This is something I wrote for Dispensational Publishing House God and the Waters of Creation In the very first chapter of the Bible there is an awful lot of water. It does not come from the sky, nor does it run off the mountainous slopes of Hermon. The waters (mayim) which are mentioned first in Genesis 1:2 are just “there” after the initial act of creation. These waters are there even before any land is present. In fact, water is …
Category: Articles
Part One We have been considering the centrality of the Person of Jesus for an understanding of ourselves in the created order. We continue with a look at the Prologue to John’s Gospel. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. – John 1:1-3 So again, this …
Right now I am rather preoccupied with preparing for a surprise new one in August. I posted this study some years back and thought it slipped through the cracks. Anyway, here’s part 1. Part 2 to follow soon. Introduction For the Christian, without the Lord Jesus Christ life means nothing. Whatever other people say; however the non-Christian tries to answer the question of meaning, the Christian sees no answer to the big questions of life; no remedy for the plight …
Adam is Tested In the next section (2:15-17) we read of God giving the man a straightforward command: Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you may not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was an actual tree. It is not called a symbol and need not be seen …
A Review of Allen P. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms, Volume 3 (90 – 150), Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1042 pages, hardback Finally we have the third and final volume of the Kregel Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Psalms by Allen P. Ross, Professor of Divinity at Beeson Divinity School. This one covers Psalms 90 through 150 and brings the complete set to three thousand pages. The first two volumes were outstanding. I have found that I turn to …
Part Eight Adam, Guard or Keeper? Genesis 2:15 has recently stirred the imaginations of a whole group of OT scholars. The reason for this is that they think they observe intimations that all was not well with the good world which Yahweh Elohim had made. For one thing, as we have already said, the garden of Eden was an enclosed garden (gan). Why was it enclosed? Well, maybe because it was the initial safe point of departure for the man …
Part Seven A Thematic Account The second chapter of Genesis is clearly somewhat different than the first. But it was not intended to be another variant account of it. It follows up on the second half of Day Six and the creation of humanity, and throws theological light on it. It is not as concerned with chronology as the previous chapter. So Genesis 2 is not, as the more liberal scholars think, another creation story. It is a thematic zeroing …
Part Six God’s Transcendence versus Continuity It is very important to notice the links between the creation accounts and ethical accounts. In one way or another all non-biblical systems of belief paint a metaphysical picture of reality that is at once unified and diverse. The unity is found in the indissoluble connection between heaven and earth, between man and the “higher powers”, or between the human animal and the Cosmos. The diversity is seen in the various ways this connection …
Part Five Image and Function in Genesis 1:26-28 Another significant fact related by these verses is our creation in the image and likeness of God. We cannot here enter into all the debates about the imago Dei, but some few things should be said. Firstly, God does not say ‘according to My likeness.’ He says ‘Our likeness’. The “Let us” statement is no plural of majesty, since it appears to be ideational, and is to be understood (I believe) as …
This is an old article, but the subject is always relevant. A prospective student at Telos Institute asked me a good question about my view on Law versus the Gospel. As part of my reply I sent him the text of a letter I’d written to someone who had criticized a lecture of mine on the Decalogue. This individual had claimed that Christians were sanctified solely by faith plus nothing else, and that the law did not even provide a …
