Spirit without measure
(John 3:34 ESV) 34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.
This is a classic proof text, going back at least to H. Leo Boles’ famous book on the Holy Spirit, in which he argues that Christians receive the Spirit in different “measures,” with Jesus’ receipt of the Spirit uniquely being “without measure.” Continue reading
Guy asked regarding the last post of this series,
Does this [that we aren’t sinless unless we live as Jesus lived] mean that prior to Genesis 3, Adam and Eve were living as well as Christ did?
Guy,
That’s a really good question.They lived under the law of God as had been revealed to them — and there weren’t many commands: don’t eat from the Tree, be fruitful and multiply, care for the Garden, be united with your wife as to your own flesh. That’s about it. Continue reading
From a comment by JMF.
Hey Jay–
I’ve been holding in a couple questions waiting for you to settle from your vacation. Alas, I start teaching a class this coming Wed. night and it is greatly based on The Holy Spirit and Revolutionary Grace and Amazing Grace … so I am hoping to get some clarifications. I’ve got other questions, but this is the primary one right now.
Being said, I’m on my 4th read of HSARG, and one question keeps jumping out at me. If I understand you, you imply that since we’ll never give/evangelize/help the poor/etc. as well as Jesus, then we are sinning by omission. Continue reading
The Last Word: Scripture and the Authority of God–Getting Beyond the Bible Wars is a 2005 book by N. T. Wright dealing with the authority of scripture. I read this on my new Kindle, and found myself wearing out the bookmark feature — dog-earing nearly every page. Wright begins by making an important distinction —
When we take the phrase “the authority of scripture” out of its suitcase, then, we recognize that it can have Christian meaning only if we are referring to scripture’s authority in a delegated or mediated sense from that which God himself possess … . It must mean, if it means anything Christian, “the authority of God exercised through scripture.” Continue reading
I’ve been looking forward to John’s gospel. It’s just always a challenge — but an enlightening one — to sort through the text. John has a writing style that is simple and direct, which yet conceals great depth. It’s just a fun, fun book to study. It’s hard, but fun.
The baptism of Jesus
(John 1:32-34 ESV) 32 And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
John makes explicit what is suggested by the Synoptics — that the Spirit Jesus received remained on him. Continue reading
This is the the book that changes everything. At last, we have a solid, intellectually sound understanding of where the church goes from here.
To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World challenges assumption after assumption, leaving the Dobsons, Wallises, and even the McLarens and the Hauerwases behind, urging a return to genuine Christianity, a kind of Christianity that we’ve very nearly forgotten how to live. I mean, this is a big, big deal. Required reading for all church leaders.
Now, it’s not written at a popular level. Hunter likes to use words like “dialectical” and, as a result, this is not an easy read. But that’s no criticism. The transformation of the church has to begin with a sound theology and philosophy, and so it’s only right that such a book be written in such intellectual terms. There will be books yet to come that popularize the ideas and help re-write the DNA of American Christianity. (Be in prayer that this happens!) Continue reading
I was teaching Sunday school class not long ago. It’s a class of more or less young adults – most with children of school age. And I asked them if they’ve ever heard of “just war” doctrine. It was a throw away question intended to lead to a discussion of where the church and government must sometimes part ways on the question of war. But no one had ever heard of “just war.” Not a one.
Now, this is a class of over 30 adults, nearly all with college degrees, some with graduate degrees. Many had attended a Christian college. Most had attended church all their lives. They’d all been adults during the Iraq War. And not a one had even heard of the church’s teachings on just war.
Why not? I have a theory or two. Continue reading
Back when I agreed to review Who Really Goes to Hell?, I also agreed to review The Naked Gospel: The Truth You May Never Hear in Church
Unlike Who Really Goes to Hell?, The Naked Gospel is well written and organized and largely correct. In fact, I agree with nearly all of it. It is, however, written from a Calvinist perspective, which I don’t agree with. Therefore, it’s not the book I’d give a new convert to learn about Christianity. Continue reading
Donald Miller, of course, is the author of Blue Like Jazz
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life
It’s important as we weigh the words of Jesus and his apostles to consider the background against which they spoke. The Jews of First Century Palestine not only knew their Tanakh (the Old Testament), they knew many uninspired works as well. Among these is the Book of Jubilees.
R. H. Charles writes,
The Book of Jubilees was written in Hebrew by a Pharisee between the year of the accession of Hyrcanus to the high priesthood in 135 and his breach with the Pharisees some years before his death in 105 B.C.
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