Search — Theology Explorer

hermeneutics Scripture authority biblical worldview

Biblical worldview should transcend culture wars rather than being shaped by either conservative or liberal culture

Opening monologue before Q&A begins

Scripture authority spiritual discernment near-death experiences

Near-death experience books should be tested against Scripture and not used to supplement or replace it; the danger is NDE narrators becoming gurus with insider knowledge

Response to a question about the theological accuracy of books like 23 Minutes in Hell and 90 Minutes in Heaven

soul dualism body-soul distinction

Winger holds a dualist view of the soul: the soul is distinct from the brain and body, uses the body to interact with reality, and persists after bodily death

Response to question about the nature of the soul

Luke apostolic authority apostolos Barnabas

Modern-day apostles: the original apostles were unique authoritative founders whose authority is now held in the NT canon; the movement claiming ongoing apostolic offices is unbiblical, though the lowercase term can refer to missionaries

Response to question about whether modern-day apostles are biblical

1 John 4:2 Incarnation Scripture authority Messiah

1 John 4:2 — testing spirits by confession that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh carries the full theological weight of Messiah, incarnation, and OT fulfillment, not merely a verbal formula

Response to question about whether 1 John 4:2 is a sufficient test for false spirits

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-15

Q&A: 1 John 3:4 — "sin is lawlessness" refers to transgression of God's commands broadly, not specifically the Law of Moses

Response to a Hebrew Roots proof text

1 John 3:4 1 John 3:4 anomia lawlessness

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-15

Q&A: Those who never hear the gospel — Winger says the way is narrow but defers to his dedicated teaching on the topic

Classic theological question about the unevangelized

Matthew 7:14 Matthew 7:14 universalism unevangelized

divine inspiration Jonathan McLatchie unity of Scripture

Unity of the Bible as a second argument for divine inspiration

Mike Winger introduces the unity of Scripture as a distinct argument from prophecy for divine inspiration.

Zechariah 2 Zechariah 4:8-9 Jonathan McLatchie intricate harmonies Zechariah 2

Divine plurality in Zechariah 2 — Yahweh sent by Yahweh

McLatchie gives Zechariah 2 as an example of intricate harmonies pointing to the Trinity in the Old Testament.

Hosea 11:1 Proverbs 30:1-4 Hosea 11:1 divine sonship Jonathan McLatchie

Proverbs 30:1-4 — God and his Son in the Hebrew Bible

McLatchie highlights Proverbs 30:1-4 as an often-overlooked text implying the divine sonship within the Hebrew Scriptures.

typology Abraham Jesus in the Old Testament

Winger invitation to deeper study: Jesus in the Old Testament series

Mike Winger points viewers to his 20-video series on Jesus in the Old Testament and other examples of intricate harmonies (Abraham/Isaac, priestly robes, Melchizedek, the Servant of the Lord).

Islam divine inspiration Quran

Why unity argument doesn't work for Islam — Quran vs. Bible authorship

Cameron Bertuzzi's question: if unity of Scripture argues for divine inspiration, why doesn't it work for the Quran?

New Testament Old Testament progressive revelation

New Testament as the decryption key for Old Testament theology

Winger summarizes the unity argument: the NT makes sense of the OT, and the OT prepares for the NT.

deity of Christ Jonathan McLatchie pagan deity parallels

Objection: Jesus's deity borrowed from pagan deities — and response

Addressing the popular online claim that the deity of Jesus was borrowed from pagan mythologies.

Mormonism polytheism monotheism

Why natural theology arguments point to the God of Christianity, not Hinduism

McLatchie explains why the cosmological and design arguments favor the Abrahamic God over polytheistic conceptions.

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-22

Q&A: difference between preaching Jesus as Christ to Jews vs. as Lord to Gentiles -- connects to what the audience already knows from Scripture

Q&A on Jewish vs. Gentile evangelism vocabulary

resurrection Gentile evangelism Messiah (title)

Mike Winger idea 2019-06-05

Galatians 3:21-22 — the law imprisons everything under sin so that promise comes by faith

Scriptural support for law-sin connection

Galatians 3:21-22 law and sin connection Galatians 3:21-22 imprisoned under sin

Mike Winger idea 2019-06-05

Jewish believers who come to faith in Jesus should expect to continue being very Jewish

Q&A: Rachel asks about present-day Jews and circumcision/law observance

Acts circumcision Acts Jewish believers

theological method Scripture authority limited atonement

Critique: limited atonement is mostly supported by philosophical reasoning, not direct scriptural teaching

Winger argues that most support for limited atonement comes from logical inference from other doctrines, not clear biblical texts.

2 Corinthians 5:19 reconciliation extent of atonement 2 Corinthians 5:19

'The world' in 2 Corinthians 5:19 does not mean the elect — it means the ungodly world

Winger argues that 'world' in v.19 refers to sinners in rebellion, not to a special subset like the elect.

Calvinism limited atonement TULIP

Summary: multiple scriptures confirm universal extent, non-universal application; rejecting limited atonement does not require leaving Calvinism

Winger wraps up his scriptural case and notes that rejecting limited atonement does not require rejecting Calvinism wholesale.

D.A. Carson limited atonement elect

Homework challenge: find one verse where kosmos clearly means the elect — D.A. Carson says no such verse exists

Winger issues an exegetical challenge and cites D.A. Carson's agreement.

universal atonement children

Q&A: Did Christ die and rise for all children? — Yes, universally including children

Viewer Q&A: question about whether Christ's death includes children.

Ecclesiastes resurrection soul sleep intermediate state

Q&A: Are the dead conscious after death? Are loved ones watching over us? — Believers go immediately to God's presence; watching over us is uncertain

Viewer Q&A about the state of the dead and whether loved ones watch over the living.

John 12 salvation Steven Anderson homosexuality

Anderson claims homosexuals cannot be saved; cites John 12 which is irrelevant

Analysis of Anderson's third clip on salvation

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 salvation justification 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

1 Corinthians 6:9-11: Such were some of you — homosexuals and all manner of sinners were washed, sanctified, justified

Direct scriptural refutation that homosexuals cannot be saved

repentance homosexuality universal sinfulness

The Christian message is not targeting homosexuality but all behavior against God

Clarifying that Christian ethics are universally applied, not targeted

repentance false gospel Steven Anderson

Anderson teaches that preaching repentance is a false gospel

Another major doctrinal error of Anderson

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 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.

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.

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 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 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.