A Newsletter of weekly meditations on Biblical Theology and curated resources from The Carson Center

June 3, 2026

Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” Genesis 11:3

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9–11

Read Genesis 11; Matthew 10; Ezra 10; Acts 10

The desire to make a name for oneself shows itself in many ways. Some people enjoy making themselves the center of attention. Others give the appearance of humility while secretly longing for others to make much of them. But have you stopped to ask yourself why God is so opposed to our efforts to make a name for ourselves?

Genesis 11 occurs several generations after Noah and his family emerge from the ark. God had commanded Noah to “be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it” (Gen. 9:7). The builders explicitly express their intention not to be dispersed over the face of the earth (Gen. 11:4). The city and tower they propose to build is no innocent architectural feat; its purpose is to allow them to ascend into the heavens and allow the gods to descend among them (Gen. 11:4). Despite such lofty goals, God is not impressed. Yahweh descends in judgment, confusing their language and dispersing them across the face of the earth (Gen. 11:6–9).

The reason God opposes our desire to make a name for ourselves appears in the very next chapter. As part of his promise to Abram, God says, “I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing” (Gen. 12:2). God opposes our desire to make a name for ourselves, because he is the one who makes a name great, and the name he will make great is a descendant of Abram. That descendant is Jesus Christ (Gal 3:16). Because of his sacrificial death on the cross for our sins, he is given the name that is above every name (Phil. 2:6–11). – Matt Harmon

Reflect: True joy in the Christian life comes from abandoning our efforts to make a name for ourselves and seeking to make the name of Jesus Christ great. Take a moment to reflect on specific ways you can make the name of Jesus great today.

“The ‘Lordly’ Supper: An Antidote to What Ails the Church” by Bruce Henning

For their 50th anniversary, my parents flew the whole family—all 18 of us— to Greece for a lavish, once-in-a-lifetime vacation. One night at the foot of the Acropolis was dedicated as the “anniversary dinner,” and everyone looked forward to the celebration in honor of my parents and their exemplary marriage.

I can’t imagine deciding to pass on the invitation. Nor can I imagine that if there were a conflict with my siblings, I’d allow it to ruin the evening. But sadly, the modern church often neglects the great invitation it has to a lavish dinner or ruins it with division.

For all their failures, the assembly at Corinth still regularly met to obey Christ’s command to “do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19) by sharing a meal in which they fellowshiped with the Lord himself (1 Cor. 10:16–17).

The New Testament refers to this practice with various names, such as the “love feast” in Jude 12 and “the breaking of bread” in Acts 2:42. But Paul describes the practice in 1 Corinthians 11:20 with a well-chosen expression that raises the stakes of its importance and sarcastically critiques the Corinthians: “the Lordly Supper” (kyriakon deipnon).

Paul argues that whatever the Corinthians were doing, it did not constitute this “Lordly supper,” and by missing it, they came together as a church for the worse instead of the better (v. 17). With so much at stake, it’s worth thinking about what disqualified their religious communal meal from being “Lordly.” Paul’s use of this expression offers two correctives that have been needed throughout history and continue to be needed today: against apathy and against elitism.

READ PAUL’S TWO CORRECTIVES

In this episode of Biblical Theology Briefing, Matt Harmon and Ben Gladd examine Mark 4:35–41 and show how the stilling of the storm reveals Jesus as the faithful prophet, the greater David, the true Joshua, and Yahweh in the flesh. Through Old Testament allusions and biblical-theological connections, they explain why this familiar story is central to understanding Jesus’s identity and the arrival of God’s kingdom.

A “miracle” in the fullest sense is an event of God’s providence, in which the outcome goes beyond what the natural properties of the created things involved could have produced. This essay by John Collins gives a summary of the traditional Christian way of describing nature and miracle and shows how understanding these helps in reading the Bible, living faithfully, and meeting the challenges of skeptics appealing to science.

READ “Miracles” by John Collins

Only have time for the best-of-the-best from TGC? This weekly email includes an editor’s pick for the one newly published resource you shouldn't miss, as well as a list of the six most popular pieces of content from the week. Sign up to stay in the loop!

SIGN ME UP