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GREEK DOCTRINE
The Greek word for doctrine is derived from two Greek words meaning
to teach and instruction, the function or information. The
word is didaskalia [didas·kalia {did-as-kal-ee-ah} (doctrine,
precepts, teaching, instruction, learning, that which is taught)].
It means both the act and the content of teaching.
Didaskalia is related to Didaskalos (Master (Jesus) + teacher,
master, or doctor) meaning one who teaches concerning the things
of God, and the duties of man, who, in the religious assemblies
of the Christians, undertook the work of teaching, with the special
assistance of the Holy Spirit.
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being light in the
midst of darkness
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I
am often dismayed by those who do not consider the Holy
Bible a supernatural thing, a creation of God, His very
breath in written form. Perhaps it is because, in this
age of fast cars and high technology and meals presented,
hot and steamy, from a drive through window in three
minutes or less, man has lost patience with anything
not immediately evident. Perhaps our failure to perceive
the - I won't say magical, but certainly supernatural
- aspects of this written Word stem from the modern
educational system that we demand our preachers and
prophets undergo. After all, those whom God chose to
write the Book were, in large part, common men: fishermen,
farmers, wanderers, tentmakers, prisoners of war, and
the like. Such men are more patient, more inclined to
wait and heed the voice of God than those of our modern,
fast paced, educated era. A few who wrote Holy Text
were well educated, though these God had to knock down
- like Saul on Damascus Road - and shake a little sense
in them before they were fit to contribute to the Book.
When
we get in a hurry with God, to Whom time itself is but
a small and insignificant part of His overall creation,
we fail to appreciate the Bible. God created the Bible,
but God
also created us. When we slow down and heed the written
Word then and only then is God able to give us the light
that we need to understand the Book. I am truly shocked
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level
of ignorance of the average professing Christian in
this era. As I work among the Churched and the unchurched
I have
discovered a terrible lack of knowledge of the truths
of Scripture. One young man at Christmas asked me
why the song playing on the radio referred to Mary
as a "virgin". When I explained that the
Mary who bore Jesus was impregnated by God Himself,
that no man caused her to conceive Jesus, the man,
a steady Churchman, was shocked. He wondered how anyone
could believe such a thing, that Mary was a virgin.
Surely Jesus had a father! Yes, He does, but it is
God the Father. The people who I move and breathe
around know little of the foundational stories of
Scripture, the narratives that teach Biblical truth.
These people are not those of some remote tribe in
Uganda, not of the bush , not the aboriginal of Australia,
nor even street people of the United States. These
are all people who go to Church, who sit under a preacher
on a somewhat regular basis, who have access to Christian
television and radio stations, who have Christian
bookstores within their reach, but who profess such
ignorance of God's Word that a thrill of shock runs
up my spine each time it is revealed.
Why
shock? Because whole civilizations have ceased to
exist because those civilizations failed to adhere
to and revere the Word of God. Here in the United
States we have the arrogant assumption that we shall
abide forever no matter what may come. We believe
that our technology and our wisdom is mightier than
anything else that the other nations has to offer.
We may not openly trumpet that doctrine, but it is
apparent in our intervention in the affairs of the
world that we consider ourselves the peacekeeper of
the world. Our nation is one of those considered a
"super power", whenever those who write
such things lists the United States. Yet, though we
may be a superpower, though we may represent a fantastic
system of thought that we call "democracy",
we must be ever so careful not to allow pride to lift
us up. Our weapons do not make us a superpower, nor
does our technology make us a superpower. We are a
superpower only while we heed the Words of THE Superpower,
Jesus Christ our Lord. We are a superpower only while
we recognize Christ Jesus as King, and we lift Him
up for the world to see. We are a superpower only
when our national policies honor Jesus Christ and
Who He is. We are a superpower only when we respond
to evil in a good and Godly way. We are a superpower
when the majority of our state decisions are righteous,
not just expedient or political.
Many
in our country have, over the last few years, progressively
moved farther from the truths of God's Word. Same
sex marriages are now being condoned in many states,
as well as in many local Churches. Abortion is winked
at, tolerated by many. Proper Biblical leadership
roles are being blurred in order that we might be
"politically correct". Other groups of so called Godly
people tolerate racism and hate mongering, something
that every American should automatically reject as
abominable. Television has given us garbage in the
form of television talk shows, plays that advocate
or reflect violence and rape, situation comedies that
glorify things that Israel, under God's leading, would
have executed people for. Many have no concept of
God's character, how to properly pray, or the difference
between simple theological terms. Thousands are turning
from living the Christian life in order to follow
experiential ecstasies because, quite frankly,
so few truly know what the Word of God plainly has
to say about anything. Beloved,
this must not be!
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why the first day?
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For
a long time I was puzzled as to why the early Church met to
worship on the first day of the week. (Acts
20:7 KJV) "And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples
came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready
to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight."
(1 Corinthians 16:2 KJV) "Upon the first day of the week let
every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered
him, that there be no gatherings when I come." The
first day was the day when the Christians broke bread together
at the Lord's Table, sang hymns, heard preaching, and took
up collections for the poor. I puzzled over the first day.
Though I knew that this was the day that our Lord Jesus rose
from the tomb (Luke 24:1; John 20:1,
19; Mark 16:9), and supposed that the early Christians
worshipped on this day in honor of His resurrection, it seemed
that nothing in Scripture gave good reason as to why the Sabbath
was not used. The Sabbath of God, a seventh day rest, was
sanctified or set apart as special by God our Creator prior
to the giving of the Mosaic Law: (Genesis
2:2-3 KJV) "And on the seventh day God ended his work which
he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his
work which he had made. {3} And God blessed the seventh day,
and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all
his work which God created and made."
God specifically wrote the Sabbath rest into the Mosaic Law,
into the foundation of that Law which we call the Ten Commandments:
(Exodus 20:8-11 KJV) "Remember the Sabbath
day, to keep it holy. {9} Six days shalt thou labor, and do
all thy work: {10} But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the
LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor
thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant,
nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
{11} For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea,
and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore
the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it."
Why did the early Church begin to worship on the first day
and not the Sabbath? The Church was exclusively inhabited
with Jews at its outset, and these Jews were used to keeping
the Mosaic Law. Why not worship on the Sabbath? Why worship
on the first day? As I studied the Scriptures the key to this
mystery became evident. The Sabbath, or the seventh day, was
a day in which God rested from all the work that He had done
in creation. On the sixth day God crowned His creation by
creating man and woman, and by putting them in charge of all
that He had made. This creation, this very good creation
(Genesis 1:31), was without sin or error. It was complete.
It was perfect. It was peaceful. It was flawless. God had
done His job well, and we had no need of adding to or taking
away from what He made. The seventh day celebrated the fact
that there was nothing left to do but to enjoy what God had
made, to worship and honor Him on that day. Creation was full
of the light of God and the glory of His majesty. Yet, Beloved,
this was not to remain true. Man would walk away from God's
will by failing to heed God's Word. That which He specifically
forbade would be rejected of man. Adam would choose the darkness
over the light. He would choose to heed Lucifer rather than
Jesus, and all of creation would plunge into the abyss of
spiritual death. Just as God created light on the first day
(Genesis 1:5), God would have to create spiritual Light
to shine forth on a now spiritually dead creation. This would
not happen immediately, but at a time when we would best receive
that Light. John spoke of that Light, and even referred back,
in almost post-prophetic language, to the very creation of
God: (John 1:1-9 KJV) "In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God. {2} The same was in the beginning with God. {3} All things
were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that
was made. {4} In him was life; and the life was the light
of men. {5} And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness
comprehended it not. {6} There was a man sent from God, whose
name was John. {7} The same came for a witness, to bear witness
of the Light, that all men through him might believe. {8}
He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that
Light. {9} That was the true Light, which lighteth every man
that cometh into the world." Because we, created on
the sixth day, brought darkness into the world, God would
have to bring Light into the world once more. God brought
physical light into the world on the first day; God would
also bring spiritual Light into the world on the first day.
Jesus Christ is that spiritual Light: (John
8:12 KJV) "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am
the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk
in darkness, but shall have the light of life."
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Jesus Christ our
Light
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Jesus
Christ is the Light of the world. Christians, the followers
of Christ, must not walk in darkness, but must walk in
the Light that is Christ. We worship on the first day
of the week because Light, which God introduced into the
world on the first day, was reintroduced on the first
day of the week, on resurrection morning. Jesus Christ
rose from the grave and shined forth His light on all
who would receive Him. The Light of Christ, radiating
through His people, has been a beacon of comfort and hope
for the world for over two thousand years now. Jesus rose
on the first day because God gave Light on the first day.
The Church of Christ does not need to compromise with
the darkness in order to be effectively used by God. We
cannot, we must not be less than the Light of the World,
that which the Light called Christ has called us to be:
(Matthew 5:14 KJV) "Ye are the light
of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be
hid." If we forget that we are the Light, that
the Light of Christ must shine on the world through us;
if we forget our station, and compromise our positions
as Ambassadors for Christ, then we will do as our father
Adam did. The Christian must not forget that he is the
reflected glory, the reflected Light of Christ. Consider
the civilizations that have perished for want of that
Light! Consider Babylon, once Great Babylon,
now only a memory. Consider Assyria, a mighty and heavily
fortified nation, no longer among those we call nations.
Consider nations that once ruled the world: Egypt and
Greece and Rome, now only shadows of their former selves.
These were once called "superpowers" but because
they refused to recognize the Light of the World, because
they refused to heed God's Word, they are now numbered
among the smaller nations. Where God's Light is considered,
revered, and protected that nation will be blessed. Israel
attained greatness when she heeded God's Word: (Proverbs
30:5 KJV) "Every word of God is pure: he is a shield
unto them that put their trust in him."
(Isaiah
40:8 KJV) "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth:
but the word of our God shall stand for ever."
But
she went into captivity and depression when God's Word
was ignored or mistreated. Christians, we are Light, the
reflected Light of Christ. Shine into the world around
you. The economic woes of our country are not brought
on by Republican nor Democrat nor even by Libertarian.
Our country shudders and our economy suffers when we who
are Christian fail to reflect the Light of Christ, when
we water down and negate the Word of God by the lives
we lead or by the words we speak. Some of you have no
idea what God's Word teaches, that this Word is a living
and vibrant creation. Some of you have no idea that Christianity
is not only a faith in Christ that saves, but it is also
the greatest system of thought that this world has ever
seen. The Bible is powerful because God is powerful. The
Church is powerful only when it absorbs and lives the
truths of the Bible, when it reflects the Light of Christ
into the world around us. The nation is powerful only
when it has a maximum number of Christians - not professors,
those who only say that they are Christian, but possessors,
those who live everyday in Christ our Savior.
You
are Light, children of the Book and children of Faith.
You are Light, shining forth in the midst of darkness.
If you do not take your faith seriously, if you do not
pursue Christ in all that you do, if you do not honor
God in word and in deed, if you live a life of ease and
compromise with the world - then you may one day wake
up and find yourself in the ruins of Babylon, of Assyria,
of Greece, of Egypt.
When
Adam sinned in the Garden, God cast him out and shut the
gates behind him (Genesis 3:24).
Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever
(Hebrews 13:8). He Who brought forth Light on the
first day of creation is the same Who brought forth Light
on resurrection morning. Do not compromise, blessed Christian,
with the world. Be the light in the Light that God has
called you to be.
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of my humanity and
the King James Version
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Absorb
God's Word, live God's Word, share God's Word. All that
you find at bibleteacher.org should challenge you, the Christian
by faith in Jesus Christ, to open your Bible, and, while
calling on the Holy Spirit who indwells you, to study it
for yourself. The works on this site do not exist to tell
you how to believe, but exist to help you reach the Christian
maturity possible only by studying His Word and applying
it to your life.
The
English translation used throughout my writings is the
King James (often called the Authorized Version) Version
because I personally prefer it in my own studies!
If
you discover obvious errors (as I am human, and do make
mistakes), please contact me. I
do accept research from our readers, so if you have a
study you'd like to see posted
on this site, please write. I will only post research
that is true to the Word of God.
By
the Light of Christ,
Pastor David
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