Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The Blessing of the Father The narrative of the Exodus makes it clear that Yahweh is Israel’s Father. Moses is told to declare to Pharaoh that “Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, ‘Let my son go that he may serve me’” (Exodus 4:22-23). In contrast to…
When reading the Old Testament, the believer faces two dilemmas. First, there is a seemingly sharp discontinuity between the universal proclamation of the gospel to the whole earth and God’s singling out of the nation of Israel. Second, the New Testament says of Jesus that “there is no other name…
John 17 contains the longest prayer that we have from Jesus, and it shows us the intimate relationship between the Father and the Son in a way that few passages do. The prayer lays out the chiastic pattern noted by Athanasius (God became man so that man could become God),…
The following meditation on the incarnation is paraphrased and quoted from Karl Barth, The Doctrine of Reconciliation (Church Dogmatics, Vol. 4, Part 1) , pp. 185ff. In the incarnation, the eternal Son of God makes His way into a far country, and takes on the form of a servant. “But…
Peter says "baptism saves you" (1 Peter 3:21). Does the New Testament teach that "baptism justifies you"? I think the answer is Yes. That's a controversial answer, and demands some defense and explanation, but first some critical qualifications. No New Testament text states "baptism justifies you," so my argument will…
In his THI article “ Son of David, Son of Abraham ,” Peter Leithart notes that Matthew's genealogy “contains a summary of redemptive history.” This statement is only too true and one that deserves further elucidation. Biblos genese ō s. The first two words of Matthew's Gospel are usually translated…
Showing page 182 of 309
Showing page 39 of 43
God did not need to make the world. But once He’s made it, He cannot be a righteous God unless He deals righteously with sin (by punishing it) and righteously with His people (by justifying them). This is why Paul says the cross demonstrates God’s righteousness so that He might…
God did not need to make the world. But once He’s made it, He cannot be a righteous God unless He deals righteously with sin (by punishing it) and righteously with His people (by justifying them). This is why Paul says the cross demonstrates God’s righteousness so that He might…
Jim Jordan suggests that justification as forgiveness of sins always also includes glorification. The “robe” that covers us (imputed righteousness) is likewise a garment of glory and beauty, so that we are invested for office at the same time we are glorified. He wants also to relate this to the…
The story of the 10 lepers in Luke 17 is not just about Jesus demonstrating that He is powerful to save, cleanse and heal. He is powerful for all those things; He DOES have mercy on the unclean and the outcasts. But Luke tells the story of the healing almost…
Part of the Renaissance recovery of history was an emphasis on mutability and change. Few themes so dominate the poetry of Spenser or the sonnets of Shakespeare as the fear that Time will gobble up everything good. This was continuous with ancient (and medieval) conceptions of the world, since changeability…
“Movies,” writes Brian Godawa, a Christian screenwriter, “may be about story, but those stories are finally, centrally, crucially, primarily MOSTLY about redemption.” Godawa uses the theologically loaded term “redemption” intentionally, but he recognizes that many contemporary movies present a distinctly secular gospel of redemption. For some movies, redemption comes through…
Showing page 2129 of 2212
Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.
