I John 3:1-7-

1) We have a sense here of a restored Eden, as children of God

.2) this resotration is made more clear in v.2 that sounds not only as if the image and likeness has been restored, but that we will be transformed further.

3) We will be like him sounds like theosis to me.

 

4) Still, as the noted exegete and LPTS fan, Mick Saunders notes, the future in no way changes that we are God's chidlren NOW. We don't have to wait for heavenly transformation. We were known as God's from the start. It is our present reality.

5) p.412 of NIB, Black notes that the polarity of lawlessness v. righteousness is par tof the end time battle.

6) Note well that scholars often imagine this to be a community under external and internal threat.

7)if I understand correctly the writer is saying we are what we do. It is the opposite of the popular phrasing today that no matter how heinous the act, people respond with "I'm a good person."

8) Still, is sin here a category, is it rejecting Christ or what. It does not fit with what we read last week about forgiveness of sin. Could it be the emphasis is on the source of goodness and evil and the fruit of each?

 

Psalm 4

 

1) Answer me is in the imperative. How often we feel this way when we wait for an answered prayer.

Relief=wide space. it seems related to me for a word, i think it is yashar, that means salvation but has a sense of open space. distress=narrow. So, the psalmist is looking for elbow room in a tight spot.

2) i always think of the phrase, how long, with Martin Luther King's speech, where the answer is not long. Depending on the circumstance this can be a bit anxious or a plea of desperation.vain words could lead one into how we use our tongues and the misuse of words in the media.

 

3) i usually think of disturbed as being angry, but here it has the sense of a disturbed childwho needs to be quieted.

4) This is a good place ot examine different views of fulfillment and prosperity.

5)Whod oesn't want to sleep in peace/well-being/health and safety (betah is related to trust)