New Testament Exam #2 - Ford

The main message of Acts

• The spread of the gospel from Jew to Gentile 

• Proclaim the Gospel despite persecution

• Spread of the Holy Spirit's power

Difference between prescription and description

• Prescription - What should be done or how to act

• Description - Describing what is happening.

Argument for seeing Pentecost as descriptive

• Luke’s purpose of writing

• Not all speak in tongues (1 Corinthians)

• Uniqueness of the Redemptive History (Joel 2)

The theological purpose of Pentecost

• All God’s people have spiritual gifts 

• Floodgate of the Spirit 

Purpose of the mini Pentecosts

• Continuity of the Message/Gospel - Faith Alone 

• Continuity of Authority - Apostles were authority

Acts and the church

Two tiered structure

• Universal Church - One people of God 

• Local Church - Elders, Deacons

The righteousness of God in Romans 1:17

 The righteousness of God in Romans 1:17

• We are declared righteous - Righteousness from God by faith

• Forensic Righteousness. 

• Alien Righteousness 

Why does Paul mention the Jews and Gentiles in Romans 1?

• Trying to cultivate mutual respect between the two

• To the Gentiles (to the Jews first). To the Jews ( to you first but also to the Gentiles) 

Why Paul brings up a doer of the law

• Addressing presumption 

• It is the person who shows their faith

The gentile in Romans 2

• Is a believer, a true Jew. 

• Is a Christian 

The nature of inerrancy

• The fact that the Bible cannot error does not mean that you ignore contradictory verses, but you go through and try to see how they fit together. 

• Inerrancy does not mean that we should affirm an error in the Bible, just that we need to look and see how they make sense together. 

The identity of the “I” in Romans 7

• Non-Christian 

Can Christians obey the law?

• Yes. But not perfectly. 

• We are not slaves to the law. 

The purpose of the law in the Christian life

• Expose sin.

• Walk in a new way of the spirit 

The dilemma Paul is trying to solve in Romans 9

• God’s love is unbreakable. 

• Current state of Israel. 

The nature of his answer to the dilemma in Romans 9

• The promises were made to Israel; you just do not know who that is. Promises made to the remnant, Issac over Israel, Jacob over Esau 

The key theme of 1 Corinthians

• Unity 

The key principles of unity

• Prioritize Gospel

• Don't worship your leaders; respect them, but don't worship them. 

• Repentance and Purity 

• Prioritize love. 

 The purpose of 1 Corinthians 13

• Address their obsession with their spiritual gifts. 

• Love is a sign of spiritual maturity. 

Main message of 2 Corinthians

• Suffering magnifies the Gospel

The textual unity of 2 Corinthians

• 9-10. There is a tone difference between chapters 9 and 10. Most likely written over a long period of time 

• Not to two separate letters stuck together

 Paul’s thorn in his flesh

• Intentially vague

• In your weakness, God’s power is magnified.

Main message of Galatians

• Salvation is by faith alone, not by works. 

 The role of Paul’s story in defense of the gospel

The main point is that the Gospel is the one true Gospel as it comes straight from God.

The two questions of Galatians

• How do we make it right with God? - By faith

• Who are the people of God? - Those who believe 

The logic of the Spirit in Galatians

• Gentiles received the spirit by faith

Paul’s argument in Galatians 4

• Answering the who question 

• God’s choice or promise

Paul’s argument from the story of Abraham

• God’s choice or promise

Authorship of Ephesians

• Authorship is denied to Paul because of how different it is from Colossians. 

• But also too many similarities for it not to be written by Paul.

Main message of Ephesians

• God has saved you, so live like it. 

The purpose of predestination in Ephesians 1

God saved sinners because he loved us, but also for His glory

The possible rhetorical point of Ephesians 5

• Curve the roles of men and women 

• Ordering of roles in marriage. 

The Christology of Philippians 2

Jesus did not lose His divinity to become human, He is both God and human.

The purpose of Philippians 2 in the flow of Philippians

• Promote humility 

The three pieces of a word

• Sign 

• Sense

• Reference 

The meaning of “firstborn” in Colossians 1

• Come into being or Preeminant 

• Christ is preeminent, He did not come into being 

The purpose of mentioning the second coming of Jesus

• Encouraging them that they have not missed it 

• Be Vigilant  

• Be faithful with opportunities given

• Hope

The pieces of conversion

• Faith and Repentance 

• Faith - Belief 

• Repentance - Asking for forgiveness

What it means to be a one-woman man

• If ever married, remain faithful 

How Paul argues for complementarianism in 1 Timothy 2

• Appealing to the Created Order