by Matthew Borgstrom | Jan 26, 2022 | Uncategorized
Because God is love, John 3:16 teaches that he has a love for the world and that love manifested itself in the giving of the Son for the world. Now it is imperative we keep in mind that his love is not the least bit based on a positive or lovable perception of the...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Jan 21, 2022 | Uncategorized
Amidst a discussion with Nicodemus in John 3:9-15, Jesus unveils that while he left the realm of heaven during his incarnation, he never left the state of having direct communication and fellowship with the Father. This is truly remarkable! All that being said, think...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Jan 14, 2022 | Uncategorized
Last week, we concluded John 2 and discovered that Jesus was never going to be duped by spurious faith because has complete knowledge of what is in man, namely man’s natural state of spiritual deadness that is in bondage to the sinful nature and causes him to be...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Jan 6, 2022 | Uncategorized
In the end, based on the truths of John 2:24-25, Christ knows exactly why every single person gathers with the church, whether with pure or mixed motives. Christ will not entrust himself to one who is pursuing an affiliation with his church as a means of...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Dec 22, 2021 | Uncategorized
In John 2:20, the Jews ask Jesus a follow up question that proves they are far from discerning what Jesus was saying and that is because even the components of the redemptive plan of God are folly to the natural mind. Paul taught this exact truth in 1 Cor. 1:22 For...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Dec 15, 2021 | Uncategorized
The Scripture from Ps. 69, which is quoted in John 2:17 about Jesus Christ says that Zeal for your house will consume me. The zeal Jesus had for the Father’s glory led him to testify to this to the Jews gathered at the temple in John 7:18 He who speaks from himself...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Dec 3, 2021 | Uncategorized
Jesus’ mighty display of provision at the wedding feast in John 2 should greatly assist us in our understanding that we are completely helpless as it relates to fulfilling our greatest need. What was anyone at the wedding going to be able to do about the absence...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Nov 27, 2021 | Uncategorized
John 1:38 records that Jesus turned to acknowledge the 2 followers trailing behind him and asks a question to them—Not who, but what do you seek? What an incredible question! We are going to see a lot of self-centered reasons for following Christ in this gospel and...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Nov 18, 2021 | Uncategorized
Here is a summary of the significance of John the Baptist’s declaration in John 1:29—while there may have been many lambs used for sacrifices, only God’s lamb would provide the necessary and permanent atonement for sin. No wonder it’s recorded that sinners receive...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Nov 10, 2021 | Uncategorized
In John 1:19-28, we have seen one who is determined to make sure no one thinks of him more highly than he truly is. This is because, even though he had a very significant ministry, he was not given a named role. He merely considered himself a voice crying out in the...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Nov 5, 2021 | Uncategorized
In John 1:15-18, we have seen Jesus Christ introduced as the One who is before all things; the One who has fullness of grace and truth and the One who brought forth the most complete revelation of God ever given. Despite that, we often adopt alternate focal points of...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Oct 26, 2021 | Uncategorized
When John writes in 1:14 that God’s glory was revealed in the person of Jesus Christ, he describes that glory to be full of grace and truth. Grace is undeserved kindness and truth isn’t merely pointing to the content of what Jesus said, namely that it was void of that...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Oct 14, 2021 | Uncategorized
So here is how we should be processing John 1:12-13: 1) Stunned by grace and 2) understanding of rejection. 1) Stunned by grace—If you are in Christ, that means you have received Christ by believing in his name and if you received Christ, it was God’s will for you to...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Oct 7, 2021 | Uncategorized
The end of John 1:4 further explains the life in the beginning part of the verse, in that it was the light of man or light possessed by or given to man. This too, can easily refer to the sustenance of human life, which Leon Morris brings forth when he said:...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Sep 27, 2021 | Uncategorized
In John 6, Jesus exposes the motives of the crowds who were seeking him, namely because he miraculously provided food for them the day before in the feeding of the 5,000. In v.26, Jesus says: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Sep 21, 2021 | Uncategorized
According to Heb. 13:17, submission to leaders is necessary because they have a God-given responsibility and a God-examined accountability. Their responsibility is to keep watch over souls. The leaders of a church, who have been verified as possessing the biblical...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Sep 13, 2021 | Uncategorized
Whenever we talk about biblical love, by definition, there’s always a sacrifice involved. What kind of sacrifice is entailed with regards to the gathering of the body of Christ? There are at least 3 of them: 1) The sacrifice of preparation–It takes significant...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Sep 7, 2021 | Uncategorized
Now Peter’s instruction in v.7 should not be compared to throwing your anxiety in the backyard so that you will look at it every day and eventually go pick it up again. No, this is throwing your anxiety off of a moving train as it’s going by the edge of a cliff....
by Matthew Borgstrom | Sep 2, 2021 | Uncategorized
In similar fashion to Christ’s instruction in Matt. 6 from last week, Paul begins Php. 4:6 by outlawing anxiety, but notice what kind of circumstances are included in the prohibition—everything! There is nothing that can happen that is outside the bounds of trusting...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Aug 25, 2021 | Uncategorized
In Matthew 6:34, which is the concluding verse of the section, Jesus shifts the object of worry from specific, tangible things to general, future concerns. In doing so, he acknowledges that typically our anxiety is focused on what is out ahead, so he declares—don’t...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Aug 20, 2021 | Uncategorized
What are some implications of the hostility from the world being used by God as a refiner’s fire—1) God has a sovereign purpose in the hostility incurred by Christians from the world. Notice what Peter doesn’t say—”Don’t be surprised at the trials because...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Aug 5, 2021 | Uncategorized
Part of Paul’s penetrating list of descriptions of love includes what appears at the beginning of 1 Cor. 13:6 (love) does not rejoice in unrighteousness…What are some ways this can occur? First of all, there can be a boasting in the minimizing or...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Jul 31, 2021 | Uncategorized
Part of Paul’s descriptions of love in 1 Corinthians 13 include prohibitions from arrogance and boasting. These are self-exalting and others-demeaning characteristics. However, if we’re seeing ourselves as slaves of Christ, acknowledging that anything we have...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Jul 13, 2021 | Uncategorized
Why is patience so difficult for us? Solomon sheds some light on it in Ecc. 7: 8b…the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. 9 Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools. There is an incredible pride resident in...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Jul 9, 2021 | Uncategorized
In this first part of 1 Cor. 13:3, Paul does not use the normal word for give as he does in the 2nd part of the verse, but here it infers a piece-by-piece distribution. What this means is that this isn’t a one-time decision to give a lump sum gift to someone—“Here’s...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Jun 25, 2021 | Uncategorized
The praise in Psalm 145 is fueled by recounting abundantly rich truths that are put forth about God’s greatness and goodness. If God’s greatness is most notably manifested in his power, God’s goodness is most clearly seen in his love. Both are essential to equally...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Jun 18, 2021 | Uncategorized
In Psalm 139:1, David affirms that Yahweh, the covenant making and covenant keeping Great I AM, has searched him. This is a term inferring an examination or testing. For instance, when the Lord says that he searches the heart in Jer. 17:10, there is a parallel line...
by Matthew Borgstrom | Jun 11, 2021 | Uncategorized
In the final 2 lines of Ps. 131:1, David transitions from what he does not have to what he does not do. Namely, he doesn’t walk in things too great or marvelous for him. At first read, this is shocking because things that are great and marvelous sound like pretty good...
by Matthew Borgstrom | May 29, 2021 | Uncategorized
Based on what is found in Psalms 127 & 128, here are some ways we would know the Lord is fortifying and securing our home and that as husbands and fathers, we fear the Lord: ...
by Matthew Borgstrom | May 21, 2021 | Uncategorized
The content and especially the final section of Deut. 9, begs the question: Why bring all this up in front of all Israel? It seems apparent that the reason is to remind them how and why they were delivered. Moses is implying, “You didn’t become God’s special...
