 |
|
     |
|
|
|
The Four: A Survey of the Gospels
Defending Constantine: The Twilight of an Empire and the Dawn of Christendom
From Behind the Veil: The Epistles of John
Deep Exegesis:The Mystery of Reading Scripture
1 & 2 Kings
Brazos Theological Commentary
The Promise Of His Appearing: An Exposition Of Second Peter
A Great Mystery: Fourteen Wedding Sermons
Deep Comedy: Trinity, Tragedy, And Hope In Western Literature
Miniatures & Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen
The Priesthood of the Plebs: A Theology of Baptism
A Son To Me: An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel
From Silence to Song: The Davidic Liturgical Revolution
Ascent to Love: A Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy
Blessed Are the Hungry: Meditations on the Lord's Supper
A House For My Name: A Survey of the Old Testament
Heroes of the City of Man: A Christian Guide to Select Ancient Literature
Brightest Heaven of Invention: A Christian Guide To Six Shakespeare Plays
Wise Words: Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life
The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church
Ephesians 4:8: When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.
How do we reach maturity in Christ? Paul gives us a clue when he quotes from Psalm 68, a Psalm of ascension. The Psalm begins as a plea for the Lord fight for David. He calls on Yahweh to arise, scatter His enemies, and make them melt like wax before the fire. Yahweh responds. He marches through the desert from Egypt, and ascends through the parched land toward a land of milk and honey, with Israel joining the procession of the King to His throne-land.
The ascent in Paul’s quotation is, in the Psalm, the ascent of Yahweh to Sinai. “The chariots of God are myriads,” David sings, “thousand upon thousand. The Lord is among them at Sinai, in holiness. Thou hast ascended on high, Thou has led captive thy captives.” It is from Sinai that Yahweh gives gifts to men, the gift of the tabernacle, the gift of the covenant, most especially the gift of Torah.
Paul, however, shifts the emphasis.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Sunday, February 7, 2010 at 7:37 am
What does Paul mean in Ephesians 1:23 when he describes the church as the fullness of Christ? Does it mean that the church is completed and filled up by Christ, or does it mean that Christ is completed and filled up by the church?
Certainly the first. But the second is also true. According to 1 Corinthians 12:12, “Christ” names the head-and-body totus Christus, and Christ-head without a body would be a monstrous Christ. A Christ without a body would be a dis-embodied Christ.
It seems a perichoretic relation: Christ is filled with all the fullness of God, and fills God; we are brought into that relation of mutual indwelling, so that as we are filled with Christ in whom the fullness dwells, we also fill and complete Christ.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 7:00 am
Gnostics used the term pleroma, fullness, to describe the realm of emanations from the high God, the realm of perfection and life.
Paul had pre-refuted this later development by giving pleroma an earthly address and a history. The body, He says, is the pleroma of Chrit (Ephesians 1:23), and this fullness is not achieved all at once but over time, as we all mature into the “fullness of Christ” (4:13). Gnostics looking for the pleroma did not need to ascend beyond this world or the body, because the fullness was right there in front of them, in the body of the one in whom all the fullness dwelt in bodily form.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 6:23 am
Some thoughts after a stimulating discussion of Ephesians 5 with my colleague Toby Sumpter. Toby pointed out that the description of marital life in Ephesians includes a number of sacrificial terms: Husbands are to imitate the Christ who “gave Himself,” who “washes” His bride, who presents her without spot or blemish, who sanctifies her. Christ gave Himself to prepare His bride as a suitable sacrifice.
This offers some interesting angles on the sacrificial system. First, it supports Jim Jordan’s notion that the sacrifices are “bridal food,” a point that Jordan makes by etymologically connecting the Hebrew word for “offering by fire” to the Hebrew word for “woman.” In Ephesians 1, the offering is in fact the bride; she is being sanctified to be consumed on the altar.
Second, it suggests that it would be possible to develop a theology of marriage from the sacrificial system. How? Who knows?
Third, the specific language Paul uses connects marriage to the ascension offering. Only the ascension offering is explicitly said to be “washed” (Leviticus 1:9, 13). The husband is described as the “head”; though worshipers placed their hand on the head of animals in every offering, only in the ascension offering is the head offered (1:8, 12; cf. 4:11-12). The bride, it appears, is being prepared for ascension.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Thursday, February 19, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Paul urges us to rejoice in the midst of tribulations and sufferings, not because sufferings and tribulations are good in themselves, but because of the fruit they produce. Tribulation, he says, produces perseverance, proven character, and a hope that does not disappoint.
Everyone suffers, but not everyone produces these fruits. Tribulation produces this result because of God’s work in us, a work that Paul describes as “the love of God poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” We see these results only when God’s love, and the love that He arouses in us, inhabit us. We see good results from discipline only because of the work of the indwelling Spirit.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Sunday, November 11, 2007 at 7:51 am
Strangely, Paul says in Ephesians 5:13 that “everything that becomes visible is light.” Whatever could that mean?
Hamann thought he knew: “Imagery comprises the entire realm of human knowledge and happiness. The first explosion of creation, and the first impression of its historian; the first manifestation and the first enjoyment of nature unite in the word: ‘Let there be light!’ with this begins the perception of the presence of things.” And he footnotes Ephesians 5:13 in support.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Saturday, September 15, 2007 at 3:14 pm
During the period of the old covenant, God hid things. He hid some things inside the Most Holy Place, where no one could go. He also hid His plans from his people. He had a secret, which was disclosed, and then only in part, to certain “cognoscenti” – prophets and apostles.
The gospel opens the veil, and makes the secret known. In Christ, we know what God’s plan is. He opens Himself and His purposes to us without veiling, without secrets. All that is whispered is proclaimed from the housetops; all that was in shadows is brought to the light.
Gnosticism, with its hidden secrets and its distinction between the initiated and the masses, is a form of Judaizing, a reversion to the mode of secrecy that Jesus has ended forever.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Monday, May 21, 2007 at 4:25 pm
Extending James Jordan’s observations, posted here earlier today: When Paul talks about the “mystery” revealed in the gospel in Ephesians, he does not confine it to the redemption of sinners from sin. The secret/mystery that had been hidden is about the “summing up of all things in Christ” (1:10) and the inclusion of Gentiles as “fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, fellow partakers of the promise” (3:6). Jesus does indeed redeem through His blood by which we are forgiven (1:7), but this is not the specific content of the mystery. The specific content of the mystery is God’s “summation” of all in Christ, and specifically the inclusion of the Gentiles.
And this mystery is called the “mystery of the gospel” (6:19).
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Monday, May 21, 2007 at 4:20 pm
What is the “great mystery” Paul identifies in Ephesians 5:32? Is it the relation of Christ and His church? The connection between Christ-church and man-wife?
In context, one particular dimension of Paul’s teaching is perhaps especially in view. Verse 31 quotes from Gen 2:24, and most immediately the mystery is the application of Gen 2:24 to Christ and the church. That is, the mystery is that Christ has left His Father to cleave to His wife and become one flesh with her. The mystery is incarnation for the sake of union with the bride.
(This interpretation, of course, is weakened by the fact that verse 31 names “father and mother” – did the Son leave a mother?)
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Monday, May 21, 2007 at 4:03 pm
Ephesians 5 of course draws an analogy between marriage and Christ’s relation to His church:
Husband:wife::Christ:Church
Verse 29, though, puts it differently. With Genesis 2′s phrase “one flesh” in view, Paul says that “no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church.” Here the analogy works this way:
Man:flesh::Christ:church
These are equivalent comparisons because a man’s wife is husband of his bride. What’s striking here, however, are the Christo-ecclesiological implications. Paul’s analogy quite plainly implies that the church is the “flesh” of Christ, which He nourishes and cherishes as a man does His own body.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Wednesday, March 28, 2007 at 10:43 am
INTRODUCTION
This week, we start a brief topical series on the family. This being Lent, we want to look at family life from the perspective of the cross.
THE TEXT
“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church. . . .” (Ephesians 5:22-6:4).
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Monday, February 26, 2007 at 10:07 am
INTRODUCTION
This week, we start a brief topical series on the family. This being Lent, we want to look at family life from the perspective of the cross.
THE TEXT
“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church. . . .” (Ephesians 5:22-6:4).
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Monday, February 26, 2007 at 8:49 am
Markus Barth describes Ephesians 5:22-33 as a lover’s song, but distinguishes the love expressed there, the love of Jesus for His bride, from all other loves: “The vision of love described by Paul is sui generis. Though Christ’s love includes features found in many a strong, wise and devoted man’s love, there is something unique in his love: this lover has the will, the power, and the success to make his bride perfect. He loves his beloved only for her own sake. He seeks no other or higher reward than her alone. His love, incorporated in his bride, is an end in itself. The Messsiah has set out and will not rest until she appears before himself glorious and free of any defect.”
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Wednesday, January 24, 2007 at 11:29 am
Markus Barth gives a thrilling summary of Paul’s description of Christ and the church in Ephesians (I’ve left out the texts Barth refers to): “Christ was called the beloved Son; the church, the chosen people, God’s children. He, the administrator; they, the heirs. He, the risen; they, those raised with and in him. He, the savior; they, the saved. He, the head; they, his body and its members. He, the bringer of peace; they, the people reconciled with God and one another. He, the priest and sacrifice; they, the people worshiping God the Father. He, the keystone; they, the growing structure of God’s temple. He, the inhabitant in human hearts; they, the men filled with strength, knowledge, and love. He, the giver of heavenly gifts; the church, his public agent entrusted with an exemplary service in the world. He, the approaching royal bridegroom; she, the festive bridal party going out to meet him (4:13).” And finally, “Christ is The Loving Bridegroom; the church, the Beloved Bride.”
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Wednesday, January 24, 2007 at 11:02 am
A reader, Dan Glover, sent the following response to my hints about the Christian as “poem.”
“Christ, the eternal Word, indwells his people and his people corporate. He is the Word which controls us with his words (‘go, make disciples. . . baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. . . .’). And the body is formed by his words/language to us in, among other things, the sacraments. When the sacraments are faithfully observed and participated in, the living biblical language surrounding them (and its Author) in their respective contexts controls what is happening to and in the body gathered. God ‘edits’ his great poem, the church, through the washing of baptism and the participation, in Christ, of the supper, as well as in the teaching/preaching of the Word. Christ is the Author and ‘Editor’/perfector/sanctifier of our faith, THE faith, the church, the poem of which we are all part. Other words by which we are ‘edited’ are the words of church discipline. These words edit immorality out of the church body either by being spoken and acted upon resulting in repentance or by being spoken and acted upon resulting in ex-communication. We were created for good works, but when God’s workmanship refuses those good works and chooses instead the works of the flesh, the meter and rhyme of the poem gets all askew and Christ through his appointed and biblically qualified local overseers must use God’s words in Scripture to edit the corporate poem, to return the poem to an obedient cadence, one that is in step with the Poet.”
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Thursday, November 9, 2006 at 10:01 am
INTRODUCTION
What is God up to in the world? We saw last week that God is at work to perfect His people, to bring them to maturity, and to glorify us and the world. But the Bible also describes God’s work in the world with the word “righteousness.” Paul claims that the gospel is all about the revelation of God’s righteousness, and Jesus pronounces blessing on those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Establishing righteousness means making war against unrighteousness.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Monday, August 14, 2006 at 8:33 am
“Do not leg the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.” It sounds spooky and bizarre: Are we in danger of being haunted by some anger-demon?
Once we remember that “diabolos” means “slanderer,” it’s no longer the stuff of horror movies. It’s a daily occurrence. Every pastor who has counselled a married couple that has buried anger and resentment for decades has seen it. Everything that either the husband or wife does or says, no matter how graciously intended, becomes fuel for accusation. We often see this devil at work when an official leaves a Presidential administration trailing accusations. Unconfessed and unforgiven anger clouds and distorts the senses and the judgment.
This kind comes out only with fasting and prayer.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Monday, May 1, 2006 at 6:28 am
INTRODUCTION
We are attempting to form Christian culture among the churches of Moscow, and to see Christian culture shape the wider Moscow community. The Christian culture of the church enters a world with its own stories, rituals, and norms of behavior. A culture war is inevitable.
THE TEXT
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. . . .” (Ephesians 6:10-24).
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Monday, September 26, 2005 at 3:33 pm
The sermon today is about marriage and family, but I don’t want the unmarried men and women here to hit the mute button. The sermon text may not apply directly to you, but you should be preparing now for the roles that you are likely to assume in the future.
How? First, to the unmarried men: Don’t wait until you’re married to begin learning how to lead. Learn how to lead now. Find ways to serve now, because you are going to spend your life serving your wife. Learn responsibility now. Spend your time and energies now to prepare yourself for marriage. Consider your gifts, and seek advice about your calling. Begin taking financial responsibility. Don’t waste money, but instead begin saving for marriage. Spend your time on activities that will make you a better husband and father.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Sunday, September 25, 2005 at 8:07 am
INTRODUCTION
One of the great evils of American Christianity is the idolization of the family. American Christians believe that blood is thicker than baptismal water, and that the family is a redemptive institution. But the primary family for Christians is the “brotherhood” of the church, and Jesus stressed that discipleship may require breaking ties with the blood family (Matthew 10:35-37; Luke 14:26). Though families are not redemptive in themselves, through the gospel they are redeemed and become powerful agents for redemption. Our aim here in Moscow is to build strong churches composed of healthy families.
THE TEXT
“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. . . .” (Ephesians 5:21-6:9).
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Tuesday, September 20, 2005 at 1:18 pm
Permission is given to use material on this site, provided the source is cited, blog entries are republished in full, and the author is notified in advance.
