Commentaries:
Where did this suffering come from? It came as a result of having to live in this world of despair that Solomon lived in and wrote about. He had to be subject to circumstances that were beyond His control. If everything had been under the control of a righteous person like Jesus Christ, many events would never have happened. But surrounded by sin and despite His righteousness, He was subject to the futility, vanity, and meaningless of this world.
What did He do? He rose above it because He believed and lived the principle that is found in Romans 8:28.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Ecclesiastes and the Feast of Tabernacles (Part 1)
God plainly shows it is His purpose to increase His divine Family by bringing many sons into it. Jesus Christ is actually the "firstborn" of many sons of God (Romans 8:29; Colossians 1:18).
The gospel Jesus brought to mankind is simply the "good news" of the Kingdom of God—and that Kingdom is dual. It is not only the ruling government which Christ will establish on the earth when He returns, but it is also the Family of God—the God Kingdom composed of the spirit members of the God Family.
And, incredible as it may sound, Jesus taught that humans can be "born" into the Family, or Kingdom, of God.
There are only two members in the God Family or Kingdom at the present time—God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son. But God is increasing His Family, and you can be "born" into it!
What It Means to Be Born Again
God sanctifies us through Jesus Christ and graciously justifies us by means of Christ's blood, providing us with His Son's righteousness and granting us entrance into a relationship with Him. The sanctification process writes the laws of God in our hearts and minds, making His righteousness real and practical to daily life. During this process, which requires our cooperation with Him in His purpose, we literally become conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. The overwhelming majority of Christian works come to the fore within this process as part of the preparation for God's Kingdom.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Power Belongs to God (Part Two)
A key word in these verses is "author" from the Greek word archegos, which is translated variously as "captain (KJV), author, pioneer, trail-blazer, and founder." One basic concept threads its way through all of the uses of this word: An archegos is one who begins something so that others may enter into it.
An archegos can found a school that others may follow him into learning. An archegos can found a city that others may dwell in. An archegos can blaze a trail that others may follow. An archegos can begin a family that others may be born into it.
If a ship is foundering on the rocks, and the only way to save the crew and passengers is for someone to swim ashore with a line and secure it on a tree or a rock so that others may follow him to shore, the one who swims with the line is the archegos. He did a deed so that others may follow.
Jesus is the archegos of our salvation! He blazed the trail! He set the pattern! He entered into a Family that others may follow! And in the process of blazing the trail, of setting the pattern, of entering into God's Kingdom—He too was perfect! That is what the verse says.
The author of our salvation was made perfect through suffering. He was made complete as our Savior and High Priest. He is fully able to be the pioneer of our salvation, to ensure that we also will enter salvation and to be as He is.
According to this verse, this was done to bring many sons to glory—the same glory as the Trailblazer, the Pioneer, the Author, the Captain has.
John W. Ritenbaugh
We Shall Be God! (Part 1)
Salvation is a creative process of character building. This process begins with the calling of God, leads to repentance, continues throughout sanctification, and ends with glorification in the Kingdom of God. It is a process of completion, of perfection, of spiritual maturation, of character development. It is the process of salvation. All of these are closely synonymous terms.
John W. Ritenbaugh
We Shall Be God! (Part 2)
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Now, since we are co-heirs with Christ, we are co-heirs with Him of all things—everything that God made through Jesus Christ: the universe and everything that is in it! Are we, in the rush of life, forgetting who we are? Are we neglecting the fact that God will turn the governance of the things He has made—this awesome universe—over into our hands? When that happens, we will not be as poor and pitifully weak as we are now.
But we should not undervalue what we are. If we do, we will not take Passover in the right attitude, because what Passover represents was done for us so that we would be in a position to inherit all things. We do not have to feel like we just crawled from under a rock! We have been blessed beyond our wildest imaginations, but for now in God's plan, we are a little lower than Elohim. Yet, what a future lies before us!
Even now, we are the "apple of God's eye," the focus of His attention. We are so important to Him that His Son died for us. Truly, He died for the whole world, but right now, before He calls and converts the whole world, it is for you and me that the Creator died so that we could become co-heirs with Him. He wants to share what He made with us because He likes what He made. It is beautiful and has awesome potential, and just as any artist who makes something beautiful wants to share his creation with others, so does Jesus Christ, so that we can appreciate it and emulate it in our own works.
John W. Ritenbaugh
A Pre-Passover Look
Other commentary entries containing this verse:
Genesis 2:8-9
Genesis 2:16-17
Leviticus 23:24
Proverbs 23:7
Matthew 28:19
Romans 8:29-30
Romans 8:29
1 Corinthians 12:13
Galatians 4:4
Philippians 2:4
Hebrews 5:8-9
James 1:12-18
Revelation 5:1-7
Revelation 6:11
Revelation 12:5
Library resources that contain this verse:
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