Shining a light on the weekly Bible Lessons published in the Christian Science Quarterly®
Substance
Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase.
To the Israelites, worldly substance was evidence of God’s care. His children were to show their thankfulness and reverence by consecrating their goods to Him. (A scholar provides wording from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of Scripture: “Honor the Lord from thy righteous labors.”) By New Testament times, substance was also defined in spiritual terms: “Ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance” (Hebrews 10:34).
Firstfruits describes the first ripe yield of a crop, offered to God to pledge and sanctify the entire harvest (see Leviticus 23:10, 11). Later, Christ’s followers were called firstfruits—proof of salvation for all humanity (see James 1:18).
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Resources quoted in this issue
GT: Barnes, Albert. Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible. New York, 1834–85. Also available at biblehub.com/commentaries.
RR: Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary Collection. Vol. 30, Hebrews–James. Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys, 2000-2016.
Cit. 4: Buttrick, George Arthur, Nolan B. Harmon, et al., eds. The Interpreter’s Bible: A Commentary in Twelve Volumes. Vol. 10, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians. Nashville: Abingdon, 1951–57.
Cit. 5: Jervis, L. Ann. New International Biblical Commentary—Galatians. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1999.
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Scriptural quotations marked International Children’s Bible are taken from the International Children’s Bible®, copyright © 1986, 1988, 1999 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Scriptural quotations marked New Century Version are taken from the New Century Version®, copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scriptural quotations marked Common English Bible are taken from the Common English Bible, copyright © 2011 by the Common English Bible. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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Scriptural quotations marked New Living Translation are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scriptural quotations marked Holman Christian Standard Bible are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.
Scriptural quotations marked Amplified® Bible are taken from the Amplified® Bible, copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org.
© 2022 The Christian Science Publishing Society. The design of the Cross and Crown is a trademark owned by the Christian Science Board of Directors and is used by permission. Bible Lens and Christian Science Quarterly are trademarks owned by The Christian Science Publishing Society. Unless otherwise indicated, all scriptural quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.
