FOR I DELIVERED TO YOU AS
OF FIRST IMPORTANCE WHAT I ALSO RECEIVED: paredoka (1SAAI) gar humin en
protois, o kai parelabon, (1SAAI):
(1Cor 4:1,2; 11:2,23; Ezekiel 3:17; Matthew 20:18,19; Mark 16:15,16;
Luke 24:46,47; Galatians 1:12)
Delivered
(3860)
(paradidomi
from para = alongside, beside, to the side of, over to +
didomi = to give) conveys the basic meaning of to give
over from one's hand to someone or something, especially to give over
to the power of another.
The use of paradidomi in 1Corinthians 15:3 refers to the
transmitting of or passing on of traditional instruction from Paul to
the saints at Corinth. Paul is saying that he brought authoritative
teaching, not something of his own origination. He did not design it,
he only delivered what God had authored. Paul used paradidomi
two other times in this same epistle to express a similar idea
writing...
1 Corinthians 11:2 Now
I praise you because you remember me in everything, and hold firmly to
the traditions, just as I delivered (paradidomi) them to you.
1 Corinthians 11:23 For I received (paralambano - the same verb
Paul uses in 1Cor 15:3 of the gospel the Corinthians had received)
from the Lord that which I also delivered to
(paradidomi) you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was
betrayed took bread
Comment: Paul explained
that these "traditions" were not the traditions of men but of God
writing that "For I neither received (paralambano) it
from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a
revelation of Jesus Christ." (Galatians 1:12) This is the
message that Paul like a faithful steward delivered to the saints at
Corinth.
Utley comments that
I delivered to you refers to...
This refers to (1) Christian
witness that Paul received (from Stephen, Acts 7; from Ananias, Acts
5; and from persecuted Christians, Acts 9:1–2; I Cor. 15:9; (2) direct
revelation from the Lord (cf. 1Cor 11:23; Gal. 1:12). Paul passed on
the gospel truths he had received. Paul was not an innovator, but a
faithful witness applying the gospel truths to new situations. (Utley,
R. J. D. Volume 6: Paul's Letters to a Troubled Church: I and II
Corinthians. Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International)
Keener notes that
delivered...
is the language of what
scholars call “traditioning”: Jewish teachers (Rabbis) would pass on their
teachings to their students, who would in turn pass them on to their
own students. The students could take notes, but they delighted
especially in oral memorization and became quite skilled at it;
memorization was a central feature of ancient education. In the first
generation, the tradition would be very accurate (Keener, C. S., The
IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. Downers Grove, Ill.:
InterVarsity Press)
Synonyms used for paradidomi include surrender, yield up, entrust, deliver up, give over.
Paradidomi is variously
translated as "betray(13), betrayed(9), betraying(9), betrays(3),
commended(1), committed(3),deliver(10), deliver up(7), delivered(17),
delivered over(2), delivered up(16), delivering(3), delivers up(1),
entrusted(3),entrusting(1), gave over(3), gave up(3), given over(1),
handed down(3), handed over(4), permits(1), put(1),
putting(1),risked(m)(1), taken custody(2), turn over(1).
Paradidomi - 119x in 117v in
NAS - Mt 4:12; 5:25; 10:4, 17, 19, 21; 11:27; 17:22; 18:34; 20:18, 19;
24:9, 10; 25:14, 20, 22; 26:2, 15, 16, 21, 23, 24, 25, 45, 46, 48;
27:2, 3, 4, 18, 26; Mark 1:14; 3:19; 4:29; 7:13; 9:31; 10:33; 13:9,
11, 12; 14:10,11, 18, 21, 41f, 44; 15:1, 10, 15; Luke 1:2; 4:6; 9:44;
10:22; 12:58; 18:32; 20:20; 21:12, 16; 22:4, 6, 21, 22, 48; 23:25;
24:7, 20; Jn 6:64, 71; 12:4; 13:2, 11, 21; 18:2, 5, 30, 35, 36; 19:11,
16, 30; 21:20; Acts 3:13; 6:14; 7:42; 8:3; 12:4; 14:26; 15:26, 40;
16:4; 21:11; 22:4; 27:1; 28:17; Ro 1:24, 26, 28; 4:25; 6:17; 8:32; 1Co
5:5; 11:2, 23; 13:3; 15:3, 24; 2Co 4:11; Gal 2:20; Ep 4:19; 5:2, 25;
1Ti 1:20; 1Pe 2:23; 2Pe 2:4, 21; Jude 1:3
NAS = betray(17),
betrayed(10), betraying(9), betrays(3), commended(1), committed(3),
deliver(6), delivered(21), delivered over(1), delivering(3),
entrusted(3), entrusting(1), gave(4), gave...over(3), given...over(1),
hand(6), handed(9), handed...over(1), handed down(4), handed over(4),
hands(1), permits(1), put(1), putting(1), risked(1), surrender(1),
taken into custody(2), turn...over(1).
Paradidomi - Some 180x
times in the non-apocryphal
Septuagint (LXX)
-Ge
14:20; 27:20; Exod. 21:13; 23:31; Lev. 26:25; Num. 21:2f, 34; 32:4;
Deut. 1:8, 21, 27; 2:24, 30f, 33, 36; 3:2f; 7:2, 23f; 19:12; 20:13,
20; 21:10; 23:14f; 28:7; 31:5; 32:30; Jos. 2:14, 24; 6:2, 16; 7:7;
8:18; 10:8, 12, 19, 30, 32, 35; 11:6, 8; 21:44; 24:8, 10f, 33; Jdg.
1:4; 2:14, 23; 3:10, 28; 4:7, 14; 7:2, 9, 14f; 8:3; 11:9, 21, 32;
13:1; 15:13; 16:24; 1 Sam. 11:12; 14:10, 12, 37; 17:47; 23:4, 14;
24:4, 10; 26:23; 28:19; 30:15, 23; 2 Sam. 5:19; 1 Ki. 8:46; 2 Ki.
3:13, 18; 18:30; 19:10; 21:14; 1 Chr. 12:17; 2 Chr. 6:36; 13:16; 16:8;
24:24; 25:20; 28:5, 9; 30:7; 32:11; 35:12; 36:17; Ezra 7:19; 9:7; Est.
2:3, 13; 4:17; 8:12; Job 2:6; 9:24; 16:11; 24:14; Ps. 10:14; 27:12;
41:2; 63:10; 74:19; 78:48, 61; 88:8; 106:41; 118:18; 119:121; 140:8;
Prov. 6:1; 11:8; 24:22; 27:24; 30:10; Isa. 19:4; 23:7; 25:5, 7; 33:1,
6, 23; 34:2; 36:15; 37:10; 38:12f; 47:3; 53:6, 12; 64:7; 65:12; Jer.
2:24; 15:4; 21:10; 22:25; 24:8; 26:24; 32:4, 28, 36, 43; 34:2; 37:17;
38:3, 20; 46:24; 50:2; Ezek. 7:21; 11:9; 16:27, 39; 21:15, 27, 29, 31;
23:9, 28; 25:4; 31:11; 39:23; Dan. 1:2; 2:38; 3:28; 4:17; 7:25; 11:6,
11; Hos. 8:10; Mic. 6:14, 16; Zech. 11:6
Note God's role in these
representative OT
Septuagint
uses of paradidomi ...
Genesis 14:20 And
blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered (Lxx = paradidomi) your
enemies into your hand." And he gave him a tenth of all.
Exodus 23:31 "And I
will fix your boundary from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines,
and from the wilderness to the River Euphrates; for I will deliver
(Lxx = paradidomi) the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you
will drive them out before you.
Numbers 21:3 And the
LORD heard the voice of Israel, and delivered up (Lxx =
paradidomi) the Canaanites; then they utterly destroyed them and their
cities. Thus the name of the place was called Hormah.
Numbers 21:34 But the
LORD said to Moses, "Do not fear him (Og the King of Bashan who had
come out for battle against Israel as they traveled by way of Bashan),
for I have given him into (Lxx = paradidomi) your hand, and all
his people and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon,
king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.
Psalm 27:12 Do not
deliver me over (Lxx = paradidomi) to the desire of my
adversaries; For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as
breathe out violence.
Psalm 106:41 Then He
gave them into (Lxx = paradidomi) the hand of the nations; And
those who hated them ruled over them (His people Israel who played the
harlot with the pagan nations so that God abhorred His inheritance).
Isaiah 64:7 And there
is no one who calls on Thy name, Who arouses himself to take hold of
Thee; For Thou hast hidden Thy face from us, And hast delivered us
into (Lxx = paradidomi) the power of our iniquities.
Daniel 7:25 'And he
(Antichrist = Little Horn) will speak out against the Most High and
wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he (Antichrist = the
little horn) will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and
they will be given into (Lxx = paradidomi) his
(Antichrist's) hand for a time, times, and half a time (3.5 years =
Great Tribulation).
In the New Testament uses of paradidomi we find several different
meanings as discussed below...
Paradidomi conveys the idea of handing over to or of conveying
something to someone, particularly a right or an authority
Matthew 11:27 All
things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one
knows the Son, except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father,
except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
Luke 4:6 And the devil
said to Him, "I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it
has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.
Paradidomi can mean to
entrust for care or preservation as when one gives over, commends or
commits.
Acts 14:26 and from
there they sailed to Antioch, from which they had been commended to
the grace of God for the work that they had accomplished.
Acts 15:40 But Paul
chose Silas and departed, being committed by the brethren to the grace
of the Lord.
Romans 6:17
(note)
But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became
obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were
committed, (entrusted, NIV, NET)
1 Peter 2:23 (note) and while
being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He
uttered no threats, but kept entrusting (present
tense
= His continual practice) Himself to Him who judges
righteously; (Comment: Literally, Jesus kept handing Himself
and the circumstance of every unjust suffering over to God. This
pattern climaxed when Jesus was on the cross. What an example for
believers to emulate when we are unjustly suffered. Christ gave
Himself over to God, even in death, because He knew that the Father
would evaluate fairly all His unjust suffering. Subsequently, when we
are persecuted unjustly at our jobs, in our families, or in our social
contacts, we need to follow His example and accept the persecution
without retaliating. It is crucial that we resist [by God’s grace and
power of His Spirit] the urge to strike back or seek revenge in the
midst of unjust persecution [see notes
Romans 12:17;
18;
19;
20;
21].
We need to entrust our souls continuously, by faith, to the care of
the Holy One Who will pronounce a righteous verdict, Who will avenge
unjust treatment now or later and Who will bring us to eternal glory.)
Paradidomi is used in legal parlance to describe handing
someone into the custody of the police, authorities, etc. To deliver
up one to custody, to be judged, condemned, punished, scourged,
tormented, put to death.
Matthew 10:17 "But beware of men; for they will deliver you
up to the courts, and scourge you in their synagogues...
10:19 "But when they deliver you up, do not become anxious
about how or what you will speak; for it shall be given you in that
hour what you are to speak... 10:21 "And brother will
deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children
will rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death.
Mark 15:1 And early in
the morning the chief priests with the elders and scribes, and the
whole Council, immediately held a consultation; and binding Jesus,
they led Him away, and delivered Him up to Pilate.
2 Peter 2:4 (note)
For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into
hell and committed (paradidomi) them to pits of darkness,
reserved for judgment;
Moulton and Milligan have
these similar secular uses
"but he was handed over
to Paos the gaoler (British = jailer),” in connexion with the breaking
into a house.
“and if you have arrested the
slave, deliver him to Semphtheus to bring to me”;
“send to us under guard the woman
who was delivered to you with the contraband oil in her
possession, and send also the person who delivered her to you”
Paradidomi can describe the "illegal", treacherous or
unjustified handing of someone over to someone as in a betrayal.
Thus it describes the delivering over of an individual to an enemy who
will presumably take undue advantage of the victim
Matthew 4:12 Now when
He heard that John had been taken into custody (paradidomi),
He withdrew into Galilee
Matthew 10:4 Simon the
Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed (paradidomi)
Him.
Matthew 20:18 Behold,
we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered
to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to
death, 19 and will deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock
and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised
up. (Note the "Gospel" in this passage).
Matthew 26:16 And from
then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Him.
Matthew 26:21 And as
they were eating, He said, "Truly I say to you that one of you will
betray Me...26:23 And He answered and said, "He who
dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will
betray Me. 26:24 "The Son of Man is to go, just as it is
written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is
betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been
born." 26:25 And Judas, who was betraying Him,
answered and said, "Surely it is not I, Rabbi?" He said to him, "You
have said it yourself
Mark 9:31 For He was teaching His disciples and telling them,
"The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and
they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three
days later."
Paradidomi is used in the context of dying, meaning to give up
one’s life, to give up one’s spirit, i.e. to expire.
John 19:30
(see note) When Jesus
therefore had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And
He bowed His head, and gave up (paradidomi =
active voice
= His choice) His spirit.
Galatians
2:20 (see note)
"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live,
but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I
live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered
(paradidomi in the active
voice
= His choice) Himself up for me. (Compare Ro 4:25-note,
Ro 8:32-note,
Eph 5:2-note,
Ep 5:25-note)
Paradidomi was used as a military term to describe surrender.
Paul uses paradidomi in describe delivering over rebellious,
God and truth rejecting individuals to suffer the consequences of
their sins
Romans 1:24 {note}
Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to
impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them. (Comment:
This person becomes enslaved to his or her own lusts. In other words,
God allows the consequences of that person’s sin to run their
catastrophic course. That course, driven by uncontrolled lust,
inevitably reverts to the worst forms of sexual promiscuity. To have
God let one go is the worst fate that can overtake any human being.
Yet that is the inevitable result of stubborn refusal to let God have
His way. A. T. Robertson writes: "The words sound to us like clods on
the) coffin as God leaves men to work their own wicked will")
Romans 1:26 {note}
For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for
their women exchanged the natural function for that which is
unnatural,
Romans 1:28 {note}
And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God
gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are
not proper,
Ephesians 4:19 {note}
and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to
sensuality, for the practice of every kind of impurity with
greediness.
Paradidomi can speak of church discipline in which the guilty
part is delivered over or given into the control of another so that
they might be disciplined
1 Corinthians 5:5 I have decided to deliver such a one
to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, that his spirit may be
saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. (Compare 1Ti 1:20)
Moulton and Milligan have an
illustration from pagan execratory formulas, e.g. the great magical
Paris papyrus...
“I shall give you
over to black chaos in utter destruction,”
Paradidomi is used figuratively of a crop the ripeness of which
"hands itself over" to be harvested.
Mark 4:29 "But when the
crop permits (paradidomi), he immediately puts in the sickle,
because the harvest has come." (it is an idiomatic use
in which fruit gives itself over.
It is at that time one knows the fruit is ripe and ready to harvest.)
(Comment: Vincent suggests “When the fruit shall have allowed, i. e.,
shall have admitted of being harvested.” Xenophon and Herodotus use
the word in the sense of permit or allow. An exact parallel to this
occurs in the historian Polybius, “When the season permitted.")
As used here in 1Corinthians
15:3 paradidomi means to pass on traditional
instruction.
Mark 7:13 thus
invalidating the word of God by your tradition (of the Pharisees and
scribes - traditions not in accord with God's Holy Word) which you
have handed down; and you do many things such as that." (It refers
to the oral laws of the Pharisees which are handed down from
generation to generation to be kept. The Pharisees, to whom our Lord
was speaking. were adding weight to these laws by themselves
transmitting them to their posterity)
Luke 1:2 just as those
who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word have
handed them down (handed them over, turned them over, pass) to
us,
Acts 6:14 for we have
heard him say that this Nazarene, Jesus, will destroy this place and
alter the customs which Moses handed down to us.
Acts 16:4 Now while
they were passing through the cities, they were delivering the
decrees (dogmata or decisions), which had been decided upon by the
apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to observe.
1Peter 2:21 - see note
- For it would be better for them not to have known the way of
righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy
commandment delivered to them.
Jude 1:3 Beloved, while
I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I
felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend
earnestly for the faith (the teaching about the gospel) which was once
for all delivered to the saints. (Comment: The point is
that God committed the Christian doctrines to the saints as a deposit
of truth to be guarded.)
NIDNTT writes that...
Paradidomi
is found in Gk. from Plato onwards, meaning to hand down, pass on
instruction from teacher to pupil. In the sense of handing down
instruction paradidomi is also found in Aristotle, Polybius, Plutarch
and others. In the Hellenistic mysteries the word is used in connexion
with the delivery of a hieros logos (holy teaching)...There are, then,
3 types of tradition in the NT expressed by paradidomi; the following
are said to be handed down: (i) the Jewish Halachah (rabbinic
exposition of the law) (Mk. 7:13; Acts 6:14; cf. Acts 16:4); (ii)
early Christian narratives about Jesus (Lk. 1:2); (iii) confessions of
faith and rules for the conduct of the church’s life (1 Cor. 11:2, 23;
15:3ff.; 2 Pet. 2:21; Jude 3). (Brown,
Colin, Editor. New International Dictionary of NT Theology. 1986.
Zondervan)
First importance
(4413)
(protos) in this context refers to first in prominence, most
important or foremost. The truth that follows is among first things.
In primis. Not to time, but to importance. It is notable that this
section presents the only summary of the Gospel that is found in the
NT.
The essential truths of the gospel
are of first importance...
Christ died for our sins
He was dead and was buried
He was raised from the dead
He appeared to many witnesses
Received
(3880)
(paralambano from para = beside + lambano =
appropriate, receive) means to receive from another, to receive
alongside or to take to
oneself.
The
aorist tense
looks back to the time when God revealed the Gospel to Paul. He
received it alongside and took it to himself as his possession, in
some letters referring to it as "my gospel" (see notes
Romans 2:16;
Romans 16:25;
2 Timothy 2:8)
Barclay writes that...
No man ever invented the gospel for
himself; in a sense no man ever discovers it for himself. It is
something which he receives. (Barclay,
W: The Daily Study Bible Series. The Westminster Press
or
Logos)
Paralambano also has nuances of seizing or taking
to one's self or taking something into one's possession.
THAT CHRIST DIED FOR OUR
SINS: hoti Christos apethanen (3SAAI) huper
ton hamartion hemon:
(Matthew 26:28; Romans 3:25; 4:25; 2Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 1:4;
3:13; Ephesians 1:7; 5:2; Hebrews 10:11,12; 1Peter 2:24; 3:18; 1John
2:2; Revelation 1:5)
Christ (Christos) is the
Greek translation of the Hebrew term Messiah
Died
(599)
(apothnesko from apo = intensifies meaning or away from
+ thnesko = die) literally means to die off. It means to die a
natural death and is the term applied to both men and animals. It
literally means to cease to have vital functions. Figuratively it
means to be unable to respond or react to any impulse or desire,
as in Romans 6 were Paul writes...
May it never be! How shall we who
died to
Sin still
live in it? (see note
Romans 6:2)
(Comment: Believers have died to the power of sin in their
lives. Death brings separation and so the idea is of not responding to
something due to separation from it.)
Apothnesko here in
1Corinthians 15 refers not to a figurative but to a literal death of
Christ with eternal spiritual ramifications, including the truth just
mentioned - because of Christ's death, believers have died to sin.
For
(5228)
(huper) means on behalf of, for the sake of, in the sense of
protection, care, favor, benefit. Huper in this passage
expresses the idea of substitution or the substitutionary aspect of
Lord’s death. Thus huper could be translated Christ dies instead of me
for my sins or a substitute for me.
Paul uses huper in Romans 5
to express the idea of Christ's substitutionary death
writing...
For while we were still
helpless, at the right time Christ died for (huper) the
ungodly. (see note
Romans 5:6)
But God demonstrates His own
love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for
(huper) us. (see note
Romans 5:8)
Other passages use huper to
convey the truth of Christ's substitutionary atonement, His death in the sinner's place...
2 Corinthians 5:15 and
He died for (huper) all, that they who live should no longer
live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their
behalf (huper)
2 Corinthians 5:21 He
made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf (huper) that
we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Galatians 2:20 (note)
"I
have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but
Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live
by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up
for (huper - on my behalf) me.
Ephesians 5:2 (note)
and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up
for (huper - in our place) us, an offering and a sacrifice to
God as a fragrant aroma.
Ephesians 5:25 (note)
Husbands, love your wives,
just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her;
1 Timothy 2:6 who gave
Himself as a ransom (antilutron - a price paid or means used to set
someone free from captivity or bondage) for (huper - on behalf
of) all, the testimony borne at the proper time.
Titus 2:14 (note)
(Christ) Who gave
Himself for (huper - on our behalf) us, that He might redeem us
from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own
possession, zealous for good deeds.
Hebrews 7:27 (note)
(Jesus) Who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up
sacrifices, first for His own sins, and then for (huper - on
behalf of) the sins of the people, because this He did once for all
when He offered up Himself.
1 Peter 2:21 (note)
For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered
for (huper - in your place) you, leaving you an example for you
to follow in His steps,
1 Peter 3:18 (note)
For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for
(huper - in place of) the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having
been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;
As someone has well said...
Jesus paid a debt He did not
owe and we owed a debt we could not pay
Sins
(266)
(hamartia) originally conveyed the idea of missing the mark as
when hunting with a bow and arrow. It then came to mean missing or
falling short of any goal, standard, or purpose. In a spiritual sense
hamartia is missing the true and ultimate purpose God has for each
individual, falling short of His standard of holiness, acting contrary
to His will and Word, departing from doing what is right.
Vine writes that hamartia
is the most comprehensive of the
many words for sin, and generally describes any moral obliquity.
(Vine,
W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson
or
Logos)
Ray Stedman
says...
Ask people today what the gospel
is...and this is often what they will say, "Well, Jesus lived and
died." No, that is not the gospel. Everyone believes that Jesus died.
Go to any of the modern presentations of the life of Jesus, such as
Jesus Christ Superstar, and some of those, and you will find they all
end at the death of Jesus. Every humanistic philosophy today accepts
the fact that Jesus died. But there is no good news in that. The good
news is Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. That is
the good news, that his death accomplished something for us. It
changed us, it delivered us, it set us free. That death had great
significance in the mind and heart and eyes of God, and that is the
good news. As Peter puts it in his words, "He himself bore our sins in
his body on the tree," {1 Pet 2:24 RSV}. Or, to use the words of
Isaiah, "He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our
iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his
stripes we are healed," {Isa 53:5 KJV}.
That is the good news, that God did something for us in that marvelous
event of the cross. As we contemplate the cross, and the dying of
Jesus in our place, we see that the good news of it is that God takes
it seriously, and he is prepared to treat us in an entirely different
way than we deserve to be treated on the basis of the death of Jesus
on our behalf. That is the good news. There on the cross, we are told,
he dealt with our failures, he dealt with our rebellion, he dealt with
our sinful, guilty lives. He did something about it so that besmirched
and dark and stained past does not any longer need trouble us. It has
been set aside by the death of Jesus, and with that fact we enter into
hope and freedom.
Of course, without that fact, life is really hopeless. This philosophy
that many people have that God is a judge weighing up the good and the
evil of life -- and if the good outweighs the evil you get in and if
it does not you have to go to hell -- is not only unbiblical but it is
illogical, for how could a God of holiness and justice and purity ever
accept any kind of evil at all? His demands are for perfection and
never anything less. He himself is perfect, and he says to us over and
over again, "Be ye perfect for I am perfect." What are we going to do
with a guilty past in the light of that? The answer, of course, is the
good news. In the cross of Jesus, God has already dealt with that
sinful past. He offers to us freely the forgiveness of sins. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Of First
Importance)
ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES: kata tas graphas:
(Genesis 3:15; Psalms 22:1-31; 69:1-36; Isaiah 53:1-12; Da
9:24, 25, 26; Zech 13:7; Luke 24:26,27,46; Acts 3:18; 26:22,23; 1Pe
1:11)
Vine writing on according to the
Scriptures rightly states the believer's...
appeal must ever be, in
accordance with that of the Lord Himself, “What saith the Scripture?”
According to the Scriptures - This phrase clearly indicates
that the Messiah's substitutionary death for sins was predicted in the
Old Testament. Below are some representative Messianic Prophecies (see
notes on
Messianic
Prophecies).
Genesis 3:15 And I
(God) will put enmity between you (Serpent) and the woman (Eve), and
between your seed (see John 8:44) and her
seed;
He
(Messiah) shall bruise you on the head (culminating in Rev 20:10-see note)
, and you shall bruise
Him
(Messiah) on the heel (exactly what crucifixion did to one's heel!)."
Comment: This verse is often
referred to as the Protevangelium or "First Gospel".
Henry Morris: This verse is
famous as the Protevangel ("First Gospel"). The Curse was
directed immediately toward the Serpent, but its real thrust was
against the evil spirit possessing its body, "that old serpent called
the devil" (Rev 12:9-note).
Satan may have assumed he had now won the allegiance of the woman and
all her descendants, but God told him there would be enmity between
him and the woman. The "seed of the woman" can only be an allusion to
a future descendant of Eve who would have no human father.
Biologically, a woman produces no seed, and except in this case
Biblical usage always speaks only of the seed of men. This promised
Seed would, therefore, have to be miraculously implanted in the womb.
In this way, He would not inherit the sin nature which would
disqualify every son of Adam from becoming a Savior from sin. This
prophecy thus clearly anticipates the future virgin birth of Christ.
Satan will inflict a painful wound on the woman's Seed, but Christ in
turn will inflict a mortal wound on the Serpent, crushing his head.
This prophecy was fulfilled in the first instance at the cross, but
will culminate when the triumphant Christ casts Satan into the lake of
fire (Rev 20:10-note).
This primeval prophecy made such a profound impression on Adam's
descendants that it was incorporated, with varying degrees of
distortion and embellishment, in all the legends, mythologies and
astrologies of the ancients since they are filled with tales of mighty
heroes engaged in life-and-death struggles with dragons and other
monsters. Mankind, from the earliest ages, has recorded its hope that
someday a Savior would come who would destroy the devil and reconcile
man to God. (Defender's
Study Bible Online)
Genesis 22:18 "And in your
seed
(singular = the Messiah) all the nations of the earth shall be
blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." (Commentary: Gal
3:16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his
seed.
He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but
rather to one, "And to your
seed,"
that is, Christ
[the Messiah].)
Peter places Paul's epistles on a par with the rest of the
Scriptures writing...
as also in all his (Paul's) letters, speaking in them of these things,
in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and
unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their
own destruction. (see note
2 Peter 3:16)
But know this first of all,
that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own
interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will
(no part of Scripture was ever at any time produced because men wanted
it so), but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. (see notes
2 Peter 1:20;
1:21)
(Comment: What Peter is saying in context is that no prophecy
came into being through anyone's personal or private disclosure. No
true prophecy springs forth from the private reasoning of the man
speaking or writing. The idea is that men did not bring forth or
birth the ideas of Scripture. The writers of Scripture did not put
their own construction upon the ‘God–breathed’ words they wrote. No
prophet is a "self starter" in regard to Scripture... no one starts a
prophecy by himself. The NIV picks up the meaning: ''No prophecy of
the Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation.'' Men
moved by the Holy Spirit is a beautiful figurative use of verb
phero used by Luke to describe a sailing vessel being carried
along by the wind. Thus these men moved by the Holy Spirit are a
picture of the prophets who were "vessels" raising their sails so to
speak and the Holy Spirit filling them and carrying their craft along
in the direction He wished. Men spoke but what they spoke was from
God. The Spirit moved them to write the inspired Scriptures. It is the
Scriptures which were inspired, not the writers - they were moved to
write!)
Scriptures
(1124)
(graphe
from grapho = to write; English = graphite - the lead in a
pencil!) means first a writing or thing
written, a document. The majority of the NT uses refer to the Old Testament
writings, in a general sense of the whole collection when the
plural (= Scriptures - Matt. 21:42; 22:29; 26:54; Mk. 12:24;
14:49; Lk. 24:27, 32, 45; Jn. 5:39; Acts 17:2, 11; 18:24, 28; Rom.
15:4; 2Pe 3:16) is used and other times of a particular passage when
the singular is used (= the Scripture - Mk. 12:10; 15:28; Lk.
4:21; Jn. 13:18; 19:24, 36f; Acts 1:16; 8:35; Ro 11:2; Jas. 2:8, 23)
and is used in such a way that quoting Scripture is understood to be
the same as quoting God!
NIDNTT notes that the root
word of graphe is graph- which...
has the primary meaning of to
scratch on, engrave, with reference to an ornament, reports, letters,
lists, and instructions. From it are derived the English “graphic”,
“graph” etc. The material can be various: stone, wood, metal, wax, or
leather. The verb form grapho is found in its original sense in
Homer, Il. 17, 599. In Herodotus., 4, 36 the word is used meaning to
draw, of lines on maps; and scholars of the 3rd cent. B.C. used it of
drawing of mathematical figures. In Homer grapho is already
used in the sense of scratching signs on a tablet as a kind of letter
(Il. 6, 169). From the time of Herodotus it is used generally in the
normal sense of to write, and from the time of Pindar in the derived
sense of to prescribe, to order. From the practice of handing in a
written accusation, grapho came in judicial language to mean to accuse
(Plato, Euthyphro 2b).
The noun graphe
originally carried the abstract verbal sense of the act of writing,
drawing or painting; then the concrete sense of writing, inscription,
letter (generally from 4th cent. B.C. onwards), indictment; in papyri
of the 3rd cent. a list; in Plato the written law (Leg. 11, 934c).
Gramma means: (a) the
product of the action, especially where contrast with the spoken word
is stressed; occasionally (b) the action itself; but then also (c)
ability to write. It can mean the individual letters of the alphabet (Hdt.,
5, 58 f.), but also papers, letters, documents. The plural grammata
is used in the sense of elementary knowledge, then literature,
learning. The concept of “holy writings” or “holy scriptures” becomes
important in the Hellenistic period: temple records, magic books and
hermetic literature; also imperial letters and decrees which are
regarded as quasi-divine. The authority of the written word leads,
even in the classical period, to the composition of explanatory
commentaries, especially on the writings of Homer. (Brown,
Colin, Editor. New International Dictionary of NT Theology. 1986.
Zondervan)
It is worth noting that the majority of the
OT passages quoted in the NT Scriptures are not from the original
Hebrew but are from the Greek translation of the Hebrew, the
Septuagint (LXX).
The full title, “the Holy Scriptures,” is found only in
Romans 1:2 (see note).
One of the most important NT
descriptions of Scripture is found in 2Timothy where Paul
reminds Timothy...
that from childhood you have
known the sacred (holy - consecrated to God) writings
(grammata) which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to
salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture
is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for
correction, for training in righteousness. (see note
2 Timothy 3:15;
3:16)
(Comment: Note that it is not the writers who were inspired
but the writings! Without dictation or blocking out the individuality
of the human writers, God the Spirit bore them along as they wrote the
inspired writings, so that the product is "the holy Scriptures"
the Word of God)
Graphe is used 51
times in the NT (Matt. 21:42; 22:29; 26:54, 56 - 4x; Mk. 12:10, 24;
14:49; 15:28 - 4x; Lk. 4:21; 24:27, 32, 45 - 4x; Jn. 2:22; 5:39; 7:38,
42; 10:35; 13:18; 17:12; 19:24, 28, 36, 37; 20:9; - 12x; Acts 1:16;
8:32, 35; 17:2, 11; 18:24, 28 - 7x; Ro 1:2; 4:3; 9:17; 10:11; 11:2;
15:4; 16:26 - 7x; 1Corinthians 15:3, 4 - 2x; Gal. 3:8, 22; 4:30 - 3x;
1 Timothy 5:18; 2Timothy 3:16; Jas. 2:8, 23; 4:5 3x; 1Peter; 2Pet.
1:20; 3:16 - 2x)
Graphe is used 21
times in the
Septuagint (LXX)
(Ex 32:16; Deut. 10:4; 1 Chr. 15:15; 28:19; 2 Chr. 2:11; 24:27; 30:5,
18; 35:4; Ezra 2:62; 4:7; 6:18; 7:22; Neh. 7:64; Ps. 87:6; Ezek. 13:9;
Dan. 5:6ff, 15ff, 24ff; 6:8; 10:21)
Exodus 32:16 And the
tables were the work of God, and the writing (Lxx = graphe) the
writing (Lxx = graphe) of God written on the tables.
Ezra 6:18 Then they
appointed the priests to their divisions and the Levites in their
orders for the service of God in Jerusalem, as it is written
(Lxx = graphe) in the book of Moses.
Below are some of the most
(but not all) the uses of graphe in the NT. Notice how many
have a Messianic "flavor" and allude to some aspect of the Gospel...
Matthew 21:42 Jesus
said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures, 'The stone
which the builders rejected, This became the chief corner stone; This
came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes'? (Comment:
The Scripture cited here is Psalm 118:22,23--the same psalm sung by
the multitude as Jesus was riding into Jerusalem -- Matthew 21:9. In
their very rejection of Christ, these "builders" were fulfilling His
Word.)
Matthew 22:29 But Jesus
answered and said to them, "You (Sadducees) are mistaken, not
understanding the Scriptures, or the power of God." (Comment:
The Sadducees, who rejected the doctrine of resurrection, thought they
could embarrass Jesus with their question of a woman who had married,
successively, seven brothers. But all those who think they can find
mistakes or contradictions in the Bible simply show that they know
neither the Scriptures nor God's power.)
Matthew 26:56 "But all this
(Jesus' betrayal and arrest by the Romans in the Garden of Gethsemane)
has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets may be
fulfilled." Then all the disciples left Him and fled. (Comment:
cf Mk 14:49, See Zechariah 13:7)
Luke 4:21 And He began
to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in
your hearing." (Comment: Jesus began His ministry by reading
from Isaiah 61:1-2 but His reading stopped just before "the day of
vengeance of our God," as this portion would not be fulfilled
until His second coming!)
Luke 24:26 "Was it not
necessary for the Christ (Messiah) to suffer these things and to enter
into His glory?" 27 And beginning with Moses and with all the
prophets ( = the Jewish way of designating the entire OT), He
explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the
Scriptures. (Comment: Jesus here confirms that all the
Scriptures point, in one way or another, to the person and work of the
Savior.)
Luke 24:45 Then He opened (open thoroughly what had been
closed) their minds to understand (suniemi = entails the
assembling of individual facts into an organized whole, as collecting
the pieces of a puzzle and putting them together. The mind opened by
Jesus grasps concepts and sees the proper relationship between them.)
the Scriptures, 46 and He said to them, "Thus it is written,
that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third
day; 47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be
proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem."
John 5:39 You search the
Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life;
and it is these that bear witness of Me;40 and you are unwilling to
come to Me, that you may have life. (Comment: The
written Word reveals the living Word, the OT Scriptures which are
replete with testimonies of the coming Messiah.)
John 7:38 "He who believes
in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall
flow rivers of living water.'" (Comment: Isaiah 44:3
'For I will pour out water on the thirsty land And streams on the dry
ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring, And My blessing
on your descendants. Isaiah 55:1 "Ho! Every one who thirsts,
come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come,
buy wine and milk Without money and without cost.)
John 7:42 "Has not the
Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of
David (2Sa 7:12), and from Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), the village where
David was?"
John 10:35 "If he
called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture
cannot be broken) (Comment: Morris writes that "Jesus is
basing His entire defense against the charge of blasphemy on one word,
"gods," in a relatively obscure psalm, commenting that the
"Scripture"--that is the word actually written down--cannot be broken.
This constitutes a very important testimony by Christ to the plenary
verbal inspiration and authority of the Bible. The reasoning of Christ
is very subtle yet powerful, relying entirely on the use of this
precise word in its context. -
Defenders Study Bible)
John 13:18 "I do not speak
of all of you. I know the ones I have chosen; but it is that the
Scripture may be fulfilled, 'HE WHO EATS MY BREAD HAS LIFTED UP HIS
HEEL AGAINST ME.' (Comment: See also Acts 1:16. John is quoting
the Scripture or grapho in Psalm 41:9 "Even my close friend, in
whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me")
John 17:12 "While I was with
them, I was keeping them in Thy name which Thou hast given Me; and I
guarded them, and not one of them perished but the son of perdition,
that the Scripture might be fulfilled. (Comment: The son
of perdition = Judas. See Ps. 41:9 above).
John 19:24 They said
therefore to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it,
to decide whose it shall be"; that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
"THEY DIVIDED MY OUTER GARMENTS AMONG THEM, AND FOR MY CLOTHING THEY
CAST LOTS." (Comment: These actions were in precise
fulfillment of an unlikely prophecy given a thousand years before in
Psalm 22:18 and is one of the few events in the life of Christ
recorded in all four Gospels.)
John 19:28 After this,
Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished (teleo
=
same verb as "It is finished" in John 19:30), in order that the
Scripture might be fulfilled, said, "I am thirsty." (Comment:
Psalm 69:21 "They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst
they gave me vinegar to drink.")
John 19:36 For these things
(Jesus' volitional death - He gave up His life) came to pass, that the
Scripture might be fulfilled, "NOT A BONE OF HIM SHALL BE
BROKEN." (Comment: This death of Jesus before His legs could be
broken was in fulfillment of the prophecy in Psalm 34:19,20. Jesus
also fulfilled the symbolism of the sacrificial Passover lamb in 1Cor
5:7, the bones of which were not to be broken as recorded in the OT
Scriptures Ex 12:46; Nu 9:12).
John 19:37 And again another
Scripture says, "THEY SHALL LOOK ON HIM WHOM THEY PIERCED." (Comment:
Fulfilled the prophecy in Zechariah 12:10 ""And I will pour out on the
house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of
grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have
pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son,
and they will weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter weeping over a
first-born." His scars were still visible in His resurrected body in
John 20:27 and will be with Him forever
Revelation 1:7 {note}
as marks of faithfulness to keep forever His inviolable blood
covenant).
John 20:9 For as yet
they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again
from the dead. (Comment: Refer to Psalm 16:9,10, Isaiah
53:10-12, compare Hosea 6:2)
Acts 8:32 Now the passage of
Scripture which he (the Ethiopian eunuch) was reading was this: "HE
WAS LED AS A SHEEP TO SLAUGHTER; AND AS A LAMB BEFORE ITS SHEARER IS
SILENT, SO HE DOES NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH. (from Isaiah 53:7-8)...8:35
And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture
he preached ("gospelized" =
euaggelizo)
Jesus to him. (Comment: This is a clear statement that the OT
Scriptures relate to the Messiah, Jesus).
Acts 17:11 Now these were
more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the
word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see
whether these things were so.
Acts 18:28 for he (Apollos)
powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the
Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ (Messiah).
Romans 1:1 (note)
Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart
for the gospel of God,
1:2
which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy
Scriptures, (Comment: Paul began by stressing that the
gospel was not new, but was the prophetic fulfillment of the promises
given in God's Holy Scriptures from the beginning. Cp Gal 3:8)
Romans 4:3 (note)
For what does the Scripture say? "AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT
WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS." (Quoting Ge 15:6 - Abraham was
justified by faith before he was given the sign of circumcision in
Genesis 17:9-14) and before the Law was given, so justification by
faith is God's only way of salvation).
Romans 10:11 (note)
For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE
DISAPPOINTED." (Paul quotes Isaiah 28:16 as he had done in
Romans 9:33 - note)
Romans 11:2 (note)
God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know
what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads
with God against Israel? (Comment: God's "foreknowledge," as is
evident from His calling of Israel long before Israel was a nation,
involves not just pre-knowledge but pre-planning... and what God
plans, He finishes. God is not finished with Israel yet)
Romans 15:4 (note)
For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our
instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the
Scriptures we might have hope. (Comment: How much time do
you spend in the OT Scriptures? They were all written for our
benefit today, so by no means should Christians limit their Bible
study to the New Testament)
Romans 16:26 (note)
but now is manifested (the revelation of the mystery = the Gospel of
Christ), and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to
the commandment of the eternal God, (the Gospel) has been made known
to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith (Comment:
In developing the doctrine of the Gospel, Paul did so within the
prophetic framework of the OT Scriptures, and in this one epistle
alone, he quoted from the Old Testament, directly or indirectly, at
least fifty times, in support of his arguments.)
Galatians 3:8 And the
Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles (the
nations) by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham,
saying, "ALL THE NATIONS SHALL BE BLESSED IN YOU." (Comment: God's
original promise to Abraham, quoted here from Genesis 12:3,
required the coming of Messiah to redeem the world in order to be
fulfilled. Note the promise was to "all nations" not just to Israel,
which did not even exist at that time. Abraham thus believed this
early form of the Gospel and was justified by faith in the Gospel).
Hodge summarizes
according to the Scriptures writing that...
the fact that the Messiah was
to die as a propitiation for sin had been revealed in the Old
Testament. The New Testament constantly teaches that Christ’s death as
an atoning sacrifice was predicted by the Law and the Prophets. Our
Lord reproved his listeners for not believing what the prophets had
said about this subject (Luke 24:25–26). Paul protested in front of
Festus that in preaching the Gospel he had said “nothing beyond what
the prophets and Moses said would happen—that the Christ would suffer
and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his
own people and to the Gentiles” (Acts 26:22–23). He assured the Romans
that his Gospel was that “to which the Law and the Prophets testify”
(Romans 3:21). The letter to the Hebrews is an exposition of the whole
Mosaic service as a prefiguration of the office and work of Christ.
And Isaiah 53 is the foundation of all the New Testament exhibitions
of a suffering and atoning Messiah. Paul and all other faithful
ministers of the Gospel, therefore, teach that atonement for sin by
the death of Christ is the great doctrine of the whole word of God.
(Hodge, Charles. 1 Corinthians)
