In Romans 1, Paul portrays a humanity that suppresses the truth that God exists in unrighteousness. God has therefore withdrawn Himself in this time. In the language of the Hebrew Bible: God hides His face (Deut. 31:17-18). But although God… Lees verder
In many of his letters, Paul emphasizes his apostleship. He was sent by Christ Jesus, the resurrected one. Time and again, he emphasizes his special calling. A different ministry was given to him than to the twelve. Israel and the… Lees verder
1 Corinthians 15 is by far the most extensive exposition on resurrection in Scripture. It is amazing how Paul powerfully sets out here that the gospel is universal and truly encompasses all people: “for just as in Adam all die,… Lees verder
In 1 Thessalonians 4:13, Paul writes to his readers “concerning those who have fallen asleep.” What would happen to those who do not remain alive until the coming of the Lord? What does he say regarding these “dead in Christ”… Lees verder
By definition, a funeral is a form of burial in which someone who has passed away is buried. There are also other forms of burial, such as cremation. There are also various traditions regarding the burial of the dead, often… Lees verder
In Ephesians 2, Paul uses two images interchangeably to illustrate what the church (Greek: ecclesia) is. Here, he intermingles the imagery of a body and a temple. The nations were distinguished from the Jewish people by carnal differences, such as… Lees verder
In Ephesians 3, Paul speaks about the stewardship, the household, that has been given to him (:2). He says that the secret has been made known to him by revelation and that he had already written briefly about it earlier… Lees verder
In a previous blog, I wrote about the view that Paul, at the beginning of his ministry, was focused on the conversion of the Jewish people. According to that view, his apostleship initially did not differ from that of the… Lees verder
In Ephesians 3, Paul indicates that the secret (>the mystery) was revealed to him by revelation. He says that he had already written about it earlier, “briefly before.” Some argue that Paul had no knowledge of this secret at the… Lees verder
Under the Old Covenant, the people of Israel brought sacrifices to God. We find this, for example, in Lev. 1:2, 27:9 and 11, and Num. 9:7. The Hebrew word translated in these texts as offering or sacrifice is korban (H7133).… Lees verder
When Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8: “this is a gift from God”, to which word does he refer with the demonstrative pronoun this? Does he refer to: grace, saved, or faith? Or is it something else? Below is the verse:… Lees verder
When we as believers experience struggle, to the eye this struggle will appear to be a struggle against people of flesh and blood. But Scripture says that we do not have a struggle against flesh and blood, but that behind… Lees verder
The section in Ephesians 6 where Paul speaks about the spiritual armor is well known. Perhaps less well known is that Paul derives the imagery in these verses directly from the Old Testament, namely from the prophet Isaiah. And to… Lees verder
In Dutch, the title of this blog is: “laat God Zich verbidden?” The Dutch verb verbidden literally contains the word bidden (“to pray”) and conveys the idea of persuading God through prayer. Is that possible? Scripture speaks several times about… Lees verder
Last Sunday, during a Bible study, I quoted Paul’s verse from Romans 8, where he says we are “more than conquerors.” I said, among other things, that Christ is the conqueror; He conquered death. We, however, share in that victory,… Lees verder
Samson’s secret lay (primarily) in his long hair. That was one of the elements of his Nazariteship. Just as long hair in women represents glory or honor (1 Corinthians 11:15), so it is the opposite in men. For men, long… Lees verder
When children’s Bibles and songs mention Samson, his low morals are often pointed out. He visited a prostitute, fought and murdered freely, and ignored his parents’ advice. Yet, in Hebrews 11, Samson is mentioned in the account of Old Testament… Lees verder
Samson is said to have begun to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines (Judg. 13:5). It was only much later that King David achieved the final victory over this enemy (2 Sam.3:18). But the true deliverance of Israel… Lees verder
So far, we have looked at what Matthew, Mark, and Luke record about the crucifixion. Finally, if we compare John’s account with this, we are confirmed in the fact that there were three crosses on Golgotha. Interestingly, John does not… Lees verder
In the previous blog post, I mentioned the two main sources I know that claim there were five crosses on Golgotha. When I refer to “the article,” I refer to the first one, as it is more extensive than the… Lees verder
Were there three or five crosses on Golgotha? Most readers will never have asked themselves that question. After all, it is common knowledge that the Lord was crucified with two others. Yet, especially when something is rarely questioned, it’s good… Lees verder
When Paul arrives in Athens, the center of philosophy, in Acts 17 (the word “wishers” in verse 18 literally means “philosophers“), he doesn’t bombard them with Bible texts, but appeals to their common sense, to wisdom. Philosophy means: love of… Lees verder
Peter, in his famous speech on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, demonstrates that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah and would rise from the dead. His listeners are Israelites (verses 22 and 36), and he therefore appeals to… Lees verder
A well-known song in Christian Netherlands is: I can do all things, followed by: in Him who gives me strength (Revival songs 122). This phrase seems to be taken one by one from Philippians 4:13 of the NKJV translation. The… Lees verder
The stories about Elijah in the book of 1 Kings begin with Elijah telling King Ahab that it will no longer rain unless he says so. We know from other Scriptures that it did not rain for a period of… Lees verder