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Ten things you should know about God’s presence

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1. God is immanent because he is transcendent

The Lord is “God in the heavens above (transcendent) and on the earth beneath (immanent)” (Josh 2:11).  God’s transcendence means that there is no deficiency in him that creation satisfies.  Rather, God comes among us out of the abundance of who he is.  He draws near because of our need (Isa 57:15), not his.

2. The Bible emphasizes God’s manifest presence, not only his omnipresence

God is everywhere (Psa 139:5-12; 1 Kings 8:27), and God is here. …

Good news! Jesus is just like you!

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With his customary incisiveness, Ian Paul has shown how easy it is for us to trim and shape the New Testament picture of Jesus so that it becomes a reflection of ourselves.

Liberals: good news! Jesus is just like you! He criticises the Pharisees for being too religious, and imposing their religious expectations unfairly on others (Matt 23.4). He appears to have a radical programme for social change, in which the poor are rewarded and those unjustly imprisoned are released (Luke 4.18), and this is rooted in a long-term vision for the inversion of social roles in which the rich and powerful are humbled, and privilege is removed (Luke 1.52).

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Unmasking our self-sufficiency

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One of the big differences between God and ourselves is that he is self-sufficient, having no need of anything outside of himself (Acts 17:24f), whereas we have a deep need both of God and of one another (on this latter point, see 1 Cor 12:21).

Jen Wilkin asks:

What are the marks of self-sufficiency in the life of the believer? How can we know when we have stopped relying on God and others? When we deny our need for God, self-sufficiency reveals itself in the following ways:

  • Prayerlessness.
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God’s good plan for men and women: our unfinished business

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If the Christian church is to adhere to (or recover) God’s good plan for men and women, then its pastoral care and witness will need some clarification and strengthening in a number of areas.

For example, we need to ask, How can we more effectively

  • witness to God’s good purposes in our own marriages and families?
  • recognise the distinctive roles of husbands and wives?
  • nurture young people who are capable of faithful covenant relationships?
  • honour both married and single people in the family of the church?
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Prayer postures

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‘Hands together, eyes shut tight.’

That’s the way generations of children were taught to pray.

Curiously, many different prayer postures are described in Scripture, but not that one.

William Hendriksen (New Testament Commentary on The Pastoral Epistles) lists the following:

  1. Standing: Gen. 18:22; 1 Sam. 1:26; Matt. 6:5; Mark 11:25; Luke 18:11; Luke 18:13…
  2. Hands Spread Out or/and Lifted Heavenward: Ex. 9:29; Ex. 17:11, 12; 1 Kings 8:22; Neh. 8:6; Psalm 63:4; Psalm 134:2; Psalm 141:2; Is.
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Why we preach Christ from the Old Testament

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“You must preach the text as it lays,” someone said to Jared Wilson.

“Indeed,” replied Jared, “and every OT text lays, as Spurgeon put it, ‘along the road to Christ.’”

In support of his assertion, Jared points to the following New Testament texts:

John 5:39 — “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me”

John 8:56 — “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day.…

Preaching is not merely explaining

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Command and teach these things. Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.…

Preachers and their preaching – Fred Craddock

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Fred Craddock (1928-2015) was was pastor, preacher, and teacher of homiletics.  He wrote influential books, including As One Without Authority (1971) and Preaching (1985).  I have recently been working my way through this latter book, and also listening to some online discussion with, and sermons by, Craddock.

Michael Jeffress has written a paper entitled, ‘Fred B. Craddock’s Contribution to Preaching: The Revolution of the Inductive Method’, in which he helpfully summarises the key themes of Craddock preaching method.…

Knowing God

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“This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (Jn 17:3).

What does it mean to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he has sent?

Let J.I. Packer answer.

First, knowing God is a matter of personal dealing, as is all direct acquaintance with personal beings. Knowing God is more than knowing about him; it is a matter of dealing with him as he opens up to you, and being dealt with by him as he takes knowledge of you.…

The Bible, women, and authority

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I have great respect for Ian Paul.  So, when he offers a view that I find unpersuasive, I’m glad to give it a hearing anyway.

Here, then, is the gist of his ‘considered summary’, arising from his study of the main biblical texts (Gen 1, 2 and 3, Luke 24, John 20, Acts 18, Romans 16, 1 Cor 11 and 14, Eph 5 and 1 Tim 2).  But here are the bare bones.

1. The creation accounts offer no evidence of hierarchy in male-female relationships as part of the original created order.

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