Dr Paul Allen

We all unanimously teach that our Lord Jesus Christ is to us one and the same Son, the self-same perfect in Godhead, the self-same perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man … acknowledged in two natures, unconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparable … the properties of each nature being preserved.” So wrote the church fathers in the Definition of Chalcedon in AD 451. But even if they spoke “unanimously,” their doctrine of Christ sounds so complex. Does it really matter? Given the sacrifices they made to describe Christ rightly, one can imagine that if these Christians were present at a group Bible study on Philippians 2:5-11, they might well say to us, “From what we have heard, it never mattered more.” Imagine the discussion on “Though he was in the form of God … emptied himself” (Phil. 2:6-7, RSV). Says one: “It means Jesus became a man for a time and then went back to being God afterwards.” “No,” says another, “He only emptied himself of His divine attributes and then He ...

And all the people said … “Amen!” The “amen corner” has had an important place in the life of the church throughout the ages. However, it is rare to find such a spot among Presbyterians . We are known as God ’s frozen chosen for a reason. It has been said that the Methodists like to shout “Fire,” the Baptists like to shout “Water,” and the Presbyterians like to softly say, “Order, order.” Nevertheless, in spite of the idiosyncrasies of various ecclesiastical persuasions, the function of the word amen far transcends denominational usages in the modern era. The term amen was used in the corporate worship of ancient Israel in two distinct ways. It served first as a response to praise given to God and second as a response to prayer. Those same usages of the term are still in vogue among Christians. The term itself is rooted in a Semitic word that means “truth,” and the utterance of “amen” is an acknowledgment that the word that has been heard, whether a word of praise, a word of ...

The church exists in and through Jesus Christ , and so is a distinctive New Testament reality.   At the same time it is continuous with Israel , the seed of Abraham and God 's covenant people. The new covenant under which the church lives (1 Cor. 11 :25; Heb. 8:7-13) is a new form of the relationship in which God says to His chosen community, "I will be your God, and you shall be my people" (Jer. 7:23; 31 :33; cf. Ex. 6:7).  Under the new covenant, the Old Testament priests, sacrifices, and sanctuary have been superseded by the mediation of Jesus (Heb. 1-10). Believers in Christ are the seed of Abraham and the people of God (Gal. 3:29; 1 Pet. 2:4-10).  Second, the limitation of the old covenant to one nation (Deut. 7:6; Ps. 147:19, 20) is replaced by the inclusion in Christ on equal terms of believers from every nation (Eph. 2; 3; Rev. 5:9, 10).  Third, the Spirit is poured out on the church, so that fellowship with Christ (1 John 1 :3), minis...

English: An etching by Jan Luyken illustrating Matthew 24:41 in the Bowyer Bible, Bolton, England. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The “ rapture ” of the believers, as described by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, refers to the meeting of the believers who are alive on earth with Jesus who comes from heaven to earth, an event that unites them with the believers who had died and who will be raised from the dead. There is no evidence in the New Testament for a separation between believers and unbelievers in which the believers are taken to heaven before the day of the Lord while the unbelievers are left behind on earth to face unprecedented tribulations. The event of “the rapture” (if one wants to retain the term, based on 1 Thess. 4:17) takes place on the day when Jesus returns to earth. Schnabel, E. J. (2011). 40 Questions about the End Times. (B. L. Merkle, Ed.) (p. 102). Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic & Professional. Related articles I Will Keep The Right Perspective And...

To answer our question from a historical standpoint, we must first determine what facts concerning the fate of Jesus of Nazareth can be credibly established on the basis of the evidence and second consider what the best explanation of those facts is. At least four facts about the fate of the historical Jesus are widely accepted by NT historians today. Fact 1: After His crucifixion, Jesus was buried by Joseph of Arimathea in a tomb. This fact is highly significant because it means that the location of Jesus’ tomb was known in Jerusalem to Jews and Christians alike. New Testament scholars have established the fact of Jesus’ entombment on the basis of evidence such as the following:    Jesus’ burial is attested in the information (from before A.D. 36) that was handed on by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:3–5.    The burial story is independently attested in the source material that was used by Mark in writing his Gospel.     Given the understandable ...

Stained glass window of the sacred Heart of Jesus Christ in the former Mosque (Cathedral) of Cordoba, Spain (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 12:43 –45 “It goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself…and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation” (v. 45). In stating that something greater than both the Ninevites’ repentance and King Solomon is present in Israel (Matt. 12:41–42), Jesus teaches us an important point about Himself ( Christology ). Jonah and Solomon represent the offices of prophet and king, respectively, and that which is greater is, of course,  Christ Jesus and His coming. In short, Jesus is better than all the prophets and kings who came before Him. He is also greater than the priesthood because He is greater than the temple, which represents the priestly office (v. 6). Jesus, then, is clearly presenting Himself as the consummate prophet, priest...

English: Detail from stained glass in the church of St Mary and St Lambert in Stonham Aspal in Suffolk (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 7:24–29 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (v. 24). Some liberal scholars want us to believe that the Synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) do not share John’s understanding of Christ ’s authority (8:58; 10:30) since the first three evangelists record few, if any, of Jesus ’ self-identifications with Yahweh Himself. However, this “scholarly” assumption is false. In particular, Matthew records several teachings of Jesus that reveal the evangelist’s high view of our Lord ’s person and work ( Christology ). For example, Jesus claims for Himself the right to determine who will enter the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 7:21–23, and in the Old Testament only God Himself makes such judgments ( Eccl. 12:13–14). Furthermore, in the Sermon o...

Of the four Gospels , John has the most specific references to the deity of Christ . John affirms that Jesus is more than simply a chosen person: He shares in the deity of God Himself.  Jesus own awareness of deity is expressed both in sayings about His unity with the Father … but especially in the ‘I am’ sayings [John 6:20; 8:12; 10:7; 10:10; 11:25; 14:6; and 15:1]. In addition to these sayings are several where Jesus designates Himself simply by the words I am (John 4:26; 8:24, 28; 13:19; 18:5–8).  Yesterday Pastor Christian explained that this is a phrase almost impossible to translate literally; in most contexts the simple I am is not meaningful in English [compare renderings of the NASB (“I am He”) and NIV (“I am the one I claim to be”)].  But in John 8:58, the RSV [and similarly, the NASB and NIV] translates ‘Before Abraham was, I am.’ The language is much stronger in Greek than in English. Before Abraham was born (genesthai), I am (ego eimi) [thus...

English: A diagram showing the Monophysite view of Christ: One nature, which is neither fully human, nor fully divine. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) In the year 451, the church convened the great Council of Chalcedon , one of the most important ecumenical councils of all time. It was called to combat several heresies, the most significant of which was the Monophysite heresy . The term monophysite has a prefix and a root. The prefix, mono, means "one," and the root, phusis, is translated as "nature." So monophusis or monophysite simply means "one nature." The Monophysites claimed that Jesus did not have two natures, a divine nature and a human nature , but only one nature. That one nature was neither completely divine nor completely human. It was, depending on how one looked at it, a deified human nature or a humanized divine nature. This heresy was very serious for two reasons. It denied, on the one hand, the full deity of Christ . On the other hand, ...

John 20:30–31 “These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ , the Son of God , and that by believing you may have life in his name” (v. 31). Even though orthodox Christianity often receives criticism in our day, it is not too difficult to find people who admire Jesus. Politicians of all stripes invoke the name of Jesus, or at least what they believe He teaches, in their policy proposals. References to Him abound in popular films, books, and songs. The Jesus that is presented to us in these different ways, however, often bears little resemblance to the one we find in the Bible . In other words, many people respect a Jesus who does not exist. Instead, the Jesus that is exalted in our culture is one who has more in common with whatever is currently in vogue than with what the New Testament record has to say about Him. Of course, this is dangerous because the Bible is clear that salvation comes only through trusting in Him — as He has bee...