Citește Biblia

{"verseMap":{"1":[{"id":7724,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Second Letter to the Corinthians","title_en":"Second Letter to the Corinthians","content_ro":"<h3>CORINTHIANS, Second Letter to the<\/h3>\n<p>Preview<\/p>\n<p>• Author<\/p>\n<p>• Date and Origin<\/p>\n<p>• Background<\/p>\n<p>• Purpose and Teaching<\/p>\n<p>• Content<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Author\">Author<\/p>\n<p>The apostle Paul is the acknowledged author of 2 Corinthians. While some scholars argue that 2 Corinthians 2:14–7:4 and 10–13 are separate letters, only in the case of 6:14–7:1 is Paul’s authorship disputed. This section is admittedly a strange digression, but stranger still would be the thought that an editor could have inserted it in such an unusual place. Also the repetition of thought in 7:2 from 6:13 indicates that Paul is aware that he has digressed from his topic and is repeating a phrase to bring his readers back to the subject.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"DateandOrigin\">Date and Origin<\/p>\n<p>After writing both the “previous letter” (1 Cor 5:9) and 1 Corinthians from Ephesus in <span>AD<\/span> 55, Paul continued to work there. Sometime during the next year a crisis arose in Corinth. Paul made a quick trip across the Aegean Sea, but he could not resolve the crisis, and due to the personal opposition of a leader in the church (likely an interloper bearing letters of recommendation from Jerusalem), he had to withdraw (2 Cor 2:1, 5). Returning to Ephesus from this “painful visit,” Paul dispatched Titus with a blistering “letter of tears,” his third letter to that church (2 Cor 2:4; 7:8, 12), which led to the excommunication of the leader and the repentance of the church. This letter has been lost. Meanwhile a situation erupted in Ephesus during which death (probably execution) seemed so certain that Paul despaired of life (see Acts 19:23-41; cf. Rom 16:4; 2 Cor 1:8-9). Paul was not killed, but his escape seemed miraculous.<\/p>\n<p>Leaving Ephesus in early <span>AD<\/span> 56, Paul traveled north to Troas seeking Titus and news of Corinth. Unable to endure without news, he abandoned a promising mission in Troas and sailed to Philippi. There he met Titus, who explained the change of heart in Corinth. Second Corinthians 1–9 responds to this situation, with chapters 8–9 preparing the Corinthians for an upcoming visit. Later Paul received further news from Corinth that renewed opposition to him was present. In response he penned the self-defense found in 2 Corinthians 10–13. Paul followed up the letter with a visit later in the year (Acts 20:2-3). We do not know the response to 2 Corinthians or the outcome of his final visit, but later the troubled history of the Corinthian church continued, with another Christian leader needing to write a letter at the end of the century (Epistle of Clement).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Background\">Background<\/p>\n<p>The Corinthian house churches always had great diversity. While those who liked Apollos undoubtedly despised Paul’s crude style, others who preferred Peter likely appealed beyond Paul to the more genuine “original” apostles in Jerusalem with their Jewish customs (1 Cor 1). Traveling teachers with letters of commendation from these apostles easily drew a following when they came to Corinth and undermined Paul’s authority and even his character. Furthermore, because of this outside influence, the collection for the poor in Jerusalem that Paul had initiated (16:1-4) was left in abeyance, both because it was connected to Paul and because the teachers themselves were taking money from the church. Paul writes to reaffirm his love and to repair the damage caused by the interloper.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"PurposeandTeaching\">Purpose and Teaching<\/p>\n<p>In the first section of the letter, Paul has two main purposes. The first is to cement his restored relationship with Corinth, explaining situations, forgiving those who opposed him, and reflecting on the nature of ministry. For Paul, ministry meant both intense suffering and comfort. Physical and emotional suffering came from the situations and people he worked with, but his knowledge of future reward and his experience of the power of God working in him brought profound joy and comfort. Due to his own recent brush with death, Paul also reflects on what happens at death. His expectation is to receive a resurrection body and be in the presence of Jesus at death.<\/p>\n<p>The second purpose of this section is to get the collection for Jerusalem on track again. In this context he gives major teaching on giving and Christian economics: Christians are to follow Christ in giving freely; economic equality is the principle governing who gives to whom.<\/p>\n<p>The second section of the letter is an impassioned self-defense, refuting the interloper’s claims to superiority. Neither oratory nor pedigree counts in Christian ministry, but only the call of God.<\/p>\n<p>In both sections one observes Paul’s deep desire for the unity of the church, both unity within the local community and unity with leaders appointed by God, such as Paul.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Content\">Content<\/p>\n<h5>Greeting, 1:1-7<\/h5>\n<p>A standard greeting (2 Cor 1:1-2) comes before Paul’s usual thanksgiving (vv 3-7). The topic of the thanksgiving—comfort in the midst of suffering—is the topic of chapters 1–7. Paul knows what it is to suffer, but it is in suffering that he has experienced God’s comfort, which he passes on to the Corinthians.<\/p>\n<h5>Paul’s Explanation, 1:8–2:13<\/h5>\n<p>Paul informs them of the danger he had suffered in Ephesus, one so great that he did not believe he would survive. His eventual survival seemed like a virtual resurrection, reinforcing his conviction that God, not human strength, is the only Christian refuge (1:8-11). In that and in all situations, Paul’s one boast is that of a clear conscience before God (vv 12-14).<\/p>\n<p>Paul had told them of plans for a double visit (cf. 1 Cor 16:5-6), but except for his brief “painful visit,” he had not fulfilled his plan (2 Cor 1:15–2:4). He defends himself from charges of either not planning in the Spirit or hypocritical vacillation. He was indeed as good as his word (cf. Jas 5:12), for his life reflected God’s fulfilled promise in Jesus, but he had changed plans so as not to repeat the “painful visit” of the previous year. It was love, not fickleness, that motivated the delayed visit.<\/p>\n<p>The Corinthians had responded to Paul’s “letter of tears” by excommunicating the person who had opposed Paul (not the same person as in 1 Cor 5). Since the person became repentant, Paul called for his restoration to the community, freely and graciously forgiving the man who had hurt him. Excommunication is for the unrepentant; its purpose is complete once the person repents (2 Cor 2:5-11).<\/p>\n<p>Paul then recounted his journey from Ephesus to Philippi, when he sought news of the response to the “letter of tears” (2:12-13). After telling how he left an opportunity to minister in Troas to go to find Titus in Philippi, he breaks the narrative with a long digression.<\/p>\n<h5>Nature of Apostolic Ministry, 2:14–7:4<\/h5>\n<p>The apostolic ministry in which Paul took part is like the ministry of Jesus, one of suffering and glory. Even in suffering there is triumph in Christ, for Christians share Christ’s triumph. Yet just like the perfumes of a Roman triumph were joy to the victors but meant death for prisoners on their way to execution, so Jesus’ triumph is life to the believer and death to the unbeliever (2:14-17).<\/p>\n<p>This triumph may have sounded like a boast, but Paul is not engaging in self-exaltation. Indeed, he has no need of the letters of commendation that the interloper in Corinth carried from Jerusalem, for the Corinthians are themselves the proof of his ministry (3:1-3). His boast is not in himself but in the new covenant in the Spirit, which unlike the old covenant is not fading (here Paul follows one Jewish interpretation of Ex 34:29-35, that Moses put the veil over his face so the people would not see the glory fade), nor does it veil the presence of God. The new covenant is permanent; it reveals God directly in the Spirit. There is no deceit or hiddenness, for the message is not about Paul but about Jesus, who is light itself (2 Cor 3:4–4:6).<\/p>\n<p>Paul the messenger, however, is simply the cheap, breakable pot that contains the priceless treasure, revealing by way of contrast that the only power in the gospel is God’s power. This contrast of weakness and power is seen in the sufferings of the apostle, a type of living death modeled after the sufferings of Jesus, out of which the life of Jesus flows to others (4:7-15).<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, despite intense suffering, Paul has courage, for he looks beyond this life to the rewards of the coming life. His whole motivation is one of faith, not sight, for he lives already for unseen realities (4:16-18). When he dies, Paul expects to receive an eternal resurrection body. His hope is not of becoming a disembodied soul (“naked”) but of passing immediately into a glorified bodily life, already guaranteed by the presence of the Spirit. This hope was likely the fruit of his near brush with death in Ephesus, when he must have meditated and prayed about what would come at death (5:1-5). Because this future includes Christ’s judgment, Paul wanted to make every effort to live in the light of that judgment, which he already saw by faith (vv 6-10).<\/p>\n<p>Far from trying to commend or exalt himself, Paul was simply presenting what he was—a person filled with the love of Christ and convinced that all should live not for themselves but for Christ (5:11-15). No one should be valued from a merely human point of view, not Paul, nor even Christ (for Paul before his conversion had a human opinion of Christ that his conversion had radically changed); everyone should be valued from the point of view of the new creation. Paul’s job was simply to announce the reconciliation of the new creation, which God has already effected on his side and which only awaits a person’s ratification on the human side (5:16-20).<\/p>\n<p>Paul, then, was a coworker with God, announcing salvation, using every means consistent with God’s character to proclaim the message, and suffering everything imaginable to demonstrate the extent of God’s love (6:1-10). Therefore, Paul had nothing against the Corinthians. If there was any blockage in their relationship with him, it must be on their side (6:11-13).<\/p>\n<h5>Digression on Purity, 6:14–7:1<\/h5>\n<p>Perhaps suspecting that the real block in the relationship was their love of the world, or that the Corinthians might not be totally over the problems mentioned in 1 Corinthians, Paul digressed into a discussion about the purity and sanctification of believers. There are two groups, light and darkness, Christ and the devil, believers and unbelievers. Therefore, as Exodus 25:8, Leviticus 26:11-12, Isaiah 52:11, Ezekiel 37:27, and Hosea 1:10 show (phrases from these passages flow into each other in a style of chain quotation familiar to Jews), Christians should not be closely bound to unbelievers in marriage or in business, for it will affect their moral purity.<\/p>\n<h5>Return to the Nature of the Apostolic Ministry, 7:2-4<\/h5>\n<p>Picking up from 6:13, Paul points out that the Corinthians have nothing substantial against him. He is not criticizing but simply appealing to them in love; even now he is prepared to die for them.<\/p>\n<h5>Explanation Concluded, 7:5-16<\/h5>\n<p>Having concluded his digression, Paul now returns to his journey, which he left in 2:13. When he met Titus, he received good news about Corinth. He was relieved that his “letter of tears” had been effective, not in simply making them sorry but in bringing them to true repentance that yielded zeal, moral purity, and joy. Furthermore, their behavior toward Titus had been so impressive that Titus’s enthusiastic report of his own impressions had further cheered Paul.<\/p>\n<h5>Collection for Jerusalem, 8:1–9:15<\/h5>\n<p>In the context of restored relationships Paul turns to the sensitive topic of the collection for the church in Jerusalem, which had been impoverished through famines in Judea in the 40s. This collection was both an act of charity (cf. Acts 11:27-30; Gal 2:10) and a symbolic act of unity and fellowship between the Gentile and Jewish branches of the church.<\/p>\n<p>The impoverished and suffering church in Macedonia (Philippi) had given eagerly. Therefore, Titus was coming back to help the Corinthians complete what they had begun the previous year (and probably dropped during the controversy with Paul, 2 Cor 8:1-7). The principles of the collection are (1) the Corinthians should follow the example of Jesus, who became poor for them; (2) they should give freely what they can without regretting that they cannot give more, for God values the eagerness to give expressed in action, not the net amount of the gift; and (3) there should be an economic equality among sections of the church, no one section being enriched at the expense of another (cf. Ex 16:18). This economic equality extends to the relationship between two churches a continent apart (2 Cor 8:8-15).<\/p>\n<p>Titus and two absolutely trustworthy men appointed by the churches for this work will come to supervise the final gathering—Paul would have nothing to do with the money personally—for it is important that not only God but the world be able to see the honesty and integrity of the way the church handles money (8:16-24).<\/p>\n<p>In this section Paul points out that he does not need to argue the reasons for this collection; they were aware of them when they began to gather money the year before. This letter is not an argument for the collection but an encouragement to finish the work, so that when Paul arrives with representatives of other churches carrying their contributions, the Corinthians would not be embarrassed by their relatively wealthy churches not being ready or able to give generously, despite Paul’s boasts about their previous eagerness. In saying this, Paul shows himself diplomatic and insightful in motivating human behavior; he makes the best assumptions possible about the present situation (9:1-5).<\/p>\n<p>Paul would not want the Corinthians giving out of guilt, although he, like Jesus (Mt 6:19-20), pointed out that the only real value of money is in giving it to help others. Rather, he wanted them so convinced of God’s generosity and ability to provide that they give freely and joyfully. God wanted to enrich them so they could give more. The giving would result in thanksgiving to God by the recipients, who would also pray for those who gave the gift, thereby binding the church together. A closing reminder of the extent of God’s own giving finishes the section (2 Cor 9:6-15).<\/p>\n<h5>Paul’s Self-Defense, 10:1–13:14<\/h5>\n<p>There is an abrupt change in tone between 9:15 and 10:1. Now, instead of the tone of conciliation found in 1:1–7:16, there is argument and defense, even threat. Paul’s apostleship has been attacked, and he will defend it with vigor.<\/p>\n<p>Paul was indeed a humble person who preferred not to use his authority. Yet when forced, he had something more than authority; he had spiritual power, capable of destroying opposing arguments and bending all to obedience to Jesus. He would use that power in Corinth if he must, though up to that time he had been gentle and had shown this side of his ministry only in letters (10:1-11).<\/p>\n<p>His opponents talked of their qualifications and compared themselves favorably with other ministers. Paul would not enter into this game of comparisons. God had set the sphere of his labors, which was the area in which he founded churches. He was the one who pioneered the church in Corinth, so it is his sphere of ministry, not the interloper’s (and such like him). They boasted in having reaped the benefits of his ministry; Paul could point to an original ministry given by God, for it is God’s commendation in the end that counts (10:13-18).<\/p>\n<p>Yet the Corinthian rebellion is serious enough to force him into self-defense, ridiculous as such an exercise is. He was shocked by how readily they turned away to every novel doctrine that came along. This tendency strikes fear in Paul’s heart (11:1-6).<\/p>\n<p>Paul had been criticized for refusing financial support from Corinth (even though he accepted gifts from other churches; cf. 1 Cor 9). He would continue to refuse such support, for he wanted to undermine the claims of the interloper. If the interloper was really serving God alone, let him work on the same basis as Paul! But since the interloper was false at heart, serving Satan and not God, he sought money from the church. Paul was astonished that in the Corinthians’ vaunted wisdom they did not see through this hypocrisy, yet he hoped that even if he must play the fool in making a self-defense, they would at least accept a fool like Paul. The irony is that his very tender care and concern for the church, his gentleness, was being used against him as a supposed “weakness.” Paul, the opponent argued, knew he was false, so therefore did not dare take money from the Corinthians (11:7-21).<\/p>\n<p>Interlopers claimed to come with authority from Jerusalem. They had letters from the apostles; it is unlikely, however, that the apostles would have approved of their activities. Still, they were Jews with respectable authority behind them. Paul felt compelled to state his own credentials. If they were Jews, he was just as pure a Jew. If they served Christ, could their work and sufferings match his? The list of sufferings both gives historical information not found in Acts and points to tireless labor, including days of fasting (“gone without food”) and nights spent in prayer (“gone without sleep”) (11:21-29).<\/p>\n<p>But this boasting was repulsive to Paul, so he isolated one particular suffering—his escape from Damascus, when he had to hide and slip out of the city in a basket. The story at once shows his effectiveness as an evangelist (in that he was a target of persecution) and shames him, for he could not defend himself and had to slip away under cover of darkness. Yet that weakness was indeed his glory (11:30-33).<\/p>\n<p>His opponents boasted in revelations from God. Paul knew that this boasting was senseless; however, if he must, he would tell them of a revelation superior to theirs, a time when he actually saw the inside of heaven (he is not sure whether it was a vision or an actual bodily experience). This probably happened about <span>AD<\/span> 42, while Paul was in Tarsus, before Barnabas came for him (Acts 9:30; 11:25). Paul disliked telling about this, for God’s power is more easily seen in his weakness. In fact, Paul’s opponents were an affliction of Satan that God allowed to keep Paul humble and to demonstrate his power in Paul’s weakness. (The image of a “thorn in my flesh” is one of enemies—Nm 33:55; Jos 23:13; Paul also describes what he means more clearly in 2 Cor 12:10). If vulnerability shows God’s power, Paul willingly accepts the weakness (12:1-10).<\/p>\n<p>Paul felt ashamed that he had to boast. The opponents boasted in coming from the Jerusalem “superapostles.” Paul pointed out that he was their equal, although both are nothing. God had set his mark upon Paul’s work. With biting irony he asks forgiveness for not having taken money from the Corinthians (12:11-13).<\/p>\n<p>Yet Paul would come a third time, and he would keep to the same policy of not taking any support from them but giving himself freely to them, just as Jesus had done on earth. Not only he, but all his envoys, kept to the same policy. No one could accuse him of deceit or inconsistency (12:14-18). However, he feared coming to them, for he knew that the community had not just rebelled against him but was also in internal disorder. This disunity and immorality would humble and pain Paul (12:19–13:4).<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, the Corinthians had better examine themselves. Were they really following Jesus or not? If so, they should see that Paul was also following Jesus. Yet Paul’s concern was not for his own position—he was content to be rejected (“weak”)—but for their following the truth. He hoped for their repentance, not to protect himself, but so that he need not be severe when he came (13:5-10).<\/p>\n<p>Probably taking the pen from the scribe at this point, Paul closes with a final appeal to repent and come to unity as a church. Brief greetings from the church in Macedonia and a formal blessing closes his correspondence with the Corinthians (vv 11-13).<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Acts of the Apostles, Book of the; Corinth; Corinthians, First Letter to the; Paul, The Apostle.<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>CORINTHIANS, Second Letter to the<\/h3>\n<p>Preview<\/p>\n<p>• Author<\/p>\n<p>• Date and Origin<\/p>\n<p>• Background<\/p>\n<p>• Purpose and Teaching<\/p>\n<p>• Content<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Author\">Author<\/p>\n<p>The apostle Paul is the acknowledged author of 2 Corinthians. While some scholars argue that 2 Corinthians 2:14–7:4 and 10–13 are separate letters, only in the case of 6:14–7:1 is Paul’s authorship disputed. This section is admittedly a strange digression, but stranger still would be the thought that an editor could have inserted it in such an unusual place. Also the repetition of thought in 7:2 from 6:13 indicates that Paul is aware that he has digressed from his topic and is repeating a phrase to bring his readers back to the subject.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"DateandOrigin\">Date and Origin<\/p>\n<p>After writing both the “previous letter” (1 Cor 5:9) and 1 Corinthians from Ephesus in <span>AD<\/span> 55, Paul continued to work there. Sometime during the next year a crisis arose in Corinth. Paul made a quick trip across the Aegean Sea, but he could not resolve the crisis, and due to the personal opposition of a leader in the church (likely an interloper bearing letters of recommendation from Jerusalem), he had to withdraw (2 Cor 2:1, 5). Returning to Ephesus from this “painful visit,” Paul dispatched Titus with a blistering “letter of tears,” his third letter to that church (2 Cor 2:4; 7:8, 12), which led to the excommunication of the leader and the repentance of the church. This letter has been lost. Meanwhile a situation erupted in Ephesus during which death (probably execution) seemed so certain that Paul despaired of life (see Acts 19:23-41; cf. Rom 16:4; 2 Cor 1:8-9). Paul was not killed, but his escape seemed miraculous.<\/p>\n<p>Leaving Ephesus in early <span>AD<\/span> 56, Paul traveled north to Troas seeking Titus and news of Corinth. Unable to endure without news, he abandoned a promising mission in Troas and sailed to Philippi. There he met Titus, who explained the change of heart in Corinth. Second Corinthians 1–9 responds to this situation, with chapters 8–9 preparing the Corinthians for an upcoming visit. Later Paul received further news from Corinth that renewed opposition to him was present. In response he penned the self-defense found in 2 Corinthians 10–13. Paul followed up the letter with a visit later in the year (Acts 20:2-3). We do not know the response to 2 Corinthians or the outcome of his final visit, but later the troubled history of the Corinthian church continued, with another Christian leader needing to write a letter at the end of the century (Epistle of Clement).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Background\">Background<\/p>\n<p>The Corinthian house churches always had great diversity. While those who liked Apollos undoubtedly despised Paul’s crude style, others who preferred Peter likely appealed beyond Paul to the more genuine “original” apostles in Jerusalem with their Jewish customs (1 Cor 1). Traveling teachers with letters of commendation from these apostles easily drew a following when they came to Corinth and undermined Paul’s authority and even his character. Furthermore, because of this outside influence, the collection for the poor in Jerusalem that Paul had initiated (16:1-4) was left in abeyance, both because it was connected to Paul and because the teachers themselves were taking money from the church. Paul writes to reaffirm his love and to repair the damage caused by the interloper.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"PurposeandTeaching\">Purpose and Teaching<\/p>\n<p>In the first section of the letter, Paul has two main purposes. The first is to cement his restored relationship with Corinth, explaining situations, forgiving those who opposed him, and reflecting on the nature of ministry. For Paul, ministry meant both intense suffering and comfort. Physical and emotional suffering came from the situations and people he worked with, but his knowledge of future reward and his experience of the power of God working in him brought profound joy and comfort. Due to his own recent brush with death, Paul also reflects on what happens at death. His expectation is to receive a resurrection body and be in the presence of Jesus at death.<\/p>\n<p>The second purpose of this section is to get the collection for Jerusalem on track again. In this context he gives major teaching on giving and Christian economics: Christians are to follow Christ in giving freely; economic equality is the principle governing who gives to whom.<\/p>\n<p>The second section of the letter is an impassioned self-defense, refuting the interloper’s claims to superiority. Neither oratory nor pedigree counts in Christian ministry, but only the call of God.<\/p>\n<p>In both sections one observes Paul’s deep desire for the unity of the church, both unity within the local community and unity with leaders appointed by God, such as Paul.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Content\">Content<\/p>\n<h5>Greeting, 1:1-7<\/h5>\n<p>A standard greeting (2 Cor 1:1-2) comes before Paul’s usual thanksgiving (vv 3-7). The topic of the thanksgiving—comfort in the midst of suffering—is the topic of chapters 1–7. Paul knows what it is to suffer, but it is in suffering that he has experienced God’s comfort, which he passes on to the Corinthians.<\/p>\n<h5>Paul’s Explanation, 1:8–2:13<\/h5>\n<p>Paul informs them of the danger he had suffered in Ephesus, one so great that he did not believe he would survive. His eventual survival seemed like a virtual resurrection, reinforcing his conviction that God, not human strength, is the only Christian refuge (1:8-11). In that and in all situations, Paul’s one boast is that of a clear conscience before God (vv 12-14).<\/p>\n<p>Paul had told them of plans for a double visit (cf. 1 Cor 16:5-6), but except for his brief “painful visit,” he had not fulfilled his plan (2 Cor 1:15–2:4). He defends himself from charges of either not planning in the Spirit or hypocritical vacillation. He was indeed as good as his word (cf. Jas 5:12), for his life reflected God’s fulfilled promise in Jesus, but he had changed plans so as not to repeat the “painful visit” of the previous year. It was love, not fickleness, that motivated the delayed visit.<\/p>\n<p>The Corinthians had responded to Paul’s “letter of tears” by excommunicating the person who had opposed Paul (not the same person as in 1 Cor 5). Since the person became repentant, Paul called for his restoration to the community, freely and graciously forgiving the man who had hurt him. Excommunication is for the unrepentant; its purpose is complete once the person repents (2 Cor 2:5-11).<\/p>\n<p>Paul then recounted his journey from Ephesus to Philippi, when he sought news of the response to the “letter of tears” (2:12-13). After telling how he left an opportunity to minister in Troas to go to find Titus in Philippi, he breaks the narrative with a long digression.<\/p>\n<h5>Nature of Apostolic Ministry, 2:14–7:4<\/h5>\n<p>The apostolic ministry in which Paul took part is like the ministry of Jesus, one of suffering and glory. Even in suffering there is triumph in Christ, for Christians share Christ’s triumph. Yet just like the perfumes of a Roman triumph were joy to the victors but meant death for prisoners on their way to execution, so Jesus’ triumph is life to the believer and death to the unbeliever (2:14-17).<\/p>\n<p>This triumph may have sounded like a boast, but Paul is not engaging in self-exaltation. Indeed, he has no need of the letters of commendation that the interloper in Corinth carried from Jerusalem, for the Corinthians are themselves the proof of his ministry (3:1-3). His boast is not in himself but in the new covenant in the Spirit, which unlike the old covenant is not fading (here Paul follows one Jewish interpretation of Ex 34:29-35, that Moses put the veil over his face so the people would not see the glory fade), nor does it veil the presence of God. The new covenant is permanent; it reveals God directly in the Spirit. There is no deceit or hiddenness, for the message is not about Paul but about Jesus, who is light itself (2 Cor 3:4–4:6).<\/p>\n<p>Paul the messenger, however, is simply the cheap, breakable pot that contains the priceless treasure, revealing by way of contrast that the only power in the gospel is God’s power. This contrast of weakness and power is seen in the sufferings of the apostle, a type of living death modeled after the sufferings of Jesus, out of which the life of Jesus flows to others (4:7-15).<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, despite intense suffering, Paul has courage, for he looks beyond this life to the rewards of the coming life. His whole motivation is one of faith, not sight, for he lives already for unseen realities (4:16-18). When he dies, Paul expects to receive an eternal resurrection body. His hope is not of becoming a disembodied soul (“naked”) but of passing immediately into a glorified bodily life, already guaranteed by the presence of the Spirit. This hope was likely the fruit of his near brush with death in Ephesus, when he must have meditated and prayed about what would come at death (5:1-5). Because this future includes Christ’s judgment, Paul wanted to make every effort to live in the light of that judgment, which he already saw by faith (vv 6-10).<\/p>\n<p>Far from trying to commend or exalt himself, Paul was simply presenting what he was—a person filled with the love of Christ and convinced that all should live not for themselves but for Christ (5:11-15). No one should be valued from a merely human point of view, not Paul, nor even Christ (for Paul before his conversion had a human opinion of Christ that his conversion had radically changed); everyone should be valued from the point of view of the new creation. Paul’s job was simply to announce the reconciliation of the new creation, which God has already effected on his side and which only awaits a person’s ratification on the human side (5:16-20).<\/p>\n<p>Paul, then, was a coworker with God, announcing salvation, using every means consistent with God’s character to proclaim the message, and suffering everything imaginable to demonstrate the extent of God’s love (6:1-10). Therefore, Paul had nothing against the Corinthians. If there was any blockage in their relationship with him, it must be on their side (6:11-13).<\/p>\n<h5>Digression on Purity, 6:14–7:1<\/h5>\n<p>Perhaps suspecting that the real block in the relationship was their love of the world, or that the Corinthians might not be totally over the problems mentioned in 1 Corinthians, Paul digressed into a discussion about the purity and sanctification of believers. There are two groups, light and darkness, Christ and the devil, believers and unbelievers. Therefore, as Exodus 25:8, Leviticus 26:11-12, Isaiah 52:11, Ezekiel 37:27, and Hosea 1:10 show (phrases from these passages flow into each other in a style of chain quotation familiar to Jews), Christians should not be closely bound to unbelievers in marriage or in business, for it will affect their moral purity.<\/p>\n<h5>Return to the Nature of the Apostolic Ministry, 7:2-4<\/h5>\n<p>Picking up from 6:13, Paul points out that the Corinthians have nothing substantial against him. He is not criticizing but simply appealing to them in love; even now he is prepared to die for them.<\/p>\n<h5>Explanation Concluded, 7:5-16<\/h5>\n<p>Having concluded his digression, Paul now returns to his journey, which he left in 2:13. When he met Titus, he received good news about Corinth. He was relieved that his “letter of tears” had been effective, not in simply making them sorry but in bringing them to true repentance that yielded zeal, moral purity, and joy. Furthermore, their behavior toward Titus had been so impressive that Titus’s enthusiastic report of his own impressions had further cheered Paul.<\/p>\n<h5>Collection for Jerusalem, 8:1–9:15<\/h5>\n<p>In the context of restored relationships Paul turns to the sensitive topic of the collection for the church in Jerusalem, which had been impoverished through famines in Judea in the 40s. This collection was both an act of charity (cf. Acts 11:27-30; Gal 2:10) and a symbolic act of unity and fellowship between the Gentile and Jewish branches of the church.<\/p>\n<p>The impoverished and suffering church in Macedonia (Philippi) had given eagerly. Therefore, Titus was coming back to help the Corinthians complete what they had begun the previous year (and probably dropped during the controversy with Paul, 2 Cor 8:1-7). The principles of the collection are (1) the Corinthians should follow the example of Jesus, who became poor for them; (2) they should give freely what they can without regretting that they cannot give more, for God values the eagerness to give expressed in action, not the net amount of the gift; and (3) there should be an economic equality among sections of the church, no one section being enriched at the expense of another (cf. Ex 16:18). This economic equality extends to the relationship between two churches a continent apart (2 Cor 8:8-15).<\/p>\n<p>Titus and two absolutely trustworthy men appointed by the churches for this work will come to supervise the final gathering—Paul would have nothing to do with the money personally—for it is important that not only God but the world be able to see the honesty and integrity of the way the church handles money (8:16-24).<\/p>\n<p>In this section Paul points out that he does not need to argue the reasons for this collection; they were aware of them when they began to gather money the year before. This letter is not an argument for the collection but an encouragement to finish the work, so that when Paul arrives with representatives of other churches carrying their contributions, the Corinthians would not be embarrassed by their relatively wealthy churches not being ready or able to give generously, despite Paul’s boasts about their previous eagerness. In saying this, Paul shows himself diplomatic and insightful in motivating human behavior; he makes the best assumptions possible about the present situation (9:1-5).<\/p>\n<p>Paul would not want the Corinthians giving out of guilt, although he, like Jesus (Mt 6:19-20), pointed out that the only real value of money is in giving it to help others. Rather, he wanted them so convinced of God’s generosity and ability to provide that they give freely and joyfully. God wanted to enrich them so they could give more. The giving would result in thanksgiving to God by the recipients, who would also pray for those who gave the gift, thereby binding the church together. A closing reminder of the extent of God’s own giving finishes the section (2 Cor 9:6-15).<\/p>\n<h5>Paul’s Self-Defense, 10:1–13:14<\/h5>\n<p>There is an abrupt change in tone between 9:15 and 10:1. Now, instead of the tone of conciliation found in 1:1–7:16, there is argument and defense, even threat. Paul’s apostleship has been attacked, and he will defend it with vigor.<\/p>\n<p>Paul was indeed a humble person who preferred not to use his authority. Yet when forced, he had something more than authority; he had spiritual power, capable of destroying opposing arguments and bending all to obedience to Jesus. He would use that power in Corinth if he must, though up to that time he had been gentle and had shown this side of his ministry only in letters (10:1-11).<\/p>\n<p>His opponents talked of their qualifications and compared themselves favorably with other ministers. Paul would not enter into this game of comparisons. God had set the sphere of his labors, which was the area in which he founded churches. He was the one who pioneered the church in Corinth, so it is his sphere of ministry, not the interloper’s (and such like him). They boasted in having reaped the benefits of his ministry; Paul could point to an original ministry given by God, for it is God’s commendation in the end that counts (10:13-18).<\/p>\n<p>Yet the Corinthian rebellion is serious enough to force him into self-defense, ridiculous as such an exercise is. He was shocked by how readily they turned away to every novel doctrine that came along. This tendency strikes fear in Paul’s heart (11:1-6).<\/p>\n<p>Paul had been criticized for refusing financial support from Corinth (even though he accepted gifts from other churches; cf. 1 Cor 9). He would continue to refuse such support, for he wanted to undermine the claims of the interloper. If the interloper was really serving God alone, let him work on the same basis as Paul! But since the interloper was false at heart, serving Satan and not God, he sought money from the church. Paul was astonished that in the Corinthians’ vaunted wisdom they did not see through this hypocrisy, yet he hoped that even if he must play the fool in making a self-defense, they would at least accept a fool like Paul. The irony is that his very tender care and concern for the church, his gentleness, was being used against him as a supposed “weakness.” Paul, the opponent argued, knew he was false, so therefore did not dare take money from the Corinthians (11:7-21).<\/p>\n<p>Interlopers claimed to come with authority from Jerusalem. They had letters from the apostles; it is unlikely, however, that the apostles would have approved of their activities. Still, they were Jews with respectable authority behind them. Paul felt compelled to state his own credentials. If they were Jews, he was just as pure a Jew. If they served Christ, could their work and sufferings match his? The list of sufferings both gives historical information not found in Acts and points to tireless labor, including days of fasting (“gone without food”) and nights spent in prayer (“gone without sleep”) (11:21-29).<\/p>\n<p>But this boasting was repulsive to Paul, so he isolated one particular suffering—his escape from Damascus, when he had to hide and slip out of the city in a basket. The story at once shows his effectiveness as an evangelist (in that he was a target of persecution) and shames him, for he could not defend himself and had to slip away under cover of darkness. Yet that weakness was indeed his glory (11:30-33).<\/p>\n<p>His opponents boasted in revelations from God. Paul knew that this boasting was senseless; however, if he must, he would tell them of a revelation superior to theirs, a time when he actually saw the inside of heaven (he is not sure whether it was a vision or an actual bodily experience). This probably happened about <span>AD<\/span> 42, while Paul was in Tarsus, before Barnabas came for him (Acts 9:30; 11:25). Paul disliked telling about this, for God’s power is more easily seen in his weakness. In fact, Paul’s opponents were an affliction of Satan that God allowed to keep Paul humble and to demonstrate his power in Paul’s weakness. (The image of a “thorn in my flesh” is one of enemies—Nm 33:55; Jos 23:13; Paul also describes what he means more clearly in 2 Cor 12:10). If vulnerability shows God’s power, Paul willingly accepts the weakness (12:1-10).<\/p>\n<p>Paul felt ashamed that he had to boast. The opponents boasted in coming from the Jerusalem “superapostles.” Paul pointed out that he was their equal, although both are nothing. God had set his mark upon Paul’s work. With biting irony he asks forgiveness for not having taken money from the Corinthians (12:11-13).<\/p>\n<p>Yet Paul would come a third time, and he would keep to the same policy of not taking any support from them but giving himself freely to them, just as Jesus had done on earth. Not only he, but all his envoys, kept to the same policy. No one could accuse him of deceit or inconsistency (12:14-18). However, he feared coming to them, for he knew that the community had not just rebelled against him but was also in internal disorder. This disunity and immorality would humble and pain Paul (12:19–13:4).<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, the Corinthians had better examine themselves. Were they really following Jesus or not? If so, they should see that Paul was also following Jesus. Yet Paul’s concern was not for his own position—he was content to be rejected (“weak”)—but for their following the truth. He hoped for their repentance, not to protect himself, but so that he need not be severe when he came (13:5-10).<\/p>\n<p>Probably taking the pen from the scribe at this point, Paul closes with a final appeal to repent and come to unity as a church. Brief greetings from the church in Macedonia and a formal blessing closes his correspondence with the Corinthians (vv 11-13).<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Acts of the Apostles, Book of the; Corinth; Corinthians, First Letter to the; Paul, The Apostle.<\/p>","summary_ro":"CORINTHIANS, Second Letter to the Preview • Author • Date and Origin • Background • Purpose and Teaching • Content Author The apostle Paul is the acknowledged author of 2 Corinthians. While some scholars argue that 2 Corinthians 2:14–7:4 and 10–13 are separate letters, only in the case of 6:14–7:1 is Paul’s authorship disputed. This section is admittedly a strange digression, but stranger still would be the thought that an editor could have inserted it in such an unusual place. Also the repet...","summary_en":"CORINTHIANS, Second Letter to the Preview • Author • Date and Origin • Background • Purpose and Teaching • Content Author The apostle Paul is the acknowledged author of 2 Corinthians. While some scholars argue that 2 Corinthians 2:14–7:4 and 10–13 are separate letters, only in the case of 6:14–7:1 is Paul’s authorship disputed. This section is admittedly a strange digression, but stranger still would be the thought that an editor could have inserted it in such an unusual place. Also the repet...","source":"Articles\/C.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":57852,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:1","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:1","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:1-6<\/strong> Paul finds it necessary, if distasteful, to justify his actions because of the close link he claims with the church (11:2) and because his enemies were enticing the Corinthian believers away from Christ.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:1-6<\/strong> Paul finds it necessary, if distasteful, to justify his actions because of the close link he claims with the church (11:2) and because his enemies were enticing the Corinthian believers away from Christ.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:1-6 Paul finds it necessary, if distasteful, to justify his actions because of the close link he claims with the church (11:2) and because his enemies were enticing the Corinthian believers away from Christ.","summary_en":"11:1-6 Paul finds it necessary, if distasteful, to justify his actions because of the close link he claims with the church (11:2) and because his enemies were enticing the Corinthian believers away from Christ.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":57853,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:1","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:1","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:1<\/strong> Paul takes on an ironic tone in saying, <em>I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness<\/em>. He again asks with irony, <em>Please bear with me<\/em> (or <em>But indeed you are putting up with me<\/em>, a translation that makes the irony even more pointed).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:1<\/strong> Paul takes on an ironic tone in saying, <em>I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness<\/em>. He again asks with irony, <em>Please bear with me<\/em> (or <em>But indeed you are putting up with me<\/em>, a translation that makes the irony even more pointed).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:1 Paul takes on an ironic tone in saying, I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness. He again asks with irony, Please bear with me (or But indeed you are putting up with me, a translation that makes the irony even more pointed).","summary_en":"11:1 Paul takes on an ironic tone in saying, I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness. He again asks with irony, Please bear with me (or But indeed you are putting up with me, a translation that makes the irony even more pointed).","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":85478,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:1","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:1","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:1-6<\/strong> Paul finds it necessary, if distasteful, to justify his actions because of the close link he claims with the church (11:2) and because his enemies were enticing the Corinthian believers away from Christ.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:1-6<\/strong> Paul finds it necessary, if distasteful, to justify his actions because of the close link he claims with the church (11:2) and because his enemies were enticing the Corinthian believers away from Christ.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:1-6 Paul finds it necessary, if distasteful, to justify his actions because of the close link he claims with the church (11:2) and because his enemies were enticing the Corinthian believers away from Christ.","summary_en":"11:1-6 Paul finds it necessary, if distasteful, to justify his actions because of the close link he claims with the church (11:2) and because his enemies were enticing the Corinthian believers away from Christ.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":85479,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:1","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:1","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:1<\/strong> Paul takes on an ironic tone in saying, <em>I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness<\/em>. He again asks with irony, <em>Please bear with me<\/em> (or <em>But indeed you are putting up with me<\/em>, a translation that makes the irony even more pointed).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:1<\/strong> Paul takes on an ironic tone in saying, <em>I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness<\/em>. He again asks with irony, <em>Please bear with me<\/em> (or <em>But indeed you are putting up with me<\/em>, a translation that makes the irony even more pointed).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:1 Paul takes on an ironic tone in saying, I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness. He again asks with irony, Please bear with me (or But indeed you are putting up with me, a translation that makes the irony even more pointed).","summary_en":"11:1 Paul takes on an ironic tone in saying, I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness. He again asks with irony, Please bear with me (or But indeed you are putting up with me, a translation that makes the irony even more pointed).","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":113104,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:1","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:1","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:1-6<\/strong> Paul finds it necessary, if distasteful, to justify his actions because of the close link he claims with the church (11:2) and because his enemies were enticing the Corinthian believers away from Christ.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:1-6<\/strong> Paul finds it necessary, if distasteful, to justify his actions because of the close link he claims with the church (11:2) and because his enemies were enticing the Corinthian believers away from Christ.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:1-6 Paul finds it necessary, if distasteful, to justify his actions because of the close link he claims with the church (11:2) and because his enemies were enticing the Corinthian believers away from Christ.","summary_en":"11:1-6 Paul finds it necessary, if distasteful, to justify his actions because of the close link he claims with the church (11:2) and because his enemies were enticing the Corinthian believers away from Christ.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":113105,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:1","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:1","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:1<\/strong> Paul takes on an ironic tone in saying, <em>I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness<\/em>. He again asks with irony, <em>Please bear with me<\/em> (or <em>But indeed you are putting up with me<\/em>, a translation that makes the irony even more pointed).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:1<\/strong> Paul takes on an ironic tone in saying, <em>I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness<\/em>. He again asks with irony, <em>Please bear with me<\/em> (or <em>But indeed you are putting up with me<\/em>, a translation that makes the irony even more pointed).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:1 Paul takes on an ironic tone in saying, I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness. He again asks with irony, Please bear with me (or But indeed you are putting up with me, a translation that makes the irony even more pointed).","summary_en":"11:1 Paul takes on an ironic tone in saying, I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness. He again asks with irony, Please bear with me (or But indeed you are putting up with me, a translation that makes the irony even more pointed).","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":140730,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:1","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:1","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:1-6<\/strong> Paul finds it necessary, if distasteful, to justify his actions because of the close link he claims with the church (11:2) and because his enemies were enticing the Corinthian believers away from Christ.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:1-6<\/strong> Paul finds it necessary, if distasteful, to justify his actions because of the close link he claims with the church (11:2) and because his enemies were enticing the Corinthian believers away from Christ.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:1-6 Paul finds it necessary, if distasteful, to justify his actions because of the close link he claims with the church (11:2) and because his enemies were enticing the Corinthian believers away from Christ.","summary_en":"11:1-6 Paul finds it necessary, if distasteful, to justify his actions because of the close link he claims with the church (11:2) and because his enemies were enticing the Corinthian believers away from Christ.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":140731,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:1","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:1","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:1<\/strong> Paul takes on an ironic tone in saying, <em>I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness<\/em>. He again asks with irony, <em>Please bear with me<\/em> (or <em>But indeed you are putting up with me<\/em>, a translation that makes the irony even more pointed).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:1<\/strong> Paul takes on an ironic tone in saying, <em>I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness<\/em>. He again asks with irony, <em>Please bear with me<\/em> (or <em>But indeed you are putting up with me<\/em>, a translation that makes the irony even more pointed).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:1 Paul takes on an ironic tone in saying, I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness. He again asks with irony, Please bear with me (or But indeed you are putting up with me, a translation that makes the irony even more pointed).","summary_en":"11:1 Paul takes on an ironic tone in saying, I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness. He again asks with irony, Please bear with me (or But indeed you are putting up with me, a translation that makes the irony even more pointed).","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":67876,"type":"theme_note","type_label":"Temă biblică","type_icon":"🎯","type_color":"#ef4444","title_ro":"Early Christian Heresies","title_en":"Early Christian Heresies","content_ro":"<h3>Early Christian Heresies<\/h3>\n<p>The Greek word <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">hairesis<\/span>, originally meaning “choice,” designates a <em>sect<\/em> or <em>faction.<\/em> For example, the Sadducees were a sect within Judaism (Acts 5:17), as were the Pharisees (Acts 15:5). The early believers in Jesus as the Messiah were known as “the sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5). In each of these verses, the word <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">hairesis<\/span> denotes nothing more than a sect.<\/p>\n<p>After the church grew and developed, any factious group within a local church was called a <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">hairesis<\/span>—that is, a sect that held opinions contrary to the truths established by the apostles. This is what Paul meant when he warned the Corinthian church that factious <em>sects<\/em> would develop among them (1 Cor 11:19).<\/p>\n<p>Eventually, the word <em>heresy<\/em> came to connote teaching that deviates from the norm and causes individuals to break away from orthodoxy. Thus, Peter warned Christians about false teachers who would try to deceive believers with their heretical teachings (2 Pet 2:1). In the modern era, this is how the word <em>heresy<\/em> is usually understood; it is unorthodox teaching that damages the faith of some believers and causes divisive factions within the church.<\/p>\n<p>Two heresies were particularly prevalent in the church around the time of John’s writings: Gnosticism and Docetism.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gnosticism<\/strong> is characterized by claims to obscure and mystical knowledge. Many Gnostics believed in a hierarchy of beings in which there was an eternal god, from whom came a series of emanations of lesser spiritual beings, including the creator god, who was considered evil. This creator god fashioned the material world, including human beings. Thus, bearing similarities with Platonic thought, this strand of Gnostics believed that everything material was evil and that there was a more “real” spiritual realm. The goal for these Gnostics was to discover the spiritual seed within them—through secret knowledge (gnōsis)—which would enable them to leave the physical realm and join the spiritual realm. This generated varied responses to the physical realm, with some Gnostics practicing strict, ascetic avoidance of physical pleasure, while others indulged heavily in the “flesh,” regarding their actions in relation to this world as inconsequential.<\/p>\n<p>Gnosticism developed through the interweaving of Christianity with Greek philosophy and emphasizes the need for additional, special knowledge that redefines the terms and practices of orthodox Christianity into something quite different. The Gnostics often incorporated Christ into their belief system, considering the Christ to be one of the various emanations from the supreme being. According to many Gnostics, this Christ taught some of his followers how to discover the spiritual spark within them and join the spiritual realm.<\/p>\n<p>A significant amount of Christian writings from the first couple of centuries of the church’s existence were penned as a response to Gnostic heresy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Docetism<\/strong>, a form of Gnosticism, held that Christ only seemed to have a human body with physical birth, death, and resurrection (<span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">dokeō<\/span> is a Greek verb meaning “to seem”). An early Docetist was Cerinthus, who argued that the spiritual “Christ” came upon the human Jesus at his baptism and was present with him during his ministry, but departed prior to his suffering and death. This movement was concerned with protecting the divinity of God from being polluted by the human nature of Jesus. According to early church tradition, John vehemently opposed Cerinthus’s teachings (see Irenaeus, <em>Against Heresies<\/em> 3.3.4; cp. 1 Jn 5:5-8; 2 Jn 1:7).<\/p>\n<p>True Christians believe in the Incarnation—God becoming a real human being with flesh and blood. Jesus’ humanity was not a facade. He was truly human, sharing our flesh and blood, so that he could provide salvation for humanity through his own flesh and blood. Ignatius, a student of the apostle John and later the bishop of Antioch, wrote a series of letters refuting Docetism. Ignatius was the first one outside the New Testament writers to speak of the virgin birth of Jesus. He also emphasized the fact that the apostles touched the body of their risen Lord, and he said it was possible for him to face martyrdom with courage because of the real suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross and his physical resurrection.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Acts 8:9-24; 2 Cor 11:1-15; Col 1:23; 2:6-23; 1 Tim 6:20; 2 Pet 2:1-22; 1 Jn 4:2-3; 5:5-8; 2 Jn 1:7-11; 3 Jn 1:9-12; Rev 2:2, 14-16, 20-25<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Early Christian Heresies<\/h3>\n<p>The Greek word <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">hairesis<\/span>, originally meaning “choice,” designates a <em>sect<\/em> or <em>faction.<\/em> For example, the Sadducees were a sect within Judaism (Acts 5:17), as were the Pharisees (Acts 15:5). The early believers in Jesus as the Messiah were known as “the sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5). In each of these verses, the word <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">hairesis<\/span> denotes nothing more than a sect.<\/p>\n<p>After the church grew and developed, any factious group within a local church was called a <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">hairesis<\/span>—that is, a sect that held opinions contrary to the truths established by the apostles. This is what Paul meant when he warned the Corinthian church that factious <em>sects<\/em> would develop among them (1 Cor 11:19).<\/p>\n<p>Eventually, the word <em>heresy<\/em> came to connote teaching that deviates from the norm and causes individuals to break away from orthodoxy. Thus, Peter warned Christians about false teachers who would try to deceive believers with their heretical teachings (2 Pet 2:1). In the modern era, this is how the word <em>heresy<\/em> is usually understood; it is unorthodox teaching that damages the faith of some believers and causes divisive factions within the church.<\/p>\n<p>Two heresies were particularly prevalent in the church around the time of John’s writings: Gnosticism and Docetism.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gnosticism<\/strong> is characterized by claims to obscure and mystical knowledge. Many Gnostics believed in a hierarchy of beings in which there was an eternal god, from whom came a series of emanations of lesser spiritual beings, including the creator god, who was considered evil. This creator god fashioned the material world, including human beings. Thus, bearing similarities with Platonic thought, this strand of Gnostics believed that everything material was evil and that there was a more “real” spiritual realm. The goal for these Gnostics was to discover the spiritual seed within them—through secret knowledge (gnōsis)—which would enable them to leave the physical realm and join the spiritual realm. This generated varied responses to the physical realm, with some Gnostics practicing strict, ascetic avoidance of physical pleasure, while others indulged heavily in the “flesh,” regarding their actions in relation to this world as inconsequential.<\/p>\n<p>Gnosticism developed through the interweaving of Christianity with Greek philosophy and emphasizes the need for additional, special knowledge that redefines the terms and practices of orthodox Christianity into something quite different. The Gnostics often incorporated Christ into their belief system, considering the Christ to be one of the various emanations from the supreme being. According to many Gnostics, this Christ taught some of his followers how to discover the spiritual spark within them and join the spiritual realm.<\/p>\n<p>A significant amount of Christian writings from the first couple of centuries of the church’s existence were penned as a response to Gnostic heresy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Docetism<\/strong>, a form of Gnosticism, held that Christ only seemed to have a human body with physical birth, death, and resurrection (<span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">dokeō<\/span> is a Greek verb meaning “to seem”). An early Docetist was Cerinthus, who argued that the spiritual “Christ” came upon the human Jesus at his baptism and was present with him during his ministry, but departed prior to his suffering and death. This movement was concerned with protecting the divinity of God from being polluted by the human nature of Jesus. According to early church tradition, John vehemently opposed Cerinthus’s teachings (see Irenaeus, <em>Against Heresies<\/em> 3.3.4; cp. 1 Jn 5:5-8; 2 Jn 1:7).<\/p>\n<p>True Christians believe in the Incarnation—God becoming a real human being with flesh and blood. Jesus’ humanity was not a facade. He was truly human, sharing our flesh and blood, so that he could provide salvation for humanity through his own flesh and blood. Ignatius, a student of the apostle John and later the bishop of Antioch, wrote a series of letters refuting Docetism. Ignatius was the first one outside the New Testament writers to speak of the virgin birth of Jesus. He also emphasized the fact that the apostles touched the body of their risen Lord, and he said it was possible for him to face martyrdom with courage because of the real suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross and his physical resurrection.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Acts 8:9-24; 2 Cor 11:1-15; Col 1:23; 2:6-23; 1 Tim 6:20; 2 Pet 2:1-22; 1 Jn 4:2-3; 5:5-8; 2 Jn 1:7-11; 3 Jn 1:9-12; Rev 2:2, 14-16, 20-25<\/p>","summary_ro":"Early Christian Heresies The Greek word hairesis, originally meaning “choice,” designates a sect or faction. For example, the Sadducees were a sect within Judaism (Acts 5:17), as were the Pharisees (Acts 15:5). The early believers in Jesus as the Messiah were known as “the sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5). In each of these verses, the word hairesis denotes nothing more than a sect. After the church grew and developed, any factious group within a local church was called a hairesis—that is, a...","summary_en":"Early Christian Heresies The Greek word hairesis, originally meaning “choice,” designates a sect or faction. For example, the Sadducees were a sect within Judaism (Acts 5:17), as were the Pharisees (Acts 15:5). The early believers in Jesus as the Messiah were known as “the sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5). In each of these verses, the word hairesis denotes nothing more than a sect. After the church grew and developed, any factious group within a local church was called a hairesis—that is, a...","source":"ThemeNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":95502,"type":"theme_note","type_label":"Temă biblică","type_icon":"🎯","type_color":"#ef4444","title_ro":"Early Christian Heresies","title_en":"Early Christian Heresies","content_ro":"<h3>Early Christian Heresies<\/h3>\n<p>The Greek word <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">hairesis<\/span>, originally meaning “choice,” designates a <em>sect<\/em> or <em>faction.<\/em> For example, the Sadducees were a sect within Judaism (Acts 5:17), as were the Pharisees (Acts 15:5). The early believers in Jesus as the Messiah were known as “the sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5). In each of these verses, the word <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">hairesis<\/span> denotes nothing more than a sect.<\/p>\n<p>After the church grew and developed, any factious group within a local church was called a <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">hairesis<\/span>—that is, a sect that held opinions contrary to the truths established by the apostles. This is what Paul meant when he warned the Corinthian church that factious <em>sects<\/em> would develop among them (1 Cor 11:19).<\/p>\n<p>Eventually, the word <em>heresy<\/em> came to connote teaching that deviates from the norm and causes individuals to break away from orthodoxy. Thus, Peter warned Christians about false teachers who would try to deceive believers with their heretical teachings (2 Pet 2:1). In the modern era, this is how the word <em>heresy<\/em> is usually understood; it is unorthodox teaching that damages the faith of some believers and causes divisive factions within the church.<\/p>\n<p>Two heresies were particularly prevalent in the church around the time of John’s writings: Gnosticism and Docetism.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gnosticism<\/strong> is characterized by claims to obscure and mystical knowledge. Many Gnostics believed in a hierarchy of beings in which there was an eternal god, from whom came a series of emanations of lesser spiritual beings, including the creator god, who was considered evil. This creator god fashioned the material world, including human beings. Thus, bearing similarities with Platonic thought, this strand of Gnostics believed that everything material was evil and that there was a more “real” spiritual realm. The goal for these Gnostics was to discover the spiritual seed within them—through secret knowledge (gnōsis)—which would enable them to leave the physical realm and join the spiritual realm. This generated varied responses to the physical realm, with some Gnostics practicing strict, ascetic avoidance of physical pleasure, while others indulged heavily in the “flesh,” regarding their actions in relation to this world as inconsequential.<\/p>\n<p>Gnosticism developed through the interweaving of Christianity with Greek philosophy and emphasizes the need for additional, special knowledge that redefines the terms and practices of orthodox Christianity into something quite different. The Gnostics often incorporated Christ into their belief system, considering the Christ to be one of the various emanations from the supreme being. According to many Gnostics, this Christ taught some of his followers how to discover the spiritual spark within them and join the spiritual realm.<\/p>\n<p>A significant amount of Christian writings from the first couple of centuries of the church’s existence were penned as a response to Gnostic heresy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Docetism<\/strong>, a form of Gnosticism, held that Christ only seemed to have a human body with physical birth, death, and resurrection (<span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">dokeō<\/span> is a Greek verb meaning “to seem”). An early Docetist was Cerinthus, who argued that the spiritual “Christ” came upon the human Jesus at his baptism and was present with him during his ministry, but departed prior to his suffering and death. This movement was concerned with protecting the divinity of God from being polluted by the human nature of Jesus. According to early church tradition, John vehemently opposed Cerinthus’s teachings (see Irenaeus, <em>Against Heresies<\/em> 3.3.4; cp. 1 Jn 5:5-8; 2 Jn 1:7).<\/p>\n<p>True Christians believe in the Incarnation—God becoming a real human being with flesh and blood. Jesus’ humanity was not a facade. He was truly human, sharing our flesh and blood, so that he could provide salvation for humanity through his own flesh and blood. Ignatius, a student of the apostle John and later the bishop of Antioch, wrote a series of letters refuting Docetism. Ignatius was the first one outside the New Testament writers to speak of the virgin birth of Jesus. He also emphasized the fact that the apostles touched the body of their risen Lord, and he said it was possible for him to face martyrdom with courage because of the real suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross and his physical resurrection.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Acts 8:9-24; 2 Cor 11:1-15; Col 1:23; 2:6-23; 1 Tim 6:20; 2 Pet 2:1-22; 1 Jn 4:2-3; 5:5-8; 2 Jn 1:7-11; 3 Jn 1:9-12; Rev 2:2, 14-16, 20-25<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Early Christian Heresies<\/h3>\n<p>The Greek word <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">hairesis<\/span>, originally meaning “choice,” designates a <em>sect<\/em> or <em>faction.<\/em> For example, the Sadducees were a sect within Judaism (Acts 5:17), as were the Pharisees (Acts 15:5). The early believers in Jesus as the Messiah were known as “the sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5). In each of these verses, the word <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">hairesis<\/span> denotes nothing more than a sect.<\/p>\n<p>After the church grew and developed, any factious group within a local church was called a <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">hairesis<\/span>—that is, a sect that held opinions contrary to the truths established by the apostles. This is what Paul meant when he warned the Corinthian church that factious <em>sects<\/em> would develop among them (1 Cor 11:19).<\/p>\n<p>Eventually, the word <em>heresy<\/em> came to connote teaching that deviates from the norm and causes individuals to break away from orthodoxy. Thus, Peter warned Christians about false teachers who would try to deceive believers with their heretical teachings (2 Pet 2:1). In the modern era, this is how the word <em>heresy<\/em> is usually understood; it is unorthodox teaching that damages the faith of some believers and causes divisive factions within the church.<\/p>\n<p>Two heresies were particularly prevalent in the church around the time of John’s writings: Gnosticism and Docetism.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gnosticism<\/strong> is characterized by claims to obscure and mystical knowledge. Many Gnostics believed in a hierarchy of beings in which there was an eternal god, from whom came a series of emanations of lesser spiritual beings, including the creator god, who was considered evil. This creator god fashioned the material world, including human beings. Thus, bearing similarities with Platonic thought, this strand of Gnostics believed that everything material was evil and that there was a more “real” spiritual realm. The goal for these Gnostics was to discover the spiritual seed within them—through secret knowledge (gnōsis)—which would enable them to leave the physical realm and join the spiritual realm. This generated varied responses to the physical realm, with some Gnostics practicing strict, ascetic avoidance of physical pleasure, while others indulged heavily in the “flesh,” regarding their actions in relation to this world as inconsequential.<\/p>\n<p>Gnosticism developed through the interweaving of Christianity with Greek philosophy and emphasizes the need for additional, special knowledge that redefines the terms and practices of orthodox Christianity into something quite different. The Gnostics often incorporated Christ into their belief system, considering the Christ to be one of the various emanations from the supreme being. According to many Gnostics, this Christ taught some of his followers how to discover the spiritual spark within them and join the spiritual realm.<\/p>\n<p>A significant amount of Christian writings from the first couple of centuries of the church’s existence were penned as a response to Gnostic heresy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Docetism<\/strong>, a form of Gnosticism, held that Christ only seemed to have a human body with physical birth, death, and resurrection (<span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">dokeō<\/span> is a Greek verb meaning “to seem”). An early Docetist was Cerinthus, who argued that the spiritual “Christ” came upon the human Jesus at his baptism and was present with him during his ministry, but departed prior to his suffering and death. This movement was concerned with protecting the divinity of God from being polluted by the human nature of Jesus. According to early church tradition, John vehemently opposed Cerinthus’s teachings (see Irenaeus, <em>Against Heresies<\/em> 3.3.4; cp. 1 Jn 5:5-8; 2 Jn 1:7).<\/p>\n<p>True Christians believe in the Incarnation—God becoming a real human being with flesh and blood. Jesus’ humanity was not a facade. He was truly human, sharing our flesh and blood, so that he could provide salvation for humanity through his own flesh and blood. Ignatius, a student of the apostle John and later the bishop of Antioch, wrote a series of letters refuting Docetism. Ignatius was the first one outside the New Testament writers to speak of the virgin birth of Jesus. He also emphasized the fact that the apostles touched the body of their risen Lord, and he said it was possible for him to face martyrdom with courage because of the real suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross and his physical resurrection.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Acts 8:9-24; 2 Cor 11:1-15; Col 1:23; 2:6-23; 1 Tim 6:20; 2 Pet 2:1-22; 1 Jn 4:2-3; 5:5-8; 2 Jn 1:7-11; 3 Jn 1:9-12; Rev 2:2, 14-16, 20-25<\/p>","summary_ro":"Early Christian Heresies The Greek word hairesis, originally meaning “choice,” designates a sect or faction. For example, the Sadducees were a sect within Judaism (Acts 5:17), as were the Pharisees (Acts 15:5). The early believers in Jesus as the Messiah were known as “the sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5). In each of these verses, the word hairesis denotes nothing more than a sect. After the church grew and developed, any factious group within a local church was called a hairesis—that is, a...","summary_en":"Early Christian Heresies The Greek word hairesis, originally meaning “choice,” designates a sect or faction. For example, the Sadducees were a sect within Judaism (Acts 5:17), as were the Pharisees (Acts 15:5). The early believers in Jesus as the Messiah were known as “the sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5). In each of these verses, the word hairesis denotes nothing more than a sect. After the church grew and developed, any factious group within a local church was called a hairesis—that is, a...","source":"ThemeNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":123128,"type":"theme_note","type_label":"Temă biblică","type_icon":"🎯","type_color":"#ef4444","title_ro":"Early Christian Heresies","title_en":"Early Christian Heresies","content_ro":"<h3>Early Christian Heresies<\/h3>\n<p>The Greek word <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">hairesis<\/span>, originally meaning “choice,” designates a <em>sect<\/em> or <em>faction.<\/em> For example, the Sadducees were a sect within Judaism (Acts 5:17), as were the Pharisees (Acts 15:5). The early believers in Jesus as the Messiah were known as “the sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5). In each of these verses, the word <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">hairesis<\/span> denotes nothing more than a sect.<\/p>\n<p>After the church grew and developed, any factious group within a local church was called a <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">hairesis<\/span>—that is, a sect that held opinions contrary to the truths established by the apostles. This is what Paul meant when he warned the Corinthian church that factious <em>sects<\/em> would develop among them (1 Cor 11:19).<\/p>\n<p>Eventually, the word <em>heresy<\/em> came to connote teaching that deviates from the norm and causes individuals to break away from orthodoxy. Thus, Peter warned Christians about false teachers who would try to deceive believers with their heretical teachings (2 Pet 2:1). In the modern era, this is how the word <em>heresy<\/em> is usually understood; it is unorthodox teaching that damages the faith of some believers and causes divisive factions within the church.<\/p>\n<p>Two heresies were particularly prevalent in the church around the time of John’s writings: Gnosticism and Docetism.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gnosticism<\/strong> is characterized by claims to obscure and mystical knowledge. Many Gnostics believed in a hierarchy of beings in which there was an eternal god, from whom came a series of emanations of lesser spiritual beings, including the creator god, who was considered evil. This creator god fashioned the material world, including human beings. Thus, bearing similarities with Platonic thought, this strand of Gnostics believed that everything material was evil and that there was a more “real” spiritual realm. The goal for these Gnostics was to discover the spiritual seed within them—through secret knowledge (gnōsis)—which would enable them to leave the physical realm and join the spiritual realm. This generated varied responses to the physical realm, with some Gnostics practicing strict, ascetic avoidance of physical pleasure, while others indulged heavily in the “flesh,” regarding their actions in relation to this world as inconsequential.<\/p>\n<p>Gnosticism developed through the interweaving of Christianity with Greek philosophy and emphasizes the need for additional, special knowledge that redefines the terms and practices of orthodox Christianity into something quite different. The Gnostics often incorporated Christ into their belief system, considering the Christ to be one of the various emanations from the supreme being. According to many Gnostics, this Christ taught some of his followers how to discover the spiritual spark within them and join the spiritual realm.<\/p>\n<p>A significant amount of Christian writings from the first couple of centuries of the church’s existence were penned as a response to Gnostic heresy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Docetism<\/strong>, a form of Gnosticism, held that Christ only seemed to have a human body with physical birth, death, and resurrection (<span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">dokeō<\/span> is a Greek verb meaning “to seem”). An early Docetist was Cerinthus, who argued that the spiritual “Christ” came upon the human Jesus at his baptism and was present with him during his ministry, but departed prior to his suffering and death. This movement was concerned with protecting the divinity of God from being polluted by the human nature of Jesus. According to early church tradition, John vehemently opposed Cerinthus’s teachings (see Irenaeus, <em>Against Heresies<\/em> 3.3.4; cp. 1 Jn 5:5-8; 2 Jn 1:7).<\/p>\n<p>True Christians believe in the Incarnation—God becoming a real human being with flesh and blood. Jesus’ humanity was not a facade. He was truly human, sharing our flesh and blood, so that he could provide salvation for humanity through his own flesh and blood. Ignatius, a student of the apostle John and later the bishop of Antioch, wrote a series of letters refuting Docetism. Ignatius was the first one outside the New Testament writers to speak of the virgin birth of Jesus. He also emphasized the fact that the apostles touched the body of their risen Lord, and he said it was possible for him to face martyrdom with courage because of the real suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross and his physical resurrection.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Acts 8:9-24; 2 Cor 11:1-15; Col 1:23; 2:6-23; 1 Tim 6:20; 2 Pet 2:1-22; 1 Jn 4:2-3; 5:5-8; 2 Jn 1:7-11; 3 Jn 1:9-12; Rev 2:2, 14-16, 20-25<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Early Christian Heresies<\/h3>\n<p>The Greek word <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">hairesis<\/span>, originally meaning “choice,” designates a <em>sect<\/em> or <em>faction.<\/em> For example, the Sadducees were a sect within Judaism (Acts 5:17), as were the Pharisees (Acts 15:5). The early believers in Jesus as the Messiah were known as “the sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5). In each of these verses, the word <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">hairesis<\/span> denotes nothing more than a sect.<\/p>\n<p>After the church grew and developed, any factious group within a local church was called a <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">hairesis<\/span>—that is, a sect that held opinions contrary to the truths established by the apostles. This is what Paul meant when he warned the Corinthian church that factious <em>sects<\/em> would develop among them (1 Cor 11:19).<\/p>\n<p>Eventually, the word <em>heresy<\/em> came to connote teaching that deviates from the norm and causes individuals to break away from orthodoxy. Thus, Peter warned Christians about false teachers who would try to deceive believers with their heretical teachings (2 Pet 2:1). In the modern era, this is how the word <em>heresy<\/em> is usually understood; it is unorthodox teaching that damages the faith of some believers and causes divisive factions within the church.<\/p>\n<p>Two heresies were particularly prevalent in the church around the time of John’s writings: Gnosticism and Docetism.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gnosticism<\/strong> is characterized by claims to obscure and mystical knowledge. Many Gnostics believed in a hierarchy of beings in which there was an eternal god, from whom came a series of emanations of lesser spiritual beings, including the creator god, who was considered evil. This creator god fashioned the material world, including human beings. Thus, bearing similarities with Platonic thought, this strand of Gnostics believed that everything material was evil and that there was a more “real” spiritual realm. The goal for these Gnostics was to discover the spiritual seed within them—through secret knowledge (gnōsis)—which would enable them to leave the physical realm and join the spiritual realm. This generated varied responses to the physical realm, with some Gnostics practicing strict, ascetic avoidance of physical pleasure, while others indulged heavily in the “flesh,” regarding their actions in relation to this world as inconsequential.<\/p>\n<p>Gnosticism developed through the interweaving of Christianity with Greek philosophy and emphasizes the need for additional, special knowledge that redefines the terms and practices of orthodox Christianity into something quite different. The Gnostics often incorporated Christ into their belief system, considering the Christ to be one of the various emanations from the supreme being. According to many Gnostics, this Christ taught some of his followers how to discover the spiritual spark within them and join the spiritual realm.<\/p>\n<p>A significant amount of Christian writings from the first couple of centuries of the church’s existence were penned as a response to Gnostic heresy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Docetism<\/strong>, a form of Gnosticism, held that Christ only seemed to have a human body with physical birth, death, and resurrection (<span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">dokeō<\/span> is a Greek verb meaning “to seem”). An early Docetist was Cerinthus, who argued that the spiritual “Christ” came upon the human Jesus at his baptism and was present with him during his ministry, but departed prior to his suffering and death. This movement was concerned with protecting the divinity of God from being polluted by the human nature of Jesus. According to early church tradition, John vehemently opposed Cerinthus’s teachings (see Irenaeus, <em>Against Heresies<\/em> 3.3.4; cp. 1 Jn 5:5-8; 2 Jn 1:7).<\/p>\n<p>True Christians believe in the Incarnation—God becoming a real human being with flesh and blood. Jesus’ humanity was not a facade. He was truly human, sharing our flesh and blood, so that he could provide salvation for humanity through his own flesh and blood. Ignatius, a student of the apostle John and later the bishop of Antioch, wrote a series of letters refuting Docetism. Ignatius was the first one outside the New Testament writers to speak of the virgin birth of Jesus. He also emphasized the fact that the apostles touched the body of their risen Lord, and he said it was possible for him to face martyrdom with courage because of the real suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross and his physical resurrection.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Acts 8:9-24; 2 Cor 11:1-15; Col 1:23; 2:6-23; 1 Tim 6:20; 2 Pet 2:1-22; 1 Jn 4:2-3; 5:5-8; 2 Jn 1:7-11; 3 Jn 1:9-12; Rev 2:2, 14-16, 20-25<\/p>","summary_ro":"Early Christian Heresies The Greek word hairesis, originally meaning “choice,” designates a sect or faction. For example, the Sadducees were a sect within Judaism (Acts 5:17), as were the Pharisees (Acts 15:5). The early believers in Jesus as the Messiah were known as “the sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5). In each of these verses, the word hairesis denotes nothing more than a sect. After the church grew and developed, any factious group within a local church was called a hairesis—that is, a...","summary_en":"Early Christian Heresies The Greek word hairesis, originally meaning “choice,” designates a sect or faction. For example, the Sadducees were a sect within Judaism (Acts 5:17), as were the Pharisees (Acts 15:5). The early believers in Jesus as the Messiah were known as “the sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5). In each of these verses, the word hairesis denotes nothing more than a sect. After the church grew and developed, any factious group within a local church was called a hairesis—that is, a...","source":"ThemeNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":150754,"type":"theme_note","type_label":"Temă biblică","type_icon":"🎯","type_color":"#ef4444","title_ro":"Early Christian Heresies","title_en":"Early Christian Heresies","content_ro":"<h3>Early Christian Heresies<\/h3>\n<p>The Greek word <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">hairesis<\/span>, originally meaning “choice,” designates a <em>sect<\/em> or <em>faction.<\/em> For example, the Sadducees were a sect within Judaism (Acts 5:17), as were the Pharisees (Acts 15:5). The early believers in Jesus as the Messiah were known as “the sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5). In each of these verses, the word <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">hairesis<\/span> denotes nothing more than a sect.<\/p>\n<p>After the church grew and developed, any factious group within a local church was called a <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">hairesis<\/span>—that is, a sect that held opinions contrary to the truths established by the apostles. This is what Paul meant when he warned the Corinthian church that factious <em>sects<\/em> would develop among them (1 Cor 11:19).<\/p>\n<p>Eventually, the word <em>heresy<\/em> came to connote teaching that deviates from the norm and causes individuals to break away from orthodoxy. Thus, Peter warned Christians about false teachers who would try to deceive believers with their heretical teachings (2 Pet 2:1). In the modern era, this is how the word <em>heresy<\/em> is usually understood; it is unorthodox teaching that damages the faith of some believers and causes divisive factions within the church.<\/p>\n<p>Two heresies were particularly prevalent in the church around the time of John’s writings: Gnosticism and Docetism.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gnosticism<\/strong> is characterized by claims to obscure and mystical knowledge. Many Gnostics believed in a hierarchy of beings in which there was an eternal god, from whom came a series of emanations of lesser spiritual beings, including the creator god, who was considered evil. This creator god fashioned the material world, including human beings. Thus, bearing similarities with Platonic thought, this strand of Gnostics believed that everything material was evil and that there was a more “real” spiritual realm. The goal for these Gnostics was to discover the spiritual seed within them—through secret knowledge (gnōsis)—which would enable them to leave the physical realm and join the spiritual realm. This generated varied responses to the physical realm, with some Gnostics practicing strict, ascetic avoidance of physical pleasure, while others indulged heavily in the “flesh,” regarding their actions in relation to this world as inconsequential.<\/p>\n<p>Gnosticism developed through the interweaving of Christianity with Greek philosophy and emphasizes the need for additional, special knowledge that redefines the terms and practices of orthodox Christianity into something quite different. The Gnostics often incorporated Christ into their belief system, considering the Christ to be one of the various emanations from the supreme being. According to many Gnostics, this Christ taught some of his followers how to discover the spiritual spark within them and join the spiritual realm.<\/p>\n<p>A significant amount of Christian writings from the first couple of centuries of the church’s existence were penned as a response to Gnostic heresy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Docetism<\/strong>, a form of Gnosticism, held that Christ only seemed to have a human body with physical birth, death, and resurrection (<span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">dokeō<\/span> is a Greek verb meaning “to seem”). An early Docetist was Cerinthus, who argued that the spiritual “Christ” came upon the human Jesus at his baptism and was present with him during his ministry, but departed prior to his suffering and death. This movement was concerned with protecting the divinity of God from being polluted by the human nature of Jesus. According to early church tradition, John vehemently opposed Cerinthus’s teachings (see Irenaeus, <em>Against Heresies<\/em> 3.3.4; cp. 1 Jn 5:5-8; 2 Jn 1:7).<\/p>\n<p>True Christians believe in the Incarnation—God becoming a real human being with flesh and blood. Jesus’ humanity was not a facade. He was truly human, sharing our flesh and blood, so that he could provide salvation for humanity through his own flesh and blood. Ignatius, a student of the apostle John and later the bishop of Antioch, wrote a series of letters refuting Docetism. Ignatius was the first one outside the New Testament writers to speak of the virgin birth of Jesus. He also emphasized the fact that the apostles touched the body of their risen Lord, and he said it was possible for him to face martyrdom with courage because of the real suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross and his physical resurrection.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Acts 8:9-24; 2 Cor 11:1-15; Col 1:23; 2:6-23; 1 Tim 6:20; 2 Pet 2:1-22; 1 Jn 4:2-3; 5:5-8; 2 Jn 1:7-11; 3 Jn 1:9-12; Rev 2:2, 14-16, 20-25<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Early Christian Heresies<\/h3>\n<p>The Greek word <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">hairesis<\/span>, originally meaning “choice,” designates a <em>sect<\/em> or <em>faction.<\/em> For example, the Sadducees were a sect within Judaism (Acts 5:17), as were the Pharisees (Acts 15:5). The early believers in Jesus as the Messiah were known as “the sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5). In each of these verses, the word <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">hairesis<\/span> denotes nothing more than a sect.<\/p>\n<p>After the church grew and developed, any factious group within a local church was called a <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">hairesis<\/span>—that is, a sect that held opinions contrary to the truths established by the apostles. This is what Paul meant when he warned the Corinthian church that factious <em>sects<\/em> would develop among them (1 Cor 11:19).<\/p>\n<p>Eventually, the word <em>heresy<\/em> came to connote teaching that deviates from the norm and causes individuals to break away from orthodoxy. Thus, Peter warned Christians about false teachers who would try to deceive believers with their heretical teachings (2 Pet 2:1). In the modern era, this is how the word <em>heresy<\/em> is usually understood; it is unorthodox teaching that damages the faith of some believers and causes divisive factions within the church.<\/p>\n<p>Two heresies were particularly prevalent in the church around the time of John’s writings: Gnosticism and Docetism.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gnosticism<\/strong> is characterized by claims to obscure and mystical knowledge. Many Gnostics believed in a hierarchy of beings in which there was an eternal god, from whom came a series of emanations of lesser spiritual beings, including the creator god, who was considered evil. This creator god fashioned the material world, including human beings. Thus, bearing similarities with Platonic thought, this strand of Gnostics believed that everything material was evil and that there was a more “real” spiritual realm. The goal for these Gnostics was to discover the spiritual seed within them—through secret knowledge (gnōsis)—which would enable them to leave the physical realm and join the spiritual realm. This generated varied responses to the physical realm, with some Gnostics practicing strict, ascetic avoidance of physical pleasure, while others indulged heavily in the “flesh,” regarding their actions in relation to this world as inconsequential.<\/p>\n<p>Gnosticism developed through the interweaving of Christianity with Greek philosophy and emphasizes the need for additional, special knowledge that redefines the terms and practices of orthodox Christianity into something quite different. The Gnostics often incorporated Christ into their belief system, considering the Christ to be one of the various emanations from the supreme being. According to many Gnostics, this Christ taught some of his followers how to discover the spiritual spark within them and join the spiritual realm.<\/p>\n<p>A significant amount of Christian writings from the first couple of centuries of the church’s existence were penned as a response to Gnostic heresy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Docetism<\/strong>, a form of Gnosticism, held that Christ only seemed to have a human body with physical birth, death, and resurrection (<span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">dokeō<\/span> is a Greek verb meaning “to seem”). An early Docetist was Cerinthus, who argued that the spiritual “Christ” came upon the human Jesus at his baptism and was present with him during his ministry, but departed prior to his suffering and death. This movement was concerned with protecting the divinity of God from being polluted by the human nature of Jesus. According to early church tradition, John vehemently opposed Cerinthus’s teachings (see Irenaeus, <em>Against Heresies<\/em> 3.3.4; cp. 1 Jn 5:5-8; 2 Jn 1:7).<\/p>\n<p>True Christians believe in the Incarnation—God becoming a real human being with flesh and blood. Jesus’ humanity was not a facade. He was truly human, sharing our flesh and blood, so that he could provide salvation for humanity through his own flesh and blood. Ignatius, a student of the apostle John and later the bishop of Antioch, wrote a series of letters refuting Docetism. Ignatius was the first one outside the New Testament writers to speak of the virgin birth of Jesus. He also emphasized the fact that the apostles touched the body of their risen Lord, and he said it was possible for him to face martyrdom with courage because of the real suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross and his physical resurrection.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Acts 8:9-24; 2 Cor 11:1-15; Col 1:23; 2:6-23; 1 Tim 6:20; 2 Pet 2:1-22; 1 Jn 4:2-3; 5:5-8; 2 Jn 1:7-11; 3 Jn 1:9-12; Rev 2:2, 14-16, 20-25<\/p>","summary_ro":"Early Christian Heresies The Greek word hairesis, originally meaning “choice,” designates a sect or faction. For example, the Sadducees were a sect within Judaism (Acts 5:17), as were the Pharisees (Acts 15:5). The early believers in Jesus as the Messiah were known as “the sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5). In each of these verses, the word hairesis denotes nothing more than a sect. After the church grew and developed, any factious group within a local church was called a hairesis—that is, a...","summary_en":"Early Christian Heresies The Greek word hairesis, originally meaning “choice,” designates a sect or faction. For example, the Sadducees were a sect within Judaism (Acts 5:17), as were the Pharisees (Acts 15:5). The early believers in Jesus as the Messiah were known as “the sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5). In each of these verses, the word hairesis denotes nothing more than a sect. After the church grew and developed, any factious group within a local church was called a hairesis—that is, a...","source":"ThemeNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false}],"2":[{"id":5693,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"of Christ*, Bride","title_en":"of Christ*, Bride","content_ro":"<h3>BRIDE OF CHRIST*<\/h3>\n<p>One of the NT metaphors for the church. In it Christ is pictured as a husband, and the church as his bride.<\/p>\n<p>Addressing the church at Corinth, the apostle Paul referred to himself as the one who gave the church to Christ, presenting her as a pure bride to her one husband (2 Cor 11:2-3). In ancient Near Eastern culture the father gave his daughter in marriage to the bridegroom, assuring him of her purity. To Paul, understanding himself as the church’s spiritual father (1 Cor 4:15), the thought of the church as his daughter sprang readily to mind. To be Christ’s pure bride requires the church to have pure and simple devotion. Like a concerned father, Paul was worried that the young bride (the church) might commit adultery by her willingness to accept “another Jesus,” “another Spirit,” or “a different gospel” (2 Cor 11:4). As between marriage partners, the relation between the church and Christ is governed by a covenant of mutual faithfulness. Disloyalty shatters the covenant.<\/p>\n<p>The OT furnished Paul a rich background for that image of the church. God’s covenant with Israel was commonly pictured as a marriage pledge, with Israel as God’s bride. Through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord said to Israel: “I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride” (Jer 2:2, <span>rsv<\/span>). He went on to lament the fact that Israel had been faithless; by going after other gods, she had actually prostituted herself and become an adulteress (Jer 3:6-9, 20).<\/p>\n<p>The theme of Israel’s desertion of her lover (God) was explicitly treated in Ezekiel 16 and in Hosea. The terms “harlotry” and “whoredom” were used to connote disloyalty to Yahweh and allegiance to other gods. Thus, adultery and idolatry became synonymous. Through his own struggles with a faithless wife, the prophet Hosea experienced God’s agony over his bride Israel and his longing for her to return. Hosea was given a vision of a future day in which God would betroth his people to him forever in steadfast love and faithfulness (Hos 2:19-20). That vision may have enabled Paul to transfer the image of Israel as God’s bride to the church as the bride of Christ.<\/p>\n<p>In Ephesians 5:22-33, the relationship between Christ and his church is compared to the relationship between a husband and wife. The image is taken from the common understanding of the husband-wife relationship in that part of the world. The church’s submission to Christ is compared with the wife’s submission to the husband, but the stress of the passage is on the role of the husband: he is to love her as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Christ relates to the whole church on the basis of self-sacrificial love. Just as a husband is joined to his wife, with a mutual interdependence so intimate that they become one, so Christ and his church become one body. As the man’s love for his wife intends her wholeness, so Christ’s love of the church intends her completeness.<\/p>\n<p>A variation on the theme is found in John the Baptist’s testimony to Jesus (Jn 3:29). John saw himself as “the Bridegroom’s friend” who, according to Jewish custom, takes care of the wedding arrangements. The Messiah is identified with the bridegroom to whom the bride (his messianic community) belongs and who comes to claim that bride.<\/p>\n<p>In Revelation 19 and 21 the metaphor of the church as the Messiah’s bride is further developed. The vision in Revelation 19:7-8 announces the marriage of the Lamb (Christ) to the bride (church). In Revelation 21 the vision depicts the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven, “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (v 2). Then the seer is invited to behold “the Bride, the wife of the Lamb” (v 9) and to see the Holy City “coming down out of heaven from God” (v 10). The new Jerusalem is identified as the people of God, the bride of Christ, among whom and with whom God will be present forever.<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Church; Jerusalem, New.<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>BRIDE OF CHRIST*<\/h3>\n<p>One of the NT metaphors for the church. In it Christ is pictured as a husband, and the church as his bride.<\/p>\n<p>Addressing the church at Corinth, the apostle Paul referred to himself as the one who gave the church to Christ, presenting her as a pure bride to her one husband (2 Cor 11:2-3). In ancient Near Eastern culture the father gave his daughter in marriage to the bridegroom, assuring him of her purity. To Paul, understanding himself as the church’s spiritual father (1 Cor 4:15), the thought of the church as his daughter sprang readily to mind. To be Christ’s pure bride requires the church to have pure and simple devotion. Like a concerned father, Paul was worried that the young bride (the church) might commit adultery by her willingness to accept “another Jesus,” “another Spirit,” or “a different gospel” (2 Cor 11:4). As between marriage partners, the relation between the church and Christ is governed by a covenant of mutual faithfulness. Disloyalty shatters the covenant.<\/p>\n<p>The OT furnished Paul a rich background for that image of the church. God’s covenant with Israel was commonly pictured as a marriage pledge, with Israel as God’s bride. Through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord said to Israel: “I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride” (Jer 2:2, <span>rsv<\/span>). He went on to lament the fact that Israel had been faithless; by going after other gods, she had actually prostituted herself and become an adulteress (Jer 3:6-9, 20).<\/p>\n<p>The theme of Israel’s desertion of her lover (God) was explicitly treated in Ezekiel 16 and in Hosea. The terms “harlotry” and “whoredom” were used to connote disloyalty to Yahweh and allegiance to other gods. Thus, adultery and idolatry became synonymous. Through his own struggles with a faithless wife, the prophet Hosea experienced God’s agony over his bride Israel and his longing for her to return. Hosea was given a vision of a future day in which God would betroth his people to him forever in steadfast love and faithfulness (Hos 2:19-20). That vision may have enabled Paul to transfer the image of Israel as God’s bride to the church as the bride of Christ.<\/p>\n<p>In Ephesians 5:22-33, the relationship between Christ and his church is compared to the relationship between a husband and wife. The image is taken from the common understanding of the husband-wife relationship in that part of the world. The church’s submission to Christ is compared with the wife’s submission to the husband, but the stress of the passage is on the role of the husband: he is to love her as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Christ relates to the whole church on the basis of self-sacrificial love. Just as a husband is joined to his wife, with a mutual interdependence so intimate that they become one, so Christ and his church become one body. As the man’s love for his wife intends her wholeness, so Christ’s love of the church intends her completeness.<\/p>\n<p>A variation on the theme is found in John the Baptist’s testimony to Jesus (Jn 3:29). John saw himself as “the Bridegroom’s friend” who, according to Jewish custom, takes care of the wedding arrangements. The Messiah is identified with the bridegroom to whom the bride (his messianic community) belongs and who comes to claim that bride.<\/p>\n<p>In Revelation 19 and 21 the metaphor of the church as the Messiah’s bride is further developed. The vision in Revelation 19:7-8 announces the marriage of the Lamb (Christ) to the bride (church). In Revelation 21 the vision depicts the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven, “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (v 2). Then the seer is invited to behold “the Bride, the wife of the Lamb” (v 9) and to see the Holy City “coming down out of heaven from God” (v 10). The new Jerusalem is identified as the people of God, the bride of Christ, among whom and with whom God will be present forever.<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Church; Jerusalem, New.<\/p>","summary_ro":"BRIDE OF CHRIST* One of the NT metaphors for the church. In it Christ is pictured as a husband, and the church as his bride. Addressing the church at Corinth, the apostle Paul referred to himself as the one who gave the church to Christ, presenting her as a pure bride to her one husband (2 Cor 11:2-3). In ancient Near Eastern culture the father gave his daughter in marriage to the bridegroom, assuring him of her purity. To Paul, understanding himself as the church’s spiritual father (1 Cor 4:...","summary_en":"BRIDE OF CHRIST* One of the NT metaphors for the church. In it Christ is pictured as a husband, and the church as his bride. Addressing the church at Corinth, the apostle Paul referred to himself as the one who gave the church to Christ, presenting her as a pure bride to her one husband (2 Cor 11:2-3). In ancient Near Eastern culture the father gave his daughter in marriage to the bridegroom, assuring him of her purity. To Paul, understanding himself as the church’s spiritual father (1 Cor 4:...","source":"Articles\/B.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":38029,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Virgin","title_en":"Virgin","content_ro":"<h3>VIRGIN<\/h3>\n<p>Word used only of women and (metaphorically) of places, nations, and the church. Literally, it describes a woman who has reached physical maturity but has not experienced sexual intercourse. Mary, mother of Jesus, is an obvious example (Mt 1:18-25).<\/p>\n<p>The OT puts a high value on premarital virginity. One of Rebekah’s qualities that made her a suitable bride for Isaac was her virginity (Gn 24:16). The law prescribed that priests, as men whose lives should conform most closely to God’s standards, must marry only virgins (Lv 21:7, 13-14).<\/p>\n<p>Undoubtedly this reflects the whole Bible’s teaching on marriage, with its ideal of exclusive faithfulness. The NT expresses that ideal by its ban on premarital intercourse (1 Cor 6:13, 18), and by its use of “virgin” language to describe Christians who remain faithful to their Lord (Rv 14:4; cf. 2 Cor 11:2).<\/p>\n<p>Negatively, the OT highlights the same principle in the penalties it lays down for the loss of a woman’s virginity. If the man is morally responsible, he must either marry her or compensate her father (Ex 22:16-17). If the woman herself is to blame, the punishment is death (Dt 22:20-21). The OT says little, however, to commend lifelong virginity. Jeremiah was told not to marry, only to reinforce God’s warning of coming judgment (Jer 16:2). From the woman’s point of view, it was a tragedy to remain an unmarried virgin and therefore childless for life (cf. Jgs 11:37).<\/p>\n<p>The NT echoes the value of marriage but brings out more clearly the advantages of a commitment to virginity for Christian men as well as women. Celibacy for some is God’s gift, declared Paul, because it has positive gains for Christian service (1 Cor 7:7, 25-38). Jesus commended those who “make themselves eunuchs” for the kingdom of heaven’s sake (Mt 19:12).<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Family Life and Relations; Marriage, Marriage Customs; Sex, Sexuality; Virgin Birth of Jesus; Woman.<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>VIRGIN<\/h3>\n<p>Word used only of women and (metaphorically) of places, nations, and the church. Literally, it describes a woman who has reached physical maturity but has not experienced sexual intercourse. Mary, mother of Jesus, is an obvious example (Mt 1:18-25).<\/p>\n<p>The OT puts a high value on premarital virginity. One of Rebekah’s qualities that made her a suitable bride for Isaac was her virginity (Gn 24:16). The law prescribed that priests, as men whose lives should conform most closely to God’s standards, must marry only virgins (Lv 21:7, 13-14).<\/p>\n<p>Undoubtedly this reflects the whole Bible’s teaching on marriage, with its ideal of exclusive faithfulness. The NT expresses that ideal by its ban on premarital intercourse (1 Cor 6:13, 18), and by its use of “virgin” language to describe Christians who remain faithful to their Lord (Rv 14:4; cf. 2 Cor 11:2).<\/p>\n<p>Negatively, the OT highlights the same principle in the penalties it lays down for the loss of a woman’s virginity. If the man is morally responsible, he must either marry her or compensate her father (Ex 22:16-17). If the woman herself is to blame, the punishment is death (Dt 22:20-21). The OT says little, however, to commend lifelong virginity. Jeremiah was told not to marry, only to reinforce God’s warning of coming judgment (Jer 16:2). From the woman’s point of view, it was a tragedy to remain an unmarried virgin and therefore childless for life (cf. Jgs 11:37).<\/p>\n<p>The NT echoes the value of marriage but brings out more clearly the advantages of a commitment to virginity for Christian men as well as women. Celibacy for some is God’s gift, declared Paul, because it has positive gains for Christian service (1 Cor 7:7, 25-38). Jesus commended those who “make themselves eunuchs” for the kingdom of heaven’s sake (Mt 19:12).<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Family Life and Relations; Marriage, Marriage Customs; Sex, Sexuality; Virgin Birth of Jesus; Woman.<\/p>","summary_ro":"VIRGIN Word used only of women and (metaphorically) of places, nations, and the church. Literally, it describes a woman who has reached physical maturity but has not experienced sexual intercourse. Mary, mother of Jesus, is an obvious example (Mt 1:18-25). The OT puts a high value on premarital virginity. One of Rebekah’s qualities that made her a suitable bride for Isaac was her virginity (Gn 24:16). The law prescribed that priests, as men whose lives should conform most closely to God’s sta...","summary_en":"VIRGIN Word used only of women and (metaphorically) of places, nations, and the church. Literally, it describes a woman who has reached physical maturity but has not experienced sexual intercourse. Mary, mother of Jesus, is an obvious example (Mt 1:18-25). The OT puts a high value on premarital virginity. One of Rebekah’s qualities that made her a suitable bride for Isaac was her virginity (Gn 24:16). The law prescribed that priests, as men whose lives should conform most closely to God’s sta...","source":"Articles\/V.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":57854,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:2","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:2","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:2<\/strong> The church is called to be <em>a pure bride to one husband—Christ<\/em>. This metaphor goes back to the Old Testament, where Israel is the bride of the Lord (Isa 54:5; 62:5). Paul saw himself as the “best man” (the bridegroom’s close friend) who acted for the bridegroom (cp. John 3:29).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:2<\/strong> The church is called to be <em>a pure bride to one husband—Christ<\/em>. This metaphor goes back to the Old Testament, where Israel is the bride of the Lord (Isa 54:5; 62:5). Paul saw himself as the “best man” (the bridegroom’s close friend) who acted for the bridegroom (cp. John 3:29).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:2 The church is called to be a pure bride to one husband—Christ. This metaphor goes back to the Old Testament, where Israel is the bride of the Lord (Isa 54:5; 62:5). Paul saw himself as the “best man” (the bridegroom’s close friend) who acted for the bridegroom (cp. John 3:29).","summary_en":"11:2 The church is called to be a pure bride to one husband—Christ. This metaphor goes back to the Old Testament, where Israel is the bride of the Lord (Isa 54:5; 62:5). Paul saw himself as the “best man” (the bridegroom’s close friend) who acted for the bridegroom (cp. John 3:29).","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":85480,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:2","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:2","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:2<\/strong> The church is called to be <em>a pure bride to one husband—Christ<\/em>. This metaphor goes back to the Old Testament, where Israel is the bride of the Lord (Isa 54:5; 62:5). Paul saw himself as the “best man” (the bridegroom’s close friend) who acted for the bridegroom (cp. John 3:29).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:2<\/strong> The church is called to be <em>a pure bride to one husband—Christ<\/em>. This metaphor goes back to the Old Testament, where Israel is the bride of the Lord (Isa 54:5; 62:5). Paul saw himself as the “best man” (the bridegroom’s close friend) who acted for the bridegroom (cp. John 3:29).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:2 The church is called to be a pure bride to one husband—Christ. This metaphor goes back to the Old Testament, where Israel is the bride of the Lord (Isa 54:5; 62:5). Paul saw himself as the “best man” (the bridegroom’s close friend) who acted for the bridegroom (cp. John 3:29).","summary_en":"11:2 The church is called to be a pure bride to one husband—Christ. This metaphor goes back to the Old Testament, where Israel is the bride of the Lord (Isa 54:5; 62:5). Paul saw himself as the “best man” (the bridegroom’s close friend) who acted for the bridegroom (cp. John 3:29).","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":113106,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:2","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:2","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:2<\/strong> The church is called to be <em>a pure bride to one husband—Christ<\/em>. This metaphor goes back to the Old Testament, where Israel is the bride of the Lord (Isa 54:5; 62:5). Paul saw himself as the “best man” (the bridegroom’s close friend) who acted for the bridegroom (cp. John 3:29).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:2<\/strong> The church is called to be <em>a pure bride to one husband—Christ<\/em>. This metaphor goes back to the Old Testament, where Israel is the bride of the Lord (Isa 54:5; 62:5). Paul saw himself as the “best man” (the bridegroom’s close friend) who acted for the bridegroom (cp. John 3:29).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:2 The church is called to be a pure bride to one husband—Christ. This metaphor goes back to the Old Testament, where Israel is the bride of the Lord (Isa 54:5; 62:5). Paul saw himself as the “best man” (the bridegroom’s close friend) who acted for the bridegroom (cp. John 3:29).","summary_en":"11:2 The church is called to be a pure bride to one husband—Christ. This metaphor goes back to the Old Testament, where Israel is the bride of the Lord (Isa 54:5; 62:5). Paul saw himself as the “best man” (the bridegroom’s close friend) who acted for the bridegroom (cp. John 3:29).","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":140732,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:2","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:2","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:2<\/strong> The church is called to be <em>a pure bride to one husband—Christ<\/em>. This metaphor goes back to the Old Testament, where Israel is the bride of the Lord (Isa 54:5; 62:5). Paul saw himself as the “best man” (the bridegroom’s close friend) who acted for the bridegroom (cp. John 3:29).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:2<\/strong> The church is called to be <em>a pure bride to one husband—Christ<\/em>. This metaphor goes back to the Old Testament, where Israel is the bride of the Lord (Isa 54:5; 62:5). Paul saw himself as the “best man” (the bridegroom’s close friend) who acted for the bridegroom (cp. John 3:29).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:2 The church is called to be a pure bride to one husband—Christ. This metaphor goes back to the Old Testament, where Israel is the bride of the Lord (Isa 54:5; 62:5). Paul saw himself as the “best man” (the bridegroom’s close friend) who acted for the bridegroom (cp. John 3:29).","summary_en":"11:2 The church is called to be a pure bride to one husband—Christ. This metaphor goes back to the Old Testament, where Israel is the bride of the Lord (Isa 54:5; 62:5). Paul saw himself as the “best man” (the bridegroom’s close friend) who acted for the bridegroom (cp. John 3:29).","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":59717,"type":"theme_note","type_label":"Temă biblică","type_icon":"🎯","type_color":"#ef4444","title_ro":"Biblical Marriage","title_en":"Biblical Marriage","content_ro":"<h3>Biblical Marriage<\/h3>\n<p>At the first wedding, God the Father gave the bride away to the groom and witnessed the couple’s interaction in his sanctuary-garden (Gen 2:18-25). Biblical marriage is a binding covenant commitment before God. Breaching that covenant (e.g., through adultery) is a sin against people and against God, who is a divine witness to and guarantor of the marriage covenant (see Mal 2:10-16; cp. Gen 39:6-9; Jer 3:1; 1 Cor 6:9-10; Heb 13:4). Although marriage is exclusive, it is not private. It is legally declared in public, with community recognition, witnesses, and accountability (see Lev 20:10-12; Deut 22:22; Jer 29:20-23).<\/p>\n<p>Marriage is also a metaphor of the Lord’s relationship with his people, first with Israel (see Exod 19:3-6; 20:2-6; 34:14; Isa 54:5; Ezek 16; Hos 2:19-20), and then with the church (see 2 Cor 11:2; Eph 5:21-33). A marriage points to something greater than itself—God’s people (Christ’s “bride”) await the return of Christ (the “groom”). Married Christians are called to live in unity and dignity as they anticipate the wedding feast of the Lamb (Rev 19:6-9). Christ will live forever with his faithful people in glory (Rev 19:7; 21:2, 9).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gen 2:18-25; 24:65-67; Ps 45:8-15; Isa 54:5; Hos 2:19-20; Mal 2:10-16; 1 Cor 7:1-40; 2 Cor 6:14-16; Eph 5:21-33; Heb 13:4; 1 Pet 3:1-7<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Biblical Marriage<\/h3>\n<p>At the first wedding, God the Father gave the bride away to the groom and witnessed the couple’s interaction in his sanctuary-garden (Gen 2:18-25). Biblical marriage is a binding covenant commitment before God. Breaching that covenant (e.g., through adultery) is a sin against people and against God, who is a divine witness to and guarantor of the marriage covenant (see Mal 2:10-16; cp. Gen 39:6-9; Jer 3:1; 1 Cor 6:9-10; Heb 13:4). Although marriage is exclusive, it is not private. It is legally declared in public, with community recognition, witnesses, and accountability (see Lev 20:10-12; Deut 22:22; Jer 29:20-23).<\/p>\n<p>Marriage is also a metaphor of the Lord’s relationship with his people, first with Israel (see Exod 19:3-6; 20:2-6; 34:14; Isa 54:5; Ezek 16; Hos 2:19-20), and then with the church (see 2 Cor 11:2; Eph 5:21-33). A marriage points to something greater than itself—God’s people (Christ’s “bride”) await the return of Christ (the “groom”). Married Christians are called to live in unity and dignity as they anticipate the wedding feast of the Lamb (Rev 19:6-9). Christ will live forever with his faithful people in glory (Rev 19:7; 21:2, 9).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gen 2:18-25; 24:65-67; Ps 45:8-15; Isa 54:5; Hos 2:19-20; Mal 2:10-16; 1 Cor 7:1-40; 2 Cor 6:14-16; Eph 5:21-33; Heb 13:4; 1 Pet 3:1-7<\/p>","summary_ro":"Biblical Marriage At the first wedding, God the Father gave the bride away to the groom and witnessed the couple’s interaction in his sanctuary-garden (Gen 2:18-25). Biblical marriage is a binding covenant commitment before God. Breaching that covenant (e.g., through adultery) is a sin against people and against God, who is a divine witness to and guarantor of the marriage covenant (see Mal 2:10-16; cp. Gen 39:6-9; Jer 3:1; 1 Cor 6:9-10; Heb 13:4). Although marriage is exclusive, it is not pr...","summary_en":"Biblical Marriage At the first wedding, God the Father gave the bride away to the groom and witnessed the couple’s interaction in his sanctuary-garden (Gen 2:18-25). Biblical marriage is a binding covenant commitment before God. Breaching that covenant (e.g., through adultery) is a sin against people and against God, who is a divine witness to and guarantor of the marriage covenant (see Mal 2:10-16; cp. Gen 39:6-9; Jer 3:1; 1 Cor 6:9-10; Heb 13:4). Although marriage is exclusive, it is not pr...","source":"ThemeNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":87343,"type":"theme_note","type_label":"Temă biblică","type_icon":"🎯","type_color":"#ef4444","title_ro":"Biblical Marriage","title_en":"Biblical Marriage","content_ro":"<h3>Biblical Marriage<\/h3>\n<p>At the first wedding, God the Father gave the bride away to the groom and witnessed the couple’s interaction in his sanctuary-garden (Gen 2:18-25). Biblical marriage is a binding covenant commitment before God. Breaching that covenant (e.g., through adultery) is a sin against people and against God, who is a divine witness to and guarantor of the marriage covenant (see Mal 2:10-16; cp. Gen 39:6-9; Jer 3:1; 1 Cor 6:9-10; Heb 13:4). Although marriage is exclusive, it is not private. It is legally declared in public, with community recognition, witnesses, and accountability (see Lev 20:10-12; Deut 22:22; Jer 29:20-23).<\/p>\n<p>Marriage is also a metaphor of the Lord’s relationship with his people, first with Israel (see Exod 19:3-6; 20:2-6; 34:14; Isa 54:5; Ezek 16; Hos 2:19-20), and then with the church (see 2 Cor 11:2; Eph 5:21-33). A marriage points to something greater than itself—God’s people (Christ’s “bride”) await the return of Christ (the “groom”). Married Christians are called to live in unity and dignity as they anticipate the wedding feast of the Lamb (Rev 19:6-9). Christ will live forever with his faithful people in glory (Rev 19:7; 21:2, 9).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gen 2:18-25; 24:65-67; Ps 45:8-15; Isa 54:5; Hos 2:19-20; Mal 2:10-16; 1 Cor 7:1-40; 2 Cor 6:14-16; Eph 5:21-33; Heb 13:4; 1 Pet 3:1-7<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Biblical Marriage<\/h3>\n<p>At the first wedding, God the Father gave the bride away to the groom and witnessed the couple’s interaction in his sanctuary-garden (Gen 2:18-25). Biblical marriage is a binding covenant commitment before God. Breaching that covenant (e.g., through adultery) is a sin against people and against God, who is a divine witness to and guarantor of the marriage covenant (see Mal 2:10-16; cp. Gen 39:6-9; Jer 3:1; 1 Cor 6:9-10; Heb 13:4). Although marriage is exclusive, it is not private. It is legally declared in public, with community recognition, witnesses, and accountability (see Lev 20:10-12; Deut 22:22; Jer 29:20-23).<\/p>\n<p>Marriage is also a metaphor of the Lord’s relationship with his people, first with Israel (see Exod 19:3-6; 20:2-6; 34:14; Isa 54:5; Ezek 16; Hos 2:19-20), and then with the church (see 2 Cor 11:2; Eph 5:21-33). A marriage points to something greater than itself—God’s people (Christ’s “bride”) await the return of Christ (the “groom”). Married Christians are called to live in unity and dignity as they anticipate the wedding feast of the Lamb (Rev 19:6-9). Christ will live forever with his faithful people in glory (Rev 19:7; 21:2, 9).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gen 2:18-25; 24:65-67; Ps 45:8-15; Isa 54:5; Hos 2:19-20; Mal 2:10-16; 1 Cor 7:1-40; 2 Cor 6:14-16; Eph 5:21-33; Heb 13:4; 1 Pet 3:1-7<\/p>","summary_ro":"Biblical Marriage At the first wedding, God the Father gave the bride away to the groom and witnessed the couple’s interaction in his sanctuary-garden (Gen 2:18-25). Biblical marriage is a binding covenant commitment before God. Breaching that covenant (e.g., through adultery) is a sin against people and against God, who is a divine witness to and guarantor of the marriage covenant (see Mal 2:10-16; cp. Gen 39:6-9; Jer 3:1; 1 Cor 6:9-10; Heb 13:4). Although marriage is exclusive, it is not pr...","summary_en":"Biblical Marriage At the first wedding, God the Father gave the bride away to the groom and witnessed the couple’s interaction in his sanctuary-garden (Gen 2:18-25). Biblical marriage is a binding covenant commitment before God. Breaching that covenant (e.g., through adultery) is a sin against people and against God, who is a divine witness to and guarantor of the marriage covenant (see Mal 2:10-16; cp. Gen 39:6-9; Jer 3:1; 1 Cor 6:9-10; Heb 13:4). Although marriage is exclusive, it is not pr...","source":"ThemeNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":114969,"type":"theme_note","type_label":"Temă biblică","type_icon":"🎯","type_color":"#ef4444","title_ro":"Biblical Marriage","title_en":"Biblical Marriage","content_ro":"<h3>Biblical Marriage<\/h3>\n<p>At the first wedding, God the Father gave the bride away to the groom and witnessed the couple’s interaction in his sanctuary-garden (Gen 2:18-25). Biblical marriage is a binding covenant commitment before God. Breaching that covenant (e.g., through adultery) is a sin against people and against God, who is a divine witness to and guarantor of the marriage covenant (see Mal 2:10-16; cp. Gen 39:6-9; Jer 3:1; 1 Cor 6:9-10; Heb 13:4). Although marriage is exclusive, it is not private. It is legally declared in public, with community recognition, witnesses, and accountability (see Lev 20:10-12; Deut 22:22; Jer 29:20-23).<\/p>\n<p>Marriage is also a metaphor of the Lord’s relationship with his people, first with Israel (see Exod 19:3-6; 20:2-6; 34:14; Isa 54:5; Ezek 16; Hos 2:19-20), and then with the church (see 2 Cor 11:2; Eph 5:21-33). A marriage points to something greater than itself—God’s people (Christ’s “bride”) await the return of Christ (the “groom”). Married Christians are called to live in unity and dignity as they anticipate the wedding feast of the Lamb (Rev 19:6-9). Christ will live forever with his faithful people in glory (Rev 19:7; 21:2, 9).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gen 2:18-25; 24:65-67; Ps 45:8-15; Isa 54:5; Hos 2:19-20; Mal 2:10-16; 1 Cor 7:1-40; 2 Cor 6:14-16; Eph 5:21-33; Heb 13:4; 1 Pet 3:1-7<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Biblical Marriage<\/h3>\n<p>At the first wedding, God the Father gave the bride away to the groom and witnessed the couple’s interaction in his sanctuary-garden (Gen 2:18-25). Biblical marriage is a binding covenant commitment before God. Breaching that covenant (e.g., through adultery) is a sin against people and against God, who is a divine witness to and guarantor of the marriage covenant (see Mal 2:10-16; cp. Gen 39:6-9; Jer 3:1; 1 Cor 6:9-10; Heb 13:4). Although marriage is exclusive, it is not private. It is legally declared in public, with community recognition, witnesses, and accountability (see Lev 20:10-12; Deut 22:22; Jer 29:20-23).<\/p>\n<p>Marriage is also a metaphor of the Lord’s relationship with his people, first with Israel (see Exod 19:3-6; 20:2-6; 34:14; Isa 54:5; Ezek 16; Hos 2:19-20), and then with the church (see 2 Cor 11:2; Eph 5:21-33). A marriage points to something greater than itself—God’s people (Christ’s “bride”) await the return of Christ (the “groom”). Married Christians are called to live in unity and dignity as they anticipate the wedding feast of the Lamb (Rev 19:6-9). Christ will live forever with his faithful people in glory (Rev 19:7; 21:2, 9).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gen 2:18-25; 24:65-67; Ps 45:8-15; Isa 54:5; Hos 2:19-20; Mal 2:10-16; 1 Cor 7:1-40; 2 Cor 6:14-16; Eph 5:21-33; Heb 13:4; 1 Pet 3:1-7<\/p>","summary_ro":"Biblical Marriage At the first wedding, God the Father gave the bride away to the groom and witnessed the couple’s interaction in his sanctuary-garden (Gen 2:18-25). Biblical marriage is a binding covenant commitment before God. Breaching that covenant (e.g., through adultery) is a sin against people and against God, who is a divine witness to and guarantor of the marriage covenant (see Mal 2:10-16; cp. Gen 39:6-9; Jer 3:1; 1 Cor 6:9-10; Heb 13:4). Although marriage is exclusive, it is not pr...","summary_en":"Biblical Marriage At the first wedding, God the Father gave the bride away to the groom and witnessed the couple’s interaction in his sanctuary-garden (Gen 2:18-25). Biblical marriage is a binding covenant commitment before God. Breaching that covenant (e.g., through adultery) is a sin against people and against God, who is a divine witness to and guarantor of the marriage covenant (see Mal 2:10-16; cp. Gen 39:6-9; Jer 3:1; 1 Cor 6:9-10; Heb 13:4). Although marriage is exclusive, it is not pr...","source":"ThemeNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":142595,"type":"theme_note","type_label":"Temă biblică","type_icon":"🎯","type_color":"#ef4444","title_ro":"Biblical Marriage","title_en":"Biblical Marriage","content_ro":"<h3>Biblical Marriage<\/h3>\n<p>At the first wedding, God the Father gave the bride away to the groom and witnessed the couple’s interaction in his sanctuary-garden (Gen 2:18-25). Biblical marriage is a binding covenant commitment before God. Breaching that covenant (e.g., through adultery) is a sin against people and against God, who is a divine witness to and guarantor of the marriage covenant (see Mal 2:10-16; cp. Gen 39:6-9; Jer 3:1; 1 Cor 6:9-10; Heb 13:4). Although marriage is exclusive, it is not private. It is legally declared in public, with community recognition, witnesses, and accountability (see Lev 20:10-12; Deut 22:22; Jer 29:20-23).<\/p>\n<p>Marriage is also a metaphor of the Lord’s relationship with his people, first with Israel (see Exod 19:3-6; 20:2-6; 34:14; Isa 54:5; Ezek 16; Hos 2:19-20), and then with the church (see 2 Cor 11:2; Eph 5:21-33). A marriage points to something greater than itself—God’s people (Christ’s “bride”) await the return of Christ (the “groom”). Married Christians are called to live in unity and dignity as they anticipate the wedding feast of the Lamb (Rev 19:6-9). Christ will live forever with his faithful people in glory (Rev 19:7; 21:2, 9).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gen 2:18-25; 24:65-67; Ps 45:8-15; Isa 54:5; Hos 2:19-20; Mal 2:10-16; 1 Cor 7:1-40; 2 Cor 6:14-16; Eph 5:21-33; Heb 13:4; 1 Pet 3:1-7<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Biblical Marriage<\/h3>\n<p>At the first wedding, God the Father gave the bride away to the groom and witnessed the couple’s interaction in his sanctuary-garden (Gen 2:18-25). Biblical marriage is a binding covenant commitment before God. Breaching that covenant (e.g., through adultery) is a sin against people and against God, who is a divine witness to and guarantor of the marriage covenant (see Mal 2:10-16; cp. Gen 39:6-9; Jer 3:1; 1 Cor 6:9-10; Heb 13:4). Although marriage is exclusive, it is not private. It is legally declared in public, with community recognition, witnesses, and accountability (see Lev 20:10-12; Deut 22:22; Jer 29:20-23).<\/p>\n<p>Marriage is also a metaphor of the Lord’s relationship with his people, first with Israel (see Exod 19:3-6; 20:2-6; 34:14; Isa 54:5; Ezek 16; Hos 2:19-20), and then with the church (see 2 Cor 11:2; Eph 5:21-33). A marriage points to something greater than itself—God’s people (Christ’s “bride”) await the return of Christ (the “groom”). Married Christians are called to live in unity and dignity as they anticipate the wedding feast of the Lamb (Rev 19:6-9). Christ will live forever with his faithful people in glory (Rev 19:7; 21:2, 9).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gen 2:18-25; 24:65-67; Ps 45:8-15; Isa 54:5; Hos 2:19-20; Mal 2:10-16; 1 Cor 7:1-40; 2 Cor 6:14-16; Eph 5:21-33; Heb 13:4; 1 Pet 3:1-7<\/p>","summary_ro":"Biblical Marriage At the first wedding, God the Father gave the bride away to the groom and witnessed the couple’s interaction in his sanctuary-garden (Gen 2:18-25). Biblical marriage is a binding covenant commitment before God. Breaching that covenant (e.g., through adultery) is a sin against people and against God, who is a divine witness to and guarantor of the marriage covenant (see Mal 2:10-16; cp. Gen 39:6-9; Jer 3:1; 1 Cor 6:9-10; Heb 13:4). Although marriage is exclusive, it is not pr...","summary_en":"Biblical Marriage At the first wedding, God the Father gave the bride away to the groom and witnessed the couple’s interaction in his sanctuary-garden (Gen 2:18-25). Biblical marriage is a binding covenant commitment before God. Breaching that covenant (e.g., through adultery) is a sin against people and against God, who is a divine witness to and guarantor of the marriage covenant (see Mal 2:10-16; cp. Gen 39:6-9; Jer 3:1; 1 Cor 6:9-10; Heb 13:4). Although marriage is exclusive, it is not pr...","source":"ThemeNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false}],"3":[{"id":11324,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Eve","title_en":"Eve","content_ro":"<h3>EVE<\/h3>\n<p>First woman, “the mother of all living” (Gn 3:20). The book of Genesis recounts that after God had finished his creation of Adam, he saw that it was not good for Adam to be alone. He decided to create “a helper fit for him” (2:18). The woman is called <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">ezer<\/span> (in Hebrew lit. “help”), a word that appears elsewhere in the OT in reference to God as Israel’s help. Causing Adam to fall into a deep sleep, God took one of his ribs and used it to fashion Eve (vv 21-25).<\/p>\n<p>Eve was given two names by Adam. The first was “woman,” a generic designation with theological connotations that denote her relationship to man (Gn 2:23). The second, Eve (“life”), was given after the fall and refers to her role in the procreation of the human race (3:20).<\/p>\n<p>Adam and Eve are pictured as living in Eden, serving God and fulfilling each other’s needs. Then evil entered when Eve was tempted by the serpent to disobey God’s command, which forbade their eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gn 2:17; 3:3). Tricked by the serpent’s subtle persuasion, Eve transgressed God’s will by eating the fruit. Adam did the same when she brought some to him, although he was not deceived as she had been. Both then recognized their nakedness and made garments of fig leaves.<\/p>\n<p>When God came to commune with them, they hid from him. When he demanded an account, Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent. God told Eve that as a result of their sin, childbirth would be a painful experience and her husband would rule over her (Gn 3:16). Eve later became the mother of Cain, Abel, Seth, and other children (4:1-2, 25; 5:4).<\/p>\n<p>Eve is mentioned twice in the NT. In his letter to Timothy, the apostle Paul referred to her when discussing whether or not women could teach (1 Tm 2:13). He said that a woman could not teach or have authority over a man because of man’s priority in creation and Eve’s responsibility for the original transgression (see 2 Cor 11:3).<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Adam (Person); Garden of Eden.<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>EVE<\/h3>\n<p>First woman, “the mother of all living” (Gn 3:20). The book of Genesis recounts that after God had finished his creation of Adam, he saw that it was not good for Adam to be alone. He decided to create “a helper fit for him” (2:18). The woman is called <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">ezer<\/span> (in Hebrew lit. “help”), a word that appears elsewhere in the OT in reference to God as Israel’s help. Causing Adam to fall into a deep sleep, God took one of his ribs and used it to fashion Eve (vv 21-25).<\/p>\n<p>Eve was given two names by Adam. The first was “woman,” a generic designation with theological connotations that denote her relationship to man (Gn 2:23). The second, Eve (“life”), was given after the fall and refers to her role in the procreation of the human race (3:20).<\/p>\n<p>Adam and Eve are pictured as living in Eden, serving God and fulfilling each other’s needs. Then evil entered when Eve was tempted by the serpent to disobey God’s command, which forbade their eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gn 2:17; 3:3). Tricked by the serpent’s subtle persuasion, Eve transgressed God’s will by eating the fruit. Adam did the same when she brought some to him, although he was not deceived as she had been. Both then recognized their nakedness and made garments of fig leaves.<\/p>\n<p>When God came to commune with them, they hid from him. When he demanded an account, Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent. God told Eve that as a result of their sin, childbirth would be a painful experience and her husband would rule over her (Gn 3:16). Eve later became the mother of Cain, Abel, Seth, and other children (4:1-2, 25; 5:4).<\/p>\n<p>Eve is mentioned twice in the NT. In his letter to Timothy, the apostle Paul referred to her when discussing whether or not women could teach (1 Tm 2:13). He said that a woman could not teach or have authority over a man because of man’s priority in creation and Eve’s responsibility for the original transgression (see 2 Cor 11:3).<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Adam (Person); Garden of Eden.<\/p>","summary_ro":"EVE First woman, “the mother of all living” (Gn 3:20). The book of Genesis recounts that after God had finished his creation of Adam, he saw that it was not good for Adam to be alone. He decided to create “a helper fit for him” (2:18). The woman is called ezer (in Hebrew lit. “help”), a word that appears elsewhere in the OT in reference to God as Israel’s help. Causing Adam to fall into a deep sleep, God took one of his ribs and used it to fashion Eve (vv 21-25). Eve was given two names by Ad...","summary_en":"EVE First woman, “the mother of all living” (Gn 3:20). The book of Genesis recounts that after God had finished his creation of Adam, he saw that it was not good for Adam to be alone. He decided to create “a helper fit for him” (2:18). The woman is called ezer (in Hebrew lit. “help”), a word that appears elsewhere in the OT in reference to God as Israel’s help. Causing Adam to fall into a deep sleep, God took one of his ribs and used it to fashion Eve (vv 21-25). Eve was given two names by Ad...","source":"Articles\/E.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":34387,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Serpent","title_en":"Serpent","content_ro":"<h3>SERPENT<\/h3>\n<p>A snake or sea monster. Various words are used in the Bible for serpents or snakes. In general, the serpent belongs to a class of reptiles often characterized by their ability to wound by striking or biting and then poisoning with venom. There are particular kinds of snakes mentioned in the Bible, such as the adder (Is 11:8) and the viper (Acts 28:3). “Serpent” also denotes the monstrous sea serpent mentioned in Job 26:13, Isaiah 27:1, and Amos 9:3.<\/p>\n<p>In Genesis 3:1 the temptation that came to Adam and Eve is described as coming through the serpent, that “shrewdest of all the creatures the <span>Lord<\/span> God had made” (<span>nlt<\/span>). And in consequence of this, he was told, “You will grovel in the dust as long as you live, crawling along on your belly” (Gn 3:14, <span>nlt<\/span>). Reference is made in 2 Corinthians 11:3 to the fact that the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, and Revelation 12:9 speaks of the “ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world” (<span>rsv<\/span>; see also Rv 12:14-15 and 20:2).<\/p>\n<p>Most of the biblical references to serpents or snakes allude (in figurative application) to the ability of the snake to bite and to poison with venom (e.g., Gn 49:17; Eccl 10:8, 11; Is 14:29; Am 5:19; Rv 9:19). In Psalm 58:4-5 the wicked are likened to snakes. In Psalm 140:3, people’s tongues are also spoken of as being as sharp as a serpent’s, and their lips as poisonous as vipers. In Proverbs 23:32 it is said that strong drink “bites like a poisonous serpent; it stings like a viper” (<span>nlt<\/span>). Then in Jeremiah 8:17 the enemies of Israel are spoken of as coming, in God’s judgment against his people, as “poisonous snakes you cannot charm. No matter what you do, they will bite you, and you will die” (<span>nlt<\/span>).<\/p>\n<p>Positively, the serpent is seen to have great wisdom as the “craftiest” of creatures. And so we have the words of Jesus to his disciples, “Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Mt 10:16). But the primary image is negative. The serpent is a symbol of deceit. Thus, Jesus addressed the scribes and Pharisees as “Snakes! Sons of vipers!” (23:33). John the Baptist also addressed the Pharisees and Sadducees with the words “You sons of snakes!” (3:7). <em>See<\/em> Animals.<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>SERPENT<\/h3>\n<p>A snake or sea monster. Various words are used in the Bible for serpents or snakes. In general, the serpent belongs to a class of reptiles often characterized by their ability to wound by striking or biting and then poisoning with venom. There are particular kinds of snakes mentioned in the Bible, such as the adder (Is 11:8) and the viper (Acts 28:3). “Serpent” also denotes the monstrous sea serpent mentioned in Job 26:13, Isaiah 27:1, and Amos 9:3.<\/p>\n<p>In Genesis 3:1 the temptation that came to Adam and Eve is described as coming through the serpent, that “shrewdest of all the creatures the <span>Lord<\/span> God had made” (<span>nlt<\/span>). And in consequence of this, he was told, “You will grovel in the dust as long as you live, crawling along on your belly” (Gn 3:14, <span>nlt<\/span>). Reference is made in 2 Corinthians 11:3 to the fact that the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, and Revelation 12:9 speaks of the “ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world” (<span>rsv<\/span>; see also Rv 12:14-15 and 20:2).<\/p>\n<p>Most of the biblical references to serpents or snakes allude (in figurative application) to the ability of the snake to bite and to poison with venom (e.g., Gn 49:17; Eccl 10:8, 11; Is 14:29; Am 5:19; Rv 9:19). In Psalm 58:4-5 the wicked are likened to snakes. In Psalm 140:3, people’s tongues are also spoken of as being as sharp as a serpent’s, and their lips as poisonous as vipers. In Proverbs 23:32 it is said that strong drink “bites like a poisonous serpent; it stings like a viper” (<span>nlt<\/span>). Then in Jeremiah 8:17 the enemies of Israel are spoken of as coming, in God’s judgment against his people, as “poisonous snakes you cannot charm. No matter what you do, they will bite you, and you will die” (<span>nlt<\/span>).<\/p>\n<p>Positively, the serpent is seen to have great wisdom as the “craftiest” of creatures. And so we have the words of Jesus to his disciples, “Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Mt 10:16). But the primary image is negative. The serpent is a symbol of deceit. Thus, Jesus addressed the scribes and Pharisees as “Snakes! Sons of vipers!” (23:33). John the Baptist also addressed the Pharisees and Sadducees with the words “You sons of snakes!” (3:7). <em>See<\/em> Animals.<\/p>","summary_ro":"SERPENT A snake or sea monster. Various words are used in the Bible for serpents or snakes. In general, the serpent belongs to a class of reptiles often characterized by their ability to wound by striking or biting and then poisoning with venom. There are particular kinds of snakes mentioned in the Bible, such as the adder (Is 11:8) and the viper (Acts 28:3). “Serpent” also denotes the monstrous sea serpent mentioned in Job 26:13, Isaiah 27:1, and Amos 9:3. In Genesis 3:1 the temptation that ...","summary_en":"SERPENT A snake or sea monster. Various words are used in the Bible for serpents or snakes. In general, the serpent belongs to a class of reptiles often characterized by their ability to wound by striking or biting and then poisoning with venom. There are particular kinds of snakes mentioned in the Bible, such as the adder (Is 11:8) and the viper (Acts 28:3). “Serpent” also denotes the monstrous sea serpent mentioned in Job 26:13, Isaiah 27:1, and Amos 9:3. In Genesis 3:1 the temptation that ...","source":"Articles\/S.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":57855,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:3","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:3","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:3<\/strong> The false teachers were pulling the Corinthian believers away from <em>pure and undivided devotion to Christ<\/em>. In this they are doing the work of Satan, just as <em>the serpent<\/em> did in Eden (11:14; see Gen 3:4, 13).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:3<\/strong> The false teachers were pulling the Corinthian believers away from <em>pure and undivided devotion to Christ<\/em>. In this they are doing the work of Satan, just as <em>the serpent<\/em> did in Eden (11:14; see Gen 3:4, 13).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:3 The false teachers were pulling the Corinthian believers away from pure and undivided devotion to Christ. In this they are doing the work of Satan, just as the serpent did in Eden (11:14; see Gen 3:4, 13).","summary_en":"11:3 The false teachers were pulling the Corinthian believers away from pure and undivided devotion to Christ. In this they are doing the work of Satan, just as the serpent did in Eden (11:14; see Gen 3:4, 13).","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":85481,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:3","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:3","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:3<\/strong> The false teachers were pulling the Corinthian believers away from <em>pure and undivided devotion to Christ<\/em>. In this they are doing the work of Satan, just as <em>the serpent<\/em> did in Eden (11:14; see Gen 3:4, 13).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:3<\/strong> The false teachers were pulling the Corinthian believers away from <em>pure and undivided devotion to Christ<\/em>. In this they are doing the work of Satan, just as <em>the serpent<\/em> did in Eden (11:14; see Gen 3:4, 13).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:3 The false teachers were pulling the Corinthian believers away from pure and undivided devotion to Christ. In this they are doing the work of Satan, just as the serpent did in Eden (11:14; see Gen 3:4, 13).","summary_en":"11:3 The false teachers were pulling the Corinthian believers away from pure and undivided devotion to Christ. In this they are doing the work of Satan, just as the serpent did in Eden (11:14; see Gen 3:4, 13).","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":113107,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:3","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:3","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:3<\/strong> The false teachers were pulling the Corinthian believers away from <em>pure and undivided devotion to Christ<\/em>. In this they are doing the work of Satan, just as <em>the serpent<\/em> did in Eden (11:14; see Gen 3:4, 13).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:3<\/strong> The false teachers were pulling the Corinthian believers away from <em>pure and undivided devotion to Christ<\/em>. In this they are doing the work of Satan, just as <em>the serpent<\/em> did in Eden (11:14; see Gen 3:4, 13).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:3 The false teachers were pulling the Corinthian believers away from pure and undivided devotion to Christ. In this they are doing the work of Satan, just as the serpent did in Eden (11:14; see Gen 3:4, 13).","summary_en":"11:3 The false teachers were pulling the Corinthian believers away from pure and undivided devotion to Christ. In this they are doing the work of Satan, just as the serpent did in Eden (11:14; see Gen 3:4, 13).","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":140733,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:3","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:3","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:3<\/strong> The false teachers were pulling the Corinthian believers away from <em>pure and undivided devotion to Christ<\/em>. In this they are doing the work of Satan, just as <em>the serpent<\/em> did in Eden (11:14; see Gen 3:4, 13).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:3<\/strong> The false teachers were pulling the Corinthian believers away from <em>pure and undivided devotion to Christ<\/em>. In this they are doing the work of Satan, just as <em>the serpent<\/em> did in Eden (11:14; see Gen 3:4, 13).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:3 The false teachers were pulling the Corinthian believers away from pure and undivided devotion to Christ. In this they are doing the work of Satan, just as the serpent did in Eden (11:14; see Gen 3:4, 13).","summary_en":"11:3 The false teachers were pulling the Corinthian believers away from pure and undivided devotion to Christ. In this they are doing the work of Satan, just as the serpent did in Eden (11:14; see Gen 3:4, 13).","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false}],"4":[{"id":5695,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"of Christ*, Bride","title_en":"of Christ*, Bride","content_ro":"<h3>BRIDE OF CHRIST*<\/h3>\n<p>One of the NT metaphors for the church. In it Christ is pictured as a husband, and the church as his bride.<\/p>\n<p>Addressing the church at Corinth, the apostle Paul referred to himself as the one who gave the church to Christ, presenting her as a pure bride to her one husband (2 Cor 11:2-3). In ancient Near Eastern culture the father gave his daughter in marriage to the bridegroom, assuring him of her purity. To Paul, understanding himself as the church’s spiritual father (1 Cor 4:15), the thought of the church as his daughter sprang readily to mind. To be Christ’s pure bride requires the church to have pure and simple devotion. Like a concerned father, Paul was worried that the young bride (the church) might commit adultery by her willingness to accept “another Jesus,” “another Spirit,” or “a different gospel” (2 Cor 11:4). As between marriage partners, the relation between the church and Christ is governed by a covenant of mutual faithfulness. Disloyalty shatters the covenant.<\/p>\n<p>The OT furnished Paul a rich background for that image of the church. God’s covenant with Israel was commonly pictured as a marriage pledge, with Israel as God’s bride. Through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord said to Israel: “I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride” (Jer 2:2, <span>rsv<\/span>). He went on to lament the fact that Israel had been faithless; by going after other gods, she had actually prostituted herself and become an adulteress (Jer 3:6-9, 20).<\/p>\n<p>The theme of Israel’s desertion of her lover (God) was explicitly treated in Ezekiel 16 and in Hosea. The terms “harlotry” and “whoredom” were used to connote disloyalty to Yahweh and allegiance to other gods. Thus, adultery and idolatry became synonymous. Through his own struggles with a faithless wife, the prophet Hosea experienced God’s agony over his bride Israel and his longing for her to return. Hosea was given a vision of a future day in which God would betroth his people to him forever in steadfast love and faithfulness (Hos 2:19-20). That vision may have enabled Paul to transfer the image of Israel as God’s bride to the church as the bride of Christ.<\/p>\n<p>In Ephesians 5:22-33, the relationship between Christ and his church is compared to the relationship between a husband and wife. The image is taken from the common understanding of the husband-wife relationship in that part of the world. The church’s submission to Christ is compared with the wife’s submission to the husband, but the stress of the passage is on the role of the husband: he is to love her as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Christ relates to the whole church on the basis of self-sacrificial love. Just as a husband is joined to his wife, with a mutual interdependence so intimate that they become one, so Christ and his church become one body. As the man’s love for his wife intends her wholeness, so Christ’s love of the church intends her completeness.<\/p>\n<p>A variation on the theme is found in John the Baptist’s testimony to Jesus (Jn 3:29). John saw himself as “the Bridegroom’s friend” who, according to Jewish custom, takes care of the wedding arrangements. The Messiah is identified with the bridegroom to whom the bride (his messianic community) belongs and who comes to claim that bride.<\/p>\n<p>In Revelation 19 and 21 the metaphor of the church as the Messiah’s bride is further developed. The vision in Revelation 19:7-8 announces the marriage of the Lamb (Christ) to the bride (church). In Revelation 21 the vision depicts the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven, “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (v 2). Then the seer is invited to behold “the Bride, the wife of the Lamb” (v 9) and to see the Holy City “coming down out of heaven from God” (v 10). The new Jerusalem is identified as the people of God, the bride of Christ, among whom and with whom God will be present forever.<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Church; Jerusalem, New.<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>BRIDE OF CHRIST*<\/h3>\n<p>One of the NT metaphors for the church. In it Christ is pictured as a husband, and the church as his bride.<\/p>\n<p>Addressing the church at Corinth, the apostle Paul referred to himself as the one who gave the church to Christ, presenting her as a pure bride to her one husband (2 Cor 11:2-3). In ancient Near Eastern culture the father gave his daughter in marriage to the bridegroom, assuring him of her purity. To Paul, understanding himself as the church’s spiritual father (1 Cor 4:15), the thought of the church as his daughter sprang readily to mind. To be Christ’s pure bride requires the church to have pure and simple devotion. Like a concerned father, Paul was worried that the young bride (the church) might commit adultery by her willingness to accept “another Jesus,” “another Spirit,” or “a different gospel” (2 Cor 11:4). As between marriage partners, the relation between the church and Christ is governed by a covenant of mutual faithfulness. Disloyalty shatters the covenant.<\/p>\n<p>The OT furnished Paul a rich background for that image of the church. God’s covenant with Israel was commonly pictured as a marriage pledge, with Israel as God’s bride. Through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord said to Israel: “I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride” (Jer 2:2, <span>rsv<\/span>). He went on to lament the fact that Israel had been faithless; by going after other gods, she had actually prostituted herself and become an adulteress (Jer 3:6-9, 20).<\/p>\n<p>The theme of Israel’s desertion of her lover (God) was explicitly treated in Ezekiel 16 and in Hosea. The terms “harlotry” and “whoredom” were used to connote disloyalty to Yahweh and allegiance to other gods. Thus, adultery and idolatry became synonymous. Through his own struggles with a faithless wife, the prophet Hosea experienced God’s agony over his bride Israel and his longing for her to return. Hosea was given a vision of a future day in which God would betroth his people to him forever in steadfast love and faithfulness (Hos 2:19-20). That vision may have enabled Paul to transfer the image of Israel as God’s bride to the church as the bride of Christ.<\/p>\n<p>In Ephesians 5:22-33, the relationship between Christ and his church is compared to the relationship between a husband and wife. The image is taken from the common understanding of the husband-wife relationship in that part of the world. The church’s submission to Christ is compared with the wife’s submission to the husband, but the stress of the passage is on the role of the husband: he is to love her as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Christ relates to the whole church on the basis of self-sacrificial love. Just as a husband is joined to his wife, with a mutual interdependence so intimate that they become one, so Christ and his church become one body. As the man’s love for his wife intends her wholeness, so Christ’s love of the church intends her completeness.<\/p>\n<p>A variation on the theme is found in John the Baptist’s testimony to Jesus (Jn 3:29). John saw himself as “the Bridegroom’s friend” who, according to Jewish custom, takes care of the wedding arrangements. The Messiah is identified with the bridegroom to whom the bride (his messianic community) belongs and who comes to claim that bride.<\/p>\n<p>In Revelation 19 and 21 the metaphor of the church as the Messiah’s bride is further developed. The vision in Revelation 19:7-8 announces the marriage of the Lamb (Christ) to the bride (church). In Revelation 21 the vision depicts the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven, “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (v 2). Then the seer is invited to behold “the Bride, the wife of the Lamb” (v 9) and to see the Holy City “coming down out of heaven from God” (v 10). The new Jerusalem is identified as the people of God, the bride of Christ, among whom and with whom God will be present forever.<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Church; Jerusalem, New.<\/p>","summary_ro":"BRIDE OF CHRIST* One of the NT metaphors for the church. In it Christ is pictured as a husband, and the church as his bride. Addressing the church at Corinth, the apostle Paul referred to himself as the one who gave the church to Christ, presenting her as a pure bride to her one husband (2 Cor 11:2-3). In ancient Near Eastern culture the father gave his daughter in marriage to the bridegroom, assuring him of her purity. To Paul, understanding himself as the church’s spiritual father (1 Cor 4:...","summary_en":"BRIDE OF CHRIST* One of the NT metaphors for the church. In it Christ is pictured as a husband, and the church as his bride. Addressing the church at Corinth, the apostle Paul referred to himself as the one who gave the church to Christ, presenting her as a pure bride to her one husband (2 Cor 11:2-3). In ancient Near Eastern culture the father gave his daughter in marriage to the bridegroom, assuring him of her purity. To Paul, understanding himself as the church’s spiritual father (1 Cor 4:...","source":"Articles\/B.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":14597,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Gospel","title_en":"Gospel","content_ro":"<h3>GOSPEL<\/h3>\n<p>Word derived from the Anglo-Saxon <em>godspell<\/em> denoting “glad tidings” or “good news.”<\/p>\n<p>Preview<\/p>\n<p>• The Gospel Message of Isaiah<\/p>\n<p>• The Gospel in the New Testament<\/p>\n<p>• The Good News of Christ’s Coming<\/p>\n<p>• The Gospel according to Jesus<\/p>\n<p>• The Gospel after Jesus’ Resurrection<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TheGospelMessageofIsaiah\">The Gospel Message of Isaiah<\/p>\n<p>Of all the passages cited, those of Isaiah provide the most important background for the gospel in the NT. According to Isaiah’s gospel, it is God alone who saves, and there is no explanation for his saving action except in his own nature. Israel’s deliverance is undeserved; she is no more worthy of the divine love now than when she went into captivity. In whatever measure she has paid the just due for her past sins (Is 40:2), she remains a sinful people (42:25; 46:12-13; 48:1). It is only by God’s grace that she is saved (55:1-7). By God’s design, Israel’s salvation depends not upon her own righteousness but upon his (41:10; 45:24; 46:13; 51:5-6). There being no righteousness to reward, the Lord acts to <em>create<\/em> righteousness in Israel (45:8; 61:3, 10-11). Yet as these references indicate, salvation is not accomplished at the expense of justice. The penalty for Israel’s sins is to be paid in full. God’s mercy is not hereby called into question. On the contrary, it is precisely here that his mercy is most poignantly expressed, for the penalty is exacted not from his people but from the Servant appointed to stand in their place (53:4-12). Through the Servant’s work, many shall be justified (53:11). The coming of the Evangelist—the preacher of the good news—is predicted in Isaiah 61. He is called the anointed One (v 1) who proclaims the year of the Lord’s favor (v 2). God will be glorified through his preaching (v 3).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TheGospelintheNewTestament\">The Gospel in the New Testament<\/p>\n<p>In only two places (Gal 3:8; Heb 4:2, 6) does the NT speak of the proclamation of the gospel prior to the Christian era. This is quite remarkable, given (1) the unmistakable presence of the gospel in the OT, (2) the extent of gospel terminology in the NT (in the Greek the noun appears 76 times; and the verb, 54), and (3) the fact that the NT presents Christ as the fulfillment of the OT and draws heavily on the OT to interpret his person and work. Not only is it remarkable; it is very significant. It indicates that the NT usage depends not only upon the <em>character<\/em> of the message (truth about salvation) but also upon <em>historical events.<\/em> Almost without exception, the NT restricts its application of gospel terminology to proclamations made during the time of fulfillment—the age in which the salvation promised in the OT is actually accomplished. The NT is preoccupied, not with promises of salvation, but with news of salvation. According to Mark 1:1-4, the gospel “begins” not in the OT but with John the Baptist, in whose work OT prophecy is fulfilled. In Romans 1:1-5 the gospel is represented as a blessing promised in the OT but not actually given until Jesus comes (see also Acts 13:32-33).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TheGoodNewsofChristsComing\">The Good News of Christ’s Coming<\/p>\n<p>The promised birth of John the Baptist is good news (Lk 1:19), not only for his parents (vv 7, 24-25) but for all the people: John is sent to prepare them for Messiah’s coming (vv 14-17, 67-79). John’s own preaching is gospel (3:18) for the same reason. The Messiah would be coming to execute judgment, a process that involves both condemnation and salvation (vv 3-17). John’s message is gospel for sinners in that they are warned of impending doom and urged to repent before the ax falls (vv 7-9); it is gospel for the repentant in that they are promised forgiveness (v 3) and membership in Messiah’s community (v 17). The birth of the Savior himself is announced as good news bringing great joy (2:10-11).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TheGospelaccordingtoJesus\">The Gospel according to Jesus<\/p>\n<h5>The Coming of the Kingdom of God<\/h5>\n<p>Jesus was authorized by God and anointed by the Spirit to proclaim the gospel (Mk 1:14; Lk 4:18). At the heart of his preaching stands the announcement “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mk 1:15). (For further references to this gospel, see Mt 4:23; 9:35; 24:14; 26:13; Mk 8:35; 10:29; 13:10; 14:9; Lk 4:43; 8:1; 16:16.) The message is good news for several reasons: (1) The kingdom is coming. The God whom Jesus proclaims is sovereign over all he has made. Yet paradoxically his rule is incomplete: his will is not done on earth as it is in heaven; wrong, not right, prevails. But these conditions are not final, according to Jesus. With the coming of the kingdom, God’s rule will be completed; wrong will be judged, righteousness established, and his people blessed. (2) The kingdom is <em>now<\/em> being inaugurated. “The time is fulfilled,” declares Jesus (Mk 1:15a). The time appointed for the fulfillment of the OT promises has arrived. (3) The consummation of the kingdom is therefore no longer a distant prospect; the full realization of God’s rule is “at hand” (Mk 1:15b). (4) God is establishing his rule for a saving purpose. This is implied in Jesus’ call to repentance (Mk 1:15c). It is especially clear in the passages to which we now turn.<\/p>\n<h5>The Salvation of the Poor<\/h5>\n<p>Invited to read the Scripture in the synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus turns to Isaiah 61: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” (Lk 4:18-19, <span>rsv<\/span>). Having read the prophecy, Jesus announces its fulfillment in his own ministry (v 21). Included among those whom Jesus has come to free are the physically infirm, such as the blind (v 18) and the leprous (v 27) (cf. the references to healing miracles in vv 23, 33-41; the close connection between evangelizing and healing in Mt 4:23; 9:35; 11:5; Lk 7:21-22; 9:6; and the description in Mt 12:22-29; Lk 13:11-16, of the physically afflicted as captives of Satan now liberated by Jesus). Also included are the materially poor—people like the widow helped by Elijah during the famine (Lk 4:25-26). It is the literally poor and hungry whom Jesus pronounces “blessed” in Luke 6:20-21. Yet it is primarily “spiritual” poverty that is in view. Still applying Isaiah 61, Jesus speaks in Matthew 5:3 of the “poor in spirit.” These are people broken and grieved by misery and poverty, oppression and injustice, suffering and death, national apostasy and personal sin—people who in their extremity turn to God and longingly wait for him to bring forth justice, bestow his mercy, and establish his kingdom. It is to just such people that Jesus brings good news (Mt 5:3-10). God sent him to usher in the kingdom, to rescue the lost, to liberate the enslaved, to cure the afflicted, to bind up hearts that are broken, and to forgive the guilty (Mk 2:5, 10, 17; 10:45; Lk 4:18-21; 7:48-49; 15:1-32; 19:10).<\/p>\n<h5>The Gift of Grace<\/h5>\n<p>The coming of the kingdom is not the effect or the reward of human effort but God’s answer to the human predicament—the gift of his favor (Lk 12:32). Correspondingly, the explanation for the salvation of the poor lies nowhere but in God’s own character. As the prodigal himself recognized, he hardly deserved to be his father’s servant, much less his son. Nothing he did, not even his repentance, accounted for the father’s love (15:11-32). In the parable of Matthew 20:1-16, it is owing entirely to the goodness of the employer that the last workers to be hired receive a full day’s wages. The first debtor in the story of Matthew 18:23-35 earned nothing but the right to be sold into slavery; instead, the king canceled his enormous debt. The publican, who had nothing to offer God but a confession of sin and plea for mercy, went home justified (Lk 18:13-14). The same holds true for the more virtuous among the poor, such as the persons described in Matthew 5:7-10. Their virtue is real, not imagined. Yet in keeping God’s commands, they do not put him in their debt; they are simply doing their duty (Lk 17:7-10). Furthermore, even the most merciful need divine mercy (Mt 5:7). For even those most zealous to obey God’s law are unable to fulfill all its requirements (cf. 11:28-30). The first servant in Matthew 18:23-35 owes far more money than someone in such a situation could possibly pay—which serves to magnify the generosity of the king. Grace depends for its exercise upon the inability of its objects (Lk 14:12-14).<\/p>\n<h5>The Call to Salvation<\/h5>\n<p>The Israelites are without exception a sinful people, all of them needing the salvation that Jesus brings (Mt 1:21; Lk 1:77). In demonstration of God’s grace, Jesus proclaimed his gospel to the entire nation (Mt 4:23; 9:35; 15:24; Lk 4:43; 9:6; 20:1). From the most respectable to the least, all are summoned to submit to God’s rule, all are invited to come and partake freely of the banquet he has spread (Lk 14:16-24). But the gift of salvation must be received if it is to be experienced (Mk 10:15). And while it is indeed a gift that costs nothing, it is also a priceless treasure for which a wise person will freely sacrifice everything else (Mt 13:44-46), a sacrifice exceeded only by the cost of rejecting the gospel (Mt 11:20-24; Mk 8:34-39; Lk 14:24, 33). “Repent and believe in the gospel,” Jesus commands (Mk 1:15). The self-righteous and the self-sufficient must be jolted out of their false sense of security and humbly recognize their need for God (Lk 6:24-26). Only then will Jesus’ message to the poor be seen as gospel. An announcement of liberation (4:18-19) is good news only to people who are enslaved and know they are. The command applies also to the destitute and the afflicted. Those among them who bemoan their lot must repent of their sins. But something further is needed for the response to be complete: a person cannot believe Jesus’ gospel without a commitment to the <em>Person<\/em> of Christ (Jn 3:16). Even those who are already “poor in spirit,” in the sense defined earlier, are not really “blessed” until they acknowledge the truth of Jesus’ claims (Mt 11:6) and commit themselves to a life of obedience on his terms (7:21-27). This prepares us for the next point.<\/p>\n<h5>Summary<\/h5>\n<p>Throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry, the theme of his gospel remains the dawning of God’s kingdom (Mt 4:23; 24:14; Lk 4:43; 16:16), a message that is preached almost exclusively to Jews (Mt 10:5-6; 15:24). Yet Jesus also provides glimpses into what the gospel was to become once his work on earth was accomplished: (1) In Mark 8:35 and 10:29 Jesus speaks of individuals who needed to make great sacrifices “for my sake and for the gospel.” While distinguished from each other, the person of Jesus and the gospel are here associated in the closest possible way. The time was approaching when the Proclaimer of the gospel would become the Proclaimed. (2) In Mark 13:10 and Matthew 24:14 (and the textually doubtful Mk 16:15) Jesus foretells the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom to the gentile nations. (3) In Mark 14, having interpreted a woman’s action (v 3) as an anointing of his body beforehand for burial (v 8), Jesus declares, “And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her” (v 9, <span>rsv<\/span>; cf. Mt 26:13). This statement strongly implies that both the person of Jesus and the event of his death will figure prominently in the message that is to be proclaimed; otherwise, it is strange that the gospel and this particular act should be so solemnly bound together. Thus, here in the text already is an indication of how crucial Jesus’ death is both for the provision of the salvation announced in his gospel (cf. Mk 14:22-24) and for the launching of the evangelistic mission to the Gentiles (Mt 20:28 is vital for explaining the shift from Mt 15:24 to 28:18-20).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TheGospelafterJesusResurrection\">The Gospel after Jesus’ Resurrection<\/p>\n<p>After the resurrection of Jesus, the gospel was proclaimed by his eyewitnesses. The contents of this gospel are recorded in the book of Acts and in Paul’s letters. Of the 43 instances of <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">euangelizomai<\/span> (“evangelize”) beyond the Gospels, 15 occur in Acts and 21 in Paul’s writings; of the 64 instances of <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">euangelion<\/span> (“gospel”), 2 occur in Acts and no fewer than 60 in Paul.<\/p>\n<h5>The Gospel of Christ<\/h5>\n<p>Having risen from the dead, Jesus Christ again evangelizes (Eph 2:16-17), doing so now through his appointed representatives (Rom 15:16-18; 1 Cor 1:17; 9:12-18; Gal 4:13-14; Eph 4:11; 2 Tm 1:9-11). More than that, Christ has become the central theme of the gospel; the Proclaimer is now the Proclaimed. This is repeatedly affirmed in Acts (5:42; 8:4-5, 35; 11:20; 17:18) and in Paul’s writings (Rom 1:1-4; 10:8-17; 15:19-20; 2 Cor 4:4-6; 11:4; Gal 1:16; Eph 3:8; Phil 1:15-18; 2 Tm 2:8). The NT always speaks of <em>the gospel<\/em>—never the gospels—of Christ. A second gospel is as inconceivable and as unnecessary as a second Christ. This is the one gospel that God authorizes (e.g., Rom 1:1-17) and proclaims (e.g., 2 Thes 2:13-14). Galatians 2:7-9 speaks not of two gospels but of two mission fields. Paul (the apostle to the uncircumcised) and Peter (the apostle to the circumcised) are both entrusted with “the gospel of Christ” (Gal 1:7; cf. 1 Cor 15:1-11), the message that God has ordained for the salvation of Jews and Gentiles alike (Rom 1:16). The “different gospel” that Paul denounces in Galatians 1:6-9 and 2 Corinthians 11:4 is not another gospel about Jesus but a message about “another Jesus”—not the real one, but one who exists only in the minds and the messages of those who proclaim him. To preach the true Christ is to preach the true gospel, however questionable one’s motives (Phil 1:15-18, 27), and to respond rightly to the gospel is to turn to Christ (Acts 11:20-21; Rom 10:8-17; Gal 2:14-16).<\/p>\n<h5>The Gospel as a Witness to Saving Events<\/h5>\n<p>The gospel bears witness to every aspect of Christ’s saving work, from his birth (Rom 1:3; 2 Tm 2:8) and public ministry (Mk 1:1; Acts 10:36-38) to his second coming (Col 1:5, 23; cf. 3:1-4; 1 Thes 1:5-10) and the last judgment (Rom 2:16). But it is the death and the resurrection of Christ that are most crucial for the accomplishment of salvation, and that are therefore most prominent in the gospel’s witness. These are the events with which Mark’s proclamation climaxes (chs 15–16), and for which everything else prepares (8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34; 12:6-8); special stress is placed upon Jesus’ death as the means of salvation from sin (10:45; 14:3-9, 22-24). In Paul’s gospel, too, the death and resurrection of Jesus are central (Rom 4:25; 1 Cor 15:1-4), with the cross occupying the very center (1 Cor 1:17–2:5). Had Christ not risen from the dead, Paul argues, the preaching of the cross would be a waste of time (1 Cor 15:14, 17; cf. Rom 6:3-11). However, now that Christ has risen, his death deserves special emphasis as the place where God provides atonement for sins (Rom 3:21-26; 5:6-11; 2 Cor 5:14-21; Eph 1:7). The gospel according to Acts proclaims Jesus’ death (Acts 8:25; 20:24, 28; cf. 10:36-43) and preeminently his resurrection, the event by which he conquered death and was exalted as Lord and coming Judge (10:36-43; 13:32-33; 17:18, 31). According to 1 Peter, the bearers of the gospel (1 Pt 1:12) concentrated, as had the OT prophets, on “the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glory” (1:11; cf. 1:18-19; 2:21-24; 3:18-22).<\/p>\n<h5>The Gospel as a Power for Salvation<\/h5>\n<p>The gospel is much more than a report of past events and an exposition of doctrine. Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 1:17-18 and again in Romans 1:16 that the gospel is “the power of God”—not merely a witness to his power but an <em>expression<\/em> of his power. Thus, it cannot be fettered (2 Tm 2:8-9). “Our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power,” Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 1:5. His point is not that the gospel was accompanied by mighty works (though this happened; cf. Rom 15:18-19), but that the gospel itself is a mighty work. God makes it so through his Holy Spirit (Rom 15:18-19; 1 Cor 2:1-5; 1 Thes 1:6). Furthermore, God’s singular purpose in exercising his power is to change people’s lives, to liberate them from sin and death, and to reconcile them to himself—in short, to save them. The gospel has power to effect the salvation it announces and to impart the life it promises (e.g., Rom 1:16; 10:8-17; 1 Cor 1:17-18; 15:1-2; Eph 1:13; 2 Thes 2:13-14; 2 Tm 1:8-11; 1 Pt 1:23-25). If people are to experience salvation, they must hear and believe the gospel. It is precisely in and through this message that the saving power manifested in the person and work of Christ (especially in his death and resurrection) is conveyed to men and made effective in their lives. Similarly it is in association with the gospel, or as a direct result of the reception of the gospel, that the Holy Spirit is imparted to believers (Acts 10:36-44; 15:7-8; 2 Cor 11:4; Gal 3:1-2). In short, the gospel is the decisive place of encounter between the sinner and God the Savior.<\/p>\n<h5>The Gospel of Grace<\/h5>\n<p>According to Peter’s testimony at the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:7-11), an essential part of the gospel—for Gentiles and Jews alike—is salvation “through the grace of the Lord Jesus.” Toward the close of his missionary career, Paul states that his basic concern has been “to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24, <span>rsv<\/span>). This statement can be understood only in relation to Paul’s concept of the righteousness of God, particularly as set forth in Romans. Paul is here not merely expounding a divine attribute. Rather, he is dramatizing a divine activity—the manifestation of God’s righteousness now, “in the present time” (Rom 3:26), in the new age inaugurated by the coming of Jesus. The manifestation is twofold. Viewing the two aspects together, and doing so in the light of the gospel declared by Isaiah and by Jesus (both of whom strongly influenced Paul), respectively, will help us to understand why Paul speaks of “the gospel of the grace of God.”<\/p>\n<p>First, the gospel is a <em>witness<\/em> to God’s grace. In offering his Son as a sacrifice for sins (Rom 3:25a), God demonstrates his righteousness (vv 25b-26). That is, in the death of Jesus sins formerly “passed over” (v 25c) become the object of God’s wrath (cf. 1:18) and judgment. Yet in the very place where God deals justly and decisively with sins, he shows his grace to sinners. For the judgment against sin is focused not upon the sinners themselves but upon the One appointed to act on their behalf and to stand in their place (Rom 4:25; 5:6, 11; cf. 2 Cor 5:21; Gal 3:13). On this basis, sinners are freely pardoned (Rom 3:24). “The grace of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 15:11) toward the sinful is also in evidence, for he willingly bears their iniquities and suffers the consequences of their wrongdoing (Gal 2:20; cf. 2 Cor 8:9; Phil 2:6-8).<\/p>\n<p>Second, the gospel is a <em>channel<\/em> of God’s grace. “The righteousness of God is revealed” in the gospel, says Paul (Rom 1:17). By this he means, not that the gospel talks about the righteousness of God (though it does), but that God’s righteousness is actively at work in the gospel. This activity in turn explains how the gospel becomes “the power of God for salvation” (v 16). And just how does God demonstrate his righteousness at this stage? In short, by bestowing it as a free gift on sinful human beings. It remains the righteousness of God, but by God’s grace, it is a righteousness in which humans may share. Furthermore, partaking of God’s righteousness depends on being personally united with Jesus Christ. In Paul’s view the saved person is one who has been acquitted, justified, “declared righteous” by God the judge. The basis for the verdict is not that I in myself am righteous (God justifies the ungodly, Rom 4:5). Nor does God treat me as though I were righteous. According to Paul I am declared righteous because I really <em>am<\/em> righteous—not in myself but in Christ (1 Cor 1:30; 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9). This union is established through the revelation—and the free offer—of God’s righteousness in the gospel (Rom 1:16-17).<\/p>\n<h5>Responding to the Gospel<\/h5>\n<p>The gospel calls for a threefold response:<\/p>\n<p>1. <em>Believing.<\/em> The gospel, says Paul, is “the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith” (Rom 1:16). For Paul, faith is the abandonment of all reliance upon “works of law” for justification (3:28) and utter dependence upon the grace of God as demonstrated in the work of Christ, especially his death (v 25). Accordingly, the “different gospel” of Galatians 1:6 and 2 Corinthians 11:4 is spurious, for it preaches salvation by personal merit rather than (or together with) the work of Christ (cf. Gal 2:16). Ultimately faith rests upon God (Rom 4:24; 1 Thes 1:8-9) and upon Christ (Rom 3:22, 26; Gal 2:16, 20). Yet it is imperative that one believe the gospel also (Acts 8:12; 11:20-21; 15:7; Rom 1:16; 10:8-17; 1 Cor 1:17-24; Phil 1:27; Heb 4:2), for it is just by this means that God’s salvation is made known and mediated. Moreover, believing the gospel entails repentance (Acts 14:15; 20:21, 24; 1 Thes 1:5-10) and obedience (Rom 1:5; 15:16-18; Heb 4:6). Those who refuse to obey the gospel are imperiling their lives (2 Thes 1:5-10; 1 Pt 4:17).<\/p>\n<p>2. <em>Growing.<\/em> The Gospel is more than a message to be received—it is also a place in which to stand (1 Cor 15:1-2). It is sustainer of life as well as giver of life. One grows as a Christian not by turning from the gospel to other things (to turn away from the gospel is to abandon God and Christ, Gal 1:6), but by going ever more deeply into the gospel. In Romans 1:15 Paul expresses his eagerness to proclaim the gospel to the Christians in Rome. In the following chapters, anticipating his visit, he offers one of his most profound expositions of the gospel—one whose truth has never been fathomed and whose power has never been exhausted.<\/p>\n<p>3. <em>Hoping.<\/em> “The hope of the gospel” (Col 1:23) includes not only the return of Christ and the glory of heaven (Col 1:5; 3:1-4; 2 Thes 2:14-16) but the final judgment as well. For those who embrace the gospel, the last judgment holds no terrors, because the Judge is the very one who rescues them from the wrath to come (1 Thes 1:10). Those who are united to him need not dread condemnation now or at the end (Rom 8:1). Instead, the last judgment will mark their final vindication (1 Cor 4:5; Gal 5:5). Accordingly, this theme is not just a corollary but an integral part of the Good News (Rom 2:16). Those who have died since believing the gospel (1 Pt 4:6) may seem to have suffered a fate common to all people, or even the condemnation reserved for the lawless; in fact, their response to the gospel assures them of approval by the coming Lord (4:5-6; 5:4) and of a share in the imperishable inheritance of heaven (1:4).<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>GOSPEL<\/h3>\n<p>Word derived from the Anglo-Saxon <em>godspell<\/em> denoting “glad tidings” or “good news.”<\/p>\n<p>Preview<\/p>\n<p>• The Gospel Message of Isaiah<\/p>\n<p>• The Gospel in the New Testament<\/p>\n<p>• The Good News of Christ’s Coming<\/p>\n<p>• The Gospel according to Jesus<\/p>\n<p>• The Gospel after Jesus’ Resurrection<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TheGospelMessageofIsaiah\">The Gospel Message of Isaiah<\/p>\n<p>Of all the passages cited, those of Isaiah provide the most important background for the gospel in the NT. According to Isaiah’s gospel, it is God alone who saves, and there is no explanation for his saving action except in his own nature. Israel’s deliverance is undeserved; she is no more worthy of the divine love now than when she went into captivity. In whatever measure she has paid the just due for her past sins (Is 40:2), she remains a sinful people (42:25; 46:12-13; 48:1). It is only by God’s grace that she is saved (55:1-7). By God’s design, Israel’s salvation depends not upon her own righteousness but upon his (41:10; 45:24; 46:13; 51:5-6). There being no righteousness to reward, the Lord acts to <em>create<\/em> righteousness in Israel (45:8; 61:3, 10-11). Yet as these references indicate, salvation is not accomplished at the expense of justice. The penalty for Israel’s sins is to be paid in full. God’s mercy is not hereby called into question. On the contrary, it is precisely here that his mercy is most poignantly expressed, for the penalty is exacted not from his people but from the Servant appointed to stand in their place (53:4-12). Through the Servant’s work, many shall be justified (53:11). The coming of the Evangelist—the preacher of the good news—is predicted in Isaiah 61. He is called the anointed One (v 1) who proclaims the year of the Lord’s favor (v 2). God will be glorified through his preaching (v 3).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TheGospelintheNewTestament\">The Gospel in the New Testament<\/p>\n<p>In only two places (Gal 3:8; Heb 4:2, 6) does the NT speak of the proclamation of the gospel prior to the Christian era. This is quite remarkable, given (1) the unmistakable presence of the gospel in the OT, (2) the extent of gospel terminology in the NT (in the Greek the noun appears 76 times; and the verb, 54), and (3) the fact that the NT presents Christ as the fulfillment of the OT and draws heavily on the OT to interpret his person and work. Not only is it remarkable; it is very significant. It indicates that the NT usage depends not only upon the <em>character<\/em> of the message (truth about salvation) but also upon <em>historical events.<\/em> Almost without exception, the NT restricts its application of gospel terminology to proclamations made during the time of fulfillment—the age in which the salvation promised in the OT is actually accomplished. The NT is preoccupied, not with promises of salvation, but with news of salvation. According to Mark 1:1-4, the gospel “begins” not in the OT but with John the Baptist, in whose work OT prophecy is fulfilled. In Romans 1:1-5 the gospel is represented as a blessing promised in the OT but not actually given until Jesus comes (see also Acts 13:32-33).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TheGoodNewsofChristsComing\">The Good News of Christ’s Coming<\/p>\n<p>The promised birth of John the Baptist is good news (Lk 1:19), not only for his parents (vv 7, 24-25) but for all the people: John is sent to prepare them for Messiah’s coming (vv 14-17, 67-79). John’s own preaching is gospel (3:18) for the same reason. The Messiah would be coming to execute judgment, a process that involves both condemnation and salvation (vv 3-17). John’s message is gospel for sinners in that they are warned of impending doom and urged to repent before the ax falls (vv 7-9); it is gospel for the repentant in that they are promised forgiveness (v 3) and membership in Messiah’s community (v 17). The birth of the Savior himself is announced as good news bringing great joy (2:10-11).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TheGospelaccordingtoJesus\">The Gospel according to Jesus<\/p>\n<h5>The Coming of the Kingdom of God<\/h5>\n<p>Jesus was authorized by God and anointed by the Spirit to proclaim the gospel (Mk 1:14; Lk 4:18). At the heart of his preaching stands the announcement “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mk 1:15). (For further references to this gospel, see Mt 4:23; 9:35; 24:14; 26:13; Mk 8:35; 10:29; 13:10; 14:9; Lk 4:43; 8:1; 16:16.) The message is good news for several reasons: (1) The kingdom is coming. The God whom Jesus proclaims is sovereign over all he has made. Yet paradoxically his rule is incomplete: his will is not done on earth as it is in heaven; wrong, not right, prevails. But these conditions are not final, according to Jesus. With the coming of the kingdom, God’s rule will be completed; wrong will be judged, righteousness established, and his people blessed. (2) The kingdom is <em>now<\/em> being inaugurated. “The time is fulfilled,” declares Jesus (Mk 1:15a). The time appointed for the fulfillment of the OT promises has arrived. (3) The consummation of the kingdom is therefore no longer a distant prospect; the full realization of God’s rule is “at hand” (Mk 1:15b). (4) God is establishing his rule for a saving purpose. This is implied in Jesus’ call to repentance (Mk 1:15c). It is especially clear in the passages to which we now turn.<\/p>\n<h5>The Salvation of the Poor<\/h5>\n<p>Invited to read the Scripture in the synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus turns to Isaiah 61: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” (Lk 4:18-19, <span>rsv<\/span>). Having read the prophecy, Jesus announces its fulfillment in his own ministry (v 21). Included among those whom Jesus has come to free are the physically infirm, such as the blind (v 18) and the leprous (v 27) (cf. the references to healing miracles in vv 23, 33-41; the close connection between evangelizing and healing in Mt 4:23; 9:35; 11:5; Lk 7:21-22; 9:6; and the description in Mt 12:22-29; Lk 13:11-16, of the physically afflicted as captives of Satan now liberated by Jesus). Also included are the materially poor—people like the widow helped by Elijah during the famine (Lk 4:25-26). It is the literally poor and hungry whom Jesus pronounces “blessed” in Luke 6:20-21. Yet it is primarily “spiritual” poverty that is in view. Still applying Isaiah 61, Jesus speaks in Matthew 5:3 of the “poor in spirit.” These are people broken and grieved by misery and poverty, oppression and injustice, suffering and death, national apostasy and personal sin—people who in their extremity turn to God and longingly wait for him to bring forth justice, bestow his mercy, and establish his kingdom. It is to just such people that Jesus brings good news (Mt 5:3-10). God sent him to usher in the kingdom, to rescue the lost, to liberate the enslaved, to cure the afflicted, to bind up hearts that are broken, and to forgive the guilty (Mk 2:5, 10, 17; 10:45; Lk 4:18-21; 7:48-49; 15:1-32; 19:10).<\/p>\n<h5>The Gift of Grace<\/h5>\n<p>The coming of the kingdom is not the effect or the reward of human effort but God’s answer to the human predicament—the gift of his favor (Lk 12:32). Correspondingly, the explanation for the salvation of the poor lies nowhere but in God’s own character. As the prodigal himself recognized, he hardly deserved to be his father’s servant, much less his son. Nothing he did, not even his repentance, accounted for the father’s love (15:11-32). In the parable of Matthew 20:1-16, it is owing entirely to the goodness of the employer that the last workers to be hired receive a full day’s wages. The first debtor in the story of Matthew 18:23-35 earned nothing but the right to be sold into slavery; instead, the king canceled his enormous debt. The publican, who had nothing to offer God but a confession of sin and plea for mercy, went home justified (Lk 18:13-14). The same holds true for the more virtuous among the poor, such as the persons described in Matthew 5:7-10. Their virtue is real, not imagined. Yet in keeping God’s commands, they do not put him in their debt; they are simply doing their duty (Lk 17:7-10). Furthermore, even the most merciful need divine mercy (Mt 5:7). For even those most zealous to obey God’s law are unable to fulfill all its requirements (cf. 11:28-30). The first servant in Matthew 18:23-35 owes far more money than someone in such a situation could possibly pay—which serves to magnify the generosity of the king. Grace depends for its exercise upon the inability of its objects (Lk 14:12-14).<\/p>\n<h5>The Call to Salvation<\/h5>\n<p>The Israelites are without exception a sinful people, all of them needing the salvation that Jesus brings (Mt 1:21; Lk 1:77). In demonstration of God’s grace, Jesus proclaimed his gospel to the entire nation (Mt 4:23; 9:35; 15:24; Lk 4:43; 9:6; 20:1). From the most respectable to the least, all are summoned to submit to God’s rule, all are invited to come and partake freely of the banquet he has spread (Lk 14:16-24). But the gift of salvation must be received if it is to be experienced (Mk 10:15). And while it is indeed a gift that costs nothing, it is also a priceless treasure for which a wise person will freely sacrifice everything else (Mt 13:44-46), a sacrifice exceeded only by the cost of rejecting the gospel (Mt 11:20-24; Mk 8:34-39; Lk 14:24, 33). “Repent and believe in the gospel,” Jesus commands (Mk 1:15). The self-righteous and the self-sufficient must be jolted out of their false sense of security and humbly recognize their need for God (Lk 6:24-26). Only then will Jesus’ message to the poor be seen as gospel. An announcement of liberation (4:18-19) is good news only to people who are enslaved and know they are. The command applies also to the destitute and the afflicted. Those among them who bemoan their lot must repent of their sins. But something further is needed for the response to be complete: a person cannot believe Jesus’ gospel without a commitment to the <em>Person<\/em> of Christ (Jn 3:16). Even those who are already “poor in spirit,” in the sense defined earlier, are not really “blessed” until they acknowledge the truth of Jesus’ claims (Mt 11:6) and commit themselves to a life of obedience on his terms (7:21-27). This prepares us for the next point.<\/p>\n<h5>Summary<\/h5>\n<p>Throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry, the theme of his gospel remains the dawning of God’s kingdom (Mt 4:23; 24:14; Lk 4:43; 16:16), a message that is preached almost exclusively to Jews (Mt 10:5-6; 15:24). Yet Jesus also provides glimpses into what the gospel was to become once his work on earth was accomplished: (1) In Mark 8:35 and 10:29 Jesus speaks of individuals who needed to make great sacrifices “for my sake and for the gospel.” While distinguished from each other, the person of Jesus and the gospel are here associated in the closest possible way. The time was approaching when the Proclaimer of the gospel would become the Proclaimed. (2) In Mark 13:10 and Matthew 24:14 (and the textually doubtful Mk 16:15) Jesus foretells the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom to the gentile nations. (3) In Mark 14, having interpreted a woman’s action (v 3) as an anointing of his body beforehand for burial (v 8), Jesus declares, “And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her” (v 9, <span>rsv<\/span>; cf. Mt 26:13). This statement strongly implies that both the person of Jesus and the event of his death will figure prominently in the message that is to be proclaimed; otherwise, it is strange that the gospel and this particular act should be so solemnly bound together. Thus, here in the text already is an indication of how crucial Jesus’ death is both for the provision of the salvation announced in his gospel (cf. Mk 14:22-24) and for the launching of the evangelistic mission to the Gentiles (Mt 20:28 is vital for explaining the shift from Mt 15:24 to 28:18-20).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TheGospelafterJesusResurrection\">The Gospel after Jesus’ Resurrection<\/p>\n<p>After the resurrection of Jesus, the gospel was proclaimed by his eyewitnesses. The contents of this gospel are recorded in the book of Acts and in Paul’s letters. Of the 43 instances of <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">euangelizomai<\/span> (“evangelize”) beyond the Gospels, 15 occur in Acts and 21 in Paul’s writings; of the 64 instances of <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">euangelion<\/span> (“gospel”), 2 occur in Acts and no fewer than 60 in Paul.<\/p>\n<h5>The Gospel of Christ<\/h5>\n<p>Having risen from the dead, Jesus Christ again evangelizes (Eph 2:16-17), doing so now through his appointed representatives (Rom 15:16-18; 1 Cor 1:17; 9:12-18; Gal 4:13-14; Eph 4:11; 2 Tm 1:9-11). More than that, Christ has become the central theme of the gospel; the Proclaimer is now the Proclaimed. This is repeatedly affirmed in Acts (5:42; 8:4-5, 35; 11:20; 17:18) and in Paul’s writings (Rom 1:1-4; 10:8-17; 15:19-20; 2 Cor 4:4-6; 11:4; Gal 1:16; Eph 3:8; Phil 1:15-18; 2 Tm 2:8). The NT always speaks of <em>the gospel<\/em>—never the gospels—of Christ. A second gospel is as inconceivable and as unnecessary as a second Christ. This is the one gospel that God authorizes (e.g., Rom 1:1-17) and proclaims (e.g., 2 Thes 2:13-14). Galatians 2:7-9 speaks not of two gospels but of two mission fields. Paul (the apostle to the uncircumcised) and Peter (the apostle to the circumcised) are both entrusted with “the gospel of Christ” (Gal 1:7; cf. 1 Cor 15:1-11), the message that God has ordained for the salvation of Jews and Gentiles alike (Rom 1:16). The “different gospel” that Paul denounces in Galatians 1:6-9 and 2 Corinthians 11:4 is not another gospel about Jesus but a message about “another Jesus”—not the real one, but one who exists only in the minds and the messages of those who proclaim him. To preach the true Christ is to preach the true gospel, however questionable one’s motives (Phil 1:15-18, 27), and to respond rightly to the gospel is to turn to Christ (Acts 11:20-21; Rom 10:8-17; Gal 2:14-16).<\/p>\n<h5>The Gospel as a Witness to Saving Events<\/h5>\n<p>The gospel bears witness to every aspect of Christ’s saving work, from his birth (Rom 1:3; 2 Tm 2:8) and public ministry (Mk 1:1; Acts 10:36-38) to his second coming (Col 1:5, 23; cf. 3:1-4; 1 Thes 1:5-10) and the last judgment (Rom 2:16). But it is the death and the resurrection of Christ that are most crucial for the accomplishment of salvation, and that are therefore most prominent in the gospel’s witness. These are the events with which Mark’s proclamation climaxes (chs 15–16), and for which everything else prepares (8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34; 12:6-8); special stress is placed upon Jesus’ death as the means of salvation from sin (10:45; 14:3-9, 22-24). In Paul’s gospel, too, the death and resurrection of Jesus are central (Rom 4:25; 1 Cor 15:1-4), with the cross occupying the very center (1 Cor 1:17–2:5). Had Christ not risen from the dead, Paul argues, the preaching of the cross would be a waste of time (1 Cor 15:14, 17; cf. Rom 6:3-11). However, now that Christ has risen, his death deserves special emphasis as the place where God provides atonement for sins (Rom 3:21-26; 5:6-11; 2 Cor 5:14-21; Eph 1:7). The gospel according to Acts proclaims Jesus’ death (Acts 8:25; 20:24, 28; cf. 10:36-43) and preeminently his resurrection, the event by which he conquered death and was exalted as Lord and coming Judge (10:36-43; 13:32-33; 17:18, 31). According to 1 Peter, the bearers of the gospel (1 Pt 1:12) concentrated, as had the OT prophets, on “the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glory” (1:11; cf. 1:18-19; 2:21-24; 3:18-22).<\/p>\n<h5>The Gospel as a Power for Salvation<\/h5>\n<p>The gospel is much more than a report of past events and an exposition of doctrine. Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 1:17-18 and again in Romans 1:16 that the gospel is “the power of God”—not merely a witness to his power but an <em>expression<\/em> of his power. Thus, it cannot be fettered (2 Tm 2:8-9). “Our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power,” Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 1:5. His point is not that the gospel was accompanied by mighty works (though this happened; cf. Rom 15:18-19), but that the gospel itself is a mighty work. God makes it so through his Holy Spirit (Rom 15:18-19; 1 Cor 2:1-5; 1 Thes 1:6). Furthermore, God’s singular purpose in exercising his power is to change people’s lives, to liberate them from sin and death, and to reconcile them to himself—in short, to save them. The gospel has power to effect the salvation it announces and to impart the life it promises (e.g., Rom 1:16; 10:8-17; 1 Cor 1:17-18; 15:1-2; Eph 1:13; 2 Thes 2:13-14; 2 Tm 1:8-11; 1 Pt 1:23-25). If people are to experience salvation, they must hear and believe the gospel. It is precisely in and through this message that the saving power manifested in the person and work of Christ (especially in his death and resurrection) is conveyed to men and made effective in their lives. Similarly it is in association with the gospel, or as a direct result of the reception of the gospel, that the Holy Spirit is imparted to believers (Acts 10:36-44; 15:7-8; 2 Cor 11:4; Gal 3:1-2). In short, the gospel is the decisive place of encounter between the sinner and God the Savior.<\/p>\n<h5>The Gospel of Grace<\/h5>\n<p>According to Peter’s testimony at the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:7-11), an essential part of the gospel—for Gentiles and Jews alike—is salvation “through the grace of the Lord Jesus.” Toward the close of his missionary career, Paul states that his basic concern has been “to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24, <span>rsv<\/span>). This statement can be understood only in relation to Paul’s concept of the righteousness of God, particularly as set forth in Romans. Paul is here not merely expounding a divine attribute. Rather, he is dramatizing a divine activity—the manifestation of God’s righteousness now, “in the present time” (Rom 3:26), in the new age inaugurated by the coming of Jesus. The manifestation is twofold. Viewing the two aspects together, and doing so in the light of the gospel declared by Isaiah and by Jesus (both of whom strongly influenced Paul), respectively, will help us to understand why Paul speaks of “the gospel of the grace of God.”<\/p>\n<p>First, the gospel is a <em>witness<\/em> to God’s grace. In offering his Son as a sacrifice for sins (Rom 3:25a), God demonstrates his righteousness (vv 25b-26). That is, in the death of Jesus sins formerly “passed over” (v 25c) become the object of God’s wrath (cf. 1:18) and judgment. Yet in the very place where God deals justly and decisively with sins, he shows his grace to sinners. For the judgment against sin is focused not upon the sinners themselves but upon the One appointed to act on their behalf and to stand in their place (Rom 4:25; 5:6, 11; cf. 2 Cor 5:21; Gal 3:13). On this basis, sinners are freely pardoned (Rom 3:24). “The grace of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 15:11) toward the sinful is also in evidence, for he willingly bears their iniquities and suffers the consequences of their wrongdoing (Gal 2:20; cf. 2 Cor 8:9; Phil 2:6-8).<\/p>\n<p>Second, the gospel is a <em>channel<\/em> of God’s grace. “The righteousness of God is revealed” in the gospel, says Paul (Rom 1:17). By this he means, not that the gospel talks about the righteousness of God (though it does), but that God’s righteousness is actively at work in the gospel. This activity in turn explains how the gospel becomes “the power of God for salvation” (v 16). And just how does God demonstrate his righteousness at this stage? In short, by bestowing it as a free gift on sinful human beings. It remains the righteousness of God, but by God’s grace, it is a righteousness in which humans may share. Furthermore, partaking of God’s righteousness depends on being personally united with Jesus Christ. In Paul’s view the saved person is one who has been acquitted, justified, “declared righteous” by God the judge. The basis for the verdict is not that I in myself am righteous (God justifies the ungodly, Rom 4:5). Nor does God treat me as though I were righteous. According to Paul I am declared righteous because I really <em>am<\/em> righteous—not in myself but in Christ (1 Cor 1:30; 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9). This union is established through the revelation—and the free offer—of God’s righteousness in the gospel (Rom 1:16-17).<\/p>\n<h5>Responding to the Gospel<\/h5>\n<p>The gospel calls for a threefold response:<\/p>\n<p>1. <em>Believing.<\/em> The gospel, says Paul, is “the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith” (Rom 1:16). For Paul, faith is the abandonment of all reliance upon “works of law” for justification (3:28) and utter dependence upon the grace of God as demonstrated in the work of Christ, especially his death (v 25). Accordingly, the “different gospel” of Galatians 1:6 and 2 Corinthians 11:4 is spurious, for it preaches salvation by personal merit rather than (or together with) the work of Christ (cf. Gal 2:16). Ultimately faith rests upon God (Rom 4:24; 1 Thes 1:8-9) and upon Christ (Rom 3:22, 26; Gal 2:16, 20). Yet it is imperative that one believe the gospel also (Acts 8:12; 11:20-21; 15:7; Rom 1:16; 10:8-17; 1 Cor 1:17-24; Phil 1:27; Heb 4:2), for it is just by this means that God’s salvation is made known and mediated. Moreover, believing the gospel entails repentance (Acts 14:15; 20:21, 24; 1 Thes 1:5-10) and obedience (Rom 1:5; 15:16-18; Heb 4:6). Those who refuse to obey the gospel are imperiling their lives (2 Thes 1:5-10; 1 Pt 4:17).<\/p>\n<p>2. <em>Growing.<\/em> The Gospel is more than a message to be received—it is also a place in which to stand (1 Cor 15:1-2). It is sustainer of life as well as giver of life. One grows as a Christian not by turning from the gospel to other things (to turn away from the gospel is to abandon God and Christ, Gal 1:6), but by going ever more deeply into the gospel. In Romans 1:15 Paul expresses his eagerness to proclaim the gospel to the Christians in Rome. In the following chapters, anticipating his visit, he offers one of his most profound expositions of the gospel—one whose truth has never been fathomed and whose power has never been exhausted.<\/p>\n<p>3. <em>Hoping.<\/em> “The hope of the gospel” (Col 1:23) includes not only the return of Christ and the glory of heaven (Col 1:5; 3:1-4; 2 Thes 2:14-16) but the final judgment as well. For those who embrace the gospel, the last judgment holds no terrors, because the Judge is the very one who rescues them from the wrath to come (1 Thes 1:10). Those who are united to him need not dread condemnation now or at the end (Rom 8:1). Instead, the last judgment will mark their final vindication (1 Cor 4:5; Gal 5:5). Accordingly, this theme is not just a corollary but an integral part of the Good News (Rom 2:16). Those who have died since believing the gospel (1 Pt 4:6) may seem to have suffered a fate common to all people, or even the condemnation reserved for the lawless; in fact, their response to the gospel assures them of approval by the coming Lord (4:5-6; 5:4) and of a share in the imperishable inheritance of heaven (1:4).<\/p>","summary_ro":"GOSPEL Word derived from the Anglo-Saxon godspell denoting “glad tidings” or “good news.” Preview • The Gospel Message of Isaiah • The Gospel in the New Testament • The Good News of Christ’s Coming • The Gospel according to Jesus • The Gospel after Jesus’ Resurrection The Gospel Message of Isaiah Of all the passages cited, those of Isaiah provide the most important background for the gospel in the NT. According to Isaiah’s gospel, it is God alone who saves, and there is no explanation for his...","summary_en":"GOSPEL Word derived from the Anglo-Saxon godspell denoting “glad tidings” or “good news.” Preview • The Gospel Message of Isaiah • The Gospel in the New Testament • The Good News of Christ’s Coming • The Gospel according to Jesus • The Gospel after Jesus’ Resurrection The Gospel Message of Isaiah Of all the passages cited, those of Isaiah provide the most important background for the gospel in the NT. According to Isaiah’s gospel, it is God alone who saves, and there is no explanation for his...","source":"Articles\/G.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":57856,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:4","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:4","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:4<\/strong> The false missionaries in Corinth evidently preached a <em>different Jesus<\/em><em>,<\/em> <em>a different kind of Spirit<\/em><em>,<\/em> and <em>a different kind of gospel than the one<\/em> the Corinthians had <em>believed<\/em>. It is difficult to know exactly what these false teachers preached; most likely, they promoted a powerful, dominant Christ and sidelined the suffering of the cross. They probably saw themselves as equally powerful preachers, exempt from hardship and trial. Paul’s message, by contrast, centered on Christ crucified (13:4), and Paul’s own sufferings were a mark of true apostleship (12:1-12). The nature of this difference is the heart of Paul’s defense of his apostleship in chs 10–13.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:4<\/strong> The false missionaries in Corinth evidently preached a <em>different Jesus<\/em><em>,<\/em> <em>a different kind of Spirit<\/em><em>,<\/em> and <em>a different kind of gospel than the one<\/em> the Corinthians had <em>believed<\/em>. It is difficult to know exactly what these false teachers preached; most likely, they promoted a powerful, dominant Christ and sidelined the suffering of the cross. They probably saw themselves as equally powerful preachers, exempt from hardship and trial. Paul’s message, by contrast, centered on Christ crucified (13:4), and Paul’s own sufferings were a mark of true apostleship (12:1-12). The nature of this difference is the heart of Paul’s defense of his apostleship in chs 10–13.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:4 The false missionaries in Corinth evidently preached a different Jesus, a different kind of Spirit, and a different kind of gospel than the one the Corinthians had believed. It is difficult to know exactly what these false teachers preached; most likely, they promoted a powerful, dominant Christ and sidelined the suffering of the cross. They probably saw themselves as equally powerful preachers, exempt from hardship and trial. Paul’s message, by contrast, centered on Christ crucified (13...","summary_en":"11:4 The false missionaries in Corinth evidently preached a different Jesus, a different kind of Spirit, and a different kind of gospel than the one the Corinthians had believed. It is difficult to know exactly what these false teachers preached; most likely, they promoted a powerful, dominant Christ and sidelined the suffering of the cross. They probably saw themselves as equally powerful preachers, exempt from hardship and trial. Paul’s message, by contrast, centered on Christ crucified (13...","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":85482,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:4","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:4","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:4<\/strong> The false missionaries in Corinth evidently preached a <em>different Jesus<\/em><em>,<\/em> <em>a different kind of Spirit<\/em><em>,<\/em> and <em>a different kind of gospel than the one<\/em> the Corinthians had <em>believed<\/em>. It is difficult to know exactly what these false teachers preached; most likely, they promoted a powerful, dominant Christ and sidelined the suffering of the cross. They probably saw themselves as equally powerful preachers, exempt from hardship and trial. Paul’s message, by contrast, centered on Christ crucified (13:4), and Paul’s own sufferings were a mark of true apostleship (12:1-12). The nature of this difference is the heart of Paul’s defense of his apostleship in chs 10–13.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:4<\/strong> The false missionaries in Corinth evidently preached a <em>different Jesus<\/em><em>,<\/em> <em>a different kind of Spirit<\/em><em>,<\/em> and <em>a different kind of gospel than the one<\/em> the Corinthians had <em>believed<\/em>. It is difficult to know exactly what these false teachers preached; most likely, they promoted a powerful, dominant Christ and sidelined the suffering of the cross. They probably saw themselves as equally powerful preachers, exempt from hardship and trial. Paul’s message, by contrast, centered on Christ crucified (13:4), and Paul’s own sufferings were a mark of true apostleship (12:1-12). The nature of this difference is the heart of Paul’s defense of his apostleship in chs 10–13.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:4 The false missionaries in Corinth evidently preached a different Jesus, a different kind of Spirit, and a different kind of gospel than the one the Corinthians had believed. It is difficult to know exactly what these false teachers preached; most likely, they promoted a powerful, dominant Christ and sidelined the suffering of the cross. They probably saw themselves as equally powerful preachers, exempt from hardship and trial. Paul’s message, by contrast, centered on Christ crucified (13...","summary_en":"11:4 The false missionaries in Corinth evidently preached a different Jesus, a different kind of Spirit, and a different kind of gospel than the one the Corinthians had believed. It is difficult to know exactly what these false teachers preached; most likely, they promoted a powerful, dominant Christ and sidelined the suffering of the cross. They probably saw themselves as equally powerful preachers, exempt from hardship and trial. Paul’s message, by contrast, centered on Christ crucified (13...","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":113108,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:4","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:4","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:4<\/strong> The false missionaries in Corinth evidently preached a <em>different Jesus<\/em><em>,<\/em> <em>a different kind of Spirit<\/em><em>,<\/em> and <em>a different kind of gospel than the one<\/em> the Corinthians had <em>believed<\/em>. It is difficult to know exactly what these false teachers preached; most likely, they promoted a powerful, dominant Christ and sidelined the suffering of the cross. They probably saw themselves as equally powerful preachers, exempt from hardship and trial. Paul’s message, by contrast, centered on Christ crucified (13:4), and Paul’s own sufferings were a mark of true apostleship (12:1-12). The nature of this difference is the heart of Paul’s defense of his apostleship in chs 10–13.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:4<\/strong> The false missionaries in Corinth evidently preached a <em>different Jesus<\/em><em>,<\/em> <em>a different kind of Spirit<\/em><em>,<\/em> and <em>a different kind of gospel than the one<\/em> the Corinthians had <em>believed<\/em>. It is difficult to know exactly what these false teachers preached; most likely, they promoted a powerful, dominant Christ and sidelined the suffering of the cross. They probably saw themselves as equally powerful preachers, exempt from hardship and trial. Paul’s message, by contrast, centered on Christ crucified (13:4), and Paul’s own sufferings were a mark of true apostleship (12:1-12). The nature of this difference is the heart of Paul’s defense of his apostleship in chs 10–13.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:4 The false missionaries in Corinth evidently preached a different Jesus, a different kind of Spirit, and a different kind of gospel than the one the Corinthians had believed. It is difficult to know exactly what these false teachers preached; most likely, they promoted a powerful, dominant Christ and sidelined the suffering of the cross. They probably saw themselves as equally powerful preachers, exempt from hardship and trial. Paul’s message, by contrast, centered on Christ crucified (13...","summary_en":"11:4 The false missionaries in Corinth evidently preached a different Jesus, a different kind of Spirit, and a different kind of gospel than the one the Corinthians had believed. It is difficult to know exactly what these false teachers preached; most likely, they promoted a powerful, dominant Christ and sidelined the suffering of the cross. They probably saw themselves as equally powerful preachers, exempt from hardship and trial. Paul’s message, by contrast, centered on Christ crucified (13...","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":140734,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:4","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:4","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:4<\/strong> The false missionaries in Corinth evidently preached a <em>different Jesus<\/em><em>,<\/em> <em>a different kind of Spirit<\/em><em>,<\/em> and <em>a different kind of gospel than the one<\/em> the Corinthians had <em>believed<\/em>. It is difficult to know exactly what these false teachers preached; most likely, they promoted a powerful, dominant Christ and sidelined the suffering of the cross. They probably saw themselves as equally powerful preachers, exempt from hardship and trial. Paul’s message, by contrast, centered on Christ crucified (13:4), and Paul’s own sufferings were a mark of true apostleship (12:1-12). The nature of this difference is the heart of Paul’s defense of his apostleship in chs 10–13.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:4<\/strong> The false missionaries in Corinth evidently preached a <em>different Jesus<\/em><em>,<\/em> <em>a different kind of Spirit<\/em><em>,<\/em> and <em>a different kind of gospel than the one<\/em> the Corinthians had <em>believed<\/em>. It is difficult to know exactly what these false teachers preached; most likely, they promoted a powerful, dominant Christ and sidelined the suffering of the cross. They probably saw themselves as equally powerful preachers, exempt from hardship and trial. Paul’s message, by contrast, centered on Christ crucified (13:4), and Paul’s own sufferings were a mark of true apostleship (12:1-12). The nature of this difference is the heart of Paul’s defense of his apostleship in chs 10–13.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:4 The false missionaries in Corinth evidently preached a different Jesus, a different kind of Spirit, and a different kind of gospel than the one the Corinthians had believed. It is difficult to know exactly what these false teachers preached; most likely, they promoted a powerful, dominant Christ and sidelined the suffering of the cross. They probably saw themselves as equally powerful preachers, exempt from hardship and trial. Paul’s message, by contrast, centered on Christ crucified (13...","summary_en":"11:4 The false missionaries in Corinth evidently preached a different Jesus, a different kind of Spirit, and a different kind of gospel than the one the Corinthians had believed. It is difficult to know exactly what these false teachers preached; most likely, they promoted a powerful, dominant Christ and sidelined the suffering of the cross. They probably saw themselves as equally powerful preachers, exempt from hardship and trial. Paul’s message, by contrast, centered on Christ crucified (13...","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false}],"5":[{"id":57857,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:5","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:5","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:5-6<\/strong> These false teachers claimed authority as <em>“super apostles,”<\/em> and they despised Paul’s lack of sophisticated eloquence (10:10).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:5-6<\/strong> These false teachers claimed authority as <em>“super apostles,”<\/em> and they despised Paul’s lack of sophisticated eloquence (10:10).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:5-6 These false teachers claimed authority as “super apostles,” and they despised Paul’s lack of sophisticated eloquence (10:10).","summary_en":"11:5-6 These false teachers claimed authority as “super apostles,” and they despised Paul’s lack of sophisticated eloquence (10:10).","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":85483,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:5","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:5","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:5-6<\/strong> These false teachers claimed authority as <em>“super apostles,”<\/em> and they despised Paul’s lack of sophisticated eloquence (10:10).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:5-6<\/strong> These false teachers claimed authority as <em>“super apostles,”<\/em> and they despised Paul’s lack of sophisticated eloquence (10:10).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:5-6 These false teachers claimed authority as “super apostles,” and they despised Paul’s lack of sophisticated eloquence (10:10).","summary_en":"11:5-6 These false teachers claimed authority as “super apostles,” and they despised Paul’s lack of sophisticated eloquence (10:10).","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":113109,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:5","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:5","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:5-6<\/strong> These false teachers claimed authority as <em>“super apostles,”<\/em> and they despised Paul’s lack of sophisticated eloquence (10:10).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:5-6<\/strong> These false teachers claimed authority as <em>“super apostles,”<\/em> and they despised Paul’s lack of sophisticated eloquence (10:10).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:5-6 These false teachers claimed authority as “super apostles,” and they despised Paul’s lack of sophisticated eloquence (10:10).","summary_en":"11:5-6 These false teachers claimed authority as “super apostles,” and they despised Paul’s lack of sophisticated eloquence (10:10).","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":140735,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:5","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:5","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:5-6<\/strong> These false teachers claimed authority as <em>“super apostles,”<\/em> and they despised Paul’s lack of sophisticated eloquence (10:10).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:5-6<\/strong> These false teachers claimed authority as <em>“super apostles,”<\/em> and they despised Paul’s lack of sophisticated eloquence (10:10).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:5-6 These false teachers claimed authority as “super apostles,” and they despised Paul’s lack of sophisticated eloquence (10:10).","summary_en":"11:5-6 These false teachers claimed authority as “super apostles,” and they despised Paul’s lack of sophisticated eloquence (10:10).","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false}],"7":[{"id":7726,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Second Letter to the Corinthians","title_en":"Second Letter to the Corinthians","content_ro":"<h3>CORINTHIANS, Second Letter to the<\/h3>\n<p>Preview<\/p>\n<p>• Author<\/p>\n<p>• Date and Origin<\/p>\n<p>• Background<\/p>\n<p>• Purpose and Teaching<\/p>\n<p>• Content<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Author\">Author<\/p>\n<p>The apostle Paul is the acknowledged author of 2 Corinthians. While some scholars argue that 2 Corinthians 2:14–7:4 and 10–13 are separate letters, only in the case of 6:14–7:1 is Paul’s authorship disputed. This section is admittedly a strange digression, but stranger still would be the thought that an editor could have inserted it in such an unusual place. Also the repetition of thought in 7:2 from 6:13 indicates that Paul is aware that he has digressed from his topic and is repeating a phrase to bring his readers back to the subject.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"DateandOrigin\">Date and Origin<\/p>\n<p>After writing both the “previous letter” (1 Cor 5:9) and 1 Corinthians from Ephesus in <span>AD<\/span> 55, Paul continued to work there. Sometime during the next year a crisis arose in Corinth. Paul made a quick trip across the Aegean Sea, but he could not resolve the crisis, and due to the personal opposition of a leader in the church (likely an interloper bearing letters of recommendation from Jerusalem), he had to withdraw (2 Cor 2:1, 5). Returning to Ephesus from this “painful visit,” Paul dispatched Titus with a blistering “letter of tears,” his third letter to that church (2 Cor 2:4; 7:8, 12), which led to the excommunication of the leader and the repentance of the church. This letter has been lost. Meanwhile a situation erupted in Ephesus during which death (probably execution) seemed so certain that Paul despaired of life (see Acts 19:23-41; cf. Rom 16:4; 2 Cor 1:8-9). Paul was not killed, but his escape seemed miraculous.<\/p>\n<p>Leaving Ephesus in early <span>AD<\/span> 56, Paul traveled north to Troas seeking Titus and news of Corinth. Unable to endure without news, he abandoned a promising mission in Troas and sailed to Philippi. There he met Titus, who explained the change of heart in Corinth. Second Corinthians 1–9 responds to this situation, with chapters 8–9 preparing the Corinthians for an upcoming visit. Later Paul received further news from Corinth that renewed opposition to him was present. In response he penned the self-defense found in 2 Corinthians 10–13. Paul followed up the letter with a visit later in the year (Acts 20:2-3). We do not know the response to 2 Corinthians or the outcome of his final visit, but later the troubled history of the Corinthian church continued, with another Christian leader needing to write a letter at the end of the century (Epistle of Clement).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Background\">Background<\/p>\n<p>The Corinthian house churches always had great diversity. While those who liked Apollos undoubtedly despised Paul’s crude style, others who preferred Peter likely appealed beyond Paul to the more genuine “original” apostles in Jerusalem with their Jewish customs (1 Cor 1). Traveling teachers with letters of commendation from these apostles easily drew a following when they came to Corinth and undermined Paul’s authority and even his character. Furthermore, because of this outside influence, the collection for the poor in Jerusalem that Paul had initiated (16:1-4) was left in abeyance, both because it was connected to Paul and because the teachers themselves were taking money from the church. Paul writes to reaffirm his love and to repair the damage caused by the interloper.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"PurposeandTeaching\">Purpose and Teaching<\/p>\n<p>In the first section of the letter, Paul has two main purposes. The first is to cement his restored relationship with Corinth, explaining situations, forgiving those who opposed him, and reflecting on the nature of ministry. For Paul, ministry meant both intense suffering and comfort. Physical and emotional suffering came from the situations and people he worked with, but his knowledge of future reward and his experience of the power of God working in him brought profound joy and comfort. Due to his own recent brush with death, Paul also reflects on what happens at death. His expectation is to receive a resurrection body and be in the presence of Jesus at death.<\/p>\n<p>The second purpose of this section is to get the collection for Jerusalem on track again. In this context he gives major teaching on giving and Christian economics: Christians are to follow Christ in giving freely; economic equality is the principle governing who gives to whom.<\/p>\n<p>The second section of the letter is an impassioned self-defense, refuting the interloper’s claims to superiority. Neither oratory nor pedigree counts in Christian ministry, but only the call of God.<\/p>\n<p>In both sections one observes Paul’s deep desire for the unity of the church, both unity within the local community and unity with leaders appointed by God, such as Paul.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Content\">Content<\/p>\n<h5>Greeting, 1:1-7<\/h5>\n<p>A standard greeting (2 Cor 1:1-2) comes before Paul’s usual thanksgiving (vv 3-7). The topic of the thanksgiving—comfort in the midst of suffering—is the topic of chapters 1–7. Paul knows what it is to suffer, but it is in suffering that he has experienced God’s comfort, which he passes on to the Corinthians.<\/p>\n<h5>Paul’s Explanation, 1:8–2:13<\/h5>\n<p>Paul informs them of the danger he had suffered in Ephesus, one so great that he did not believe he would survive. His eventual survival seemed like a virtual resurrection, reinforcing his conviction that God, not human strength, is the only Christian refuge (1:8-11). In that and in all situations, Paul’s one boast is that of a clear conscience before God (vv 12-14).<\/p>\n<p>Paul had told them of plans for a double visit (cf. 1 Cor 16:5-6), but except for his brief “painful visit,” he had not fulfilled his plan (2 Cor 1:15–2:4). He defends himself from charges of either not planning in the Spirit or hypocritical vacillation. He was indeed as good as his word (cf. Jas 5:12), for his life reflected God’s fulfilled promise in Jesus, but he had changed plans so as not to repeat the “painful visit” of the previous year. It was love, not fickleness, that motivated the delayed visit.<\/p>\n<p>The Corinthians had responded to Paul’s “letter of tears” by excommunicating the person who had opposed Paul (not the same person as in 1 Cor 5). Since the person became repentant, Paul called for his restoration to the community, freely and graciously forgiving the man who had hurt him. Excommunication is for the unrepentant; its purpose is complete once the person repents (2 Cor 2:5-11).<\/p>\n<p>Paul then recounted his journey from Ephesus to Philippi, when he sought news of the response to the “letter of tears” (2:12-13). After telling how he left an opportunity to minister in Troas to go to find Titus in Philippi, he breaks the narrative with a long digression.<\/p>\n<h5>Nature of Apostolic Ministry, 2:14–7:4<\/h5>\n<p>The apostolic ministry in which Paul took part is like the ministry of Jesus, one of suffering and glory. Even in suffering there is triumph in Christ, for Christians share Christ’s triumph. Yet just like the perfumes of a Roman triumph were joy to the victors but meant death for prisoners on their way to execution, so Jesus’ triumph is life to the believer and death to the unbeliever (2:14-17).<\/p>\n<p>This triumph may have sounded like a boast, but Paul is not engaging in self-exaltation. Indeed, he has no need of the letters of commendation that the interloper in Corinth carried from Jerusalem, for the Corinthians are themselves the proof of his ministry (3:1-3). His boast is not in himself but in the new covenant in the Spirit, which unlike the old covenant is not fading (here Paul follows one Jewish interpretation of Ex 34:29-35, that Moses put the veil over his face so the people would not see the glory fade), nor does it veil the presence of God. The new covenant is permanent; it reveals God directly in the Spirit. There is no deceit or hiddenness, for the message is not about Paul but about Jesus, who is light itself (2 Cor 3:4–4:6).<\/p>\n<p>Paul the messenger, however, is simply the cheap, breakable pot that contains the priceless treasure, revealing by way of contrast that the only power in the gospel is God’s power. This contrast of weakness and power is seen in the sufferings of the apostle, a type of living death modeled after the sufferings of Jesus, out of which the life of Jesus flows to others (4:7-15).<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, despite intense suffering, Paul has courage, for he looks beyond this life to the rewards of the coming life. His whole motivation is one of faith, not sight, for he lives already for unseen realities (4:16-18). When he dies, Paul expects to receive an eternal resurrection body. His hope is not of becoming a disembodied soul (“naked”) but of passing immediately into a glorified bodily life, already guaranteed by the presence of the Spirit. This hope was likely the fruit of his near brush with death in Ephesus, when he must have meditated and prayed about what would come at death (5:1-5). Because this future includes Christ’s judgment, Paul wanted to make every effort to live in the light of that judgment, which he already saw by faith (vv 6-10).<\/p>\n<p>Far from trying to commend or exalt himself, Paul was simply presenting what he was—a person filled with the love of Christ and convinced that all should live not for themselves but for Christ (5:11-15). No one should be valued from a merely human point of view, not Paul, nor even Christ (for Paul before his conversion had a human opinion of Christ that his conversion had radically changed); everyone should be valued from the point of view of the new creation. Paul’s job was simply to announce the reconciliation of the new creation, which God has already effected on his side and which only awaits a person’s ratification on the human side (5:16-20).<\/p>\n<p>Paul, then, was a coworker with God, announcing salvation, using every means consistent with God’s character to proclaim the message, and suffering everything imaginable to demonstrate the extent of God’s love (6:1-10). Therefore, Paul had nothing against the Corinthians. If there was any blockage in their relationship with him, it must be on their side (6:11-13).<\/p>\n<h5>Digression on Purity, 6:14–7:1<\/h5>\n<p>Perhaps suspecting that the real block in the relationship was their love of the world, or that the Corinthians might not be totally over the problems mentioned in 1 Corinthians, Paul digressed into a discussion about the purity and sanctification of believers. There are two groups, light and darkness, Christ and the devil, believers and unbelievers. Therefore, as Exodus 25:8, Leviticus 26:11-12, Isaiah 52:11, Ezekiel 37:27, and Hosea 1:10 show (phrases from these passages flow into each other in a style of chain quotation familiar to Jews), Christians should not be closely bound to unbelievers in marriage or in business, for it will affect their moral purity.<\/p>\n<h5>Return to the Nature of the Apostolic Ministry, 7:2-4<\/h5>\n<p>Picking up from 6:13, Paul points out that the Corinthians have nothing substantial against him. He is not criticizing but simply appealing to them in love; even now he is prepared to die for them.<\/p>\n<h5>Explanation Concluded, 7:5-16<\/h5>\n<p>Having concluded his digression, Paul now returns to his journey, which he left in 2:13. When he met Titus, he received good news about Corinth. He was relieved that his “letter of tears” had been effective, not in simply making them sorry but in bringing them to true repentance that yielded zeal, moral purity, and joy. Furthermore, their behavior toward Titus had been so impressive that Titus’s enthusiastic report of his own impressions had further cheered Paul.<\/p>\n<h5>Collection for Jerusalem, 8:1–9:15<\/h5>\n<p>In the context of restored relationships Paul turns to the sensitive topic of the collection for the church in Jerusalem, which had been impoverished through famines in Judea in the 40s. This collection was both an act of charity (cf. Acts 11:27-30; Gal 2:10) and a symbolic act of unity and fellowship between the Gentile and Jewish branches of the church.<\/p>\n<p>The impoverished and suffering church in Macedonia (Philippi) had given eagerly. Therefore, Titus was coming back to help the Corinthians complete what they had begun the previous year (and probably dropped during the controversy with Paul, 2 Cor 8:1-7). The principles of the collection are (1) the Corinthians should follow the example of Jesus, who became poor for them; (2) they should give freely what they can without regretting that they cannot give more, for God values the eagerness to give expressed in action, not the net amount of the gift; and (3) there should be an economic equality among sections of the church, no one section being enriched at the expense of another (cf. Ex 16:18). This economic equality extends to the relationship between two churches a continent apart (2 Cor 8:8-15).<\/p>\n<p>Titus and two absolutely trustworthy men appointed by the churches for this work will come to supervise the final gathering—Paul would have nothing to do with the money personally—for it is important that not only God but the world be able to see the honesty and integrity of the way the church handles money (8:16-24).<\/p>\n<p>In this section Paul points out that he does not need to argue the reasons for this collection; they were aware of them when they began to gather money the year before. This letter is not an argument for the collection but an encouragement to finish the work, so that when Paul arrives with representatives of other churches carrying their contributions, the Corinthians would not be embarrassed by their relatively wealthy churches not being ready or able to give generously, despite Paul’s boasts about their previous eagerness. In saying this, Paul shows himself diplomatic and insightful in motivating human behavior; he makes the best assumptions possible about the present situation (9:1-5).<\/p>\n<p>Paul would not want the Corinthians giving out of guilt, although he, like Jesus (Mt 6:19-20), pointed out that the only real value of money is in giving it to help others. Rather, he wanted them so convinced of God’s generosity and ability to provide that they give freely and joyfully. God wanted to enrich them so they could give more. The giving would result in thanksgiving to God by the recipients, who would also pray for those who gave the gift, thereby binding the church together. A closing reminder of the extent of God’s own giving finishes the section (2 Cor 9:6-15).<\/p>\n<h5>Paul’s Self-Defense, 10:1–13:14<\/h5>\n<p>There is an abrupt change in tone between 9:15 and 10:1. Now, instead of the tone of conciliation found in 1:1–7:16, there is argument and defense, even threat. Paul’s apostleship has been attacked, and he will defend it with vigor.<\/p>\n<p>Paul was indeed a humble person who preferred not to use his authority. Yet when forced, he had something more than authority; he had spiritual power, capable of destroying opposing arguments and bending all to obedience to Jesus. He would use that power in Corinth if he must, though up to that time he had been gentle and had shown this side of his ministry only in letters (10:1-11).<\/p>\n<p>His opponents talked of their qualifications and compared themselves favorably with other ministers. Paul would not enter into this game of comparisons. God had set the sphere of his labors, which was the area in which he founded churches. He was the one who pioneered the church in Corinth, so it is his sphere of ministry, not the interloper’s (and such like him). They boasted in having reaped the benefits of his ministry; Paul could point to an original ministry given by God, for it is God’s commendation in the end that counts (10:13-18).<\/p>\n<p>Yet the Corinthian rebellion is serious enough to force him into self-defense, ridiculous as such an exercise is. He was shocked by how readily they turned away to every novel doctrine that came along. This tendency strikes fear in Paul’s heart (11:1-6).<\/p>\n<p>Paul had been criticized for refusing financial support from Corinth (even though he accepted gifts from other churches; cf. 1 Cor 9). He would continue to refuse such support, for he wanted to undermine the claims of the interloper. If the interloper was really serving God alone, let him work on the same basis as Paul! But since the interloper was false at heart, serving Satan and not God, he sought money from the church. Paul was astonished that in the Corinthians’ vaunted wisdom they did not see through this hypocrisy, yet he hoped that even if he must play the fool in making a self-defense, they would at least accept a fool like Paul. The irony is that his very tender care and concern for the church, his gentleness, was being used against him as a supposed “weakness.” Paul, the opponent argued, knew he was false, so therefore did not dare take money from the Corinthians (11:7-21).<\/p>\n<p>Interlopers claimed to come with authority from Jerusalem. They had letters from the apostles; it is unlikely, however, that the apostles would have approved of their activities. Still, they were Jews with respectable authority behind them. Paul felt compelled to state his own credentials. If they were Jews, he was just as pure a Jew. If they served Christ, could their work and sufferings match his? The list of sufferings both gives historical information not found in Acts and points to tireless labor, including days of fasting (“gone without food”) and nights spent in prayer (“gone without sleep”) (11:21-29).<\/p>\n<p>But this boasting was repulsive to Paul, so he isolated one particular suffering—his escape from Damascus, when he had to hide and slip out of the city in a basket. The story at once shows his effectiveness as an evangelist (in that he was a target of persecution) and shames him, for he could not defend himself and had to slip away under cover of darkness. Yet that weakness was indeed his glory (11:30-33).<\/p>\n<p>His opponents boasted in revelations from God. Paul knew that this boasting was senseless; however, if he must, he would tell them of a revelation superior to theirs, a time when he actually saw the inside of heaven (he is not sure whether it was a vision or an actual bodily experience). This probably happened about <span>AD<\/span> 42, while Paul was in Tarsus, before Barnabas came for him (Acts 9:30; 11:25). Paul disliked telling about this, for God’s power is more easily seen in his weakness. In fact, Paul’s opponents were an affliction of Satan that God allowed to keep Paul humble and to demonstrate his power in Paul’s weakness. (The image of a “thorn in my flesh” is one of enemies—Nm 33:55; Jos 23:13; Paul also describes what he means more clearly in 2 Cor 12:10). If vulnerability shows God’s power, Paul willingly accepts the weakness (12:1-10).<\/p>\n<p>Paul felt ashamed that he had to boast. The opponents boasted in coming from the Jerusalem “superapostles.” Paul pointed out that he was their equal, although both are nothing. God had set his mark upon Paul’s work. With biting irony he asks forgiveness for not having taken money from the Corinthians (12:11-13).<\/p>\n<p>Yet Paul would come a third time, and he would keep to the same policy of not taking any support from them but giving himself freely to them, just as Jesus had done on earth. Not only he, but all his envoys, kept to the same policy. No one could accuse him of deceit or inconsistency (12:14-18). However, he feared coming to them, for he knew that the community had not just rebelled against him but was also in internal disorder. This disunity and immorality would humble and pain Paul (12:19–13:4).<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, the Corinthians had better examine themselves. Were they really following Jesus or not? If so, they should see that Paul was also following Jesus. Yet Paul’s concern was not for his own position—he was content to be rejected (“weak”)—but for their following the truth. He hoped for their repentance, not to protect himself, but so that he need not be severe when he came (13:5-10).<\/p>\n<p>Probably taking the pen from the scribe at this point, Paul closes with a final appeal to repent and come to unity as a church. Brief greetings from the church in Macedonia and a formal blessing closes his correspondence with the Corinthians (vv 11-13).<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Acts of the Apostles, Book of the; Corinth; Corinthians, First Letter to the; Paul, The Apostle.<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>CORINTHIANS, Second Letter to the<\/h3>\n<p>Preview<\/p>\n<p>• Author<\/p>\n<p>• Date and Origin<\/p>\n<p>• Background<\/p>\n<p>• Purpose and Teaching<\/p>\n<p>• Content<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Author\">Author<\/p>\n<p>The apostle Paul is the acknowledged author of 2 Corinthians. While some scholars argue that 2 Corinthians 2:14–7:4 and 10–13 are separate letters, only in the case of 6:14–7:1 is Paul’s authorship disputed. This section is admittedly a strange digression, but stranger still would be the thought that an editor could have inserted it in such an unusual place. Also the repetition of thought in 7:2 from 6:13 indicates that Paul is aware that he has digressed from his topic and is repeating a phrase to bring his readers back to the subject.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"DateandOrigin\">Date and Origin<\/p>\n<p>After writing both the “previous letter” (1 Cor 5:9) and 1 Corinthians from Ephesus in <span>AD<\/span> 55, Paul continued to work there. Sometime during the next year a crisis arose in Corinth. Paul made a quick trip across the Aegean Sea, but he could not resolve the crisis, and due to the personal opposition of a leader in the church (likely an interloper bearing letters of recommendation from Jerusalem), he had to withdraw (2 Cor 2:1, 5). Returning to Ephesus from this “painful visit,” Paul dispatched Titus with a blistering “letter of tears,” his third letter to that church (2 Cor 2:4; 7:8, 12), which led to the excommunication of the leader and the repentance of the church. This letter has been lost. Meanwhile a situation erupted in Ephesus during which death (probably execution) seemed so certain that Paul despaired of life (see Acts 19:23-41; cf. Rom 16:4; 2 Cor 1:8-9). Paul was not killed, but his escape seemed miraculous.<\/p>\n<p>Leaving Ephesus in early <span>AD<\/span> 56, Paul traveled north to Troas seeking Titus and news of Corinth. Unable to endure without news, he abandoned a promising mission in Troas and sailed to Philippi. There he met Titus, who explained the change of heart in Corinth. Second Corinthians 1–9 responds to this situation, with chapters 8–9 preparing the Corinthians for an upcoming visit. Later Paul received further news from Corinth that renewed opposition to him was present. In response he penned the self-defense found in 2 Corinthians 10–13. Paul followed up the letter with a visit later in the year (Acts 20:2-3). We do not know the response to 2 Corinthians or the outcome of his final visit, but later the troubled history of the Corinthian church continued, with another Christian leader needing to write a letter at the end of the century (Epistle of Clement).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Background\">Background<\/p>\n<p>The Corinthian house churches always had great diversity. While those who liked Apollos undoubtedly despised Paul’s crude style, others who preferred Peter likely appealed beyond Paul to the more genuine “original” apostles in Jerusalem with their Jewish customs (1 Cor 1). Traveling teachers with letters of commendation from these apostles easily drew a following when they came to Corinth and undermined Paul’s authority and even his character. Furthermore, because of this outside influence, the collection for the poor in Jerusalem that Paul had initiated (16:1-4) was left in abeyance, both because it was connected to Paul and because the teachers themselves were taking money from the church. Paul writes to reaffirm his love and to repair the damage caused by the interloper.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"PurposeandTeaching\">Purpose and Teaching<\/p>\n<p>In the first section of the letter, Paul has two main purposes. The first is to cement his restored relationship with Corinth, explaining situations, forgiving those who opposed him, and reflecting on the nature of ministry. For Paul, ministry meant both intense suffering and comfort. Physical and emotional suffering came from the situations and people he worked with, but his knowledge of future reward and his experience of the power of God working in him brought profound joy and comfort. Due to his own recent brush with death, Paul also reflects on what happens at death. His expectation is to receive a resurrection body and be in the presence of Jesus at death.<\/p>\n<p>The second purpose of this section is to get the collection for Jerusalem on track again. In this context he gives major teaching on giving and Christian economics: Christians are to follow Christ in giving freely; economic equality is the principle governing who gives to whom.<\/p>\n<p>The second section of the letter is an impassioned self-defense, refuting the interloper’s claims to superiority. Neither oratory nor pedigree counts in Christian ministry, but only the call of God.<\/p>\n<p>In both sections one observes Paul’s deep desire for the unity of the church, both unity within the local community and unity with leaders appointed by God, such as Paul.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Content\">Content<\/p>\n<h5>Greeting, 1:1-7<\/h5>\n<p>A standard greeting (2 Cor 1:1-2) comes before Paul’s usual thanksgiving (vv 3-7). The topic of the thanksgiving—comfort in the midst of suffering—is the topic of chapters 1–7. Paul knows what it is to suffer, but it is in suffering that he has experienced God’s comfort, which he passes on to the Corinthians.<\/p>\n<h5>Paul’s Explanation, 1:8–2:13<\/h5>\n<p>Paul informs them of the danger he had suffered in Ephesus, one so great that he did not believe he would survive. His eventual survival seemed like a virtual resurrection, reinforcing his conviction that God, not human strength, is the only Christian refuge (1:8-11). In that and in all situations, Paul’s one boast is that of a clear conscience before God (vv 12-14).<\/p>\n<p>Paul had told them of plans for a double visit (cf. 1 Cor 16:5-6), but except for his brief “painful visit,” he had not fulfilled his plan (2 Cor 1:15–2:4). He defends himself from charges of either not planning in the Spirit or hypocritical vacillation. He was indeed as good as his word (cf. Jas 5:12), for his life reflected God’s fulfilled promise in Jesus, but he had changed plans so as not to repeat the “painful visit” of the previous year. It was love, not fickleness, that motivated the delayed visit.<\/p>\n<p>The Corinthians had responded to Paul’s “letter of tears” by excommunicating the person who had opposed Paul (not the same person as in 1 Cor 5). Since the person became repentant, Paul called for his restoration to the community, freely and graciously forgiving the man who had hurt him. Excommunication is for the unrepentant; its purpose is complete once the person repents (2 Cor 2:5-11).<\/p>\n<p>Paul then recounted his journey from Ephesus to Philippi, when he sought news of the response to the “letter of tears” (2:12-13). After telling how he left an opportunity to minister in Troas to go to find Titus in Philippi, he breaks the narrative with a long digression.<\/p>\n<h5>Nature of Apostolic Ministry, 2:14–7:4<\/h5>\n<p>The apostolic ministry in which Paul took part is like the ministry of Jesus, one of suffering and glory. Even in suffering there is triumph in Christ, for Christians share Christ’s triumph. Yet just like the perfumes of a Roman triumph were joy to the victors but meant death for prisoners on their way to execution, so Jesus’ triumph is life to the believer and death to the unbeliever (2:14-17).<\/p>\n<p>This triumph may have sounded like a boast, but Paul is not engaging in self-exaltation. Indeed, he has no need of the letters of commendation that the interloper in Corinth carried from Jerusalem, for the Corinthians are themselves the proof of his ministry (3:1-3). His boast is not in himself but in the new covenant in the Spirit, which unlike the old covenant is not fading (here Paul follows one Jewish interpretation of Ex 34:29-35, that Moses put the veil over his face so the people would not see the glory fade), nor does it veil the presence of God. The new covenant is permanent; it reveals God directly in the Spirit. There is no deceit or hiddenness, for the message is not about Paul but about Jesus, who is light itself (2 Cor 3:4–4:6).<\/p>\n<p>Paul the messenger, however, is simply the cheap, breakable pot that contains the priceless treasure, revealing by way of contrast that the only power in the gospel is God’s power. This contrast of weakness and power is seen in the sufferings of the apostle, a type of living death modeled after the sufferings of Jesus, out of which the life of Jesus flows to others (4:7-15).<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, despite intense suffering, Paul has courage, for he looks beyond this life to the rewards of the coming life. His whole motivation is one of faith, not sight, for he lives already for unseen realities (4:16-18). When he dies, Paul expects to receive an eternal resurrection body. His hope is not of becoming a disembodied soul (“naked”) but of passing immediately into a glorified bodily life, already guaranteed by the presence of the Spirit. This hope was likely the fruit of his near brush with death in Ephesus, when he must have meditated and prayed about what would come at death (5:1-5). Because this future includes Christ’s judgment, Paul wanted to make every effort to live in the light of that judgment, which he already saw by faith (vv 6-10).<\/p>\n<p>Far from trying to commend or exalt himself, Paul was simply presenting what he was—a person filled with the love of Christ and convinced that all should live not for themselves but for Christ (5:11-15). No one should be valued from a merely human point of view, not Paul, nor even Christ (for Paul before his conversion had a human opinion of Christ that his conversion had radically changed); everyone should be valued from the point of view of the new creation. Paul’s job was simply to announce the reconciliation of the new creation, which God has already effected on his side and which only awaits a person’s ratification on the human side (5:16-20).<\/p>\n<p>Paul, then, was a coworker with God, announcing salvation, using every means consistent with God’s character to proclaim the message, and suffering everything imaginable to demonstrate the extent of God’s love (6:1-10). Therefore, Paul had nothing against the Corinthians. If there was any blockage in their relationship with him, it must be on their side (6:11-13).<\/p>\n<h5>Digression on Purity, 6:14–7:1<\/h5>\n<p>Perhaps suspecting that the real block in the relationship was their love of the world, or that the Corinthians might not be totally over the problems mentioned in 1 Corinthians, Paul digressed into a discussion about the purity and sanctification of believers. There are two groups, light and darkness, Christ and the devil, believers and unbelievers. Therefore, as Exodus 25:8, Leviticus 26:11-12, Isaiah 52:11, Ezekiel 37:27, and Hosea 1:10 show (phrases from these passages flow into each other in a style of chain quotation familiar to Jews), Christians should not be closely bound to unbelievers in marriage or in business, for it will affect their moral purity.<\/p>\n<h5>Return to the Nature of the Apostolic Ministry, 7:2-4<\/h5>\n<p>Picking up from 6:13, Paul points out that the Corinthians have nothing substantial against him. He is not criticizing but simply appealing to them in love; even now he is prepared to die for them.<\/p>\n<h5>Explanation Concluded, 7:5-16<\/h5>\n<p>Having concluded his digression, Paul now returns to his journey, which he left in 2:13. When he met Titus, he received good news about Corinth. He was relieved that his “letter of tears” had been effective, not in simply making them sorry but in bringing them to true repentance that yielded zeal, moral purity, and joy. Furthermore, their behavior toward Titus had been so impressive that Titus’s enthusiastic report of his own impressions had further cheered Paul.<\/p>\n<h5>Collection for Jerusalem, 8:1–9:15<\/h5>\n<p>In the context of restored relationships Paul turns to the sensitive topic of the collection for the church in Jerusalem, which had been impoverished through famines in Judea in the 40s. This collection was both an act of charity (cf. Acts 11:27-30; Gal 2:10) and a symbolic act of unity and fellowship between the Gentile and Jewish branches of the church.<\/p>\n<p>The impoverished and suffering church in Macedonia (Philippi) had given eagerly. Therefore, Titus was coming back to help the Corinthians complete what they had begun the previous year (and probably dropped during the controversy with Paul, 2 Cor 8:1-7). The principles of the collection are (1) the Corinthians should follow the example of Jesus, who became poor for them; (2) they should give freely what they can without regretting that they cannot give more, for God values the eagerness to give expressed in action, not the net amount of the gift; and (3) there should be an economic equality among sections of the church, no one section being enriched at the expense of another (cf. Ex 16:18). This economic equality extends to the relationship between two churches a continent apart (2 Cor 8:8-15).<\/p>\n<p>Titus and two absolutely trustworthy men appointed by the churches for this work will come to supervise the final gathering—Paul would have nothing to do with the money personally—for it is important that not only God but the world be able to see the honesty and integrity of the way the church handles money (8:16-24).<\/p>\n<p>In this section Paul points out that he does not need to argue the reasons for this collection; they were aware of them when they began to gather money the year before. This letter is not an argument for the collection but an encouragement to finish the work, so that when Paul arrives with representatives of other churches carrying their contributions, the Corinthians would not be embarrassed by their relatively wealthy churches not being ready or able to give generously, despite Paul’s boasts about their previous eagerness. In saying this, Paul shows himself diplomatic and insightful in motivating human behavior; he makes the best assumptions possible about the present situation (9:1-5).<\/p>\n<p>Paul would not want the Corinthians giving out of guilt, although he, like Jesus (Mt 6:19-20), pointed out that the only real value of money is in giving it to help others. Rather, he wanted them so convinced of God’s generosity and ability to provide that they give freely and joyfully. God wanted to enrich them so they could give more. The giving would result in thanksgiving to God by the recipients, who would also pray for those who gave the gift, thereby binding the church together. A closing reminder of the extent of God’s own giving finishes the section (2 Cor 9:6-15).<\/p>\n<h5>Paul’s Self-Defense, 10:1–13:14<\/h5>\n<p>There is an abrupt change in tone between 9:15 and 10:1. Now, instead of the tone of conciliation found in 1:1–7:16, there is argument and defense, even threat. Paul’s apostleship has been attacked, and he will defend it with vigor.<\/p>\n<p>Paul was indeed a humble person who preferred not to use his authority. Yet when forced, he had something more than authority; he had spiritual power, capable of destroying opposing arguments and bending all to obedience to Jesus. He would use that power in Corinth if he must, though up to that time he had been gentle and had shown this side of his ministry only in letters (10:1-11).<\/p>\n<p>His opponents talked of their qualifications and compared themselves favorably with other ministers. Paul would not enter into this game of comparisons. God had set the sphere of his labors, which was the area in which he founded churches. He was the one who pioneered the church in Corinth, so it is his sphere of ministry, not the interloper’s (and such like him). They boasted in having reaped the benefits of his ministry; Paul could point to an original ministry given by God, for it is God’s commendation in the end that counts (10:13-18).<\/p>\n<p>Yet the Corinthian rebellion is serious enough to force him into self-defense, ridiculous as such an exercise is. He was shocked by how readily they turned away to every novel doctrine that came along. This tendency strikes fear in Paul’s heart (11:1-6).<\/p>\n<p>Paul had been criticized for refusing financial support from Corinth (even though he accepted gifts from other churches; cf. 1 Cor 9). He would continue to refuse such support, for he wanted to undermine the claims of the interloper. If the interloper was really serving God alone, let him work on the same basis as Paul! But since the interloper was false at heart, serving Satan and not God, he sought money from the church. Paul was astonished that in the Corinthians’ vaunted wisdom they did not see through this hypocrisy, yet he hoped that even if he must play the fool in making a self-defense, they would at least accept a fool like Paul. The irony is that his very tender care and concern for the church, his gentleness, was being used against him as a supposed “weakness.” Paul, the opponent argued, knew he was false, so therefore did not dare take money from the Corinthians (11:7-21).<\/p>\n<p>Interlopers claimed to come with authority from Jerusalem. They had letters from the apostles; it is unlikely, however, that the apostles would have approved of their activities. Still, they were Jews with respectable authority behind them. Paul felt compelled to state his own credentials. If they were Jews, he was just as pure a Jew. If they served Christ, could their work and sufferings match his? The list of sufferings both gives historical information not found in Acts and points to tireless labor, including days of fasting (“gone without food”) and nights spent in prayer (“gone without sleep”) (11:21-29).<\/p>\n<p>But this boasting was repulsive to Paul, so he isolated one particular suffering—his escape from Damascus, when he had to hide and slip out of the city in a basket. The story at once shows his effectiveness as an evangelist (in that he was a target of persecution) and shames him, for he could not defend himself and had to slip away under cover of darkness. Yet that weakness was indeed his glory (11:30-33).<\/p>\n<p>His opponents boasted in revelations from God. Paul knew that this boasting was senseless; however, if he must, he would tell them of a revelation superior to theirs, a time when he actually saw the inside of heaven (he is not sure whether it was a vision or an actual bodily experience). This probably happened about <span>AD<\/span> 42, while Paul was in Tarsus, before Barnabas came for him (Acts 9:30; 11:25). Paul disliked telling about this, for God’s power is more easily seen in his weakness. In fact, Paul’s opponents were an affliction of Satan that God allowed to keep Paul humble and to demonstrate his power in Paul’s weakness. (The image of a “thorn in my flesh” is one of enemies—Nm 33:55; Jos 23:13; Paul also describes what he means more clearly in 2 Cor 12:10). If vulnerability shows God’s power, Paul willingly accepts the weakness (12:1-10).<\/p>\n<p>Paul felt ashamed that he had to boast. The opponents boasted in coming from the Jerusalem “superapostles.” Paul pointed out that he was their equal, although both are nothing. God had set his mark upon Paul’s work. With biting irony he asks forgiveness for not having taken money from the Corinthians (12:11-13).<\/p>\n<p>Yet Paul would come a third time, and he would keep to the same policy of not taking any support from them but giving himself freely to them, just as Jesus had done on earth. Not only he, but all his envoys, kept to the same policy. No one could accuse him of deceit or inconsistency (12:14-18). However, he feared coming to them, for he knew that the community had not just rebelled against him but was also in internal disorder. This disunity and immorality would humble and pain Paul (12:19–13:4).<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, the Corinthians had better examine themselves. Were they really following Jesus or not? If so, they should see that Paul was also following Jesus. Yet Paul’s concern was not for his own position—he was content to be rejected (“weak”)—but for their following the truth. He hoped for their repentance, not to protect himself, but so that he need not be severe when he came (13:5-10).<\/p>\n<p>Probably taking the pen from the scribe at this point, Paul closes with a final appeal to repent and come to unity as a church. Brief greetings from the church in Macedonia and a formal blessing closes his correspondence with the Corinthians (vv 11-13).<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Acts of the Apostles, Book of the; Corinth; Corinthians, First Letter to the; Paul, The Apostle.<\/p>","summary_ro":"CORINTHIANS, Second Letter to the Preview • Author • Date and Origin • Background • Purpose and Teaching • Content Author The apostle Paul is the acknowledged author of 2 Corinthians. While some scholars argue that 2 Corinthians 2:14–7:4 and 10–13 are separate letters, only in the case of 6:14–7:1 is Paul’s authorship disputed. This section is admittedly a strange digression, but stranger still would be the thought that an editor could have inserted it in such an unusual place. Also the repet...","summary_en":"CORINTHIANS, Second Letter to the Preview • Author • Date and Origin • Background • Purpose and Teaching • Content Author The apostle Paul is the acknowledged author of 2 Corinthians. While some scholars argue that 2 Corinthians 2:14–7:4 and 10–13 are separate letters, only in the case of 6:14–7:1 is Paul’s authorship disputed. This section is admittedly a strange digression, but stranger still would be the thought that an editor could have inserted it in such an unusual place. Also the repet...","source":"Articles\/C.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":37097,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Tentmaker","title_en":"Tentmaker","content_ro":"<h3>TENTMAKER<\/h3>\n<p>Artisans who made tents from the cloth of woven goats’ hair. The Greek term for tentmaker may have served to denote a range of activities in cloth and leather. The single biblical reference (Acts 18:3) is to Aquila and Priscilla of Corinth, who worked in this trade. Paul joined them because he was trained in the same craft. He regularly earned his living at this trade during his missionary journeys (2 Cor 11:7-10; 1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8).<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>TENTMAKER<\/h3>\n<p>Artisans who made tents from the cloth of woven goats’ hair. The Greek term for tentmaker may have served to denote a range of activities in cloth and leather. The single biblical reference (Acts 18:3) is to Aquila and Priscilla of Corinth, who worked in this trade. Paul joined them because he was trained in the same craft. He regularly earned his living at this trade during his missionary journeys (2 Cor 11:7-10; 1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8).<\/p>","summary_ro":"TENTMAKER Artisans who made tents from the cloth of woven goats’ hair. The Greek term for tentmaker may have served to denote a range of activities in cloth and leather. The single biblical reference (Acts 18:3) is to Aquila and Priscilla of Corinth, who worked in this trade. Paul joined them because he was trained in the same craft. He regularly earned his living at this trade during his missionary journeys (2 Cor 11:7-10; 1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8).","summary_en":"TENTMAKER Artisans who made tents from the cloth of woven goats’ hair. The Greek term for tentmaker may have served to denote a range of activities in cloth and leather. The single biblical reference (Acts 18:3) is to Aquila and Priscilla of Corinth, who worked in this trade. Paul joined them because he was trained in the same craft. He regularly earned his living at this trade during his missionary journeys (2 Cor 11:7-10; 1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8).","source":"Articles\/T.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":57858,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:7","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:7","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:7<\/strong> Paul was <em>preaching God’s Good News<\/em> . . . <em>without expecting anything in return<\/em>. Paul’s policy as a church planter (1 Cor 9:3-14) was to earn his living by his trade of tentmaking (Acts 18:3; 20:34) rather than being supported by the new churches (1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8-9). His enemies in Corinth criticized him for this. In Greek thought, religious teachers could rightfully claim financial support; Paul’s refusal provided his enemies with an argument that his apostleship was counterfeit.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:7<\/strong> Paul was <em>preaching God’s Good News<\/em> . . . <em>without expecting anything in return<\/em>. Paul’s policy as a church planter (1 Cor 9:3-14) was to earn his living by his trade of tentmaking (Acts 18:3; 20:34) rather than being supported by the new churches (1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8-9). His enemies in Corinth criticized him for this. In Greek thought, religious teachers could rightfully claim financial support; Paul’s refusal provided his enemies with an argument that his apostleship was counterfeit.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:7 Paul was preaching God’s Good News . . . without expecting anything in return. Paul’s policy as a church planter (1 Cor 9:3-14) was to earn his living by his trade of tentmaking (Acts 18:3; 20:34) rather than being supported by the new churches (1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8-9). His enemies in Corinth criticized him for this. In Greek thought, religious teachers could rightfully claim financial support; Paul’s refusal provided his enemies with an argument that his apostleship was counterfeit.","summary_en":"11:7 Paul was preaching God’s Good News . . . without expecting anything in return. Paul’s policy as a church planter (1 Cor 9:3-14) was to earn his living by his trade of tentmaking (Acts 18:3; 20:34) rather than being supported by the new churches (1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8-9). His enemies in Corinth criticized him for this. In Greek thought, religious teachers could rightfully claim financial support; Paul’s refusal provided his enemies with an argument that his apostleship was counterfeit.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":85484,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:7","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:7","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:7<\/strong> Paul was <em>preaching God’s Good News<\/em> . . . <em>without expecting anything in return<\/em>. Paul’s policy as a church planter (1 Cor 9:3-14) was to earn his living by his trade of tentmaking (Acts 18:3; 20:34) rather than being supported by the new churches (1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8-9). His enemies in Corinth criticized him for this. In Greek thought, religious teachers could rightfully claim financial support; Paul’s refusal provided his enemies with an argument that his apostleship was counterfeit.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:7<\/strong> Paul was <em>preaching God’s Good News<\/em> . . . <em>without expecting anything in return<\/em>. Paul’s policy as a church planter (1 Cor 9:3-14) was to earn his living by his trade of tentmaking (Acts 18:3; 20:34) rather than being supported by the new churches (1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8-9). His enemies in Corinth criticized him for this. In Greek thought, religious teachers could rightfully claim financial support; Paul’s refusal provided his enemies with an argument that his apostleship was counterfeit.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:7 Paul was preaching God’s Good News . . . without expecting anything in return. Paul’s policy as a church planter (1 Cor 9:3-14) was to earn his living by his trade of tentmaking (Acts 18:3; 20:34) rather than being supported by the new churches (1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8-9). His enemies in Corinth criticized him for this. In Greek thought, religious teachers could rightfully claim financial support; Paul’s refusal provided his enemies with an argument that his apostleship was counterfeit.","summary_en":"11:7 Paul was preaching God’s Good News . . . without expecting anything in return. Paul’s policy as a church planter (1 Cor 9:3-14) was to earn his living by his trade of tentmaking (Acts 18:3; 20:34) rather than being supported by the new churches (1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8-9). His enemies in Corinth criticized him for this. In Greek thought, religious teachers could rightfully claim financial support; Paul’s refusal provided his enemies with an argument that his apostleship was counterfeit.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":113110,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:7","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:7","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:7<\/strong> Paul was <em>preaching God’s Good News<\/em> . . . <em>without expecting anything in return<\/em>. Paul’s policy as a church planter (1 Cor 9:3-14) was to earn his living by his trade of tentmaking (Acts 18:3; 20:34) rather than being supported by the new churches (1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8-9). His enemies in Corinth criticized him for this. In Greek thought, religious teachers could rightfully claim financial support; Paul’s refusal provided his enemies with an argument that his apostleship was counterfeit.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:7<\/strong> Paul was <em>preaching God’s Good News<\/em> . . . <em>without expecting anything in return<\/em>. Paul’s policy as a church planter (1 Cor 9:3-14) was to earn his living by his trade of tentmaking (Acts 18:3; 20:34) rather than being supported by the new churches (1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8-9). His enemies in Corinth criticized him for this. In Greek thought, religious teachers could rightfully claim financial support; Paul’s refusal provided his enemies with an argument that his apostleship was counterfeit.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:7 Paul was preaching God’s Good News . . . without expecting anything in return. Paul’s policy as a church planter (1 Cor 9:3-14) was to earn his living by his trade of tentmaking (Acts 18:3; 20:34) rather than being supported by the new churches (1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8-9). His enemies in Corinth criticized him for this. In Greek thought, religious teachers could rightfully claim financial support; Paul’s refusal provided his enemies with an argument that his apostleship was counterfeit.","summary_en":"11:7 Paul was preaching God’s Good News . . . without expecting anything in return. Paul’s policy as a church planter (1 Cor 9:3-14) was to earn his living by his trade of tentmaking (Acts 18:3; 20:34) rather than being supported by the new churches (1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8-9). His enemies in Corinth criticized him for this. In Greek thought, religious teachers could rightfully claim financial support; Paul’s refusal provided his enemies with an argument that his apostleship was counterfeit.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":140736,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:7","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:7","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:7<\/strong> Paul was <em>preaching God’s Good News<\/em> . . . <em>without expecting anything in return<\/em>. Paul’s policy as a church planter (1 Cor 9:3-14) was to earn his living by his trade of tentmaking (Acts 18:3; 20:34) rather than being supported by the new churches (1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8-9). His enemies in Corinth criticized him for this. In Greek thought, religious teachers could rightfully claim financial support; Paul’s refusal provided his enemies with an argument that his apostleship was counterfeit.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:7<\/strong> Paul was <em>preaching God’s Good News<\/em> . . . <em>without expecting anything in return<\/em>. Paul’s policy as a church planter (1 Cor 9:3-14) was to earn his living by his trade of tentmaking (Acts 18:3; 20:34) rather than being supported by the new churches (1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8-9). His enemies in Corinth criticized him for this. In Greek thought, religious teachers could rightfully claim financial support; Paul’s refusal provided his enemies with an argument that his apostleship was counterfeit.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:7 Paul was preaching God’s Good News . . . without expecting anything in return. Paul’s policy as a church planter (1 Cor 9:3-14) was to earn his living by his trade of tentmaking (Acts 18:3; 20:34) rather than being supported by the new churches (1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8-9). His enemies in Corinth criticized him for this. In Greek thought, religious teachers could rightfully claim financial support; Paul’s refusal provided his enemies with an argument that his apostleship was counterfeit.","summary_en":"11:7 Paul was preaching God’s Good News . . . without expecting anything in return. Paul’s policy as a church planter (1 Cor 9:3-14) was to earn his living by his trade of tentmaking (Acts 18:3; 20:34) rather than being supported by the new churches (1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8-9). His enemies in Corinth criticized him for this. In Greek thought, religious teachers could rightfully claim financial support; Paul’s refusal provided his enemies with an argument that his apostleship was counterfeit.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false}],"8":[{"id":57859,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:8","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:8","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:8-9<\/strong> Paul had been <em>accepting<\/em> . . . <em>contributions<\/em> . . . <em>from Macedonia<\/em>—i.e., Philippi (Phil 4:15-19). Paul’s apparent inconsistency made the Corinthians suspicious of his motives or doubtful of his love toward them (2 Cor 11:11).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:8-9<\/strong> Paul had been <em>accepting<\/em> . . . <em>contributions<\/em> . . . <em>from Macedonia<\/em>—i.e., Philippi (Phil 4:15-19). Paul’s apparent inconsistency made the Corinthians suspicious of his motives or doubtful of his love toward them (2 Cor 11:11).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:8-9 Paul had been accepting . . . contributions . . . from Macedonia—i.e., Philippi (Phil 4:15-19). Paul’s apparent inconsistency made the Corinthians suspicious of his motives or doubtful of his love toward them (2 Cor 11:11).","summary_en":"11:8-9 Paul had been accepting . . . contributions . . . from Macedonia—i.e., Philippi (Phil 4:15-19). Paul’s apparent inconsistency made the Corinthians suspicious of his motives or doubtful of his love toward them (2 Cor 11:11).","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":85485,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:8","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:8","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:8-9<\/strong> Paul had been <em>accepting<\/em> . . . <em>contributions<\/em> . . . <em>from Macedonia<\/em>—i.e., Philippi (Phil 4:15-19). Paul’s apparent inconsistency made the Corinthians suspicious of his motives or doubtful of his love toward them (2 Cor 11:11).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:8-9<\/strong> Paul had been <em>accepting<\/em> . . . <em>contributions<\/em> . . . <em>from Macedonia<\/em>—i.e., Philippi (Phil 4:15-19). Paul’s apparent inconsistency made the Corinthians suspicious of his motives or doubtful of his love toward them (2 Cor 11:11).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:8-9 Paul had been accepting . . . contributions . . . from Macedonia—i.e., Philippi (Phil 4:15-19). Paul’s apparent inconsistency made the Corinthians suspicious of his motives or doubtful of his love toward them (2 Cor 11:11).","summary_en":"11:8-9 Paul had been accepting . . . contributions . . . from Macedonia—i.e., Philippi (Phil 4:15-19). Paul’s apparent inconsistency made the Corinthians suspicious of his motives or doubtful of his love toward them (2 Cor 11:11).","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":113111,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:8","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:8","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:8-9<\/strong> Paul had been <em>accepting<\/em> . . . <em>contributions<\/em> . . . <em>from Macedonia<\/em>—i.e., Philippi (Phil 4:15-19). Paul’s apparent inconsistency made the Corinthians suspicious of his motives or doubtful of his love toward them (2 Cor 11:11).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:8-9<\/strong> Paul had been <em>accepting<\/em> . . . <em>contributions<\/em> . . . <em>from Macedonia<\/em>—i.e., Philippi (Phil 4:15-19). Paul’s apparent inconsistency made the Corinthians suspicious of his motives or doubtful of his love toward them (2 Cor 11:11).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:8-9 Paul had been accepting . . . contributions . . . from Macedonia—i.e., Philippi (Phil 4:15-19). Paul’s apparent inconsistency made the Corinthians suspicious of his motives or doubtful of his love toward them (2 Cor 11:11).","summary_en":"11:8-9 Paul had been accepting . . . contributions . . . from Macedonia—i.e., Philippi (Phil 4:15-19). Paul’s apparent inconsistency made the Corinthians suspicious of his motives or doubtful of his love toward them (2 Cor 11:11).","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":140737,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:8","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:8","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:8-9<\/strong> Paul had been <em>accepting<\/em> . . . <em>contributions<\/em> . . . <em>from Macedonia<\/em>—i.e., Philippi (Phil 4:15-19). Paul’s apparent inconsistency made the Corinthians suspicious of his motives or doubtful of his love toward them (2 Cor 11:11).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:8-9<\/strong> Paul had been <em>accepting<\/em> . . . <em>contributions<\/em> . . . <em>from Macedonia<\/em>—i.e., Philippi (Phil 4:15-19). Paul’s apparent inconsistency made the Corinthians suspicious of his motives or doubtful of his love toward them (2 Cor 11:11).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:8-9 Paul had been accepting . . . contributions . . . from Macedonia—i.e., Philippi (Phil 4:15-19). Paul’s apparent inconsistency made the Corinthians suspicious of his motives or doubtful of his love toward them (2 Cor 11:11).","summary_en":"11:8-9 Paul had been accepting . . . contributions . . . from Macedonia—i.e., Philippi (Phil 4:15-19). Paul’s apparent inconsistency made the Corinthians suspicious of his motives or doubtful of his love toward them (2 Cor 11:11).","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false}],"9":[{"id":29081,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Paul, the Apostle","title_en":"Paul, the Apostle","content_ro":"<h3>PAUL, T<span>he Apostle<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Prominent leader of the first-century church; apostle to the Gentiles; author of 13 NT epistles.<\/p>\n<p>Preview<\/p>\n<p>• Family and Cultural Background<\/p>\n<p>• Education<\/p>\n<p>• Saul the Persecutor<\/p>\n<p>• Conversion and Calling<\/p>\n<p>• Preparation for Ministry<\/p>\n<p>• Sent Out from Antioch<\/p>\n<p>• Traveling with Barnabas<\/p>\n<p>• The Council of Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>• Further Travel<\/p>\n<p>• Labor in the Gospel<\/p>\n<p>• The Arrest in Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>• Voyage and Stay in Rome<\/p>\n<p>• Final Years and Martyrdom<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"FamilyandCulturalBackground\">Family and Cultural Background<\/p>\n<p>Paul was born around <span>AD<\/span> 10, a Jew in a family of Pharisees (Acts 23:6) of the tribe of Benjamin (Phil 3:5) in Tarsus of Cilicia (Acts 9:11; 21:39; 22:3), a center of commerce and learning that embraced the Hellenistic spirit and Roman politics. It was a city of which he could be proud (21:39). His parents named him Saul, perhaps after the first king of Israel, who was also a Benjaminite (1 Sm 11:15; Acts 13:21), but Acts 13:9 notes that he “was also called Paul.” He uses the Roman name Paul throughout his letters.<\/p>\n<p>From religious parents Paul received knowledge of the Law and Prophets and the Hebrew and Aramaic languages (Acts 21:40; 22:2-3; 23:6; Gal 1:14; Phil 3:5-6). Tarsus, however, was not a Jewish city. Rather, it had a Greek character, being a place where the Greek language was spoken and Greek literature was cultivated. This accounts for Paul’s familiarity with Greek (Acts 21:37), the language of the streets and shops of Tarsus.<\/p>\n<p>Jews were brought to Tarsus, the capital of the Roman province of Cilicia, in 171 <span>BC<\/span> to promote business in the region. At that time Paul’s ancestors were probably given Roman citizenship. Paul inherited from his father both Tarsisian and Roman citizenship, which would prove to be of great value to Paul in his later life as he traveled with the gospel throughout the Roman Empire (Acts 16:37; 22:25-29; 23:27). Paul may have had several brothers and sisters, but Acts 23:16 mentions only one sister, whose son performed a lifesaving act for his uncle.<\/p>\n<p>Paul was a tent maker (Acts 18:3). He may have learned this trade from his father, or he may have selected it as a means of self-support, as was the custom of those in rabbinical training. Tarsus was well known for the goat’s-hair cloth called cilicium. It was the weaving of this cloth and the fashioning of it into tents, sails, awnings, and cloaks that gave Paul his economic independence during his apostolic ministry (Acts 18:3; 20:34; 28:30; 2 Cor 11:9; 1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Education\">Education<\/p>\n<p>Although born in Tarsus, Paul testified to the Jews in Jerusalem that he had been brought up in this city and studied under Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). It is not clear when Paul was first brought to Jerusalem, but it is likely that sometime between the ages of 13 and 20 he began his formal rabbinical studies. His teacher, Gamaliel, was the grandson of Hillel, founder of a Pharisaic school whose teachings run through the Talmudic writings to this day. This is the same Gamaliel whose wisdom persuaded the Sanhedrin to spare the lives of Peter and the apostles (5:33-40). No doubt, it was while studying under Gamaliel in Hillel’s school that Paul began to advance in Judaism beyond many Jews of his own age and became extremely zealous for the traditions of his fathers (Gal 1:14). Perhaps then also Paul began to experience the struggles with the law he would later describe in Romans 7.<\/p>\n<p>While Paul was studying the Jewish law in Jerusalem, Jesus was working as a carpenter in Nazareth. Then Jesus gathered the disciples who would one day be Paul’s coworkers in the gospel, fulfilled his ministry, and accomplished redemption on the cross of Calvary (<span>AD<\/span> 30). Christ’s resurrection gave birth to the church, which was baptized in the Holy Spirit at the Feast of Pentecost in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"SaulthePersecutor\">Saul the Persecutor<\/p>\n<p>Shortly after these world-changing events, the members of certain synagogues in Jerusalem, including the Cilician synagogue, that of Paul’s native land (Acts 6:9), could not withstand the wisdom and spirit (v 10) of a member of the church in Jerusalem named Stephen (vv 5, 8). They accused him of blasphemy before the Sanhedrin (vv 11-15) and after his eloquent defense (7:1-53) dragged him out of the city, where he was stoned to death. He became the first Christian martyr. The record does not fully reveal the role Paul played in these proceedings, but we know that he was present and prominent because the witnesses against Stephen, who were required to throw the first stones in the execution, “laid their clothes at the feet of a young man called Saul [Paul]” (v 58, <span>niv<\/span>).<\/p>\n<p>At Stephen’s trial, Paul heard Stephen’s historical method of defense, and he later used it himself at Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:16-41). He witnessed the man with the face of an angel (6:15), full of the Holy Spirit, looking above and proclaiming “the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God” (7:56). Stephen’s death initiated the events that would culminate in Paul’s conversion and commission as the apostle to the Gentiles. But at that time Paul was a leader of the oppressors of the church. He breathed threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord (9:1); he persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it (Gal 1:13) by imprisoning Christians, both male and female (Acts 22:4), in many cities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"ConversionandCalling\">Conversion and Calling<\/p>\n<p>Paul had obtained letters from the high priest in Jerusalem to the synagogues in Damascus authorizing him to arrest the believers there and bring them to Jerusalem for trial (Acts 9:1-2). Paul traveled to Damascus for this purpose. Then, on the outskirts of the city, came the event that was to transform this law-keeping persecutor of Jesus Christ and blasphemous destroyer of the infant church into the chief propagator of the gospel of grace and master builder of the church (1 Cor 3:10; 1 Tm 1:13). This was the occasion of Paul’s conversion (c. <span>AD<\/span> 31–33). It was of such revolutionary and lasting importance that three detailed accounts of it are given in the book of Acts (Acts 9:1-19; 22:1-21; 26:1-23), and many references are given to it in Paul’s own writings (1 Cor 9:1; 15:8; Gal 1:15-16; Eph 3:3; Phil 3:12).<\/p>\n<p>At that time a light from heaven, brighter than the midday sun, shone around Paul and his traveling companions, and they fell to the ground (Acts 26:13-14). Only Paul, however, heard the voice of Jesus instruct him in his commission as a minister and witness to the Gentiles (vv 14-18). Temporarily blinded, Paul was led into Damascus (9:8). There, the disciple Ananias and the Christian community forgave Paul, baptized him, and helped him through the bewildering event of his conversion (vv 10-22). After a short time with the church there, Paul was threatened with death by the Jews to whom he preached Jesus (vv 20-22), but he was protected by the believers and ingeniously delivered from his persecutors (vv 23-25).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"PreparationforMinistry\">Preparation for Ministry<\/p>\n<p>Then began a period of preparation, which lasted about 13 years. During this time, Paul first was in the desert of Arabia for three years. Here was his opportunity to pray and reflect on Stephen’s defense to the Sanhedrin, the momentous significance of his conversion, the vision he received of Jesus Christ, and the meaning of all this in the light of Jewish theology. Following this, Paul returned to Damascus and then visited Peter in Jerusalem for 15 days (Gal 1:17-18).<\/p>\n<p>At first, the disciples in Jerusalem were afraid of him because they did not believe he was a disciple of Jesus (Acts 9:26), but he was championed by Barnabas and thus accepted by the believers in Jerusalem (vv 27-28). While there, Paul may have heard the oral gospel, a summary of the words and deeds of Jesus, handed down to all converts. This would have included the institution of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11:23-25), specific words of the Lord (Acts 20:35; 1 Cor 7:10; 9:14), the appearances of the resurrected Christ (1 Cor 15:3-8), and the spirit and character of Jesus (2 Cor 10:1; Phil 2:5-8). Paul also preached in Jerusalem, perhaps in the same synagogues in which he had heard Stephen. However, when his life was again threatened by the Jews, the believers sent him away to Tarsus (Acts 9:29-30; Gal 1:21).<\/p>\n<p>The end of Paul’s preparation came when Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for him and bring him to Antioch. By this time Paul had lived for 10 years in Cilicia. Since his conversion, before being sent to Tarsus, he had proclaimed Jesus (Acts 9:20), speaking boldly in the name of the Lord (v 27). There is no reason to think he did otherwise while living among the Gentiles in Cilicia. In fact, his work may have been so effective that he began to attract attention in Antioch. During these years, Paul probably underwent many of the sufferings mentioned in 2 Corinthians 11:24-26. Several scholars think that the ecstatic experience mentioned in 2 Corinthians 12:1-9, with its accompanying thorn in the flesh, also took place before he came to Antioch.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"SentOutfromAntioch\">Sent Out from Antioch<\/p>\n<p>The church in Antioch had its origins in the persecution fomented by Paul after the death of Stephen. Until they arrived in Antioch, the scattered believers had only spoken the word to Jews (Acts 11:19). It was here that the Gentiles first heard the Good News (v 20), and many became believers (v 21). It is fitting that Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 22:21; Rom 11:13), who was as yet unknown by sight to the churches of Judea (Gal 1:22), should appear in Antioch to formally begin the ministry to which he was called (Acts 26:17-18).<\/p>\n<p>Barnabas and Paul stayed with the church in Antioch for a year. Their work there was so blessed that a new name, Christian, was coined to distinguish the believers in Antioch from Gentiles and Jews (Acts 11:26). Hearing of a famine in Judea, the disciples in Antioch determined to send relief to the believers in Judea and did so by Barnabas and Paul (v 30). Such a gift displayed to the Jewish churches the potency of the gospel among the Gentiles. Their mission complete, Barnabas and Paul returned to Antioch with John Mark (12:25), Barnabas’s cousin (Col 4:10).<\/p>\n<p>Beginning from the Day of Pentecost, the work in the gospel had been casual and incidental. Contacts were made in the homes, the marketplace, the streets, synagogues, highways, etc. (Acts 3:1; 5:12, 42; 8:26-29; 10:22). But in Antioch the Holy Spirit initiated a determined effort to evangelize a section of the Roman Empire (13:1-3). By the Holy Spirit’s instructions, the church separated Barnabas and Paul for this work. With the prayers and encouragement of this church, and with John Mark as their assistant, Barnabas and Paul, sent out by the Holy Spirit, sailed for Cyprus (v 4).<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TravelingwithBarnabas\">Traveling with Barnabas<\/p>\n<p>Arriving in Salamis, they preached in the synagogues as they traveled the length of the island to Paphos (Acts 13:5-6). There the Roman proconsul, Sergius Paulus, wanted to hear the word of God (v 7). A magician named Elymas Bar-Jesus tried to prevent the proconsul from believing in Jesus but was stricken with temporary blindness by Paul’s command (vv 8-11). This was the first manifestation in Paul of the signs of an apostle (2 Cor 12:12). From then on, the name Paul, not Saul, is used in Luke’s record of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 13:9), and Paul replaced Barnabas as the leader of the party. So “Paul and his company” set sail from Paphos and arrived in Perga of Pamphylia (v 13). John Mark deserted them at Perga and returned to his home in Jerusalem (v 13). This caused discord (15:39), but Paul and Mark were later reconciled (Col 4:10; 2 Tm 4:11).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s travels with the gospel now continued through the Roman province of Asia, specifically in the southern portion of Galatia, the areas of Pamphylia, Pisidia, and Lycaonia. The coastal area where the party landed is a hot, malarial region. It is thought that Paul contracted malaria there and so traveled inland through the mountains to the 4,000-foot- (1,219.2-meter-) high tablelands. Such a journey would have been full of dangerous rivers and bandits (2 Cor 11:26), but Paul was well cared for by the Galatian highlanders when he arrived (Gal 4:13-15) and was rewarded with a warm reception to his message (Acts 13:48-49).<\/p>\n<p>Paul and Barnabas were asked to speak at the synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia (Acts 13:15), and Paul delivered a discourse full of the characteristics of the gospel he would later record in his letters to the churches (vv 16-41). He was invited to speak the next week (v 42); nearly the whole city gathered together to hear the word of God (v 44). This stirred up jealousy in the Jews who opposed Paul’s words (v 45), causing the apostles’ dramatic turn to the Gentiles (vv 46-47). Many Gentiles in Antioch believed and spread the word throughout the region, but Paul and Barnabas were forced out and went to Iconium in Lycaonia (vv 48-51).<\/p>\n<p>The success in Antioch was duplicated in Iconium as was the Jews’ opposition (Acts 14:1), and the apostles fled from the threat of a stoning to Lystra and Derbe in Lycaonia (vv 5-6). In Lystra the signs of an apostle were again seen when Paul healed a man who had been crippled since birth (vv 8-10). The idolatrous citizens of the town, however, primed by the popular belief that Jupiter, accompanied by Mercury, had once visited their region, worshiped Paul and Barnabas as these deities (vv 11-13). Even the convincing words of Paul, whom they mistook for Mercury, hardly restrained the crowds from offering a sacrifice (vv 14-18).<\/p>\n<p>It was in Lystra that Paul was first given a taste of the same medicine he had once administered to Christians. The Jews stoned him, dragged him out of the city, and left him for dead (Acts 14:19). Timothy (16:1-3) may have been among the new disciples surrounding Paul as he lay outside the gate (14:20). Timothy was Paul’s son in the faith (1 Cor 4:17; 1 Tm 1:2), eyewitness to his suffering (2 Tm 3:10-11), faithful companion, and fellow worker (Acts 19:22; 20:4; Rom 16:21; 1 Thes 3:2). The next day Barnabas and Paul went on to Derbe (Acts 14:20).<\/p>\n<p>After making many disciples in Derbe, the apostles retraced their steps through Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia, strengthening and encouraging the new believers and appointing elders in each church (Acts 14:21-23). Arriving again in Perga, they sailed back to Antioch of Syria, where they reported to the church the wonderful news that God had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles (vv 25-27).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TheCouncilofJerusalem\">The Council of Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>The Jews, who had dogged the steps of Paul and Barnabas throughout Galatia, followed on their heels to bewitch the Gentiles there, convincing them to desert the grace of Christ and submit to the Jewish law (Gal 1:6; 3:1). Shortly after the apostles’ return to Antioch, Judaizers came from Judea to Antioch, teaching salvation by the law (Acts 15:1). This began the war against the gospel of grace, which Paul preached.<\/p>\n<p>The church in Antioch sent Paul, Barnabas, and others to Jerusalem to settle the controversy of the law versus grace with the apostles and elders there (<span>AD<\/span> 49, Acts 15:2). Along the way to Jerusalem they spread the news of the conversion of the Gentiles. This brought great joy to the believers (v 3). Such joy was not shared by some in Jerusalem, who in the first meeting of the council said that the Gentiles should be ordered to keep the law of Moses (v 5).<\/p>\n<p>After this meeting, Paul and Barnabas met privately with Peter, John, and James (Gal 2:1-10) and explained the gospel they had been preaching to the Gentiles. These three leaders of the church in Jerusalem saw the grace that had been given to Paul to bring the gospel to the Gentiles and extended to him the “right hand of fellowship.” This private meeting seems to have decided the question of compliance to the Jewish law because in the next general meeting Peter said, “We believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 15:11, <span>rsv<\/span>), and James reached the decision that “we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God” (Acts 15:19, <span>rsv<\/span>). This was a great victory for Paul and Barnabas, and the news was received with rejoicing by the church in Antioch (vv 30-35).<\/p>\n<p>Later, Peter visited Antioch and freely associated with the Gentile believers as he had timidly done in Cornelius’s house (Acts 10:28). This continued until “certain men came from James.” Their presence brought fear to Peter, clouding the light of the gospel of grace, and causing him to separate himself from the Gentiles. Peter’s action influenced others, including Barnabas, to do the same (Gal 2:12-13). Paul rose to the challenge of this serious crisis, confronted Peter publicly, and charged him with Judaizing and hypocrisy (v 14). Paul won the battle and rescued Peter and Barnabas with eloquent words on justification by faith (vv 15-21), but the Judaizers had resumed their war. From this time on, they did not rest; rather, they tormented and persecuted Paul all over the world. But the apostle did not submit to them for a moment. He was engaged in the fight of his life, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with the Gentile believers (v 5).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"FurtherTravel\">Further Travel<\/p>\n<p>Paul wanted to visit the new believers and see how they were doing. So he proposed to Barnabas that they return to the cities where they had previously preached about Jesus (Acts 15:36). Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them, but Paul would not take him since he had deserted them during their earlier journey (13:13). This sharp disagreement ended Barnabas’s association with Paul (15:37-39). Silas, a leader among the brothers in Jerusalem (v 22), accompanied Paul as he set out by land through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches (vv 40-41).<\/p>\n<p>Beginning from Derbe in Galatia, Paul and Silas revisited the churches Paul had established with Barnabas. While in Lystra, they were joined by Timothy (Acts 16:1-3). The apostles delivered to these young churches the letter drafted by the elders and apostles in Jerusalem concerning the observance of the law (15:23-29), thus strengthening and increasing them (16:4-5).<\/p>\n<p>It is likely that Ephesus, a major city in the Roman province of Asia, was the party’s main objective for the advancement of the gospel, but they were “forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia” (Acts 16:6). Then they attempted to turn north and enter the region of Bithynia, “but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them” (v 7). In this way they were forced by God to continue straight westward to Troas on the Aegean Sea, where Luke joined them (“we” in v 10), and Paul had a vision in which he was called out of Asia into Macedonia (vv 8-9). Paul and his party immediately crossed by boat into Europe (v 11) where they carried the gospel to Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, and Corinth.<\/p>\n<p>Philippi was a Roman colony and military outpost where there were few Jews, so Paul went to a place by the river where the local Jews prayed. He spoke to some women there, notably Lydia, who believed and with her household was baptized (Acts 16:12-15), beginning the first church in Europe. Paul cast a spirit of divination out of a girl in Philippi, and as a result he and Silas were jailed (vv 16-24). The events of their night in jail made the jailer a believer in God (vv 25-34), and he and his family were added to the church in Philippi, which met in Lydia’s home (v 40). When Paul disclosed his Roman citizenship, he was released and was asked to leave the city (vv 35-39).<\/p>\n<p>At Thessalonica the Jews, aroused to jealousy by the success of Paul’s gospel message, raised a mob to search for the apostles. They complained to the city authorities that the people “who have turned the world upside down have come here also” and accused the apostles of “saying that there is another king [besides Caesar], Jesus” (Acts 17:5-7).<\/p>\n<p>Paul and Silas quickly left Thessalonica by night and arrived in Berea, a city thereafter distinguished by its citizens who eagerly and thoughtfully received the gospel (Acts 17:10-12). The Thessalonian Jews did not rest but trailed Paul to Berea to incite the crowds. The believers then sent Paul away to Athens, while Silas and Timothy stayed behind (vv 13-15).<\/p>\n<p>The Athenians called Paul a babbler but let him air his views before the Areopagus. Paul’s speech there was alive with his broad knowledge. He alluded to Greco-Roman philosophy (Acts 17:27), poetry (v 28), sculpture (vv 25, 29), architecture (v 24), and religion while proclaiming the existence of an “unknown god” (v 23). But he was rudely cut short by scoffing and indifference when he mentioned the resurrection (v 32). Paul’s words delighted the minds of many but influenced the wills of few, so when he arrived in Corinth, he determined not to proclaim the mystery of God in lofty words of wisdom so that the believers’ faith would not rest on human wisdom but on the power of God (1 Cor 2:1-5).<\/p>\n<p>In Corinth Paul met Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:2-3), Roman Jews with whom he lived and worked as a tent maker and who would become prominent among the churches (Acts 18:26; Rom 16:3; 1 Cor 16:19; 2 Tm 4:19). He stayed in Corinth 18 months from <span>AD<\/span> 50 to 51, raising up a church (Acts 18:11) on the strength of a vision from God (vv 9-10) and in spite of the attacks of the Jews (vv 12-17). Paul wrote the first and second letters to the Thessalonians from Corinth to establish the believers in a holy, industrious life (1 Thes 3:13; 5:23; 2 Thes 3:7-12) in hope of the second coming of Jesus Christ (1 Thes 4:15-18; 2 Thes 2:1ff.).<\/p>\n<p>Accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila, Paul sailed from Corinth for Syria. He left his fellow workers in Ephesus, sailed to Caesarea, briefly visited Jerusalem, and returned to Antioch (Acts 18:18-22). Paul stayed in Antioch for awhile but did not remain absent from the field of his labors for long. Alone, he departed from Antioch, went from place to place in Galatia and Phrygia strengthening all the disciples, and eventually arrived in Ephesus (18:23; 19:1).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"LaborintheGospel\">Labor in the Gospel<\/p>\n<p>A Jew named Apollos had ministered in Ephesus prior to Paul’s arrival and had recently gone over to Corinth (Acts 18:24-28). There Apollos innocently became the cause of such discord (1 Cor 3:3-9) that he left and refused to return even at Paul’s request (16:12). Paul’s earlier visit to Ephesus (Acts 18:19-20), Apollos’s ministry, and the presence of Priscilla and Aquila had prepared Ephesus for the apostle’s preaching of the gospel of Christ.<\/p>\n<p>Paul began his work in Ephesus by setting straight some ill-informed disciples of John the Baptist (Acts 19:1-7). He then spent three months preaching at the local synagogue until members of the congregation “spoke evil of the Way” (v 9). Paul then took the disciples and continued his arguments on the neutral ground of Tyrannus’s school (vv 8-9), where Jews and Greeks were free to come. He continued there for two years and “all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord” (v 10).<\/p>\n<p>The work in Ephesus was a great success (Acts 19:10, 20, 26). Paul enjoyed an open door for effective work (1 Cor 16:9), bolstered by extraordinary miracles (Acts 19:11-17), a public burning of valuable books of sorcery (vv 18-19), and the assistance of friendly officials from the province of Asia (v 31). There were also many adversaries (1 Cor 15:32; 16:9), especially among the artisans associated with the temple of Diana. Paul’s ministry had hurt their trade to the extent that they were incited to riot (Acts 19:23-41). Paul had intended to stay in Ephesus until Pentecost (1 Cor 16:8), but this tumult seems to have hastened his departure (Acts 20:1).<\/p>\n<p>During his stay in Ephesus, the household of Chloe sent word to Paul from Corinth that there were divisions in the church there (1 Cor 1:10-13). This report generated a flurry of letters and travels. Paul wrote a letter, which is now lost, to this church (5:9). The church in Corinth wrote a letter (7:1) and sent messengers to Paul (16:17), and Paul sent Timothy to them (4:17; 16:10). Paul then wrote 1 Corinthians (<span>AD<\/span> 53) and sent it by Titus, who was to meet him in Troas to report the results (2 Cor 2:12-13).<\/p>\n<p>After his hasty exit from Ephesus, Paul found an open door for the gospel in Troas, but he so longed to hear from Corinth that he pushed on into Macedonia (2 Cor 2:12-13). There he was finally comforted by Titus (7:5-7) and rejoiced at the news of the Corinthians’ repentance, earnestness, longing, and zeal (vv 8-16). From Macedonia Paul wrote 2 Corinthians (<span>AD<\/span> 54), toured northwest to proclaim the good news of Christ in Illyricum (Rom 15:19), and then turned south for Achaia and his third visit to Corinth (Acts 19:21; 20:1-3; 2 Cor 13:1).<\/p>\n<p>The time and place from which Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians is a topic of controversy. Some date it before the council at Jerusalem, about <span>AD<\/span> 45. Others say he wrote it from Corinth at this stage in his history. The latter opinion is the choice of this narrative.<\/p>\n<p>A three-month winter stay in Corinth (<span>AD<\/span> 55–56) produced the Letter to the Romans, which firmly set the benchmark of the gospel for all the ages. Paul had many personal friends in Rome (Rom 16) and had long intended to visit there (1:10-15). His plans were to deliver a collection from the Gentile churches to Jerusalem (Acts 20:35; Rom 15:25-26; 1 Cor 16:1) and then visit Rome (Acts 19:21) on his way to Spain (Rom 15:23-24).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TheArrestinJerusalem\">The Arrest in Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s trip from Corinth to Jerusalem was marked by abundant warnings of the danger awaiting him in Jerusalem. The Judaizers’ acrimony toward Paul was common talk everywhere, but all alarms went unheeded (Acts 20:22-24, 38; 21:4, 10-15). However, the request for prayer in Romans 15:30-32 shows that Paul knew he might soon need a divine rescue from the unbelievers in Judea.<\/p>\n<p>The travelers, carrying the collection for Jerusalem, journeyed swiftly in order to reach Jerusalem by Pentecost (Acts 20:16). They proceeded by land from Achaia, through Macedonia, to Philippi in time for the Passover (spring <span>AD<\/span> 56, v 6). Crossing by sea to Troas, they visited the believers there (vv 7-12) and then sailed through the archipelago of the eastern Aegean Sea to Miletus (vv 13-16). From Miletus, Paul sent for the elders of Ephesus, to whom he delivered an impassioned speech containing his own dire warnings for them (vv 17-38).<\/p>\n<p>Parting from them, Paul and his companions set sail to Cos, to Rhodes, and then to Patara, where they changed ships for Phoenicia (Acts 21:1-2). A straight course to Tyre brought them within sight of Cyprus, with its memories of Barnabas and Sergius Paulus (v 3). “Through the Spirit” the disciples in Tyre “told Paul not to go on to Jerusalem” (v 4), but he pressed on to Caesarea, where he and his company stayed with Philip, who had formerly served with the martyred Stephen (21:8; cf. 6:5). In Caesarea, Paul would not be persuaded by an especially dramatic prophecy of his coming arrest (21:10-14).<\/p>\n<p>In Jerusalem the apostolic band stayed with Mnason, an early disciple, and were warmly welcomed by the brothers there (Acts 21:15-17). James and the elders of the church praised God when they heard of the things he had done through Paul among the Gentiles (vv 18-20), and when they received the collection from the churches (24:17). They told Paul of his bad reputation among the thousands of Jewish believers in Jerusalem and urged him to set right the Judaizers’ misrepresentation that he encouraged Jewish Christians to forsake the Mosaic customs (21:21-24). Acts 21:25 shows the Jerusalem elders understood that the Gentiles were under no obligation to Moses; their concern was for Paul to demonstrate that Jewish believers were free to continue their traditional observances.<\/p>\n<p>Paul had kept the Jewish feasts (Acts 20:6), as had Jesus and the early disciples in Jerusalem. He had also cut his hair in a vow at Cenchreae (18:18), so it was a small matter for him, a Jew, to ceremonially purify himself after becoming a Christian, especially if it would undermine the arguments of the Judaizers. To have refused the elders’ request would have lent credence to the Judaizers’ charge. The success of this plan is seen in that it was the Jews from Asia, visiting Jerusalem for the Pentecost feast of <span>AD<\/span> 57, who stirred up trouble for Paul (21:27-29)—not the Judaizers from Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p>The whole city was aroused by Paul’s persistent persecutors. A violent crowd dragged him out of the temple just as Stephen had once been hauled to his martyrdom. They tried to kill him, but he was rescued by Roman soldiers as the mob cried, “Away with him!”—just as they had done to Jesus (Acts 21:30-36). At this juncture the educational and cultural diversity of Paul’s life came to his rescue. As he was carried for safety to the Roman barracks, he spoke in Greek to the tribune, who had mistaken him for an Egyptian assassin (vv 37-38). Given permission to speak to the crowd, he did so in the Aramaic language then common in Israel (vv 39-40). The hushed crowd eagerly heard Paul’s defense until he uttered the word “Gentiles.” At this, the crowd resumed its threatening and violence, and Paul was brought into the barracks (22:1-24). There the Romans prepared to flog him, until Paul revealed that he was not only a Jew from Tarsus but also a freeborn Roman citizen. The tribune was afraid, since he had bound a Roman citizen. Wanting to know the charges against Paul, he brought him to the Sanhedrin (vv 25-30).<\/p>\n<p>This meeting of the Jewish judiciary was shortly reduced to dissension and violence. Paul resorted to tactics justifiable in such a war and hopelessly divided the Sanhedrin on the subject of the resurrection (Acts 23:1-9). Paul again was rescued, this time from the contending factions of the Jewish leadership, and taken to the barracks, where the Lord encouraged him, promising that he would go to Rome (<span>AD<\/span> 56, vv 10-11).<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime 40 Jews entered into a murderous plot against Paul. They vowed not to eat or drink until they had killed the apostle (Acts 23:12-15). They almost succeeded, but with the help of the son of Paul’s sister (v 16), the conspiracy was exposed. For safety, Paul was taken from Jerusalem to Caesarea under guard of 470 soldiers and handed over to the custody of Felix the governor (vv 16-35). Inconclusive hearings before Felix (Acts 24), his successor, Festus (25:1-12), and King Agrippa (25:23–26:32) occupied Paul in his two years of imprisonment in Caesarea. Festus, wanting to please the Jews, suggested that Paul be returned to Jerusalem for trial, but Paul knew the murderous intent of his accusers and again utilized his Roman citizenship by making a dramatic appeal to Caesar (25:9-12).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"VoyageandStayinRome\">Voyage and Stay in Rome<\/p>\n<p>To plead his case at Caesar’s court, Paul and his companions, Aristarchus and Luke, were taken on a perilous voyage (<span>AD<\/span> 58, Acts 27:1–28:16). Their passage by ship from Caesarea to Rome is one of the most remarkable on record. Luke’s detailed account is a treasure of information on ancient ships, navigation, and seamanship. It is also a beautiful portrait of a heroic and dignified apostle Paul, the gospel’s ambassador in chains (Eph 6:20), who with the guidance and assurance of his God (Acts 27:23-26), led the 276 people on board to safety (v 37).<\/p>\n<p>Luke traces the voyage stage by stage through every crisis, with a change of ship at Myra, delay at Fair Havens on Crete, and the shipwreck on Malta. Finally, in the spring of <span>AD<\/span> 59, they arrived at Puteoli, Italy, and made their way to Rome, welcomed by the believers along the Appian Way (Acts 28:13-16).<\/p>\n<p>Luke provided a peaceful denouement to the Acts, notwithstanding the fact that the apostle was an imperial prisoner of Caesar Nero. Paul lived by himself in his own house, chained to a Roman guard (Acts 28:16, 30). There he received the local Jewish leaders—to calm any misgivings they may have had about him and, at the same time, to convince them about Jesus. His efforts had mixed success (vv 17-28). During Paul’s two or more years in Rome, the Judaizers seem to have withdrawn, only to be replaced by the peril of Eastern Gnosticism. This is seen in Paul’s letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Ephesians, and to Philemon, all written at this time. It is unlikely that Paul’s accusers appeared in Rome to bring formal charges before Caesar, so Paul was probably released in <span>AD<\/span> 61.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"FinalYearsandMartyrdom\">Final Years and Martyrdom<\/p>\n<p>It is here assumed that the Pastoral Letters (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus) are truly Paul’s work. Only through them can the probable course of events in Paul’s final years be traced. Romans 15:28 shows that Paul intended to deliver the collection to Jerusalem and then to “set out by way of you [Rome] to Spain.” The arrest and imprisonment in Jerusalem not only destroyed these plans but also extracted five precious years from the prime of a most productive life. Although Clement of Rome implied that Paul did fulfill his desire to go to Spain (<em>Clement to the Corinthians<\/em> 5), it is certain that the daily pressure of Paul’s anxious care for all the churches (2 Cor 11:28) did not abate.<\/p>\n<p>If Paul went to Spain, he may have been there when Rome was burned on July 19, <span>AD<\/span> 64. Tradition says that Paul traveled as far as Britain, but there is no evidence to confirm this. Returning east, he left Titus in Crete (Ti 1:5) and traveled through Miletus, south of Ephesus, where he left Trophimus sick (2 Tm 4:20). Traveling toward Macedonia, Paul visited Timothy in Ephesus (1 Tm 1:3). On the way, Paul left his cloak and books with Carpus in Troas (2 Tm 4:13). This indicates that he intended to return there for his possessions. From Macedonia Paul wrote his loving yet apprehensive first letter to Timothy (<span>AD<\/span> 62–64). He had decided to spend the winter in Nicopolis (Ti 3:12), northwest of Corinth on the Adriatic Sea, but was still in Macedonia when he wrote his letter to Titus. This letter is similar to 1 Timothy, yet with a somewhat harsher tone. In it is a final glimpse of the eloquent and zealous Apollos (Ti 3:13), who is still in association with Paul 10 or more years after his first appearance in Ephesus (Acts 18:24).<\/p>\n<p>From here Paul’s path is obscure. He may have wintered in Nicopolis, but he did not return to Troas for his winter cloak (2 Tm 4:13). At some point he was arrested by the Romans, because he spent a winter in Rome’s Mamertine Prison, suffering from the cold in that rock cell before he wrote his second letter to Timothy (<span>AD<\/span> 66–67). He may have been anticipating the coming winter when he requested that Timothy bring his cloak (vv 13, 21). It is possible that the charges against Paul were related to the burning of Rome; this is unknown. It was, however, now “illegal” to be a Christian since the “new religion” was no longer protected by Roman law as being part of Judaism (which was a legalized, recognized religion by Roman law).<\/p>\n<p>It was dangerous to be associated with Paul at this time. Many deserted him (2 Tm 4:16), including all his coworkers in Asia (1:15) and Demas, who loved the world (4:10). Only Luke, the physician and author of Luke and Acts, was with him when he wrote his second letter to Timothy (v 11). Faithful believers still in hiding in Rome were also in contact with the apostle (1:16; 4:19, 21). He told Timothy to come to him in Rome and bring Mark also (4:11). Apparently Timothy did come and was imprisoned (Heb 13:23). Paul’s request for the books and parchments (2 Tm 4:13) discloses that he was reading and studying the Scripture to the end.<\/p>\n<p>The apostle Paul had two hearings before Caesar Nero. At his first defense only the Lord stood by him (2 Tm 4:16). There he not only pleaded his own cause but also that of the gospel, still longing that all the Gentiles would hear its message. Perhaps no decision was made, and thus he was “rescued from the lion’s mouth” (v 17). Though he knew he would soon die, he was not afraid, but was assured that the Lord would give him a crown of righteousness on the last day (v 8). Finally, the apostle himself recorded his seminal encouragement to all believers: “The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you” (v 22, <span>rsv<\/span>). After this, the Scripture is silent regarding Paul.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing is known of Paul’s second hearing but that it resulted in the sentence of capital punishment. History does not record Paul’s end. Nero died in the summer of <span>AD<\/span> 68, so Paul was executed before that date. As a Roman citizen, he must have been spared the lingering torture that had recently been suffered by his fellow martyrs. Tradition says that he was decapitated by the sword of an imperial headsman on the Ostian Road just outside of Rome, and buried nearby. This fulfilled Paul’s desire “to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better” (Phil 1:23, <span>rsv<\/span>).<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>PAUL, T<span>he Apostle<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Prominent leader of the first-century church; apostle to the Gentiles; author of 13 NT epistles.<\/p>\n<p>Preview<\/p>\n<p>• Family and Cultural Background<\/p>\n<p>• Education<\/p>\n<p>• Saul the Persecutor<\/p>\n<p>• Conversion and Calling<\/p>\n<p>• Preparation for Ministry<\/p>\n<p>• Sent Out from Antioch<\/p>\n<p>• Traveling with Barnabas<\/p>\n<p>• The Council of Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>• Further Travel<\/p>\n<p>• Labor in the Gospel<\/p>\n<p>• The Arrest in Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>• Voyage and Stay in Rome<\/p>\n<p>• Final Years and Martyrdom<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"FamilyandCulturalBackground\">Family and Cultural Background<\/p>\n<p>Paul was born around <span>AD<\/span> 10, a Jew in a family of Pharisees (Acts 23:6) of the tribe of Benjamin (Phil 3:5) in Tarsus of Cilicia (Acts 9:11; 21:39; 22:3), a center of commerce and learning that embraced the Hellenistic spirit and Roman politics. It was a city of which he could be proud (21:39). His parents named him Saul, perhaps after the first king of Israel, who was also a Benjaminite (1 Sm 11:15; Acts 13:21), but Acts 13:9 notes that he “was also called Paul.” He uses the Roman name Paul throughout his letters.<\/p>\n<p>From religious parents Paul received knowledge of the Law and Prophets and the Hebrew and Aramaic languages (Acts 21:40; 22:2-3; 23:6; Gal 1:14; Phil 3:5-6). Tarsus, however, was not a Jewish city. Rather, it had a Greek character, being a place where the Greek language was spoken and Greek literature was cultivated. This accounts for Paul’s familiarity with Greek (Acts 21:37), the language of the streets and shops of Tarsus.<\/p>\n<p>Jews were brought to Tarsus, the capital of the Roman province of Cilicia, in 171 <span>BC<\/span> to promote business in the region. At that time Paul’s ancestors were probably given Roman citizenship. Paul inherited from his father both Tarsisian and Roman citizenship, which would prove to be of great value to Paul in his later life as he traveled with the gospel throughout the Roman Empire (Acts 16:37; 22:25-29; 23:27). Paul may have had several brothers and sisters, but Acts 23:16 mentions only one sister, whose son performed a lifesaving act for his uncle.<\/p>\n<p>Paul was a tent maker (Acts 18:3). He may have learned this trade from his father, or he may have selected it as a means of self-support, as was the custom of those in rabbinical training. Tarsus was well known for the goat’s-hair cloth called cilicium. It was the weaving of this cloth and the fashioning of it into tents, sails, awnings, and cloaks that gave Paul his economic independence during his apostolic ministry (Acts 18:3; 20:34; 28:30; 2 Cor 11:9; 1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Education\">Education<\/p>\n<p>Although born in Tarsus, Paul testified to the Jews in Jerusalem that he had been brought up in this city and studied under Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). It is not clear when Paul was first brought to Jerusalem, but it is likely that sometime between the ages of 13 and 20 he began his formal rabbinical studies. His teacher, Gamaliel, was the grandson of Hillel, founder of a Pharisaic school whose teachings run through the Talmudic writings to this day. This is the same Gamaliel whose wisdom persuaded the Sanhedrin to spare the lives of Peter and the apostles (5:33-40). No doubt, it was while studying under Gamaliel in Hillel’s school that Paul began to advance in Judaism beyond many Jews of his own age and became extremely zealous for the traditions of his fathers (Gal 1:14). Perhaps then also Paul began to experience the struggles with the law he would later describe in Romans 7.<\/p>\n<p>While Paul was studying the Jewish law in Jerusalem, Jesus was working as a carpenter in Nazareth. Then Jesus gathered the disciples who would one day be Paul’s coworkers in the gospel, fulfilled his ministry, and accomplished redemption on the cross of Calvary (<span>AD<\/span> 30). Christ’s resurrection gave birth to the church, which was baptized in the Holy Spirit at the Feast of Pentecost in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"SaulthePersecutor\">Saul the Persecutor<\/p>\n<p>Shortly after these world-changing events, the members of certain synagogues in Jerusalem, including the Cilician synagogue, that of Paul’s native land (Acts 6:9), could not withstand the wisdom and spirit (v 10) of a member of the church in Jerusalem named Stephen (vv 5, 8). They accused him of blasphemy before the Sanhedrin (vv 11-15) and after his eloquent defense (7:1-53) dragged him out of the city, where he was stoned to death. He became the first Christian martyr. The record does not fully reveal the role Paul played in these proceedings, but we know that he was present and prominent because the witnesses against Stephen, who were required to throw the first stones in the execution, “laid their clothes at the feet of a young man called Saul [Paul]” (v 58, <span>niv<\/span>).<\/p>\n<p>At Stephen’s trial, Paul heard Stephen’s historical method of defense, and he later used it himself at Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:16-41). He witnessed the man with the face of an angel (6:15), full of the Holy Spirit, looking above and proclaiming “the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God” (7:56). Stephen’s death initiated the events that would culminate in Paul’s conversion and commission as the apostle to the Gentiles. But at that time Paul was a leader of the oppressors of the church. He breathed threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord (9:1); he persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it (Gal 1:13) by imprisoning Christians, both male and female (Acts 22:4), in many cities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"ConversionandCalling\">Conversion and Calling<\/p>\n<p>Paul had obtained letters from the high priest in Jerusalem to the synagogues in Damascus authorizing him to arrest the believers there and bring them to Jerusalem for trial (Acts 9:1-2). Paul traveled to Damascus for this purpose. Then, on the outskirts of the city, came the event that was to transform this law-keeping persecutor of Jesus Christ and blasphemous destroyer of the infant church into the chief propagator of the gospel of grace and master builder of the church (1 Cor 3:10; 1 Tm 1:13). This was the occasion of Paul’s conversion (c. <span>AD<\/span> 31–33). It was of such revolutionary and lasting importance that three detailed accounts of it are given in the book of Acts (Acts 9:1-19; 22:1-21; 26:1-23), and many references are given to it in Paul’s own writings (1 Cor 9:1; 15:8; Gal 1:15-16; Eph 3:3; Phil 3:12).<\/p>\n<p>At that time a light from heaven, brighter than the midday sun, shone around Paul and his traveling companions, and they fell to the ground (Acts 26:13-14). Only Paul, however, heard the voice of Jesus instruct him in his commission as a minister and witness to the Gentiles (vv 14-18). Temporarily blinded, Paul was led into Damascus (9:8). There, the disciple Ananias and the Christian community forgave Paul, baptized him, and helped him through the bewildering event of his conversion (vv 10-22). After a short time with the church there, Paul was threatened with death by the Jews to whom he preached Jesus (vv 20-22), but he was protected by the believers and ingeniously delivered from his persecutors (vv 23-25).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"PreparationforMinistry\">Preparation for Ministry<\/p>\n<p>Then began a period of preparation, which lasted about 13 years. During this time, Paul first was in the desert of Arabia for three years. Here was his opportunity to pray and reflect on Stephen’s defense to the Sanhedrin, the momentous significance of his conversion, the vision he received of Jesus Christ, and the meaning of all this in the light of Jewish theology. Following this, Paul returned to Damascus and then visited Peter in Jerusalem for 15 days (Gal 1:17-18).<\/p>\n<p>At first, the disciples in Jerusalem were afraid of him because they did not believe he was a disciple of Jesus (Acts 9:26), but he was championed by Barnabas and thus accepted by the believers in Jerusalem (vv 27-28). While there, Paul may have heard the oral gospel, a summary of the words and deeds of Jesus, handed down to all converts. This would have included the institution of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11:23-25), specific words of the Lord (Acts 20:35; 1 Cor 7:10; 9:14), the appearances of the resurrected Christ (1 Cor 15:3-8), and the spirit and character of Jesus (2 Cor 10:1; Phil 2:5-8). Paul also preached in Jerusalem, perhaps in the same synagogues in which he had heard Stephen. However, when his life was again threatened by the Jews, the believers sent him away to Tarsus (Acts 9:29-30; Gal 1:21).<\/p>\n<p>The end of Paul’s preparation came when Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for him and bring him to Antioch. By this time Paul had lived for 10 years in Cilicia. Since his conversion, before being sent to Tarsus, he had proclaimed Jesus (Acts 9:20), speaking boldly in the name of the Lord (v 27). There is no reason to think he did otherwise while living among the Gentiles in Cilicia. In fact, his work may have been so effective that he began to attract attention in Antioch. During these years, Paul probably underwent many of the sufferings mentioned in 2 Corinthians 11:24-26. Several scholars think that the ecstatic experience mentioned in 2 Corinthians 12:1-9, with its accompanying thorn in the flesh, also took place before he came to Antioch.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"SentOutfromAntioch\">Sent Out from Antioch<\/p>\n<p>The church in Antioch had its origins in the persecution fomented by Paul after the death of Stephen. Until they arrived in Antioch, the scattered believers had only spoken the word to Jews (Acts 11:19). It was here that the Gentiles first heard the Good News (v 20), and many became believers (v 21). It is fitting that Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 22:21; Rom 11:13), who was as yet unknown by sight to the churches of Judea (Gal 1:22), should appear in Antioch to formally begin the ministry to which he was called (Acts 26:17-18).<\/p>\n<p>Barnabas and Paul stayed with the church in Antioch for a year. Their work there was so blessed that a new name, Christian, was coined to distinguish the believers in Antioch from Gentiles and Jews (Acts 11:26). Hearing of a famine in Judea, the disciples in Antioch determined to send relief to the believers in Judea and did so by Barnabas and Paul (v 30). Such a gift displayed to the Jewish churches the potency of the gospel among the Gentiles. Their mission complete, Barnabas and Paul returned to Antioch with John Mark (12:25), Barnabas’s cousin (Col 4:10).<\/p>\n<p>Beginning from the Day of Pentecost, the work in the gospel had been casual and incidental. Contacts were made in the homes, the marketplace, the streets, synagogues, highways, etc. (Acts 3:1; 5:12, 42; 8:26-29; 10:22). But in Antioch the Holy Spirit initiated a determined effort to evangelize a section of the Roman Empire (13:1-3). By the Holy Spirit’s instructions, the church separated Barnabas and Paul for this work. With the prayers and encouragement of this church, and with John Mark as their assistant, Barnabas and Paul, sent out by the Holy Spirit, sailed for Cyprus (v 4).<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TravelingwithBarnabas\">Traveling with Barnabas<\/p>\n<p>Arriving in Salamis, they preached in the synagogues as they traveled the length of the island to Paphos (Acts 13:5-6). There the Roman proconsul, Sergius Paulus, wanted to hear the word of God (v 7). A magician named Elymas Bar-Jesus tried to prevent the proconsul from believing in Jesus but was stricken with temporary blindness by Paul’s command (vv 8-11). This was the first manifestation in Paul of the signs of an apostle (2 Cor 12:12). From then on, the name Paul, not Saul, is used in Luke’s record of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 13:9), and Paul replaced Barnabas as the leader of the party. So “Paul and his company” set sail from Paphos and arrived in Perga of Pamphylia (v 13). John Mark deserted them at Perga and returned to his home in Jerusalem (v 13). This caused discord (15:39), but Paul and Mark were later reconciled (Col 4:10; 2 Tm 4:11).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s travels with the gospel now continued through the Roman province of Asia, specifically in the southern portion of Galatia, the areas of Pamphylia, Pisidia, and Lycaonia. The coastal area where the party landed is a hot, malarial region. It is thought that Paul contracted malaria there and so traveled inland through the mountains to the 4,000-foot- (1,219.2-meter-) high tablelands. Such a journey would have been full of dangerous rivers and bandits (2 Cor 11:26), but Paul was well cared for by the Galatian highlanders when he arrived (Gal 4:13-15) and was rewarded with a warm reception to his message (Acts 13:48-49).<\/p>\n<p>Paul and Barnabas were asked to speak at the synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia (Acts 13:15), and Paul delivered a discourse full of the characteristics of the gospel he would later record in his letters to the churches (vv 16-41). He was invited to speak the next week (v 42); nearly the whole city gathered together to hear the word of God (v 44). This stirred up jealousy in the Jews who opposed Paul’s words (v 45), causing the apostles’ dramatic turn to the Gentiles (vv 46-47). Many Gentiles in Antioch believed and spread the word throughout the region, but Paul and Barnabas were forced out and went to Iconium in Lycaonia (vv 48-51).<\/p>\n<p>The success in Antioch was duplicated in Iconium as was the Jews’ opposition (Acts 14:1), and the apostles fled from the threat of a stoning to Lystra and Derbe in Lycaonia (vv 5-6). In Lystra the signs of an apostle were again seen when Paul healed a man who had been crippled since birth (vv 8-10). The idolatrous citizens of the town, however, primed by the popular belief that Jupiter, accompanied by Mercury, had once visited their region, worshiped Paul and Barnabas as these deities (vv 11-13). Even the convincing words of Paul, whom they mistook for Mercury, hardly restrained the crowds from offering a sacrifice (vv 14-18).<\/p>\n<p>It was in Lystra that Paul was first given a taste of the same medicine he had once administered to Christians. The Jews stoned him, dragged him out of the city, and left him for dead (Acts 14:19). Timothy (16:1-3) may have been among the new disciples surrounding Paul as he lay outside the gate (14:20). Timothy was Paul’s son in the faith (1 Cor 4:17; 1 Tm 1:2), eyewitness to his suffering (2 Tm 3:10-11), faithful companion, and fellow worker (Acts 19:22; 20:4; Rom 16:21; 1 Thes 3:2). The next day Barnabas and Paul went on to Derbe (Acts 14:20).<\/p>\n<p>After making many disciples in Derbe, the apostles retraced their steps through Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia, strengthening and encouraging the new believers and appointing elders in each church (Acts 14:21-23). Arriving again in Perga, they sailed back to Antioch of Syria, where they reported to the church the wonderful news that God had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles (vv 25-27).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TheCouncilofJerusalem\">The Council of Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>The Jews, who had dogged the steps of Paul and Barnabas throughout Galatia, followed on their heels to bewitch the Gentiles there, convincing them to desert the grace of Christ and submit to the Jewish law (Gal 1:6; 3:1). Shortly after the apostles’ return to Antioch, Judaizers came from Judea to Antioch, teaching salvation by the law (Acts 15:1). This began the war against the gospel of grace, which Paul preached.<\/p>\n<p>The church in Antioch sent Paul, Barnabas, and others to Jerusalem to settle the controversy of the law versus grace with the apostles and elders there (<span>AD<\/span> 49, Acts 15:2). Along the way to Jerusalem they spread the news of the conversion of the Gentiles. This brought great joy to the believers (v 3). Such joy was not shared by some in Jerusalem, who in the first meeting of the council said that the Gentiles should be ordered to keep the law of Moses (v 5).<\/p>\n<p>After this meeting, Paul and Barnabas met privately with Peter, John, and James (Gal 2:1-10) and explained the gospel they had been preaching to the Gentiles. These three leaders of the church in Jerusalem saw the grace that had been given to Paul to bring the gospel to the Gentiles and extended to him the “right hand of fellowship.” This private meeting seems to have decided the question of compliance to the Jewish law because in the next general meeting Peter said, “We believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 15:11, <span>rsv<\/span>), and James reached the decision that “we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God” (Acts 15:19, <span>rsv<\/span>). This was a great victory for Paul and Barnabas, and the news was received with rejoicing by the church in Antioch (vv 30-35).<\/p>\n<p>Later, Peter visited Antioch and freely associated with the Gentile believers as he had timidly done in Cornelius’s house (Acts 10:28). This continued until “certain men came from James.” Their presence brought fear to Peter, clouding the light of the gospel of grace, and causing him to separate himself from the Gentiles. Peter’s action influenced others, including Barnabas, to do the same (Gal 2:12-13). Paul rose to the challenge of this serious crisis, confronted Peter publicly, and charged him with Judaizing and hypocrisy (v 14). Paul won the battle and rescued Peter and Barnabas with eloquent words on justification by faith (vv 15-21), but the Judaizers had resumed their war. From this time on, they did not rest; rather, they tormented and persecuted Paul all over the world. But the apostle did not submit to them for a moment. He was engaged in the fight of his life, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with the Gentile believers (v 5).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"FurtherTravel\">Further Travel<\/p>\n<p>Paul wanted to visit the new believers and see how they were doing. So he proposed to Barnabas that they return to the cities where they had previously preached about Jesus (Acts 15:36). Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them, but Paul would not take him since he had deserted them during their earlier journey (13:13). This sharp disagreement ended Barnabas’s association with Paul (15:37-39). Silas, a leader among the brothers in Jerusalem (v 22), accompanied Paul as he set out by land through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches (vv 40-41).<\/p>\n<p>Beginning from Derbe in Galatia, Paul and Silas revisited the churches Paul had established with Barnabas. While in Lystra, they were joined by Timothy (Acts 16:1-3). The apostles delivered to these young churches the letter drafted by the elders and apostles in Jerusalem concerning the observance of the law (15:23-29), thus strengthening and increasing them (16:4-5).<\/p>\n<p>It is likely that Ephesus, a major city in the Roman province of Asia, was the party’s main objective for the advancement of the gospel, but they were “forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia” (Acts 16:6). Then they attempted to turn north and enter the region of Bithynia, “but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them” (v 7). In this way they were forced by God to continue straight westward to Troas on the Aegean Sea, where Luke joined them (“we” in v 10), and Paul had a vision in which he was called out of Asia into Macedonia (vv 8-9). Paul and his party immediately crossed by boat into Europe (v 11) where they carried the gospel to Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, and Corinth.<\/p>\n<p>Philippi was a Roman colony and military outpost where there were few Jews, so Paul went to a place by the river where the local Jews prayed. He spoke to some women there, notably Lydia, who believed and with her household was baptized (Acts 16:12-15), beginning the first church in Europe. Paul cast a spirit of divination out of a girl in Philippi, and as a result he and Silas were jailed (vv 16-24). The events of their night in jail made the jailer a believer in God (vv 25-34), and he and his family were added to the church in Philippi, which met in Lydia’s home (v 40). When Paul disclosed his Roman citizenship, he was released and was asked to leave the city (vv 35-39).<\/p>\n<p>At Thessalonica the Jews, aroused to jealousy by the success of Paul’s gospel message, raised a mob to search for the apostles. They complained to the city authorities that the people “who have turned the world upside down have come here also” and accused the apostles of “saying that there is another king [besides Caesar], Jesus” (Acts 17:5-7).<\/p>\n<p>Paul and Silas quickly left Thessalonica by night and arrived in Berea, a city thereafter distinguished by its citizens who eagerly and thoughtfully received the gospel (Acts 17:10-12). The Thessalonian Jews did not rest but trailed Paul to Berea to incite the crowds. The believers then sent Paul away to Athens, while Silas and Timothy stayed behind (vv 13-15).<\/p>\n<p>The Athenians called Paul a babbler but let him air his views before the Areopagus. Paul’s speech there was alive with his broad knowledge. He alluded to Greco-Roman philosophy (Acts 17:27), poetry (v 28), sculpture (vv 25, 29), architecture (v 24), and religion while proclaiming the existence of an “unknown god” (v 23). But he was rudely cut short by scoffing and indifference when he mentioned the resurrection (v 32). Paul’s words delighted the minds of many but influenced the wills of few, so when he arrived in Corinth, he determined not to proclaim the mystery of God in lofty words of wisdom so that the believers’ faith would not rest on human wisdom but on the power of God (1 Cor 2:1-5).<\/p>\n<p>In Corinth Paul met Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:2-3), Roman Jews with whom he lived and worked as a tent maker and who would become prominent among the churches (Acts 18:26; Rom 16:3; 1 Cor 16:19; 2 Tm 4:19). He stayed in Corinth 18 months from <span>AD<\/span> 50 to 51, raising up a church (Acts 18:11) on the strength of a vision from God (vv 9-10) and in spite of the attacks of the Jews (vv 12-17). Paul wrote the first and second letters to the Thessalonians from Corinth to establish the believers in a holy, industrious life (1 Thes 3:13; 5:23; 2 Thes 3:7-12) in hope of the second coming of Jesus Christ (1 Thes 4:15-18; 2 Thes 2:1ff.).<\/p>\n<p>Accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila, Paul sailed from Corinth for Syria. He left his fellow workers in Ephesus, sailed to Caesarea, briefly visited Jerusalem, and returned to Antioch (Acts 18:18-22). Paul stayed in Antioch for awhile but did not remain absent from the field of his labors for long. Alone, he departed from Antioch, went from place to place in Galatia and Phrygia strengthening all the disciples, and eventually arrived in Ephesus (18:23; 19:1).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"LaborintheGospel\">Labor in the Gospel<\/p>\n<p>A Jew named Apollos had ministered in Ephesus prior to Paul’s arrival and had recently gone over to Corinth (Acts 18:24-28). There Apollos innocently became the cause of such discord (1 Cor 3:3-9) that he left and refused to return even at Paul’s request (16:12). Paul’s earlier visit to Ephesus (Acts 18:19-20), Apollos’s ministry, and the presence of Priscilla and Aquila had prepared Ephesus for the apostle’s preaching of the gospel of Christ.<\/p>\n<p>Paul began his work in Ephesus by setting straight some ill-informed disciples of John the Baptist (Acts 19:1-7). He then spent three months preaching at the local synagogue until members of the congregation “spoke evil of the Way” (v 9). Paul then took the disciples and continued his arguments on the neutral ground of Tyrannus’s school (vv 8-9), where Jews and Greeks were free to come. He continued there for two years and “all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord” (v 10).<\/p>\n<p>The work in Ephesus was a great success (Acts 19:10, 20, 26). Paul enjoyed an open door for effective work (1 Cor 16:9), bolstered by extraordinary miracles (Acts 19:11-17), a public burning of valuable books of sorcery (vv 18-19), and the assistance of friendly officials from the province of Asia (v 31). There were also many adversaries (1 Cor 15:32; 16:9), especially among the artisans associated with the temple of Diana. Paul’s ministry had hurt their trade to the extent that they were incited to riot (Acts 19:23-41). Paul had intended to stay in Ephesus until Pentecost (1 Cor 16:8), but this tumult seems to have hastened his departure (Acts 20:1).<\/p>\n<p>During his stay in Ephesus, the household of Chloe sent word to Paul from Corinth that there were divisions in the church there (1 Cor 1:10-13). This report generated a flurry of letters and travels. Paul wrote a letter, which is now lost, to this church (5:9). The church in Corinth wrote a letter (7:1) and sent messengers to Paul (16:17), and Paul sent Timothy to them (4:17; 16:10). Paul then wrote 1 Corinthians (<span>AD<\/span> 53) and sent it by Titus, who was to meet him in Troas to report the results (2 Cor 2:12-13).<\/p>\n<p>After his hasty exit from Ephesus, Paul found an open door for the gospel in Troas, but he so longed to hear from Corinth that he pushed on into Macedonia (2 Cor 2:12-13). There he was finally comforted by Titus (7:5-7) and rejoiced at the news of the Corinthians’ repentance, earnestness, longing, and zeal (vv 8-16). From Macedonia Paul wrote 2 Corinthians (<span>AD<\/span> 54), toured northwest to proclaim the good news of Christ in Illyricum (Rom 15:19), and then turned south for Achaia and his third visit to Corinth (Acts 19:21; 20:1-3; 2 Cor 13:1).<\/p>\n<p>The time and place from which Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians is a topic of controversy. Some date it before the council at Jerusalem, about <span>AD<\/span> 45. Others say he wrote it from Corinth at this stage in his history. The latter opinion is the choice of this narrative.<\/p>\n<p>A three-month winter stay in Corinth (<span>AD<\/span> 55–56) produced the Letter to the Romans, which firmly set the benchmark of the gospel for all the ages. Paul had many personal friends in Rome (Rom 16) and had long intended to visit there (1:10-15). His plans were to deliver a collection from the Gentile churches to Jerusalem (Acts 20:35; Rom 15:25-26; 1 Cor 16:1) and then visit Rome (Acts 19:21) on his way to Spain (Rom 15:23-24).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TheArrestinJerusalem\">The Arrest in Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s trip from Corinth to Jerusalem was marked by abundant warnings of the danger awaiting him in Jerusalem. The Judaizers’ acrimony toward Paul was common talk everywhere, but all alarms went unheeded (Acts 20:22-24, 38; 21:4, 10-15). However, the request for prayer in Romans 15:30-32 shows that Paul knew he might soon need a divine rescue from the unbelievers in Judea.<\/p>\n<p>The travelers, carrying the collection for Jerusalem, journeyed swiftly in order to reach Jerusalem by Pentecost (Acts 20:16). They proceeded by land from Achaia, through Macedonia, to Philippi in time for the Passover (spring <span>AD<\/span> 56, v 6). Crossing by sea to Troas, they visited the believers there (vv 7-12) and then sailed through the archipelago of the eastern Aegean Sea to Miletus (vv 13-16). From Miletus, Paul sent for the elders of Ephesus, to whom he delivered an impassioned speech containing his own dire warnings for them (vv 17-38).<\/p>\n<p>Parting from them, Paul and his companions set sail to Cos, to Rhodes, and then to Patara, where they changed ships for Phoenicia (Acts 21:1-2). A straight course to Tyre brought them within sight of Cyprus, with its memories of Barnabas and Sergius Paulus (v 3). “Through the Spirit” the disciples in Tyre “told Paul not to go on to Jerusalem” (v 4), but he pressed on to Caesarea, where he and his company stayed with Philip, who had formerly served with the martyred Stephen (21:8; cf. 6:5). In Caesarea, Paul would not be persuaded by an especially dramatic prophecy of his coming arrest (21:10-14).<\/p>\n<p>In Jerusalem the apostolic band stayed with Mnason, an early disciple, and were warmly welcomed by the brothers there (Acts 21:15-17). James and the elders of the church praised God when they heard of the things he had done through Paul among the Gentiles (vv 18-20), and when they received the collection from the churches (24:17). They told Paul of his bad reputation among the thousands of Jewish believers in Jerusalem and urged him to set right the Judaizers’ misrepresentation that he encouraged Jewish Christians to forsake the Mosaic customs (21:21-24). Acts 21:25 shows the Jerusalem elders understood that the Gentiles were under no obligation to Moses; their concern was for Paul to demonstrate that Jewish believers were free to continue their traditional observances.<\/p>\n<p>Paul had kept the Jewish feasts (Acts 20:6), as had Jesus and the early disciples in Jerusalem. He had also cut his hair in a vow at Cenchreae (18:18), so it was a small matter for him, a Jew, to ceremonially purify himself after becoming a Christian, especially if it would undermine the arguments of the Judaizers. To have refused the elders’ request would have lent credence to the Judaizers’ charge. The success of this plan is seen in that it was the Jews from Asia, visiting Jerusalem for the Pentecost feast of <span>AD<\/span> 57, who stirred up trouble for Paul (21:27-29)—not the Judaizers from Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p>The whole city was aroused by Paul’s persistent persecutors. A violent crowd dragged him out of the temple just as Stephen had once been hauled to his martyrdom. They tried to kill him, but he was rescued by Roman soldiers as the mob cried, “Away with him!”—just as they had done to Jesus (Acts 21:30-36). At this juncture the educational and cultural diversity of Paul’s life came to his rescue. As he was carried for safety to the Roman barracks, he spoke in Greek to the tribune, who had mistaken him for an Egyptian assassin (vv 37-38). Given permission to speak to the crowd, he did so in the Aramaic language then common in Israel (vv 39-40). The hushed crowd eagerly heard Paul’s defense until he uttered the word “Gentiles.” At this, the crowd resumed its threatening and violence, and Paul was brought into the barracks (22:1-24). There the Romans prepared to flog him, until Paul revealed that he was not only a Jew from Tarsus but also a freeborn Roman citizen. The tribune was afraid, since he had bound a Roman citizen. Wanting to know the charges against Paul, he brought him to the Sanhedrin (vv 25-30).<\/p>\n<p>This meeting of the Jewish judiciary was shortly reduced to dissension and violence. Paul resorted to tactics justifiable in such a war and hopelessly divided the Sanhedrin on the subject of the resurrection (Acts 23:1-9). Paul again was rescued, this time from the contending factions of the Jewish leadership, and taken to the barracks, where the Lord encouraged him, promising that he would go to Rome (<span>AD<\/span> 56, vv 10-11).<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime 40 Jews entered into a murderous plot against Paul. They vowed not to eat or drink until they had killed the apostle (Acts 23:12-15). They almost succeeded, but with the help of the son of Paul’s sister (v 16), the conspiracy was exposed. For safety, Paul was taken from Jerusalem to Caesarea under guard of 470 soldiers and handed over to the custody of Felix the governor (vv 16-35). Inconclusive hearings before Felix (Acts 24), his successor, Festus (25:1-12), and King Agrippa (25:23–26:32) occupied Paul in his two years of imprisonment in Caesarea. Festus, wanting to please the Jews, suggested that Paul be returned to Jerusalem for trial, but Paul knew the murderous intent of his accusers and again utilized his Roman citizenship by making a dramatic appeal to Caesar (25:9-12).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"VoyageandStayinRome\">Voyage and Stay in Rome<\/p>\n<p>To plead his case at Caesar’s court, Paul and his companions, Aristarchus and Luke, were taken on a perilous voyage (<span>AD<\/span> 58, Acts 27:1–28:16). Their passage by ship from Caesarea to Rome is one of the most remarkable on record. Luke’s detailed account is a treasure of information on ancient ships, navigation, and seamanship. It is also a beautiful portrait of a heroic and dignified apostle Paul, the gospel’s ambassador in chains (Eph 6:20), who with the guidance and assurance of his God (Acts 27:23-26), led the 276 people on board to safety (v 37).<\/p>\n<p>Luke traces the voyage stage by stage through every crisis, with a change of ship at Myra, delay at Fair Havens on Crete, and the shipwreck on Malta. Finally, in the spring of <span>AD<\/span> 59, they arrived at Puteoli, Italy, and made their way to Rome, welcomed by the believers along the Appian Way (Acts 28:13-16).<\/p>\n<p>Luke provided a peaceful denouement to the Acts, notwithstanding the fact that the apostle was an imperial prisoner of Caesar Nero. Paul lived by himself in his own house, chained to a Roman guard (Acts 28:16, 30). There he received the local Jewish leaders—to calm any misgivings they may have had about him and, at the same time, to convince them about Jesus. His efforts had mixed success (vv 17-28). During Paul’s two or more years in Rome, the Judaizers seem to have withdrawn, only to be replaced by the peril of Eastern Gnosticism. This is seen in Paul’s letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Ephesians, and to Philemon, all written at this time. It is unlikely that Paul’s accusers appeared in Rome to bring formal charges before Caesar, so Paul was probably released in <span>AD<\/span> 61.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"FinalYearsandMartyrdom\">Final Years and Martyrdom<\/p>\n<p>It is here assumed that the Pastoral Letters (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus) are truly Paul’s work. Only through them can the probable course of events in Paul’s final years be traced. Romans 15:28 shows that Paul intended to deliver the collection to Jerusalem and then to “set out by way of you [Rome] to Spain.” The arrest and imprisonment in Jerusalem not only destroyed these plans but also extracted five precious years from the prime of a most productive life. Although Clement of Rome implied that Paul did fulfill his desire to go to Spain (<em>Clement to the Corinthians<\/em> 5), it is certain that the daily pressure of Paul’s anxious care for all the churches (2 Cor 11:28) did not abate.<\/p>\n<p>If Paul went to Spain, he may have been there when Rome was burned on July 19, <span>AD<\/span> 64. Tradition says that Paul traveled as far as Britain, but there is no evidence to confirm this. Returning east, he left Titus in Crete (Ti 1:5) and traveled through Miletus, south of Ephesus, where he left Trophimus sick (2 Tm 4:20). Traveling toward Macedonia, Paul visited Timothy in Ephesus (1 Tm 1:3). On the way, Paul left his cloak and books with Carpus in Troas (2 Tm 4:13). This indicates that he intended to return there for his possessions. From Macedonia Paul wrote his loving yet apprehensive first letter to Timothy (<span>AD<\/span> 62–64). He had decided to spend the winter in Nicopolis (Ti 3:12), northwest of Corinth on the Adriatic Sea, but was still in Macedonia when he wrote his letter to Titus. This letter is similar to 1 Timothy, yet with a somewhat harsher tone. In it is a final glimpse of the eloquent and zealous Apollos (Ti 3:13), who is still in association with Paul 10 or more years after his first appearance in Ephesus (Acts 18:24).<\/p>\n<p>From here Paul’s path is obscure. He may have wintered in Nicopolis, but he did not return to Troas for his winter cloak (2 Tm 4:13). At some point he was arrested by the Romans, because he spent a winter in Rome’s Mamertine Prison, suffering from the cold in that rock cell before he wrote his second letter to Timothy (<span>AD<\/span> 66–67). He may have been anticipating the coming winter when he requested that Timothy bring his cloak (vv 13, 21). It is possible that the charges against Paul were related to the burning of Rome; this is unknown. It was, however, now “illegal” to be a Christian since the “new religion” was no longer protected by Roman law as being part of Judaism (which was a legalized, recognized religion by Roman law).<\/p>\n<p>It was dangerous to be associated with Paul at this time. Many deserted him (2 Tm 4:16), including all his coworkers in Asia (1:15) and Demas, who loved the world (4:10). Only Luke, the physician and author of Luke and Acts, was with him when he wrote his second letter to Timothy (v 11). Faithful believers still in hiding in Rome were also in contact with the apostle (1:16; 4:19, 21). He told Timothy to come to him in Rome and bring Mark also (4:11). Apparently Timothy did come and was imprisoned (Heb 13:23). Paul’s request for the books and parchments (2 Tm 4:13) discloses that he was reading and studying the Scripture to the end.<\/p>\n<p>The apostle Paul had two hearings before Caesar Nero. At his first defense only the Lord stood by him (2 Tm 4:16). There he not only pleaded his own cause but also that of the gospel, still longing that all the Gentiles would hear its message. Perhaps no decision was made, and thus he was “rescued from the lion’s mouth” (v 17). Though he knew he would soon die, he was not afraid, but was assured that the Lord would give him a crown of righteousness on the last day (v 8). Finally, the apostle himself recorded his seminal encouragement to all believers: “The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you” (v 22, <span>rsv<\/span>). After this, the Scripture is silent regarding Paul.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing is known of Paul’s second hearing but that it resulted in the sentence of capital punishment. History does not record Paul’s end. Nero died in the summer of <span>AD<\/span> 68, so Paul was executed before that date. As a Roman citizen, he must have been spared the lingering torture that had recently been suffered by his fellow martyrs. Tradition says that he was decapitated by the sword of an imperial headsman on the Ostian Road just outside of Rome, and buried nearby. This fulfilled Paul’s desire “to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better” (Phil 1:23, <span>rsv<\/span>).<\/p>","summary_ro":"PAUL, The Apostle Prominent leader of the first-century church; apostle to the Gentiles; author of 13 NT epistles. Preview • Family and Cultural Background • Education • Saul the Persecutor • Conversion and Calling • Preparation for Ministry • Sent Out from Antioch • Traveling with Barnabas • The Council of Jerusalem • Further Travel • Labor in the Gospel • The Arrest in Jerusalem • Voyage and Stay in Rome • Final Years and Martyrdom Family and Cultural Background Paul was born around AD 10, ...","summary_en":"PAUL, The Apostle Prominent leader of the first-century church; apostle to the Gentiles; author of 13 NT epistles. Preview • Family and Cultural Background • Education • Saul the Persecutor • Conversion and Calling • Preparation for Ministry • Sent Out from Antioch • Traveling with Barnabas • The Council of Jerusalem • Further Travel • Labor in the Gospel • The Arrest in Jerusalem • Voyage and Stay in Rome • Final Years and Martyrdom Family and Cultural Background Paul was born around AD 10, ...","source":"Articles\/P.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false}],"12":[{"id":21103,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Judaizers*","title_en":"Judaizers*","content_ro":"<h3>JUDAIZERS*<\/h3>\n<p>Christian Jews who, during the apostolic and early postapostolic periods, attempted to impose the Jewish way of life on gentile Christians. The Greek verb, which literally means “to Judaize,” is found only one time in the NT (Gal 2:14), where it actually means “to live according to Jewish customs and traditions.” In that passage Paul quotes part of a brief conversation he had with Peter several years earlier: “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews [i.e., to Judaize]?” (<span>rsv<\/span>). The issue that concerned Paul was not simply whether or not a person followed the Jewish way of life but whether one erroneously thought that salvation was attained thereby.<\/p>\n<p>In the early days of Christianity, most—if not all—Christians were Jews prior to their conversion to Christianity. The few who were originally Gentiles, such as Nicolaus of Antioch (Acts 6:5), had converted to Judaism before turning to Christianity. At that time, conversion to Judaism was accomplished through three separate steps: (1) circumcision (for males); (2) a ritual bath in water; and (3) agreement to take upon oneself the “yoke of the law,” that is, to obey the 613 commands of the Mosaic law as interpreted and expanded in Jewish Halakah (rabbinic legal decisions). Following Jewish customs and traditions and observing Jewish religious laws was a normal way of life for Jewish Christians, whether they were Jews by birth or through conversion. For them, belief in Jesus as the Messiah of Jewish expectation enhanced, but did not replace, their Judaism. Christianity was not regarded as a religion distinct from Judaism but rather as the truest form of Judaism. These Jewish Christians had all been circumcised as infants, or upon conversion to Judaism, and they also practiced the kosher dietary laws and rules of ritual purity prescribed in Mosaic legislation and rabbinic tradition. Further, they continued to worship at the temple in Jerusalem (Acts 3:1; 21:26) until its destruction by the Romans in <span>AD<\/span> 70, and certain Jewish Christians continued to meet in synagogues (see Jas 2:2, <span>nlt<\/span> mg).<\/p>\n<p>While earliest Christianity began as a predominantly Jewish movement, it soon expanded into the Greco-Roman world. Jewish Christians were forced to leave Jerusalem as a result of persecutions (Acts 8:1; 11:19-24), and they proclaimed the gospel wherever they went. Philip was responsible for bringing the gospel to Samaria, where many Samaritans became Christians (8:4-25). On the Day of Pentecost, many Jews from places all over the Roman world became converts to the Christian faith (2:5-11). Presumably, when these newly converted Jewish Christians returned to their homes, they carried the gospel with them. Although the origin of the Christian community in Rome is shrouded in obscurity, this is probably how the gospel first came to Rome. One of the central concerns of Luke, the author of Acts, is to show how Christianity, which began as a small, persecuted sect of Judaism in Jerusalem, spread throughout the Roman world; in so doing, it was rejected by Jews and embraced by Gentiles. The major turning point in Acts is in chapter 10, where Peter is the means whereby the Roman centurion Cornelius, together with his entire household, accepted the gospel and began to manifest the gifts of the Holy Spirit. According to Acts 10:45, “The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon the Gentiles, too” (<span>nlt<\/span>).<\/p>\n<p>The growing number of gentile converts to Christianity forced Jewish Christians to face a very difficult problem: Must a Gentile first become a Jew in order to be a Christian? Some Jewish Christians gave a positive answer to this question, and these became known as the circumcision party (Acts 11:2; Gal 2:12). Others, such as Peter and Barnabas, and especially Paul, vigorously disagreed. While these two radically different points of view could have split the early church into two major factions, that possibility did not occur. Luke tells the story of how, after a successful first missionary journey (Acts 13:1–14:28), Paul and Barnabas reported to the church at Antioch how God had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles (Acts 14:27). Opposition from the Judaizers in the circumcision party was soon felt, however, since some of them had come to Antioch from Judea for the express purpose of advocating the idea that circumcision was absolutely necessary for salvation (15:1). Many Jewish Christians had, like Paul, once been Pharisees. These former Pharisees were particularly insistent that new converts who were Gentiles be circumcised and charged to keep the law of Moses (v 5). They were really demanding that Gentiles become converted to Judaism in order to be Christians.<\/p>\n<p>Paul and Barnabas debated with members of the circumcision party before an assembly of apostles and elders in Jerusalem (Acts 15:4-12). The assembly, led by James the Just (the brother of Jesus), listened to both sides and decided to issue a compromise. A letter to the gentile churches was drafted in which it was recommended that gentile converts to Christianity adhere to only a few absolutely essential obligations: (1) abstention from meat sacrificed to idols, (2) abstention from eating blood or blood-saturated meat, and (3) abstention from unchastity (vv 23-29). These three obligations were probably singled out because they were thought to have been important features of those laws regarded as part of the covenant between God and Noah according to Jewish tradition. Since Noah was the ancestor of all mankind, Gentiles as well as Jews, such laws had universal validity. The Mosaic covenant, on the other hand, was incumbent only upon Jews, not upon Gentiles. For this reason the Jerusalem Council determined that abstention from meat sacrificed to idols, blood-saturated meat, and unchastity applied to all Christians, whereas the obligation of circumcision did not.<\/p>\n<p>Judging from the remainder of the book of Acts, it might be supposed that the decision of the Jerusalem Council was satisfactory to the Judaizers of the circumcision party. However, from the details provided by Paul in many of his letters, we find that this was not the case. After Paul briefly summarizes the results of the Jerusalem Council for the Galatian Christians (Gal 2:1-10), he relates how, even after the Jerusalem Council, the Judaizers of the circumcision party were sufficiently powerful to cause even Peter and Barnabas to temporarily isolate themselves from gentile Christians. (According to rabbinic purity laws, one would become religiously impure if one ate with Gentiles.) The major reason Paul wrote the Letter to the Galatians was to combat Judaizers who had apparently invaded the Christian communities in Galatia after his departure. These Judaizers appear to have successfully persuaded some of the Galatian Christians that salvation was available only for those who were circumcised and who kept the Mosaic law (5:12; 6:13). At least some of the problems experienced by the Corinthian church appear to have been caused by Judaizers (2 Cor 11:12–15, 22), and they had infected the Christian community at Philippi (Phil 3:2-3). Judaizers also appear to have made some progress in the church at Colosse. Therefore, according to Colossians 2:16-17, “Let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a sabbath. These are only a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ” (<span>rsv<\/span>).<\/p>\n<p>Of all the early apostles and elders, Paul was the one who most consistently opposed the Judaizers’ view that Gentiles must first become Jews in order to be Christians. His dramatic conversion to Christianity, narrated three times in Acts (9:1-9; 22:6-16; 26:12-23) and occasionally referred to by Paul himself (1 Cor 9:1; 15:8; Gal 1:11-17), convinced him that salvation could be achieved only through faith in Christ. Since Jesus was the <em>only<\/em> way, all other means by which persons sought to obtain salvation were necessarily invalid and illegitimate. Paul was fully aware that it was not because of the fact that he was an observant Jew that he had become justified before God (Phil 3:2-11) but through his faith in Christ. Primarily because of the persistent activity of the Judaizers, Paul had to insist frequently on the invalidity of the law and the validity of faith as the means of being justified before God. This theme dominates his letters to the Romans and the Galatians.<\/p>\n<p>Jewish Christianity gradually withered and disappeared, and with it went the insistence of the Judaizers that Gentiles live according to Jewish customs and traditions in order to receive salvation. The center of Jewish Christianity had traditionally been Jerusalem. Just before the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple at the end of the Jewish revolt of <span>AD<\/span> 66–70, many Jewish Christians fled to Pella in obedience to a divine revelation. The ill-fated revolt of Bar-Kochba (<span>AD<\/span> 132–135) further weakened the movement, when Jewish Christians experienced persecution at the hands of the Jewish insurgents. Thereafter Jewish Christianity grew weaker and eventually disappeared. With its disappearance the persistent notion that Gentiles must first become Jews in order to be Christians also died.<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Acts of the Apostles, Book of the; First Jewish Revolt; Galatians, Letter to the; Jerusalem Council; Jew; Paul, The Apostle.<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>JUDAIZERS*<\/h3>\n<p>Christian Jews who, during the apostolic and early postapostolic periods, attempted to impose the Jewish way of life on gentile Christians. The Greek verb, which literally means “to Judaize,” is found only one time in the NT (Gal 2:14), where it actually means “to live according to Jewish customs and traditions.” In that passage Paul quotes part of a brief conversation he had with Peter several years earlier: “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews [i.e., to Judaize]?” (<span>rsv<\/span>). The issue that concerned Paul was not simply whether or not a person followed the Jewish way of life but whether one erroneously thought that salvation was attained thereby.<\/p>\n<p>In the early days of Christianity, most—if not all—Christians were Jews prior to their conversion to Christianity. The few who were originally Gentiles, such as Nicolaus of Antioch (Acts 6:5), had converted to Judaism before turning to Christianity. At that time, conversion to Judaism was accomplished through three separate steps: (1) circumcision (for males); (2) a ritual bath in water; and (3) agreement to take upon oneself the “yoke of the law,” that is, to obey the 613 commands of the Mosaic law as interpreted and expanded in Jewish Halakah (rabbinic legal decisions). Following Jewish customs and traditions and observing Jewish religious laws was a normal way of life for Jewish Christians, whether they were Jews by birth or through conversion. For them, belief in Jesus as the Messiah of Jewish expectation enhanced, but did not replace, their Judaism. Christianity was not regarded as a religion distinct from Judaism but rather as the truest form of Judaism. These Jewish Christians had all been circumcised as infants, or upon conversion to Judaism, and they also practiced the kosher dietary laws and rules of ritual purity prescribed in Mosaic legislation and rabbinic tradition. Further, they continued to worship at the temple in Jerusalem (Acts 3:1; 21:26) until its destruction by the Romans in <span>AD<\/span> 70, and certain Jewish Christians continued to meet in synagogues (see Jas 2:2, <span>nlt<\/span> mg).<\/p>\n<p>While earliest Christianity began as a predominantly Jewish movement, it soon expanded into the Greco-Roman world. Jewish Christians were forced to leave Jerusalem as a result of persecutions (Acts 8:1; 11:19-24), and they proclaimed the gospel wherever they went. Philip was responsible for bringing the gospel to Samaria, where many Samaritans became Christians (8:4-25). On the Day of Pentecost, many Jews from places all over the Roman world became converts to the Christian faith (2:5-11). Presumably, when these newly converted Jewish Christians returned to their homes, they carried the gospel with them. Although the origin of the Christian community in Rome is shrouded in obscurity, this is probably how the gospel first came to Rome. One of the central concerns of Luke, the author of Acts, is to show how Christianity, which began as a small, persecuted sect of Judaism in Jerusalem, spread throughout the Roman world; in so doing, it was rejected by Jews and embraced by Gentiles. The major turning point in Acts is in chapter 10, where Peter is the means whereby the Roman centurion Cornelius, together with his entire household, accepted the gospel and began to manifest the gifts of the Holy Spirit. According to Acts 10:45, “The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon the Gentiles, too” (<span>nlt<\/span>).<\/p>\n<p>The growing number of gentile converts to Christianity forced Jewish Christians to face a very difficult problem: Must a Gentile first become a Jew in order to be a Christian? Some Jewish Christians gave a positive answer to this question, and these became known as the circumcision party (Acts 11:2; Gal 2:12). Others, such as Peter and Barnabas, and especially Paul, vigorously disagreed. While these two radically different points of view could have split the early church into two major factions, that possibility did not occur. Luke tells the story of how, after a successful first missionary journey (Acts 13:1–14:28), Paul and Barnabas reported to the church at Antioch how God had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles (Acts 14:27). Opposition from the Judaizers in the circumcision party was soon felt, however, since some of them had come to Antioch from Judea for the express purpose of advocating the idea that circumcision was absolutely necessary for salvation (15:1). Many Jewish Christians had, like Paul, once been Pharisees. These former Pharisees were particularly insistent that new converts who were Gentiles be circumcised and charged to keep the law of Moses (v 5). They were really demanding that Gentiles become converted to Judaism in order to be Christians.<\/p>\n<p>Paul and Barnabas debated with members of the circumcision party before an assembly of apostles and elders in Jerusalem (Acts 15:4-12). The assembly, led by James the Just (the brother of Jesus), listened to both sides and decided to issue a compromise. A letter to the gentile churches was drafted in which it was recommended that gentile converts to Christianity adhere to only a few absolutely essential obligations: (1) abstention from meat sacrificed to idols, (2) abstention from eating blood or blood-saturated meat, and (3) abstention from unchastity (vv 23-29). These three obligations were probably singled out because they were thought to have been important features of those laws regarded as part of the covenant between God and Noah according to Jewish tradition. Since Noah was the ancestor of all mankind, Gentiles as well as Jews, such laws had universal validity. The Mosaic covenant, on the other hand, was incumbent only upon Jews, not upon Gentiles. For this reason the Jerusalem Council determined that abstention from meat sacrificed to idols, blood-saturated meat, and unchastity applied to all Christians, whereas the obligation of circumcision did not.<\/p>\n<p>Judging from the remainder of the book of Acts, it might be supposed that the decision of the Jerusalem Council was satisfactory to the Judaizers of the circumcision party. However, from the details provided by Paul in many of his letters, we find that this was not the case. After Paul briefly summarizes the results of the Jerusalem Council for the Galatian Christians (Gal 2:1-10), he relates how, even after the Jerusalem Council, the Judaizers of the circumcision party were sufficiently powerful to cause even Peter and Barnabas to temporarily isolate themselves from gentile Christians. (According to rabbinic purity laws, one would become religiously impure if one ate with Gentiles.) The major reason Paul wrote the Letter to the Galatians was to combat Judaizers who had apparently invaded the Christian communities in Galatia after his departure. These Judaizers appear to have successfully persuaded some of the Galatian Christians that salvation was available only for those who were circumcised and who kept the Mosaic law (5:12; 6:13). At least some of the problems experienced by the Corinthian church appear to have been caused by Judaizers (2 Cor 11:12–15, 22), and they had infected the Christian community at Philippi (Phil 3:2-3). Judaizers also appear to have made some progress in the church at Colosse. Therefore, according to Colossians 2:16-17, “Let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a sabbath. These are only a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ” (<span>rsv<\/span>).<\/p>\n<p>Of all the early apostles and elders, Paul was the one who most consistently opposed the Judaizers’ view that Gentiles must first become Jews in order to be Christians. His dramatic conversion to Christianity, narrated three times in Acts (9:1-9; 22:6-16; 26:12-23) and occasionally referred to by Paul himself (1 Cor 9:1; 15:8; Gal 1:11-17), convinced him that salvation could be achieved only through faith in Christ. Since Jesus was the <em>only<\/em> way, all other means by which persons sought to obtain salvation were necessarily invalid and illegitimate. Paul was fully aware that it was not because of the fact that he was an observant Jew that he had become justified before God (Phil 3:2-11) but through his faith in Christ. Primarily because of the persistent activity of the Judaizers, Paul had to insist frequently on the invalidity of the law and the validity of faith as the means of being justified before God. This theme dominates his letters to the Romans and the Galatians.<\/p>\n<p>Jewish Christianity gradually withered and disappeared, and with it went the insistence of the Judaizers that Gentiles live according to Jewish customs and traditions in order to receive salvation. The center of Jewish Christianity had traditionally been Jerusalem. Just before the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple at the end of the Jewish revolt of <span>AD<\/span> 66–70, many Jewish Christians fled to Pella in obedience to a divine revelation. The ill-fated revolt of Bar-Kochba (<span>AD<\/span> 132–135) further weakened the movement, when Jewish Christians experienced persecution at the hands of the Jewish insurgents. Thereafter Jewish Christianity grew weaker and eventually disappeared. With its disappearance the persistent notion that Gentiles must first become Jews in order to be Christians also died.<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Acts of the Apostles, Book of the; First Jewish Revolt; Galatians, Letter to the; Jerusalem Council; Jew; Paul, The Apostle.<\/p>","summary_ro":"JUDAIZERS* Christian Jews who, during the apostolic and early postapostolic periods, attempted to impose the Jewish way of life on gentile Christians. The Greek verb, which literally means “to Judaize,” is found only one time in the NT (Gal 2:14), where it actually means “to live according to Jewish customs and traditions.” In that passage Paul quotes part of a brief conversation he had with Peter several years earlier: “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can yo...","summary_en":"JUDAIZERS* Christian Jews who, during the apostolic and early postapostolic periods, attempted to impose the Jewish way of life on gentile Christians. The Greek verb, which literally means “to Judaize,” is found only one time in the NT (Gal 2:14), where it actually means “to live according to Jewish customs and traditions.” In that passage Paul quotes part of a brief conversation he had with Peter several years earlier: “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can yo...","source":"Articles\/J.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":57860,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:12","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:12","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:12<\/strong> Paul’s motive in refusing to accept support from the Corinthians (11:7-11) was to show them what true Christian service is like in contrast to the ministry of <em>those who<\/em> were <em>looking for an opportunity to boast<\/em>.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:12<\/strong> Paul’s motive in refusing to accept support from the Corinthians (11:7-11) was to show them what true Christian service is like in contrast to the ministry of <em>those who<\/em> were <em>looking for an opportunity to boast<\/em>.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:12 Paul’s motive in refusing to accept support from the Corinthians (11:7-11) was to show them what true Christian service is like in contrast to the ministry of those who were looking for an opportunity to boast.","summary_en":"11:12 Paul’s motive in refusing to accept support from the Corinthians (11:7-11) was to show them what true Christian service is like in contrast to the ministry of those who were looking for an opportunity to boast.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":85486,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:12","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:12","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:12<\/strong> Paul’s motive in refusing to accept support from the Corinthians (11:7-11) was to show them what true Christian service is like in contrast to the ministry of <em>those who<\/em> were <em>looking for an opportunity to boast<\/em>.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:12<\/strong> Paul’s motive in refusing to accept support from the Corinthians (11:7-11) was to show them what true Christian service is like in contrast to the ministry of <em>those who<\/em> were <em>looking for an opportunity to boast<\/em>.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:12 Paul’s motive in refusing to accept support from the Corinthians (11:7-11) was to show them what true Christian service is like in contrast to the ministry of those who were looking for an opportunity to boast.","summary_en":"11:12 Paul’s motive in refusing to accept support from the Corinthians (11:7-11) was to show them what true Christian service is like in contrast to the ministry of those who were looking for an opportunity to boast.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":113112,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:12","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:12","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:12<\/strong> Paul’s motive in refusing to accept support from the Corinthians (11:7-11) was to show them what true Christian service is like in contrast to the ministry of <em>those who<\/em> were <em>looking for an opportunity to boast<\/em>.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:12<\/strong> Paul’s motive in refusing to accept support from the Corinthians (11:7-11) was to show them what true Christian service is like in contrast to the ministry of <em>those who<\/em> were <em>looking for an opportunity to boast<\/em>.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:12 Paul’s motive in refusing to accept support from the Corinthians (11:7-11) was to show them what true Christian service is like in contrast to the ministry of those who were looking for an opportunity to boast.","summary_en":"11:12 Paul’s motive in refusing to accept support from the Corinthians (11:7-11) was to show them what true Christian service is like in contrast to the ministry of those who were looking for an opportunity to boast.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":140738,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:12","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:12","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:12<\/strong> Paul’s motive in refusing to accept support from the Corinthians (11:7-11) was to show them what true Christian service is like in contrast to the ministry of <em>those who<\/em> were <em>looking for an opportunity to boast<\/em>.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:12<\/strong> Paul’s motive in refusing to accept support from the Corinthians (11:7-11) was to show them what true Christian service is like in contrast to the ministry of <em>those who<\/em> were <em>looking for an opportunity to boast<\/em>.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:12 Paul’s motive in refusing to accept support from the Corinthians (11:7-11) was to show them what true Christian service is like in contrast to the ministry of those who were looking for an opportunity to boast.","summary_en":"11:12 Paul’s motive in refusing to accept support from the Corinthians (11:7-11) was to show them what true Christian service is like in contrast to the ministry of those who were looking for an opportunity to boast.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false}],"13":[{"id":41862,"type":"profile","type_label":"Profil","type_icon":"👤","type_color":"#f59e0b","title_ro":"Satan","title_en":"Satan","content_ro":"<h3>Satan<\/h3>\n<p>The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Testament that Satan became identified with the serpent in Eden (see <em>Wisdom of Solomon<\/em> 2:24). The New Testament refers to the chief demon as “(the) Satan” (Rev 20:2), along with numerous other names such as the devil (Matt 4:1-11), the tempter (1 Thes 3:5), Beelzeboul, the ruler of demons (see textual notes at Matt 12:24; Luke 11:15), the evil one (Matt 13:19, 38; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18), Beliar (see textual note at 2 Cor 6:15), the deceiver (Rev 12:9), the great seven-headed dragon and serpent of old (Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2), a murderer, and the father of lies (John 8:44).<\/p>\n<p>Satan incited David’s census (1 Chr 21:1; cp. 2 Sam 24:1), tempted and betrayed Jesus (Mark 1:12-13; John 13:27), desired to test Peter as he had tested Job (Luke 22:31), enslaved sinners (Acts 26:17-18), and deceitfully opposed God’s people (1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 11:14). The adversary of God’s people will be overcome in the end, when God defeats and imprisons him (Rev 12:9; 20:2, 10).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Num 22:22, 32; 1 Chr 21:1; Job 1:6–2:7; Zech 3:1-4; Matt 4:1-10; 12:24; 13:19, 38-39; 16:23; Mark 1:13; 4:15; Luke 4:6; 10:17-20; 11:15; 22:3, 31; John 8:44; 12:31; 13:2, 27; 16:11; Acts 13:9-10; 26:17-18; Rom 16:20; 1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 2:10-11; 4:4; 6:15; 11:13-15; 1 Thes 3:5; 2 Thes 2:2-12; Heb 2:14; Jas 4:7; 1 Pet 5:8; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18; Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2, 10<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Satan<\/h3>\n<p>The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Testament that Satan became identified with the serpent in Eden (see <em>Wisdom of Solomon<\/em> 2:24). The New Testament refers to the chief demon as “(the) Satan” (Rev 20:2), along with numerous other names such as the devil (Matt 4:1-11), the tempter (1 Thes 3:5), Beelzeboul, the ruler of demons (see textual notes at Matt 12:24; Luke 11:15), the evil one (Matt 13:19, 38; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18), Beliar (see textual note at 2 Cor 6:15), the deceiver (Rev 12:9), the great seven-headed dragon and serpent of old (Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2), a murderer, and the father of lies (John 8:44).<\/p>\n<p>Satan incited David’s census (1 Chr 21:1; cp. 2 Sam 24:1), tempted and betrayed Jesus (Mark 1:12-13; John 13:27), desired to test Peter as he had tested Job (Luke 22:31), enslaved sinners (Acts 26:17-18), and deceitfully opposed God’s people (1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 11:14). The adversary of God’s people will be overcome in the end, when God defeats and imprisons him (Rev 12:9; 20:2, 10).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Num 22:22, 32; 1 Chr 21:1; Job 1:6–2:7; Zech 3:1-4; Matt 4:1-10; 12:24; 13:19, 38-39; 16:23; Mark 1:13; 4:15; Luke 4:6; 10:17-20; 11:15; 22:3, 31; John 8:44; 12:31; 13:2, 27; 16:11; Acts 13:9-10; 26:17-18; Rom 16:20; 1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 2:10-11; 4:4; 6:15; 11:13-15; 1 Thes 3:5; 2 Thes 2:2-12; Heb 2:14; Jas 4:7; 1 Pet 5:8; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18; Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2, 10<\/p>","summary_ro":"Satan The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word satan refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term satan is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Test...","summary_en":"Satan The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word satan refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term satan is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Test...","source":"Profiles.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":69488,"type":"profile","type_label":"Profil","type_icon":"👤","type_color":"#f59e0b","title_ro":"Satan","title_en":"Satan","content_ro":"<h3>Satan<\/h3>\n<p>The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Testament that Satan became identified with the serpent in Eden (see <em>Wisdom of Solomon<\/em> 2:24). The New Testament refers to the chief demon as “(the) Satan” (Rev 20:2), along with numerous other names such as the devil (Matt 4:1-11), the tempter (1 Thes 3:5), Beelzeboul, the ruler of demons (see textual notes at Matt 12:24; Luke 11:15), the evil one (Matt 13:19, 38; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18), Beliar (see textual note at 2 Cor 6:15), the deceiver (Rev 12:9), the great seven-headed dragon and serpent of old (Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2), a murderer, and the father of lies (John 8:44).<\/p>\n<p>Satan incited David’s census (1 Chr 21:1; cp. 2 Sam 24:1), tempted and betrayed Jesus (Mark 1:12-13; John 13:27), desired to test Peter as he had tested Job (Luke 22:31), enslaved sinners (Acts 26:17-18), and deceitfully opposed God’s people (1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 11:14). The adversary of God’s people will be overcome in the end, when God defeats and imprisons him (Rev 12:9; 20:2, 10).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Num 22:22, 32; 1 Chr 21:1; Job 1:6–2:7; Zech 3:1-4; Matt 4:1-10; 12:24; 13:19, 38-39; 16:23; Mark 1:13; 4:15; Luke 4:6; 10:17-20; 11:15; 22:3, 31; John 8:44; 12:31; 13:2, 27; 16:11; Acts 13:9-10; 26:17-18; Rom 16:20; 1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 2:10-11; 4:4; 6:15; 11:13-15; 1 Thes 3:5; 2 Thes 2:2-12; Heb 2:14; Jas 4:7; 1 Pet 5:8; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18; Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2, 10<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Satan<\/h3>\n<p>The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Testament that Satan became identified with the serpent in Eden (see <em>Wisdom of Solomon<\/em> 2:24). The New Testament refers to the chief demon as “(the) Satan” (Rev 20:2), along with numerous other names such as the devil (Matt 4:1-11), the tempter (1 Thes 3:5), Beelzeboul, the ruler of demons (see textual notes at Matt 12:24; Luke 11:15), the evil one (Matt 13:19, 38; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18), Beliar (see textual note at 2 Cor 6:15), the deceiver (Rev 12:9), the great seven-headed dragon and serpent of old (Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2), a murderer, and the father of lies (John 8:44).<\/p>\n<p>Satan incited David’s census (1 Chr 21:1; cp. 2 Sam 24:1), tempted and betrayed Jesus (Mark 1:12-13; John 13:27), desired to test Peter as he had tested Job (Luke 22:31), enslaved sinners (Acts 26:17-18), and deceitfully opposed God’s people (1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 11:14). The adversary of God’s people will be overcome in the end, when God defeats and imprisons him (Rev 12:9; 20:2, 10).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Num 22:22, 32; 1 Chr 21:1; Job 1:6–2:7; Zech 3:1-4; Matt 4:1-10; 12:24; 13:19, 38-39; 16:23; Mark 1:13; 4:15; Luke 4:6; 10:17-20; 11:15; 22:3, 31; John 8:44; 12:31; 13:2, 27; 16:11; Acts 13:9-10; 26:17-18; Rom 16:20; 1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 2:10-11; 4:4; 6:15; 11:13-15; 1 Thes 3:5; 2 Thes 2:2-12; Heb 2:14; Jas 4:7; 1 Pet 5:8; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18; Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2, 10<\/p>","summary_ro":"Satan The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word satan refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term satan is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Test...","summary_en":"Satan The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word satan refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term satan is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Test...","source":"Profiles.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":97114,"type":"profile","type_label":"Profil","type_icon":"👤","type_color":"#f59e0b","title_ro":"Satan","title_en":"Satan","content_ro":"<h3>Satan<\/h3>\n<p>The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Testament that Satan became identified with the serpent in Eden (see <em>Wisdom of Solomon<\/em> 2:24). The New Testament refers to the chief demon as “(the) Satan” (Rev 20:2), along with numerous other names such as the devil (Matt 4:1-11), the tempter (1 Thes 3:5), Beelzeboul, the ruler of demons (see textual notes at Matt 12:24; Luke 11:15), the evil one (Matt 13:19, 38; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18), Beliar (see textual note at 2 Cor 6:15), the deceiver (Rev 12:9), the great seven-headed dragon and serpent of old (Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2), a murderer, and the father of lies (John 8:44).<\/p>\n<p>Satan incited David’s census (1 Chr 21:1; cp. 2 Sam 24:1), tempted and betrayed Jesus (Mark 1:12-13; John 13:27), desired to test Peter as he had tested Job (Luke 22:31), enslaved sinners (Acts 26:17-18), and deceitfully opposed God’s people (1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 11:14). The adversary of God’s people will be overcome in the end, when God defeats and imprisons him (Rev 12:9; 20:2, 10).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Num 22:22, 32; 1 Chr 21:1; Job 1:6–2:7; Zech 3:1-4; Matt 4:1-10; 12:24; 13:19, 38-39; 16:23; Mark 1:13; 4:15; Luke 4:6; 10:17-20; 11:15; 22:3, 31; John 8:44; 12:31; 13:2, 27; 16:11; Acts 13:9-10; 26:17-18; Rom 16:20; 1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 2:10-11; 4:4; 6:15; 11:13-15; 1 Thes 3:5; 2 Thes 2:2-12; Heb 2:14; Jas 4:7; 1 Pet 5:8; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18; Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2, 10<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Satan<\/h3>\n<p>The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Testament that Satan became identified with the serpent in Eden (see <em>Wisdom of Solomon<\/em> 2:24). The New Testament refers to the chief demon as “(the) Satan” (Rev 20:2), along with numerous other names such as the devil (Matt 4:1-11), the tempter (1 Thes 3:5), Beelzeboul, the ruler of demons (see textual notes at Matt 12:24; Luke 11:15), the evil one (Matt 13:19, 38; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18), Beliar (see textual note at 2 Cor 6:15), the deceiver (Rev 12:9), the great seven-headed dragon and serpent of old (Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2), a murderer, and the father of lies (John 8:44).<\/p>\n<p>Satan incited David’s census (1 Chr 21:1; cp. 2 Sam 24:1), tempted and betrayed Jesus (Mark 1:12-13; John 13:27), desired to test Peter as he had tested Job (Luke 22:31), enslaved sinners (Acts 26:17-18), and deceitfully opposed God’s people (1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 11:14). The adversary of God’s people will be overcome in the end, when God defeats and imprisons him (Rev 12:9; 20:2, 10).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Num 22:22, 32; 1 Chr 21:1; Job 1:6–2:7; Zech 3:1-4; Matt 4:1-10; 12:24; 13:19, 38-39; 16:23; Mark 1:13; 4:15; Luke 4:6; 10:17-20; 11:15; 22:3, 31; John 8:44; 12:31; 13:2, 27; 16:11; Acts 13:9-10; 26:17-18; Rom 16:20; 1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 2:10-11; 4:4; 6:15; 11:13-15; 1 Thes 3:5; 2 Thes 2:2-12; Heb 2:14; Jas 4:7; 1 Pet 5:8; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18; Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2, 10<\/p>","summary_ro":"Satan The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word satan refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term satan is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Test...","summary_en":"Satan The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word satan refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term satan is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Test...","source":"Profiles.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":124740,"type":"profile","type_label":"Profil","type_icon":"👤","type_color":"#f59e0b","title_ro":"Satan","title_en":"Satan","content_ro":"<h3>Satan<\/h3>\n<p>The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Testament that Satan became identified with the serpent in Eden (see <em>Wisdom of Solomon<\/em> 2:24). The New Testament refers to the chief demon as “(the) Satan” (Rev 20:2), along with numerous other names such as the devil (Matt 4:1-11), the tempter (1 Thes 3:5), Beelzeboul, the ruler of demons (see textual notes at Matt 12:24; Luke 11:15), the evil one (Matt 13:19, 38; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18), Beliar (see textual note at 2 Cor 6:15), the deceiver (Rev 12:9), the great seven-headed dragon and serpent of old (Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2), a murderer, and the father of lies (John 8:44).<\/p>\n<p>Satan incited David’s census (1 Chr 21:1; cp. 2 Sam 24:1), tempted and betrayed Jesus (Mark 1:12-13; John 13:27), desired to test Peter as he had tested Job (Luke 22:31), enslaved sinners (Acts 26:17-18), and deceitfully opposed God’s people (1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 11:14). The adversary of God’s people will be overcome in the end, when God defeats and imprisons him (Rev 12:9; 20:2, 10).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Num 22:22, 32; 1 Chr 21:1; Job 1:6–2:7; Zech 3:1-4; Matt 4:1-10; 12:24; 13:19, 38-39; 16:23; Mark 1:13; 4:15; Luke 4:6; 10:17-20; 11:15; 22:3, 31; John 8:44; 12:31; 13:2, 27; 16:11; Acts 13:9-10; 26:17-18; Rom 16:20; 1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 2:10-11; 4:4; 6:15; 11:13-15; 1 Thes 3:5; 2 Thes 2:2-12; Heb 2:14; Jas 4:7; 1 Pet 5:8; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18; Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2, 10<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Satan<\/h3>\n<p>The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Testament that Satan became identified with the serpent in Eden (see <em>Wisdom of Solomon<\/em> 2:24). The New Testament refers to the chief demon as “(the) Satan” (Rev 20:2), along with numerous other names such as the devil (Matt 4:1-11), the tempter (1 Thes 3:5), Beelzeboul, the ruler of demons (see textual notes at Matt 12:24; Luke 11:15), the evil one (Matt 13:19, 38; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18), Beliar (see textual note at 2 Cor 6:15), the deceiver (Rev 12:9), the great seven-headed dragon and serpent of old (Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2), a murderer, and the father of lies (John 8:44).<\/p>\n<p>Satan incited David’s census (1 Chr 21:1; cp. 2 Sam 24:1), tempted and betrayed Jesus (Mark 1:12-13; John 13:27), desired to test Peter as he had tested Job (Luke 22:31), enslaved sinners (Acts 26:17-18), and deceitfully opposed God’s people (1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 11:14). The adversary of God’s people will be overcome in the end, when God defeats and imprisons him (Rev 12:9; 20:2, 10).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Num 22:22, 32; 1 Chr 21:1; Job 1:6–2:7; Zech 3:1-4; Matt 4:1-10; 12:24; 13:19, 38-39; 16:23; Mark 1:13; 4:15; Luke 4:6; 10:17-20; 11:15; 22:3, 31; John 8:44; 12:31; 13:2, 27; 16:11; Acts 13:9-10; 26:17-18; Rom 16:20; 1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 2:10-11; 4:4; 6:15; 11:13-15; 1 Thes 3:5; 2 Thes 2:2-12; Heb 2:14; Jas 4:7; 1 Pet 5:8; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18; Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2, 10<\/p>","summary_ro":"Satan The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word satan refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term satan is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Test...","summary_en":"Satan The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word satan refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term satan is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Test...","source":"Profiles.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":2390,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Apostleship Apostle","title_en":"Apostleship Apostle","content_ro":"<h3>APOSTLE, APOSTLESHIP<\/h3>\n<p>Official designation given to certain leading individuals in the NT churches. Apostleship is the more comprehensive term, denoting the functions of the one who serves in such a capacity. Questions concerning origin, function, and history of the NT apostolate are much debated; one cannot speak of anything like consensus of opinion uniting the various church traditions. Some light is shed on our understanding of the terms by an examination of the possible linguistic and conceptual backgrounds.<\/p>\n<p>The Greek word for “apostle” is not used outside the NT in the same sense as it is in the NT. It is derived from the verb “to send” and is at home in the language of the sea meaning a particular “ship” or “group of ships,” a “marine expedition” or “the leader” of such. Its usage is almost always impersonal and thoroughly passive. There is no hint of personal initiative or authorization, merely the connotation of something being sent. Later papyri use the word to mean “bill” or “invoice” or even a “passport,” continuing to reflect the vocabulary of maritime affairs.<\/p>\n<p>In the NT, the word was used to designate those who had been sent by Jesus with the proclamation of the gospel. From among the wider group of those who followed him, Jesus selected 12 men (Mt 10:1-4; Mk 3:13-19; Lk 6:12-16) who maintained with him a particularly close relationship, receiving private instruction and witnessing his miracles and controversy with the Jewish authorities. On one occasion, Jesus sent these men out to preach the message of repentance, to cast out demons, and to heal the sick; that is, to minister in ways that were characteristic of his own work (Mt 10:1-15; Mk 6:7-13, 30; Lk 9:1-6). The same relationship is expressed in the saying “He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me” (Lk 10:16, <span>rsv<\/span>; cf. Mt 10:40). It is clear that the Twelve are not merely to pass Jesus’ teaching on but to represent his very person. After the resurrection, Jesus commissioned the Twelve (Mt 28; Lk 24; Jn 20–21) to proclaim God’s act in Christ on behalf of all men. Only those who had been with Jesus from the beginning of his ministry to his resurrection were qualified to be his apostolic witnesses (Acts 1:21-22). Paul qualified because he had seen the risen Christ (1 Cor 15:4-10).<\/p>\n<p>The Pauline writings demonstrate two characteristic usages of the word “apostle.” On occasion, it refers to persons authorized by local congregations and entrusted with the safe delivery of specific gifts for other members of the Christian community (2 Cor 8:23; Phil 2:25). More important are those passages where “apostle” takes on a more technical sense through the qualifying phrase “of Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 1:1; 2 Cor 1:1; 11:13; Gal 1:1; Eph 1:1; Col 1:1; 1 Thes 2:6). The “sent one” is the “sent one of Jesus Christ” (Rom 16:7; 1 Cor 9:1, 5; 12:28; Gal 1:17-19). In the statements where Paul claims his own right to this title, he argues along lines assuming the same basic apostolic concept that Jesus had. He consistently links this claim to a specific event in the past in which the risen Lord had appeared to him (1 Cor 9:1; Gal 1:12, 16). This appearance he ranked alongside those of the resurrection appearances (1 Cor 15:3-8). Paul understood his experience outside Damascus (cf. Acts 9:1-19a; 22:6-16; 26:12-18; Gal 1:17) as a lifelong commission to preach the now-resurrected One (1 Cor 1:17; 2:1-2) chiefly among the Gentiles (Acts 9:15; 22:15; 26:17, 23; Gal 1:15-16). It was through his preaching ministry that Christ continued to work, creating the new people of God (1 Cor 9:1-2; Gal 2:8).<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Acts of the Apostles, Book of the; Paul, The Apostle.<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>APOSTLE, APOSTLESHIP<\/h3>\n<p>Official designation given to certain leading individuals in the NT churches. Apostleship is the more comprehensive term, denoting the functions of the one who serves in such a capacity. Questions concerning origin, function, and history of the NT apostolate are much debated; one cannot speak of anything like consensus of opinion uniting the various church traditions. Some light is shed on our understanding of the terms by an examination of the possible linguistic and conceptual backgrounds.<\/p>\n<p>The Greek word for “apostle” is not used outside the NT in the same sense as it is in the NT. It is derived from the verb “to send” and is at home in the language of the sea meaning a particular “ship” or “group of ships,” a “marine expedition” or “the leader” of such. Its usage is almost always impersonal and thoroughly passive. There is no hint of personal initiative or authorization, merely the connotation of something being sent. Later papyri use the word to mean “bill” or “invoice” or even a “passport,” continuing to reflect the vocabulary of maritime affairs.<\/p>\n<p>In the NT, the word was used to designate those who had been sent by Jesus with the proclamation of the gospel. From among the wider group of those who followed him, Jesus selected 12 men (Mt 10:1-4; Mk 3:13-19; Lk 6:12-16) who maintained with him a particularly close relationship, receiving private instruction and witnessing his miracles and controversy with the Jewish authorities. On one occasion, Jesus sent these men out to preach the message of repentance, to cast out demons, and to heal the sick; that is, to minister in ways that were characteristic of his own work (Mt 10:1-15; Mk 6:7-13, 30; Lk 9:1-6). The same relationship is expressed in the saying “He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me” (Lk 10:16, <span>rsv<\/span>; cf. Mt 10:40). It is clear that the Twelve are not merely to pass Jesus’ teaching on but to represent his very person. After the resurrection, Jesus commissioned the Twelve (Mt 28; Lk 24; Jn 20–21) to proclaim God’s act in Christ on behalf of all men. Only those who had been with Jesus from the beginning of his ministry to his resurrection were qualified to be his apostolic witnesses (Acts 1:21-22). Paul qualified because he had seen the risen Christ (1 Cor 15:4-10).<\/p>\n<p>The Pauline writings demonstrate two characteristic usages of the word “apostle.” On occasion, it refers to persons authorized by local congregations and entrusted with the safe delivery of specific gifts for other members of the Christian community (2 Cor 8:23; Phil 2:25). More important are those passages where “apostle” takes on a more technical sense through the qualifying phrase “of Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 1:1; 2 Cor 1:1; 11:13; Gal 1:1; Eph 1:1; Col 1:1; 1 Thes 2:6). The “sent one” is the “sent one of Jesus Christ” (Rom 16:7; 1 Cor 9:1, 5; 12:28; Gal 1:17-19). In the statements where Paul claims his own right to this title, he argues along lines assuming the same basic apostolic concept that Jesus had. He consistently links this claim to a specific event in the past in which the risen Lord had appeared to him (1 Cor 9:1; Gal 1:12, 16). This appearance he ranked alongside those of the resurrection appearances (1 Cor 15:3-8). Paul understood his experience outside Damascus (cf. Acts 9:1-19a; 22:6-16; 26:12-18; Gal 1:17) as a lifelong commission to preach the now-resurrected One (1 Cor 1:17; 2:1-2) chiefly among the Gentiles (Acts 9:15; 22:15; 26:17, 23; Gal 1:15-16). It was through his preaching ministry that Christ continued to work, creating the new people of God (1 Cor 9:1-2; Gal 2:8).<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Acts of the Apostles, Book of the; Paul, The Apostle.<\/p>","summary_ro":"APOSTLE, APOSTLESHIP Official designation given to certain leading individuals in the NT churches. Apostleship is the more comprehensive term, denoting the functions of the one who serves in such a capacity. Questions concerning origin, function, and history of the NT apostolate are much debated; one cannot speak of anything like consensus of opinion uniting the various church traditions. Some light is shed on our understanding of the terms by an examination of the possible linguistic and con...","summary_en":"APOSTLE, APOSTLESHIP Official designation given to certain leading individuals in the NT churches. Apostleship is the more comprehensive term, denoting the functions of the one who serves in such a capacity. Questions concerning origin, function, and history of the NT apostolate are much debated; one cannot speak of anything like consensus of opinion uniting the various church traditions. Some light is shed on our understanding of the terms by an examination of the possible linguistic and con...","source":"Articles\/A.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":57861,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:13","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:13","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:13-15<\/strong> Paul fiercely condemns the false teachers in Corinth (cp. Gal 1:6-9). Although the false teachers wanted to claim that their work was just like Paul’s (2 Cor 11:12), they were in fact <em>false apostles<\/em> and <em>deceitful workers<\/em> (cp. Phil 3:2). Just as Satan changed himself into <em>an angel of light<\/em> to deceive Eve (as described in the Jewish apocryphal book <em>The Life of Adam and Eve<\/em>), so <em>his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness<\/em>. Satan’s servants claim to be God’s servants, but their <em>deeds<\/em> are <em>wicked<\/em><em>,<\/em> and their <em>punishment<\/em> is sure (cp. 2 Cor 5:10).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:13-15<\/strong> Paul fiercely condemns the false teachers in Corinth (cp. Gal 1:6-9). Although the false teachers wanted to claim that their work was just like Paul’s (2 Cor 11:12), they were in fact <em>false apostles<\/em> and <em>deceitful workers<\/em> (cp. Phil 3:2). Just as Satan changed himself into <em>an angel of light<\/em> to deceive Eve (as described in the Jewish apocryphal book <em>The Life of Adam and Eve<\/em>), so <em>his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness<\/em>. Satan’s servants claim to be God’s servants, but their <em>deeds<\/em> are <em>wicked<\/em><em>,<\/em> and their <em>punishment<\/em> is sure (cp. 2 Cor 5:10).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:13-15 Paul fiercely condemns the false teachers in Corinth (cp. Gal 1:6-9). Although the false teachers wanted to claim that their work was just like Paul’s (2 Cor 11:12), they were in fact false apostles and deceitful workers (cp. Phil 3:2). Just as Satan changed himself into an angel of light to deceive Eve (as described in the Jewish apocryphal book The Life of Adam and Eve), so his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Satan’s servants claim to be God’s servan...","summary_en":"11:13-15 Paul fiercely condemns the false teachers in Corinth (cp. Gal 1:6-9). Although the false teachers wanted to claim that their work was just like Paul’s (2 Cor 11:12), they were in fact false apostles and deceitful workers (cp. Phil 3:2). Just as Satan changed himself into an angel of light to deceive Eve (as described in the Jewish apocryphal book The Life of Adam and Eve), so his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Satan’s servants claim to be God’s servan...","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":85487,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:13","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:13","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:13-15<\/strong> Paul fiercely condemns the false teachers in Corinth (cp. Gal 1:6-9). Although the false teachers wanted to claim that their work was just like Paul’s (2 Cor 11:12), they were in fact <em>false apostles<\/em> and <em>deceitful workers<\/em> (cp. Phil 3:2). Just as Satan changed himself into <em>an angel of light<\/em> to deceive Eve (as described in the Jewish apocryphal book <em>The Life of Adam and Eve<\/em>), so <em>his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness<\/em>. Satan’s servants claim to be God’s servants, but their <em>deeds<\/em> are <em>wicked<\/em><em>,<\/em> and their <em>punishment<\/em> is sure (cp. 2 Cor 5:10).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:13-15<\/strong> Paul fiercely condemns the false teachers in Corinth (cp. Gal 1:6-9). Although the false teachers wanted to claim that their work was just like Paul’s (2 Cor 11:12), they were in fact <em>false apostles<\/em> and <em>deceitful workers<\/em> (cp. Phil 3:2). Just as Satan changed himself into <em>an angel of light<\/em> to deceive Eve (as described in the Jewish apocryphal book <em>The Life of Adam and Eve<\/em>), so <em>his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness<\/em>. Satan’s servants claim to be God’s servants, but their <em>deeds<\/em> are <em>wicked<\/em><em>,<\/em> and their <em>punishment<\/em> is sure (cp. 2 Cor 5:10).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:13-15 Paul fiercely condemns the false teachers in Corinth (cp. Gal 1:6-9). Although the false teachers wanted to claim that their work was just like Paul’s (2 Cor 11:12), they were in fact false apostles and deceitful workers (cp. Phil 3:2). Just as Satan changed himself into an angel of light to deceive Eve (as described in the Jewish apocryphal book The Life of Adam and Eve), so his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Satan’s servants claim to be God’s servan...","summary_en":"11:13-15 Paul fiercely condemns the false teachers in Corinth (cp. Gal 1:6-9). Although the false teachers wanted to claim that their work was just like Paul’s (2 Cor 11:12), they were in fact false apostles and deceitful workers (cp. Phil 3:2). Just as Satan changed himself into an angel of light to deceive Eve (as described in the Jewish apocryphal book The Life of Adam and Eve), so his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Satan’s servants claim to be God’s servan...","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":113113,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:13","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:13","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:13-15<\/strong> Paul fiercely condemns the false teachers in Corinth (cp. Gal 1:6-9). Although the false teachers wanted to claim that their work was just like Paul’s (2 Cor 11:12), they were in fact <em>false apostles<\/em> and <em>deceitful workers<\/em> (cp. Phil 3:2). Just as Satan changed himself into <em>an angel of light<\/em> to deceive Eve (as described in the Jewish apocryphal book <em>The Life of Adam and Eve<\/em>), so <em>his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness<\/em>. Satan’s servants claim to be God’s servants, but their <em>deeds<\/em> are <em>wicked<\/em><em>,<\/em> and their <em>punishment<\/em> is sure (cp. 2 Cor 5:10).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:13-15<\/strong> Paul fiercely condemns the false teachers in Corinth (cp. Gal 1:6-9). Although the false teachers wanted to claim that their work was just like Paul’s (2 Cor 11:12), they were in fact <em>false apostles<\/em> and <em>deceitful workers<\/em> (cp. Phil 3:2). Just as Satan changed himself into <em>an angel of light<\/em> to deceive Eve (as described in the Jewish apocryphal book <em>The Life of Adam and Eve<\/em>), so <em>his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness<\/em>. Satan’s servants claim to be God’s servants, but their <em>deeds<\/em> are <em>wicked<\/em><em>,<\/em> and their <em>punishment<\/em> is sure (cp. 2 Cor 5:10).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:13-15 Paul fiercely condemns the false teachers in Corinth (cp. Gal 1:6-9). Although the false teachers wanted to claim that their work was just like Paul’s (2 Cor 11:12), they were in fact false apostles and deceitful workers (cp. Phil 3:2). Just as Satan changed himself into an angel of light to deceive Eve (as described in the Jewish apocryphal book The Life of Adam and Eve), so his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Satan’s servants claim to be God’s servan...","summary_en":"11:13-15 Paul fiercely condemns the false teachers in Corinth (cp. Gal 1:6-9). Although the false teachers wanted to claim that their work was just like Paul’s (2 Cor 11:12), they were in fact false apostles and deceitful workers (cp. Phil 3:2). Just as Satan changed himself into an angel of light to deceive Eve (as described in the Jewish apocryphal book The Life of Adam and Eve), so his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Satan’s servants claim to be God’s servan...","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":140739,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:13","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:13","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:13-15<\/strong> Paul fiercely condemns the false teachers in Corinth (cp. Gal 1:6-9). Although the false teachers wanted to claim that their work was just like Paul’s (2 Cor 11:12), they were in fact <em>false apostles<\/em> and <em>deceitful workers<\/em> (cp. Phil 3:2). Just as Satan changed himself into <em>an angel of light<\/em> to deceive Eve (as described in the Jewish apocryphal book <em>The Life of Adam and Eve<\/em>), so <em>his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness<\/em>. Satan’s servants claim to be God’s servants, but their <em>deeds<\/em> are <em>wicked<\/em><em>,<\/em> and their <em>punishment<\/em> is sure (cp. 2 Cor 5:10).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:13-15<\/strong> Paul fiercely condemns the false teachers in Corinth (cp. Gal 1:6-9). Although the false teachers wanted to claim that their work was just like Paul’s (2 Cor 11:12), they were in fact <em>false apostles<\/em> and <em>deceitful workers<\/em> (cp. Phil 3:2). Just as Satan changed himself into <em>an angel of light<\/em> to deceive Eve (as described in the Jewish apocryphal book <em>The Life of Adam and Eve<\/em>), so <em>his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness<\/em>. Satan’s servants claim to be God’s servants, but their <em>deeds<\/em> are <em>wicked<\/em><em>,<\/em> and their <em>punishment<\/em> is sure (cp. 2 Cor 5:10).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:13-15 Paul fiercely condemns the false teachers in Corinth (cp. Gal 1:6-9). Although the false teachers wanted to claim that their work was just like Paul’s (2 Cor 11:12), they were in fact false apostles and deceitful workers (cp. Phil 3:2). Just as Satan changed himself into an angel of light to deceive Eve (as described in the Jewish apocryphal book The Life of Adam and Eve), so his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Satan’s servants claim to be God’s servan...","summary_en":"11:13-15 Paul fiercely condemns the false teachers in Corinth (cp. Gal 1:6-9). Although the false teachers wanted to claim that their work was just like Paul’s (2 Cor 11:12), they were in fact false apostles and deceitful workers (cp. Phil 3:2). Just as Satan changed himself into an angel of light to deceive Eve (as described in the Jewish apocryphal book The Life of Adam and Eve), so his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Satan’s servants claim to be God’s servan...","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":64414,"type":"theme_note","type_label":"Temă biblică","type_icon":"🎯","type_color":"#ef4444","title_ro":"False Prophets","title_en":"False Prophets","content_ro":"<h3>False Prophets<\/h3>\n<p>The Bible tells of many individuals who set themselves up as prophets on their own authority. They had no true calling from God but nonetheless claimed to speak for him. Often it was hard for people to discern the difference between true and false prophets, especially since false prophets usually told them what they wanted to hear (see, e.g., 1 Kgs 22:10-14; Jer 28:1-4).<\/p>\n<p>Because of this difficulty, and the Lord’s merciful delay in bringing judgment upon his rebellious people, many people doubted that God’s word through his true prophets would ever be fulfilled (see Isa 5:19). Others denied that anything would happen within their lifetimes. Might not the punishment that had so often been delayed be delayed a little longer?<\/p>\n<p>Ezekiel prophesied that in the coming judgment upon Jerusalem, false prophets would be cut off so that people would no longer be confused about who the true prophets were (Ezek 13:8-9). There would also be no more delay to God’s judgment—the Lord was coming very soon to fulfill the words he had spoken (13:11). Everyone would see which words God had really spoken and which words the false prophets had conjured out of their own imaginations.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus warned of the presence of false prophets in the future (Matt 24:11-28), and his early followers encountered numerous false prophets (see, e.g., Acts 13:6-12; 2 Pet 2:1-3). Believers can often recognize false prophets by their incorrect teaching about Christ, which demonstrates that they are not operating under the Spirit of God (1 Jn 4:1-3).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Deut 13:1-5; 18:22; 1 Kgs 22:8-28; Jer 6:13-15; 14:13-16; 20:1-6; 28:1-17; 29:21-32; 50:6; Ezek 13:1-23; 22:28; Mic 3:5; 2 Cor 11:13-15; 2 Tim 4:3-4; 2 Pet 2:1-3<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>False Prophets<\/h3>\n<p>The Bible tells of many individuals who set themselves up as prophets on their own authority. They had no true calling from God but nonetheless claimed to speak for him. Often it was hard for people to discern the difference between true and false prophets, especially since false prophets usually told them what they wanted to hear (see, e.g., 1 Kgs 22:10-14; Jer 28:1-4).<\/p>\n<p>Because of this difficulty, and the Lord’s merciful delay in bringing judgment upon his rebellious people, many people doubted that God’s word through his true prophets would ever be fulfilled (see Isa 5:19). Others denied that anything would happen within their lifetimes. Might not the punishment that had so often been delayed be delayed a little longer?<\/p>\n<p>Ezekiel prophesied that in the coming judgment upon Jerusalem, false prophets would be cut off so that people would no longer be confused about who the true prophets were (Ezek 13:8-9). There would also be no more delay to God’s judgment—the Lord was coming very soon to fulfill the words he had spoken (13:11). Everyone would see which words God had really spoken and which words the false prophets had conjured out of their own imaginations.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus warned of the presence of false prophets in the future (Matt 24:11-28), and his early followers encountered numerous false prophets (see, e.g., Acts 13:6-12; 2 Pet 2:1-3). Believers can often recognize false prophets by their incorrect teaching about Christ, which demonstrates that they are not operating under the Spirit of God (1 Jn 4:1-3).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Deut 13:1-5; 18:22; 1 Kgs 22:8-28; Jer 6:13-15; 14:13-16; 20:1-6; 28:1-17; 29:21-32; 50:6; Ezek 13:1-23; 22:28; Mic 3:5; 2 Cor 11:13-15; 2 Tim 4:3-4; 2 Pet 2:1-3<\/p>","summary_ro":"False Prophets The Bible tells of many individuals who set themselves up as prophets on their own authority. They had no true calling from God but nonetheless claimed to speak for him. Often it was hard for people to discern the difference between true and false prophets, especially since false prophets usually told them what they wanted to hear (see, e.g., 1 Kgs 22:10-14; Jer 28:1-4). Because of this difficulty, and the Lord’s merciful delay in bringing judgment upon his rebellious people, m...","summary_en":"False Prophets The Bible tells of many individuals who set themselves up as prophets on their own authority. They had no true calling from God but nonetheless claimed to speak for him. Often it was hard for people to discern the difference between true and false prophets, especially since false prophets usually told them what they wanted to hear (see, e.g., 1 Kgs 22:10-14; Jer 28:1-4). Because of this difficulty, and the Lord’s merciful delay in bringing judgment upon his rebellious people, m...","source":"ThemeNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":65082,"type":"theme_note","type_label":"Temă biblică","type_icon":"🎯","type_color":"#ef4444","title_ro":"Jesus and Satan","title_en":"Jesus and Satan","content_ro":"<h3>Jesus and Satan<\/h3>\n<p>Jesus was opposed by a personal agent of sin and evil (Matt 4:1-11). In Matthew, he is called “Satan” (meaning <em>Adversary;<\/em> 4:10), the “devil” (4:1-11; 13:39), the “tempter” (see footnote on 4:3), the “prince of demons” (9:34), “Beelzeboul” (see footnote on 12:24), the “evil one” (6:13; 13:19), and “the enemy” (13:39).<\/p>\n<p>Jesus’ mission of announcing and bringing in the Kingdom of God inevitably led to conflict with Satan’s forces, including exorcisms (see Matt 8:16-17; 9:32-34; 10:1, 7-8; 12:22-29; Mark 5:1-20). Matthew records that Satan has power over kingdoms (4:8-9; 12:26) and that he has angels at his command (see footnote on 25:41). Satan’s primary tool is temptation, and his goal is to generate disobedience to God (Matt 4:1-11; 6:13; 16:23). Since Christ is the agent of God for the salvation of human beings, Satan fervently attacked Christ (Matt 4:1-11; John 13:27). But Christ has defeated him and will eventually strip Satan of all his powers (Matt 25:41; John 12:31; Rev 20:1-10).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7; Zech 3:1-2; Matt 4:1-11; 13:19; 16:23; Luke 10:17-20; 13:16; 22:3, 31-32; John 12:31; 13:27; Acts 5:3; 26:17-18; 2 Cor 4:4; 11:13-14; 1 Tim 2:14; 5:15; Rev 12:9; 20:1-10<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Jesus and Satan<\/h3>\n<p>Jesus was opposed by a personal agent of sin and evil (Matt 4:1-11). In Matthew, he is called “Satan” (meaning <em>Adversary;<\/em> 4:10), the “devil” (4:1-11; 13:39), the “tempter” (see footnote on 4:3), the “prince of demons” (9:34), “Beelzeboul” (see footnote on 12:24), the “evil one” (6:13; 13:19), and “the enemy” (13:39).<\/p>\n<p>Jesus’ mission of announcing and bringing in the Kingdom of God inevitably led to conflict with Satan’s forces, including exorcisms (see Matt 8:16-17; 9:32-34; 10:1, 7-8; 12:22-29; Mark 5:1-20). Matthew records that Satan has power over kingdoms (4:8-9; 12:26) and that he has angels at his command (see footnote on 25:41). Satan’s primary tool is temptation, and his goal is to generate disobedience to God (Matt 4:1-11; 6:13; 16:23). Since Christ is the agent of God for the salvation of human beings, Satan fervently attacked Christ (Matt 4:1-11; John 13:27). But Christ has defeated him and will eventually strip Satan of all his powers (Matt 25:41; John 12:31; Rev 20:1-10).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7; Zech 3:1-2; Matt 4:1-11; 13:19; 16:23; Luke 10:17-20; 13:16; 22:3, 31-32; John 12:31; 13:27; Acts 5:3; 26:17-18; 2 Cor 4:4; 11:13-14; 1 Tim 2:14; 5:15; Rev 12:9; 20:1-10<\/p>","summary_ro":"Jesus and Satan Jesus was opposed by a personal agent of sin and evil (Matt 4:1-11). In Matthew, he is called “Satan” (meaning Adversary; 4:10), the “devil” (4:1-11; 13:39), the “tempter” (see footnote on 4:3), the “prince of demons” (9:34), “Beelzeboul” (see footnote on 12:24), the “evil one” (6:13; 13:19), and “the enemy” (13:39). Jesus’ mission of announcing and bringing in the Kingdom of God inevitably led to conflict with Satan’s forces, including exorcisms (see Matt 8:16-17; 9:32-34; 10...","summary_en":"Jesus and Satan Jesus was opposed by a personal agent of sin and evil (Matt 4:1-11). In Matthew, he is called “Satan” (meaning Adversary; 4:10), the “devil” (4:1-11; 13:39), the “tempter” (see footnote on 4:3), the “prince of demons” (9:34), “Beelzeboul” (see footnote on 12:24), the “evil one” (6:13; 13:19), and “the enemy” (13:39). Jesus’ mission of announcing and bringing in the Kingdom of God inevitably led to conflict with Satan’s forces, including exorcisms (see Matt 8:16-17; 9:32-34; 10...","source":"ThemeNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":92040,"type":"theme_note","type_label":"Temă biblică","type_icon":"🎯","type_color":"#ef4444","title_ro":"False Prophets","title_en":"False Prophets","content_ro":"<h3>False Prophets<\/h3>\n<p>The Bible tells of many individuals who set themselves up as prophets on their own authority. They had no true calling from God but nonetheless claimed to speak for him. Often it was hard for people to discern the difference between true and false prophets, especially since false prophets usually told them what they wanted to hear (see, e.g., 1 Kgs 22:10-14; Jer 28:1-4).<\/p>\n<p>Because of this difficulty, and the Lord’s merciful delay in bringing judgment upon his rebellious people, many people doubted that God’s word through his true prophets would ever be fulfilled (see Isa 5:19). Others denied that anything would happen within their lifetimes. Might not the punishment that had so often been delayed be delayed a little longer?<\/p>\n<p>Ezekiel prophesied that in the coming judgment upon Jerusalem, false prophets would be cut off so that people would no longer be confused about who the true prophets were (Ezek 13:8-9). There would also be no more delay to God’s judgment—the Lord was coming very soon to fulfill the words he had spoken (13:11). Everyone would see which words God had really spoken and which words the false prophets had conjured out of their own imaginations.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus warned of the presence of false prophets in the future (Matt 24:11-28), and his early followers encountered numerous false prophets (see, e.g., Acts 13:6-12; 2 Pet 2:1-3). Believers can often recognize false prophets by their incorrect teaching about Christ, which demonstrates that they are not operating under the Spirit of God (1 Jn 4:1-3).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Deut 13:1-5; 18:22; 1 Kgs 22:8-28; Jer 6:13-15; 14:13-16; 20:1-6; 28:1-17; 29:21-32; 50:6; Ezek 13:1-23; 22:28; Mic 3:5; 2 Cor 11:13-15; 2 Tim 4:3-4; 2 Pet 2:1-3<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>False Prophets<\/h3>\n<p>The Bible tells of many individuals who set themselves up as prophets on their own authority. They had no true calling from God but nonetheless claimed to speak for him. Often it was hard for people to discern the difference between true and false prophets, especially since false prophets usually told them what they wanted to hear (see, e.g., 1 Kgs 22:10-14; Jer 28:1-4).<\/p>\n<p>Because of this difficulty, and the Lord’s merciful delay in bringing judgment upon his rebellious people, many people doubted that God’s word through his true prophets would ever be fulfilled (see Isa 5:19). Others denied that anything would happen within their lifetimes. Might not the punishment that had so often been delayed be delayed a little longer?<\/p>\n<p>Ezekiel prophesied that in the coming judgment upon Jerusalem, false prophets would be cut off so that people would no longer be confused about who the true prophets were (Ezek 13:8-9). There would also be no more delay to God’s judgment—the Lord was coming very soon to fulfill the words he had spoken (13:11). Everyone would see which words God had really spoken and which words the false prophets had conjured out of their own imaginations.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus warned of the presence of false prophets in the future (Matt 24:11-28), and his early followers encountered numerous false prophets (see, e.g., Acts 13:6-12; 2 Pet 2:1-3). Believers can often recognize false prophets by their incorrect teaching about Christ, which demonstrates that they are not operating under the Spirit of God (1 Jn 4:1-3).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Deut 13:1-5; 18:22; 1 Kgs 22:8-28; Jer 6:13-15; 14:13-16; 20:1-6; 28:1-17; 29:21-32; 50:6; Ezek 13:1-23; 22:28; Mic 3:5; 2 Cor 11:13-15; 2 Tim 4:3-4; 2 Pet 2:1-3<\/p>","summary_ro":"False Prophets The Bible tells of many individuals who set themselves up as prophets on their own authority. They had no true calling from God but nonetheless claimed to speak for him. Often it was hard for people to discern the difference between true and false prophets, especially since false prophets usually told them what they wanted to hear (see, e.g., 1 Kgs 22:10-14; Jer 28:1-4). Because of this difficulty, and the Lord’s merciful delay in bringing judgment upon his rebellious people, m...","summary_en":"False Prophets The Bible tells of many individuals who set themselves up as prophets on their own authority. They had no true calling from God but nonetheless claimed to speak for him. Often it was hard for people to discern the difference between true and false prophets, especially since false prophets usually told them what they wanted to hear (see, e.g., 1 Kgs 22:10-14; Jer 28:1-4). Because of this difficulty, and the Lord’s merciful delay in bringing judgment upon his rebellious people, m...","source":"ThemeNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":92708,"type":"theme_note","type_label":"Temă biblică","type_icon":"🎯","type_color":"#ef4444","title_ro":"Jesus and Satan","title_en":"Jesus and Satan","content_ro":"<h3>Jesus and Satan<\/h3>\n<p>Jesus was opposed by a personal agent of sin and evil (Matt 4:1-11). In Matthew, he is called “Satan” (meaning <em>Adversary;<\/em> 4:10), the “devil” (4:1-11; 13:39), the “tempter” (see footnote on 4:3), the “prince of demons” (9:34), “Beelzeboul” (see footnote on 12:24), the “evil one” (6:13; 13:19), and “the enemy” (13:39).<\/p>\n<p>Jesus’ mission of announcing and bringing in the Kingdom of God inevitably led to conflict with Satan’s forces, including exorcisms (see Matt 8:16-17; 9:32-34; 10:1, 7-8; 12:22-29; Mark 5:1-20). Matthew records that Satan has power over kingdoms (4:8-9; 12:26) and that he has angels at his command (see footnote on 25:41). Satan’s primary tool is temptation, and his goal is to generate disobedience to God (Matt 4:1-11; 6:13; 16:23). Since Christ is the agent of God for the salvation of human beings, Satan fervently attacked Christ (Matt 4:1-11; John 13:27). But Christ has defeated him and will eventually strip Satan of all his powers (Matt 25:41; John 12:31; Rev 20:1-10).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7; Zech 3:1-2; Matt 4:1-11; 13:19; 16:23; Luke 10:17-20; 13:16; 22:3, 31-32; John 12:31; 13:27; Acts 5:3; 26:17-18; 2 Cor 4:4; 11:13-14; 1 Tim 2:14; 5:15; Rev 12:9; 20:1-10<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Jesus and Satan<\/h3>\n<p>Jesus was opposed by a personal agent of sin and evil (Matt 4:1-11). In Matthew, he is called “Satan” (meaning <em>Adversary;<\/em> 4:10), the “devil” (4:1-11; 13:39), the “tempter” (see footnote on 4:3), the “prince of demons” (9:34), “Beelzeboul” (see footnote on 12:24), the “evil one” (6:13; 13:19), and “the enemy” (13:39).<\/p>\n<p>Jesus’ mission of announcing and bringing in the Kingdom of God inevitably led to conflict with Satan’s forces, including exorcisms (see Matt 8:16-17; 9:32-34; 10:1, 7-8; 12:22-29; Mark 5:1-20). Matthew records that Satan has power over kingdoms (4:8-9; 12:26) and that he has angels at his command (see footnote on 25:41). Satan’s primary tool is temptation, and his goal is to generate disobedience to God (Matt 4:1-11; 6:13; 16:23). Since Christ is the agent of God for the salvation of human beings, Satan fervently attacked Christ (Matt 4:1-11; John 13:27). But Christ has defeated him and will eventually strip Satan of all his powers (Matt 25:41; John 12:31; Rev 20:1-10).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7; Zech 3:1-2; Matt 4:1-11; 13:19; 16:23; Luke 10:17-20; 13:16; 22:3, 31-32; John 12:31; 13:27; Acts 5:3; 26:17-18; 2 Cor 4:4; 11:13-14; 1 Tim 2:14; 5:15; Rev 12:9; 20:1-10<\/p>","summary_ro":"Jesus and Satan Jesus was opposed by a personal agent of sin and evil (Matt 4:1-11). In Matthew, he is called “Satan” (meaning Adversary; 4:10), the “devil” (4:1-11; 13:39), the “tempter” (see footnote on 4:3), the “prince of demons” (9:34), “Beelzeboul” (see footnote on 12:24), the “evil one” (6:13; 13:19), and “the enemy” (13:39). Jesus’ mission of announcing and bringing in the Kingdom of God inevitably led to conflict with Satan’s forces, including exorcisms (see Matt 8:16-17; 9:32-34; 10...","summary_en":"Jesus and Satan Jesus was opposed by a personal agent of sin and evil (Matt 4:1-11). In Matthew, he is called “Satan” (meaning Adversary; 4:10), the “devil” (4:1-11; 13:39), the “tempter” (see footnote on 4:3), the “prince of demons” (9:34), “Beelzeboul” (see footnote on 12:24), the “evil one” (6:13; 13:19), and “the enemy” (13:39). Jesus’ mission of announcing and bringing in the Kingdom of God inevitably led to conflict with Satan’s forces, including exorcisms (see Matt 8:16-17; 9:32-34; 10...","source":"ThemeNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":119666,"type":"theme_note","type_label":"Temă biblică","type_icon":"🎯","type_color":"#ef4444","title_ro":"False Prophets","title_en":"False Prophets","content_ro":"<h3>False Prophets<\/h3>\n<p>The Bible tells of many individuals who set themselves up as prophets on their own authority. They had no true calling from God but nonetheless claimed to speak for him. Often it was hard for people to discern the difference between true and false prophets, especially since false prophets usually told them what they wanted to hear (see, e.g., 1 Kgs 22:10-14; Jer 28:1-4).<\/p>\n<p>Because of this difficulty, and the Lord’s merciful delay in bringing judgment upon his rebellious people, many people doubted that God’s word through his true prophets would ever be fulfilled (see Isa 5:19). Others denied that anything would happen within their lifetimes. Might not the punishment that had so often been delayed be delayed a little longer?<\/p>\n<p>Ezekiel prophesied that in the coming judgment upon Jerusalem, false prophets would be cut off so that people would no longer be confused about who the true prophets were (Ezek 13:8-9). There would also be no more delay to God’s judgment—the Lord was coming very soon to fulfill the words he had spoken (13:11). Everyone would see which words God had really spoken and which words the false prophets had conjured out of their own imaginations.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus warned of the presence of false prophets in the future (Matt 24:11-28), and his early followers encountered numerous false prophets (see, e.g., Acts 13:6-12; 2 Pet 2:1-3). Believers can often recognize false prophets by their incorrect teaching about Christ, which demonstrates that they are not operating under the Spirit of God (1 Jn 4:1-3).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Deut 13:1-5; 18:22; 1 Kgs 22:8-28; Jer 6:13-15; 14:13-16; 20:1-6; 28:1-17; 29:21-32; 50:6; Ezek 13:1-23; 22:28; Mic 3:5; 2 Cor 11:13-15; 2 Tim 4:3-4; 2 Pet 2:1-3<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>False Prophets<\/h3>\n<p>The Bible tells of many individuals who set themselves up as prophets on their own authority. They had no true calling from God but nonetheless claimed to speak for him. Often it was hard for people to discern the difference between true and false prophets, especially since false prophets usually told them what they wanted to hear (see, e.g., 1 Kgs 22:10-14; Jer 28:1-4).<\/p>\n<p>Because of this difficulty, and the Lord’s merciful delay in bringing judgment upon his rebellious people, many people doubted that God’s word through his true prophets would ever be fulfilled (see Isa 5:19). Others denied that anything would happen within their lifetimes. Might not the punishment that had so often been delayed be delayed a little longer?<\/p>\n<p>Ezekiel prophesied that in the coming judgment upon Jerusalem, false prophets would be cut off so that people would no longer be confused about who the true prophets were (Ezek 13:8-9). There would also be no more delay to God’s judgment—the Lord was coming very soon to fulfill the words he had spoken (13:11). Everyone would see which words God had really spoken and which words the false prophets had conjured out of their own imaginations.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus warned of the presence of false prophets in the future (Matt 24:11-28), and his early followers encountered numerous false prophets (see, e.g., Acts 13:6-12; 2 Pet 2:1-3). Believers can often recognize false prophets by their incorrect teaching about Christ, which demonstrates that they are not operating under the Spirit of God (1 Jn 4:1-3).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Deut 13:1-5; 18:22; 1 Kgs 22:8-28; Jer 6:13-15; 14:13-16; 20:1-6; 28:1-17; 29:21-32; 50:6; Ezek 13:1-23; 22:28; Mic 3:5; 2 Cor 11:13-15; 2 Tim 4:3-4; 2 Pet 2:1-3<\/p>","summary_ro":"False Prophets The Bible tells of many individuals who set themselves up as prophets on their own authority. They had no true calling from God but nonetheless claimed to speak for him. Often it was hard for people to discern the difference between true and false prophets, especially since false prophets usually told them what they wanted to hear (see, e.g., 1 Kgs 22:10-14; Jer 28:1-4). Because of this difficulty, and the Lord’s merciful delay in bringing judgment upon his rebellious people, m...","summary_en":"False Prophets The Bible tells of many individuals who set themselves up as prophets on their own authority. They had no true calling from God but nonetheless claimed to speak for him. Often it was hard for people to discern the difference between true and false prophets, especially since false prophets usually told them what they wanted to hear (see, e.g., 1 Kgs 22:10-14; Jer 28:1-4). Because of this difficulty, and the Lord’s merciful delay in bringing judgment upon his rebellious people, m...","source":"ThemeNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":120334,"type":"theme_note","type_label":"Temă biblică","type_icon":"🎯","type_color":"#ef4444","title_ro":"Jesus and Satan","title_en":"Jesus and Satan","content_ro":"<h3>Jesus and Satan<\/h3>\n<p>Jesus was opposed by a personal agent of sin and evil (Matt 4:1-11). In Matthew, he is called “Satan” (meaning <em>Adversary;<\/em> 4:10), the “devil” (4:1-11; 13:39), the “tempter” (see footnote on 4:3), the “prince of demons” (9:34), “Beelzeboul” (see footnote on 12:24), the “evil one” (6:13; 13:19), and “the enemy” (13:39).<\/p>\n<p>Jesus’ mission of announcing and bringing in the Kingdom of God inevitably led to conflict with Satan’s forces, including exorcisms (see Matt 8:16-17; 9:32-34; 10:1, 7-8; 12:22-29; Mark 5:1-20). Matthew records that Satan has power over kingdoms (4:8-9; 12:26) and that he has angels at his command (see footnote on 25:41). Satan’s primary tool is temptation, and his goal is to generate disobedience to God (Matt 4:1-11; 6:13; 16:23). Since Christ is the agent of God for the salvation of human beings, Satan fervently attacked Christ (Matt 4:1-11; John 13:27). But Christ has defeated him and will eventually strip Satan of all his powers (Matt 25:41; John 12:31; Rev 20:1-10).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7; Zech 3:1-2; Matt 4:1-11; 13:19; 16:23; Luke 10:17-20; 13:16; 22:3, 31-32; John 12:31; 13:27; Acts 5:3; 26:17-18; 2 Cor 4:4; 11:13-14; 1 Tim 2:14; 5:15; Rev 12:9; 20:1-10<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Jesus and Satan<\/h3>\n<p>Jesus was opposed by a personal agent of sin and evil (Matt 4:1-11). In Matthew, he is called “Satan” (meaning <em>Adversary;<\/em> 4:10), the “devil” (4:1-11; 13:39), the “tempter” (see footnote on 4:3), the “prince of demons” (9:34), “Beelzeboul” (see footnote on 12:24), the “evil one” (6:13; 13:19), and “the enemy” (13:39).<\/p>\n<p>Jesus’ mission of announcing and bringing in the Kingdom of God inevitably led to conflict with Satan’s forces, including exorcisms (see Matt 8:16-17; 9:32-34; 10:1, 7-8; 12:22-29; Mark 5:1-20). Matthew records that Satan has power over kingdoms (4:8-9; 12:26) and that he has angels at his command (see footnote on 25:41). Satan’s primary tool is temptation, and his goal is to generate disobedience to God (Matt 4:1-11; 6:13; 16:23). Since Christ is the agent of God for the salvation of human beings, Satan fervently attacked Christ (Matt 4:1-11; John 13:27). But Christ has defeated him and will eventually strip Satan of all his powers (Matt 25:41; John 12:31; Rev 20:1-10).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7; Zech 3:1-2; Matt 4:1-11; 13:19; 16:23; Luke 10:17-20; 13:16; 22:3, 31-32; John 12:31; 13:27; Acts 5:3; 26:17-18; 2 Cor 4:4; 11:13-14; 1 Tim 2:14; 5:15; Rev 12:9; 20:1-10<\/p>","summary_ro":"Jesus and Satan Jesus was opposed by a personal agent of sin and evil (Matt 4:1-11). In Matthew, he is called “Satan” (meaning Adversary; 4:10), the “devil” (4:1-11; 13:39), the “tempter” (see footnote on 4:3), the “prince of demons” (9:34), “Beelzeboul” (see footnote on 12:24), the “evil one” (6:13; 13:19), and “the enemy” (13:39). Jesus’ mission of announcing and bringing in the Kingdom of God inevitably led to conflict with Satan’s forces, including exorcisms (see Matt 8:16-17; 9:32-34; 10...","summary_en":"Jesus and Satan Jesus was opposed by a personal agent of sin and evil (Matt 4:1-11). In Matthew, he is called “Satan” (meaning Adversary; 4:10), the “devil” (4:1-11; 13:39), the “tempter” (see footnote on 4:3), the “prince of demons” (9:34), “Beelzeboul” (see footnote on 12:24), the “evil one” (6:13; 13:19), and “the enemy” (13:39). Jesus’ mission of announcing and bringing in the Kingdom of God inevitably led to conflict with Satan’s forces, including exorcisms (see Matt 8:16-17; 9:32-34; 10...","source":"ThemeNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":147292,"type":"theme_note","type_label":"Temă biblică","type_icon":"🎯","type_color":"#ef4444","title_ro":"False Prophets","title_en":"False Prophets","content_ro":"<h3>False Prophets<\/h3>\n<p>The Bible tells of many individuals who set themselves up as prophets on their own authority. They had no true calling from God but nonetheless claimed to speak for him. Often it was hard for people to discern the difference between true and false prophets, especially since false prophets usually told them what they wanted to hear (see, e.g., 1 Kgs 22:10-14; Jer 28:1-4).<\/p>\n<p>Because of this difficulty, and the Lord’s merciful delay in bringing judgment upon his rebellious people, many people doubted that God’s word through his true prophets would ever be fulfilled (see Isa 5:19). Others denied that anything would happen within their lifetimes. Might not the punishment that had so often been delayed be delayed a little longer?<\/p>\n<p>Ezekiel prophesied that in the coming judgment upon Jerusalem, false prophets would be cut off so that people would no longer be confused about who the true prophets were (Ezek 13:8-9). There would also be no more delay to God’s judgment—the Lord was coming very soon to fulfill the words he had spoken (13:11). Everyone would see which words God had really spoken and which words the false prophets had conjured out of their own imaginations.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus warned of the presence of false prophets in the future (Matt 24:11-28), and his early followers encountered numerous false prophets (see, e.g., Acts 13:6-12; 2 Pet 2:1-3). Believers can often recognize false prophets by their incorrect teaching about Christ, which demonstrates that they are not operating under the Spirit of God (1 Jn 4:1-3).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Deut 13:1-5; 18:22; 1 Kgs 22:8-28; Jer 6:13-15; 14:13-16; 20:1-6; 28:1-17; 29:21-32; 50:6; Ezek 13:1-23; 22:28; Mic 3:5; 2 Cor 11:13-15; 2 Tim 4:3-4; 2 Pet 2:1-3<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>False Prophets<\/h3>\n<p>The Bible tells of many individuals who set themselves up as prophets on their own authority. They had no true calling from God but nonetheless claimed to speak for him. Often it was hard for people to discern the difference between true and false prophets, especially since false prophets usually told them what they wanted to hear (see, e.g., 1 Kgs 22:10-14; Jer 28:1-4).<\/p>\n<p>Because of this difficulty, and the Lord’s merciful delay in bringing judgment upon his rebellious people, many people doubted that God’s word through his true prophets would ever be fulfilled (see Isa 5:19). Others denied that anything would happen within their lifetimes. Might not the punishment that had so often been delayed be delayed a little longer?<\/p>\n<p>Ezekiel prophesied that in the coming judgment upon Jerusalem, false prophets would be cut off so that people would no longer be confused about who the true prophets were (Ezek 13:8-9). There would also be no more delay to God’s judgment—the Lord was coming very soon to fulfill the words he had spoken (13:11). Everyone would see which words God had really spoken and which words the false prophets had conjured out of their own imaginations.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus warned of the presence of false prophets in the future (Matt 24:11-28), and his early followers encountered numerous false prophets (see, e.g., Acts 13:6-12; 2 Pet 2:1-3). Believers can often recognize false prophets by their incorrect teaching about Christ, which demonstrates that they are not operating under the Spirit of God (1 Jn 4:1-3).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Deut 13:1-5; 18:22; 1 Kgs 22:8-28; Jer 6:13-15; 14:13-16; 20:1-6; 28:1-17; 29:21-32; 50:6; Ezek 13:1-23; 22:28; Mic 3:5; 2 Cor 11:13-15; 2 Tim 4:3-4; 2 Pet 2:1-3<\/p>","summary_ro":"False Prophets The Bible tells of many individuals who set themselves up as prophets on their own authority. They had no true calling from God but nonetheless claimed to speak for him. Often it was hard for people to discern the difference between true and false prophets, especially since false prophets usually told them what they wanted to hear (see, e.g., 1 Kgs 22:10-14; Jer 28:1-4). Because of this difficulty, and the Lord’s merciful delay in bringing judgment upon his rebellious people, m...","summary_en":"False Prophets The Bible tells of many individuals who set themselves up as prophets on their own authority. They had no true calling from God but nonetheless claimed to speak for him. Often it was hard for people to discern the difference between true and false prophets, especially since false prophets usually told them what they wanted to hear (see, e.g., 1 Kgs 22:10-14; Jer 28:1-4). Because of this difficulty, and the Lord’s merciful delay in bringing judgment upon his rebellious people, m...","source":"ThemeNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":147960,"type":"theme_note","type_label":"Temă biblică","type_icon":"🎯","type_color":"#ef4444","title_ro":"Jesus and Satan","title_en":"Jesus and Satan","content_ro":"<h3>Jesus and Satan<\/h3>\n<p>Jesus was opposed by a personal agent of sin and evil (Matt 4:1-11). In Matthew, he is called “Satan” (meaning <em>Adversary;<\/em> 4:10), the “devil” (4:1-11; 13:39), the “tempter” (see footnote on 4:3), the “prince of demons” (9:34), “Beelzeboul” (see footnote on 12:24), the “evil one” (6:13; 13:19), and “the enemy” (13:39).<\/p>\n<p>Jesus’ mission of announcing and bringing in the Kingdom of God inevitably led to conflict with Satan’s forces, including exorcisms (see Matt 8:16-17; 9:32-34; 10:1, 7-8; 12:22-29; Mark 5:1-20). Matthew records that Satan has power over kingdoms (4:8-9; 12:26) and that he has angels at his command (see footnote on 25:41). Satan’s primary tool is temptation, and his goal is to generate disobedience to God (Matt 4:1-11; 6:13; 16:23). Since Christ is the agent of God for the salvation of human beings, Satan fervently attacked Christ (Matt 4:1-11; John 13:27). But Christ has defeated him and will eventually strip Satan of all his powers (Matt 25:41; John 12:31; Rev 20:1-10).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7; Zech 3:1-2; Matt 4:1-11; 13:19; 16:23; Luke 10:17-20; 13:16; 22:3, 31-32; John 12:31; 13:27; Acts 5:3; 26:17-18; 2 Cor 4:4; 11:13-14; 1 Tim 2:14; 5:15; Rev 12:9; 20:1-10<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Jesus and Satan<\/h3>\n<p>Jesus was opposed by a personal agent of sin and evil (Matt 4:1-11). In Matthew, he is called “Satan” (meaning <em>Adversary;<\/em> 4:10), the “devil” (4:1-11; 13:39), the “tempter” (see footnote on 4:3), the “prince of demons” (9:34), “Beelzeboul” (see footnote on 12:24), the “evil one” (6:13; 13:19), and “the enemy” (13:39).<\/p>\n<p>Jesus’ mission of announcing and bringing in the Kingdom of God inevitably led to conflict with Satan’s forces, including exorcisms (see Matt 8:16-17; 9:32-34; 10:1, 7-8; 12:22-29; Mark 5:1-20). Matthew records that Satan has power over kingdoms (4:8-9; 12:26) and that he has angels at his command (see footnote on 25:41). Satan’s primary tool is temptation, and his goal is to generate disobedience to God (Matt 4:1-11; 6:13; 16:23). Since Christ is the agent of God for the salvation of human beings, Satan fervently attacked Christ (Matt 4:1-11; John 13:27). But Christ has defeated him and will eventually strip Satan of all his powers (Matt 25:41; John 12:31; Rev 20:1-10).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7; Zech 3:1-2; Matt 4:1-11; 13:19; 16:23; Luke 10:17-20; 13:16; 22:3, 31-32; John 12:31; 13:27; Acts 5:3; 26:17-18; 2 Cor 4:4; 11:13-14; 1 Tim 2:14; 5:15; Rev 12:9; 20:1-10<\/p>","summary_ro":"Jesus and Satan Jesus was opposed by a personal agent of sin and evil (Matt 4:1-11). In Matthew, he is called “Satan” (meaning Adversary; 4:10), the “devil” (4:1-11; 13:39), the “tempter” (see footnote on 4:3), the “prince of demons” (9:34), “Beelzeboul” (see footnote on 12:24), the “evil one” (6:13; 13:19), and “the enemy” (13:39). Jesus’ mission of announcing and bringing in the Kingdom of God inevitably led to conflict with Satan’s forces, including exorcisms (see Matt 8:16-17; 9:32-34; 10...","summary_en":"Jesus and Satan Jesus was opposed by a personal agent of sin and evil (Matt 4:1-11). In Matthew, he is called “Satan” (meaning Adversary; 4:10), the “devil” (4:1-11; 13:39), the “tempter” (see footnote on 4:3), the “prince of demons” (9:34), “Beelzeboul” (see footnote on 12:24), the “evil one” (6:13; 13:19), and “the enemy” (13:39). Jesus’ mission of announcing and bringing in the Kingdom of God inevitably led to conflict with Satan’s forces, including exorcisms (see Matt 8:16-17; 9:32-34; 10...","source":"ThemeNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false}],"14":[{"id":41847,"type":"profile","type_label":"Profil","type_icon":"👤","type_color":"#f59e0b","title_ro":"Satan","title_en":"Satan","content_ro":"<h3>Satan<\/h3>\n<p>The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Testament that Satan became identified with the serpent in Eden (see <em>Wisdom of Solomon<\/em> 2:24). The New Testament refers to the chief demon as “(the) Satan” (Rev 20:2), along with numerous other names such as the devil (Matt 4:1-11), the tempter (1 Thes 3:5), Beelzeboul, the ruler of demons (see textual notes at Matt 12:24; Luke 11:15), the evil one (Matt 13:19, 38; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18), Beliar (see textual note at 2 Cor 6:15), the deceiver (Rev 12:9), the great seven-headed dragon and serpent of old (Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2), a murderer, and the father of lies (John 8:44).<\/p>\n<p>Satan incited David’s census (1 Chr 21:1; cp. 2 Sam 24:1), tempted and betrayed Jesus (Mark 1:12-13; John 13:27), desired to test Peter as he had tested Job (Luke 22:31), enslaved sinners (Acts 26:17-18), and deceitfully opposed God’s people (1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 11:14). The adversary of God’s people will be overcome in the end, when God defeats and imprisons him (Rev 12:9; 20:2, 10).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Num 22:22, 32; 1 Chr 21:1; Job 1:6–2:7; Zech 3:1-4; Matt 4:1-10; 12:24; 13:19, 38-39; 16:23; Mark 1:13; 4:15; Luke 4:6; 10:17-20; 11:15; 22:3, 31; John 8:44; 12:31; 13:2, 27; 16:11; Acts 13:9-10; 26:17-18; Rom 16:20; 1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 2:10-11; 4:4; 6:15; 11:13-15; 1 Thes 3:5; 2 Thes 2:2-12; Heb 2:14; Jas 4:7; 1 Pet 5:8; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18; Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2, 10<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Satan<\/h3>\n<p>The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Testament that Satan became identified with the serpent in Eden (see <em>Wisdom of Solomon<\/em> 2:24). The New Testament refers to the chief demon as “(the) Satan” (Rev 20:2), along with numerous other names such as the devil (Matt 4:1-11), the tempter (1 Thes 3:5), Beelzeboul, the ruler of demons (see textual notes at Matt 12:24; Luke 11:15), the evil one (Matt 13:19, 38; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18), Beliar (see textual note at 2 Cor 6:15), the deceiver (Rev 12:9), the great seven-headed dragon and serpent of old (Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2), a murderer, and the father of lies (John 8:44).<\/p>\n<p>Satan incited David’s census (1 Chr 21:1; cp. 2 Sam 24:1), tempted and betrayed Jesus (Mark 1:12-13; John 13:27), desired to test Peter as he had tested Job (Luke 22:31), enslaved sinners (Acts 26:17-18), and deceitfully opposed God’s people (1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 11:14). The adversary of God’s people will be overcome in the end, when God defeats and imprisons him (Rev 12:9; 20:2, 10).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Num 22:22, 32; 1 Chr 21:1; Job 1:6–2:7; Zech 3:1-4; Matt 4:1-10; 12:24; 13:19, 38-39; 16:23; Mark 1:13; 4:15; Luke 4:6; 10:17-20; 11:15; 22:3, 31; John 8:44; 12:31; 13:2, 27; 16:11; Acts 13:9-10; 26:17-18; Rom 16:20; 1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 2:10-11; 4:4; 6:15; 11:13-15; 1 Thes 3:5; 2 Thes 2:2-12; Heb 2:14; Jas 4:7; 1 Pet 5:8; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18; Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2, 10<\/p>","summary_ro":"Satan The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word satan refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term satan is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Test...","summary_en":"Satan The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word satan refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term satan is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Test...","source":"Profiles.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":69473,"type":"profile","type_label":"Profil","type_icon":"👤","type_color":"#f59e0b","title_ro":"Satan","title_en":"Satan","content_ro":"<h3>Satan<\/h3>\n<p>The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Testament that Satan became identified with the serpent in Eden (see <em>Wisdom of Solomon<\/em> 2:24). The New Testament refers to the chief demon as “(the) Satan” (Rev 20:2), along with numerous other names such as the devil (Matt 4:1-11), the tempter (1 Thes 3:5), Beelzeboul, the ruler of demons (see textual notes at Matt 12:24; Luke 11:15), the evil one (Matt 13:19, 38; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18), Beliar (see textual note at 2 Cor 6:15), the deceiver (Rev 12:9), the great seven-headed dragon and serpent of old (Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2), a murderer, and the father of lies (John 8:44).<\/p>\n<p>Satan incited David’s census (1 Chr 21:1; cp. 2 Sam 24:1), tempted and betrayed Jesus (Mark 1:12-13; John 13:27), desired to test Peter as he had tested Job (Luke 22:31), enslaved sinners (Acts 26:17-18), and deceitfully opposed God’s people (1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 11:14). The adversary of God’s people will be overcome in the end, when God defeats and imprisons him (Rev 12:9; 20:2, 10).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Num 22:22, 32; 1 Chr 21:1; Job 1:6–2:7; Zech 3:1-4; Matt 4:1-10; 12:24; 13:19, 38-39; 16:23; Mark 1:13; 4:15; Luke 4:6; 10:17-20; 11:15; 22:3, 31; John 8:44; 12:31; 13:2, 27; 16:11; Acts 13:9-10; 26:17-18; Rom 16:20; 1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 2:10-11; 4:4; 6:15; 11:13-15; 1 Thes 3:5; 2 Thes 2:2-12; Heb 2:14; Jas 4:7; 1 Pet 5:8; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18; Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2, 10<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Satan<\/h3>\n<p>The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Testament that Satan became identified with the serpent in Eden (see <em>Wisdom of Solomon<\/em> 2:24). The New Testament refers to the chief demon as “(the) Satan” (Rev 20:2), along with numerous other names such as the devil (Matt 4:1-11), the tempter (1 Thes 3:5), Beelzeboul, the ruler of demons (see textual notes at Matt 12:24; Luke 11:15), the evil one (Matt 13:19, 38; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18), Beliar (see textual note at 2 Cor 6:15), the deceiver (Rev 12:9), the great seven-headed dragon and serpent of old (Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2), a murderer, and the father of lies (John 8:44).<\/p>\n<p>Satan incited David’s census (1 Chr 21:1; cp. 2 Sam 24:1), tempted and betrayed Jesus (Mark 1:12-13; John 13:27), desired to test Peter as he had tested Job (Luke 22:31), enslaved sinners (Acts 26:17-18), and deceitfully opposed God’s people (1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 11:14). The adversary of God’s people will be overcome in the end, when God defeats and imprisons him (Rev 12:9; 20:2, 10).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Num 22:22, 32; 1 Chr 21:1; Job 1:6–2:7; Zech 3:1-4; Matt 4:1-10; 12:24; 13:19, 38-39; 16:23; Mark 1:13; 4:15; Luke 4:6; 10:17-20; 11:15; 22:3, 31; John 8:44; 12:31; 13:2, 27; 16:11; Acts 13:9-10; 26:17-18; Rom 16:20; 1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 2:10-11; 4:4; 6:15; 11:13-15; 1 Thes 3:5; 2 Thes 2:2-12; Heb 2:14; Jas 4:7; 1 Pet 5:8; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18; Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2, 10<\/p>","summary_ro":"Satan The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word satan refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term satan is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Test...","summary_en":"Satan The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word satan refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term satan is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Test...","source":"Profiles.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":97099,"type":"profile","type_label":"Profil","type_icon":"👤","type_color":"#f59e0b","title_ro":"Satan","title_en":"Satan","content_ro":"<h3>Satan<\/h3>\n<p>The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Testament that Satan became identified with the serpent in Eden (see <em>Wisdom of Solomon<\/em> 2:24). The New Testament refers to the chief demon as “(the) Satan” (Rev 20:2), along with numerous other names such as the devil (Matt 4:1-11), the tempter (1 Thes 3:5), Beelzeboul, the ruler of demons (see textual notes at Matt 12:24; Luke 11:15), the evil one (Matt 13:19, 38; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18), Beliar (see textual note at 2 Cor 6:15), the deceiver (Rev 12:9), the great seven-headed dragon and serpent of old (Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2), a murderer, and the father of lies (John 8:44).<\/p>\n<p>Satan incited David’s census (1 Chr 21:1; cp. 2 Sam 24:1), tempted and betrayed Jesus (Mark 1:12-13; John 13:27), desired to test Peter as he had tested Job (Luke 22:31), enslaved sinners (Acts 26:17-18), and deceitfully opposed God’s people (1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 11:14). The adversary of God’s people will be overcome in the end, when God defeats and imprisons him (Rev 12:9; 20:2, 10).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Num 22:22, 32; 1 Chr 21:1; Job 1:6–2:7; Zech 3:1-4; Matt 4:1-10; 12:24; 13:19, 38-39; 16:23; Mark 1:13; 4:15; Luke 4:6; 10:17-20; 11:15; 22:3, 31; John 8:44; 12:31; 13:2, 27; 16:11; Acts 13:9-10; 26:17-18; Rom 16:20; 1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 2:10-11; 4:4; 6:15; 11:13-15; 1 Thes 3:5; 2 Thes 2:2-12; Heb 2:14; Jas 4:7; 1 Pet 5:8; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18; Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2, 10<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Satan<\/h3>\n<p>The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Testament that Satan became identified with the serpent in Eden (see <em>Wisdom of Solomon<\/em> 2:24). The New Testament refers to the chief demon as “(the) Satan” (Rev 20:2), along with numerous other names such as the devil (Matt 4:1-11), the tempter (1 Thes 3:5), Beelzeboul, the ruler of demons (see textual notes at Matt 12:24; Luke 11:15), the evil one (Matt 13:19, 38; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18), Beliar (see textual note at 2 Cor 6:15), the deceiver (Rev 12:9), the great seven-headed dragon and serpent of old (Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2), a murderer, and the father of lies (John 8:44).<\/p>\n<p>Satan incited David’s census (1 Chr 21:1; cp. 2 Sam 24:1), tempted and betrayed Jesus (Mark 1:12-13; John 13:27), desired to test Peter as he had tested Job (Luke 22:31), enslaved sinners (Acts 26:17-18), and deceitfully opposed God’s people (1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 11:14). The adversary of God’s people will be overcome in the end, when God defeats and imprisons him (Rev 12:9; 20:2, 10).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Num 22:22, 32; 1 Chr 21:1; Job 1:6–2:7; Zech 3:1-4; Matt 4:1-10; 12:24; 13:19, 38-39; 16:23; Mark 1:13; 4:15; Luke 4:6; 10:17-20; 11:15; 22:3, 31; John 8:44; 12:31; 13:2, 27; 16:11; Acts 13:9-10; 26:17-18; Rom 16:20; 1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 2:10-11; 4:4; 6:15; 11:13-15; 1 Thes 3:5; 2 Thes 2:2-12; Heb 2:14; Jas 4:7; 1 Pet 5:8; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18; Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2, 10<\/p>","summary_ro":"Satan The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word satan refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term satan is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Test...","summary_en":"Satan The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word satan refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term satan is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Test...","source":"Profiles.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":124725,"type":"profile","type_label":"Profil","type_icon":"👤","type_color":"#f59e0b","title_ro":"Satan","title_en":"Satan","content_ro":"<h3>Satan<\/h3>\n<p>The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Testament that Satan became identified with the serpent in Eden (see <em>Wisdom of Solomon<\/em> 2:24). The New Testament refers to the chief demon as “(the) Satan” (Rev 20:2), along with numerous other names such as the devil (Matt 4:1-11), the tempter (1 Thes 3:5), Beelzeboul, the ruler of demons (see textual notes at Matt 12:24; Luke 11:15), the evil one (Matt 13:19, 38; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18), Beliar (see textual note at 2 Cor 6:15), the deceiver (Rev 12:9), the great seven-headed dragon and serpent of old (Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2), a murderer, and the father of lies (John 8:44).<\/p>\n<p>Satan incited David’s census (1 Chr 21:1; cp. 2 Sam 24:1), tempted and betrayed Jesus (Mark 1:12-13; John 13:27), desired to test Peter as he had tested Job (Luke 22:31), enslaved sinners (Acts 26:17-18), and deceitfully opposed God’s people (1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 11:14). The adversary of God’s people will be overcome in the end, when God defeats and imprisons him (Rev 12:9; 20:2, 10).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Num 22:22, 32; 1 Chr 21:1; Job 1:6–2:7; Zech 3:1-4; Matt 4:1-10; 12:24; 13:19, 38-39; 16:23; Mark 1:13; 4:15; Luke 4:6; 10:17-20; 11:15; 22:3, 31; John 8:44; 12:31; 13:2, 27; 16:11; Acts 13:9-10; 26:17-18; Rom 16:20; 1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 2:10-11; 4:4; 6:15; 11:13-15; 1 Thes 3:5; 2 Thes 2:2-12; Heb 2:14; Jas 4:7; 1 Pet 5:8; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18; Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2, 10<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Satan<\/h3>\n<p>The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term <span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">satan<\/span> is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Testament that Satan became identified with the serpent in Eden (see <em>Wisdom of Solomon<\/em> 2:24). The New Testament refers to the chief demon as “(the) Satan” (Rev 20:2), along with numerous other names such as the devil (Matt 4:1-11), the tempter (1 Thes 3:5), Beelzeboul, the ruler of demons (see textual notes at Matt 12:24; Luke 11:15), the evil one (Matt 13:19, 38; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18), Beliar (see textual note at 2 Cor 6:15), the deceiver (Rev 12:9), the great seven-headed dragon and serpent of old (Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2), a murderer, and the father of lies (John 8:44).<\/p>\n<p>Satan incited David’s census (1 Chr 21:1; cp. 2 Sam 24:1), tempted and betrayed Jesus (Mark 1:12-13; John 13:27), desired to test Peter as he had tested Job (Luke 22:31), enslaved sinners (Acts 26:17-18), and deceitfully opposed God’s people (1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 11:14). The adversary of God’s people will be overcome in the end, when God defeats and imprisons him (Rev 12:9; 20:2, 10).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Num 22:22, 32; 1 Chr 21:1; Job 1:6–2:7; Zech 3:1-4; Matt 4:1-10; 12:24; 13:19, 38-39; 16:23; Mark 1:13; 4:15; Luke 4:6; 10:17-20; 11:15; 22:3, 31; John 8:44; 12:31; 13:2, 27; 16:11; Acts 13:9-10; 26:17-18; Rom 16:20; 1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 2:10-11; 4:4; 6:15; 11:13-15; 1 Thes 3:5; 2 Thes 2:2-12; Heb 2:14; Jas 4:7; 1 Pet 5:8; 1 Jn 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18; Rev 12:3, 9; 20:2, 10<\/p>","summary_ro":"Satan The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word satan refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term satan is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Test...","summary_en":"Satan The book of Job includes “the satan” among the heavenly court (Job 1:6; 2:1). The Hebrew word satan refers to an adversary or an accuser in court (see Job 1–2; Zech 3:1). God sometimes appoints angels as adversaries for righteous judgment and opposition to evildoers (e.g., Num 22:22, 32, where the term satan is often translated “block”; see also 1 Kgs 22:19-23). The Old Testament hints at the accuser’s demonic character, but it was between the times of the Old Testament and the New Test...","source":"Profiles.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false}],"15":[{"id":8883,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Deacon, Deaconess*","title_en":"Deacon, Deaconess*","content_ro":"<h3>DEACON, DEACONESS*<\/h3>\n<p>Terms designating an officer in a local church, derived from a Greek word meaning “servant” or “minister.” The term “diaconate” is used for the office itself or for the collective body of deacons and deaconesses. As with many other biblical words used today in a technical sense, the words “deacon” and “deaconess” began as popular, nontechnical terms. Both in secular first-century <span>AD<\/span> Greek culture and in the NT, they described a variety of services.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"OriginsoftheConcept\">Origins of the Concept<\/p>\n<h5>Greek Usage<\/h5>\n<p>References have been found in extrabiblical writings where the Greek word “deacon” meant “waiter,” “servant,” “steward,” or “messenger.” In at least two instances it indicated a baker and a cook. In religious usage the word described various attendants in pagan temples. Ancient documents show “deacons” presiding at the dedication of a statue to the Greek god Hermes. Serapis and Isis, Egyptian deities, were served by a college of “deacons” presided over by a priest.<\/p>\n<h5>General New Testament Usage<\/h5>\n<p>The same word was used by biblical writers in a general sense to describe various ministries or services. Not until later in the development of the apostolic church was the term applied to a distinct body of church officers. Among its general usages, “deacon” refers to a waiter at meals (Jn 2:5, 9), a king’s attendant (Mt 22:13), a servant of Satan (2 Cor 11:15), a servant of God (6:4), a servant of Christ (11:23), a servant of the church (Col 1:24-25), and a political ruler (Rom 13:4).<\/p>\n<p>The NT presents servanthood in the sense of ministry or service as a mark of the whole church—that is, as normative for all disciples (Mt 20:26-28; Lk 22:26-27). Jesus’ teaching on the final judgment equates ministry with feeding the hungry, welcoming strangers, clothing the naked, and visiting the sick and imprisoned (Mt 25:31-46). The entire NT emphasizes compassionate care for individuals’ physical and spiritual needs as well as the giving of oneself to meeting those needs. Such service is ultimately a ministry to Christ himself (v 45).<\/p>\n<h5>Origin of the Office<\/h5>\n<p>There is little question that before the end of the first century the general term for service or ministry became a kind of title for a position or office in the church. That development evidently went through several stages.<\/p>\n<p>Some biblical scholars emphasize a relationship between the <em>hazzan<\/em> of the Jewish synagogue and the Christian office of deacon. The <em>hazzan<\/em> opened and closed the synagogue doors, kept it clean, and handed out the books for reading. It was probably to such a person that Jesus handed the scroll of Isaiah after finishing his reading (Lk 4:20).<\/p>\n<p>Other NT scholars give considerable attention to the choosing of the seven (Acts 6:1-6); they see that action as a historical forerunner of a more developed structure (Phil 1:1; 1 Tm 3:8-13—the two specific references to an “office” of deacon). Luke devoted considerable attention in Acts to the selection of a new set of church leaders. Overworked with a variety of responsibilities, the 12 apostles proposed a division of labor to ensure care for the Hellenist (Greek-speaking) widows in the church’s daily distribution of food and alms. Seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom (Acts 6:3), subsequently became prominent in the Jerusalem congregation, doing works of charity and caring for physical needs.<\/p>\n<p>Some scholars caution that the diaconate should not be exclusively linked with charitable works, since the Greek word used in Acts 6:2 is related to the word translated “ministry of the word” in verse 4. Those chosen to oversee the care for physical needs were people of spiritual stature. Stephen, for instance, “full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs” (6:8, <span>rsv<\/span>). Philip, appointed as one of the seven in Acts 6, “preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ” (8:12). Philip also baptized (v 38) and is referred to as an evangelist (21:8).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"DeaconsintheEarlyChurch\">Deacons in the Early Church<\/p>\n<p>Those who cite Acts 6 as a preliminary stage of the office of deacon refer to the spread of the practice from the church in Jerusalem to the gentile congregations sprouting elsewhere. Many churches probably took the appointing of “the Jerusalem seven” as a pattern to follow, some even adopting the number seven. In a letter of the third-century pope Cornelius, for example, the church of Rome was said to have maintained seven for the number of deacons.<\/p>\n<p>By the time the church of Philippi received its instructions from the apostle Paul (c. <span>AD<\/span> 62) and Timothy had Paul’s first letter in hand, “deacon” had become a technical term referring to a specific office in the churches. In Philippians 1:1 Paul addressed the church in general and then added “with bishops and deacons.” Some interpreters consider that to be a clear establishment of two distinct groups within the larger church body, though no further description is given. Possibly the deacons of that congregation were responsible for collecting and then dispatching the offerings referred to (Phil 4:14-18).<\/p>\n<p>In 1 Timothy 3:8-13 instructions are given about qualifications for the office of deacon. Although that is the most detailed treatment of the subject in the NT, it is actually quite sketchy. Most of the qualifications, dealing with personal character and behavior, are similar to those for a bishop. For instance, a deacon is to be truthful, monogamous, “not addicted to much wine,” and a responsible parent. Verse 11, requiring that “the women likewise must be serious, not slanderers, but temperate, faithful in all things” (<span>rsv<\/span>), may refer not to deacons’ wives but to deaconesses, as several translations note (<span>niv<\/span>, <span>neb<\/span>). In any event, it is clear that women participated in the work of the diaconate.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast to the office of bishop (1 Tm 3:2), deacons are not described as providing teaching or hospitality. In fact, no mention is made of any functional qualifications to clarify deacons’ or deaconesses’ roles in the early church. The character qualifications listed are appropriate for those with monetary and administrative responsibilities (as Acts 6:1-6 suggests). Timothy is told that good deacons will not go unrewarded; not only will their faith increase, but also their good standing among those whom they serve (1 Tm 3:13).<\/p>\n<p>The NT writings indicate that to be chosen as a deacon or deaconess is a high compliment and affirmation. Named as “deacons” were Timothy (1 Thes 3:2; 1 Tm 4:6), Tychicus (Col 4:7), Epaphras (1:7), Paul (1 Cor 3:5)—and even Christ (Rom 15:8, “servant”). Biblical “deaconing” is not characterized by power and prominence but by service to others. In imitation of Jesus’ life, the deacon or deaconess followed the servant pattern. The Christian diaconate thus contrasted sharply with the prevailing Greek thought of service, which was considered unworthy of the dignity of free men. (The Greek philosopher Plato wrote, “How can man be happy when he has to serve someone?”)<\/p>\n<p>The office of deacon differed from the office of elder, which was adapted from a definite Jewish pattern in the OT (see Nm 11:16-17; Dt 29:10). The diaconate, on the other hand, developed from the strong, personal, historical example of Jesus, the servant who compassionately met concrete human needs.<\/p>\n<p>As the office of deacon became more firmly established, its duties could be defined as those of pastoral care. The poor and the sick received their service not only physically but also with instruction and consolation. The homes of church members became familiar territory to a deacon or deaconess. A pattern of visitation was established to discover and then meet the needs of the church body at large. Although that included the administration of funds, it went far beyond it. Those who served as deacons and deaconesses undoubtedly became symbols of loving care for the church in general.<\/p>\n<p>Where the office of deacon fits into the larger pattern of church order within the NT is difficult to determine because of the obvious variety present during the formative years. Some church historians conclude that as ecclesiastical structure developed, elders provided congregational leadership. Deacons assisted them, especially in social services and pastoral care. The late first and early second centuries witnessed a distinctive threefold ministry of deacons, elders (presbyters), and bishops. Bishops or “overseers” began to exercise authority over areas or groups of churches.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Deaconess\">Deaconess<\/p>\n<p>Where did women fit into the ministry of the early church? Paul’s inclusion of references to women in ministry is striking when compared with the role of women in general in the first century. He commended Phoebe for her service in the church at Cenchrea, using the word “deacon” to describe her (Rom 16:1). He praised her as a “helper” (v 2), a word that denotes leadership qualities (cf. Rom 12:8; 1 Tm 3:4-5). Some scholars have used that reference as an example of early development of the office of deaconess. Others have interpreted it in a nontechnical sense, meaning that Phoebe functioned in a generally serving role and thus was worthy of recognition at Rome. Whether “deacon” was used technically or descriptively, ministry for both women and men in the NT was patterned after the example of Jesus, who “came not to be served but to serve” (Mk 10:45). Because of the large number of female converts (Acts 5:14; 17:4), women functioned in such areas of ministry as visitation, instruction in discipleship, and assistance in baptism. Deaconesses are mentioned in third-century documents as administering baptism to female converts.<\/p>\n<p>Considering the rigid separation of the sexes in the Near East at that time, female participation in church ministry stands out in bold relief. A governor of Bithynia, Pliny the Younger (early second century), in his <em>Correspondence with Trajan<\/em> verified women officeholders in the church. Pliny also mentioned two deaconesses who were martyred for the cause of Christ.<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Bishop; Elder; Pastor; Presbyter.<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>DEACON, DEACONESS*<\/h3>\n<p>Terms designating an officer in a local church, derived from a Greek word meaning “servant” or “minister.” The term “diaconate” is used for the office itself or for the collective body of deacons and deaconesses. As with many other biblical words used today in a technical sense, the words “deacon” and “deaconess” began as popular, nontechnical terms. Both in secular first-century <span>AD<\/span> Greek culture and in the NT, they described a variety of services.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"OriginsoftheConcept\">Origins of the Concept<\/p>\n<h5>Greek Usage<\/h5>\n<p>References have been found in extrabiblical writings where the Greek word “deacon” meant “waiter,” “servant,” “steward,” or “messenger.” In at least two instances it indicated a baker and a cook. In religious usage the word described various attendants in pagan temples. Ancient documents show “deacons” presiding at the dedication of a statue to the Greek god Hermes. Serapis and Isis, Egyptian deities, were served by a college of “deacons” presided over by a priest.<\/p>\n<h5>General New Testament Usage<\/h5>\n<p>The same word was used by biblical writers in a general sense to describe various ministries or services. Not until later in the development of the apostolic church was the term applied to a distinct body of church officers. Among its general usages, “deacon” refers to a waiter at meals (Jn 2:5, 9), a king’s attendant (Mt 22:13), a servant of Satan (2 Cor 11:15), a servant of God (6:4), a servant of Christ (11:23), a servant of the church (Col 1:24-25), and a political ruler (Rom 13:4).<\/p>\n<p>The NT presents servanthood in the sense of ministry or service as a mark of the whole church—that is, as normative for all disciples (Mt 20:26-28; Lk 22:26-27). Jesus’ teaching on the final judgment equates ministry with feeding the hungry, welcoming strangers, clothing the naked, and visiting the sick and imprisoned (Mt 25:31-46). The entire NT emphasizes compassionate care for individuals’ physical and spiritual needs as well as the giving of oneself to meeting those needs. Such service is ultimately a ministry to Christ himself (v 45).<\/p>\n<h5>Origin of the Office<\/h5>\n<p>There is little question that before the end of the first century the general term for service or ministry became a kind of title for a position or office in the church. That development evidently went through several stages.<\/p>\n<p>Some biblical scholars emphasize a relationship between the <em>hazzan<\/em> of the Jewish synagogue and the Christian office of deacon. The <em>hazzan<\/em> opened and closed the synagogue doors, kept it clean, and handed out the books for reading. It was probably to such a person that Jesus handed the scroll of Isaiah after finishing his reading (Lk 4:20).<\/p>\n<p>Other NT scholars give considerable attention to the choosing of the seven (Acts 6:1-6); they see that action as a historical forerunner of a more developed structure (Phil 1:1; 1 Tm 3:8-13—the two specific references to an “office” of deacon). Luke devoted considerable attention in Acts to the selection of a new set of church leaders. Overworked with a variety of responsibilities, the 12 apostles proposed a division of labor to ensure care for the Hellenist (Greek-speaking) widows in the church’s daily distribution of food and alms. Seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom (Acts 6:3), subsequently became prominent in the Jerusalem congregation, doing works of charity and caring for physical needs.<\/p>\n<p>Some scholars caution that the diaconate should not be exclusively linked with charitable works, since the Greek word used in Acts 6:2 is related to the word translated “ministry of the word” in verse 4. Those chosen to oversee the care for physical needs were people of spiritual stature. Stephen, for instance, “full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs” (6:8, <span>rsv<\/span>). Philip, appointed as one of the seven in Acts 6, “preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ” (8:12). Philip also baptized (v 38) and is referred to as an evangelist (21:8).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"DeaconsintheEarlyChurch\">Deacons in the Early Church<\/p>\n<p>Those who cite Acts 6 as a preliminary stage of the office of deacon refer to the spread of the practice from the church in Jerusalem to the gentile congregations sprouting elsewhere. Many churches probably took the appointing of “the Jerusalem seven” as a pattern to follow, some even adopting the number seven. In a letter of the third-century pope Cornelius, for example, the church of Rome was said to have maintained seven for the number of deacons.<\/p>\n<p>By the time the church of Philippi received its instructions from the apostle Paul (c. <span>AD<\/span> 62) and Timothy had Paul’s first letter in hand, “deacon” had become a technical term referring to a specific office in the churches. In Philippians 1:1 Paul addressed the church in general and then added “with bishops and deacons.” Some interpreters consider that to be a clear establishment of two distinct groups within the larger church body, though no further description is given. Possibly the deacons of that congregation were responsible for collecting and then dispatching the offerings referred to (Phil 4:14-18).<\/p>\n<p>In 1 Timothy 3:8-13 instructions are given about qualifications for the office of deacon. Although that is the most detailed treatment of the subject in the NT, it is actually quite sketchy. Most of the qualifications, dealing with personal character and behavior, are similar to those for a bishop. For instance, a deacon is to be truthful, monogamous, “not addicted to much wine,” and a responsible parent. Verse 11, requiring that “the women likewise must be serious, not slanderers, but temperate, faithful in all things” (<span>rsv<\/span>), may refer not to deacons’ wives but to deaconesses, as several translations note (<span>niv<\/span>, <span>neb<\/span>). In any event, it is clear that women participated in the work of the diaconate.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast to the office of bishop (1 Tm 3:2), deacons are not described as providing teaching or hospitality. In fact, no mention is made of any functional qualifications to clarify deacons’ or deaconesses’ roles in the early church. The character qualifications listed are appropriate for those with monetary and administrative responsibilities (as Acts 6:1-6 suggests). Timothy is told that good deacons will not go unrewarded; not only will their faith increase, but also their good standing among those whom they serve (1 Tm 3:13).<\/p>\n<p>The NT writings indicate that to be chosen as a deacon or deaconess is a high compliment and affirmation. Named as “deacons” were Timothy (1 Thes 3:2; 1 Tm 4:6), Tychicus (Col 4:7), Epaphras (1:7), Paul (1 Cor 3:5)—and even Christ (Rom 15:8, “servant”). Biblical “deaconing” is not characterized by power and prominence but by service to others. In imitation of Jesus’ life, the deacon or deaconess followed the servant pattern. The Christian diaconate thus contrasted sharply with the prevailing Greek thought of service, which was considered unworthy of the dignity of free men. (The Greek philosopher Plato wrote, “How can man be happy when he has to serve someone?”)<\/p>\n<p>The office of deacon differed from the office of elder, which was adapted from a definite Jewish pattern in the OT (see Nm 11:16-17; Dt 29:10). The diaconate, on the other hand, developed from the strong, personal, historical example of Jesus, the servant who compassionately met concrete human needs.<\/p>\n<p>As the office of deacon became more firmly established, its duties could be defined as those of pastoral care. The poor and the sick received their service not only physically but also with instruction and consolation. The homes of church members became familiar territory to a deacon or deaconess. A pattern of visitation was established to discover and then meet the needs of the church body at large. Although that included the administration of funds, it went far beyond it. Those who served as deacons and deaconesses undoubtedly became symbols of loving care for the church in general.<\/p>\n<p>Where the office of deacon fits into the larger pattern of church order within the NT is difficult to determine because of the obvious variety present during the formative years. Some church historians conclude that as ecclesiastical structure developed, elders provided congregational leadership. Deacons assisted them, especially in social services and pastoral care. The late first and early second centuries witnessed a distinctive threefold ministry of deacons, elders (presbyters), and bishops. Bishops or “overseers” began to exercise authority over areas or groups of churches.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Deaconess\">Deaconess<\/p>\n<p>Where did women fit into the ministry of the early church? Paul’s inclusion of references to women in ministry is striking when compared with the role of women in general in the first century. He commended Phoebe for her service in the church at Cenchrea, using the word “deacon” to describe her (Rom 16:1). He praised her as a “helper” (v 2), a word that denotes leadership qualities (cf. Rom 12:8; 1 Tm 3:4-5). Some scholars have used that reference as an example of early development of the office of deaconess. Others have interpreted it in a nontechnical sense, meaning that Phoebe functioned in a generally serving role and thus was worthy of recognition at Rome. Whether “deacon” was used technically or descriptively, ministry for both women and men in the NT was patterned after the example of Jesus, who “came not to be served but to serve” (Mk 10:45). Because of the large number of female converts (Acts 5:14; 17:4), women functioned in such areas of ministry as visitation, instruction in discipleship, and assistance in baptism. Deaconesses are mentioned in third-century documents as administering baptism to female converts.<\/p>\n<p>Considering the rigid separation of the sexes in the Near East at that time, female participation in church ministry stands out in bold relief. A governor of Bithynia, Pliny the Younger (early second century), in his <em>Correspondence with Trajan<\/em> verified women officeholders in the church. Pliny also mentioned two deaconesses who were martyred for the cause of Christ.<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Bishop; Elder; Pastor; Presbyter.<\/p>","summary_ro":"DEACON, DEACONESS* Terms designating an officer in a local church, derived from a Greek word meaning “servant” or “minister.” The term “diaconate” is used for the office itself or for the collective body of deacons and deaconesses. As with many other biblical words used today in a technical sense, the words “deacon” and “deaconess” began as popular, nontechnical terms. Both in secular first-century AD Greek culture and in the NT, they described a variety of services. Origins of the Concept Gr...","summary_en":"DEACON, DEACONESS* Terms designating an officer in a local church, derived from a Greek word meaning “servant” or “minister.” The term “diaconate” is used for the office itself or for the collective body of deacons and deaconesses. As with many other biblical words used today in a technical sense, the words “deacon” and “deaconess” began as popular, nontechnical terms. Both in secular first-century AD Greek culture and in the NT, they described a variety of services. Origins of the Concept Gr...","source":"Articles\/D.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":33155,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Righteousness","title_en":"Righteousness","content_ro":"<h3>RIGHTEOUSNESS<\/h3>\n<p>The establishment of a right relationship—primarily between God and people, secondarily between people themselves. Righteousness is the fulfillment of just expectations in any relationship, whether with God or other people. It is applicable at all levels of society and is relevant in every area of life. Therefore, righteousness denotes the fulfilled expectations in relationships between man and wife, parents and children, fellow citizens, employer and employee, merchant and customers, ruler and citizens, and God and people. Depending on the fulfillment of one’s expectations, an individual could be called righteous and his or her acts and speech could be designated as righteous. The opposite of righteous is “evil,” “wicked,” or “wrong” (cf. Ps 1:6; Zep 3:5).<\/p>\n<p>In Israel the concept of righteousness transformed all of life, both religious and secular. Israel had been called into existence as a separate nation through which Yahweh was to witness to the nations concerning his universal rule, his nature, and his expectations of life on earth. This meant that Israel required a revelation from God so that they might learn his will and be instructed in maintaining a relationship with him. The quality of a person’s relationship with God is directly linked to his relationship with his fellow human.<\/p>\n<p>God is righteous (2 Chr 12:6; Pss 7:9; 103:17; Zep 3:5; Zec 8:8). His righteousness is dynamic, since it describes his acts on behalf of his people and also the nature of his relationship with them. All of God’s acts are righteous (cf. Dt 32:4; Jgs 5:11; Ps 103:6), and God’s people rejoiced in the righteous acts of God (Ps 89:16). Because God is righteous, he expects righteousness of others, who are to reflect the nature of their Creator. The expected response to God’s rule is in the form of righteousness, that is, conformity to his rule and will. In this basic sense, Noah is called “righteous” because he walked with God and showed integrity in comparison to his contemporaries (Gn 6:9). After humanity’s fall and acts of rebellion, culminating in the Flood and the dispersion at Babel, God renewed his relationship with humanity in Abraham and his descendants. Abraham was righteous because he ordered his life by the revealed will of God (15:6; cf. 17:1; 18:19; 26:5).<\/p>\n<p>The Lord revealed to Israel even more clearly how they were to relate to him and to each other. The law in Israel was for the purpose of helping the people of God to live in conformity to the will of God and thereby be righteous. The person who was devoted to the service of God in worship and life was called righteous (cf. Mal 3:18). Thus, righteousness is a state of integrity in relation to God and one’s neighbor, expressing itself in one’s acts and speech.<\/p>\n<p>The hope for an era characterized by righteousness was rooted in the prophetic revelation of the messianic rule and the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth (Is 11:1-9), whose rule will extend to the nations (vv 10-16) and last forever (9:7). Isaiah developed the revelation of the glorious, victorious entrance of the kingdom of God in a most exquisite way, when his enemies will be subdued and his people will be gathered together and will live in a state of peace in his presence. The acts of restoration, extending from Israel’s return from exile until the final coming of the external kingdom are, in his prophetic purview, the demonstration of God’s righteous acts. He forgives, restores, remains faithful, loves, elects, and sends his Spirit to renew his people and to bestow on them all the benefits of the renewed covenant relationship. Both Jews and Gentiles will be the recipients of his righteous acts (Is 45:8, 23; 46:13, 48:18; 51:5, 8, 16; 56:1; 59:17; 60:17; 61:10-11).<\/p>\n<p>Out of concern for the salvation of his people and the establishment of his everlasting kingdom, God revealed his righteousness in the sending of his beloved Son. The coming of Christ marks an era of renewal of his relationship with people, the renewal of the covenant and renewal of his kingdom on earth. The older covenant was mediated by Moses; the covenant was renewed by the Son of God, who came “to fulfill all righteousness” (Mt 3:15). The message of Jesus is consistent with the OT in the close identification of God’s kingdom with his righteousness (6:33; 13:43). Jesus also taught that God expects all people to live in harmony with his will (7:21). Jesus is God’s final revelation of what God requires of individuals so as to enter the kingdom and to live righteously.<\/p>\n<p> But individuals cannot attain this righteousness by their own merits; it is a gift from God (Rom 3:21–5:21). There is no righteousness apart from Jesus Christ. In the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus we discover that “it is through faith that a righteous person has life” (Rom 1:17; cf. Hb 2:4). Therefore, the Father requires acceptance of his Son as his appointed means of justification (Rom 3:25-26; 5:9). God declares people to be righteous when they put their trust in his Son (Rom 8:33-34; 2 Cor 3:18; 11:15). God pardons sins, is reconciled with sinners, and grants his peace to them (Rom 5:1, 9-11; Eph 2:14-17). Those who have been declared righteous enjoy a new relationship. They are “sons of God” by adoption. The Father relates to his children righteously and expects them to relate righteously to him.<\/p>\n<p>The fullness of righteousness will be manifest at the coming of the Lord Jesus, when all those who have been justified will also be glorified (Rom 8:30). The goal of salvation history moves toward the final glorious manifestation of God’s kingdom, when all creation will be renewed in “righteousness”—that is, all creation will be right with God (2 Pt 3:13).<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> God, Being and Attributes of; Justification, Justified; Law, Biblical Concept of.<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>RIGHTEOUSNESS<\/h3>\n<p>The establishment of a right relationship—primarily between God and people, secondarily between people themselves. Righteousness is the fulfillment of just expectations in any relationship, whether with God or other people. It is applicable at all levels of society and is relevant in every area of life. Therefore, righteousness denotes the fulfilled expectations in relationships between man and wife, parents and children, fellow citizens, employer and employee, merchant and customers, ruler and citizens, and God and people. Depending on the fulfillment of one’s expectations, an individual could be called righteous and his or her acts and speech could be designated as righteous. The opposite of righteous is “evil,” “wicked,” or “wrong” (cf. Ps 1:6; Zep 3:5).<\/p>\n<p>In Israel the concept of righteousness transformed all of life, both religious and secular. Israel had been called into existence as a separate nation through which Yahweh was to witness to the nations concerning his universal rule, his nature, and his expectations of life on earth. This meant that Israel required a revelation from God so that they might learn his will and be instructed in maintaining a relationship with him. The quality of a person’s relationship with God is directly linked to his relationship with his fellow human.<\/p>\n<p>God is righteous (2 Chr 12:6; Pss 7:9; 103:17; Zep 3:5; Zec 8:8). His righteousness is dynamic, since it describes his acts on behalf of his people and also the nature of his relationship with them. All of God’s acts are righteous (cf. Dt 32:4; Jgs 5:11; Ps 103:6), and God’s people rejoiced in the righteous acts of God (Ps 89:16). Because God is righteous, he expects righteousness of others, who are to reflect the nature of their Creator. The expected response to God’s rule is in the form of righteousness, that is, conformity to his rule and will. In this basic sense, Noah is called “righteous” because he walked with God and showed integrity in comparison to his contemporaries (Gn 6:9). After humanity’s fall and acts of rebellion, culminating in the Flood and the dispersion at Babel, God renewed his relationship with humanity in Abraham and his descendants. Abraham was righteous because he ordered his life by the revealed will of God (15:6; cf. 17:1; 18:19; 26:5).<\/p>\n<p>The Lord revealed to Israel even more clearly how they were to relate to him and to each other. The law in Israel was for the purpose of helping the people of God to live in conformity to the will of God and thereby be righteous. The person who was devoted to the service of God in worship and life was called righteous (cf. Mal 3:18). Thus, righteousness is a state of integrity in relation to God and one’s neighbor, expressing itself in one’s acts and speech.<\/p>\n<p>The hope for an era characterized by righteousness was rooted in the prophetic revelation of the messianic rule and the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth (Is 11:1-9), whose rule will extend to the nations (vv 10-16) and last forever (9:7). Isaiah developed the revelation of the glorious, victorious entrance of the kingdom of God in a most exquisite way, when his enemies will be subdued and his people will be gathered together and will live in a state of peace in his presence. The acts of restoration, extending from Israel’s return from exile until the final coming of the external kingdom are, in his prophetic purview, the demonstration of God’s righteous acts. He forgives, restores, remains faithful, loves, elects, and sends his Spirit to renew his people and to bestow on them all the benefits of the renewed covenant relationship. Both Jews and Gentiles will be the recipients of his righteous acts (Is 45:8, 23; 46:13, 48:18; 51:5, 8, 16; 56:1; 59:17; 60:17; 61:10-11).<\/p>\n<p>Out of concern for the salvation of his people and the establishment of his everlasting kingdom, God revealed his righteousness in the sending of his beloved Son. The coming of Christ marks an era of renewal of his relationship with people, the renewal of the covenant and renewal of his kingdom on earth. The older covenant was mediated by Moses; the covenant was renewed by the Son of God, who came “to fulfill all righteousness” (Mt 3:15). The message of Jesus is consistent with the OT in the close identification of God’s kingdom with his righteousness (6:33; 13:43). Jesus also taught that God expects all people to live in harmony with his will (7:21). Jesus is God’s final revelation of what God requires of individuals so as to enter the kingdom and to live righteously.<\/p>\n<p> But individuals cannot attain this righteousness by their own merits; it is a gift from God (Rom 3:21–5:21). There is no righteousness apart from Jesus Christ. In the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus we discover that “it is through faith that a righteous person has life” (Rom 1:17; cf. Hb 2:4). Therefore, the Father requires acceptance of his Son as his appointed means of justification (Rom 3:25-26; 5:9). God declares people to be righteous when they put their trust in his Son (Rom 8:33-34; 2 Cor 3:18; 11:15). God pardons sins, is reconciled with sinners, and grants his peace to them (Rom 5:1, 9-11; Eph 2:14-17). Those who have been declared righteous enjoy a new relationship. They are “sons of God” by adoption. The Father relates to his children righteously and expects them to relate righteously to him.<\/p>\n<p>The fullness of righteousness will be manifest at the coming of the Lord Jesus, when all those who have been justified will also be glorified (Rom 8:30). The goal of salvation history moves toward the final glorious manifestation of God’s kingdom, when all creation will be renewed in “righteousness”—that is, all creation will be right with God (2 Pt 3:13).<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> God, Being and Attributes of; Justification, Justified; Law, Biblical Concept of.<\/p>","summary_ro":"RIGHTEOUSNESS The establishment of a right relationship—primarily between God and people, secondarily between people themselves. Righteousness is the fulfillment of just expectations in any relationship, whether with God or other people. It is applicable at all levels of society and is relevant in every area of life. Therefore, righteousness denotes the fulfilled expectations in relationships between man and wife, parents and children, fellow citizens, employer and employee, merchant and cust...","summary_en":"RIGHTEOUSNESS The establishment of a right relationship—primarily between God and people, secondarily between people themselves. Righteousness is the fulfillment of just expectations in any relationship, whether with God or other people. It is applicable at all levels of society and is relevant in every area of life. Therefore, righteousness denotes the fulfilled expectations in relationships between man and wife, parents and children, fellow citizens, employer and employee, merchant and cust...","source":"Articles\/R.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false}],"16":[{"id":57862,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:16","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:16","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:16-29<\/strong> Paul plays the part of a boastful <em>fool<\/em> (see also 12:11-13) so that he may present his true credentials as a suffering apostle. The intruders’ arrogant spirit impels Paul to adopt a style of writing that matches their behavior, all in irony.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:16-29<\/strong> Paul plays the part of a boastful <em>fool<\/em> (see also 12:11-13) so that he may present his true credentials as a suffering apostle. The intruders’ arrogant spirit impels Paul to adopt a style of writing that matches their behavior, all in irony.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:16-29 Paul plays the part of a boastful fool (see also 12:11-13) so that he may present his true credentials as a suffering apostle. The intruders’ arrogant spirit impels Paul to adopt a style of writing that matches their behavior, all in irony.","summary_en":"11:16-29 Paul plays the part of a boastful fool (see also 12:11-13) so that he may present his true credentials as a suffering apostle. The intruders’ arrogant spirit impels Paul to adopt a style of writing that matches their behavior, all in irony.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":85488,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:16","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:16","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:16-29<\/strong> Paul plays the part of a boastful <em>fool<\/em> (see also 12:11-13) so that he may present his true credentials as a suffering apostle. The intruders’ arrogant spirit impels Paul to adopt a style of writing that matches their behavior, all in irony.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:16-29<\/strong> Paul plays the part of a boastful <em>fool<\/em> (see also 12:11-13) so that he may present his true credentials as a suffering apostle. The intruders’ arrogant spirit impels Paul to adopt a style of writing that matches their behavior, all in irony.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:16-29 Paul plays the part of a boastful fool (see also 12:11-13) so that he may present his true credentials as a suffering apostle. The intruders’ arrogant spirit impels Paul to adopt a style of writing that matches their behavior, all in irony.","summary_en":"11:16-29 Paul plays the part of a boastful fool (see also 12:11-13) so that he may present his true credentials as a suffering apostle. The intruders’ arrogant spirit impels Paul to adopt a style of writing that matches their behavior, all in irony.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":113114,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:16","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:16","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:16-29<\/strong> Paul plays the part of a boastful <em>fool<\/em> (see also 12:11-13) so that he may present his true credentials as a suffering apostle. The intruders’ arrogant spirit impels Paul to adopt a style of writing that matches their behavior, all in irony.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:16-29<\/strong> Paul plays the part of a boastful <em>fool<\/em> (see also 12:11-13) so that he may present his true credentials as a suffering apostle. The intruders’ arrogant spirit impels Paul to adopt a style of writing that matches their behavior, all in irony.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:16-29 Paul plays the part of a boastful fool (see also 12:11-13) so that he may present his true credentials as a suffering apostle. The intruders’ arrogant spirit impels Paul to adopt a style of writing that matches their behavior, all in irony.","summary_en":"11:16-29 Paul plays the part of a boastful fool (see also 12:11-13) so that he may present his true credentials as a suffering apostle. The intruders’ arrogant spirit impels Paul to adopt a style of writing that matches their behavior, all in irony.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":140740,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:16","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:16","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:16-29<\/strong> Paul plays the part of a boastful <em>fool<\/em> (see also 12:11-13) so that he may present his true credentials as a suffering apostle. The intruders’ arrogant spirit impels Paul to adopt a style of writing that matches their behavior, all in irony.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:16-29<\/strong> Paul plays the part of a boastful <em>fool<\/em> (see also 12:11-13) so that he may present his true credentials as a suffering apostle. The intruders’ arrogant spirit impels Paul to adopt a style of writing that matches their behavior, all in irony.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:16-29 Paul plays the part of a boastful fool (see also 12:11-13) so that he may present his true credentials as a suffering apostle. The intruders’ arrogant spirit impels Paul to adopt a style of writing that matches their behavior, all in irony.","summary_en":"11:16-29 Paul plays the part of a boastful fool (see also 12:11-13) so that he may present his true credentials as a suffering apostle. The intruders’ arrogant spirit impels Paul to adopt a style of writing that matches their behavior, all in irony.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":67276,"type":"theme_note","type_label":"Temă biblică","type_icon":"🎯","type_color":"#ef4444","title_ro":"Paul’s Apostolic Service","title_en":"Paul’s Apostolic Service","content_ro":"<h3>Paul’s Apostolic Service<\/h3>\n<p>To understand Paul’s role as an apostle of Jesus Christ, there is perhaps no better place to look than Paul’s own description in 2 Corinthians. In this letter, Paul reveals the heart of his ministry. Paul was God’s special messenger for the establishment and nurture of churches in the Gentile world. His service was marked by seriousness and sincerity, and his message raised life and death issues (2 Cor 2:15-17). As a pioneer missionary, he took the Good News to places where Christ’s name was not yet known (see Rom 15:20-21).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s message of Good News was clear and incisive (see, e.g., 2 Cor 5:1-21), and it was backed up and illustrated by his own life. He always sought to minister with truth and integrity (2:17; 4:2). And as Paul carried the message of Christ, the cross served as the pattern for his ministry to others (11:16-33).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s authority was apparently disputed, so he needed to offer a personal account of how God had called him as an apostle and established his ministry at Corinth (10:12-18). For those who demanded proof of Paul’s credentials (13:3) and who criticized his weaknesses, he simply pointed to the cross of Jesus (13:4) and to the lessons he had learned from it (see 4:10). Paul was quite conscious of his own limitations and that he needed divine grace to accomplish his work. But true apostolic authority expresses itself precisely in human weakness reinforced by divine strength (12:1-10).<\/p>\n<p>Paul also performed miraculous works to verify his claim to apostleship (12:12). These works apparently were not enough to prevent doubts from arising in the young church at Corinth. Yet Paul exercised his ministry with great patience, not giving up when the Corinthians challenged him. This patience replicates that of Jesus, who endured much hositility from others (Heb 12:2-3).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s example provides a few lessons for all those who are involved in Christian service: (1) Christian leaders should take criticism as a summons to self-examination, to see if any accusation is well-founded. (2) Christian leaders should be patient in the face of groundless opposition, staying focused on the task at hand. (3) There is a place for reasoned defense and explanation of one’s motives, while at the same time recognizing that the Lord is the ultimate Judge.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Matt 10:5-42; 28:18-20; Mark 1:17; 2:14; 3:14-15; John 21:15-17; Acts 1:2-8, 20-26; 2:42-43; 4:33; 5:12; 6:2-4; 10:39-43; 14:3; Rom 1:5; 15:17-21; 1 Cor 4:8-13; 12:28-29; 2 Cor 2:17; 4:2; 6:3-12; 10:12-18; Eph 2:20; 3:4-5; 4:11-13; 1 Thes 2:7-12<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Paul’s Apostolic Service<\/h3>\n<p>To understand Paul’s role as an apostle of Jesus Christ, there is perhaps no better place to look than Paul’s own description in 2 Corinthians. In this letter, Paul reveals the heart of his ministry. Paul was God’s special messenger for the establishment and nurture of churches in the Gentile world. His service was marked by seriousness and sincerity, and his message raised life and death issues (2 Cor 2:15-17). As a pioneer missionary, he took the Good News to places where Christ’s name was not yet known (see Rom 15:20-21).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s message of Good News was clear and incisive (see, e.g., 2 Cor 5:1-21), and it was backed up and illustrated by his own life. He always sought to minister with truth and integrity (2:17; 4:2). And as Paul carried the message of Christ, the cross served as the pattern for his ministry to others (11:16-33).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s authority was apparently disputed, so he needed to offer a personal account of how God had called him as an apostle and established his ministry at Corinth (10:12-18). For those who demanded proof of Paul’s credentials (13:3) and who criticized his weaknesses, he simply pointed to the cross of Jesus (13:4) and to the lessons he had learned from it (see 4:10). Paul was quite conscious of his own limitations and that he needed divine grace to accomplish his work. But true apostolic authority expresses itself precisely in human weakness reinforced by divine strength (12:1-10).<\/p>\n<p>Paul also performed miraculous works to verify his claim to apostleship (12:12). These works apparently were not enough to prevent doubts from arising in the young church at Corinth. Yet Paul exercised his ministry with great patience, not giving up when the Corinthians challenged him. This patience replicates that of Jesus, who endured much hositility from others (Heb 12:2-3).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s example provides a few lessons for all those who are involved in Christian service: (1) Christian leaders should take criticism as a summons to self-examination, to see if any accusation is well-founded. (2) Christian leaders should be patient in the face of groundless opposition, staying focused on the task at hand. (3) There is a place for reasoned defense and explanation of one’s motives, while at the same time recognizing that the Lord is the ultimate Judge.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Matt 10:5-42; 28:18-20; Mark 1:17; 2:14; 3:14-15; John 21:15-17; Acts 1:2-8, 20-26; 2:42-43; 4:33; 5:12; 6:2-4; 10:39-43; 14:3; Rom 1:5; 15:17-21; 1 Cor 4:8-13; 12:28-29; 2 Cor 2:17; 4:2; 6:3-12; 10:12-18; Eph 2:20; 3:4-5; 4:11-13; 1 Thes 2:7-12<\/p>","summary_ro":"Paul’s Apostolic Service To understand Paul’s role as an apostle of Jesus Christ, there is perhaps no better place to look than Paul’s own description in 2 Corinthians. In this letter, Paul reveals the heart of his ministry. Paul was God’s special messenger for the establishment and nurture of churches in the Gentile world. His service was marked by seriousness and sincerity, and his message raised life and death issues (2 Cor 2:15-17). As a pioneer missionary, he took the Good News to places...","summary_en":"Paul’s Apostolic Service To understand Paul’s role as an apostle of Jesus Christ, there is perhaps no better place to look than Paul’s own description in 2 Corinthians. In this letter, Paul reveals the heart of his ministry. Paul was God’s special messenger for the establishment and nurture of churches in the Gentile world. His service was marked by seriousness and sincerity, and his message raised life and death issues (2 Cor 2:15-17). As a pioneer missionary, he took the Good News to places...","source":"ThemeNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":94902,"type":"theme_note","type_label":"Temă biblică","type_icon":"🎯","type_color":"#ef4444","title_ro":"Paul’s Apostolic Service","title_en":"Paul’s Apostolic Service","content_ro":"<h3>Paul’s Apostolic Service<\/h3>\n<p>To understand Paul’s role as an apostle of Jesus Christ, there is perhaps no better place to look than Paul’s own description in 2 Corinthians. In this letter, Paul reveals the heart of his ministry. Paul was God’s special messenger for the establishment and nurture of churches in the Gentile world. His service was marked by seriousness and sincerity, and his message raised life and death issues (2 Cor 2:15-17). As a pioneer missionary, he took the Good News to places where Christ’s name was not yet known (see Rom 15:20-21).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s message of Good News was clear and incisive (see, e.g., 2 Cor 5:1-21), and it was backed up and illustrated by his own life. He always sought to minister with truth and integrity (2:17; 4:2). And as Paul carried the message of Christ, the cross served as the pattern for his ministry to others (11:16-33).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s authority was apparently disputed, so he needed to offer a personal account of how God had called him as an apostle and established his ministry at Corinth (10:12-18). For those who demanded proof of Paul’s credentials (13:3) and who criticized his weaknesses, he simply pointed to the cross of Jesus (13:4) and to the lessons he had learned from it (see 4:10). Paul was quite conscious of his own limitations and that he needed divine grace to accomplish his work. But true apostolic authority expresses itself precisely in human weakness reinforced by divine strength (12:1-10).<\/p>\n<p>Paul also performed miraculous works to verify his claim to apostleship (12:12). These works apparently were not enough to prevent doubts from arising in the young church at Corinth. Yet Paul exercised his ministry with great patience, not giving up when the Corinthians challenged him. This patience replicates that of Jesus, who endured much hositility from others (Heb 12:2-3).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s example provides a few lessons for all those who are involved in Christian service: (1) Christian leaders should take criticism as a summons to self-examination, to see if any accusation is well-founded. (2) Christian leaders should be patient in the face of groundless opposition, staying focused on the task at hand. (3) There is a place for reasoned defense and explanation of one’s motives, while at the same time recognizing that the Lord is the ultimate Judge.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Matt 10:5-42; 28:18-20; Mark 1:17; 2:14; 3:14-15; John 21:15-17; Acts 1:2-8, 20-26; 2:42-43; 4:33; 5:12; 6:2-4; 10:39-43; 14:3; Rom 1:5; 15:17-21; 1 Cor 4:8-13; 12:28-29; 2 Cor 2:17; 4:2; 6:3-12; 10:12-18; Eph 2:20; 3:4-5; 4:11-13; 1 Thes 2:7-12<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Paul’s Apostolic Service<\/h3>\n<p>To understand Paul’s role as an apostle of Jesus Christ, there is perhaps no better place to look than Paul’s own description in 2 Corinthians. In this letter, Paul reveals the heart of his ministry. Paul was God’s special messenger for the establishment and nurture of churches in the Gentile world. His service was marked by seriousness and sincerity, and his message raised life and death issues (2 Cor 2:15-17). As a pioneer missionary, he took the Good News to places where Christ’s name was not yet known (see Rom 15:20-21).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s message of Good News was clear and incisive (see, e.g., 2 Cor 5:1-21), and it was backed up and illustrated by his own life. He always sought to minister with truth and integrity (2:17; 4:2). And as Paul carried the message of Christ, the cross served as the pattern for his ministry to others (11:16-33).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s authority was apparently disputed, so he needed to offer a personal account of how God had called him as an apostle and established his ministry at Corinth (10:12-18). For those who demanded proof of Paul’s credentials (13:3) and who criticized his weaknesses, he simply pointed to the cross of Jesus (13:4) and to the lessons he had learned from it (see 4:10). Paul was quite conscious of his own limitations and that he needed divine grace to accomplish his work. But true apostolic authority expresses itself precisely in human weakness reinforced by divine strength (12:1-10).<\/p>\n<p>Paul also performed miraculous works to verify his claim to apostleship (12:12). These works apparently were not enough to prevent doubts from arising in the young church at Corinth. Yet Paul exercised his ministry with great patience, not giving up when the Corinthians challenged him. This patience replicates that of Jesus, who endured much hositility from others (Heb 12:2-3).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s example provides a few lessons for all those who are involved in Christian service: (1) Christian leaders should take criticism as a summons to self-examination, to see if any accusation is well-founded. (2) Christian leaders should be patient in the face of groundless opposition, staying focused on the task at hand. (3) There is a place for reasoned defense and explanation of one’s motives, while at the same time recognizing that the Lord is the ultimate Judge.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Matt 10:5-42; 28:18-20; Mark 1:17; 2:14; 3:14-15; John 21:15-17; Acts 1:2-8, 20-26; 2:42-43; 4:33; 5:12; 6:2-4; 10:39-43; 14:3; Rom 1:5; 15:17-21; 1 Cor 4:8-13; 12:28-29; 2 Cor 2:17; 4:2; 6:3-12; 10:12-18; Eph 2:20; 3:4-5; 4:11-13; 1 Thes 2:7-12<\/p>","summary_ro":"Paul’s Apostolic Service To understand Paul’s role as an apostle of Jesus Christ, there is perhaps no better place to look than Paul’s own description in 2 Corinthians. In this letter, Paul reveals the heart of his ministry. Paul was God’s special messenger for the establishment and nurture of churches in the Gentile world. His service was marked by seriousness and sincerity, and his message raised life and death issues (2 Cor 2:15-17). As a pioneer missionary, he took the Good News to places...","summary_en":"Paul’s Apostolic Service To understand Paul’s role as an apostle of Jesus Christ, there is perhaps no better place to look than Paul’s own description in 2 Corinthians. In this letter, Paul reveals the heart of his ministry. Paul was God’s special messenger for the establishment and nurture of churches in the Gentile world. His service was marked by seriousness and sincerity, and his message raised life and death issues (2 Cor 2:15-17). As a pioneer missionary, he took the Good News to places...","source":"ThemeNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":122528,"type":"theme_note","type_label":"Temă biblică","type_icon":"🎯","type_color":"#ef4444","title_ro":"Paul’s Apostolic Service","title_en":"Paul’s Apostolic Service","content_ro":"<h3>Paul’s Apostolic Service<\/h3>\n<p>To understand Paul’s role as an apostle of Jesus Christ, there is perhaps no better place to look than Paul’s own description in 2 Corinthians. In this letter, Paul reveals the heart of his ministry. Paul was God’s special messenger for the establishment and nurture of churches in the Gentile world. His service was marked by seriousness and sincerity, and his message raised life and death issues (2 Cor 2:15-17). As a pioneer missionary, he took the Good News to places where Christ’s name was not yet known (see Rom 15:20-21).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s message of Good News was clear and incisive (see, e.g., 2 Cor 5:1-21), and it was backed up and illustrated by his own life. He always sought to minister with truth and integrity (2:17; 4:2). And as Paul carried the message of Christ, the cross served as the pattern for his ministry to others (11:16-33).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s authority was apparently disputed, so he needed to offer a personal account of how God had called him as an apostle and established his ministry at Corinth (10:12-18). For those who demanded proof of Paul’s credentials (13:3) and who criticized his weaknesses, he simply pointed to the cross of Jesus (13:4) and to the lessons he had learned from it (see 4:10). Paul was quite conscious of his own limitations and that he needed divine grace to accomplish his work. But true apostolic authority expresses itself precisely in human weakness reinforced by divine strength (12:1-10).<\/p>\n<p>Paul also performed miraculous works to verify his claim to apostleship (12:12). These works apparently were not enough to prevent doubts from arising in the young church at Corinth. Yet Paul exercised his ministry with great patience, not giving up when the Corinthians challenged him. This patience replicates that of Jesus, who endured much hositility from others (Heb 12:2-3).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s example provides a few lessons for all those who are involved in Christian service: (1) Christian leaders should take criticism as a summons to self-examination, to see if any accusation is well-founded. (2) Christian leaders should be patient in the face of groundless opposition, staying focused on the task at hand. (3) There is a place for reasoned defense and explanation of one’s motives, while at the same time recognizing that the Lord is the ultimate Judge.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Matt 10:5-42; 28:18-20; Mark 1:17; 2:14; 3:14-15; John 21:15-17; Acts 1:2-8, 20-26; 2:42-43; 4:33; 5:12; 6:2-4; 10:39-43; 14:3; Rom 1:5; 15:17-21; 1 Cor 4:8-13; 12:28-29; 2 Cor 2:17; 4:2; 6:3-12; 10:12-18; Eph 2:20; 3:4-5; 4:11-13; 1 Thes 2:7-12<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Paul’s Apostolic Service<\/h3>\n<p>To understand Paul’s role as an apostle of Jesus Christ, there is perhaps no better place to look than Paul’s own description in 2 Corinthians. In this letter, Paul reveals the heart of his ministry. Paul was God’s special messenger for the establishment and nurture of churches in the Gentile world. His service was marked by seriousness and sincerity, and his message raised life and death issues (2 Cor 2:15-17). As a pioneer missionary, he took the Good News to places where Christ’s name was not yet known (see Rom 15:20-21).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s message of Good News was clear and incisive (see, e.g., 2 Cor 5:1-21), and it was backed up and illustrated by his own life. He always sought to minister with truth and integrity (2:17; 4:2). And as Paul carried the message of Christ, the cross served as the pattern for his ministry to others (11:16-33).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s authority was apparently disputed, so he needed to offer a personal account of how God had called him as an apostle and established his ministry at Corinth (10:12-18). For those who demanded proof of Paul’s credentials (13:3) and who criticized his weaknesses, he simply pointed to the cross of Jesus (13:4) and to the lessons he had learned from it (see 4:10). Paul was quite conscious of his own limitations and that he needed divine grace to accomplish his work. But true apostolic authority expresses itself precisely in human weakness reinforced by divine strength (12:1-10).<\/p>\n<p>Paul also performed miraculous works to verify his claim to apostleship (12:12). These works apparently were not enough to prevent doubts from arising in the young church at Corinth. Yet Paul exercised his ministry with great patience, not giving up when the Corinthians challenged him. This patience replicates that of Jesus, who endured much hositility from others (Heb 12:2-3).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s example provides a few lessons for all those who are involved in Christian service: (1) Christian leaders should take criticism as a summons to self-examination, to see if any accusation is well-founded. (2) Christian leaders should be patient in the face of groundless opposition, staying focused on the task at hand. (3) There is a place for reasoned defense and explanation of one’s motives, while at the same time recognizing that the Lord is the ultimate Judge.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Matt 10:5-42; 28:18-20; Mark 1:17; 2:14; 3:14-15; John 21:15-17; Acts 1:2-8, 20-26; 2:42-43; 4:33; 5:12; 6:2-4; 10:39-43; 14:3; Rom 1:5; 15:17-21; 1 Cor 4:8-13; 12:28-29; 2 Cor 2:17; 4:2; 6:3-12; 10:12-18; Eph 2:20; 3:4-5; 4:11-13; 1 Thes 2:7-12<\/p>","summary_ro":"Paul’s Apostolic Service To understand Paul’s role as an apostle of Jesus Christ, there is perhaps no better place to look than Paul’s own description in 2 Corinthians. In this letter, Paul reveals the heart of his ministry. Paul was God’s special messenger for the establishment and nurture of churches in the Gentile world. His service was marked by seriousness and sincerity, and his message raised life and death issues (2 Cor 2:15-17). As a pioneer missionary, he took the Good News to places...","summary_en":"Paul’s Apostolic Service To understand Paul’s role as an apostle of Jesus Christ, there is perhaps no better place to look than Paul’s own description in 2 Corinthians. In this letter, Paul reveals the heart of his ministry. Paul was God’s special messenger for the establishment and nurture of churches in the Gentile world. His service was marked by seriousness and sincerity, and his message raised life and death issues (2 Cor 2:15-17). As a pioneer missionary, he took the Good News to places...","source":"ThemeNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":150154,"type":"theme_note","type_label":"Temă biblică","type_icon":"🎯","type_color":"#ef4444","title_ro":"Paul’s Apostolic Service","title_en":"Paul’s Apostolic Service","content_ro":"<h3>Paul’s Apostolic Service<\/h3>\n<p>To understand Paul’s role as an apostle of Jesus Christ, there is perhaps no better place to look than Paul’s own description in 2 Corinthians. In this letter, Paul reveals the heart of his ministry. Paul was God’s special messenger for the establishment and nurture of churches in the Gentile world. His service was marked by seriousness and sincerity, and his message raised life and death issues (2 Cor 2:15-17). As a pioneer missionary, he took the Good News to places where Christ’s name was not yet known (see Rom 15:20-21).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s message of Good News was clear and incisive (see, e.g., 2 Cor 5:1-21), and it was backed up and illustrated by his own life. He always sought to minister with truth and integrity (2:17; 4:2). And as Paul carried the message of Christ, the cross served as the pattern for his ministry to others (11:16-33).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s authority was apparently disputed, so he needed to offer a personal account of how God had called him as an apostle and established his ministry at Corinth (10:12-18). For those who demanded proof of Paul’s credentials (13:3) and who criticized his weaknesses, he simply pointed to the cross of Jesus (13:4) and to the lessons he had learned from it (see 4:10). Paul was quite conscious of his own limitations and that he needed divine grace to accomplish his work. But true apostolic authority expresses itself precisely in human weakness reinforced by divine strength (12:1-10).<\/p>\n<p>Paul also performed miraculous works to verify his claim to apostleship (12:12). These works apparently were not enough to prevent doubts from arising in the young church at Corinth. Yet Paul exercised his ministry with great patience, not giving up when the Corinthians challenged him. This patience replicates that of Jesus, who endured much hositility from others (Heb 12:2-3).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s example provides a few lessons for all those who are involved in Christian service: (1) Christian leaders should take criticism as a summons to self-examination, to see if any accusation is well-founded. (2) Christian leaders should be patient in the face of groundless opposition, staying focused on the task at hand. (3) There is a place for reasoned defense and explanation of one’s motives, while at the same time recognizing that the Lord is the ultimate Judge.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Matt 10:5-42; 28:18-20; Mark 1:17; 2:14; 3:14-15; John 21:15-17; Acts 1:2-8, 20-26; 2:42-43; 4:33; 5:12; 6:2-4; 10:39-43; 14:3; Rom 1:5; 15:17-21; 1 Cor 4:8-13; 12:28-29; 2 Cor 2:17; 4:2; 6:3-12; 10:12-18; Eph 2:20; 3:4-5; 4:11-13; 1 Thes 2:7-12<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Paul’s Apostolic Service<\/h3>\n<p>To understand Paul’s role as an apostle of Jesus Christ, there is perhaps no better place to look than Paul’s own description in 2 Corinthians. In this letter, Paul reveals the heart of his ministry. Paul was God’s special messenger for the establishment and nurture of churches in the Gentile world. His service was marked by seriousness and sincerity, and his message raised life and death issues (2 Cor 2:15-17). As a pioneer missionary, he took the Good News to places where Christ’s name was not yet known (see Rom 15:20-21).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s message of Good News was clear and incisive (see, e.g., 2 Cor 5:1-21), and it was backed up and illustrated by his own life. He always sought to minister with truth and integrity (2:17; 4:2). And as Paul carried the message of Christ, the cross served as the pattern for his ministry to others (11:16-33).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s authority was apparently disputed, so he needed to offer a personal account of how God had called him as an apostle and established his ministry at Corinth (10:12-18). For those who demanded proof of Paul’s credentials (13:3) and who criticized his weaknesses, he simply pointed to the cross of Jesus (13:4) and to the lessons he had learned from it (see 4:10). Paul was quite conscious of his own limitations and that he needed divine grace to accomplish his work. But true apostolic authority expresses itself precisely in human weakness reinforced by divine strength (12:1-10).<\/p>\n<p>Paul also performed miraculous works to verify his claim to apostleship (12:12). These works apparently were not enough to prevent doubts from arising in the young church at Corinth. Yet Paul exercised his ministry with great patience, not giving up when the Corinthians challenged him. This patience replicates that of Jesus, who endured much hositility from others (Heb 12:2-3).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s example provides a few lessons for all those who are involved in Christian service: (1) Christian leaders should take criticism as a summons to self-examination, to see if any accusation is well-founded. (2) Christian leaders should be patient in the face of groundless opposition, staying focused on the task at hand. (3) There is a place for reasoned defense and explanation of one’s motives, while at the same time recognizing that the Lord is the ultimate Judge.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Matt 10:5-42; 28:18-20; Mark 1:17; 2:14; 3:14-15; John 21:15-17; Acts 1:2-8, 20-26; 2:42-43; 4:33; 5:12; 6:2-4; 10:39-43; 14:3; Rom 1:5; 15:17-21; 1 Cor 4:8-13; 12:28-29; 2 Cor 2:17; 4:2; 6:3-12; 10:12-18; Eph 2:20; 3:4-5; 4:11-13; 1 Thes 2:7-12<\/p>","summary_ro":"Paul’s Apostolic Service To understand Paul’s role as an apostle of Jesus Christ, there is perhaps no better place to look than Paul’s own description in 2 Corinthians. In this letter, Paul reveals the heart of his ministry. Paul was God’s special messenger for the establishment and nurture of churches in the Gentile world. His service was marked by seriousness and sincerity, and his message raised life and death issues (2 Cor 2:15-17). As a pioneer missionary, he took the Good News to places...","summary_en":"Paul’s Apostolic Service To understand Paul’s role as an apostle of Jesus Christ, there is perhaps no better place to look than Paul’s own description in 2 Corinthians. In this letter, Paul reveals the heart of his ministry. Paul was God’s special messenger for the establishment and nurture of churches in the Gentile world. His service was marked by seriousness and sincerity, and his message raised life and death issues (2 Cor 2:15-17). As a pioneer missionary, he took the Good News to places...","source":"ThemeNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false}],"18":[{"id":12412,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Flesh","title_en":"Flesh","content_ro":"<h3>FLESH<\/h3>\n<p>The body; the physical being of humans; the human person and human existence; the carnal nature of humans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"IntheOldTestament\">In the Old Testament<\/p>\n<p>Term commonly used to designate the material stuff of the body, whether of people (Gn 40:19) or of animals (Lv 6:27). However, “flesh” is used in the OT with a variety of meanings. Sometimes it is used as equivalent for the whole body (Prv 14:30), and the meaning is extended to designate the whole person (“my flesh also shall rest in hope,” Ps 16:9, <span>kjv<\/span>). This idea leads to the union of two different persons, man and wife as “one flesh” (Gn 2:24), and a man can say of his relatives, “I am your bone and your flesh” (Jgs 9:2). The idea of flesh as the whole person leads to the expression “all flesh,” denoting the totality of humankind, sometimes including also the animal world.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the most distinctive use of “flesh” in the OT is found in those passages where it designates human weakness and frailty over against God. “My spirit shall not abide in man for ever, for he is flesh” (Gn 6:3, <span>rsv<\/span>). In Psalm 78:39, God attributes sin to the fact that men are but flesh. In 2 Chronicles 32:8 the arm of flesh of the king of Assyria (i.e., his weakness) is contrasted with the all-powerful God. The one who puts trust in God need not fear what “flesh” can do (Ps 56:4), but the one who puts trust in human flesh instead of in God is under a curse (Jer 17:5). In Isaiah 31:3 flesh is contrasted with spirit, as weakness is with strength.<\/p>\n<p>However, nowhere in the OT is flesh viewed as sinful. Flesh is conceived as being created by God of the dust of the earth (Gn 2:7), and as God’s creation, it is good.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"IntheNewTestament\">In the New Testament<\/p>\n<p>Paul ascribes many—often unique—definitions to the word “flesh” (Greek <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">sarx<\/span>).<\/p>\n<h5>Flesh as the Stuff of the Body<\/h5>\n<p>“Flesh” is frequently used to describe the tissues that constitute the body. There are different kinds of flesh—“of men,” “of animals,” “of birds,” “of fish” (1 Cor 15:39). Pain and suffering may be experienced in the flesh (2 Cor 12:7). Circumcision is done in the flesh (Rom 2:28). While “flesh” in such references is not sinful, it is corruptible and cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor 15:50). Jesus’ body was also a body of flesh (Col 1:22).<\/p>\n<h5>Flesh as the Body Itself<\/h5>\n<p>By a natural transition, the part is used for the whole, and in many places “flesh” is synonymous with the body as a whole rather than designating the fleshy part of the body. Paul may thus speak either of being absent in the body (1 Cor 5:3) or in the flesh (Col 2:5). Paul can say that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our body or in our mortal flesh (2 Cor 4:10-11). “He who joins himself to a prostitute becomes one body with her. For, as it is written, ‘The two shall become one flesh’ ” (1 Cor 6:16, <span>rsv<\/span>).<\/p>\n<h5>Flesh as Person with Reference to Origin<\/h5>\n<p>Following OT usage, “flesh” was used by Paul to refer not merely to the stuff of the body or to the body itself, but concretely to the person as constituted by flesh. In this usage the word may refer to the person’s human relationship, the physical origin and the natural ties that bind one to other humans. Paul speaks of his kinsmen “according to the flesh,” his fellow Jews (Rom 9:3, <span>kjv<\/span>), and even uses “my flesh” (11:14, <span>kjv<\/span>) as a synonym for these kinsmen. The “children of the flesh” (9:8) are those born by natural generation in contrast to those born as a result of divine intervention. Christ was descended from David according to the flesh (1:3). The phrase does not designate the source merely of his bodily life but of his entire human existence, including both his body and his human spirit.<\/p>\n<h5>Flesh as Human Existence<\/h5>\n<p>Another use of “flesh” simply designates human existence. As long as a person lives in the body, that one is “in the flesh.” Thus, Paul can speak of the life that he lives “in the flesh” as lived by faith in the Son of God (Gal 2:20, <span>rsv<\/span>). Referring to Jesus’ earthly ministry, Paul says that he abolished “in the flesh” the enmity between Jew and Gentile (Eph 2:15). Peter has the same meaning when he speaks of Jesus having been put to death “in the flesh” (1 Pt 3:18). So also John: “Jesus Christ is come in the flesh” (1 Jn 4:2). This usage is reflected most notably in the Johannine saying “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14).<\/p>\n<h5>Flesh as Human Existence in Terms of Outward Presentation<\/h5>\n<p>“Flesh” also extends beyond humans in their bodily life to include other factors crucial to human existence. Thus, “confidence in the flesh” (Phil 3:3, <span>rsv<\/span>) does not mean confidence in the body but confidence in the whole complex of the outward realm of human existence. It includes Paul’s Jewish ancestry, his strict religious training, his zeal, and his prominence in Jewish religious circles. The phrase to “glory after the flesh” (2 Cor 11:18, <span>kjv<\/span>) is rendered “boast about their human achievements” in the <span>nlt<\/span>. A good showing “in the flesh” is practically synonymous with worldly prominence (Gal 6:11-14). The Judaizers insisted upon circumcision to promote a sense of prideful attainment in the religious life so that they might have a ground of glorying. But these external distinctions and grounds for glorying no longer appealed to Paul, because the world had been crucified to him and he to the world.<\/p>\n<p>“Flesh” is also used of outward relationships, as when describing the social ties existing between slave and master (Eph 6:5; Col 3:22; Phlm 1:16). “In the flesh” also describes the realm of marital relationships, which entails certain troublesome problems (1 Cor 7:28).<\/p>\n<p>This usage illuminates an otherwise difficult saying, “Henceforth know we no man after the flesh; yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more” (2 Cor 5:16, <span>kjv<\/span>). The <span>rsv<\/span> correctly renders the phrase “from a human point of view.” The verse does not mean that Paul had heard and seen Jesus in Jerusalem at some previous time and had gained some acquaintance with Christ “after the flesh.” “After the flesh” modifies the verb “to know,” not the noun “Christ.” Before his conversion, Paul knew all people “after the flesh”; that is, he judged them by worldly, human standards. To know Christ “after the flesh” means to look at him through merely human eyes. As a Jew, Paul had felt that Jesus was a deluded messianic pretender. According to the Jewish understanding, the Messiah was to reign over the earth as a Davidic king, save his people Israel, and punish the hated Gentiles. But Paul surrendered this false human view and came to know Christ as he really is—the incarnate Son of God, the Savior of all who believe. As a Christian, Paul no longer judged others according to the flesh.<\/p>\n<h5>Flesh as Fallen Humanity<\/h5>\n<p>When Paul says that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor 15:50, <span>rsv<\/span>), he does not mean that humans cannot inherit the kingdom of God but rather that human fallenness cannot; as the next clause shows, “neither does corruption inherit incorruption.” The weak, fallen, corruptible body cannot inherit the kingdom of God; there must be a change; the “corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Cor 15:53, <span>kjv<\/span>). This is not the salvation of the soul or spirit but the exchange of one kind of body for another that is suited to the final glorious kingdom of God.<\/p>\n<p>When Peter confessed the messiahship of Jesus, Jesus replied, “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven” (Mt 16:17, <span>rsv<\/span>). The meaning of this verse is obvious. This knowledge of Jesus’ messiahship was not a human deduction; it could be achieved only by divine revelation.<\/p>\n<h5>Flesh as Sinful Humanity<\/h5>\n<p>There remains a group of ethical references that are distinctly Pauline. The most important feature of this usage is that man is seen not only as fallen and weak before God, but as fallen and sinful. Flesh is contrasted with human spirit regenerated by the divine Spirit, and without the aid of the Spirit, one cannot please God. The most vivid passage is the first part of Romans 8, where Paul sharply contrasts those who are “in the flesh” with those who are “in the Spirit.” To be “in the Spirit” in this sense does not mean to be in a state of ecstasy but to be living one’s life in that spiritual realm that is controlled by the Spirit of God. Those who are “in the flesh,” that is, unregenerate, cannot please God. There are two contrasting and mutually exclusive realms: “in the flesh” and “in the Spirit.” To be “in the Spirit” means to be indwelt by God’s Holy Spirit, that is, to be a regenerate person.<\/p>\n<p>In Romans 7–8 Paul makes it clear that the unregenerate person cannot please God by loving and serving him as God requires. Thus, the Law was unable to make mankind truly righteous, because the flesh is weak (8:2). To live after the flesh is death; to live after the Spirit is life (8:6). Elsewhere Paul says, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing” (7:18, <span>kjv<\/span>). Flesh here cannot be the physical flesh, for the body of flesh is the temple of the Spirit (1 Cor 6:19) and a member of Christ (6:15) and is to be the means of glorifying God (6:20). Paul, therefore, means that in his unregenerate nature there dwells none of the goodness that God demands.<\/p>\n<p>While Paul makes a sharp and absolute contrast between being “in the flesh” (unregenerate) and “in the Spirit” (regenerate), when one becomes regenerate and comes to be “in the Spirit,” that person is no longer in the flesh, but the flesh is still in him. In fact, there remains in the believer a struggle between the flesh and the Spirit. Writing to people who are “in the Spirit,” Paul says, “For the flesh lusteth [strives] against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would” (Gal 5:17, <span>kjv<\/span>). Because the Christian life is the battleground of these two opposing principles, it is impossible to be the perfect person that one would wish to be.<\/p>\n<p>The same situation is reflected in 1 Corinthians 2:14–3:3 where Paul describes three classes of people: the “natural” (2:14, <span>kjv<\/span>); the “carnal,” that is, fleshly man (3:1, 3, <span>kjv<\/span>); and the “spiritual man” (3:1, <span>kjv<\/span>). The “natural man” is unregenerate. Those who are “in the flesh” (Rom 8:9) have devoted the whole of their life to the human level and hence are unable to know the things of God. “Spiritual man” refers to those whose life is ruled by the Spirit of God, so that the fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23) are evident in their life. Between these two there is a third class—those who are “fleshly” yet who are babes in Christ. Therefore, they must be “in the Spirit,” yet they do not walk “according to the Spirit.” Because they are “babes in Christ,” the Spirit of God dwells in them, yet the Holy Spirit is not allowed to have full control over them, and they are still walking “like men” (1 Cor 3:3), manifesting the works of the flesh in jealousy and strife.<\/p>\n<h5>Works of the Flesh<\/h5>\n<p>In Galatians 5:19-23 Paul contrasts the life in the flesh and the life in the Spirit: “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like” (Gal 5:19-21, <span>kjv<\/span>). The important thing to note about this list is that while some of these are sins of bodily and sexual appetite, others are religious sins—idolatry, witchcraft—and several are sins “of the spirit,” that is, of the disposition—hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife. The words “seditions” and “heresies” refer not to theological heresies but to a factious, divisive spirit. This proves conclusively that for Paul the “flesh” is not synonymous with the body but includes the whole person, with all the inner attitudes and disposition.<\/p>\n<h5>Victory over the Flesh<\/h5>\n<p>While a struggle remains in the Christian between the Spirit and the flesh, Paul knows of a way of victory for the Spirit. The flesh of the body comes within the sphere of sanctification (1 Thes 5:23), but the flesh as the unregenerate human nature can only be put to death.<\/p>\n<p>This is called the tension between the objective and the subjective. Because certain things have happened in Christ (objective), certain inevitable results should accrue (subjective). In Paul’s view, the flesh has already been put to death in the death of Christ. Those who belong to Christ have already crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Gal 5:24). Paul elsewhere says, “I have been crucified with Christ” (2:20) and “our old self was crucified with him” (Rom 6:6). Such references make it clear that “flesh” and the “self” are in some ways to be identified. This identity is further supported in the teaching about crucifixion, for Paul means the same thing by the crucifixion of the flesh that he means when he says, “How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? We were baptized into his death. We are buried with him by baptism into death” (vv 1-4). It is I myself who have died with Christ.<\/p>\n<p>This crucifixion and death of the flesh does not, however, work automatically. It is an event that must be appropriated by faith. This involves two aspects. First, believers are to recognize that the flesh has been crucified with Christ. “Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 6:11, <span>kjv<\/span>). One cannot consider the self dead with Christ to sin unless that person has actually died and been crucified with Christ, but because this has already happened at the moment of saving faith, it can be put into daily practice. Those who have died with Christ are to “mortify [put to death] the deeds of the body” (8:13, <span>kjv<\/span>). “Body” is here used as a vehicle for the works of the “flesh”—the sensual life of the unregenerate nature. Those who have been brought from death into life are to yield their members to God as instruments of righteousness (6:13). One who has died with Christ is to “mortify” (<span>kjv<\/span>), that is, put to death what is earthly—fornication, uncleanness, covetousness (Col 3:5). Having already put off the old nature and put on the new, the believer is to put on compassion, kindness, lowliness and the like.<\/p>\n<p>Victory over the flesh is sometimes described as walking in the Spirit. “Walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Gal 5:16, <span>rsv<\/span>; cf. Rom 8:4). Walking in the Spirit means to live each moment under the control of the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Body; Sin.<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>FLESH<\/h3>\n<p>The body; the physical being of humans; the human person and human existence; the carnal nature of humans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"IntheOldTestament\">In the Old Testament<\/p>\n<p>Term commonly used to designate the material stuff of the body, whether of people (Gn 40:19) or of animals (Lv 6:27). However, “flesh” is used in the OT with a variety of meanings. Sometimes it is used as equivalent for the whole body (Prv 14:30), and the meaning is extended to designate the whole person (“my flesh also shall rest in hope,” Ps 16:9, <span>kjv<\/span>). This idea leads to the union of two different persons, man and wife as “one flesh” (Gn 2:24), and a man can say of his relatives, “I am your bone and your flesh” (Jgs 9:2). The idea of flesh as the whole person leads to the expression “all flesh,” denoting the totality of humankind, sometimes including also the animal world.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the most distinctive use of “flesh” in the OT is found in those passages where it designates human weakness and frailty over against God. “My spirit shall not abide in man for ever, for he is flesh” (Gn 6:3, <span>rsv<\/span>). In Psalm 78:39, God attributes sin to the fact that men are but flesh. In 2 Chronicles 32:8 the arm of flesh of the king of Assyria (i.e., his weakness) is contrasted with the all-powerful God. The one who puts trust in God need not fear what “flesh” can do (Ps 56:4), but the one who puts trust in human flesh instead of in God is under a curse (Jer 17:5). In Isaiah 31:3 flesh is contrasted with spirit, as weakness is with strength.<\/p>\n<p>However, nowhere in the OT is flesh viewed as sinful. Flesh is conceived as being created by God of the dust of the earth (Gn 2:7), and as God’s creation, it is good.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"IntheNewTestament\">In the New Testament<\/p>\n<p>Paul ascribes many—often unique—definitions to the word “flesh” (Greek <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">sarx<\/span>).<\/p>\n<h5>Flesh as the Stuff of the Body<\/h5>\n<p>“Flesh” is frequently used to describe the tissues that constitute the body. There are different kinds of flesh—“of men,” “of animals,” “of birds,” “of fish” (1 Cor 15:39). Pain and suffering may be experienced in the flesh (2 Cor 12:7). Circumcision is done in the flesh (Rom 2:28). While “flesh” in such references is not sinful, it is corruptible and cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor 15:50). Jesus’ body was also a body of flesh (Col 1:22).<\/p>\n<h5>Flesh as the Body Itself<\/h5>\n<p>By a natural transition, the part is used for the whole, and in many places “flesh” is synonymous with the body as a whole rather than designating the fleshy part of the body. Paul may thus speak either of being absent in the body (1 Cor 5:3) or in the flesh (Col 2:5). Paul can say that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our body or in our mortal flesh (2 Cor 4:10-11). “He who joins himself to a prostitute becomes one body with her. For, as it is written, ‘The two shall become one flesh’ ” (1 Cor 6:16, <span>rsv<\/span>).<\/p>\n<h5>Flesh as Person with Reference to Origin<\/h5>\n<p>Following OT usage, “flesh” was used by Paul to refer not merely to the stuff of the body or to the body itself, but concretely to the person as constituted by flesh. In this usage the word may refer to the person’s human relationship, the physical origin and the natural ties that bind one to other humans. Paul speaks of his kinsmen “according to the flesh,” his fellow Jews (Rom 9:3, <span>kjv<\/span>), and even uses “my flesh” (11:14, <span>kjv<\/span>) as a synonym for these kinsmen. The “children of the flesh” (9:8) are those born by natural generation in contrast to those born as a result of divine intervention. Christ was descended from David according to the flesh (1:3). The phrase does not designate the source merely of his bodily life but of his entire human existence, including both his body and his human spirit.<\/p>\n<h5>Flesh as Human Existence<\/h5>\n<p>Another use of “flesh” simply designates human existence. As long as a person lives in the body, that one is “in the flesh.” Thus, Paul can speak of the life that he lives “in the flesh” as lived by faith in the Son of God (Gal 2:20, <span>rsv<\/span>). Referring to Jesus’ earthly ministry, Paul says that he abolished “in the flesh” the enmity between Jew and Gentile (Eph 2:15). Peter has the same meaning when he speaks of Jesus having been put to death “in the flesh” (1 Pt 3:18). So also John: “Jesus Christ is come in the flesh” (1 Jn 4:2). This usage is reflected most notably in the Johannine saying “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14).<\/p>\n<h5>Flesh as Human Existence in Terms of Outward Presentation<\/h5>\n<p>“Flesh” also extends beyond humans in their bodily life to include other factors crucial to human existence. Thus, “confidence in the flesh” (Phil 3:3, <span>rsv<\/span>) does not mean confidence in the body but confidence in the whole complex of the outward realm of human existence. It includes Paul’s Jewish ancestry, his strict religious training, his zeal, and his prominence in Jewish religious circles. The phrase to “glory after the flesh” (2 Cor 11:18, <span>kjv<\/span>) is rendered “boast about their human achievements” in the <span>nlt<\/span>. A good showing “in the flesh” is practically synonymous with worldly prominence (Gal 6:11-14). The Judaizers insisted upon circumcision to promote a sense of prideful attainment in the religious life so that they might have a ground of glorying. But these external distinctions and grounds for glorying no longer appealed to Paul, because the world had been crucified to him and he to the world.<\/p>\n<p>“Flesh” is also used of outward relationships, as when describing the social ties existing between slave and master (Eph 6:5; Col 3:22; Phlm 1:16). “In the flesh” also describes the realm of marital relationships, which entails certain troublesome problems (1 Cor 7:28).<\/p>\n<p>This usage illuminates an otherwise difficult saying, “Henceforth know we no man after the flesh; yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more” (2 Cor 5:16, <span>kjv<\/span>). The <span>rsv<\/span> correctly renders the phrase “from a human point of view.” The verse does not mean that Paul had heard and seen Jesus in Jerusalem at some previous time and had gained some acquaintance with Christ “after the flesh.” “After the flesh” modifies the verb “to know,” not the noun “Christ.” Before his conversion, Paul knew all people “after the flesh”; that is, he judged them by worldly, human standards. To know Christ “after the flesh” means to look at him through merely human eyes. As a Jew, Paul had felt that Jesus was a deluded messianic pretender. According to the Jewish understanding, the Messiah was to reign over the earth as a Davidic king, save his people Israel, and punish the hated Gentiles. But Paul surrendered this false human view and came to know Christ as he really is—the incarnate Son of God, the Savior of all who believe. As a Christian, Paul no longer judged others according to the flesh.<\/p>\n<h5>Flesh as Fallen Humanity<\/h5>\n<p>When Paul says that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor 15:50, <span>rsv<\/span>), he does not mean that humans cannot inherit the kingdom of God but rather that human fallenness cannot; as the next clause shows, “neither does corruption inherit incorruption.” The weak, fallen, corruptible body cannot inherit the kingdom of God; there must be a change; the “corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Cor 15:53, <span>kjv<\/span>). This is not the salvation of the soul or spirit but the exchange of one kind of body for another that is suited to the final glorious kingdom of God.<\/p>\n<p>When Peter confessed the messiahship of Jesus, Jesus replied, “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven” (Mt 16:17, <span>rsv<\/span>). The meaning of this verse is obvious. This knowledge of Jesus’ messiahship was not a human deduction; it could be achieved only by divine revelation.<\/p>\n<h5>Flesh as Sinful Humanity<\/h5>\n<p>There remains a group of ethical references that are distinctly Pauline. The most important feature of this usage is that man is seen not only as fallen and weak before God, but as fallen and sinful. Flesh is contrasted with human spirit regenerated by the divine Spirit, and without the aid of the Spirit, one cannot please God. The most vivid passage is the first part of Romans 8, where Paul sharply contrasts those who are “in the flesh” with those who are “in the Spirit.” To be “in the Spirit” in this sense does not mean to be in a state of ecstasy but to be living one’s life in that spiritual realm that is controlled by the Spirit of God. Those who are “in the flesh,” that is, unregenerate, cannot please God. There are two contrasting and mutually exclusive realms: “in the flesh” and “in the Spirit.” To be “in the Spirit” means to be indwelt by God’s Holy Spirit, that is, to be a regenerate person.<\/p>\n<p>In Romans 7–8 Paul makes it clear that the unregenerate person cannot please God by loving and serving him as God requires. Thus, the Law was unable to make mankind truly righteous, because the flesh is weak (8:2). To live after the flesh is death; to live after the Spirit is life (8:6). Elsewhere Paul says, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing” (7:18, <span>kjv<\/span>). Flesh here cannot be the physical flesh, for the body of flesh is the temple of the Spirit (1 Cor 6:19) and a member of Christ (6:15) and is to be the means of glorifying God (6:20). Paul, therefore, means that in his unregenerate nature there dwells none of the goodness that God demands.<\/p>\n<p>While Paul makes a sharp and absolute contrast between being “in the flesh” (unregenerate) and “in the Spirit” (regenerate), when one becomes regenerate and comes to be “in the Spirit,” that person is no longer in the flesh, but the flesh is still in him. In fact, there remains in the believer a struggle between the flesh and the Spirit. Writing to people who are “in the Spirit,” Paul says, “For the flesh lusteth [strives] against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would” (Gal 5:17, <span>kjv<\/span>). Because the Christian life is the battleground of these two opposing principles, it is impossible to be the perfect person that one would wish to be.<\/p>\n<p>The same situation is reflected in 1 Corinthians 2:14–3:3 where Paul describes three classes of people: the “natural” (2:14, <span>kjv<\/span>); the “carnal,” that is, fleshly man (3:1, 3, <span>kjv<\/span>); and the “spiritual man” (3:1, <span>kjv<\/span>). The “natural man” is unregenerate. Those who are “in the flesh” (Rom 8:9) have devoted the whole of their life to the human level and hence are unable to know the things of God. “Spiritual man” refers to those whose life is ruled by the Spirit of God, so that the fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23) are evident in their life. Between these two there is a third class—those who are “fleshly” yet who are babes in Christ. Therefore, they must be “in the Spirit,” yet they do not walk “according to the Spirit.” Because they are “babes in Christ,” the Spirit of God dwells in them, yet the Holy Spirit is not allowed to have full control over them, and they are still walking “like men” (1 Cor 3:3), manifesting the works of the flesh in jealousy and strife.<\/p>\n<h5>Works of the Flesh<\/h5>\n<p>In Galatians 5:19-23 Paul contrasts the life in the flesh and the life in the Spirit: “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like” (Gal 5:19-21, <span>kjv<\/span>). The important thing to note about this list is that while some of these are sins of bodily and sexual appetite, others are religious sins—idolatry, witchcraft—and several are sins “of the spirit,” that is, of the disposition—hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife. The words “seditions” and “heresies” refer not to theological heresies but to a factious, divisive spirit. This proves conclusively that for Paul the “flesh” is not synonymous with the body but includes the whole person, with all the inner attitudes and disposition.<\/p>\n<h5>Victory over the Flesh<\/h5>\n<p>While a struggle remains in the Christian between the Spirit and the flesh, Paul knows of a way of victory for the Spirit. The flesh of the body comes within the sphere of sanctification (1 Thes 5:23), but the flesh as the unregenerate human nature can only be put to death.<\/p>\n<p>This is called the tension between the objective and the subjective. Because certain things have happened in Christ (objective), certain inevitable results should accrue (subjective). In Paul’s view, the flesh has already been put to death in the death of Christ. Those who belong to Christ have already crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Gal 5:24). Paul elsewhere says, “I have been crucified with Christ” (2:20) and “our old self was crucified with him” (Rom 6:6). Such references make it clear that “flesh” and the “self” are in some ways to be identified. This identity is further supported in the teaching about crucifixion, for Paul means the same thing by the crucifixion of the flesh that he means when he says, “How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? We were baptized into his death. We are buried with him by baptism into death” (vv 1-4). It is I myself who have died with Christ.<\/p>\n<p>This crucifixion and death of the flesh does not, however, work automatically. It is an event that must be appropriated by faith. This involves two aspects. First, believers are to recognize that the flesh has been crucified with Christ. “Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 6:11, <span>kjv<\/span>). One cannot consider the self dead with Christ to sin unless that person has actually died and been crucified with Christ, but because this has already happened at the moment of saving faith, it can be put into daily practice. Those who have died with Christ are to “mortify [put to death] the deeds of the body” (8:13, <span>kjv<\/span>). “Body” is here used as a vehicle for the works of the “flesh”—the sensual life of the unregenerate nature. Those who have been brought from death into life are to yield their members to God as instruments of righteousness (6:13). One who has died with Christ is to “mortify” (<span>kjv<\/span>), that is, put to death what is earthly—fornication, uncleanness, covetousness (Col 3:5). Having already put off the old nature and put on the new, the believer is to put on compassion, kindness, lowliness and the like.<\/p>\n<p>Victory over the flesh is sometimes described as walking in the Spirit. “Walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Gal 5:16, <span>rsv<\/span>; cf. Rom 8:4). Walking in the Spirit means to live each moment under the control of the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Body; Sin.<\/p>","summary_ro":"FLESH The body; the physical being of humans; the human person and human existence; the carnal nature of humans. In the Old Testament Term commonly used to designate the material stuff of the body, whether of people (Gn 40:19) or of animals (Lv 6:27). However, “flesh” is used in the OT with a variety of meanings. Sometimes it is used as equivalent for the whole body (Prv 14:30), and the meaning is extended to designate the whole person (“my flesh also shall rest in hope,” Ps 16:9, kjv). This ...","summary_en":"FLESH The body; the physical being of humans; the human person and human existence; the carnal nature of humans. In the Old Testament Term commonly used to designate the material stuff of the body, whether of people (Gn 40:19) or of animals (Lv 6:27). However, “flesh” is used in the OT with a variety of meanings. Sometimes it is used as equivalent for the whole body (Prv 14:30), and the meaning is extended to designate the whole person (“my flesh also shall rest in hope,” Ps 16:9, kjv). This ...","source":"Articles\/F.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false}],"19":[{"id":57863,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:19","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:19","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:19<\/strong> The Corinthians were proud of their capacity to understand deep religious issues, and they valued teachers who made a pretense of learning. Paul came with a different agenda (1 Cor 2:1-16).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:19<\/strong> The Corinthians were proud of their capacity to understand deep religious issues, and they valued teachers who made a pretense of learning. Paul came with a different agenda (1 Cor 2:1-16).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:19 The Corinthians were proud of their capacity to understand deep religious issues, and they valued teachers who made a pretense of learning. Paul came with a different agenda (1 Cor 2:1-16).","summary_en":"11:19 The Corinthians were proud of their capacity to understand deep religious issues, and they valued teachers who made a pretense of learning. Paul came with a different agenda (1 Cor 2:1-16).","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":85489,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:19","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:19","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:19<\/strong> The Corinthians were proud of their capacity to understand deep religious issues, and they valued teachers who made a pretense of learning. Paul came with a different agenda (1 Cor 2:1-16).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:19<\/strong> The Corinthians were proud of their capacity to understand deep religious issues, and they valued teachers who made a pretense of learning. Paul came with a different agenda (1 Cor 2:1-16).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:19 The Corinthians were proud of their capacity to understand deep religious issues, and they valued teachers who made a pretense of learning. Paul came with a different agenda (1 Cor 2:1-16).","summary_en":"11:19 The Corinthians were proud of their capacity to understand deep religious issues, and they valued teachers who made a pretense of learning. Paul came with a different agenda (1 Cor 2:1-16).","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":113115,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:19","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:19","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:19<\/strong> The Corinthians were proud of their capacity to understand deep religious issues, and they valued teachers who made a pretense of learning. Paul came with a different agenda (1 Cor 2:1-16).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:19<\/strong> The Corinthians were proud of their capacity to understand deep religious issues, and they valued teachers who made a pretense of learning. Paul came with a different agenda (1 Cor 2:1-16).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:19 The Corinthians were proud of their capacity to understand deep religious issues, and they valued teachers who made a pretense of learning. Paul came with a different agenda (1 Cor 2:1-16).","summary_en":"11:19 The Corinthians were proud of their capacity to understand deep religious issues, and they valued teachers who made a pretense of learning. Paul came with a different agenda (1 Cor 2:1-16).","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":140741,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:19","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:19","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:19<\/strong> The Corinthians were proud of their capacity to understand deep religious issues, and they valued teachers who made a pretense of learning. Paul came with a different agenda (1 Cor 2:1-16).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:19<\/strong> The Corinthians were proud of their capacity to understand deep religious issues, and they valued teachers who made a pretense of learning. Paul came with a different agenda (1 Cor 2:1-16).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:19 The Corinthians were proud of their capacity to understand deep religious issues, and they valued teachers who made a pretense of learning. Paul came with a different agenda (1 Cor 2:1-16).","summary_en":"11:19 The Corinthians were proud of their capacity to understand deep religious issues, and they valued teachers who made a pretense of learning. Paul came with a different agenda (1 Cor 2:1-16).","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false}],"20":[{"id":57864,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:20","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:20","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:20-21a<\/strong> The Corinthian church had welcomed the intruders even when they exploited and insulted them. They even saw Paul’s refusal to exploit them as <em>too “weak.”<\/em><\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:20-21a<\/strong> The Corinthian church had welcomed the intruders even when they exploited and insulted them. They even saw Paul’s refusal to exploit them as <em>too “weak.”<\/em><\/p>","summary_ro":"11:20-21a The Corinthian church had welcomed the intruders even when they exploited and insulted them. They even saw Paul’s refusal to exploit them as too “weak.”","summary_en":"11:20-21a The Corinthian church had welcomed the intruders even when they exploited and insulted them. They even saw Paul’s refusal to exploit them as too “weak.”","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":85490,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:20","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:20","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:20-21a<\/strong> The Corinthian church had welcomed the intruders even when they exploited and insulted them. They even saw Paul’s refusal to exploit them as <em>too “weak.”<\/em><\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:20-21a<\/strong> The Corinthian church had welcomed the intruders even when they exploited and insulted them. They even saw Paul’s refusal to exploit them as <em>too “weak.”<\/em><\/p>","summary_ro":"11:20-21a The Corinthian church had welcomed the intruders even when they exploited and insulted them. They even saw Paul’s refusal to exploit them as too “weak.”","summary_en":"11:20-21a The Corinthian church had welcomed the intruders even when they exploited and insulted them. They even saw Paul’s refusal to exploit them as too “weak.”","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":113116,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:20","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:20","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:20-21a<\/strong> The Corinthian church had welcomed the intruders even when they exploited and insulted them. They even saw Paul’s refusal to exploit them as <em>too “weak.”<\/em><\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:20-21a<\/strong> The Corinthian church had welcomed the intruders even when they exploited and insulted them. They even saw Paul’s refusal to exploit them as <em>too “weak.”<\/em><\/p>","summary_ro":"11:20-21a The Corinthian church had welcomed the intruders even when they exploited and insulted them. They even saw Paul’s refusal to exploit them as too “weak.”","summary_en":"11:20-21a The Corinthian church had welcomed the intruders even when they exploited and insulted them. They even saw Paul’s refusal to exploit them as too “weak.”","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":140742,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:20","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:20","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:20-21a<\/strong> The Corinthian church had welcomed the intruders even when they exploited and insulted them. They even saw Paul’s refusal to exploit them as <em>too “weak.”<\/em><\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:20-21a<\/strong> The Corinthian church had welcomed the intruders even when they exploited and insulted them. They even saw Paul’s refusal to exploit them as <em>too “weak.”<\/em><\/p>","summary_ro":"11:20-21a The Corinthian church had welcomed the intruders even when they exploited and insulted them. They even saw Paul’s refusal to exploit them as too “weak.”","summary_en":"11:20-21a The Corinthian church had welcomed the intruders even when they exploited and insulted them. They even saw Paul’s refusal to exploit them as too “weak.”","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false}],"21":[{"id":7727,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Second Letter to the Corinthians","title_en":"Second Letter to the Corinthians","content_ro":"<h3>CORINTHIANS, Second Letter to the<\/h3>\n<p>Preview<\/p>\n<p>• Author<\/p>\n<p>• Date and Origin<\/p>\n<p>• Background<\/p>\n<p>• Purpose and Teaching<\/p>\n<p>• Content<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Author\">Author<\/p>\n<p>The apostle Paul is the acknowledged author of 2 Corinthians. While some scholars argue that 2 Corinthians 2:14–7:4 and 10–13 are separate letters, only in the case of 6:14–7:1 is Paul’s authorship disputed. This section is admittedly a strange digression, but stranger still would be the thought that an editor could have inserted it in such an unusual place. Also the repetition of thought in 7:2 from 6:13 indicates that Paul is aware that he has digressed from his topic and is repeating a phrase to bring his readers back to the subject.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"DateandOrigin\">Date and Origin<\/p>\n<p>After writing both the “previous letter” (1 Cor 5:9) and 1 Corinthians from Ephesus in <span>AD<\/span> 55, Paul continued to work there. Sometime during the next year a crisis arose in Corinth. Paul made a quick trip across the Aegean Sea, but he could not resolve the crisis, and due to the personal opposition of a leader in the church (likely an interloper bearing letters of recommendation from Jerusalem), he had to withdraw (2 Cor 2:1, 5). Returning to Ephesus from this “painful visit,” Paul dispatched Titus with a blistering “letter of tears,” his third letter to that church (2 Cor 2:4; 7:8, 12), which led to the excommunication of the leader and the repentance of the church. This letter has been lost. Meanwhile a situation erupted in Ephesus during which death (probably execution) seemed so certain that Paul despaired of life (see Acts 19:23-41; cf. Rom 16:4; 2 Cor 1:8-9). Paul was not killed, but his escape seemed miraculous.<\/p>\n<p>Leaving Ephesus in early <span>AD<\/span> 56, Paul traveled north to Troas seeking Titus and news of Corinth. Unable to endure without news, he abandoned a promising mission in Troas and sailed to Philippi. There he met Titus, who explained the change of heart in Corinth. Second Corinthians 1–9 responds to this situation, with chapters 8–9 preparing the Corinthians for an upcoming visit. Later Paul received further news from Corinth that renewed opposition to him was present. In response he penned the self-defense found in 2 Corinthians 10–13. Paul followed up the letter with a visit later in the year (Acts 20:2-3). We do not know the response to 2 Corinthians or the outcome of his final visit, but later the troubled history of the Corinthian church continued, with another Christian leader needing to write a letter at the end of the century (Epistle of Clement).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Background\">Background<\/p>\n<p>The Corinthian house churches always had great diversity. While those who liked Apollos undoubtedly despised Paul’s crude style, others who preferred Peter likely appealed beyond Paul to the more genuine “original” apostles in Jerusalem with their Jewish customs (1 Cor 1). Traveling teachers with letters of commendation from these apostles easily drew a following when they came to Corinth and undermined Paul’s authority and even his character. Furthermore, because of this outside influence, the collection for the poor in Jerusalem that Paul had initiated (16:1-4) was left in abeyance, both because it was connected to Paul and because the teachers themselves were taking money from the church. Paul writes to reaffirm his love and to repair the damage caused by the interloper.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"PurposeandTeaching\">Purpose and Teaching<\/p>\n<p>In the first section of the letter, Paul has two main purposes. The first is to cement his restored relationship with Corinth, explaining situations, forgiving those who opposed him, and reflecting on the nature of ministry. For Paul, ministry meant both intense suffering and comfort. Physical and emotional suffering came from the situations and people he worked with, but his knowledge of future reward and his experience of the power of God working in him brought profound joy and comfort. Due to his own recent brush with death, Paul also reflects on what happens at death. His expectation is to receive a resurrection body and be in the presence of Jesus at death.<\/p>\n<p>The second purpose of this section is to get the collection for Jerusalem on track again. In this context he gives major teaching on giving and Christian economics: Christians are to follow Christ in giving freely; economic equality is the principle governing who gives to whom.<\/p>\n<p>The second section of the letter is an impassioned self-defense, refuting the interloper’s claims to superiority. Neither oratory nor pedigree counts in Christian ministry, but only the call of God.<\/p>\n<p>In both sections one observes Paul’s deep desire for the unity of the church, both unity within the local community and unity with leaders appointed by God, such as Paul.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Content\">Content<\/p>\n<h5>Greeting, 1:1-7<\/h5>\n<p>A standard greeting (2 Cor 1:1-2) comes before Paul’s usual thanksgiving (vv 3-7). The topic of the thanksgiving—comfort in the midst of suffering—is the topic of chapters 1–7. Paul knows what it is to suffer, but it is in suffering that he has experienced God’s comfort, which he passes on to the Corinthians.<\/p>\n<h5>Paul’s Explanation, 1:8–2:13<\/h5>\n<p>Paul informs them of the danger he had suffered in Ephesus, one so great that he did not believe he would survive. His eventual survival seemed like a virtual resurrection, reinforcing his conviction that God, not human strength, is the only Christian refuge (1:8-11). In that and in all situations, Paul’s one boast is that of a clear conscience before God (vv 12-14).<\/p>\n<p>Paul had told them of plans for a double visit (cf. 1 Cor 16:5-6), but except for his brief “painful visit,” he had not fulfilled his plan (2 Cor 1:15–2:4). He defends himself from charges of either not planning in the Spirit or hypocritical vacillation. He was indeed as good as his word (cf. Jas 5:12), for his life reflected God’s fulfilled promise in Jesus, but he had changed plans so as not to repeat the “painful visit” of the previous year. It was love, not fickleness, that motivated the delayed visit.<\/p>\n<p>The Corinthians had responded to Paul’s “letter of tears” by excommunicating the person who had opposed Paul (not the same person as in 1 Cor 5). Since the person became repentant, Paul called for his restoration to the community, freely and graciously forgiving the man who had hurt him. Excommunication is for the unrepentant; its purpose is complete once the person repents (2 Cor 2:5-11).<\/p>\n<p>Paul then recounted his journey from Ephesus to Philippi, when he sought news of the response to the “letter of tears” (2:12-13). After telling how he left an opportunity to minister in Troas to go to find Titus in Philippi, he breaks the narrative with a long digression.<\/p>\n<h5>Nature of Apostolic Ministry, 2:14–7:4<\/h5>\n<p>The apostolic ministry in which Paul took part is like the ministry of Jesus, one of suffering and glory. Even in suffering there is triumph in Christ, for Christians share Christ’s triumph. Yet just like the perfumes of a Roman triumph were joy to the victors but meant death for prisoners on their way to execution, so Jesus’ triumph is life to the believer and death to the unbeliever (2:14-17).<\/p>\n<p>This triumph may have sounded like a boast, but Paul is not engaging in self-exaltation. Indeed, he has no need of the letters of commendation that the interloper in Corinth carried from Jerusalem, for the Corinthians are themselves the proof of his ministry (3:1-3). His boast is not in himself but in the new covenant in the Spirit, which unlike the old covenant is not fading (here Paul follows one Jewish interpretation of Ex 34:29-35, that Moses put the veil over his face so the people would not see the glory fade), nor does it veil the presence of God. The new covenant is permanent; it reveals God directly in the Spirit. There is no deceit or hiddenness, for the message is not about Paul but about Jesus, who is light itself (2 Cor 3:4–4:6).<\/p>\n<p>Paul the messenger, however, is simply the cheap, breakable pot that contains the priceless treasure, revealing by way of contrast that the only power in the gospel is God’s power. This contrast of weakness and power is seen in the sufferings of the apostle, a type of living death modeled after the sufferings of Jesus, out of which the life of Jesus flows to others (4:7-15).<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, despite intense suffering, Paul has courage, for he looks beyond this life to the rewards of the coming life. His whole motivation is one of faith, not sight, for he lives already for unseen realities (4:16-18). When he dies, Paul expects to receive an eternal resurrection body. His hope is not of becoming a disembodied soul (“naked”) but of passing immediately into a glorified bodily life, already guaranteed by the presence of the Spirit. This hope was likely the fruit of his near brush with death in Ephesus, when he must have meditated and prayed about what would come at death (5:1-5). Because this future includes Christ’s judgment, Paul wanted to make every effort to live in the light of that judgment, which he already saw by faith (vv 6-10).<\/p>\n<p>Far from trying to commend or exalt himself, Paul was simply presenting what he was—a person filled with the love of Christ and convinced that all should live not for themselves but for Christ (5:11-15). No one should be valued from a merely human point of view, not Paul, nor even Christ (for Paul before his conversion had a human opinion of Christ that his conversion had radically changed); everyone should be valued from the point of view of the new creation. Paul’s job was simply to announce the reconciliation of the new creation, which God has already effected on his side and which only awaits a person’s ratification on the human side (5:16-20).<\/p>\n<p>Paul, then, was a coworker with God, announcing salvation, using every means consistent with God’s character to proclaim the message, and suffering everything imaginable to demonstrate the extent of God’s love (6:1-10). Therefore, Paul had nothing against the Corinthians. If there was any blockage in their relationship with him, it must be on their side (6:11-13).<\/p>\n<h5>Digression on Purity, 6:14–7:1<\/h5>\n<p>Perhaps suspecting that the real block in the relationship was their love of the world, or that the Corinthians might not be totally over the problems mentioned in 1 Corinthians, Paul digressed into a discussion about the purity and sanctification of believers. There are two groups, light and darkness, Christ and the devil, believers and unbelievers. Therefore, as Exodus 25:8, Leviticus 26:11-12, Isaiah 52:11, Ezekiel 37:27, and Hosea 1:10 show (phrases from these passages flow into each other in a style of chain quotation familiar to Jews), Christians should not be closely bound to unbelievers in marriage or in business, for it will affect their moral purity.<\/p>\n<h5>Return to the Nature of the Apostolic Ministry, 7:2-4<\/h5>\n<p>Picking up from 6:13, Paul points out that the Corinthians have nothing substantial against him. He is not criticizing but simply appealing to them in love; even now he is prepared to die for them.<\/p>\n<h5>Explanation Concluded, 7:5-16<\/h5>\n<p>Having concluded his digression, Paul now returns to his journey, which he left in 2:13. When he met Titus, he received good news about Corinth. He was relieved that his “letter of tears” had been effective, not in simply making them sorry but in bringing them to true repentance that yielded zeal, moral purity, and joy. Furthermore, their behavior toward Titus had been so impressive that Titus’s enthusiastic report of his own impressions had further cheered Paul.<\/p>\n<h5>Collection for Jerusalem, 8:1–9:15<\/h5>\n<p>In the context of restored relationships Paul turns to the sensitive topic of the collection for the church in Jerusalem, which had been impoverished through famines in Judea in the 40s. This collection was both an act of charity (cf. Acts 11:27-30; Gal 2:10) and a symbolic act of unity and fellowship between the Gentile and Jewish branches of the church.<\/p>\n<p>The impoverished and suffering church in Macedonia (Philippi) had given eagerly. Therefore, Titus was coming back to help the Corinthians complete what they had begun the previous year (and probably dropped during the controversy with Paul, 2 Cor 8:1-7). The principles of the collection are (1) the Corinthians should follow the example of Jesus, who became poor for them; (2) they should give freely what they can without regretting that they cannot give more, for God values the eagerness to give expressed in action, not the net amount of the gift; and (3) there should be an economic equality among sections of the church, no one section being enriched at the expense of another (cf. Ex 16:18). This economic equality extends to the relationship between two churches a continent apart (2 Cor 8:8-15).<\/p>\n<p>Titus and two absolutely trustworthy men appointed by the churches for this work will come to supervise the final gathering—Paul would have nothing to do with the money personally—for it is important that not only God but the world be able to see the honesty and integrity of the way the church handles money (8:16-24).<\/p>\n<p>In this section Paul points out that he does not need to argue the reasons for this collection; they were aware of them when they began to gather money the year before. This letter is not an argument for the collection but an encouragement to finish the work, so that when Paul arrives with representatives of other churches carrying their contributions, the Corinthians would not be embarrassed by their relatively wealthy churches not being ready or able to give generously, despite Paul’s boasts about their previous eagerness. In saying this, Paul shows himself diplomatic and insightful in motivating human behavior; he makes the best assumptions possible about the present situation (9:1-5).<\/p>\n<p>Paul would not want the Corinthians giving out of guilt, although he, like Jesus (Mt 6:19-20), pointed out that the only real value of money is in giving it to help others. Rather, he wanted them so convinced of God’s generosity and ability to provide that they give freely and joyfully. God wanted to enrich them so they could give more. The giving would result in thanksgiving to God by the recipients, who would also pray for those who gave the gift, thereby binding the church together. A closing reminder of the extent of God’s own giving finishes the section (2 Cor 9:6-15).<\/p>\n<h5>Paul’s Self-Defense, 10:1–13:14<\/h5>\n<p>There is an abrupt change in tone between 9:15 and 10:1. Now, instead of the tone of conciliation found in 1:1–7:16, there is argument and defense, even threat. Paul’s apostleship has been attacked, and he will defend it with vigor.<\/p>\n<p>Paul was indeed a humble person who preferred not to use his authority. Yet when forced, he had something more than authority; he had spiritual power, capable of destroying opposing arguments and bending all to obedience to Jesus. He would use that power in Corinth if he must, though up to that time he had been gentle and had shown this side of his ministry only in letters (10:1-11).<\/p>\n<p>His opponents talked of their qualifications and compared themselves favorably with other ministers. Paul would not enter into this game of comparisons. God had set the sphere of his labors, which was the area in which he founded churches. He was the one who pioneered the church in Corinth, so it is his sphere of ministry, not the interloper’s (and such like him). They boasted in having reaped the benefits of his ministry; Paul could point to an original ministry given by God, for it is God’s commendation in the end that counts (10:13-18).<\/p>\n<p>Yet the Corinthian rebellion is serious enough to force him into self-defense, ridiculous as such an exercise is. He was shocked by how readily they turned away to every novel doctrine that came along. This tendency strikes fear in Paul’s heart (11:1-6).<\/p>\n<p>Paul had been criticized for refusing financial support from Corinth (even though he accepted gifts from other churches; cf. 1 Cor 9). He would continue to refuse such support, for he wanted to undermine the claims of the interloper. If the interloper was really serving God alone, let him work on the same basis as Paul! But since the interloper was false at heart, serving Satan and not God, he sought money from the church. Paul was astonished that in the Corinthians’ vaunted wisdom they did not see through this hypocrisy, yet he hoped that even if he must play the fool in making a self-defense, they would at least accept a fool like Paul. The irony is that his very tender care and concern for the church, his gentleness, was being used against him as a supposed “weakness.” Paul, the opponent argued, knew he was false, so therefore did not dare take money from the Corinthians (11:7-21).<\/p>\n<p>Interlopers claimed to come with authority from Jerusalem. They had letters from the apostles; it is unlikely, however, that the apostles would have approved of their activities. Still, they were Jews with respectable authority behind them. Paul felt compelled to state his own credentials. If they were Jews, he was just as pure a Jew. If they served Christ, could their work and sufferings match his? The list of sufferings both gives historical information not found in Acts and points to tireless labor, including days of fasting (“gone without food”) and nights spent in prayer (“gone without sleep”) (11:21-29).<\/p>\n<p>But this boasting was repulsive to Paul, so he isolated one particular suffering—his escape from Damascus, when he had to hide and slip out of the city in a basket. The story at once shows his effectiveness as an evangelist (in that he was a target of persecution) and shames him, for he could not defend himself and had to slip away under cover of darkness. Yet that weakness was indeed his glory (11:30-33).<\/p>\n<p>His opponents boasted in revelations from God. Paul knew that this boasting was senseless; however, if he must, he would tell them of a revelation superior to theirs, a time when he actually saw the inside of heaven (he is not sure whether it was a vision or an actual bodily experience). This probably happened about <span>AD<\/span> 42, while Paul was in Tarsus, before Barnabas came for him (Acts 9:30; 11:25). Paul disliked telling about this, for God’s power is more easily seen in his weakness. In fact, Paul’s opponents were an affliction of Satan that God allowed to keep Paul humble and to demonstrate his power in Paul’s weakness. (The image of a “thorn in my flesh” is one of enemies—Nm 33:55; Jos 23:13; Paul also describes what he means more clearly in 2 Cor 12:10). If vulnerability shows God’s power, Paul willingly accepts the weakness (12:1-10).<\/p>\n<p>Paul felt ashamed that he had to boast. The opponents boasted in coming from the Jerusalem “superapostles.” Paul pointed out that he was their equal, although both are nothing. God had set his mark upon Paul’s work. With biting irony he asks forgiveness for not having taken money from the Corinthians (12:11-13).<\/p>\n<p>Yet Paul would come a third time, and he would keep to the same policy of not taking any support from them but giving himself freely to them, just as Jesus had done on earth. Not only he, but all his envoys, kept to the same policy. No one could accuse him of deceit or inconsistency (12:14-18). However, he feared coming to them, for he knew that the community had not just rebelled against him but was also in internal disorder. This disunity and immorality would humble and pain Paul (12:19–13:4).<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, the Corinthians had better examine themselves. Were they really following Jesus or not? If so, they should see that Paul was also following Jesus. Yet Paul’s concern was not for his own position—he was content to be rejected (“weak”)—but for their following the truth. He hoped for their repentance, not to protect himself, but so that he need not be severe when he came (13:5-10).<\/p>\n<p>Probably taking the pen from the scribe at this point, Paul closes with a final appeal to repent and come to unity as a church. Brief greetings from the church in Macedonia and a formal blessing closes his correspondence with the Corinthians (vv 11-13).<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Acts of the Apostles, Book of the; Corinth; Corinthians, First Letter to the; Paul, The Apostle.<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>CORINTHIANS, Second Letter to the<\/h3>\n<p>Preview<\/p>\n<p>• Author<\/p>\n<p>• Date and Origin<\/p>\n<p>• Background<\/p>\n<p>• Purpose and Teaching<\/p>\n<p>• Content<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Author\">Author<\/p>\n<p>The apostle Paul is the acknowledged author of 2 Corinthians. While some scholars argue that 2 Corinthians 2:14–7:4 and 10–13 are separate letters, only in the case of 6:14–7:1 is Paul’s authorship disputed. This section is admittedly a strange digression, but stranger still would be the thought that an editor could have inserted it in such an unusual place. Also the repetition of thought in 7:2 from 6:13 indicates that Paul is aware that he has digressed from his topic and is repeating a phrase to bring his readers back to the subject.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"DateandOrigin\">Date and Origin<\/p>\n<p>After writing both the “previous letter” (1 Cor 5:9) and 1 Corinthians from Ephesus in <span>AD<\/span> 55, Paul continued to work there. Sometime during the next year a crisis arose in Corinth. Paul made a quick trip across the Aegean Sea, but he could not resolve the crisis, and due to the personal opposition of a leader in the church (likely an interloper bearing letters of recommendation from Jerusalem), he had to withdraw (2 Cor 2:1, 5). Returning to Ephesus from this “painful visit,” Paul dispatched Titus with a blistering “letter of tears,” his third letter to that church (2 Cor 2:4; 7:8, 12), which led to the excommunication of the leader and the repentance of the church. This letter has been lost. Meanwhile a situation erupted in Ephesus during which death (probably execution) seemed so certain that Paul despaired of life (see Acts 19:23-41; cf. Rom 16:4; 2 Cor 1:8-9). Paul was not killed, but his escape seemed miraculous.<\/p>\n<p>Leaving Ephesus in early <span>AD<\/span> 56, Paul traveled north to Troas seeking Titus and news of Corinth. Unable to endure without news, he abandoned a promising mission in Troas and sailed to Philippi. There he met Titus, who explained the change of heart in Corinth. Second Corinthians 1–9 responds to this situation, with chapters 8–9 preparing the Corinthians for an upcoming visit. Later Paul received further news from Corinth that renewed opposition to him was present. In response he penned the self-defense found in 2 Corinthians 10–13. Paul followed up the letter with a visit later in the year (Acts 20:2-3). We do not know the response to 2 Corinthians or the outcome of his final visit, but later the troubled history of the Corinthian church continued, with another Christian leader needing to write a letter at the end of the century (Epistle of Clement).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Background\">Background<\/p>\n<p>The Corinthian house churches always had great diversity. While those who liked Apollos undoubtedly despised Paul’s crude style, others who preferred Peter likely appealed beyond Paul to the more genuine “original” apostles in Jerusalem with their Jewish customs (1 Cor 1). Traveling teachers with letters of commendation from these apostles easily drew a following when they came to Corinth and undermined Paul’s authority and even his character. Furthermore, because of this outside influence, the collection for the poor in Jerusalem that Paul had initiated (16:1-4) was left in abeyance, both because it was connected to Paul and because the teachers themselves were taking money from the church. Paul writes to reaffirm his love and to repair the damage caused by the interloper.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"PurposeandTeaching\">Purpose and Teaching<\/p>\n<p>In the first section of the letter, Paul has two main purposes. The first is to cement his restored relationship with Corinth, explaining situations, forgiving those who opposed him, and reflecting on the nature of ministry. For Paul, ministry meant both intense suffering and comfort. Physical and emotional suffering came from the situations and people he worked with, but his knowledge of future reward and his experience of the power of God working in him brought profound joy and comfort. Due to his own recent brush with death, Paul also reflects on what happens at death. His expectation is to receive a resurrection body and be in the presence of Jesus at death.<\/p>\n<p>The second purpose of this section is to get the collection for Jerusalem on track again. In this context he gives major teaching on giving and Christian economics: Christians are to follow Christ in giving freely; economic equality is the principle governing who gives to whom.<\/p>\n<p>The second section of the letter is an impassioned self-defense, refuting the interloper’s claims to superiority. Neither oratory nor pedigree counts in Christian ministry, but only the call of God.<\/p>\n<p>In both sections one observes Paul’s deep desire for the unity of the church, both unity within the local community and unity with leaders appointed by God, such as Paul.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Content\">Content<\/p>\n<h5>Greeting, 1:1-7<\/h5>\n<p>A standard greeting (2 Cor 1:1-2) comes before Paul’s usual thanksgiving (vv 3-7). The topic of the thanksgiving—comfort in the midst of suffering—is the topic of chapters 1–7. Paul knows what it is to suffer, but it is in suffering that he has experienced God’s comfort, which he passes on to the Corinthians.<\/p>\n<h5>Paul’s Explanation, 1:8–2:13<\/h5>\n<p>Paul informs them of the danger he had suffered in Ephesus, one so great that he did not believe he would survive. His eventual survival seemed like a virtual resurrection, reinforcing his conviction that God, not human strength, is the only Christian refuge (1:8-11). In that and in all situations, Paul’s one boast is that of a clear conscience before God (vv 12-14).<\/p>\n<p>Paul had told them of plans for a double visit (cf. 1 Cor 16:5-6), but except for his brief “painful visit,” he had not fulfilled his plan (2 Cor 1:15–2:4). He defends himself from charges of either not planning in the Spirit or hypocritical vacillation. He was indeed as good as his word (cf. Jas 5:12), for his life reflected God’s fulfilled promise in Jesus, but he had changed plans so as not to repeat the “painful visit” of the previous year. It was love, not fickleness, that motivated the delayed visit.<\/p>\n<p>The Corinthians had responded to Paul’s “letter of tears” by excommunicating the person who had opposed Paul (not the same person as in 1 Cor 5). Since the person became repentant, Paul called for his restoration to the community, freely and graciously forgiving the man who had hurt him. Excommunication is for the unrepentant; its purpose is complete once the person repents (2 Cor 2:5-11).<\/p>\n<p>Paul then recounted his journey from Ephesus to Philippi, when he sought news of the response to the “letter of tears” (2:12-13). After telling how he left an opportunity to minister in Troas to go to find Titus in Philippi, he breaks the narrative with a long digression.<\/p>\n<h5>Nature of Apostolic Ministry, 2:14–7:4<\/h5>\n<p>The apostolic ministry in which Paul took part is like the ministry of Jesus, one of suffering and glory. Even in suffering there is triumph in Christ, for Christians share Christ’s triumph. Yet just like the perfumes of a Roman triumph were joy to the victors but meant death for prisoners on their way to execution, so Jesus’ triumph is life to the believer and death to the unbeliever (2:14-17).<\/p>\n<p>This triumph may have sounded like a boast, but Paul is not engaging in self-exaltation. Indeed, he has no need of the letters of commendation that the interloper in Corinth carried from Jerusalem, for the Corinthians are themselves the proof of his ministry (3:1-3). His boast is not in himself but in the new covenant in the Spirit, which unlike the old covenant is not fading (here Paul follows one Jewish interpretation of Ex 34:29-35, that Moses put the veil over his face so the people would not see the glory fade), nor does it veil the presence of God. The new covenant is permanent; it reveals God directly in the Spirit. There is no deceit or hiddenness, for the message is not about Paul but about Jesus, who is light itself (2 Cor 3:4–4:6).<\/p>\n<p>Paul the messenger, however, is simply the cheap, breakable pot that contains the priceless treasure, revealing by way of contrast that the only power in the gospel is God’s power. This contrast of weakness and power is seen in the sufferings of the apostle, a type of living death modeled after the sufferings of Jesus, out of which the life of Jesus flows to others (4:7-15).<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, despite intense suffering, Paul has courage, for he looks beyond this life to the rewards of the coming life. His whole motivation is one of faith, not sight, for he lives already for unseen realities (4:16-18). When he dies, Paul expects to receive an eternal resurrection body. His hope is not of becoming a disembodied soul (“naked”) but of passing immediately into a glorified bodily life, already guaranteed by the presence of the Spirit. This hope was likely the fruit of his near brush with death in Ephesus, when he must have meditated and prayed about what would come at death (5:1-5). Because this future includes Christ’s judgment, Paul wanted to make every effort to live in the light of that judgment, which he already saw by faith (vv 6-10).<\/p>\n<p>Far from trying to commend or exalt himself, Paul was simply presenting what he was—a person filled with the love of Christ and convinced that all should live not for themselves but for Christ (5:11-15). No one should be valued from a merely human point of view, not Paul, nor even Christ (for Paul before his conversion had a human opinion of Christ that his conversion had radically changed); everyone should be valued from the point of view of the new creation. Paul’s job was simply to announce the reconciliation of the new creation, which God has already effected on his side and which only awaits a person’s ratification on the human side (5:16-20).<\/p>\n<p>Paul, then, was a coworker with God, announcing salvation, using every means consistent with God’s character to proclaim the message, and suffering everything imaginable to demonstrate the extent of God’s love (6:1-10). Therefore, Paul had nothing against the Corinthians. If there was any blockage in their relationship with him, it must be on their side (6:11-13).<\/p>\n<h5>Digression on Purity, 6:14–7:1<\/h5>\n<p>Perhaps suspecting that the real block in the relationship was their love of the world, or that the Corinthians might not be totally over the problems mentioned in 1 Corinthians, Paul digressed into a discussion about the purity and sanctification of believers. There are two groups, light and darkness, Christ and the devil, believers and unbelievers. Therefore, as Exodus 25:8, Leviticus 26:11-12, Isaiah 52:11, Ezekiel 37:27, and Hosea 1:10 show (phrases from these passages flow into each other in a style of chain quotation familiar to Jews), Christians should not be closely bound to unbelievers in marriage or in business, for it will affect their moral purity.<\/p>\n<h5>Return to the Nature of the Apostolic Ministry, 7:2-4<\/h5>\n<p>Picking up from 6:13, Paul points out that the Corinthians have nothing substantial against him. He is not criticizing but simply appealing to them in love; even now he is prepared to die for them.<\/p>\n<h5>Explanation Concluded, 7:5-16<\/h5>\n<p>Having concluded his digression, Paul now returns to his journey, which he left in 2:13. When he met Titus, he received good news about Corinth. He was relieved that his “letter of tears” had been effective, not in simply making them sorry but in bringing them to true repentance that yielded zeal, moral purity, and joy. Furthermore, their behavior toward Titus had been so impressive that Titus’s enthusiastic report of his own impressions had further cheered Paul.<\/p>\n<h5>Collection for Jerusalem, 8:1–9:15<\/h5>\n<p>In the context of restored relationships Paul turns to the sensitive topic of the collection for the church in Jerusalem, which had been impoverished through famines in Judea in the 40s. This collection was both an act of charity (cf. Acts 11:27-30; Gal 2:10) and a symbolic act of unity and fellowship between the Gentile and Jewish branches of the church.<\/p>\n<p>The impoverished and suffering church in Macedonia (Philippi) had given eagerly. Therefore, Titus was coming back to help the Corinthians complete what they had begun the previous year (and probably dropped during the controversy with Paul, 2 Cor 8:1-7). The principles of the collection are (1) the Corinthians should follow the example of Jesus, who became poor for them; (2) they should give freely what they can without regretting that they cannot give more, for God values the eagerness to give expressed in action, not the net amount of the gift; and (3) there should be an economic equality among sections of the church, no one section being enriched at the expense of another (cf. Ex 16:18). This economic equality extends to the relationship between two churches a continent apart (2 Cor 8:8-15).<\/p>\n<p>Titus and two absolutely trustworthy men appointed by the churches for this work will come to supervise the final gathering—Paul would have nothing to do with the money personally—for it is important that not only God but the world be able to see the honesty and integrity of the way the church handles money (8:16-24).<\/p>\n<p>In this section Paul points out that he does not need to argue the reasons for this collection; they were aware of them when they began to gather money the year before. This letter is not an argument for the collection but an encouragement to finish the work, so that when Paul arrives with representatives of other churches carrying their contributions, the Corinthians would not be embarrassed by their relatively wealthy churches not being ready or able to give generously, despite Paul’s boasts about their previous eagerness. In saying this, Paul shows himself diplomatic and insightful in motivating human behavior; he makes the best assumptions possible about the present situation (9:1-5).<\/p>\n<p>Paul would not want the Corinthians giving out of guilt, although he, like Jesus (Mt 6:19-20), pointed out that the only real value of money is in giving it to help others. Rather, he wanted them so convinced of God’s generosity and ability to provide that they give freely and joyfully. God wanted to enrich them so they could give more. The giving would result in thanksgiving to God by the recipients, who would also pray for those who gave the gift, thereby binding the church together. A closing reminder of the extent of God’s own giving finishes the section (2 Cor 9:6-15).<\/p>\n<h5>Paul’s Self-Defense, 10:1–13:14<\/h5>\n<p>There is an abrupt change in tone between 9:15 and 10:1. Now, instead of the tone of conciliation found in 1:1–7:16, there is argument and defense, even threat. Paul’s apostleship has been attacked, and he will defend it with vigor.<\/p>\n<p>Paul was indeed a humble person who preferred not to use his authority. Yet when forced, he had something more than authority; he had spiritual power, capable of destroying opposing arguments and bending all to obedience to Jesus. He would use that power in Corinth if he must, though up to that time he had been gentle and had shown this side of his ministry only in letters (10:1-11).<\/p>\n<p>His opponents talked of their qualifications and compared themselves favorably with other ministers. Paul would not enter into this game of comparisons. God had set the sphere of his labors, which was the area in which he founded churches. He was the one who pioneered the church in Corinth, so it is his sphere of ministry, not the interloper’s (and such like him). They boasted in having reaped the benefits of his ministry; Paul could point to an original ministry given by God, for it is God’s commendation in the end that counts (10:13-18).<\/p>\n<p>Yet the Corinthian rebellion is serious enough to force him into self-defense, ridiculous as such an exercise is. He was shocked by how readily they turned away to every novel doctrine that came along. This tendency strikes fear in Paul’s heart (11:1-6).<\/p>\n<p>Paul had been criticized for refusing financial support from Corinth (even though he accepted gifts from other churches; cf. 1 Cor 9). He would continue to refuse such support, for he wanted to undermine the claims of the interloper. If the interloper was really serving God alone, let him work on the same basis as Paul! But since the interloper was false at heart, serving Satan and not God, he sought money from the church. Paul was astonished that in the Corinthians’ vaunted wisdom they did not see through this hypocrisy, yet he hoped that even if he must play the fool in making a self-defense, they would at least accept a fool like Paul. The irony is that his very tender care and concern for the church, his gentleness, was being used against him as a supposed “weakness.” Paul, the opponent argued, knew he was false, so therefore did not dare take money from the Corinthians (11:7-21).<\/p>\n<p>Interlopers claimed to come with authority from Jerusalem. They had letters from the apostles; it is unlikely, however, that the apostles would have approved of their activities. Still, they were Jews with respectable authority behind them. Paul felt compelled to state his own credentials. If they were Jews, he was just as pure a Jew. If they served Christ, could their work and sufferings match his? The list of sufferings both gives historical information not found in Acts and points to tireless labor, including days of fasting (“gone without food”) and nights spent in prayer (“gone without sleep”) (11:21-29).<\/p>\n<p>But this boasting was repulsive to Paul, so he isolated one particular suffering—his escape from Damascus, when he had to hide and slip out of the city in a basket. The story at once shows his effectiveness as an evangelist (in that he was a target of persecution) and shames him, for he could not defend himself and had to slip away under cover of darkness. Yet that weakness was indeed his glory (11:30-33).<\/p>\n<p>His opponents boasted in revelations from God. Paul knew that this boasting was senseless; however, if he must, he would tell them of a revelation superior to theirs, a time when he actually saw the inside of heaven (he is not sure whether it was a vision or an actual bodily experience). This probably happened about <span>AD<\/span> 42, while Paul was in Tarsus, before Barnabas came for him (Acts 9:30; 11:25). Paul disliked telling about this, for God’s power is more easily seen in his weakness. In fact, Paul’s opponents were an affliction of Satan that God allowed to keep Paul humble and to demonstrate his power in Paul’s weakness. (The image of a “thorn in my flesh” is one of enemies—Nm 33:55; Jos 23:13; Paul also describes what he means more clearly in 2 Cor 12:10). If vulnerability shows God’s power, Paul willingly accepts the weakness (12:1-10).<\/p>\n<p>Paul felt ashamed that he had to boast. The opponents boasted in coming from the Jerusalem “superapostles.” Paul pointed out that he was their equal, although both are nothing. God had set his mark upon Paul’s work. With biting irony he asks forgiveness for not having taken money from the Corinthians (12:11-13).<\/p>\n<p>Yet Paul would come a third time, and he would keep to the same policy of not taking any support from them but giving himself freely to them, just as Jesus had done on earth. Not only he, but all his envoys, kept to the same policy. No one could accuse him of deceit or inconsistency (12:14-18). However, he feared coming to them, for he knew that the community had not just rebelled against him but was also in internal disorder. This disunity and immorality would humble and pain Paul (12:19–13:4).<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, the Corinthians had better examine themselves. Were they really following Jesus or not? If so, they should see that Paul was also following Jesus. Yet Paul’s concern was not for his own position—he was content to be rejected (“weak”)—but for their following the truth. He hoped for their repentance, not to protect himself, but so that he need not be severe when he came (13:5-10).<\/p>\n<p>Probably taking the pen from the scribe at this point, Paul closes with a final appeal to repent and come to unity as a church. Brief greetings from the church in Macedonia and a formal blessing closes his correspondence with the Corinthians (vv 11-13).<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Acts of the Apostles, Book of the; Corinth; Corinthians, First Letter to the; Paul, The Apostle.<\/p>","summary_ro":"CORINTHIANS, Second Letter to the Preview • Author • Date and Origin • Background • Purpose and Teaching • Content Author The apostle Paul is the acknowledged author of 2 Corinthians. While some scholars argue that 2 Corinthians 2:14–7:4 and 10–13 are separate letters, only in the case of 6:14–7:1 is Paul’s authorship disputed. This section is admittedly a strange digression, but stranger still would be the thought that an editor could have inserted it in such an unusual place. Also the repet...","summary_en":"CORINTHIANS, Second Letter to the Preview • Author • Date and Origin • Background • Purpose and Teaching • Content Author The apostle Paul is the acknowledged author of 2 Corinthians. While some scholars argue that 2 Corinthians 2:14–7:4 and 10–13 are separate letters, only in the case of 6:14–7:1 is Paul’s authorship disputed. This section is admittedly a strange digression, but stranger still would be the thought that an editor could have inserted it in such an unusual place. Also the repet...","source":"Articles\/C.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":57865,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:21","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:21","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:21b-29<\/strong> Rather than boasting about his strengths and successes like the false teachers did, Paul boasts in weakness and defeat, pointing away from himself and toward God.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:21b-29<\/strong> Rather than boasting about his strengths and successes like the false teachers did, Paul boasts in weakness and defeat, pointing away from himself and toward God.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:21b-29 Rather than boasting about his strengths and successes like the false teachers did, Paul boasts in weakness and defeat, pointing away from himself and toward God.","summary_en":"11:21b-29 Rather than boasting about his strengths and successes like the false teachers did, Paul boasts in weakness and defeat, pointing away from himself and toward God.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":85491,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:21","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:21","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:21b-29<\/strong> Rather than boasting about his strengths and successes like the false teachers did, Paul boasts in weakness and defeat, pointing away from himself and toward God.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:21b-29<\/strong> Rather than boasting about his strengths and successes like the false teachers did, Paul boasts in weakness and defeat, pointing away from himself and toward God.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:21b-29 Rather than boasting about his strengths and successes like the false teachers did, Paul boasts in weakness and defeat, pointing away from himself and toward God.","summary_en":"11:21b-29 Rather than boasting about his strengths and successes like the false teachers did, Paul boasts in weakness and defeat, pointing away from himself and toward God.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":113117,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:21","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:21","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:21b-29<\/strong> Rather than boasting about his strengths and successes like the false teachers did, Paul boasts in weakness and defeat, pointing away from himself and toward God.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:21b-29<\/strong> Rather than boasting about his strengths and successes like the false teachers did, Paul boasts in weakness and defeat, pointing away from himself and toward God.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:21b-29 Rather than boasting about his strengths and successes like the false teachers did, Paul boasts in weakness and defeat, pointing away from himself and toward God.","summary_en":"11:21b-29 Rather than boasting about his strengths and successes like the false teachers did, Paul boasts in weakness and defeat, pointing away from himself and toward God.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":140743,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:21","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:21","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:21b-29<\/strong> Rather than boasting about his strengths and successes like the false teachers did, Paul boasts in weakness and defeat, pointing away from himself and toward God.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:21b-29<\/strong> Rather than boasting about his strengths and successes like the false teachers did, Paul boasts in weakness and defeat, pointing away from himself and toward God.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:21b-29 Rather than boasting about his strengths and successes like the false teachers did, Paul boasts in weakness and defeat, pointing away from himself and toward God.","summary_en":"11:21b-29 Rather than boasting about his strengths and successes like the false teachers did, Paul boasts in weakness and defeat, pointing away from himself and toward God.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false}],"22":[{"id":57866,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:22","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:22","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:22<\/strong> <em>Are they Hebrews? So am I:<\/em> A Jewish heritage was seen by Paul’s opponents as a qualification for ministry (see Phil 3:5). • <em>Are they Israelites? So am I:<\/em> An Israelite was a member of the covenant community by circumcision (cp. John 1:47; Rom 9:4). Paul had this badge also and was in fact a Pharisee, a most devoted follower of Torah (Acts 26:4-5; Rom 11:1; Phil 3:5-6). • <em>Are they descendants of Abraham?<\/em> This is yet another of Paul’s opponents’ claims to God’s favor based on ethnic identity. Elsewhere, Paul clarifies who can truly be called <em>Israelites<\/em> and <em>descendants of Abraham<\/em> (see Rom 2:28-29; Gal 3:16, 26-29). Here, he ironically adopts the erroneous perspective of his opponents to beat them at their own game.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:22<\/strong> <em>Are they Hebrews? So am I:<\/em> A Jewish heritage was seen by Paul’s opponents as a qualification for ministry (see Phil 3:5). • <em>Are they Israelites? So am I:<\/em> An Israelite was a member of the covenant community by circumcision (cp. John 1:47; Rom 9:4). Paul had this badge also and was in fact a Pharisee, a most devoted follower of Torah (Acts 26:4-5; Rom 11:1; Phil 3:5-6). • <em>Are they descendants of Abraham?<\/em> This is yet another of Paul’s opponents’ claims to God’s favor based on ethnic identity. Elsewhere, Paul clarifies who can truly be called <em>Israelites<\/em> and <em>descendants of Abraham<\/em> (see Rom 2:28-29; Gal 3:16, 26-29). Here, he ironically adopts the erroneous perspective of his opponents to beat them at their own game.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:22 Are they Hebrews? So am I: A Jewish heritage was seen by Paul’s opponents as a qualification for ministry (see Phil 3:5). • Are they Israelites? So am I: An Israelite was a member of the covenant community by circumcision (cp. John 1:47; Rom 9:4). Paul had this badge also and was in fact a Pharisee, a most devoted follower of Torah (Acts 26:4-5; Rom 11:1; Phil 3:5-6). • Are they descendants of Abraham? This is yet another of Paul’s opponents’ claims to God’s favor based on ethnic identi...","summary_en":"11:22 Are they Hebrews? So am I: A Jewish heritage was seen by Paul’s opponents as a qualification for ministry (see Phil 3:5). • Are they Israelites? So am I: An Israelite was a member of the covenant community by circumcision (cp. John 1:47; Rom 9:4). Paul had this badge also and was in fact a Pharisee, a most devoted follower of Torah (Acts 26:4-5; Rom 11:1; Phil 3:5-6). • Are they descendants of Abraham? This is yet another of Paul’s opponents’ claims to God’s favor based on ethnic identi...","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":85492,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:22","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:22","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:22<\/strong> <em>Are they Hebrews? So am I:<\/em> A Jewish heritage was seen by Paul’s opponents as a qualification for ministry (see Phil 3:5). • <em>Are they Israelites? So am I:<\/em> An Israelite was a member of the covenant community by circumcision (cp. John 1:47; Rom 9:4). Paul had this badge also and was in fact a Pharisee, a most devoted follower of Torah (Acts 26:4-5; Rom 11:1; Phil 3:5-6). • <em>Are they descendants of Abraham?<\/em> This is yet another of Paul’s opponents’ claims to God’s favor based on ethnic identity. Elsewhere, Paul clarifies who can truly be called <em>Israelites<\/em> and <em>descendants of Abraham<\/em> (see Rom 2:28-29; Gal 3:16, 26-29). Here, he ironically adopts the erroneous perspective of his opponents to beat them at their own game.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:22<\/strong> <em>Are they Hebrews? So am I:<\/em> A Jewish heritage was seen by Paul’s opponents as a qualification for ministry (see Phil 3:5). • <em>Are they Israelites? So am I:<\/em> An Israelite was a member of the covenant community by circumcision (cp. John 1:47; Rom 9:4). Paul had this badge also and was in fact a Pharisee, a most devoted follower of Torah (Acts 26:4-5; Rom 11:1; Phil 3:5-6). • <em>Are they descendants of Abraham?<\/em> This is yet another of Paul’s opponents’ claims to God’s favor based on ethnic identity. Elsewhere, Paul clarifies who can truly be called <em>Israelites<\/em> and <em>descendants of Abraham<\/em> (see Rom 2:28-29; Gal 3:16, 26-29). Here, he ironically adopts the erroneous perspective of his opponents to beat them at their own game.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:22 Are they Hebrews? So am I: A Jewish heritage was seen by Paul’s opponents as a qualification for ministry (see Phil 3:5). • Are they Israelites? So am I: An Israelite was a member of the covenant community by circumcision (cp. John 1:47; Rom 9:4). Paul had this badge also and was in fact a Pharisee, a most devoted follower of Torah (Acts 26:4-5; Rom 11:1; Phil 3:5-6). • Are they descendants of Abraham? This is yet another of Paul’s opponents’ claims to God’s favor based on ethnic identi...","summary_en":"11:22 Are they Hebrews? So am I: A Jewish heritage was seen by Paul’s opponents as a qualification for ministry (see Phil 3:5). • Are they Israelites? So am I: An Israelite was a member of the covenant community by circumcision (cp. John 1:47; Rom 9:4). Paul had this badge also and was in fact a Pharisee, a most devoted follower of Torah (Acts 26:4-5; Rom 11:1; Phil 3:5-6). • Are they descendants of Abraham? This is yet another of Paul’s opponents’ claims to God’s favor based on ethnic identi...","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":113118,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:22","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:22","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:22<\/strong> <em>Are they Hebrews? So am I:<\/em> A Jewish heritage was seen by Paul’s opponents as a qualification for ministry (see Phil 3:5). • <em>Are they Israelites? So am I:<\/em> An Israelite was a member of the covenant community by circumcision (cp. John 1:47; Rom 9:4). Paul had this badge also and was in fact a Pharisee, a most devoted follower of Torah (Acts 26:4-5; Rom 11:1; Phil 3:5-6). • <em>Are they descendants of Abraham?<\/em> This is yet another of Paul’s opponents’ claims to God’s favor based on ethnic identity. Elsewhere, Paul clarifies who can truly be called <em>Israelites<\/em> and <em>descendants of Abraham<\/em> (see Rom 2:28-29; Gal 3:16, 26-29). Here, he ironically adopts the erroneous perspective of his opponents to beat them at their own game.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:22<\/strong> <em>Are they Hebrews? So am I:<\/em> A Jewish heritage was seen by Paul’s opponents as a qualification for ministry (see Phil 3:5). • <em>Are they Israelites? So am I:<\/em> An Israelite was a member of the covenant community by circumcision (cp. John 1:47; Rom 9:4). Paul had this badge also and was in fact a Pharisee, a most devoted follower of Torah (Acts 26:4-5; Rom 11:1; Phil 3:5-6). • <em>Are they descendants of Abraham?<\/em> This is yet another of Paul’s opponents’ claims to God’s favor based on ethnic identity. Elsewhere, Paul clarifies who can truly be called <em>Israelites<\/em> and <em>descendants of Abraham<\/em> (see Rom 2:28-29; Gal 3:16, 26-29). Here, he ironically adopts the erroneous perspective of his opponents to beat them at their own game.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:22 Are they Hebrews? So am I: A Jewish heritage was seen by Paul’s opponents as a qualification for ministry (see Phil 3:5). • Are they Israelites? So am I: An Israelite was a member of the covenant community by circumcision (cp. John 1:47; Rom 9:4). Paul had this badge also and was in fact a Pharisee, a most devoted follower of Torah (Acts 26:4-5; Rom 11:1; Phil 3:5-6). • Are they descendants of Abraham? This is yet another of Paul’s opponents’ claims to God’s favor based on ethnic identi...","summary_en":"11:22 Are they Hebrews? So am I: A Jewish heritage was seen by Paul’s opponents as a qualification for ministry (see Phil 3:5). • Are they Israelites? So am I: An Israelite was a member of the covenant community by circumcision (cp. John 1:47; Rom 9:4). Paul had this badge also and was in fact a Pharisee, a most devoted follower of Torah (Acts 26:4-5; Rom 11:1; Phil 3:5-6). • Are they descendants of Abraham? This is yet another of Paul’s opponents’ claims to God’s favor based on ethnic identi...","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":140744,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:22","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:22","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:22<\/strong> <em>Are they Hebrews? So am I:<\/em> A Jewish heritage was seen by Paul’s opponents as a qualification for ministry (see Phil 3:5). • <em>Are they Israelites? So am I:<\/em> An Israelite was a member of the covenant community by circumcision (cp. John 1:47; Rom 9:4). Paul had this badge also and was in fact a Pharisee, a most devoted follower of Torah (Acts 26:4-5; Rom 11:1; Phil 3:5-6). • <em>Are they descendants of Abraham?<\/em> This is yet another of Paul’s opponents’ claims to God’s favor based on ethnic identity. Elsewhere, Paul clarifies who can truly be called <em>Israelites<\/em> and <em>descendants of Abraham<\/em> (see Rom 2:28-29; Gal 3:16, 26-29). Here, he ironically adopts the erroneous perspective of his opponents to beat them at their own game.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:22<\/strong> <em>Are they Hebrews? So am I:<\/em> A Jewish heritage was seen by Paul’s opponents as a qualification for ministry (see Phil 3:5). • <em>Are they Israelites? So am I:<\/em> An Israelite was a member of the covenant community by circumcision (cp. John 1:47; Rom 9:4). Paul had this badge also and was in fact a Pharisee, a most devoted follower of Torah (Acts 26:4-5; Rom 11:1; Phil 3:5-6). • <em>Are they descendants of Abraham?<\/em> This is yet another of Paul’s opponents’ claims to God’s favor based on ethnic identity. Elsewhere, Paul clarifies who can truly be called <em>Israelites<\/em> and <em>descendants of Abraham<\/em> (see Rom 2:28-29; Gal 3:16, 26-29). Here, he ironically adopts the erroneous perspective of his opponents to beat them at their own game.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:22 Are they Hebrews? So am I: A Jewish heritage was seen by Paul’s opponents as a qualification for ministry (see Phil 3:5). • Are they Israelites? So am I: An Israelite was a member of the covenant community by circumcision (cp. John 1:47; Rom 9:4). Paul had this badge also and was in fact a Pharisee, a most devoted follower of Torah (Acts 26:4-5; Rom 11:1; Phil 3:5-6). • Are they descendants of Abraham? This is yet another of Paul’s opponents’ claims to God’s favor based on ethnic identi...","summary_en":"11:22 Are they Hebrews? So am I: A Jewish heritage was seen by Paul’s opponents as a qualification for ministry (see Phil 3:5). • Are they Israelites? So am I: An Israelite was a member of the covenant community by circumcision (cp. John 1:47; Rom 9:4). Paul had this badge also and was in fact a Pharisee, a most devoted follower of Torah (Acts 26:4-5; Rom 11:1; Phil 3:5-6). • Are they descendants of Abraham? This is yet another of Paul’s opponents’ claims to God’s favor based on ethnic identi...","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false}],"23":[{"id":1606,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Andronicus","title_en":"Andronicus","content_ro":"<h3>ANDRONICUS<\/h3>\n<li>1. Deputy of Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes. This Andronicus aroused the Jews by murdering Onias, the high priest, and was himself then executed by Antiochus (2 Macc 4:31-38).<\/li>\n<li>2. Officer in charge of Gerizim after Antiochus Epiphanes sacked Jerusalem (2 Macc 5:21-23).<\/li>\n<li>3. Christian greeted by the apostle Paul in his Letter to the Romans (16:7) but not mentioned elsewhere. Paul called Andronicus his kinsman. The word could mean fellow countryman, fellow Jew, member of Paul’s own family, or other relative. Andronicus may also have been a fellow prisoner for the cause of Christ, perhaps even in the same prison with Paul (2 Cor 6:4-5; 11:23). Paul described him as a man of note among the apostles and recognized him respectfully as an “older” Christian.<\/li>","content_en":"<h3>ANDRONICUS<\/h3>\n<li>1. Deputy of Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes. This Andronicus aroused the Jews by murdering Onias, the high priest, and was himself then executed by Antiochus (2 Macc 4:31-38).<\/li>\n<li>2. Officer in charge of Gerizim after Antiochus Epiphanes sacked Jerusalem (2 Macc 5:21-23).<\/li>\n<li>3. Christian greeted by the apostle Paul in his Letter to the Romans (16:7) but not mentioned elsewhere. Paul called Andronicus his kinsman. The word could mean fellow countryman, fellow Jew, member of Paul’s own family, or other relative. Andronicus may also have been a fellow prisoner for the cause of Christ, perhaps even in the same prison with Paul (2 Cor 6:4-5; 11:23). Paul described him as a man of note among the apostles and recognized him respectfully as an “older” Christian.<\/li>","summary_ro":"ANDRONICUS 1. Deputy of Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes. This Andronicus aroused the Jews by murdering Onias, the high priest, and was himself then executed by Antiochus (2 Macc 4:31-38). 2. Officer in charge of Gerizim after Antiochus Epiphanes sacked Jerusalem (2 Macc 5:21-23). 3. Christian greeted by the apostle Paul in his Letter to the Romans (16:7) but not mentioned elsewhere. Paul called Andronicus his kinsman. The word could mean fellow countryman, fellow Jew, member of Paul’s own f...","summary_en":"ANDRONICUS 1. Deputy of Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes. This Andronicus aroused the Jews by murdering Onias, the high priest, and was himself then executed by Antiochus (2 Macc 4:31-38). 2. Officer in charge of Gerizim after Antiochus Epiphanes sacked Jerusalem (2 Macc 5:21-23). 3. Christian greeted by the apostle Paul in his Letter to the Romans (16:7) but not mentioned elsewhere. Paul called Andronicus his kinsman. The word could mean fellow countryman, fellow Jew, member of Paul’s own f...","source":"Articles\/A.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":7188,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Letter to the Colossians","title_en":"Letter to the Colossians","content_ro":"<h3>COLOSSIANS, Letter to the<\/h3>\n<p>NT epistle, one of four “prison letters” attributed to the apostle Paul. As with Ephesians, Philippians, and Philemon, Paul said he was in prison when he wrote Colossians (Col 4:3, 10; cf. Eph 3:1; 4:1; 6:20; Phil 1:12-14; Phlm 1:9-10). He sent three of the letters to churches in Asia Minor and linked them with his colleague, Tychicus (Col 4:7-9; Eph 6:21-22). That seems to indicate that he wrote them at approximately the same time and that Tychicus delivered them.<\/p>\n<p>Preview<\/p>\n<p>• Author<\/p>\n<p>• Date, Origin, and Destination<\/p>\n<p>• Background<\/p>\n<p>• Purpose and Teaching<\/p>\n<p>Content<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Author\">Author<\/p>\n<p>Though the tradition that Paul wrote Colossians stands on solid ground, many scholars today debate its authorship. Reasons for their doubts fall into two main categories—theology and style.<\/p>\n<p>First, some scholars question Paul’s authorship on theological grounds. Development of certain major theological themes in Colossians differs from the way they are set forth in the undisputed letters of Paul. In Colossians the doctrine of Christ is developed on the basis of a hymn about Christ in 1:15-20. There he is seen as the “firstborn of all creation”; all things owe both their origin and continuing existence to him. In him resides all the fullness of deity. His death is interpreted not as a victory over sin, law, and death, but as a triumph over the cosmic authorities and powers.<\/p>\n<p>To some scholars that suggests that the Christology in Colossians is much more “exalted” than in any of the undisputed letters. Yet Paul characteristically regarded Christ as highly exalted. He declared Christ to be creator of all things (1 Cor 8:6) and set forth his lordship over the whole cosmic order by citing another hymn (Phil 2:6-11). Further, the kind of statements made about Christ in Colossians was demanded by the situation that had arisen in the city of Colosse. The heresy that had broken into the congregation required such statements.<\/p>\n<p>Colossians also appears to teach doctrines about “the last things” and baptism that are somewhat different from the doctrines in the undisputed letters. In Corinthians, Paul based his teaching about the last things on the Jewish doctrine of the “two ages.” Judaism taught that in “this age” the world is under the tyranny of the evil powers, but that in “the age to come” God would set it free. In contrast, Paul’s teaching was unique in holding that the age to come had already come in the advent of Christ—though not in its fullness. Paul saw the time between the first and second advents of Christ as a period of conflict. Christ “must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet” (1 Cor 15:25). Christ by his mission is liberating the present age from the evil powers, but the conflict will not end until his second coming. Therefore Christians live in hope of his future appearing. That future element of hope is not stressed in Colossians (though see 3:1-4); rather, the emphasis is on a hope already present in heaven (1:5).<\/p>\n<p>The doctrine of baptism in Colossians has been influenced by the stress on the realized aspect of hope. In his Letter to the Romans, Paul taught that baptized Christians live by faith in the resurrected Lord and are filled with hope for their future resurrection (Rom 6:1-11). In Colossians he declared that baptized believers have not only died with Christ but have already been raised with him (Col 2:12-13; 3:1). The hope for the future is not for resurrection but for the manifestation of the life that is already hidden with Christ in God (3:2-3). Further, in Romans Paul stated that in baptism Christians have died to sin, so they no longer need serve it. Colossians, on the other hand, states that in Christ, Christians died to what can literally be translated as the “rudiments of the universe” (2:20). Many interpret that phrase to mean the basic religious teaching of the world. In Colossians, however, a strong case can be made that the phrase means “the elemental spirits of the universe” (<span>rsv<\/span>). In either case, the emphasis, if not the meaning, differs from Romans.<\/p>\n<p>Such theological matters have led many to believe that Paul could not have written the Letter to the Colossians. Rather, they see the letter as the product of a disciple of Paul who wrote at a later time. It should be noted, however, that the differences are of perspective or emphasis, not differences that result in contradiction.<\/p>\n<p>The second reason for questioning Paul’s authorship of Colossians is literary, pertaining to vocabulary and style. The brief letter uses 34 words that occur nowhere else in the NT. Also, common Pauline terms are absent from passages where they might logically be expected. Further, the style of the letter, though similar to Ephesians, is notably different from other undisputed letters of Paul. In those letters the thoughts are usually developed in an argumentative style similar to the discussions of the Jewish scribes. Colossians is marked by stylistic features that one finds in hymns, liturgies, and early Jewish and Christian catechisms. But some obvious differences in theological perspective and literary style do not force one to conclude that someone other than Paul wrote Colossians.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"DateOriginandDestination\">Date, Origin, and Destination<\/p>\n<p>The date of Colossians depends on where Paul was imprisoned when he wrote. Traditionally scholars have held that all four “prison letters” came from Rome. If so, Paul would have written them between <span>AD<\/span> 60 and 62.<\/p>\n<p>The book of Acts indicates three places where Paul was imprisoned: Philippi, Caesarea, and Rome. Paul, writing 2 Corinthians before either of the last two imprisonments, suggested that he had already been in prison many times (2 Cor 11:23). Ephesus is a likely place for one of those imprisonments (cf. Acts 19–20; 1 Cor 15:32; 2 Cor 1:8-10). Consequently, an increasing number of scholars name that city as the probable place where Paul wrote the prison letters. If that is correct, Paul wrote Colossians sometime between <span>AD<\/span> 52 and 55. But the general consensus is that all the Prison Epistles were written in Rome, thus leading to <span>AD<\/span> 60–62 as the date of Colossians.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Background\">Background<\/p>\n<p>To identify the teaching that endangered the church at Colosse is a difficult task. The problem is not insufficient data but the opposite. Historical research has uncovered a wealth of information about the religious beliefs and practices that proliferated in the first-century Roman world. Asia Minor was a particularly fertile region for religions. Many people even belonged to more than one religious sect, and it was common to select ideas and practices of several religions. Christians were not exempt from those tendencies.<\/p>\n\n<h5>Colossian Heresy<\/h5>\n<p>Paul gave no formal definition of the Christian heresy in Colosse. Rather, he dealt with a number of issues without precisely identifying them. If one is given only the answers to a number of questions, however, it may be possible to recreate the questions from them. The reader of Colossians must attempt to define the tenets of the false teaching on the basis of Paul’s response to them.<\/p>\n<p>Some scholars have concluded that the heresy rose out of the flesh-spirit dualism that became characteristic of later Greek and oriental Gnosticism. The later Gnostics taught that the material order of things is evil, so only what is free from matter is good. Other scholars, noting Paul’s injunctions against certain food laws, festivals, sabbaths, and external circumcision, have concluded that the false teaching rose out of Jewish beliefs. Since the tendency to blend a variety of ideas was so prevalent, both theories are probably true.<\/p>\n<p>Paul regarded the heretical teaching as a “philosophy” based on human tradition (2:8). His prayer for the Colossians (1:9-11) and certain other remarks (1:26-28; 2:2-3) suggest that he was countering the notion that for certain people “philosophy” led to some special, perhaps magical, understanding. That philosophy was based on “the rudiments of the universe.” This phrase is open to two main lines of interpretation. First, the basic meaning of “rudiments” is “objects that stand in a row or series,” such as the letters of the alphabet. It can readily be extended to mean rudimentary principles or basic teaching. Such is the meaning in Hebrews 5:12, where the term refers to the “first principles” of God’s Word. Second, the Greeks applied the phrase to the four physical substances they thought made up the world: earth, water, fire, and air.<\/p>\n<p>A first-century <span>BC<\/span> Greek text, referring to the followers of the philosopher Pythagorus, uses several of the same words that Paul applied to the Colossian heresy. A messenger of the highest gods carries the soul through all the elements of the world, from the lowest of earth and water to the highest. If the soul is pure, it remains in the highest element. If not, it is returned to the lower ones. The required purity is achieved by self-denial and certain cultic observances. The upper air contains the sun, moon, and stars, regarded as gods who control human destinies. In addition, the atmosphere around the earth is filled with spirit powers who are to be revered. In that way, the elements of the world become associated with the gods and spirit-powers who hold all people captive and determine their fate. With the help of magical knowledge and cultic ceremonies, human beings could not only escape from the destiny imposed by the spirit powers but even manipulate them for their own advantage.<\/p>\n<p>To summarize, the phrase “rudiments of the universe” can refer either to basic religious teaching or to the spirit powers of the universe. The statements in Colossians make the latter meaning probable. Through his cross, Christ has triumphed over the rulers and authorities and has publicly exposed them (2:15). They do not rule the world order; he does (1:16-20). The divine “fullness” dwells in Christ, not in a remote deity (1:19; 2:9). The spirit powers are under the authority of Christ (2:10) and owe their existence to him (1:16). The “worshiping of angels” (a practice probably including homage paid to heavenly powers) is so wrong that it may have disastrous consequences (2:18).<\/p>\n<h5>Main Features of the Heresy<\/h5>\n<p>A major dogma of the Colossian philosophy seems to have asserted that God was remote and inaccessible. Two factors point in that direction. First, the fascination with the angels and spirit-powers just discussed seems to indicate that the remote God was accessible only through a long chain of intermediaries. Christ seems to have been regarded as one of them, perhaps enthroned above them. Second, the philosophy evidently held to a dualism that separated the high God from creation. To approach him, seekers first had to be delivered from the evil influence of the material order.<\/p>\n<p>How could human beings short-circuit or manipulate the angelic star powers who hindered them from reaching the high God? How could they be delivered from the enslaving power of matter? The philosophy evidently offered magical wisdom and insight as the answer. Through worshiping angels and observing special days and cultic practices (2:16-18), seekers could placate or please the intermediaries and get through to the divine “fullness.” By voluntary self-abasement, self-denial, and the achievement of visions (2:18, 21-23) they could escape the pull of the material order. The practice of self-denial through abstinence from food and possibly from sexual relations (“touch not” in 2:21) seems to have been limited to special seasons for attaining the “vision” of God. Otherwise, the philosophy seems to have permitted freedom to engage in libertine practices (3:5-11).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"PurposeandTeaching\">Purpose and Teaching<\/p>\n<p>A warning in Colossians 2:8 points to the main purpose of the Colossian letter. The readers are admonished against following anyone who “makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ” (<span>rsv<\/span>). A false teaching was settling in and threatening the health of the congregation, so Paul wrote Colossians to counter it.<\/p>\n<p>Paul approached the heresy by contrasting its teachings with the correct teaching his readers had received in the traditions previously delivered to them, probably by Epaphras (1:7; 4:12-13). God through Christ had qualified them to be uniquely his own people, his church (1:12-14). The proponents of the false teaching threatened to disqualify the Colossians from that favored position by persuading them not to hold fast to Christ, the Head of the church (2:18-19). Consequently, the traditions Paul cited mainly teach about Christ or about the church. The former are primarily related to the impressive hymn about Christ (1:15-20; referred to again in 2:9-10, the latter mainly associated with baptism).<\/p>\n<h5>Christ<\/h5>\n<p>In 1:15-20 Christ is celebrated as the preexistent Creator of all and as the divine Redeemer of all. The “all” has cosmic dimensions. It includes the earth and the heavens, the visible and the invisible, the church and the universal powers. All things, including the heavenly powers, owe their existence, sustenance, and destiny to Christ. He is not to be regarded as one of the heavenly mediaries. He is the preeminent one in whom all the fullness of God dwells (1:19; 2:9) and in whom human beings find fulfillment (2:10).<\/p>\n<p>Paul gave special attention to the significance of Christ’s death. In the hymn of Colossians 1 he explained the reconciling work of Christ by the phrase “making peace through the blood of his cross” (1:20). He contrasted the past and present experiences of the readers. Formerly they were alienated from God both in attitude and behavior. Now they are reconciled “in his body of flesh by his death” (1:21-22). As a consequence of that reconciliation, God transforms human character.<\/p>\n<p>The death of Christ not only brings about restored relationships between individuals and God, but it also liberates them from the hostile intentions of the “principalities and powers.” Those powers seem to be demonic agents who bring accusations against human beings—accusations grounded on a “certificate of indebtedness” based on ordinances (laws). Paul proclaimed to the Colossians that God had removed the ground of those accusations, nailing it to the cross (2:14), and that in the cross he had publicly exposed and triumphed over the accusers (v 15). Christ’s death was not a tragedy but a life-changing, liberating triumph over sin and evil powers.<\/p>\n<h5>The Church<\/h5>\n<p>The church is the “body” of Christ (1:18, 24), over which Christ is the Head and source of life (2:19). It is a community that the Father has qualified to participate in the heavenly inheritance with the saints; he has delivered it from the powers of the evil age and made it participate in the power of the age to come, “the kingdom of his beloved Son” (1:13). The church, therefore, should not live in fear of the “rulers” and “authorities,” but should participate in Christ’s triumph over those hostile powers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Content\">Content<\/p>\n<p>In writing to the Colossians, Paul followed a standard letter form of salutation, thanksgiving, prayer, main body, and concluding remarks. The salutation (1:1-2) carries greetings to the church from himself and Timothy. Then follows a statement of thanksgiving for the good condition of the community (1:3-8) and a prayer that the Colossians may be filled with a knowledge of God’s will, which will result in worthy conduct (1:9-11).<\/p>\n<p>The first part of the body of the letter summons the Colossians to praise and then quotes and applies the great hymn about Christ (1:12-23). Specifically, the first part begins with a confessional thanksgiving to the Father for calling them to be his own unique people (1:12-14). A hymn follows, celebrating Christ as the sovereign Creator and Redeemer of all that exists (1:15-20). The Colossians are participants in the results of Christ’s reconciling ministry (1:21-23).<\/p>\n<p>The second part of the body of the letter describes Paul’s apostolic ministry (1:24–2:5). His was the task of making known the mystery of God concerning Christ to the Gentiles in general (1:24-29) and to the churches of Colosse and Laodicea in particular (2:1-5).<\/p>\n<p>The third part of the body of the letter introduces Paul’s primary concern for the Colossian congregation: they are to follow the received tradition about Christ (that is, the teachings about Christ they had first accepted), and not to fall prey to the current false teaching (2:6-23). They are to walk in the light of the received tradition (vv 6-7), and they are warned against the false philosophy (v 8). The hymn of 1:15-20 is again referred to, here stressing Christ’s divine lordship (2:9-10) and proclaiming his victory over the principalities and powers (vv 11-15). Because of such a Christ, the Colossians are exhorted not to submit to the regulations and tenets of the false teaching (vv 16-23).<\/p>\n<p>The fourth part of the body of the letter summons the church to a life befitting Christians (3:1–4:6). Those who have been raised with Christ are to seek the things that are above (3:1-4). That means they are to put off the traits and attitudes listed in a catalog of vices (vv 5-11) and to put on the traits and attitudes listed in a catalog of virtues (vv 12-14). In worship they are to conduct themselves in a unified and orderly way (3:15–4:1). The so-called “household code” concerning marriage, children, and slavery (3:18–4:1) appears in a context dealing with worship (3:15-17; 4:2-6). The most pressing admonitions in the code are addressed to wives and slaves, groups that especially would crave the equality promised in the gospel (Gal 3:28; note Col 3:11). So Paul probably used the code to call for order in the public worship service.<\/p>\n<p>Paul concluded his letter by first stating that Tychicus and the recently converted slave, Onesimus, would inform the church about his circumstances (4:7-9), and then added a series of greetings (vv 10-18).<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Acts of the Apostles, Book of the; Apostle, Apostleship; Colossae, Colosse; Paul, The Apostle.<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>COLOSSIANS, Letter to the<\/h3>\n<p>NT epistle, one of four “prison letters” attributed to the apostle Paul. As with Ephesians, Philippians, and Philemon, Paul said he was in prison when he wrote Colossians (Col 4:3, 10; cf. Eph 3:1; 4:1; 6:20; Phil 1:12-14; Phlm 1:9-10). He sent three of the letters to churches in Asia Minor and linked them with his colleague, Tychicus (Col 4:7-9; Eph 6:21-22). That seems to indicate that he wrote them at approximately the same time and that Tychicus delivered them.<\/p>\n<p>Preview<\/p>\n<p>• Author<\/p>\n<p>• Date, Origin, and Destination<\/p>\n<p>• Background<\/p>\n<p>• Purpose and Teaching<\/p>\n<p>Content<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Author\">Author<\/p>\n<p>Though the tradition that Paul wrote Colossians stands on solid ground, many scholars today debate its authorship. Reasons for their doubts fall into two main categories—theology and style.<\/p>\n<p>First, some scholars question Paul’s authorship on theological grounds. Development of certain major theological themes in Colossians differs from the way they are set forth in the undisputed letters of Paul. In Colossians the doctrine of Christ is developed on the basis of a hymn about Christ in 1:15-20. There he is seen as the “firstborn of all creation”; all things owe both their origin and continuing existence to him. In him resides all the fullness of deity. His death is interpreted not as a victory over sin, law, and death, but as a triumph over the cosmic authorities and powers.<\/p>\n<p>To some scholars that suggests that the Christology in Colossians is much more “exalted” than in any of the undisputed letters. Yet Paul characteristically regarded Christ as highly exalted. He declared Christ to be creator of all things (1 Cor 8:6) and set forth his lordship over the whole cosmic order by citing another hymn (Phil 2:6-11). Further, the kind of statements made about Christ in Colossians was demanded by the situation that had arisen in the city of Colosse. The heresy that had broken into the congregation required such statements.<\/p>\n<p>Colossians also appears to teach doctrines about “the last things” and baptism that are somewhat different from the doctrines in the undisputed letters. In Corinthians, Paul based his teaching about the last things on the Jewish doctrine of the “two ages.” Judaism taught that in “this age” the world is under the tyranny of the evil powers, but that in “the age to come” God would set it free. In contrast, Paul’s teaching was unique in holding that the age to come had already come in the advent of Christ—though not in its fullness. Paul saw the time between the first and second advents of Christ as a period of conflict. Christ “must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet” (1 Cor 15:25). Christ by his mission is liberating the present age from the evil powers, but the conflict will not end until his second coming. Therefore Christians live in hope of his future appearing. That future element of hope is not stressed in Colossians (though see 3:1-4); rather, the emphasis is on a hope already present in heaven (1:5).<\/p>\n<p>The doctrine of baptism in Colossians has been influenced by the stress on the realized aspect of hope. In his Letter to the Romans, Paul taught that baptized Christians live by faith in the resurrected Lord and are filled with hope for their future resurrection (Rom 6:1-11). In Colossians he declared that baptized believers have not only died with Christ but have already been raised with him (Col 2:12-13; 3:1). The hope for the future is not for resurrection but for the manifestation of the life that is already hidden with Christ in God (3:2-3). Further, in Romans Paul stated that in baptism Christians have died to sin, so they no longer need serve it. Colossians, on the other hand, states that in Christ, Christians died to what can literally be translated as the “rudiments of the universe” (2:20). Many interpret that phrase to mean the basic religious teaching of the world. In Colossians, however, a strong case can be made that the phrase means “the elemental spirits of the universe” (<span>rsv<\/span>). In either case, the emphasis, if not the meaning, differs from Romans.<\/p>\n<p>Such theological matters have led many to believe that Paul could not have written the Letter to the Colossians. Rather, they see the letter as the product of a disciple of Paul who wrote at a later time. It should be noted, however, that the differences are of perspective or emphasis, not differences that result in contradiction.<\/p>\n<p>The second reason for questioning Paul’s authorship of Colossians is literary, pertaining to vocabulary and style. The brief letter uses 34 words that occur nowhere else in the NT. Also, common Pauline terms are absent from passages where they might logically be expected. Further, the style of the letter, though similar to Ephesians, is notably different from other undisputed letters of Paul. In those letters the thoughts are usually developed in an argumentative style similar to the discussions of the Jewish scribes. Colossians is marked by stylistic features that one finds in hymns, liturgies, and early Jewish and Christian catechisms. But some obvious differences in theological perspective and literary style do not force one to conclude that someone other than Paul wrote Colossians.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"DateOriginandDestination\">Date, Origin, and Destination<\/p>\n<p>The date of Colossians depends on where Paul was imprisoned when he wrote. Traditionally scholars have held that all four “prison letters” came from Rome. If so, Paul would have written them between <span>AD<\/span> 60 and 62.<\/p>\n<p>The book of Acts indicates three places where Paul was imprisoned: Philippi, Caesarea, and Rome. Paul, writing 2 Corinthians before either of the last two imprisonments, suggested that he had already been in prison many times (2 Cor 11:23). Ephesus is a likely place for one of those imprisonments (cf. Acts 19–20; 1 Cor 15:32; 2 Cor 1:8-10). Consequently, an increasing number of scholars name that city as the probable place where Paul wrote the prison letters. If that is correct, Paul wrote Colossians sometime between <span>AD<\/span> 52 and 55. But the general consensus is that all the Prison Epistles were written in Rome, thus leading to <span>AD<\/span> 60–62 as the date of Colossians.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Background\">Background<\/p>\n<p>To identify the teaching that endangered the church at Colosse is a difficult task. The problem is not insufficient data but the opposite. Historical research has uncovered a wealth of information about the religious beliefs and practices that proliferated in the first-century Roman world. Asia Minor was a particularly fertile region for religions. Many people even belonged to more than one religious sect, and it was common to select ideas and practices of several religions. Christians were not exempt from those tendencies.<\/p>\n\n<h5>Colossian Heresy<\/h5>\n<p>Paul gave no formal definition of the Christian heresy in Colosse. Rather, he dealt with a number of issues without precisely identifying them. If one is given only the answers to a number of questions, however, it may be possible to recreate the questions from them. The reader of Colossians must attempt to define the tenets of the false teaching on the basis of Paul’s response to them.<\/p>\n<p>Some scholars have concluded that the heresy rose out of the flesh-spirit dualism that became characteristic of later Greek and oriental Gnosticism. The later Gnostics taught that the material order of things is evil, so only what is free from matter is good. Other scholars, noting Paul’s injunctions against certain food laws, festivals, sabbaths, and external circumcision, have concluded that the false teaching rose out of Jewish beliefs. Since the tendency to blend a variety of ideas was so prevalent, both theories are probably true.<\/p>\n<p>Paul regarded the heretical teaching as a “philosophy” based on human tradition (2:8). His prayer for the Colossians (1:9-11) and certain other remarks (1:26-28; 2:2-3) suggest that he was countering the notion that for certain people “philosophy” led to some special, perhaps magical, understanding. That philosophy was based on “the rudiments of the universe.” This phrase is open to two main lines of interpretation. First, the basic meaning of “rudiments” is “objects that stand in a row or series,” such as the letters of the alphabet. It can readily be extended to mean rudimentary principles or basic teaching. Such is the meaning in Hebrews 5:12, where the term refers to the “first principles” of God’s Word. Second, the Greeks applied the phrase to the four physical substances they thought made up the world: earth, water, fire, and air.<\/p>\n<p>A first-century <span>BC<\/span> Greek text, referring to the followers of the philosopher Pythagorus, uses several of the same words that Paul applied to the Colossian heresy. A messenger of the highest gods carries the soul through all the elements of the world, from the lowest of earth and water to the highest. If the soul is pure, it remains in the highest element. If not, it is returned to the lower ones. The required purity is achieved by self-denial and certain cultic observances. The upper air contains the sun, moon, and stars, regarded as gods who control human destinies. In addition, the atmosphere around the earth is filled with spirit powers who are to be revered. In that way, the elements of the world become associated with the gods and spirit-powers who hold all people captive and determine their fate. With the help of magical knowledge and cultic ceremonies, human beings could not only escape from the destiny imposed by the spirit powers but even manipulate them for their own advantage.<\/p>\n<p>To summarize, the phrase “rudiments of the universe” can refer either to basic religious teaching or to the spirit powers of the universe. The statements in Colossians make the latter meaning probable. Through his cross, Christ has triumphed over the rulers and authorities and has publicly exposed them (2:15). They do not rule the world order; he does (1:16-20). The divine “fullness” dwells in Christ, not in a remote deity (1:19; 2:9). The spirit powers are under the authority of Christ (2:10) and owe their existence to him (1:16). The “worshiping of angels” (a practice probably including homage paid to heavenly powers) is so wrong that it may have disastrous consequences (2:18).<\/p>\n<h5>Main Features of the Heresy<\/h5>\n<p>A major dogma of the Colossian philosophy seems to have asserted that God was remote and inaccessible. Two factors point in that direction. First, the fascination with the angels and spirit-powers just discussed seems to indicate that the remote God was accessible only through a long chain of intermediaries. Christ seems to have been regarded as one of them, perhaps enthroned above them. Second, the philosophy evidently held to a dualism that separated the high God from creation. To approach him, seekers first had to be delivered from the evil influence of the material order.<\/p>\n<p>How could human beings short-circuit or manipulate the angelic star powers who hindered them from reaching the high God? How could they be delivered from the enslaving power of matter? The philosophy evidently offered magical wisdom and insight as the answer. Through worshiping angels and observing special days and cultic practices (2:16-18), seekers could placate or please the intermediaries and get through to the divine “fullness.” By voluntary self-abasement, self-denial, and the achievement of visions (2:18, 21-23) they could escape the pull of the material order. The practice of self-denial through abstinence from food and possibly from sexual relations (“touch not” in 2:21) seems to have been limited to special seasons for attaining the “vision” of God. Otherwise, the philosophy seems to have permitted freedom to engage in libertine practices (3:5-11).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"PurposeandTeaching\">Purpose and Teaching<\/p>\n<p>A warning in Colossians 2:8 points to the main purpose of the Colossian letter. The readers are admonished against following anyone who “makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ” (<span>rsv<\/span>). A false teaching was settling in and threatening the health of the congregation, so Paul wrote Colossians to counter it.<\/p>\n<p>Paul approached the heresy by contrasting its teachings with the correct teaching his readers had received in the traditions previously delivered to them, probably by Epaphras (1:7; 4:12-13). God through Christ had qualified them to be uniquely his own people, his church (1:12-14). The proponents of the false teaching threatened to disqualify the Colossians from that favored position by persuading them not to hold fast to Christ, the Head of the church (2:18-19). Consequently, the traditions Paul cited mainly teach about Christ or about the church. The former are primarily related to the impressive hymn about Christ (1:15-20; referred to again in 2:9-10, the latter mainly associated with baptism).<\/p>\n<h5>Christ<\/h5>\n<p>In 1:15-20 Christ is celebrated as the preexistent Creator of all and as the divine Redeemer of all. The “all” has cosmic dimensions. It includes the earth and the heavens, the visible and the invisible, the church and the universal powers. All things, including the heavenly powers, owe their existence, sustenance, and destiny to Christ. He is not to be regarded as one of the heavenly mediaries. He is the preeminent one in whom all the fullness of God dwells (1:19; 2:9) and in whom human beings find fulfillment (2:10).<\/p>\n<p>Paul gave special attention to the significance of Christ’s death. In the hymn of Colossians 1 he explained the reconciling work of Christ by the phrase “making peace through the blood of his cross” (1:20). He contrasted the past and present experiences of the readers. Formerly they were alienated from God both in attitude and behavior. Now they are reconciled “in his body of flesh by his death” (1:21-22). As a consequence of that reconciliation, God transforms human character.<\/p>\n<p>The death of Christ not only brings about restored relationships between individuals and God, but it also liberates them from the hostile intentions of the “principalities and powers.” Those powers seem to be demonic agents who bring accusations against human beings—accusations grounded on a “certificate of indebtedness” based on ordinances (laws). Paul proclaimed to the Colossians that God had removed the ground of those accusations, nailing it to the cross (2:14), and that in the cross he had publicly exposed and triumphed over the accusers (v 15). Christ’s death was not a tragedy but a life-changing, liberating triumph over sin and evil powers.<\/p>\n<h5>The Church<\/h5>\n<p>The church is the “body” of Christ (1:18, 24), over which Christ is the Head and source of life (2:19). It is a community that the Father has qualified to participate in the heavenly inheritance with the saints; he has delivered it from the powers of the evil age and made it participate in the power of the age to come, “the kingdom of his beloved Son” (1:13). The church, therefore, should not live in fear of the “rulers” and “authorities,” but should participate in Christ’s triumph over those hostile powers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Content\">Content<\/p>\n<p>In writing to the Colossians, Paul followed a standard letter form of salutation, thanksgiving, prayer, main body, and concluding remarks. The salutation (1:1-2) carries greetings to the church from himself and Timothy. Then follows a statement of thanksgiving for the good condition of the community (1:3-8) and a prayer that the Colossians may be filled with a knowledge of God’s will, which will result in worthy conduct (1:9-11).<\/p>\n<p>The first part of the body of the letter summons the Colossians to praise and then quotes and applies the great hymn about Christ (1:12-23). Specifically, the first part begins with a confessional thanksgiving to the Father for calling them to be his own unique people (1:12-14). A hymn follows, celebrating Christ as the sovereign Creator and Redeemer of all that exists (1:15-20). The Colossians are participants in the results of Christ’s reconciling ministry (1:21-23).<\/p>\n<p>The second part of the body of the letter describes Paul’s apostolic ministry (1:24–2:5). His was the task of making known the mystery of God concerning Christ to the Gentiles in general (1:24-29) and to the churches of Colosse and Laodicea in particular (2:1-5).<\/p>\n<p>The third part of the body of the letter introduces Paul’s primary concern for the Colossian congregation: they are to follow the received tradition about Christ (that is, the teachings about Christ they had first accepted), and not to fall prey to the current false teaching (2:6-23). They are to walk in the light of the received tradition (vv 6-7), and they are warned against the false philosophy (v 8). The hymn of 1:15-20 is again referred to, here stressing Christ’s divine lordship (2:9-10) and proclaiming his victory over the principalities and powers (vv 11-15). Because of such a Christ, the Colossians are exhorted not to submit to the regulations and tenets of the false teaching (vv 16-23).<\/p>\n<p>The fourth part of the body of the letter summons the church to a life befitting Christians (3:1–4:6). Those who have been raised with Christ are to seek the things that are above (3:1-4). That means they are to put off the traits and attitudes listed in a catalog of vices (vv 5-11) and to put on the traits and attitudes listed in a catalog of virtues (vv 12-14). In worship they are to conduct themselves in a unified and orderly way (3:15–4:1). The so-called “household code” concerning marriage, children, and slavery (3:18–4:1) appears in a context dealing with worship (3:15-17; 4:2-6). The most pressing admonitions in the code are addressed to wives and slaves, groups that especially would crave the equality promised in the gospel (Gal 3:28; note Col 3:11). So Paul probably used the code to call for order in the public worship service.<\/p>\n<p>Paul concluded his letter by first stating that Tychicus and the recently converted slave, Onesimus, would inform the church about his circumstances (4:7-9), and then added a series of greetings (vv 10-18).<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Acts of the Apostles, Book of the; Apostle, Apostleship; Colossae, Colosse; Paul, The Apostle.<\/p>","summary_ro":"COLOSSIANS, Letter to the NT epistle, one of four “prison letters” attributed to the apostle Paul. As with Ephesians, Philippians, and Philemon, Paul said he was in prison when he wrote Colossians (Col 4:3, 10; cf. Eph 3:1; 4:1; 6:20; Phil 1:12-14; Phlm 1:9-10). He sent three of the letters to churches in Asia Minor and linked them with his colleague, Tychicus (Col 4:7-9; Eph 6:21-22). That seems to indicate that he wrote them at approximately the same time and that Tychicus delivered them. P...","summary_en":"COLOSSIANS, Letter to the NT epistle, one of four “prison letters” attributed to the apostle Paul. As with Ephesians, Philippians, and Philemon, Paul said he was in prison when he wrote Colossians (Col 4:3, 10; cf. Eph 3:1; 4:1; 6:20; Phil 1:12-14; Phlm 1:9-10). He sent three of the letters to churches in Asia Minor and linked them with his colleague, Tychicus (Col 4:7-9; Eph 6:21-22). That seems to indicate that he wrote them at approximately the same time and that Tychicus delivered them. P...","source":"Articles\/C.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":8885,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Deacon, Deaconess*","title_en":"Deacon, Deaconess*","content_ro":"<h3>DEACON, DEACONESS*<\/h3>\n<p>Terms designating an officer in a local church, derived from a Greek word meaning “servant” or “minister.” The term “diaconate” is used for the office itself or for the collective body of deacons and deaconesses. As with many other biblical words used today in a technical sense, the words “deacon” and “deaconess” began as popular, nontechnical terms. Both in secular first-century <span>AD<\/span> Greek culture and in the NT, they described a variety of services.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"OriginsoftheConcept\">Origins of the Concept<\/p>\n<h5>Greek Usage<\/h5>\n<p>References have been found in extrabiblical writings where the Greek word “deacon” meant “waiter,” “servant,” “steward,” or “messenger.” In at least two instances it indicated a baker and a cook. In religious usage the word described various attendants in pagan temples. Ancient documents show “deacons” presiding at the dedication of a statue to the Greek god Hermes. Serapis and Isis, Egyptian deities, were served by a college of “deacons” presided over by a priest.<\/p>\n<h5>General New Testament Usage<\/h5>\n<p>The same word was used by biblical writers in a general sense to describe various ministries or services. Not until later in the development of the apostolic church was the term applied to a distinct body of church officers. Among its general usages, “deacon” refers to a waiter at meals (Jn 2:5, 9), a king’s attendant (Mt 22:13), a servant of Satan (2 Cor 11:15), a servant of God (6:4), a servant of Christ (11:23), a servant of the church (Col 1:24-25), and a political ruler (Rom 13:4).<\/p>\n<p>The NT presents servanthood in the sense of ministry or service as a mark of the whole church—that is, as normative for all disciples (Mt 20:26-28; Lk 22:26-27). Jesus’ teaching on the final judgment equates ministry with feeding the hungry, welcoming strangers, clothing the naked, and visiting the sick and imprisoned (Mt 25:31-46). The entire NT emphasizes compassionate care for individuals’ physical and spiritual needs as well as the giving of oneself to meeting those needs. Such service is ultimately a ministry to Christ himself (v 45).<\/p>\n<h5>Origin of the Office<\/h5>\n<p>There is little question that before the end of the first century the general term for service or ministry became a kind of title for a position or office in the church. That development evidently went through several stages.<\/p>\n<p>Some biblical scholars emphasize a relationship between the <em>hazzan<\/em> of the Jewish synagogue and the Christian office of deacon. The <em>hazzan<\/em> opened and closed the synagogue doors, kept it clean, and handed out the books for reading. It was probably to such a person that Jesus handed the scroll of Isaiah after finishing his reading (Lk 4:20).<\/p>\n<p>Other NT scholars give considerable attention to the choosing of the seven (Acts 6:1-6); they see that action as a historical forerunner of a more developed structure (Phil 1:1; 1 Tm 3:8-13—the two specific references to an “office” of deacon). Luke devoted considerable attention in Acts to the selection of a new set of church leaders. Overworked with a variety of responsibilities, the 12 apostles proposed a division of labor to ensure care for the Hellenist (Greek-speaking) widows in the church’s daily distribution of food and alms. Seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom (Acts 6:3), subsequently became prominent in the Jerusalem congregation, doing works of charity and caring for physical needs.<\/p>\n<p>Some scholars caution that the diaconate should not be exclusively linked with charitable works, since the Greek word used in Acts 6:2 is related to the word translated “ministry of the word” in verse 4. Those chosen to oversee the care for physical needs were people of spiritual stature. Stephen, for instance, “full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs” (6:8, <span>rsv<\/span>). Philip, appointed as one of the seven in Acts 6, “preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ” (8:12). Philip also baptized (v 38) and is referred to as an evangelist (21:8).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"DeaconsintheEarlyChurch\">Deacons in the Early Church<\/p>\n<p>Those who cite Acts 6 as a preliminary stage of the office of deacon refer to the spread of the practice from the church in Jerusalem to the gentile congregations sprouting elsewhere. Many churches probably took the appointing of “the Jerusalem seven” as a pattern to follow, some even adopting the number seven. In a letter of the third-century pope Cornelius, for example, the church of Rome was said to have maintained seven for the number of deacons.<\/p>\n<p>By the time the church of Philippi received its instructions from the apostle Paul (c. <span>AD<\/span> 62) and Timothy had Paul’s first letter in hand, “deacon” had become a technical term referring to a specific office in the churches. In Philippians 1:1 Paul addressed the church in general and then added “with bishops and deacons.” Some interpreters consider that to be a clear establishment of two distinct groups within the larger church body, though no further description is given. Possibly the deacons of that congregation were responsible for collecting and then dispatching the offerings referred to (Phil 4:14-18).<\/p>\n<p>In 1 Timothy 3:8-13 instructions are given about qualifications for the office of deacon. Although that is the most detailed treatment of the subject in the NT, it is actually quite sketchy. Most of the qualifications, dealing with personal character and behavior, are similar to those for a bishop. For instance, a deacon is to be truthful, monogamous, “not addicted to much wine,” and a responsible parent. Verse 11, requiring that “the women likewise must be serious, not slanderers, but temperate, faithful in all things” (<span>rsv<\/span>), may refer not to deacons’ wives but to deaconesses, as several translations note (<span>niv<\/span>, <span>neb<\/span>). In any event, it is clear that women participated in the work of the diaconate.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast to the office of bishop (1 Tm 3:2), deacons are not described as providing teaching or hospitality. In fact, no mention is made of any functional qualifications to clarify deacons’ or deaconesses’ roles in the early church. The character qualifications listed are appropriate for those with monetary and administrative responsibilities (as Acts 6:1-6 suggests). Timothy is told that good deacons will not go unrewarded; not only will their faith increase, but also their good standing among those whom they serve (1 Tm 3:13).<\/p>\n<p>The NT writings indicate that to be chosen as a deacon or deaconess is a high compliment and affirmation. Named as “deacons” were Timothy (1 Thes 3:2; 1 Tm 4:6), Tychicus (Col 4:7), Epaphras (1:7), Paul (1 Cor 3:5)—and even Christ (Rom 15:8, “servant”). Biblical “deaconing” is not characterized by power and prominence but by service to others. In imitation of Jesus’ life, the deacon or deaconess followed the servant pattern. The Christian diaconate thus contrasted sharply with the prevailing Greek thought of service, which was considered unworthy of the dignity of free men. (The Greek philosopher Plato wrote, “How can man be happy when he has to serve someone?”)<\/p>\n<p>The office of deacon differed from the office of elder, which was adapted from a definite Jewish pattern in the OT (see Nm 11:16-17; Dt 29:10). The diaconate, on the other hand, developed from the strong, personal, historical example of Jesus, the servant who compassionately met concrete human needs.<\/p>\n<p>As the office of deacon became more firmly established, its duties could be defined as those of pastoral care. The poor and the sick received their service not only physically but also with instruction and consolation. The homes of church members became familiar territory to a deacon or deaconess. A pattern of visitation was established to discover and then meet the needs of the church body at large. Although that included the administration of funds, it went far beyond it. Those who served as deacons and deaconesses undoubtedly became symbols of loving care for the church in general.<\/p>\n<p>Where the office of deacon fits into the larger pattern of church order within the NT is difficult to determine because of the obvious variety present during the formative years. Some church historians conclude that as ecclesiastical structure developed, elders provided congregational leadership. Deacons assisted them, especially in social services and pastoral care. The late first and early second centuries witnessed a distinctive threefold ministry of deacons, elders (presbyters), and bishops. Bishops or “overseers” began to exercise authority over areas or groups of churches.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Deaconess\">Deaconess<\/p>\n<p>Where did women fit into the ministry of the early church? Paul’s inclusion of references to women in ministry is striking when compared with the role of women in general in the first century. He commended Phoebe for her service in the church at Cenchrea, using the word “deacon” to describe her (Rom 16:1). He praised her as a “helper” (v 2), a word that denotes leadership qualities (cf. Rom 12:8; 1 Tm 3:4-5). Some scholars have used that reference as an example of early development of the office of deaconess. Others have interpreted it in a nontechnical sense, meaning that Phoebe functioned in a generally serving role and thus was worthy of recognition at Rome. Whether “deacon” was used technically or descriptively, ministry for both women and men in the NT was patterned after the example of Jesus, who “came not to be served but to serve” (Mk 10:45). Because of the large number of female converts (Acts 5:14; 17:4), women functioned in such areas of ministry as visitation, instruction in discipleship, and assistance in baptism. Deaconesses are mentioned in third-century documents as administering baptism to female converts.<\/p>\n<p>Considering the rigid separation of the sexes in the Near East at that time, female participation in church ministry stands out in bold relief. A governor of Bithynia, Pliny the Younger (early second century), in his <em>Correspondence with Trajan<\/em> verified women officeholders in the church. Pliny also mentioned two deaconesses who were martyred for the cause of Christ.<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Bishop; Elder; Pastor; Presbyter.<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>DEACON, DEACONESS*<\/h3>\n<p>Terms designating an officer in a local church, derived from a Greek word meaning “servant” or “minister.” The term “diaconate” is used for the office itself or for the collective body of deacons and deaconesses. As with many other biblical words used today in a technical sense, the words “deacon” and “deaconess” began as popular, nontechnical terms. Both in secular first-century <span>AD<\/span> Greek culture and in the NT, they described a variety of services.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"OriginsoftheConcept\">Origins of the Concept<\/p>\n<h5>Greek Usage<\/h5>\n<p>References have been found in extrabiblical writings where the Greek word “deacon” meant “waiter,” “servant,” “steward,” or “messenger.” In at least two instances it indicated a baker and a cook. In religious usage the word described various attendants in pagan temples. Ancient documents show “deacons” presiding at the dedication of a statue to the Greek god Hermes. Serapis and Isis, Egyptian deities, were served by a college of “deacons” presided over by a priest.<\/p>\n<h5>General New Testament Usage<\/h5>\n<p>The same word was used by biblical writers in a general sense to describe various ministries or services. Not until later in the development of the apostolic church was the term applied to a distinct body of church officers. Among its general usages, “deacon” refers to a waiter at meals (Jn 2:5, 9), a king’s attendant (Mt 22:13), a servant of Satan (2 Cor 11:15), a servant of God (6:4), a servant of Christ (11:23), a servant of the church (Col 1:24-25), and a political ruler (Rom 13:4).<\/p>\n<p>The NT presents servanthood in the sense of ministry or service as a mark of the whole church—that is, as normative for all disciples (Mt 20:26-28; Lk 22:26-27). Jesus’ teaching on the final judgment equates ministry with feeding the hungry, welcoming strangers, clothing the naked, and visiting the sick and imprisoned (Mt 25:31-46). The entire NT emphasizes compassionate care for individuals’ physical and spiritual needs as well as the giving of oneself to meeting those needs. Such service is ultimately a ministry to Christ himself (v 45).<\/p>\n<h5>Origin of the Office<\/h5>\n<p>There is little question that before the end of the first century the general term for service or ministry became a kind of title for a position or office in the church. That development evidently went through several stages.<\/p>\n<p>Some biblical scholars emphasize a relationship between the <em>hazzan<\/em> of the Jewish synagogue and the Christian office of deacon. The <em>hazzan<\/em> opened and closed the synagogue doors, kept it clean, and handed out the books for reading. It was probably to such a person that Jesus handed the scroll of Isaiah after finishing his reading (Lk 4:20).<\/p>\n<p>Other NT scholars give considerable attention to the choosing of the seven (Acts 6:1-6); they see that action as a historical forerunner of a more developed structure (Phil 1:1; 1 Tm 3:8-13—the two specific references to an “office” of deacon). Luke devoted considerable attention in Acts to the selection of a new set of church leaders. Overworked with a variety of responsibilities, the 12 apostles proposed a division of labor to ensure care for the Hellenist (Greek-speaking) widows in the church’s daily distribution of food and alms. Seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom (Acts 6:3), subsequently became prominent in the Jerusalem congregation, doing works of charity and caring for physical needs.<\/p>\n<p>Some scholars caution that the diaconate should not be exclusively linked with charitable works, since the Greek word used in Acts 6:2 is related to the word translated “ministry of the word” in verse 4. Those chosen to oversee the care for physical needs were people of spiritual stature. Stephen, for instance, “full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs” (6:8, <span>rsv<\/span>). Philip, appointed as one of the seven in Acts 6, “preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ” (8:12). Philip also baptized (v 38) and is referred to as an evangelist (21:8).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"DeaconsintheEarlyChurch\">Deacons in the Early Church<\/p>\n<p>Those who cite Acts 6 as a preliminary stage of the office of deacon refer to the spread of the practice from the church in Jerusalem to the gentile congregations sprouting elsewhere. Many churches probably took the appointing of “the Jerusalem seven” as a pattern to follow, some even adopting the number seven. In a letter of the third-century pope Cornelius, for example, the church of Rome was said to have maintained seven for the number of deacons.<\/p>\n<p>By the time the church of Philippi received its instructions from the apostle Paul (c. <span>AD<\/span> 62) and Timothy had Paul’s first letter in hand, “deacon” had become a technical term referring to a specific office in the churches. In Philippians 1:1 Paul addressed the church in general and then added “with bishops and deacons.” Some interpreters consider that to be a clear establishment of two distinct groups within the larger church body, though no further description is given. Possibly the deacons of that congregation were responsible for collecting and then dispatching the offerings referred to (Phil 4:14-18).<\/p>\n<p>In 1 Timothy 3:8-13 instructions are given about qualifications for the office of deacon. Although that is the most detailed treatment of the subject in the NT, it is actually quite sketchy. Most of the qualifications, dealing with personal character and behavior, are similar to those for a bishop. For instance, a deacon is to be truthful, monogamous, “not addicted to much wine,” and a responsible parent. Verse 11, requiring that “the women likewise must be serious, not slanderers, but temperate, faithful in all things” (<span>rsv<\/span>), may refer not to deacons’ wives but to deaconesses, as several translations note (<span>niv<\/span>, <span>neb<\/span>). In any event, it is clear that women participated in the work of the diaconate.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast to the office of bishop (1 Tm 3:2), deacons are not described as providing teaching or hospitality. In fact, no mention is made of any functional qualifications to clarify deacons’ or deaconesses’ roles in the early church. The character qualifications listed are appropriate for those with monetary and administrative responsibilities (as Acts 6:1-6 suggests). Timothy is told that good deacons will not go unrewarded; not only will their faith increase, but also their good standing among those whom they serve (1 Tm 3:13).<\/p>\n<p>The NT writings indicate that to be chosen as a deacon or deaconess is a high compliment and affirmation. Named as “deacons” were Timothy (1 Thes 3:2; 1 Tm 4:6), Tychicus (Col 4:7), Epaphras (1:7), Paul (1 Cor 3:5)—and even Christ (Rom 15:8, “servant”). Biblical “deaconing” is not characterized by power and prominence but by service to others. In imitation of Jesus’ life, the deacon or deaconess followed the servant pattern. The Christian diaconate thus contrasted sharply with the prevailing Greek thought of service, which was considered unworthy of the dignity of free men. (The Greek philosopher Plato wrote, “How can man be happy when he has to serve someone?”)<\/p>\n<p>The office of deacon differed from the office of elder, which was adapted from a definite Jewish pattern in the OT (see Nm 11:16-17; Dt 29:10). The diaconate, on the other hand, developed from the strong, personal, historical example of Jesus, the servant who compassionately met concrete human needs.<\/p>\n<p>As the office of deacon became more firmly established, its duties could be defined as those of pastoral care. The poor and the sick received their service not only physically but also with instruction and consolation. The homes of church members became familiar territory to a deacon or deaconess. A pattern of visitation was established to discover and then meet the needs of the church body at large. Although that included the administration of funds, it went far beyond it. Those who served as deacons and deaconesses undoubtedly became symbols of loving care for the church in general.<\/p>\n<p>Where the office of deacon fits into the larger pattern of church order within the NT is difficult to determine because of the obvious variety present during the formative years. Some church historians conclude that as ecclesiastical structure developed, elders provided congregational leadership. Deacons assisted them, especially in social services and pastoral care. The late first and early second centuries witnessed a distinctive threefold ministry of deacons, elders (presbyters), and bishops. Bishops or “overseers” began to exercise authority over areas or groups of churches.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Deaconess\">Deaconess<\/p>\n<p>Where did women fit into the ministry of the early church? Paul’s inclusion of references to women in ministry is striking when compared with the role of women in general in the first century. He commended Phoebe for her service in the church at Cenchrea, using the word “deacon” to describe her (Rom 16:1). He praised her as a “helper” (v 2), a word that denotes leadership qualities (cf. Rom 12:8; 1 Tm 3:4-5). Some scholars have used that reference as an example of early development of the office of deaconess. Others have interpreted it in a nontechnical sense, meaning that Phoebe functioned in a generally serving role and thus was worthy of recognition at Rome. Whether “deacon” was used technically or descriptively, ministry for both women and men in the NT was patterned after the example of Jesus, who “came not to be served but to serve” (Mk 10:45). Because of the large number of female converts (Acts 5:14; 17:4), women functioned in such areas of ministry as visitation, instruction in discipleship, and assistance in baptism. Deaconesses are mentioned in third-century documents as administering baptism to female converts.<\/p>\n<p>Considering the rigid separation of the sexes in the Near East at that time, female participation in church ministry stands out in bold relief. A governor of Bithynia, Pliny the Younger (early second century), in his <em>Correspondence with Trajan<\/em> verified women officeholders in the church. Pliny also mentioned two deaconesses who were martyred for the cause of Christ.<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Bishop; Elder; Pastor; Presbyter.<\/p>","summary_ro":"DEACON, DEACONESS* Terms designating an officer in a local church, derived from a Greek word meaning “servant” or “minister.” The term “diaconate” is used for the office itself or for the collective body of deacons and deaconesses. As with many other biblical words used today in a technical sense, the words “deacon” and “deaconess” began as popular, nontechnical terms. Both in secular first-century AD Greek culture and in the NT, they described a variety of services. Origins of the Concept Gr...","summary_en":"DEACON, DEACONESS* Terms designating an officer in a local church, derived from a Greek word meaning “servant” or “minister.” The term “diaconate” is used for the office itself or for the collective body of deacons and deaconesses. As with many other biblical words used today in a technical sense, the words “deacon” and “deaconess” began as popular, nontechnical terms. Both in secular first-century AD Greek culture and in the NT, they described a variety of services. Origins of the Concept Gr...","source":"Articles\/D.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":57867,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:23","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:23","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:23-27<\/strong> <em>I have served him far more!<\/em> Paul’s service to Christ had entailed Christlike sufferings and toils. Some of the difficulties in this litany are recorded in Acts.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:23-27<\/strong> <em>I have served him far more!<\/em> Paul’s service to Christ had entailed Christlike sufferings and toils. Some of the difficulties in this litany are recorded in Acts.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:23-27 I have served him far more! Paul’s service to Christ had entailed Christlike sufferings and toils. Some of the difficulties in this litany are recorded in Acts.","summary_en":"11:23-27 I have served him far more! Paul’s service to Christ had entailed Christlike sufferings and toils. Some of the difficulties in this litany are recorded in Acts.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":57868,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:23","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:23","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:23-24<\/strong> <em>in prison more often:<\/em> E.g., see Acts 16:22-23. Clement of Rome says that Paul was imprisoned a total of seven times. • <em>thirty-nine lashes:<\/em> This punishment was prescribed in Deut 25:1-3. <em>The Jewish leaders<\/em> punished Paul as a renegade Jew, and he <em>faced death again and again<\/em>.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:23-24<\/strong> <em>in prison more often:<\/em> E.g., see Acts 16:22-23. Clement of Rome says that Paul was imprisoned a total of seven times. • <em>thirty-nine lashes:<\/em> This punishment was prescribed in Deut 25:1-3. <em>The Jewish leaders<\/em> punished Paul as a renegade Jew, and he <em>faced death again and again<\/em>.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:23-24 in prison more often: E.g., see Acts 16:22-23. Clement of Rome says that Paul was imprisoned a total of seven times. • thirty-nine lashes: This punishment was prescribed in Deut 25:1-3. The Jewish leaders punished Paul as a renegade Jew, and he faced death again and again.","summary_en":"11:23-24 in prison more often: E.g., see Acts 16:22-23. Clement of Rome says that Paul was imprisoned a total of seven times. • thirty-nine lashes: This punishment was prescribed in Deut 25:1-3. The Jewish leaders punished Paul as a renegade Jew, and he faced death again and again.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":85493,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:23","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:23","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:23-27<\/strong> <em>I have served him far more!<\/em> Paul’s service to Christ had entailed Christlike sufferings and toils. Some of the difficulties in this litany are recorded in Acts.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:23-27<\/strong> <em>I have served him far more!<\/em> Paul’s service to Christ had entailed Christlike sufferings and toils. Some of the difficulties in this litany are recorded in Acts.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:23-27 I have served him far more! Paul’s service to Christ had entailed Christlike sufferings and toils. Some of the difficulties in this litany are recorded in Acts.","summary_en":"11:23-27 I have served him far more! Paul’s service to Christ had entailed Christlike sufferings and toils. Some of the difficulties in this litany are recorded in Acts.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":85494,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:23","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:23","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:23-24<\/strong> <em>in prison more often:<\/em> E.g., see Acts 16:22-23. Clement of Rome says that Paul was imprisoned a total of seven times. • <em>thirty-nine lashes:<\/em> This punishment was prescribed in Deut 25:1-3. <em>The Jewish leaders<\/em> punished Paul as a renegade Jew, and he <em>faced death again and again<\/em>.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:23-24<\/strong> <em>in prison more often:<\/em> E.g., see Acts 16:22-23. Clement of Rome says that Paul was imprisoned a total of seven times. • <em>thirty-nine lashes:<\/em> This punishment was prescribed in Deut 25:1-3. <em>The Jewish leaders<\/em> punished Paul as a renegade Jew, and he <em>faced death again and again<\/em>.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:23-24 in prison more often: E.g., see Acts 16:22-23. Clement of Rome says that Paul was imprisoned a total of seven times. • thirty-nine lashes: This punishment was prescribed in Deut 25:1-3. The Jewish leaders punished Paul as a renegade Jew, and he faced death again and again.","summary_en":"11:23-24 in prison more often: E.g., see Acts 16:22-23. Clement of Rome says that Paul was imprisoned a total of seven times. • thirty-nine lashes: This punishment was prescribed in Deut 25:1-3. The Jewish leaders punished Paul as a renegade Jew, and he faced death again and again.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":113119,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:23","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:23","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:23-27<\/strong> <em>I have served him far more!<\/em> Paul’s service to Christ had entailed Christlike sufferings and toils. Some of the difficulties in this litany are recorded in Acts.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:23-27<\/strong> <em>I have served him far more!<\/em> Paul’s service to Christ had entailed Christlike sufferings and toils. Some of the difficulties in this litany are recorded in Acts.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:23-27 I have served him far more! Paul’s service to Christ had entailed Christlike sufferings and toils. Some of the difficulties in this litany are recorded in Acts.","summary_en":"11:23-27 I have served him far more! Paul’s service to Christ had entailed Christlike sufferings and toils. Some of the difficulties in this litany are recorded in Acts.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":113120,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:23","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:23","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:23-24<\/strong> <em>in prison more often:<\/em> E.g., see Acts 16:22-23. Clement of Rome says that Paul was imprisoned a total of seven times. • <em>thirty-nine lashes:<\/em> This punishment was prescribed in Deut 25:1-3. <em>The Jewish leaders<\/em> punished Paul as a renegade Jew, and he <em>faced death again and again<\/em>.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:23-24<\/strong> <em>in prison more often:<\/em> E.g., see Acts 16:22-23. Clement of Rome says that Paul was imprisoned a total of seven times. • <em>thirty-nine lashes:<\/em> This punishment was prescribed in Deut 25:1-3. <em>The Jewish leaders<\/em> punished Paul as a renegade Jew, and he <em>faced death again and again<\/em>.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:23-24 in prison more often: E.g., see Acts 16:22-23. Clement of Rome says that Paul was imprisoned a total of seven times. • thirty-nine lashes: This punishment was prescribed in Deut 25:1-3. The Jewish leaders punished Paul as a renegade Jew, and he faced death again and again.","summary_en":"11:23-24 in prison more often: E.g., see Acts 16:22-23. Clement of Rome says that Paul was imprisoned a total of seven times. • thirty-nine lashes: This punishment was prescribed in Deut 25:1-3. The Jewish leaders punished Paul as a renegade Jew, and he faced death again and again.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":140745,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:23","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:23","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:23-27<\/strong> <em>I have served him far more!<\/em> Paul’s service to Christ had entailed Christlike sufferings and toils. Some of the difficulties in this litany are recorded in Acts.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:23-27<\/strong> <em>I have served him far more!<\/em> Paul’s service to Christ had entailed Christlike sufferings and toils. Some of the difficulties in this litany are recorded in Acts.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:23-27 I have served him far more! Paul’s service to Christ had entailed Christlike sufferings and toils. Some of the difficulties in this litany are recorded in Acts.","summary_en":"11:23-27 I have served him far more! Paul’s service to Christ had entailed Christlike sufferings and toils. Some of the difficulties in this litany are recorded in Acts.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":140746,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:23","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:23","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:23-24<\/strong> <em>in prison more often:<\/em> E.g., see Acts 16:22-23. Clement of Rome says that Paul was imprisoned a total of seven times. • <em>thirty-nine lashes:<\/em> This punishment was prescribed in Deut 25:1-3. <em>The Jewish leaders<\/em> punished Paul as a renegade Jew, and he <em>faced death again and again<\/em>.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:23-24<\/strong> <em>in prison more often:<\/em> E.g., see Acts 16:22-23. Clement of Rome says that Paul was imprisoned a total of seven times. • <em>thirty-nine lashes:<\/em> This punishment was prescribed in Deut 25:1-3. <em>The Jewish leaders<\/em> punished Paul as a renegade Jew, and he <em>faced death again and again<\/em>.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:23-24 in prison more often: E.g., see Acts 16:22-23. Clement of Rome says that Paul was imprisoned a total of seven times. • thirty-nine lashes: This punishment was prescribed in Deut 25:1-3. The Jewish leaders punished Paul as a renegade Jew, and he faced death again and again.","summary_en":"11:23-24 in prison more often: E.g., see Acts 16:22-23. Clement of Rome says that Paul was imprisoned a total of seven times. • thirty-nine lashes: This punishment was prescribed in Deut 25:1-3. The Jewish leaders punished Paul as a renegade Jew, and he faced death again and again.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":60184,"type":"theme_note","type_label":"Temă biblică","type_icon":"🎯","type_color":"#ef4444","title_ro":"Hardship in Following God","title_en":"Hardship in Following God","content_ro":"<h3>Hardship in Following God<\/h3>\n<p>Sometimes people are urged to accept Christ because “he will solve your problems.” But Christ did not promise to solve all of people’s problems. In fact, he repeatedly warned people to consider what it would cost to follow him (see, e.g., Luke 14:28), and he pointed out the hardships that would come into their lives as a result of choosing to follow him (see, e.g., Mark 8:34).<\/p>\n<p>Exodus 5 gives us a case study: Pharaoh’s earlier enslavement and persecution of the Hebrews was purely strategic. He worried that this growing sector of the population would cause trouble for him (Exod 1:8-22). In chapter 5, the situation is different. Moses and Aaron had rallied the people’s hopes that their God would soon rescue them (4:29-31). During their initial encounter with Pharaoh, Moses and Aaron confronted him with the reality of God’s sovereign rule (5:1-3). Not surprisingly, Pharaoh considered this an affront to his own sovereignty and reacted strongly against the Israelites (5:4-21).<\/p>\n<p>When God’s Kingdom clashes with God’s enemies, there is often conflict and hardship for God’s people. We should not be surprised. Believers have changed allegiance from the realm of darkness to the realm of light (Col 1:11-14), and those who rule in the realm of darkness will certainly not let us leave their power without a fight. We must stand firm in our faith, knowing that God will secure the final victory on our behalf (Exod 6:1-8; see also Matt 5:11-12; John 16:33; Rom 16:20; Eph 6:10-18).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gen 39:6-20; Exod 5:1-23; 18:8; 1 Kgs 18:3-4; 19:1-10; Pss 6:6-7; 22:11-18; Matt 5:11-12; Mark 8:34; John 15:20; 16:33; Rom 16:20; 2 Cor 11:23-29; Eph 6:10-18; 2 Tim 3:12; Heb 10:32-36; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 3:9-17; 4:12-19<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Hardship in Following God<\/h3>\n<p>Sometimes people are urged to accept Christ because “he will solve your problems.” But Christ did not promise to solve all of people’s problems. In fact, he repeatedly warned people to consider what it would cost to follow him (see, e.g., Luke 14:28), and he pointed out the hardships that would come into their lives as a result of choosing to follow him (see, e.g., Mark 8:34).<\/p>\n<p>Exodus 5 gives us a case study: Pharaoh’s earlier enslavement and persecution of the Hebrews was purely strategic. He worried that this growing sector of the population would cause trouble for him (Exod 1:8-22). In chapter 5, the situation is different. Moses and Aaron had rallied the people’s hopes that their God would soon rescue them (4:29-31). During their initial encounter with Pharaoh, Moses and Aaron confronted him with the reality of God’s sovereign rule (5:1-3). Not surprisingly, Pharaoh considered this an affront to his own sovereignty and reacted strongly against the Israelites (5:4-21).<\/p>\n<p>When God’s Kingdom clashes with God’s enemies, there is often conflict and hardship for God’s people. We should not be surprised. Believers have changed allegiance from the realm of darkness to the realm of light (Col 1:11-14), and those who rule in the realm of darkness will certainly not let us leave their power without a fight. We must stand firm in our faith, knowing that God will secure the final victory on our behalf (Exod 6:1-8; see also Matt 5:11-12; John 16:33; Rom 16:20; Eph 6:10-18).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gen 39:6-20; Exod 5:1-23; 18:8; 1 Kgs 18:3-4; 19:1-10; Pss 6:6-7; 22:11-18; Matt 5:11-12; Mark 8:34; John 15:20; 16:33; Rom 16:20; 2 Cor 11:23-29; Eph 6:10-18; 2 Tim 3:12; Heb 10:32-36; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 3:9-17; 4:12-19<\/p>","summary_ro":"Hardship in Following God Sometimes people are urged to accept Christ because “he will solve your problems.” But Christ did not promise to solve all of people’s problems. In fact, he repeatedly warned people to consider what it would cost to follow him (see, e.g., Luke 14:28), and he pointed out the hardships that would come into their lives as a result of choosing to follow him (see, e.g., Mark 8:34). Exodus 5 gives us a case study: Pharaoh’s earlier enslavement and persecution of the Hebrew...","summary_en":"Hardship in Following God Sometimes people are urged to accept Christ because “he will solve your problems.” But Christ did not promise to solve all of people’s problems. In fact, he repeatedly warned people to consider what it would cost to follow him (see, e.g., Luke 14:28), and he pointed out the hardships that would come into their lives as a result of choosing to follow him (see, e.g., Mark 8:34). Exodus 5 gives us a case study: Pharaoh’s earlier enslavement and persecution of the Hebrew...","source":"ThemeNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":60669,"type":"theme_note","type_label":"Temă biblică","type_icon":"🎯","type_color":"#ef4444","title_ro":"The Servant-Leader","title_en":"The Servant-Leader","content_ro":"<h3>The Servant-Leader<\/h3>\n<p>A servant-leader is characterized by an overwhelming desire to accomplish a purpose through serving others. The leader’s heart compels this person to assume a servant role.<\/p>\n<p>The Old Testament describes Moses as the Lord’s servant (Exod 14:31; Num 12:7-8). Moses did not seek power, prestige, or material gain, but assumed his leadership role reluctantly. He used his prophetic authority with humility (Num 12:3), knowing that he was subject to God (see Deut 34:10-12; Hos 12:13). Every event in Moses’ story from the time he was called by God indicates that he understood his leadership as derived from his service to God. He was submissive, selfless, and faithful. His interactions with his fellow Israelites were characterized by empathy, persuasiveness, and vision. Moses stood in the gap at a critical moment in Israelite history and repeatedly interceded on behalf of the people. Moses’ remarkably humble submission to God served as the basis for his role as a great leader.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus of Nazareth is the ideal servant-leader. The Gospels portray Jesus as the Lord’s “Suffering Servant” (see Isa 52:13–53:12), especially in his sacrificial death, which was his ultimate act of service (Mark 10:45). Jesus spoke with great authority, but did so humbly, understanding his role as a shepherd who sacrifices his life for his sheep (John 10:11). He spent time with children and used them as models for those who desire to follow God wholeheartedly (Matt 18:4). When James and John asked him to give them an elevated rank in his Kingdom, Jesus criticized their worldly ambition (Mark 10:35-45) and set their priorities straight by instructing them to follow his example of servanthood (Matt 20:24-28; 23:11-12; Mark 10:43-45). As a model for all who want to lead others through a life of service, Jesus understood that his purpose was to bring glory to God’s name (John 12:27-28).<\/p>\n<p>The apostles Paul and Peter followed Christ’s example and fulfilled his ideal of servant leadership. Paul’s life of service demonstrated humility and tireless efforts on behalf of others (see 2 Cor 11:23-28). He taught Christians to do the same (Rom 8:17; Gal 5:13; 2 Tim 1:8; 2:3) and praised those who did so (e.g., Phil 2:25-30; Col 4:7). Peter also exemplified self-sacrificial service to Christ (e.g., Acts 3:1-11; 4:13-22; 5:12-16; 9:32-42), and his instructions define the character of a servant-leader clearly and concisely (1 Pet 4:10-11; 5:1-5).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gen 13:8-12; 14:11-24; 30:31-32; Exod 14:31; Num 12:3, 7-8; Deut 34:10-12; 1 Kgs 12:1-7; Isa 52:13–53:12; Matt 18:4; 20:24-28; 23:11-12; Mark 10:35-45; John 10:11; 12:27-28; Acts 3:1-11; 4:13-22; 5:12-16; 9:32-42; Rom 8:17; 2 Cor 11:23-27; Gal 5:13; Phil 2:25-30; Col 4:7; 2 Tim 1:8; 2:3; 1 Pet 4:10-11; 5:1-5<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>The Servant-Leader<\/h3>\n<p>A servant-leader is characterized by an overwhelming desire to accomplish a purpose through serving others. The leader’s heart compels this person to assume a servant role.<\/p>\n<p>The Old Testament describes Moses as the Lord’s servant (Exod 14:31; Num 12:7-8). Moses did not seek power, prestige, or material gain, but assumed his leadership role reluctantly. He used his prophetic authority with humility (Num 12:3), knowing that he was subject to God (see Deut 34:10-12; Hos 12:13). Every event in Moses’ story from the time he was called by God indicates that he understood his leadership as derived from his service to God. He was submissive, selfless, and faithful. His interactions with his fellow Israelites were characterized by empathy, persuasiveness, and vision. Moses stood in the gap at a critical moment in Israelite history and repeatedly interceded on behalf of the people. Moses’ remarkably humble submission to God served as the basis for his role as a great leader.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus of Nazareth is the ideal servant-leader. The Gospels portray Jesus as the Lord’s “Suffering Servant” (see Isa 52:13–53:12), especially in his sacrificial death, which was his ultimate act of service (Mark 10:45). Jesus spoke with great authority, but did so humbly, understanding his role as a shepherd who sacrifices his life for his sheep (John 10:11). He spent time with children and used them as models for those who desire to follow God wholeheartedly (Matt 18:4). When James and John asked him to give them an elevated rank in his Kingdom, Jesus criticized their worldly ambition (Mark 10:35-45) and set their priorities straight by instructing them to follow his example of servanthood (Matt 20:24-28; 23:11-12; Mark 10:43-45). As a model for all who want to lead others through a life of service, Jesus understood that his purpose was to bring glory to God’s name (John 12:27-28).<\/p>\n<p>The apostles Paul and Peter followed Christ’s example and fulfilled his ideal of servant leadership. Paul’s life of service demonstrated humility and tireless efforts on behalf of others (see 2 Cor 11:23-28). He taught Christians to do the same (Rom 8:17; Gal 5:13; 2 Tim 1:8; 2:3) and praised those who did so (e.g., Phil 2:25-30; Col 4:7). Peter also exemplified self-sacrificial service to Christ (e.g., Acts 3:1-11; 4:13-22; 5:12-16; 9:32-42), and his instructions define the character of a servant-leader clearly and concisely (1 Pet 4:10-11; 5:1-5).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gen 13:8-12; 14:11-24; 30:31-32; Exod 14:31; Num 12:3, 7-8; Deut 34:10-12; 1 Kgs 12:1-7; Isa 52:13–53:12; Matt 18:4; 20:24-28; 23:11-12; Mark 10:35-45; John 10:11; 12:27-28; Acts 3:1-11; 4:13-22; 5:12-16; 9:32-42; Rom 8:17; 2 Cor 11:23-27; Gal 5:13; Phil 2:25-30; Col 4:7; 2 Tim 1:8; 2:3; 1 Pet 4:10-11; 5:1-5<\/p>","summary_ro":"The Servant-Leader A servant-leader is characterized by an overwhelming desire to accomplish a purpose through serving others. The leader’s heart compels this person to assume a servant role. The Old Testament describes Moses as the Lord’s servant (Exod 14:31; Num 12:7-8). Moses did not seek power, prestige, or material gain, but assumed his leadership role reluctantly. He used his prophetic authority with humility (Num 12:3), knowing that he was subject to God (see Deut 34:10-12; Hos 12:13)....","summary_en":"The Servant-Leader A servant-leader is characterized by an overwhelming desire to accomplish a purpose through serving others. The leader’s heart compels this person to assume a servant role. The Old Testament describes Moses as the Lord’s servant (Exod 14:31; Num 12:7-8). Moses did not seek power, prestige, or material gain, but assumed his leadership role reluctantly. He used his prophetic authority with humility (Num 12:3), knowing that he was subject to God (see Deut 34:10-12; Hos 12:13)....","source":"ThemeNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":87810,"type":"theme_note","type_label":"Temă biblică","type_icon":"🎯","type_color":"#ef4444","title_ro":"Hardship in Following God","title_en":"Hardship in Following God","content_ro":"<h3>Hardship in Following God<\/h3>\n<p>Sometimes people are urged to accept Christ because “he will solve your problems.” But Christ did not promise to solve all of people’s problems. In fact, he repeatedly warned people to consider what it would cost to follow him (see, e.g., Luke 14:28), and he pointed out the hardships that would come into their lives as a result of choosing to follow him (see, e.g., Mark 8:34).<\/p>\n<p>Exodus 5 gives us a case study: Pharaoh’s earlier enslavement and persecution of the Hebrews was purely strategic. He worried that this growing sector of the population would cause trouble for him (Exod 1:8-22). In chapter 5, the situation is different. Moses and Aaron had rallied the people’s hopes that their God would soon rescue them (4:29-31). During their initial encounter with Pharaoh, Moses and Aaron confronted him with the reality of God’s sovereign rule (5:1-3). Not surprisingly, Pharaoh considered this an affront to his own sovereignty and reacted strongly against the Israelites (5:4-21).<\/p>\n<p>When God’s Kingdom clashes with God’s enemies, there is often conflict and hardship for God’s people. We should not be surprised. Believers have changed allegiance from the realm of darkness to the realm of light (Col 1:11-14), and those who rule in the realm of darkness will certainly not let us leave their power without a fight. We must stand firm in our faith, knowing that God will secure the final victory on our behalf (Exod 6:1-8; see also Matt 5:11-12; John 16:33; Rom 16:20; Eph 6:10-18).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gen 39:6-20; Exod 5:1-23; 18:8; 1 Kgs 18:3-4; 19:1-10; Pss 6:6-7; 22:11-18; Matt 5:11-12; Mark 8:34; John 15:20; 16:33; Rom 16:20; 2 Cor 11:23-29; Eph 6:10-18; 2 Tim 3:12; Heb 10:32-36; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 3:9-17; 4:12-19<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Hardship in Following God<\/h3>\n<p>Sometimes people are urged to accept Christ because “he will solve your problems.” But Christ did not promise to solve all of people’s problems. In fact, he repeatedly warned people to consider what it would cost to follow him (see, e.g., Luke 14:28), and he pointed out the hardships that would come into their lives as a result of choosing to follow him (see, e.g., Mark 8:34).<\/p>\n<p>Exodus 5 gives us a case study: Pharaoh’s earlier enslavement and persecution of the Hebrews was purely strategic. He worried that this growing sector of the population would cause trouble for him (Exod 1:8-22). In chapter 5, the situation is different. Moses and Aaron had rallied the people’s hopes that their God would soon rescue them (4:29-31). During their initial encounter with Pharaoh, Moses and Aaron confronted him with the reality of God’s sovereign rule (5:1-3). Not surprisingly, Pharaoh considered this an affront to his own sovereignty and reacted strongly against the Israelites (5:4-21).<\/p>\n<p>When God’s Kingdom clashes with God’s enemies, there is often conflict and hardship for God’s people. We should not be surprised. Believers have changed allegiance from the realm of darkness to the realm of light (Col 1:11-14), and those who rule in the realm of darkness will certainly not let us leave their power without a fight. We must stand firm in our faith, knowing that God will secure the final victory on our behalf (Exod 6:1-8; see also Matt 5:11-12; John 16:33; Rom 16:20; Eph 6:10-18).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gen 39:6-20; Exod 5:1-23; 18:8; 1 Kgs 18:3-4; 19:1-10; Pss 6:6-7; 22:11-18; Matt 5:11-12; Mark 8:34; John 15:20; 16:33; Rom 16:20; 2 Cor 11:23-29; Eph 6:10-18; 2 Tim 3:12; Heb 10:32-36; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 3:9-17; 4:12-19<\/p>","summary_ro":"Hardship in Following God Sometimes people are urged to accept Christ because “he will solve your problems.” But Christ did not promise to solve all of people’s problems. In fact, he repeatedly warned people to consider what it would cost to follow him (see, e.g., Luke 14:28), and he pointed out the hardships that would come into their lives as a result of choosing to follow him (see, e.g., Mark 8:34). Exodus 5 gives us a case study: Pharaoh’s earlier enslavement and persecution of the Hebrew...","summary_en":"Hardship in Following God Sometimes people are urged to accept Christ because “he will solve your problems.” But Christ did not promise to solve all of people’s problems. In fact, he repeatedly warned people to consider what it would cost to follow him (see, e.g., Luke 14:28), and he pointed out the hardships that would come into their lives as a result of choosing to follow him (see, e.g., Mark 8:34). Exodus 5 gives us a case study: Pharaoh’s earlier enslavement and persecution of the Hebrew...","source":"ThemeNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":88295,"type":"theme_note","type_label":"Temă biblică","type_icon":"🎯","type_color":"#ef4444","title_ro":"The Servant-Leader","title_en":"The Servant-Leader","content_ro":"<h3>The Servant-Leader<\/h3>\n<p>A servant-leader is characterized by an overwhelming desire to accomplish a purpose through serving others. The leader’s heart compels this person to assume a servant role.<\/p>\n<p>The Old Testament describes Moses as the Lord’s servant (Exod 14:31; Num 12:7-8). Moses did not seek power, prestige, or material gain, but assumed his leadership role reluctantly. He used his prophetic authority with humility (Num 12:3), knowing that he was subject to God (see Deut 34:10-12; Hos 12:13). Every event in Moses’ story from the time he was called by God indicates that he understood his leadership as derived from his service to God. He was submissive, selfless, and faithful. His interactions with his fellow Israelites were characterized by empathy, persuasiveness, and vision. Moses stood in the gap at a critical moment in Israelite history and repeatedly interceded on behalf of the people. Moses’ remarkably humble submission to God served as the basis for his role as a great leader.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus of Nazareth is the ideal servant-leader. The Gospels portray Jesus as the Lord’s “Suffering Servant” (see Isa 52:13–53:12), especially in his sacrificial death, which was his ultimate act of service (Mark 10:45). Jesus spoke with great authority, but did so humbly, understanding his role as a shepherd who sacrifices his life for his sheep (John 10:11). He spent time with children and used them as models for those who desire to follow God wholeheartedly (Matt 18:4). When James and John asked him to give them an elevated rank in his Kingdom, Jesus criticized their worldly ambition (Mark 10:35-45) and set their priorities straight by instructing them to follow his example of servanthood (Matt 20:24-28; 23:11-12; Mark 10:43-45). As a model for all who want to lead others through a life of service, Jesus understood that his purpose was to bring glory to God’s name (John 12:27-28).<\/p>\n<p>The apostles Paul and Peter followed Christ’s example and fulfilled his ideal of servant leadership. Paul’s life of service demonstrated humility and tireless efforts on behalf of others (see 2 Cor 11:23-28). He taught Christians to do the same (Rom 8:17; Gal 5:13; 2 Tim 1:8; 2:3) and praised those who did so (e.g., Phil 2:25-30; Col 4:7). Peter also exemplified self-sacrificial service to Christ (e.g., Acts 3:1-11; 4:13-22; 5:12-16; 9:32-42), and his instructions define the character of a servant-leader clearly and concisely (1 Pet 4:10-11; 5:1-5).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gen 13:8-12; 14:11-24; 30:31-32; Exod 14:31; Num 12:3, 7-8; Deut 34:10-12; 1 Kgs 12:1-7; Isa 52:13–53:12; Matt 18:4; 20:24-28; 23:11-12; Mark 10:35-45; John 10:11; 12:27-28; Acts 3:1-11; 4:13-22; 5:12-16; 9:32-42; Rom 8:17; 2 Cor 11:23-27; Gal 5:13; Phil 2:25-30; Col 4:7; 2 Tim 1:8; 2:3; 1 Pet 4:10-11; 5:1-5<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>The Servant-Leader<\/h3>\n<p>A servant-leader is characterized by an overwhelming desire to accomplish a purpose through serving others. The leader’s heart compels this person to assume a servant role.<\/p>\n<p>The Old Testament describes Moses as the Lord’s servant (Exod 14:31; Num 12:7-8). Moses did not seek power, prestige, or material gain, but assumed his leadership role reluctantly. He used his prophetic authority with humility (Num 12:3), knowing that he was subject to God (see Deut 34:10-12; Hos 12:13). Every event in Moses’ story from the time he was called by God indicates that he understood his leadership as derived from his service to God. He was submissive, selfless, and faithful. His interactions with his fellow Israelites were characterized by empathy, persuasiveness, and vision. Moses stood in the gap at a critical moment in Israelite history and repeatedly interceded on behalf of the people. Moses’ remarkably humble submission to God served as the basis for his role as a great leader.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus of Nazareth is the ideal servant-leader. The Gospels portray Jesus as the Lord’s “Suffering Servant” (see Isa 52:13–53:12), especially in his sacrificial death, which was his ultimate act of service (Mark 10:45). Jesus spoke with great authority, but did so humbly, understanding his role as a shepherd who sacrifices his life for his sheep (John 10:11). He spent time with children and used them as models for those who desire to follow God wholeheartedly (Matt 18:4). When James and John asked him to give them an elevated rank in his Kingdom, Jesus criticized their worldly ambition (Mark 10:35-45) and set their priorities straight by instructing them to follow his example of servanthood (Matt 20:24-28; 23:11-12; Mark 10:43-45). As a model for all who want to lead others through a life of service, Jesus understood that his purpose was to bring glory to God’s name (John 12:27-28).<\/p>\n<p>The apostles Paul and Peter followed Christ’s example and fulfilled his ideal of servant leadership. Paul’s life of service demonstrated humility and tireless efforts on behalf of others (see 2 Cor 11:23-28). He taught Christians to do the same (Rom 8:17; Gal 5:13; 2 Tim 1:8; 2:3) and praised those who did so (e.g., Phil 2:25-30; Col 4:7). Peter also exemplified self-sacrificial service to Christ (e.g., Acts 3:1-11; 4:13-22; 5:12-16; 9:32-42), and his instructions define the character of a servant-leader clearly and concisely (1 Pet 4:10-11; 5:1-5).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gen 13:8-12; 14:11-24; 30:31-32; Exod 14:31; Num 12:3, 7-8; Deut 34:10-12; 1 Kgs 12:1-7; Isa 52:13–53:12; Matt 18:4; 20:24-28; 23:11-12; Mark 10:35-45; John 10:11; 12:27-28; Acts 3:1-11; 4:13-22; 5:12-16; 9:32-42; Rom 8:17; 2 Cor 11:23-27; Gal 5:13; Phil 2:25-30; Col 4:7; 2 Tim 1:8; 2:3; 1 Pet 4:10-11; 5:1-5<\/p>","summary_ro":"The Servant-Leader A servant-leader is characterized by an overwhelming desire to accomplish a purpose through serving others. The leader’s heart compels this person to assume a servant role. The Old Testament describes Moses as the Lord’s servant (Exod 14:31; Num 12:7-8). Moses did not seek power, prestige, or material gain, but assumed his leadership role reluctantly. He used his prophetic authority with humility (Num 12:3), knowing that he was subject to God (see Deut 34:10-12; Hos 12:13)....","summary_en":"The Servant-Leader A servant-leader is characterized by an overwhelming desire to accomplish a purpose through serving others. The leader’s heart compels this person to assume a servant role. The Old Testament describes Moses as the Lord’s servant (Exod 14:31; Num 12:7-8). Moses did not seek power, prestige, or material gain, but assumed his leadership role reluctantly. He used his prophetic authority with humility (Num 12:3), knowing that he was subject to God (see Deut 34:10-12; Hos 12:13)....","source":"ThemeNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":115436,"type":"theme_note","type_label":"Temă biblică","type_icon":"🎯","type_color":"#ef4444","title_ro":"Hardship in Following God","title_en":"Hardship in Following God","content_ro":"<h3>Hardship in Following God<\/h3>\n<p>Sometimes people are urged to accept Christ because “he will solve your problems.” But Christ did not promise to solve all of people’s problems. In fact, he repeatedly warned people to consider what it would cost to follow him (see, e.g., Luke 14:28), and he pointed out the hardships that would come into their lives as a result of choosing to follow him (see, e.g., Mark 8:34).<\/p>\n<p>Exodus 5 gives us a case study: Pharaoh’s earlier enslavement and persecution of the Hebrews was purely strategic. He worried that this growing sector of the population would cause trouble for him (Exod 1:8-22). In chapter 5, the situation is different. Moses and Aaron had rallied the people’s hopes that their God would soon rescue them (4:29-31). During their initial encounter with Pharaoh, Moses and Aaron confronted him with the reality of God’s sovereign rule (5:1-3). Not surprisingly, Pharaoh considered this an affront to his own sovereignty and reacted strongly against the Israelites (5:4-21).<\/p>\n<p>When God’s Kingdom clashes with God’s enemies, there is often conflict and hardship for God’s people. We should not be surprised. Believers have changed allegiance from the realm of darkness to the realm of light (Col 1:11-14), and those who rule in the realm of darkness will certainly not let us leave their power without a fight. We must stand firm in our faith, knowing that God will secure the final victory on our behalf (Exod 6:1-8; see also Matt 5:11-12; John 16:33; Rom 16:20; Eph 6:10-18).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gen 39:6-20; Exod 5:1-23; 18:8; 1 Kgs 18:3-4; 19:1-10; Pss 6:6-7; 22:11-18; Matt 5:11-12; Mark 8:34; John 15:20; 16:33; Rom 16:20; 2 Cor 11:23-29; Eph 6:10-18; 2 Tim 3:12; Heb 10:32-36; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 3:9-17; 4:12-19<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Hardship in Following God<\/h3>\n<p>Sometimes people are urged to accept Christ because “he will solve your problems.” But Christ did not promise to solve all of people’s problems. In fact, he repeatedly warned people to consider what it would cost to follow him (see, e.g., Luke 14:28), and he pointed out the hardships that would come into their lives as a result of choosing to follow him (see, e.g., Mark 8:34).<\/p>\n<p>Exodus 5 gives us a case study: Pharaoh’s earlier enslavement and persecution of the Hebrews was purely strategic. He worried that this growing sector of the population would cause trouble for him (Exod 1:8-22). In chapter 5, the situation is different. Moses and Aaron had rallied the people’s hopes that their God would soon rescue them (4:29-31). During their initial encounter with Pharaoh, Moses and Aaron confronted him with the reality of God’s sovereign rule (5:1-3). Not surprisingly, Pharaoh considered this an affront to his own sovereignty and reacted strongly against the Israelites (5:4-21).<\/p>\n<p>When God’s Kingdom clashes with God’s enemies, there is often conflict and hardship for God’s people. We should not be surprised. Believers have changed allegiance from the realm of darkness to the realm of light (Col 1:11-14), and those who rule in the realm of darkness will certainly not let us leave their power without a fight. We must stand firm in our faith, knowing that God will secure the final victory on our behalf (Exod 6:1-8; see also Matt 5:11-12; John 16:33; Rom 16:20; Eph 6:10-18).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gen 39:6-20; Exod 5:1-23; 18:8; 1 Kgs 18:3-4; 19:1-10; Pss 6:6-7; 22:11-18; Matt 5:11-12; Mark 8:34; John 15:20; 16:33; Rom 16:20; 2 Cor 11:23-29; Eph 6:10-18; 2 Tim 3:12; Heb 10:32-36; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 3:9-17; 4:12-19<\/p>","summary_ro":"Hardship in Following God Sometimes people are urged to accept Christ because “he will solve your problems.” But Christ did not promise to solve all of people’s problems. In fact, he repeatedly warned people to consider what it would cost to follow him (see, e.g., Luke 14:28), and he pointed out the hardships that would come into their lives as a result of choosing to follow him (see, e.g., Mark 8:34). Exodus 5 gives us a case study: Pharaoh’s earlier enslavement and persecution of the Hebrew...","summary_en":"Hardship in Following God Sometimes people are urged to accept Christ because “he will solve your problems.” But Christ did not promise to solve all of people’s problems. In fact, he repeatedly warned people to consider what it would cost to follow him (see, e.g., Luke 14:28), and he pointed out the hardships that would come into their lives as a result of choosing to follow him (see, e.g., Mark 8:34). Exodus 5 gives us a case study: Pharaoh’s earlier enslavement and persecution of the Hebrew...","source":"ThemeNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":115921,"type":"theme_note","type_label":"Temă biblică","type_icon":"🎯","type_color":"#ef4444","title_ro":"The Servant-Leader","title_en":"The Servant-Leader","content_ro":"<h3>The Servant-Leader<\/h3>\n<p>A servant-leader is characterized by an overwhelming desire to accomplish a purpose through serving others. The leader’s heart compels this person to assume a servant role.<\/p>\n<p>The Old Testament describes Moses as the Lord’s servant (Exod 14:31; Num 12:7-8). Moses did not seek power, prestige, or material gain, but assumed his leadership role reluctantly. He used his prophetic authority with humility (Num 12:3), knowing that he was subject to God (see Deut 34:10-12; Hos 12:13). Every event in Moses’ story from the time he was called by God indicates that he understood his leadership as derived from his service to God. He was submissive, selfless, and faithful. His interactions with his fellow Israelites were characterized by empathy, persuasiveness, and vision. Moses stood in the gap at a critical moment in Israelite history and repeatedly interceded on behalf of the people. Moses’ remarkably humble submission to God served as the basis for his role as a great leader.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus of Nazareth is the ideal servant-leader. The Gospels portray Jesus as the Lord’s “Suffering Servant” (see Isa 52:13–53:12), especially in his sacrificial death, which was his ultimate act of service (Mark 10:45). Jesus spoke with great authority, but did so humbly, understanding his role as a shepherd who sacrifices his life for his sheep (John 10:11). He spent time with children and used them as models for those who desire to follow God wholeheartedly (Matt 18:4). When James and John asked him to give them an elevated rank in his Kingdom, Jesus criticized their worldly ambition (Mark 10:35-45) and set their priorities straight by instructing them to follow his example of servanthood (Matt 20:24-28; 23:11-12; Mark 10:43-45). As a model for all who want to lead others through a life of service, Jesus understood that his purpose was to bring glory to God’s name (John 12:27-28).<\/p>\n<p>The apostles Paul and Peter followed Christ’s example and fulfilled his ideal of servant leadership. Paul’s life of service demonstrated humility and tireless efforts on behalf of others (see 2 Cor 11:23-28). He taught Christians to do the same (Rom 8:17; Gal 5:13; 2 Tim 1:8; 2:3) and praised those who did so (e.g., Phil 2:25-30; Col 4:7). Peter also exemplified self-sacrificial service to Christ (e.g., Acts 3:1-11; 4:13-22; 5:12-16; 9:32-42), and his instructions define the character of a servant-leader clearly and concisely (1 Pet 4:10-11; 5:1-5).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gen 13:8-12; 14:11-24; 30:31-32; Exod 14:31; Num 12:3, 7-8; Deut 34:10-12; 1 Kgs 12:1-7; Isa 52:13–53:12; Matt 18:4; 20:24-28; 23:11-12; Mark 10:35-45; John 10:11; 12:27-28; Acts 3:1-11; 4:13-22; 5:12-16; 9:32-42; Rom 8:17; 2 Cor 11:23-27; Gal 5:13; Phil 2:25-30; Col 4:7; 2 Tim 1:8; 2:3; 1 Pet 4:10-11; 5:1-5<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>The Servant-Leader<\/h3>\n<p>A servant-leader is characterized by an overwhelming desire to accomplish a purpose through serving others. The leader’s heart compels this person to assume a servant role.<\/p>\n<p>The Old Testament describes Moses as the Lord’s servant (Exod 14:31; Num 12:7-8). Moses did not seek power, prestige, or material gain, but assumed his leadership role reluctantly. He used his prophetic authority with humility (Num 12:3), knowing that he was subject to God (see Deut 34:10-12; Hos 12:13). Every event in Moses’ story from the time he was called by God indicates that he understood his leadership as derived from his service to God. He was submissive, selfless, and faithful. His interactions with his fellow Israelites were characterized by empathy, persuasiveness, and vision. Moses stood in the gap at a critical moment in Israelite history and repeatedly interceded on behalf of the people. Moses’ remarkably humble submission to God served as the basis for his role as a great leader.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus of Nazareth is the ideal servant-leader. The Gospels portray Jesus as the Lord’s “Suffering Servant” (see Isa 52:13–53:12), especially in his sacrificial death, which was his ultimate act of service (Mark 10:45). Jesus spoke with great authority, but did so humbly, understanding his role as a shepherd who sacrifices his life for his sheep (John 10:11). He spent time with children and used them as models for those who desire to follow God wholeheartedly (Matt 18:4). When James and John asked him to give them an elevated rank in his Kingdom, Jesus criticized their worldly ambition (Mark 10:35-45) and set their priorities straight by instructing them to follow his example of servanthood (Matt 20:24-28; 23:11-12; Mark 10:43-45). As a model for all who want to lead others through a life of service, Jesus understood that his purpose was to bring glory to God’s name (John 12:27-28).<\/p>\n<p>The apostles Paul and Peter followed Christ’s example and fulfilled his ideal of servant leadership. Paul’s life of service demonstrated humility and tireless efforts on behalf of others (see 2 Cor 11:23-28). He taught Christians to do the same (Rom 8:17; Gal 5:13; 2 Tim 1:8; 2:3) and praised those who did so (e.g., Phil 2:25-30; Col 4:7). Peter also exemplified self-sacrificial service to Christ (e.g., Acts 3:1-11; 4:13-22; 5:12-16; 9:32-42), and his instructions define the character of a servant-leader clearly and concisely (1 Pet 4:10-11; 5:1-5).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gen 13:8-12; 14:11-24; 30:31-32; Exod 14:31; Num 12:3, 7-8; Deut 34:10-12; 1 Kgs 12:1-7; Isa 52:13–53:12; Matt 18:4; 20:24-28; 23:11-12; Mark 10:35-45; John 10:11; 12:27-28; Acts 3:1-11; 4:13-22; 5:12-16; 9:32-42; Rom 8:17; 2 Cor 11:23-27; Gal 5:13; Phil 2:25-30; Col 4:7; 2 Tim 1:8; 2:3; 1 Pet 4:10-11; 5:1-5<\/p>","summary_ro":"The Servant-Leader A servant-leader is characterized by an overwhelming desire to accomplish a purpose through serving others. The leader’s heart compels this person to assume a servant role. The Old Testament describes Moses as the Lord’s servant (Exod 14:31; Num 12:7-8). Moses did not seek power, prestige, or material gain, but assumed his leadership role reluctantly. He used his prophetic authority with humility (Num 12:3), knowing that he was subject to God (see Deut 34:10-12; Hos 12:13)....","summary_en":"The Servant-Leader A servant-leader is characterized by an overwhelming desire to accomplish a purpose through serving others. The leader’s heart compels this person to assume a servant role. The Old Testament describes Moses as the Lord’s servant (Exod 14:31; Num 12:7-8). Moses did not seek power, prestige, or material gain, but assumed his leadership role reluctantly. He used his prophetic authority with humility (Num 12:3), knowing that he was subject to God (see Deut 34:10-12; Hos 12:13)....","source":"ThemeNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":143062,"type":"theme_note","type_label":"Temă biblică","type_icon":"🎯","type_color":"#ef4444","title_ro":"Hardship in Following God","title_en":"Hardship in Following God","content_ro":"<h3>Hardship in Following God<\/h3>\n<p>Sometimes people are urged to accept Christ because “he will solve your problems.” But Christ did not promise to solve all of people’s problems. In fact, he repeatedly warned people to consider what it would cost to follow him (see, e.g., Luke 14:28), and he pointed out the hardships that would come into their lives as a result of choosing to follow him (see, e.g., Mark 8:34).<\/p>\n<p>Exodus 5 gives us a case study: Pharaoh’s earlier enslavement and persecution of the Hebrews was purely strategic. He worried that this growing sector of the population would cause trouble for him (Exod 1:8-22). In chapter 5, the situation is different. Moses and Aaron had rallied the people’s hopes that their God would soon rescue them (4:29-31). During their initial encounter with Pharaoh, Moses and Aaron confronted him with the reality of God’s sovereign rule (5:1-3). Not surprisingly, Pharaoh considered this an affront to his own sovereignty and reacted strongly against the Israelites (5:4-21).<\/p>\n<p>When God’s Kingdom clashes with God’s enemies, there is often conflict and hardship for God’s people. We should not be surprised. Believers have changed allegiance from the realm of darkness to the realm of light (Col 1:11-14), and those who rule in the realm of darkness will certainly not let us leave their power without a fight. We must stand firm in our faith, knowing that God will secure the final victory on our behalf (Exod 6:1-8; see also Matt 5:11-12; John 16:33; Rom 16:20; Eph 6:10-18).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gen 39:6-20; Exod 5:1-23; 18:8; 1 Kgs 18:3-4; 19:1-10; Pss 6:6-7; 22:11-18; Matt 5:11-12; Mark 8:34; John 15:20; 16:33; Rom 16:20; 2 Cor 11:23-29; Eph 6:10-18; 2 Tim 3:12; Heb 10:32-36; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 3:9-17; 4:12-19<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Hardship in Following God<\/h3>\n<p>Sometimes people are urged to accept Christ because “he will solve your problems.” But Christ did not promise to solve all of people’s problems. In fact, he repeatedly warned people to consider what it would cost to follow him (see, e.g., Luke 14:28), and he pointed out the hardships that would come into their lives as a result of choosing to follow him (see, e.g., Mark 8:34).<\/p>\n<p>Exodus 5 gives us a case study: Pharaoh’s earlier enslavement and persecution of the Hebrews was purely strategic. He worried that this growing sector of the population would cause trouble for him (Exod 1:8-22). In chapter 5, the situation is different. Moses and Aaron had rallied the people’s hopes that their God would soon rescue them (4:29-31). During their initial encounter with Pharaoh, Moses and Aaron confronted him with the reality of God’s sovereign rule (5:1-3). Not surprisingly, Pharaoh considered this an affront to his own sovereignty and reacted strongly against the Israelites (5:4-21).<\/p>\n<p>When God’s Kingdom clashes with God’s enemies, there is often conflict and hardship for God’s people. We should not be surprised. Believers have changed allegiance from the realm of darkness to the realm of light (Col 1:11-14), and those who rule in the realm of darkness will certainly not let us leave their power without a fight. We must stand firm in our faith, knowing that God will secure the final victory on our behalf (Exod 6:1-8; see also Matt 5:11-12; John 16:33; Rom 16:20; Eph 6:10-18).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gen 39:6-20; Exod 5:1-23; 18:8; 1 Kgs 18:3-4; 19:1-10; Pss 6:6-7; 22:11-18; Matt 5:11-12; Mark 8:34; John 15:20; 16:33; Rom 16:20; 2 Cor 11:23-29; Eph 6:10-18; 2 Tim 3:12; Heb 10:32-36; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 3:9-17; 4:12-19<\/p>","summary_ro":"Hardship in Following God Sometimes people are urged to accept Christ because “he will solve your problems.” But Christ did not promise to solve all of people’s problems. In fact, he repeatedly warned people to consider what it would cost to follow him (see, e.g., Luke 14:28), and he pointed out the hardships that would come into their lives as a result of choosing to follow him (see, e.g., Mark 8:34). Exodus 5 gives us a case study: Pharaoh’s earlier enslavement and persecution of the Hebrew...","summary_en":"Hardship in Following God Sometimes people are urged to accept Christ because “he will solve your problems.” But Christ did not promise to solve all of people’s problems. In fact, he repeatedly warned people to consider what it would cost to follow him (see, e.g., Luke 14:28), and he pointed out the hardships that would come into their lives as a result of choosing to follow him (see, e.g., Mark 8:34). Exodus 5 gives us a case study: Pharaoh’s earlier enslavement and persecution of the Hebrew...","source":"ThemeNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":143547,"type":"theme_note","type_label":"Temă biblică","type_icon":"🎯","type_color":"#ef4444","title_ro":"The Servant-Leader","title_en":"The Servant-Leader","content_ro":"<h3>The Servant-Leader<\/h3>\n<p>A servant-leader is characterized by an overwhelming desire to accomplish a purpose through serving others. The leader’s heart compels this person to assume a servant role.<\/p>\n<p>The Old Testament describes Moses as the Lord’s servant (Exod 14:31; Num 12:7-8). Moses did not seek power, prestige, or material gain, but assumed his leadership role reluctantly. He used his prophetic authority with humility (Num 12:3), knowing that he was subject to God (see Deut 34:10-12; Hos 12:13). Every event in Moses’ story from the time he was called by God indicates that he understood his leadership as derived from his service to God. He was submissive, selfless, and faithful. His interactions with his fellow Israelites were characterized by empathy, persuasiveness, and vision. Moses stood in the gap at a critical moment in Israelite history and repeatedly interceded on behalf of the people. Moses’ remarkably humble submission to God served as the basis for his role as a great leader.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus of Nazareth is the ideal servant-leader. The Gospels portray Jesus as the Lord’s “Suffering Servant” (see Isa 52:13–53:12), especially in his sacrificial death, which was his ultimate act of service (Mark 10:45). Jesus spoke with great authority, but did so humbly, understanding his role as a shepherd who sacrifices his life for his sheep (John 10:11). He spent time with children and used them as models for those who desire to follow God wholeheartedly (Matt 18:4). When James and John asked him to give them an elevated rank in his Kingdom, Jesus criticized their worldly ambition (Mark 10:35-45) and set their priorities straight by instructing them to follow his example of servanthood (Matt 20:24-28; 23:11-12; Mark 10:43-45). As a model for all who want to lead others through a life of service, Jesus understood that his purpose was to bring glory to God’s name (John 12:27-28).<\/p>\n<p>The apostles Paul and Peter followed Christ’s example and fulfilled his ideal of servant leadership. Paul’s life of service demonstrated humility and tireless efforts on behalf of others (see 2 Cor 11:23-28). He taught Christians to do the same (Rom 8:17; Gal 5:13; 2 Tim 1:8; 2:3) and praised those who did so (e.g., Phil 2:25-30; Col 4:7). Peter also exemplified self-sacrificial service to Christ (e.g., Acts 3:1-11; 4:13-22; 5:12-16; 9:32-42), and his instructions define the character of a servant-leader clearly and concisely (1 Pet 4:10-11; 5:1-5).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gen 13:8-12; 14:11-24; 30:31-32; Exod 14:31; Num 12:3, 7-8; Deut 34:10-12; 1 Kgs 12:1-7; Isa 52:13–53:12; Matt 18:4; 20:24-28; 23:11-12; Mark 10:35-45; John 10:11; 12:27-28; Acts 3:1-11; 4:13-22; 5:12-16; 9:32-42; Rom 8:17; 2 Cor 11:23-27; Gal 5:13; Phil 2:25-30; Col 4:7; 2 Tim 1:8; 2:3; 1 Pet 4:10-11; 5:1-5<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>The Servant-Leader<\/h3>\n<p>A servant-leader is characterized by an overwhelming desire to accomplish a purpose through serving others. The leader’s heart compels this person to assume a servant role.<\/p>\n<p>The Old Testament describes Moses as the Lord’s servant (Exod 14:31; Num 12:7-8). Moses did not seek power, prestige, or material gain, but assumed his leadership role reluctantly. He used his prophetic authority with humility (Num 12:3), knowing that he was subject to God (see Deut 34:10-12; Hos 12:13). Every event in Moses’ story from the time he was called by God indicates that he understood his leadership as derived from his service to God. He was submissive, selfless, and faithful. His interactions with his fellow Israelites were characterized by empathy, persuasiveness, and vision. Moses stood in the gap at a critical moment in Israelite history and repeatedly interceded on behalf of the people. Moses’ remarkably humble submission to God served as the basis for his role as a great leader.<\/p>\n<p>Jesus of Nazareth is the ideal servant-leader. The Gospels portray Jesus as the Lord’s “Suffering Servant” (see Isa 52:13–53:12), especially in his sacrificial death, which was his ultimate act of service (Mark 10:45). Jesus spoke with great authority, but did so humbly, understanding his role as a shepherd who sacrifices his life for his sheep (John 10:11). He spent time with children and used them as models for those who desire to follow God wholeheartedly (Matt 18:4). When James and John asked him to give them an elevated rank in his Kingdom, Jesus criticized their worldly ambition (Mark 10:35-45) and set their priorities straight by instructing them to follow his example of servanthood (Matt 20:24-28; 23:11-12; Mark 10:43-45). As a model for all who want to lead others through a life of service, Jesus understood that his purpose was to bring glory to God’s name (John 12:27-28).<\/p>\n<p>The apostles Paul and Peter followed Christ’s example and fulfilled his ideal of servant leadership. Paul’s life of service demonstrated humility and tireless efforts on behalf of others (see 2 Cor 11:23-28). He taught Christians to do the same (Rom 8:17; Gal 5:13; 2 Tim 1:8; 2:3) and praised those who did so (e.g., Phil 2:25-30; Col 4:7). Peter also exemplified self-sacrificial service to Christ (e.g., Acts 3:1-11; 4:13-22; 5:12-16; 9:32-42), and his instructions define the character of a servant-leader clearly and concisely (1 Pet 4:10-11; 5:1-5).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gen 13:8-12; 14:11-24; 30:31-32; Exod 14:31; Num 12:3, 7-8; Deut 34:10-12; 1 Kgs 12:1-7; Isa 52:13–53:12; Matt 18:4; 20:24-28; 23:11-12; Mark 10:35-45; John 10:11; 12:27-28; Acts 3:1-11; 4:13-22; 5:12-16; 9:32-42; Rom 8:17; 2 Cor 11:23-27; Gal 5:13; Phil 2:25-30; Col 4:7; 2 Tim 1:8; 2:3; 1 Pet 4:10-11; 5:1-5<\/p>","summary_ro":"The Servant-Leader A servant-leader is characterized by an overwhelming desire to accomplish a purpose through serving others. The leader’s heart compels this person to assume a servant role. The Old Testament describes Moses as the Lord’s servant (Exod 14:31; Num 12:7-8). Moses did not seek power, prestige, or material gain, but assumed his leadership role reluctantly. He used his prophetic authority with humility (Num 12:3), knowing that he was subject to God (see Deut 34:10-12; Hos 12:13)....","summary_en":"The Servant-Leader A servant-leader is characterized by an overwhelming desire to accomplish a purpose through serving others. The leader’s heart compels this person to assume a servant role. The Old Testament describes Moses as the Lord’s servant (Exod 14:31; Num 12:7-8). Moses did not seek power, prestige, or material gain, but assumed his leadership role reluctantly. He used his prophetic authority with humility (Num 12:3), knowing that he was subject to God (see Deut 34:10-12; Hos 12:13)....","source":"ThemeNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false}],"24":[{"id":42479,"type":"profile","type_label":"Profil","type_icon":"👤","type_color":"#f59e0b","title_ro":"Jewish Leaders","title_en":"Jewish Leaders","content_ro":"<h3>Jewish Leaders<\/h3>\n<p>Jesus experienced numerous conflicts with Jewish leaders throughout his public ministry. These opponents viewed themselves as defending the Temple and its sacrifices or the synagogue and its teachings. In Jesus’ final week in Jerusalem, these debates intensified (see Matt 23) and contributed to the case against him.<\/p>\n<p>When John wrote his Gospel, Christians were being persecuted by local Jewish synagogues, and the language of those conflicts spilled over into John’s Gospel (see Acts 14:19; 1 Thes 2:14; cp. Gal 1:13-14). The Greek term translated “Jewish leaders” could be literally translated as “Jews.” But the word took on this technical meaning to refer to the Temple leadership who confronted Jesus, judged him, and orchestrated his crucifixion (see John 1:19; 2:18; 5:9-18; 9:18-22). This is important because the New Testament—particularly John’s Gospel—has often been seen as anti-Semitic. But the truth is that Jesus, who was himself a Jew, did not wrestle with “Jews” in general. His antagonists were the “Jewish leaders”—the brokers of religious power in first-century Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>John 1:19-24; 2:18-20; 5:9-18; 7:1, 10-13, 35-36; 9:13-34; 11:45-54; 12:41-43; 18:28-36; 19:6-8, 12-16, 31, 38; 20:19; Acts 6:10-12; 7:54-58; 12:11; 21:11; 25:1-3, 7; 26:1-11; 28:17-24; 2 Corinthians 11:24<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Jewish Leaders<\/h3>\n<p>Jesus experienced numerous conflicts with Jewish leaders throughout his public ministry. These opponents viewed themselves as defending the Temple and its sacrifices or the synagogue and its teachings. In Jesus’ final week in Jerusalem, these debates intensified (see Matt 23) and contributed to the case against him.<\/p>\n<p>When John wrote his Gospel, Christians were being persecuted by local Jewish synagogues, and the language of those conflicts spilled over into John’s Gospel (see Acts 14:19; 1 Thes 2:14; cp. Gal 1:13-14). The Greek term translated “Jewish leaders” could be literally translated as “Jews.” But the word took on this technical meaning to refer to the Temple leadership who confronted Jesus, judged him, and orchestrated his crucifixion (see John 1:19; 2:18; 5:9-18; 9:18-22). This is important because the New Testament—particularly John’s Gospel—has often been seen as anti-Semitic. But the truth is that Jesus, who was himself a Jew, did not wrestle with “Jews” in general. His antagonists were the “Jewish leaders”—the brokers of religious power in first-century Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>John 1:19-24; 2:18-20; 5:9-18; 7:1, 10-13, 35-36; 9:13-34; 11:45-54; 12:41-43; 18:28-36; 19:6-8, 12-16, 31, 38; 20:19; Acts 6:10-12; 7:54-58; 12:11; 21:11; 25:1-3, 7; 26:1-11; 28:17-24; 2 Corinthians 11:24<\/p>","summary_ro":"Jewish Leaders Jesus experienced numerous conflicts with Jewish leaders throughout his public ministry. These opponents viewed themselves as defending the Temple and its sacrifices or the synagogue and its teachings. In Jesus’ final week in Jerusalem, these debates intensified (see Matt 23) and contributed to the case against him. When John wrote his Gospel, Christians were being persecuted by local Jewish synagogues, and the language of those conflicts spilled over into John’s Gospel (see Ac...","summary_en":"Jewish Leaders Jesus experienced numerous conflicts with Jewish leaders throughout his public ministry. These opponents viewed themselves as defending the Temple and its sacrifices or the synagogue and its teachings. In Jesus’ final week in Jerusalem, these debates intensified (see Matt 23) and contributed to the case against him. When John wrote his Gospel, Christians were being persecuted by local Jewish synagogues, and the language of those conflicts spilled over into John’s Gospel (see Ac...","source":"Profiles.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":70105,"type":"profile","type_label":"Profil","type_icon":"👤","type_color":"#f59e0b","title_ro":"Jewish Leaders","title_en":"Jewish Leaders","content_ro":"<h3>Jewish Leaders<\/h3>\n<p>Jesus experienced numerous conflicts with Jewish leaders throughout his public ministry. These opponents viewed themselves as defending the Temple and its sacrifices or the synagogue and its teachings. In Jesus’ final week in Jerusalem, these debates intensified (see Matt 23) and contributed to the case against him.<\/p>\n<p>When John wrote his Gospel, Christians were being persecuted by local Jewish synagogues, and the language of those conflicts spilled over into John’s Gospel (see Acts 14:19; 1 Thes 2:14; cp. Gal 1:13-14). The Greek term translated “Jewish leaders” could be literally translated as “Jews.” But the word took on this technical meaning to refer to the Temple leadership who confronted Jesus, judged him, and orchestrated his crucifixion (see John 1:19; 2:18; 5:9-18; 9:18-22). This is important because the New Testament—particularly John’s Gospel—has often been seen as anti-Semitic. But the truth is that Jesus, who was himself a Jew, did not wrestle with “Jews” in general. His antagonists were the “Jewish leaders”—the brokers of religious power in first-century Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>John 1:19-24; 2:18-20; 5:9-18; 7:1, 10-13, 35-36; 9:13-34; 11:45-54; 12:41-43; 18:28-36; 19:6-8, 12-16, 31, 38; 20:19; Acts 6:10-12; 7:54-58; 12:11; 21:11; 25:1-3, 7; 26:1-11; 28:17-24; 2 Corinthians 11:24<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Jewish Leaders<\/h3>\n<p>Jesus experienced numerous conflicts with Jewish leaders throughout his public ministry. These opponents viewed themselves as defending the Temple and its sacrifices or the synagogue and its teachings. In Jesus’ final week in Jerusalem, these debates intensified (see Matt 23) and contributed to the case against him.<\/p>\n<p>When John wrote his Gospel, Christians were being persecuted by local Jewish synagogues, and the language of those conflicts spilled over into John’s Gospel (see Acts 14:19; 1 Thes 2:14; cp. Gal 1:13-14). The Greek term translated “Jewish leaders” could be literally translated as “Jews.” But the word took on this technical meaning to refer to the Temple leadership who confronted Jesus, judged him, and orchestrated his crucifixion (see John 1:19; 2:18; 5:9-18; 9:18-22). This is important because the New Testament—particularly John’s Gospel—has often been seen as anti-Semitic. But the truth is that Jesus, who was himself a Jew, did not wrestle with “Jews” in general. His antagonists were the “Jewish leaders”—the brokers of religious power in first-century Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>John 1:19-24; 2:18-20; 5:9-18; 7:1, 10-13, 35-36; 9:13-34; 11:45-54; 12:41-43; 18:28-36; 19:6-8, 12-16, 31, 38; 20:19; Acts 6:10-12; 7:54-58; 12:11; 21:11; 25:1-3, 7; 26:1-11; 28:17-24; 2 Corinthians 11:24<\/p>","summary_ro":"Jewish Leaders Jesus experienced numerous conflicts with Jewish leaders throughout his public ministry. These opponents viewed themselves as defending the Temple and its sacrifices or the synagogue and its teachings. In Jesus’ final week in Jerusalem, these debates intensified (see Matt 23) and contributed to the case against him. When John wrote his Gospel, Christians were being persecuted by local Jewish synagogues, and the language of those conflicts spilled over into John’s Gospel (see Ac...","summary_en":"Jewish Leaders Jesus experienced numerous conflicts with Jewish leaders throughout his public ministry. These opponents viewed themselves as defending the Temple and its sacrifices or the synagogue and its teachings. In Jesus’ final week in Jerusalem, these debates intensified (see Matt 23) and contributed to the case against him. When John wrote his Gospel, Christians were being persecuted by local Jewish synagogues, and the language of those conflicts spilled over into John’s Gospel (see Ac...","source":"Profiles.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":97731,"type":"profile","type_label":"Profil","type_icon":"👤","type_color":"#f59e0b","title_ro":"Jewish Leaders","title_en":"Jewish Leaders","content_ro":"<h3>Jewish Leaders<\/h3>\n<p>Jesus experienced numerous conflicts with Jewish leaders throughout his public ministry. These opponents viewed themselves as defending the Temple and its sacrifices or the synagogue and its teachings. In Jesus’ final week in Jerusalem, these debates intensified (see Matt 23) and contributed to the case against him.<\/p>\n<p>When John wrote his Gospel, Christians were being persecuted by local Jewish synagogues, and the language of those conflicts spilled over into John’s Gospel (see Acts 14:19; 1 Thes 2:14; cp. Gal 1:13-14). The Greek term translated “Jewish leaders” could be literally translated as “Jews.” But the word took on this technical meaning to refer to the Temple leadership who confronted Jesus, judged him, and orchestrated his crucifixion (see John 1:19; 2:18; 5:9-18; 9:18-22). This is important because the New Testament—particularly John’s Gospel—has often been seen as anti-Semitic. But the truth is that Jesus, who was himself a Jew, did not wrestle with “Jews” in general. His antagonists were the “Jewish leaders”—the brokers of religious power in first-century Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>John 1:19-24; 2:18-20; 5:9-18; 7:1, 10-13, 35-36; 9:13-34; 11:45-54; 12:41-43; 18:28-36; 19:6-8, 12-16, 31, 38; 20:19; Acts 6:10-12; 7:54-58; 12:11; 21:11; 25:1-3, 7; 26:1-11; 28:17-24; 2 Corinthians 11:24<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Jewish Leaders<\/h3>\n<p>Jesus experienced numerous conflicts with Jewish leaders throughout his public ministry. These opponents viewed themselves as defending the Temple and its sacrifices or the synagogue and its teachings. In Jesus’ final week in Jerusalem, these debates intensified (see Matt 23) and contributed to the case against him.<\/p>\n<p>When John wrote his Gospel, Christians were being persecuted by local Jewish synagogues, and the language of those conflicts spilled over into John’s Gospel (see Acts 14:19; 1 Thes 2:14; cp. Gal 1:13-14). The Greek term translated “Jewish leaders” could be literally translated as “Jews.” But the word took on this technical meaning to refer to the Temple leadership who confronted Jesus, judged him, and orchestrated his crucifixion (see John 1:19; 2:18; 5:9-18; 9:18-22). This is important because the New Testament—particularly John’s Gospel—has often been seen as anti-Semitic. But the truth is that Jesus, who was himself a Jew, did not wrestle with “Jews” in general. His antagonists were the “Jewish leaders”—the brokers of religious power in first-century Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>John 1:19-24; 2:18-20; 5:9-18; 7:1, 10-13, 35-36; 9:13-34; 11:45-54; 12:41-43; 18:28-36; 19:6-8, 12-16, 31, 38; 20:19; Acts 6:10-12; 7:54-58; 12:11; 21:11; 25:1-3, 7; 26:1-11; 28:17-24; 2 Corinthians 11:24<\/p>","summary_ro":"Jewish Leaders Jesus experienced numerous conflicts with Jewish leaders throughout his public ministry. These opponents viewed themselves as defending the Temple and its sacrifices or the synagogue and its teachings. In Jesus’ final week in Jerusalem, these debates intensified (see Matt 23) and contributed to the case against him. When John wrote his Gospel, Christians were being persecuted by local Jewish synagogues, and the language of those conflicts spilled over into John’s Gospel (see Ac...","summary_en":"Jewish Leaders Jesus experienced numerous conflicts with Jewish leaders throughout his public ministry. These opponents viewed themselves as defending the Temple and its sacrifices or the synagogue and its teachings. In Jesus’ final week in Jerusalem, these debates intensified (see Matt 23) and contributed to the case against him. When John wrote his Gospel, Christians were being persecuted by local Jewish synagogues, and the language of those conflicts spilled over into John’s Gospel (see Ac...","source":"Profiles.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":125357,"type":"profile","type_label":"Profil","type_icon":"👤","type_color":"#f59e0b","title_ro":"Jewish Leaders","title_en":"Jewish Leaders","content_ro":"<h3>Jewish Leaders<\/h3>\n<p>Jesus experienced numerous conflicts with Jewish leaders throughout his public ministry. These opponents viewed themselves as defending the Temple and its sacrifices or the synagogue and its teachings. In Jesus’ final week in Jerusalem, these debates intensified (see Matt 23) and contributed to the case against him.<\/p>\n<p>When John wrote his Gospel, Christians were being persecuted by local Jewish synagogues, and the language of those conflicts spilled over into John’s Gospel (see Acts 14:19; 1 Thes 2:14; cp. Gal 1:13-14). The Greek term translated “Jewish leaders” could be literally translated as “Jews.” But the word took on this technical meaning to refer to the Temple leadership who confronted Jesus, judged him, and orchestrated his crucifixion (see John 1:19; 2:18; 5:9-18; 9:18-22). This is important because the New Testament—particularly John’s Gospel—has often been seen as anti-Semitic. But the truth is that Jesus, who was himself a Jew, did not wrestle with “Jews” in general. His antagonists were the “Jewish leaders”—the brokers of religious power in first-century Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>John 1:19-24; 2:18-20; 5:9-18; 7:1, 10-13, 35-36; 9:13-34; 11:45-54; 12:41-43; 18:28-36; 19:6-8, 12-16, 31, 38; 20:19; Acts 6:10-12; 7:54-58; 12:11; 21:11; 25:1-3, 7; 26:1-11; 28:17-24; 2 Corinthians 11:24<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>Jewish Leaders<\/h3>\n<p>Jesus experienced numerous conflicts with Jewish leaders throughout his public ministry. These opponents viewed themselves as defending the Temple and its sacrifices or the synagogue and its teachings. In Jesus’ final week in Jerusalem, these debates intensified (see Matt 23) and contributed to the case against him.<\/p>\n<p>When John wrote his Gospel, Christians were being persecuted by local Jewish synagogues, and the language of those conflicts spilled over into John’s Gospel (see Acts 14:19; 1 Thes 2:14; cp. Gal 1:13-14). The Greek term translated “Jewish leaders” could be literally translated as “Jews.” But the word took on this technical meaning to refer to the Temple leadership who confronted Jesus, judged him, and orchestrated his crucifixion (see John 1:19; 2:18; 5:9-18; 9:18-22). This is important because the New Testament—particularly John’s Gospel—has often been seen as anti-Semitic. But the truth is that Jesus, who was himself a Jew, did not wrestle with “Jews” in general. His antagonists were the “Jewish leaders”—the brokers of religious power in first-century Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passages for Further Study<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>John 1:19-24; 2:18-20; 5:9-18; 7:1, 10-13, 35-36; 9:13-34; 11:45-54; 12:41-43; 18:28-36; 19:6-8, 12-16, 31, 38; 20:19; Acts 6:10-12; 7:54-58; 12:11; 21:11; 25:1-3, 7; 26:1-11; 28:17-24; 2 Corinthians 11:24<\/p>","summary_ro":"Jewish Leaders Jesus experienced numerous conflicts with Jewish leaders throughout his public ministry. These opponents viewed themselves as defending the Temple and its sacrifices or the synagogue and its teachings. In Jesus’ final week in Jerusalem, these debates intensified (see Matt 23) and contributed to the case against him. When John wrote his Gospel, Christians were being persecuted by local Jewish synagogues, and the language of those conflicts spilled over into John’s Gospel (see Ac...","summary_en":"Jewish Leaders Jesus experienced numerous conflicts with Jewish leaders throughout his public ministry. These opponents viewed themselves as defending the Temple and its sacrifices or the synagogue and its teachings. In Jesus’ final week in Jerusalem, these debates intensified (see Matt 23) and contributed to the case against him. When John wrote his Gospel, Christians were being persecuted by local Jewish synagogues, and the language of those conflicts spilled over into John’s Gospel (see Ac...","source":"Profiles.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":8109,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Law and Punishment*, Criminal","title_en":"Law and Punishment*, Criminal","content_ro":"<h3>CRIMINAL LAW AND PUNISHMENT*<\/h3>\n<p>The science or philosophy of law is called jurisprudence. Although modern jurisprudence bears little resemblance to biblical concepts of law, the Scriptures have played a definite role in its development. Today, criminal law is clearly distinguished from civil law; in Bible times the distinction was much less clear. Today, offenses against civil law (torts) are distinguished from minor crimes (misdemeanors) as well as from serious crimes (felonies). In the Bible, “crimes” included all punishable offenses, even religious offenses such as idolatry (worshiping a false god) or blasphemy (speaking or behaving with contempt toward God).<\/p>\n<p>Preview<\/p>\n<p>• Near Eastern Context<\/p>\n<p>• Hebrew Criminal Law<\/p>\n<p>• Punishment<\/p>\n<p>• Conclusion<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"NearEasternContext\">Near Eastern Context<\/p>\n<p>In ancient societies as in modern ones, laws were considered necessary to regulate individual behavior for the good of the community, state, or nation. Today laws are thought of as made by people for their own protection. In contrast, all ancient Near Eastern law codes were considered to have come directly from some divine source. Hebrew law, though distinct, followed the general pattern of Near Eastern law codes, as is known from those that have survived—such as the Code of Hammurabi and Assyrian and Hittite laws.<\/p>\n<p>Conclusions about the “origin” of ancient laws should be made cautiously. Although evidence indicates that Hammurabi based his legislation partially on earlier Sumerian codes, he declared that his code had been received from Shamash, god of justice. That declaration must have been intended to convey primarily that his code had the express sanction of Shamash, since at least some people would recognize it as a compilation based largely on earlier laws. Similarly, the clear biblical statements about Moses receiving the law on Mt Sinai (Ex 19–24) do not rule out the possibility that parts of the Decalogue (the Ten Commandments) may have existed in earlier codes. Possibly the Mosaic legislation included some social rules adapted from the period of Israel’s sojourn in Egypt.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"HebrewCriminalLaw\">Hebrew Criminal Law<\/p>\n<h5>Laws Governing Offenses against God<\/h5>\n<p>Since Hebrew law was designed for a group of people for whom religion was of paramount importance and whose faith was endangered by the influence of the beliefs of their pagan neighbors, it is not surprising that so much of Hebrew law dealt with crimes committed against God. The prohibition against worshiping idols is stated and repeated in the Torah, or Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible): “You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them” (Ex 20:4-5, <span>rsv<\/span>). Sacrifice of infants, practiced in some pagan religions, was specifically prohibited in Israel. The penalty for that crime, as for the other forms of murder, was stoning to death (Lv 20:2).<\/p>\n<p>In the book of Leviticus, death by stoning was recorded as the appropriate punishment for blaspheming the name of God (Lv 24:11-16). False prophecy was also a criminal offense; that accusation could apply to a person making a prediction in the name of a god other than the Lord, or implying falsely that one’s prophecy resulted from a communication with God. Jeremiah, whose prophecy of Nebuchadnezzar’s victory over the southern kingdom of Judah was for a time considered to be false, was almost lynched by a mob (Jer 26:8-9).<\/p>\n<p>The idea of keeping the seventh day holy stemmed from the celebration of God’s work in creating the universe in six days and resting on the seventh. Keeping the Sabbath required cessation of manual work for the entire family, including farm animals (Ex 16:23; 20:8-11). People were also required to meet together on the Sabbath for worship, which at a later period in Hebrew history included the reading of Scripture, prayer, and preaching. Anyone breaking the Sabbath could be sentenced to death, as happened to a man caught gathering firewood on the Sabbath (Nm 15:32-36).<\/p>\n<p>Any type of premeditated crime was considered an offense against God, the giver of all law; hence, it was punishable by death (Nm 15:30-31). Hebrew law also insisted on donation of the firstfruits of harvest to the Lord without delay. That requirement was sometimes carried over to include a first child, whose life was dedicated to service in the temple (Ex 22:29-30; Dt 15:19).<\/p>\n<h5>Personal Injury<\/h5>\n<p>Murder, an offense against “God’s image,” was one of many crimes punishable by death in OT times. The book of Exodus stated unequivocally that “anyone who hits a person hard enough to cause death must be put to death” (Ex 21:12, <span>nlt<\/span>). A murderer who killed by using a weapon such as a stone, a piece of wood, or iron could be killed in revenge by a relative of the deceased. If the original death happened accidentally, the community would sometimes help to conceal the killer and encourage him to hide in a nearby city of refuge, where he would be safe as long as he remained within its gates. He had to stay in that sanctuary until the death of the high priest then in office, after which he was free to return to his own city (Nm 35:10-28). The sixth commandment enjoined, “You shall not kill” (Ex 20:13). The Hebrew word referred specifically to murder, not to all forms of killing. Killing an enemy in battle and the execution of a murderer were considered necessary and were not prohibited. More than one witness was required for any conviction, particularly in a murder case (Nm 35:30; Dt 17:6; 19:15).<\/p>\n<p>In the Code of Hammurabi a man responsible for an accidental injury to another was required to pay for the services of the physician. If the victim died, a fine was payable according to the victim’s rank. In a sense the Hebrews went further by requiring payment for any loss of time suffered by the injured person (Ex 21:18-19).<\/p>\n<p>Kidnapping was punishable by death in the OT. Exodus states that “Kidnappers must be killed, whether they are caught in possession of their victims or have already sold them as slaves” (Ex 21:16, <span>nlt<\/span>). Joseph’s being sold into slavery by his brothers illustrates this kind of kidnapping.<\/p>\n<h5>Laws concerning Property<\/h5>\n<p>The book of Exodus is quite specific about anyone responsible for damage to the property or crops of another. If a field caught fire and the fire spread, damaging crops in other fields, the person who started the fire, or perhaps the owner of the first field to catch fire, was responsible for the damage (Ex 22:6). Hammurabi’s code cited a similar instance of a man who neglected to keep a dike in repair and was therefore responsible for flood damage to his neighbor’s crops.<\/p>\n<p>Injuries to animals, especially oxen, or injuries to people or property caused by such animals formed an important area of Hebrew law. If an ox that had been previously good-tempered killed a man, the owner would be blameless, although the ox would be put to death—a severe financial penalty for the owner. If an ox with a history of goring killed a man because its owner failed to restrain it adequately, both ox and owner would be put to death. The owner’s life could be ransomed by payment of an agreed-upon sum. If the person an ox gored was a servant, the ox was stoned and the owner paid a fine (Ex 21:28-32). The Code of Hammurabi also recommended no punishment for a first offense by an animal, but if the owner knew that the ox was dangerous and had taken no steps to prevent harm, a fine in silver was payable—a very large fine for an upper-class victim, slightly less if the victim was a slave. However bad the circumstances and however vicious the ox, the Code of Hammurabi stopped at a fine for the offense, never imposing a death penalty on either the animal or the owner.<\/p>\n<p>Negligence causing injury to an animal was also punished in Hebrew law. If an ox or a donkey fell into a pit carelessly left uncovered, the owner of the animal was reimbursed for its loss (Ex 21:33-36).<\/p>\n<p>In ancient cultures women were generally considered chattel (personal property), much like animals or slaves. A daughter was considered to be her father’s property until her marriage, then the property of her husband. Therefore, any offense against a married woman was regarded as an offense against the property of the husband. According to the Code of Hammurabi, a child could be sold into slavery as a servant or bondsman, usually in payment of the father’s debt (cf. Ex 21:2-7; Neh 5:5-8; Is 50:1). Parental authority was so highly regarded in biblical law that a stubborn and rebellious son could be brought before the elders on the grounds of being disobedient and a glutton or a drunkard. He might then be convicted and stoned to death on the spot by the men of the city (Dt 21:18-21). Even that, however, was a protection of the child’s rights; some Near Eastern legislation allowed a parent to order the death of his offspring without reference to the elders or to anyone else. With daughters in particular being held in such low esteem, it is perhaps remarkable that a daughter could inherit property if there were no sons (Nm 27:8).<\/p>\n<p>Adultery, prohibited in the Decalogue, was another crime against a man’s property, specifically his wife. The book of Deuteronomy goes into considerable detail about cases of adultery—the punishment for both persons being death (Dt 22:22). If a man seduced a young woman who was not betrothed, he was required to pay her father the bride price (50 silver shekels); he could not divorce her but had to keep her as his wife for the rest of his life (Ex 22:16; Dt 22:28-29).<\/p>\n<p>In a situation where a wife was accused of adultery but without evidence, a trial was conducted. The husband would bring his wife to a priest and present a small offering (a tenth of a measure of barley meal, with neither oil nor frankincense on it), indicating the low esteem in which he now held his wife. The woman then stood before the Lord holding an earthen jar of “holy water.” Dust from the floor of the tabernacle was mixed with the water, and the cereal offering was placed in her hands. Her hair was loosened by the priest to show not only her grief but also to give an impression of abandonment. She was then required to take an oath. After that, the priest pronounced a curse upon her to the effect that her womb would be fertilized easily, but that she would have many miscarriages. She had to give her consent to that pronouncement. The priest then wrote the curses in a book and symbolically washed them off into the “bitter water.” The woman was required to drink the water while the priest waved the cereal offering from her hands before the Lord and burned some of it on the altar. The priest told her that if she was guilty, the water would make her thigh rot and her abdomen swell. If that happened, she would become an outcast; but if she were proved innocent, she would be free. Whatever the result, no blame for false accusation fell upon the husband (Nm 5:12-31).<\/p>\n<p>If a slave was struck by his master in such a manner as to cause instant death, the slave’s death had to be avenged. If the slave lingered, possibly for days, he did not need to be avenged, his loss being a sufficient punishment for the owner (Ex 21:20-21). It is unlikely that the Hebrews had much experience with that law, which had no parallels in Hammurabi’s code. If an owner injured his slave by causing the loss of an eye or a tooth, Hebrew law required that the slave be set free (vv 26-27). The Code of Hammurabi gave an example of a man injuring another man’s slave; the owner had to be paid half the slave’s value.<\/p>\n<p>Little emphasis was placed on burglary or larceny in the Hebrew law code. A burglar was presumed to be repentant and ready to make restitution. After return of the stolen property and payment of a small additional fine, a thief could again “approach the Lord” (Lv 6:2-7). By contrast, the Code of Hammurabi prescribed the death penalty for burglary. In Hebrew law, theft of an animal required restitution to be made in the ratio of at least two to one; if a bull or a cow had been stolen or sold, the thief had to restore the property fivefold. The Code of Hammurabi contained a similar statute: “If a man steal ox or sheep, ass or pig, or goat—if it be from a god or a palace, he shall restore thirtyfold; if it be from a freeman, he shall render tenfold. If the thief have nothing wherewith to pay, he shall be put to death.” In Hebrew law goods stolen from a home were simply to be restored without additional penalty. If the thief no longer had the goods and was unable to pay the equivalent value, he might be sold into slavery until restitution was made (Ex 22:1-4).<\/p>\n<h5>General Laws<\/h5>\n<p>The Hebrew code as contained in Exodus and Deuteronomy included many general prohibitions. Some concerned business dealings such as the removal of boundary markers (Dt 19:14). The use of false weights and measures was condemned (Lv 19:35; Dt 25:15; Prv 11:1; 20:23; Mi 6:11). Bribery was strictly forbidden (Ex 23:8), yet no punishment was specified for those who broke that law. In the Code of Hammurabi, if a judge changed his decision and was unable to give a satisfactory explanation, particularly if bribery was suspected, the judge had to pay 12 times the amount of the penalty and lost his seat on the bench. In the Hebrew code, perjury was also dealt with, although again no punishment was specified. The Code of Hammurabi stated that for perjury in cases where the punishment was death, persons giving false testimony were to be sentenced to death themselves (cf. Ex 23:1).<\/p>\n<p>A number of Hebrew laws reflected concern for the poor. For example, poor people were not to be subjected to usury if they were in debt, or left cold at night if their coats were taken as a pledge. Widows, orphans, and strangers were also to be treated with mercy and understanding (Ex 22:21-27; 23:9; Dt 23:19; 24:17).<\/p>\n<p>Some Hebrew laws concerned family behavior, such as those previously mentioned who cursed or disobeyed their parents (Ex 21:17; Lv 20:9; Dt 27:16; cf. Prv 20:20; 30:17). Family responsibilities were strong; an entire family frequently suffered punishment for the crime of one of its individual members (Jos 7:20-26; 2 Sm 3:29; 21:1-9; 2 Kgs 5:27; Lam 5:7). Over a period of time, as individual responsibility came to be recognized, parents were no longer put to death for the crimes of their children, or vice versa (cf. Jer 31:29-30).<\/p>\n<p>Sorcery and witchcraft were forbidden. The book of Exodus stated explicitly, “A sorceress must not be allowed to live” (22:18, <span>nlt<\/span>). Sexual perversions, such as intercourse with animals, were forbidden under penalty of death. Regulations prohibiting marriage with close relatives were given in detail (Lv 20:17-21).<\/p>\n<p>In Hebrew law no parallel existed for some interesting items in the Code of Hammurabi concerning surgery. That code mentioned veterinary surgery and even operations on the human eye. A Babylonian surgeon had to be wary, for “if a physician makes a deep incision upon a man with his bronze lancet and causes the man’s death or operates on the eye socket of a man with his bronze lancet and destroys the man’s eye, then they shall cut off his hand.” Surgery was virtually unknown among the ancient Israelites except for the ritual practice of circumcision.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Punishment\">Punishment<\/p>\n<p>Near Eastern punishments for murder and personal injury were retaliatory and often of the same nature as the offense. Other methods of punishment tended to vary with individual countries or traditions. Many kinds of punishment were inflicted on people defeated in both a full-scale war or a small insurrection.<\/p>\n<h5>Physical Punishment<\/h5>\n<p>Many forms of punishment stopped short of killing but could nevertheless be quite severe.<\/p>\n<p>1. In the OT beating with rods or switches was the traditional form of discipline for children, fools, and slaves (Ex 21:20; Prv 13:24; 26:3). Scourging (also called flogging) was more severe than beating. The whip employed could be made of several strips of leather fastened at one end or of two interwoven leather strips. A whip nicknamed “scorpion” (because of the barbs in its end) was one of the cruelest instruments of punishment mentioned in the OT (1 Kgs 12:11, 14). The severity of punishment could be increased by inserting pieces of metal or bone into the leather.<\/p>\n<p>Before a scourging, the victim would be examined for physical fitness. If death resulted from the blows, no blame was attached to the person administering the punishment. The victim was stripped to the waist and tied to a pillar, his hands bound with leather thongs. The severity of a scourging depended on the crime, although the Mosaic law set an upper limit of 40 lashes (Dt 25:1-3). To guard against a miscount, that number was later lowered by one (2 Cor 11:24). Lashes might be administered both on the chest and the back. Under some law codes, scourging could be used as a private punishment; in that case, if the victim died, another life was forfeit.<\/p>\n<p>In offenses against the law, synagogue authorities administered scourgings (Mt 10:17). A husband might be scourged by the elders of the city for defamation of his wife’s character (Dt 22:18). Scourging was also used as a means of interrogating a prisoner—hence, a Roman captain’s comment that the apostle Paul should be “examined by scourging” (Acts 22:24).<\/p>\n<p>The Romans usually reserved scourging for non-Roman citizens, such as slaves or aliens, as well as for those condemned to death. Normally, criminals were scourged after they had been condemned to death; it is therefore unusual to find the scourging of Jesus taking place before his condemnation. Pilate may have hoped to soften the people’s hearts by Jesus’ suffering so that they would not demand the death penalty (Lk 23:16, 22; Jn 19:1).<\/p>\n<p>Citizens of the Roman Empire could never be beaten or scourged before sentencing (Acts 22:25). Hence, the magistrates were afraid when they heard that Paul, a Roman citizen, had been beaten under those circumstances (16:37-39).<\/p>\n<li>2. The gouging out of the eyes of prisoners and captives was a common practice in the Near East. The Philistines blinded Samson before imprisoning him (Jgs 16:21). The Babylonians did the same to King Zedekiah in 587 <span>BC<\/span> before taking him into captivity (2 Kgs 25:7). The Ammonite king Nahash was prepared to accept peace overtures from the men of the city of Jabesh on condition that all their right eyes be gouged out. Nahash’s purpose was to disgrace them and prevent them from further active participation in warfare (1 Sm 11:1-4).<\/li>\n<li>3. Several forms of mutilation served as punishments in the Near East. The Israelites considered their own bodies sacred and made in God’s image, but that did not prevent them from mutilating their enemies by cutting off their thumbs and large toes.<\/li>\n<p>The Code of Hammurabi and the Assyrian law code prescribed mutilation of the eye, nose, ear, breast, tongue, lip, hand, and finger as punishments for specific crimes. In Assyria, punishment was often inflicted by the victim of the crime under supervision of court officials. The Code of Hammurabi also contained safeguards so that criminals were not punished in excess of the law’s sentence.<\/p>\n<li>4. Stocks are mentioned as a form of punishment in the later OT period. The prophets Hanani (2 Chr 16:10) and Jeremiah (Jer 20:2-3) suffered the indignity of being placed in stocks. Both ankles, and sometimes the wrists and head as well, were placed in holes in two large pieces of wood. In Roman times, stocks were converted to a form of torture, with a prisoner’s legs stretched to holes increasingly far apart. In the NT, Paul and Silas had their feet placed in stocks by a Philippian jailer (Acts 16:24). The same Greek word, meaning “confinement,” can refer to fetters chaining a prisoner or to an iron collar like that worn by runaway Roman slaves.<\/li>\n<h5>Capital Punishment<\/h5>\n<p>Capital punishment was common in many Near Eastern countries. Several methods were used.<\/p>\n<p>1. Those who offended a king were beheaded with a sword (2 Sm 16:9; 2 Kgs 6:31-32), as were idolaters and murderers (according to the Mishnah, the Jewish commentary on the law). The sword was probably used for private executions as well. Inhabitants of entire cities were sometimes “put to the sword” for their denial of the faith (Ex 32:27; Dt 13:15).<\/p>\n<li>2. Certain sexual offenses were punished with death by burning (Lv 20:14; 21:9). Tamar, Judah’s daughter-in-law, was accused of adultery and ordered to be burned to death outside the city (Gn 38:24). The Lord instructed that anyone whose feet touched the holy ground of Mt Sinai was to be shot with arrows or stoned (Ex 19:13).<\/li>\n<li>3. Hanging may have been a form of execution in biblical times. But many scholars think the word translated “hanging” or “hanging on a tree” actually meant impalement (Nm 25:4; Dt 21:22-23; Jos 8:29; 2 Sm 21:6, 9; Est 9:14). A spiked wooden stake was set in the ground and the victim’s body was forced onto the spike, the tip of which probably protruded from the chest or mouth. Commonly practiced by the Assyrians, that form of execution was reserved for those guilty of the worst crimes and for prisoners of war or deserters. The Persian king Darius is reputed to have impaled 3,000 men when his army entered Babylon. Impalement was the penalty Darius set for changing his edict concerning the rebuilding of the temple (Ezr 6:11-12). It is not certain whether Haman was hung or impaled (see Est 7:9-10, <span>nlt<\/span> and mg notes).<\/li>\n<p>Usually “hanging” was a means of exhibiting a corpse as a warning to local inhabitants (Gn 40:19; Jos 8:29; 10:26; 2 Sm 4:12). Corpses were exhibited for only one day and were buried before nightfall. The hanging corpse was considered a defilement of the land that God had given (Dt 21:22-23). According to the Mishnah, the hands were tied together and the body hanged from the arm of a wooden gallows.<\/p>\n<li>4. Crucifixion was a punishment employed by the Syrian king Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 167–166 <span>BC<\/span>; according to Josephus, a first-century <span>AD<\/span> Jewish historian, Jews who refused to give up their traditional faith were so executed. During the Maccabean period (167–40 <span>BC<\/span>), Alexander Janneus crucified 800 rebellious Pharisees in an attempt to reestablish his authority. Crucifixion was a widespread form of execution: it was used in most places in the Roman Empire, including India, North Africa, and Germany. Between 4 <span>BC<\/span> and <span>AD<\/span> 70, on some occasions the number of people crucified at one time reached into the thousands.<\/li>\n<p>Three types of crosses seem to have been used: a cross with the crossbar below the head of the upright bar (Latin cross); a T-shaped cross (St Anthony’s cross); and an X-shaped cross (St Andrew’s cross). Matthew records that an inscription, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews,” was placed over Jesus’ head (Mt 27:37). That indicates that for Jesus’ crucifixion a Latin cross was used, as artists have traditionally depicted it. In crucifixions the victim was most likely affixed to the cross while it was still lying flat on the ground. Then the cross was raised into position and dropped into a hole. The hands were either nailed or bound to the cross; it is uncertain whether the feet were nailed with one or two nails. The weight of the body was supported by a piece of wood at the feet and possibly by another that was like a spike between the legs.<\/p>\n<li>5. Stoning was the most common Hebrew death penalty. The first stones were thrown by the prosecution witnesses, who were then joined by spectators. Stoning was the punishment for certain religious offenses (Lv 24:16; Nm 15:32-36; Dt 13:1-10; 17:2-5), adultery (Dt 22:23-24), child sacrifice (Lv 20:2), divination of spirits (Lv 20:27), and rebellion (Dt 21:18-21). Before his conversion, the apostle Paul witnessed and consented to the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:58-59). Paul himself later survived a stoning at Lystra (14:19). In Roman times, a person would occasionally be stoned as he stood on a gallows.<\/li>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Conclusion\">Conclusion<\/p>\n<p>Hebrew law was part of the Torah (“instruction”) given by God to make his covenant people holy. At that time the Israelites were a seminomadic band of former slaves. Although there are similarities with the Code of Hammurabi and other laws of settled Near Eastern cultures, there are also many differences. Hebrew law often had a broader view, even in its less sophisticated cultural setting, as though its purpose was more to teach godly behavior than to stabilize society. The simplicity and directness of the Ten Commandments, in particular, continue to influence jurisprudence, even in modern secular society.<\/p>\n<p>The Bible’s primary message is God’s love for his covenant people, yet it never overlooks the harsh realities of life in a fallen world. Human beings sin and they commit crimes; they suffer estrangement from God because of their sin and are punished for their crimes. Christians are constantly reminded of the realism of God’s love by the cross as the symbol of Christian faith. They see the crucifixion of Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of OT prophecy that the Lord put our iniquity on him (Is 53:5-6). The NT conviction is that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures (1 Cor 15:3).<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Civil Law and Justice; Courts and Trials; Hammurabi, Law Code of; Law, Biblical Concept of.<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>CRIMINAL LAW AND PUNISHMENT*<\/h3>\n<p>The science or philosophy of law is called jurisprudence. Although modern jurisprudence bears little resemblance to biblical concepts of law, the Scriptures have played a definite role in its development. Today, criminal law is clearly distinguished from civil law; in Bible times the distinction was much less clear. Today, offenses against civil law (torts) are distinguished from minor crimes (misdemeanors) as well as from serious crimes (felonies). In the Bible, “crimes” included all punishable offenses, even religious offenses such as idolatry (worshiping a false god) or blasphemy (speaking or behaving with contempt toward God).<\/p>\n<p>Preview<\/p>\n<p>• Near Eastern Context<\/p>\n<p>• Hebrew Criminal Law<\/p>\n<p>• Punishment<\/p>\n<p>• Conclusion<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"NearEasternContext\">Near Eastern Context<\/p>\n<p>In ancient societies as in modern ones, laws were considered necessary to regulate individual behavior for the good of the community, state, or nation. Today laws are thought of as made by people for their own protection. In contrast, all ancient Near Eastern law codes were considered to have come directly from some divine source. Hebrew law, though distinct, followed the general pattern of Near Eastern law codes, as is known from those that have survived—such as the Code of Hammurabi and Assyrian and Hittite laws.<\/p>\n<p>Conclusions about the “origin” of ancient laws should be made cautiously. Although evidence indicates that Hammurabi based his legislation partially on earlier Sumerian codes, he declared that his code had been received from Shamash, god of justice. That declaration must have been intended to convey primarily that his code had the express sanction of Shamash, since at least some people would recognize it as a compilation based largely on earlier laws. Similarly, the clear biblical statements about Moses receiving the law on Mt Sinai (Ex 19–24) do not rule out the possibility that parts of the Decalogue (the Ten Commandments) may have existed in earlier codes. Possibly the Mosaic legislation included some social rules adapted from the period of Israel’s sojourn in Egypt.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"HebrewCriminalLaw\">Hebrew Criminal Law<\/p>\n<h5>Laws Governing Offenses against God<\/h5>\n<p>Since Hebrew law was designed for a group of people for whom religion was of paramount importance and whose faith was endangered by the influence of the beliefs of their pagan neighbors, it is not surprising that so much of Hebrew law dealt with crimes committed against God. The prohibition against worshiping idols is stated and repeated in the Torah, or Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible): “You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them” (Ex 20:4-5, <span>rsv<\/span>). Sacrifice of infants, practiced in some pagan religions, was specifically prohibited in Israel. The penalty for that crime, as for the other forms of murder, was stoning to death (Lv 20:2).<\/p>\n<p>In the book of Leviticus, death by stoning was recorded as the appropriate punishment for blaspheming the name of God (Lv 24:11-16). False prophecy was also a criminal offense; that accusation could apply to a person making a prediction in the name of a god other than the Lord, or implying falsely that one’s prophecy resulted from a communication with God. Jeremiah, whose prophecy of Nebuchadnezzar’s victory over the southern kingdom of Judah was for a time considered to be false, was almost lynched by a mob (Jer 26:8-9).<\/p>\n<p>The idea of keeping the seventh day holy stemmed from the celebration of God’s work in creating the universe in six days and resting on the seventh. Keeping the Sabbath required cessation of manual work for the entire family, including farm animals (Ex 16:23; 20:8-11). People were also required to meet together on the Sabbath for worship, which at a later period in Hebrew history included the reading of Scripture, prayer, and preaching. Anyone breaking the Sabbath could be sentenced to death, as happened to a man caught gathering firewood on the Sabbath (Nm 15:32-36).<\/p>\n<p>Any type of premeditated crime was considered an offense against God, the giver of all law; hence, it was punishable by death (Nm 15:30-31). Hebrew law also insisted on donation of the firstfruits of harvest to the Lord without delay. That requirement was sometimes carried over to include a first child, whose life was dedicated to service in the temple (Ex 22:29-30; Dt 15:19).<\/p>\n<h5>Personal Injury<\/h5>\n<p>Murder, an offense against “God’s image,” was one of many crimes punishable by death in OT times. The book of Exodus stated unequivocally that “anyone who hits a person hard enough to cause death must be put to death” (Ex 21:12, <span>nlt<\/span>). A murderer who killed by using a weapon such as a stone, a piece of wood, or iron could be killed in revenge by a relative of the deceased. If the original death happened accidentally, the community would sometimes help to conceal the killer and encourage him to hide in a nearby city of refuge, where he would be safe as long as he remained within its gates. He had to stay in that sanctuary until the death of the high priest then in office, after which he was free to return to his own city (Nm 35:10-28). The sixth commandment enjoined, “You shall not kill” (Ex 20:13). The Hebrew word referred specifically to murder, not to all forms of killing. Killing an enemy in battle and the execution of a murderer were considered necessary and were not prohibited. More than one witness was required for any conviction, particularly in a murder case (Nm 35:30; Dt 17:6; 19:15).<\/p>\n<p>In the Code of Hammurabi a man responsible for an accidental injury to another was required to pay for the services of the physician. If the victim died, a fine was payable according to the victim’s rank. In a sense the Hebrews went further by requiring payment for any loss of time suffered by the injured person (Ex 21:18-19).<\/p>\n<p>Kidnapping was punishable by death in the OT. Exodus states that “Kidnappers must be killed, whether they are caught in possession of their victims or have already sold them as slaves” (Ex 21:16, <span>nlt<\/span>). Joseph’s being sold into slavery by his brothers illustrates this kind of kidnapping.<\/p>\n<h5>Laws concerning Property<\/h5>\n<p>The book of Exodus is quite specific about anyone responsible for damage to the property or crops of another. If a field caught fire and the fire spread, damaging crops in other fields, the person who started the fire, or perhaps the owner of the first field to catch fire, was responsible for the damage (Ex 22:6). Hammurabi’s code cited a similar instance of a man who neglected to keep a dike in repair and was therefore responsible for flood damage to his neighbor’s crops.<\/p>\n<p>Injuries to animals, especially oxen, or injuries to people or property caused by such animals formed an important area of Hebrew law. If an ox that had been previously good-tempered killed a man, the owner would be blameless, although the ox would be put to death—a severe financial penalty for the owner. If an ox with a history of goring killed a man because its owner failed to restrain it adequately, both ox and owner would be put to death. The owner’s life could be ransomed by payment of an agreed-upon sum. If the person an ox gored was a servant, the ox was stoned and the owner paid a fine (Ex 21:28-32). The Code of Hammurabi also recommended no punishment for a first offense by an animal, but if the owner knew that the ox was dangerous and had taken no steps to prevent harm, a fine in silver was payable—a very large fine for an upper-class victim, slightly less if the victim was a slave. However bad the circumstances and however vicious the ox, the Code of Hammurabi stopped at a fine for the offense, never imposing a death penalty on either the animal or the owner.<\/p>\n<p>Negligence causing injury to an animal was also punished in Hebrew law. If an ox or a donkey fell into a pit carelessly left uncovered, the owner of the animal was reimbursed for its loss (Ex 21:33-36).<\/p>\n<p>In ancient cultures women were generally considered chattel (personal property), much like animals or slaves. A daughter was considered to be her father’s property until her marriage, then the property of her husband. Therefore, any offense against a married woman was regarded as an offense against the property of the husband. According to the Code of Hammurabi, a child could be sold into slavery as a servant or bondsman, usually in payment of the father’s debt (cf. Ex 21:2-7; Neh 5:5-8; Is 50:1). Parental authority was so highly regarded in biblical law that a stubborn and rebellious son could be brought before the elders on the grounds of being disobedient and a glutton or a drunkard. He might then be convicted and stoned to death on the spot by the men of the city (Dt 21:18-21). Even that, however, was a protection of the child’s rights; some Near Eastern legislation allowed a parent to order the death of his offspring without reference to the elders or to anyone else. With daughters in particular being held in such low esteem, it is perhaps remarkable that a daughter could inherit property if there were no sons (Nm 27:8).<\/p>\n<p>Adultery, prohibited in the Decalogue, was another crime against a man’s property, specifically his wife. The book of Deuteronomy goes into considerable detail about cases of adultery—the punishment for both persons being death (Dt 22:22). If a man seduced a young woman who was not betrothed, he was required to pay her father the bride price (50 silver shekels); he could not divorce her but had to keep her as his wife for the rest of his life (Ex 22:16; Dt 22:28-29).<\/p>\n<p>In a situation where a wife was accused of adultery but without evidence, a trial was conducted. The husband would bring his wife to a priest and present a small offering (a tenth of a measure of barley meal, with neither oil nor frankincense on it), indicating the low esteem in which he now held his wife. The woman then stood before the Lord holding an earthen jar of “holy water.” Dust from the floor of the tabernacle was mixed with the water, and the cereal offering was placed in her hands. Her hair was loosened by the priest to show not only her grief but also to give an impression of abandonment. She was then required to take an oath. After that, the priest pronounced a curse upon her to the effect that her womb would be fertilized easily, but that she would have many miscarriages. She had to give her consent to that pronouncement. The priest then wrote the curses in a book and symbolically washed them off into the “bitter water.” The woman was required to drink the water while the priest waved the cereal offering from her hands before the Lord and burned some of it on the altar. The priest told her that if she was guilty, the water would make her thigh rot and her abdomen swell. If that happened, she would become an outcast; but if she were proved innocent, she would be free. Whatever the result, no blame for false accusation fell upon the husband (Nm 5:12-31).<\/p>\n<p>If a slave was struck by his master in such a manner as to cause instant death, the slave’s death had to be avenged. If the slave lingered, possibly for days, he did not need to be avenged, his loss being a sufficient punishment for the owner (Ex 21:20-21). It is unlikely that the Hebrews had much experience with that law, which had no parallels in Hammurabi’s code. If an owner injured his slave by causing the loss of an eye or a tooth, Hebrew law required that the slave be set free (vv 26-27). The Code of Hammurabi gave an example of a man injuring another man’s slave; the owner had to be paid half the slave’s value.<\/p>\n<p>Little emphasis was placed on burglary or larceny in the Hebrew law code. A burglar was presumed to be repentant and ready to make restitution. After return of the stolen property and payment of a small additional fine, a thief could again “approach the Lord” (Lv 6:2-7). By contrast, the Code of Hammurabi prescribed the death penalty for burglary. In Hebrew law, theft of an animal required restitution to be made in the ratio of at least two to one; if a bull or a cow had been stolen or sold, the thief had to restore the property fivefold. The Code of Hammurabi contained a similar statute: “If a man steal ox or sheep, ass or pig, or goat—if it be from a god or a palace, he shall restore thirtyfold; if it be from a freeman, he shall render tenfold. If the thief have nothing wherewith to pay, he shall be put to death.” In Hebrew law goods stolen from a home were simply to be restored without additional penalty. If the thief no longer had the goods and was unable to pay the equivalent value, he might be sold into slavery until restitution was made (Ex 22:1-4).<\/p>\n<h5>General Laws<\/h5>\n<p>The Hebrew code as contained in Exodus and Deuteronomy included many general prohibitions. Some concerned business dealings such as the removal of boundary markers (Dt 19:14). The use of false weights and measures was condemned (Lv 19:35; Dt 25:15; Prv 11:1; 20:23; Mi 6:11). Bribery was strictly forbidden (Ex 23:8), yet no punishment was specified for those who broke that law. In the Code of Hammurabi, if a judge changed his decision and was unable to give a satisfactory explanation, particularly if bribery was suspected, the judge had to pay 12 times the amount of the penalty and lost his seat on the bench. In the Hebrew code, perjury was also dealt with, although again no punishment was specified. The Code of Hammurabi stated that for perjury in cases where the punishment was death, persons giving false testimony were to be sentenced to death themselves (cf. Ex 23:1).<\/p>\n<p>A number of Hebrew laws reflected concern for the poor. For example, poor people were not to be subjected to usury if they were in debt, or left cold at night if their coats were taken as a pledge. Widows, orphans, and strangers were also to be treated with mercy and understanding (Ex 22:21-27; 23:9; Dt 23:19; 24:17).<\/p>\n<p>Some Hebrew laws concerned family behavior, such as those previously mentioned who cursed or disobeyed their parents (Ex 21:17; Lv 20:9; Dt 27:16; cf. Prv 20:20; 30:17). Family responsibilities were strong; an entire family frequently suffered punishment for the crime of one of its individual members (Jos 7:20-26; 2 Sm 3:29; 21:1-9; 2 Kgs 5:27; Lam 5:7). Over a period of time, as individual responsibility came to be recognized, parents were no longer put to death for the crimes of their children, or vice versa (cf. Jer 31:29-30).<\/p>\n<p>Sorcery and witchcraft were forbidden. The book of Exodus stated explicitly, “A sorceress must not be allowed to live” (22:18, <span>nlt<\/span>). Sexual perversions, such as intercourse with animals, were forbidden under penalty of death. Regulations prohibiting marriage with close relatives were given in detail (Lv 20:17-21).<\/p>\n<p>In Hebrew law no parallel existed for some interesting items in the Code of Hammurabi concerning surgery. That code mentioned veterinary surgery and even operations on the human eye. A Babylonian surgeon had to be wary, for “if a physician makes a deep incision upon a man with his bronze lancet and causes the man’s death or operates on the eye socket of a man with his bronze lancet and destroys the man’s eye, then they shall cut off his hand.” Surgery was virtually unknown among the ancient Israelites except for the ritual practice of circumcision.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Punishment\">Punishment<\/p>\n<p>Near Eastern punishments for murder and personal injury were retaliatory and often of the same nature as the offense. Other methods of punishment tended to vary with individual countries or traditions. Many kinds of punishment were inflicted on people defeated in both a full-scale war or a small insurrection.<\/p>\n<h5>Physical Punishment<\/h5>\n<p>Many forms of punishment stopped short of killing but could nevertheless be quite severe.<\/p>\n<p>1. In the OT beating with rods or switches was the traditional form of discipline for children, fools, and slaves (Ex 21:20; Prv 13:24; 26:3). Scourging (also called flogging) was more severe than beating. The whip employed could be made of several strips of leather fastened at one end or of two interwoven leather strips. A whip nicknamed “scorpion” (because of the barbs in its end) was one of the cruelest instruments of punishment mentioned in the OT (1 Kgs 12:11, 14). The severity of punishment could be increased by inserting pieces of metal or bone into the leather.<\/p>\n<p>Before a scourging, the victim would be examined for physical fitness. If death resulted from the blows, no blame was attached to the person administering the punishment. The victim was stripped to the waist and tied to a pillar, his hands bound with leather thongs. The severity of a scourging depended on the crime, although the Mosaic law set an upper limit of 40 lashes (Dt 25:1-3). To guard against a miscount, that number was later lowered by one (2 Cor 11:24). Lashes might be administered both on the chest and the back. Under some law codes, scourging could be used as a private punishment; in that case, if the victim died, another life was forfeit.<\/p>\n<p>In offenses against the law, synagogue authorities administered scourgings (Mt 10:17). A husband might be scourged by the elders of the city for defamation of his wife’s character (Dt 22:18). Scourging was also used as a means of interrogating a prisoner—hence, a Roman captain’s comment that the apostle Paul should be “examined by scourging” (Acts 22:24).<\/p>\n<p>The Romans usually reserved scourging for non-Roman citizens, such as slaves or aliens, as well as for those condemned to death. Normally, criminals were scourged after they had been condemned to death; it is therefore unusual to find the scourging of Jesus taking place before his condemnation. Pilate may have hoped to soften the people’s hearts by Jesus’ suffering so that they would not demand the death penalty (Lk 23:16, 22; Jn 19:1).<\/p>\n<p>Citizens of the Roman Empire could never be beaten or scourged before sentencing (Acts 22:25). Hence, the magistrates were afraid when they heard that Paul, a Roman citizen, had been beaten under those circumstances (16:37-39).<\/p>\n<li>2. The gouging out of the eyes of prisoners and captives was a common practice in the Near East. The Philistines blinded Samson before imprisoning him (Jgs 16:21). The Babylonians did the same to King Zedekiah in 587 <span>BC<\/span> before taking him into captivity (2 Kgs 25:7). The Ammonite king Nahash was prepared to accept peace overtures from the men of the city of Jabesh on condition that all their right eyes be gouged out. Nahash’s purpose was to disgrace them and prevent them from further active participation in warfare (1 Sm 11:1-4).<\/li>\n<li>3. Several forms of mutilation served as punishments in the Near East. The Israelites considered their own bodies sacred and made in God’s image, but that did not prevent them from mutilating their enemies by cutting off their thumbs and large toes.<\/li>\n<p>The Code of Hammurabi and the Assyrian law code prescribed mutilation of the eye, nose, ear, breast, tongue, lip, hand, and finger as punishments for specific crimes. In Assyria, punishment was often inflicted by the victim of the crime under supervision of court officials. The Code of Hammurabi also contained safeguards so that criminals were not punished in excess of the law’s sentence.<\/p>\n<li>4. Stocks are mentioned as a form of punishment in the later OT period. The prophets Hanani (2 Chr 16:10) and Jeremiah (Jer 20:2-3) suffered the indignity of being placed in stocks. Both ankles, and sometimes the wrists and head as well, were placed in holes in two large pieces of wood. In Roman times, stocks were converted to a form of torture, with a prisoner’s legs stretched to holes increasingly far apart. In the NT, Paul and Silas had their feet placed in stocks by a Philippian jailer (Acts 16:24). The same Greek word, meaning “confinement,” can refer to fetters chaining a prisoner or to an iron collar like that worn by runaway Roman slaves.<\/li>\n<h5>Capital Punishment<\/h5>\n<p>Capital punishment was common in many Near Eastern countries. Several methods were used.<\/p>\n<p>1. Those who offended a king were beheaded with a sword (2 Sm 16:9; 2 Kgs 6:31-32), as were idolaters and murderers (according to the Mishnah, the Jewish commentary on the law). The sword was probably used for private executions as well. Inhabitants of entire cities were sometimes “put to the sword” for their denial of the faith (Ex 32:27; Dt 13:15).<\/p>\n<li>2. Certain sexual offenses were punished with death by burning (Lv 20:14; 21:9). Tamar, Judah’s daughter-in-law, was accused of adultery and ordered to be burned to death outside the city (Gn 38:24). The Lord instructed that anyone whose feet touched the holy ground of Mt Sinai was to be shot with arrows or stoned (Ex 19:13).<\/li>\n<li>3. Hanging may have been a form of execution in biblical times. But many scholars think the word translated “hanging” or “hanging on a tree” actually meant impalement (Nm 25:4; Dt 21:22-23; Jos 8:29; 2 Sm 21:6, 9; Est 9:14). A spiked wooden stake was set in the ground and the victim’s body was forced onto the spike, the tip of which probably protruded from the chest or mouth. Commonly practiced by the Assyrians, that form of execution was reserved for those guilty of the worst crimes and for prisoners of war or deserters. The Persian king Darius is reputed to have impaled 3,000 men when his army entered Babylon. Impalement was the penalty Darius set for changing his edict concerning the rebuilding of the temple (Ezr 6:11-12). It is not certain whether Haman was hung or impaled (see Est 7:9-10, <span>nlt<\/span> and mg notes).<\/li>\n<p>Usually “hanging” was a means of exhibiting a corpse as a warning to local inhabitants (Gn 40:19; Jos 8:29; 10:26; 2 Sm 4:12). Corpses were exhibited for only one day and were buried before nightfall. The hanging corpse was considered a defilement of the land that God had given (Dt 21:22-23). According to the Mishnah, the hands were tied together and the body hanged from the arm of a wooden gallows.<\/p>\n<li>4. Crucifixion was a punishment employed by the Syrian king Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 167–166 <span>BC<\/span>; according to Josephus, a first-century <span>AD<\/span> Jewish historian, Jews who refused to give up their traditional faith were so executed. During the Maccabean period (167–40 <span>BC<\/span>), Alexander Janneus crucified 800 rebellious Pharisees in an attempt to reestablish his authority. Crucifixion was a widespread form of execution: it was used in most places in the Roman Empire, including India, North Africa, and Germany. Between 4 <span>BC<\/span> and <span>AD<\/span> 70, on some occasions the number of people crucified at one time reached into the thousands.<\/li>\n<p>Three types of crosses seem to have been used: a cross with the crossbar below the head of the upright bar (Latin cross); a T-shaped cross (St Anthony’s cross); and an X-shaped cross (St Andrew’s cross). Matthew records that an inscription, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews,” was placed over Jesus’ head (Mt 27:37). That indicates that for Jesus’ crucifixion a Latin cross was used, as artists have traditionally depicted it. In crucifixions the victim was most likely affixed to the cross while it was still lying flat on the ground. Then the cross was raised into position and dropped into a hole. The hands were either nailed or bound to the cross; it is uncertain whether the feet were nailed with one or two nails. The weight of the body was supported by a piece of wood at the feet and possibly by another that was like a spike between the legs.<\/p>\n<li>5. Stoning was the most common Hebrew death penalty. The first stones were thrown by the prosecution witnesses, who were then joined by spectators. Stoning was the punishment for certain religious offenses (Lv 24:16; Nm 15:32-36; Dt 13:1-10; 17:2-5), adultery (Dt 22:23-24), child sacrifice (Lv 20:2), divination of spirits (Lv 20:27), and rebellion (Dt 21:18-21). Before his conversion, the apostle Paul witnessed and consented to the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:58-59). Paul himself later survived a stoning at Lystra (14:19). In Roman times, a person would occasionally be stoned as he stood on a gallows.<\/li>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Conclusion\">Conclusion<\/p>\n<p>Hebrew law was part of the Torah (“instruction”) given by God to make his covenant people holy. At that time the Israelites were a seminomadic band of former slaves. Although there are similarities with the Code of Hammurabi and other laws of settled Near Eastern cultures, there are also many differences. Hebrew law often had a broader view, even in its less sophisticated cultural setting, as though its purpose was more to teach godly behavior than to stabilize society. The simplicity and directness of the Ten Commandments, in particular, continue to influence jurisprudence, even in modern secular society.<\/p>\n<p>The Bible’s primary message is God’s love for his covenant people, yet it never overlooks the harsh realities of life in a fallen world. Human beings sin and they commit crimes; they suffer estrangement from God because of their sin and are punished for their crimes. Christians are constantly reminded of the realism of God’s love by the cross as the symbol of Christian faith. They see the crucifixion of Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of OT prophecy that the Lord put our iniquity on him (Is 53:5-6). The NT conviction is that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures (1 Cor 15:3).<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Civil Law and Justice; Courts and Trials; Hammurabi, Law Code of; Law, Biblical Concept of.<\/p>","summary_ro":"CRIMINAL LAW AND PUNISHMENT* The science or philosophy of law is called jurisprudence. Although modern jurisprudence bears little resemblance to biblical concepts of law, the Scriptures have played a definite role in its development. Today, criminal law is clearly distinguished from civil law; in Bible times the distinction was much less clear. Today, offenses against civil law (torts) are distinguished from minor crimes (misdemeanors) as well as from serious crimes (felonies). In the Bible, ...","summary_en":"CRIMINAL LAW AND PUNISHMENT* The science or philosophy of law is called jurisprudence. Although modern jurisprudence bears little resemblance to biblical concepts of law, the Scriptures have played a definite role in its development. Today, criminal law is clearly distinguished from civil law; in Bible times the distinction was much less clear. Today, offenses against civil law (torts) are distinguished from minor crimes (misdemeanors) as well as from serious crimes (felonies). In the Bible, ...","source":"Articles\/C.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":29125,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Paul, the Apostle","title_en":"Paul, the Apostle","content_ro":"<h3>PAUL, T<span>he Apostle<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Prominent leader of the first-century church; apostle to the Gentiles; author of 13 NT epistles.<\/p>\n<p>Preview<\/p>\n<p>• Family and Cultural Background<\/p>\n<p>• Education<\/p>\n<p>• Saul the Persecutor<\/p>\n<p>• Conversion and Calling<\/p>\n<p>• Preparation for Ministry<\/p>\n<p>• Sent Out from Antioch<\/p>\n<p>• Traveling with Barnabas<\/p>\n<p>• The Council of Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>• Further Travel<\/p>\n<p>• Labor in the Gospel<\/p>\n<p>• The Arrest in Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>• Voyage and Stay in Rome<\/p>\n<p>• Final Years and Martyrdom<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"FamilyandCulturalBackground\">Family and Cultural Background<\/p>\n<p>Paul was born around <span>AD<\/span> 10, a Jew in a family of Pharisees (Acts 23:6) of the tribe of Benjamin (Phil 3:5) in Tarsus of Cilicia (Acts 9:11; 21:39; 22:3), a center of commerce and learning that embraced the Hellenistic spirit and Roman politics. It was a city of which he could be proud (21:39). His parents named him Saul, perhaps after the first king of Israel, who was also a Benjaminite (1 Sm 11:15; Acts 13:21), but Acts 13:9 notes that he “was also called Paul.” He uses the Roman name Paul throughout his letters.<\/p>\n<p>From religious parents Paul received knowledge of the Law and Prophets and the Hebrew and Aramaic languages (Acts 21:40; 22:2-3; 23:6; Gal 1:14; Phil 3:5-6). Tarsus, however, was not a Jewish city. Rather, it had a Greek character, being a place where the Greek language was spoken and Greek literature was cultivated. This accounts for Paul’s familiarity with Greek (Acts 21:37), the language of the streets and shops of Tarsus.<\/p>\n<p>Jews were brought to Tarsus, the capital of the Roman province of Cilicia, in 171 <span>BC<\/span> to promote business in the region. At that time Paul’s ancestors were probably given Roman citizenship. Paul inherited from his father both Tarsisian and Roman citizenship, which would prove to be of great value to Paul in his later life as he traveled with the gospel throughout the Roman Empire (Acts 16:37; 22:25-29; 23:27). Paul may have had several brothers and sisters, but Acts 23:16 mentions only one sister, whose son performed a lifesaving act for his uncle.<\/p>\n<p>Paul was a tent maker (Acts 18:3). He may have learned this trade from his father, or he may have selected it as a means of self-support, as was the custom of those in rabbinical training. Tarsus was well known for the goat’s-hair cloth called cilicium. It was the weaving of this cloth and the fashioning of it into tents, sails, awnings, and cloaks that gave Paul his economic independence during his apostolic ministry (Acts 18:3; 20:34; 28:30; 2 Cor 11:9; 1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Education\">Education<\/p>\n<p>Although born in Tarsus, Paul testified to the Jews in Jerusalem that he had been brought up in this city and studied under Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). It is not clear when Paul was first brought to Jerusalem, but it is likely that sometime between the ages of 13 and 20 he began his formal rabbinical studies. His teacher, Gamaliel, was the grandson of Hillel, founder of a Pharisaic school whose teachings run through the Talmudic writings to this day. This is the same Gamaliel whose wisdom persuaded the Sanhedrin to spare the lives of Peter and the apostles (5:33-40). No doubt, it was while studying under Gamaliel in Hillel’s school that Paul began to advance in Judaism beyond many Jews of his own age and became extremely zealous for the traditions of his fathers (Gal 1:14). Perhaps then also Paul began to experience the struggles with the law he would later describe in Romans 7.<\/p>\n<p>While Paul was studying the Jewish law in Jerusalem, Jesus was working as a carpenter in Nazareth. Then Jesus gathered the disciples who would one day be Paul’s coworkers in the gospel, fulfilled his ministry, and accomplished redemption on the cross of Calvary (<span>AD<\/span> 30). Christ’s resurrection gave birth to the church, which was baptized in the Holy Spirit at the Feast of Pentecost in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"SaulthePersecutor\">Saul the Persecutor<\/p>\n<p>Shortly after these world-changing events, the members of certain synagogues in Jerusalem, including the Cilician synagogue, that of Paul’s native land (Acts 6:9), could not withstand the wisdom and spirit (v 10) of a member of the church in Jerusalem named Stephen (vv 5, 8). They accused him of blasphemy before the Sanhedrin (vv 11-15) and after his eloquent defense (7:1-53) dragged him out of the city, where he was stoned to death. He became the first Christian martyr. The record does not fully reveal the role Paul played in these proceedings, but we know that he was present and prominent because the witnesses against Stephen, who were required to throw the first stones in the execution, “laid their clothes at the feet of a young man called Saul [Paul]” (v 58, <span>niv<\/span>).<\/p>\n<p>At Stephen’s trial, Paul heard Stephen’s historical method of defense, and he later used it himself at Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:16-41). He witnessed the man with the face of an angel (6:15), full of the Holy Spirit, looking above and proclaiming “the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God” (7:56). Stephen’s death initiated the events that would culminate in Paul’s conversion and commission as the apostle to the Gentiles. But at that time Paul was a leader of the oppressors of the church. He breathed threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord (9:1); he persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it (Gal 1:13) by imprisoning Christians, both male and female (Acts 22:4), in many cities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"ConversionandCalling\">Conversion and Calling<\/p>\n<p>Paul had obtained letters from the high priest in Jerusalem to the synagogues in Damascus authorizing him to arrest the believers there and bring them to Jerusalem for trial (Acts 9:1-2). Paul traveled to Damascus for this purpose. Then, on the outskirts of the city, came the event that was to transform this law-keeping persecutor of Jesus Christ and blasphemous destroyer of the infant church into the chief propagator of the gospel of grace and master builder of the church (1 Cor 3:10; 1 Tm 1:13). This was the occasion of Paul’s conversion (c. <span>AD<\/span> 31–33). It was of such revolutionary and lasting importance that three detailed accounts of it are given in the book of Acts (Acts 9:1-19; 22:1-21; 26:1-23), and many references are given to it in Paul’s own writings (1 Cor 9:1; 15:8; Gal 1:15-16; Eph 3:3; Phil 3:12).<\/p>\n<p>At that time a light from heaven, brighter than the midday sun, shone around Paul and his traveling companions, and they fell to the ground (Acts 26:13-14). Only Paul, however, heard the voice of Jesus instruct him in his commission as a minister and witness to the Gentiles (vv 14-18). Temporarily blinded, Paul was led into Damascus (9:8). There, the disciple Ananias and the Christian community forgave Paul, baptized him, and helped him through the bewildering event of his conversion (vv 10-22). After a short time with the church there, Paul was threatened with death by the Jews to whom he preached Jesus (vv 20-22), but he was protected by the believers and ingeniously delivered from his persecutors (vv 23-25).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"PreparationforMinistry\">Preparation for Ministry<\/p>\n<p>Then began a period of preparation, which lasted about 13 years. During this time, Paul first was in the desert of Arabia for three years. Here was his opportunity to pray and reflect on Stephen’s defense to the Sanhedrin, the momentous significance of his conversion, the vision he received of Jesus Christ, and the meaning of all this in the light of Jewish theology. Following this, Paul returned to Damascus and then visited Peter in Jerusalem for 15 days (Gal 1:17-18).<\/p>\n<p>At first, the disciples in Jerusalem were afraid of him because they did not believe he was a disciple of Jesus (Acts 9:26), but he was championed by Barnabas and thus accepted by the believers in Jerusalem (vv 27-28). While there, Paul may have heard the oral gospel, a summary of the words and deeds of Jesus, handed down to all converts. This would have included the institution of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11:23-25), specific words of the Lord (Acts 20:35; 1 Cor 7:10; 9:14), the appearances of the resurrected Christ (1 Cor 15:3-8), and the spirit and character of Jesus (2 Cor 10:1; Phil 2:5-8). Paul also preached in Jerusalem, perhaps in the same synagogues in which he had heard Stephen. However, when his life was again threatened by the Jews, the believers sent him away to Tarsus (Acts 9:29-30; Gal 1:21).<\/p>\n<p>The end of Paul’s preparation came when Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for him and bring him to Antioch. By this time Paul had lived for 10 years in Cilicia. Since his conversion, before being sent to Tarsus, he had proclaimed Jesus (Acts 9:20), speaking boldly in the name of the Lord (v 27). There is no reason to think he did otherwise while living among the Gentiles in Cilicia. In fact, his work may have been so effective that he began to attract attention in Antioch. During these years, Paul probably underwent many of the sufferings mentioned in 2 Corinthians 11:24-26. Several scholars think that the ecstatic experience mentioned in 2 Corinthians 12:1-9, with its accompanying thorn in the flesh, also took place before he came to Antioch.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"SentOutfromAntioch\">Sent Out from Antioch<\/p>\n<p>The church in Antioch had its origins in the persecution fomented by Paul after the death of Stephen. Until they arrived in Antioch, the scattered believers had only spoken the word to Jews (Acts 11:19). It was here that the Gentiles first heard the Good News (v 20), and many became believers (v 21). It is fitting that Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 22:21; Rom 11:13), who was as yet unknown by sight to the churches of Judea (Gal 1:22), should appear in Antioch to formally begin the ministry to which he was called (Acts 26:17-18).<\/p>\n<p>Barnabas and Paul stayed with the church in Antioch for a year. Their work there was so blessed that a new name, Christian, was coined to distinguish the believers in Antioch from Gentiles and Jews (Acts 11:26). Hearing of a famine in Judea, the disciples in Antioch determined to send relief to the believers in Judea and did so by Barnabas and Paul (v 30). Such a gift displayed to the Jewish churches the potency of the gospel among the Gentiles. Their mission complete, Barnabas and Paul returned to Antioch with John Mark (12:25), Barnabas’s cousin (Col 4:10).<\/p>\n<p>Beginning from the Day of Pentecost, the work in the gospel had been casual and incidental. Contacts were made in the homes, the marketplace, the streets, synagogues, highways, etc. (Acts 3:1; 5:12, 42; 8:26-29; 10:22). But in Antioch the Holy Spirit initiated a determined effort to evangelize a section of the Roman Empire (13:1-3). By the Holy Spirit’s instructions, the church separated Barnabas and Paul for this work. With the prayers and encouragement of this church, and with John Mark as their assistant, Barnabas and Paul, sent out by the Holy Spirit, sailed for Cyprus (v 4).<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TravelingwithBarnabas\">Traveling with Barnabas<\/p>\n<p>Arriving in Salamis, they preached in the synagogues as they traveled the length of the island to Paphos (Acts 13:5-6). There the Roman proconsul, Sergius Paulus, wanted to hear the word of God (v 7). A magician named Elymas Bar-Jesus tried to prevent the proconsul from believing in Jesus but was stricken with temporary blindness by Paul’s command (vv 8-11). This was the first manifestation in Paul of the signs of an apostle (2 Cor 12:12). From then on, the name Paul, not Saul, is used in Luke’s record of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 13:9), and Paul replaced Barnabas as the leader of the party. So “Paul and his company” set sail from Paphos and arrived in Perga of Pamphylia (v 13). John Mark deserted them at Perga and returned to his home in Jerusalem (v 13). This caused discord (15:39), but Paul and Mark were later reconciled (Col 4:10; 2 Tm 4:11).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s travels with the gospel now continued through the Roman province of Asia, specifically in the southern portion of Galatia, the areas of Pamphylia, Pisidia, and Lycaonia. The coastal area where the party landed is a hot, malarial region. It is thought that Paul contracted malaria there and so traveled inland through the mountains to the 4,000-foot- (1,219.2-meter-) high tablelands. Such a journey would have been full of dangerous rivers and bandits (2 Cor 11:26), but Paul was well cared for by the Galatian highlanders when he arrived (Gal 4:13-15) and was rewarded with a warm reception to his message (Acts 13:48-49).<\/p>\n<p>Paul and Barnabas were asked to speak at the synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia (Acts 13:15), and Paul delivered a discourse full of the characteristics of the gospel he would later record in his letters to the churches (vv 16-41). He was invited to speak the next week (v 42); nearly the whole city gathered together to hear the word of God (v 44). This stirred up jealousy in the Jews who opposed Paul’s words (v 45), causing the apostles’ dramatic turn to the Gentiles (vv 46-47). Many Gentiles in Antioch believed and spread the word throughout the region, but Paul and Barnabas were forced out and went to Iconium in Lycaonia (vv 48-51).<\/p>\n<p>The success in Antioch was duplicated in Iconium as was the Jews’ opposition (Acts 14:1), and the apostles fled from the threat of a stoning to Lystra and Derbe in Lycaonia (vv 5-6). In Lystra the signs of an apostle were again seen when Paul healed a man who had been crippled since birth (vv 8-10). The idolatrous citizens of the town, however, primed by the popular belief that Jupiter, accompanied by Mercury, had once visited their region, worshiped Paul and Barnabas as these deities (vv 11-13). Even the convincing words of Paul, whom they mistook for Mercury, hardly restrained the crowds from offering a sacrifice (vv 14-18).<\/p>\n<p>It was in Lystra that Paul was first given a taste of the same medicine he had once administered to Christians. The Jews stoned him, dragged him out of the city, and left him for dead (Acts 14:19). Timothy (16:1-3) may have been among the new disciples surrounding Paul as he lay outside the gate (14:20). Timothy was Paul’s son in the faith (1 Cor 4:17; 1 Tm 1:2), eyewitness to his suffering (2 Tm 3:10-11), faithful companion, and fellow worker (Acts 19:22; 20:4; Rom 16:21; 1 Thes 3:2). The next day Barnabas and Paul went on to Derbe (Acts 14:20).<\/p>\n<p>After making many disciples in Derbe, the apostles retraced their steps through Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia, strengthening and encouraging the new believers and appointing elders in each church (Acts 14:21-23). Arriving again in Perga, they sailed back to Antioch of Syria, where they reported to the church the wonderful news that God had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles (vv 25-27).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TheCouncilofJerusalem\">The Council of Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>The Jews, who had dogged the steps of Paul and Barnabas throughout Galatia, followed on their heels to bewitch the Gentiles there, convincing them to desert the grace of Christ and submit to the Jewish law (Gal 1:6; 3:1). Shortly after the apostles’ return to Antioch, Judaizers came from Judea to Antioch, teaching salvation by the law (Acts 15:1). This began the war against the gospel of grace, which Paul preached.<\/p>\n<p>The church in Antioch sent Paul, Barnabas, and others to Jerusalem to settle the controversy of the law versus grace with the apostles and elders there (<span>AD<\/span> 49, Acts 15:2). Along the way to Jerusalem they spread the news of the conversion of the Gentiles. This brought great joy to the believers (v 3). Such joy was not shared by some in Jerusalem, who in the first meeting of the council said that the Gentiles should be ordered to keep the law of Moses (v 5).<\/p>\n<p>After this meeting, Paul and Barnabas met privately with Peter, John, and James (Gal 2:1-10) and explained the gospel they had been preaching to the Gentiles. These three leaders of the church in Jerusalem saw the grace that had been given to Paul to bring the gospel to the Gentiles and extended to him the “right hand of fellowship.” This private meeting seems to have decided the question of compliance to the Jewish law because in the next general meeting Peter said, “We believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 15:11, <span>rsv<\/span>), and James reached the decision that “we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God” (Acts 15:19, <span>rsv<\/span>). This was a great victory for Paul and Barnabas, and the news was received with rejoicing by the church in Antioch (vv 30-35).<\/p>\n<p>Later, Peter visited Antioch and freely associated with the Gentile believers as he had timidly done in Cornelius’s house (Acts 10:28). This continued until “certain men came from James.” Their presence brought fear to Peter, clouding the light of the gospel of grace, and causing him to separate himself from the Gentiles. Peter’s action influenced others, including Barnabas, to do the same (Gal 2:12-13). Paul rose to the challenge of this serious crisis, confronted Peter publicly, and charged him with Judaizing and hypocrisy (v 14). Paul won the battle and rescued Peter and Barnabas with eloquent words on justification by faith (vv 15-21), but the Judaizers had resumed their war. From this time on, they did not rest; rather, they tormented and persecuted Paul all over the world. But the apostle did not submit to them for a moment. He was engaged in the fight of his life, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with the Gentile believers (v 5).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"FurtherTravel\">Further Travel<\/p>\n<p>Paul wanted to visit the new believers and see how they were doing. So he proposed to Barnabas that they return to the cities where they had previously preached about Jesus (Acts 15:36). Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them, but Paul would not take him since he had deserted them during their earlier journey (13:13). This sharp disagreement ended Barnabas’s association with Paul (15:37-39). Silas, a leader among the brothers in Jerusalem (v 22), accompanied Paul as he set out by land through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches (vv 40-41).<\/p>\n<p>Beginning from Derbe in Galatia, Paul and Silas revisited the churches Paul had established with Barnabas. While in Lystra, they were joined by Timothy (Acts 16:1-3). The apostles delivered to these young churches the letter drafted by the elders and apostles in Jerusalem concerning the observance of the law (15:23-29), thus strengthening and increasing them (16:4-5).<\/p>\n<p>It is likely that Ephesus, a major city in the Roman province of Asia, was the party’s main objective for the advancement of the gospel, but they were “forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia” (Acts 16:6). Then they attempted to turn north and enter the region of Bithynia, “but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them” (v 7). In this way they were forced by God to continue straight westward to Troas on the Aegean Sea, where Luke joined them (“we” in v 10), and Paul had a vision in which he was called out of Asia into Macedonia (vv 8-9). Paul and his party immediately crossed by boat into Europe (v 11) where they carried the gospel to Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, and Corinth.<\/p>\n<p>Philippi was a Roman colony and military outpost where there were few Jews, so Paul went to a place by the river where the local Jews prayed. He spoke to some women there, notably Lydia, who believed and with her household was baptized (Acts 16:12-15), beginning the first church in Europe. Paul cast a spirit of divination out of a girl in Philippi, and as a result he and Silas were jailed (vv 16-24). The events of their night in jail made the jailer a believer in God (vv 25-34), and he and his family were added to the church in Philippi, which met in Lydia’s home (v 40). When Paul disclosed his Roman citizenship, he was released and was asked to leave the city (vv 35-39).<\/p>\n<p>At Thessalonica the Jews, aroused to jealousy by the success of Paul’s gospel message, raised a mob to search for the apostles. They complained to the city authorities that the people “who have turned the world upside down have come here also” and accused the apostles of “saying that there is another king [besides Caesar], Jesus” (Acts 17:5-7).<\/p>\n<p>Paul and Silas quickly left Thessalonica by night and arrived in Berea, a city thereafter distinguished by its citizens who eagerly and thoughtfully received the gospel (Acts 17:10-12). The Thessalonian Jews did not rest but trailed Paul to Berea to incite the crowds. The believers then sent Paul away to Athens, while Silas and Timothy stayed behind (vv 13-15).<\/p>\n<p>The Athenians called Paul a babbler but let him air his views before the Areopagus. Paul’s speech there was alive with his broad knowledge. He alluded to Greco-Roman philosophy (Acts 17:27), poetry (v 28), sculpture (vv 25, 29), architecture (v 24), and religion while proclaiming the existence of an “unknown god” (v 23). But he was rudely cut short by scoffing and indifference when he mentioned the resurrection (v 32). Paul’s words delighted the minds of many but influenced the wills of few, so when he arrived in Corinth, he determined not to proclaim the mystery of God in lofty words of wisdom so that the believers’ faith would not rest on human wisdom but on the power of God (1 Cor 2:1-5).<\/p>\n<p>In Corinth Paul met Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:2-3), Roman Jews with whom he lived and worked as a tent maker and who would become prominent among the churches (Acts 18:26; Rom 16:3; 1 Cor 16:19; 2 Tm 4:19). He stayed in Corinth 18 months from <span>AD<\/span> 50 to 51, raising up a church (Acts 18:11) on the strength of a vision from God (vv 9-10) and in spite of the attacks of the Jews (vv 12-17). Paul wrote the first and second letters to the Thessalonians from Corinth to establish the believers in a holy, industrious life (1 Thes 3:13; 5:23; 2 Thes 3:7-12) in hope of the second coming of Jesus Christ (1 Thes 4:15-18; 2 Thes 2:1ff.).<\/p>\n<p>Accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila, Paul sailed from Corinth for Syria. He left his fellow workers in Ephesus, sailed to Caesarea, briefly visited Jerusalem, and returned to Antioch (Acts 18:18-22). Paul stayed in Antioch for awhile but did not remain absent from the field of his labors for long. Alone, he departed from Antioch, went from place to place in Galatia and Phrygia strengthening all the disciples, and eventually arrived in Ephesus (18:23; 19:1).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"LaborintheGospel\">Labor in the Gospel<\/p>\n<p>A Jew named Apollos had ministered in Ephesus prior to Paul’s arrival and had recently gone over to Corinth (Acts 18:24-28). There Apollos innocently became the cause of such discord (1 Cor 3:3-9) that he left and refused to return even at Paul’s request (16:12). Paul’s earlier visit to Ephesus (Acts 18:19-20), Apollos’s ministry, and the presence of Priscilla and Aquila had prepared Ephesus for the apostle’s preaching of the gospel of Christ.<\/p>\n<p>Paul began his work in Ephesus by setting straight some ill-informed disciples of John the Baptist (Acts 19:1-7). He then spent three months preaching at the local synagogue until members of the congregation “spoke evil of the Way” (v 9). Paul then took the disciples and continued his arguments on the neutral ground of Tyrannus’s school (vv 8-9), where Jews and Greeks were free to come. He continued there for two years and “all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord” (v 10).<\/p>\n<p>The work in Ephesus was a great success (Acts 19:10, 20, 26). Paul enjoyed an open door for effective work (1 Cor 16:9), bolstered by extraordinary miracles (Acts 19:11-17), a public burning of valuable books of sorcery (vv 18-19), and the assistance of friendly officials from the province of Asia (v 31). There were also many adversaries (1 Cor 15:32; 16:9), especially among the artisans associated with the temple of Diana. Paul’s ministry had hurt their trade to the extent that they were incited to riot (Acts 19:23-41). Paul had intended to stay in Ephesus until Pentecost (1 Cor 16:8), but this tumult seems to have hastened his departure (Acts 20:1).<\/p>\n<p>During his stay in Ephesus, the household of Chloe sent word to Paul from Corinth that there were divisions in the church there (1 Cor 1:10-13). This report generated a flurry of letters and travels. Paul wrote a letter, which is now lost, to this church (5:9). The church in Corinth wrote a letter (7:1) and sent messengers to Paul (16:17), and Paul sent Timothy to them (4:17; 16:10). Paul then wrote 1 Corinthians (<span>AD<\/span> 53) and sent it by Titus, who was to meet him in Troas to report the results (2 Cor 2:12-13).<\/p>\n<p>After his hasty exit from Ephesus, Paul found an open door for the gospel in Troas, but he so longed to hear from Corinth that he pushed on into Macedonia (2 Cor 2:12-13). There he was finally comforted by Titus (7:5-7) and rejoiced at the news of the Corinthians’ repentance, earnestness, longing, and zeal (vv 8-16). From Macedonia Paul wrote 2 Corinthians (<span>AD<\/span> 54), toured northwest to proclaim the good news of Christ in Illyricum (Rom 15:19), and then turned south for Achaia and his third visit to Corinth (Acts 19:21; 20:1-3; 2 Cor 13:1).<\/p>\n<p>The time and place from which Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians is a topic of controversy. Some date it before the council at Jerusalem, about <span>AD<\/span> 45. Others say he wrote it from Corinth at this stage in his history. The latter opinion is the choice of this narrative.<\/p>\n<p>A three-month winter stay in Corinth (<span>AD<\/span> 55–56) produced the Letter to the Romans, which firmly set the benchmark of the gospel for all the ages. Paul had many personal friends in Rome (Rom 16) and had long intended to visit there (1:10-15). His plans were to deliver a collection from the Gentile churches to Jerusalem (Acts 20:35; Rom 15:25-26; 1 Cor 16:1) and then visit Rome (Acts 19:21) on his way to Spain (Rom 15:23-24).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TheArrestinJerusalem\">The Arrest in Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s trip from Corinth to Jerusalem was marked by abundant warnings of the danger awaiting him in Jerusalem. The Judaizers’ acrimony toward Paul was common talk everywhere, but all alarms went unheeded (Acts 20:22-24, 38; 21:4, 10-15). However, the request for prayer in Romans 15:30-32 shows that Paul knew he might soon need a divine rescue from the unbelievers in Judea.<\/p>\n<p>The travelers, carrying the collection for Jerusalem, journeyed swiftly in order to reach Jerusalem by Pentecost (Acts 20:16). They proceeded by land from Achaia, through Macedonia, to Philippi in time for the Passover (spring <span>AD<\/span> 56, v 6). Crossing by sea to Troas, they visited the believers there (vv 7-12) and then sailed through the archipelago of the eastern Aegean Sea to Miletus (vv 13-16). From Miletus, Paul sent for the elders of Ephesus, to whom he delivered an impassioned speech containing his own dire warnings for them (vv 17-38).<\/p>\n<p>Parting from them, Paul and his companions set sail to Cos, to Rhodes, and then to Patara, where they changed ships for Phoenicia (Acts 21:1-2). A straight course to Tyre brought them within sight of Cyprus, with its memories of Barnabas and Sergius Paulus (v 3). “Through the Spirit” the disciples in Tyre “told Paul not to go on to Jerusalem” (v 4), but he pressed on to Caesarea, where he and his company stayed with Philip, who had formerly served with the martyred Stephen (21:8; cf. 6:5). In Caesarea, Paul would not be persuaded by an especially dramatic prophecy of his coming arrest (21:10-14).<\/p>\n<p>In Jerusalem the apostolic band stayed with Mnason, an early disciple, and were warmly welcomed by the brothers there (Acts 21:15-17). James and the elders of the church praised God when they heard of the things he had done through Paul among the Gentiles (vv 18-20), and when they received the collection from the churches (24:17). They told Paul of his bad reputation among the thousands of Jewish believers in Jerusalem and urged him to set right the Judaizers’ misrepresentation that he encouraged Jewish Christians to forsake the Mosaic customs (21:21-24). Acts 21:25 shows the Jerusalem elders understood that the Gentiles were under no obligation to Moses; their concern was for Paul to demonstrate that Jewish believers were free to continue their traditional observances.<\/p>\n<p>Paul had kept the Jewish feasts (Acts 20:6), as had Jesus and the early disciples in Jerusalem. He had also cut his hair in a vow at Cenchreae (18:18), so it was a small matter for him, a Jew, to ceremonially purify himself after becoming a Christian, especially if it would undermine the arguments of the Judaizers. To have refused the elders’ request would have lent credence to the Judaizers’ charge. The success of this plan is seen in that it was the Jews from Asia, visiting Jerusalem for the Pentecost feast of <span>AD<\/span> 57, who stirred up trouble for Paul (21:27-29)—not the Judaizers from Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p>The whole city was aroused by Paul’s persistent persecutors. A violent crowd dragged him out of the temple just as Stephen had once been hauled to his martyrdom. They tried to kill him, but he was rescued by Roman soldiers as the mob cried, “Away with him!”—just as they had done to Jesus (Acts 21:30-36). At this juncture the educational and cultural diversity of Paul’s life came to his rescue. As he was carried for safety to the Roman barracks, he spoke in Greek to the tribune, who had mistaken him for an Egyptian assassin (vv 37-38). Given permission to speak to the crowd, he did so in the Aramaic language then common in Israel (vv 39-40). The hushed crowd eagerly heard Paul’s defense until he uttered the word “Gentiles.” At this, the crowd resumed its threatening and violence, and Paul was brought into the barracks (22:1-24). There the Romans prepared to flog him, until Paul revealed that he was not only a Jew from Tarsus but also a freeborn Roman citizen. The tribune was afraid, since he had bound a Roman citizen. Wanting to know the charges against Paul, he brought him to the Sanhedrin (vv 25-30).<\/p>\n<p>This meeting of the Jewish judiciary was shortly reduced to dissension and violence. Paul resorted to tactics justifiable in such a war and hopelessly divided the Sanhedrin on the subject of the resurrection (Acts 23:1-9). Paul again was rescued, this time from the contending factions of the Jewish leadership, and taken to the barracks, where the Lord encouraged him, promising that he would go to Rome (<span>AD<\/span> 56, vv 10-11).<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime 40 Jews entered into a murderous plot against Paul. They vowed not to eat or drink until they had killed the apostle (Acts 23:12-15). They almost succeeded, but with the help of the son of Paul’s sister (v 16), the conspiracy was exposed. For safety, Paul was taken from Jerusalem to Caesarea under guard of 470 soldiers and handed over to the custody of Felix the governor (vv 16-35). Inconclusive hearings before Felix (Acts 24), his successor, Festus (25:1-12), and King Agrippa (25:23–26:32) occupied Paul in his two years of imprisonment in Caesarea. Festus, wanting to please the Jews, suggested that Paul be returned to Jerusalem for trial, but Paul knew the murderous intent of his accusers and again utilized his Roman citizenship by making a dramatic appeal to Caesar (25:9-12).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"VoyageandStayinRome\">Voyage and Stay in Rome<\/p>\n<p>To plead his case at Caesar’s court, Paul and his companions, Aristarchus and Luke, were taken on a perilous voyage (<span>AD<\/span> 58, Acts 27:1–28:16). Their passage by ship from Caesarea to Rome is one of the most remarkable on record. Luke’s detailed account is a treasure of information on ancient ships, navigation, and seamanship. It is also a beautiful portrait of a heroic and dignified apostle Paul, the gospel’s ambassador in chains (Eph 6:20), who with the guidance and assurance of his God (Acts 27:23-26), led the 276 people on board to safety (v 37).<\/p>\n<p>Luke traces the voyage stage by stage through every crisis, with a change of ship at Myra, delay at Fair Havens on Crete, and the shipwreck on Malta. Finally, in the spring of <span>AD<\/span> 59, they arrived at Puteoli, Italy, and made their way to Rome, welcomed by the believers along the Appian Way (Acts 28:13-16).<\/p>\n<p>Luke provided a peaceful denouement to the Acts, notwithstanding the fact that the apostle was an imperial prisoner of Caesar Nero. Paul lived by himself in his own house, chained to a Roman guard (Acts 28:16, 30). There he received the local Jewish leaders—to calm any misgivings they may have had about him and, at the same time, to convince them about Jesus. His efforts had mixed success (vv 17-28). During Paul’s two or more years in Rome, the Judaizers seem to have withdrawn, only to be replaced by the peril of Eastern Gnosticism. This is seen in Paul’s letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Ephesians, and to Philemon, all written at this time. It is unlikely that Paul’s accusers appeared in Rome to bring formal charges before Caesar, so Paul was probably released in <span>AD<\/span> 61.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"FinalYearsandMartyrdom\">Final Years and Martyrdom<\/p>\n<p>It is here assumed that the Pastoral Letters (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus) are truly Paul’s work. Only through them can the probable course of events in Paul’s final years be traced. Romans 15:28 shows that Paul intended to deliver the collection to Jerusalem and then to “set out by way of you [Rome] to Spain.” The arrest and imprisonment in Jerusalem not only destroyed these plans but also extracted five precious years from the prime of a most productive life. Although Clement of Rome implied that Paul did fulfill his desire to go to Spain (<em>Clement to the Corinthians<\/em> 5), it is certain that the daily pressure of Paul’s anxious care for all the churches (2 Cor 11:28) did not abate.<\/p>\n<p>If Paul went to Spain, he may have been there when Rome was burned on July 19, <span>AD<\/span> 64. Tradition says that Paul traveled as far as Britain, but there is no evidence to confirm this. Returning east, he left Titus in Crete (Ti 1:5) and traveled through Miletus, south of Ephesus, where he left Trophimus sick (2 Tm 4:20). Traveling toward Macedonia, Paul visited Timothy in Ephesus (1 Tm 1:3). On the way, Paul left his cloak and books with Carpus in Troas (2 Tm 4:13). This indicates that he intended to return there for his possessions. From Macedonia Paul wrote his loving yet apprehensive first letter to Timothy (<span>AD<\/span> 62–64). He had decided to spend the winter in Nicopolis (Ti 3:12), northwest of Corinth on the Adriatic Sea, but was still in Macedonia when he wrote his letter to Titus. This letter is similar to 1 Timothy, yet with a somewhat harsher tone. In it is a final glimpse of the eloquent and zealous Apollos (Ti 3:13), who is still in association with Paul 10 or more years after his first appearance in Ephesus (Acts 18:24).<\/p>\n<p>From here Paul’s path is obscure. He may have wintered in Nicopolis, but he did not return to Troas for his winter cloak (2 Tm 4:13). At some point he was arrested by the Romans, because he spent a winter in Rome’s Mamertine Prison, suffering from the cold in that rock cell before he wrote his second letter to Timothy (<span>AD<\/span> 66–67). He may have been anticipating the coming winter when he requested that Timothy bring his cloak (vv 13, 21). It is possible that the charges against Paul were related to the burning of Rome; this is unknown. It was, however, now “illegal” to be a Christian since the “new religion” was no longer protected by Roman law as being part of Judaism (which was a legalized, recognized religion by Roman law).<\/p>\n<p>It was dangerous to be associated with Paul at this time. Many deserted him (2 Tm 4:16), including all his coworkers in Asia (1:15) and Demas, who loved the world (4:10). Only Luke, the physician and author of Luke and Acts, was with him when he wrote his second letter to Timothy (v 11). Faithful believers still in hiding in Rome were also in contact with the apostle (1:16; 4:19, 21). He told Timothy to come to him in Rome and bring Mark also (4:11). Apparently Timothy did come and was imprisoned (Heb 13:23). Paul’s request for the books and parchments (2 Tm 4:13) discloses that he was reading and studying the Scripture to the end.<\/p>\n<p>The apostle Paul had two hearings before Caesar Nero. At his first defense only the Lord stood by him (2 Tm 4:16). There he not only pleaded his own cause but also that of the gospel, still longing that all the Gentiles would hear its message. Perhaps no decision was made, and thus he was “rescued from the lion’s mouth” (v 17). Though he knew he would soon die, he was not afraid, but was assured that the Lord would give him a crown of righteousness on the last day (v 8). Finally, the apostle himself recorded his seminal encouragement to all believers: “The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you” (v 22, <span>rsv<\/span>). After this, the Scripture is silent regarding Paul.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing is known of Paul’s second hearing but that it resulted in the sentence of capital punishment. History does not record Paul’s end. Nero died in the summer of <span>AD<\/span> 68, so Paul was executed before that date. As a Roman citizen, he must have been spared the lingering torture that had recently been suffered by his fellow martyrs. Tradition says that he was decapitated by the sword of an imperial headsman on the Ostian Road just outside of Rome, and buried nearby. This fulfilled Paul’s desire “to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better” (Phil 1:23, <span>rsv<\/span>).<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>PAUL, T<span>he Apostle<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Prominent leader of the first-century church; apostle to the Gentiles; author of 13 NT epistles.<\/p>\n<p>Preview<\/p>\n<p>• Family and Cultural Background<\/p>\n<p>• Education<\/p>\n<p>• Saul the Persecutor<\/p>\n<p>• Conversion and Calling<\/p>\n<p>• Preparation for Ministry<\/p>\n<p>• Sent Out from Antioch<\/p>\n<p>• Traveling with Barnabas<\/p>\n<p>• The Council of Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>• Further Travel<\/p>\n<p>• Labor in the Gospel<\/p>\n<p>• The Arrest in Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>• Voyage and Stay in Rome<\/p>\n<p>• Final Years and Martyrdom<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"FamilyandCulturalBackground\">Family and Cultural Background<\/p>\n<p>Paul was born around <span>AD<\/span> 10, a Jew in a family of Pharisees (Acts 23:6) of the tribe of Benjamin (Phil 3:5) in Tarsus of Cilicia (Acts 9:11; 21:39; 22:3), a center of commerce and learning that embraced the Hellenistic spirit and Roman politics. It was a city of which he could be proud (21:39). His parents named him Saul, perhaps after the first king of Israel, who was also a Benjaminite (1 Sm 11:15; Acts 13:21), but Acts 13:9 notes that he “was also called Paul.” He uses the Roman name Paul throughout his letters.<\/p>\n<p>From religious parents Paul received knowledge of the Law and Prophets and the Hebrew and Aramaic languages (Acts 21:40; 22:2-3; 23:6; Gal 1:14; Phil 3:5-6). Tarsus, however, was not a Jewish city. Rather, it had a Greek character, being a place where the Greek language was spoken and Greek literature was cultivated. This accounts for Paul’s familiarity with Greek (Acts 21:37), the language of the streets and shops of Tarsus.<\/p>\n<p>Jews were brought to Tarsus, the capital of the Roman province of Cilicia, in 171 <span>BC<\/span> to promote business in the region. At that time Paul’s ancestors were probably given Roman citizenship. Paul inherited from his father both Tarsisian and Roman citizenship, which would prove to be of great value to Paul in his later life as he traveled with the gospel throughout the Roman Empire (Acts 16:37; 22:25-29; 23:27). Paul may have had several brothers and sisters, but Acts 23:16 mentions only one sister, whose son performed a lifesaving act for his uncle.<\/p>\n<p>Paul was a tent maker (Acts 18:3). He may have learned this trade from his father, or he may have selected it as a means of self-support, as was the custom of those in rabbinical training. Tarsus was well known for the goat’s-hair cloth called cilicium. It was the weaving of this cloth and the fashioning of it into tents, sails, awnings, and cloaks that gave Paul his economic independence during his apostolic ministry (Acts 18:3; 20:34; 28:30; 2 Cor 11:9; 1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Education\">Education<\/p>\n<p>Although born in Tarsus, Paul testified to the Jews in Jerusalem that he had been brought up in this city and studied under Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). It is not clear when Paul was first brought to Jerusalem, but it is likely that sometime between the ages of 13 and 20 he began his formal rabbinical studies. His teacher, Gamaliel, was the grandson of Hillel, founder of a Pharisaic school whose teachings run through the Talmudic writings to this day. This is the same Gamaliel whose wisdom persuaded the Sanhedrin to spare the lives of Peter and the apostles (5:33-40). No doubt, it was while studying under Gamaliel in Hillel’s school that Paul began to advance in Judaism beyond many Jews of his own age and became extremely zealous for the traditions of his fathers (Gal 1:14). Perhaps then also Paul began to experience the struggles with the law he would later describe in Romans 7.<\/p>\n<p>While Paul was studying the Jewish law in Jerusalem, Jesus was working as a carpenter in Nazareth. Then Jesus gathered the disciples who would one day be Paul’s coworkers in the gospel, fulfilled his ministry, and accomplished redemption on the cross of Calvary (<span>AD<\/span> 30). Christ’s resurrection gave birth to the church, which was baptized in the Holy Spirit at the Feast of Pentecost in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"SaulthePersecutor\">Saul the Persecutor<\/p>\n<p>Shortly after these world-changing events, the members of certain synagogues in Jerusalem, including the Cilician synagogue, that of Paul’s native land (Acts 6:9), could not withstand the wisdom and spirit (v 10) of a member of the church in Jerusalem named Stephen (vv 5, 8). They accused him of blasphemy before the Sanhedrin (vv 11-15) and after his eloquent defense (7:1-53) dragged him out of the city, where he was stoned to death. He became the first Christian martyr. The record does not fully reveal the role Paul played in these proceedings, but we know that he was present and prominent because the witnesses against Stephen, who were required to throw the first stones in the execution, “laid their clothes at the feet of a young man called Saul [Paul]” (v 58, <span>niv<\/span>).<\/p>\n<p>At Stephen’s trial, Paul heard Stephen’s historical method of defense, and he later used it himself at Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:16-41). He witnessed the man with the face of an angel (6:15), full of the Holy Spirit, looking above and proclaiming “the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God” (7:56). Stephen’s death initiated the events that would culminate in Paul’s conversion and commission as the apostle to the Gentiles. But at that time Paul was a leader of the oppressors of the church. He breathed threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord (9:1); he persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it (Gal 1:13) by imprisoning Christians, both male and female (Acts 22:4), in many cities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"ConversionandCalling\">Conversion and Calling<\/p>\n<p>Paul had obtained letters from the high priest in Jerusalem to the synagogues in Damascus authorizing him to arrest the believers there and bring them to Jerusalem for trial (Acts 9:1-2). Paul traveled to Damascus for this purpose. Then, on the outskirts of the city, came the event that was to transform this law-keeping persecutor of Jesus Christ and blasphemous destroyer of the infant church into the chief propagator of the gospel of grace and master builder of the church (1 Cor 3:10; 1 Tm 1:13). This was the occasion of Paul’s conversion (c. <span>AD<\/span> 31–33). It was of such revolutionary and lasting importance that three detailed accounts of it are given in the book of Acts (Acts 9:1-19; 22:1-21; 26:1-23), and many references are given to it in Paul’s own writings (1 Cor 9:1; 15:8; Gal 1:15-16; Eph 3:3; Phil 3:12).<\/p>\n<p>At that time a light from heaven, brighter than the midday sun, shone around Paul and his traveling companions, and they fell to the ground (Acts 26:13-14). Only Paul, however, heard the voice of Jesus instruct him in his commission as a minister and witness to the Gentiles (vv 14-18). Temporarily blinded, Paul was led into Damascus (9:8). There, the disciple Ananias and the Christian community forgave Paul, baptized him, and helped him through the bewildering event of his conversion (vv 10-22). After a short time with the church there, Paul was threatened with death by the Jews to whom he preached Jesus (vv 20-22), but he was protected by the believers and ingeniously delivered from his persecutors (vv 23-25).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"PreparationforMinistry\">Preparation for Ministry<\/p>\n<p>Then began a period of preparation, which lasted about 13 years. During this time, Paul first was in the desert of Arabia for three years. Here was his opportunity to pray and reflect on Stephen’s defense to the Sanhedrin, the momentous significance of his conversion, the vision he received of Jesus Christ, and the meaning of all this in the light of Jewish theology. Following this, Paul returned to Damascus and then visited Peter in Jerusalem for 15 days (Gal 1:17-18).<\/p>\n<p>At first, the disciples in Jerusalem were afraid of him because they did not believe he was a disciple of Jesus (Acts 9:26), but he was championed by Barnabas and thus accepted by the believers in Jerusalem (vv 27-28). While there, Paul may have heard the oral gospel, a summary of the words and deeds of Jesus, handed down to all converts. This would have included the institution of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11:23-25), specific words of the Lord (Acts 20:35; 1 Cor 7:10; 9:14), the appearances of the resurrected Christ (1 Cor 15:3-8), and the spirit and character of Jesus (2 Cor 10:1; Phil 2:5-8). Paul also preached in Jerusalem, perhaps in the same synagogues in which he had heard Stephen. However, when his life was again threatened by the Jews, the believers sent him away to Tarsus (Acts 9:29-30; Gal 1:21).<\/p>\n<p>The end of Paul’s preparation came when Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for him and bring him to Antioch. By this time Paul had lived for 10 years in Cilicia. Since his conversion, before being sent to Tarsus, he had proclaimed Jesus (Acts 9:20), speaking boldly in the name of the Lord (v 27). There is no reason to think he did otherwise while living among the Gentiles in Cilicia. In fact, his work may have been so effective that he began to attract attention in Antioch. During these years, Paul probably underwent many of the sufferings mentioned in 2 Corinthians 11:24-26. Several scholars think that the ecstatic experience mentioned in 2 Corinthians 12:1-9, with its accompanying thorn in the flesh, also took place before he came to Antioch.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"SentOutfromAntioch\">Sent Out from Antioch<\/p>\n<p>The church in Antioch had its origins in the persecution fomented by Paul after the death of Stephen. Until they arrived in Antioch, the scattered believers had only spoken the word to Jews (Acts 11:19). It was here that the Gentiles first heard the Good News (v 20), and many became believers (v 21). It is fitting that Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 22:21; Rom 11:13), who was as yet unknown by sight to the churches of Judea (Gal 1:22), should appear in Antioch to formally begin the ministry to which he was called (Acts 26:17-18).<\/p>\n<p>Barnabas and Paul stayed with the church in Antioch for a year. Their work there was so blessed that a new name, Christian, was coined to distinguish the believers in Antioch from Gentiles and Jews (Acts 11:26). Hearing of a famine in Judea, the disciples in Antioch determined to send relief to the believers in Judea and did so by Barnabas and Paul (v 30). Such a gift displayed to the Jewish churches the potency of the gospel among the Gentiles. Their mission complete, Barnabas and Paul returned to Antioch with John Mark (12:25), Barnabas’s cousin (Col 4:10).<\/p>\n<p>Beginning from the Day of Pentecost, the work in the gospel had been casual and incidental. Contacts were made in the homes, the marketplace, the streets, synagogues, highways, etc. (Acts 3:1; 5:12, 42; 8:26-29; 10:22). But in Antioch the Holy Spirit initiated a determined effort to evangelize a section of the Roman Empire (13:1-3). By the Holy Spirit’s instructions, the church separated Barnabas and Paul for this work. With the prayers and encouragement of this church, and with John Mark as their assistant, Barnabas and Paul, sent out by the Holy Spirit, sailed for Cyprus (v 4).<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TravelingwithBarnabas\">Traveling with Barnabas<\/p>\n<p>Arriving in Salamis, they preached in the synagogues as they traveled the length of the island to Paphos (Acts 13:5-6). There the Roman proconsul, Sergius Paulus, wanted to hear the word of God (v 7). A magician named Elymas Bar-Jesus tried to prevent the proconsul from believing in Jesus but was stricken with temporary blindness by Paul’s command (vv 8-11). This was the first manifestation in Paul of the signs of an apostle (2 Cor 12:12). From then on, the name Paul, not Saul, is used in Luke’s record of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 13:9), and Paul replaced Barnabas as the leader of the party. So “Paul and his company” set sail from Paphos and arrived in Perga of Pamphylia (v 13). John Mark deserted them at Perga and returned to his home in Jerusalem (v 13). This caused discord (15:39), but Paul and Mark were later reconciled (Col 4:10; 2 Tm 4:11).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s travels with the gospel now continued through the Roman province of Asia, specifically in the southern portion of Galatia, the areas of Pamphylia, Pisidia, and Lycaonia. The coastal area where the party landed is a hot, malarial region. It is thought that Paul contracted malaria there and so traveled inland through the mountains to the 4,000-foot- (1,219.2-meter-) high tablelands. Such a journey would have been full of dangerous rivers and bandits (2 Cor 11:26), but Paul was well cared for by the Galatian highlanders when he arrived (Gal 4:13-15) and was rewarded with a warm reception to his message (Acts 13:48-49).<\/p>\n<p>Paul and Barnabas were asked to speak at the synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia (Acts 13:15), and Paul delivered a discourse full of the characteristics of the gospel he would later record in his letters to the churches (vv 16-41). He was invited to speak the next week (v 42); nearly the whole city gathered together to hear the word of God (v 44). This stirred up jealousy in the Jews who opposed Paul’s words (v 45), causing the apostles’ dramatic turn to the Gentiles (vv 46-47). Many Gentiles in Antioch believed and spread the word throughout the region, but Paul and Barnabas were forced out and went to Iconium in Lycaonia (vv 48-51).<\/p>\n<p>The success in Antioch was duplicated in Iconium as was the Jews’ opposition (Acts 14:1), and the apostles fled from the threat of a stoning to Lystra and Derbe in Lycaonia (vv 5-6). In Lystra the signs of an apostle were again seen when Paul healed a man who had been crippled since birth (vv 8-10). The idolatrous citizens of the town, however, primed by the popular belief that Jupiter, accompanied by Mercury, had once visited their region, worshiped Paul and Barnabas as these deities (vv 11-13). Even the convincing words of Paul, whom they mistook for Mercury, hardly restrained the crowds from offering a sacrifice (vv 14-18).<\/p>\n<p>It was in Lystra that Paul was first given a taste of the same medicine he had once administered to Christians. The Jews stoned him, dragged him out of the city, and left him for dead (Acts 14:19). Timothy (16:1-3) may have been among the new disciples surrounding Paul as he lay outside the gate (14:20). Timothy was Paul’s son in the faith (1 Cor 4:17; 1 Tm 1:2), eyewitness to his suffering (2 Tm 3:10-11), faithful companion, and fellow worker (Acts 19:22; 20:4; Rom 16:21; 1 Thes 3:2). The next day Barnabas and Paul went on to Derbe (Acts 14:20).<\/p>\n<p>After making many disciples in Derbe, the apostles retraced their steps through Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia, strengthening and encouraging the new believers and appointing elders in each church (Acts 14:21-23). Arriving again in Perga, they sailed back to Antioch of Syria, where they reported to the church the wonderful news that God had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles (vv 25-27).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TheCouncilofJerusalem\">The Council of Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>The Jews, who had dogged the steps of Paul and Barnabas throughout Galatia, followed on their heels to bewitch the Gentiles there, convincing them to desert the grace of Christ and submit to the Jewish law (Gal 1:6; 3:1). Shortly after the apostles’ return to Antioch, Judaizers came from Judea to Antioch, teaching salvation by the law (Acts 15:1). This began the war against the gospel of grace, which Paul preached.<\/p>\n<p>The church in Antioch sent Paul, Barnabas, and others to Jerusalem to settle the controversy of the law versus grace with the apostles and elders there (<span>AD<\/span> 49, Acts 15:2). Along the way to Jerusalem they spread the news of the conversion of the Gentiles. This brought great joy to the believers (v 3). Such joy was not shared by some in Jerusalem, who in the first meeting of the council said that the Gentiles should be ordered to keep the law of Moses (v 5).<\/p>\n<p>After this meeting, Paul and Barnabas met privately with Peter, John, and James (Gal 2:1-10) and explained the gospel they had been preaching to the Gentiles. These three leaders of the church in Jerusalem saw the grace that had been given to Paul to bring the gospel to the Gentiles and extended to him the “right hand of fellowship.” This private meeting seems to have decided the question of compliance to the Jewish law because in the next general meeting Peter said, “We believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 15:11, <span>rsv<\/span>), and James reached the decision that “we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God” (Acts 15:19, <span>rsv<\/span>). This was a great victory for Paul and Barnabas, and the news was received with rejoicing by the church in Antioch (vv 30-35).<\/p>\n<p>Later, Peter visited Antioch and freely associated with the Gentile believers as he had timidly done in Cornelius’s house (Acts 10:28). This continued until “certain men came from James.” Their presence brought fear to Peter, clouding the light of the gospel of grace, and causing him to separate himself from the Gentiles. Peter’s action influenced others, including Barnabas, to do the same (Gal 2:12-13). Paul rose to the challenge of this serious crisis, confronted Peter publicly, and charged him with Judaizing and hypocrisy (v 14). Paul won the battle and rescued Peter and Barnabas with eloquent words on justification by faith (vv 15-21), but the Judaizers had resumed their war. From this time on, they did not rest; rather, they tormented and persecuted Paul all over the world. But the apostle did not submit to them for a moment. He was engaged in the fight of his life, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with the Gentile believers (v 5).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"FurtherTravel\">Further Travel<\/p>\n<p>Paul wanted to visit the new believers and see how they were doing. So he proposed to Barnabas that they return to the cities where they had previously preached about Jesus (Acts 15:36). Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them, but Paul would not take him since he had deserted them during their earlier journey (13:13). This sharp disagreement ended Barnabas’s association with Paul (15:37-39). Silas, a leader among the brothers in Jerusalem (v 22), accompanied Paul as he set out by land through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches (vv 40-41).<\/p>\n<p>Beginning from Derbe in Galatia, Paul and Silas revisited the churches Paul had established with Barnabas. While in Lystra, they were joined by Timothy (Acts 16:1-3). The apostles delivered to these young churches the letter drafted by the elders and apostles in Jerusalem concerning the observance of the law (15:23-29), thus strengthening and increasing them (16:4-5).<\/p>\n<p>It is likely that Ephesus, a major city in the Roman province of Asia, was the party’s main objective for the advancement of the gospel, but they were “forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia” (Acts 16:6). Then they attempted to turn north and enter the region of Bithynia, “but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them” (v 7). In this way they were forced by God to continue straight westward to Troas on the Aegean Sea, where Luke joined them (“we” in v 10), and Paul had a vision in which he was called out of Asia into Macedonia (vv 8-9). Paul and his party immediately crossed by boat into Europe (v 11) where they carried the gospel to Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, and Corinth.<\/p>\n<p>Philippi was a Roman colony and military outpost where there were few Jews, so Paul went to a place by the river where the local Jews prayed. He spoke to some women there, notably Lydia, who believed and with her household was baptized (Acts 16:12-15), beginning the first church in Europe. Paul cast a spirit of divination out of a girl in Philippi, and as a result he and Silas were jailed (vv 16-24). The events of their night in jail made the jailer a believer in God (vv 25-34), and he and his family were added to the church in Philippi, which met in Lydia’s home (v 40). When Paul disclosed his Roman citizenship, he was released and was asked to leave the city (vv 35-39).<\/p>\n<p>At Thessalonica the Jews, aroused to jealousy by the success of Paul’s gospel message, raised a mob to search for the apostles. They complained to the city authorities that the people “who have turned the world upside down have come here also” and accused the apostles of “saying that there is another king [besides Caesar], Jesus” (Acts 17:5-7).<\/p>\n<p>Paul and Silas quickly left Thessalonica by night and arrived in Berea, a city thereafter distinguished by its citizens who eagerly and thoughtfully received the gospel (Acts 17:10-12). The Thessalonian Jews did not rest but trailed Paul to Berea to incite the crowds. The believers then sent Paul away to Athens, while Silas and Timothy stayed behind (vv 13-15).<\/p>\n<p>The Athenians called Paul a babbler but let him air his views before the Areopagus. Paul’s speech there was alive with his broad knowledge. He alluded to Greco-Roman philosophy (Acts 17:27), poetry (v 28), sculpture (vv 25, 29), architecture (v 24), and religion while proclaiming the existence of an “unknown god” (v 23). But he was rudely cut short by scoffing and indifference when he mentioned the resurrection (v 32). Paul’s words delighted the minds of many but influenced the wills of few, so when he arrived in Corinth, he determined not to proclaim the mystery of God in lofty words of wisdom so that the believers’ faith would not rest on human wisdom but on the power of God (1 Cor 2:1-5).<\/p>\n<p>In Corinth Paul met Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:2-3), Roman Jews with whom he lived and worked as a tent maker and who would become prominent among the churches (Acts 18:26; Rom 16:3; 1 Cor 16:19; 2 Tm 4:19). He stayed in Corinth 18 months from <span>AD<\/span> 50 to 51, raising up a church (Acts 18:11) on the strength of a vision from God (vv 9-10) and in spite of the attacks of the Jews (vv 12-17). Paul wrote the first and second letters to the Thessalonians from Corinth to establish the believers in a holy, industrious life (1 Thes 3:13; 5:23; 2 Thes 3:7-12) in hope of the second coming of Jesus Christ (1 Thes 4:15-18; 2 Thes 2:1ff.).<\/p>\n<p>Accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila, Paul sailed from Corinth for Syria. He left his fellow workers in Ephesus, sailed to Caesarea, briefly visited Jerusalem, and returned to Antioch (Acts 18:18-22). Paul stayed in Antioch for awhile but did not remain absent from the field of his labors for long. Alone, he departed from Antioch, went from place to place in Galatia and Phrygia strengthening all the disciples, and eventually arrived in Ephesus (18:23; 19:1).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"LaborintheGospel\">Labor in the Gospel<\/p>\n<p>A Jew named Apollos had ministered in Ephesus prior to Paul’s arrival and had recently gone over to Corinth (Acts 18:24-28). There Apollos innocently became the cause of such discord (1 Cor 3:3-9) that he left and refused to return even at Paul’s request (16:12). Paul’s earlier visit to Ephesus (Acts 18:19-20), Apollos’s ministry, and the presence of Priscilla and Aquila had prepared Ephesus for the apostle’s preaching of the gospel of Christ.<\/p>\n<p>Paul began his work in Ephesus by setting straight some ill-informed disciples of John the Baptist (Acts 19:1-7). He then spent three months preaching at the local synagogue until members of the congregation “spoke evil of the Way” (v 9). Paul then took the disciples and continued his arguments on the neutral ground of Tyrannus’s school (vv 8-9), where Jews and Greeks were free to come. He continued there for two years and “all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord” (v 10).<\/p>\n<p>The work in Ephesus was a great success (Acts 19:10, 20, 26). Paul enjoyed an open door for effective work (1 Cor 16:9), bolstered by extraordinary miracles (Acts 19:11-17), a public burning of valuable books of sorcery (vv 18-19), and the assistance of friendly officials from the province of Asia (v 31). There were also many adversaries (1 Cor 15:32; 16:9), especially among the artisans associated with the temple of Diana. Paul’s ministry had hurt their trade to the extent that they were incited to riot (Acts 19:23-41). Paul had intended to stay in Ephesus until Pentecost (1 Cor 16:8), but this tumult seems to have hastened his departure (Acts 20:1).<\/p>\n<p>During his stay in Ephesus, the household of Chloe sent word to Paul from Corinth that there were divisions in the church there (1 Cor 1:10-13). This report generated a flurry of letters and travels. Paul wrote a letter, which is now lost, to this church (5:9). The church in Corinth wrote a letter (7:1) and sent messengers to Paul (16:17), and Paul sent Timothy to them (4:17; 16:10). Paul then wrote 1 Corinthians (<span>AD<\/span> 53) and sent it by Titus, who was to meet him in Troas to report the results (2 Cor 2:12-13).<\/p>\n<p>After his hasty exit from Ephesus, Paul found an open door for the gospel in Troas, but he so longed to hear from Corinth that he pushed on into Macedonia (2 Cor 2:12-13). There he was finally comforted by Titus (7:5-7) and rejoiced at the news of the Corinthians’ repentance, earnestness, longing, and zeal (vv 8-16). From Macedonia Paul wrote 2 Corinthians (<span>AD<\/span> 54), toured northwest to proclaim the good news of Christ in Illyricum (Rom 15:19), and then turned south for Achaia and his third visit to Corinth (Acts 19:21; 20:1-3; 2 Cor 13:1).<\/p>\n<p>The time and place from which Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians is a topic of controversy. Some date it before the council at Jerusalem, about <span>AD<\/span> 45. Others say he wrote it from Corinth at this stage in his history. The latter opinion is the choice of this narrative.<\/p>\n<p>A three-month winter stay in Corinth (<span>AD<\/span> 55–56) produced the Letter to the Romans, which firmly set the benchmark of the gospel for all the ages. Paul had many personal friends in Rome (Rom 16) and had long intended to visit there (1:10-15). His plans were to deliver a collection from the Gentile churches to Jerusalem (Acts 20:35; Rom 15:25-26; 1 Cor 16:1) and then visit Rome (Acts 19:21) on his way to Spain (Rom 15:23-24).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TheArrestinJerusalem\">The Arrest in Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s trip from Corinth to Jerusalem was marked by abundant warnings of the danger awaiting him in Jerusalem. The Judaizers’ acrimony toward Paul was common talk everywhere, but all alarms went unheeded (Acts 20:22-24, 38; 21:4, 10-15). However, the request for prayer in Romans 15:30-32 shows that Paul knew he might soon need a divine rescue from the unbelievers in Judea.<\/p>\n<p>The travelers, carrying the collection for Jerusalem, journeyed swiftly in order to reach Jerusalem by Pentecost (Acts 20:16). They proceeded by land from Achaia, through Macedonia, to Philippi in time for the Passover (spring <span>AD<\/span> 56, v 6). Crossing by sea to Troas, they visited the believers there (vv 7-12) and then sailed through the archipelago of the eastern Aegean Sea to Miletus (vv 13-16). From Miletus, Paul sent for the elders of Ephesus, to whom he delivered an impassioned speech containing his own dire warnings for them (vv 17-38).<\/p>\n<p>Parting from them, Paul and his companions set sail to Cos, to Rhodes, and then to Patara, where they changed ships for Phoenicia (Acts 21:1-2). A straight course to Tyre brought them within sight of Cyprus, with its memories of Barnabas and Sergius Paulus (v 3). “Through the Spirit” the disciples in Tyre “told Paul not to go on to Jerusalem” (v 4), but he pressed on to Caesarea, where he and his company stayed with Philip, who had formerly served with the martyred Stephen (21:8; cf. 6:5). In Caesarea, Paul would not be persuaded by an especially dramatic prophecy of his coming arrest (21:10-14).<\/p>\n<p>In Jerusalem the apostolic band stayed with Mnason, an early disciple, and were warmly welcomed by the brothers there (Acts 21:15-17). James and the elders of the church praised God when they heard of the things he had done through Paul among the Gentiles (vv 18-20), and when they received the collection from the churches (24:17). They told Paul of his bad reputation among the thousands of Jewish believers in Jerusalem and urged him to set right the Judaizers’ misrepresentation that he encouraged Jewish Christians to forsake the Mosaic customs (21:21-24). Acts 21:25 shows the Jerusalem elders understood that the Gentiles were under no obligation to Moses; their concern was for Paul to demonstrate that Jewish believers were free to continue their traditional observances.<\/p>\n<p>Paul had kept the Jewish feasts (Acts 20:6), as had Jesus and the early disciples in Jerusalem. He had also cut his hair in a vow at Cenchreae (18:18), so it was a small matter for him, a Jew, to ceremonially purify himself after becoming a Christian, especially if it would undermine the arguments of the Judaizers. To have refused the elders’ request would have lent credence to the Judaizers’ charge. The success of this plan is seen in that it was the Jews from Asia, visiting Jerusalem for the Pentecost feast of <span>AD<\/span> 57, who stirred up trouble for Paul (21:27-29)—not the Judaizers from Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p>The whole city was aroused by Paul’s persistent persecutors. A violent crowd dragged him out of the temple just as Stephen had once been hauled to his martyrdom. They tried to kill him, but he was rescued by Roman soldiers as the mob cried, “Away with him!”—just as they had done to Jesus (Acts 21:30-36). At this juncture the educational and cultural diversity of Paul’s life came to his rescue. As he was carried for safety to the Roman barracks, he spoke in Greek to the tribune, who had mistaken him for an Egyptian assassin (vv 37-38). Given permission to speak to the crowd, he did so in the Aramaic language then common in Israel (vv 39-40). The hushed crowd eagerly heard Paul’s defense until he uttered the word “Gentiles.” At this, the crowd resumed its threatening and violence, and Paul was brought into the barracks (22:1-24). There the Romans prepared to flog him, until Paul revealed that he was not only a Jew from Tarsus but also a freeborn Roman citizen. The tribune was afraid, since he had bound a Roman citizen. Wanting to know the charges against Paul, he brought him to the Sanhedrin (vv 25-30).<\/p>\n<p>This meeting of the Jewish judiciary was shortly reduced to dissension and violence. Paul resorted to tactics justifiable in such a war and hopelessly divided the Sanhedrin on the subject of the resurrection (Acts 23:1-9). Paul again was rescued, this time from the contending factions of the Jewish leadership, and taken to the barracks, where the Lord encouraged him, promising that he would go to Rome (<span>AD<\/span> 56, vv 10-11).<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime 40 Jews entered into a murderous plot against Paul. They vowed not to eat or drink until they had killed the apostle (Acts 23:12-15). They almost succeeded, but with the help of the son of Paul’s sister (v 16), the conspiracy was exposed. For safety, Paul was taken from Jerusalem to Caesarea under guard of 470 soldiers and handed over to the custody of Felix the governor (vv 16-35). Inconclusive hearings before Felix (Acts 24), his successor, Festus (25:1-12), and King Agrippa (25:23–26:32) occupied Paul in his two years of imprisonment in Caesarea. Festus, wanting to please the Jews, suggested that Paul be returned to Jerusalem for trial, but Paul knew the murderous intent of his accusers and again utilized his Roman citizenship by making a dramatic appeal to Caesar (25:9-12).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"VoyageandStayinRome\">Voyage and Stay in Rome<\/p>\n<p>To plead his case at Caesar’s court, Paul and his companions, Aristarchus and Luke, were taken on a perilous voyage (<span>AD<\/span> 58, Acts 27:1–28:16). Their passage by ship from Caesarea to Rome is one of the most remarkable on record. Luke’s detailed account is a treasure of information on ancient ships, navigation, and seamanship. It is also a beautiful portrait of a heroic and dignified apostle Paul, the gospel’s ambassador in chains (Eph 6:20), who with the guidance and assurance of his God (Acts 27:23-26), led the 276 people on board to safety (v 37).<\/p>\n<p>Luke traces the voyage stage by stage through every crisis, with a change of ship at Myra, delay at Fair Havens on Crete, and the shipwreck on Malta. Finally, in the spring of <span>AD<\/span> 59, they arrived at Puteoli, Italy, and made their way to Rome, welcomed by the believers along the Appian Way (Acts 28:13-16).<\/p>\n<p>Luke provided a peaceful denouement to the Acts, notwithstanding the fact that the apostle was an imperial prisoner of Caesar Nero. Paul lived by himself in his own house, chained to a Roman guard (Acts 28:16, 30). There he received the local Jewish leaders—to calm any misgivings they may have had about him and, at the same time, to convince them about Jesus. His efforts had mixed success (vv 17-28). During Paul’s two or more years in Rome, the Judaizers seem to have withdrawn, only to be replaced by the peril of Eastern Gnosticism. This is seen in Paul’s letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Ephesians, and to Philemon, all written at this time. It is unlikely that Paul’s accusers appeared in Rome to bring formal charges before Caesar, so Paul was probably released in <span>AD<\/span> 61.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"FinalYearsandMartyrdom\">Final Years and Martyrdom<\/p>\n<p>It is here assumed that the Pastoral Letters (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus) are truly Paul’s work. Only through them can the probable course of events in Paul’s final years be traced. Romans 15:28 shows that Paul intended to deliver the collection to Jerusalem and then to “set out by way of you [Rome] to Spain.” The arrest and imprisonment in Jerusalem not only destroyed these plans but also extracted five precious years from the prime of a most productive life. Although Clement of Rome implied that Paul did fulfill his desire to go to Spain (<em>Clement to the Corinthians<\/em> 5), it is certain that the daily pressure of Paul’s anxious care for all the churches (2 Cor 11:28) did not abate.<\/p>\n<p>If Paul went to Spain, he may have been there when Rome was burned on July 19, <span>AD<\/span> 64. Tradition says that Paul traveled as far as Britain, but there is no evidence to confirm this. Returning east, he left Titus in Crete (Ti 1:5) and traveled through Miletus, south of Ephesus, where he left Trophimus sick (2 Tm 4:20). Traveling toward Macedonia, Paul visited Timothy in Ephesus (1 Tm 1:3). On the way, Paul left his cloak and books with Carpus in Troas (2 Tm 4:13). This indicates that he intended to return there for his possessions. From Macedonia Paul wrote his loving yet apprehensive first letter to Timothy (<span>AD<\/span> 62–64). He had decided to spend the winter in Nicopolis (Ti 3:12), northwest of Corinth on the Adriatic Sea, but was still in Macedonia when he wrote his letter to Titus. This letter is similar to 1 Timothy, yet with a somewhat harsher tone. In it is a final glimpse of the eloquent and zealous Apollos (Ti 3:13), who is still in association with Paul 10 or more years after his first appearance in Ephesus (Acts 18:24).<\/p>\n<p>From here Paul’s path is obscure. He may have wintered in Nicopolis, but he did not return to Troas for his winter cloak (2 Tm 4:13). At some point he was arrested by the Romans, because he spent a winter in Rome’s Mamertine Prison, suffering from the cold in that rock cell before he wrote his second letter to Timothy (<span>AD<\/span> 66–67). He may have been anticipating the coming winter when he requested that Timothy bring his cloak (vv 13, 21). It is possible that the charges against Paul were related to the burning of Rome; this is unknown. It was, however, now “illegal” to be a Christian since the “new religion” was no longer protected by Roman law as being part of Judaism (which was a legalized, recognized religion by Roman law).<\/p>\n<p>It was dangerous to be associated with Paul at this time. Many deserted him (2 Tm 4:16), including all his coworkers in Asia (1:15) and Demas, who loved the world (4:10). Only Luke, the physician and author of Luke and Acts, was with him when he wrote his second letter to Timothy (v 11). Faithful believers still in hiding in Rome were also in contact with the apostle (1:16; 4:19, 21). He told Timothy to come to him in Rome and bring Mark also (4:11). Apparently Timothy did come and was imprisoned (Heb 13:23). Paul’s request for the books and parchments (2 Tm 4:13) discloses that he was reading and studying the Scripture to the end.<\/p>\n<p>The apostle Paul had two hearings before Caesar Nero. At his first defense only the Lord stood by him (2 Tm 4:16). There he not only pleaded his own cause but also that of the gospel, still longing that all the Gentiles would hear its message. Perhaps no decision was made, and thus he was “rescued from the lion’s mouth” (v 17). Though he knew he would soon die, he was not afraid, but was assured that the Lord would give him a crown of righteousness on the last day (v 8). Finally, the apostle himself recorded his seminal encouragement to all believers: “The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you” (v 22, <span>rsv<\/span>). After this, the Scripture is silent regarding Paul.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing is known of Paul’s second hearing but that it resulted in the sentence of capital punishment. History does not record Paul’s end. Nero died in the summer of <span>AD<\/span> 68, so Paul was executed before that date. As a Roman citizen, he must have been spared the lingering torture that had recently been suffered by his fellow martyrs. Tradition says that he was decapitated by the sword of an imperial headsman on the Ostian Road just outside of Rome, and buried nearby. This fulfilled Paul’s desire “to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better” (Phil 1:23, <span>rsv<\/span>).<\/p>","summary_ro":"PAUL, The Apostle Prominent leader of the first-century church; apostle to the Gentiles; author of 13 NT epistles. Preview • Family and Cultural Background • Education • Saul the Persecutor • Conversion and Calling • Preparation for Ministry • Sent Out from Antioch • Traveling with Barnabas • The Council of Jerusalem • Further Travel • Labor in the Gospel • The Arrest in Jerusalem • Voyage and Stay in Rome • Final Years and Martyrdom Family and Cultural Background Paul was born around AD 10, ...","summary_en":"PAUL, The Apostle Prominent leader of the first-century church; apostle to the Gentiles; author of 13 NT epistles. Preview • Family and Cultural Background • Education • Saul the Persecutor • Conversion and Calling • Preparation for Ministry • Sent Out from Antioch • Traveling with Barnabas • The Council of Jerusalem • Further Travel • Labor in the Gospel • The Arrest in Jerusalem • Voyage and Stay in Rome • Final Years and Martyrdom Family and Cultural Background Paul was born around AD 10, ...","source":"Articles\/P.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":36536,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Synagogue","title_en":"Synagogue","content_ro":"<h3>SYNAGOGUE<\/h3>\n<p>Transliteration of the Greek word <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">sunagoge<\/span><em>,<\/em> meaning “a gathering together.” It is used more than 50 times in the NT, mostly for the religious gathering places of Jewish communities in Palestine and throughout the Dispersion. The word <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">sunagoge<\/span> is usually the Greek rendering of Hebrew words in the OT that speak of the assembling or assembly of the people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"OriginsandEarlyHistory\">Origins and Early History<\/p>\n<p>It is unknown just how or when the synagogue as an institution first began. One can imagine the situation in Jerusalem after the destruction of the temple by the Babylonians in 586 <span>BC<\/span>. The people who remained in and around the city who wanted to keep true to their faith would have felt the need to meet for worship, where they would continue to teach the law and the message of the prophets. Some think, therefore, that synagogues may have had their origin in such a situation. Jewish people in the various places of the Dispersion would have been aware of a similar need. Jewish elders met together with Ezekiel in exile in Babylon (Ez 8:1; 14:1; 20:1). Yet there is no positive evidence of actual synagogues at this early stage. In Nehemiah 8:1-8 the postexilic community gathered in Jerusalem, and Ezra the scribe brought the law, read it from a wooden pulpit, and gave an interpretation so that the people understood the reading. When Ezra blessed the Lord, the people bowed their heads and worshiped. These were the basic elements of what came to be synagogue worship. The first undisputed evidence of a synagogue comes from Egypt in the third century <span>BC<\/span>. From the first century <span>BC<\/span> onward, the evidence of synagogues is abundant.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"SynagoguesinNTTimes\">Synagogues in NT Times<\/p>\n<p>The Gospels give the impression of many synagogues existing throughout Palestine. Jesus frequently taught in synagogues (e.g., Mt 4:23; 9:35), especially during his Galilean ministry, but probably in Judea as well. In John 18:20 are the words of Jesus in his trial before the high priest: “I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together” (<span>rsv<\/span>).<\/p>\n<p>The Acts of the Apostles refers to synagogues in Jerusalem (Acts 6:9), Damascus (9:2), Cyprus (13:5), the Roman province of Galatia (13:14; 14:1), Macedonia and Greece (17:1, 10, 17; 18:4), and Ephesus in the Roman province of Asia (19:8). Paul made it his practice to go directly to the synagogue and to preach there as long as he was given freedom to do so.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"SynagogueWorship\">Synagogue Worship<\/p>\n<p>The Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles give abundant evidence for the meeting of Jewish people on the Sabbath to worship in the synagogue. People also met for worship on the second and fifth days of the week. Luke provides us with the earliest description of a synagogue service. The Mishnah describes the pattern of the synagogue service: the confession of faith, the Shema (which included reciting Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 11:13-21; and Numbers 15:37-41); prayer (such as the 18 Benedictions); Scripture reading (the reading of the Law was basic, see Acts 15:21, and was read according to a three-year cycle; the Prophets were also read, but more at random); interpretation (as the knowledge of biblical Hebrew diminished in Palestine, an Aramaic translation of the Scriptures was presented after the reading in Hebrew, and in the Dispersion, a Greek translation); address (following the reading, anyone suitably qualified might address the people, as Jesus and the apostle Paul often did); and blessing.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"JudicialFunctions\">Judicial Functions<\/p>\n<p>Administration of justice was also part of the work of the synagogue. Offenders against the law and those whose actions were held to be contrary to Jewish religion were brought before the elders of the synagogue. They might, under extreme circumstances, excommunicate an offender (see Jn 9:22, 34-35; 12:42) or have him scourged. Jesus warned his disciples to be prepared to face either possibility (Mt 10:17; Jn 16:2). Saul, as persecutor of the Christians, had letters addressed to the synagogues at Damascus, giving authority to arrest Christians and bring them bound to Jerusalem (Acts 9:2). In Acts 22:19 he speaks of causing them to be both beaten and imprisoned. Paul himself received the 39 lashes that were administered in the synagogues (2 Cor 11:24).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TeachingoftheLaw\">Teaching of the Law<\/p>\n<p>The reading of the Law was of central significance in synagogue worship. The teaching of the Law to people generally, and especially to children, was intimately associated with the synagogue. Either the synagogue building or a school was used.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Organization\">Organization<\/p>\n<p>The NT refers in particular (e.g., Mk 5:22; Lk 13:14; Acts 18:8,17) to two appointments in the synagogue: the “ruler of the synagogue,” who was responsible for order and for selection of the Scripture reader; and an attendant (Lk 4:20), who brought out and put away the Scripture scrolls and also administered corporal punishment to unruly students. Later on, there was a person appointed as leader of the prayers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Architecture\">Architecture<\/p>\n<p>In structure the synagogue was modeled after the temple. It was built, when possible, on high ground and often constructed so that the people could sit facing the direction of Jerusalem. There was a portable chest for the scrolls of the Law and the Prophets, and a platform for the reading of the Scriptures and for preaching. Men and women sat apart. The scribes loved the “chief seats” facing the people (Mk 12:39). Many synagogues had ornamentations of vine leaves, seven-branched candlesticks, the paschal lamb, and the pot of manna. Early synagogues also had a genizah, which was a cellar or attic where worn scrolls were put, because, as they bore the name of God, they were too sacred to be destroyed.<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Judaism; Ruler of the Synagogue.<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>SYNAGOGUE<\/h3>\n<p>Transliteration of the Greek word <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">sunagoge<\/span><em>,<\/em> meaning “a gathering together.” It is used more than 50 times in the NT, mostly for the religious gathering places of Jewish communities in Palestine and throughout the Dispersion. The word <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">sunagoge<\/span> is usually the Greek rendering of Hebrew words in the OT that speak of the assembling or assembly of the people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"OriginsandEarlyHistory\">Origins and Early History<\/p>\n<p>It is unknown just how or when the synagogue as an institution first began. One can imagine the situation in Jerusalem after the destruction of the temple by the Babylonians in 586 <span>BC<\/span>. The people who remained in and around the city who wanted to keep true to their faith would have felt the need to meet for worship, where they would continue to teach the law and the message of the prophets. Some think, therefore, that synagogues may have had their origin in such a situation. Jewish people in the various places of the Dispersion would have been aware of a similar need. Jewish elders met together with Ezekiel in exile in Babylon (Ez 8:1; 14:1; 20:1). Yet there is no positive evidence of actual synagogues at this early stage. In Nehemiah 8:1-8 the postexilic community gathered in Jerusalem, and Ezra the scribe brought the law, read it from a wooden pulpit, and gave an interpretation so that the people understood the reading. When Ezra blessed the Lord, the people bowed their heads and worshiped. These were the basic elements of what came to be synagogue worship. The first undisputed evidence of a synagogue comes from Egypt in the third century <span>BC<\/span>. From the first century <span>BC<\/span> onward, the evidence of synagogues is abundant.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"SynagoguesinNTTimes\">Synagogues in NT Times<\/p>\n<p>The Gospels give the impression of many synagogues existing throughout Palestine. Jesus frequently taught in synagogues (e.g., Mt 4:23; 9:35), especially during his Galilean ministry, but probably in Judea as well. In John 18:20 are the words of Jesus in his trial before the high priest: “I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together” (<span>rsv<\/span>).<\/p>\n<p>The Acts of the Apostles refers to synagogues in Jerusalem (Acts 6:9), Damascus (9:2), Cyprus (13:5), the Roman province of Galatia (13:14; 14:1), Macedonia and Greece (17:1, 10, 17; 18:4), and Ephesus in the Roman province of Asia (19:8). Paul made it his practice to go directly to the synagogue and to preach there as long as he was given freedom to do so.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"SynagogueWorship\">Synagogue Worship<\/p>\n<p>The Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles give abundant evidence for the meeting of Jewish people on the Sabbath to worship in the synagogue. People also met for worship on the second and fifth days of the week. Luke provides us with the earliest description of a synagogue service. The Mishnah describes the pattern of the synagogue service: the confession of faith, the Shema (which included reciting Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 11:13-21; and Numbers 15:37-41); prayer (such as the 18 Benedictions); Scripture reading (the reading of the Law was basic, see Acts 15:21, and was read according to a three-year cycle; the Prophets were also read, but more at random); interpretation (as the knowledge of biblical Hebrew diminished in Palestine, an Aramaic translation of the Scriptures was presented after the reading in Hebrew, and in the Dispersion, a Greek translation); address (following the reading, anyone suitably qualified might address the people, as Jesus and the apostle Paul often did); and blessing.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"JudicialFunctions\">Judicial Functions<\/p>\n<p>Administration of justice was also part of the work of the synagogue. Offenders against the law and those whose actions were held to be contrary to Jewish religion were brought before the elders of the synagogue. They might, under extreme circumstances, excommunicate an offender (see Jn 9:22, 34-35; 12:42) or have him scourged. Jesus warned his disciples to be prepared to face either possibility (Mt 10:17; Jn 16:2). Saul, as persecutor of the Christians, had letters addressed to the synagogues at Damascus, giving authority to arrest Christians and bring them bound to Jerusalem (Acts 9:2). In Acts 22:19 he speaks of causing them to be both beaten and imprisoned. Paul himself received the 39 lashes that were administered in the synagogues (2 Cor 11:24).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TeachingoftheLaw\">Teaching of the Law<\/p>\n<p>The reading of the Law was of central significance in synagogue worship. The teaching of the Law to people generally, and especially to children, was intimately associated with the synagogue. Either the synagogue building or a school was used.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Organization\">Organization<\/p>\n<p>The NT refers in particular (e.g., Mk 5:22; Lk 13:14; Acts 18:8,17) to two appointments in the synagogue: the “ruler of the synagogue,” who was responsible for order and for selection of the Scripture reader; and an attendant (Lk 4:20), who brought out and put away the Scripture scrolls and also administered corporal punishment to unruly students. Later on, there was a person appointed as leader of the prayers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Architecture\">Architecture<\/p>\n<p>In structure the synagogue was modeled after the temple. It was built, when possible, on high ground and often constructed so that the people could sit facing the direction of Jerusalem. There was a portable chest for the scrolls of the Law and the Prophets, and a platform for the reading of the Scriptures and for preaching. Men and women sat apart. The scribes loved the “chief seats” facing the people (Mk 12:39). Many synagogues had ornamentations of vine leaves, seven-branched candlesticks, the paschal lamb, and the pot of manna. Early synagogues also had a genizah, which was a cellar or attic where worn scrolls were put, because, as they bore the name of God, they were too sacred to be destroyed.<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Judaism; Ruler of the Synagogue.<\/p>","summary_ro":"SYNAGOGUE Transliteration of the Greek word sunagoge, meaning “a gathering together.” It is used more than 50 times in the NT, mostly for the religious gathering places of Jewish communities in Palestine and throughout the Dispersion. The word sunagoge is usually the Greek rendering of Hebrew words in the OT that speak of the assembling or assembly of the people. Origins and Early History It is unknown just how or when the synagogue as an institution first began. One can imagine the situation...","summary_en":"SYNAGOGUE Transliteration of the Greek word sunagoge, meaning “a gathering together.” It is used more than 50 times in the NT, mostly for the religious gathering places of Jewish communities in Palestine and throughout the Dispersion. The word sunagoge is usually the Greek rendering of Hebrew words in the OT that speak of the assembling or assembly of the people. Origins and Early History It is unknown just how or when the synagogue as an institution first began. One can imagine the situation...","source":"Articles\/S.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false}],"25":[{"id":37616,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Travel","title_en":"Travel","content_ro":"<h3>TRAVEL<\/h3>\n<p>In biblical times travelers found roads bad and often impassable. Sea voyages were made in comparatively small ships, usually by military and commercial personnel, and hardly ever for simple tourist traffic. With little reason to travel, ordinary citizens tended to remain in fairly limited areas. From time to time, there were group migrations, and sometimes people traveled for religious festivals or fled from war or famine.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TravelinOldTestamentTimes\">Travel in Old Testament Times<\/p>\n<p>Several accounts depict the people of Israel moving over restricted areas to graze their flocks. Joseph’s brothers took their flocks from the south of the land up to Shechem and then to Dothan (Gn 37:12-17), but this was a mere 60 miles (96.5 kilometers). David traveled around Palestine and even went to Moab (1 Sm 22:3). The Danites moved from their home southwest of Jerusalem to the north, just south of the Lebanon Mountains (Jgs 18).<\/p>\n<p>Examples of travel for pasturage, migration, and protection could be multiplied. Such travelers would normally walk, though the ass was used both for riding and as a pack animal. The ox was employed for transporting heavy loads and sometimes for people (Gn 46:5). Later the camel came into general use (1 Kgs 10:2; 2 Kgs 8:9). Little is known of resting places for travelers in OT times. There are only a few references to a “lodging place” (<span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">malon<\/span>) in OT narratives (Gn 42:27; 43:21; Ex 4:24).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TravelinNewTestamentTimes\">Travel in New Testament Times<\/p>\n<p>The Roman world knew a great deal of travel: to fulfill religious obligations at festival time, for trade, for government administration, for military purposes. Not the least among first-century travelers were the early Christian missionaries.<\/p>\n<p>The advent of Roman peace and authority and the construction of well-made stone roads made travel relatively safe and quick. The modes of travel improved over that known in OT times. Long distances were traveled within the Roman Empire over good roads and in comparative safety. There were some hazards, however, notably in sea travel, from wind, storms, and pirates (Acts 15:39; 18:18-22; Rom 15:24-25; 2 Cor 11:25-26). Paul’s sea journey to Rome, for example, was perilous (Acts 27:1–28:14).<\/p>\n<p>The NT mentions a number of journeys on foot. Mary journeyed from Galilee to Judea to visit Elizabeth (Lk 1:39-40, 56). The baby Jesus was born in Bethlehem during the census (2:1-7); Jesus was brought to Jerusalem to comply with the Jewish purification law (v 22). Thus three trips were made from Nazareth to Jerusalem, a distance of about 70 miles (112.6 kilometers), from the time of Jesus’ conception to Mary’s purification. The annual Passover visit was made by Joseph and Mary (vv 41-51). Other journeys are mentioned (Jn 2:13; 5:1; 7:1-10; 12:1). Jesus himself walked to Jericho from Galilee (Mk 1:1-11) and also to the region of Tyre and Sidon (7:24). He was in Samaria more than once (Lk 17:11; Jn 4:4). His last journey to Jerusalem was via Jericho and up through the hills to Jerusalem (Mk 10:1, 46; 11:1). His last journey after the resurrection was to Emmaus (Lk 24:13-35).<\/p>\n<p>Paul traveled by sea on each of his missionary journeys (Acts 13:1-14; 15:41–18:22; 18:23–21:17), generally accompanied by friends. He also made many journeys on foot in Palestine, Asia Minor, and the Greek peninsula. But not all travel was on foot in NT times. The ass, used for carrying loads, often carried people. Jesus once rode from Bethphage to Jerusalem, a short but highly symbolic journey (Mt 21:2-7; Mk 11:1-11; Jn 12:12-15). When Joseph traveled with his pregnant wife, Mary, to Bethlehem for the census at the time of Jesus’ birth, Mary probably rode on an ass. The Ethiopian eunuch was riding in a chariot after worshiping at Jerusalem and was joined by Philip traveling on foot (Acts 8:26-38). Roman soldiers both marched and made wide use of horses. When Paul was brought to Caesarea from Jerusalem, mounts were prepared for him (23:23-24).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"RoadsandSeaLanes\">Roads and Sea Lanes<\/p>\n<p>The roads of biblical times figured prominently in the geography, topography, and history of Palestine—a land that served as a bridge between Egypt and centers of civilization and trade in the Middle East. Many of the roads were strategically important, both commercially and militarily. Some roads gained significance as pilgrim routes to facilitate travel to religious centers like Jerusalem. Roads in biblical times were of three main types: long-distance international roads, medium-distance intraregional roads, and a variety of roads inside each region or state.<\/p>\n<h5>Great International Roads<\/h5>\n<p>These linked the Mediterranean coast to the northern Tigris Valley and southern Mesopotamia. Some linked Mesopotamia to Asia Minor, while others led south to Egypt, either along the coast or east of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea and across the Sinai Peninsula. There were trade routes between Anatolia and Assyria early in the second millennium <span>BC<\/span>. Apparently the military campaign referred to in Genesis 14 aimed to secure the great trade route, the King’s Highway, from northern Mesopotamia to Egypt. Military invaders and travelers from Babylonia, Assyria, and Persia would head across the hinterlands of Syria toward the coast before turning south into Palestine and Egypt. The advent of European powers, Greece and Rome, into the Middle East opened up another vast network of international roads for the peoples of the East. Until Roman times, these roads were not surfaced with stone but were cleared pathways. They were very rough, ungraded, and in wet weather, impassable in many places. But they were evidently well defined by “waymarks” and “guideposts” (Jer 31:21). With the coming of the Romans, important roads were built with deep foundations and with large blocks of flat stone at the surface. The remains of these roads are still seen in many places in the Middle East and in Europe. Distance markers or milestones were regularly placed along the roads.<\/p>\n<h5>International North-South Roads in Palestine<\/h5>\n<p>The roads that linked countries to the north with Egypt passed through Palestine, a natural land bridge. There were three major roads. The coastal road began in Damascus and passed via Hazor across the plain of Esdraelon, through the Megiddo Pass, down the coast past Gaza and into Egypt. This was probably “the way of the sea” (Is 9:1). The Sinai road led from Egypt into the southern Negev and then to Kadesh-barnea, Beersheba, Hebron, Jerusalem, Shechem, Acco, Tyre, and Sidon. The Red Sea road entered the Palestine area from the Gulf of Aqaba, where the ancient port of Elath and Solomon’s port of Ezion-geber stood (Nm 33:35; 2 Chr 8:17). From there it led through the mountainous areas of Transjordan, crossing the deep wadis and then north through the Hauran region to Damascus. This was the road taken by caravans from southern Arabia to Damascus, the ancient King’s Highway (Nm 20:17; 21:22).<\/p>\n<p>There were other north-south roads of lesser importance. One coastal road led from Joppa via Caesarea and Dor to Acco, where it linked with the Sinai road. Evidently it was not very significant until Roman times, when the port of Caesarea was built. The marshes in the plain of Sharon posed many problems. The plain of Esdraelon was also marshy and interrupted the roads north in bad seasons. A raised road across the swampy sections was eventually constructed. Another road led north from Hazor, branching off the main trunk road to Damascus. The Jordan Valley road skirted the southwestern part of Galilee and led down the Jordan Valley to Jericho.<\/p>\n<h5>East-West Roads<\/h5>\n<p>Several important roads ran east-west, intersecting the larger roads leading north. One such road led from Gaza to Beersheba and then down the Arabah, with an offshoot to Petra. Another led from Ashkelon, via Gath, to Hebron and on to En-gedi on the Dead Sea. Another road led from Joppa east up the valley of Aijalon (Jos 10:6-14) to Bethel and on to Jericho. One well-used road led from Joppa to Shechem, across the Jordan at Adam (3:16) and into Gilead in Transjordan. Other roads led from Acco eastward to Galilee and also up the coast to Tyre and Sidon. There were, indeed, numerous east-west roads that provided contact between various parts of Palestine. In Roman times, when the speedy movement of armies was essential, some of the old roads were greatly improved and new ones built.<\/p>\n<h5>Sea Lanes<\/h5>\n<p>The people of Israel, unlike the Phoenicians, seldom used the sea lanes. When Solomon planned to send ships down the Red Sea to Ophir (1 Kgs 9:26-28), he used Phoenician seamen. Jehoshaphat planned a similar expedition, but his ships were wrecked (22:48-49). Coastal traffic in OT times was in the hands of Philistines and Phoenicians. There were several ports along the Mediterranean Sea coast, such as Gaza, Joppa, Dor, and Acco, but none was very good. There were also sea lanes linking the Mediterranean coast with Egypt and distant Tarshish (probably Spain). The other coastal water was the Gulf of Aqaba with its two ports—Ezion-geber for Transjordan, and Elath for west of the Jordan. Solomon’s fleet used Ezion-geber as its home port.<\/p>\n\n<p>In NT times things changed considerably. The Middle East produced commodities used by peoples farther west, especially the Romans. Alexandria in Egypt and Antioch in Syria handled both cargo and travelers. Smaller ports like those in Palestine and many others around the coast of Asia Minor provided a haven for ships. One ingenious scheme to avoid a 200-mile (321.8-kilometer) journey around the Greek peninsula was to drag small boats across the five-mile- (8-kilometer-) wide isthmus at Corinth. Even the largest ship in NT times was in danger from wind and storm at sea (Acts 27), so sea travel was undertaken preferably when the risk of storms was minimal, roughly from November to March. There was a lot of sea traffic in the Mediterranean Sea at appropriate seasons, largely for trade. Grain ships crossed regularly from Rome to Egypt and to the east.<\/p>\n<p>Ships were driven by sail power supplemented as necessary by oars operated by slaves. Some indication of the size of ships comes from the discovery of ancient wrecks and from Latin and Greek literature. An old dry dock 130 feet (39.6 meters) long found near Athens was once used for Greek war vessels, which were smaller than the cargo vessels. The Roman writer Lucian refers to an Alexandrian grain ship 180 feet (54.9 meters) long, suggesting a capacity of about 1,200 tons (1,088.6 metric tons). Paul’s ship carried 276 persons (Acts 27:37). Modern underwater archaeology is providing valuable information about these ancient ships.<\/p>\n<h5>Reasons for Travel<\/h5>\n<p>The most important reason for travel in NT times was for trade and commerce, which involved far more than merely transporting goods. There were agents, supervisors, insurers of cargo, bankers, and a whole range of people involved in the acquisition and safe delivery of the cargo.<\/p>\n<p>Military travel was considerable. A wide variety of tasks had to be undertaken in the way of reconnaissance, procuring of supplies, forward arrangements for the bivouacking of troops, and the transport of both troops and equipment.<\/p>\n<p>Some travelers were tradespeople changing their place of employment, like Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:2-3). Aquila had traveled from Pontus on the Black Sea to Rome and then, in a time of persecution, he had fled to Corinth with his wife. Many others traveled for similar reasons.<\/p>\n<p>People on religious pilgrimage traveled by land or sea. Jews from many lands journeyed to Jerusalem for the annual Passover festivities (cf. Acts 2:5-11). Non-Jews went to religious centers at Ephesus, Athens, and Eleusis, where there were important temples. Many minor temples also attracted pilgrims. The construction of new temples and a variety of government administration buildings brought craftsmen from afar. Often the materials used in construction had to be transported to the site. Some people made trips for health reasons to temples famed for healing miracles or to enjoy the benefits of hot springs like those at Capernaum or Tiberias. Athletes traveled to centers for important contests like the Olympic games, and crowds of people flocked to witness the spectacle. Some travelers were students or teachers going to great centers of learning—the universities of those times. Yet others traveled as official emissaries bearing important government and commercial documents. Despite all this activity, vast numbers of ordinary citizens hardly ever traveled more than a few miles from their homes.<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>TRAVEL<\/h3>\n<p>In biblical times travelers found roads bad and often impassable. Sea voyages were made in comparatively small ships, usually by military and commercial personnel, and hardly ever for simple tourist traffic. With little reason to travel, ordinary citizens tended to remain in fairly limited areas. From time to time, there were group migrations, and sometimes people traveled for religious festivals or fled from war or famine.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TravelinOldTestamentTimes\">Travel in Old Testament Times<\/p>\n<p>Several accounts depict the people of Israel moving over restricted areas to graze their flocks. Joseph’s brothers took their flocks from the south of the land up to Shechem and then to Dothan (Gn 37:12-17), but this was a mere 60 miles (96.5 kilometers). David traveled around Palestine and even went to Moab (1 Sm 22:3). The Danites moved from their home southwest of Jerusalem to the north, just south of the Lebanon Mountains (Jgs 18).<\/p>\n<p>Examples of travel for pasturage, migration, and protection could be multiplied. Such travelers would normally walk, though the ass was used both for riding and as a pack animal. The ox was employed for transporting heavy loads and sometimes for people (Gn 46:5). Later the camel came into general use (1 Kgs 10:2; 2 Kgs 8:9). Little is known of resting places for travelers in OT times. There are only a few references to a “lodging place” (<span class=\"hebrew\" lang=\"he\">malon<\/span>) in OT narratives (Gn 42:27; 43:21; Ex 4:24).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TravelinNewTestamentTimes\">Travel in New Testament Times<\/p>\n<p>The Roman world knew a great deal of travel: to fulfill religious obligations at festival time, for trade, for government administration, for military purposes. Not the least among first-century travelers were the early Christian missionaries.<\/p>\n<p>The advent of Roman peace and authority and the construction of well-made stone roads made travel relatively safe and quick. The modes of travel improved over that known in OT times. Long distances were traveled within the Roman Empire over good roads and in comparative safety. There were some hazards, however, notably in sea travel, from wind, storms, and pirates (Acts 15:39; 18:18-22; Rom 15:24-25; 2 Cor 11:25-26). Paul’s sea journey to Rome, for example, was perilous (Acts 27:1–28:14).<\/p>\n<p>The NT mentions a number of journeys on foot. Mary journeyed from Galilee to Judea to visit Elizabeth (Lk 1:39-40, 56). The baby Jesus was born in Bethlehem during the census (2:1-7); Jesus was brought to Jerusalem to comply with the Jewish purification law (v 22). Thus three trips were made from Nazareth to Jerusalem, a distance of about 70 miles (112.6 kilometers), from the time of Jesus’ conception to Mary’s purification. The annual Passover visit was made by Joseph and Mary (vv 41-51). Other journeys are mentioned (Jn 2:13; 5:1; 7:1-10; 12:1). Jesus himself walked to Jericho from Galilee (Mk 1:1-11) and also to the region of Tyre and Sidon (7:24). He was in Samaria more than once (Lk 17:11; Jn 4:4). His last journey to Jerusalem was via Jericho and up through the hills to Jerusalem (Mk 10:1, 46; 11:1). His last journey after the resurrection was to Emmaus (Lk 24:13-35).<\/p>\n<p>Paul traveled by sea on each of his missionary journeys (Acts 13:1-14; 15:41–18:22; 18:23–21:17), generally accompanied by friends. He also made many journeys on foot in Palestine, Asia Minor, and the Greek peninsula. But not all travel was on foot in NT times. The ass, used for carrying loads, often carried people. Jesus once rode from Bethphage to Jerusalem, a short but highly symbolic journey (Mt 21:2-7; Mk 11:1-11; Jn 12:12-15). When Joseph traveled with his pregnant wife, Mary, to Bethlehem for the census at the time of Jesus’ birth, Mary probably rode on an ass. The Ethiopian eunuch was riding in a chariot after worshiping at Jerusalem and was joined by Philip traveling on foot (Acts 8:26-38). Roman soldiers both marched and made wide use of horses. When Paul was brought to Caesarea from Jerusalem, mounts were prepared for him (23:23-24).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"RoadsandSeaLanes\">Roads and Sea Lanes<\/p>\n<p>The roads of biblical times figured prominently in the geography, topography, and history of Palestine—a land that served as a bridge between Egypt and centers of civilization and trade in the Middle East. Many of the roads were strategically important, both commercially and militarily. Some roads gained significance as pilgrim routes to facilitate travel to religious centers like Jerusalem. Roads in biblical times were of three main types: long-distance international roads, medium-distance intraregional roads, and a variety of roads inside each region or state.<\/p>\n<h5>Great International Roads<\/h5>\n<p>These linked the Mediterranean coast to the northern Tigris Valley and southern Mesopotamia. Some linked Mesopotamia to Asia Minor, while others led south to Egypt, either along the coast or east of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea and across the Sinai Peninsula. There were trade routes between Anatolia and Assyria early in the second millennium <span>BC<\/span>. Apparently the military campaign referred to in Genesis 14 aimed to secure the great trade route, the King’s Highway, from northern Mesopotamia to Egypt. Military invaders and travelers from Babylonia, Assyria, and Persia would head across the hinterlands of Syria toward the coast before turning south into Palestine and Egypt. The advent of European powers, Greece and Rome, into the Middle East opened up another vast network of international roads for the peoples of the East. Until Roman times, these roads were not surfaced with stone but were cleared pathways. They were very rough, ungraded, and in wet weather, impassable in many places. But they were evidently well defined by “waymarks” and “guideposts” (Jer 31:21). With the coming of the Romans, important roads were built with deep foundations and with large blocks of flat stone at the surface. The remains of these roads are still seen in many places in the Middle East and in Europe. Distance markers or milestones were regularly placed along the roads.<\/p>\n<h5>International North-South Roads in Palestine<\/h5>\n<p>The roads that linked countries to the north with Egypt passed through Palestine, a natural land bridge. There were three major roads. The coastal road began in Damascus and passed via Hazor across the plain of Esdraelon, through the Megiddo Pass, down the coast past Gaza and into Egypt. This was probably “the way of the sea” (Is 9:1). The Sinai road led from Egypt into the southern Negev and then to Kadesh-barnea, Beersheba, Hebron, Jerusalem, Shechem, Acco, Tyre, and Sidon. The Red Sea road entered the Palestine area from the Gulf of Aqaba, where the ancient port of Elath and Solomon’s port of Ezion-geber stood (Nm 33:35; 2 Chr 8:17). From there it led through the mountainous areas of Transjordan, crossing the deep wadis and then north through the Hauran region to Damascus. This was the road taken by caravans from southern Arabia to Damascus, the ancient King’s Highway (Nm 20:17; 21:22).<\/p>\n<p>There were other north-south roads of lesser importance. One coastal road led from Joppa via Caesarea and Dor to Acco, where it linked with the Sinai road. Evidently it was not very significant until Roman times, when the port of Caesarea was built. The marshes in the plain of Sharon posed many problems. The plain of Esdraelon was also marshy and interrupted the roads north in bad seasons. A raised road across the swampy sections was eventually constructed. Another road led north from Hazor, branching off the main trunk road to Damascus. The Jordan Valley road skirted the southwestern part of Galilee and led down the Jordan Valley to Jericho.<\/p>\n<h5>East-West Roads<\/h5>\n<p>Several important roads ran east-west, intersecting the larger roads leading north. One such road led from Gaza to Beersheba and then down the Arabah, with an offshoot to Petra. Another led from Ashkelon, via Gath, to Hebron and on to En-gedi on the Dead Sea. Another road led from Joppa east up the valley of Aijalon (Jos 10:6-14) to Bethel and on to Jericho. One well-used road led from Joppa to Shechem, across the Jordan at Adam (3:16) and into Gilead in Transjordan. Other roads led from Acco eastward to Galilee and also up the coast to Tyre and Sidon. There were, indeed, numerous east-west roads that provided contact between various parts of Palestine. In Roman times, when the speedy movement of armies was essential, some of the old roads were greatly improved and new ones built.<\/p>\n<h5>Sea Lanes<\/h5>\n<p>The people of Israel, unlike the Phoenicians, seldom used the sea lanes. When Solomon planned to send ships down the Red Sea to Ophir (1 Kgs 9:26-28), he used Phoenician seamen. Jehoshaphat planned a similar expedition, but his ships were wrecked (22:48-49). Coastal traffic in OT times was in the hands of Philistines and Phoenicians. There were several ports along the Mediterranean Sea coast, such as Gaza, Joppa, Dor, and Acco, but none was very good. There were also sea lanes linking the Mediterranean coast with Egypt and distant Tarshish (probably Spain). The other coastal water was the Gulf of Aqaba with its two ports—Ezion-geber for Transjordan, and Elath for west of the Jordan. Solomon’s fleet used Ezion-geber as its home port.<\/p>\n\n<p>In NT times things changed considerably. The Middle East produced commodities used by peoples farther west, especially the Romans. Alexandria in Egypt and Antioch in Syria handled both cargo and travelers. Smaller ports like those in Palestine and many others around the coast of Asia Minor provided a haven for ships. One ingenious scheme to avoid a 200-mile (321.8-kilometer) journey around the Greek peninsula was to drag small boats across the five-mile- (8-kilometer-) wide isthmus at Corinth. Even the largest ship in NT times was in danger from wind and storm at sea (Acts 27), so sea travel was undertaken preferably when the risk of storms was minimal, roughly from November to March. There was a lot of sea traffic in the Mediterranean Sea at appropriate seasons, largely for trade. Grain ships crossed regularly from Rome to Egypt and to the east.<\/p>\n<p>Ships were driven by sail power supplemented as necessary by oars operated by slaves. Some indication of the size of ships comes from the discovery of ancient wrecks and from Latin and Greek literature. An old dry dock 130 feet (39.6 meters) long found near Athens was once used for Greek war vessels, which were smaller than the cargo vessels. The Roman writer Lucian refers to an Alexandrian grain ship 180 feet (54.9 meters) long, suggesting a capacity of about 1,200 tons (1,088.6 metric tons). Paul’s ship carried 276 persons (Acts 27:37). Modern underwater archaeology is providing valuable information about these ancient ships.<\/p>\n<h5>Reasons for Travel<\/h5>\n<p>The most important reason for travel in NT times was for trade and commerce, which involved far more than merely transporting goods. There were agents, supervisors, insurers of cargo, bankers, and a whole range of people involved in the acquisition and safe delivery of the cargo.<\/p>\n<p>Military travel was considerable. A wide variety of tasks had to be undertaken in the way of reconnaissance, procuring of supplies, forward arrangements for the bivouacking of troops, and the transport of both troops and equipment.<\/p>\n<p>Some travelers were tradespeople changing their place of employment, like Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:2-3). Aquila had traveled from Pontus on the Black Sea to Rome and then, in a time of persecution, he had fled to Corinth with his wife. Many others traveled for similar reasons.<\/p>\n<p>People on religious pilgrimage traveled by land or sea. Jews from many lands journeyed to Jerusalem for the annual Passover festivities (cf. Acts 2:5-11). Non-Jews went to religious centers at Ephesus, Athens, and Eleusis, where there were important temples. Many minor temples also attracted pilgrims. The construction of new temples and a variety of government administration buildings brought craftsmen from afar. Often the materials used in construction had to be transported to the site. Some people made trips for health reasons to temples famed for healing miracles or to enjoy the benefits of hot springs like those at Capernaum or Tiberias. Athletes traveled to centers for important contests like the Olympic games, and crowds of people flocked to witness the spectacle. Some travelers were students or teachers going to great centers of learning—the universities of those times. Yet others traveled as official emissaries bearing important government and commercial documents. Despite all this activity, vast numbers of ordinary citizens hardly ever traveled more than a few miles from their homes.<\/p>","summary_ro":"TRAVEL In biblical times travelers found roads bad and often impassable. Sea voyages were made in comparatively small ships, usually by military and commercial personnel, and hardly ever for simple tourist traffic. With little reason to travel, ordinary citizens tended to remain in fairly limited areas. From time to time, there were group migrations, and sometimes people traveled for religious festivals or fled from war or famine. Travel in Old Testament Times Several accounts depict the peop...","summary_en":"TRAVEL In biblical times travelers found roads bad and often impassable. Sea voyages were made in comparatively small ships, usually by military and commercial personnel, and hardly ever for simple tourist traffic. With little reason to travel, ordinary citizens tended to remain in fairly limited areas. From time to time, there were group migrations, and sometimes people traveled for religious festivals or fled from war or famine. Travel in Old Testament Times Several accounts depict the peop...","source":"Articles\/T.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":57869,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:25","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:25","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:25<\/strong> <em>Three times I was beaten with rods:<\/em> Paul suffered this Roman punishment at Philippi, though as a Roman citizen he should have been exempted (Acts 16:22-24, 37). • <em>Once I was stoned:<\/em> At Lystra (Acts 14:19). • <em>Three times I was shipwrecked:<\/em> These events are otherwise unknown; Paul’s shipwreck on the voyage to Rome would come later (Acts 27:1-44).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:25<\/strong> <em>Three times I was beaten with rods:<\/em> Paul suffered this Roman punishment at Philippi, though as a Roman citizen he should have been exempted (Acts 16:22-24, 37). • <em>Once I was stoned:<\/em> At Lystra (Acts 14:19). • <em>Three times I was shipwrecked:<\/em> These events are otherwise unknown; Paul’s shipwreck on the voyage to Rome would come later (Acts 27:1-44).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:25 Three times I was beaten with rods: Paul suffered this Roman punishment at Philippi, though as a Roman citizen he should have been exempted (Acts 16:22-24, 37). • Once I was stoned: At Lystra (Acts 14:19). • Three times I was shipwrecked: These events are otherwise unknown; Paul’s shipwreck on the voyage to Rome would come later (Acts 27:1-44).","summary_en":"11:25 Three times I was beaten with rods: Paul suffered this Roman punishment at Philippi, though as a Roman citizen he should have been exempted (Acts 16:22-24, 37). • Once I was stoned: At Lystra (Acts 14:19). • Three times I was shipwrecked: These events are otherwise unknown; Paul’s shipwreck on the voyage to Rome would come later (Acts 27:1-44).","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":85495,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:25","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:25","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:25<\/strong> <em>Three times I was beaten with rods:<\/em> Paul suffered this Roman punishment at Philippi, though as a Roman citizen he should have been exempted (Acts 16:22-24, 37). • <em>Once I was stoned:<\/em> At Lystra (Acts 14:19). • <em>Three times I was shipwrecked:<\/em> These events are otherwise unknown; Paul’s shipwreck on the voyage to Rome would come later (Acts 27:1-44).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:25<\/strong> <em>Three times I was beaten with rods:<\/em> Paul suffered this Roman punishment at Philippi, though as a Roman citizen he should have been exempted (Acts 16:22-24, 37). • <em>Once I was stoned:<\/em> At Lystra (Acts 14:19). • <em>Three times I was shipwrecked:<\/em> These events are otherwise unknown; Paul’s shipwreck on the voyage to Rome would come later (Acts 27:1-44).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:25 Three times I was beaten with rods: Paul suffered this Roman punishment at Philippi, though as a Roman citizen he should have been exempted (Acts 16:22-24, 37). • Once I was stoned: At Lystra (Acts 14:19). • Three times I was shipwrecked: These events are otherwise unknown; Paul’s shipwreck on the voyage to Rome would come later (Acts 27:1-44).","summary_en":"11:25 Three times I was beaten with rods: Paul suffered this Roman punishment at Philippi, though as a Roman citizen he should have been exempted (Acts 16:22-24, 37). • Once I was stoned: At Lystra (Acts 14:19). • Three times I was shipwrecked: These events are otherwise unknown; Paul’s shipwreck on the voyage to Rome would come later (Acts 27:1-44).","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":113121,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:25","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:25","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:25<\/strong> <em>Three times I was beaten with rods:<\/em> Paul suffered this Roman punishment at Philippi, though as a Roman citizen he should have been exempted (Acts 16:22-24, 37). • <em>Once I was stoned:<\/em> At Lystra (Acts 14:19). • <em>Three times I was shipwrecked:<\/em> These events are otherwise unknown; Paul’s shipwreck on the voyage to Rome would come later (Acts 27:1-44).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:25<\/strong> <em>Three times I was beaten with rods:<\/em> Paul suffered this Roman punishment at Philippi, though as a Roman citizen he should have been exempted (Acts 16:22-24, 37). • <em>Once I was stoned:<\/em> At Lystra (Acts 14:19). • <em>Three times I was shipwrecked:<\/em> These events are otherwise unknown; Paul’s shipwreck on the voyage to Rome would come later (Acts 27:1-44).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:25 Three times I was beaten with rods: Paul suffered this Roman punishment at Philippi, though as a Roman citizen he should have been exempted (Acts 16:22-24, 37). • Once I was stoned: At Lystra (Acts 14:19). • Three times I was shipwrecked: These events are otherwise unknown; Paul’s shipwreck on the voyage to Rome would come later (Acts 27:1-44).","summary_en":"11:25 Three times I was beaten with rods: Paul suffered this Roman punishment at Philippi, though as a Roman citizen he should have been exempted (Acts 16:22-24, 37). • Once I was stoned: At Lystra (Acts 14:19). • Three times I was shipwrecked: These events are otherwise unknown; Paul’s shipwreck on the voyage to Rome would come later (Acts 27:1-44).","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":140747,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:25","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:25","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:25<\/strong> <em>Three times I was beaten with rods:<\/em> Paul suffered this Roman punishment at Philippi, though as a Roman citizen he should have been exempted (Acts 16:22-24, 37). • <em>Once I was stoned:<\/em> At Lystra (Acts 14:19). • <em>Three times I was shipwrecked:<\/em> These events are otherwise unknown; Paul’s shipwreck on the voyage to Rome would come later (Acts 27:1-44).<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:25<\/strong> <em>Three times I was beaten with rods:<\/em> Paul suffered this Roman punishment at Philippi, though as a Roman citizen he should have been exempted (Acts 16:22-24, 37). • <em>Once I was stoned:<\/em> At Lystra (Acts 14:19). • <em>Three times I was shipwrecked:<\/em> These events are otherwise unknown; Paul’s shipwreck on the voyage to Rome would come later (Acts 27:1-44).<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:25 Three times I was beaten with rods: Paul suffered this Roman punishment at Philippi, though as a Roman citizen he should have been exempted (Acts 16:22-24, 37). • Once I was stoned: At Lystra (Acts 14:19). • Three times I was shipwrecked: These events are otherwise unknown; Paul’s shipwreck on the voyage to Rome would come later (Acts 27:1-44).","summary_en":"11:25 Three times I was beaten with rods: Paul suffered this Roman punishment at Philippi, though as a Roman citizen he should have been exempted (Acts 16:22-24, 37). • Once I was stoned: At Lystra (Acts 14:19). • Three times I was shipwrecked: These events are otherwise unknown; Paul’s shipwreck on the voyage to Rome would come later (Acts 27:1-44).","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false}],"26":[{"id":29151,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Paul, the Apostle","title_en":"Paul, the Apostle","content_ro":"<h3>PAUL, T<span>he Apostle<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Prominent leader of the first-century church; apostle to the Gentiles; author of 13 NT epistles.<\/p>\n<p>Preview<\/p>\n<p>• Family and Cultural Background<\/p>\n<p>• Education<\/p>\n<p>• Saul the Persecutor<\/p>\n<p>• Conversion and Calling<\/p>\n<p>• Preparation for Ministry<\/p>\n<p>• Sent Out from Antioch<\/p>\n<p>• Traveling with Barnabas<\/p>\n<p>• The Council of Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>• Further Travel<\/p>\n<p>• Labor in the Gospel<\/p>\n<p>• The Arrest in Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>• Voyage and Stay in Rome<\/p>\n<p>• Final Years and Martyrdom<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"FamilyandCulturalBackground\">Family and Cultural Background<\/p>\n<p>Paul was born around <span>AD<\/span> 10, a Jew in a family of Pharisees (Acts 23:6) of the tribe of Benjamin (Phil 3:5) in Tarsus of Cilicia (Acts 9:11; 21:39; 22:3), a center of commerce and learning that embraced the Hellenistic spirit and Roman politics. It was a city of which he could be proud (21:39). His parents named him Saul, perhaps after the first king of Israel, who was also a Benjaminite (1 Sm 11:15; Acts 13:21), but Acts 13:9 notes that he “was also called Paul.” He uses the Roman name Paul throughout his letters.<\/p>\n<p>From religious parents Paul received knowledge of the Law and Prophets and the Hebrew and Aramaic languages (Acts 21:40; 22:2-3; 23:6; Gal 1:14; Phil 3:5-6). Tarsus, however, was not a Jewish city. Rather, it had a Greek character, being a place where the Greek language was spoken and Greek literature was cultivated. This accounts for Paul’s familiarity with Greek (Acts 21:37), the language of the streets and shops of Tarsus.<\/p>\n<p>Jews were brought to Tarsus, the capital of the Roman province of Cilicia, in 171 <span>BC<\/span> to promote business in the region. At that time Paul’s ancestors were probably given Roman citizenship. Paul inherited from his father both Tarsisian and Roman citizenship, which would prove to be of great value to Paul in his later life as he traveled with the gospel throughout the Roman Empire (Acts 16:37; 22:25-29; 23:27). Paul may have had several brothers and sisters, but Acts 23:16 mentions only one sister, whose son performed a lifesaving act for his uncle.<\/p>\n<p>Paul was a tent maker (Acts 18:3). He may have learned this trade from his father, or he may have selected it as a means of self-support, as was the custom of those in rabbinical training. Tarsus was well known for the goat’s-hair cloth called cilicium. It was the weaving of this cloth and the fashioning of it into tents, sails, awnings, and cloaks that gave Paul his economic independence during his apostolic ministry (Acts 18:3; 20:34; 28:30; 2 Cor 11:9; 1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Education\">Education<\/p>\n<p>Although born in Tarsus, Paul testified to the Jews in Jerusalem that he had been brought up in this city and studied under Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). It is not clear when Paul was first brought to Jerusalem, but it is likely that sometime between the ages of 13 and 20 he began his formal rabbinical studies. His teacher, Gamaliel, was the grandson of Hillel, founder of a Pharisaic school whose teachings run through the Talmudic writings to this day. This is the same Gamaliel whose wisdom persuaded the Sanhedrin to spare the lives of Peter and the apostles (5:33-40). No doubt, it was while studying under Gamaliel in Hillel’s school that Paul began to advance in Judaism beyond many Jews of his own age and became extremely zealous for the traditions of his fathers (Gal 1:14). Perhaps then also Paul began to experience the struggles with the law he would later describe in Romans 7.<\/p>\n<p>While Paul was studying the Jewish law in Jerusalem, Jesus was working as a carpenter in Nazareth. Then Jesus gathered the disciples who would one day be Paul’s coworkers in the gospel, fulfilled his ministry, and accomplished redemption on the cross of Calvary (<span>AD<\/span> 30). Christ’s resurrection gave birth to the church, which was baptized in the Holy Spirit at the Feast of Pentecost in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"SaulthePersecutor\">Saul the Persecutor<\/p>\n<p>Shortly after these world-changing events, the members of certain synagogues in Jerusalem, including the Cilician synagogue, that of Paul’s native land (Acts 6:9), could not withstand the wisdom and spirit (v 10) of a member of the church in Jerusalem named Stephen (vv 5, 8). They accused him of blasphemy before the Sanhedrin (vv 11-15) and after his eloquent defense (7:1-53) dragged him out of the city, where he was stoned to death. He became the first Christian martyr. The record does not fully reveal the role Paul played in these proceedings, but we know that he was present and prominent because the witnesses against Stephen, who were required to throw the first stones in the execution, “laid their clothes at the feet of a young man called Saul [Paul]” (v 58, <span>niv<\/span>).<\/p>\n<p>At Stephen’s trial, Paul heard Stephen’s historical method of defense, and he later used it himself at Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:16-41). He witnessed the man with the face of an angel (6:15), full of the Holy Spirit, looking above and proclaiming “the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God” (7:56). Stephen’s death initiated the events that would culminate in Paul’s conversion and commission as the apostle to the Gentiles. But at that time Paul was a leader of the oppressors of the church. He breathed threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord (9:1); he persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it (Gal 1:13) by imprisoning Christians, both male and female (Acts 22:4), in many cities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"ConversionandCalling\">Conversion and Calling<\/p>\n<p>Paul had obtained letters from the high priest in Jerusalem to the synagogues in Damascus authorizing him to arrest the believers there and bring them to Jerusalem for trial (Acts 9:1-2). Paul traveled to Damascus for this purpose. Then, on the outskirts of the city, came the event that was to transform this law-keeping persecutor of Jesus Christ and blasphemous destroyer of the infant church into the chief propagator of the gospel of grace and master builder of the church (1 Cor 3:10; 1 Tm 1:13). This was the occasion of Paul’s conversion (c. <span>AD<\/span> 31–33). It was of such revolutionary and lasting importance that three detailed accounts of it are given in the book of Acts (Acts 9:1-19; 22:1-21; 26:1-23), and many references are given to it in Paul’s own writings (1 Cor 9:1; 15:8; Gal 1:15-16; Eph 3:3; Phil 3:12).<\/p>\n<p>At that time a light from heaven, brighter than the midday sun, shone around Paul and his traveling companions, and they fell to the ground (Acts 26:13-14). Only Paul, however, heard the voice of Jesus instruct him in his commission as a minister and witness to the Gentiles (vv 14-18). Temporarily blinded, Paul was led into Damascus (9:8). There, the disciple Ananias and the Christian community forgave Paul, baptized him, and helped him through the bewildering event of his conversion (vv 10-22). After a short time with the church there, Paul was threatened with death by the Jews to whom he preached Jesus (vv 20-22), but he was protected by the believers and ingeniously delivered from his persecutors (vv 23-25).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"PreparationforMinistry\">Preparation for Ministry<\/p>\n<p>Then began a period of preparation, which lasted about 13 years. During this time, Paul first was in the desert of Arabia for three years. Here was his opportunity to pray and reflect on Stephen’s defense to the Sanhedrin, the momentous significance of his conversion, the vision he received of Jesus Christ, and the meaning of all this in the light of Jewish theology. Following this, Paul returned to Damascus and then visited Peter in Jerusalem for 15 days (Gal 1:17-18).<\/p>\n<p>At first, the disciples in Jerusalem were afraid of him because they did not believe he was a disciple of Jesus (Acts 9:26), but he was championed by Barnabas and thus accepted by the believers in Jerusalem (vv 27-28). While there, Paul may have heard the oral gospel, a summary of the words and deeds of Jesus, handed down to all converts. This would have included the institution of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11:23-25), specific words of the Lord (Acts 20:35; 1 Cor 7:10; 9:14), the appearances of the resurrected Christ (1 Cor 15:3-8), and the spirit and character of Jesus (2 Cor 10:1; Phil 2:5-8). Paul also preached in Jerusalem, perhaps in the same synagogues in which he had heard Stephen. However, when his life was again threatened by the Jews, the believers sent him away to Tarsus (Acts 9:29-30; Gal 1:21).<\/p>\n<p>The end of Paul’s preparation came when Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for him and bring him to Antioch. By this time Paul had lived for 10 years in Cilicia. Since his conversion, before being sent to Tarsus, he had proclaimed Jesus (Acts 9:20), speaking boldly in the name of the Lord (v 27). There is no reason to think he did otherwise while living among the Gentiles in Cilicia. In fact, his work may have been so effective that he began to attract attention in Antioch. During these years, Paul probably underwent many of the sufferings mentioned in 2 Corinthians 11:24-26. Several scholars think that the ecstatic experience mentioned in 2 Corinthians 12:1-9, with its accompanying thorn in the flesh, also took place before he came to Antioch.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"SentOutfromAntioch\">Sent Out from Antioch<\/p>\n<p>The church in Antioch had its origins in the persecution fomented by Paul after the death of Stephen. Until they arrived in Antioch, the scattered believers had only spoken the word to Jews (Acts 11:19). It was here that the Gentiles first heard the Good News (v 20), and many became believers (v 21). It is fitting that Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 22:21; Rom 11:13), who was as yet unknown by sight to the churches of Judea (Gal 1:22), should appear in Antioch to formally begin the ministry to which he was called (Acts 26:17-18).<\/p>\n<p>Barnabas and Paul stayed with the church in Antioch for a year. Their work there was so blessed that a new name, Christian, was coined to distinguish the believers in Antioch from Gentiles and Jews (Acts 11:26). Hearing of a famine in Judea, the disciples in Antioch determined to send relief to the believers in Judea and did so by Barnabas and Paul (v 30). Such a gift displayed to the Jewish churches the potency of the gospel among the Gentiles. Their mission complete, Barnabas and Paul returned to Antioch with John Mark (12:25), Barnabas’s cousin (Col 4:10).<\/p>\n<p>Beginning from the Day of Pentecost, the work in the gospel had been casual and incidental. Contacts were made in the homes, the marketplace, the streets, synagogues, highways, etc. (Acts 3:1; 5:12, 42; 8:26-29; 10:22). But in Antioch the Holy Spirit initiated a determined effort to evangelize a section of the Roman Empire (13:1-3). By the Holy Spirit’s instructions, the church separated Barnabas and Paul for this work. With the prayers and encouragement of this church, and with John Mark as their assistant, Barnabas and Paul, sent out by the Holy Spirit, sailed for Cyprus (v 4).<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TravelingwithBarnabas\">Traveling with Barnabas<\/p>\n<p>Arriving in Salamis, they preached in the synagogues as they traveled the length of the island to Paphos (Acts 13:5-6). There the Roman proconsul, Sergius Paulus, wanted to hear the word of God (v 7). A magician named Elymas Bar-Jesus tried to prevent the proconsul from believing in Jesus but was stricken with temporary blindness by Paul’s command (vv 8-11). This was the first manifestation in Paul of the signs of an apostle (2 Cor 12:12). From then on, the name Paul, not Saul, is used in Luke’s record of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 13:9), and Paul replaced Barnabas as the leader of the party. So “Paul and his company” set sail from Paphos and arrived in Perga of Pamphylia (v 13). John Mark deserted them at Perga and returned to his home in Jerusalem (v 13). This caused discord (15:39), but Paul and Mark were later reconciled (Col 4:10; 2 Tm 4:11).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s travels with the gospel now continued through the Roman province of Asia, specifically in the southern portion of Galatia, the areas of Pamphylia, Pisidia, and Lycaonia. The coastal area where the party landed is a hot, malarial region. It is thought that Paul contracted malaria there and so traveled inland through the mountains to the 4,000-foot- (1,219.2-meter-) high tablelands. Such a journey would have been full of dangerous rivers and bandits (2 Cor 11:26), but Paul was well cared for by the Galatian highlanders when he arrived (Gal 4:13-15) and was rewarded with a warm reception to his message (Acts 13:48-49).<\/p>\n<p>Paul and Barnabas were asked to speak at the synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia (Acts 13:15), and Paul delivered a discourse full of the characteristics of the gospel he would later record in his letters to the churches (vv 16-41). He was invited to speak the next week (v 42); nearly the whole city gathered together to hear the word of God (v 44). This stirred up jealousy in the Jews who opposed Paul’s words (v 45), causing the apostles’ dramatic turn to the Gentiles (vv 46-47). Many Gentiles in Antioch believed and spread the word throughout the region, but Paul and Barnabas were forced out and went to Iconium in Lycaonia (vv 48-51).<\/p>\n<p>The success in Antioch was duplicated in Iconium as was the Jews’ opposition (Acts 14:1), and the apostles fled from the threat of a stoning to Lystra and Derbe in Lycaonia (vv 5-6). In Lystra the signs of an apostle were again seen when Paul healed a man who had been crippled since birth (vv 8-10). The idolatrous citizens of the town, however, primed by the popular belief that Jupiter, accompanied by Mercury, had once visited their region, worshiped Paul and Barnabas as these deities (vv 11-13). Even the convincing words of Paul, whom they mistook for Mercury, hardly restrained the crowds from offering a sacrifice (vv 14-18).<\/p>\n<p>It was in Lystra that Paul was first given a taste of the same medicine he had once administered to Christians. The Jews stoned him, dragged him out of the city, and left him for dead (Acts 14:19). Timothy (16:1-3) may have been among the new disciples surrounding Paul as he lay outside the gate (14:20). Timothy was Paul’s son in the faith (1 Cor 4:17; 1 Tm 1:2), eyewitness to his suffering (2 Tm 3:10-11), faithful companion, and fellow worker (Acts 19:22; 20:4; Rom 16:21; 1 Thes 3:2). The next day Barnabas and Paul went on to Derbe (Acts 14:20).<\/p>\n<p>After making many disciples in Derbe, the apostles retraced their steps through Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia, strengthening and encouraging the new believers and appointing elders in each church (Acts 14:21-23). Arriving again in Perga, they sailed back to Antioch of Syria, where they reported to the church the wonderful news that God had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles (vv 25-27).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TheCouncilofJerusalem\">The Council of Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>The Jews, who had dogged the steps of Paul and Barnabas throughout Galatia, followed on their heels to bewitch the Gentiles there, convincing them to desert the grace of Christ and submit to the Jewish law (Gal 1:6; 3:1). Shortly after the apostles’ return to Antioch, Judaizers came from Judea to Antioch, teaching salvation by the law (Acts 15:1). This began the war against the gospel of grace, which Paul preached.<\/p>\n<p>The church in Antioch sent Paul, Barnabas, and others to Jerusalem to settle the controversy of the law versus grace with the apostles and elders there (<span>AD<\/span> 49, Acts 15:2). Along the way to Jerusalem they spread the news of the conversion of the Gentiles. This brought great joy to the believers (v 3). Such joy was not shared by some in Jerusalem, who in the first meeting of the council said that the Gentiles should be ordered to keep the law of Moses (v 5).<\/p>\n<p>After this meeting, Paul and Barnabas met privately with Peter, John, and James (Gal 2:1-10) and explained the gospel they had been preaching to the Gentiles. These three leaders of the church in Jerusalem saw the grace that had been given to Paul to bring the gospel to the Gentiles and extended to him the “right hand of fellowship.” This private meeting seems to have decided the question of compliance to the Jewish law because in the next general meeting Peter said, “We believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 15:11, <span>rsv<\/span>), and James reached the decision that “we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God” (Acts 15:19, <span>rsv<\/span>). This was a great victory for Paul and Barnabas, and the news was received with rejoicing by the church in Antioch (vv 30-35).<\/p>\n<p>Later, Peter visited Antioch and freely associated with the Gentile believers as he had timidly done in Cornelius’s house (Acts 10:28). This continued until “certain men came from James.” Their presence brought fear to Peter, clouding the light of the gospel of grace, and causing him to separate himself from the Gentiles. Peter’s action influenced others, including Barnabas, to do the same (Gal 2:12-13). Paul rose to the challenge of this serious crisis, confronted Peter publicly, and charged him with Judaizing and hypocrisy (v 14). Paul won the battle and rescued Peter and Barnabas with eloquent words on justification by faith (vv 15-21), but the Judaizers had resumed their war. From this time on, they did not rest; rather, they tormented and persecuted Paul all over the world. But the apostle did not submit to them for a moment. He was engaged in the fight of his life, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with the Gentile believers (v 5).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"FurtherTravel\">Further Travel<\/p>\n<p>Paul wanted to visit the new believers and see how they were doing. So he proposed to Barnabas that they return to the cities where they had previously preached about Jesus (Acts 15:36). Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them, but Paul would not take him since he had deserted them during their earlier journey (13:13). This sharp disagreement ended Barnabas’s association with Paul (15:37-39). Silas, a leader among the brothers in Jerusalem (v 22), accompanied Paul as he set out by land through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches (vv 40-41).<\/p>\n<p>Beginning from Derbe in Galatia, Paul and Silas revisited the churches Paul had established with Barnabas. While in Lystra, they were joined by Timothy (Acts 16:1-3). The apostles delivered to these young churches the letter drafted by the elders and apostles in Jerusalem concerning the observance of the law (15:23-29), thus strengthening and increasing them (16:4-5).<\/p>\n<p>It is likely that Ephesus, a major city in the Roman province of Asia, was the party’s main objective for the advancement of the gospel, but they were “forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia” (Acts 16:6). Then they attempted to turn north and enter the region of Bithynia, “but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them” (v 7). In this way they were forced by God to continue straight westward to Troas on the Aegean Sea, where Luke joined them (“we” in v 10), and Paul had a vision in which he was called out of Asia into Macedonia (vv 8-9). Paul and his party immediately crossed by boat into Europe (v 11) where they carried the gospel to Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, and Corinth.<\/p>\n<p>Philippi was a Roman colony and military outpost where there were few Jews, so Paul went to a place by the river where the local Jews prayed. He spoke to some women there, notably Lydia, who believed and with her household was baptized (Acts 16:12-15), beginning the first church in Europe. Paul cast a spirit of divination out of a girl in Philippi, and as a result he and Silas were jailed (vv 16-24). The events of their night in jail made the jailer a believer in God (vv 25-34), and he and his family were added to the church in Philippi, which met in Lydia’s home (v 40). When Paul disclosed his Roman citizenship, he was released and was asked to leave the city (vv 35-39).<\/p>\n<p>At Thessalonica the Jews, aroused to jealousy by the success of Paul’s gospel message, raised a mob to search for the apostles. They complained to the city authorities that the people “who have turned the world upside down have come here also” and accused the apostles of “saying that there is another king [besides Caesar], Jesus” (Acts 17:5-7).<\/p>\n<p>Paul and Silas quickly left Thessalonica by night and arrived in Berea, a city thereafter distinguished by its citizens who eagerly and thoughtfully received the gospel (Acts 17:10-12). The Thessalonian Jews did not rest but trailed Paul to Berea to incite the crowds. The believers then sent Paul away to Athens, while Silas and Timothy stayed behind (vv 13-15).<\/p>\n<p>The Athenians called Paul a babbler but let him air his views before the Areopagus. Paul’s speech there was alive with his broad knowledge. He alluded to Greco-Roman philosophy (Acts 17:27), poetry (v 28), sculpture (vv 25, 29), architecture (v 24), and religion while proclaiming the existence of an “unknown god” (v 23). But he was rudely cut short by scoffing and indifference when he mentioned the resurrection (v 32). Paul’s words delighted the minds of many but influenced the wills of few, so when he arrived in Corinth, he determined not to proclaim the mystery of God in lofty words of wisdom so that the believers’ faith would not rest on human wisdom but on the power of God (1 Cor 2:1-5).<\/p>\n<p>In Corinth Paul met Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:2-3), Roman Jews with whom he lived and worked as a tent maker and who would become prominent among the churches (Acts 18:26; Rom 16:3; 1 Cor 16:19; 2 Tm 4:19). He stayed in Corinth 18 months from <span>AD<\/span> 50 to 51, raising up a church (Acts 18:11) on the strength of a vision from God (vv 9-10) and in spite of the attacks of the Jews (vv 12-17). Paul wrote the first and second letters to the Thessalonians from Corinth to establish the believers in a holy, industrious life (1 Thes 3:13; 5:23; 2 Thes 3:7-12) in hope of the second coming of Jesus Christ (1 Thes 4:15-18; 2 Thes 2:1ff.).<\/p>\n<p>Accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila, Paul sailed from Corinth for Syria. He left his fellow workers in Ephesus, sailed to Caesarea, briefly visited Jerusalem, and returned to Antioch (Acts 18:18-22). Paul stayed in Antioch for awhile but did not remain absent from the field of his labors for long. Alone, he departed from Antioch, went from place to place in Galatia and Phrygia strengthening all the disciples, and eventually arrived in Ephesus (18:23; 19:1).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"LaborintheGospel\">Labor in the Gospel<\/p>\n<p>A Jew named Apollos had ministered in Ephesus prior to Paul’s arrival and had recently gone over to Corinth (Acts 18:24-28). There Apollos innocently became the cause of such discord (1 Cor 3:3-9) that he left and refused to return even at Paul’s request (16:12). Paul’s earlier visit to Ephesus (Acts 18:19-20), Apollos’s ministry, and the presence of Priscilla and Aquila had prepared Ephesus for the apostle’s preaching of the gospel of Christ.<\/p>\n<p>Paul began his work in Ephesus by setting straight some ill-informed disciples of John the Baptist (Acts 19:1-7). He then spent three months preaching at the local synagogue until members of the congregation “spoke evil of the Way” (v 9). Paul then took the disciples and continued his arguments on the neutral ground of Tyrannus’s school (vv 8-9), where Jews and Greeks were free to come. He continued there for two years and “all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord” (v 10).<\/p>\n<p>The work in Ephesus was a great success (Acts 19:10, 20, 26). Paul enjoyed an open door for effective work (1 Cor 16:9), bolstered by extraordinary miracles (Acts 19:11-17), a public burning of valuable books of sorcery (vv 18-19), and the assistance of friendly officials from the province of Asia (v 31). There were also many adversaries (1 Cor 15:32; 16:9), especially among the artisans associated with the temple of Diana. Paul’s ministry had hurt their trade to the extent that they were incited to riot (Acts 19:23-41). Paul had intended to stay in Ephesus until Pentecost (1 Cor 16:8), but this tumult seems to have hastened his departure (Acts 20:1).<\/p>\n<p>During his stay in Ephesus, the household of Chloe sent word to Paul from Corinth that there were divisions in the church there (1 Cor 1:10-13). This report generated a flurry of letters and travels. Paul wrote a letter, which is now lost, to this church (5:9). The church in Corinth wrote a letter (7:1) and sent messengers to Paul (16:17), and Paul sent Timothy to them (4:17; 16:10). Paul then wrote 1 Corinthians (<span>AD<\/span> 53) and sent it by Titus, who was to meet him in Troas to report the results (2 Cor 2:12-13).<\/p>\n<p>After his hasty exit from Ephesus, Paul found an open door for the gospel in Troas, but he so longed to hear from Corinth that he pushed on into Macedonia (2 Cor 2:12-13). There he was finally comforted by Titus (7:5-7) and rejoiced at the news of the Corinthians’ repentance, earnestness, longing, and zeal (vv 8-16). From Macedonia Paul wrote 2 Corinthians (<span>AD<\/span> 54), toured northwest to proclaim the good news of Christ in Illyricum (Rom 15:19), and then turned south for Achaia and his third visit to Corinth (Acts 19:21; 20:1-3; 2 Cor 13:1).<\/p>\n<p>The time and place from which Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians is a topic of controversy. Some date it before the council at Jerusalem, about <span>AD<\/span> 45. Others say he wrote it from Corinth at this stage in his history. The latter opinion is the choice of this narrative.<\/p>\n<p>A three-month winter stay in Corinth (<span>AD<\/span> 55–56) produced the Letter to the Romans, which firmly set the benchmark of the gospel for all the ages. Paul had many personal friends in Rome (Rom 16) and had long intended to visit there (1:10-15). His plans were to deliver a collection from the Gentile churches to Jerusalem (Acts 20:35; Rom 15:25-26; 1 Cor 16:1) and then visit Rome (Acts 19:21) on his way to Spain (Rom 15:23-24).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TheArrestinJerusalem\">The Arrest in Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s trip from Corinth to Jerusalem was marked by abundant warnings of the danger awaiting him in Jerusalem. The Judaizers’ acrimony toward Paul was common talk everywhere, but all alarms went unheeded (Acts 20:22-24, 38; 21:4, 10-15). However, the request for prayer in Romans 15:30-32 shows that Paul knew he might soon need a divine rescue from the unbelievers in Judea.<\/p>\n<p>The travelers, carrying the collection for Jerusalem, journeyed swiftly in order to reach Jerusalem by Pentecost (Acts 20:16). They proceeded by land from Achaia, through Macedonia, to Philippi in time for the Passover (spring <span>AD<\/span> 56, v 6). Crossing by sea to Troas, they visited the believers there (vv 7-12) and then sailed through the archipelago of the eastern Aegean Sea to Miletus (vv 13-16). From Miletus, Paul sent for the elders of Ephesus, to whom he delivered an impassioned speech containing his own dire warnings for them (vv 17-38).<\/p>\n<p>Parting from them, Paul and his companions set sail to Cos, to Rhodes, and then to Patara, where they changed ships for Phoenicia (Acts 21:1-2). A straight course to Tyre brought them within sight of Cyprus, with its memories of Barnabas and Sergius Paulus (v 3). “Through the Spirit” the disciples in Tyre “told Paul not to go on to Jerusalem” (v 4), but he pressed on to Caesarea, where he and his company stayed with Philip, who had formerly served with the martyred Stephen (21:8; cf. 6:5). In Caesarea, Paul would not be persuaded by an especially dramatic prophecy of his coming arrest (21:10-14).<\/p>\n<p>In Jerusalem the apostolic band stayed with Mnason, an early disciple, and were warmly welcomed by the brothers there (Acts 21:15-17). James and the elders of the church praised God when they heard of the things he had done through Paul among the Gentiles (vv 18-20), and when they received the collection from the churches (24:17). They told Paul of his bad reputation among the thousands of Jewish believers in Jerusalem and urged him to set right the Judaizers’ misrepresentation that he encouraged Jewish Christians to forsake the Mosaic customs (21:21-24). Acts 21:25 shows the Jerusalem elders understood that the Gentiles were under no obligation to Moses; their concern was for Paul to demonstrate that Jewish believers were free to continue their traditional observances.<\/p>\n<p>Paul had kept the Jewish feasts (Acts 20:6), as had Jesus and the early disciples in Jerusalem. He had also cut his hair in a vow at Cenchreae (18:18), so it was a small matter for him, a Jew, to ceremonially purify himself after becoming a Christian, especially if it would undermine the arguments of the Judaizers. To have refused the elders’ request would have lent credence to the Judaizers’ charge. The success of this plan is seen in that it was the Jews from Asia, visiting Jerusalem for the Pentecost feast of <span>AD<\/span> 57, who stirred up trouble for Paul (21:27-29)—not the Judaizers from Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p>The whole city was aroused by Paul’s persistent persecutors. A violent crowd dragged him out of the temple just as Stephen had once been hauled to his martyrdom. They tried to kill him, but he was rescued by Roman soldiers as the mob cried, “Away with him!”—just as they had done to Jesus (Acts 21:30-36). At this juncture the educational and cultural diversity of Paul’s life came to his rescue. As he was carried for safety to the Roman barracks, he spoke in Greek to the tribune, who had mistaken him for an Egyptian assassin (vv 37-38). Given permission to speak to the crowd, he did so in the Aramaic language then common in Israel (vv 39-40). The hushed crowd eagerly heard Paul’s defense until he uttered the word “Gentiles.” At this, the crowd resumed its threatening and violence, and Paul was brought into the barracks (22:1-24). There the Romans prepared to flog him, until Paul revealed that he was not only a Jew from Tarsus but also a freeborn Roman citizen. The tribune was afraid, since he had bound a Roman citizen. Wanting to know the charges against Paul, he brought him to the Sanhedrin (vv 25-30).<\/p>\n<p>This meeting of the Jewish judiciary was shortly reduced to dissension and violence. Paul resorted to tactics justifiable in such a war and hopelessly divided the Sanhedrin on the subject of the resurrection (Acts 23:1-9). Paul again was rescued, this time from the contending factions of the Jewish leadership, and taken to the barracks, where the Lord encouraged him, promising that he would go to Rome (<span>AD<\/span> 56, vv 10-11).<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime 40 Jews entered into a murderous plot against Paul. They vowed not to eat or drink until they had killed the apostle (Acts 23:12-15). They almost succeeded, but with the help of the son of Paul’s sister (v 16), the conspiracy was exposed. For safety, Paul was taken from Jerusalem to Caesarea under guard of 470 soldiers and handed over to the custody of Felix the governor (vv 16-35). Inconclusive hearings before Felix (Acts 24), his successor, Festus (25:1-12), and King Agrippa (25:23–26:32) occupied Paul in his two years of imprisonment in Caesarea. Festus, wanting to please the Jews, suggested that Paul be returned to Jerusalem for trial, but Paul knew the murderous intent of his accusers and again utilized his Roman citizenship by making a dramatic appeal to Caesar (25:9-12).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"VoyageandStayinRome\">Voyage and Stay in Rome<\/p>\n<p>To plead his case at Caesar’s court, Paul and his companions, Aristarchus and Luke, were taken on a perilous voyage (<span>AD<\/span> 58, Acts 27:1–28:16). Their passage by ship from Caesarea to Rome is one of the most remarkable on record. Luke’s detailed account is a treasure of information on ancient ships, navigation, and seamanship. It is also a beautiful portrait of a heroic and dignified apostle Paul, the gospel’s ambassador in chains (Eph 6:20), who with the guidance and assurance of his God (Acts 27:23-26), led the 276 people on board to safety (v 37).<\/p>\n<p>Luke traces the voyage stage by stage through every crisis, with a change of ship at Myra, delay at Fair Havens on Crete, and the shipwreck on Malta. Finally, in the spring of <span>AD<\/span> 59, they arrived at Puteoli, Italy, and made their way to Rome, welcomed by the believers along the Appian Way (Acts 28:13-16).<\/p>\n<p>Luke provided a peaceful denouement to the Acts, notwithstanding the fact that the apostle was an imperial prisoner of Caesar Nero. Paul lived by himself in his own house, chained to a Roman guard (Acts 28:16, 30). There he received the local Jewish leaders—to calm any misgivings they may have had about him and, at the same time, to convince them about Jesus. His efforts had mixed success (vv 17-28). During Paul’s two or more years in Rome, the Judaizers seem to have withdrawn, only to be replaced by the peril of Eastern Gnosticism. This is seen in Paul’s letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Ephesians, and to Philemon, all written at this time. It is unlikely that Paul’s accusers appeared in Rome to bring formal charges before Caesar, so Paul was probably released in <span>AD<\/span> 61.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"FinalYearsandMartyrdom\">Final Years and Martyrdom<\/p>\n<p>It is here assumed that the Pastoral Letters (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus) are truly Paul’s work. Only through them can the probable course of events in Paul’s final years be traced. Romans 15:28 shows that Paul intended to deliver the collection to Jerusalem and then to “set out by way of you [Rome] to Spain.” The arrest and imprisonment in Jerusalem not only destroyed these plans but also extracted five precious years from the prime of a most productive life. Although Clement of Rome implied that Paul did fulfill his desire to go to Spain (<em>Clement to the Corinthians<\/em> 5), it is certain that the daily pressure of Paul’s anxious care for all the churches (2 Cor 11:28) did not abate.<\/p>\n<p>If Paul went to Spain, he may have been there when Rome was burned on July 19, <span>AD<\/span> 64. Tradition says that Paul traveled as far as Britain, but there is no evidence to confirm this. Returning east, he left Titus in Crete (Ti 1:5) and traveled through Miletus, south of Ephesus, where he left Trophimus sick (2 Tm 4:20). Traveling toward Macedonia, Paul visited Timothy in Ephesus (1 Tm 1:3). On the way, Paul left his cloak and books with Carpus in Troas (2 Tm 4:13). This indicates that he intended to return there for his possessions. From Macedonia Paul wrote his loving yet apprehensive first letter to Timothy (<span>AD<\/span> 62–64). He had decided to spend the winter in Nicopolis (Ti 3:12), northwest of Corinth on the Adriatic Sea, but was still in Macedonia when he wrote his letter to Titus. This letter is similar to 1 Timothy, yet with a somewhat harsher tone. In it is a final glimpse of the eloquent and zealous Apollos (Ti 3:13), who is still in association with Paul 10 or more years after his first appearance in Ephesus (Acts 18:24).<\/p>\n<p>From here Paul’s path is obscure. He may have wintered in Nicopolis, but he did not return to Troas for his winter cloak (2 Tm 4:13). At some point he was arrested by the Romans, because he spent a winter in Rome’s Mamertine Prison, suffering from the cold in that rock cell before he wrote his second letter to Timothy (<span>AD<\/span> 66–67). He may have been anticipating the coming winter when he requested that Timothy bring his cloak (vv 13, 21). It is possible that the charges against Paul were related to the burning of Rome; this is unknown. It was, however, now “illegal” to be a Christian since the “new religion” was no longer protected by Roman law as being part of Judaism (which was a legalized, recognized religion by Roman law).<\/p>\n<p>It was dangerous to be associated with Paul at this time. Many deserted him (2 Tm 4:16), including all his coworkers in Asia (1:15) and Demas, who loved the world (4:10). Only Luke, the physician and author of Luke and Acts, was with him when he wrote his second letter to Timothy (v 11). Faithful believers still in hiding in Rome were also in contact with the apostle (1:16; 4:19, 21). He told Timothy to come to him in Rome and bring Mark also (4:11). Apparently Timothy did come and was imprisoned (Heb 13:23). Paul’s request for the books and parchments (2 Tm 4:13) discloses that he was reading and studying the Scripture to the end.<\/p>\n<p>The apostle Paul had two hearings before Caesar Nero. At his first defense only the Lord stood by him (2 Tm 4:16). There he not only pleaded his own cause but also that of the gospel, still longing that all the Gentiles would hear its message. Perhaps no decision was made, and thus he was “rescued from the lion’s mouth” (v 17). Though he knew he would soon die, he was not afraid, but was assured that the Lord would give him a crown of righteousness on the last day (v 8). Finally, the apostle himself recorded his seminal encouragement to all believers: “The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you” (v 22, <span>rsv<\/span>). After this, the Scripture is silent regarding Paul.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing is known of Paul’s second hearing but that it resulted in the sentence of capital punishment. History does not record Paul’s end. Nero died in the summer of <span>AD<\/span> 68, so Paul was executed before that date. As a Roman citizen, he must have been spared the lingering torture that had recently been suffered by his fellow martyrs. Tradition says that he was decapitated by the sword of an imperial headsman on the Ostian Road just outside of Rome, and buried nearby. This fulfilled Paul’s desire “to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better” (Phil 1:23, <span>rsv<\/span>).<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>PAUL, T<span>he Apostle<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Prominent leader of the first-century church; apostle to the Gentiles; author of 13 NT epistles.<\/p>\n<p>Preview<\/p>\n<p>• Family and Cultural Background<\/p>\n<p>• Education<\/p>\n<p>• Saul the Persecutor<\/p>\n<p>• Conversion and Calling<\/p>\n<p>• Preparation for Ministry<\/p>\n<p>• Sent Out from Antioch<\/p>\n<p>• Traveling with Barnabas<\/p>\n<p>• The Council of Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>• Further Travel<\/p>\n<p>• Labor in the Gospel<\/p>\n<p>• The Arrest in Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>• Voyage and Stay in Rome<\/p>\n<p>• Final Years and Martyrdom<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"FamilyandCulturalBackground\">Family and Cultural Background<\/p>\n<p>Paul was born around <span>AD<\/span> 10, a Jew in a family of Pharisees (Acts 23:6) of the tribe of Benjamin (Phil 3:5) in Tarsus of Cilicia (Acts 9:11; 21:39; 22:3), a center of commerce and learning that embraced the Hellenistic spirit and Roman politics. It was a city of which he could be proud (21:39). His parents named him Saul, perhaps after the first king of Israel, who was also a Benjaminite (1 Sm 11:15; Acts 13:21), but Acts 13:9 notes that he “was also called Paul.” He uses the Roman name Paul throughout his letters.<\/p>\n<p>From religious parents Paul received knowledge of the Law and Prophets and the Hebrew and Aramaic languages (Acts 21:40; 22:2-3; 23:6; Gal 1:14; Phil 3:5-6). Tarsus, however, was not a Jewish city. Rather, it had a Greek character, being a place where the Greek language was spoken and Greek literature was cultivated. This accounts for Paul’s familiarity with Greek (Acts 21:37), the language of the streets and shops of Tarsus.<\/p>\n<p>Jews were brought to Tarsus, the capital of the Roman province of Cilicia, in 171 <span>BC<\/span> to promote business in the region. At that time Paul’s ancestors were probably given Roman citizenship. Paul inherited from his father both Tarsisian and Roman citizenship, which would prove to be of great value to Paul in his later life as he traveled with the gospel throughout the Roman Empire (Acts 16:37; 22:25-29; 23:27). Paul may have had several brothers and sisters, but Acts 23:16 mentions only one sister, whose son performed a lifesaving act for his uncle.<\/p>\n<p>Paul was a tent maker (Acts 18:3). He may have learned this trade from his father, or he may have selected it as a means of self-support, as was the custom of those in rabbinical training. Tarsus was well known for the goat’s-hair cloth called cilicium. It was the weaving of this cloth and the fashioning of it into tents, sails, awnings, and cloaks that gave Paul his economic independence during his apostolic ministry (Acts 18:3; 20:34; 28:30; 2 Cor 11:9; 1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Education\">Education<\/p>\n<p>Although born in Tarsus, Paul testified to the Jews in Jerusalem that he had been brought up in this city and studied under Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). It is not clear when Paul was first brought to Jerusalem, but it is likely that sometime between the ages of 13 and 20 he began his formal rabbinical studies. His teacher, Gamaliel, was the grandson of Hillel, founder of a Pharisaic school whose teachings run through the Talmudic writings to this day. This is the same Gamaliel whose wisdom persuaded the Sanhedrin to spare the lives of Peter and the apostles (5:33-40). No doubt, it was while studying under Gamaliel in Hillel’s school that Paul began to advance in Judaism beyond many Jews of his own age and became extremely zealous for the traditions of his fathers (Gal 1:14). Perhaps then also Paul began to experience the struggles with the law he would later describe in Romans 7.<\/p>\n<p>While Paul was studying the Jewish law in Jerusalem, Jesus was working as a carpenter in Nazareth. Then Jesus gathered the disciples who would one day be Paul’s coworkers in the gospel, fulfilled his ministry, and accomplished redemption on the cross of Calvary (<span>AD<\/span> 30). Christ’s resurrection gave birth to the church, which was baptized in the Holy Spirit at the Feast of Pentecost in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"SaulthePersecutor\">Saul the Persecutor<\/p>\n<p>Shortly after these world-changing events, the members of certain synagogues in Jerusalem, including the Cilician synagogue, that of Paul’s native land (Acts 6:9), could not withstand the wisdom and spirit (v 10) of a member of the church in Jerusalem named Stephen (vv 5, 8). They accused him of blasphemy before the Sanhedrin (vv 11-15) and after his eloquent defense (7:1-53) dragged him out of the city, where he was stoned to death. He became the first Christian martyr. The record does not fully reveal the role Paul played in these proceedings, but we know that he was present and prominent because the witnesses against Stephen, who were required to throw the first stones in the execution, “laid their clothes at the feet of a young man called Saul [Paul]” (v 58, <span>niv<\/span>).<\/p>\n<p>At Stephen’s trial, Paul heard Stephen’s historical method of defense, and he later used it himself at Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:16-41). He witnessed the man with the face of an angel (6:15), full of the Holy Spirit, looking above and proclaiming “the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God” (7:56). Stephen’s death initiated the events that would culminate in Paul’s conversion and commission as the apostle to the Gentiles. But at that time Paul was a leader of the oppressors of the church. He breathed threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord (9:1); he persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it (Gal 1:13) by imprisoning Christians, both male and female (Acts 22:4), in many cities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"ConversionandCalling\">Conversion and Calling<\/p>\n<p>Paul had obtained letters from the high priest in Jerusalem to the synagogues in Damascus authorizing him to arrest the believers there and bring them to Jerusalem for trial (Acts 9:1-2). Paul traveled to Damascus for this purpose. Then, on the outskirts of the city, came the event that was to transform this law-keeping persecutor of Jesus Christ and blasphemous destroyer of the infant church into the chief propagator of the gospel of grace and master builder of the church (1 Cor 3:10; 1 Tm 1:13). This was the occasion of Paul’s conversion (c. <span>AD<\/span> 31–33). It was of such revolutionary and lasting importance that three detailed accounts of it are given in the book of Acts (Acts 9:1-19; 22:1-21; 26:1-23), and many references are given to it in Paul’s own writings (1 Cor 9:1; 15:8; Gal 1:15-16; Eph 3:3; Phil 3:12).<\/p>\n<p>At that time a light from heaven, brighter than the midday sun, shone around Paul and his traveling companions, and they fell to the ground (Acts 26:13-14). Only Paul, however, heard the voice of Jesus instruct him in his commission as a minister and witness to the Gentiles (vv 14-18). Temporarily blinded, Paul was led into Damascus (9:8). There, the disciple Ananias and the Christian community forgave Paul, baptized him, and helped him through the bewildering event of his conversion (vv 10-22). After a short time with the church there, Paul was threatened with death by the Jews to whom he preached Jesus (vv 20-22), but he was protected by the believers and ingeniously delivered from his persecutors (vv 23-25).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"PreparationforMinistry\">Preparation for Ministry<\/p>\n<p>Then began a period of preparation, which lasted about 13 years. During this time, Paul first was in the desert of Arabia for three years. Here was his opportunity to pray and reflect on Stephen’s defense to the Sanhedrin, the momentous significance of his conversion, the vision he received of Jesus Christ, and the meaning of all this in the light of Jewish theology. Following this, Paul returned to Damascus and then visited Peter in Jerusalem for 15 days (Gal 1:17-18).<\/p>\n<p>At first, the disciples in Jerusalem were afraid of him because they did not believe he was a disciple of Jesus (Acts 9:26), but he was championed by Barnabas and thus accepted by the believers in Jerusalem (vv 27-28). While there, Paul may have heard the oral gospel, a summary of the words and deeds of Jesus, handed down to all converts. This would have included the institution of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11:23-25), specific words of the Lord (Acts 20:35; 1 Cor 7:10; 9:14), the appearances of the resurrected Christ (1 Cor 15:3-8), and the spirit and character of Jesus (2 Cor 10:1; Phil 2:5-8). Paul also preached in Jerusalem, perhaps in the same synagogues in which he had heard Stephen. However, when his life was again threatened by the Jews, the believers sent him away to Tarsus (Acts 9:29-30; Gal 1:21).<\/p>\n<p>The end of Paul’s preparation came when Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for him and bring him to Antioch. By this time Paul had lived for 10 years in Cilicia. Since his conversion, before being sent to Tarsus, he had proclaimed Jesus (Acts 9:20), speaking boldly in the name of the Lord (v 27). There is no reason to think he did otherwise while living among the Gentiles in Cilicia. In fact, his work may have been so effective that he began to attract attention in Antioch. During these years, Paul probably underwent many of the sufferings mentioned in 2 Corinthians 11:24-26. Several scholars think that the ecstatic experience mentioned in 2 Corinthians 12:1-9, with its accompanying thorn in the flesh, also took place before he came to Antioch.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"SentOutfromAntioch\">Sent Out from Antioch<\/p>\n<p>The church in Antioch had its origins in the persecution fomented by Paul after the death of Stephen. Until they arrived in Antioch, the scattered believers had only spoken the word to Jews (Acts 11:19). It was here that the Gentiles first heard the Good News (v 20), and many became believers (v 21). It is fitting that Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 22:21; Rom 11:13), who was as yet unknown by sight to the churches of Judea (Gal 1:22), should appear in Antioch to formally begin the ministry to which he was called (Acts 26:17-18).<\/p>\n<p>Barnabas and Paul stayed with the church in Antioch for a year. Their work there was so blessed that a new name, Christian, was coined to distinguish the believers in Antioch from Gentiles and Jews (Acts 11:26). Hearing of a famine in Judea, the disciples in Antioch determined to send relief to the believers in Judea and did so by Barnabas and Paul (v 30). Such a gift displayed to the Jewish churches the potency of the gospel among the Gentiles. Their mission complete, Barnabas and Paul returned to Antioch with John Mark (12:25), Barnabas’s cousin (Col 4:10).<\/p>\n<p>Beginning from the Day of Pentecost, the work in the gospel had been casual and incidental. Contacts were made in the homes, the marketplace, the streets, synagogues, highways, etc. (Acts 3:1; 5:12, 42; 8:26-29; 10:22). But in Antioch the Holy Spirit initiated a determined effort to evangelize a section of the Roman Empire (13:1-3). By the Holy Spirit’s instructions, the church separated Barnabas and Paul for this work. With the prayers and encouragement of this church, and with John Mark as their assistant, Barnabas and Paul, sent out by the Holy Spirit, sailed for Cyprus (v 4).<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TravelingwithBarnabas\">Traveling with Barnabas<\/p>\n<p>Arriving in Salamis, they preached in the synagogues as they traveled the length of the island to Paphos (Acts 13:5-6). There the Roman proconsul, Sergius Paulus, wanted to hear the word of God (v 7). A magician named Elymas Bar-Jesus tried to prevent the proconsul from believing in Jesus but was stricken with temporary blindness by Paul’s command (vv 8-11). This was the first manifestation in Paul of the signs of an apostle (2 Cor 12:12). From then on, the name Paul, not Saul, is used in Luke’s record of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 13:9), and Paul replaced Barnabas as the leader of the party. So “Paul and his company” set sail from Paphos and arrived in Perga of Pamphylia (v 13). John Mark deserted them at Perga and returned to his home in Jerusalem (v 13). This caused discord (15:39), but Paul and Mark were later reconciled (Col 4:10; 2 Tm 4:11).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s travels with the gospel now continued through the Roman province of Asia, specifically in the southern portion of Galatia, the areas of Pamphylia, Pisidia, and Lycaonia. The coastal area where the party landed is a hot, malarial region. It is thought that Paul contracted malaria there and so traveled inland through the mountains to the 4,000-foot- (1,219.2-meter-) high tablelands. Such a journey would have been full of dangerous rivers and bandits (2 Cor 11:26), but Paul was well cared for by the Galatian highlanders when he arrived (Gal 4:13-15) and was rewarded with a warm reception to his message (Acts 13:48-49).<\/p>\n<p>Paul and Barnabas were asked to speak at the synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia (Acts 13:15), and Paul delivered a discourse full of the characteristics of the gospel he would later record in his letters to the churches (vv 16-41). He was invited to speak the next week (v 42); nearly the whole city gathered together to hear the word of God (v 44). This stirred up jealousy in the Jews who opposed Paul’s words (v 45), causing the apostles’ dramatic turn to the Gentiles (vv 46-47). Many Gentiles in Antioch believed and spread the word throughout the region, but Paul and Barnabas were forced out and went to Iconium in Lycaonia (vv 48-51).<\/p>\n<p>The success in Antioch was duplicated in Iconium as was the Jews’ opposition (Acts 14:1), and the apostles fled from the threat of a stoning to Lystra and Derbe in Lycaonia (vv 5-6). In Lystra the signs of an apostle were again seen when Paul healed a man who had been crippled since birth (vv 8-10). The idolatrous citizens of the town, however, primed by the popular belief that Jupiter, accompanied by Mercury, had once visited their region, worshiped Paul and Barnabas as these deities (vv 11-13). Even the convincing words of Paul, whom they mistook for Mercury, hardly restrained the crowds from offering a sacrifice (vv 14-18).<\/p>\n<p>It was in Lystra that Paul was first given a taste of the same medicine he had once administered to Christians. The Jews stoned him, dragged him out of the city, and left him for dead (Acts 14:19). Timothy (16:1-3) may have been among the new disciples surrounding Paul as he lay outside the gate (14:20). Timothy was Paul’s son in the faith (1 Cor 4:17; 1 Tm 1:2), eyewitness to his suffering (2 Tm 3:10-11), faithful companion, and fellow worker (Acts 19:22; 20:4; Rom 16:21; 1 Thes 3:2). The next day Barnabas and Paul went on to Derbe (Acts 14:20).<\/p>\n<p>After making many disciples in Derbe, the apostles retraced their steps through Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia, strengthening and encouraging the new believers and appointing elders in each church (Acts 14:21-23). Arriving again in Perga, they sailed back to Antioch of Syria, where they reported to the church the wonderful news that God had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles (vv 25-27).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TheCouncilofJerusalem\">The Council of Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>The Jews, who had dogged the steps of Paul and Barnabas throughout Galatia, followed on their heels to bewitch the Gentiles there, convincing them to desert the grace of Christ and submit to the Jewish law (Gal 1:6; 3:1). Shortly after the apostles’ return to Antioch, Judaizers came from Judea to Antioch, teaching salvation by the law (Acts 15:1). This began the war against the gospel of grace, which Paul preached.<\/p>\n<p>The church in Antioch sent Paul, Barnabas, and others to Jerusalem to settle the controversy of the law versus grace with the apostles and elders there (<span>AD<\/span> 49, Acts 15:2). Along the way to Jerusalem they spread the news of the conversion of the Gentiles. This brought great joy to the believers (v 3). Such joy was not shared by some in Jerusalem, who in the first meeting of the council said that the Gentiles should be ordered to keep the law of Moses (v 5).<\/p>\n<p>After this meeting, Paul and Barnabas met privately with Peter, John, and James (Gal 2:1-10) and explained the gospel they had been preaching to the Gentiles. These three leaders of the church in Jerusalem saw the grace that had been given to Paul to bring the gospel to the Gentiles and extended to him the “right hand of fellowship.” This private meeting seems to have decided the question of compliance to the Jewish law because in the next general meeting Peter said, “We believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 15:11, <span>rsv<\/span>), and James reached the decision that “we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God” (Acts 15:19, <span>rsv<\/span>). This was a great victory for Paul and Barnabas, and the news was received with rejoicing by the church in Antioch (vv 30-35).<\/p>\n<p>Later, Peter visited Antioch and freely associated with the Gentile believers as he had timidly done in Cornelius’s house (Acts 10:28). This continued until “certain men came from James.” Their presence brought fear to Peter, clouding the light of the gospel of grace, and causing him to separate himself from the Gentiles. Peter’s action influenced others, including Barnabas, to do the same (Gal 2:12-13). Paul rose to the challenge of this serious crisis, confronted Peter publicly, and charged him with Judaizing and hypocrisy (v 14). Paul won the battle and rescued Peter and Barnabas with eloquent words on justification by faith (vv 15-21), but the Judaizers had resumed their war. From this time on, they did not rest; rather, they tormented and persecuted Paul all over the world. But the apostle did not submit to them for a moment. He was engaged in the fight of his life, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with the Gentile believers (v 5).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"FurtherTravel\">Further Travel<\/p>\n<p>Paul wanted to visit the new believers and see how they were doing. So he proposed to Barnabas that they return to the cities where they had previously preached about Jesus (Acts 15:36). Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them, but Paul would not take him since he had deserted them during their earlier journey (13:13). This sharp disagreement ended Barnabas’s association with Paul (15:37-39). Silas, a leader among the brothers in Jerusalem (v 22), accompanied Paul as he set out by land through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches (vv 40-41).<\/p>\n<p>Beginning from Derbe in Galatia, Paul and Silas revisited the churches Paul had established with Barnabas. While in Lystra, they were joined by Timothy (Acts 16:1-3). The apostles delivered to these young churches the letter drafted by the elders and apostles in Jerusalem concerning the observance of the law (15:23-29), thus strengthening and increasing them (16:4-5).<\/p>\n<p>It is likely that Ephesus, a major city in the Roman province of Asia, was the party’s main objective for the advancement of the gospel, but they were “forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia” (Acts 16:6). Then they attempted to turn north and enter the region of Bithynia, “but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them” (v 7). In this way they were forced by God to continue straight westward to Troas on the Aegean Sea, where Luke joined them (“we” in v 10), and Paul had a vision in which he was called out of Asia into Macedonia (vv 8-9). Paul and his party immediately crossed by boat into Europe (v 11) where they carried the gospel to Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, and Corinth.<\/p>\n<p>Philippi was a Roman colony and military outpost where there were few Jews, so Paul went to a place by the river where the local Jews prayed. He spoke to some women there, notably Lydia, who believed and with her household was baptized (Acts 16:12-15), beginning the first church in Europe. Paul cast a spirit of divination out of a girl in Philippi, and as a result he and Silas were jailed (vv 16-24). The events of their night in jail made the jailer a believer in God (vv 25-34), and he and his family were added to the church in Philippi, which met in Lydia’s home (v 40). When Paul disclosed his Roman citizenship, he was released and was asked to leave the city (vv 35-39).<\/p>\n<p>At Thessalonica the Jews, aroused to jealousy by the success of Paul’s gospel message, raised a mob to search for the apostles. They complained to the city authorities that the people “who have turned the world upside down have come here also” and accused the apostles of “saying that there is another king [besides Caesar], Jesus” (Acts 17:5-7).<\/p>\n<p>Paul and Silas quickly left Thessalonica by night and arrived in Berea, a city thereafter distinguished by its citizens who eagerly and thoughtfully received the gospel (Acts 17:10-12). The Thessalonian Jews did not rest but trailed Paul to Berea to incite the crowds. The believers then sent Paul away to Athens, while Silas and Timothy stayed behind (vv 13-15).<\/p>\n<p>The Athenians called Paul a babbler but let him air his views before the Areopagus. Paul’s speech there was alive with his broad knowledge. He alluded to Greco-Roman philosophy (Acts 17:27), poetry (v 28), sculpture (vv 25, 29), architecture (v 24), and religion while proclaiming the existence of an “unknown god” (v 23). But he was rudely cut short by scoffing and indifference when he mentioned the resurrection (v 32). Paul’s words delighted the minds of many but influenced the wills of few, so when he arrived in Corinth, he determined not to proclaim the mystery of God in lofty words of wisdom so that the believers’ faith would not rest on human wisdom but on the power of God (1 Cor 2:1-5).<\/p>\n<p>In Corinth Paul met Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:2-3), Roman Jews with whom he lived and worked as a tent maker and who would become prominent among the churches (Acts 18:26; Rom 16:3; 1 Cor 16:19; 2 Tm 4:19). He stayed in Corinth 18 months from <span>AD<\/span> 50 to 51, raising up a church (Acts 18:11) on the strength of a vision from God (vv 9-10) and in spite of the attacks of the Jews (vv 12-17). Paul wrote the first and second letters to the Thessalonians from Corinth to establish the believers in a holy, industrious life (1 Thes 3:13; 5:23; 2 Thes 3:7-12) in hope of the second coming of Jesus Christ (1 Thes 4:15-18; 2 Thes 2:1ff.).<\/p>\n<p>Accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila, Paul sailed from Corinth for Syria. He left his fellow workers in Ephesus, sailed to Caesarea, briefly visited Jerusalem, and returned to Antioch (Acts 18:18-22). Paul stayed in Antioch for awhile but did not remain absent from the field of his labors for long. Alone, he departed from Antioch, went from place to place in Galatia and Phrygia strengthening all the disciples, and eventually arrived in Ephesus (18:23; 19:1).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"LaborintheGospel\">Labor in the Gospel<\/p>\n<p>A Jew named Apollos had ministered in Ephesus prior to Paul’s arrival and had recently gone over to Corinth (Acts 18:24-28). There Apollos innocently became the cause of such discord (1 Cor 3:3-9) that he left and refused to return even at Paul’s request (16:12). Paul’s earlier visit to Ephesus (Acts 18:19-20), Apollos’s ministry, and the presence of Priscilla and Aquila had prepared Ephesus for the apostle’s preaching of the gospel of Christ.<\/p>\n<p>Paul began his work in Ephesus by setting straight some ill-informed disciples of John the Baptist (Acts 19:1-7). He then spent three months preaching at the local synagogue until members of the congregation “spoke evil of the Way” (v 9). Paul then took the disciples and continued his arguments on the neutral ground of Tyrannus’s school (vv 8-9), where Jews and Greeks were free to come. He continued there for two years and “all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord” (v 10).<\/p>\n<p>The work in Ephesus was a great success (Acts 19:10, 20, 26). Paul enjoyed an open door for effective work (1 Cor 16:9), bolstered by extraordinary miracles (Acts 19:11-17), a public burning of valuable books of sorcery (vv 18-19), and the assistance of friendly officials from the province of Asia (v 31). There were also many adversaries (1 Cor 15:32; 16:9), especially among the artisans associated with the temple of Diana. Paul’s ministry had hurt their trade to the extent that they were incited to riot (Acts 19:23-41). Paul had intended to stay in Ephesus until Pentecost (1 Cor 16:8), but this tumult seems to have hastened his departure (Acts 20:1).<\/p>\n<p>During his stay in Ephesus, the household of Chloe sent word to Paul from Corinth that there were divisions in the church there (1 Cor 1:10-13). This report generated a flurry of letters and travels. Paul wrote a letter, which is now lost, to this church (5:9). The church in Corinth wrote a letter (7:1) and sent messengers to Paul (16:17), and Paul sent Timothy to them (4:17; 16:10). Paul then wrote 1 Corinthians (<span>AD<\/span> 53) and sent it by Titus, who was to meet him in Troas to report the results (2 Cor 2:12-13).<\/p>\n<p>After his hasty exit from Ephesus, Paul found an open door for the gospel in Troas, but he so longed to hear from Corinth that he pushed on into Macedonia (2 Cor 2:12-13). There he was finally comforted by Titus (7:5-7) and rejoiced at the news of the Corinthians’ repentance, earnestness, longing, and zeal (vv 8-16). From Macedonia Paul wrote 2 Corinthians (<span>AD<\/span> 54), toured northwest to proclaim the good news of Christ in Illyricum (Rom 15:19), and then turned south for Achaia and his third visit to Corinth (Acts 19:21; 20:1-3; 2 Cor 13:1).<\/p>\n<p>The time and place from which Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians is a topic of controversy. Some date it before the council at Jerusalem, about <span>AD<\/span> 45. Others say he wrote it from Corinth at this stage in his history. The latter opinion is the choice of this narrative.<\/p>\n<p>A three-month winter stay in Corinth (<span>AD<\/span> 55–56) produced the Letter to the Romans, which firmly set the benchmark of the gospel for all the ages. Paul had many personal friends in Rome (Rom 16) and had long intended to visit there (1:10-15). His plans were to deliver a collection from the Gentile churches to Jerusalem (Acts 20:35; Rom 15:25-26; 1 Cor 16:1) and then visit Rome (Acts 19:21) on his way to Spain (Rom 15:23-24).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TheArrestinJerusalem\">The Arrest in Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s trip from Corinth to Jerusalem was marked by abundant warnings of the danger awaiting him in Jerusalem. The Judaizers’ acrimony toward Paul was common talk everywhere, but all alarms went unheeded (Acts 20:22-24, 38; 21:4, 10-15). However, the request for prayer in Romans 15:30-32 shows that Paul knew he might soon need a divine rescue from the unbelievers in Judea.<\/p>\n<p>The travelers, carrying the collection for Jerusalem, journeyed swiftly in order to reach Jerusalem by Pentecost (Acts 20:16). They proceeded by land from Achaia, through Macedonia, to Philippi in time for the Passover (spring <span>AD<\/span> 56, v 6). Crossing by sea to Troas, they visited the believers there (vv 7-12) and then sailed through the archipelago of the eastern Aegean Sea to Miletus (vv 13-16). From Miletus, Paul sent for the elders of Ephesus, to whom he delivered an impassioned speech containing his own dire warnings for them (vv 17-38).<\/p>\n<p>Parting from them, Paul and his companions set sail to Cos, to Rhodes, and then to Patara, where they changed ships for Phoenicia (Acts 21:1-2). A straight course to Tyre brought them within sight of Cyprus, with its memories of Barnabas and Sergius Paulus (v 3). “Through the Spirit” the disciples in Tyre “told Paul not to go on to Jerusalem” (v 4), but he pressed on to Caesarea, where he and his company stayed with Philip, who had formerly served with the martyred Stephen (21:8; cf. 6:5). In Caesarea, Paul would not be persuaded by an especially dramatic prophecy of his coming arrest (21:10-14).<\/p>\n<p>In Jerusalem the apostolic band stayed with Mnason, an early disciple, and were warmly welcomed by the brothers there (Acts 21:15-17). James and the elders of the church praised God when they heard of the things he had done through Paul among the Gentiles (vv 18-20), and when they received the collection from the churches (24:17). They told Paul of his bad reputation among the thousands of Jewish believers in Jerusalem and urged him to set right the Judaizers’ misrepresentation that he encouraged Jewish Christians to forsake the Mosaic customs (21:21-24). Acts 21:25 shows the Jerusalem elders understood that the Gentiles were under no obligation to Moses; their concern was for Paul to demonstrate that Jewish believers were free to continue their traditional observances.<\/p>\n<p>Paul had kept the Jewish feasts (Acts 20:6), as had Jesus and the early disciples in Jerusalem. He had also cut his hair in a vow at Cenchreae (18:18), so it was a small matter for him, a Jew, to ceremonially purify himself after becoming a Christian, especially if it would undermine the arguments of the Judaizers. To have refused the elders’ request would have lent credence to the Judaizers’ charge. The success of this plan is seen in that it was the Jews from Asia, visiting Jerusalem for the Pentecost feast of <span>AD<\/span> 57, who stirred up trouble for Paul (21:27-29)—not the Judaizers from Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p>The whole city was aroused by Paul’s persistent persecutors. A violent crowd dragged him out of the temple just as Stephen had once been hauled to his martyrdom. They tried to kill him, but he was rescued by Roman soldiers as the mob cried, “Away with him!”—just as they had done to Jesus (Acts 21:30-36). At this juncture the educational and cultural diversity of Paul’s life came to his rescue. As he was carried for safety to the Roman barracks, he spoke in Greek to the tribune, who had mistaken him for an Egyptian assassin (vv 37-38). Given permission to speak to the crowd, he did so in the Aramaic language then common in Israel (vv 39-40). The hushed crowd eagerly heard Paul’s defense until he uttered the word “Gentiles.” At this, the crowd resumed its threatening and violence, and Paul was brought into the barracks (22:1-24). There the Romans prepared to flog him, until Paul revealed that he was not only a Jew from Tarsus but also a freeborn Roman citizen. The tribune was afraid, since he had bound a Roman citizen. Wanting to know the charges against Paul, he brought him to the Sanhedrin (vv 25-30).<\/p>\n<p>This meeting of the Jewish judiciary was shortly reduced to dissension and violence. Paul resorted to tactics justifiable in such a war and hopelessly divided the Sanhedrin on the subject of the resurrection (Acts 23:1-9). Paul again was rescued, this time from the contending factions of the Jewish leadership, and taken to the barracks, where the Lord encouraged him, promising that he would go to Rome (<span>AD<\/span> 56, vv 10-11).<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime 40 Jews entered into a murderous plot against Paul. They vowed not to eat or drink until they had killed the apostle (Acts 23:12-15). They almost succeeded, but with the help of the son of Paul’s sister (v 16), the conspiracy was exposed. For safety, Paul was taken from Jerusalem to Caesarea under guard of 470 soldiers and handed over to the custody of Felix the governor (vv 16-35). Inconclusive hearings before Felix (Acts 24), his successor, Festus (25:1-12), and King Agrippa (25:23–26:32) occupied Paul in his two years of imprisonment in Caesarea. Festus, wanting to please the Jews, suggested that Paul be returned to Jerusalem for trial, but Paul knew the murderous intent of his accusers and again utilized his Roman citizenship by making a dramatic appeal to Caesar (25:9-12).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"VoyageandStayinRome\">Voyage and Stay in Rome<\/p>\n<p>To plead his case at Caesar’s court, Paul and his companions, Aristarchus and Luke, were taken on a perilous voyage (<span>AD<\/span> 58, Acts 27:1–28:16). Their passage by ship from Caesarea to Rome is one of the most remarkable on record. Luke’s detailed account is a treasure of information on ancient ships, navigation, and seamanship. It is also a beautiful portrait of a heroic and dignified apostle Paul, the gospel’s ambassador in chains (Eph 6:20), who with the guidance and assurance of his God (Acts 27:23-26), led the 276 people on board to safety (v 37).<\/p>\n<p>Luke traces the voyage stage by stage through every crisis, with a change of ship at Myra, delay at Fair Havens on Crete, and the shipwreck on Malta. Finally, in the spring of <span>AD<\/span> 59, they arrived at Puteoli, Italy, and made their way to Rome, welcomed by the believers along the Appian Way (Acts 28:13-16).<\/p>\n<p>Luke provided a peaceful denouement to the Acts, notwithstanding the fact that the apostle was an imperial prisoner of Caesar Nero. Paul lived by himself in his own house, chained to a Roman guard (Acts 28:16, 30). There he received the local Jewish leaders—to calm any misgivings they may have had about him and, at the same time, to convince them about Jesus. His efforts had mixed success (vv 17-28). During Paul’s two or more years in Rome, the Judaizers seem to have withdrawn, only to be replaced by the peril of Eastern Gnosticism. This is seen in Paul’s letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Ephesians, and to Philemon, all written at this time. It is unlikely that Paul’s accusers appeared in Rome to bring formal charges before Caesar, so Paul was probably released in <span>AD<\/span> 61.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"FinalYearsandMartyrdom\">Final Years and Martyrdom<\/p>\n<p>It is here assumed that the Pastoral Letters (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus) are truly Paul’s work. Only through them can the probable course of events in Paul’s final years be traced. Romans 15:28 shows that Paul intended to deliver the collection to Jerusalem and then to “set out by way of you [Rome] to Spain.” The arrest and imprisonment in Jerusalem not only destroyed these plans but also extracted five precious years from the prime of a most productive life. Although Clement of Rome implied that Paul did fulfill his desire to go to Spain (<em>Clement to the Corinthians<\/em> 5), it is certain that the daily pressure of Paul’s anxious care for all the churches (2 Cor 11:28) did not abate.<\/p>\n<p>If Paul went to Spain, he may have been there when Rome was burned on July 19, <span>AD<\/span> 64. Tradition says that Paul traveled as far as Britain, but there is no evidence to confirm this. Returning east, he left Titus in Crete (Ti 1:5) and traveled through Miletus, south of Ephesus, where he left Trophimus sick (2 Tm 4:20). Traveling toward Macedonia, Paul visited Timothy in Ephesus (1 Tm 1:3). On the way, Paul left his cloak and books with Carpus in Troas (2 Tm 4:13). This indicates that he intended to return there for his possessions. From Macedonia Paul wrote his loving yet apprehensive first letter to Timothy (<span>AD<\/span> 62–64). He had decided to spend the winter in Nicopolis (Ti 3:12), northwest of Corinth on the Adriatic Sea, but was still in Macedonia when he wrote his letter to Titus. This letter is similar to 1 Timothy, yet with a somewhat harsher tone. In it is a final glimpse of the eloquent and zealous Apollos (Ti 3:13), who is still in association with Paul 10 or more years after his first appearance in Ephesus (Acts 18:24).<\/p>\n<p>From here Paul’s path is obscure. He may have wintered in Nicopolis, but he did not return to Troas for his winter cloak (2 Tm 4:13). At some point he was arrested by the Romans, because he spent a winter in Rome’s Mamertine Prison, suffering from the cold in that rock cell before he wrote his second letter to Timothy (<span>AD<\/span> 66–67). He may have been anticipating the coming winter when he requested that Timothy bring his cloak (vv 13, 21). It is possible that the charges against Paul were related to the burning of Rome; this is unknown. It was, however, now “illegal” to be a Christian since the “new religion” was no longer protected by Roman law as being part of Judaism (which was a legalized, recognized religion by Roman law).<\/p>\n<p>It was dangerous to be associated with Paul at this time. Many deserted him (2 Tm 4:16), including all his coworkers in Asia (1:15) and Demas, who loved the world (4:10). Only Luke, the physician and author of Luke and Acts, was with him when he wrote his second letter to Timothy (v 11). Faithful believers still in hiding in Rome were also in contact with the apostle (1:16; 4:19, 21). He told Timothy to come to him in Rome and bring Mark also (4:11). Apparently Timothy did come and was imprisoned (Heb 13:23). Paul’s request for the books and parchments (2 Tm 4:13) discloses that he was reading and studying the Scripture to the end.<\/p>\n<p>The apostle Paul had two hearings before Caesar Nero. At his first defense only the Lord stood by him (2 Tm 4:16). There he not only pleaded his own cause but also that of the gospel, still longing that all the Gentiles would hear its message. Perhaps no decision was made, and thus he was “rescued from the lion’s mouth” (v 17). Though he knew he would soon die, he was not afraid, but was assured that the Lord would give him a crown of righteousness on the last day (v 8). Finally, the apostle himself recorded his seminal encouragement to all believers: “The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you” (v 22, <span>rsv<\/span>). After this, the Scripture is silent regarding Paul.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing is known of Paul’s second hearing but that it resulted in the sentence of capital punishment. History does not record Paul’s end. Nero died in the summer of <span>AD<\/span> 68, so Paul was executed before that date. As a Roman citizen, he must have been spared the lingering torture that had recently been suffered by his fellow martyrs. Tradition says that he was decapitated by the sword of an imperial headsman on the Ostian Road just outside of Rome, and buried nearby. This fulfilled Paul’s desire “to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better” (Phil 1:23, <span>rsv<\/span>).<\/p>","summary_ro":"PAUL, The Apostle Prominent leader of the first-century church; apostle to the Gentiles; author of 13 NT epistles. Preview • Family and Cultural Background • Education • Saul the Persecutor • Conversion and Calling • Preparation for Ministry • Sent Out from Antioch • Traveling with Barnabas • The Council of Jerusalem • Further Travel • Labor in the Gospel • The Arrest in Jerusalem • Voyage and Stay in Rome • Final Years and Martyrdom Family and Cultural Background Paul was born around AD 10, ...","summary_en":"PAUL, The Apostle Prominent leader of the first-century church; apostle to the Gentiles; author of 13 NT epistles. Preview • Family and Cultural Background • Education • Saul the Persecutor • Conversion and Calling • Preparation for Ministry • Sent Out from Antioch • Traveling with Barnabas • The Council of Jerusalem • Further Travel • Labor in the Gospel • The Arrest in Jerusalem • Voyage and Stay in Rome • Final Years and Martyrdom Family and Cultural Background Paul was born around AD 10, ...","source":"Articles\/P.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":57870,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:26","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:26","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:26-27<\/strong> Paul’s <em>many long journeys<\/em> are recorded in Acts 13–28. These trips involved facing <em>danger<\/em> and <em>enduring<\/em> hardship.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:26-27<\/strong> Paul’s <em>many long journeys<\/em> are recorded in Acts 13–28. These trips involved facing <em>danger<\/em> and <em>enduring<\/em> hardship.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:26-27 Paul’s many long journeys are recorded in Acts 13–28. These trips involved facing danger and enduring hardship.","summary_en":"11:26-27 Paul’s many long journeys are recorded in Acts 13–28. These trips involved facing danger and enduring hardship.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":85496,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:26","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:26","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:26-27<\/strong> Paul’s <em>many long journeys<\/em> are recorded in Acts 13–28. These trips involved facing <em>danger<\/em> and <em>enduring<\/em> hardship.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:26-27<\/strong> Paul’s <em>many long journeys<\/em> are recorded in Acts 13–28. These trips involved facing <em>danger<\/em> and <em>enduring<\/em> hardship.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:26-27 Paul’s many long journeys are recorded in Acts 13–28. These trips involved facing danger and enduring hardship.","summary_en":"11:26-27 Paul’s many long journeys are recorded in Acts 13–28. These trips involved facing danger and enduring hardship.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":113122,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:26","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:26","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:26-27<\/strong> Paul’s <em>many long journeys<\/em> are recorded in Acts 13–28. These trips involved facing <em>danger<\/em> and <em>enduring<\/em> hardship.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:26-27<\/strong> Paul’s <em>many long journeys<\/em> are recorded in Acts 13–28. These trips involved facing <em>danger<\/em> and <em>enduring<\/em> hardship.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:26-27 Paul’s many long journeys are recorded in Acts 13–28. These trips involved facing danger and enduring hardship.","summary_en":"11:26-27 Paul’s many long journeys are recorded in Acts 13–28. These trips involved facing danger and enduring hardship.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":140748,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:26","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:26","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:26-27<\/strong> Paul’s <em>many long journeys<\/em> are recorded in Acts 13–28. These trips involved facing <em>danger<\/em> and <em>enduring<\/em> hardship.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:26-27<\/strong> Paul’s <em>many long journeys<\/em> are recorded in Acts 13–28. These trips involved facing <em>danger<\/em> and <em>enduring<\/em> hardship.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:26-27 Paul’s many long journeys are recorded in Acts 13–28. These trips involved facing danger and enduring hardship.","summary_en":"11:26-27 Paul’s many long journeys are recorded in Acts 13–28. These trips involved facing danger and enduring hardship.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false}],"28":[{"id":29298,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Paul, the Apostle","title_en":"Paul, the Apostle","content_ro":"<h3>PAUL, T<span>he Apostle<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Prominent leader of the first-century church; apostle to the Gentiles; author of 13 NT epistles.<\/p>\n<p>Preview<\/p>\n<p>• Family and Cultural Background<\/p>\n<p>• Education<\/p>\n<p>• Saul the Persecutor<\/p>\n<p>• Conversion and Calling<\/p>\n<p>• Preparation for Ministry<\/p>\n<p>• Sent Out from Antioch<\/p>\n<p>• Traveling with Barnabas<\/p>\n<p>• The Council of Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>• Further Travel<\/p>\n<p>• Labor in the Gospel<\/p>\n<p>• The Arrest in Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>• Voyage and Stay in Rome<\/p>\n<p>• Final Years and Martyrdom<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"FamilyandCulturalBackground\">Family and Cultural Background<\/p>\n<p>Paul was born around <span>AD<\/span> 10, a Jew in a family of Pharisees (Acts 23:6) of the tribe of Benjamin (Phil 3:5) in Tarsus of Cilicia (Acts 9:11; 21:39; 22:3), a center of commerce and learning that embraced the Hellenistic spirit and Roman politics. It was a city of which he could be proud (21:39). His parents named him Saul, perhaps after the first king of Israel, who was also a Benjaminite (1 Sm 11:15; Acts 13:21), but Acts 13:9 notes that he “was also called Paul.” He uses the Roman name Paul throughout his letters.<\/p>\n<p>From religious parents Paul received knowledge of the Law and Prophets and the Hebrew and Aramaic languages (Acts 21:40; 22:2-3; 23:6; Gal 1:14; Phil 3:5-6). Tarsus, however, was not a Jewish city. Rather, it had a Greek character, being a place where the Greek language was spoken and Greek literature was cultivated. This accounts for Paul’s familiarity with Greek (Acts 21:37), the language of the streets and shops of Tarsus.<\/p>\n<p>Jews were brought to Tarsus, the capital of the Roman province of Cilicia, in 171 <span>BC<\/span> to promote business in the region. At that time Paul’s ancestors were probably given Roman citizenship. Paul inherited from his father both Tarsisian and Roman citizenship, which would prove to be of great value to Paul in his later life as he traveled with the gospel throughout the Roman Empire (Acts 16:37; 22:25-29; 23:27). Paul may have had several brothers and sisters, but Acts 23:16 mentions only one sister, whose son performed a lifesaving act for his uncle.<\/p>\n<p>Paul was a tent maker (Acts 18:3). He may have learned this trade from his father, or he may have selected it as a means of self-support, as was the custom of those in rabbinical training. Tarsus was well known for the goat’s-hair cloth called cilicium. It was the weaving of this cloth and the fashioning of it into tents, sails, awnings, and cloaks that gave Paul his economic independence during his apostolic ministry (Acts 18:3; 20:34; 28:30; 2 Cor 11:9; 1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Education\">Education<\/p>\n<p>Although born in Tarsus, Paul testified to the Jews in Jerusalem that he had been brought up in this city and studied under Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). It is not clear when Paul was first brought to Jerusalem, but it is likely that sometime between the ages of 13 and 20 he began his formal rabbinical studies. His teacher, Gamaliel, was the grandson of Hillel, founder of a Pharisaic school whose teachings run through the Talmudic writings to this day. This is the same Gamaliel whose wisdom persuaded the Sanhedrin to spare the lives of Peter and the apostles (5:33-40). No doubt, it was while studying under Gamaliel in Hillel’s school that Paul began to advance in Judaism beyond many Jews of his own age and became extremely zealous for the traditions of his fathers (Gal 1:14). Perhaps then also Paul began to experience the struggles with the law he would later describe in Romans 7.<\/p>\n<p>While Paul was studying the Jewish law in Jerusalem, Jesus was working as a carpenter in Nazareth. Then Jesus gathered the disciples who would one day be Paul’s coworkers in the gospel, fulfilled his ministry, and accomplished redemption on the cross of Calvary (<span>AD<\/span> 30). Christ’s resurrection gave birth to the church, which was baptized in the Holy Spirit at the Feast of Pentecost in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"SaulthePersecutor\">Saul the Persecutor<\/p>\n<p>Shortly after these world-changing events, the members of certain synagogues in Jerusalem, including the Cilician synagogue, that of Paul’s native land (Acts 6:9), could not withstand the wisdom and spirit (v 10) of a member of the church in Jerusalem named Stephen (vv 5, 8). They accused him of blasphemy before the Sanhedrin (vv 11-15) and after his eloquent defense (7:1-53) dragged him out of the city, where he was stoned to death. He became the first Christian martyr. The record does not fully reveal the role Paul played in these proceedings, but we know that he was present and prominent because the witnesses against Stephen, who were required to throw the first stones in the execution, “laid their clothes at the feet of a young man called Saul [Paul]” (v 58, <span>niv<\/span>).<\/p>\n<p>At Stephen’s trial, Paul heard Stephen’s historical method of defense, and he later used it himself at Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:16-41). He witnessed the man with the face of an angel (6:15), full of the Holy Spirit, looking above and proclaiming “the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God” (7:56). Stephen’s death initiated the events that would culminate in Paul’s conversion and commission as the apostle to the Gentiles. But at that time Paul was a leader of the oppressors of the church. He breathed threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord (9:1); he persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it (Gal 1:13) by imprisoning Christians, both male and female (Acts 22:4), in many cities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"ConversionandCalling\">Conversion and Calling<\/p>\n<p>Paul had obtained letters from the high priest in Jerusalem to the synagogues in Damascus authorizing him to arrest the believers there and bring them to Jerusalem for trial (Acts 9:1-2). Paul traveled to Damascus for this purpose. Then, on the outskirts of the city, came the event that was to transform this law-keeping persecutor of Jesus Christ and blasphemous destroyer of the infant church into the chief propagator of the gospel of grace and master builder of the church (1 Cor 3:10; 1 Tm 1:13). This was the occasion of Paul’s conversion (c. <span>AD<\/span> 31–33). It was of such revolutionary and lasting importance that three detailed accounts of it are given in the book of Acts (Acts 9:1-19; 22:1-21; 26:1-23), and many references are given to it in Paul’s own writings (1 Cor 9:1; 15:8; Gal 1:15-16; Eph 3:3; Phil 3:12).<\/p>\n<p>At that time a light from heaven, brighter than the midday sun, shone around Paul and his traveling companions, and they fell to the ground (Acts 26:13-14). Only Paul, however, heard the voice of Jesus instruct him in his commission as a minister and witness to the Gentiles (vv 14-18). Temporarily blinded, Paul was led into Damascus (9:8). There, the disciple Ananias and the Christian community forgave Paul, baptized him, and helped him through the bewildering event of his conversion (vv 10-22). After a short time with the church there, Paul was threatened with death by the Jews to whom he preached Jesus (vv 20-22), but he was protected by the believers and ingeniously delivered from his persecutors (vv 23-25).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"PreparationforMinistry\">Preparation for Ministry<\/p>\n<p>Then began a period of preparation, which lasted about 13 years. During this time, Paul first was in the desert of Arabia for three years. Here was his opportunity to pray and reflect on Stephen’s defense to the Sanhedrin, the momentous significance of his conversion, the vision he received of Jesus Christ, and the meaning of all this in the light of Jewish theology. Following this, Paul returned to Damascus and then visited Peter in Jerusalem for 15 days (Gal 1:17-18).<\/p>\n<p>At first, the disciples in Jerusalem were afraid of him because they did not believe he was a disciple of Jesus (Acts 9:26), but he was championed by Barnabas and thus accepted by the believers in Jerusalem (vv 27-28). While there, Paul may have heard the oral gospel, a summary of the words and deeds of Jesus, handed down to all converts. This would have included the institution of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11:23-25), specific words of the Lord (Acts 20:35; 1 Cor 7:10; 9:14), the appearances of the resurrected Christ (1 Cor 15:3-8), and the spirit and character of Jesus (2 Cor 10:1; Phil 2:5-8). Paul also preached in Jerusalem, perhaps in the same synagogues in which he had heard Stephen. However, when his life was again threatened by the Jews, the believers sent him away to Tarsus (Acts 9:29-30; Gal 1:21).<\/p>\n<p>The end of Paul’s preparation came when Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for him and bring him to Antioch. By this time Paul had lived for 10 years in Cilicia. Since his conversion, before being sent to Tarsus, he had proclaimed Jesus (Acts 9:20), speaking boldly in the name of the Lord (v 27). There is no reason to think he did otherwise while living among the Gentiles in Cilicia. In fact, his work may have been so effective that he began to attract attention in Antioch. During these years, Paul probably underwent many of the sufferings mentioned in 2 Corinthians 11:24-26. Several scholars think that the ecstatic experience mentioned in 2 Corinthians 12:1-9, with its accompanying thorn in the flesh, also took place before he came to Antioch.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"SentOutfromAntioch\">Sent Out from Antioch<\/p>\n<p>The church in Antioch had its origins in the persecution fomented by Paul after the death of Stephen. Until they arrived in Antioch, the scattered believers had only spoken the word to Jews (Acts 11:19). It was here that the Gentiles first heard the Good News (v 20), and many became believers (v 21). It is fitting that Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 22:21; Rom 11:13), who was as yet unknown by sight to the churches of Judea (Gal 1:22), should appear in Antioch to formally begin the ministry to which he was called (Acts 26:17-18).<\/p>\n<p>Barnabas and Paul stayed with the church in Antioch for a year. Their work there was so blessed that a new name, Christian, was coined to distinguish the believers in Antioch from Gentiles and Jews (Acts 11:26). Hearing of a famine in Judea, the disciples in Antioch determined to send relief to the believers in Judea and did so by Barnabas and Paul (v 30). Such a gift displayed to the Jewish churches the potency of the gospel among the Gentiles. Their mission complete, Barnabas and Paul returned to Antioch with John Mark (12:25), Barnabas’s cousin (Col 4:10).<\/p>\n<p>Beginning from the Day of Pentecost, the work in the gospel had been casual and incidental. Contacts were made in the homes, the marketplace, the streets, synagogues, highways, etc. (Acts 3:1; 5:12, 42; 8:26-29; 10:22). But in Antioch the Holy Spirit initiated a determined effort to evangelize a section of the Roman Empire (13:1-3). By the Holy Spirit’s instructions, the church separated Barnabas and Paul for this work. With the prayers and encouragement of this church, and with John Mark as their assistant, Barnabas and Paul, sent out by the Holy Spirit, sailed for Cyprus (v 4).<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TravelingwithBarnabas\">Traveling with Barnabas<\/p>\n<p>Arriving in Salamis, they preached in the synagogues as they traveled the length of the island to Paphos (Acts 13:5-6). There the Roman proconsul, Sergius Paulus, wanted to hear the word of God (v 7). A magician named Elymas Bar-Jesus tried to prevent the proconsul from believing in Jesus but was stricken with temporary blindness by Paul’s command (vv 8-11). This was the first manifestation in Paul of the signs of an apostle (2 Cor 12:12). From then on, the name Paul, not Saul, is used in Luke’s record of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 13:9), and Paul replaced Barnabas as the leader of the party. So “Paul and his company” set sail from Paphos and arrived in Perga of Pamphylia (v 13). John Mark deserted them at Perga and returned to his home in Jerusalem (v 13). This caused discord (15:39), but Paul and Mark were later reconciled (Col 4:10; 2 Tm 4:11).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s travels with the gospel now continued through the Roman province of Asia, specifically in the southern portion of Galatia, the areas of Pamphylia, Pisidia, and Lycaonia. The coastal area where the party landed is a hot, malarial region. It is thought that Paul contracted malaria there and so traveled inland through the mountains to the 4,000-foot- (1,219.2-meter-) high tablelands. Such a journey would have been full of dangerous rivers and bandits (2 Cor 11:26), but Paul was well cared for by the Galatian highlanders when he arrived (Gal 4:13-15) and was rewarded with a warm reception to his message (Acts 13:48-49).<\/p>\n<p>Paul and Barnabas were asked to speak at the synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia (Acts 13:15), and Paul delivered a discourse full of the characteristics of the gospel he would later record in his letters to the churches (vv 16-41). He was invited to speak the next week (v 42); nearly the whole city gathered together to hear the word of God (v 44). This stirred up jealousy in the Jews who opposed Paul’s words (v 45), causing the apostles’ dramatic turn to the Gentiles (vv 46-47). Many Gentiles in Antioch believed and spread the word throughout the region, but Paul and Barnabas were forced out and went to Iconium in Lycaonia (vv 48-51).<\/p>\n<p>The success in Antioch was duplicated in Iconium as was the Jews’ opposition (Acts 14:1), and the apostles fled from the threat of a stoning to Lystra and Derbe in Lycaonia (vv 5-6). In Lystra the signs of an apostle were again seen when Paul healed a man who had been crippled since birth (vv 8-10). The idolatrous citizens of the town, however, primed by the popular belief that Jupiter, accompanied by Mercury, had once visited their region, worshiped Paul and Barnabas as these deities (vv 11-13). Even the convincing words of Paul, whom they mistook for Mercury, hardly restrained the crowds from offering a sacrifice (vv 14-18).<\/p>\n<p>It was in Lystra that Paul was first given a taste of the same medicine he had once administered to Christians. The Jews stoned him, dragged him out of the city, and left him for dead (Acts 14:19). Timothy (16:1-3) may have been among the new disciples surrounding Paul as he lay outside the gate (14:20). Timothy was Paul’s son in the faith (1 Cor 4:17; 1 Tm 1:2), eyewitness to his suffering (2 Tm 3:10-11), faithful companion, and fellow worker (Acts 19:22; 20:4; Rom 16:21; 1 Thes 3:2). The next day Barnabas and Paul went on to Derbe (Acts 14:20).<\/p>\n<p>After making many disciples in Derbe, the apostles retraced their steps through Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia, strengthening and encouraging the new believers and appointing elders in each church (Acts 14:21-23). Arriving again in Perga, they sailed back to Antioch of Syria, where they reported to the church the wonderful news that God had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles (vv 25-27).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TheCouncilofJerusalem\">The Council of Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>The Jews, who had dogged the steps of Paul and Barnabas throughout Galatia, followed on their heels to bewitch the Gentiles there, convincing them to desert the grace of Christ and submit to the Jewish law (Gal 1:6; 3:1). Shortly after the apostles’ return to Antioch, Judaizers came from Judea to Antioch, teaching salvation by the law (Acts 15:1). This began the war against the gospel of grace, which Paul preached.<\/p>\n<p>The church in Antioch sent Paul, Barnabas, and others to Jerusalem to settle the controversy of the law versus grace with the apostles and elders there (<span>AD<\/span> 49, Acts 15:2). Along the way to Jerusalem they spread the news of the conversion of the Gentiles. This brought great joy to the believers (v 3). Such joy was not shared by some in Jerusalem, who in the first meeting of the council said that the Gentiles should be ordered to keep the law of Moses (v 5).<\/p>\n<p>After this meeting, Paul and Barnabas met privately with Peter, John, and James (Gal 2:1-10) and explained the gospel they had been preaching to the Gentiles. These three leaders of the church in Jerusalem saw the grace that had been given to Paul to bring the gospel to the Gentiles and extended to him the “right hand of fellowship.” This private meeting seems to have decided the question of compliance to the Jewish law because in the next general meeting Peter said, “We believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 15:11, <span>rsv<\/span>), and James reached the decision that “we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God” (Acts 15:19, <span>rsv<\/span>). This was a great victory for Paul and Barnabas, and the news was received with rejoicing by the church in Antioch (vv 30-35).<\/p>\n<p>Later, Peter visited Antioch and freely associated with the Gentile believers as he had timidly done in Cornelius’s house (Acts 10:28). This continued until “certain men came from James.” Their presence brought fear to Peter, clouding the light of the gospel of grace, and causing him to separate himself from the Gentiles. Peter’s action influenced others, including Barnabas, to do the same (Gal 2:12-13). Paul rose to the challenge of this serious crisis, confronted Peter publicly, and charged him with Judaizing and hypocrisy (v 14). Paul won the battle and rescued Peter and Barnabas with eloquent words on justification by faith (vv 15-21), but the Judaizers had resumed their war. From this time on, they did not rest; rather, they tormented and persecuted Paul all over the world. But the apostle did not submit to them for a moment. He was engaged in the fight of his life, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with the Gentile believers (v 5).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"FurtherTravel\">Further Travel<\/p>\n<p>Paul wanted to visit the new believers and see how they were doing. So he proposed to Barnabas that they return to the cities where they had previously preached about Jesus (Acts 15:36). Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them, but Paul would not take him since he had deserted them during their earlier journey (13:13). This sharp disagreement ended Barnabas’s association with Paul (15:37-39). Silas, a leader among the brothers in Jerusalem (v 22), accompanied Paul as he set out by land through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches (vv 40-41).<\/p>\n<p>Beginning from Derbe in Galatia, Paul and Silas revisited the churches Paul had established with Barnabas. While in Lystra, they were joined by Timothy (Acts 16:1-3). The apostles delivered to these young churches the letter drafted by the elders and apostles in Jerusalem concerning the observance of the law (15:23-29), thus strengthening and increasing them (16:4-5).<\/p>\n<p>It is likely that Ephesus, a major city in the Roman province of Asia, was the party’s main objective for the advancement of the gospel, but they were “forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia” (Acts 16:6). Then they attempted to turn north and enter the region of Bithynia, “but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them” (v 7). In this way they were forced by God to continue straight westward to Troas on the Aegean Sea, where Luke joined them (“we” in v 10), and Paul had a vision in which he was called out of Asia into Macedonia (vv 8-9). Paul and his party immediately crossed by boat into Europe (v 11) where they carried the gospel to Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, and Corinth.<\/p>\n<p>Philippi was a Roman colony and military outpost where there were few Jews, so Paul went to a place by the river where the local Jews prayed. He spoke to some women there, notably Lydia, who believed and with her household was baptized (Acts 16:12-15), beginning the first church in Europe. Paul cast a spirit of divination out of a girl in Philippi, and as a result he and Silas were jailed (vv 16-24). The events of their night in jail made the jailer a believer in God (vv 25-34), and he and his family were added to the church in Philippi, which met in Lydia’s home (v 40). When Paul disclosed his Roman citizenship, he was released and was asked to leave the city (vv 35-39).<\/p>\n<p>At Thessalonica the Jews, aroused to jealousy by the success of Paul’s gospel message, raised a mob to search for the apostles. They complained to the city authorities that the people “who have turned the world upside down have come here also” and accused the apostles of “saying that there is another king [besides Caesar], Jesus” (Acts 17:5-7).<\/p>\n<p>Paul and Silas quickly left Thessalonica by night and arrived in Berea, a city thereafter distinguished by its citizens who eagerly and thoughtfully received the gospel (Acts 17:10-12). The Thessalonian Jews did not rest but trailed Paul to Berea to incite the crowds. The believers then sent Paul away to Athens, while Silas and Timothy stayed behind (vv 13-15).<\/p>\n<p>The Athenians called Paul a babbler but let him air his views before the Areopagus. Paul’s speech there was alive with his broad knowledge. He alluded to Greco-Roman philosophy (Acts 17:27), poetry (v 28), sculpture (vv 25, 29), architecture (v 24), and religion while proclaiming the existence of an “unknown god” (v 23). But he was rudely cut short by scoffing and indifference when he mentioned the resurrection (v 32). Paul’s words delighted the minds of many but influenced the wills of few, so when he arrived in Corinth, he determined not to proclaim the mystery of God in lofty words of wisdom so that the believers’ faith would not rest on human wisdom but on the power of God (1 Cor 2:1-5).<\/p>\n<p>In Corinth Paul met Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:2-3), Roman Jews with whom he lived and worked as a tent maker and who would become prominent among the churches (Acts 18:26; Rom 16:3; 1 Cor 16:19; 2 Tm 4:19). He stayed in Corinth 18 months from <span>AD<\/span> 50 to 51, raising up a church (Acts 18:11) on the strength of a vision from God (vv 9-10) and in spite of the attacks of the Jews (vv 12-17). Paul wrote the first and second letters to the Thessalonians from Corinth to establish the believers in a holy, industrious life (1 Thes 3:13; 5:23; 2 Thes 3:7-12) in hope of the second coming of Jesus Christ (1 Thes 4:15-18; 2 Thes 2:1ff.).<\/p>\n<p>Accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila, Paul sailed from Corinth for Syria. He left his fellow workers in Ephesus, sailed to Caesarea, briefly visited Jerusalem, and returned to Antioch (Acts 18:18-22). Paul stayed in Antioch for awhile but did not remain absent from the field of his labors for long. Alone, he departed from Antioch, went from place to place in Galatia and Phrygia strengthening all the disciples, and eventually arrived in Ephesus (18:23; 19:1).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"LaborintheGospel\">Labor in the Gospel<\/p>\n<p>A Jew named Apollos had ministered in Ephesus prior to Paul’s arrival and had recently gone over to Corinth (Acts 18:24-28). There Apollos innocently became the cause of such discord (1 Cor 3:3-9) that he left and refused to return even at Paul’s request (16:12). Paul’s earlier visit to Ephesus (Acts 18:19-20), Apollos’s ministry, and the presence of Priscilla and Aquila had prepared Ephesus for the apostle’s preaching of the gospel of Christ.<\/p>\n<p>Paul began his work in Ephesus by setting straight some ill-informed disciples of John the Baptist (Acts 19:1-7). He then spent three months preaching at the local synagogue until members of the congregation “spoke evil of the Way” (v 9). Paul then took the disciples and continued his arguments on the neutral ground of Tyrannus’s school (vv 8-9), where Jews and Greeks were free to come. He continued there for two years and “all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord” (v 10).<\/p>\n<p>The work in Ephesus was a great success (Acts 19:10, 20, 26). Paul enjoyed an open door for effective work (1 Cor 16:9), bolstered by extraordinary miracles (Acts 19:11-17), a public burning of valuable books of sorcery (vv 18-19), and the assistance of friendly officials from the province of Asia (v 31). There were also many adversaries (1 Cor 15:32; 16:9), especially among the artisans associated with the temple of Diana. Paul’s ministry had hurt their trade to the extent that they were incited to riot (Acts 19:23-41). Paul had intended to stay in Ephesus until Pentecost (1 Cor 16:8), but this tumult seems to have hastened his departure (Acts 20:1).<\/p>\n<p>During his stay in Ephesus, the household of Chloe sent word to Paul from Corinth that there were divisions in the church there (1 Cor 1:10-13). This report generated a flurry of letters and travels. Paul wrote a letter, which is now lost, to this church (5:9). The church in Corinth wrote a letter (7:1) and sent messengers to Paul (16:17), and Paul sent Timothy to them (4:17; 16:10). Paul then wrote 1 Corinthians (<span>AD<\/span> 53) and sent it by Titus, who was to meet him in Troas to report the results (2 Cor 2:12-13).<\/p>\n<p>After his hasty exit from Ephesus, Paul found an open door for the gospel in Troas, but he so longed to hear from Corinth that he pushed on into Macedonia (2 Cor 2:12-13). There he was finally comforted by Titus (7:5-7) and rejoiced at the news of the Corinthians’ repentance, earnestness, longing, and zeal (vv 8-16). From Macedonia Paul wrote 2 Corinthians (<span>AD<\/span> 54), toured northwest to proclaim the good news of Christ in Illyricum (Rom 15:19), and then turned south for Achaia and his third visit to Corinth (Acts 19:21; 20:1-3; 2 Cor 13:1).<\/p>\n<p>The time and place from which Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians is a topic of controversy. Some date it before the council at Jerusalem, about <span>AD<\/span> 45. Others say he wrote it from Corinth at this stage in his history. The latter opinion is the choice of this narrative.<\/p>\n<p>A three-month winter stay in Corinth (<span>AD<\/span> 55–56) produced the Letter to the Romans, which firmly set the benchmark of the gospel for all the ages. Paul had many personal friends in Rome (Rom 16) and had long intended to visit there (1:10-15). His plans were to deliver a collection from the Gentile churches to Jerusalem (Acts 20:35; Rom 15:25-26; 1 Cor 16:1) and then visit Rome (Acts 19:21) on his way to Spain (Rom 15:23-24).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TheArrestinJerusalem\">The Arrest in Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s trip from Corinth to Jerusalem was marked by abundant warnings of the danger awaiting him in Jerusalem. The Judaizers’ acrimony toward Paul was common talk everywhere, but all alarms went unheeded (Acts 20:22-24, 38; 21:4, 10-15). However, the request for prayer in Romans 15:30-32 shows that Paul knew he might soon need a divine rescue from the unbelievers in Judea.<\/p>\n<p>The travelers, carrying the collection for Jerusalem, journeyed swiftly in order to reach Jerusalem by Pentecost (Acts 20:16). They proceeded by land from Achaia, through Macedonia, to Philippi in time for the Passover (spring <span>AD<\/span> 56, v 6). Crossing by sea to Troas, they visited the believers there (vv 7-12) and then sailed through the archipelago of the eastern Aegean Sea to Miletus (vv 13-16). From Miletus, Paul sent for the elders of Ephesus, to whom he delivered an impassioned speech containing his own dire warnings for them (vv 17-38).<\/p>\n<p>Parting from them, Paul and his companions set sail to Cos, to Rhodes, and then to Patara, where they changed ships for Phoenicia (Acts 21:1-2). A straight course to Tyre brought them within sight of Cyprus, with its memories of Barnabas and Sergius Paulus (v 3). “Through the Spirit” the disciples in Tyre “told Paul not to go on to Jerusalem” (v 4), but he pressed on to Caesarea, where he and his company stayed with Philip, who had formerly served with the martyred Stephen (21:8; cf. 6:5). In Caesarea, Paul would not be persuaded by an especially dramatic prophecy of his coming arrest (21:10-14).<\/p>\n<p>In Jerusalem the apostolic band stayed with Mnason, an early disciple, and were warmly welcomed by the brothers there (Acts 21:15-17). James and the elders of the church praised God when they heard of the things he had done through Paul among the Gentiles (vv 18-20), and when they received the collection from the churches (24:17). They told Paul of his bad reputation among the thousands of Jewish believers in Jerusalem and urged him to set right the Judaizers’ misrepresentation that he encouraged Jewish Christians to forsake the Mosaic customs (21:21-24). Acts 21:25 shows the Jerusalem elders understood that the Gentiles were under no obligation to Moses; their concern was for Paul to demonstrate that Jewish believers were free to continue their traditional observances.<\/p>\n<p>Paul had kept the Jewish feasts (Acts 20:6), as had Jesus and the early disciples in Jerusalem. He had also cut his hair in a vow at Cenchreae (18:18), so it was a small matter for him, a Jew, to ceremonially purify himself after becoming a Christian, especially if it would undermine the arguments of the Judaizers. To have refused the elders’ request would have lent credence to the Judaizers’ charge. The success of this plan is seen in that it was the Jews from Asia, visiting Jerusalem for the Pentecost feast of <span>AD<\/span> 57, who stirred up trouble for Paul (21:27-29)—not the Judaizers from Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p>The whole city was aroused by Paul’s persistent persecutors. A violent crowd dragged him out of the temple just as Stephen had once been hauled to his martyrdom. They tried to kill him, but he was rescued by Roman soldiers as the mob cried, “Away with him!”—just as they had done to Jesus (Acts 21:30-36). At this juncture the educational and cultural diversity of Paul’s life came to his rescue. As he was carried for safety to the Roman barracks, he spoke in Greek to the tribune, who had mistaken him for an Egyptian assassin (vv 37-38). Given permission to speak to the crowd, he did so in the Aramaic language then common in Israel (vv 39-40). The hushed crowd eagerly heard Paul’s defense until he uttered the word “Gentiles.” At this, the crowd resumed its threatening and violence, and Paul was brought into the barracks (22:1-24). There the Romans prepared to flog him, until Paul revealed that he was not only a Jew from Tarsus but also a freeborn Roman citizen. The tribune was afraid, since he had bound a Roman citizen. Wanting to know the charges against Paul, he brought him to the Sanhedrin (vv 25-30).<\/p>\n<p>This meeting of the Jewish judiciary was shortly reduced to dissension and violence. Paul resorted to tactics justifiable in such a war and hopelessly divided the Sanhedrin on the subject of the resurrection (Acts 23:1-9). Paul again was rescued, this time from the contending factions of the Jewish leadership, and taken to the barracks, where the Lord encouraged him, promising that he would go to Rome (<span>AD<\/span> 56, vv 10-11).<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime 40 Jews entered into a murderous plot against Paul. They vowed not to eat or drink until they had killed the apostle (Acts 23:12-15). They almost succeeded, but with the help of the son of Paul’s sister (v 16), the conspiracy was exposed. For safety, Paul was taken from Jerusalem to Caesarea under guard of 470 soldiers and handed over to the custody of Felix the governor (vv 16-35). Inconclusive hearings before Felix (Acts 24), his successor, Festus (25:1-12), and King Agrippa (25:23–26:32) occupied Paul in his two years of imprisonment in Caesarea. Festus, wanting to please the Jews, suggested that Paul be returned to Jerusalem for trial, but Paul knew the murderous intent of his accusers and again utilized his Roman citizenship by making a dramatic appeal to Caesar (25:9-12).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"VoyageandStayinRome\">Voyage and Stay in Rome<\/p>\n<p>To plead his case at Caesar’s court, Paul and his companions, Aristarchus and Luke, were taken on a perilous voyage (<span>AD<\/span> 58, Acts 27:1–28:16). Their passage by ship from Caesarea to Rome is one of the most remarkable on record. Luke’s detailed account is a treasure of information on ancient ships, navigation, and seamanship. It is also a beautiful portrait of a heroic and dignified apostle Paul, the gospel’s ambassador in chains (Eph 6:20), who with the guidance and assurance of his God (Acts 27:23-26), led the 276 people on board to safety (v 37).<\/p>\n<p>Luke traces the voyage stage by stage through every crisis, with a change of ship at Myra, delay at Fair Havens on Crete, and the shipwreck on Malta. Finally, in the spring of <span>AD<\/span> 59, they arrived at Puteoli, Italy, and made their way to Rome, welcomed by the believers along the Appian Way (Acts 28:13-16).<\/p>\n<p>Luke provided a peaceful denouement to the Acts, notwithstanding the fact that the apostle was an imperial prisoner of Caesar Nero. Paul lived by himself in his own house, chained to a Roman guard (Acts 28:16, 30). There he received the local Jewish leaders—to calm any misgivings they may have had about him and, at the same time, to convince them about Jesus. His efforts had mixed success (vv 17-28). During Paul’s two or more years in Rome, the Judaizers seem to have withdrawn, only to be replaced by the peril of Eastern Gnosticism. This is seen in Paul’s letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Ephesians, and to Philemon, all written at this time. It is unlikely that Paul’s accusers appeared in Rome to bring formal charges before Caesar, so Paul was probably released in <span>AD<\/span> 61.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"FinalYearsandMartyrdom\">Final Years and Martyrdom<\/p>\n<p>It is here assumed that the Pastoral Letters (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus) are truly Paul’s work. Only through them can the probable course of events in Paul’s final years be traced. Romans 15:28 shows that Paul intended to deliver the collection to Jerusalem and then to “set out by way of you [Rome] to Spain.” The arrest and imprisonment in Jerusalem not only destroyed these plans but also extracted five precious years from the prime of a most productive life. Although Clement of Rome implied that Paul did fulfill his desire to go to Spain (<em>Clement to the Corinthians<\/em> 5), it is certain that the daily pressure of Paul’s anxious care for all the churches (2 Cor 11:28) did not abate.<\/p>\n<p>If Paul went to Spain, he may have been there when Rome was burned on July 19, <span>AD<\/span> 64. Tradition says that Paul traveled as far as Britain, but there is no evidence to confirm this. Returning east, he left Titus in Crete (Ti 1:5) and traveled through Miletus, south of Ephesus, where he left Trophimus sick (2 Tm 4:20). Traveling toward Macedonia, Paul visited Timothy in Ephesus (1 Tm 1:3). On the way, Paul left his cloak and books with Carpus in Troas (2 Tm 4:13). This indicates that he intended to return there for his possessions. From Macedonia Paul wrote his loving yet apprehensive first letter to Timothy (<span>AD<\/span> 62–64). He had decided to spend the winter in Nicopolis (Ti 3:12), northwest of Corinth on the Adriatic Sea, but was still in Macedonia when he wrote his letter to Titus. This letter is similar to 1 Timothy, yet with a somewhat harsher tone. In it is a final glimpse of the eloquent and zealous Apollos (Ti 3:13), who is still in association with Paul 10 or more years after his first appearance in Ephesus (Acts 18:24).<\/p>\n<p>From here Paul’s path is obscure. He may have wintered in Nicopolis, but he did not return to Troas for his winter cloak (2 Tm 4:13). At some point he was arrested by the Romans, because he spent a winter in Rome’s Mamertine Prison, suffering from the cold in that rock cell before he wrote his second letter to Timothy (<span>AD<\/span> 66–67). He may have been anticipating the coming winter when he requested that Timothy bring his cloak (vv 13, 21). It is possible that the charges against Paul were related to the burning of Rome; this is unknown. It was, however, now “illegal” to be a Christian since the “new religion” was no longer protected by Roman law as being part of Judaism (which was a legalized, recognized religion by Roman law).<\/p>\n<p>It was dangerous to be associated with Paul at this time. Many deserted him (2 Tm 4:16), including all his coworkers in Asia (1:15) and Demas, who loved the world (4:10). Only Luke, the physician and author of Luke and Acts, was with him when he wrote his second letter to Timothy (v 11). Faithful believers still in hiding in Rome were also in contact with the apostle (1:16; 4:19, 21). He told Timothy to come to him in Rome and bring Mark also (4:11). Apparently Timothy did come and was imprisoned (Heb 13:23). Paul’s request for the books and parchments (2 Tm 4:13) discloses that he was reading and studying the Scripture to the end.<\/p>\n<p>The apostle Paul had two hearings before Caesar Nero. At his first defense only the Lord stood by him (2 Tm 4:16). There he not only pleaded his own cause but also that of the gospel, still longing that all the Gentiles would hear its message. Perhaps no decision was made, and thus he was “rescued from the lion’s mouth” (v 17). Though he knew he would soon die, he was not afraid, but was assured that the Lord would give him a crown of righteousness on the last day (v 8). Finally, the apostle himself recorded his seminal encouragement to all believers: “The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you” (v 22, <span>rsv<\/span>). After this, the Scripture is silent regarding Paul.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing is known of Paul’s second hearing but that it resulted in the sentence of capital punishment. History does not record Paul’s end. Nero died in the summer of <span>AD<\/span> 68, so Paul was executed before that date. As a Roman citizen, he must have been spared the lingering torture that had recently been suffered by his fellow martyrs. Tradition says that he was decapitated by the sword of an imperial headsman on the Ostian Road just outside of Rome, and buried nearby. This fulfilled Paul’s desire “to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better” (Phil 1:23, <span>rsv<\/span>).<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>PAUL, T<span>he Apostle<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Prominent leader of the first-century church; apostle to the Gentiles; author of 13 NT epistles.<\/p>\n<p>Preview<\/p>\n<p>• Family and Cultural Background<\/p>\n<p>• Education<\/p>\n<p>• Saul the Persecutor<\/p>\n<p>• Conversion and Calling<\/p>\n<p>• Preparation for Ministry<\/p>\n<p>• Sent Out from Antioch<\/p>\n<p>• Traveling with Barnabas<\/p>\n<p>• The Council of Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>• Further Travel<\/p>\n<p>• Labor in the Gospel<\/p>\n<p>• The Arrest in Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>• Voyage and Stay in Rome<\/p>\n<p>• Final Years and Martyrdom<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"FamilyandCulturalBackground\">Family and Cultural Background<\/p>\n<p>Paul was born around <span>AD<\/span> 10, a Jew in a family of Pharisees (Acts 23:6) of the tribe of Benjamin (Phil 3:5) in Tarsus of Cilicia (Acts 9:11; 21:39; 22:3), a center of commerce and learning that embraced the Hellenistic spirit and Roman politics. It was a city of which he could be proud (21:39). His parents named him Saul, perhaps after the first king of Israel, who was also a Benjaminite (1 Sm 11:15; Acts 13:21), but Acts 13:9 notes that he “was also called Paul.” He uses the Roman name Paul throughout his letters.<\/p>\n<p>From religious parents Paul received knowledge of the Law and Prophets and the Hebrew and Aramaic languages (Acts 21:40; 22:2-3; 23:6; Gal 1:14; Phil 3:5-6). Tarsus, however, was not a Jewish city. Rather, it had a Greek character, being a place where the Greek language was spoken and Greek literature was cultivated. This accounts for Paul’s familiarity with Greek (Acts 21:37), the language of the streets and shops of Tarsus.<\/p>\n<p>Jews were brought to Tarsus, the capital of the Roman province of Cilicia, in 171 <span>BC<\/span> to promote business in the region. At that time Paul’s ancestors were probably given Roman citizenship. Paul inherited from his father both Tarsisian and Roman citizenship, which would prove to be of great value to Paul in his later life as he traveled with the gospel throughout the Roman Empire (Acts 16:37; 22:25-29; 23:27). Paul may have had several brothers and sisters, but Acts 23:16 mentions only one sister, whose son performed a lifesaving act for his uncle.<\/p>\n<p>Paul was a tent maker (Acts 18:3). He may have learned this trade from his father, or he may have selected it as a means of self-support, as was the custom of those in rabbinical training. Tarsus was well known for the goat’s-hair cloth called cilicium. It was the weaving of this cloth and the fashioning of it into tents, sails, awnings, and cloaks that gave Paul his economic independence during his apostolic ministry (Acts 18:3; 20:34; 28:30; 2 Cor 11:9; 1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Education\">Education<\/p>\n<p>Although born in Tarsus, Paul testified to the Jews in Jerusalem that he had been brought up in this city and studied under Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). It is not clear when Paul was first brought to Jerusalem, but it is likely that sometime between the ages of 13 and 20 he began his formal rabbinical studies. His teacher, Gamaliel, was the grandson of Hillel, founder of a Pharisaic school whose teachings run through the Talmudic writings to this day. This is the same Gamaliel whose wisdom persuaded the Sanhedrin to spare the lives of Peter and the apostles (5:33-40). No doubt, it was while studying under Gamaliel in Hillel’s school that Paul began to advance in Judaism beyond many Jews of his own age and became extremely zealous for the traditions of his fathers (Gal 1:14). Perhaps then also Paul began to experience the struggles with the law he would later describe in Romans 7.<\/p>\n<p>While Paul was studying the Jewish law in Jerusalem, Jesus was working as a carpenter in Nazareth. Then Jesus gathered the disciples who would one day be Paul’s coworkers in the gospel, fulfilled his ministry, and accomplished redemption on the cross of Calvary (<span>AD<\/span> 30). Christ’s resurrection gave birth to the church, which was baptized in the Holy Spirit at the Feast of Pentecost in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"SaulthePersecutor\">Saul the Persecutor<\/p>\n<p>Shortly after these world-changing events, the members of certain synagogues in Jerusalem, including the Cilician synagogue, that of Paul’s native land (Acts 6:9), could not withstand the wisdom and spirit (v 10) of a member of the church in Jerusalem named Stephen (vv 5, 8). They accused him of blasphemy before the Sanhedrin (vv 11-15) and after his eloquent defense (7:1-53) dragged him out of the city, where he was stoned to death. He became the first Christian martyr. The record does not fully reveal the role Paul played in these proceedings, but we know that he was present and prominent because the witnesses against Stephen, who were required to throw the first stones in the execution, “laid their clothes at the feet of a young man called Saul [Paul]” (v 58, <span>niv<\/span>).<\/p>\n<p>At Stephen’s trial, Paul heard Stephen’s historical method of defense, and he later used it himself at Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:16-41). He witnessed the man with the face of an angel (6:15), full of the Holy Spirit, looking above and proclaiming “the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God” (7:56). Stephen’s death initiated the events that would culminate in Paul’s conversion and commission as the apostle to the Gentiles. But at that time Paul was a leader of the oppressors of the church. He breathed threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord (9:1); he persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it (Gal 1:13) by imprisoning Christians, both male and female (Acts 22:4), in many cities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"ConversionandCalling\">Conversion and Calling<\/p>\n<p>Paul had obtained letters from the high priest in Jerusalem to the synagogues in Damascus authorizing him to arrest the believers there and bring them to Jerusalem for trial (Acts 9:1-2). Paul traveled to Damascus for this purpose. Then, on the outskirts of the city, came the event that was to transform this law-keeping persecutor of Jesus Christ and blasphemous destroyer of the infant church into the chief propagator of the gospel of grace and master builder of the church (1 Cor 3:10; 1 Tm 1:13). This was the occasion of Paul’s conversion (c. <span>AD<\/span> 31–33). It was of such revolutionary and lasting importance that three detailed accounts of it are given in the book of Acts (Acts 9:1-19; 22:1-21; 26:1-23), and many references are given to it in Paul’s own writings (1 Cor 9:1; 15:8; Gal 1:15-16; Eph 3:3; Phil 3:12).<\/p>\n<p>At that time a light from heaven, brighter than the midday sun, shone around Paul and his traveling companions, and they fell to the ground (Acts 26:13-14). Only Paul, however, heard the voice of Jesus instruct him in his commission as a minister and witness to the Gentiles (vv 14-18). Temporarily blinded, Paul was led into Damascus (9:8). There, the disciple Ananias and the Christian community forgave Paul, baptized him, and helped him through the bewildering event of his conversion (vv 10-22). After a short time with the church there, Paul was threatened with death by the Jews to whom he preached Jesus (vv 20-22), but he was protected by the believers and ingeniously delivered from his persecutors (vv 23-25).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"PreparationforMinistry\">Preparation for Ministry<\/p>\n<p>Then began a period of preparation, which lasted about 13 years. During this time, Paul first was in the desert of Arabia for three years. Here was his opportunity to pray and reflect on Stephen’s defense to the Sanhedrin, the momentous significance of his conversion, the vision he received of Jesus Christ, and the meaning of all this in the light of Jewish theology. Following this, Paul returned to Damascus and then visited Peter in Jerusalem for 15 days (Gal 1:17-18).<\/p>\n<p>At first, the disciples in Jerusalem were afraid of him because they did not believe he was a disciple of Jesus (Acts 9:26), but he was championed by Barnabas and thus accepted by the believers in Jerusalem (vv 27-28). While there, Paul may have heard the oral gospel, a summary of the words and deeds of Jesus, handed down to all converts. This would have included the institution of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11:23-25), specific words of the Lord (Acts 20:35; 1 Cor 7:10; 9:14), the appearances of the resurrected Christ (1 Cor 15:3-8), and the spirit and character of Jesus (2 Cor 10:1; Phil 2:5-8). Paul also preached in Jerusalem, perhaps in the same synagogues in which he had heard Stephen. However, when his life was again threatened by the Jews, the believers sent him away to Tarsus (Acts 9:29-30; Gal 1:21).<\/p>\n<p>The end of Paul’s preparation came when Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for him and bring him to Antioch. By this time Paul had lived for 10 years in Cilicia. Since his conversion, before being sent to Tarsus, he had proclaimed Jesus (Acts 9:20), speaking boldly in the name of the Lord (v 27). There is no reason to think he did otherwise while living among the Gentiles in Cilicia. In fact, his work may have been so effective that he began to attract attention in Antioch. During these years, Paul probably underwent many of the sufferings mentioned in 2 Corinthians 11:24-26. Several scholars think that the ecstatic experience mentioned in 2 Corinthians 12:1-9, with its accompanying thorn in the flesh, also took place before he came to Antioch.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"SentOutfromAntioch\">Sent Out from Antioch<\/p>\n<p>The church in Antioch had its origins in the persecution fomented by Paul after the death of Stephen. Until they arrived in Antioch, the scattered believers had only spoken the word to Jews (Acts 11:19). It was here that the Gentiles first heard the Good News (v 20), and many became believers (v 21). It is fitting that Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 22:21; Rom 11:13), who was as yet unknown by sight to the churches of Judea (Gal 1:22), should appear in Antioch to formally begin the ministry to which he was called (Acts 26:17-18).<\/p>\n<p>Barnabas and Paul stayed with the church in Antioch for a year. Their work there was so blessed that a new name, Christian, was coined to distinguish the believers in Antioch from Gentiles and Jews (Acts 11:26). Hearing of a famine in Judea, the disciples in Antioch determined to send relief to the believers in Judea and did so by Barnabas and Paul (v 30). Such a gift displayed to the Jewish churches the potency of the gospel among the Gentiles. Their mission complete, Barnabas and Paul returned to Antioch with John Mark (12:25), Barnabas’s cousin (Col 4:10).<\/p>\n<p>Beginning from the Day of Pentecost, the work in the gospel had been casual and incidental. Contacts were made in the homes, the marketplace, the streets, synagogues, highways, etc. (Acts 3:1; 5:12, 42; 8:26-29; 10:22). But in Antioch the Holy Spirit initiated a determined effort to evangelize a section of the Roman Empire (13:1-3). By the Holy Spirit’s instructions, the church separated Barnabas and Paul for this work. With the prayers and encouragement of this church, and with John Mark as their assistant, Barnabas and Paul, sent out by the Holy Spirit, sailed for Cyprus (v 4).<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TravelingwithBarnabas\">Traveling with Barnabas<\/p>\n<p>Arriving in Salamis, they preached in the synagogues as they traveled the length of the island to Paphos (Acts 13:5-6). There the Roman proconsul, Sergius Paulus, wanted to hear the word of God (v 7). A magician named Elymas Bar-Jesus tried to prevent the proconsul from believing in Jesus but was stricken with temporary blindness by Paul’s command (vv 8-11). This was the first manifestation in Paul of the signs of an apostle (2 Cor 12:12). From then on, the name Paul, not Saul, is used in Luke’s record of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 13:9), and Paul replaced Barnabas as the leader of the party. So “Paul and his company” set sail from Paphos and arrived in Perga of Pamphylia (v 13). John Mark deserted them at Perga and returned to his home in Jerusalem (v 13). This caused discord (15:39), but Paul and Mark were later reconciled (Col 4:10; 2 Tm 4:11).<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s travels with the gospel now continued through the Roman province of Asia, specifically in the southern portion of Galatia, the areas of Pamphylia, Pisidia, and Lycaonia. The coastal area where the party landed is a hot, malarial region. It is thought that Paul contracted malaria there and so traveled inland through the mountains to the 4,000-foot- (1,219.2-meter-) high tablelands. Such a journey would have been full of dangerous rivers and bandits (2 Cor 11:26), but Paul was well cared for by the Galatian highlanders when he arrived (Gal 4:13-15) and was rewarded with a warm reception to his message (Acts 13:48-49).<\/p>\n<p>Paul and Barnabas were asked to speak at the synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia (Acts 13:15), and Paul delivered a discourse full of the characteristics of the gospel he would later record in his letters to the churches (vv 16-41). He was invited to speak the next week (v 42); nearly the whole city gathered together to hear the word of God (v 44). This stirred up jealousy in the Jews who opposed Paul’s words (v 45), causing the apostles’ dramatic turn to the Gentiles (vv 46-47). Many Gentiles in Antioch believed and spread the word throughout the region, but Paul and Barnabas were forced out and went to Iconium in Lycaonia (vv 48-51).<\/p>\n<p>The success in Antioch was duplicated in Iconium as was the Jews’ opposition (Acts 14:1), and the apostles fled from the threat of a stoning to Lystra and Derbe in Lycaonia (vv 5-6). In Lystra the signs of an apostle were again seen when Paul healed a man who had been crippled since birth (vv 8-10). The idolatrous citizens of the town, however, primed by the popular belief that Jupiter, accompanied by Mercury, had once visited their region, worshiped Paul and Barnabas as these deities (vv 11-13). Even the convincing words of Paul, whom they mistook for Mercury, hardly restrained the crowds from offering a sacrifice (vv 14-18).<\/p>\n<p>It was in Lystra that Paul was first given a taste of the same medicine he had once administered to Christians. The Jews stoned him, dragged him out of the city, and left him for dead (Acts 14:19). Timothy (16:1-3) may have been among the new disciples surrounding Paul as he lay outside the gate (14:20). Timothy was Paul’s son in the faith (1 Cor 4:17; 1 Tm 1:2), eyewitness to his suffering (2 Tm 3:10-11), faithful companion, and fellow worker (Acts 19:22; 20:4; Rom 16:21; 1 Thes 3:2). The next day Barnabas and Paul went on to Derbe (Acts 14:20).<\/p>\n<p>After making many disciples in Derbe, the apostles retraced their steps through Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia, strengthening and encouraging the new believers and appointing elders in each church (Acts 14:21-23). Arriving again in Perga, they sailed back to Antioch of Syria, where they reported to the church the wonderful news that God had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles (vv 25-27).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TheCouncilofJerusalem\">The Council of Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>The Jews, who had dogged the steps of Paul and Barnabas throughout Galatia, followed on their heels to bewitch the Gentiles there, convincing them to desert the grace of Christ and submit to the Jewish law (Gal 1:6; 3:1). Shortly after the apostles’ return to Antioch, Judaizers came from Judea to Antioch, teaching salvation by the law (Acts 15:1). This began the war against the gospel of grace, which Paul preached.<\/p>\n<p>The church in Antioch sent Paul, Barnabas, and others to Jerusalem to settle the controversy of the law versus grace with the apostles and elders there (<span>AD<\/span> 49, Acts 15:2). Along the way to Jerusalem they spread the news of the conversion of the Gentiles. This brought great joy to the believers (v 3). Such joy was not shared by some in Jerusalem, who in the first meeting of the council said that the Gentiles should be ordered to keep the law of Moses (v 5).<\/p>\n<p>After this meeting, Paul and Barnabas met privately with Peter, John, and James (Gal 2:1-10) and explained the gospel they had been preaching to the Gentiles. These three leaders of the church in Jerusalem saw the grace that had been given to Paul to bring the gospel to the Gentiles and extended to him the “right hand of fellowship.” This private meeting seems to have decided the question of compliance to the Jewish law because in the next general meeting Peter said, “We believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 15:11, <span>rsv<\/span>), and James reached the decision that “we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God” (Acts 15:19, <span>rsv<\/span>). This was a great victory for Paul and Barnabas, and the news was received with rejoicing by the church in Antioch (vv 30-35).<\/p>\n<p>Later, Peter visited Antioch and freely associated with the Gentile believers as he had timidly done in Cornelius’s house (Acts 10:28). This continued until “certain men came from James.” Their presence brought fear to Peter, clouding the light of the gospel of grace, and causing him to separate himself from the Gentiles. Peter’s action influenced others, including Barnabas, to do the same (Gal 2:12-13). Paul rose to the challenge of this serious crisis, confronted Peter publicly, and charged him with Judaizing and hypocrisy (v 14). Paul won the battle and rescued Peter and Barnabas with eloquent words on justification by faith (vv 15-21), but the Judaizers had resumed their war. From this time on, they did not rest; rather, they tormented and persecuted Paul all over the world. But the apostle did not submit to them for a moment. He was engaged in the fight of his life, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with the Gentile believers (v 5).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"FurtherTravel\">Further Travel<\/p>\n<p>Paul wanted to visit the new believers and see how they were doing. So he proposed to Barnabas that they return to the cities where they had previously preached about Jesus (Acts 15:36). Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them, but Paul would not take him since he had deserted them during their earlier journey (13:13). This sharp disagreement ended Barnabas’s association with Paul (15:37-39). Silas, a leader among the brothers in Jerusalem (v 22), accompanied Paul as he set out by land through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches (vv 40-41).<\/p>\n<p>Beginning from Derbe in Galatia, Paul and Silas revisited the churches Paul had established with Barnabas. While in Lystra, they were joined by Timothy (Acts 16:1-3). The apostles delivered to these young churches the letter drafted by the elders and apostles in Jerusalem concerning the observance of the law (15:23-29), thus strengthening and increasing them (16:4-5).<\/p>\n<p>It is likely that Ephesus, a major city in the Roman province of Asia, was the party’s main objective for the advancement of the gospel, but they were “forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia” (Acts 16:6). Then they attempted to turn north and enter the region of Bithynia, “but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them” (v 7). In this way they were forced by God to continue straight westward to Troas on the Aegean Sea, where Luke joined them (“we” in v 10), and Paul had a vision in which he was called out of Asia into Macedonia (vv 8-9). Paul and his party immediately crossed by boat into Europe (v 11) where they carried the gospel to Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, and Corinth.<\/p>\n<p>Philippi was a Roman colony and military outpost where there were few Jews, so Paul went to a place by the river where the local Jews prayed. He spoke to some women there, notably Lydia, who believed and with her household was baptized (Acts 16:12-15), beginning the first church in Europe. Paul cast a spirit of divination out of a girl in Philippi, and as a result he and Silas were jailed (vv 16-24). The events of their night in jail made the jailer a believer in God (vv 25-34), and he and his family were added to the church in Philippi, which met in Lydia’s home (v 40). When Paul disclosed his Roman citizenship, he was released and was asked to leave the city (vv 35-39).<\/p>\n<p>At Thessalonica the Jews, aroused to jealousy by the success of Paul’s gospel message, raised a mob to search for the apostles. They complained to the city authorities that the people “who have turned the world upside down have come here also” and accused the apostles of “saying that there is another king [besides Caesar], Jesus” (Acts 17:5-7).<\/p>\n<p>Paul and Silas quickly left Thessalonica by night and arrived in Berea, a city thereafter distinguished by its citizens who eagerly and thoughtfully received the gospel (Acts 17:10-12). The Thessalonian Jews did not rest but trailed Paul to Berea to incite the crowds. The believers then sent Paul away to Athens, while Silas and Timothy stayed behind (vv 13-15).<\/p>\n<p>The Athenians called Paul a babbler but let him air his views before the Areopagus. Paul’s speech there was alive with his broad knowledge. He alluded to Greco-Roman philosophy (Acts 17:27), poetry (v 28), sculpture (vv 25, 29), architecture (v 24), and religion while proclaiming the existence of an “unknown god” (v 23). But he was rudely cut short by scoffing and indifference when he mentioned the resurrection (v 32). Paul’s words delighted the minds of many but influenced the wills of few, so when he arrived in Corinth, he determined not to proclaim the mystery of God in lofty words of wisdom so that the believers’ faith would not rest on human wisdom but on the power of God (1 Cor 2:1-5).<\/p>\n<p>In Corinth Paul met Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:2-3), Roman Jews with whom he lived and worked as a tent maker and who would become prominent among the churches (Acts 18:26; Rom 16:3; 1 Cor 16:19; 2 Tm 4:19). He stayed in Corinth 18 months from <span>AD<\/span> 50 to 51, raising up a church (Acts 18:11) on the strength of a vision from God (vv 9-10) and in spite of the attacks of the Jews (vv 12-17). Paul wrote the first and second letters to the Thessalonians from Corinth to establish the believers in a holy, industrious life (1 Thes 3:13; 5:23; 2 Thes 3:7-12) in hope of the second coming of Jesus Christ (1 Thes 4:15-18; 2 Thes 2:1ff.).<\/p>\n<p>Accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila, Paul sailed from Corinth for Syria. He left his fellow workers in Ephesus, sailed to Caesarea, briefly visited Jerusalem, and returned to Antioch (Acts 18:18-22). Paul stayed in Antioch for awhile but did not remain absent from the field of his labors for long. Alone, he departed from Antioch, went from place to place in Galatia and Phrygia strengthening all the disciples, and eventually arrived in Ephesus (18:23; 19:1).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"LaborintheGospel\">Labor in the Gospel<\/p>\n<p>A Jew named Apollos had ministered in Ephesus prior to Paul’s arrival and had recently gone over to Corinth (Acts 18:24-28). There Apollos innocently became the cause of such discord (1 Cor 3:3-9) that he left and refused to return even at Paul’s request (16:12). Paul’s earlier visit to Ephesus (Acts 18:19-20), Apollos’s ministry, and the presence of Priscilla and Aquila had prepared Ephesus for the apostle’s preaching of the gospel of Christ.<\/p>\n<p>Paul began his work in Ephesus by setting straight some ill-informed disciples of John the Baptist (Acts 19:1-7). He then spent three months preaching at the local synagogue until members of the congregation “spoke evil of the Way” (v 9). Paul then took the disciples and continued his arguments on the neutral ground of Tyrannus’s school (vv 8-9), where Jews and Greeks were free to come. He continued there for two years and “all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord” (v 10).<\/p>\n<p>The work in Ephesus was a great success (Acts 19:10, 20, 26). Paul enjoyed an open door for effective work (1 Cor 16:9), bolstered by extraordinary miracles (Acts 19:11-17), a public burning of valuable books of sorcery (vv 18-19), and the assistance of friendly officials from the province of Asia (v 31). There were also many adversaries (1 Cor 15:32; 16:9), especially among the artisans associated with the temple of Diana. Paul’s ministry had hurt their trade to the extent that they were incited to riot (Acts 19:23-41). Paul had intended to stay in Ephesus until Pentecost (1 Cor 16:8), but this tumult seems to have hastened his departure (Acts 20:1).<\/p>\n<p>During his stay in Ephesus, the household of Chloe sent word to Paul from Corinth that there were divisions in the church there (1 Cor 1:10-13). This report generated a flurry of letters and travels. Paul wrote a letter, which is now lost, to this church (5:9). The church in Corinth wrote a letter (7:1) and sent messengers to Paul (16:17), and Paul sent Timothy to them (4:17; 16:10). Paul then wrote 1 Corinthians (<span>AD<\/span> 53) and sent it by Titus, who was to meet him in Troas to report the results (2 Cor 2:12-13).<\/p>\n<p>After his hasty exit from Ephesus, Paul found an open door for the gospel in Troas, but he so longed to hear from Corinth that he pushed on into Macedonia (2 Cor 2:12-13). There he was finally comforted by Titus (7:5-7) and rejoiced at the news of the Corinthians’ repentance, earnestness, longing, and zeal (vv 8-16). From Macedonia Paul wrote 2 Corinthians (<span>AD<\/span> 54), toured northwest to proclaim the good news of Christ in Illyricum (Rom 15:19), and then turned south for Achaia and his third visit to Corinth (Acts 19:21; 20:1-3; 2 Cor 13:1).<\/p>\n<p>The time and place from which Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians is a topic of controversy. Some date it before the council at Jerusalem, about <span>AD<\/span> 45. Others say he wrote it from Corinth at this stage in his history. The latter opinion is the choice of this narrative.<\/p>\n<p>A three-month winter stay in Corinth (<span>AD<\/span> 55–56) produced the Letter to the Romans, which firmly set the benchmark of the gospel for all the ages. Paul had many personal friends in Rome (Rom 16) and had long intended to visit there (1:10-15). His plans were to deliver a collection from the Gentile churches to Jerusalem (Acts 20:35; Rom 15:25-26; 1 Cor 16:1) and then visit Rome (Acts 19:21) on his way to Spain (Rom 15:23-24).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"TheArrestinJerusalem\">The Arrest in Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>Paul’s trip from Corinth to Jerusalem was marked by abundant warnings of the danger awaiting him in Jerusalem. The Judaizers’ acrimony toward Paul was common talk everywhere, but all alarms went unheeded (Acts 20:22-24, 38; 21:4, 10-15). However, the request for prayer in Romans 15:30-32 shows that Paul knew he might soon need a divine rescue from the unbelievers in Judea.<\/p>\n<p>The travelers, carrying the collection for Jerusalem, journeyed swiftly in order to reach Jerusalem by Pentecost (Acts 20:16). They proceeded by land from Achaia, through Macedonia, to Philippi in time for the Passover (spring <span>AD<\/span> 56, v 6). Crossing by sea to Troas, they visited the believers there (vv 7-12) and then sailed through the archipelago of the eastern Aegean Sea to Miletus (vv 13-16). From Miletus, Paul sent for the elders of Ephesus, to whom he delivered an impassioned speech containing his own dire warnings for them (vv 17-38).<\/p>\n<p>Parting from them, Paul and his companions set sail to Cos, to Rhodes, and then to Patara, where they changed ships for Phoenicia (Acts 21:1-2). A straight course to Tyre brought them within sight of Cyprus, with its memories of Barnabas and Sergius Paulus (v 3). “Through the Spirit” the disciples in Tyre “told Paul not to go on to Jerusalem” (v 4), but he pressed on to Caesarea, where he and his company stayed with Philip, who had formerly served with the martyred Stephen (21:8; cf. 6:5). In Caesarea, Paul would not be persuaded by an especially dramatic prophecy of his coming arrest (21:10-14).<\/p>\n<p>In Jerusalem the apostolic band stayed with Mnason, an early disciple, and were warmly welcomed by the brothers there (Acts 21:15-17). James and the elders of the church praised God when they heard of the things he had done through Paul among the Gentiles (vv 18-20), and when they received the collection from the churches (24:17). They told Paul of his bad reputation among the thousands of Jewish believers in Jerusalem and urged him to set right the Judaizers’ misrepresentation that he encouraged Jewish Christians to forsake the Mosaic customs (21:21-24). Acts 21:25 shows the Jerusalem elders understood that the Gentiles were under no obligation to Moses; their concern was for Paul to demonstrate that Jewish believers were free to continue their traditional observances.<\/p>\n<p>Paul had kept the Jewish feasts (Acts 20:6), as had Jesus and the early disciples in Jerusalem. He had also cut his hair in a vow at Cenchreae (18:18), so it was a small matter for him, a Jew, to ceremonially purify himself after becoming a Christian, especially if it would undermine the arguments of the Judaizers. To have refused the elders’ request would have lent credence to the Judaizers’ charge. The success of this plan is seen in that it was the Jews from Asia, visiting Jerusalem for the Pentecost feast of <span>AD<\/span> 57, who stirred up trouble for Paul (21:27-29)—not the Judaizers from Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p>The whole city was aroused by Paul’s persistent persecutors. A violent crowd dragged him out of the temple just as Stephen had once been hauled to his martyrdom. They tried to kill him, but he was rescued by Roman soldiers as the mob cried, “Away with him!”—just as they had done to Jesus (Acts 21:30-36). At this juncture the educational and cultural diversity of Paul’s life came to his rescue. As he was carried for safety to the Roman barracks, he spoke in Greek to the tribune, who had mistaken him for an Egyptian assassin (vv 37-38). Given permission to speak to the crowd, he did so in the Aramaic language then common in Israel (vv 39-40). The hushed crowd eagerly heard Paul’s defense until he uttered the word “Gentiles.” At this, the crowd resumed its threatening and violence, and Paul was brought into the barracks (22:1-24). There the Romans prepared to flog him, until Paul revealed that he was not only a Jew from Tarsus but also a freeborn Roman citizen. The tribune was afraid, since he had bound a Roman citizen. Wanting to know the charges against Paul, he brought him to the Sanhedrin (vv 25-30).<\/p>\n<p>This meeting of the Jewish judiciary was shortly reduced to dissension and violence. Paul resorted to tactics justifiable in such a war and hopelessly divided the Sanhedrin on the subject of the resurrection (Acts 23:1-9). Paul again was rescued, this time from the contending factions of the Jewish leadership, and taken to the barracks, where the Lord encouraged him, promising that he would go to Rome (<span>AD<\/span> 56, vv 10-11).<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime 40 Jews entered into a murderous plot against Paul. They vowed not to eat or drink until they had killed the apostle (Acts 23:12-15). They almost succeeded, but with the help of the son of Paul’s sister (v 16), the conspiracy was exposed. For safety, Paul was taken from Jerusalem to Caesarea under guard of 470 soldiers and handed over to the custody of Felix the governor (vv 16-35). Inconclusive hearings before Felix (Acts 24), his successor, Festus (25:1-12), and King Agrippa (25:23–26:32) occupied Paul in his two years of imprisonment in Caesarea. Festus, wanting to please the Jews, suggested that Paul be returned to Jerusalem for trial, but Paul knew the murderous intent of his accusers and again utilized his Roman citizenship by making a dramatic appeal to Caesar (25:9-12).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"VoyageandStayinRome\">Voyage and Stay in Rome<\/p>\n<p>To plead his case at Caesar’s court, Paul and his companions, Aristarchus and Luke, were taken on a perilous voyage (<span>AD<\/span> 58, Acts 27:1–28:16). Their passage by ship from Caesarea to Rome is one of the most remarkable on record. Luke’s detailed account is a treasure of information on ancient ships, navigation, and seamanship. It is also a beautiful portrait of a heroic and dignified apostle Paul, the gospel’s ambassador in chains (Eph 6:20), who with the guidance and assurance of his God (Acts 27:23-26), led the 276 people on board to safety (v 37).<\/p>\n<p>Luke traces the voyage stage by stage through every crisis, with a change of ship at Myra, delay at Fair Havens on Crete, and the shipwreck on Malta. Finally, in the spring of <span>AD<\/span> 59, they arrived at Puteoli, Italy, and made their way to Rome, welcomed by the believers along the Appian Way (Acts 28:13-16).<\/p>\n<p>Luke provided a peaceful denouement to the Acts, notwithstanding the fact that the apostle was an imperial prisoner of Caesar Nero. Paul lived by himself in his own house, chained to a Roman guard (Acts 28:16, 30). There he received the local Jewish leaders—to calm any misgivings they may have had about him and, at the same time, to convince them about Jesus. His efforts had mixed success (vv 17-28). During Paul’s two or more years in Rome, the Judaizers seem to have withdrawn, only to be replaced by the peril of Eastern Gnosticism. This is seen in Paul’s letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Ephesians, and to Philemon, all written at this time. It is unlikely that Paul’s accusers appeared in Rome to bring formal charges before Caesar, so Paul was probably released in <span>AD<\/span> 61.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"FinalYearsandMartyrdom\">Final Years and Martyrdom<\/p>\n<p>It is here assumed that the Pastoral Letters (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus) are truly Paul’s work. Only through them can the probable course of events in Paul’s final years be traced. Romans 15:28 shows that Paul intended to deliver the collection to Jerusalem and then to “set out by way of you [Rome] to Spain.” The arrest and imprisonment in Jerusalem not only destroyed these plans but also extracted five precious years from the prime of a most productive life. Although Clement of Rome implied that Paul did fulfill his desire to go to Spain (<em>Clement to the Corinthians<\/em> 5), it is certain that the daily pressure of Paul’s anxious care for all the churches (2 Cor 11:28) did not abate.<\/p>\n<p>If Paul went to Spain, he may have been there when Rome was burned on July 19, <span>AD<\/span> 64. Tradition says that Paul traveled as far as Britain, but there is no evidence to confirm this. Returning east, he left Titus in Crete (Ti 1:5) and traveled through Miletus, south of Ephesus, where he left Trophimus sick (2 Tm 4:20). Traveling toward Macedonia, Paul visited Timothy in Ephesus (1 Tm 1:3). On the way, Paul left his cloak and books with Carpus in Troas (2 Tm 4:13). This indicates that he intended to return there for his possessions. From Macedonia Paul wrote his loving yet apprehensive first letter to Timothy (<span>AD<\/span> 62–64). He had decided to spend the winter in Nicopolis (Ti 3:12), northwest of Corinth on the Adriatic Sea, but was still in Macedonia when he wrote his letter to Titus. This letter is similar to 1 Timothy, yet with a somewhat harsher tone. In it is a final glimpse of the eloquent and zealous Apollos (Ti 3:13), who is still in association with Paul 10 or more years after his first appearance in Ephesus (Acts 18:24).<\/p>\n<p>From here Paul’s path is obscure. He may have wintered in Nicopolis, but he did not return to Troas for his winter cloak (2 Tm 4:13). At some point he was arrested by the Romans, because he spent a winter in Rome’s Mamertine Prison, suffering from the cold in that rock cell before he wrote his second letter to Timothy (<span>AD<\/span> 66–67). He may have been anticipating the coming winter when he requested that Timothy bring his cloak (vv 13, 21). It is possible that the charges against Paul were related to the burning of Rome; this is unknown. It was, however, now “illegal” to be a Christian since the “new religion” was no longer protected by Roman law as being part of Judaism (which was a legalized, recognized religion by Roman law).<\/p>\n<p>It was dangerous to be associated with Paul at this time. Many deserted him (2 Tm 4:16), including all his coworkers in Asia (1:15) and Demas, who loved the world (4:10). Only Luke, the physician and author of Luke and Acts, was with him when he wrote his second letter to Timothy (v 11). Faithful believers still in hiding in Rome were also in contact with the apostle (1:16; 4:19, 21). He told Timothy to come to him in Rome and bring Mark also (4:11). Apparently Timothy did come and was imprisoned (Heb 13:23). Paul’s request for the books and parchments (2 Tm 4:13) discloses that he was reading and studying the Scripture to the end.<\/p>\n<p>The apostle Paul had two hearings before Caesar Nero. At his first defense only the Lord stood by him (2 Tm 4:16). There he not only pleaded his own cause but also that of the gospel, still longing that all the Gentiles would hear its message. Perhaps no decision was made, and thus he was “rescued from the lion’s mouth” (v 17). Though he knew he would soon die, he was not afraid, but was assured that the Lord would give him a crown of righteousness on the last day (v 8). Finally, the apostle himself recorded his seminal encouragement to all believers: “The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you” (v 22, <span>rsv<\/span>). After this, the Scripture is silent regarding Paul.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing is known of Paul’s second hearing but that it resulted in the sentence of capital punishment. History does not record Paul’s end. Nero died in the summer of <span>AD<\/span> 68, so Paul was executed before that date. As a Roman citizen, he must have been spared the lingering torture that had recently been suffered by his fellow martyrs. Tradition says that he was decapitated by the sword of an imperial headsman on the Ostian Road just outside of Rome, and buried nearby. This fulfilled Paul’s desire “to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better” (Phil 1:23, <span>rsv<\/span>).<\/p>","summary_ro":"PAUL, The Apostle Prominent leader of the first-century church; apostle to the Gentiles; author of 13 NT epistles. Preview • Family and Cultural Background • Education • Saul the Persecutor • Conversion and Calling • Preparation for Ministry • Sent Out from Antioch • Traveling with Barnabas • The Council of Jerusalem • Further Travel • Labor in the Gospel • The Arrest in Jerusalem • Voyage and Stay in Rome • Final Years and Martyrdom Family and Cultural Background Paul was born around AD 10, ...","summary_en":"PAUL, The Apostle Prominent leader of the first-century church; apostle to the Gentiles; author of 13 NT epistles. Preview • Family and Cultural Background • Education • Saul the Persecutor • Conversion and Calling • Preparation for Ministry • Sent Out from Antioch • Traveling with Barnabas • The Council of Jerusalem • Further Travel • Labor in the Gospel • The Arrest in Jerusalem • Voyage and Stay in Rome • Final Years and Martyrdom Family and Cultural Background Paul was born around AD 10, ...","source":"Articles\/P.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":57871,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:28","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:28","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:28<\/strong> In addition to physical difficulties, Paul felt the <em>burden<\/em> of <em>concern<\/em> (or <em>anxiety<\/em>) <em>for all the churches<\/em>. No church gave Paul more cause for concern than Corinth.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:28<\/strong> In addition to physical difficulties, Paul felt the <em>burden<\/em> of <em>concern<\/em> (or <em>anxiety<\/em>) <em>for all the churches<\/em>. No church gave Paul more cause for concern than Corinth.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:28 In addition to physical difficulties, Paul felt the burden of concern (or anxiety) for all the churches. No church gave Paul more cause for concern than Corinth.","summary_en":"11:28 In addition to physical difficulties, Paul felt the burden of concern (or anxiety) for all the churches. No church gave Paul more cause for concern than Corinth.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":85497,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:28","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:28","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:28<\/strong> In addition to physical difficulties, Paul felt the <em>burden<\/em> of <em>concern<\/em> (or <em>anxiety<\/em>) <em>for all the churches<\/em>. No church gave Paul more cause for concern than Corinth.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:28<\/strong> In addition to physical difficulties, Paul felt the <em>burden<\/em> of <em>concern<\/em> (or <em>anxiety<\/em>) <em>for all the churches<\/em>. No church gave Paul more cause for concern than Corinth.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:28 In addition to physical difficulties, Paul felt the burden of concern (or anxiety) for all the churches. No church gave Paul more cause for concern than Corinth.","summary_en":"11:28 In addition to physical difficulties, Paul felt the burden of concern (or anxiety) for all the churches. No church gave Paul more cause for concern than Corinth.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":113123,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:28","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:28","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:28<\/strong> In addition to physical difficulties, Paul felt the <em>burden<\/em> of <em>concern<\/em> (or <em>anxiety<\/em>) <em>for all the churches<\/em>. No church gave Paul more cause for concern than Corinth.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:28<\/strong> In addition to physical difficulties, Paul felt the <em>burden<\/em> of <em>concern<\/em> (or <em>anxiety<\/em>) <em>for all the churches<\/em>. No church gave Paul more cause for concern than Corinth.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:28 In addition to physical difficulties, Paul felt the burden of concern (or anxiety) for all the churches. No church gave Paul more cause for concern than Corinth.","summary_en":"11:28 In addition to physical difficulties, Paul felt the burden of concern (or anxiety) for all the churches. No church gave Paul more cause for concern than Corinth.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":140749,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:28","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:28","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:28<\/strong> In addition to physical difficulties, Paul felt the <em>burden<\/em> of <em>concern<\/em> (or <em>anxiety<\/em>) <em>for all the churches<\/em>. No church gave Paul more cause for concern than Corinth.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:28<\/strong> In addition to physical difficulties, Paul felt the <em>burden<\/em> of <em>concern<\/em> (or <em>anxiety<\/em>) <em>for all the churches<\/em>. No church gave Paul more cause for concern than Corinth.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:28 In addition to physical difficulties, Paul felt the burden of concern (or anxiety) for all the churches. No church gave Paul more cause for concern than Corinth.","summary_en":"11:28 In addition to physical difficulties, Paul felt the burden of concern (or anxiety) for all the churches. No church gave Paul more cause for concern than Corinth.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false}],"30":[{"id":7728,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Second Letter to the Corinthians","title_en":"Second Letter to the Corinthians","content_ro":"<h3>CORINTHIANS, Second Letter to the<\/h3>\n<p>Preview<\/p>\n<p>• Author<\/p>\n<p>• Date and Origin<\/p>\n<p>• Background<\/p>\n<p>• Purpose and Teaching<\/p>\n<p>• Content<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Author\">Author<\/p>\n<p>The apostle Paul is the acknowledged author of 2 Corinthians. While some scholars argue that 2 Corinthians 2:14–7:4 and 10–13 are separate letters, only in the case of 6:14–7:1 is Paul’s authorship disputed. This section is admittedly a strange digression, but stranger still would be the thought that an editor could have inserted it in such an unusual place. Also the repetition of thought in 7:2 from 6:13 indicates that Paul is aware that he has digressed from his topic and is repeating a phrase to bring his readers back to the subject.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"DateandOrigin\">Date and Origin<\/p>\n<p>After writing both the “previous letter” (1 Cor 5:9) and 1 Corinthians from Ephesus in <span>AD<\/span> 55, Paul continued to work there. Sometime during the next year a crisis arose in Corinth. Paul made a quick trip across the Aegean Sea, but he could not resolve the crisis, and due to the personal opposition of a leader in the church (likely an interloper bearing letters of recommendation from Jerusalem), he had to withdraw (2 Cor 2:1, 5). Returning to Ephesus from this “painful visit,” Paul dispatched Titus with a blistering “letter of tears,” his third letter to that church (2 Cor 2:4; 7:8, 12), which led to the excommunication of the leader and the repentance of the church. This letter has been lost. Meanwhile a situation erupted in Ephesus during which death (probably execution) seemed so certain that Paul despaired of life (see Acts 19:23-41; cf. Rom 16:4; 2 Cor 1:8-9). Paul was not killed, but his escape seemed miraculous.<\/p>\n<p>Leaving Ephesus in early <span>AD<\/span> 56, Paul traveled north to Troas seeking Titus and news of Corinth. Unable to endure without news, he abandoned a promising mission in Troas and sailed to Philippi. There he met Titus, who explained the change of heart in Corinth. Second Corinthians 1–9 responds to this situation, with chapters 8–9 preparing the Corinthians for an upcoming visit. Later Paul received further news from Corinth that renewed opposition to him was present. In response he penned the self-defense found in 2 Corinthians 10–13. Paul followed up the letter with a visit later in the year (Acts 20:2-3). We do not know the response to 2 Corinthians or the outcome of his final visit, but later the troubled history of the Corinthian church continued, with another Christian leader needing to write a letter at the end of the century (Epistle of Clement).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Background\">Background<\/p>\n<p>The Corinthian house churches always had great diversity. While those who liked Apollos undoubtedly despised Paul’s crude style, others who preferred Peter likely appealed beyond Paul to the more genuine “original” apostles in Jerusalem with their Jewish customs (1 Cor 1). Traveling teachers with letters of commendation from these apostles easily drew a following when they came to Corinth and undermined Paul’s authority and even his character. Furthermore, because of this outside influence, the collection for the poor in Jerusalem that Paul had initiated (16:1-4) was left in abeyance, both because it was connected to Paul and because the teachers themselves were taking money from the church. Paul writes to reaffirm his love and to repair the damage caused by the interloper.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"PurposeandTeaching\">Purpose and Teaching<\/p>\n<p>In the first section of the letter, Paul has two main purposes. The first is to cement his restored relationship with Corinth, explaining situations, forgiving those who opposed him, and reflecting on the nature of ministry. For Paul, ministry meant both intense suffering and comfort. Physical and emotional suffering came from the situations and people he worked with, but his knowledge of future reward and his experience of the power of God working in him brought profound joy and comfort. Due to his own recent brush with death, Paul also reflects on what happens at death. His expectation is to receive a resurrection body and be in the presence of Jesus at death.<\/p>\n<p>The second purpose of this section is to get the collection for Jerusalem on track again. In this context he gives major teaching on giving and Christian economics: Christians are to follow Christ in giving freely; economic equality is the principle governing who gives to whom.<\/p>\n<p>The second section of the letter is an impassioned self-defense, refuting the interloper’s claims to superiority. Neither oratory nor pedigree counts in Christian ministry, but only the call of God.<\/p>\n<p>In both sections one observes Paul’s deep desire for the unity of the church, both unity within the local community and unity with leaders appointed by God, such as Paul.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Content\">Content<\/p>\n<h5>Greeting, 1:1-7<\/h5>\n<p>A standard greeting (2 Cor 1:1-2) comes before Paul’s usual thanksgiving (vv 3-7). The topic of the thanksgiving—comfort in the midst of suffering—is the topic of chapters 1–7. Paul knows what it is to suffer, but it is in suffering that he has experienced God’s comfort, which he passes on to the Corinthians.<\/p>\n<h5>Paul’s Explanation, 1:8–2:13<\/h5>\n<p>Paul informs them of the danger he had suffered in Ephesus, one so great that he did not believe he would survive. His eventual survival seemed like a virtual resurrection, reinforcing his conviction that God, not human strength, is the only Christian refuge (1:8-11). In that and in all situations, Paul’s one boast is that of a clear conscience before God (vv 12-14).<\/p>\n<p>Paul had told them of plans for a double visit (cf. 1 Cor 16:5-6), but except for his brief “painful visit,” he had not fulfilled his plan (2 Cor 1:15–2:4). He defends himself from charges of either not planning in the Spirit or hypocritical vacillation. He was indeed as good as his word (cf. Jas 5:12), for his life reflected God’s fulfilled promise in Jesus, but he had changed plans so as not to repeat the “painful visit” of the previous year. It was love, not fickleness, that motivated the delayed visit.<\/p>\n<p>The Corinthians had responded to Paul’s “letter of tears” by excommunicating the person who had opposed Paul (not the same person as in 1 Cor 5). Since the person became repentant, Paul called for his restoration to the community, freely and graciously forgiving the man who had hurt him. Excommunication is for the unrepentant; its purpose is complete once the person repents (2 Cor 2:5-11).<\/p>\n<p>Paul then recounted his journey from Ephesus to Philippi, when he sought news of the response to the “letter of tears” (2:12-13). After telling how he left an opportunity to minister in Troas to go to find Titus in Philippi, he breaks the narrative with a long digression.<\/p>\n<h5>Nature of Apostolic Ministry, 2:14–7:4<\/h5>\n<p>The apostolic ministry in which Paul took part is like the ministry of Jesus, one of suffering and glory. Even in suffering there is triumph in Christ, for Christians share Christ’s triumph. Yet just like the perfumes of a Roman triumph were joy to the victors but meant death for prisoners on their way to execution, so Jesus’ triumph is life to the believer and death to the unbeliever (2:14-17).<\/p>\n<p>This triumph may have sounded like a boast, but Paul is not engaging in self-exaltation. Indeed, he has no need of the letters of commendation that the interloper in Corinth carried from Jerusalem, for the Corinthians are themselves the proof of his ministry (3:1-3). His boast is not in himself but in the new covenant in the Spirit, which unlike the old covenant is not fading (here Paul follows one Jewish interpretation of Ex 34:29-35, that Moses put the veil over his face so the people would not see the glory fade), nor does it veil the presence of God. The new covenant is permanent; it reveals God directly in the Spirit. There is no deceit or hiddenness, for the message is not about Paul but about Jesus, who is light itself (2 Cor 3:4–4:6).<\/p>\n<p>Paul the messenger, however, is simply the cheap, breakable pot that contains the priceless treasure, revealing by way of contrast that the only power in the gospel is God’s power. This contrast of weakness and power is seen in the sufferings of the apostle, a type of living death modeled after the sufferings of Jesus, out of which the life of Jesus flows to others (4:7-15).<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, despite intense suffering, Paul has courage, for he looks beyond this life to the rewards of the coming life. His whole motivation is one of faith, not sight, for he lives already for unseen realities (4:16-18). When he dies, Paul expects to receive an eternal resurrection body. His hope is not of becoming a disembodied soul (“naked”) but of passing immediately into a glorified bodily life, already guaranteed by the presence of the Spirit. This hope was likely the fruit of his near brush with death in Ephesus, when he must have meditated and prayed about what would come at death (5:1-5). Because this future includes Christ’s judgment, Paul wanted to make every effort to live in the light of that judgment, which he already saw by faith (vv 6-10).<\/p>\n<p>Far from trying to commend or exalt himself, Paul was simply presenting what he was—a person filled with the love of Christ and convinced that all should live not for themselves but for Christ (5:11-15). No one should be valued from a merely human point of view, not Paul, nor even Christ (for Paul before his conversion had a human opinion of Christ that his conversion had radically changed); everyone should be valued from the point of view of the new creation. Paul’s job was simply to announce the reconciliation of the new creation, which God has already effected on his side and which only awaits a person’s ratification on the human side (5:16-20).<\/p>\n<p>Paul, then, was a coworker with God, announcing salvation, using every means consistent with God’s character to proclaim the message, and suffering everything imaginable to demonstrate the extent of God’s love (6:1-10). Therefore, Paul had nothing against the Corinthians. If there was any blockage in their relationship with him, it must be on their side (6:11-13).<\/p>\n<h5>Digression on Purity, 6:14–7:1<\/h5>\n<p>Perhaps suspecting that the real block in the relationship was their love of the world, or that the Corinthians might not be totally over the problems mentioned in 1 Corinthians, Paul digressed into a discussion about the purity and sanctification of believers. There are two groups, light and darkness, Christ and the devil, believers and unbelievers. Therefore, as Exodus 25:8, Leviticus 26:11-12, Isaiah 52:11, Ezekiel 37:27, and Hosea 1:10 show (phrases from these passages flow into each other in a style of chain quotation familiar to Jews), Christians should not be closely bound to unbelievers in marriage or in business, for it will affect their moral purity.<\/p>\n<h5>Return to the Nature of the Apostolic Ministry, 7:2-4<\/h5>\n<p>Picking up from 6:13, Paul points out that the Corinthians have nothing substantial against him. He is not criticizing but simply appealing to them in love; even now he is prepared to die for them.<\/p>\n<h5>Explanation Concluded, 7:5-16<\/h5>\n<p>Having concluded his digression, Paul now returns to his journey, which he left in 2:13. When he met Titus, he received good news about Corinth. He was relieved that his “letter of tears” had been effective, not in simply making them sorry but in bringing them to true repentance that yielded zeal, moral purity, and joy. Furthermore, their behavior toward Titus had been so impressive that Titus’s enthusiastic report of his own impressions had further cheered Paul.<\/p>\n<h5>Collection for Jerusalem, 8:1–9:15<\/h5>\n<p>In the context of restored relationships Paul turns to the sensitive topic of the collection for the church in Jerusalem, which had been impoverished through famines in Judea in the 40s. This collection was both an act of charity (cf. Acts 11:27-30; Gal 2:10) and a symbolic act of unity and fellowship between the Gentile and Jewish branches of the church.<\/p>\n<p>The impoverished and suffering church in Macedonia (Philippi) had given eagerly. Therefore, Titus was coming back to help the Corinthians complete what they had begun the previous year (and probably dropped during the controversy with Paul, 2 Cor 8:1-7). The principles of the collection are (1) the Corinthians should follow the example of Jesus, who became poor for them; (2) they should give freely what they can without regretting that they cannot give more, for God values the eagerness to give expressed in action, not the net amount of the gift; and (3) there should be an economic equality among sections of the church, no one section being enriched at the expense of another (cf. Ex 16:18). This economic equality extends to the relationship between two churches a continent apart (2 Cor 8:8-15).<\/p>\n<p>Titus and two absolutely trustworthy men appointed by the churches for this work will come to supervise the final gathering—Paul would have nothing to do with the money personally—for it is important that not only God but the world be able to see the honesty and integrity of the way the church handles money (8:16-24).<\/p>\n<p>In this section Paul points out that he does not need to argue the reasons for this collection; they were aware of them when they began to gather money the year before. This letter is not an argument for the collection but an encouragement to finish the work, so that when Paul arrives with representatives of other churches carrying their contributions, the Corinthians would not be embarrassed by their relatively wealthy churches not being ready or able to give generously, despite Paul’s boasts about their previous eagerness. In saying this, Paul shows himself diplomatic and insightful in motivating human behavior; he makes the best assumptions possible about the present situation (9:1-5).<\/p>\n<p>Paul would not want the Corinthians giving out of guilt, although he, like Jesus (Mt 6:19-20), pointed out that the only real value of money is in giving it to help others. Rather, he wanted them so convinced of God’s generosity and ability to provide that they give freely and joyfully. God wanted to enrich them so they could give more. The giving would result in thanksgiving to God by the recipients, who would also pray for those who gave the gift, thereby binding the church together. A closing reminder of the extent of God’s own giving finishes the section (2 Cor 9:6-15).<\/p>\n<h5>Paul’s Self-Defense, 10:1–13:14<\/h5>\n<p>There is an abrupt change in tone between 9:15 and 10:1. Now, instead of the tone of conciliation found in 1:1–7:16, there is argument and defense, even threat. Paul’s apostleship has been attacked, and he will defend it with vigor.<\/p>\n<p>Paul was indeed a humble person who preferred not to use his authority. Yet when forced, he had something more than authority; he had spiritual power, capable of destroying opposing arguments and bending all to obedience to Jesus. He would use that power in Corinth if he must, though up to that time he had been gentle and had shown this side of his ministry only in letters (10:1-11).<\/p>\n<p>His opponents talked of their qualifications and compared themselves favorably with other ministers. Paul would not enter into this game of comparisons. God had set the sphere of his labors, which was the area in which he founded churches. He was the one who pioneered the church in Corinth, so it is his sphere of ministry, not the interloper’s (and such like him). They boasted in having reaped the benefits of his ministry; Paul could point to an original ministry given by God, for it is God’s commendation in the end that counts (10:13-18).<\/p>\n<p>Yet the Corinthian rebellion is serious enough to force him into self-defense, ridiculous as such an exercise is. He was shocked by how readily they turned away to every novel doctrine that came along. This tendency strikes fear in Paul’s heart (11:1-6).<\/p>\n<p>Paul had been criticized for refusing financial support from Corinth (even though he accepted gifts from other churches; cf. 1 Cor 9). He would continue to refuse such support, for he wanted to undermine the claims of the interloper. If the interloper was really serving God alone, let him work on the same basis as Paul! But since the interloper was false at heart, serving Satan and not God, he sought money from the church. Paul was astonished that in the Corinthians’ vaunted wisdom they did not see through this hypocrisy, yet he hoped that even if he must play the fool in making a self-defense, they would at least accept a fool like Paul. The irony is that his very tender care and concern for the church, his gentleness, was being used against him as a supposed “weakness.” Paul, the opponent argued, knew he was false, so therefore did not dare take money from the Corinthians (11:7-21).<\/p>\n<p>Interlopers claimed to come with authority from Jerusalem. They had letters from the apostles; it is unlikely, however, that the apostles would have approved of their activities. Still, they were Jews with respectable authority behind them. Paul felt compelled to state his own credentials. If they were Jews, he was just as pure a Jew. If they served Christ, could their work and sufferings match his? The list of sufferings both gives historical information not found in Acts and points to tireless labor, including days of fasting (“gone without food”) and nights spent in prayer (“gone without sleep”) (11:21-29).<\/p>\n<p>But this boasting was repulsive to Paul, so he isolated one particular suffering—his escape from Damascus, when he had to hide and slip out of the city in a basket. The story at once shows his effectiveness as an evangelist (in that he was a target of persecution) and shames him, for he could not defend himself and had to slip away under cover of darkness. Yet that weakness was indeed his glory (11:30-33).<\/p>\n<p>His opponents boasted in revelations from God. Paul knew that this boasting was senseless; however, if he must, he would tell them of a revelation superior to theirs, a time when he actually saw the inside of heaven (he is not sure whether it was a vision or an actual bodily experience). This probably happened about <span>AD<\/span> 42, while Paul was in Tarsus, before Barnabas came for him (Acts 9:30; 11:25). Paul disliked telling about this, for God’s power is more easily seen in his weakness. In fact, Paul’s opponents were an affliction of Satan that God allowed to keep Paul humble and to demonstrate his power in Paul’s weakness. (The image of a “thorn in my flesh” is one of enemies—Nm 33:55; Jos 23:13; Paul also describes what he means more clearly in 2 Cor 12:10). If vulnerability shows God’s power, Paul willingly accepts the weakness (12:1-10).<\/p>\n<p>Paul felt ashamed that he had to boast. The opponents boasted in coming from the Jerusalem “superapostles.” Paul pointed out that he was their equal, although both are nothing. God had set his mark upon Paul’s work. With biting irony he asks forgiveness for not having taken money from the Corinthians (12:11-13).<\/p>\n<p>Yet Paul would come a third time, and he would keep to the same policy of not taking any support from them but giving himself freely to them, just as Jesus had done on earth. Not only he, but all his envoys, kept to the same policy. No one could accuse him of deceit or inconsistency (12:14-18). However, he feared coming to them, for he knew that the community had not just rebelled against him but was also in internal disorder. This disunity and immorality would humble and pain Paul (12:19–13:4).<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, the Corinthians had better examine themselves. Were they really following Jesus or not? If so, they should see that Paul was also following Jesus. Yet Paul’s concern was not for his own position—he was content to be rejected (“weak”)—but for their following the truth. He hoped for their repentance, not to protect himself, but so that he need not be severe when he came (13:5-10).<\/p>\n<p>Probably taking the pen from the scribe at this point, Paul closes with a final appeal to repent and come to unity as a church. Brief greetings from the church in Macedonia and a formal blessing closes his correspondence with the Corinthians (vv 11-13).<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Acts of the Apostles, Book of the; Corinth; Corinthians, First Letter to the; Paul, The Apostle.<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>CORINTHIANS, Second Letter to the<\/h3>\n<p>Preview<\/p>\n<p>• Author<\/p>\n<p>• Date and Origin<\/p>\n<p>• Background<\/p>\n<p>• Purpose and Teaching<\/p>\n<p>• Content<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Author\">Author<\/p>\n<p>The apostle Paul is the acknowledged author of 2 Corinthians. While some scholars argue that 2 Corinthians 2:14–7:4 and 10–13 are separate letters, only in the case of 6:14–7:1 is Paul’s authorship disputed. This section is admittedly a strange digression, but stranger still would be the thought that an editor could have inserted it in such an unusual place. Also the repetition of thought in 7:2 from 6:13 indicates that Paul is aware that he has digressed from his topic and is repeating a phrase to bring his readers back to the subject.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"DateandOrigin\">Date and Origin<\/p>\n<p>After writing both the “previous letter” (1 Cor 5:9) and 1 Corinthians from Ephesus in <span>AD<\/span> 55, Paul continued to work there. Sometime during the next year a crisis arose in Corinth. Paul made a quick trip across the Aegean Sea, but he could not resolve the crisis, and due to the personal opposition of a leader in the church (likely an interloper bearing letters of recommendation from Jerusalem), he had to withdraw (2 Cor 2:1, 5). Returning to Ephesus from this “painful visit,” Paul dispatched Titus with a blistering “letter of tears,” his third letter to that church (2 Cor 2:4; 7:8, 12), which led to the excommunication of the leader and the repentance of the church. This letter has been lost. Meanwhile a situation erupted in Ephesus during which death (probably execution) seemed so certain that Paul despaired of life (see Acts 19:23-41; cf. Rom 16:4; 2 Cor 1:8-9). Paul was not killed, but his escape seemed miraculous.<\/p>\n<p>Leaving Ephesus in early <span>AD<\/span> 56, Paul traveled north to Troas seeking Titus and news of Corinth. Unable to endure without news, he abandoned a promising mission in Troas and sailed to Philippi. There he met Titus, who explained the change of heart in Corinth. Second Corinthians 1–9 responds to this situation, with chapters 8–9 preparing the Corinthians for an upcoming visit. Later Paul received further news from Corinth that renewed opposition to him was present. In response he penned the self-defense found in 2 Corinthians 10–13. Paul followed up the letter with a visit later in the year (Acts 20:2-3). We do not know the response to 2 Corinthians or the outcome of his final visit, but later the troubled history of the Corinthian church continued, with another Christian leader needing to write a letter at the end of the century (Epistle of Clement).<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Background\">Background<\/p>\n<p>The Corinthian house churches always had great diversity. While those who liked Apollos undoubtedly despised Paul’s crude style, others who preferred Peter likely appealed beyond Paul to the more genuine “original” apostles in Jerusalem with their Jewish customs (1 Cor 1). Traveling teachers with letters of commendation from these apostles easily drew a following when they came to Corinth and undermined Paul’s authority and even his character. Furthermore, because of this outside influence, the collection for the poor in Jerusalem that Paul had initiated (16:1-4) was left in abeyance, both because it was connected to Paul and because the teachers themselves were taking money from the church. Paul writes to reaffirm his love and to repair the damage caused by the interloper.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"PurposeandTeaching\">Purpose and Teaching<\/p>\n<p>In the first section of the letter, Paul has two main purposes. The first is to cement his restored relationship with Corinth, explaining situations, forgiving those who opposed him, and reflecting on the nature of ministry. For Paul, ministry meant both intense suffering and comfort. Physical and emotional suffering came from the situations and people he worked with, but his knowledge of future reward and his experience of the power of God working in him brought profound joy and comfort. Due to his own recent brush with death, Paul also reflects on what happens at death. His expectation is to receive a resurrection body and be in the presence of Jesus at death.<\/p>\n<p>The second purpose of this section is to get the collection for Jerusalem on track again. In this context he gives major teaching on giving and Christian economics: Christians are to follow Christ in giving freely; economic equality is the principle governing who gives to whom.<\/p>\n<p>The second section of the letter is an impassioned self-defense, refuting the interloper’s claims to superiority. Neither oratory nor pedigree counts in Christian ministry, but only the call of God.<\/p>\n<p>In both sections one observes Paul’s deep desire for the unity of the church, both unity within the local community and unity with leaders appointed by God, such as Paul.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"Content\">Content<\/p>\n<h5>Greeting, 1:1-7<\/h5>\n<p>A standard greeting (2 Cor 1:1-2) comes before Paul’s usual thanksgiving (vv 3-7). The topic of the thanksgiving—comfort in the midst of suffering—is the topic of chapters 1–7. Paul knows what it is to suffer, but it is in suffering that he has experienced God’s comfort, which he passes on to the Corinthians.<\/p>\n<h5>Paul’s Explanation, 1:8–2:13<\/h5>\n<p>Paul informs them of the danger he had suffered in Ephesus, one so great that he did not believe he would survive. His eventual survival seemed like a virtual resurrection, reinforcing his conviction that God, not human strength, is the only Christian refuge (1:8-11). In that and in all situations, Paul’s one boast is that of a clear conscience before God (vv 12-14).<\/p>\n<p>Paul had told them of plans for a double visit (cf. 1 Cor 16:5-6), but except for his brief “painful visit,” he had not fulfilled his plan (2 Cor 1:15–2:4). He defends himself from charges of either not planning in the Spirit or hypocritical vacillation. He was indeed as good as his word (cf. Jas 5:12), for his life reflected God’s fulfilled promise in Jesus, but he had changed plans so as not to repeat the “painful visit” of the previous year. It was love, not fickleness, that motivated the delayed visit.<\/p>\n<p>The Corinthians had responded to Paul’s “letter of tears” by excommunicating the person who had opposed Paul (not the same person as in 1 Cor 5). Since the person became repentant, Paul called for his restoration to the community, freely and graciously forgiving the man who had hurt him. Excommunication is for the unrepentant; its purpose is complete once the person repents (2 Cor 2:5-11).<\/p>\n<p>Paul then recounted his journey from Ephesus to Philippi, when he sought news of the response to the “letter of tears” (2:12-13). After telling how he left an opportunity to minister in Troas to go to find Titus in Philippi, he breaks the narrative with a long digression.<\/p>\n<h5>Nature of Apostolic Ministry, 2:14–7:4<\/h5>\n<p>The apostolic ministry in which Paul took part is like the ministry of Jesus, one of suffering and glory. Even in suffering there is triumph in Christ, for Christians share Christ’s triumph. Yet just like the perfumes of a Roman triumph were joy to the victors but meant death for prisoners on their way to execution, so Jesus’ triumph is life to the believer and death to the unbeliever (2:14-17).<\/p>\n<p>This triumph may have sounded like a boast, but Paul is not engaging in self-exaltation. Indeed, he has no need of the letters of commendation that the interloper in Corinth carried from Jerusalem, for the Corinthians are themselves the proof of his ministry (3:1-3). His boast is not in himself but in the new covenant in the Spirit, which unlike the old covenant is not fading (here Paul follows one Jewish interpretation of Ex 34:29-35, that Moses put the veil over his face so the people would not see the glory fade), nor does it veil the presence of God. The new covenant is permanent; it reveals God directly in the Spirit. There is no deceit or hiddenness, for the message is not about Paul but about Jesus, who is light itself (2 Cor 3:4–4:6).<\/p>\n<p>Paul the messenger, however, is simply the cheap, breakable pot that contains the priceless treasure, revealing by way of contrast that the only power in the gospel is God’s power. This contrast of weakness and power is seen in the sufferings of the apostle, a type of living death modeled after the sufferings of Jesus, out of which the life of Jesus flows to others (4:7-15).<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, despite intense suffering, Paul has courage, for he looks beyond this life to the rewards of the coming life. His whole motivation is one of faith, not sight, for he lives already for unseen realities (4:16-18). When he dies, Paul expects to receive an eternal resurrection body. His hope is not of becoming a disembodied soul (“naked”) but of passing immediately into a glorified bodily life, already guaranteed by the presence of the Spirit. This hope was likely the fruit of his near brush with death in Ephesus, when he must have meditated and prayed about what would come at death (5:1-5). Because this future includes Christ’s judgment, Paul wanted to make every effort to live in the light of that judgment, which he already saw by faith (vv 6-10).<\/p>\n<p>Far from trying to commend or exalt himself, Paul was simply presenting what he was—a person filled with the love of Christ and convinced that all should live not for themselves but for Christ (5:11-15). No one should be valued from a merely human point of view, not Paul, nor even Christ (for Paul before his conversion had a human opinion of Christ that his conversion had radically changed); everyone should be valued from the point of view of the new creation. Paul’s job was simply to announce the reconciliation of the new creation, which God has already effected on his side and which only awaits a person’s ratification on the human side (5:16-20).<\/p>\n<p>Paul, then, was a coworker with God, announcing salvation, using every means consistent with God’s character to proclaim the message, and suffering everything imaginable to demonstrate the extent of God’s love (6:1-10). Therefore, Paul had nothing against the Corinthians. If there was any blockage in their relationship with him, it must be on their side (6:11-13).<\/p>\n<h5>Digression on Purity, 6:14–7:1<\/h5>\n<p>Perhaps suspecting that the real block in the relationship was their love of the world, or that the Corinthians might not be totally over the problems mentioned in 1 Corinthians, Paul digressed into a discussion about the purity and sanctification of believers. There are two groups, light and darkness, Christ and the devil, believers and unbelievers. Therefore, as Exodus 25:8, Leviticus 26:11-12, Isaiah 52:11, Ezekiel 37:27, and Hosea 1:10 show (phrases from these passages flow into each other in a style of chain quotation familiar to Jews), Christians should not be closely bound to unbelievers in marriage or in business, for it will affect their moral purity.<\/p>\n<h5>Return to the Nature of the Apostolic Ministry, 7:2-4<\/h5>\n<p>Picking up from 6:13, Paul points out that the Corinthians have nothing substantial against him. He is not criticizing but simply appealing to them in love; even now he is prepared to die for them.<\/p>\n<h5>Explanation Concluded, 7:5-16<\/h5>\n<p>Having concluded his digression, Paul now returns to his journey, which he left in 2:13. When he met Titus, he received good news about Corinth. He was relieved that his “letter of tears” had been effective, not in simply making them sorry but in bringing them to true repentance that yielded zeal, moral purity, and joy. Furthermore, their behavior toward Titus had been so impressive that Titus’s enthusiastic report of his own impressions had further cheered Paul.<\/p>\n<h5>Collection for Jerusalem, 8:1–9:15<\/h5>\n<p>In the context of restored relationships Paul turns to the sensitive topic of the collection for the church in Jerusalem, which had been impoverished through famines in Judea in the 40s. This collection was both an act of charity (cf. Acts 11:27-30; Gal 2:10) and a symbolic act of unity and fellowship between the Gentile and Jewish branches of the church.<\/p>\n<p>The impoverished and suffering church in Macedonia (Philippi) had given eagerly. Therefore, Titus was coming back to help the Corinthians complete what they had begun the previous year (and probably dropped during the controversy with Paul, 2 Cor 8:1-7). The principles of the collection are (1) the Corinthians should follow the example of Jesus, who became poor for them; (2) they should give freely what they can without regretting that they cannot give more, for God values the eagerness to give expressed in action, not the net amount of the gift; and (3) there should be an economic equality among sections of the church, no one section being enriched at the expense of another (cf. Ex 16:18). This economic equality extends to the relationship between two churches a continent apart (2 Cor 8:8-15).<\/p>\n<p>Titus and two absolutely trustworthy men appointed by the churches for this work will come to supervise the final gathering—Paul would have nothing to do with the money personally—for it is important that not only God but the world be able to see the honesty and integrity of the way the church handles money (8:16-24).<\/p>\n<p>In this section Paul points out that he does not need to argue the reasons for this collection; they were aware of them when they began to gather money the year before. This letter is not an argument for the collection but an encouragement to finish the work, so that when Paul arrives with representatives of other churches carrying their contributions, the Corinthians would not be embarrassed by their relatively wealthy churches not being ready or able to give generously, despite Paul’s boasts about their previous eagerness. In saying this, Paul shows himself diplomatic and insightful in motivating human behavior; he makes the best assumptions possible about the present situation (9:1-5).<\/p>\n<p>Paul would not want the Corinthians giving out of guilt, although he, like Jesus (Mt 6:19-20), pointed out that the only real value of money is in giving it to help others. Rather, he wanted them so convinced of God’s generosity and ability to provide that they give freely and joyfully. God wanted to enrich them so they could give more. The giving would result in thanksgiving to God by the recipients, who would also pray for those who gave the gift, thereby binding the church together. A closing reminder of the extent of God’s own giving finishes the section (2 Cor 9:6-15).<\/p>\n<h5>Paul’s Self-Defense, 10:1–13:14<\/h5>\n<p>There is an abrupt change in tone between 9:15 and 10:1. Now, instead of the tone of conciliation found in 1:1–7:16, there is argument and defense, even threat. Paul’s apostleship has been attacked, and he will defend it with vigor.<\/p>\n<p>Paul was indeed a humble person who preferred not to use his authority. Yet when forced, he had something more than authority; he had spiritual power, capable of destroying opposing arguments and bending all to obedience to Jesus. He would use that power in Corinth if he must, though up to that time he had been gentle and had shown this side of his ministry only in letters (10:1-11).<\/p>\n<p>His opponents talked of their qualifications and compared themselves favorably with other ministers. Paul would not enter into this game of comparisons. God had set the sphere of his labors, which was the area in which he founded churches. He was the one who pioneered the church in Corinth, so it is his sphere of ministry, not the interloper’s (and such like him). They boasted in having reaped the benefits of his ministry; Paul could point to an original ministry given by God, for it is God’s commendation in the end that counts (10:13-18).<\/p>\n<p>Yet the Corinthian rebellion is serious enough to force him into self-defense, ridiculous as such an exercise is. He was shocked by how readily they turned away to every novel doctrine that came along. This tendency strikes fear in Paul’s heart (11:1-6).<\/p>\n<p>Paul had been criticized for refusing financial support from Corinth (even though he accepted gifts from other churches; cf. 1 Cor 9). He would continue to refuse such support, for he wanted to undermine the claims of the interloper. If the interloper was really serving God alone, let him work on the same basis as Paul! But since the interloper was false at heart, serving Satan and not God, he sought money from the church. Paul was astonished that in the Corinthians’ vaunted wisdom they did not see through this hypocrisy, yet he hoped that even if he must play the fool in making a self-defense, they would at least accept a fool like Paul. The irony is that his very tender care and concern for the church, his gentleness, was being used against him as a supposed “weakness.” Paul, the opponent argued, knew he was false, so therefore did not dare take money from the Corinthians (11:7-21).<\/p>\n<p>Interlopers claimed to come with authority from Jerusalem. They had letters from the apostles; it is unlikely, however, that the apostles would have approved of their activities. Still, they were Jews with respectable authority behind them. Paul felt compelled to state his own credentials. If they were Jews, he was just as pure a Jew. If they served Christ, could their work and sufferings match his? The list of sufferings both gives historical information not found in Acts and points to tireless labor, including days of fasting (“gone without food”) and nights spent in prayer (“gone without sleep”) (11:21-29).<\/p>\n<p>But this boasting was repulsive to Paul, so he isolated one particular suffering—his escape from Damascus, when he had to hide and slip out of the city in a basket. The story at once shows his effectiveness as an evangelist (in that he was a target of persecution) and shames him, for he could not defend himself and had to slip away under cover of darkness. Yet that weakness was indeed his glory (11:30-33).<\/p>\n<p>His opponents boasted in revelations from God. Paul knew that this boasting was senseless; however, if he must, he would tell them of a revelation superior to theirs, a time when he actually saw the inside of heaven (he is not sure whether it was a vision or an actual bodily experience). This probably happened about <span>AD<\/span> 42, while Paul was in Tarsus, before Barnabas came for him (Acts 9:30; 11:25). Paul disliked telling about this, for God’s power is more easily seen in his weakness. In fact, Paul’s opponents were an affliction of Satan that God allowed to keep Paul humble and to demonstrate his power in Paul’s weakness. (The image of a “thorn in my flesh” is one of enemies—Nm 33:55; Jos 23:13; Paul also describes what he means more clearly in 2 Cor 12:10). If vulnerability shows God’s power, Paul willingly accepts the weakness (12:1-10).<\/p>\n<p>Paul felt ashamed that he had to boast. The opponents boasted in coming from the Jerusalem “superapostles.” Paul pointed out that he was their equal, although both are nothing. God had set his mark upon Paul’s work. With biting irony he asks forgiveness for not having taken money from the Corinthians (12:11-13).<\/p>\n<p>Yet Paul would come a third time, and he would keep to the same policy of not taking any support from them but giving himself freely to them, just as Jesus had done on earth. Not only he, but all his envoys, kept to the same policy. No one could accuse him of deceit or inconsistency (12:14-18). However, he feared coming to them, for he knew that the community had not just rebelled against him but was also in internal disorder. This disunity and immorality would humble and pain Paul (12:19–13:4).<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, the Corinthians had better examine themselves. Were they really following Jesus or not? If so, they should see that Paul was also following Jesus. Yet Paul’s concern was not for his own position—he was content to be rejected (“weak”)—but for their following the truth. He hoped for their repentance, not to protect himself, but so that he need not be severe when he came (13:5-10).<\/p>\n<p>Probably taking the pen from the scribe at this point, Paul closes with a final appeal to repent and come to unity as a church. Brief greetings from the church in Macedonia and a formal blessing closes his correspondence with the Corinthians (vv 11-13).<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Acts of the Apostles, Book of the; Corinth; Corinthians, First Letter to the; Paul, The Apostle.<\/p>","summary_ro":"CORINTHIANS, Second Letter to the Preview • Author • Date and Origin • Background • Purpose and Teaching • Content Author The apostle Paul is the acknowledged author of 2 Corinthians. While some scholars argue that 2 Corinthians 2:14–7:4 and 10–13 are separate letters, only in the case of 6:14–7:1 is Paul’s authorship disputed. This section is admittedly a strange digression, but stranger still would be the thought that an editor could have inserted it in such an unusual place. Also the repet...","summary_en":"CORINTHIANS, Second Letter to the Preview • Author • Date and Origin • Background • Purpose and Teaching • Content Author The apostle Paul is the acknowledged author of 2 Corinthians. While some scholars argue that 2 Corinthians 2:14–7:4 and 10–13 are separate letters, only in the case of 6:14–7:1 is Paul’s authorship disputed. This section is admittedly a strange digression, but stranger still would be the thought that an editor could have inserted it in such an unusual place. Also the repet...","source":"Articles\/C.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":57872,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:30","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:30","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:30<\/strong> <em>the things that show how weak I am:<\/em> Paul develops this theme in 12:1-10.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:30<\/strong> <em>the things that show how weak I am:<\/em> Paul develops this theme in 12:1-10.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:30 the things that show how weak I am: Paul develops this theme in 12:1-10.","summary_en":"11:30 the things that show how weak I am: Paul develops this theme in 12:1-10.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":85498,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:30","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:30","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:30<\/strong> <em>the things that show how weak I am:<\/em> Paul develops this theme in 12:1-10.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:30<\/strong> <em>the things that show how weak I am:<\/em> Paul develops this theme in 12:1-10.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:30 the things that show how weak I am: Paul develops this theme in 12:1-10.","summary_en":"11:30 the things that show how weak I am: Paul develops this theme in 12:1-10.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":113124,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:30","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:30","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:30<\/strong> <em>the things that show how weak I am:<\/em> Paul develops this theme in 12:1-10.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:30<\/strong> <em>the things that show how weak I am:<\/em> Paul develops this theme in 12:1-10.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:30 the things that show how weak I am: Paul develops this theme in 12:1-10.","summary_en":"11:30 the things that show how weak I am: Paul develops this theme in 12:1-10.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":140750,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:30","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:30","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:30<\/strong> <em>the things that show how weak I am:<\/em> Paul develops this theme in 12:1-10.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:30<\/strong> <em>the things that show how weak I am:<\/em> Paul develops this theme in 12:1-10.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:30 the things that show how weak I am: Paul develops this theme in 12:1-10.","summary_en":"11:30 the things that show how weak I am: Paul develops this theme in 12:1-10.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false}],"31":[{"id":38702,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"World","title_en":"World","content_ro":"<h3>WORLD<\/h3>\n<p>An important NT term from the Greek word <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">kosmos<\/span> (meaning that which is ordered or arranged), having five different meanings:<\/p>\n<p>1. The universe created by God with design and order (e.g., Mt 13:35; Jn 17:24; Acts 17:24).<\/p>\n<li>2. The planet earth (e.g., Jn 11:9). This includes the idea of earth as the dwelling place of human beings (16:21) and of earth as contrasted with heaven (6:14; 12:46).<\/li>\n<li>3. The total of humanity (Mt 5:14; Jn 3:16; 1 Cor 4:13).<\/li>\n<li>4. The total of human existence in this present life, with all of its experience and possessions (Mt 16:26; 1 Cor 7:33).<\/li>\n<li>5. The world order as alienated from God, in rebellion against him, and condemned for its godlessness. It is “this world” (Jn 8:23; 12:25; 1 Cor 3:19), as opposed to “that which is to come.” The ruler of this world is the devil (Jn 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 1 Cor 5:10)—as John said it, “The whole world is under the control of the evil one” (1 Jn 5:19, <span>niv<\/span>). Christians are not of this world (Jn 15:19; 17:16), even though they live in the world and participate in its activities (17:11). The believer is regarded as dead to the world (Gal 6:14; cf. Col 3:2-3). The Christian is to be separated from the world (Jas 1:27).<\/li>\n<p>One’s relationship with the world is an indicator of one’s relationship with God. Those who love the world are void of love for God the Father (1 Jn 2:15). The Scripture points out that “all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world” (v 16, <span>rsv<\/span>). The world and its desires or lusts are transient, passing away, but the doer of God’s word abides forever (1 Jn 2:17; cf. 2 Cor 4:18). Friendship with the world is enmity toward God (Jas 4:4).<\/p>\n<p>The discourse of Jesus on the night before his crucifixion contains much teaching about the world. The world cannot receive the Spirit of truth (Jn 14:17). Christ gives a peace that the world cannot give (v 27). Jesus offers love, while the world gives hatred and persecution (15:19-20). The world’s hatred of God is also directed against the followers of Christ (vv 18-21). Although the disciples of Jesus have tribulation “in this world,” they are to be of good cheer, for Jesus has overcome the world (16:33).<\/p>\n<p>Another Greek word sometimes translated “world” is <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">aion<\/span><em>,<\/em> which emphasizes the temporal aspect of the world. It is used of time without end, eternity (e.g., Rom 1:25; 2 Cor 11:31; Phil 4:20). <em>See<\/em> Age.<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>WORLD<\/h3>\n<p>An important NT term from the Greek word <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">kosmos<\/span> (meaning that which is ordered or arranged), having five different meanings:<\/p>\n<p>1. The universe created by God with design and order (e.g., Mt 13:35; Jn 17:24; Acts 17:24).<\/p>\n<li>2. The planet earth (e.g., Jn 11:9). This includes the idea of earth as the dwelling place of human beings (16:21) and of earth as contrasted with heaven (6:14; 12:46).<\/li>\n<li>3. The total of humanity (Mt 5:14; Jn 3:16; 1 Cor 4:13).<\/li>\n<li>4. The total of human existence in this present life, with all of its experience and possessions (Mt 16:26; 1 Cor 7:33).<\/li>\n<li>5. The world order as alienated from God, in rebellion against him, and condemned for its godlessness. It is “this world” (Jn 8:23; 12:25; 1 Cor 3:19), as opposed to “that which is to come.” The ruler of this world is the devil (Jn 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 1 Cor 5:10)—as John said it, “The whole world is under the control of the evil one” (1 Jn 5:19, <span>niv<\/span>). Christians are not of this world (Jn 15:19; 17:16), even though they live in the world and participate in its activities (17:11). The believer is regarded as dead to the world (Gal 6:14; cf. Col 3:2-3). The Christian is to be separated from the world (Jas 1:27).<\/li>\n<p>One’s relationship with the world is an indicator of one’s relationship with God. Those who love the world are void of love for God the Father (1 Jn 2:15). The Scripture points out that “all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world” (v 16, <span>rsv<\/span>). The world and its desires or lusts are transient, passing away, but the doer of God’s word abides forever (1 Jn 2:17; cf. 2 Cor 4:18). Friendship with the world is enmity toward God (Jas 4:4).<\/p>\n<p>The discourse of Jesus on the night before his crucifixion contains much teaching about the world. The world cannot receive the Spirit of truth (Jn 14:17). Christ gives a peace that the world cannot give (v 27). Jesus offers love, while the world gives hatred and persecution (15:19-20). The world’s hatred of God is also directed against the followers of Christ (vv 18-21). Although the disciples of Jesus have tribulation “in this world,” they are to be of good cheer, for Jesus has overcome the world (16:33).<\/p>\n<p>Another Greek word sometimes translated “world” is <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">aion<\/span><em>,<\/em> which emphasizes the temporal aspect of the world. It is used of time without end, eternity (e.g., Rom 1:25; 2 Cor 11:31; Phil 4:20). <em>See<\/em> Age.<\/p>","summary_ro":"WORLD An important NT term from the Greek word kosmos (meaning that which is ordered or arranged), having five different meanings: 1. The universe created by God with design and order (e.g., Mt 13:35; Jn 17:24; Acts 17:24). 2. The planet earth (e.g., Jn 11:9). This includes the idea of earth as the dwelling place of human beings (16:21) and of earth as contrasted with heaven (6:14; 12:46). 3. The total of humanity (Mt 5:14; Jn 3:16; 1 Cor 4:13). 4. The total of human existence in this present...","summary_en":"WORLD An important NT term from the Greek word kosmos (meaning that which is ordered or arranged), having five different meanings: 1. The universe created by God with design and order (e.g., Mt 13:35; Jn 17:24; Acts 17:24). 2. The planet earth (e.g., Jn 11:9). This includes the idea of earth as the dwelling place of human beings (16:21) and of earth as contrasted with heaven (6:14; 12:46). 3. The total of humanity (Mt 5:14; Jn 3:16; 1 Cor 4:13). 4. The total of human existence in this present...","source":"Articles\/W.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false}],"32":[{"id":2639,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Aretas","title_en":"Aretas","content_ro":"<h3>ARETAS<\/h3>\n<li>1. Name of several kings of an Arabian people called the Nabateans, considered to be descendants of Nebaioth, Ishmael’s oldest son (Gn 25:12-16; 1 Chr 1:29). According to the Jewish historian Josephus, Ishmael’s descendants inhabited an area all the way from the Euphrates to the Red Sea, calling it Nabatene. Their capital city, Sela, was called Petra in NT times.<\/li>\n<li>2. The Aretas of 2 Maccabees 5:8, before whom Jason the priest was accused, ruled about 170 <span>BC<\/span>. The Nabateans were evidently friendly toward the Maccabeans (1 Macc 5:24-28; 9:35). Josephus mentioned two other kings named Aretas. It was Aretas III, originally named Obodas, who extended Nabatean control and occupied Damascus during his reign (87–62 <span>BC<\/span>).<\/li>\n<li>3. The NT contains a reference to still another Aretas. The apostle Paul had to escape from Damascus by being let down in a basket through a window in the wall because the governor there under King Aretas was guarding the city in order to seize him (2 Cor 11:32-33). That Aretas has been identified as Eneas, who took the title Aretas IV and ruled from 9 <span>BC<\/span> to <span>AD<\/span> 40. He attacked and defeated Herod Antipas over a boundary dispute and also as revenge. (Antipas had divorced Aretas’s daughter in order to marry Herodias.)<\/li>","content_en":"<h3>ARETAS<\/h3>\n<li>1. Name of several kings of an Arabian people called the Nabateans, considered to be descendants of Nebaioth, Ishmael’s oldest son (Gn 25:12-16; 1 Chr 1:29). According to the Jewish historian Josephus, Ishmael’s descendants inhabited an area all the way from the Euphrates to the Red Sea, calling it Nabatene. Their capital city, Sela, was called Petra in NT times.<\/li>\n<li>2. The Aretas of 2 Maccabees 5:8, before whom Jason the priest was accused, ruled about 170 <span>BC<\/span>. The Nabateans were evidently friendly toward the Maccabeans (1 Macc 5:24-28; 9:35). Josephus mentioned two other kings named Aretas. It was Aretas III, originally named Obodas, who extended Nabatean control and occupied Damascus during his reign (87–62 <span>BC<\/span>).<\/li>\n<li>3. The NT contains a reference to still another Aretas. The apostle Paul had to escape from Damascus by being let down in a basket through a window in the wall because the governor there under King Aretas was guarding the city in order to seize him (2 Cor 11:32-33). That Aretas has been identified as Eneas, who took the title Aretas IV and ruled from 9 <span>BC<\/span> to <span>AD<\/span> 40. He attacked and defeated Herod Antipas over a boundary dispute and also as revenge. (Antipas had divorced Aretas’s daughter in order to marry Herodias.)<\/li>","summary_ro":"ARETAS 1. Name of several kings of an Arabian people called the Nabateans, considered to be descendants of Nebaioth, Ishmael’s oldest son (Gn 25:12-16; 1 Chr 1:29). According to the Jewish historian Josephus, Ishmael’s descendants inhabited an area all the way from the Euphrates to the Red Sea, calling it Nabatene. Their capital city, Sela, was called Petra in NT times. 2. The Aretas of 2 Maccabees 5:8, before whom Jason the priest was accused, ruled about 170 BC. The Nabateans were evidently...","summary_en":"ARETAS 1. Name of several kings of an Arabian people called the Nabateans, considered to be descendants of Nebaioth, Ishmael’s oldest son (Gn 25:12-16; 1 Chr 1:29). According to the Jewish historian Josephus, Ishmael’s descendants inhabited an area all the way from the Euphrates to the Red Sea, calling it Nabatene. Their capital city, Sela, was called Petra in NT times. 2. The Aretas of 2 Maccabees 5:8, before whom Jason the priest was accused, ruled about 170 BC. The Nabateans were evidently...","source":"Articles\/A.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":8473,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Damascus","title_en":"Damascus","content_ro":"<h3>DAMASCUS<\/h3>\n<p>Syrian oasis city protected on three sides by mountains and situated on trade routes about 160 miles (257 kilometers) northeast of Jerusalem. The name Damascus can also refer to the surrounding area and to the southern Syrian state. Though close to the desert, the district is rich in almonds, apricots, cotton, flax, grains, hemp, olives, pistachios, pomegranates, tobacco, vineyards, and walnuts. These crops grow well because the land is watered by two rivers: the Nahr Barada, “the Cool” (biblical Abana), which runs from the northwest mountains through a deep ravine to the city; and the Nahr el-A waj, “the Crooked” (biblical Pharpar), which flows west to east. Together the two rivers irrigate 400 square miles (643.6 square kilometers) of land. Their beauty and importance in biblical times is conveyed by the haughty words of Naaman, a resident of the area, who almost refused to wash his leprosy away in the Jordan, as Elisha had prescribed, because it was such a poor river in comparison with the Abana and Pharpar (2 Kgs 5).<\/p>\n\n<p>Of the several trade routes that converged in the area, one led to Tyre and down the Mediterranean coastline, another to Megiddo and eventually to Memphis and Egypt, and a third to the Gulf of Aqaba.<\/p>\n<p>The first biblical mention of Damascus (Gn 14:15) refers to the city in connection with Abraham’s successful attack upon the confederation of kings who kidnapped Lot and his family. The Bible does not refer to the city again until the time of David (c. 1000 <span>BC<\/span>).<\/p>\n<p>Israel occupied a strategic position along the trade routes between Mesopotamia and Egypt. Although in the time of Joshua and the judges Israel was in conflict with its immediate neighbors, the Amorites, Moabites, Philistines, Ammonites, and Midianites, there was relatively little opposition from Syria.<\/p>\n<p>By the time of Saul, Zobah, an Aramean kingdom to the north of Damascus, was menacing the Israelites. Damascus was possibly in alliance with Zobah at this time, and the Israelites fought a defensive action (1 Sm 14:47). David subsequently defeated Hadadezer of Zobah and gained control over southern Syria and Damascus, where he garrisoned his troops. David’s forces under Joab continued to be successful, and tribute was sent from Damascus to Israel. One of Hadadezer’s officers, Rezon, deserted and formed a guerilla band in the Damascus area. Subsequently, in Solomon’s reign he eroded even the Israelites’ economic control of the region and set himself up as king in Damascus around 940 <span>BC<\/span> (1 Kgs 11:23-25).<\/p>\n<p>In the reign of Ben-hadad I, about 883–843 <span>BC<\/span>, soldiers from Damascus besieged Samaria and sent reasonable terms to Ahab, which were accepted swiftly. Damascus was at the height of its power when Ben-hadad was campaigning successfully against the Assyrians. At this time, when Jehoram, Ahab’s son, was king of Israel, Naaman the leper, a Syrian captain, was healed by the prophet Elisha when he accepted humbly the prescribed cure.<\/p>\n<p>The strategy of overcoming the kingdom by killing the king had been successful for Ben-hadad in his fight with Ahab, and he continued to follow the same policy. Shortly afterward, in a further effort to subdue Samaria, he sent assassination squads to murder either Jehoram or the prophet Elisha. The Lord preserved the lives of the pursued, and the Syrian attacked without success. Several years later, Elisha, who had gained the respect of the Syrians, entered Damascus boldly and announced that Ben-hadad’s illness was not fatal but that his death was imminent. Ben-hadad was thereafter murdered by Hazael, who then succeeded him. Although Damascus was soundly defeated by Assyria about 838 <span>BC<\/span>, Hazael rebounded quickly, and by 830 <span>BC<\/span> other predictions of Elisha were fulfilled. Damascene troops then controlled large areas of Palestinian territory, and the temple treasure was used to bribe the Syrians and save Jerusalem (2 Kgs 12:17-18).<\/p>\n<p>Planning to continue the subjection of Israel, Ben-hadad II found himself having to contend instead with resumed attacks from Assyria. In 803 <span>BC<\/span> Damascus became a tributary of Assyria, but the northern forces were unable to hold the area. After a further campaign in which Assyria again proved dominant, a weakened Damascus was unable to quash an Israelite rebellion in 795 <span>BC<\/span>. By the time of Jeroboam II, the Damascenes were forced to pay tribute to Samaria (2 Kgs 14:28).<\/p>\n<p>About 738 <span>BC<\/span> the Syrians, led by their new leader Rezin, joined forces with Pekah, king of Israel, to subjugate Judah. Much land was captured, although their siege of Jerusalem was unsuccessful (2 Kgs 16:5-6; 2 Chr 28:5). At this time of seeming success for Damascus, the city’s doom was predicted by Isaiah (Is 8:4; 17:1), Amos (Am 1:3-5), and Jeremiah (Jer 49:23-27). Rejecting God, Ahaz of Judah turned for protection to an alliance with the Assyrians, whom he bribed with the temple treasure. The Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III (“Pul”) agreed and marched against the Syro-Israelite confederation. After defeating Israel, he attacked Damascus, plundered the city, deported the population, and replaced them with foreigners from other captured lands. Damascus was no longer an independent city-state.<\/p>\n<p>Due to its key location, Damascus remained important, and the Assyrians used the city as a provincial capital. Their records mention it in 727, 720, and 694 <span>BC<\/span>, and also in the days of Ashurbanipal (669–663 <span>BC<\/span>). Assyrian world dominance succumbed to that of Neo-Babylon, which was later replaced by that of Medo-Persia. During the period of Persian control, Damascus was a noted administrative center. Under the regime of Alexander the Great, the importance of Damascus was diminished by the rise in commercial significance of Antioch.<\/p>\n<p>During intertestamental times, Damascus passed from one ruler to another. Following the death of Alexander, the city was controlled by the Ptolemies of Egypt and the Seleucids of Babylon. Somewhat before 100 <span>BC<\/span>, Syria was divided, with Damascus becoming the capital of Coele-Syria. Its non-Syrian kings were constantly in trouble at home with the economy and abroad with the Parthians, Hasmoneans, and Nabateans, who under Aretas controlled Damascus from 84 to 72 <span>BC<\/span>. Subsequently, authority passed to the Hasmoneans, descendants of the Maccabees, and then the Idumeans (the Herods). The area was subjected to Roman dominance after the defeat of Syria by the Romans in 65 <span>BC<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>Shortly after the death of Christ, the Nabateans regained control of the area, ruling Damascus from Petra through an ethnarch. It was under the control of an Arab appointee, probably Aretas IV, when Saul of Tarsus sought Jewish authority to purge Damascus of its Christians (2 Cor 11:32). Luke’s report in Acts 9, corroborated by Paul’s own confession (Acts 22:5-21; 26:11-23), relates Saul’s vision, blinding, and subsequent conversion on the road to Damascus. This may have been close to the place where Syrian soldiers were blinded when planning to assassinate Elisha (2 Kgs 6:18-23). After Saul’s sight was restored in a house on the street called “Straight,” he preached Christianity. Apparently the uproar in the Jewish quarter concerning his preaching was so great that the ethnarch was willing to condone Saul’s murder by orthodox Jews. Acts 9:23-25 describes his escape to Jerusalem. Damascus is not mentioned thereafter in biblical history.<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Syria, Syrians.<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>DAMASCUS<\/h3>\n<p>Syrian oasis city protected on three sides by mountains and situated on trade routes about 160 miles (257 kilometers) northeast of Jerusalem. The name Damascus can also refer to the surrounding area and to the southern Syrian state. Though close to the desert, the district is rich in almonds, apricots, cotton, flax, grains, hemp, olives, pistachios, pomegranates, tobacco, vineyards, and walnuts. These crops grow well because the land is watered by two rivers: the Nahr Barada, “the Cool” (biblical Abana), which runs from the northwest mountains through a deep ravine to the city; and the Nahr el-A waj, “the Crooked” (biblical Pharpar), which flows west to east. Together the two rivers irrigate 400 square miles (643.6 square kilometers) of land. Their beauty and importance in biblical times is conveyed by the haughty words of Naaman, a resident of the area, who almost refused to wash his leprosy away in the Jordan, as Elisha had prescribed, because it was such a poor river in comparison with the Abana and Pharpar (2 Kgs 5).<\/p>\n\n<p>Of the several trade routes that converged in the area, one led to Tyre and down the Mediterranean coastline, another to Megiddo and eventually to Memphis and Egypt, and a third to the Gulf of Aqaba.<\/p>\n<p>The first biblical mention of Damascus (Gn 14:15) refers to the city in connection with Abraham’s successful attack upon the confederation of kings who kidnapped Lot and his family. The Bible does not refer to the city again until the time of David (c. 1000 <span>BC<\/span>).<\/p>\n<p>Israel occupied a strategic position along the trade routes between Mesopotamia and Egypt. Although in the time of Joshua and the judges Israel was in conflict with its immediate neighbors, the Amorites, Moabites, Philistines, Ammonites, and Midianites, there was relatively little opposition from Syria.<\/p>\n<p>By the time of Saul, Zobah, an Aramean kingdom to the north of Damascus, was menacing the Israelites. Damascus was possibly in alliance with Zobah at this time, and the Israelites fought a defensive action (1 Sm 14:47). David subsequently defeated Hadadezer of Zobah and gained control over southern Syria and Damascus, where he garrisoned his troops. David’s forces under Joab continued to be successful, and tribute was sent from Damascus to Israel. One of Hadadezer’s officers, Rezon, deserted and formed a guerilla band in the Damascus area. Subsequently, in Solomon’s reign he eroded even the Israelites’ economic control of the region and set himself up as king in Damascus around 940 <span>BC<\/span> (1 Kgs 11:23-25).<\/p>\n<p>In the reign of Ben-hadad I, about 883–843 <span>BC<\/span>, soldiers from Damascus besieged Samaria and sent reasonable terms to Ahab, which were accepted swiftly. Damascus was at the height of its power when Ben-hadad was campaigning successfully against the Assyrians. At this time, when Jehoram, Ahab’s son, was king of Israel, Naaman the leper, a Syrian captain, was healed by the prophet Elisha when he accepted humbly the prescribed cure.<\/p>\n<p>The strategy of overcoming the kingdom by killing the king had been successful for Ben-hadad in his fight with Ahab, and he continued to follow the same policy. Shortly afterward, in a further effort to subdue Samaria, he sent assassination squads to murder either Jehoram or the prophet Elisha. The Lord preserved the lives of the pursued, and the Syrian attacked without success. Several years later, Elisha, who had gained the respect of the Syrians, entered Damascus boldly and announced that Ben-hadad’s illness was not fatal but that his death was imminent. Ben-hadad was thereafter murdered by Hazael, who then succeeded him. Although Damascus was soundly defeated by Assyria about 838 <span>BC<\/span>, Hazael rebounded quickly, and by 830 <span>BC<\/span> other predictions of Elisha were fulfilled. Damascene troops then controlled large areas of Palestinian territory, and the temple treasure was used to bribe the Syrians and save Jerusalem (2 Kgs 12:17-18).<\/p>\n<p>Planning to continue the subjection of Israel, Ben-hadad II found himself having to contend instead with resumed attacks from Assyria. In 803 <span>BC<\/span> Damascus became a tributary of Assyria, but the northern forces were unable to hold the area. After a further campaign in which Assyria again proved dominant, a weakened Damascus was unable to quash an Israelite rebellion in 795 <span>BC<\/span>. By the time of Jeroboam II, the Damascenes were forced to pay tribute to Samaria (2 Kgs 14:28).<\/p>\n<p>About 738 <span>BC<\/span> the Syrians, led by their new leader Rezin, joined forces with Pekah, king of Israel, to subjugate Judah. Much land was captured, although their siege of Jerusalem was unsuccessful (2 Kgs 16:5-6; 2 Chr 28:5). At this time of seeming success for Damascus, the city’s doom was predicted by Isaiah (Is 8:4; 17:1), Amos (Am 1:3-5), and Jeremiah (Jer 49:23-27). Rejecting God, Ahaz of Judah turned for protection to an alliance with the Assyrians, whom he bribed with the temple treasure. The Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III (“Pul”) agreed and marched against the Syro-Israelite confederation. After defeating Israel, he attacked Damascus, plundered the city, deported the population, and replaced them with foreigners from other captured lands. Damascus was no longer an independent city-state.<\/p>\n<p>Due to its key location, Damascus remained important, and the Assyrians used the city as a provincial capital. Their records mention it in 727, 720, and 694 <span>BC<\/span>, and also in the days of Ashurbanipal (669–663 <span>BC<\/span>). Assyrian world dominance succumbed to that of Neo-Babylon, which was later replaced by that of Medo-Persia. During the period of Persian control, Damascus was a noted administrative center. Under the regime of Alexander the Great, the importance of Damascus was diminished by the rise in commercial significance of Antioch.<\/p>\n<p>During intertestamental times, Damascus passed from one ruler to another. Following the death of Alexander, the city was controlled by the Ptolemies of Egypt and the Seleucids of Babylon. Somewhat before 100 <span>BC<\/span>, Syria was divided, with Damascus becoming the capital of Coele-Syria. Its non-Syrian kings were constantly in trouble at home with the economy and abroad with the Parthians, Hasmoneans, and Nabateans, who under Aretas controlled Damascus from 84 to 72 <span>BC<\/span>. Subsequently, authority passed to the Hasmoneans, descendants of the Maccabees, and then the Idumeans (the Herods). The area was subjected to Roman dominance after the defeat of Syria by the Romans in 65 <span>BC<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>Shortly after the death of Christ, the Nabateans regained control of the area, ruling Damascus from Petra through an ethnarch. It was under the control of an Arab appointee, probably Aretas IV, when Saul of Tarsus sought Jewish authority to purge Damascus of its Christians (2 Cor 11:32). Luke’s report in Acts 9, corroborated by Paul’s own confession (Acts 22:5-21; 26:11-23), relates Saul’s vision, blinding, and subsequent conversion on the road to Damascus. This may have been close to the place where Syrian soldiers were blinded when planning to assassinate Elisha (2 Kgs 6:18-23). After Saul’s sight was restored in a house on the street called “Straight,” he preached Christianity. Apparently the uproar in the Jewish quarter concerning his preaching was so great that the ethnarch was willing to condone Saul’s murder by orthodox Jews. Acts 9:23-25 describes his escape to Jerusalem. Damascus is not mentioned thereafter in biblical history.<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Syria, Syrians.<\/p>","summary_ro":"DAMASCUS Syrian oasis city protected on three sides by mountains and situated on trade routes about 160 miles (257 kilometers) northeast of Jerusalem. The name Damascus can also refer to the surrounding area and to the southern Syrian state. Though close to the desert, the district is rich in almonds, apricots, cotton, flax, grains, hemp, olives, pistachios, pomegranates, tobacco, vineyards, and walnuts. These crops grow well because the land is watered by two rivers: the Nahr Barada, “the Co...","summary_en":"DAMASCUS Syrian oasis city protected on three sides by mountains and situated on trade routes about 160 miles (257 kilometers) northeast of Jerusalem. The name Damascus can also refer to the surrounding area and to the southern Syrian state. Though close to the desert, the district is rich in almonds, apricots, cotton, flax, grains, hemp, olives, pistachios, pomegranates, tobacco, vineyards, and walnuts. These crops grow well because the land is watered by two rivers: the Nahr Barada, “the Co...","source":"Articles\/D.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":11270,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Ethnarch","title_en":"Ethnarch","content_ro":"<h3>ETHNARCH<\/h3>\n<p>Title given to one who rules by the authority of another country. Ethnarch was a position below a king but above a tetrarch or governor. Three ethnarchs who ruled in Palestine were Simon, during the Maccabean period (1 Macc 14:47), Archelaus in the time of Jesus (Mt 2:22), and one in Damascus during the life of the apostle Paul (2 Cor 11:32, <span>nasb<\/span>).<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>ETHNARCH<\/h3>\n<p>Title given to one who rules by the authority of another country. Ethnarch was a position below a king but above a tetrarch or governor. Three ethnarchs who ruled in Palestine were Simon, during the Maccabean period (1 Macc 14:47), Archelaus in the time of Jesus (Mt 2:22), and one in Damascus during the life of the apostle Paul (2 Cor 11:32, <span>nasb<\/span>).<\/p>","summary_ro":"ETHNARCH Title given to one who rules by the authority of another country. Ethnarch was a position below a king but above a tetrarch or governor. Three ethnarchs who ruled in Palestine were Simon, during the Maccabean period (1 Macc 14:47), Archelaus in the time of Jesus (Mt 2:22), and one in Damascus during the life of the apostle Paul (2 Cor 11:32, nasb).","summary_en":"ETHNARCH Title given to one who rules by the authority of another country. Ethnarch was a position below a king but above a tetrarch or governor. Three ethnarchs who ruled in Palestine were Simon, during the Maccabean period (1 Macc 14:47), Archelaus in the time of Jesus (Mt 2:22), and one in Damascus during the life of the apostle Paul (2 Cor 11:32, nasb).","source":"Articles\/E.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":14698,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Governor","title_en":"Governor","content_ro":"<h3>GOVERNOR<\/h3>\n<p>Biblical term translated from at least ten different Hebrew root words and five Greek roots. English versions do not render these words consistently; they use a variety of titles, such as “overseer,” “officer,” “leader,” “judge,” and “deputy,” to translate the same Hebrew word. The situation is similar in the Septuagint (Greek OT).<\/p>\n<p>A governor was someone of superior rank who exercised authority over persons, territory, or both. Sometimes rank and power were his by virtue of the office; other times accession to office was based on noble lineage, wealth, and public attainment. A governor normally received authority from a king; therefore, he was a deputy in the territory he governed. Such was the case with Joseph (Gn 42:6), Gedaliah (Jer 40:5), Daniel (Dn 2:48), and Zerubbabel (Hg 1:1). One Hebrew term for “governor,” however, could mean “absolute ruler” (Jos 12:2) as well as a person who acted under authority.<\/p>\n<p>The term most frequently used in the OT is evidently from an Akkadian expression meaning “lord of a district.” Such governors normally relied on military power to maintain their rule (2 Kgs 18:24; Neh 2:7; Jer 51:23, 28). The satrap of the Persian and Greek periods was most probably a civil governor. The leader of a city-state was often known as “governor” in the preexilic period (1 Kgs 22:26; 2 Chr 34:8). The writer of Psalm 22:28 used that title to describe God as the ruler of his people. A temple official who imprisoned the prophet Jeremiah in the stocks (Jer 20:1) was described as a “governor” (<span>rsv<\/span> “officer”). One who governed an army probably commanded one or more military units. What appears to be a special title is rendered “governor” in Ezra 2:63 and Nehemiah 7:65.<\/p>\n<p>Translation problems from the Greek are also numerous. Different levels and functions in leadership were obviously intended by the various words used. This is most clearly indicated by the use of such terms as <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">ethnarch<\/span> (1 Macc 14:47, <span>rsv<\/span>; 2 Cor 11:32, <span>nasb<\/span>), one who governed as a deputy of a king, and by another word referring to Roman provincial officials. Such governors were mentioned in NT writings (cf. Mt 10:18; Lk 2:2; 3:1; Acts 23:24; 1 Pt 2:14) and were responsible for maintaining law and order in their assigned territory. In NT times Judea was under the control of the governor of Syria. Archaic uses of “governor” occasionally appear in the <span>kjv<\/span>. The “governor” mentioned in James 3:4 (<span>kjv<\/span>) is the ship’s pilot.<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>GOVERNOR<\/h3>\n<p>Biblical term translated from at least ten different Hebrew root words and five Greek roots. English versions do not render these words consistently; they use a variety of titles, such as “overseer,” “officer,” “leader,” “judge,” and “deputy,” to translate the same Hebrew word. The situation is similar in the Septuagint (Greek OT).<\/p>\n<p>A governor was someone of superior rank who exercised authority over persons, territory, or both. Sometimes rank and power were his by virtue of the office; other times accession to office was based on noble lineage, wealth, and public attainment. A governor normally received authority from a king; therefore, he was a deputy in the territory he governed. Such was the case with Joseph (Gn 42:6), Gedaliah (Jer 40:5), Daniel (Dn 2:48), and Zerubbabel (Hg 1:1). One Hebrew term for “governor,” however, could mean “absolute ruler” (Jos 12:2) as well as a person who acted under authority.<\/p>\n<p>The term most frequently used in the OT is evidently from an Akkadian expression meaning “lord of a district.” Such governors normally relied on military power to maintain their rule (2 Kgs 18:24; Neh 2:7; Jer 51:23, 28). The satrap of the Persian and Greek periods was most probably a civil governor. The leader of a city-state was often known as “governor” in the preexilic period (1 Kgs 22:26; 2 Chr 34:8). The writer of Psalm 22:28 used that title to describe God as the ruler of his people. A temple official who imprisoned the prophet Jeremiah in the stocks (Jer 20:1) was described as a “governor” (<span>rsv<\/span> “officer”). One who governed an army probably commanded one or more military units. What appears to be a special title is rendered “governor” in Ezra 2:63 and Nehemiah 7:65.<\/p>\n<p>Translation problems from the Greek are also numerous. Different levels and functions in leadership were obviously intended by the various words used. This is most clearly indicated by the use of such terms as <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">ethnarch<\/span> (1 Macc 14:47, <span>rsv<\/span>; 2 Cor 11:32, <span>nasb<\/span>), one who governed as a deputy of a king, and by another word referring to Roman provincial officials. Such governors were mentioned in NT writings (cf. Mt 10:18; Lk 2:2; 3:1; Acts 23:24; 1 Pt 2:14) and were responsible for maintaining law and order in their assigned territory. In NT times Judea was under the control of the governor of Syria. Archaic uses of “governor” occasionally appear in the <span>kjv<\/span>. The “governor” mentioned in James 3:4 (<span>kjv<\/span>) is the ship’s pilot.<\/p>","summary_ro":"GOVERNOR Biblical term translated from at least ten different Hebrew root words and five Greek roots. English versions do not render these words consistently; they use a variety of titles, such as “overseer,” “officer,” “leader,” “judge,” and “deputy,” to translate the same Hebrew word. The situation is similar in the Septuagint (Greek OT). A governor was someone of superior rank who exercised authority over persons, territory, or both. Sometimes rank and power were his by virtue of the offic...","summary_en":"GOVERNOR Biblical term translated from at least ten different Hebrew root words and five Greek roots. English versions do not render these words consistently; they use a variety of titles, such as “overseer,” “officer,” “leader,” “judge,” and “deputy,” to translate the same Hebrew word. The situation is similar in the Septuagint (Greek OT). A governor was someone of superior rank who exercised authority over persons, territory, or both. Sometimes rank and power were his by virtue of the offic...","source":"Articles\/G.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":26798,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Nabataeans*, Nabateans","title_en":"Nabataeans*, Nabateans","content_ro":"<h3>NABATAEANS*, NABATEANS<\/h3>\n<p>Inhabitants of an independent kingdom bordering Judea, which existed from 169 <span>BC<\/span> to <span>AD<\/span> 106. The reader of the Bible and of standard histories often overlooks them for two reasons: their achievements are of recent discovery, and they flourished in a period when other major events, including the life of Christ and the beginning of the church, vastly overshadowed their existence.<\/p>\n<p>The Judeans and Nabateans of the Hellenistic-Roman era shared borders and politics. The mother of Herod the Great, son of the Idumean ruler Antipater, was herself a Nabatean. Herod fled to Petra, the Nabatean capital, in 40 <span>BC<\/span>, when the Parthians attacked Jerusalem. Relations between the two kingdoms were strengthened by the marriage in the next generation of Herod Antipas to a daughter of the powerful Nabatean king Aretas IV (9 <span>BC<\/span>–<span>AD<\/span> 40); relations soured again due to his divorce to marry his niece and sister-in-law, Herodias.<\/p>\n<p>The NT alludes to the extent of Nabatean influence in the region, when Paul tells of his narrow escape from incarceration following his return from the Arabian desert: “At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas guarded the city . . . in order to seize me, but I was let down in a basket . . . and escaped his hands” (2 Cor 11:32-33, <span>rsv<\/span>).<\/p>\n<p>Nabatean origins are obscure. The best-known remains of Nabatean culture are the funerary monuments of Petra. Aramaic inscriptions abound, standardized on coins and dedicatory items, with papyri and ostraca (sherds) revealing a cursive variation that anticipates Arabic script. Adoption of Aramaic language and Syrian deities shows the pragmatism by which they also adapted to their hostile environment. Only their Byzantine heirs approached their ingenuity for capturing precious water to sustain life in an arid region. Caravan travel was enhanced and permanent control thereof made possible only by skillful engineering.<\/p>\n<p>The earliest historical reference to the Nabateans associates them with Antigonus, Alexander’s successor in Syria (312 <span>BC<\/span>). The succession of known kings begins with Aretas I, around 170 <span>BC<\/span> (2 Macc 5:8). Josephus writes that about 100 <span>BC<\/span> the citizens of Gaza looked to “Aretas [II], king of the Arabs,” for aid against Alexander Janneus. Aretas III controlled Damascus (80–70 <span>BC<\/span>).<\/p>\n<p>The golden age at Petra lasted from 50 <span>BC<\/span> to <span>AD<\/span> 70 and included the reigns of Malichus I and Obodas II (period of Herod the Great), Aretas IV, and Malichus II. The rule of Rabbel II marks the end of the Nabatean kingdom. His predecessor, Malichus III, had moved the capital to Bostra, 70 miles (112.6 kilometers) east of Galilee. This in turn became the capital of the Roman province of Arabia, following Trajan’s conquests, in <span>AD<\/span> 106. The Nabateans were absorbed into the population, while their distinctive script continued into the fourth century.<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Petra.<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>NABATAEANS*, NABATEANS<\/h3>\n<p>Inhabitants of an independent kingdom bordering Judea, which existed from 169 <span>BC<\/span> to <span>AD<\/span> 106. The reader of the Bible and of standard histories often overlooks them for two reasons: their achievements are of recent discovery, and they flourished in a period when other major events, including the life of Christ and the beginning of the church, vastly overshadowed their existence.<\/p>\n<p>The Judeans and Nabateans of the Hellenistic-Roman era shared borders and politics. The mother of Herod the Great, son of the Idumean ruler Antipater, was herself a Nabatean. Herod fled to Petra, the Nabatean capital, in 40 <span>BC<\/span>, when the Parthians attacked Jerusalem. Relations between the two kingdoms were strengthened by the marriage in the next generation of Herod Antipas to a daughter of the powerful Nabatean king Aretas IV (9 <span>BC<\/span>–<span>AD<\/span> 40); relations soured again due to his divorce to marry his niece and sister-in-law, Herodias.<\/p>\n<p>The NT alludes to the extent of Nabatean influence in the region, when Paul tells of his narrow escape from incarceration following his return from the Arabian desert: “At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas guarded the city . . . in order to seize me, but I was let down in a basket . . . and escaped his hands” (2 Cor 11:32-33, <span>rsv<\/span>).<\/p>\n<p>Nabatean origins are obscure. The best-known remains of Nabatean culture are the funerary monuments of Petra. Aramaic inscriptions abound, standardized on coins and dedicatory items, with papyri and ostraca (sherds) revealing a cursive variation that anticipates Arabic script. Adoption of Aramaic language and Syrian deities shows the pragmatism by which they also adapted to their hostile environment. Only their Byzantine heirs approached their ingenuity for capturing precious water to sustain life in an arid region. Caravan travel was enhanced and permanent control thereof made possible only by skillful engineering.<\/p>\n<p>The earliest historical reference to the Nabateans associates them with Antigonus, Alexander’s successor in Syria (312 <span>BC<\/span>). The succession of known kings begins with Aretas I, around 170 <span>BC<\/span> (2 Macc 5:8). Josephus writes that about 100 <span>BC<\/span> the citizens of Gaza looked to “Aretas [II], king of the Arabs,” for aid against Alexander Janneus. Aretas III controlled Damascus (80–70 <span>BC<\/span>).<\/p>\n<p>The golden age at Petra lasted from 50 <span>BC<\/span> to <span>AD<\/span> 70 and included the reigns of Malichus I and Obodas II (period of Herod the Great), Aretas IV, and Malichus II. The rule of Rabbel II marks the end of the Nabatean kingdom. His predecessor, Malichus III, had moved the capital to Bostra, 70 miles (112.6 kilometers) east of Galilee. This in turn became the capital of the Roman province of Arabia, following Trajan’s conquests, in <span>AD<\/span> 106. The Nabateans were absorbed into the population, while their distinctive script continued into the fourth century.<\/p>\n<p><em>See also<\/em> Petra.<\/p>","summary_ro":"NABATAEANS*, NABATEANS Inhabitants of an independent kingdom bordering Judea, which existed from 169 BC to AD 106. The reader of the Bible and of standard histories often overlooks them for two reasons: their achievements are of recent discovery, and they flourished in a period when other major events, including the life of Christ and the beginning of the church, vastly overshadowed their existence. The Judeans and Nabateans of the Hellenistic-Roman era shared borders and politics. The mother...","summary_en":"NABATAEANS*, NABATEANS Inhabitants of an independent kingdom bordering Judea, which existed from 169 BC to AD 106. The reader of the Bible and of standard histories often overlooks them for two reasons: their achievements are of recent discovery, and they flourished in a period when other major events, including the life of Christ and the beginning of the church, vastly overshadowed their existence. The Judeans and Nabateans of the Hellenistic-Roman era shared borders and politics. The mother...","source":"Articles\/N.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":57873,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:32","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:32","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:32-33<\/strong> As a final “boast” of his weakness, Paul tells the story of his escape from <em>Damascus<\/em> a few years after his conversion (see Acts 9:23-25; Gal 1:15-18). • <em>King Aretas<\/em> IV of Nabataea controlled Damascus only after <span>AD<\/span> 37, following the death of the emperor Tiberius (see Josephus, <em>Antiquities<\/em> 18.5.1-3); the mention of Aretas dates Paul’s escape from Damascus between <span>AD<\/span> 37 and the end of Aretas’s reign in <span>AD<\/span> 39 or 40.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:32-33<\/strong> As a final “boast” of his weakness, Paul tells the story of his escape from <em>Damascus<\/em> a few years after his conversion (see Acts 9:23-25; Gal 1:15-18). • <em>King Aretas<\/em> IV of Nabataea controlled Damascus only after <span>AD<\/span> 37, following the death of the emperor Tiberius (see Josephus, <em>Antiquities<\/em> 18.5.1-3); the mention of Aretas dates Paul’s escape from Damascus between <span>AD<\/span> 37 and the end of Aretas’s reign in <span>AD<\/span> 39 or 40.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:32-33 As a final “boast” of his weakness, Paul tells the story of his escape from Damascus a few years after his conversion (see Acts 9:23-25; Gal 1:15-18). • King Aretas IV of Nabataea controlled Damascus only after AD 37, following the death of the emperor Tiberius (see Josephus, Antiquities 18.5.1-3); the mention of Aretas dates Paul’s escape from Damascus between AD 37 and the end of Aretas’s reign in AD 39 or 40.","summary_en":"11:32-33 As a final “boast” of his weakness, Paul tells the story of his escape from Damascus a few years after his conversion (see Acts 9:23-25; Gal 1:15-18). • King Aretas IV of Nabataea controlled Damascus only after AD 37, following the death of the emperor Tiberius (see Josephus, Antiquities 18.5.1-3); the mention of Aretas dates Paul’s escape from Damascus between AD 37 and the end of Aretas’s reign in AD 39 or 40.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":85499,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:32","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:32","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:32-33<\/strong> As a final “boast” of his weakness, Paul tells the story of his escape from <em>Damascus<\/em> a few years after his conversion (see Acts 9:23-25; Gal 1:15-18). • <em>King Aretas<\/em> IV of Nabataea controlled Damascus only after <span>AD<\/span> 37, following the death of the emperor Tiberius (see Josephus, <em>Antiquities<\/em> 18.5.1-3); the mention of Aretas dates Paul’s escape from Damascus between <span>AD<\/span> 37 and the end of Aretas’s reign in <span>AD<\/span> 39 or 40.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:32-33<\/strong> As a final “boast” of his weakness, Paul tells the story of his escape from <em>Damascus<\/em> a few years after his conversion (see Acts 9:23-25; Gal 1:15-18). • <em>King Aretas<\/em> IV of Nabataea controlled Damascus only after <span>AD<\/span> 37, following the death of the emperor Tiberius (see Josephus, <em>Antiquities<\/em> 18.5.1-3); the mention of Aretas dates Paul’s escape from Damascus between <span>AD<\/span> 37 and the end of Aretas’s reign in <span>AD<\/span> 39 or 40.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:32-33 As a final “boast” of his weakness, Paul tells the story of his escape from Damascus a few years after his conversion (see Acts 9:23-25; Gal 1:15-18). • King Aretas IV of Nabataea controlled Damascus only after AD 37, following the death of the emperor Tiberius (see Josephus, Antiquities 18.5.1-3); the mention of Aretas dates Paul’s escape from Damascus between AD 37 and the end of Aretas’s reign in AD 39 or 40.","summary_en":"11:32-33 As a final “boast” of his weakness, Paul tells the story of his escape from Damascus a few years after his conversion (see Acts 9:23-25; Gal 1:15-18). • King Aretas IV of Nabataea controlled Damascus only after AD 37, following the death of the emperor Tiberius (see Josephus, Antiquities 18.5.1-3); the mention of Aretas dates Paul’s escape from Damascus between AD 37 and the end of Aretas’s reign in AD 39 or 40.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":113125,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:32","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:32","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:32-33<\/strong> As a final “boast” of his weakness, Paul tells the story of his escape from <em>Damascus<\/em> a few years after his conversion (see Acts 9:23-25; Gal 1:15-18). • <em>King Aretas<\/em> IV of Nabataea controlled Damascus only after <span>AD<\/span> 37, following the death of the emperor Tiberius (see Josephus, <em>Antiquities<\/em> 18.5.1-3); the mention of Aretas dates Paul’s escape from Damascus between <span>AD<\/span> 37 and the end of Aretas’s reign in <span>AD<\/span> 39 or 40.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:32-33<\/strong> As a final “boast” of his weakness, Paul tells the story of his escape from <em>Damascus<\/em> a few years after his conversion (see Acts 9:23-25; Gal 1:15-18). • <em>King Aretas<\/em> IV of Nabataea controlled Damascus only after <span>AD<\/span> 37, following the death of the emperor Tiberius (see Josephus, <em>Antiquities<\/em> 18.5.1-3); the mention of Aretas dates Paul’s escape from Damascus between <span>AD<\/span> 37 and the end of Aretas’s reign in <span>AD<\/span> 39 or 40.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:32-33 As a final “boast” of his weakness, Paul tells the story of his escape from Damascus a few years after his conversion (see Acts 9:23-25; Gal 1:15-18). • King Aretas IV of Nabataea controlled Damascus only after AD 37, following the death of the emperor Tiberius (see Josephus, Antiquities 18.5.1-3); the mention of Aretas dates Paul’s escape from Damascus between AD 37 and the end of Aretas’s reign in AD 39 or 40.","summary_en":"11:32-33 As a final “boast” of his weakness, Paul tells the story of his escape from Damascus a few years after his conversion (see Acts 9:23-25; Gal 1:15-18). • King Aretas IV of Nabataea controlled Damascus only after AD 37, following the death of the emperor Tiberius (see Josephus, Antiquities 18.5.1-3); the mention of Aretas dates Paul’s escape from Damascus between AD 37 and the end of Aretas’s reign in AD 39 or 40.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false},{"id":140751,"type":"study_note","type_label":"Notă de studiu","type_icon":"📝","type_color":"#06b6d4","title_ro":"Notă de studiu: 2 Corinteni 11:32","title_en":"Study Note: 2 Corinteni 11:32","content_ro":"<p><strong>11:32-33<\/strong> As a final “boast” of his weakness, Paul tells the story of his escape from <em>Damascus<\/em> a few years after his conversion (see Acts 9:23-25; Gal 1:15-18). • <em>King Aretas<\/em> IV of Nabataea controlled Damascus only after <span>AD<\/span> 37, following the death of the emperor Tiberius (see Josephus, <em>Antiquities<\/em> 18.5.1-3); the mention of Aretas dates Paul’s escape from Damascus between <span>AD<\/span> 37 and the end of Aretas’s reign in <span>AD<\/span> 39 or 40.<\/p>","content_en":"<p><strong>11:32-33<\/strong> As a final “boast” of his weakness, Paul tells the story of his escape from <em>Damascus<\/em> a few years after his conversion (see Acts 9:23-25; Gal 1:15-18). • <em>King Aretas<\/em> IV of Nabataea controlled Damascus only after <span>AD<\/span> 37, following the death of the emperor Tiberius (see Josephus, <em>Antiquities<\/em> 18.5.1-3); the mention of Aretas dates Paul’s escape from Damascus between <span>AD<\/span> 37 and the end of Aretas’s reign in <span>AD<\/span> 39 or 40.<\/p>","summary_ro":"11:32-33 As a final “boast” of his weakness, Paul tells the story of his escape from Damascus a few years after his conversion (see Acts 9:23-25; Gal 1:15-18). • King Aretas IV of Nabataea controlled Damascus only after AD 37, following the death of the emperor Tiberius (see Josephus, Antiquities 18.5.1-3); the mention of Aretas dates Paul’s escape from Damascus between AD 37 and the end of Aretas’s reign in AD 39 or 40.","summary_en":"11:32-33 As a final “boast” of his weakness, Paul tells the story of his escape from Damascus a few years after his conversion (see Acts 9:23-25; Gal 1:15-18). • King Aretas IV of Nabataea controlled Damascus only after AD 37, following the death of the emperor Tiberius (see Josephus, Antiquities 18.5.1-3); the mention of Aretas dates Paul’s escape from Damascus between AD 37 and the end of Aretas’s reign in AD 39 or 40.","source":"StudyNotes.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false}],"33":[{"id":2605,"type":"article","type_label":"Articol","type_icon":"📖","type_color":"#d4af37","title_ro":"Architecture","title_en":"Architecture","content_ro":"<h3>ARCHITECTURE<\/h3>\n<p>Science, art, or profession of designing and constructing buildings, bridges, etc. Architecture is the practice of combining construction and art in order to produce “beauty with purpose.” The architect’s synthesis of creative imagination and technical skill produces structures of interest, unity, power, and convenience. When we look at a building, monument, or tomb, we are examining its art as well as its structure.<\/p>\n<p>Special types of architecture are mentioned in Scripture, including houses, structures in particular cities, and, of course, the temples. All were influenced by the empires that dominated Israel at the time. It is therefore important to examine the architecture of empires associated with Bible history to understand the architecture of Palestine.<\/p>\n<p>Preview<\/p>\n<p>• Sumerian Architecture<\/p>\n<p>• Egyptian Architecture<\/p>\n<p>• Assyrian and Hittite Architecture<\/p>\n<p>• Greek Architecture<\/p>\n<p>• Roman Architecture<\/p>\n<p>• Palestinian Architecture<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"SumerianArchitecture\">Sumerian Architecture<\/p>\n<p>Architecture was first developed by the Sumerians, a people of non-Semitic origin. They may have settled on the island of Bahrain in the Persian Gulf a thousand years before moving northward to the mainland. From the beginning of their culture the Sumerians regarded architecture as an important artistic endeavor. It found its fullest expression in the building of temples. The Sumerian ziggurat, or staged tower, became Mesopotamia’s most distinctive contribution to architecture, both secular and sacred. The ziggurat has often been likened to a medieval European cathedral, the highest point of which might appear to be reaching upward to God as an expression of human religious aspirations. That, however, was not the concept the Sumerians held in building their shrines. For them, the ziggurat, standing on its mound or platform, represented a concentration of natural, life-giving forces. The god had already come down to his house, and it was the worshiper’s duty to commune with him there.<\/p>\n<p>By 2000 <span>BC<\/span> a Mesopotamian temple area commonly housed the ziggurat, several storehouses, shrines, workshops, and living quarters for priests. The ziggurat usually consisted of three stages: the inner walls of sun-dried mud brick, the outer walls of baked brick set in bitumen. The upper levels were reached by flights of stairs or ramps, and sometimes a small shrine to a local deity topped off the uppermost stage. In addition to devising decorated walls and columns, Sumerian architects discovered how to employ arches, domes, and vaults to give the impression of grandeur and space.<\/p>\n<p>Sumerian domestic architecture was quite mixed in style. Most city houses were two-story dwellings built on three sides of a square, with the opening facing away from the narrow streets. Homes of the wealthy might contain 20 rooms; some included servants’ quarters. Indoor bathroom facilities were connected by means of drainpipes to an underground cesspool. Many houses had a family burial vault in the basement. There seems little doubt that the Akkadians, Hittites, Egyptians, and Greeks all benefited in various ways from the architectural innovations of Sumer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"EgyptianArchitecture\">Egyptian Architecture<\/p>\n<p>The Egyptians achieved the most lasting architectural forms ever attempted by any civilization, and much of their architecture has been preserved. Such forms included temples, tombs, and pyramids. Huge stones to build those structures had to be brought from distant quarries. The Egyptians made use of slave labor and built their structures in honor of their rulers.<\/p>\n<p>The outstanding examples of Egyptian architecture are the pyramids, virtually all of which were constructed in the Old Kingdom period (c. 2700–2200 <span>BC<\/span>). The Sumerian principle of the recessed niche was employed to accommodate the enormous stresses of stone masonry. Without that technique it would have been impossible to construct such a huge edifice as the Great Pyramid, the estimated weight of which is almost six million tons (5,448,000 metric tons). The Great Pyramid is one of the most perfectly oriented buildings on earth, being just a few seconds of one degree short of true north-south orientation. Many of the huge blocks of stone were cut and fitted together so accurately that it is impossible to insert the edge of a sheet of paper between them. The pyramids were meant to serve as tombs for the remains of the persons who ordered them constructed, but the structures themselves have become monuments to human creativity.<\/p>\n<p>The major architectural style of the Egyptians was “post and lintel,” with horizontal crosspieces resting on columns. As a result, buildings of any size became a forest of columns. Wall surfaces were covered with carvings, paintings, and hieroglyphics. Temples were planned on a long axis with almost perfect symmetry. The structures seem designed for imperial pageants and other ceremonies staged to impress the people with the power and authority of their rulers.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"AssyrianandHittiteArchitecture\">Assyrian and Hittite Architecture<\/p>\n<p>The Assyrians followed the Sumerian pattern of temple construction but enlarged the ziggurats and added more stories. The great ziggurat at Borsippa was an outstanding example of seven-story temple construction. The foundation was about 272 feet (83 meters) square, and the building stood about 160 feet (49 meters) high. Each story was set back from the level beneath it in a terraced effect and painted with a different color of wash. Each story was intended to represent one of the planets. In accordance with later Sumerian practice the uppermost level had a small shrine built on its roof, where the god Nebo was thought to have taken up his residence. Many believe that the Tower of Babel, which God destroyed, was a ziggurat tower (Gn 11).<\/p>\n<p>Assyrian royal palaces of the eighth and seventh centuries <span>BC<\/span> were large and elegant, decorated with enormous bas-reliefs depicting the king busily occupied with a variety of activities. Assyrian art was at its height in that period, and meticulous attention to detail brought a virile character to Assyrian architecture. Large stone sculptures of protective animals were stationed at entrances to public buildings. Similar statues were a feature of Hittite architecture in Anatolia, the eastern part of Asia Minor.<\/p>\n<p>Hittite buildings excavated at Boghazkôy and elsewhere easily matched those of the Assyrians in extent and grandeur. Towering columns, long halls, and expansive rooms were typical of Hittite palace construction in the Bronze Age.<\/p>\n<p>Hittite temple design followed what was common in Babylonia, with several buildings grouped around an open court. One difference was that the main sanctuary was approached through a series of entrances or porches extending beyond the length of adjacent buildings. The design enabled small windows to be placed at the top of the projection in order to give additional light in the sanctuary.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"GreekArchitecture\">Greek Architecture<\/p>\n\n<p>Architecture rose to great achievements in the Greek world. Many factors combined to produce architectural beauty that has lasted for centuries. Those factors included the climate, setting, government, and people. Perhaps the most important factor was the people, who seemed free to imagine and develop designs and structures that have continued to excite our imaginations to this day.<\/p>\n<p>The Greeks strove to attain beauty in their architecture. This worthy motive found its highest expression in the fifth century <span>BC<\/span>. In the time of Pericles (461–429 <span>BC<\/span>) the Parthenon and Propylea on the Acropolis were remodeled from earlier originals, and the Erechtheum was also built there. Subsequent temples in Athens included that of Hephaestus, which was a less graceful version of the Parthenon, and the shrine of Ares. Phidias, the sculptor who designed the Parthenon, was also responsible, with his students, for much of the fifth-century <span>BC<\/span> statuary. Although the Sumerians had been the first to execute rather stereotyped freestanding stone statues, they had done so largely with theological considerations in mind. For the Sumerian sculptors, the statue had represented an individual standing before a god, ready to be judged. For the Greeks, however, the objective of good statuary was the most realistic and accurate reproduction of human anatomy possible, and like the Assyrians’, their sculptors studied anatomy. Eventually the Greeks became the world’s most proficient sculptors.<\/p>\n<p>Many Greek buildings featured appropriate combinations of structure and setting. For example, theaters were built on hills so that the structure could have tiers of seats and still have a beautiful background. Marble was used extensively. Buildings were placed so that shadows added to their beauty. All that structural beauty was seen by the apostle Paul when he visited the city of Athens, but “he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city” (Acts 17:16, <span>nlt<\/span>). Many of the most beautiful buildings, such as the Parthenon, were built in honor of pagan Greek gods. In response, Paul preached his famous sermon on the Areopagus (Mars Hill), a hill that overlooked the temples of Athens.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"RomanArchitecture\">Roman Architecture<\/p>\n<p>The Romans were great builders who left their mark on the architecture of the world. Several factors influenced Roman architectural styles. First was the fact that the Romans took over earlier empires and earlier forms of architecture. Some Egyptian influence was seen, but the Greek eye for beauty and use of marble was more important. Another factor was the Roman discovery of cement made from volcanic earth which, when mixed with lime, formed a mortar of great cohesion. Cement enabled the Romans to build masonry arches without supporting columns. The effect was a sense of pomp and majesty. The use of cement also allowed the Romans to build structures of more than one story, such as the Colosseum.<\/p>\n<p>Roman architects used central squares or public forums in the center of their cities. Around these were built public buildings, temples, shops, and porticoes. The central square contained arches and monuments commemorating victorious emperors. The Roman concept of municipal planning was copied throughout the Roman Empire, including Palestine.<\/p>\n<p>The shortage of water in a number of countries over which the Romans ruled compelled them to devise means of transporting it overland. This led to the development of the aqueduct. Roman architects were faced with the problem of maintaining a sufficient degree of slope to enable water to flow by gravity. Cemented channels supported by stone arches provided much of the solution to the problem. The architectural design of aqueduct systems remained the same throughout the imperial period. Foundation piers were spanned by round arches. A stone channel was built on top of the archway, lined with cement, and frequently covered by a curved roof.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"PalestinianArchitecture\">Palestinian Architecture<\/p>\n<p>For a generation the Israelites had been tent dwellers, living only semisedentary lives at best, without need of permanent structures of any kind. When the time came for them to settle down, they were handicapped by their lack of construction skills. Archaeological excavation at such sites as Shiloh, Bethel, and Debir have uncovered Israelite attempts to rebuild on earlier Canaanite foundations. Their standard of workmanship was noticeably inferior to that of the Canaanite builders, as exhibited especially in Canaanite royal cities. Until the fifth century <span>BC<\/span>, Israelite buildings tended to be small and narrow, partly because the architects had not devised any means of roofing a dwelling other than by laying beams across its width and placing a flat covering on top. The first vaulted arch in Palestine was built in the Persian period, but it was so innovative that the conservative Judeans refused to adopt it as an architectural style. Only in the Roman period did the arch and vault gain acceptance, due largely to the influence of Herod the Great.<\/p>\n<h5>Old Testament Architecture<\/h5>\n<h6>Cities<\/h6>\n<p>In the OT era, cities were built on hills or mounds and surrounded with a wall for protection. Generally houses were placed in a random fashion with winding paths or alleys connecting them. People unable to afford city life lived in villages that surrounded the city. They would work the nearby fields and in time of danger flee to the city for protection.<\/p>\n<p>Most essential to any city was an adequate water supply. For that reason cities were built on or near underground springs. Some cities used plastered cisterns and catch basins to collect rainwater to supplement the regular water supply. Underground springs were protected by stepped tunnels for access when the city was besieged.<\/p>\n<h6>Fortifications<\/h6>\n<p>During much of OT times the Israelites used the techniques of the middle Bronze Age to defend their cities. The central feature was a wall made of stone or brick, 25 to 30 feet (7.6 to 9.1 meters) high. The wall was sometimes made with an artificial slope and a ditch at the bottom to fortify it against enemy battering rams.<\/p>\n<p>During the Israelite monarchy, casemate walls were also built. These consisted of two parallel walls connected by a series of cross walls. The resulting rooms were then filled with dirt to give added protection against enemy battering rams (Ez 26:9). Sometimes walls 20 feet (6 meters) thick were built with overhangs so attackers could be subdued. The apostle Paul was let down off the wall of Damascus in a basket from a room in such a wall (Acts 9:25; 2 Cor 11:33).<\/p>\n<h6>Gates<\/h6>\n<p>Most city walls had two gates. One of these was for camel caravans, chariots, and larger vehicles; the other, on the opposite side of the city, was used for pedestrians, donkeys, and small animals. Many gates consisted of double doors (Is 45:1; Neh 6:1) made of wood and overlaid with bronze plating (Is 45:2). The doors were secured with horizontal bars of wood, bronze (1 Kgs 4:13), or iron (Ps 107:16) that fit into openings in the gateposts (Jgs 16:3).<\/p>\n<p>The location of the gates was important to the defense of the city. Often the road leading to the gate was laid out so that attackers, who carried their shields in their left hands, would have to face the wall of the city and its defenders on their right side. Sometimes the gate was part of a large tower (2 Chr 26:9). Occasionally, steps were constructed on the inside of the tower, so that sentinels could reach the top to stand watch (2 Kgs 9:17). At other times the gate was so positioned that it turned 90 degrees between the portals, in order to prevent enemy archers from making a straight shot through the gate.<\/p>\n<h6>Houses<\/h6>\n<p>An above-average Israelite house consisted of several rooms facing an open courtyard (2 Sm 17:18). The largest room was for the family, another was for the family’s cattle, and another was used as a general storeroom. Sometimes the walls were made of stones, with the joints filled with mud. Sometimes the inside walls were plastered with mud, although more prosperous homes had cypress or cedarwood. Floors were made of clay or polished plaster stones. The flat roofs were supported by beams and made watertight with wood or brushwood. An outside stairway gave access to the roof, and some people built roof chambers that in effect made a two-story house (1 Kgs 17:19). The flat roofs of houses provided additional sleeping and recreational space for crowded households. The Mosaic law required these roofs to be surrounded by a protective parapet to prevent people falling to their deaths (Dt 22:8).<\/p>\n<h6>Solomon’s Temple<\/h6>\n<p>Probably the most important piece of Israelite architecture was King Solomon’s temple. The building was located on the site where Abraham was supposed to have offered his son Isaac (Gn 22). It took seven and a half years to build and was notable for its beauty as well as its purpose. The plan of the temple was similar to that of the tabernacle, except that the dimensions were doubled and the height was tripled. The walls were made of stone overlaid with gold (1 Kgs 6:22), with gold also covering the ceilings and floor. The partition between the Holy of Holies and the Holy Place was made of gold-covered cedarwood. The entrance to the Holy of Holies consisted of a double door made of carved olive wood overlaid with gold. The doorway stood open but was veiled. Outside the temple were two courts, an inner court for the priests and an outer court for the people.<\/p>\n<p>Lack of constructional expertise in Israel compelled Solomon to hire Phoenician workmen. The result was a typically Phoenician structure, the ground plan of which closely resembled that of an eighth-century <span>BC<\/span> Canaanite chapel excavated at Tell Tainat in Syria. Columns and porticoes were doubtless a feature of the temple of Solomon, though the precise function of the freestanding pillars named Jachin and Boaz is still far from certain. Carefully dressed masonry seems to have appeared in Israel initially in Solomon’s time; excellent specimens of hewn and squared stone have been recovered from Samaria. The Samaritan site, along with Megiddo, has also furnished interesting examples of a decorated pilaster capital that derived its design from Canaanite artistic representations.<\/p>\n<p>When Babylon overthrew Jerusalem and leveled the city in 586 <span>BC<\/span>, the temple was plundered of its wealth and burned to the ground. After Israel returned from captivity, the temple was rebuilt, with the foundation being laid in 525 <span>BC<\/span>. However, that second temple was far less magnificent than Solomon’s and was in great need of repair by the time of King Herod of Judea (37–4 <span>BC<\/span>).<\/p>\n<p>Although OT tradition gives considerable prominence to the Solomonic temple and lauds its grandeur, the building was actually an adjunct to the royal palace, serving as a chapel. Only in the postexilic period was the temple freed from royal associations to become an independent shrine where people could observe the prescribed rituals. Both pre- and postexilic temples were quite small and narrow in their dimensions, their width being limited by the length of the wooden beams available for roofing purposes. The only way such a building could be enlarged was in the usual Near Eastern manner of attaching additional rooms to the exterior.<\/p>\n<h5>New Testament Architecture<\/h5>\n<p>The architecture of NT times consisted of Greek and Roman structures, since those rulers had most recently dominated Israel. The Greek cities were architectural models, containing planned streets, arches, theaters, public baths, temples, and a central marketplace called the <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">agora<\/span><em>.<\/em> Jewish homes, however, continued to remain small, with flat roofs over rooms facing a courtyard.<\/p>\n<p>During Roman domination Herod the Great (37–4 <span>BC<\/span>) built some remarkable structures, including aqueducts, cisterns, dungeons, palaces, and whole cities (e.g., Caesarea). His greatest work was the rebuilding of the temple, a remarkable structure that took 83 years to complete. It lasted in its completed state only six years before it was destroyed by Titus in <span>AD<\/span> 70.<\/p>\n<p>Herod’s temple managed to blend the old with the new. Though it appeared to embody the latest Hellenistic architectural fashions in its colonnades, marble columns, and facades, it was still firmly rooted in the traditions of Phoenicia. The Herodian structure was an enlargement, and to some extent a rebuilding, of the sixth-century <span>BC<\/span> temple. A series of courts and porticoes surrounded the reconstructed shrine, which was given an illusion of grandeur by means of an enlarged entrance. In the middle of that porch stood an enormous doorway that gave access to the much smaller inner door of the shrine itself. Unfortunately, nothing of the building itself survived the destruction of <span>AD<\/span> 70, leaving us almost completely dependent upon Josephus’s account. <em>See<\/em> City; Homes and Dwellings; Temple.<\/p>","content_en":"<h3>ARCHITECTURE<\/h3>\n<p>Science, art, or profession of designing and constructing buildings, bridges, etc. Architecture is the practice of combining construction and art in order to produce “beauty with purpose.” The architect’s synthesis of creative imagination and technical skill produces structures of interest, unity, power, and convenience. When we look at a building, monument, or tomb, we are examining its art as well as its structure.<\/p>\n<p>Special types of architecture are mentioned in Scripture, including houses, structures in particular cities, and, of course, the temples. All were influenced by the empires that dominated Israel at the time. It is therefore important to examine the architecture of empires associated with Bible history to understand the architecture of Palestine.<\/p>\n<p>Preview<\/p>\n<p>• Sumerian Architecture<\/p>\n<p>• Egyptian Architecture<\/p>\n<p>• Assyrian and Hittite Architecture<\/p>\n<p>• Greek Architecture<\/p>\n<p>• Roman Architecture<\/p>\n<p>• Palestinian Architecture<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"SumerianArchitecture\">Sumerian Architecture<\/p>\n<p>Architecture was first developed by the Sumerians, a people of non-Semitic origin. They may have settled on the island of Bahrain in the Persian Gulf a thousand years before moving northward to the mainland. From the beginning of their culture the Sumerians regarded architecture as an important artistic endeavor. It found its fullest expression in the building of temples. The Sumerian ziggurat, or staged tower, became Mesopotamia’s most distinctive contribution to architecture, both secular and sacred. The ziggurat has often been likened to a medieval European cathedral, the highest point of which might appear to be reaching upward to God as an expression of human religious aspirations. That, however, was not the concept the Sumerians held in building their shrines. For them, the ziggurat, standing on its mound or platform, represented a concentration of natural, life-giving forces. The god had already come down to his house, and it was the worshiper’s duty to commune with him there.<\/p>\n<p>By 2000 <span>BC<\/span> a Mesopotamian temple area commonly housed the ziggurat, several storehouses, shrines, workshops, and living quarters for priests. The ziggurat usually consisted of three stages: the inner walls of sun-dried mud brick, the outer walls of baked brick set in bitumen. The upper levels were reached by flights of stairs or ramps, and sometimes a small shrine to a local deity topped off the uppermost stage. In addition to devising decorated walls and columns, Sumerian architects discovered how to employ arches, domes, and vaults to give the impression of grandeur and space.<\/p>\n<p>Sumerian domestic architecture was quite mixed in style. Most city houses were two-story dwellings built on three sides of a square, with the opening facing away from the narrow streets. Homes of the wealthy might contain 20 rooms; some included servants’ quarters. Indoor bathroom facilities were connected by means of drainpipes to an underground cesspool. Many houses had a family burial vault in the basement. There seems little doubt that the Akkadians, Hittites, Egyptians, and Greeks all benefited in various ways from the architectural innovations of Sumer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"EgyptianArchitecture\">Egyptian Architecture<\/p>\n<p>The Egyptians achieved the most lasting architectural forms ever attempted by any civilization, and much of their architecture has been preserved. Such forms included temples, tombs, and pyramids. Huge stones to build those structures had to be brought from distant quarries. The Egyptians made use of slave labor and built their structures in honor of their rulers.<\/p>\n<p>The outstanding examples of Egyptian architecture are the pyramids, virtually all of which were constructed in the Old Kingdom period (c. 2700–2200 <span>BC<\/span>). The Sumerian principle of the recessed niche was employed to accommodate the enormous stresses of stone masonry. Without that technique it would have been impossible to construct such a huge edifice as the Great Pyramid, the estimated weight of which is almost six million tons (5,448,000 metric tons). The Great Pyramid is one of the most perfectly oriented buildings on earth, being just a few seconds of one degree short of true north-south orientation. Many of the huge blocks of stone were cut and fitted together so accurately that it is impossible to insert the edge of a sheet of paper between them. The pyramids were meant to serve as tombs for the remains of the persons who ordered them constructed, but the structures themselves have become monuments to human creativity.<\/p>\n<p>The major architectural style of the Egyptians was “post and lintel,” with horizontal crosspieces resting on columns. As a result, buildings of any size became a forest of columns. Wall surfaces were covered with carvings, paintings, and hieroglyphics. Temples were planned on a long axis with almost perfect symmetry. The structures seem designed for imperial pageants and other ceremonies staged to impress the people with the power and authority of their rulers.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"AssyrianandHittiteArchitecture\">Assyrian and Hittite Architecture<\/p>\n<p>The Assyrians followed the Sumerian pattern of temple construction but enlarged the ziggurats and added more stories. The great ziggurat at Borsippa was an outstanding example of seven-story temple construction. The foundation was about 272 feet (83 meters) square, and the building stood about 160 feet (49 meters) high. Each story was set back from the level beneath it in a terraced effect and painted with a different color of wash. Each story was intended to represent one of the planets. In accordance with later Sumerian practice the uppermost level had a small shrine built on its roof, where the god Nebo was thought to have taken up his residence. Many believe that the Tower of Babel, which God destroyed, was a ziggurat tower (Gn 11).<\/p>\n<p>Assyrian royal palaces of the eighth and seventh centuries <span>BC<\/span> were large and elegant, decorated with enormous bas-reliefs depicting the king busily occupied with a variety of activities. Assyrian art was at its height in that period, and meticulous attention to detail brought a virile character to Assyrian architecture. Large stone sculptures of protective animals were stationed at entrances to public buildings. Similar statues were a feature of Hittite architecture in Anatolia, the eastern part of Asia Minor.<\/p>\n<p>Hittite buildings excavated at Boghazkôy and elsewhere easily matched those of the Assyrians in extent and grandeur. Towering columns, long halls, and expansive rooms were typical of Hittite palace construction in the Bronze Age.<\/p>\n<p>Hittite temple design followed what was common in Babylonia, with several buildings grouped around an open court. One difference was that the main sanctuary was approached through a series of entrances or porches extending beyond the length of adjacent buildings. The design enabled small windows to be placed at the top of the projection in order to give additional light in the sanctuary.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"GreekArchitecture\">Greek Architecture<\/p>\n\n<p>Architecture rose to great achievements in the Greek world. Many factors combined to produce architectural beauty that has lasted for centuries. Those factors included the climate, setting, government, and people. Perhaps the most important factor was the people, who seemed free to imagine and develop designs and structures that have continued to excite our imaginations to this day.<\/p>\n<p>The Greeks strove to attain beauty in their architecture. This worthy motive found its highest expression in the fifth century <span>BC<\/span>. In the time of Pericles (461–429 <span>BC<\/span>) the Parthenon and Propylea on the Acropolis were remodeled from earlier originals, and the Erechtheum was also built there. Subsequent temples in Athens included that of Hephaestus, which was a less graceful version of the Parthenon, and the shrine of Ares. Phidias, the sculptor who designed the Parthenon, was also responsible, with his students, for much of the fifth-century <span>BC<\/span> statuary. Although the Sumerians had been the first to execute rather stereotyped freestanding stone statues, they had done so largely with theological considerations in mind. For the Sumerian sculptors, the statue had represented an individual standing before a god, ready to be judged. For the Greeks, however, the objective of good statuary was the most realistic and accurate reproduction of human anatomy possible, and like the Assyrians’, their sculptors studied anatomy. Eventually the Greeks became the world’s most proficient sculptors.<\/p>\n<p>Many Greek buildings featured appropriate combinations of structure and setting. For example, theaters were built on hills so that the structure could have tiers of seats and still have a beautiful background. Marble was used extensively. Buildings were placed so that shadows added to their beauty. All that structural beauty was seen by the apostle Paul when he visited the city of Athens, but “he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city” (Acts 17:16, <span>nlt<\/span>). Many of the most beautiful buildings, such as the Parthenon, were built in honor of pagan Greek gods. In response, Paul preached his famous sermon on the Areopagus (Mars Hill), a hill that overlooked the temples of Athens.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"RomanArchitecture\">Roman Architecture<\/p>\n<p>The Romans were great builders who left their mark on the architecture of the world. Several factors influenced Roman architectural styles. First was the fact that the Romans took over earlier empires and earlier forms of architecture. Some Egyptian influence was seen, but the Greek eye for beauty and use of marble was more important. Another factor was the Roman discovery of cement made from volcanic earth which, when mixed with lime, formed a mortar of great cohesion. Cement enabled the Romans to build masonry arches without supporting columns. The effect was a sense of pomp and majesty. The use of cement also allowed the Romans to build structures of more than one story, such as the Colosseum.<\/p>\n<p>Roman architects used central squares or public forums in the center of their cities. Around these were built public buildings, temples, shops, and porticoes. The central square contained arches and monuments commemorating victorious emperors. The Roman concept of municipal planning was copied throughout the Roman Empire, including Palestine.<\/p>\n<p>The shortage of water in a number of countries over which the Romans ruled compelled them to devise means of transporting it overland. This led to the development of the aqueduct. Roman architects were faced with the problem of maintaining a sufficient degree of slope to enable water to flow by gravity. Cemented channels supported by stone arches provided much of the solution to the problem. The architectural design of aqueduct systems remained the same throughout the imperial period. Foundation piers were spanned by round arches. A stone channel was built on top of the archway, lined with cement, and frequently covered by a curved roof.<\/p>\n<p class=\"h2\" id=\"PalestinianArchitecture\">Palestinian Architecture<\/p>\n<p>For a generation the Israelites had been tent dwellers, living only semisedentary lives at best, without need of permanent structures of any kind. When the time came for them to settle down, they were handicapped by their lack of construction skills. Archaeological excavation at such sites as Shiloh, Bethel, and Debir have uncovered Israelite attempts to rebuild on earlier Canaanite foundations. Their standard of workmanship was noticeably inferior to that of the Canaanite builders, as exhibited especially in Canaanite royal cities. Until the fifth century <span>BC<\/span>, Israelite buildings tended to be small and narrow, partly because the architects had not devised any means of roofing a dwelling other than by laying beams across its width and placing a flat covering on top. The first vaulted arch in Palestine was built in the Persian period, but it was so innovative that the conservative Judeans refused to adopt it as an architectural style. Only in the Roman period did the arch and vault gain acceptance, due largely to the influence of Herod the Great.<\/p>\n<h5>Old Testament Architecture<\/h5>\n<h6>Cities<\/h6>\n<p>In the OT era, cities were built on hills or mounds and surrounded with a wall for protection. Generally houses were placed in a random fashion with winding paths or alleys connecting them. People unable to afford city life lived in villages that surrounded the city. They would work the nearby fields and in time of danger flee to the city for protection.<\/p>\n<p>Most essential to any city was an adequate water supply. For that reason cities were built on or near underground springs. Some cities used plastered cisterns and catch basins to collect rainwater to supplement the regular water supply. Underground springs were protected by stepped tunnels for access when the city was besieged.<\/p>\n<h6>Fortifications<\/h6>\n<p>During much of OT times the Israelites used the techniques of the middle Bronze Age to defend their cities. The central feature was a wall made of stone or brick, 25 to 30 feet (7.6 to 9.1 meters) high. The wall was sometimes made with an artificial slope and a ditch at the bottom to fortify it against enemy battering rams.<\/p>\n<p>During the Israelite monarchy, casemate walls were also built. These consisted of two parallel walls connected by a series of cross walls. The resulting rooms were then filled with dirt to give added protection against enemy battering rams (Ez 26:9). Sometimes walls 20 feet (6 meters) thick were built with overhangs so attackers could be subdued. The apostle Paul was let down off the wall of Damascus in a basket from a room in such a wall (Acts 9:25; 2 Cor 11:33).<\/p>\n<h6>Gates<\/h6>\n<p>Most city walls had two gates. One of these was for camel caravans, chariots, and larger vehicles; the other, on the opposite side of the city, was used for pedestrians, donkeys, and small animals. Many gates consisted of double doors (Is 45:1; Neh 6:1) made of wood and overlaid with bronze plating (Is 45:2). The doors were secured with horizontal bars of wood, bronze (1 Kgs 4:13), or iron (Ps 107:16) that fit into openings in the gateposts (Jgs 16:3).<\/p>\n<p>The location of the gates was important to the defense of the city. Often the road leading to the gate was laid out so that attackers, who carried their shields in their left hands, would have to face the wall of the city and its defenders on their right side. Sometimes the gate was part of a large tower (2 Chr 26:9). Occasionally, steps were constructed on the inside of the tower, so that sentinels could reach the top to stand watch (2 Kgs 9:17). At other times the gate was so positioned that it turned 90 degrees between the portals, in order to prevent enemy archers from making a straight shot through the gate.<\/p>\n<h6>Houses<\/h6>\n<p>An above-average Israelite house consisted of several rooms facing an open courtyard (2 Sm 17:18). The largest room was for the family, another was for the family’s cattle, and another was used as a general storeroom. Sometimes the walls were made of stones, with the joints filled with mud. Sometimes the inside walls were plastered with mud, although more prosperous homes had cypress or cedarwood. Floors were made of clay or polished plaster stones. The flat roofs were supported by beams and made watertight with wood or brushwood. An outside stairway gave access to the roof, and some people built roof chambers that in effect made a two-story house (1 Kgs 17:19). The flat roofs of houses provided additional sleeping and recreational space for crowded households. The Mosaic law required these roofs to be surrounded by a protective parapet to prevent people falling to their deaths (Dt 22:8).<\/p>\n<h6>Solomon’s Temple<\/h6>\n<p>Probably the most important piece of Israelite architecture was King Solomon’s temple. The building was located on the site where Abraham was supposed to have offered his son Isaac (Gn 22). It took seven and a half years to build and was notable for its beauty as well as its purpose. The plan of the temple was similar to that of the tabernacle, except that the dimensions were doubled and the height was tripled. The walls were made of stone overlaid with gold (1 Kgs 6:22), with gold also covering the ceilings and floor. The partition between the Holy of Holies and the Holy Place was made of gold-covered cedarwood. The entrance to the Holy of Holies consisted of a double door made of carved olive wood overlaid with gold. The doorway stood open but was veiled. Outside the temple were two courts, an inner court for the priests and an outer court for the people.<\/p>\n<p>Lack of constructional expertise in Israel compelled Solomon to hire Phoenician workmen. The result was a typically Phoenician structure, the ground plan of which closely resembled that of an eighth-century <span>BC<\/span> Canaanite chapel excavated at Tell Tainat in Syria. Columns and porticoes were doubtless a feature of the temple of Solomon, though the precise function of the freestanding pillars named Jachin and Boaz is still far from certain. Carefully dressed masonry seems to have appeared in Israel initially in Solomon’s time; excellent specimens of hewn and squared stone have been recovered from Samaria. The Samaritan site, along with Megiddo, has also furnished interesting examples of a decorated pilaster capital that derived its design from Canaanite artistic representations.<\/p>\n<p>When Babylon overthrew Jerusalem and leveled the city in 586 <span>BC<\/span>, the temple was plundered of its wealth and burned to the ground. After Israel returned from captivity, the temple was rebuilt, with the foundation being laid in 525 <span>BC<\/span>. However, that second temple was far less magnificent than Solomon’s and was in great need of repair by the time of King Herod of Judea (37–4 <span>BC<\/span>).<\/p>\n<p>Although OT tradition gives considerable prominence to the Solomonic temple and lauds its grandeur, the building was actually an adjunct to the royal palace, serving as a chapel. Only in the postexilic period was the temple freed from royal associations to become an independent shrine where people could observe the prescribed rituals. Both pre- and postexilic temples were quite small and narrow in their dimensions, their width being limited by the length of the wooden beams available for roofing purposes. The only way such a building could be enlarged was in the usual Near Eastern manner of attaching additional rooms to the exterior.<\/p>\n<h5>New Testament Architecture<\/h5>\n<p>The architecture of NT times consisted of Greek and Roman structures, since those rulers had most recently dominated Israel. The Greek cities were architectural models, containing planned streets, arches, theaters, public baths, temples, and a central marketplace called the <span class=\"greek\" lang=\"el\">agora<\/span><em>.<\/em> Jewish homes, however, continued to remain small, with flat roofs over rooms facing a courtyard.<\/p>\n<p>During Roman domination Herod the Great (37–4 <span>BC<\/span>) built some remarkable structures, including aqueducts, cisterns, dungeons, palaces, and whole cities (e.g., Caesarea). His greatest work was the rebuilding of the temple, a remarkable structure that took 83 years to complete. It lasted in its completed state only six years before it was destroyed by Titus in <span>AD<\/span> 70.<\/p>\n<p>Herod’s temple managed to blend the old with the new. Though it appeared to embody the latest Hellenistic architectural fashions in its colonnades, marble columns, and facades, it was still firmly rooted in the traditions of Phoenicia. The Herodian structure was an enlargement, and to some extent a rebuilding, of the sixth-century <span>BC<\/span> temple. A series of courts and porticoes surrounded the reconstructed shrine, which was given an illusion of grandeur by means of an enlarged entrance. In the middle of that porch stood an enormous doorway that gave access to the much smaller inner door of the shrine itself. Unfortunately, nothing of the building itself survived the destruction of <span>AD<\/span> 70, leaving us almost completely dependent upon Josephus’s account. <em>See<\/em> City; Homes and Dwellings; Temple.<\/p>","summary_ro":"ARCHITECTURE Science, art, or profession of designing and constructing buildings, bridges, etc. Architecture is the practice of combining construction and art in order to produce “beauty with purpose.” The architect’s synthesis of creative imagination and technical skill produces structures of interest, unity, power, and convenience. When we look at a building, monument, or tomb, we are examining its art as well as its structure. Special types of architecture are mentioned in Scripture, inclu...","summary_en":"ARCHITECTURE Science, art, or profession of designing and constructing buildings, bridges, etc. Architecture is the practice of combining construction and art in order to produce “beauty with purpose.” The architect’s synthesis of creative imagination and technical skill produces structures of interest, unity, power, and convenience. When we look at a building, monument, or tomb, we are examining its art as well as its structure. Special types of architecture are mentioned in Scripture, inclu...","source":"Articles\/A.xml","external_url":null,"has_map":false,"has_picture":false}]},"labels":{"article":"Articol","map":"Hartă","chart":"Diagramă","textbox":"Notă explicativă","picture":"Imagine","profile":"Profil","study_note":"Notă de studiu","theme_note":"Temă biblică"},"icons":{"article":"📖","map":"🗺️","chart":"📊","textbox":"💡","picture":"🖼️","profile":"👤","study_note":"📝","theme_note":"🎯"},"typeColors":{"article":"#d4af37","map":"#2d7d46","chart":"#3b82f6","textbox":"#8b5cf6","picture":"#ec4899","profile":"#f59e0b","study_note":"#06b6d4","theme_note":"#ef4444"}}