Author name: Carl Parry

When Paul was writing to the Corinthians, he found it needful to rebuke them for their strife and divisiveness. This dissension was exacerbated by a party spirit fostering support for strong personalities within the ecclesia. Some followed Paul and championed his work, others exalted Apollos to the…

In the first four chapters of Acts we have the Spirit’s account of the dramatic growth of the early ecclesia in the face of constant opposition from the religious rulers of the time. The narrative concerning Ananias and Sapphira is set between two incidents: the generosity of the ecclesia in…

In John 17:4 our Lord included this statement in his prayer to his Father: “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” Part of this work in glorifying the Father was to evince from those he healed a recognition that God was behind the healing. Anot…

Throughout the four gospels we frequently read of people following our Lord. Many followed out of a desperate need to be cured (Matt 4:24). Others followed him out of curiosity, purely to see miracles performed (John 6:2). Some sought him out for personal gain (John 6:26) and others sought to destroy him (John 5:16).

One of David’s final battles with the uncircumcised Philistines is described in 2 Samuel 5. He had just been anointed king at Hebron and the enemy seized that opportunity to strike quickly and remove him from his newly acquired throne: “When the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines came up to seek David; and David heard of it, and went down to the hold. The Philistines also came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim” (5:17-18). Note that “all” the Philistines came. David had been their arch-enemy for years and now they sought to hunt him out and destroy him before he could consolidate his power and threaten them further.

In 1 Kings 15, we have the inspired record concerning several kings in Judah and Israel approximately 22 years after Solomon’s death. In this chapter, we are introduced to Abijam, the son of Rehoboam, who only reigned for three years, and to Asa his son, who reigned for 41 years in Jerusalem.

Having spoken of the need to pray always and faint not, our Lord turns his attention to “those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others” (Luke 18:9). The previous parable was specifically for the disciples and spoke of the manner by which God would vindicate His people. This parable is for a different audience—the religious leaders of his time—and deals with the fundamental question: how is one made right with God? In other words, on what basis does God declare a person righteous and effect reconciliation with Himself?