“The tongues of Pentecost declare the wonders of God,” writes Dr. Frank Macchia. “Theology as speech about God speaks about such mysteries and their roots in the divine self-giving to us in Christ and the Spirit.” In this episode of … Continue reading Declaring the Wonders of God | Influence Podcast
Stephen T. Davis and Eric T. Yang wrote An Introduction to Christian Philosophical Theology as a textbook for undergraduate and graduate courses, but they hope it will benefit readers outside academia too. As a Christian minister, I share their hope, … Continue reading An Introduction to Christian Philosophical Theology | Book Review
The Trinity: An Introduction by Scott R. Swain is the second book in Crossway’s Short Studies in Systematic Theology series. The first was Graham A. Cole’s Faithful Theology: an Introduction. According to series editors, Cole himself and Oren R. Martin, … Continue reading The Trinity: An Introduction | Book Review
Today is the U.S. National Day of Prayer. When Jesus’ disciples asked for a lesson in how to pray, Jesus laid out a model prayer that starts like this, “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven…” Whom You Pray to Matters The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9–13) consists of six petitions. When we pray, we ask God that His name be hallowed, His kingdom come, His will be done, our needs be met, our sins forgiven, and our souls protected. Notice the order of these requests. First, we direct our attention to God and His concerns; then … Continue reading “Our Father in Heaven”: How God’s Character Motivates and Directs Our Prayers
The debate about gender roles between complementarians and egalitarians is one of the most contentious among evangelical Christians. Complementarians believe that God created a hierarchical relationship between men, whose role is to lead in home and church, and women, whose … Continue reading The Rise and Fall of the Complementarian Doctrine of the Trinity | Book Review
Revelation 1:9–11 introduces John’s vision of Jesus Christ by reporting his commission to “write what you see.” Verses 12–20 describe what John actually saw: Jesus Christ in glory (verses 12–16) standing in the midst of his churches (verses 17–20). We should pay close attention to John’s description of Jesus Christ. General appearance: “one like a son of man” Clothing: “a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest” Hair: “white like wool, as white as snow” Eyes: “like a flame of fire” Feet: “like burnished bronze” Voice: “like the roar of many waters” Now, this is not the … Continue reading The God-Man (Revelation 1:12–16)
As we have seen, the primary source of the Christian faith is revelation. Now we turn to the primary content of the Christian faith: Who God is and what he does. Revelation 1:4-5 touches on both topics. Before examining these topics, however, notice the literary context of John’s remarks. Ancient letters begin with the sender’s name followed by the recipient’s name and a short greeting (e.g., Jas. 1:1, 1 Pet. 1:1–2)—just like John does here. But the greatness and goodness of God so overwhelm John that he transposes an ordinary greeting into an extraordinary declaration of God’s doing and being. … Continue reading An Outline of the Christian Faith, Part 2: Trinity (Revelation 1:4–5)
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