Fear and Faithfulness
To know how to act, we need to know what story we are in. Without suggesting that anyone wants to create a false narrative about the corona virus, the media can lead us to think we are in a short…
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The Ordo Salutis: Union with Christ
I indicated in the introduction to this series that there was an ordo docendi to the ordo salutis. My comment had the placement of union with Christ in mind. Where does it belong? Do we place it at the end…
The Ordo Salutis: Regeneration
Perhaps the most thorough definition of regeneration came from the pen of Herman Witsius, the 17th century Dutch theologian, in his work, The Economy of the Covenants: “Regeneration is that supernatural act of God whereby a new and divine life…
The Ordo Salutis: Effectual Calling
In the Western, North American, capitalist culture from which I write, we have nearly no experience of interaction that isn’t based in some way on a transactional relationship. All of life is seen as give and take. But in our…
The Ordo Salutis: Introduction
Today Theology for Everyone begins a new series. It is a familiar topic. However, it is one that needs to be set within a context. We are going to explore the ordo salutis or the order of salvation. For those…
Betsey Stockton and Her Love for God’s Image-Bearers
Betsey Stockton and Her Love for God’s Image-Bearers Whatever Betsey had imagined her foreign mission to be, it was not this. The group of Hawaiian men who came rowing toward her ship in their canoes was frightening: “Their appearance…
Phillis Wheatley (c. 1753-1784) and her Sovereign God
Phillis Wheatley (c. 1753-1784) and her Sovereign God Whatever moved the Wheatleys to buy the little slave that had just arrived from Africa, it was not her physical strength. Small, frightened and skinny, she looked too frail to…
Humiliation & Exaltation: The Procession of the Holy Spirit
After rising from the dead, ascending into heaven, and being enthroned at God’s right hand, Christ poured out the Holy Spirit on the church. The significance of this event cannot be exaggerated. It is the culmination of Christ’s exaltation short…
Anne Steele and Her Weighty Questions
Anne Steele and Her Weighty Questions Anne Steele is remembered as one of the first British women hymn-writers, and one of the best appreciated during her time and the following century. The introspective, searching notes of her hymns, uttered with…
The Spirit’s Presence from the Old to the New Testament
There is an interesting view that circulates around the church about the Holy Spirit. It goes something like this. In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit did not indwell anyone but only remained with people. However, in the New Testament…