KLEROS: “A Place Among Those Who Are Sanctified” – Acts 26:18

“I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”

In the original Greek text of the New Testament, the word translated here as “a place” is “kleros.” The King James Version translated it “inheritance,” which is one of its meanings. Kleros is a very important word in both the New Testament and in the Greek version of the Old Testament that the Apostles used in the early church (called the “Septuagint”).  This is the first in a series of lessons exploring the meaning of this term.

Reference books list the main definitions of kleros as “lot, portion, or share.”  It is the word used for casting lots to inquire of the Lord in Acts 1:26.  Peter told the money-loving Simon Magus that he had “no share in this ministry” in Acts 8:21 (“neither part nor lot in this matter”), using the same word “kleros” for “lot” or “share.”  In Colossians 1:12 Paul uses the word for the “inheritance” of the saints, and in 1 Peter 5:3 it uses the same word to call the faithful church the Lord’s “heritage” that has been entrusted to the pastors.  The common theme is our allotted portion or share, designated and revealed by God’s grace to us.

Here, kleros is a place among the true saints. When we experience salvation through Christ, we receive a place at His table, at the eternal wedding feast of the Lamb.  “He brought me to his banquet table, and his banner over me is love.”  (Song of Songs 2:4; see also Isaiah 25:6).  There is a place with your name, designated and reserved for you.

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The Mission of the Apostle – Acts 26:18

Acts 26:16-18 – “‘Now get up and stand on your feet.  I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you.  I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles.  I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”

In this passage, Paul recounts for a few royal officials (unbelievers) how he became a messenger for Jesus Christ.  He quotes the very words that the Lord spoke to him on the day of his conversion, many years before.  The Apostle Paul had nothing to impress the worldly dignitaries.  His call was to be a mere “servant and witness,” (Acts 26:17), rather than to “be somebody important.”  Interestingly, the Lord’s only promise in this passage was to “rescue” Paul from unbelievers – there was no promise to make Paul rich, prosperous, successful, or famous.  The Lord values the things of eternity, not the things of this world.

“Now get up and stand on your feet.” (Acts 26:16) – The Lord gave the same command to Old Testament prophets when He spoke to them (see Jeremiah 1:17; Ezekiel 2:1; Daniel 10:11; Micah 6:1).  In all these passages, standing before the Lord signals both reverence and readiness to act.   Continue reading The Mission of the Apostle – Acts 26:18 »

Overcoming By the Blood of The Lamb and by the Word – Revelation 12:11-12

Overcoming By the Blood of The Lamb and by the Word – Revelation 12:11-12

Revelation 12:11-12 – “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore, rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them!  But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you!  He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”

This passage is part of the heavenly declaration at the end of days, when Jesus returns and the faithful church claims its permanent victory.  This future declaration uses the past tense to refer back to the time in which we now live – the time when true believers overcome the Enemy (Satan), “who accuses them before our God day and night” (verse 10).  They are not just overcoming physical problems or financial problems; they overcome the “accuser of the brethren,” who uses the problem of sin to bring spiritual wrath on us.

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Salvation, Power, and the Kingdom of God – Revelation 12:10-11

Revelation 12:10-11 - “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.  They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death…”

Revelation 12 is about “the Woman” and the Dragon.  Bible Scholars today debate about the identity of “the Woman,” a symbolic figure here.  Some scholars believe she is a symbol of the nation of Israel – out of which came the Messiah (Jesus) and the first Christians.  Others think she symbolizes the church, which brings Jesus to the world today through our testimony, and which suffers so much persecution.  We will not attempt to resolve this debate here, for our purpose is to emphasize the clearer, and more important, points in the chapter.  Similarly, scholars disagree about the timing of Satan (the Dragon) being cast to the earth.  Some believe this refers to an event in the Last Days, which intensifies the demonic activity in the world, while others think this refers symbolically to an event in the distant past.  Taken by itself, this chapter seems to suggest that it is in the last days.  On the other hand, Jesus seems to refer to this as a past event in Luke 10:18.  It is not important for us to settle such disputes in this lesson, as both viewpoints are acceptable to some sincere Bible scholars.

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Family Responsibilities – 1 Timothy 5:8

Family Responsibilities – 1 Timothy 5:8

1 Timothy 5:8 – “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

God’s Word uses the strongest language possible to command Christians everywhere to earn wages through honest labor and provide for the financial needs of their household.  The Scriptures say that this sin makes a Christian “worse than an unbeliever;” only one other sin in the Bible earns such a strong condemnation (incest, mentioned in 1 Corinthians 5:1).  Nevertheless, today many Christians act as if this were optional, as if there were nothing serious about a man refusing to provide for his family’s needs. Continue reading Family Responsibilities – 1 Timothy 5:8 »

Learning from Galatians: Freedom and the Flesh

Galatians 5:13-15 – “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.  But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.  For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.”

“Freedom” is a frequent word in the New Testament, but many misunderstand its meaning and context.  Words like this have a variety of different meanings depending on the context.  We refer to retail items as “free” if there is no price or cost.  We sometimes refer to countries as “free” if they are democratic.  As a legal term, it has still other meanings.  We even use the word sometimes to refer to personal behavior that is uninhibited – laughing freely (heartily), speaking freely (without politeness or decorum), and so forth.

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Revelation 10:1-4 – The Mighty Angel

Revelation 10:1-4 – Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven.  He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars.  He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand.  He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion.”

Another mighty angel coming down from heaven – There are nearly two hundred references to angels throughout the Bible, but the phrase “mighty angel” appears only in the book of Revelation, here and in Rev. 5:2 and Rev. 18:21.  The phrase seems to allude to Psalm 103:20, “Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.”  Angels are mighty, and they do only His bidding – they do not accept instructions or requests from anyone else.  Revelation emphasizes the might of the angels in connection with the events of the end times; Paul uses a similar phrase, “powerful angels,” in 2 Thessalonians 1:7, “This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.”

Religious artwork and films usually portray angels as thin and weak, often female, and fair skinned.  This portrayal is unbiblical.  The Word usually presents angels as physically imposing, intimidating beings – those who see them often fall face down in terror (Numbers 22:31; Judges 13:2; 1 Chronicles 21:16-30; Luke 1:13; Luke 2:9-10; Revelation 22:8).

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Learning from John 3 – How to Be Born Again

John 3:1-8 - “There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him ‘Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.’

Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ “

Physically, our birth was on the day that we celebrate every year as our birthday – there was a time, years ago, when our mother gave birth, and we came into this world as a baby.  Yet this is only physical, not spiritual.  We also need a spiritual birth.  Spiritual birth happens when the Holy Spirit produces a miracle inside of us – regeneration, the creation of a new person whose life is identified with Jesus Christ.  We receive this only by coming to Christ in faith and complete surrender.  Jesus give us new birth.

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Learning from Isaiah 55 – Come to the Waters!

Isaiah 55:1-3

1 “Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.

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Learning from Psalm 73 – Asaph’s Struggles

Psalm 73 - “For I envied the arrogant, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.”  (Psalm 73:3)

“When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.”  (vv. 16-17)

“Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.  But as for me, it is good to be near God.  I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.”  (Psalm 73:27-28)

In this Psalm, God talks about the “pure in heart,” as well as the “arrogant” and the “wicked.”  To man, the wicked may seem to have no troubles.  Those who are faithful feel that they have many struggles.  Sometimes this seems unfair, even to believers.

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