Selected Reading

I read or listened to these recently and recommend them to you.

Bible Interpetation

What Does ‘Born of Water and the Spirit’ Mean in John 3:5?
I’ve heard D. A. Carson answer this question, and maybe you have, too. But here his answer is spelled out in written form, so it’s easier to follow.

Practical Theology

Changing Tides and the Unchanging Savior
“There is one man who will never fail us, never let us down, never break his promises, never deceive us, never betray us and never give us false hopes. Jesus Christ is the unchanging God-man.” —Nicholas T. Batzig

What Does It Mean to Abide in Christ?
Sinclair Ferguson writes: “The exhortation to “abide” has been frequently misunderstood, as though it were a special, mystical, and indefinable experience. But Jesus makes clear that it actually involves a number of concrete realities.” 

The Devil You Know
Three actions to apply against your adverary the devil.

Church History

Elisabeth Elliot
A short biographical sketch: “It was largely through the sacrifice of her husband and her desire to return to those same people who took his life, that she is known and has a place in church history.” 

Theological Term of the Week: Ordinate Power (of God)

ordinate power (of God)
“That power whereby God doth that which he hath decreed to do, that is, which he hath ordained or appointed to be exercised;1 God’s ability to do what he has ordained, decreed, and willed to do.”2 God’s ordinate power is a subset of his absolute power. 

• From scripture:

Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.(Psalm 135:6 ESV)

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will … (Ephesians 1:11 ESV)

• From Systematic Theology by Louis Berkhof: 

The potentia ordinata [ordinate power] can be defined as that perfection of God whereby He, through the mere exercise of His will, can realize whatsoever is present in His will or counsel. The power of God in actual exercise limits itself to that which is comprehended in His eternal decree.

Learn more:

1. Mark Jones: A Crucial Distinction
2. Louis Berkhof: The Sovereign Power of God

Related terms:

• omnipotence
• absolute power of God

Filed under God’s Nature and His Work

1From The Existence and Attributes of God by Stephen Charnock.

2From None Greater by Matthew Barrett

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Clicking on the Theological Terms button will take you to an alphabetical list of all the previous theological terms.

Sunday's Hymn: My Jesus, I Love Thee

My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art mine;
For thee all the follies of sin I resign.
My gracious Redeemer, my Saviour art thou;
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, ‘tis now.

I love thee because thou hast first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree.
I love thee for wearing the thorns on thy brow;
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, ‘tis now.

I’ll love thee in life, I will love thee in death;
And praise thee as long as thou lendest me breath;
And say, when the death-dew lies cold on my brow:
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, ‘tis now.

In mansions of glory and endless delight,
I’ll ever adore thee in heaven so bright;
I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow:
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, ‘tis now.

—William Featherstone

 Other hymns, worship songs, or quotes for this Sunday:

• The Sun of Righteousness at The Happy Wonderer
• Praise God, I Have a Place to Put My Hope at The Outspoken Tulip
• Ever faithful, ever sure at Tried With Fire
• Lord’s Day 30, 2019 at The Thirsty Theologian