The book of Proverbs is a collection of wise sayings, many of which were written by Solomon, king of Israel (cf. 1 Kgs. 4:32), and addressed to his son (presumably Rehoboam). The material within th...

John’s first epistle is a defense against the “gnostic” doctrine that alleged that Jesus Christ was not a real, flesh-and-blood human being. This sect claimed a special “knowledge” received directl...

The commands found in the Bible may be classified in several ways to help our understanding.

This word is an anglicized form of the Greek apologeia, literally meaning “a verbal defense.” It is found eight times in the New Testament, and a verb form occurs some ten times.

For example, Luke...

The word “providence,” is not used explicitly of divine activity in the Scriptures, though the concept is apparent in both Testaments. The word basically means “foresight.” Theologically, it has be...

The first three Gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) are called SYNOPTICS (see), because they present the life of Christ from roughly the same vantage point. John’s account is different. His r...

Are Bible classes, commonly called “Sunday school classes,” in harmony with the holy scriptures? Some contend they are not, and they have divided the church over this issue. Take a fresh look at this subject with a biblically based, common sense approach.

The word “soul” is used in several senses in the Bible. (a) It may signify an individual person (Ezek. 18:20). (b) It may be employed of mere biological life (Gen. 1:30). (c) It can have to do with...

Paul informed Timothy that Jesus Christ “abolished death” (2 Tim. 1:10). Yet, elsewhere the apostle indicates that death will not be abolished until the return of the Lord (see 1 Cor. 15:24-26). How is the Bible student to reconcile this seeming conflict?

The Greek term porne is a comprehensive term, covering every form of illicit sexual activity by human beings. Note the following passages that help us understand this word.

Single people who wish ...

This English term is a rendition of the Greek zoopoieo, “to make alive.” It is found about a dozen times in the N.T. and is rendered by such expressions as “quicken,” “give life,” and “make alive.”...

The Greek word krino means to render a verdict (Lk. 7:43; Acts 15:9). Prepositions may be attached as prefixes to provide some direction to the term. For example, diakrino suggests the idea of dist...

This profound work analyzes the avenues men commonly explore to pursue temporal happiness. Written by Solomon (1:1) likely in his advanced years, it affirms that earthly goals such as wealth, power...

Does the New Testament indicate that a time will come when miraculous gifts will be replaced by something better? What could be “more complete” or “unified” than the many differing gifts of the Spirit received by the first Christians?

In the phenonemon known as the “incarnation,” God (the Logos – John 1:1, known in the New Testament as “Christ”) became man. When he ascended back to the Father, did Jesus lay aside his “human” nature? This question deserves our careful attention.

There are three kindred words in the Greek N.T. that represent the idea of “propitiation.” Two are nouns — hilasmos (1 Jn. 2:2; 4:10) and hilasterion (Rom. 3:25; Heb. 9:5), and the third is the ve...

Calvinists deny that a child of God can ever apostatize so as to be finally lost. When biblical examples are introduced to the contrary, it is claimed that either such souls were never saved, or else their loss was merely temporal. Let us study this question seriously.

This small book contains one of the 1,005 songs penned by king Solomon (1 Kgs. 4:32). It extols the passion and bliss of wedded love, and praises the king’s “beloved.” Many scholars have suggested ...

Jude, a brother of James and a half-brother of Jesus (1:1; Matthew 13:55), is the author of this general epistle. As he began a letter about the “common salvation,” he felt compelled to issue a war...

The Greek term for “man” is anthropos. Plato suggested that the word reflects the idea of an “upward looking” one, hinting, perhaps, that man finds no rest upon this planet. He is ever searching fo...