Reflections on the loving kindness of the Triune God
Years ago John Stott’s book, Christ the Controversialist, caught my attention. He put into words what I was finding in my regular tours through the Bible: Jesus, though gracious and loving, always produced chaos as he rejected the status quo. He was, for instance, deeply spiritual yet without being either a Stoic or a mystic—both …
Read More Christ the ControversialistThis post has also been published at the Cordeo.org.uk website. In John 17 Jesus prayed for his own—for those the Father had given him. In praying for his own he offered a contrast between them and those who are in the “world”. The distinction can’t be missed as Jesus uses the term “world” seventeen times …
Read More Out of the WorldYesterday I was part of a small group of colleagues on a sightseeing trip in Goa, India. We visited the church where Francis Xavier, the founder of the Jesuits, is interred. Or, to be more accurate, displayed. His body is now partially visible in a windowed box on an elevated platform about fifteen meters beyond …
Read More ReligionThis entry was offered a week ago, on March 26, on the Cor Deo website. Jeremiah, the 7th century BC prophet, had a tough job. God called him to tell his family, friends, and neighbors in Jerusalem how wrong they were. Their views of God, destiny, and personal security were case studies in denial. They …
Read More Jeremiah’s ComplaintSuccess in living a spiritual life depends, not surprisingly, on the Spirit. Yet the Christian tradition has been very soft in addressing the Spirit’s place in the Godhead and in our lives as believers. That despite many strong advocates for him both now and in the past. His role in both Old and New Testaments …
Read More What about the Spirit?Years ago, on my first day at Kibbutz Dovrat in Israel, I was walking across the lawn to find my newly assigned room. Off to my right a young boy—probably 4 or 5 years old—shouted to a man who was walking ahead of him, “Abba, Abba!” It was my first chance to hear a native …
Read More Triune IntimacyJesus always obeys his Father—see, for instance, John 5:19 and 6:38. Let’s pause and ask why. The answer we reach may just reshape our own obedience. Was the Father so much greater than the Son in his being—his substance—that a proper obedience was what the Father required of him? Did the archheretic, Arius, and his …
Read More Law, Love, and ObedienceThis post is also published at the Cor Deo site I share with Peter Mead (under the “blog” tab). On Saturday I had some good reading time on a train to and from London. On my lap? A book by Donald Bloesch, God the Almighty, that begins with a survey of the 20th century theological …
Read More Defining DeityNow that I’m my sixties I have a clearer sense than someone in his thirties might have that things are changing. When I was a teenager I would never have imagined what the world would look like just fifty years later. Differences in the technology of everyday life are huge. Jets have largely eclipsed propeller …
Read More Indulging OurselvesAs I write this on Sunday evening I’m reflecting on this morning. With Jon and Rob of our Cor Deo group this year we were privileged to join Huw and Alison at the International Church of Turin. Huw is a Cor Deo alum from last year and now pastors the Turin church. We had a …
Read More Union and Communion