Using e-Sword confirms the mighty I AM

When I was in Bible college, I went with a small group of students to a Jehovah's Witness convention that was being held in Coconut Grove.  We endured the boring meeting and then we all fanned out through the crowd to pass out gospel tracts and engage in conversations with dedicated JW's.  Later, when it was time to go, I looked over to a small huddle and saw Kay, a frail slender student, surrounded by 4 large older guys who were obviously leaders.  She was holding up her Bible and pointing to John 8:24 and telling them over and over that they were going to died in their sins because they did not believe that Jesus was God in the flesh, the mighty I AM of the old testament.  They were getting pretty mad at her and I thought they might do here some harm.  So a buddy and I went over, took her by the arm and said, "Kay, it is time to go."  

In John 8:24 and again in John 8:58 Jesus claimed to be the I AM.  These are the same words that God used to describe Himself in the Old Testament (Ex. 3:14).  Christians are quick to point out that the word "he" is in italics and not in the original.  The Jews got mad because they thought Jesus was claiming deity, and He was.  That is what we were taught in Bible school and that is what "Greek scholars" such at A. T. Roberson say.  If you tell that to a JW, they will just come up with their own competing scholar and chose to believe him.  So now what do you do?  Dig out your copy of eSword or some other Bible software and research it yourself. (For this article I will use the iPad and the KJV).

Turn to John 8:24.  Lets start by running a search for "I am he."  Highlight the word and then click on search.  eSword will run a "Phrase" search and you will find that this phrase occurs only 18 times in the KJV.  Read each verse and you will find that in 12 out of the 18, the phrase refers to the almighty God Jehovah. It would reasonably follow that when Jesus used the phrase, he was claiming deity.  Those references are: Isa 41:4, Isa 43:10, Isa 43:13, Isa 46:4, Isa 48:12, Isa 52:6, Joh 8:24, Joh 8:28, Joh 13:19, Joh 18:5, Joh 18:8, Rev 1:18, Rev 2:23

But wait, there is a problem.  Remember that the word "he" is in italics and not in the original.  So, a determined person could still wiggle out of this argument.  So, lets do a search for "I am" and see if we do any better.  Follow the same procedure, highlight and search.  Oh my!  We find 737 matches in 693 verses and the phrase is used in lots of ways.  This is no help at all.  In fact you might think, "Gee, I AM is used so many times, why is John 8:24 such a big deal?"

Click to enlarge

Lets dig a little deeper and lets use the Greek text.  In e-Sword, install the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint).  This is a Greek translation of the Hebrew text and it was familiar to the Jews during the time of Christ.  It was written about the 3rd century BC.  If you have not done so already, you will also need to install the Greek New Testament and the KJV+ (with Strong's numbers). In "Lexicons" you need to install "Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries"  All of these things can be found if you click on "Resources" at the lower right corner of the screen.

Install extra stuff

Go back to the Bible view, go to John 8:24 and select the KJV+ Bible to view the verse with Strong's numbers.  It looks like this:

KJV+ with Strong's Numbers

Click on G1473, the number for "I", and then on G1510 for "AM".  Take careful note what the Greek words look like. (You do not really have to know Greek to do this and this is not meant to be a scholarly study.)  The words are ἐγώ εἰμι, (ego eimi).  While you are still on John 8:24, switch to the Greek NT, highlight the words "ἐγώ εἰμι" in the Greek text and run a search.  You will find 42 matches...but since you can't read Greek, this isn't much help.  You can TAG the verses and then read them in KJV.  Here is how.

a.  Copy ἐγώ εἰμι in the Greek Bible John 8:24

b.  Click the 3 lines in the upper left corner

c.  Select "Custom Categories" and add a new category called ἐγώ εἰμι

d.  Run the search again and then click on "Tag All".  Select ἐγώ εἰμι as the Category.  (It helps to turn the standard categories off.)

e.  Now switch your Bible back to KJV so you can read in English.

f.  Click the 3 lines again and select "Tagged Verses".  Then select ἐγώ εἰμι.

g.  You can now read all 42 verses in English

 

As you scroll through, you will find that most of the uses of ἐγώ εἰμι in the NT refers to Jesus or God.  This form is emphatic.  Normally in Greek you do not have to use the pronoun "I" because it is sort of included in the verb.  For example, "luo" means "I loose".  The word "I" (ἐγώ ) is often used to add emphasis.  (You may notice that John 8:58 is not included in the 42 hits.  That is because ἐγώ εἰμι in John 8:58 adds an accent mark to the end causing the search to fail.  So actually there are 43 verses, not 42.  Accent marks were not used in the original Greek.

Now lets check on the Old Testament.  Still on John 8:24, copy ἐγώ εἰμι from the Greek text.  Switch to KJV and go to any verse in the Old Testament.  Now, while in the OT, switch to the Septuagint Bible.  Click on the hour glass to run a search and paste in ἐγώ εἰμι and see what you get.  You should find only 30 occurrences in 28 verses.  Tag them using the same ἐγώ εἰμι tag.  You can now switch back to the KJV version and look at all the tagged verses.  When you examine the 28 verses, you will find that in most of them, ἐγώ εἰμι, refers to the Almighty God, Jehovah.

ἐγώ εἰμι (ego eimi) is used 43 times in the NT and 30 times OT for total of 73 times.
It is used as a clear reference to GOD in 47 of these verses, 36 of them in the NT.  Significantly it is used in Ex. 3:14, and in Isa. 45:18

In conclusion, it is pretty obvious that when Jesus referred to himself as "I AM" in John 8:24, 58, He was making no bones about the fact that He was God in the flesh.  Full Deity clothed in humanity.  The 2nd person of the Trinity.

I know all this key clicking is kind of tedious but my point in this study is two fold.  I want you to see that you can state with confidence that Jesus claimed to be God.  I also want you to improve your skills at using e-Sword, no matter what version you are using.

e-Sword - An Awesome Bible Library

Have you ever gone into a pastor's study and been impressed with his large library of impressive books?  The same would apply to lawyers, or doctors, or educators. After you get over the 1st impression, you then begin to think..."I wonder if he has read all those books?"  Probably NOT.  When I look at my own life and ministry, I am guilty of the same thing.  I have lots of impressive books that I have never read.  Of course, some books are only purchased for reference, meaning, you only use them to "look up something".  You don't read them, you read IN them.  Nevertheless, the saying is true, "It is not how many books you own, it is how many books you have read."

I said all as a warning.  When you download and install e-Sword or any other Bible research program, it is very easy to quickly accumulate a large library of impressive stuff.  Accumulating stuff, can quickly take the place of USING the stuff.  With e-Sword, it is easy to download 20 or more versions of the Bible.... but the important thing is "do you read the Bible"?  Do you study the Bible?  e-Sword is meant to be a "tool" not an "ornament".  Buying a whole bunch of impressive automotive tools does not make you a mechanic.  Taking the tools that you have and getting greasy does.

Having said all that, I want to show you how to add stuff to your installation of e-Sword.  I will be using the iPad version as an example but the same applies to all 4 version with minor differences.

On your iPad, startup the e-Sword app.  In the lower right hand corner click on resources.

The resource screen  will appear showing all of the Bibles, and other material that is already installed.  If you click the "i" that is to the right of any resource, a popup box with give you info about that item.  If you click the "?" at the top left, a help screen will appear.  In this lesson, I will deal only with installing Bible versions.  Click on the word "Bibles" in the menu.

A new screen will appear showing all of the Bibles that are available to install.  Most of them are free.  Some must be purchased due to copyright considerations.  We will deal only with the free ones here.  Any Bible in the list that has a check mark next to it is already installed.  Any one that has an icon of a pad lock next to it must be purchased.  Highlight the Bible version that you wish to install and then click on the "download" button in the top menu.  Wait for it to download.  It should then appear in your list of available Bibles.  If you wish to DELETE (uninstall) a Bible, go back to the "Installed" screen, highlight the Bible that you wish to remove and click on DELETE in the upper right corner.

In addition to Bible versions, you can also install Commentaries, Dictionaries, Lexicons, References, and Devotional works.  Follow the same procedure using the top menu.

Remember, take it easy.  It is not how much your have, but how much you use that is important.

 

Greek word study using e-Sword

You can use the power of e-Sword to do some light weight Greek research.  For example, lets look at John 1:1.  Here it is in the KJV

 (Joh 1:1)  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

When the Jehovah's Witnesses come to your door they may show you that there is NO definite article in front of the second word GOD so it should be translated "and the word was A god".  They may even show you their own Greek interlinear "translation".  Based on this they conclude that Jesus was A God but not the Almighty God, Jehovah.  They also concluded that the doctrine of the "trinity" is false.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god. (New World Translation)

So, later, you take a look, and sure enough there is no article.  They seem to be right at first glance.  Using e-Sword, you can look up the verse along with the Strong's Numbers.  It looks like this.

When you click on G2316 you find out that the Greek word for God is θεός (theos).  So far this doesn't help much.

Now you can install a Greek NT into e-Sword and you can research a little further.  You might think, "I don't know Greek".  That's OK.  Its time you learned a little.  Click on Download (Resources on the iPad version), then on Bibles.  Scroll down and install the Greek New Testament. Find John 1:1 and then switch to Greek NT.  The verse looks like this.

Joh 1:1  ᾿Εν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος, καὶ ὁ Λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος. 

You have τὸν Θεόν (the God, translated GOD) καὶ (this is the word for AND) then you have Θεὸς.  Notice that there is nothing between AND and GOD...their is no definite article.  You might think, "My goodness, they are right.  It could be translated a God"

BUT WAIT...... using your Greek NT, highlight καὶ Θεὸς and run a phrase search.  You will find only two matches.  Here is what I found.

Joh_1:1  ᾿Εν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος, καὶ ὁ Λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος. 

 

2Co_1:3  Εὐλογητὸς ὁ Θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὁ πατὴρ τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν καὶ Θεὸς πάσης παρακλήσεως,

Now, go to the internet and look up 2Cor 1:3 in the New World Translation (NWT) and see how they translated καὶ Θεὸς.  Here it is.

3  Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of tender mercies and the God of all comfort, (NWT)

Notice:  Not only did they not put an "A" in front of Θεὸς  (God) but they added the word THE.  In other words, in John 1:1 they translated καὶ Θεὸς "A GOD" but in 2Cor 1:3 they translated it "THE GOD".  Interesting. Which is it?

You can push this a little further using e-Sword.  Highlight the word Θεὸς and run a search.  You will find 246 matches.  Now do the same with the phrase ὁ Θεὸς and you will find 206 matches.  Subtract the two and you will find 40 possible occurrences of the word Θεὸς without the article.  If you manually scroll through the 40, you will eliminate some of them because the "ho" is in a different position.  This will leave you with 17 occurrences of Theos without the definite article.  You can use the internet to look up all 17 of these references in the NWT.  You will find that they put the article "A" in front of the word GOD only twice.  In all the other references, they translate Theos as "the God" or "God."  Here are a the references.

Mat 22:32, Luk 20:38, Jon 1:1, Joh 8:54 Acts 15:8, Rom 8:33, 1Cor 8:4, 1Cor 8:6, 2Cor 1:3, 2Cor 5:19, Gal 2:6, Gal 6:7, Eph 4:6, 1Thes 2:5, 1Tim 3:16, Heb 11:16, and Rev 21:7

In conclusion, it is easy to see that the JW's fabricated their view of John 1:1 in order to support their false doctrine.  The fact is, when the word Theos occurs in a text without the definite article it is for the purpose of emphasis.  Emphatically speaking, Jesus is God.  He was there in the beginning with God.

(Note:  This is not meant to be a scholarly study of John 1:1 or Greek usage.  It is a just handy way to use e_Sword to do a little basic research.  The Greek word "ὁ" is not pronounced "o", it is pronounced "ho" because it has a rough breathing mark.  If translated, it is most often translated "the".

 

The power of e-Sword partial search

One of the reasons people can't find things in any computer search function is that they type too much information into the search slot.  Sometimes, less is better than more.  Here is an example.

Lets say you want to find every occurrence of the word "believe" in the Bible but you also want to find other forms of the word believe.  You want to find "believes", "believed", "believing", etc.  All of them.  You can do this easily using the basic search functions of e-Sword.  Of course you could do several searches using each word and then note the results.  But that would be tedious and what if you forgot one form of the word?  In this case, less is more.  Here is how to do it using the iPad version of e-Sword.

Click the hour glass

In the upper left corner click on the magnifying glass.  This is your search function.

This will bring up your search dialog.  Now type a partial word into the search slot.  In this example, type "believ".

Make sure the you flip the "Partial" switch.  Here is what it should look like.

Flip the Partial Match switch

When you have all of your options correct in your search box, go ahead and run the search.

Here is the result that I found using ESV.  I have scrolled down to a point in the results that shows at least three forms of the word believe.  

In this example you can see "believe", "believes", and "believed".  Different forms of the word.

This kind of search can be very handy in your studies. It would take you hours to do it manually using an old fashioned concordance. 

(To enlarge the picture, click on it.)

Valentine quilt for my honey

This week I worked on this little "throw" type quilt for my honey.  It has a valentine theme and measures about 50x32.

Rough Layout using 8" Blocks

All stitched together

Finished product

I ironed the hearts on using a light fuser then stitched around them using a applique stitch.  For border, I used 4" strips cut from an old sheet folded in half to two inches and then sewn on using the standard binding method.  We have and old double recliner.  The purpose for this quilt is to drape over the back of the recline for a decoration.

 

Sumps pumps. The Good and the Bad

 We get a lot of water under our house and for the last 40 years we have pumped it out almost daily using a sump pump.  Since sumps pumps seem to only last 1 to 5 years we have gone through a lot of them.  Of the last three that I used, one lasted 2 years, one lasted 3 months, and one lasted 3 years.  All of them failed having the same problem even though they were different brands.

When you look at ads for sump pumps, they often brag about having an "engineered thermoplastic bottom".  THIS is the problem.  It is not a plus.  The problem is that they don't engineer enough screws to hold the plastic bottom in place.  It doesn't take long for the plastic plate to warp a tiny bit between two screws and then the water shoots out the side instead of going out the discharge pipe.  

The other day I had to replace the pump again and this time I paid a little extra and bought one that has a cast iron bottom with no "engineered thermoplastic" plate on it.  We will see how long it lasts.  It is made by Warn.  Their chart claims that this pump with a guarantee of 3 years should last 6.  We'll see.

Water Under the House	Engineered Plastic Bottom
New Warn Pump	Cast Iron Bottom

Foreknowledge, Predestination, and Election

 by Dr. Mark G. Cambron

There are so many theories today concerning foreknowledge, predestination and election, until the mind of the normal and average Christian is so mixed up that he doesn't know what to believe.  If we do not get these three doctrines straight, our whole Christian life will be warped, and soul winning will become a lost grace. Let us turn first to the foreknowledge of God.

I. THE FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD

"For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." (Romans 8:29)

Foreknowledge means to have knowledge of things to be. Foreknowledge is an attribute of God, while Predestination and Election are acts of God. Only God knows the future. He wouldn't be God if He didn't, but the fact that He knows who is going to be saved, and who isn't going to be saved, does NOT determine who is going to be saved and who is going to be lost. Someone may ask, "If God does know who is and who isn't going to be saved, how then, can the sinner get out of it?"

Foreknowledge, in Scripture, never determines what is to be-- foreknowledge is only the knowledge of things to be beforehand. It is the same with our scientists, they can tell when there is to be an eclipse of the sun or of the moon: on a certain day at a certain hour, minute and second; but the scientists do not bring about the eclipse. God has foreknowledge, and by this foreknowledge knows the future, but that is where it ends.

Of course God knows everything! He knows the very number of the hairs of our heads. He knows the number of stars and calleth them by name. God knows everything, including the future. And, not only that, but God knows what would have happened if things had happened that didn't happen. He knows the results of all possibilities. The same is illustrated when David inquired of the Lord concerning his enemy. If he should go to one place, would the enemy be there? God said they would. So David went in another direction. Foreknowledge simply means to possess knowledge of things to be.

II THE PREDESTINATION OF GOD

Here is where many saints falter in their witnessing. They read something or other in the Word about predestination and then they reason that God predestinates some people to be saved, and thus predestinates some people to be lost. This is not the case. To begin with, predestination is never for the lost man; but rather, predestination is for the saved men. We have only to read our Bibles, and read the context where it is speaking of predestination, to clearly understand that Salvation is, indeed, a personal matter based upon the "whosoever wills."

As stated before, Predestination is for the saved man. God knows who is going to be saved, and thus He has predestined certain blessings for those who are going to get saved by faith. In other words, God draws a circle, figuratively speaking, and says that whosoever believes in the Lord Jesus Christ will get in the circle.  So the believer, upon his faith in Jesus Christ, steps into the circle. Then God says, figuratively speaking, "Whosoever is in that circle by faith, I have predestinated that they shall receive these blessings," and here they are:

A. "TO BE CONFORMED TO THE IMAGE OF HIS SON."

"For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son" (Rom. 8:29a).

This one of the blessings of God has predestinated for the believer--that the believer is going to be fashioned, made, transformed, transfigured into the likeness of the image of Jesus Christ. The things you might be suffering at this moment are happening to you (Rom. 8:28) to make you more like Jesus. And at the rapture, whether we be dead or alive at His coming, we are all going to be changed and be wholly like unto Christ.

B. "UNTO THE ADOPTION OF CHILDREN BY JESUS CHRIST."

"Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will," (Eph.1:5).

Again we want to state that predestination is the predetermined blessings for the saved man and has nothing to do with salvation. Now, in the above text, we are told that the Christian is predestined unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ. It doesn't say that the sinner was predestined to become a child of God; no, but rather the saint has been predestined unto the adoption of children.

To get a better idea of this great truth, it is well to explain the meaning of adoption. In America and England, when we adopt a child, we go by legal means and take a child of another family and get into court to make it our own. But no so with the Jewish family, nor with the ancient Roman and Greek family. These adopted their own children. Adoption simply means "to declare as a son," or "son placed." The fourth chapter of Galatians clearly defines the meaning of adoption. It is the time appointed by the father when his boy ceases to be considered a child and becomes a son. According to even present day Jewish custom it is called BAR MITZVAH-- declared to be a Son of the Law, Son of Blessing. The boy becomes of age after his thirteenth birthday, on the day selected by the father. So it is with us: we are children of God, but we are waiting our BAR MITZVAH, our adoption, the time when our Heavenly Father will declare us of age and place us as Sons before the whole universe: "even we ourselves groan within ourselves, WAITING FOR THE ADOPTION, TO WIT, THE REDEMPTION OF OUR BODY." (Rom. 8:23). This is one blessing that God has predestinated for the saved man, for all who are trusting the Lord Jesus Christ--that we all shall be declared to be of age and as His SONS-- at the resurrection!

C. "PREDESTINATED ACCORDING TO THE PURPOSE OF HIM."

Here is the third blessing for the child of God-- "being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ." (Eph. 1:11,12).

You will notice that it is not salvation the Holy Spirit is speaking about, but that which is for those who are saved.

So many fail to read the 12th verse; herein is what God has predestinated -- that we should be to the praise of His glory;Nowhere do we find predestination for, or not for, salvation.

III. ELECTION

"According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:" (Eph. 1:4)

The New Testament words "chosen, choose, and election" are the same. The Old Testament word is simply "chosen." From the above Scripture many have felt that God chooses some to be saved and some to be lost. Again I want to point out that predestination and election (choosing) have nothing to do with the lost, but are for the saved.

From the following Scriptures we learn what the choosing, or election, of God is about:

"For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son. And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." (Rom. 9:9-13).

At once we point out that election, or choosing, has to do with service; THE ELDER SHALL SERVE THE YOUNGER. It does not say, "The younger shall be saved, and the elder shall be lost." No, but simply, "the elder shall SERVE the younger." Thus choosing, or election, has to do with service." "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated" wasn't said of these two men before they were born, but hundreds of years after they died. God hated the descendants of Esau because of their unbelief, and loved the descendants of Jacob because of their faith.

In the 15th chapter of John's Gospel, the Lord Jesus said that He had chosen (elected) them disciples. For salvation? No, for service. Even Judas was chosen! For damnation? No, but like Pharaoh, who was a fit vessel unto wrath - after being given many chances to believe, refused, and thus was used for God's purpose.

The prophet Isaiah says that Israel is God's chosen people (Isaiah 41:8). Does this mean that all Jews are saved? No. It simply means that God has chosen Israel for a service. And we know what that service was: to give us the word of God and to give us the Lord Jesus Christ!

The same prophet, Isaiah, says that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Chosen Servant of God (Isaiah 42:1). Does that mean that God chose the Lord Jesus to be saved? Of course not! For He is the SAVIOR! But God did choose His Son for a service -- and that service was to be the Lamb of God who would die for the sins of the world. And He was the obedient Servant, being obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross!

Now back to the original text, as found in Ephesians 1:4. What has God elected or chosen us for? Not salvation; "but He has chosen us even before the foundation of the world" (He knew that we would believe on His Son) for service -- "that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

Thus, we conclude that God does not predestinate or elect men to be saved or lost, but that salvation is on the basis of "WHOSOEVER WILL!"

"And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." (Rev. 22:17).