philippians-3:15-19

By the mercy of God I have been a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ since my early youth. Over the years of my earthly pilgrimage I have known what it is like to climb great spiritual mountains and how it feels to fall into chasms of blackness. I have had long seasons of great Christian joy and inte... Read More

The entire inner world of thought must be brought under the control of the Holy Spirit so that the Spirit may bring "into capitvity" every thought to the obedience of Christ, and cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God. The conquest of the mind m... Read More

I am convinced that the only way to experience the fullness of the joy of Jehovah is to share His grief. God does grieve over sin, and those who truly walk with Him enter into His grief. In the days of Noah, "God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth," and that every imagination of t... Read More

Evidently he had been accused of deceitful behavior (cf. 2Co 7:2; 12:16). This he emphatically rejects. The openness marking the new covenant had always been reflected in his conduct. His tactics had never been secretive or deceptive, nor had he ever dishonestly manipulated the message of God entrus... Read More

We have attained (5348) (phthano) originally meant to precede someone, to come before or to anticipate (as used in 1Th 4:15-note). Over time phthano begin to lose the idea of priority and to mean simply to come to or to arrive at. The idea is to come to a particular state or to arrive at a goal and ... Read More

Keep watch (69) (agrupneo from a = without + hupnos = sleep; cp agrupnia - 2Co 6:5, 11:27) literally means to abstain completely from sleep, pass sleepless nights, to be sleepless, to lie awake and think about (Liddell Scott) to stay alert, and then figuratively to stay alert, to remain vigilant and... Read More

To love (25) (agapao - see related study of noun agape) means to love unconditionally and sacrificially as God Himself loves sinful men (John 3:16), the way He loves the Son (John 3:35, 15:9, 17:23, 24). Note that agapao is a verb and by its verbal nature calls for action. This quality of love is no... Read More

Greed (4124) (pleonexia from pleíon = more + écho = have) means literally to have more and describes a strong desire to acquire more and more material possessions, especially that which is forbidden. It is a desire to have more irrespective of one's need and is always used in bad sense. It describes... Read More

Cross (3586) (xulon/xylon from xuo = to scrape) is literally wood and refers to anything made of wood, including a tree or other wooden article or substance. In Ac 5:30, 10:39, 13:29, 1Pe 2:24 and Gal 3:13 xulon refers to the old rugged Cross. The NT idea of xulon/xylon as a cross is related to Dt 2... Read More

Destruction (684) (apoleia from apo = marker of separation, away from + olethros = ruin, death but not annihilation <> from ollumi = to destroy) means utter and hopeless loss of all that gives worth to existence. Note that contrary to popular opinion apoleia does not refer to extinction or annihilat... Read More