Lecture 6 considers the words of Jesus during the Sermon on the Mount and specifically Matthew 5:18. Jesus’ teaching methods were simple; his lessons straight forward and easy for the common man to grasp. This simplicity corresponds with his “ordinary” or “intuitive” approach to the Scripture, a hermeneutic that resonated with the Jewish believers. His words and the Old Testament complemented one and other in that their subject and object was Jesus. The Old Testament was not an obstacle to the Jews that required Pharisaical comment to understand but was simply the message of Jesus written hundreds of years before. Nowhere in the Scripture does the message of Jesus cause doubt or question the cohesive relationship between the Scripture and Himself. Rather, as part of His Messianic ministry Jesus speaks of the authority and preservation of the text as a witness to who He is. Did those on the mount believe Jesus was exaggerating for effect, didn’t really mean jot and tittle, and was utilizing a common literary device, oriental hyperbole — or was he promising the preservation of the smallest elements of the Scripture thereby assuring the preservation of the Law?

Tonight at 7:30pm EST we hold the eighth lecture on the Biblical basis for the theology we call the Providential Preservation of Scripture. Lecture 8 considers Jesus’ exegetical defense of his equality with the Father recorded in John 10:35 which hinges on the inspiration and preservation of one word, “gods.”

After Jesus says in John 10:30, “I and my Father are one,” in verse 31 the Jews take up stones to stone him. Jesus asks in verse 32 for which of his good works do they stone him, a timely question on the heels of the healing of the man born blind in chapter 9. The Jews reply in verse 33 that it is not for his good works they stone him but for blasphemy in that Jesus calls himself God. It is in Jesus’ reply to the false accusation of blasphemy that we read Jesus’ defense of his oneness with the Father in verses 34 and 35. Of primary significance in the context of this passage is Jesus’ use of a Psalm of Asaph, chapter 82, verse 6, which reads, “I have said, Ye are gods” referring to the princes of Israel. Secondarily, drawn from Jesus’ use of Psalm 82:6 we see the plenary authority of Scripture. It is upon one word “gods” that Jesus defends his deity, and synecdochally the absolute authority of one word, or the part, stands for the absolute authority of the whole of Scripture. Thirdly, and in keeping with the theme of this series, we will note that the entirety of this argument is established and accepted by Jesus and the Jews based on what was written in “your law,” in verse 34, or the copy of the law that the Jews had in hand during the earthly ministry of Jesus.

Don’t miss this important study of the ramification and significance of the preserved word in John 10:35 tonight at 7:30 EST.

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Tonight, 3/14 at 7:30pm EST we hold the seventh lecture of a 10-week series on the Biblical basis for the theology we call the Providential Preservation of Scripture. Lecture 7 considers the words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 24:35 and John 10:35. Of Matthew 24:35 James Morrison, in his commentary on Matthew observes,

“What an immeasurable height here must have been within the self-consciousness of our Lord, when he thus contrasted the imperishableness of his own words with the perishableness of the heaven and earth! It is to his prediction in the preceding verse that he specially refers. Its fulfillment might be absolutely depended on. It would not fail. It was not liable to any casualty or transformation. And what was true of the words of this prediction, is equally true of all our Savior’s words,–of the sum total of his teachings. ‘The grass withereth, and the flower thereof fadeth away,’ the sun and moon and stars shall pass away, ‘but the word of the Lord endureth forever.'” (1 Pet. I, 25.)^[1]

John 10:35 deals with the plenary inspiration and preservation of Scripture utilized by Jesus as an defense of His equality with the Father. After Jesus says in John 10:30, “I and my Father are one,” in verse 31 the Jews take up stones to stone him. Jesus asks in verse 32 for which of his good works do they stone him, a timely question on the heels of the healing of the man born blind in chapter 9. The Jews reply in verse 33 that it is not for his good works they stone him but for blasphemy in that Jesus calls himself God. It is in Jesus’ reply to the false accusation of blasphemy that we read Jesus’ defense of his oneness with the Father in verses 34 and 35. Of primary significance in the context of this passage is Jesus’ use of a Psalm of Asaph, chapter 82, verse 6, which reads, “I have said, Ye are gods” referring to the princes of Israel. Secondarily, drawn from Jesus’ use of Psalm 82:6 we see the plenary authority of Scripture. It is upon one word “gods” that Jesus defends his deity, and synecdochally the absolute authority of one word, or the part, stands for the absolute authority of the whole of Scripture. Thirdly, and in keeping with the theme of this series, we will note that the entirety of this argument is established and accepted by Jesus and the Jews based on what was written in “your law,” in verse 34, or the copy of the law that the Jews had in hand during the earthly ministry of Jesus.

Don’t miss this important study of the ramification and significance of the preserved word in Matthew 24:35 and John 10:35 tonight, 3/14, 7:30 EST.

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[1] James Morrison, Matthew’s Memoirs of Jesus Christ: or a Commentary on the Gospel according to Matthew (Hamilton, Adams and Co., 1873), 531. http://0-search.ebscohost.com.newlibrary.wts.edu/login.aspxdirect=true&db=h7h&AN=36332946&site=ehost-live.

Tonight, 3/7 at 7:30pm EST we hold the sixth lecture of a 10-week series on the Biblical basis for the theology we call the Providential Preservation of Scripture. Lecture 6 considers the words of Jesus during the Sermon on the Mount and specifically Matthew 5:18. Jesus’ teaching methods were simple; his lessons straight forward and easy for the common man to grasp. This simplicity corresponds with his “ordinary” or “intuitive” approach to the Scripture, a hermeneutic that resonated with the Jewish believers. His words and the Old Testament complemented one and other in that their subject and object was Jesus. The Old Testament was not an obstacle to the Jews that required Pharisaical comment to understand but was simply the message of Jesus written hundreds of years before. Nowhere in the Scripture does the message of Jesus cause doubt or question the cohesive relationship between the Scripture and Himself. Rather, as part of His Messianic ministry Jesus speaks of the authority and preservation of the text as a witness to who He is. Did those on the mount believe Jesus was exaggerating for effect, didn’t really mean jot and tittle, and was utilizing a common literary device, oriental hyperbole — or was he promising the preservation of the smallest elements of the Scripture thereby assuring the preservation of the Law? Don’t miss this important study of the ramification and significance of the preserved word in Matthew 5:18 as a promise of Jesus tomorrow tonight, 3/7, 7:30 EST.

For the saints who join for the Tuesday night lecture series I want to express my sincerest apologies, especially to those who regularly join with us, for not being able to overcome technical difficulties that sometimes plague on-line meetings. It was almost 8:00 pm before the issue was resolved.

I am going to save the Matthew 5:18 lecture until next Tuesday evening 3/7 at 7:30pm.

God bless and keep you all.

Peter, Sr.

Tomorrow night, 2/28 at 7:30pm EST we hold the sixth lecture of a 10-week series on the Biblical basis for the theology we call the Providential Preservation of Scripture. Lecture 6 considers the words of Jesus during the Sermon on the Mount and specifically Matthew 5:18. Jesus’ teaching methods were simple; his lessons straight forward and easy for the common man to grasp. This simplicity corresponds with his “ordinary” or “intuitive” approach to the Scripture, a hermeneutic that resonated with the Jewish believers. His words and the Old Testament complemented one and other in that their subject and object was Jesus. The Old Testament was not an obstacle to the Jews that required Pharisaical comment to understand but was simply the message of Jesus written hundreds of years before. Nowhere in the Scripture does the message of Jesus cause doubt or question the cohesive relationship between the Scripture and Himself. Rather, as part of His Messianic ministry Jesus speaks of the authority and preservation of the text as a witness to who He is. Did those on the mount believe Jesus was exaggerating for effect, didn’t really mean jot and tittle, and was utilizing a common literary device, oriental hyperbole — or was he promising the preservation of the smallest elements of the Scripture? Don’t miss this important study of the ramification and significance of the preserved word in Matthew 5:18 as a promise of Jesus tomorrow tonight, 2/28, 7:30 EST.

Tomorrow night, 2/21 at 7:30pm EST we hold the fifth lecture of a 10-week series on the Biblical basis for the theology we call the Providential Preservation of Scripture. Lecture 5 considers the pivotal role the promises of Isaiah 59:21 are to the unfolding of God’s comprehensive redemptive plan and as an intricate element of the historically telescopic nature of the Abrahamic Covenant of Genesis 12:1-3. Don’t miss this important study of the ramification and significance of the preserved word in Isaiah 59:21 as an essential element of God’s salvific plan tomorrow tonight, 2/21, 7:30 EST.

Tonight, 2/14 at 7:30pm EST we hold the fourth lecture of a 10-week series on the Biblical basis for the theology we call the Providential Preservation of Scripture. Lecture 4 considers the ramifications of Psalm 119:89 and God’s word being forever settled in heaven. Don’t miss the discussion of Psalm 1119:89 to the doctrine of providential preservation tonight, 2/14, 7:30 EST.