Wednesday in the Word

What does it really mean to have “the mind of Christ,” and how does the Holy Spirit actually give us wisdom today?  In this episode on 1 Corinthians 2:6–16, Krisan Marotta unpacks Paul’s argument that true wisdom is not found in impressive rhetoric or private spiritual impressions, but in God’s once-hidden, now-revealed plan of salvation in Christ—entrusted to the apostles and received by believer...

What makes Christian teaching truly powerful isn’t polish or charisma, but a crucified Messiah and the power of God behind that message.  In this episode on 1 Corinthians 2:1–5, Krisan Marotta traces Paul’s argument that he deliberately refused the rhetorical flash and philosophical prestige the Corinthians craved, so that their faith would rest not on clever words but on the reality of Christ cru...

Paul urges the Corinthians—and us—to “consider your calling” and remember the kind of people God usually chooses. In this episode on 1 Corinthians 1:26–31, Krisan Marotta shows how God deliberately undercuts human pride by rescuing those the world overlooks, so that our confidence rests not in status, intellect, or achievement, but in Christ alone, who becomes our wisdom, righteousness, sanctifica...

Paul insists that the cross of Christ is not a marketing problem to fix but the very center of God’s wisdom and power.  In this episode on 1 Corinthians 1:18–25, Krisan Marotta contrasts the “wisdom of the world” with the message of Christ crucified, showing why Paul refuses to dress up the gospel to impress Corinth’s elites—and why any attempt to make Christianity more acceptable by softening sin...

Paul’s question, “Has Christ been divided?” opens up a searching conversation about baptism, discipleship, and what truly unites or divides the people of God.  In this episode on 1 Corinthians 1:13–17, Krisan Marotta explores why Paul is glad he baptized so few in Corinth, what it means (and doesn’t mean) to be baptized “in someone’s name,” and why the cross of Christ—not any ritual, leader, or st...

Paul turns from greeting to confrontation in 1 Corinthians 1:10–13, and it all centers on a church that loves gifted teachers more than it loves the gospel. In this episode, Krisan Marotta traces how the Corinthian believers slid from healthy appreciation of leaders into harsh judgment of Paul himself—and shows why their real problem was not personality clashes, but a distorted view of wisdom, aut...

Paul opens 1 Corinthians not with scolding but with a greeting that quietly raises life-and-death questions. In this first episode on 1 Corinthians 1:1–9, Krisan explores how Paul’s introduction challenges easy assumptions about salvation, church life, and spiritual maturity—inviting us to see faith not as a finished transaction but as a lifelong response to the call of Christ.  In this week’s epi...

Paul’s time in Corinth was marked by both turmoil and unusual protection. In this episode on Acts 18, Krisan traces how God plants a church in one of the most decadent cities of the ancient world and prepares us to understand the letters of 1 and 2 Corinthians by first seeing the city, the culture, and the people Paul met there.  In this week’s episode, we explore: Why Corinth’s geography, wealth,...

Many sincere Christians know the promises of the gospel but still quietly wonder, “Am I really safe with God—especially when I still sin?”   In this episode on 1 John 5:13–21, we walk through John’s closing words and see how he means to give believers settled confidence: confidence that they truly have eternal life, that their sin cannot ultimately undo it, and that the message they’ve believed is...

What does it really mean to be a child of God and how can we know we have eternal life?  In this episode on 1 John 5:1–12, we trace John’s argument from love to faith: those who believe that Jesus is the Christ are born of God, they learn to love God’s children, and they discover that God’s commands are not a crushing burden but the shape of a new heart. At the center stands God’s own testimony ab...

“God is love” is one of the most familiar phrases in the Bible—but what does it actually mean, and how does it change the way we live?  In this episode on 1 John 4:7–19, we explore how God’s self-giving love in Christ not only rescues us from judgment but also reshapes our hearts, freeing us from fear and teaching us to love others with the same costly, other-focused love.  In this week’s episode,...

In a culture overflowing with spiritual voices, opinions, and platforms, 1 John 4:1–6 calls us to something surprisingly countercultural: do not believe everything you hear—even when it comes “in the name of Jesus.” Instead, John urges believers to test the spirits by what they say about Christ, how they handle the apostolic gospel, and the kind of life that flows from their teaching.  In this wee...

Love is central to the Christian life but what kind of love actually marks someone as a child of God?  In this episode on 1 John 3:13–24, we wrestle with John’s strong language about hate, murder, and eternal life, and see how he distinguishes ordinary human affection from the self-giving, Christ-shaped love that grows out of saving faith.  In this week’s episode, we explore: Why the world’s hatre...

Verses like “No one who abides in Him sins” can leave tender consciences in turmoil: If I still struggle, does that mean I’m not really a Christian?   In this episode on 1 John 2:29–3:12, we walk through this challenging passage and see how John is not demanding sinless perfection, but describing the family resemblance of God’s children: people who take sin seriously, love righteousness, and are l...

in a world that prizes open-mindedness and reinvents Christianity every generation, 1 John 2:18–28 calls us back to something older, simpler, and far more solid.  In this episode, we look at John’s warning about “many antichrists,” his insistence that some ideas really are lies, and his invitation to cling to the original apostolic message about who Jesus is and what He has done.  In this week’s e...

When talk of “true and false believers” starts to hit close to home, it is easy to quietly panic: What if I’m not really saved?   In this episode on 1 John 2:12–17, we watch John pause his warnings long enough to reassure his readers that he sees real faith in them—little children, young men, and fathers—and then urge them not to give their hearts to a world that is already passing away.  In this...

When Christians disagree, how do we know which issues are essential and which ones we can hold more loosely? In this episode on 1 John 2:1–11, we look at how John helps us sort through that question by pointing to two non-negotiables: who Jesus is and how we understand sin and righteousness. Along the way, we see how Jesus, our righteous Advocate and the propitiation for our sins, anchors both our...

1 John 1:5–10 brings us face to face with a hard but hopeful truth: God is pure light, and we are not. In this episode, we look at what it really means to “walk in the light,” why genuine Christians are honest about their sin, and how confession is grounded not in guilt or fear but in trust that God is faithful to forgive.  In this week’s episode, we explore: Why self-help strategies can’t change...

The opening verses of 1 John confront a question that feels very modern: in a world full of persuasive, polished, and competing voices, whose message about Jesus can you trust?  In this episode, we look at 1 John 1:1–4, where the apostle John grounds the Christian gospel in eyewitness testimony and a clear purpose: to proclaim the “word of life” so that believers might share true fellowship with G...

Peter closes 2 Peter with a sobering and hopeful vision: this world as we know it will end, Christ will return, and God will make a new creation where righteousness truly dwells. In this episode on 2 Peter 3:10–18, we explore how the promise of the “day of the Lord” is meant not to fuel speculation, but to shape how we live right now—awake, repentant, and eager for the kingdom to come.  In this we...

Peter’s simple line, “with the Lord one day is as a thousand years,” has fueled centuries of debate about God’s patience, judgment, and our salvation. In this episode on 2 Peter 3:8–9, we look at how Peter answers the mockers who say Jesus will never return, how this passage sits at the crossroads of Reformed and Arminian theology, and why God’s “delay” is actually an expression of merciful patien...

Peter turns our attention to the “point of it all”: why God spoke through the prophets and apostles, why Jesus came, and why His return matters for how we live right now. In this episode on 2 Peter 3:1–7, we look at how Peter reminds weary believers of the unified message of Scripture—and how that message answers the mockers who say nothing will ever really change.  In this week’s episode, we expl...

Peter ends 2 Peter 2 with some of his starkest language yet: false teachers are “waterless springs” who promise freedom but are themselves slaves of corruption, leading others back into the very sins the gospel calls us to leave behind. In this episode on 2 Peter 2:17–22, we look at how Peter exposes the tragedy of a distorted gospel that ignores repentance, and why returning to a life of unrepent...

Peter’s portrait of Balaam is not a curious Old Testament aside—it is a mirror held up to the false teachers disturbing his readers. In this episode on 2 Peter 2:13–16, we trace how Peter uses the story of Balaam and his talking donkey to expose teachers driven by greed, willing to endanger the people of God if it means gain for themselves, and to reassure believers that God sees and rebukes such...

Peter’s language about “glorious ones,” angels, and irrational animals in 2 Peter 2:10–12 can feel opaque, but the heart of the passage is very human: arrogant teachers treating God and His truth with casual contempt.  In this episode, we walk slowly through one of the trickiest sections of 2 Peter, tracing Peter’s argument, following the parallel in Jude, and seeing how an ancient question about...