Quotes to Note 13: Frank Thielman Summarizing Ephesians

In the last several months, I’ve been working my way through Frank Thielman’s Theology of the New Testament (Zondervan). It is the most readable and enjoyable discussion of theology I have ever seen. I’ll be reviewing it in the near future, but on this Sunday morning I thought I’d share the conclusion to his chapter on Ephesians. May this warm your soul as it did mine.

In an effort to encourage dispirited Christians in southern Asia, Paul has reminded them of God’s plan for the universe and of the critical place of the church in that plan.   His letter paints a picture of a new creation in which the invisible and hostile forces of the heavens lie conquered beneath the feet of Christ.   In this picture, a church that consists of both Jews and Gentiles sits alongside the risen Christ in the heavens, sharing his triumph.   This is the goal, Paul says, toward which God is moving the universe–to sum up all things in heaven and on earth in Christ.

Before “the times” reach this “fulfillment,” however, the hostile cosmic powers continue to wage war against the church, and so Christians must clothe themselves in an armor that will be able to resist their onslaught–truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, and salvation.   By standing united with one another in this armor, they will make “known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms” God’s “manifold wisdom” in reconciling Jews and Gentiles to form one new human being through the gospel.   The church will therefore proclaim to these hostile powers that in the death, resurrection, and heavenly session of Christ, God has defeated their efforts to frustrate his purpose in creation.

The church plays a critical role, therefore, in God’s plan to bring the times to their fulfillment by summing up everything in Christ.   They are the new humanity that replaces the old, disintegrated humanity, and they are the evidence  that  God’s plan to sum up everything in Christ is rapidly coming to its end.   The church in Roman Asia should take heart that God, in his great love and rich mercy, has done so much for them.   They should pursue with renewed zeal their vocation to stand strong and united against the devil and his realm as God brings his cosmic purposes to their glorious end. (pg. 407)

God Speaks in Packages — My Entry into the Thin Places Contest

I learned of this contest just today, so I’m just in time to post my entry.   Mary DeMuth is promoting her new book Thin Places by a writing contest, with the prize being an Amazon Kindle.   Here is a description of the contest:

In exactly 259 words — the retail value of a Kindle reader — tell us about a time you experienced a “thin place” in your life. These would be aha moments, beautiful realizations when the Son of God bursts through the hazy fog of our monotony and shines on us afresh, times when God has reminded or reassured you that he is real and present.

Without further ado, here is my entry:

Overwhelmed. That word best described me that night. I was woefully behind in my projects. Finals loomed ahead, almost as bleak as the financial pressures I felt. And I had never been busier in my life.

I suppose most freshmen go through a crisis their first semester. But for me this was huge. I was facing this alone — stressed out, at my wit’s end, and eaten by worry. Sounds a bit dramatic now, but I remember the feeling well.

I sought solace in a time of prayer, on my knees, under my desk in a dark room. I don’t remember if I was begging God for help, or just quiet and worn out, but I was desperate.

And then it came: a knock on the door, and a voice, “Delivery, for Bob Hayton!” I slowly backed out from my desk and met the fellow entering my room. A very large package had arrived.

I wondered if a check was inside, something tangible to get me out of the mess I was in. Instead, I was greeted with a wide assortment of treats and goodies. It was a simple care package, nothing more.

But for me, it somehow was more. It didn’t help me pass my exams or complete my projects, it didn’t rescue me from a financial bind, but it gave me the kind of help I really needed — strength to go on.

God answers prayer. He watches out for His children. Sometimes, through small things like packages, he intervenes, whispering, “I’m here, I know, I care.”

“CrossTalk: Where Life and Scripture Meet” by Michael Emlet


Author: Michael R. Emlet
Publisher: New Growth Press
Format: softcover
Publication Date: 2009
Pages: 212
ISBN: 9781935273127
Stars: 5 of 5

In today’s world, Biblical illiteracy is becoming widespread. Even in America, one will find people without any knowledge of even the most basic Bible stories. The evangelical church doesn’t fare much better, unfortunately. While the average church-goer is familiar with Bible stories and even Bible trivia, they are often unable to connect the Bible’s message to the real, every-day problems life throws their way. As a result, the Bible stays tucked away on a dusty shelf, while the latest self-help book lies half-read on the nightstand.

Michael Emlet addresses this problem head on in his new book, CrossTalk: Where Life and Scripture Meet. The book explains how to understand and apply the Bible to the problems of life. Along the way it deals with questions of nature and interpretation: What is the Bible all about? How do we interpret the Bible? What are the real nature of life’s many problems? How should we understand these real life situations?

The book opens by explaining the concept of ditches and canyons in relation to the Bible. Some passages have a relatively simple connection to our modern day life. The separation from the original world and context of the Bible to today is comparable to a shallow ditch. Other passages seem, in contrast, like canyons. It is hard to visualize any kind of contemporary application from the endless genealogies of 1 Chronicles or the bloody conquest of Canaan. Functionally, this leaves many Christians with an abridged Bible. Ditch passages resonate with us and, “in practical terms, we end up ministering with an embarrassingly thinner but supposedly more relevant Bible” (pg. 16). Of course, the Bible wasn’t given to us in such an abridged manner. In fact, upon closer examination of several passages, Emlet shows how the ditches are actually wider than they seem, and canyons may not be quite so deep.

The next 2 chapters discuss what the Bible is and what it isn’t. For me, this was the best part of the book. Emlet confronts several popular misconceptions of Scripture. The Bible is not primarily a book of Do’s and Don’ts. It is not a book of timeless principles for the problems of life. The Bible is not primarily a casebook of characters to imitate or avoid. It is not primarily a system of doctrines. In all of this, Emlet emphasizes that for too many, the Bible has become Gospel-deficient! “You could talk about how to discipline your child…, draw encouragement from God’s presence as you start a demanding new job…, emulate David’s courage…, and discuss predestination…, without ever referring to the coming of the kingdom in Jesus Christ or encountering him yourself! Shouldn’t the life, death and resurrection of Christ have some practical connection to disciplining children, God’s presence, living with courage, and the doctrine of predestination?” (pg. 37-38). The Bible is a story — “The Story”. It’s chapters include creation, fall, and redemption. It’s main character is Jesus. It is all about Him!

Emlet draws important implications from this understanding of what the Bible is. We should read it back to front and front to back. Using a bigger Bible, results in a richer ministry. God’s mission is central. Our lives should be lived bidirectionally. Interpretation and application should be a community (church) affair.

The next few chapters address the story aspect of life. The bits and pieces of life, which are so easy to diagnose and correct, actually have a “narrative skeleton” on which they hang. These pieces “add up to a cohesive whole”. “Despite (their) diversity… certain patterns can be discerned. Life histories are going somewhere” (pg. 65-66). In light of the True Story, our lives are a combination of competing stories. Focusing too narrowly on individual aspects of one’s life may ignore the larger picture of what God is doing, and where the real battle is.

We are fallen people. But created in God’s image, and redeemed by Christ, we are simultaneously saints, sufferers and sinners. It is important to provide hope to those we minister to. “Ministry to others is much more than correction or reproof. It is also encouragement…, vision-casting, and hope-building” (pg. 95).

The final chapters of the book apply the approach to two case studies. “Tom” and “Natalie” present challenging life situations and varying degrees of understanding Scripture. Michael Emlet models how to apply Scripture carefully from a variety of texts (both ditches and canyons) to their life stories. This fleshes out the book’s message and offers a practical explanation for how this perspective to the Bible and people works out. Emlet takes pains to emphasize that this isn’t an exact science, nor is ministry only to be performed by people who have everything figured out. You will learn and grow, and the more you do, the better able you will be to connect the Bible to life, and the more impact you will have on people’s lives.

The book covers a lot of ground as it seeks to explain how to approach Scripture and how to approach people. Both skills are needed. “In ministry we are reading two ‘texts’ simultaneously, the story of Scripture and the story of the person we serve…. Reading the person without reading the Bible is a recipe for ministry lacking the life-changing power of the Spirit working through his Word.” (pg. 90)

I appreciated the immense practical value of this book. I can’t think of a more important topic for Christians to study. We need to minister to our own selves and speak the Word into the lives of those around us. Readers will find the book laid out in a helpful way, and very easy to read. Discussion questions after each chapter make the book ideal for group studies.

I can’t recommend this book more highly. The “whole Bible” , redemptive-historical approach to Scripture that is explained is life changing. The pattern for personal application of Scripture for use in ministry to others will multiply that change exponentially. You need to get this book!

Michael R. Emlet, practiced as a family physician for twelve years before becoming a counselor and faculty member at the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation. His responsibilities for CCEF include counseling, teaching, directing the CCEF Counseling Internship program, writing, and speaking. He is the author of many counseling articles and the booklets, Asperger Syndrome, Angry Children: Understanding and Helping Your Child Regain Control, Help for the Caregiver: Facing the Challenges with Understanding and Strength, and OCD: Freedom for the Obsessive Compulsive. Dr. Emlet received a M.D. From the University of Pennsylvania and a M.Div. From Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, PA. He resides near Philadelphia with his wife and two children..

Disclaimer: this book was provided by the publisher for review. The reviewer was under no obligation to provide a positive review.

This book is available for purchase at the following sites: Westminster Bookstore, Amazon.com, and direct from New Growth Press.

Vern Poythress, John Walton & “The Lost World of Genesis One”

IVP recently published John Walton’s book, The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate. Walton brings ancient near-Eastern (ANE) cultural and linguistic parallels to bear on the text of Genesis chapter 1. I found the book both fascinating and challenging. His method of developing his argument proposition by proposition, kept the argument clear, comprehensible and concise. Ultimately, I found it quite convincing. I will be reviewing that book on my site in the near future.

Of course, a big sacred cow has been tipped in this book. Against the very real attacks by atheistic evolutionists, Christians in general have united around a Creationist perspective that upholds a literal, six-day, young earth, non-evolutionary model of the origins of the earth and all life. Over the last few decades, a steady stream of scientific analyses of Scripture have hit the shelves of Christian bookstores. If you stop to think about this from a wider perspective, you would have to think that many church leaders of old would be amazed at the degree of scientific specificity that modern creationists find in the pages of Scripture. It should be obvious that Scripture wasn’t written to answer every question in our science books.

I am currently exploring this issue in more depth and looking to Scripture for what perspective to have on this issue. John Piper’s thoughts on the matter are similar to mine at present. In a recent online Ask Pastor John event, (the answer is not yet posted on their site), Piper says he leans toward Sailhammer’s view (as explained in the above link).    After reading Walton (as well as G.K. Beale), I agree. I don’t think the issue has to be as divisive as some make it out to be.

Everyone doesn’t agree that such matters should be open to such variation, however. Vern Poythress, who I highly respect, recently offered a decidedly negative assessment to Walton’s book in World magazine. His review, obviously bound by space constraints, did not adequately explain Walton’s position. It misrepresented the book. Now, John Walton has responded to that review. Both Poythress’ assessment of the book, and Walton’s rejoinder are short reads and will provide a peek into the nature of the debate (and of course, the book). I encourage you to take the time to read both articles, and let me know what your thoughts are.

Vern Poythress: Walton has read Genesis with a false contrast between material and functional, and with equivocal meanings for the two terms. As a result, he artificially detaches Genesis 1 from questions of physical appearance and produces an unsustainable interpretation…. In short, Walton’s book has mixed value. Positive insights about the practical focus of Genesis 1 mix with some unsound claims. (read the entire review)

John Walton: I have read a few other reviews of the Lost World of Genesis One by scholars who had reservations about my theory. They were balanced, understood my position well, interacted with my ideas and evidence in depth, and offered assessment of aspects of the theory as they raised important questions. These are much appreciated. Dr. Poythress is certainly capable of offering such a review, but this effort fell far short of that helpful ideal. In the process I believe he did a disservice to me, to his readers, and to the discussion. (read the entire response)

Please feel free to share your thoughts on this in the comments below!

You can purchase the book at Amazon.com or Westminster Bookstore, or direct from IVP. Westminster Bookstore has a .PDF excerpt available as well on the book page.

Sovereign Grace Ministries Super February Sale

The past couple years, Sovereign Grace Ministries has put on a SUPER SALE all through the month of February. I’ve taken advantage of the sale myself in years past. I grabbed up some of their superb music CDs, and also picked up a couple of their song books. (Many of the songs I’ve showcased on my blog over the years, have been produced by Sovereign Grace Ministries.) I have many of the books they are selling, but if anyone really wanted to bless me 🙂 they could send me one of the following titles– Living the Cross Centered Life and Sex, Romance, and the Glory of God by C.J. Mahaney; Love that Lasts: When Marriage Meets Grace by Gary and Betsy Ricucci; and Worship Matters by Bob Kauflin. All of these titles and others, are sure to bless you. I encourage you to take advantage of this great offer. Plus, for all orders of $15 or more, there is free shipping.