Bible Discussion Replies PAGE 246

Hello Lovealot19,

These are important questions, and you should study for your understanding and conscience. It may take a while but pray and let the Holy Spirit lead you. Do not go to the Scriptures with preconceived ideas, when we do that our eyes and ears are closed to the truth and Holy Spirit.

We know Jesus is the only way John 14:6, Jesus was sent by the Father and He did the will of the Father. God was with/in Jesus Acts 10:38. The works Jesus did were the Father's works, the words Jesus spoke were the Father's, and Jesus was totally obedient to His death, and by that we are made righteous, Romans 5:19.

God's plan was before creation all was in this plan from the beginning to the end and Jesus was the beginning of this plan 1 Peter 1:19-20.

God bless you,

RLW

Q&A "Firstborn from the dead"

Q: "A time to be born, and a time to die" is with reference to the humanity of Jesus Christ. Can you explain on this?"

A: The season under the heaven is the day decreed for the Son before the worlds began. It is on this basis the nations in the night vision of Daniel are given existence. "As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time."(Dan.7:12) It is decreed in the divine Will of the Father hence it is a night vision. The world empires are overthrown and their dominion is taken away. It is perfect as willed by the Father and shall be made to appear as it is. Why? It is given unto "one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him./And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. " (Dan.7:13-14). This is being going on and our present times is in a flux. As symptomatic we have the slain Lamb before the foundation of the world. The Lamb of God who taketh away is concluded. The Throne of God and of the Lamb shall certainly come to pass. The slain aspect of the Lamb was fulfilled by Jesus Christ on the cross. So the covenant between the Father and the Son is sealed with the blood of the Lamb. Jesus Christ is the first born for all believers, Their blessings guaranteed by the firstborn of all creation. By the same token by his death and resurrection our eternity is also guaranteed.

Hi again Spencer

I was thinking lately what a huge honor gave us, the people, the Almighty God. The infinite God who is over anything in the universe, visible and invisible, visited us down in our world. The imortal God, whom our visible universe of 15 billion light years wide is too small for him, who knows every single little detail about all those billions and billions of people who have lived so far on earth, whom no human words can describe Him, became a man, He ate our food, He drunk our drinks, He slept on our beds, He walked on our soil, He even felt the little stones under His feet when He walked on earth barefoot, He saw our faces, talked to us face to face, laughed together with us, with our jokes, He felt pain in His body, maybe He got sick and ill sometimes , felt fever, He became tired, exhausted, hungry, thirsty, happy, sad, anything that a man goes through His life. He saw His body becoming a man from a baby, He was a teenager sometime like us, He was shaving, cut His hair. Unbelievable, God came down into our world. God Himself.

We are christians so we have become accustomed to that as we have been tought all that since we were kids. But just think about it. God Himself. The Almighty God.

And not only that. He was mocked at, got was spitted onto His face, was laughted at. People sweared at Him. Beated Him. Pulled His hair away. And at the end they punished Him by executing Him with a torturous death, on a cross, like the worst criminals. Punished Him for what? Did he do something bad? And still He didn't give up. He could had stop His torture on the cross if He wanted, but He didn't stop it. Why?

And here comes the most astonishing thing. Because He is love and He loves us and does not want us to be lost in eternity. So the Almighty God sacrificed Himself for us, the "less than nothing, the soil, the dust". Whow.

Amen, brother Spencer.

There are many verses in the scriptures that show the divinity of Jesus Christ. People often get confused when they come to verses that show the human nature of Jesus, like He was praying to God, So they ask, was He praying to Himself? No, He was praying to Father God. But there are also verses that show His divine nature. Because His a Son of Man (human) but also a Son of God (God). One person, two natures. Jesus walked on earth as a human being. He left His glory and power in Heaven and became like one of us. He walked like us, He ate like us, He drunk like us, He slept like us, He prayed like us. He gave us examples how to behave in any instance in our life.

John 2:19, "Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I (pay attention to that "I") will raise it up."

Amen Giannis!

I have used Malachi 3:1 and associated it with Matthew 11:14,

Matthew 3:3,

Luke 3:3-4

and Isaiah 40:3-5.

but I overlooked Luke 1:16-17.

Thanks and God bless.

Anyone looking at a fire can see quite clearly that a fir has tongues of flames . The message is simple bough there was but one fire ,the Holy Sprit each one present (500) expended the tongues of fire falling on each of them .

The growing idea and one imbedded. Now Iin many s that to fully understand the scriptures you must go back to the " original texts" to get a right understanding . This idea is quite false for what knoweth the things of man save the spirit of man ,likewise what knoweth the things of God save the Spirit of God."As all scripture was inspired by the Holy Spirit for men to so wtite. Then in the same measure the Holy Spirit is needed to understand what is written .

Saul of Tarsus with all his learning and bringing and Hebrew being his mother tongue did not understand th scriptures as. She'd be understood until he was enlightened by the Holy Spirit .

The pharassees and the drs of the law had the same problem.

We have so ny ' versions' of the truth these days all boasting in their " better understanding" But clearly have very little and are leading millions astray .

Hi! Thank you for answering my questions.

Jesus as firstborn creation He spoke about this himself in details:

I found this scriptures:

Proverbs 8:22-31

22 The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.

23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.

24 When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.

25 Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:

26 While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.

27 When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:

28 When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:

29 When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:

30 Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him;

31 Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.

Jesus described what it was like to be with his Father and this scriptures is further proof that he is the "firstborn of all creation" .. "the beginning of the creation of God" It doesn't make sense if he is talking about himself. It's very descriptive. Which also made Genesis 1:26 - "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." His son was with him.

I'm slowly learning the verses of the Bible. Thought this is interesting. I want to find the truth :)

Q&A "parables"

Q: Was not Jesus using the Parable of the Sower to present his Father as 'the Word was God'?

A: Parable was his way of separating the corruptible seed from the incorruptible seed. Peter's epistle qualifies this process as 'born again' and separates the incorruptible from the ungodly world,, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever."(1 Pe.1:23). This is according to the will of God ,the unseen world and how it was made to appear? By his word, is it not? "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."( 1 John 5:7,1). Whosoever believes,"that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. " Father Son relationship is built about the word. It also explains "the only begotten Son," status, He is the firstborn since it was the word of God that framed the world where the fullness of God is made to appear. Framing a painting to hang in a gallery to show off the excellence of the artist is one way of putting it.

Each believer has a volume. Heaven bears blessing upon the seed thus sown by the word of God. God gives a body to the herbs trees,- "And the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself," has to show by the fruits whether it be good or bad. Israel would not bear the seed so Jesus said,"But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up"(Matt.15:13).

But what is the firstborn? According to the covenant a believer's world is as promised by God in his Son and it ought to show by fruits. This is explained by the term firstborn. "Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn."(Ex.4:22-23) Pharaoh's first born of the corruptible seed. "Israel failed so parable was one way of separating the unteachable from those whose heart still showed some promise.

Very Good point Bro Giannis!

Thanks and God bless.

I was reading the gospel of Luke and I noticed something.

Luke 1:16-17, "16And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. 17And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

Who is the "Lord their God" in verse 16? The answer is given in verse 17, "And he shall go before him". "Him" who? The Lord the God. It is the person who is going to come after John. Jesus Christ, Lord the God.

Malachi 3:1, "Behold, I(God) will send my messenger(John the Baptist), and he shall prepare the way before me(God): and the Lord, whom ye seek(God), shall suddenly come to his temple(His, meaning it still talks about God), even the messenger of the covenant(Jesus), whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts".

Thanks Poppybrown.

God bless.

Thanks Bennymkje.

God bless

Dear lady , it seems to me that there is something going on in your husband's head that you don't know about . It certainly sounds as if he is struggling with something . You need him to open up to you , you both need to talk to and listen to each other . It would be best for you to do this when he is sober .

It could be a million and one different things , something small and simple , or something big and serious . Reasure him that you are his best friend and that whatever the problem is you will be there for him . He must open up and tell you what's going on with him so that the two of you can sort it out and move forward . Be prepared for the fact that you might not like what he has to say . It may be something shocking or upsetting to you so you need to pray to God a lot about this and , pick your moment to ask your husband what the problem is . Tell him that you've noticed he's changed and you want to know what has brought this change on . Remind him that you are his wife and his best friend and you have a right to know what's troubling him and a duty to help him if you can .

Timing is everything with these dirt of conversations , make sure it's when you won't be disturbed , make sure you have his full attention and that he's relaxed and calm and sober , make sure you don't have to be somewhere else in half an hour .

Maybe he needs to change his job and come back home and start going to church again and stop drinking . Give him time to speak and get it all out , be a good listener . Hear what he has to say before you start giving your side . If you interrupt him while he's trying to tell you , he may get mad or just stop talking . May God bless you both .

Page 2.

To your second question on Colossians 1:15, "Who (i.e. Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature". In this verse, we can't read it as 'Jesus being the first to be born (or created) of all living things'. If this was so, then the following verses ( Colossians 1:16,17) are incorrect & meaningless, for it's not possible that a first born or created being should also be the creator of other beings; nor was Jesus born/created before Adam & Eve, rather, He came onto the earthly scene only two millenia ago.

The only way that Jesus could be involved in creating, and to be "before all things" & to hold all things together, is for Him to not be made alongside the creation of humans, creatures, etc. Therefore, when we read Colossians 1:15, the word "firstborn" of every creature refers to Jesus' Rank & Rights that a firstborn would hold; and this also speaks of Jesus' preeminent position over all that He has created. As also in Romans 8:29, where Jesus is said to be "the firstborn among many brethren". Here as well, it has nothing to do with a birth, but that Jesus would be the cause (the beginning) & preeminent One of His newly formed Body, His Church, leading us into the family of God His Father.

Revelation 3:14, "..the beginning of the creation of God". Here, it speaks of Jesus as the One Who is the Originator, or the beginner of God's Creation. It certainly cannot be that Jesus was the first creation of God's creative Work; if this was so, then Jesus was created back in eternity past & everything else was created after him by God - and the other Scriptures refute this, confirming that Jesus was actually involved in creating. I realize that this verse can be confusing, but when read in line with other associated passages which tell us of Jesus' Work of creation & His Divinity, then it (and other passages) fit in well together. Hope this was helpful & others may contribute; & thanks again for those good questions.

Page 1.

Hello Lovealot19. Thanks for your questions.

To the first one: when we speak of Jesus being God, or Almighty God, we know that Jesus is not the Father - He is the Son (of God). But the question: where did Jesus come from that He should be called God, or Divine? Jesus Himself spoke of coming forth from God ( John 16:28, "I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father").

The prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 7:14 prophesied about a special Child to be born, which was fulfilled as given in Matthew 1:22,23, "Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us".

So just from these few verses we are told that God was going to bring a special Person into the World (and we know that it was for the purpose of Sacrifice & Redemption of sinners); and this Person was not born from the union of two humans, but His beginning was from God Himself. John 1:1-14 tells us that God's Word was made flesh, begotten of the Father - and John was speaking here of Jesus (Jesus' Origin & His Divine Nature).

Why does Jesus then pray to God? Because God brought forth One, a part of Himself, Who is both Divine & Human, & called Him His Son ( Matthew 3:17), for He came forth from within the Person of God. As a Son, Jesus now rightfully speaks (or prays) to His Father & was subservient to Him in every respect fulfilling the Will of the Father to one day make full payment for our sins. This Jesus has done, which God His Father accepted, & raised Jesus to be with Him sharing in His Glory, in Honor & in Power. As the Son of God, Jesus was wholly obedient to His Father's Will; now raised in Glory, the Son receives the praise & worship just as God His Father receives ( Philippians 2:5-11). Onto Page 2.

Q&A "Emotions"

God is invisible and no one has seen Him. Is Jesus cleansing the temple we have the Spirit expressing it to the Psalm quote. What does it signify?

A: Soon after the miracle at Cana we have him demonstrating that he was the Word become flesh. "And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up." ( John 2:17). He did no sin because he let the Word has its final say over his actions. Some wanted to make him a king, for instance. He avoided them because it was the glory with which Satan bought fallen man.

But the essential lesson the Spirit teaches us is not in the action but in his saying. "It says Follow me. I am the Way." He is the sign. It is what connects us to him. We are signs and wonders in his Asociation and not apart."Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?

19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?

21 But he spake of the temple of his body.

22 When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said."

History of the Church (part 5)

Whether we seek in the Old or New Testament to those who were considered the followers of the true God we see evidence of a remnant that truly seek after Him; in other words not just confessors of Him but possessors of His Holy Spirit; His favor and His blessings. The fact that there are tares in with the wheat is discussed in churches that are true to proclaiming the Word; but conversely in today's typical Laodicean type churches it isn't discussed much if at all along with other hard doctrines. I have brought up the fact that God has His reasons for allowing wheat and tares to grow up together; although there certainly are some mysteries there on this side of heaven we can't comprehend fully as to why God is patient with vessels fit for destruction ( Romans 9:22).

Having briefly discussed the Apostles Peter and Paul I will go on to look at a case study; that of the Corinthians. We of course at face value tend to find this church as an embarrassing affront to the stalwart record of many other churches in the Epistles. We should remind ourselves that the Ephesian church had it all going seemingly right for themselves but they had developed what could have resulted in a fatal error in losing their first love according to Revelation 2. The Galatians had serious errors as well. The important fact is that at least in the short term the Corinthians really turned around in regard to their generosity ( 2 Corinthians 9) and obeyed Paul in regard to disciplining the man with the heinous sin (likely the one who was first mentioned in 1 Cor. 5:1). The idea of structured leadership and those in authority with integrity such as Paul; a TRUE Apostle results in the Body being built up. They had to get past the immaturity and being impressed with those bombastic individuals with convincing words that impressed those who were puffed up. ( 2 Corinthians 11:16-33). It doesn't seem this church accepted a false Christ; however.

Constantine only ordered Sunday as a day of worship because Christians were already practicing this. Jesus Christ rose on the first day of the week, which is Sunday. The Sabbath was never considered but only as a day of Rest, not worship. Worship was anytime someone brought a Sacrifice for a sin offing. There were High Sabbaths for corporate worship, but individual worship could be anyday otherwise it was a rest day.

Gerald,

You are free to disagree, and I truly respect that. However, I stand by what I have shared. If you have a copy of the Greek Text (Textus Receptus), you will see that this word (obey) used in Acts 5:32 is the word PEITHARCHOUSIN.

This Greek word is a compound word which comes from PEITHO which means persuasion, and ARCHO meaning ruler. If you are rejecting the interpretation of the word PEITHARCHOUSIN that I have shared, then I kindly encourage you to search this word out before rejecting its meaning.

I do agree with some of what you are saying. But you say that "God now" commands all men to repent." And then you say that it's not an option to be persuaded of. Are you saying that persuasion to repent is not an option? If that's what you are saying, how would one repent, make a decision to change the direction of their life, and surrender their life to Christ without first being persuaded by the Holy Spirit to do so? A man will not repent unless he/she is being persuaded to do so. John 6:44 says that "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him:"

Again, I do agree with some of the things you've said, but I would encourage you to please re-read what I shared about the word "obey," which I have taken from the Greek text. I do thank you very much for taking the time to read my post.

God Bless!!!

Who did Jesus prayed to while he was on earth? If he is the almighty God, why does he prayed to himself?

Why does the passages mentioned that Jesus was the firstborn of all creation? But we know God has no beginning.

Col 1:15 "Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:"

Rev 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;"

ofc i am so sorry for you

Oh my have you talked to the police

(Acts Part 20):

Acts 8:39 - And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.

In the Greek text, this phrase "caught away" is the word HARPADZO, same word for the rapture. God's Spirit snatched Philip away, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. Many believe that this was a miracle where Philip was just there, and he's gone. But that doesn't necessarily have to be the translation as we understand it.

God Spirit just grabbed him by force. This wasn't a casual goodbye. It's one of those "I got to go!" And the eunuch saw him no more: and he (the eunuch) went on his way rejoicing. History tells us that this eunuch was the one who started the church, the body of Christ, in Ethiopia. Interesting when he got home!

Acts 9:2 - And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.

So, he went to the high priest and desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of "the way," and please notice the literal translation.

It is not "of this way." It's actually a title. The Christians were called or said to be of "the way." It is the word for road. It is the word for way of life taken from John 14:6. Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life."

So, they did not see it as a religion. They saw it as a way of life, these people who are of "the way." Of what way? Of Jesus. He is their way of life. It's interesting that if he found any of "THE WAY," whether they were men or women, so he didn't care who they were, that he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.

The word "bound" is in the Perfect Tense showing condition. He wants to get as many as he can find, both men and women, and bind them, put chains or ropes around them, and bring them into Jerusalem in this condition.

The word of God says you see the Father, you see the Son, you see the Son, you see the Father.

God the Father

God the son

God the Holy Sprite

All three make one, and One makes all three.

COME LORD JESUS

(Acts Part 19):

Acts 8:2 - And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.

Meanwhile back home, devout men, (that would be Jewish religious men), carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.

That last little phrase "making great lamentation over him" was actually an expression of rebellion. You were not allowed to weep or make lamentation over criminals. So, they were weeping over him!

Acts 8:3 - As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.

The word "havock" (or raging) in Greek means destruction. He was destroying the church, literally dismantling the church. And entering into every house, and dragging men and women, he committed them to prison. This is a house-to-house search for Christians throughout the city of Jerusalem. I'd say that he is pretty obsessed with finding Christians!

Acts 8:37 - And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

And Philip said, and I'm going to give you a literal translation here because the literal translation brings out so much more than the English does.

The English says, "If thou believest with all thine heart."

The Greek says, "If you are believing from out of your whole heart." Your whole heart! And if you are continuously believing from out of your whole heart, Christ has just taken over your whole heart, you may. And he answered and said, I am believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

Again, the term "Son of God" is in reference to Messiah, and the anointing of God Himself. He's making confession!

(Acts Part 18):

Acts 7:51 - Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.

That's not a great way to start out and win friends. Stiffnecked! All of us have actually experienced waking up some morning with a stiff neck. But that's not what it means. They called a person a "stiffneck person" when they refused to bow. And someone would come over to them and grab them by the back of the neck and try to make them bow and they would stiffen up and refuse to bow. A "stiffnecked" person is a person who refuses to bow to the lordship of Christ.

Acts 8:1 - And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.

And Saul was consenting unto his death. That is a specific Jewish term making reference to vote. He was consenting. He cast his vote to have Stephen put to death. And at that time, there was a great persecution against the church, which was at, or in Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.

The apostles didn't travel, at least at the beginning, and they stayed behind. But Paul wasn't finished. He wasn't satisfied with just the death of Stephen. This began a city-wide persecution of rounding up believers. And so, they scattered. And that is their official name, even to this day. They are the DIASPORA. That is the Greek word for scattered. DIASPORA are the scattered ones, the Jews who had been scattered outside their homeland of Israel.

(Acts Part 17):

Acts 6:8 - And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.

The word miracles is the word signs. They translated it miracles to emphasize the fact that whatever powerful work, whatever moving of God's Spirit, it was a physical sign to draw people to establish it being from God.

Acts 7:1 - Then said the high priest, Are these things so?

Literally, the Greek text presents a legal court question. "Do any of these accusations hold these things?" Meaning, are any true? Answer for yourself!

Acts 7:38 - This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:

The word church is the word assembly. It is the first word of church, other than the Lord in Matthew Chapter 16 saying, "Upon this rock I will build my church," that there were churches mentioned.

And it literally means an assembly or called out ones! The English word church in the bible is not the same word church that we use in English. It looks the same on paper but it's not. KURIDOMA is the word that we use as church, and it means the house or dome of the Lord, meaning the building. But the biblical church is called EKKLESIA, EK meaning out, and KALEO to call.

These are people who have been called out by the Lord. The church are His people. It's not a building. It's not a system. It's God's people!

So, this is interesting. This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him on mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the living oracles to give to us. Again, he is making emphasis on that leadership that has come.

(Acts Part 16):

Acts 6:3 - Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.

The literal translation here when it says, "of honest report," this is the word "testimony" and it is in a Present Participial form. Those who are carrying the testimony of two things: number one, being full of the Holy Spirit. And number two, being full of wisdom.

To be filled with the Holy Spirit doesn't have anything to do with the Holy Spirit "leaking out" and you have to go to a meeting or church and get filled up again. The Greek word for "filled" means to have your inner faculties filled and influenced by something.

We always have the Holy Spirit living inside of us no matter what we're doing. Even if we're not doing what He's doing, He's always in us and He's always active. But then there are times when God's Spirit would fill our inner human faculties and use us to either do something or say something.

Acts 6:5 - And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:

And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. Wow! That's his reputation. By the way, these are all Jews with Greek names from the Hellenist community.

As a side note, Nicolas was a proselyte from Antioch. From the history of this man, he eventually left God's work somewhere down the line and he gathered his own following. Because his name is Nicolas, they were called the Nicolaitans. Beginning at Revelation 2:6, he told the church at Ephesus, "You hate the deeds and the doctrines of the Nicolaitans which I also hate."

They were followers of Nicolas, and the trail leads back, at least to the historians and the archaeologists, to this Nicolas of Antioch. Just a side note!

Giannis,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. The emphasis is on Jesus' position of authority and power, which you have shown.

Amen!

Hello Ronald,

I do not mind at all, my brother. And thank you so much for sharing your understanding. Blessings to you also in Christ!