Dr. Andreas Kostenberger will be at my church this Sunday!

Dr. Andreas Kostenberger will be doing a Q & A session in our Sunday School this week, and he will preach in our Sunday worship gathering. We're just finishing a sermon series on John's Gospel, which will be the subject of both meetings. Dr. Kostenberger has written numerous scholarly volumes on the Gospel of John. 


We have been given the opportunity to submit questions ahead of time, and I just sent mine in. Here it is:

Please discuss the meaning of the word "world" (KOSMOS) in the writings of John. Does the word have a consistent meaning? Is there a basic definition that fits in every case? Or does the word have a range of possible meanings, and if so how should we determine which meaning applies to particular texts? To what extent can we use John's epistles to define the word in John's Gospel?

I guess that's actually 5 or 6 questions, but who's counting?

My current understanding is that KOSMOS almost always means "the order of mankind as sinners, on (or near) the earth, in active opposition to God, under the domain and influence of Satan." I'll be very interested to see how this compares to Dr. Kostenberger's answer, which I will report here next week. 

If you're in the Jacksonville area this Sunday, you may hear the answer for yourself at Lakeside Community Church.

Meet Dr. Andreas Kostenberger

Earlier this week, I had the privilege of meeting the esteemed Dr. Andreas Kostenberger, professor of New Testament and Director of Ph.D Studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (located in Wake Forest, NC). Dr. Kostenberger happened to be visiting my pastor, and the two of them graciously allowed me the opportunity for some theological discourse over a cup of coffee. It was a joy to discuss some of our shared values: inerrancy, orthodoxy, love for family and devotion to Christ. Of course, I had to go to the farthest reaches of my Biblical and theological knowledge in order to engage in a relevant conversation with a scholar of his caliber, but Kostenberger's gracious attitude went a long way toward filling in the knowledge gap. Here is his academic credential: Mag. et Dr. rer. soc. oec., Vienna University of Economics; M.Div., Columbia Biblical University; Ph.D., Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. That's "smart" with a capital S.

Dr. Kostenberger is not a "speculative" theologian with a focus on philosophical systematics. He's a solid textual and exegetical thinking machine with a deep insight into Biblical cultures, history and hermeneutics. In this sense, his works are intended to offer more of a concrete, foundationally grounded exegesis than a philosophical theology. His scholarship "in the trenches" of the text would form the solid base that underlies a "bigger picture" approach, such as that taken by men like J.I. Packer or John Piper. Without excellent, conservative scholarship of this type, there could be no basis for a THEOparadox (other than pure, simplistic Biblicism, I suppose).

Here is a short video of Dr. Kostenberger talking about his new commentary on the Johannine literature. 



Here is Dr. Kostenberger teaching about qualifications for ministry and the importance of family relationships at a conference. It's a great message for anyone considering going into the ministry, or any position of leadership in a local church.



Dr. Kostenberger's website: Biblical Foundations
Dr. Kostenberger's blog:       Biblical Foundations Blog
NOTE: They are currently giving away several copies of the commentary on John, for ministry-minded people who will use the book in ministry.
Dr. Kostenberger's many publications can be found here.