Philippians 3:10

GLORY!

(March 20, 2023) Dr Jim McClure explains about God’s glory… 

Christians often use the word ‘glory’ but usually do not have much idea of what it means! The Hebrew word for glory, kabod, is found 200 times in the Old Testament and its development is interesting.

Development
The root of kabod actually means ‘heavy’ and is associated with the liver (Exodus 29:13) which is the heaviest of the internal organs. The use of the word as ‘heavy’ is seen in a number of Old Testament passages such as Psalm 38:4, ‘For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me’(KJV).

Glory developed into the concept of splendour.It referred to material wealth, that is, being ‘heavy with riches.’  Note Isaiah 10:3, ‘To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth?’  Here ‘wealth’ is ‘kabod.’ 

The word continued to develop to mean honour. In Malachi 1:6 God asks, ‘A son honours (kabod) his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honour (kabod) due to me?’ 

Glory also came to be recognised as a characteristic of God’s splendour — ‘The heavens declare the glory of God’ (Psalm 19:1).

Regarding the word ‘Shekinah’, although some people use this when referring to God’s glory, it does not refer to a special dimension of divine glory.  In fact this Hebrew word is not found in the Bible. It literally means ‘presence’ but doesn’t add anything to the concept that God’s glory reveals His presence.

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JESUS – LORD HIGH ABOVE ALL ELSE!

(February 20, 2023) Robert and Maureen McQuillan bring a timely challenge …

Happened to watch a recent Abbots Cross Congregational Church service (our ‘old’ church back in Northern Ireland) and heard an outstanding sermon by Reverend Philip Campbell. What a message! So well…

  • Structured perfectly,
  • Strongly principled,  
  • Sensitively preached.

Under an obvious Holy Spirit anointing, Philip clearly spoke convincingly from his heart on Philippians 3.

There was a sense of destiny as Philip – known for his easy-to-listen-to-and-absorb style – reminded his audience of God’s incredible goodness, the Christian’s need to take opportunities to share one’s faith and the gospel of Jesus and, forgetting past hindrances, move on this year under God’s directions into His plans for His spiritual children and church.

It triggered off the heart of this particular article!

Jesus highest
Philip Campbell knows the cost of the challenge of moving on as God declares!

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FELLOWSHIP – κοινωνία  – KOINONIA  

September 13, 2021) Dr Jim McClure, noted theologian, shares…

‘Fellowship’ is a word that Christians often use. It is one of the great New Testament words but is has been used so much to describe such a variety of ‘church meetings’ that it has become devalued. 

What is ‘fellowship?’  Is it just a term given to differentiate Christian groups from non-Christian groups – Men’s Fellowship, Women’s Fellowship, Youth Fellowship and so on? 

Or, does the New Testament use the word in a different way? That is what we are going to explore.

The Greek words κοινωνία and κοινωνέω
In the KJV the Greek noun κοινωνία (koinonia) has been translated by the words…

  • Fellowship (12 times),
  • Communion (4 times),
  • Communication (once),
  • Contribution (once), and
  • Distribution (once).

The verb κοινωνέω, ‘to share’, has been translated to partaker of, communicate and distribute. It is clear that it is a much more significant word than is suggested by the way we frequently use it.

Before it became a New Testament word, it was used in secular Classical Greek generally as a business word to indicate, for example, partnership in a business. 

It was also used in the Greek version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, to translate the Hebrew word חבר (chaber), which means to bind or join together in any context.

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