It has been said, that if you are going to lie about something, make it totally preposterous; talk about it constantly and consistently; and ironically, more people will believe it to be true. EXAMPLE: - tell people that all the economic woes of your country, or even the world, are caused by a single race of people, and you will be able to exterminate over 6 million of them, with majority approval, as Hitler did. - tell people that races with colored pigmentation are of infer

EQUIPPED 1) The apostle [ (apostolos), 652, Strongs ] is equipped to do the task; job that the Lord has assigned him/her. The sign of an apostle is the results that they produce, with steadfast endurance, and can be accompanied with signs; miracles; and works of power (2 Cor.12:12). SIGNS "The marks of a true apostle were there, in the work that I did among you, which called for such constant fortitude, and was attended by signs; marvels; and miracles" (2 Cor. 12:12, NEB). PR

MARK 16:15, 17-18, 20 (Paraphrased): In a very general sense, the scriptures say, Jesus said, "Go into every part of the world, all together, and announce the good news to all, to everybody in creation ...these signs shall follow those who believe; their faith will produce these attesting miracles: In my name they shall drive out; cast out; and expel demons; they shall speak with new tongues, that are strange to them; foreign languages that they never learned; they shall take

HISTORICAL MEANING To a lesser or greater degree, the word (apostolos) [652, Strong's], had other meanings in historical secular Greek. All the meanings related to a cargo ship; ship of lading; or a vessel commissioned, or authorized by the king, to travel from one port to another, for a specific task. There was a very general meaning of "a bill of lading", giving authorization for certain cargo to be transported in the vessel, or ship, to a specific destination. The word was

BE before you can DO & DO before you can HAVE You have to BE before you can DO and you have to DO before you can HAVE Normally, with rare exception, I don't engage in anything outside of strictly word studies on this page, however, this moment of inspiration seemed to merit some consideration, for the millions who find themselves in wonder of why their lives don't exist with more meaning and purpose. Hopefully it will be an encouragement, and perhaps a ray of revelation for

EPHESIANS 1:4 says that "...He chose us in Him before the founding of the world, for us to be holy and unblemished before Him in love". BEFORE HIM IN LOVE "...before Him in love..." is the phrase that is the focus of this word study. In the Greek, the first part is (katenopion autou), the last word meaning "Himself". (katenopion), [2714, Strong's], is only used 5 times in the NT and only 11 times in the whole bible. Three of the 5 times, it is translated with "unblemished" [2

EPHESIANS 1:3 says, "Blessed (be) the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly (places) in Christ.." ITALICIZED The words that are italicized, are not in the original text. The translators added the words, in an attempt to bring clarity to the text, which is helpful, in a lot of cases, but not in every instance, as sometimes the added words can actually distort the intended meaning. NEW PERSPECTIVE Sometimes, we have

EPHESIANS 1:3 says, "Blessed (eulogetos) (be) the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed (eulogeo) us with all spiritual blessings (eulogia), in the heavenlies, in Christ". NATURE & CHARACTER Though the 3 words used to translate "blessed", or "blessings", are very similar, there are some notable differences. (eulogetos) is an adjective, and describes intrinsic character, and understandably, explains why the translators attempts to add the English word (be) a

EPHESIANS 1:3 says, "The one who always speaks good (eulogetos), our God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, has spoken good (eulogeo) of us in all the spiritual realm; carefully crafting and constructing specific words, articulating them exactly, concerning us; speaking good (eulogia) of us in the heavenly realm, because we are in Christ, legal heirs in His family" This verse is obviously a paraphrase, trying to convey the "meat", or the essence of thought conveyed in the G

EPHESIANS 1:1 says, "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God..." WILL The word used for will, is (thelema), 2307, [Strong's], used throughout Ephesians. The text says Paul was an apostle 'through' (dia), or 'by', the will of God. In other words, the authorship and origin of his call; giftings and appointment, wasn't his idea, but had it's source in God. WILL of GOD (Thelema) occurs only 34 times in the Greek OT (LXX), and almost twice as many times (62), in the NT

EPHESIANS 1:1 says that Paul was "...an apostle through, or by the agency and origin of the 'will' of God" ACTIVE (Thelema), 2307, [Strong's], is from (thelo), 2309, "to determine", as an active option; a very strong word, describing not just the wish or desire, but an active resolution to accomplish; urging on to action. RESULT The suffix (ma) speaks of the result of the action. (Thelema), then, is 'the desire acted upon, to bring about the result of the intended purpose of

EPHESIANS 1:1 speaks of the "Believers", or "Faithful", in Christ Jesus. FAITHFUL (Pistos),4103 [Strong's], can be used either passively, as "faithful", or active, as a "believer". In the Greek world, it was a common title given to 'individuals, who were committed to people', whether slaves to their masters, in not running away, or people to individuals. AMEN The Greek word is consistently used to translate the Hebrew word (aman), 539,[Strong's], in the Septuagint (LXX) tran

GRACE & PEACE In Ephesians 1:2 the words grace and peace appear, forming part of the introduction of the book, to those Saints in Ephesus, joined in covenant to God, the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, the scripture says that both grace and peace come from; originate from; or, are sourced in God, the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. The two Greek words are (charis), 5485, [Strong's], translated "grace", or "favor", and (eirene), 1515, [Strong's], translated as "

GRACE Grace (charis), 5485, [Strongs], occurs 155 times in the NT, and 100 times in the Pauline epistles. You would think that with such frequency of use, that there would be a general consensus as to the meaning and definition of the word, which to a large degree there is, however, the most common uses of "grace", in sermons and writings, are not descriptive of the word, but are merely an echo of religious bias, colored by denominational precedent but having no true bearing

EPHESIANS 1:2, as part of the introduction to the book, refers to "Grace and Peace..." GRACE Grace, or (charis), 5485, is that internal indument of power, [that we received, when we entered into the covenant made with Abraham, that Jesus came to fulfill, and bring into full force], that is the specific power for fulfilling the purpose of our Father, in our lives. PEACE Peace (eirene), 1515, comes from the verb (eiro), "to join", or "join together". The idea is that two parts

CONCEPT of GOD The concept you have of God will totally shape your behavior, and your willingness to interact with Him, as well as determining how you see yourself, in this vast universe. GOD is a GOOD GOD Oral Roberts came out with the declaration, in the 1950's, that "God is a Good God", and preachers got mad at him. The very idea of making such a statement was a bombshell, blasting away years of religious thinking and presupposition, even though there is ample evidence fro

EPHESIANS 1:2 says, in the introduction of the letter, "...grace to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ". PAINT PICTURES At first glance, this phrase designating grace and peace as originating "from" God our Father, and "from" the Lord Jesus Christ, seems to be a pretty standard greeting, designating our origin from "God", as our Father, and our service to Jesus Christ, as our Lord, and can almost be glossed over, as we move forward to read the

LUKE 2:14, "...and on earth, peace, good will toward men". CHRISTMAS Every Christmas season, whether in a sermon; play production; Christmas card; or a festive song, the account of the angels herald, of the birth or the Savior, to the shepherds; and the world, is announced afresh. GOOD WILL The two words, "good will", are only one word in the Greek, and as is common, express much more than the English rendering. GOOD THOUGHTS "Good will" is (eudokia), 2107,[Strong's], in the

SAME OLD, SAME OLD Sometimes we have read a portion of scripture so much; or heard it preached; or commented on; to the extent that we have formed an opinion as to the meaning, but the opinion may simply be a result of misinformation; distorted information; or incomplete information. Even in studying and reading different commentaries, there is often an echo from one commentator to another, simply retelling the same presupposition, which could be totally false, based more on

PREDESTINATE There is a word called "predestinate", derived from the Latin (praedestino), a compound of (prae), "before", and (destino), "to appoint", and therefore meaning, "to appoint before". [Noah Webster 1828]. This is a good word, when used in it's proper context; however, it is not a good word to be used to translate the Greek text in Ephesians 1:5. GREEK The Greek word (prohorizo), [4309, Strong's], is only used 6 times in the NT, (Acts 4:28; Rm.8:29-30; 1 Cor.2:7; Ep