Results 1 - 4 of 4
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Taught of God? Walk in God? | 1 Thess 4:9 | Aixen7z4 | 152564 | ||
Is it really a concept unique to this letter to the Thessalonians, to be, or to have been, taught of God? Jesus said (John 6:45) that it had been written in the prophets, “They will all be taught by God“. It is apparent that he was referring to passages such as Isaiah 2 where the prophet speaks of a day, in the latter days, when “the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains” and many will be saying, "Come, let's go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths“. Micah may have been echoing that prophecy: In the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem” (Micah 4). The psalmist sang of it: “Good and upright is the LORD Therefore will he teach sinners in the way. The meek will he guide in judgment And the meek will he teach his way“ (Psalm 25). The Spirit of God reminds (Hebrews 10) us of that which he had said before: “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days“, says the Lord. “I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them”. The Lord had said that through the prophet Jeremiah: “Behold, the days come“, says Jehovah, “that I will cut a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which covenant of Mine they broke, although I was a husband to them“, says Jehovah; “but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days“, says the Lord, “I will put My Law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall no more teach each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord‘; for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them“, says Jehovah (Jeremiah 33). In that most intimate and personal way, they will have been taught by God. But we were also taught directly, the same message given to the Thessalonians, by our Lord Jesus Christ himself. If the message is to love one another, surely that is what Jesus taught. “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another“ (John 13:34). Again, “This is my commandment, that you love one another“ (John 15:12). “These things I command you, that ye love one another” (John 15:17). “This is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another“ (1 John 3:11). This is in fact what God had always taught. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18). He has given many commandments. But this, “You shall not commit adultery“, “You shall not kill“, “You shall not steal“, “You shall not bear false witness“, “You shall not covet“; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Romans 13:9). In the law, and under grace, we have been taught by God to love one another. God promised to write his laws on the human heart. But meanwhile he sent Jesus to teach us personally. And the Holy Spirit brings it back to us, as it were, teaching us again. Therefore, when it comes to brotherly love, Paul hardly needed to write it again. We have been taught of God to love one another. |
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2 | Taught of God? Walk in God? | 1 Thess 4:9 | DocTrinsograce | 152569 | ||
Hi, Dr. Aixen... If you look back at my post you will see that I wrote "the GREEK WORD 'taught of God' doesn't appear any where else in scripture." I did not write, "the English phrase." The Greek word is theodidaktos. Even the light of nature tells us to love one another. The average unregenerate person will agree to this, although they have only rather vague ideas as to how to do it. It really only finds full expression among believers. In Him, Doc |
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3 | Taught of God? Walk in God? | 1 Thess 4:9 | Aixen7z4 | 152575 | ||
Hello, Doc. I did understand the reference to the Greek word and to its uniqueness. I did wonder whether the uniqueness of the word suggested something significant, such as a unique way in which the Thessalonians were being taught of God, or by God. I wondered why God might have communicated to them in a unique way, or whether love for our fellow-man is taught in a unique way. I do not know Greek, or Hebrew, for that matter, and I have resisted the idea that individual words have meanings not decipherable from the context in which they appear or in the context of the rest of Scripture. Therefore, I did not know what to make of the idea that this word was found in that passage and nowhere else in Scripture. For that reason, I turned from further thought on that to see where the idea, if not the particular word, was found again in Scripture. I thought of the possibility that God teaches us to love one another without the use of scripture. I know that he uses nature to teach us about his power (Romans 1) and his glory (Psalm 19). Through nature we understand that if a man should have long hair, it is a shame unto him, but when a woman has long hair, it is beautifies her (1 Corinthians 11). But is there evidence in Scripture that God teaches philadelphia through nature? He seems to do it through conscience, for “when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, they show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness” (Romans 2). But that takes us back to the language thing, and though I have heard of it, I would not be sure of the essential difference between philadelphia and agapao. Paul seems to be saying, “As touching brotherly (philio) love you need not that I write unto you: for you yourselves are taught (by) of God to (agape) love one another“. And I am thinking that, in this case, “by” and “of” are the same thing, and “philio” and “agape” are essentially the same thing. Likewise, we have shown that there are many scriptures conveying the fact that God teaches us. Is there significance to the fact that in this one instance the phrasing is that we are God-taught? I really do not think so. Someone has noted that the word “Eternity” occurs only once in the KJV and “Trinity” does not occur at all. Yet it is clear that the Bible deals with both. I think the exact words being used are an artifact, and do not change the facts. I trust this does not raise any issues about the nature of inspiration. I do believe God told the writers what words to use. The point is that he is not necessarily saying something different because he uses a different word. God teaches us to love. That is one of the main things that we are God-taught. I hope it is true that love really finds its full expression among us, believers. |
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4 | Taught of God? Walk in God? | 1 Thess 4:9 | Ray | 152614 | ||
Hi Aixen7z4, I appreciate your recognition of the words "by" and "of" in relation to being God-taught. The NASB chooses "taught of God" and the NKJ chooses "taught by God" for Isaiah 54:13 and John 6:45. I think that the bottom line is that we know that we have been taught by God [in both NASB and NKJ for 1 Thess 4:9] to love each other; now we should move on and learn "of God". The Scriptures are after all God's word(s) and teach us about Him. Hebrews 6:1, "Therefore, leaving the elementary [Lit. word of the beginning] teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity,...3 And this we shall do, if God permits." 1) Both the NASB and the NKJ have "the Lord" for Isaiah 54:13. Both the NASB and the NKJ have "by God" for John 6:45. So in considering the Person for these verses and in thinking of the trinity of God, do we think of being taught be the Lord (Jesus Christ) or by God (the Father) or would we go with being taught by Jehovah per the New World Translation of the Jehovah's Witnesses? I believe that we are taught by the triune God. I believe that no man has seen the Father. But we see the Son, for He came from God. Everyone who believes Him has eternal life. Jesus is saying (to my mind), "I am the Bread of life." John 6:45-48 From the heart, Ray |
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