Koinonia

Eph. 2:10—Are We God’s Poem? (Monday with Mounce 60)

Paul tells the Ephesians that “we are his workmanship (ποιημα), created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (ESV). ποιημα (related to the verb ποιεω) means “that which is made,” hence work, creation” (BDAG).

 

It is etymologically connected to poème (Middle French), poema (Latin), and ποιημα (Greek).

 

Because of this, you often hear the idea of the English “poem” creeping back through the centuries and used to define the nuance of ποιημα. And so we hear assertions such as:

• “Poiema emphasizes God as the master Designer, the universe as His creation” (Rom 1:20).
• “As the artist seeks to express himself in his work, so God expresses Himself in us.”
• “You are His work, you are His poem. A poem is a thing of grace. A thing of beauty, God wants your life to be a thing of grace and of beauty and as God works in your life it will become a thing of grace and of beauty; you are His poem.”
• “But the beauty of God’s workmanship is not displayed in posing. That beauty can only he displayed when we are put to work fulfilling His purpose in us.”

These kinds of statement make picturesque sermon illustrations, but unfortunately have no basis in truth.

Andreas Kostenberger podcast on Johannine Theology - Free Download

Dr. Andreas Kostenberger was recently interviewed on the Knowing the Truth radio program by Pastor Kevin Boling. The focuses primarily the theology of John and Dr. Kostenberger's new book A Theology of John's Gospel and Letters.

You can stream or download an MP3 of the podcast here.

Grace and the Church (Monday with Mounce 59)

I was going to write a Greek-oriented blog post on ποιημα, but I saw an interview on TV a couple days ago and I can’t stop thinking about it, and I need your input to help me understand.

It was an interview on the Mike Huckabee Report (http://mikehuckabee.com/). He interviewed Gayle Haggard, the wife of pastor Ted Haggard and author of Why I Stayed: The Choices I Made in My Darkest Hour. Her husband was the founder of the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs and was president of the National Association of Evangelicals. If you don’t already know, he admitted to an incident with a male prostitute.

Huckabee was talking to her mostly about forgiveness. He asked what was the most painful thing that happened. Her answer was fascinating.

The Bible among the Myths, a reivew from Bible Study Magazine

Should the Bible take a place among world mythology?

Like Israel’s neighboring countries, Israelites worshiped in a temple. But unlike the temples of Babylon and other nearby empires and nations, Israel didn’t have an idol in their innermost sanctuary. Does that significantly distinguish Israel’s worship? 

Dr. John N. Oswalt explains the shift among biblical scholars from viewing the Bible as an accurate and distinct historical account, to the prevalent opinion that it is one myth among many. He also discusses the widespread rejection of divine revelation—the idea that this world “is not self-explanatory, and that some communication from beyond is necessary to explain it” (pg. 12) Accepting revelation for many would be admitting that humanity does not control its own destiny—a sacrifice of personal autonomy.

The Bible and the Land - A review from Bible Study Magazine

Ancient Egypt owed its fertility to the annual flooding of the Nile. Ancient Israel had no such natural water source. What was it like to live in such a climate? How did the geography of Israel affect their lives? And what is the significance of the Hebraic names of events and divine encounters?

Preaching and Toastmasters (Monday with Mounce 58)

When we moved to Washougal a few months ago, my wife and I had to start the somewhat painful experience of making new friends. We were committed to having friends outside of a local church so that all of our friends are not Christians. That task is easier said than done.

 

Robin, my wife, is a good speaker and enjoys conferences with other women; so she wondered if she should take the new time she has and develop those gifts. Toastmasters, here she comes.

 

Toastmasters is an interesting organization (www.toastmasters.org). It is designed to help people, especially people in business, learn to verbally communicate, a skill that all people in business require. The different groups gather weekly, and the different members give speeches and are encouraged and critiqued.

Sample Walt Kaiser's "Recovering the Unity of the Bible" on Scribd

Recovering the Unity of the Bible by Walter Kaiser, Jr., Excerpt

"The Decay of Modernity" by Glenn S. Sunshine

Glenn S. Sunshine (PhD University of Wisconsin, Madison) is professor of history at the Central Connecticut State University and a faculty member of the Centurions Program at Breakpoint, the worldview training ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries. Previously, he taught at Calvin College and was a visiting professor at the Universität der Bundeswehr-Hamburg (now Helmut Schmidt University) in Germany. He is author of Why You Think the Way You Do, The Reformation for Armchair Theologians, and Reforming French Protestantism, and contributor to the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation, and the Encyclopedia of Protestantism.

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What is a Worldview? Video by Glenn S. Sunshine

Glenn S. Sunshine is author of Why You Think the Way You Do: The Story of Western Worldviews from Rome to Home. Sample chapter below:

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Sabbath(s) and Sunday (Monday with Mounce 57)

Acts 20:7 reads, “On the first day of the week (μια των σαββατων), when we were gathered together to break bread ….” (ESV).

 

There is an obvious question for the Greek newbie as to why μια is translated as “first” when we learned it as “one,“ and why σαββατων is translated as “week” when we learned it as “Sabbaths”? Why “first day of the week” and not “one of the Sabbaths”?

 

Part of the key is in the nature of the word σαββατον. It is not as straight forward as one might expect. A quick perusal of BDAG show these options.

 

1. “the seventh day of the week,” hence, the “Sabbath.”

It can be used in the singular but also the plural, and here is the interesting part; in the plural it can refer to multiple days but it can also refer to a single day. Why, you say, would they do that? I have no idea. The attestation given in BDAG is significant and the point can’t really be debated. There is evidently something idiomatic in how the word is used such that a plural can refer to a single day.