What does it mean to stand? It is helpful to recognize that “stand” is to Paul what “abide” is to John, recognizing that apart from Christ we can do nothing (John 15:5). In view is union with Christ and the outworking of that union. That explains the language of Paul throughout Ephesians that speaks of... Continue Reading

In John 10 Jesus taught an important lesson about the nature of the Church. In doing so, He wanted to use an object lesson. That object lesson involved a blind man who would be healed and then subjected to some bitter hours of recrimination. This man was already made to suffer for Jesus before he... Continue Reading

God gives grace for what is, not what if. His grace is abundant in real-time challenges, but if we ask Him for comfort and assurance for what might happen, we may be disappointed. We can choose to imagine possible futures that feed either fear and insecurity or a false sense of control, but we should... Continue Reading

The book of Ephesians concerns what God is doing in redemptive history by making the church: God is forming the body of Christ, that he might fill them to walk in works of love and to stand firm in Christ’s victory. The church, therefore, is not a simple social construct in the hands of sinners skilled... Continue Reading

If you were to record my prayers, I have a sad suspicion you’d hear a lot of “be with”: “Dear Lord, I pray you will be with Tom as he goes to work, and be with Mary also, who’s having her wisdom teeth removed on Tuesday, and be with… and be with… and be with…... Continue Reading

Not all twelve of these apply directly to me, and my guess is that such will be the case with most of you. But to whatever extent we can honestly point to any of the twelve and say, “Yeah, that’s true of me,” I pray the Spirit would bring conviction and a corresponding boldness and... Continue Reading

Rain, we tend to think, is about life. It’s about growth. It’s about prosperity. It’s about plenty. And most of us live in a state of rain, for we indeed have plenty. And perhaps that is part of the problem. At the first sign of adversity, we might tend to throw our hands up in... Continue Reading

The first is spiritual death, which is separation from God (Ephesians 2:1,1). Then, of course, there is physical death (Hebrews 9:27). Then there is eternal death, which is referred to as “the second death” in Revelation 20:11-15). While many would consider the topic of death to be a subject to be avoided, it is vital... Continue Reading

The false teacher is puffed up with conceit (τετύφωται) and understands (ἐπιστάμενος) nothing (μηδὲν). What a description! The word τετύφωται (tetyphōtai) describes people who are full of pride and insolence. They are ‘drunk’ with pride and their hearts are lifted up not only against man but also against God. That sure explains why their eyes... Continue Reading

The Confessionally-minded Reformed theologians of the 17th century understood that the divine action does not, and cannot depend on, or is affected by, anything that is not ultimately in the character and will of God. In other words God’s freedom is freedom from any factor outside of God, who is after ‘most  wise, most holy’ and... Continue Reading