CPH Blog - Study

What Are Different Ways We Can Confess?

Timothy J. Winterstein — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 10:59:59 GMT

We are always confessing something. Whatever we do, whatever we say, we confess. Perhaps that seems like an exaggeration, because when we hear the word confess, we usually limit that to our sins or, perhaps, to our faith.

In Latin, the noun confessio and the verb confiteor both have implications of confessing in the typical sense (e.g., of sins) or acknowledging something. There is also a nuance of revealing something true. In Greek, homologeō shares one aspect of its meaning with the Latin: “to concede that something is factual or true” (BDAG, 708). But in the combination of the two parts, homo- and logos, “the same mind or word,” there is a significant corporate sense to the word. In this sense, it is impossible to confess alone. When we confess something, we are speaking the same as someone else. The question is, the same as whom?

What We Do When We Confess

When we confess our sins, we are not saying only how we feel or expressing our guilt. That does not go far enough. Part of our sinful nature is never being able to see, on our own, the true depth or nature of our sin. We might get caught and feel bad. Or we might be sorry that someone else took offense and got mad. In the Smalcald Articles, Luther calls this “active contrition,” or a “manufactured repentance.” In order to truly confess, the Law of God, wielded by the Holy Spirit as a hammer, must produce in us “passive contrition,” or “true sorrow of the heart, suffering, and the sensation of death” (The Smalcald Articles, Part 3, Article III, paragraph 2). Only then, when we are saying the same thing that God says about our sin, are we truly confessing.

Likewise, when we confess our faith, we are not speaking the same thing as ourselves. It is not our faith in the sense that it comes from us, or that we figured out what might be good to believe and then believed it. In order to confess, we can only confess with someone else. Before we confess with other Christians, we must first confess to God. This is why the Ecumenical Creeds are necessary. When we abandon them, we are abandoning a faith outside ourselves.

Confessing with the Creeds

We might think we can stick with just the Bible, but in the last month, I saw an online conversation where one person was using Bible verses in a way that would have made Arius shed tears of joy. Some used other Scriptures to convince him of his error, but it made no difference. Certainly, the scriptural words are necessary, but one may tell the story of God by configuring the words in different ways. Different configurations of the narrative make the difference between Arius and Athanasius. The creeds outline the correct story and put the words in the order proper to the story God tells in Jesus. Only a conversion to the true story will allow us to read the Scriptures correctly.

When we confess a creed, then, we are saying the same thing God says about Himself in the Scriptures. We are telling the same story because God has written us into that story in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. When that story becomes the story of more than one person (and “a great multitude that no one could number” has been written in by Jesus [Revelation 7:9]), then we also say the same thing as all of them. The Ecumenical Creeds mark the true story, setting the boundaries and outline of the scriptural narrative. But they also open up the only true ecumenism, by which we may begin the conversation and prayer for true unity. Without the creedal beginning, there is no agreement to be had and so no common confession. Hermann Sasse put it this way in 1935: “We will not cease to pray and work so that the torn church of Christ may again become one. We are prepared to wrestle for the truth of the Gospel with all confessions, whether Catholic or Protestant, so long as they confess the Nicene Creed” (The Lonely Way, vol. I, p. 256).

Confessing Through Worship and Praise

But our confessing does not stop with saying the same thing God says about our sin and saying the same thing God says about Himself. A close relative of homologeō is exomologeō, which Jesus uses in Matthew 11:25: “I confess (ESV uses “thank”)You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children” (emphasis added). This word can also be used in the context of confessing sins (e.g., Matthew 3:6), but it is a word that became more general for “praising,” in the sense of acknowledging what God has done. Thus, Luther, interestingly, names the three creeds or symbols as the Apostles’, the Athanasian, and the Te Deum. True worship is true confessing, and vice versa, because we are speaking truly the same things that God has revealed to us, the things He has done and said. To seek the forgiveness of sins from Christ is the highest worship and true faith (Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article V(III), paragraph 33/154), and the chief service of God is to preach the Gospel (Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article XV(VII), paragraph 42). So, in the Athanasian Creed, “the catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in unity,” and “the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity is to be worshiped” (emphasis added). When we gather with other Christians in true unity, we confess what God has done and how He continues to do that same, saving work in Christ today. We bear witness that we, His people, must be where Jesus is and where He’s promised to be for our forgiveness and salvation.

Confessing Through our Good Works

But there’s more. Everywhere we go, we bear the name that brought us into baptismal communion with the Father, Son, and Spirit, and with all who bear the same name (1 John 1:1–4). We go out into the vocational web of relationships into which God has put us, and we confess. We say the same thing with our speaking and living and acting as God has said about us: You are My dear child, made new in Christ, who is the image of the invisible God. In this way, our good works for the sake of our neighbors confess the love of Christ. The people around us may or may not recognize it. Doing good works is not the same as preaching the Gospel or speaking of the mighty works of God in Jesus’ death and resurrection, but it is confessing nonetheless.

Confessing with Examination

Of course, there are a lot of other speakers and words in our world. People are always “saying the same thing” as someone. We can easily be drawn to confess what the world, the devil, or our own sinful flesh might be saying. As Paul says, we must not be “conformed to this world,” to say the same thing as the world, but “be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). Part of our self-examination, and so part of our confession according to God’s Word, is to see clearly what God says about all those other speakers and words—and about our false and sinful confession with them—so that He will renew our minds by His absolution, by the preaching, and by the communion in the Lord’s body and blood.

Whether we are acknowledging our sins in the light of God’s Law, believing His forgiveness in the Gospel, speaking together the creeds that are the summary of God’s revelation of who He is for us, giving Him true worship in faith, or carrying out our God-given vocations, we confess at all times the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and who He has remade us to be in Christ.

Scripture: ESV^®.

Quotation marked BDAG is from Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, third edition, edited by Frederick William Danker © 2000 University of Chicago Press. Used by permission.

Want to read more about how confession and the Nicene Creed go together? Order Timothy J. Winterstein’s book Worshiped and Glorified: A Study of the Nicene Creed.

2 Peter: An Overview

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 11:00:00 GMT

The historical contours of 1 Peter are tolerably distinct; we can answer with considerable assurance most of the questions that historical inquiry raises concerning it. The Second Letter of Peter, however, is wrapped in mystery, and the reconstruction of its historical background is beset at almost every point with perplexing uncertainties. While the place of the first letter in the canon has always been an assured one, the second letter has the weakest historical attestation of any book in the New Testament. There are indications that the letter was known and used in the second century, but there is no unmistakable evidence that it was known as a letter of Peter and used as such in the church before the time of Origen (AD 185 to 254), who referred to the letter and considered it apostolic, but was aware of the fact that its place in the canon was in dispute.

Historical and Cultural Settings of 2 Peter

The authenticity of 1 Peter, though questioned by modern critical scholarship, is actually quite solidly established by the external and internal evidence, whereas the authenticity of the second letter was questioned even in the Early Church and is denied by the great majority of scholars today. The circle of readers for whom the first letter was intended is clearly defined by the letter itself; the address of the second letter is very general: “To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours” (2 Peter 1:1), and leaves the location of the readers uncertain. The words “This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved” (3:1; emphasis added) make it likely, but not certain, that its destination is the same as that of the first letter. Concerning the time and place of writing of the second letter, we can only say that it must be dated toward the close of Peter’s life and that it was therefore probably written from Rome and addressed to the church in Asia Minor (cf. 1 Peter 1:1). We can see what sort of tendencies and difficulties occasioned the second letter, but we cannot fix them as to place and time with any precision.

Arguments on the Uncertainty of Authorship

The majority of scholars today regard 2 Peter as a second-century work, written by one who wishes to invoke the authority of Peter to aid him in dealing with the dangers and difficulties confronting the Church in his day. The letter, they say, is not a malicious forgery; the use of Peter’s name is not designed to deceive anyone. It is merely the author’s way of saying, “This is what the apostle Peter would say to our situation if he were still with us today.” It is commonly described as an example of the testamentary literature of this era (as in a “last will and testament” document; cf. 2 Peter 1:12–15 where Peter mentioned he was facing death).

This position is supported by a massive array of arguments, and the case is generally conceded to be proved beyond reasonable doubt. And yet there is room for reasonable doubt. The greatest difficulty about the theory that 2 Peter is a forgery is to discover a motive for the forgery. Men who write in the name of others, especially great authorities, have a reason for doing so. In the case of 2 Peter such a reason is hard to discover. The author is not using an apostle’s authority to support a heresy, as is so often the case with early forgeries. He is not indulging in a romantic glorification of an apostle as the Acts of Paul, for instance, does. The allusions to Peter’s life and experience remain within the limits of what we know of Peter from the Gospels. And the writer imports nothing from a later time and experience (anachronisms) into the picture of the apostle.

There have been similar cases in the history of New Testament scholarship where theories about a late date for a document were overturned; there was, for instance, a time when practically nobody who was anybody in the world of scholarship cared to defend the authenticity and first-century origin of the Gospel of John, while today further study and new discoveries have put the matter in a different light. This example shows that evidence needs to be sifted. The impressive list of arguments against authenticity for 2 Peter contains items of varying strength and validity. Some of the arguments are strong, and honest scholarship should not evade the fact that we are confronted by genuine reasons for uncertainty in this matter.

Strong Arguments Against Peter’s Authorship

The argument based on differences between the first and the second letter in vocabulary and style is strong. The two letters are clearly quite different. One may conjecture that the differences in language and style are due not only to the different situation presupposed by the two letters but also to the fact that Peter employed a different helper for the second letter, that the associate “through” whom Peter wrote his second letter was a man different from Silvanus, the secretary “through” whom he wrote the first letter. But again this is conjecture; and we are left with unsolved problems.

Weak Arguments Against Peter’s Authorship

Other arguments used to support the thesis that 2 Peter must be a second-century non-Petrine work are less strong. Arguments on what the letter does not say are of dubious validity; it is argued that the second letter is less profoundly Christ-centered than the first letter, that the second letter is more somber about the approaching end of all things than the first letter.

The argument from silence is always dubious; Paul, for instance, is silent on the Lord’s Supper in all his letters except 1 Corinthians, but this neither calls into question the authenticity of the other letters nor does it prove anything concerning the importance that Paul attaches to the Lord’s Supper. Similarly, the fact that the second letter quotes and recalls the Old Testament less often than the first letter does not have much weight, especially when we consider that the second letter contains one of the most powerful statements in the whole New Testament on the authority and the inspiration of Old Testament prophecy (2 Peter 1:19–21). Neither is the alleged fact that the author speaks of Paul’s letters as a collection known to the Church (3:16) sufficient to prove a late date and exclude Peter as the author. The phrase “in all his letters” does not necessarily imply that everyone everywhere in the Church knew the collected letters of Paul. And to argue that Peter could not have ranked Paul’s letters with “the other Scriptures” (that is, the Old Testament) involves the whole question of apostolic authority. If Paul himself considered the word that he spoke to be no less than the Word of God (1 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Corinthians 7:40; 14:37), there is no reason why Peter, who gave Paul the right hand of fellowship (Galatians 2:9), should not have placed the same value on it.

Summary Content for 2 Peter

2 Peter 1:1–2 Peter greets his readers with a salutation that affirms their standing in Christ. All who confess Christ possess “a faith of equal standing.”

2 Peter 1:3–15 Peter affirms the greatness of the Christian hope, and he encourages his readers to make their calling and election sure by giving evidence of their faith with good works.

2 Peter 1:16–21 Peter had seen a glimpse of our Lord’s glory on the holy Mount of Transfiguration.

2 Peter 2 Our Lord says, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33; cf. 2 Peter 2:9).

2 Peter 3 Knowing that this world will not last, we are to live lives of holiness, hastening the coming of the Lord. Our Lord’s patience is essential to our salvation in the sense that He is giving us time to repent.

Martin Luther on 2 Peter

This epistle is written against those who think that Christian faith can be without works. Therefore he exhorts them to test themselves by good works and become sure of their faith, just as one knows trees by their fruits [Matt. 7:20].

He begins accordingly by praising the gospel over against the doctrines of men. He says that people ought to hear the gospel alone and not the doctrines of men. For, as he says, “No prophecy ever came by the impulse of men” [II Pet. 1:21].

For this reason he warns in chapter 2 against the false teachers who are to come. They are preoccupied with works and thereby deny Christ. He threatens these men severely with three terrible illustrations and depicts them so clearly with their avarice, pride, wickedness, fornication, and hypocrisy that one must plainly see he means the clergy of today. For these have swallowed the whole world in their greed and are wickedly leading an irresponsible, fleshly, worldly life.

In chapter 3 he shows that the Last Day will come soon; and though in the sight of [fur] men it may seem a thousand years, yet in the sight of [fur] God it is as one day. He describes what will happen at the Last Day, how everything shall be consumed by fire. However, he also prophesies that at that time people will be scornful and, like the Epicureans, will think nothing of faith. (Luther’s Works, vol. 35, pp. 391–92)

Scripture: ESV^®.

Read more about 2 Peter and every book of the New Testament in Lutheran Bible Companion, Volume 2.

Martin Luther on the Gifts of Wisdom and Speech

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 27 May 2026 17:00:00 GMT

God gives us powerful gifts in His Word, ones that can be used to openly share His soul-saving news of salvation for all believers. Read an excerpt from Martin Luther’s preachings recorded in Luther’s Works, vol. 72, Disputations I to see what the two most important gifts are and how we, as God’s people, ought to use and celebrate them.

The Lord Gives Us Sacred Theology

I shall give you a mouth and wisdom which they will be unable to withstand or to contradict. [Luke 21:15]

First, Christ promises that He will give a mouth and wisdom. Hereby He commends sacred theology to us so that we know that it is a divine gift, not a matter of philosophy or something discovered by human reason, but something given by the Holy Spirit from heaven above and poured out upon us.…

Indeed, the majority of the human race speaks against it and hates it with a terrible hatred and fury, as Isaiah testifies again: “All day I have stretched out My hand to a faithless people that speaks against Me” [Isa. 65:2; Rom. 10:21]. Herein is set forth for us to behold that stupendous and great miracle: that although nothing is in more common circulation and more exposed to view than sacred theology, like the light of the sun and of the stars which shines through all darkness, nevertheless the darkness does not comprehend it [John 1:5] but rather flees and despises it. This is so that we may truly understand that it is a gift, and not a matter of nature or a good that can be obtained through nature—a gift that is understood only by those to whom it is given so that they may receive it. For the rest, even though it is openly offered, it is so far from being a gift that they believe it to be poison and death for them.…

The Two Gifts Given in Theology

But this is not the place [to discuss] such people at present; let us continue with the word of Christ: “I will give you a mouth and wisdom.” He says that two things are given through theology: a mouth and wisdom. The writings of the Gentiles also praise [these things] and also say that two things are necessary for a good orator: words and substance. Words without substance they judge to be bubbles of water, or whatever could be more vapid still; substance without words they pity and deplore….

Nonetheless, Christ is not speaking here about the splendid eloquence of reason, nor about the faculty of speaking [discussed by the Gentiles], but about the power of the Word—about that power, I say, which is sharper than any two-edged sword, a discerner of hearts, piercing unto the division of soul and spirit [Heb. 4:12], concerning which human eloquence of words with all its pomp and glory neither knows nor understands anything. Otherwise this promised mouth would not be a new gift above nature and the natural mouth. For we have seen and still see the most eloquent men—let us name Erasmus, Sadoleto, Longolius—who, [sometimes], when Christ’s gift of a mouth and wisdom is lacking, treat of theological matters in such a way that, like mere infants and stammerers, they speak nothing but ice and cold. These two things [words and substance] are so closely connected in every public utterance that the poet has rightly said, “Each one requires the help of the other” (Horace, Arts poetica 410, in Loeb 194 [1926], pp. 484–85). About something that is unknown there is no desire—much less, certainly, is there any speaking. For neither Virgil nor Cicero would have been successful in writing an epistle of Paul or the Gospel of John, nor would Paul [have been successful in writing] the Georgics of Virgil or the orations of Cicero. For the mouth and wisdom [required for each] are different.

The Wisdom to Know and the Language to Speak

Therefore, the wisdom promised and given by Christ is a knowledge of things unknown to the world and to reason, that is, of heavenly and spiritual things, and yet—what is marvelous—it is one that dwells and rules in the hearts of men who are of the world and possess reason. Likewise, the mouth promised by Him is a new language and new tongues, and yet they are the native tongues of all nations, as it is written: “There is no language or speech in which their voices are not heard” [Ps. 19:4]. For each one hears the apostles not only speaking in other tongues [Acts 2:6] but also signifying and preaching different and new things which the natural mouth and tongue of speech had neither thought nor heard before. Here “the wavering crowd divides into opposing factions” (Virgil, Aeneid 2.39, in Loeb 63 [1916], pp. 318–19). It grasps the meter, but it does not understand the words which are [not] of human beings, neither is it acquainted with the matter. For [this] wisdom makes new words out of the old because it is not a wisdom born from us but one given from heaven, making all things new and transforming everything.

But the last thing He says is the greatest of all: that no adversary, whether old or new, will be able to resist this new wisdom and eloquence. As Isaiah says, “No implement made against you will accomplish its purpose” [Isa. 54:17]. And Psalm 1: “Everything he does shall prosper” [v. 3]. And yet not a few not only resist but also overcome them. But this victory of theirs is a passing bubble—or, rather, it is an eternal defeat and irremediable loss. But they are unable to resist the Spirit [and] wisdom which is speaking [Acts 6:10]; otherwise who would be willing to endure such hatred from the devil and the whole world for the sake of this wisdom, or [to endure] sin itself in our flesh, the most implacable enemy and most bitter and untiring opponent of our conscience, and, finally, [to endure] death itself, if this wisdom did not make us certain and vivify us with its own potent mouth—certain that we are victorious over all our adversaries. For it has a learned tongue (as Isaiah [50:4] says), by which it is able to sustain the fallen with a word; it has the testimony of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, which with confidence cries, “Abba! Father!” [Gal. 4:6].

By this crying Spirit and sustaining word, the weak speak just as the prophets speak. And the weak man says, “I am strong” [Joel 3:10], and with Paul: “I can do all things in Him who comforts me” [Phil. 4:13]. But our mouth is not powerful and our wisdom victorious only because it makes us bound in conscience and certain of victory, but it also at last so compels and crushes the adversaries themselves that, having been convinced in their own conscience, they are forced to say, “This is the finger of God” [Exod. 8:19; Luke 11:20]; and again: “Never did a human being speak thus” [John 7:46].… May we be satisfied with this most powerful, mighty, sweet wisdom by which we are given victory by God, the Father of all victory, blessed forever. Amen.

Loeb Classical Library (Harvard University Press, 1912–).

Read more from Martin Luther’s preachings with your own volume of Luther’s Works, vol. 72, Disputations I.

Digging Deeper into Scripture: The Ascension in Luke 24:44–53

Phil Rigdon — Wed, 13 May 2026 11:00:05 GMT

“I promise” is an everyday expression. People use it to make a special commitment to another person: “I promise to mow the grass tomorrow,” “I promise I will remember our anniversary next year, ” and the like. This two-word linguistic prefix is intended to add strength to the commitment. This is a stronger pledge than simply saying, “I will.”

Using the Phrase “I Promise”

By all rights, “I promise” should have no place in our language at all, especially not for Christians. Consider James’s words:

But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. (James 5:12)

In truth, every time we say “I will” or “I won’t,” we are making a promise. Let me suggest that we tend to use “I promise” because of those times we have failed to keep our word.

Not so with Jesus.

He states:

These are My words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. (Luke 24:44)

This is powerful in that Jesus had recently risen from the dead, had spoken on the road to Emmaus, and now was appearing before His disciples. He addressed the disciples immediately after showing them the marks of His wounds from His passion. Eating before them was further evidence that this was indeed their Master. It was essential that the disciples were convinced of Jesus’ identity before He told them what must come next.

Opening Our Minds to the Scriptures

Verse 45 indicates, “Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” Jesus opened the minds of the disciples to understand the predictions of His suffering, death, and resurrection in the Old Testament Scriptures. And after providing all the evidence, our Lord then brought it all together. I would have loved to see the expressions on their faces after receiving this enlightenment. This new understanding was necessary for the next step. Everything concerning Jesus’ Passion and resurrection in the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms would equip them to take the Gospel into the world, both to Jews and Gentiles.

The gift of scriptural understanding can only come from the Lord through the work of the Holy Spirit. Recall Luther’s explanation of the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed:

I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.

As a blind, dead enemy of the Lord, I could never come to know the one true God without the work of the Holy Spirit in the Gospel. Using the Word and Holy Baptism, He gives us understanding of the Son and what He has done for us through His perfect life, innocent suffering and death, and victorious resurrection. Through this God-given faith, we receive forgiveness of sins and everlasting life.

The Promise of the Holy Spirit in the Ascension

For the disciples, the work had just begun. Jesus states:

And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. (Luke 24:49)

This promise was none other than the Holy Spirit, sent to the disciples at Pentecost. Manifested as a mighty rushing wind and tongues of fire, the Spirit equipped the Lord’s students to speak in native languages to carry out the dissemination of the Gospel into a dark, lost world. The sending of the Holy Spirit was Jesus once again keeping a promise—one He had made to the disciples before His Passion, as recorded in the Gospel of John.

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you. (John 16:7)

In this way, Jesus was not truly absent but continued His presence through His Holy Spirit. Christ had secured the world’s redemption; now, it was time to build the Kingdom. The disciples, including us today, were to be His ambassadors.

Keeping Promises Through the Ascension

Having kept His promises and equipped the disciples, it was now time for Jesus to return to heaven and be seated at His Father’s right hand. Yet, despite all the evidence Jesus had provided regarding His purpose and plan, the disciples remained in at least partial ignorance. They asked, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). The question suggests that the disciples were still thinking that Jesus would return Israel to its former earthly glory. We mustn’t be too critical. How many times has the Lord taught each of us the same lessons?

In response, the Lord seemed to ignore the ignorant question and instead pointed them back to the true mission: “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority” (1:7). Jesus was referring to the Last Day, the true restoration of Israel. To appreciate the depth of this statement, it’s necessary to understand that the true Israel is not an earthly location or political nation, but rather all Christians.

Should we be surprised that the disciples ventured to the temple after seeing Jesus ascend into heaven? The two men had indicated that Jesus would return in the same manner He had left. Consider that the temple is where God’s people encountered Him. From the cloud and fire of the Tabernacle and forward, God promised to be present. Jesus is God, and this is where they sought Him.

The ascension is about keeping promises. Jesus will keep His promise to return in the same manner in which He left. Yet, He also keeps His promise to remain with us. Jesus is present in our worship spaces, present in His Word and Sacraments. He fills our hearts and minds as the Bible is read. He takes up residence in those who are baptized. He is present in His precious body and blood in Holy Communion. He is present to sustain our faith until the day He returns.

Scripture: ESV^®.

Learn more about God’s fulfillment of promises in the book of Luke with this Concordia Commentary.

1 Peter: An Overview

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 11:00:00 GMT

In this letter, Peter sends greetings to his readers from her “who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen” (1Pt 5:13). This no doubt refers to a church (the Greek word for church is feminine), and the church referred to is in all probability the church at Rome. Christianity seems to have taken over this name for Rome from late Judaism. Babylon had been branded by Old Testament prophecy as the embodiment of world power at enmity with God and His people. Peter is, in using this name for Rome, reminding his readers that the hostile world, which now has power to impose the fiery ordeal upon the scattered and homeless people of God, is doomed to destruction under the judgment of God. The letter was thus written at Rome.

Historical and Cultural Setting

As for the circumstances that prompted Peter to write to Gentile churches, some of which had their origin in Paul’s missionary labors, one can only guess. Commentators on 1 Peter have wondered whether Peter may have written at Paul’s suggestion. Paul, about to leave for Spain in AD 61 or 62, having heard of the situation of the churches of northern Asia Minor, may have laid it upon Peter’s heart to write to them a circular letter, just as Paul himself had written somewhat earlier to a group of churches in Asia Minor (Letter to the Ephesians). This receives some confirmation from the fact that Silvanus, Paul’s longtime companion, had a part in the writing of the letter. … Silas as the trusted companion of Paul and a man endowed with the gift of prophecy (Ac 15:32) may have been called into the consultation between Peter and Paul when the letter was planned and was thus acquainted with its purpose and content from the outset.

Contested Authorship of 1 Peter

The authenticity of 1 Peter is questioned by some scholars on the grounds that (a) the Greek of the letter is too delicately idiomatic and literary to be the work of a Galilean fisherman like Peter; (b) that the letter borrows from the Letter of James and from Paul to an extent that makes authorship by one of apostolic stature unlikely; (c) that the persecution the letter has in view is of a kind not possible within the lifetime of Peter, since persecution for the “name” itself (that is, for merely being a Christian) did not take place before the time of Emperor Domitian (AD 81–96) or even that of Trajan (AD 98–117).

a. We should remember that we really have no way of knowing how much Greek Peter could or did know. Peter’s home country, Galilee, was more open to Greek influence than any other part of Israel. The part that Silvanus … had in the composition of the letter must be reckoned with also.

b. The so-called dependence of Peter’s first letter on other New Testament writings can easily be overstated. Not every similarity between New Testament writings is proof that one of the authors drew upon the work of the other. The apostles and other leaders of the Early Church did not merely read one another’s letters in studious seclusion; these men heard and knew one another; they confessed together, worked together, and above all, they had one Lord and possessed one Spirit. Moreover, they lived for and with the Church, enriching the life of the Church and being enriched by it (cf Rm 1:11–12), so that whatever one apostle gave the Church became the property of all. The question of the interrelationship of the apostolic writings cannot be determined by the study of the coincidences of language in the writings alone; the whole historical picture must be considered. … One can hardly, therefore, draw long conclusions from a limited number of literary coincidences between the Letter of Peter on the one hand and the Letter of James and the letters of Paul on the other, even if some of these coincidences are very close.

c. As was noted above, the kind of persecution indicated by the letter does not demand a dating later than the lifetime of Peter. … It should be remembered that from the point of view of the apostle and the Church, every persecution was a persecution for the sake of the “name” of Christ, whatever reason might be put forward by the persecuting power itself.

Positively, there are two features of the letter that speak strongly for authenticity. One is the claim of the writer to be an eyewitness of the sufferings of Christ (1Pt 5:1), a claim supported by many little touches throughout the letter. The other is the amount and kind of agreement between the letter of Peter and the sermons of Peter as recorded by Luke in the Book of Acts. Neither of these would, of course, prove that Peter wrote the letter; but they do indicate that there is no reason to doubt the early, widespread, and clean-cut tradition that Peter wrote the letter.

Purpose/Recipients

The First Letter of Peter is addressed to the Christians of five provinces of Asia Minor. Peter calls them “exiles of the Dispersion” (1Pt 1:1), a term that suggests “the Dispersion of the Jews” and might naturally be thought to imply Jewish Christian readers, especially since Peter was primarily the apostle to the circumcised (Gal 2:7–9). But the letter itself shows that the readers have a Gentile background (e.g., 1Pt 1:14; 2:9–10; 4:3–4); they are therefore “exiles of the Dispersion” in a figurative sense, strangers and sojourners on this earth (1:17; 2:11), dispersed in an unbelieving world. There is nothing to indicate that Peter and his readers knew each other personally.

The Christians addressed are undergoing some form of persecution (3:16–17) and are perhaps being threatened by an even severer form of persecution (4:12–19). They are being slandered, ridiculed, and suspected of disloyalty to the state (4:14, 16; 4:4; cf 2:13–17); but there is nothing to indicate a full-scale official persecution. We hear nothing of a demand for emperor worship, for instance; nor is there any hint of confiscation of property, imprisonment, or martyrs’ deaths.

Summary of 1 Peter

1 Peter 1:1–2 Peter writes to Christians who struggle because they live in this world but are really citizens of heaven. He reminds them of their election in Christ and of His gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation.

1 Peter 1:3–12 Through Jesus Christ, we now have a living hope and know the promise of God that we will live in Him forever. We can face any trial or challenge, knowing that we are safe in His care.

1 Peter 1:13–25 In God’s love, before the world was made, He determined to send His Son, the unblemished Lamb, to be our sacrifice. Now through His Word, He calls us to life and sets us apart to His glory and for the service of our neighbor.

1 Peter 2:1–12 Christ, the light of the world, has called us out of darkness into His light. He makes us His own, gives us a place as citizens of His kingdom, and empowers us to live as His royal priesthood. We are not alone but are part of His people, a holy nation.

1 Peter 2:13–25 Scripture never teaches that those who follow Jesus will be immune to suffering. Just as Jesus, our sinless Savior, faced unjust suffering and death, so we may be called to take up our own cross to follow Him.

1 Peter 3:1–7 God’s divine order calls men to love their wives sacrificially and to care for them. Wives are called to love their husbands and be subject to them.

1 Peter 3:8–22 In the midst of trials, we may be tempted to feel self-pity and despair. But God calls us to something greater. Our powerful Lord forgives us in our Baptism and gives us His life.

1 Peter 4:1–11 Christ suffered in the flesh and became sin (2Co 5:21) in our stead. He now calls us to live the new life He has given us as stewards of His gifts.

1 Peter 4:12–19 God permits suffering in our lives for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it comes as a direct result of our own sin in order to discipline us. Other times it is an effect of being God’s child in a world that wants to crush His Church. Although we do not know God’s hidden will, we trust He has only the best in mind for us.

1 Peter 5:1–11 The chief Shepherd calls undershepherds to teach, preach, administer the Sacraments, and guard His sheep, always keeping in mind that sin and the devil seek to entrap them.

1 Peter 5:12–14 Peter encourages these persecuted Christians to stand firm in the one thing that is truly trustworthy: God’s grace in Christ.

Martin Luther on 1 Peter

This epistle St. Peter wrote to the converted hea- then; he exhorts them to be steadfast in faith and to increase through all kinds of suffering and good works.

In chapter 1 he strengthens their faith through the divine promise and power of the salvation to come. He shows that this salvation has not been merited by us but was first proclaimed by the prophets. Therefore they ought now to live new and holy lives, and forget the old life, as those who have been born anew through the living and eternal Word of God.

In chapter 2 he teaches them to know Christ as the Head and the Cornerstone, and like true priests to sacrifice themselves to God as Christ sacrificed himself. And he sets about giving instructions to the various estates. First he teaches in general subjection to temporal rulership; afterward he teaches in particular that servants are to be subordinate to their masters and [even] to suffer wrong from them, for the sake of Christ who also suffered wrong for us. (AE 35:390–91)

Scripture: ESV^®.

Read more about 1 Peter and every book of the New Testament in Lutheran Bible Companion, Volume 2

How Early Christians Viewed the Sanctity of Life

Erkki Koskenniemi — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 11:00:01 GMT

A typical family in ancient Rome was strikingly similar to a typical family in our time. Families often didn’t have more than three children. A whole family would have fit nicely in a modern car. In this chapter, we will take a look at how family planning was done in ancient times.

This blog post is excerpted from Love, Marriage, and Family: Learning from the Early Christians by Erkii Koskenniemi.

Family Planning in Ancient Times

In ancient Greece and Rome, family planning was simple. An unwelcomed child was either killed or exposed. This was apparently a well-known practice for everyone in ancient days, and it appears in mythology (Oedipus, Romulus and Remus) and historical sources.

In general, the life of a person living in the ancient world was divided into two areas. Some things were ruled by the government, and some things were ruled by the individual. The birth of children and the size of the family belonged to the area ruled by the individual. The laws rarely, if ever, limited the exposure of children. Governments often hoped for bigger families, but it was the challenges of everyday life that led people to make their own family decisions. The typical family was quite small because few parents made room for more than two sons and one daughter. Other children born to them outside of marriage were not allowed to join the family. Since child mortality was very high (perhaps about 30 percent or more), we do not know how many children were exposed. Some abandoned children survived, but regrettably, there aren’t any statistics on their number.

Child Exposure

The reasons children were exposed were pretty similar in Greece and Rome. If a child was born under bad omens, from the wrong father, was of the wrong sex, or suffered a disability, he or she was often abandoned. Poor people did not have enough money to feed all of their babies, and wealthy families did not want to divide their property between too many children. When a child was born after the planned number of babies had been born, or when a child was simply not needed, that baby was not welcome, and it was either killed or exposed. The fate of exposed children varied from sunlight to dark shadows: Often, cold, hunger, or beasts ended the tender life during the child’s first days. If the mother knew of a wealthy, childless couple who desperately needed a family member, she might leave her newborn by their door so that they would raise the child as their own. Some exposed babies were brought to brothels to be raised as sex slaves. But most of the children who survived being exposed were probably raised to serve as slaves in neighboring villages.

Exposing children sounds really cruel. But it should be noted that parents didn’t rejoice in exposing or killing their children. It was considered a sad necessity. Greeks and Romans whispered about distant people who never abandoned their children. They greatly honored those people. Some of those people were far enough away to serve as moral examples, and good storytellers added impressive tales about their manners.

Jewish Views on Infanticide

But Greeks and Romans also knew of a group of people living in their midst who did not abandon their children. For Jews, abandoning children was strictly forbidden. They viewed it as one of the sins they were never allowed to commit. Exposing babies is not explicitly addressed or unequivocally banned in the Mosaic Law, but early Jewish teachers clearly forbade it. The ban was included in several summaries of the Mosaic Law in the first century AD, especially by Philo, Josephus, and Pseudo-Phocylides.

Of course, banning something doesn’t always prevent people from doing it. Sometimes, a newborn child was found abandoned in a Jewish town. That always raised the question, Is this child a Jew or not? Teachers might say that she or he was, provided that the majority of inhabitants in that town were Jews. However, Rabbi Judah, an influential teacher from the second century AD, said that the child belonged to the majority of those who abandoned babies. In other words, the child was a Gentile because Jewish parents did not abandon their children (Mishna, Makhshirin 2:7).

Early Christian Views on Infanticide

Even though a clear ban on exposure is not included in either the Old or New Testament, the early church adopted Jewish customs very quickly. Soon after the New Testament was written, the first Christian works followed, word for word, part of a Jewish moral summary now lost. The Epistle of Barnabas, written soon after AD 100, and the Didache, written only some decades later, use identical words:

You shall not abort a child nor, again, commit infanticide. (Epistle of Barnabas 19:5)

You shall not abort a child or commit infanticide. (Didache 2:2)

The earliest Christian writings make it clear that the Jews had gotten this one right. The first Christians followed the Jewish teachings for centuries, both in the East and in the West. Two of the most influential teachers, Basil the Great in the East (AD 330–379) and Augustine of Hippo in the West (AD 354–430), finally also made it part of Christian doctrine almost unanimously honored to our day. Basil, who defended weak and poor people, was adamant and ruled that parents who had exposed their child had to repent for no less than twenty years before they could be admitted to Holy Communion. Only extreme poverty shifted the guilt to wealthy people. After all, if poor people had to expose their children because they could not feed them, their rich neighbors should have had compassion and helped them (Epistle of Basil the Great, 217:56). In the fourth century, Christians were known for saving and raising exposed children.

The first Christians adopted almost all of the arguments from their Jewish predecessors. It was easy to describe the terrible fate of abandoned babies: Hunger and cold killed many, and some were eaten by wild animals who regularly visited the dung heaps where the babies were left. Christian writers helped the parents picture how their abandoned offspring became slaves or were mutilated by their masters so they would get more money when begging on the streets. The worst part of their terrible vision included the thought of a father visiting brothels and unknowingly going into his own daughter or son whom he had abandoned as a child. But the most important argument was the Fifth Commandment, “You shall not murder,” which prevented killing newborns. This teaching was conventional among Jews in Jesus’ time. We may call it “a tradition of the elders.” Christians immediately learned to equate exposure of infants with killing. Almighty God has created every human being, and that means that every child has the right to live.

Read more about life as a Christian in ancient times and how that influences our lives today in Love, Marriage, and Family.

Martin Luther on Christ’s Resurrection and Forgiveness of Sins

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 11:00:00 GMT

As the church moves through Holy Week and toward the glorious resurrection of Christ on Easter, we reflect on Christ’s sacrifice for our sins. Read this excerpt from Luther’s Works, Volume 63 (Exodus 20–34 and Prophets), which showcases Martin Luther’s insights into Christ’s death and resurrection and how He forgives our sins.

Christ Bearing Our Sins and Interceding with the Father

And the Lord has placed in Him the iniquities of us all, etc. [Isaiah 53:6]

Here the prophet goes on to explain the fruit of the suffering of God’s Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. However, the term “all” should not only be understood in a collective sense, as if it would mean that only some did not go astray, but in a distributive sense: each for himself, separately, each one. For the prophet excludes none except those who are in Christ. “And the Lord,” he says, “made the sins of us all come together to Him.” The verb for “come together,” which in Hebrew is paga, properly means “overwhelm” or “to intercede,” as, for example, Abraham did with Ephron in Genesis 23 [:8].

Likewise, Christ both bore our sins and interceded for us with His Father, and He actually became, as Paul says, “a curse for us, to redeem us from the curse of the Law” [Gal. 3:13–14]. To express this with all the more emphasis, the prophet used this particular verb paga, which properly means both “to come together” and “to intercede.” And the Chaldean translation explains this text even more clearly by translating it as follows: “It was pleasing to the Lord to forgive us all sins because of Him.”

Christ’s Sacrifice Forgives Us of Our Sins

So this Christ, the Son of God and Son of the Virgin Mary, is the one person who took our sins, diverted to Himself the wrath of God because of our sins, and intervened for us with His Father. Because of Him, the Father forgives us of our sins and gives us the Holy Spirit and eternal life. Let us, therefore, take refuge in Him and hold it as a certainty that the Father has been reconciled to us through Him. For whosoever believes in Him is completely free from sins and has eternal life, as John 1 [:29] says, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.” Likewise: “To all who believe in His name, He has given the power to become children of God” [John 1:12]. Likewise, John 3 [:16]: “God thus loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that everyone who believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” Likewise: “For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” [John 3:17]. Therefore, sin cannot harm the believer. Since He has borne all the sins of the entire world, there is absolutely no sin left that He has not borne, overcome, and destroyed—unless by my unbelief I do not want them to be taken from me and destroyed for me. So it says in John 16 [:8]: “The Holy Spirit will accuse the world of sin.”

Your Sins Are Forgiven Only Through Belief in Christ

The Lord made the sins of all of us to rush upon Him; moreover, sin is not believing in Him. The Jews and all hypocrites want to be righteous by the Law. But the Gospel teaches that unless faith in Christ is present, you still remain under sin and the wrath of God [John 3:36]. And this is true even if you had the full righteousness of the Law, which is impossible. If you do not believe in Him upon whom all the sins of the entire world have rushed, you have no life (John 3 [:36]): “He who does not believe in Him will not have life, and God’s wrath will remain on him.” God appointed Him to bear the attack of Satan, death, the Law, and to bear the sins of the entire world and all people. Sin killed Him, but He is someone who cannot be killed. He was killed according to the birth of flesh, and yet it is said rightly that God’s Son was killed. He could not be killed because of that sting in the Gospel, that He is the living God, as He says, “I live, and you will live” [John 14:19]. “Although I die for you, yet even as I die, I will live, because I am God and man. Death can bite Me and kill Me, but it cannot hold Me in death.”

So we have in Him the Bishop of our souls [1 Pet. 2:25], who has freed us from death and all the dangers of death and has given us peace and healing through His bruise.

The Lord Showed No Suffering or Want of Retribution

But what was the Lord thinking about when He suffered for us? Was He perhaps thinking of retribution and revenge toward the Jews who crucified Him? No, but (as the prophet says) “when He was humbled, He did not open His mouth; He was like a sheep that is led to the slaughter” [Isa. 53:7]. For when a sheep is dragged to the slaughter, and also when it is sheared, it does not open its mouth or utter a sound by which it would show its suffering. So it was with our Peacemaker, Savior, Healer, the Arm of the Lord, the only-begotten of God. What did He do when He was being punished and severely wounded? He did not open His mouth or mutter a sound. Hence Peter says, “When He was suffering, He did not threaten, He did not curse” [1 Pet. 2:23].

Peter explains this faithfully through the Holy Spirit. Here we have the utmost patience and innocence. Not even with a word does He show any desire to take revenge on His enemies. For His thinking was about peace and salvation and about healing our sins through His wounds. He did not think about wrath or the ruin of those who were crucifying Him. His thoughts were about freeing us.

Read more of Martin Luther’s teachings and insights by ordering Luther’s Works, Volume 63.

James: An Overview

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 11:00:00 GMT

In the Letter of James, we see most clearly how constant and severe the struggle for renewal of strength and purpose must have been among the first Christians. The high qualities of this new life were not the once-for-all and static possession of the Church. They had to be constantly reclaimed and reasserted in repentance under the implanted Word of the Lord. The letter also shows how vigorously the leaders of the Judaic churches aided those churches in that struggle, with what agonized and conscientious consecration they strove to keep the Word once implanted in the Church implanted and active in the hearts of the members of the Church. We see what a concentrated energy of inspired pastoral wisdom, “wisdom from above,” went into the human word that ensured the growth of the Word of the Lord and gave it firm and deep roots in the lives and words and deeds of people.

The Letter of James shows us more clearly than the Book of Acts another important feature in the life of the Early Church: how thoroughly apostolic the “apostles’ teaching” (Ac 2:42) was—the mark of the apostle is that he is the voice and the representative of the Lord who sent him (Mt 10:40; Lk 10:16; Jn 13:20; 2Co 13:3), and we can see in the Letter of James how the very words of Christ were the basic substance of the apostolic teaching, the air that the Early Church breathed and lived by.

Historical and Cultural Setting

All manner of theories have been advanced to account for the Judaic and Christian aspects of the letter. … One fruitful suggestion that has a solid basis in the facts of James’s history is the following: James was a brother of Jesus and had witnessed Jesus’ work, but had not come to faith in Him until he was confronted by Him as the risen Christ, the “Lord of glory” (Jas 2:1). After his conversion, James worked in Jerusalem and sought to win Israel for the Christ and therefore kept the Church of Jerusalem within the framework of Judaism; he stayed in Jerusalem and confronted Jerusalem with the Christ until his countrymen killed him.

This history turned James away from all speculative wisdom and from everything that smacked of generality and theory. He saw in Jesus’ death and resurrection that he, James, with his ideas about God and Christ, had been in the wrong and that Jesus, who wholly loved God in word and deed, in life and in death, was in the right. He had seen how the “wise and understanding” (3:13) of his people had rejected Jesus because their theoretical knowledge about God had blinded them to God’s presence and God’s action in Jesus before their very eyes and in their very midst. And James saw that because Israel’s teachers and leaders thought they knew what the Messiah should be, they persisted in rejecting the Messiah proclaimed by the apostles and so led their people to refuse Him. James had learned, both in his own life and in the life of his people, how thoroughly a presumptive knowledge of God can lead a person astray and turn someone from God as He actually reveals Himself.

What James held fast as the best and dearest possession that Jesus had left him was Jesus’ call to repentance, that call which condemned Israel’s pride and Israel’s religious hypocrisy and proffered Israel God’s grace. Only by repentance (which in Jesus’ proclamation always includes faith) can someone come to God. … James taught his readers to heed and live it in the whole compass of the Church’s life—for only so will Judaism be brought to see that God is in the midst of the Church.

Arguments of Authorship

The only indications of authorship in the letter itself are (1) the name James in the salutation and (2) the general tone and character of its content. If we ask which of the various men named James in the New Testament could expect to be recognized and identified when he calls himself simply “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (1:1) and could speak with such massive authority to Judaic Christianity as he does in this writing, the most probable answer is James, the brother of the Lord. …

James had, like his brothers, refused to accept his brother as the Christ during His lifetime (Jn 7:5). It was apparently not until the risen Lord appeared to James that his doubts were overcome and he became the servant of Him whom he henceforth called “the Lord Jesus Christ” (cf 1Co 15:7; Ac 1:13–14). Active in the life of the Church from the beginning, he seems to have confined his work to Jerusalem. Possibly he undertook missionary journeys within Israel, like his brothers (1Co 9:5, which refers to the missionary travel of others). At any rate, it was in Jerusalem that he became and remained prominent. As early as AD 44, he was the acknowledged leader of the Jerusalem Church, as Peter’s words in Ac 12:17 show. … The picture we have of James in Acts is confirmed by what we find in the letters of Paul, who can refer to him simply as “James” and reckon on being understood (1Co 15:7); he practically ranks him with the apostles in Gal 1:19, and even mentions him before Peter and John as one of the “pillars” of the Church (Gal 2:9). James is, for Paul, so integral a part of the life of the Jerusalem Church that he can describe Jerusalem Christians who came to Antioch by saying, “Certain men came from James” (Gal 2:12). Jude can in his letter identify himself to his readers by calling himself “brother of James” (Jude 1). …

Purpose/Recipients

The Letter of James is addressed to Jewish Christians. The words of the salutation, “To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion” (Jas 1:1), in themselves do not necessarily mark the readers as Jewish, since the New Testament constantly appropriates the titles and attributes of Israel for the New Testament people of God (cf Gal 6:16; Php 3:3; 1Pt 1:1, 17; 2:9–10; Rv 7:4; 14:1); but these words are part of the generally Judaic coloring of the letter. The situation presupposed among the Christians addressed in the letter—that of a poor, tired, oppressed, and persecuted Church—corresponds to what we know of the Jerusalem Church of Ac 1–12; and what held for Jerusalem very probably held for other Jewish churches in Israel and in the Dispersion also. …

The Epistle of James shows that the author is acquainted with the situation of his readers, but no reference is so specific that it enables us to point to any particular event or set of circumstances as the immediate occasion for writing. Still, it is probably not accidental that the epistle opens with a summons to find cause for joy in “trials of various kinds” (1:2) and closes with an admonition to restore the brother who “wanders from the truth” (5:19). The “twelve tribes” are under the twin pressures of poverty and persecution; they are tempted to grow depressed, bitter, and impatient—depressed at the fate of the doomed people of which they remain a part, a fate that loomed ever more clearly and more terribly against the stormy skies of Israel; bitter at the fact that they are offering the grace of God in vain to this doomed people; and impatient for the “times of refreshing” and the restoring of all things (Ac 3:19–21), which the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead had promised and assured. …

Summary of James

James 1 James writes to struggling Christians who are facing many trials and temptations. Those who face such challenges may be tossed about (vv 5–8) and eventually destroyed by sin (v 15). Those who seek God’s wisdom endure trials (vv 2–4) and become stronger. James encourages Christians to return to the Word, take comfort in the Gospel, and live righteous lives focused on service toward others.

James 2 James rebukes an act that is inconsistent with the righteous life: judging others based on their appearance, wealth, or status. He also discusses a false understanding of faith: mere knowledge that has no application or effect on the one who has it. True faith and its response of true good works cannot be separated. Works naturally follow faith.

James 3:1–5:6 There are only two ways to live: by the “wisdom” of the world or by God’s wisdom. James condemns the worldly pattern of selfishness, deception, hurtful words, and other evil behaviors. Using the language of the Prophets, he teaches that rejecting God’s ways is spiritual adultery. Planning can be good stewardship, but not if our plans crowd out the things God would have us do. James reminds us to seek what “the Lord wills.” He condemns the wealthy for living as if this life is all there is to live for and as if Christ will not return. God’s Word repeatedly warns against this attitude.

James 5:7–20 The return of Jesus in glory shapes the Christian life. James calls sinners to repentance, and he exhorts the entire congregation to do the same. …

Martin Luther on James

In 1522, Luther made harsh statements about the Epistle of James. These statements have become notorious among scholars who have sometimes taken them out of context. The statements derive from Luther’s frustration with opponents who used Jas 2 to attack what Luther had learned about justification and sanctification while carefully studying the Epistles of Paul. The chief problem is raised by the way James and Paul use the same term (faith) and the same Old Testament history (examples from Abraham’s life) to illustrate very different points about the Christian life. …

However, a patient consideration of Luther’s statements yields the following important points:

Luther’s description of the book changes. In some cases, Luther describes James as the work of an apostle (e.g., his postil of 1536; WA DB 41:578–90), but in other cases, he argues that it was not written by an apostle.
When Luther describes James as “straw,” he is referring to its mundane, moral topics and not to its truthfulness. In medieval Wittenberg, straw was appreciated for its usefulness (e.g., Luther’s mattress was stuffed with straw), but it was also characterized as having low value (cf 1Co 3:12). So in his Preface to the New Testament, Luther is making a contrast between James and other New Testament epistles and is not dismissing James outright.
In Luther’s Preface to James, he describes the epistle as “a good book, because it sets up no doctrines of men but vigorously promulgates the law of God” (AE 35:395). But Luther also notes that the book lacks teaching on Christ, whom the apostles were to preach.
Despite his strong opinion and suggestion that the Lord’s brother James may not have written the book, Luther retains it as a New Testament Epistle. As the points above show, Luther was inconsistent in his opinions about James. …

Despite Luther’s early, harsh opinions and influence as an interpreter, the Lutheran Church has held that James is rightly part of the New Testament, citing its authority in the Book of Concord.

Read more about the book of James and the entire Bible by ordering Lutheran Bible Companion, Volume 2, below.

New Indexes for Johann Gerhard’s Theological Commonplaces Now Available

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 11:00:00 GMT

Beginning in the 2000s, Concordia Publishing House committed to the publication of Johann Gerhard’s monumental Theological Commonplaces. This effort would become the most extensive work of confessional, conservative Lutheran theology in the English language. Addressing the chief points of doctrine—the persons of the Trinity, sin and the Law, justification and the Gospel, the church and ministry, the end times, and more—the thousands of pages open the window into the early days of Lutheran Orthodoxy.

Logically, methodically, and, most important, scripturally, Gerhard presents the Lutheran position and point by point dismantles the arguments of his opponents. Both apologetic and polemic, Gerhard’s masterful use of Scripture and the writings of the early church fathers and Lutheran confessors clearly articulates the Lutheran position in the face of the Reformed, the Catholic, and the anti-Trinitarian apologists of his time. And these same theological conflicts remain today for confessional Lutherans, who will find in these pages the never-changing Word of God from which to draw faithful answers.

How the Series is Arranged

The logical arrangement of the series makes it simple for a layperson, student, church worker, or researcher to interact with material on a particular point of doctrine. And the apparatus in each volume points the user to the ways in which Gerhard treated specific Bible passages or pericopes and interacted with writers of Greek and Roman antiquity, the early church, and classic Lutheran theologians. The Person and Works Cited List in each volume also identifies particular opponents in the theological dialogue, as well as those whom Gerhard considered to be colleagues in the defense of the Christian faith.

Previous Latin editions of the Theological Commonplaces have sometimes included indexes covering the entire series, such as Georg Heinrich Müller’s index volumes in 1787^[1] and those of Julius Löbe in 1885.^[²^] These index volumes included indexes of Scripture, Hebrew words, Greek words, names, and topics.

Introducing the New Indexes

From the inception of the series, the editorial team for the Theological Commonplaces determined to help the serious student of Gerhard’s writing interact with the wide variety of content in each individual volume through the indices. Now with the completion of the series, Concordia Publishing House is releasing a tool to aid pastors and researchers in their use of the entire series. Our new indexes include: Scripture index, person index, and composite works cited for all the English volumes, all in one searchable PDF that is free of charge. While the new indexes do not include a topical index, they include a vast works cited list, displaying to the reader the web of knowledge in which Johann Gerhard worked. This new composite index provides a wealth of information and will aid

The pastor, to discover insightful interpretation of particular biblical passages or pericopes, which will aid in sermon and Bible study preparation
Students, to survey the authors whom Gerhard considered important in the discussion of doctrinal topics, as well as the opponents with whom he was in dialogue
Church workers, to build reading lists of classic sources of doctrine from the earliest years of the Lutheran Church
Researchers, to explore the connections among various ecclesiastical writers, the ways in which Greek and Roman writings of antiquity continued to be referenced in this period, and even for vetted bibliographic information on period works

We pray that this source for interaction with the thousands of pages of Johann Gerhard’s Theological Commonplaces will be useful in the parish and the academy.

[1]Georg Heinrich Müller [1750–1820], Io. Gerhardi . . . Locorum theologicorum . . . Ex Recensione Io. Frid. Cottae . . . Index Generalis, Pars Prima[–Secunda] (Tubingae: sumtibus Io. Georgii Cottae, 1787[–1789]).

[2]Julius Löbe [1805–1900], Ioannis Gerhardi Loci Theologici . . . Indicibus Generalibus Post G. H. Mullerum Adauctis . . . Indices (Lipsiae: J. C. Hinrichs, 1885).

Aid your use and study of Gerhard’s Theological Commonplaces with our new composite index, featuring a Scripture index, person index, and works cited for all English volumes.

Discovering the Lutheran Tradition of Classical Education

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 12:00:00 GMT

The Wittenberg Old Latin School is one of the city’s heralded institutions for secondary education. It laid the groundwork for Western education and shaped the lives of countless students throughout the Reformation, the wars of religion, the rise of the Enlightenment, and the ascendancy of Prussian control. Learn more in this blog post adapted from The History of the Gymnasium and Educational Institutions of Wittenberg.

Condition of General Education and Scholarly Institutions in Fifteenth-Century Germany

The spirit of that prevailing scholastic instruction in Germany before the Correction of the Church, arising solely from the church and designed strictly for her, consisted chiefly of repeated inculcation of liturgical prayers and chants and, if there were institutions that offered the opportunity for elementary scientific education, they were present only in very insignificant number. Of the old, strict teaching method of the cloister schools founded by Charlemagne, moreover, very few traces still remained. The ignorance that had for a long period spread throughout most of the German clergy certainly dominated even until the founding of the university of this city and environs. Thus it was that German boys who wished to acquire knowledge in certain fields in those days generally attended instructional institutions abroad, the most famous of which were in Italy and France. Several universities were established in Germany after their example during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, as had already been founded in Heidelberg, Prague, and Vienna in the fourteenth century.

Even at the dawn of the seventeenth century, when the memory of those times had not entirely vanished, a very gloomy picture is not seldom drawn of the viewpoint prevailing among the clergy before the Reformation in comparison with the subsequent Enlightenment. Thus that learned professor of our university, Erasmus Schmidt, in his jubilee oration held in honor of the one hundredth anniversary of the founding of the Wittenberg Academy in the year 1602, presents a comparison of the three centuries during and after the Correction of the Church with respect to the sciences, and cites noteworthy testimonies concerning the limited education of earlier clergy. Apart from that, since the Divine Service was held only in Latin, it can be deduced that school instruction proper was not for the general populace, but more just served to provide the church with ministers of lower and higher orders. Hence if there were institutions of schooling in Wittenberg already at the close of the fourteenth century, they certainly acted only in the manner here described and achieved nothing remarkable up to the time of the Reformation.

Reawakened Love for the Sciences; Beginning of the Correction of the Church and Its Influence on the Schools

Already with the close of the fifteenth century, the love for the sciences that had first been awakened in Italy spread more and more in Germany. Among the most notable promoters of this endeavor was Emperor Maximilian I. By introducing general civic peace, he not only gave Germany a time of rest so long desired but also sought to enliven scholarly learning and German poetic craft, and to that end called on Conrad Celtes, the most learned man of his time, to join him in Vienna. On the Rhine and the Elbe and in other parts of Germany, these efforts stirred a new zeal for scientific learning and spiritual education to an extent previously unknown, and in no era were so many German universities freshly founded than at the close of the fifteenth century and in the century following it.

The first and most important disseminators of this new scientific activity were men who, like Conrad Celtes, had laid the foundation of their learning in Italy, and through them the Greek language, until then entirely neglected in Teutonic lands, accrued more and more interest. Among these favorable omens, the elector of Saxony, Friedrich III (or the Wise), founded the University of Wittenberg, and here that which was previously done here and there on a smaller scale is said to have first blossomed to full maturity. It can certainly be rightly maintained that among the countless Hochschulen [institutions of high learning] established around that time in Germany, not one of them produced such a universal and simultaneously benevolent change as that in Wittenberg. How and by what instigations that university was first called into being has been frequently discussed but does not fit within our scope.

The Correction of the Church arising from that university certainly spread with lightning speed soon after its inauguration as the populace over a great swath of Europe came to its side. Yet it also paved the way for better and more careful instruction of the young, and the reformers themselves occasionally took interest in this need. Schools and other preparatory institutions were able to come into existence only gradually, however, since teachers able to impart beneficial instruction first had to be educated, and for some time there was doubt as to what belonged in the purview of the university and what should be left an exclusive property of the schools. Above all, Melanchthon, and Luther with him, made a zealous effort to support the freethinking ideas of various princes and rulers of cities toward the creation of gymnasia, and the scholastic arrangement recommended by him generally prevailed in the Evangelical parts of Germany even as his textbooks found their way into schools everywhere. To be sure, not everything Melanchthon undertook succeeded, but the spirit stirred up by him continued to have its effect, and even if this or that school failed and folded, time and again new ones eager to continue the development emerged to take their place.

Continue your exploration of the Wittenberg Old Latin School through times both prosperous and challenging in The History of the Gymnasium and Educational Institutions of Wittenberg.

Hebrews: An Overview

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Peter, James, John, and Paul wrote letters to individual Christians, churches, regions, and groups of Christians to give encouragement, correct errors, and help Christ’s people better understand the faith. The book of Hebrews is one of those letters, meant to strengthen the faith of those who receive it and quell any fear or unease amongst believers. Discover the academic discussion surrounding the claims of authorship, historical setting, and key points from each chapter in this blog post adapted from Lutheran Bible Companion, Volume 2: Intertestamental Era, New Testament, and Bible Dictionary.

Historical and Cultural Setting

The title “To the Hebrews” is not part of the original letter itself, but it was probably added in the second century when the New Testament letters were gathered into a collection. Moreover, there is no salutation which identifies the readers. The destination of the letter must therefore be inferred from the letter itself.

Where these Jewish Christians lived cannot be definitely made out. Italy is the most likely place, and within Italy, Rome. The letter contains greetings to the church from “those who come from Italy” (Hebrews 13:24), evidently from members of the Jewish Christian Church who are now with the author and are sending greetings to their home church. This is confirmed by the fact the letter to the Hebrews is first quoted and alluded to by Roman writers, namely Clement of Rome and Hermas. These readers have their own assembly (10:25) but are also connected with a larger group, as the words “greet all your leaders and all the saints” (13:24; emphasis added) indicate. It has therefore been very plausibly suggested that the recipients of the letter to the Hebrews were one of the house churches to which Paul refers in his letter to the Romans (Romans 16:5, 14–15).

These Christians had in the past given evidence of their faith and love (Hebrews 6:10). They had stoutly endured persecution and had courageously aided others under persecution (10:32–34). Their believing courage had not failed them in times of crisis, but it was failing them in the long-drawn, unending struggle with sin (12:4). They were growing dispirited and slack (12:12); the continuous pressure of public contempt, particularly the contempt of their fellow Jews (13:13), had revived in them the old temptation to be offended at the weakness of the Christ they believed in, at His shameful death, and at the fact that the Christ did not fulfill their Judaic expectation and “remain forever” on earth (cf John 12:34) but was removed from sight in the heavens. They had ceased to progress in their faith (Hebrews 5:11–14) and were neglecting the public assembly of the church, which could strengthen them in their faith (10:25). Some had perhaps already apostatized (6:4–8); all were in danger of falling away (3:12) and reverting to the old faith (13:9–14). Judaism—with its fixed and venerable institutions, its visible and splendid center in the Jerusalem temple and its worship, its security and exemption from persecution as an approved religion under Roman law—must have had for them an almost overwhelming fascination.

Author of Hebrews

The letter does not name its author, and there is no consistent tradition in the early church concerning the authorship. In the East, the letter was regarded either as directly written by Paul or as in some sense owing its origin to Paul. Origen of Alexandria reflects this tradition; he says of the letter: “Its thoughts are the thoughts of the apostle, but the language and composition that of one who recalled from memory and, as it were, made notes of what was said by the master. … Men of old times handed it down as Paul’s. But who wrote the epistle God only knows certainly.” The Western Church did not attribute the letter to Paul; Tertullian of Carthage assigned it to Barnabas, while in Rome and elsewhere the letter was anonymous.

The fact that the author counts himself and his readers among those who received the word of salvation at second hand from those who had heard the Lord is conclusive evidence that the author is not Paul (Hebrews 2:3), for Paul appeals repeatedly to the fact that he has seen the Lord and has received the Gospel directly from Him (1 Corinthians 9:1; 15:8; Galatians 1:11–12).

The general character of the theology of the letter and the author’s acquaintance with Paul’s companion Timothy (Hebrews 13:23) point to someone who moved in the circle of Paul’s friends and co-workers. The characteristics of the letter itself further limit the possibilities, indicating that the author was in all probability a Greek-speaking Jewish Christian, thoroughly at home in the Old Testament in its Greek translation, and intimately acquainted with the whole worship and cultus of the Jews, a man capable, moreover, of the most finished and literary Greek in the New Testament.

Barnabas, the Levite from Cyprus (Acts 4:36) and companion of Paul, would be a likely candidate for authorship. Whether Tertullian attributed the letter to him on the basis of a genuine tradition or was making a plausible conjecture cannot be determined. Apollos, whom Luther suggested as the possible author, is even more likely. He was associated with Paul, though not in any sense a “disciple” of Paul, and Luke describes him as a Jew, a native of that great center of learning and rhetoric (Alexandria), an eloquent man, well versed in the Scriptures, and “fervent in spirit” (Acts 18:24–25), all characteristics that we find reflected in the letter to the Hebrews.

Luther’s conjecture remains the most reasonable of all the ancient and modern conjectures, which have attributed the letter to a great variety of authors—Luke, Clement of Rome, Silvanus, Aquila and Priscilla, Priscilla alone, etc. But Origen’s word still holds: “Who wrote the epistle, God only knows certainly.” More important than the man’s name is the kind of man he was—an earnest teacher of the church, deeply conscious of his responsibility, whom the Holy Spirit moved to employ all his resources of language and learning in order to restore to health and strength the weak and faltering church.

Purpose and Recipients of Hebrews

Many modern scholars are inclined to see in the readers not Jewish Christians in danger of relapsing into Judaism, but Gentile Christians (or Christians in general) in danger of lapsing into irreligion. And they have often argued their case with considerable ingenuity. But it is difficult to see why the letter should in that case be from beginning to end one great and emphatic exposition of the superiority of the New Testament revelation over that of the Old Testament. Why should an appeal to Gentile Christians in danger of apostasy take just this form? Jewish Christians seem more likely to be the recipients of the letter.

The purpose of Hebrews is practical, like that of every book of the New Testament. Its aim is to strengthen faith and hope, to inculcate stout patience and a joyous and resolute holding fast to the Christian confession. The message that provides the basis for the exhortation and the impetus and power for the fulfillment of the exhortation has three primary characteristics: (1) it is founded on the Old Testament; (2) it is centered in Christ; and (3) it is marked by an intense consciousness of the fact that all days since the coming of the Christ are last days.

Summary of Hebrews by Chapter

Hebrews 1 Jesus, through whom the Father created all things, and by whose Word all things are sustained, clearly reveals the gracious will of the Father to us. Although Jesus is heavenly like the angels, He is no mere creature.

Hebrews 2 Christians need God’s Word, spoken by Jesus and attested by those who heard Him. The Father and the Holy Spirit also bear witness. Jesus, as true man, willingly humbled Himself to taste death. As resurrected Lord, and as our firstborn Brother (2:11), He serves as our High Priest to intercede for us before the Father.

Hebrews 3:1–4:13 Though Moses was a faithful servant in God’s household, Jesus is the faithful Son. God’s people missed rest in the Promised Land through their unbelief. This is a warning to us.

Hebrews 4:14–6:20 Jesus Christ, our true High Priest, shares our humanity and knows the weaknesses that we experience. Being one with the Father, He is the source of God’s full forgiveness. Christians grow in maturity by building on the basic teachings of the faith and connecting God’s promises with the new way of life that He gives. Those who reject God’s promises should fear the just judgment of God. As heirs of Abraham, those who trust in Christ Jesus share in the blessing of life promised to Abraham. They experience unending stability and security through the Son’s gracious access to the Father.

Hebrews 7 Melchizedek, both priest and king, showed the true nature of his authority by receiving tithes from the patriarch Abraham and blessing him. As both king of righteousness and king of peace, Melchizedek foreshadowed Christ’s work of justification. Though the Levitical priesthood could not bring the fullness of God’s salvation, Jesus, the sinless and perfect Priest, serves eternally as the One who brings our needs to the Father.

Hebrews 8:1–10:18 The old covenant, because it could not permanently address the problem of sin, would “vanish away.” As Priest, Christ came to establish an everlasting covenant and atonement for our sins. The Holy Place of the tabernacle was a picture of the old covenant and the old sacrificial system. But the Most Holy Place was a picture of heaven and of Christ’s new covenant. Christ will come from His heavenly sanctuary and take us to Himself with joy. Christ offered up only one sacrifice for the sins of the world—Himself. He “perfects” or completes us by applying the benefits of His sacrifice to us in Holy Baptism and in His Holy Supper.

Hebrew 10:19–12:29 All Christians need patience through many sorrows. God calls us to do His will, bearing our crosses patiently, and He equips us with His Word and Spirit. Faith trusts even without sight what God has set forth in His Word. True faith is active in love and is steadfast under persecution. The Christian life is an endurance race, run with remembrance of the saints who have already finished. God sees you as holy through Christ’s sacrifice and disciplines you to struggle against sin. The unpleasant discipline shows that the Lord loves you as a true child. The Son of God’s speaking and presence are the center of worship.

Hebrews 13 To obtain pure hearts, Christ sacrificed Himself on the cross. By His blood, shed on the cross, Jesus our Shepherd redeemed us and made us well-pleasing to His Father. Hebrews sets forth God’s grace in Christ, earned on the cross, ratified in the new covenant, and distributed in Word and Sacrament.

Key Passages in Hebrews

The opening verses of Hebrews have contributed to our understanding of both Christ and the Holy Trinity (1:1–4), distinguishing Jesus from all other beings, including the most glorious angels. The letter is especially focused on Jesus’ unique role as a sinless High Priest, sympathizing with our weaknesses while giving us confidence that we will receive mercy in the Father’s presence (4:14–16). Such confidence is likewise fostered through the Sacrament that Christ instituted for cleansing our hearts and minds: Holy Baptism (10:22). This allows us to approach the Lord with our prayers, trusting by faith in Him. Faith is the topic of chapter 11, a great catalog of the faithful. Interpreters have focused especially on the teachings of 11:4–6, which teaches that righteousness is received through faith, without which it is impossible to please God. Faith leads to the fulfilling of God’s Law through acceptable worship and good works. In another popular passage, marriage is briefly commended through a firm teaching of the Sixth Commandment (13:4).

Read more about the entirety of the Bible, including Hebrews, in Lutheran Bible Companion, Volume 2.

Unpacking What the Nicene Creed Says About the Trinity

Timothy J. Winterstein — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 12:00:03 GMT

I am not entirely sure who invented the idea of the “suppressed binary opposite,” but it is a favorite concept of mine. Essentially, it refers to the thing one is arguing against (binary opposite) without naming that opposing position, hence “suppressed.” One opposite in my mind when it comes to theology is those who think that theology is primarily an intellectual exercise and that theological concepts are conceived in some kind of tower—ivory or otherwise.

When it comes to the Trinity, it is always helpful to recognize that theologians did not decide that the Trinity made sense or that they wanted to give Christians one more belief to check off with a yes. Instead, the doctrine of the Trinity was articulated because of the incarnation. If, in some alternate universe, the Son of God had not taken on flesh in the womb of the virgin Mary, there would be no “problem.”

Christ as God Incarnate: The Beginning of the Controversies About the Trinity

But the Son really did become incarnate. And the question of the relationship between the Father and the Son was not raised for the first time in the fourth century. The Jewish leaders in John 5 “were seeking all the more to kill Him, because not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God” (v. 18). When they ask Jesus to declare plainly and openly whether He is the Christ, He says that He does His works in the name of the Father, and that He and the Father are one (John 10:24–25, 30). Philip asks Jesus to see the Father, and that will be enough. But Jesus answers that He is in the Father and the Father is in Him (John 14:8, 10–11).

By definition, we cannot confess the Father without confessing the Son. Apart from the Son, there cannot be a Father; apart from the Father, there cannot be a Son. We believe in one God, the Father Almighty (pantokratora), who made heaven and earth and all things, both visible and invisible. We attribute creation to the Father, but we do not identify the Father as the sole Creator, apart from the Son and the Spirit. At the same time, the Father is not an unmoved mover or a spiritual, divine principle—so far removed from material creation that He would never dirty His hands with lower, physical stuff (an idea that has neoplatonic and gnostic sources). From that idea, people have speculated that perhaps the Son was a sort of created creator who could act as a barrier between the Father and the creation.

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit Are All the Creator

Christians, however, confess that the origin of all things is in the Father’s Word (“Let there be,” Genesis 1), that the Word was “in the beginning … , and the Word was with [or toward] God, and the Word was God,” and that “all things were made through [the Word], and without Him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1, 3). This is the same Word who “became flesh [sarx]” and dwelled among us (John 1:14). Thus, the Father and the Son are both confessed as Creator, fundamentally and essentially on the Creator side of the Creator-creature line. The Spirit, too, is tied to the divine creative work in Genesis 1:2. This unity is further depicted at the Baptism of Jesus by John and in the baptismal name given by Jesus to His apostles in Matthew 28:19.

Though the original Third Article of Nicaea was very short and simply confessed faith in the Holy Spirit, when it came time to confess the Holy Spirit’s full divinity with the Father and the Son, the same strategies were applied and the same answers given: If the same words are used of the Father and the Son, then they must be of the same divine essence. Likewise, if words used of the Father or the Son (or both) are used also of the Spirit, then the Spirit must be of the same divine essence with the Father and the Son. So, the confession of the God of the Scriptures is this: God is not a material essence that is divided into three “parts” but one divine being who is Father-Son-Holy Spirit. Thus, there is only a single name—the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit—into which (and whom) we are baptized.

What is the Tri- in Tri-Unity?

The unity of God is one aspect of the “Tri-Unity,” but what of the Tri-? That is where the attribution in the three articles of the Creed comes in. It follows the distinction between the persons. Here it is especially important to let the biblical narrative run the show, which is what the confessors of the true and Christian faith have always done. To call the Father God and the Son Lord is not only to distinguish the Father from the Son (and certainly not to distinguish the Father as God from the Son as not God) but to follow the New Testament’s language, especially in 1 Corinthians 8:5–6. The section in the Second Article beginning with “and was incarnate” follows the scriptural account of Jesus’ incarnation, crucifixion, suffering, burial (implying and including death), resurrection, ascension, reign (in His human body, which can, after the incarnation, no longer be separated from the eternal Son) from the right hand of the Father’s power, and appearance in glory to judge the living and the dead.

Likewise, the Third Article continues that account, as we confess that the Holy Spirit applies to us by faith the effects and benefits of what Jesus did. This same Spirit did not come into existence after Jesus appeared but “spoke … by the prophets” of the One who would appear. “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets” (Hebrews 1:1). That is not a different way of speaking compared to how He speaks now, in these last days, by His Son; it is, rather, about the location of God’s speaking: in His incarnate Son, upon whom the Spirit descended and remains. And the church of God is not only Spiritual-prophetic, but Spiritual-apostolic: “I believe in one holy Christian (katholikān) and apostolic Church.” (That’s the same “catholic and apostolic Church” that anathematized Arius in the original Creed of Nicaea!) This story is begun for us with Baptism into this God and completed with the “resurrection of [or, perhaps, “from”? There is no preposition in the original Greek] the dead and the life of the world to come.”

Instead of (to mention another of my suppressed binary opposites) thinking of repetition of the Creed in the sense of memorizing facts for some kind of religious or cosmic test, the corporate and communal repetition of the Creed—which originally began with “we believe”—is much more like the memorization of one’s own life story. We wouldn’t call that “memorization,” would we? We would simply call it “remembering,” the way we tell stories about our lives and families. It is simply what makes us who we are. We rejoice to tell that story over and over because it is nothing less than the living and active reality of God for and with us.

Scripture: ESV^®.

Learn more about the Nicene Creed in this eight-session Bible study by author Timothy J. Winterstein.

What Does God’s Word Say About Transgenderism?

Scott Stiegemeyer — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 12:00:01 GMT

This blog is an excerpt from Responding to Transgenderism in Light of God’s Word by Scott Stiegemeyer.

Theological anthropology is one of the most important theological and moral concerns of today. The Christian doctrine of anthropology refers to what Scripture teaches about human beings. There is much more to this doctrinal topic than mere discussions of sin and free will. Many of the most prominent problems we face—everything from abortion to same-sex marriage to genetic engineering to transgenderism—emerge from a distorted understanding of human nature. The church must learn to express with greater clarity what God says about human nature, embodiment, male and female, creation, and the resurrection.

Many unspoken assumptions people hold about what it means to be human have allowed transgenderism to advance rapidly in the last couple of decades. So what are two major assumptions made in our society that have contributed to this transgender moment?

First Assumption: The Real You

The first major cultural assumption that undermines Christian anthropology is the belief that the human body is ultimately inconsequential to one’s personal identity. This view holds that the body is not a meaningful part of what makes you you. The real you, in this scheme, is your mind or soul, and the body is little more than a rough habitation for the true self. … This assumption implies that your soul will live forever with God, with little thought given to the eternal state of your body. In contemporary church life, this seeps out in the funeral service that speaks of the soul leaving the body to go to heaven and ends with that. It is true that the soul of the believer goes to be with the Lord upon death, and this is very good news indeed. But this is only part of the Good Word we have for the grieving. Biblically speaking, the separation of soul and body is temporary. The fullness of Christian hope comes with the resurrection of our bodies to live united, body and soul, in the new heaven and the new earth. We must not unintentionally imply that a spiritual heaven is our final home.

Second Assumption: My Body Is My Own

The second major cultural assumption debasing human nature today is that your body is your property and that as long as you do not harm anyone else, you can do with it what you please. … The impulse that we own our bodies is deeply ingrained. We have all heard the statement “My Body, My Choice.” This is driven by the underlying assumption that my body is my property, and I can do with it as I choose.

In contrast to this, the church confesses that our bodies belong to God. Paul is clear: “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20). Our physical bodies are not mere things that we own and may use however we wish. We are not fully autonomous beings. We are oriented toward and dependent upon our gracious Creator, and we are His. This means that we are not, in fact, free to do whatever we want to ourselves. One must see the body as a divine gift that glorifies God. As it says, “The body is … for the Lord, and the Lord for the body” (1 Corinthians 6:13).

Seeing Our Bodies and Spirits as One

The degradation of the body has been, in one form or another, a constant in the history of philosophy and religion. Gnosticism is an obstinate heresy that the church never seems to completely shake. In its classic form, one of the claims of Gnosticism is that the physical world is unreal or inherently incompatible with the spirit. Gnostics believe that our bodies, as such, are impediments to the spiritual life, and salvation comes from becoming liberated from them into a realm of pure spirit.

This claim is inconsistent with biblical Christian doctrine. We confess that the supreme divine Being of the universe is the same divine Being who created the material world. And He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the eternally begotten Son, who became flesh and dwelt among us. For Christians, the question of whether the body is good was settled conclusively by the incarnation of the Logos (John 1:1, 14). And it was confirmed by His bodily resurrection from the dead, which is the precursor to our own resurrection on the Last Day (1 Corinthians 15:20).

In our time, during this transgender moment, people do not literally renounce physical matter altogether. They are not Gnostic in that sense. No, but they might consider the material flesh as comparatively unimportant to their personal identities and as their own property to treat according to their own desires.

If the only true aspect that defines you is your mind or soul, then you can see why radical alterations of the flesh, including mutilation of healthy sex organs in order to shape the material self to fit a new identity, would be considered permissible. This objectifies the human body. It depersonalizes it. Since the concept that the body is inconsequential to your personal identity is a denial of Christian anthropology, the church must stand against this error and affirm the beauty and goodness of our natural physical nature that God has given us.

Scripture: ESV^®.

Read more about the Christian viewpoint surrounding transgenderism, including non-combative ways to faithfully discuss the topic with others, in Responding to Transgenderism in Light of God’s Word.

Digging Deeper into Scripture: Matthew 2

Phil Rigdon — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 11:59:59 GMT

Some of the most well-educated people in the world are not Christians. In fact, some of the best minds on the subject of Christianity are not Christians. How can this be? A talented mind can grasp the breadth and depth of Christianity’s history, literature, customs, languages, and even theology without ever truly knowing Christ as the believer does. Many Lutheran pastors, myself included, draw upon expertly researched books and articles written by intelligent, well-trained unbelievers. This is possible because there is a sharp distinction between understanding Christianity and trusting in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Saving faith in Jesus Christ is an act and gift of the Holy Spirit through the Word and Holy Baptism. The unbeliever contributes nothing to the process of salvation. Although the Holy Spirit uses the Word to create faith, one cannot study oneself into faith. As noted above, there are people all over the world who have read the Bible countless times and still reject Christ. On the other hand, many of the simplest people know peace and joy through knowing Christ.

The Wise Men and Epiphany

The Wise Men are a great example of this phenomenon. We learn from the text that the Wise Men, or Magi, came from the East. It is possible they originated in or near Babylon. We can surmise they had a working knowledge of astronomy and geography, could speak Aramaic (the language of the inhabitants of Jerusalem) and Herod’s language, and likely had wealth, given their gifts to Jesus. Based on this education and wealth, they more than likely came to Jerusalem with an entourage as opposed to coming alone, as modern paintings and nativity sets suggest. While it is possible there were three men, often assumed because of the three gifts, we do not know for certain.

Despite this grandeur, the Wise Men sought not their own glory but that of the newborn King of the Jews. Upon encountering Jesus, they worshiped Him. It was not their education, wisdom, position, or wealth that brought them to see Jesus for who He is, but rather the work of the Holy Spirit. They understood, as all Christians do, that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7) and that the foolishness of God is wiser than men (1 Corinthians 1:25). They knew that Jesus was greater, that He was to be worshiped. So they did.

Submitting to Christ as the Savior

Submission is a central but quite challenging part of the Christian life. Submission to Jesus is the exact opposite of what our sinful nature wants, and this runs directly back to the Garden of Eden—two human beings who wanted to be like God. Herod exemplifies this. He perceived Jesus as a threat to his kingdom, power, and control. But as Jesus would later tell Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). However, filled with needless paranoia, Herod sought not to worship the newborn King but rather to murder Him. Perhaps not to the same murderous extent as Herod, each of us, Christians included, struggles with submitting to God fully.

Think of it this way. Over the holidays, you may have had people over for a celebration. It is natural to prepare and clean the house in order to make the best impression. Nevertheless, before the guests even arrive, the host has determined which rooms will be open to guests and which will remain private. “You’re welcome to the living room, but please only use the downstairs bathroom.” “The meal is served in the dining room, but please don’t go down to the basement.” Likewise, there are portions of our lives that we have submitted to the Lord and others that we retain. “Dear Lord, help me to find a better-paying job, but do not tell me how to spend my money.” “Dear Lord, teach me to be the best parent I can, but stay out of my marriage.” There are various reasons we retain some parts of our lives from the Lord, but every reason amounts to sin. To one extent or another, we want Jesus as Savior but not Lord.

The degree to which we fully, or otherwise, submit our lives to the Lord has a direct effect on our joy. The more we submit, the greater our joy. Verse 10 reads, “When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.” It would be hard to express the joy the Wise Men experienced more fully. After all their study, experience, and reflection, they finally found true wisdom, real truth, in Jesus Christ. So it is with us. We can never direct our lives the way Jesus can. Left to ourselves, our joy is fleeting, transient. When Jesus is fully at the helm, we find true joy and peace, the life that Jesus always intended.

A Season of Gifts Pointing to Christ’s Ultimate Gift

And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. (Matthew 2:11)

The gifts have a great deal to teach. Gold is suited for a king and, for the wealthy, represents offerings brought to the temple. Frankincense was often burned as part of temple sacrifices, offering a pleasing aroma to the Lord. Myrrh was applied to dead bodies to combat the stench of rot. All three point to the ministry of Jesus Christ, from the manger of Bethlehem to the cross outside the city walls of Jerusalem. The true King, Jesus, worthy of so much more than gold, came as a servant, offering a sacrifice for our sins more precious and pleasing to God than frankincense. He shed His blood as a fully sufficient payment for sin, giving Himself to death and yet experiencing no decay.

The Wise Men were given the best education of all. Thanks to the triune God, we have that education as well. More than knowledge—joy and life.

Read more about the first ten chapters of Matthew in the Concordia Commentary Bible Study. This Bible study series will help you dig deeper into theological topics in an easily accessible format, just like Phil Rigdon’s Digging Deeper blog series.

The Pauline Epistles: An Overview

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 12:00:02 GMT

“When you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. … You received from us how you ought to walk and to please God. … For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 2:13; 4:1, 2).

The earliest collection of New Testament documents was the 13 Epistles, or Letters, of the apostle Paul. The early Christians immediately regarded these letters as God’s Word, like the writings of the prophets (2 Peter 3:15–16).

The Apostle Paul

The apostle Paul grew up as Saul of Tarsus in Cilicia (Acts 9:11). His father was a Diaspora Jew and a freedman in Roman society (16:37–38; 22:25–29). Paul was apprenticed as a tentmaker (18:3) but also studied the Scriptures as a Pharisee at Jerusalem under Rabbi Gamaliel the Elder (22:3). Gamaliel was the grandson of Rabbi Hillel, who was known for his progressive attitudes toward proselytes and for founding a key school of Jewish thought, Beth Hillel.

Paul zealously defended his Jewish faith by arresting Christians and supporting their execution, since he regarded them as false teachers (7:58; 8:1–3; 26:9–11). In AD 36, Jesus confronted Paul while he traveled to Damascus to arrest Christians there (9:1–9). Jesus turned Paul’s heart. Paul was baptized and immediately began to proclaim Jesus as the Messiah (9:10–22). Retreating from persecution, Paul spent some years east of Damascus in the Arabian Desert before returning to Damascus and to Antioch as a teacher (11:25–26; Galatians 1:17–18). In AD 47, the Holy Spirit directed the congregation at Antioch to send Paul out as a missionary (Acts 13:1–3), a calling he fulfilled until AD 68, when the Roman emperor Nero ordered Paul’s execution. Paul’s letters were written during his missionary journeys and while he was in prison for proclaiming Christ. He typically had the help of a scribe (see TLSB notes, Romans 16:22; Galatians 6:11); friends hand-delivered the letters (see TLSB note, Titus 3:13).

Jump to:

Romans
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon

Romans

Paul’s aim in writing is delicately but clearly stated in the letter itself. His letter was to prepare for his visit to Rome, but Rome was not the ultimate goal of his travels. It could not be, for Paul had made it his ambition as apostle to the Gentiles “to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named,” lest he build on another man’s foundation (Romans 15:20). The apostle’s task was to lay foundations, not to build on foundations already laid by others (1 Corinthians 3:10). …

Paul planned to spend some time in Rome and to proclaim the Gospel there, to enrich and to be enriched by his association with the Roman Christians (Romans 1:11–13). But he was looking beyond Rome to Spain (15:24, 28); Paul hoped to be sped on his way there by the Romans (15:24). … Paul evidently hoped that Rome would become his missionary base in the West, what Syrian Antioch had been for him in the East. The Letter to the Romans, the most elaborate and most systematic exposition of the Gospel as Paul proclaimed it, is written in the interests of Paul’s missionary work, testifying to the harmony between theology and practice in the great apostle’s mind.

1 Corinthians

In 1 Corinthians Paul writes to a congregation he established during his second missionary journey while visiting and teaching at the local synagogue (Acts 18:1–11). Paul devoted a year and a half to planting the congregation at this key city before returning to the congregation at Antioch that sent him out on mission trips. It was several years later—after Paul’s third missionary journey—that he learned about serious divisions in the Corinthian congregation, which prompted his letters to them. …

2 Corinthians

The surpassing value of 2 Corinthians is the opportunity it gives us to view the great care—through both Law and Gospel—that Paul and his colleagues provided to a wayward congregation. We read about the sharpness of his rebuke by which he prodded the congregation toward repentance and the soothing comfort he poured out to them as they welcomed the Lord’s Word. …

The Second Letter to the Corinthians is certainly one of the most difficult of Paul’s letters—which is not to say that it was difficult or obscure for its first readers; they lived in the situation that we must laboriously reconstruct. Since the hints given by the letter itself are not always full enough to permit a complete and accurate reconstruction of the situation, the letter is for us difficult, an angel to be wrestled with if we would receive a blessing. But the blessing is a rich one and worth the wrestling.

Galatians

After the conquests of Alexander the Great, Celts came raiding out of central Europe (c 287 BC) and settled in the region. These Celts or Galatians (“people of Gaul”) sided with the Romans against the Hellenists so that the great basin became the Roman province of Galatia in 25 BC. When the apostle Paul and Barnabus entered the great basin in c AD 47, they found Jewish synagogues in Greek speaking cities in a region named for Celts but ruled by the Romans. Is it any wonder that the inhabitants of the region found aspects of Paul’s message confusing as the book of Acts and the letter to the Galatians describe? …

Paul probably heard of the activity of the Judaizers and of their incipient success while he was still at Antioch on the Orontes. Since he could not go to Galatia in person, as he might have wished (Galatians 4:20), to meet the attack and to combat the danger, he met it by writing the Letter to the Galatians, which may be dated AD 51–53.

Ephesians

The mountain chains of western Asia Minor reach for the Aegean Sea. Where the Ayden range points finger-like toward the island of Samos and the Cayster River flows into the Sea, Ionian Greek colonists founded the prosperous port city of Ephesus (near modern Selcuk).

In Roman times, the city continued to flourish and was regarded as the greatest commercial harbor along the coast facing Greece. No one can be sure when Jewish merchants first reached the city, but they established a prosperous community and a synagogue.

Paul prepared the way for his ministry in Ephesus by his visit there when returning from Corinth to Israel at the close of the second missionary journey (Acts 18:19–21). The men of the Ephesian synagogue were so much moved by his words that they asked him to stay on. He promised to return to Ephesus and left Aquila and Priscilla there. As this couple’s contact with Apollos shows (18:24–26), they did not remain silent concerning the faith that was in them. The learned and eloquent Apollos became a full-fledged witness to the Christ through them (18:26–28) and thus further prepared the way for Paul. …

Philippians

In the first century AD, the Captivity Letters tell of a visitor who traveled from Paul’s churches in the East to see Paul in Rome. His name was Epaphroditus, who came from Philippi in Macedonia, the first church Paul founded in Europe (Acts 16:6–40). Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke had arrived in Philippi early in the second missionary journey (AD 49–51). Philippi was a Roman “colony,” that is, a settlement of Roman soldiers, enjoying Roman citizenship. …

The coming of Epaphroditus was a link in the golden chain of Philippi’s gracious generosity. Still suffering persecution (Philippians 1:29; 4:19), the men and women of Philippi had nevertheless gathered a gift for Paul, probably under the direction of their “overseers and deacons,” whom Paul singles out in the salutation of his Letter to the Philippians (and only in this letter, 1:1). They had sent the gift to Paul by the hand of one of their number, Epaphroditus, and had instructed him to remain in Rome with Paul as a minister to his need (2:25). Epaphroditus had delivered the gift and had performed his task of ministry with such self-forgetting devotion that “he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life” to complete the service of the Philippian Christians to their apostle (2:30). In this letter, Paul writes to thank the Philippians as well as advise them on some matters. …

Colossians

In the first century AD, Colossae was the chief city of the Lycos Valley, famous for its purple-dyed wool. Paul passed near this region on his missionary trips, but we are never told whether he visited the Lycos Valley or Colossae in particular. Nevertheless, the Early Church has left us his Letter to the Colossians, which shares many characteristics with his Letter to the Ephesians. …

The Church at Colossae was threatened by a new teaching that was in many ways strikingly similar to the Gospel that Epaphras had preached there. Both the new teaching and the Gospel originally preached in Colossae proclaimed a non-national, universal religion. Both recognized the great gulf that exists between God and natural man. And both proffered a redemption that would bridge that gulf. But the new teaching was in the last analysis an utter distortion of the Gospel that Epaphras had proclaimed. Epaphras sensed the difference, but could not, perhaps, analyze and define it well enough to be able to oppose it vigorously and effectively. He therefore appealed to Paul, wise in the ways of Greek and Jew alike, keen in insight, and ready to do battle for the truth.

1 Thessalonians

The Letters to the Thessalonians are part of that history of the growth of the Word of the Lord which we commonly designate as Paul’s second missionary journey (AD 49–51). … The heart of the second missionary journey was the apostle’s 18-month ministry in the great commercial center of Corinth. …

While Paul was working at Corinth, the Church at Thessalonica remained in his thoughts and his prayers. … Would they stand fast under the persecution which had come upon them? Would they misunderstand his departure and his continued absence from them? … Paul’s anxieties and fears were well founded. … When he could no longer endure the suspense, he sacrificed the aid and companionship of Timothy … and sent him to Thessalonica, both to strengthen the faith of the church and to learn firsthand how they fared (3:1–5). …

2 Thessalonians

According to reports that reached Paul at Corinth, … the Christians of Thessalonica were still standing firm under persecution (2 Thessalonians 1:4). But false notions “concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to Him” (2:1) had gained currency in the Church. … The resultant excited, almost hysterical, expectation (2:2) had led some to abandon their regular occupation and to lead an idle and disorderly life in dependence upon the charity of the church (3:6–12). …

Paul’s second letter is his answer to the congregation’s concerns about the return of Christ. It therefore sounds two notes. For those who indulge in overheated fantasies about the end times, there are sobering words that point to the events that must necessarily precede the coming of the Christ in glory (2 Thessalonians 2:1–12). For the despondent and the fearful there is an eloquent and reassuring recognition of the new life that God has worked in them and a comforting emphasis on the certainty of their election by God (1:3–12; 2:13–15). Paul turns the church from both excitement and despondency to that sober and responsible activity which is the hallmark of the genuinely Christian hope. … The hoping church must work for its living in sober industriousness and work for its own health as the Church of God.

1 Timothy

Paul, on his way to Macedonia, has left Timothy at Ephesus with instructions to “charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine” (1 Timothy 1:3). Paul does not describe this “different doctrine” systematically, but from his attacks upon it in 1:3–7; 4:1–3, 7; 6:3–5, 20–21 and from the tenor of his instructions for the regulation of the life of the Church, it is clear that Timothy must do battle with a deeply troubling heresy. …

Timothy’s task will be to let the fresh and wholesome winds of “sound doctrine” into the house of God, whose air has been infected by morbid and infectious mists. In opposition to the demonic denial of God the Creator and the rejection of His good gifts, he must present the glorious Gospel of the blessed God “who gives life to all things” (6:13). God still has upon His every creation the mark of His primeval “very good!” (Genesis 1:31), and the creation is even in its fallen state “made holy by the word of God and prayer” (1 Timothy 4:5). …

In opposition to the rarefied and unreal Christ of speculation, Paul must present “the man Christ Jesus” (2:5), the Christ Jesus who really entered into history under Pontius Pilate (6:13) and died a real death upon the cross for the sins of all people (2:6). He must present this Christ as the whole content of the truth that the Church upholds and guards, the mystery of God “manifested in the flesh” (3:16).

2 Timothy

Paul could have little hope of ultimate acquittal from his detractors; he was at the end of his course. And he was virtually alone; only Luke was with him. He longed to see “his beloved child” Timothy once more and bade him come to Rome before the winter made travel by sea impossible (1:4; 4:9, 21). He had to reckon with the possibility that Timothy might not reach Rome in time; and so he put in writing all that he hoped to tell Timothy in person if and when he arrived. …

The letter is … Paul’s “last will and testament,” in which he bids Timothy preserve the apostolic Gospel pure and unchanged, guard it against the increasingly vicious attacks of false teachers, train men to transmit it faithfully, and be ready to take his own share of suffering in the propagation and defense of it. The most personal of the Pastoral Letters is therefore in a sense “official,” too, for Paul cannot separate his person from his office. The man who has been “set apart for the Gospel of God” (Romans 1:1) remains one with that Gospel in life and in death.

Titus

Paul wrote to Titus to encourage him in this difficult assignment, to aid him in combating the threatening heresy, to advise him in his task of organizing and edifying the churches, and, not least, to give Titus’s presence and work in Crete the sanction and support of his own apostolic authority. This last intention of the letter is evident in the salutation, which dwells on Paul’s apostolate (1:1–3), and in the closing greeting, “Grace be with you all” (3:15, emphasis added), which shows that the letter addressed to Titus is intended for the ear of the churches also.

Philemon

Epaphras was not Paul’s only visitor from Colossae; there was another visitor of quite another kind, a slave named Onesimus (ironically misnamed, as it turned out; Onesimus means “useful”). Onesimus had run away from his master Philemon, lining his pockets for the journey with his master’s goods, as was the usual practice of runaway slaves (Philemon 18). Somehow he reached Rome, and somehow he came into contact with Paul. Paul converted him and grew very fond of the young slave who now earned the name “useful” in his ready service to Paul (v 11). He would gladly have kept Onesimus with him, and since the master, Philemon, was also a convert of his, he might have made bold to do so. But Paul honored all legitimate ties, including the tie which bound a slave to his master, as hallowed in Christ (Colossians 3:22; Ephesians 6:5). He therefore sent Onesimus back to Colossae with Tychicus, the bearer of his Letter to the Colossians (Colossians 4:7–9), and wrote a letter to Onesimus’s master in which he anticipated for the runaway a kindly and forgiving reception.

Read more about the entirety of the Bible, including the Epistles in Lutheran Bible Companion, Volume 2: Intertestamental Era, New Testament, and Bible Dictionary.

Is the Separation of Church and State in the Bible?

wayne.palmer@cph.org (Wayne Palmer) — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 11:59:59 GMT

Like most Americans, I was raised to believe there should be a separation between church and state. Christian things belonged in one place, separate from the worldly, earthly parts of our life. It was as if the two should be separated and never touch up against each other. But is that in the Bible? Is that the way God wants it in His world?

Separation of Church and State

The United States is preparing to celebrate its 250th anniversary this coming July 4. When the country was established by the founders, they built into it a definite separation between the church and the state. This wasn’t a decision made in a vacuum; it was a reaction to the European world out of which the founders had come. In Europe, there was a union of church and state that had lasted since the Middle Ages. It resulted in state churches and religious wars that ravaged nations. Wanting to avoid religious intolerance and persecution, the founders decided to separate church from state in the United States of America.

But is that separation what God intended? My context as an American gave me the impression that God didn’t really care about what happened in the state and He only really cared about the church. Just like He didn’t really care if my Northland High School Vikings football team beat our dreaded rival Brookhaven. And, after all, isn’t that what Jesus meant when He was asked if it was right to pay taxes to Caesar and replied, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21)? God has His things—the church—and Caesar has his things—earthly life. It seems like a clear separation of church and state.

God Works in Both Realms

But my impression that God only cared about Christian, heavenly, spiritual things and not earthly, worldly things, such as family, work, government, and civil affairs, was completely wrong. Martin Luther made that very clear in his explanation of the First Article about creation in the Apostles’ Creed in his Small Catechism:

I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still take care of them. … He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life. He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil.

God not only cares about our physical life; He also cares about His creation and sustains and provides for all creatures, especially we humans who were created in His image. He works through the church as though it was His right hand, bringing sinners to repentance, faith, and forgiveness, while working through the state as though it was His left hand, restraining evil and providing law, security, and order so the church can do its work.

Nothing brings the cooperative relationship between these two realms of God into clearer focus than the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, when He became man and was born of the virgin Mary that first Christmas. He showed God’s concern for our spiritual life by teaching, preaching, casting out demons, and dying on the cross to take upon Himself the punishment for our sins and win forgiveness for us all. And He showed His concern for our physical body by healing the sick, feeding the hungry, raising the dead, and Himself rising from the dead and revealing His risen, glorified body to His disciples over forty days before His bodily ascension into heaven.

When Christ comes again on the Last Day, He will raise our bodies and glorify them, so that we will live with Him forever in the new heavens and the new earth.

God’s two realms of church and state shouldn’t be confused or combined into one, but neither should they be completely separated, because God works through each to care for every single human—body and spirit.

What Do Lutherans Believe About Mary?

Jacob Corzine — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 11:59:59 GMT

In a doctrinal note issued on October 7 with the approval of Pope Leo XIV, the Roman Catholic Church set aside the sometimes-used reference to Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, as “co-redemptrix.” Lutherans will universally consider this a faithful decision, but it might raise some questions: What do we teach about Mary? Does she have special status among us? Do Lutherans practice the same kind of devotion to Mary that exists among Roman Catholics?

Mary the Co-Redemptrix?

But first: the term “co-redemptrix” became fashionable in the twentieth century but has centuries of history. Originally, it was a clarification: Mary, the mother of our Redeemer, had been shortened in Latin to “redemptrix.” The addition of “co-” would have clarified that she did not obtain equal status with Christ.

Today, the word looks like “co-redeemer” and sounds like “co-pilot,” which makes us think of someone equally equipped to accomplish the task. And, although that hasn’t always been the case, that opinion has grown in recent years. This has led to the October 7 doctrinal note, making something very Lutheran completely clear: Christ alone is our Redeemer, and to Him alone belongs all the glory and honor for our redemption.

What Do Lutherans Say About Mary?

At one level, Lutherans handle Mary like any other Christian saint: she presents an example of faith and good works (Augsburg Confession XXI 1). Any number of CPH studies of biblical persons invite us to study their examples for our own benefit. The Apology of the Augsburg Confession advises giving thanks for saints, observing them for the strengthening of our faith, and imitating their faith and other virtues (Apology XXI 4–7).

So, we give thanks for Mary, through whom our Lord was born and who cared for Him when He was a child. We give thanks because, in the description of her life in the Gospels, we see a clear depiction of God’s mercy.

We read about her humble life and take comfort that God can also work what He wills in our lives—even though we are ourselves humble and ill-equipped to face the challenges before us.

We imitate her faith and obedience, by which she trusted the word of the angel Gabriel, believing the apparently impossible simply because her Lord promised it.

At another level, though, we do elevate Mary a little. Her prayer from Luke 1:46–55, called the Magnificat, is part of our Vespers and Evening Prayer liturgies, and is sung regularly at many of our churches, colleges, and seminaries. (The same is true of biblical songs from Zechariah and Simeon—called “canticles” in our hymnals.) The Magnificat is a prayer from the humble recipient of God’s grace to God, who has humbled Himself to be among us.

Beyond that, Lutherans do not practice much “Marian devotion.” A “theology of Mary” is a bit of a misnomer, since theology is more specifically about God and His work. Luther himself held Mary in very high esteem, if only for the simple reason that she was blessed to be the mother of Christ Himself. And just as we would hold any of Jesus’ disciples in special regard because of their proximity to Jesus, it’s not difficult to comprehend thinking of Mary in the same terms.

Seeing Ourselves in Mary

God accomplishes His will through many instruments, but Lutherans try to look past those instruments to God Himself. Mary is no different in this regard. She was honored to be God’s chosen instrument. But all the honor and praise we have to give goes not to the instrument but to God Himself, who took on human form and flesh in Jesus Christ. As a man (born of Mary!), He became our Redeemer, who sacrificed His human flesh and blood to redeem us from our sins.

Mary was also redeemed by the body and blood of Christ, in no different way than we are. In that, she can stay as our example. When we read of Mary, rather than looking for a reflection of Christ, we should see a reflection of ourselves—a humble woman of faith whose sins were forgiven by her Lord.

Learn more about what Lutherans believe with Lutheranism 101—Third Edition.

Ten Questions to Ask Yourself While Reading 2 Thessalonians 3:1–13

Andrew R. Jones — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 11:59:59 GMT

My book Ten Questions to Ask Every Time You Read the Bible is all about building biblical fluency through the practice of curiosity. In the final chapters, I provide examples of what it looks like to ask all ten questions of different texts. In this blog, I will provide another example from a lectionary text and will walk this text through the ten questions.

I find this to be a helpful process for sermon preparation as well as a simple devotional method to spark my curiosity. Before you see what I’ve come up with, feel free to ask the following questions while reading the text on your own.

The text we’ll be working on in this post is 2 Thessalonians 3:(1–5) 6–13, which is the Epistle for the Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 28) in the three-year lectionary.

1. Who Is the Enemy?

In this question, we are looking for the problem in the text. It often is related to the three main enemies that face God’s people: sin, death, and the devil.

In 2 Thessalonians 3, verse 2 mentions “wicked and evil men.” Verse 3 mentions “the evil one.” That is Satan. In verses 6–12, we see idleness as a problem in the Thessalonian church. And in verse 13, we hear the call to “not grow weary in doing good.” Each of these could be used to address Law in a sermon.

2. How Is This Enemy Defeated?

In this question, we seek to see how God defeats the enemies in the text. Sometimes this victory is obvious in the text; sometimes it is not. When it is not, bringing in other biblical material is often necessary to proclaim the Gospel.

In verse 2, God delivers us from wicked and evil men. In verse 3, “the evil one” is defeated because God establishes us and guards us against the evil one.

In verses 6–12, the enemy that is idleness does not receive much Gospel. Paul pushes forward more Law, saying, “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat” (v. 10). To get at idleness in a sermon, we need to trace the cause of idleness for the Thessalonians. I would label the cause as lies and despair. A lie had circulated that Jesus had already returned and the Thessalonians had somehow missed it. Defeating this enemy means speaking truth to the lie and placing hope in the proper place. Jesus has not yet returned, but His promise to return still stands. We are still waiting for Him and the resurrection.

In verse 13, Paul does not speak to how the problem of weariness is solved. I would argue it is through rest, but we will look at this more in Question 10.

3. Whose Point of View Am I Taking?

I find there are three main points of view in this text. First, people may identify with those who are idle. Second, people may resonate with those who are growing weary of doing good. Third, people may find affinity with Paul as someone who is frustrated with lies and idleness. Understanding which point(s) of view you are taking will allow you to better align Law and Gospel proclamation.

4. Who Are You, Lord?

This question seeks to boil down the text to one word or phrase that describes God in this text. If we focus on verses 2 and 3, God is a deliverer and a guardian. If we focus on verses 6–12, God is the giver of vocations, work, and community. And if we focus on verse 13 and weariness, God is rest.

5. Where Are We?

This letter is written to the church in Thessalonica (now Thessaloniki), which is a coastal city in the north of modern-day Greece. Paul is likely writing from Corinth, which is also in modern-day Greece, but about three hundred miles to the south. In Acts, Thessalonica is one of the Macedonian churches along with Berea and Philippi.

6. How Did We Get Here?

Paul visited Thessalonica in Acts 17 during his second missionary journey. He wrote the book of 1 Thessalonians after that visit, and followed it up with 2 Thessalonians to provide some clarity on the teachings of Jesus that were being confused (the return of Jesus being a main theme). In 2 Thessalonians 2:2, Paul mentions a fake letter, claiming to be from Paul himself, that told the Thessalonians that the day of the Lord and Jesus’ return had already happened.

7. What Happens Next?

The book of 2 Thessalonians is the final letter Paul wrote to this church that we know of. Chapter 3 is the final chapter in the book. Verses 14–18, after our reading, are words of warning, blessing, and farewell. Paul visited Thessalonica again in Acts 20 on his third missionary journey, but we are not told much about that visit.

8. What Have I Experienced That Connects to This?

I have been idle more often than is appropriate. It’s not uncommon that I just want to be a couch potato, binge-watching TV shows I’ve already seen, while doom scrolling at the same time. I have been lied to. I am sure you have too. I have grown weary of doing good. Thanks be to God that Jesus is not idle. Jesus does not lie to us. Jesus does not grow weary of doing good.

9. What Am I Feeling?

For me, as I read through this text, I feel both weary and frustrated. I do grow weary of doing good. I grow weary of working hard and being drained only to see minimal results. Perhaps you can relate.

I also feel frustrated. I’m frustrated that people would just outright lie to the Thessalonians about the return of Jesus. I’m frustrated the people would pretend to be the apostle Paul. I’m frustrated when I hear lies today, whether that’s from politicians or my own parishioners.

But I am also frustrated about people who are idle busybodies, especially within the church. And I am most frustrated when I am the one being idle.

Frustration, idleness, and weariness are all connected.

When I ask this question, I always conclude by bringing my feelings before the Lord in a prayer.

Lord Jesus, as we await Your promised return, sometimes we grow weary. Sometimes we grow frustrated with others who aren’t pulling their weight. Sometimes in our weariness, we become idle and begin to wonder what the point of anything is. Fill us with hope, dear Jesus. Give us the rest we need from our weariness and burdens. Point us back to Your promises of forgiveness, resurrection, and eternal life. Amen.

10. Where Have I Heard This Before?

This question seeks to build biblical fluency by noticing connections with other Bible passages.

Paul’s words on idleness connect to a line in Proverbs 19:15: “Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.”

I’m also reminded of the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, and the workers who stood idle in the marketplaces until the final hour of daylight. But even they are invited into the vineyard to work for the Lord of the harvest. And they receive a generous wage.

The verse 2 Thessalonians 3:13 reminds me of Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:28: “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” The antidote to weariness is rest. Perfect rest comes from Jesus. When we do grow weary of doing good, Jesus invites us to Himself, to learn His rhythms, to be teamed with Him and to follow His lead and example.

What Questions Remain?

When I’ve finished the ten questions, I like to write down any unanswered questions I still have. Here are a few of mine:

Who told the Thessalonian church that Jesus had returned? Why did that source pretend to be Paul?
Paul signs this and other letters with his own signature. What did his signature look like?
Did Paul ever write a third letter to this church?
Did Paul ever write to the Berean church? Or was it close enough to Thessalonica that they shared the letters?

Learn more questions you should ask while reading Scripture in Andrew Jones’s book Ten Questions to Ask Every Time You Read the Bible.

Philemon: An Overview

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 11:00:01 GMT

Paul’s experience under house arrest at Rome is well described by his frequent companion, Luke, in the last chapter of Acts (cf Phm 24). Paul had to pay his own expenses for the house while being allowed to receive guests and to teach them about Jesus, the Messiah. He wrote this letter to Philemon, who lived in Colossae, Asia Minor. One of Paul’s prison companions, Epaphras, was also from Colossae.

Historical and Cultural Setting

Epaphras was not Paul’s only visitor from Colossae; there was another visitor of quite another kind, a slave named Onesimus (ironically misnamed, as it turned out; Onesimus means “useful”). Onesimus had run away from his master Philemon, lining his pockets for the journey with his master’s goods, as was the usual practice of runaway slaves (Phm 18). Somehow he reached Rome, and somehow he came into contact with Paul. Paul converted him and grew very fond of the young slave who now earned the name “useful” in his ready service to Paul (v 11). He would gladly have kept Onesimus with him, and since the master, Philemon, was also a convert of his, he might have made bold to do so. But Paul honored all legitimate ties, including the tie which bound a slave to his master, as hallowed in Christ (Col 3:22; Eph 6:5). He therefore sent Onesimus back to Colossae with Tychicus, the bearer of his Letter to the Colossians (Col 4:7–9), and wrote a letter to Onesimus’s master in which he anticipated for the runaway a kindly and forgiving reception. We can measure the strength of the bond between the apostle and his converts by the confidence with which Paul makes his request, a request all the more remarkable in the light of the fact that captured runaways were usually very harshly dealt with. Paul goes even further; he hints that he would like to have Onesimus back for his own service (Phm 13–14; 20–21).

Author

The apostle Paul, a Jew from Tarsus who studied under the Rabbi Gamaliel at Jerusalem, was regarded as the author of the letter by early Christians.

Date of Composition

The letter was likely written during Paul’s captivity at Rome, c AD 60 (cf Ac 28:30).

Purpose/Recipients

Philemon’s slave, Onesimus, had run away with stolen money. Somehow he had made contact with Paul in prison and had been persuaded that his duty as a Christian was to return to his master. Paul tactfully urges Philemon, his dear friend, to receive the runaway back “no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother” (v 16).

Summary of Philemon

Philemon 1–3 Paul begins with a short (compared to his other letters) and yet personal greeting. His greeting begins and ends with Jesus Christ, the focus of Paul’s life.

Philemon 4–22 Paul gives thanks for his friend Philemon’s love and faith. Apparently, he has heard enough to know that this is real and not for show. He makes a plea for the freedom of Onesimus and bases his case on grace, love, and friendship.

Philemon 23–25 Paul mentions five friends who serve with him or support him in the Gospel ministry. This is only part of the network of God’s people, which includes Onesiumus and Philemon.

Specific Law Themes

Paul describes his imprisonment and suffering for the Gospel as a basis for shaping Philemon’s attitude toward his runaway slave. He calls believers to a life of service, to a sense of debt to one another, and he fosters a partnership among people in all estates of life.

Specific Gospel Themes

Philemon offers comfort and refreshment to Paul, as one believer to another. The letter provides for reconciliation and forgiveness between brothers, as the Church is a brotherhood in Christ.

Specific Doctrines

Luther portrays Paul in this letter as being a “Christ” for Onesimus, pleading his cause with his master as if he had no rights; “What Christ has done for us with God the Father, that St. Paul does also for Onesimus with Philemon. For Christ emptied himself of his rights [Phil. 2:7] and overcame the Father with love and humility, so that the Father had to put away his wrath and rights, and receive us into favor for the sake of Christ. … For we are all his Onesimus’s, if we believe” (AE 35:390). All men are runaway slaves of God! Only such a man who has come back to God as God’s runaway slave and has been welcomed like a son—only a man like Paul—can write a letter like the Letter to Philemon.

Personal letter though it is, the Letter to Philemon is an important document to illustrate the early Christian attitude toward social problems. It is noteworthy that Paul does not plead for Onesimus’s liberation; whether he stays with Philemon or returns to Paul, Onesimus is to remain a slave. There is nothing like a movement to free slaves, even Christian slaves of Christian masters, either here or elsewhere in the New Testament. But a Gospel which can say to the master of a runaway slave that he is to receive him back “forever, no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother” (vv 15–16) has overcome slavery from within and has therefore already rung the knell of slavery.

Paul established the essential principle that Christians must regard other Christians as men and women “in Christ,” and that this view must override every other question of social status or condition. But it is also true that Paul did not launch a frontal attack on the institution of slavery. Paul’s confidence rested in the power of the Gospel, working as a leaven in society through the influence of committed and persistent Christians.

Martin Luther on Philemon

This epistle gives us a masterful and tender illustration of Christian love. For here we see how St. Paul takes the part of poor Onesimus and, to the best of his ability, advocates his cause with his master. He acts exactly as if he were himself Onesimus, who had done wrong.

Yet he does this not with force or compulsion, as lay within his rights; but he empties himself of his rights in order to compel Philemon also to waive his rights. What Christ has done for us with God the Father, that St. Paul does also for Onesimus with Philemon. For Christ emptied himself of his rights [Phil. 2:7] and overcame the Father with love and humility, so that the Father had to put away his wrath and rights, and receive us into favor for the sake of Christ, who so earnestly advocates our cause and so heartily takes our part. For we are all his Onesimus’s if we believe. (AE 35:390)

Scripture: ESV^®.

Read the Lutheran Bible Companion to find more commentary on Philemon and every other book of the Bible.

What Does Mission Work Have to Do with Me?

Joshua Cook — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 11:00:04 GMT

Concordia Publishing House is excited to be releasing a new series of compact books! The first title in our new series of polemic and apologetic books has been released, but perhaps you have not bought a copy quite yet. You may, like others, be waiting to hear from trusted friends what they think about the book. It may also be that the title itself has given you pause: Justification as the Formative Power of Mission.

Mission Work Is for Everyone, Not Just Missionaries

I’m pro-missions, but I’m not a missionary, so I don’t really need to think too much about that technical stuff, right?

I have to confess that this question came to my mind when I first saw this book. I have been a pastor for nearly two decades now and have supported several of our foreign missionaries and the mission work of the LCMS, but little did I know how much I needed to read this book!

The first clue that I should have had was that my former professor, Dr. Detlev Schulz, took time out of his schedule as a busy professor and the general secretary of the International Lutheran Council to translate this book. Dr. Schulz has a passion for missions that, as one of his students, I recall as being simply contagious. If he thinks that this book is worth studying, then I probably should too!

So, after reading it—and then rereading it—what have I learned? Here, I will paint with broad strokes because I don’t want to take away the experience of studying this topic from you.

An Overview of Justification as the Formative Power of Mission

This book is no fluff. It is a serious treatise on missions that will demand your careful attention and reflection. In it, Vicedom identifies the crisis that missions was facing in the middle of last century, but that is not dissimilar from the way that Satan has always attacked the work of God. Vicedom identifies the errors in belief and practice that have plagued mission work, and then he helps his readers begin again to think scripturally about missions. He begins with the affirmation that missions are the work of God to save sinners from the coming condemnation. Jesus is both the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and the Judge who will come again to judge the living and the dead on the Last Day. This Law-and-Gospel reality is a theological tension that must be maintained in the missional proclamation of the church. That proclamation centers on Christ and His work of justification that He desires all people to receive. Christ has made the proclamation of His saving Word the very form and purpose of His church, and by uniting believers to Himself, He has made His will and work their own. Therefore, missions is not primarily the believer’s work of obedience to the Great Commission; it is the living fruit of what Christ is necessarily doing in the world because He Himself was sent for this purpose by His Father. By the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, the church proclaims the Word to believers and unbelievers alike as the instrument of His saving work.

Vicedom goes into much more detail than this short synopsis affords, and he tackles several other important theological points. Time spent reading and studying this book is time well spent. Readers will find Vicedom’s work to be both convicting and inspiring. They will be taught to think of missions, not as a separate specialty for some, but as God’s ongoing work in their lives—and in the lives of their neighbors—for the very life of the world. Rather than despairing and feeling overwhelmed about the task of evangelism and the world’s resistance to the Gospel, readers will be comforted and motivated by considering Jesus’ perfect atonement and the power of His saving Word that has been given to them to proclaim.

Who Is This Book For?

Ideally, I’d love to say “everyone,” but the reality is that this book is probably best suited for Christians who are at least of high school age or older (although I think parents could have very fruitful conversations with younger children around the themes of this book). Even though this is a compact book, the theology that it presents is complex, and I really do think that pastors, students, parents, and everyone will benefit from having conversation partners who will help one another uncover the many gems that are scattered throughout this book. And that’s how this book will have a beneficial impact on the life of the church—it will get fellow believers focused on Christ and His work. It will bring clarity to the way that we think and speak about missions in our congregations, because it will ground us in the way that Scripture speaks about missions. I thank God that our church body has been blessed with many such resources!

Coming Soon to the Series

Speaking of other resources, the next volume to be released in this series is The Two Realms and the Separation of Church and State by Joel Biermann. Justification as the Formative Power of Mission has a blue cover because it is considered a polemic title—primarily because it highlights the distinctive Lutheran doctrine of justification over and against some of the motives for missions that exist in other church bodies or mission societies. Dr. Biermann’s book will have a burgundy cover because it is an apologetic title.

Biermann’s offering differentiates between the modern concept of “the separation of church and state” and Luther’s teaching on the two realms. It not only distinguishes these two teachings but also articulates faithful Christian citizenship as informed by Lutheran theology. You can learn more about the upcoming volumes on this series’ page.

Take a look inside Justification as the Formative Power of Mission and pick up your own copy by clicking the button below.

Brain Strategies for Preaching

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 11:18:18 GMT

It seems generally assumed that preachers want hearers to remember at least the main idea and purpose of the biblical truth considered in the sermon, as well as to reflect it in their lives. Here is a question that has not really been posed. How may preachers use new knowledge about the actual functioning of their hearers’ brains to help the hearers remember the biblical truths—ways that are more direct and beneficial than by just hoping the biblical truths will be remembered? How may the preachers’ expressions and explanations of God’s Word best reach this memory in hearers’ brains?

The Different Long-Term Memory Systems

Certainly no one has questioned the existence of the human being’s long-term memory. It’s been assumed that it’s there, but no one before 1990 had been really able to describe it and its functions. Seemingly to complicate the issue, recent brain research has revealed more than one type of memory. Four long-term memory systems have been identified. How can we distinguish among these memory systems? May our knowledge of each of them serve us more effectively than when we thought there was supposedly only one memory system?

Three of the systems make up what could be the three-part organizational plan for sermonizing: semantic, episodic, and value memories. We may use simpler labels for these memories: knowledge-oriented, event-oriented (or emotional learning), and value-oriented. We can term the contents of the memory systems head knowledge, heart knowledge, and living knowledge. Preachers may now consider seriously directing their sermons intentionally to accumulating and reinforcing the different contents of these memory systems. It seems that preachers could appreciate following this process in preparing a sermon. This article proposes how this might be done.

To sum up at this point, I believe it is extremely helpful for preachers to direct the sermon very specifically toward each memory system. If we could also find out how a person learns and secures items in each of the memory systems, preachers may become still more effective by using such strategies. But most of the strategies are not altogether new. Over the years, homileticians have collected an abundance of principles and methods that are expected to help hearers remember at least the gist of the sermon. Organizing these specific principles according to the memory systems would likely help persuade hearers to learn, remember, absorb, and even live biblical truths. …

Using the Knowledge-Oriented Memory System

The semantic, or knowledge-oriented, memory system has long been recognized as the memory bank we hold within ourselves. It holds factual data like historical knowledge and the multiplication tables, information about ourselves and the world, even belief statements such as, “The earth is round,” and “Jesus is God,” and sometimes even trivial information. The semantic memory is a part of the brain’s cognitive faculties.

Preachers are accustomed to using their own cognitive abilities, located in the half inch of brain tissue underneath the forepart of their skull. Their cognitive functions include the ability to generate the main idea in a biblical text, together with its purpose. We also recognize the ability to create a theme that we would want hearers to remember. Developing an outline helps to serve as a framework for presenting the material associated with the theme and main idea.

The process of deriving truths from a text usually includes strategies that are helpful for preachers in presenting those truths to hearers. With their cognitive faculties, hearers, too, may come to understand a biblical truth and even retain it in their knowledge-oriented memory system. This memory bank is therefore one end point of a pastor’s preaching and educational ministry. It is intended to help hearers learn and remember biblical truths.

But preachers are ordinarily aware that hearers need more than a simple understanding of a biblical truth garnered through the work of the prefrontal cortex.

Using the Event-Oriented Memory System

People often accept a biblical truth in their hearts as something to believe firmly. The belief statement, “Jesus is the Savior of the world,” becomes “Jesus is my Savior.” This hopefully becomes a part of one’s inner personal life. This is how the second memory system can be used.

Event-oriented memory, or episodic memory as neuroscientists prefer to call it, contains all the special events of one’s life, such as memories of parents, siblings, friends, perhaps a serious accident or injury, one’s wedding, the birth of children, experiences in one’s first job, even traumatic experiences as some things we would as soon forget. The personal experiences in this memory system are filled with emotion. Emotion, we know, is a necessary driver of motivation. When preachers help hearers attach the biblical truth to a personal experience, they enable the person to absorb the truth in their lives and make it a part of their central belief system. And this process carries with it the emotions attached to the personal experiences.

The connection of a biblical truth with a significant life experience helps to make it a personal part of one’s life. For example, preachers are aiming for this result when they help hearers realize their need for the Gospel because of particular sins they have committed, sins that often occupy a prominent spot in their episodic memory. And as to the Gospel, consider the impact of hearing again the story of Jesus’ crucifixion during a Good Friday Tenebrae service, as compared to hearing the simple statement, “Jesus died for you.” Pastors aim for this result with the pointed power of God’s Spirit. Again, this is a prime objective of the parish’s educational ministry in preaching as well as in youth and adult instruction. This strategy of making a connection with an episodic memory, along with several other strategies identified by the brain’s functioning, is necessary to help hearers develop their heart knowledge

Heart knowledge, according to the scriptural use of the word heart, involves the combination of one’s cognitive understanding with emotional underpinning and spiritual support. This second part of the plan offers information preachers and hearers can definitely use.

This blog is excerpted from an article by Rev. Allen H. Nauss that was published in a previous edition of Concordia Pulpit Resources.

Continue reading this article and discover the third memory system by downloading the free PDF from Concordia Pulpit Resources below.

Titus: An Overview

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 11:58:44 GMT

Nicopolis was a Roman colony on the west coast of Greece, on the isthmus separating the Ambracian Gulf from the Ionian Sea. The city would serve as winter quarters for Paul and his colleagues in AD 68 before his arrest and second imprisonment at Rome. Paul was on his way to Nicopolis, perhaps along the road from Macedonia, when he paused to write this letter to Titus, his representative serving congregations on the island of Crete. Paul urged Titus to sail to Nicopolis and join him for the winter (3:12).

Historical and Cultural Setting

The Letter to Titus is quite similar to 1 Timothy in its occasion, purpose, and content. Paul had worked for a while as a missionary on the island of Crete together with Titus, the prudent, able, and tactful Gentile companion who had rendered him such valuable services at the time when the relationship between the Corinthian Church and Paul had been strained to the breaking point (2Co 2:13; 7:6; 8:6; 12:18). At his departure from Crete, Paul left Titus in charge of consolidating and organizing the newly created Christian communities. His task resembled that of Timothy at Ephesus in that the faith and life of the Church were being endangered by the rise of false teachers, more pronouncedly Judaic in their teaching than those at Ephesus (Ti 1:14; 3:9). The situation was further complicated in Crete, however, by the fact that solid organization was lacking in these newly founded Christian communities, and the pagan environment was particularly vicious (1:5, 12–13). Whereas Timothy was to restore order in established churches, Titus had to establish order in young churches. It was a task that called for all his courage, wisdom, and tact.

Author and Date of Composition

The apostle Paul, a Jew from Tarsus who studied under the Rabbi Gamaliel at Jerusalem, was regarded as the author of the letter by early Christians. Paul wrote this letter to Titus in AD 68, not long before Paul was executed for ministering the Gospel.

Purpose/Recipients

Summary Content

Titus 1:1–4 Paul opens his Letter to Titus and the churches on Crete with a greeting that asserts his authority, recaps God’s plan for salvation, and notes his personal bond with Titus.

Titus 1:5–3:11 Step by step, Paul outlines the requirements for those who wish to lead as stewards of God’s Church. Then he turns his focus to the false teachers, who do not measure up in understanding or teaching the truth, in their corrosive behavior, or in their motives. Self-controlled, godly living is beneficial regardless of our age or status in life, and it is important to our family relationships as well as to our witness as a Christian. God brings us out of sin and into new life in Christ, beginning with the cleansing and rebirth He provides in Baptism. This is all accomplished by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, not by anything we can do on our own. Those who stray away from God’s truth and stir up division among God’s people must be disciplined by the Church.

Titus 3:12–15 Paul’s closing remarks mention four coworkers who, with him, spread the Gospel and minister to churches in various locations. Paul and the others could not perform such ministries without the help of other Christians, so his closing includes instructions for their support.

Specific Law Themes

Paul charges Titus with being above reproach so that he may commend the pure and rebuke the defiled. He emphasizes the need for submissiveness among God’s people in their various circumstances of life. Believers must devote themselves to good works.

Specific Gospel Themes

The doctrine of election was an important element of Paul’s message to Titus, for his comfort. As with Timothy, Paul urged the soundness of God’s Word and grace for granting spiritual health. Chapter 3 beautifully summarizes the redemption in Christ through the washing and renewal of Holy Baptism. Paul makes justification the basis of the Christian life.

Specific Doctrines

This letter has taken its place alongside 1 and 2 Timothy as a valuable, practical church manual. Its inspired combination of teaching about Jesus Christ with practical guidance serves as a model for Christian pastors.

Luther on Titus

This is a short epistle, but a model of Christian doctrine, in which is comprehended in a masterful way all that is necessary for a Christian to know and to live.

In chapter 1 he teaches what kind of man a bishop, or pastor, ought to be, namely, one who is pious and learned in preaching the gospel and in refuting the false teachers of works and of man-made laws, those who are always warring against faith and leading consciences away from Christian liberty into the captivity of their own man-made works, [as if these works,] which are actually worthless, [should make them righteous before God.]

In chapter 2 he teaches the various estates—the older, the younger, wives, husbands, masters, and slaves—how they are to act, as those whom Christ, by his death, has won for his own.

In chapter 3 he teaches Christians to honor worldly rulers and to obey them. He cites again the grace that Christ has won for us, so that no one may think that obeying rulers is enough, since all our righteousness is nothing before God. And he forbids association with the obstinate and with heretics. (AE 35:389–90)

Scripture: ESV^®.

Read Lutheran Bible Companion to find more commentary on Titus and every other book of the Bible.

2 Timothy: An Overview

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 11:00:00 GMT

While searching for Paul, Onesiphorus would tread the broad streets of Rome, passing beneath the archways of its aqueducts and walking beside its grand colonnaded porticos. But the prison where Paul was held would be out of the way, along an alley or even in a cave, requiring all of Onesiphorus’s diligence to find his colleague.

The fact that Onesiphorus of Ephesus had to search earnestly to find Paul in prison at Rome (2Tm 1:16–17) tells us more about Paul’s circumstances at the end of his life. The Romans did not typically hold prisoners for long periods of time. But Paul’s case seems exceptional, since he received more than one hearing (4:16) and expected an extended stay in chains, requiring support from his fellow workers (4:9–13). With the Lord’s help, Paul successfully defended himself so that he “was rescued from the lion’s mouth” (4:17).

Historical and Cultural Setting

Composition of 2 Timothy

Author

The apostle Paul, a Jew from Tarsus who studied under the Rabbi Gamaliel at Jerusalem, was regarded as the author of the letter by early Christians.

Date of Composition

Paul wrote this letter to Timothy in AD 68, not long before Paul was executed for ministering the Gospel.

Purpose/Recipients

The theme and mood of 2 Timothy are noticeably different from that of 1 Timothy. The letter is more concise and earnest. The writer has a single point to make, and he makes it simply and effectively. His advice is to beware of false teachers and to hold on to the simple Gospel. The second letter does not contain the many directions for congregational administration found in the first one. The writer limits this letter to the central thought almost exclusively.

Genre

The letter is, as Bengel has put it, Paul’s “last will and testament,” in which he bids Timothy preserve the apostolic Gospel pure and unchanged, guard it against the increasingly vicious attacks of false teachers, train men to transmit it faithfully, and be ready to take his own share of suffering in the propagation and defense of it. The most personal of the Pastoral Letters is therefore in a sense “official,” too, for Paul cannot separate his person from his office. The man who has been “set apart for the Gospel of God” (Rm 1:1) remains one with that Gospel in life and in death.

Narrative Development or Plot

Since 2 Timothy is written as a letter, it does not have a storyline or plot. However, Paul does relate some personal history regarding Timothy and himself, especially in chs 1 and 4.

Resources

Paul writes this letter from personal history, the “pattern of the sound words” (1:13), and references to the movements of his colleagues and opponents (4:9–21).

Text and Translations

The text of 2 Timothy is well established through a wealth of early manuscripts and from Early Church Fathers who cite the letter. As with Paul’s other letters, scholars discuss the possible influence of the early heretic Marcion on causing some of the textual variants.

Summary Commentary

2 Timothy 1: Paul addresses Timothy tenderly, referring to him as his “beloved child” and speaking God’s grace, mercy, and peace to him. Alone in prison and abandoned by many of his friends, Paul fondly remembers the encouragement he received from Timothy’s sincere faith. Exhorting Timothy never to be ashamed of the faith he has been given, Paul exults in the promise of Christ, for whose sake he is imprisoned.

2 Timothy 2:1–4:8 Using several comparisons (soldier, athlete, and farmer), Paul calls Timothy to find other faithful men who are able to share in the pastoral office. He reminds Timothy that he and his fellow pastors must remain focused on their task of proclaiming God’s Word. They must not get bogged down in quarrels or give in to the temptations of the flesh (such as temper), but be generous and kind to all. Although Paul writes these words specifically about temptations that attack the pastoral office, they clearly apply to all Christians. Men such as Jannes and Jambres allowed themselves to be enticed, and in so doing they disqualified themselves regarding the faith. Paul points to himself as an example for Timothy. He speaks about the great work the Gospel has produced within him. Faced with the thought of his imminent death, Paul impresses upon Timothy the importance of carrying on where Paul will leave off, preaching the Word faithfully.

2 Timothy 4:9–22 In closing, Paul requests that Timothy visit him at Rome, confident that his fellow Christian will prove faithful. Paul asks Timothy to greet the other Christians at Ephesus, whom Paul had earlier grown to love.

Specific Law Themes

As Paul faces the possibility of public execution, he warns about the approach of Judgment Day and how all will face God’s justice. He reflects on what it is like to suffer for the Gospel, preparing Timothy for similar trials. He charges and commands Timothy regarding his duties before God and His people.

Specific Gospel Themes

Paul rejoices that Jesus is returning as the Savior, to rescue His people. The message of Christ is “sound,” granting spiritual health and life. The Lord has prepared Timothy for the challenges ahead by giving him the Holy Spirit, who is a deposit or guarantee assuring the believer of God’s mercy.

Luther on 2 Timothy

This epistle is a farewell letter, in which St. Paul exhorts Timothy to go on propagating the gospel, even as he has begun. This is quite necessary, since there are many who fall away; and false spirits and teachers keep springing up all around. Therefore it is incumbent upon a bishop always to be alert and to work at the gospel.

But he prophesies especially, in chapters 3 and 4, concerning the perilous time at the end of the world. It is then that a false spiritual life will lead all the world astray, with an outward show, under which every sort of wickedness and wrong will have its fling. Sad to say! we now see this prophecy of St. Paul all too amply fulfilled in our clergy. (AE 35:389)

Scripture: ESV^®.

Read Lutheran Bible Companion to find more commentary on 2 Timothy and every other of the Bible.

A New Series on Apologetics and Polemics

Joshua Cook — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 13:00:00 GMT

Have you ever wished there was a simple resource to help you better understand the prickly issues of our day or to give you the tools you need to talk with others about them? Have you been watching for weighty books that deal with doctrine and practice without swelling to the size of a complete systematic theology? Wouldn’t it be nice if there were something available from a trusted theological source that could be easily shared?

A New Series

We are excited to launch a new series of compact books, ranging between sixty and one hundred pages, that will take on contemporary topics in faith and culture. Each volume seeks to help Christians understand a topic and equips them to engage with that topic in a way that is scripturally and confessionally faithful. Contributing authors are experts in their fields and are known for their insight, confessional integrity, and clarity of writing. Within the series, titles will be grouped into one of two categories:

Apologetics: Confessing the Christian Faith
Polemics: Confessing the Lutheran Faith.

Digging into Polemics and Apologetics

These categories deserve further explanation, especially because the word polemic carries a certain negative connotation today, particularly in tone. Rest assured, titles in each category will strive for a respectful and objective tone— while remaining unflinchingly committed to the truth! Our selection of the polemics category demonstrates the study of distinctive doctrines that set the Lutheran Confessions apart from confessions of other denominations.

Titles that appear in the polemics category will strive to teach Lutheran doctrines as they intersect with American Christianity and will make the case for the Lutheran distinctive. Meanwhile, the compact books within the apologetics category present a systematic defense of a doctrine or practice from Scripture.

Titles appearing in the apologetics category will examine contemporary issues where the Christian church finds its beliefs and practices at odds with societal trends and assumptions.

Who Needs This Series and Why?

As American society has become increasingly secular, Christians and their churches find themselves encountering progressively challenging situations. God’s Word and the Lutheran Confessions speak directly to many of these challenges, but where they do not, it’s beneficial to have sound theological resources that help pastors, students, and all Christians think through the application of the truths they confess. Contributing authors will intentionally draw out scriptural truths and demonstrate the scriptural foundations of the doctrines that are addressed in the individual volumes. They also seek to provide an analysis of contemporary situations or issues so readers can better understand the nature and source of the errors they encounter in their day-to-day lives.

Titles in this series will be intentionally compact while providing substantial depth on a singular topic. This approach will ensure that readers are given access to leading experts’ knowledge and insight on subjects that are of interest to them. Pastors will value these volumes because they gather and distill faithful thinking on a topic in a single title. Similarly, professors will prize this series as a resource whose multiple volumes can be assigned to aid their students in understanding the history, scope, and application of a doctrine. Yet, these books are not only intended to be helpful resources for pastors and professors, because anyone who lives in these contentious times should be equipped to speak on the issues they frequently encounter. Our desire for those who read these volumes is that they will be edified by their contents and that their understanding and ability to bear witness to the faith will be enhanced.

Upcoming Titles in the Series

Several of our authors are already hard at work, and more titles and experts are currently being recruited and prepared! Our first offering is a translation of Georg Vicedom’s book Justification as the Formative Power of Mission, which has been prepared by Klaus Detlev Schulz. In his book, Vicedom takes stock of global missions in the middle of the twentieth century and critiques contemporary motives for the mission task. He reminds his readers that the mission first belongs to God and is motivated by His desire to rescue and redeem sinful humanity from the coming judgment. Vicedom grounds the church’s mission in God’s work of justification. He points to the confidence and joy the church has in being drawn into this mission. Rooted in Scripture, Vicedom’s insights remain relevant and of critical importance to the church.

Other forthcoming titles in this series include the following:

The Two Realms and the Separation of Church and State
by Joel Biermann
Transgenderism by Scott Stiegemeyer
On the Smalcald Articles by Robert Kolb

Even though we live in a changing world, God’s Word endures. Equip yourself, your colleagues, and your students to take on these contemporary concerns with the help of this growing series.

What Do Lutherans Believe About Baptism?

Jacob Corzine — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 16:17:53 GMT

About the worst thing for a Lutheran is to find yourself thinking that your access to God isn’t through His Word but through yourself, as if in a direct line from your heart to the Holy Spirit. He’d call that Enthusiasm, but He doesn’t mean you’re too joyful and boisterous.

God’s Promises Are Better than Your Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm comes from a Greek word that means “God in you,” and it’s the name for an old enemy of Lutheranism. It’s actually a pretty common way of thinking, and it runs counter to a biblically informed understanding of who God is and who you are.

Why bring this up to talk about Baptism? Because the hardest thing about believing what Lutherans believe about Baptism is setting aside your Enthusiasm. Again, I’m not talking about your joy in the Gospel but your assumption that you don’t need any bridge to God. On the flip side, if you get Baptism right, you’ll keep turning back to the right bridge.

Eventually, a biblical understanding of who we are boils down to the assumption that our ability to reach out to God (if any) is a gift given by the Holy Spirit through the Word. This goes along with an understanding that God has promised in the Bible to reach out to us in certain ways. In other words, getting in contact with God isn’t a guessing game, and it’s not about being the squeaky wheel that gets the grease. It’s just about meeting Him where He says He’ll be.

Enthusiasm usually comes in when we start to assume that because we’re converted, now we can be the ones reaching out to or bridging the gap to God. But God never stops being the one to reach out. He comes down from heaven; we don’t go up. Paul reminds us in Galatians 3:3 that God not only converted us by His Spirit, but He also sustains us by it each day. So those biblical promises remain the place where we look for God to arrive in our lives, to bridge the unbridgeable chasm from heaven to earth.

One of those promises—Lutherans consider it one of the main ones—is made in Mark 16:16: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.” And 1 Peter 3:21: “Baptism, which corresponds to this (Peter is describing how Noah and his family were saved in the flood), now saves you.” Putting salvation into Baptism like these verses do goes straight to the heart of the thing: The promise in Baptism isn’t a side benefit, not some addition to salvation or some additional matter. The promise of Baptism is actual salvation. Any lesser gift of God must roll up into that (like Luke 12:31, “And these things will be added to you”).

So what do Lutherans believe about Baptism? There’s no better place to go for an answer than Luther’s Small Catechism, which is how Lutherans have been teaching the Christian faith to their children for almost five hundred years. Here’s the quote:

It works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare. (Baptism, Second Part)

Baptism Works Forgiveness of Sins

“Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)

“I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins.” (The Nicene Creed)

So it’s biblical—we’re baptized for the forgiveness of sins. This is Peter’s sermon in Acts 2, practically the first Christian sermon ever preached. When the people realize their sin, they’re pointed to Baptism for forgiveness.

It should be clear that their Baptism isn’t a good work to do to balance out their sins and appease God. Instead, it’s a cleansing that someone else undertakes upon them. And that someone else is always ultimately God, because it’s Christ who commanded Peter to baptize (Matthew 28:19). So just like Peter is an instrument of Christ when he preaches, he’s also an instrument of Christ when he baptizes. Underneath the image of the bodily cleansing is the cleansing of the soul—the forgiveness of sins.

But you can also think of Galatians 3:27: to be baptized into Christ is to “put on Christ.” That means to be covered with Him, so that when the Father looks to you, who still sins, He chooses to see his righteous Son.

To be clear, Lutherans don’t believe that the forgiveness given in Baptism is only for sins prior to Baptism. Instead, they believe that it truly is God’s act of giving a new heart, turning you from a sinner into a forgiven sinner, from a servant who must fear punishment into a child who always finds mercy—even though he may face loving discipline. In other words, when God forgives in Baptism, He changes His relationship to you.

And that changes everything.

Baptism Rescues from Death and the Devil

“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him by Baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:3–4)

This only makes sense if you share the Lutherans’ understanding of the Christian life and then work backward to the Baptism where it began. We expect the Christian life to be challenging, not because we’re trying to get right with God, but because we already are right with God.

We expect a challenge, because we—finally alive—are surrounded by death, and because the devil targets Christians to take them away from God. We take it seriously when Peter says the devil “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). The devil’s most successful temptation for Christians is when he can get them to not believe. And that’s why Baptism can play such a central role for Christians long after the day of their Baptism. It’s always calling you back to belief.

Lutherans turn to their Baptism daily in repentance, remembering that they are not their own, that they have been claimed by Christ, that their sins are forgiven, and that the devil has nothing to say that is not a lie (however true it may sound).

Maybe his biggest lie is that you’re going to die on account of your sin. But Romans 6 teaches that this death already occurred in Baptism, as we were incorporated into Christ’s death for our sins. So, there’s no more spiritual death for us to fear—only newness of life to embrace.

In other words, to believe God’s promise of new life in Baptism is to stand firm against the devil.

Baptism Gives Eternal Salvation

“He saved us . . . by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:5–7)

If this seems to follow naturally from the first two things, then you’re all set. And it should: If you have the forgiveness of sins, then you’re right with God. And if you’re preserved from the efforts of evil to separate you from Christ (Romans 8:38–39), then that status is safe and will carry you through until you die an earthly death or until He returns on the Last Day.

But sometimes we think of the Christian life as stages that you walk through, and then it’s not obvious that having forgiveness means you’ll have eternal life. That’s where this verse, and the understanding of Baptism it unpacks, are so helpful. All of these things are bundled together: rebirth, renewal by the Holy Spirit, justification, the hope of eternal life. If you have one, you have them all. (I know there’s a way to read “hope” here that makes it sound like you’re “hoping for the best,” but that’s the wrong read. It’s not a hope because it’s uncertain, but because it’s still ahead of you.)

So this is the other thing: Lutherans believe that the gifts of God are an all-inclusive package. Forgiveness, life, and salvation all come at the same moment. If you have one, you have them all. And, sadly, if you reject one, you reject them all.

But—the sad case of rejection aside—what joy that enables! To know that you have an irrevocable promise of God that will bring you to eternal life and that, as long as you cling to that promise, He’ll not only forgive your sins but give you the Holy Spirit and equip you both for this life and for the life to come!

As long as you cling to that promise. This is the bump in the road—for two reasons that you really have to reckon with.

The spiritually low reason: There are times when it doesn’t feel like enough. There are times when you really do feel like you need to do some hard counterbalancing to your sin. Either you’ve done a little more damage than usual, or you’ve just gotten a particularly sharp picture of how far your life is from what Jesus’s model was. And then you feel like you should do a little more to set yourself right with God. But Baptism doesn’t let you. Everything that can be done to set you right with God is delivered in your Baptism. You could say that Lutherans cling to it with both hands so that they don’t grab on to something else.

The spiritually high reason: You feel like you could do more. And you should! If you’re feeling energy to spare, love for your neighbor, devotion to God, then you should get out and act on those impulses, which are given by the Holy Spirit! But when that day is done, Lutherans like to quote Luke 17:10: “We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.” And then they cling to the promise of Baptism, because the righteousness of Christ is still far better than whatever partial successes a good day might have brought.

Final Thoughts About Lutherans’ Beliefs on Baptism

Baptism curbs Enthusiasm. It points us to Christ in the way He promises to be there for us. It points us to Christ all the time. So, really, there are two arguments for the Lutheran position here:

One is why we teach it: It’s biblical. The bible teaches baptismal regeneration, that in Baptism, the sinner is reborn as a child of God. This isn’t just any doctrine, either. You really have to reckon with it being a central, saving doctrine.

The other is why we emphasize it: Baptism puts a sharp stop to all our efforts to make our own path to God, to invent our own righteousness, to be our own saviors. This only makes sense if you recognize Baptism as God’s work on us and not our own pledge of faithfulness. But then it’s hard to unsee. God has bridged the path to His people, right into the middle of our lives.

Scripture: ESV^®.

Learn more about what Lutherans believe by reading an easy-to-understand summary in Lutheranism 101: Holy Baptism.

Jesus Calls His Disciples: A Study of Matthew 10

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 20 Aug 2025 11:00:00 GMT

Let the kingdom of heaven be proclaimed! Jesus has chosen the Twelve, and their instructions are clear: Preach and heal so that the world knows the Kingdom has come. The proclamation of the Kingdom continues today, and so God continues to send and protect His disciples.

This blog post is adapted from Matthew 1:1—11:11 in the Concordia Commentary Bible Study Series.

Jesus’ Ministry Continues

The miracles of Jesus seen in [Matthew 8 and 9] demonstrated the authoritative power of Jesus. Every enemy and obstacle from illness, demons, and storms to even death was overcome. Now, in chapter 10, it is time for Jesus to choose His inner circle of the twelve disciples and send them out to announce that the kingdom of heaven has come in Jesus. However, despite His authority and miraculous power, Jesus’ enemies will rise up again to challenge His identity. In the end, the ministry of Jesus grows, reflecting His identity as the Son of God and Savior.

Historical Insights

Gibbs notes that there are five major discourses by Jesus in Matthew (see Gibbs, pp. 38–47). The first discourse is the Sermon on the Mount, chapters 5–7, and the second is the Missionary Discourse, 10:5–42. A two-part introduction precedes the discourse. The first, 9:36–38, describes the plentiful field for the sending of the disciples. The people were like sheep without a shepherd, and the harvest was large and waiting. The next introduction is 10:1–4, the calling of the twelve disciples. Gibbs describes the value of these introductions as the disciples are called and sent:

Matthew leads the way into Jesus’ second major discourse, His Missionary Discourse (10:5–42), with a two-part introduction: 9:36–38 and 10:1–4. Each part in its own way emphasizes that, although Jesus will be sending the Twelve to begin their ministry of preaching, healing, and casting out demons in Israel, their ministry is in reality an extension of Jesus Himself and His own work in bringing the gracious, saving reign of God into history. . . . One overarching truth, however, remains, and it brackets the entire discourse: whenever missionaries sent by Jesus conduct their ministry, that ministry is empowered by Jesus, shaped like Jesus’ own ministry, and centered in the message about the reign of heaven—in Jesus Himself. (Gibbs, 498–99)

The twelve disciples are chosen and prepared to be sent out. The disciples are an echo of the twelve tribes of Israel, while they are also the heralds of God’s new work in the Kingdom announced by Jesus. The disciples are also the beginning of the thousands of years of Christians announcing that the kingdom of heaven has come in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The disciples are sent first to the people of Israel, but that message will eventually spread to the Gentiles as well. Gibbs notes this initial focus on Israel is an answer to the needs of the lost sheep of Israel:

The salvation that Jesus accomplishes will surely suffice for all people everywhere. However, in the first place (cf. Romans 1:16), He has come as God’s true Son for God’s “son,” the lost sheep of Israel.

It follows, then, that when Jesus sends out the Twelve as the new “patriarchs” of Israel to extend His own work of preaching and driving back the power and effects of Satan, He sends them not to Samaritans or Gentiles, but to Israel’s lost sheep. Yet the Lord in His own ministry in Israel encountered and saved some Gentiles. So too there surely would have been individual Gentiles in need whom the apostles encountered and to whom they would have afforded the saving word of the Gospel and power for healing or restoration. (Gibbs, 507–8)

Digging into Scripture

The calling of the twelve disciples and their being sent to proclaim the kingdom of heaven marks an important step in the ministry of Jesus. The prior chapters have focused on His extended teaching in the Sermon on the Mount and the ten miracles He performed in chapters 8 and 9. But with the rich harvest waiting for workers in [Matthew] 9:35–38, the sending of the disciples is an initial answer to the need for workers. Gibbs notes how the call to pray for workers in the harvest (9:38) is now answered by Jesus’ sending of the Twelve:

All of Jesus’ disciples, then and now, are to beseech the harvest’s Lord to send forth faithful laborers. The compassion of Jesus for lost sheep produces this command to pray; the compassion of Jesus, placed into the hearts of all His disciples, will produce this trusting prayer. . . .

Immediately in the second part (10:1–4) of this narrative introduction to the Missionary Discourse (10:5–42), the prayer that the disciples are to offer to the Father is answered by Jesus Himself. From among the unnamed larger circle of His “disciples” (9:37), Jesus now chooses a smaller number of “apostles”—“twelve” (10:2)—in order to send them out for a ministry with divine authority manifest in word and deed. (Gibbs, 499–500)

The disciples will step into dangerous work, and they might not be welcomed or believed. In that way, they will mirror the overall ministry of Jesus, as He is both welcomed and rejected, loved and hated. So the disciples will heal, cast out demons, and even raise the dead. But for all those gifts, they will also find their offer of peace thrown back at them. They are not merely gathering disciples in that single, small acreage of the harvest field but are forecasting the larger harvest to come. Gibbs describes the larger purpose of the disciples’ mission:

However, Matthew makes it crystal clear that in the most fundamental sense, the mission work of the Twelve will only be an extension of Jesus’ own ministry. They will minister in Israel with authority, but it will be the authority that Jesus has given them (10:1). Their authority will extend over unclean spirits that plague the people and over sickness and every manner of disease; Jesus has demonstrated His own authority over those very foes in chapters 8 and 9, and the apostles’ works will be manifestations of His own work. When the Twelve preach, their message will be the same one they heard from Jesus, who taught with unparalleled, divine authority (7:29). . . . At the end of this Gospel, Jesus will ground the church’s mission on the bedrock of His own authority: “All authority in heaven and earth was given to Me; therefore, go and make disciples. . . ” (28:18–19). (Gibbs, 500)

Answering God’s Call

The ministry of Jesus has begun dramatically, stretching from the ancient genealogy of chapter 1 through Jesus’ birth. We’ve moved forward through the ministry of John the Baptist to Jesus’ teaching of the Sermon on the Mount. The miracles in chapters 8 and 9 restated Jesus’ authority in mighty deeds. Now, the ministry expands with the Twelve going forward to preach and teach, despite the dangers they will face. The kingdom of heaven has arrived and will not be denied.

Gibbs sums up the ministry of the disciples:

Such disciples of Jesus believe that their lives possess eternal significance. They go out with the prayer that others will receive them for what they truly are: ordained men, or laymen and women, who bear the prophetic Word now fulfilled in Jesus the Christ; righteous ones who freely give of the righteousness they have received in Jesus. Those who welcome them because they believe their words ([Matthew] 10:13–14) will not lose their reward on the great Day. . . .

No calling is more blessed than to be a herald of the Good News. Let all who are called to this work be encouraged by the words of their Master. And may those same words encourage all believers to support their pastor-heralds in ways great and small. (Gibbs, 545)

Continue studying the Gospel of Matthew with the Matthew 1:1–11:1 Concordia Commentary Bible Study.

1 Timothy: An Overview

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 11:00:00 GMT

This blog post is adapted from Lutheran Bible Companion Volume 2: Intertestamental Era, New Testament, and Bible Dictionary.

Church Fathers such as Irenaeus and Tertullian believed the heresy was an early stage of “Gnosticism” that was to become in its fully developed form the most serious threat to the Church in their generation. (Gnosticism is not so much a system as a trend or current of thought that produced a great variety of systems, often by combining with some already existing religion. It was emerging as a corrupting force before the great Christian-Gnostic systems of the second century appeared; we have already seen something like it in the heresy that threatened the church at Colossae.) However, since the 1945 discovery and subsequent study of actual Gnostic writings, the Nag Hammadi Codices, it seems better to characterize the heresy Paul combats as a mixture of Jewish beliefs with philosophical ideas that have some similarities with later Gnosticism.

Authorship

Critical scholars have called into question the authenticity of the Pastoral Letters on a number of counts, chief among them: (1) the historical setting of the letters; (2) the type of church organization presupposed by the letters; (3) the nature of the heresy combated in the letters; (4) the doctrinal substance of the letters; and (5) the style and language of the letters. The following paragraphs will describe each concern and provide broader consideration.

The Historical Setting

It is argued that the journeys and activities presupposed by the Pastoral Letters cannot be fitted into the life of Paul as known from his undoubted epistles and from the Book of Acts. It is usually assumed that the Roman imprisonment of AD 58–60 ended in Paul’s death.

Over against this, one may urge that there is good reason to believe that Paul’s imprisonment ended in his release; both Festus and Agrippa deemed him innocent, and no ancient source actually says that Paul was executed after his two years’ imprisonment in Rome. Assuming, then, that Paul was released from prison in AD 60, the years between that date and the death of Paul (which may have occurred as late as AD 68) leave ample room for the activities presupposed by the Pastoral Letters, even if we cannot reconstruct the history of this period with absolute accuracy.

Church Organization

The church organization presupposed by the letters, it is urged, is too far advanced and too well established for the first century. It is assumed, therefore, that a writer of the late first or early second century wrote the letters in Paul’s name in order to get apostolic sanction for contemporary arrangements in the church.

It may be said in reply that we hear of the appointment of elders in the churches as early as the first missionary journey (Acts 14:23). Paul speaks of “shepherds” and “teachers” in his Letter to the Ephesians (Ephesians 4:11) and addresses the overseers and deacons of Philippi in his Letter to the Philippians (1:1). Moreover, the organization presupposed in the letters is not elaborate and is not fixed with legal precision. The terms “elder” and “overseer” (which were later distinguished) are still used interchangeably (Titus 1:5, 7), and the concern of the letters is always for the function of the office as a power to edify the Church, not for an exact definition of its rights and powers.

The Nature of Heresy Combated in the Letters

It is asserted that the false teaching attacked by the author can only be the great second-century Gnostic systems.

It is true that the false teachers and teachings attacked in the Pastoral Letters have some similarities with later Gnosticism. However, the heresy combated by the Pastoral Letters has a strongly Judaic coloring, something that is not broadly characteristic of second-century Gnosticism. There is no indication in the letters that the teachings under attack are the full-blown systems that divided the second-century Church.

The Doctrinal Substance and Language of the Letters

Judgment in this area is bound to be somewhat subjective. For example, the fact that the work of the Holy Spirit receives relatively little emphasis has been used as an argument against the authenticity of the Pastoral Letters. These letters abound in teaching so completely Pauline in content and formulation that it has no real parallel except in the accepted letters of Paul. It should be remembered also that these letters were written to addressees and for purposes quite different from those of Paul’s other letters. In general, a judgment like that of an able modern commentator would seem to be fair and reasonable: there is nothing in the Pastorals that Paul could not have written; there is much that only he could have written.

The Style and Language of the Letters

The style resembles, as one would expect, the practical and hortatory portions of the other Pauline Letters rather than that of the doctrinal portions. Besides, Paul’s style varies considerably from letter to letter and even within a single letter, so that arguments based on style must be used with considerable caution.

The vocabulary presents the greatest difficulty. Over 36 percent of the words that make up the vocabulary of the Pastoral Letters are not found in any of the other Pauline Letters. This large percentage of new words is in part explained by the newness of the subject matter of these letters, but only in part; for the little words (connectives, prepositions, etc.) that have no connection with the subject matter have changed too. How can one account for so radical a change?

First, Paul’s vocabulary changes considerably within the range of his undoubtedly genuine letters, too, though not as radically as in the case of the Pastoral Letters. Second, part of the change may be accounted for by the fact that Paul quotes or paraphrases “sure sayings” of the Early Church more freely here than anywhere else in his writings. Third, it must be remembered that Paul probably spoke and wrote Greek as a second language, which he picked up largely by ear. His language would change more readily than that of a born Greek under changing conditions and surroundings. Thus his long stay in Rome would tend to make his Greek more like that spoken in Rome.

Purpose and Recipients

Paul wrote to Timothy in order to combat a heresy. The trend of thought in the heresy at Ephesus would lead inevitably to an utter distortion of all that “the Gospel of the glory of the blessed God” (1 Timothy 1:11) proclaimed. God the Creator disappears—all the good gifts of food and drink that He gives are suspected and feared; all the salutary orders that He has established in this world (marriage, family, government) are despised and ignored. The Old Testament, which rings with glad adoration of the God who made the heavens and the earth and blesses people within the orders of this world, must either be ignored or have its obvious sense interpreted away by allegorizing “myths and endless genealogies” (1:4). The Law becomes the arena of speculation and vain discussions, not the voice of God that calls the sinner to account and condemns him. Where knowledge is made central in a person’s religious life, and self-redemption by way of ascetic exercise is made the way of salvation, there is no possibility of that pure Christian love that “issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1:5). A narrow and sectarian pride takes its place (6:4, 20; cf 1:3–7). Where the teaching office becomes a wordy, speculative, disputatious purveying of “knowledge” to a select coterie of initiates, it is bound to become corrupted; it appeals to the pride, the selfishness, and the mercenary instincts of mankind, and the teacher becomes that ghastly, demon-ridden caricature of the true teacher that Paul has described in 4:1–2.

In opposition to the rarefied and unreal Christ of speculation, Paul must present “the man Christ Jesus” (2:5), the Christ Jesus who really entered into history under Pontius Pilate (6:13) and died a real death upon the cross for the sins of all people (2:6). He must present this Christ as the whole content of the truth that the Church upholds and guards, the mystery of God “manifested in the flesh” (3:16).

To the imposing picture of these brilliant, speculative, disputatious, and mercenary men, Timothy must present the picture of the true teacher. He must, first of all, himself be that picture; he dare not let himself be drawn down to the level of his opponents and fight demonic fire with fire; he must do battle, “holding faith and a good conscience” (1:19); he must, as a good minister of Jesus Christ, not allow himself to be infected by what he opposes but must continue to be “trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine” that he has followed hitherto. He must train himself, athlete-like, in godliness (4:6–8). Thus he will be able to fight the good fight of faith as a “man of God,” standing in the succession of Moses and the prophets, devoted to God’s cause (6:11–12; cf 6:3–10), laying hold even now of that eternal life that shall be his in fullness at the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ (6:11–15). He must himself be all that the Gnostic teachers are not; and he is to see to it that the men who oversee the church’s life and administer the church’s charity, the overseers and deacons, are men of like character. They need not be brilliant men; they must be good men.

Summary of 1 Timothy

1 Timothy 1 The work of the Gospel ministry carried out by Paul and Timothy flows from God’s command. The words they speak are His words, not their own. Their competence for ministry comes from God, who called them to His service. Paul writes this Epistle to stop the teaching of false doctrine among the Ephesian churches and to promote the teaching of sound doctrine.

1 Timothy 2–3 The Gospel affirms the unique vocations God assigned to men and women at creation. Only qualified men may serve as pastors of God’s flock. Deacons were faithful men, entrusted with special responsibilities for service to their fellow Christians. (The calling of deaconess is referred to in Romans 16:1 rather than here.)

1 Timothy 4 God daily and richly provides us with all that we need. To reject God’s good gifts, or to receive them thanklessly, is a sin against His graciousness. Pastors are to command and teach true doctrine, while condemning doctrine that is false and deceitful.

1 Timothy 5–6 Paul describes how to work respectfully with other members of the congregation. When Christians interact with one another in ways that are honorable and pure, they beautifully reflect God and the faith they confess. As a true man of God, Timothy is to flee every corrupting influence and keep God’s command, faithfully guarding that which has been deposited with him.

Martin Luther on 1 Timothy

“This epistle St. Paul writes in order to provide a model to all bishops of what they are to teach and how they are to rule Christendom in the various stations of life, so that it may not be necessary for them to rule Christians according to their own human opinions.

“In chapter 1 he charges that a bishop keep true faith and love and resist the false preachers of the law who, beside Christ and the gospel, would also insist on the works of the law. In a brief summary, he comprehends the entire Christian doctrine concerning the purpose of the law and the nature of the gospel. He offers himself as an example to comfort all sinners and those with troubled conscience.

“In chapter 2 he charges that prayer be made for all stations of life. He also commands that women are not to preach or wear costly adornment, but are to be obedient to men. [For Luther’s intent, see Ephesians 5:21–33.]

“In chapter 3 he describes the kind of persons that bishops, or priests, and their wives ought to be, and also the deacons and their wives. He praises those who desire to be bishops of this kind.

“In chapter 4 he prophesies of false bishops and the spiritual estate which is opposed to that spoken of above, who will not be persons of that kind, but instead will forbid marriage and foods, and with their doctrines of men inculcate the very opposite of the things Paul has described.

“In chapter 5 he gives orders as to how widows and young women should be looked after, and which widows are to be supported from the common funds; also how godly bishops or priests are to be held in honor, and blameworthy ones punished.

“In chapter 6 he exhorts the bishops to hold fast to the pure gospel and to promulgate it by their preaching and living. They are to avoid senseless and meddlesome controversies which are only raised for gaining worldly reputation and riches.” (AE 35:388)

Scripture: ESV^®.

Blog post adapted from pp. 599–604, 607–608, 611–12 in Lutheran Bible Companion, Volume 2: Intertestamental Era, New Testament, and Bible Dictionary © 2014 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Read the Lutheran Bible Companion to find more commentary on 1 Timothy or any book of the Bible.

How God Speaks with His People

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 11:00:00 GMT

This blog post is excerpted from The Christian Faith: A Lutheran Exposition, second edition, by Theodore J. Hopkins and Robert Kolb.

God used the many and varied voices of the prophets to convey His message to His people (Hebrews 1:1), and He spoke the final, complete Word through His Son (Hebrews 1:1–2). His Word, His message for us, came in human flesh, as Jesus of Nazareth, who claimed all authority in heaven and earth because He is the author of life and the author of new life (Matthew 28:18).

God Speaks in a Language His Creation Knows

Human language lies at the heart of our existence. It marks us as the creatures we are, distinct in our own persons and cultures by the way we talk, yet able to communicate across linguistic lines as we learn one another’s languages. Human creatures may, indeed, have feelings too deep for words. They may enjoy music and the arts without being able to express verbally what they feel. But we talk, even to ourselves. As we think, we usually organize life verbally, in propositions with subjects and verbs, implied if not stated, and certainly we cannot relate our precise thoughts to others without words. The full enjoyment of our humanity depends on verbalization. God knew that. He designed human creatures that way. Hence, God not only acted out His love in human history, but He also explained His actions through the prophets. More than that, He spoke His love directly to His people through the prophets’ mouths. These prophetic voices have been made “more fully confirmed” in the record of the Holy Scripture. This prophetic word enlightens human hearts and brings the dawning of the day to lives that lay in darkness (2 Peter 1:19–21) until the true Light of the World made flesh enlightened humankind (John 1:9). This Word, Jesus Christ, represents the culmination of all God’s talk (Hebrews 1:1–2).

God Speaks to Us Through Scripture

God’s revelation of Himself—in human flesh and in the inspired Scriptures—addresses us directly. God does not merely talk about Himself, giving us information about His character and work. God’s address focuses on the relationship between Himself and His human creatures who have rebelled against Him. God thus confronts us, speaking to us in first-person, primary discourse, in order to draw us into relationship with Him by faith. God promises: “You are My child.” He proclaims: “I am your God.” He gushes: “I forgive you all your sins. I love you.” In His voice, conveyed in the incarnate person of God, Jesus of Nazareth, in the pages of the Bible, and in the preaching and sharing of Christians with one another, such statements verbalize God’s presence and power among us, according to His promise (Matthew 18:20; 28:18–20; Acts 1:8; Romans 10:8–10, 17). In the words of His Gospel He has placed the power to save (Romans 1:16).

At the same time, we must be careful not to think of God’s Gospel address as purely emotional, lacking content. To be sure, God’s direct address usually creates an emotional response in those who are convicted of their sin and are freed from guilt and shame through Jesus’ death on the cross. But the Gospel is more than a word that comforts. Faith involves both the emotional embrace of God’s promise as well as its content, expressed in propositions, in subjects and verbs. In fact, God’s promise and His commands cannot be conveyed apart from propositions, propositions that introduce the person of Jesus Christ to others, tell the story of what Jesus has done, express His love for His people, and inform us of the Spirit-filled life in the Gospel. …

These human words are not magical code or mystical nonsense that must be deciphered into God’s Word. They are just plain, ordinary human language, as Jesus of Nazareth was a plain, ordinary human creature. These easily apprehensible words, however, cannot be known and trusted as God’s own word of command and promise without the gift of the Holy Spirit. Although the meaning of the words can be ascertained by all, the words cannot be accepted as God’s voice and address without the Spirit’s gift of trust. … This lack of comprehension may be partly a human problem—creatures will never be able to get their minds completely around their Creator—but it is far more a problem of sin. Sinners resist an unpredictable God whom we cannot control, and we refuse the free goodness of God who intends to rescue us from our sin and restore us to His family.

God Addresses His Children in Law and Gospel

God’s message for human creatures comes in the forms of Law and Gospel. His design for human life takes shape in commands. His gift of new life for human creatures is conveyed through His promise to be our God, His promise to regard and keep us as His children. Even those who have not been given the gift of faith can make rather accurate guesses about His design for human life. The Law speaks to fallen sinners through any number of human experiences. … But God gives access to the Gospel, to His fatherly and gracious intention for fallen sinners, only through His intended messengers: in the specific revelation of His incarnate Son, Jesus Christ; in the inspired words of the prophets and apostles—collected in Holy Scripture—as they give testimony to God’s love in Christ; and in the words Christians use to convey this proclamation of His love to others by the Spirit.

God’s specific revelation of Himself comes in personal and propositional forms. He speaks to us on a human level, through human creatures and in the human language we understand and use for sustaining daily existence. He speaks nonetheless of our sin and His grace, a subject higher than our ability to comprehend it. He tells us what we need to know—though not all that we would like to know—about Himself. He speaks to save.

God Has a Name and a History

North Americans want to be on a first-name basis with everyone; they have begun to call God, for the first time in the history of the church, “Yahweh.” He also goes by the name “Jesus, the Christ.” Unlike Yahweh, this name is quite clear. It tells us that God has come in human flesh as the promised Messiah, the anointed Rescuer and King of Israel. In human history, God claimed a name by which we could speak to Him and about Him. God claimed a name among us so that we could know Him not as an idea but as a person with a history on earth.

Hence, when God spoke to Moses at the bush, He not only gave Moses the divine name, Yahweh, He also named Himself in terms of His promises and personal relationships with His people. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exodus 3:6). We often talk about God in terms of His attributes or His character—as, for example, the all-powerful one who is present everywhere—but God names Himself in terms of His history and His promises. God identifies Himself as the one who called Abraham, who promised to be his God and bless all people of the world through him. God identifies Himself as the one who committed to the deceiver, to Jacob, and to his descendants. God identifies Himself to us as the one come in Jesus, promised to deliver all from sin, death, and the devil through the cross and empty tomb of the Messiah. This history is not accidental or incidental to God’s identity, but it is God’s history among humanity by which He has identified Himself.

God Has a Personhood Through Christ

Some modern people want to believe that the ultimate power of the universe is not personal but rather a generic, divine force. This denial of the personhood of God may spring from human discouragement with their own persons. If I have made a wreck of my own person and my own personal relationships, I will hope for something more in my deliverer than a mere person. Others believe that to ascribe personhood to God is to belittle Him. God must be bigger than mere personhood. Ascribing Him personhood is anthropomorphizing Him: reducing Him to human form.

Others shy away from acknowledging God’s personhood, however, because they properly recognize that the personal is superior to the impersonal. They want to contend with a divine force rather than a divine person because they sense that impersonality may even the odds between the human and the divine. Encapsulating the divine in the form of a force may tame its power. … Perhaps we strive against the depersonalization of God because we suspect that depersonalizing Him depersonalizes us. Reducing Him from person to force reduces us.

Of course, God “reduced” Himself to human form in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. He is the original anthropomorphizer. It is not because we cast Him in our own image that we think of Him as a person. We are only persons because God is a person. His person existed before our persons could be conceived, and we are persons because He made us in His image (Genesis 1:27; Colossians 3:10).

Thus He is the person who is, always. He is the first and the last. Before and beside Him there is no other God, no other origin and originator of all (Isaiah 44:6; 45:5). He graciously entered into the fallen world to be the God of Israel and save sinners through His eternally begotten Son, Jesus of Nazareth, and by His Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son. He not only deserves ultimate trust as Designer and Creator of human life (Genesis 1:27–2:25), but He also creates that trust in us, giving Himself to us in the material world of history and giving us a word of promise to grasp in faith. He is the only reliable source of ultimate identity, security, and meaning for human creatures. He is God.

Scripture: ESV^®.

Learn more about the ways God speaks to His people and read other insightful theological topics in The Christian Faith.

What Does a Good Law-Gospel Sermon Look Like?

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 11:25:15 GMT

This blog is excerpted from an article by Rev. Carl C. Fickenscher II that was published in a previous edition of Concordia Pulpit Resources.

So much has been written on the dynamics of Law and Gospel—by classic authors such as Luther and Walther as well as more contemporary ones such as Gerhard Aho, Richard Lischer, Herman Stuempfle, and Gerhard Forde—that Law-Gospel preaching might be evaluated from any number of perspectives. In this study, though, seven criteria have been distilled from the various sources. While these are not exhaustive, they will be sufficient to determine whether meaningful differences in Law-Gospel effectiveness exist among sermon forms. In addition, it is hoped that the criteria can be guidelines which we preachers use personally to sharpen the Law and Gospel of our own messages.

Bipolarity

The first criterion: Properly divided Law and Gospel is bipolar. By their nature Law and Gospel always appear in conflict, never to be reconciled. However, they are to be applied in complement. The mode in which Law is preached in a particular sermon should be answered by a mode of Gospel which correlates.

Scripture presents many such correlations. For example, in some biblical texts, the Law is expressed primarily in forensic terms, as if a judge were pronouncing a defendant guilty. After declaring the Law in that mode, the preacher should carefully formulate the Gospel in his sermon so that it answers that particular problem. He would likely choose to present the Gospel as justification or acquittal. When, in another text, the Law is expressed as debt, the preacher would supply gospel with forgiveness, while defeat would be answered with victory, obedience with power, and so on. In such ways, by capitalizing on their natural bipolarity, Law and Gospel are preached in clear distinction.

Gospel Predominance

Second, properly divided Law and Gospel has Gospel predominance. While correlated, Law and Gospel are not to appear in the sermon as equal partners. This assertion climaxed Walther’s theses: “The Word of God is not rightly divided when the person teaching it does not allow the Gospel to have a general predominance in his teaching.” Both Law and Gospel are the Word of God, but the Gospel is to be preached as the “higher” Word.

This does not mean the minutes devoted to Gospel in a sermon will always be greater than those given to Law. It does not mean every worshiper leaves smiling every Sunday. It does mean that the hearers are always left with a remedy, with hope. When Law and Gospel clash in preaching (as their bipolar nature demands) there should always be a clear winner: the Gospel. Lischer says it well:

We do not balance law and gospel for religiously pleasing effects. By the Spirit’s help, we rightly divide them so that in our sermons, and in the lives of those who hear them, God’s grace may overshadow and defeat his judgment, just as it did long ago in the faithful ministry of his Son. We preach life and death—with the advantage to life.

Clarity

The third criterion: Properly divided Law and Gospel is clear in its distinction. This might seem obvious, since confusion is the very opposite of distinction. Clarity of Law and Gospel must be emphasized, however, because fallen human beings have a natural tendency to distort them. Lischer warns that “even in our redeemed state we are all born legalists to whom grace remains an unnatural and often surprising intrusion.” In other words, given the slightest excuse, people turn Gospel into Law.

Even when the preacher is precise in expressing the proper distinction between Law and Gospel, the hearer may receive more Law than Gospel. Luther explains why: “When it comes to experience, you will find the Gospel a rare guest but the Law a constant guest in your conscience, which is habituated to the Law and the sense of sin; reason, too, supports this sense.” The Law has been written on everyone’s heart; it is natural to them. The Gospel is revealed only through God’s Word. Man is accustomed to earning a reward, which is the essence of the Law. To receive something free of charge, the essence of the Gospel, however, is altogether contrary to man’s natural way of thinking. Clarity, therefore, is an important criterion for Law and Gospel preaching. It cannot go without saying.

Historical Basis

Fourth, properly divided Law and Gospel is based in this. Both Law and Gospel proclaim historical events. This may be more apparent in the case of the Gospel, which, by its very definition, is always based on what God has done. Since God alone acts in the Gospel, a sermon without historical basis can be only Law. Detached from God’s historic acts, a sermon can be nothing more than exhorting the works of man. Proper distinction of Law and Gospel becomes impossible. A sermon which effectively communicates Law and Gospel will thus generally have at its core the historical events of the text and the Scriptures as a whole. The sermon will usually be closely connected to something that happened, something that God did.

Correspondence to Life

The fifth criterion: Properly divided Law and Gospel corresponds to life. Heinrich Ott names three necessary parts to the sermon: (1) it should show man “his sin and wretchedness;” (2) it should reveal “what God has done … to meet the need of his sin and misery … in the actual situation of his life;” and (3) it should teach how “he is obliged to live for God.” Though Ott does not make the designations, his three elements aptly describe (1) Law (second use), (2) Gospel, and (3) Law (third use), though the power to live according to God’s law comes from and through the Gospel. Moreover, the three points correspond, Ott says, to “structural phases in the whole life of faith.” The soul is first confronted with sin; next, it is converted by the Word of the Gospel; finally, it responds, by the Spirit’s power, with a life of good works. Because it is already written on man’s heart, the Law is the initial point of contact. Preaching God’s demands and the consequences of falling short ring true in the ears and hearts of sinful people. Conscience-stricken hearers identify themselves with the sermon; they see how their lives fail to measure up. Then, after the Law has made contact by mirroring man’s plight, the appropriate correlates of Gospel will also ring true. In this way, the Gospel, too, begins to correspond to life.

Performative Potential

Sixth, properly divided Law and Gospel actually perform or convey what they threaten and promise. “Whoever believes the Scriptures,” Walther writes, “receives what they say; for they do not merely tell about the gifts of grace, but also offer and confer them.” Law and Gospel, therefore, are not merely to be discussed, talked about, in the sermon, but to be proclaimed. Forde writes:

Proclamation belongs to the primary discourse of the church … , the direct declaration of the Word of God, that is, Word from God. … As primary discourse, proclamation ideally is present-tense, first-to-second person unconditional promise authorized by what occurs in Jesus Christ according to the scriptures. The most apt paradigm for such speaking is the absolution: “I declare unto you the gracious forgiveness of all your sins in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” … The deed is done, unconditionally. … Proclamation is present tense: I here and now give the gift to you. … This is God’s present move, the current “mighty act” of the living God.

In other words, a sermon most effectively communicates Law and Gospel when it proclaims, declares, performs truths of forgiveness and blessing (or of judgment) upon the hearers, rather than simply talking about truths.

Gospel Motivation

Finally, the seventh criterion: Properly divided Law and Gospel motivates by the Gospel. While the Law instructs as to what good works are, only the Gospel can motivate people to do them. Law motivation is characterized by the imperative mood; the indicative mood is generally more appropriate to Gospel. Declaring what Christ has done to redeem the sinner moves his heart to respond in sincere good works. Properly divided Law and Gospel will emphasize God’s gracious work so that hearers will be motivated to Christlike living by faith.

Conclusion

Does my sermon reflect all that? Bipolarity? Gospel predominance? Clarity? Historical basis? Correspondence to life? Performative potential? Gospel motivation? While all these criteria contribute to the communication of Law and Gospel in proper distinction, it is unlikely that any sermon would reflect each one with equal vitality. Sermons are usually a mixture, a lot of this, a little of that, not much of the other. And next Sunday the mix will be different. Could that be—at least in part—because sermons take so many different forms? Does one sermonic form rather than another better allow the Gospel to predominate? to perform? to motivate? Applying these criteria to three major sermon forms will begin the search for the answer.

Read more of this article with a free PDF download from Concordia Pulpit Resources.

2 Thessalonians: An Overview

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 11:00:00 GMT

The city of Thessalonica, named after a sister of Alexander the Great, was
built within sight of one of the great religious landmarks of ancient Greece.
Southward, across the Thermaikos Bay, the people could see the distant
slopes of Mount Olympus, traditional home of the gods in their culture. From the founding of Thessalonica in 315 BC, its inhabitants stood within sight of what they regarded as divine. The community of Jews who settled at Thessalonica were likewise zealous, having persecuted Paul, Silas, and others for teaching that Jesus was the Christ (Acts 17:2–9, 13). Not surprisingly, the
Christians at Thessalonica demonstrated an intense piety as well as deep
curiosity about the return of Jesus.

This blog post is adapted from Lutheran Bible Companion Volume 2: Intertestamental Era, New Testament, and Bible Dictionary.

Historical and Cultural Setting

According to reports that reached Paul at Corinth, the Christians of Thessalonica were still standing firm under persecution (2 Th 1:4). But false notions “concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to Him” (2:1) had gained currency in the Church. The resultant excited, almost hysterical, expectation (2:2) had led some to
abandon their regular occupation and to lead an idle and disorderly life in
dependence upon the charity of the church (3:6–12).

Debates About the Authorship

Some critical scholars have seriously questioned the authenticity of 2 Thessalonians. The chief arguments against Pauline authorship are listed below, followed by further considerations.

Argument: The second letter largely repeats the first, and this marks it as a
forgery.
The statement is an exaggeration; about one third of the second letter is
parallel to the first, and even this does not give the impression of
mechanical copying, such as might be expected from a forger, for the
material occurs in a different order from that in the first letter.

Argument: The second letter teaches differently about the end times from
that of the first. The first letter stresses the fact that the coming of the Lord
will be like that of a thief in the night, while the second points to certain
events as signs that must precede and will therefore forewarn of the second
coming.
It should be noted that this same double emphasis is found in Jesus’ own
teaching concerning His return (Matthew 24:6–8, 36). Paul does not abandon the teaching of the first letter in the second; he simply defines it more sharply
by the statement that certain events must precede the second coming of
Jesus. Neither Jesus’ nor Paul’s words provide a means of forecasting the
end.

The strongest arguments for authenticity are the lack of any motive for a forgery, and the genuinely Pauline tone and character of the second letter. Even some of the scholars who question the authenticity of the letter admit that there is nothing in it that could not have come from the pen of Paul.

Purpose and Recipients

Paul’s second letter is his answer to the congregation’s concerns about the
return of Christ. It therefore sounds two notes. For those who indulge in
overheated fantasies about the end times, there are sobering words that
point to the events that must necessarily precede the coming of the Christ
in glory (2 Thessalonians 2:1–12). For the despondent and the fearful there is an
eloquent and reassuring recognition of the new life that God has worked in
them and a comforting emphasis on the certainty of their election by God
(1:3–12; 2:13–15). Paul turns the church from both excitement and
despondency to that sober and responsible activity which is the hallmark of
the genuinely Christian hope. The hoping church must work for its
living in sober industriousness and work for its own health as the Church of
God.

Summary Content

2 Thessalonians 1:1–2 Paul greets the Christians in Thessalonica as fellow
members of the Body of Christ (the Church) and blesses them with God’s
grace and peace.
2 Thessalonians 1:3–12 Paul gives thanks for God’s grace at work among
the Thessalonians, by which He has created faith and love in them. He
points to the persecuted Thessalonians as examples for other Christians of
their time and ours. God’s judgment will be carried out by the Lord Jesus at
His second coming on the Last Day.
2 Thessalonians 2 Paul warns the Thessalonians not to be misled regarding
the second coming of Christ, thinking that the day of the Lord has already
come. He describes those apocalyptic events yet to take place before the
return of Jesus, specifically the revelation of the man of lawlessness. He also
calls on the Thessalonians to stand firm in the faith the Lord has given
them. He reminds them that both their calling and comfort have God as the
source.
2 Thessalonians 3 Paul requests prayer for his missionary work and
obedience to what he has commanded them. Those who are idle are to be
avoided and even denied fellowship in order that this might cause them to
repent, amend their ways, and return to their fellow believers. Paul
concludes his letter with a prayer for peace and, in his own hand, a blessing
of grace.

Luther on 2 Thessalonians

In the first epistle [5:2], Paul had resolved for the Thessalonians the question of the Last Day, telling them that it would come quickly, as a thief in the night. Now as is likely to happen—that one question always gives rise to another, because of misunderstanding—the Thessalonians understood that the Last Day was already at hand. Thereupon Paul writes this epistle and explains himself.

In chapter 1 he comforts them with the eternal reward of their faith and of their patience amid sufferings of every kind and with the punishment of their persecutors in eternal pain.

In chapter 2 he teaches that before the Last Day, the Roman Empire must first pass away, and Antichrist set himself up as God in Christendom and seduce the unbelieving world with false doctrines and signs—until Christ shall come and destroy him by his glorious coming, first slaying him with spiritual preaching.

In chapter 3 he gives some admonitions, especially that they rebuke the idlers who are not supporting themselves by their own labor. If the idlers will not reform, then the faithful shall avoid them. And this is a stiff rebuke to the clergy of our day. (AE 35:387–88)

Read the Lutheran Bible Companion to find more commentary on 2 Thessalonians or any book of the Bible.

Scripture: ESV^®.

Time in the Biblical World

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 11:00:00 GMT

This blog post is adapted from From Abraham to Paul: A Biblical Chronology, Second Edition. Select in-text citations and original Hebrew have been omitted for readability.

While we take for granted that time is divided into units of minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years, as well as an annual calendar of twelve months, when considering biblical chronology we cannot assume that our understanding of the passage of time is the same as that of the biblical writers.

Moreover, since the various books of the Bible were written over a number of centuries and in different places, we cannot assume that every biblical author was referring to units of time in the same way. Therefore, we must first familiarize ourselves with the reckoning of time at various times and places in the ancient world.

Units of Time

Day

The unit of time we refer to as a day—that is, a 24-hour period of light and darkness—is, perhaps, the most familiar and most easily observed passage of time. The Hebrew word יוֹם was often used to refer to such an astronomical day. However, יוֹם was also used to refer to the part of a day that was light as opposed to לָילָה , “night.” In Greek, the corresponding words have the same possible meanings, with ἡμέρα referring to an astronomical day or to the period of daylight as opposed to nighttime, which is called νύξ. In addition, Greek can refer to an astronomical day as νυχθήμερον.

The reckoning of the beginning of the day could come at dawn or sundown or some other arbitrarily chosen point, such as the modern practice of reckoning it at midnight. In Mesopotamia and in Greece the day began at sundown. The Egyptians most likely reckoned dawn as the beginning of the day. The Romans followed the modern practice of reckoning the day as beginning at midnight.

Ancient Israel reckoned the day as beginning at sundown. The purity laws of Leviticus make this clear, since a person who becomes ceremonially unclean often remains unclean for the rest of the day but becomes clean again at sundown at the end of the day. Thus holy days, such as Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, or the Day of Atonement, began in the evening.

Parts of a Day

During the eras covered by the [Old Testament], the daylight period was not generally divided into set hours. Midday (צָהֳָ רֳַ יִַםִ) occurred around noon, with morning (בְֹּק ֶר) before this and evening (עֶֶ רָ ֶב) afterward. The night was divided into watches (א ַשִׁ ְמִ ֻרוֹת ) for military purposes. Two of these are mentioned by name: the middle watch and the morning watch. Since there is a middle watch, it appears that the night was normally divided into three watches. Beckwith has argued that the Hebrew phrase “between the evenings” refers to the first watch of the evening.

During the [New Testament] era, daylight could be divided into twelve hours that were usually referenced using ordinal numbers. The Jewish practice, as followed in the Synoptic Gospels and Acts, was to measure these hours from daybreak. The Roman practice, as followed in John’s Gospel, was to measure them from midnight.

Luke and Acts only mention daytime hours that correspond to quarter days: the third hour, the sixth hour, and the ninth hour. Mark also appears to follow this scheme. Most likely these are references to quarter days, with the second quarter of the day beginning with the third hour (i.e., about 9 a.m. to noon), the third quarter of the day beginning with the sixth hour (about noon to 3 p.m.), and the fourth quarter beginning with the ninth hour (about 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.).

Nighttime was divided into four watches called “evening” (ὀψέ), “midnight” (μεσονύκτιον), “cockcrow” (ἀλεκτοροφωνία), and “early morning” (πρωΐ). It appears that the watches could also be referenced using a system of twelve nighttime hours, with nighttime watches referenced by one of the hours that occurred on a quarter of a night. Thus Acts 23:23 refers to “the third hour of the night” (τρίτης ὥρας τῆς νυκτός), which probably means the second watch (about 9 p.m. to midnight).

Week

A week is seven consecutive days. In Hebrew, it is called ַַשִׁ ְב ֻע and the seventh day is called Sabbath. In Greek, the word σάββατον, a borrowing of the Hebrew word Sabbath, can signify either a Sabbath day or an entire week.

Since the Sabbath was considered the last day of the week, the day God ceased from creating, the days of the week were numbered beginning with Sunday as the first day.

In Greece and Rome, the days were eventually named after the gods of the sun, moon, and five visible planets, as evidenced in wall inscriptions at Pompeii. Modern English day names are derived from the Latin name or its English equivalent (Sun: Sunday; Moon: Monday; Saturn: Saturday) or derive from Norse or Anglo-Saxon gods who were viewed as equivalent of the Roman gods (Tiw/Tyr: Tuesday; Woden: Wednesday; Thor: Thursday; Frigg: Friday).

Month

Months originally were reckoned from one new moon to the next. This can be seen in the Hebrew wordִׁ חֹד ֶש , which can mean “new moon” or “month.” Similarly, one of the Greek words for moon, μήνη, is related to the word for month, μήν. This period, known in modern astronomy as a synodic month, is about 29½ days. Thus there are just more than twelve synodic months in a year.

Continue your study on how time was viewed in the Bible by ordering the full volume!

1 Thessalonians: An Overview

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 11:00:00 GMT

Founded in 316 BC, Thessalonica became an important harbor and leading city in the region. When the Romans built the Egnatian Way to connect Rome to its eastern interests, Thessalonica was a major stop and the first point of the road that reached the Aegean Sea. It was a natural stopping point also for the apostle Paul as he began mission work in Europe.

This blog post is adapted from Lutheran Bible Companion Volume 2: Intertestamental Era, New Testament, and Bible Dictionary.

Historical and Cultural Setting of 1 Thessalonians

The Letters to the Thessalonians are part of that history of the growth of the Word of the Lord which we commonly designate as Paul’s second missionary journey (AD 49–51). The heart of the second missionary journey was the apostle’s 18-month ministry in the great commercial center of Corinth.

Paul’s companions on the journey, Silas and Timothy, join in the sending of both letters. Paul knew from his own experience that the existence of the Church at Thessalonica was due not to human planning and devising, but to the elective love of God which had become history in Paul’s mission to Europe. Paul would recall, as he wrote these words, how he and his companions had been led, uncomprehending but obedient, by God’s own hand and by the Spirit of Jesus (Acts 16:7) with illogical haste from Philippi to Thessalonica. When Paul spoke of the elective love of God to the Thessalonians, he was not uttering a theoretical tenet of his faith; he was uttering that which God had woven into the living texture of his faith by a history in which he, Paul, had himself acted and suffered.

The Paul and Silvanus [Simon] who took to “praying and singing hymns to God” in the jail at Philippi after being beaten by the magistrates (Acts 16:25) had learned to see in their sufferings not the defeat, but the triumph of the Word of the Lord; and they spoke the word in Thessalonica with the robust and confident courage of men who know that they are bearers of the Word of God (1 Thessalonians 2:13). They did not conceal from their Thessalonian hearers that their word would put the imprint of suffering upon the Church of God in Thessalonica too (1 Thessalonians 1:6; 2:14; 3:3–4; 2 Thessalonians 1:4–7).

Paul experienced anew on this journey the power and activity of Satan, who plants weeds where the Lord plants good seed. Forced to leave Thessalonica before his work there was really finished, he tried again and again to return to the young church—“but Satan hindered us,” he writes (1 Thessalonians 2:18; cf 3:5).

The Founding of the Church at Thessalonica

Thessalonica was the kind of place that Paul usually chose for an intensive and prolonged ministry. It was the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia and the residence of the Roman proconsul, commercially important as a harbor town, and an important communications center. It was thus naturally fitted to become a missionary center, a point from which the Word of the Lord, once established in people’s hearts, might readily “sound forth” (1 Thessalonians 1:8).

Paul, with his companions Silas and Timothy, arrived at Thessalonica in AD 50 and began his work, as usual, in the synagogue. The break with the synagogue came early; the ministry among the Gentiles was perhaps prolonged for several months. The congregation at Thessalonica was therefore, as the Letters to the Thessalonians also indicate, pre-dominantly Gentile who turned away from idolatry (1 Thessalonians 1:9; 2:14; cf Acts 17:4). The life of that congregation was from the first a vigorous one. Paul says of them that they “became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia,” all Greece (1:7). Only, they were still little children in Christ, good and gifted children, but not mature and stable men, when Paul was forced to leave them (Acts 17:5–10; 1 Thessalonians 2:17).

Purpose/Recipients of 1 Thessalonians

While Paul was working at Corinth, the Church at Thessalonica remained in his thoughts and his prayers. Would they stand fast under the persecution which had come upon them? Would they misunderstand his departure and his continued absence from them? Paul in Thessalonica, c AD 49, was not yet the apostle Paul as the Church has learned to see him since; he was simply a hitherto unknown Jewish teacher who had come and gone. The Church of Thessalonica would of itself not be minded to classify Paul thus; but his enemies would, and they would thus undermine his apostolic authority and, with it, the faith in the Gospel with which he was identified as apostle.

Paul’s anxieties and fears were well founded. When he could no longer endure the suspense, he sacrificed the aid and companionship of Timothy and sent him to Thessalonica, both to strengthen the faith of the church and to learn firsthand how they fared (3:1–5).

When Timothy returned from Thessalonica to Paul at Corinth with the good news of the Thessalonians’ faith and love and fidelity to Paul (3:6), it meant for Paul the release from a long and agonizing tension. He threw himself with new vigor into his work at Corinth (Acts 18:5), and he wrote the letter which we call First Thessalonians. This letter is Paul’s response to Timothy’s report, a long thanksgiving for the good news that Timothy had brought. The thanksgiving is followed by a series of admonitions suggested by Timothy’s report. Paul is doing by letter what he could not do face-to-face; he is supplying what is lacking in their faith (cf 3:10). To these difficulties Paul’s warm and pastoral heart responded with a wisdom and a love that only the Spirit of God can bestow.

Summary of 1 Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians 1 As a good shepherd, Paul wants to keep in touch with the flock of God. The Thessalonians become model Christians in words and deeds due to the impact of the Gospel in their lives and the fruit of the Spirit demonstrated in their faith, love, and hope.

1 Thessalonians 2–3 Paul’s experience, inner being, motives, and love toward the Christians is laid bare. He speaks about how he conducted himself (2:9–12). He commends the Thessalonians for receiving the Gospel preached by him as the Word of God and for enduring persecution for its sake (2:13–16). Paul is interested in the well-being of the Thessalonians, whether they stand firm in the Gospel or yield due to pressure from the opponents. When he can no more bear the lack of news, he decides to send Timothy, his co-worker and helper. Then Paul gives thanks and prays for the Thessalonians when he hears the good report from Timothy that they are standing in their faith and have the same kind of love for him as he has for them.

1 Thessalonians 4 Paul gives advice on some practical matters dealing with sanctification so that their witness for the Lord may go forward blamelessly. He comforts the Thessalonians, saying that the dead in Christ will be the first to taste the resurrection and come with the risen Christ. At the second coming, we will all be together once more.

1 Thessalonians 5 After describing the future glory of those who have died in Christ, Paul now proceeds to tell the Thessalonians about the coming Day of Judgment in which the Lord will give His final verdict. He gives both his final instruction about leadership and a benediction.

Martin Luther on 1 Thessalonians

St. Paul writes out of especial love and apostolic solicitude. For in the first two chapters he praises them because they received the gospel from him with such earnestness that they remained steadfast in it despite suffering and persecution, and became a beautiful example of faith to all congregations everywhere, and suffered persecution from their own kinsfolk like Christ and his apostles did from the Jews—as St. Paul by way of example had himself also suffered and led a holy life when he was with them. For this he thanks God, that his gospel had borne such fruit among them.

In chapter 3 he shows his care and solicitude that this labor of his and their praiseworthy beginning not be brought to nothing by the devil and his apostles through the doctrines of men. For this reason he sent Timothy to them beforehand to make sure about this. And he thanks God that things were still right among them and hopes that they continue to increase.

In chapter 4 he exhorts them to guard against sin and to do good to one another. He also answers a question which they had presented to him through Timothy concerning the resurrection of the dead, whether all would rise at once, or whether some after others.

In chapter 5 he writes of the Last Day, how it shall come suddenly and quickly. He gives them some good directions for governing other people and tells them what attitude they are to take toward the lives and teachings of others.” (AE 35:386–87)

Read the Lutheran Bible Companion to find more commentary on 1 Thessalonians or any book of the Bible.

Scripture: ESV^®.

What Do Lutherans Say About the Great Commission

Jacob Corzine — Wed, 28 May 2025 11:00:00 GMT

If you only know a few Bible passages, Matthew 28:19 is probably one of them: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations ….” It’s an easy passage for the Christian heart to embrace.

We’re surrounded by people who don’t know Jesus, who don’t know that their lives are supposed be lived in the light of Christ and under the blessing of God’s mercy. And we know how simple it is for a person to come into this light: The simple proclamation of the Gospel has the power to change hearts, to bring light, and to create faith!

Add to that the innate Christian love for neighbor, and a call to teach people about their redemption in Christ couldn’t feel more natural.

What Is the Great Commission?

Enter the “Great Commission.” This is what Christians have come to call Christ’s words to the apostles in Matthew 28:

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. (vv. 19–20)

It’s one of a few great moments of “sending” at the beginning of the Christian Church. Each of the disciples has his own missionary story—where he went, who he proclaimed the Gospel to, and how he died.

Of course, you can’t take this sending apart from the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1–4). But that doesn’t undercut Matthew 28 or what Christians take from it. As Christians, we have the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and the Gospel. And so we share the Gospel, the Word of God, and—through both—the Holy Spirit.

We do this with our families, with our neighbors, and with people in faraway places when we send missionaries.

What Else Is in Matthew 28?

Traditionally, though, Lutherans tend to see something else when they read Matthew 28:18–20. In those words, Jesus promises how He will make disciples: through Baptism and teaching! What does that mean about Baptism? If you have it, you’re a disciple of Christ, with all the new life and forgiveness and salvation that comes along with that status.

Here’s Luther’s Small Catechism on the topic:

What is Baptism?

Baptism is not just plain water, but it is the water included in God’s command and combined with God’s word.

Which is that word of God?

Christ our Lord says in the last chapter of Matthew: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

How Do the Great Commission and Baptism Go Together?

These are not totally unrelated messages: the Great Commission and the promise of Baptism. The Holy Scriptures are deep and contain a wealth of truths. One of them here is that the Christian Church is tasked with spreading the Gospel. Another is that Jesus designed a way to do that: through bringing people to Baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

It’s a blessing to know that your own spiritual life depends on an irrevocable gift of God—your Baptism. And what a great joy it is to share that blessing with others.

Scripture: ESV^®.

Read more about Matthew 28, the Great Commission, and God’s gift of Baptism in Rev. Daniel Christian Voth’s book.

Colossians: An Overview

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 14 May 2025 11:00:00 GMT

Travelers from the west coast of Asia Minor would walk up the Maeander River Valley on their journeys east. If they continued passed Laodicea, along the Lycos River, they would reach the Phrygian city of Colossae in a mountain valley about 125 miles from the coast along a major trade route to Persia.

This blog post is adapted from Lutheran Bible Companion Volume 2: Intertestamental Era, New Testament, and Bible Dictionary.

Historical and Cultural Setting of Colossians

Epaphras, among those who visited Paul during his Roman imprisonment, came from Colossae. He brought Paul news of the Gentile church that had been founded there, probably by Epaphras himself (Col 1:5–8), working under the direction of Paul or at least with Paul’s full approval (1:7). Epaphras had good news to bring. He could speak warmly of the Colossians’ faith and of their love; the Gospel had grown and borne fruit in Colossae as everywhere (1:6). But what had brought Epaphras to Rome was his anxiety for the Church at Colossae, not his pride in it. The Christians of Colossae and of neighboring Laodicea were still holding to the Gospel that they had received, but that pure loyalty was being threatened and undermined.

Purpose and Recipients of Colossians

It is difficult to get a clear and consistent picture of the heresy that threatened Colossae, for Paul in his Letter to the Colossians does not so much oppose it argumentatively as overwhelm it by confronting it with the whole riches of the true Gospel of Christ. It seems to have been a religion of self-redemption of the “Gnostic” type. Built upon a Jewish or Jewish-Christian basis, it was a fusion of Greek and Asian ideas and combined at least three elements. One of these elements was theosophic, that is, the new teaching claimed to have and to impart a secret, profound knowledge derived from God; Paul speaks contemptuously of a “tradition” and a “philosophy” (Col 2:8). Another element was ritualistic: stress was laid on circumcision (2:11); questions of food and drink, festivals, new moons, and Sabbaths were deemed important (2:16). A third element was ascetic: Paul speaks of prescriptions of abstinence (“Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch,” 2:21) and of a “self-made religion,” of “asceticism,” and of “severity to the body” (2:23). We are left to conjecture how these elements were combined into a system.

Paul’s references to the “worship of angels” (2:18) and to “elemental spirits of the world” (2:8, 20) indicate what was the heart of the danger present in this teaching. Other powers besides the Christ were being proclaimed and invoked as mediators between God and man; the ritual and ascetic aspects of this religion probably represent means of placating or of obtaining contact and communion with these powers. What Epaphras, with a sound Christian instinct, surely sensed and what Paul clearly saw was this: the new teaching called into question and obscured the unique greatness of the Christ and the complete sufficiency of His atonement. What made this heresy all the more dangerous was the fact that it claimed not to supplant, but to supplement, the Gospel that the Colossians had received. The new teaching would, so the new teachers claimed, carry the Colossian Christians beyond their rudimentary Christianity to fullness and perfection; hence Paul’s repeated emphasis on the fact that the Colossians are complete and full in the Gospel that they have received, that in the Christ whom they know they can find all the treasures of divine wisdom (2:2–3, 9–10; cf 1:28).

Summary of the Contents in Colossians

Colossians 1:1–23 Faithful Epaphras established a tiny foothold for the kingdom of God at Colossae and nearby cities. Now this young church is threatened by false belief, which directs people away from Christ and His work to themselves. But God does not give up. He uses Paul, Timothy, and other faithful servants to establish the truth and love of Christ in their hearts.

Paul cares very much for these new Christians, and he knows that God cares for them even more. Unfortunately, false teachings that lead people to look to themselves instead of looking to God compete for the Colossians’ attention. Paul says we have assurance that Christ’s work reconciles us to God because of who Christ is: the image of the invisible God, the Creator, the one who is preeminent over all things.

Colossians 1:24–2:23 All people suffer because of the fallen nature of the world. But Christians are called to a special form of suffering for the sake of Christ: rejection, ridicule, and persecution. False teaching has infiltrated the Colossian Church, and it is not the teaching of Jesus Christ. Seeking guidance and security from creation rather than from the Creator will end in disaster. The Christian faith can not be replaced by man-made religion.

Colossians 3–4 What is the good life? Prosperity, popularity, pleasure? No, it is the life we receive from Jesus, including gifts that we cannot make or purchase: forgiveness, love, peace, and thankfulness. People have to work together, but the heart of the old nature is to seek personal advantage, which causes frustration, resentment, and violence. Paul urges us to resist this temptation. He presents to the Colossians and to us a beautiful explanation of Christ’s person and work.

Martin Luther on Colossians

“Just as the Epistle to the Galatians resembles and is modeled on the Epistle to the Romans, comprising in outline the same material that is more fully and richly developed in Romans; so this epistle resembles that to the Ephesians and comprises also in outline the same contents.

“First [Paul] praises and wishes for the Colossians, that they continue and increase in faith. He delineates what the gospel and faith are, namely, a wisdom which recognizes Christ as Lord and God, crucified for us, which has been hidden for ages but now brought into the open through his ministry. This is the first chapter.

“In chapter 2 he warns them against the doctrines of men, which are always contrary to faith. He depicts these doctrines more clearly than they are depicted anywhere else in Scripture, and criticizes them in a masterly way.

“In chapter 3 he exhorts them to be fruitful in the pure faith, doing all sorts of good works for one another, and he describes for some various stations in life the works which are appropriate to them.

“In chapter 4 he commends himself to their prayers and gives them greetings and encouragement.” (AE 35:386)

Scripture: ESV^®.

Blog post adapted from pp. 551–53, 555–56, 559 in Lutheran Bible Companion, Volume 2: Intertestamental Era, New Testament, and Bible Dictionary © 2014 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved.

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The Proverbial Design

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 07 May 2025 11:17:35 GMT

This blog is excerpted from an article by Rev. Dr. David R. Schmitt that was published in a previous edition of Concordia Pulpit Resources.

It is amazing to see how many literary forms are present in these writings of Holy Scripture, including oracles and parables, letters and laments, psalms, paraenesis, proverbs, and prayers. God, in his wisdom, has chosen to speak in a variety of ways to his people. Exegetes are aware that recognizing the literary form of a text is fundamental to its interpretation. More recently, homileticians have begun to contend that recognizing the literary form of a text may also be fundamental to its proclamation. In genre-based preaching studies, the literary form of a text can guide the preacher in structuring the sermon. The preacher considers the function of that form in its original setting and creatively seeks to appropriate aspects of that form and that function in preaching for hearers today. This article considers one such genre-based sermon structure: the proverbial design. The proverbial sermon structure arises from considering and creatively appropriating for preaching the form and the function of proverbs within Scripture.

Stereotypes of Proverbial Discourse

When considering how the form and the function of a proverb can be creatively appropriated in preaching, preachers need to overcome two stereotypes of proverbial discourse: (1) the assumption that proverbs are found only in the book that bears their name; and (2) the assumption that proverbs are useful only for directing future action. The first stereotype is problematic because it limits those times when a preacher might find the proverbial sermon design appropriate for genre-based preaching; it is a rare occasion when one finds readings from Proverbs appointed in the lectionary, and free-text preaching from the Book of Proverbs is perhaps rarer still. Upon closer reading, however, one recognizes that proverbs occur throughout Scripture. Nestled within the Lord’s instructions to the Twelve, for example, is proverbial discourse regarding discipleship: “A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master” (Mt 10:24). Within the fitful watching of the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, one hears that “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mt 26:41). As Paul counsels the Corinthians, he teaches that “whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Cor 9:6). The preaching of the prophets, the sayings of Jesus, and the writings of the apostles are frequently punctuated by proverbs as God seeks to inform the minds and to transform the lives of his people. Recognizing this proliferation of proverbs throughout Scripture opens the eyes of the preacher to the greater possibilities for preaching when proclaiming these texts. The first, stereotype, then, is rather easily overcome by a more careful reading of Scripture. The second stereotype, however, requires more explanation.

Thomas Long notes that people often approach proverbs as small bits of wisdom to use as guidance for daily living. One hears a proverb and walks away with a nugget of Law to apply in the future. This type of thinking makes preaching on proverbs deadly. The proverb’s force is reduced to a nagging admonition and the preacher’s sermon to a Law-driven lecture on godly living that generates either pride or despair. If he approaches the proverb as only useful for guidance in future living, the preacher is left to reinforce the need for this wisdom with threats and promises of how it will work. God’s people walk away without assurance of God’s gracious work on their behalf, clinging only to the fleeting security of human resolutions to do better. No, proverbs are not to be read first and foremost as a means for guiding future action. Rather, they are to be read as a way of recognizing God’s work in the past.

Proverbs Reflect the Past Work of God

Proverbs can be defined as general truths derived from godly observation of experience. When considered in the fear of the Lord, such general truths become formative for future action. Defined in this way, proverbs facilitate reflection on the past (i.e., a godly observation of experience) before consideration of the future. As Thomas Long proposes, proverbs ask the reader to look backward before looking forward. Instead of turning one’s eyes to the future and giving one a rule book to follow, proverbs begin their work by turning one’s eyes to the past and asking one to see the way things are. In this way they have a formative character, enabling one to see life with the eyes of God. Such godly observation of experience reveals general truths. A proverb is not restricted to a single event, located specifically in one place and time, but instead surveys a history of events and begins to point out a tendency in the way things are. Alyce McKenzie describes this quality as the hermeneutical openness of the proverb: although arising out of a specific occasion, the proverb expresses a generalized experience that embraces a variety of similar situations. Using present-tense verbs and using general classes of characters (e.g., the wise person and the fool) rather than specific people (e.g., Karyn or the merchant located on the corner of First and Euclid), the proverb invites one to consider not simply what happened in one place at one time but what happens repeatedly, what forms the ongoing truth of a situation and can continue to happen, even today. Proverbs, therefore, work for the formation of a mind-set in the hearer, a way of seeing the world and the work of God within it.

Applying Proverbs to Situations

Such wisdom, however, functions as wisdom only when joined to the fear of the Lord. Proverbs require discernment for proper application. One cannot simply pick up a proverb and apply it to any situation. A pair of young lovers, dropping out of high school, lacking employment, and moving away from home, would be foolish to quote to their parents: “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it” (Prov 15:17). As Solomon states: “Like a lame [person’s] legs, which hang useless, is a proverb in the mouth of fools” (Prov 26:7). A proverb does not universally apply to every situation. Rather, proverbs are to be used with discernment, recognizing the times and the places wherein they apply.

For such discernment, one does well to consider the refrain in the Book of Proverbs: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” A discerning use of proverbs begins in a proper relationship with God. In terms of sermon proclamation, proverbs can best serve the hearers only within the context of God’s redemptive work in Christ. They invite the preacher and his people into Gospel-based reflection: God’s people ponder the past, where general truths arise from a godly observation of experience, and they reflect on the present, God’s gracious actions on their behalf, before they consider the future. Within this context of discernment, proverbs may serve as guidance for future action.

The creative appropriation of proverbs for preaching, therefore, seeks to incorporate proverbial reflection into the sermon. The godly observation of past experience and the present proclamation of God’s gracious presence form a context for proverbial hearing. Proverbs do more than inform the hearers of rules for daily living; they transform the hearers, inviting them into formative godly reflection through which the acts of daily living become the places of God’s wonderful work.

Scripture: ESV^®.

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How Christ’s Resurrection Changes Everything

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 11:00:00 GMT

The bodily resurrection of Jesus is central to the understanding of the Gospel of John. The comfort that Jesus offers twenty-first-century Christians is rooted in His first-century words and actions. The Comforter brings the peace that Jesus spoke and did in all these words and actions for us. What He accomplishes in His resurrection thus directly impacts our lives in the present.

A New Era

When our resurrected Lord Jesus met Mary Magdalene that first Easter, the words He spoke to her show us that we have entered a new era in God’s relationship with us. In short, Christ’s resurrection has changed everything. Jesus told Mary to go and tell His disciples: “I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God” (John 20:17).

Before Jesus died and rose from the dead, we were estranged from our God and Father. The fault was not on His end; it was all on ours. We rebelled against Him. Sin brought us separation from Him who is life. This separation would always come to its supernatural end in death and damnation. Your sinful flesh, which you inherited from Adam, your first father, brought this upon you. What is more, you confirmed that sinful flesh and separation with many more sins of thought, word, and deed.

But now, one of our own, a Brother with flesh like ours, has triumphed! He suffered for our sins on the old rugged cross. Doing that meant taking all that would separate us from the Father upon Himself. He took our lying, our cheating, our stealing, our anger, our hatred, our murder, our adultery, our shame, our disgrace, our hard-heartedness, our unbelief, our hatred upon Himself there on the cross. He cried out under all of that: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46). Whatever it took, that’s what He did to bring us back to God. He was the only one who was able to do this for us, being true God and also true man.

Christ Is Risen!

Now, after three short days, Christ is risen! We say that in the present tense because His bodily resurrection continues. He is risen to ascend to the Father’s side, so that one of our own, our big Brother, might plead for us to the Father forever. He sits at the right hand of God’s power and majesty to assure us forever of our salvation. He bears that same human nature, a nature like ours, to the Father’s side so that we might know that we, too, can call God “Father.” We are redeemed by the blood of His Son, our Savior and Brother. He bears the nail-pierced hands and feet and the spear-pierced side to the Father’s side so that we can be sure that all our sins and wickedness will never rise again to condemn us. He brings the flesh and blood that was dead but now lives forevermore all the way to the Father’s side so that we can be sure that death, even our death, is undone through His resurrection. He brings His victory over sin, death, and the power of the devil all the way to heaven’s gates so that we can rest assured in His victory.

In all the trials and struggles of this life, we have a powerful ally in Jesus, our resurrected Lord. He gives us the right to pray: “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, . . .” He brings His resurrected body to His Father and our Father to secure the right to pray in this way. We are invited to pray for anything, even our heart’s desire, all the while saying, “Thy will be done,” and knowing that our Father will give us what is good. We pray because Christ is risen!

When our sins assail us, when Satan attacks us in temptation with the dying gasps of His gloomy empire of darkness, we have a powerful ally in Jesus, our resurrected Lord. When we are tempted, He is able to help us because He Himself was “tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). He knows our weakness and therefore is able to strengthen us for the fight against sin. He continually forgives and covers us with His righteousness. We forgive and are forgiven because Christ is risen!

When Death Comes Knocking

When death itself comes knocking, either for us or for one of our loved ones, we have a powerful ally in Jesus, our resurrected Lord. We can lay our loved ones to rest in their graves in the sure and certain hope that just as Jesus is risen from the dead, so too will they who believe in Jesus rise to life incorruptible. We can face our own death as Jesus quells our fears with the good news that He is our risen Savior. Death itself may have a toehold on us, but it will not be able to hold on to us for long. We can live with one foot out of the grave already, knowing that no matter what happens, Jesus, our Savior, gives life and peace with God to us with His nail-scarred hands. We will rise because Christ is risen!

The grave had indeed been robbed that day. But it was not the disciples nor the chief priests nor the Pharisees who took Jesus’ body away. Christ robbed the grave of all its power. Christ robbed the crown from the devil’s pale brow. Christ robbed life away from death. Christ defeated the devil and gave us the true gift of life forevermore. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Scripture: ESV^®.

Read more essays on Christ’s bodily resurrection and its implications for us in The Resurrection Changes Everything: Essays in Honor of the Rev. Dr. Herbert C. Mueller Jr.

Philippians: An Overview

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 11:00:00 GMT

On the edge of the Datos plain, about six miles from the Aegean Sea, Greek colonists founded the city of Philippi in 356 BC. Philip II of Macedon soon took the city and named it after himself. The Roman Empire recognized the city’s worth, making it one of the last points along the Egnatian Way, which linked Rome with the east and was strategically located in the system of Roman roads for the security of the empire.

In the first century AD, the Captivity Letters tell of a visitor who traveled from Paul’s churches in the East to see Paul in Rome. His name was Epaphroditus, who came from Philippi in Macedonia, the first church Paul founded in Europe ([Acts] 16:6–40). Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke had arrived in Philippi early in the second missionary journey (AD 49–51). Philippi was a Roman “colony,” that is, a settlement of Roman soldiers, enjoying Roman citizenship. . . .

This blog post is adapted from Lutheran Bible Companion Volume 2: Intertestamental Era, New Testament, and Bible Dictionary.

Purpose and Recipients of Philippians

The coming of Epaphroditus was a link in the golden chain of Philippi’s gracious generosity. Still suffering persecution ([Philippians] 1:29; 4:19), the men and women of Philippi had nevertheless gathered a gift for Paul, probably under the direction of their “overseers and deacons,” whom Paul singles out in the salutation of his Letter to the Philippians (and only in this letter, 1:1). They had sent the gift to Paul by the hand of one of their number, Epaphroditus, and had instructed him to remain in Rome with Paul as a minister to his need (2:25). Epaphroditus had delivered the gift and had performed his task of ministry with such self-forgetting devotion that “he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life” to complete the service of the Philippian Christians to their apostle (2:30). In this letter, Paul writes to thank the Philippians as well as advise them on some matters. . . .

Summary Commentary for Philippians

Philippians 1:1–11 Paul introduces his Letter to the Christians in Philippi with descriptions of who they are and what that will mean in their lives. As a servant of Christ Jesus, Paul takes great pains to be faithful to the ministry entrusted to him. He continues the introduction by expressing his prayer, appreciation, and yearning for these fellow believers.

Philippians 1:12–30 Paul demonstrates that his imprisonment does not defeat the Gospel, as some had feared. He turns his attention from the question of whether he will live or die to a more important issue: what it means to live in this world.

Philippians 2:1–18 Paul couples the imperatives of a Christian life with a description of Christ, who makes that life possible. His exhortation flows from the previous section, revealing the significance of Jesus’ life and sacrifice.

Philippians 2:19–30 Paul takes a moment to inform the Philippians about the significance and well-being of two close associates, Timothy and Epaphroditus. These men provide remarkable examples of devotion to the Lord’s mission and to His missionary Paul.

Philippians 3:1–4:9 Paul reflects on his heritage and contrasts its value with the blessing of knowing Jesus, who sets us free to invest our lives in the lives of others. He holds out before us our upward calling, his example, and the promise of our transformation in the resurrection. As Paul concludes this letter, he uses imperative language to urge the reader to adopt practices of living that are in harmony with the Creator’s will.

Philippians 4:10–23 Paul cannot end this letter without a vibrant expression of gratitude toward God and the service of the Philippians. His last words in the letter are greetings and blessings. . . .

Martin Luther on Philippians

In this epistle St. Paul praises and admonishes the Philippians that they abide and carry on in the true faith and increase in love. But since injury is always done to faith by false apostles and teachers of works, he warns them against these men and points out to them many different preachers—some good, some bad—including even himself and his disciples, Timothy and Epaphroditus. This he does in chapters 1 and 2.

In chapter 3 he rejects that human righteousness not based on faith, which is taught and held by the false apostles. He offers himself as an example: he had lived gloriously in this kind of righteousness, and yet now holds it to be nothing, for the sake of the righteousness of Christ. For human righteousness makes the belly its god, and makes men enemies of the cross of Christ.

In chapter 4 he exhorts them to peace and good outward conduct toward each other, and thanks them for the gift they sent him. (AE 35:385)

Scripture: ESV^®.

Blog post excerpted from pp. 539, 542, 544–5, and 548 in Lutheran Bible Companion, Volume 2: Intertestamental Era, New Testament, and Bible Dictionary © 2014 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Read more summary content with important theological commentary in Lutheran Bible Companion, Volume 2.

Ephesians: An Overview

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 11:28:28 GMT

This blog post is excerpted from Lutheran Bible Companion Volume 2: Intertestamental Era, New Testament, and Bible Dictionary.

Where Ephesians Begins

Paul prepared the way for his ministry in Ephesus by his visit there when returning from Corinth to Israel at the close of the second missionary journey ([Acts] 18:19–21). The men of the Ephesian synagogue were so much moved by his words that they asked him to stay on. He promised to return to Ephesus and left Aquila and Priscilla there. As this couple’s contact with Apollos shows (18:24–26), they did not remain silent concerning the faith that was in them. The learned and eloquent Apollos became a full-fledged witness to the Christ through them (18:26–28) and thus further prepared the way for Paul. . . .

Historical Setting of Ephesians

The best explanation of the historical background for the writing of the letter would seem to be the one suggested as early as the sixteenth century by Beza, Grotius, and Ussher: When Paul sent Tychicus to Colossae, he at the same time sent a general letter designed especially for a group of churches in Asia Minor that had been evangelized under his supervision during his Ephesian ministry, but had for the most part never been personally visited by him—places such as Colossae, Hierapolis, and Laodicea. Tychicus would leave a copy with each church in the towns through which he passed on his way to Colossae, and possibly he transmitted copies to towns that did not lie on his route. In the latter case, Paul’s promise that Tychicus would inform the churches of his estate ([Ephesians] 6:21) would be fulfilled when Tychicus visited these churches after having completed his mission to Colossae. Each copy would bear the name of the church addressed.

When Paul’s letters were later collected and published, probably at Ephesus, the letter naturally came to bear the title “To the Ephesians,” since Ephesus was no doubt included in the number of the churches addressed and was the most prominent among them. Some later copyist then probably inserted the words “in Ephesus” in the salutation, in order to bring the text of the letter into harmony with its title. Some scholars are inclined to see in the letter “from Laodicea,” referred to in [Colossians] 4:16, the letter that we know as the Letter to the Ephesians. It may be; copying was an onerous task in antiquity, and it would be natural and sensible to make one copy do for the two churches, since Colossae and Laodicea lay only 13 miles apart. . . .

Date of Composition of Ephesians

Ephesians is linked by the evidence in the letter itself to the Letter to the Colossians and the Letter to Philemon. Tychicus is the bearer of the letter ([Ephesians] 6:21) and will give the readers fuller information concerning the imprisoned apostle (6:22). Since Tychicus is also the bearer of the Letter to the Colossians, and since Onesimus is returning to Colossae with Tychicus ([Colossians] 4:7–9), the three letters (to the Ephesians, to the Colossians, and to Philemon) have a common historical background; they proceed from Paul’s Roman captivity and are to be dated somewhere within the time of that captivity, perhaps in the earlier part of it. . . .

Purpose and Recipients of Ephesians

The sending of Tychicus to Colossae thus provided the external occasion for the writing of the circular letter now called the Letter to the Ephesians. What Paul’s motives in sending such a letter were, we can infer from the apostolic church’s missionary practice and from a statement made by Paul toward the end of the letter itself. The apostolic church always sought contact with newly founded churches. John and Peter were sent to Samaria after the evangelist Philip had founded a church there ([Acts] 8:14). . . .

The other motive was provided by Paul’s peculiar situation. Paul in Rome knew himself to be an ambassador for the Gospel, albeit “an ambassador in chains” ([Ephesians] 6:20). Again the strength of the Lord was being made perfect in weakness. The Gentile churches saw the human weakness of the imprisoned apostle more clearly than they saw the divine strength that worked through him; they had grown dispirited at the news of his imprisonment (3:13). Moreover, Paul was facing a crisis in his ambassadorship, one which would ask of him all the boldness he could muster (6:18–20).

Paul therefore did two things in his letter: (1) He asked for the intercessions of the churches, thus removing them from the role of lamenting spectators and making them active participants in his great ambassadorial task. (2) He held up before them the greatness of that task, the greatness of the church that the mighty divine Word proclaimed by him had created and was sustaining. . . .

Summary Commentary

Chapter 1: Paul directs the Ephesians away from themselves, teaching them to trust in God’s promises in Christ. He gives thanks for God’s power at work in the Ephesians, whom God had chosen from the foundation of the world.

Chapters 2–3: Judaizers threatened most early Christian communities, teaching that Gentiles had to obey the Old Testament Law in addition to having faith in Christ. But Paul insists that God saves both Jews and Gentiles by grace through faith, apart from any works. Christ has made us to be His one Body. Paul then defends his call as an apostle by emphasizing its basis in the Gospel. As He considers God’s wisdom, grace, and love, he breaks out in prayer and praise.

Chapters 4:1–5:21 Paul highlights the gifts of Christ that make us His Body; as one Body, we are protected from the dangers of our times. He describes the new life that results from the Gospel. Yet, the Law also continues to apply because of our sinful nature. We are confronted every day by a world rebelling against God’s way.

Chapters 5:22–6:24 Paul teaches that the husband is the “head” in a marriage and the wife is the “body.” Both are necessary for life. He briefly describes the Christian life and gives common examples of vocations, or callings, in life. He exposes the demonic forces that battle against us, and he encourages us with the divine weapons that protect us. Paul concludes the letter by emphasizing prayer and by greeting the brethren briefly.

Martin Luther on Ephesians

In this epistle St. Paul teaches, first, what the gospel is, how it was predestined by God alone in eternity, and earned and sent forth through Christ, so that all who believe on it become righteous, godly, living, saved men, and free from the law, sin, and death. This he does in the first three chapters.

Then he teaches that false teachings and the commandments of men are to be avoided, so that we may remain true to one Head, and become sure and genuine and complete in Christ alone. For in him we have everything, so that we need nothing beside him. This he does in chapter 4.

Then he goes on to teach that we are to practice and prove our faith with good works, avoid sin, and fight with spiritual weapons against the devil, so that through the cross we may be steadfast in hope. (AE 35:385)

Scripture: ESV^®.

Blog post excerpted from pp. 519, 520–22, 524, 525, 527–29 Lutheran Bible Companion, Volume 2: Intertestamental Era, New Testament, and Bible Dictionary © 2014 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Read more summary content with important theological commentary in Lutheran Bible Companion, Volume 2.

Matthias Flacius and His Contributions to Protestant Teachings

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 12:58:28 GMT

This blog post is adapted from Life Under the Cross: A Biography of the Reformer Matthias Flacius Illyricus.

Matthias Flacius Illyricus knew there had been preachers in every age. God had always made sure the Gospel was proclaimed, even if only a remnant listened. It was with this conviction that, in 1552, Flacius undertook one of his most important works, which together with the Magdeburg Centuries would cement him as a father of Protestant historical theology.

First published in 1556 in Basel by his friend Johannes Oporinus, Flacius’ Catalogus testium veritatis was an ambitious enterprise and marked an important step in the development of the modern discipline of church history. A 1562 edition followed. The work sought to collect testimonies from church fathers that supported Protestant teaching and undermined Roman ecclesiastical authority. It was an impressive feat. The second edition had more than four hundred witnesses. Roughly eighty were devoted to the early church. Medieval witnesses received extended attention. Flacius made good use of the Investiture Controversy, the great conflict between Emperor Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII over who should appoint bishops. The incident highlighted for him an important stage in the tyranny of the papacy.

Goal of the Catalogus

The Catalogus had a twofold goal. First, Flacius aimed to show that Christ was the beating heart of the Scriptures, their sum and scope, and that Christian preachers and teachers had recognized this throughout church history, if only a small minority at times. Second, he sought to demonstrate that the papacy was the antichrist and had been recognized as such long before Luther. He began with a study of St. Peter. Luther’s teaching, not the pope’s, was in line with Peter’s teaching. In this way, Luther was more a successor of Peter than any recent pope. Following Peter’s entry came a long list of church fathers. Flacius, in contrast to the approach of Reformed scholars, sought to demonstrate continuity in the church. Christ had always had His confessors. The Gospel had always been proclaimed and heard. Yes, sometimes this had been muted. Yes, sometimes the number of such confessors had been small. Yes, sometimes few had heard. Yet the church had never disappeared, nor had the Good News. This emphasis on continuity and remnant theology, which was also pronounced in his writings during the Adiaphoristic Controversy, played a prominent role in Flacius’ theology throughout his life, but especially as he faced growing opposition as he aged.

Using Peter’s Ministry as an Arguing Point

Flacius seems to have savored the opportunity to contrast the positions of the Roman Church of his day with those of the apostles and church fathers. He noted that the popes wanted to build their ministry on Peter’s but neglected to acknowledge the apostle’s shortcomings and mistakes, even as they appropriated the supposed power and glory as successor to his seat. Flacius was not denigrating Peter. Rather, he was arguing that Peter, aware of his own humanity and humble in his apostolic ministry, would not have recognized those who claimed to be his heirs. Flacius drew several lessons from Scripture’s portrayal of Peter’s person and ministry. In addition, he pointed out that neither Peter himself nor Paul seemed to acknowledge any Petrine primacy, since Paul rebuked Peter openly at Antioch and Peter accepted the rebuke without asserting any authority beyond that of the Word. Moreover, when Paul warned the Corinthians about divisions in the church, as some were claiming privilege because of the specific pastor or apostle (Peter or Paul) they followed, Paul dismissed all such thinking and mentioned no primacy among these ministers. Flacius’ point was clear: the new teaching in the church was not Protestant rejection of papal primacy; rather, papal primacy was the innovation, something the man they claimed to have been the first pope would not have recognized, something that Paul would have condemned.

The Impact on Reformation History

The Catalogus left an important impression upon Protestant church history. It was used and adapted by heirs of the Swiss Reformations and in England. Lutherans continued to use it for quite some time. It sparked an interest in medieval history among Protestants. Perhaps there was more Evangelical history than previously suspected. Moreover, the study of history gained momentum as an essential field of the theological discipline. The notion of a succession of teaching, rather than persons, gained clout. A church’s catholic or ancient roots took on more than institutional dynamics. In fact, the church as institution became a more complicated matter.

On what was the institution grounded? In whom was it grounded? How was one to recognize the true church, the one that went back to Peter, to Christ? Flacius gave a Protestant, an Evangelical, answer that had staying power. The Catalogus also gave birth to innumerable streams of research. Ambitious young scholars, Protestant and Roman Catholic, found all sorts of leads to follow. The Catalogus became a search engine of sorts. Whether wanting to dig deeper into its arguments or eager to counter them, theologians and historians discovered angles to explore, rabbit holes to dive into, and manuscripts to chase down, authenticate, and annotate.

Read more about Matthias Flacius Illyricus’ life and contributions to the Reformation in Life Under the Cross.

Galatians: An Overview

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 13:13:11 GMT

The Taurus Mountains of south central Asia Minor form the southern rim of a great basin in which one finds the central Anatolian steppe. Grass, shrubs, and salty lakes fill this dry, lower ground over which enterprising Greeks passed in search of Persian riches to the east. Greek (Hellenistic) settlements grew up at Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe alongside the Taurus Mountains.

But after the conquests of Alexander the Great, Celts came raiding out of central Europe (c 287 BC) and settled in the region. These Celts or Galatians (“people of Gaul”) sided with the Romans against the Hellenists so that the great basin became the Roman province of Galatia in 25 BC. When the apostle Paul and Barnabus entered the great basin in c AD 47, they found Jewish synagogues in Greek speaking cities in a region named for Celts but ruled by the Romans. Is it any wonder that the inhabitants of the region found aspects of Paul’s message confusing as the book of Acts and the letter to the Galatians describe?

This blog post is adapted from Lutheran Bible Companion Volume 2: Intertestamental Era, New Testament, and Bible Dictionary.

Purpose and Recipients of Galatians

Characters in Galatians

The most significant characters in the letter, after the apostle himself, are “James, the Lord’s brother” and “Cephas,” the Aramaic name of Simon Peter. Paul refers to these Galilean men, who were leading in Jerusalem, as “pillars” for the church there. According to Paul, James sent Judaizers to Antioch and they travelled there with Peter. Paul’s letter highlights a conflict with these leaders who had approved of Paul’s teaching. Acts 15 describes agreement between Paul and the Jerusalem leadership, which perhaps resolved their earlier tensions.

Paul also mentions his traveling companion and coworker, Barnabas, as well as other figures.

Summary Commentary of Galatians

Galatians 1:1–10 Paul’s greeting anticipates the letter’s central argument. According to His Father’s will, Christ has graciously given Himself for our sins and delivered us from this present evil age; therefore, works of the Law are not necessary for salvation. Galatians begins not with an expression of thanksgiving but with a stern warning against defection from the one true Gospel.

Galatians 1:11–2:21 Selecting key facts from his personal history, Paul proves that his apostleship comes from God, independent of human sources. For by divine revelation, Paul went to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus to visit Church leaders who, despite some opposition in their midst, approved of his message and mission to the Gentiles. Also, for the sake of the truth of the Gospel, Paul publicly rebuked Peter for his hypocritical conduct, which communicated that the Gentiles must keep Jewish laws. With this incident with Peter as the backdrop, Paul presented Galatians’ core theological argument: justification is by faith in Christ and not by works of the Law.

Galatians 3–4 The Galatians’ experience (3:1–5) and Scripture’s witness concerning Abraham (vv. 6–9) teach that all believers are heirs of Abraham, to whom faith “was counted … as righteousness” (v. 6). Paul warned against being mesmerized by the foolish notion that salvation is completed by works of the Law. Christ redeems us from the Law’s curse by becoming a curse for us. Through Christ, God fulfills the promise He gave to Abraham. All united to Christ by Baptism become heirs of the promise and therefore are righteous before God. In this way, the Holy Spirit assures us that we are God’s children, redeemed by Jesus Christ and made full heirs of the promise to Abraham. The Spirit never derides God’s Son or spiritual matters (1 Corinthians 12:3).

Paul appeals to the Galatians as a pastor with affection and tenderness, genuinely desiring to restore their friendship and especially the freedom in Christ they once so gladly embraced. He reverses the Judaizers’ definition of Abraham’s true children. The uncircumcised Gentile Christians are Sarah’s children (and thus free), not Hagar’s (slaves).

Galatians 5:1–6:10 Paul specifically argues that the acceptance of circumcision in principle violates Christian freedom and endangers a person’s relationship to Christ. Christian freedom means walking (conducting oneself) by the Holy Spirit’s power and leading. Members of God’s family restore the erring, bear one another’s burdens, support their teachers, and do good to all—especially to fellow Christians.

Galatians 6:11–18 In a handwritten postscript, Paul leaves us with an interpretive lens through which to evaluate all Christian teaching and life: the message of the cross.

Martin Luther on Galatians

“The Galatians had been brought by St. Paul to the true Christian faith, from the law to the gospel. After his departure, however, false apostles came along. They were disciples of the true apostles, but they so turned the Galatians around that they believed they had to be saved by works of the law and were committing sin if they did not keep the law—as even several dignitaries in Jerusalem maintained, Acts 15.

“To refute them, St. Paul magnifies his office; he will not take a back seat to any other apostle. He boasts that his doctrine and office are from God alone, in order that he might silence the boast of the false apostles who helped themselves to the works and reputation of the true apostles. He says it is not true, even if an angel were to preach differently, or he himself, to say nothing of disciples of apostles, or of apostles themselves. This he does in chapters 1 and 2, and concludes that everyone must be justified without merit, without works, without law, through Christ alone.

“In chapters 3 and 4 he proves all this with passages of Scripture, examples, and analogies. He shows that the law brings sin and a curse rather than righteousness. Righteousness is promised by God, fulfilled by Christ without the law, given to us—out of grace alone.

"In chapters 5 and 6 he teaches the works of love that ought to follow faith.” (AE 35:384)

Scripture: ESV^®.

Read more summary content with important theological commentary in Lutheran Bible Companion: Volume 2.

Digging Deeper into Scripture: Luke 3:15–22

Phil Rigdon — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 13:25:07 GMT

I was a kid in the late seventies and the early eighties. At the time, Sears was a popular department store. This long-standing company sold a brand of children’s pants called “Toughskins,” named so for their sturdy fabrication, especially at the knees. Like many kids who wore Toughskins, I did my best to test their durability by falling out of trees and sliding into home base. I consistently wore the knees out. So my Mom would iron patches onto the knees to get a few more months out of them. Despite all the protection Toughskins afforded, I still came home with abrasions—red, tender, and filled with dirt. When my Mom would spray on disinfectant, there was the predictable sting, which I always figured was the chemical killing the germs. She always said it was necessary to apply disinfectant to allow the abrasion to heal properly.

Getting to the Bottom of the Wound

John the Baptist did not mince words. He never hesitated to tell people exactly what they needed to hear. John said this of Jesus:

His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear His threshing floor and to gather the wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire. (Luke 3:17)

The Lord sent John the Baptist ahead of Christ to let the people know their dire and urgent circumstances without Jesus. Following a harvest, gatherers would use winnowing forks to separate the wheat from the chaff. The wheat was saved and stored in barns. The chaff was burned. Taking in the counsel of the entire Word of God, we understand John to mean that those who are forgiven through faith in Jesus will be saved. Those who die without faith in Christ will suffer eternal hell.

Like disinfectant poured on an abrasion, John wanted to get to the bottom of the people’s sin so he could lead them to understand that they, as sinners, are not merely broken people in need of repair. Rather, they are annihilated, lost, and without hope. Having done this, John could then point them to the solution, Jesus Christ, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,” as John stated in John 1:29.

People, even Christians, struggle to grasp the gravity and severity of sin. We tend to soften and minimize our transgressions. Instead of the term sin, we use mistake, error, or poor judgment. We claim that it is only human to mess up. Recently, I heard a Christian singer assert in a song that, were it not for our sins, we would never have known the love of God. This is a misguided effort to find use and meaning in sin. The truth be told, Adam and Eve knew the love of God fully before they fell into sin. Our sins are wicked offenses to an almighty and fully righteous God. The wages of sin is death, both physically and eternally.

The Holy Spirit and Fire

John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but He who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Luke 3:16)

John is referring to Jesus Christ. At this time and place in history, feet were considered the most vile part of the human body. The task of untying and removing someone’s shoes was reserved for slaves and servants. This statement is John’s expression of humility before Jesus. John was Jesus’ herald, but he never wanted to compete with the Lord.

In this verse, John also prophesies Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit to the post-resurrection Christians gathered in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit was manifested in a mighty rushing wind and tongues of fire that alighted on each one of those Christians. By the Spirit’s giving, those present were able to speak the languages of people living throughout the Roman Empire.

Baptized for Us

Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son; with You I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:21–22)

A Christian under my spiritual care once asked me why Jesus had to be baptized. On one hand, Jesus never had to be baptized. Jesus is God and man, sinless both in His human and divine natures. On the other hand, Jesus had to be baptized for our sake. In a nutshell, Jesus was baptized in order that His work for our salvation would be infused into the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. In other words, so that in our own Baptism we would receive the benefits of what He did. As a human being, Jesus lived a sinless life, atoning for our sinful lives. He suffered and died on the cross, enduring the punishment that we deserved. Christ rose to new life, showing us our future resurrection. In Baptism, we receive Christ’s innocent life and we are forgiven for the sake of His work on the cross. We have died to sin in Jesus. God declares us righteous in His Son. Like Jesus, when He returns on the last day, we will rise to new life.

Unlike sewn patches on pants and applications of disinfectant, Baptism is not something we need to repeat. Instead, we return to our Baptism, repenting of sins, drowning the Old Adam, and rising to new life in Christ each day.

Start a Bible Study with a small group that focuses on water and Baptism in the Bible with The Baptismal River: Studying the Sacrament Throughout Scripture.

The Gospel Assumed Is the Gospel Denied

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 13:06:58 GMT

This blog is excerpted from an article by Herbet C. Mueller Jr., published in a previous edition of Concordia Pulpit Resources.

“The Gospel assumed is the Gospel denied!” That’s what we used to say in college when a preacher in the chapel service laid on us his pet peeve or hobbyhorse but didn’t give us the Gospel. The subsequent conversation might have gone something like this: “Where was the Gospel in that sermon?” Someone who liked that professor might have answered, “Oh, he assumed you knew the Gospel. He just had something else he needed to bring us this morning.” Perhaps it was sophomoric of us, and maybe it came from that hypercritical attitude common to pre-seminary students, seminarians, and even pastors who think they know more than they really do. But it is true: “The Gospel assumed is the Gospel denied.”

Bringing the Focal Point Back to the Cross

Assuming the Gospel is the height of arrogance. It’s as if we were saying, “We all know what God has done for us in Jesus, so we can go on to teach and learn other things today.” St. Paul gave much apostolic direction for living the Christian life (ESV)—“bearing with one another” (Col 3:13), “speaking the truth in love” (Eph 4:15), “walk by the Spirit” (Gal 5:16), and seeing the “more excellent way” (1 Cor 12:31). Yet Paul always put such admonition in the context of Christ’s saving work for us. In fact, Paul was adamant about the priority of the cross: “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor 2:2 ESV). What did he mean? No matter what else Paul had to say, the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ for our salvation are the center, the essence, the focal point of all Christian preaching. Whether the subject is justification or sanctification, it all comes back to the cross. No preaching, no Christian teaching, is complete unless it brings us back to what God has done for us in Jesus Christ on the cross. Indeed, anything else the preacher might proclaim is meaningless unless it flows into or out of the message that Jesus died and rose for us. Every doctrine of Scripture is designed by God ultimately to bring the comfort of sins forgiven and eternal life in Christ to the penitent sinner.

As Lutherans we wholeheartedly agree. We confess we are saved by grace alone, for the sake of Christ alone, through faith alone. And we insist that God works faith in us only through Word and Sacrament, his means of grace (AC IV and V). We Lutherans are known as Law-and-Gospel preachers. We understand that the Law does God’s “alien” work to show us our need for God’s proper work in the Gospel. Surely we have it right. How could we Lutherans ever be guilty of “assuming the Gospel”?

Assuming the Gospel While Preaching

Perhaps we find it most often when we pastors preach with the assumption that God’s people already know the Gospel. Perhaps very creatively we urge them to share the Gospel with others, but at the same time we forget to include the Gospel itself as the power and motivation for its own proclamation. There are wonderful examples in the Book of Acts, for instance, that show us how Paul shared the Gospel. And Paul’s evangelism efforts provide a wonderful example for us. But if we preachers spend the whole sermon talking about how Paul explained the Gospel to Felix (Acts 24:10–21) and how our hearers can do the same to their friends and neighbors, we ourselves have proclaimed no Gospel, for advice alone, even good advice, is nothing but Law. If that Law does not come too close to my pet sins, I will be tempted to self-righteousness. I’ll become sinfully proud of my witnessing. Or when the Law does expose my failure to witness, I may become even more afraid to talk about Jesus because I’ll never witness as well as Paul or even as well as the pastor. I may need to hear the advice, but I need to hear even more the Gospel of what Jesus does for me. Only through Jesus does God give me the power to do real witnessing.

More blatantly, we pastors may sometimes think that because we’ve used the word Gospel or talked about Jesus dying and rising, we’ve thereby preached the Gospel. Sometimes we are so determined to emphasize “practical issues” of Christian living that there simply isn’t time enough left in the sermon to talk much about God’s action. Pastors have told me, for instance, “We Lutherans can preach justification and salvation just fine, but we don’t preach enough sanctification and Christian living.” Hmm. Without clear Gospel preaching, “sanctification” alone becomes just more Law—Law that makes God’s people so self-righteous that we don’t see our need for Jesus or so despairing that we don’t believe his forgiveness is for us. When the Gospel is assumed, the sermon will not connect people with its power.

Questions to Ask Yourself as a Preacher

How can we tell? Are there any warning signs that we’re in danger of “assuming the Gospel”? Here are some questions we can ask ourselves as preachers: Did I begin my preparation, formulate my theme, determine the content, and then realize that the Gospel was really only auxiliary to the thrust of my sermon? That’s the Gospel assumed. Or did I start with a “message” I wanted to bring to the people—maybe understanding the biblical ideals concerning marriage—but as I wrote I realized I needed to get some Gospel into the sermon somewhere? That’s the Gospel assumed too, because even if we are able to shoehorn Jesus’ cross into the sermon somewhere, the Gospel in that sermon is still auxiliary to our “message.” We have assumed, and therefore denied, the Gospel, I would suggest, if Christ and his cross and God’s saving action are only adjunct to what the preacher really wanted to say. We may have great and interesting material, but if we do not bring our people to the cross, our preaching has not connected them to the power of God for salvation—or for ideal marriage!

The Gospel is also assumed and, therefore, denied when we prepare a liturgy where the main focus is on us—how we feel, what we do, or what our response should be. Instead, the golden thread that needs to run through everything in the liturgy is God’s service to us in Jesus Christ, particularly God’s service to us in the proclamation of Absolution, the preaching of Christ’s saving work, and the gift of our Redeemer’s body and blood. The ultimate question, the answer that ought to shape every part of the service, is this: Does the language we use in the liturgy or sermon actually give God’s gifts or merely talk about them and hint at what they are? Is the central thought focused on God’s work in Christ, on God’s gifts in Jesus, or is it focused on our work?

Enduring Sermons are Law and Gospel

When the Gospel is assumed, all that’s left is the Law. Of course, as long as the Law isn’t presented too strongly, too harshly, or too pointedly, our sinful flesh feels at home with the Law and counts it as an ally. That’s why it’s so natural to talk about our own actions even when we assume we are proclaiming the Gospel. Because our sinful flesh readily understands the Law, we are very comfortable talking about God’s work as though it were our work. For instance, we may say that we come to God, we believe, we preach, we worship, we baptize, we forgive sins, we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we do works of service, we witness for Christ. Yes, from a human point of view, we can say we do all those things. But if that’s all we say, we are still under the Law. If we urge these activities apart from God’s work, we have assumed and, therefore, denied the Gospel. Remember, all these actions are really God’s work. God comes to us in Jesus Christ even though we, in our sin, could never come to him. The message of the cross has the power in itself to create faith. It is God’s doing and God’s gift. Our sermons have no power but the power of the Word of God. Jesus himself speaks through his Word proclaimed. Paul assured the Corinthians, “My speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (1 Cor 2:4–5 ESV).

Scripture: ESV^®.

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2 Corinthians: An Overview

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 22 Jan 2025 12:05:28 GMT

Purpose and Recipients of 2 Corinthians

The unfinished task of the collection for the saints of Jerusalem was the occasion of Paul’s fourth letter to the Church at Corinth, our present 2 Corinthians. But only the occasion; dear as the success of that undertaking was to Paul’s heart and much as he valued the collection as an expression of the unity between the Gentile and the Judaic church, it is not the central concern of his letter. That is rather the re-establishment of a full and pure understanding of his authority as “apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God” (2 Corinthians 1:1). His desire to make clear forever to the Corinthians wherein the glory and power of his ministry lay is the dominant impulse in his writing.

This concern dominates the first section (chapters 1–7), which looks to the past, wherein Paul welcomed the penitent advances of the majority of the church. He forgave the disciplined wrongdoer and bespoke the love of the church for him, then appealed for a renewal of the full communion of love that had been characteristic of his association with the Corinthian Church. These matters dominate the last section of the letter also, where Paul looked forward to his coming visit to Corinth and dealt rigorously and definitively with his detractors and their hangers-on (chapters 10–13). And that concern has left its marks also on the chapters (8–9) that deal with the collection; here we see in action that peculiarly divine apostolic authority that seeks nothing for itself, but all for Christ, which will not autocratically lord it over men’s faith, but works with men for their joy in Christ (1:24).

This authority is essentially the vehicle of the potent claim of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ; therefore, it will not command, but need only advise (8:8, 10). It is an expression of the Lordship of Christ, which can expect and claim obedience only because it is centered wholly in God the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, in His power (8:5), His gifts and goodness (8:16; 9:7–8, 11–12, 15), and has His glory for its goal (9:13).

Summary of 2 Corinthians by Chapter

2 Corinthians 1:1–2

Paul’s ministry to the Corinthians has been “painful” (2:1). As Christ’s representative, Paul calls them to repentance (cf 1 Corinthians 5–6; 10–11) for their willful disobedience of the Gospel of Jesus. Yet even for this church, there is grace and peace from “God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:2), which establishes and sustains them anew as God’s saints.

2 Corinthians 1:3–3:18

Paul puts suffering in the context of God’s grace. Sharing the Gospel in the midst of a sinful world means that opposition is bound to come (John 15:20) and may even overwhelm God’s people as they share the Good News with others. Paul defends his ministry to the Corinthians, not according to the standards of the world, but according to the gracious character of God’s message delivered through self-sacrificing servants.

Since the goal of church discipline is the restoration of the person, Paul calls the Corinthians, who have been diligent in punishment, to be even more diligent in forgiveness. Paul’s spirit is restless and overwhelmed in the circumstances of his ministry. Nonetheless, he is confident that Christ will accomplish His work for the Corinthians. He describes the sufficiency, competency, and hope of the new covenant, which is the fulfillment of the old covenant.

2 Corinthians 4:1–5:10

The essence of Paul’s ministry was “mercy” through the Lord Jesus alone. Such mercy compelled him to be straightforward, authentic, and transparent as a servant to God’s people. Living and sharing the life of Christ with others often has a cost. Paul instructs us to look beyond the momentary affliction to the eternal glory of salvation in Jesus. He tells us to look to the treasure, not to the earthen vessel, for our confidence with God. Yet Paul also simply instructs the believer to please God.

2 Corinthians 5:11–7:16

Christ’s love compels Paul to persevere through all hardships in order to make God’s offer of forgiveness and reconciliation plain to the people at Corinth. Our relationship with Jesus is intimate because we, as believers, are “the temple of the living God” (6:16). Paul also shares the ups and downs of ministry and his great joy in hearing that the Corinthians’ faith in Christ was solid again.

2 Corinthians 8–9

The Macedonians forgot themselves as they gave to others as though there would be no tomorrow. God also calls us to give generously, because He endows us with earthly things for our neighbors’ benefit. As Paul leads this great money-gathering effort, he takes care that clergy and laity work together to ensure that the Church’s financial dealings are untainted by scandal. Because good intentions sometimes do not get acted on, Paul sends three representatives to Corinth to offer gentle encouragement to deliver what was promised. Paul urges the Corinthians to follow the example of God’s self-giving in Christ by giving themselves to others, so that the downward and outward movement of grace comes full circle in an ascending symphony of thanksgiving.

2 Corinthians 10

Paul’s opponents cut him to ribbons and paint themselves in glowing colors, but he presses forward in spiritual warfare, winning souls for Christ against all odds, rejoicing that the Lord prospers his work and opens doors for his ministry, giving all glory to Christ.

2 Corinthians 11–13

Paul went over the top in real ministry to bring the true Christ and the true church to the Corinthians. He now grieves that they are falling for fake ministers who push a fake Christ. Paul gives sensitive personal information to prove that a genuine servant of Christ carries his Master’s cross and drinks His cup. Like scarcely any other person before or since, Paul tasted the powers and bliss of heaven, but at the same time suffered bitterly under the curse of sin.

The apostle wants to return for another visit, his heart and arms open wide with love, but he is also prepared to be firm if necessary. He will bind sins and excommunicate the unrepentant on his next visit. Yet he hopes examination of consciences will show the Corinthians that they hold the Lord’s doctrine and that they forsake the way of death to cling to the Lord of life. If Christ dwells in them, then Paul will come in gentleness, for the Gospel will hold sway. Confident that God’s Word will do its work, Paul utters no more stern demand or harsh rebuke. He moves through gentle appeal to end on a triumphant note.

Martin Luther's Thoughts on 2 Corinthians

“In the first epistle, St. Paul rebuked the Corinthians severely for many things, pouring sharp wine into their wounds [Luke 10:34] and frightening them. But an apostle should be a preacher of comfort, to raise up terrified and fearful consciences, rather than to frighten them. Therefore in this epistle he praises them once more and pours oil into their wounds [Luke 10:34]. He shows himself wonderfully kind to them and bids them to receive the sinner back with love.

“In chapters 1 and 2 he shows his love toward them, how all that he said, did, and suffered was for their profit and benefit, and how they ought to trust him for the best.

“After that he praises the office of the gospel, which is the highest and most comforting of all works and is for the profit and benefit of men’s consciences. He shows how it is nobler than the office of the law, also how it is persecuted, and yet increases among believers and produces through the cross a hope of eternal glory. But with all this he touches the false apostles, who were inculcating the law over against the gospel, teaching mere outward holiness—that is, hypocrisy—and allowing the inner shame of unbelief to continue. This he does in chapters 3, 4, and 5."

“In chapters 6 and 7 he exhorts them to implement this kind of preaching in the things they do and suffer. He concludes by praising them, so that he may encourage them to carry on." (AE 35:383–84)

Scripture: ESV^®.

Read more summary content with important theological commentary in Lutheran Bible Companion: Volume 2.

What the Old Testament Teaches About Vocation

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 08 Jan 2025 12:00:00 GMT

There are plenty of places in the Bible to turn to when you need guidance. While the New Testament is filled with Christ’s parables that offer strong advice, the Old Testament is also brimming with narratives that can help guide you in life. With kings, queens, and workers all throughout these books of the Bible, you can find vocational life advice. Read below to see how with an excerpt adapted from Faith at Work: Christian Vocation in the Professions.

Finding Vocational Advice in the Old Testament

The Old Testament may seem like an odd place to seek vocational advice. Ancient Israel was a premodern, agrarian society with very limited career choices or social mobility. They had nothing like a modern market economy. Most of the professions of the twenty-first century were not even imagined then, and it is difficult to find equivalents in Israelite society. Moreover, most discussions of the doctrine of vocation usually begin with Martin Luther and the sixteenth century. Nonetheless, if one wishes to find the sources for the Reformation views on work and vocation, the Old Testament is an excellent place to start. There one finds an intense focus on the meaning and purpose of work. Most important, the Old Testament presents a working God who calls His people to imitate His work.

God Works Through His Creation

It is obvious from the Old Testament that God can accomplish all things by Himself without the need for human beings. After all, He created all things before human beings even existed. Nonetheless, in the story of the Old Testament, God often does His work by means of human beings. Moreover, these deeds are still understood as the work of God, even when human beings do them without any obvious miraculous interference. For example, the stories of Ezra and Nehemiah contain no explicitly supernatural events, and yet God is given full credit for building the temple and the walls of Jerusalem. Similarly, in Psalm 104, God is credited with the production of bread, wine, and oil, even though these are “man-made” products (vv. 14–15). God provides the raw materials (grain, grapes, and olives), the environmental conditions (sun, rain, and soil), and the humans to cultivate, process, distribute, and market these commodities, and so it is still proper to say that God feeds all people.

God Gives the Tools for the Task

When God calls human beings to do His work, He also provides all of the skills necessary to bring the task to completion. For example, when Israel was commanded to build the tabernacle, God empowered the artisans with the skill to make it excellently (Exodus 35:35). The Psalmist praises God for training him for success in war (Psalm 144:1). Likewise, Moses prays that God would “establish the work of our hands” (Psalm 90:17). For these reasons, Israel is warned not to take credit for the ability that God has provided or the success that they enjoy (Deuteronomy 8:17–18). Moreover, if God provides the calling and the skill to do His will, He can also revoke it from those who fail to heed His call. This can be seen in the examples of King Saul (1 Samuel 13:13–14; 15:23) or Solomon’s son Rehoboam (1 Kings 11:31), whose kingdoms were taken away because of their disobedience. It is also evident in the story of Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu, who were destroyed for violating their offices as priests (Leviticus 10:1–2). Because all skill and authority derives from God, even the king must remember that his vocation is God’s and not his own, as seen by the limitations that God places upon the royal office (Deuteronomy 17:14–20). Humility before God is appropriate for everyone in every vocation (Proverbs 15:33; Micah 6:8).

God Focuses on the Entirety of You

Whether one is a shepherd or a merchant or a priest, the most important issue is how one approaches one’s work. This is well summarized in Psalm 127: “Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain” (Psalm 127:1). In other words, the most relevant question for the worker is not what occupation to have but whether the Lord is doing His work when the worker is engaged in the occupation. Now, the work of God can be accomplished even when the worker does not understand or acknowledge God’s role. For example, Cyrus of Persia is seen as the anointed king who accomplishes God’s purposes, even though Cyrus was a pagan with no knowledge of or faith in the God of Israel (Isaiah 45:1–6). The work is no less effective or divine when done through such a person. Likewise, Jeremiah shows that God will use even the hated Babylonian regime as a source of well-being for exiled Judah, and so the Judeans should pray for Babylon’s well-being (Jeremiah 29:7).

Work as a Source of Meaning

The book of Ecclesiastes has much to say about the proper sphere for human efforts and labor (what the book calls “toil”). Ecclesiastes systematically tears down every human striving that might be a candidate for the ultimate good and source of meaning. It shows that nothing “under the sun” has permanence and ultimate significance—not wisdom, power, pleasure, or any number of other things. It even includes vocation, which produces only sorrow and vexation when one builds a life around it apart from God (Ecclesiastes 2:22–23).

However, when vocation is moved out of the first place and into a subordinate position, it becomes a source of joy and contentment. In other words, Ecclesiastes teaches that vocation is a penultimate good, that is, something to be enjoyed but not something to occupy the central position in one’s life. Only God can adequately stand in that place (Ecclesiastes 12:1, 13). Therefore, Ecclesiastes commends seeking penultimate meaning in vocation: “Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot” (Ecclesiastes 5:18; see also 2:24–25; 9:9–10). Even more, work is called “God’s gift to man” (Ecclesiastes 3:12–13). Therefore, this book reveals how to find meaning in one’s labor without transforming it into an idol that will only disappoint. Vocation is one of the simple joys of a life well lived.

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To learn more about how your faith intersects with your work, order Faith at Work: Christian Vocation in the Professions below.

Digging Deeper into Scripture: Luke 7:18–28

Phil Rigdon — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 12:00:00 GMT

Visiting the homebound, the hospitalized, those living in nursing homes, and the imprisoned is a privilege and a joy. Those in such circumstances are welcoming and happy to receive visitors. One of the challenges for them is dealing with isolation. Even with radio, television, and social media, it is easy to become out of touch with what is happening in the world if you can’t be part of it. Such was the case for John the Baptist.

John the Baptist

John is often referred to as the last prophet of the Old Testament, bridging it to the New Testament and heralding the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. John is the one who said of Jesus, “The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). John had been imprisoned for speaking out against Herod Antipas. Herod had divorced his wife and married Herodias, the wife of his half-brother, Philip. In love and respect for their teacher, John’s disciples remained in touch with and updated him regarding Jesus’ activities. Further, as we learn in this month’s reading, they carried John’s question to Jesus:

And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are You the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And when the men had come to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” (Luke 7:18–19)

Rather than offering a simple affirmation, Jesus responded by charging John’s disciples to convey what they had seen—that Jesus is healing, raising the dead, and preaching the Good News to the poor. It is recorded in the Old Testament that the coming Messiah would do exactly these things. Jesus’ divine acts served at least two purposes. One, they served as evidence that Jesus is indeed the Messiah, the Christ. Two, they served to encourage the people to believe in Him as the Savior. They have served the same function throughout history as people have read the Gospels. And by the work of the Holy Spirit, they have come to believe in Jesus. Only God could perform such miracles, and His Son, Jesus Christ, was at hand. For John, in particular, Jesus’ works were meant to encourage his faith. Languishing in prison, it is possible the prophet was dejected, even to the point of losing faith in Jesus. This is what Jesus meant when He said, “And blessed is the one who is not offended by Me” (v. 23).

Divine Expectations

What do you expect from Jesus? Who do you expect Him to be? Many of the Jews in Jesus’ day were skeptical of Jesus because He was not the kind of Messiah they expected. Where were the soldiers, horses, and chariots? Where was the battle to rout the Romans and reestablish the kingdom of Israel? Their expectations of Jesus were not biblical. To what extent are ours today? For example, Jesus promises that He will provide all that is needed for this body and life. Yet He doesn’t promise us a life of wealth and comfort. He promises He will never leave us or allow life’s challenges to overcome us. Yet He does not promise that He will envelop us with an impervious shell against the troubles of a sinful world. What can happen, and often does, is that people, holding on to unbiblical expectations, become so bitter as to reject Jesus, placing themselves outside salvation. One of the challenges of being a Christian is to submit to Jesus’ lordship. Remember, Jesus came into the world first and foremost to live a perfect life, shed His precious blood on the cross, die, and rise again so that, through faith, we would have forgiveness and eternal life. Let Jesus be the Savior He is, not the one we want Him to be.

After sending John’s disciples back to him, Jesus asked the crowds that had gathered,

What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings’ courts. (vv. 24–25)

In essence, Jesus said that John was indeed a prophet—and a tough one at that. We learn in the Gospels that John preached in the wilderness, wore clothing made from camel hair and skin, and ate locusts and wild honey. What is more, John’s message was tough. He preached the coming wrath of God due to humanity’s sin and the need for salvation in the Lamb, Jesus Christ.

Penitent and Waiting

John’s message of repentance is appropriate for Advent as we reflect not only on Jesus’ coming as a babe in Bethlehem but also His return on the Last Day. This is reflected in the colors used on the paraments in worship—purple or royal blue—penitence, and kingship, respectively. It is healthy and needful for Christians to reflect and repent during Advent, lest we allow sin to gain a foothold in our lives and forget our need for Jesus. While we mourn for our sins, we also rejoice in hope, looking forward to the birth of Jesus, the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world.

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Go deeper into the first portion of Luke’s Gospel with Arthur A. Just Jr.’s Concordia Commentary on Luke 1:1–9:50.

1 Corinthians: An Overview

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 12:00:00 GMT

Waves of the Aegean Sea lap the north shore of the Saronic Gulf in southeastern Greece. From Athens on the east end of the gulf to Cenchreae on the west, the apostle Paul had a 65-mile journey by sea or coastal road, which brought him to the Isthmus of Corinth, that low-lying neck of land that joins Attica (northeast) to the Peloponnese (southwest). High hills and cliffs line the route. But from Cenchreae to Corinth the ground is low enough that ancient merchants could draw their ships overland to the Gulf of Corinth, making that city rich from traders moving east and west. Corinth was a cosmopolitan city that attracted Asians, North Africans, and Westerners to its crowded markets. Along with their trade goods, they supplied a wealth of ideas to the wisdom-hungry Greeks.

Purpose and Recipients of 1 Corinthians

Paul had in an earlier letter prepared the Corinthian Church for Timothy’s coming visit. That visit was designed by Paul to reinforce and to carry further the work that his letter was designed to do, namely, to bring the Corinthians back from their flight out of Christian reality and into an intoxicated and enthusiastic individualism, back to the cross, back to where Paul stood: “I urge you … be imitators of me. That is why I sent you Timothy … to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them … in every church” (1 Corinthians 4:16, 17). The immediately preceding context makes plain what those “ways in Christ” were. Paul ironically contrasted the blissful state of the Corinthians—who had become kings, who were rich, wise, strong, and held in honor—with the apostles’ wretched and unfinished state under the cross, sentenced to death, a spectacle for angels and others to gaze on, fools, weak, in disrepute, hungry, thirsty, ill-clad, homeless, the meekly enduring, toilworn refuse of the world (4:8–13). Paul anticipated that Timothy’s task would not be a pleasant one and that his reception would be less than amiable (16:10, 11). Timothy’s stay was brief, and since Corinthians doesn’t mention it, we know nothing of its results except what we can infer from the events that followed.

The Corinthian Church was a brilliantly endowed church, “enriched … in all speech and all knowledge … not lacking in any gift” (1:5, 7). However, the church was full of tensions and ferment. And the church’s outward situation did nothing to improve its inward state. This was because the church members lived in Corinth, where all the brilliance of the Greek mind and all the vagaries of the Greek will mingled with an influx of Eastern religiosity to produce a moral climate that even the Greeks found singularly vicious.

Summary of 1 Corinthians

1:1–2:5 Paul highlights the strengths of the congregation, strengths God extends to all believers by His grace. In contrast, divisions in the Church are a denial of the one Baptism into Christ, who was crucified for all. We should avoid pride and boasting about what we do for God or for others. The Good News is conveyed not through eloquence, but through humble messengers testifying about the cross.

2:6–4:21 The message of the cross is simple, but the spiritual wisdom that comes with it touches every area of life and faith. There is no ground for pride in human achievement in Christ’s Church. Such an attitude undermines the very nature of His gifts of salvation and service. People may despise God’s messenger because the Spirit’s power is concealed in lowly, suffering leaders like Paul. The crowd always yearns for flashy leadership and despises those who teach the basics and lead by example.

Chapters 5–6 Sins such as sexual immorality are out of place among the people of God. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has taken our sins upon Himself. Just as the old sinful nature rises to cause grievances between Christians, it also tempts us to seek satisfaction through secular processes. God calls churches to settle grievances through Law and Gospel before matters get out of hand. Because Christ has united us with Him and with one another, immorality has no place among us. Freedom to live in Christ excludes living in opposition to Him.

Chapter 7 Marriage brings obligations, but being in Christ forms a new being. The Lord transforms believers from our previous existence and makes us members of His household. In view of this, Paul outlines two blessed estates, that of marriage and that of celibacy.

Chapters 8–9 The rights and the freedom of the Gospel are wrongly promoted in the Corinthian Church, leading the believers to adopt too easily the behaviors and practices of the surrounding culture. No believer has the right or freedom to destroy the faith of others, especially those whom Paul describes as weak in the faith. Faith is not a private matter. As founder of the Corinthian Church, and as an apostle, Paul is perceived to have more “rights” than anyone else. Yet he consistently sets an example for the Corinthians, encouraging them to put off their own rights in order to serve one another.

10:1–11:1 “Flee from idolatry” (10:14) summarizes this section. Even Israel, who had seen God’s mighty works throughout the exodus, acted as if God were not real, as if they could rely on gods of their own creation or even themselves to keep them safe. In Western culture, Christians rarely have to deal with food sacrificed to other gods, though Christians in Asia and Africa must deal with these issues directly. In either case, Paul’s instructions show that our actions communicate something about who we are to those around us.

11:2–16 Corinthian women thought they could go along with cultural trends. However, removal of their hair covering would be similar to a woman in our culture removing her wedding ring: it symbolizes that she no longer intends to live in a faithful marriage relationship. Paul is concerned with outward conduct as well as with the roles God has given to each gender. The removal of the covering would eliminate the gender distinctions God established.

11:17–34 The Corinthians have turned the Sacrament into a supper of their own making. As a result, the community of believers formed by the Gospel and the Sacrament is being harmed, and individuals are falling under God’s judgment. Recalling Christ’s own institution of the Supper, Paul reminds the Corinthians to recognize what God has offered in the Sacrament: the body and blood of Christ, the forgiveness of sins, and through it the union of the Body of Christ, the Church, gathered around the altar.

Chapters 12–14 God, who is one, unified and blessed the Corinthian congregation through His Spirit and gifts. Paul seeks to settle and unite the Corinthian congregation by emphasizing the order God established in creation and the priority of the Gospel. By so completely describing and advocating love’s divine qualities, Paul reveals the Corinthians’ immaturity. He sharply rebukes all noisy, clanging boasts of superiority. Yet, he alludes to the fact that the Father—who knows His children all too well—still loves them. Some Corinthians showed a lack of love by pursuing their own edification to the neglect of those around them. For example, issues of worship practice divided the Corinthians. Though Paul tolerates the Corinthians’ personal interests, he insists that such interests have no place in congregational gatherings, which should clearly teach God’s Word for all.

Chapter 15 Because of zeal for more knowledge, the Corinthians have neglected what has first importance: the simple truths and application of the Gospel. They take pride in their wisdom, but Paul tears apart their arguments with basic logic and rhetoric defending the doctrine of the bodily resurrection. Logic, rhetoric, and even sarcasm have their uses in preaching and teaching the Gospel. Yet all our powers and wisdom must remain subject to the Lord, who is “all in all” (verse 28). The body—corrupted by sin—declines, decays, and dies. Humanly speaking, we can extend our lives only by having children, whom we likewise corrupt with our inherited sin. The justification Jesus provided is our resurrection-hope against sin, death, and the Law’s condemnation. Jesus delivers us from death’s jaws.

Chapter 16 Compassion leads the early Christian congregations to treasure up and distribute support for fellow Christians and ministries in need. As Paul closes the letter, he also clears the way for future work and for the work of his colleague Timothy. Paul urges the leaders at Corinth to recognize the service, calling, and authority of one another and to see themselves as part of a larger team. Paul’s bittersweet conclusion illustrates his passion for the Gospel and for the congregation

Martin Luther on 1 Corinthians

…

“[St. Paul] had taught his Corinthians Christian faith and freedom from the law. But then the mad saints came along, and the immature know-it-alls. They broke up the unity of the doctrine and caused division among the believers. One claimed to belong to Paul, the other to Apollos; one to Peter, the other to Christ. One wanted circumcision, the other not; one wanted marriage, the other not; one wanted to eat food offered to idols, the other not. Some wanted to be outwardly free [leiblich frey]; some of the women wanted to go with uncovered hair, and so on. They went so far that one man abused his liberty and married his father’s wife, some did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, and some thought lightly of the sacrament.

“In short, things got so wild and disorderly that everyone wanted to be the expert and do the teaching and make what he pleased of the gospel, the sacrament, and faith. Meanwhile they let the main thing drop—namely, that Christ is our salvation, righteousness, and redemption—as if they had long since outgrown it. …

“Therefore St. Paul most severely rebukes and condemns this shameful wisdom, and makes these connoisseur saints out to be fools. He says outright that they know nothing of Christ, or of the Spirit and gifts of God given to us in Christ, and that they had better begin to learn. … This is what St. Paul deals with in the first four chapters.” … (AE 35:380–83)

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Read more summary content with important theological commentary in Lutheran Bible Companion: Volume 2.

Digging Deeper into Scripture: Mark 13:1–13

Phil Rigdon — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 12:00:00 GMT

As I am writing this blog, Christmas is still two months away. However, there are already signs of its coming. Recently, I did some shopping. Halloween has yet to pass and there are already Christmas items on the shelves. I love this time of year, not only because of the weather in Indiana but also because there is a wonderful succession of holidays leading to the celebration of Christmas. These holidays are signs leading to the birth of our Lord. The church has signs of its own. The weeks of Advent bring Scripture readings related to Jesus’ birth, and we light a new candle each week.

Signs of the Last Day

In this weekend’s Gospel reading, our Lord speaks of signs of His second coming, what is often called Judgment Day or the Last Day. There are signs. Some of them are challenging to read. Yet, as we are challenged, we are also comforted that, for Christians, Jesus’ return will be a day of profound joy.

And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” (Mark 13:2)

In reaction to an upcoming Jewish revolt, the Romans stormed the city of Jerusalem and brought the temple in the middle of the city to the ground. Only a piece of wall remains, which today is a sacred place for the Jews. This took place in AD 70. As the passage continues, our Lord moves from reference to the destruction of the temple to His second coming. He provides a list of signs: false christs, news and rumors of wars, conflicts between kingdoms and nations, and natural disasters. Interestingly, Jesus also states, “This must take place, but the end is not yet” (Mark 13:7) and “These are but the beginning of the birth pains” (Mark 13:8).

Are We Living in the End Times?

Many have told me that we are living in the end times, that Jesus is about to return. Usually, this is in reference to difficulties we observe in the world, which are like what Jesus describes. In one sense, everyone who claims this is perfectly correct—we are living in the end times (more on this below). At the same time, we need to keep in mind that signs such as those Jesus describes have been taking place throughout human history. I have read that many Christians believed that Jesus would return shortly following His ascension into heaven. I imagine every age pointed to contemporary signs that Jesus was about to return. How about those who suffered from the Black Death plague in mid-14^th-century Europe, those who witnessed World War I and II, those who feared global destruction during the Cold War? Remember that at the time Jesus spoke the words of this passage, even He did not know the day of His return. Consider other signs to which the Bible refers:

A degradation of morality. (See 2 Timothy 3:1-5.)

The Gospel will be proclaimed to the whole world. (Matthew 24:14)

The heavenly bodies, such as the Sun and moon, will pass away. (See Matthew 24:29.)

“False prophets will arise and lead many astray.” (Matthew 24:11)

When Will the Last Days Come?

Above, I mentioned that it is correct to say that we are living in the end times. Indeed, we are, but not just in the last fifty, one hundred, or even five hundred years. In fact, we have been living in the end times since Jesus ascended into heaven. His return to His Father inaugurated the end times, and we have been living in it ever since. A complete discussion of the end times is beyond the scope of this blog, but suffice it to say that Jesus could return at any moment.

“But be on your guard.” (Mark 13:9)

Satan loves to discourage and frustrate. I imagine quite a few Christians have wondered why the Lord is taking so long to return. Certainly, the Christians of the early church could relate. How many prayed for the Lord to return and prevent a certain painful death by burning, decapitation, or at the claws and teeth of lions in the Roman Colosseum? While this is not a problem in the United States (not yet anyway), there are Christians who have and will become so discouraged and frustrated as to walk away from Jesus, forfeiting forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Jesus refers to such Christians in the Parable of the Sower:

“And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.” (Mark 4:16–17)

What is the solution? God promises that He will never leave us or forsake us, and His Holy Spirit will continue to nurture us by the means of grace until Jesus does return to take us to heaven. We embrace the work of the Holy Spirit by availing ourselves of Christ, in His Word, Holy Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. We also pray for ourselves and other Christians, especially those who are struggling with discouragement in the faith. Keep in mind the dear price the Lord paid for our redemption. He will bring to completion the work He began in your Baptism. When Jesus returns and takes us to our mansion in glory, our short days on this earth, however challenging they were, will be lost in the rapturous presence of our dear Savior, Jesus Christ, Who died and rose again that our last day on earth would be filled with inexplicable relief and joyful anticipation.

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Read more commentary on the book of Mark with the Mark 8:27–16:20 Concordia Commentary.

The Book of Acts: An Overview

none.2@cph.org (Concordia Publishing House) — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 13:22:21 GMT

“The word of God increased,”—three times in the Book of Acts Luke uses this sentence to sum up a period of the history of the Early Church (6:7; 12:24; 19:20). These words are a telling expression of the biblical conception of the divine Word. Our Lord Himself compared the Word with a seed that is sown and sprouts and grows: “The seed is the word of God” (Lk 8:11; cf Col 1:6; 1Pt 1:23). The Word of the Lord is powerful and active; it “prevails mightily,” as Luke puts it in Ac 19:20.

If, then, we are to hear the divine Word of the New Testament on its own terms (and that is the whole task and function of interpretation), we must study it historically. We must learn to see it as the growing and working divine Word, as God Himself active in history (Ac 2:11).

What Is the Book of Acts?

The Book of Acts is unique in the history of religions. Nowhere else do we find this sober and religious sense of history, this absolute conviction that God is the God of history, who clothes Himself in a garment of mighty deeds in order to reveal Himself to us. Here only do we find the conviction of faith that His Word is a force, is in fact the force in history.

The Book of Acts is therefore uniquely valuable for our study of the whole New Testament. It is valuable because it provides us with the historical information that is indispensable for reconstructing the historical background of many New Testament books, especially the letters of Paul; but not only for that reason. We appreciate and value the Book of Acts as students of history, of course, but we are never merely historians when we seek to interpret the New Testament. We are always first and foremost believers, for whom the historical is a means to a higher end, namely, that we hear the New Testament speak to us as the living voice of God now. And it is to the theologians and believers that the Book of Acts is really uniquely valuable. Since it is the history of the Early Church, conceived of and told not as the history of another religious society but as the history of the growth, the progress, and the triumph of the divine Word, the Book of Acts can determine not only the method of our study but also the basically religious attitude of our study. . . .

Historical Culture and Setting of Acts

What sort of life was this life of the Early Church, that life which was the historical framework of our New Testament, the seedbed in which it sprouted and grew? Its first and most obvious characteristic is that it is a life wholly dominated by the Lord Jesus Christ. Luke makes it very plain that the Book of Acts (which is the second book of a two-volume work, of which his Gospel is the first) is the direct continuation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: “In the first book, . . . I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach” (Ac 1:1). The human figure of Peter may loom large on the stage of history in the first part (chs 1–12) and that of Paul in the second (chs 13–28); but they are both dwarfed by, and completely subordinated to, Him who is the real and sole Actor in this Book of Acts—this Jesus who continues to do and to teach. It is His Word that grows and speeds and triumphs here, not Peter’s or Paul’s, a fact that Peter and Paul are the first to assert. . . .

The Book of Acts pictures the new people of God as living by the apostles’ word. The Church thus lives in faith and love under the Lordship of Jesus, animated by the Spirit, which He has poured out upon all believers, in joyous, active, and responsible expectancy of the return of the Lord in glory. The impress of this first history of God’s people is on the whole new New Testament, and the first apostolic preaching (often referred to by its Greek name kerygma, “herald’s news, proclaimed Gospel”) has given all the New Testament writings their characteristic color and contour. . . .

Literary Features of Acts

Genre of Acts

The Book of Acts is to be thought of as the direct continuation of Luke’s Gospel, with the exalted Christ as its solely dominant figure (Ac 1:1). The book does not pretend to be a history of the Early Church or even a history of early missions; it would be woefully incomplete as either of the two. It is the continuation of the story of the Christ, and can therefore be as selective in recording the facts of history as the Gospel itself.

Of all the ways that the Gospel went, Luke selects just one, the high road to Rome. And even that segment of the total history of missions is not fully portrayed but is leanly and monumentally sketched. There are, for instance, large gaps in the record of the career of Paul; both his two years’ ministry at Corinth and his three years’ ministry at Ephesus are merely illustrated by means of typical incidents rather than chronicled. Indeed, the whole work illustrates rather than chronicles the course of the Word that proclaims and presents Christ. Luke selects incidents and actions that illumine and bring out in clear outline the impact of that Word upon people, the tensions and conflicts that ensue when the Word of the Lord is heard, and the triumphant progress of that Word despite tensions and conflicts. . . .

Characters in Acts

Of the apostles, only Peter and Paul are really leading figures. John appears a few times in the early chapters and then disappears; James the son of Zebedee appears only as a martyr, with one short sentence devoted to his execution. On the other hand, men who are not apostles play a considerable role in the narrative: Stephen, Philip, Barnabas, Silas, Agabus.

Furthermore, if the title were to be understood in the sense suggested by similar works current in antiquity, such as The Acts of Alexander by Callisthenes or The Acts of Hannibal by Sosylus, it could actually be misleading. It would suggest a narrative of human heroism and human achievement. Of course, the very term apostle, as defined by Jesus and as used by the apostles themselves, should have excluded that idea, for the apostle is by definition nothing of himself and everything by virtue of the commission given him by his Lord. But would Luke have selected a title that even suggested the idea of human greatness? His book tells the story of men only because, and insofar as, men are instrumental in the growth and triumph of the Word of the Lord.

Paul is pictured as a loyal friend of the Jews, devoting some time on his second and third journeys to raise money for Christian Jews in Jerusalem. Perhaps Luke hoped that these emphases in his book would serve to heal the growing breach between Jewish and Gentile Christians. Peter was as important as Paul, Luke seems to be saying. God used Peter in the same way He used Paul. Both Peter and Paul performed acts of healing; both raised people from the dead; both overcame sorcerers; both were offered divine worship by superstitious admirers; both were agents of divine judgment on impenitent sinners.

Narrative Overview of Acts

Acts opens with the believers in Jerusalem waiting for the gift of the Spirit and Luke presenting the history of their work in that city. The history presents the journey of faith and of mission that led the early Christians from Jerusalem to the heart of the Roman Empire. In the early chapters, Peter emerges as a key character. Persecution and the death of the deacon, Stephen, moves the story from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria, where a second key character is introduced: Saul/Paul, whom God calls to preach Christ.

For a few chapters, the story turns back to Peter, through whom God performs miracles, and begins ministry to the Gentiles (chs 9–12). The story then describes the mission to the Gentiles through Paul, with ch 15 recording how the Christians in Jerusalem settled doctrinal and practical disputes that arose due to the Gentile mission. The rest of the book records two missionary journeys of Paul and his companions until Paul reaches Rome, fulfilling an important aspect of Jesus’ stated goal in Ac 1:8.

Many have found the ending of Acts puzzling and inadequate: why is the outcome of Paul’s trial not told? Either his release or his martyrdom would seem to constitute a more fitting conclusion to the work than the one Luke has seen fit to give it. Some scholars have suggested that Luke perhaps intended to add a third volume to his work, one that would round out and conclude the story by recounting Paul’s release, his voyage to Spain, and his martyr’s death. But there is no real indication that Luke intended such a continuation of his book; neither is the suggestion very plausible that Luke did not record the outcome of Paul’s trial because that outcome was martyrdom and he did not wish to conclude his account of the victorious Gospel on a sad and negative note. To judge from Luke’s account of the martyrdom of Stephen (Ac 7:54–60) and from Paul’s own attitude toward martyrdom as recorded by Luke (Ac 20:24; 21:13), neither Luke nor Paul looked on martyrdom as something negative and depressing.

The fact is that the present ending makes sense, both as the conclusion of Acts and as the conclusion of the two-part work. The goal noted in Ac 1:8 has been reached: the Gospel is being proclaimed in Rome, the capital of the western world; it has stepped through the door that opens into all the world. That is the fact, the fact that counts; before it anyone’s fate, even Paul’s fate, pales into insignificance. And the present ending is a meaningful conclusion to the whole work also. When Jesus “began to do and to teach” in His own city, Nazareth, He offered His people God’s free forgiveness on the basis of a word from Isaiah (Lk 4:18–21). He had met with objection and resistance from His own people even then (4:22, 23, 28–30). And He had hinted even then that the word they were rejecting would go to the Gentiles (4:24–27). Jesus’ prediction is now being fulfilled; the Jews of Rome are following the course set by the Jews of Galilee and Jerusalem and the cities of Asia and Macedonia and Achaia. They are rejecting the proffered Good News of God. The prophet Isaiah is heard once more, this time uttering words of fearful judgment upon a people who will not hear (Ac 28:25–27). But God’s purposes are being worked out nevertheless: “This salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen” (28:28).

Read more about Acts and every book of the Bible in Lutheran Bible Companion.

Digging Deeper into Scripture: Mark 10:17–22

Phil Rigdon — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 11:00:00 GMT

Can you remember the last time you purchased a piece of furniture or appliance, understanding that your purchase would require some assembly at home? You likely returned home from the store, opened the box, read and followed the instructions, and then came to one of two sad realizations: (1) you still had pieces left over or (2) you were missing a piece—maybe a screw, nut, or peg. Some of us are blessed with the ability to let good enough be good enough. Others struggle with the lack of completion.

“What Must I Do to Inherit Eternal Life?” (Mark 10:17–19)

Jesus encounters a rich man who asks the Lord what he must do to inherit eternal life. For the young man, this is an issue of completion, just a bit more. Jesus’ reaction demonstrates that the man is missing something more fundamental.

And as He was setting out on His journey, a man ran up and knelt before Him and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.” (Mark 10:17–18)

The rich man’s behavior suggests that he is humble and that his issue is urgent. Running up to Jesus, he kneels before Him. Interestingly, Jesus doesn’t immediately respond to his query. Instead, our Lord responds with His own question, which is rhetorical. Jesus’ primary mission in taking on human flesh and living in the world is to redeem it through His death and resurrection. An ancillary goal is to demonstrate that He is God. He works toward this goal through teaching and miracles. It is necessary that sinners understand that Jesus is God, because only the blood of God can atone for sin. In love and mercy—and without hesitation—Jesus begins to move the man toward a correct understanding in faith.

“You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” (Mark 10:19)

Preparing Our Hearts for the Gospel (Mark 10:20–21)

We wonder why Jesus didn’t simply respond with, “You are a poor, miserable sinner. You have no hope of salvation with Me.” Instead, Jesus points to the Ten Commandments, realizing that the man would be certainly familiar with them. While it is impossible to know exactly why Jesus makes this reference, we can make an educated guess. Consider Confession and Absolution. Before we receive the sublimely beautiful words of our Lord’s forgiveness from the pastor, everyone in the congregation (including the pastor) confesses his or her sins before the Lord, recognizing the inescapable state of hopelessness. Then the Lord brings forgiveness through faith. The Law prepares the heart to hear the Gospel. Perhaps Jesus refers to the Ten Commandments to prepare the man’s heart to hear the Gospel, hoping he will reflect on the commandments and give up his mission of self-redemption. Alas, the man is stubborn.

And he said to Him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” (Mark 10:20)

This verse should stir our Lutheran sensibilities. The rejection of works-righteousness is fundamental to our understanding of salvation. This man is no more able to inherit eternal life than anyone else. Nevertheless, he asserts his fidelity to the Ten Commandments as if he were submitting a resumé. Not being there at the time, we cannot be certain if the man asserted himself in bold confidence or hopeful desperation. Either way, he is not where he needs to be in faith.

And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” (Mark 10:21)

We Are to Love God First (Mark 10:22)

Mark notes that Jesus loved the man. In this love, Jesus tells the man exactly what he needs to hear. Our Lord is not giving the man a recipe for earning heaven. Rather, Jesus is trying to correct the man’s false understanding. It flows from the First Commandment—we are to love God first, most, and above all other things. Jesus knows that the requirement for the man to give up his beloved possessions will bring the issue to a head. It is doubtful that Jesus wants the man to follow His mandate. Jesus merely wants the man to be willing to give up his possessions and follow Jesus. In essence, to love God as the commandment requires.

Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Mark 10:22)

The Greek word for disheartened has a root meaning of “hatred.” Perhaps one way that we can understand this is to consider the state of the man’s heart. On one hand, he wants to hear and follow Jesus to inherit eternal life. On the other hand, he is deeply in love with his possessions, so much so that he walks away from Jesus and perhaps his hopes of inheriting eternal life. His heart is full of grievous conflict.

In this Gospel lesson, the Lord blesses us with two reminders (1) to purge our hearts of any hope of inheriting eternal life through adherence to the Ten Commandments and (2) to protect our hearts from the temptation to love any of God’s gifts as much as or more than God Himself. We are comforted to know that in divine love and mercy, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to keep the Law perfectly in our place and to suffer death as a complete sacrifice for our sins. We inherit eternal life through faith in what Jesus has done.

Learn more about how God teaches through the Ten Commandments with a 10-lesson Bible study, Provoking Proverbs: Wisdom and the Ten Commandments.

Digging Deeper into Scripture: James 3:1–12

Phil Rigdon — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 11:00:00 GMT

When I am counseling couples before marriage, I encourage them to avoid discussing any important issues before 9:00 a.m. and after 9:00 p.m. Most people are at their best in the 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. twelve-hour period. We think most clearly and are better at controlling our emotions. Too early in the morning or too late at night is when we tend to struggle. Additionally, I urge them to avoid such discussions when one or both are tired, sick, hungry, or stressed. When we are not at our best, we are more tempted to speak irresponsibly, using sarcasm, terse words, and even foul language. Speech is powerful, and it can remain in our consciousness for many years.

Judge with Greater Strictness?

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. (James 3:1–2)

James introduces the theme of sinful speech by addressing the vocation of teacher. Before proceeding with the remainder of the passage, it’s worthwhile to address two points in these initial verses that may distract or confuse the reader. James is aware that some of those with whom he works may not have the temperament to be teachers. While such individuals may be quite knowledgeable, they lack self-control and may be apt to speak in a sinful manner. While this is straightforward enough, be careful not to misread the words “We who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” Teachers do have a great responsibility to watch what they say, as they teach many. At the same time, remember that when Jesus returns to judge the quick and the dead, our Lord will do so with one criterion: Do we have Christ?

Second, verse two mentions “a perfect man” as someone who does not stumble in what he says. James is not saying that it is possible to reach perfect righteousness by controlling our speech. The word perfect can be used in two ways when reading the Bible. One is to have no sinful flaw. Through faith in Christ, we have this, but we cannot reach it through our behavior. A second is to be complete, to lack nothing. In this way, a puzzle can be perfect in that none of the pieces are missing. When James uses perfect in verse two, he means the second way—to lack nothing. In other words, such a teacher is perfect when he no longer stumbles in what he says. Finally, the verse stresses the reality that bridling the tongue is the most difficult task of all, even more difficult than bridling the whole body.

Is This Indeed about the Tongue?

What follows in the remaining verses is a set of analogies to help the reader grasp the powerful impact of the tongue. It is a rudder guiding the whole ship, a small fire to ignite an entire forest, full of deadly poison. The human tongue is a muscle, used not only for speech but also for eating and drinking. It is nothing more than a tool. It is the sinful heart that uses the tongue to lie, insult, and lead astray. “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery” (Mark 7:21). The tongue is merely the instrument a sinner employs to manifest Mark’s list of wicked acts. Although the tongue is part of a sinful body that is redeemed in Christ, it has no will of its own. Additionally, consider that there are other ways to convey sinful messages. Sign language, written word, and social media are examples.

Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. (James 3:12)

James’s point in the verse above is that, like a fig tree trying to bear olives, a sinful heart can never produce what is pleasing to the Lord. It is the sinful heart that needs to be tamed and, in fact, killed. For this, we return to our Baptism, the Holy Spirit drowning the Old Adam, my wicked nature which yearns to use my tongue in sin. The Holy Spirit further convicts me of sin and prepares me to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Lord leads us to His Word, the Bible, to fill our minds with what is righteous, that such holy words would flow from our tongues. He leads us to receive Holy Communion which forgives sins and strengthens faith. Further, we must never underestimate God’s gift of prayer. We pray to our Heavenly Father to convict us of sinful speech and to encourage us to blessed words.

Where we fail, the Lord succeeds. Remember that the Lord spoke Creation into existence. It was the Word, Jesus Christ, who took on human flesh. Jesus called Lazarus from the tomb and said “It is finished” on the cross of salvation. Through the pastor, Jesus speaks the words of Absolution, the words of our Baptism, and the Words of Institution of Holy Communion. When we reach heaven, Jesus will speak, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” It is with our tongues that we will sing eternal praise to the Lamb who sits on the throne.

Scripture: ESV^®.

Read more about this passage and sinful speech in James by Curtis Giese, from the Concordia Commentary series.