Search — Theology Explorer

2 Corinthians 5:8 Philippians 1:20-22 Paul eschatology intermediate state

Paul's eschatology: 2 Corinthians 5:8 and Philippians 1:20-22 show an intermediate disembodied state after death, before the final bodily resurrection

Paul's two-stage eschatological framework

1 Thessalonians 4 Paul eschatology intermediate state

1 Thessalonians 4: Jesus will "bring with him" the dead in Christ, whose spirits are reunited with raised bodies — a transformer/transformative resurrection

Paul's 1 Thessalonians 4 passage on resurrection and the coming of Christ

Paul bodily resurrection resurrection appearances

Summary: Paul taught physical/bodily resurrection; hallucination theory fails; Paul was not grieving Jesus's death — he was glad Jesus was dead before his conversion

Concluding the section on Paul's resurrection belief

historicity of Jesus dying and rising gods pagan mythology

Audience Q on mimesis: pagan parallels fail for the same reasons, plus early Christians were Torah-observant Jews who would not borrow from pagan myths

Audience question about mimesis / pagan parallel arguments

Richard Carrier criteria of authenticity historical methodology

Richard Carrier's claim that all historians have concluded the criteria of authenticity are invalid is false — most historians still embrace the criteria

Audience Q about the methodology of validating historicity of Christ

John Dominic Crossan Mike Licona criteria of authenticity John Dominic Crossan

John Dominic Crossan in debate with Licona affirmed the use of criteria — demonstrating that most historians still rely on them

Licona's debate with Crossan as evidence of continuing scholarly use of criteria

multiple attestation eyewitness testimony criteria of authenticity

The criteria of authenticity are not magical — they are common-sense principles: prioritize early sources, eyewitness reports, unsympathetic sources, multiple independent attestation

Explaining what the criteria of authenticity actually are

Richard Carrier Bart Ehrman Jesus mythicism

Advice to those influenced by Richard Carrier: read other skeptical scholars — Ehrman, Lüdemann, Casey — who have proper training in historical Jesus scholarship

Practical guidance for those following Carrier's mythicist arguments

Plutarch Mike Licona historical methodology

Licona's book Why Are There Differences in the Gospels? required classicist review to avoid errors in Plutarch material — illustrating disciplinary boundaries

Personal example of the importance of disciplinary specialization

epistemology Jesus mythicism historicity of Jesus

Red flags for mythicists: fringe scholarly support + primarily internet bloggers = gullibility warning; comparable to moon landing denialism and Holocaust denial

Warning signs that a position may be a conspiracy theory

apologetics atheism Jesus mythicism

Pastoral observation: many Jesus mythicists are atheists/agnostics who find it convenient to deny Jesus existed rather than grapple with who he claimed to be

Winger's pastoral/spiritual observation about mythicists' motivations

1 Corinthians 13:10-12 cessationism continuationism spiritual gifts

1 Corinthians 13:10-12 is the primary cessationist proof-text in the cessationism vs. continuationism debate.

Introduction to the episode. Winger frames the central question: does 1 Cor 13:10-12 teach that tongues, prophecy, and knowledge ceased after the apostolic era?

cessationism continuationism spiritual gifts

Cessationism defined: miraculous gifts belonged to the apostolic era only, served a unique founding purpose, and ceased before the canon closed.

Winger reads a definition from Theapedia. He contrasts it with continuationism, which holds the gifts are normative and available today.

1 Corinthians 12-14 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 1 Corinthians 12-14 prophecy word of knowledge

1 Corinthians 13:8-13 in context: the love passage is embedded within 1 Cor 12-14, a sustained section on spiritual gifts.

Winger reads the passage aloud (1 Cor 13:8-13) and establishes its literary context before presenting cessationist interpretations.

1 Corinthians 13:10 James 1:23-25 cessationism canon of Scripture to teleion

Cessationist Interpretation 1: "the perfect" (to teleion) = the completed Bible, supported by a mirror/perfect-law parallel in James 1:23-25.

First of two cessationist readings. Proponents cite the shared vocabulary of "mirror" and "perfect" (teleios) between 1 Cor 13 and James 1 to argue the perfect thing is Scripture.

1 Corinthians 13:12 James 1:4 James 1:17 cessationism face to face with God 1 Corinthians 13:12

Rebuttal of Interpretation 1: teleios is a broad word with many non-Scripture referents, and the mirror image in James functions differently than in 1 Cor 13.

Winger raises two problems with equating "the perfect" with the completed Bible.

John MacArthur 1 Corinthians 13 John MacArthur cessationism 1 Corinthians 13

Many cessationists themselves discourage using 1 Cor 13 as a proof-text for cessationism because it does not yield the argument verse-by-verse.

Transitional observation before presenting the second, more sophisticated cessationist argument from the Masters Seminary.

1 Corinthians 13:8-12 cessationism canon of Scripture to teleion

Cessationist Interpretation 2 (Masters Seminary): prophecy and knowledge = inscripturated revelation; massive time gap between vv. 11 and 12; "the perfect" = the church brought to maturity by the Bible.

Summary of the three key concepts in the Masters Seminary article that underpin its cessationist reading of 1 Cor 13.

1 Corinthians 13:12 cessationism face to face with God 1 Corinthians 13:12

The Masters Seminary article: verse 12 is acknowledged to be about seeing Christ face-to-face, but a 1,000-year time gap is inserted between vv. 11 and 12 to salvage the cessationist reading.

Winger quotes the article directly to show how the author handles the face-to-face language.

Acts 21:9 Acts 11 Acts 21:9 cessationism prophecy

Rebuttal: the inscripturation claim for prophecy and knowledge is unsubstantiated; New Testament prophets generally did not produce Scripture.

First major exegetical objection to the Masters Seminary argument. Winger demonstrates that NT prophets were not primarily Scripture-writers.

1 Corinthians 13:8-12 cessationism to teleion exegesis

Rebuttal of the massive time-gap claim: the verse-by-verse flow of 1 Cor 13:8-12 is continuous; no gap is linguistically justified.

Second major objection. Winger argues the narrative logic of the passage runs uninterrupted from v. 8 through v. 12.

1 Corinthians 13:8 spiritual gifts prophecy word of knowledge

Verse-by-verse: v. 8 — love never ends; three gifts (prophecy, knowledge, tongues) will pass away; the context is clearly the spiritual gifts of 1 Cor 12-14.

Winger begins his own positive verse-by-verse treatment of 1 Cor 13:8-13.

1 Corinthians 13:9-10 apostolic authority prophecy inscripturation

Verse-by-verse: vv. 9-10 — Paul includes himself in "we know in part," undermining the inscripturation reading; even apostolic knowledge is partial, not completable by writing.

Key exegetical point: the first-person plural "we" in v. 9 includes Paul and the other apostles, not just ordinary charismatics.

1 Corinthians 15 1 Corinthians 13:11 cessationism 1 Corinthians 15 eschatology

Verse-by-verse: v. 11 — the child/adult analogy illustrates that the gifts are a temporary measure, but the maturity in view is eschatological glorification (1 Cor 15), not canonical completion.

Winger grants that v. 11 sounds like it could support the church-maturity cessationist view, but locates its referent in resurrection/glorification.

1 Corinthians 13:12 1 John 3:2 1 Corinthians 8:3 eschatology glorification face to face with God

Verse-by-verse: v. 12 — "face to face" and "know fully even as I am fully known" point to the eschatological vision of God, not completion of Scripture; confirmed by 1 John 3:2 and 1 Cor 8:3.

Winger's positive exegesis of v. 12, identifying "the perfect" with the second coming/resurrection state. He cross-references 1 John 3:2 and 1 Cor 8:3.

1 Corinthians 13:13 spiritual gifts love 1 Corinthians 13:13

Main point of 1 Cor 13: love, not gifts, is the permanent priority; pursuit of love must exceed pursuit of spiritual gifts.

Winger concludes the exegesis by restating Paul's actual primary argument.

apostolic office cessationism continuationism

Winger's own position: open but not normative — he agrees with cessationists on apostleship and a likely reduction of healing gifts, but rejects full cessationism.

Having refuted the cessationist use of 1 Cor 13, Winger clarifies his own nuanced view to avoid being read as a rampant charismatic.

Matthew 18 Matthew 18 Bethel Church Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry

Critique of Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry: prophetic activation exercises using Uno cards reduce prophecy to social engineering and fabrication.

Winger pivots to critique hyper-charismatic practice, using Bethel's published school curriculum as a concrete example.

Bethel Church false prophecy discernment

Teresa Dedmon / Bethel: selling art as a vehicle for "spiritual impartation" and prophetic clothing that enhances God's presence is false teaching and commercial exploitation.

Second specific example from Bethel: the creative arts director's website claims her paintings and clothing impart heaven's presence.

1 Corinthians 12-14 1 Corinthians 12-14 cessationism continuationism

The cure for hyper-charismatic abuse is not cessationism but the biblical regulative norms already given in 1 Cor 12-14 for how gifts function in the church.

Winger resists the reactionary move of becoming cessationist in response to charismatic excess.

1 Corinthians 14 Romans 8 1 Corinthians 13:1 1 Corinthians 14 Romans 8 spiritual gifts

Q&A: Tongues in 1 Cor 14 are actual languages; tongues always requires genuine linguistic communication; "groaning" in Romans 8 is distinct from the gift of tongues.

Response to viewer question about whether 1 Cor 14 tongues are languages or ecstatic utterances.

biblical authority apologetics discernment

Warning against seeking comfort in progressive or unorthodox theology as a false catharsis; such teachers typically demonize biblical Christianity to wedge in their reinterpretations.

Q&A response about walking with a friend questioning traditional beliefs, specifically mentioning Greg Boyd.

continuationism church order spiritual gifts

Winger's church practice: open to Spirit-prompted words but does not structure services around spiritual gifts; anti-normative posture.

Q&A response about how gifts function in his church.

biblical authority cessationism continuationism

Views on gifts are often driven more by experience than Scripture; the exegetical case against cessationism from 1 Cor 13 is strong but trajectory arguments for cessationism are weak.

Q&A — viewer asks whether people's positions on sign gifts are experience-based more than Scripture-based.

Craig Keener spiritual gifts healing

Resource recommendation for documented modern miracles: Craig Keener's two-volume work "Miracles" provides medical/testimonial evidence catalogued by a respected scholar.

Q&A — viewer asks for visible evidence that gifts of healing are active today.

Romans 8 Romans 8 spiritual gifts tongues

Can a person speak in tongues without having the gift of tongues? Possibly — but Romans 8 groaning is distinct: it is heart-pouring to God, not a spiritual gift requiring impartation.

Q&A — question about whether tongues-speaking requires the specific gift.

cessationism continuationism church history

Historical question: sign gifts did not begin at Azusa Street; early church fathers (Justin Martyr, later Augustine) attest to prophecy and miracles continuing post-apostolically.

Q&A — viewer claims modern tongues/gifts stem from the 1906 Azusa Street revival. Winger corrects the historical record.

Isaiah 45:7 Isaiah 45:7 Did God Create Evil moral evil

Introduction: Isaiah 45:7 quoted as evidence God created moral evil

Opening setup of the livestream topic

Isaiah 45:7 semantic range Isaiah 45:7 ra

Hebrew word ra — range of meaning includes calamity, distress, harm, not only moral evil

Mike examines the Hebrew word translated "evil" in Isaiah 45:7 using multiple lexicons

Isaiah 45:7 Jeremiah 39:12 Amos 6:3 Isaiah 45:7 ra calamity vs moral evil

Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament: ra in Isaiah 45:7 denotes calamity, not moral evil

Additional lexical support from TWOT

Isaiah 45:7 contextual interpretation Isaiah 45:7 ra

Contextual argument: peace (shalom) vs. calamity is the correct contrast, not peace vs. moral evil

Mike moves from lexical analysis to contextual/structural analysis of the verse

Isaiah 45 divine sovereignty Isaiah 45 Cyrus the Great

Historical context: Isaiah 45 is addressed to Cyrus, a pagan king — God asserting universal sovereignty

Mike examines the literary and historical setting of Isaiah 45

Isaiah 41:23 Lamentations 3:38-39 divine judgment ra calamity vs moral evil

Isaiah 41:23 and Lamentations 3:38-39 corroborate that God bringing evil/bad = calamity, not moral evil

Supporting passages examined to reinforce the interpretation of Isaiah 45:7

Job 2:10 moral evil ra calamity vs moral evil

Job 2:10 confirms ra as calamity: Job receiving evil = loss of children, livestock, health

Job passage used as a concrete example of ra meaning bad circumstances, not moral evil

Modern translations render ra in Isaiah 45:7 as calamity/disaster, not evil — English has shifted

Mike explains why the KJV uses "evil" and why modern translations differ

Isaiah 45:7 ESV NASB NIV

Greg Koukl moral evil evil as privation

Evil is not a created substance — analogy of donut hole and shadow

Mike transitions to the broader philosophical question: where did evil come from?

free will evil as privation origin of evil

Good derives from God's nature; evil is the contrast to God's goodness, requiring permission not creation

Positive account of where good and evil come from

Satan free will moral evil

Moral evil as the result of free will; natural evil as a separate category

Mike distinguishes two major categories of evil

Job John 9:1-3 spiritual warfare Job problem of evil

Three biblical causes of natural evil: divine judgment, spiritual warfare, and the greater good

Mike surveys biblical reasons for calamitous suffering