Marriage for Christ

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Here’s a talk from a little while back on Ephesians 5:21-33 and marriage. There are two parts. At the start I run through a brief exposition of the passage and then Sarah and I have a discussion on the practical application.

Some apostles?

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One of the big moves during my lifetime has been from a situation where it would be considered at best “fringe” to refer to some Christian leaders as apostles to it being fairly normalised.  This came up significantly in my deep dive into Bethel, Redding.   The New Apostolic Reformation has a particular view of apostles… Continue reading Some apostles?

Live or walk in Ephesians 4-5? How much does a word really matter?

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A couple of times, I’ve seen discussion about whether or not we should translate Ephesians 4:1 as “ live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” Or “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” The debate is about how we translate the word peripateo. The argument for “walk” is that… Continue reading Live or walk in Ephesians 4-5? How much does a word really matter?

Marriage at work in Ephesians

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In my detailed engagement with Andrew Bartlett’s book, “Men and Women in Christ, we’ve got to the bit where he engages with Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3.  You will probably have picked up that I think he should have made this his starting point   Now, you might think that maybe this reflects my own bias,… Continue reading Marriage at work in Ephesians

Heads, Hierarchies, submission and love

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Under this title, Andrew Bartlett looks at Colossians 3 and Ephesian 5 in his book. He suggests that in relation to these passages, we should address three questions, disputed by commentators. 1.Does Paul teach in these letters that marriage is a hierarchical relationship in which the husband is in a position of unilateral authority over… Continue reading Heads, Hierarchies, submission and love

TL:DR Jesus loves his church … so let him

I recently suggested that the TL:DR (quick summary for those who because something was too long, didn’t read it) of Ephesians 5:22-32 is “husbands are to love their wives and wives are to let them.”  The basis for my argument was that we may struggle with authority(headship)  and submission language but authority is to do… Continue reading TL:DR Jesus loves his church … so let him

Submitting to one another and learning love languages

My friend Steve Kneale has written a very helpful article here about how we learn to experience love across cultures.  In his article, he picks up on how the concept of “love languages” has often been misunderstood and misused. Steve, observes that too often, people talk in terms of what their “love language” is meaning… Continue reading Submitting to one another and learning love languages

Ephesians and the prosperity Gospel

There’s been a lie going around for so many years, often referred to as “The Prosperity Gospel.”  This is the belief that if we have enough faith and use the right words, then we can claim whatever we like from God and he will give it to us.  This is sometimes known as “Health, wealth… Continue reading Ephesians and the prosperity Gospel