First Corinthians 15:28 has long been a crux interpretum for Christology and Trinitarian theology. Paul’s claim that “the Son himself will be subjected” has been read by some. They believe it implies eternal subordination within the Trinity. Some interpreters have taken Paul’s language in 1 Cor 15:28 in different ways. Some suggest it shows that … Continue reading “That God May Be All in All”: Messianic Subjection and Trinitarian Consummation in 1 Corinthians 15:28
Jesus
The Church as the Visible People of God: An Exploration of Ecclesiology
Before the church ever gathers, organizes, sings, or sends, God has already acted. The church is not a humanly devised institution. It is a divinely constituted, visibly ordered people. They are brought into being by the gospel. They are structured by apostolic teaching and sustained by participation in Christ. Ecclesiology in the Churches of Christ … Continue reading The Church as the Visible People of God: An Exploration of Ecclesiology
How Can Ordinary Congregations Become Extraordinary
Texts: Colossians 3:17; Philippians 1:9–11; Revelation 3:14–22 I. The Mystery of "Something Special" What separates great businesses from average businesses? What makes Buc-ee's better than all the other gas stations? It's not just the bathrooms (though they're immaculate). It's not just the snacks (though the selection is staggering). It's something else. It's the culture. Every … Continue reading How Can Ordinary Congregations Become Extraordinary
Can I Ever Love Enough???: Fulfillment of the Law Through Christ’s Love
There exists in the heart of the Torah a command so absolute, so all-consuming, so magnificently unreasonable that it might have been written by God. "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might" (Deut 6:5). The words arrive not as suggestion but … Continue reading Can I Ever Love Enough???: Fulfillment of the Law Through Christ’s Love
When Will Christ Reign in His Kingdom?
The question is not whether Christ reigns, but when that reign began. The New Testament insists the kingdom arrived in Christ's first advent, not in some postponed millennium. This thesis challenges a widespread futurism that misreads the already/not yet tension by collapsing the "already" into pure futurity. The Exegetical Foundation The Kingdom Has Come Jesus … Continue reading When Will Christ Reign in His Kingdom?
Why I Believe God is Perfect Blessedness
Jesus asked, “why do you call me good? There is only one who is good.” But if we press further, we must ask: What kind of good? A relatively good God? A distant perfection? A static absolute? God is not merely perfect in power or knowledge. He is perfect in blessedness. He is complete, overflowing, … Continue reading Why I Believe God is Perfect Blessedness
Does God’s Love Make Him Vulnerable?
Does God's love make him vulnerable?? This question reveals how we conceive divine love. It also shows our understanding of divine perfection. The short answer is: God’s love is profoundly self-giving, but not vulnerable in the sense of passible suffering or dependency. Scripture and the Christian tradition consistently teach that God’s love is unchangeable plenitude. … Continue reading Does God’s Love Make Him Vulnerable?
Divine Impassibility: Comfort Without Coldness
Divine impassibility names a theological truth that soothes and steadies the soul. It states that God is not moved from without. God does not undergo accidental change like created things. God is not subject to events that would alter his being. This is a doctrine that protects worship, prayer, providence, and consolation. It is another … Continue reading Divine Impassibility: Comfort Without Coldness
The Lord Gives and the Lord Takes Away, Blessed Be the Name of the Lord: A Study in Divine Providence and the Call to Worship
Introduction: The Crisis of Circumstantial Faith The messenger's words cut through Job's world like a blade. In rapid succession came the reports: the Sabeans had stolen his oxen and donkeys, lightning had consumed his sheep, Chaldean raiders had taken his camels, and—most devastating of all—a great wind had collapsed the house where his children feasted, … Continue reading The Lord Gives and the Lord Takes Away, Blessed Be the Name of the Lord: A Study in Divine Providence and the Call to Worship
How Love of Truth Serves Love of Neighbor: The Gentle Tragedy of Limitless Acceptance
There is an irony present in our age’s most cherished virtue of acceptance. The contemporary insistence that we must embrace all perspectives with equal warmth, while born from the noblest of intentions, carries within itself the seeds of its own undoing. Like a garden where every plant is welcomed without discrimination, the landscape of universal … Continue reading How Love of Truth Serves Love of Neighbor: The Gentle Tragedy of Limitless Acceptance
Donnie's Dogmatics 