The Body of Christ

Dr. Gene L. Green
24 Jun 2021
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body of christ

“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:12-14). What is the body of Christ? Paul’s teaching about the body of Christ would have been quite familiar to the first century believers in Corinth yet; at the same time it sounded strangely odd. We commonly think that Paul is talking about a mystical […]

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Seek the Welfare of the City

Dr. Gene L. Green
27 May 2021
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“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Galatians 6:10).   “Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the emperor as the supreme authority or to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good. For it is God’s will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good” (1 Peter 2:13-15).   Both Paul and Peter encouraged believers of their day to “do good” […]

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welfare of city

The Last Enemy

Dr. Gene L. Green
6 Apr 2021
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last

Tom just died.  I spoke to Paul last night, Tom’s brother and my good friend for many years. A few months ago, Paul let me know that Tom was in a losing battle against cancer. Although his passing was expected, it was hardly welcome. Paul lost his brother, his sister Barb is weeping, and their youngest brother David is hurting. Tom’s son heads up the COVID wing at a major hospital in California. Paul recounted his stories about the agony of seeing so many die this past year, separated from family yet with faithful nurses and doctors gathered around.  All […]

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Challenge the Powers – Serve Christ

Dr. Gene L. Green
10 Mar 2021
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“The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1, NIV).   “And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, ‘Surely this man was the Son of God!’” (Mark 15:39, NIV).   Roman Imperial Power   The Gospel of Mark begins and ends with a direct challenge to Roman imperial power. Mark wrote to persecuted Christians in the heart of the empire – the City of Rome – and makes the claim that Jesus the crucified Messiah is the Sovereign, not the emperor. Questions about the powers still […]

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Violence In The Land

Dr. Gene L. Green
3 Feb 2021
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violence

Josephus, the ancient historian who chronicled first century Jewish history in The Jewish War, says that 12,000 Jews died when the Roman general Pompey captured Jerusalem in 63 BC. Another Jewish text from the period described the brutal violence of these events this way: “The lawless one laid waste our land, so that no one inhabited it; They massacred young and old and children at the same time… As the enemy was a stranger and his heart alien to our God, he acted arrogantly.” They were violent times The Jewish ruler Archelaus killed 3000 Jews in 4 BC, massacres occurred […]

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Welcome One Another

Dr. Gene L. Green
13 Jan 2021
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Robert Jewett succumbed to Covid-19 on December 4th. His students called him Dr. or Prof. Jewett while friends and colleagues just called him Bob, extraordinary Bob. Jewett’s most monumental work was a massive volume titled Romans: A Commentary (2006). This 1140 page tome took him 25 years to research and write. Fortunate for us slow readers, he subsequently published Romans: A Short Commentary in 2013. Prof. Jewett – Bob – teaches us today through his fresh and relevant insights into the Apostle Paul’s most important epistle. Surprisingly, Jewett pinpoints the heart of Romans in chapter 15, verse 7: “Welcome one […]

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welcome