Category Archives: New Testament

Name above all names

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Jesus, name above all names;
Beautiful Savior, glorious Lord.
Emmanuel, God is with us;
Blessed Redeemer, Living Word.

song “Jesus, Name Above All Names”, by Nadia Hearn
© Copyright 1974 by Scripture in Song

Such a simple song, yet such a great feeling of humble devotion. How do you feel when you say the name of Jesus? Humble? Reverent? Unworthy? Thankful? Hopefully you treat the name of Jesus with more respect than the world does, with so many saying  His holy name without so much as a thought of it being more than “just a word”.

How did people treat the name of Jesus in Bible times?

  • People were healed in the name of Jesus (Acts 3:6)
  • The name of Jesus is equated with good news (Acts 8:12)
  • Sinners were baptized in the name of Jesus (Acts 10:48)
  • Evil spirits fled at the name of Jesus (Acts 16:18)

Indeed, we’re told that there will come a day when “at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11) So we know there will come a time when everyone will praise the name of Jesus — even those who curse His name today!

When you speak the name of Jesus, do you do so with the understanding and the realization that you are speaking the very name of God Himself? In a very real sense that I don’t believe we can understand completely, the Son and the Father are one (John 10:30, John 17:11, John 17:22). Certainly the phrase “I AM” had a very specific meaning to the Jews — a meaning they understood without question to be God (Exodus 3:14), and which was considered to be His name. Are you aware that Jesus used this phrase on at least two occasions to refer to Himself?

  • When walking on water: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” (Matthew 14:27, Mark 6:50, John 6:20)
  • When responding to the mob: “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (John 18:4-5)

But wait a minute, you say. Jesus didn’t simply say “I am”. He said “I am he” or “It is I”. And you’re sort of correct. That’s the way these verses are often translated into the English language. Look at what He really said though. What He said in both of these situations was originally recorded in the Greek language, and in the Greek all 4 of these verses use the phrase “ego eimi” — I AM.

This was no mistake on Jesus’ part. In the case of trying to ease the disciples’ fear, He was letting them know that God was with them. (In fact, isn’t that exactly what one of His other names — Immanuel — means? Matthew 1:23)

Why He said this to the mob, I don’t know, but I do know their response, and it was nothing short of a mind-breaking, take-your-breath-away awe: “When He told them I AM, they drew back and fell to the ground.” (John 18:6 — That’s my paraphrase of the Greek. Hover over the verse for the ESV translation of it.) In effect, He’s saying, “I’m God — take me if you want”, and they responded accordingly — if only for a moment.

All right, my point in all of this is that “at the name of Jesus every knee will bow”, and every time we say His name we should bow — not necessarily physically, but mentally humbling ourselves before Him, recognizing Jesus as our Lord and our God (John 20:28), and that His name is undeniably the name above all names.

What was nailed to the cross with Jesus?

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When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Colossians 2:13-15 — NIV

The verse I want to focus on is verse 14, but I kept all 3 verses for context. Actually, for the full context, read the entire book of Colossians. It’s only 4 chapters, so it shouldn’t take  more than 15-30 minutes.

having canceled the written code, with its regulations

A reasonable person might read this and think, “How many ‘written codes’ did God give?” Certainly the Old Law comes to mind. Any others? In fact, this is a popular interpretation of this passage — based on the NIV translation — but I’d like to suggest a different interpretation. (Are we under the Old Law then? No, but that doesn’t mean that’s what Paul was writing about in this verse.)

Here’s the same 3 verses, from the New American Standard Version:

When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 14having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him. Colossians 2:13-15 — NASV

having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees

Suddenly that doesn’t sound so much like the Old Law. In fact, I’d like to suggest it wasn’t the Old Law that “stood opposed to us”. In fact, the Law was perfect (Psalm 19:7). If it was the Law that was imperfect and that “stood opposed to us”, surely Jesus would have come to destroy the Law, but he didn’t (Matthew 5:17).

So what was “nailed to the cross” with Jesus (v. 14)? I believe context leads us to the interpretation that it was the fact that the Old Law could not save — that no one could keep it perfectly except the One Who was perfect already. You know the song — “He paid a debt He did not owe, I owed a debt I could not pay.” That was “the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us” — not the Law itself, but our slavery to the debt of having to keep the Law perfectly in order to achieve righteousness. This segues perfectly into that last word Jesus spoke from the cross — tetelestai (commonly translated into 3 English words, “it is finished” ). This word literally means “the debt has been paid”.

So what did Jesus nail to the cross?

He nailed to the cross our certificate of debt. It was that certificate that said under the Old Law, we must keep the Law perfectly in order to be justified, but under the law of grace, we can be counted as righteous — we can be justified — by Jesus having paid the debt on our behalf. Hallelujah!

First look at  The  [ e x p a n d e d ]  Bible

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Thomas Nelson Publishers today announced a new Bible version that their CEO, Michael Hyatt, calls “similar to the Amplified Bible, but better.” The Expanded Bible will be published on August 11 this year, and they are allowing anyone to download a free copy of the New Testament from their website. I not only wanted to download it and see for myself what it was like, but wanted to give you my first impressions.

So here are my observations, in no particular order…

  1. From the Introduction: “All translation requires interpretation. One cannot convey meaning in a second language without first deciding what it means in the original. This step of interpretation in translation is unavoidable and imperfect; equally skilled and well-meaning scholars will interpret differently.” That’s so well-said, I’m going to let it stand on its own.
  2. The Expanded Bible “allows the reader to see multiple possibilities for words, phrases, and interpretations. Rather than opting for one choice, it shows many.” Rather than explain what that means, I’ll show you with a verse that no doubt everyone reading this can quote:

    “[LFor] God loved the world so much that he gave his •one and only [only; unique; Tonly begotten; 1:14, 18] Son so that whoever believes in him may not •be lost [Tperish], but have eternal life.” John 3:16

    The bullet characters are used to identify the word or words for which alternate translations are given inside the brackets. The superscript “L” refers to a literal translation, while the superscript “T” identifies a “traditional” translation, such as from the KJV.

  3. It’s pretty obvious that the best way I can use this translation is for home study, or as a comparative translation during Bible class or while listening to a sermon. I don’t think I’d use it to read scripture publicly during a worship service.
  4. I see this translation as both a Bible translation and a study guide. By providing alternative translations of many Bible words and phrases, it gives an added perspective on the meaning of most any passage.

Here are two pairs of passages for you to compare. The passage on the left is from The Expanded Bible; the passage on the right is from The New American Standard Version.
 

God has put Christ •over [far above] all rulers, authorities, powers, and •kings [lords; dominion], and every other •title given [Lname that is named] not only in this •world [age] but also in the •next [coming one]. 22God •put [subjected] everything under his •power [Lfeet; Ps. 8:6] and •made him the head over everything for the church [or gave him to the church as head over all things], which is his body. Ephesians 1:21-22 …far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church… Ephesians 1:21-22
But if we •live [Lwalk] in the light, as •God [Lhe] is in the light, we •can share [have] fellowship with each other. Then the blood of Jesus, God’s Son, cleanses us from every sin. 8If we say we •have no sin [or have no sin nature; or are not guilty of sinning], we are •fooling [deceiving] ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because •we can trust God to do what is right [Lhe is faithful and righteous/just; Deut. 32:4]. He will •cleanse [purify] us from all •the wrongs we have done [unrighteousness]. 1 John 1:7-9 …if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:7-9

Wayne Hastings, the Senior Vice President and Group Publisher of Nelson’s Bible Division, said their intent was to create a Bible that combined “devotional reading and in-depth study in a completely new way.” I believe they’ve done that. I’m normally not a huge fan of this genre of Bibles, but I like The Expanded Bible. It’s not a word-for-word translation, to be sure, but certainly one that could be a great addition to the library of any serious Bible student.