The Women of Christmas: Mary, Part 2

“In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin pledged in marriage to a man named Joseph, who was of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. The angel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. So the angel told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God”(Luke 1:26-30 BSB).

In today’s devotional about Mary, we are going to focus on the grace of God. We see the grace of God in Mary's conversation with the angel. The grace of God would bring about a huge change for the Jewish people and ultimately the Gentile world as well. There was a transition taking place from the Old to the New.

Under the Old Covenant, the Jews lived under a system of rules known as the Law. It was given to them by God through Moses and they had lived under this system since shortly after their Exodus from Egypt. But, why did they live under the law?

Romans 5:20 tells us,

“The law came in so that the trespass would increase; but where sin increased, grace increased all the more,” (BSB)

And Galatians 3:19 reads,

“Why then was the law given? It was added because of transgressions, until the arrival of the seed to whom the promise referred. It was administered through angels by a mediator.”(BSB)

In John 1:17, it says,

“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (BSB)

What was coming under the New Covenant through Jesus was new to them. They were looking for a military leader in the Messiah. They weren’t expecting this.

In the lives of the women of Christmas, we begin to see this transition that was taking place. Grace was coming. In fact, it was already here.

In verse 28 of chapter 1, the angel says to Mary,

“Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you” (BSB).

That phrase “you who are highly favored” is actually the verb form of the word "charis" (grace) in the Greek. It is the Greek word

“charitoó” and is found only in one other place in the Bible, and it is a verse about Believers in Jesus.

“to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One”(Ephesians 1:6).

Later on in the passage in Luke 1:30, the angel tells Mary,

“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” (BSB)

That word favor in that passage is a noun and is the Greek word "charis." According to Biblehub, there are 157 occurrences of the word “charis” in the New Testament. It means “grace, favor, kindness, and blessing.” Grace was coming through Jesus. There would be a transition from law to grace.


They would no longer live under the law, because Jesus would fulfill it. A new way of life was coming. What was happening to and through Mary, was also coming to and for us. Tomorrow we will discuss that new way of grace, one that would involve the Holy Spirit.


Blessings to you as you continue to grow in grace and the knowledge of Him!

Beth



To learn more about the word "charis," please check out my post here on Grace in the Greek.


If you missed yesterday's post on Mary, Part 1, you can also find it at my blog, The Women of Christmas: Mary, Part 1.

Five Minute Friday: Experience

Today I am participating in Five Minute Friday, where a group of writers get together and free write about a one word prompt for 5 minutes. Today's word is "experience."

May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

                                           -Ephesians 3:19 (NLT)

The word experience in the above verse is usually translated as “know” in most Bible translations. It is the Greek word “ginosko” and has different meanings.

One of the meanings is “to know, especially through personal experience” according to Helps Word Studies.

Another place this word is found is in Luke 1:34 when Mary says to the angel, 

 'How will this be since I do not know a man?”

So, this knowing, this experience is not just a head knowledge thing. It is a tangible experience. You can feel it.

The scripture above is part of prayer that Paul prayed for the church in Ephesus. It is my prayer for myself and for all The Church today.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

31 Days of Jesus: Jesus Gives Us The Gift

Today's word prompt for the 31 Days Five Minute Friday Writing Challenge is Gift.

Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”-John 4:10

John chapter 4:1-26 is the account of Jesus’ interaction with a woman at a well. He is talking to her in the middle of the day, in public. And he is explaining spiritual truths to her.

And in this passage he refers to a gift of God. What is that gift?

I think if we look at the process of the passage we can discern some of the meaning. He goes through what seems like a pattern. He is talking. He mentions the gift. Then He refers back to himself. Then back to the gift.

At first I wanted to say the gift was Jesus, but I don’t think he is the gift in this passage. I think he is referring to the living water. And if we investigate the word a little further, we will discover that the gift has a different meaning than him.

One way to further explore the meaning of the word is to look it up in the original language. When we do that, it makes clearer how the author intended to use the word.

According to my Greek Dictionary, the word “gift” in the passage of scripture above is the word “dorea.” It means a free gift and is always used in regards to a spiritual or supernatural gift.

In Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman, He is talking about giving her a gift that only He can give her. Jesus is physically standing their with her, and he wants to give her something else. He wants to give her living water.

Earlier in the Gospel of John, the prophet John the Baptist explains about Jesus, that he will baptize with the Holy Spirit. That is the gift Jesus is sharing with the woman in John 4.

Later in Acts 2:38, Luke recounts Peter’s message after they have all been baptized in the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.

Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Gift in that passage is also the word “dorea.”

Jesus is not the gift in the passage, but he is the means through which the gift comes.

Jesus is the one who baptizes us in the Holy Spirit, and that is the gift we receive. We cannot do anything to earn it, or buy it, or merit it in any way. It is a free gift that comes to us when we believe in Jesus.

Have you received the Gift?

 To read more in the series, please go to 31 Days of Jesus.

The Gospel is Good News

The word Gospel is the Greek word for "good news." The Gospel is that Jesus did what we couldn't do. He took our punishment and penalty for sin. You don't have to pay it now. Even though other people may sometimes make you feel like you have to, you don't. You are free. You are forgiven. You are loved. He was crushed and bruised, so I didn't have to pay for the things I did. Perfect love came down and touched humanity and took in His own body the sins of all mankind, past, present, and future. You don't have to pay for it. He became flesh and blood, died for you, and rose for you, so you could become a new creation.

And you didn't do anything to earn it. It's free.

We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.-Acts 10:39-43 (NIV)

Paul's Thorn Part 2: The Messenger

Photo by Erda Estremera on Unsplash

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.-2 Corinthians 12:7-10


I started writing this series about Paul's thorn because it is always an issue that comes up in response to healing. Many people believe the thorn was sickness, and use this passage to try and explain why some people don't get healed. My purpose in writing is to pull up the weeds surrounding this scripture.

In Part 1, I shared a little bit about Bible interpretation, because that is important when examining passages of scripture that might be difficult to understand. I also explored the word, "depart" that is found in verse 8 of this passage of scripture. You can read that introductory post here.

For the second part of this study, I decided to examine the word "messenger." When, I was reading this passage, this was a word that seemed to stand out to me, so it thought it would be good to investigate it.

In verse 7 of 2 Corinthians 12, the thorn is described as a "messenger" of Satan. That word messenger is the Greek word "aggelos," or "angelos" which means angel. Angelos is the phonetic spelling. The word is found 176 times in the New Testament.

According to Strong's Expanded Dictionary of Bible Words, angelos is a messenger sent by God or by man or by Satan. Angels are most seen throughout scripture delivering messages to people. They are also seen working as guardians or representatives. The word angelos most frequently refers to an order of created beings.

There are only 3 angels named in the Bible: Michael, Gabriel, and Lucifer. Lucifer was the angel that we now know is Satan. Satan was an angel that was kicked out of heaven.

Jesus tells his disciples in Luke 10:18,

    I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. (Berean Study Bible)

We know because of other writers in the New Testament that other angels went with Satan when he fell. See Jude 1:6, 2 Peter 2:4, Genesis 6:2, Matthew 24:41, and Revelation 12:7.

In Chapter 11 of 2 Corinthians, the chapter before the one we are talking about, Paul mentions Satan transforming himself into an angel of light, as also do his ministers.

And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. 2 Corinthians 11:12-15 (NIV)

This might give us a clue as to who/what the messenger is that Paul refers to as the thorn. It could potentially have been a false prophet, manifesting in human form, or it could have been the spiritual form, that we cannot see, following him around.

Nowhere in scripture is the word messenger ever translated as sickness.

A messenger is sent to bring a message. And the message this messenger was sent was causing pain. The Bible says the messenger was sent to buffet or torment Paul. This behavior is not conducive with the character of God, but of the enemy.

In John 10:10, Jesus said,

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness. (Berean Study Bible)

My plan for part 3 is to write about what God said to Paul as the solution to his problem, unless the Lord directs me to talk about something else. There is a solution, and other New Testament writers have talked about it as well. Here's a hint to the answer: It's Jesus.

Paul's Thorn, Part 1

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.-2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (NKJV)



Recently I shared something about healing and the issue of Paul's thorn came up. That seems to be something that always comes up because people have questions and they need peace. I know in my own life I have had questions about things, mostly related to my own insecurities, and I think that Paul's thorn is one of those things that makes people feel insecure in their faith.

I really believe that if we want to know the answers to questions, God wants to help us with it, especially if it is found in His Word, and through study and research, we can uncover what He has told us already.

This morning I spent some time study the passage of scripture related to Paul's thorn. I did not study everything that was possible to study surrounding it yet. There is a lot to explore.

When doing Bible interpretation, there are quite a few things the reader needs to consider, especially with obscure passages such as this.

We need to consider:

1. Context in the scripture that it was written, or what the words say around it.

2. We need to consider the entire chapter in which it was written, and the chapters around it.

3. We need to consider the entire book or epistle in which it was written.

4. We need to consider who wrote it, and the rest of what they have written.

5. We need to consider the Bible as a whole.


Other things that benefit when doing Bible interpretation are:

1. Did this event/scripture take place before or after The Cross? Because The Cross changed everything.

2. What is the character and nature of God? How do we see God through Jesus? Jesus is the exact representation of God.

3. What do confusing words mean in the original language? The Bible was written in Hebrew and Greek, and there have been many different translations based on the original language. The translators have often used words that mean the same thing, but don't really express the original word in its context correctly.

4. Where can we find those confusing words in the original language in other scriptures? How were they used there?


As I am writing, trying to explain this passage, these are things I have taken into consideration. I will not be talking about everything about the passage of scripture. I am just going to touch on a few points to hopefully bring comfort and reassurance to people who struggle with this passage. I have written 400 words in this post already.

So, here we go.

I have a Bible that contains 8 translations side by side. So I read several of the translations of this passage of scripture. In verse 8, the translators translated the phrase "depart from me", as "leave me", "take this problem away" "make this suffering go away" "take it away" "begged God to remove it". The most accurate of those translations is "depart from me" in this context.

The Greek Word there is "aphistemi", number 868 in the Strong's Concordance. You can find this word in many other scriptures in the New Testament. Definitions include: "to stand off, or aloof, or to depart from anyone" in Luke 4:13, Luke 13:27, Acts 5:38, "to refrain from " in Acts 12:10; Acts 15:38; Acts 19:9; Acts 22:29; and in 2 Corinthians 12:8.


I am going to share all of these scriptures so you can look at what it looks like in relation to that word.

Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.-Luke 4:13

But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’-Luke 13:27

And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; Acts 5:38

When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.-Acts 12:10

But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work.-Acts 15:38

But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus.-Acts 19:9

Then immediately those who were about to examine him withdrew from him; and the commander was also afraid after he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.-Acts 22:29

Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.-2 Corinthians 12:8


Now, you can see that this word depart in its meaning, and where it used in other verses, all has to do with people or Satan, or in 2 Corinthians 12:8 , a messenger of Satan leaving. It always seems to function in the context of a person or being leaving.

There's a lot more to talk about, so stay turned for Part 2.

*Sources I used for this part of the Bible Study are Strong's Concordance, Biblehub.com, and The Contemporary Parallel New Testament.

*All Scriptures were taken from the New King James Version of the Bible.

Greek Words

As part of my daily devotional, I have been reading Sparkling Gems From the Greek by Rick Renner. This morning's devotional discussed grieving the Spirit of God. In his text, Mr. Renner examined the Greek word used for grief which is lupete and comes from the word lupe, which indicates a grief that might be caused in a marriage relationship in the case of infidelity. When God said in Ephesians 4:29-32 not to grieve the Spirit of God, He was making reference to our closeness to and how the Holy Spirit feels about us. That is so amazing to me. How would I have ever known that without the examination of original text?

There are so many important things to know in the Word of God, things you can know and learn by just reading. But there is also a level of depth that cannot be achieved without knowing some history and some of the language originally used when penning the Word of God. I wonder often why people don't get healed like they did in the New Testament or even the Old Testament. There is a depth of knowledge that must be achieved for some to receive what God has made provision for in the area of healing. There are many provisions for healing in the Old and New Testament. All are because of Jesus. But people won't know this without some study. For example, as New Testament Believers, Jesus is our Passover. Everything the Passover meal was to the Hebrews leaving Egypt, Jesus is to us. That includes healing. It would require some study for a person to learn and recognize that healing is included as a part of our redemption through Jesus. The fact that Jesus is our Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7) and what that means is visible through study. How much more can we develop our faith through diligent study of the original language and history and customs of the time?