Chapter 4
V1 Once a born-again Christian realizes the ineffable grace and mercy bestowed upon Him by YHVH Elohim, and the great cost of His Son, Yeshua’s blood to attain this mercy, there should be a sense of urgency to be of great service to Elohim, considering how perfect in glory the ministration of the New Testament is. Diakonia translated ministry is a word not fully comprehended by modern day Christendom. To be a minister of a ministry does not mean to laud over the laity, and expect to be served by underlings created within a hierarchical assembly.
This is precisely the deeds of the Nicolaitans that Yeshua hates cf Rev 2:6,15. Rather diakonia should be better translated service, of those who execute the commands of others, in this case the commands of Yeshua the Messiah outlined in the new covenant, the glorious ministration of the Spirit of righteousness, synonymous with the gospel cf 2 Cor 3:6,8,9. A true minister serves the people tirelessly, attending to their every spiritual need. It is an exhausting task which in worldly, fleshly eyes would be greatly undesirable, yet has immense heavenly rewards.
V2 The old life of sin leading to eternal destruction must needs be given up. This requires for a set of rules to be followed in order to know right from wrong. There is only one set of divine rules in the whole Bible, which is the Torah given to Moses on Mt Sinai. There is no other. It never was abolished. It was present in the old covenant, and is still alive in the new. Unfortunately, false teachings from the moment Yeshua ascended into heaven, have bedevilled Christendom to this day, regarding Torah observance. The New Testament simply enables us to be better ministers of the Torah, as the Holy Spirit entering our hearts through the anointing of Elohim perfects our service of Torah observance, which the Aaronic priesthood could not achieve.
Many a preacher and minister and so-called priests have led scandalous lives behind closed doors of fornication, debauchery, drunkenness, drugs, embezzlement of church funds to name a few. Even worse the pursuit of riches by prosperity gospel hucksters has led some into witchcraft as a source of hypnotising their congregants, and performing signs and wonders to lure them into unbiblical tithes and offerings to quench their avaricious nature. Scripture is twisted and splintered into manifold false interpretations and doctrines to meet this end. Rather a true minister of Elohim must be truthful and conduct themselves in such a manner as to be without a shadow of a doubt stirring the consciences of men to follow suit. This can only be achieved by the Holy Spirit leading a willing minister to follow Torah in spirit and in truth, not through carnal attempts which lead to sin unto death. We must never feel the need to hide any sector of our conduct from the assembly of Elohim, as our whole conversation, hidden or not is in the sight of Elohim, the potentate.
V3 Apollumi translated them that are lost, is Greek for to perish, ruined or destroyed i.e. those devoted for eternal misery in hell. The gospel truth of Torah life in Messiah, must never be hidden to the ecclesia, but must only be indirectly a nonsensical mystery to those who willingly choose to deny Messiah. The gospel is so plain to the believer, yet a complete conundrum, which appears foolish to the self-worshipping, proud reprobate who refuses to accept Yeshua as Saviour cf 1 Cor 1:18-27
V4 Satan is the god of this aion/age,period of time cf Jn 12:31;16:11; Matt 4:8-9. This aion shall come to an end at Yeshua’s second coming to rule for a 1000 years on earth. The age of Satan’s influence as a god over this period commenced at Adam’s fall and has been close to 6000 years thus far. Satan has indeed darkened the minds of those who choose to deny Yeshua as Messiah. Without the full protection of the Holy Spirit such a mind is likened to a city without walls, which may be raided freely by demonic spirits of delusion, deception and all manner of wickedness cf Pro 25:28. Satan and his demonic host can only attack a mind that has allowed for heavenly judicial laws to permit entry through denial of YHVH’s protection.
YHVH gives the go ahead for Satan’s kingdom to attack the unjust, once Satan has been granted permission, hence why the devil accuses us daily, seeking a portal of entry into our minds to blind us cf Jn 12:36-40; Rom 1:21-25. Photismos translated light is better rendered illumination or brightness. The gospel of Yeshua is not only en doxa/glorious, hence confirming that it is a gospel of the glorious Torah truth, but full of brightness that illuminates the darkness in our formerly depraved minds and hearts cf Jn 8:12;3:19-21.
This light and brightness is of life everlasting which is only available to those who do truth. None other than Torah is truth cf Pro 6:23; 119:105. Yeshua is the living Word, i.e. the personification of Torah itself. Satan blinds the mind by keeping the non-believer, and unfortunately even self-proclaimed blinded Christians from observing Torah, through deception and twisting of scripture. Mankind was made in the image of Elohim, but Yeshua is the image of Elohim cf Col 1:15, Heb 1:3. It is only after examining ourselves and realizing that our wicked ways need to be repented of, that we may then be in a position to be baptized by the Holy Spirit to become transformed into that image of Elohim. This ensures our elevation from the lesser glory of the Old Testament to the greater glory of the New Testament life as spelt out in 3:18.
V5 Never must a preacher seek fame and glory, but instead glorify Messiah at all times. We are but servants who have been undeservingly bestowed grace and mercy, and are to serve the flock of Messiah, rather than expect egotistical flattery and praise from them, as do the majority of preachers of today.
V6 cf Isa 60:2; 2 Pet 1:19. Yeshua is that light who was commanded by the Father, and through submission, dwelt amongst us, died and was resurrected in order to allow His Holy Spirit light to dwell in our hearts, to give us hope for eternal life. Yeshua here is described as the knowledge of the glory of Elohim, which is but one of His many attributes which give life cf Jn 11:39-40. We are to walk in this knowledge of the glory of Elohim thus described cf Eph 5:8. None other than the doxa/glory of Elohim in the face of Yeshua haMashiach may be manifested unto us. Yeshua is truly the only way, the truth and the life.
V7 The treasure referred to is the Holy Spirit of Yeshua the Messiah mentioned in the previous verse, that illuminates our hearts, dwelling in the frailty of our earthen bodies. One must be broken Spiritually, which entails submitting wholeheartedly and admitting our complete impotence and great need for Yeshua, in order for the light and power of YHVH to shine and operate through us cf Judges 7:16-20. Also cf Psa 34:18. The power of the Holy Spirit is completely one sided. We must never fool ourselves into believing that the power emanates from us. This power only operates through an obedient, submissive saint.
V8-9 Paul did indeed endure much thlibo/affliction for the gospel from all sectors of society, be they Jew or Gentile. A simple read of the book of Acts outlines the persecution that Paul and the saints he preached with were confounded by. They never at any moment in time threw in the towel, and were prepared to die for the gospel as much as we should. It is a shame that Muslims who worship a false god, are more committed to their religion, for which they will gladly be martyrs for, unlike modern day Christians, who would sooner deny Messiah at the slightest hint of affliction.
V10 cf 2 Cor 12:10 As long as Yeshua feels that a saint is still of great use for the counsel of Elohim on earth, He will delay bringing you home into heavenly glory, and always create miraculous escapes from the claws and jaws of death. A myriad of testimonies of such wondrous workings of the Holy Spirit are found throughout the annals of Christendom over the last 2 millennia. The death of Yeshua at the cross, seemed to have been the greatest point of His weakness, and yet was an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to reveal His greatest strength by resurrecting Him in victory over death and Hades.
We too in our Christian walk experience the greatest workings of the Holy Spirit, when we are at our most vulnerable, weakest and most helpless, calling upon the name of Yeshua, admitting that we are hopeless without His life-giving power. Leviticus chapter 13 beautifully depicts how a leper is declared clean when his flesh is completely whitened by the plague. The raw flesh of uncleanliness is representative of rebellion and wilful sinning and lack of dependency on YHVH. However, the moment one admits complete impotence and total dependency on YHVH, does that omnipotent power of the Spirit of YHVH engulf a true saint, providing humanly impossible, supernatural escape from whatever peril may stare us in the face cf Lev 13:1-15.
V11-12 cf 2 Cor 11:23 This is the great paradox of Christian living. Any greatly spiritually mature Christian, devastating the kingdom of Satan in spiritual warfare, will without fail persistently face great persecution and multiple brushes with death, as the host of hell endeavours to eliminate so great a threat to their agenda of bringing as much of humanity to the fiery furnace of hell, through sin. Voluminous columns of literature over the last 2 millennia are filled with such horrors wrought upon the saints of Yeshua the Messiah, coupled with supernatural escapes and victories. Here the life of Yeshua is greatly revealed at our points of weakness.
For those martyrs who die for Messiah, it is never in vain, as the strength and life and power of Yeshua is manifested in succeeding generations which gain from such sacrifice of life. True Christianity has always thrived and had its greatest revolution in history during the worst times of persecution. I strongly recommend reading Foxe’s book of Martyrs which chronicles the martyrdom of the saints from the first century Christians until his time in the 16th century. Our goal in life should be to die for performing good, rather than die for performing evil. This plays a role in determining one’s eternal destiny of either life everlasting in heavenly glory or eternal damnation in the lake of fire.
V13 cf Ps 116:10. It is imperative to read the whole Psalm to understand Paul’s mindset. Like David, Paul called upon YHVH Elohim through Yeshua the Messiah in his ever-present time of need, to deliver him from the constant persecution that he faced. It is also important to note that one needs the spirit of faith, which is one of the many gifts of the Holy Spirit cf 1 Cor 12:8-9. Our own faith is not even remotely sufficient for the power of Elohim to rescue us from peril. No amount of meditation to false gods as do the Buddhists for example, bring about healing or freedom from the devil’s bondage. Only the faith of Yeshua in the form of His Holy Spirit engulfing us may free us from the clutches of evil and demonic attack. The use of the phrase the same spirit also expresses that the Holy Spirit gifts are from the same source and not multiple nor distributed according to respect of persons cf 1 Cor 12:4.
V14 The Spirit of Elohim the Father, which is the same as that of Yeshua the Son, raised up Yeshua from the dead. Although appearing difficult for our limited mortal minds to comprehend, all 3 parts of the Elohim-head i.e. Father, Son and Holy Spirit, raised up Yeshua from the dead cf Acts 2:24,32; Rom 6:4; Jn 2:19;10:18; Rom 8:11. At Yeshua’s second advent, it is the Spirit of Elohim that shall raise us up from the dead through his Son and present us with the presently living saints cf 1 Thes 4:16-17. In this verse, Paul is referring to the future bodily resurrection as opposed to the spiritual resurrection which we receive at baptism cf Eph 2:6.
V15 Perisseuo translated redound means to abound or overflow. So much grace has been bestowed upon mankind by the ineffable love of Elohim. It is a shame that most of humanity especially in our present age do not appreciate nor care to even acknowledge the existence of this grace. It is important that we express thanksgiving in praise and worship, which honours the glory of Elohim ever the more. The Psalms of David expressing such thanksgiving bear testimony as to why Elohim referred to him as being after His own heart. David was a mighty example of how we should express our gratitude for such abounding grace and mercy of which we do not remotely deserve cf 1 Sam 13:14; Acts 13:22.
V16 Paul then explains why he joyfully hazards persecution for the gospel, affliction of which can only affect our mortal flesh, but can never conquer our souls, which have been won for Messiah. No matter how great our trial and tribulation may be in life, we must never forget that the devil’s sole purpose is to attempt to win our souls into his kingdom, in order to face hell which was created for him and his angels. He detests mankind so much that he lives every moment to insult Elohim through winning His creation made in His own image. We must fight tooth and nail to our very last breath to ensure Satan never succeeds in snatching our souls away from Messiah, nor that of as many human beings as we can reach out to with this mighty message of gospel truth.
Esothen translated inward refers to that which is within the body, which is the soul, which is comprised of our mind, will and emotions. This is where the spiritual battleground lies. A quest for souls has been the battle of the ages between good and evil cf Is 40:29; Eph 3:16. Note that the renewing of the mind is not a onetime event. The Holy Spirit, once dwelling in our hearts, guides our thoughts, renewing them continually. The mind controls the brain, and the brain is neuroplastic, meaning that it can be remoulded by new thought patterns. All evil thoughts and toxic thinking patterns of the old man stored in the non-conscious metacognitive level of the brain, are inactivated and filtered out for good by the renewing of the mind by the Holy Spirit, which is an ongoing process.
The conscious cognitive level allows new healthy, holy thought processes to filter into the non-conscious metacognitive level, where they replace that space that once held toxic thoughts, and new memories are stored there, which transform the saint’s thinking and ultimately emotions and actions, which become more inclined to the thoughts of Yeshua the Messiah. This frees us from the evil thoughts of Satan. The battle is all in the mind where the demonic host war against the heavenly host of Messiah. I recommend reading The Perfect you by Dr Caroline Leaf for greater understanding in this field.
V17 Despite numerous, horrendous near-death experiences causing bodily deformation, Paul considered it but very temporary, fleeting, almost inconsequential pain, which if weighed in the scales of time, were counted a blessing as these afflictions promised greater eternal reward. What great foolishness has befuddled the minds of Christians who seek fleeting, corroding earthly praise, wealth and gain at the expense of others, which is totally absent from, and pales in comparison to the untold everlasting riches in heaven. This world we live in is akin to rats in a sewer killing each other off for rancid morsels of waste, oblivious of the fine portions of cheese that lie above them.
V18 Faith is indeed perfectly described here as it is in Heb 11:1. On average mankind has 70-80 years of life on this earth. It is imperative that such short time is used maximally for the benefit of our eternal destiny. Seeking meaningless wealth which shall decay, at the expense of our standing with Elohim, through compromise of holiness and righteous conduct, has brought much spiritual shipwreck to ignorant minds, worryingly so amongst the body of Messiah, which has played well into Satan’s hand. How much persecution we endure for the gospel of Messiah is directly proportional to the eternal rewards one shall receive in the afterlife cf 1 Cor 3:11-15.