Galatians

Free Piper & Sproul Sermon Tapes

October 15, 2007 by Phil Gons

I’m getting rid of all of my old sermon tapes and planning to donate them to Goodwill. Does anyone want them before I do? Here are the series that I have:

John Piper

Four Sermons on the Holy Spirit (4 Sermons on 2 Tapes)
Hallowed Be Thy Name: Eight Sermons on the Names of God (8 Sermons on 4 Tapes)
Preach As Worship: Meditations on Expository Exultation (4 Sermons on 2 Tapes)
The Providence of God (2 Sermons on 2 Tapes)
Romans 8:28–30: Eight Sermons (8 Sermons on 4 Tapes)
What Is Baptism? (4 Sermons on 2 Tapes)

Garlington’s Galatians Commentaries

May 2, 2007 by Phil Gons

I previously posted about Don Garlington’s commentary on Galatians being available as a free PDF from the Paul Page. But I wasn’t sure exactly which Galatians commentary it was. So I emailed Dr. Garlington and got the official answer.

As for Galatians, I appreciate that the situation is confusing. The thing has gone through an “evolutionary process.” First there was the manuscript for EBC, which was submitted three years ago and still awaits publication (supposedly in the Fall). That is a very basic commentary aimed at a more general audience.

When Was Abraham Justified? Part 1

April 7, 2007 by Phil Gons

When was Abraham justified? This might seem like a rather elementary question with an obvious answer: Abraham was justified when he believed the Lord and the Lord credited it to him as righteousness, which is recorded in Genesis 15:6.

Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
Genesis 15:6

Certainly Paul’s use of this text in defense of justification by faith apart from works in Romans 4:3 and Galatians 3:6 confirms that Genesis 15:6 was the precise point of Abraham’s justification, doesn’t it?

What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Romans 4:3

So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Galatians 3:6

This is probably what most people assume. It’s what I thought—prior to giving it some careful consideration.

I’m now convinced that Abraham was already justified prior to the events recorded at the beginning of Genesis 15. In this post I’d like to give some arguments in favor of this position, and in the next post I will answer objections and respond to potential problems.

As I see it, the main issue hinges on one central point:

[Read more…]

Köstenberger on NT Commentaries

March 24, 2007 by Phil Gons

Andreas Köstenberger comments on how frequently he is asked for New Testament commentary recommendations. He’s finally compiled a list, which will appear in a forthcoming book entitled, Invitation to Biblical Interpretation, which is part of the Invitation to Theological Interpretation series. The volume is a couple years away from publication, but he shares his list in the meantime. I love it when a man of Köstenberger’s caliber recommends commentaries. They quickly get added to my wishlist.

Here are his recommendations on Galatians—a book to which I’m giving focused attention for my dissertation.

Don Garlington’s Commentary on Galatians—Free!

February 20, 2007 by Phil Gons

I just found out that Don Garlington‘s commentary on Galatians is available as a free PDF from the Paul Page. It appears to be his contribution to the forthcoming volume 11 of the revised EBC rather than his 2002 Galatians commentary or his revised 2004 commentary, since it has citations from sources in 2006. I’m not positive on this, but it seems fairly likely. Regardless of which one it is, it’s worth downloading for future reference. For those who aren’t aware: Garlington supports the essence of the new perspective.

HT: Matthew D. Montonini

Update: The Paul Page is rather sporadic. It took me numerous attempts before being able to access the page and the PDF. It appears they are upgrading their server software or having problems. In the meantime, you can download the PDF from my site.

Update 2: See my updated post Garlington’s Galatians Commentaries.

Wright on Imputation

December 5, 2006 by Phil Gons

I found this selection from Wright (see the whole lecture) to be helpful in clarifying his view on imputation:

The covenant plan of God has what may loosely be called a ‘participationist’ aspect, and this, too, is part of the glorification of God, as I have already shown from Romans 15. Abraham’s true family, the single ‘seed’ which God promised him, is summed up in the Messiah, whose role precisely as Messiah is not least to draw together the identity of the whole of God’s people so that what is true of him is true of them and vice versa. Here we arrive at one of the great truths of the gospel, which is that the accomplishment of Jesus Christ is reckoned to all those who are ‘in him’. This is the truth which has been expressed within the Reformed tradition in terms of ‘imputed righteousness’, often stated in terms of Jesus Christ having fulfilled the moral law and thus having accumulated a ‘righteous’ status which can be shared with all his people. [Read more…] about Wright on Imputation

Paradigm Shift—Paul’s Use of Σάρξ

October 18, 2006 by Phil Gons

Over the past couple of years, and particularly the past several months, I’ve been in the process of a fairly significant paradigm shift in the way I read the NT—particularly Paul. Though I have already made a major shift, I’m still somewhat in transition; I’m still testing my conclusions to see if they fit naturally or if they must be forced to work. The shift involves a significant challenge to the way interpretors for hundreds of years have understood Paul’s use of σάρξ.

Several factors have influenced this transition.

(1) I chose Herman Ridderbos for my Adv. NTT theologian project, whose emphasis on Heilsgeschichte has opened my eyes to the objective, historical elements of Paul’s thought that are too often read in a more existential, ahistorical (and acontextual!) way. One example: when Paul says that now is the day of salvation, he doesn’t mean this text to be used (primarily) as a appeal to teenage campers to make a decision for Christ before it’s too late; rather, he is arguing that the fulfillment of the promise of the New Covenant has dawned with the death and resurrection of Jesus. We are living in the era of salvation foretold by the OT prophets.

Gal 6:16—Some Additional Thoughts

September 30, 2006 by Phil Gons

If you read my previous post about the function of καί and its implications for the various interpretations of τὸν Ἰσραὴλ τοῦ θεοῦ, you may have been left with some lingering questions—as was I. In addition, I was missing one vital piece of information that makes view #1 slightly more plausible. Since I don’t think I expressed the issues quite cogently enough the first time, I’m going to take another shot at it.

The two questions that I was left asking myself were:

If the interpretation which understands καί to mean and is so clearly wrong, why do the majority of English translations translate it that way?
Is the English word and capable of being used to join two items when the former encompasses the latter? For example, is and being used properly in this statement: I love food and pizza? Or does and—to be used properly—have to join two distinct items?

Allow me to (1) recap, (2) revisit the view that understands καί to mean and, and then (3) answer the two questions posed above.