7/19/2025 Saturday
Bob led the Men's Fellowship, on Patience. I wasn't paying attention in the middle but I realized there's some great error Bob committed in the middle when he took the LOVE chapter from 1 Corinthians 13 and replace every word of "Love" with "God": God is kind, God is patience... Clyde was the one who later reflected on it and responded how he felt that was strange (I didn't even pick up on that, for some reason, because of one of the verses we read, I was looking into something else: That Ben Shapiro was wrong by having no problem with John MacArthur going to heaven according to Judaism because MacArthur, being not a Jew, did not violate the 7 Noahide laws: Do not deny God, Do not Blaspheme God, Do not Murder, Do not Engage in immoral sex, Do not Steal, Do not Eat flesh from a living animal, Establish legal system to uphold the above 6 laws. Because MacArthur would have broken the first 2 by calling Jesus God). The pastor and Phil went further in error saying that "God is not self-seeking" simply meant that the incarnate Son, Jesus, as a man, did not seek His own glory. They confused the divine and human natures, yet again. Even ChatGPT would agree with me. This is how it responded:
In Reformed Theology, what is wrong with substituting the word "love" with "God" in 1 Corinthians 13?
In Reformed theology, substituting the word “love” with “God” in 1 Corinthians 13 is generally theologically problematic, even if it might sound inspiring at first glance. Here's why:
1. Category Confusion (God ≠ Love Itself)
- Reformed theology insists that God is not reducible to any one attribute — even love.
- While "God is love" (1 John 4:8) is true, the reverse, "Love is God," is not. That would be idolatry — making love the ultimate reality instead of the personal, triune God.
Swapping “love” with “God” in 1 Corinthians 13 risks reversing the biblical logic — putting human virtue in place of divine personhood.
To reverse the phrase is to turn an attribute into a deity — a textbook case of idolatry.
— R.C. Sproul, “Essential Truths of the Christian Faith”“God’s love must be understood in harmony with His holiness and justice. To abstract love from His other attributes is to make an idol.”
— Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology
2. 1 Corinthians 13 Describes Christian Virtue, Not God's Nature
- The passage describes how Christians should love — it's ethical instruction, not a creed about God’s essence.
- “Love is patient, love is kind…” is not a list of God’s attributes per se. It’s how believers ought to reflect Christ.
John Calvin, in his Commentary on 1 Corinthians, emphasizes that 1 Corinthians 13 shows what love looks like among people, not a description of God Himself.
3. It Diminishes God's Justice, Wrath, Holiness
- God’s love is never separated from His justice, holiness, and truth.
- By only focusing on attributes like “not irritable,” “keeps no record of wrongs,” etc., one might misrepresent God — as though He is never wrathful or never condemns sin.
Reformed theology warns against a sentimentalized God, which often emerges when “love” becomes the lens through which all other divine attributes are filtered.
What Reformed Theology Does Affirm
- God’s love is real, covenantal, and sacrificial — chiefly displayed in Christ’s substitutionary atonement.
- 1 Corinthians 13 shows what Christ-like love looks like in the lives of regenerated believers.
- Believers are called to imitate this love — not to equate it with God's being.
Summary:
| ❌ Wrong Idea | ✅ Reformed Correction |
|---|---|
| "Love is God" | "God is love" — but He is also holy, just, sovereign |
| 1 Corinthians 13 describes God’s nature | It describes the Christian ethic and fruit of the Spirit |
| Love as a divine replacement | Love as a result of union with the triune God |
In Reformed theology, saying “God is love” means God defines love. Saying “Love is God” reverses the source and elevates a human (or emotional) concept of love above Scripture — making it a functional idol.
John Frame — The Doctrine of God
Frame emphasizes that God’s attributes are not independent parts. To replace “love” with “God” in 1 Corinthians 13 implies God is only love, which denies His simplicity (that all His attributes are fully integrated).
Kevin DeYoung – various blog posts on 1 Corinthians 13 and theology proper
DeYoung criticizes the use of 1 Corinthians 13 as a “definition of God” and reminds readers it's about how we should act.
- He writes: “Paul is talking about love as a Christian virtue, not about God's essence… To use 1 Corinthians 13 to describe God’s being is misapplied sentimentality.”
- Although, DeYoung did write an article replacing "love" with "Jesus".
Summary: What Reformed Theology Teaches
| Question | Reformed Response |
|---|---|
| Is God love? | Yes — 1 John 4:8 clearly teaches this. |
| Is love God? | No — that’s theological inversion and leads to idolatry. |
| Can 1 Cor. 13 describe God? | It reflects God’s character in some ways, but the context is Christian ethics, not God’s essence. |
| Why not substitute “God” for “love” in 1 Cor. 13? | It wrongly equates God’s essence with one attribute and imposes an anthropocentric framework onto divine nature. |
Summary: Why Reformed Theology Warns Against It
| Error | Why It’s Problematic |
|---|---|
| Reducing God to “love” | Denies God's full nature (justice, holiness, wrath). |
| Imposing human ethics onto God | Makes God submit to our view of virtue. |
| Eisegesis of 1 Corinthians 13 | It’s not a doctrinal definition of God, but ethical guidance for Christians. |
| Violates divine simplicity | Attributes of God are not isolated or ranked. |
Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758)
“God is love, but love is not God. Love is a perfection of God’s nature, not a god to be worshiped.”
— Paraphrased from Charity and Its Fruits
I think Bob has a tendency to idolize Christian ethics. The last time he seemingly attempted to idolize humility.
The pastor also erred greatly around @30:00 when Phil rightly spoke that we must strive and never to be complacent, and the pastor attempted to correct him: "It's gotta be a different understanding of striving, though, because you're not gonna outdo the Pharisees. That's his point. Unless your righteousness exceeds the Pharisees, that's not him saying, try harder..." I would temper that by saying, it is try harder. Try harder to trust in Christ, to strive by laying your burdens down with Christ. To strive by giving all glory and credit to God.
This continues with the pastor: ...That's him saying, you can't do it. So you do start at the level that you can't. But when we talk about striving, it goes hand in hand with loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. It is, it is essentially not doing it by your own power, but working through faith. So when we talk about striving, there's this thing of, I've gotta reach the goal. I've gotta make the mark. I've gotta show the judges. That's not what we're doing. What we're doing is actually putting more weight on God. We're actually letting go and putting more weight on God, and then his power pushes us to work. And if you're not in that frame of mind, then you're still thinking, I've gotta outdo the Pharisees. I've heard Bible teachers who come from a more Arminian mindset say the problem with the Pharisees was they weren't trying hard enough.
My comment would simply be: that has a tendency of a strawman argument (I really wonder if there are really so many such strawmen who traumatized the pastor before, as these folks, though exist, are really scarce in my view) which is the only condition that this argument is correct, as most Christians who works hard already laid their burden on Christ, so it's try harder, but without your own credit but God's. Not focusing on yourself, but on God. So there's no "letting go". It's active, not passive. Also, just because we tell people to strive, does not always have to mean we meant "try harder" according to your own strength. To not see this is foolishness and hence low IQ.
7/18/2025
Phoebus Cartel formed by light bulb companies (Philips, International General Electrics, Tokyo Eletric, Osram, AEI, etc.) around the world to restrict the light bulb life to be shorter, so they could sell more, as in the early 1900s, the light bulb sales were dropped because of longer lasting bulbs. This Cartel fines any manufacturers breaking their agreement. This restricted the bulbs to only last up to 1000 hours. Fortunately, this Cartel was disbanded in 1939.
I asked ChatGPT about my site: What's https://nycphantom.com/journal mainly about? And the response was quite interestingly good:
The Journal section on nycphantom.com is essentially the author’s personal diary, not a formal blog or devotional. It features entries on:
- Theology & Scripture reflections — deep dives into biblical teachings (e.g. Stephen Tong on Hebrews, Paul vs. James) nycphantom.com+9nycphantom.com+9nycphantom.com+9
- Tech and science observations — posts ranging from astrophotography and AI commentary to YouTube monetization and computer science musings nycphantom.com+9nycphantom.com+9nycphantom.com+9
- Arts and culture — notes on classical music, visual art prints, hymns, and church-related events nycphantom.com+2nycphantom.com+2nycphantom.com+2
In summary:
It reads like a daily journal where the author (Timothy Law, aka “timlyg”) records his spiritual meditations, technical interests, creative pursuits, and personal reflections—ranging across theology, astrophotography, programming, and church life.
Let me know if you'd like a few specific entries highlighted or a deeper dive into any topic!
7/17/2025 On Eugenics: Scientists have finally tested on a 3rd person (other than the two biological parents) DNA contribution to an embryo. This concept was only imagined in the movie Twins 1988 by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito. This shouts "blasphemy" from fundamentalists. I could care less as far as parental biological heritage goes, because before the Creator's eyes, biological trait is not one to be idolized: Parental biological heritage is only as good as identity, not credit (which belongs solely to God), which is the cause of the fundamentalists' outburst, fearing that their biological "credit" as parents has been hijacked by a 3rd person.
7/16/2025 Paul's Justified vs. James' Justified. not the same thing ~ Stephen Tong.
Paul's justified - No longer sinners before God (clothed with Christ's righteousness).
James' justified - Reflecting God's glory before men.
＃保羅講的「稱義」，與雅各有何不同（希伯來書要理問答 第764問）（此講原始影音嚴重不良，請多看文字內容）
Stephen Tong on Perfected Perfection, though I have a feeling this clip wasn't quite complete:
＃〈來61〉說「竭力進到完全的地步」，所以完全還有可能更完全嗎（希伯來書要理問答 第766問）（此講沒有影片，而從錄音帶轉錄；品質不良，請多看文字內容）
Stephen Tong on The House of God is House of Prayer vs. of Prophecy/Teaching:
＃《聖經》如何講明上帝的殿更是講道的地方?為何有靈恩運動宣稱不需要講道呢?（希伯來書要理問答 第767問）（此講沒有影片，而從錄音帶轉錄；品質不良，請多看文字內容）
7/15/2025
Youtube and Meta (Facebook) finally have issues with those reposting others' contents with no originality at all. Cracking down on unoriginality. That's good, especially if this involves monetization.
7/14/2025
On Hebrews 6:1, this is so important from Stephen Tong: Because Martin Luther's focus on Sola Gratia, the Lutherans 100 years later mistaken good works for granted, no holy life, worst than even gentiles. Tong spoke of a triumphant Christianity, which is our responsibility, no longer about Sola Gratia. If one still stuck at Sola Gratia, one is just a baby. Sola Gratia MUST produce good works!
＃好行為能買救恩嗎?得救以後為何一定要有好行為?（希伯來書要理問答 第765問）（此講原始影音嚴重不良，請多看文字內容）
7/13/2025
Today the missionary couple, Hillary of Ghana, visited our church and talked in our Sunday School. I asked him a day before (at Flaming Grill) and after the Sunday service on demonic possessions. Seems like he had quite an experience on it personally. Although, I sensed from his sharing that he was more into the strangeness of the possessions than the deliverance of it them. A typical Charismatics interest. Nevertheless, his dealings with those seem sound on the most part.
I also spoke to Frances, the new family I was able to talk to last week. I learned that they went from non-denominational (Charismatics?) to interested in Reformed after watching the documentary: American Gospel (2 movies free on Archive, totaling 5 hours). Hence they searched for Presbyterian church in the neighborhood and found us.