Is new creation here now or must we until Christ’s coming to experience it? If new creation is here now, what does that mean? How can you participate in it? Join me as we consider what it means to be in Christ today. We’ll see that not only has God created a whole new realm Read more about 632. New Creation in Christ (Sean Finnegan)[…]
How should we understand the words, “in him all things were created” in Col 1.16? Although commonly taken to mean Christ created the universe, this view has contextual, structural, and exegetical problems. In what follows I’ll name six problems with old-creation readings before laying out why a new creation approach makes sense. I presented this Read more about 612. Colossians 1.16: Old Creation or New Creation? (Sean Finnegan)[…]
This is part 4 of our response series on The Incarnate Christ and His Critics. Only God has power over nature. Jesus walked on water. Therefore Jesus must be God. Right? Does that line of reasoning convince you? How about this one. Only God has power over nature. Elijah called down fire from heaven. Therefore Read more about 606. Did Jesus Really Do What Only God Can Do? (Brandon Duke)[…]
This is part 2 of our response series on The Incarnate Christ and His Critics. Most of us understand of what deity means. Generally we think to be God is to be eternal, uncaused, and indestructible. This gets at the word aseity, which is a fancy philosophical term for a being that doesn’t depend on Read more about 604. Did Jesus Really Have All the Divine Attributes? (Brandon Duke)[…]
Has anyone ever said to you, “Oh, you believe Jesus is just a mere man.” How do you respond when someone says that? Do you just go along with it and say, “Yep, that’s what I believe–Jesus is just another guy”? I hope not. Jesus is not just another guy. He’s the virginally-conceived son of Read more about 577 Nothing Mere about a Man Made in the Image of God (Anna Brown)[…]
Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts My guest today is Dr. Andrew Perriman of London who will discuss his recent book In the Form of a God, which is part of the Studies in Early Christology series. (Read Perriman’s helpful summary of the book here.) The focus for our conversation is looking Read more about 519 No Pre-Existence in Paul? (Andrew Perriman)[…]
This is part 10 of the One God Over All class. We’ve looked at Jesus’ identity as Messiah, his relationship to God throughout his ministry, his crucifixion, and his resurrection. Repeatedly we’ve asked the question, if Jesus is not the one God over all, then how should we interpret him? Today we delve into his Read more about 420 One God 10: Christ’s Exaltation & Priestly Service[…]
This weekend I am presenting a paper on subordination: the idea that the Father is greater than the Son. Although this notion may seem obvious to many of us, it is little discussed in mainstream Christianity. I believe this angle may be the thin edge of the wedge to open up discussion on the Trinity Read more about The Father Is Greater Than I: Exploring Biblical Subordination[…]
Colossians 1.15 presents an interesting test case to examine translation bias. Well-meaning Bible students have taken this text in at least three different ways. However, some translators, motivated by a fear that readers might see Christ as a member of creation, have increasingly pushed for translating this text so that it says Christ is superior Read more about 350 Bible 21 – Firstborn Of or Firstborn Over? (Translating Colossians 1.15)[…]
In preparation for Restoration Fellowship’s Theological Conference, I began work on a research paper to explain how the process of Bible translation works. While putting this paper together, I kept coming across important topics that I felt uncomfortable excluding. Whenever possible I prioritized brevity over thoroughness and still the “paper” grew beyond the 10 page Read more about Bible Translation Sources and Theory[…]