 |
|
     |
|
|
|
Writer of Fancy: The Playful Piety of Jane Austen
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
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
Laughter is a gift of God, a sign that we are made in God’s image. The Lord enjoys slapstick humor and pratfalls, laughing at the folly of the raging nations that conspire against Christ (Ps 2) because He knows that the wicked will fall, like Wile E. Coyote, into the trap they set for the righteous (Ps 37:13; 59:8). The Lord invites the righteous to join in: “The righteous will see and fear, and will laugh at him, saying, ‘Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and was strong in his evil desire’” (Ps 52:6-7).
Laughter is a gift of God, but as sinners we twist and pervert laughter as much as we pervert and twist everything else. We twist it by laughing at the wrong things, and we twist it by the way we speak. In our sermon text, Paul mentions two perversions of humor,
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Sunday, September 11, 2005 at 8:47 am
INTRODUCTION
Ephesians is about the formation of Christian culture, or, in Paul’s terminology, a corporate Christian “walk.” Once, we walked, zombie-like, in death and sin (2:1), but God raised us in Christ to walk in good works (2:10). We are called to walk in a manner worthy of our calling to unity (4:1), avoiding the divisive ways of the Gentiles (4:17). In the first part of chapter 5, Paul exhorts us to walk so as to form a culture of love (5:2), light (5:8), and in wisdom (5:15).
THE TEXT
“Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints. . . .” (Ephesians 1:1-21).
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Tuesday, September 6, 2005 at 9:47 pm
Hope is one of the traditional “theological virtues” – faith, hope and love. Hebrews 11 defines faith as hope, and for Paul “hope,” like Victor and Faith, is another name for Jesus (1 Timothy 1:1). In our sermon text, Paul encourages hope by saying God is able to do “exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or imagine, according to the power that works within us” (Ephesians 3:20).
Hope is one of the marks that distinguishes believers from unbelievers. Those outside of Christ are without God and without hope (Ephesians 2:12). For unbelievers, death is a cause of unmitigated grief, because they have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). “Hope deferred makes the heart sick,” says Solomon (Proverbs 13:12), and for the wicked hopes are always deferred because they set their hope on things that cannot deliver.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Sunday, August 28, 2005 at 7:54 am
Is the “mystery of Christ” in Ephesians 3:4 a mystery about Christ or is Christ Himself the mystery? Let’s take the latter option - Christ Himself is the mystery (cf. Colossians 1:27). How does that connect with the way Paul unpacks the mystery in terms of Jew/Gentile union (v. 6)? Through 1 Corinthians 12:12: Christ is the body, the body is Christ; and the mystery is that Jews and Gentiles together make up the body that with the head is the totus Christus.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Saturday, August 27, 2005 at 12:02 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.
