Episode 24S39 Bible Styles ( 10/06/2024 written by Dr. Kip Wehrman)
I hope you are doing well today. We are all looking for our place in this world. I hope you had a chance to listen the song by Michael W. Smith and King& Country. Place in this world. Only God knows the why’s and how’s. We can only feel complete and that we have a purpose, when we are following Jesus. God’s know the best way for us to live. God’s Bigger, Better plan. So we can know our reason, our place in this world.
Okay, I hope you read your homework.
Did you define Grace? What is grace? Grace is one of those misunderstood Christian terms which comes actually from the Latin word “gratia”. The word in the new testament which is translated grace in English is the Greek word “Charis” which looks and sounds like our English word charity. It literally means to give favor or kindness or charity. When we see the word grace in our Bibles, it is charity. God gives his charity or favor to us.
Let’s read our Scripture Ephesians Chapter 2.
But before we read, we should always think about the context,
Eph 1:1 says that Paul the Apostle is the author. We know that Tychicus is going to be delivering this letter (Eph 6:21) to the Christians in Ephesus. Paul started the church in Ephesus and visited at least during his 2nd and 3rd missionary journeys from the book of Acts. We also know that Paul sent Timothy to Ephesus from the letters 1st & 2nd Timothy. Ephesus was a complicated city; it was the center of the worship of the false goddess Diana or another name was Artemus depending on your Bible translation. Paul lived in Ephesus for more than 2 years. Most historians believe around AD 53-56.
This letter was most likely written after those trips but scholars are uncertain. Most seem to think this letter was written while Paul was in prison in Rome. Maybe AD60-62.
The main theme is all the benefits we have for being followers of Jesus.
Ephesians (TCB Tagalog version) Chapter 2.
Ephesians 2 (NIV)
1Noong una, itinuring kayong mga patay ng Dios dahil sa mga pagsuway ninyo at mga kasalanan.
1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,
2Namuhay kayong gaya ng mga taong makamundo. Sakop kayo noon ng kapangyarihan ni Satanas, ang hari ng mga espiritung naghahari sa mundo. At siya rin ang espiritung kumikilos sa puso ng mga taong ayaw sumunod sa Dios.
2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
3Dati, namuhay din tayong katulad nila. Namuhay tayo ayon sa pagnanasa ng laman at sinunod natin ang masasamang hilig ng katawan at pag-iisip. Sa kalagayan nating iyon, kasama rin sana nila tayo na nararapat parusahan ng Dios.
3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.
4Ngunit napakamaawain ng Dios at napakadakila ng pag-ibig niya sa atin,
4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
5na kahit itinuring tayong patay dahil sa mga kasalanan natin, muli niya tayong binuhay kasama ni Cristo. (Kaya naligtas tayo dahil lamang sa biyaya ng Dios.)
5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
6At dahil sa pakikipag-isa natin kay Cristo Jesus, binuhay tayo ng Dios mula sa mga patay kasama ni Cristo, para maghari tayong kasama niya sa kaharian sa langit.
6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
7Ginawa niya ito para maipakita niya sa lahat, sa darating na panahon, ang hindi mapapantayang kasaganaan ng biyaya niya at kabutihan na ibinigay niya sa atin sa pamamagitan ni Cristo Jesus.
7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
8Dahil sa biyaya ng Dios, naligtas kayo nang sumampalataya kayo kay Cristo. Kaloob ito ng Dios, at hindi galing sa inyo.
8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
9Hindi ito nakasalalay sa mabubuti ninyong gawa, para walang maipagmalaki ang sinuman.
9not by works, so that no one can boast.
10Nilikha tayo ng Dios; at sa pakikipag-isa natin kay Cristo Jesus, binigyan niya tayo ng bagong buhay, para gumawa tayo ng kabutihan na noon paʼy itinalaga na ng Dios na gawin natin.
10For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
11Alalahanin nʼyo ang kalagayan ninyo noon bilang mga hindi Judio. Ipinanganak kayong hindi mga Judio at sinasabi ng mga Judio na wala kayong kaugnayan sa Dios dahil sa hindi kayo katulad nila na mga tuli, pero ang pagkakatuling ito ay sa laman lang.
11Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)—
12Alalahanin nʼyo rin na noon ay hindi nʼyo pa kilala si Cristo; hindi kayo kabilang sa mga mamamayan ng Israel at hindi sakop ng mga kasunduan ng Dios na batay sa mga pangako niya. Namumuhay kayo sa mundong ito ng walang pag-asa at walang Dios.
12remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.
13Ngunit kayo ngayon ay na kay Cristo na. Malayo kayo noon sa Dios, pero ngayon ay malapit na kayo sa kanya sa pamamagitan ng dugo ni Cristo.
13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14At sa pamamagitan ng kamatayan niya, pinagkasundo niya tayo. Pinag-isa niya ang mga Judio at ang mga hindi Judio sa pamamagitan ng paggiba sa pader na naghihiwalay sa atin.
14For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,
15Ang pader na giniba niya ay ang Kautusan, kasama ang mga utos at mga tuntunin nito. Ginawa niya ito para pag-isahin ang mga Judio at hindi Judio, nang sa ganoon ay magkasundo na ang dalawa.
15by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace,
16Ngayong iisang katawan na lang tayo sa pamamagitan ng kamatayan niya sa krus, winakasan na niya ang alitan natin at ibinalik niya tayo sa Dios.
16and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
17Pumarito si Cristo at ipinahayag ang Magandang Balita na nagbibigay ng kapayapaan sa inyong mga hindi Judio na noong unaʼy malayo sa Dios, at maging sa aming mga Judio na malapit sa Dios.
17He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near
18Ngayon, tayong lahat ay makakalapit sa Ama sa pamamagitan ng iisang Banal na Espiritu dahil sa ginawa ni Cristo para sa atin.
18For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
19Kaya kayong mga hindi Judio ay hindi na mga dayuhan o taga-ibang bansa, kundi kaisa na ng mga pinabanal at kabilang sa pamilya ng Dios.
19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household,
20Tayong mga manana1mpalataya ay katulad ng gusali na ang mga haligi ay ang mga apostol at mga propeta, at ang pundasyon ay si Cristo Jesus
20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone
21Sa pamamagitan ni Cristo, ang lahat ng bahagi ng gusali ay nagkakaugnay-ugnay at nagiging isang banal na templo ng Panginoon.
21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.
22At dahil kayo ay nakay Cristo, bahagi na rin kayo nitong gusaling itinatayo, kung saan nananahan ang Dios sa pamamagitan ng kanyang Espiritu.
22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Our focus verses are Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV) 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus for the purpose of doing the “good works” God has made us to do. Following Jesus means we have a job to do to honor our king. He has shown us favor because we have faith in Jesus. But we better get to doing the things Jesus wants us to do
Let’s Pray.
So the Bible is designed to help us know God. God has revealed his Character to us in the Bible. God’s great mercy toward us is in display throughout the Bible.
Today we are going to learn how to identify and understand Bible Styles. The Bible stories are like any other story. In order to understand any story we need to understand the way, the story to written. Things like Plot, character description, setting and other design patterns.
First Bible Poetry? Join me watching the Bible Project Play VIDEO Poetry (5:23m).
I have to admit. I had no idea that the Bible was more than 30% poetry. That is about 1/3 of the Bible. So, understanding ancient poetry is essential to understanding the Bible. This is probably why we struggle to understand portions of the Bible. Poetry is written differently than other writings. Words are chosen for effect instead of precision. The tone and cadence of the words is just as important as the meaning of the word.
Biblical Poetry is trying to convey its message with more than just words, it is trying to invoke emotions in the reader.
I really like how Tim showed us in Ps. 29 that the word we read in English as voice, is really more like thunder. A loud thundering voice, that is what the Hebrew word “qol” is meant to make us think. Its more than just a voice.
We also learned that poetry uses short phrases instead of complete sentences and they are typically the words are meant to invoke imagery and pictures. These are metaphors and other types of symbolism. Some of this is foreign to us, because we are not living in the ancient world, some of these words we written 4000 years ago or more. Language changes over time.
When we don’t understand a phrase, it’s okay. These are images and symbols. Take the time to ask someone like us or you pastor. Keep looking and asking and I think you will be blessed by the effort. I love to discover these details which help to make the Bible stories come to life. Poetry is more than just the what it is also the how. How the author is conveying their message, in beautiful imagery about the world and the story. These include the Tempo, rhythm, & pattern which we often loose in our English.
Just remember poetry is art. The art of the message is just as important as the message in conveying the full picture of the poem.
Next how should we identify and understand the Bible Poetic Metaphors? Let’s watch another video by the Bible Project Play VIDEO Poetic Metaphor (5:12m)
Sadly we forget. Our languages are full of metaphors. We don’t even think about it.
But there are lots of different types of figures of speech. And each have a purpose in language but I’m sounding like an English class so I’ll stop that.
The complication with symbolic language and figures of speech, is we much understand them from the author’s point of view.
If we take the time to understand what the Bible author’s meant when they used them, it makes understanding the Bible a lot easier. There are many in the Bible but fortunately, they are used over and over again. So we can see how a metaphor is used or defined in one part of the Bible, then use that information to help understand other passages which use these terms. Sea or chaotic waters is scary or a group of people. Light is good, darkness is bad. The more we practice identifying these and using other Bible passage to help us understand. Then our understanding of the Bible will be fuller, more complete. Less confusing and frustrating.
Next we need to pay attention when Bible author use one specific style called apocalyptic in the Bible narrative. Let’s learn about Bible Apocalyptic Literature from the Bible Project. Play VIDEO Apocalyptic Literature (6:58m)
Apocalyptic Literature. I used to think apocalyptic things are all about the end of the world. Imagine my shock to find out apocalyptic literature is just writings that use symbolic language to tell their stories.
This was a very common form of writing in the Bible Times. The Bible has many stories that are written using this type of writing. Revelation, Ezekiel, Daniel and many of the other prophets use this style. But this was not just a Bible styles there are many apocalyptic stories not in the Bible. The Book of Enoch, the Apocalypse of Peter, and many many others. Bible scholars are very aware of these. I wish we taught more about them in our churches but sadly a lot of this knowledge never gets to the pastors. A great demonstration of how and what a apocalypse can be found in the Book of Ester. If you are familiar with this story, then you probably remember ester who was a Jew in exile became queen of Peria, the Haman convinced the king to kill all the Jews, because he hated Ester’s uncle Mordechai. Eventually Ester convinces the King to allow the Jews to defend themselves and Haman is killed Mordechai becomes the 2nd in command of Persia. Great Story. Well some Bibles have some additions to the Book of Ester. These are historically consider additions long after the story of Ester was written. These additions are an apocalypse of the story of Ester. It talks about dragons and a river and all these symbolic images, then at the end of Ester’s apocalypse it explains the symbolism the dragons are Haman and Mordechai and the river is Ester. It is just a great example because it included and explanation of the symbolism so we can understand how the ancient writers meant us to read these sensational symbolic stories.
Last I want to show you how these styles all work together and how amazing the Bible design is. Let’s look at the Prophets with the BibleProject Play VIDEO the Prophets (5:18m)
I think understanding what prophecy is, is very important. Yes prophecy can be foretelling the future. But most prophecy is just a declaration of something.
In the Bible the prophets are making God’s word known to a person or group of people. This is how God spoke to people through His prophets.
Prophets used all the different kinds of symbolic styles to convey these messages in vivid imagery people would remember. One of the things I love about the prophet stories in the Bible are the names. Before you begin reading any old testament book or while you are reading it. If you come across a name of a person. Stop and look up what the name means. They continue to read and I think you will see that meaning demonstrated in the character and actions of the person in the story. It is amazing.
I know this might seem difficult and yes it takes some effort. But there is good news. There are many resources, like the BibleProject that can help us recognize and understand the complexity of the Bible design and styles which will help us to better understand the Bible and the individual stories in the Bible.
Don’t forget if you do have questions, you would like discussed email me at questions@punla.org.
Let’s close and pray.
Let me leave you with this. Symbolism and metaphors seem strange and hard to understand. And lots of people have crazy ideas about what they mean. But the Bible helps us to find the intended meanings of these things. Symbolism can make the story become real in our minds. Every time I search for what a metaphor means in the Bible I’m surprise and delighted with how it makes the story come to life. I understand what the author meant and intended. I’m very thankful to God for how these stories were written.
Don’t try to do this on your own. It takes a lot of time and experience to learn these things but you have great resources to help you. The BibleProject is one I highly recommend. If you watch their video, you will become a better Bible reader as they open up the Bible and it’s meaning to us with engaging animation and excellent Bible theology.
One last thing. Studying the Bible is fun. It is full of discoveries that challenge our intellect and it can be read by anyone. The smartest scholar and the young child can all read this book and learn. We learn something every time we read. You can own your faith. You can read and understand the Bible. I know you can. You do not have to rely on people to tell you what it says, you can discover the truth for yourselves. Make your faith, your faith. And we are here to help you
I have seen that when I understand God’s ways better, everything else just seems to work better. That is at my job, in school, with my family, friends, with people I don’t like. It all works better when I rely on God and the wisdom He freely gives. Living my life for Jesus in everything I do, is the best most satisfying life you can live.
Remember If you want to see any of these videos again, go to BibleProject.com and look under the watch tab for How to read the Bible series.
Don’t forget to do your homework for next week. Read James Chapter 2 with a focus on James 2:12-13 and Define Mercy. See you next week.
