Blog Search Results

Who is the new Jerusalem?

...here is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.   If we are “in Christ” then WE are that new creation! Hence why, in the preceding verse, Paul writes that we should “regard no one from a human point of view” if they are believers.   Through Christ, God was reconciling the world back to himself. Paul again picks up on this theme in Colossia...

new Covenant Israel is no longer physical (nor literal)!

...h; a new creation in Christ. The new creation isn't some far flung future event, but was and is a current thing which happens right now! As far as Paul was concerned, once you were in Christ, the old was gone and the new had come already: 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! Galatians 6:15 For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creati...

How Polycarp (And Others) Show The Early Use Of The new Testament

...Polycarp is one of the most important people in early church history. He was a disciple of John the Evangelist, and later became the bishop of Smyrna. Polycarp was born around 69 A.D. in Smyrna, which is now modern-day Turkey. He grew up during a time when Christians were being persecuted for their beliefs, and he himself became a Christian at a young age. Polycarp is regarded as one of the earliest church fathers because he had a significant impact on Christianity as it spread throughout Asia Minor and Europe, and he also played an important role in shaping biblical canon for centuries to come. We don’t know a great deal about his life, apart from t...

It's no longer about land!

... a new creation in Christ.   The new creation isn't (just?) some far off future event, but was and is a current thing which happens right now! As far as Paul was concerned, once you were in Christ, the old was gone and the new had come already: 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! Galatians 6:15 For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a n...

The Eighth Day

...akes us a new creation through baptism and through our outworking of the faith, we reconcile the world back to God as co-workers with Jesus (1 Corinthians 3:9)! 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.   Resting with God This is God showing that things work differently now. No longer is he only found in a physical brick and mortar temple, or a specific holy place (as Jesus points out in John 4:21) – n...

Biblical Inspiration and the Canon: How We Got the Bible

...The Bible is often described as “God-breathed,” a phrase taken from 2 Timothy 3:16: “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” But what does it mean for Scripture to be “inspired,” and how did the books of the Bible come to be recognised as part of the canon — the authoritative collection of writings that make up the Bible? Were they really “decided” at the Council of Nicaea, as some popular myths claim? Table of Contents Understanding Biblical Inspiration What is the Canon? The Septuagint and the Deuterocanonical Books How Were the Books of the Bi...