Dr Paul Allen

As Christians, we grieve. Oh, do we grieve. Being a Christian does not mean that our sorrows go away or are minimised, or that we pretend that the many sorrows of this life are no big deal. In fact, we Christians actually grieve more. God has taken out our old, dead hearts and put new hearts in us. In Christ, the insensitivities and imbalances of our old selves are being renewed day by day into the likeness of Jesus (Col. 3:10). With the help and healing of the Holy Spirit, we feel more, not less. More than joy alone, we feel, at new depths, the seemingly negative emotions of anger, fear, shame, guilt, and sorrow. With sin still indwelling us, we often err in the timing, focus, and intensity of our feelings. But in Christ, we really can, and really do, grow to feel holy anger, holy fear, holy shame, holy sorrow—a holy grief that is wholly different from worldly despair. All joy, no grief? In 1 Thessalonians 4:13, the Apostle Paul writes with the longing that Christians “not grieve as o...

Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” the prophet Isaiah asks (Isa. 53:1). The promise of salvation had gone out. God’s mighty arm—His power to redeem—was being revealed. But no one could have imagined that it would come this way. Weakness, obscurity, rejection, sorrow—this is how God chose to unveil His strength. The mighty arm of the Lord would be extended not in conquest but in crucifixion. The Servant of the Lord “grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground” (v. 2), not like a towering oak or conquering king. There was no majesty, no spectacle, no beauty that would draw the eye. Nothing in Him looked like deliverance. He was common—so common that we despised and dismissed Him. “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (v. 3). This should make the beleaguered, sorrowful sufferer pause. This promised Christ didn’t come to observe our pain from afar. He came t...

Jesus prayed, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.”   Matthew 26:42 “Is there no other way?” It’s the kind of question we ask when life reaches its most difficult points: when a long, slow illness steals the strength and vitality of a loved one; when a deeply troubled marriage stands on the cliff of divorce; when a desperate search for work, food, and shelter results only in hunger and homelessness or crime and begging; when an addiction becomes a fast track to rock bottom and despair; when depression closes in and makes the whole world dark … again.  In these times, the question sneaks into our minds and sometimes escapes our lips: “Is there no other way?” Have you ever asked God that question? When the brokenness of this world and our lives reaches its most intense, most threatening moments, we are tempted to think we are the only ones who have asked that question or felt that sorrow.  But would it surprise you to...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Greek word used to refer to the Spirit by John is paraklētos , often translated as Counsellor . It is not used by any other NT author but was widely used before John. Given that the word is capable of several translations, it may be more appropriate to use the transliteration of the Greek ( paraclete ) rather than offer a translation.  Nevertheless, several translations could help define characteristics of the Spirit. Fundamentally, the metaphor is intended to leave the reader awestruck by the comprehensive nature of the conscientious compassion of the Spirit for believers. The term paraklētos is made up of two elements that may provide an insight into its meaning, referring to one who has been called ( kaleō ) alongside ( para ) another. Although the breakdown of a word and its etymology may not necessarily reveal its best translation in a given era or context, it can provide some insight into its meaning.  The word paraklētos was used in various ways in the first cent...

Jesus articulates the amazing truth that it will be to the advantage of the disciples for him to leave them, for then the Spirit will be sent in his place. Although Jesus had been of such great importance to them, he now says that someone is coming who can be of even greater benefit (16:7) to them, and they will be active based on his strength. In 14:12–14, Jesus identifies one of the benefits of the arrival of the Spirit. Jesus promises that the works (erga) that he performed will be achieved to a greater degree by those who believe in him. Such works are best identified as miracles and possibly also ethical acts. It may be appropriate to recognize that anything that fulfils the will of God, as exemplified in the life of Jesus, may be identified thus. However, to suggest that believers will be able to perform greater miraculous works than Jesus, in terms of the dramatic impact they cause, is an unlikely interpretation of the text. Nor is Jesus promising that greater power will be avai...

Jesus uses the metaphor of water in association with the Spirit in the context of salvation. It is no coincidence that these words of Jesus were uttered during the seven-day-long Feast of Tabernacles (7:2).  It was popularly referred to as the Feast of Tents due to the fact that the participants camped in homemade shelters, erected on rooftops or in the fields (Lev. 23:34–36). It functioned as a thanksgiving for the harvests and an opportunity to remember how God had guided their forefathers during the forty years in the wilderness. Implicit was an anticipation of the arrival of the kingdom of God, when their ‘exile’ would finally be over and life-giving water would be available in abundance. Little wonder that Josephus described it as the most popular festival held in the temple. It was at this feast that the ritual of drawing water took place on each of the seven days, reflecting the provision of water from the rock by God (Exod. 17:1–6). Water was drawn from the Pool of Siloam a...

QUESTION: Has it been proven that Moses existed? DICK HARFIELD RESPONSE H istorians took the biblical narrative for granted until the Rosetta Stone was deciphered at the beginning of the nineteenth century, enabling linguists to begin translating Egyptian hieroglyphics. There was the expectation that evidence of the Israelites in Egypt would soon be found in the copious ancient Egyptian writings, but this gradually gave way to puzzlement because there was clearly no evidence of any Israelites in Egypt, nor of the ten plagues of Moses or even the biblical Exodus. Historians had to begin thinking the unthinkable: either there was no Exodus, or it was simply a minor event that did not really change history. Either way, there was no catastrophic series of plagues, loss of an entire army in pursuit of the Israelites, or even the dramatic economic downturn that one would expect after the loss of a huge number of productive slaves. The evidence is now in: nothing happened—there was  no bi...