Thankful Thursday

This has been a weird week and I’ve not always been feeling very thankful. Last week I thanked God for daughter’s family’s new furnace, which meant they could stay comfortably in their own home again. But the fuel pump was defective on the new furnace, so they only had heat for half a week, and then nothing. The part to fix their furnace has to be flown in from Edmonton, and nobody in Edmonton seems to understand that in the north, no heat in late October is an emergency situation. Long story short, no heat for them until at least late tomorrow night. They’ve been staying at my home this past week, which means my home is busy, busy, busy and noisy, noisy, noisy. Not to mention the double dog hair covering everything. 

I’m thankful that I’m here with a home they can use. I’m thankful that my daughter has cooked all the suppers so I don’t have to. I’m thankful for extra time with sweet Granddaughter II. I’m thankful that daughter’s family’s landlord is returning this month’s rent check to them.

But there’s more. A couple of weeks ago I was thankful that the pup’s cut paw was healing nicely. Then it blew up with a soft tissue infection and required a trip to the vet, a round of antibiotics, and daily pain-killers. Yesterday it looked the same instead of worse for the first time in 5 days or so. Today it actually looks a little better, so I think we might be on the way to healing.

I’m thankful for vetrinarians and the work they do. They wear the “mask of God” as they care for his creatures, and I’m thankful. I’m thankful for antibiotics and pain-killers too, and the blessing they are to human and animal life.

I’m also thankful that God forgives me when I’m not feeling thankful. I’m thankful that sometime soon my life will be back to normal and my house will be quiet again.

Round the Sphere Again: Authority and Submission

And complementary….

Some Are Called to Exercise Authority
From Gene Edward Veith:

Before God, all vocations are equal. Our standing before Him is based solely on Jesus Christ, our sin-bearer, our redeemer, and our righteousness. But as we receive God’s grace in Christ, we are then sent into the world to live out our faith in the daily routines of ordinary life — that is, in our vocations.

Yet some vocations exercise authority:

This authority is not inherent in the person but rather comes by virtue of the office. But authority in vocation is not just a matter of who gets to boss whom. Authority in vocation must be exercised in love and service to the neighbor (see Matt. 20:26–27). The ruler is described as “God’s servant” (Rom. 13:4). Masters are reminded that they too have a master (Eph. 6:9).

(Read the whole post from Ligonier Ministries.)

All Are Called to Submit
From Michael Kruger:

Calls for submission in the Bible are not just limited to women.  It is not as if they have been singled out. On the contrary, the Bible is very clear that everybody submits to somebody.   We are called to submit to the government (Rom 13:1), children are called to submit to their parents (Eph 6:1), church members are called to submit to their elders (Heb 13:17), servants are called to submit to their masters (1 Pet 1:18), and on it goes.

Read the whole post at Canon Fodder.

Theological Term of the Week

cessationism
The view that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit (healing, tongues, prophetic revelations) ended with the apostolic age, and that while God still does do miracles, he does not gift individuals with the miraculous spiritual gifts. 

• Scripture that helps make the case:

…[Y]ou are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone…. (Ephesians 2:19-20 ESV) 

• From Commentary on Galatians by Martin Luther (quote found here):

In the early Church the Holy Spirit was sent forth in visible form. He descended upon Christ in the form of a dove (Matt. 3:16), and in the likeness of fire upon the apostles and other believers. (Acts 2:3.) This visible outpouring of the Holy Spirit was necessary to the establishment of the early Church, as were also the miracles that accompanied the gift of the Holy Ghost. Paul explained the purpose of these miraculous gifts of the Spirit in I Corinthians 14:22, “Tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not.” Once the Church had been established and properly advertised by these miracles, the visible appearance of the Holy Ghost ceased.

Learn more:

1. Theopedia: Cessationism
2. GotQuestions.org: Is cessationism biblical?
3. Richard Gaffin: Where Have All the Spiritual Gifts Gone?
4. Bob Gonzales: A Humble Argument for the Cessation of NT Prophesy and Tongues, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8.
5. Nathan Busenitz: What Cessasionism Is Not
6. Monergism.com: Long list of audio resources on cessationism

Related term:

• continuationism

Filed under Ecclesiology

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.