Dr Paul Allen

  Who is Luke and why is he important? Luke was acquainted with and traveled with the apostle  Paul . Not only did Luke travel with Paul outside the land of Israel, he also visited Israel and may have become personally acquainted with members of Jesus’s family, including his mother Mary and his brother James. Between them, Luke and Paul wrote more than half of the New Testament. This makes Luke hugely important for Christianity. Where does the Bible refer to Luke? Luke’s name appears three times in the Bible. All three occur in the New Testament, and all three are found in letters written by Paul ( Col 4:14 ;  2 Tim 4:11 ; Phil 24). In  Colossians 4:14 , Paul refers to Luke as “the beloved physician.” In  Philemon 24 , Luke is listed along with Mark, Aristarchus, and Demas among the apostle’s “fellow workers.” Both of these references occur in what we know as Paul’s Prison Letters, for they were written while the apostle was detained either in Caesarea Maritima,...

In this excerpt from Transformed in Christ, Ron Elsdon and William Olhausen provide some insight into the history and culture of Corinth. Many cities, past and present, have reputations, including the Greek city of Corinth. But was its reputation deserved? Two of Paul’s letters usually command more attention than the others. In the case of Romans, the theological content is particularly significant, but there is little content focused on the dynamic of Christian life in the city of Rome. First Corinthians is different.  Here Paul addresses issues that reflect the life of Corinth and the church there. To understand 1 Corinthians, it is helpful to know something of the history of the city. It would be easy to start with Aristophanes, who coined the term korinthiazesthai (“to play the Corinthian”) to depict its immorality.  After all, Paul refers to a climate of sexual immorality (7:2) and expresses horror at a report of it among members of the Corinthian church (5:1). There is a...

What exactly is an Apostle?   The New Testament, and especially Paul, uses the Greek word apostolos (apostle) in at least two senses.  Broadly, it means one who is sent on a specific mission as an envoy or representative of the sender. For example, when Titus’ two companions travelled to collect the Corinthian church’s full contribution for the saints in Jerusalem, they arrived as “messengers [apostoloi] of the churches” in Macedonia (2 Cor. 8:23). Likewise, the Philippian church dispatched Epaphroditus as their “messenger [apostolos] and minister to [Paul’s] need” (Phil. 2:25).  This broad use of the term apostolos may reflect an older Jewish legal concept that the messenger resembles the sender insofar as his activity reflects the sender’s will and authority. As Jesus observed, “A servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger [apostolos] greater than the one who sent him” (John 13:16). In its more focused and familiar sense, the word apostolo...

Paul’s final greetings to the Roman Church seem typical. We might just skim over the list of names without a second thought. But one name within that list has become the focus of controversy and heated debate: Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known among the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. (Rom 16:7) Junia is most likely the name of a woman. When you read the phrase “among the apostles,” you understand how a simple salutation has become a prooftext in the debate over the role of women in ministry. The evidence that Junia is a woman is compelling. It's Greek spelling (Iounian) could point to either a man or a woman. However, the addition of an accent mark would specify gender—depending on what mark was chosen (Greek has several) and on which syllable the accent mark was placed. The earliest manuscripts of the New Testament were written in an uppercase Greek script (uncial) that did not include accents. But copies...

Yes. Paul is angry. Some false teacher has pressured the churches in Galatia (a region in the Roman Empire) to follow the Jewish Law. They're teaching that salvation comes through the Law of Moses, and not through Christ---the exact opposite of what Paul had taught them. So Paul writes a letter to bring them back to the truth. This letter isn't about Paul's ego or preferences: it's about understanding why Jesus had to die and how it affects us. The Jews had been living under the Law since the days of Moses. The Law was a set of expectations for God's people: commands that, when followed, would distinguish Israel from all other nations as a people that belonged to God. However, Israel couldn't keep the Law. Nobody could: everyone was a sinner. So God sent Jesus. Jesus lived the Law, died for our sins, and rose again---He fulfilled the Law so we don't have to. The Galatians' new teacher completely disregards and disrespects God's grace, Christ...

Jesus is the supreme High Priest and Apostle ( Hebrews 3:1 ; John 5:36; 20:21). The word apostle was used, however, of any messenger who was appointed and commissioned for some special purpose. Epaphroditus was a messenger (apostle) appointed by and sent by the Philippian church to Paul (Philippians 2:25). The missionaries in Paul’s company were the messengers (apostles) sent out by and commissioned by the churches (2 Corinthians 8:23). The Twelve were apostles in a special sense, however. After a night of prayer, Jesus chose the Twelve out of a large group of disciples and called them apostles (Luke 6:13). The fellowship of the Last Supper was limited to them (Luke 22:14). Peter recognized the Twelve had a special ministry and overseership ( Acts 1:20, 25, 26), probably with the promise in mind that the Twelve would in the future judge (rule) the twelve tribes of Israel ( Matthew 19:28 ). Thus, no more apostles were chosen after Matthias to be among the Twelve. Nor were any re...