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…
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Scot Hafemann has recently published a collection of previously published essays on Pauline themes, Paul’s Message and Ministry in Covenant Perspective . Hafemann’s characteristic themes are here, most reflected in the title: A covenantal understanding of Paul’s gospel and theology, a pastoral focus, an emphasis on the role of suffering…
The first six chapters of Revelation are a pep talk. Again and again, Jesus makes promises to the victors, those who overcome ( nikao ). They’ll get the tree of life, escape the second death, eat hidden manna, gain authority over the nations, receive a white robe, become pillars in…
Revelation 10 opens with a vision of an angel coming down from heaven. If the angel isn’t Jesus, he is Jesus’ doppelganger: Clothed in a cloud, with a rainbow crown, voice like a lion, carrying a book, like the one the Lamb opened (Revelation 5-7). When the angel speaks, seven…
In his recent study of John of Damascus, Perichoresis and Personhood , Charles Twombly expresses concern that contemporary theologians use traditional concepts and formulae “in a manner that betrays little understanding of how they actually developed.” By attending to the way John uses the term, we can “lay claim to…
A lovely passage on Providence from Augustine ( City of God , 5.11). God cannot leave the kingdoms of men, “their dominations and servitudes,” outside His providence. That is not the kind of God He is. Instead: “God supreme and true, with His Word and Holy Spirit (which three are…
Donald Norwood’s Reforming Rome is a study of Karl Barth’s contributions and responses to Vatican II. At the outset, Norwood has to establish that Barth, polemical as he was, was truly a catholic theologian. He offers several lines of argument: “In his first teaching post at Gottingen in 1921 [Barth]…
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