By James Fire
CHAPTER THREE –
At this time I would like to resort to Dr. Scofield’s notes and provide the thematic outline on Matthew’s Gospel that he produced:
"THEME: The scope and purpose of the book are indicated in the first verse. Matthew is the "book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David; the Son of Abraham" (MATT 1:1). This connects him at once with two of the most important of the Old Testament Covenants: the Davidic Covenant of kingship (2 SAM 7:8-16), and the Abrahamic Covenant of promise (GEN 15:18).
"Of Jesus Christ in that twofold character, then, Matthew writes. Following the order indicated in the first verse, he writes first of the King, the son of David; then of the Son of Abraham, obedient unto death, according to the Isaac type GEN 22:1-18; HEB 11:17-19.
"But the prominent character of Christ in Matthew is that of the covenanted King, David's "righteous Branch" JER 23:5; 33:15. Matthew records His genealogy; His birth in Bethlehem the city of David, according to MICAH 5:2, the ministry of His forerunner according to MAL 3:1. His rejection by Israel; and His predictions of His second coming in power and great glory.
"Only then (Matthew chapters 26-28) does Matthew turn to the earlier covenant, and record the sacrificial death of the son of Abraham.
This determines the purpose and structure of Matthew. It is peculiarly the Gospel for Israel; and, as flowing from the death of Christ, a Gospel for the whole world.
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~ By James J. Fire
The Battle of Life Continues – From Victory to Vanquishment
Any believer who has experienced a spiritual victory exults in the joy of it; knowing assuredly that the LORD has been in the midst and has granted such to people like us: mere clay vessels in which the Holy One inhabits and has made us citizens of the kingdom of God!
A series of victories and blessings upon us (and God is ever willing and generous to pour such blessings) however can be a potential spiritual danger.
This is often why God must temper His outpourings, because as is often the case, this can lead our deceptive hearts to the lie that there is something about ourselves that is worthy to receive these things from God; that there is something about our own strength, and wisdom, and saintliness that has brought to us these victorious blessings and blessed victories.
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By: A.M. Kisly
The only gospel that will save America is the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior!
I had intended to post a special blog for our Independence Day celebration, but for some reason every time I attempted to save the article that I was working on, my computer would lock up and crash. It took me a while, but after re-writing the entire article four times and without success, I remembered that the servant of the Lord does not strive.
Sometimes the Lord just wants us to stop, to put aside what we are doing that He may refocus our attention and our hearts on Him, and that’s exactly what I did.
The TRUTH UNDER FIRE is a ministry that many times deals with really heavy issues. Exposing the blatant, or the subtle wiles of the devil, whether they are through political, spiritual, or church events is important and goes without apology on our part.
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