The coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, as described in Acts chapter 2, was an epochal and unrepeatable event in salvation history. This was not simply the first time the disciples received the Holy Spirit (remember, Jesus breathes on them in John 20 shortly after his resurrection). Neither was Pentecost simply [...]
The word eternity never occurs in the New Testament. Neither does the word forever.
This is the third part in a series attempting to show some of the difference it makes in reading or studying the New Testament using Greek rather than only English. Since I teach NT Greek, I am often asked regarding the purpose [...]
When Jesus rose from the dead, splendor returned to the world. From the depths of death’s dark gloom, Jesus emerged triumphant and the light of new life shone out permeating the entire earth. God’s redemptive purpose to not abandon the earth to its decay, death and misery, but to restore, renew and indeed re-create it [...]
If you were to summarize the overarching story-line of the Bible, what would you say? What if you had to do it in only one sentence? I will attempt to do exactly this in only seven words and I have a hunch my conclusion will be somewhat surprising to many.
But before I divulge my answer, [...]
Though resurrection was the central message of the early Apostolic Church and a central theme through the New Testament, resurrection is of such minor note in the Old Testament it cannot even warrant being called a theme. It only is literally discussed in two passages. If resurrection is not even a theme in the Old [...]
“Being in Christ” is not simply an opportunity for a fresh start or a new chance to get things right (as great as that is). Being in the Messiah means that one is a participant in the eschatological life of the restored and renewed heavens and earth even now.
An excerpt from “Saved By His Life” – a new paper I am working on:
Understanding of Paul’s soteriology (doctrine of salvation) has usually focused exclusively or almost exclusively on the crucifixion. In the early church, this was understood primarily in terms of the Messiah’s victory over the powers of darkness, as in Colossians 2:15. In [...]
An excerpt from “Saved By His Life” – a new paper I am working on:
Since the Protestant Reformation, “justification by faith” has been the articulus stantis et cadentis ecclesiae—the article by which the church stands or falls. Stressing the significance of this doctrine, Martin Luther once said,
“[Justification is] the chief article of Christian [...]
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one [...]
In the last entry, I discussed the “theology of glory” and the “theology of the cross” and my difficulty with both. I also mentioned how I feel that the problem is essentially Christological. How do we relate the cross and the resurrection in the person of Jesus himself?
In verse thirty of Luke 24, [...]
