthew 5:5

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."
(Matthew 5:5)

Grammatical Considerations

Cause and effect: Effect is the meek are Blessed, The cause is that "they shall inherit the earth."

ARE and FOR: As in all the Beatitudes Jesus makes it clear that what He is saying are not probabilities. They are true and will occur given the circumstances He sets forth.

Important Terms

All definitions were culled from the Complete Word Study Dictionary from AMG Publisher, Vine's Expository Dictionary and/or

Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary.

Blessed:

see word study at this link.

meek:

ESword Concordance Search--- Mat 11:29 Mat 21:5 1Pe 3:4
Definition--- Mildness, gentleness. The acceptance of God's dealings with us, considering them as good in that they enhance the closeness of our relationship with Him. This word does not mean weak! In fact Aristotle used the Greek word to describe the place between becoming unjustifiably angry and never getting angry no matter what takes place. (Even Jesus got angry once in awhile). So the meek as described here are NOT TIMID! Meek has more to do with our acceptance of God's dealings with us. Also humility.
More Definition--- The Greek noun (prautes) from which this adjective comes from is hard to translate into English, as meek is rather a negative term in English. Vine's Expository Dictionary mentions that this has little to do with a person's outward behavior or in his or her relations to their fellow man. Vine's states: "It is an inwrought grace of the soul and the exercises of it are first and chiefly towards God." This disposition causes us to NOT resist and dispute God in His dealings with us. Again, this use of meek does NOT insinuate weakness, it instead alludes to an inner peaceful relationship with God that gives us real strength. (Aristotle's description is pretty neat!)
Other relevant cross-references--- Num 12:3 Psa 25:9 2Ti 2:25 Col 3:12 Eph 4:2 Gal 5:23

inherit the earth:

Definition--- inherit means: to obtain or possess. It is often spoken only of the friends of God as receiving admission to the kingdom of heaven and it's privileges. Since God's kingdom will eventually be on earth( or the new earth Isa 65:17 Isa 66:22 Rev 21:1) inheriting it is one of the privileges mentioned above.
I am not completely sure why Jesus chose to say inherit the earth here instead of referring to the kingdom of heaven as he did in Mat 5:3
But it is not the first time that the earth itself is mentioned as an inheritance: Psa 37:9 Psa 37:11 Psa 37:29 Psa 37:34
In Psa 37:11 the meek are also said to inherit the land. The Hebrew word for meek also means humble...not putting oneself above others.

Did Jesus use the phrase inherit the earth as an obvious example of how different the kingdom of God is from our earthly thoughts? Because this would be a remarkable and beautifully educational example of how different the kingdom of God is to our worldly way of doing things. The meek are not often thought of as the ones who will win the prize in our everyday earthly lives. But again meek DOES NOT mean weak in this context.

Mat 5:38-48 (I think this describes a lot of it)

This beatitude is very interesting...a LOT is being said here!!) This particular saying (well, all of them really) deserves a lot more reflection and prayer!

Sunday, January 15, 2012

The Beatitudes, Matthew 5:2-12: Today's verse is Matthew 5:4

Today we continue our verse by verse look at what is often referred to as The Beatitudes, Matthew 5:2-12. We will be looking at Matthew 5:4.

The overview of Matthew 5:2-12 can be found here, while an important word study on the term blessed can be found here. The verse overviews of Matthew 5:2 and 5:3 can be found here and here.

Matthew 5:4

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."
(Matthew 5:4)

Grammatical Considerations

Cause and effect: The effect is that the Blessed will be comforted. The cause is because they mourn. What they are mourning will be discussed below.

ARE and FOR: As in all the Beatitudes Jesus makes it clear that what He is saying are not probabilities. They are true and will occur given the circumstances He sets forth.

Important Terms

All definitions were culled from the Complete Word Study Dictionary from AMG Publishers and/or

Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary.

Blessed:

see word study at this link.

mourn:

ESword Concordance Search--- Mat 9:15 Luk 6:25 Rev 1:7 Job 5:11 Ecc 3:4 Isa 61:2 Isa 61:3 Isa 66:10 Psa 30:11 Rev 21:4
Definition--- to be sad about, grieve for and bewail the death of a friend.
Mounce adds that often in the NT we are told it is right and ok for us to mourn our own sins (grieve over the fact that we have committed these sins!)

be comforted:

ESword Concordance Search--- Luk 16:25 2Co 1:6 2Co 1:4 2Co 13:11 2Th 2:16 Rev 7:17 Psa 71:21 Psa 119:50 Psa 119:75-76\
Definition--- receive aid, be encouraged, to receive help or consolation. Is a verb form of the Greek word paraklesis which comes from the Greek words para(beside) and kaleo(to call). Or calling to one's side! Or to call near! So those who mourn (and also mourn their own sinful nature) will be called near to God and from God they will find their consolation!

Other cross-references: Psa 34:4 Psa 55:22 Isa 41:10

Summation

So all of this goes hand in hand with those that are poor in spirit from Mat 5:3 For those who are poor in spirit are humbled and know they are sinners. It is important to remember that the spirit refers to the intangible part of a man that is in relationship with God. And only those who are humbled enough to realize they are poor in spirit (not right with God) will then mourn their sins that have made this relationship poor. And then and only then, will they be humbled and contrite Psa 51:15-17 (actually that entire Psalm!!) enough to willfully, readily and joyfully receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. And then, and only then will they be right with God and no longer poor in spirit or in mourning! They will indeed be comforted!! Comforted by the fact that they are now in a right and permanent relationship with God!

Thursday, January 12, 2012

The Beatitudes, Mattthew 5:2-12, Today's verse is Matthew 5:3

Today we continue our verse by verse look at what is often referred to as The Beatitudes, Matthew 5:2-12.

The overview of Matthew 5:2-12 can be found here, while an important word study on the term blessed can be found here. The verse overview of Matthew 5:2 can be found here.

Matthew 5:3

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
(Matthew 5:3)

Grammatical Considerations

Cause and Effect: The effect is that the kingdom of heaven is the for the poor in spirit, the cause is that the the poor in spirit are blessed. Why are they blessed? See below.

are and is: Jesus leaves no doubts here. The poor in spirit ARE blessed and the kingdom of heaven IS theirs!

Important Terms

All definitions were culled from the Complete Word Study Dictionary from AMG Publishers and/or

Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary.

Blessed:

see word study at this link.

poor:

ESword Concordance Search--- Mat 11:5 Luk 4:18 Luk 6:20 Luk 7:22 Luk 14:13 Luk 14:21 2Co 6:10 2Co 8:9 2Co 9:9 Rev 3:17
Definition--- by implication, poor, low, humble, possibly afflicted and distressed. (imperfect) Figuratively, as in this verse, it means those who recognize their spiritual helplessness.
Other Cross References-- Lev 26:41-42 Deu 8:2 2Ch 33:12 2Ch 7:14 2Ch 34:27 Psa 51:17 Pro 29:23 Isa 57:15 Isa 66:2 Mic 6:8 Jas 4:9-10

in spirit:

Definition--- Spirit (in man) is separate from the body and also different from the soul. Soul is the immaterial nature of man that makes him aware of his body and physical environment. Spirit is our immaterial nature that allows us to communicate with God (who puts His Spirit in us when we accept His Son Jesus as our Savior!) Soul and spirit are contrasted in the following verses: Mat 12:18 1Th 5:23 Heb 4:12 (the subject of soul versus spirit requires a whole study unto itself!)

kingdom of heaven:

ESword Concordance Search--- Mat 5:19 Mat 5:20 Mat 7:21 Mat 8:11 Mat 13:11 Mat 13:24-30 Mat 13:44 Mat 13:44-50 Mat 16:19 Mat 18:3-4 Mat 18:23-35 Mat 20:1-2 Mat 25:1 Rev 11:15 Rev 12:10 Dan 2:44 Dan 7:13 Luk 17:21
Definition--- Can refer to the kingdom of God spiritually in our human hearts! AND also refers to the everlasting kingdom that God will give to Jesus Christ, first in imperfect form on earth and then in completeness,--Mat 25:31 (kingdom of heaven is used mostly in Matthew!)

(as an aside-when in Luk 17:20-21 Jesus talks to the Pharisees about the Kingdom of God, He tells them that it is not observable but is indeed among them, (within them, or in their midst). The Greek word used can mean all of those things. And maybe does? Some commentators say that Jesus could not have meant that the Kingdom of Heaven was within the Pharisees' hearts because their hearts were hardened! And those commentators prefer the translation as "in the midst", or "among". As in: the Kingdom was right there before them. But Jesus said it did not come as something observable. The key to receiving the kingdom is in our hearts or in our spirit, as the beatitudes so carefully express. Our hearts must be open to receiving Christ, for only then can we receive the kingdom of God. Even if the Pharisees themselves were not of the correct heart it does not nullify the fact that key to kingdom of heaven is WITHIN us and whether we are ready to receive Christ or not!..(i think)...(the entire subject of the kingdom of heaven requires some more reflection! ) (Matthew Henry sees the kingdom of God as revolutions of the heart!!--NICE)

So based on the definition of blessed as used in the beatitudes (see word study here) it seems that Jesus is mostly referring to the spiritual kingdom of God WITHIN us (as the poor in spirit are humbled and thus ready for a true relationship with God! Psa 51:17 )

As we see from how blessed is used in these verses, the beatitudes refer to a permanent state, regardless of circumstances---this would also seem to mean that Jesus is referring to the eventual kingdom of God as we see in Dan 7:13 and in Revelations. This kingdom will also be permanent.

But based on the use of spirit in the beatitude and the nature of the word blessed in these verses I think Jesus is mostly referring to our inner relationship with God and the fact that He places His Spirit WITHIN us-------Once we have accepted and acknowledged His Son, Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord!

Before undertaking this study (and being shown by God what this all truly means) I was reading this verse incorrectly. I did not understand that being poor in spirit was the condition to receive the kingdom. The condition of being "poor in spirit" is what allows the blessed to receive the kingdom of Heaven. They are low and humble and realize that they have not yet become right with God. (as our spirit is the immaterial part of us that is in communication with God and/or allows us to communicate with God). So those poor in spirit are those who know they are not in the best relationship (communication) with God They acknowledge that they do need to become right with God and are able to then accept His Son, Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. And that is what causes them to be blessed (in a permanent state of right relationship with God, regardless of earthly circumstances). They are now rich in spirit (In good communication and right relationship) with God. They are not blessed with the kingdom of heaven AND poor in spirit! They are blessed and have the kingdom of God BECAUSE (in part anyway) they were in the right spiritual state to receive God's Son!! (low and humble in spirit)

Monday, January 9, 2012

The Beatitudes: Today's verse is Matthew 5:2

Today we begin our verse by verse look at what is often referred to as The Beatitudes, Matthew 5:2-12.

The overview of Matthew 5:2-12 can be found here, while an important word study on the term blessed can be found here.

Matthew 5:2

And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
(Matthew 5:2)

Literary and Grammatical Considerations

Parallelism: Matthew 5:2 is written in (to my mind) Synonymous Parallelism, in which the second line repeats the thought of the first line in a slightly different way. Parallelism is the basic form of all Biblical poetry.

Repetition: The author tells us twice in one sentence that Jesus is teaching! (as we shall see below the Greek word for "opened His mouth", means to hold forth or speak at length. The author wants us to pay attention to Jesus' words that follow.

Important Terms

All definitions were culled from the Complete Word Study Dictionary from AMG Publishers and/or

Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary.

opened:

ESword Concordance Search---Mat 13:35 Act 8:35 Act 10:34 Act 18:14
Definition--- can and does mean to "hold forth", or speak at length or a discourse. Mounce clarifies that the word open in this context is stressing that Jesus is about to teach!

taught (teach):

ESword Concordance Search--- Mat 13:54 Mar 1:22 Mar 10:1 Luk 4:15 Luk 5:3 Luk 13:26 Luk 6:45 Joh 7:28 Joh 8:20 Joh 8:28 Joh 18:20
definition-to instruct by word of mouth. (mouth being a key word

Summation

This is such an important verse! It makes it very clear (basically saying it twice in one sentence) that Jesus was about to teach and instruct His disciples! This isn't written instruction! Jesus is teaching verbally and with authority because He has authority as given to Him by God the Father!

We need to realize how important the following verses are as we read them and give them the attention and thought that they deserve. This isn't just beautiful and well constructed poetry, it is authoritative instruction from the Son of God Himself, on how to become right with God!

Friday, January 6, 2012

The Beatitudes, Matthew 5:2-12, a word study of Blessed.

Before we look at each verse of the Beatitudes I think it is important to take an in-depth look at the word Blessed! It is used in every verse from Mathew 5:3 to 5:11.

The initial overview of Matthew 5:2-12 can be found here.http://thebible-verse-by-verse.blogspot.com/2012/01/beatitudes-mat-52-12-overview.html

BLESSED

G3107 IN STRONG'S=MAKARIOS

Definition:

G3107- from The Complete Word Study Dictionary-

Possessing the favor of God-the state of being marked by the fullness of God. Indicates the state of the believer in Christ (The Word Study Dictionary uses Mat 5:3-11 as an example of this!) The believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit because of Christ and as a result should be fully satisfied no matter the circumstances.
This is MUCH different from happy (which makarios is sometimes translated to in English), in that happy connotes pleasure from circumstances-the root hap means luck as a favorable circumstance. G3107, makarios, is equivalent to having God's kingdom within one's heart. Makarios (blessed) is the one who is in the world yet independent of the world! This person's satisfaction comes from God and that person's relationship with God, not from favorable circumstances. (G3106 is the form of the word that is to declare someone blessed---it is the poetic form of the word.)

G3107-Definition from Mounces' Expository Dictionary-

Mounce seems to be not a little unsure of himself as he basically agrees with the above but also states it can mean just being happy because of circumstances. He then uses 1Co 7:40 as an example. But it seems that being a widow is not a favorable circumstance and that Paul is saying that the widow would be "happier" (blessed) by building a relationship with God instead of worrying about being remarried. This seems to be more in line with Paul's general thinking about marriage where he believe that those not married should stay unmarried to focus on their relationship with God. 1Co 7:7-8 and 1Co 7:21-3.
So. based on Paul's thoughts on singleness and marriage and the single person's ability to devote his or her time to God, I believe that Paul's use of makarios in 1Co 7:40 is in line with the definition from the Word Study dictionary. It is not happy, as in a favourable circumstance but instead still indicates a state of permanent satisfaction due to one's relationship with God.

Various New Testament Cross References:

Mat 5:3-11 Mat 11:6 Mat 13:16 Mat 16:17 Mat 24:46 Luk 1:45 Luk 6:20-22 Luk 7:23 Luk 10:23 Luk 10:23 Luk 11:27-28 Luk 12:37-38 Luk 12:43 Luk 14:14-15 Luk 23:29
Joh 13:17 Joh 20:29 Act 20:35 Rom 4:7-8 1Ti 1:11 1Ti 6:15 Tit 2:13 Jas 1:12 Jas 1:25 1Pe 3:14 1Pe 4:14 Rev 14:13 Rev 1:3 Rev 16:15 Rev 20:6 Rev 19:9 Rev 22:7 Rev 22:14

Blessed (as an adjective) in the Psalms and Proverbs:

Psa 1:1 Psa 2:12 Psa 32:1-2 Psa 41:1 Psa 33:12 Psa 34:8 Psa 40:4 Psa 84:4 Psa 84:5 Psa 84:12 Psa 89:15 Psa 94:12 Psa 112:1 Psa 146:5 Pro 3:13 Pro 8:34 Pro 28:14

For contrast we will now look at Strong's G2127, which is also translated to Blessed and used as an adjective.

G2127-Eulegemenos, Word Study definition:

Eulegemenos-refers to one upon whom God has acted or who has experienced God's blessing. Used in joyful salutations to indicate that the blessing of the individual is due to God's intervention in that person's life. Eulegemenos indicates a one time event.
Makarios (G3107 from the beatitudes) differs from Eulegemenos (G2127) in that Makarios means to be indwelt by God permanently because of Jesus and thereby be fully satisfied. Makarios refers to a permanent state of being when referring to mankind while Eulogemenos refers to the action of God in man's life. Makarios=permanent state of being. Eulegemenos=a particular instance of blessing.
This can be seen in Mat 25:34 where G2127 (eulegemenos) is used. The people in the parable have been blessed but have yet to inherit the kingdom that was prepared for them.

I think that knowing the distinction between these two Greek words and how Blessed is used in the beatitudes has a significant impact on one's understanding of the beatitudes. Jesus is stating that the people of whom He speaks in Matthew 5:2-12 will be in a permanent state of full satisfaction with their relationship with God the Father through the Son. The conditions he speaks of are contrasting in that they are temporary (poor in spirit, etc. etc.) especially when compared to the permanent relationship with God!! The conditions and circumstances are temporary but they blessedness is PERMANENT!

My next post will begin looking at each verse in detail.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

The Beatitudes, Mat 5:2-12 overview

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's.

I would now like to start a verse by verse study of The Beatitudes:

Matthew 5:2-12

And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
(Matthew 5:2-12)

INITIAL OBSERVATIONS

Things Emphasized:

Perseverance through persecution
The rewards of being blessed are truly great!

Things Repeated:

Twice during the Beatitudes Jesus mentions people persevering through persecution as being rewarded.

Cause and Effect:

Every Beatitude IS a cause and effect! The Greek word translated here as "for" means because! In every one of the beatitudes the effect is to be counted as blessed (see separate word study in VERY next post) and the end of the sentence is the cause. (ie: Blessed because "they shall be comforted." Mat 5:4 ) The conditions (or states of the people described in the Beatitudes, ie: poor in spirit, those who mourn) are deeper than we think. After initial readings it seems that Jesus is laying out the life of a Christian in these verses.

Important Persons:

Jesus
His disciples. He has pulled His disciples aside to give them this sermon on the mount. Mat 5:1-2

Author and Intended Audience:

Matthew was the author. He was one of Jesus' disciples.
Matthew’s emphasis is easy to discern. As a Jew writing to fellow Jews, Matthew sets out to prove that Jesus’ life and atonement are the fulfillment of OT prophecies regarding the coming Messiah. Further, he is preoccupied with the motif of Jesus as King and with the nature of discipleship for those who follow Christ. (text taken from the ESV Literary Study Bible)

Literary Concerns:

The beatitudes are an example of parallelism (as were the Psalms!) which is defined as:

Any successive series of phrases or lines that have the same grammatical format, such as “whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely” (Phil. 4:8). More technically, parallelism is the verse form in which virtually all biblical poetry is written. While there are specific types of the verse form of parallelism (antithetic parallelism, synonymous parallelism, synthetic parallelism, climactic parallelism), the overriding idea that covers all of them is this: parallelism consists of two or more lines that form a pattern based on repetition or balance of thought and grammar and/or syntax.

Jesus (a) pronounces a blessing on a group of people, (b) names the group according to their essential trait, and (c) offers a reason (which is at the same time a promise) for their condition of blessedness. The promised rewards are spiritual in nature and have an eschatological as well as temporal application. The literary technique was known in ancient literature as “the character” (we call it a “character sketch”). (the preceding text is from the Introduction to Matthew in the ESV Literary Study Bible.)

Contextual Considerations:

This is one of Jesus' first sermons ( Mat 4:17 ) And is the beginning of a rather large and important Sermon that concludes in Mat 7:27
It is also very important to know and understand that Jesus began His public teaching after he resisted the temptations of the devil. Mat 4:1-11
For only after Jesus had resisted temptation could He be the one who could take on the sins of the world. Jesus is/was the lamb as promised by God! Gen 22:7-13 Joh 1:36 Rev 7:9 Rev 7:14
And digging further into context: The temptation of Jesus came after he had been baptized by John and then acknowledged by the Father. Mat 3:13-17
And yet a little more: Jesus performs no miracles (In Matthew) until after He FIRST teaches His disciples.
It is interesting and most likely very important that Jesus started this important sermon with the Beatitudes!! (consider this when studying)

My next post will be an in-depth word study of the word Blessed. I felt it was VERY important to understand this word before diving into each verse in detail. And it was! Until then............