Tag Archives: Logos

HOW CAN JESUS BE AMAZED?

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HOW CAN JESUS BE AMAZED? JACK COTTRELL, APRIL 2019         QUESTION:  My King James Version says in Mark 14:33 that when Jesus entered the Garden of Gethsemane the night before His death, He “began to be sore amazed.”  My 1901 American Standard Version likewise says He “began to be greatly amazed, and sore troubled.”  How could Jesus, who is God the Logos as well as a human being, be AMAZED?  Does not God foreknow everything?  How could anything “amaze” Jesus?        ANSWER:  This is indeed an interesting question.  Mark is the only Gospel writer who puts it this way, but … Continue reading →

Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?

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DO MUSLIMS & CHRISTIANS WORSHIP THE SAME GOD? JACK COTTRELL (composed NOVEMBER 14, 2015) Islam is the world’s second largest religion, with around two billion adherents. This is nearly one-fourth of the world’s population. Fifty countries are mostly Muslim. Europe has around 50 million Muslims, and the USA around 7 million. These numbers are increasing rapidly. But isn’t that a good thing? Aren’t Muslims a religious people, and isn’t Islam similar to Christianity? Don’t we both trace our faith back to the Old Testament, to Abraham? Don’t Christians and Muslims worship the same God? In 2007 George W. Bush said, … Continue reading →

IN WHAT SENSE IS JESUS ETERNAL?

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QUESTION. What does the Bible teach about the eternality of Jesus, and especially his eternal sonship? ANSWER. In answering this question it is necessary to remember that Jesus had (has) TWO natures; he is fully human and fully divine. His divine nature is the Logos, the second person of the Trinity (as we think of him). His human nature is the man Jesus of Nazareth. These two natures are combined into one person with one center of consciousness and one will. Here I will make three points, taking material mostly from chapter 13 (“The Person of Christ”) in my book, … Continue reading →

JESUS AND YAHWEH: HOW ARE THEY RELATED?

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Question: Recently I saw an article that declared that Yahweh (Jehovah) in the Old Testament is God the Father only, and that he does not include the other persons of the Trinity. The article specifically said that Yahweh and Christ Jesus are two distinct individuals. Is this Biblical? What do you think? Answer: I saw the same article, and I disagree with the view presented there. I believe that Yahweh as the name for God revealed in the Old Testament includes all three persons of the Trinity. Depending on the context, this name may refer to all three persons or … Continue reading →

WAS JESUS OMNISCIENT?

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QUESTION: Did Jesus’ divine nature include omniscience? Was Jesus all-knowing? If so, how do we explain Matthew 24:36? ANSWER: Many crucial Christian beliefs are involved in the answer to such questions, e.g., the immutability (unchangeableness) of God, the nature of the incarnation, and especially the divine nature of Jesus, which is the presupposition for the substitutionary atonement. Unless Jesus was fully divine and thus infinite in nature, He could not have been the propitiation for our sins, suffering the equivalent of eternity in hell for the entire human race in the finite event of the cross. (See my book, What … Continue reading →

The Christological Fallacy

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The Christological Fallacy by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, November 11, 2009 at 2:27pm QUESTION: What is the “Christological fallacy”? REPLY: One of the most serious threats to sound doctrine is something I call “the Christological fallacy.” It is a fallacy because it places Jesus in a role he was never intended to fill. How does it do this? It makes Jesus the SOURCE and/or NORM for all doctrine. Why is this a serious threat to sound doctrine? Because trying to look at everything through Christological lenses distorts our understanding of some if not all of the most crucial truths … Continue reading →

Original Sin and the Incarnation

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Original Sin and the Incarnation by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 10:07am SOMEONE asked me this series of questions: How does an Augustinian (e.g., Calvinist) correlate original sin and the incarnation? Can Jesus be fully human and miss out on original sin? Can his work of redemption be complete if he is not like us in every way (except for sin, of course)? HERE IS MY REPLY: The issues here are these: if all human beings are infected with original sin, and if Jesus is truly a human being, how can he himself AVOID being infected … Continue reading →

Jesus and the Power of the Holy Spirit

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Jesus and the Power of the Holy Spirit by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Saturday, August 29, 2009 at 9:22am ONE OF MY FB FRIENDS asked this question: “Is this statement true: ‘Jesus’ strength does not come from His individual power, but from His relationship with the other persons of the Trinity.’ I am hesitant to say it because I want to exalt Christ, and yet the Bible speaks of Him going about in the power of the Spirit.” IN MY ANSWER I SAY that this is true, but I would say it like this: “Jesus’ strength comes NOT ONLY from … Continue reading →