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Are we God’s children by nature or adoption?

Greg addresses a reader question about our status as God’s children. Do we come by that by nature or by adoption? Scripture seems to give something of a mixed answer. What’s up with that?

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The Root of Broken Relationships

God’s goal for creation is for us to receive his perfect love in such a way that we all become prisms that reflect this love. However, you don’t have to look very far to notice that creation falls far short of this goal. Although you might be tempted to look around for someone to blame,…

Jesus and His Father

Greg addresses a question from a reader about the nature of the Godhead. If Jesus is the exact representation of the Father, what does this mean about the Trinity, if there are indeed three distinct persons?

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Isn’t the World Unsafe If God Doesn’t Control Everything?

If God isn’t in control of everything, the world feels unsafe. If the future is open and if things can happen outside of God’s will, what guarantee is there that there is a point to a person’s suffering? Maybe it’s all just bad luck. My experience has been that many of those who honestly examine…

The Open View and Predestination

Paul wrote in Ephesians, “For he [God] chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ …” (Eph 1:3-4). Some argue that the particular way Scripture portrays God’s providential plan is incompatible with the…

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Good From Evil

The Bible is very clear that God has nothing to do with evil. There is “no darkness” in God. (I Jn 1:5). Far from intentionally bringing about evil, God’s “eyes are too pure to look on evil” (Hab. 1:13). All evil, therefore, must be ultimately traced back to decisions made by free agents other than…

Knowing the Eternal God

If all our knowledge about God is to be oriented around the cross, as I argue in many places (see this post for instance), what does this mean for how we reflect on God’s transcendence? In other words, how can we speak of God’s eternal being since there obviously was no cross within God prior…