Aug
12
2011
“…sprinkling or pouring conflates the Covenant head with the Covenant body.”
Doug Wilson writes:
“God, in baptizing the disciples with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, did so by pouring out His Spirit upon them. Pouring is therefore very clearly described as a biblical mode of baptism” (To a Thousand Generations, p. 102).
God poured out the Spirit, certainly. But can we then assume that the apostles poured water on new believers and their babies? Single words are clues, but they can be misleading. The effectiveness of word studies is limited because context is crucial. And the context of the Bible is most importantly structural. Structure is the answer.
The reason is that all of God’s new creations follow the structure of Genesis 1. It’s almost like, when God speaks, the Spirit will pick up anything available, anything lying around, and arrange it into the familiar pattern. This means that the Bible Matrix is crucial in identifying the meanings of many Bible symbols. Baptism and the Day of Atonement might not look anything like each other to us, but the Bible keeps tying them together, along with some other things, to tell us the same part of the Creation story. If we have eyes to see, this method also gives us hints as to the correct mode of baptism. It’s not about the motion of the water. It’s about the motion of the one being baptized. [1]
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3 comments | tags: Baptism, Corinthians, Covenant Theology, Daniel, Doug Wilson, Incense Altar, Totus Christus | posted in Bible Matrix, Biblical Theology, The Last Days
May
11
2010
Thoughts on 2 Corinthians 4
One thing I have realised over the last few years is how little the New Testament is commonly taught in the context of God’s “worship economy.” This is mostly due to the fact that the destruction of the Herods’ temple—or at least its significance—doesn’t even register on most Bible college lecturers’ radar, let alone that of the average Christian. We understand why the temples of the pagan gods were abandoned. Do we understand that the Temple of the true God had become a synagogue of Satan?
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no comments | tags: Commentary, Corinthians, Literary Structure, Paul | posted in Biblical Theology, Christian Life
Feb
23
2010
or Crops and Creeps
“And because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given unto me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, in order to keep me from exalting myself. Concerning this I entreated the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, then, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Thus, I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” —2 Cor. 12:7-10
What was Paul’s thorn in the flesh? Theories abound, from a bad temper, to bowlegs, to eye trouble and even epilepsy. Why is it that so many commentators fail to check their concordances for “previous.” These days, with Bible wordsearch software, we have no excuse.
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no comments | tags: Bible Matrix, Corinthians, David, Paul, Saul | posted in Biblical Theology, The Last Days
Oct
29
2009
Open Ark - Light - Sabbath
Behold, I tell you a mystery:
Open Veil - Firmament - Passover (Midnight)
We shall not all sleep,
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3 comments | tags: Corinthians, Feasts, Literary Structure, Paul, Resurrection | posted in Biblical Theology, The Last Days
Oct
24
2009
“…all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.” 1 Cor 10:4
There is a well-known Australian children’s novel called The Nargun and the Stars based on an aboriginal legend. The Nargun is a living creature but it looks like a big rock. It doesn’t move much, but it when it does it is ferocious.
What is Paul going on about here? Discounting the various Jewish fables and Christian legends surrounding both the original wilderness texts and Paul’s words here, what is his meaning? Could the structure of the passage give us a clue?
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2 comments | tags: Corinthians, Herod, Literary Structure, Numbers 5, Paul | posted in Biblical Theology, The Last Days
Sep
21
2009
or Feeding the Correct Dog
An added thought based on this from a post last week:
Living things have brains, guts and outsides. This is Word, Sacrament and Government. Word is intangible, but our emotions are communicated symbolically through our bodies. Facial expressions and body language are the response of the “Holy Place” to the “Most Holy” of our inner soul. Eyes are organs of judgment. Eyes are also the windows to the soul. The crystal sea is a window to heaven. The “outer court” interacts with the world and needs cleaning. Only clean stuff is allowed inside the “Holy Place.”
So, basically, as a Tabernacle, if my mind is a symbol of the command from the Most Holy (Word), and my body carries out my thoughts and intents in the world (Government), what is in between? The Holy Place, the place of flesh offered to God.
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2 comments | tags: Atonement, Corinthians, Fasting, Paul, Sacraments, Tabernacle | posted in Christian Life
Apr
16
2009
“Because of Christ we are thought of as fools, but Christ has made you wise. We are weak and hated, but you are powerful and respected. Even today we go hungry and thirsty and don’t have anything to wear except rags. We are mistreated and don’t have a place to live. We work hard with our own hands, and when people abuse us, we wish them well. When we suffer, we are patient. When someone curses us, we answer with kind words. Until now we are thought of as nothing more than the trash and garbage of this world.” 1 Corinthians 4:10-13
So, are God’s people to wear rags? Or should they be dressed well like Solomon or the woman in Proverbs 31? Or is that even the right question?
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no comments | tags: Adam, Corinthians, Daniel, Ecclesiology, Ezekiel, Ezra, Joseph, Maturity, Mordecai, Nehemiah, Noah, Paul, Proverbs, Robes, Solomon | posted in Biblical Theology, Totus Christus
