Household of God – Page 2

Household: Excursus on 1 Timothy (Part 1)

Oct 16, 2007

—

by

in Culture, Gender and Sex, History, Series: Household of God, Sociology, Theology

In the middle of the 1 Timothy, we find the following verses in Chapter 3: 14 I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these instructions to you so that, 15 if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church…

Household: Household Code in Colossians

Oct 12, 2007

—

by

mwkruse

in Culture, Gender and Sex, History, Series: Household of God, Sociology, Theology

As we saw earlier, Colossians was written to correct false teaching that Christ was insufficient for the Colossians' needs, that supplemental help was needed from the "elemental spirits" of the universe. There is clear evidence that some were practicing Gnostic asceticism in pursuit of mystical knowledge. Paul opens his letter with his wonderful hymn about…

Household: Household Code in Ephesians (Part 4)

Oct 11, 2007

—

by

mwkruse

in Culture, Gender and Sex, History, Series: Household of God, Sociology, Theology

Greco-Roman household codes were instructions to the paterfamilias on ruling over his household for the sake of the social order. They typically included instruction about wives, slaves, and sometimes children. The biblical writers tended to follow this pattern, as we have seen in 1 Peter and Titus. Ephesians does the same. We have just examined…

Household: Household Code in Ephesians (Part 3)

Oct 10, 2007

—

by

mwkruse

in Culture, Gender and Sex, History, Series: Household of God, Sociology, Theology

I have made the case that the controlling metaphor for the husband and wife relationship in the Ephesians' household code is the metaphor of head and body as visually identifiable parts of an organically indivisible unit. It is a masterful play on the idea that "the two become one flesh." Examining these passages, we see…

Household: Household Code in Ephesians (Part 2)

Oct 9, 2007

—

by

mwkruse

in Culture, Gender and Sex, History, Series: Household of God, Sociology, Theology

Ephesians' opening portion of the household code deals with husbands and wives (5:21-33). It contains rich and compelling imagery that teaches unity between husband and wife, keeping with the theme of the rest of Ephesians. Remember that in Greco-Roman households, the paterfamilias ruled over his wife. The marriage arrangement was primarily a contractual agreement to…

Household: Household Code in Ephesians (Part 1)

Oct 8, 2007

—

by

mwkruse

in Culture, Gender and Sex, History, Series: Household of God, Sociology, Theology

Paul makes extensive use of fictive family and household metaphors throughout his letters. The central focus of his fictive family metaphors is other-centered love as siblings, the most intimate and least status-conscious of relationships in the Greco-Roman world. God is the paterfamilias. Yet the Church lived amid an extremely status-conscious society where the powerful were…

Household: Synopsis of the “Head” Metaphor in the New Testament

Oct 5, 2007

—

by

mwkruse

in Culture, History, Series: Household of God, Sociology, Theology

We are about ready to turn to the household code in Ephesians. But before I go there in the next post, I want to summarize what we have learned about the "head" (kephale) metaphor over the past week and set the stage. I wrote a week ago: I believe there are three ways the metaphor…

Household: “Head” in 1 Corinthians 11 (Part 2)

Oct 4, 2007

—

by

mwkruse

in Culture, Gender and Sex, History, Series: Household of God, Sociology, Theology

We pick up now with the rest of the passage following 1 Corinthians 11:3: But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the husband (or man) is the head of his wife (woman), and God is the head of Christ. I've said that "head" here functions as "origin."…

Household: “Head” in 1 Corinthians 11 (Part 1)

Oct 3, 2007

—

by

mwkruse

in Gender and Sex, Series: Household of God

Before returning to the household codes, our final stop in our analysis of the head metaphor is 1 Corinthians 11:3. Before diving headfirst into this passage, we need to step back and put this in a broader context. Earlier in this series, I wrote about the circumstances at Corinth and will not recapitulate that here.…

Household: “Head” in Ephesians

Oct 2, 2007

—

by

mwkruse

in Culture, Eschatology, History, Series: Household of God, Sociology, Theology

Our next stop is Ephesians. Three passages use the "head" metaphor in Ephesians. One is in the household code in Chapter 5. We will first examine the other two instances in this post and then return to the household code in a later post. Unlike Colossians, Ephesians does appear to be addressing any particular heresy.…

Tag: Household of God