Originally I intended to write on the Christ Hymn, highlighting Philippians 2:5-11. I wanted to highlight the presence of “Adam-Christology” and highlight the parallels to the suffering servant in Isaiah 53. I really wanted to talk about the “temptation” that Christ was presented with, it wasn’t that Christ was grabbing at a “forbidden equality withContinue reading “Themes in Paul’s Letter to the Philippians: Selflessness”
Category Archives: Biblical Studies
How To Read the Bible (I’m Not Being Snarky!)
The last post in this series of posts on hermeneutics was titled: How to Read Your Bible (or How You Actually Read the Bible), I must admit that that the title was a bit snarky. You probably thought I was going to tell you about ways to read your bible but I fooled you and showedContinue reading “How To Read the Bible (I’m Not Being Snarky!)”
How to Read Your Bible (or How You Actually Read the Bible)
Today I want to continue our (unofficial) mini-series on hermeneutics. I never intended to start a series on interpreting the Bible but I guess thats what ended up happening. Last time we kicked off the series by looking at the parable in Luke 15:11-32. In doing this we saw how our different vantage points leadContinue reading “How to Read Your Bible (or How You Actually Read the Bible)”
Themes in Paul’s Letter to the Philippians: Koinonia
Over the next few weeks we are going to be going through Paul’s letter to the Philippians. As you probably know Philippians is a very personal letter, it almost has the tone of an encouraging chat between two friends. Nevertheless this letter does have a point, there are reasons why Paul wrote this letter (itsContinue reading “Themes in Paul’s Letter to the Philippians: Koinonia”
That’s Not in the Text!!!
Recently I have been doing some thinking about how our contexts affect our reading of Scripture. In doing my own little case study of how this plays out in “real life” I came across three different interpretations of Luke 15:11-32: one by Donald Juel, one by N.T. Wright, and finally one by Allan Powell. ThisContinue reading “That’s Not in the Text!!!”
Some Thoughts on Ephesians Six and the Christian Community
I want to close off our time in Ephesians by pointing out the fact that Paul closes this letter in the same way he started it, by focusing on God’s mighty power. Ephesians 1:19 and 6:10 form an inclusio, an inclusio is a literary device that makes use of bracketing to clarify the concepts thatContinue reading “Some Thoughts on Ephesians Six and the Christian Community”
Some Thoughts on Ephesians Five and the Christian Community
In chapter 4 Paul says to the Ephesians: “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God…” But Paul goes on to sayContinue reading “Some Thoughts on Ephesians Five and the Christian Community”
Some Thoughts on Ephesians Four and the Christian Community
This week we turn to Ephesians chapter 4. Surprise surprise(!) one of Paul’s central themes in this passage is unity. In chapter 2 Paul began to write about how God has made both Jews and Gentiles one by tearing down the dividing wall of hostility. He did this by abolishing the law of commandments, thusContinue reading “Some Thoughts on Ephesians Four and the Christian Community”
Some Thoughts on Ephesians Three and the Christian Community
Just as he did in Chapter 2, in Chapter 3 Paul continues to elaborate on the Jew-Gentile relationship that exists within the Church. The Gentiles were once without hope and without God, and the Jews were trapped under a Law they could not fulfill. These two groups were once divided, but in Christ God hasContinue reading “Some Thoughts on Ephesians Three and the Christian Community”
Why Should I Learn Greek and Hebrew?
Listen to Martin Luther’s encouragement to learn the original languages of the Bible: “In proportion then as we value the gospel, let us zealously hold to the languages. For it was not without purpose that God caused his Scriptures to be set down in these two languages alone–the Old Testament in Hebrew, the New inContinue reading “Why Should I Learn Greek and Hebrew?”
CWoznicki Think Out Loud 