The Song of Christ the Creator and Redeemer

Colossians 1:15-20
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. [...]

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Gleanings from the Gospel of Matthew – Part 6

At the end of chapter 5 of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives these shocking words:
Greek: ἔσεσθε οὖν ὑμεῖς τέλειοι ὡς ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος τέλειός ἐστιν.
Transliteration: esesthe oun humeis teleioi hos ho pater humon ho ouranios teleios estin
My Translation: Therefore, you shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.
In this verse, Jesus [...]

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Gleanings from the Gospel of Matthew – Part 5

Satan tries one last time to tempt Jesus in the wilderness, recorded in Matthew 4. He says,
Greek:
9 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· ταῦτά σοι πάντα δώσω, ἐὰν πεσὼν προσκυνήσῃς μοι. 
10 τότε λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· ὕπαγε, σατανᾶ· γέγραπται γάρ· κύριον τὸν θεόν σου προσκυνήσεις καὶ αὐτῷ μόνῳ λατρεύσεις.
My translation:
9 and he said to Him, “All these things I will [...]

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Gleanings from the Gospel of Matthew – Part 4

During His time in the wilderness, Jesus is assaulted with three attacks by Satan. The first two attacks come in the form of a conditional statement:
Greek: εἰ υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ θεοῦ
Transliteration: ei huios ei tou theou 
English: If you are the Son of God
This type of conditional statement in the Greek assumes the truth of the [...]

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Gleanings from the Gospel of Matthew – Part 3

“He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
In Matthew 3:11-12, we see a two-fold aspect to the Lord’s baptism: with Spirit and with fire. Baptism is a sign of judgment. To those who believe and ratify God’s promise, baptism is a sign of God’s righteousness via grace because His righteous judgment was poured [...]

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Gleanings from the Gospel of Matthew – Part 2

While I was in Matthew 3 a few days ago, a particular word stuck out to me in 3:6. The verse reads: 
Greek: καὶ ἐβαπτίζοντο ἐν τῷ Ἰορδάνῃ ποταμῷ ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ ἐξομολογούμενοι τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν
Transliteration: kai ebaptizonto en to Iordane potamo hup’ autou exomologoumenoi tas hamartias auton.
English (my translation): and they were being baptized in the Jordan [...]

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Gleanings from the Gospel of Matthew – Part 1

One of the New Year’s resolutions on my list has been taking up the challenge to read through the entire NT in Greek in 2009, using my UBS Greek Reader’s Bible while trying to avoid using my Bible software as a crutch. Therefore, I am starting with the Gospel of Matthew. As I was reading [...]

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προσκυνέω (worship)

προσ – to, towardsκυνέω – to kiss
προσκυνέω: to crouch, crawl, or fawn, like a dog at his master’s feet; hence, to prostrate one’s self, after the eastern custom, to do reverence or homage to any one, by kneeling or prostrating one’s self before him, to express in attitude or gesture one’s complete dependence on or submission [...]

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The Deity of Christ: A Defense and Meditation on John 1:1

John 1:1 sets forth the greatest argument concerning the deity of Christ as the eternal, pre-existent, Word as well as showing the intensely intimate relationship between the Son and the Father within the Godhead.
However, the deity of Christ is constantly under attack by non-Christians. Historically, it was the Arian heresy that denied the deity of [...]

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