Why Did Jude Quote ENOCH?
Let’s look at the passage in question:
14Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
Jude 1:14-15
(If you’re not familiar with Enoch, see Genesis 5:24).
This particular saying of Enoch was handed down through the generations in Hebrew culture and eventually included in the Book of Enoch (specifically chapter 1, verse 9), which was written in the period between the two Testaments. Jude was “carried along by the Holy Spirit” when he quoted it (2 Peter 1:21), which is why the Judeo-Christian Scriptures are called “God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16). In other words, Jude’s source for this information was the Holy Spirit and Judaic tradition, not the book of Enoch. The fact that it was recorded in the pseudepigraphical Book of Enoch didn’t make it false.
While this particular saying of Enoch is true and it’s recorded in the Book of Enoch, it doesn’t make the entire Book of Enoch Holy Scripture. After all, Paul quoted Cretan seer-poet, Epimenides, in Titus 1:12, but this doesn’t mean we should give authority to all of Epimenides’ writings as God-breathed Scripture.
Some suggest that Christ was partially quoting Enoch in Matthew 22:29-30, which was a prophetic word that may allude to tradition, but is not a quote from a specific text, like the Book of Enoch. For proof, compare the Lord’s words with the relevant passage from the Book of Enoch:
29Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.
Matthew 22:29-30
But you from the beginning were made spiritual, possessing a life which is eternal, and not subject to death for ever.
Therefore I made not wives for you, because, being spiritual, your dwelling is in heaven.
1 Enoch 15:6-7
Clearly, the Messiah wasn’t quoting the Book of Enoch. As such, the passage from Jude is the only quote in Scripture from Enoch (which, again, just so happens to be cited in the Book of Enoch).
The many books in the apocrypha (ah-POK-rah-fah) & pseudepigrapha (soo-doh-PIG-rah-fah) are noncanonical writings from the intertestamental period, or “400 silent years” between the Old and New Testaments, and up to 300-400 AD. ‘Apocrypha’ means “hidden away” while ‘pseudepigrapha’ means “false writings,” mostly because the claimed author of the text is not the actual author. Some of what these books say is true, but some is questionable or false.
It’s similar to the gazillion of Christian books available today, depending on the author and their sectarian bias. Don’t get me wrong, there are many worthwhile Christian books out there, but the best ones are those that stick closely to the Scriptures and rightly-divide them (2 Timothy 2:15 & 3:16-17). In light of this, if you read any books from the apocrypha & pseudepigrapha, it’s necessary to “test them all; hold on to what is good,” as 1 Thessalonians 5:21 puts it. In other words, eat the meat and spit out the bones since they’re not Holy Scripture.
Speaking of which, stick with God’s Word in regard to Christian doctrine (belief) and practice, which explains Paul’s rule “Do not go beyond what is written” (1 Corinthians 4:6).
While there are a miniscule number of Ethiopian Jews and Ethiopian Christians who regard the Book of Enoch as Scripture, it’s considered non-canonical (non-inspired) by everyone else. What questions did leaders ask to verify which scrolls should be part of the canon of Scripture, whether Hebrew officials for the Hebraic Scriptures or Christian leaders for the New Testament? Obviously questions like:
Can the cited author be verified? Was the author closely linked to key members of the Judaic or Christian community? Does the doctrinal content correspond to already-acknowledged Scripture? Do the ethical standards comply with established Judeo-Christian morality? Was the text accepted by the Hebraic or Christian community at large up to that point? If not, why not?
The Book of Enoch was written between 300-100 BC (during the aforementioned “400 silent years,” well before the era of Christ & the early Church); it simply didn’t make the cut.
Related Topics:
Who Wrote the New Testament Books? Who Authorized them as Scripture Canon?
What Does “Do Not Go Beyond What is Written” Mean in 1 Corinthians 4:6?
Berean Spirit — What Is It? How Do You Cultivate It?
SECTARIANISM — What Is It? What’s Wrong With It?
HEBREWS / ISRAELITES / JEWS — Why Did God Choose Them?
What Did Paul Mean by “According to the Scriptures”?
What Are the Sources of Truth (Reality)?
What Is KJV ONLY? What’s Wrong With It?
What Is GLORY? Are There Different TYPES OF GLORY?
Light or splendor is what I immediately think of when I think of ‘glory.’ Both the Greek word and Hebrew word for ‘glory’ bespeak of God’s splendorous intrinsic substance or essence and the perfection or excellence thereof, whether moral or otherwise. It’s basically the opposite of darkness or sin. You could say ‘glory’ involves all the attributes related to the LORD—light, splendor, excellence, honor, perfection, truth, holiness, etc.
There are different kinds of glory depending on the context. (Remember, the hermeneutical rule “Context is King”). Here are some types of glory in the Scriptures:
- There’s the glory of God’s manifest presence, which theologians refer to as Shekinah glory (Leviticus 16:2, 2 Corinthians 3:18 & Ezekiel 43:2-5).
- There’s the residual glory of spending time in God’s presence (Exodus 34:29).
- There’s the glory of the original physical creation, before the entrance of sin and the corresponding curse (Genesis 1-3).
- Even this present fallen Earth is filled with God’s glory for anyone who opens their eyes (Isaiah 6:3, Psalm 19:1-4 & Romans 1:19-20).
- There’s the glory given to Adam & Eve and, by extension, humanity (Genesis 1:26-28, Psalm 8:4-6 & Hebrews 2:6-8).
- There’s the glory of the Old Covenant, which revealed the truth of the Creator and gave light as to what the LORD considers sin in black-and-white terms (2 Corinthians 3:7-11).
- There’s the greater light of the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:6), which made available spiritual regeneration, freedom from the flesh and eternal life thru the message of Christ (ditto).
- There’s the glory of Christ incarnated (John 1:4-5, 1:9 & 17:24).
- There’s the glory of the truth that He gave the disciples and, by extension, you & me (John 17:22).
- There’s the glory of our future resurrection bodies, which are called glorified (1 Corinthians 15:42-44 & Philippians 3:21).
- There’s the glory of the New Jerusalem and the eternal age-to-come (Revelation 21-22; see specifically 21:11 & 21:23).
Related Topics:
What is GLORY in the Sense of God’s (Shekinah) GLORY?
ETERNAL LIFE (“Heaven”): Questions & Answers
What Does “Christ in You, the Hope of Glory” Mean?
What Will the Believer’s Glorified Body Be Like?
Is CHRIST’S BODY After Resurrection PHYSICAL or SPIRITUAL (or Both)?
SANCTIFICATION: Spirit, Mind & Body
Is the Saying “CLEANLINESS Is Next to Godliness” Biblical?
Responding to TRAGEDIES and SUFFERING
Tragedies are a constant in “this present evil age” (Galatians 1:4). Christ commented on their reality and the difficult questions they provoke in Luke 13:1-5. C.S. Lewis said, “We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
Take the 4.4 magnitude earthquake in the resort city of Zihuatanejo, northwest of Acapulco, just hours after being hit by Hurricane Otis on October 25th, 2023. A concerned believer frankly wrote me:
WHAT CAN YOU SAY TO PEOPLE? CAN YOU TELL THEM “JESUS LOVES YOU?” LOL. AFTER YOU SEE THE VIDEO… IT MAKES YOU WONDER IF JESUS IS BIG ENOUGH TO HANDLE THE FUNERALS. There’s a lot of dead people who were on vacation or worked at the resorts that aren’t even smiling. IF Jesus loves them… then I wish Him and all these people good luck. Because it doesn’t look like there’s anything good coming out of this mess. Not ever.
This brother was obviously venting in the wake of the suffering and deaths of this great tragedy. It’s an understandable visceral response.
That said, I think it’s important to offer some important details on the LORD’s love for the world so there’s no misunderstanding. Does God love all people in the sense of having warm fuzzies for them? Consider political mass-murderers like Mao and Stalin or corrupt LIEberal politicians. Does God look in favor on such evil people? Does He respect them? Does He have warm affection for them? Does He condone their great duplicities and crimes? No, they are “objects of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3). The Almighty is mercifully loving them with agape love—practical love—which will hopefully attract their attention and move them to repentance—changing their minds and behavior—by turning to their Creator via the message of Christ.
To explain, you can extend practical love—agape love—toward someone that you don’t respect or have affection for and it doesn’t mean you condone their corruption. Say, you meet an in-law who hates your guts at your family reunion; this is a person who actively slanders you behind your back and you always catch wind of it . While you don’t have warm feelings for this person and don’t respect him/her, you can certainly extend agape love toward them for the benefit of all involved.
Storge love, by contrast, refers to familial love while phileo love refers to friendship love. These are different from agape love. God loves all people with agape love, as observed in John 3:16, but only has storge love for those who are spiritual children by faith and phileo love for those who come near in relationship, thus growing in the LORD’s favor (James 4:8 & 2 Peter 3:18). Yes, you can grow in God’s grace and those passages make this perfectly clear.
People make the mistake of thinking there’s only one type of love when there’s actually at least four. This article offers details for those who want to go deeper.
Someone might respond that these are “pat answers” to the great tragedies & sufferings of this world and I understand this perspective, but was Christ giving pat answers in Luke 13:1-5? The Bible says that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). Is that a shallow answer or a deep truth about the believer’s life in this fallen world?
In response to all the horrible things that are currently happening around the world, the aforementioned person wrote me:
Right now I have a WHAT THE F*** ARE YOU DOING love for the Lord. If He can’t handle it… then He needs to know ME better.
This man is honestly venting. He’s understandably ticked off about the horrible things that are happening — like the savage Hamas attack on innocent Israelite citizens on October 7th — and simply expressing his gut feelings. It reminds me of Job’s statement: “How painful are honest words!” (Job 6:25) or David’s question: “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3).
Venting is healthy for mental/spiritual health in this messed-up world. We might as well be totally candid and transparent since God knows everything about us anyway, even our very thoughts (Psalm 139). As such, there are several examples of godly people radically venting in the Bible, such as Jeremiah accusing the LORD of deceiving him (Jeremiah 20:7-18) or suffering Job’s railings at God, e.g. “I loathe my very life; therefore I will give free rein to my complaint and speak out in the bitterness of my soul… Does it please you to oppress me, to spurn the work of your hands, while you smile on the plans of the wicked?” (Job 10:1-3). Just think, the most righteous man on the face of the Earth at the time said this to the Almighty! (Job 1:8).
Christ exhorted, “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with… the anxieties of life” (Luke 21:34). Such anxieties are one of three things that will “choke the word and make it unfruitful” in the believer’s life. The other two are the deceitfulness of wealth and the desire for other things, including the pleasures of this life (Mark 4:19 & Luke 8:14).
The Messiah prophesied, “When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven” (Luke 21:9-11). In other words, the Bible predicted 2000 years ago the profoundly disturbing things we are now witnessing. So the terrible things that are happening verify the truth of Holy Scripture! God is calling wayward humanity to repentance and eternal salvation. The prophet Isaiah expressed it thusly: “When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness” (Isaiah 26:9).
Scripture calls these increasing tribulations “birth pangs” (Matthew 24:8) with the ultimate result being the new heavens and new earth, the eternal home of righteousness, which we are to look forward to while stuck in this “present evil age” (2 Peter 3:13). In short, everything WILL be made right and God will personally console us, “wiping away every tear… there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4).
It helps to keep in mind this big picture if we’re to persevere through these troubling times. So, be encouraged. Stay tight with both the Living Word (the person of God) and the written word (the truths of God’s kingdom) and you’ll overcome this world by faith (1 John 5:4). See this video for details. Consider listening to some genuine prophets, like Julie Green; that’s what they’re there for—to encourage and exhort the body of Christ (see this article for details on the ministry of the New Testament prophet, etc.).
I wrote this article for those who are upset about the distressing things that are happening and even on the verge of giving up. Don’t. You cannot allow the anxieties of this life to rob you of your relationship with the Lord or your fruitfulness as a believer. It’s a matter of focus. What are you concentrating on? As Proverbs 4:23 says: “Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life” (New Century Version).
Let me leave you with these encouraging verses:
Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
“On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
He will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces;
He will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth.”
The Lord has spoken.
Related Topics:
Why Is This World So Messed Up?
Why Did God Allow the BLACK DEATH and So Many to Die?
How to “FEAR NOT” in Perilous Times
The Four Types of LOVE in the Bible
DRINK UP from the Fountain of Life (video)
Was Abimelech Technically the First King of Israel?
To answer this question, let’s consider the key verses:
Then all the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo gathered beside the great tree at the pillar in Shechem to crown Abimelech king.
After Abimelech had governed Israel three years,
Abimelech (or Abimelek) was one of the sons of Gideon, who infamously slew his 70 brothers with only Jotham escaping (Judges 9:5). The two verses above suggest that Abimelech was the first king of Israel 247 years before the LORD chose Saul to be the Hebrew king at the stubborn request of the Israelites (1 Samuel 9:17 & 13:1).
However, verse 6 shows that it wasn’t all of Israel that crowned Abimelech king, but rather the citizens of the city & district of Shechem, located in the hill country of Ephraim in north-central Israel (Beth Millo was part of Shechem, possibly the fortress guarding it). Furthermore, the book of Judges repeatedly reveals that “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6); this includes the final verse of the book (21:25) (see also 18:1 & 19:1).
So, yes, Abimelech was king over an area in the heart of Israel for three years during the era of the judges, which lasted about 410 years. But he wasn’t a king over all of Israel in the sense of Saul or David 250-300 years later, nor was he appointed by the LORD, but merely by the citizens of Shechem, which doesn’t include the entire tribe of Ephraim or Manasseh, aka Joseph.
Related Topics:
Hermeneutics — Proper Bible Interpretation
Berean Spirit — What Is It? How Do You Cultivate It?
HEBREWS / ISRAELITES / JEWS — Why Did God Choose Them?
Does Isaiah 19:19-20 Support Pyramidology?
So-called Christian pyramidology suggests that the Great Pyramid of Giza is “the Bible in stone” concerning God’s plan for the ages and interpreting events of the end-times. Let’s read the passage to see if this is true:
19In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the Lord at its border. 20It will be a sign and witness to the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them.
Isaiah 19:19-20
“Context is king” is a hermeneutical rule and this text applies to Egypt during the Millennium. It’s not talking about the Great Pyramid of Giza and is easily explained as follows:
- The “altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt” in verse 19 will be an altar for sacrifices during the millennial reign of Christ, as proven by verse 21.
- The “monument to the LORD at its border” (“pillar” in the KJV) will be to commemorate the deliverance of God to the Egyptians, as verified by verse 20. Note how this monument is located at the border of Egypt and no where near the Great Pyramid, which is 13 miles southwest of Cairo.
- Both could be taken figuratively to simply refer to Egypt’s conversion “in that day,” i.e. the Millennium.
The idea behind “Christian pyramidology” is to curiously make predictions of end-time events based on measuring the rooms and passageways of this archaic pagan tomb. Speculations are made with each inch equaling a segment of time, like a year, in relation to the fulfillment of prophecy. As such, dates have been set using this dubious method for practically every biblical event, past and future.
There is no Scriptural basis for this. No pyramid is even mentioned in the Bible. If we’re going to look to the Pyramid of Khufu for prophetic answers, why not do the same with the Great Pyramid of Cholula in Mexico or La Danta in Guatemala? Needless to say, this would lead to much confusion, false date-setting and the corresponding dissension, none of which would be profitable to the worldwide Church and it’s witness to this lost and dying world.
To close, it’s never a good idea to base a doctrine on a single, obscure verse in the Bible — milked for details that aren’t there — with zero additional support from the rest of the God-breathed Scriptures. If Isaiah 19:19-20 really taught that the Great Pyramid of Giza revealed God’s plan for the ages and unveiled important details concerning end-times events, why didn’t any key characters in the New Testament mention it, like Christ, Paul and Peter? Why isn’t there a single verse in the entire Bible that says something to the effect of:
Yay, as inferred in the prophecies of Isaiah, the mystery of God’s plan for the ages is hidden in the great Egyptian pyramid; study this colossal tomb and learn deep truths.
You’ll find no such statement because Christian pyramidology is a false doctrine.
How Big Will the New Jerusalem Be on the New Earth?
Will People Marry and have Sex in Eternity?
Universalism, Inclusivism, Restrictivism, Purgatory and the Judgment Seat of Christ
IMMORTALITY — Only Available Through the Gospel
Is the NEW JERUSALEM Cube-Shaped or Pyramid-Shaped?
The New Jerusalem is currently in Heaven, as shown in Hebrews 12:22. Revelation 3:12 reveals that this massive city will “come down out of heaven from God” at some point and the timing of this transition is revealed in Revelation 21:2 and 21:10 to be the eternal age of the New Heavens and New Earth.
The shape of the New Jerusalem is described here:
16The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length [about 14,000 miles], and as wide and high as it is long. 17The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits thick [about 200 feet].
Revelation 21:16-17
Keep in mind the hermeneutical guideline that the clearest, most relevant and most detailed passages take precedence over the more obscure, ambiguous verses. As such, this passage trumps all other verses on the shape of the eternal city. The key word is “square,” which is tetragonos in the Greek, literally meaning “four-cornered.” Nothing is said about a pyramid in relation to the shape and, actually, no pyramid is mentioned anywhere in the Bible.
Those who suggest that the New Jerusalem will be pyramid-shaped cite this passage as evidence:
19In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the Lord at its border. 20It will be a sign and witness to the Lord Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them.
Isaiah 19:19-20
This text applies to Egypt during the Millennium. It’s not talking about the New Jerusalem or the Great Pyramid of Giza. Consider:
- The “altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt” in verse 19 will be an altar for sacrifices during the millennial reign of Christ, as proven by verse 21.
- The “monument to the LORD at its border” (“pillar” in the KJV) will be to commemorate the deliverance of God to the Egyptians, as verified by verse 20. Note how this monument is located at the border of Egypt and no where near the Great Pyramid, which is 13 miles southwest of Cairo.
- Both could be taken figuratively to simply refer to Egypt’s conversion “in that day,” i.e. the Millennium.
Related Topics:
Does Isaiah 19:19-20 Support Pyramidology?
How Big Will the New Jerusalem Be on the New Earth?
Will People Marry and have Sex in Eternity?
Universalism, Inclusivism, Restrictivism, Purgatory and the Judgment Seat of Christ
IMMORTALITY — Only Available Through the Gospel
Why It’s Not Good to OVER-PRAISE Your Spiritual Mentor
There’s a place for honoring your spiritual mentors in light of this passage:
12Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.
1 Thessalonians 5:12-13
I have about a dozen mentors from past decades that strategically contributed to my spiritual growth and I constantly give thanks to the LORD for them in my prayer time. It’s okay to do so publicly to a reasonable degree, but those who do this excessively are in STAGE TWO of spiritual growth and, in some extreme cases, treading the borders of idolatry, similar to the way youths put music idols on a pedestal. (If you’re not familiar with the Four Stages of Spiritual Growth, go here).
Paul, the greatest vessel used by God in the New Testament era after Christ, gave a healthy, balanced view of the attitude we should have regarding fivefold ministers:
4For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?
5What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.
1 Corinthians 3:4-9
Fivefold ministers are referred to as “only servants” here, which is backed up by other passages (Philippians 1:1 & Luke 17:7-10). In other words, ministers in the Church are indeed leaders, but they’re more specifically servant-leaders (Mark 9:35 & 10:43).
Observe what this key passage says about our servant-leaders:
1To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
1 Peter 5:1-4
Christ is the chief shepherd of the worldwide Church, not to mention its Head (Colossians 1:18 & Ephesians 5:23), whereas fivefold ministers are under-shepherds. Since “God opposes the proud, but shows favor (grace) to the humble,” fivefold ministers in the Church should exemplify humility, not arrogance (James 4:6 & 1 Peter 5:5). (Notice how verse 3 says they’re to be “examples to the flock”). I should add that being meek does not mean being weak; it means having a modest view of oneself and not being a blustering, bloviating blowhard.
To close, an appreciative, respectful attitude toward your mentors in the body of Christ is beneficial all-around, as explained here:
Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.
However, over-praising someone can bloat the recipient’s ego by going to his/her head. Due to the axiom that “God opposes the proud,” arrogance is the kiss of death, spiritually speaking. So, by all means, honor your spiritual mentors, but be careful of excessiveness that fuels a spirit of arrogance. Make no mistake, if your mentor becomes arrogant, abuse is right around the corner. Abuse is the misuse of power.
Related Topics:
The Fivefold Ministry Gifts — Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher
Should You “Obey” Your Pastor?
Ministerial Pitfalls and Abuses
Is the One Who Led You to Christ Your “Spiritual Parent”?
Do Believers Need a “Spiritual COVERING”?
Is the Saying “CLEANLINESS Is Next to Godliness” Biblical?
You’ve probably heard the saying “cleanliness is next to godliness.” A friend of mine lived on campus at Liberty University, the Baptist college founded by Jerry Falwell, and he said the staff would cite this proverb to motivate the students to keep things tidy and clean, including their personal hygiene. Is this saying true?
Let’s start with this passage:
15But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
1 Peter 1:15-16
Peter was quoting the book of Leviticus:
44“I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground. 45I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.”
Leviticus 11:44-45
“Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.’ “
While the context of the first passage is in reference to the Hebrews staying away from unclean foods, the second verse was a general instruction, which corresponds to Peter’s exhortation to “be holy in all you do.”
So, we’re to be holy in everything we do, but what does ‘holy’ mean?
The Greek word for ‘holy’ is hagios (HAG-ee-os), which means “different, sacred, due to being set apart (consecrated) to the LORD.” The corresponding Hebrew word is qadosh (kaw-DOHSH).
Because God is absolutely pure, holiness refers to absolute purity, which can be observed in several passages where holiness is cited as the opposite of what is impure and indecent:
For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.
Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.
Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
Notice how we’re to purify ourselves from everything that contaminates (dirties) the body and not just the inner self. Speaking of which…
Bodily Cleanliness (Personal Hygiene)
Since we–believers–are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16 & 6:19) and we are instructed to “be holy in all we do,” be attentive keeping your body clean, which houses the Holy Spirit. Everyone naturally gets dirty & sweaty after physical labor, like yardwork, but then you shower or bathe. What is unacceptable is to go days without bathing and thus stinking like a trash dump. (The obvious exception would be people in rare situations where they can’t bathe because they don’t have access to water, soap and so forth, which is perfectly understandable). Those who refuse to regularly bathe get used to the smell and therefore don’t think they stink, but everyone else can smell the odor, especially people in public who don’t live with them and therefore aren’t used to the stench.
If gross body odor is offensive to random people, how about the Holy Spirit who has to live in the ‘house’ of the person who reeks?
Notice how the Bible describes the noble king of Israel, which is applied to the King of Kings, the Anointed One (Messiah):
All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia;
from palaces adorned with ivory
the music of the strings makes you glad.
Both the earthly Hebrew king and the heavenly King of Kings had a pleasant aroma, not the foul stench of body odor! If you are a believer then you are a child of the King (John 1:12). So do likewise–regularly bathe and keep yourself smelling good. As it is said, cleanliness is next to godliness.
Keeping Your “Camp” Clean
Notice what the LORD instructed the Israelites when they were camping out in the desert wilderness before conquering the Promised Land:
For the LORD your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you.
God wanted the camp of the Hebrews to be kept holy so that it would not hinder His actions/movement in the camp. This would of course include keeping the area cleansed of filth of any kind.
The other day I was working out in our humble gym in the basement when I noticed that one of our cats puked on a gym towel. I took it to the sink in the dark corner to wash it and noticed how dirty the sink had gotten due to neglect. Naturally I took the time to wash the whole sink. After all, if the LORD wanted the Israelite’s camp clean, He’ll want the neglected areas of our abodes clean as well.
We shouldn’t get legalistic about this, of course. Genuine love in the home is far more important than it being perfectly clean and ordered, the latter of which can create a sterile atmosphere. Healthy homes are “lived in,” if you know what I mean.
Spiritual/Moral Cleanliness
Another piece of the puzzle is that evil spirits are referred to as unclean or impure spirits:
Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
The Greek word for “impure” here is akathartos (ak-ATH-ar-tos), which simply means unclean or impure. It reveals that evil spirits are filthy. This makes sense in light of the fact that the LORD is absolutely pure—holy—and so anyone consecrated unto God must likewise be purified. Thus anyone who rejects the Almighty and is cast from His presence becomes the opposite—unholy, impure. Since you can’t get further from God than the irredeemable fallen angels, they’re utterly unholy—unclean, impure, filthy.
Being filthy, there’s a stench to unclean spirits in the spirit realm. This explains why one spiritually-sensitive minister said he could always recognize someone who was walking in sexual perversion, like homosexuality, when they came up for prayer at his meetings. He said there was a foul odor in the spirit.
One of my relatives married a literal witch and she wasted no time in getting her new husband to totally separate from his family. My nephew met her when he was a child and he kept curiously asking “What’s that smell? Something stinks!” He was just a little kid at the time and said the odor smelled like vomit. No one present knew what he was talking about, so he was obviously picking something up in the spirit. Children are more sensitive to the spiritual realm and are therefore apt to pick up things that hardened adults can no longer perceive.
All this explains why the Bible instructs us:
Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
While believers are born holy in their spirits when they receive spiritual regeneration (Titus 3:5), practical holiness only occurs as you learn to put off your flesh—the “old self ”—and live according to your new righteous nature—the “new self ”—with the help of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:22-24). This is what theologians refer to as the process of sanctification—purification—and part of this process includes doing what James instructed: “get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent.”
Impure spirits are naturally attracted to that which is morally impure. Just as flies are attracted to doo-doo and rats are drawn to garbage, so filthy spirits are attracted to that which is morally filthy. So get rid of all moral filth and you’ll stop attracting filthy spirits! It’s not rocket science.
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SANCTIFICATION: Spirit, Mind & Body
Spirituality — How to be Spirit-Controlled Rather than Flesh-Ruled
Demonic Spirits — How to Deflect Them
How to Renew Your Mind (video)
ALTARS & ALTAR CALLS and How They’re Relevant
Ganges: A Filthy, Foul and “Holy” River
Is the One Who Led You to Christ Your “Spiritual Parent”?
This question is based on Paul’s statement to the Corinthian believers here:
14I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. 15Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. 16Therefore I urge you to imitate me. 17For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.
1 Corinthians 4:14-17
Paul started the assembly in Corinth and stayed there 1.5 years to set a foundation before leaving and starting churches in other areas (Acts 18:11). It was 2-3 years later when he wrote this epistle (letter) to the believers at Corinth. Strife & division were threatening the young fellowship as it was marked by arrogance, sexual misconduct, lawsuits, abuse of spiritual gifts and misunderstanding of basic Christian teachings. So Paul was seeking to restore balance and spirituality to the carnal fellowship (1 Corinthians 4:4).
Verse 14 shows that Paul was writing the believers to warn them “as my dear children.” Since they were saved through his ministry and he set a spiritual foundation for them over the course of 18 months living there, Paul naturally viewed them as his spiritual children. In other words, he had fatherly feelings toward them because he was their foremost mentor even if they had “ten thousand” other instructors in Corinth. A few years had passed and so Paul was refreshing their memory to bolster a positive reception to his letter, which contained necessary corrective instructions. He exhorted them to “imitate” his lifestyle and service while also informing them that he was sending his protégé Timothy to the city to help straighten things out at the troubled assembly (verses 16-17).
This brings us to the question of this article: For someone to be your spiritual father or mother, do they have to be the person who led you to the Lord via the gospel of Christ? Is everyone else who instructs you in Christ just one of myriad instructors and of lesser importance with lesser authority? It depends. For instance, Paul didn’t just share the message of Christ with these people of Corinth, he also fed them the foundational truths of Christianity for a whole year and a half (Matthew 4:4 & Hebrews 6:1-2), plus maintained a long-distance relationship with them. So to qualify as someone’s spiritual father or mother, you’d have to do more than just lead them in voicing the proverbial sinner’s prayer. You’d have to walk closely with them for 1.5 years or so, teaching them the basic New Covenant truths of the Bible, as well as oversee them in the ensuing years from long-distance.
Regarding the hyperbolic “ten thousand guardians in Christ” that the Corinthians had since Paul (physically) left that fellowship, we know from history that Paul was the greatest vessel used of God in the New Testament era, after Jesus Christ of course. So none of the many other teachers in Corinth, as good as some of them may have been, were even close to Paul’s level, spiritually speaking.
The idea that the person who leads you to Christ is your spiritual parent raises additional questions, not to mention some absurdities.
For instance, what about believers like me who can’t cite a human spiritual father/mother because I was saved at the age of 20 by the Holy Spirit while working alone at a fitness center after midnight? I only knew the gist of what to pray because I had collected many Christian tracts, perhaps two dozen, which I had read & reread over the years in my teens. I suppose I could research who wrote those particular tracts. Would these people be my spiritual fathers & mothers since they all had a hand in leading me to Christ by sowing the gospel in my life? Wouldn’t it be absurd to track each one down—assuming they’re still alive on Earth—and wholly submit my spiritual life to them without even knowing if they’re worthy of such submission? Which brings up…
What if the person who leads you to Christ is effective at evangelism, but is not very spiritually mature or is lacking in biblical knowledge? This person might be your spiritual parent in regards to leading you to the LORD, but they’re certainly not the one who helped you grow in knowledge, understanding and wisdom; in other words, they didn’t help you mature spiritually.
David said he had more insight than all his teachers because of his diligence in humbly seeking the LORD and God’s Word (Psalm 119:99–100). This shows that, just because someone is your spiritual father/mother—whether they led you to Christ or helped your growth (or both)—it doesn’t mean that you’re limited to their limitations. Nor does it mean you can’t correct them based on the rightly-divided Word of Truth in cases where they may be in error, although there’s a way to correct such a person and a way not to, as explained here.
In my life, there were two instrumental mentors in my early years as a young believer, but I could list about ten others who have been strategic in my spiritual growth during the first 27 years of my walk with the Lord. I suppose each of these could be considered a spiritual parent to some degree with two or three more so than the others.
Related Topics:
Should Ministers Be Addressed With Titles?
Ministerial Abuse — The Diotrephes Spirit vs. the Davidic Spirit
Ministerial Pitfalls and Abuses
The Fivefold Ministry Gifts — Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher
Who Is the “CHOSEN LADY” of 2 John?
In the brief epistle of 2 John, the apostle addresses his letter to the “chosen lady.” Who is this woman? Consider the key verses:
The elder,
To the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I alone, but also all who know the truth
2 John 1:1 (BSB)
5And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another.
Some versions of the Bible call her the “elect lady” (KJV and ESV) while the revised NIV refers to her as “the lady chosen by God.” Whether “chosen lady,” “elect lady” or “the lady chosen by God,” who is this “dear lady”?
While some believe “chosen lady” to be a figure of speech for the local church that was to receive the letter and “her children” as members of that assembly, it’s more likely that John was writing an actual woman and her children who were well known to the apostle (whether these children were physical children or spiritual children is up for debate). I say “more likely” because that’s the way the letter reads (for instance, the final verse makes a reference to the children of her sister), plus John’s third epistle was written to an actual man, Gaius (3 John 1:1).
This female friend of the apostle is a most excellent and honorable woman who entertained traveling ministers in her home, verified by verse 10. I describe her as “most excellent and honorable” because the Greek term for “lady” is kuria (koo-REE-ah), which is the feminine form of kurios (KOO-ree-os), the Greek word for “Lord” (which is used to translate the Hebrew YHWH from the Old Testament, e.g. Romans 10:13). The fact that John mentions her children but not her husband suggests that she was a widow
It’s also possible that members of the local church met at her house à la the assembly that met at Aquila & Priscilla’s home (1 Corinthians 16:19), particularly since the epistle includes general instructions relatable to a local church. If this is so, why is John writing this woman and not the leader of this fellowship, i.e. the pastor? Or is “the chosen lady” the leader of this possible assembly? If you were an apostle over many assemblies and had instructions for a particular fellowship, would you not write the leader of that assembly or would you write the female owner of the house in which the church happened to meet?
Our conclusion is that this “chosen lady” was at least a respected believer known by John who opened her home to intenerate ministers.
It’s also possible that an assembly met at her house and the believers thereof are the “children” John speaks of. It’s even possible that she was the leader of this fellowship. While these are possibilities, there’s not enough info to draw absolute conclusions. Still, why would the great apostle write some insignificant female homeowner concerning key issues involving the local Church? If that’s all the “chosen lady” was, why would this letter end up a part of the God-breathed Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16)?
Related Topics:
Women of the Bible / Women in Ministry
Women — Were they Considered Just Property in Bible Times?
Church of Christ — What Is It?
When Did the NEW TESTAMENT Start? When Did the CHURCH Begin?
The Fivefold Ministry Gifts — Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher
Should Pastors Schedule Other FIVEFOLD MINISTERS at Services?