Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, hail the incarnate deity.” Very God, begotten not created. One of the things that people have consistently had trouble with through the ages has been the identity of Jesus. This goes right back to the early church when the Gospel message about him kept encountering pagan beliefs about the… Continue reading Home in flesh
Tag: Christology
Preaching Nehemiah Christologically
Last Sunday, I preached on Nehemiah 2. As I prepared, it struck me that I’ve normally heard the book preached with the emphasis being on Nehemiah as an example to us. We are to be like him. At it’s best, it is about building faith, at its worst its about building projects. The book has… Continue reading Preaching Nehemiah Christologically
Messiah
Christ is not a proper name or even a surname, despite the impression that is sometimes given by talk of Jesus Christ. We might do better to talk about Jesus The Christ as with John The Baptist. The Christ is an anglicised form of the Greek for “anointed one” or “The Messiah.” This referred to… Continue reading Messiah
Big Signs
The three synoptic gospels follow up closely Jesus’ kingdom parables by pairing two significant signs, or miraculous events together, the calming of a storm and the casting out of demons. Luke will include a further significant sign, the raising of Jairus’ daughter. 13.1 Read Luke 8:22-25 One day, Jesus and his disciples cross Galilee by… Continue reading Big Signs
Did Jesus really not care about doctrinal orthodoxy?
A comment I frequently hear/see is that “Jesus of Nazareth” wasn’t much interested in doctrinal orthodox, especially when it comes to our doctrine of God and the Trinity. It tends to come from those quarters where people want to place an emphasis on following Jesus’ example and teaching, especially when it comes to social agendas.… Continue reading Did Jesus really not care about doctrinal orthodoxy?
Where is Jesus?
One of the strange things about James’ letter is that Jesus doesn’t seem to be particularly prominent in the epistle. It is perhaps this, as much as discomfort with his take on faith and works which has tended to make it one of the less popular books of the Bible to study or to preach… Continue reading Where is Jesus?
Does God have emotions?
In September’s Evangelical Times, Psychiatrist Alan Thomas argues that God does have emotions. He does not believe that this contradicts the Doctrine of impassibility, that God is without passions. However, he argues against the concept of an emotionless God. Guy Davies has responded by arguing that God does not have emotions and that this would… Continue reading Does God have emotions?
Typical? When our old testament heroes prove flawed
The other day I wrote responding to an article arguing that Abraham didn’t really lie when he passed Sarah off as just his sister. The reality is that when we read through the lives of people in Scripture we discover lots of things that would leave us deeply uncomfortable, horrified even about their behaviour. Our… Continue reading Typical? When our old testament heroes prove flawed
Paedobaptism and the mediator problem
The Bible insists that there is one mediator between God and man, his name is Jesus. Therein lies a crucial problem with paedobaptism. There are some churches where babies are baptised and it is understood that this is symbolic, the baptism is in effect an expression of hope that the child will grow up to… Continue reading Paedobaptism and the mediator problem
Jesus through the son lens
The other day, I wrote about how a Muslim asked me to read the Gospels through what he called “the prophet lens”. He thought this would make better sense than a Christian hermeneutic. I was happy to do this because the Bible points to Jesus as Prophet, Priest and King. So the prophet lens will… Continue reading Jesus through the son lens
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