The Sovereign God’s Goodness, Mercy, and Compassion

What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." Romans 9:14-15

The Old Testament passage that the apostle Paul cites in our text is found in Exodus 33:19. It is the LORD’s answer to Moses’ request that he be allowed to see Yahweh’s glory. The LORD said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” (Ex. 33:19-20)

Laborers Worthy of Their Wages

Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, "You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing," and "The laborer is worthy of his wages." 1 Tim 5:17-18

Paul, moved by the Holy Spirit, twice in the New Testament invokes this Old Testament quote from Deuteronomy 25:4. “You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing.” (NAS) Here in his first letter to Timothy concerning elders, and in 1 Corinthians 9:9 to the Corinthian church concerning himself and his work of evangelist.

In our selected text, what is often overlooked, is the latter part of the apostle’s statement averring that the Scripture says “the laborer is worthy of his wages”.  Type that into your electronic concordance and see what pops up. You won’t find that statement in the Old Testament, brethren. Paul isn’t wrong; he’s alluding to a scriptural principle found in the Law as a whole, and particularly, in the context preceding his quote from Deuteronomy 25:4.

Bingeing and Purging

“For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside,God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.” 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 (NAS)

The apostle Paul, in dealing swiftly and severely with the grievous sin of immorality between a man and his father’s wife in the body of the Corinthian church, quotes from the book of Deuteronomy as to how this wicked man’s behavior should be handled.

Paul quotes from the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament. Here is a sample of how it is translated in the book of Deuteronomy in the NASB translation: “But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the LORD your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from among you.”

The Earth And All It Contains

“Eat anything that is sold in the meat market, without asking questions for conscience' sake; for the earth is the Lord's, and all it contains.” 1 Cor. 10:26

The apostle Paul, in addressing the believer’s liberty in Christ to eat according to their conscience, reminds the Corinthians of a principle set forth in his quote of Psalm 24:1. “The earth is the Lord's, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it.” (NAS) Many believe this psalm of David originated with the bringing of the ark into the Tabernacle as recorded in 2 Samuel 6:12-17.  If you read the context following (Ps. 24:3) our chosen verse you will note David’s rhetorical reference to ascending the hill of the LORD and standing in His holy place (Ps. 24:3). Based upon the context, one can see why many hold this position.

I Will Come, You Shall Have A Son

“For this is a word of promise: ‘At this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son.’ ” Romans 9:9 (NAS)

As the Holy Spirit moved Paul to manifest the superiority of faith versus law, another principle is revealed in our chosen text for the edification, encouragement and equipping of the saints—the promises of God.  We’ve considered other passages in previous installments regarding the promises of God and it seems good to be reminded of these things again in this new year, because, to borrow from a Biblical principle, it is no trouble to write of the same things again, and it’s a safeguard for you (Phil. 3:1). It also allows us to build upon last week’s article concerning one of the themes in the Bible, which is the promised progeny (the seed) to come, the Christ.

48th St. Church of Christ assembles at 14 48th St. in Billings, MT.  Come for instruction, edification, & encouragement Lord’s Days at 9:00 AM & 7:00 PM.

Also join us for Bible Study and Prayer Session, Wednesday Evenings at 7:00 PM.

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The Bible Question for the week of December 27th is as follows:

Name the two New Testament passages where the statement “you may rejoice” appears. (NASB version)

The Bible Question for the week of December 20th is as follows:

The Bible says, “the nations will bless themselves in Him.” How does that happen?

The Bible Question for the week of January 31st is as follows:

What does the New Testament say we are to “lay aside” ?

The Bible Question for the week of January 24th is as follows:

What are the three things Paul says he did for a church “as a father would his own children” ?

The Bible Question for the week of January 17th is as follows:

What does the Bible say are the three things not fitting for a fool?

The Bible Question for the week of January 10th is as follows:

The apostle Paul said the Lord stood with him and strengthened him in order to accomplish what?

The Bible Question for the week of January 3rd is as follows:

These, according to the New Testament are “worthless for any good deed”. Who are they?

A Living Soul or a Life-Giving Spirit?

“So also it is written, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living soul.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” 1 Corinthians 15:45 (NAS)

The Scripture is arranged and written so as to communicate as much information as possible through analogy, metaphor, illustration, parables, comparisons and contrasts. The apostle Paul, as he was moved to pen the latter part of this first letter to the Corinthian church, uses contrast to convey effectively the superiority of what the believer has received in the spiritual realm through God’s perfected plan in the resurrection of Christ Jesus.

Jesus Christ, The Fulfillment of God With Us

“Now all this took place that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which translated means, ‘God with us.’ ” Matthew 1:22-23 (NAS)

Two weeks ago we delved into the Apostle Peter’s quote of Isaiah 8:12 and in that study of the context of Isaiah’s utterance and the associated historical background, we brushed briefly upon the prophecy of Immanuel, the promised son to be born. In light of the reason the season is now being celebrated by many in the world, the birth of the promised Child of a virgin, it seems logical to consider this Old Testament quote by the apostle Matthew as found in His gospel account and “flesh” this subject out more completely.