It’s a sad day. What was supposed to be the best weekend of the year turned into the worst day possible.
God as administrator
Photo by ohad
Recently at Oak Tree Church I taught on Ephesians 1:7-12, emphasizing the freedom we gain through Christ’s salvation. (You can listen to the message on our church website.)
However, in this passage there is an important phrase that I did not have time to address. Paul wrote:
In him [Jesus] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight. He did this when he revealed to us the secret of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, toward the administration of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ– the things in heaven and the things on earth. In Christ we too have been claimed as God’s own possession, since we were predestined according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, would be to the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:7-12
What in the world does “toward the administration of the fullness of the times” mean in verse 10?
The Story of the Old Testament
I’m excited to release my latest writing project, a short e-book called “The Story of the Old Testament.”Esther, the Mass Murderer?
The old saying goes, “Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.” However, there is something more sinister that happens as well. In recent years, there has been an unprecedented attack on historical fact, resulting in students learning “history” that, at best, is skewed or, at worst, is completely fictitious.
In this case, the adage could say, “Those who ignore history are doomed to revise it.” Consider the Old Testament story of Esther as told in Persia today.
Cut-and-Paste theology
I am conversing with a person via email right now who has a bad case (maybe even a fatal case) of what I call “Cut-and-Paste Theology.”
In a previous post, I gave two reasons for why studying biblical theology is necessary: because you learn what God says about himself, and because it is God’s will for every Christian.
Let me give you a third one: a biblical theology saves you from a cut-and-paste theology.
