Some Key Words (1/6/01-1/7/01)

Perseverance (hupomone [5281]):

patience, endurance with regard to circumstances as opposed to people, to abide under, the quality that does not surrender to circumstances; steadfastness, constancy, the characteristic of one not swerved from his loyalty to faith and piety by trials and sufferings, a patient, steadfast waiting for, a patient enduring; cheerful or hopeful endurance

Encouragement (paraklesis [3874]):

to call toward to help, exhortation, encouragement toward virtue, an admonition for purpose of strengthening the believer's faith; a calling near, a summons for help, supplication, admonition, consolation, comfort, persuasive discourse, instructive discourse; imploration

Grant (didomi [1325]):

to give something to someone, to bestow a gift, to give to the one asking, to supply, furnish necessary things, to deliver, to entrust to, to commit, to pay wages or reward, to give forth from oneself, to appoint to an office, to cause to come forth, to give one to somebody as his own, to permit one, to commission;

Accord (homothumadon [3661]):

with one mind, with one passion, to rush along in unison, as many notes sounding in harmony; unanimously

Glorify (doxazo [1392]):

to esteem, think, to be of opinion, to recognize, honor, praise, invest with dignity, to bring to honor, to make glorious; to suppose, to extol, celebrate, to do honor to, hold in honor, to adorn with luster, to clothe with splendor, to render excellent, to make renowned, to cause the dignity and worth to become manifest and acknowledged; to render glorious

Accept (proslambano [4355]):

to take in addition to, to take to oneself as one's companion, to take by the hand so as to lead, to receive into one's home for kindness, to grant one access to one's heart; to use food, to lead aside, to admit to friendship or hospitality

Servant (diakonos [1249]):

a minister, a deacon, one laboring in the dust, one who pursues, those who willingly serve, one who does works of service, an employee; one who executes another's commands, a church officer assigned to care for the poor, a waiter; an attendant, a Christian teacher or pastor

Truth (aletheia [225]):

the unveiled reality at the root of appearances and agreeing therewith, the essence of the matter, the reality of the appearance, truth as opposed to falsehood or types, integrity; what is true in any matter, the true notions of God which are clear to human reason without supernatural intervention, the truths of the Christian faith as to God and Christ and the duties of man, the candor of mind that is free from affectation, pretence, falsehood and deceit;

Confirm (bebaioo [950]):

to make reliable so as to inspire confidence, to make true, fulfill, to confirm a person's salvation; to make firm, establish, make sure;

Promises (epaggelia [1860]):

to report upon, to declare upon, a summons or promise to do or give something, the promises of God, the thing promised, a gift graciously given; announcement, a promise given, a promised good or blessing; assent or pledge, a divine assurance of good

Mercy (eleos [1656]):

special regard for the immediate consequences of sin, the gift God extends to alleviate sin's consequences, God's benevolent pity, preceding grace and continuing actively after salvation; kindness toward the miserable and afflicted, desiring to help the miserable, the mercy and clemency of God in providing salvation by Christ; active compassion

Praise (exomologeo [1843]):

to reason out together, to agree together with God and conscience, to externalize one's inward feelings, to profess, express in agreement with, to confess one's sins, to promise, to profess as the truth, to acknowledge as belonging to one, to give praise or glory to; to acknowledge openly and joyfully, to celebrate, give praise to, to profess that one will do something, to promise, to agree; to agree fully

Rejoice (euphraino [2165]):

to mind well, to rejoice, to make joyful in mind, to be glad, joyful, to be merry; to gladden, make joyful, to be glad, to be delighted with a thing; to put or be in a good frame of mind

Hope (elpizo [1679]):

to expect with desire, to trust, confide in, to set one's hope upon something; to wait for with joy and full confidence, to trust in; to expect

Joy (chara [5479]):

the cause or matter of joy; gladness, the joy received from you, the occasion of joy, persons who are one's joy; calm delight

Peace (eirene [1515]):

rest, absence of strife, untroubled well-being; exemption from the havoc of war, harmony, concord, security, safety, the way that leads to peace, the tranquil state of a soul assured of salvation and so content with its earthly lot;

Believing (pisteuo [4100]):

to believe, to give credit to, to be persuaded, to be of opinion, to believe in - with knowledge of, assent to, and confidence in; to think to be true, be persuaded of, place confidence in, the conviction and trust to which the inner soul impels a man, trust in God or Jesus as able to save, intellectual faith simply acknowledging facts, to entrust to one; to entrust one's spiritual well-being to Christ

Abound (perisseuo [4052]):

to exceed a fixed measure, to be above a certain number, to exist in abundance, a thing that overflows to one, something that comes to one in large measure, to overflow, to have in abundance, to excel, to exceed, to cause to abound, to furnish one richly, to make abundant or excellent, used to describe the bud going to full bloom, to superabound, to be in excess, to be superfluous;

Power (dunamis [1411]):

inherent power; strength, ability, power residing in a thing by its nature, the power for performing miracles, moral power - excellence of soul, the influence belonging to wealth, the power of number, power due to armies or forces; force, miraculous power

 

Paraphrase: (1/6/01)

5 As God encourages us and gives us the means to persevere, may he also grant that you be of one mind with Christ and with each other; 6 such that your voices might be united in glorifying our Father God, Father also of our Lord Jesus.

7 Given this, accept each other in the same way Christ accepted us, and thereby glorify God. 8 Clearly, Christ is a servant to the Jews, confirming to them the truth of the promises God made to their fathers. 9 Equally clearly, He is also servant to the Gentiles, so that they will have cause to glorify God for His mercy, as Scripture has said: "I will give praise to Thee among the Gentiles, and I will sing to Thy name," 10 and "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people." 11 And "Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise Him." 12 To which Isaiah accords, saying that the Gentiles will find their hope in the ruler who comes of Jesse's lineage. 13 Oh, may that God of hope fill you to the full with peace and joy as you believe, so that you may overflow with hope by the Holy Spirit empowering you.

Key Verse: (1/6/01)

15:6 - We ought to be speaking with one voice, and that voice glorifying our God and Father for His goodness and mercy in providing salvation to His people.

People Mentioned: (1/6/01)

N/A

Some Parallel Verses (1/8/01)

15:5

2Co 1:3 - God is the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. Ro 12:16 - We are to be of one mind, not prideful but willingly associating with the lowly as well.

15:6

Rev 1:6 - Christ has made of us a kingdom of priests unto His Father.

15:7

Ro 14:1 - We are to accept our weaker brothers without judging.

15:8

Mt 15:24 - Jesus declared that His mission was only to Israel. Ac 3:26 - Peter also pointed out that Christ, God's Servant, was sent first to Israel to turn them back to God. Ro 4:16 - By faith, the promises to Abraham are made certain to all - those descendants who are of the Law, and those who are of his faith. 2Co 1:20 - All of God's promises are proven in Christ, and by Him we are able to concur heartily to God's glory in their fulfilling.

15:9

Ro 3:29 - God is God of both Jew and Gentile. Ro 11:30-32 - God showed the Gentiles mercy in their disobedience, and will show that same mercy to the Jews, who have become disobedient as well. God allowed us all to be disobedient so that He could display His mercy towards us all. Mt 9:8 - When Jesus forgave the paralytic his sins, it gave cause for those who saw it to glorify God, who had given Jesus His authority. 2Sa 22:50 - David declares that He will give thanks to the Lord and sing praises to His name, Ps 18:49 - even amongst the surrounding nations.

15:10

Dt 32:43 - Because God is faithful to avenge and atone for His chosen people, all nations ought to rejoice along with them.

15:11

Ps 117:1 - All peoples of all nations are to praise our Lord.

15:12

Is 11:10 - All nations will turn to the descendant of Jesse to lead them. Rev 5:5 - The Root of David, son of Jesse is also declared the Lion of Judah, and He it is who overcomes and opens the sealed book. Rev 22:16 - Jesus is both the root and the descendant of David. Mt 12:21 - In Him is the hope of the Gentiles.

15:13

Ro 14:17 - God's kingdom is not a matter of food and drink, but rather a matter of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. 1Co 2:4 - Paul's preaching was not a matter of persuasion and displayed wisdom, but rather a demonstration of power, of the Holy Spirit. 1Th 1:5 - In word, in power, in the Spirit, with absolute conviction of the truth; so did Paul deliver the Gospel.

 

New Thoughts (1/9/01)

Here, Paul brings to summary what he has been laboring to show throughout this letter, that God has joined the believers amongst both Jews and Gentiles to be fulfilled by a common future. We can debate as to whether we Gentiles have been spliced in to the chosen people, or whether we are joined to become a new people. Scripture does lend support to the former view. But whether old or new, the point remains that we are made one people in God's sight. There can be no place for anti-Semitism, nor for anti-Gentilism amongst the true believers. What God has joined, let no man put asunder. Far too much has been lost in the course of the Church's history due to such attempts to divide. Even in Paul's day, there were those who attempted to force a difference back into God's united Church. It has ever been a problem, and seems likely to remain a problem until He comes again. Yet, there will always be a remnant. There will always be those in His house - those who truly believe His message, and who truly accept His Lordship - who will recognize no differentiation amongst His followers. There will always be those amongst the Jewish believers who gladly accept their Gentile brothers, and those in the Gentile Church who rejoice to know of their Jewish coworkers. Throughout this letter, Paul has labored the point of unity. Here, the subject reaches its headwaters, for we are told that it is the purpose of God's work amongst us, of Christ's work on the cross. He came as the Servant of all, so that all might join in one voice, in unified agreement, to the single purpose of glorifying God for His goodness. That's it. That's our job.

The vocations we have been given are to be opportunities for us to glorify God. The children we have been entrusted with are for us to raise to the glory of God. The families we were born into and married into are opportunities for us to bring God glory. Every situation we face, every hardship we endure, every blessing we receive, it's all to one purpose. Whether we be rich or poor, healthy or sick, in better times or worse, our purpose remains singular - to give God the glory for what He has done, is doing, and will do. God, I've been reminded of this today even before turning to this study, for which I thank You. I pray You forgive me for the doubts and concerns I've allowed to foul my outlook in recent weeks. I begin to see that the verse with which You chose to begin my year was indeed most appropriate, for in spite of the face I tend to put on, I do most assuredly need to learn to 'Fear not.' Help me, Lord, in my family, in my job, in my ministry, to remember that I am where You have placed me; to remember that I am in Your company and in Your hands. I have yet to be asked to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, in which I need not fear. Bring this to mind, oh Lord, should I allow doubt to creep in again. I have not yet been tried to such a point, there is no need to fear ought but Thee.

I'd like, now, to look at the opening and closing verses of this section, for they combine most sweetly.

5 Now may the God who gives us perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus;
13 may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

It is God who brings us encouragement, even when it appears to come from another. It is God who empowers us to persevere under our trials, who can even enable us to be joyful in the midst of the fire. For He who is our hope, and who gives us hope unfailing fills us with joy and peace, such joy that no trial can overcome if we keep our attention on Him; such peace as cannot be disturbed as we concentrate ourselves on the goal set before us! And He it is who sends to us the Holy Spirit, He who fills us with the power needed to attain to all these things. Holy is He! He is the root of Jesse, and the branch sprouted from the same, for before creation, He is; and after all is said and done, He is. In my present circumstance, He is; and through every trial and victory I will pass through in this life, He is. Praise be to His name!