6 Responses to “Paul’s Letters”

1. 

   Nick V 26 May 2010 at 8:22 am #

   Amazing Grace! That He would call us saints. The book of Ephesians is so tightly compiled with the mystery and revelation of God and His plan a purpose revealed NOW to man which was hidden in times past. We live in the dispensation of grace as Christ fills all in all through His church. If you want to be part of this dispensation you have to connect to your local church. If you lived in the dispensation of Noah, you had to be helping Noah build the ark. If you lived under the dispensation of the law you would be following Moses through the desert, just to mention 2 dispensations. A common question Christians ask is why did God create man? Well we can really expound on His plan and purpose for man but Rev. 4:11 sums it up: Rev 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. It’s all for His good will and pleasure. I praise Him for the time He chose to create us under the dispensation of Grace and the local Church.

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2. 

   Marie B. 2 June 2010 at 6:47 am #

   WOAH!! 1 Timothy 2:11-15:”A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; she is to remain quiet…” and it continues about Adam and Eve (Eve became a transgressor) and yet “she will be saved through childbearing…”
   So of course, I started looking for other passages in the New Testament regarding women’s status. It looks like there are other verses that show women are considered equal (even prostitutes). There are the other passages about the husband being the head of the household (which I’ve always agreed with in my own marriage- much to my feminist mother’s and sisters’ disapproval-LOL). Then, you have the Corinthians verse about women being silent in church (I read that may have been inserted later on because it seems to contradict other parts of that passage).
   This may have been discussed before, but if you were to put me in a grade as far as my Bible study goes, I’d be in Kindergarten. I need a little help disecting exactly what our role as women should be in society according to the Bible- since as a friend of mine put it- “the Bible is my GPS” in life.

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     sarters 2 June 2010 at 12:12 pm #

     Marie- Great questions. A few observations:
     1. Men and women are equal in standing before the Lord.
     2. In marriage, there is to be a submission of the wife as the husband has to answer to God for the entire family. He is also called to love his wife as Christ loved the church…which is a tall order. For the wife who has a non-believing husband, that submission may be more challenging, but it is part of honoring and loving.
     3. Outside marriage a woman should not submit to a man, except in following the command for the church, “submit to one another” Eph 5:19.
     4. In church, the role of elder is limited to a man, in the same way as in a marriage, as an authority structure states that elders are accountable to God for the church. In my case, I have to answer to God for how the church functions, not just for my own actions.
     5. I think that the women being silent in the church is part of the problem in the Corinthian church. They were really messed up, and having a higher structure of accountability was important. The Timothy passage on teaching is a lesser version of the same idea.
     6. At Dix Hills, we obviously let women speak, but they are under the authority of the elders and pastors.

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     Nick V 10 June 2010 at 8:59 am #

     Hello Maria, great observations and great answers by Pastor. Their seemed to be lack of order in the Corinthian church so, as Pastor stated, it was a direct word to the Corinthians and a follow-up via the book of Timothy. Women played a great part in the first century church. The first person Jesus appeared to after His resurrection was Mary Magdalene, a woman (Jn 20:11-18) and told her to go TELL my disciples I am risen. Stephen had 7 daughters who prophesied. God used a woman to bring The Christ into the world. Women constantly ministered to Jesus. It is all over the gospels. Women played a big role in the Apostle Paul’s life. God hates oppression, clicks and any idea of superiority so He spells it out in Galatians: Gal 3:28 there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. But for order sake in the church Pastor stated it in his reply to you. As he said there’s a greater accountability on him and the elders so pray for them.

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3. 

   Nick V 29 May 2010 at 8:50 am #

   Questions: to Pastor 1 Thessalonians 2:18 Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us. Satan still has the right to hinder an Apostle? There must be something more to this than I am not seeing. Also the theme in Ephesians and Colossians are quite similar. I believe Ephesians and Colossians were written at the same time or are they a continuation of Paul’s revelation? Does anyone have insight to these questions?

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4. 

   sarters 2 June 2010 at 12:01 pm #

   Satan has a great deal of power for the testing of the believer. Look at Peter. Jesus says that Satan had asked to sift Peter…and Jesus didn’t say no, only that he would pray for him.
   I think that God allows Satan to have enough power to test, challenge, and make people prayerful.

   Yes Ephesians and Colossians were written together while Paul was in prison in Rome. Also Philemon and Philipians, which are connected too.

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