The riches that we have in Christ are too many to count, but God is pleased to list out a few of them for us in Ephesians 1. Paul calls them “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph 1:3). One such blessing that Paul emphasizes five times is that God wants us as Christians for… Read More »
A number of New Testament words share the concept of “inheritance.” What follows is a simple summary of the use of those words as they relate to believers. Who are the heirs who inherit an inheritance? Jesus is the heir of all things (Heb 1:2; cf. Matt 21:38; Mark 12:7; Luke 20:14). He inherited a… Read More »
Ephesians 1:3–14 is an incredibly rich passage of Scripture. What follows is a preliminary study of this passage from my own studies in preaching through this passage. The Overall Structure and Themes of Ephesians 1:3–14 In Paul’s longest sentence (202 total words in Greek), Paul blesses God for His blessings in Christ to us (Eph… Read More »
For anyone who wants to go back and read my summaries on all of Romans 9-11, click the links below. Enjoy! God’s Faithfulness, Election, and Israel (Romans 9:1–13) The God of Sovereign Justice (Romans 9:14–24) Prepared for Glory or Destruction: By Whom, When, and How? (Romans 9:22–23) Righteousness: Accomplished in Jesus Christ (Romans 10:1–4) The… Read More »
Romans 11:16–24 memorably illustrates Israel’s future salvation in two ways. First, Paul speaks of “the dough offered as firstfruits,” something which eventually becomes “the whole lump” (Romans 11:16a). Second, he speaks of “the root” and its outgrowth, “the branches” (Romans 11:16b). He then expands this second illustration to include Gentiles as well (Romans 11:17–24). What… Read More »
Ever since its inception, Israel has never been a fully believing nation. Some of the Israelites were believers, however. Abraham has always had a spiritual offspring among his physical descendants (Rom 9:6–7). Even in the darkest chapters of Israel’s history, so it is today—“there is a remnant” (Rom 11:5; cf. 11:3–4). Generally speaking, however, Israel… Read More »
Romans 9–11 is central to understanding God’s plan for Israel. We learned in Romans 9 that a remnant of Israelites believe, thanks to the electing grace of God. From God’s perspective, He chose Israel for salvation, and specifically, a remnant within Israel who would be “truly Israel” (cf. Rom 9:6, 27). We then learned in… Read More »
In Romans 9–11, Paul addresses Israel’s present unbelief and future salvation. A quick sketch up to Romans 10:14–21 is that chapter 9 discusses this unbelief from God’s perspective while chapter 10 explains it from Israel’s perspective. Israel has rejected the righteousness of God in Christ because she pursued her own righteousness through the law, a… Read More »
Anyone who attempts to earn his own righteousness, however zealous he may be, carries out a fool’s errand. His attempts will only fail. Even using the Old Testament law this way will end in failure. The Law is not a ladder to heaven for us but acts more as glasses and a club to expose… Read More »
Although Romans 9–11 is primarily about God’s dealings with national Israel, Paul also talks about Gentiles along the way. Paul begins (Romans 9:1–5) and ends (Romans 11:25–32) these chapters with Israel, and he speaks of them in Romans 10 as well—he prays “for them” (Romans 10:1; cf. 9:31) and repeatedly identifies Israel as the subject… Read More »