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What Does it Mean to be Filled with the Spirit?
Ephesians 5:18 commands believers to “be filled with the Spirit.” But what does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? Being filled with the Spirit has been understood in a variety of ways. Some have interpreted as some sort of spiritual manifestation of speaking in tongues. Others have said being filled with the Spirit is the same as being filled with Christ. Although there are many notions as to what being “filled with the Spirit” means, I think if we pay attention to the grammar and broader context of Ephesians, we can understand this passage. First, there is the problem of what it actually means to be filled “with the Spirit.” Many of the English versions (NASB, ESV, KJV, etc.) translate it “with the Spirit” which is ambiguous, because it could mean two different things: “Filled with the Spirit” could communicate content (one is filled with the content of…
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Where was the Altar of Incense Located?
In Hebrews 9:3-4 we are told that the Holy of Holies (aka Most Holy Place) contained the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant. This Holy of Holies was entered only once a year on the Day of Atonement by the High Priest (Heb 9:7; cf. Lev 16). However, we see from other Scriptures that the altar of incense was used much more frequently than once a year (cf. Lev 4:7; Exod 30:7-8). In fact, in God’s instructions for the altar of incense, Israel was instructed to put the altar of incense outside of the Holy of Holies, separated from the Holy of Holies by a curtain (cf. Exod 30:6; 40:5). How are we to understand these apparent contradictions about the placement of the altar of incense? Although there are a variety of ways people have dealt with this issue, I believe the best solution is to…
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How Did Jesus Fulfill the Law? (Matt 5:17-18)
What does it mean that Christ came to fulfill the Law? In Matthew 5:18 Jesus promises, “Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” The KJV translates this verse as, “one jot or one tittle shall no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” The “jot” is likely referring to the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet, the yodh, which looks like ” י “. The “tittle” is probably referring to the part of the Hebrew letter which differentiated nearly identical letters. For example, the difference between ר and ד is only the smallest stroke at the upper right part of the letter. Apparently, some people were questioning Jesus’ motives in His early ministry. In Matthew 5:17 He begins correcting the people who were supposing that He was attempting to subvert or abolish the Law and/or the prophetic…
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Jesus Quoting Psalm 82 in John 10
In a previous post we looked at why the gods of Psalm 82 are better viewed as angelic beings than human judges. However, many interpreters view Jesus’ quote of Psalm 82 in John 10 as further evidence that Psalm 82 is a reference to human judges. The context of the situation in John 10 is that the Jews are about to stone Jesus for making himself out to be God (John 10:33). In answer to the Jews picking up stones, in John 10:34-36 Jesus says the following: Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken—do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? By referring to the Law while quoting Psalm 82, Jesus…
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Church Discipline: The Forgotten Pillar
Little known to most people, the 1561 Belgic Confession gives three marks by which the true church is known: (1) preaching the pure gospel, (2) observing the sacraments (i.e., baptism and communion), and (3) practicing church discipline. Throughout church history, church discipline has been an integral component of God-fearing churches. However, a recent survey of pastors revealed that 55% of churches have never formally disciplined a member. Another 21% stated that, although the church had practiced church discipline, it was three or more years ago. Clearly, church discipline has fallen on hard times and is hardly viewed as a pillar of the church. There are a variety of reasons churches do not practice church discipline. One reason, sadly, is ignorance. In order to alleviate the ignorance, my goal in this post is to provide a simple template for following church discipline as taught in Matthew 18:15–17. Church Discipline Step 1:…
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The Illegal Trial of Jesus
One of the things that has always fascinated me is the rule of law and how trials operate to either convict or acquit the accused. Jewish law in particular had specific guidelines for how trials should be conducted. Violation of these guidelines was to be viewed as an illegal practice and a miscarriage of justice. But that didn’t stop the Jewish leadership from conducting an illegal trial against the Son of God. The illegal trial of Jesus, as reported by the Gospels is evidenced in many ways. Since I’ve been reading through Will Varner’s Passionate about the Passion Week (see the podcast interview here), I thought I would post a few of his observations about the illegal nature of Jesus’ trial. Although Varner notes there were many illegal aspects of the trial of Jesus, here are a few of the more prominent illegalities. The trial of Jesus was illegal because…
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The Inferior Prophecy of the New Covenant
If I said the prophecy of the New Covenant was inferior to the Old Covenant, what would you think? Most of the time we focus on the superiority of the New Covenant in relationship to the Old Covenant. And rightly so! The Old Covenant never had the provision to save anyone (Heb 10:4). The Old Covenant never was able to perfect anyone (Heb 10:1). The New Covenant is vastly superior. The New Covenant is also superior with regard to one’s relationship with God. Whereas under the Old Covenant God’s relationship with the people was located spatially in the temple, now believers themselves are regarded as the temple of God where He lives (cf. 1 Cor 6:19; Eph 2:19-22). This is a significant transition to a greater privilege from the Old Covenant. Paul describes the comparison of the Old and New covenants as follows: For if there was glory in the…
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Preterism and This Generation in Matt 24:34
Preterism views the label “this generation” in Matthew 24:34 as one of the most important factors in determining one’s eschatological viewpoint. Does “this generation” refer to the disciples to whom Jesus is talking, or a future generation? Matthew 24:34 and the mention of “this generation” occurs in the midst of the Olivet Discourse (Matt 24-25). The Olivet Discourse was prompted by the disciples’ question about when the destruction of Jerusalem would be, and what sign would signify Christ’s return (Matt 24:3). In answer to the disciples, Jesus gives the following signs of the impending destruction: There will be many false Christs, wars, and rumors of wars, earthquakes, and famines (vv. 4-8) There will be persecution and a mass apostasy, but the gospel will be preached to the whole world (vv. 9-14) The abomination of desolation in fulfillment of Daniel 9:27 will take place and mark the need to flee from…
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Full List of Resurrections in the Bible
I have previously discussed how many future resurrections there are in the Bible, focusing specifically on the theology behind resurrection. However, I also thought it would be helpful to list all of the resurrections that are mentioned in Scripture for reference. Given the helpful feedback I received on the list, I have also decided to include a list of “honorable mentions” which I personally don’t think are resurrections but have been thought so by some. A couple notes of clarification on this list of possible (but unlikely) resurrections. First, some people assume Jonah may have been resurrected because of the connection Jesus makes in Matthew 12:40-41. However, the connection does not depend on the death of Jonah. Rather it is the time spent in the fish. There is nothing in Jonah or the gospels which make clear reference to the resurrection of Jonah. Yet, it of course remains possible. Second,…
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Where Does Conflict in Relationships Come From?
Relationships always involve sinners. Since sinners sin, conflict is inevitable in all relationships and we need to deal with it. Because of the ubiquitous nature of conflict, we also need to understand it. One of the most pertinent passages to know with regard to conflict is James 4:1-3. James 4:1-3 addresses the source of conflict in relationships. 1. Conflict comes from within (James 4:1a) The first point worth noting is that conflict arises from within—from the heart! Understanding a biblical theology of the heart helps solidify this point. The concept of heart in biblical language is the decision-making, control center of life. It is more akin to the way we think of making up our mind. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Likewise, Jesus states, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false…
