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Note: This post summarizes what is written in this entire section. A. What is salvation according to the Bible? People are saved through 1) belief in the gospel, the truth of Christ’s saving work on the cross, and 2) the sanctifying work of the Spirit in their lives to make them like Christ. God’s goal is to make us exactly like His Son. B. An Argument from Logic God is infinite in love, infinite in wisdom, and infinite in power. In His love He desires to save all, in H

Note: This post summarizes what is written in this entire section. A. Biblical Evidence: is the Holy Spirit a distinct Person and God? 1. The Holy Spirit is all knowing (1 Corinthians 2:10-11). 2. The HS (Holy Spirit) is omnipresent (Psalm 139:7-8). 3. The HS is omnipotent (Job 33:4). 4. The HS is eternal (Hebrews 9:14). 5. The HS embodies love (Romans 15:30), truth (John 15:26-27, John 16:13), and holiness. 6. The HS created the universe (Genesis

Note: This post summarizes what is written in this entire section. Evidence Jesus is God Evidence Jesus is not God A. The Characteristics of God, Yahweh, vs. Jesus God (Yahweh): Spirit (John 4:24), immortal (1 Timothy 6:16), our spring of living water (John 7:37-39, Jeremiah 2:13, Jeremiah 17:13), self-sufficient (Acts 17:24-25, Revelation 4:11), omnipresent (Psalm 139:7-12), omniscient (1 John 3:20), invisible (1 Timothy 1:17), omnipotent (Jeremiah 32:17), not a man (N

Despite growing up in a Christian family and attending almost exclusively Christian schools (except for my 9 th and 10 th grade years) from kindergarten through undergrad, I never learned much about Church history. I knew some information about Luther, Calvin, the Protestant Reformation, the Council of Nicaea and the Nicene Creed. I knew that the early Christians were severely persecuted and many were martyred for their faith. I knew there was violent conflict between Catho

How can we discern what is of the Holy Spirit and what is sinful or from Satan, particularly when considering the complexity of Christian history? God’s Word is very helpful in answering this important question. Consider the Scriptures below. Galatians 5:13-23 says, “13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh [ a ] ; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one c

Orthodox Christianity maintains that Christians will truly be like Jesus. But what does this mean based on the Bible? How is being like Christ possible if he is God? 1 John 3:2-3 says, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” 1 John 3:2-3 The word “like” is “homoioi” in the Greek. S

Note: The first part of this post is from section 1 of my blog on the history of the Trinity and Jesus’ divinity (you can find the references in section 1’s reference page). The second part are additional reflections that are new. Reading part 1 is a necessary prerequisite to best understanding part 2 and together are my complete historical reflections regarding the Trinity and Jesus’ divinity, so I include it here. Further, this reflection is by no means exhaustive. See Res

The fact that the Holy Spirit as the feminine nature of God is not prevalent in the Church today is not evidence that this is not true or biblical. Women have been oppressed for the vast majority of history (Williams, 2025). This began to change in the 20 th century, at least in the United States in 1920, with women being able to vote (in some countries) (Williams, 2025). Men have dominated Church leadership since the beginning, though there is evidence in the first 3 centur

Universal Salvation and Church History The Church largely believed in universal salvation for the first 5 centuries of its existence (Hanson, 2022). It was really with Augustine that eternal hell solidified as the “orthodox” Christian doctrine (Hanson, 2022). Even if this is not true, given the Church’s, at times, horrific and judgmental stance and action toward every person or group who disagreed with them, completely contrary to Jesus’ message of love, between the 4 th – 1

If we do not know our Church history, we should read it – and read it from a variety of sources with different viewpoints on the history we are trying to understand. I have tried to do that, and these are my reflections from reading history from a variety of viewpoints. I can of course read more and be more informed than I am! I think I have barely scratched the surface in terms of understanding the history of the topics I have researched in my blog. But, my goal is not to be

Only Jesus 1. Only Jesus is firstborn. 2. Only Jesus is preeminent. “ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the fi

The diagram below shows that Jesus and believers will be alike in every way except for their role. Jesus is Savior, Lord, and King, but even Jesus needed grace from God as Adam to have a second chance as Jesus. Scripture also states that God saved Jesus from death (Hebrews 5:7): Jesus needed a Savior too, namely, God Himself. Jesus and Christians will share 40 characteristics in common for all eternity. Therefore, Christians will be truly like Christ, and Jesus is undoubtedly

C. S. Lewis. (2025). Mere christianity C. S. lewis . Global Publishers. Didache | definition, history, importance, & facts | britannica. (n.d.-a). https://www.britannica.com/topic/Didache Engle, K. (2024, November 7). The Council of Nicaea and its influence on replacement theology . ICEJ USA Branch. https://icejusa.org/2024/11/04/the-council-of-nicaea-and-its-influence-on-replacement-theology/ Hanson, J. W. (2022). Universalism, the prevailing doctrine of the Christian Church

1. Believers will be like Christ and equal to him as fellow children of God, specifically as we will all share with him “the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). However, each believer has a different ROLE (in the body of Christ), and no one will share Christ’s which is: o the Head/Lord/King of Kings/Leader and Savior of the Church o Judge: only Christ will judge believers. Christ and the Church together will judge generally. 2. Psalm 139: 13-15 says, “For you formed my

And this is going to be a glorious unfolding Just you watch and see and you will be amazed! You’ve just got to believe that the story is so far from over And hold on to every promise God has made to us And watch this glorious unfolding! from "Glorious Unfolding" by Steven Curtis Chapman 1 Timothy 2:1-4 says, “ I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people — 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live p

I was born into a Christian family with amazing parents. I became a Christian at 5 years old after my Dad shared the gospel with me. Do you know the gospel, the “good news” about Jesus Christ? Knowing the gospel is more important than any other truth that I share in this blog, because the gospel is the means by which God saves people from their sin and death, gives eternal life, and reconciles people with Himself. Knowing this gospel also provides necessary background to why

Thousands – evens tens of thousands – of books have been written to answer this question, but here I list the main attributes, I think, of God according to the Bible. There is infinitely more that could be said, but I think this provides a solid foundation for understanding who God is based on the Bible. This foundation is essential for the rest of this blog. A. God is Spirit. John 4:24 B. God is Light. 1 John 1:5 C. God is Love. 1 John 4:8, 16 D. God is immortal

1. The Trinity is the belief that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. They are co-equal, co-eternal, and share the same essence. These three distinct persons make up the one God, the “triune God”. Jesus has a dual nature. He is 100% God and 100% man. This is called the hypostatic union. Jesus’ human and divine nature live together in him: he is the God-man (Mathis, 2007), (Perman 2006). 2. The word “Trinity” is not in the Bible. The Bible nev

In Matthew 7:15-20 Jesus says, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by

Section 3 of my blog, Universal Salvation, shows that universal salvation is biblical. God will make it happen. One way God has made it happen is through Jesus preaching to the imprisoned spirits in 1 Peter 3:19-20 and 4:6 for their salvation. While these verses are an amazing example of God’s grace and love towards all, even towards those who died in the flood whose every thought was inclined towards evil (Genesis 6:5), Peter seems to indicate that Jesus’ preaching in these