I want to be honest about my sin and shortcomings, but I also want to be honest about my God. He has not left me or forsaken me. He is accomplishing all that He has promised. I say with Joshua, “Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass” (Josh 21:45). I will be humble, but I will not lie about God. 

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
1 Cor 15:10
Christians, rightly, strive to be humble. We know that “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). We follow our Lord, who was the mighty King of heaven, God the Son, who humbled Himself to the position of servant, and even humbled Himself to take on death for His enemies (Phil 2:5-8). We are the blessed meek (Matt 5:5). But in our attempt to be humble, it can be tempting to lie about God.
What do I mean? In an attempt to be humble, I can be guilty of only speaking of the ways in which I’m not perfect. I don’t want to exalt myself, so I end up downplaying my sanctification and highlighting my imperfections. I am acutely aware of how far short I fall from God’s glory….
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Written by Bradley G. Green |
Wednesday, May 8, 2024
If “apostle” simply means one who is “sent” to share the gospel, then of course every Christian is an “apostle”. But if “apostle” is interpreted against the whole matrix of the New Testament, then every Christian is most certainly not an apostle.

One of the glorious and beautiful truths of—and legacies of—biblical Christianity is Christianity’s effect in history of ameliorating the various sufferings seen in the world. as Tom Holland has recounted in his one-volume church history, Dominion, Holland was somewhat surprised at how Christianity changed the world into which it arrived. Christianity led to the amelioration of much of the suffering and brutality of the ancient world. A beautiful and serendipitous discovery indeed by Holland. And Christians should rejoice at how Christianity—from its earliest moments—encouraged (indeed commanded Christians to treat woman with love, especially as seen in the husband-wife relationship, where husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church, and gave himself for her (Ephesians 5:25). So, we should not be surprised to see in the pages of the New Testament women right there alongside men in numerous passages.
McNutt’s and Peeler’s Christianity Today essay, “The First Apostle,” was intriguing to read. When I was asked to write a response to the essay, I was happy to do so. The more I have read the essay in writing a response, I have had to work at the best way to respond. I should say, Jennifer Powell McNutt is a friend, while I don’t believe I know Amy Beverage Peeler. The difficulty of writing a response is for two related reasons: (1) I think there are actually two essays (or theses) here; (2) I think there is something of an equivocation or ambiguity in how the word “apostle” is being used. The “Mary” being considered here is Mary Magdalene, and not Mary the mother of Jesus, or any of the other myriad “Marys” in the New Testament.
Here is what I take to be the essays/theses to be:

Mary Magdalene is a blessed woman, had the honor of being close to Jesus and to being one of the first persons to see the risen Jesus, was told by Jesus to share the news of his resurrection/ascending, and was able share the good news of the resurrection of Jesus.
Mary Magdalene should be considered the “first apostle”.

Few (no?) Christians would quibble about the thesis “a.” If one reads the four gospels, Mary Magdalene appears at a number of places—including at the death of Jesus, as well as coming to the tomb and being told by Jesus to go share that he has risen (or “is ascending”—Jn. 20:17) (Matt. 28:5-10; Mk. 16:1, 6; Lk. 23:55-56, 24:4-10; Jn. 19:25; 20:1-18).
But many persons would wonder if it is necessary, or wise, or accurate to affirm thesis “b”: that Mary Magdalene should be considered the “first apostle”.
These two oscillating theses I think can be seen in relation to the second main issue of concern I have: something of an equivocation or ambiguity about the term “apostle”. What is an apostle? In the New Testament, the criteria for being an apostle appear to be two-fold:
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[Eikon] Editor’s Note: The following article is Part III of a response to Christianity Today’s April 2024 cover story on gender and appears in the Spring 2024 issue of Eikon. Parts I and II can be read here and here.
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The church may be in decline, but it is still HIS church. Submit to Jesus who is the head of the church, busy yourself with His Kingdom work and watch your own spiritual life grow, watch the growth of those around you and see the Holy Spirit at work as the Lord transformes people and does wonderful things by His grace.

It doesn’t take long for you to realise that people aren’t happy with the state of the church. Generally speaking, in the Western world you can have a quick google, or speak to a few Christians and very soon you’ll hear complaints about the decline of the church. People say that society has changed which has resulted in fewer people attending church. Some argue that church simply isn’t engaging enough for the younger generations. Others say that the global church needs to change a become more inclusive and take on all sorts of ideologies and beliefs in order to be seen as relevant. Regardless of what people think the solution might be, the reality is that many people are looking at the Western church and seeing a decline.
But the question that comes to my mind is this, it’s all good and well to recognise that decline, but what are you doing about it, are you concerned enough to do something or do you contribute to that decline? This question is not just for church leaders but for every single person who goes to church and who would call themselves a Christian. Are you concerned enough to do something or do you contribute to that decline?
It’s easy to stand on the sidelines and to point the finger. It’s easy to stand amongst the crowd at a football match and shout instructions to the players with thousands of others. But you’re not playing, you don’t know the strategy, you don’t have the ball and you probably wouldn’t be able to score even if the goalie had one hand tied behind his back. In football, we get that. But it’s similar with the church. It is easy to stand on the sidelines, to raise your voice and say where the church is going wrong and how the status quo won’t suffice. But the difference with the church is that you’re called to get involved, to take the ball and to run with it.
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