Epistles

{STUDIES FROM THE EPISTLES}

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{THESSALONIANS}

1. This Evil Age - {PDF Copy} - (The death of Jesus inaugurated the messianic age with consequent changes in the status of the Law and God’s people)
2. Times, Signs and Seasons - {PDF Copy} - (Paul does not detail the times and seasons since the Thessalonians understand that the Lord will come like a thief in the night – 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11)
3. Comfort One Another - {PDF Copy} - (Foundational to the church’s future hope is the bodily resurrection of believers when Jesus arrives in glory)
4. The Just Judgment of God - {PDF Copy} - (The arrival of Jesus will mean vindication and rest for the righteous, but everlasting loss for the wicked)

{GALATIANS}

1. From This Evil Age - {PDF Copy} - (Paul anchors all that God has done in the death and resurrection of Jesus, the event that inaugurated the messianic age – Galatians 1:1-5)
2. Controversy in Galatia - {PDF Copy} - (The dispute at Galatia was whether Gentile converts must be circumcised and keep the required deeds of the Torah)
3. Even an Angel - {PDF Copy} - (Paul warned the Galatians not to heed any gospel that deviated from the one preached by him - even if it came from an angel)
4. Justified From Faith - {PDF Copy} - (Paul presents the points of agreement and disagreement with his opponents in the assemblies of Galatia – Galatians 2:15-21)
5. The Limits of the Law - {PDF Copy} - (The jurisdiction of the Mosaic regulations over the covenant community reached its limit with the arrival of Jesus, the true seed of Abraham)
6. Rudimentary Things - {PDF Copy} - (The Messianic Age dawned in Jesus, therefore calendrical rituals and other Levitical regulations belong to a now obsolete order)
7. The Spirit of Life - {PDF Copy} - (It is the Spirit of God that imparts all life, especially the everlasting life in Jesus of which the gift of the Spirit is a foretaste and guarantee)
8. Having Started in the Spirit - {PDF Copy} - (The receipt of the Spirit while in an uncircumcised state is irrefutable proof that Gentiles are accepted by God AS GENTILES)
9. The Promised Spirit - {PDF Copy} - (The promise of the Spirit is part of the Blessings of Abraham for the nations and the children of Abraham)
10. Redemption & Adoption - {PDF Copy} - (The Law was an interim stage with a termination point. Disciples are no longer under its jurisdiction, but now, are in Christ)
11. Dividing the Church - {PDF Copy} - (For the church to insist on a Torah-observant lifestyle means the restoration of the old social barriers between Jew and Gentile)
12. Neither Jew Nor Greek - {PDF Copy} - (Galatians 3:20.29 - To return to the custodianship of the Law would mean to erect again the divisions between Jewish and Gentile believers)
13. Circumcision - Cutting Issue - {PDF Copy} - (With the new era inaugurated by Jesus, circumcision is no longer the sign of membership in the covenant community)
14. Proclaiming Another Jesus - {PDF Copy} - (Is Jesus still the slain Lamb, or has he become the roaring Lion of Judah hellbent on exacting payback from his enemies and those of the church?)
15. Seed of Abraham - {PDF Copy} - (Jesus is the true “seed” of Abraham, the heir of the covenant promises, and receipt of the inheritance is based on faith in Him)

{CORINTH}

1. Yea and Amen -{PDF Copy} - (The types and “shadows” of the Hebrew Bible find their substance in the Son of God, Christ Jesus)
2. True Power and Wisdom - {PDF Copy} - (The power and wisdom of God are revealed in the proclamation of a Messiah who was crucified on Calvary)
3. The Last Enemy - {PDF Copy} - (The arrival of Jesus at the end of the age will mean the termination of the Last Enemy, Death itself)
4. The Day of Jesus Christ - (Jesus will arrive on the Day of the Lord when the dead are raised, the wicked are judged, and death will cease forevermore) - {PDF Copy}
5. Ekklésia - The Assembly of God - (The New Testament usage of the term “assembly” is based on the image of Israel assembled before Yahweh for worship in the Hebrew Bible) - {PDF Copy}
6. The Fullness of Time - {PDF Copy} - (The Last Days, the time of fulfillment, began with the death, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus of Nazareth)

{ROMANS}

1. The Obedience of Faith - (Paul introduces his ministry to the church in Rome and begins his exposition of the Gospel by identifying Christ’s qualifications as Messiah) - {PDF Copy}
2. From Faith - For Faith - (Men are not set right before God from the works of the law but from the faith of Jesus Christ) - {PDF Copy}
3. The Message - {PDF Copy} - (Jesus is summoning his disciples to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God in every inhabited corner of the Earth – Romans 3:22-30)
4. Both Jews and Greeks - (The equality of Jew and Gentile before God is a pivotal theme in Romans. Members of either group stand or fall before Him on the same basis) - {PDF Copy}
5. His Covenant Faithfulness - (The righteousness of God refers to His faithfulness to His promises, and this is demonstrated in the salvation He has provided in Jesus) - {PDF Copy}
6. The Faith of Abraham - {PDF Copy} - (The faith of uncircumcised Abraham provides an example for Jewish and Gentile believers who live from the faith of Jesus – Romans 4:11-17)
7. Seed of Abraham - {PDF Copy} - (Jesus is the true “seed” of Abraham, the heir of the covenant promises, and receipt of the inheritance is based on faith in Him)
8. Works of the Law - {PDF Copy} - (In Romans, discussions about justification by “works” has a specific category of works in view – the “works of the law”)
9. Plight to Solution - {PDF Copy} - (In Romans, Paul argues from plight to solution as he presents his gospel to the churches of Rome, a message for both Jews and Greeks)
10. Coheirs with Jesus - {PDF Copy} - (The covenant with Abraham is fulfilled in Jesus, his seed and heir, including the promise of land – Romans 8:1-23)
11. Food and Calendars - {PDF Copy} - (Paul argues for tolerance in the church on food regulations and the observation of holy days – The shadows now find their fulfillment in Jesus)
12. The Inheritance - {PDF Copy} - (In Jesus, the original limited promise of territory to Abraham is transformed to encompass the entire creation)
13. Spirit and Resurrection - {PDF Copy} - (The Gift of the Spirit is the foretaste and guarantee of the bodily resurrection and of the coming New Creation)
14. Life from the Dead - {PDF Copy} - (Paul presents his gospel from humanity's plight due to sin to the resurrection of the dead and the New Creation)
15. The Redemption of Our Body - {PDF Copy} - (Paul links the bodily resurrection of believers to the New Creation, and both events are part of the promised redemption – Romans 8:1-23)

{PRISON LETTERS}

1. One Covenant People - {PDF Copy} - (By his death, Jesus formed one covenant community - One New Man - based on faith in him, not ethnicity or nationality – Ephesians 2:11-22)
2. Emulating Jesus - {PDF Copy} - (The submission of Jesus to an unjust death becomes the paradigm for the love and service to others that disciples are summoned to manifest - Philippians 2:5-11)

{PASTORALS}

1. He Abolished Death - {PDF Copy} - (Paul reminds Timothy of Christ’s resurrection. False teachers were denying the resurrection or claiming that it was in the past and not applicable to believers)

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{HEBREWS}

1. God Has Spoken! - {PDF Copy} - (God spoke His SUPERIOR word in His Son, Jesus of Nazareth. All previous words spoken in the prophets were preparatory, promissory, and partial)
2. Upon These Last Days - {PDF Copy} - (The era of the Aaronic priesthood terminated with the arrival of the word of salvation in God’s Son, our High Priest of a new order)
3. His Supremacy - {PDF Copy} - (Through a series of comparisons, Hebrews demonstrates the supremacy of the Son over his predecessors)
4. The Purification of Sins - {PDF Copy} - (Having achieved the purification of sins, Jesus sat down at the right hand of God where he now intercedes for his people as their High Priest)
5. His Most Excellent Name - {PDF Copy} - (Having achieved the purification of sins, Jesus inherited a more distinguished name than the angels; namely, that of Son)
6. Do Not Drift Away - {PDF Copy} - (The Letter gives a dire warning of the consequences for failing to heed the superior word spoken by God in His Son – Hebrews 1:4-2:7)
7. Merciful High Priest - {PDF Copy} - (Jesus is well-equipped to be our faithful and sympathetic high priest, having participated fully in humanity’s plight)
8. Superior to Moses - {PDF Copy} - (The word of the Son is superior even to the word of Moses, the servant and Great Lawgiver in the house of Yahweh)
9. Priest Forever - {PDF Copy} - (The priesthood of Jesus is superior because it rests on his endless resurrection life, the priest after the order of Melchizedek)
10. From Shadow to Substance - {PDF Copy} - (The types and shadows of the old covenant find their substance in the Son of God, Jesus Christ - in his priesthood and New Covenant – Hebrews 8:1-5)
11. His Incomparable New Covenant - {PDF Copy} - (In his death, Jesus inaugurated the promised and vastly superior new covenant, rendering the old one obsolete)
12. His Exaltation - {PDF Copy} - (Jesus is the Son whom God exalted after his suffering and death to be our merciful and faithful High Priest)
13. The Tent Pitched by God - {PDF Copy} - (Jesus intercedes without ceasing for his people in the true heavenly Tabernacle, one not made with human hands but pitched by God)
14. New Priesthood - Change of Law - {PDF Copy} - (The new priesthood after the order of Melchizedek inaugurated in Jesus also means a change in the Law)
15. His Present Reign - (The PRESENT reign of Jesus began with his exaltation to the messianic Throne following his death and resurrection – Psalms 110:1) - {PDF Copy}