Chapter # 10 Paragraph # 1 Study # 2
May 13, 2018
Humble, Texas

• I. The "Zeal" of the Israelites.
  • A. They have a zeal.
    • 1. According to Revelation 3:15-16, this is preferable to Jesus than "lukewarmness".
    • 2. Paul's only other use of this term in Romans is in 13:13, and there it is not a "good" thing. This text speaks of "zeal" as a competitive, and evil, thing. It is connected in one of the three couplets in the text to "strife". This is the natural outworking of ungodly zeal.
      • a. In Philippians 3:6 Paul is continuing to list the characteristics of his former life in terms of things that might give him "confidence in the flesh" so as to "trust in the flesh". One of these characteristics was his "zeal" and it was made manifest by his persecution of the Church. But, it was his persecution of the Church that made him the "chief" of sinners according to 1 Timothy 1:13. Thus, the very thing that might make a man think that he was serving God acceptably actually made him the worst of sinners against God (John 16:2).
      • b. Paul also attributed his misguided "zeal" to his "ignorance" in 1 Timothy 1:13. This is, on the face of it, an astounding claim, but he attributed it to "unbelief". However, having been a victim of the deceit of a desperately wicked heart and a religious system that exalted a man's performance up to an adequate basis for acceptance by God, it was this very "ignorance" that caused him to want to see Israel "saved"; i.e., delivered from the very same deceit and unbelief.
      • c. Thus, "zeal" is set forth as a "commendable" characteristic (far better than lukewarmness), that can be twisted into the worst of characteristics. There is nothing worse than misguided "zeal" as it produced "the chief of sinners" in spite of the fact that Jesus said He would prefer it over "lukewarmness".
        • 1) Luke's uses (Acts 5:17 and 13:45) are both examples of ungodly zeal that sponsors wicked behavior in opposition to the Truth.
        • 2) 1 Corinthians 3:3 makes "zeal" a "carnal" and "human" associate with strife and division.
    • 3. In other New Testament texts, "zeal" is a very commendable thing.
      • a. John 2:17 connects it to the motivation of Jesus in His cleansing of the temple.
      • b. 2 Corinthians 7:7 uses the term in a very positive way, referring to the Corinthians' positive attitude toward Paul, followed by 7:11 in the same vein (also 2 Corinthians 9:2; and 11:2).
      • c. See also Colossians 4:13 , 1 Corinthians 14:12; Galatians 4:18; Titus 2:14 and Revelation 3:19.
    • 4. The bottom line is: "zeal" is "an extremely focused commitment to a specific agenda, both in value and in method".
  • B. But this "zeal" is "not according to knowledge".
    • 1. At issue here is Paul's use of the word translated "knowledge".
    • 2. The word Paul used is an intensified form of the word that indicates knowledge that is gained through intimate experience of the details of some "object of knowledge". Thus, there is a kind of "knowing that comes from a fairly detailed experience of multiple details of its object", and there is an intensive "knowing" of that kind that signals a more comprehensive "detailed experience" that allows for "understanding" (a kind of "connecting of the dots" that mere experience of many details does not produce).
      • a. Paul comments upon those who are "ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth" in 2 Timothy 3:7. This is Paul's recognition that a person can be consistently involved in experiencing more and more details, and yet never be able to see how those details "connect" with each other to give a "life-giving" understanding. This was the main problem for Saul of Tarsus, educated in the details of Scripture but never being able to see the forest for the trees (the big picture obscured by the magnitude of details that have been marshaled to serve a false agenda).
      • b. Paul's claim that the "zeal" of the Israelites is "not according to knowledge" is his way of saying that their "zeal" has promoted an intensive pursuit of many, many "details", but it has not resulted in the proper "connecting of the dots" so as to lead to a relationship with God.
    • 3. This is the explanation for how a person can be highly "educated" and recognized by men as a "master" of his/her field of expertise and still be what the Bible calls a "fool". Knowledge that does not result in a greater interactive relationship with God is of no value except to make it possible to be "proud" ("knowledge" puffs up; 1 Corinthians 8:1) and a significant "sinner".