Bible Discussion Replies PAGE 188

Thoughts on AI

Last night in small group we talked about benefits and danger of Artificial Intelligence. It is hard to avoid its use as things come up on the screen automatically. Getting basic information can be instant and save much time; say in composing material for a sermon. Basic dangers include but not tnecessarily limited to:

1) Information being spurious. The guy in charge of my small group Bible study admitted that one of his kids was able to put false information into Wikipedia (although they caught it eventually). The same could be said for any written material as many books originally were skewed depending on the intent of the author; and certainly we need to be alert for this. Nonetheless; for now it seems that someone searching for scriptural material usually gets very accurate information; probably coming from Christian sources. I would actually go so far as to say it is superior to what most "Christian" sources of specific churches would say as to accurate doctrine since so many churches have fallen away.

2) Testimonies generated by AI. It is always interesting to read from those who are in the persecuted church; for example. When something is generated artificially usually there is some admission in the description. My rule is if a first and last name along with a source material to verify a given story it isn't worth spending time on it. Nonetheless like point 1 even with a fake story the elements often can teach us some basic lessons about what would be expected in any country around the world as to the likely situation of a believer today.

3) Videos. In terms of the worldly videos of course there is the simulated violence and sexual depictions; photoshopping and false profiles that can be made up for either the one narrating something or against someone (i.e. blackmail purposes). We as believers should limit any imagery depicting the Lord or scriptural themes as His ways are higher than our ways.

Any comments?

Further thoughts on music

It seems in Christian music today suffering of a believer hardly is discussed; whether struggles with faith; or the persecution of the church worldwide where perhaps it would be fitting to have a more heavy style of music. I can't envision a song about Armageddon without it being at least with the drive of say the 1812 Overture or heavy metal. There were some bands years ago that delved into such matters; not so much anymore. I probably mentioned as well the lack of warning about deception and a general scarcity of lyrics warning of the dangers of falling away; or Satan and his minions. Maybe these artists never go through these things which is concerning. Again the cohesion of the family is something I have seen more with bluegrass artists in particular. I have to say as a disclaimer here that our local church coffeehouse has had a number of great husband and wife groups from the local area and region of surrounding states. Patrick O Connors is one person I would recommend as to his testimony going through multiple miscarriages with his wife; and from a musical standpoint his songs written to Pilgrims Progress was a very interesting venture. Others have been transparent rather than what sadly seems to occur with big artists; seemingly detached from any meaningful family (often never seeming to get married which perhaps would hurt their career paths). Many of course start off good it seems and then either compromise or walk away from the Lord completely; probably everyone here is familiar with some of these individuals. As a rule particularly for women in music the more flashy and outrageous their wardrobe gets in worldliness the less interesting the music. This shouldn't be the case in Gospel music but you have to be blind much of the time not to see it.

These days it is easy to get music for free so I guess merch and other stuff has to make up for it; I'm not sure how it works.

A commentary on music

I probably have mentioned before that I consider Keith Green to be one of the greatest modern day Christian songwriters. He was able to convey convicting messages along with great emotion; along with truly proclaiming the Gospel through tracts and his words at the time; he was tragically cut short in the early 1980s with the plane crash but God had his reasons. As far as I know his widow to this day is still doing charitable work in his name.

If we look at music; whether "secular" or "Christian" since that era we see less of what many could call natural love ( Matt. 24:12) in a society dominated by quicker thrills and obsessed with shallow relationships. The only place I can see where this remains these days is with bluegrass music which has had a sort of revival lately; with many talented young people singing new and classic renditions of songs and some new material. Now of course with Artificial Intelligence everything seems to be in a surreal sort of blur. I'll delve into that subject in a later posting.

It has been brought to my attention a common issue today in Christian music is the "I" factor; everything has to be limited to often subjective emotional experiences in what God is doing in our lives if many artists even get that far. Honestly on Christian radio today many djs or broadcasters hardly talk about the Lord at all; those who do stand out.

IF we assume there is some Gospel truth in singing about our own experience; we still miss out on two things; namely God's glory and how our focus should be on seeing others saved through the Gospel. This is the benefit of singing Psalms or at least leaning heavily on scripture; it is there to guide us in how to start worship with true praise; as well as showing God's promises during very real struggles; particularly with David in scripture.

I don't have the answer here but the troubles of the world; persecution of saints and the like never seem to be a subject of song.

Hello Ronald,

I am aware of how you stated part of your response. And, I agree that we should take all of what Scripture says about Jesus. And I and others have shown that the Scriptures teach that Jesus was God, Son of the Father ( Heb. 1:8) before he incarnated in human nature and flesh, where he existed on this earth as both God and Man, and after he died and rose again in the very body he died in and then ascended back to the Father in heaven where he came from before he was conceived in Mary. He sits at the right hand of the Father, with whom he has unity with eternally and the third person of this unity, the Holy Spirit, was sent from the Father and the Son, from heaven to indwell all believers forever. If you read the Last Supper Discourse, these things are plainly spoken of repeatedly. He spoke of being set from the Father, having been with the Father prior to conception. He spoke of the divine glory he possessed and shared with the Father before he was incarnated and returned to receive back this glory from the Father, since he humbled himself in his earthly life, leaving this glory with the Father. He spoke of the oneness of the Father and Himself, and He taught the apostles that if they have seen Him (Jesus) they have seen the Father as well. But He clearly spoke of the Father, the Spirit, and Himself as three distinct persons with thoughts, will, power, knowledge. Ideas and plans do not have such things.

Anyway, Ronald, I know you do not wish to debate, and I won't do that with you in this discussion.

(1 Timothy Part 21):

1 Timothy 5:13 - And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.

And not only idle, but tattlers. The word tattlers is literally the word gossipers. And busybodies, speaking things that they ought not. He says these people you have to refuse because they don't have much to do, and if the church takes care of them, they're going to have a lot of idle time, and they're going to be going from house to house getting involved in conversations and gossip, and slander, and saying things against people that they shouldn't say.

1 Timothy 5:14 - I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.

I will therefore that the younger women marry, number two, bear children, number three, guide the house (OIKODESPOTEIN), and that's literally the word for administration, not just raising children, but run the household. Give no occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. Don't give Satan an opportunity to speak against the things of the Lord.

1 Timothy 5:16 - If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be charged; that it may relieve them that are widows indeed.

If any man or woman that believes, if they have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be charged;

The word charged means burdened. That the church itself might relieve the ones that are widows indeed. That is, the widows who are alone and don't have a means. But not only if she's alone and doesn't have any means of income, but it's her character as well, because the church is not to support people, no matter who they are, that are going to have the free time.

They are not really devoted or committed to Christ but supporting them gives them the time to go out and cause trouble.

(1 Timothy Part 20):

1 Timothy 5:3-16 - I am not going to type all these verses here but I would like to share something here on this section of scripture which gives us the instruction concerning widows. In this section, it uses the phrase genuine widows, or widows indeed.



And you might say a widow is a widow, so what's the difference? As far as the church goes, a genuine widow isn't someone who has just lost a husband, but someone who doesn't have a family or anyone. But in the scriptures, in order for the church to be responsible for genuine widows, they must have godly character, and secondly, no means of support. And as we go through this, we see the classification of widows.

1 Timothy 5:7 - And these things give in charge, that they may be blameless.

And these things give charge (that is, command), that they may be unimpeachable. The word blameless is the same word used for an elder back in Chapter 3 Verse 3.

1 Timothy 5:10 - Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints' feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.

If she has diligently followed every good work. The word good is AGATHOS which is representative of spiritual work, God's work. In other words, if she still has time on her hands, what kind of things is she looking for to get into? It should be the things of the Lord.

1 Timothy 5:11 - But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry;

The term wax wanton (KATASTRENIASOSIN) means to give in to their sensual desires. And this is against Christ.

(1 Timothy Part 19):

1 Timothy 4:13 - Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

He says until I come, give attendance, and that is what is called a Present Imperative, meaning continue to do this. Give attendance to three things:

Number one: to reading. This is to public reading of the scriptures. There are two different Greek words for reading. This is the one for public reading of the scriptures. It's the same word found in Revelation 1:3, the blessing upon the person who reads and those who listen to the reading of this prophecy, meaning the book of Revelation.

To exhortation, that is encouragement from the scriptures. And thirdly: to doctrine, or teaching. So do the public reading of scripture, encourage people to respond, and teach them the scriptures continuously.

1 Timothy 4:15 - Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.

Meditate upon these things; again, a Present Imperative, meaning continue to meditate on all these things that you're being nourished by.

Interesting about the profiting. This is the purpose for which we stay in the word. Other people should see spiritual progress in our life. What he's saying is that here is the purpose. Continue, stay in the word, that your progress in the Lord will be evident to everyone.

1 Timothy 4:16 - Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

The word save in this text has many different meanings. It's the word for salvation, which means delivered from one thing to another. It's also used for physical healing in the bible. It's also used for preservation, and that's the way Paul uses it here in this verse.

By continuing in the doctrine, you will both preserve yourself as a believer, and those that hear you.

(1 Timothy Part 18):

1 Timothy 4:8 - For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

He says for bodily exercise profits little: The term little denotes time. That is, the only time physical exercise can ever help anybody, is during their time here on the earth. But godliness is profitable unto all things, having the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

Spiritual exercise is not only good for later, but for here right now, and then forever. So why would I not exercise myself, getting ready for now, and throughout eternity? Why would I spend my time focusing only on physical exercise? He's not saying it's bad. He's just saying it's limited. And yet we spend a lot of time on it.

1 Timothy 4:9 - This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.

I shared this earlier but thought I would mention it again. Paul uses the phrase "this is a faithful saying." In the early church, this phrase meant that what I'm about to tell you is not in the Old Testament, but it is the word of God. Remember, there was no New Testament at this time.

He's saying this is the word of God, though you're not going to find it in the Old Testament. And of course, we find it in the NT because it is there. This is a saying that they would say all the time. They said you can trust this.

1 Timothy 4:12 - Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

The word charity is the word AGAPE. He's talking about sacrificial love for others.

(1 Timothy Part 17):

1 Timothy 4:7 - But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.

The term "wives' fables" in Greek was a phrase to represent something that is uneducated and unintelligent. And what they would do, because the older women would sit around, and they didn't have an education, they didn't have access to philosophy where a lot of people in their society did, so in order to be equal with everybody else, they made up stories. The word fables is MUTHOS, where we get our word myth. He calls them myths. That's all they are. They are stories.

And exercise yourself rather unto godliness. The word Greek word exercise, GUMNASIA, is where we get our word gymnasium from. And it is used by Paul and some writers in the New Testament, and it is a word that describes growth as a Christian. Growth as Christian is being exercised by the Spirit of God through the word of God.

Hebrews Chapter 5 where the writer of Hebrews says if you stop being exercised by the Spirit of God through His word, you become dull of hearing. Just like physically, if you stop exercising, your muscles become dull. They become out of shape.

So, he says exercise yourself rather unto godliness. Don't sit around listening to these stories but rather be exercised unto godliness. The word godliness means to reverence the Lord. Let things influence your life that's going to cause you to reverence Him in your life.

I'm sorry brother if my answer was confusing & I can see why. What I was trying to show, was not about plural forms, but of different words used when speaking or referring to different types of people. You wrote that (in Greek) "we use the same words for God as for any other person" (though in singular or plural forms); so I assume the word is the same, but for God, you use the singular form of it. Whereas in those languages I mentioned earlier, they have a whole different word for various types of people. So, if one used a word for 'you' as when speaking to a child, but used that same word to a respected person, this person could take offence to your language. Hence, a different word was used of God in the Bible (& when praying) that revealed that He could not be spoken to as a juvenile or even a respected person, but only as One that was far above the human level, to be respected in fear. Again, I don't mean 'fear' as in 'dread', but holding to an attitude rightly deserving to such a Mighty God.

Rather than focussing on grammar (which is helpful), the point of this thread is 'how should we understand God's Nature, as both One of great Majesty & Power yet now approachable by His blood-bought children calling Him 'Abba'? This apparent dichotomy is probably only resolved if God Himself by His Spirit, reveals something more of Himself to us, that might cause us to combine a loving Father-like figure with One before Whom all should tremble ( Psalm 99:1-5). Here then is where i see both the similarity & difference when comparing our LORD God to our earthly father. True, both show us father-like love, care & concern (as they would), but can we have & demonstrate the same fear (in respect to their nature & position)? When considering & applying this to myself, I have to answer, No. The healthy fear (respect) I had for my earthly father, even enjoying his love & care, was clearly different to my understanding, attitude & approach to my heavenly Father. GBU.

Hi GiGi,

I hope everything is going well. Please don't see this as a debate. To clarify my earlier comment to Fuji about the verses that may suggest the existence of the Trinity. I noted that if we examine only one verse in isolation, without considering other Scriptures, we may not see all we should.

God bless,

RLW

Amen Gigi

You're spot on!

Also will be visiting that church again this weekend.

Blessings

Thanks so much Brother Giannis!

I didn't know that. "It is always "the God" and never just "God".

God bless

Ps.67.1 New Earth"

"God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us" (v.1)

This psalm celebrates the phase leading to the inauguration of the new heaven and the new earth, Let us recall in brief some of the highlights./The great tribulation is over and the victory over the beast and his false prophet is complete (Rev.19:19-20)

Secondly "for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready." They are blessed under the everlasting Covenant. "Blessed are the dead" also applies to the martyrs, "For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them,"(Rev.7.14-17). In conjunction with it is the supper of the great God (Rev.19:17-18 )is foretold by Prophet Ezekiel, "And, thou son of man, thus saith the LordGod; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel"(Ezek.39.17)

"It shall come to pass in the last days..."

The New Jerusalem descends from heaven and correspondingly the new earth is established which is uplifted so Zechariah's vision in Ch.14 is altogether different. "And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, theLordof hosts, even upon them shall be no rain."(Zech.14.9,17) This mountain is none other than of God to which all nations shall flow onto including Israel. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it."(Is.2.2)

They walk under the light of the Lamb. (Rev.21.24) "O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth."(Ps.67. 4)

Hello Spencer

A bit of grk grammar.

In grk, unlike in English, a definite article is always placed before nouns. So it is always "the God" and never just "God".

John 20:28 in grk "Ho kurios mou (the Lord of mine) kai ho Theos mou (and the God of mine)".

Hello Chris

To be honest I don't understand what you want to say. Do you mean if we use plural when we talk or pray to God like we do when we talk to an adult/respected person? The answer is no we don't. We use plural (in grk "you" in singular is a different word from "you" in plural) when talking to a respected person but not for God. Generally speaking we use the same words for God as for any other person.

Donna,

Thanks for this update.

I pray that the Lord will give you strength and wisdom in caring for Arthur at your home. May the Lord keep you both safe from being homeless.

I will continue to pray for both of you.

Hi Speaker! When we consider this passage by the Apostle Paul to the Corinthian Church, we need to take into account the reason for this stern warning. So we must read the account from 1 Corinthians 11:17-34.

The apostle was very troubled by the attitudes & actions of that Church. Not only divisions & heresies within the Church, but this bad behavior was even reflected in their fellowship meal which they knew was for the purpose of celebrating the Lord's Table (in remembrance of the Sacrifice that Christ has accomplished for them). Their gatherings for such a purpose was different to how churches today remember Christ; then, it was a time of fellowship over a meal, but not for partying, gluttony, & drunkenness. The sole purpose was to celebrate Christ & their coming together should have been with an attitude of solemnity, self-searching, and sobriety (both in body & spirit). But what was their behavior instead? They gorged themselves on food & drink caring not for their fellow brethren, and no doubt reveled in an atmosphere of careless behavior & worldliness.

When the apostle confronted them with this type of behavior & disregard for the Lord's Supper, he reminded them again of what the Lord had done for them & this act was to be done "in remembrance of Him". Why were they deemed unworthy & sinners? They cared little, or not at all, for the solemnity of the occasion & holy living, rather preferred to satisfy their appetites for food, drink & sin. We might then be inclined to say, that we're certainly not like them in what they did, but the message still comes to us, 'to examine ourselves' and 'to judge ourselves' before coming & partaking at this Table. Then such things as careless living, hypocritical lifestyles, and unconfessed sin would also be what the apostle would address to us if he was here. Every believer needs to examine himself daily/constantly, both in our stand before the Lord and also as we come before this Table of Remembrance. GBU.

Rev.14.15-20 "The earth is ripe"

The Parable of Jesus over the tares lays out the sequence.

The field is the world. Wheat and the tares grow together. As we see in our times we have the nation of Israel and nations making a common cause with her. "And the woman which thou sawest is that great city-Jerusalem/Babylon . The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.(Rev.17.8, 17-18) God allows them to thrive for a while until the words of God shall be fulfilled." The Parable refers to their common cause as follows, "Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn"(Mt.13.30). God sowed the good seed and the tares are the work of the devil. The harvest time is the end of world.(vv.38-42) "And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God."(Rev.14.18-19)

It is the great tribulation: the angels or the reapers are in mid-heaven where we have an altar mentioned. "And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire." It is foursquare. "the altar shall be foursquare"(Exod.27.1). 'The great winepress of the wrath of God 'from which "blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs." 400x400 explains the fulfilment of the word of God. The martyrs are on a sea of glass 'mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast.'(Rev.15.2,8) The 144,000 on the mount Sion and martyrs before the throne of heaven are paused till the voice from heaven tells St John, 'it is done'. (Rev.21.6) "And no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled."

In Ch.17-18 we have "the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters." Babylon/ Jerusalem is a composite name.

Page 2.

Just as a side note: I don't know how the Greek refers to God (in the second person); i.e. is the same word used for 'you, your, yours', in Greek like we have in English? In the Indian sub-continent two main languages (Hindi, Urdu), different words are applied depending on whom we are speaking to. Whether speaking to an adult/respected person, or a child/servant, or to God, different words are used. In the Bibles used there, and not translated from the KJB, (Tu, Tera) are used of God & equivalent to our 'Thou, Thy, Thine'). It was thought inappropriate to use the generally 'better/acceptable' words for 'you' when addressing God in the Word or even in prayer (even as I still do). And why should this be, if we ought to consider God as a Father-figure to us with Whom we should easily relate to at any time, & little else?

I guess, that our own understanding of this matter reflects how we think of God in His Majesty & Power, how we read His Word, or address Him. It remains therefore one's personal belief in understanding this aspect of God and in no way belittling or condemning another for believing differently. The LORD still loves us & accepts us fully in and through His Son. GBU.

Page 1.

Thanks bro. Giannis for these further thoughts for contemplation. I fully understand what you're saying here, in respect to how one should look to God as our heavenly Father Who reached down to us, emptying Himself to demonstrate to us & effect His great love for us. So then it would seem incongruous to accept that such a loving God could also instil a 'fear' of Him in us. In regards to Jesus coming to Earth as a Man, we know that He laid aside His Glory for that to happen & become a Sacrifice for us; and as a Man, His disciples saw Him, touched Him, & spoke to Him, and probably only much later realizing that His Words were true, that He was indeed the One sent by the Father, from Heaven and Divine. That knowledge in itself should have prompted a special reverence towards Jesus that may not have been there before.

As Isaiah 6:1-7 reveals what Isaiah saw & experienced, even though we don't consider him to have that same salvation experience nor the Father-child relationship as we have, yet we do get a glimpse of how he was struck by this vision. So I sense that type of fear that was beyond a holy reverence, yet certainly not a fear of One Whom he should be fearful of & flee away from. From my understanding of the Word & my approach to it & before the Father, I cannot perceive Him as equivalent to my earthly father (deceased). Elements of such a relationship are similar, as we have discussed previously, but there needs to be something much greater & deeper than the earthly perspective. Onto Page 2.

I had a question related to I Corinthians 11:27-29. What does it mean to partake 'unworthily' of the Lord's Supper?

Dear S. Spencer,

Thank you for the additional information on that Hebrew verse and term "God"

The topic of the deity of Jesus and the Tri-unity of the Godhead has been discussed here many times. And in the last discussion, Ronald even said that there are many verses that speak about this tri-une nature. But it seems that the many verses he and others bring up to prove that Jesus was only a man do not match up to the verses that speak of Him as God in flesh. And so it seems that Ronald and others that lean unitarian choose which they will believe, Jesus is God or Jesus is Man. But the voice of the Scriptures and of Christian history has claimed over and over again that Jesus is both God and Man-God incarnated in human nature and body. Most of the disputes among church leaders over the centuries have been on these two points: God is tri-une-three persons in one divine being- and Jesus is fully God and fully Man in one Person.

If Jesus is God incarnated human nature and body then, His divine person existed for all eternity as the Father does and the Spirit.

There are many things in Scripture that present two seemingly opposing doctrines as both being true. This is called an antinomy or paradox. As believers we are tasked with believing all the truths revealed in Scripture, even if it seems to us that both cannot be true. This is where faith comes in and humility, admitting to God that we cannot comprehend how both can be true, but we still choose to believe it and testify that both are true.

That is the approach I take concerning these to topics.

On another note: Glad you did find the church service and fellowship edifying.

Hi Gigi.

Great verse!

Hebrews 1:8. "But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

Here's what I gathered from further study on this verse.

The Greek word for God in this verse is "Ho Theos" It is equivalent to Elohim in Hebrew'

Ho Theos is also seen in John 20:28 "And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. (Ho Theos)

The definite article "ho" () is placed before "theos" to emphasize that God is one and unique, and not just one of many gods.

By the way I visited that Church I mentioned to you a couple weeks ago and I enjoyed the fellowship.

Thanks for your prayers and God bless.

(1 Timothy Part 16):

1 Timothy 4:2 - Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

Again, the word hypocrisy means an actor, one who answers according to the script. False teachers, they learn the language, you know, "Praise the Lord, how you doing today?" They know all the language of the doctrines, and they know biblical scriptures, and they quote scriptures. They know the script. But they speak the lie in hypocrisy. They act like they are one of the chosen or saved, but they are not.

The second condition is having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

That whole phrase, seared with a hot iron (KEKAUTERIASMENON) is the word cauterized. It's a medical term. It's where a part of the human body is burned where it cannot feel pain and loses its sensitivity.

He says their conscience has become seared with a hot iron. Their conscience can no longer sense the Spirit of God or the truth of God, and they reject it when they hear it. So that was the condition of false teachers.

1 Timothy 4:6 - If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.

In the Greek text, the word remembrance literally means to spread out in front of someone. He says if you take the brethren and just lay all this out in front of them. It's like the saying that you can take a horse to water but you can't make him drink. Well, give them the truth. Just lay it all out in front of them. They've got to make a response to it.

Paul says if you do this, you shall be a good minister (or servant) of Jesus Christ, while being nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine. He says not only do you have to lay this out in front of the brethren, but you have to continue to be nourished in the doctrine yourself. There must be a continuation. You must continue to feed on the truth of God's word.

(1 Timothy Part 15):

1 Timothy 3:10 - And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless.

And let these also first be proved, or tested; then let them serve in the office of deacon, after they are found to be blameless. Again, unimpeachable.

1 Timothy 3:11 - Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.

It says wives, or women likewise, again working off the verb (to be) in Verse 2. Now there are four things:

The wives must be grave, that is, serious in their approach to the things and handling of the things of God. Secondly, not slanderers. Thirdly, vigilant, or sober in their thinking, watchfulness, attentiveness. And lastly, faithful to Christ in all things.

1 Timothy 4:1 - Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

Now the Spirit speaks clearly. There wasn't any doubt about what God's Spirit was saying in these days about the warning in the church. Notice that it says that in the latter times. Literally, in later times. And notice that times is plural. What he's saying is that beginning at his era, his time, and this will progressively go for several epics, or eras. And as time in history goes on, apostasy from the faith is going to grow worse.

Depart is the word APOSTASIA. It's the Greek word for apostasy. Apostasy means moving away from a fixed position. They had a fixed position in Christ doctrinally, but they have been moved. The term falling away is APOSTASIA.

Theologians have labeled latter times from the ascension of Christ, to His second coming. Those are all the latter days. He is indicating for us that things are going to get worse as far as getting away from the faith. Please notice it doesn't say church. It says the faith. All true doctrine will encourage and teach people to put their trust in Christ for everything.

(1 Timothy Part 14):

1 Timothy 3:8 - Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;

It says likewise, and the word must is in italics because this word likewise is still forming off of the word (to be), back in Verse 2. It is necessary for bishop or overseer to be presently in a certain condition, having 16 characteristics of maturity in the things of the Lord. So likewise, also, deacons are to be. It's working off of the same verb.

As we see in Verse 8, likewise it is necessary for deacons to be grave. It literally means to be serious about the work of the Lord. Take it seriously! Secondly, not doubletongued. We call it two-faced, not saying one thing to one person and one thing to another. We are not a salesman who compromises trying to make everybody happy.

Thirdly, not given to much wine. That sounds like a loophole. Later on, Paul is going to tell Timothy to take a little wine for his stomachs' sake. In those days, the water was not good to drink, and so they would mix the water with wine. According to some accounts, it was nine parts water with one part wine. It was not the same alcohol content that we have today.

There is a lot of controversy about whether it's right for Christians to drink alcoholic. But back then, if you would drink the wine fresh off the vine, it was used for medicinal purposes for a settling of the stomach, because the water was so bad. So, when Paul says the deacons are not to be given to much wine, he's not saying they cannot have any at all because they might need some wine for their stomachs' sake. But just so you know, it was nothing like the wine we have today.

Fourthly, not greedy of filthy lucre; this literally means not being greedy for shameful gain. It's a shame for a leader in the church, let alone a Christian, but more so a leader to be striving for and coveting and making the goal of their life materialism and money. It's called shameful gain.

(1 Timothy Part 13):

1 Timothy 3:7 - Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Lastly, it says, "Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without;" That is, those outside of the church, the non-believers. Now they might not like him. They might say "I don't believe in his doctrine. I don't like him because he's a Christian." But that has nothing to do with it. What is his reputation with the people outside of the church? So, he has to have a reputation in and out!

But is says that he must have a good report, or good testimony, of those which are without, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. A trap! The devil can trap him by saying "Well, you know 5 years ago, when you punched that guy out" nobody knows about it, but then after you're in position of leadership, then Satan loves to bring things up and trap people with bad reports.

(1 Timothy Part 12):

1 Timothy 3:4 - One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;

He has to be somebody who rules well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;

Gravity doesn't mean the law of gravity. But basically, here's a person who is ruling his own house well, and has his children in subjection. There's a difference between subjection and submission. Submission is something that you're asked to do voluntarily. Subjection means you're told to do it. So, the ruler of the household basically has to have his children in subjection to him. With all respect. That's what gravity means. It stands for the Greek word that has to do with respect and reverence.

The 15th characteristic is in Verse 6.

1 Timothy 3:6 - Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.

He says not a novice. Most people interpret novice as a new believer, you can't be young in the Lord, you can't be new, somebody that has to have the things of the Lord worked out in him. But the word for novice has to do with agriculture. It has to do with a sprout that is growing out of the ground. It's the condition of early seedlings popping the sprouts up. They're young in their growth. The root system hasn't developed yet, and the plant is not old enough to bear fruit or the flower.

And so, the scripture says not a novice, lest having been puffed up with pride he shall fall into the judgment of the devil, condemnation of the devil. There's nothing that Satan loves more than to see a believer in their weakness fall into sin, right up in front of everybody, because they're a leader in the church. And what Satan does is he brings condemnation down on that person.

Hello Robert. I wasn't able to follow your request. If you were looking for the meaning of 'gay', we see this word only in James 2:3, where the understanding should be, of a person wearing "goodly apparel" (v2) which implies clothing that is clean, expensive or with intricate tailoring; unlike the one who wears "vile raiment" (dirty, torn).

And the other word you mentioned, "virgin", though appearing several times in Jeremiah, does not have the word "gay" connected to it. Could you clarify? Thanks.