One of the ways the New Testament describes the church is as the body of Christ. But how is the church Christ’s body, and what does that mean for how we live together?   When the church is described as Christ’s body, it means, basically, that the church is Christ’s representative here on earth, with Christ as its head (Col....

Paul and Timothy had a special relationship. Throughout his letters, Paul referred to Timothy with much affection. In 1 Timothy 1:2, he used the phrase “my dearly loved son.” In 1 Corinthians 4:17, Paul said to the church at Corinth that Timothy was his “dearly loved and faithful child in the Lord.” A sign of a healthy leader is...

The first time I read the Bible—and I mean really read the Bible, not just random snippets that showed up on TV shows and in comic books and novels—was when I was 25. It wasn’t a book I had grown up around; it never even occurred to me that I should read it. And I’ll be honest, when I...

The Bible is full of different themes and images that foreshadow Christ’s work to save people from their sins. When we think about the role of the priest, for example, we can pretty quickly jump to Jesus being our perfect priest. And while this is true, there’s also an aspect of the priesthood that is fulfilled in God’s intention...

It seems strange that Paul would thank God that he had not baptized people (vv. 14-15). Paul’s point in making this statement was not to suggest that baptism is unimportant; rather, it was that people should not seek to identify with the person who baptized them because their only saving union is with Christ. Paul wanted the focus of...

One of my favorite verses about the life of the church is First Thessalonians 5:11, which tells us to encourage and build up one another. But what does it mean to build up one another? Is that like giving compliments or saying kind words, or does it go much deeper? Let’s explore this idea together.  The word we often...