It’s certainly been a while since I’ve been able to update Withering Fig. “What could have possibly brought me out of my Salinger-like public coma?” you ask. Well, images of papyri, of course!

Goodacre, over at the NT Gateway, has called my attention (via his excellent blog) to some new images of papyri that Harvard is making available. Here’s is Goodacre’s post:

Harvard Papyri Online

I must say that the quality of these scans is quite good. During my 18 months on Harvard’s LDI (Library Digital Initiative) Project (via.harvard.edu), I was always pleased with the images that we were putting out. It looks like the folks in charge of this project have done superior work.

Categories: Biblical Studies · Technology · Bible Tech · New Testament

This is the 25th part in an ongoing series on the Epistles of John.

Okay, we get into some heady stuff here. Following from the previous section which dealt with this idea that those who are abiding in God cannot sin, John goes on to say that those who continue to sin are doing the work of the devil. More importantly, it was this very work which Jesus came to abolish. From the beginning the devil sinned.

In John’s view, the devil is responsible for sin. Likewise, God is responsible for righteousness. Just as we can tell a tree from the fruit it bears, we can tell to whom a person belongs based on their fruit. If a person is producing righteousness, then they must be of God. If a person is producing sin, then they must be of the devil.

Interesting to note in this section is this idea of being “born of” God, or “born of” the devil. Again, John emphasizes this notion that we are God’s spiritual children. Indeed, we are “born of” God. And like a son takes after a father, we begin to take after the Father. The greatest example of this fruit, the best way to do this righteousness into which we are born, is to love your brother.

Are we talking only about familial brothers here? I think not. This is your brother—you know…your brother. Loving our fellow man (or woman) is what we are called to do. Again, John is returning to the theme of 1 John 2:9–11. Brotherly love is where it’s at!

Categories: Biblical Studies · New Testament

This is the 26th part in an ongoing series on the Epistles of John.

This is one of those passages that a pastor of mine would have called: “a hard Word.” It is. On the one hand, it is perfectly reasonable for John to describe those who “practice sinning” as “practicing lawlessness.” This is not surprising; we should not be taken aback. [I think it should be noted that “lawlessness” probably has little to do with Mosaic law.]

The second bit works quite easily too: “You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.” I can get on bored with that. Jesus came to take away sin, and He Himself was sinless. Right on.

Finally, John says that “no one who abides in Him keeps on sinning.” At first, this makes me think that maybe the bar is set pretty high for what “abiding in Him” really means. Perhaps “abiding in Him” is not possible here on Earth, because my understanding is that we all sin. Then, however, John goes on to say that “no one who keeps on sinning has either seen Him or known Him.” Well, what am I supposed to do with that? I continue to sin, but I wouldn’t say that I’ve never seen him or known Him. What is John getting at?

The short answer is: “I’m not entirely sure.” It seems to me that it can’t mean what it sounds like, largely because it would contradict what we’ve already read in 1 John 2:1. If anyone who sins has an advocate in Christ, it would seem that these people do indeed know Him. That’s the way it seems to me anyway.

So what does John mean here in 3:6? I’d love to hear some opinions down in the comments…

Categories: Biblical Studies · New Testament

This is the 25th part in an ongoing series on the Epistles of John.

For John, we are adopted sons of God. This is a huge honor and expresses God’s love in a very profound way. It is a gift of love. Our sonship is unrecognizable to the world, just as He was unrecognizable to the world (see the prologue to the Gospel of John, John 1). John’s audience is so intertwined with the spiritual, so intertwined with God, that those who do not recognize God do not recognize His people.

The next part is intriguing. John tells his audience that they are God’s children now, but what they will be has not yet appeared. My question is this: What more can they be? How can there be anything higher or greater than “children of God”? No doubt, it is a lofty title. But this status is nothing compared to the status to be gained upon his return: “Like Him.”

Placing our hope in this purifies us. This is reminiscent of what Paul has to say in Romans 8:23–25. We place our hope in this adoption. The result is on the level of the miraculous: we become “Like Him.”

Categories: Biblical Studies · New Testament

This is the 24th part in an ongoing series on the Epistles of John.

John makes an obvious claim here: those “born of Him” practice righteousness because He is righteous. However, there is more to this than meets the eye (like Transformers, I guess). The way that it reads makes a far more important claim: He is the only one righteous.

John’s syntax points us to this claim: anyone doing righteous stuff is born of Him. First of all, it does not say that those doing righteous stuff are righteous themselves. Doing good things is not the same as being good. Doing righteous things is not the same as being righteous. Second, this statement excludes the notion that any righteousness can be derived from any other source.

Again, when we consider the ideas that we’ve been rolling around, such as abiding in Him, or pressing into Him, the system becomes clear. Knowledge and righteousness are derived from a relationship with Him because He is the ultimate source of knowledge and righteousness. Further, there is no other source.

Categories: Biblical Studies · New Testament

This is the 23rd part in an ongoing series on the Epistles of John.

First, let us note that for John the Lord is coming. The parousia (coming) has not yet happened). Not only this, but John wants to prepare his audience for this coming. When this event happens, they are going to need to know a thing or two. Specifically, John is concerned about the confidence of his audience. He doesn’t want them to shrink away when this coming happens.

So, how do we accomplish this? How do we stand confidently before God?

For John, it comes back to that key term “abide.” I like to think of this as “pressing in.” John is wanting his audience to press into the Lord. He is wanting them to seek, find, and lean on the God of Heaven and Earth. Doing so triggers a transformative process, a process that some might call “sanctification.” This transformative process changes who we are and what we think. We begin to know the things of God; we begin to see tiny glimpses of what He’s got going on: we view the Kingdom through a keyhole which is every expanding (if ever so slightly).

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