Blank Bible

I found this post on a blog called Miscellanies.
It is about adding blank pages to a bible in order to take notes. I am now considering making one for myself.
My only misgiving about making one is that I do most of my bible study in LOGOS and E-Sword, so I really do not need one. I guess I will have to think about this for a few days.

The Fruit of the Spirit Part 6:Faithfulness

πιστος, (4103) which is defined as: Faithful in duty to oneself and to others, of true fidelity (Col 4:9; 1Pe 5:12, a faithful brother; Rev 2:10). Of God as faithful to His promises (1Co 1:9, "dependable the God"]; 1Co 10:13; 1Th 5:24; 2Th 3:3; Heb 10:23; Heb 11:11; 1Jn 1:9; Sept.: Deu 32:4); of Christ (2Ti 2:13). As an attestation or oath, God is faithful (2Co 1:18). Especially of servants, ministers, who are faithful in the performance of duty (Mat 24:45; Mat 25:21, Mat 25:23; Luke 12:42; 1Co 4:2; Eph 6:21; Col 1:7, Col 1:9; Col 4:7; Heb 2:17).[1]
In Matt. 24:42-46 the faithful servant is described as being watching on alert and ready. In Acts 15:16 being faithful makes one ready for service and allows one to be a blessing to another. In 1 Cor.4:1-2 we see that faithfulness is required of a good steward. In I Cor.4:14-17 being faithful makes one worthy of being imitated by others. In 1 Cor. 7:25 being faithful equips one to make Godly judgments.
Faithfulness is our response to God because of His faithfulness to us. In Deu. 7:9-11 we see that God is described as being “the faithful God”. In 1 John 1:9 we see that God’s faithfulness allows Him to forgive us and allows for our restoration to fellowship. Moreover His faithfulness not only allows for the forgiveness of the sins that we name but even the sins that we do not recognize or have forgotten. In 1 Cor. 10:13 we see that Gods faithfulness protects us from being overwhelmed, provides a way out and sustains us through what we do go through. And finally in 1Th. 5:23-24 we see that God is faithful to complete what He has began in us.

[1] Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament

The Fruit of the Spirit Part 5: Goodness:

ἀγαθωσύνη (G 19) agathōsúnē; gen. agathōsúnēs, fem. noun from agathós (G 18), benevolent. Active goodness. It is more than chrēstótēs (G 5544), gentleness, kindness, a mellowing of character. It is character energized, expressing itself in agathón (G 18), benevolence, active good. There is more activity in agathōsúnē than in chrēstótēs. Agathōsúnē does not spare sharpness and rebuke to cause good (agathón) in others. A person may display his agathōsúnē, his zeal for goodness and truth, in rebuking, correcting, or chastising.[1]
This is the result of one’s being kind. This is actions that result in good being done. This is not going along to get along. One’s level of development in kindness will impact one’s ability to do good things and one can only produce good deeds by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Any “good” deeds committed apart from the filling of the Holy Spirit are human good and are worthless in the sight of God. So goodness takes into account motives and not only the deeds themselves. So when one considers “doing good deeds” one must examine their motives in order to judge if what they are doing is actually “good”.

[1] The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament

The fruit of the Spirit Part 4: Patience and Kindness

μακροθυμία (G 3115) makrothumía; gen. makrothumías, fem. noun from makrothuméō (G 3114), to be long-suffering. Forbearance, long-suffering, self-restraint before proceeding to action. The quality of a person who is able to avenge himself yet refrains from doing so.[1]
"Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?" (Romans 2:4, NASB95)
Patience is the ability to allow our weaker brothers and sisters in Christ to grow up. It is the ability to wait upon God and his timing and not demand our own. It is an aspect of love. Patience is our ability to let God’s grace happen. Without patience no one would have ever been saved.

Χρηστότης (G 5544)chrēstótēs; gen. chrestótētos, fem. noun from chrēstós (G 5543), useful, profitable. Benignity, kindness, usefulness. It is the grace which pervades the whole nature, mellowing all which would be been harsh and austere. The word is descriptive of one's disposition and does not necessarily entail acts of goodness as does the word agathōsúnē (G 19), active benignity. Chrēstótēs has the harmlessness of the dove but not the wisdom of the serpent which agathōsúnē shows in sharpness and rebuke.[2]
Kindness as defined here is not an action, but is the disposition that leads to an action. In other words kind deeds flow from kind intentions. God’s kindness is an attribute of His nature; our kindness is a reflection of God’s nature. And this leads to us doing good deeds, not as a means to buy favor with God, but because of God’s favor to us.

[1] The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament
[2] The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament

The Fruit of the Spirit Part 3 Joy and peace:

When I began the study of this passage I thought that “love” would be the most difficult to understand and explain, but what I found was that joy is the one that gave me the most difficulty. I believe that this is because I had considered “joy” to be an emotion instead of a state of being.  “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,” (James 1:2). The only way that one could “consider it all joy” is if the primary application of joy was not emotional. That is not to say that the emotion of joy will not follow the consideration of joy, but joy is not tied to circumstances. Joy is tied to our relationship with Christ.
With a correct relationship to Christ we can find joy in Gods natural revelation. Matthew 2:10. We can find joy in Gods supernatural revelation, and by that I mean the Bible. Luke 2:10. Joy can be a result of faithful service. Matthew 25:21. Sorrow can be turned into joy. John 16:20. Joy can come from the growth of others. Philippians 1:25.
These are but a few examples concerning joy and in each we can see that there is an emotional aspect but that is a result of joy not the cause of joy.

"“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." (Matthew 10:34, NASB95)
"“Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division;" (Luke 12:51, NASB95)
"“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful." (John 14:27, NASB95)

Peace is not the absence of war; it is the absence of the threat of war. This statement is also true in our Christian lives. Peace is not the absence of struggle; it is the absence of the threat that comes from struggle. Peace is the confidence that no matter what we are going through God is in control. In Romans 15:13 we see that God’s joy and peace work together in us in order that we may have hope. Note that both are a provision from God by the means of the Holy Spirit. Hope is not a wishing that something were true it is having a confidence in God and his ability to bring us through. "for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day." (2 Timothy 1:12b, NASB95)

The Fruit of the Spirit Part 2: Love

Greek has many words that English translates as “love”; the Greek word here is ἀγάπη (G26). ἀγάπη is the noun form of ἀγαπω (G25) and is an integrity love based upon the person doing the loving not the person, or object being loved. It is not a “warm, fuzzy” feeling, but instead it is a thought out action towards the object of love. The merit of this kind of love is in the one doing the loving not in the object of the love.
In John 3:16 we read that God so loved (ἀγαπω, G25) the world… Now this love is not based upon anything that the world did but entirely upon who and what God is. Another aspect of ἀγάπη love is that it seeks what is best for its object, not necessarily what the object of that love wants. Notice that God sent his Son, that is not what the world wanted for God to do, but that is what the world needed. That is why Christians are supposed to have ἀγάπη love for others. “You shall love (ἀγαπω G25) your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew. 19:19) That is why, if you wanted to show love to a homeless person you would not give them money, (what they want), but instead you would give them a meal or donate to a charity that helps them, (what they need). The least loving thing that you could do is give them money that they could turn into drugs or things like it.
ἀγάπη is the basis for all of the other attributes of the fruit of the Spirit. Only to the extent that we manifest ἀγάπη will we be able to manifest the others.
Love (ἀγάπη) is patient, love (ἀγάπη) is kind and is not jealous; love (ἀγάπη) does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but  rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Recommended reading Part 2

Dictionaries:

The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament and The Complete Word Study Dictionary Old Testament.
Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament : Based on semantic domains. (Louw & Nida)
And we cannot forget the Strong’s Dictionary.
Strong’s and Louw and Nida are useful for the basic meaning of a word, but for a thorough understanding The Complete Word Study Dictionary New and Old Testament cannot be beat. I have these in both book and digital form. If you get the book form then you will also need the Complete Word Study New and Old Testaments. They are KJV bible translations with Strong’s numbers in line with the text.

Commentaries:

Baker’s New Testament Commentaries. These are simply the most thorough commentaries that I have ever seen. I find myself referencing them time and again to gain insight into a passage.
Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
One Year Through the Bible. Back in 2002 the pastor of my church taught through the bible in one year, this book is a compilation of his notes covering every book and chapter of the bible. You can also download the audio at the church web site. You will need Acrobat Reader to read the book.

Encyclopedias:

Baker Encyclopedia Christian Apologetics.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. This is a must have providing background on many subjects you can find it on Amazon.com starting at $85 or you can get the E-Sword version for free. There are also free versions on line.

Theology:

Chafer Systematic Theology. This is the standard that has impacted Christian Theology for generations.
Systematic Theology, Dr. Norman Geisler. Dr. Geisler taught Chafer’s Theology for years at Dallas Seminary and has produced his own Theological work encompassing and expanding upon Chafer. This work is the heir apparent to Chafer. Both are a must have and a must read. If I had to choose one over the other though it would be Geisler’s as it is easier to read and understand.

Web Sites:

Austin Bible Church. This is the church that my family attends. On the web site you will find both audio and written bible studies. At our church the bible is taught verse by verse. We are currently in 2nd Corinthians and in 2nd Timothy. If you have never encountered verse by verse teaching I recommend that you listen to a few of the audio files to see what it is like. This is also a grace orientated church where there is no passing of an offering plate. Giving is expected to be a result of Gods work in your life and money is never made an issue.
Grace Notes. This is a tremendous repository of biblical teaching.
I have several bible study programs, but I find that I only use two of them every day.
E-Sword. This is by far the best free bible software around.
Logos Bible Software. This is the best bible software around. It is expensive but it is worth it.

The fruit of the Spirit Part 1

Just as the deeds of the flesh were those possessed by a fleshy nature so is the fruit of the Spirit a thing possessed by the Holy Spirit of God and it is manifested through us only to the extent that we allow the Spirit to manifest it in us. However, whereas the deeds of the flesh were plural the fruit of the Spirit is singular with all of the attributes listed an aspect of that singular fruit. Think of it as a pecan tree. If a pecan tree receives an abundance of water then it will produce many pecans and to a cretin extent the more water the larger the pecans. If it receives little water then the pecans ether will not form at all or only a few sickly pecans will form. But no matter what you do to the pecan tree it will never produce apples. So it is with the fruit of the Spirit, the more of the Spirit the more and larger the fruit, but it is still only one fruit. All of the words following in verse 22 and 23 only describe that fruit. If things like love, joy and peace are not the fruit but only aspects of the fruit then what is the fruit? Christ is the fruit. In Romans 8:29 it tells us that we are predestined to become conformed to the image of Christ. The aspects of the fruit listed are all aspects of Christ and with them displayed in us it is our being conformed to His image, the more that we conform to that image the more that we display the aspects.

Recommended Reading Part 1

When I study I find that there are a few things that are invaluable to my studies.

Bibles:

The New American Standard Bible and the Holman Christian Standard Bible.

These are the most clear and accurate bible translations that I have found. I know that some prefer the KJV of the bible, and it is a good translation, but we no longer use the English language in the same way. In order to teach from the KJV you have to translate the old English words to their modern equivalents. This results in the teaching from a translation of a translation. And while that is not impossible it can be awkward.

UBS 4 Greek New Testament and the Greek New Testament according to the Majority Text.

I mostly use the UBS 4 now but I started out using the Majority Text and still refer to it on occasion. No matter what translation of the Bible that you use as a bible teacher you must compare it to the original languages otherwise you miss so much of the meaning. For example the words translated as love ἀγαπη and φιλεος one is integrity love biased on the person doing the loving (ἀγαπη) "“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13, NASB95) and one is friendship love biased on the rapport that two people have (φιλεος). "He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep." (John 21:17, NASB95) if one did not look at the Greek in these verses then you would miss that these two verses are speaking of different kinds of love.

Key Word Study Bible (NASB).

This is a New American Standard Bible translation that has key words from each verse underlined and referenced with Strong’s numbers and has the definitions and word studies in the back. It also has notes in the text to better explain some concepts. If I could only have one book this would be it.

Scofeild Reference Bible (HCSB).

This is a Holman Christian Standard Bible with Scofeild notes. If I could only have two books this would be the second one.

You may note that I do not have a favorite Hebrew resource; this is because I have not looked into the Hebrew enough to have one. I, honestly, find the Hebrew language intimidating.

but be transformed by the renewing of your mind

Transformed is the word μεταμορφοῦσθε (G3339) and it means to change into another form. It is only used 4 times in the New Testament. It is used twice in the gospels, Matthew 17:2 and Mark 9:2, and twice by Paul in his writings, Romans 12:2 and 2 Corinthians 3:18.
In the gospel accounts it is used to describe the outward change in appearance of Jesus. But when Paul uses it in Romans and 2 Corinthians he is describing an inward change.
This transformation takes place by the renewing of our mind, but how is our mind renewed?
There are a few things that we must do in order to renew our minds, the first of which is to be born again. Only a believer in Christ will have the facilities to participate in the renewal process. That is because this is not just “turning over a new leaf”, or “keeping some resolutions”. We are commanded in Romans 13:14 to “Put on Christ”. The same verse goes on to say “make no provision for the flesh.” So what we have here are two things that we must do: 1. Put on and 2. Make no. Both require actions on our part and both are dependent of the other. If I put on Christ then I will make no provision for the flesh. However if I make provision for the flesh then I cannot put on Christ. This is further described in Ephesians 4:20-24. Here it speaks of laying aside your old self and putting on your new self. Colossians 3:9-10 also speaks of this.
This is all well and good but how do we put on Christ? How is our mind renewed?
In Titus 3:5 we read that the renewing is an action of the Holy Spirit. He does the work, but we must allow Him to. We allow the Holy Spirit to do this by daily bible study, prayer and by taking in sound teaching through a local church. Once we begin to do this then we can get to the second part of the Galatians passage that contained the deeds of the flesh. Instead of the deeds of the flesh we now see the fruit of the Spirit. Before we move on we need to consider the fruit of the spirit in more detail, the list that we shall use is in Galatians 5:22-23.