Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Final post on Carson's exposition; The Farewell Discourse and Final Prayer of Jesus

Some quotes that captured my attention:

""Christians today ought to therefore avoid two sad extremes. One extreme depreciates any sturdy study of biblical truth, dismissing it as unspiritual, and preferring to shout loud praises with worked-up responses and cliches - as if the magnitude of the glory we offer Jesus turns on the decibel levels (or the depth of ignorance masked by self-professed faith). The other extreme depreciates spontaneous joy in worship and all corporate enthusiasm, dismissing such things as mere emotion, and preferring solemn and distinctively intellectual contemplation of propositions about Jesus - as if the magnitude of the glory we offer Jesus turns exclusively on how many truths the mind can formulate." (151)

"...we who are believers must learn to glorify Jesus by increasingly apprehending as much graciously revealed truth as we can, forging it into our lives until it both transforms us and prompts spontaneous and enthusiastic praise." (152)

Considering the link between joy and obedience: "What this means in practical terms is that the believer who expects bundles of joy to be showered upon him regardless of the consistency of his relationship with Jesus and irrespective of his prayer life is deluded." (165)

Of posture in prayer: "In any case, the posture of the spirit and of the heart are more important than the posture of the body and of the limbs." (175)

"To men of Jesus' day, the Roman cross was a symbol of violence, torture, and evil; to Jesus, it is the means of glory. It becomes the visible presentation of the redeeming love of God and of his Christ, the superlative manifestation of God's powerful, saving action on our behalf." (176)

"Jesus' knowledge of God is immediate; theirs [those given to Christ] is mediated through Christ." (206)

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