Our Thread

Pasa Graphe' Theopneustos Kai Ophelimos (Greek) is one of the most often-repeated passages from the Scriptures, ie, the Bible. The passage appears in the heading of our Facebook page. But what does it say to us in our various tongues? Well, for those of us who speak English, this passage is a bold testimony from the pen of one Paul, a first-century scholar from the Isrealite tribe of Benjamin. It is also a statement steeped in the thelogy of the Biblical narratives. So, Paul wrote to a young ethnic Jew named Timotheus: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable......"
At the time Paul wrote those words, there was not yet a codex known as the "New Testament." The scrolls of papyrus on which were written the Scriptures are what we call today the "Old Testament." In its immediate and limited interpretation, Paul is saying that the messages in the Old Testament are inspired by God. That being so, who is the man who would say that the record of the flood in Noah's day was simply an allegory, and not an historical account?

Insults

What does Jesus say about reacting to those who insult us? It's in the Bible, Matthew 5:44, NKJV. "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you"

Our response to insults should be deliberate and controlled. It's in the Bible, Proverbs 12:16, TLB. "A fool is quick-tempered; a wise man stays cool when insulted."

We are to let go of bitternes, and forgive as Christ forgives us. It's in the Bible, Ephesians 4:31, NKJV. "Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you."

Love makes no room for insulting others. It's in the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13:4-5, NKJV. "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil"

How are we to speak to others? It's in the Bible, Ephesians 4:15-16, NKJV. "but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.