Christian--

Whatever your vocation, whatever your marital status, whatever your sufferings, whatever your successes or failures: if, at the end of your days, you've made much of Jesus Christ and are found in Him, it will be a life well lived.  

-BA Purtle

In order to realize the worth of the anchor, we need to feel the stress of the storm. —Corrie Ten Boom

When You Break Through the Clouds - Songs of the God Man: Volume One

MP3

           1                                  6

I will trust, I’ll not put my trust in princes

            4                               1    5

I will trust in that King to come

           1                                  6

I will hope, I’ll not put my hope in this age

            4                                 1      5

I will hope, In that coming dawn

                      1

When you break, 

                                                      4

when you break through the clouds

                              3

with a glorious shout 

                      5             4                1     5

I’ll sing my God my Lord my Christ

           1                                    6

I will sing, I’ll not sing the songs of this age

             4                                 1    5

I will sing about that age to come

           1                                   6

I will pray, I’ll not pray for temporal delight 

            4                          1                 5

I will pray for You to Come! (Oh Come!)

1-5-4-1-5 throughout

Hallelujah you make all things new

“Since our Lord Jesus Christ was without sin . . . He was not subject to death, since death came into the world through sin. He dies, therefore, because He took on Himself death on our behalf, and He makes Himself an offering to the Father for our sakes.” (John of Damascus, An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith 27) 

My teaching on Jesus's presentation at the temple. Notes. Audio 1. Audio 2. 

Then the Lord will appear over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning;

And the Lord God will blow the trumpet,

And will march in the storm winds of the south. Zechariah 9:14 Maranatha

“The central basis of Christian assurance is not how much our hearts are set on God, but how unshakably his heart is set on us.” -Tim Keller

Theology 101: When the church of Philadelphia had “but little power,” Jesus didn’t tell them to form an alliance with the politically powerful. He told them to hold fast, so no one would seize their crown. - Dr. Michael J. Svigel

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us . . . so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles.” Galatians 3:13–14

Let the Great Substitution be heralded through all the world. - John Piper

Note that Paul generally lacks any coherent “new covenant theology,” since he only speaks of the “new covenant” here (2 Cor 3:6) and in 1 Cor. 11:25 in reference to the Lord’s Supper. 

His lack of emphasis on the “new covenant” would seem to indicate that the fulfilment of Jer. 31:31–34 did not substantially alter his overarching view of redemptive history. Rather, the death of the Messiah was simply understood within his preconceived eschatological framework, akin to fulfilment of the death of the Messiah in Isaiah 53 (which did not mean chapters 40–52, or 54–66, were being spiritually realized). Such selective fulfillment of verses (leaving intact surrounding eschatological expectations) is seen throughout the NT in relation to passages such as Psalm 110, Zechariah 9, Joel 2, Isaiah 61, etc.  - John P. Harrigan

2 Corinthians 2:14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?

“To be sure, his (Paul's) ministry is marked by suffering, but so far from that disqualifying him as a minister, God’s leading him in Christ as a suffering servant thereby legitimates his ministry. 

Christ’s humiliation in crucifixion is reproduced in the life of his servant. 

All that he endures as a preacher is in continuity with the crucified Christ he preaches (5:21; cf. 6:4–10). There is no hiatus between the sufferings of Christ and the sufferings of the apostle in a world blinded to God and alienated from God (4:4; 5:18–20). The ‘sufferings of Christ’ do indeed flow over into the apostle’s life (1:5). His ‘weaknesses’ are ‘on behalf of’ Christ (12:10). It is ‘for Jesus’ sake’ that he is their ‘slave’ (4:5), that he is continually being given over to death (4:11)” - Barnett

...the single greatest revelation of the nature of God within that apocalyptic narrative is found in Christ crucified. - John P. Harrigan

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat.  But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:31-32

It’s not the strong but the sifted who strengthen their brethren. - Mike Bickle

Theology 101: The incarnation of God the Son is unending. He is now and ever shall be fully human and fully divine. - Dr. Michael Svigel

Theology 101: Reminder—insisting that we return to the Faith of the Church Fathers while citing third-fourth-century doctrines and practices is like saying we need to restore America to the principles of the founding fathers while pointing to the Carter administration. - Dr. Michael Svigel

Jesus is the Head of the Church. He gathers His people into local churches.

To say: “I love Jesus but not the church” “I submit to Jesus but not a local church” “I fellowship with Jesus but not His people”  

All these claims are inconsistent, hypocritical, and destructive.

-BA Purtle

“The final messiah is David’s son, that is, a genealogical descendant from David’s house (cf. Rom 9.5); and as such, he is God’s son, too. This is how and why the early traditions about Jesus come to appropriate so easily the kingship psalms of the Septuagint. And likewise with Kurios, ‘Lord’—a reference, I think, to this final royal messiah also. ‘Kurios is to some extent an appropriate rendering of Christos, because it has a royal connotation that “Christos” would not have had in Greek.’ Kurios, in other words, also encodes this same figure of the final messiah, the scion of David’s house”  - Paula Fredriksen 

My teaching on the proclamations of the angels in Luke 2. Notes. Audio 1. Audio 2. 

“Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed” (1 Cor. 1:7, NIV). 

When Paul here refers to “spiritual gift” (Gk. charisma), he is speaking of God’s grace (Gk. charis) which comes by means of his Spirit. The relationship between charisma and waiting for the eschatological revelation of Christ Jesus is generally straightforward: God sustains our messianic hopes “to the end” (v. 8) by means of spiritual gifts. ...Paul simply wants to establish their faith in the death of the Messiah (cf. v. 18, 23, 30), “so that you will be blameless on the Day of our Lord Jesus the Messiah (1:8, ISV). The Spirit is given to affirm both of these realities. - John P. Harrigan

The language of the Bible is clear and consistent. Christ will come to judge all humanity, and no one escapes his judgment — no one. -Albert Mohler 

Theology 101: What the apostles originally taught—not what non-apostles eventually started teaching—is the standard for apostolicity. - Dr. Michael Svigel

The God who created will also re-create, and the miraculous potentials he activated at the beginning will again be seen at the end, when he restores the flesh-and-blood people Israel to their land and station, renders justice to Jew and Gentile alike, reverses the very real tragedy of death, and ushers in a better world without it. - Jon D. Levenson

Heaven is the place where God’s purposes for the future are stored up. It isn’t where they are meant to stay so that one would need to go to heaven to enjoy them; it is where they are kept safe against the day when they will become a reality on earth. If I say to a friend, “I’ve kept some beer in the fridge for you,” that doesn’t mean that he has to climb into the fridge in order to drink the beer. God’s future inheritance, the incorruptible new world and the new bodies that are to inhabit that world, are already kept safe, waiting for us, not so that we can go to heaven and put them on there but so that they can be brought to birth in this world or rather in the new heavens and new earth.  - NT Wright

Paul’s emphasis on the gifts of the Spirit (both in 1 Cor. 12 and in Rom. 12:3–8) is for the purpose of “building up the church” (1 Cor. 14:12; cf. 14:4, 5, 26, 31). But why does the church constantly need “upbuilding and encouragement and consolation” (v. 3) by means of the Spirit? 

The answer is simply that eschatological hope is difficult to maintain. 

People easily abandon the Parousia and the resurrection of the dead (whether explicitly by confession or implicitly by lifestyle and focus).The grind of mortality and the mundaneness of quotidian existence have a way of blunting vibrant faith. Moreover, biblical eschatology is literally unbelievable. Nothing about our world conveys that a divine being is coming with fire and angels to reverse history and radically transform the cosmos. It was just as impossible in Paul’s day as it is in our post-Enlightenment day. Thus, we need “signs and wonders” (Rom. 15:19; 2 Cor. 12:12; 2 Thess. 2:9) and the working of “miracles” (1 Cor. 12:10, 28f.; Gal. 3:5) to sustain hope in the Miracle. This is why Paul held vigorously to the gifts of the Spirit (even in their abuses at Corinth), because a lack of gifts tends toward a lack of eschatological faith. “Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed” (1 Cor. 1:7, NIV). - John P. Harrigan

Paul’s primary point in chapter 13 is to set the spiritual gifts of chapter 12 in their proper apocalyptic context. They are temporal: “Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away” (vv. 8–10). Unlike love, which endures into the age to come, the gifts of the Spirit are designed by God to “pass away” at the Parousia. Paul’s temporal pneumatology fits well within a traditional Jewish apocalyptic approach to history. The various gifts of the Spirit (12:4–11) and offices for the administration of those gifts (12:27–31) are intended to be understood within a two-age framework. They are meant to confirm Jesus’ messianic status and thus “sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1:8). - John P. Harrigan

1 Corinthians 12:3-5 So I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are different ministries, but the same Lord.

It is only by the Holy Spirit that we believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the one appointed by God to execute Israel’s eschatology. - John P. Harrigan

Chad Brewer - Ascension of Jesus

My friend Chad Brewer teaches on the Ascension of Jesus. Audio. 

Winter 2023

 

My teaching on stewarding our anger and joy within a two-age framework. Notes. Audio 1. Audio 2. Video. 

Some think that if you love righteousness and hate wickedness, you’ll become a cranky, stodgy prude. But in actuality, God will anoint you with the oil of gladness more than Your companions. Psa 45:7 - Bob Sorge

Zion as the mountain of God-chosen by YHWH as his dwelling forever-becomes the city Israel awaits, the haven that is heaven itself, and the place to which the redeemed of the nations will be gathered, having been ransomed from the dominion of death. - L. Michael Morales  

“The Church has suffered significantly by a tendency to dismiss the literal nature of statements made about Israel in the holy Scriptures.” — Art Katz

Theology 101: Without the redemption of our bodies through resurrection, death would forever be the victor and corruption its eternal sting. - Dr. Michael Svigel

“How can we lose? Whether we are imprisoned, beheaded, tortured or persecuted, we receive a greater eternal glory and joy." — Art Katz 

The renewal YHWH will bring about upon the eschatological new exodus will cause the land to burst forth in fruitfulness...Indeed, YHWH will comfort Zion.  - L. Michael Morales

My teaching on the shepherds and the angels from Luke 2. Notes. Audio 1. Audio 2. 

Jesus said, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” Mark 9:31 He freely walked into the jaws of death. He freely walked out. - John Piper

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion. It cannot be shaken; it remains forever. The mountains surround Jerusalem and the Lord surrounds his people, both now and forever. - Psalms 125 

“If the apostles were incapable of being true witnesses without unusual power, who are we to claim that we can be witnesses without such power?” - Martyn Lloyd-Jones

I wish the deliverance of Israel would come from Zion! When the Lord restores the well-being of his people, may Jacob rejoice, may Israel be happy! - Psalms 14

Theology 101: The Lord's Supper is like the Spirit’s down payment of redemption—just enough to make us hungry for more. -Dr. Michael Svigel

"Keep your mind and your heart open to the gracious leadings and influences of the Spirit of God." -D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Jesus' life, death, and resurrection is not a fulfillment or radical redefinition of Israel's hope, but is understood by Paul and the apostles as exemplary, showing the pattern that the nation of Israel has followed in the past and will follow in the future. - Josh Hawkins

A Jewish Man from Nazareth went from the Cross to a tomb, but was raised from death by the God that He referred to as His Father. It seems like He folded His burial linens as angelic beings rolled away the stone so that He could emerge from the tomb to reunite with His friends and reignite a movement. As He hangs around Jerusalem and the surrounding region for the next month and a half or so, five hundred of His followers eventually bear witness to the Resurrected Man before He visibly ascends to the sky and the heavenly realm beyond the veil. His identity was clear to His friends and followers, His authority proven to them without any doubt, they would go on to give their lives to go everywhere proclaiming the good news of His victory over death and His identity as the Son of God and Savior of the World, our Coming King, Jesus of Nazareth.  

They believed, having seen. Yet, as Peter once wrote: blessed are you who have *not* seen, yet you believe. -David Sliker

I love Christmas because it is the story of when “God was Born” as a Man His mother was instructed to name, “Yeshua” - which Mary understood as a powerful fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant and Yahweh’s commitment to deliver the earth from sin and death. I love Easter because it is the story of “God Triumphant” over sin and death that He personally and painfully experienced as a Man, the Firstborn from the Dead, in order to deliver captive humanity into the fullness of that same triumph upon His return. I can’t wait for the age to come, in which we will add “God Reigning Over All” as King of Kings, when all humanity will experience the beauty of the Prince of Peace and the perfection of His leadership over the earth from Jerusalem.  

There is no story like the one we are living as the Bride of Christ, the ones whom He loved and washed with His own blood, making us kings and priests to reign with Him forever.

-David Sliker

Do not let me have evil desires, or participate in sinful activities with men who behave wickedly. I will not eat their delicacies. May the godly strike me in love and correct me! May my head not refuse choice oil!  - Psalms 141

In Christ Alone - Jewish Apocalyptic verse

In Christ's return we place our hope, The snake crushing Man will come again and with His voice, he'll raise the dead from Zion his reign will never end When you return and come back home and take your place on David's throne then at your feet our crowns we'll throw Jesus our King and LORD of all

Just because He doesn’t, doesn’t mean He can’t. At His trial, He refused, while blindfolded, to tell them who had struck Him, even though He could have. (Luke 22:64) He is so restrained, all the time.

If He doesn’t do it, never assume He can’t. - Bob Sorge

The metaphors in the Sermon on the Mount all carry the same message: have singular focus on and store up treasures for the age to come while expecting difficulty in this age. The two houses parable shows the ultimate outcome for those who heed that message and those who don't. - Joshua Hawkins

Carrying the cross in these last days not only means following God daily into a world that is at war with God—but also into a Church-world that is too often at war with the cross. - Joel Richardson