Love – Page 14 – The Nexus

Morning Musings: 1 Corinthians 12:31

August 28, 2017August 28, 2017Leave a comment

“But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.” (ESV)

Verse 31 here of chapter 12 offers important context for understanding chapter 13 that most folks ignore. Chapter 13 is, of course, the famous “love chapter.” Paul offers us a beautiful and vaunted description of what love looks like and the necessity of its centrality in our lives. And while it is certainly and obviously generally applicable, it’s context is advice on how to get our practice of the spiritual gifts right in the church body. Read the rest…

Morning Musings: Psalm 99:8

August 24, 2017August 23, 2017Leave a comment

“O Lord our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrongdoings.” (ESV – Read the chapter)

One of the things that can be so frustrating about the Scriptures is that over and over they take two ideas which seem to be contradictory, declare them both to be true, and, rather than resolving the tension, simply leave it in place.

Some examples of this would be divine sovereignty and human responsibility, Jesus’ full humanity and full divinity, and the three-persons and one-person nature of the Trinity. Right here we see another tension. The psalmist declares God to be both a forgiver of sins, but also an avenger of wrongdoings. Read the rest…