How did Jesus’ death defeat the powers? Jenson, simple-minded in the best sense, says, “Jesus really and straightforwardly did defeat the high priest and the Roman procurator, the powers and principalities of political empire and religious self-assertion. An actual historical conflict . . . . Continue Reading »
Jesus was killed because He forgave, not to gain our forgiveness, says Gerhard Forde. I don’t agree with the second part of that, but the first part intrigues. It sounds like the typical liberal nostrum that Jesus was put to death for being too nice, and we don’t like niceness. Is a . . . . Continue Reading »
So far as I have been able to find, the Westminster Confession never once uses the distinction of law and gospel as many theologians today use it, as a distinction between two “principles” of life. Nor does it introduce this distinction to describe the difference between the Covenant of . . . . Continue Reading »
A big title for a small post. Revelation 1:4 summarizes Jesus’ work with three phrases: faithful witness, firstborn out of dead, ruler of kings of the earth. That is, He was faithful to death, rose again, and was exalted over all. Now, in the context, Cur Deus Homo ? Assume John’s . . . . Continue Reading »
In an article some years ago in the Tyndale Bulletin , Andrew Perriman argues that Paul’s statement in Colossians 1:24 about “filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions” does not refer to eschatological “Messianic woes” nor to an inadequacy in . . . . Continue Reading »
At His death, Jesus “delivers” or “hands over” ( paradidomi ) His Spirit (John 19:30). The Spirit that was with Jesus flows to others because of His death. The same thing happened to the Spirit-filled Stephen. No one can overcome the wisdom and Spirit with which he speaks . . . . Continue Reading »
Imagine you are an omnipotent Creator determined to restore a world that is in rebellion against you and headed for hell. What would you do? A flood, that would do it. Or, better, a huge fire. Wipe it out and start over. That would do it. Would you pick out a single obscure sheik, send his . . . . Continue Reading »
According to Debora Shuger’s rich and provocative description, Grotius sets out to give a “demythologized” account of the sacrifice of Christ. He tries to show that penal substitution is rooted in acknowledge legal practices and rules, deriving especially from Roman public law. . . . . Continue Reading »
Thomas says that Christ merited exaltation. In each of teh fourr senses that His humiliation merited exaltation, there is the same poetic symmetry: His passion and death merited exaltation; His descent merited ascent; his shame merited exaltation; and His submission to human judges merited an . . . . Continue Reading »
According to Paula Fredriksen’s wonderful analysis in Augustine and the Jews: A Christian Defense of Jews and Judaism , Augustine dramatically, even revolutionarily, shifted the traditional Christian understanding of law and gospel: “The old antagonistic contrast between Law and gospel . . . . Continue Reading »
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