Verse-by-verse through Philippians (3:11-3:14)

If someone asks how we know we’re saved, what do we tell them? Do we say, “Well, I got that taken care of when I was a kid. I prayed that prayer, so I know I'm saved.” No. We will tell that person that we have submitted ourselves to the Lordship of Jesus Christ—we have surrendered our old life, and we have gone through the new birth that we talked about last week. And if there is a new birth—is that followed by a new life? Who is that life lived for? We no longer live for ourselves—we live for Christ. Many people are going to stand before Him on the day of Judgment and say, “Hey, you’ve got to let me into Heaven! See, I've got this decision card I filled when I was 10 years old. See? Signed and dated May 25th, 2003 at the First Seeker-Sensitive Church of Relevance!” And God is going to point to a pile of decision cards that didn’t do anybody any good.

You see, if a person is born again, they're not going to rely on that little card they filled out 20 years ago for their salvation. They will know that they have been born again—but not because of a one-time event that they went through in the past, but because of the life that they live, and they keep on living, day after day and year after year. Galatians 2:20—I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh—in this body—I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. If we are saved, it’s not a matter of “what I did.” It’s a matter of “What God is doing in me.” But does that mean we turn into robots who just automatically do everything the way we’re supposed to? I wish! When we finally come to that point where God gets ahold of us and frees us from our old life, we need to examine our lives in light of the Scriptures and ask, “OK, Lord, you have freed me from sin. Now, what is required on my part?” Because there is a cost involved on our part. Jesus tells us in Luke 14:28—“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it?” When a person says they want to follow Christ, He asks them, “Are you sure? Are you sure you want to follow Me—not just for a little way, but knowing what it’s going to cost, are you willing to forsake everything for Me? For good?” And when we say, “Yes, Lord,” a battle begins. And not just between us and Satan. But between us and ourselves.

See, God has put within us a new heart—one that seeks to follow Him. But what are we still stuck with? These bodies of flesh. Is there anything good in these bodies of flesh? No. In fact, if you read the 7th chapter of Romans, Paul lays out the battle that goes on inside every true believer. Romans 7:18-20 (NET)—I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I want to do the good—that’s the new heart that God has put inside us—but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but I do the very evil I do not want! Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer me doing it but sin that lives in me. That is the battle that goes on inside us when we go through the new birth. We have a new heart that wants to do what God wants us to do. But we still have this same body of flesh that wants to do what we used to do. And this is why we say that salvation is not a one-time thing. We don’t look back on something we did. We point forward to the hope that we have. If anybody could have rested on their laurels, so to speak, and considered themselves to have done enough to get an automatic ticket to Heaven, it would have been Paul. But here we see that even he did not consider himself worthy of such an honor.

Philippians 3:10-14—That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

A marathon is 26.2 miles long. If I am running a marathon, and I am 3 miles ahead of the nearest competitor. (I think you can tell that I'm being very hypothetical here.) I’m 3 miles ahead of the nearest competitor, I've run the 26 miles, and all I have left is the last 0.2 miles. I stop and sit down. I'm done. I've won, haven’t I? Look how far those people are behind me! Look how far I've come! I'm finished, aren't I? No? Why not? Because I'm looking back at what’s behind me. Instead of looking forward and pressing on toward the mark—the goal. I want to pick up verse 11 real quick. Because in the English, they use the same word twice, but in the Greek it is actually two very different words. …being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected. In verse 11, the word translated “attain” (καταντάω, katantao) actually means “arrive.” That is what the word means, literally. If, by any means, I may arrive at the resurrection from the dead. But in verse 12, the word translated “attain” (λαμβάνω, lambano) means “obtained” or “received.” Not that I have already received it. It’s the same word he uses in Philippians 2:7 when he says that Jesus took upon Himself the form of a slave, or received the form of a slave.

Now, have we received the resurrection? No, not yet. But because we believe in Christ, we have received the Holy Spirit, who is the promise of the resurrection. Ephesians 1:13-14—In whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise…the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. In other words, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us, to guide us in living a life that glorifies God—as a “down payment” from God. But we also have our flesh on the outside, trying to lead us back into bondage to sin. So we have not received the fullness of the promise of the resurrection. We have been changed on the inside, but not on the outside. What I mean is, we have been set free from sin and death. But do we always act like it? Do we still sometimes act like slaves of sin? Yes. That’s the flesh. And, Paul says in Galatians 5:17 (NASB)—The flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. Does it sound like we have finished the marathon? So Paul says he’s going to live as if his salvation depended on himself.

And in fact, the better way to say the first part of verse 12 is, Not as though I had already attained or was already perfect. It’s a small change but it is huge. He’s not gonna live his life with the mindset of “Oh well, I'm saved. I'm just gonna kick back and take it easy from now on. Hey, why not? I'm saved, right?” On the contrary. He’s saying that he is going to go out and live his life as he says in verse 13, Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet (Philippians 3:13 [NASB]). He does not consider himself to have crossed the finish line yet. He actually is perfected in Christ. Hebrews 10:14—For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are sanctified. But he is telling us that while we are still in these bodies, we should consider that last 0.2 miles as being a million miles away.

So not only does Paul say that he is going to live like he had not received the resurrection, he says, Not as though I have already attained, or as though I am already perfected. Completed. In other words, He knows that God is not done with him. That as godly as he was, and as much as God was using him, he would never consider himself to have reached the point where he would consider himself to be “perfect” spiritually. As far as our physical bodies, there is a point in our lives where we can see that our body has stopped growing. Otherwise, if we lived to be 100 years old, what would happen? We would probably be about 30’ tall. But when it comes to our spiritual lives—do we ever stop growing? NO! There never comes a point where we should ever say, “OK, I've done enough. I'm retiring.” 2nd Peter 3:17-18—Beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Will we ever be perfect in terms of never ever doing anything bad ever, ever again? What happens if we stop progressing? We regress. Those of us who used to be slaves to sin will, from time to time, act like a slave of sin. But does that mean we are still slaves of sin? We are perfect in the eyes of God if He has called us and drawn us to Himself (later).

So, because Paul doesn’t consider himself to be “perfect” or “complete” what does he do? Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on… The word translated “press on” (διώκω, dioko) literally means “to run swiftly in order to catch a person or thing; to run swiftly to reach the goal in a race; to seek after eagerly.” Does that sound about like the way we should think of our salvation in Christ? Shouldn’t we “seek after it eagerly?” Isn't Christ someone we should “run swiftly in order to catch?” Listen to 1st Corinthians 9:24-25—Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. That’s a word we’ll see in a little while. And everyone who competes for the prize is self-restrained in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Does athletic training hurt? When athletes train, what is the ultimate goal of that training? To be the best athlete they can be so that they can be #1.

To that end, the athlete training for the Olympics—or the NFL or the NBA—they control themselves in what they eat, pushing their bodies to become as strong and as fast as they can be. They will gladly put up with the wind sprints and the Indian runs and the two-a-days—all the rigors and sacrifices that are required to get to the Olympics or the Super Bowl. Do they get to a point right before the event they're training for and say “OK, I've trained enough. I'm bigger and stronger and faster than the other guy. Just give me my award?” The undefeated team playing in the championship—can they just ignore the game and be handed the trophy? No. They can't just look back and say, “OK, we’ve got a better record than you. We automatically win.” They have to press on for that last 60:00 if they want to be called “World Champions.” Just ask the New England Patriots. And they're doing it to gain the praise and adoration of people, and for a trophy that is gonna sit in a trophy case and rust.

God Himself has set before us a crown that, if we seek and strive and train and put up with the rigors and sacrifices it takes to win it—we will gain the praises of God and we’ll gain a crown that will last forever! That’s why, as he finished up that passage in 1st Corinthians 9, that because he was running to gain an imperishable crown, Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified (1st Corinthians 9:26-27 [NASB]). He trained his body and his mind so that he could be the ultimate example of Christ living in that person. At the end of his life, he wrote, in 2nd Timothy 4:6-8—The time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day. So the question then becomes—what? If men are willing to sacrifice everything in order to win a trophy that is gonna rot and decay—shouldn’t we be willing to leave our old life behind and strive for a crown that will be ours forever and will never fade?

But I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. These two times Paul uses the phrase “lay hold of” (KJV—“apprehended”). That word comes from the same root word he used when he said, “not that I have already attained…” But here’s the thing: they're from the same word, but they have slightly different meanings. The word for “lay hold of that” (λαμβάνω, lambano) means “to receive.” The word that is rendered “Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me” (καταλαμβάνω, katalambano) means “to go out and get.” Literally, “To take eagerly, seize; to lay hold of so as to make one’s own.” 1st Corinthians 9:24--Run in such a way that you may lay hold of (καταλαμβάνω, katalambano) it and make it your own. To sum up the entirety of this verse, Paul is saying something like this:

“I have not received the resurrection yet. Nor am I perfect by any means. Therefore I run. I run and I run, and I train and I sacrifice. For this reason: that I take possession of that crown that Christ has promised me—He promised it to me because He took me and made me His own.”

…that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. First, he says he wants to take possession of that prize. …that I may lay hold of that… In the beginning of the verse, he says he has not “attained” it, or “received” it—passively—and now he says he wants to "seize it"—actively. He doesn’t just sit back and say, “OK, God, I've done enough. Now give me my trophy.” He is making it known that he is actively pursuing that trophy. He is pressing on, he is following after, he is sprinting, running, chasing after the crown that Jesus has laid up for him. He doesn’t look back on the things he has already done and say, “Well, that ought to do it!” He has the attitude that as long as he is living—and even if he dies—when people see him, they will have no choice but to see Christ in Him. In fact, he says a couple chapters back, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death (Philippians 1:20 [NASB]).

…that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. This is one of the clearest indications that it is God who begins the work of salvation. Was Paul walking around one day when he had the bright idea to follow Christ? How did he become the apostle of Christ? Go back to Acts 9, and you can read how the risen Christ called him to be an apostle. Christ laid hold of him. Christ lays hold of us. In fact, He lays hold of us because the Father lays hold of us. John 6:44—“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.” If God started it, He will finish it. Philippians 1:6—He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 12:1-2—Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith. He is the author—He is the finisher. He starts it—He completes it. We do not seek Him--He seeks us.

We don’t want to seek Him. We love somebody more than we love anybody else in the whole wide world. And who is that person we love so much? Yeah, ourselves. So here is what He did. He sent His Son, gave to Him the form of a slave, sent Him in the likeness of man so that He could die and rise again and triumph over the one who had the power of death. By His death He has perfected us—not so that we could live as though we were already perfect. But He has given us the means by which we can reject sin—which we did not want to do before—and we can live a life that glorifies our Father in Heaven. …that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.

Finally, verse 14. Brethren, I do not count myself to have laid hold of it—Same word we just got done talking about—but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Continuing with the theme of the footrace. That Christ is the one we should be pursuing. And that Heaven is the finish line. Does he act as if he’s there yet? I do not count myself to have apprehended. What’s that next word? BUT. …one thing I do… Singleness of mind. All the distractions all around him. Enemies outside seeking his death. False brethren creeping into the church seeking to undermine the work he has done. Trials and Roman soldiers and all these tidal waves crashing in all around him—and …one thing I do…

The same mindset Jesus had when Luke 9:51 says, when the time had come for [Christ] to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem. Luke is calling to mind Isaiah 50:7—“The Lord YHVH will help Me; therefore I will not be disgraced; therefore I have set My face like a flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed.” Were there people all around Jesus seeking His attention? Only everywhere He went. People who wanted to be fed and healed and have their dead raised to life. But when the time came for Jesus to go to Jerusalem to be crucified, did He let anything distract Him?

And in much the same way, Paul says that even though all of these matters were crushing in all around him, …one thing I do… And that was what? …forgetting those things which are behind… "None of the stuff I did before matters." That’s in the past. The only thing that matters is the Christ that I have set before me. I'll finish with what Albert Barnes said about this verse:

"A man will accomplish little who allows his mind to be distracted by a multiplicity of objects. A Christian will accomplish nothing who has not a single great aim and purpose of soul. That purpose should be to secure the prize, and to renounce everything that would be in the way to its attainment. Let us then so live that we may be able to say, that there is one great object which we always have in view, and that we mean to avoid everything which would interfere with that."

…one thing I do…

Jesus Christ is Lord.
Amen.

Weekly prayers from Voice of the Martyrs (1/23/2010)

01/20/10 Egypt, Nigeria, Malaysia, Turkey, Lebanon (Scripps News) May: Islam’s war against others- There is an alarming trend in a growing number of Muslim-majority countries because they are waging a war against non-Muslim minorities.

Connect these dots: In Nigeria this week, Muslim youths set fire to a church, killing more than two dozen Christian worshippers. In Egypt, Coptic Christians have been suffering increased persecution. For example, there was a drive-by shooting outside a church in which seven people were murdered this month. In Pakistan, Christian churches were bombed over Christmas. In Turkey, authorities have been closing Christian churches, monasteries and schools. Recently, churches in Malaysia have been attacked, too, provoked by this grievance: Christians inside the churches were referring to God as "Allah."

Many Muslims, no doubt, disapprove of the persecution of non-Muslims. But in most Muslim-majority countries, any Muslim openly opposing the Islamists risks being branded an apostate. And under the Islamist interpretation of Sharia, Islamic law, apostates deserve death.

Not so long ago, the Broader Middle East was a diverse region. Lebanon had a Christian majority for centuries but that ended around 1990 -- the result of years of civil war among the country's religious and ethnic communities. The Christian population of Turkey has diminished substantially in recent years. Islamists have driven Christians out of Bethlehem and other parts of the West Bank; almost all Christians have fled Gaza since Hamas' takeover.

When the dots are connected, the picture that emerges is not pretty: An "Islamic world" in which terrorists are regarded often with lenience, sometimes with respect and occasionally with reverence, while minority groups face increasing intolerance, persecution and "cleansing," where even their histories are erased. And we in the West are too polite, too "politically correct," and perhaps too cowardly to say much about it. Full Story.

Pray for a hedge of protection around all the Christian churches and all those who are in ministry in the Muslim-majority countries.
Pray that Christians will remain committed to the Lord in the midst of systemic persecution of the faithful by radical Islam.
Pray that those of the Islamic faith will realize the deception in their beliefs and they will realize the truth of the Bible and likewise accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord.
Pray that the West will be courageous enough to expose the hostile beliefs and actions of Muslim-majority countries which enforce Sharia, Islamic law, which proclaims that apostates deserve death-including Christians.

For more general information, please go to ICC's website.

01/19/10 Nigeria (Compass Direct News) Christians in Jos, Nigeria Fear Further Attacks- Gunshots and smoke continued to alarm residents of Jos in central Nigeria today, with the Christian community fearing further violence from Muslim youths who on Sunday (January 17th) attacked a Catholic church and burned down several other church buildings. Also burned were buildings of the Christ Apostolic Church, Assemblies of God Church, three branches of the Church of Christ in Nigeria and two buildings of the Evangelical Church of West Africa, Christian leaders said. The number of casualties continued to grow, reportedly reaching more than 100 as security forces tried to rein in rioters, with both Christian and Muslim groups still counting their losses. Hundreds have reportedly been wounded.

“What we have witnessed only goes to show that the problem in the state is far from over,” Rev. Chuwang Avou, secretary of the state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria said. “Many families have been displaced. There are a number who are receiving treatment in the hospital. The dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed in the state has not solved any problem, as there is still tension in the land.” Avou said the crisis broke out when Muslim youths pursued a woman into a church during worship on Sunday, wreaking havoc on the service.

State Commissioner of Police Greg Anyating stated that Muslim youths were to blame for setting off the violence. The Nigerian army was reportedly summoned to try to restore order.

The secretary of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Pastor Wale Adefarasin, said attacks on Christians are a manifestation of terrorism in the country. “What we should realize is that the government is not helping situations,” he said. “It is an illusion that Nigeria is safe.” “The Muslim fundamentalists want to take over Jos by all means,” Pastor Adefarasin said. “They claim that Jos is a Muslim state, which is not true.”

Violence against Christians has been going on for many years. For example, in the same area on November 28th & 29th of 2008, there was murderous rioting sparked by Muslim attacks on Christians and their property whereby six pastors died, at least 500 other people were killed, and 40 churches were destroyed, according to church leaders. More than 25,000 persons were displaced in the two days of violence. Full Story.

Pray that the authorities will effectively protect the Nigerian Christians from Muslim fundamentalists and promptly arrest and prosecute the Muslim youths who committed acts of hatred.
Pray that the Lord will comfort the Christian families who lost their loved ones to the barbaric murders by Muslim fanatics.
Pray that the Nigerian Christians will continue in worship and that they proclaim the Good News of salvation with courage and discernment.

For more general information, please go to ICC's website on Nigeria.





01/19/10 Egypt (Christian Newswire) Christians of Egypt are Massacred, and President Mubarak is Still Silent- The Copts, Egypt's Christian minority, number approximately 12 million, about 15% of Egypt's population. Under the rule of President Mubarak, violent attacks against them run rampant. These attacks were once carried out mainly by organized Islamic terrorist groups. The climate of hatred in Egypt has worsened to the point that attacks against Christians are now carried out by their Muslim neighbors.

The latest attack took place in Naga Hamady, Upper Egypt, during the late hours of Wednesday, January 6th of 2010. Drive-by gunmen opened fire with machine guns as worshippers were coming out of church after celebrating Coptic Christmas mass. Seven people were instantly killed and many others were seriously wounded.

The escalation of attacks is encouraged by the Egyptian government's lack of resolve in addressing the problem and adopting a plan of action to stop it at its roots. The climate of hatred is deeply entrenched in Egypt's mosques, the Egyptian media, and the Egyptian educational system. Very seldom are killers of Copts apprehended, and when arrested, they are often released for lack of evidence, or given a very light sentence. President Mubarak, now in power for almost 3 decades, during which 7 American presidents took office, turns a blind eye to what happens to the Coptic citizens of his country. This seems to be an attempt at appeasing the Islamists to strengthen his hold on power and pass it on to his son. Not once, did President Mubarak address his nation assuring the Copts that he cares about their problems.

Egypt, the recipient of 2 billion dollars yearly of American foreign aid since the signing of the Camp David peace treaty in 1978, can not continue abusing the human rights of its Coptic Christian citizens, a basic perquisite for receiving American foreign aid.

We ask President Obama, the US Congress and government officials, and all freedom-loving people and organizations in the US and around the world to support the rights of the Copts, for protection from aggression and equality under the law. Full Story.

Pray that the Christian families who lost their loved ones to murder will be comforted by the Lord, that the wounded will heal from their wounds, and that they all will stay strong in their Christian faith.
Pray that President Mubarak will have the fortitude to protect all Egyptian Christians from savage attacks by radical Muslims.
Pray that President Obama, the US Congress and government officials, and all freedom-loving people and organizations in the US and around the world will support the right of the Copts for protection from aggression and equality under the law.

For more general information, please go to ICC's website on Egypt.

01/19/10 United States (Baptist Press) Arson Suspected in Two More Texas Church Fires- The number of suspicious fires at churches in East Texas has climbed to seven as federal investigators join state and local authorities in seeking clues to two blazes in Tyler, Texas. The latest fires were at the Tyland Baptist Church and the First Church of Christ, Scientist, both in Tyler. Tyland is the third Southern Baptist church to burn in what investigators believe is a string of arsons. Both fires took place on the weekend of January 16th & 17th.

Authorities in the three affected counties are being aided in their investigation by the Texas state fire marshal's office and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Authorities first suspected burglary as a motive at the Athens churches, said Athens Assistant Police Chief Rodney Williams, but the investigation is ongoing.

Tyland Baptist Church Pastor David E. Mahfood posted a statement on the church's website: "Dear Friends, as most of you know, our beloved church building was consumed by fire on Saturday evening, January 16. We grieve the loss of church home, the place that we loved and shared so many memories with our church family. It was a very special place to all of us, and our emotions at this time are varied and many.

"Yet as deep as our sadness is our conviction is that our God is a mighty God, and that He is able to prevail through any adversity. We are confident that He is by our side as we come to grips with this devastating loss, and we know He will embolden us to move forward. We also take great comfort in His Word, which says:

"'We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.'" Full Story.

Pray that the police will quickly ascertain the cause of the destruction of seven churches in East Texas and prosecute any criminals if they torched the churches.
Pray that Christ will embolden the Christians at the Tyland Baptist Church to move forward and that they take great comfort in His Word as they proclaim the Gospel.
Praise God that no one was hurt in the fires.

For more general information, please go to ICC’s website.

01/15/10 India (Assist News Service) Indian Pastor and Believers Attacked and Beaten, Church Service Disrupted in Andhra Pradesh State- A group of Hindu radicals barged into a prayer service held in a church in Jalliguda, which is located in Hyderabad City, Andhra Pradesh state, India and mercilessly beat the pastor and the attendees at a meeting in on Sunday, January 10, 2010. According to the Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), an advocacy group, they reported that on January 10, at around 9:00 am, approximately 50 members belonging to the Hindu radical groups, Rashtriya Swayam Sevaks (RSS) and Bharatiya Janatha Party (BJP), barged inside the prayer hall and beat Pastor Benhur who was conducting the prayer service and also some of the attendees. It was known from the source that these Hindu radicals warned them to stop preaching about Jesus in their locality.

The source also said that the Hindu radicals continued to beat the pastor and the members of the congregation in the presence of a police officer and his team who were present during the attack. According to the news source it was known that these Hindu radicals later dragged some of the church members and the pastor and then filed a complaint against the pastor, despite the fact that he was the victim in this attack.

For the past three years, Pastor Benhur has been organizing Sunday Services regularly at Jalliguda. More than 50 believers get together for the prayer meetings. Pastor Benhur ministers with an organization called Heavens Glory Ministries. He is married to Prassanna (30) and blessed with a daughter Jessika (3 years). Full Story.

Pray that the Indian believers will remain committed to the Lord in the midst of ongoing beatings and intimidation by Hindu radicals.
Pray that the police will protect Christians from victimization and that they promptly arrest and prosecute the criminal Hindu extremists.
Pray that those of the Hindu faith will accept the truth of the Bible and likewise believe in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
Pray that Pastor Benhur, who was brutally beaten, will be comforted, healed, and strengthened by the Lord.

For more general information, please go to ICC’s website on India.

Verse-by-verse through Philippians (3:8-3:11)

When we look back on the practice of slavery in this country during the 17th and 18th centuries, it was truly an abominable practice. Men and women who were kings and queens and princes would spend the rest of their lives stooped over in a field being ordered around like dogs and treated no better than cattle. And when they died they were simply replaced and the cycle began all over again. But when we become a slave of God, the transformation is completely opposite of that. Romans 6:20-21—For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But check this out: Christ calls us out of our service to sin, and the flesh, and—ultimately—Satan. Before we know Christ, we are slaves to sin. Sin orders us around, and makes us do things that, looking back, we wonder how we could have been so foolish as to do those things. And here is the main difference: instead of kings and priests being made lowly slaves, God takes us lowly slaves and makes us kings and priests. Revelation 1:5-6—To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

We’re going to see in these verses and the verses to come in the next couple weeks, that when we are saved, we don’t just go a little way with Christ and then say, “OK, I've done my part. I've given you these years, now I'm going back to my old life. Thanks for the ticket to Heaven, see ya there.” We never consider ourselves finished until these bodies go to sleep. And that is the point that Paul begins to make here.

Philippians 3:8-11—8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Why did Jesus become flesh? So He could die. If He didn’t die, what could He not do? Rise from the dead. Hebrews 2:14—That through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil. If Christ did not die, He could not be resurrected. If we are to be resurrected, what does that mean we must do? Right, we must die. Physically, of course (unless He returns before then). But there is another death we must go through before our physical death. We must die to sin.

Verse 10. …that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection…being conformed to His death. The KJV says, being made conformable unto his death. I gotta disagree with it there. The Greek Paul uses here—he could have used another word if he meant to say, “able to be conformed.” He is saying here that if we are in Christ we will be conformed to His death. J.B Lightfoot once said,

“The agony of Gethsemane, not less than the agony of Calvary, will be reproduced however faintly in the faithful servant of Christ.”

In other words, even as Jesus knew what would be involved in His death on Calvary, and agonized over—not so much the physical aspects, but the spiritual—but at the end of it all what did He say? “Not My will but Thine be done.” And when we are finally brought to that point where we take that last step and turn our lives over to Christ, we do the same thing. We agonize and we bargain, and we say, “OK, I'll give up A and B and C—just let me keep D, E, and F.” But God says, “No, I want it all!” And He will get us to the point where we finally say, “It’s Yours!”

Paul is continuing this theme of losing all to gain Christ. He has just gotten done saying that he suffered the loss of all things for what reason? End of verse 8? ...that I may gain Christ... Go back to Philippians 3:5-7. “I was circumcised according to the Law of Moses; I was a Hebrew of the Hebrews; a Pharisee of Pharisees. But those things were loss compared to knowing Christ.” He had been a slave to those things he was before. But now that he knows Christ, he has been set free from the curse of the Law—and he wants us to know that the same freedom is available for us.

The word “conformed” comes from the same word that he uses in Philippians 2:6, when he says that Jesus was being in the form of God. There’s a reason he uses this word. We are not going to die the same death that Jesus died. He’s not saying that we will die the same physical death Jesus died. We’re not all going to be nailed to a Roman cross. But the death that we die to sin will have many of the same characteristics of that death. Marvin Vincent (Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament) put it this way:

“The most radical conformity is thus indicated: not merely undergoing physical death like Christ, but conformity to the spirit and temper, the meekness and submissiveness of Christ; to His unselfish love and devotion, and His anguish over human sin.”

That is the death Christ died—that is the death we die. Hold your place, and flip back to Romans 6. We’re going to read from this in a moment.

In Roman culture, there were two ways you got out of your slavery. One, you could buy your way out. If you saved enough money aside over the years, you could buy your freedom. The only other choice was…what? Death. But when it comes to our slavery to sin, we need to do both. A price has to be paid. And we must die. Who paid the price for our freedom? 1st Corinthians 6:20—For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit. Now, as far as the death. We must die so that we may be born again. When Jesus is talking with Nicodemus, and He says “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Of course, we ask the same question Nicodemus asked, “Are we supposed to go back into our mother's womb and be born?” (John 3:4). Well, was Jesus talking about a physical rebirth? NO! What kind of rebirth was He talking about? Right, spiritual. “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:5-6). And in order for a new birth to take place, there must be a death. John 12:24—“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” Jesus died so He could be raised. We die to sin so that we can be reborn. In short, we must believe that Jesus bought us out of slavery to sin before we stop being slaves of sin.

When Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, many slaves didn’t believe it. So what did many of them do? They kept serving as slaves. Even after the Civil War ended, it took a long time for many slaves to accept their freedom. In fact, many never stopped working as slaves. If a slave who has been set free is going to stop being a slave, what is the first thing they have to do? They have to believe the fact that they are no longer a slave—they have to die to that old mindset. Then they have to stop acting like a slave. And what does that mean for us? It means we have to believe that we are no longer slaves to sin, and believe that we have been set free—and we need to start acting like it!

Romans 6:4-11—4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Look at the definite tone that Paul uses here. Verse 4—just as Christ…even so we also. Verse 5—we have been united in His death…we shall be united in His resurrection. Continuing with verse 6. Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with—in other words, we die to sin—that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him. If we died with Christ, we shall also live with Him. 9 Knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin—how many times?—once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise—in the same way, just like—Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Look at some of these phrases Paul uses:

• Death no longer has dominion over Him.
• The life He lives He lives to God.
• Likewise reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God.
• Being conformed to His death.

Now, does that mean we are never going to act like a slave of sin ever again? NO! Sometimes we act just like those slaves after the Civil War that sometimes still acted from that slavery mindset. Did that mean they weren’t still free men? No. Even though they sometimes acted like they were not free did not negate the fact that they were free. When a child is adopted out of an abusive family, they still carry some of those scars, and sometimes they act from those old patterns. But even though they sometimes act the way they did when they were in their old family, does it mean they are not still part of their new family?

So even though the former slave will sometimes act like a slave, he is still free; and even though an adopted child will still act like an abused child, they are still an adopted child of their new family. Why? Because an exchange has taken place that has taken them out of one realm, one sphere, one existence—and transferred them into a new realm, a new sphere of existence. And has cut them off from their old realm, sphere of existence. The Union won the war, the Confederacy surrendered, the slaves were set free. The judge has signed the order, banged the gavel, that child now belongs to a new family.

In the case of the Christian, what is the exchange? We are adopted into the family of God. The new birth. We are removed from our old master, our old family—and we are placed under a new master and into a new family. And who is our Father? Back to Philippians. We are being conformed to His death, verse 11, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. As long as we are still talking about the book of Romans, why not. Romans 8:29—For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. God knew us and chose us before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). And He determined, at that very time, that He would conform the ones He chose to the image of Christ (Ephesians 1:5). Why? That Christ might be the firstborn among many brethren—those who will be resurrected. Question: Man was made in whose image? The image of God. Colossians 1:15--He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. We are created in the image of God. Who is the image of God? Christ! So, really, whose image are we created in? Christ's! In what likeness did Christ come to earth (Philippians 2:7)? It’s all fixin’ to come together, don’t worry.

Christ is the image of God. He came in the likeness of man. Hebrews 2:11—He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren. So, Christ calls us brethren—brothers. According to Romans 8:29, whose image are we being conformed to? Christ's! And according to Romans 8:29, who is the firstborn of the brethren? Now, is Christ God? Yes! So, in effect, we are being re-made in what image? We are being re-conformed to the image of God! Revelation 21:5--Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” What does it mean for us? This: Colossians 1:18-20—And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself.

…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, verse 11, …if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Now, this may seem like I'm splitting hairs. But it is a distinction that needs to be made. From everything I've read, this should say the resurrection from the dead rather than the resurrection of the dead. And there is a distinction. Will the dead be resurrected? Yes. Just the ones who knew Christ, or everybody? Everyone. So, if Paul was saying that he was hoping to attain the resurrection of the dead, it wouldn’t make much sense because all the dead will be resurrected. John 5:28-30—“The hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.”

What Paul is saying is that he is hoping to attain the resurrection from the dead. And he uses a rather unique word here. Normally he would use the word ανάστασις (anastasis). But here, he uses the word εξανάστασις (exanastasis). It means, literally, a "higher-rising." This is the only place in the NT we find this word. He’s not simply saying he wants to be part of the raising up of the just and the unjust out of the grave. He wants to be part of the higher-rising of the just. All those who die will rise. Those who do not know Christ will be raised and thrown down again. Those who do know Christ will be raised and keep on rising. Make sense?

Now, the phrase if by any means. I hope I don’t sound like I know more than those who have done the work of translating. But this is one place where I just haven’t had any peace about the ways this phrase has been rendered. I'm gonna go out on a limb—and it will probably snap once I get out there—but to me, this phrase seems best rendered like this: if that is the means by which I will be able to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Because there is only one way to be included in the higher-rising from the dead. And that is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. So I think what Paul is saying here is, in this whole section that starts in verse 8, is this:

“You know what? If it means giving up everything that I ever thought was worth anything, and if it means going through the most painful ordeals, and even if it means suffering the same way Jesus did—if that’s what I have to go through to be raised up with Him on that last day, then that’s what I'm gonna do!”

And will it be worth it? I love what Paul says in Romans 8:18—For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Don’t we love to hear stories about somebody who rises up from poverty to be a successful businessman or something? Just think. There is a story being written, right now, about how we were slaves, shackled, in prison, looking at a sentence of eternal death. But now, we have been made kings and priests of Almighty God. And for that, we suffer the loss of all things and count them as rubbish that we may win Christ.

Jesus Christ is Lord!
Amen.

What exactly does John 1:1 mean, anyway?

Disclaimer: I do not claim to be a Greek scholar. But I do know how to pay attention to men who are. For this post, I have been very careful to only speak on matters that I have properly researched, investigated, and which I properly understand. Any technical aspects of biblical Greek included in this post are taken from reputable, (small 'o') orthodox sources who have spent years studying biblical Greek.


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Of all the biblical passages that get debated by orthodox and heretic, John 1:1 ranks within the top 3--if not holding the #1 spot. It is one of the clearest declarations of the Deity of Christ, written by one who received revelations from God concerning the end of all things--many of which could not be expressed in the vocabulary of the day. He was the apostle that Jesus loved (John 13:23, John 19:26, John 20:2, John 21:7, John 21:20). He wrote more about the heart of Jesus than any of the other gospel writers.

And to begin his reckoning of the person of Christ, he begins in, of all places, the beginning. He shows us that not only was Jesus there; he shows us that Jesus was with God--and he shows us that Jesus was, indeed, God. However, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (hereafter referred to as 'WTBTS') decided some time back to mistranslate this verse in accordance with their theology, and render it quite wrongly. And so, whenever you get a knock on the door, and the person tells you they are with the Jehovah's Witnesses (hereafter referred to as JW or JW's), they will very confidently whip out their little pamphlet entitled "Should You Believe in the Trinity?" and they will tell you why they think that you believe in a pagan God. Therefore, the aim of this post is to give you a biblical basis, founded upon the Greek, for believing in the deity of Christ.

So, what exactly does this verse say? How should it read? Let's find out. Following is the Greek of this verse:

εν αρχη ην ό λóγος και ό λóγος ην πρoς τoν θεoν και θεος ην ό λóγος
en archē ēn o logos kai o logos ēn pros ton theon kai theos ēn o logos

Let's take this one phrase at a time and understand what the Holy Spirit is saying to us through the apostle. And before we begin, I would like to make this statement: do not try to take the rules of English grammar and apply them to biblical Greek (hereafter referred to simply as "Greek"). It won't work. There are some rules that the two have in common, but there were many rules, grammatical structures, verb tenses, noun cases, and other technical aspects of Greek that do not translate exactly into modern (or any other type of) English. We will see this shortly.

1) εν αρχη (en archē). In the beginning. There is another passage of Scripture that begins with the words In the beginning. Of course, that would be Genesis 1:1--the very beginning of the Scriptures. Do you think it was by accident that John was moved to commence with these words? To take us all the way back to before the foundation of the world by using a phrase his Jewish readers would be well familiar with? No, with God, there is no such thing as "coincidence." In fact, it is with these same Greek words (εν αρχη, en archē) that the Septuagint--the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures--begins the first book of Moses.

2) εν αρχη ην ό λóγος (en archē ēn o logos). In the beginning was the Word. Not only do we see in this brief opening clause a glimpse of the eternality of Christ, but also a deliberate statement to show that Jesus did not come into existence owing to natural relations between Mary and Joseph (or, as the skeptics like to tell us today, a Roman soldier). Yes, His body was conceived in her womb, but Jesus Himself has existed from before the foundation of the world. Matthew and Luke carry out this picture in longer narratives (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-2:14). Here John shows the reader that, even before He covered Himself in flesh and walked the earth in human form, The Word of God--was.

Now, in the hubris surrounding the third clause of this first verse, there are some other key words that often get overlooked. Was is one of them. It would not be incorrect to read this phrase thus: In the beginning, the Word was. This is one of those places where English tends to fail the intended meaning. The word ην (ēn, was) is in what is known as the "imperfect tense." In the English it is usually rendered as a simple "past tense." However, in Greek it carries with it the implication of a previous, continuing action. The imperfect of the verb "to be" denotes the act of existing. One may ask, "OK, the Word was. The Word was what?" Simple: The Word was. Much like Decartes' famous quote, "cogito, ergo sum"--"I think, therefore I am." Did anyone question Descartes about what he was? No. By this statement, Descartes was stating that because he can think, he exists--he is. (Or, rather, was.) So, in short, what the apostle is telling us is, In the beginning, the Word was being. "Was being what?" He was being! He was existing. He was.

Paul uses this form of ειμι (eimi) to communicate an essential characteristic, not to simply describe a person's temporary condition or location. For some examples of this verb in the past tense:

Romans 5:13--(For until the law, sin was in the world...)
Galatians 2:6--But from those who seemed to be something—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me...

And when John uses ην (ēn, was) to say the Word was, he was not simply stating that Jesus was existing--he was describing Jesus as being existent.

Before we leave this phrase, I would be remiss if I didn't bring up a couple more points. Namely:

1. The phrase In the beginning is to be differentiated from the phrase From the beginning (see John 8:44; 1st John 2:7; 1st John 3:8). John uses the phrase "from the beginning" to denote things that were true from the earliest days of the world--but things that happened after creation. By using the phrase In the beginning, with the imperfect ην (ēn), John intimates that Jesus had been existing before the time written of by Moses at the beginning of Genesis. "In the beginning, the word had been existent."
2. If John had meant to say that In the beginning the Word came to be, there was a simple tool at his disposal. He could have simply used the word αρχομαι (archomai), as Luke did in Luke 3:23--And Jesus himself began to be (αρχομαι ην, archomai ēn) about thirty years of age... He "began to be about 30 years old," but Jesus did not "begin to be." He was. Period. Which is why John uses the word εγενετο (egeneto) in verse 14--And the Word became (εγενετο [egeneto]) flesh... The Word was God...the Word became flesh. As a parallel, Paul says of Christ, in Philippians 2:6-7 that Christ, being in the form of God...took upon him the form of a slave...

3) και ό λóγος ην προς τον θεον (kai o logos ēn pros ton theon). ...and the Word was with God... The JW points to this and asks, "OK, if Jesus is God, then how could He be 'with God?'" Again, the deficiency of English. The word προς (pros) means, "at, near, by; to, towards, with, with regard to." Most times in the NT it means "to," as in Mark 10:49-50--Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.” And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to (προς [pros]) Jesus.
It is also rendered, at times, "toward":

2nd Corinthians 1:12--For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves...by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward [προς (pros)] you.
1st Thessalonians 5:14 (KJV)--Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward [προς (pros)] all men.

In short, when the word προς (pros) is used to say that one person was "with" another person or group of people, it denotes more than simply being in close proximity to that other person or group of people. It means more than just being in the general area. It almost implies a sense of action by being "toward" and even being united with that person or persons. Take, for example, Mark 10:7--"‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to [προς (pros)] his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’"

John is being very careful with his words, as προς (pros) is a strengthened form of the preposition προ (pro), which means "before"--not in terms of location ("I see before me...") but of time ("He got here before I did"). Also, τον θεον (ton theon, God) is in the accusative case, being the direct object of the action "was with." According to A.T Robertson,

"Pros with the accusative presents a plane of equality and intimacy, face to face with each other."

Vincent's Word Studies:

With does not convey the full meaning, there is no single English word which will give it better. The preposition πρός, which, with the accusative case, denotes motion towards, or direction, is also often used in the New Testament in the sense of with; and that not merely as being near or beside, but as a living union and communion; implying the active notion of intercourse.

In other words, it is not simply a matter of being in the same geographical area as someone else. It carries with it the sense of being constantly with that other person. Some other uses of προς (pros) with the accusative:

Mark 6:3 (KJV)--"Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with [προς (pros)] us?"
Matthew 17:17--"O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with [προς (pros)] you?"
1st John 1:2--...we...declare to you that eternal life which was with [προς (pros)] the Father and was manifested to us...

These uses are not simply expressing the idea of being in the same place or even simply being in someone's company. They are conveying the idea of being in constant communion and being amongst and within. If John had meant to simply demonstrate that the Word was in the general vicinity of God, he could have very easily used the Greek μετα (meta, with) as these verses do:

Matthew 4:21--Going on from there, He saw...James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with (μετα [meta]) Zebedee their father...
Mark 5:24--So Jesus went with (μετα [meta]) him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.
John 4:27--And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with (μετα [meta]) a woman.

Also keep in mind that John uses the same verb "was" (ην , ēn) to denote that this constant communion and perfect company Jesus had with the Father was not simply something that began at a certain point in time but had been going on since before the beginning. So, to summarize this section, John is not saying that Jesus was simply existing at the same time as God. We could read it like this, God possessed the Word within Himself. John is telling us that, as James White says,

Their fellowship and relationship precedes all else, and it is timeless.

4) και θεος ην ό λóγος (kai theos ēn o logos). And the Word was God.

And here.....we.....go!

Five little Greek words that have caused such conflict for so many years. But if we examine it in light of truth, I believe we shall see that the traditional rendering ("and the Word was God") is the true one. Before we head down this road, let me make one thing abundantly clear: We who believe in the orthodox Trinity DO NOT BELIEVE that the Father is the Son, or that the Son is the Father, or that the Spirit is the Father, etc. That thinking is a doctrine known as "Sabellianism" (which, along with Arianism, was also refuted as a heresy by the early church). Today we call it "Oneness Pentecostalism" or "Modalism." This is NOT a true belief either. Jesus was NOT "praying to Himself" in Gethsemane. He was praying to His Father, who is a separate and distinct Person from the Son.

Clement of Alexandria (writing more than 100 years before the Council of Nicea):

"There was, then, a Word importing an unbeginning eternity; as also the Word itself, that is, the Son of God, who being, by equality of substance, one with the Father, is eternal and uncreate." (Clement, Fragments, Part I, section 3, 190 AD).

“When [John] says: 'What was from the beginning [1 John 1:1],' he touches upon the generation without beginning of the Son, who is co-equal with the Father. 'Was,' therefore, is indicative of an eternity without a beginning, just as the Word Himself, that is the Son, being one with the Father in regard to equality of substance, is eternal and uncreated. That the word always existed is signified by the saying: 'In the beginning was the Word' [John 1:1].” (fragment in Eusebius History, Book 6 Ch 14; Jurgens, p. 188)

Melito of Sardis, writing in 177 AD (nearly 150 years before Nicea):

Being God and likewise perfect man, he gave positive indications of his two natures: of his deity, by the miracles during the three years following after his baptism… he concealed the signs of his deity, although he was the true God existing before the ages" (Anastasius of Sinai's, The Guide 13).

So, let's go ahead and dive into the text. Laying aside the English grammar we have known since we were children, we need to notice the arrangement of the words. And we have to understand some things about biblical Greek. One thing is the use of "articles." There is a difference between "definite articles" and "indefinite articles." In Greek, when you see a lone "o" before a word, that is a "definite article" and is translated "the." (There are variations of "o", depending on person, case, and number.)

And, occasionally, we will run across words that do not have a "definite article" in the Greek, and which do not get an indefinite article (such as "a" or "an") when translated into English. The way John structures this part of the verse is very deliberate. He has two nouns joined by a copulative verb. A copulative verb is a verb that joins a subject noun with a predicate noun with no action either way (e.g., "The teacher is a coach"), requiring the nominative case for both nouns. An example of a similar type of structure to that found in John 1:1 is found in John 6:63--

τα ρηματα α εγω λελω υμιν πνευμα εστιν και ζωη εστιν
ta rēmata a ego lelo umin pneuma estin kai zoē estin
the words which I speak to you spirit are and life are

If you take out the phrase "which I speak to you" it would read "The words...are spirit and are life." Notice in this verse that the word ρηματα (rēmata, words) has the definite article τα (ta, the), while the words πνευμα (pneuma, spirit) and ζωη (zoē, life) do not. Also, πνευμα (pneuma, spirit) and ζωη (zoē, life) come before the verb εστιν (estin, are) in this verse. And all three nouns are in the nominative case. So when you bring πνευμα (pneuma, spirit) and ζωη (zoē, life) into English, they do not get a definite article. Not only that, but neither would they get an indefinite article, since it would not make sense to say that the words Jesus spoke were A spirit and A life.

This is important. Because in John 1:1, after the word και (kai, and), we see the word θεος (theos, God), followed by the verb ην (ēn, was) and then, last, the subject noun ό λóγος (o logos, the Word). And because of this construction, ό λóγος (o logos) is the subject noun, θεος (theos) is the predicate noun, ην (ēn) is the copulative verb linking the two. And John constructs this clause the way he did--putting the anarthrous predicate before the verb--not to say that the Word was A "god" but to show that the Word was GOD. We see the same principle, with slightly different constructions in the following writings of this same apostle:

1st John 1:5--God is light (ο θεος φος εστιν [o theos phos estin])
1st John 4:8--God is love (ο θεος αγαπη εστιν [o theos agapē estin])

In these verses, an anarthrous predicate noun precedes the verb, and is translated without the indefinite article. That said.........

• Would it make sense to translate 1st John 1:5 as "God is A light?" NO.
• Would it make sense to translate 1st John 4:8 as "God is A love?" NO.

But the WT will say that it makes sense to translate John 1:1c as "the Word was A god." So the WT breaks its own rules of translation in order to cling to its theology. But in John 1:1c, John is showing that everything about the Word was Deity.

Just like in 1st John 4:8, where John is telling us that everything about God is love. In fact, if you were to take 1st Corinthians 13:4-14:1, and substitute "God" everywhere it says "Love" you would find that when dealing with those He loves:

• God is patient
• God is kind
• God does not envy (for what does He have to envy?)
• God is not prideful
• God does not behave impetuously
• God does not impute our sins to our account (if we confess Christ as Lord and Savior)
• God does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth
• God is slow to wrath
• God never fails
• Pursue God

You see, if John had wanted to say that the Word was A "god" he could have put the word θεος (theos) at the end of the clause, after the verb. If he had done that, there would be no question that John was saying that the Word was A "god." He could have constructed it like this:

και ό λóγος ην θεος
kai o logos ēn theos

But John was not saying that the Word was A "god." He was saying that the Word was GOD.

Now, this is not to say that every predicate noun preceding a verb does not get an indefinite article. A JW over at my blog once challenged me with the following verses (key Greek words in bold italics and rendered in Greek)--

Mark 6:49--...they supposed He was a ghost (εδοξαν φάντασμα ειναι, edoxan phantasma einai [they believed that a ghost He was]).
Mark 11:32--...all believed John to have been a prophet indeed (απαντες εικον τον Ιωαννην οτι οντως προφητης ην, apantes eikon ton Ioannen oti ontos prophētēs ēn [literally, all held to this John because truly a prophet he was]).
John 6:70--"Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?" (και εξ υμας εις διαβολος εστιν, kai ex umas eis diabolos estin [and of you, one is a devil]).
John 10:13--"The hireling flees because he is a hireling..." (οτι μισθωτος εστιν, oti misthotos estin [because he is a hireling]).
John 10:33--"...and because You, being a Man..." (οτι συ ανθρωπος ων, oti su anthropos on [because you, being a man {literally, "a man you are being"}]).
John 12:6--...but because he was a thief... (αλλα οτι κλεπτης ην, alla oti kleptēs ēn [but because he was a thief]).

In all these verses, the predicate nominatives come before the verbs, but they all get the indefinite article "a"--why? Why do these get the indefinite article and θεος (theos) in John 1:1 doesn't?

I'm glad you asked.

Notice one thing. None of these verbs are copulative. In other words, the verb is not joining two nouns--the subjects in these sentences and clauses are provided by the verb itself. That being the case, the indefinite predicate nominative gets the indefinite article in English. In John 1:1, the verb ην (ēn, was) is copulative, joining ό λóγος (o logos) with θεος (theos). That is the difference.

Also, John could NOT have used the definite article with θεος (theos) because if he did, that would make θεος (theos) and λóγος (logos) interchangeable as subject and predicate. If θεος (theos) and λóγος (logos) were interchangeable, either one of them could be the subject noun, and it could have been interpreted to say, "and God was the Word." This reading would mean that all that is θεος (theos) would be the λóγος (logos) and John would have thus been teaching Sabellianism--that God was FIRST the Father, THEN He was the Son, THEN He was the Spirit (I have no idea who they think He is now).

That is not to say that the Word did not possess everything that it means to be God. For, as Paul wrote, in Him dwelt the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9). The word translated "Godhead" is the Greek θεοτης (theotēs). Even a Unitarian like Joseph Henry Thayer defines θεοτης (theotēs) thus:

“deity, i.e. the state of being God, Godhead: Col. ii. 9. [SYN. theotēs, theiotēs. Theotēs (deity) differs from theiotēs (divinity), as essence differs from quality or attribute.”

What he is saying is that not only did Jesus share the same attributes as God, but He possessed in Himself everything that it means to be God. It is for this reason that Paul used the word μορφή (morphē) in Philippians 2:6--who, being in the form (μορφή, morphē) of God... The word μορφή (morphē) denotes the totality of the one being referred to--essence, nature. He was not the form of God, He was IN the form of God. That is to say, God was not confined to being the Word. But everything about Jesus was Deity. John was NOT saying that Jesus ALONE was God--that is Sabellianism-Modalism-Oneness, and that is nowhere near what John was teaching.

By the same token, John was not teaching that Jesus was a created being, separate from God. While Jesus is "separate and distinct" from the Father, Jesus is still "God." On that note, the WTBTS tries to use a quote by Phillip Harner in The Journal of Biblical Literature (JBL), and they try to say that Mr. Harner was giving credence to their claim that Jesus was "A God." Their claim [WT words in blue, Harner's words in red, all emphases mine]:

“The Journal of Biblical Literature says that expressions ‘with an anarthrous [no article] predicate preceding the verb, are primarily qualitative in meaning.’ As the Journal notes, this indicates that the logos can be likened to a god.” (Should You Believe in the Trinity?, 1989, p. 27; cited at Witness 4 Jesus)

But is that what Harner is really saying? Listen to what the JBL says directly before this (all words are from Mr. Harner, all emphases are mine):

[A clause] with the verb preceding an anarthrous predicate, would probably mean that the logos [Word] was ‘a god’ or a divine being of some kind, belonging to the general category of theos [God] but as a distinct being from ho theos [the God]. (Philip B. Harner, "Qualitative Anarthrous Predicate Nouns: Mark 15:39 and John 1:1," The Journal of Biblical Literature, 1973, pp. 84-85, 87; cited at Witness 4 Jesus)

If you notice, the anarthrous noun θεος (theos) precedes the verb ην (ēn, was) in this clause. Then, immediately after, Harner says (emphases mine),

[The construction John uses] means that the logos [Word] has the nature of theos [God]. In this clause, the form that John actually uses, the word theos [God] is placed at the beginning for emphasis...This would be one way of representing John’s thought, which is, as I understand it, that ho logos, [the Word] no less than ho theos, [the God] had the nature of theos [God].” (Philip B. Harner, "Qualitative Anarthrous Predicate Nouns: Mark 15:39 and John 1:1," The Journal of Biblical Literature, 1973, pp. 84-85, 87; cited at Witness 4 Jesus)

So now you see how disingenuous the WTBTS can be when they cite a source to back up their claims. What, you thought the ellipses they put in those quotes were simply for brevity? No. The reason they leave out huge chunks from their quotes is so you don't see what the person actually said.

One final note about the grammar of this clause. Remember, again, what is the verb? Yes, ην (ēn). What tense is it in? Imperfect. What does that mean again? It implies a continuation of action from a previous point. So John is saying, basically, that "In the beginning...the Word had been being God." From before the foundation of the world, the Word was being God.

Here is a quote from B.F. Westcott, of Westcott & Hort (W&H). Why would I quote this man? Because it is the W&H Greek text that the WTBTS uses as the basis for their Kingdom Interlinear Translation (KIT). I mean, if you are a JW, who can you trust if you can't trust one of the men who built the Greek text of one of your Scriptures? Anyway, this is what Westcott said of John 1:1c (emphases mine)--

"The predicate [God] stands emphatically first, as in [John] 4:24. It is necessarily without the article...No idea of inferiority of nature is suggested by the form of expression, which simply affirms the true Deity of the Word...in the third clause 'The Word' is declared to be 'God' and so included in the unity of the Godhead." (The Gospel According to St. John, Eerdmans, 1953- reprint. p. 3; The Bible Collector, July-December, 1971, p. 12; cited at Let Us Reason.)

How tragic that this group would lead so many down a road to destruction just to hold on to a failed theology and flawed interpretation. And it is no wonder they mangle the Scriptures--Not a one of them EVER studied biblical Greek. How sad that they will not allow the Holy Scriptures to do their perfect work. Instead, they hide inside their bunkers in Brooklyn, churning out lies and deceit and clothing them in the guise of "biblical scholarship" and declaring that they alone are the ones "announcing God's Kingdom." Their destruction does not slumber.

Please pray for those who are being deceived, that they may see the light of truth--
That Jesus IS YHVH.
That the Word was God.

Jesus Christ is Lord.
Amen.