Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
For many people Christmas comes on December 25 and is over December 26. The tree is taken down along with the lights and the other decorations, and everyone begins setting the house in order for the new year. No more Christmas hymns. No more celebrations (well, until New Year’s Eve).…
The Ascension and the Incarnation should not be disconnected in our Christmas thinking or celebrations. As N.T. Wright notes, the ascension is "a central and vital feature without which all sorts of other things start to go demonstrably wrong. . . . where the ascension has been ignored or misunderstood,…
“In the Word was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness.” Thus John describes the incarnation of the Son. He comes as the living and life-giving light of the world. That’s good news. In the beginning, God spoke and light shone…
Christmas is all about Jesus. The angels announce Jesus’ birth, shepherds and wise men come to see Jesus, Herod wants to kill Jesus. We occasionally think of the Father who sent the Son, but we keep returning to the Son made flesh in Bethlehem’s manger. Meanwhile, as always, the Spirit…
Christmas is about many things, but one of the chief things revealed in the gospel of Christmas is the humility of God. We don't often think of humility as an attribute of God. If God is glorious and exalted, we think, He must be haughty and proud and self-centered. We…
John famously begins his Gospel with a piece of theology: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Matthew starts with a genealogy. John celebrates Advent with a hymn, Matthew with a list. For John, Jesus is the Word of creation…
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“Partake” is a fuzzily Platonic word, but we pierce the fuzziness a bit by contrasting “partake” to “take.” When we “take” something, it’s no longer with the one we took it from; it’s with us. Tim Duncan might take a rebound away from an opposing player, or a child might…
INTRODUCTION John concludes his epistle by encouraging his reader to have confidence in prayer, but warning them about sins leading to death. These final instructions are part of his overall purpose in the letter, to confirm that the Son of God has come and that He brings life (v. 20).…
1 John 5: For there are three that bear witness, the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are one. John’s language in this verse is a little different from most English translations. The last clause is usually translated, “the three are one” or “the three are…
In the gospel of John, Jesus says that the Father bears witness by giving Jesus works to do (5:36). The Father also bears witness through declaring Jesus His Son at Jesus’ baptism. Finally, the Father bears witness of Jesus by raising Him from the dead. If you saw Jesus perform…
Did Jesus exercise faith? Yes. That is inexplicably controversial today. Among many other indications that Jesus exercised surpassing faith, the account of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness stands out. Eat bread, Satan says. Man lives by the Word of God, not by bread alone, Jesus answers, quoting Deuteronomy 8:3. In…
Sociologists have known for a long time about the social constraints on knowledge, ethics, beliefs. It’s the sociologist’s stock in trade. What we have witnessed in the past couple of decades is the democratization of sociology. Now everyone’s a sociologist, and even, unlike some obfuscating sociologists, turns sociology back on…
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