(From In Christ–the Church at Ephesus, forthcoming.) The purpose of wearing the armor of God is to “stand against the schemes of the devil” (Eph. 6:11). Schemes (μεθοδεία) is translated wiles in the Authorized Version. It is a compound word…
Tag: Christianity
Fixity
from In Christ–the Church at Ephesus (forthcoming). Why to the Gentiles do what they do? Paul said that it is “due to their hardness of heart” (Ephesians 4:18). The Authorized Version calls it “blindness of heart.” The Greek word (πώρωσις)…
Some Early American History
(from In Christ–the Church at Ephesus, forthcoming.) Christianity has not followed Paul’s leadership and instructions to not “walk as the Gentiles do” (Ephesians 4: 17) as well as it should have. Many Greek, Gentile and worldly ideas and practices have…
Tossed To And Fro
(from In Christ—The Church At Ephesus, forthcoming) Paul looked forward to the day when Christians would not be “tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4: 14). Again, this phrase suggests…
Peace
(from In Christ—The Church At Ephesus, forthcoming.) And we are to do all of this “in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3), without the ravages of war and strife, without theological conflict and opposition, and with a spirit of harmony…
Forbearance
(from In Christ—The Church At Ephesus, forthcoming.) We are to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience” (Ephesians 4:1-2). The Authorized Version translated μακροθυμία as longsuffering.…
Why did Paul suffer?
(from In Christ—The Church At Ephesus, forthcoming.) So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family…
Through The Church
(from In Christ—The Church At Ephesus, forthcoming.) To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone…
Christ Mass
The Christmas story is both well known and hardly known at the same time. Our familiarity with the story makes us see only what we expect to see. The more we are used to seeing something, the less we really…
Peace
Peace is not the absence of conflict. The Greek word translated as peace (εἰρήνη) literally means to join, which fits right into the larger context of eliminating the wall of division between the circumcised and the uncircumcised. Peace comes when…