GRACE BIBLE CHURCH
PASTOR ROBERT R. MCLAUGHLIN
SUNSDAY 11-06-2022
GBIBLE.ORG
EPHESIANS - 0290-020
DIVINE DECREES, PART 17.
GREEK DRAMA, PART 8.
DECREE RESULTS.
2PE 1:8; 2PE 1:9; 2PE 3:14-18; PHI 3:13-14.
The Doctrine of the Divine Decrees.
Let’s review our corrected translation as we get ready to for the next verse, 2PE 1:5-9.
2PE 1:5 Now for this very reason also, making every effort, by means of your doctrine supply virtue, and in or with your virtue supply biblical academic information.
2PE 1:6 and in your knowledge, biblical academic information supply self-control, and in your self-control, supply perseverance.
2PE 1:7 and in living the spiritual life supply brotherly love, and in your brotherly love supply impersonal unconditional love.
Now, we continue with 2PE 1:8, as it is used in the context of Greek drama in the Divine Decrees.
2PE 1:8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let me give you the corrected translation of the first part of this verse.
2PE 1:8 For if these qualities [the dramatic seven chorus line] are yours these qualities keep on being present within you and keep on increasing,
This means we never arrive, which is why the second member of our chorus line is perception of doctrine.
We must keep on growing and never stop learning.
2PE 3:14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,
2PE 3:15 and regard the patience of our Lord to be salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you,
2PE 3:16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.
2PE 3:17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard lest, being carried away by the error of unprincipled men, you fall from your own steadfastness,
2PE 3:18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
Turn to PHI 3
PHI 3:13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
PHI 3:14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
We cannot afford to ever stop our intake of Bible doctrine and live on yesterday's manna.
This what the Jews did when they rejected the food that God said to take and instead ate quails representing their rejection of God’s word.
There are so many believers who live on yesterday’s manna or doctrine and not today’s manna, which is to listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
NUM 11:31 Now there went forth a wind from the Lord, and it brought quail from the sea, and let them fall beside the camp, about a day's journey on this side and a day's journey on the other side, all around the camp, and about two cubits deep on the surface of the ground.
NUM 11:32 And the people spent all day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail (he who gathered least gathered ten homers) and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp.
NUM 11:33 While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very severe plague.
This is what happens to believers who reject the manna or food from heaven.
2PE 1:8 For if these qualities [the dramatic seven chorus line] keep on being present within you and keep on increasing, they [the dramatic seven chorus line] render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
They render is the pres-act-ind of kathistemi which means to prevent.
The dramatic chorus line will prevent you from being neither useless and ineffective nor unfruitful and unproductive.
Useless is the adjective argous (g) which means lazy, inefficient, inactive, careless, indifferent, apathetic.
It means to put off the labor which one ought to perform which is being a procrastinator.
In the spiritual realm, it means a spiritual procrastinator.
Unfruitful is the accusative plural adjective akarpous, meaning unproductive, without fruit, contributing nothing to the instruction, improvement, comfort of others.
They will make you neither useless nor unproductive.
Akarpous means that the believer doesn't produce what he ought to produce, which is fruit.
In 1Co 14:14, it means to contribute nothing to the support and comfort of others.
1CO 14:14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.
In Mat 13:22, it means that the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches cause the believer to become unfruitful.
MAT 13:22 "And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
In Jud 1:12, those who are minus water or Bible doctrine are those considered to be akarpos which is without fruit.
JUD 1:12 These men are those who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted;
So far, the passage is saying;
2PE 1:8 For if these qualities [the dramatic seven chorus line] are yours and keep on increasing or are ready for action, they prevent you from being neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now what does it mean to be useless or inefficient?
It means that:
If you cannot take doctrine in and apply it to your personal life you will never be spiritually self-sustained and therefore you will be inefficient.
Your "efficiency" in the spiritual life must start with your very own thinking.
This is why we have noted how to organize your time.
We have noted our priorities and how the organization of our time is based upon what our priorities are.
You have to decide what is important in your life and give that number 1 priority in your time slots.
2PE 1:8 For if these qualities [the dramatic seven chorus line] are yours and keep on increasing or are ready for action, they prevent you from being neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, the phrase:
The phrase “in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” is the prepositional phrase of epignosis referring to metabolized doctrine.
It should be translated "in the epignosis knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Peter is saying that if you have the dramatic 7 chorus line you will not be ineffective or unproductive, in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Your whole Christian life centers around how much knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ you have.
Why?
Because the key to the Christian life is proper motivation.
Metabolized doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ gives the believer the proper motivation to live.
And we must be motivated, not by our love and respect for people, but by our love and respect for TLJC.
Therefore, the principle,
Motivational virtue must precede production and Christian service.
Otherwise, The believer’s production is wood, hay, and straw and will be burned up as useless and unfruitful works at the judgment seat of Christ, 1Co 3:11-15.
Proper motivation means you must be occupied with the person of Jesus Christ.
Personality conflicts and policy conflicts are all resolved by the same factor which is occupation with TLJC.
If you love TLJC and if you have metabolized doctrine than the personality of those in authority is not an issue.
And as you listen to doctrine you are motivated by your love for TLJC.
Doctrine is the mind of Christ, and that's all that matters.
Not the pastor's personality.
And therefore,
The personality of the pastor is not an issue - only the content of his message.
And this goes for the deacons and the administrative staff of the local church as well, their personality is not to be an issue - only the function of their responsibility.
This is why your consistent daily intake of Bible doctrine is so important.
Metabolized doctrine gives you proper motivation and momentum in the Christian life.
As a royal priest you have motivational virtue toward God.
As a royal ambassador you have motivational virtue toward man.
Metabolized doctrine produces virtue.
Virtue produces proper motivation.
Proper motivation produces Christian service.
Now, in 2Pe 1:9, Peter goes on to say;
2PE 1:9 For he who lacks these qualities [the dramatic seven chorus line] is blind or short sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.
We begin with the verb “to lack” which is the pres-act-ind of the verb pareimi with the negative me' in the Greek, meaning if these qualities are not near, or are not present or have not been stored up or have failed to develop.
You can only store up these qualities through your intake of doctrine.
So, I'm going to translate this so far;
2PE 1:9 For he who fails to develop these virtues [the dramatic seven chorus line] is blind.
Blind is the adjective tuphlos in the Greek which is blind in the sense of blindness in the soul or blackout of the soul.
The "moral cosmic believer" has no understanding of how blind he is spiritually.
He is blinded by either arrogance or animosity toward doctrine.
Or He is blinded by indifference or apathy toward doctrine.
Most believers are blinded in one of two ways.
Satan has two main systems that he uses against believers called Cosmic #1 and Cosmic #2.
In the first system arrogance, C#1, blinds him.
In the second system animosity toward truth, C#2, blinds him.
The target of Satan's first system is the believer’s ego resulting in pre-occupation with self to the exclusion of reality, Isa 14:12-14.
The target of Satan's second system, called Cosmic #2, is truth or Bible doctrine resulting in antagonism toward Christ, His physical body and His spiritual body, as well as antagonism toward doctrine itself.
One system, Cosmic #1, emphasizes self over God.
The other system, Cosmic #2, emphasizes creature viewpoint over divine viewpoint.
One system, C1, was developed by Satan before the human race which is simply living for "self rather than God."
The other system, C2, was developed by Satan at the fall of the human race which is creature viewpoint credit over divine viewpoint.
Both systems are controlled by the philosophy of Satan.
Now, Tuphlos translated blind is a reference to mental blindness.
Tuphlos comes from the word tuphoo which means to have a head full of smoke or to be inflated with pride.
It is pride that makes a person mentally blind.
Tuphlos means "stupidly blind" turn Mat 15.
TLJC taught that "those who were blind were those who cleaned up the outside but not the "thought pattern" in Mat 15:1-4.
MAT 15:1 Then some Pharisees and scribes *came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying,
MAT 15:2 "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread."
MAT 15:3 And He answered and said to them, "And why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?
MAT 15:4 "For God said, 'Honor your father and mother,' and, 'He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.'
We'd have a lot of children missing from church this morning if we obeyed this command.
MAT 15:5 "But you say, 'Whoever shall say to {his} father or mother," Anything of mine you might have been helped by has been given {to God,}"
I can't afford to give you anything because I give to God.
That is hypocrisy because the Bible teaches that after the parents have provided for the children that the children ought to provide for the parents, 1Ti 5:3-8.
1TI 5:3 Honor widows who are widows indeed;
1TI 5:4 but if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to practice piety in regard to their own family, and to make some return to their parents; for this is acceptable in the sight of God.
1TI 5:5 Now she who is a widow indeed, and who has been left alone has fixed her hope on God, and continues in entreaties and prayers night and day.
1TI 5:6 But she who gives herself to wanton pleasure is dead even while she lives.
1TI 5:7 Prescribe these things as well, so that they may be above reproach.
1TI 5:8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.
So, Back in MAT 15:5 "But you say, 'Whoever shall say to {his} father or mother," Anything of mine you might have been helped by has been given {to God,}"
This brings up the principle that is very vital to note, those most believers don’t know what it is at all, which is what we call corbon.
I would like to teach you something you have not heard before, and that is what is known as the principle of corbon”
In MAT 15:2, there is a religious delegation coming to Jesus Christ and notice what the Scribes and the Pharisees ask.
MAT 15:2 "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread."
The scribes and the Pharisees are often mentioned together because the Pharisees were the political party in the Sanhedrin but with a very strong religious background.
We might call them the political party which was actually a religious group.
They favored the union of religion and state and, of course, they were all very religious people personally.
Then they had a hierarchy called the scribes who were theologians and were often Pharisees.
They studied the Old Testament scriptures extensively.
As they approached the Lord Jesus Christ they came in opposition and immediately their opposition is expressed, as is often the case, by a question.
It is very interesting about religious people that:
They often appear to be very interested in the scripture, and they come as though they were seekers of truth trying to proselyte you.
By that I mean;
They seek you out with so-called good intentions, but their goal is to steal you away from the ministry you are a part of.
But In reality they are not seekers at all they are simply looking for an opportunity to express opposition.
These people came to Jesus, as it were, seeking information, seeking enlightenment.
Therefore, they ask a question.
MAT 15:2 “Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands before [not “when"] they eat bread.”
The scribes and the Pharisees contend that the disciples are violating the tradition of the elders.
In verse 3, our Lord Jesus answers a question with a question. “Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?”
MAT 15:3 And He answered and said to them, "And why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?
We have doctrine versus tradition.
In tradition here we have a good thing, a taboo, and there is nothing wrong with except that, it is not spirituality.
Jesus therefore says that this is not an issue.
Whether the disciples wash their hands or not is not an issue spiritually.
But the scribes have brought this up, because it is part of the rules for their Sabbath to wash their hands before they eat.
However, most of them don’t know they
MAR 2:27 And He was saying to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.
LUK 6:1 Now it came about that on a certain Sabbath He was passing through some grainfields; and His disciples were picking and eating the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands.
LUK 6:2 But some of the Pharisees said, "Why do you do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?"
LUK 6:3 And Jesus answering them said, "Have you not even read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him,
LUK 6:4 how he entered the house of God, and took and ate the consecrated bread which is not lawful for any to eat except the priests alone, and gave it to his companions? "
LUK 6:5 And He was saying to them, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
LUK 6:6 And it came about on another Sabbath, that He entered the synagogue and was teaching; and there was a man there whose right hand was withered.
LUK 6:7 And the scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closely, to see if He healed on the Sabbath, in order that they might find reason to accuse Him.
LUK 6:8 But He knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, "Rise and come forward!" And he rose and came forward.
LUK 6:9 And Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good, or to do harm, to save a life, or to destroy it?"
LUK 6:10 And after looking around at them all, He said to him, "Stretch out your hand!" And he did so; and his hand was restored.
LUK 6:11 But they themselves were filled with rage, and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.
The issue of Bible doctrine versus the tradition of the elders, so Jesus is going to give them a bona- fide illustration of what they are trying to say, and He is turning it against them.
They have something in their tradition called the “corbon” and He is going to show them the “corbon” versus the fifth commandment.
What is the fifth commandment?
Exo 20:12 "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.
Exo 20:12 has to do with divine institution number three, the family. “Days … long” refers to our life span.
If you are going to have a long-life span. here is one of the issues which determines it.
The word “honor” has a number of concepts.
As it occurs in the Hebrew here, it refers to the principle of obedience to the authority in the home, the mother and the father.
This commandment is designed not only for that period of time which we call childhood, but it also has some concepts later on after one reach adulthood.
However, its primary concept is in childhood.
This is known as “corbon”, a tradition connected with giving that was really “a giving gimmick.
We have giving gimmicks today and they had them in that day.
Apparently, the synagogues were having trouble raising money and they thought of “corbon”, became a part of the tradition.
The Roman Catholics did exactly that which the Jews did.
- Prayers for the dead.
- Wax candles.
- The Mass, as a daily celebration.
- Give to get your loved ones out of Purgatory.
- Canonization of dead saints, which means to give money to make a loved one a saint.
- Sale of Indulgences which means they will do whatever you want, if you give us money to do so providing that it’s not sin.
By the way, it is!
MAT 15:3 And He answered and said to them, "And why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?
The commandment refers to the doctrine of the Word of God, in this case Exodus 20:12.
The religious traditions of the Pharisees are legalistic and therefore are contrary to the principle of grace.
Washing the hands before meals is a good thing but to make it a part of spirituality, it is a bad thing and becomes legalism.
In other words, you are doing something to become spiritual, you are washing your hands.
So that:
A good thing is magnified out of its context and it becomes legalism when it is brought into the spiritual realm.
And now Jesus is going to show them that they are the ones out of line.
So, He says, “by your tradition,” which is dia plus the accusative, and literally, “because of [the existence of] your tradition” you are in violation of the Word of God.
MAT 15:4 "For God said, 'Honor your father and mother,' and, 'He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.'
This question is going to be resolved now but not by their tradition.
When they approached, they put the emphasis on their tradition, that is their criterion.
However, Jesus is going to answer them by going from the traditions and taboos which they have developed to the Word of God.
He is going to start from the Word of God.
There is a problem here, and that is the fact that;
Religion always substitutes tradition and a program for doctrine.
They emphasize their tradition and their program and the Word always emphasizes doctrine (and this is an issue that we have to face as believers).
The fifth commandment is given in this verse.
“For God commanded in the Word saying, Honor thy father and they mother.”
And Jesus now gives the meaning of the second part of that commandment.
The Greek word “honor” means not only to obey, but it also means to have respect for authority, to honor on the basis of respect for authority rather than on the basis of love.
And notice:
The word “commanded” is in a Greek tense; the word “saying” that our Lord kept on saying this to them.
He repeated right in front of them this verse which means He kept on saying this.
The aorist tense means that this is a once and for all principle and He keeps saying this to every generation.
Every generation is involved in this but we all better remember:
EXO 21:17 "And he who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.
For us, that is a spiritual death.
“He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.”
This is the way God looks at it.
There is a divine discipline for believers or unbelievers and those who reject parental authority, dying spiritually, means they are going to die young; “let him be put to death,” a very difficult principle of doctrine.
There is no way to get around it, it is tough and it is meant to be that way because the only thing that holds a nation together is divine institution number three, the family.
Stability in family life leads to stability in national life, and as goes the families of the nation so goes the nation itself. Instability in family life leads to instability in national life.
The Corbon gimmick is found in the last two verses of MAT 15:5-6.
MAT 15:5 "But you say, 'Whoever shall say to his father or mother," Anything of mine you might have been helped by has been given to God,"
MAT 15:6 he is not to honor his father or his mother. 'And thus you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition.
“Corbon” is the Greek word translated “gift,” the word is taken from a Hebrew word “charav.” and it is a word for making something a sacrifice.
The word refers to a sacrifice or a gift which was brought to the altar; LEV 1,2, and 3.
This word was taken out of its context by the religious crowd and given a broader religious meaning.
They decided when they wanted to raise money the way to do it was this:
Get a person to leave his money to the synagogue or to the temple, and in order to do that what you do is pronounce all of your estate “corbon”.
And When you say your estate is “corbon”, it means that it will go to the temple in escrow, but in the mean time you can use it, you can spend it, and you do not have to pay taxes on it.
This is what is practiced today in our very own Judicial system.
So. Here was a way of avoiding income tax and keep from giving to your parents.
Many believers are doing that today.
Totally satanic all the way.
And that is the way it was used and that is the principle that is involved here.
Now what is the problem?
The parents come to the child, the parents are destitute, and they ask for help, for money.
The child who is now an adult says: “I am sorry, I can’t give you any of my money, my estate is “corbon.”
Therefore, he can spend it any way he wants to, he can live it up and have a big time, but he doesn’t have to give his parents a cent because everything he has by way of money belongs to the temple, it is corbon.
This is the way they avoided helping their parents.
They did it in the name of tradition; they did it in the name of “corbon”.
So “Corbon” violates the fifth commandment.
And Jesus points out that the traditions actually violate Bible doctrine.
Rather than criticizing these disciples for not washing their hands before meals they had better take another look at tradition.
They claimed tradition was salvation and spirituality when in reality tradition was in violation to salvation and spirituality.
The last phrase in verse 5 is an idiom.
MAT 15:5 "But you say, 'Whoever shall say to his father or mother," Anything of mine you might have been helped by has been given to God, "
Everything that I might have used for helping you is “corbon”.
In verse 6, He now makes the application.
MAT 15:6 he is not to honor his father or his mother. 'And thus you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition.
In other words,
Legalism always attacks doctrine and legalism always.
Verse 6, He now makes the application.
One ounce of legalism destroys the grace of God.
And that is hypocrisy because the Bible teaches
MAT 15:5 "But you say, 'Whoever shall say to {his} father or mother," Anything of mine you might have been helped by has been given {to God,} "
MAT 15:6 he is not to honor his father or his mother. 'And {thus} you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition.
MAT 15:7 "You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,
MAT 15:8 This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me.
Notice that in Mat 15:8, the mentally blind draw near to God with their mouth but their heart is far away from Him.
MAT 15:9 'But in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.'
In Mat 15:9, the blind is those who in vain worship God, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.
In Mat 23:24, the mentally blind "strain out a gnat and swallow a camel."
MAT 23:24 "You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
In 2Co 4:4, Paul tells us that the god of this world specializes in blinding the mind of those in the cosmic system or the world system.
2CO 4:1 Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart,
2CO 4:2 but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
2CO 4:3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
2CO 4:4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
2CO 4:5 For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond servants for Jesus' sake.
Back to:
2PE 1:9 For he who lacks these qualities [the dramatic seven chorus line] is blind or short sighted,
And this is where we will pick it up next time.