Jesus Christ Through the Eyes of the Apostle John Lesson #58 John's Letters Perfect Love Leads to Eternal Life With Christ 1 John 4:15 5:12 It was

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1 Jesus Christ Through the Eyes of the Apostle John Lesson #58 John's Letters Perfect Love Leads to Eternal Life With Christ 1 John 4:15 5:12 It was very important to John that believers were reassured that on the day of judgment when we stand before Christ we should have no fear... With God living in us through Christ, we have no reason to fear this day because we have been saved from punishment. Instead, we can look forward to the day of judgment because it will mean the end of sin and the beginning of a face-to-face relationship with Jesus Christ... John was not alone among the New Testament writers when he described God's perfect love for us through His Son Jesus Christ... Please reread and consider Paul's statement in Romans 8:37 39 where he writes, that nothing in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. At the beginning of chapter five, John again presents a concept that may be difficult for us to fully accept... The reality of just exactly who are fellow children of God is between God and them, and not for us to determine... We are to love them wholly and without reservation no matter how hard that may seem in some cases... Recall that part of the reason John wrote this letter is to confront and rebut those who claimed that Jesus of Nazareth was not really the Son of God the Christ... Here John draws not only on his own testimony but the testimony of God Himself... Go back and reread the passage in Matthew 3:13 17 about Jesus' baptism... As you read the Matthew passage and this passage in First John, consider the words in which John tells us that the Spirit testifies that Jesus is the Son of God... Remember that the Apostle was present when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist... Do you think that God's words, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased must have been ringing in John's ears as he reflected on that moment? Jewish teaching was that all would rise to live eternally, some to eternal rewards and some to eternal damnation... John here assures his first

2 century readers and us that belief in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, leads unmistakably and surely to eternal life with Him... How might you use this entire passage as a starting point to lead someone who is not yet a believer to a saving belief in Jesus Christ? This passage is from the New English Translation (NET Bible)... Also refer to the version you usually use... If it has a study apparatus, please use it and plan to share in class... Perfecting Love Within Us (1 John 4:15 21) 15 If anyone confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God resides in him and he in God. 16 And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has in us. God is love, and the one who resides in love resides in God, and God resides in him. 17 By this love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because just as Jesus is, so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears punishment has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he loved us first. 20 If anyone says I love God and yet hates his fellow Christian, he is a liar, because the one who does not love his fellow Christian whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And the commandment we have from him is this: that the one who loves God should love his fellow Christian too. Overcoming the World (1 John 5:1 4) 5:1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been fathered by God, and everyone who loves the father loves the child fathered by him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God: whenever we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God: that we keep his commandments. And his commandments do not weigh us down, 4 because everyone who has been fathered by God conquers the world. This is the conquering power that has conquered the world: our faith.

3 Testimony About the Son (1 John 5:5 12) 5 Now who is the person who has conquered the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 6 Jesus Christ is the one who came by water and blood not by the water only, but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify, 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three are in agreement. 9 If we accept the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, because this is the testimony of God that he has testified concerning his Son. 10 (The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has testified concerning his Son.) 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 The one who has the Son has this eternal life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have this eternal life.

4 Study Questions and Thoughts Why is John so sure that we can look forward to the day of judgment with absolute confidence (1 John 4:17)? What do you think John means by writing that the love of God is perfected in us (1 John 4:17 19)? How might we show true sacrificial love for fellow believers (1 John 5:1)? In the context of our eternal salvation, why is it important that Jesus truly is the Son of God (1 John 5:6 8)? What is the significance of John's testimony that God has given us eternal life (1 John 5:11 12)? How do you think that God intended these passages to affect our daily life today?

5 Jesus Christ Through the Eyes of the Apostle John Lesson #58 John's Letters Perfect Love Leads to Eternal Life With Christ 1 John 4:15 5:12 Perfecting Love Within Us (1 John 4:15 21) 15 If anyone confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God resides in him A and he in God. 16 And we have come to know and to believe B the love that God has in us. God is love, and the one who resides in love resides in God, and God resides in him. A B Although the Qumran community as a group claimed to possess the Spirit, most of ancient Judaism relegated the Spirit s most dramatic works to the distant past and future, or to very rare individuals. For John, all true believers in Jesus have the Spirit, who moves them to love and prophetically endows them to testify the truth about Christ. [IVPBBC] Both [verbs: know and believe ] in 1 John 4:16 are perfect tenses, implying past actions with existing results. In this case the past action is specified as the recognition of and belief in the love which God has in us. But what is the relationship between the two verbs? (1) Some interpreters would see a different nuance in each. (2) But in the Gospel of John the two verbs frequently occur together in the same context, often in the same tense. They also occur together in one other context. Of these, Peter's confession, is the closest parallel to the usage here: We have come to believe and to know that you are the holy One of God. Here the order between knowing and believing is reversed from 1 John 4:16, but an examination of the other examples from the Gospel of John should make it clear that there is no difference in meaning when the order of the terms is reversed. It appears that the author considered both terms to describe a single composite action. Thus they represent a hendiadys which describes an act of faith/belief/trust on the part of the individual; true knowledge is an inseparable part of this act of faith. [NET_Bible]

6 17 By this love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, C because just as Jesus is, so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, D but perfect love drives out fear, E C In the Old Testament (e.g., Amos 5:18-20) and Judaism, the day of judgment was something to be feared by the disobedient. But those who continued in love could be confident of acquittal before God s tribunal in that day, for they are agents of his unselfish love. [IVPBBC] The day of judgment is that time when all people will appear before Christ and be held accountable for their actions. With God living in us through Christ, we have no reason to fear this day because we have been saved from punishment. Instead, we can look forward to the day of judgment because it will mean the end of sin and the beginning of a face-to-face relationship with Jesus Christ. [LASB] D E If we ever are afraid of the future, eternity, or God's judgment, we can remind ourselves of God's love. We know that he loves us perfectly (Romans 8:38-39). We can resolve our fears first by focusing on his immeasurable love for us, and then by allowing him to love others through us. His love will quiet your fears and give you confidence. [LASB] It was understood that sin often leads to fear (e.g., Genesis 3:8). Although Stoic philosophers emphasized not fearing anything, because circumstances cannot ultimately destroy one s reason, John s assurance that true believers need not fear here is not explicitly directed toward all circumstances. His assurance applies specifically to punishment in the day of judgment. [IVPBBC]

7 because fear has to do with punishment. F The one who fears punishment has not been perfected in love. F The entire phrase fear has to do with punishment may be understood in two slightly different ways: (1) fear has its own punishment or (2) fear has to do with [includes] punishment. These are not far apart, however, and the real key to understanding the expression lies in the meaning of the word punishment. While it may refer to torture or torment (BDAG 555 s.v. 1) there are numerous Koine references involving eternal punishment and this is also the use in the only other NT reference, Matthew 25:46. In the present context, where the author has mentioned having confidence in the day of judgment, it seems virtually certain that eternal punishment (or fear of it) is what is meant here. The (only) alternative to perfected love, which results in confidence at the day of judgment, is fear, which has to do with the punishment one is afraid of receiving at the judgment. As 1 John 4:18b states, the one who fears [punishment] has not been perfected in love. It is often assumed by interpreters that the opposite to perfected love (which casts out fear) is imperfect love (which still has fear and therefore no assurance). This is possible, but it is not likely, because the author nowhere mentions 'imperfect' love, and for him the opposite of 'perfected' love appears to be not imperfect love but hate. In other words, in the antithetical ('either/or') categories in which the author presents his arguments, one is either a genuine believer, who becomes 'perfected' in love as he resides in love and in a mutually indwelling relationship with God, or one is not a genuine believer at all, but one who (like the opponents) hates his brother, is a liar, and does not know God at all. This individual should well fear judgment and eternal punishment because in the author's view that is precisely where such a person is headed. [NET_Bible]

8 19 We love G because he loved us first. H 20 If anyone says I love God and yet hates his fellow Christian, I he is a liar, because the one who does not love his fellow Christian whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. J G H I J No object is supplied for the verb love (the author with his propensity for obscurity has left it to the readers to supply the object). The obvious objects that could be supplied from the context are either God himself or other believers. It may well be that the author has both in mind at this point; the statement is general enough to cover both alternatives, although the following verse puts more emphasis on love for [other believers]. [NET_Bible] God's love is the source of all human love, and it spreads like fire. In loving his children, God kindles a flame in their hearts. In turn, they love others, who are warmed by God's love through them. [LASB] Greek his brother. Here the term brother means fellow believer or fellow Christian (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.a). In the repeated uses of this form of address throughout the letter, it is important to remember that sometimes it refers (1) to genuine Christians (those who have remained faithful to the apostolic eyewitness testimony about who Jesus is, as outlined in the Prologue to the letter, but often it refers (2) to the secessionist opponents whose views the author rejects. Of course, to be technically accurate, in the latter case the reference is really to a fellow member of the community; the use of the term fellow Christian in the translation no more implies that such an individual is genuinely saved than the literal term brother which the author uses for such people. But a translation like fellow member of the community or fellow member of the congregation is extremely awkward and simply cannot be employed consistently throughout. [NET_Bible] In 1 John 4:20 the author again describes the opponents, who claim to love God. Their failure to show love for their fellow Christians proves their claim to know God to be false: The one who does not love his fellow Christian whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. [NET_Bible]

9 21 And the commandment we have from him is this: that K the one who loves God should love his fellow Christian too. L K L The [that] clause in 1 John 4:21 could be giving (1) the purpose or (2) the result of the commandment mentioned in the first half of the verse, but if it does, the author nowhere specifies what the commandment consists of. It makes better sense to understand this clause as (3) [explanatory] to the pronoun at the beginning of 1 John 4:21 and thus explaining what the commandment consists of: that the one who loves God should love his brother also. [NET_Bible] Principles like arguing on the basis of what was near at hand rather than from something related to the gods (e.g., Plutarch) and that a new friend would treat you as he had treated others (e.g., the fourth-century B.C. rhetorician Isocrates) were also recognized by others in antiquity. In the Old Testament, God accounted behavior toward those who could not repay it as if it were done to him (Proverbs 19:17; cf. Deuteronomy 15:9). [IVPBBC] It is easy to say we love God when that love doesn't cost us anything more than weekly attendance at religious services. But the real test of our love for God is how we treat the people right in front of us our family members and fellow believers. We cannot truly love God while neglecting to love those who are created in his image. [LASB]

10 Overcoming the World (1 John 5:1 4) 5:1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been fathered M by God, M The verb γεννάω (gennaō) [here translated fathered ] presents a translation problem: (1) should the passive be translated archaically be begotten (the action of the male parent; see BDAG 193 s.v. 1.a) or (2) should it be translated be born (as from a female parent; see BDAG 194 s.v. 2)? A number of modern translations (RSV, NASB, NIV) have opted for the latter, but (3) the imagery expressed in 1 John 3:9 clearly refers to the action of the male parent in procreating a child, ( everyone who loves the father loves the child fathered by him ), and so a word reflecting the action of the male parent is called for here. The contemporary expression fathered by captures this idea. [NET_Bible]

11 and everyone who loves the father loves the child N fathered by him. O 2 By this we know that we love the children of God: whenever we love God and obey his commandments. N O Families were often viewed as a unit, hence one could not love one member of a family while despising other members. This verse may also reflect the idea that children bear their parents nature. [IVPBBC] Also loves the child fathered by him. Is the meaning of 1 John 5:1b a general observation or a specific statement about God and Christians? There are three ways in which the second half of 1 John 5:1 has been understood: (1) as a general statement, proverbial in nature, applying to any parent: everyone who loves the father also loves the child fathered by him. (2) This has also been understood as a statement that is particularly true of one's own parent: everyone who loves his own father also loves the (other) children fathered by him (i.e., one's own brothers and sisters). (3) This could be understood as a statement which refers particularly to God, in light of the context: everyone who loves God who fathered Christians also loves the Christians who are fathered by God. Without doubt options (2) and (3) are implications of the statement in its present context, but it seems most probable that the meaning of the statement is more general and proverbial in nature (option 1). This is likely because of the way in which it is introduced by the author. The author could have been more explicit and said something like, everyone who loves God also loves God's children had he intended option (3) without ambiguity. Yet that, in context, is the ultimate application of the statement, because it ultimately refers to the true Christian who, because he loves God, also loves the brethren, those who are God's offspring. This is the opposite of 1 John 4:20, where the author asserted that the opponents, who profess to love God but do not love the brethren, cannot really love God because they do not love the brethren. [NET_Bible]

12 3 For P this is the love of God: that we keep his commandments. And his commandments do not weigh us down, Q P Q The force of the [ for ] at the beginning of 1 John 5:3 is similar to another introductory formula used by the author of 1 John. The [ for ] draws an inference based on the preceding statements, particularly the one in 1 John 5:2b regarding the love of God. If in 1 John 5:2 loving God and keeping his commandments is the key to knowing that we love God's children, it is important to define what the love of God involves, and this is what the author is doing in 1 John 5:3. In fact, as the following [ because ] clause makes clear, loving God consists in keeping his commandments. [NET_Bible] God s commandments had never been too heavy for those in whose hearts they had been written (Deuteronomy 30:11-14). Many Jewish teachers regarded some parts of the law as heavier or weightier than others (as in Mat_23:23), but they meant that some were more crucial for daily life, not that any of them were too hard to keep. [IVPBBC] Jesus never promised that obeying him would be easy. But the hard work and self-discipline of serving Christ is no burden to those who love him. And if our load starts to feel heavy, we can always trust Christ to help us bear it (see Matthew 11:28-30). [LASB]

13 4 because R everyone S who has been fathered by God T conquers the world. U R S T U The explicit reason the commandments of God are not burdensome to the believer is given by the [ because ] clause at the beginning of 1 John 5:4. It is because everyone who is begotten by God conquers the world. [NET_Bible] The masculine might have been expected here rather than the neuter to refer to the person who is fathered by God. However, BDF ß138.1 explains that the neuter is sometimes used with respect to persons if it is not the individuals but a generic quality that is to be emphasized; this seems to be the case here, where a collective aspect is in view: As a group, all those who have been begotten by God, that is, all true believers, overcome the world. [NET_Bible] The author is once more looking at the situation antithetically (in 'either/or' terms) as he sees the readers on the one hand as true believers (everyone who is fathered by God) who have overcome the world through their faith, and the opponents on the other as those who have claimed to have a relationship with God but really do not; they belong to the world in spite of their claims. [NET_Bible] Conquers the world. Once again, the author's language is far from clear at this point, and so is his meaning, but the author has used the verb conquers previously to describe the believer's victory over the enemy, the evil one himself, and over the secessionist opponents, described as false prophets. This suggests that what the author has in mind here is a victory over the opponents, who now belong to the world and speak its language. In the face of the opponents' attempts through their false teaching to confuse the readers (true believers) about who it is they are supposed to love, the author assures the readers that loving God and keeping his commandments assures us that we really do love God's children, and because we have already achieved victory over the world through our faith, keeping God's commandments is not a difficult matter. [NET_Bible]

14 This is the conquering power V that has conquered W the world: our faith. V W The standard English translation is victory (BDAG 673 s.v.) but this does not preserve the relationship with the cognate verb νικάω (nikaō; used in 1 John 2:13 & 14 and present in this context in participial form in 1 John 5:4b and 5:5). One alternative would be conquest, although R. E. Brown (Epistles of John [AB], 570) suggests conquering power as a translation for [the term] since here it is a metonymy for the means of victory or the power that gives victory, referring to believers' faith. [NET_Bible] The use of the aorist participle [ has conquered ] to refer to faith as the conquering power that has conquered the world in 1 John 5:4b is problematic. Debate here centers over the temporal value of the aorist participle: (1) It may indicate an action contemporaneous with the (present tense) main verb, in which case the alternation between aorist participle in 1 John 5:4b and present participle in 1 John 5:5 is one more example of the author's love of stylistic variation with no difference in meaning. (2) Nevertheless, an aorist participle with a present tense main verb would normally indicate an action antecedent to that of the main verb, so that the aorist participle would describe a past action. That is the most probable here. Thus the aorist participle stresses that the conquest of the world is something that has already been accomplished. [NET_Bible]

15 Testimony About the Son (1 John 5:5 12) 5 Now who is the person who has conquered the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 6 Jesus Christ X is the one who came by water and blood not by the water only, but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because Y the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify, 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three are in agreement. 9 If we accept the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, because this is the testimony of God that he has testified concerning his Son. Z 10 (The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has testified concerning his Son.) 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 The one who has the Son has this eternal life; the one X Y At this time, there was a false teaching in circulation that said Jesus was the Christ only between his baptism and his death that is, he was merely human until he was baptized, at which time the Christ then descended upon him but then later left him before his death on the cross. But if Jesus died only as a man, he could not have taken upon himself the sins of the world, and Christianity would be an empty religion. Only an act of God could take away the punishment that we deserve for our sin. [LASB] This [word] is best understood (1) as causal [ because ]. Some have taken it (2) as declarative, giving the content of the Spirit's testimony: and the Spirit is the One who testifies that the Spirit is the truth. This is certainly possible, since a clause following the cognate verb [ witness ] often gives the content of the testimony. But in the Gospel of John the Spirit never bears witness on his own behalf, but always on behalf of Jesus. There are, in fact, some instances in the Gospel of John where [this word structure] is causal, and that is more likely here: and the Spirit is the One who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. [NET_Bible] Z The Gospels twice record God's clear declaration that Jesus was his Son at Jesus' baptism (Matthew 3:16-17) and at his transfiguration (Matthew 17:5). [LASB]

16 who does not have the Son of God does not have this eternal life. AA AA Whoever believes in God's Son has eternal life. He is all you need. You don't need to wait for eternal life because it begins the moment you believe. You don't need to work for it because it is already yours. You don't need to worry about it because you have been given eternal life by God himself and it is guaranteed. [LASB]

17 Other Scripture Related to the Lesson Genesis 3:8 NKJV And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Deuteronomy 15:7-11 HCSB If there is a poor person among you, one of your brothers within any of your gates in the land the LORD your God is giving you, you must not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. 8 Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him enough for whatever need he has. 9 Be careful that there isn't this wicked thought in your heart, 'The seventh year, the year of canceling debts, is near,' and you are stingy toward your poor brother and give him nothing. He will cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty. 10 Give to him, and don't have a stingy heart when you give, and because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you do. 11 For there will never cease to be poor people in the land; that is why I am commanding you, 'You must willingly open your hand to your afflicted and poor brother in your land.' Deuteronomy 30:11-14 HRB For this command which I am commanding you today is not too wonderful for you, nor is it too far off. 12 It is not in the heavens that you should say, Who shall go up into the heavens for us, and bring it to us, and cause us to hear it, that we may do it? 13 And it is not beyond the sea that you should say, Who shall cross over for us to the region beyond the sea and take it for us, and cause us to hear it, that we may do it? 14 For the Word is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. Proverbs 19:17 NLT If you help the poor, you are lending to the LORD and He will repay you! Amos 5:18-20 JPS Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! Wherefore would ye have the day of the LORD? It is darkness, and not light. 19 As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; and

18 went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. 20 Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? Even very dark, and no brightness in it? Matthew 3:16-17 NKJV When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Matthew 11:28-30 NIV Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 17:5 NASB While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him! Matthew 23:23 NASB Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others... Matthew 25:44-46 NASB Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?' 45 Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' 46 These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. Romans 8:38-39 ASV For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

19 1 John 2:13-14 NET I am writing to you, fathers, that you have known him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young people, that you have conquered the evil one. 14 I have written to you, children, that you have known the Father. I have written to you, fathers, that you have known him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young people, that you are strong, and the word of God resides in you, and you have conquered the evil one. 1 John 3:9 NET Everyone who has been fathered by God does not practice sin, because God's seed resides in him, and thus he is not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God

20 Bible Versions and Published Resources Used for This Lesson AB Anchor Yale Bible Project Series; Collins, John J. (General Editor); New Haven, CT: Yale University Press... The Anchor Yale Bible Series, previously the Anchor Bible Series... Used by permission... All rights reserved... The Anchor Yale Bible Project Series' website is HERE... ASV BDAG BDF Brown82 GW The Holy Bible - American Standard Version; Original Copyright 1901, Public Domain... Readily available online including HERE & HERE... For portable devices HERE & HERE... Bauer, Walter A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3d ed. Revised and edited by F. W. Danker. Translated by W. F. Arndt, F. W. Gingrich, and F. W. Danker. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, Used by permission... All rights reserved... The University of Chicago Press' website is HERE... Blass, F. and A. Debrunner. A Greek Grammar of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. Translated and edited by Robert W. Funk. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, Used by permission... All rights reserved... The University of Chicago Press' website is HERE... Brown, Raymond. The Epistles of John. Anchor Bible series. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, (Now Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group) Used by permission... All rights reserved... The Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group website is HERE... God's Word; Copyright 1995; Cleveland, Ohio; God's Word to the Nations Bible Society. All rights reserved. God's Word to the Nations Bible Society website is located HERE...

21 HCSB Holman Christian Standard Bible; Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. Used by permission... All rights reserved... Holman Bible Publishers' website is HERE... HRB IVPBBC JPS KJV LASB Hebraic Roots Bible; Copyright Word of Truth Publications, 2009; Congregation of YHWH, Jerusalem; Feel free to copy and share this Bible as long as you don't change any content... Used by permission... All rights reserved... Congregation of YHWH's website is HERE... Keener, Craig S., The Inter-Varsity Press Bible Background Commentary: New Testament; Inter-Varsity Press, P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515; 1993, World Wide Web: Used by permission... All rights reserved... The IVP website is HERE... Jewish Publication Society Bible 1917 by The Jewish Publication Society (JPS) The Electronic Text is copyright 1995, by Larry Nelson, P.O Box 1681, Cathedral City, CA, (760) All rights reserved... Used by permission... This is the 1769 King James Version of the Holy Bible (also known as the Authorized Version). Public domain... Life Application Study Bible; 2004 by Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, IL... used by permission... All rights reserved... Tyndale House Publishers' website is HERE... NASB New American Standard Bible; Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, A Corporation Not for Profit; Used by permission... All Rights Reserved. The Lockman Foundation website is HERE...

22 NET New English Translation, NET Bible copyright by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. Used by permission... All rights reserved. The NET Bible verse text and the NET Bible notes, here after called NET Bible, are available on the Internet HERE NET_Bible New English Translation Bible Notes Apparatus; by Biblical Studies Press (BSP) Used by permission, All rights reserved. The NET Bible verse text and the NET Bible notes, here after called NET Bible, is available on the Internet HERE... NIV The Holy Bible, New International Version; Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society; Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan. All rights reserved... Used by permission... The IBS website is HERE... NKJV New King James Version; Copyright 1982, Nashville, TN, Thomas Nelson, Inc... Used by permission... All rights reserved. Thomas Nelson Publishers' website is HERE... NLT Holy Bible, New Living Translation; copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois All rights reserved... Tyndale House Publishers' website is HERE...

23 RV Revised Version (or English Revised Version) 1885, Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved... The Revised Standard Version of the Bible (RSV) is an authorized revision of the American Standard Version, published in 1901, which was a revision of the King James Version, published in Widely available on the internet including HERE, HERE & HERE... The National Council of Churches' official website is HERE...