Final Thoughts on Piper, Wright, and Justification Part 4

In conclusion:

1. Piper’s book, “The Future of Justification”, is a great example how to engage in theological debates.

2. Piper’s and Wright’s views of justification differs mainly in that Piper believes in imputation and Wright doesn’t

3. Piper believes Wright's view of justification won't give 1) Christ sufficient glory and 2)provide Christians adequate assurance for salvation (I disagree) .

4. I wished Piper's new book would have engaged more with the thoughts of Don Garlington in order to establish his idea of imputation- the idea that we need more than forgiveness from the cross to satisfy God’s holiness and perfection.

5. Piper is concerned with Wright's view of the final justification because goods works are directly connected to it and not because works are earning our salvation.

6. Wright's view of works and the final justification appears to be close to Simon Gathercole's views although he believes in imputation

7. The exegetical basis for the doctrine of Christ's imputation is very complex (See Simon Gathercole's quote)

With that, I glad to say I am done with this topic. In the end, I think both Piper with his "Christian Hedonism" and Wright with his "creation/Israel/Christ" story approach, are tremendous blessings to the church. So go read and enjoy both of them!!!

Final Thoughts on Piper, Wright, and Justification Part 3

Before the book, I thought Piper was critical of Wright's view of the final justification because he thought Wright was advocating a view of “merit-based” salvation by which our good works earns God's final verdict. But this isn't the case for Piper clearly states that this is not his problem with Wright’s view. Piper, reciting Wright's understanding of the final judgment, states:


"In other words, Paul believes that all men will face a final judgment (law-court) in which people will "be vindicated, resurrected, shown to be the covenant people"- this is, justified by works. When he says "by works," he does not mean by legalism or by merit or by earning, but by the obedience of our lives that is produced by the Holy Spirit through" (pg.104)


So, what is Piper's problem with Wright's view of the final judgment? I believe Piper doesn't want good works to have a direct connection (basis) with our final vindication, which he believes will prevent the" double tragedy" of not glorifying Christ properly and hindering assurance of salvation (pg.186 -187) [1]. For Piper sees good works as having an indirect connection with our final vindication, that is he sees "the necessity of obedience not as any part of the basis of our justification, but strictly as the evidence and confirmation of our faith in Christ whose blood and righteousness is the sole basis of our justification" (pg. 110). A diagram of Piper's view would look like this:

WORKS --->(evidences of being in Christ) --->CHRIST--->(basis of final justification)--->FINAL JUSTIFICATION

And Piper believes that Wright seems to be advocating a view of good works that have a direct connection (basis) for our final vindication (pg. 125-128). A diagram of Wright's view would look like this:

WORKS---> FINAL JUSTIFICATION

(I know this linear diagram above is too simplistic, and it doesn't take into account other elements of Wright's thought so to do some justice to him, it's important to note 3 things that relate to his view of the final justification: 1) Christians are connected to Christ's death and resurrection which provide forgiveness of sins and new life. 2) Christians are given the Holy Spirit to change their hearts so that we can have faith and good works 3) A Christian's future justification is based on the pattern of one's life is certain because of present justification by faith (Assurance of Salvation)) [2].

Again, it's important to note that Piper problem with Wright isn't that obedience is "earning" our final vindication (pg.104), but his direct connection between good works and the final justification- in Piper's view good works are only evidence that we are in Christ, who God looks at for our final justification.

My personally thoughts on this matter is that both these options are acceptable. For no one is saying that our works are meriting or earning our salvation and both seem to believe in 1) unconditional election 2) substitutional atonement and 3) perseverance of the saints.

But what about the direct connection with good works and the final justification? This issue must ultimately be addressed exegetically, but for now I take some comfort, knowing that conservatives like Simon Gathercole, who believes in imputation, appears to see a direct connection between goods works and the final vindication. And it also seems that Piper's indirect view of works just pushes forward the process of God's examining our good works, which in his case, is to see if we are in Christ which then allows us to be justified on the basis of him rather than Wright's view of works directly effecting our final justification (Again, the issue involved isn't related to merit).

Finally, what about imputation? This is a difficult issue and once again I receive more comfort from Gathercole, who states:

"A statement by Robert Gundry on the (non) imputation of Christ's righteousness in particular has sparked a response by John Piper, and Gundry and Don Carson have also entered the same debate from different stances. It is not my purpose here to enter this debate. But it should be said that there is clearly a great deal of diversity of opinion on the matter. This is, of course, not sufficient in itself to let discretion take the better part of valor. But in case, the diversity seems to arise out of the complexity of the New Testament evidence, not because one side is particularly hidebound to tradition and the other wallowing in the desire for novelty or for doctrine that is more amendable to culture. I would not myself deny this traditional understanding of imputation. Still, because of the complexity of the issue, I would propose that the requirement that is is specifically Christ's righteousness that is imputed to believers should not feature on evangelical statement of faith. To make such a finely balanced point an article of faith seems a dangerous strategy. Nonetheless, it is very clear that justification is still Christological through and through. Both the cross and the present action of Christ are the vital grounds of justification."

[1] See my pervious post on my thoughts on Piper's "double tragedy"
[2] See Wright's "The Shape of Justification" and "Justification, "The Bibical Basis and it's Relevance for Contemporay Evangelicalism".
[3] pg 223 of "Justification in Perspective: Historical Development and Contemporary Challenges", edited by Bruce McCormack

Final Thoughts on Piper, Wright, and Justification Part 2

With this being said, I still don't think Wright's view of future justification is as dangerous as Piper thinks. Piper articulates his two main concerns (" the double tragedy") at the end of his book (pg.186 -187):

1. The lack of imputation of Christ’s active obedience will lead to good works "nullify the very beauty of Christ and his designed to display (pg. 187)" because it might try to add to "the perfection and beauty and all sufficiency of Christ's obedience in securing the reality that God is for us" (pg 187) Basically, Piper is saying that Christ will not be glorified if we deny imputation. I won't comment too much on this, but I find Piper's statement to be” out of bounds” for this type of conversation because both Piper and Wright want to glorify Christ in their thinking but differ on their interpretation on how God seeks to glorify Christ. One could (wrongly) say that Piper is dishonoring Christ by attributing him with something he didn't do like give us his perfect obedience. I don't find these kinds of statements very helpful in these type of theological discussions.

2. The lack of imputation of Christ’s active obedience will lead to the works of love to be "severed from their root in the Christ-secured assurance that God is totally for us" (pg.187), that is Piper believes it will lead to the lack of Christian assurance of salvation. Two things in response to Piper's statement, first, Wright articulates a view of how to obtain assurance that is practically similar to Piper, that is, they both say people should look to Christ not their good works for confidence in their salvation. Second, Wright's view of justification seems to be inadequate for assurance only because Piper believes that God demands for perfect obedience must be satisfied by two things: 1) Christ's death, bring forgiveness and 2) Christ's perfect obedience imputing righteousness to believers. But I don't think Piper has decisively established the latter point- the need for more than forgiveness to satisfy God’s holiness and perfection, even though his current book wasn’t aimed to rehash all of the arguments he made in his previous book, “Counted Righteous in Christ” which seeks to establish the doctrine of imputation. I would have like to see Piper more engaged in Don Garlington’s criticisms [1]. I thought it was interesting that Garlington is not cited once in Piper’s new book.

[1] See Garlington’s articles entitled: 1) Imputation or Union with Christ? A Response to John Piper 2) Imputation or Union with Christ? A Rejoinder to John Piper

[2] See Piper’s brief response to Garlington’s first article here.

Final Thoughts on Piper, Wright, and Justification Part 1

I was going to write a long review on Piper's new book, The Future of Justification: A Response to N.T. Wright, so that I could lay my previous thoughts on these issues to rest:

1. "The Doer of the Law Who Will be Justified": Romans 2:13

2. Piper and Wright on “Future Grace”

3. FAKE Interview with John Piper and N.T. Wright Part 1

4. FAKE Interview with John Piper and N.T. Wright Part 2

5. Piper, Wright, and Justification Part 1

But I didn't write anything because I figured Wright would probably respond in his own words.

Recently, a commenter asked me if I felt that "Piper's depiction of Wright's view was correct in Chapter 8, which is entitled ""Does Wright say with Different Words What the Reformed Tradition means by "Imputed Righteousness"? So I figured I would share a little bit more of my thoughts on Piper's book, particularly as it relates to the question above. My short answer is "yes", Piper correctly shows that Wright doesn't believe in the traditional idea of imputation.

Piper summarizes the traditional Reformed of imputation on pages 124:

"In historic Reformed exegesis, (1) a person is union with Christ by faith alone. In this union, (2) the believer is identified with Christ in his (a) wrath-absorbing death, (b) his perfect obedience to the Father, and (c) his vindication- securing resurrection. All of these are reckoned-that is, imputed- to the believer in Christ. On this basis, (3) the "dead," "righteous,'" raised” believer is accepted and assured of final vindication and eternal fellowship with God.

Then Piper correctly a point out that (2b) is missing from Wright's theology, the belief that Christ's perfect obedience is imputed to believers (pg 125). From this, Piper believes that Wright seems to be closer to the idea of impartation (inner transformation) rather than (Christ's) imputation as the basis for our final vindication (pg. 125-128)

I believe all this is correct. In my reading of Wright, he doesn't appear to believe the idea of Christ's perfect obedience to the law being imputed to believer, this is plainly seen in Piper citation of Wright's lecture "Paul in Different Perspectives: Lecture 1" on pages 121- 123.

I guess I Know My Bible

You know the Bible 100%!

Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!

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The Essence of Christian Forgiveness

"For herein lies the essence of Christian forgiveness: On the account of his divinity, Christ could and did shoulder the consequences of human sin: so the penalty for wrongdoing can be detached from wrongdoers. And since on account of his humanity Christ could and did die on behalf of sinners, they, in effect, died when he died; so guilt can be detached from wrongdoers. When we forgive those who have wronged us, we make our own God's miracle of forgiveness. Echoing God's unfathomable graciousness, we decouple the deed from the doer, the offense from the offender. We blot out the offense so it no longer mars the offender. That is why the non-remembrance of wrongs suffered appropriately crowns forgiveness" - pg 208 from Volf's book "The End of Memory".

Hamilton's God's Indwelling Presence

Dr. James Hamilton’s book, God’s Indwelling Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Old and New Testaments, seeks to prove that OT believers were not indwelt with the Holy Spirit unlike NT believers after Christ’s resurrection.

It’s important to note that Dr. Hamilton draws a distinction between regeneration, which he believes the Spirit actively participates in giving life to the hearts of both OT and NT believers and indwelling of the Spirit, which he concludes only occurs in NT believers after the resurrection. Hamilton defines regeneration as “God’s work of granting to humans the ability to hear, understand, believe, obey, and enter the kingdom” (pg. 2) and indwelling as “God’s abiding, positive, covenant presence in believers through the Spirit” (pg.3) which helps maintain faith.

Hamilton’s proposition begs the question of “how OT saints remained faithful to God if they were not indwelt by the Holy Spirit”. Hamilton answers this question by stating that God’s presence in the tabernacle and the temple provides the “sanctifying effect upon them” (pg. 163)

I believe the upshot of this book is that it stresses the dramatic shift in salvation history caused by the death and resurrection of Christ. Where once God's presence and salvation was located in Jerusalem (Temple) but now it's located in God's people by faith in Christ. Hamilton rightly notes this implication in his last chapter entitled "Results and Relevance for Today" (pg. 161-169)

Dr. Hamilton’s book is grounded in convincing exegesis and I found most of my questions against his thesis answered. So if you want to learn more about the Holy Spirit, you should definitely get this book.

Learning to Cook (Baked Potatoes)

Top Books of 2007

1. The Future of Justification: A Response to N.T. Wright - John Piper gives us a great example on how to engage in theological controversy and does a great job in representing and understanding Wright's view on justification.



2. Lord Jesus Christ Devotion of Jesus in Earliest Christianity - Larry Hurtado builds a historical case for the divinity of Christ based on the early church early devotion to him.



3. Shadow of the Temple:Jewish Influences on Early Christianity - Oskar Skarsaune shows that early Christianity was build upon a very Jewish world-view.



4. The Mission of God:Unlocking the Bible's Grand Narrative - Christopher Wright illustrates that the entire biblical narrative from the OT to the NT is grounded in a missonal God, who aims to bless the nations. A must read!!!



5. Hell Under Fire:Modern Scholarship Reinvents Eternal Punishment - A great defense of the traditional view of hell (eternal punishment) over and against the idea of annihilation from a variety of conservative scholars (Bock, Moo, Beale). I particularly enjoyed Bock's article on the OT thoughts on the afterlife and Sinclair Ferguson's article on how to preach on hell.



6. Paul, Judaism, and the Gentiles, Beyond the New Perspective - Francis Watson gives a great exegetical study of Paul which seems to take seriously it's historical and social context.



7. Fundamentalism and American Culture - George Marsden gives a penetrating historical account of Fundamentalism. A must read in understanding Fundamentalism.



8. Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament - Christopher Wright has written a great book on understanding Jesus in his OT context. Probably my favorite book of the year.



9. Iustitia Dei A History of the Christian Doctrine of Justification - Alister McGrath gives a historical account of the doctrine of justification. I learned a lot from this book and especially the notion that the doctrine of justification was pretty diverse throughout history.



10. Jesus, the Tribulation, and the End of Exile: Restoration Eschatology and the Origin of the Atonement - Brant Pitre has written a thought-provoking book on understanding how tribulation, exile, and restoration relate to Jesus.

Volf's The End of Memory

In Miroslav Volf’s book, "The End of Memory: Remembering Rightly in a Violent World”, he teaches us how and for how long we should remember wrongs committed by others.

Volf teaches that we should remember in light of the “Exodus and Passion” narratives, which provides the appropriate framework in understanding God, who provides unconditional grace, affirms justice, and aims for communion and reconciliation. (pg. 121)

As for the question of “how long we should remember wrongs committed against us”, Volf teaches us that during the new heaven and earth we will not remember them after they have been appropriately dealt with and reconciliation between the offended and offender has occurred. It’s important to note the non-remembrance of wrongs during God’s consummated kingdom is a result of our minds being “rapt in the goodness of God and in the goodness of God’s new world”. (pg 214)

Not only has Volf drawn from scripture and other capable thinkers (Luther and Barth) in dealing with this subject but he includes his personal experience of being harshly interrogated as a Yugoslavian soldier thus producing a mature, challenging, and thoughtful book.

God’s Promises

In Christopher Wright’s “Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament”, he reminds us that God doesn’t give his people “flat predications” but promises which involves more of a personal and dynamic commitment. Wright states that because there is a relationship behind God’s promises “the material form in which it is fulfilled may be quite different from the literal form in which it was original made, and yet it is no less a valid fulfillment of the promise. (pg. 71)”

To help the reader understand this point, Wright gives a wonderful analogy of a father and a son. He writes:

“Imagine a father who, in the days before mechanized transport, promises his son, aged 5, that when he is 21 he will give him a horse for himself. Meanwhile the motor car is invented. So on his 21^st birthday the son awakes to find a motor car outside, ‘with love from Dad’. It would be a strange son who would accuse his father of breaking his promise just because there was no horse. And even stranger if, in spite of having received the far superior motor car, the son insisted that the promised would only be fulfilled if a horse also materialized, since that was the literal promise. It is obvious that with the change in circumstances, unknown at the time the promise was made, the father has more than kept his promise. In fact he has done so in a way that surpasses the original words of the promise which were necessarily limited by the mode of transport available at that time. The promise was made in terms understood at the time. It was fulfilled in the light of new historical events. (pg 71)”

I think this idea is helpful in understanding things like God’s promising the land of Canaan in the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 17:8) to his people and Paul redrawing it to include the whole world (Romans 4 :13).

The Ultimacy of Evangelism

What is the relationship between evangelism and social action? In the past, I have come to the conclusion that evangelism is primary or a priority over and against social action, but recently, I was challenged by Christopher Wright’s thinking on the subject in his book, The Mission of God. Wright doesn’t like describing the relationship between evangelism and social action as one of primacy or priority because of the following reasons:

“The language of the “priority of evangelism” implies that the only proper starting point must always be evangelistic proclamation. Priority means it is the most important, most urgent, thing to be done first, and everything else must take second, third, or fourth place. But the difficulty with this is that (1) it is not always possible or desirable in the immediate situation, and (2) it does not even reflect the actual practice of Jesus” -pg. 318

Wright then suggests that we describe the relationship of evangelism and social action as one of ultimacy rather than primacy. He writes:

“Mission may not always begin with evangelism. But mission that does not ultimately include declaring the Word and the name of Christ, the call to repentance, and faith obedience has not completed its task. It is defective mission, not holistic mission” –pg 319

The Chens go to Washington

We visited Washington DC a few weeks ago, and we had a blast!! What a fun and exciting city!! We had a great time with Monica and friends. Here are a few pics from our trip.


Tour of the capitol.
Lincoln Memorial
Corcoran had a Lebowitz and Ansel Adams exhibit. Really cool!

Loved how all the Smithsonians are gratis. Dan being goofy.


Bored in the subway station.
Dan, Monica, Julia, Christine, Andy.

Dan and Geoff.

Washington Monument.

National Mall.

Tour of the White House. Last stop on the tour was a visit to the Press room. Thank you to Geoff, and Justin, for being so kind to take the time to take us on this special tour. It was one of our favorite parts of our trip.

Life in Pictures

A few pictures
that recap the highlights
from the last few months.



Vacation to Tulum, Mexico. One year anniversary!! :) Thu and Van's shower. Monica graduates Berkeley!! After a year of medicine and some other things, Julia starts the 2nd year of residency, and the 1st year of anesthesiology. Random visits by Clifford.....always a treat!! (Literally, he brings us cookies and pecan pie!) Monica visits Houston en route to DC, her next new home. We celebrate her birthday, but forget to take pictures. So we substitute with cute baby picture (see left). Phuong's bachlorette party in Cozumel. More fun in the sun for Julia. Vanessa's baby shower!! Lots of pink, yummy snacks, and a diaper cake. Danny gets engaged!! Congrats to Danny and Katie!! Harriet and Chuck get married!! Congrats to the newlyweds!! Eric and Fiona visit, and we have the 2nd annual crab fest at the Crab House in Kemah. Julia's Birthday! Dan made me add this picture. We've been buying a lot of baby presents this year, but Dan's proudest present is the one below: Baby Air Jordan's for Baby Alex. :)

Lord Jesus Christ, Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity (Part 3)

Hurtado notes two important features of Jewish monotheism:

"First, in addition to refusing to accept and worship any of the other deities of the Roman religious environment, conscientious Jews also maintained a distinction between the God of Israel and any of the exalted figures who could be seen as prominent in God's entourage, such as principal angels or revered human figures like Moses or Enoch. This distinction was most clearly maintained in discouraging the worship of these figures; and devout Jew insisted that worship was to be given to God alone".

"Second, the Jewish monotheistic stance forbade apotheosis, the divinization of human figures, and thus clashed with a major theme in pagan religion of the time. "

-pg 95

Lord Jesus Christ, Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity (Part 2)

Hurtatdo's 4 historic forces/factors that initiated and formed an early Christ-devotion:


1) Jewish exclusivist monotheism
2) The impact of Jesus, particularly the polarizing effects of his career (people either loved or hated him)
3) Revelatory religious experience that communicated that Jesus had been given heavenly glory and that it was God's will for him to be given extraordinary reverence in their devotional life.
4) The encounter with larger religious environment, particularly the dynamics of countering Jewish polemics and of differentiating and justifying Christian devotion over against the dominant pagan practices. [1]

[1] pg.78

Give God the Glory for Our White Garments

The call to be faithful to Christ is no small matter. For instance, John writes in Revelation 3 about Christ's word to the church in Sardis (Asia Minor):

Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. 4Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. (Revelation 3:2-5)


In these verses, Christ warns some Christians to repent in order to avoid judgment (v.3) and commends others, who have not "soiled their garments" (v.4) and thus will be receiving the benefits of walking with Christ in their white garments (v.4-5) and having their names never blotted out of the book of life (v.5) It's interesting to note that these white garments are later described as having been washed in the blood of Christ (Revelation 7:13-14) and made up of our faithfulness (righteous deeds) that will allow us to be properly covered and dressed for the presence of Christ (Revelation 19:7-8) [1]

13Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?" 14I said to him, "Sir, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (Rev. 7:13-14)

7Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory,for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready;8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure"— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. (Rev. 19:7-8)

If our righteous deeds are necessary to make ourselves ready for Christ's presence, how should we go about doing them? I think Piper said it best:

We do our righteous deeds, and therefore it is fitting that heaven cry out: "The Bride has made herself ready." But we do not do them in our own strength. They are a gift from God—prepared before the foundation of the world that we might walk in them (Ephesians 2:10). And therefore it is even more fitting that heaven cry out, "Give God the glory." [2]


[1] The connection between Christ's blood and the empowerment towards righteous deeds can also be seen in verses like 1 Peter 1:17-19, 2:24 and 3:18

[2] Sermon by John Piper, "Worship God", Revelation 19:1-10

Lord Jesus Christ, Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity (Part 1)

There are some scholars who believe that worship of Jesus Christ did not originate with the original Jewish-Christian groups but appeared later, after a long period of time, in a more Hellenistic-Christian groups.

In Larry Hurtado's book, "Lord Jesus Christ, Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity", he argues against the idea above by making 3 points [1]:

1) Early stage of devotion to Christ
2) Unparalleled and intense devotion to Christ
3) Devotion to Christ was made in the context of strict Jewish monotheism



[1] pg 2 and 3

Expectations For John and Jesus

Zechariah's expectations:

1) Israel's redemption (Luke 1:67) through the house of David (v.69)
2) Saved from our enemies (Romans/Herod?) (Luke 1:71,74)
3) Fulfillment of Abraham's covenant (Luke 1:72)
4) Allow Israel to serve God without fear but in holiness (v.75)
5) God's return to Zion (v.76)
6) Forgiveness of sins (v.77)
7) Peace (v.79)

Mary's expectations:

1) Jesus will be the Son of God (Luke 1:32) and receive the throne of David (v.32)
2) Jesus will reign over the house of Jacob forever (v.33)
3) Save Israel from their sins (Matthew 1:21)

Wise Men's expectations:

1) Jesus as the king of the Jews (Matt.2:2)
2) Jesus as the shepherd of Israel (v.6)
3) Jesus as worthy to be worshiped (v.2)


Simon's expectations:

1) Consolation of Israel (Luke 1:25)
2) Jesus will be a light to the Gentiles (v.32)
3) Jesus will be for the glory of Israel (v.32)
4) Jesus will be appointed for the falling and rising of many in Israel (v.34)

Anna's expectation:

1) The redemption of Jerusalem

Christ's Victory

One amazing thing about the gospel is that Christ provides both justification (forgiveness) sanctification (progressive innate holiness until the 2nd coming) and glorification (innate perfect holiness after the 2nd coming) to those who receive Him as Lord, Savior, and treasure. I think it's important to remember that if God ,through Christ, doesn't provide glorification ( the perfect and holy resurrection of our bodies) then sin and death would not be ultimately defeated (1 Corinthians 15:54-58). For if God's plan of redemption just provided forgiveness of sins and thus allowed us to go to a spiritual realm called heaven (Phil 1:23 and 2 Corthinians 5:8- which would be great too a large degree) then Satan/sin/death would have ultimately foiled God's good and physical creation (Genesis 1).

But since Christ has physically risen from the dead and because Christians are connected by faith to him, we will also rise (Romans 6) thus we can sing of Christ's victory now and forever.

"Death is swallowed up in victory." 55 "O death, where is your
victory? O death, where is your sting?" 56The sting
of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, who
gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corthinians
15:55-57)