Dr Paul Allen

In Genesis 6:1–4, the reader encounters one of the most challenging passages in all of Scripture to interpret. Here’s the passage in the ESV. When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterwards, when the sons of God came into the daughters of man, and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. Echoes from Genesis 1–3 People multiplying is an echo of Genesis 1. God made “man” (Gen 1:26–27), and then he commissioned his image-bearers to be fruitful and “multiply” (1:28). In 6:1, we read of this multiplication happening. The reference to God as “Spirit” in Genesis 6:3 reminds us of 1:2, the second verse in the Bible. There, th...

Luke 9:18–22  “[Jesus] asked them, ‘Who do the crowds say that I am?’ And they answered, ‘John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.’ Then he said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ And Peter answered, ‘The Christ of God’ ” (vv. 18–20). From the beginning of Luke’s gospel, it has been clear that Jesus is the Son of God and the promised Son of David sent to rule perfectly over the nations. Luke 1:26–38, for example, records the core truths about Jesus’ identity that the angel Gabriel spoke to Mary. But the disciples of Jesus did not hear these words of Gabriel; instead, they came to understand who Jesus is over time as they took part in His ministry. Today’s passage tells us about a key moment during Jesus’ earthly ministry when the disciples, through Peter, revealed who they understood Jesus to be. Luke gives his account of Peter’s confession right after Jesus’ miracle of feeding the five thousand. In so doing, commentator...

The intercession of our Great High Priest is the foundation for our confidence when it comes to our perseverance. It also helps us make sense of the accounts of Peter and Judas, two of Jesus’ disciples who experienced a serious fall. One disciple’s fall away from Christ is seen as a final and full work of apostasy, whereas the other disciple’s fall is not final and full because he is restored. And we see that their crime against Christ was very similar. Judas betrayed Jesus. And that same night, Peter denied Christ. These two men who had been disciples with Jesus during his earthly ministry committed treason against Him in his darkest hour. And there are further similarities in these two examples in that Jesus predicted both Peter’s and Judas’ diabolical acts. But we recall that when Jesus said, “One of you will betray me,” the disciples said among themselves, “Who is it, Lord? Is it I?” When Judas asked, “Is it I, Rabbi?” Jesus said to him, “You have said so” (Matt. 26:25). Jesus...

“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...

c. 1437-1446 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.” ROMANS 3:28 As we’ve seen this month, the most serious problem facing the human race is not the destruction of the environment, crime, or the threat of nuclear war; it is sin . The former threaten us with physical death , the latter with spiritual death. Thus it follows that the greatest news ever known is that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15). Hell may be the destiny of man, but that is not the desire of God ’s heart. Peter notes that the Lord “is patient ... not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” ( 2 Peter 3:9). Because of His great love for sinners, God sent His Son “to be the propitiation for our sins” ( 1 John 4:10). Since God’s gracious gift of salvation is appropriated by faith, it is not surprising that justification by faith is the theme of Romans (see Rom. 1:16–17). The apostle shows that all m...

“And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” ( 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 ) When God grants the gift of faith that enables us at the point of salvation ( Ephesians 2:8 ), it should not be seen as a static power that merely resides in our minds but rather an empowerment that is expected to grow into a dynamic and demonstrable “divine nature” ( 2 Peter 1:4-9 ). Faith preserves and protects us. Jesus insisted, “He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” ( John5:24 ). These words are precise. Once faith is exercised, an eternal transaction takes place wherein a person is “passed” from spiritual death to eternal life. This is an absolute change and eliminates the possibility of hell ( John 10:28-29 ). Faith is power for ef...

Paul seems to assume that believers will know what their spiritual gifts are. He simply tells those in the church at Rome to use their gifts in various ways: “if prophecy, in proportion to our faith … he who contributes, in liberality; he who gives aid, with zeal; he who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness” (Rom. 12:6–8). Similarly, Peter simply tells his readers how to use their gifts, but does not say anything about discovering what they are: “As each has received a gift employ it for one another, as good stewards of God ’s varied grace” (1 Peter 4:10). But what if many members in a church do not know what spiritual gift or gifts God has given to them? In such a case, the leaders of the church need to ask whether they are providing sufficient opportunities for varieties of gifts to be used. Though the lists of gifts given in the New Testament are not exhaustive, they certainly provide a good starting point for churches to ask whether at least there is opportunity for these gi...