Redeeming God

Liberating you from bad ideas about God

Learn the MOST ESSENTIAL truths for following Jesus.

Get FREE articles and audio teachings in my discipleship emails!


  • Join Us!
  • Scripture
  • Theology
  • My Books
  • About
  • Discipleship
  • Courses
    • What is Hell?
    • Skeleton Church
    • The Gospel According to Scripture
    • The Gospel Dictionary
    • The Re-Justification of God
    • What is Prayer?
    • Adventures in Fishing for Men
    • What are the Spiritual Gifts?
    • How to Study the Bible
    • Courses FAQ
  • Forum
    • Introduce Yourself
    • Old Testament
    • New Testament
    • Theology Questions
    • Life & Ministry

[#61] The New Creation in the Gospel of John

By Jeremy Myers
40 Comments

[#61] The New Creation in the Gospel of John
http://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/p/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/298985843-redeeminggod-61-the-new-creation-in-the-gospel-of-john.mp3

gospel of john I have said numerous times before that Genesis forms the foundation for the entire Bible. Today we are going to jump forward into the New Testament and take a brief glimpse at how the Gospel of John pulls themes and ideas from Genesis 1–3, and also how the first Epistle of John pulls themes from Genesis 4.

Hopefully, what you learn today will allow you to read the Gospel of John and the Letters of John in a whole new light.

In this discussion of the Gospel of John we look at:

  • How John uses Genesis as foundational themes in his Gospel account
  • How various events in the Gospel point us back to events in Genesis
  • How the first Epistle of John is also focused on Genesis 4

Resources:

  • Become a Member of RedeemingGod.com
  • The Atonement of God on Amazon
  • Subscribe and Leave a Review on iTunes

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Those who are part of my online discipleship group may download the MP3 audio file for this podcast and view the podcast transcript below.

You must join a discipleship group or login to download the MP3 and view the transcript.

Membership-become-a-member

Thanks for visiting this page ... but this page is for Discipleship Group members.

If you are already part of a Faith, Hope, or Love Discipleship Group,
Login here.

If you are part of the free "Grace" Discipleship group, you will need to
Upgrade your Membership to one of the paid groups.

If you are not part of any group, you may learn about the various groups and their benefits here:
Join Us Today.

Membership-become-a-member


Do you like learning about the Bible online?

Do you like learning about Scripture and theology through my podcast? If so, then you will also love my online courses. They all have MP3 audio downloads, PDF transcripts, quizzes, and a comment section for questions and interaction with other students.

If you want to deepen your relationship with God and better understand Scripture, take one (or all) of these courses. They are great for personal study or for a small group Bible study.

You can see the list of available courses here, and if you join the Discipleship group, you can take all the courses at no additional cost. Go here to learn more and join now.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture Bible & Theology Topics: 1 John, Cain and Abel, crucifixion, Genesis 1-4, Gospel of John, Jesus, resurrection

Advertisement

[#06] Genesis 1:6-8 – The Firmament in the Midst of the Waters

By Jeremy Myers
17 Comments

[#06] Genesis 1:6-8 – The Firmament in the Midst of the Waters
https://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/p/traffic.libsyn.com/redeeminggod/06_Genesis_1_6-8.mp3

One-Verse-Podcast-Jeremy-MyersAre you ready to hear more about the mythical background to the Genesis creation story? Have you been telling your family and friends how Genesis 1 is connected to the Babylonian Enuma Elish, the Gilgamesh Epic, and various Egyptian creation epics, and they want to hear more?

I hope so, because I have a lot more details in today’s show on Genesis 1:6-8 about the connections between these stories and the story as it is recorded in our Bible.

The Text of Genesis 1:6-8:

Genesis 1:6-8. Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament, and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.

In this discussion of Genesis 1:6-8 we look at:

  • How a literal, scientific reading of Genesis 1:6-8 completely contradicts reality.
  • Why a literary, theological reading of Genesis 1:6-8 is preferable, and yields deeper and more important truths.
  • How ancient people viewed the order of the cosmos.
  • How Moses is writing this creation account to subvert the Egyptian creation accounts that the Israelites would have known.
  • The key truth that death precedes resurrection.

Geb Nut Shu Egyptian Creation

Geb Nut Shu Egpyptian Creation Genesis 1 6-8

Resources:

  • Logos Bible Software
  • Gordon Wenham on Genesis or at CBD
  • Dictionary of Biblical Imagery or at CBD
  • Keil & Delitzsch Commentary or at CBD
  • Walton, Ancient Israelite Literature in its Cultural Context
  • Creation Myths by Johnston
  • Genesis Cosmology by Hasel
  • Subscribe and Leave a Review on iTunes

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Those who are part of my online discipleship group may download the MP3 audio file for this podcast and view the podcast transcript below.

You must join a discipleship group or login to download the MP3 and view the transcript.

Membership-become-a-member

Thanks for visiting this page ... but this page is for Discipleship Group members.

If you are already part of a Faith, Hope, or Love Discipleship Group,
Login here.

If you are part of the free "Grace" Discipleship group, you will need to
Upgrade your Membership to one of the paid groups.

If you are not part of any group, you may learn about the various groups and their benefits here:
Join Us Today.

Membership-become-a-member


Do you like learning about the Bible online?

Do you like learning about Scripture and theology through my podcast? If so, then you will also love my online courses. They all have MP3 audio downloads, PDF transcripts, quizzes, and a comment section for questions and interaction with other students.

If you want to deepen your relationship with God and better understand Scripture, take one (or all) of these courses. They are great for personal study or for a small group Bible study.

You can see the list of available courses here, and if you join the Discipleship group, you can take all the courses at no additional cost. Go here to learn more and join now.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture Bible & Theology Topics: creation, Genesis 1:6-8, podcast, resurrection, science

Advertisement

Are Christians infatuated with the Blood of Jesus?

By Jeremy Myers
30 Comments

Are Christians infatuated with the Blood of Jesus?

fountain of bloodHave you ever listened to some of the songs Christians sing around Easter? We seem to be infatuated with the blood of Jesus.

Take this song as an example:

There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.

Or this one:

Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Refrain:
Are you washed in the blood,
In the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb?
Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Then there is this song:

What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain:
O precious is the flow that makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know; nothing but the blood of Jesus.

blood of JesusThese songs have images of a bloody river and a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins. Yikes! Some Christian songs sound more like a gruesome and gory scene from a Freddy Krueger movie than from something having to do with Jesus Christ.

And what’s this about washing in the blood of the lamb? That sounds an awful lot like some ancient Pagan sacrificial rituals where worshippers pour the blood of bulls, goats, and lambs over their heads.

Is this really what God wants from us? To take baths in the blood of Jesus? To swim in rivers of blood and dance around in bloody fountains?

What is the deal with the blood of Jesus?

I fully admit that I used to focus a lot on the blood of Jesus as well. In fact, I once preached a whole sermon about the painful trial and bloody ordeal that Jesus experienced on the cross.

But in recent years, I have begun to wonder if all this emphasis on the blood of Jesus, including His suffering and pain on the cross, is what Jesus really wants.

Does Jesus want us to focus on the blood He spilled and the pain He endured on the cross?

I used to think so, but in recent years, I am not so sure.

Reservations About the Blood of Jesus

One of the first things that made me wonder about our infatuation with they blood of Jesus is the realization that the Gospels don’t say much about the blood of Jesus. Similarly, there is hardly any mention about His suffering and pain. For the most part, the Gospel accounts of the crucifixion of Jesus are fairly benign.

blood of Jesus ChristThey report the details of what happened and what was said, but they report almost nothing about the gruesome nature of crucifixion or the pain that Jesus must have endured.

Then more recently, I read the following section from Darin Hufford’s book The Misunderstood God:

We have scientifically based teachings that walk us through the pain and suffering Jesus must have gone through during the Crucifixion. We make movies that dramatize the flogging and beating He underwent on our behalf. At Easter we put together pageants and invite outsiders to come and watch Jesus get the tar beat out of Him for their sins.

We have come to believe that it is God’s heart to hold this moment over the heads of His children in an effort to get them to obey the rules. If we are graphically reminded of the pain and suffering He underwent on our behalf, perhaps we will do our best to repay Him by living a right life.

The God I grew up with was like the mother who constantly reminded her kids of the pain she went through during childbirth in an effort to guilt them into doing what she wants. … Sadly, the gospel message has been affected by this way of thinking. “God loves you; come to Him,” has been turned into, “Jesus got a major beating that was meant for you, so come to Him.”

… Imagine if a man broke into my home and was planning on killing my wife and children, but I convinced him to take my life instead of theirs. If he let them escape and then proceeded to take me into a back room and film himself torturing me for hours until finally taking my life, do you think I would ever want my family to see that videotape? Absolutely not! I would want them to remember my life and my love for them. There is nothing inside me that would ever want them to view the pain I underwent to save their lives. That would break their hearts.

This is how God feels when we reenact the stations of the cross in an effort to riddle people with guilt and condemnation. It doesn’t motivate; it exasperates. This is not what love desires (pp. 63, 67).

He makes a good point, doesn’t he?

One could argue, I suppose, that the Gospel authors barely mentioned the blood and gore because the original readers of the Gospel accounts were quite familiar with the agonizing nature of crucifixion, and since most of us are not, the details need to be presented. To some degree, I hold to this argument myself, which is why I continue to keep online my study about the pain of crucifixion.

blood of Jesus ChristYet at the same time, if we want to truly understand what the Gospel authors were saying, we need to do our best to let them provide the details they think are important, and try to set aside the rest as nothing more than interesting historical side notes.

And when it comes to understanding what the Gospel authors are saying about the crucifixion of Jesus, they have chosen to focus very little of their attention on the suffering and blood of Jesus.

So if we want to understand the Gospels, we should do the same.

The blood of Jesus is not that big of a deal in the Gospels, nor is His pain and suffering.

Jesus went to the cross out of love, to rescue us from sin, death, and devil, but since the Gospels (or the rest of the New Testament for that matter) don’t place much emphasis on the blood of Jesus or the pain He went through on the cross, maybe we shouldn’t either…

The cross of Jesus is CENTRAL to everything!

Transform your life and theology by focusing on the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus:

Fill out the form below to receive several emails from me about the death and resurrection of Jesus.

(Note: If you are a member of RedeemingGod.com, login and then revisit this page to update your membership.)

God is Redeeming Theology Bible & Theology Topics: blood, crucifixion, cruciform, crucivision, death of Jesus, Easter, resurrection, Theology of Jesus

Advertisement

How Central is the Cross of Jesus to your Life and Theology?

By Jeremy Myers
23 Comments

How Central is the Cross of Jesus to your Life and Theology?

Do you understand everything that occurred in the crucifixion of Jesus, and how central it is to your life and theology?

Whether you think so or not, let me introduce you to the cross of Jesus and how truly significant it really is.

For me, the death and resurrection of Jesus is the foundation to how I read and study Scripture. The cross is at the center of my theology. What Jesus did on the cross provides the pinnacle example of how Christians are to live our lives. Without the cross, there is no Gospel. And as Paul says, if Christ is not raised, our faith is in vain (1 Cor 15:17).

crucifixion of Jesus

I have written a lot on this blog about the death and resurrection of Jesus, and some people have asked that I make these posts more accessible to readers. So to help you see the same thing, I have decided to make several of my central blog posts about the death and resurrection of Jesus available to people by email.

If you want to receive my posts on the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus in your email inbox for you to read at your leisure, I have now created a way for you to do just that. To get started, add your name and email address in the form at the bottom of this post.

redeeming JesusThe crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus forms the foundation for everything I write on this blog. Everything.

What Jesus accomplished on the cross and through His resurrection is central to everything else. The death and resurrection of Jesus are not only central to Scripture and the Gospel, but are also central to learning (maybe for the first time) what God is like, and how we are supposed to live our lives as followers of Jesus.

By reading these emails, you are forming a firm foundation for understanding Scripture, theology, church, and life. You are gaining what I like to call “crucivision.” You will learn to see everything through the lens of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Fill out the form below to get started. I cannot wait for you to start fully understanding the significance of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

There are about 26 emails in this series, and you will get one every Friday, which means that by getting these emails, you can spend the next six months focusing your mind on “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified.” This will be revolutionary for you. See you soon!

The cross of Jesus is CENTRAL to everything!

Transform your life and theology by focusing on the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus:

Fill out the form below to receive several emails from me about the death and resurrection of Jesus.

(Note: If you are a member of RedeemingGod.com, login and then revisit this page to update your membership.)

God is Featured, Redeeming Theology Bible & Theology Topics: cross, crucifixion, cruciform, crucivision, death of Jesus, hermeneutics, Jesus, resurrection, Theology - General, Theology of Jesus

Advertisement

I am Dying … (So I Can Live Again)

By Jeremy Myers
47 Comments

I am Dying … (So I Can Live Again)

One of the themes of my life is that death precedes resurrection.

I firmly believe that many people hold on to personal goals and pet projects long after they should have let them die a natural death. If we would let these things die, this would enable God to raise up something new in our life from the dust and ashes of the past.

I am dying

I wrote about this in The Death and Resurrection of the Church. Churches often keep programs running for many years after they have ceased contributing anything to the life of Jesus in the church. If a church would remove programs from life-support, they would see God raise up new leaders with new ideas for new ways to reach new people.

But talking about letting things die is one thing. Actually letting things die is quite another.

I have recently begun to feel God calling me to let a lot of things in my life die.

What things?

dying to my blogSpecifically, most of the things related to my “online presence.”

This blog.

My publishing company.

My books.

My writing.

My web design work.

My Twitter account.

My Facebook account.

I feel that God is calling me to allow everything that makes me “me” to die.

Why? Because my online presence has consumed the real-life me.

When I first started my website over fifteen years ago, I wrote just for the fun of writing.

But in the last year or two, writing has become a burden, a chore. It has become something I must do so that I can maintain everything I have built up to this point. Rather than being excited about some new insight from Scripture or idea about theology which I get to pass on to others, my writing has become more about pageviews, backlinks, ad revenue, email subscriber stats, book sales, and comment counts. And as I have come to focus on these, the thrill and joy of study and writing has disappeared.

So I feel God wants me to just let it all die.

This is terrifying for me.

I have spent countless thousands of hours building my website and getting it to the place it is now. Can I just let it all go?

I generate money every month from advertisements and books sales which I have come to depend upon for monthly bills. What will I do without that money?

I have made some good online friends through online blogging and writing. Will they now disappear?

I do feel, however, that if I let everything die, God will raise something up from the ashes. I feel that God has something more for me than the tiny little blogging and book publishing empire I have built for myself (Which is not an empire at all, but more like a cool-aid stand on the corner…)

But at the same time, I wish that before I let everything die, God would tell me what He is going to resurrect. That would make the dying so much easier.

Yet I know that God does not work that way… Every time I have seen death lead to resurrection in my life, I have never, not once, known what the season of resurrection was going to look like during the time I was going through the season of death.

So I am going to let things die, and then see what God raises up in His own time.

Here is what this looks like for my blog and books:

I am not actually “killing” anything. I’m not going to delete this blog or cancel my Facebook account. I am just going to step back from it all. I am taking a break from online activity.

For the most part, I will not be very active on Twitter, Facebook, or on this blog. For how long? I do not know. It may be a month. It may be a year. It may be forever. I just don’t know.

Nothing that is currently online will be taken down. I am leaving up all my blogs and websites. I just will not be adding content to them regularly (if at all).

I do, of course, have some commitments to tie up. I have agreed to publish some books through Redeeming Press. This will get done. Those authors who are already published will continue to receive royalty payments.

I am blogging once a week in preparation for the “All About Eve” conference. That will continue as well.

But that’s about it.

I think one reason God is calling me to die to all this is because very little of it is me. Over the past two years, I have come to see that God does not want us to be like Him, nor does God want us to be like Jesus. God calls us to be fully us.

We most glorify God and we most reveal Jesus only when we live up to who God made us to be and where Jesus is leading us to go.

As long as we try to be like God and point people to Jesus, we are hiding from and even denying the person God has made us to be.

As I look back over my research, study, and writing from the past several years, I see that I have been doing everything I can to not be me, but to be someone else instead. This is not all bad, because we learn by imitation, but God has recently been calling me to be me.

new lifeSince I am not sure I know what that means, the me I have become must die so that the me God desires can rise up refreshed and renewed.

So until God raises up something new in my life, or gives me direction on what He wants me to do, or maybe just gives me permission to pick back up where I left off because I needed a Sabbath rest, I will not regularly publish new blog posts, write new books, respond to comments, or interact with people much on the various social sites. If you send me email, I cannot promise I will respond to that either. I just feel God calling me to die.

And when resurrection comes … as it always does … it will be in God’s timing, in God’s way, and for God’s purposes.

See you on the other side!

God is Redeeming Church Bible & Theology Topics: death, Discipleship, dying, new life, resurrection, synchroblog

Advertisement

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 5
  • Next Page »
Join the discipleship group
Learn about the gospel and how to share it

Take my new course:

The Gospel According to Scripture
Best Books Every Christian Should Read
Study Genesis with me
Subscribe to my Podcast

Click the image below to Subscribe on iTunes

One Verse Podcast with Jeremy Myers

Do you like my blog?
Try one of my books:

Click the image below to see what books are available.

Books by Jeremy Myers

Take Online Courses
with N. T. Wright

Choose from Six Courses:
*N. T. Wright on Jesus
*N. T. Wright on Romans
*N. T. Wright on Galatians
*N. T. Wright on Philippians
*N. T. Wright on the Gospel
*N. T. Wright on Worldviews

Theological Study Archives

  • Theology – General
  • Theology Introduction
  • Theology of the Bible
  • Theology of God
  • Theology of Man
  • Theology of Sin
  • Theology of Jesus
  • Theology of Salvation
  • Theology of the Holy Spirit
  • Theology of the Church
  • Theology of Angels
  • Theology of the End Times
  • Theology Q&A

Bible Study Archives

  • Bible Studies on Genesis
  • Bible Studies on Esther
  • Bible Studies on Psalms
  • Bible Studies on Jonah
  • Bible Studies on Matthew
  • Bible Studies on Luke
  • Bible Studies on Romans
  • Bible Studies on Ephesians
  • Miscellaneous Bible Studies

Advertise or Donate

  • Advertise on RedeemingGod.com
  • Donate to Jeremy Myers

Search (and you Shall Find)

Get Books by Jeremy Myers

Books by Jeremy Myers

Schedule Jeremy for an interview

Click here to Contact Me!

© 2021 Redeeming God · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Knownhost and the Genesis Framework