Paul’s description of the church as the body of Christ parallels in both its basic conception and in its details the social theory of ancient moralists. Seneca, for instance, wrote, “What if the hands should desire to harm the feet, or the eyes the hands? As all the members of the body are in harmony with one another because it is to the advantage of the whole that the individual members be unharmed, so mankind should spare the individual man,... Read more
Giorgio Agamben opens his 1995 Homo Sacer with a discussion of the origins of “biopolitics” (Foucault’s term). According to Foucault’s account, Aristotle’s politics instituted a basic distinction between life per se and the good life, which is “politically qualified life.” Life per se takes place in the household, and consists of reproduction, labor, and subsistence. The good life, the political life, is within the purview of the city. Modernity, Foucault suggests, erased or blurred this distinction: “For millennia, man remained... Read more
Or is it Exodi? In any case, everyone can see that Abram goes through an exodus in Genesis 12. But Jeffrey Geoghegan makes a compelling case for seeing a Passover-Exodus theme running through the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 18-19. To wit: 1) The sin of Sodom and Gomorrah cries out to heaven, just as Yahweh hears the cries of Israel in Egypt. 2) In Genesis 18:3, 5, Abraham twice uses the verb ABAR, “to pass by,” a... Read more
Or is it Exodi? In any case, everyone can see that Abram goes through an exodus in Genesis 12. But Jeffrey Geoghegan makes a compelling case for seeing a Passover-Exodus theme running through the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 18-19. To wit: 1) The sin of Sodom and Gomorrah cries out to heaven, just as Yahweh hears the cries of Israel in Egypt. 2) In Genesis 18:3, 5, Abraham twice uses the verb ABAR, “to pass by,” a... Read more
And it was after these things A vineyard was to Navoth the Yizre?e?li, Which [was] in Yizre?e?l near the palace of Achav king of Shomron. And spoke Achav to Navoth saying ?Give to me your vineyard. And it will be to me for a garden of greens. For it [is] near next to my house. And I will give to you in its place a better garden than it. If it is good in your eyes I will give to... Read more
?The anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God?E(Romans 8:19). Pastor Wilson has taught us today that the resurrection of Jesus has cosmic consequences. He was raised by the power the Spirit, and that same Spirit has now been poured out upon the church, poured out into the creation, so that the leaven of a new creation is already at work within the old creation. This creation is suffering the pains of childbirth,... Read more
?That Easter day with joy was bright; the sun show out with fairer light, when to their wondering eyes restored, the glad apostles saw their Lord.?E So wrote a Latin poet of the fourth century. Joy, however, is not the only emotional note in the gospel accounts of Easter. Alongside joy, there is fear, and lots of it. The guards at the tomb ?shook for fear?Ewhen Jesus came from the grave with his ?appearance . . . like lightning, and... Read more
Baptists have a hard time grasping how God might be God not only to a believer but also to his children. But a human analogy is readily at hand: Suppose I have a faithful friend who has helped me out of various difficulties, protected me when I was under threat, defended me against slanders, lent money and assistance when I needed it. Now, what is that friend’s attitude going to be toward my children? Suppose my son gets into financial... Read more
Some additional notes on Proverbs, again largely dependent on Waltke’s commentary. STRUCTURE This chapter is divided into three main sections, of which we?ll look at the first two. Verses 1-12 form a section that is marked off by the reference to the father-son relationship at the beginning and end (vv. 1, 12). Within this section, Solomon gives a series of six commands to his son (vv. 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11), the first and the last (vv. 1, 11)... Read more
A couple of scattered notes on Paul?s argument in Romans 4. 1) Paul?s statement about belief in ?Him who justifies the ungodly?E(v. 5) clearly applies to Abraham. Verse 2 says Abraham was not ?justified by works,?Eand verse 4 refers again to ?one who works?Ein contrast to the ?one who does not work?E(v. 5), evidently still drawing from the example of Abraham. The ?reckoning?Eof verses 4-5 also hearkens immediately back to verse 3, where Abraham?s faith is reckoned as righteousness. Verses... Read more
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