Opened Scriptures Bible Studies

The Jerusalem council ruling used to correct error in Galatian churches. Galatians 2:1  Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also.   Paul is connecting something that happened years after his conversion to Christ that involved Judaizers. Thus, this is very relevant because of why he is writing to the churches in Galatia. Those churches were also plagued by Judaizers. Paul is referring to an event about seventeen years after his conversion to Christ.  He traveled to Jerusalem from Antioch with Barnabas and Titus over the issue of whether circumcision was necessary for salvation.  Judaizers came to Antioch to force circumcision and law keeping. Acts 15:1-2  And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.  2)  When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they ...

Paul sought to please God and serve His Son each day. Galatians 1:10  For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.  Paul speaks of how his encounter with the risen Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus fundamentally changed his life forever. While (Saul) Paul was a persecutor of Christians, he was the servant of men, and pleased all the religious Jews who opposed Christ's gospel.  When he was born again and embraced Christ's doctrine, he became the servant of God, and pleased Him.  Paul therefore indicates that he was a very different person as an apostle from what he had been while a Judaizer. Paul received his gospel directly from Jesus Christ, not from other men. Galatians 1:11-12  But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.  12)  For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus C...

Paul's commissioning by Christ and a gospel summary are established. Galatians 1:1-5  Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)  2)  And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia:  3)  Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,  4)  Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:  5)  To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.  We first noted Paul's unusually strong declaration of his calling by Christ to be one of His disciples. We also noted the formality of brethren who were witnesses of what Paul was guided to write to the Galatian churches. Paul finished his introduction by giving a succinct and clear exposition of the gospel of Christ. At this point, Paul will address the serious nature of false teachers making inroad...

We come now to Paul's letter to the churches of Galatia which is the name of a Roman province. Notable cities in the province include Lystra, Derbe, Antioch of Pisidia, and Iconium. Little is known about trade and commerce in Galatia but the southern portion of the province had major Roman roads that facilitated trade and travel. Paul's letter was to all the churches in Galatia rather than being addressed to a specific church like Rome or Corinth. Let us follow Paul's missionary journey as God guided him to plant some churches in Galatia. Paul preached a sermon in the Jews synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia. Acts 13:13-16  Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.  14)  But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.  15)  And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the syn...

Here is a note about an index containing all Bible lessons posted on this blog since its inception in 2019.   An index for  all lessons  posted from 2019 through 2021, was published on  September 7, 2022. An index for all lessons posted in 2022, was published  J anuary 24, 2023. An index for all lessons posted in 2023 was posted on  February 28, 2024.  The index for all lessons posted in 2024 was published on January 21,2025.  Below is the link to the YouTube channel of my church.  We missed three Sundays, due to the death of my older sister, and recent snowfall. Part 12 in this study focuses on how the redeemed people of God gathered as one body, motivated by the Spirit of God for the purpose of asking Ezra the scribe to read God's Word to them. The Jewish people exhibited a respect for and a strong desire to hear the Word of God. We saw that their is a dependency upon God to open people's hearts to the Word. We also noted how God prepared E...

Paul's heart of love for Jesus Christ and for the Corinthians on display. 2 Corinthians 13:9-10  For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection.  10)  Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction.  Paul is wrapping up his second letter to the church at Corinth. The apostle found joy even though he was vilified as poor and despicable by false teachers. He rejoiced in the extraordinary power that God gave him to use, so that the Corinthians might be strong in all the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit. "Perfection" is the idea of becoming complete or fully mature in faith in Christ.  The word "perfection"  means to strengthen the soul  through spiritual discipline, training and instruction from the scriptures. Paul is teaching us that no Christian ever reaches a plateau ...