Beware “Theological Reductionism” that Overemphasizes the Deity of Jesus!

February 3, 2015

Is overemphasizing the deity of Jesus even possible? Mark 1:1-3 is a crucial passage for showing that such overemphasis is not only possible, but also is very widespread and has negatively affected the theological understanding of many believers.

The Proper Approach to Interpreting Mark 1:1

The Gospel of Mark begins with vital teaching about the gospel of Jesus Christ: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1). This theologically pregnant statement juxtaposes many key theological terms: “gospel,” “Jesus,” “Christ,” and “the Son of God.”

Self-evidently, a right handling of this text is of preeminent importance. How then should we approach interpreting what Mark affirms here?

The Holy Spirit answers that question by how He has inspired what immediately follows in the passage: “As it is written in the prophets …” (Mark 1:2a). To interpret Mark 1:1 properly, we must relate it properly to how the Spirit has signified that Mark 1:1 is to be understood through our attention to previous biblical teaching.

What Does Mark 1:2-3 Itself Teach Us?

Before we can understand how Mark 1:1 relates properly with Mark 1:2-3, we must examine what Mark 1:2-3 teaches us itself. Mark 1:2-3 directs our attention to teaching found elsewhere in Scripture:

Mar 1:2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

A careful analysis of verse 2 reveals that this biblical citation speaks of three distinct persons:

(1) the Speaker of the statement (“I,” “my”);

(2) the one who is sent by the Speaker as His messenger and who will prepare the way of another Person to whom the Speaker addresses the statement;

(3) the One Whom the Speaker addresses the statement to and Whose face the Speaker will send His messenger before and Whose way the messenger will prepare before Him (the third Person spoken of in the passage who is the referent of both occurrences of the pronoun “thy” in this verse).

The Speaker is God the Father, the one whom He sends as His messenger is John the Baptist (cf. especially 1:4-6), and the third Person in the passage is Jesus (Mark 1:7ff.).

Because Mark 1:3 informs us that the messenger would proclaim that the One whose way he would prepare (Mark 1:2) is the Lord, interpreters rightly understand that the passage is affirming the deity of Jesus. Is this affirmation of His deity, however, the only essential teaching of the passage about the gospel of Jesus Christ?

What Mark 1:1 Signifies Based on Its Relation to Mark 1:2-3

Many interpreters hold that the phrase “the Son of God” at its essence signifies Jesus’ deity in this passage and support this understanding by noting how that phrase is used elsewhere and by how 1:3 speaks of Him as the Lord whose way the messenger would prepare. Arguing in this way, they affirm that the essential truth about the gospel that Mark is stressing here is that Jesus Christ is deity Himself.

All too often, as they handle the passage in this way, however, they lose sight of another essential truth that the passage plainly affirms about Jesus before it speaks of Him as the Lord—Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is a distinct Person from the Father who sent His messenger before Him to prepare His way and His paths! Yes, this passage affirms the full deity of Jesus Christ, but what it teaches about His deity is not the only essential truth that this passage provides us about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Discussion

When interpreters emphasize one truth that a passage teaches to such an extent that they obscure or minimize without biblical warrant other key truths that the passage also teaches, they engage in what I call “theological reductionism.” Such reductionism, when it is repeatedly done, easily leads to widespread neglect of key biblical teaching and the mishandling of key passages of Scripture.

Yes, Mark 1:1-3 affirms the deity of Jesus Christ as the Lord. No, the passage does not teach that Jesus Christ as the Son of the God means only that Jesus is God Himself.

Rather, through inspiring Mark 1:2-3 as the essential explanation of the meaning that He intends for us to understand about the gospel significance of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, the Holy Spirit teaches us to hold that “the Son of God” here denotes both His deity and His being a distinct person from God the Father. To emphasize the former at the expense of the latter is to engage in theological reductionism.

Moreover, the passage teaches us that the Father sent His messenger to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus to people as the Lord. The emphasis on the preparatory ministry of the messenger shows us that what would take place in Jesus’ life as the Lord was not a self-determined expression of and exercise of His own deity; Jesus came as the Lord whose paths His Father directed and determined.

Conclusion

Mark 1:1-3 teaches that a right understanding of the gospel significance of Jesus Christ as the Son of God includes both His deity and His distinction in person from God the Father. It also teaches us that another key truth about the gospel significance of Jesus Christ as the Son of God is that the Father prepared His way to come to people as the Lord.

We must take care not to reduce the vital theological teaching of this passage about the gospel in such a way that we communicate that the gospel at its essence is reducible to merely an affirmation of and an expression of the deity of Jesus Christ. To furnish people with a proper understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we must communicate to them not only the deity of Jesus but also both His distinction in person from God the Father and the Father’s essential working in the life of Jesus.

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Exposition, Gospel, Theology
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Are You Rightly Receiving the Bible in Your Life?

January 29, 2015

Paul ends Second Timothy 3 with a profound statement that is rightly stressed for what it teaches about the inspiration of Scripture (2 Tim. 3:16). An examination of that statement in its surrounding context provides crucial understanding that every believer needs to have in order that he would be rightly receiving the Bible in his life.

Scripture Makes People Wise unto Salvation

Paul taught Timothy that the holy Scriptures were able to make him wise unto salvation through faith that is in Jesus Christ:

2Ti 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

This statement shows that genuine salvation results in a person’s life from his contact with the Bible only if he allows it to impart to him the wisdom that he lacks. Specifically, he must accept God’s wisdom that Scripture reveals to him by believing what the Scripture presents to him about Jesus Christ.

People who refuse to believe in Jesus Christ through the ministry of the Bible that they receive are people who reject divine wisdom that is essential for salvation. Until a person repents of such rejection, he will never rightly receive the Bible in his life.

Scripture Profits Believers unto All Good Works

When a person repents toward God and believes in Jesus Christ through rightly receiving the Scripture in his life, he is saved. After his salvation, God intends for him to continue rightly receiving the Bible in his life:

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Here Paul taught Timothy that as a believer in Jesus Christ, he was to receive profit from all Scripture such that it all would perfect him as a man of God. Paul then expanded on how Scripture was to perfect Timothy as a man of God by telling him that through his rightly receiving all Scripture in his life, Timothy would be thoroughly furnished for all good works.

By concluding this teaching as he did, Paul expressed that God’s intent for providing the entirety of the Bible to every believer was so that he would be fully equipped to do all the good works that God wants him to do! Saying this, Paul taught the profound truth that a believer’s doing all the good works that God intends for him to do is the essential outcome that must result from his contact with all Scripture.

When a believer is not doing all the good works in his life that God wants him to do, he shows that he is not rightly receiving the Bible in his life. He must repent and believe what Scripture teaches him about all the good works that he is to do.

Conclusion

We must all assess ourselves with all diligence to see if we are rightly receiving the Bible in our lives. To whatever extent we are failing to do all the good works that God wants us to do, we are not rightly receiving the Bible in our lives.

Are you rightly receiving the Bible in your life?

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Discipleship, Exposition, Theology
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An Excellent Free Online Resource for Learning Spanish!

January 26, 2015

For the past 24 days, I have been learning Spanish on a free site that a friend told me about recently (duolingo.com). I am now at Level 8 and have found this site to be an excellent supplement to the many other means that I have been using to learn Spanish for the past three years! Duolingo

As you can see from the screenshot on the left, I have already completed 20 “sections”! I hope to finish the remaining 44 “sections” in the next two months or so.

Of the several sites that I have used to work on my Spanish so far, I think Duolingo has the best setup for systematically reviewing what you have learned. I look forward to working on improving my Spanish a lot in the near future through using this site intensively!

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Spanish
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Like Jesus from Childhood to Death!

January 24, 2015

Two profound statements in Scripture about Jesus arrest my attention nearly every time I read them:

Luk 2:40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

The first shows that as a child who was waxing strong in Spirit and filled with wisdom, Jesus had the grace of God upon Him. The second shows that Jesus tasted death for every man by the grace of God.

Comparing these two verses, we see that Jesus—both as a sinless child and as a dying Christ who died for our sins—was what He was by the grace of God! Obviously, these verses do not have as their primary focus that Jesus Himself was “very God of very God” because God does not need grace to be or do anything.

Yes, Jesus was “very God of very God,” but these verses forcefully teach us that we must not make that glorious truth the sum total of our understanding of Jesus’ life from childhood to death. A theology and practice that mostly overlooks or ignores the biblical teaching about the grace of God in Jesus’ life is a distorted and unbiblical theology and practice.

Although He was fully God Himself, Jesus yet both lived and died by the grace of God that was upon Him! Let us take great encouragement from these truths that we can be like Jesus (in the ways that we can and should be) from childhood to death by the grace of God!

Praise God for His marvelous grace that He pours out on all who repent toward Him and believe in His Son!

 

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Exhortation, Interpretation, Theology
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“Thoroughly Equipped to Witness for Christ”!

January 21, 2015

Lord willing, I will have the opportunity to preach a four-message series on Sunday mornings in February entitled “Thoroughly Equipped to Witness for Christ.” In my messages, I plan to treat many key passages in Acts that pertain to missions and evangelism.

As the Lord brings me to mind, I would appreciate prayer for Spirit-filled skillfulness for handling the Word properly in each message. If you happen to be in the Greenville area next month, I would like to invite you to come to hear these messages at Iglesia Bautista de la Fe in Greenville, SC.

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Preaching, Spanish
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A Key Recommendation Based on the Profound Glory of Theophilus

January 17, 2015

(I took this post down temporarily to correct an unintentional but serious factual error that I made originally: Because Moses wrote the Pentateuch, he, and not Luke, wrote far more of the Bible than any other writer of Scripture did.

I apologize for the inaccuracy of this post in its original form. Here is the corrected post.)

Analyzing in various ways the 66 books that the Holy Spirit inspired holy men of God to write reveals some striking and instructive facts about Scripture. After listing several of these facts, this post presents a key recommendation that stems from the profound distinction that Theophilus has among all people that have ever lived.

Noteworthy Facts about Scripture

1. The book of Psalms has the most chapters (150), verses (2,461), and words (43,738) of any single book of the Bible.1 Psalms is the only book of Scripture that we know with certainty was written by multiple authors.

We also know that many of the individual Psalms were written especially for specific people (the choir director, etc.). Moreover, we do not have any explicit indication that all the Psalms were specifically addressed initially to any one individual.

2. Moses wrote five books of the Bible, Genesis-Deuteronomy. These books combined comprise 5,852 verses and 156,736 words.

Moses authored far more verses and words of the Scripture than did any other author.2 Although his five books were for the children of Israel and were to be read to them, the books do not explicitly say that they were written for any specific individual.

3. Paul wrote 13 books of Scripture, far more than any other author of Scripture did. The Pauline Epistles comprise 2,033 verses and 43,487 words, which are both slightly less than the corresponding numbers for Psalms.

Paul addressed some of his epistles to individuals and others to groups of people, which means no single individual (or group) was the divinely intended initial recipient of all of Paul’s writings.

4. Although Luke wrote far fewer books than Paul and Moses did, and the combined size of his two books (Luke and Acts) is far less than the totals for the works of Moses, Luke’s writings are greater in both words (50,184 versus 43,487) and verses (2,158 versus 2,033) than the Pauline Epistles are when they are treated as a unit.

Compared to Psalms, although Luke-Acts has fewer verses (2,158) than the Psalms (2,461), it has more words than Psalms does (50,184 [Lk-Acts] versus 43,738 [Psalms]).

Although Luke wrote far fewer verses and words of Scripture than Moses did, he did write more of the New Testament than any other writer did.3

Luke wrote both of his books to the same man, Theophilus.

The following table helps us see further the significance of these facts:

Books of Scripture

The Profound Glory of Theophilus

The analysis of Scripture above underscores the biblical importance of Luke-Acts in comparison with the writings of other major contributors to Scripture. When we then also take into account that Scripture informs us explicitly that both Luke and Acts were written to the same person (Theophilus), we learn that God inspired far more Scripture to be written to Theophilus than He did to any other human being that has ever lived!

Moreover, Theophilus is the only person to whom we know with certainty God directed that two genres of Scripture be written (a Gospel; Acts). These facts show that the vast numbers of believers who have never thoroughly studied Luke-Acts as a unit should do so in order that they might be blessed in the same way that God blessed Theophilus by bestowing upon him the profound glory of being the initial recipient of Luke-Acts!

1All basic statistics in this post are for the books in English in the KJV and are based on the Detailed Stats available in the Search Statistics Window of BibleWorks 7.

2Moses also wrote Psalm 90, so the totals for the numbers of the verses and words that he wrote are actually greater than this but those additional verses and words do not affect the comparisons made in this post in any significant way.

3If Paul also wrote Hebrews, his writings would total 2,336 verses and 50,392 words. Paul would then have written more words of Scripture than Luke did, but he still would have written far less of Scripture than did Moses.

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Bible reading, Theology
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Why Do Some Editions of the KJV Do This in Acts 11:12?

January 13, 2015

I have read Acts 10:1-11:18 more than 50 times over the past 25 years. In spite of all those previous readings of this passage, I observed something a few days ago while reading an edition of the KJV that I have never noticed before in Acts 11:12.

What I observed still puzzles me because so far I have not been able to figure out any good reason for why this edition of the KJV (as well as some others) has a clear reference to the Holy Spirit printed the way that it does in Acts 11:12. To understand the issue with how this text reads in this edition, we first have to look at an earlier text in Acts 10 that directly ties to 11:12 in a very close way.

A Clear Reference to the Holy Spirit in Acts 10:19-20 That Is Capitalized

In Act 10, Luke relates at length how God worked in the lives of both Cornelius and Peter to bring Peter to Caesarea to evangelize Cornelius and his household (Acts 10:1-25). As part of God’s remarkable supernatural work to bring about this encounter, Peter testifies to direct divine revelation that was verbally given to him by the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:19).

In the Broadman and Holman Publishers 1988 Bilingual edition that has the Santa Biblia and the Holy Bible in parallel columns,1 Acts 10:19 reads this way:

Act 10:19 While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee.

 20 Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them.

The Holy Spirit (Acts 10:19) directed Peter to go with the three men who had come to him from Cornelius and even told him that He had personally sent them Himself (Acts 10:20)! Because to pneuma in this verse is indisputably a reference to the Holy Spirit and not Peter’s own human spirit, editions of the KJV that have the word spirit capitalized here have correctly rendered it so.

A Clear Reference to the Holy Spirit in Acts 11:12 That Is Not Capitalized

As part of his testimony that explained why he went in to uncircumcised people and ate with them (Acts 11:2-3), Peter testified that the Holy Spirit had directed him to go with the men that had come to him. In the B&H 1988 Bilingual edition, Acts 11:12 is printed as follows:

Act 11:12 And the spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man’s house:

 13 And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter;

Notice that verse 12 has “spirit” in it in a statement that is Luke’s recording Peter testifying about precisely the same event that Luke speaks of in Acts 10:19-20. Unquestionably, the word spirit in this verse is a reference to the Holy Spirit yet this edition of the KJV has “Spirit” in Acts 10:19 but “spirit” in Acts 11:12.

Why Is This Difference in Capitalization Present in Some Editions of the KJV?

This difference in capitalization does not (and could not) have anything to do with differences in manuscript readings, such as textual variants, etc. Why then is this puzzling difference present in some editions of the KJV?2

If you have any reasonable ideas for why some editions of the KJV do this, I would appreciate hearing from you.

1Copyright 1988 Holman Bible Publishers.

2Two other editions that I have that have this same difference in these readings are the Riverside Book & Bible House Holy Bible Old and New Testaments in the King James Version (Printed in England by Eyre and Spottiswoode Limited Her Majesty’s Printers, London) and The Gideons International 1977 Edition of The New Testament of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ with Psalms and Proverbs (Copyright 1968 by National Publishing Company Philadelphia, Pa.).

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Bible reading, Biblical Languages
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How Acts 9:17 Teaches Us Not to Commit a Very Common and Serious Interpretational Error

January 9, 2015

Acts 9 is the first of three accounts in the book of Acts that relate the conversion of Saul. After Jesus appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus, Saul was temporarily blinded, and as a result, other people had to lead him into the city of Damascus (Acts 9:8). He then spent three days there in his sightless condition (Acts 9:9).

During that time, the Lord appeared to Ananias, a devout disciple (Acts 9:10; cf. Acts 22:12), and commanded him to go minister to Saul (Acts 9:10-12). After having his objections answered with firm insistence by the Lord that he yet must do what the Lord had directed him to do (Acts 9:13-16), Ananias came to where Saul was staying and ministered to him (Acts 9:17-18).

As part of that ministry, Ananias laid hands on Saul and said to him, “Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 9:17). This statement provides us with some important information about Ananias that even many otherwise careful readers often overlook.

When Ananias said to Saul that he knew that the Lord had appeared to Saul on the way as he was coming, Ananias testified to his knowledge of something that he could not have known as an eyewitness because he was not present when the Lord appeared to Saul. How then did Ananias know that the Lord had appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus?

Based on the information supplied by Luke in Acts 9 and 22, we have no indication that any of the other people that were with Saul when the Lord appeared to him had come before Saul did to Ananias and told him what had happened to Saul. The only way that Ananias, therefore, could have known that the Lord had appeared to Saul on the way as he was coming to Damascus was for the Lord Himself to have informed Ananias about His doing so.

The report of the Lord’s appearing in a vision to Ananias (Acts 9:10-16), however, does not say anything about Jesus’ having told Ananias about His appearing to Saul on the road to Damascus. Because Ananias nevertheless testified to Saul of his knowing about that event, we must conclude that Luke has not provided us with an exhaustive record of what the Lord said to Ananias when He appeared to him to direct him to go to minister to Saul.

This observation is critical to keep in mind when we make statements about what was or was not said by people in other events recorded in Acts (as well as also in the rest of Scripture). We learn from this analysis of Acts 9:17 in its larger context that it is a serious error to assert that something was not said on a particular occasion just because a brief report of that event in Scripture does not say anything about such a statement.1

Let us learn from this study not to commit this very common and serious interpretational error!

1Here are four examples of false conclusions that people have come to by committing this error:

—Philip did not preach about the Resurrection of Jesus to the Ethiopian official, and he was saved without testimony to the Resurrection (Acts 8)

—Paul did not preach about repentance in Damascus (Acts 9)

—Paul and Silas did not testify to the Resurrection of Jesus to the Philippian jailor, and he was saved without hearing about the Resurrection (Acts 16)

—Paul failed to preach the gospel in Athens because he did not preach about the Cross or about the name of Jesus (Acts 17)

 

 

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Interpretation
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20,000 Views of My Site (according to Jetpack)!

January 5, 2015

A few minutes ago, the Site Stats utility on Jetpack registered that I now have had 20,000 views of my site overall since I started using Jetpack to track views on my site. Although the actual overall number that I have had is no doubt higher because I did not have Jetpack until quite some time after I began to post on my blog, I am encouraged by having objective information about reaching at least this milestone! Praise God!

20000 Views

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Ministry, Testimony
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Una breve testimonio sobre la lectura de la Biblia

January 5, 2015

Me convertí en un cristiano en algún momento durante la primera semana de enero de 1990. Es difícil de creer que era hace 25 años ahora!

Dios se ha mantenido fiel a mí todos estos años, a pesar de mi continuamente en su defecto. En esta mi cumpleaños espiritual vigésimoquinto, me gustaría dar las gracias y alabar al Padre de las luces, que es el dador de todo don bueno y perfecto, por darme una nueva vida en Cristo Jesús (Santiago 1:17-18)!

Estoy muy agradecido por haber tenido el privilegio de leer la Biblia completa al menos una vez cada año de mi vida cristiana hasta el momento. Gracias, Padre Celestial, por ponerme en un país donde tuve la oportunidad de tener la libertad de hacerlo!

En mis primeros veinticuatro años como creyente, he leído la Biblia en Inglés cada año. El año pasado fue especial porque yo era capaz por primera vez de leer toda la Biblia en español!

Después de haber tenido sólo un semestre de español en la secundaria y estudiar español por mi cuenta tan sólo los últimos tres años, por lo que es a través de la Biblia en español en el año 2014 fue especialmente alentador y es un testimonio del poder de Dios para otorgar capacidad especial para los quienes Él dirige a servirle en sus caminos inescrutables.

Dios mediante, espero poder hacerlo a través de la Biblia de nuevo en Inglés en 2015. Tengo pensado también para que lea como gran parte de la Biblia en español como pueda este año.

Si usted es un cristiano, me gustaría animarle fuertemente a hacer lo que usted necesita y puede hacer legítimamente para leer toda la Biblia en 2015. Que Dios nos dé la gracia, el deseo, la diligencia, la disciplina, la fidelidad y la perseverancia para hacerlo para Su gloria eterna y nuestro mayor bien!

¡Gloria a Dios!

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Spanish, Testimony
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