Dr Paul Allen

The book of Hebrews focuses squarely on Jesus Christ . Theologically speaking, the book is Christocentric . The reason is obvious. The gospel ultimately boils down to three questions: Who is Jesus Christ? What has he done? What is the significance for us? Similar to the way Paul begins his epistle to the Colossians (Col 1:15-20), the author of Hebrews begins by introducing his readers to the person of Christ before teaching them about the work of Christ. These two categories—person and work— help us theologically navigate the richness of the Bible’s Christology.  While it is impossible to divorce Christ’s identity from his actions, dividing Christ’s person and work into individual theological categories helps us better articulate a comprehensive picture of what Scripture teaches us about Jesus. One of the problems Christians have when we talk about Christ is that we often jump straight to the work of Christ before talking about the person of Christ. This is part...

When removed from its context, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain” (NIV Philippians 1:21) appears to say that we can experience true life through knowing Jesus Christ personally and interacting with Him in all of our experiences. This truth is taught by other Bible passages (John 10:10; 17:3; Galatians 2:20). When Philippians 1:21 is interpreted this way, it beautifully expresses what many people have experienced. Perhaps that is why many people interpret this text this way. Yet, as we have discovered, the context indicates that Paul probably meant Philippians 1:21 to mean, “For to me, to continue to live means I will serve Christ more and will produce more fruit for Him. If I die, I will gain, because I will go to be with Him.” You might ask, “Is it wrong to interpret a Bible text differently than what the author intended it to say?” God often speaks to His people through His word about our lives. “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double edged ...