Dr Paul Allen

There can be no eternal relations of authority and submission ad intra, (at the interior) within the life of the Trinity from eternity, because:   (1) submission is the subjection of one will to another and therefore it requires multiple faculties of will; because  (2) will is a property of nature, not person, and thus two wills require two natures; and  (3) there is only one nature in the Godhead.  There can be no submission or subjection within the Godhead ad intra without there being a distinction of nature. The reason the incarnate Son can submit to the Father (which, of course, everyone grants is the case) is that He has added a human nature (and thus a human will) to His divine nature, which He possesses in perpetuity (Col 2:9; 1 Cor 15:28). Before He assumed a human nature in the incarnation, there is no subjection of the Son’s will to the Father. God is one God; each person of the Trinity fully subsists in the single, simple, undivided ...

Portrait of a Woman Suffering from Obsessive Envy (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Envy  Competes Who is Envy? What does Envy do? How do we define Envy? Something like this: Envy makes you feel resentment or anger or sadness because another person   has  something or another person  is  something that you want for yourself. Envy makes you aware that another person has some advantage, some good thing, that you want for yourself and, while he’s at it, he makes you want that other person not to have it. This means that there are at least three evil components to Envy: the deep discontent that comes when you see that another person has what you want; the desire to have it for yourself; and the desire for it to be taken from him. It’s crucial to understand that Envy flows out of Pride . (A commenter said it well: “In my wretched experience pride has always been envy’s father…”) Pride says, “This is what I deserve” or “Let me boast about all I hav...

Nothing to Envy (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Envy  Competes Who is Envy? What does Envy do? How do we define Envy? Something like this: Envy makes you feel resentment or anger or sadness because another person   has  something or another person  is  something that you want for yourself. Envy makes you aware that another person has some advantage, some good thing, that you want for yourself and, while he’s at it, he makes you want that other person not to have it. This means that there are at least three evil components to Envy: the deep discontent that comes when you see that another person has what you want; the desire to have it for yourself; and the desire for it to be taken from him. It’s crucial to understand that Envy flows out of Pride . (A commenter said it well: “In my wretched experience pride has always been envy’s father…”) Pride says, “This is what I deserve” or “Let me boast about all I have” or “I am better than you in all of these...

Image via Wikipedia Do you see through people or into people?  This question has been challenging me to examine how I interact and communicate with the people around me.  The problem is I find it hard to remember names? Do you? As a pastor / leader it is easy to get caught up into thinking only about  my  world,  my  struggles, and  my  priorities; so much so that my interaction with others can become automated and disingenuous. The question causes me to wonder just how many opportunities I have missed to connect with others more deeply and to truly serve them. How do you see people?  Before you answer that question, consider these five characteristics of someone that sees through people. A person that sees through people … Sees only the consequences of people’s actions and not the pain and struggle they are going through that causes them to behave in a certain way. Sees an opportunity to ask a question but hopes they don’t hav...