94 results found
4 Bible Passages That Help Explain the Doctrine of God’s Aseity
I name myself as a husband, as a dad, as a theologian, and as a human. I’m naming myself in relation to other things. God names himself as “I AM,” as the one who doesn’t need anyone or anything.
How God Gives His Church Wisdom
One thing the Spirit does is give believers wisdom. As the Spirit of Christ, the ultimate wisdom of God, the Spirit gives wisdom to believers in order to display God’s wisdom through them.
Podcast: The Forgotten Yet Foundational Doctrine of Aseity (Samuel Parkison)
Dr. Parkison unpacks the foundational doctrine of aseity and how it impacts the way we approach theology, participate in grace, and understand the incarnation.
Should Believers Pray for a Second Blessing of the Holy Spirit?
Dr. Iain Duguid explains whether we should pray for a “second blessing” of the Holy Spirit, as is taught in a variety of churches, and he adds a qualification.
The Work of the Son and the Work of the Spirit Are Inseparable
One helpful way of organizing the elements of the saving work of Jesus is to consider it under three offices, Christ as prophet, priest, and king.
What Makes Our Worship Beautiful?
The apex of our fellowship and communion with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is holy worship. Worship of God originates with God, not man.
Podcast: How the Extraordinary Church in Acts Applies to Ordinary Believers Today (Iain Duguid)
Iain Duguid discusses confusing stories and common questions about the establishment of the New Testament church in Acts.
How Prayer Actually Works: To the Father, Through the Son, By the Spirit
You don’t have to get your Trinitarian theology all sorted out before you can pray to the Trinity. Our God hears prayers. He does not wait for us to pass the theology test before he listens to us praying.
What Does “Begotten, Not Made” Mean?
The Greek word translated “only begotten” is monogenēs, a word used five times in the New Testament with reference to Jesus.
Prayer Is and Should Be Trinitarian
I am more convinced than ever that prayer is and should be Trinitarian. Of course, this doesn’t mean that every single prayer must reference the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
How the Persons of the Trinity Reveal Themselves
Each of the three persons of the Trinity is unique in the way they reveal to us this dimension of infinite depth behind their presence, so we ought to attend to them in different ways.
Avoiding Heresy When Explaining the Trinity
There are better ways and worse ways to explain the Trinity. We can describe a pie chart where we split God up into parts, and this is one of the worst ways to explain the Trinity.
A Concise Biblical Theology of the Spirit’s Mission
The Holy Spirit is the divine apologist who convinces the world of sin, righteousness, and coming judgment, and the divine evangelist who bears witness to Christ in this broken world.
7 Things the Holy Spirit Does in and for Our Salvation
The work of the Holy Spirit is the means by which all that Christ accomplished comes to benefit the elect. The Holy Spirit does (at least) seven things in and for our salvation.
Podcast: What Was the Trinity Doing on Christmas Day? (Matthew Emerson and Brandon Smith)
Matt Emerson and Brandon Smith explain what the doctrine known as the inseparable operations of the Trinity is all about.
A Brief History of the Doctrine of the Work of the Holy Spirit
Many people will be surprised to discover that the work of the Holy Spirit was not developed as a doctrine until after the Protestant Reformation.
Is the Fruit of the Spirit More Like a Pie or a Tree?
Rather than picturing the Spirit’s fruit as a homemade pie that depends on its ingredients, we are to picture it as a tree. A fruitful tree is dependent on external factors to survive and thrive.
Matthew Y. Emerson, Brandon D. Smith
The eternal communion of Father, Son, and Spirit is the grounds for our communion with him and one another. Our triune God, simple and perfect for all of eternity, has always been the one God.
“Why Have You Forsaken Me?” Understanding Jesus’s Cry on the Cross
Matthew Y. Emerson, Brandon D. Smith
The crucifixion is a good case study in showing how a careful Trinitarian framework can help work through thorny issues related to the Trinity and salvation.
A Thought Experiment to Help Recalibrate Our Beliefs about the Trinity
Matthew Y. Emerson, Brandon D. Smith
The way we talk about God’s acts often divides the persons of God in a way that is contrary to our confession that God is one God in three persons.
Andrew Young on Power in Weakness in Acts (Season 2, Episode 7)
Join Nancy Guthrie as she talks with pastor Andrew Young about a framework for understanding both divine power and human weakness on display throughout the book of Acts.
What Ministry “Freshness” Means
More than anything else, we want to guard our relationship with God with a sense of urgency, and deal with anything that hinders that relationship. Our primary desire is God.
Richard Gaffin and Tommy Keene on Pentecost (Season 2, Episode 4)
Join Nancy Guthrie as she talks with professors Richard Gaffin and Thomas Keene about the book of Acts and primarily about Pentecost and its meaning for the early church and for us today.
Fred Sanders on the Holy Spirit in Acts (Season 2, Episode 3)
Join Nancy Guthrie as she talks with theologian Fred Sanders about the person and work of the Holy Spirit and specifically about his descent and indwelling of believers in the book of Acts.
Podcast: 5 Strange Stories in the Book of Acts (Nancy Guthrie)
Nancy Guthrie answers a series of questions about some of the amazing but at times confusing stories in the book of Acts.
Orthodoxy and Heresy Orthodoxy means right doctrine or belief. In one very important sense it is essential to salvation. Although we are saved entirely by the grace of God, not on the basis of the …
Should We Pray in, for, or to the Holy Spirit?
While it is possible for Christians to pray to the Spirit, for the Spirit, and in the Spirit, the Bible overwhelmingly focuses on one of these.
Podcast: What Is Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? (Fred Sanders)
In this episode, Fred Sanders answers questions about the Holy Spirit—What does it mean to blaspheme the Holy Spirit? Why did Jesus call that sin “unforgivable”?
Why Is It So Hard to Discern the Work of the Holy Spirit in My Life?
You come to awareness and confession and belief in Christ and then gradually become aware that if you are successfully believing in Jesus, it’s because the Spirit is at work within you.
10 Things You Should Know about the Holy Spirit
When you find your mind wandering or getting lost in the details of pneumatology (the doctrine of the Holy Spirit), just call back to mind the basic Christian confession that there is one God in three persons.
Gifts for Moms, Dads, and Grads
Gifts for Grads