Status Report: May

Sitting … on the couch in the living room.

Listening … to today’s Dividing Line, recorded.

Chuckling … at the newly built snowman at the end of my neighbor’s driveway. It’s holding a cardboard sign that says “May 1st.” Yes, we still have snow. (It even snowed a bit more today.)

Noticing … that snow on the ground and daylight at 10:30 pm when I take the dog out is a strange combination.

Hoping … that the weather forecasts for spring weather (finally!) for the next week will come to pass. 

Reading … Canon Revisited: Establishing the Origins and Authority of the New Testament Books by Michael Kruger. It’s the best book I’ve read in a while, presenting a model of the canon that I’ve never had explained to me before: the self-authenticating model. This is one I’ll be sure to review when I’m finished because I think you should read it too (mothers of babies and toddlers excepted.)

Thinking … that today my youngest granddaughter gave us evidence of the truth that “every mother’s [daughter] learns to be naughty without book.” She has begun a shrieking tyrant phase. Let’s hope it’s short-lived.

Planning … to babysit the shrieking tyrant all day tomorrow. 

Realizing … that I may not have paced myself well this week. Tomorrow might be a long day.

Also planning … to prime the drywall in the kitchen first thing next week. The kitchen reno project is progressing, but I am still without kitchen cupboards or sink. I have a makeshift kitchen in the dining room and I wash my dishes in the bathroom.

Wishing … a blessed May. May your snow be gone and your flowers be bloomed. 

Linked Together: Setting the Record Straight

regarding some church history stories I’ve read. You may be familiar with these exaggerated or false accounts, too. 

Mrs. B. B. Warfield
“In biographical sketches of Warfield today, it is common to read of Annie’s ill-health, but … the story frequently goes a bit beyond the historical evidence. Reports that she was struck by lightning early in marriage, paralyzed the rest of her life, that Warfield provided meticulous care for his invalid wife for the entirety of their marriage, and such, are common.” —Read the whole post from Fred Zaspel  (Credo Magazine).

Jan Hus
It is very unlikely that the phrase his/her/your goose is cooked came from the story of the martyrdom of Jan Hus (World Wide Words).

Related: A few years ago I posted on what is probably a mythical account of Jan Hus’s last words: Words to Die By and Swan Song for the Goose Quote.

Theological Term of the Week

Great Commission
Christ’s command to “Go … and make disciples of all nations,” given to the apostles after his resurrection, summarizing what his followers are commissioned to do from the time of his ascension until he comes again.

• From scripture:

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20, ESV)

• From D. A. Carson’s Matthew Commentary (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary), on Christ’s command to “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you”:

1. The focus is on Jesus’ commands, not OT law. Jesus’ words, like the words of Scripture, are more enduring than heaven and earth (24:35); and the peculiar expression “everything I have commanded you” is … reminiscent of the authority of Yahweh (Exod. 29:35; Deut 1:3, 41; 7:11; 12:11, 14)… . The revelation of Jesus Messiah at this Scriptures pointed and constitutes their valid continuity; but this means that the focus is necessarily on Jesus.
2. Remarkably, Jesus does not foresee a time when any part of his teaching will be rightly judged needless, outmoded, superseded, or untrue: everything he has commanded must be passed on “to the very end of the age.”
3. What the disciples teach is not mere dogma stepped in abstract theorizing but content to be obeyed.
4. It then follows that by carefully passing on everything Jesus taught, the first disciples—themselves eyewitnesses—call into being new generations of “earwitnesses”. These in turn pass on the truth they received. So a means is provided for successive generations to remain in contact with Jesus’ teachings (cf. 2 Tim. 2:2).
5. Christianity must spread by an internal necessity or it has already decayed; for one of Jesus’ commands is to teach all that he commands. Failure to disciple, baptize and teach the peoples of the world is already itself one of the failures or our own discipleship.

Learn more:

1. Got Questions.org: What is the Great Commission?
2. Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology: Great Commission 
3. 9Marks: Who is responsible to fulfill the Great Commission?; What does the Great Commission require of local churches?
4. Thabiti Anyabwile: 7 Reasons to Care About the Great Commission 
5. J. Ligon Duncan:  The Great Commission (audio)

Related terms:

• ascension of Jesus
• believer’s baptism
• gospel

Filed under Person, Work, and Teaching of Christ

Do you have a term you’d like to see featured here as a Theological Term of the Week? If you email it to me, I’ll seriously consider using it, giving you credit for the suggestion and linking back to your blog when I do.

Clicking on the Theological Term graphic at the top of this post will take you to a list of all the previous theological terms in alphabetical order.