 | A Newsletter of weekly meditations on Biblical Theology and curated resources from The Carson CenterMarch 4, 2026
 “He says: ‘It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.’” Isaiah 49:6 (ESV) “And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, ‘It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.”’” (Acts 13:46–47) Read Judges 9; Acts 13; Jeremiah 22; Mark 8 In 2020, a coronavirus infected people of every nation, language, ethnic group, age bracket, and socioeconomic status—including the UK prime minister and the US president. Various government restrictions and community precautions aimed to slow the spread of this disease, yet this rogue virus continued its relentless advance to the ends of the earth. Acts recounts the rapid spread of the good news about Jesus beginning in Jerusalem and extending to the nations. All sorts of people, from Sadducees to silversmiths, attempt to stop it, but the gospel goes viral and turns the world upside down (Acts 17:6). Luke’s Gospel presents Christ’s mission to seek the lost and bring salvation to all peoples as the fulfillment of Old Testament hopes, and Luke’s sequel shows how Jesus empowers his witnesses to proclaim good news in his name and carry out his mission “to the end of the earth” (1:8). After Paul and Barnabas are commissioned for a new work in Acts 13:3–4, they bring the good news to Pisidian Antioch. Paul preaches in the synagogue, and many receive the grace of God while the Jewish leaders strongly oppose his message. So the missionaries declare that they are now turning to the Gentiles, which leads the Gentiles to rejoice and the word to continue spreading. Isaiah 49:6 provides a biblical rationale for Paul and Barnabas’s Gentile mission. Isaiah prophesies that Yahweh’s servant is chosen by God to restore Israel and bring salvation “to the end of the earth.” Elsewhere Isaiah presents Israel as a blind, deaf, fearful servant in need of salvation (42:19; 44:2; 48:20). Yet in chapter 49, a faithful individual appears as true “Israel” (49:3) to redeem both Israel and the world. Simeon identifies Jesus as the long-awaited servant who is “a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel” (Luke 2:32). Paul similarly explains that the risen Lord “would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles” (Acts 26:23), and he recounts his own commission to open blind eyes and turn Gentiles “from darkness to light” (26:18). Thus, Jesus is the righteous servant “Israel,” and his witnesses participate in the servant’s mission to the nations. Paul and Barnabas do not turn to the Gentiles as an afterthought or plan B because of Jewish opposition. Rather, their mission fulfills Old Testament prophecy and Christ’s promise to his witnesses in Acts 1:8. – Brian Tabb Reflect: Think about a time where you experienced rejection or disappointment. Looking back, how did God sustain your faith and direct you to a new opportunity for faithfulness? How did the gospel reach a new audience? |
  “Working Together or One Work? Getting the Trinity Right” by Matt Emerson Imagine you’re working on a minor home repair and you need a knife, a Phillips screwdriver, and a flathead screwdriver. Thankfully, you have a multi-tool in your pocket. When you need the knife, you open that tool and then close it when you’re done. When you need the Phillips screwdriver, you open it and close it when you’re done. And when you need the flathead screwdriver, you open it and close it when you’re done. Each tool is opened one at a time and used for a specific purpose or need. If we’re not careful, we can portray the triune God this way too. It’s easy to fall into what we might call a “divine multi-tool” theological error. This happens when we separate the persons of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—into three distinct actors. Father, Son, and Spirit are individual “divine tools,” so to speak, with their own unique set of powers and skills. They act individually in accordance with those skills and powers, but when they do so, they’re still part of the “divine multi-tool” team. Ultimately, they work together to finish the final project: defeating sin and Satan. But this isn’t who God is or how he acts. Rather than describing God in such a way that the three persons work together, even if in harmonious ways, we should be careful to say all his works are one work of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Let’s examine how we should rightly think about God’s actions as unified (one work) so we can avoid thinking about God’s actions as three different actors doing something collectively (working together). |
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 | This panel, from TGC’s 2017 national conference, features founders Tim Keller and Don Carson, along with Crawford Lorrits, John Piper, and Bryan Chappel, discussing the topic “Gospel Centered Preaching from the Old Testament.” In the video, they consider what it means to preach the gospel from the Old Testament, the challenges and fears many face in approaching the Old Testament, and the tools that are needed to do it well. |
 | The doctrine of the Trinity is the fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith. The Apostles’ Creed structures itself according to the confession that Christian believe in God the Father almighty, Jesus Christ, his only Son, and the Holy Spirit. In this essay, Christine Thornton introduces us into this all-important doctrine, showing us, “the Trinity is the real content and conceptual framework of the Christian faith.” |
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