BOOK SUMMARY - ON THE INCARNATION - CHAPTER 1 - CREATION AND THE FALL

Athanasius explains why God created humanity: humans were given a special grace that animals do not have—the Image of God, meaning the ability to know God, reason, and live forever in communion with Him. But humanity turned away from God, choosing corruption and death. Because of this rebellion, humanity began to “unravel,” drifting toward non-existence.

Athanasius says God could not simply ignore this decay, because it would contradict His goodness and make creation pointless. Yet God also could not simply cancel the consequence of death, because He had already declared it. This creates what Athanasius calls the divine dilemma: humanity is perishing, but God’s goodness and truthfulness must both be upheld.

BOOK SUMMARY: THE ENEMY WITHIN - CHAPTER 8 - LOVE GOD WITH ALL YOUR MIND

GUARDING THE MIND

Obedience requires deliberate mental vigilance. Truth slips away when the mind drifts, so Scripture must be held with constant attention. Without this watchfulness, spiritual impressions weaken, clarity fades, and obedience loses strength.

THE MIND INCLUDES THE CONSCIENCE

The conscience functions within the mind’s sharpness. When the mind grows dull or distracted, the conscience becomes sluggish or compromised. Deep engagement with Scripture trains discernment and produces an obedient conscience.

THINKING HARD ABOUT OBEDIENCE

• Obey Fully - Full obedience embraces the entire duty God requires. Partial, selective, or convenient obedience is rejected. The whole command must be carried out without trimming or modifying what God has spoken.
• Obey By Faith - Obedience must be performed in dependence on Christ. Duties done in self‑strength lose spiritual value. Faith turns duty into worship because the heart leans on Christ while acting.
• Obey From The Heart - True obedience rises from sincerity, willingness, and joy. It rejects mechanical performance and aligns motives and affections with God’s will. The inner posture matters as much as the outward act.
• Obey God’s Way - Obedience must follow the pattern God sets. Duties cannot be performed according to personal creativity or convenience. They must be shaped by Scripture’s rule and carried out in the manner God prescribes.
• Obey God For God’s Goals - Obedience must aim at God’s purposes, not personal agendas. Duties are performed to advance God’s glory and God’s ends, not self‑benefit. Motives are purified when aligned with divine goals.

THINKING HARD ABOUT SIN

• Think About The Sovereignty Of God - Sin is rebellion against the one Lawgiver who rules over life and death. Remembering His authority strengthens resistance.
• Think About The Punishment Of Sin - Divine warnings sober the mind and restrain the flesh. God’s justice and the reality of judgment awaken seriousness and holy fear.
• Think About The Love And Kindness Of The One Against Whom Every Sin Is Committed - God’s love—both general and particular—motivates purity. Remembering His care, deliverances, provisions, and patience stirs the heart away from sin.
• Think About The Blood And Mediation Of Christ - Christ’s death compels believers to live for Him rather than themselves. His sacrifice reshapes motives and strengthens obedience.
• Think About The Indwelling Of The Holy Spirit - The Spirit’s indwelling is the greatest privilege in this life. Sin grieves Him, defiles His dwelling place, and forfeits His comforts. Remembering this strengthens resolve.

THE FLESH’S COUNTEROFFENSIVE

Sin pushes back by cultivating spiritual laziness. It drags the mind away from serious thought, dulls the conscience, and discourages effort. Watchfulness is Christ’s command for resisting temptation.

BOOK SUMMARY: KNOW THE HERETICS - CHAPTER 10 - EUTYCHES

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

After the early councils clarified the relationship between the Father and the Son, the church’s attention moved to the mystery of how Christ’s divine and human natures unite in one person. Alexandrian and Antiochene theologians continued to pull in different directions—Alexandria emphasizing unity, Antioch emphasizing distinction. The controversies involving Cyril of Alexandria, Nestorius, and the Council of Ephesus shaped the theological landscape and left behind formulas that could be interpreted in extreme ways.

Political instability and ecclesiastical rivalry intensified after Cyril’s death. His successor Dioscorus pushed Alexandrian influence aggressively, and in this climate Eutyches, an elderly archimandrite in Constantinople, emerged as a figure whose views would ignite a new Christological crisis.

HERETICAL TEACHING

Eutyches insisted so strongly on the unity of Christ that he denied the ongoing distinction of Christ’s two natures after the incarnation. He taught that Christ’s humanity was swallowed up or absorbed by the divine nature, leaving Christ with only one nature—no longer fully consubstantial with humanity.

This view made Christ’s humanity something other than ours, undermining the reality of his human experience and the basis of human redemption. Eutyches himself was not a major public theologian, but his position gained traction because of the political support he received and the theological tensions of the time.

ORTHODOX RESPONSE

Church leaders responded by reaffirming the full reality of both natures in the one person of Christ. Leo of Rome articulated a balanced Christology that preserved the integrity of Christ’s humanity and divinity without confusion or division.

The Second Council of Ephesus (the “Robber Synod”) initially supported Eutyches, but its decisions were overturned at the Council of Chalcedon. Chalcedon produced the definitive statement: Christ is one person in two complete natures, fully divine and fully human, united without blending or loss. This became the enduring standard for orthodox Christology.

CONTEMPORARY RELEVANCE

The chapter concludes by showing how Eutychian instincts still appear whenever Christ’s humanity is minimized or treated as insignificant. Any view that turns Jesus into a purely divine figure detached from human limitations weakens the gospel’s portrayal of his obedience, suffering, sympathy, and priestly work.

The Chalcedonian balance remains essential for preaching, counseling, and discipleship, grounding Christian confidence in a Savior who is truly God and truly human.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1.    How did the theological tensions between Alexandria and Antioch shape the debate over Christ’s natures, especially in light of passages like John 1:14 and Philippians 2:6–7, which emphasize both incarnation and humility?

2.    What did Eutyches teach about Christ’s humanity being absorbed by divinity, and how does this conflict with texts such as Hebrews 2:14–17 and Romans 1:3, which affirm Christ’s full participation in human nature?

3.    What events at the Second Council of Ephesus led to Eutyches’ temporary vindication, and how did the controversy relate to the church’s effort to uphold the biblical witness of Christ’s two natures seen in Colossians 2:9 and Luke 2:52?

4.    How did the Council of Chalcedon articulate Christ as one person in two natures, reflecting the scriptural balance of John 10:30 (unity) and Hebrews 4:15 (full humanity)?

5.    In what ways did Leo’s Christology preserve both natures without confusion or division, aligning with passages like John 1:1 (divinity) and Matthew 26:38 (human emotion and suffering)?

6.    Where do I personally struggle to believe that Jesus truly shares my human experience, and how do texts like Hebrews 4:15 and Hebrews 5:7–8 invite me to trust him with my weaknesses?

7.    How does remembering Christ’s fatigue, sorrow, and dependence on the Spirit—seen in John 4:6, Luke 22:44, and Luke 4:1—reshape the way I approach my own limitations?

8.    Do I tend to view Jesus as too divine to understand me or too human to help me, and how do John 1:14 and Colossians 1:15–17 correct that imbalance in my worship and prayer?

9. What areas of my life call for the same Spirit‑empowered dependence Jesus modeled in Luke 3:22, Luke 4:1, and Acts 10:38?

10.  How does Christ’s embodied obedience—Philippians 2:8 and Romans 5:19—challenge me to pursue holiness in my own body, habits, emotions, and daily choices?

BOOK SUMMARY: THE ENEMY WITHIN - PART 2: THE POWER OF SIN IN HOW IT WORKS AND WHAT IT DOES - CHAPTER 7 - THE TRICKS OF THE TRADE - NO IDLE MIND

 

Introduction

The struggle against the flesh requires active engagement, strength from the Spirit, and deliberate use of spiritual tools. Meditation and private prayer function as God’s hammer, breaking the power of sin by exposing its hidden operations and bringing the soul into God’s searching light. These practices involve contemplating God with God, seeking the Living Word in the written Word, and examining oneself before God. The flesh resists this work fiercely, clawing against anything that draws the believer into communion with God. Its resistance appears through overconfidence, urgent distractions, duty‑swapping, and false promises that sin can be managed without deep prayer. When these claws succeed, the seeds of sin take root quietly. When meditation and prayer are pursued faithfully, sin’s schemes are dragged into the light and destroyed, strengthening perseverance and joy.

 

John Henry’s Hammer

Strength and tools work together; the Spirit empowers the believer, and meditation and prayer are the instruments that strike at the flesh.

 

God’s Hammer

Meditation and private prayer expose sin’s strategies, reveal its footholds, and bring the soul into God’s purifying presence.

 

The Wounded Beast

The flesh fights against communion with God, resisting meditation and prayer with violent inner opposition.

 

Naive Overconfidence

Presumption and bodily weakness combine to lull the believer into prayerlessness at the very moment vigilance is needed.

 

Tyranny of the Urgent

Urgent tasks crowd out essential spiritual labor, convincing the believer that prayer can wait.

 

The Duty Swap

Easier duties replace harder ones, allowing the flesh to avoid the painful work of confronting sin.

 

The Big Promise

The flesh whispers that sin can be controlled without deep communion with God, offering false assurance.

 

The Seeds of Sin

Neglected prayer and meditation allow sin to germinate quietly; faithful discipline uproots it early and strengthens perseverance.

BOOK SUMMARY: THE ENEMY WITHIN - PART 2: THE POWER OF SIN IN HOW IT WORKS AND WHAT IT DOES - CHAPTER 6 - GETTING CARRIED AWAY

Introduction
Joseph’s encounter with Potiphar’s wife reveals a mind fortified against temptation. Two convictions anchor his resistance: sin is vile and God is good. These convictions form the mind’s first line of defense, enabling clear judgment when the flesh attempts deceit. When the mind identifies sin as wicked and God as gracious, the affections and will follow in obedience. The flesh, however, works to breach this wall by distorting grace—magnifying forgiveness while minimizing holiness. When this distortion takes root, thoughts of God fade and worldly distractions fill the mind, making sin seem less dangerous and God’s love less real. Fixing the mind on the cross restores clarity, revealing both the shame of sin and the depth of divine love. A cross‑centered gaze steadies the soul and strengthens resistance against temptation.
 
The Castle Wall
Joseph’s settled convictions guard his mind, enabling him to see temptation for what it is and choose righteousness at great personal cost.
 
The Breach in the Wall
The flesh twists grace into permission, dulling the conscience and hardening the heart until sin no longer feels dangerous.
 
The Cross‑Eyed Watchman
Fixing the mind on the cross keeps spiritual sight clear, revealing sin’s ugliness and God’s love in one place.

BOOK SUMMARY: KNOW THE HERETICS - CHAPTER 9 - PELAGIUS

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND - Pelagius emerged in the late fourth and early fifth century as a British monk deeply troubled by the moral laxity he witnessed in Rome after Christianity became socially advantageous. While orthodox in his Trinitarian and Christological beliefs, Pelagius developed an optimistic view of human nature shaped by his ascetic lifestyle and his interactions with socially powerful Christians. He believed that moral reform was urgently needed and that Christians possessed the natural ability to obey God’s commands. His travels—from Rome to North Africa to Palestine—brought him into conflict with Augustine and other church leaders, ultimately leading to his condemnation at the Council of Ephesus in 431.

HERETICAL TEACHING - Pelagius’s theology began with the conviction that God would never command what humans cannot perform. He rejected Augustine’s prayer, “Give what you command,” believing it encouraged passivity and spiritual laziness. For Pelagius, human freedom was unconditional, and moral responsibility rested entirely on human ability. He argued that Christians insult God when they claim His commands are too difficult, insisting instead that God created humans with full capacity to obey. Pelagius saw sin primarily as a matter of bad habits and poor choices, not a condition inherited from Adam. Grace, in his view, was essentially the natural endowment God gave humanity at creation—the moral ability to choose the good. 

PELAGIUS ON THE FREEDOM OF THE WILL - Pelagius taught that humans begin life in a morally neutral state, possessing complete freedom to choose good or evil. Sin arises when people repeatedly choose wrongly and form destructive habits, but the will itself remains intact and capable of reform. He believed moral effort and discipline were the keys to holiness, and that human beings retain the power to obey God without needing supernatural intervention. Freedom, for Pelagius, meant independence from divine determination and full self-governance. 

PELAGIUS ON THE ORIGIN OF SIN - Pelagius denied original sin, arguing that Adam’s fall harmed only Adam. Every person, he claimed, is born good, with the same moral potential Adam possessed. Sin is not a condition but an act of the will, and guilt is never inherited. Humanity’s problem is imitation, not corruption: people follow Adam’s example of disobedience, but they are not born enslaved to sin. This view allowed Pelagius to maintain that salvation is achieved through moral effort and disciplined obedience. 

PELAGIUS ON THE NATURE OF GRACE - Pelagius defined grace as God’s revelation of His commands and the natural abilities He gave humans at creation. Grace does not transform the heart or empower obedience; it merely instructs. Humans already possess everything needed for righteousness. Pelagius therefore rejected the idea that grace is an unmerited, supernatural gift that enables the will. In his system, grace is informational rather than transformational. 

ORTHODOX RESPONSE - Augustine responded vigorously, insisting that Pelagius’s theology undermined the gospel. Augustine taught that Adam and Eve possessed true freedom—the ability not to sin—but that after the fall humanity became “not able not to sin.” The will is bent inward, enslaved to sin, and incapable of choosing the good without divine intervention. Original sin corrupts every part of human nature, darkening the mind and hardening the heart, and guilt is inherited from Adam. Grace, therefore, is not mere instruction but God’s active work in the human heart, enabling both the willing and the doing of righteousness. Augustine argued that if humans could achieve salvation through moral effort alone, Christ’s death would be meaningless. Grace is God’s free, sovereign, loving action that rescues sinners who cannot rescue themselves. 

CONTEMPORARY RELEVANCE - Pelagian ideas persist today in subtle forms—whenever freedom is defined as independence from God, whenever sin is minimized or treated as merely behavioral, and whenever grace is reduced to moral encouragement rather than divine empowerment. Scripture teaches that humans are enslaved to sin apart from Christ (John 8:34–36), born under Adam’s guilt (Romans 5:12), and unable to seek God on their own (Romans 3:10–11). True freedom is found not in self-determination but in liberation through Christ. Augustine’s theology remains vital because it preserves the necessity of grace, the seriousness of sin, and the glory of Christ’s redeeming work. The church continues to rely on Augustine’s insights to maintain a gospel that exalts God’s mercy rather than human ability. 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 

1. How did Pelagius define human freedom, and why did he believe God’s commands must be within human ability? Romans 3:10–11; Deuteronomy 30:11–14 

2. What were the key differences between Pelagius’s and Augustine’s views on the origin of sin? Romans 5:12; Psalm 51:5 

3. How did Pelagius’s definition of grace differ from Augustine’s, and what theological consequences followed? Philippians 2:12–13; Ephesians 2:8–9 

4. Why did Augustine argue that fallen humans are “not able not to sin,” and how does this shape his doctrine of salvation? John 8:34–36; Romans 7:18–20 

5. Why did Augustine insist that Pelagianism makes Christ’s death unnecessary, and how does Galatians 2:21 support his argument? 1 Peter 1:18–19 

6. In what ways do you see Pelagian tendencies in your own life—attempting to change yourself without relying on God’s grace? John 15:5

7. How does minimizing sin affect your spiritual growth, your relationships, and your sense of need for Christ? 1 John 1:8–9 

8. When helping others change, how can you avoid Pelagian moralism and instead guide them toward Spirit empowered transformation? Galatians 5:16–18 

9. How does Augustine’s emphasis on grace cultivate humility, gratitude, and worship in your daily walk with Christ? Ephesians 2:4–5 

10. What does true freedom look like in your life—not independence from God, but joyful obedience empowered by the Spirit? Galatians 5:1, 13

Christoarchicity - A Unified Theological Proposal

As usual, I’ve been thinking through Scripture in relation to Christ and the salvation he brings to us. As I’ve been thinking through various passages, some thoughts have come to mind that I’m wrestling with—in a good way, not doubts.

 

You’ve heard me say for years that Christ is the center of all Scripture—the hub around which all Scripture is tied. This is what some refer to as the Christocentricity of Scripture. You’ve also heard me say that Christ is the end of all Scripture—the telos. The fancy word for this is Christotelicity. From Genesis to Revelation, Scripture has been pointing forward to Christ as the glorious end-all of history. Of these two truths, I am convinced.

 

But as I’ve been studying Biblical Theology more and more, I began to see things in a way that are presenting some ideas that no one has written about comprehensively. In fact, there is no term for the idea I’m about to present, so I had to coin a term. It’s called...

Christoarchicity.

 

CHRISTOARCHICITY (definition)

Christoarchicity is the claim that Christ Himself is the original pattern—the arche—of every major identity, office, and structure in Scripture, and that Adam, Israel, the temple, the church, and the new creation are ectypal expressions of His eternal reality. Ectypal means that something is a created copy of the original. It means Christ does not merely fulfill Old Testament forms; He is the source from which those forms were first shaped.

 

So, when Scripture gives us sons, kings, priests, prophets, temples, sacrifices, covenant heads, and worshipers, it is giving us creaturely copies of Christ’s eternal identity.

 

Christoarchicity simply says: Christ is the arche; everything else is the echo.

 

WHY THIS MATTERS

The implications of this are connected to biblical counseling, the dispensationalism/covenantalism discussion, how we see typology, a shift in biblical theology, and even millennial views. Why? Because this notion of Christoarchicity hits at the metaphysical and ontological level of theology.

 

METAPHYSICS AND ONTOLOGY

• Metaphysics: the branch of philosophy that deals with the first principles of things—being, knowing, identity, time, and space.
• Ontology: the part of metaphysics that lists and organizes what exists.

 

The following will help make sense of these concepts because they can feel abstract. For example:

• God created the world with order, purpose, and structure (metaphysics). “In wisdom you made them all.” (Psalm 104:24)

 

• In this world, God created creatures, relationships, and physical realities (ontology). “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)

 

• What makes a tree a tree and what is its nature (metaphysics)? A tree is one kind of thing that exists in this world (ontology).

 

CHRISTOARCHICITY AND SCRIPTURE

Now what does metaphysics and ontology have to do with Christoarchicity? Everything.

 

Christ is the arche—the ultimate beginning and reality (metaphysics)—from which all patterns, offices, and structures we see in Scripture are derived (ontology). Let me give you an example of what this sounds like in working-man terms.

 

•   Christ as the Arche Son

Christ has always been the Son of God. Eternally. Apart from time. This is part of His being—ultimate reality (metaphysics).

 

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,” (Galatians 4:4)

 

Notice that God sent for His SON to be born of a woman. He did not become a son because He was born to Mary. He is the arche son. Thus, any manifestations of “sonship” in the Bible—Adam, angels, Israel, believers (ectypes)—are derived from Christ.

 

o   “Adam… the son of God.” (Luke 3:38)

o   “Israel is My son, My firstborn.” (Exodus 4:22)

o   “To all who received Him… He gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)

 

He is the arche Son after which all other “sons” are patterned.

 

This is what Christoarchicity feels like and sounds like and thus makes necessary the Christocentricity and Christotelocity of Scripture. In other words, Christocentricity and Christotelocity of God’s Word are true because metaphysically Christ is ultimate reality (metaphysics) and God created physical reality (ontology) to be one massive revelation of Christ.

 

•    Christ as Arche Priest

Christ was, is, and always shall be the Priest.

 

o   “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” (Psalm 110:4)

o   “He is without father or mother… resembling the Son of God.” (Hebrews 7:3)

 

Melchizedek’s priesthood is derived from Christ’s eternal priesthood, not the other way around. Scripture explicitly says that Melchizedek resembles the Son, not that the Son resembles Melchizedek — that’s the metaphysical direction. So when Jesus is said to be “after the order of Melchizedek,” it means that in time He fulfills the pattern displayed in Melchizedek’s priesthood (ontology), while in His eternal being He is Priest forever — from all eternity (metaphysics).

 

•    Christ as Arche King

Christ is King eternally; Davidic kingship is the ectypal copy.

 

o   “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever” (Psalm 45:6; applied to Christ in Hebrews 1:8).

 

When Adam or Noah were given dominion over the earth — the ontological, historical ectype — it was because Christ is eternally the arche King in His divine nature. Their kingship is simply the temporal manifestation of His eternal kingship. And when we reign with Christ for all eternity, it is because ontologically we participate in the metaphysical reality of His eternal rule (Revelation 22:5).

 

•     Christ as Arche Temple

Christ is the true temple—the dwelling place of God.

 

o   “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up… He was speaking of the temple of His body.” (John 2:19–21)

o   “The Father who dwells in Me does His works.” (John 14:10)

o   “I am in the Father and the Father is in Me.” (John 14:11)

o   “The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” (Revelation 21:22)

o   “They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.” (Hebrews 8:5)

 

Every temple in Scripture is an ectypal copy of Christ’s eternal temple reality.

 

•     Christ as Arche Messenger (Malak YHWH)

Christ is the eternal Messenger of the Lord.

 

o   “Behold, I send my messenger… and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant… behold, he is coming.” (Malachi 3:1)

God Himself was coming to the temple as the Messenger of the Covenant. This was Christ, whose way was prepared by John the Baptist.

 

•    Christ as Arche Sacrifice

Every sacrifice is patterned after Him.

 

o   “…the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:8)

 

I think you’re getting the point by now.

 

•     Christ as Causality and Telos

Christ is the causality and the end-all of everything.

 

o   “For from Him and through Him and for Him are all things.” (Romans 11:36)

 

“From,” “through,” and “for” name the metaphysical structure of reality—Christ as arche source, arche sustainer, and arche telos. “All things” names the ontological realm—everything that exists as ectypal expression of that metaphysical reality.

Other ways that I believe Christ is arche, but not limited to, are: bridegroom, light, truth and worshiper. These must be textually grounded so that we don’t enter into speculative theology but theology that is true and God-honoring—theology that shapes our life around Christ.

 

Let me wrap this up, because much more could be said. This has been rolling around in my mind for a long time. I can see it clearly, but I still need to work it out in writing as I continue to test and refine its validity. The implications are massive—not only for theology, but for worship, fellowship, identity, counseling, and how we live in this world as those who relate to Jesus Christ now and for all eternity.

 

As with any theological notions that presses into the deeper realities of Scripture as they relate to Christ, I know there will be pushback. Some will say I’m reading metaphysics into the Bible, but Scripture itself speaks in metaphysical categories—“from Him, through Him, for Him.” Others will insist that Christ merely fulfills Old Testament patterns, yet Hebrews says the patterns themselves were shaped after Him. Some will resist the idea that Adam, Israel, Melchizedek, David, the temple, the sacrifices, and even angels and prophets are ectypal copies of Christ’s eternal reality, but the text itself gives the direction: they resemble the Son. Christoarchicity does not overturn what we know of Christ and Scripture; it gathers some of the scattered pieces and shows the whole. Some may argue that if Christ is the arche, this undermines the Father’s primacy—but that objection confuses categories, because Christoarchicity is not speaking about Christ’s relation to the Father within the Trinity, but Christ’s relation to creation, where Scripture itself assigns the patterns, offices, and structures to the Son, not the Father.

 

In every case, the pushback only drives me deeper into Scripture, where Christ stands as the arche—and everything else as the echo.

 

To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen.