Paul expresses his love for his brothers and sisters in Philippi through a prayer. He hopes that God, who’s already at work in their lives, will multiply their existing love (which Paul was a recipient of) to cause them to discern the good from the better. Notice that he does not associate love with emotions…
Rejoice in Confidence Regarding your Fellow Believers (Philippians 1:6-8)
Paul references the time God began a good work among the Philippians. When was that first day? In Acts 16 Luke describes how Lydia, the first European to come to Christ, was hospitable to Paul and the rest of the team. The Philippian jailer and his family were also notable fruit of this missionary effort.…
Rejoice in Gratitude for your Fellow Believers (Philippians 1:3-5)
Paul writes from Rome, where he was chained to a Roman guard 24 hours a day. His friend Epaphroditus visited the apostle in prison and brought him a love offering from the Philippians (4:18). During the visit, he gave a report to Paul about the good and bad in Philippi. The problems included rivalry and…
The Ruler of Creation (5:5-6)
John is comforted for the second time in the book of Revelation. On earth, when he received the commission to write, Jesus told him “don’t be afraid” (1:17), now one of the elders tells him “stop weeping” (5:5). The Answer from the Glorified Elder (5:5-6) The elder assured the disciple that there is a worthy…
The Redeemer of Creation (5:2b-4)
The disciple hears both a question and the answer. What he hears causes an emotional reaction. The Question from the Strong Angel (5:2b) The strong angel must have had strong vocal chords (or some other spiritual method of voice amplification). By the way, angels are loud in heaven. This one is looking for the rightful…
The Redemption of Creation (5:1-2a)
John sees God, the Father as a man, just like in Daniel’s vision (the Ancient of Days - Daniel 7:9 – referring to God’s eternality). John’s vision is anthropomorphic, like in many other portions of Scripture that mention the eyes of God, the hand of God, etc. These are symbolic, rather than pictorial. God, the…
Heavenly Proclamation (Revelation 5:1-5)
The theme in the worship service in the throne room in heaven changes from creation to redemption. There is a transition in the program. Presumably the twenty-for elders sat back down to watch the next act. In the second half of the heavenly worship service, John sees the preparation of the fulfillment of the message…
Rejoicing in One Another
They were about to start their second mission trip, but the two men had a disagreement over who to include in their teams. Their disagreement was so intense that they had to go their separate ways, but that wasn’t so bad. Now there were two missionary teams instead of one. Team one (not in order…
Expressions of Heavenly Adoration (Revelation 4:8-11). Continued…
Direct Worship (4:9-11) Notice the change in verb tense from present to future in verse 10. This is not by accident (nothing in Scripture is), but a reminder that these events are still in the future. Here’s how the twenty-four elders will engage in direct worship. 1- By Action: The elders will humble themselves before…
Expressions of Heavenly Adoration (Revelation 4:8-11)
In the throne room, two different classes of created beings join in heavenly adoration. The quartet of cherubim starts the A Capella recital. They utter words of worship about the nature of God. They are reciting biblical doctrine. Apparently there is no melody, but in 5:9 a new song starts: instruments are added. Indirect Worship…
