Jesus is God, who came to earth as a man, left as a man… and has now set aside his humanity to return to being wholly God? Peter Orr explains why Jesus is still God and man today, and will be for eternity. (more…)
Tag Archives: Christology
The story of the glory of God (Part 2)
Thought
The story of the glory of God (Part 1)
Thought
The torn curtain
Thought
When Jesus breathed his last and died, the curtain of the temple tore in two, thus symbolizing that the way is finally open for all believers to enter God’s presence. By Christ’s sacrifice, the barrier has been removed, and all who rely on that sacrifice have open access to God. Or so I used to think. But a look at the Old Testament understanding of the tabernacle and temple has made me think again. (more…)
New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ
Review
New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ
Thomas R Schreiner
Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, 2008, 976pp.
It seems obvious what we mean when we say “Paul teaches” or “Jesus says”, but what do we mean when we say “the New Testament teaches”? The New Testament is a small library of books by several authors—authors who, it is popularly argued, apparently did not share each other’s manuscripts or they would be more in agreement with one another! While they share a common subject and a common context, is there really a coherence to this group of texts to the point at which we might say “This here is the teaching of the New Testament”? For example, influential Durham scholar James Dunn has argued that the New Testament is more diverse than unified—more a cacophony than a harmony. Many scholars remain persuaded of his case. (more…)
Review: “Vintage Jesus” by Mark Driscoll
Review
Vintage Jesus: Timeless answers to timely questions
Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears
Crossway Books, Wheaton, 2008, pp. 256.
It is easy to like Mark Driscoll. How can you not like someone who founded a megachurch in his 20s, who has the flare of a stand-up comedian, and who can speak for an hour without wearying his audience? Minor differences aside, he is the poster boy for 21st-century Evangelicalism. And having spent considerable bandwidth downloading his sermons, I am constantly impressed at his sparkling use of language and his passionate conviction of the centrality of Christ. (more…)
The image of Jesus?
Thought
At first glance, most Christians would dismiss this as blasphemous. The idea that Jesus was controlled by the unjust prejudices of his culture, that he did not understand God’s compassionate love and that he needed a Canaanite woman to teach him God’s ways is an attack on the incarnate Son of God. (more…)
How should we think Christianly about ‘online’ church?
Introduction: The phenomenon of online church
The topic this essay will consider is the phenomenon of online church. In this new age of online networking and communication, some Christians have begun to regularly meet online in various ways and call it ‘church’. For example, St Pixels is a text-based ‘church’ meeting facility. There are different areas in the church you can go to: the sanctuary, the lobby, the prayer room and even a bar. Once there, you can see little cartoon faces depicting other real people who are online in that room with you, and whatever you say can be read by anyone in that area. They have two regular services every week, with Bible readings, sermons, songs, prayers. I had a conversation with one of the ladies there who told me that this was her ‘church’. She hasn’t been to a real-life church for a few years, and loves the openness and fellowship at St Pixels.
Sons laid down their lives
Thought
Something heartbreaking happened to a family at Black Point at Easter two years ago.
Black Point is an isolated place, accessible only by four-wheel drive, on the south coast of Western Australia, and the Stallard family travelled there to fish. The parents, Ron and Debbie, lived in the south-west of the state, but their two sons, 25-year-old Paul and 19-year-old Andrew, lived in Perth. So the fishing trip was something of a family reunion too.
Preaching Christ as Lord
Thought
We do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord. (2 Cor 4:5)
This is the way the Apostle Paul describes his preaching amongst the Corinthians. Earlier on in the chapter, he tell us that he has turned his back on any other preaching except the plain statement of the truth. He assumes that there is a truth to be told. It can be known and it can be verified.
The subversive
Life
You know subversives. They are the people who quietly undermine stable government and accepted institutions. They’re usually regarded as a threat to all that is good and ordered in society. They’re a threat, because they want to turn everything on its head.