We read in Ephesians 1:7, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” Why does Paul say in Christ we have redemption, rather than through Christ? Through Him vs. In Him If we said “through Christ,” we’d

Jesus wasn’t the first person raised from the dead in Scripture. So why does the New Testament treat his resurrection as something utterly different? For years, I struggled to grasp the full significance of Jesus' resurrection. I knew it was unique—treated by the New Testament as something

One summer afternoon, I found myself wrestling in the garden. A wild vine had wrapped itself aggressively around our lilac tree, choking out its life. I hacked at it for a while, chopping the parts I could reach, but realizing that there was a lot more of it than met

Right after the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus comes down the hillside and meets a man with leprosy who kneels and says, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus touches him. “I am willing. Be clean.” Immediately he is cleansed. Then Jesus says, “Show yourself to

Many Christians speak of Adam as having been created “perfect.” But is that actually what Scripture says? What the Bible Does (and Doesn’t) Say The Hebrew word often translated “perfect” is tamiym, meaning “complete, whole, without blemish.” Interestingly, tamiym never appears in the opening chapters of Genesis. Instead, God