1 Thessalonians
The Coming of Christ for His Saints.
The Lord’s Return mentioned in every chapter.
1 The child born.
1:1 in God the Father—family relationship.
1:2-7 The introduction of the gospel to Thessalonica.
1:7 ensamples—models or types. “Topline believers.” See 1 Tim. 4:12.
1:8-10 The effect of the gospel.
1:8 from you sounded out—“God has cast us as bells in His foundry that we may ring.” Inglis Fleming.
1:9 The truth of the Lord’s Return an incentive to true service—1 Cor. 15:58.
1:10 Our Deliverer from the coming wrath:
The wrath of the Lamb—Rev. 6.
The wrath of God—Rev. 15, 16.
The wrath of Satan—Rev. 12.
2 The child nursed.
2:1-13 The manner of the ministry.
2:7 As Moses’ mother—Ex. 2:9.
2:14-20 The results of the ministry.
2:19 Reward at the Lord’s Return.
Crown of Rejoicing. Connect with Phil. 4:1 and see 2 Tim. 4:8.
3 Pastoral care. The child taught to walk.
3:12-13 Love and holiness to be perfected at the Lord’s Return.
4 The child comforted.
4:1-2 Exhortations.
4:13-18 The revelation of the rapture.
4:15 prevent—precede or anticipate.
4:16 rise—stand up.
4:17 meet—To go to meet another in order to return with him. Same as in Acts 28:15.
5 The child taught to fight.
5:1-11 The Day of the Lord.
5:1 Dan. 2:21.
5:12-28 Concluding exhortations and closing salutation.
5:19 The Holy Spirit may be resisted, grieved, quenched.
5:22 All appearances—every form.
2 Thessalonians
The Coming of Christ with His Saints.
1:3-12 Comfort in view of the Lord’s Return.
2:1-12 The coming of antichrist. Characteristics of the antichrist—lawlessness, overweening pride, impiety, false miracles.
2:3 falling away first—the apostasy.
2:7 iniquity—lawlessness—Zech. 5:8.
2:8 wicked one—or the lawless one.
2:13-17 The believer’s assured hope.
3:1-15 Concluding exhortations.
3:16-17 Closing salutation.
1 Timothy
[Word “some” underscored throughout the letter.]
3:16 godliness—piety.
4:6 Responsibility of a minister of Christ.
4:7-8 The spiritual athlete—2 Tim. 2:5.
4:10 Saviour—Preserver—ch. 6:17; ch. 3:15.
4:12 See 1 Thess. 1:7.
despise—think down on—See Titus 2:15.
4:13-15 Think not only of Paul but of Him who inspired Paul to write.
4:16 continue—“Stay by these things.”
2 Timothy
1:7 The spirit of fear—Rom. 8:15.
The spirit of power—Acts 1:8; 1 Thess. 1:5.
The spirit of love—Rom. 5:5; Col. 1:8; 1 Tim. 1:5; 1 Pet. 1:22; Eph. 4:2.
The spirit of a sound mind—1 Cor. 2:10-12; Rom. 12:1.
1:10 immortality—incorruptibility.
2:2 A teaching ministry—and the training of others.
2:11-13 One of the earliest Christian hymns.
2:14-21 “The usable preacher.”
“God can use anyone. But it’s up to the preacher not to strain Omnipotence!” A.J.R.
2:14 Not a verbal hairsplitter.
strive not about words—“should not make a war of words.”
2:15 A skilled interpreter of the Word of God. “Don’t make a crazy quilt out of God’s Word.” A.J.R.
needeth not to be ashamed—some ought to be but are not.
study—be zealous.
rightly dividing—cutting straight.
2:16-18 Not Destructive but Constructive.
2:16 shun—step aside. Let the babbler have the road. Do not waste time arguing with him.
2:19-21 A clean vessel.
2:21 “Usable for the Master.”
[last part] prepared—Ready for every good work.
4:8 The crown of righteousness—See Jas. 1:12.
4:13 cloke—Possibly the “book bag.”
Titus
1:7 bishop—overseer. Elder is the same person.
1:11 1 Pet. 5:2.
2:12 Internal, external, godward.
2:13 blessed—happy.
A happy hope because:
Christ Himself is to return.
The first Resurrection and the living changed.
The redemption of the body.
The believer to be rewarded
The earth to be blessed.
2:14 To loose from all bondage to sin.
2:15 let no man despise you—“think around you, i.e., outthink you.” Dr. A.T.R. See 1 Tim. 4:12.
3:5 Regeneration—See Matt. 19:28.
Philemon
“We are all God’s Onesimuses.” Luther 1-3 Salutation.
1 Paul—“little.”
Philemon—“loving.”
Timothy—honored by God.
4-7 Introduction.
8-20 Paul’s request for Onesimus.
17 Acceptance.
18 Substitution.
21-25 Closing salutations.
21 Grace exceeds demand.
Hebrews
A Wilderness Epistle. Written to Jews who professed to be Christians—to call them to complete separation from the system of Judaism. The better things of the new covenant contrasted with lesser things of the old. Note the frequent use of the word “better.”
1 Christ the Divine Son. Better than angels.
Angels—at creation—Job 38:4-7.
Tested—sin began with angels—a satanic kingdom.
Elect angels—ministering.
Welcomed the Incarnation.
Ministered to Jesus—in the garden—at the Cross—at the Resurrection—Ascension—Second Coming.
Executors of grace and judgment.
1:3 image of his person—exact expression of His character.
1:4 Being made—having become.
2 Christ the Sinless Son of Man—lower than angels yet superior to them.
2:1-4 Parenthetical warning.
2:3 “The means that heaven yields must be embraced
And not neglected, else if heaven would
And we will not, heaven’s offer we refuse.” Shakespeare, Richard II, 3:2.
2:8-9 He has been put above everything that all may know everything will be manifestly subjected to Him eventually.
2:10 perfect—He was ever perfect in nature, but He had to be perfected as Saviour through His sufferings.
2:11 are all of one—one family, one Father, one life.
2:18 Jude 24—He is able to succor—See ch. 7:25.
3 Christ better than Moses—Head over the house of God.
3:7—4:2 Warning.
4:3 Christ better than Joshua (who succeeded Moses and led them into the land).
4:11-13 Warning.
4:14—7:28 Christ better than Aaron—His priesthood superior to the Aaronic.
4:16 [last clause]—for seasonable help.
5:12—6:12 Parenthetical warning.
6:1-2 The “pairs” of O.T. teaching: repentance and faith; baptisms and laying on of hands; resurrection and eternal judgment.
6:13—7:2 8 Christ’s Melchisedec priesthood.
6:18 The cities of refuge—See Josh. 20.
7 Christ the true Melchisedec—the King Priest.
7:2 See Isa. 32:17—Righteousness must precede peace.
7:3 The omissions of Scripture are as truly inspired as are its declarations.
7:12 N.B.—“A change of the law!” v. 18; 8:7.
7:25 He is able—ch. 2:18.
8 The new covenant better than the old.
8:6 Better covenant—and better promises.
9—10 The better sacrifice.
9:2 and 4 Note the difference between wherein and which had.
9:8 yet standing—i.e., had a standing before God.
9:12 Eternal redemption.
9:14 Eternal Spirit.
9:15 Eternal inheritance. Death gives validity to a will.
9:22 Peace made by blood—Col. 1:20.
Forgiveness by blood—Eph. 1:7.
Redeemed by blood—1 Pet. 1:18-19.
Justified by blood—Rom. 5:9.
Cleansed by blood—1 John 1:7.
Sanctified by blood—Heb. 13:12.
Overcome by blood—Rev. 12:11.
10:22 Full assurance—Col. 2:2.
10:26-39 Warning.
10:26 if we sin wilfully—i.e., he who wilfully rejects the gospel has no other sacrifice.
10:29 done despite unto—insulted. Eph. 4:30.
10:35 Reward for service—See ch. 11:24-26.
11 The walk of faith. Witnesses to the power of faith. We do not read, “By faith Lot sat in the gate of Sodom!”
Saving faith—
not: 1—A mere historical faith.
2—Faith in ordinances or sacramental observances.
3—In the Church.
4—In one’s self.
5—In experiences.
but: Confidence in what God has revealed. It is grounded in repentance. Christ is its Object. The Word of God is its authority. It is a personal interest in the Lord Jesus Christ.
11:1 evidence—assured conviction.
11:17 Note the use of only begotten—See John 3:16.
11:21 A worshiper at last instead of a schemer.
11:24 “Providence put Moses into Pharaoh’s court— but faith took him out of it.” C.H.M.
11:26 Reward for service. See 2 John 8.
11:29 Faith vs. presumption.
11:37 sawn asunder—Isaiah is said to have suffered in this way. The walk of faith—Exhortation.
11:5 Note that chastisement is not necessarily punishment. It is education by discipline. One may faint under it—v. 5; or despise it—v. 5, i.e., harden himself against it; or be exercised by it—v. 11. Amos 7:9; Job 34:31.
12:15-17 Warning.
12:17 found no place of repentance—i.e., in the mind of his father.
12:18-24 The two systems contrasted.
12:18-21 Judaism—Deut. 4:10, 11.
12:22-24 Christianity.
12:25-29 Warning.
13 Concluding exhortations.
13:2 Abraham, Lot, Manoah, and others.
13:9 See Col. 3.
13:15 The fruit of the lips—Isa. 57:19.
James
The Work of God in us. We do not have the unfoldings of redemption for us here.
The exact place of the Epistle of James is ere the little flock was separated from the Jewish fold— before the Epistle to Hebrews called them out.
1:1 The 12 tribes. Not final rejection yet.
1:4 Connect with 2 Cor. 12:12; Rom. 5:3-5.
1:5 A giving God—Acts 20:35.
1:6 a wave—Motion but no real progress.
1:9 Christian equality—See ch. 2:1-4.
1:12 The crown of life—Rev. 2:10.
1:18 Sovereign grace. Born of the Word of God. 1 Pet. 1:23.
1:25 The will of God should be, for the believer, a law of liberty.
1:26 Empty religion—See Hos. 10:1; Isa. 1:13; 29:8.
2:1 Believers distinguished from the other Jews.
2:2-3 Written at a time when the Church was not yet separated from the synagogue.
2:8-12 Three laws:
The royal law—”Thou shalt love,” etc.
“The law”—Ten Commandments.
The law of liberty—the will of God for the believer.
2:12 The law of liberty—See Ps. 119:45.
2:14 Faith works by love—Gal. 5:6.
2:21 justified by works—i.e., before men—“but not before God.” Rom. 4.
2:22-26 Faith leads people to do what men of the world cannot understand at all.
3 The tongue: index of what is in the heart.
“It is easier to teach others than to govern ourselves.” J.N.D.
3:2 offend all—all stumble.
4 Addressed to “The 12 Tribes” as such. Struggling to obtain in a carnal way what could be readily given in answer to prayer.
4:3 Prayer—why not answered.
4:4 See Ezek. 16:26.
4:5 [last clause] The Spirit that dwelleth in us jealously yearneth.
4:11 i.e., he is taking the judge’s place and accusing the judge of slackness in his dealings.
5:7 Patient—Rev. 3:10; 2 Thess. 3:5.
The Imminence of the Coming:
1—Foreseen by the events in the world.
2—Church.
3—Israel.
5:15 save the sick—relieve the exhausted.