Dr Paul Allen

I’ve often taken comfort from the idea that Jesus’ resurrection body still bears the scars of crucifixion on his hands, feet, and side. A teacher I respect says that the only person in Heaven whose body remains imperfect will be Jesus, who carries the marks of mortality and the sacrifice he made for all humanity. I’ve also reflected on the idea that his wounds are an expression of his continual intercession for us – though we are perfected in the by and by, and never again sin, we will still be justified by Jesus’ righteousness rather than our own. We won’t hand his righteousness back and stand on our own merit once we can manage it. The righteousness of Christ, given to us through the cross in exchange for our own, is not a loan; it is the eternal justification on which we stand, and we will always be recipients of mercy because of the intercessory wounds of Christ. As the hymn writer captured so beautifully in the wonderful ‘Crown Him With Many Crowns’: ‘Crown Him the Lord of Love: B...

Sphinx on a pottery (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ .” - Philippians 1:9–10 - The word translated “sincere” in this passage is a fascinating word in Greek. It’s a compound word : eilikrineis, from helios, which means “sun,” andkrinō, which means “to judge.” Literally, “judged by the sun.” Now, what does being judged by the sun have to do with sincerity? Well, in the Roman world one of the largest industries—if not the largest—was the pottery industry. And, just like anything else, the various kinds of pottery differed in quality. The lowest quality pottery was thick, solid, and easy to make. But the finest pottery was thinner and therefore more fragile. Often, when thin pottery was being fired, it would crack in the oven. Now, rather than discard those vessels that we...