We sometimes miss significant aspects of biblical teaching on the Trinity because we are unfamiliar with philosophical terms and concepts common in the ancient world. One such example is the Greek term ἴδιος and the philosophical concept of a “natural property” to which the term sometimes refers. The semantic range of ἴδιος is fairly broad. […]
“Bearing with one another in love”: Robert Rollock on Ephesians 4:3
We owe a debt of gratitude to Reformation Heritage Books and General Editors, R. Scott Clark and Casey Carmichael, for the latest publication in their “Classic Reformed Theology” series, Robert Rollock’s Commentary on Ephesians. In reviewing Rollock’s comments on Ephesians 4:1-3 for teaching I am to do next week, I was struck by the profundity […]
Attention in biblical interpretation
What is true of Christian agency in general is true of Christian interpretive agency in particular: faith works through love (Gal 5:6). “Love asks; love seeks; love knocks; love reveals; love, finally, remains in what has been revealed.”[1] Love’s quest for understanding is fulfilled by giving attention to Holy Scripture: “Hear, O Israel” (Deut 6:4). […]
The burning bush and the being of God: reflections on Exodus 3
I’m looking forward to delivering the Day-Higginbotham Lectures next week at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. (For more details, see here.) The theme of the two lectures is “God, the Bible, and Being.” By way of preview, below is an excerpt from the second lecture. The excerpt focuses on the ways God’s […]
On Christian hope: an Advent meditation on Psalms 42 & 43
Hope is an ordinary part of human agency. When we judge that the circumstances are right, and that we have sufficient resources of strength to act, we embark on a specific course of action in hope of completing it. We go to the grocery store, expecting that it will have the ingredients we need to […]
Notes on Book IV of the Psalter
One of my long-term research projects is a book on the divine attributes. The operating methodological thesis of the project is that learning to speak rightly of God (theology) requires learning to read the Bible rightly (hermeneutics). Related to that project, below are some notes, summarized under six headings, that I’ve put together on how […]
