December 2013

One of the most important texts for understanding the nature and use of the Lord’s Supper is in 1 Corinthians 11. There, Paul sharply criticizes the Corinthian church for administering the Lord’s Supper in a way that divided the body along economic lines. The rich would partake first, and they treated the Lord’s Supper as a great feast, with wine and lots of food. The poor would arrive later and eat the leftovers if there were any. One chapter earlier, when Paul was warning the Corinthians against participating in pagan festivals, he pointed to the Lord’s Supper as a teaching tool regarding the nature ofRead More →

New Testament Baptism draws from a number of Old Testament sources for its significance. We know that it cannot be entirely new to the New Testament; for one thing, John’s baptism was immediately connected to the coming of the Messiah by the Jews. The Old Testament prescribes cleansing water rituals for a variety of situations. They were performed when someone became ritually unclean (see Numbers 19) or when priests began their service in the temple (Leviticus 8) involving symbolic baths or washings, including sprinkling of water. In Mark 7:4 these kinds of washings, superstitiously performed constantly by the Jews and even applied to vessels andRead More →

The Gloria Patri is an ancient hymn that has been sung in all parts of the church since its earliest days. The hymn starts with the phrase, “Glory be to the Father” which in Latin is Gloria patri, the name of the hymn. The opening phrase echoes many similar praises in the Scriptures in different places, as in Galatians 1:4-5, for example: “…according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” or in Romans 16:27, “…to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.” We start the service, after receiving the Divine invitation toRead More →

8:1 Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, 2 a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man. (Heb 8:1-2 NKJ) The incarnation of Christ fundamentally changed the nature of godly worship. Before Christ came, God’s worship was taken up with types and shadows. These were elements and ceremonies of worship that pointed to Christ in an indirect way. In the sacrificial death of animals for sin, the worshiper wasRead More →