Abram builds altars all over the land (Genesis 12:7-8; 13:4, 18; 22:9), wherever Yahweh appears to him. But what does he do at those altars? He “calls upon the name of Yahweh” (12:8; 13:4). None of the normal terminology of sacrifice is used in these passages - no “offering” . . . . Continue Reading »
Perry Robinson writes to correct my comments about Nestorian soteriology early this week: “Nestorius didn’t underwrite a synergistic soteriology in his Christology since he explicitly advocated a monothelite Christology. The divine used the human and produced a single appearance which . . . . Continue Reading »
A few days ago I said that the flood was the first time flesh was cut. That is true with respect to the particular phrase “cut off flesh” (Genesis 9:11). Several readers have pointed out, though, that there are a couple of cutting episodes prior to the flood. Adam’s . . . . Continue Reading »
First Things has a Reformation-Day article of mine up on their web site this weekend. Take a look: http://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2010/10/priesthood-of-believers . . . . Continue Reading »
J. Louis Martyn ( Galatians (The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries) ) notes Paul’s fourfold use of “apocalypse” in Galatians (1:12 15-16; 2:2; 3:23). Paul received his gospel “when God apocalypsed Christ to him,” and this gospel was about the . . . . Continue Reading »
Paul claims to have been separated by God’s good pleasure from his mother’s womb (Galatians 1:15; Gr. koilias metros ), so that the Son could be unveiled ( apokalupsai ) in him. There’s a rich Old Testament background. Most obvious is the link with Jeremiah, who is also . . . . Continue Reading »
The verb for “rescue” that Paul uses to describe the effect of Christ’s self-gift (Galatians 1:4) is the same word Jesus uses for plucking out eyes (Matthew 5:29; 18:9). It is an exodus term: Stephen uses it to describe Yahweh’s rescue of Joseph from his afflictions . . . . Continue Reading »
Bucer wrote, “Because by faith we embrace this righteousness and benevolence of God, it shines in us, and thus he imparts himself, so that also we, too, are driven by some zeal for righteousness.” He’s got just about everything you’d want there: Righteousness comes by faith; . . . . Continue Reading »
In his 1519 lectures on Galatians, Luther had this to say about Galatians 1-5: “Now is not the fact that faith is reckoned as righteousness a receiving of the Spirit? So either [Paul] proves nothing or the reception of the Spirit and the fact that faith is reckoned as righteousness will . . . . Continue Reading »
In contrast to later Scholasticism, Peter Lombard argued that the grace given to the soul was not merely a gift from God but God’s gift of Himself. He refuted those who thought that “the Holy Spirit, God Himself, is not given, but His gifts, which are not the Spirit Himself. . . . . Continue Reading »
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