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bible February 3, 2017

What is the meaning of "water and blood" in 1 John 5:6?

In 1 John 5:6 John uses water and blood as symbolic short hand, clearly expecting his audience to know the meaning of these two liquids.

6 This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not
come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who
testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that
testify: 8 the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are
in agreement. 9 We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is
greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about
his Son.

At its most basic 1 John 5:6 operates as a counter claim to those who hold that Jesus Christ came in water but not in blood. John holds that Jesus Christ came by both water and blood. A counter group appears to believe He came only in water. The structure of this verse as an implicit rebuttal begs the question of what does it refute. What is the meaning of water and blood?

bible February 3, 2017

In John 1:35, who were the two disciples of John the Baptist?

The Greek text of John 1:35 according to the Textus Receptus states,

ΛΕʹ Τῇ ἐπαύριον πάλιν εἱστήκει ὁ Ἰωάννης καὶ ἐκ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ δύο TR, 1550

which is translated as,

35 On the day after, John, and two of his disciples, had been standing again,

Are these two disciples of John the Baptist ever identified?

bible February 3, 2017

In Ephesians 1:10 , to what or whom does «τὰ πάντα…τὰ…ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς» refer?

In Eph. 1:10, the Greek text according to the Textus Receptus states,

Ιʹ εἰς οἰκονομίαν τοῦ πληρώματος τῶν καιρῶν ἀνακεφαλαιώσασθαι τὰ πάντα ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ τὰ τε ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς TR, 1550

According to my understanding, the idea is that everything in heaven and upon earth is recapitulated (from the lemma ἀνακεφαλαιῶ), that is, brought under a single head, “in Christ.” Although it has a few meanings, I understand “in Christ” here to mean, “by being a Christian and being incorporated into the body of Christ.” That being said, I can understand what “everything that/everyone who is upon the earth” («τὰ πάντα…τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς») refers to, which would be Christians alive on earth (i.e., the Church militant).

However, to what or whom does the phrase “everything that/everyone who is in heaven” («τὰ πάντα…τὰ…ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς») refer? Do the other verses in the epistle shed any light on its meaning or referent?

bible February 2, 2017

Meaning of "equip" in Ephesians 4:12

4:11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the
shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of
ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain
to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to
mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of
Christ…

Is there support to interpret “equip” as both affecting the individual believer as well as the local church body? I’m considering the latter interpretation based on the following commentary on 2 Corinthians 13:11:

Katartizo conveys the sense here not of adding something that is
lacking, but of putting things in order, of adjusting things that are
out of adjustment as for example in describing fisherman mending their
nets. Paul was commanding the Corinthian saints to mend their ways, to
straighten themselves out, and restore harmony among themselves.
Spiritual wholeness comes when the church, both collectively and
individually, is in complete conformity to God’s Word. To equip the
saints to do so is the responsibility of the church’s leaders.

bible February 1, 2017

In what month did Jesus fast according to Matthew?

Matthew 4:1 ►

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (NIV).

In what month did this happen?

For most other great (or maybe all) events in the life of Jesus, you can see a connection with a feast or a month. Does the text provide any clues as to when this event occurred?