Dr Paul Allen

HEBREWS 1:3.  Verse 3 is an exposition of how the Son reveals the Father to us. The idea of “radiance” goes back to the notion of the shekinah glory in the Old Testament . The shekinah was a shining, visible glory that demonstrated the majesty of God , as in the exodus (Exod 13:21; 40:34-35) and at the dedication of Solomon’s temple (1 Kgs 8:10-11). Looking at Christ is the way we see most fully the glory of God.  More than that, Christ is the exact expression of the Father’s nature . Christ shares the divine nature with the Father as the Second Person of the Trinity . This is where the divine Son is different from a human son. No human son is the exact representation of his father. There is a close relation, but not an exact representation. Christ, however, is an “exact representation.” He and God are of the same divine essence. There are almost innumerable applications to the doctrine of the Trinity as expressed here in Hebrews 1 . For example, this is one of ...

Writing to the Philippians, Paul says, "He who has begun a good work in you will perfect it to the end" (Phil. 1:6). Therein is the promise of God that what He starts in our souls, He intends to finish. So the old axiom in Reformed theology about the perseverance of the saints is this: If you have it—that is, if you have genuine faith and are in a state of saving grace—you will never lose it. If you lose it, you never had it. We know that many people make professions of faith, then turn away and repudiate or recant those professions. The Apostle John notes that there were those who left the company of the disciples, and he says of them, "Those who went out from us were never really with us" (1 John 2:19). Of course, they were with the disciples in terms of outward appearances before they departed. They had made an outward profession of faith, and Jesus makes it clear that it is possible for a person to do this even when he doesn't possess what he's pro...

Jesus tomb is sealed and guarded a. Sir: They gave Pilate a title of honor and respect. But the day before these same religious leaders rejected the King of Kings . They mocked and despised Him, putting Jesus to open shame, but they honored Pilate.   i. On the next day: “It must mean that the chief priests and Pharisees actually approached Pilate on the Sabbath with their request. If they did that, it is clear to see how radically they broke the Sabbath Law.” (Barclay) b. We remember … how that deceiver said, “After three days I will rise”: Ironically, the enemies of Jesus remembered His promise of resurrection better than His own disciples remembered. c. While He was still alive: In this, the enemies of Jesus admit that Jesus is dead. They did not believe the “Swoon Theory,” a conjecture that denies the resurrection, saying that Jesus never really died, but just “swooned” on the cross, and then somehow wonderfully revived in the tomb.   i. A humorous letter t...

A recent bipolar diagnosis shocks the group. Cancer ravages the health of a young wife and mother. An impending divorce threatens to tear apart a marriage, family, and community. A member struggling with same-sex attraction searches for ways to share his struggle. The lone black man in the small group is peppered yet again with questions about racism. The single mom cries out for help with her teenage son. A young couple struggles to accept that they can’t have biological children. The widow, married for more than six decades, gropes for reasons to go on. A father of six children shares the news of his recent layoff. Life is hard and broken. Christian clichés aren’t going to cut it in the unavoidable messiness of realities like these. Community Is Messy Christian community — in the local church, in small group, missional community , or wherever else — is messy. If our friends are plunging headlong into a dark place, someone needs to go after them. And we have no quick fixe...

The New Testament 's most frequent, and indeed most basic, description of the believer is that he or she is a person "in Christ ." The expression and its variants overwhelmingly dominate the teaching of the Apostles. And one of the clues Scripture gives to help us understand what this means is to express our union with Christ in terms of what Owen calls "conjugal relations," or, as we would say, "marriage." Through the ministry of the Spirit and by faith, we become united to Christ, "one" with Christ, in the way a man and a woman "become one flesh" in the marriage bond. This picture, already present in the Old Testament , (Isa. 54:5; 61:10; 62:5; Ezek. 16:1–22; cf. the book of Hosea ) comes to fulfillment in the New in the relationship between Christ and His church.  Christ rejoiced in this prospect in eternity, and He has made it a reality in time, enduring the humiliation, pain, and anguish of the cross. Christ, in al...

Our Lord Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Being “about thirty years of age. . .”—the period of maturity. Who was it reached maturity? The Son of God as Man—the maturity of all physical powers, all soul powers, all spiritual powers, and not until that point was reached did God thrust Him out into the three years of service. “I do always those things that are pleasing to [My Father] ” (rv). Where did Jesus learn that power? In those thirty silent years. Can God say of us—“That soul is learning, ‘ precept upon precept; line upon line’; it is not nearly so petulant and stupid as it used to be, it no longer sulks in corners, it no longer murmurs against discipline, it is getting slowly to the place where I shall be able to do with it what I did with My own Son”? What was that? God took His hand off, as it were, and said to the world, the flesh and the devil, "Do your worst”— “. . . greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.” God shielded His Son from no ...

“Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.” ( Ephesians 3:7 ) In the New Testament , the words for gift and grace are very closely related. The Greek term charis is most frequently translated “grace,” andcharisma is most often rendered “gift.” We who are twice-born are to use our “gift” with one another as “good stewards of the manifold grace of God” ( 1 Peter 4:10 ). When God gifts us with faith so that we are saved by His grace ( Ephesians 2:8 ), we are then “created in righteousness and true holiness” ( Ephesians 4:24 ). This “new man” is granted the potential to understand the “exceeding greatness of his power” ( Ephesians 1:19 ) and to participate in the “divine nature” so that we are able to escape the corruption that pervades the lust of this godless world ( 2 Peter 1:4 ). When we preach the gospel, we are using “the power of God” that will result in the salvation of those who respond ( Rom...

At the Throne of Grace (Photo credit: Lawrence OP ) “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” ( Colossians 3:16 ) One of the words which has come into wide use (actually misuse) in our generation is the word “charisma,” along with its derivative “charismatic.” We speak of a politician as having charisma, or a charismatic personality, for example. Another common use of “charismatic” refers to those who practice speaking in tongues . But these are not the true meanings of these words, at least not in terms of their original usage. This latter usage, in particular, comes from the inclusion of tongues as one of the “gifts” of the Holy Spirit ( 1 Corinthians 12:1 , 28). The Greek word is charisma. It does not mean “tongues,” and neither does it mean an outgoing and articulate manner. It simply means “gift,” or better, “free gift,” a classic e...

Our Lord Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” ( Colossians 3:16 ) One of the words which has come into wide use (actually misuse) in our generation is the word “charisma,” along with its derivative “charismatic.” We speak of a politician as having charisma, or a charismatic personality, for example. Another common use of “charismatic” refers to those who practice speaking in tongues . But these are not the true meanings of these words, at least not in terms of their original usage. This latter usage, in particular, comes from the inclusion of tongues as one of the “gifts” of the Holy Spirit ( 1 Corinthians 12:1 , 28). The Greek word is charisma. It does not mean “tongues,” and neither does it mean an outgoing and articulate manner. It simply means “gift,” or better, “free gift,” a classic examp...

If I Should Fall from Grace with God (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) If you haven’t figured it out yet let me encourage you to see something that will greatly help you. Not all of your ideas are good. Some of them are bad. And God will often let you flail and fail out there for very good purposes. And when you fail do not lose the opportunity to find grace in the midst of it. I believe this is especially important for pastors to understand. It’s one of the most important lessons I have learned in 16 years of pastoral ministry: failure is to be expected and learned from. I have misspoke, misstepped, and missed the mark in more ways than I can explain here. And failing hurts. Most of us of are afraid of it. Leaders in particular are afraid of failure since it’s always a bit more of a public spectacle. I’m not talking about moral failure that disqualifies someone from the ministry, but ministerial failure. It may sometimes involve sin, but more often it’s poor judgment or simply the ba...

Cover via Amazon I can flip a switch, but I don’t provide the electricity. I can turn on a faucet, but I can’t make the water flow. There will be no light and no liquid refreshment without someone else providing it. And so it is, in a limited sense, for the Christian with the ongoing grace of God . His grace is essential for our spiritual lives, but we don’t control the supply. We can’t make the grace flow, but God has given us circuits to connect and pipes to open in case it’s there. Our God is lavish in his grace, often liberally dispensing his favor without even the least bit of cooperation and preparation on our part. But he also has his regular channels. And we can routinely avail ourselves of these revealed paths of blessing, or neglect them to our detriment. The Places Where the Grace Keeps Passing “The essence of the Christian life,” says one seasoned saint, “is learning to fight for joy in a way that does not replace grace.” We cannot earn God’s grace or make it flow a...