Subordination has been and still is a controversial subject within the church. The concept has been vigorously debated in relation to the doctrine of the Trinity since the fourth century. Certain New Testament texts have made it part of discussions of right relations between men and women. In recent years these two matters have been dramatically brought together. Indeed, today the doctrine of the Trinity is being used to support opposing views of the right relationship between men and women in the church. At the center of the debate is the question of whether or not the orthodox view of the...

In this thorough and engaging study of the church in the New Testament, Kevin Giles concludes that the church is first and foremost a Christian community. No other category offers greater breadth and depth of insight into its nature. No other category offers such a challenge to Western individualism, nor such promise for the revitalization of the church in the postmodern world. What on Earth Is the Church? is an exploration in New Testament theology, a careful study of the ecclesial community from Jesus to Paul and on through to Revelation. Each category of New Testament writings is carefully...

Description: Questions related to the issue of gender remain insufficiently acknowledged and explored in contemporary theological literature. These issues form the basis of significant unresolved tensions among evangelicals, as evidenced in debates over the nature of the Trinity, Bible translation, church practice, choice of language, mission leadership, decision-making in homes, and parenting, to name but a few examples. The essays in this volume are not meant to provide a monolithic evangelical theology of gender, but rather to provide evangelical perspectives surrounding the topic of...

This new edition of Patterns of Ministry Among the First Christians tells the story of how the first Christian leaders emerged and, with the passing of time, developed. The book includes sections on Jesus and Paul and their understanding of Christian leadership, on bishops, deacons, elders, apostles, prophets, and teachers, and on ordination. The focus is primarily on the first century but historical development is noted. The author also discuses the ways the New Testament may speak to the present. ""With engaging and sometimes witty prose, Giles explores Scripture honestly to discern...

Since the late 1970s complementarian theologians have been arguing that the divine three persons in the Trinity are ordered hierarchically, and that this is the ground for the hierarchical ordering of the sexes. Suddenly and unexpectedly in June 2016 a number of complementarian theologians of confessional Reformed convictions came out and said that to so construe the Trinity is ""heresy""; it is a denial of what the creeds and confessions of the church rule is the teaching of Scripture. A civil war among complementarians followed and in a very short time those arguing for hierarchical...