Bible 911 – 1 Corinthians

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1 Corinthians 9:11 If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things? (KJV)
1 Corinthians 9:11 If we have planted the spiritual seed that has been of benefit to you, is it too much if we receive part of the harvest from your earthly goods? (NOG – Names of God Bible)

Why two translations? 400-year-old English may not give you a large amount of understanding. Actually, take a look at several translations, I found that it helped.

For 1 Corinthians 9:11 I feel the thoughts for Chapter 9 start in Chapter 8. Paul did an amazing job of weaving several problems together. He started with food and idols then ended Chapter 9 with running your race with discipline in order to win the prize. The story of the Corinthian Church starts in Acts 18, it will give you a feel for these two Letters. I know it is hard to believe, but the first century Christian churches had problems; just read the start of the Book of Revelations. Chapter 9 builds on 2:1,6; 3:1; and 4:1,6. It seems that the Corinthians were preferring other ministers and giving Paul a bad time for a number of reasons.

FREE and FOOD These two themes are the root of the sharing in Chapters 8 and 9 with Paul’s teachings stemming from them.

Free – Paul talks about “free” quite a bit in Romans, Corinthians, and Galatians. You may want to want to check more than one translation as the number of verses using that word changes a lot. Remember, this is Paul who has a deep understanding of grace and being bound to the Lord for the purpose of spreading the Gospel of the Kingdom. We get lost in the idea of free and forget to look at the lives of Jesus and those He commissioned to spread His message.

A word for “free” was used twice in Chapter 9: 9:1 and 9:19. Paul inferred he was free several times. He was free:

  • To live for God and Jesus
  • From the fear of the Law
  • To eat what is put in front of him
  • Not to cause weak Christians to stumble
  • To be equal with other Christians
  • Not to use his rights as an apostle
  • To boast about not using his rights
  • To be available to be used by God
  • To discipline himself to be useful

Food – 1 Corinthians 9:11 in “modern times” translates to money. Programs, staff, and buildings are expensive; if you enjoy the church community, bearing those burdens are necessary. Paul starts his discourse on food talking about knowledge. Paul tempers what you think you know versus your responsibility towards weak members of Christ’s Body. Animal sacrifice was part of life in the first century, we have some knowledge and understanding of the practice. The Corinthians, however, were not ignorant and neither were Jews. Part of Jewish sacrifice was to have a family meal before God. I have heard it said that the meat market was next to the neighborhood pagan temple in large Gentile cities. Exodus 34:15 and Numbers 25:1-3 are passages about sacrificing to idols, eating the offering, and being led away from God and frequently into sexual sin. Paul did not sacrifice to idols, but he knew food was just food. It seems he had a good understanding of Jesus’ words about “what goes in the mouth does not defile, it is what comes out”. Now, use the knowledge you have right now from the Lord and switch from food to money. What are you sacrificing, eating, and teaching others about your freedom?

Paul offers several examples for 9:11 starting in verse 7 and ends with a question in 12. Why do you support others and not the ones who brought you the Gospel? I would like to offer two other references/examples for Paul’s boasting and behavior:

  • In Genesis 14 Abram gathers an army and rescues Lot. In verse 21 he refuses to take anything from King Bera of Sodom, except the tenth to Melchizedek and the share for allies who went with him.
  • Jesus in Luke 10:4-8 commissions seventy-two apostles/missionaries and sends them out. He told them to go out and that the people they preach to should take care of their needs. This is a food and funds focus from Jesus.  

Lord’s Prayer – Forever

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Matthew 6: 13b – For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen 

Well, this sentence appears to have been added to the copies of Matthew and Luke. If you start reading the internet the theories abound as to why. One that was echoed several times was it made Luke sound more like the prayer in Matthew. The denomination I grew up in used this line. I want to say there was an additional “ever” at the end, but that might just have been me.

Yes, there are differences in the manuscripts of the Gospels over the centuries. Check your footnotes as many times these slight additions or missing words will be noted. The NIV (1984) documents lines and phrases that appear to have been added or not in all ancient manuscripts – Matthew 24:36, 23:13, 21:44, 19:29, 18:15, 17:20, 16:2 and 3, 15:14, and 6, 12:47, 6:13, 5:44 and 22, 26:28, 27:35 and 46. (Guess how I explored that thought?)

Another fact I looked into this morning was the original languages the Gospels were written in. Since I have pointed out in 6:11 about epiousious and how special of a word it is; I will point out that Matthew’s first copies were written in Hebrew.

Here are some resources:

John’s first manuscripts are in Greek.

People have definite opinions on the meaning of Revelation 22:18 and 19. With this prayer I see a well-traveled and often said petition to the Father. The slight variations, I feel, reflect years of repetition through various cultures and languages. It is hard to image that the prayer was used from Ireland to India and the Arctic Circle to the Equator hundreds of years before the Great Bible ever made it to paper.

Appeared and Went Up

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As I read Genesis 17 and 18 the words “appeared” and “went up” (NIV) were used of God visiting Abram/Abraham. They reminded me just how important Abraham was in God’s plan for mankind.

First a little background: In Chapter 15 Abraham God brought Abram into Covenant. Chapter 16 Sarai “helped” God out by encouraging Abram to have a child with Hagar. Thirteen years later in Chapter 17 God added circumcision as a sign to confirm the covenant in Chapter 15, plus the promise of the land of Canaan, and a son born of Sarai. This is also the chapter where God changed the couple’s names to Abraham and Sarah. The narrative in Chapter 18 tells of God’s second visit to Abraham, which included a meal, Sarah laughing at the thought of being a mother, and the dickering Abraham did with God over Sodom.

APPEARED

God had spoken to Abram, given him visions, and had a smoking firepot and a blazing torch be visible to represent Him. (The firepot and torch became a pillar of fire and cloud with Moses and the Children in the desert.) But in Chapter 17:1 and 18:1 God came and showed Himself to Abraham. The Hebrew word is way·yê·rā and was first used in Genesis 12:7; the root word is raah. Hebrew Concordance: way·yê·rā — 20 Occurrences

Strong’s Hebrew: 7200. רָאָה (raah) — To see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider

If you look at the twenty times way·yê·rā is used, it is clear that God showed Himself to Abraham. This is a great Bible study by itself, so use the Bible Hub link and explore this thought. Yes, all of those appearance have a term we have given them and a lot of ink has been used in explaining them. Don’t miss the fact that God showed Himself to this man, the father of faith.

He Left  

What grabbed my attention was that He appeared and then the text also adds that He left. In 17:22 the word is wayyaal and it comes from the root word alah.

Hebrew Concordance: way·ya·‘al — 110 Occurrences

Strong’s Hebrew: 5927. עָלָה (alah) — To go up, ascend, climb, bring up, offer

In 18:33 the word used when God left is wayyelek. Hebrew Concordance: way·yê·leḵ — 212 Occurrences 

God accomplished many things in His appearing and leaving, but I think the message to Abram in 17:1 “to walk with Him” was the most important part. That word is hithallek. Hebrew Concordance: hiṯ·hal·leḵ- — 4 Occurrences. Noah and David are the others that this word is associated with. The root word is Strong’s Hebrew: 1980. הָלַך (halak) — To go, walk, come, proceed, move. If I read Genesis correctly, Adam and Eve and Enoch also experienced walking with God. I think God wants us to walk with Him and fellowship with Him in righteousness.

Lord’s Prayer – Deliver Us

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Matthew 6: 13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. (NASB) Luke 11:4b does not have “but deliver us from evil”.

As I have studied this portion of the Lord’s Prayer and its various words and their meanings from the Greek, I have had a feeling that how you view Father God will influence your feelings about these twelve words. The various forms of the Greek words with their jots and tittles do dictate what word the translator may use, and the King James version is what is most accepted. Unless you have an Exodus 34:6 and 7 knowledge of our Father, and see the good things Nehemiah 9 tells that God did for His Children; I fear that it is easy to use this verse to project wrong thinking towards God.

Psalm 23 gives you an idea of God’s leading, yes, I have made reference to this Psalm for His epiousious provision. Verses 2-4 talks about leading by quiet waters and through the valley of the shadow of death. The path of righteousness is special; it is a well-marked track (See H4570).  Strong’s Hebrew: 4570. מַעְגָּל (magal or magalah) — Path, track, course, circuit

The Greek words deserve a good look. I am not putting these in order, so use the links if you want to go further. Matthew 6:13 Greek Text Analysis

There is a “legal” side in this part also, I see this in #G 4506. We asked for His Kingdom to come, and this part does show the mission of bringing us to Him and away from the evil one. These last few posts have talked about provision, forgiveness, and now the mission of His Kingdom.

Day Six, Day Seven, Day Eight

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This study started when I was pondering how to answer a question on the number eight and new beginnings. That thought of course starts with the narrative in Genesis 1 and 2 and the seven days of Creation. Now, this is a very metaphorical thought, and I am writing this to start my study. So, this is a big-picture thing, so be patient with the process.

  • Day Six – Man is “born”. Below are links to “created” and “made” which are the words used in verses 26 and 27 of Genesis 1.
  • Day Seven – God and Man rested
  • Day Eight – Man started his “job” of tending the Garden and having rule over the animals of the earth.

The new beginning follows a time of rest with God.

Exodus and Leviticus have been on my mind a lot lately, they have a “creating process” in them.

  • Father God voids the gods of Egypt.
  • Passover is redemption of Israel and bringing the people out healthy and “new”.
  • They have a short period of “rest” with no bondage. They are under the Pillar which protects them.
  • Their “eighth day” is when they went through the Red Sea. They were total free, and those Egyptians would not bother them again.

Leviticus 8 and 9 are the start of the Aaronic priesthood and the first service at the new Tabernacle; some of these thoughts are in this narrative.

Another Passover also has the elements of Day 6, 7, and 8.

  • Jesus came out of the grave (ground) and was a new version of Himself.
  • There was a forty-day period where Jesus stayed with the disciples giving them rest and protection. Remember, He wanted the disciples to leave Jerusalem and go to Galilee.
  • Pentecost was the start of their new beginning and the work they were to be doing.  

Genesis 1:26 Hebrew Text Analysis

Hebrew Concordance: na·‘ă·śeh — 33 Occurrences

Hebrew Concordance: way·yiḇ·rā — 2 Occurrences

Hebrew Concordance: bā·rā — 5 Occurrences