scholarship. serving. ministry.
Ian Paul
The epistle for Epiphany 4 is 1 Cor 1.18—31 (the end of the chapter). Having painted the picture of the amazing things that God has done for the Corinthians in the first verses, Paul has then confronted them with their factions. He now draws on language that echoes the teaching of Jesus, and deep from … Continue Reading
The theme for the Tyndale New Testament Study group this year is Paul within Judaism, and we are meeting from Wednesday 1st to Friday 3rd July 2026 at High Leigh Conference Centre in Hertfordshire, just 20 minutes north of London by train and 45 minutes from Cambridge. The subject of Paul within Judaism has been a … Continue Reading
Cris Rogers is a vicar in East London (at All Hallows, Bow), and a friend online. He has recently been posting interesting material on the archaeological background to the Bible. So I asked him what he was doing and why—and he gave some very interesting answers! IP: You have recently been in the habit of … Continue Reading
This Sunday’s lectionary reading for Year A, Epiphany 3, is Matt 4.12–23. The epistle is 1 Cor 1.10–18, where Paul gets into the issues of factions and divisions. The video for that reading can be found here, and is linked at the end of this piece, as is the video on Matthew 4. The gospel … Continue Reading
The lectionary epistle for Epiphany 3 in Year A is the next part of 1 Corinthians, verses 10 to 18. Having prepared his canvas in the previous verses with all the amazing things God has done for his readers, Paul now paints in the details of the problems of factionalism. He challenges the idea of … Continue Reading
Summary: the statement from the House of Bishops is much as anticipated in terms of drawing the LLF process to a close with none of the further promised changes being introduced but putting a new process in place to report to Synod sometime between February 2027 and July 2028. There is therefore much here to … Continue Reading
For the Second Sunday of Epiphany in Year A, the readings are 1 Corinthians 1.1–9 and John 1.29–42. You can find the video discussion of the epistle here and posted at the end of the article, and the video discussion of the gospel reading here and also posted below. Here is my written commentary on … Continue Reading
For the Second Sunday of Epiphany in Year A, the readings are 1 Corinthians 1.1–9 and John 1.29–42. Paul’s introduction to his letter to the Corinthians offers the most remarkable affirmation of what God has already done in the lives of his writers. This is very striking given the way he is going to warn … Continue Reading
The following article by Andrew Goddard provides a historical overview and critique of the Church of England’s protracted and divisive struggle to implement the Prayers of Love and Faith (PLF) for same-sex couples. It argues that despite years of debate and shifting promises, the House of Bishops has largely failed to find a consensus, ultimately … Continue Reading
It has often been noted that, in some key respects, the emphasis of the narrative of Acts is different from what we might suppose from reading Paul’s letters. Given that we can date many of Paul’s letters to an early period, this raises questions about the accuracy and historicity of the account in Acts. One … Continue Reading
Please note: this trip is now also booked up! If you would like to be on a waiting list in case of cancellations, or would like to be notified of future trips, please email our partner Steve Upton at [email protected]. We are planning to offer a trip to Paul’s Greece in April 2027, the Seven … Continue Reading
Ian Paul: theologian, author, speaker, academic consultant. Associate Senior Research Fellow, Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology; Associate Minister, St Nic's, Nottingham; Managing Editor, Grove Books; member of General Synod and Archbishops' Council. Mac user; chocoholic. Tweets at @psephizo
This blog is reader supported, not funded in any other way. Why not make a one-off or regular donation. You do that directly through PayPal
or through Ko-fi.
Gospel commentary index Lectionary Year A
Andrew Goddard Bible biblical interpretation Biblical literacy biblical theology Christmas Church of England culture discipleship discussion doctrine eschatology evangelism gay General Synod Grove guest Hermeneutics History hope interpretation James Blandford Baker Jesus John's gospel Justin Welby leadership lectionary Luke Luke's gospel Matthew ministry mission New Testament Paul politics preaching Revelation same sex marriage same sex unions sexuality theology video Year A Year B Year C
