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Ephesians 6: Paul subverts hierarchies
In Ephesians 6, Paul continues his theme of people submitting to each other. “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ,” he said in the previous chapter, before talking about married life. Now he moves on to children and parents, and – controversially – the relationship of slaves and masters. Children and parents He…
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Proverbs 14:30: envy rots the bones
I don’t know if you’ve ever had this experience. It’s when you realise that someone unexpectedly has a problem with you, but not because of anything that you’ve done to them. Instead, it’s because they’re envious of your position. Some call this phenomenon “letting you live rent free in their upstairs room”. It’s a type…
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Ephesians 5:21-33: how husbands should behave
Translating the Bible requires a lot of judgment calls. As readers, we generally value publishers inserting helpful subheadings in the text. These weren’t in the original manuscripts but they help us navigate the pages. In today’s article, we look at the tail end of Ephesians 5. And I think the NIV makes gets the judgment…
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Ephesians 5:1-15: letting in the light
Sometimes it’s possible to buy technology a bit too early. I made this mistake when I bought a digital camera before they got really good. It captured pictures with a full one megapixel, as the marketing pointed out. But it just didn’t let in enough light when you took a photo indoors. The result was…
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Ephesians 4: stay gentle
Nearly a decade ago, I heard a former vice-president of a big American tech business speak. He explained his view that the key to success in life was to express your analysis of what’s going wrong with brutal honesty. I have certainly seen people being put in charge of projects through this imperious approach. It…
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Ephesians 3: Paul’s mission is costly
Paul’s mission to the Gentiles is costly. He begins Ephesians with an incomplete sentence (NIV), but one that explains his predicament: For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles This is not someone making a theoretical argument. It’s not a social media warrior tweeting from their armchair…
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Romans: a new series
This current aim on this blog is to write a blog post of 400+ words about every chapter in the New Testament. I’ve got through quite a number of books, especially the shorter ones! It’s now time for me to address a toughie: the book of Romans. The first time I read Romans, when I…
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Ephesians 2: the offer of grace to all
In Ephesians 2, Paul talks about how God’s grace extends to Gentiles. It brings them into “one body”, which also contains those who were saved under the old covenant. Was the old covenant an exclusive club? I once listened to a speaker at a church talk about how in the Old Testament, Christianity was like…
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Ephesians 1: the Holy Spirit marks us with a seal
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians talks about the Holy Spirit acting as a guarantee. He writes (Ephesians 1:8-14, NIV): With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfilment—to…
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A Californian ruin and the the church that renews
In a music video for the song Lamb Of God, there’s a curious background. It’s a (partly) ruined stone building that looks like it’s from the Old World. At first glance, I guessed it must be from Europe – but is actually from Orange County, California. The building is the Mission San Juan Capistrano, established…
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Exodus 3: God commissions sinners
When God calls Moses to lead the Israelites to freedom, the runaway says: “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” Moses is, after all a mere shepherd having a quiet life in Midian. He had fled Egypt after commiting murder against a Egyptian slave-driver. But God…
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Psalm 49: the wrong attitude to wealth
Some years ago, I witnessed a wealthy man, who’d inherited a lot of money, walking up the street. A beggar asked for some spare change and he responded with: “Go and get a job!” Now, there’s a very good case for giving via charities, or offering to buy a sandwich rather than offer cash, or…
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Abraham Bartimaeus Ben Witherington III Charles Wesley Handel Isaac Isaiah 6 James 1 James 2 James 3 James 4 James 5 John Wesley Justification King David King Solomon Magi Mark 8 Mark 10 Matthew 5 Moses N.T. Wright Nathan the Prophet Penal substitutional atonement Pharaoh Richard Dawkins Romans 8 Scot McKnight Sovereignty The Children's Society Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion Zacchaeus Zadok the Priest