Tag Archives: Theology

What Is Worship?

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Engraving by Georg Pencz on Wikimedia Commons
When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean. Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. (Matt 8:1–3; NKJV)

Worshipping God is a core value in Christianity and a prominent topic in the modern church. There are a lot of different ideas about what worship means and how it looks. Is worship music, or lifestyle, both, or something else? Are there any boundaries for dress, music, preaching, and other modes of expression? If so, what are they and why? If not, why not?

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Bible Word Study on ‘Hope’

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Photo by Carl Hunley, Jr. on Unsplash

Hope is an important idea in the Bible. David’s hope in God was cause for gladness and rejoicing (Ps 16:8–11). Matthew points to Jesus as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the Gentile’s hope (Matt 12:21). And Paul’s hope in God included resurrection to eternal life (Acts 24:15). The goal of this study is to better understand the overall sense of hope in the Bible as a basis for future studies.

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How to Read the Bible

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I will meditate on Your precepts,
And contemplate Your ways.
I will delight myself in Your statutes;
I will not forget Your word.
(Psalm 119:15–16; NKJV)

In my last post, I explained how reading the Bible is relevant today. But the Bible is a unique collection of books written by multiple authors, on multiple continents, spanning two millennia, and including several different styles of writings. How do you read a book like that? What approaches are helpful? Where do you start? Here are some suggestions.

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The Humanity of Christ

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Painting by Andrea Mantegna on Wikimedia Commons
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory. (1 Timothy 3:16; NKJV)

In my last post, I looked the deity of Christ from a biblical perspective. One question I received was about the humanity of Jesus. If the Son is God, then do we “not believe that Jesus is a man of flesh and blood”? How do the Trinity and the humanity of Jesus fit together? Let’s get into it.

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The Deity of the Son

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Painting by Raphael on Wikimedia Commons
But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.” Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. (John 5:17–18; NKJV)

One of the most popular criticisms of the doctrine of the Trinity is that Jesus never claimed to be God. The implied conclusion is, if Jesus never claimed to be God, then He is not God. Is this claim valid? Does does it stand up when tested according to the Scriptures? Let’s get to it.

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What Is the Trinity?

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Painting by Jan van ’t Hoff on Gospel Images
When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16–17; NKJV)

The Trinity is an established Christian doctrine. But a lot of Christians have a hard time making sense of it. The doctrine of the Trinity is often criticized, as well, for not being historical and for teaching the worship of multiple gods. What is the Trinity? Is it a historical Christian doctrine? Does it teach worship of multiple gods? Let’s dive in.

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