New Testament Studies – Page 6

Arrival

Matthew and Luke both provide accounts of Jesus’ birth with Luke going on to provide further detail about his infancy up until the age of 12. Whilst Mark and John do not include such narratives, John does make this brief but theologically explosive statement. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”[1] The imagery there… Continue reading Arrival

Predestination in Ephesians

One of the most controversial statements in the New Testament is found in Ephesians 1:5 where it says: “ he[b] predestined us” It’s controversial because if God has determined from eternity what will happen to us, then where does that leave free will. It seems that everything has already been decided. If, God “chose us …before the foundation… Continue reading Predestination in Ephesians

Precursors

Mark and John both launch straight into the adult ministry of Jesus whereas Matthew and Luke both commence with birth narratives, although picking up on different aspects of the nativity. There has been a tendency by some to over make much out of this difference between the Gospels with the implication being that because the… Continue reading Precursors

Orderly and verified accounts

Luke was a companion of the apostle Paul. He is the recognised author of both Luke and Acts and so at the point when he joins Paul on his missionary journeys, we can see a switch from the third person (he/they) to the first person, plural (we) as Luke describes the acts of the apostles.… Continue reading Orderly and verified accounts

Introducing Jesus

There are four Gospels or accounts focusing on the life of Jesus. John stands distinct from the other three with Matthew, Mark and Luke being referred to as The Synoptic Gosels meaning that they can be read together. This is due to the fact that there appears to be a significant overlap of source material… Continue reading Introducing Jesus

The Spirit in Ephesians

A central theme in Ephesians is the work of the Holy Spirit. If this is a letter about God’s purpose for his church, about how to be united in love as his alternative society and about standing firm in spiritual warfare, then the Holy Spirit is crucial to all of that. But before Ephesians is… Continue reading The Spirit in Ephesians

Precursors (Faithroots Podcast)

Here’s the next in our Jesus in the Gospels:

Introducing Luke and the Gospels

Here’s the first podcast in our new Teaching and Training series “Introducing Jesus: A look at Jesus and the Gospels.”

Introducing Jesus – new teaching series

Welcome to our new Faithroots teaching and training series, an introduction to Jesus and the Gospels. If you had the opportunity to train at Theological College, then you would have the opportunity to cover a number of key areas of study. These would be One of my aims here on Faithroots is to make all… Continue reading Introducing Jesus – new teaching series

The New Perspective on Paul and the red herring of ethnicty

During my life time, one of the main, long running disputes in theology and Biblical studies has been around the Doctrine of Justification and what St Paul really taught. It began with the work of EP Sanders on Second Temple, Palestinian Judaism where he argued that the Jews of Jesus and Paul’s day were not… Continue reading The New Perspective on Paul and the red herring of ethnicty