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NASB | 1 Kings 2:13 ¶ Now Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, "Do you come peacefully?" And he said, "Peacefully." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Kings 2:13 ¶ Now Adonijah the son of [David and] Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. She said, "Do you come in peace?" And he said, "In peace." |
Subject: Solomon's judgment of Adonijah and Joab |
Bible Note: Dear Carlos, A sound and proper hermeneutic starts with the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14). The most learned, erudite, unregenerate person will make infinitely less headway in understanding of the Scriptures than will the simplest of believers. The old Baptist divines expressed it this way, "We may be moved and induced by the testimony of the church of God to a high and reverent esteem of the Holy Scriptures; and the heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy of the doctrine, and the majesty of the style, the consent of all the parts, the scope of the whole (which is to give all glory to God), the full discovery it makes of the only way of man's salvation, and many other incomparable excellencies, and entire perfections thereof, are arguments whereby it does abundantly evidence itself to be the Word of God; yet notwithstanding, our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth, and divine authority thereof, is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts. (John 16:13-14; 1 Corinthians 2:10-12; 1 John 2:20, 27)" (1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, chapter 1, paragraph 5) Man is made in the image and glory of God (Genesis 1:27, 1 Corinthians 11:7). God "formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul: (Genesis 2:7). Adam became a type of soul that is superior to that of non-rational animals (2 Peter 2:12, Jude 10). Man, as God's image bearer, is a rational being (Colossians 3:10). Again, this is why the apostle Paul could spend time "reasoning" with his readers "from the Scriptures." Because Christ is the Logos who "gives light to every man who comes into the world" (John 1:9), we are to understand that there is a point at which man's logic meets God's logic. In fact, John 1:9 denies that logic is arbitrary or that there are many kinds of logic. There is only one kind of logic: God's logic... and the Logos gives every image bearer the ability to think logically. God has given man an understandable message, "words of truth and reason" (Acts 26:25). God has also given us language. It enables man to rationally converse with his Creator (Exodus 4:11). Without logic, such thought or conversation would be impossible. Logic is an indispensable ingredient to all God-given, human language and thought. Sin did, indeed, damage man's ability to reason soundly (Romans 1:21), but this does no damage to the laws of logic. The laws of logic are not strengthened by people complying with them or weakened by people ignoring them. The laws of logic are fixed in the mind of God. Carl F. H. Henry said it better than I could have done, "The laws of logic are not a speculative prejudice imposed at a given moment of history as a transient philosophical development. Neither do they involve a Western way of thinking, even if Aristotle may have stated them in an orderly way. The laws of valid inference are universal; they are elements of the imago Dei. In the Bible, reason has ontological significance. God is Himself truth and the source of truth. Biblical Christianity honors the Logos of God as the source of all meaning and considers the laws of thought an aspect of the imago." The doctrine of the verbal plenary inspiration of the Word emphasizes that each jot and tittle has a Providential purpose. This is why Paul can base an entire theological argument on whether a Hebrew word is plural or not (Galatians 3:16). Since our God placed such a high premium on language and thought, ought we not to hold those God given and God imitating abilities in the same high regard? God places His Word about His Own Name (Psalm138:2), He can do nothing contrary to His Word (Titus 1:2), the Holy Spirit works exclusively within the Word (John 6:63). Ought we not exercise every faculty -- faculties providentially given us -- to expose the truth of the Word? You've seen in my reproof a desire to help you be everything you can be in Christ. What I'm offering up to you is not limitations, it is the opportunity to be a "scribe trained for the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 13:52). The old and new treasures will be great visions indeed! But they will magnify Him alone, and not ourselves. I wanted to suitably respond on this point. If I must forgive the length of your post, then you'll need to be equally indulgent. :-) I will discuss your other points in subsequent posts. In Him, Doc |