Author: Dale A. Brueggemann
“Salt” & “Light”
I’m reading Stott’s commentary on the Sermon on the Mount and loving this classic. Such a combination of solid reflection, rhetorical excellence, and spiritual fervor….
Fasting on Zion and throughout Nineveh
The prophet Joel calls for fasting at the temple in Jerusalem; and in the book of Jonah, pagans muster themselves to fast and repent in…
Charismata: Summary & Conclusion
Peter’s twofold summary of the twenty various gifts of the Spirit is comprehensive but not detailed; he lists the gifts of speaking and of helping…
A Canonical Rule
Ignore Anyone Who Ignores These Directions (1 Cor 14:36–38) Paul forbids the Corinthians to start originating novel practices without conforming them to Scripture, which must…
Women & the orderly exercise of spiritual gifts (1 Cor 14:33b–35).
This text is one of the most controversial in the New Testament, along with other Pauline texts that regulate the church role of women in…
Gifts: Regulated for Order
The gifts should be regulated so that the congregation can maintain order (1 Cor 14:26–33a). This means that a congregation should regulate the frequency of…
Sign of Judgment or Salvific Sign (1 Cor 14:21–25)
Uninterpreted tongues are a sign of judgment for unbelievers, interpreted tongues or prophecy can serve as a sign that might lead to repentance (1 Cor…
Interpreting messages in tongues
Unedifying Uninterpreted Tongues (1 Cor 14:6–12) Uninterpreted tongues have no power to convey meaning, and thus no power to edify others (1 Cor 14:6–12). Paul…
Rules about Messages in Tongues (1 Cor 14:1–25)
Before Paul leaves behind his discussion on how the church should regulate the gifts, he turns from the general exercise of all the gifts to…
Imperfect versus Perfect
Friends may fail us—lovers may fail us—but love itself never fails. But then the eternal “God is love” (1 John 4:8). In keeping with the…