Growing house

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 11:43 pm By Peter Leithart

New Testament metaphors of the church-as-temple are often confusing because they envision a growing building, a building that acts a lot like an organic body: “growing into a holy temple in the Lord” (Ephesians 2:21); “living stones” (1 Peter 2:5). The conflation of organic and architectural imagery has an Old Testament root. The house of Yahweh grew from the time of Moses on. Under Moses, the “house” was simply the tabernacle; with Solomon, the “house of Yahweh” encompassed both the... Read more

De-Baptism

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 10:52 pm By Peter Leithart

Europeans are finally making honest men of themselves. Instead of pretending they are Christian, they are seeking legal means to erase their baptismal records. They can do it through the internet. According to Breitbart.com, “More than 100,000 Britons have recently downloaded ‘certificates of de-baptism’ from the Internet to renounce their Christian faith. “The initiative launched by a group called the National Secular Society (NSS) follows atheist campaigns here and elsewhere, including a London bus poster which triggered protests by proclaiming... Read more

Sermon Notes

Last updated on: September 7, 2017 at 12:02 am By Peter Leithart

INTRODUCTION Last week, we saw that for Paul the cross delivers us from all powers, human and angelic and demonic, that rule human life. For Paul, one of those powers is the Law, but the cross delivers us from that too. THE TEXT “For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, that their hearts may be encouraged,... Read more

Images of Jesus

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 11:44 pm By Peter Leithart

A few weeks ago, I posted a summary of Van Drunen’s argument against depictions of Jesus. I wrote: “Christology, he argues, does not support the conclusion that we may make pictures of Jesus, but the opposite. Because Jesus is still the Incarnate Son, because He is still fully human, He has all the specificity of true humanity. He has specific facial and bodily features, and we don’t know what those are. Any picture of Jesus is in fact a picture... Read more

Eucharistic meditation, Fifth Sunday of Lent

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 11:39 pm By Peter Leithart

Colossians 1:15: He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. As we’ve seen in this morning’s sermon, Paul uses the word “firstborn” twice in Colossians 1 to designate Jesus as the new Adam, the new Isaac, the new Israel , the new man. He also uses it to designate Jesus as the firstborn of Israel , the Passover Lamb who takes our place and whose blood delivers us from death. Because Jesus the firstborn has... Read more

Exhortation, Fifth Sunday in Lent

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 11:40 pm By Peter Leithart

Over the centuries, Christians have invented all sorts of lore about Satan, hell, and the underworld. Most of it is pure fancy. Dante is instructive in many ways; he is not instructive in giving us a map of hell. This may seem harmless speculation, but at a fundamental level it is a denial of the gospel. According to the Scriptures, the Lord of Death is not Satan, Dis, Pluto, or any other mythical figure. All authority in heaven and earth,... Read more

Reconciled powers

Last updated on: September 7, 2017 at 12:03 am By Peter Leithart

Unlike many who write about Paul’s teaching on the “powers,” GB Caird pays attention to Colossians 1:20, where Paul claims that things in heaven – which much include powers and principalities (1:16) are reconciled and pacified by the cross. When they do notice this verse, writers like Walter Wink push it out to the eschaton. Caird notes that Paul is far from sharing this pessimism about the future of the powers: “Paul seems to me to say that the Christian’s... Read more

Live as citizens

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 11:46 pm By Peter Leithart

Paul uses the verb politeuo in Philippians 1:27, urging his readers to “conduct yourselves as citizens worthy of the gospel.” Doble points out that this same verb occurs in Acts 23:1, where Paul defends himself before the Sanhedrin by saying that he has “conducted himself with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day.” There, he is using the verb to describe his conduct within the community of Israel; he has been a good citizen of his people.... Read more

Body in humility

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 10:48 pm By Peter Leithart

A stimulating 2002 article from JSNT by Peter Doble argues that Philippians 3:21 is not talking about “vile bodies” that are going to be transformed, but about “our body, now discipline to humility” that will be conformed to the exalted, glorious body of the Lord and Savior awaited from heaven. This might make even better sense if soma is taken in a corporate sense. The body that is currently humbled is not mainly the individual bodies of the Philippians Christians,... Read more

Dogs, Workers, False Circumcision

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 10:53 pm By Peter Leithart

In a 1985 article in Novum Testamentum , David Garland notes that Paul’s insults toward Jews and Judaizers in Philippians 3:2 are chiastically balanced by his commendation of the Philippians in verse 3. Thus: A. Dogs B. Evil workers C. Mutilation contrasts to C’. Circumcision B’. Spirit of God A’. No confidence in flesh. This becomes more illuminating when Garland suggests that each of the insults is a Jewish insult turned against them. (more…) Read more