Posts

Showing posts from October 4, 2026

Featured

Browse at Your Own Pace

Begin wherever your curiosity leads. The studies will be here when you’re ready. When I shared my first Matthew study on Facebook today, I mentioned that I planned to post daily, though I might not share every post on Facebook. As I continue setting up this blog, I’ve realized that what matters most to me is making my past studies available for anyone who wants to explore them. For now, I’ll be adding posts to my heart’s content as I work through those studies. Some days that may mean one post; other days it may mean several. I’ll continue reading through and preparing each one before sharing it. There is no need to keep up with everything as it appears. This blog is becoming a place you can browse at your own pace—begin with a book, a question, or a study that interests you, and follow from there. The Bible Books page gathers studies by book, while Study Threads helps connect topics that travel through more than one book. The labels on individual posts also bring related material to...
Post a Comment
Read more

11. False Christs: Whose Image Are We Following?

Image
God’s Image Study — Inside the Mind — Where the Word Leads We began this study with a warning about false christs. We return now to the second commandment with a question: Are we receiving the image YHWH (יהוה) reveals—or following a representation people have made? What is being claimed? Jesus warns: “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” — Matthew 24:5 They come in His name. That detail matters. A claim carrying His name must still be examined. Throughout this study, we have followed anointing, indwelling, the body of Christ, and the conduct that expresses that relationship. Paul connects belonging to Christ with having the Spirit of Christ. He calls people to examine whether Christ is within them. Romans 8:9 ; 2 Corinthians 13:5 The comparison developed here identifies a false christ as a counterfeit presentation of Christ: claiming His anointing, presence, and representation where that claimed relationship is absent. Someone says Christ is wi...
Post a Comment
Read more

10. False Christs: What Are We Claiming in His Name?

Image
God’s Image Study — Inside the Mind — Where the Word Leads What are we claiming when we say: Christ is in me. I am anointed. We are His body. These words describe a relationship with Christ. They carry responsibility for how we speak, how we live, and how we treat those who encounter us. Have we examined what we are claiming—or accepted it because someone taught us to say it? Jesus warns: “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” — Matthew 24:5 Notice how they come. In His name. Invoking His name does not, by itself, establish that He sent them. The claim and the presence Paul connects belonging to Christ with having the Spirit of Christ. He also calls believers to examine themselves concerning whether Christ is within them. The relationship is something to examine, not merely something to repeat. Romans 8:9 ; 2 Corinthians 13:5 This is the comparison being drawn in this study: representing oneself as being in Christ when He is not within is present...
Post a Comment
Read more

9. False Christs: Where Does the Branch Receive Its Life?

Image
God’s Image Study — Inside the Mind — Where the Word Leads In the previous study, we examined fruit. Jesus directs us to consider what someone produces when we evaluate a spiritual claim. Now follow that fruit back to its source. In John 15, Jesus identifies himself as the true vine, his Father as the vine-grower, and his disciples as the branches. Each has a place in the image. The branch depends upon the vine for fruitfulness, while the Father tends the branches. The branch cannot produce this fruit independently. Jesus directs his disciples to abide in him and speaks of himself abiding in them. John 15:1–5 This gives substance to the expression in Christ . We must examine the relationship being described whenever someone claims it. Paul connects belonging to Christ with having Christ’s Spirit. Within the same passage, he speaks of the Spirit of God dwelling within believers and of Christ being in them. He then connects life by the Spirit with putting sinful practices to death and b...
Post a Comment
Read more

8. False Christs: What Fruit Are We Recognizing?

Image
God’s Image Study — Inside the Mind — Where the Word Leads Jesus warns that false prophets can appear clothed as sheep while inwardly being destructive. He directs his hearers to examine their fruit. The clothing returns to our study with another purpose: an appearance of belonging can conceal what someone actually produces. Recognition requires more than accepting the presentation. Matthew 7:15–20 What persuades us that someone speaks for YHWH (יהוה)? Confidence? A following? Familiar language? An account of something extraordinary? In Matthew 24, Jesus names both false Christs and false prophets and warns that they will perform impressive signs intended to deceive. The warning itself prevents us from treating an extraordinary display as sufficient proof of authority. Matthew 24:23–25 An earlier passage gives us a related examination. Deuteronomy describes a prophet whose announced sign occurs, yet whose message directs people toward other gods. The fulfillment does not authorize fol...
Post a Comment
Read more

7. False Christs: Do We Understand Whom We Follow?

Image
God’s Image Study — Inside the Mind — Where the Word Leads We have considered what happens when someone questions our teaching. Now we must consider what happens when Jesus questions our understanding. Reading through Mark, a pattern emerges. The disciples hear Jesus, witness his works, and travel with him. Yet their responses repeatedly reveal something they have not understood. Their nearness to him does not make his questions unnecessary. In the boat during the storm, they ask whether he cares that they are perishing. Jesus calms the storm and then questions their fear and lack of faith. Their circumstances have brought their understanding of him into view. Mark 4:35–41 Later, after Jesus walks on the water, Mark connects their astonishment with an earlier event: they had not understood the loaves, and their hearts were hardened. Mark himself requires us to connect the scenes. What happened with the bread matters to understanding their response on the water. Reading each event sepa...
Post a Comment
Read more

6. False Christs: What Happens When We Are Questioned?

Image
God’s Image Study — Inside the Mind — Where the Word Leads In the previous study, we followed the clothing into conduct. The bride’s linen represents righteous acts. The new self is expressed through compassion, humility, patience, and love. Now consider an encounter in which those qualities are needed. Someone has been reading Scripture. They notice something that challenges an explanation they have been taught. They bring the passage forward, hoping to examine it together. What happens next? The response becomes part of the examination. A person claiming to teach for Christ is also accountable for how they treat someone who questions their understanding. Paul places those responsibilities together. The Lord’s servant must be capable of teaching, kind toward everyone, patient under mistreatment, and gentle when correcting opposition. Even disagreement does not remove the obligation to show kindness. The purpose of correction is that someone may come to know the truth. 2 Timothy 2:24–2...
Post a Comment
Read more

5. False Christs: What Are We Wearing?

Image
God’s Image Study — Inside the Mind — Where the Word Leads Someone enters the gathering and receives immediate respect. Another enters and is directed to a lesser place. What made the difference? James describes people responding to a gold ring and impressive clothing. Before the newcomers have demonstrated their character, the assembly has assigned them standing. James confronts the judgment being made: they have dishonored someone whom they regard as having less. James 2:1–6 That human response deserves examination within our own gatherings. A title, reputation, or recognized religious position can function as a sign of importance. We may listen readily to a person we believe speaks for YHWH (יהוה), while dismissing someone without those credentials. Are we examining what is said—or have we already decided whose voice matters? James names partiality as sin. He brings our treatment of people under the command to love our neighbor and reminds us that mercy matters in judgment. The chap...
Post a Comment
Read more

4. False Christs: Belief, the Spirit, and the Claim to Authority

Image
God’s Image Study — Inside the Mind — Where the Word Leads Our previous study placed the mirror before us. Now we come to an account that requires us to distinguish several things we might otherwise assume happen together. Believing. Being baptized. Receiving the Spirit. Exercising spiritual authority. Acts 8 records these separately. Simon had previously impressed the people of Samaria through sorcery. After Philip’s preaching, the account says: “Even Simon himself believed” — Acts 8:13, LSB He was baptized and continued with Philip. Yet verses 14–17 explain that the Samaritans had received God’s word and been baptized before receiving the Holy Spirit. Peter and John came, prayed, and laid hands on them. See Acts 8:9–17 . We must preserve that sequence. In this account, belief and baptism are already present while receiving the Spirit still follows. Simon then offers money for the authority to confer the Spirit through laying on hands. Peter confronts both the offer and the condition ...
Post a Comment
Read more

3. False Christs: Have We Looked in the Mirror—and Walked Away?

Image
God’s Image Study — Inside the Mind — Where the Word Leads A study of false claims must also turn toward the person doing the examining. It is possible to question someone else’s teaching while assuming our own position needs no examination. We may speak confidently about being chosen, belonging to Christ, or serving God. But what happens when Scripture asks us to examine the life beneath those words? Paul brings that question directly to the Corinthians. They are seeking evidence that Christ speaks through him. In that same passage, he directs examination back toward them: “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!” — 2 Corinthians 13:5, LSB The claim that Christ speaks through someone is serious. So is the claim that Christ dwells within us. Paul does not treat either as a matter settled merely by making the claim. See 2 Corinthians 13:3–5 . Am I willing to undergo the examination I expect another person to accept? James gives us a picture of what can happen...
Post a Comment
Read more

2. False Christs: Who Anointed and Sent Him?

Image
God’s Image Study — Inside the Mind — Where the Word Leads Our opening study asked what is being claimed when someone presents a Christ for others to follow. Now we turn toward the one whose identity is being claimed. How does Scripture describe Jesus’ anointing, authority, and relationship with the Father? These details give us something concrete against which to examine a portrayal. A familiar name can remain while the teaching attached to that name changes. In Acts 10:38, Peter identifies Jesus of Nazareth as the one God anointed with the Holy Spirit and power. He then describes Jesus doing good and healing those oppressed by the devil, explaining that God was with him. See Acts 10:38, LSB . Preserve the relationships in that statement: God anoints → Jesus is anointed → Holy Spirit and power → works of deliverance. Jesus is the one whom God anointed. His work is described in relation to God’s presence with him. Luke’s account supplies a corresponding statement. Reading from Isaiah, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

1. False Christs: What Is Being Claimed?

Image
God’s Image Study — Inside the Mind — Where the Word Leads Our examination of idols and images brings us to another question: what happens when someone presents a false claim to Christ’s identity or authority—and people follow it? Before applying the warning, we need to understand its words. Jesus begins his answer to the disciples in Matthew 24 with an instruction: “See to it that no one deceives you.” — Matthew 24:4, LSB He then warns that many will come in his name, claiming to be the Christ, and will deceive many. See Matthew 24:4–5 . Notice who receives the warning: his disciples. Knowing whom they follow does not make the warning unnecessary. The title Christ comes from the Greek Χριστός ( Christos ) , meaning anointed one, or Messiah. It identifies a role; it is not simply another personal name. See the lexical entry for Christos . In Matthew 24:24, the expression translated false Christs is ψευδόχριστοι ( pseudochristoi ) , the plural of pseudochristos . It means false Christ...
Post a Comment
Read more

27. Ten Commandments: The Anointing Abides—Whom Are We Being Taught to Follow?

Image
God’s Image Study — Inside the Mind — Where the Word Leads In the golden calf account, Aaron announced a feast in God’s name while participating in something God condemned. Religious language and misplaced devotion appeared together. That combination deserves attention as we continue examining idols and images. A message can encourage people to seek God while also teaching them to depend upon a particular leader or establishment. We need to examine where that dependence leads. Are people being directed toward God—or being taught that their relationship with God depends upon remaining attached to us? First John gives us a place to begin. In 1 John 2:24–27, John addresses people who have already received. He tells them to let what they heard from the beginning remain in them, connects that abiding with the Son and Father, and warns about people attempting to deceive them. Then he describes the anointing: “the anointing whom you received from Him abides in you” — 1 John 2:27, LSB John goe...
Post a Comment
Read more

26. Ten Commandments: The Golden Calf—When Religious Approval Replaces Obedience

Image
God’s Image Study — Inside the Mind — Where the Word Leads An image does not become acceptable to God because a religious leader approves it. A gathering does not become faithful simply because God’s name is spoken within it. Exodus 32 brings both questions before us. Moses has delayed coming down from the mountain. The people gather around Aaron, express uncertainty about what has happened to Moses, and ask for gods to go before them. Aaron receives their gold and fashions a molten calf. The people then credit the image with their deliverance from Egypt. See Exodus 32:1–4 . Notice the progression: uncertainty, a request, material contributions, a manufactured object, and a claim about that object. The calf has just been made. Yet it is associated with a deliverance that already occurred. Then comes a detail we should not pass over. Aaron builds an altar before it and announces: “To-morrow shall be a feast to Jehovah.” — Exodus 32:5, ASV Aaron invokes the name of YHWH (יהוה). The peopl...
Post a Comment
Read more

25. Ten Commandments: Idols and Images—Beginning with the Words

Image
God’s Image Study — Inside the Mind — Where the Word Leads Having completed our examination of the first commandment, we now turn to the second: idols and images. The connection is important. After commanding Israel to have no other gods before him, YHWH (יהוה) addresses the making of images and the response given to them. Before deciding how this applies, we need to examine the words and their setting. Exodus 20:4 prohibits making an idol or likeness drawn from what is in heaven, on earth, or in the waters beneath. Verse 5 prohibits bowing down to them or serving them. The passage then speaks of God’s jealousy, the consequences of iniquity, and lovingkindness toward those who love him and keep his commandments. Read Exodus 20:4–6 . Several details require attention: what is made, what it represents, and how it is treated. The Hebrew word פֶּסֶל ( pesel ) is translated as idol, carved image, or graven image. It is related to a verb meaning to carve or hew. Its biblical use includes im...
Post a Comment
Read more