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Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.

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Ephesians

“Be Holy for I am Holy”

Below is an excerpt from Mark Horne’s manuscript from his forthcoming commentary on Ephesians, specifically on Paul’s reference to Christians as “saints” (Ephesians 1:1). “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus.” Paul greets…

by Mark HorneMarch 25, 2025
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Exodus

The Perishable in the Ark of the Covenant

There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses put there at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of Egypt (2 Chronicles 5:10). When Solomon finally brought the ark of the covenant to the finished temple in…

by Jonathan WhiteMarch 18, 2025
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Exodus

The Stages of a Man’s Life and the Second Table of the Law

In As You Like It , Shakespeare famously describes the seven ages of a man’s life. The division of man’s life into stages is not an invention by Shakespeare, nor merely a common medieval artifice, but an expression of the real journey taken in life. Shakespeare seems to divide up…

by Ryan HandermannMarch 13, 2025
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Christology

The Essence of God’s Image

Is there a chief characteristic which best illumines the image of God in Man? What is it exactly that makes Man as a lens through which to see God? Moses thoughtfully and deliberately escorts the reader to the characteristic showcased above all else: humility. Though much ink has been spilled…

by Ben LoveladyMarch 11, 2025
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Liturgy

Two Ways of Being Liturgical: A Baptist Response to the High Church Exodus

Note: This essay is adapted from a talk delivered at the Howell E. Jackson Committee conference on “Foundations of Baptist Education,” held at Union University, Oct. 4-5, 2024. It’s no secret that evangelicals are converting to High Church traditions, a term I will use to refer to Anglo-Catholicism, Roman Catholicism,…

by Ryan SinniMarch 4, 2025
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Icons

Don’t Convert: Icons and Images in the Early Church

In recent years, there has been a flurry of conversions from Protestant Christianity towards Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism, at least in part due to their supposed early church heritage relative to Protestantism. In the words of Rod Dreher, a former Methodist who converted to Eastern Orthodoxy, “Many evangelicals seek…

by John CarpenterFebruary 25, 2025

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Purification and recreation

In his NIV Application commentary on Hebrews, George Guthrie offers this chiastic outline for Hebrews 1:2b-4: A. God appointed Christ as heir B. Through him he created the world C. He is the radiance of God’s glory C’. He bears God’s stamp B’. He governs universe (having made purification for…

December 2, 2008

Energies of God

Twice at least Paul says about the “working” of God in us is like God’s work in raising Jesus (Ephesians 1:19-20; Colossians 2:12). The characterization of God’s energy as energy to raise the dead is underscored by a pun. In Greek, “working” is energeia and “raise” is egeiro . Colossians…

December 2, 2008

Faith of Christ

Thomas Aquinas: “Trust is the expectation of help; and trust was found in Christ in that in accordance with human nature he looked for help from the Father in his suffering.”

December 1, 2008

New Creation

The writer to the Hebrews expounds on the superiority of the Son in a series of seven quotations mainly from the Psalms. Seven words certainly piques one’s interest, no? Day 1: Light, and the beginning of creation. Hebrews 1:5a: the Son is begotten “today,” likely the day of resurrection, as…

December 1, 2008

Unjust Steward

The parable of the unjust steward is one of the most difficult of Jesus’ stories. The following essay is an attempt (following Joel Green and other recent commentators) to make sense of the story. Though Jesus begins a new parable in Luke 16:1, and is speaking to the disciples, in…

December 1, 2008

Christological interpretation

For the writer to the Hebrews, Christological interpretation is an absolute necessity. Earlier revelation was fragmentary - many parts, many ways - but His new speech is unified in huio - in the (one) Son. Without Jesus, the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible lacks unity. Would the writer to the…

December 1, 2008

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