Christology

The Ordo Salutis: Union with Christ

Jeffrey Stivason
Mar 14, 2020
I indicated in the introduction to this series that there was an ordo docendi to the ordo salutis . My comment had the placement of union with Christ in mind. Where does it belong? Do we place it at the end of the list of benefits as John Murray did in his understandably famous Redemption...

The Mystery of Incarnation

Mortification of Spin
Mar 4, 2020
Christ’s incarnation is not solely a topic for discussion at Christmas. So today, the crew explores this great and amazing mystery of Scripture. Were the disciples and others seeing God when they looked at Jesus? The answer to this question reveals much about how one apprehends the doctrine of...
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Mortification of Spin

Humiliation & Exaltation: Christ's Session

James Rich
Feb 19, 2020
The title of this post may seem a bit unfamiliar, so I’m glad you’ve decided to keep reading because this is an important theological truth with significant implications for our daily lives. You may be asking, “What does Christ have to do with a ‘session’?” The word is from the Latin for “sitting”...

Estates, Conditions & a New Series

Jeffrey Stivason
Jan 30, 2020
I am not a scientist nor the son of a scientist. Therefore, my understanding of and ability to explain a scientific concept is, to say the least, limited. So, here goes nothing! The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that an isolated system left to its own devices will move toward disorder. Take...

Why the Virgin Born Son?

Jeffrey Stivason
Dec 23, 2019
Have you ever wondered why Matthew 1:23 quotes Isaiah 7:14? Perhaps the ready answer is that the quote substantiates the virgin conception and birth of Christ, which is true enough. However, the text raises a number of questions. For instance, why did God promise a virgin conceived and virgin born...

Dr. Watts' Scheme

Nick Batzig
Apr 13, 2019
Isaac Watts wrote nearly 600 hymns in the 18th Century. Churches around the world still sing many today. For instance, if you visited a congregation on any given Sunday in the English speaking world, it would not be a surprise for you to hear believers singing one the following hymns penned by the...

The Sin-Bearing Sufferer of Psalm 38

Timothy Brindle
Feb 26, 2019
In Psalm 38, David feels the overwhelming burden of his sin and the corresponding displeasure of YHWH. He feels as if he is a cursed sin-bearer. 1. Awareness of your sin and God's hatred of it The psalmist is quite aware of two things: the evil of his own sin, and God's great displeasure of it. His...

Love and Anger at the Cross?

Nick Batzig
Jan 6, 2019
Last week, Wyatt Graham published a post titled, " The Father Was Not Angry at the Son of the Cross ," in which he rightly explained that God the Father never stopped loving the Son--even when the Son hung on the cross. While there are many good and helpful statements in Wyatt's post--and, while he...

The Growing Christ

Nick Batzig
Dec 27, 2018
During the Christmas season, we rightly focus our attention on the marvel of the incarnation of the eternal Son of God; then, we lag into the final days of the year with regrets about the many ways we failed to be the kind of person we set out to be at the beginning of the year. We reformulate...

Read Like an Apostle

Richard C. Barcellos
Nov 12, 2018
The early disciples gave evidence of the concept of Christ as the target of the Old Testament; but, should we read the Old Testament like they did? That is an ever pressing hermeneutical question. I want to suggest that the answer is a resounding "yes!" Consider John 2:13-22 as a case study: "The...