The doctrine of the ascension

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The ascension:-

  1. Marks the transition between Jesus’ earthly and heavenly existence, Jn 6:62; Eph 4:10. ‘The doctrine of bodily absence is balanced in the NT by the doctrine of spiritual presence.’ (NBD)
  2. Confirms our Lord’s exalted status and kingly triumph, 1 Tim 3:16; Col 3:1; Heb 1:3; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2; Eph 4:8.
  3. Prepares the way for his return, Jn 14:1-14.

It establishes three facts:-

1. Christ’s personal ascendancy. Jesus went up to the place of power, pictured as a throne at the Father’s right hand.…

Jesus’ apologetic methods

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Jock McGregor has an excellent introductory lecture on apologetics which can be listened to or downloaded from Christian Heritage website. Near the beginning of this lecture, he outlines the apologetic method used by Jesus in Luke 24:36-45. This passage records one of the resurrection appearances of Jesus Christ. The disciples doubted, taking it to be an apparition.

As McGregor says, our Lord does not merely say to the disciples, ”Just believe.” Instead, he takes time to persuade them.…

How the risen Christ encounters people today

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Paul Beasley-Murray (The Message of the Resurrection, 67-75) suggests some ways in which Lk 24:13-35 points to how the risen Christ continues to encounter people even today:-

1. Jesus encounters us in the darkness of our lives. The Emmaus disciples must have begun their walk in the depths of despair. Their hopes were dashed, their faith in shreds, v21. Yet Jesus comes to them. Although at first they did not recognise him, he was there.…

Bart Ehrman’s ‘Top Ten’ spurious verses

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In his book Misquoting Jesus, Bart Ehrman lists ten ‘top verses that were not originally in the New Testament’. These are:-

1 John 5:7 There are three that bear witness in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one.

This is already recognised in modern Bible translations as a very late addition. For example, NIV (1984) states: ‘not found in any Greek manuscript before the sixteenth century’. If, as is possible, the wording of this verse was included in order to bolster the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, then it should be noted that that doctrine had been accepted by the Christian Church for centuries.…

Why it’s good that Jesus left

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Here are six reasons I’m glad Jesus returned to the Father:

1.We can go home, too. Jesus tells his disciples a little later that he’s going to prepare a place for them in his Father’s house. Because Jesus returned to the Father, I can say with Paul that “to live is Christ, and to die is gain”—when I depart, I will be with Jesus.

2. Jesus mediates for us to God. It’s phenomenal: Jesus, the God-man, advocates for me before the holy and righteous God.

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Discussion Starters, Jn 13:1-17; Lk 22:7-23

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(a) In John 13:14, Jesus says, “You should wash one another’s feet.” Most Christian groups do not have a foot-washing liturgy. Why not? In what ways can we fulfil this command even if we do not follow it literally?

(b) In Luke 22:19, Jesus says, in connection with the Last Supper, “Do this in remembrance of me.” Most Christian groups do have a ‘Lord’s Supper’ liturgy. Why? Looking at this passage in Luke, what would you say are the main things about Jesus that we are to ‘remember’ when we take communion?…

Protective anonymity in the Gospels

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In Mark’s Gospel there are three characters that go unnamed but are later named in John’s Gospel. They are:

(1) the woman who anoints (Mk 14:3) who John reveals as Mary (Jn 12:3);

(2) the man who wields the sword (Mk 14:47) who John reveals as Simon Peter (Jn 18:10);

(3) the servant of the high priest (Mk 14:47) who John reveals as Malchus (Jn 18:10).

These are examples of what Richard Bauckham (Jesus and the Eyewitnesses) calls ‘protective anonymity’ in the earlier accounts: this was not needed in a later account, when fear of embarrassment or reprisals would have partly or wholly disappeared.…

Scripture as the word of God

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It seems quite fashionable these days for Christian people to insist that the expression ‘the word of God’ can only be applied to Jesus Christ, and not, say, to Scripture.  Steve Chalke, for example, writes: ‘the Bible itself is unambiguous: “The word of God” is a person not a book.’

However, the phrase is used in Scripture itself in several ways:-

  1. The gospel, Acts 4:31; 6:7; 13:5, 26;1 Cor 1:18; Heb 6:5; 1 Pet 1:23,25; 2 Cor 5:19; 2 Tim 2:9 4:2.
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The riches of Christ

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  1. relationship, Jn 1:18; 10:30; 17:11,24
  2. resources, Mt 26:53; 2 Cor 8:9; Rev 21:18 ff
  3. resplendance, Jn 17:5
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What separation does not mean

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  1. That we should give up our jobs, 2 Thess 3:10 1 Tim 5:8.
  2. That we should avoid contact with the unconverted, 1 Cor 10:27.
  3. That we should take no interest in anything except Christianity.
  4. That we should be peculiar in dress, manners, voice, etc, Mt 23:5.
  5. That we should become recluses, Jn 17:15.
  6. That we should withdraw from imperfect churches, Mt 13:30.

(Source unknown)

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