Gestures to the priesthood: Exploring Jesus’ priestly function in 1 John

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (4) ◽  
pp. 564-573
Author(s):  
Christopher T. Holmes
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Unique Characteristic ◽  
High Priest ◽  
Epistle To The Hebrews ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
1 John ◽  
The One

Interpreters of the New Testament often assume that the portrait of Jesus as high priest is a definitive and unique characteristic of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Other interpreters, however, find traces of this priestly Christology in other writings in the New Testament. This article assesses the degree to which 1 John “gestures” to the priestly function of Jesus by portraying him as the definitive means of dealing with human sinfulness and as the one who intercedes in a priestly manner on behalf of humanity.

The New Testament and Intellectual Humility

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grant Macaskill
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Intellectual Humility ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Sacrificial Love ◽  
The One ◽  
The Mind

This book examines how the New Testament scriptures might form and foster intellectual humility within Christian communities. It is informed by recent interdisciplinary interest in intellectual humility, and concerned to appreciate the distinctive representations of the virtue offered by the New Testament writers on their own terms. It argues that the intellectual virtue is cast as a particular expression of the broader Christian virtue of humility, which proceeds from the believer’s union with Christ, through which personal identity is reconstituted by the operation of the Holy Spirit. Hence, we speak of ‘virtue’ in ways determined by the acting presence of Jesus Christ, overcoming sin and evil in human lives and in the world. The Christian account of the virtue is framed by this conflict, as believers within the Christian community struggle with natural arrogance and selfishness, and come to share in the mind of Christ. The new identity that emerges creates a fresh openness to truth, as the capacity of the sinful mind to distort truth is exposed and challenged. This affects knowledge and perception, but also volition: for these ancient writers, a humble mind makes good decisions that reflect judgments decisively shaped by the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ. By presenting ‘humility of mind’ as a characteristic of the One who is worshipped—Jesus Christ—the New Testament writers insist that we acknowledge the virtue not just as an admission of human deficiency or limitation, but as a positive affirmation of our rightful place within the divine economy.

Charismata: Gifts, Enablements, or Ministries?

2002 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-69
Author(s):  
Benny Aker
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Spiritual Gifts ◽  
Biblical Theology ◽  
Church Culture ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The One ◽  
The Church

AbstractIn the midst of a growing awareness of spiritual gifts in contemporary church culture and in the academy, much confusion exists. The use of the term 'charismata' promotes this confusion and is not an appropriate label for the biblical evidence of such activity. The problem lies in a deficient linguistic and exegetical handling of this term—a problem identified by James Barr long ago and brought to the fore by Kenneth Berding. Proper exegesis overcomes this prevalent exegetical and linguistic fallacy and suggests another term, diakonia. However, a more foundational conception of both the church and ministry is lacking. By analyzing Pauline anthropol ogy in Romans, an enduring and foundational model for gifts and ministries emerges. This model is the Pauline conception of the church as God's tem ple. People who are delivered from sin's power through identifying with Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection and who have the Spirit are free to give themselves both as sacrifice and temple servants in spiritual ministries. One other caution is raised and discussed. One must avoid the charge in practice and theology of Spirit-monism. Basic structures of the New Testament always place Jesus as the One through whom the Spirit comes. Conse quently, all Spirit activity must in some way be christological and sote riological in nature. Some contemporary applications are derived from this biblical theology of Church and ministry.

Galiläa oder Jerusalem? : Ein Ordnungsversuch in den Erscheinungsorten des Auferstandenen im Markusevangelium, im Lukasevangelium und in der Apostelgeschichte

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-86
Author(s):  
Jens Dörpinghaus
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
The Other ◽  
Sich Eine ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The One ◽  
Form Criticism

Zusammenfassung Markus 14,27-28; 16,7 und Lukas 24,49 bzw. Apostelgeschichte 1,4 sprechen jeweils unterschiedliche Erwartungen für die Erscheinungsorte des Auferstandenen aus und insbesondere für das Verbleiben der Jünger. Markus spricht von Galiläa als Erscheinungsort, nach Lukas 24,49 sollen die Jünger jedoch in Jerusalem bleiben. Dieses Spannungsfeld wird häufig durch Methoden der Form- und Traditionskritik untersucht. Hier soll dieser Ansatz nicht nur diskutiert, sondern es sollen auch die theologischen Implikationen untersucht werden. Anhand eines neuen literarisch-chronologischen Ordnungsversuchs in den Evangelien kann herausgearbeitet werden, dass sich beide Aussagen auf die Nachfolge der Jünger Jesu in bestimmten Abschnitten der Zeit vor und nach der Auferstehung Jesu und seiner Himmelfahrt beziehen. Damit findet sich eine neue Perspektive auf die nachösterliche Nachfolge im Neuen Testament.SummaryMark 14:27-28 and 16:7 on the one hand and Luke 24:49 with Acts 1:4 on the other hand mention different locations where the disciples will meet Jesus after the resurrection or where they should stay. Mark mentions Galilee, Luke Jerusalem. Most scholars try to solve this conflict with the methods of form criticism or tradition criticism. This article discusses the shortcomings of this approach and discusses the resulting theological implications for both Jerusalem and Galilee. It introduces a new literary approach for ordering the post-resurrection appearances in the Gospels and Acts. The results provide new perspectives on discipleship in the period after Easter in the New Testament.RésuméMarc 14:27-28 et 16:7 d’un côté et Luc 24:49 avec Actes 1:4 de l’autre mentionnent différents lieux où les disciples rencontreront Jésus après la résurrection ou devront attendre. Marc cite la Galilée, Luc Jérusalem. La plupart des exégètes s’efforcent de résoudre ce conflit en recourant aux méthodes de la critique des formes ou de la tradition. Cet article traite des faiblesses de cette approche et aborde les implications théologiques qui en résultent pour à la fois Jérusalem et la Galilée. Il introduit une nouvelle approche littéraire pour ordonner les apparitions post-résurrection dans l’Évangile et les Actes. Les résultats ouvrent de nouvelles perspectives sur le discipulat en cette période importante du Nouveau Testament.

scholarly journals Jewish fish (ΙΧΘΥΣ) in post-supersessionist water: Messianic Judaism within a post-supersessionistic paradigm

2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel Willitts
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
New Testament ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Other ◽  
Messianic Judaism ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The One ◽  
The Church

This article defines, explains and argues for the necessity of a post-supersessionistic hermeneutical posture towards the New Testament. The post-supersessionistic reading of the New Testament takes the Jewish nature of the apostolic documents seriously, and has as its goal the correction of the sin of supersessionism. While supersessionism theologically is repudiated in most corners of the contemporary church through official church documents, the practise of reading the New Testament continues to exhibit supersessionistic tendencies and outcomes. The consequence of this predominant reading of the New Testament is the continued exclusion of Jewish ethnic identity in the church. In light of the growing recognition of multiculturalism and contextualisation on the one hand, and the recent presence of a movement within the body of Messiah of Jewish believers in Jesus on the other, the church’s established approach to reading Scripture that leads to the elimination of ethnic identity must be repudiated alongside its post-supersessionist doctrinal statements. This article defines terms, explains consequences and argues for a renewed perspective on the New Testament as an ethnic document; such a perspective will promote the church’s cultivation of real embodied ethnic particularity rather than either a pseudo-interculturalism or the eraser full ethnicity.

The Modern Paradox of Christ's Lordship

1959 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 361-372
Author(s):  
Alexander Czégledy
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Epistle To The Hebrews ◽  
The World ◽  
Original Sense ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Contradictory Statement

To proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord over the world is to make a paradoxical statement. First, in the original sense of the word ‘paradox’, His lordship over the world is contrary to doxa, that is, received opinion, reason and experience. His sovereignty seems to the ordinary mind not less paradoxical than His mighty wonder of healing the man of the palsy which called forth the amazed exclamation: ‘We have seen strange things [paradoxa] today.’ We cannot see, neither can we prove the reality of His kingship. This is meant by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews: ‘Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. … But now we see not yet all things put under him.’ Then another sense of the word is suggested—though probably to non—Greeks only—by the New Testament meaning of the word doxa, glory—‘paradoxical’ being something that is contrary to glory—not simply devoid of it, but appearing as the very opposite of royal splendour and might, as weakness, helplessness, shame and mortality. Also in this second sense the lordship of Christ is highly paradoxical. The visions of the Apocalypse assign power and glory to the Lamb that was slain. And thirdly, in modern usage, the word ‘paradox’ means an apparently self-contradictory statement in which the truth is expressed by two contradictory but necessary propositions. In this sharpened sense of the paradox one would express the lordship of Christ only in terms of those features which indicate His lowly service, weakness, humiliation and shame.

The Use of evangelicus in the Paraphrases

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-160
Author(s):  
Dean Simpson
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
The Other ◽  
Word Study ◽  
Semantic Categories ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The One

This article is a word study that analyses and interprets how Erasmus uses the adjective evangelicus, -a, -um in his New Testament Paraphrases. The development of the idiom ‘gospel-blank’ (evangelicus + noun) is analyzed diachronically; the phrases denoting gospel things are divided into six semantic categories. The study shows, on the one hand, that there is a general consistency in how evangelicus is used, the most common pairings predominating in most Paraphrases on the Epistles and Gospels, while, on the other, there is some broadening and lowering of the nouns with which evangelicus is joined, moving from the Paraphrases on the Epistles to the Gospel Paraphrases. Erasmus’ changing attitude to the project of paraphrasing the New Testament provides biographical and historical context in which to place the study’s findings. The study concludes by highlighting the New Testament Paraphrases as Erasmus’ humanistic response to worsening divisions in the early 1520s.

Jeremiah and His Prophecies in the New Testament

2021 ◽  
pp. 519-538
Author(s):  
Catrin H. Williams
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Gospel Of Matthew ◽  
Book Of Revelation ◽  
New Covenant ◽  
Epistle To The Hebrews ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Paul's Letters

This chapter examines the various modes of reference to Jeremiah in the writings of the New Testament. It begins with an investigation of the three explicit references to the prophet Jeremiah in the Gospel of Matthew before expanding the discussion to examine various allusions to the content of Jeremiah’s prophecies in the four canonical gospels. The study will then consider the contribution of Jeremiah to Paul’s understanding of his apostolic ministry and also focus on the influence of the Jeremianic concept of “new covenant” on the understanding of the salvific significance of Christ both in Paul’s letters and in the epistle to the Hebrews. It concludes with an exploration of the various ways in which Jeremiah’s prophecies are employed in the book of Revelation, including the oracles of judgment against Babylon.

Hasker’s Tri-Personal God vs. New Testament Theology

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-177
Author(s):  
Dale Tuggy
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Strong Evidence ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Triune God ◽  
Social Trinity ◽  
The One ◽  
Catholic Tradition ◽  
The Trinity

Hasker’s “social” Trinity theory is subject to considerable philosophical problems (Section II). More importantly, the theory clashes with the clear New Testament teaching that the one God just is the Father alone (Section III). Further, in light of five undeniable facts about the New Testament texts, we can know that the authors of the New Testament thought that the only God was just the Father himself, not the Trinity (Section IV). Hasker can neither deny these facts nor defeat the strong evidence they provide that in affirming a triune God in the late 4th century, catholic tradition departed from apostolic teaching about the one God (Section V).

The Remaining New Testament Books as Sacred

2021 ◽  
pp. 171-205
Author(s):  
Donald Senior
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Acts Of The Apostles ◽  
Peter 1 ◽  
1 Peter ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Unique Identity ◽  
1 John

In attempting to make the case that the defining reason the books of the New Testament are considered sacred is because of their focus on the unique identity of Jesus Christ, we have explored the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and writings of Paul. We turn now, with the same conviction, to some of the remaining New Testament books. Our goal here is not to consider every book of the New Testament but to make the case that in the vast majority of them, their proclamation of Christ is central and defining. The books we will focus on in this chapter include Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 1 John, and Revelation, taken in the order in which they appear in the canon. Despite the evident literary diversity of these texts, there is a commanding unity—a unity grounded in their focus on the figure of Jesus Christ. It is that varied but unifying portrayal found in these books which will command our attention in this chapter.

Was the Text of the Septuagint Christianized?

2021 ◽  
pp. 69-92
Author(s):  
Gilles Dorival
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
The Other ◽  
Jewish Origin ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The One

On the one hand, all of the deuterocanonical books and all of the supplements to Daniel, Esther, Jeremiah have Jewish origin. In fact, there are only five Christian texts within the Septuagint, perhaps six, if Job 42:17a originated from a Christian circle (which is less likely than from a Jewish milieu). The five texts are found in the Psalter. After Psa 13:3ab, Psa 13:3c–j gives a lengthy quotation of Paul’s Rom 3:12–18. In the Odes, there are four Christian texts: three passages of Luke and one ecclesiastical composition. On the other hand, New Testament verses are introduced into the Septuagint. There are, at most, 159 possible Christianized verses listed for the whole of the Septuagint of which twenty-five occur in Psalms. Of these twenty-five, nine have very limited Christianization: the verses that align with the New Testament text occur only in one, two, or three manuscripts. There are twelve cases of partial Christianization attested in more than three manuscripts and there is only one example of a complete Christianization: Psa 39:7b (40:7b MT), but even this is debated among scholars. Finally, it happens that a few words (less than half a verse) are added into the verses of the Septuagint. There are just six potential Christian additions of this kind. Of these, Psa 65:1a has to be removed. Five cases remain: Psa 37:14a; 37:21c; 49:6a; 50:9a, and 95:10a. The latter is the most famous example: instead of ‘say among the nations: “the Lord became king”’, the Coptic versions, some manuscripts and some Fathers offer ‘say among the nations: “the Lord became king from (the) wood”’. So, a connection is established between the Lord of the Psalm and the wood of Jesus’ cross. In sum, the Septuagint text is very little Christianized: the translation remains remarkably close to its Jewish origin.

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