Notes from R. B. Thieme, Jr.

1976 Philippians series

The initial text will be from the Berean Literal Bible (BLB); followed by R. B. Thieme, Jr.’s corrected translation.

1976 Philippians                                                                                            Lesson #1

1 05/03/1976 Philippians 1:1a Timothy's 201 file; Cpt. Howard's brief report

Chapter 1

Philippi was the city the Romans had re-established for the purpose of taking its retired military and putting them there, and giving them rewards. At the time of writing the Romans had a system whereby any Roman soldier who won a decoration was given a certain amount of money and, at the time of his retirement, a certain amount of land. They were retired in grand style. So it will be understood that the basic group of people in the Philippian church were retired military personnel. They also had some Jews and some Greeks.

There are three paragraphs in this chapter. Paragraph one: the super-grace congregation at Philippi, verses 1-11; paragraph two: the super-grace prisoner of war [Paul], verses 12-19; paragraph three: verses 20-30, the anticipation of ultra super-grace.

1976 Philippians                                                                                            Lesson #2

2 05/04/1976 Philippians 1; Psalm 84:1–12 The promotion psalm

Verse 1 – “Paul.” Pauloj is a Roman surname; “Timotheus” – [qeoj = God; timo = honour], he who honours God.

Timothy

1. He was the son of an unbeliever father, a Greek, and his mother was a believer and a Jewess—Acts 16:1-3.

2. He was reared by his grandmother, Lois. Timothy was not only blessed by personal spiritual advice through doctrine but he was blessed by association with super-grace grandmother and super-grace mother. Consequently, Timothy received great spiritual heritage and great rearing—2 Timothy 3:15.

3. Timothy was circumcised by Paul—Acts 16:3, and ordained to the ministry—1 Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:5. Timothy did not have to be circumcised but he was circumcised for a purpose. Paul anticipated that Timothy would be the greatest man in the next generation. Circumcision was a sign of maturity in Israel. That was its origin—Abraham was circumcised at age 99. He was 99 before he finally reached super-grace.

4. He accompanied Paul, with Silas and Luke, to Philippi. He had been in Philippi before. He remained there as the first pastor after Paul left—Acts 16:12; Philippians 2:22.

5. He also pastored the Berean church after he was replaced by Epaphroditus—Acts 17:14.

6. After leaving Berea he joined Paul in Athens, and he pastored the church at Thessalonica for a short time—1 Thessalonians 3:2.

7. The fourth missionary journey. As pastor, Timothy had failed at Corinth—1 Cor. 16:10. This failure was not in Bible teaching but in his inability to handle bullies. He couldn’t get tough with women!

8. Timothy shared Paul’s first Roman imprisonment—Philippians 1:1; 2:19; Colossians 1:1; Philemon 1.

9. After Paul was released from his first Roman imprisonment Paul and Timothy went to Ephesus where Timothy remained as the pastor. It was here in Ephesus that Timothy went into reversionism. This is where the women bullied him.

“servants of Jesus Christ” – the nominative plural from douloj, translated “slaves.” “Slaves of Jesus Christ” is an anartharous construction and it calls attention to the uniqueness of the profession. These are pastors, communicators of doctrine, and they are responsible to God. This is brought out by the absence of the definite article. All pastors are slaves. This means that the master of the slaves, Jesus Christ, is totally responsible for their provision, their blessing, their term of office, and their authority in the local church. Slavery therefore becomes the best form of life when Jesus Christ is the master, and it is a form of life for pastors only.

“to all” – dative plural indirect object from the adjective paj, which means all of the congregation are merged for the moment into one lump. With it is a noun, a(gioj, correctly translated “saints.”[1]; “in Christ Jesus” – e)n plus the locative of I)hsou Xristoj. The point of equality among believers is the point of union with Christ.

“which are” is the articular present active participle from e)imi. The definite article is used for a relative pronoun to describe the royal family of God located in a specific place—at Philippi. The present tense is the present of duration, it denotes what was begun in the past and continues into the present time. The participle is circumstantial which expresses attendant circumstances and gives us an additional fact or thought.

“at Philippi” – e)n plus the locative, and this is the prepositional phrase which emphasises the concept that as long as you live on this earth you have to be somewhere, and when you are in the local church and assembled you are recognised as royal family. The objective of the local church is to provide a classroom for the transmission of Bible doctrine from the page of the Word of God to your individual souls, under the authority of the pastor-teacher.

“with the bishops” – another title for the pastor-teacher. This is the preposition sun plus the instrumental of e)piskopoj. It originally meant “overseer” but it also means “guardian.” This is a guardian who not only protects the people but he has a system that protects the people. The pastor-teacher is the top authority but he must also have a system functioning under him so that the congregation is properly administered when it is brought together. The pastor is the guardian of a system as well as the ruler of the congregation.

“and deacons” – diakonoj.

Translation so far:

Verse 1 – “Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus, to all the saints [royal family of God] in Christ Jesus who are located at Philippi, together with bishop-guardians and deacons:

1976 Philippians                                                                                            Lesson #3

3 05/05/1976 Philippians l:2b Table of organization: Military, local church

Verse 2 – “Grace to you [dative of advantage; for your benefit].”

“and peace” – the ascensive kai, also used as an emphatic kai. In the emphatic use it is translated “and so.” The next word is a direct result of grace. The word “peace” is not world peace, peacefulness or tranquillity. It was taken from the Hebrew originally—shalom. Brought into the Greek it is e)irhnh. It means “prosperity.” While it is used as a salutation in the Greek language, that is not its meaning here in any sense of the word—”and so prosperity.” This is grace prosperity. Prosperity here refers to the attainment of mature status. The Philippians at the time of writing were mature believers, and as a result of this they were now under the logistical support of grace which included a lot of prosperity. As a result they were enjoying this prosperity under great pressures. This was more than a mere salutation. “Grace to you, and so prosperity” is an entire way of life. Prosperity is a part of spiritual growth, spiritual maturity, and it is one of the ways in which Jesus Christ is glorified in the devil’s world. God can only give prosperity to those who have the capacity for it. You either have capacity for prosperity or you have capacity for discipline. If you are in reversionism you have capacity for discipline. If you are in maturity, then you only have capacity for prosperity.

“from God our Father” – the preposition a)po plus the ablative denotes ultimate source. We have the ablative of source mentioned as God—qeoj. Then comes a genitive singular of apposition, pathr—”from God our Father.” The source of all logistical grace is God the Father, the author of the divine plan of grace. This is an anartharous construction in which there are no definite articles, even though we put one in in the English, and the reason is because of the qualitative aspect of the source. Notice that the source is very personal, for we have the possessive genitive plural from the personal pronoun e)gw—”our Father.” For all members of the royal family God is our Father.

“and” – here is the way we enter the plan of God. Here is the door by which we enter—the cross; “the Lord Jesus Christ.” This is the connective use of kai, plus the ablative of kurioj, used here for the deity of Christ; the ablative of I)hsouj, used for the humanity of Christ; the ablative of Xristoj, used for the messianic appointment of Christ. Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, is also said to be the source of grace and prosperity, along with the Father. The Father is the logistical supply; Jesus Christ is the door. Notice that there is no reference to God the Holy Spirit. This is the dispensation of the royal family of God and the ministry of the Holy Spirit in this dispensation is to glorify Jesus Christ, therefore He is not mentioned in verses such as these.

Translation: “Grace to you, and so prosperity, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.”

At this point the apostle who has lived a very full life has the opportunity of pausing to give way to a great principle called “memory.”

1976 Philippians                                                                                            Lesson #4

4 05/06/1976 Philippians 1:2a Doctrine of grace (revised, pts. 1–4a)

1976 Philippians                                                                                            Lesson #5

5 05/07/1976 Philippians 1:2a Doctrine of grace (pts. 4–8); logistical grace

1976 Philippians                                                                                            Lesson #6

6 05/09/1976 Philippians 1; Job 5:19 27 Doctrine of grace (cont.); dying grace

1976 Philippians                                                                                            Lesson #7

7 05/09/1976 Philippians 1:2b Concept of prosperity; 5 categories of supergrace blessing

1976 Philippians                                                                                            Lesson #8

8 05/10/1976 Philippians 1:3 Doctrine of memory

Verse 3 – “I thank my God” is the beginning of a wonderful memory, and it starts in the right direction because this implies first of all a good set of priorities, a good scale of values. Who wants to be remembered by someone who has no priorities? “I thank” is the present active indicative of the verb e)uxaristew [e)u = good; xarij = grace], and the word “good grace” comes to connote gratitude. Grace oriented people have gratitude, appreciation, capacity. It means here to be mindful of benefits, therefore to be thankful, and it is correctly translated “I am giving thanks.” This is a customary present tense which denotes what habitually occurs when a person like Paul is in maturity, has great capacity for life. The Philippians were the greatest of memories to Paul; he loved them dearly. He remembers his association with them and obviously he remembers their positive volition toward Bible doctrine. The active voice: Paul as a teacher produces the action of the verb. He remembers them in a very special way at this time. The indicative mood is declarative for the historical reality of thanksgiving based upon the fact that these people are a pleasant memory. His high priority: “my God” – dative of indirect object from the definite article and from the noun qeoj. There is also the possessive genitive singular from the personal pronoun e)gw. Literally, “I am giving thanks to my God.”

“upon every remembrance” we have the preposition e)pi plus the dative singular of paj, and the noun mneia, meaning “memory”—”for every memory.” Then the phrase, “of you”—genitive of reference plural from the personal pronoun su.

Translation: “I am giving thanks to my God for every memory[2] of you.”

Principle

1. To become pleasant memory for someone else requires, in the royal family, spiritual growth and spiritual advance.

2. The Philippians were a pleasant memory because of the mutual rapport of spiritual advance.

3. Believers who attain super-grace become a blessing by association. This is the memory of blessing by association.

4. Blessing by association moulds the believer into a pleasant memory to others.

5. The overflow into the principle of historical impact is also involved because many of the people that you remember are also involved in the historical impact.

6. As the Philippians advance spiritually they also became very wealthy. Since Paul was in their memory they wanted to do something for him and share their grace blessings with him as he had shared his grace blessings with them. His grace blessing had been doctrine; theirs was financial success.

7. This super-grace wealth was used out of the principle of blessing by association, and on three different occasions, having amassed large fortunes, they sent an offering to Paul at Corinth—2Corinthians 11:9; Philippians 4:15; to Paul at Thessalonica—Philippians 4:16; to Paul at Rome during his first imprisonment—Philippians 4:10, 14.

1976 Philippians                                                                                            Lesson #9

9 05/11/1976 Philippians 1:4–5 Doctrine of thanksgiving; pleasure of prayer

Verse 4 – Parenthesis. “Always” is the adverb of time, pantote, meaning always or at all times.

“in every prayer of mine” – Paul does not say he prays always, but he does say that when he does pray he always remembers the Philippians. We have e)n plus the locative singular from the adjective paj, plus the noun dehsij—”in every prayer.” Then the possessive genitive of the personal pronoun e)gw—”in my every prayer,” which reminds us of the fact that prayer is a personal matter. It is our privilege but it is also personal and private.

“for you” – the preposition u(per plus the ablative of the adjective paj, and with it the object, the personal pronoun plural su. It is translated, “on behalf of all of you.”

“making” – present middle participle from poiew. This means to perform, to produce, to accomplish. Prayer is the object, dehsij again, and so when poiew is put with dehsij it means “offering prayer.” The iterative present describes something that occurs at successive intervals. It recurs. It is known as the present tense of repeated action. The iterative present means that when you pray, you pray effectively but you don’t pray all the time. The middle voice is the indirect middle, it emphasises Paul as the agent producing the action of the verb rather than participating in its results. The participle is a temporal participle. Temporal participles have to be translated in a certain way, usually “when” – “when offering prayer.” The word “request” is prayer, the accusative singular direct object, and going with poiew it means “offering prayer.”

“with joy” – the preposition meta plus the genitive of xara, “with inner happiness.” Inner happiness is sharing God’s +H.

Translation: “Always in my every prayer for all of you when offering prayer with inner happiness.” End parenthesis.

Verse 5 – “For your fellowship, e)pi plus the dative of koinwnia. It should be translated, “Because of your contribution.” E)pi plus the dative is “because,” not “for.” Not only does he give thanks for the memory (v.3) but he also gives thanks for the contribution. Omitting the parenthesis, (v.3) “I am giving thanks to my God for every memory of you (v.5) because of your contribution.” Verse 4 is parenthetical: prayer with pleasure. Paul is thankful to God for the Philippians’ financial contribution.

“in the gospel” is a prepositional phrase, e)ij plus the accusative of e)uaggelion, which means “for the purpose of spreading the gospel.” That is the way people enter the plan of God. This was a major part of Paul’s service, though it is not emphasised because the Bible emphasises his thinking, and not just regarding salvation but his thinking with regard to every realm of doctrine.

“from the first day” – a)po plus the ablative singular of the adjective prwtoj, plus h(mera. It is correctly translated, “from that first day.” The definite article here is used as a demonstrative pronoun to call attention to the first time the Philippians ever contributed to Paul.

“until now” is a Classical Greek phrase. There is an Attic adverb, a)xri, used as an improper preposition with the genitive of the definite article, plus the adverb nun. This is an articular adverbial prepositional phrase, and that is Classical Greek.

Translation: “Because of your contribution [offering] from that first day until now for the purpose of spreading the gospel from the first day until now.”

Principle

1. God uses advancing believers or positive believers to provide the logistical support for right pastors. This liberates the pastor—his time.

2. The pastor’s spiritual prosperity is transformed into material prosperity of the Philippians so that their material prosperity will become logistical support to sustain Paul.

3. In this way each one becomes a blessing by association to the other.

4. No one ever loses by taking in doctrine whether it is the pastor or the congregation.

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #10

10 05/12/1976 Philippians 1:5 Doctrine of giving; mutual blessing by association

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #11

11 05/13/1976 Philippians 1:6–7a Rapport in spiritual maturity

Verse 6 – confidence in the Philippian progress. “Being confident” is a perfect active participle from the verb peiqw, which generally means to obey, to believe, to convince, to persuade. In the perfect tense it means to have confidence. This is the perfect tense of existing state in which the past is dropped from the perfect and the emphasis is placed on the existing state of confidence. Paul has a state of confidence at this moment rather than emphasising any future results. This is the branch of the intensive perfect in which special attention is directed to the results of the action, hence the existing state is intensified. Paul has complete confidence, not only in his own spiritual advance to the final objective but even much more so in those who are following him closely in the Philippian congregation. The passive voice: Paul receives this confidence from Bible doctrine resident in his soul plus his own observation of the Philippian congregation. This is a causal participle, it denotes that which is the ground for the action of the main verb, and it is translated “Because I have confidence.”

“of this very thing” –a)uto, the accusative singular of reference from the intensive pronoun a)utoj, and it emphasises the identity of Paul’s confidence. It also makes it very clear that there is no place in the spiritual life for ‘I hope so.’ Confidence is a spiritual asset, it is not a sign of arrogance. The more doctrine you have in your soul the more confidence you have about almost everything in life. There is a demonstrative pronoun with this as well—o(utoj, the immediate demonstrative which emphasises something in the immediate vicinity of the context. It should be translated, “in this doctrine itself.” Paul is confident in the Philippian advance. He is confident in the principle that when anyone is positive long enough they are going to get there. Some people take longer than others; some have more set-backs than others; but if you live long enough the tenacity of your own positive volition toward doctrine, plus many types of grace provision, you are going to reach that final objective, and with it you will have everything that God designed for you. And every blessing that you have glorifies God.

“that he which hath begun” – it begins with the conjunction o(ti used as a substantive for the epexegetical infinitive after a preceding demonstrative. The articular aorist middle participle is from the verb e)narxomai—”begin.” The definite article is used as a relative pronoun—”he who.” It refers to God the Father, the author of operation grace. The aorist tense is ingressive, it emphasises the Philippian progress to super-grace from the standpoint of its beginning. The beginning was the point of salvation. Like the constative aorist it gathers into one entirety the progress of the Philippians from salvation to super-grace. The middle voice is the indirect middle, it emphasises God the Father as the agent producing the action of the verb through logistical grace. The participle is circumstantial, emphasising logistical grace. So we have, “that he who has begun.”

“in you” – e)n plus the locative plural from the plural personal pronoun su; “a good work” – the accusative singular direct object from the adjective a)gaqoj for intrinsic good. God is absolute perfection. Anything that comes from God has to be intrinsic good, it can’t be anything else. The noun e)rgon is also in the accusative. It has numerous related meanings such as “deed, action, accomplishment, work.” Here it connotes that which is brought into being by the work of logistical grace. The anartharus construction emphasises the high quality of logistical grace.

“will perform it” – future active indicative from the verb e)pitelew. It means to perform, to accomplish, to fulfil, to complete: “will complete it.” The future tense is a gnomic future for a statement of doctrine, the Father’s logistical support of believers in advance to maturity. The active voice: God the Father provides the logistical support for those who are pressing toward the final objective. The indicative mood is declarative for statement of an absolute dogma of doctrine: that for any believer who is positive, in any stage of spiritual growth, God provides logistical grace.

“until the day of Jesus Christ” – in this statement of the Rapture we have an Attic Greek adverb of time a)xri, used as an improper preposition. The object is the descriptive genitive of I)hsouj Xristoj, emphasising the central person involved in the resurrection of the Church, the God-Man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Logistical grace is available, then, to the royal family of God until the resurrection of the royal family occurs.

Translation: “Because I have confidence in this doctrine itself [logistical grace], that he who has begun a good work will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

Principles of doctrine

1. God has a plan for every Church Age believer and that plan has defined objectives—spiritual maturity. Notice that the divine objective is never stated in terms of Christians works or production. Reason: Works and production do not advance the believer. They are the result of advance but never the means.

2. This plan and objective demands logistical support from the planner. Therefore God’s logistical grace will continue with the royal family until their resurrection or the Rapture.

3. Logistical support will no longer be needed after the Rapture since the believer is in phase three.

4. Out of these first three principles comes a conclusion: As long as you are alive God has a plan for your life.

5. But you can never divorce that plan for your life from Bible doctrine resident in your soul.

6. All objectives in the Christian life are accomplished through the daily function of GAP.

7. All positive logistical grace comes through positive volition toward doctrine. (All logistical grace is divided into two categories: positive and negative)

8. For those who are recalcitrant, who resist and reject Bible doctrine, there is the provision of grace which is the various stages of discipline for reversionism and the influences of the Satanic policy of evil.

Verses 7 -- the further you advance in the spiritual life the more your priorities change, your scale of values, and the more interesting becomes the rapport factor in

your life. It moves out and extends in areas that you would never dream possible.

“Even as it is meet” – kaqwj e)stin dikaion. Kaqwj is a conjunctive adverb usually used to indicate comparison. Here it is a little different and is used here in its causal sense, correctly translated “since.” The present active indicative of e)imi is next—e)stin. The customary present denotes what habitually occurs when a pastor has a positive congregation toward Bible doctrine. The active voice: Paul produces the action doubling as a pastor here. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal action from the viewpoint of absolute reality. The predicate nominative neuter dikaion is translated “right”—”Since it is right.”

“for me” – dative of advantage singular from the personal pronoun e)gw.

“to think this” – present active infinitive of the verb fronew, used here for objective thinking. Even in the area of the greatest conflicts of life the believer is capable of very objective thinking. Hence, this comes to mean to be holding an opinion—”for me to hold this opinion.” The customary present denotes what habitually occurs when believers are positive toward doctrine and have reached this stage of maturity; they hold opinions—correct opinions. The active voice: Paul is producing the objective thinking, he is holding the opinion. The infinitive is the infinitive of a conceived result assumed by the consequence of the Philippian attainment of super-grace.

There is also an accusative neuter singular direct object from the immediate demonstrative pronoun o(utoj. It emphasises here confidence in a principle, but it is a principle related to people. When people are hooked up with doctrine you can have confidence.

“of you all” – u(per plus the ablative from the adjective paj plus the pronoun su. Literally, “in behalf of all of you.” Paul is holding an opinion about his favourite congregation which is composed of those who have been consistently positive and whose progress is right behind his own.

“because I have you in my heart”—begins with the preposition dia. The words dia to e)xein me is Classical Greek. We have no comparable idiom today. The preposition dia takes the accusative singular definite article means “because of,” not “through” as it would be in the genitive. The present active infinitive of e)xw means to have and to hold. Literally, “through the to have.” It doesn’t make sense in English. Me is the accusative singular from the personal pronoun e)gw. The present tense is a historical present, it views the past event with the vividness of a present occurrence. In other words, it is just as though Paul wrote it a few minutes ago and the ink is not even dry. The active voice: Paul produces the action, he had rapport with the Philippians. The prepositional phrase, “in my heart” is e)n plus the locative singular of kardia—”in my right lobe.” This is the place where love exists. Anyone we truly love we lock up in our soul.

“inasmuch as” – no such word exists in the original manuscript. Next comes the prepositional phrase, e)n te toij desmoij, which is literally, “in my imprisonment.” The preposition e)n plus the locative of desmoj. E)n plus te can be translated “while in prison.” With that is the adverbial genitive of place from the personal pronoun e)gw—”my.”

Then comes the repetition of the conjunction kai—”both in the defence,” e)n plus a)pologia in the locative; “and confirmation”—kai bebaiwsij which is translated “and establishment”; “of the gospel” – the descriptive genitive singular e)uaggelia, “good news.” Sometimes this refers to the good news of the gospel only, i.e. salvation doctrine. Sometimes it means the good news of doctrine in general. Sometimes it means good news without a doctrinal connotation. The words around it determine the meaning and in this chapter we see it once simply for the gospel (salvation), once for doctrine in general, and once simply for good news without any doctrinal connotation at all. He we have “both in defense of establishment of the good news.” The defence of the gospel or the good news is evangelisation, while the establishment of the gospel is doctrinal teaching to new converts. So this is not talking about the gospel as the means of evangelisation, this is talking about good news or doctrine you learn after you are saved. The establishment of the gospel also includes the organisation of the local churches where Bible doctrine is taught to believers under strict academic discipline, and that is the means of it in this passage.

“you all are” is a present active participle from e)imi. The present tense is a perfective present, it denotes a continuation of Philippian offerings as a result of their spiritual growth and advance to super-grace status. The active voice: the Philippians produce the action. The participle is circumstantial. With it is the accusative plural from the adjective paj plus the accusative plural of the personal pronoun su—”all of you are.”

“partakers” is the accusative plural direct object from sugkoinwnoj, meaning “partners”; “of my grace”— the possessive genitive of the personal pronoun e)gw. It modifies “partners”: ‘You are my partners’; “of grace” – the genitive singular meaning “in grace.” In this partnership Paul provides the doctrine for their spiritual growth and they provide the monetary offerings which is a part of his logistical support.

Translation: “Since it is right for me to be holding this opinion in behalf of you, because I have you in my right lobe while in prison, both in the defence of establishment of the gospel, all of you are my partners in grace.”

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #12

12 05/14/1976 Philippians 1:7b–8 Mutual love of right pastor–teacher and congregation

Verse 8 – “For God is my record.” The Greek is martouj gar mou o( qeoj. This is why gar is called an enclitic particle, it does not come first in the sentence, it is simply the enclitic conjunctive particle which has an explanatory use here which can be translated “for” or “you see” or “for you see.” Then martouj is in the predicate nominative form, it is a nominative singular and means a judicial witness. There is also an implied present active indicative of e)imi. The verb is not there, it isn’t necessary because of the predicate nominative. There is a possessive genitive singular personal pronoun e)gw [mou], and then the nominative singular subject o( qeoj. (The definite article has a subject but the predicate nominative does not have a subject) “For God is my witness.” But this is an idiom and is not really what the idiom is saying. The idiom is saying, “I am telling the truth.”

“how greatly” – the adverb w(j is used as a conjunction to introduce the characteristic quality of Paul. There is no word “greatly” in the original manuscript, it is simply “how.” And now we have the adverb used as a conjunction to reveal something in Paul.

“I long after” – the present active indicative from the compound verb e)pipoqew [e)pi = upon; poqew = to miss someone, to long for someone who is absent], and with the preposition it is simply intensified into a verb of strong love. Paul has the capacity for love; he has the expression of love. Capacity expresses itself. God has provided the object of Paul’s love, a whole congregation of wonderful believers advancing. The present tense of e)pipoqew is a static present, it represents a condition which is assumed as perpetually existing. The active voice: Paul produces the action of teaching doctrine and directed toward those who are consistently positive. And from this comes capacity on the part of Paul. He studies to get his capacity for love, and then he communicates doctrine. That is the way those who are positive grow up. Between Paul and the Philippians is category #3 love. The indicative mood is declarative, it represents the verbal action from the viewpoint of reality: maximum category #3 love toward this congregation.

“ye all” – the accusative plural direct object from the adjective paj plus the personal pronoun su. This is translated “all of you.”

“in the bowels of Jesus Christ” – the preposition e)n plus the instrumental plural of splagxnon, plus the possessive genitive of Xristoj and the possessive genitive of I)hsouj. In scripture a portion of the anatomy is often used that does not refer to anatomy of the body but to an attribute of the soul. A known portion of the body is used to describe an invisible portion of the soul. From this is taken the principle of affection or the emotional response in the soul. So the word splagxnon is used for the affection response of the emotion. The absence of the definite article stresses the qualitative aspects of the noun rather than the mere identity of the noun as “bowels.” If the background is understood this can actually be translated “affection.”

Translation: “For God is my witness [I am telling the truth], how I deeply desire all of you with the same affections of Christ Jesus.”

Paul is saying that his love for the Philippians is so deep that he loves them as Jesus Christ would love them.

Principle

9. There is no greater standard of love than that related to the Lord Jesus Christ.

10. Paul as a believer in super-grace has maximum love capacity for the Philippians, so much that he is bold to relate it to the standard of our Lord Jesus Christ.

11. So great is his love capacity that he can with boldness describe his love as the affections of Christ Jesus.

12. A positive congregation toward doctrine provides additional motivation to the pastor to fulfil Philippians 2:17.

13. The pastor is motivated to study and teach through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, his own spiritual growth, and a love response from his congregation.

14. When a pastor finds a congregation responds to his doctrinal teaching he has both the love for the congregation and the desire to lead them to the maximum objective. This leads to maximum glorification of Jesus Christ.

In verses 9-11 we have a paragraph which tells us how to pray for a congregation of mature believers.[3]

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #13

13 05/16/1976 Philippians 1:9 Doctrine of prayer (review)

Verse 9 – behind this prayer is love, Paul’s love for the Philippians, and also the greatness of the Philippians; they are a mature congregation. How do you pray for people who have everything? who are being blessed to the maximum by God? The prayer in this verse is for further advance, that they will complete their objective.

“And this” is the emphatic use of the conjunction kai which here means “in fact,” and the accusative neuter plural from the demonstrative pronoun o(utoj. The demonstrative is used as a direct object of the verb. The immediate demonstrative is what we have there. It calls attention to Paul’s prayer for the Philippians.

“I pray” – the present middle indicative from the verb proseuxomai, which means to pray for someone else and therefore it connotes intercessory prayer. This is an iterative present tense, it describes what recurs at successive intervals, therefore the present tense of repeated action. The middle voice is the indirect middle in which Paul as the agent is producing the action of the verb rather than participating in its results. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal action from the standpoint of reality. Translation: “In fact I pray this prayer.”

“that” is the conjunction i(na which denotes a final clause, used to indicate a purpose and objective. The objective in this final clause is the intensification of category #1 love, or occupation with Christ.

“your love” – the nominative singular subject from a)gaph, which involves the mentality of the soul and not necessarily the emotion or other factors. It is used here to refer to category #1 love as a matter of concentration. It is also used because the object of love in not physically visible to the eye. With this word is the possessive genitive plural from the personal pronoun su, indicating that they do possess occupation with Christ or maximum category #1 love.

“may abound” – not quite correct, it is a little stronger than that. This is the present active subjunctive of the verb perisseuw, which means to be present and abundant, or to overflow, or to be outstanding, or to excel to the maximum. It can be translated “that your love may be caused to excel” or “to be caused to abound to the maximum.” This is a customary present which denotes what habitually occurs when one reaches super-grace status. This is a static present also for a condition which will perpetually exist in super-grace. The active voice: occupation with Christ produces the action. The subjunctive mood is not only the contingency potential subjunctive but with the conjunction i(na it is simply used to denote an objective. This is an objective not accomplished, therefore potential at this point. It is contingency, otherwise there would be no need for including it in prayer.

“yet more and more” – e)ti means “still,” an adverb of time which denotes that a given situation, such as maturity, is continuing and that once a person reaches maturity there are many areas within it. These people are in super-grace but they have not reached the final objective, as indicated next by not only the adverb of time but a comparative word, mallon, which is the comparative of mala, and it means “more” or “even to a greater degree.” It indicates the fact that even though they have a mature love it can still go higher.

 How can this prayer be accomplished? Paul cannot simply pray for their continued advance unless he mentions in his prayer the means why which this advance is continued. The only way to advance in the spiritual life is cognisance. You must know doctrine.

“in knowledge” – growth always is related to knowledge of doctrine and there is no spiritual growth any other way. Deeds and production are the result of growth but never the means of growth. This is emphasised by a prepositional phrase, e)n plus the instrumental of e)pignwsij, the growing material. Doctrine doesn’t cause the believer to grow when it is stored permanently in the Word of God, it is doctrine in the soul that causes his growth—”by means of e)pignwsij.” So Paul is praying for them to grow. There is no other way to grow.

“and in all judgement” – the word “all” is the adjective paj in the instrumental, and we have the instrumental of the noun a)isqhsij which means spiritual discernment, and it is comparable to the unbeliever’s common sense. It is the application of doctrine, the power of judgment and discrimination based upon doctrine resident in the soul. First comes e)pignwsij, then comes discernment.

Translation: “In fact I pray that your love may be caused to abound still more, even to a greater degree, by means of knowledge [epignosis doctrine] and resultant all discernment.”

Principle

15. This is a prayer for the Philippian advance to ultra-super-grace. They are mature believers, they have reached a certain stage of maturity; they have not, however, reached the final stage of maturity. This is a prayer for the advance to ultra-super-grace with emphasis on occupation with Christ being intensified in this status.

16. Category #1 love or occupation with Christ occurs in super-grace as a spiritual blessing. This is a prayer for the intensification of occupation with Christ.

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #14

14 05/16/1976 Hebrews 13:7 Ordination message and ceremony

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #15

15 05/17/1976 Philippians 1:10 Discernment from #1 priority of doctrine

Verse 10 – “That ye may approve” is the preposition e)ij plus the articular present active infinitive from the verb dokimazw which means to test for the purpose of approval, to put to the test, to examine with reference to the result of the examination, to prove by testing, to approve. Here it means to approve, and it must be related to the last word of the previous verse which is “discernment.” When you are approving is disapproving something it is merely an expression of your scale of values. You are deciding which is more important. Are you going to go with your friends? Or are you going to stick with doctrine? There must be the definite article here to define the meaning of the preposition because of e)ij plus the articular present active infinitive of dokimazw, and the definite article makes the infinitive adaptable to prepositions. So it is e)ij plus the accusative of the definite article plus the present tense of dokimazw, and the static present represents a condition to be taken for granted as a fact for the believer who is approaching or is in super-grace. The active voice: the super-grace believer produces the action. The infinitive is conceived result, which simply means to follow the natural consequences of reaching super-grace status. To those who stick with doctrine it is inevitable that they will crack the maturity barrier. We might even translate e)ij plus the articular infinitive, “With the result that you may approve after testing.” Approval is based on your scale of values. You may not realise it but everything in life you test by your scale of values. The words “after testing” is a part of dokimazw. After testing, does this make any changes in doctrine being number one? So discernment is based upon always keeping doctrine in the number one slot in your priorities in life.

“things” is the accusative plural definite article used as a demonstrative pronoun to emphasise areas of discernment and the super-grace scale of values—”those things.”

“that are excellent” – present active participle from the verb diaferw, which means to differ to one’s advantage, to be worth more, to be of greater value. With the definite article it means here, “things of greater value.” With a definite article this participle acts as a substantive. This is an articular participle and is a noun rather than a verb.

This is the result of the e)pignwsij and discernment of the previous verse. The two go together. E)pignwsij means more doctrine accumulated since doctrine has number one place in your soul. Discernment is the use of your accumulated doctrine.

You must approve doctrine above all.

“that” – the conjunction i(na used to introduce a second purpose or objective: “in order that.”

“ye may be” – present active subjunctive from the verb e)imi. The present tense is a futuristic present, it denotes what has not yet occurred: the ultra-super-grace status. They are on the verge, and this is a prayer to get them in, as it were. This is regarded as so definite that it is put in the present tense, even though it is a future objective. The active voice: the ultra-super-grace status produces the action. They will get there. The subjunctive mood goes with i(na, indicating a purpose or an objective.

“sincere” – the predicate nominative plural from the compound e)ilikrinhj [e(ili = sunlight; krinw = to judge], which means to judge by sunlight. This does not mean “sincerity.” Sincerity is not even considered a virtue in Christianity. This means to judge the quality of something by holding it up to sunlight. Purity is determined by the sunlight test—”that you might be tested by sunlight.” Sunlight refers to doctrine. The word “sincere” really means to be completely pure and unmixed. It was used in the ancient world to test wine to see if there were any impurities in it, or if there was too much water in it. So to get rid of the ‘water’ of the soul and to replace and displace it with doctrine we have a word that doesn’t really mean sincere, but it means completely pure. But it doesn’t mean sinlessness, it simply means genuine—a genuine, totally mature believer. In other words, the soul is free from contamination. The scale of values is perfect because by making the written Word number one in your scale of values and assigning number one priority to doctrine you have eventually come to the place where you have made your number one priority the living Word—Jesus Christ whom you now see through doctrine. So the super-grace believer is completely pure in soul, and that means free from contamination and infiltration of Satanic policy. It has to do with thought, not with sin.

“and without offence” – the connective kai plus the predicate nominative plural from the compound a)proskopoj [a – negative; proskoph = offence or stumbling], which means undamaged, blameless, or without offence. “Blameless” means freedom from human good and the expression of evil.[4]

“till the day of Christ” – e)ij plus the accusative singular of h(mera, “with reference to the day.” Then the descriptive genitive singular from Xristoj, indicating the fact that this is the Rapture.

Translation: “In order that you might be completely pure in the light of doctrine; and blameless [in the area of human good and evil] with reference to the day of Christ.”

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #16

16 05/18/1976 Philippians 1:11–12 Patrick Henry; principle of human good

Verse 11 – prayer for ultra-super-grace production in contrast to the production of human good and arrogance. “Being filled” is the perfect passive participle from the verb plhrow. It means here to be filled with the highest possible quality. The perfect tense is a dramatic perfect, which is the rhetorical use of the intensive perfect. The intensive perfect always takes the action of the verb and shows it as completed, and then shows the continuation of results from that completed action. The passive voice: the ultra super-grace believer receives the action of the verb. The participle is telic, indicating a purpose, and this denotes the 3rd purpose which has been expressed in this prayer. Literally, “Having been filled up.”

“with the fruits of righteousness” – the word “fruits” is the accusative singular direct object from the noun karpoj, which means fruit in the sense of production. It could be much better translated “production of righteousness.” With it is doikaiosunh, which dies not mean ‘righteousness,’ as such. It means the total fulfilment of spiritual progress and is a technical word here for ultra-super-grace.

“which are” is not found in the original. However the accusative singular direct object of the definite article is used here as a relative pronoun and can be translated “which comes.” The word “comes” is not found but is implied.

“by Jesus Christ” – dia plus the genitive of I)hsouj Xristoj should be translated “through Jesus Christ.”

“unto the glory” – this is a prepositional phrase, e)ij plus the accusative of doca, and is correctly translated “for the glory.” Jesus Christ is personally glorified when the believer is prosperous under paragraph SG2.

“and praise” – a continuation of the prepositional phrase, a)painoj, which means praise, approval, recognition, is the object of e)ij; “of God” is a descriptive genitive singular qeoj. The entire prepositional phrase is anartharus, there is no definite article, emphasising the quality of the glory, the quality of the praise, emphasising the object of glory in praise.

Translation: “Having been filled up with production of spiritual progress [righteousness], which comes through Jesus Christ, for the glory and praise of God.”

Ultra-super-grace production glorifies God forever and has the most fantastic temporal reproduction.

Verse 12 – the super-grace prisoner in Rome. The principle and pattern of life in super-grace. This verse is like Genesis 50:20 and Romans 8:28. They all demonstrate the same principle.

“But I would” – the enclitic particle de used as a transitional conjunction and translated “Now,” plus the present active indicative of the verb boulomai which is used of a person desiring something. It means to wish, to want, to desire, and it is often used in the sense of desiring to clarify a point with someone you love. Paul has already declared his love; these are his greatest friends. Because they are his loved ones an explanation is forthcoming. The present tense is a perfective present, used here to denote the continuation of existing results. It refers to a fact which has come to be in the past but is emphasised right at this moment as a present reality. The active voice: Paul produces the action in his desire to communicate a point of doctrine.

“ye” is the accusative plural direct object from the personal pronoun su; “understand” is the present active infinitive of ginwskw, which means to understand, to comprehend, to learn. Here is it “comprehension” because of an explanation. The present tense is a customary present, it denotes what may be reasonably expected to occur in the case of super-grace. The active voice: the Philippians will produce the action of perceptive comprehension. This is the infinitive of intended result, when the result is indicated as fulfilling a deliberate object. Hence, it is a blending of purpose and result. This is a deliberate explanation to someone you love.

“brethren” is a vocative plural, a)delfoj, indicating that not only is this explanation due them but Paul recognises that he will have students in every generation for the rest of the Church Age and forever, and he wants all of the royal family to come in on this very important point.

“that the things which happened to me” – o(ti, a causal conjunction meaning “because”; ta, a nominative neuter plural definite article, translated “things”; kat’, the preposition, plus the accusative singular of the personal pronoun, eme. Literally, “the things according to me,” but it is an Attic idiom for “my circumstances.”

“have fallen out” – perfect active indicative of e)rxomai, which means to come, but when used of things or events it means to “turn out.” It therefore has the same connotation as all things working together. This is a dramatic perfect, again the rhetorical use of the intensive perfect, completed action, emphasising the existing results as being intensified. The turning out is an intensified result. The active voice: the circumstances of the mature believer produces the action. The indicative mood is declarative for historical reality. This is a dogmatic principle of doctrine that Romans 8:28 is fulfilled in super-grace.

“rather” is mallon, the comparative of the adverb mala. It originally meant to a greater degree, or it can be translated “for a better reason,” but here we have another word with it. We have the enclitic particle de, and that changes the meaning. As a super-grace believer the Roman imprisonment has worked together for good, has turned out in a certain way. Four epistles were written, and of these four Philippians was the last one. Ephesians prepares a person to crack the maturity barrier and in effect tells the believer what he must know to be a mature believer.

“unto the furtherance of the gospel” – e)ij plus the accusative singular of the noun prokoph, meaning progress; then a descriptive genitive e)uaggelia—”gospel”—”for the advance of the gospel.”

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #17

17 05/19/1976 Philippians 1:13 Praetorian guard; doctrine of positional truth

Verse 13 – the impact of the Praetorian Guard. The conjunction w(ste is used to introduce an independent clause and should be translated “With the result that.” We have just seen the principle of “All things work together for good” for mature believers. It is no accident that for two years of Paul’s life he is a prisoner in Rome and that for two years the final decision on his appeal has been delayed before he goes before the ruling Caesar who is Nero. Paul had am impact on the military organisation of that day, an organisation without which no man ever ascended to the throne of Caesar.

“that my bonds” – accusative plural of general reference, which means it is going to be the subject of an infinitive, from the noun desmoj which refers to the chains that were used to shackle people in prison. But since Paul was not shackled (he was under house arrest) it is better to translate desmoj as “imprisonment.” There is a descriptive genitive singular from e)gw, indicating his status quo, and it is translated therefore “With the result that my imprisonment.”

The next phrase deals with the fact that every believer, no matter where he is in time, he is also in union with the Lord Jesus Christ: “in Christ” – e)n plus the locative of Xristoj. It is true that Romans 8:28 applies to the believer. It is also true that due to the fact that every believer is in union with Christ that for every believer, before reaching maturity, the concept of Romans 8:28 is operational in the life. It is obvious, therefore, that for anyone who is positive toward doctrine, or anyone who is operating within the framework of the plan of God, that all things are working in the proper direction. Reason: Every believer is in history and in Christ as of the moment of his salvation. Because he is in Christ and at the same time living on this earth it is impossible for the person who is in Christ not to have a foreshadowing of the principle of Romans 8:28. The principle is therefore very obvious that while Paul’s circumstances vary in phase two his position in Christ never changes. There are three principles that must be pulled together: a) Jesus Christ controls history; b) Every believer is in union with Jesus Christ who controls history: c) Therefore the varying circumstances of life have to turn out right because we are in union with Christ, the same Jesus Christ who controls history.[5]

 “are manifest” is the aorist active infinitive of ginomai. This is translated in the KJV by the verb to be, but it should not be. It should be translated “has become.” With this is the predicate nominative singular from faneroj, meaning “manifest” or “well-known.” Thus far we have, “With the result that my imprisonment in Christ has become well-known.” The aorist tense here is a culminative aorist, it views Paul’s imprisonment in its entirety but it emphasises the existing results. The active voice: Paul’s imprisonment produces the action of the verb. The infinitive is a part of the accusative of general reference, as well as actual result.

“and in all the palace” is an incorrect translation. This is the preposition e)n plus the locative singular from an adjective o(loj—”in all.” But “the palace” is the noun praitwrion which is called in English “Praetorium.” This is a reference to the Praetorium Guard. The Praetorium Guard was a brigade of 10,000 Roman soldiers stationed at the palace of Caesar and in a camp near Rome.

“and in all other places” – the connective kai, plus the locative plural definite article and the locative plural from the adjective paj. The locative plural from loipoj is not correctly translated. It means rest, remainder—”all the rest [of Rome].”

Translation: “With the result that my imprisonment in Christ has become well-known through the entire Praetorium Guard, and to all the rest [of Rome].”

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #18

18 05/20/1976 Philippians 1:14 Supergrace leadership; doctrine of witnessing

Verse 14 – the influence of super-grace leadership. “And many brethren” – the conjunction kai, translated here “in fact,” plus the accusative plural definite article and the accusative plural of pleion, a comparative of poluj, and it means actually “the majority” here. The accusative case is a part of the accusative of general reference with the present active infinitive of lalew which means to communicate; “of the brethren” – i.e. the royal family of God, a descriptive genitive plural of a)delfoj.

“in the Lord” – the preposition e)n plus the locative of kurioj. This time it doesn’t refer to positional truth, it refers to an object. Prepositional phrase is used an object. The participle comes up next, the object of the participle peiqw—perfect passive participle, it means to obey, but in the perfect tense it means to have confidence. Translated, “having received confidence in the Lord.” The perfect tense is intensive in which the action is completed with special emphasis on the results. The results are said to be intensified. The passive voice: the majority of believers in Rome are receiving the action of the verb through the superb leadership of the apostle Paul. Even though the Roman church was in very bad condition it was Paul’s courageous leadership that turned the tide.

“In fact the majority of the brethren, because they had received confidence in the Lord.” This is a causal participle. Such confidence comes not only from the consistent function of GAP but it comes from leadership. Everyone needs a leader. No one understands mankind better than God Himself, and He has made it clear that 98% of all mankind needs some kind of supervision, and therefore a system of authority—establishment, even authority principles related to love. You can’t have anything in life that is worthwhile without authority, even your own self-discipline. The leadership discussed here is a spiritual leadership whereby God Himself provides the commission. He commissioned Paul at the point of his salvation by giving him the gift of apostleship. And there are several spiritual gifts which are the basis for all spiritual leadership. Since apostleship is extinct all that is left is the gift of pastor-teacher, and to a very limited extent evangelism.

“by my bonds” – the instrumental of cause from desmoj. An instrumental of cause means that you are getting back to some origin concepts. Paul is saying the origin of his leadership, his base of action, his base of operation for leadership, is imprisonment. This is translated “because of my imprisonment.” The believers had received confidence because of his imprisonment—not because he was in prison but because in prison he maintained his leadership activities. He continued to teach the Word of God and to rule the church.

“are much more bold” – the comparative adverb perissoteroj. It means “much greater” or “far more,” and the present active infinitive tolmaw, which means to have courage here. With the comparative adverb it means to have “much greater courage.” The infinitive has a descriptive present, it indicates what is now going on. The fact that Paul is in prison and awaiting a very serious trial has not intimidated him at all. The active voice: certain Roman believers seeing that Paul is not intimidated, bolder than ever, produce the action of production. The infinitive is the infinitive of actual result.

“to speak” – present active infinitive of lalew, and it means to communicate. The present tense is iterative, it describes what recurs at successive intervals. Witnessing isn’t something you do all the time, it is something you do as a result of doctrine resident in the soul, as a result of spiritual progress, and at times when God when God gives opportunity. It is something you never force, it is something that God drops in your lap.[6]

“the word” – accusative singular direct object of logoj, referring specifically to the gospel; the adverb a)foboj—”without fear.”

Translation: “In fact the majority of the brethren, since they have received confidence in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have much greater courage to communicate the word without fear.”

Verses 15 & 16, true and false motivation.

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #19

19 05/21/1976 Philippians 1:15a Doctrine of pride (review); false motivation

Verse 15 – “Some indeed,” tinej, the nominative plural subject from the indefinite pronoun tij. ‘Indefinite’ means a specific category. An indefinite pronoun always refers to a specific category of people and therefore it is translated “Certain ones.” It is called an indefinite pronoun because the category is referred to without naming the people in the category. The affirmative particle men in classical Greek is usually used with the particle de: “on the one hand; on the other hand.” This category [certain ones] is the category of false motivation. “On the one hand certain ones.”

“preach” – present active indicative from the verb khrussw. This word is derived from the noun khruc, which is a herald for a king, a representative for a VIP. He must go around and declare the policy of the king, and khrussw means to go around and declare the policy of the king as a herald of the king. The present tense is a descriptive present, it indicates the witnessing is in the process of occurrence. We translate this, “Certain ones [reversionists] are making known.” The active voice: the reversionist, the legalist, under the principle of false motivation is performing the witnessing or testifying. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal action from the viewpoint of actual historical reality.

“Christ” – accusative singular direct object ton Xriston, “the Christ.” The anrtharous construction (without the definite article) always emphasises the person; the definite article merely identifies the noun. The definite article is put in here to indicate that they are talking about Christ, but they are not getting it straight. They are doing it from a false motivation: “even of envy and strife.”[7] This is the ascensive use of kai—”even,” and then dia plus the accusative. The preposition dia plus the genitive means “through,” but here we have dia plus the accusative and it means “because.” The first object is fqonoj—”jealousy.” From this, going into the right lobe and combining with evil the production is “strife, discord, contention” – e)rij: “even because of jealousy and discord.”

1. Arrogance creates hang-ups of the soul. These hang-ups become a source of false motivation in life.

2. When these hang-ups which produce false motivation are reversed by the suppression of pride or arrogance a change reaction of mental attitude sins and evil place the reversionistic believer directly under the command of Satan. False motivation puts them under his policy.

3. Pressure on pride causes that pride to depress, creating a trigger mechanism which sets off the entire range of other mental attitude sins.

4. Not only does the trigger mechanism release these mental attitude sins to the soul but drives them like a projectile into evil, so that evil and mental sins combine to produce a Christian monster who causes dissention and strife in the name of the Lord.

5. The Christian monster resists Bible teaching from his right pastor and reacts to the authority of his right pastor. And by resisting his authority he produces strife and discord in the local church.

6. When the suppression of pride cocks the trigger the trigger released produces jealousy, vindictiveness, implacability, hatred, bitterness.

7. These mental attitude sins are combined with the resistance to doctrine to produce evil in the soul and false motivation in the soul. Therefore legitimate functions, such as witnessing and helping around the church, become an operation of evil.

8. The resultant strife or discord undermines the pastor’s authority and causes strife in the local church.

9. Combined with evil resident in the soul from resisting doctrine and rejection of authority of right pastor, reversionists, then, in emotional revolt, uttering pious phrases, rationalising their alliance with evil as a good thing, cause division among the brethren.

10. And when they are reprimanded by the pastor, or even by friends or associates, they gather their coterie of friends and their social clique and lead them into a labyrinth of confusion, into a maze of reversionism from which recovery is almost totally hopeless, for they are in a baffling network of wrong turns.

11. The right turns demanded for recovery are unthinkable to such arrogance because they demand recognition of the authority of hated right pastor and concentration on that very doctrine which condemns their thought and motivation.

“and some” – tinej de, “on the other hand.” Tinej is the nominative plural subject from the indefinite pronoun tij. Also the ascensive use of the conjunction

kai—”also.” Now we have the good motivation crowd: “of good will,” dia plus the accusative of e)udokia, which means good will or good motivation—”because of good motivation.”

Translation: “On the one hand certain ones [reversionists] are making known the Christ even because of jealousy and strife [discord]; on the other hand certain ones [positive and advancing believers] because of good motivation.”[8]

Pride becomes the basis of all false motivation among those who are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Pride is often a blind spot in the soul of the individual, and especially believers who have been exposed to, or are influenced by, any form of legalism. Pride makes the individual with hang-ups of the soul extremely vulnerable, for pride is highly sensitive to anything in the periphery which in any way attacks it, and an attack upon pride immediately causes it to be compressed and become a trigger system of the soul for all sorts of things that are a source of misery and dishonouring to the Lord.[9]

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #20

20 05/23/1976 Philippians 1:15b Doctrines of jealousy, motivation

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #21

21 05/23/1976 Philippians 1:16–17 Trigger mechanism of pride; blind arrogance

Verses 16 & 17 in the King James version are reversed in the Greek.

Verse 16 – Good motivation, not as in the KJV in verse 17. Bad motivation occurs at verse 17, not as in the KJV in verse 16.

Verse 16, which is really verse 17—Good motivation amplified. The verse begins o(i men e)c a)gaphj. The nominative plural of the definite article o(i refers to the good motive category. This is not to be translated but simply used as a reference point to one of the categories previously given by the indefinite relative pronoun tij, which while it is called indefinite refers to a specific category without naming names, i.e. the good motivation group. Next is the affirmative particle men used correlatively with the particle de to emphasise a contrast between the two categories of motivation. Then comes e)c, which is from the preposition e)k, used because the next word begins with a vowel, plus the ablative of a)gaph. This describes true motivation. A)gaph is a soul with no hang-ups and total capacity for love. The sooner hang-ups are eliminated the sooner and more rapid becomes the believer’s advance spiritually. So this is occupation with Christ. But it is more than that, for the same capacity which is directed toward the Lord Jesus Christ in category #1 is directed toward a member of the opposite sex—a right woman/man, and toward friends, so that the believer is a totally wonderful person because he has capacity for love. It is the exact opposite of pride being depressed. All good motivation is based on capacity for love.

“knowing” is the perfect active participle from o)ida. This is a consummative perfect tense, it denotes a completed process as an implied result from a process. In other words, the reason it is a consummative perfect is because it emphasises the process whereby you are free from hang-ups. The active voice: properly motivated believers produce the action. The proper motivation comes from doctrine in the soul. This is a circumstantial participle to show that there is something which is exactly opposite from what we have been studying. This is the antithesis of the Christian monster!

“that I am set” – the conjunction o(ti [after verbs of cognisance to show the content of the cognisance], translated “that”, plus the present active indicative of keimai which means to recline, to lie down. It therefore comes to mean to be appointed, to be destined. Here it means “I am appointed.” This is a retroactive progressive present, it denotes what was begun in the past and continues into the present time. The active voice: Paul produces the action. The indicative mood is declarative for reality, the reality of being totally free in life from any hang-up about anything.

“for the defence” – e)ij plus the accusative of a)pologia; “of the gospel” – the descriptive genitive singular from e)uaggelion, “good news.”

Translation: “The latter category from the motivation of love [occupation with Christ], knowing that I am appointed for the defence of the good news [the policy of God for the Church Age].”

Verse 17 – False motivation amplified. This refers to the category of verse 15. This verse begins o(i de, the former category making known Christ because of jealousy and discord. In other words, the false motivation crowd is now presented. Next is e)c plus the ablative of e)riqeiaj, which indicates motivation for those who have an erroneous one. It denotes self-seeking. It means to gain one’s objective by causing strife and factions, to derive happiness from someone else’s unhappiness. In other words, to be petty, arrogant, a trouble-maker—”The former category from the motivation of divisive self-promotion.” In other words, one who contrives from intrigue, duplicity, deception, and machination; to promote himself at the expense of creating factions.

“not sincerely” is wrong. It is the strong negative o)uk plus the adverb a(gnoj, and it means “not from pure motive.”

“supposing” – present active participle from o)iomai, which means to think, to presume, to assume. The verb means inference without fact. That is a summary of anyone with hang-ups. The present tense is a descriptive present to indicate what is now going on, the events in the process of occurrence in Rome. Witnessing from false motivation is the background. The active voice: it is really a middle voice with an active meaning. The reversionists in Rome produced the action, they have false motivation, false inference, and they are witnessing in order to retaliate against Paul. The participle is a causal participle, translated therefore, “since they presume.”

“to add” – present active infinitive of e)geirw, which means to wake, to rouse, or to activate. This is an iterative present tense, it describes what recurs at successive intervals. When Paul hears of their false witnessing. The active voice: the reversionists in Rome produce the action, seeking to retaliate against Paul and trying to make him miserable by their false witnessing. The infinitive is intended result in which the result seeks to fulfil a deliberate objective: to make Paul unhappy while he is in prison waiting for trial.

“affliction” – mental pressure or distress, the accusative singular direct object from qliyij; “to my bonds [or incarceration].”

Translation: “The former category from the motivation of divisive self-promotion, not from pure motive, since they presume to arouse [or, activate] mental distress with regard to my incarceration.”

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #22

22 05/24/1976 Philippians 1:18 Pauline modus operandi; avoid pettiness

The conclusion begins in verse 18 with the phrase “What then?”—Ti gar. Ti is literally “What,” the gar is used in the sense of an inference with the interrogative pronoun. It is an idiom which means “What is my conclusion?” The conjunctive particle gar sometimes is used to express inference when used [in this case] with a nominative neuter singular of the interrogative pronoun tij.

“notwithstanding” – an old English translation of an adverb plhn which is used as a conjunction meaning “only, nevertheless, or however.” We translate it only here.

“that in every way” – o(ti is a conjunction used to express verbs of thought. With it, translated with the adverb plhn, “only that,” is the locative neuter of sphere from paj plus the locative from tropoj—”only that in every way.”

“whether in pretence or in truth” – the words whether or is Classical Greek again: e)ite e)ite. After the first e)ite we have the word profasei, the locative of profasij, which means pretext but it is much deeper than that, it means false motive. Then following the second e)ite comes a)lhqeia in the locative which means here a true motive. “Whether in false motivation or true” is the correct translation.

“Christ is preached” – the subject Xristoj refers to the Lord Jesus Christ as the only saviour. It could be translated “Christ and only Christ.” The present passive indicative of kataggellw means to proclaim. It is a verb not indicating the accuracy involved but the person involved is proclaimed. This is a descriptive present for what is occurring in Rome in AD 62. The passive voice: the subject Jesus Christ is receiving the action. Whether it is accurate or inaccurate is not the point, the fact is that He is proclaimed. The indicative mood is declarative for historical fact. The verbal action is the fact that in witnessing, whether true or false motivation is involved, it does bring out the name of Christ and does present Christ before the people as an issue. The principle is, and the thing that Paul is going to use in his conclusion is that people are making an issue of Christ without realising it because of their bad motivation. So God is using the wrath of man to praise Him. At the same time Paul is going to draw a specific conclusion from it. Christ is proclaimed regardless of their motivation and regardless of their accuracy.

“and I therein do rejoice” – incorrect. We have kai e)n touto xairw. Kai can usually be translated “and,” but here is a very unique use of kai. It is the emphatic use of the conjunction and it should be translated “in fact.” “Therein” is actually a prepositional phrase, e)n plus the locative of the demonstrative o(utoj. The demonstrative gives special emphasis on the true issue. The true issue is not the pettiness and false motivation, it is that Christ is being presented by people who are really not interested in presenting Christ but in hurting Paul. But it is boomeranging on them. Jesus Christ controls history. The whole thing is turning around on them and they haven’t even accomplished their objective which is to make Paul unhappy. Paul is not only happy but he is happy in the very thing that they are using against him. We actually have “in fact in this [the thing they are doing].” “I rejoice” is the present active indicative of xairw—”I am happy.” The present tense is a descriptive present for what is now going on. Active voice: Paul produces the action in spite of the efforts to reverse it. The indicative mood is declarative for unqualified assertion of a fact—false motivation—and all of the other things that accompany this false motivation cannot possibly hurt the person who is insulated with doctrine, occupied with Christ, and about to step into ultra-super-grace. Paul is able to ignore all the pettiness. Xairw means inner happiness. But here xairw means inner happiness under a certain concept: minus hang-ups of the soul.

“yea” is an old English word. It is the affirmative use of the conjunction a)lla [a)lla is generally used as an adversative conjunction], translated here “in fact.”

“and will rejoice” – kai is used with the rhetorical ascensive of the conjunction a)lla, and it is translated “not only at this time but.” Kai is used here as an idiom. “I will continue being happy” – future middle indicative of xairw. The progressive future denotes the idea of progress in future time.

Translation: “What is my conclusion? Only that, in every way. Whether in false motivation or true, Christ is being proclaimed; in fact, in this I am happy, not only now, but I will continue to be happy.”

The Pauline modus operandi

1. Paul does not condone false teaching or false doctrine. Nor does this verse imply it.

2. Paul does not concern himself with false motivation, therefore he does not become involved in pettiness.

3. False motivation becomes self-destructive and a part of satanic policy of evil.

4. Therefore false motivation is a matter for God and His administration of justice. Paul does not become involved.

5. Paul ignores the false teaching, the false motivation, and finds happiness in the fact that Christ is being proclaimed to the citizens of Rome—falsely, but at least He is being presented.

6. Not only is Paul happy at this moment but his happiness will be perpetuated into intensification. It will be perpetuated regardless of any personal circumstances or catastrophes of history.

7. Bible doctrine resident in the soul is the basis for Paul’s happiness, not the false or true motivation of others.

8. Furthermore, Paul’s ministry and happiness will both continue since they do not depend on what others do.

9. This fact leads to the super-grace [maturity] interpretation of contemporary history: Catastrophe and disaster in history cannot change the blessing or the happiness of the mature believer.

10. Principle: Happiness belongs to the person with no hang-ups in the soul, no hypersensitivity.

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #23

23 05/25/1976 Philippians 1:19 S–G2 interpretation of history; Greek drama

Verse 19 – the super-grace interpretation of history. Jesus Christ controls history under three separate categories. He controls history directly through His

power and perfect attributes, His essence. He controls indirectly through the laws of divine establishment. He controls permissively by permitting evil to run its course in history in order that the angelic conflict might be completed. This must now be related to the principle of advance to maturity. The advance to maturity is accomplished by persistent intake of Bible doctrine.

“For I know” – this begins with the inferential use of the conjunctive particle gar, the word translated “for,” but is actually used to express a self-evident conclusion from Paul’s ability to interpret history. The perfect active indicative of o(ida—the perfect is used as a present tense for knowledge or doctrine in the right lobe of the apostle. This is a perfective present denoting continuing results, and the continuation of these results goes on at that moment in history. This is a part of the correct interpretation of contemporary history. Paul, through doctrine, has come to understand the significance of the Roman empire. We translate the inferential use of the conjunction “indeed”—”Indeed I know.” This is the expression of total confidence. The perfect tense used as a perfective present tense is an expression of a confidence when he realises that history demands his continuation. The situation in history, the tremendous intensity of opposition, suddenly turned everything around for him. That opposition is meaningful, supernatural, extra-natural. It has some meaning or purpose that has eluded him up until now, and in the next few verses we see one of the most beautiful pictures of how common sense, maximum doctrine in the soul, the reasoning power which is given to anyone who has divine viewpoint, is brought to focus in a perfect interpretation of contemporary history, and then a perfect interpretation of the meaning of his own life and why he must go on.

“that this” – the conjunction o(ti introduces an objective clause. This is used to show a conclusion, after verbs of knowing, after verbs of confidence expressed. It indicates a conclusion, and the principle. The subject of the objective clause is the nominative singular neuter from the demonstrative pronoun o(utoj—”this.” This is an immediate demonstrative because it is emphasising something in the context. “Indeed I know that this event.”

“shall turn” – the future middle indicative from a)pobainw. The word means to come back, to turn out, to disembark from a ship, and possibly to result from something. Here it means to turn out as another illustration of the principle of Romans 8:28. The future tense is a predictive future for an event which has not occurred but is expected to occur in the near future. The middle voice is a dynamic middle, it emphasises the part taken by the subject in the action of the verb. The subject is the nominative neuter singular of the demonstrative pronoun referring to the events described in verses 13-18 as a part of contemporary history. Paul interprets this extensive witnessing for Christ as an inference that his soon release is about to occur. The indicative mood is declarative for historical reality, and bringing all of these things together in his mind and correctly interpreting history gives him a new lease on life.

“to my salvation” is wrong. This includes the dative singular indirect object from the personal pronoun e)gw—very important in the interpretation of history on the part of the believer because he must start with the awareness of his own existence. In interpretation of history it is normal to relate yourself to what is going on in history. Ego is not arrogance or pride, it is self-consciousness, awareness of one’s own existence, and the ability to use doctrine in the soul to face the reality of contemporary events. Then a prepositional phrase, e)ij plus the accusative of swthria—translated deliverance, not salvation. It should be translated, “Indeed I know that this shall turn out to me for deliverance [or, deliverance for me].” Note that this is an anartharous construction in the prepositional phrase, no definite articles of any kind. That indicates the highest quality of deliverance, a divine deliverance, the direct intervention of the Lord Jesus Christ to turn around courtroom procedures and to hold back the trial. So we have, then, when a person can take doctrine and integrate it with current events and come up with the answer. It also confirms the fact that Romans 8:28 applies to the mature believer without any questions or doubts.

   Principle

12. Paul now relates the events of contemporary history to two other events which are involved in his deliverance.

13. Both of these factors come directly from the Philippian congregation, namely their prayers and their monetary offering.

“through your prayer” – Paul notices the power of prayer, dia plus the genitive singular of dehsij. This means “through intercessory prayer,” but he also

specifies the origin, for their origin indicates their love and personal interest. It is the ablative plural of means from the personal pronoun su. Ordinarily the ablative is not used to express means, but it may be used to express means when accompanied by the implication of origin or source. The Philippians loved Paul so much that they prayed for him all the time. This is the prayer of those who have broken through the maturity barrier and have followed Paul.

“and the supply” – the continuative use of the conjunction kai, used to indicate that the prepositional phrase is not over and that there will be another object of the preposition, i.e. the genitive or ablative of e)pixoregia. This is an Attic Greek word and one of the oldest words in all of the history of drama. It was originally used for a very wealthy Athenian who provided the money for the chorus to train for a year for Greek tragedy. The next phrase, “of the Spirit,” emphasises the source of all this true giving, but in effect the Philippian offering is e)pixoregia, it provides Paul with what he needs by way of money for the next five years plus. So we call this logistical provision—”and logistical provision.” Then we have to add a word not found in the original—”motivated.” They were motivated by God.

“of the Spirit of Jesus Christ” – the ablative singular of means for pneuma, referring here to God the Holy Spirit. This is the origin of their motivation. Again, the ablative is used when the origin is emphasised. Then the genitive of relationship from I)hsouj Xristoj. Jesus Christ is mentioned because it is the ministry of God the Holy Spirit in this dispensation to glorify Jesus Christ. So the motivation for all of these things: doctrine resident in their souls and the ministry of God the Holy Spirit.

Translation: “Indeed I know that this shall turn out for deliverance to me through your intercessory prayer, and logistical provision, motivated by the Spirit of Jesus Christ.”

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #24

24 05/26/1976 Philippians 1:20–21 Esprit de corps of the mature believer

Verse 20 – the esprit décorps of the mature believer—especially the super-grace believer.

“According to me earnest expectation” is a Greek prepositional phrase, Kata plus the accusative of the definite article, plus the accusative of the noun a)pokaradokia [a)po = from; kara = head; dokuw = to watch], which means to watch with the head stretched forward, and comes to mean intense concentration which, of course, is involved in the daily function of GAP. It should be translated, “According to my intense concentration.” The principle behind this prepositional phrase: Intense concentration denotes giving Bible doctrine number one priority. It also denotes the modus vivendi of the daily function of GAP. It comes to means that all esprit décorps in the royal family of God must originate from doctrine inside of the believer’s own soul.

“and my hope” is the continuation of the prepositional phrase. This time there is the word e)lpij in the accusative and it does not mean hope this time, it actually means here confidence. Confidence is based upon the fact that Bible doctrine has the number one priority, and from this you have the reversal of the pride trigger mechanism which starts all the mental attitude sins that combine with evil to form a believer serving up with Satan. Bible doctrine knocks out evil and the process is reversed.

“that” is the conjunction o(ti used after a verb of perception to indicate what is being taught; the content of thought.

“in nothing” is a prepositional phrase, again, e)n plus the locative of o)udeij. This means to the various aspects of life.

“I shall be ashamed” – the future passive indicative of a)isxunw which means here to be disgraced. He is talking about the disgrace of being vulnerable to having hang-ups of the soul resulting from pride—hypersensitivity, etc. This means total freedom from the arrogance complex.

“but” is an adversative conjunction, a)lla, that sets up a contrast between the person with hang-ups and the person with no hang-ups, the person with blind arrogance in the soul and the person with no arrogance at all.

“with all boldness” – the preposition e)n plus the instrumental of parhsia which means courage or confidence, boldness in the presence of persons, joyous confidence in relationship with God, etc. The problem with determining the meaning of parhsia here is that the various connotations all relate to the political sphere, the private sphere, moral concepts of integrity, and the word was actually developed in the Attic Greek in that line, especially where it was used for freedom of speech and expressing the courage of the soul or the integrity of the soul. So in the private sphere it was used for someone who was not afraid to censor a friend, hence boldness of speech, and eventually it came to mean candour or frankness. Eventually it went back into the origins of the soul where it meant to have no hang-ups, to be totally relaxed and therefore to be a good friend. It finally comes to mean integrity, which is its meaning here—”but with integrity.” Integrity is the state or quality of being unbroken, complete, undivided, with honour and sometimes with moral courage added.

“as always” – the relative adverb w(j, used as a comparative particle indicating the manner in which something proceeds, plus the adverb of time pantote, always. The two words together mean “as always.”

“so now also” – kai nun is literally “even now.” This is the ascensive use of kai and it should be translated even; nun is an adverb of time.

“Christ shall be magnified” – the nominative singular of Xristoj used as the subject. Here is true esprit décorps in the royal family of God, Christ magnified. Christ is magnified, not by running around doing things for God but by having a soul that is free from hang-ups. The subject is the Lord Jesus Christ; this is anartharous, there is no definite article. The absence of the definite calls attention to the uniqueness of the person of Jesus Christ. He is the only one in history worth glorifying. That is the principle of the absence of the definite article. The reason is because He is unique, the God-Man. The unseen battle is the major emphasis on glorifying Him.

“shall be magnified” is the gnomic future of megalunw which means to be exalted. The gnomic future is for a statement of fact expected under normal conditions of being a super-grace believer. The passive voice: Jesus Christ receives the glorification or exaltation from believers in super-grace.

“in my body” – e)n plus the locative of swma, used here for the entire person alive in phase two, rather than just the body. Swma is used for just the body, but also it is used for a person being alive in time. Translated under those conditions it is translated “in my person.”

Now Paul brings the issue. He has been leaning toward dying. He thought for a while that he was going to be executed by Nero at this time, now he has been told to start leaning the other way.

“wether by life, or by death” – this is the dilemma of his personal interpretation of history. Is it time for him to leave this life and to go to be with the Lord, or should he anticipate staying around for a while longer? What is the Lord’s will for his life? He is ready to go to be with the Lord but is now facing a very serious dilemma. The translation here is correct: e)ite dia zwhj; dia plus the genitive of zwh; e)ite e)ite is Attic Greek and is translated “either, or.” Then comes dia plus the genitive of qanatoj, which can be translated either “through” or “by.”

Translation: “According to my intense concentration [on doctrine] and resultant confidence, that in nothing I shall be disgraced, but with integrity [or, spiritual maturity], even now as always, Christ shall be exalted in my person, whether by life, or by death.”

Verse 21 – the principle of this verse is: You carry around your own solutions long before you face the problems. This verse is not for new believers.

“For” is the explanatory use of the postpositive conjunctive particle gar—”For you see.”

“to me” is a dative of indirect object singular from the emphatic personal pronoun e)gw—”for me.” This refers to Paul in super-grace. This is also dative of advantage.

“to live” – the articular present active infinitive from the verb zaw. The articular infinitive is a verbal noun used here as the subject, and when the infinitive is used as a substantive it is translated like a gerund—”For me living.” The noun force of the infinitive is found in the articular use of the infinitive.

“Christ” – Xristoj, predicate nominative indicating occupation with Christ. Occupation with Christ comes in three stages: For the believer who has cracked the maturity barrier and is in super-grace, as a part of his SG2, category #1, he has occupation with Christ—maximum love of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has the capacity to love Jesus Christ who is invisible. Then, in super-grace B he is under the logistical support of Bravo grace, and so occupation with Christ is taken out of SG2 and becomes his logistical support. He is going to be ambushed by friends and loved ones who come out of nowhere as reversionists and try to lead him astray. But when getting into ultra-super-grace occupation with Christ, along with all of these blessings, intensifies to the maximum.

“and” is the adjunctive use of kai and should be translated here, “likewise.”

“or by death” – the articular aorist active infinitive of a)poqnhskw; This is a noun, a substantive, and it should be translated “dying.”

“gain” – predicate nominative, kerdoj, for great profit or unusual gain. This is a reference to dying grace and the fact that being a mature believer he is going to accrue profit for all eternity after the judgment seat of Christ.

Translation: “For me living is Christ [occupation with Christ], likewise dying is gain.”

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #25

25 05/27/1976 Philippians 1:22 Doctrine of ultra–supergrace (review)

Verse 22 – the dilemma of the mature believer. “But” is an enclitic particle de, used here as an adversative conjunction to emphasise the contrast between life and death; “if” is a conditional particle e)i to introduce a first class condition, a supposition from the viewpoint of reality—”if I live,” and the supposition here is a correct one although he will explore the possibility of death.

“I live” is the articular present active infinitive from the verb zaw, used as a noun to repeat the alternative of the previous verse. The first alternative, then, is living. “But since living is Christ” is the way it should be translated. It must be related to the previous verse. We don’t translate e)i as “if” because this is the actual first class condition and it can be legitimately translated “since.” Or, as we might translate it, “But since living in the flesh is Christ,” because we have e)n plus sarc—”in the flesh.” This refers to physical life on earth as a mature believer; being in the body.

“this” – nominative neuter singular subject from the demonstrative pronoun o(utoj. This emphasises phase two being lived in spiritual maturity: “this status of maturity” is the way we could translate it. It is the near demonstrative. The word “is” must be added, though it is not found in the original because we have a predicate nominative singular from karpoj—”fruit” is all right, karpoj does mean fruit in Greek. It also means “result, outcome, profit, gain, advantage.” Here it means “result.” Also, there is the dative singular indirect object from the personal pronoun e)gw. “This status of maturity is for me a result.”

“of my labour” – there is no my in the original, it is simply the genitive of possession singular of e)rgon, used here for accomplishment or achievement. The accomplishment here is grace achievement.

“yet” – the emphatic use of kai should be translated “really”; “what” is the accusative neuter singular from the interrogative pronoun tij. The accusative with this is the direct object of the verb of perception, the present active indicative of gnwrizw—”really I do not know what [I am going to decide/do].” “Not” is the negative o)uk. The present tense is a descriptive present to indicate what is now going on. The active voice: the subject is Paul, he produces the action of the verb of not knowing what his preference is between living and dying. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of Paul’s dilemma.

“I shall choose” – future middle indicative of a)irew. The middle voice changes the meaning of a)irew a little. In the middle voice it means to choose or exercise an option, and since the verb connotes selective preference, and since the subject is a dilemma with few possibilities, it is correctly translated “I prefer,” because it is a deliberative future. The deliberative future is used for a question of uncertainty, expressed therefore in the future indicative. The middle voice: the subject is Paul and he participates in the results of the action of the verb as the agent. The direct middle refers the results of the action directly to the agent Paul with reflexive force. The indicative mood is potential, a potential indicative of obligation; it is not declarative.

Translation: “But since living in the flesh is Christ, this status of maturity is for me a result of grace achievement [accomplishment]. Really, I do not know what I myself prefer.”

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #26

26 05/27/1976 Philippians 1:23–24 Paul's dilemma; count down to ultra–supergrace

Verse 23 – “For” is the enclitic particle de which is used here as an emphatic conjunction and translated “In fact.”

“I am in a strait” – present passive indicative from the verb sunexw [sun = together with; e)xw = to have and to hold]. It means to hold together with, to have the means to hold together, also to hold in custody. But is also has another meaning, especially in the passive voice: to be hard pressed, to receive pressure. To receive pressure in this case from several points. In fact, this is a Greek idiom for a dilemma. “In fact, I am hard pressed from two alternatives” is the real meaning here. It is idiomatice for, “I am hard pressed to choose between the two alternatives.” We also have “betwixt two”: e)k plus the ablative of the definite article plus the ablative of duw, and it should be translated “from the two”, and it refers to the two alternatives. So sunexw plus the prepositional phrase is all part of a Greek idiom expressing a dilemma, and expressing the fact that there are two alternatives to be considered. The present tense of sunexw is a descriptive present for what is now going on—the dilemma. The passive voice: Paul receives the action of the verb—pressure from both sides of the dilemma. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of the dilemma of choosing between going on to ultra-super-grace or going to heaven. He has already indicated his own preference. As far as he is concerned going to heaven is much more important than even going to ultra-super-grace, though ultra-super-grace is the ideal situation in life. Life isn’t so important to Paul, the relationship with the Lord is so great, his occupation with Christ is so important, his love is so important. This is love of a member of the Godhead who is invisible to him; he sees Him who is invisible, and he loves the Lord Jesus Christ much more than he loves life.

“having a desire” – thn e)piqumian e)xwn. This includes the present active participle of e)xw. The reason we start with this is because of the type of participle we have. This is a causal participle and it is translated “because I have.” The retroactive progressive present denotes what was begun in the past and continues into the present time. The active voice: Paul is producing the action in the thinking with regard to his dilemma. Then the accusative of the definite article thn plus e)piqumian, also in the accusative, and they are the objects of the participle. It should be translated then, “In fact, I am hard pressed to choose between the two alternatives because I have the desire.” The word e)piqumia means desire.

“to depart” – this is a prepositional phrase, e)ij plus the accusative of the definite article plus the articular infinitive. The infinitive is the aorist active infinitive of a)naluw. This is a reference to dying. The meaning of the verb a)naluw is very important, it means to weigh anchor, to unloose threads, to strike a tent, to break camp. All of these meanings apply to physical death; all of them apply, in this case, to Paul. He wants to depart from this life. The meanings apply in this way: Paul says, I am ready for the thread to be snapped.” The snapping of the thread is death. Even though this is an aorist active infinitive, neither the aorist nor the active voice have any meaning as far as the verb is concerned because this is, again, the articular infinitive.

To review the concept, in its earliest appearance in the Sanskrit the infinitive had a noun origin. It was not a verb at all. The infinitive is a relic of a declension rather than a conjugation. It represent two primitive noun inflections, the dative and the locative. The voice and tense of the infinitive is not found until as early as Homer. Therefore it is concluded that it originated somewhere along the line in prehistoric Greek. As a noun the infinitive has case relationship and is accompanied by the preposition and the definite article. As a verb it is often without the definite article, and occasionally in the Koine of the New Testament the articular infinitive will have a verbal connotation. The articular infinitive is an Attic idiom, it is Classical Greek and it is, once more, a demonstration of objectivity. Every use of the Attic or Classical Greek in Philippians is a demonstration of objectivity. Paul is very relaxed about this, he is very objective, he has no hang-ups in life, and therefore when he says that he prefers to weigh anchor or strike his tent it isn’t because of some adverse incident or circumstance of life. It has nothing to do with subjectivity, he has no hang-ups of the soul.

“and” is a resultant use of kai, correctly translated “and so.”

“to be” – present active infinitive of e)imi, the verb to be. The present tense is a futuristic present for an event which has not yet occurred (his death) but is regarded as so certain in Paul’s thought that he takes it for granted. He thought that he was going to die after the elapse of time in this first Roman imprisonment. It can also be regarded as a static present for a situation taken for granted as a fact. The active voice: Paul produces the action of being with Christ after death. The infinitive is for conceived result which is assumed as a consequence of dying, and is translated literally, “to keep on being.”

“with Christ” – sun plus the instrumental of Xristoj is translated “together with Christ.” This is anartharous, i.e. there is no definite article. The absence of the definite article calls attention to the uniqueness of the Lord Jesus Christ, and specifically with the Attic Greek phrase, the articular infinitive, it emphasises the uniqueness of Christ in the thinking of Paul. While Christ is unique He is not unique in the thinking of many believers. In order for the uniqueness of Christ to be a reality you have to know certain doctrines, they have to be resident in your soul. You have to understand doctrine and then the uniqueness of Christ emerges as a beautiful thing in your soul and as a part of category #1 love. Not all believers understand nor appreciate nor admire the uniqueness of Christ. The absence of the definite article here simply follows the fact that his maximum category #1 love makes him appreciate. To him Christ is unique; it is real, much more real than anything in life. So this is translated: “and so to keep on being together with Christ.”

“which is far better” – this is really not what he says. There is no verb here, it is a triple comparative and this is extremely emphatic—pollw gar mallon kreisson. He considers at this point that dying grace, absent from the body and face to face with the Lord, to be infinitely better than remaining behind for his triumph in life. For the Lord is about to vindicate Paul’s ministry as never before. He is truly in love with the Lord as very few people would be. The word gar is translated “for.” Pollw is “by means of.” Mallon is “much.” Kreisson is “to a greater degree”—”for by means of much to a greater degree better.” It is the idiom which gives the meaning here. This is a perfect illustration of a literal translation of an idiom. It doesn’t mean anything to us in English, we have to know what the idiom is.

Breaking this down: gar is the explanatory use of the enclitic conjunction—”for,” with the implication that he is referring to the alternative of dying; “for this alternative.” Then the instrumental of measure from polluj, used to express degree of difference: “by much.” The adverb mallon is a comparative meaning “to a greater degree.” Kreisson is a comparative from a)gaqoj, meaning “better.” This is an idiom meaning, “for it is better by far.”

Translation: “In fact, I am hard pressed to choose between the two alternatives [of life and death], because I have a desire to weigh anchor, and so to keep on being together with Christ; for this alternative is better by far.”

Verse 24 – “Nevertheless” is the postpositive conjunctive particle de [which has a number of translations and uses], used to state the second alternative which is God’s plan and provision for Paul, as well as the means by which the Philippians are going to go as a congregation all the way to ultra-super-grace. Corrected translation: “Yet on the other hand.”

“to abide” – the articular present active infinitive of e)pimenw which means to remain. The present tense is retroactive progressive present, denoting what has happened in the past and continues into the present time: Paul’s continuation in phase two. The active voice: Paul produces the action of the verb, continuing in time as a part of God’s will and God’s plan for his life. The infinitive denotes God’s purpose, God’s will. It is verbal in its use to denote purpose whereas the previous articular infinitive was substantive in its use to denote the preference of Paul.

“in the flesh” – sarc means flesh all right; it also means body. But it also means “in person”—e)n plus the locative of sarc.

“more needful” – the comparative predicate nominative singular from a)nagkaioj, which means “more necessary”; “for you” – dia plus the accusative of the personal pronoun su, which means “because of you all.” Paul must remain alive lead them to ultra-super-grace. His focus has to do with the original recipients of this epistle, the Philippians. It is necessary for Paul’s ministry to reach a triumphal climax, a procession through the ancient world where the setting aside of all of his enemies, the total neutralisation of all of those who have tried to destroy his ministry, can occur.

Translation: “Yet on the other hand to remain in my body [in person] is more necessary for your sake.”

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #27

27 05/30/1976 Philippians 1:25–27a Paul, logistical provision to ultra–supergrace

Verse 25 – Paul is the logistical provision for the attainment of ultra-super-grace. It is Paul who leads the way. There has to be a leader at a crisis period in history, and this one leader has now emerged.

“And having this confidence” includes the conjunction kai which introduces a result which comes from what precedes. Under this use we translated the conjunction “And so”; plus the accusative neuter singular direct object from the demonstrative pronoun o(utoj. This is the immediate demonstrative used to designate a thought relatively near in actuality. With it is the perfect active participle of peiqw, an important verb because it means to obey in the present tense, and in the aorist tense; and obedience in certain areas of the spiritual realm finally comes to mean strong faith. In the perfect tense it means to have what very few people in life really have, and that is total and complete confidence on a day by day and moment by moment basis. This word here means to have confidence. We have a causal participle, and so we translate it “since having confidence.” We have a consummative perfect tense. The perfect is the concept of a completed action and this use does not have the emphasis on existing results so much as a process which has occurred and is now being consummated. It is a reference to the fact that a process has occurred with Paul: he has GAPed it, he has recovered from his Jerusalem reversionism, he has cracked the maturity barrier. Therefore the consummative perfect is not merely the process but a consummative process of glorifying Jesus Christ to the maximum. God is now preparing Paul for departing from Rome and having a five-year plus triumphal procession through the ancient world, strengthening churches, leading congregations to ultra-super-grace and evangelising Spain. Then active voice: Paul, after the process of doctrinal application, has produced the action of completing a process of thought resulting in his present confidence. “And so having this confidence [in this principle of doctrine].”

“I know” – the perfect of o)ida used as a present tense for the frame of reference of the right lobe. This is the perfective present denoting the continuation of existing results. Paul is producing the action. The indicative mood is historical reality as well as the main verb related to the participle. Paul has confidence; he has knowledge. When you have confidence through entering this stage of maturity you also have knowledge of doctrine, and your knowledge is used to correctly interpret contemporary history. He is on the right side of history, he thoroughly understands the issue, and he now completely understands why he must remain alive even though he chooses to depart from this world.

“that” is the conjunction o(ti used after verbs of perception to indicate the content of Paul’s conclusion; “I shall remain” – future active indicative from the verb menw, which means to remain or abide, to stay, to continue. This is a predictive future. Paul realises that he is going to stay alive and therefore he is, in effect, saying so. The active voice: Paul produces the action by remaining in phase two to complete his mission, his triumphal procession as an ultra-super-grace believer and to lead others into the same status. The indicative mood is declarative for relating his life to history in a very dogmatic way of confidence.

“and continue” – the future active indicative of paramenw. This is very strong, menw followed by a compound of menw, paramenw [para = beside; menw = to continue]. It simply means here to continue beside life rather than going to be with the Lord. This is a progressive future, however, and enotes the idea of progress in future time. The active voice: Paul produces the action. The indicative mood: he has correctly interpreted history, he has correctly evaluated contemporary events, he has his finger on the pulse of history, and he realises his own relationship to it as he now moves into the ultra-super-grace status.

“with you all” – the instrumental plural of association from the adjective paj, and with it the pronoun su, “with all of you.” Specifically the Philippian church is going to be the key, it is made up of super-grace believers. Because the Philippians and others need to advance to ultra-super-grace Paul must continue in phase two. Therefore it will be almost six years before he sees the Lord face to face through physical death. This association means that Paul is personally going to come back to Philippi and teach them so that they will go into ultra-super-grace.

“for the furtherance” – a prepositional phrase, e)ij plus the accusative from prokoph. This does not really mean furtherance, it means progress.

“and the joy of faith” – the connective kai, the accusative singular direct object of the preposition xara [e)ij plus xara] which is +H. This is one of the category #2 blessings of paragraph SG2—”and your inner happiness.” Then an ablative singular of source from pistij. Pistij does mean faith but that is one of three different meanings. It means what is believed or doctrine, and that is the meaning here—”from the source of doctrine.” Remember that all happiness in life for the believer, since the day he was born again, must be associated with doctrine. As doctrine is associated with your soul you relate yourself to life and have great capacity for life and blessing.

Translation: “And so since having confidence [in this principle of doctrine], I know that I shall remain [in phase two] and be continuing in association with all of you [Philippians] for the purpose of your advance and inner happiness from doctrine.”

That is only the first half of the sentence which he continues in verse 26.

Verse 26 – “That” is the conjunction i(na which introduces a final clause. A final clause means purpose, goal, objective, and it is a reminder to each one of us that as long as we live on this earth God has a purpose for our lives.

“your rejoicing” – this is not the word rejoicing at all, this is the Greek word kauxhma and it means “boasting.” It also has another meaning. In addition to what is said in boasting it means the object of boasting, it means glorying, but here it does mean boasting, boasting without pride. So kauxhma has to connotations: boasting plus pride and minus pride. Here it means boasting in the sense of stating a confidence in a time of uncertainty. But historical uncertainties do not change the confidence of any believer in super-grace/maturity. So boasting here refers to confidence and it does not refer to the sinful type boasting which is a manifestation of pride. With this is the possessive genitive plural from the pronoun su. This is the boasting of the mature believers at Philippi. They are right behind the apostle Paul, therefore they have a confidence which comes from doctrine in their souls as Paul has confidence from doctrine in his soul.

“may be more abundant” – present active subjunctive from the verb perisseuw which means to abound or to overflow. This is a retroactive progressive present denoting what was begun in the past and continues into the present time. The confidence or boasting has abounded in the past and continues to abound as the Philippians look to Paul to lead them to the final objective. The active voice: the Philippian confidence in Paul as a communicator of doctrine produces the action of the verb. No one ever advances spiritually apart from his own right communicator. The present tense is retroactive progressive present denoting what was begun in the past and continues into the present time. The confidence or boasting has abounded in the past and it must continue. The active voice: Philippian confidence in Paul as a communicator of doctrine produces the action. The subjunctive mood with i(na denotes purpose, objective and goal. It is God’s purpose that Paul remains for five plus years.

“in Christ Jesus” – this denotes the sphere of confidence. You first discover that confidence is a part of the Christian way of life when you discover, after salvation, that you have received 36 things at salvation, one of which is being entered into union with Christ. This is the beginning of understanding your confidence—positional sanctification.

Note that the subjunctive mood not only denotes a purpose but is a potential subjunctive indicating the fact that this is only true for those who follow their right pastor day by day in the function of GAP, until the objective is achieved.

“for me” is incorrect, it is e)n plus the instrumental singular from the personal pronoun e)gw and it should be translated “by means of me.” Here is Paul recognising the purpose for remaining alive. They can’t make it without Paul’s teaching. Paul in his doctrinal teaching is not only the means of taking the Philippians to maturity but it is the means of countless generations of believers going through the same procedure toward the objective.

“by my coming to you again” – dia plus the genitive of the definite article, plus the possessive genitive of an adjective e)moj, and also by the genitive object of dia which is parousia, the word for coming or being present—”through my return to you again.” There is a second prepositional phrase, proj plus the accusative plural of su. The word “again” is the adverb palin, used to denote the return to a previous activity.

Translation: “That your confident glorying in Christ Jesus may abound by means of me through my return once more, face to face with you.”

Principle

1. Paul anticipates a personal return to Philippi and having the privilege of leading many of them to ultra-super-grace.

2. It is concluded, therefore, that both Paul and the pastor, Epaphroditus, will be involved in the final countdown of getting the Philippians to the objective.

3. Obviously Paul must remain in phase two to attain ultra-super-grace himself and to lead others in the same direction.

4. No greater responsibility has ever been entrusted to a member of the royal family of God than the communication of Bible doctrine, so that believers can grow in grace.

5. No greater honour can be conferred on a male believer than to possess the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher to which God has chosen to provide for the spiritual advance of every believer.

6. There is no spiritual progress from doctrine apart from its communication by a right pastor.

7. The spiritual gift carries the greatest responsibility in both preparation and execution.

8. Execution carries the greatest responsibility of faithfulness to God in the function of studying and communicating. Therefore Paul begins to see a pattern in why he must remain. This responsibility requires the most in self-discipline, dedication, understanding the job profile of the pastor-teacher as located in the Word of God.

Verse 27 – “Only” is a neuter adjective monon from monoj. It is used as an adverb limiting the action of the one designated by the verb. So it is translated

“Only.”

“let your conversation” – the present middle imperative from the verb politeuomai which means to have one’s citizenship or to have one’s home in a specific

area. It means also to rule or to govern a state, to live or conduct one’s life in a certain manner, to lead one’s life. To discharge one’s obligations as citizens. Neither here nor in Acts 21 does the word contain any reference, however, to life in society as such. There are no political implications of the word in either place, it simply involves the New Testament usage of the verb which means to lead one’s life or to discharge personal responsibility in life. “Only lead your life” is a better translation. The present tense is a customary present, it denotes what habitually occurs or may reasonably be expected to occur among those who are advancing to maturity. The middle voice is the indirect middle stressing the agent as producing the action rather than participating in the results of the action. This is a command—imperative mood. The degree of authority invoked in the command and the degree of probability that the recipient will respond or obey is incidental to this mood. Degrees of probability are found in the indicative and subjunctive moods. The original authority was the apostle Paul as the human writer in giving this command. However, the apostleship gives Paul the authority and the power to transmit for a permanent record, a command not only to the Philippians but to us today. “Only conduct your life as royal family of God” is the command here.

“as it becometh” is the adverb a)ciwj meaning “worthy of”—”in a manner worthy of.”

“the gospel of Christ” – e)uaggelion, descriptive genitive which means good news—”the good news doctrines of the Christ.” This does not refer to the gospel of salvation only but is much more extensive. Here it refers to any portions of the Word of God dealing with the royal family and advance to maturity, spiritual growth.

Principle

14. It is good news that doctrine resident in the soul carries the believer to the objective of maturity.

15. It is good news that reaching maturity is the manner worthy of such doctrine.

16. It is good news that Christ is glorified in time by the attainment of spiritual maturity.

17. It is good news that such glorification of Christ is accompanied by fantastic blessing.

18. There is only one way to go in the Christian life and that is forward.

19. All believers should be offensively minded. Hence, in effect, what we have here is the command to attack, and that means thrust forward, advance.

20. This is accomplished in only one way—the daily function of GAP, the daily intake of spiritual food. The believer must take the high ground of spiritual maturity.

“that” is the conjunction i(na which introduces a final clause. A final clause denotes a purpose, an objective, a goal, an aim in life. It is translated here, “in order

that.”

Then we have Classical Greek again, the repetition of e)ite, e)ite, “whether, or.” They state the two alternatives of Paul’s ministry to the Philippians. With this is the aorist active participle from e)rxomai which means to come or to go. Here it means to come. This is a constative aorist which indicates Paul’s personal presence in Philippi to teach Bible doctrine. The active voice: Paul produces the action of the verb in face to face teaching. The participle is circumstantial.

“and see you” – another aorist active participle, this time from the verb o(raw. O(raw connotes a panoramic view and is consistent with Paul teaching the Philippians over a period of time. Again, we have a constative aorist tense which gathers into one entirety Paul’s face to face teaching with the Philippians. The active voice: Paul produces the action by personally visiting them. Again, the participle is circumstantial. Plus the accusative plural from the personal pronoun su, referring to a very special congregation. This is translated, “whether I come and see you.”

The second alternative is for Paul to be absent. Again there is e)ite introducing the alternative. This time we have the present active participle from a)peimi which means to remain absent, not to be absent. This is a perfective present tense, it denotes a continuation of existing results, i.e. Paul’s continued absence from a face to face situation. Active voice: Paul produces the action. And again, it is a circumstantial participle. It is translated, “or remain absent.”

Now having presented the alternatives, both of which have existed with the Philippians congregation, he now amplifies that regardless of whether he is absent or present there should be no retrograde movement of any kind. There should be no retreat under any circumstances. They should have enough stability so that they can stand fast or advance, but definitely not retreat. No withdrawing action is enjoined.

“I may hear” – present active subjunctive from the verb a)kouw. This verb in the present tense is futuristic. The futuristic present is one in which the action of hearing hasn’t occurred yet but is regarded as so certain as to be coming to pass. Paul will receive a report. In effect, that is what this verb deals with: he will receive information regarding them. Active voice: Paul produces the action of receiving reports. The subjunctive mood is potential, it implies a future reference, it is qualified by the element of contingency.

“of your affairs” – a Classical Greek idiom, ta peri u(mwn plus the genitive plural of the personal pronoun su. It is literally, ta = the things; peri = concerning; u(mwn = you. This is an idiom for status quo—”that I may hear about your status quo.”

“that ye stand fast” – the conjunction o(ti after verbs of hearing to denote the content, or what is heard regarding the status quo, and the present active indicative of the verb sthkw, a verb formed on a verb. It is formed from the perfect tense of the verb i(sthmi, which means to stand (among other meanings). It is found only in the New Testament and it is a late Koine word. It means to stand fast, to be stabilised. This is a retroactive progressive present, it denotes what has happened in the past and continues into the present time—present tense of duration. There is no excuse for withdrawal or any retrograde movement. The active voice: the Philippians in maturity produce the action. The verb implies reaching super-grace status and remaining there. The indicative mood is declarative for verbal action from the viewpoint of historical reality, i.e. the Philippians are going to reach ultra-super-grace and they are going to stand fast.

“in one spirit” – when you are under heavy fire there are certain procedures that should characterise a veteran organization like the Philippians congregation. We have the preposition e)n plus the instrumental from the numeral e(ij, and with it the instrumental of pneuma—”by means of one and the same Spirit.” E(ij is an emphatic numeral meaning “one and the same.” This is a reference to God the Holy Spirit whose ministry continues and intensifies in the mature believer. This is the balance of residency: the filling of the Holy Spirit plus maximum doctrine resident in the soul equals experiential sanctification.

“with one mind” – the locative of sphere from the numeral e(ij plus yuxh, generally translated soul but sometimes means life—”in one and the same soul.” The locative of sphere is in a metaphorical use of the locative case. The limits suggested here are logical rather than special or temporal. The locative case has special and temporal limitations. Here they are logical limitations, therefore one idea is confined within the bounds of another idea by this particular use of the locative. It indicates the sphere into which the former idea is applied. The ministry of the Holy Spirit to the ultra-super-grace believer is applied to the sphere of the soul. You grow up in the soul, the key to your life is the soul, everything in life that is important is the soul. The soul contains your scale of values, your priorities are there. God the Holy Spirit, when He controls your life, fills the soul. All of there things, therefore, must pertain to the soul.

“striving together” – bad translation. This is the present active participle from the compound verb sunaqlew [sun = together with; a)qlew = to engage in competition or conflict]. It means to play as a member of a team in athletics but it also means to fight as a member of a highly-skilled and professional organization and to do your job in such an excellent professional manner, along with everyone else, that the team operates together. This is a causal participle. A causal participle denotes what is the ground of the action of the main verb. It is translated, “since you have joined in the conflict.” The present tense is a historical present, it views the past event with the vividness of a present occurrence. Active voice: the mature Philippians congregation are producing the action of the verb. They have entered into the conflict.

“for the faith” – instrumental of means from both the definite article and the noun pistij, and pistij here refers to faith rather than the usual meaning which is doctrine—”by means of the faith.”

“of the gospel” – the objective genitive singular from the noun e)uaggelion and it refers here to the gospel—”in the gospel.” It indicates the means by which Paul and the Philippians entered the angelic conflict.

Translation: “Only conduct your life as royal family of God in a manner worthy of the good news doctrines of the Christ: in order that whether I come and see you, or remain absent, I may hear about your status quo, that you are standing fast by means of one and the same Spirit [the Holy Spirit indwelling and filling], in the sphere of one and the same soul since you have joined in the conflict by means of faith in the gospel.”

Now it is time to discover who are your enemies. This is what happens when you get into super-grace. You have the discernment to know who are your enemies and who are not your enemies. For all of those around you who are friendly are not always your friends. Friendliness and friendship are two entirely different entities. But there is one thing of which you must be very wary: while you will be ambushed in super-grace on numerous occasions you are never to be bitter or hateful, or even to hate your enemies.

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #28

28 05/30/1976 Philippians 1:27b Doctrine of faith (review)

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #29

29 05/31/1976 Philippians 1:28–30 Enemies & countdown suffering of supergrace believer

Verse 28 - “And in nothing be terrified.” The first word is the conjunction kai, used as an adverb and should be translated “Likewise.” Then a prepositional phrase, e)n plus the locative neuter adjective mhdeij-literally, “in the sphere of not one thing,” or to reduce it to good English, “in no way.” There is a negative mh here plus the present passive participle from pturw. It is used for a frightened horse running away. It comes to mean to be intimidated. Panic is stupidity and lack of thought, action without thinking and without application of doctrine. The present tense is an iterative present describing what occurs at certain intervals. It is known as the present of repeated action. This is talking about the believer in super-grace where ambushes occur and where distraction from doctrine is challenged to the utmost. The passive voice: the believer receives the action of the verb-panic or intimidation from ignorance of reversionism-and with the negative mh it is a command not to be intimidated, for this is the participial use of the imperative and it should be translated, “Likewise in no way be intimidated.”

“by your adversaries” - u(po plus the ablative of agency of the definite article, and the ablative of agency or means of implicating a present active participle; in other words, an articular participle. It is the definite article in the ablative of means that gives us the meaning of u(po. When the ablative of means is used it indicates the origin or source of means, which is a present active participle a)ntikeimai. It means to be opposed, to be in opposition to, to be an enemy of. But with the articular use of the participle here we have a noun and it is correctly translated “by your enemies.”

The question arises: who are your enemies? First of all, Satan is your enemy. As the ruler of this world he is your very definite enemy because you have now arrived at super-grace. Satan commands a great host of demons. These are all angels, super creatures as compared to us, and this is our invisible enemy—Hebrews 10:13. Unbelievers also are our enemies, they are under the influence of evil which is the Satanic policy and produces evil deeds. But the worst enemy and the most obvious visible enemy is the born again believer in a state of reversionism. He is described as King Saul in 1 Samuel 28:16, indicating that Saul was the enemy of God. The reversionistic believer is always the enemy of God—James 4:4. Believers by their own volition appoint themselves the enemy of God. To be a lover of the world is nothing more or less second or any other place below #1 to Bible doctrine. So this passage is really warning about the least obvious to us but the most obvious from the standpoint of God Himself—the reversionistic believer. These are the ones who are the greatest and most subtle enemies, the ones who are constantly ambushing you in super-grace.

“which is” the nominative feminine singular from the qualitative relative pronoun w(stij, indicating persons belonging to a certain category or a certain class. It emphasises a certain quality they have which is reversionism under the influence of evil. The verb to be here is the present active indicative of e)imi. The present tense is pictorial, it presents to the mind a picture of events in the process of occurrence. The active voice: intimidation or panic produces the action of the verb. The indicative mood is potential, expressing the fact that this only occurs to those who are qualified to have such enemies, those who have cracked the maturity barrier.

“to them” – dative plural indirect object from the intensive pronoun a)utoj, which emphasises the identity of those reversionistic believers who are antagonistic toward those believers in super-grace.

“an evident token” – the is a predicate nominative and we have again Attic or Classical Greek. The noun is e)udeicij which means an omen or a proof. Here it means proof.

“of perdition” – not exactly. Perdition here means a successful ambush. This is a descriptive genitive singular from a)poleia and while it does mean destruction in the analogy the words with which it is used means a successful ambush—“which is a proof of their success in the ambush.”

“but to you” – the adversative use of the enclitic particle de plus the adverbial genitive of reference from the personal pronoun su—“but with reference to you.”

“of salvation” – descriptive genitive from swthria, meaning deliverance.

 “Which [panic] is to them [the reversionistic believer ambushing you] a proof of a successful ambush, but with reference to you deliverance.”

So if you panic they assume they have won; if you don’t you are obviously going to be delivered.

“and that” is the emphatic use of the conjunctive particle kai, plus the nominative neuter singular from the immediate demonstrative pronoun o(utoj, meaning “in fact this [deliverance].”

Then comes an implied present active indicative of e)imi—“is,” and a)po plus the ablative of source from qeoj—“from the source of God.”

Translation: “Likewise in no way be intimidated [or, panic] by your enemies: which [panic] is to them a proof of your destruction [successful ambush], but with reference to you deliverance; in fact this deliverance is from the source of God.”

That is the warning that there are enemies. The final phrases deal with the battlefield itself—verses 29 & 30.

Verse 29 – the first word o(ti cannot be translated “For.” It is a causal use of the conjunction and should be translated “Because.” Because you are in super-grace.

“to you” – dative plural indirect object from the personal pronoun su, referring to the Philippians who are in super-grace.

“it is given” – aorist passive indicative from xarizomai, as strong a word as we have for giving, it means to give on a grace basis, to give graciously, to give without strings, to give freely as a favour from God. The constative aorist tense here gathers into one entirety the action of the verb. Passive voice: the believers receive the action. The indicative mood is declarative for an absolute fact that these people are in super-grace and therefore under these conditions.

“in the behalf of Christ” – the accusative neuter singular of the definite article to. This is the generic use of the definite article with the prepositional phrase to distinguish the super-grace believer from other members of the royal family of God, and therefore it isn’t translated. It is simply a distinguishing particle which shows these people are unique. People who are in this battlefield and in this type of situation are coming very close to the final objective of ultra-super-grace. Therefore a definite article is thrown in to distinguish them simply from other believers. Then, u(per plus the ablative of Xristoj—“in behalf of Christ.” The definite article is not translatable in this case.

“not only to believe in him” – the negative o)uk plus the adverb monon, the neuter of monoj, an adjective made into an adverb—“not only.” Next is the repetition of the accusative neuter singular definite article as a device employed for emphasis in which the article functions with more than ordinary force. It is translated, “it is not necessary.” Then e)ij plus the accusative of a)utoj, meaning a very strong principle that salvation comes only by faith in Christ, and the present active infinitive of pisteuw, which is the way of salvation. This is a historical present, is views the past event when you believed in Christ, faith in Christ, with the vividness of a present occurrence. This is the infinitive of actual result.

“but also” – a)lla kai; a)lla is the strong adversative conjunction setting up a contrast between being saved and going all the way to super-grace. Kai is the adjunctive use, “also.” Then we have a repetition of the definite article used for emphasis again, but not translated, plus u(per plus the ablative of a)utoj, the intensive pronoun which always emphasises something very important; here it emphasises Christ as indicated in the present active infinitive of pasxw, which refers to suffering. It is intensified suffering but it is suffering with blessing in super-grace. This is a static present, it assumes a consequence of reaching super-grace. The infinitive is a conceived result assumed as a consequence of reaching super-grace.

Translation: “Because it has been given to you in behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer in behalf of him.”

Verse 30 – “Having” is a present active participle from e)xw which means to have or to hold, or both. This is a present tense of duration, it denotes what has begun in the past and continues right into the present time. It continues into the present time with these people who are just about to go into ultra-super-grace. The active voice: the believer in super-grace produces the action of the verb. The participle is a causal participle, translated “Since you have.”

“the same conflict” – accusative singular direct object from the definite article, the accusative singular direct object from the intensive pronoun a)utoj. This is the attributive use of the intensive pronoun and it is translated “the same.” The intensive pronoun emphasises the identity of the point of the conflict—“Since you have that same conflict.” There are others out on that same battlefield.

“which ye saw” – Paul has already advanced over that same ground. We have the accusative singular from the relative pronoun o(ioj—“such as,” a correlative use of the relative pronoun. Plus the aorist active indicative of o(raw—“you have seen.” The only way they could see this was to be right behind Paul in his advance. The constative aorist contemplates the action of super-grace pressure in its entirety. The active voice: the Philippians are in super-grace, right behind Paul, and are therefore experiencing the same conflict that he is. The indicative mood is declarative for historical reality of tactical pressure from Satanic forces of evil at this stage of advance.

“in me” – e)n plus the locative of e)gw. Since they are following him they see it and experience it at the same time.

“and now” – the connective kai plus the adverb nun referring to the moment of the writing of Philippians; “hear” – present active indicative of the verb a)kouw. They will hear this when they get the epistle, which will be taught by Epaphroditus. The present tense is an aoristic present for punctiliar action in present time. The active voice: the Philippians will produce the action by functioning under the principle of GAP with regard to this epistle. The indicative mood is declarative for historical reality.

“in me” is e)n plus the instrumental of the personal pronoun e)gw—“through me.”

Translation: “Since you have the same conflict such as you have seen in me, and now hear through me.”

[1] See the Doctrine of Sanctification.

[2] See the Doctrine of Memory

[3] See the Doctrine of prayer

[4] See the Doctrine of Human Good

[5] See the Doctrine of Positional Truth

[6] See the Doctrine of Witnessing

[7] See the Doctrine of Jealousy

[8] See the Doctrine of Motivation

[9] See the Doctrine of Pride

I am not sure what these Genesis lessons are doing here.

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #30

30 01/19/1976 Genesis 4:5b Nine concepts of anger (1975 Genesis #33)

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #31

31 05/10/1976 Genesis 4:21–22 Evil based on emotion (1975 Genesis #45)

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #32

32 05/24/1976 Genesis 4:23b–24 Rebuilding pride; distortion of law (1975 Genesis #47)

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #33

33 03/17/1976 Philippians 2:1a Doctrine of category #1 love

Chapter 2

        The title of this chapter is occupation with Christ. The outline is four simple paragraphs.

Paragraph one: The function of occupation with Christ, verses 1-4.

Paragraph two: The object of occupation with Christ, verse 5-11.

Paragraph three: Progress of occupation with Christ—the advance to ultra-super-grace, verses 12-16.

Paragraph four: Three illustrations of occupation with Christ, verses 17-30.

Verse 1 – “If” is a conditional particle e)i, it introduces the protasis of a first class condition. The conditional clause is divided into two parts. The first part, the “if” clause is called the protasis, and the following clause is called the apodasis. The conditional clause, then, becomes very important for the interpretation of the Scripture. The part contained in the protasis is called supposition, which is why it begins with the word “if.” The second part of the clause containing the statement based on the supposition is called apodasis. Conditional clauses are classified on the basis of the attitude they express toward reality. This is a first class condition, and the protasis of the first class condition presents supposition from the viewpoint of reality—if and it is true. The second class condition is the condition of unreality—if and it is not true. The third class condition is the potentiality—if, maybe yes and maybe no. The fourth class condition expresses a desire in the probability—if, I wish it were true but it isn’t. All of the “ifs” found in verse 1 are statements of reality, even though they appear to be some form of a potential. The way in which the first class condition is identified in the Greek is simply by the particle e)i—any tense, any mood in the protasis.

“therefore” – the words there be in the KJV is certainly implied but it is not in the actual text. “If therefore” – the inferential particle o)un is the next word, it connotes an inference from what has preceded, namely a short dissertation on ultra-super-grace given in chapter one, verses 28-30.

“any consolation in Christ” – this phrase includes an enclitic indefinite pronoun tij (which is anything but indefinite), plus the nominative singular subject from the noun paraklhsij. It does mean consolation, however consolation has changed its meaning since the translator used it in this passage. More up to date and in keeping with the Greek word is the English word “encouragement.” The encouragement comes from the divine logistical support between super-grace and ultra-super-grace. “Therefore if there is any type of encouragement”—and there is. The phrase “in Christ” is very important—e)n plus the locative of Xristoj, used for the point of salvation where logistical support begins for the believer. This phrase portrays the principle of the baptism of the Holy Spirit whereby the believer is entered into union with Christ, the means of the formation of the royal family of God. We cannot change our union with Christ. Union with Christ is the basis for logistical support in time. This is the great encouragement which was designed in eternity past, a part of the divine decrees. God is obligated by His own plan of grace to provide, to sustain, to plan for the royal family of God.

Then comes a second “if” – a conditional particle e)i introducing a second protasis of a first class condition; “any comfort” – this includes, again, the indefinite pronoun tij, which means any type of comfort; and with that is the nominative subject paramuqion, which means encouragement, especially alleviation or consolation—“if there is any consolation.” Then comes the ablative singular of source from the noun a)gaph—“from love,” that is, occupation with Christ and a relaxed mental attitude. The word for love here is referring to category #1 type of love, the principle of occupation with Christ which provides encouragement. The relaxed mental attitude from doctrine is a part of the contribution of category #1 love, logistical support from God.

The third “if” in this verse is a conditional particle e)i introducing the third part of the protasis of the first class condition. This is a supposition from the viewpoint of reality.

“any” is an indefinite pronoun tij. It is not indefinite, it has a specific category in mind; “fellowship” – the nominative singular subject from the noun koinwnia, which means here “partnership”—“if there is any partnership.”

“of the Spirit” is a genitive of relationship from the noun pneuma, a reference here to God the Holy Spirit—“with the Spirit.” Partnership with the Spirit is the result of being filled with the Spirit on the part of the advancing believer.[1]

 “if any bowels” – this is not a reference to anything physiological, it refers to something in the soul: splagxnon = emotions. This word is never used in the New Testament for that physiological portion of the anatomy called “bowels.” It is emotion responding to something which has the highest priority: doctrine in the right lobe. When emotion responds to doctrine—doctrine which the believer has in his own soul— it supports the believer. When a woman responds to a man she supports the man; when the emotion of the soul of a believer responds to doctrine it supports the believer—“if there is any emotional response to doctrine [and there is].”

“and mercies” – o)iktirmoj means compassion, grace in action and therefore mercy. It is in the plural and should be translated “and resultant mercies [or grace in action].”

Translation: “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ [and there is], if there is any comfort from love [occupation with Christ; and there is], if there is any partnership with the Holy Spirit [and there is], if there is any emotional response to doctrine and resultant mercies [grace function in action; and there is].”

The apodasis deals with the principle of occupation with Christ in verse 2. Occupation with Christ and sharing God’s happiness are two sides of the same coin.

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #34

34 03/18/1976 Philippians 2:1b Torture; doctrine of spirituality

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #35

35 03/23/1976 Philippians 2:1c Review; report on Rhodesia and South Africa

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #36

36 03/24/1976 Philippians 2:2a Solzhenitsyn; doctrine of happiness (revised)

Verse 2 – the command. “Fulfil ye” – aorist active imperative of the verb plhrow. It generally means to fill up, to make full, to complete, to finish, to bring to an end. Here it means to bring to completion, and it is a challenge to move toward the final objective—ultra-super-grace. This is the command to get out into the most intensive battlefield in the angelic conflict, the no-man’s land between super-grace and ultra-super-grace. The aorist tense is a culminative aorist which views the event of crossing no-man’s land in its entirety but looks at it from the standpoint of its existing results. The active voice: the super-grace believer is commanded to produce the action of the verb. The imperative mood is a command to all super-grace believers to move out of the periphery and advance. Reason: If you stay too long in the perimeter of super-grace you will start to go backwards. If you are not moving forward you are going to start moving backwards.

“my joy” – accusative singular direct object from xara, used here for God’s perfect happiness or +H. With it is the possessive genitive singular from the personal pronoun e)gw. E)gw in the possessive genitive is saying in effect, ‘Follow me’—‘my +H’, and he is referring to it not as the blessing of paragraph SG2, which it is, but as logistical support as he moves across no-man’s land.

Principle

1. Divine happiness in the believer is intensified at the ultra-super-grace attainment.

2. This is a command to the super-grace believer to advance to the next objective—ultra-super-grace.

3. +H is not only the blessing of super-grace but is also the logistical support for the super-grace believer crossing no-man’s land.

4. +H, along with occupation with Christ, is the key to advancing to ultra super-grace; it is the basic principle of support.[2]

       “that” is the conjunction i(na which introduces a final clause. A final clause is one which denotes a purpose, a goal, an objective of one sort or another. It is

translated “that” or “in order that.”

“ye be likeminded” – present active subjunctive from the verb fronew. If there is one thing we cannot be it is all believers being likeminded as the word is used today. No two believers think alike and no two believers have reached the same point of spiritual maturity. So there are tremendous variations in thinking. Therefore the result here of being likeminded requires some amplification. Fronew means to think, and it doesn’t mean to be likeminded. It just means to think. If there is one thing that all believers who are positive are required to do, it is to think, to concentrate. The accusative neuter singular from the intensive pronoun a)utoj is also involved, it emphasises doctrine resident in the soul of the super-grace believer. It is also referring to the super-grace believer at a certain stage: when he is crossing no-man’s land to the final objective—ultra-super-grace. This is the attributive use of a)utoj and we translate it “the same thing”—“that you might be thinking the same thing.” This is not identical thinking but the same category of things is involved. The customary present tense denotes what habitually occurs among super-grace believers. The active voice: the super-grace believer produces the action by thinking doctrine which is resident in his own soul. The subjunctive mood linked with the conjunction i(na denotes the purpose, the aim, the objective in crossing no-man’s land. The whole point is that no one can advance in the Christian life by doing. The whole realm of the devil’s philosophy today is to get believers to work. The more believers work the less time they have for the true function of spiritual growth. You only grow by thinking; it is the thought that makes or breaks the believer.

“having” – the present active participle from the verb e)xw which means to have or to have and to hold. The present active participle here has strong linear aktionsart. The present tense is the present of duration, denoting what has begun in the past and continues into the present time. The active voice: the super-grace believer produces the action of the verb through occupation with Christ or maximum category #1 love. The participle is circumstantial for being in no-man’s land.

“the same love” – logistical support. The accusative singular definite article is used as a demonstrative pronoun, plus the accusative singular direct object from the intensive pronoun a)utoj, plus the accusative singular direct object from a)gaph, used here for occupation with the person of Christ because it must be related to doctrine or thinking. This is the strongest kind of love and it is a thinking love—category #1 love, occupation with the person of Jesus Christ.

“of one accord” – the nominative masculine plural from the noun sumyuxoj [yuxoj = soul; sun (m) = together with], it is translated “with one accord” but in modern English it should be “soul rapport” or “united in soul.”

“of one mind” – the accusative singular definite article plus the numeral e(n, plus the present active participle for that same verb for mental attitude thinking, fronew. It means “thinking the one thing,” which is an idiom for “intent on one’s objective.” The one objective on which the believer should be concentrating is ultra-super-grace. The present tense is tendencial for what is purposed. The active voice: super-grace believers out in no-man’s land produce the action—concentrating on the objective. The participle is circumstantial for a believer in no-man’s land.

Translation: “Bring to completion my happiness [+H], that you might be thinking the same thing, having the same love [occupation with Christ][3], united in soul, concentrating on the same objective.”

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #37

37 03/25/1976 Philippians 2:2; Luke 11:27–28 Doctrine of happiness (cont.)

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #38

38 03/26/1976 Philippians 2:2b Doctrine of occupation with Christ

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #39

39 03/28/1976 Philippians 2:3–4 Hypersensitivity and true sensitivity

Verse 3 – we begin to note the possibilities of failure. There is a warning against failure to utilize logistical grace in crossing no-man’s land. The word “nothing” is actually the first word in the verse—the accusative neuter direct object from the adjective mhdeij. It is used as a substantive here, a noun, and the accusative says it is the direct object of a verb, but there is no verb stated. However, this is what is called the elliptical idiom and it demands the present active imperative from the verb poiew, and it should be translated “do”—“Do nothing.”

“through strife” – a prepositional phrase, kata plus the accusative singular from the noun e)riqeia, derived from a verb e)riqeuw which is an Attic Greek word meaning to do the work of a day labourer, to conduct one’s self like a day labourer. A day labourer in the ancient world wsas a person who worked for a day’s wages and was paid off at the end of the day. The noun which comes from this verb means that day labourers had to be properly handled, they had to be under a system of discipline. If they did not have authority over them then they started bickering among themselves, and they did not work, they merely started fighting and bickering. So e)rqeia came to mean to have the attitude, the manner, or the disposition of a day labourer. This meant labourers are under the authority of bosses who keep down petty quarrels which might erupt among those who are working. The meaning of this word came to mean contentiousness. It actually says here, “Do nothing motivated by contentiousness.”

“or vainglory” – a negative disjunctive particle, mhdh which means “nor”, and with it another prepositional phrase, kata plus the accusative of kenodocia, which means conceit, excessive ambition, and comes to mean “ambitious pride.” Pride plus predilection for strife eliminates the provision of logistical grace as the believer is crossing no-man’s land. Then he falls into reversionism, discipline, and eventually the sin unto death.

“but” is the adversative conjunction a)lla, it always sets up some kind of a contrast. Here it is between the failure to utilize logistical support in crossing no-man’s land and the other situations that support the believer as he moves along.

“by lowliness of mind” – the instrumental of means from the definite article used as an immediate demonstrative to emphasise grace orientation; plus the instrumental of means from the noun tapeinofrosunh. This noun was first used by Plato to designate the state of mind which submits to divine order in the universe and does not impiously exalt self. This is grace orientation as the antithesis of arrogance or pride—“but by means of grace orientation.”

“let each one esteem” – present active participle of the verb e(geomai. The word means to find an expert as a guide to take you over a battlefield, to show you the ruins, to take you through the museum, which is how the word was originally used. It means to guide, to think, to consider, to regard, to be in the hands of an expert. Here it is used for logistical grace as the means of providing the grace thinking. The customary present tense denotes what habitually occurs when super-grace believers are crossing no-man’s land to ultra-super-grace. The active voice: the super-grace believer produces the action of the verb. The participle is the imperative use of the participle. Also with it is the object of the participle used as an imperative, the accusative plural from a reciprocal pronoun, a)llhlon—“each other [members of the royal family].”

“better” – present active participle from u(perexw. This is not lack of confidence, this is lack of pride. The present active participle means to be “better than.” The customary present denotes what habitually occurs with a grace-oriented person. He is totally free from pride and also has great confidence, but his self-confidence is not linked with arrogance and therefore he is completely relaxed. The active voice: the super-grace believer produces the action. This is a concessive participle, translated “as better than.”

“than themselves” – the ablative of comparison from the reflexive pronoun e(autoj—“than himself.”

Translation: “Do nothing motivated by contentiousness nor ambitious pride; but by means of grace orientation be considering each other as better than himself.”

  What does this mean?

1. This is the true principle of sensitivity and thoughtfulness of others based on grace thinking.

2. Hypersensitive believers are subjective about themselves and insensitive of others.

3. Out of this comes a principle: You cannot build your happiness on your own arrogance.

4. Therefore this hypersensitive person is like carborundum (used to polish diamonds) under narcissus. He has a façade of sweetness and light, of piousness, and underneath is hardness.

5. This person is going to be demanding as long as he/she lives, and totally insensitive to the one he/she makes demands of.

6. On the surface these people appear attractive but underneath they are hard, cruel and arrogant, selfish, implacable, demanding. You can never satisfy such persons. They are unteachable.

Verse 4 – no one ever crosses no-man’s land without being highly objective in his soul. If anyone has a tendency toward subjectivity doctrine must knock it out.

No ultra-super-grace believer is subjective. Verse 4 warns against being pinned down by evil. Subjectivity is always a form of evil. The subjective believer is totally aware of himself and his problems but he is totally indifferent to the feelings and the problems of others.

“Look not every man on his own things” is an incorrect translation. It actually begins with the negative mh which is a particle, it denotes here a qualified negation. With it is the accusative plural direct object from the definite article ta, which in the neuter gender refers to circumstances, personal affairs, modus operandi. Next is e(autwn, in the genitive form here. It is the possessive genitive plural from the reflexive pronoun; then the nominative plural from the adjective e(kastoj, used as a substantive and as the subject. The verb is the present active participle from skopew, which means here to regard, though it generally means to look out for, to notice or to respect. The customary present is for what should be expected of a super-grace believer out in no-man’s land. The active voice: the super-grace believer crossing no-man’s land to ultra-super-grace produces the action of the verb. The participle is, again, an imperative participle, with the negative mh is the imperative of prohibition—“Every one of you should not only be regarding his own personal interests [in the advance] …”

“his own personal interests” – ta e(autwn e(kastoi. That is “each ones things of themselves” which is an idiom for “his own personal interests.” By personal interests is meant the perpetuation of positive volition toward doctrine as the means of receiving logistical support while crossing no-man’s land. Doctrine keeps feeding the fires of occupation with Christ. Doctrine keeps +H intensified in order to meet the various adversities in no-man’s land. Remember that the super-grace believer must not only respect the privacy of others but at the same time he must be very thoughtful of those advancing with him toward the objective.

“but” – a strong adversative conjunction which sets up a contrast, a)lla, between the super-grace believer concentrating on reaching ultra-super-grace and at the same time being thoughtful of other believers so as not to hinder their advance to the same objective; “also” is the adjunctive use of kai and this should be translated “but also.”

“every man” is not found in the original MSS. It should say here, “but also one of the things of others”—ta e(terwn e(kastoi again, the accusative neuter plural direct object definite article, ta; the possessive genitive plural from e(teroj, used for other super-grace believers advancing, plus e(kastoj again in the plural, the adjective uses the substantive; it should be translated, “but also everyone advancing [to ultra-super-grace] the personal interests of others.”

Translation: “Every one of you [advancing to ultra-super-grace] should not only be regarding his own personal interests [in the advance] but also every one of you [so advancing] the personal interests of others.”

This means:

1. This is the principle of thoughtfulness for others who are super-grace believers. But this is specific to others crossing no-man's land with you to ultra-super-grace.

2. The pressures are intensive through no-man's land.

3. There are problems in the advance and all believers in this advance have their own problems. Therefore do not judge them, do not malign them, do not succumb to any form of subjectivity in crossing no man's land. In concentration on your advance remember others are advancing with you-be thoughtful of them.

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #40

40 03/28/1976 Philippians 2:5–6 Doctrine of the deity of Jesus Christ; syllogisms

Verses 5-11, the object of occupation with Christ. We see the challenge to the super-grace believer in verse 5. It reminds us that the Lord Jesus Christ while on earth had normal physical as well as unusual spiritual growth as he moved along in the spiritual life. The translation of this verse is not correct in the KJV. The first problem with it is found in the first four words of that translation — touto froneite e)n u(min. The very first word, touto, is the accusative neuter singular from the immediate demonstrative pronoun o(utoj, and the very fact that it is in the accusative case tells us there is something wrong with the English translation, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” because here is the object of a verb. The accusative case is used as the direct object and o(utoj as the demonstrative pronoun emphasises doctrine resident in the soul of the super-grace believer. The word “this” which is a demonstrative pronoun is the object of the verb, not the subject, and it does not modify a word called “mind” for the word “mind” is actually a verb and this is the object of the verb. The verb is the present active imperative of fronew. The word is used for objective thinking. The present active imperative is a command and the object of that command is the demonstrative pronoun in the accusative case. The present tense is a customary present denoting what habitually occurs when closing in on the ultimate objective of super-grace. The active voice: the super-grace believer produces the action. The imperative mood is a very strong command. “Keep on thinking” is the correct translation of the verb. Add the demonstrative pronoun and you have the word “this.” “Keep on thinking this” are the first four words of the corrected translation. The demonstrative pronoun refers to resident doctrine in the soul, so we can add: “Keep on thinking this doctrine.”

You cannot think in your soul with things that are outside of your soul. You cannot use the information in a textbook until it has been transferred into your soul where it is useable. You have to have information in your soul in order to be able to use it. “Keep on thinking this” means that you cannot think what is in the Bible, you can only think that portion of Bible doctrine which has been transferred to your soul. If it isn’t transferred to your soul you cannot think it.

Next is e)n plus the locative of the personal pronoun su, and it should be translated “within you.” “Keep on thinking this doctrine within you.” You can only think in terms of what is resident in your soul. All thought resident in your soul is broken down into vocabulary, so you must have vocabulary storage. But vocabulary alone will not do it. This vocabulary must be organised categorically so you also have in your right lobe categorical storage. To fulfill this command you must have e)pignwsij type doctrine in the right lobe of the soul. It has to be in the frame of reference and in the memory centre but this is impossible unless you have loaded up your vocabulary and your categorical storage areas. This is called sunhsij. Then you have norms and standards, called a conscience or suneidhsij. Then you have a launching pad where this same doctrine becomes sofia. And when it says “Keep on thinking this doctrine within you” it is referring to e)pignwsij, sunhsij, suneidhsij and sofia all functioning inside of your right lobe. The only way you get that type of information is from a pastor-teacher. You have to be taught academically under strict academic discipline, there is no other way to get it. Production in the Christian life is a bona fide function but as a result of growth, not the means. All spiritual growth is related to the daily function of GAP.

“Keep on thinking this doctrine within you.” We are not the first people to think these doctrines. They were thought by Moses when he reached super-grace. They were thought by Jeremiah, by Isaiah, by the apostle Paul, long before we lived on the face of the earth. And these doctrines were thought by Jesus Christ during the first advent.

“which” — the nominative neuter singular from the relative pronoun o(j, referring to doctrine resident in the soul. The antecedent for the relative pronoun is the personal pronoun su — “within you.” The word “was” is not found in the original, but implied. We have the implication of the imperfect active indicative of e)imi.

“also” is the adjunctive use of the conjunction kai. Then we have e)n plus the locative of Xristoj. This is how we happen to be royal family of God and what makes our life so meaningful. At the point of salvation everyone of us entered into union with Christ and became royal family of God forever. We are the royal family to complement our Lord’s battlefield royalty. Jesus Christ is royalty because He is God, and under that title He is called Son of God, and His royal family is God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ was royalty when He came in the flesh. He was born a Jew, the son of David. So He is Jewish royalty and His title is son of David, and He has a royal family beginning with David and Bathsheba. Then Jesus Christ became through the cross, resurrection, ascension, battlefield royalty. His title is King of kings and Lord of lords, but at the time that He received His battlefield royalty He did not have a royal family. But He has one now. You and I as believers in this dispensation are a part of the royal family of God. Every time we see this prepositional phrase in the New Testament it is a reminder to us that we are royal family, that we live in the palace forever, that God has special objectives for us in time and special blessings for time and eternity as royal family of God. We are to live like royalty, to think like royalty, to function like royalty, and therefore this wonderful phrase, “in Christ Jesus.”

Translation: “Keep on thinking this doctrine within you, which also was resident in Christ Jesus.”

Summary

1. This means that the super-grace believer, crossing no man’s land, is challenged by mental attitude. He must have a certain type of mental attitude and a certain type of motivation to reach the final objective. The greatest testing, the greatest pressure in life is out in no man’s land between super-grace and ultra super-grace. Therefore he must have a mental attitude like the mental attitude of our Lord Jesus Christ as he crossed no man’s land while He was on earth, facing greater pressure than we will ever know.

2. This means that the mental attitude of Jesus Christ was one of total grace orientation — total dependence upon logistical grace provided by God the Father.

3. The grace orientation of our Lord Jesus Christ included grace awareness, grace consciousness, grace dependence on the plan of God. He was aware of the plan of God, He knew it in His humanity through doctrine, He knew it in His deity, He was there with the Father when the decrees were ordained.

4. Jesus Christ in His advance to super-grace exploited to the maximum all of the doctrinal principles of logistical grace.

5. Therefore no believer can attain ultra super-grace apart from the same total exploitation of logistical grace.

6. This total exploitation demands more and more doctrine resident in the soul after reaching the super-grace objective which is the first stage of maturity. So there must be a continuation of the same academic discipline, the same positive volition toward doctrine that existed in the spiritual growth from salvation to the maturity barrier.

7. Therefore there can be no letup in the function of GAP, there can be no change in the doctrinal priorities. Doctrine must still be #1 priority in the life of the believer crossing no man’s land.

8. The perpetuation of the function of Gap in super-grace is absolutely necessary for the continuation of grace awareness, grace consciousness, and grace dependence on the plan of God.

9. The perpetuation of the function of GAP in super-grace demands occupation with Christ, sharing the happiness of God as the basic principles of the logistical grace support by which the believer crosses no man’s land in the face of both great angelic and human pressure. There is more direct attention from Satan when the believer crosses no man’s land than at any other time.

Verse 6 — the Lord Jesus Christ as He was before the incarnation. This verse answers the question: What was Christ like before the first advent, before the virgin birth and the incarnation. This question must be answered in order to understand the following verses, to see what happened at the incarnation, to see in effect what the humiliation of our Lord really was. Se we begin with the pre-incarnate Christ, Jesus Christ as He existed in eternity past.

“Who being” — nominative singular from the relative pronoun o(j referring to Jesus Christ before the incarnation, plus the present active participle of the verb u(parxw which means to exist. Here it means to preexist. “[Jesus Christ] who though he preexisted” is the corrected translation.

“in the form of God” — the preposition e)n plus the locative of sphere morfh. Morfh is minus the definite article, and the absence of the definite article emphasises the qualitative aspects of the essence of Jesus Christ before the incarnation. The essence of Jesus Christ before the incarnation is the essence of God. He was, is, always will be eternal God. Morfh refers to His divine essence. Morfh does not refer to the outward shape of a physical object but the inner essence of the object. Here we have a reference to the inner essence of Jesus Christ. We also have the possessive genitive singular from qeoj, the noun for God, also minus the definite article, emphasising again quality. “E)n morfh, “in the form,” is exactly the same as e)n a)rxh in John 1:1. In John 1:1 we have e)n a)rxh. In this passage we have e)n morfh. These two words are both the preposition e)n plus the locative, and both of them describe the preexistence of the Lord Jesus Christ. A))rxh means a beginning which was not a beginning. The quality of the beginning was no beginning at all. Here we have the essence emphasised; in John 1:1 we have the eternity emphasised. In eternity past Jesus Christ as God possessed all of the characteristics of divine essence and exercised all of the qualities of God. And since God cannot change this means that all of the time that Jesus Christ was a human being He was also undiminished deity. This cannot be changed.

The doctrine of the deity of Jesus Christ

1. Jesus Christ is eternal God. As a member of the Trinity He always existed, there never was a time when He did not exist. He is coequal and co-eternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit — Colossians 1:15. In eternity past Jesus Christ had exactly the same essence as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.

2. The logical approach to the deity of Christ: The syllogism of deity. A syllogism is a logical formula consisting of two premises and a conclusion. Premise #1 is called the major premise, premise #2 is called the minor premise. The third line is the conclusion. But it is not quite that simple. In deductive reasoning you not only have a major premise and a minor premise and a conclusion but the major premise enunciates the general rule, the minor premise subsumes from that general rule a specific. And the subject of the major premise is the object or predicate nominative of the minor premise. While the predicate nominative or object of the major premise combines with the subject of the minor premise to form the conclusion. Illustration: Major premise: The Trinity is eternal. Minor premise: Christ is a member of the Trinity. Conclusion: The subject of the minor premise, Christ, and the object of the major premise, eternal, are put together — Christ is eternal. The Trinity is eternal, Christ is a member of the Trinity, Christ is eternal. Or, the Trinity is God, Christ is a member of the Trinity; Christ is God.

3. Scriptural documentation:

 Micah 5:2 explains that the incarnate Christ born in Bethlehem is eternal God. This explains that the incarnate Christ born in Bethlehem is eternal God. “However as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you one shall go forth from me to be ruler of Israel; his appearance is from long ago, from the days of eternity.” That last phrase is Hebrew idiom saying that He is eternal God.

John 1:1-3 — “In a beginning which was not a beginning” — a wonderful phrase used to describe the reality for thinking doctrine. Neither rationalism nor empiricism will work in this case — “there always existed the Word, and the Word was face to face with God, and the Word was God.” The Word is a title for Jesus Christ. “This same one was in the beginning with God” — there never was a time when Jesus Christ did not preexist and coexist with God the Father. “All things came into existence through him [Christ] and apart from him nothing came into existence that has come into being.”

John 8:58 — “Jesus answered them [the Pharisees], A fact I communicate to you, Before Abraham came into being, I had always existed.” Jesus Christ while in the flesh was totally aware of His deity, He could not be anything else but. No item of His essence could be changed.

Romans 9:5 — The promises which belong to the fathers, and from whom is the Christ, according to the flesh, who is over all, God, blessed forever. Amen.” Jesus Christ is called “over all God.”

Titus 2:13 — Jesus Christ is called “the great God and our saviour.” He became humanity to be our saviour but before He became humanity, and during the course of His humanity, He was, always has been, there never will be a time when it is otherwise, Jesus Christ is eternal God.

Hebrews 1:8-10 — “But of the Son he says, Your throne, O God” — Jesus Christ is addressed as God by God the Father — “is forever and ever; and the righteous ceptre is the ceptre of his kingdom.”

1 John 5:20 — “And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding, in order that we might know him who is true; also we are in him who is true, and in his Son Jesus Christ. This one is the true God and eternal life.”

4. The pre-incarnate work of Jesus Christ. While whatever God did in eternity past before creatures existed, before the universe existed, some things are mentioned specifically. For example, the pre-incarnate work of Christ necessitates His preexistence and His deity. In eternity past He is said to be the creator of the universe by John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:10. So the fact that He existed before creatures and the fact that He is the creator of creatures indicates that He is God. The pre-incarnate work of Jesus Christ necessitates not only His preexistence but the actuality of His deity. 5. The doctrine of divine decrees makes a contribution. It actually proves that the deity of Christ is a reality and provides a further evidence for us. Christ is so identified with the divine decrees so as to be God in Psalm 2:7-9; 22:1-6; Psalm 40; Psalm 110.

6. The tetragrammaton is one of the titles for Jesus Christ: YHWH. Part of this which is the name by which He is revealed is the verb to be, and it is said to be the verb to be doubled: “I am that I am.” These are the letters that are used, some of it is on the verb to be. They did not put vowel points in the Hebrew and the Jews never pronounced this. We actually have a J and an H and a W and an H. This was a name too holy for the Jews to pronounce, so they used Adonai which is simply the same as Kurioj in the Greek, indicating that deity is involved. What they finally did was to take the vowel points of Adonai and put them in, and later generations began to pronounce Jehovah. There is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit and so there had to be another word for when they were referred to together, and this other word became Elohim. This is a plural word. The word echad was put in front of it to indicate that there is only one essence. When it says that God is one it refers to the fact that God is one essence, the essence box, but there are three persons who have this essence and therefore we have Jehovah used. Jehovah the Father is generally the initiator, and the revealed Jehovah who becomes the Angel of Jehovah is the Lord Jesus Christ, and Jehovah is also used for God the Holy Spirit. Usually there is somewhere in the context another word to indicate the Holy Spirit in the Hebrew — ruach. So the tetragrammaton is the sacred name for God with absolute existence being the criterion and the connotation. The tetragrammaton is assigned to Jesus Christ in enough passages to establish the deity of Christ. For example, Isaiah 9:6,7; 40:3; Jeremiah 23:5,6; Zechariah 12:10. The tetragrammaton, then, becomes a basis for demonstrating the fact that Jesus Christ is God.

7. The essence of God. The divine attributes of deity are all ascribed to Jesus Christ. The sovereignty of Jesus Christ as God is mentioned in Psalm 2:6; Matthew 28:18; Acts 2:36; 2Peter er 1:11; Revelation 29:16. This is conclusive in itself without any of the others being added. He is sovereign God. He has just as much sovereignty as the Father and as the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ also has the same holiness — righteousness and justice together: Luke 1:35; John 6:69; Hebrews 7:26. He is also said to possess the same love that the Father and the Spirit possess: John 13:1,34; 1 John 3:16. Jesus Christ as God is eternal life: Isaiah 9:6; Micah 5:2; John 1:1; 8:58; Colossians 1:16,17; Ephesians 1:4; Revelation 1:11. Jesus Christ is omniscient. He has always existed and He has absolute mentality: Matthew 9:4; John 2:25; 1 Corinthians 4:5; Colossians 2:3; Revelation 2:23. The principle involved in omniscience is that Jesus Christ is God in all of these. In omnipresence: Matthew 28:20; Ephesians 1:23; Colossians 1:27. In veracity, John 14:6; Revelation 3:7. All of these scriptures point out the fact that Jesus Christ has each one of these characteristics, any one of which demonstrates the fact that He is eternal God. When He came in the flesh there is the factor of humiliation but it does not mean that He suppressed His deity. He did not suppress His deity.

8. The theophanies — appearance of Jesus Christ before the incarnation. By contrast, a Christophany is a post-resurrection appearance of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has actually had four categories of appearances: theophany before the incarnation; the incarnation or first advent is also an appearance; Christophany, His appearance after His resurrection; the second advent is His final appearance for history in which He will be on the earth for a thousand years. Theophanies: Christ appeared as a man in Genesis 18, and 32:24-32. Christ has also appeared as a phenomenon of nature: the cloud of the Lord in Exodus 40:38; the pillar of the cloud in Exodus 33:9-23; the burning bush of Exodus 3:2ff; Acts 7:30; the Shekinah glory. The word “shekinah” is not found in the Bible. It merely means “residence,” and the glory that resided between the mercy seat and between the cherubs of Exodus 25:22 is the Shekinah glory. Christ also appeared as the angel of Jehovah, identified as God in may passages: Genesis 16:7-18; 22:11-18; 31:11ff; 24:7; 24:40; Exodus 23:20; 32:34; 1 Chronicles 21:15-19; Isaiah 63:9; Zechariah 1:12.13. Christ is always the visible member of the Godhead: John 1:18; after the incarnation He no longer appears as the Angel of Jehovah.

“thought it not robbery to be equal with God” is not a correct translation. We have three words here, the first of which is o)ux, one of the forms of the strong negative particle. This form is because we have a rough breathing in the next word a(rpagmon. These two words are a key, along with the verb h(ghsato. A(rpagmon is the accusative singular direct object from a very rare noun a(rpagmoj. It is found only in this passage. It means the activity of the verb which means to seize forcibly, to take by force. It is used for plundering, for rape, for taking something by violence. It is a verb of violence in its original use in the Greek language. The noun connotes here, however, taking up an attitude toward something which is available as prey, taking an attitude toward something which can be grasped. It is a chance to gain something suddenly by seizing it. There is no robbery here. Christ did not see equality with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit as seizing and appropriating by violence something he didn’t have. In other words, He didn’t have to steal something. He didn’t have to seize by violence His place in heaven, He always had it. He was always God. Deity was not something that He had to reach for, it was something He always had.

So to summarise the principle, Jesus Christ did not regard equality with God as a gain which He must not let slip through His fingers by becoming true humanity. He wasn’t losing anything.

We also have h(ghsato which is the aorist active indicative of the verb e(geomai which means the thinking of an expert. “A gain” is the accusative, so it is the object of the verb here. The verb is e(geomai, He did not think a gain to be seized. What is left out is “equality with God.” What this is actually saying is that He did not think equality with God a gain to be seized. He was equal with God, He was God, and therefore it wasn’t something he had to steal. The aorist tense of e(geomai is the culminative aorist, it views the attitude of the eternal and pre-incarnate Jesus Christ in its entirety but it emphasises the existing results in the incarnation, the hypostatic union, and the kenosis. Jesus Christ is eternal God, He is just as much deity as the first person and the third person of the Trinity, and therefore to become a member of the human race He didn’t think He couldn’t leave heaven because he might lose something, that if He became true humanity He would somehow be inferior, that somehow something would be stolen from Him. He didn’t have that attitude. He did not think equality with God a gain to be seized. The active voice: Jesus Christ as God in contemplating the incarnation produces the action. In other words, in the divine decrees of eternity past God the Father said, “The plan calls for you to go to the cross, become a member of the human race, and to provide eternal salvation for the human race, and at the same time to resolve the angelic conflict. Will you do it?” Answer: “I will.” The indicative mood is the reality of dynamic grace thinking of Jesus Christ prior to the incarnation.

Translation: “Who though he existed in the essence of God, he did not think equality with God a gain to be seized and held.”

The verb to be is the articular present active infinitive of the verb e)imi. This is strictly Attic Greek. The articular infinitive in the accusative is the substantive serving as the object of the finite verb. The definite article is in the accusative, it is the object of the verb. He did not think equality with God a gain to be seized.

“equal with God” is the predicate nominative from the infinitive and it indicates more than one person in the Godhead because it is plural. “Equal” is in the plural — isoj. Why is it plural? Because there is more than one person in the Trinity.

We also have the instrumental associative noun qeoj. Jesus Christ was always associated with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.

Summary

1. Jesus Christ is God, coequal and co-eternal with the Father and with the Holy Spirit.

2. Being God and living in heaven Christ did not have the arrogant attitude of Satan. His deity was not a gain to be seized and held in such a way as to hinder the plan of God the Father. There is no plan of grace without the incarnation. There is no salvation without the incarnation.

3. Jesus Christ did not grab His deity and cling to it saying, No, No, No.

4. The omniscience and mental attitude of God the second person of the Trinity was positive toward the plan of God the Father even though it involved the humiliation of being made lower than angels, human race type, in fact the last Adam.

5. The mental attitude of Christ in submission to the Father’s plan of the first advent must become the mental attitude of the super-grace believer.

6. The super-grace believer must not regard paragraph SG2 as a gain to be seized and held. In other words, you can’t stay in the R & R camp, you have to go back to combat. He must be willing to saddle up and move out, and go back to the fight.

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #41

41 03/29/1976 Philippians 2:7 Introduction; doctrines of the virgin birth, metamorphisms, hypostatic union

Verse 7 answers the question: What was the person of Christ during the first advent?

The doctrine of the virgin birth

1. The virgin birth refers to the only birth in human history, namely the incarnation, whereby no sex was involved. Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit, therefore born apart from human copulation. In this way Christ came into the world without the imputation of Adam’s sin and without the old sin nature.

2. The necessity for the virgin birth. It is based on the fact that the old sin nature is passed down to each member of the human race through the human father. This is because man sinned in cognisance while the woman sinned in ignorance — 1 Timothy 2:14. Because the woman was deceived in the fall the old sin nature is passed down through the man in copulation. The virgin Mary was not immaculate, she had an old sin nature, she had the imputation of Adam’s sin. The virgin birth is the only way to be born into the human race apart from spiritual death and to be qualified to bear the sins of the world. Jesus Christ had to enter the human race apart from the sin nature and the imputation of Adam’s sin. So to qualify for saviourhood He had to enter the world under the saviourhood of the virgin birth.

3. The first prophecy of the virgin birth is found in Genesis 3:15,16. “And I will put hostility between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed; he [the seed of the woman, Christ] shall crush your head [Satan], and you [Satan] will crush his heel [at the cross]. Unto the woman he said, multiplying I will multiply your pain in pregnancy; in sorrow you shall bear sons; and to your right man you will have the strongest desire, therefore he shall rule over you.” Strongest desire is a response. The woman was designed to respond to her right man. The man will always rule the woman where there is right man, right woman.

The human race is divided into two conflicting camps. The historical phase of the angelic conflict includes the seed of the Satan, the unbeliever; the seed of the woman, the believer influenced by doctrine. These angelic forces are divided and so is the human race. The human race is divided by John 3:36. While the woman lost out in the garden because she rejected the authority of her right man, as well as the authority of Jesus Christ, she regains through receiving Christ as saviour plus her daily function of GAP. All of this is prophesied in the childbearing passage in Genesis 3:16.

4. The Jewish prophecy of the virgin birth — Isaiah 7:14. It begins with an inferential conjunction laken, “therefore.” The conclusion is the fact that God the Father will provide a sign or a miracle beyond depth or beyond height — verse 11, Isaiah had offered such a miracle as a sign of divine deliverance and it had been refused. So Isaiah says God will give you a sign that has great theological implications.

“he shall give [as a blessing]” is the qal imperfect of the verb nathan, the verb to give in the Hebrew. It is used here as a jussive. The jussive expresses a command, a wish, advice, or a blessing. Here it is a blessing.

“a sign” — oth, which here means a supernatural manifestation.

“Behold a virgin” — the word for virgin, ha almah. Almah does mean two things. It means a virgin and it can also means simply a young woman without questioning whether she is a virgin or not. The word is not conclusive here but it is correctly translated as “virgin.” The reason is because in Matthew 1:22,23 we have the Greek equivalent parqenoj which means a virgin, not a young woman. “shall conceive” — qal perfect of harah. The perfect tense is used here to indicate the reality of this fact. It is going to happen and so it is put in the past tense, the perfect tense of the Hebrew. This is called a prophetic perfect to indicate the fact that it is so certain to happen that it is regarded as already past.

Then we have an inferential waw plus the qal active participle from the verb jalad, and this means “consequently bearing a son.” The word “son” fulfills Isaiah 9:6.

“and shall call his name Immanuel [God with us].”

Translation: “Therefore the Lord himself [God the Father] will give you a sign [supernatural manifestation]; Behold, the virgin shall be pregnant, consequently bearing a sin, therefore you will call his name Immanuel [God with us].”

The title implies virgin birth, hypostatic union, impeccability of the last Adam, the son of David, the Son of God. All of these great doctrines of Christology are related and all of them depend upon the virgin birth.

5.

 The historical fulfillment of the virgin birth — Matthew 1:19-25.

6. The result of the virgin birth — John 1:14, “The Word became flesh, and tabernacled among us (and we beheld the glory, the glory as of the unique one from the Father), full of grace and full of doctrine.”

The doctrine of metamorphisms

 Metamorphisms is derived from a Greek verb, metamorfow, and it means a change of form. Sometimes it means to transform. The verb can be used for an outward visible transformation, like Jesus being transfigured on the Mount of Transfiguration — Matthew 17:2. It can also be used for inner, invisible transformation, as in Romans 12:2. However, the theological connotation has to do with a striking change of form or thought or action. There are six metamorphisms in the Bible.

a) Innocent man in the garden became a sinner and spiritually dead — Genesis 3:6. Man who was not a sinner, who was free from evil of any kind, did not have an old sin nature, was not spiritually dead, and he had opportunity of making a choice, positive or negative. His positive volition would be to refrain from the plan of Satan called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Good and evil are the invention of Satan, works and evil the invention of Satan, the manifestation of his genius. All man had to do was to stay away from that one tree. Positive signals kept man in the state of innocence but once man went negative toward doctrine, which is going negative toward God, then he went positive toward Satan’s plan, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and ate from the tree. The result was the first metamorphism. Man who was innocent became a sinner, man was changed in that moment.

b) Genesis 3:16; 1 Timothy 2:15. The woman who before the fall did not have a womb received a womb and became a child bearer. There were no children in innocence.

c) Eternal God, the second person of the Trinity, became the man Christ Jesus — Hebrews 10:5-10. The baby cannot talk, but the deity of Christ carries on a conversation with God the Father.

d) Sinful man through faith in Jesus Christ becomes regenerate, born again, a member of the family of God. This causes the spiritually dead to become alive unto God — Titus 3:5.

e) This is a temporal metamorphism of the royal family of God in time, the daily function of GAP changes the believer from a spiritual baby to a mature believer.

f) An eternal metamorphosis, the royal family of God in eternity having a resurrection body minus the old sin nature, minus human good, minus the lake of fire.

The key to all of the metamorphisms is the same key in the virgin birth, it is the change is Jesus Christ from eternal God to the hypostatic union.

The doctrine of the hypostatic union

1. Definition.

a) In the person of the incarnate Christ [Incarnate means the God-Man; Christ means God, but the God-Man is represented by the word incarnation] are two natures inseparably united [The first nature is God; second nature: true humanity] without mixture or loss of separate identity [This means the deity remains deity and the humanity remains humanity. Even though they are inseparably united they are not blended], without loss or transfer of properties or attributes, the union being personal and eternal.

` b) In other words, since the incarnation Jesus Christ is true humanity and undiminished deity in one person forever.

c) Jesus Christ is the God-Man, different from God in that He is mankind, different from mankind in that He is God.

d) Jesus Christ, therefore, is the unique person of the universe. As God he is infinitely superior to man and angel, as humanity He is now superior to all angels and all other forms of human life.

e) The pre-incarnate person of Christ was deity, coequal with the Father and with the Holy Spirit. The post-incarnate person of Christ includes both undiminished deity and true humanity in one person forever.

f) Through the virgin birth Jesus Christ was born without an old sin nature, without the imputation of Adam’s sin. In His humanity Jesus Christ was trichotomous, having a true body, a true soul, and a true human spirit. In His deity He retained all of the essence of the Godhead.

2. Biblical documentation of the hypostatic union: Compare John 1:1-3 which describes the deity of Christ with John 1:14. Remember that “only-born one” is the fact that when God the Father gave the spark of life to Jesus Christ He was the only person ever born and ever given the spark of life who did not have an old sin nature. Romans 1:3-5 — “...born the seed of David according to the flesh, who was demonstrated the Son of God by means of power, according to the Holy Spirit, by the resurrection from the deaths [plural].” Christ was resurrected from two deaths, spiritual death and physical death. Romans 9:5 — “...from whom is Christ, according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever.” He is flesh and God. 1 Timothy 3:16 — “And by consent of all, great is the mystery doctrine with reference to godliness: the unique one [Jesus Christ as eternal God] became visible by means of the flesh [Jesus Christ is true humanity], the same one [Christ in hypostatic union] was vindicated by means of the Holy Spirit, observed by angels, proclaimed among the nations, became the object of faith in the world, taken up into the place of glory.” Hebrews 2:14 — “Since therefore children share blood and flesh, he also himself [Jesus Christ] in the same manner took hold of the same flesh and blood, in order that he through spiritual death might neutralise and destroy the one having the ruling power of spiritual death, that is, the devil.” Philippians 2:5-11.

3. The incarnate person of Christ includes His deity. Jesus Christ is eternal God. He is coequal with the Father and with the Holy Spirit and His deity was never diminished at any time during the incarnation, nor at any time because of the hypostatic union. The incarnation does not diminish or destroy His deity, therefore the doctrine represents Christ as undiminished deity forever.

4. The incarnate person of Christ is also true humanity. That means He has a body, a soul, a human spirit. Because of the virgin birth Christ was born without the old sin nature and without the imputation of Adam’s sin. When God the Father gave the spark of life to Jesus Christ it is the only case on record where both human life and spiritual life occurred simultaneously with life at birth.

5. In hypostatic union the two natures of Christ are united without transfer of attributes. The attributes adhere to their corresponding natures. The essence of His deity cannot be changed — Hebrews 13:8. In other words, the infinite cannot blend in and become finite; the infinite cannot be transferred to the finite. To take from God a single attribute of His deity would destroy His deity and to take from the humanity of Christ a single attribute of His humanity would destroy His humanity, so they never leave one and go to the other.

6. No attribute of divine essence was changed by the incarnation. In fulfilling the Father’s plan for the first advent certain attributes of deity were not manifest but they were there. This does not imply that they were surrendered or destroyed, as per the false doctrine of Kenosis.

7. Therefore the union of divine essence and the human nature of the incarnate Christ must be considered as two things: hypostatic and personal. It is a hypostatic union, it is a personal union. Hypostatic is the Greek noun u(postassij transliterated. It means standing under, substance or essence, or taking a thing on one’s self. Jesus Christ was eternal God, there never was a time when he wasn’t God, He took upon Himself true humanity — Hebrews 1:3. Hypostatic refers to the whole person of Christ as distinguished from His two natures. When certain things occur we analyse it on the basis of His deity of His humanity. Deity does not become humanity, that would destroy humanity; humanity does not become deity, that would destroy deity. So the attributes of His humanity remain the attributes of His humanity and the attributes of His deity remain the attributes of His deity but He is one person with two natures inseparably united forever. The personal part of the concept refers to the emergence of a unique person. As God Jesus Christ is coequal with the Father and with the Holy Spirit but He is different from them because He is true humanity. As true humanity Jesus Christ is superior to all members of the human race but He is different from the human race in that He is God.

8. The false interpretation of the hypostatic union. There is a false implication that the deity of Christ is possessed by the humanity of Christ or that the deity of Christ indwelt the humanity of Christ. Furthermore, the union was more than harmony or sympathy which is the view of liberalism. All the false concepts either say that Jesus Christ was humanity and not God, Jesus Christ was God and not humanity after the first advent, or that the deity of Christ indwelt the humanity of Christ. This is all false. The true fact: It is personal. Divine and human natures have been combined in one hypostatic union forever.

9. Therefore Jesus Christ, the God-Man, has one hypostassis or essence forever.

a) The attributes of both divine and human natures belong to the person of Christ. They are united but not compromised or changed.

b) The characteristics of one nature are never attributed to the other. The characteristics of the deity of Christ are never attributed to the humanity of Christ. The characteristics of the humanity of Christ are never attributed to the deity of Christ.

c) This means that during the first advent Jesus Christ could be simultaneously omnipotent and weak. He could be omniscient and ignorant. As a baby in the cradle He was ignorant, but He went all of the way to ultra-super-grace, “full of grace and doctrine” — John 1:14. He was omnipresent in His deity but He was always located in one place at a time in His humanity.

10. The necessity for the humanity of Christ. Four principles:

a) Jesus Christ had to become a member of the human race to be our saviour — Philippians 2:7,8; Hebrews 2:14,15.

b) He had to become true humanity to be our mediator, for the mediator is defined as being equal with man and God, the two parties in the mediation. Jesus Christ is mediatory because He is God; equal with God. Jesus Christ is also true humanity, and that is why there is only one mediator — Job 9:2,32,33; 1 Timothy 2:5,6.

c) A priest is a man who represent man before God so before Jesus Christ could be a priest He had to be true humanity — Hebrews 7:4,5,14,28; 10:5-14.

d) Jesus Christ had to be the son of David to fulfill the unconditional covenants to Israel, therefore He had to be born a true member of the human race, also the son of David — 2 Samuel 7:8-16; Psalm 89:28-37.

11. Everything verbally communicated by Jesus during the incarnation came from one of three sources: His deity, His humanity, or from His entire person called the hypostatic union.

12. The categories of attributes that come out of point 11. This is related to the person of Christ who is God and man in one person forever.

a) The attributes which are true of His entire person. For example, saviour or redeemer. This is an attribute which is true of the God-Man, His whole person. Both natures are necessary for the function of saviour and redeemer. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me.” He said in Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” That was spoken from His entire person.

b) The attributes true only of His deity but the whole person is the subject. The subject is the entire person, the God-Man but the attribute given is true of His entire person. The whole person is the subject of John 8:58 but eternity is an attribute of deity and applies only to the divine nature.

c) The attributes true only of His humanity, but the whole person is the subject. John 19:28 — “I thirst.” Only the humanity of Christ could thirst, but He said “I thirst” and “I” is the God-Man.

d) The person of Christ is described according to His divine nature but the predicate of the human nature. Revelation 1:18, the deity of Christ is in evidence, yet Christ is described as the one who was dead. Death is only possible to the humanity of Christ. This classification disappears after the resurrection, ascension and session.

e) The person of Christ is described according to His human nature but the predicate of the divine nature — John 6:62. While the title Son of Man belongs to His human nature the predicate, ascending where He was before, describes the divine nature of Christ.

f) The person of Christ is described according to His divine nature but the predicate of both natures. John 5:25-27. Christ is described according to His divine nature under the title “Son of God.” However, Christ will execute judgement as the God-Man. The title Son of God specifically emphasises the involvement of the humanity of Christ so we have the person of Christ described according to His divine nature — Son of God, but the predicate of both natures. Christ will judge as the God-Man.

g) The person of Christ is described according to His human nature but the predicate of both natures — Matthew 27:46. Christ was speaking from His human nature. The sins of the world were being poured out upon the humanity of Christ, but He says “Why have you forsaken me?” The pronoun “me” has reference to the God-Man. So the person of Christ is described according to His human nature but the predicate of both natures “me” is the God-Man. So Christ was forsaken by God the Father and God the Holy Spirit because He was bearing our sins in His own body on the tree — in His human body. The same concept is found in John 5:22 where the Son of Man, the humanity of Christ, and the Son of God, the deity of Christ, will judge the world. But Christ spoke from His humanity when He said that the Father gives all judgment to the Son.

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #42

42 03/30/1976 Philippians 2:7 Doctrines of KENOSIS (revised), divine essence (revised)

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #43

43 03/31/1976 Philippians 2 Doctrines of KENOSIS, divine essence, attributes (revised)

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #44

44 04/01/1976 Philippians 2 Doctrine of divine essence (cont.)

Verse 7 — “But” is the adversative conjunction a)lla, it sets up a contrast between the deity, a gain to be seized and held, and the sacrifice of the kenosis.

“made himself of no reputation”

 “But made himself of no reputation.” We have a Greek phrase made up of two words, e(auton e)kenwsen. The accusative singular of e(autou, a reflexive pronoun which occurs with enough frequency to be very important. It is important here because it gives great emphatic position to a voluntary action of divine sovereignty in a very special way. The divine sovereignty of Jesus Christ is given tremendous emphasis. We think of the sovereignty of God in so many ways. Here we find the sovereignty of God involved in what might be classified as an act of humiliation. So the reflexive pronoun becomes extremely important. When the action of the verb is referred back to its own subject the construction is called reflexive. Jesus Christ Himself from His own deity and from the volition of His deity, known as sovereignty, made a decision to become true humanity. The greatness of this decision can never be overemphasised because our salvation, our very existence, and our eternal future are all based upon this decision.

There were actually two great decisions related to our salvation. The first is the decision of sovereign deity which is described in this passage — e(auton e)kenwsen, He deprived Himself of the proper function of deity. The second was the decision of His true humanity mentioned in Matthew 26:39; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42. The composite of all of these phrases indicates in a very forcible and important way the tremendous decisions involved in providing everything that we have right now.

With this reflexive pronoun we have the aorist active indicative of kenow. Kenow means to deprive one’s self of a proper function. It means, by the way, that you do it yourself. The aorist tense is a constantive aorist which states the incarnation or the first advent, views it in its entirety, gathers it into a single whole which is the function of the true kenosis. The active voice: Jesus Christ by a sovereign decision from His deity, as emphasised in the reflexive pronoun, produces the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal action from the viewpoint of dogmatic and absolute reality. The phrase says literally, that He deprived himself of the proper function of His deity. A second phrase is added to further explain what is involved in this kenosis:

“and took upon him the form of a servant” — the accusative singular direct object of morfh. There is no conjunction, it was used as a translator’s device. The word “form” comes first in this phrase, emphasising this word in a very unusual way. Morfh refers to inner essence or form. The next important word we will see is sxhma which means outer appearance. The third will be o(iwma which means overt appearance but not true inner nature.

There are many nuances to the connotation of morfh but generally it refers to inner essence which is perceivable in contrast to sxhma which connotes overt appearance, overt form, overt shape. We had the word morfh previously used in verse 6 for the essence of God. Jesus Christ was morfh of God in eternity past. Now it is used for mofh doulou, the inner essence of humanity whereas in verse 6 it was the inner essence of God. Put the two morfhs together and you have the hypostatic union: morfh God and morfh slave or servant. The absence of the definite article emphasises the high quality of our Lord’s slavery, the highest quality of a servant in all of history. We also have the descriptive genitive singular from the noun douloj which means a slave. It is also used for servant. So we have the principle of our Lord taking upon Himself the form of a slave.

“took” — the aorist active participle from the verb lambanw which means to receive. The aorist tense here is a constantive aorist, it contemplates the incarnation, the first advent, in its entirety. It starts at the point of the virgin birth and takes us all the way to the resurrection, ascension and session, and gathers it up into one entirety. This passage emphasises the cross, and during that entire period our Lord was a slave or a servant. The active voice: the incarnate person of Jesus Christ produces the action of the verb. The participle is known as a complementary participle, it completes the idea of the action expressed in the main verb, kenow. It is also a temporal participle and therefore it should be translated: “But he deprived himself of the proper function of deity when he received the form of a servant.”

“and was made in the likeness of men” — it starts with a prepositional phrase and, again, there is no “and.” We have the preposition e)n plus the locative singular of o(moiwma. E)n plus the locative means “in,” and it should be “in likeness [overtly but not inwardly].” This is a synonym to e)ikwn which is the Greek word for image, likeness, form, appearance — on the outside but not on the inside. So the translation “in likeness” means that Christ had a true physical body, fashioned like any male physical body, but He did not have on the inside a sin nature. Inwardly the true humanity of Jesus was impeccable. The essential difference between Christ and the other members of the human race, then, was impeccability.

With this a a descriptive genitive plural of a)nqrwpoj which means mankind. The absence of the definite article calls attention to the high quality of the true humanity of Christ. Jesus Christ is the highest quality from the standpoint of kenosis and the standpoint of impeccability. There is also, the aorist active participle from the verb ginomai. The dramatic aorist states the present reality of the incarnation with the certitude of a past event. The Greek idiom is a device for emphasis on doctrine which has been understood and correlated. The active voice: Jesus Christ produces the action of the first advent. The participle is complementary, it is used to complete the idea of the main verb, kenow.

Translation: “But he deprived himself of the proper function of deity, when he had received the form of a servant, although he had been born in the likeness of mankind.”

The doctrine of Kenosis

1. The origin of the doctrine. It is derived from kenow used in Philippians 2:7 — “he deprived himself of the proper function of deity, when he had received the form of a servant, although he had been born in the likeness of mankind.” The verb in context means to deprive Himself of the proper function of His divine essence.

2. Definition. Christ voluntarily took on Himself the form of mankind in order to redeem man from sin, to reconcile man to God, and to propitiate God the Father. All of these purposes were accomplished at the cross. In fulfilling the mission of the first advent Jesus Christ did not exercise His divine attributes to benefit Himself or to provide for Himself or to glorify Himself.

3. The false concept of Kenosis.

a) The relative divine attributes of Christ were surrendered during the incarnation.

b) Denial that Christ had a real body or His body was made of a heavenly substance instead of human flesh.

c) Denial that the incarnation involved any humiliation — the blasphemy of the Lutheran church since the time of Melanchthon.

d) The kenotic theologians who hold that the Logos [Jesus Christ] though retaining His divine self-consciousness and His imminent attributes — holiness, love and truth — surrendered His relative attributes which are omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence.

4. The objections to these false doctrines of Kenosis. There are three basic ones:

a) It is impossible to surrender and attribute without changing the character or the essence to which that attribute belongs.

Five principles:

i) To rob light of its various colours would change the character of light.

ii) To rob God of any attribute would destroy His deity.

iii) If Christ did not possess all the attributes of divine essence then He did not possess true deity.

iv) Since attributes belong to the essence it is impossible to subtract any attribute without destroying the essence of God.

v) The fact remains that during the incarnation Jesus Christ was God, undiminished deity without any change. The incarnation and hypostatic union did not change any attribute of deity.

b) There is no logical basis for distinguishing between relative attributes and absolute attributes as being more or less essential to deity. Absolute attributes imply the necessity for relative attributes.

The absolute attributes of the essence of God are three: Spirituality of God, the infinity of God, the perfection of God. Under the spirituality of God we have His life and personality; under the infinity of God we have His self-existence, immutability and unity; and under the perfection of God we have His holiness, truth and love.

The relative attributes: First of all, those related to time and space: eternity and immensity. Secondly, those related to creation: omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence. Thirdly, those related to moral beings: veracity and faithfulness which involve truth, mercy and goodness which involve His love, justice and righteousness which involve His holiness.

The principle: If one category of attributes is necessary for deity it logically follows that other categories of attributes are likewise essential.

c) The purpose of the Gospel of John is to prove the deity of Christ, that He remain in status quo during His incarnation and during His humiliation of the incarnation. His omnipresence continued while in the flesh, as illustrated by John 1:48; 3:13.

5. The fact of the true humiliation of the incarnation. There is a false doctrine of humiliation and there is a true doctrine. The false doctrine of humiliation goes with the false doctrine of kenosis; the true doctrine of humiliation goes with the true doctrine of kenosis.

In taking on Himself the form of man the Lord Jesus Christ veiled His pre incarnate glory. The glory of Christ was veiled but never surrendered. On the Mount of Transfiguration the glory was revealed, and at Gethsemane instantaneously there was a flash of His glory which knocked over the soldiers trying to seize Him — John 18:6.

The union of Christ in unglorified humanity is a necessary factor in His humiliation. There was humiliation. While the deity of Christ was united to perfect humanity He was still subject to temptation, distress, weakness, pain, sorrow, and limitation. This is humiliation for undiminished deity. This continued until His resurrection.

From His own free will Jesus Christ did not use His relative attributes of omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence. These attributes were not surrendered but voluntarily restricted in keeping with the Father’s plan for the first advent. During the first advent Christ therefore gave up the independent exercise of certain divine attributes in living among men with their human limitations. Christ depended on the power of the Holy Spirit or the power of the Father in the performance of all miracles and all extra-natural phenomena. He depended upon maximum doctrine resident in His soul for all normal functions of His humanity.

6. The true doctrine of Kenosis.

During the incarnation Jesus Christ was both undiminished deity and true humanity in one person forever. Therefore as undiminished deity He did not surrender His divine attributes or empty His deity, as per the blasphemies of the false kenosises. However, Christ voluntarily restricted the independent use of these attributes of deity in compliance with the Father’s plan. This was the great issue in the three unique temptations of Jesus Christ. They were unique because no one else has ever been tempted that way: rulership of the world; gone without food for forty days and then tempted to turn stones into bread — this was a legitimate temptation with regard to the Lord Jesus Christ because it dealt with the use of His relative attributes independently of God the Father. He did not so in Matthew 4:1-10. Therefore Christ did not exercise His divine attributes for His own benefit or His own glory. He did not give up His deity but He gave up the independent exercise of His deity. To execute the Father’s plan for the first advent the humanity of Christ relied on logistical grace, just as we do, plus the ministry of the Holy Spirit, plus Bible doctrine resident in His soul.

Consequently the independent exercise of His deity and the independent exercise of His divine attributes was “not a gain to be seized and held so that the Father’s plan for the first advent would be neutralised” — the corrected translation of Philippians 2:6. Therefore Christ voluntarily took upon Himself the form of a servant in order to redeem man from sin, to propitiate God the Father, to reconcile man to God. In fulfilling the mission of the first advent Jesus Christ did not exercise His divine attributes to benefit Himself, to provide for Himself, to glorify Himself.

7. The factors of kenosis. Christ gave up the outward appearance [sxhma] but not the essence [morfh], the inner essence of God. Therefore Christ took upon Himself the likeness of mankind [o(moiwma a)nqrwpoj]. For this reason He prayed for glorification of His true humanity in John 17:5. Jesus Christ had not emptied His deity or His divine glory but at this point He had not yet achieved the strategic victory of the angelic conflict. Therefore in John 17:5 Jesus was praying for victory for His humanity, not for the restoration of His divine glory; and He was not asking for God the Father to give Him back His essence.

8. Part of the kenosis is the sustaining ministry of the Holy Spirit.

The doctrine of divine essence

1. Definition.

a) “Essence” is derived from the Greek adjective, sometimes used as a substantive, o)usia. It is derived from one of the participial forms of e)imi, “to be,” but it doesn’t mean “being,” it means “substance.” Therefore substance means inner nature, true substance, intrinsic nature, the qualities or the attributes of a person — invisible in many cases, also manifest in some.

b) Essence implies the existence or being. Essence, therefore, refers to the qualities [here] or attributes of God — being, qualities, attributes.

c) At no point does the believer feel his limitations more than when confronted with the responsibility of accurately recognising the essence of God. And yet it is revealed to be understood.

d) Since God is a spirit His attributes or qualities are invisible. They are spiritual. They are invisible to human perception through empiricism or rationalism. This is where only exegesis clarifies.

e) The believer is totally dependent upon divine revelation from the canon of scripture to understand the invisible, immaterial, unlimited essence of God.

f) Super-grace Moses was commanded to remove his shoes because he stood on holy ground when confronted with the essence of God — operation burning bush. g) The doctrine of divine essence recognises the existence of the Godhead in three persons, each person of the Trinity having identical essence or attributes.

h) Therefore God is one in essence, three in persons. There are three separate and distinct persons but they all share one identical essence.

i) The oneness of God and/or the glory of God refers to His essence or character — John 10:30.

j) All the attributes of divine essence are resident in God but all are not manifest at the same time — as illustrated by light.

2. The correlation between essence and the Trinity. The fact that God exists in three separate and distinct persons is documented by such passages as Isaiah 48:16; John 10:30 cf. Psalm 110:1; 2Corinthians 13:14; 1Peter er 1:2. Remember that each member of the Godhead is a separate person but each member of the Godhead has identical essence or attributes. So the scripture emphasising essence always declares that God is one. That does not mean one person, that means one essence. “One” is a numerical adjective, it must have a modifier. It modifies the essence of God, not the persons of God.

3. The concept of divine personality.

a) The personality of man is due to the fact he is made in the image of God.

b) Man’s personality is based on the essence of man’s soul — his self-consciousness, his mentality, his volition, emotion.

c) There are many people in the human race but all have the same essence. Therefore mankind is one but has many personalities in mankind.

d) While, mankind is possessed of the essential elements of personality and is capable of their normal exercise within a limited sphere, God is the embodiment and the source of these essential elements which He exercises in the sphere of infinity and to a limitless degree.

e) Almost every page of the Bible asserts the personality of God. (For category #1 love you must become aware of God’s personality)

f) For example God designs and executes and empowers. That is personality.

g) God speaks of Himself as “I,” therefore He is self-conscious and eternally Himself.

h) God thinks; God makes decisions; God feels. The person and substance of God is the superstructure of His divine essence. God is a personality; God has attributes.

4. The attributes of God.

a) Those qualities and perfections which belong to God are termed attributes.

b) Essence is the being which is attributed to God since these charactersitics are eternally and inherent in Him.

c) Since the grace of God and the work of God are manifestations of His essential qualities or attributes it is important to understand the essence of deity or divine attributes to understand the thoughts and functions of God.

d) The difficulty of the study of divine essence is that it brings the finite human mind into constant contemplation and concentration on the infinite.

e) There are two categories of divine attributes. i) The absolute. These are intransitive, primary, and incommunicable; ii) The relative. These are transitive, secondary, and communicable.

A) Absolute attributes:

i) Spirituality.

a) The true theistic concept of the universe is that the universe is composed of material and immaterial.

b) Matter is material but God is immaterial — John 4:24 — in contrast to all living creatures who are both material and immaterial. Human beings are material and immaterial — 2Corinthians 4:7.16.

c) God is life; God lives — Jeremiah 10:10; 1 Thessalonians 1:9. God does not possess life as we do but He is life. All life is from Him but not of Him as pantheism claims.

d) The eternal life of God is imparted through Jesus Christ to all who believe in Jesus Christ — John 3:36; 5:24; 10:10; 14:6; 20:31; 1 John 5:11,12.

e) God is also personality. He not only lives but He is a person — Exodus 3:14. Personality connotes both self-consciousness and self-determination. There is the true concept of personality.

f) God recognises Himself to be a person and as such He acts rationally.

g) Animals are conscious but not self-conscious. Animals have determination but not self-determination.

h) Man is a person possessing to a limited degree self-consciousness and self-determination, but God is infinite personality.

i) His absolute will and absolute perfection characterise both His design and execution — Ephesians 1:9,11.

j) God is to an absolute degree all that constitutes personality. He is Himself, He knows Himself to be beyond comparison with any other being.

ii) Infinity.

a) By infinity is meant that God is without boundary or limitation, uniting those perfections which belong to His own character. They all coalesce to His essence but they are without boundary or limitation.

b) God cannot tempt; He cannot sin.

c) God cannot be complicated with ignorance nor absurdities.

d) God may be self-limited as in the case of the incarnate Christ in the hypostatic union under kenosis. God’s infinity is intensive rather than extensive: infinite energy and power — Psalm 8:3.

e) Infinity characterises all that God does — His holiness, His love, His veracity.

f) The divine motive is for His own glory, not His self-praise. God recognises His glory and claims it in the interests of absolute truth.

g) Because of this fact all things exist, as per Exodus 33:18; Psalm 19:1; Isaiah 6:3; Matthew 6:13; Acts 7:2; Romans 1:23; 9:23; Hebrews 1:3; 1Peter er 4:14. God’s glory was before all creation — John 17:5.

h) Infinity involves three characteristics: self-existence, immutability, and unity.

Self-existence:

1. God exists eternally unsustained by Himself or any other source. God cannot be better or worse because of His character.

2. Jehovah or the tetragrammaton means the self-existing one.

3. God’s existence is unalterable. He is the cause of all existence outside of Himself.

Immutability:

God is unchanging; God cannot change. God cannot, again, be better or worse. The problem is that anthropomorphic representations of God in the scripture are misunderstood. The really represent the perfect attitude of God toward variations in man or in history in human language so man can understand God’s policy. Immutability is consistent with God’s freedom and His ceaseless activity. God is free to do anything according to His own essence and therefore salvation is not God’s second best but a part of His eternal purpose.

Unity:

Jehovah our Elohim is one Jehovah — Deuteronomy 6:4. There is one perfect absolute spirit, says Isaiah 44:6; John 5:44; 17:3; 1 Corinthians 8:4. Unity only applies to divine essence, not to the persons.

iii) Perfection

The intellect, character and affections of God are perfect. Divine perfection involves truth, love and holiness. Take for example truth. This is not merely veracity to other beings. God is true to Himself, to His own being, to His own character. So truth as an attribute of perfect or is a part of perfection is the truth that God is true to Himself, His own being, His own essence, His own character. Man says, “I speak the truth,” but God says, “I am the truth” — John 14:6. God does not hold the truth as being acquired, He is the truth from eternity past. In God every truth and every form of knowledge dwells in absoluteness. Therefore the dogmatism of Bible doctrine. This absolute guarantees the genuineness of divine revelation — Deuteronomy 32:4; 1 John 520; John 6:32; 15:1; Hebrews 8:2.

Also a part of His absolute perfection is love. Like all the attributes love belongs to God’s being. We may acquire love for persons and by growing in grace to the point of super-grace love for God is acquired. But God does never acquire, never attain love; He always was love. God is love regardless of having any object to love.

Holiness. God is absolute holiness from all eternity — Exodus 15:11; 19:10-16; Isaiah 6:3. This holiness is required of men — 2Corinthians 7:1; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; 4:7. God’s holiness is maintained by His will, it is His unchangeable self. His holiness includes righteousness and justice. The two of them together make up His holiness which is His perfection.

B. Relative attributes:

i) Eternity and immensity (related to time and space).

a) Eternity applied to God means that He has always existed and always will exist, totally apart from time.

b) God is not subject to time for He is the cause of time, the origin of time — Deuteronomy 32:40; Psalm 90:2; 102:27; 1 Corinthians 2:7; Ephesians 1:4; 1 Timothy 1:17.

c) Both time and space but without substance are both objects of His creation. Time and space were created even though they do not have substance.

d) God is not in time but time is in God — another way of saying God is the origin of time.

e) God transcends all creation, including time.

f) God is logical, therefore He does not need to be chronological — Romans 4:17.

g) Time which is finite has both succession and duration.

h) Eternity, which is infinite, has duration only. Time has a line of procedure while eternity is a circle reaching into infinity.

Immensity:

a) God is not subject to space. Like time, God created space.

b) God cannot be more or less than He is.

c) God is the cause of space — Romans 8:29.

d) In relation to space God is both imminent and transcendent.

e) Omnipresence is the term descriptive of space in relationship to God; immensity is the term descriptive of God’s relationship to space.

f) Since God is the creator, the cause of space, if space were defined in boundaries God would exceed those boundaries to infinity.

ii) Creation: In relationship to creation there are three charactersitics of His essence — omnipresence, omniscience, omnipotence.

Omnipresence:

a) God is personally present everywhere. The whole of God is in every place.

b) This is not pantheism since pantheism denies the person of God.

c) God in the total of His essence, without diffusion, expansion, multiplication or division penetrates and fills the universe. That is omnipresence. Psalm 139:7,8; Jeremiah 23:23,24; Acts 17:27.

d) God is also free to be local, as in the mountain with Moses or in the holy of holies, the Shekinah glory between the angelic creatures. He is free to become flesh and tabernacle among us, as per John 1:14.

Omniscience:

a) God is all-wise. He knows perfectly and eternally all that is knowable whether actual or possible — Psalm 147:4; Matthew 10:29; Psalm 33:13-15; Acts 15:8; Hebrews 4:3; Psalm 132:9; Matthew 6:8; Malachi 3:16; Matthew 10:30; Isaiah 46:9,10; Isaiah 44:28.

b) There are three categories of divine knowledge or omniscience. First there is there is the eternal concept of His knowledge — Acts 15:18. Secondly, His knowledge is incomprehensible — Romans 11:33. Thirdly, His knowledge is wise — Ephesians 3:10.

c) Every detail of creation in history is in God’s mind at all times.

d) Therefore the future is as perspicuous to God as the past.

d) God foreknows the future. Since events take place according to His councils He foreknows. But God’s foreknowledge is not predetermination. He knows but doesn’t interfere with volition.

e) God foreknows the functions of every free will. He foreknows what will be the choice of other beings.

f) Likewise He may determine their choice by gracious influence — Bible doctrine.

g) God’s knowledge is not subject to development, reasoning, regretting, or foreboding.

Omnipotence:

God is all-powerful, infinitely able to do all things which are the object of His power within the range of His holy character or essence. However, He will not make right wrong, nor will He act foolishly — Isaiah 44:24; 2Corinthians 4:6; Ephesians 1:19-21; 3:20; Hebrews 1:3. If God is limited at any time it is because of a self-limitation consistent with His own essence. God can do all he wills to do but He may not will to do all he can do.

iii) Related to moral beings:

Veracity and faithfulness: God is infinite perfection in truth and faithfulness.

Truth: God honours doctrine resident in the soul of the believer with spiritual growth. That’s why you cannot grow by witnessing, by praying, by doing things.

Faithfulness: God provides divine logistics to support the believer on earth during his period of growth.

Mercy and goodness: Mercy is grace in action, infinite love and action toward the object of His divine affection, therefore the other side of God’s category #1 love — His love toward us instead of ours toward Him. God’s judgments are perfect, demanding perfect righteousness. So God is not only absolute good in contrast to the policy of Satan, which is evil, but He is justice and righteousness; infinite holiness acting toward others. His righteousness is perfect and therefore demands perfect righteousness. His judgments are perfect demanding perfection. Principle: Justice administers the penalty which righteousness demands.

In righteousness is the divine love for holiness revealed. In justice is the divine hatred for sin revealed. God is not arbitrary in any way. Holiness demands holiness, righteousness demands righteousness. God’s nature therefore cannot change. He must demand holiness and punish both sin and evil as long as He is what He is. His penalties are not vindictive but vindicating. With unchangeable sin and evil there is unchangeable condemnation and judgement, but in grace God provides through salvation all which he demands, and through rebound sin is handled for the believer.

5. Other divine characteristics.

The freedom of God. God must be consistent with Himself; God cannot compromise His essence. The incarnation was the only way the free will of God could provide salvation for man.

The affection of God. This is related to the subject of anthropopathisms — ascribing to God a human characteristic which He really does not possess but it explains divine policy in terms of human attitude. For example. God repents. God doesn’t really change His mind — Genesis 6:6. The hatred of God — Romans 9:13; the anger of God in Romans 1:18; the scorn of God in Psalm 2:4; the benevolence of God in Romans 8:32; the compassion of God in Lamentations 3:33; the long-suffering of God; the happiness of God. The authority of God.

Three principles involved in this paragraph

5. The soul is the battle ground of the angelic conflict. There are two forces fighting for the soul of every believer. The force representing God is Bible doctrine and the force representing Satan is good and evil. Evil is the great genius of Satan and evil is a thought. Doctrine is the thinking of God; evil is the thinking of Satan, and there is a struggle for the soul between doctrine and evil.

a. A person is said to be brilliant or to possess a high IQ because of his ability to accumulate information in his left lobe. Human IQ is based upon getting information in the left lobe. You can be tested on that information and give it back but it is never over in the right lobe where it counts.

b. The rapid accumulation of information in the left lobe is called in the Bible, gnwsij. Both unbeliever and believer are considered brilliant if they could accumulate a lot of gnwsij, but it is only when this information becomes e)pignwsij that it is useful.

c. However, gnwsij or knowledge in the left lobe cannot be applied to life or any facet of life. Therefore smart people are often stupid. What you accumulate in the left lobe is not meaningful at all, it is what you have in your right lobe that counts.

d. However, a little bit of knowledge in the right lobe [e)pignwsij] is worth a vast amount of information in the left lobe, for it is only the information you have in your right lobe that orients you to life and that makes you move in any direction in life.

e. In the Bible the right lobe is called kardia, translated heart. This is the only place where thought is turned to action, to dynamics, where it produces advance. Thought does not produce in the left lobe, only in the right lobe. Knowledge in the heart, therefore, makes the unbeliever practical. It gives him a lot of common sense and often makes him very wise in life.

f. Knowledge in the believer’s heart advances him spiritually, gives him maximum application of doctrine to experience. The secret to spiritual growth

      is not in doing things, even legitimate things, it is in what you think in your right lobe.

g. Bible knowledge is called doctrine. The residence of doctrine in the soul determines both spiritual growth and glorification of Jesus Christ. But it must be the residence of Bible doctrine in the right lobe.

h. The humanly brilliant person can accumulate maximum doctrine in the left lobe—gnwsij or knowledge.

i. This knowledge can be repeated or parroted to others but it has no meaning, no application, and is not a source of growth in the spiritual realm nor source of success in the realm of unbelievers. Both the person who has acquired such knowledge and those who hear it are impressed, and many conclude that here is a great spiritual giant. But such is not the case.

6. It is spiritual IQ which counts in life—doctrine in the right lobe.

a. Spiritual IQ is the sum total of understanding of doctrine—e)pignwsij.

b. Doctrine must reside in the right lobe under four categories found in the scripture. There must be e)pignwsij, and this goes into the frame of reference, the memory centre, and into the vocabulary—you have to have a technical vocabulary to understand technical things. Therefore there is a vocabulary storage and a categorical storage, and that is called sunhsij in the Greek—working knowledge. When e)pignwsij gets into the conscience and develops norms and standards, that is called suneidhsij. Then, when it gets out on the launching pad and is used, that is called swfia or wisdom.

c. Knowledge of doctrine does not produce growth and glorification of Christ, but understanding of doctrine produces growth and glorification of Christ.

d. You cannot teach what you know, you can only teach what you

 understand.

e. Verses 12-16 teach us that you cannot grow spiritually on what you know, you can only grow spiritually on what you understand. There are two negatives in spiritual growth. You do not grow spiritually by what you do and you do not grow spiritually by what you know. You only grow spiritually by what you understand.

f. Furthermore, you cannot glorify Christ by what you know, you can only glorify Christ by what you understand.

g. Doctrine which remains in the left lobe is vulnerable to instant destruction by evil.

7. The greatest malfunction in GAP is the failure to transfer doctrine from the left to the right lobe through the ministry of the filling of the Spirit, plus the acceptance of the authority of one’s right pastor.

a. Doctrine in the right lobe is the basis for all spiritual growth, the advance to maturity and the glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ.

b. In crossing no-man’s land between super-grace and ultra-super-grace there is the area of great vulnerability where the believer is in danger of ambush from reversionism and evil. He is vulnerable through failure to accept the authority of his right pastor and because of failure to transfer doctrine from his left lobe to his right lobe under the proper function of GAP, and also because of failure to utilise the continued and faithful provision of divine logistics.

c. This is why Pilippians 2:12 includes words such as obey—u(pakouw, aorist active indicative; then, work out your own salvation—work out is the present middle imperative[G. L. 1] katergazomai which means to be accomplishing your own preservation in danger; then that final phrase, with fear and trembling, which means reverence toward Christ and respect toward doctrine.

d. The soul continues to be the battle ground for the angelic conflict.

e. Doctrine which has not been transferred to the right lobe is subject to distortion and vulnerable to attack from evil.

f. The believer in crossing no-man’s land, therefore, is in grave danger from reversionism.

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #45

45 04/02/1976 Philippians 2:8 Doctrine of impeccability

Verse 8 – the humble Christ. Christ suffered humiliation by the hypostatic union, all

the way from birth to the point of resurrection where glorification in His humanity began. It was a humiliation for undiminished deity to be in union with true humanity, even though it was impeccable and perfect humanity. The verse answers the question: What was the work of Christ during the incarnation?

“And being found in fashion as a man” – kai sxhmati e)ureqeij w(j a)nqrwpoj. This is an emphatic kai, and should be translated “In fact”; plus the locative singular from sxhma, for His outer or overt appearance, used here for Christ as He appeared to those who observed the crucifixion; it brings us to the cross. Then comes the aorist passive participle of e(uriskw, e(ureqeij. It means here to discover. The aorist tense is a constative aorist, it takes the occurrence of the cross and gathers it into a single whole, including the spiritual and physical death of Christ, the six hours our Lord was on the cross. The passive voice: Christ on the cross received the action of the verb. The concessive participle is very important, it will change our translation—“In fact, although having been discovered in outward appearance.”

“as a man” – the comparative particle w(j, indicating the manner in which the crucifixion proceeded. He was stripped naked and discovered in outward appearance to be a man. Plus the nominative singular from a)nqrwpoj, used here as a nominative of appellation emphasising the importance of Christ’s humanity on the cross. This is His humiliation; His humanity was His humiliation, and his humiliation was His humanity, and a)nqrwpoj indicates He was stripped naked on the cross, badly bruised (Isaiah 53, etc.).

“he humbled himself” – aorist active indicative from tapeinow. With it also the accusative singular direct object of the verb from the reflexive pronoun e(autou. The reflexive pronoun refers the action of the verb back on the subject. So this part is correctly translated in the KJV, except for its true meaning. The meaning will be derived from understanding more about the verb. This is a culminative aorist, it gathers the humiliation of Christ on the cross into one entirety but regards it from the standpoint of its existing results—spiritual death whereby Christ was judged for our sins and provided our salvation. For the perfect humanity of Christ to come into contact with our sins is maximum humiliation; bearing our sins on the cross, as per 1Peter er 2:24. He was impeccable and then suddenly He is bearing the sins of the world. He resisted every type of sin, every temptation that ever came to Him He resisted it, and suddenly every sin ever committed from Adam and Eve down to the end of time was poured out on Him, and that is His humiliation. That’s what is means when it says, “he humbled himself.” The active voice: Jesus Christ produced the action of the verb in the three hours of His spiritual death. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal action of salvation from the viewpoint of absolute and dogmatic reality. What does it mean to humble Himself? It means that here is the perfect person bearing the sins of the world.

“and” is not found in the original.

“became” – aorist active participle from ginomai. This is an instrumental participle (very rare), it indicates the means by which the action of the main verb is accomplished. The main verb: “he humbled himself.” He humbled Himself by becoming obedient. So ginomai is translated “by becoming obedient,” not “and became.” The instrumental participle is translated by the word “by.” The aorist tense is the constative aorist, it gathers into one entirety the obedience of the humanity of Christ to the authority and the plan of God the Father by taking the sins of the world on Himself: he was judged for our sins on the cross. The active voice: Jesus Christ produced the action of the verb by bearing our sins.

“obedient” is the predicate nominative (ginomai takes the nominative case) from u(phkooj, which becomes the supreme illustration of the recognition of the Father’s authority and the Father’s plan for the incarnation. Recognition of the Father’s authority led to this action. Gethsemane is a good illustration of the intensity of the temptation prior to the cross. Recognition of the Father’s authority led to the action of bearing our sins on the cross. In other words, the action of redemption, reconciliation and propitiation, the action whereby the work of Christ becomes the coin of the realm. So instead of saying redemption, reconciliation and propitiation every time, the word blood, taken from the animal sacrifices, is used. The coin of the realm for salvation is blood, the blood of Christ. Salvation is free because it is paid for by the coin of the realm.

“unto death” – the adverb mexri denoting degree or measure. It is used as an improper preposition with the genitive singular of qanatoj. It should be translated, “to the point of death.” He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death. Death here is in the singular, but it’s in the plural that it refers to both spiritual and physical death. Death in the singular here refers to spiritual death only—“to the point of [spiritual] death.”

“even the death of the cross” – the enclitic particle de is a transitional conjunction to insert an explanation. It should be translated “that is”; plus the genitive of apposition, qanatoj in the singular, referring to His spiritual death (after which He was still talking). This is anartharous construction, i.e. without the definite article it emphasises the unique quality of this spiritual death—Christ was bearing our sins; plus the adverbial genitive of place, stauroj—“cross.” This actually occurred at a place, and that is why Christ had to become true humanity.

Translation: “In fact, although having been discovered in outward appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of [spiritual] death, that is, the death of the cross.”

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #46

46 04/04/1976 Philippians 2:8 Doctrines of redemption, reconciliation, propitiation

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #47

47 04/04/1976 Philippians 2:9 Doctrines of resurrection, ascension and session of Christ; royalty of Jesus Christ

Verse 9 – we now see the exalted Christ in contrast to the humiliated Christ. “Wherefore” is an inferential conjunction, dio, composed of the preposition dia plus o(j, the relative pronoun. Literally, it is translated “Because of which,” but it comes to mean “Therefore” as an inferential conjunction. There is also the adjunctive use of the conjunction kai, denoting that the inference is obvious and self-evident; “God also” – the subject: the nominative o( qeoj, translated “the God”—“Therefore also the God.”

“hath highly exalted him” includes the object of the verb on the accusative singular, the intensive pronoun a)utoj. The intensive pronoun always gives great emphasis on the person involved, and it denotes the Lord Jesus Christ seated at the right hand of the Father after His resurrection and ascension. With this is the verb, the aorist active indicative of u(peruyuow, correctly translated “exalt.” It means to raise someone to the loftiest heights, to exalt supremely, to exalt to the maximum. The aorist tense is a constative aorist, it contemplates the action of the verb in its entirety. The action of the verb includes resurrection, ascension and session. The active voice: God the Father produces the action of the verb in the exaltation of the person of Jesus Christ after He was in the grave for three days. The indicative mood is declarative, indicating the reality of the resurrection, ascension and session of Jesus Christ. “Therefore also the God [the Father] has exalted him to the maximum.”

“and has given him” – aorist active indicative of xarizomai. The word means to give freely, to give graciously, to give as a favour, to grant, to bestow a favour upon someone. Here it means “and he has bestowed on him.” This is a culminative aorist which views the resurrection, ascension and session in its entirety but emphasises the existing results. It shows the result of the resurrection, ascension and session. Active voice: God the Father produces the action. The indicative mood is declarative, viewing the action of the verb from the viewpoint of reality. And again there is the dative singular, this time, indirect object from the intensive pronoun a)utoj, emphasising the uniqueness of the person of Jesus Christ as He is seated at the right hand of God the Father.

“a name” – the word “name” is the correct translation for the accusative singular direct object, plus the definite article, but the noun here is o)noma. It is true that this means “name,” and that is the primary meaning of this particular noun, but it also connotes “name” in the sense of rank. Sometimes it is even used for personality—“and he has bestowed on him [the unique Christ] the rank.”

“which is” – the accusative definite article used as a relative pronoun; the verb to be is understood but does not occur; “above every name” – u(per plus the accusative from the adjective paj and the noun o)noma—“which is above every rank.”

Translation” “Therefore also, the God [the Father] has exalted him to the maximum, and has bestowed on him [Jesus Christ] the rank which is above every rank.”

Part of our Lord’s victory in the angelic conflict is the resurrection, ascension and session, at which He receives battlefield royalty.[4]

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #48

48 04/05/1976 Philippians 2:10 Genuflect; doctrine of the royal family of God

Verse 10 – “That” is the conjunction i(na which denotes a final clause, indicating a purpose, an aim, or an objective” “In order that.”

“at the name of Jesus” – e)n plus the locative of o)noma, which can mean rank, name, or personality. This time it means “in the presence of the person.” Also, the possessive genitive of I)hsouj, referring to the Lord Jesus Christ by His human name, meaning saviour—“In order that in the presence of the person of Jesus.”

“every knee” – nominative neuter singular from the adjective paj, plus the nominative of the noun gonu—“knee.” This refers to the first action of the resurrection body after the Rapture of the Church. The word “knee” is interesting because it is in the singular, which means down on one knee.

“should bow” – aorist active subjunctive of the verb kamptw. The reason why so much emphasis is placed upon genuflecting is because at this time we will be in a resurrection body and we will know Him even as we are known. Therefore the soulish part where Bible doctrine is stored will be up to scratch with everyone; everyone will have maximum doctrine, therefore maximum appreciation of what is occurring at the Rapture of the Church. Consequently, because of the conditions of ultimate sanctification, the mental conditions involved, the maximum doctrine in the soul at that time for everyone, the genuflecting is a correct posture as a result of what is in the soul. The aorist tense is a constative aorist, it contemplates the action of the verb in its entirety. It takes the occurrence of the Rapture of the Church and resultant genuflecting of the resurrection body before Jesus Christ, and regardless of its extent of duration it gathers it up into a single whole. In other words, from the time of the Rapture of the Church, all of the way through operation genuflect, it is all gathered up into one constative aorist. The active voice: the royal family of God produces the action of the verb. The subjunctive mood used with the conjunction i(na is called a subjunctive of objective, a subjunctive of purpose, in this particular clause. It emphasises the relationship between the subjunctive mood and the future indicative. The future indicative is a variation of the aorist subjunctive, which we have here, and often as far as morphology is concerned in the Greek they are exactly the same. In the early Greek the future indicative and aorist subjunctive were used interchangeably, and therefore the subjunctive here has the connotation of something in the future, rather than something that may or may not occur. This is not the usual potential subjunctive, therefore it is recognised with i(na as being a definite factor—“every knee shall bow,” there is no question about it, no potentiality here; this is a purpose related to the Rapture of the Church for the entire royal family of God.

“of things in heaven” – incorrect. Here is a possessive genitive plural from e)pouranioj. The point here is that it is plural, and it goes with “every knee” (singular). It is “every knee of the heavens shall bow.” So this genitive plural is not “of things in heaven” at all. The genitive has to modify something and it goes back to the knee—“every knee of the heavens.” In other words, everyone who makes it to heaven at the Rapture—all of the Church Age believers. This verse actually summarises the entire royal family of God composed of all Church Age believers.[5] The reason that the word “heavens” is in the plural is because of the immensity of space, and while we simply translate it “every knee of heaven shall bow” it is actually in the plural and indicates the vastness of space.

Next we have a “both and,” a repetition of kai kai—“both in earth,” an appositional genitive masculine plural from e)pigeioj, which means “the ones on earth.” It refers to the royal family who are alive when the Rapture takes place. These believers are living on earth and they are designated in 1 Corinthians 15:54 as mortals taking on immortality.

“and things under the earth” – incorrect. This is an appositional genitive plural from the compound kataxqonioj [kata = under; xqon = earth], and it is translated “the ones under the earth.” It refers to all members of the royal family who die before the Rapture occurs. The emphasis is on their bodies which are placed under something—under the surface of the sea but generally under the earth. They are described in 1 Corinthians 15:54 as this corruption shall take on incorruption.

Translation: “In order that in the presence of the person of Jesus every knee of heaven shall bow, both the ones on earth [believers alive at the Rapture], and the ones under the earth [believers who die before the Rapture occurs].”

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #49

49 04/08/1976 Philippians 2:11 (review vs 9–10) Doctrine of the Rapture (revised)

Verse 11 – “And” is the transitional use of the conjunction kai; “every tongue” – nominative feminine singular from the adjective paj, which means all of us are going to acknowledge our Lord, and the nominative feminine singular subject glwssa. Interestingly enough, the resurrection body will have a tongue!

“should confess” – this is not confess, it is the aorist middle subjunctive from e)comologew and it means to acknowledge. This is a reference to the verbal acknowledgement of the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. This will be the acknowledgement of the royal family, all of whom will recognise the headship of Christ in resurrection body. The aorist tense is a culminative aorist, it views the genuflection of the Rapture in its entirety but it emphasises the results in the verbalising of doctrine resident in the soul—a specific doctrine which everyone will be cognisant of at that time, i.e. the unique royalty of Jesus Christ. The middle voice is an indirect middle, it emphasises the agent—the royal family of God in resurrection body—as producing the action of the verb at the Rapture. The subjunctive mood indicates the purpose or the objective as the compliment of the conjunction i(na. The subjunctive here emphasises, again, the relationship between the subjunctive mood and the future tense.

“that” – the conjunction o(ti, used here after verbs of perception to indicate the content of the thought; “Jesus Christ is Lord” – kurioj I)hsouj Xristoj. Kurioj is the title of our Lord’s royalty. The entire title is King of kings and Lord of lords, and kurioj is often used simply to indicate the royalty of Jesus Christ—His royalty in hypostatic union at the right hand of the Father, the royalty that brought about the Church Age, the royalty that makes us in union with Christ royal family forever. I)hsouj is the human name of our Lord, it means saviour. Xristoj brings in the fact that He has another type of royalty in His humanity: Jewish royalty from birth. He is Jewish royalty from birth; He is battlefield royalty from resurrection, ascension and session; and both of these titles of royalty are tied into His human name, indicating that both titles are related to His humanity. Notice that this is an anartharous construction which means no definite article, and the absence of the definite article emphasises the uniqueness of the hypostatic union.

All members of the royal family of God will have their priorities straight under these conditions. The point is that when we acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ it is going to glorify someone. The plan of God in a certain phase is concluded, the formation of the royal family of God is over with the big genuflect in the sky and the acknowledgement of the royalty of Jesus Christ.

“to the glory” – the preposition e)ij plus the accusative of doca means literally, “resulting in the glory.”

“of God the Father” – descriptive genitive qeoj, appositional genitive pathr, referring to the first person of the Trinity. The phrase is anartharous emphasising the qualitative aspect of both God the Father and anything that comes from Him. The fact remains that God is perfect, therefore His plan is perfect; and the Father is the author of the plan.

Translation: “And every tongue shall acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, resulting in the glory of God the Father.”

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #50

50 04/09/1976 Philippians 2:12a Doctrine of the Rapture (cont.); right pastor

Verse 12 – if ever there was a verse which has been misunderstood and misapplied it is this verse.

“as ye have always obeyed” – we have a comparative adverb, kaqoj. The point is, whether Paul was present or absent, they were hearing or reading his doctrine and were always obedient. The word always is pantote which has to do with consistency of getting doctrine. It is an adverb of time, and it means today they go to Bible class, tomorrow they go, the next day they go, and the next, and so on.

The verb is u(pakouw, and this is the key to everything. It does mean obedience but it means obedience in a very special sense. It means recognition of the authority of the pastor and therefore applying that recognition from the right lobe by attendance. The aorist tense is a constative aorist contemplating the action in its entirety. It takes the Philippian recognition of Paul’s authority and gathers it into one entirety so that every epistle of his they read and every time he comes they are there. Active voice: the positive Philippians produced the action of the verb, recognition of Paul’s authority and concentration on his message. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal action from the viewpoint of reality.

“not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence.”

Principle

1. Since Paul was an apostle and had a teaching authority over all local churches before the canon of scripture was completed and circulated his authority was just as important in his absence.

2. While the Philippians did not have face-to-face teaching they still learned more from Paul than from their pastor Epaphroditus.

3. This was not because Epaphroditus had failed but because Paul was the greatest Bible teacher of the Church Age.

4. Note the principle: The believer’s right teacher does not have to be present for the believer to grow through his ministry.

5. Believers have advanced spiritually without face to face teaching.

6. Both Paul and Epaphroditus are in Rome but the Philippians continue their advance. Face to face teaching from one’s right pastor is obviously the easiest way to advance but in the absence of one’s right pastor the believer can still advance to super-grace.

7. Therefore, while face-to-face teaching is desirable it is not necessary for spiritual growth.

8. The Philippians have letters from Paul, but believers today have many other sources.

“work out” – here is where we run into a problem, the present middle imperative of katergazomai. This sword does not mean to work out. Sophocles gave

us the real meaning of this, the first one who used it. He used the word in the sense of overcoming all opposition, to subdue. And in the Koine Greek it changes meaning slightly, it means to accomplish or bring about something, and often in the context, where there is a danger—to accomplish something where danger exists is the meaning. It is a perfect word to express combat activity, being a professional soldier in combat. This verse means and says, “be accomplishing your objective” or “advancing in your objective under pressure and danger.” It does not mean to work out salvation. The present tense is a descriptive present to indicate what is now going on. The Philippians believers are advancing professionally. The middle voice is the intensive or dynamic middle which emphasises the part taken by the agent in the action of the verb. The agents: super-grace “B” Philippians believers. The imperative mood of permission in which the command signified by the imperative complies with the personal desires of the recipients. The Philippians want to advance, they want doctrine.

“your own salvation” is the accusative singular direct object from the definite article plus the accusative singular direct object from swthria, used for no-man’s land. It means to be preserved in a place of danger, often deliverance from impending disaster—which is where it gets the meaning of salvation. When you believe in Christ you are delivered from the impending disaster of the last judgment. But it actually means preservation in danger—“be accomplishing your own preservation in danger.” This is an idiom which is tantamount to a command: Be advancing to ultra-super-grace.

Next we have the preposition meta plus the genitive of foboj. While foboj means fear it also means reverence and respect. It is used here for the believer as he is now moving across no-man’s land. He is to do so with foboj—occupation with the person of Jesus Christ. It is respect directed toward Christ.

Then we have a second word, tromoj, which means quivering or trembling but here comes to mean respect. The respect is toward Bible doctrine.

Translation: “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, be accomplishing your own preservation in danger [be advancing] with reverence [toward Christ] and respect [toward Bible doctrine].”

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #51

51 04/11/1976 Philippians 2:12 Knowledge vs. understanding

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #52

52 04/11/1976 Philippians 2:13–14 Doctrines of eternal decorations, motivation

Verse 13 – the logistical support for the advance to ultra-super-grace. “For” is the explanatory use of the conjunctive particle gar. It actually indicates the role of God the Holy Spirit in the function of logistical support. With it is the present active indicative of the verb e)imi. The present tense is a static present representing a condition perpetually existing—“For it keeps on being [it always is].” God the Holy Spirit is always involved in every step in the advance. The active voice: God the Holy Spirit produces the action. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal idea from the viewpoint of absolute, dogmatic reality. The believer is supported and sustained by the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

The next phrase is a predicate nominative from the anartharous qeoj, referring here to the third person of the Trinity. The absence of the definite article calls attention to the fact that God the Holy Spirit, even though He is numbered as the third person in the Godhead, has the exact same essence as the Father and the Son. The mechanics include the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the function of GAP. Not only does the Holy Spirit transfer the information into the left lobe, but under the filling of the Spirit it is transferred to the right lobe.

“which worketh in you” – the articular present active participle of e)nergew. It means to be at work or to work inside, it means to be effective in its intransitive meaning. “For it is [the Holy Spirit] God who is at work in you.” The present tense is a retroactive progressive present denoting what was begun in the past at the point of salvation and continues into the present time. The active voice: the indwelling Holy Spirit produces the action of the verb. The participle is circumstantial for the logistical support. The prepositional phrase which follows indicates the member of the Trinity involved—e)n plus the locative plural of su, meaning all believers.

Then we have the phrase “both, and”—the repetition of kai, and with it the present active infinitive of qelw, “to will.” It connotes both a wish of desire and a wish of purpose or result. Hence, it means to purpose and it has the connotation of motivation. The present tense is pictorial, presenting to the mind a picture of crossing between super-grace and ultra-super-grace in the process of occurrence. The active voice: the super-grace believer produces the action of the verb. The infinitive is of intended result, when the result is indicated as fulfilling a deliberate objective—reaching ultra-super-grace, hence it blends purpose and result. It requires strong motivation from the indwelling presence of God the Holy Spirit to cross between super-grace and ultra-super-grace. This motivation must be constantly fed from maximum doctrine resident in the soul. Here, again, is the sustaining ministry of God the Holy Spirit in the function of GAP in motivating the believer to remain under doctrine—“both to purpose [motivation] and to do [execution].”

“of his good pleasure” – a prepositional phrase, u(per plus the ablative of e)udokia. E)udokia (strictly a Koine Greek word) is the key here because in the ablative with u(per it means above and beyond his good pleasure.” It originated out of the necessity to find an equivalent of the Hebrew word ratson which means delight, acceptance, approbation, favour, grace, will, pleasure. It did not occur in Attic Greek and in this passage it indicates both the will and the pleasure of God.

Translation: “For it is God [Holy Spirit] who is at work in you both to will [motivation] and to do [execution] above and beyond his will and good pleasure.”

Verse 14 – opposition to the advance to ultra-super-grace. “Do” is the present active imperative of poiew. It means to do, but in the present active imperative it should be “Keep on doing.” The present tense is a futuristic present, it denotes what has not yet occurred in crossing between super-grace and ultra-super-grace but is regarded as so certain that in thought it is regarded as already coming to pass. So this may be regarded as a pictorial present depicting what is in the process of occurrence—super-grace believers following Paul toward ultra-super-grace. The active voice: super-grace believers produce the action of the verb. This is the believer who has cracked the maturity barrier and is crossing no-man’s land toward ultra-super-grace. The imperative mood is a command to cross no-man’s land to ultra-super-grace status.

“all things” – accusative plural direct object from the adjective paj, and it is related to crossing no-man’s land. This means everything that is necessary to keep moving, to keep closing in on the objective. “All things” means to utilize food, shelter, clothing, transportation, to forsake not the assembling of yourselves together, to keep coming to Bible class.[6]

“without murmurings and disputings” – the adverb xwrij is an improper preposition. (When an adverb is used as a preposition, that is improper) With this is the genitive plural of goggusmoj, which connotes sullen discontent, complaining, criticism. It is a sloppy, evil mental attitude. We translate it, “without complaints.” The next word is also a part of the prepositional phrase—dialogismoj, referring to argumentation, trying to undermine someone’s authority. Polibius used dialogismoj for thinking or reflecting. In the Septuagint of Psalm 55:5, where it is hooked up with a formula for evil thought. Hence, in the New Testament is does connote evil thinking resulting from the combination of being under the influence of evil or tempted by evil and hooking it up with a brand of carnality known as pride or arrogance.

Translation: “Keep on doing all things [advancing] without sullen discontent and argumentations [which undermine authority].”

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #53

53 04/12/1976 Philippians 2:15a Doctrines of motivation, morality

Verse 15 – the historical impact of ultra-super-grace. “That” is the conjunction i(na, used for a final clause to denote a purpose, an objective. This use after the present imperative is rare in the Attic Greek but is constantly used in the Koine Greek—“In order that.”

“ye may be” – aorist middle subjunctive from the verb ginomai. It means to become. The aorist tense is a culminative aorist, it views ultra-super-grace status in its entirety but it emphasises its existing results in the area of historical impact: “In order that you yourselves might become.” The middle voice is the direct middle in which the agent, the ultra-super-grace believer, participates in the results of the action. The agent is related to the action with a reflexive connotation, for the results of the action are referred to the agent with strong reflexive force. In other words, no one ever reaches ultra-super-grace without having definite historical impact. The ultra-super-grace believer has blessing by association, not only while he is alive but after he has died. The subjunctive mood of the verb ginomai is a potential subjunctive and goes with the conjunction i(na to denote a divine goal or objective. This is the historical impact of the ultra-super-grace believer.

Historical impact is first stated by a predicated nominative plural—“blameless.” It is a compound adjective, a)memptoj [a = negative, not; memfomai = to find fault, to censor, to blame], “not blamed, faultless.” It refers to the believer in ultra-super-grace. It does not mean that he doesn’t sin. We must distinguish between sin and evil. Evil has a source—the right lobe, thought. Sin originates with the old sin nature. They have a different source, and while mental sins and verbal sins often overlap into evil, or are the motivation or the result of motivation and evil, evil and sin are different just as sin and crime are also different. Crime often involves sin. All people are sinners but not all people are criminals. Sin was judged on the cross, and recovery from sin and/or carnality is as quick as naming the sin to God; but such is not the case with evil. Evil is not confessable and evil has no instant recovery. The quickest recovery from evil and reversionism ever made was the apostle Paul who in two years made the recovery from his Jerusalem reversionism. Timothy made a quick recovery from his Ephesians reversionism, but generally people do not make that rapid recovery, and this is the great danger and challenge to the Christian life—evil. The believer in ultra-super-grace is free from evil. No believer can have historical impact and be in a state of reversionism because in the state of reversionism he is under the influence of evil. The ultra-super-grace status, by the way, is insulation against both reversionism and evil. When the believer is in ultra-super-grace he has maximum occupation with Christ and the intensification of divine happiness. Under these conditions he is free from sin and evil. So the word “blameless” is simply used to indicate the ultra-super-grace status of total freedom from evil. This is the greatest freedom in life.

“harmless” – what is harmless today? Not much of anything! People try to be harmless by being sweet to others. Being sweet is sometimes one of the most harmful things that can happen to other people. To be sweet to some people is to be harmful. To be sweet and soft on communism is harmful; to be sweet to criminals is harmful. There are certain kinds of people who are bullies and have no respect for any authority unless it is backed by force, and to be sweet to such people is totally destructive. Here we have the ascensive use of kai, which means “even.” The word “harmless” is a predicate nominative plural from the compound adjective a)keraioj [a = negative; kerannumi = to mix drinks, to dilute good wine with water and therefore to cheat, to charge the full price for the wine and therefore deceive the customers], which means not a huckster, not diluted. In other words, it is pure and not diluted with evil. So this is not the word “blameless” at all, it means “no evil”—“even innocent of evil.” It means to be full of doctrinal integrity.

“the sons of God” – a reminder of the family, but more so of the discipline of the family, tekna qeou: the predicate nominative plural from teknon which means a child in relationship to parents, but it means a child under discipline, under the authority of parents. We do not have the adult word here which is often used for the royal family, the word u(ioj. The royal family is not in view here so much as the believer under the authority and discipline of God. We advance under the discipline and authority of God in phase two. Failure to take in Bible doctrine means discipline for reversionism. The genitive of relationship from qeoj indicates the “parent” source. God Himself is like a parent, and as long as we are on this earth we are like children.

“without rebuke – another predicate nominative, a)mwmoj [a = no/negative; mwmoj = disgrace to society]—“not a disgrace to society.” This word was used for sacrificial animals being unblemished. It also means harmless in the moral or establishment sense. Since morality[7] is a part of establishment it refers to establishment orientation: believers who are patriotic, pro-military, pro-police and against the criminal, anti-communist. Believers are under the laws of establishment just as are unbelievers, and therefore they have an establishment obligation in he field of morality and patriotism.

“in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation” – the adverbial accusative of time from the adjective mesoj, meaning literally, “in the middle of.” The accusative can be used to indicate a point of time the same as the locative case can. However, duration or extent of time is not possible in the locative and therefore the accusative is used for a point of time. It is a part of a continuous period implied in this context by historical generations. In other words, evil exists in every generation, says the adverbial accusative of time. Plus the descriptive genitive from the adjective skolioj, which means crooked, unscrupulous, dishonest; hence a generation under the influence of evil, not influenced by the laws of divine establishment or by Bible doctrine. A person influenced by evil is dishonest; a generation influenced by evil is crooked or dishonest. The word “perverse” is the connective kai plus the perfect passive participle from the verb diastrefw. It means to make crooked, to become misshapen, to be perverted or depraved. It means all of those here because the principle deals with the influence of evil—“and perverted.” Plus the descriptive genitive singular from the noun genea, meaning “generation.”

“among whom” – preposition e)n plus the locative plural of the relative pronoun w(j. The relative pronoun has an antecedent, the negative generation under the influence of evil. By negative generation is meant “reversionistic.” Reversionism originates from two areas of negative volition: rejection of the laws of divine establishment; rejection of Bible doctrine.

“ye shine” – here is where the super-grace believer comes into the picture. The present middle indicative from fainw, which means to shine or to give light. The present tense is a customary present, it denotes what habitually occurs in the historical impact of super-grace or ultra-super-grace believers. This is also a static present for the perpetual impact of the mature believer on his generation of history. All mature believers, whether they realise it or not, have a definite impact on history. The middle voice is an indirect middle in which the agent (mature believer) produces the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative for the historical reality of historical impact of the mature believer, not only in his own generation but often other generations as well.

“as lights” – the relative adverb w(j sets up a comparative particle for analogy to the historical impact of the mature believer to his own generation. The nominative plural from the noun fwsthr, which means a light-giving body. This is a nominative of appellation which emphasises the impact on history of the mature believer. To give light you must have light. The light is Bible doctrine, and the light is reflected or given out by the mature believer. Therefore he has historical impact. So here is the radiance of maximum doctrine resident in the mature believer’s soul.

“in the world” – the preposition e)n plus the locative of kosmoj, referring to the devil’s world. To be a light-giving body you must also be a light-containing body. To be a light-containing body you must take in Bible doctrine every day. No body can give light until it contains light. Light is analogous to Bible doctrine and the believer must have Bible doctrine resident in the soul to radiate that doctrine in the devil’s world.

Translation: “In order that you yourselves might become blameless [faultless, not censored by God for reversionism], even innocent [full of doctrinal integrity; not influenced by evil], blameless [from the standpoint of establishment, morals, patriotism], sons of God in the middle of a crooked [rejection of establishment] and perverted [under the influence of evil] generation, among whom you [mature believers] keep shining as light-giving bodies in the world [the devil’s domain].”

Principle: This is the historical impact of the mature believer on his own generation.

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #54

54 04/13/1976 Philippians 2:15b Sin cf. evil and crime; doctrine of evil (intro); the original Little Red Riding Hood

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #55

55 04/14/1976 Philippians 2 via Luke 11:20–21 US Constitution 1st and 2nd amendments; evil (cont.)

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #56

56 04/15/1976 Philippians 2 Doctrine of evil (pts. 1–16)

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #57

57 04/16/1976 Philippians 2 via Isaiah 45:7 Doctrine of evil (pt. 17); categories of SG2 blessings

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #58

58 04/18/1976 Philippians 2 via Isaiah 53:12 Jesus Christ's victory, spoils, last exhale on the cross

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #59

59 04/18/1976 Philippians 2 via Isaiah 47:10–11; Matt. 19:27–20:16 Doctrine of evil (pts. 18–19)

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #60

60 04/19/1976 Philippians 2:16a Doctrine of evil (pts. 20–31); equality is evil

Verse 16 – the mechanics of the advance to ultra-super-grace. Remember that no-man’s land is a place of great testing; that when you leave the super-grace perimeter you are advancing across the most difficult stage of your spiritual life. In the advance to ultra-super-grace we get down to what is really important, not only in this final push in getting there, but in any advance in any stage of the Christian life.

“Holding forth” – present active participle from the compound word e)pexw [e)pi = the preposition ‘upon’; e)xw = to have or possess] which means to hold on, to hold fast, to give attention to, to aim at, to focus on. All of these really mean concentration. “Concentrate on” is the meaning here. “Be concentrating on” is the present active participle here. The present tense is retroactive progressive present or the present tense of duration, it denotes what has begun in the past [daily function of GAP] and has continued into the present time. It takes the believer at the point of his salvation, with his positive volition toward doctrine, and sees him GAPing it one day, the next, the next, and finally breaking through the maturity barrier and reaching super-grace. He is now approaching the final target which is ultra-super-grace. The one characteristic that follows him all of the way through is the daily function of GAP. The active voice: super-grace believers produce the action of the verb in crossing no-man’s land between super-grace and ultra-super-grace. The participle is used as the imperative mood.

“the word of life” is the object of the verb, the accusative singular direct object from logoj. Logoj or word is used because the basic meaning of logoj is doctrine or thought. Thoughts come from words, and so it means doctrine or thought. It becomes a synonym for teaching, as it 1 Timothy 4:16. Also, the possessive genitive singular from the noun zwh, “life.” But it must be understood that life here is used in the sense of a means of sustenance. The “word of life” is the sustaining of the super-grace believer in his terrible journey across no-man’s land. It doesn’t mean just any doctrine; it means a person sets out across no-man’s land, the greatest period of pressure, the period of greatest deception, when all of the problems designed to cut the believer off begin. You only get through no-man’s land the same way you got to no-man’s land—daily function of GAP. Bible doctrine here is called “the word of life.” It is the Word that sustains life. Furthermore, for the super-grace believer who advances across no-man’s land to the objective there is waiting for him a decoration—the crown of life, a decoration which has with it blessings of an intensified nature in time that are beyond description, and blessings in eternity that are beyond description. Cf. James 1:12.

“that I may rejoice in the day of Christ” – or literally, “in order that I may have a basis for boasting with reference to the day of Christ”— the preposition e)ij, plus the accusative of kauxhma, the word for boasting, and the dative singular of possession from the personal pronoun e)gw, e)moi, a rather unusual use of it—the dative of possession (usually the genitive). The dative of possession in Koine Greek becomes a very strong Greek idiom which has no exact equivalent in English. It is a particular interest particularised to the point of ownership. The possessive dative is a very unusual type of dative and it should be translated here with the connotation that Paul has a personal interest in every member of his congregation reaching ultra-super-grace, and that they stay up with him in his interest in the objective—“in order that to me a basis for boasting” is the literal translation. This is an idiom which means in the English, “that I may have a basis for boasting.” Then a second prepositional phrase, e)ij again with the accusative of h(mera, another purpose connotation, plus the genitive of reference from Xristoj—“with reference to the day of Christ.” This is also an anartharous construction, there are no definite articles in the Greek, which emphasises the high quality of this day. Not only does the genitive of reference point to the uniqueness of the day in history but the lack of any definite articles points to the extreme high quality.[8]

 “that” is the conjunction i(na which introduces a final clause, denoting a purpose, objective, goal. Paul’s objective is the crown of glory for leading positive believers under his ministry all the way to ultra-super-grace. 1 Timothy 4:1; 1 Thessalonians 2:19, 20; 1Peter er 5:4. (No pastor-teacher can lead his congregation past the point of his own spiritual growth) –“in order that.”

“I have not run in vain” – aorist optative indicative from the verb trexw, which means to run. Running, however, is used as an analogy for advancing to maturity in the spiritual life. The aorist is a culminative aorist, it views the advance to maturity but regards it from the viewpoint of existing results—reaching ultra-super-grace. In other words, Paul broke the maturity barrier and advanced to ultra-super-grace. The active voice: Paul produces the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative for the historical reality of Paul’s attainment of maturity. This is a prepositional phrase, e)ij plus the accusative of kenoj, which basically means “empty.” It also connotes “without results,” or “without profit,” which is really the connotation here, or “for not profit.” While Paul has reached ultra-super-grace himself his objective as a communicator of doctrine is to bring members of the royal family along with him. Paul will run in vain unless he brings his congregations to the same spiritual status which he himself enjoys. Therefore he talks about running[9] in vain.

“neither laboured” – this includes the negative conjunction o)ude which means “nor” here, “nor have worked hard, struggled,” the aorist active indicative of kopiaw, which means to struggle, to work very hard to the point of exhaustion. The aorist tense is a culminative aorist, it views Paul’s study and teaching in its entirety but it regards it from the viewpoint of existing results. The results are the attainment of ultra-super-grace on the part of many of his congregation. The active voice: Paul produces the action.

Translation: “Be concentrating on the world of life; that I might have a basis for boasting with reference to the day of Christ [Rapture, with emphasis on the judgment seat of Christ], that I have not run in vain, nor worked hard for no purpose.”

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #61

61 04/20/1976 Philippians 2:16b Doctrine of the Rapture; rank has its privileges (RHIP)

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #62

62 04/20/1976 Philippians 2:16c–17a Doctrine of running; sacrifice of the pastor–teacher

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #63

63 04/22/1976 Philippians 2:17 Evils of the press; abnormal life of the pastor teacher

Verse 17 – “Yea, and if,” a)lla e)i kai. A)lla is the adversative conjunction used before an independent clause to indicate that the preceding paragraph is regarded as a settled matter. There is nothing more dogmatic in the concept of spiritual growth than the fact that the daily function of GAP produces maturity. Nothing else will do it. All growth comes from the intake of Bible doctrine. The next word e)i is used to introduce a first class condition. The two words together mean “But if [and it is true].” Plus the ascensive use of the conjunction kai, translated “even.” So the corrected translation is “But even if.”

“I be offered” – present passive indicative of the verb spendw. It means to offer a libation, a drink offering, to make a libation or a drink offering of one’s self by expending one’s life and energy in the function of studying and teaching. In 2 Timothy 4:6 this same verb is used for Paul’s dying grace, but here it is a reference to his sacrifice of energy and time being poured out in the ministry of studying and teaching. So Paul says, “But even if I am being poured out as a libation [1st class condition: And I am].” The present tense is a descriptive present to indicate what is now going on. The passive voice: Paul receives the action of the verb by being poured out as a drink offering to the ministry of doctrinal teaching. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of Paul’s life being devoted to the sacrifice of study and teach, study and teach.

“sacrifice and service of your faith” – e)pi th qusia. E)pi as a preposition take three different cases: plus the genitive emphasises contact, translated on, at, by, before; plus the locative emphasises position, translated over, on, or before; but plus the accusative emphasises motion or direction, translated on, up to, or over it. We have e)pi plus the locative here and it emphasises position. The pastor must pour his life out on the altar of sacrifice. Qusia does not mean sacrifice, it means a sacrifice on an altar. What is the altar? It is study, study, study. God uses prepared men, and a prepared pastor is one who has prepared himself academically, in life under the will of God, and he is now ready to study and doing a little teaching in between. The altar is study and teach. This should not be misunderstood. It is no strain to be a pastor. The word “service” continues the prepositional phrase, the locative of leitourgia, used for service performed by an individual for the state, but he performs this service free of charge. It isn’t a job he has to do in order to live, he does it because he is so motivated to do it that he does it without being paid by the state. This service was generally performed by a wealthy or successful person. Principle: Paul is spiritually wealthy and materially wealthy. Because a pastor is on the altar he has to have a source of income totally apart from a regular job, because he has this responsibility before the Lord. This noun was used in the Septuagint also for the priestly function of services at the altar, but it was used for the Levitical priesthood.

There is also a genitive singular of reference from pistij, translated “faith.” While that is one meaning it is not really the most common meaning in the New Testament. The most common meaning is what is believed—Bible doctrine. The genitive singular of reference is used here for what is believed. Plus a possessive genitive plural from the personal pronoun su, indicating doctrine resident in the soul of the super-grace Philippian believers. So far: “But even if I am being poured out as a libation on the altar of sacrifice [study] and service [teaching] with reference to your doctrine.” Someone has to present the doctrine so that the believers can grow.

Principle

1. The pastor or communicator of doctrine must live an abnormal life—qusia, sacrificial. He is married to Bible doctrine. His devotion, time and energy belongs to the ministry of studying. As a result of his studying he has a service—teaching. Everything else in the life of the pastor-teacher is secondary to his studying and teaching.

2. No member of the royal family of God with the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher should function as a pastor unless he is willing to devote his life to being on the horns of an altar—studying and teaching.

3. The motivation for becoming a libation on the altar of studying and teaching is found in logistical support—occupation with Christ, sharing God’s +H, and always having enough temporal things so that time can be devoted to study.

“I joy” – the present active indicative of xairw. It means to possess God’s +H. The present tense is a static present, it represents a condition assumed as

perpetually existing in a mature pastor. Every pastor who cracks the maturity barrier has continual +H. The active voice: the mature communicator, Paul, produces the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal action from the viewpoint of reality—“I keep in having inner happiness.”

“and rejoice with you all” – the connective use of the conjunction kai plus the present active indicative from sugxairw. Ordinarily this word means to congratulate [sug is the preposition sun, “with”; xairw, the verb to rejoice or have happiness with]. The meaning of a word is determined by its usage, and the Koine word here means to congratulate—“and congratulate” is what Paul says. This is the aoristic present for punctiliar action in present time. The active voice: Paul produces the action of the verb. He is congratulating the Philippians congregation on the daily function of GAP, resulting in staying right behind him, right on his heels. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal action from the viewpoint of reality, namely the Philippians right behind Paul. The words “you all” is the dative plural indirect object from the adjective paj—“all.” The dative of indirect object indicates the believers in whose interest maturity is attained; the dative plural indirect object from the personal pronoun su—“all of you.”

Translation: “But even if I am being poured out as a libation on the altar of sacrifice and service with reference to your doctrine, I keep on having inner happiness, and congratulate you all [who are right behind me].”

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #64

64 04/23/1976 Philippians 2:18–20 Teddy Roosevelt, Jr.; legitimate congratulations

Verse 18 – “For the same cause also.” The enclitic particle de is used as a transitional particle without any contrast intended, so it is translated “now.” The accusative singular direct object from the definite article to and the attributive use of the intensive pronoun a)utoj means “the same reason,” and the adjunctive use of the conjunction kai which means “also”—“Now the same reason also” is the correct translation. The phrase cannot be properly translated without some verb inserted to clarify the accusative of direct object—“do ye joy.” What Paul is saying is, “Now you also have inner happiness for the same reason.” The words “do ye joy” is the present active indicative of xairw which means to have inner happiness. The retroactive progressive present denotes what was begun in the past when the Philippians reached super-grace and continues into the present time. The emphatic use of the nominative plural of the personal pronoun su refers to the Philippians. “The same reason” means because of Paul’s faithfulness in studying and teaching. This has resulted in the fact that they now have +H.

“and rejoice with me” – the emphatic use of kai should be translated “indeed” or “truly,” but in modern English, “in fact.” Plus the present active indicative of sugxairw, which doesn’t mean to rejoice with. The meaning of a word is determined by its usage, and the usage is “congratulations,” or to congratulate. The indicative mood is a potential indicative of obligation. This means the English word “ought” should be added. There is great emphasis on “me”—dative singular indirect object from the personal pronoun e)gw.

Translation: “Now you also have inner happiness for the same reason; in fact you ought to congratulate me.”

The Philippians would not be this far along were it not for the fact that they were positive toward Paul’s doctrinal ministry of teaching. No believer advances in phase two without a pastor-teacher.

      Principle

4. Here is the relaxed mental attitude of a mature believer who is getting ready to give the command, again, “follow me.”

5. Having reached super-grace and out in the middle of no-man’s land they are congratulating each other.

6. The Philippian believers who are now sharing the happiness of God in super-grace are congratulating Paul, and Paul who has led them there and whom they have followed so faithfully is congratulating them.

7. Mutual congratulations are based upon the principle that all spiritual advance comes through Bible doctrine, not through doing.

Number two pastor is Timothy, verses 19-24.

Verse 19 – “But I trust” is the word e)lpizw, generally translated “hope.” Here as a present active indicative it is a little stronger than that, it means to

anticipate. The enclitic particle de is used as a transitional particle without contrast intended—“Now I anticipate.” The present active indicative of e)lpizw is a future present, it denotes an event which has not yet occurred but is regarded as so certain that in thought it is contemplated as already coming to pass. This changes the meaning of e)lpizw from hope to the connotation of anticipation. The active voice: produces the action. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal action from the viewpoint of reality.

“in the Lord” is the prepositional phrase e)n plus instrumental of kurioj I)hsouj, translated literally, “by the Lord Jesus.” We have to add something—“by the grace of the Lord Jesus.”

“to send” – aorist active infinitive of pempw, The aorist is constative, it contemplates the action of the verb in its entirety. A major move is about to be taken, Paul is going to make a major personnel change in transferring Timothy from Rome to Philippi. The active voice: Paul as an apostle has the authority to make these personnel changes. The aorist infinitive denotes that which is eventual and particular, while the present infinitive indicates a condition or a process. This is the infinitive of intended result in which the results indicated are the fulfilment of a very deliberate objective. This is a blending of purpose and result. “Now I anticipate by the grace of the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you”—dative plural indirect object from the personal pronoun su, “to you.” The dative of indirect object indicates that Timothy is sent as an interim pastor for the benefit of the Philippians and to bring them up to date on some doctrines they need immediately to get them into ultra-super-grace. So this indicates that Timothy at the time of writing was himself in the mature status of super-grace. The anartharous construction of the prepositional phrase emphasises the highest rank, the Lord Jesus Christ is the Prince-Ruler of the Church.

“shortly” is not quite correct. This is the adverb of time taxewj, and the correct translation is “without delay.” Paul does not want to leave the local church at Philippi without a pastor or doctrinal teaching during the critical time of crossing no-man’s land. There are more pressures, ambushes, problems of good and evil, more distractions, more counter-attacks from reversionistic believers at this stage of spiritual growth; therefore he feels that it is expedient without delay to dispatch Timothy to Philippi.

“that” is the conjunction i(na which introduces a purpose clause. It denotes the purpose that he has in mind for the Philippians, a congregation whom he dearly loves.

“I also may be of good comfort” – that doesn’t sound like a purpose for the Philippians but more like a purpose for the apostle Paul. But in reality, as goes the Philippians so goes the tranquillity of Paul. The people that can really upset you are the people that you really love. Paul’s tranquillity is definitely tied up with the Philippian congregation. Kagw e)uyuxw is the phrase, it includes the contracted form of the adjunctive kai plus the personal pronoun e)gw [kagw], and the present active subjunctive of the compound e)uyuxew [e)u = good; yuxh = soul]. To have a good soul means to have tranquillity of soul, to be encouraged or to have courage, or to be glad, or to be of a cheerful disposition: “that I also may have tranquillity of soul” is the corrected translation. The present tense is an aoristic present for punctiliar action in present time, in contrast to the aorist which connotes punctiliar action in past time. The aoristic present sets forth the event as now occurring. Because Paul is getting concerns that there might be some problems in Philippi he is sending Timothy immediately. The active voice: Paul produces the action of the verb. He is possessing tranquillity of soul because he is taking the proper steps to make a personnel adjustment for the benefit of the Philippians. The subjunctive mood is combined with the conjunction i(na to denote a purpose—to send Timothy ahead to Philippi.

“when I know” is the aorist active participle of ginwskw which means to know. The culminative aorist views Paul’s knowledge of the Philippian status quo in its entirety but it emphasises the existing results. Paul at this point has tranquillity. The participle is a temporal participle.

“your state” – ta peri u(mwn, is an idiom. This is the accusative plural indirect object from the definite article ta, plus the preposition peri, plus the genitive plural from the personal pronoun su. Literally, “the things concerning you.” This is a Greek idiom for “your status quo.”

Translation: “Now I anticipate by the grace of the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you without delay, that I also may have tranquillity of soul when I know your status quo.”

Verse 20 – “For” is the explanatory of the conjunctive particle gar, so we know that the verse is an explanation: “I have” – present active indicative of e)xw. The present tense is a descriptive present, it indicates what is now going on. Timothy is the only qualified person to send at that time. The active voice: Paul produces the action by doing the right thing: having a personnel pool and having only one person qualified. The indicative mood is declarative representing the action of the verb from the standpoint of absolute dogmatic reality.

“no man” – accusative singular direct object from the adjective o)udeij which means “no one.” This doesn’t mean that his personnel pool is empty but it means that there is only one qualified person.

“likeminded” – accusative singular direct object from the compound adjective i)soyuxoj [i)so = equal; yuxw = soul], equal-minded or rapport in the sense of having common sense, knowing what to do. Paul implies that Timothy has advanced as far as himself at this time in that he is in super-grace and that they have a rapport of maturity and an equality of spiritual growth.

“who will naturally care for your state” – a very long clause in the Greek. It begins with a qualitative relative pronoun o(stij which emphasises the fact that at the moment of writing Timothy is the highest quality person in the personnel pool of Paul. “Who because of his spiritual maturity” is the meaning of the qualitative relative here. The adverb with this, gnhsiwj, means born in wedlock, legitimate, reliable, genuine. Here it means genuine. The accusative plural direct object from the definite article ta, plus peri, plus the genitive plural from the personal pronoun su, and it means again status quo. Plus the future active indicative of the verb merimnaw, which means to be concerned, to care for, to be concerned about. The future tense is a predictive future, it predicts an event which is expected to occur in the near future. The active voice: Timothy will produce the action. The indicative mood is declarative for dogmatic reality.

Translation: “For I have no equal soul [comparable spiritual growth], who because of spiritual maturity will be genuinely concerned for your welfare.”

Principle

1. God uses prepared people. Timothy at this point in AD 62 is the prepared person.

2. Many men with the gift of pastor-teacher are not qualified to serve as a pastor in the local church because they are not prepared.

3. Some are not prepared academically.

4. Some are not prepared from the standpoint of life—mentally immature.

5. Some are not prepared from the standpoint of self-discipline.

6. Some are not prepared from the standpoint of the proper exercise of authority.

7. Some are not prepared because of arrogance, ambition, power lust, approbation lust.

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #65

65 04/25/1976 Philippians 2:21–22 Concentration; "Interests of Jesus Christ"

Verse 21 – “For all” is o(i pantej gar. The first word in the English is “For,” but it is the third word in the Greek sentence. The first word is the nominative

plural definite article, then the nominative plural from paj [pantej]—“the all for” in its word order. But we say in English, “For they all.” The definite article is used for a personal pronoun. This is a reference to the reversionistic believers of Rome. It is a change of subject from the wonderful relationship between Paul and the Philippians. From the very outset the church at Rome was a reversionistic church. This is a reference to the fact that the church at Rome was made up of reversionistic believers, negative toward doctrine, under the influence of evil.

“seek” – present active indicative of the verb zetew. This is a retroactive progressive present, it denotes what has begun in the past and continues into the present time on the part of the Roman church in contrast to the Philippian church—“keep seeking.” The active voice: the reversionists under the influence of evil produce the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal action from the standpoint of reality.

“their own” – accusative plural direct object from the definite article meaning “the things,” plus the genitive of reference plural from the reflexive pronoun e(autou. Literally this would be translated “the things of themselves.” This is a Greek idiom and you cannot literally translate an idiom in the Greek. It means “there own interests.” “For they all keep seeking their own interests [self-gratification].” So there is a concentration on evil and there is a concentration in reversionism which is a negative one, a bad one. This is where many of the hang-ups and syndromes of life occur. They occur simply because people are concentrating on their own pleasure, their own happiness, their own satisfaction to the exclusion of everything else.

“not the things which are Jesus Christ’s” – o)u ta Xristou I)hsou. The strong negative o)u, “not,” plus the definite article ta in the plural, “the things,” plus the genitive from Xristoj and genitive of I)hsouj, “Christ Jesus.” This is a descriptive genitive indicating that happiness and blessing in life, plus capacity for life and concentration in life, all belong to one person, “Christ Jesus.” When you neglect Bible doctrine you are ignoring the Lord Jesus Christ. So we translate this, “not the interests of Jesus Christ.”

Translation: “For they all [reversionists] keep seeking their own interests, not the interests of Christ Jesus.”

The interests of Christ Jesus puts Bible doctrine before everything else; it is the number one priority.

   Principle

1. Number one priority in life for the believer must be Bible doctrine. Only the daily function of GAP, resulting in cracking the maturity barrier, can produce in the life of any believer “seeking the interests of Christ Jesus.”

2. The interests of Christ Jesus can only be served by the mature believer.

3. When the believer seeks the interests of Christ Jesus he continues to take in doctrine until the saturation of inculcation results in that maturity which serves the best interests of Christ.

4. At this point the believer is not only in a state of glorifying Christ in history but becomes the beneficiary of 5 categories of blessing under his own paragraph SG2.

5. Reversionism and evil hinder the royal family of God from serving the interests of Christ Jesus.

6. Good and evil is not only Satan’s policy as the ruler of this world but his greatest weapon against the believer in the angelic conflict.

7. When the reversionistic believer seeks his own interests he becomes vulnerable to the lies prevarications of pastors who do not study and teach.

8. He is equally led astray by various categories of evil and legalism because they appeal to his arrogance.

9. The believer who seeks his own interests is vulnerable to the subtleties of arrogance. The only protection from arrogance is Bible doctrine in the soul.

Verse 22 – having set up a great contrast between two churches he now advocates one more time why he is sending Timothy. “But ye know” – the enclitic particle de which sets up a contrast between the reversionists of Rome and super-grace Timothy. Plus the present active indicative of the verb ginwskw which means here to come to know, to perceive, to realise. The Philippians have had Timothy before and they have responded to Timothy as a pastor. The present tense is a perfective present, it denotes a continuation of existing results. The active voice: the Philippians believers produce the action of the verb, they have come to know and respect Timothy’s ministry. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal idea from the viewpoint of reality.

“the proof of him” is incorrect. This is the accusative singular direct object from the noun dokimh which denotes the quality of being approved, and therefore it means character. With it is the possessive genitive singular from the intensive pronoun a)utoj. The possessive connotation of this possessive pronoun means his very own character.

“that, as a son with a father” – why did they respect Timothy? Was he the Bible teacher that Paul was? No, but he was willing to be as long as Paul lived a student of his doctrinal teaching and he never got away from what Paul taught, he was the perfect disciplined person. This phrase begins with the conjunction o(ti to indicate perception, something that the church at Philippi had noticed about Timothy. The word “as” is a comparative particle, w(j. The word for “son” is not u(ioj, it is teknon, a child in relationship to the discipline of his father. A better translation of teknon here is really a “student.” Pathr in the singular means “father” but it also means “academic ruler” here in the sense that as long as Paul lives Timothy always took his teaching, never deviating from his teaching. Even when he went into reversionism it wasn’t because he deviated from his teaching, it was because he failed to follow the advice of Paul and apply discipline in his congregation. So it should be, “as a student with reference to his father [teacher].” The great pastors and teachers are those who never go out and undermine the source of their spiritual growth.

“he hath served with me in the gospel” – aorist active indicative of douleuw which means that he has been a slave. This means to serve as a slave. The constative aorist contemplates the action of the verb in its entirety. Both Paul and Timothy are slaves of Jesus Christ. The active voice: Timothy is producing the action. The indicative mood is declarative for the historical reality of a dogmatic conclusion. The fact remains that every pastor is the slave of the Lord Jesus Christ.

“with me” – sun plus the instrumental of e)gw; “in the gospel” – e)ij plus the accusative of e)uaggelion, often used, not simply for the gospel as evangelising people but for the entire ministry of teaching the gospel. The point is that it starts with salvation and that’s why we have, right from the Bible, the gospel ministry. It doesn’t mean that all you have to do is give the gospel but it means that that is where the ministry of the pastor begins. The word “gospel” is used to remind all of us of our entrance into God’s plan. But in effect the pastor does not have a ministry to you until you have been evangelised, and so at the point of your evangelisation is where the pastor’s ministry begins.

Translation” “But you have come to know his character as a student with reference to a teacher, who has served with me in reference to the gospel.”

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #66

66 04/25/1976 Philippians 2:23–24 Concept of the prepared pastor

Verse 23 – “Him therefore” is touton men o)un. Touton is the accusative singular direct object from the demonstrative o(utoj, called the immediate demonstrative. It calls attention with special emphasis to Timothy as a mature believer. We can translate this near demonstrative “This one,” with special emphasis on Timothy as the man most qualified in Paul’s personnel pool to be transferred to Philippi. The next word, men, is an affirmative particle, often non-translatable, used frequently in the Classical Greek, generally used correlatively with other particles, like de. It is used here with the demonstrative to mean “This one.” The inferential enclitic particle o)un denotes an inference from what is preceded and is correctly translated “therefore.” In the English we usually say “Therefore” first. “Therefore him” is the way that the demonstrative is actually emphasised. Since “him” is an accusative and a direct object, obviously between therefore and him it is necessary to insert a verb: the present active indicative of e)lpizw. Here it means “expectation” with a nuance of counting upon. So we translate it “I expect.” The present tense is a futuristic present, it denotes the fact that Timothy has not yet been sent to Philippi but the dispatch to Philippi is so certain as to be regarded as already coming to pass. The indicative mood is a potential indicative of obligation. Altogether it is translated “Therefore I expect.” Not a complete sentence, so “Therefore I expect him.” But that isn’t good enough, there has to be some kind of an infinitive or subjunctive to go with it—here, the aorist active subjunctive of pempw, “Therefore I expect to send him.” The culminative aorist of pempw views the action of sending Timothy to Philippi in its entirety, but it emphasises the existing results. Philippi will have an interim pastor to take care of the church until Epaphroditus returns. The active voice: Paul produces the action of the verb. The subjunctive mood is the potential subjunctive used to denote Paul’s purpose in sending Timothy ahead.

“presently” is incorrect. It is the adverb e)cauthj and it means “immediately.”

“so soon as I shall see” – the comparative particle w(j, “as soon as,” plus the particle a)n which introduces an indefinite temporal clause. It isn’t translated, it just indicates that this is one of those signals that this is an indefinite temporal clause coming up. It is also used for 3rd class conditions in the protasis. It here helps to translate w(j “as soon as.” Next comes the aorist active subjunctive from a)foraw [a)po = preposition of ultimate source; o(raw = to see] which means to see from the ultimate source, to look away, to fix one’s eyes on something—“as I see how things go with me” is the corrected translation of the idiom. This is a dramatic aorist, it states what has just been realised or is on the point of being accomplished. Active voice: Paul is producing the action. The potential subjunctive indicates that just as soon as it is cleared up whether Paul is going to be released or not he is going to dispatch Timothy.

“how it will go with me” is ta peri e)me which is an idiom. The word ta is the accusative plural definite article, translated “the things.” Peri = “concerning.” E)me is the object—“the things concerning me” which is the Greek idiom for “my status quo.”

Translation” “Therefore I expect to dispatch him [Timothy] immediately, as soon as I determine my status quo [or, ‘as soon as I see how things turn out here’].”

Verse 24 – “But I trust,” the enclitic particle de used as a transitional conjunction, generally translated “now,” and is used to insert an explanation at this point; plus the perfect active indicative of peiqw which means to obey, to be convinced, to have confidence. This is the intensive perfect, it denotes completed action with emphasis on existing results. The active voice: Paul produces the confidence. The indicative mood is the reality of this characteristic of Paul.

“in the Lord” – e)n plus the locative of kurioj means occupation with Christ. Paul is occupied with Christ and therefore possesses confidence. Occupation with Christ is viewed here as the logistical support of super-grace.

“that” is the conjunction o(ti stating the content of Paul’s thinking.

“I also myself” – the conjunction kai is “also,” the nominative singular of the intensive pronoun a)utoj emphasises the identity of Paul as a super-grace believer taking his occupation with Christ. He has confidence in doctrine and he is occupied with the Lord. He has the logistical support of the living Word, the logistical support of the written Word, and therefore he has maximum confidence.

“shall come” is the future active indicative of e)rxomai, meaning that he himself will before he does come face to face with this congregation. The future tense is predictive for an event expected to occur in the future.

“shortly” is an adverb, taxew, which means “soon.”

Translation: “Now I have confidence in the Lord that I myself also shall be coming [to you] soon.”

Paul would soon be released from prison and will be free to make a fourth missionary journey, but he will also make an inspection tour throughout all of the churches and he will come face to face with the Philippians.

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #67

67 04/30/1976 Philippians 2:25 Epaphroditus, the plugger

Verse 25 – Epaphroditus was a plugger and he was totally free from jealousy. He had no hang-ups and was not competing with anyone.

“Yet I suppose it necessary” starts with the enclitic conjunctive particle de, used as a transitional conjunction without any contrast intended here. It is used to insert an explanation regarding the Philippians own right pastor at the present time. “Yet is really “Now.” “I suppose” is aorist active indicative of the verb e(geomai. The word means to be an expert, to be such an expert in the subject that you can act as a guide. This word is found in some lexicons to be defined as a guide. It doesn’t mean that at all, it means to be an expert, but it just so happens that an expert is always guiding people. It means to be an expert in such a way that one becomes a guide, or that one’s opinion is important. Therefore it also means to think, to regard, to consider. “Now I consider.” The aorist tense is a culminative aorist, it views the action of the verb in its entirety—Paul’s thinking, planning—but it emphasises the result of sending Epaphroditus back to Philippi. The active voice: Paul as the apostle produces the action of the verb. He is returning Epaphroditus. The indicative mood is declarative, it represents the verbal action from the viewpoint of reality. Then comes the accusative singular direct object from the adjective a)nagkaioj. This means “proper.” This has to do with God’s will for Epaphroditus to get back to his own congregation at this point. He has been ill and it is time for him to come back. A plugger is never appreciated until he is gone. Paul considered this a matter of integrity, a matter of divine will, and “proper” is simply another way of stating it.

“to send to you” – aorist active infinitive of pempw. The aorist tense is a dramatic aorist, it states what has just been realised and is on the point of being accomplished. Enough time has elapsed so that Epaphroditus is now appreciated for what he is—a plugger. A plugger is always a stable person, a consistent person. He may be a little slower but he gets there, he keeps right on going. The active voice: Paul as the apostle makes the personnel change. This is the infinitive of purpose expressing the aim of action denoted by the finite verb. The prepositional phrase is the preposition proj plus the accusative plural of su, indicating all of the Philippian congregation. This can mean “face to face” or “with you.”

“Epaphroditus” – accusative singular direct object from the proper name, E)pafroditoj [us is the Latin suffix; os is the Greek suffix. The Greek and Latin languages at this time were exact equivalents], meaning ‘belonging to Aphrodite [Venus in Latin].’ It means “belonging to the goddess of love.” But what is wrong with that is that his name is an idiom: his name is “Handsome.” “Now I consider it proper to send Epaphroditus face to face with you.”

For smoother English, add the relative pronoun w(j plus the present active indicative of e)imi at this point, “who is” [these words do not occur but are implied as needed in the English]—“who is.”; “my brother,” the appositional accusative or the double accusative singular, a)delfoj is the word, correctly translated “brother.” With it is a possessive genitive singular from the personal pronoun e)gw. It indicates that Epaphroditus is a fellow-believer, not a relative. No one functions in the plan of God apart from regeneration and salvation. Brother is used to indicate that we are now in the royal family, as of the point of salvation.

“and companion in labour” – this indicates that not only is he royal family but a special category of royal family, a communicator of doctrine. The adjunctive use of the conjunction kai should be translated “also.” With it is an appositional double accusative singular from the compound noun sunergoj [sun = with; ergoj = work], which means to work with. E)rgon also means “duty, office, work, action, production,” hence together in duty. It means here that “we are in the same duty profile.” They are fellow communicators of doctrine: Paul has the gift of apostleship; Epaphroditus has the gift of pastor-teacher.

“and fellow soldier” – the accusative singular (and still part of the double accusative) direct object from the compound noun sustrapiwthj [sus – together with; stratiwthj = solder], which means fellow soldier or comrade in arms, emphasising the fact that service and discipline are involved in teaching Bible doctrine. The communication of doctrine, whether it is an apostle or pastor-teacher, must first recognise the authority of Jesus Christ, the living Word, who can provide and has provided the doctrine for the Church Age. Then the recognition of what He has provided—the canon of Scripture.

“but” – the enclitic particle de is used as a conjunction of contrast. This is not a strong contrast and should be translated “that is”; “your messenger” – a possessive genitive plural from the personal pronoun su. That possessive genitive is very important because this means that the Philippians church have their very own communicator, it belongs to them. Then a double accusative again, direct object from a)postoloj which means apostle when it is applied to Paul or one of the eleven who were carry-overs from the Jewish Age. But that isn’t what the word means. It means highest-ranked one. Why does Paul use these military terms? These terms that denote authority and rank? Because the Philippians congregation is by and large retired military personnel and they understand these things, and to further add to every generation whether they know anything about military or not, the local church runs on authority.

“and he that ministered” – incorrect. This is part of that same double accusative direct object. The noun is leitourgoj, used for a person of great wealth who performs a public duty at his own expense’ plus the ascensive of the conjunction kai. Put together it is, “that is you highest ranked one, even your super-grace minister.” And by minister is meant one who communicates doctrine.

“to my wants” – this is the crowning part of this verse because it indicates that Epaphroditus is going to make some kind of a contribution to Paul’s ministry totally apart from that money. There is a genitive singular of reference from xreia, “with reference to my needs.” Here is a spiritual need. The large monetary offering took care of all of his material needs and will for the rest of his life, while the personal presence of and fellowship with Epaphroditus took care of a very definite need in his life, a spiritual need—companionship, a fellow human being with whom he can talk. The need is rapport. Mature believers need encouragement and companionship when crossing no-man’s land.

Translation: “Now I consider it proper to send Epaphroditus face to face with you, who is my brother, also my co-worker and comrade in arms; that is, your highest-ranked one, even your super-grace minister sent with reference to my need.”

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #68

68 05/02/1976 Philippians 2:26–27 Doctrine of the trend of temporary gifts, i.e., healing, etc.

Verse 26 – a statement of love: “For he longed after you all.” This begins with the temporal conjunction e)peidh, used in the causal sense as well as the temporal, and it means “Since” or “Because.” The present active participle of e)pipoqew is a term of love and it means to have an extreme desire for someone—“Because he was longing for.” It is longing in the sense of a very strong soul love. The present tense of duration denotes what was begun in the past and continues into the present time. The active voice: Epaphroditus produces the action toward the Philippians, his congregation. The participle is a part of the periphrastic imperfect, formed with the present participle and the imperfect of the verb e)imi. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal idea from the standpoint of reality.

Principle: a pastor always falls in love with a positive congregation. His love is not on the basis of personal rapport, it is based upon those who come under his ministry and listen to the teaching of the Word of God. The key to this love is positive volition toward doctrine.

The word e)imi in the imperfect tense is a progressive imperfect of description, it represents a process which has been going on in the past and is still continuing according to the present participle.

The accusative plural direct object from the adjective paj, and with it the pronoun su, refers to all of the Philippians who have advanced to super-grace—“you all.”

“and was full of heaviness” – the connective kai simply carries on the concept that his love was intensified at a certain point: “full of heaviness,” present active participle of a)dhmonew, which means to be depressed, to be in anxiety. But it also means to be distressed or concerned, as here—“and since he was distressed.” The word “since” comes from the fact that this is a causal participle, it denotes the ground for the main verb. The aoristic present tense for punctiliar action in present time indicates the fact that the concern is temporary at this moment. The active voice: Epaphroditus is producing the action of the verb because of his deep and abiding love for his congregation.

“because that ye had heard” – dioti indicates that this is the reason he is concerned. The interesting thing here is that he doesn’t want his congregation to be unhappy about anything; His congregation had been very unhappy because they had heard that he was dying. It is true that he was dying and now it is a source of embarrassment to him and concern that his dying would in any way inconvenience them. He had the true attitude about death from his own great spiritual growth. He knew that he was going to die and be absent from the body and face to face with the Lord. Therefore, during his critical illness he was not concerned about his dying because he was in dying grace. What was bothering him was that he was causing anyone any unhappiness. He was totally thoughtful of others as an expression of his love. He was a person who had no hang-ups of any kind. The aorist active indicative of a)kouw indicates that a report had come concerning his critical illness. The aorist tense is an epistolary aorist in which the writer places himself in the viewpoint of the readers (the Philippians) who have heard about the terrible illness of Epaphroditus. The active voice: the Philippians produced the action by hearing the rumour that Epaphroditus, their pastor, was dying in Rome. The indicative mood is declarative for the historical reality of the rumour.

“that he had been sick” – the conjunction is o(ti, used here after verbs that denote any kind of mental or sense perception, or the transmission of such perception through verbal report, as in this case. The aorist active indicative of the verb a)sqenew indicates a very serious illness. It means not only to be ill but to be losing strength in that illness. In other words, to be dying. This is an ingressive aorist which contemplates the action of the verb at its beginning. Epaphroditus in producing the action had become critically ill in Rome.

Translation: “Because he was longing for you all, and since he was distressed because you had heard that he had become critically ill.”

Verse 27 – “For indeed” is the explanatory use of the conjunction gar plus the emphatic use of the conjunction kai. Kai is used here in one of its most unusual ways—emphatic. So it should be translated, “For in fact [or, really, or truly].”

“he was sick” – aorist active indicative confirming the fact that he was critically ill of the same verb again, a)sqenew. This time, however, it is the constative aorist which gathers up the critical illness of Epaphroditus into one entirety. The active voice: Epaphroditus was critically ill, he was dying. The indicative mood is the confirmation of the fact. What they heard was a rumour, the rumour was a fact.

“nigh unto death” – accusative singular direct object from the adjective paraplhsioj, used as an adverb, and it simply means he nearly died; plus the dative singular of reference from qanatoj. An adjective used as an adverb, plus a noun in the dative case, is an idiom—“he was so ill that he nearly died” is the way we translate that idiom into English. There is no verb in the idiom but it takes a verb in the English to bring out the true meaning.

“but” introduces the adversative conjunction a)lla which sets up a contrast between Paul’s helplessness to heal Epaphroditus and God’s power that delivered him; “God” – o( qeoj, refers to God the Father who actually healed Epaphroditus. There is no question as to who performed the healing, it was God, not Paul. God still had a purpose for his life, and the fact that Paul did not heal Epaphroditus anticipates the approach to the post-canon period of the Church Age in which the temporary gifts—like healing, tongues, miracles, apostleship—were all discontinued.

“had mercy” – aorist active indicative from e)leew which means mercy or grace in action. In this case mercy is the logistical grace in action. The aorist tense is a culminative aorist, it views that action of the verb in its entirety but emphasises the result. In this case there is the mercy of God, grace in action, in its entirety, but the emphasis is on the result which will be the divine healing of Epaphroditus. The active voice: God the Father produces the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal action from the viewpoint of reality. God Himself stepped in to heal Epaphroditus.

“on him” – accusative singular direct object from the intense pronoun a)utoj—this same person. The intensive pronoun always emphasises something great in a person. In this case he was a mature believer, a plugging pastor with true greatness of divine viewpoint in the eyes of God.

“and not on him only” – the strong negative o)uk and the accusative singular direct object from the intensive pronoun a)utoj, “him.” The transitional use of the conjunctive particle de is followed by monoj, which means “only”—“and not only on him.”

“but on me also” – a)lla sets up a strong adversative conjunction. Paul and Epaphroditus are together in Rome, their rapport is phenomenal. Epaphroditus has been a spiritual blessing to Paul, even as Paul has been to Epaphroditus. To take out Epaphroditus would leave Paul desolate at this point.

Principle

Paul makes it very perspicuous and lucid that the miracle of healing is directly from God and not from Paul’s gift of healing. In fact, Paul’s gift of healing has been removed. Paul was given the gift of healing to establish the fact that he was an apostle.

Both the gift of healing and miracles were used to establish Paul’s authority as an apostle. They have now been discontinued since Paul’s authority is well established by the epistles that have been accepted into the canon.

“lest” – i(na mh is literally, “that not,” but it is an idiom meaning “lest”’ “I should have” – aorist active subjunctive of e)xw, ‘I should have and hold.’ This is a dramatic aorist, it states a present reality with the certitude of a past event. It is used to state what has just been realised. Paul, in crossing no-man’s land to ultra-super-grace, has been under maximum pressure. The death of Epaphroditus would have been a terrible, for Epaphroditus has been such a phenomenal blessing to him. The active voice: Paul produces the action of the verb. The subjunctive mood goes with the conjunction i(na to indicate a purpose clause.

“sorrow” – accusative singular direct object from luph, referring to the potential death of Epaphroditus when he was critically ill; “upon sorrow” – preposition e)pi plus luph—“lets I should have sorrow stacked [mounted] upon sorrow.”

Translation: “For as a matter of fact he was so ill that he nearly died: but God had mercy on him; and not only on him, but also on me, lest I should have sorrow stacked upon sorrow.”

The trend of temporary gifts

1. The meaning of temporary gifts: A temporary spiritual gift was designed to provide order and authority in the early church. The canon of scripture for the New Testament for the Church had not been written. There had to be order and authority before the canon was completed and circulated. These temporary gifts included apostleship, tongues, the interpretation of tongues, miracles, healing, prophecy.

2. Paul as an apostle possessed all the temporary gifts to establish his authority as an apostle and Bible teacher in the early Church.

3. As a part of his authority Paul had the gift of healing. In Acts 19:11,12 any person who was ill and even touched Paul was healed.

4. It is obvious at this time [A.D. 62] that Paul no longer possesses the gift of healing or miracles and can do nothing for Epaphroditus.

5. It is also obvious that the gifts of healing and miracles had been permanently removed from Paul, for later on [A.D. 67] he could not heal Trophimus—2 Timothy 4:20.

6. The reason: Once the authority of the apostle was permanently established his temporary spiritual gifts, used as credit cards, were removed.

7. Temporary spiritual gifts were designed to establish the authority of apostles, evangelists, prophets and pastors before the New testament canon was completed and circulated. But once the New Testament canon was completed and circulated [A.D. 96] all temporary gifts were withdrawn and have not functioned since the first century.

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #69

69 05/02/1976 Philippians 2:28–30 Doctrine of ingredients of a good congregation

Verse 28 – the comparative adverb of spoudaioj, which means “with haste.” Generally that is the correct meaning, but here with the comparative it has

special urgency. So it should be translated “with special urgency.” The special urgency is that the Philippians are about ready to break into ultra-super-grace and therefore their pastor must be returned to them for that purpose. The inferential enclitic particle o)un is translated “therefore.” Here it is used in the historical narrative to resume a subject after some interruption. This is the resumption from verse 25 where Paul mentioned for the first time that he is sending back Epaphroditus. However the translation of this particle is a little different here. Since the meaning here is not truly inferential but the resumption of a subject it should be translated “so as has been said.” The aorist active indicative of pempw, the verb to send, is next. The aorist tense is a dramatic aorist used for a result which is on the point of being accomplished. The active voice: Paul produces the action of the verb by returning Epaphroditus to his own right congregation. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal action from the viewpoint of reality. The object of the verb is the accusative singular direct object from the intensive pronoun a)utoj. The intensive pronoun emphasises the identity of Epaphroditus. Literally, “So as has been said, I have sent him with special urgency.”

“that” is the conjunction i(na, it introduces a final clause—“in order that.”

“when you see him again” – the aorist active participle of o(raw. It means to stare, to take a panoramic look, or to keep looking. The ordinary verb for seeing is blepw, it means just a glance. When Epaphroditus gets back they are going to stare a bit, because now they really appreciate him. This is an epistolary aorist in which the writer, Paul, places himself in the viewpoint of his readers, the Philippian congregation, to state an event which is future to him, and he knows that this is what they will do. The active voice: the Philippians congregation will produce the action. They love and appreciate him so much now that they will just keep staring, they will be so happy to have him back. This is a temporal participle and it should be translated “when you see him again.” The accusative singular direct object of the intensive pronoun a)utoj again emphasises Epaphroditus. The adverb palin expresses his return—“again.”

“ye may rejoice” – aorist passive subjunctive of xairw, the expression of +H. The aorist tense is a culminative aorist, it views the action of the verb in its entirety but emphasises the result—intensified happiness. The passive voice: the Philippians believers receive the action of the verb, the intensification of their happiness. The subjunctive mood is the potential subjunctive, it implies a future reference and is qualified by the element of contingency—here, simply one of purpose expressed. The subjunctive goes with i(na which introduces this clause. Intensified happiness is the result of reaching the final objective.

“and that I” – ‘and I’ is a combination of the conjunction kai and the pronoun e)gw—kagw. It emphasises that there is no self-consciousness and no inner subjectivity among these great communicators of the early century. The first person singular pronoun is the Biblical term for the self-consciousness of the soul. They were not only aware of their existence but they properly related their existence to God through grace. Therefore they have no qualms about using the words, “I, me, my.” Plus the predicate nominative masculine singular from the comparative of the adjective a)lupoj, which means “less anxious” here. The verb here is the present active subjunctive of e)imi, the verb to be. The present tense of the verb is a futuristic present, it denotes an event which has not yet occurred but which is regarded as so certain in thought that it is contemplated as already occurring. Already the apostle is relieved of his anxiety, just knowing that Epaphroditus will return to the Philippian church. The active voice: Paul will produce the action of the verb in the near future when Epaphroditus returns to the congregation at Philippi. The subjunctive mood is potential, it implies a future reference and is qualified by the element of contingency—“that I may be less anxious.” The comparative use of the adjective here implies that Paul, now approaching ultra-super-grace, will never be free from pressure. But all pressure intensifies the blessing of ultra-super-grace, so don’t feel sorry for him.

Translation: “So as has been said, I have sent him with special urgency, in order that, when you see him again you might have intensified happiness and I may be less concerned.”

Verse 29 – “Receive him therefore in the Lord.” The first word is a present active imperative from a compound verb prosdexomai [proj = face to face; dexomai = to throw your arms around, face to face]. It means to welcome with open arms. It also means to receive with submission and expectation. The present tense is a customary present, it denotes what habitually occurs or may reasonably be expected to occur when a congregation assembles under the teaching ministry of its right pastor. The active voice: the Philippians congregation will produce the action of the verb by recognition of Epaphroditus’s authority. The imperative mood is the imperative of permission in which the command given by the apostle complies with the desires of the congregation; therefore not a direct command but a permissive command. They are willing and anxious for Epaphroditus’s return. The conjunction o)un here is strictly inferential to introduce the result of the inference, and it is translated “therefore.” The prepositional phrase is e)n plus the locative of kurioj—“in the Lord.” The definite article does not occur in the Greek, this is anartharous, calling special attention to the high quality of the Lord as the Prince Ruler of the Church. “Therefore receive him with submission and expectation in the Lord.”

“with all gladness” – meta plus the genitive singular of the adjective paj is correctly translated “with all.” But the noun xara is generally translated “joy,” but it is +H or happiness—“with all happiness,” or “associated with all happiness.”

“and hold” – present active imperative of e)xw, and with the adjunctive use of kai should be translated, “also be holding.” This is a static present tense representing a condition as taken for granted. They are mature believers, they will hold him in the highest honour, they will concentrate on his ministry because he is going to bring them all the way through to ultra-super-grace. The implication is that by the time Epaphroditus reaches Philippi he will have arrived at ultra-super-grace and he will lead them in. The active voice: the congregation will produce the action of the verb. The imperative mood is a direct command.

“such” is the accusative plural direct object from the correlative adjective toioutoj, a qualitative concept, ‘such a high quality type’ is what it means. It has an attributive connotation.

“in reputation” – incorrect. This is the double accusative plural from the adjective e)ntimoj, which means “in honour.” But it is stronger than that. Because it is a double accusative and because it is a verbal adjective it is translated “in highest honour.”

The ingredients of a good congregation

1. A good congregation identifies its right pastor, and then gets under his authority—because it is not going to like everything he says! Being under his authority means taking some things that are not pleasant. You have to know who your right pastor is and stay with him.

2. Submission to his authority in teaching and church policy.

3. A good congregation has consistent positive volition toward doctrine.

4. A good congregation has stability, it avoids distractions to public assembly in the daily function of GAP.

5. A good congregation has objectivity, poise, good academic discipline under the ministry of God the Holy Spirit.

6. A good congregation has thoughtfulness of others, recognition of the privacy of the priesthood of others. Therefore avoidance of mental attitude sins, verbal sins, which intrude upon the privacy of someone else. It fulfils the principle of live and let live.

7. A good congregation follows the pastor in his spiritual advance, cracking the maturity barrier when he cracks the maturity barrier.

8. Through spiritual growth and progress a good congregation comes to be blessed of God in time. And they are relaxed about their blessings, they are occupied with Christ, they share the happiness of God, they have capacity for life.

9. A good congregation means a highly decorated pastor in eternity. These decorations glorify Jesus Christ forever.

      Verse 30 – “Because” is the causal conjunction o(ti; “for the work of Christ” – dia plus the accusative from e)rgon. Dia plus the accusative also means “on account of.” E)rgon means “business.” Then a descriptive genitive singular of the proper noun Xristoj—“Because on account of the business of Christ.”

      “he was nigh” – aorist active indicative of e)ggizw, which means near. But with the prepositional phrase it has to be translated, “he came close to.” The aorist tense is an ingressive aorist, it contemplates the action of the verb at its beginning. The active voice: Epaphroditus produced the action. He was critically ill. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal action from the viewpoint of reality.

      “unto” is an adverb of time—mexri. However the adverb is used as an improper preposition, and the object of the preposition is qanatoj—“death.” It should be translated here, “to dying.”

      “not regarding” – the aorist middle participle of a compound verb (with the negative), paraboleuomai. This is a gambling term [para = beside; balw = to throw], and it means to throw down beside the money, the dice. But it is a little stringer than that, it means to gamble. He gambled his life. The constative aorist gathers into one entirety the illness of Epaphroditus which brought him to the point of dying. The middle voice is an indirect middle in which Epaphroditus as the agent produced the action of the verb. The participle is temporal. It should be translated, “when he had gambled his life”—dative singular indirect object from yuxh, which means “soul.” A true gambler is a person who has cognisance of the game, he understands all the principles involved. He is a scientific person! And he doesn’t show what he is thinking. Epaphroditus was sick. He knew that going to Rome was a gamble and that the percentages could go either way. Yet, knowing the fact that he might never come back he went ahead and handled it. It doesn’t mean he risked his life as such, but he gambled his life. Only the Lord could change the trend for him.

      Then we have i(na, which introduces a final purpose clause, denoting the objective. With it is the aorist active subjunctive from the compound verb a)naplhrow [a)na = again and again; plhrow = to fill up a deficiency]. So to fill up a deficiency again and again means to fulfil a contract, to make complete, to fill a gap, to take over the part in place of someone who is absent—“that he might make up for you.” He was with Paul and again and again he filled up the deficiency of the absence of these people. The dramatic aorist states a present reality with the certitude of a past event. The idiom is a device for emphasis here, it is used for a result that has just been accomplished. Epaphroditus made up for the absence of the Philippians. The active voice: Epaphroditus produced the action of the verb. The subjunctive mood used with i(na introduces the concept of objective or goal.

      “your lack” – u(sterhma does not means deficiency as such, but it means lack of fellowship, social life. They loved Paul very dearly also, and Paul loves their presence.

      “of service” – a descriptive genitive from leitourgia. This word has been previously used for the ministry of Paul to the Philippians—study and teach, feeding the flock. But here it is reversed, the flock has a ministry to Epaphroditus and it is the warmth and love which they give to him. This is the service. Since the congregation cannot all come and spend time with Paul they have sent their best representative. This is not a rebuke or a censor but is an expression of love for the Philippian believers. The lack here is not money, they have spent a large amount. But their personal presence is not there and this is what he is mentioning. Yet, Epaphroditus did the job beautifully, taking up the slack for their personal presence not being there.

      “toward me” is proj plus the accusative of e)gw, and it should be “face to face with me.”

      Translation: “Because on account of the business of Christ he came close to dying, when he gambled his life, in order that he might make up for your lack of service to me.”

[1] See the Doctrine of Spirituality.

[2] See the Doctrine of Happiness.

[3] See the Doctrine of Occupation with Christ.

[4] See the Doctrines of Resurrection, Ascension and Session of Jesus Christ.

[5] See the Doctrine of the Royal Family

[6] See the Doctrine of Motivation

[7] See the Doctrine of Morality.

[8] See the Doctrine of the Rapture

[9] See the Doctrine of Running.

 [G. L. 1]pressed

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #70

70 02/03/1972 Philippians 2:25–30 Mental attitude of Epaphroditus; bona fide depression of soul

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #71

71 02/17/1972 Philippians 3:1–2; 2Corinthians 11:18–20 Doctrines of occupation with Christ, dogs, reverse process reversionism

Chapter 3

There are four paragraphs in this chapter:

1. The priority perspective of super-grace, verses 1-8

2. The parenthesis of grace orientation, verses 9-11.

3. The next objective in life—ultra-super-grace, verses 12-19.

4. What is beyond super-grace, the final objective—surpassing grace, verses 20, 21.

Verse 1 – the command to continue in super-grace. Super-grace is the base from which we move to the final objective in time—ultra-super-grace. “Finally” is

an accusative of general reference from loipoj, plus the definite article. Loipoj is an adjective and it means remaining. Here it is a part of the idiom, with the definite article, and the idiom changes the subject which was being developed in chapter two. The subject is changed to emphasise the importance of reaching that final objective. One super-grace is reached, don’t stop, keep going. There is something even greater.

Since the accusative of general reference is an adverbial accusative it limits by indicating a fact indirectly related to the action of the verb. This transitional use becomes essential as an adverb. Paul is about to conclude the epistle to the Philippians but he must add some vitally important information on the subject of ultra-super-grace. So when we notice that translation “finally” it means that he is shifting now to an objective which is before him, not yet reached.

“my brethren” – the vocative is addressed to believers, members of the royal family of God. It refers to the Philippians as royal family; it refers to us as royal family. The descriptive genitive from the personal pronoun e)gw—both descriptive and possessive: “my brethren.” As a possessive genitive he is saying “All believers in my generation, I am your right pastor.”

“rejoice” – the only way to have happiness is to consistently take in Bible doctrine. It takes a lot of doctrine to have inner happiness. This is the present active imperative of xairw. It is a command to “follow me.” Paul has arrived at this happiness. The customary present tense of this verb denotes what habitually occurs or may be expected to occur when a believer stays with doctrine. The active voice: the super-grace believer produces the action of the verb. The imperative mood is a command to keep moving and never stop—“keep on having inner happiness.”[1]

“in the Lord” – e)n plus the locative of kurioj, indicating that this is a monopoly of those who are members of the royal family of God. It has to do with positional truth. This is the first command to perpetuate super-grace, and this is accomplished by the continuation of the function of GAP.

Translation: “Finally, my brethren, keep on having happiness [+H] in the Lord. To be writing the same doctrines to you, on the one hand, is not irksome, while on the other hand it is a safeguard [basis of security] for you.”

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #72

72 12/19/1975 Philippians 3:1a Doctrine of happiness (pts. 1–3)

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #73

73 12/21/1975 Philippians 3:1a Doctrine of happiness (cont.)

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #74

74 12/21/1975 Philippians 3:1b Doctrine of happiness (cont.)

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #75

75 12/22/1975 Philippians 3:2 Doctrine of dogs; mutilation of grace

Verse 2 – the opposition set up to keep people from going from super-grace to ultra-super-grace. But you do not have to have suffering to get to ultra-super-grace, you have to have doctrine to get there. When you reach ultra-super-grace by means of the intake of doctrine, then God gives you the mantle of suffering, but it is not all kinds of suffering, it is opposition from Satan day by day which intensifies the blessing that you have. You don’t suffer to get there.

“Beware” – present active imperative of the verb blepw, which means to look, to be alert, to be wary, or to beware. The present tense is an iterative present, it describes what recurs at successive intervals. It is also known as the present tense of repeated action. The active voice: the super-grace believer produces the action of the verb. The imperative is the imperative of command.

“of dogs” – accusative plural direct object from kuwn. The definite article is used as a demonstrative pronoun, calling special attention to a certain kind of dog. The dog that is in view here is the Judaizer, so we translate this, “Beware of those dogs”—false teachers, apostles of apostasy, evangelists of evil.

  Summary

1. The phrase “dogs” does not refer to the literal quadruped, it refers to bi-ped Judaizer.

2. The Bible must be interpreted in the time in which it was written.

3. In the time of writing this passage the dog was an animal which only inspired contempt. The dogs of the ancient world often travelled in packs, were often hungry, and were quite vicious. They were also carriers of disease.

4. The word “dog” was used in the ancient world, as it today, in a very derogatory sense. The Jews called the Gentiles dogs and the nomenclature of derision and a derogatory sense.

5. Basically, the dog of the ancient world was a scavenger. By nature he was unclean, he was the carrier of disease, and he was the carrier of other creatures who carried diseases—like the flea.

6. At the same time the dog of the first century was semi-wild, eating garbage, carrion, refuse.

7. Just as dogs fed on garbage and dead bodies, so the Judaizers fed on the principles and doctrines of evil. Therefore the apostle Paul calls them scavengers of theology.

8. Just as rabid dogs infected others, so the Judaizers infected Paul’s world-wide congregation. They followed him and they constantly tried to insert legalism where Paul had taught grace. They infected with reversionism and evil their victims.

9. The dog cannot be better than his own nature, so the Judaizers cannot exceed the content of evil in their soul.

10. While the Judaizers passed themselves off as religious celebrities Paul in the power of the Spirit, using spiritual language, they were in reality dogs, scavengers, travelling in packs, and providing opposition for the apostle Paul. And while they were a part of the great mantle of opposition, and he could understand them and meet their opposition, his congregation could not. Therefore the warning, “Beware of those dogs.” Hence the derogatory analogy to dogs indicates the personality, the essence of the Judaizers who constantly opposed the great apostle. They were a part of the honour that God bestowed upon him.[2]

Next is the second “beware”, the present active imperative again, same iterative present, and the active voice: alertness produced by super-grace or ultra-super-grace believers who have doctrine resident in the soul. The imperative mood is for a command. This time the object is “evil workers” – accusative plural from the adjective kakoj, a reference to human good. Evil is Satan’s policy. The word for “workers” is e)rgathj. The accusative plural of the definite article is also used as a demonstrative pronoun, and we simply translate, “Beware of those evil workers.” This is describing the same people but in a different term. The evil work here is the work which was accomplished in persecuting Paul, in offering opposition to Paul’s ministry. They are those who do something to set up a system of opposition to the ministry of the teaching of the Word of God. The final one is “beware of the concision.” This is the same morphology for beware again; the accusative singular direct object of katatomh is mistranslated “concision.” Katatomh means “mutilation.” It is a reference to the ritual of circumcision as a means of getting to heaven, the same way some people use baptism today as a means of getting to heaven. The ritual was distorted into something it was never intended to be. The teaching of these Judaizers was, “You have to be circumcised to be saved.” This is all a warning about one category, the Judaizer. These are the apostles of evil, evangelists of reversionism; they have mutilated grace with the addition of ritual as a means of salvation; they took something meaningful, like circumcision, and distorted it into something meaningless, and therefore the word “mutilation” is used. Circumcision had a legitimate function but not as a means of salvation and not as a means of spirituality. They made the ritual of circumcision a prerequisite for salvation as well as for spirituality.

Translation: “Beware of those dogs, beware of those evil workers, beware of that mutilation.”

1. Starting with the garden, evil or Satan’s policy always seeks to take grace as it finds it and mutilate it.

2. Mutilation, then, is taking legitimate Bible doctrine or Bible ritual and distorting it into something legalistic and reversionistic.

3. Mutilation is the Satanic distortion of doctrine so that it appears to be teaching his policy of evil. It is a Biblical concept disguised and coated with evil as appears to teach evil. Many functions of evil today are related to the Word of God, but they are distorted from the Word of God.

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #76

76 12/23/1975 Philippians 3:3 Doctrine of circumcision; tabooism

Verse 3 – the royal family’s true circumcision based upon the concept of mutilation. Circumcision was regarded as mutilation when it was distorted to become

a spiritual factor. “For we are the circumcision” – the explanatory use of the particle gar is the beginning of the passage. We are now to get an explanation of that last phrase, “beware of that mutilation,” in the previous verse. The nominative plural from the personal pronoun e)gw is in the proleptic or emphatic position, translated “we and only we,” referring to the royal family of God, setting the royal family aside as something very special in God’s plan. The Church Age is special, it is an interruption of the Age of Israel Those who are saved in the Church Age are special, they are royal family of God forever. As royalty they have been given an option that never existed before in history—a completed canon of Scripture with exposure to that complete canon through the teaching of a pastor-communicator by which they can move in a shorter period of time than any other period of history, right to super-grace, and from super-grace to ultra-super-grace, and eventually from ultra-super-grace to dying grace. This is the program, the agenda which God has set up for every believer. This is why we are kept alive under the principle of living grace.

“we are” – present active indicative of the verb e)imi, “keep on being.” The customary present indicates what may be expected when you reach super-grace: you keep on with doctrine. The active voice: the super-grace believer produces the action of the verb. The declarative indicative mood indicates the action of the verb from the viewpoint of historical and doctrinal reality; “the circumcision”—the predicate nominative from the noun peritomh [peri = around; tomh = to cut). It describes the ritual of circumcision.[3] Circumcision has no spiritual significance but is a perfect analogy. It is analogous sometimes to the ritual of baptism, sometimes to some other ritual, like the Lord’s table. In addition to that, it also indicates here that the super-grace believer has no more of the useless part of the foreskin of evil and reversionism. That evil and reversionism is removed as the dead skin is removed.

“which worship God in the Spirit” – incorrect translation. It is “who worship in the Spirit of God.” The word “worship” is the present active participle from latreuw. It means to serve at the altar, to carry out religious duties, and finally it comes to mean “worship” in the Koine Greek of the New Testament. It is a function of the royal priesthood. The present tense is a descriptive or pictorial present which presents to the mind a picture of events in the process of occurrence. The events in the process of occurrence: to listen to the teaching of the Word of God is the highest point of worship. The active voice: the super-grace believer has produced this action of the verb ,many times, that’s how he has reached super-grace. And the SG believer continues to produce the action of the verb as he moves on to the next objective. The participle is circumstantial. The universal royal priesthood of the believer plus the fact that every believer in the Church Age is also royal family of God—spiritual aristocracy—implies a unique form of worship in this dispensation. The uniqueness is found in the locative singular of pneuma, and it should be translated “in the Spirit.” There is a descriptive genitive with that from qeoj, indicating that this is God the Holy Spirit; “who worship” is an articular participle, the definite article is used as a relative pronoun, it refers to super-grace believers in the royal family of God who worship in the Spirit of God. The filling of the Spirit is necessary for the function of GAP, the highest form of worship. The filling of the Spirit is also necessary in any other facet of worship. As a result of this form of worship we have the final phrase:

“and rejoice in Christ Jesus” – the continuative use of the conjunction kai here means this is an extension of worship. But the word “rejoice” here is not rejoice [+H], here it is the present active participle of a different verb, kauxaomai, which means to boast, to glory, to pride one’s-self in something. This is super-grace esprit décor, and it comes from maximum doctrine in the soul. It is used by Paul for boasting in someone else in relationship to a high spiritual condition. Boasting about Christ connotes love, concentration, appreciation. It is an expression of category #1 love capacity in super-grace. The present tense is retroactive progressive present denoting what began in the past, when the person becomes a super-grace believer, and continues while a person is in super-grace on the way to ultra-super-grace and continues to dying grace. This is also called the present tense of duration. It might be translated, therefore, “and glorying [boasting, being confident in].” The middle voice is a deponent verb, middle in form but active in meaning. The super-grace believer produces the action of the verb. The participle is circumstantial, it is the highest form of worship—boasting in the Lord Jesus Christ as a result of maximum doctrine in the soul.

“and have no confidence in the flesh” – this includes a transitional kai, plus the negative o)uk, plus the perfect active participle of peiqw which means to obey, it is related to strict discipline, to personal obedience, self-discipline. The perfect tense of peiqw does not mean obedience, it means, just as translated, “confidence.” This is an intensive perfect for a completed action, emphasising the existing results of that action. In other words, a total confidence. When the believer is on the way from super-grace to ultra-super-grace he develops an unshakeable confidence which, by the time he reaches ultra-super-grace, gives the ability to cope with any disaster, any problem, any Satanic opposition. The active voice: the super-grace believer advancing produces the action. The participle is circumstantial. There is also the preposition e)n plus the locative of sarc, and e)n plus sarc has two meanings here. It means, first of all, to have no confidence in human abilities or thinking or talent, or any other factor which seeks to intrude upon the intake of doctrine. It also comes to have a relationship to the infirmities of the flesh; in other words, adversity.

Translation: “For we are the true circumcision [for the Church Age], who worship God in the Spirit of God, and glory [boast] in Christ Jesus, also do not have confidence in the flesh.”

     Documentation of Paul’s reversionism

1. It was the will of God that Paul’s third missionary journey should go west into Spain. Instead Paul went east. Romans 15:24 tells us that Paul was to go to Spain. So when Paul was in Ephesus, writing to the Romans, that he should have gone to Spain. In Romans 15:25, however, he states what is not the Lord’s will. In Romans 15:28 he said he would go to Rome by way of Spain. The only problem with that was that the Lord did not include Jerusalem in Paul’s agenda for the third missionary journey. It was Paul’s idea, not the Lord’s. And while he eventually intended to do the Lord’s will this emotional lapse was to cost him in a very serious way.

2. After Paul’s visit to Ephesus and the riot of the silversmiths’ union he was headed west. He was still in compliance with his orders in Acts 20, but in verse 1 the riots shook him up. In Macedonia is where Paul slipped into emotional reversionism. It was west of Ephesus and en route to Spain, but that is a s far west as Paul ever went. When he got to Corinth he was still headed in the right direction but he then turned, and from Corinth he sailed for Troy—east. From Troy Paul would not even go back to Ephesus. From there he proceeded on his way to Jerusalem—Acts 20:16. Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus in order that he might not have to spend time in the Roman province of Asia. He was hurrying to be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.

3. Paul was warned twice not to go to Jerusalem by the Holy Spirit—Acts 21:4-9; 21:10-13.

4. Paul is now in reversionism, he disobeyed completely—Acts 21:14-17.

5. When Paul arrived in Jerusalem—Acts 21—he was now in full emotional reversionism, and therefore he was now susceptible to whatever the inclination of the geographical area—called Judaism, which is a form of reversionistic legalism. The church in Jerusalem was so infected that it had lost its leadership in the Christian world. It was now as low as a church could be in its reversionism. The unbelievers were involved in a massive form of Judaism that would end up in the fifth cycle of discipline in 40 years. When Paul went in to meet with the pastors of Jerusalem he took some bad advice from the leaders of the Jerusalem church—Acts 21:20,24. No Bible teacher ever has to compromise in order to gain a hearing for the teaching of doctrine. They suggested he go into the temple and offer a vow. This was a compromise of doctrine. No one has to set up a system of rapport; the Word of God stands on its own. Paul got into the compromise of legalism—Acts 21:26.

6. This was the beginning of Paul’s discipline. Acts 21:27-32, one week later Paul went back in order to complete the function of his vow in the temple. He was spotted by the Judaisers from Asia, the very people who stoned him at Lystra. When they saw him in the temple they were immediately suspicious and they immediately aroused the people.

7. It became obvious that Paul was not safe, even in the Mark Anthony barracks, and at the first time he left the barracks he would be assassinated. He was removed to Caesarea where he stayed for two years—A.D. 59-60. This was the time of his reversion recovery. He appealed to Caesar and when he eventually arrived in Rome, because no one could make much out of the indictment, it was decided to merely put him under house arrest until he could come face to face with Nero.

8. Paul spent two years there, and during that time he put down all of the super-grace doctrine that is put down in the prison epistles—Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #77

77 12/24/1975 Philippians 3:4 Intro; documentation of Paul's reversionism

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #78

78 12/25/1975 Philippians 3 via 2Tim. 4:5–8a Final objective: ultra–supergrace (SG–2)

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #79

79 12/26/1975 Philippians 3 via 2Tim. 4:8 Doctrine of surpassing grace (SG–3)

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #80

80 12/28/1975 Philippians 3 via 2Tim. 4 Three wreath decorations – SG–3

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #81

81 12/28/1975 Philippians 3:4–7 Human celebrityship

Verse 4 – Paul’s human celebrityship. “Though I might also have confidence in the flesh” starts with the conjunction kaiper. The word per doesn’t occur except as a part of another word, and it emphasises the meaning of the word to which it is affixed. Here it means “Although” or “Even though.” It indicates that Paul had a greater basis for confidence in the flesh than any of his critics. He is pointing out that none of the people have attained the ability that he attained in Judaism, and yet they are trying to say security is in human celebrityship, in human success. Paul had gone all of the way to the top in Judaism, his critics were struggling up the latter. His critics, his enemies, these who are being used of Satan are all wrapped up in the human celebrityship of Judaism. Therefore Paul has a great opportunity. He walked out on Judaism when he was higher than any of them, and in order to establish the point he must first of all discuss his human celebrityship.

“I might have” is the present active participle of e)xw, plus the proleptic use of the personal pronoun e)gw. Together these make up a very strong phrase of confidence—human confidence. “Even though I myself might be having.” The present tense is a pictorial present, it represents to the mind the facts which have occurred in this case. Paul had reached the top in the field of Judaism. The active voice: the apostle Paul produced the action in the past. The participle is concessive in which Paul recognises his own superiority over his critics who are struggling in the field of Judaism, whereas he attained in the field of Judaism.

“confidence” is the accusative singular direct object of pepoiqhsij, and it is about as strong a word for confidence as you can get; “in the flesh” – the preposition e)n plus the sarc in the locative case, and “flesh” here merely means ‘in the human sphere.’

“If” introduces the first class condition, the conditional particle e)i plus the indicative. This is the protasis of a first class condition, if and it is true. A conditional clause is the statement of a supposition, the fulfilment of which is assumed to secure the realisation of the potential fact expressed in the companion clause. This means that every one of these clauses has a protasis and an apodasis.

“any” – an enclitic indefinite particle tij, “anyone.” This means the whole wide world here; “other” is a)lloj, meaning other of the same category; “think” is not quite that in this passage, it is the present active indicative of dokew which means to assume. This is what Paul’s critics assume. They are looking down their nose at Paul and saying, “We are high in Judaism, and Paul as a Christian is way down here and will never be a good Christian because he isn’t high enough in Judaism.” That is an assumption on their part and therefore dokew is used in the concept of subjective opinion or assumption. The present tense is a customary present, it denotes what habitually occurs among those who are Paul’s critics and struggling in Judaism. The active voice: the Judaisers are producing the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative for reality, and this goes with the first class condition.

“that he might trust” – perfect active infinitive of peiqw. This word has three different meanings. In the present tense it is used for obedience. In the aorist tense it is used for faith. But in the perfect tense it is used for confidence. This is the intensive perfect tense here in which we have a completed action emphasising the existing results or status quo. The active voice: the Judaisers produce the action of the verb. The infinitive is one of result. However, the infinitive of result can be expressed in three categories—actual result, intended result, or conceived result. Here we have a conceived result, therefore it goes on to take the position they have assumed.

“I more” – this is Paul’s superiority and supremacy in the field of legalistic Judaism.

Translation: “Even though I myself might be having confidence in the flesh. If anyone [of the same category] assumes to have confidence in the flesh, I more.”

Verse 5 – the false perception of the old standards of Judaism is given in this and the next verse. Paul has to get these Christians away from the false concept of human celebrityship, and get their eyes off of that and get their focus on the barrier that they must break through, and not be deterred by human celebrityship in the field of Judaism.

The verse starts with ritual confidence: circumcision, the dative of advantage from peritomh, the word for “circumcision.” Many of these people got into Judaism as Gentiles, and therefore they were circumcised in later life. To them circumcision was a big thing, it came to them late in life. But Paul was circumcised by being born a Jew and was therefore circumcised on the eighth day which was considered the first day on which an operation was safe on a baby, because the eighth day was the first day of babyhood when the blood would coagulate. The Judaisers took the ritual without the reality of salvation and therefore used it as a basis for being critical of Paul. Paul did not teach circumcision as necessary for salvation, for spirituality, and therefore they were very antagonistic.

“an Hebrew of the Hebrews” – E(braioj e)c E(braioj, “a Hebrews from the Hebrews.” This refers to Jewish nationalism and patriotism. It also refers to the conservative Jewish culture in contrast to the liberal Hellenistic culture. The Jews at this time in history were hopelessly divided. Some of them had become liberals, they had fallen for the Hellenistic culture brought in by Alexander the Great. Others stuck to the Torah, the Word of God as it existed for them, and they were conservative whereas the Hellenistic crowd were liberal. It is good to be conservative but it doesn’t get one into heaven, and this is what Paul means here.

Next we have his religious confidence. Before he was saved he was like the rich young ruler; “as touching the law” – the preposition kata plus the accusative singular of nomoj, should be translated “with reference to the law.”

“a Pharisee” – Farisaioj. This was the party of the scribes in the Sanhedrin. The word actually means a separatist, a conservative. They believed in keeping Israel separate from the other nations because of the unique mission, and because of its purpose and function in life, and because of its great history. The Pharisees represent religious confidence in legalism. Saul of Tarsus was the worst sinner who ever lived because he was the most religious of the Pharisees.

Translation: “Circumcision on the eight day, from the race of Israel, from the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew from the Hebrews; with reference to the law, a Pharisee.”

In every one of these Paul excelled his critics.

Verse 6 – the function of confidence. “Concerning zeal” – kata plus the accusative of zhloj is “with reference to zeal.” Now he gets to the fact where Judaisers persecuted Christians and are persecuting Paul. They had become his life-time enemies and they were so vindictive that they hounded him all of the way to death.

“persecuting” – present active participle of diwkw. It means to persecute, as here, it also means to press or to pursue. This is a historical present. The active voice: Saul of Tarsus produces the action. The participle is circumstantial. The linear aktionsart is very strong. Until the very moment of his salvation Paul had a tremendous desire, and that was to kill all Christians in existence. This was his obsession. Whereas the Judaisers opposed Paul and only persecuted grace type believers Paul persecuted all kinds of believers when he was a Judaiser.

“touching the righteousness” – dikaiosunh here is used for self-righteousness or human righteousness: “with reference to self-righteousness.”

“which is in the law” – in the sphere of the law. We have to insert the aorist active participle of the verb ginomai, found in the original but not translated, which means to occur or to become. The aorist tense here is a constative aorist, it contemplates the action of the verb in it entirety. It takes keeping the law as a way of life and resultant self-righteousness and arrogance, and gathers it up into one entirety. Paul was always smug and self-righteous. He kept the law and as he did his arrogance and smugness increased. He had a totally sanctimonious attitude at the point of his salvation.

“blameless” is the predicate adjective from a)memptoj, and it means to be blameless or having become blameless.

Translation: “With reference to zeal, persecuting the church; with reference to self-righteousness in the law, having become blameless.”

Verse 7 – the new perspective, the new standard. “But what [quality of] things”—‘what things’ is the qualitative relative pronoun o(stij. These had once been quality things to Paul. It is a reference to the standards of human celebrityship, to the false standards and erroneous perspectives of the unbeliever in reversionism.

“were” is the imperfect active indicative of e)imi (in contrast to ginomai). The imperfect tense is a customary imperfect for what has regularly or ordinarily occurred in past time. The active voice: Paul as Saul of Tarsus produced the action of the verb in the field of legalistic self-righteousness, and he was the greatest smug,

self-righteous, legalistic unbeliever in that field of celebrityship. The indicative mood is for the reality of the fact.

“gain” is incorrect. This is the nominative plural of kerdoj, referring to all of these gains, the seven fields of celebrityship which have been enumerated. These seven gains formed the basis for his celebrityship and his confidence in the flesh. These are the things that the Judaisers used in their claims for celebrityship.

“those” – demonstrative pronoun nominative plural from o(utoj, a near demonstrative referring to something in the same sentence—those same gains.

“I counted” – perfect middle indicative of the verb e(geomai which means to be a guide, to have knowledge as a guide, to be an expert in something, true knowledge. Here it is to conclude as an expert. Paul concludes as an expert. This is a dramatic perfect which is the rhetorical use of the intensive perfect, it places great emphasis on the results which have been completed and the action that follows. In the middle voice the subject acts with a view toward participating in the outcome of the action of the verb. This middle voice stresses the subject as the agent of the action—indirect middle. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of the fact that Paul, having broken through the maturity barrier, now recognises that every area of human celebrityship, when it conflicts with doctrine, is out.

“loss” – the accusative singular of zhmia. This is in the singular in contrast to kerdoj in the plural. All of his human celebrityship areas he put together and calls them “gains.” Now he lumps them once more, superimposing divine viewpoint on that plural, and makes them one loss. Many gains, areas of celebrityship, are now one loss.

“for Christ” is dia plus the accusative of Xristoj which means “because of Christ.”

Translation: “What category of things were gains to me, these same things I myself have concluded loss because of the Christ.”

  Principle

1. This is the perspective of the one who breaks the maturity barrier. This is the attitude of the believer who is occupied with Christ.

2. This attitude is not acquired by renouncing or giving up any human recognition or human achievement.

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #82

82 12/29/1975 Philippians 3:8 Doctrine of dung

Verse 8 – “Yea doubtless, and.” Five Greek particles: a)lla men o)un ge kai. This is rare. This means, “Listen, get you mind off your distractions.” It is a

very strong attention-getter in the Greek. The adversative conjunction a)lla means something different is coming up. It is often translated as an adversative “but.” Here it is translated “In fact.” It is both emphatic and confirmatory, therefore it is followed by an affirmative particle to show that this is not adversative but confirmatory—men. Therefore the two words are translated, “Most emphatically.” The third inferential is o)un, “therefore, and indicates a conclusion; a conclusion with emphasis. The fourth, ge, emphasises the word with which it is used. It is an enclitic particle appended to the word it refers to, and therefore it is translated intensively here—“even.” The fifth particle is kai, used as an adjunctive conjunction. When put together in English and given a literal translation as close as possible to the Greek, it goes like this: “Most emphatically therefore, even I also.” The idiom means that it is not what the words say, it is what I am saying to you. So forget the words, just start concentrating. This is designed to attract the attention of the hearers. From now on they need to concentrate.

“I count” – present middle indicative of the verb e(geomai which means to guide. Paul is an expert in theology, and therefore when he uses this word in the power of the Spirit it is not arrogance, it is the total confidence that comes from authority, from study, from spiritual growth. He is speaking as a super-grace believer on his way to ultra-super-grace. Therefore, the present tense is an aoristic present for punctiliar action in present time. The present time is Paul having recovered from reversion, having recovered all of the doctrine he had lost in reversionism, and having learned more things, is now ready to take the congregation at Philippi another step forward. The punctiliar is his conclusion based on his recovery and new doctrine which has now come to him. The middle voice is a permissive middle in which the agent, super-grace believer Paul, is represented as voluntarily yielding himself to the results of the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal action from the viewpoint of dogmatic reality. This is a dogmatic fact—“I conclude.” This is the conclusion of one who knows, the conclusion of an expert.

“all things” – accusative neuter plural from the adjective paj, plus the definite article to designate the formers gains, “the all things.” By application it refers to any human celebrityship, and human achievement, talent, success, popularity.

“but” is not found in the original; is the present active infinitive of e)imi—“to be,” present linear aktionsart, “to always be.” This is a static present, there will never be a time when they are not in the status quo of maturity. He is now representing the viewpoint of one who has broken the maturity barrier.

“loss” – accusative singular direct object from the noun zhmia.

“for the excellency of the knowledge is a prepositional phrase: the preposition dia plus the accusative which means “because” or “for the sake of.” And with that in the accusative the present active participle of u(perexw. The verb generally means to have power over, to be in authority over. It means here “surpassing.” With it is a descriptive genitive of gnwsij for “knowledge.” Since he is not talking about the doctrine resident in his own [e)pignwsij] soul he is talking about the principle—“for the sake of the surpassing greatness of the knowledge of.”

“Christ Jesus my Lord” – Xristou I)hsoutou Kuriou mou, used to indicate Paul’s occupation with the person of Christ as a believer who has broken the maturity barrier.

“for whom” is dia plus the accusative of the relative pronoun o(j and should be translated “because of whom” or “for the sake of whom.”

“I have suffered the loss” – aorist passive indicative of zhmiow, which means to forfeit or to suffer loss, as translated in the KJV. We translate it, “I have forfeited.” This is the culminative aorist tense, it views the event in its entirety but regards it from the viewpoint of existing results. Here is the process of spiritual growth denoting the attainment of that process. Paul receives the action of the verb by his reversion recovery, by breaking through the maturity barrier, by moving into super-grace, and seeing the next objective and going toward it. The indicative mood views the action of the verb from the viewpoint of reality.

“of all things” – the all things, the accusative plural of paj again, with the definite article indicating that this refers to human celebrityship, human ability, human talent; anything with which a human being can take credit, or whereby any human standard places one in a concept of fame, reknown or celebrityship.

“and” – continuative use of the conjunction kai; “do count” – incorrect. This is the present middle indicative of e(geomai again, he is still the expert and he concludes now in the present tense as an expert—“and keep on concluding.” This is a retroactive progressive present tense denoting a conclusion that started in the past when he broke the barrier to maturity and continues into the present time as he presses toward ultra-super-grace. The middle voice: the agent, Paul, participates in the results of the action of the verb. It therefore has a reflexive connotation, “I myself keep on concluding.” The indicative mood is declarative for a dogmatic statement coming up.

We now have the accusative plural, not singular. “Dung” is in the singular, but here is the accusative plural of skubalon, and it should be translated in the plural “piles of dung.”[4]

“that I may win Christ” – aorist active subjunctive from kerdainw. The word means to gain. This is a culminative aorist, it views the action of the verb in its entirety but emphasises the existing results of moving on to ultra-super-grace. Paul produces the action of the verb. The subjunctive mood is potential, Paul has not reached ultra-super-grace, he has not yet gained Christ. This is the first hint that after one breaks the maturity barrier there is still some place to go after that.

“in order that I may gain Christ” – by gaining Christ he means to go on from super-grace to ultra-super-grace. Paul will not be detracted or deterred away from doctrine by the great blessings that he had.

Translation: “More emphatically, therefore, even I also myself conclude the all things [of human celebrityship] to be loss for the sake of the surpassing greatness of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: because of whom I have forfeited the all things [of human celebrityship and achievement] and keep on concluding them piles of dung, in order that I may gain Christ.”

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #83

83 12/30/1975 Philippians 3:9–11 Grace orientation parenthesis for supergrace believers

Verse 9 – the first of three verses which are a parenthesis on grace orientation. This versed is grace orientation, phase one. “And be found in him” – the ascensive use of kai begins the parenthesis, “Also.” The aorist passive subjunctive from the verb e(uriskw. The word means to discover, to find—“Also that I may be found.” The aorist tense is a constative aorist, it refers to a momentary action when anyone historically discovers Paul and the impact of his life. No man ever had a greater impact in life than the apostle Paul. This the fact that discovering Paul is an action extending over a period of time in history. Whenever the discovery is made it should be related to positional sanctification, related to the fact that with Paul, the worst sinner who ever lived, there was a moment in his life when he was taken by God the Holy Spirit and entered into union with Christ. The passive voice: the interpreter of history who discovers Paul—any believer who grows up enough to realise that Pauline doctrine in the Scripture is the highest peak of Bible doctrine anywhere—can see the emphasis of his life related to saving grace and to his salvation. The subjunctive mood is used here simply because we have the word i(na, a conjunction that demands the subjunctive, and it is found in the previous verse. The reason that there must be a subjunctive instead of a declarative here is because i(na demands this to set up what is known as a final clause, stating a goal, objective or purpose. “Also that I may be found.” The reality of being found is the reality of spiritual growth.

“in him” – e)n plus the locative singular of the intensive pronoun a)utoj. The intensive pronoun emphasises the uniqueness of the person of Jesus Christ. It is a reminder to us of the fact that none of us would have salvation were it not for the fact that Jesus Christ humbled himself and became a member of the human race. There is no greater manifestation of grace than positional sanctification at salvation through the ministry of God the Holy Spirit.

“not having” is a combination of the negative mh and the present active participle of e)xw, which means to have and to hold. The present tense is historical, it is used when a past event is viewed with the vividness of a present occurrence. The active voice: the apostle Paul produces the action of not standing on his own personal self-righteousness or the high attainment of celebrityship in the field of Judaism. The participle is circumstantial.

“my own righteousness” – accusative singular direct object of dikaiosunh. Here the word is used in a self-righteous connotation: “not having self-righteousness.” Paul’s self-righteousness as an unbeliever far exceeded his critics, but he does not want to be remembered for his attainments in the field of Judaism, or that he was so great in the field of self-righteousness. This is a righteousness in opposition to grace.

“which is” is not found in the original; “of the law” – e)k plus the ablative of nomoj, a reference to the Mosaic law: “not having mine own righteousness from the law.” It is derived and developed by keeping the law.

“but” – the adversative conjunction a)lla, setting up a contrast. The contrast is between Paul’s high achievement in the field of self-righteousness and imputed righteousness. Here is the difference between grace and legalism.

“that” is the accusative singular definite article, that’s all. But it is used here to refer to that same righteousness; “which is” is not found in the original, it is merely used to smooth out the translation.

“through the faith” – dia plus the genitive of pistij should be translated “by means of faith.”

“in Christ” – objective genitive singular from Xristoj, referring to the moment of salvation. When salvation is in view it is faith that is mentioned, nothing else.

“the righteousness” – accusative singular of the definite article, still referring to dikaiosunh; “which is of God”—e)k plus the ablative of qeoj, “from the source of God.”

“by faith” is “at the point of faith.”

Translation: “Also that I may be discovered in him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that righteousness which is acquired by means of faith in Christ, that righteousness from the source of the God at the point of faith [in Christ].”

Verse 10 – phase two grace orientation. “That I may know him”—the articular aorist active infinitive from the verb ginwskw. The ingressive aorist contemplates the action of the verb at its beginning. The beginning of phase two is the function of GAP leading to super-grace status. In other words, you can’t know Christ unless you take in doctrine. Active voice: Paul in super-grace produces the action of “knowing him.” The infinitive is the articular infinitive. This is an Attic idiom, and it denotes here a purpose. Then, the accusative singular direct object with the infinitive, and this a)utoj emphasises again the uniqueness of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Translation: “That I may come to know him”—through the constant function of GAP.

“and the power of his resurrection” – this phrase not only anticipates appreciation for phase three, which comes when the maturity barrier is broken, but at the same time it indicates the importance of knowing God the Father and God the Holy Spirit through the daily function of GAP. This includes a transitional use of kai, plus the accusative singular direct object from dunamij, meaning inherent power, therefore omnipotence, plus the descriptive genitive singular a)nastasij—“resurrection.” Plus, once more, the possessive genitive singular from the intensive pronoun a)utoj, emphasising Jesus Christ.

Summary: “And the power of his resurrection.”

1. Inasmuch as Jesus Christ was raised by the dunamij, the omnipotence of two members of the Trinity, this becomes a mandate to become cognisant of the other two members of the Trinity.

2. To know the power/omnipotence of His resurrection is to have maximum knowledge of doctrine through the constant function of GAP.

3. The more doctrine the believer knows the more he understands the power of His resurrection—the power that raised Christ from the dead, the power behind the historical resurrection.

4. This means knowing the power of God the Father who raised Christ from the dead—1 Thess. 1:10; 1Peter er 1:2.

5. This means knowing the power of God the Holy Spirit who raised Christ from the dead—Romans 8:11; 1Peter er 3:18.

6. The power of resurrection is only one of many historical manifestations of God’s unlimited and infinite power in the devil’s history. The devil is the ruler of this world, the resurrection took place in the devil’s world, and the devil couldn’t prevent it.

7. So the more doctrine the believer absorbs, the greater becomes his understanding of God’s power.

8. The super-grace believer has just begun to know and appreciate the power of God. The ultra-super-grace believer has maximum cognisance in this sphere. While the power of His resurrection gives appreciation for phase two it also anticipates the glories, the blessings, the decorations of SG2.

“and the fellowship of his sufferings” – the continuative use of kai, plus the accusative singular direct object from koinwnia, “fellowship” or “association,”

but better here is the true translation, “participation.” The ultra-super-grace believer wears the mantle of continual Satanic opposition, and that mantle is participation in His sufferings. This means totally underserved suffering wrapped like a mantle around the ultra-super-grace believer. The blessings of SG2 are intensified. The descriptive genitive plural of paqhma indicates the fact that this is the mantle—“suffering.” This is undeserved suffering. The plural indicates the continuation of the suffering, the mantle of suffering.

“being made conformable”—present passive participle of summorfizw [sum = with; morfh = form], which means to invest with the same form. But in the passive, used here, it means to take on the same form. This is a customary present of the participle for what habitually occurs in the life of the ultra-super-grace believer. The passive voice: the USG believer receives the action of the verb—maximum opposition from Satan and the forces of evil. The participle is circumstantial. The circumstances belong to the USG believer only.

“unto his death” – dative of reference from the noun qanatoj, referring to the oppositional sufferings of Christ connected with His death. It does not refer to His unique sufferings in bearing our sins, for there is no way that we can participate in these sufferings or take on the form of these sufferings. But there were many types of opposition which came from Satan and the forces of evil prior to the cross, during the time that He was on the cross, excluding bearing our sins. But this dative of reference does not emphasise the fact that all USG believer receive the same suffering or pressures from the forces of Satan.

Translation: “That I may come to know him [function of GAP], and the power of his resurrection, and the participation in his sufferings, taking on the same form of sufferings, with reference to his death [of Christ].”

Verse 11—phase three grace orientation. “If” is the conjunction e)i, plus the enclitic particle pwj, and it should be translated, “If in some way.” The conjunctive particle plus the enclitic particle does not mean doubt or uncertainty that Paul will reach phase three, but ignorance as to how he will die.

“I might attain” – aorist active subjunctive of katantaw. Paul is not concerned about how he is going to die, he just wants to get to the objective before he does.

“unto the resurrection of the dead” – incorrect. It should be translated, “that I might cross the goal line to the resurrection, away from dead ones.” This includes the preposition e)ij plus the accusative of e)canastiij—“to the resurrection,” and then e)k plus the ablative plural of nekroj, and nekroj here refers to the spiritually dead ones who are under the second death. In history the believer and unbeliever are mixed together, but by resurrection we are away from the dead ones. In eternity the separation is based upon attitude toward Jesus Christ. The aorist tense of katantaw, crossing the goal line, is a culminative aorist. It views the goal in its entirety but emphasises the existing results—possession of a resurrection body and the potentiality of decoration. The active voice: the writer, Paul, and all believers produce the action. The subjunctive mood indicates the potential manner in which the resurrection body is received.

Translation: “If in some way [death or the Rapture] I might cross the goal line to the resurrection away from the dead ones.”

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #84

84 12/31/1975 Philippians 3:12 Paul anticipates ultra SG–2

Verse 12 – the decision to advance to the next objective stated. “Not as though” – this includes the strong Greek negative oux ([o)u, o)uk, o)ux—the form merely changes because of what is following the negative: vowel, consonant, rough breathing]. Then the conjunction o(ti, used here to introduce a negative conclusion—“Not that.”

“I had already attained” – the word already is the adverb h)dh, and it means “already” or “by now”; the aorist active indicative of the verb lambanw which generally means to receive or to attain or obtain. It is a reference to receiving or attaining the ultra-super-grace. The aorist tense is a constative aorist, it denotes a momentary status quo. In one moment of time Paul looked out ahead and saw that he had not yet attained that ultra-super-grace objective. By the time he wrote 2 Timothy he could write as an ultra-super-grace believer. What is not accomplished in Philippians is later accomplished in the pastoral epistles. The active voice: Paul produces the negative action, he has not yet attained the ultra-super-grace status. The indicative mood is declarative for historical reality at the time of writing.

“either were already perfect” – the disjunctive particle h), used to relate similar terms where one term can take the place of another. It is translated “or.” With it is the adverb h)dh, meaning “already,” plus the perfect passive indicative of teteleiow, which means to reach an objective here, not to be perfect. “Not that I have already attained [ultra-super-grace] or have before now reached the objective.” The perfect tense is the perfect of existing state, in which the past is dropped from his thought. It cancels out any thinking about the past. ‘Forgetting those things which are behind.’ Not only does it drop the past from the thinking but it calls attention to the existing status quo. In the past Paul had been reversionistic. He has recovered. At the time of writing he is in super-grace and now getting ready to press on to the final objective—ultra-super-grace. The passive voice: Paul has not yet received USG. The indicative mood is declarative representing the action of the verb from the viewpoint of historical reality.

“but” is the adversative use of the conjunctive particle de, setting up a contrast between Paul’s set-back in reaching USG and his determination to keep on pressing. He is not discouraged, he is going to keep on moving on. That should remind us of a principle: There is no such things as spiritual greatness, or even human greatness, where failures are allowed to discourage. None of can ever be in any way detracted by our failures.

“I follow after” – this is a military word, the present active indicative of diwkw. It means to hotly pursue, to press a retreating enemy, to drive on, to move in, to close in. The retroactive progressive present denotes what has begun in the past with consistent +V towards doctrine and continues into the present time with the daily function of GAP. The active voice: Paul produces the action of the verb after his reversion recovery. By pressing on with Bible doctrine Paul in a short four years has not only attained reversion recovery but he has broken through the maturity barrier and is now a super-grace believer. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal idea from the viewpoint of historical reality.

“if that” – the particle e)i, not used here as a conditional particle but with the subjunctive mood, and is translated “wether, if.” With it is kai, translated “also,” and together all this is translated, “but I keep pressing on, if also I may apprehend.” But there is no “apprehend” here. This is the aorist active subjunctive from the verb katalambanw [kata = down or according to; lambanw = receive or attain], which means to attain according to a norm or standard. It is one of the strongest words for seizing or grasping, or taking possession of something. Here it has the concept of attaining by the intake of doctrine. Kata indicates that there is a norm by which this is accomplished. The objective can only be taken under a certain norm or standard—the daily function of GAP. The culminative aorist here views the attainment of USG in its entirety but it emphasises the existing results. The active voice: Paul produces the action of the verb. He sees the objective and he presses on. The subjunctive mood is a potential subjunctive implying future reference, and also qualifying reaching the objective by the daily, continual attitude toward Bible doctrine.

“for which also” – the preposition e)pi plus the relative pronoun o(j, plus the adjunctive use of kai, and it should be translated “on account of which [USG].”

“I am apprehended” – aorist passive indicative of katalambanw, to seize and hold or, in the passive voice, to be overtaken. So Paul was seized and held. He was on the Damascus road closing in on his objective, but on his way the Lord stopped him dead—seized him and held him, as it were. He is referring to the point of his salvation on the Damascus road. The culminative aorist views the moment of salvation in its entirety but it emphasises the results—the eternal security, the fact that the apostle Paul was on his way to murder Christians, and on his way to Damascus was stopped and turned around. From his salvation he was turned around to become the greatest believer in history and to reach objectives never before attained.

Translation: “Not that I have already attained [USG status], or before now have reached [the USG life]: but I press on, that I may attain [the objective], on account of which I was overtaken by Christ Jesus.”

Principle

1. Everything which Christ did to save the believer has a meaning, both in time and in eternity.

2. God has both purpose and meaning for the individual believer and the objective for every believer.

3. Christ overtook man in time but He provided the objective and the blessings in eternity past.

4. Once saved or overtaken the objectives of time include living grace, super-grace, ultra-super-grace, and dying grace.

5. All of these objectives are related to the most fantastic blessings.

6. As each objective is reached the blessings both intensify and multiply.

7. Only reversionism hinders these objectives, but Paul has recovered from his reversionism and being still alive moves from one mature objective to another—from super-grace to ultra-super-grace.

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #85

85 01/01/1976 Philippians 3:13–15 Test of mental attitude before ultra–supergrace

Verse 13 – the estimate of the situation. It begins with the vocative a)delfoi, used

simply to designate the royal family of God.

“I count not myself” – present middle indicative of the verb logizomai [logoj =

word, speak, communicate; omai = the middle form by which this is converted into a verb]. The present middle indicative means to evaluate, to estimate, to consider. Since Paul is dealing with himself, and because of the type of middle voice we have here (direct middle), we translate this, “I evaluate myself.” This is something that believers must do periodically, objectively, totally apart from any subjective concept. Subjectiveness is a great hindrance to the advance in the spiritual life, and inevitably a subjective believer starts reacting to various things—authority, teaching, personalities—and always winds up in reversionism unless it is caught in time. Paul is not simply evaluating himself for himself, he is evaluating himself for us. The present tense is an aoristic present, punctiliar action in present time. The middle voice is the direct middle, it refers to the results of the action directly to the agent (Paul), and it does so with reflexive force. The evaluation or estimate of the situation applies to that moment in A.D. 62. during Paul’s first Roman imprisonment. The indicative mood is declarative, it represents the verbal idea from the viewpoint of reality. There is also the first person singular of the pronoun e)gw in the proleptic form, it has strong emphasis and it is even legitimate to translate it, “I, even I, evaluate myself.” Also the accusative singular direct object from the reflexive pronoun e)mautou, and this throws the action of the verb back on the subject. We do not have a negative here. Instead there is a negative adverb o)upw, which means “not yet.” This is quite different from a negative; it does not mean “not.”

“to have apprehended” – perfect active infinitive of katalambanw [kata = preposition of norm and standard; lambanw = to receive]. Put together, this compound means to reach an objective according to a specified norm or standard—the function of GAP. And being organised and stabilised in super-grace he is now moving to the next objective on the other side of the maturity barrier. He says, “Brethren, I evaluate myself as to not yet have attained.” He has not yet reached ultra-super-grace. Eventually he wrote the pastoral epistles as an ultra-super-grace believer. The perfect tense of katalambanw is called the perfect of existing state in which the past is dropped from the thought and attention is focussed on the present moment. This is important because it shows whether you are objective about yourself or not. The active voice plus the negative adverb o(upw indicates that Paul has not yet completed the action of reaching USG. The infinitive is the infinitive of intended result in which the result is indicated as fulfilling a

 deliberate objective. It is his objective to move on.

“but this one thing I do” – the Greek begins e(n de. The de is an enclitic particle used as a conjunction after a negative adverb of time, and it is translated “however” or “but.” Then a nominative neuter singular from the numeral e(ij [e(n], and being in the neuter it sets up a contrast to the many avenues of reversionism. It therefore has to be translated, “however, one thing on which I concentrate.” He points out the importance of that perfect tense of existing state by using a verb, showing that he will not be handicapped by his past failures. This is great objectivity. Any failures any of us have had in the past should never handicap us. As long as we are alive, God has a purpose for us.

“forgetting” – present middle participle of e)pilanqanomai [e)pi = on, over, near, after; lanqanomai = to forget], which simply comes to mean to forget something that has already happened that can be regarded as a failure. Here it means constantly forgetting. The present tense is retroactive progressive present denoting what has happened in the past and continues into the present time. Paul is to forget the fact that he went into reversionism. He is not going to forget his failure because he obviously writes about it from time to time, but he is going to forget it as a handicap. It is not a handicap. He is not going to feel sorry for himself. You never advance while dragging your feet, while handicapping yourself in some past failure. The middle voice this time is the permissive middle, it represents the agent (Paul) as voluntarily yielding himself to the results of the action—advancing to USG. The participle is a telic participle, it expresses a purpose for the believer in phase two.

“those things which are behind” – ta men o)pisw. This precedes the participle in the Greek text. Ta is a plural of the definite pronoun; men is an affirmative particle used to emphasise something else, i.e. the adverb of place o)pisw. The phrase means literally, “the things behind.” It is good to translate it into legitimate English: “what lies behind.”

Principle

1. This refers to Paul’s reversion, as well as any past sin or carnality that might disturb him. Our past failures are never to be a deterrent in our spiritual advance. The only deterrent is death.

2. Carnality, is handled by the rebound technique. Then forget it and move on.

3. Reversionism is handled by persistent +V related to the daily function of GAP.

4. The recovery is completed when the believer has reached the maturity barrier and breaks through into super-grace.

5. Paul has followed this patter—reversion recovery, re-entry into the super-grace status, and therefore the prison epistles represent doctrine of the advance.

“and” – postpositive conjunctive particle de, used here in the transitional sense; “reaching forth” – present middle participle from e)pekteinw [e)pi = on, over, after, near; ekteinw = to stretch out], which means to stretch out after, farther, to reach out toward, to strain for. This is pressing, pursuing vigorously—“and pressing toward the objective.” The present tense is a customary present, it denotes what habitually occurs when a believer is positive toward and seeking to reach all the phase two objectives before his death. The middle voice here is the permissive middle, it represents Paul as the agent voluntarily yielding himself to the results of the action, therefore seeking to secure the results of the action in his own interest. The participle is a telic participle denoting Paul’s phase two objective and the closing in on the target.

“unto those things which are before” – toij de e)mprosqen. The dative plural of the definite article toij, the enclitic particle de, plus the adverb e)mprosqen meaning in front or ahead. The particle de is used with men as a correlative setting up a contrast between the “behind things” of reversionism and the “ahead things,” super-grace and USG. His objective is objectivity. He is in SG looking toward USG, but not looking back toward his failure of reversionism—“and straining toward what lies ahead,” pressing toward the objective.

Translation: “Brethren, I evaluate myself to have not yet attained ultra-super-grace: but one thing on which I concentrate, forgetting what lies behind [reversionism], and straining toward what lies ahead [USG].”

Principle

1. No greater emphasis on the importance of Bible doctrine can exist than in performing all these functions found in this passage—forgetting failures of the past and pressing from one objective in maturity to another.

2. The constant function of GAP not only causes reversion recovery but is the means of achieving all of the objective of maturity—super-grace, ultra-super-grace, dying grace.

3. Bible doctrine resident in the soul is also the key to avoiding the trap of being held up by past failures—becoming subjective, hypersensitive, and therefore becoming unhappy, discontented, or any of the reactor factors in life

4. Past failure, therefore, must not interfere with present victories.

5. Past discipline must not hinder present blessing.

6. Past apostasy must not hinder present glorification of Jesus Christ.

7. Therefore, never let your failures keep you down. All believers have failed, but not all believers have recovered and moved on to tactical victory.

8. Only the sin unto death can block reversion recovery.

9. As long as you are alive, keep pressing.

Verse 14 – the advance of positive volition. “I press” is the present active indicative of diwkw, which means to advance to the objective. The present tense is retroactive progressive present, denoting what has begun in the past and continues into the present time through the daily function of GAP. The active voice: Paul produces the action of the verb; “toward the mark” – the preposition kata plus the accusative of skopoj which means a goal or a mark. “I keep advancing toward the objective.”

“for the prize” – a decoration that glorifies God forever. The preposition e)ij plus the accusative of brabeion which means reward, prize, a prize of victory. But it doesn’t mean just a prize, it means to receive a decoration, and with that decoration a certain amount of money or some other form of plunder or booty. It means to have a decoration and that decoration represent some kind of financial remuneration, land remuneration. It means to be made a wealthy and successful person and to wear a decoration that says you are a wealthy and successful person. So we translate this, “for the purpose of the reward.”

“of the high calling” is an adverb, a)nw, and it means above or upward. With it is the genitive singular from the noun klhsij—“calling.” That refers to station here, station in life, position in life. This is the possessive genitive and is translated, “belonging to that upward station in life.” There is a genitive singular definite article used as a demonstrative pronoun, calling attention to the special emphasis on the believer’s paragraph SG3.

“of God” – the ablative of source from qeoj, plus the ablative singular of the definite article used as an intensive pronoun to identify God the Father as the author of the divine plan known as grace—“from that self-same God.”

“in Christ Jesus” – e)n plus the instrumental of Xristoj, “by means of Christ Jesus.” All believers enter the plan of God by means of Jesus Christ, the only saviour.

Translation: “I keep advancing to the objective for the purpose of reward belonging to that upward station [phase three] from that self-same God [the Father] by means of Christ Jesus.”

Principle: God will provide under the principle of living grace the time plus the necessities for breaking the maturity barrier.

Verse 15 – “Let us therefore.” Nominative plural masculine from the correlative relative pronoun o(soj, “as many as,” and with it the inferential particle o)un in which we draw an inference from the previous three verses.

“be perfect” – predicate nominative plural from the adjective teleioj, which connotes being fully developed. It means mature in the sense here of having reached the super-grace status, “mature ones.”

“be like-minded” – present active subjunctive from the verb fronew, which means to think objectively. The objective mental attitude is the divine viewpoint of life based on maximum doctrine resident in the soul. The present tense is a retroactive progressive present, denoting what has happened in the past and continues into the present time. The objective mental attitude begins with the advance toward super-grace through the accumulation of doctrine in the soul. It continues as the believer follows the colours to the high ground of super-grace. The subjunctive mood is a hortatory subjunctive in which the writer having recovered from reversionism, having attained super-grace status, invites the readers to join him in a course of action—objectivity in mental attitude as you advance.

The doctrine of Mental Attitude

Mental attitude, good or bad, is the sum total of what you think. It is thinking reflected in function, in life. “As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is.” A thought

can make or break you. The thoughts of the soul determine the real person. Every thought in the right lobe of the believer can be categorised. The simplest categorisation is divine viewpoint versus human viewpoint, but there are other categories as well. Human viewpoint is any thinking which is in opposition to Bible doctrine. It is the thinking of, sometimes, carnality; most frequently reversionism; it is the thinking of evil. It sometimes is simply the thinking which is anti-establishment. Divine viewpoint is the thinking of the believer who has doctrine in his soul. Doctrine is the design of divine viewpoint. All divine viewpoint is not based on doctrine found in the Bible but doctrine that the believer has transferred from the page of the Bible to his own soul. Divine viewpoint, therefore, is thinking doctrine. Without doctrine in the soul one cannot possibly have divine viewpoint. The maximum expression of divine viewpoint occurs when the maturity barrier is broken through.

No person’s thinking ever exceeds his vocabulary. Vocabulary is divided into two categories generally: non-technical and technical. Non-technical is vocabulary you need to get along in life—yes, no, if you please, etc. To acquire a technical vocabulary in any field requires study. Studying is one of the most important functions in life—any kind of study.

Thinking is the real personality. Personality is related to thinking—that is, real personality. There are two kinds of personality: real and pseudo. Pseudo personality is what a person wants you to think they are in order to impress you or to gain something from you, and real personality is what people really think. Proverbs 23:6.7. What goes on in the soul is the real person. One of the greatest blessings in life is to get rid of the pseudo personality. No one sheds his pseudo personality until he breaks the maturity barrier.

The conflict of mental attitude to the believer is found in Isaiah 55:6-9—positive volition toward doctrine in time. “Seek the Lord” means as long as you are alive you have to GAP it. You have to increase your vocabulary. Without vocabulary you cannot have category, and without category there is no spiritual growth. Every soul of every born again believer is designed to store both vocabulary and to come to categorical thinking as far as the Word of God is concerned, and without it you never grow up.

There is a command to go to divine viewpoint. Since doctrine is the mind of Christ, as per 1 Corinthians 2:16, attitude toward doctrine determines viewpoint in life. Phil. 2:5, “Keep on having this mental attitude in you, which also was in Christ Jesus.” This is talking about taking divine thought and putting it into the soul of an imperfect believer. This command is obeyed by the consistent function of GAP; maximum doctrine resident in the soul is the source of the fulfilment of this command. Cf. 2Corinthians 10:4-6.

Rapport in the royal family of God is based on divine viewpoint. The function of the royal priesthood demands a new mental attitude—2 Timothy 1:7; Romans

12:2.

Divine viewpoint from doctrine produces confidence (not arrogance)—2Corinthians 5:1, 8 (take delight).

Areas of life which involve mental attitude are many: stability of mental attitude—James 1:8; prosperity is a mental attitude having overt repercussions—Philippians 4:8; giving—2 Cor. 7,8,9; worldliness—Romans 12:2; Colossians 3:2; evil—Matthew 9:4; arrogance—Galatians 6:3; inner beauty—1 Timothy 2:9,10,

15.

Mental attitude receives its greatest test in advance from super-grace to ultra-super-grace—Philippians 3:15.

“and” is an incorrect translation of the conjunction kai. We have seen the adjunctive, the ascensive and the transitional use of kai. Here is the emphatic use of kai which should be translated “in fact.”

“if” is the conditional particle e)i, plus the indicative, introducing a first class condition.

“in anything” – accusative neuter plural from the indefinite pronoun tij, and with the accusative direct object fronew it should be translated so far, “In fact if you are thinking somewhat differently.” It comes to mean, “In fact if you have a different attitude.” This is addressed to the Philippians, many of whom had reached super-grace and are now being challenged to move to the next objective which is ultra-super-grace.

“ye be minded” is the present active indicative of fronew, the verb of objective thinking. It is used here for mental attitude. With the adverb “otherwise,”

which is e(teroj, it comes to have a different meaning. It means to hold different opinions because of your mental attitude. In other words, you form your opinions on the basis of people you do not like, people to whom you react. In other words, you cannot go from SG to USG if something malfunctions in your mental attitude. Paul knew the situation in Philippi. He had discovered that in the absence of their pastor, Epaphroditus, there had been a kind of power grab. There had been some bad feeling and people were beginning to think, not in terms of divine viewpoint but in their reaction to each other. So their thinking had become different—“otherwise minded.” They are not thinking on the basis of what the Bible says, they are thinking in terms of their reactions in life.

“God” – o( qeoj; “shall reveal” – the future active indicative of a)pokaluptw [a)po = ultimate source; kaluptw = reveal] which means to reveal from ultimate source, to disclose. It means here that God is the ultimate source of the revelation, but not the immediate source. The revelation comes through the Bible, the canon of Scripture, the means by which He has chosen to reveal everything. This is a gnomic future for a statement of fact or performance anticipated under antithetical conditions—the mental attitude. The antithetical conditions also indicate the manner in which God will reveal—under conditions of +V. A person has +V toward doctrine but doesn’t like the personality who communicates it. God will therefore put him under that situation to break him of building a mental attitude and opinions on reaction. The active voice: God produces the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal action from the standpoint of dogmatic reality.

“even this” is the ascensive use of kai; plus the accusative singular direct object from the demonstrative pronoun o(utoj, which emphasises any thought or attitude which is contrary to the absolute norm of Bible doctrine.

“unto you” is the dative of indirect object from the personal pronoun su, meaning you are an individual in God’s sight. It indicates the one in whose interest the Bible teaching is conducted.

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #86

86 01/02/1976 Philippians 3:15b Doctrine of mental attitude; technical vocabulary

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #87

87 01/04/1976 Philippians 3:16 Importance of discipline; authority of original Canon

Verse 16 – to command to advance to the final objective short of dying grace, i.e. the USG status. “Nevertheless” – the adverb plhn used as a conjunction. This actually breaks off a discussion on mental attitude. Enough has been said. This can be better translated in modern English, “However,” because it indicates the discussion on mental attitude is terminated. This adverb recognizes the importance of advancing after recognizing some of the problems that you face, and that there is an objective beyond super-grace.

“thereto” is simply a prepositional phrase, the preposition e)ij plus the accusative neuter singular of the relative pronoun o(j. It is simply translated in modern English, “to which.” It refers to super-grace status recently attained by the apostle Paul.

“we have already attained” – there is no adverb h)dh here for “already.” We simply have the aorist active indicative of the verb fqanw which means to have just arrived, to come up to, to reach, to attain. We literally translate, “However the objective to which we have attained.” The aorist tense is a dramatic aorist, it states a present reality—super-grace status—with the certitude of a past event. The idiom emphasizes the attainment of super-grace which was achieved when Paul was at Caesarea. The active voice: super-grace Paul produces the action of the verb, namely recovery from the Jerusalem reversionism and now advancing to USG. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal idea from the viewpoint of historical reality.

“let us walk by the same rule” – this includes the instrumental singular from the definite article which is used here as a demonstrative pronoun. The demonstrative pronoun is going to put great emphasis on the function of GAP as the means of achieving reversion recovery. Also there is the instrumental singular from the intensive pronoun a)utoj which emphasizes the function of GAP and resulting doctrine in the soul as the means of spiritual advance—“by that same [function of GAP].” Plus the present active infinitive of the verb stoixew, which does not mean to walk. It means to march, to be under discipline. You can walk without being under discipline but you cannot march without being under discipline. It is advancing in steps with others, performing maneuvers with a group of people, all of who are under the same discipline. The emphasis here is on discipline. No one ever advances apart from the discipline of Bible teaching. Advancing in rank implies the perpetuation of academic discipline in moving from SG to USG. We have in stroixew a present tense. There is no spiritual advance apart from the academic discipline of Bible teaching and the assembly of the local church. The customary present tense, then, denotes what habitually occurs when the believer recognizes the authority of his right pastor and continues under the function of GAP. Whether he likes him or dislikes him is totally inconsequential. The active voice: the believer having reached super-grace must continue to advance to the next objective. The infinitive is used as the imperative mood. That is why it is called the imperative infinitive in which the infinitive is substituted for the imperative mood of command, the imperative mood of the finite verb. Therefore the translation, “keep advancing in ranks to the next objective.”

“let us mind the same thing” – there is nothing right about that translation! Six words for three words in the Greek, and it is not correct in any way—tw a)utw fronein. The words tw a)utw means “the same,” and fronein means to think or to mind—to think or to mind the same thing. But that isn’t what is really here. The problem is that this is not here at all, someone wrote that in! Whoever did was tampering with the Word of God; he wanted it to say something it didn’t. The original manuscripts of the Greek to not have this in them. But instead of that we have the instrumental singular from kanwn, the title for the Bible. It is the Greek word which means rule or standard. It refers to the sum total of Christian doctrine in the Word of God.

Translation: “However, the objective to which we have obtained [SG] by that same function [GAP], let us keep advancing in ranks by means the same canon [Bible].”

The transfer of what is in the Scripture to your own soul is the mechanical means of fulfilling this command.

Principle

1. This verse is a command to keep advancing in the spiritual life.

2. This can only be accomplished by the same methods by which all progress is made: the continuation and persistence in the function of GAP under one’s right pastor-teacher.

3. The pastor is under authority also. He is under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is under the authority of the written Word and he cannot exceed his orders and bend the Word of God to say something it doesn’t.

4. Normal function and production of the royal priesthood begins when you break the maturity barrier.

5. It follows that USG not only intensifies blessing but production. It also increases to the maximum the glorification of Jesus Christ.

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #88

88 01/04/1976 Philippians 3:17 Spiritual chain of command; right pastor–teacher; doctrine of walking

Verse 17 – no believer can advance beyond the spiritual growth of his right pastor-

teacher. “Brethren” is the vocative plural of a)delfoi, a reference to the royal family of God, and/or the Church Age believer.

“be” is a present active imperative from the verb e)imi. The present tense is a customary present, it denotes what habitually occurs or may be reasonably expected to occur when the believer is perpetually under the teaching of the pastor, and the pastor is perpetually studying the Word of God. The active voice refers to the believer producing the action of the verb by advancing to the next objective, USG. The imperative mood is a command to mature believers, not to babies.

“followers together” – not a good translation. This is a predicate nominative in the plural from the substantive summimhthj. It means co-imitators. Co-imitators of whom? The next phrase answers, an objective genitive singular from the personal pronoun e)gw, referring to the writer, the apostle Paul as an advancing believer. He is advancing from SG to USG. The prison epistles—Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians—lead believers to SG; the pastoral epistles lead believers to USG.

“and mark them” – the continuative use of kai, plus the present active imperative from the verb skopew which means to regard in the sense of looking for, to the observe and have respect for. This is academic discipline of the function of GAP—“be having respect for.” The present tense is a customary present for what may be reasonably expected to occur from a believer who is positive toward Bible doctrine and understands the importance of the Word as over against any human personality in any Christian situation. The active voice: the positive believer produces the action of the verb by looking for and having respect for his right pastor. How does one have respect for his right pastor? On the basis of his message only! Not on the basis of his personality, his life, or any other human factor involved. It must be the message for it is the message that he has in his soul from his Bible study which is the basis of his personal advance, and also the basis of the congregation’s personal advance. With this is the accusative plural direct object, plus the definite article used as an attributive intensive pronoun emphasizing the identity of your right pastor.

“which walk so” – the word which includes an adverb o(utw, referring to what precedes. It is translated literally, “in this manner.” With that is peripatew in the present active participle. The word means to walk, used here for advancing—“constantly walking in this manner.”[5] The present tense of peripatew is the present of duration, it denotes what has been happening in the past and continues into the present time, namely the study and growth of the apostle Paul, the study and growth of certain pastor-teachers in every generation because they are prepared to study and prepared to stay with the Word, and prepared therefore for growth. The active voice: positive volition on the part of the pastor produces the action of the verb. The participle is circumstantial.

“so as” – the comparative adverb kaqwj which means “just as”; “he has” – present active indicative from the verb e)xw. This is an aoristic present tense, used for punctiliar action in present time. The moment that these things are discovered in the Scripture the believer becomes aware that there is a such a thing as his right pastor. He becomes aware of what his right pastor should have in essence: he should be a constant self-disciplined, dedicated student of the Word of God. As a result of this the pastor will consistently grow, and in his consistent growth he will lead the congregation to his stage of growth as he moves along. The active voice: when the believer reaches a certain stage of growth he produces the action of this verb, having Paul as an example of advancing from SG to USG. Paul is the pattern of reversion recovery, the pattern of advance to SG by braking the maturity barrier, and the example of going from super-grace to ultra-super-grace.

The word “us” is included, the accusative plural direct object from the personal pronoun e)gw. Us includes both Paul and Timothy. Both went into reversionism at different times; they both recovered from reversionism; they both broke the maturity barrier and went to SG, and then to USG.

“for an ensample” – accusative singular direct object from the noun tupoj, which means an example, a pattern a model.

Translation: “Brethren, be co-imitators of me [advance to his spiritual growth by listening to the message], and be looking for the same type [studying and growing pastors], constantly walking in this manner just as you have us [Paul and Timothy] for a pattern.”

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #89

89 01/05/1976 Philippians 3:18 Opposition from reversionists

Verse 18 – the opposition of reversionism. The verses begins with the explanatory use of the conjunctive particle gar. It indicates the necessity for the continuation of the function of GAP after reaching super-grace status.

“many” – the nominative masculine plural from the adjective poluj, referring to the large number of believers who when historical disaster occurred, or because they reacted to something else, fell into reversionism, got under the influence of evil. In that first century the reversionistic believer was the greatest enemy of Christianity, not the unbeliever. The believer was fighting the believer, and Satan used believers in a special way; so much so that this verse is going to be very harsh on those believers.

“walk” – present active indicative of the verb peripatew. Walking has to do with modus vivendi, the way of life of the reversionistic believer. The present tense is the retroactive progressive present which denotes reversionism begun in the past and continuing into the present time. The active voice: believers in various stages of reversionism produce the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal action from the viewpoint of reality—wide-spread reversionism and the influence of evil in the first century was the enemy of the truth.

“of whom” – the accusative plural from the relative pronoun o(j. This is the adverbial accusative of reference and therefore it is translated “concerning whom.”

“I have told” – the imperfect active indicative of legw (to talk, to speak, to tell), translated “I have communicated.” The customary imperfect denotes what has regularly occurred in the past. The active voice: Paul constantly taught that the reversionistic believer under the influence of evil produces the action of the verb. The indicative: historical reality for Paul’s constant teaching on the subject.

“you often” – he never stopped. This is the dative plural indirect object from the personal pronoun su, and it should be correctly translated “you all”; pollakij – many times. This describes how frequently and faithfully Paul warned the royal family of God about reversionism; “and now” – nun, the adverb of time.

“tell” – present active indicative of legw, this time a descriptive present for teaching in the process of occurrence. The active voice: Paul continues faithful teaching and warning to both the Philippians and believers of all generations. The indicative mood is declarative for the historical reality of the Pauline epistles as a part of the canon of Scripture, the gist of his teaching which is a monument forever to the importance of persistence in study and teach, and the true concept of communication by which all believers grow. There is no word for “you” in the original manuscript.

“and now tell you” – continue telling; “weeping” – the ascensive use of the conjunction kai plus the present active participle from klaiw. This is an aoristic present for punctiliar action in present time. It was a momentary weeping. Inside, Paul could think of all those people he had known in the past and how he enjoyed them, and yet at the very moment that he writes these people have not only turned against Paul but they have turned against the cross. They are anti-Christian Christians, and yet they were former friends.

“that they are” – they have made themselves; “the enemies” – accusative plural direct object from e)xroj, used here to describe reversionistic believers[6] under the influence of evil; “of the cross” – descriptive genitive singular from stauroj, referring to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The cross epitomizes the principle of grace.

“of Christ” – possessive genitive of the proper noun Xristoj, plus a definite article used as an intensive pronoun to emphasise the uniqueness of the person of Christ” – “they have made themselves the enemies of the cross of that same Christ.”

Translation: “For many [reversionists under the influence of evil] keep walking concerning whom I have communicated to you many times, and now continue communicating even though weeping, that they have made themselves the enemies of the cross of that same Christ.”

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #90

90 01/06/1976 Philippians 3:19a Doctrines of enemyship, sin unto death (part 1)

Verse 19 – four characteristics of reversionism. “Whose” is the descriptive genitive plural from the relative pronoun o(j which has as its antecedent the reversionist of the previous verse who becomes the enemy of the cross. What happens to them?

“end” – nominative subject singular of the noun teloj, and it means termination, cessation, conclusion. The termination here refers to the termination of life. Then add what is not found in the text, the present active indicative of e)imi, a static present. This is what happens to those who are believers and the enemies of God: they keep on being. We translate: “Whose termination of life is.” Then we have a predicate nominative singular. This is how we know that e)imi is to be added. It is from the noun a)poleia, and it denotes destruction which causes waste or destruction which one experiences. The former is a transitive meaning and the latter is intransitive. The intransitive is correct here for this passage, hence destruction that one experiences is translated here, “ruin.” We are to understand here that the word “ruin” refers to the administration of the sin unto death to the born again believer who is the enemy of the cross.[7]

The second category: Reversionists are influenced by emotional revolt: “whose god is their belly” – descriptive genitive plural from the relative pronoun o(j, which has as its antecedent the reversionist who is described in the first category as being headed toward the sin unto death. Now we find that every reversionist has a god, and the god is definitely not God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit. While the word is qeoj is does not refer to any member of the Trinity. The present active indicative of e)imi must be included because we have a predicate nominative coming up—not found in the text but understood by the Greek text; “their belly” is a predicate nominative from the noun koilia. The word is used here for emotion. There is also a definite article used as a possessive pronoun. The literal translation is: “whose god is his emotion.” The god of all reversionists is their emotion; how they feel is their dictator.[8]

The third characteristic: They require fame on the basis of dishonour. The word “glory” is the nominative singular of doca. This is one of the few times that doca is not used for fame and renown and honour, but is used simply for human fame based upon some system of cheating, some system of dishonesty, some lack of integrity or dishonour. Again, there is the present active indicative of e)imi because there is a predicate nominative coming up—“is” is understood in the Greek to be there although it does not occur in the text because of the presence of the phrase “in their shame,” a prepositional phrase, e)n plus the instrumental of a)isxunh, which means dishonour. Also the possessive genitive plural of the intensive pronoun a)utoj. Dishonour belongs to them as a way of life—“whose fame is by means of their dishonour.”

The final principle: They are under the influence of evil—“whose mind” is incorrect. There is a definite article used as a relative pronoun in the articular present active participle from fronew. The word is used here to hold an opinion, and we translate this, “who keep on thinking [holding opinions] about earthly things.” The present tense of the participle is retroactive present, it denotes what was begun in the past and continues into the present time. They are under the influence of evil. The active voice: the reversionistic believer produces the action of the verb—thinking evil. The participle is circumstantial.

Translation: “Whose termination of life is destruction [ruin or the sin unto death], whose God is his emotion, whose fame is by means of their dishonour, who keep thinking about [or, holding opinions on] earthly things [evil].”

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #91

91 01/07/1976 Philippians 3:19b Doctrines of sin unto death (part 2), emotions

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #92

92 01/08/1976 Philippians 3:19c–21 Mechanics of reversionism

Verse 20 – what is the final destination of the royal family? “For” is the explanatory use of the conjunction gar, it introduces the final destination of all members of the royal family. In other words, whether a believer makes it or not, whether he grows in grace, whether he understands that the road to glory is from saving grace at the cross to living grace, to super-grace, to USG, to dying grace, and then to surpassing grace, there is perfect security for him. That is grace! It is found in phase three—the concept of ultimate sanctification.

“our conversation” – the possessive genitive plural from the personal pronoun e)gw, plus the nominative singular subject from politeuma [poluj = from which we get politics, etc, and it means a state, a commonwealth. It means whole body of people constituting a nation or a state or a body politic. It also refers to a body of people united by a common interest. In theatrical use in the Greek language it applied to a company of actors who shared the receipts instead of receiving salaries.] Paul uses this word politeuma when he writes to the Philippians because it is an excellent analogy to the members of the royal family of God who live in the devil’s world. The Philippians were Romans who lived in Philippi, and all around them were Greeks, Macedonians, Jews, all kinds of people. But in Philippi they were a politeuma of Rome. Rome was just as much Rome in that spot in northern Greece as it was anywhere else. Paul is using that word as an illustration to these people, for here is the royal family of God living in the devil’s world, and yet it is just as much royal family as anyone in heaven in the analogy. So politeuma means any member of the royal family. It isn’t conversation, but we might call it the sphere of our citizenship or the sphere of our aristocracy. “For our aristocracy is” – present active indicative of the verb u(parxw, which doesn’t mean “to be” [e)imi] at all. It means to exist. “For our aristocracy exists.” This is a static present tense representing a condition, an aristocracy of the royal family of God which will always exist—“keeps on existing.” The active voice: believers of the royal family of God produce the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative representing the action of the verb from the viewpoint of dogmatic reality.

“in heaven” – e)n plus the locative of o)uranoj, “in heaven,” or “in the sphere of heaven.”

“also” is incorrect. This is the ascensive use of kai and should be translated “even”; “from whence” – should be “from which [place].”

“we look” – present active indicative from a)pekdexomai. It means to eagerly wait and it connotes anticipation. The present tense is a customary present denoting what habitually occurs in the life of the SG or USG believer. But the ultimate sanctification belongs to the reversionist too. The active voice: anyone who has broken the barrier to maturity is anticipating, so they produce the action. The indicative mood is declarative, the verbal action is presented from the viewpoint of reality.

Translation: “For our aristocracy exists in heaven; even from which place [heaven] we eagerly anticipate the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

The anticipation is the Rapture. So we anticipate the transfer of the entire aristocracy, the Church.

Verse 21 – ultimate sanctification. “Who” is a nominative singular relative pronoun o(j. The antecedent is the Lord Jesus Christ; “shall change” – future active indicative from the verb metasxhmatizw which means to change a form, or to transform. However, in the middle voice it means to change or disguise one’s self, while the active voice means to transform. We are changed from the form of our present body to a permanent body that will last forever. Therefore, “Who will transform” is the correct translation. The future tense here is a predictive future, it denotes a future event, the Rapture of the Church, the moment when all of us receive exactly the same type of resurrection body, minus the old sin nature and minus human good. The active voice: the Lord Jesus Christ produces the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative for future historical reality.

“our vile body” is incorrect. The word “vile” doesn’t occur. The Greek says, “the body of our humble station. Our life is considered a humble station compared to eternity. The body we have at the present time is not vile, it is an excellent body. The only thing bad about the body is that it contains and old sin nature.

“that it may be” is not found in the original; “fashioned” means “in conformity with,” the accusative neuter singular direct object from summorfoj.

“his glorious body” – a reference to the resurrection body. This is the associative instrumental case of swma, referring to the resurrection body of Christ and we will have one exactly like it, minus the scars in the hands and the feet.

“according to the working” is a prepositional phrase, kata plus the accusative of the noun e)nergeia, operating power.

“he is able” – the intensive pronoun a)utoj is the subject here [he and only he], it emphasizes the identity of Jesus Christ. It is in the accusative because we have an accusative of general reference with the infinitive. Then dunamai in the present active infinitive, which means He has the ability from His deity to do all these things. The static present represents a perpetual existing state: Christ always had the ability; Christ is God. The active voice: Christ produces the action. This is the infinitive of intended result. This is a deliberate objective on the part of Jesus Christ on behalf of all members of the royal family of God.

“even to subdue” is literally “to bring under his authority,” the aorist active infinitive of u(potassw. It also means that even though God cannot bring the reversionistic believer under His authority now, there will be a time when He will. Not now because of the angelic conflict. The believer must be free to go with doctrine or to reject doctrine, as per God’s grace plan.

“all things” – refers to angels, to human beings. It refers to the fact that all creatures will be under God’s authority. Even though today in life they have free will this will be changed. All unbelievers and fallen angels will be in the lake of fire under the authority of God. All believers, regardless of how they have failed or succeeded, and all elect angels, will be totally under the authority of God.

Translation: “Who will transform the body of our humble station in conformity with the body of his glory [resurrection body], according to the operational power from which this same one [Jesus Christ] keeps on being able also to bring under authority all of these creatures.”

Phase three is the end of the angelic conflict and the bringing of all creatures under authority.

[1] See the Doctrine of Happiness

[2] See the Doctrine of Dogs.

[3] See the Doctrine of circumcision.

[4] See the Doctrine of Dung.

[5] See the Doctrine of Walking.

[6] See the Doctrine of Enemyship.

[7] See the Doctrine of the Sin unto death.

[8] See the Doctrine of the emotions of the soul.

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #93

93 02/18/1976 Philippians 4:1a Doctrines of royalty of Jesus Christ, royal family (partial)

Chapter 4

        The concept of this passage: Beyond super-grace. There are four paragraphs:

1. The perspective of the super-grace life, verses 1-8.

2. A parenthesis on grace orientation, verses 9-11.

3. The next objective after super-grace: a dissertation on ultra-super-grace, verses 12-19.

4. The final objective of the spiritual life on earth: surpassing grace, verses 20,21.

In verses 1-7 we see what is between super-grace and ultra-super-grace: no man’s land. After the maturity barrier is broken and the believer moves into super-

Grace the next objective is ultra-super-grace. The area in between is filled with some of the greatest tests and pressure that the individual believer faces because this is the final objective that can be attained by the intake of doctrine. Dying grace is merely the reward for it all. In verses 8-13 we see the advance to ultra-super-grace, and finally the logistics for that advance in verses 14-23.

Verse 1 – the command to advance to USG, not to retreat. This is the most wonderful and most difficult advance in all of the spiritual life of the believer. It begins with the inferential conjunction “Therefore” – W(ste, which introduces an independent clause and is followed by a present imperative.

“my brethren” is the vocative plural from the noun a)delfoj, used in a technical sense to indicate the royal family of God. It is used to distinguish between the believers of this dispensation and believers of all other dispensations and to indicate some of the privileges that belong to us as royal family. There is also the genitive of relationship from the personal pronoun e)gw from which we get the word “my” brothers/brethren. Paul has a definite relationship with the Philippian believers through his authority as an apostle, plus being the founder of that local church. He also recognises the principle that the royal family of God is a special designation for the Church Age believer only, and consequently he makes it a special point to use “brethren” quite frequently in his epistles, not to promote brotherhood but to promote consciousness of the tremendous mission and privilege that belongs even to the most average believer in this age—royal family of God. This is the only age in which all believers are royal family.

“dearly beloved” – the verbal adjective, vocative plural, a)gaphtoj. This is an important adjective (it modifies a)delfoj) because it is used as a title for the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is designed as an adjective to make us conscious of the fact that we are members of the royal family of God. It was used in Matthew 3:17 and 17:5 for the Lord Jesus Christ. It was used as an attitude of God the Father toward God the Son that began with the hypostatic union. He was the object of the Father’s total concentrated love. At the point of our salvation, not only were we born into the family of God but God the Holy Spirit also took us and entered us into union with Christ, seated at the right hand of the Father. Being in union with Christ was absolutely unique—the baptism of the Holy Spirit. “Beloved” is used for believers in Romans 12:19; Hebrews 6:9; 1Peter er 2:11; 4:12; 2Peter er 3:1,3; 1 John 3:12, and it is used for royalty[1] only.

“and longed for” – this goes from the technical to the personal. This is the vocative plural from the verbal adjective, e)pipoqhtoj, which means “desired.” This should be translated, “Therefore my beloved and desired brethren.” Paul desires to be with the Philippians.

“my joy” – the noun xara, used here for a person who causes joy/happiness. Translation: “my object of happiness” or “my source of happiness.” Plus the possessive genitive from the personal pronoun e)gw for “my.” Those who are positive toward doctrine are a source of happiness to the communicator of doctrine.

“and crown” – the nominative singular from the noun stefanoj. This is not a crown. The Greek word for crown is diadhma; it is the crown that the king wears. Stefanoj is a wreath which was given to athletes, and was also the highest decoration in the Roman Army.

“so” is an adverb—o(utoj. It refers to what has just preceded. It means “so in this way,” and is a reference to the status of maturity. The Philippians are super-grace believers. Paul is now, in effect, leading them across no-man’s land. He is on his way to the next objective and he is telling the Philippians, “Follow me.”

“stand fast” – present active imperative from the verb sthkw, a Koine verb from the perfect e)sthkw of the verb i(sthmi, and it means to stand firm or be stabilized. This command is given to believers who have cracked the maturity barrier and have reached the super-grace status. Now they need stability in that status to move out once again and to take the next objective which is USG. The present tense of duration denotes what was begun in the past and continues into the present time. The active voice: the Philippian believers who have reached SG produce the action. The imperative mood is a command. The command, therefore, to stand fast or to be stabilized introduces the principle that no believer can remain the same in phase two. Either you are advancing or retreating but you never stand in the same spot. Everything depends upon your continued attitude toward Bible doctrine.

“in the Lord” is a prepositional phrase, e)n plus the locative of kurioj, minus the definite article. The absence of the definite article calls attention to the perfect quality of the Lord. The emphasis here is on positional sanctification and indicates the necessity to seize and hold experiential sanctification until overtaken by ultimate sanctification.

Translation: “Therefore, my beloved and desired brethren, my source of happiness and my wreath, so stand firm [be advancing] in the Lord, beloved ones.”

Principle

1. This is a command to advance to USG and not to retreat into reversionism.

2. This is a command to advance beyond SG.

3. There is a no-man’s land between SG and USG which has certain occupational hazards and hindrances to the advance.

4. One of these is the subject of the next two verses.

5. The believer cannot advance from SG to USG and at the same time become involved in pettiness or personality conflicts, either in the local church or at home, or anywhere else.

6. Two women in the Philippian congregation have reached SG and started out into no-man’s land. But they turned around and fired at each other. That is what personality conflict does. A person’s personality is not an issue in spiritual advance. The only issue is Bible doctrine.

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #94

94 02/19/1976 Philippians 4:1b Doctrine of surpassing grace (SG–3)

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #95

95 02/20/1976 Philippians 4:2–3 Doctrines of mental attitude, the book of life

Verse 2 – “I beseech” is a poor translation. Apostles had the highest authority and they never ran around beseeching anyone. There is no begging here. This is

the present active indicative from the verb parakalew. The word means to admonish, to command, to appeal, to urge. This is a command which recognises the fact that the individuals involve have free will. The present tense is an aoristic present. The active voice: Paul produces the action of the verb of presenting a command to the Philippians church and to two specific people in the church who were about to be shot down by reversionism due to a personality conflict. The indicative mood is declarative indicating the verbal action is from the standpoint of reality.

“Euodias” – accusative singular direct object from the proper noun E)uodia. It means prosperous journey.

“and Syntyche” – a connective kai and the present active indicative of the same verb, parakalew, with the same concept. “Syntyche” is the accusative singular direct object from the proper noun Suntuxh. Her name means “pleasant acquaintance” or “happy chance.”

Mature believers assume leadership and much responsibility in local churches. In this case, two super-grace ladies are engaged in a conflict which is about to destroy their spiritual life and their spiritual advance. They will not be able to follow Paul to USG. Such personality conflicts in the local church are not unusual, but if left unchecked, not only do they hinder the personal spiritual growth of the ones involved but they also divide up other believers. The first thing Paul does is deal with this. Principle: You cannot advance from SG to USG, you cannot move across no-man’s land, in personality conflict. “I urge Euodias and I urge Syntyche.”

“that” – there is no conjunction here, it is used as a translational device for translating the infinitive.

“they be of the same mind” – to a)uto fronein. The accusative singular of the definite article to, the accusative singular of the intensive pronoun a)utoj, plus an intensive pronoun which emphasises the identity of viewpoint. The attributive use of a)utoj means “the same.” The present active infinitive of fronh from the verb fronew which means to think objectively. Principle: No person in a conflict with another believer is thinking objectively. You cannot think objectively when you are antagonistic in your soul toward anyone. With the departure of objectivity comes hypersensitivity as well as subjectivity. The present tense here is a customary present for what is expected to occur in the case of a super-grace believer. All SG believers have the same mental viewpoint. The active voice: the super-grace ladies, Euodias and Syntyche, should produce the action of the infinitive. The infinitive is the infinitive of intended result in which the result should fulfil a deliberate objective. This means a blending of purpose and result—translation: “to be having the same viewpoint.” This means the same type of viewpoint—objective.

“in the Lord” – e)n plus the instrumental of kurioj should be translated “by means of the Lord.”

Translation: “I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be having the same viewpoint by means of the Lord.”

In this verse the solution is for Bible doctrine to take over where both are concerned, and to no longer look at each other in terms of antagonism but to look at each other in terms of doctrine. You can neither think straight nor function properly as long as any kind of a conflict in the soul exists. Only Bible doctrine resident in the soul resolves personality conflicts among believers. Personality conflict not only creates false issues for the individual involved, but has an adverse effect on the entire local church. Personality conflict results in failure to advance.[2]

Verse 3 – the importance of authority over both women, the importance of strong objective spiritual leadership. As long as Epaphroditus, their pastor, was present there was no conflict. But he is in Rome with Paul, and therefore there must be some man in the congregation who can dominate both women with his authority and bring them back together in harmony.

“And” is not a correct translation. The affirmative particle nai is used to confirm a preceding statement with the significance of a “yes” or an “okay.” The previous statement indicates the personality conflict between two ladies who are in danger of falling into reversionism. Personality conflict hinders spiritual growth at any stage.

“I entreat” – this is no command, it is the present active indicative of e)rwtaw which means to ask. Here it means to request. The indicative mood is declarative for the delegation of Paul’s authority to one of the scene to straighten out the conflict and to preserve the spiritual status of both women.

“thee also” – the adjunctive use of kai plus the accusative singular direct object from the personal pronoun su.

“true” – vocative singular from the adjective gnhsioj. It is used for children born in wedlock. It means ‘not a bastard’ but legitimate. It means legitimate here, one who is truly a man in his soul; “yokefellow” – this is really his name: suzugoj.

“help” – present middle imperative from sullambanw which means to seize, to apprehend, to take hold of together. It means here to take hold of together and mutually aid; to take hold of both of them and help both of them. The present tense is a futuristic present, it denotes an event which has not yet occurred but which is regarded as so certain that in thought it may be contemplated as already occurring. The middle voice is the indirect middle in which the agent [Sysygus] produces the action of the verb rather than participating in its results. The imperative mood is an imperative of entreaty, not of command, it has the force of an urgent request.

“those women” – dative feminine plural from the intensive pronoun a)utoj. The intensive pronoun emphasises the identity of Euodias and Syntyche as two prominent women involved in a personality conflict which is dividing the church. The dative of indirect object indicates that it is in their interest that arbitration be performed by Sysygus.

“which” – nominative feminine plural from the qualitative relative pronoun o(stij, to emphasise a quality of former greatness in these women. They are SG believers who are about to lose out. They had been great in the past—“who laboured” is the aorist active indicative of sunaqlew which means to compete alongside with, to team up with. “These women who fought by my side in spreading the gospel” is a good translation. The aorist tense is a constative aorist, it contemplates the action of the verb in its entirety. In other words, these two women have fought with Paul all of the way through to super-grace. The active voice: Euodias and Syntyche produce the action, they have both moved to greatness as believers. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of the fact that they are in super-grace.

“with me” – referring to Paul; “in the gospel” – in the spreading of the gospel; “with Clement also” – meta plus the genitive of the proper noun Klhmhj.

“and [my] other fellow labourers” – others who had become involved. This had become a congregational problem.

“whose names are in the book of life” – the descriptive genitive plural from the relative pronoun o(j, plus the nominative plural subject o)noma, referring to these people by name, plus e)n plus the locative of bibloj, and the descriptive genitive zwh.[3]

Translation: “I authorize you, legitimate authority Syzygus, to assist those women, who are such a quality to have teamed up with me in the spreading of the gospel along with Clement and my other co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #96

96 02/22/1976 Philippians 4:4; 1John 1:4 Doctrine of happiness (revised pts. 1–3)

Verse 4 – “Rejoice” is a very poor choice of words in modern English because it is often associated with emotionalism. That is not what the word means. It is a present active imperative from the verb xairw, which means to be happy or to have happiness. Here it is a command to share the happiness of God. The SG or USG believer shares God’s happiness as a part of his category #1 blessing, paragraph SG2. There are two special blessing paragraphs for the believer designed in eternity past. One is for blessing in time [paragraph SG2]and one is for blessing in eternity [SG3]. No one can receive either one of these paragraphs or the other apart from that spiritual growth that comes from the consistent function of GAP and breaks the maturity barrier, reaching SG and on to USG, and eventually dying grace. In effect, this is a command to grow up, to share the happiness of God; and this command presupposes the fact that there is a definite divine plan by which this can be accomplished totally apart from human merit. The customary present tense denotes what habitually occurs or may be reasonably expected to occur when a person reaches either SG or USG. The active voice: the SG believer produces the action of the verb. The imperative mood is a command, an order to all believers. Translation: “Keep on having perfect happiness [+H] in the Lord”—e)n plus the locative of kurioj. This is anartharous, no definite article, calling attention to the high quality, the perfect essence of our Lord who has designed a plan whereby we can share His happiness in time. The prepositional phrase indicates maximum category #1 love, or occupation with Christ, on the part of those who break the maturity barrier and reach SG or USG.

“always” is an old English word. We say “always” today. It is an adverb of time, pantote. It means “at all times.” Not only can we share the happiness of God but it isn’t a fleeting thing, it is a continual thing. “Keep in having happiness in the Lord at all times.” This is a command given in this context to those who are following Paul from SG to where he is now in moving on to the next objective, which is USG.

There is a repetition of this command because of its importance—the adverb palin, “again,” used for receiving a command. It should be translated, “one more time” or “once more”; “I say” – future active indicative from the verb e)irw which means to communicate a very importance message of doctrine. The future tense is an imperative future used to express a command. The active voice: Paul is repeating because of the importance of the command to share the happiness[4] of God. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of the repeated command. Then, once more, the repeated present active imperative of xairw. This time it is a retroactive progressive present, it denotes what was begun in the past and continues into the present time as the Philippians follow the apostle to the next objective. The active voice: the believer produces the action as a SG believer advancing to USG.

Translation: “Keep on having happiness [+H] in the Lord at all times: once more I repeat, Keep on having happiness [+H].”

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #97

97 02/22/1976 Philippians 4 Doctrine of happiness (pts. 4–8)

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #98

98 02/23/1976 Philippians 4 via Matt. 5:3–8 Doctrine of happiness (pt. 9)

1976 Philippians                                                                                          Lesson #99

99 02/24/1976 Philippians 4; Matt. 5:9 11 Doctrine of happiness; opposition to ultra supergrace believer

1976 Philippians                                                                                        Lesson #100

100 02/25/1976 Philippians 4; Matt. 5:12–14 Doctrine of happiness (pt. 9); elections; salt

1976 Philippians                                                                                        Lesson #101

101 02/26/1976 Philippians 4:5–6 Doctrine of thanksgiving

Verse 5 – the motivation for the advance from SG to USG. “Let your moderation be known.” The first problem here is the word “moderation.” It is the nominative neuter singular from the adjective e)pieikej. This is made up of two words, the preposition e)pi [over] and the adjective e)ikoj [reasonable]. Literally it means “over-reasonableness.” It becomes a technical word for the mental attitude of the SG or mature believer. This might be classified as super-grace mental attitude. The original connotation of e)pieikej means that which is the general conception of life. Consequently, what is fitting, what is right, or what is equitable. It was used for a “reasonable manner,” i.e. a person who is totally oriented to reality. In the Koine Greek it comes to mean total orientation to reality and grace at the same time. No one can be more reasonable than to be oriented to reality and grace all at one time. Plutarch used this word for being adaptable—adaptable to society, orderly. Plato used it for moderate or gentle people. Sophocles in his dramas used it for kindness toward men. Josephus used the word for a Parthian king who was very kind in his treatment of John Hercanus. However, the use in this passage is technical. It connotes a SG mental attitude and is translated generally, “reasonable.” The possessive genitive plural from the personal pronoun su indicates that this reasonable or SG attitude belongs to the person who has cracked the maturity barrier, who is in SG and is getting ready to move out into no-man’s land between SG and USG. There is also the aorist passive imperative of the verb ginwskw, the Greek verb for cognisance. The aorist tense is a dramatic aorist, it states the present reality of SG mental attitude with the certitude of a past event, i.e. the attainment of SG status by cracking the maturity barrier. The passive voice: the SG believer receives the action of the verb, he receives the mental attitude which accompanies SG. The imperative is not a command here, it is the imperative of commission. A command signified by the imperative may be in compliance with the express desire or manifest information on the part of the one who is the object of the command. Therefore it involves consent as well as command, and that is the meaning here. Translation: “Let your SG reasonable mental attitude be known to all men”—“to all men” – dative plural indirect object from the adjective paj and the noun a)nqrwpoj. This implies that the SG believer is oriented in two directions. He is oriented toward God—grace; he is oriented toward man and history—reality, the concept of being rational and reasonable. Grace plus reality is the meaning of this adjective.

“The Lord” – o( kurioj, referring to the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no verb.

“at hand” – the adverb e)gguj. There are five different ways in which the adverb can be understood. It means “near” as to place, an adverb of place as in Luke 19:11. This is also an adverb of time, as in Matthew 24:32,33, where it means near in the sense of time. It is also used as being in the covenant in Ephesians 2:13; it means near in that sense. There is also another meaning, as in Ephesians 2:17, meaning to be near to God—relationship. But here e)gguj means near in the sense of interposition of grace provision—the Lord is near to provide, to be sure that all grace disposition is near in your direction. Principle: Not only is the Lord near from the standpoint of His omnipresence, as per Isaiah 31:10; Hebrews 4:13, but living grace makes it possible for the believer to reach SG and understand fully the reality of grace provision—God’s total provision for the helpless person who has crossed the maturity barrier. “Near grace” makes it possible for the SG believer also to advance to USG. And the whole principle in this phrase is simply this: You went from saving grace to super-grace, says Paul, by way of living grace. Living grace was all the provision necessary to get you to cross that maturity barrier. You cracked that barrier because you GAPed it daily; you had all the provision necessary to do so. Next objective is USG, and the grace provision which took you from salvation to SG will also carry you from SG to USG. That is the meaning of the nearness of the Lord in this phrase. Near grace is a supercharger performing the same function as living grace except that the provision is intensified in the advance.

Principle

*Near grace is the supercharger, it performs the same function in no-man’s land that living grace performed in the advance to maturity.

*Near grace recognises the tremendous opposition which develops in the life of any believer advancing through no-man’s land between SG and USG.

*The intense opposition from the Satanic forces of evil calls for the intensified provision of grace, therefore another category: near grace.

*In near grace the Lord makes special provision for the SG believer advancing to the next objective. Here the going gets tough and the Lord’s provision is greater than the stiffness of the opposition.

Translation: “Let your mature [SG], reasonable mental attitude be known to all mankind. The Lord is near.”

Verse 6 – some of the techniques involved. Techniques that were used under living grace are now repeated under near grace. For example, faith-rest and prayer will now be used again under near grace, the logistical provision of God to cross no-man’s land between SG and USG. In other words, this is a matter of divine logistics. God provides under living grace the logistics to move from a to b, and now once again, God provides the logistics to move from x to y. It is the same grace principle but a different logistical problem.

“Be careful for nothing” – the accusative singular direct object a negative adjective mhdeij, plus the present active imperative from the verb merimnaw which means to have anxiety, to be unduly concerned. Even occasionally it means to worry. With the negative adjective mhdiej it it means not to be that sort of thing. The present tense is the aoristic present, denoting punctiliar action at the point of moving out into no-man’s land. The active voice: the SG believer produces the action of the verb under the logistics of near grace. The imperative mood is not a command, it is the imperative of prohibition expressing a negative command in the advance from SG to USG. Literally, “Have anxiety about nothing.” This is idiomatic for ‘Stop worrying about anything.’

Principle: Worry is a mental attitude sin which separates the believer from his inner resources of grace and cuts off divine logistics. Worry is the way that the supply line is cut. Worry short-circuits the function of the faith-rest technique and causes the believer to be pinned down in no-man’s land. Worry is a great weapon in the hands of Satan, and forces of evil take over the soul as a result of worry. In other words, worry makes the believer vulnerable to the enemy’s attack in no-man’s land. Therefore, worry not only checks the advance of the SG believer but pins him down and makes him vulnerable to reversionism. So it becomes absolutely necessary for the function of GAP to put muscle on your faith, as per the principle of Psalm 55:22; 37:4,5—be occupied with the Lord.

“but” is the adversative conjunction a)lla, it sets up a strong contrast between worry and the function of the faith-rest technique in prayer; “in everything” – the preposition e)n plus the locative of the adjective paj—“but in everything.” This is referring to no-man’s land, to the advance of the SG believer to USG.

“by prayer and supplication” – this combines the instrumental singular of the definite article plus the instrumental singular of two nouns for prayer. The first is proseuxh [proj = face to face with], it emphasises prayer as a principle, as the function of royalty. It is a word for prayer used in connection with the royal family of God. The second noun is dehsij, the more common word for prayer which emphasises the mechanics of prayer, that part of prayer involving entreaty or specific and special needs. In this case the specific needs of near grace, the logistics necessary to move from SG to USG which is made under great opposition in no-man’s land.

“with thanksgiving” – meta plus the accusative plural of e)uxaristia [meta plus the genitive means “with,” but meta plus the accusative never means “with,” it means “after”], it means “after thanksgivings.”[5]

“let your requests be known unto God” – present passive imperative of gnwrizw. The word means to reveal something. It means that when you are going through customs you are declaring what you are taking from one country to another. It is making something known. Gnwrizw means to reveal something. God knows from eternity past what your prayer requests were because there never was a time when omniscience didn’t know every prayer you have ever prayed. But He still wants you to reveal it as coming from you to Him from your volition. Remember that prayer is a volitional issue in the angelic conflict. This is an iterative present which describes what occurs at certain intervals, but not all the time. The passive voice: prayer reveals or makes known or declares what you have in your soul. The imperative mood is not the imperative of command but the imperative of commission. The word “request” is the nominative plural subject of a)thma which means “petitions”; “unto God” – the preposition proj plus the accusative [to or face to face with] of o( qeoj. Here, because prayer is an intimate thing, it is “face to face with [the God],” or “to the God,” either is correct.

Translation: “Stop worrying about anything; but in every circumstance through prayer and by entreaty [for personal need] after thanksgivings let your petitions [requests] be revealed to the God.”

1976 Philippians                                                                                        Lesson #102

102 02/29/1976 Philippians 4:7 Doctrine of ultra–supergrace (US–G2)

Verse 7 – the hidden prosperity of super-grace. “And the peace of God.” The word “peace” is e)irhnh. The emphatic use of the conjunction kai is translated “In fact.” The nominative singular of e)irhnh is used in the sense of the Hebrew shalom which is used as a greeting but it has other much more important meanings. Shalom and e)irhnh are equivalents which both mean “benefit” or “prosperity.” It refers to that hidden prosperity of super-grace in this passage. Sometimes e)irhnh refers to salvation benefit, especially when dealing with the doctrine of reconciliation, but here it refers to a special benefit to the believer who cracks the maturity barrier. It is the spiritual benefit which motivates the believer to continue the advance to ultra-super-grace. The nominative singular definite article is used as a demonstrative pronoun to call special attention to the spiritual prosperity of SG status. The ablative of source is from the noun qeoj—God is the source. Translation: “In fact that spiritual prosperity from the source of the God.”

· The hidden prosperity of SG is category #1, paragraph SG2.

1. This includes occupation with the person of Jesus Christ and/or maximum category #1 love toward God from maximum doctrine resident in the soul.

2. This maximum doctrine originates from the persistence and constant function of GAP whereby Bible doctrine is transferred from the written page of the canon of scripture to the soul of the individual believer by means of public speaking in a local church.

3. The hidden prosperity includes sharing the happiness of God, known as +H.

4. It includes capacity for life, for love, for happiness, and for blessing.

5. The hidden prosperity includes total appreciation of the character and essence of God, plus an understanding of God’s priorities and following them. God’s priorities become your priorities.

6. The hidden prosperity includes the dynamics of divine viewpoint mental attitude, as well as the ability to face any suffering, and pressure, any disaster in life.

7. For the USG believer add the intensification of these blessings brought about by the continual opposition, pressure, persecution of the Satanic forces of evil.

“which passeth” – the articular present active participle from a compound verb, u(perexw [u(per = over and beyond; e)xw = to have and to hold] which means to surpass or to rise above. The definite article here is used as a relative pronoun. The present tense is the present of duration denoting what has begun in the past and continues into the present time. This is sometimes even static present. The active voice: the spiritual prosperity (called “peace” in the KJV) from God produces the action of the verb. It rises above human thinking and human viewpoint. Human thinking merely reflects the rulership of the world. The ruler of the world is Satan. His policy of thought is called evil, and his policy is now broadcast so extensively that he has converted most of the world. The only hold-out against the policy of evil are believers with doctrine resident in their souls.

“all understanding” – accusative singular direct object from the adjective paj, and with it the accusative singular direct object from the noun nouj. Nouj is a technical word for the left lobe of the soul. This is doctrine you know, but doctrine you cannot apply. To apply doctrine you must understand it, and to understand it it must become e)pignwsij. Nouj, therefore, is the human thinking, the information of Satan—the concept of evil. Translation: “which rises above every human thinking.” So the hidden prosperity from God or the spiritual prosperity of the super-grace believer is totally incomprehensible to two categories of people: a) the unbeliever who cannot understand doctrine—1 Corinthians 2:14; b) the believer in reversionism who is so inculcated with Satanic evil that he cannot understand.

“shall keep” – future active indicative from the verb frourew which means to mount guard or to garrison. This is a gnomic future tense for a statement of fact or performance which may be anticipated or expected under the status of super-grace. The active voice: e)irhnh, spiritual prosperity from God produces the action of the verb, it mounts guard or garrisons the right lobe of the soul. The indicative mood is declarative viewing the action of the verb from the standpoint of reality. This is a logistical concept here: “shall provide.”

“your hearts and minds” – accusative plural direct object from the noun kardia, never used in the Bible for the physiological pump that cycles blood. It is always used for the right lobe of the soul which cycles thought—the frame of reference, memory centre, vocabulary storage, categorical storage, norms and standards (the conscience), and the launching pad by which application is made. The word “minds” is the accusative plural direct object from the noun nohma. It means thought, mind, purpose. But it also means, as here, motivation. Motivation must be supplied. We think doctrine to be motivated by doctrine; we think grace to be motivated by grace. In both the Attic Greek as well as the Hellenistic nohma is the result of activity in the nouj, and it therefore means purpose. It always connotes proper motivation.

“through Christ Jesus” – the presposition e)n plus the locative of Xristoj I)hsou: “in Christ Jesus” refers to positional sanctification by which the royal family of God is formed in this Church Age.

Translation: “In fact, that spiritual prosperity from the source of the God which rises above every mind [human thinking], shall supply [garrison, mount guard] over your right lobes and motivations in Christ Jesus.”

Principle

1. Thinking produces motivation. Motivation in life must be compatible with Bible doctrine and the divine plan of grace.

2. One of the characteristic of the spiritual prosperity of super-grace is the compatibility of motivation with the plan of God and the principle of grace.

3. It is possible to do a right thing in a wrong way because the motivation is wrong.

4. Wrong motivation receives its impetus from lust of the old sin nature, mental attitude sins, sincere devotion to the principles of evil, Satanic delusions as to what constitutes the modus vivendi of Christianity.

5. The believer who is motivated to focus attention and approbation on himself is completely out of phase with the plan of God.

6. The believer motivated by reversionistic zeal is actually serving Satan while he is assuming that he is serving God.

7. A right thing done in wrong motivation is wrong. A right thing done in wrong motivation is wrong.

8. A right thing done in right motivation is right.

9. A wrong thing done in wrong motivation is wrong.]

10. The odds are against being right. The only guarantee of being right is the absolute criterion of Bible doctrine resident in the soul.

11. Only the SG believer can be absolutely confident that he is doing the right thing with the right motivation. Therefore, the SG believer has confidence that he is doing what is right, and this becomes his hidden prosperity in moving out of the SG periphery into no-man’s land and advancing on to USG.

1976 Philippians                                                                                        Lesson #103

103 02/29/1976 Philippians 4:8a Doctrine of establishment

Verses 8-13, the advance to ultra-super-grace.

Verse 8 – the capacity for life which is necessary to make this advance. “Finally” is the adversative use of the adjective loipoj. It actually means “from now

on” or “in the future.” That is the adverb of time connotation. There is also an adverbial of usage inference and here we have a very rare case of that use. It is translated “Therefore.” The inference is related to the fact that attainment of super-grace also has with it SG capacity for life. In the advance from SG to USG these capacities must be maintained through the intake of Bible doctrine.

“brethren” – the vocative plural from a)delfoj reminds those who are making this advance that they are members of the royal family of God.

“whatsoever things” – this is a correlative pronoun o(soj indicating that there are many areas and directions for the capacity of life for the royal family. The capacity for life only comes as a part of maturity—breaking the maturity barrier. It is translated, since it is in the neuter gender and refers primarily to things, “whatever things,” or better yet, “everything.”

“are” – the verb to be, the present active indicative of e)imi. The following six adjectives describe certain areas of SG capacity for life. This is a static present, indicating that when the believer finally cracks the maturity barrier he has capacity for life. Six areas are selected because they are pertinent to crossing no-man’s land between SG and USG. The active voice of the verb to be indicates certain areas of capacity for life. The indicative mood is for the actual reality of possession as one in SG moves out to go to the final objective.

“true” is the first of the six adjectives, the predicate nominative neuter singular from the a)lhqhj. This first category refers to the doctrines, the principles, the policies of God as preserved in the Word of God and transferred into the soul by the daily function of GAP. All capacity for life comes from doctrine resident in the soul of the believer, and the word “true” as an adjective refers to doctrine resident in the soul.

“honest” – predicate nominative neuter plural from the adjective semnoj. This adjective does not mean “honest,” it is something greater than honesty. The correct translation is one of three words—honourable, noble, or worthy of respect: “everything that is honourable [noble, worthy of respect].” Obviously this area of capacity is dealing with establishment. In order for the human race to be perpetuated under conditions of freedom so that people can choose for Jesus Christ in evangelism, and after salvation can choose Bible doctrine as over against the Satanic policies of evil. In other words, we still have an issue in the human race. The Lord has made it possible for each one of us to choose between the tree of lives [choice of doctrine] and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil [Satanic policy: human good and evil].[6]

“just” – predicate nominative neuter plural from the adjective dikaioj, which means righteous, equitable, fair or just. It connotes righteousness in the sense of the fulfilment of the divine statutes or righteousness as the characteristic which God requires of men. However the neuter gender denotes the obligation to be fair, to be just, to be equitable. SG capacity for life includes the sense of justice, the sense of fair play, the sense of right treatment toward all in the sphere of one’s life. When the SG believer moves out into no-man’s land he is going to be tested by people, and he must not lower himself to their level and become unfair, unjust; other wise he will peel off in the middle of no-man’s land and crash and burn into reversionism.

“pure” – predicate nominative neuter plural from a)gnoj, and adjective of motivation. It connotes motivation, the function of morality, and it is used also for the antithesis of evil as the modus operandi of Satan. It is not simply talking about morality here, it is talking about evil also.

“lovely” – predicate nominative from the adjective prosfiloj, and it is in the plural. The word “lovely” is not a good translation, it should be “everything that is love capacity.” It is plural and refers to three areas of love capacity: love for God, love for your opposite number, love in friendship—everything that is compatible with love capacity.

“good report” – predicate nominative plural from the adjective e)uqhmoj. It means commendable and refers to every category of human culture, such as music, literature, drama, history. The SG believer has capacity in these fields.

“if” is the conjunction e)i, a conditional particle which with the indicative mood introduces the protasis of a first class condition. With it is the nominative singular from a)reth as the subject. It means virtue, which is moral goodness, the conformity of one’s life to the laws of divine establishment. It also refers to a spirit of manliness or a spirit of femininity. In other words, where the laws of establishment function the women are feminine and the men are manly.

“if any praise” – again the conditional particle e)i, introducing a first class condition, plus the indefinite pronoun tij and the noun e)painoj, which means “approval, recognition.” But here it is “worthy of praise”—“if anything worthy of praise [exists],” and it does.

Then the command: “think on these things.”

“think” – present middle imperative from the verb logizomai, used for thinking in the sense of calculation, evaluation, estimation, and it therefore it comes to mean here “concentration.” The customary present denotes what habitually occurs with the SG believer who has great capacity for life and who fulfils these principles. The middle voice is a permissive middle, it represents the agent [SG believer] as voluntarily yielding himself to the results of the action, or seeking to secure the results of the action in his own interests. The imperative mood is the imperative of commission in which the imperative mood expresses a desire on the one who is the recipient of the command; his volition is involved; he desires it as much as God desires it. The SG believer wants to concentrate on the wonderful things of life which are compatible with his SG capacity; “on these things” is the accusative neuter plural from the near demonstrative pronoun o(utoj, it emphasises the categories in the context. These categories are an expression for capacity for life in the SG status.

Translation: “Therefore, brethren, everything that is true, everything that is honourable, everything that is righteous, everything that is pure, everything that is love-capacity, everything that is commendable; if anything of virtue, if anything worthy of praise exists [and it does], you yourselves be concentrating on these things.”

Principle

1. Super-grace capacity for life is not left without objects of expression.

2. Even though this is the devil’s world Jesus Christ controls history.

3. Therefore there is sufficient in life to express SG capacity for life. God has provided not only the SG capacity through doctrine but He has provided in the devil’s world the areas for expression. These six categories, then, set up guidelines for the expression of SG capacity for life.

1976 Philippians                                                                                        Lesson #104

104 02/29/1976 Philippians 4:8b Concepts of SG–2 and US–G2

1976 Philippians                                                                                        Lesson #105

105 03/01/1976 Philippians 4:9 Cycling doctrine from left lobe to the right lobe

Verses 9 & 10 – the means of advance: the function of GAP. Doctrine has to be the #1 priority.

Verse 9 – the right congregation. “Those things” – nominative neuter plural from the relative pronoun o(j, referring to doctrine. Those doctrines, things,

Concepts, policies of God preserved in the canon of Scripture. These are the doctrines that have been transferred from the Bible to the right lobe of the soul through the function of GAP.

“which” – referring to doctrine; the ‘both/and’ which goes back to Classical Greek: kai kai. The repetition of a kai in a sentence is translated “both and”—“both the things which.”

“you have learned” – aorist active indicative from the verb manqanw. It means to learn from someone as a teacher, to learn under strict academic discipline. It is the word which means “disciple.” Disciple is simply an old English word for a person learning doctrine under discipline. The word “disciple” actually comes from the Latin: discibulus, a student without portfolio, without rights except to learn. So the word “disciple” means a student of Bible doctrine. The aorist tense is a constative aorist, it contemplates the action of the verb in its entirety—the continual daily function of GAP. The active voice: the believer produces the action of the verb when his priorities are straight and when his volition is positive toward doctrine. The indicative mood is declarative viewing the action of the verb from the standpoint of reality.

“and received” – aorist active indicative from paralambanw [para = beside; lambanw = to receive], which means to take or receive to one’s side, to take or to receive to one’s self. The emphasis lies not so much in the receiving or taking over as in the fact that the word implies agreement, approval, and therefore acceptance. It is translated here to “accept.” This is the difference between gnwsij and e)pignwsij. Paralambanw is accepting what has been taught. The aorist tense is a culminative aorist, it views the function of GAP in its entirety but it emphasises the existing results of GAP in converting gnwsij to e)pignwsij. Knowing doctrine is not enough, you must understand doctrine. The active voice: the believer who has taken doctrine into his left lobe [nouj] produces the action of the verb by accepting what is taught objectively. And that transfers it; paralambanw is the transferring agent. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of +V, i.e. paralambanw converting knowledge into e)pignwsij.

“and heard” – aorist active indicative of a)kouw which means to hear and concentrate, to hear and accept the authority of: “and having heard under discipline.” There is the true function of the local church. The aorist tense is constative, it contemplates the action of the verb in its entirety. It takes every time the believer assembles in the classroom of the local church and submits to academic discipline of the pastor, and gathers it up into one entirety. The active voice: the believer in submission to the authority of the pastor produces the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative recognising the fact that all spiritual growth demands academic discipline, respect for the authority of the one communicating doctrine in order for GAP to function properly.

“and seen” – aorist active indicative of o(raw, which means a panoramic view. This means not only to see, but to have the perspective. It means perceptive perspective, the ability to apply. Here is where we get the principle “understand.” You cannot teach what you know, you can only teach what you, understand. So this should be translated, “and you have understood [the doctrine].” The aorist tense is a culminative aorist, it views the function of GAP in its entirety but emphasises the existing results. The active voice: the SG believer produces the action by having maximum e)pignwsij or understanding in his right lobe. The indicative mood is declarative viewing the action of the verb from the standpoint of super-grace reality.

“in me” – incorrect. This is e)n plus the instrumental of e)gw which is “by means of me” or “through me.” That is, through the teaching ministry of Paul.

“do” – this is not the word do at all. If it was going to be “do it”, it would be poiew. But poiew does not connote application and it is not here in the Greek text. The word for application is prassw, and that is the word we have here. It means to execute, to apply and execute, to practise, to put it into action. The present tense is a customary present, it denotes what habitually occurs with the SG believer. The active voice: the SG believer produces the action. The imperative mood is a command. Principle: Doctrine must be in the right lobe to execute or put into action the grace plan of God.

“and the God of peace” – kai o( qeoj thj e)irhnhj is “and the God of prosperity.” The descriptive genitive singular of e)irhnh is used in the sense of the Hebrew shalom—prosperity. The nominative subject is qeoj—“God.” He is the source of our prosperity: spiritual, temporal, by association, historical, dying. This is the title of God in relationship to the SG life and the blessings of paragraph SG2.

“shall be” – future active indicative of e)imi. The future tense is a gnomic future for a statement of fact or performance which may be rightfully expected under the super-grace status. The active voice: God the Father is the source of SG prosperity. The indicative mood is declarative for a statement of dogmatic fact or reality.

“with you” – the preposition meta plus the genitive plural of the pronoun su, “with you all.”

Translation: “Both the doctrine which you have learned [from my teaching], and have accepted, and have heard, and have understood by means of me, be putting these into action: and the God of prosperity shall be with you all.”

1976 Philippians                                                                                        Lesson #106

106 03/02/1976 Philippians 4:10a Doctrine of GAP (review pts. 1–5)

Verse 10 – “But” is the enclitic particle de used as a transitional conjunction. It means “now.” With it is the aorist passive indicative of the verb xairw, translated “rejoice” but it means to have happiness. Here it means sharing the happiness of God, the happiness of the SG believer. The aorist tense is a constative aorist, it contemplates the action of the verb in its entirety. It takes the entire time that Paul was in SG and gathers it up into one concept of sharing God’s happiness, +H. The passive voice: Paul receives the action of the verb and has the opportunity to express it under the conditions of this context. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of Paul having received +H. “But I have received very much inner happiness.” The words “very much” is translated “greatly” in the KJV. It is the adverb megalwj, which means “very much.”

“in the Lord” – the preposition e)n plus the instrumental from kurioj should be translated “by means of the Lord.” Kurioj emphasises the uniqueness of our Lord’s battlefield royalty. This is Paul’s announcement that not only has he recovered from reversionism but he has re-entered the SG life.

Principle

1. The manifestation of Paul’s recovery of SG status is found both in the possession of +H and the fact that his happiness is stimulated by the obvious interest of the Philippian church. No church ever brought Paul more happiness.

2. So great was their interest that they sent their pastor, Epaphroditus, with an offering for Paul.

3. As the apostle who founded the Philippians church Paul was the original right pastor of that congregation. The present minister is Epaphroditus. So the Philippians have had at least three right pastors in their history up to now.

4. Here, then, is the concept of right pastor for a right congregation. The pastor is the missing link between doctrine preserved in the canon ofd Scripture and doctrine resident in the soul of the believer.

5. There is no spiritual growth apart from the consistent teaching of the congregation’s right pastor.

6. Spiritual growth is not accomplished by works or action but by words and doctrines stored in the human soul through teaching, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

7. Therefore the principle: It is not what we do for the Lord that produces spiritual growth, but what we know of the Lord through doctrine resident in the soul.

8. Spiritual growth is based on the content of the soul, not the energy of the body.

9. The soul must be saturated with doctrine. This is accomplished by the consistent and daily function of GAP.

“that now at last” – the causal use of the conjunction o(ti, followed by the adverb of time h)dh, plus the enclitic particle pote; “your care of me” – the articular

present active infinitive from the verb fronew, which means objective thinking. The articular infinitive is Attic Greek, not Koine Greek. It is an idiom, and the definite article which is formed with the present active infinitive changes it from verbalisation to a substantive with a decided increment of its power. The definite article restores the balance, it takes the infinitive away from the verbal idea and brings it back into the substantive. Whatever is more important in your life you are going to think about.

“hath flourished again” – aorist active indicative from the compound verb a)naqallw [a)na = again; qallw = to flourish or thrive], meaning to thrive again, grow again, to recover activity, to bloom again, to revive. Here the corrected translation is “you have revived.” With the articular infinitive: “you have revived your thinking concerning me.” The aorist tense is a dramatic aorist, it states a present reality with the certitude of a past event. The idiom is a device for emphasis and it states the result of what has just been accomplished. The active voice: the Philippian congregation produces the action of the verb because they have advanced from the point of salvation, broken the maturity barrier, advanced to super-grace, and at that point their capacity for love is extended toward God in category #1, and toward the apostle Paul in category #3. At this point they have again become very interested in the apostle and have revived their thinking concerning him. The indicative mood is declarative, it views the action of the verb from the viewpoint of the actual reality. The principle: This revived thinking has come in the form of an offering.

“wherein” – this is a prepositional phrase, e)pi plus the locative of the relative pronoun o(j, which is literally, “on whom.” The Greek idiom means “indeed”; the next word is the adjunctive use of the conjunction kai—“also.”

“you were careful” – imperfect active indicative of fronew, which means to think. Furthermore, it means to think objectively in contrast to dokew which means to think subjectively. The imperfect tense is linear aktionsart in past time. Hence, we have the imperfect of duration in which the process of objective thinking has gone on in the past up to this point in the context. The active voice: the Philippian congregation produce the action of the verb in SG. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of the fact that the Philippian congregation is constantly remembering Paul and appreciating the doctrine they learned under his ministry—“indeed you also were thinking about me.” That means to be concerned here because they knew of Paul’s imprisonment and assumed that he needed funds.

The enclitic particle de is used for an adversative conjunction, and it is used to set up a contrast between past concerns and no opportunity to express it, present concerns with the opportunity to express it. This is then difference between an impulsive giver and a generous person. An impulsive giver is no good, he is a self-centred person calling attention to himself. A generous giver never has any strings attached to his giving, he gives because of love, not to gain anything from it.

“but ye lacked opportunity” – the imperfect middle indicative of a)kaireomai which means to have no opportunity. Here it means to have no opportunity to demonstrate their love thinking. Thinking is love! or hate, but no one can love by emotion. All love is related to thinking. Love is what you think, not what you do. This is an imperfect of duration, it contemplates the past process of love thinking and brings it all up into the indirect middle which stresses the agent, the Philippians congregation. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of the fact that love and thinking was there, but no opportunity for expression until the imprisonment of the apostle Paul.

Translation: “Now I have received very much inner happiness by means of the Lord, because now at last you have revived your love-thinking concerning me; indeed you were thinking nut you had no opportunity.”

1976 Philippians                                                                                        Lesson #107

107 03/03/1976 Philippians 4:10b–11 Doctrine of importance of Bible doctrine

1976 Philippians                                                                                        Lesson #108

108 03/04/1976 Philippians 4:11–12 Amount of doctrine the issue, not circumstances

Verse 11 – stability on the right side of history. “Not that” – the negative o)uk plus the causal conjunction o(ti, literally, “Not because.”

“I speak” – present active indicative of the verb legw, a descriptive present to indicate what is now going on. The active voice: Paul produces he action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of doctrinal communication under the principle of verbal inspiration.

“in respect of want” – the preposition kata plus the accusative of u(sterhsij which means poverty or lack. “Not because I am speaking with reference to poverty [or lack].”

“for” is the explanatory use of the conjunctive particle gar; “I have learned” – one thing a SG believer learns is objectivity. This is the aorist active indicative from the verb manqanw. It means to learn through instruction, to come to know, to receive instruction under discipline, to appropriate knowledge. The aorist tense is constative, it contemplates the action of the verb in its entirety. Everything it took Paul to get to SG taught him something. It taught him to think objectively and to have capacity for true love. The active voice: SG or USG believers produce the action of the verb. Paul at writing is a SG believer. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of learning doctrine through the consistency of the function of GAP, and from that to have a total objectivity toward life.

“in whatsoever state” – e)n plus the locative neuter plural from the relative pronoun o(j should be translated “in whatever.” Then a word which is a qualitative relative used as a substantive and it should be translated “in whatever circumstances.”

“I am” – the present active indicative of e)imi. This has to be learned, we are not born with this understanding. It is something that has to be taught. The present tense is a pictorial present, it presents to the mind a picture of events in the process of occurrence. The active voice: the SG believer produces the action—Paul. The indicative mood is the historical reality of the objectivity of thinking in SG with regard to anything in life so that you are not always worried where you are going to get your next meal.

“to be” – present active infinitive of e)imi. This is a perfective present, it denotes a continuation of results. No matter what your circumstances of life you perpetuate something. You perpetuate happiness, contentment, blessing, no matter what the situation may be. The active voice: the SG believer produces this action. It requires a lot of doctrine in the soul. The infinitive is conceived result which is assumed as a consequence of being a mature believer—“to keep on being.” Circumstances do not change you; you change circumstances.

“content” – predicate nominative from the adjective a)utarkhj. It means self-sufficient contentment. This is adaptability to any difficult circumstances in life.

Translation: “Not because I am speaking with reference to poverty: for I have learned in whatever circumstances I am, to keep on being content.”

Conclusions

1. Poverty or lack is not the issue to the mature believer, just as circumstances, good or bad, are never the issue.

2. Poverty merely represents adverse circumstances of life.

3. What this verse is saying is that circumstances are never an issue to the mature believer. The mature believer is never a slave to his circumstances.

4. The SG or USG has perfect happiness and occupation with Christ is all circumstances of life.

5. For the unbeliever or reversionistic believer circumstances are always an issue, and his happiness or lack of happiness is based upon his circumstances.

6. To this category of reversionism circumstances determine happiness or lack of happiness.

7. With the exception of the mature believer members of the human race are slaves to their circumstances.

8. But to the SG or USG believer circumstances are not an issue. The resources of SG and USG provide freedom and independence from circumstances.

9. The Greek adjective a)utarkhj is a technical word from stoicism for independent self-sustaining individuals who are free from circumstances. So it is vocabulary for independence and freedom from the circumstances of life.

Verse 12 – the objective beyond super-grace. “I know” – the perfect o)ida is used as a present tense, meaning “I have come to know.” The active voice

indicates that reversionistic Paul produced the action of the verb. There is also the word “both” which is the emphatic use of the conjunction kai, and should be translated “in fact I have come to know.” Paul learned this in his reversion recovery.

“how to be abased” – present passive infinitive from the verb tapeinow which means to be humble, to be humiliated by being assigned a lower place at the table. In the ancient world, the time of writing, all dining rooms were on split levels. That was because during the time of the Roman empire people became very class conscious. As it comes into the New Testament it changes its meaning slightly. It has the concept of humility in the sense of being helpless. It has the concept of being assigned a lower place at the table. The present tense is a customary present, it denotes what habitually occurs when a believer falls into reversionism. This is not humility in a good sense, this is degradation because of the logistical category of grace called C. A = the grace that carries the believer from salvation to maturity. B = from super-grace, across no-man’s land to USG. C = the alternative for the believer negative toward doctrine—a lifetime of discipline and misery, and being used as a guinea pig to test growing believers. Paul has been debased. He has gone through his Jerusalem reversionism. So the passive voice here: Paul as a reversionistic believer received the action of the verb, debasement under C grace of logistical grace. The infinitive is the infinitive of actual result, it refers to Paul’s Jerusalem reversionism. It refers also to warning discipline—not to go to Jerusalem.

“and” is the adjunctive use of kai, translated “also”; “I know” – again, the perfect o)ida, used as a present tense—“and I have come to know.” The active voice: this time the active voice of o)ida is super-grace Paul producing the action of the verb. Each time o)ida is used in this verse it is the same word but with a different connotation.

“how to abound” – present active infinitive of the verb perisseuw. It means to have more than enough and comes to mean to have prosperity: “also I have come to know what it is to live in prosperity.” The present tense is a customary present, it denotes what habitually occurs in super-grace status. The active voice: the super-grace believer produces the action of the verb. The infinitive is the infinitive of conceived result, it is assumed as a consequence of being a SG believer and possessing paragraph SG2 in its five categories: #1, spiritual blessings; #2, temporal blessings; #3, blessing by association; #4, historical blessing; #5, dying blessings. Paul is not talking about circumstances here, he is talking about status In the previous verse he was talking about up and down circumstances—pleasant and unpleasant. But here he is talking about status—as a reversionist and as a super-grace believer. All SG believers live in prosperity. The degree in which that prosperity is visible to others varies, so that you can never look at another person and say that one is prosperous and is in SG. But there is often a manifestation. Sometimes it is all in the soul and sometimes it isn’t.

“everywhere and in all things” – e)n plus the locative of paj. Paj as an adjective means “all” or “every.” This is a locative singular, so it means “in any place.” Then we have a locative plural for circumstances: “in any place and in all circumstances.” Paj occurs twice. The singlar paj refers to several geographical locations where Paul learned—Jerusalem, Caesarea, and now Rome. The plural paj refers to all circumstances which contributed to the varying circumstances by which Paul was initiated into the blessings of paragraph SG2. In other words, everything that contributed to his reversion recovery.

I am instructed” – perfect passive indicative from the verb muew. It means to be initiated into a fraternity. The word “mystery” comes from this word, it is the noun musthrion. Translation: “I have been initiated.” The perfect tense is a consummative perfect, it emphasises the process rather than the exiting results. It is not merely the process but the consummated process that is emphasised, and it implies results. The passive voice: once reversionistic but now SG Paul has received initiation into the mysteries, the doctrines that led to his reversion recovery and SG status. The indicative mood is declarative for the historical fact that Paul’s Jerusalem reversionism is over.

Now comes the statement of another objective beyond SG. There are two clauses introduced by kai kai, generally translated “both and.”

“both to be full” – present passive infinitive of the verb xortazw. The word is used for an animal being filled with grass or feed. It is used for the royal family of God, SG believer, being filled with doctrine. The present tense is the present of duration, it denotes what has begun in the past and continues into the present time—the process of reversion recovery. The passive voice: the apostle Paul receives the action of the verb—saturation with doctrine in the right lobe. The infinitive is actual result.

“and to be hungry” – present active infinitive of peinaw. The present tense is a perfective present, it denotes the continuation of +V toward doctrine resulting in being well fed or saturated with maximum doctrine in the soul. The SG believer desires more and more doctrine and this is necessary for the next objective. Paul is hungry for USG status. The active voice: Paul produces the action. The infinitive is conceived result which is assumed as being the result of SG status, hunger for more doctrine, for the next objective. The present tense is a descriptive present, it indicates what is now going on.

“and to suffer need” – present passive infinitive from the verb u(sterew, which means to be lacking. Here it means to be lacking the USG objective. It does not mean to lack prosperity. The SG is prosperous, and Paul is not talking about starving or about being down to a bare bones situation. Paul is only lacking the final objective. The passive voice: the SG believer receives the action of the verb, i.e. he has not reached USG. This is the infinitive of intended result, a blending of Paul’s purpose to reach USG and the result of having attained SG.

Translation: “In fact, I have come to know [through experience] how to be degraded [the degradation of reversionistic discipline], also I have come to know what it is to live in prosperity [SG]: in every place and in all circumstances I have been initiated in both how to be well fed [saturated with doctrine] and to hunger [for more doctrine].”

1976 Philippians                                                                                        Lesson #109

109 03/05/1976 Philippians 4:13–14 Giving: true, false, and SG–2

Verse 13 – the determination to step out, to reach USG. “I can do” – present active indicative of the verb i)sxuw, which means to be strong, to be powerful, to have power, to be competent. It should be translated, “I have power.” He is talking about the possession of power, not the possession of individual ability. The present tense is a customary present for what habitually occurs in a SG believer. The SG believer has the endowed power of Bible doctrine resident in the soul to saddle up and move out into no-man’s land to USG. The active voice: Paul as a SG believer produces the action of the verb, namely the possession of maximum doctrine resident in the soul—inherent power. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of maximum doctrine resident in Paul’s soul.

“to attain all things” – accusative neuter plural of paj, an adjective sometimes used as a substantive. This is the direct object of the verb. “I have the endowed power to attain all things.” We have the implication of katalambanw here which is why the phrase ‘to attain’ is used. There is no definite article with paj, it is an anartharous construction calling attention to the qualitative aspects of the adjective representing the next objective beyond SG. “All things” is simply a reference to USG. The plural indicates that USG will be followed by dying grace eventually, which is the greatest of all blessings in life.

“which strengtheneth me” – prepositional phrase, e)n plus the articular present active participle e)ndunamow. The preposition e)n plus the instrumental masculine refers to God the Holy Spirit who is the teacher of doctrine and the member of the Godhead who makes GAP function. The present tense is a retroactive progressive present for the ministry of the Holy Spirit in teaching the Word in the past with the result that the ministry of the Holy Spirit continues right up until the present time. The endowed power plus what will be learned crossing no-man’s land is what is in view. The active voice: the Holy Spirit produces the action of the verb, pouring power into Paul as he moves across no-man’s land. This is an instrumental participle.

“me” is the accusative singular direct object from the personal pronoun e)gw, referring to Paul. The empowering power is the Holy Spirit in the function of GAP, as taught in John 14:26; 16:12-14; 1 Corinthians 2:9-16; 1 John 2:27.

Translation: “I have the endowed power [maximum doctrine] to attain all things [USG/DG] by means of the one [HS] who keeps on pouring the power into me.”

Verses 14-23, the logistics for the advance.

Verse 14 – “ye have done” is the aorist active indicative of poiew. The aorist tense is a culminative aorist, it takes their offering and the time it took to gather it and gathers it into one entirety and views the result. It was collected, transported, and received. The active voice: the grace-oriented Philippians produce the action of the verb under the principle of balance of residency between the filling of the Spirit and maximum doctrine in the soul. The indicative mood is declarative indicating the reality of honourable giving. Poiew means to function here.

“well” – the adverb kaloj means “honourably.” They gave without strings and totally apart from emotional giving. They gave motivated by doctrine resident in the soul.

“that ye did communicate” – aorist active participle from the compound verb sugkoinwnew [sun = with; koinwnew == to share], to share with. It means to share something with someone, to be a partner with someone, and both meanings are blended into this participle. They have shared their money with Paul and have therefore entered into partnership with him. The aorist tense is a constative aorist, it views the giving in its entirety. The active voice: the Philippians believers produce the action. The participle is a temporal participle. The action of this aorist participle precedes the action of the main verb—“you have functioned honourably.”

“with my affliction” – the locative singular of the noun qliyij, and with it the possessive genitive from e)gw.

Translation: “However when you shared by giving and became partners with me in my adversity, you functioned honourably.”

          Principle

      1. The pressure or tribulation refers to Paul’s Roman imprisonment in AD 62.

      2. The unsolicited but kindly giving of the Philippians indicates a maximum number of SG believers in that congregation.

1. Giving apart from pressure or coercion is a manifestation of SG status, or very close.

2. Super-grace provides the true motivation, then, for grace giving.

3. Giving without emotional involvement or gimmicks indicates the vast resources of Bible doctrine resident in the souls of the Philippians.

4. The SG believer occupied with Christ has capacity for love, for life, and is therefore correctly motivated to give in an honourable manner.

1976 Philippians                                                                                        Lesson #110

110 03/07/1976 Philippians 4:15–18 Evidences of doctrine in KARDIA; doctrine of giving

Verse 15 – “Now” is a postpositive enclitic particle de used here as a transitional conjunction.

“you Philippians know also” – the perfect o)ida used as a present tense. It means to know, to cause to know, to understand, to correctly apply. Here it means

to recognise; the transitional conjunction de; the adjunctive use of kai, plus the nominative plural from the personal pronoun su, the vocative for the Philippian church: “you yourselves also recognise.” Paul was talking to SG believers and therefore he does not have to teach a lot of basic details.

“that” – the conjunction o(ti is used after verbs of mental activity; “in the beginning” – e)n plus the locative of a)rxh. This is a reference to Paul’s ministry in Philippi.

“of the gospel” – the genitive of reference, “with reference to the gospel.” The gospel is what Paul originally gave them. They were unsaved; they were unevangelised. Once they were evangelised they were new babes in Christ. They had to be fed and nourished and taught basic things.

“when I departed” – eventually Paul had to leave them. The temporal particle o(te used as a temporal conjunction, indicating the point of time which they both recall; the aorist active indicative of the verb e)cerxomai, referring to the departure of Paul. The aorist tense is a constative aorist for a momentary action. The active voice: Paul produced the action when he left the Philippians. The indicative mood is for the reality of the fact that Paul moved on, leaving Timothy behind as their pastor.

“from Macedonia” – the preposition a)po plus the ablative of the proper noun.

“no church communicated” – the subject nominative feminine singular from o)udeij, which means really “not one” or “no one.” Plus e)kklhsia for “church,” and the aorist active indicative from koinwnew, a word for giving. It means to contribute, to share—“not one church had contributed.” This is a dramatic aorist tense, it states a present reality with the certitude of a past event. The active voice plus the negative adverb indicates that no local church except the Philippians church had produced the action. The indicative mood is declarative for the historical reality of the fact that in that area where so many churches were formed none of them had advanced enough spiritually to be properly motivated for true giving.

“with me” is a dative singular indirect object personal pronoun e)gw.

“as concerning giving and receiving” – this includes the preposition e)ij, plus the accusative from the singular logoj: “with reference to doctrine.” This is the doctrine of giving and receiving. Then comes two descriptive genitives, dosij—“giving” and lhmyij—“receiving.”

“but ye only” – e)i mh means “except”; u(meij means “you”; the nominative plural of monoj refers to only one church at that time, the Philippians church.

Translation: “And you yourselves also recognise, that in the beginning of my ministry with reference to the gospel, when I had departed from Macedonia, not one church had contributed to me in application of the doctrine of giving and receiving, except only you.”

          Summary

1. One of the sure signs of understanding doctrine is to translate such doctrine into grace action.

2. You cannot apply doctrine you know, you can only apply doctrine you understand.

3. Doctrine in the left lobe as gnwsij cannot be applied or utilised or form the basis for motivation.

4. Only doctrine in the right lobe is applicable—e)pignwsij, which becomes sofia—to life.

5. The Philippians not only knew the doctrine of giving but they understood it.

6. Therefore they applied the doctrine of giving as e)pignwsij and sofia, with the result that they were the only local church contributing to Paul’s financial support at that critical time of his ministry. God is able to use the sofia-type believer in logistics.

7. Grace action in the royal family of God originates from the doctrine that is understood, not the doctrine that is known.

8. The Philippians demonstrated by their grace giving their reception of doctrine and resultant spiritual advance.

9. They are ready to follow Paul from SG to USG.

Verse 16 – a causal use of the conjunction o(ti, translated “For,” and should be “Because.”

“even” is the ascensive use of kai; “in Thessalonica” – prepositional phrase, e)n plus the locative of Qessalonikh. “Even in Thessalonica”—Paul on departing from Philippi went immediately to Thessalonica—Acts 17:1-9—and even after he had departed to Thessalonica they were already sending offerings. This indicates that the Philippian congregation immediately undertook the support of Paul simply because they had responded quickly and positively to doctrinal teaching.

“you sent” – aorist active of pempw which means to send an offering. The aorist tense is a culminative aorist, it views several financial gifts in their entirety but regards the giving from the viewpoint of its existing results. In other words, the Philippians took up regular offerings, administered them, and sent them. The active voice: growing believers of Philippi produced the action of the verb from grace motivation of doctrine resident in their souls. Principle: True motivation for giving is based on the application of resident doctrine. The indicative mood is declarative for historical reality.

“once and again” is really “both once and twice,” an idiom meaning more than once.

“unto my necessity” – the preposition e)ij plus the accusative xreia. This means that Paul had a need which they didn’t know of. They didn’t have to know it.

Translation: “Because even in Thessalonica you had sent an offering more than once for my needs.”

          The meaning

1. To send an offering once might indicate emotional giving, but to send an offering more than once denotes correct motivation.

2. It is not the impulsive one-shot emotional gift that counts but the consistent and faithful application doctrine, the perpetuation of giving under grace orientation.

3. Grace orientation in giving is based on maximum doctrine resident in the soul and/or spiritual growth.

4. Giving in the Christian life must never be associated with bribing God for blessing. Under the principle of grace God cannot be bribed.

5. Grace giving reflects grace motivation.

6. Grace giving denotes grace growth.

7. Grace giving is that spiritual function of the royal priesthood expressing worship, commemorating God’s grace, and with the Philippians, denoting occupation with the person of Jesus Christ.

Verse 17 – “Not because I desire a gift.” This includes the particle o)ux as a summary negation, plus the causal conjunction o(ti for “because” and the present active indicative of the verb e)pizhthw which means to seek after, to solicit. The present tense is a descriptive present, it indicates what is now going on, the slander from some quarters that Paul was using the gospel to solicit money and to become rich. The negative o)ux denies the allegation emphatically. The active voice plus the negative means that Paul produces the action of the verb—denial of the gossip. The indicative mood is declarative, viewing the action of the verb from the viewpoint of reality.

“but” – the adversative conjunction a)lla sets up a strong contrast with the previous clause. There is the need for believers to express doctrine resident in their souls, and giving is a worship expressing doctrine resident in the soul. The principle of logistical supply is obvious. Paul provides the need of the Philippians—Bible doctrine. That is logistical supply for their growth. As a result of their growth they are properly motivated and prospered. So while the believers provide the needs of Paul from their prosperity, Paul provides their needs in his prosperity. All people have different prosperities. A pastor has spiritual prosperity and he provides doctrine for the congregation. As a result of that doctrine being converted into e)pignwsij and sofia they have financial prosperity and they become a part of the logistical support of the pastor whose time must be totally devoted to the study of the Word of God.

“I desire” – present active indicative of e)pizhthw again: “I seek after.” The retroactive progressive present denotes Paul motivated in the past which continues into the present. The active voice: Paul’s true motivation is now expressed. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal action from the standpoint of reality and pure motivation apart from any selfish interest.

“fruit” – accusative singular definite article plus the accusative singular direct object from karpoj. But it does not mean “fruit” here, it means production.

“may abound” – present active participle from pleonazw, “which accumulates.” The present tense is a customary present, it denotes what habitually occurs with SG believers when they give. The active voice: the Philippians as SG believers produce the action. The participle is circumstantial. The principle is that SG believers are going to be prospered financially no matter what the conditions of a nation may be.

“to your account” – e)ij plus the accusative of logoj. It can be “to your account” because logoj sometimes means that, or “with reference to your doctrine.” The combination of the verb and the prepositional phrase is a technical business term for accounts and the accumulation of interest from an investment. The investment is resident doctrine in the soul, and the resident doctrine of the SG believer who not only knows doctrine but understands it and in the application of his understanding gives.

Verse 18 – “But I have all,” the postpositive conjunctive particle de used as a transitional translation should be translated “Moreover”; the present active indicative from the verb a)pexw [e)xw = to have and to hold; a)po = from the ultimate source]—“Moreover I have receive in toto.” The present tense is a customary present, it denotes what habitually occurs in the life of a super-grace believer. He has more than enough. Also the accusative neuter plural direct object from the adjective paj, referring to the all things of paragraph SG2. The absence of the definite article calls attention to the high quality of all five categories in paragraph SG2.

“and abound” – present active indicative from the verb perisseuw. It means to have more than enough, to have an abundance, to be extremely rich. The present tense is a customary present, it denotes what may be reasonably expected when any believer reaches SG. The active voice: the SG believer produces the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of prosperity, the reality of extreme riches in SG status.

“I am full” – perfect passive indicative from the verb plhrow which means to fill up a deficiency, to fully possess, to fully influence. Paul has been filled to the maximum with a grace gift which will carry him for some time. The perfect tense is a dramatic perfect, the rhetorical use of the perfect tense. The action is completed. Once Paul lacked, now he is full, and the results mean that he will be carried financially for the rest of his life. The passive voice: Paul receives the action of the verb.

“having received” – aorist active participle of dexomai. The aorist tense is a culminative aorist, it view the event of SG Philippian giving in its entirety but it emphasises the existing results, maximum SG blessing to Paul. The active voice: Paul produces the action of the verb as the recipient of the offering.

“of Epaphroditus” is para plus the ablative. He brought the offering.

“the things from you” – accusative neuter plural of the definite article, the preposition para plus the ablative of the personal pronoun su, “from you all.”

“an odour” – the double accusative o)smh which means a sweet odour, a pleasant odour; “of sweet smell” – a descriptive genitive from e)uwdia, emphasising the fragrance of memories as well as the acceptability of a grace oriented offering—“an odour of fragrance.”

“a sacrifice” – the accusative of apposition from qusia, a priestly sacrifice or offering. The point here is not sacrificial giving but simply an offering, an acceptable or a propitious offering; “acceptable” – dektoj; “well-pleasing” – e)uarestoj, which means a propitious sacrifice.

“to God” – o( qeoj, “the God.”

Translation: “Moreover, I have received en total the all things [of paragraph SG2]: I have more than enough, in fact I have been filled up with the highest quality of [SG] giving with the result that I am filled with a maximum blessing, having received from Epaphroditus the things [money] which was collected from you, an odour of fragrance [memories], a propitious sacrifice, pleasing to the God.”

Principle

1. Every member of the royal family of God is a priest. (Not sacrificial giving, but sacrifices)

2. Every priest makes sacrifices or offerings.

3. The sacrifices of the royal priesthood in this dispensation include: the sacrifice of rebound—Romans 12:1,2; the sacrifice of GAP—Hebrews 13:10; the sacrifice of separation (from evil)—Hebrews 13:13; the sacrifice of praise—Hebrews 13:15 (appreciation of Jesus Christ); the sacrifice of divine good—Hebrews 13:16; the sacrifice of giving—Hebrews 13:16; Philippians 4:18; the sacrifice of academic discipline—Hebrews 3:17; the sacrifice of prayer—Hebrews 13:18,19.

4. The Old Testament Levitical priesthood offered animal sacrifices to commemorate God’s grace, but the royal priesthood of the Church Age offered sacrifices compatible with this dispensation—the application of doctrine to experience.

5. The Levitical sacrifices commemorated grace in anticipation of the cross, therefore the use of animal sacrifices. But the royal priesthood sacrifices are retrospective, looking back to the cross, commemorating grace historically.

6. The Levitical priesthood offered animals whereas the royal priesthood offers the volition and mentality of his soul, the expression of doctrine resident in his right lobe.

1976 Philippians                                                                                        Lesson #111

111 03/07/1976 Philippians 4 Doctrines of giving (pts. 1–6 revised); logistical grace

1976 Philippians                                                                                        Lesson #112

112 03/12/1976 Philippians 4:19a Master plan for Prep School

Verse 19 – the logistics of super-grace giving. “But” – the postpositive conjunction de. It is a transitional particle without any contrast intended. It is used here

to insert an explanation, so it is translated “Now.” The giving of money as an expression of priestly worship is a continuous process throughout life, especially in super-grace.

“my God” – the genitive of relationship from the personal pronoun e)gw. Paul is out in no-man’s land and occupied with Christ. Plus the nominative singular subject qeoj, referring to God the Father as the source of all logistical grace.

“shall supply” – future active indicative of the verb plhrow. “Supply” is all right, but supply is really not the whole story of plhrow. The word means to fill up a deficiency. Paul had a deficiency. He was not deficient in doctrine but he was short on money. Paul is pointing out a principle in connection with the Philippians’ giving. They are now wealthy because they have advanced to SG and God under the principle of logistical grace has provided these things, and he is saying that God used their wonderful prosperity in SG to bless Paul on the road from SG to USG. Out in no-man’s land he needs support. That’s why he says, “my God shall implement.” The future tense is a gnomic future for a statement of fact rightly expected when the believer gives his money as worship. The active voice: the SG believer produces the action of the verb. All growing believers also produce the action of the verb in giving as an expression of worship and commemoration of grace. The indicative mood is declarative for a dogmatic principle of doctrine, namely God’s logistical implementation to fill the deficiency of money.

Because of the money given in worship there is a deficiency in the pockets of some of the Philippians. They, too, are SG believers. Now the question is: Where does the money originate for this to continue? The answer is that God provides it under logistical grace. God will replace the money given in this type of giving.

“all your need” – the accusative is in the singular. The adjective paj is in the singular. These both refer to spiritual and material need of the SG life. Principle: In the true function of giving both doctrine in the soul and money in the pocket co-ordinate. Therefore God will provide the few things it takes to give in this order: doctrine first; money second. He provides first the doctrine for your motivation so that it is legitimate worship, and then He provides the money. Therefore God will provide not only the money but the continual doctrinal teaching so that the logistical problem will always be solved in perfect co-ordination. Plus the accusative singular direct object from xreia referring to a lack or deficiency. “My God shall fill up the deficiency of all of your need.”

“according to his riches” – the preposition kata plus the accusative singular ploutoj which means wealth. With it is the possessive genitive singular from the intensive pronoun a)utoj, important because it emphasises the wealth of God. The wealth of God is infinite, unlimited. In the mundane system of economics you must possess money or credit to make money, but in the grace system of things you must have nothing to gain credit. Nothing means no ability of your own. Doctrine is the issue.

Principle

1. The grace system of logistics has its own capital: Bible doctrine.

2. God in His grace provides both the spiritual and the material capital for the function of the royal priesthood in time.

3. This function reaches its zenith in spiritual maturity and/or super-grace or ultra-super-grace status.

4. Having nothing means having no human assets or ability.

5. Grace has found a way to provide capital for all believers—the daily function of GAP.

6. The accumulation of Bible doctrine in the soul not only results in SG status but it also provides both spiritual and material capital to make grace offerings to the Lord.

7. Grace motivation leads to grace function.

8. The SG status is a frame of reference to all priestly sacrifices.

9. Under category #1 of paragraph SG2 God has provided the motivation for these royal priesthood sacrifices. Under category #2 of paragraph SG2 God has provided whatever is necessary to express the grace motivation of the soul.

“in glory” – e)n plus the locative of doca. This glory is a reference to the eternal status of God. You can choose the temporal or the eternal solution while you

live in time. The eternal solution is the wealth of God. The capital is Bible doctrine in the soul.

“by Christ Jesus” – e)n plus I)hsouj Xristoj which is “in Christ Jesus.” This last prepositional phrase refers to the royal family of God in union with Christ as the means of contact with the resources of wealth. It gives the believer the right to tap the eternal riches of God. Because the royal family is in union with Christ they possess the potentiality of spiritual maturity in time which provides spiritual and material assets to make an acceptable offering to God, and at the same time to save the national entity.

Translation: “Now my God shall fill up the deficiency of all of your need according to his wealth in glory in Christ Jesus.”

1976 Philippians                                                                                        Lesson #113

113 03/14/1976 Philippians 4:19b Doctrines of logistical grace (amplified); electioneering