Tune and Prepare!

You are right when You pass sentence; You are blameless when You judge. Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me. Surely You desire integrity in the inner self, and You teach me wisdom deep within Ps 51:4-6 That is a little bit tricky for people to understand that we are already born in sin. As David says in one of the Psalms, “In sin my mother conceived me.” So that, to us, it may not appear fair that when the first people sinned, somehow sin was passed on and spread to all of humanity. But, in the end, the cross is not fair either. And so I think ultimately we sin because we’re sinners, and so we need to accept that we’re born … Just like we’re born into a certain family, certain parents, certain culture, race, gender, and so forth, we’re also born with this sinful nature. And so what the Bible says is that we need to be reconciled to God. So, when I was a college student, I like to think of myself as ...

Andreas Köstenberger In our day and age, few parts of Scripture are more controversial that the household codes of the New Testament. Indeed, as family structures continue to unravel and hierarchical relations, in the home, the church, or the workplace, are often abusive, the biblical teaching that men and woman have distinct, God-given roles and that women submit to their husbands has fallen on hard times. Yet, for those who are committed to Scripture, we must take a closer look to see what God says about male-female relationships, and women’s roles in particular, throughout Scripture. And one important place to do that is Titus 2. ... Paul’s instructions to Titus in chapter 2 are given as part of a household code that conceives of the church as God’s household. In keeping with this format, Paul gives ministry directives regarding older men (v. 2), older and young women (vv. 3–5), and younger men (v. 6), as well as bondservants (vv. 9–10). Like all the members in God’s ho...

Andreas Köstenberger God’s Word calls qualified men to teach and pastor God’s flock. In discussions of this topic, 1 Timothy 2–3 are central to explaining why Paul did not permit a woman to teach or have authority in the church and why the pastoral office is grounded in creation and not culture... .. In this post, I will provide a brief introduction to 1 Timothy 2–3, a passage that clearly affirms male eldership in the household of God. Paul’s first letter to Timothy contains vital and abiding instructions for the church and its leadership. Paul writes to his apostolic delegate, Timothy, toward the end of Paul’s life and ministry in order to leave a legacy and pass on the pattern of church leadership to his foremost disciple. These instructions are not limited to first-century Ephesus (where Timothy was at the time) but abiding principles grounded in God’s creation order (Paul writes similar instructions to Titus, who is on the island of Crete). The Church as God’...

(Matt 5:1-16) by Andreas Köstenberger In his monumental Gospel, Matthew introduces Jesus as the descendant of Abraham and David, narrating his miraculous virgin conception and birth and recounting his flight to Egypt and return to Nazareth. At the inception of Jesus’ public ministry, John the Baptist cries out, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (3:1). Later, when hearing of John’s arrest, Jesus begins to proclaim an identical message (4:17). Yet while John is only the forerunner, Jesus is the Messiah. At this, Jesus gathers a large following and travels far and wide “proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people” (4:23). After this preamble, Matthew opens the first of five major teaching sections of Jesus in his Gospel. The number five is reminiscent of the Pentateuch, the five books of Moses. Similarly, the reference to Jesus ascending a mountain brings to mind Moses’ ascent of Mount Sinai when recei...

The day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday offers powerful spiritual lessons for believers. When disaster strikes and our hopes are dashed, we must be patient and wait for God because He can bring good out of evil in his own good timing. Andreas Köstenberger

by Andreas Köstenberger ... A nők szerepe a Titusz 2:3-5-ben Napjainkban és korunkban kevés olyan része van a Szentírásnak, amely annyira vitatott, mint az Újszövetség házi szabályai. Valóban, mivel a családi struktúrák egyre inkább felbomlanak, és a hierarchikus viszonyok - otthon, az egyházban vagy a munkahelyen - bizony gyakran visszaélésekkel, abúzussal járnak, a bibliai tanítás, miszerint a férfiaknak és a nőknek különálló, Isten adta szerepeik vannak és a nőknek alá kell vetniük magukat a férjüknek, nehéz helyzetbe jutott. Mégis, azok számára, akik elkötelezettek a Szentírás iránt, fontos közelebbről megvizsgálni, hogy mit mond Isten a férfi és a nő kapcsolatáról, és {most} különösen a nők szerepéről a Szentírásban. Az egyik fontos hely, ahol ezt megtehetjük, a Titusz 2. fejezet. További részletekért lásd a 6. fejezetet Isten tervezése a férfi és a nő számára. * { complementarian view: egymást kiegészítő szerepek } Pál apostol Titusznak adott utasí...

by Andreas Köstenberger ... Women’s Roles in Titus 2:3–5 In our day and age, few parts of Scripture are more controversial that the household codes of the New Testament. Indeed, as family structures continue to unravel and hierarchical relations, in the home, the church, or the workplace, are often abusive, the biblical teaching that men and woman have distinct, God-given roles and that women submit to their husbands has fallen on hard times. Yet, for those who are committed to Scripture, we must take a closer look to see what God says about male-female relationships, and women’s roles in particular, throughout Scripture. And one important place to do that is Titus 2. For more details, see chapter 6 in God’s Design for Man and Woman. Paul’s instructions to Titus in chapter 2 are given as part of a household code that conceives of the Church as God’s household . In keeping with this format, Paul gives ministry directives regarding older men (v. 2), older and...

Agosto 2016 Andreas J. Köstenberger, Margaret Elizabeth Köstenberger Fuimos creados varón y mujer por designio divino Según el relato de la creación del Génesis, Dios creó a la humanidad hombre y mujer (Gn 1:26-28). La masculinidad y la feminidad son creaciones, no contratos. Son instituidos divinamente y no definidos socialmente. Por lo tanto, nuestra identidad de género no puede renegociarse del mismo modo que refinanciamos una hipoteca o cambiamos la fecha de una cita. Dios nos creó y somos sus criaturas, tanto hombres como mujeres. Fuimos creados varón y mujer a imagen de Dios El diseño de género binario de la humanidad como hombre y mujer refleja de alguna manera misteriosa la naturaleza de Dios. Aunque comparten una humanidad común, el hombre y la mujer son únicos y complementarios más que idénticos. Esta complementariedad, a su vez, refleja una faceta de la propia naturaleza de Dios. También Dios es una unidad dentro de la diversidad (tres en uno, igual en persona, dis...

Por Andreas Köstenberger Las falacias lógicas, tanto formales como informales, se encuentran en todos los campos de estudio, y la exégesis bíblica no es una excepción. Las disyunciones falsas se producen cuando un argumento se presenta de forma "o bien": o bien A o bien B es cierto, pero no ambos. Sin embargo, hay ocasiones en las que la respuesta es "ambos/y" en lugar de "o lo uno o lo otro". Tomemos la relación entre Gálatas 3:28 y 1 Timoteo 2:12, por ejemplo. Gal 3:8 Y la Escritura, previendo que Dios había de justificar por la fe a los gentiles, dio de antemano la buena nueva a Abraham, diciendo: En ti serán benditas todas las naciones. 1Tim 2:12 Porque no permito a la mujer enseñar, ni ejercer dominio sobre el hombre, sino estar en silencio. {RVR1977} A veces se afirma que la afirmación de Pablo en Gálatas 3 de que en Cristo "no hay varón ni mujer" erradica todas las distinciones de género con respecto al minis...

Aug 2016 by: Andreas J. Köstenberger, Margaret Elizabeth Köstenberger We were created male and female by divine design According to the Genesis creation account, God created humanity male and female (Gen 1:26–28). Maleness and femaleness are creational, not contractual. They are divinely instituted rather than socially defined. Thus our gender identity cannot simply be renegotiated the way in which we refinance a mortgage or reschedule an appointment. God created us, and we are his creatures, both men and women. We were created male and female in God’s image Humanity’s binary gender design as male and female reflects in some mysterious way the nature of God. While sharing a common humanity, the man and the woman are unique and complementary rather than identical. This complementarity, in turn, reflects a facet of God’s own nature. God, too, is a unity within diversity (three in one, equal in personhood, distinct in role). This unity in diversity is beautifully reflected in hu...

By Andreas Köstenberger Logical fallacies, both formal and informal, are found in every field of study, and biblical exegesis is no exception. False disjunctions are made when an argument is presented in an either or fashion: either A or B is true, but not both. However, there are times when the answer is "both/and" rather than "either/or." Take the relationship between Galatians 3:28 and 1 Timothy 2:12, for example. Gal 3:8 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 1Tim 2:12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. {ESV} It is at times claimed that Paul's assertion in Galatians 3 that in Christ there is "no male and female" eradicates all gender-related distinctions with regard to church ministry, so that the prohibition of women teaching or exercising authority ove...

Andreas Köstenberger N e összpontosítsunk olyan mértékben Jézus szenvedésére, hogy elhanyagoljuk a kereszt dicsőségét a feltámadásban és a feltámadás által. Bizonyos keresztény hagyományok hajlamosak szinte egyoldalúan csak Jézus szenvedésére összpontosítani a kereszten, arra a hihetetlen fájdalomra, amelyet el kellett viselnie, valamint megaláztatására és Istentől való elszakadására. Ezt láthatjuk olyan filmes ábrázolásokban, mint Mel Gibson Passio című filmje, a keresztre feszítéséig vezető útjának római katolikus újra-játszása a Via Dolorosa (a Fájdalmak útja) keresztúti stációin, és még jó néhány prédikációban, amelyet mindannyian hallhattunk az evangéliumi gyülekezetek ben is ahová jártunk (nem is beszélve sok kedvenc énekünkről, himnuszunkról). Természetesen a négy bibliai Evangélium, különösen Máté, Márk és Lukács Evangéliuma egybehangzóan állítja, hogy Jézus sokat szenvedett értünk, amikor életét adta a mi üdvösségünkért, hogy bűneinket megbocsássák nekünk. És mégis, van ...

Andreas Köstenberger D  on't focus on the suffering of Jesus to the extent that you neglect the glory of the Cross in and through the Resurrection. Certain Christian traditions tend to focus almost unilaterally on the suffering of Jesus on the cross, on the incredible pain he had to endure, and on his humiliation and separation from God. This can be seen in cinematic depictions such as Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ , the Roman Catholic reenactment of his path to the crucifixion on the Via Dolorosa (the Way of Sorrows) in the stations to the Cross, and in quite a few sermons both of us have heard in the evangelical churches we attended (not to mention many of our favorite hymns).  Of course, the four biblical Gospels, especially Matthew, Mark, and Luke, concur that Jesus suffered a great deal for us as he gave his life for our salvation so that we could be forgiven of our sins. And yet, there is another aspect to the Easter story. It is best encapsulated i...