Posts by David Huffstutler

How does one sing about the incarnation, crucifixion, and Trinitarian truths in just nine lines? This question stems from Philippians 2:6–8, a passage many see as part of an ancient hymn. Some continue the hymn through Philippians 2:9–11. Seeing Paul’s usual grammar and logic in Philippians 2:9–11 (“For this reason… so that”), some stop short…

What is complementarianism? Complementarianism understands man and woman as complementary to one another, meaning that they are equally made in the image of God and yet distinct in their roles, completing one another as defined in Scripture. In past decades, sound theologians have thoroughly explored this issue. I don’t really have anything new to say.…

Suppose a man gives his life to speaking to large crowds. He talks to people one by one. Whether before one or one thousand, his message is incredibly effective. He rises to fame.  Everyone sees his success everywhere he goes. He might be a young man, but he is a rising star. But not everyone…

Romans 8:16 asserts, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” What does this verse mean? The verb “bears witness with” is all one word in the Greek (summartureō), a combination of the preposition “with” (sun) and the verb “to bear witness” (martureō). Paul uses this verb only two…

A friendly letter with a bunch of commands—this could be one way to caricature the apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Looking more closely, we can better appreciate the rich context and content of this letter. As to context, Paul had just called himself an old man at this point in his life (Philemon 9).…

As a pastor, I have presided over and preached for several funerals. These are bittersweet times. If it is a Christian who has died, we know that he or she is absent from the body but now present with the Lord (2 Cor 5:8). Jesus Christ was always there for this person in life, there…

Click here for part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4. There are three resurrections in 1 Corinthians 15:20–28: Christ, those at His coming, and unbelievers. These resurrections take place one after the other in the future, separated by gaps of time. In the last post, we also qualified the coming of Christ as a complex…

Click here for part 1, part 2, and part 3. There are three orders of resurrection in 1 Cor 15:23–24. The first is Christ. Paul uses compact and succinct language to describe the second and third orders of the resurrection in 1 Cor 15:23–24a. The second order of the resurrection includes “at his coming those…

Click here for part 1 and part 2. Paul has emphatically defended the reality of the resurrection of Christ (1 Cor 15:20) and that His people will be made alive in Him (1 Cor 15:21–22). We now explore how Paul then elaborated on how the resurrection would take place in 1 Cor 15:23–24a. The resurrection involves…

Last week, we were introduced to 1 Cor 15:20–28. This week, we will study the first few verses of this passage and explore the solidary of believers with Christ in his resurrection. Looking, then, at the beginning of our passage, we see first of all that Paul teaches that Christ was raised from the dead,…