The Eden Podcast with Bruce C. E. Fleming

The focus of this episode is: 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 Getting this passage right. Here’s some good advice. “Don't take verses out of context.”  How do you do that? One way is to cut off the beginning of a passage. If you miss the beginning thoughts of a passage you risk missing the meaning of the following message. Sadly, this happens every time people skip over 1 Corinthians 11:2 and start at verse...

God didn't curse Eve or limit woman in any way in Genesis 3:16. This is what Dr. Joy Fleming discovered in the 11 Hebrew words of this key verse. But your Bible doesn't read that way because of a translation error!! This and much more has been put into The Book of Eden, Genesis 2-3 by Bruce C. E. Fleming available on Audible HERE .  The Tru316 Foundation (www. Tru316.com) is the home of The E...

  Welcome to this bonus episode of The Eden Podcast where we think again about the Bible on women and men and we start with a correct understanding of what happened in the Garden of Eden back in the beginning. I’m Bruce C. E. Fleming, founder of the Tru316 Project and a former Academic Dean and Professor of Practical Theology. This bonus episode celebrates our arrival at the end of Season Three on...

In 1 Timothy 2:8-15, Paul recommended appropriate discipline for disruptive and injurious behavior. His recommendations took into account not only the sin committed, but also the heart motivation of the offender. In 1 Timothy 3:1-12 the women and men leaders who had been disciplined were encouraged to aspire to, and to resume, ministry in the church. In these verses, Paul did not teach any doctrin...

Jump with me to the heart of the matter. 1 Timothy 3:1 does not teach that only men are to be overseers in the church. Verse 2 does not teach that only married men can be pastors. And verses 4-5 do not teach that men only are to manage the household. 1 Timothy 3:1 offers encouragement to the overseers undergoing retraining by saying, “Anyone aspiring to oversight desires a good work.” However, man...

1 Timothy 2:13-15 How Eve and Paul were alike, by Bruce C. E. Fleming The focus of this episode is: 1 Timothy 2:13-15 How Eve and Paul were alike “What’s this Dad?” I asked picking up the flat and pointed piece of chipped stone. “That’s an arrowhead son,” he replied. “What’s it doing here, Dad?” “Ahh. That’s a great question!” “What’s this doing here?” is what many ask when they come across the ve...

Here's my paraphrase of 1 Timothy 2:8-12 from the Greek: (8) Timothy, I wish for the men to pray and prophesy correctly while leading worship, lifting up holy hands without causing anger and disputing! (9) Likewise, I wish the women who pray and prophesy leading worship to adorn themselves with modest apparel that promotes self-control - not with improper hair plaiting, along with its gold and pea...

1 Timothy 2:8 is not a verse about people in general praying around the world. What should tip us off are the comments at the end of the verse about “anger” and “disputing.” Disruptive Preachers . How often are people angry and how often do disputes break out after prayer meetings where you are? Not often? Never? Is this verse not applicable in your situation? No. It likely is not. It applied to t...

The first seven verses in 1 Timothy 2 are Paul's discussion of his second sin, that of being an official who persecuted the church. But many commentators and theologians haven't understood how the first seven verses of 1 Timothy 2 fit into the structure of Paul's letter.  Some have suggested like this person, that Paul "strung his ideas together in 1 Timothy in a rather haphazard manner." That doe...

Paul listed MY THREE SINS in 1 Timothy 1:13. First, Paul was a blasphemer. He had spoken evil of Jesus. Second, he was a persecutor. He had persecuted believers in Christ. Third, he was injurious. He had disrupted the church.  Three groups in Ephesus (1 Timothy 1:18-3:16). Paul often gave a list near the start of his letters. The list pointed to what was coming next in his letter. When I learned o...

A quick survey of the key points in Genesis 2-3 that are affected positively by a correct understanding of Genesis 3:16.  Christy and Kaylin interviewed Bruce C. E. Fleming on their podcast about what Genesis 3:16 really says in the Hebrew text and how this helps our understanding of the other verses that tell us what happened back in the Beginning. Lots covered and lots of fun in this interview!...

Celebrate with the Tru316 Project as we approach "3/16 Day" 2021!  The Tru316 Foundation (www. Tru316.com) is the home of The Eden Podcast with Bruce C. E. Fleming where we “true” the verse of Genesis 3:16. The Tru316 Message is that “God didn’t curse Eve (or Adam) or limit woman in any way.” Once Genesis 3:16 is made clear the other passages on women and men become clear too. You are encouraged t...

The hot topic, the hot verse in all of 1 Timothy is 1st Timothy 2:12. People want to go right there and from that verse only they want to know all about “women in church.” But if they look only to verse 12 they are taking a scriptural teaching out of context!  Context and content.  What is the context of 1 Timothy 2:12? It is found in a series of ideas that actually begin back in 1:18 and continue...

Translators’ errors are hurting so many lives. Perhaps the biggest error of all is occurring in Genesis 3:16. People get a sour taste when they read modern translations of Genesis 2-3 that make God appear unfair and even vindictive.  What they read leads them to think God cursed the woman in some way even though she had been deceived. They think she had been the Temptress and deserved a curse unli...

The focus of this episode is: Ephesians 5:32-6:9. Family members submitting one to another Have you ever been in a conversation like this? Maybe you’re talking with a lovable old uncle, or you’re in conversation with a friendly neighbor. You’ve been talking about one thing and then you get off the track and start talking about something else. Finally, comes a moment when one of you says, “Let’s ge...

In Ephesians 5:22-32 the unity of believers in one body with Christ is illustrated in the three sections: (1) verses 22-24, (2) verses 25-27 and (3) 28-32. The introductory verses are 19a and 21. The summary verse is 32. in verse 25b , two main ideas are grouped together in the center of the linchpin. They are: “As Christ loved ” and “as Christ gave of himself.”  Believers in Christ are to love an...

The New Verb in verse 22. The action and the people involved in the incomplete sentence of verse 22 – “wives … to your husbands” must be filled in with the paired actions of the Spirit-filled believers in Ephesians 5:19a and 21. Thus Paul’s meaning in verse 22 is  Wives and husbands be submitting to the teaching and correction you are receiving from one another in Christ -ing verbs can be read as...

Here are the four points for Spirit-filled walking in Ephesians 5:19-21. Each point in Greek starts with an -ing verb.  The first one, or part A, is “speaking.” In verse 19a we read, “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” The second one, or part B, is “singing.” In verse 19b we read, “singing and making melody with your hearts to the Lord.” The third one, or part B prim...

The “speaking” simply stated as such in Ephesians 5:19a involves two practical actions, “teaching and admonishing.” All believers filled with the Spirit are to teach one another the truths found in the psalms, in hymns and spiritual songs. Every believer is to inform or remind every other believer in the Body of Christ. On the other hand, and where necessary, believers are to admonish, or correct,...

This Episode is the first in our Beyond Eden series on Ephesians 5:15-6:9. We begin with this overview and we look at common traps that lead to misinterpretation of important passages in Ephesians. Then, in the coming Episodes we’ll go more in depth. GO DEEPER  The Tru316 Foundation (www. Tru316.com) is the home of The Eden Podcast with Bruce C. E. Fleming where we “true” the verse of Genesis...

In the Garden the man listens to the words of the serpent tempter. And the man makes the intent and actions of Satan his own . He too rebels against God. Step by step he moves away from God and toward Satan!  Has Satan just thrown God’s words into question in 3:1? Apparently the man does too. Does the man look with respect on the woman’s defense of God’s words reported in 3:2? We don’t read that h...

To understand Genesis 3:16 we must recognize that in God’s first words to the woman in Line 1 God didn’t even touch on the subject of childbirth. (1) God spoke to her about shared sorrowful-toil (the Hebrew word is ‘itsebon ) in field work and (2) God spoke to her about conception or pregnancy (the Hebrew word is heron ) and especially of the offspring who would bruise Satan’s head. The way the wo...

God did NOT curse the woman in Genesis 3:16  IN ANY WAY! But modern translations make it look like God did. So it is necessary to think again about the word patterns in 3:15-17, and the larger context of Genesis 2-3, to see what God really said.  Genesis 2-3, in Hebrew, is a  meaningful seven-part pattern that is a chiasm. A chiasm can be pictured as a rainbow or as a bell curve. Line 1 of 3:16 is...

God spells out the ultimate doom of the woman's enemy which will come through her. Even though he will persist in his attacks and even though figuratively he will bruise the heel of her offspring, who we know ultimately to be Jesus, her offspring will bruise Satan on the head. In Genesis 3:15, in God’s last words to the serpent, God prophesies that the woman’s “seed” or “offspring” (the Hebrew wor...

Many blame Eve as the Temptress. This medieval idea is not what the Bible teaches. The Bible says the Tempter in the Garden was the serpent. That is why God cursed the serpent Tempter. And that is one of the reasons why, when we look for a curse on the woman in the Hebrew text, we find none. Satan tempted both the woman and the man. The Hebrew text in Genesis 3:1-5 shows him using plural pronouns...