Quotes from George Eldon Ladd

Joy is primarily a religious sentiment that finds its deepest satisfaction in the Lord. Therefore one can rejoice even when he or she is sorrowing (2 Cor. 6:10) or experiencing physical sufferings (Col. 1:24). One can rejoice in the gospel in the midst of severe afflictions (1 Thess. 1:6).

This "gospel" was the very presence of Jesus himself, and the joy and fellowship that he brought to the poor.

Furthermore, unless Jesus had some interpretation for his own death, it is difficult to explain how the theology of atonement arose in the early church. Long ago, Schweitzer criticized Wrede's nonmessianic theory on the grounds that resurrection would never constitute Jesus as Messiah in the mind of the church,5 and the validity of this criticism still stands.

History always tries to understand the meaning of the events it reports; and the fact that a person has a viewpoint does not mean that person is a poor historian and distorts facts to support his or her interpretation.

No more could belief in Jesus' resurrection have caused the church to attribute atoning value to his death. The source of a theology of Jesus' death must go back to Jesus himself.

We may say that there is a Jewish Pentecost, a Samaritan Pentecost, and a Gentile Pentecost.10

Theology and history are intellectual pursuits; faith is commitment of the whole person.

We may conclude that the normal pattern is that the baptism of the Spirit occurs at the moment of saving faith, which in New Testament times was practically simultaneous with water baptism, incorporating believers into the church.

John makes no effort to reconcile systematically these sayings about divine predestination and moral responsibility. He sees no contradiction that faith is the free decision of a person's will and at the same time the gift of God's grace. This makes it clear that "the decision of faith is not a human meritorious achievement like the Jewish works of the Law, but simply the fitting answer, made possible by the grace of God, to the revelation given by Jesus."20

The baptism with the Spirit is the act of the Holy Spirit joining together into a spiritual unity people of diverse racial extractions and diverse social backgrounds so that they form the body of Christ — the ekkl?sia.

This is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he has commanded us" (1 Jn. 4:7). "If we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us" (1 Jn. 4:12). This verse suggests that the "Johannine mysticism" is a mysticism of love.

However, certain distinctive Christian elements are evident, the first of which is "the apostles' teaching" or didach?. This included the meaning of the life, death, and exaltation of Jesus, his enthronement as messianic King and Lord inaugurating the messianic age of blessing, and the future eschatological consummation.

Our central thesis is that the Kingdom of God is the redemptive reign of God dynamically active to establish his rule among human beings, and that this Kingdom, which will appear as an apocalyptic act at the end of the age, has already come into human history in the person and mission of Jesus to overcome evil, to deliver people from its power, and to bring them into the blessings of God's reign.

This is a bit of "realized eschatology." The disciples will experience ("see") in all Jesus' work the union with God that is his and his alone. Thus the Son of Man is the "gate of heaven," the place of the presence of God's grace on earth, the tent of God among human beings.22

The Kingdom of God involves two great moments: fulfillment within history, and consummation at the end of history. It is precisely this background which provides the setting for the parables of the Kingdom.

Satan's main objective is to frustrate the redemptive purposes of God, and at the end of the age the satanic power will become incarnate in a man of lawlessness who will endeavor by one last final effort to overthrow the work of God and to turn people to the worship of evil (2 Thess. 2:4-10). However, Satan's doom is sure; God will crush him under the feet of the saints (Rom. 16:20).

However, the word translated "begotten" comes from genos, meaning "kind" or "sort," not from genna?, "to beget." At the least, John means to say that Jesus is the only one of his class.

It is obvious that there is no uniform pattern of government in Acts. The form of leadership was an historical development in which the apostles, elders, and the congregation shared.

The will of God here is not proper conduct in specific situations; it is the redemptive purpose of God for humankind. "God's will is that one should put his whole being at God's disposal. In this total 'belonging' to him he is to apply himself to what is good."57

The kerygma of Paul is essentially the same as that of Jesus, namely, that in the person and mission of Jesus God has visited human beings to bring them the messianic salvation.

Basically, "righteousness" is a concept of relationship. A person is righteous who has fulfilled the demands laid upon him or her by the relationship in which that person stands.12 It is not a word designating personal ethical character, but faithfulness to a relationship.

The tabernacle with its priests was a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary. The real has come to people in the historical life and death of Jesus of Nazareth. History has become the medium of the eternal. There is nothing ephemeral or transitory about Jesus' life and work. The Christ-event was history with an eternal significance. What Jesus did, he did once for all (ephapax, 7:27; 9:12; 10:10).

In fact, Christ's resurrection was itself the first act of the final resurrection. It is the "first fruits" of which the eschatological resurrection will be the harvest (1 Cor. 15:20). Therefore

Membership in the old Israel required circumcision and acceptance of the Law; membership in the new Israel requires individual personal faith and confession of Christ as Lord (Rom. 10:9).