By Bill Fiess There is a word in the NT that all believers need to be aware of. In Greek, it is the word dokimos. A NT Greek dictionary will tell us that the word means either “approved” or “tested.” These two ideas go together. Something can be put to the test to see if

By Bill Fiess and Pam Esteven In a recent study, I noted that some form of the Greek word family agapaō (verb, noun, participle, adjective) occurs in every single book of the NT. As many Grace in Focus readers know, agapaō and its various forms denote love in the highest sense of the word, both

By Bill Fiess The Hebrew root LMD (teach) is found 94 times in the OT. But there is no chapter in the Bible that contains as many occurrences (13) of this verb as Psalm 119 (vv 7, 12, 26, 64, 66, 68, 71, 73, 99, 108, 124, 135, 171). Listed below are a few representative

By Bill Fiess This morning I was really struck by the presence of a single Greek participle elthōn (= coming or when He comes) in connection with Jesus Christ’s imminent return: Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes [elthōn], will find so doing (Matt 24:46). Watch therefore, for you do not know

By Bill Fiess and Ken Yates At the end of 1 John 2, the Apostle writes about the day when Jesus Christ returns (“He appears.”). John writes: And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming (1 John 2:28). This

By Bill Fiess In 1 Tim 6:12 Paul writes, “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” Why does Paul call it the good fight of the faith? And to what is he referring

By Bill Fiess A New Expression In the middle of His Olivet Discourse, Jesus Christ made this astonishing statement: “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only” (Matt 24:36). Though it is clear that Jesus had been speaking about prophetic events, He unexpectedly used

By Bill Fiess with Pam Esteven In the book of Revelation there is an impressive number of references to clothing which encompasses a variety of Greek words. Often in Scripture, the believer’s garment represents righteous works done in faithful obedience to God (e.g., Rev 16:15; 19:8). For the sake of brevity, we will examine a

  By Bill Fiess All of us who are living in the 21st century are well aware of the technological revolution we daily experience—phones by which we can talk face-to-face, internet by which we can view World Series games live, tablets which can connect us to just about anything. But those of us who are

By Bill Fiess with Bob Wilkin Many theologians and pastors today do not like to use the word believe when speaking of saving faith. They much prefer to speak of trust or even heartfelt trust. For example, Dr. Wayne Grudem in his recent book on clarity in evangelism said repeatedly that saving faith is “heartfelt