Six deficiences marked out the objective spiritual situation of the Gentiles before the incarnation of Jesus Christ. These deficiencies of the “far off” Gentile situation ranged from covenant exclusion, to hopelessness, to atheism. Paul proclaims the all-sufficiency of Christ as he explains that Christ has powerfully overcome these deficiencies through his shed blood as he inaugurated the new covenant and expanded its borders to include both Jew and Gentile.
John Calvin’s Institutes Study Group
We are meeting this Sunday to go over Book 1 Chapter 14. Make sure you drop by for an interesting discussion and tasty meal.
It is easy to start reading verse 8 with the words “saved by grace” and miss the first word in the verse, the word “for.” Such a reading tends to ingore the contextual role of verses 8 through 10 which serve not primarily as a proof-text for the doctrine of salvation but rather, they serve to confirm Paul’s assertion in verse 7 which is that God has acted in salvation in such a way that it manifests His eternal, gracious character. The role of these verses then is to show how salvation by pure undiluted grace confirms the grace of God’s divine nature which is the fountain from which the stream of saving grace flows. Any interpretation of these verses which detracts from the pure grace of salvation expounded upon here (Arminianism, Wesleyanism, Calminianism, or any kind of synergism) at the same time detracts from the eternal character of God and is therefore false and pernicious.
Behind the rancor and division in the Corinthian church was a spiritual virus infecting it which was an immoderate desire to be something. Paul cuts the ground out from underneath those who were thus infected by reminding them that there was nothing desirable in them which accounted for their election unto salvation. Then Paul gives these Corinthians the pure gospel antidote for resisting this spiritual virus which is their sovereign and gracious union with Jesus Christ.
Study of John Calvin’s Institutes
With the middle of April nearly at hand we are approaching Calvin Studies Sunday. This week we will be discussing book one, chapter 13 on the doctrine of the Trinity. This is a lengthy chapter and has some difficult spots but I am sure that spending some time thinking about the doctrine of the Trinity will be edifying for us all. I look forward to seeing you all at the study.
Pastor Sawtelle
From the time a young person starts playing team sports, they learn that there is no “I” in “team” only “we.” When it comes to the new birth, Scripture is clear that regeneration, or, being made alive, is not a cooperative effort between God and the sinner; rather, regeneration is sovereign, with God doing all the work while man sits passively. Paul unravels the logic behind God’s sovereignty in making sinners alive as he grounds the new birth in its prior historical and covenantal reality of being united with Christ in his bodily resurrection from the dead and his ascension into heaven.
Sentences form the bedrock of divine revelation to the fallen race, but finding the limits and parts of the sentences in Scripture can sometimes be challenging. Ephesians 2:1-7 is one long sentence in the Greek and is irregular in structure. The key to understanding this sentence is to see that Paul places the direct object of the sentence up front in verse 1 while the subject and verbs of the sentence do not occur until verses 5 and 6. By putting the direct object in the emphatic position in verse 1, Paul signals that he is calling attention to the character and condition of fallen men. Through exposing the spiritually dead nature of sinner, Paul prepares the way for us to appreciate the joy, power, and peace of the gospel of sovereign grace in Jesus Christ.
Mediatorial Kingship of Christ Over the Church
‘Him’, Paul says, the Father gave as Head to the Church, and by putting it that way he puts emphasis on the power and authority of Christ as Head. Accenting the pronoun ‘him’ reaches back to the sweeping power, authority, and exaltation of Christ spelled out in 1:20b-22a and applies it to Christ as Head over the Church. As Head, that is, supreme ruler, Christ exclusively rules his Church and has authority to establish its ministry and govern its practice without interference of the Pope, Bishops, magistrates, or democratically elected church rulers.
All Saints and visitors, As of Sunday February 26, 2012, we will be holding our worship services at Laurel Elementary …
