Dr Paul Allen

QUESTION TO DICK HARFIELD: Who is the prophet referred to in Matthew? DICK HARFIELD'S RESPONSE: Matthew 2:23 refers to a prophet whose identity has long puzzled scholars because there is nothing in the Old Testament or even the Apocrypha that mentions a Nazarene. One popular suggestion is from Judges 13:5, where it says of Samson, "the child shall be a Nazirite." However, Matthew does not say ‘Nazirite ’, and the word has no known link to the town of Nazareth; moreover, Jesus was not a Nazirite and is never described as one. Some believe Isaiah 60:21-22 was the prophecy of which Matthew wrote, because the Hebrew for a small twig is netzer — presumably close enough to be a prophecy that Jesus would be called a Nazarene, but not very plausible. I believe the real reason is closer to home, as you can read in The Mystery of the Nazarenes. We now know that Matthew’s Gospel was substantially based on Mark’s Gospel, the Greek manuscripts of which always refer to Jesus the Nazar...

Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, “My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure.” I SAIAH 46:9-10 Adoration Lord, so much of life is unknown. I can see only bits and pieces. Uncertainties and confusion lurk around decisions, which at times make it difficult to know what to do and think. People offer their opinions, but they’re not You. Only You know all things to know. You are God. There is no other. No one like You exists. You declare the end from the beginning. You know the future before we get there. What You say will happen does happen. From ancient times to present times, You know all. Your purpose will be established, and You will accomplish all of Your good pleasure. I praise and worship You, for You are truly holy, loving, and all-knowing in every way. Confession Fathe...

May the Lord direct your hearts into the  love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ. 2 T HESSALONIANS 3:5 Adoration Holy God, You always provide a light to direct me and guide me on the path You know is the best one for me to take. I lift Your name in praise, knowing I can depend on You to show the way. I honour You, for Your wisdom stretches into the future to guide and direct according to the best possible outcome for all. I love You, God, and I want to know how to follow You better. Let the glory due You overshadow the doubts that plague humanity's heart. Break through to show us the way toward life, peace, and love. May You receive the praise You deserve and bask in the love that is Yours as You guide us in the ways we should go. Confession Father, You know the way I am to go, which will lead me to fulfill the purpose You have established for me on earth. You know the path I should take and the decisions I should make that will enable me to live out my destiny. And yet,...

REMEMBER TO PRAY USING A.C.T.S Adoration Holy God, You are patient. You persevere. You are kind. You are holy. Your compassionate love covers me. And yet You are also just. You are also righteous. And so You become weary of evildoing. You become tired when my words are empty and when my heart is far away. You are not just a stoic being with no emotion. Rather, you care so deeply that it offends. You, when I keep on sinning in light of Your overarching grace. Lord, I worship You as I fear You, in honour of who You truly are. I’m grateful that You allow me to see this side of You, not only the side that’s giving, kind, and forgiving. I need to know all of You in order to give You the authentic praise due Your name and to rightly reflect Your character with the spirit of my worship of You. Confession Holy God, I confess that I don’t consider how I’ve wearied You as often as I should. I confess that I depend on the kindness of Your character to such a large degree that it borders on a spir...

When we think about rewards, we often think of getting what we deserve. We work in such a way to get a reward that corresponds to our effort. But the reward Jesus is referring to is not meritorious. Fasting does not put God in our debt. It is not a technique that puts us in good standing with God. God offers, as a gift, the satisfaction of our desires—desires that are ultimately for him. David explains this reward further in Psalm 63. He begins the psalm by saying to the Lord,          O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;             my soul thirsts for you;          my flesh faints for you,             as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. (v. 1) David has developed a hunger, an appetite for God. He goes on,          So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,             beholding your power and glory...

  The flesh from which believers have been set free has the nasty habit of resurrecting itself. Believers have the authority to remind it and themselves that it has no right to be alive; rather, they are encouraged to reckon it as dead (Rom. 6:11), and if it refuses to listen, it must be forcibly laid to rest again and again and again.  Throughout the process, the Spirit promises to provide the courage, confidence and inner strength to succeed in this activity (8:13). At the same time, the Spirit reminds believers that however loudly the flesh claims to be their lord and master, and to be in control of their lives, it is trespassing on ground claimed by God and inhabited by the Spirit. The Spirit of life has energy and vitality to vanquish all that is associated with death (Rom. 8:2). He has enabled believers to be what the law could not achieve—that is, justified (8:4). He enables believers to do what they could not achieve—that is, be sanctified ( put to death the misdeeds o...

These glorious facts concerning the lavish commitment of the Spirit to believers are not intended to result in the readers congratulating themselves on their relationship with God, nor are they merely to encourage them.  They are to act as motivations for action, providing incentives and inspiration to be more Spirit-controlled and less flesh-friendly. Similarly, if the word ei (if) is translated as ‘since’, in 8:9–11, the positive nature of Paul’s perspective of the believer is considerably heightened. 7   The Greek word ei is capable of being translated ‘if’ or’since’ and it is often the context that determines the most appropriate meaning. In these verses, given Paul’s desire to encourage the believers to recognize their relationship with the Spirit and thus to benefit from it in their fight against the flesh, it is more likely that ‘since’ is the correct translation; it provides an explicit assurance to the modern reader, rather than uncertainty.  He is not sowing d...

  The complete relocation of believers is clearly expressed in Romans 8:9, where Paul describes them as being in the Spirit while also referring to the fact that the Spirit of God lives in them. These apparently contradictory phrases are to be appreciated for what they are—descriptions that emphasise the integrated involvement of the Spirit with the believer (1 Cor. 6:17).  The intimate association of the Spirit with the believer is heightened in that the Spirit is described as being of God (this, in 8:9, is the first occasion in Romans where Paul refers thus to the Spirit). It is none other than God who resides within the believer.  Not only that, but he lives in them (8:9), indicating a tangible experience of God, not merely an intellectual acknowledgement of divine truths. Intimacy of relationship, not merely a rational response, is the ideal expected by Paul when he refers to the Spirit dwelling in the believer. The sense of privilege but also of challenge for believe...

In Romans, Paul uses the Greek term sarx (translated variously as ‘flesh’, ‘sinful nature’ or ‘human nature’) on several occasions but in different ways, the difference in use being particularly notable in chapter 8. Sometimes, it refers to the characteristic of being human (Rom. 1:3; 4:1; 8:3; 9:5, 8), and human effort (Gal. 3:3).  However, on other occasions, it is clear that he is using flesh , not to refer to the physical body and mortality, but to describe something much more malevolent and malignant that militates against God in a way that makes it inseparable from sin; indeed, the term ‘sin’ is often synonymous with ‘the flesh’ (8:4–9, 12–13; 13:14).  In this respect, to live a life dominated by sin is equivalent to living a life controlled by the flesh. It is as if flesh and sin gang up on the believer and make it difficult to live as a follower of Jesus—so difficult that one wonders how it can be achieved.  It is in this context that the Spirit, who was mentione...