Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

Exegesis

Women and Head Coverings: Explaining and Applying 1 Corinthians 11:2–16

by

This short article released today:

Naselli, Andrew David. “Women and Head Coverings: Explaining and Applying 1 Corinthians 11:2–16.” Christ Over All, 8 March 2023.

I answer three questions about 1 Corinthians 11:2–16:

  1. How does Paul argue?
  2. What is the historical-cultural context?
  3. How should we apply it today?
    • 1. Dress in culturally appropriate ways when the church gathers to worship.
    • 2. Recognize that God has designed men and women to relate to each other in different ways.
    • 3. Show that God’s design for husbands and wives is beautiful.

Related:

  1. Do Complementarians Consistently Apply How Paul Argues from Creation in 1 Cor 11:8–10 and 1 Tim 2:13–14?
  2. My Concise Commentary on 1 Corinthians

How Should You Approach Apparent Contradictions between the Gospels?

by

I attempt to answer that question in this article:

Naselli, Andrew David. “Harmony of the Gospels.” In TGC Bible Commentary, 2022.

Outline:

1. Presuppose That the Gospels Do Not Contradict Each Other

  • Reason 1: The Gospels Are God-breathed Scripture
  • Reason 2: The Gospels Are Historically Reliable

2. Understand Why the Gospels Have Apparent Contradictions

  • Reason 1: The Gospels Paraphrase and Interpret Events and Sayings
  • Reason 2: The Gospels Abbreviate and Omit Events and Sayings
  • Reason 3: The Gospels Reorder Events and Sayings
  • Reason 4: The Gospels Report Similar Events and Sayings

3. Compare the Gospel Accounts with Each Other, and Responsibly Discern How They Harmonize

4. Focus on Understanding Gospel Passages in Their Literary Context

Further Reading

My Two New Books on Romans: A Concise Commentary and an Annotated Phrase Diagram

by

My two new books are on Romans:

Romans: A Concise Guide to the Greatest Letter Ever Written

Tracing the Argument of Romans: A Phrase Diagram of the Greatest Letter Ever Written

Naselli, Andrew David. Romans: A Concise Guide to the Greatest Letter Ever Written. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2022. [Available from Logos, Amazon, and Westminster Bookstore.]

Naselli, Andrew David. Tracing the Argument of Romans: A Phrase Diagram of the Greatest Letter Ever Written. Bellingham, WA: Logos, 2022. [Available only electronically from Logos.]

Each book can stand on its own, but I designed the book with Logos to supplement the book with Crossway:

  • The book with Crossway is a concise commentary on Romans. It emphasizes tracing Paul’s argument, and I designed it for Bible study—alone or as a group. (See endorsements from my two favorite commentators on Romans—Doug Moo and Tom Schreiner—as well as Tim Challies and Abigail Dodds.)
  • The book with Logos is an annotated phrase diagram of Romans. An argument diagram graphically displays the text’s logical flow of thought by dividing up the text into propositions and phrases and then specifying how they logically relate to each other. It’s the most respectful and fruitful way I know of to take God’s words seriously. (I explain this method in chapter 5 of my book How to Understand and Apply the New Testament: Twelve Steps from Exegesis to Theology.)

More:

  • Tim Challies reviews the book with Crossway (8/19/2022).
  • Matt Tully interviews me on “the greatest chapter of the Bible” for the Crossway podcast (8/22/2022).
  • Terence Tan reviews both books (10/2/2022).

Update: On 11/16/2022, I recorded some short videos for Crossway on Romans:

The Message of the Book of Romans in One Sentence (2:39 min.)

Why Did the Apostle Paul Write the Book of Romans (1:47 min.)

I’ve Heard It Said, “Once Saved, Always Saved” (2:54 min. | transcript)

I’ve Heard It Said, “God Will Accept Me Because I Know I’m a Good Person” (2:21 min. | transcript)

God Is Supreme

by

This advertisement for an energy bar pictures two triumphant climbers at the tip of a mountain peak, basking in the glorious view. The caption over the photo says, “You’ve never felt more alive. You’ve never felt more insignificant.” We love seeing grandeur and feeling small—because God made us for God. (I first saw this advertisement when John Piper reflected on it in a 2008 talk at the Evangelical Theological Society.)

* * * * * * *

My favorite verse in the Bible is Romans 11:36: “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”

Several years ago I asked my close friend Joe Tyrpak to design that passage so that I could display it on canvas over the fireplace in our home. This is what he designed for me:

This passage teaches that God is supreme. To say that God is supreme means that God is superior to everyone and everything else. God has no rivals. He is unique.

Here is my phrase diagram of the immediate literary context of Romans 11:36:

The three exclamations in the first section (11:33) proclaim that God is deep and inscrutable.

The three rhetorical questions in the second section (11:34–35) begin with “for” because the second section supports the first one by exulting in three specific reasons that God is deep and inscrutable.

  1. God is incomprehensible (11:34a).
  2. God is without counselors (11:34b).
  3. God is without creditors (11:35).

These characteristics of God share at least two implications: God’s attributes are humbling to us, and God is gloriously praiseworthy. That is why Paul moves to praising God in 11:36.

Romans 11:36 begins with “For” to indicate that the three prepositional phrases support the three rhetorical questions (11:34–35), which support the three exclamations about God (11:33).

The message of 11:36 is that God is supreme:

  1. “From him are all things”: God is the source of all things. God is the supreme Creator.
  2. “Through him are all things”: God is the means of all things. God is the supreme King.
  3. “To him are all things”: God is the end of all things. God is the supreme goal.
  4. “To him be glory forever. Amen.” Therefore, God deserves glory forever.

For more on Romans 11:33–36, see these two recent videos:

1. “How to Read the Bible: A Lab on Romans 11:33–36” | Bethlehem College & Seminary “Look at the Sacred Book” Conference | 9/25/2021.

2. “The Supremacy of God in All Things” (Romans 11:36) | Bethlehem Baptist Church | 10/10/2021.

See also this video: “The Supremacy of Christ (Sermon Jam)—John Piper” (18:50 min.). Two of my former students, Brent Fischer and Chris Powers, prepared this powerful video:

(This article updates my Bethlehem College & Seminary prayer letter on November 5, 2021.)

Related: From Typology to Doxology: Paul’s Use of Isaiah and Job in Romans 11:34–35.

From Typology to Doxology: Paul’s Use of Isaiah and Job in Romans 11:34–35

Historical Fiction on the Book of Daniel

by

Last summer two people recommended I read a self-published book of historical fiction on the Book of Daniel. Dr. Brent Aucoin, a seminary president and Old Testament professor, first told me about it, and I made a note to buy it. The very next morning an MDiv student named Diogo from Brazil gave me the book as a thank-you for teaching several block courses.

I just finished reading this book aloud to my family, and we loved it. The print copy we own is two volumes in one:

Edwards, Jay. Daniel: Volume 1: Absolutes in a Gray World: Daniel’s Life through Age Forty-Nine; Volume 2: Power, Business, and Politics: Daniel’s Life from Ages Fifty to Eighty-Three; A Fast-Paced Historical Fiction Where the Tough Issues Faced by Daniel Are Addressed Head-On, Not Dodged. n.p.: Xulon, 2010.

What a story! At the end of nearly every chapter, my daughters would plead with me to keep reading. We won’t read the Book of Daniel the same ever again.

The book is by a missionary in Brazil who is working with Venezuelan refugees who are fleeing socialism. You can learn more about the book and author at the book’s website.

Related: 15 Accessible Books by Historian Paul Maier

Chosen, Born Again, and Believing: How Election, Regeneration, and Faith Relate to Each Other in the Gospel according to John

by

The next issue of The Master’s Seminary Journal just released. It’s on regeneration. I contributed this article:

Naselli, Andrew David. “Chosen, Born Again, and Believing: How Election, Regeneration, and Faith Relate to Each Other in the Gospel according to John.” The Master’s Seminary Journal 32 (2021): 269–86.

Abstract:

  • This article inductively examines what key passages in the Gospel according to John say about election, regeneration, and faith (John 1:9–13; 3:3–8; 6:36–40, 44, 63–65; 8:45–47; 10:14–16, 26–29; 12:37–40; 13:18; 15:16, 19; 17:2, 6–9, 20, 24; 20:30–31).
  • Then it deductively synthesizes how the Gospel according to John contributes to a systematic theology of how election, regeneration, and faith relate to each other:
    • (1) Unconditional election logically and chronologically precedes faith. Faith is not the basis of election.
    • (2) Monergistic regeneration logically precedes and enables faith. Faith is not the basis of regeneration.
    • (3) God’s absolute sovereignty regarding election and regeneration is compatible with human responsibility regarding faith.
  • The article concludes with an observation, a warning, and an exhortation.

My Concise Commentary on 1 Corinthians

by

My concise commentary on 1 Corinthians is now available:

Andrew David Naselli. “1 Corinthians.” Pages 209–394 in Romans–Galatians. Vol. 10 of ESV Expository Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2020.

It is part of a single volume that includes three other concise commentaries:

  1. Robert W. Yarbrough on Romans (pp. 21–208)
  2. Dane Ortlund on 2 Corinthians (pp. 395–566)
  3. Frank Thielman on Galatians (pp. 567–652)

The volume is available from Amazon, Westminster Bookstore, and Logos Bible Software.

Recommended Resources on 1 Corinthians

(What follows is the concise annotated bibliography at the end of my commentary.) [Read more…] about My Concise Commentary on 1 Corinthians

Is Every Sin Outside the Body except Immoral Sex? Weighing Whether 1 Corinthians 6:18b Is Paul’s Statement or a Corinthian Slogan

by

I may now share a PDF of this article that released eighteen months ago in the Journal of Biblical Literature:

Andrew David Naselli. “Is Every Sin Outside the Body except Immoral Sex? Weighing Whether 1 Corinthians 6:18b Is Paul’s Statement or a Corinthian Slogan.” JBL 136 (2017): 969–87.

Here’s the abstract:

In 1 Cor 6:18b–c, Paul writes, “Every sin, whatever a person commits, is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.” This essay weighs whether 1 Cor 6:18b is Paul’s statement or whether Paul is quoting a Corinthian slogan, and it concludes that the second view is more plausible.

Update: 

  1. My Concise Commentary on 1 Corinthians (August 28, 2020)
  2. Tracing the Argument of 1 Corinthians: A Phrase Diagram (April 28, 2023)