The Surprising God

This post exegetes Romans 8:1-17, providing context for the Epistles reading on 3/22/26, the 5th Sunday in Lent. Insights are drawn from John Stott’s commentary on the book of Romans, and from "The Expositors Bible Commentary." "Holy Spirit" by Bernini (St Peter's Basilica) (public domain via Wikimedia Commons) Introduction Having discussed in Romans 7 the frustrations of seeking to live for God under the law, Paul now turns in Romans 8 to the blessings that come through living for God in the Spirit. Paul contrasts the law and the Spirit—showing that the law has no power to save or to deliver from indwelling sin, whereas the Spirit does both. Thus Paul points Christians away from living under the law to a life animated, sustained, directed, transformed and enriched by the Holy Spirit. In Romans 8:1-17 he describes multiple and glorious blessings of life in the Spirit. No condemnation  Romans 8:1  The first blessing is related to what Paul wrote in chapter 5: ...

This post exegetes Ephesians 5:5-21, providing context for the Epistles reading on 3/15/26, the 4th Sunday in Lent. Insights are drawn from Karl Barth's commentary on Ephesians and "The Expositors Bible Commentary." "The Descent of the Holy Ghost" by Titian (public domain via Wikimedia Commons) Introduction To understand Paul’s approach to Christian ethics, it’s vital to recall his presentation of the gospel of grace given in chapters 1-3. There he shows that through Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and ascension, we have been adopted by our heavenly Father as his children. It was not our behavior that gave us this status, nor is it our behavior that maintains it. We are God’s children, included in Christ; and that’s God’s gift of grace. But why then talk about our behavior? Listen to what Karl Barth said in a lecture on Ephesians chapter 5: Whoever has understood God [referring to a believer] becomes conscientious and attentive [to Christ]. Such a person has be...

This post exegetes Romans 5:1-11, providing context for the Epistles reading on 3/8/26, the 3rd Sunday in Lent. Insights are drawn from John Stott’s commentary on the book of Romans, and from "The Expositors Bible Commentary." Introduction In Romans chapters 1-4, Paul proclaims that the justification accomplished on our behalf by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ is received, through faith, by those who trust in Jesus (and not in anything else, including racial/ethnic identity or obedience to the law) to deliver them from death and to grant them right standing with God (righteousness). This justification makes the believer one with God and one with all other believers (including Abraham, the ‘father’ of all who have this faith). Whether they be Jew or Gentile, circumcised or not, law-observing or not, all believers are of one family on the basis of a shared faith in Christ: All God’s people are united in Christ. This is Paul’s theme throughout Romans chapters 5 and 6.   Paul b...

This post exegetes Romans 4:1-25, providing context for the Epistles reading on 3/1/26, the 2nd Sunday in Lent. Insights are drawn from  John Stott’s commentary on the book of Romans. "Abraham and Isaac" by Stemler (public domain via Wikimedia Commons) Introduction In Romans 4, Paul uses the Old Testament examples of Abraham and David to show how justification, comes through faith--specifically the faithfulness of Jesus  himself (see footnote on Romans 3:22 in the NRSV translation). Indeed, faith, not works of the Law, is God's way of salvation—both in the Old Testament and in the New. Paul uses Abraham as his main example for two reasons. The first is that he was the founding father of Israel, 'the rock from which (they) were cut' (Is. 51:1f.), the favored recipient of God's covenant and promises (Gen. 12:1.; 15:1; 17:1). The second reason is that Abraham was held by the Jews of Paul’s day to be the epitome of righteousness, and they assumed that he had been ...