Posts by David Huffstutler

Husbands and wives find much in Scripture for how to love and respect one another (e.g., Eph 5:22–33; 1 Pet 3:1–7). This post focuses on one short passage, Colossians 3:18–19. “Wives” are commanded briefly, “be subject to your husbands” (Col 3:18a). The command to “be subject” is to submit oneself, and, as a wife to…

Who does the Bible identify as a friend? What is friendship? Words like friend, friendship, or friendly in our English Bible stem from multiple words in the Hebrew and Greek. Below is a survey of these words, leading to a definition of friendship. Though this survey does not include every angle from which to view…

James 1:2–4 states, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James’s main command is, “Count it all joy,” “it” being “when…

Christ will build His church, and as the gospel spreads, so will the membership of His church. And yet, the idea of church membership has fallen on hard times, even among Christians. This is not surprising. Human nature prizes personal autonomy and sneers at submitting to a higher authority. In our highly-customized, hyper-personalized, self-satisfied way…

Understanding Ephesians 5:22–33 is essential for every marriage. Paul commands wives and husbands how to relate to one another in marriage and explains how and why they must do so. The following briefly summarizes this passage. Wives: Your mission is submission (Ephesians 5:22–24). Wives are commanded to “submit to your own husbands” (Ephesians 5:22). Technically,…

Jesus called twelve men to follow Him as His disciples and to send them out as His apostles. Their number is a staple in their name. Sometimes called the twelve disciples (Matt 10:1; 11:1; 26:20) or twelve apostles (Matt 10:2), these men were often simply called the twelve (Matt 10:1, 2, 5; 20:17; 26:14; Mark…

“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” “Tell me who your friends are, and I’ll tell you who you are.” “Monkey see, monkey do.” We all recognize that people imitate people, whatever the reason for imitation may be. It’s easy to see and do what others do. It’s also a biblical command for one person…

Think and live like Jesus. Simple enough, this theme is yet rich and one of many in the book of Philippians. And not just clearly stated, but also artfully so. Paul gives this theme as a clear command and describes the life of Jesus in Philippians 2:5–11. Then, he gives linguistic echoes of this passage…

Where I live, have had a number of days with degrees in the single digits, and we have had some snow. I say “some,” because I have friends elsewhere who sometimes get more snow in a week than I get in the winter. Whatever your winter may look like, perhaps the weather has piqued your…

One of the great paradoxes of the Christian life involves humility, pride, and their results. The more one humbles himself, the more honor he receives, something he does not seek. Likewise, the more one values himself over others, the less honor he receives, the very honor he craves so much. The book of Proverbs paints…