Recent Commentaries

Peter says he is writing to encourage Church leaders (v. 1). Just as shepherds are to watch over their sheep Church leaders must watch over everyone God has placed in their care (v. 2). They are to do it willingly in order to please the Lord and not because they feel like they have to. Also, they …

Paul portrayed his special affection for the Corinthians and his special role. To unify the church, he appealed to his relationship with them. By “father” he meant he was the church’s founder. Because he started the church, he could be trusted to have its best interests at heart. Paul’s tough …

The Holy Spirit was speaking directly to Christian Jews who were looking to Jesus out of one eye and at the same time glancing back to Judaism with the other eye. These Jews have been told how the Lord Jesus is superior to any prophetic revelation to the fathers (Heb. 1:1-3) and …

Sardis is about 30 miles south of Thyatira, a wealthy city, and the capital of Lydia. The people were proud and thought they could not be overtaken but Cyrus the Great of Persia stormed the city and took it over in the sixth century. From a religious standpoint it was a center of pagan worship …

This passage is about Balaam, his donkey and the angel. Balaam was a man ready to obey God’s command as long as he could profit from doing so. Although he realized the awesome power of Israel’s God, his heart was occupied with the wealth he could gain in Moab. God let Balaam go w …

It is possible to hate the sin but love the sinner. Effective rebuke is the kind that is given with the arm of love around the other person. Rebuke given in the spirit of anger may hurt and even terrify; but the rebuke given in a loving spirit can break the heart. When Paul rebuked, the last thing he …

The picture of Abraham is followed by the picture of Joseph. As the Sanhedrin rejected Jesus, the sons of Jacob united to get rid of Joseph. Both were motivated because of envy (v. 9). Joseph was rejected by his brethren, sold for the price of a slave, handed over to Gentiles, and made to suffer …

Job had been wanting a man to represent him before God. This young man, Elihu, is willing to do just that. He wants to enlighten Job with his great wisdom (vv. 1-2). He says he is going to speak by the Spirit of God (vv. 3-4). Peter in his epistle wrote, “If any man speaks…

These false teachers in Colosse were confused about creation. They taught that all matter was evil, includ­ing the human body. Therefore, Jesus did not have a real body since that would have put Him in contact with evil matter. In these verses we find Paul explaining …

On the day appointed a great crowd gathered on Mount Carmel (v. 20). Mount Carmel, which was agreed on by Ahab, was a fitting location since it lay between Israel and Phoenicia, the lands of the Gods in question. Also Mount Carmel was regarded by the Phoenicians as the sacred d …