The Surprising God

In a previous post , Michael Morrison,  Grace Communion Seminary  professor and dean of students, addressed the work of the Holy Spirit. In this post he addresses the work the Spirit does in equipping believers with particular "gifts of the Spirit." This post excerpts a lecture on this topic by Dr. Morrison. Pentecost by Jean Restout (public domain via Wikimedia Commons) One of the ways the Holy Spirit works in individuals and within the community as a whole is by giving "gifts of the Spirit" to members of the church for the benefit of the church. We find the fullest explanation of this in the apostle Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth, a community of believers that needed instruction concerning the Holy Spirit and church unity. Paul writes this: Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. (1 Cor. 12:1) Paul then comments on how God works in different ways in different people: There are different kinds...

This post is excerpted from a lecture by Michael Morrison, dean of faculty and professor at  Grace Communion Seminary . Holy Spirit rose window (public domain via Wikimedia Commons) The apostle Paul's understanding of the Spirit's work is anchored in his belief that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost following Jesus' ascension fulfilled Ezekiel's prophecy concerning the ushering in of the Messianic age when God, by the Spirit, would be at work in his people in a new way (Ezek. 36:24-27). Note what Paul wrote concerning the Spirit's work: What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. (1 Cor. 2:12-13) In his various letters, Paul identifies four aspects of the Spirit's ongoing work. Le...

This post from  Grace Communion Seminary faculty member Ted Johnston explores the Trinitarian approach to pastoral care advocated by the Torrance brothers. All three view pastoral care as Spirit-led participation in Jesus' ongoing ministry to and through his Body, the church. This post is excerpted from one of Ted's lectures in his GCS Practice of Ministry course. Jesus Healing the Sick (public domain via Wikimedia Commons) Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Andrew Root after him, emphasize that Jesus Christ, the ascended incarnate Son of God, through the Holy Spirit, ministers personally---sharing the place of every person. As pastoral ministers, we are called to be place-sharers with Jesus . We do so by helping people encounter Jesus Christ who is present already with them in healing ways. We offer this assistance by proclaiming to people the Word of God (the apostolic gospel)---a proclamation made in multiple ways, both verbal and non-verbal. We find helpful instruction...

This post excerpts a lecture from  Grace Communion Seminary faculty member Randy Bloom, given in his Church Planting and Development course . It addresses an approach to evangelism grounded in and shaped by incarnational Trinitarian theology.  Jesus teaching (public domain via Wikimedia Commons) To evangelize is to proclaim the gospel In the New Testament, to evangelize ( euaggelizó in Greek) means to announce the gospel ( euangelion in Greek). Evangelism is about proclaiming the good news that in and through Jesus Christ, the Father has reconciled all people to himself, thus including all people in his love and life. The gospel tells us that no one is predetermined to eternal alienation from God because Jesus, through his representative-substitutionary human life, has offered to the Father every perfect, obedient human response, thus restoring right relationship between God and all humanity. The message of the gospel then invites people to respond to this good...

Grace Communion International (GCI) teaches that God, in and through Jesus Christ, has reconciled all people to himself---forgiving them and including them in his love and life . Is this a doctrine of u niversalism? Dr. Gary Deddo, President of Grace Communion Seminary, answers below. Rembrandt's "Return of the Prodigal Son" (public domain) It's about a personal relationship! To understand how and why GCI's doctrine of salvation is not universalism, it's important to note that GCI views salvation as involving a personal relationship between two subjects--God and humans . Though both subjects must be accounted for, the primary one (and the source of the saving relationship) is the triune God who acts toward humans on the basis of grace. This understanding aligns with many passages of Scripture, including these: “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son” (John 3:16, ESV); “In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself” (2 Cor. 5:19, ESV);...

Can those who have never heard the gospel in this life, hear and receive it after death? Grace Communion Seminary (GCS) faculty member Dr. Gary Deddo answers by explaining how Grace Communion International (GCI) approaches the topic of postmortem evangelism and conversion. "The Good Shepherd," stained glass window (public domain via Wikimedia Commons) First, let's be reminded that the nature, character and purposes of our Triune God, as revealed to us in Jesus Christ, are foundational to our faith. We believe that all people are created according to the image of Jesus Christ. Further, we believe Jesus is Lord and Savior of all---he died for all and God does not want any to perish. These foundational truths are explicitly declared in the New Testament by Jesus and his appointed witnesses. On the basis of these truths, GCI teaches that God will do everything to draw all to himself and enable them to receive all he has for them through Jesus Christ. Understandably...

The church proclaims the gospel by helping people, via Word and Sacrament , encounter Jesus, the living good news of God. In earlier posts, we saw what Trinitarian theologians have written about baptism and the Lord's Supper . Now we'll look at what they have written concerning preaching. "Jerusalem, Jerusalem" by Tissot (public domain via Wikimedia Commons) Thomas F. (TF) Torrance According to TF (in  Gospel, Church, and Ministry ), preaching Christ is both an evangelical and a theological activity, for it is the proclamation and teaching of Christ as he actually is presented to us in the Holy Scriptures. In the language of the New Testament, preaching Christ involves kerygma and didache —it is both a kerygmatic and a didactic activity. It is both evangelical and theological. (p. 220) Faithful, effective preachers are thus both theologians and evangelists—concerned about Jesus Christ’s being and his doing, or as John Calvin often said, presenting “Christ ...