Jesus Christ

It is an ironic point not lost on many theologians that the doctrine of divine simplicity is not so simple. To study the doctrine you must be prepared to welcome an expansion of your theological vocabulary. Every time I read or listen to something on simplicity I frequently pause and consult a...

God cannot learn anything new. Perhaps that is a new idea to you? The church, when it has been sound and orthodox, has always confessed this (see the WCF 2.1). It is an implication of at least two of the Triune God’s incommunicable attributes: simplicity and omniscience. Omniscience simply means “...

‘Grace’ could easily be seen as one of those doctrines every child from a Christian home ought to know from Kindergarten. Whether it be through the acronym God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense , or just the plain and often repeated ‘God’s unmerited favour’, it would be easy to check it off as ‘learnt’...

There is a popular notion that the church originated from a decision by a handful of followers of Jesus of Nazareth to start a movement. In the same way as other world religions started and grew through human determination and effort, it is often assumed that the Christian church is just a hugely...

Is it possible to undervalue Christ’s sufferings by overemphasizing the cross? One of my favorite seventeenth century Dutch “Puritans” is Herman Witsius (1636-1708). In his Economy of the Covenants Between God and Man , I came across a profound section on the extent to which Christ’s sufferings...

Continuing through the neglected Puritan Thomas Manton's (1620–1677) " Christ's Temptation and Transfiguration Practically Explained and Improved in Several Sermons” ( Works 1:258–336), we come to sermon 4 , which deals with Matthew 4:7 (click here for sermon 1 , sermon 2 , and sermon 3 ). This...

For those who can remember as far back as the 1960’s and 70’s, there are two books that may well stand out in your memory. One is J.I. Packer’s Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God and the other, R.B. Kuiper’s God-Centred Evangelism . Both provide a theology of evangelism – especially in terms of...

This week we want to continue through the neglected Puritan Thomas Manton's (1620–1677) " Christ's Temptation and Transfiguration Practically Explained and Improved in Several Sermons” ( Works 1, 258–336). Sermon 3 treats Matthew 4:5–6 (click here for sermon 1 and sermon 2 ). This is a particularly...