Biblical Theology- Part 4: God’s Covenant with Noah

Note: This series comes from the notes of a course I am teaching on Biblical Theology at Calvary Baptist Church. This material is organized similar to Graeme Goldsworthy’s book According to Plan.

In the first chapters of Genesis we see the beginnings of human history through the theological lens of God’s plan. When God created the world and declared it good and He was committed to the well being of His creation according to His purpose.

God’s care for creation becomes evident as redemptive history moves forward. “Without exception, the whole human race is involved in wickedness, outwardly and inwardly; equally without exception the whole race has excited divine grief and pain; and, once more…are under the judgment of death.”[1] Since man is head of creation, then all of creation would share in God’s judgment also.

But hope is not completely lost. We must remember that God has a plan, which includes commitment to His creation for the purposes of His will. Goldsworthy illustrates God’s commitment to creation by noting: “Mankind’s rebellion brings judgment but not instant destruction. God preserves order in the universe and in human society, and at the same time begins to reveal His purposes to overcome the effects of human sin.”[2]

As we have already seen, through Adam and Eve God maintains the seed of the woman in Seth. The Sethites are shown to worship God by calling on His name.[3] What is the significance of this? According to Goldsworthy: “To call on God’s name means to express trust and confidence in the God who has revealed his character…[4] it means to believe God for salvation.”[5]

While the line of Seth was in one sense godly, they were also sinful by virtue of the fall.[6] Yet God maintained the seed of woman through Seth. The writer of the Pentateuch arranges the material in Genesis 5 in order for the reader to see the direct link ‘from Adam to Seth to Noah.’[7]

“Descended from Adam through Seth, Noah belongs to the special line which later includes the Hebrew patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This family line is characterized by individuals who play an important role in the outworking of God’s purposes to bring about the restoration of creation following the punishment of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.”[8]

Yet, Noah has a specific function in this family line. The very name Noah means ‘to comfort.’ In many ways Noah’s name reflects the purpose of his life[9], “to bring comfort to humanity after the cursing of the ground and the difficulties of obtaining a living from the land.”[10]

Introducing the Themes of Grace and Covenant

In Genesis 6-9 we are introduced to two themes that will be central in the whole story of redemption found in the Bible. Those themes/words are ‘grace’ and ‘covenant.’

a. Grace (Genesis 6:8-9)

God was provoked to anger and had enough of the wicked human race. But Noah finds grace in the eyes of God.[11] The Hebrew phrase ‘Noah found grace in the eyes of God’ means nothing more than ‘God favored him.’ “The emphasis on the ‘righteousness’ of Noah is set against the contrast to the wickedness”[12] of his descendants. In comparison to the wickedness of those around him, we must see that Noah’s ‘righteousness’[13] as the consequence of God’s grace. The Hebrew rendering of Genesis 6:8-9 (taken together) show that God’s grace ‘brought forth’ Noah’s righteousness.

Here the significance of the phrase lies in what God does for Noah, “He rescues him.”[14] Therefore, grace is shown as God being good towards those who do not deserve it. So ‘grace’ is not grounded in perceived obligation or contract, nor can it be coerced. Therefore, ‘Grace’ as a “characteristic of God grounds divine-human relations in God’s generous initiative…in the restorative activity of God on behalf of humanity.”[15]

Because God chose to exhibit His grace to Noah, he lives by faith in God’s word. The most obvious example of this is the enormous boat Noah built on faith that God would flood the entire earth.[16] This is also evident in the fact that after the flood “Noah is patient in leaving the ark, not on the basis of the evidence of his eyes[17], but only when the divine word[18] was given.”[19]

“Noah’s righteousness is simply stated alongside God’s grace without any comment about whether it is the cause or effect of God’s attitude toward him.”[20] We must continually remind ourselves that God’s graciousness is thus neither rooted in nor dependant on people. God is sovereign in his giving of grace.[21]

b. Covenant (6:18)

A covenant underpins God’s relationship with Noah. God shows Noah how to escape the flood by proclaiming, “I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark.” This is the first time a covenant is mentioned in the Biblical text. We know that from this point on ‘covenants’ will play a major role in the history of redemption. In fact, the covenant concept is one of the most important motifs in biblical theology.

As the Biblical drama unfolds we will later see that the word covenant is used to describe God’s loving relationship with His undeserving chosen people. In the ordinary sense of the word a covenant is “the coming into existence of a stated[22] and continuing relationship between two parties who were previously apart from each other.”[23] For now, our focus will remain on God’s covenant with Noah.

Noah and the Covenant

Remember, in order to protect the ‘seed of woman’ God made a covenant to save Noah and his family from the destruction of the flood. Though Noah and his family are not saved in an eternal sense[24], this covenant at the very least points to, or provides a pattern for, the future covenant of salvation through it has not at that point been revealed.

Again, Noah and his family show their faith by trusting God’s word. They are protected as they live in their ‘little floating world’ while God executes judgment on the rest of creation. Goldsworthy writes: “when they disembark into a new world God promises that even though mankind, including Noah, is still inclined to evil[25], God will never again destroy the world in a flood.

So, “God makes the first move and establishes a relationship that works for the good of creation. He calls it ‘my covenant’…God is refusing to allow human rebellion to divert Him from His purpose to create a people to be His people.”[26]

The sign of the covenant made with Noah was God’s ‘bow in the clouds.’[27] “While this visible symbol in the sky would undoubtedly reassure humankind, its express intent was to remind God Himself to keep His covenantal promise, although the reminder may be just an anthropomorphic[28] way of expressing the reassurance.”[29] The bow is the “bearer of eternal truth”[30] to man. Man can be certain of its changeless meaning and rest in faith that God will keep His word. Simply put, “covenant signs express covenant promises to covenant people.”[31]

God then calls Noah[32] to fill the earth and exercise dominion just as He had commanded Adam.”[33] Once the flood waters subside, Noah and his family become the ‘new beginning’ of the human race.[34] Notice, the first thing Noah did upon leaving the Ark was to build an altar and worship God. This is the only proper response to the grace shown by God to Noah and his family in saving them from death by flood.

Furthermore, God makes other provisions for the protection of the ‘seed of woman.’ In Genesis 9:5-6 God deters the violent acts of men by establishing the “life for life” legal enactment. Thus, humans are forbidden to take human life.[35] The Lord gives life and only the Lord has the right to take life away. Remember, humans are created in the ‘image of God’ and are God’s agents in the world. Therefore, God will call to account anyone who kills His agent.[36] As implication Fuller makes two observations:

  1. In establishing this primitive structure of government God assures that never again would the Cainite-minded people[37] be able to completely overwhelm God’s people.[38]
  2. Also, no longer would Noah’s descendants, in order to have some hope of safety, have to resort to the desperate measure of making marriage alliances with serpent-types[39] at the cost of having offspring adopt their violent lifestyle.[40]

Along with the God ordained protection of humanity, the command to “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth”[41] is repeated to Noah and his family. From here we can conclude that God’s sovereign purposes for redemption history have remained unaltered.

Gods Purposes and the Division of the Human Race

The rapid development of sin is a central theme in the early narrative of Genesis. Sin proves powerful enough to distort the ‘good creation’ of God and can be rendered for the purposes of evil. “Because the evil is so deep-seated” the judgment of the flood, nor human government cannot cure it. Therefore other means are resorted to.”[42]

Not only did God protect the seed of woman and progress His purposes by establishing His covenant and human government, a further step was taken by fragmentizing humankind. “Genesis 10 gives a table of the nations[43] that stemmed from Noah’s[44] three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”[45] These descendants spread out over the earth after the flood, thus bringing to fulfillment God’s command to ‘fill the earth.’[46] But the people did not do this on their own accord, as we will see God brought it about by His providential hand.

a. Noah Declares Blessing and Curse

In Genesis 9 we see that Noah became a man of the soil and planted a vineyard. We are told that Noah becomes drunk off of his own wine and lies uncovered alone inside his tent. Ham unashamedly looks upon his father’s nakedness, then humiliates and dishonors him by attempting to make a spectacle of the situation by calling his brothers to join in. Because of the disrespect Noah pronounces a curse on Ham’s son, and thus on him.

Therefore, Noah creates a new division in the human race stemming from the blessing and curse he pronounced on his sons: Ham’s son Canaan is cursed, Shem is blessed, and Japheth shares in Shem’s blessing.[47]

This had direct implications on all the nations that descended from Noah and his family.[48] Therefore, the genealogies[49] in Genesis 10 stem from the prophetic word of Noah declaring blessing and cursing on his sons. The significance of the divisions will become clear as redemptive history moves forward. One example, Noah’s curse on Canaan looks forward to the promised rule of Israel over the land of Canaan.

b. The Tower of Babel

It’s important to note that the nations descended from Noah listed in Genesis 10 was after, and thus the result of the confusion of tongues from the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11.[50] Then why is the account of Babel listed after the generations? The author of Genesis chose to break the chronology of the narrative “by first listing the many nations throughout the earth…and then recount the situation that made it necessary for God to bring this about.”[51] By locating the table of nations in between the flood and Babel the author emphasizes the importance of God’s command to ‘fill the earth’[52] even though Noah’s descendants decided to rebel against God’s command. They gathered and proclaimed:

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.

The narrative of Babel indicates that the human race had plans for unity and power based on self interest. While unity itself is not a bad thing, in fact it is the mark of the people of God when they conform to God’s purpose. But unity under God is one thing, and unity as proud independence is another.

In the building of the Tower of Babel we see a collective expression of the independence Adam and Eve reached for in the garden. It echoes “the proud aspirations of the serpent’s seed to exalt themselves by showing how much progress they could make on their own in overcoming finitude, needing no help from God…these descendants of Noah had rebelled against God’s command to fill the earth, choosing instead to remain congregated together in order to increase their security.”[53] Fuller makes a wise observation:

“Thus evil could still have triumphed over the woman’s seed. In a supersociety held together by the sanction of the power of the sword, people of various skills could organize themselves a standard of living that could delude them into thinking they could meet all their need and declare themselves independent of God. Thus people like Seth who called upon the name of the Lord would be completely out of step with such a demonic supersociety; they would be pressured from every side not to look to God for contentment but to contribute to the exaltation of humankind’s attainment of self-sufficiency.”[54]

The danger for those who refused to join the anti-God purpose becomes obvious. The ‘serpent-types’ could use their power in numbers and violence to eradicate them. In order to allow woman’s seed to multiply in a world filled with evil people God providentially steps in. God does not permit the people to rebel as a cohesive unit. So, “God confounds the unity that the people wish to maintain for their evil ends.”[55] The disruption of the people at the Tower of Babel is God’s judgment against their unified front of rebellion. This would inevitably allow each of the neighboring nations to hold each other in check, thus no one nation could create an empire that would last for very long. So while the serpent will continue to succeed in giving the people of God a wound, though harmful it will not be lethal.

The Gospel[56] of Jesus Christ

a. The Gospel and Noah:

Noah by his God given righteousness saved not only himself but also his family.[57] In Hebrews 11:7 we read:

By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

This prefigures the new covenant[58] of Christ. Where are given Christ’s righteousness through faith and repentance, and made part of His spiritual family, through which we will be saved from the destruction of God’s wrath. Remember, the flood brought that primitive world to an end as we read in 2 Peter:

If he [God] did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly.

This prefigures the final judgment which ends the present heavens and earth and brings about a new world.[59] Christ will be the vessel by which His spiritual family is saved from the wrath of God’s judgment. Similarly, the ‘new world’ that emerges after the flood prefigures the ‘new heaven and new earth.’[60]

Note: Peter declares Noah a ‘herald of righteousness.’ This is extremely important for understanding the often misunderstood 1 Peter 3:18-20. See footnote [61]

Remember, God repeated the command given to man in Genesis 1:28. Noah becomes the new representative for humanity, prefiguring Christ who will be the final head of new humanity.[62] Under the covenant, all who descend from the representative are blessed.

b. The Gospel and the Tower of Babel

Humanity has been divided since the fall. But the tower of Babel shows how this division effects the relationships of whole people groups. We still see the implications of this division today. Goldsworthy notes:

“Despite the desire for world unity there is an inevitable breakdown in human society into smaller units all seeking their own advantage. Sin has a fragmenting effect on human life. This confusion of languages and division of nations will characterize sinful humanity until the redemptive power of God unites in Christ a people drawn from all nations, tribes, and languages.[63]”[64]

We see the first shift towards the unity of God’s people in Acts 2 where the nations who were scattered at Babel are represented in Jerusalem. The text records that “every nation under heaven”[65] was gathered and heard Peter proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.[66] Thus, we can look forward to the day when people from every nation cry out with a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”[67] One day Christ will gather all who are scattered together, and make all things new.

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Add comment February 3, 2010

Sermons to Listen to While Snowed In…

Well, it seems like many of us will be snowed in Sunday morning, January 31st. So, I thought I would direct you to a few audio sermons from a few men who I have grown to respect. Check them out while you are stuck inside, they will be well worth the time invested.

John Piper – Pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church

Tim Keller – Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church

D.A. Carson- Research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Alistair Begg- Pastor of Parkside Church

Well you get the point, also check out Albert Mohler, Matt Chandler, Mark Dever, Bryan Chapell, Sinclair Ferguson, Wayne Grudem, David Wells, R.C. Sproul, Paul Tripp, Mark Driscoll

Have a good Sunday in the snow!

Add comment January 30, 2010

Biblical Theology- Part 3: The Fall

Note: This series comes from the notes of a course I am teaching on Biblical Theology at Calvary Baptist Church. This material is organized similar to Graeme Goldsworthy’s book According to Plan.

For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.[1]

The effects of the fall were catastrophic, and have radically altered the course of history for humanity. The fall of man was no surprise to God. We must remember that God is absolutely sovereign, and His purpose in creation would be realized in spite of the incursion of evil, namely in Jesus Christ. The fall is the “story of sin’s entry into the world and of how God as a result either punished the [unrepentant] for their sins or, on the basis of the future death of Christ, forgave those who honored him by entrusting their future to his mercy.”[2]

The Temptation

The scene is set. Adam and Eve are living in the garden. “The garden is the garden of God” and thus “a place of reception of man into the fellowship of God in Gods own dwelling place.”[3]

Then there is a unit break in the narrative, and we shift to the account of the temptation and the fall.[4] “The conversation between the snake and the woman in the garden brilliantly portrays the process by which the human race became rebellious against the authority of the Creator.”[5] The process begins with the snake asking the woman, “Did God really say…?” The temptation begins with the woman opening up to the possibility of questioning God’s word. Remember, humanity depended on the word of God for correctly understanding creation order. Goldsworthy writes:

“God is the final and absolute authority and, since he has chosen to communicate by His word, his word is the absolute and final authority. The…question has great potential for evil because it casts doubts on the authority of God’s word.”

First, the question that the snake raised was “did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”[6] The truth is God had not said that at all, only the fruit of a certain tree was forbidden, not all of them. The evil one’s purpose in asking this was to lead Eve into doubting the credentials of the word. “The assumption was being formed that the word not only could be analyzed and evaluated, but probably needed to be.”[7] Yet in order to evaluate God’s word one must begin with the assumption that it is not the highest authority.

Second, the snake flat out contradicts God’s word by telling the woman that she will not die if she eats of the tree. This is a direct challenge to God’s authoritative word. The snake was basically telling the woman that God did not tell her the truth when he threatened death for deliberate disobedience.

“It was, charges the snake, a deliberate lie: “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). Thus God is being accused of being motivated by selfishness. This means the He is neither loving nor trustworthy.”[8]

Third, we must remember that God had placed man in the garden with everything good he needed for his well-being. So, the command God gives Adam and Eve shows His loving mercy. Remember, the garden represents how dwelling in the presence of God imparts life to man. Therefore, God warns them not to eat of the tree “so that man may avoid death and the loss of all this goodness.”[9] See, death in Genesis 2:17 is the opposite “of all the good things that God has given them to enjoy, it evidently represents a state of misery and deprivation that [humanity] will experience if they disobey”[10] God’s gracious command.

There is an essential difference in God’s warning and Satan’s temptation here that we do not want to overlook. Behind God’s warning lies good, behind Satan’s temptation lies evil. From this we must conclude that “it was God who had beneficent purposes for man, the serpent had malicious designs.”[11]

What does this have to do with Jesus Christ? Behind the efforts of the fall stood the devil, enticing Adam and Eve to turn from God. This is the same devil who in the gospel accounts “steps out from behind the curtain for a direct confrontation”[12] with Jesus Christ in the temptation in the wilderness. Therefore, in the temptation of Jesus, where Adam represented all of humanity, Christ stands as the new head of the human race that will be obedient in a way that all Adam had not been. Christ fully trusted in God for His wellbeing, while Adam broke fellowship with God with the idea that he could live independently of God.

The Fall

Goldsworthy’s make a notable observation on the cunning of the snake;

“He (the snake) presents lies in the context of truth. Eating the forbidden fruit did indeed mean that the humans came to know good and evil (Genesis 3:22). But the process by which they achieved that involved rebellion against truth and its source. Instead of knowing good and evil by rejecting evil and remaining good, they choose rather to reject good and become evil.” This paragraph points to a few helpful observations;

First, from that point on God’s word would no longer be accepted as self-evident truth, but would be continually tested. In other words, the first humans assert themselves as the evaluators of the validity of God’s word. In this sense they have elevated themselves above God; in their own minds, they have become as their own “God.”

So, after the authority of God’s word is questioned both Adam and Eve take the forbidden fruit and eat. They are, in a sense, saying that God’s word cannot be trusted. By questioning God’s motives in withholding ‘knowledge of good and evil’ they begin to question the reliability of His word. The result was the fall of mankind. Dissatisfied with their humanity our first parents reached for godhood, and paradise was lost. “They degraded themselves by trying to be what they could never be.”[13]

Second, the idiom “knowledge of good and evil” points to an ultimate level of mature independence[14] only possessed by God. So in aspiring for this ‘godlike’ maturity, or ‘moral experience’[15], they also obtained the independence and responsibility that comes along with it. In disobeying God, Adam and Eve considered themselves to be independent of God and took their future welfare into their own hands.

In casting off the protective covering of dependence on God, they found themselves shamefully naked and alone. Daniel Fuller explains the implications of this very well;

“Suddenly Adam and Eve felt the horror of being cut off from God’s loving care for them and found themselves left only to their greatly limited, distorted wisdom and power to provide for themselves an eternally happy future…This sense of total inadequacy then aroused an overwhelming sense of shame and so they tried to cover up their obvious limitations”[16] with their own coverings.

Note: I have been asked “why was the tree placed in the garden?” At the very least we can say that the tree functions as a revelation of God’s independence and man’s dependence on God. It brings to surface the corruptibility of man. God is the only perfect and complete being in the universe. While Adam and Eve were created pure, they were not created perfect. Vos argues, “it is if we should say of somebody that he is liable to the invasion of some disease, but we should not on that account declare him to have the disease.”[17]

God’s Judgment and Mercy

God’s Judgment: They had rejected the authority of God’s word. Since God is just and holy He must pronounce judgment on their faithlessness. It is interesting what happens as God confronts them in their sin;

  1. Adam blames Eve, and God was responsible for giving her as a companion.
  2. Eve blames the snake, and God was responsible for giving humans dominion over the animals as part of creation.

Yet they were both responsible for their actions. Thus, Genesis 3:14-24 is about God’s judgment of mankind for their disobedience. Not only mankind, but all of creation comes under a curse. There are several notable implications of the fall.

a. First, pain[18] is introduced as a reality in the fallen world. Not only so we now experience suffering from physical pain, but also there is discord in human relationships which brings about pain. Part of the judgment is expressed in the “disruption of relationships established by God.”[19] This is revealed in the turmoil of relationships between God and man, man and woman, and man and creation.

b. Second, rebellion becomes a pattern in the fallen world. “The disobedience of Adam consisted in his rejection of the divine boundaries placed upon his dominion of the earth. It was thus a rebellion against the good order of creation established by God in Genesis 1.”[20] God had given Adam and Eve dominion over the earth; now this dominion is challenged by the earth itself. “The curse on the ground is a curse on Adam. The king of the earth has now become the obedient servant of the soil. The freedom to eat from all the trees in the garden is replaced by the struggle to get the earth to yield necessary daily bread.”[21]

c. Third, there is no paradise in a fallen world. The human race is removed from the garden, where life is abundant. Living ‘in the garden’ is parallel with fellowship with God. “There is no way in which he (Adam) can regain that dominion for himself; he is barred from Eden by the cherubim.”[22] From this point on life is nothing more than existence in the face of death. God allows the human race to exist in order that His greater purpose might be fulfilled.

God’s Mercy: Also, while God’s justice is seen in their punishment, God’s love is seen in the merciful grace He extends to Adam and Eve in that moment.

a. First, “God declares[23] that Eve’s seed would[24] bring about a final and decisive triumph over the serpent and all the evil that he represents.”[25] So, the promise is that somehow out of the human race a fatal blow will come and crush the head of the serpent. Keep in mind, the power of evil is a collective power, a kingdom of evil of which Satan is the head. So in crushing the head the whole kingdom falls.[26] Therefore, God’s purpose for creation will be realized despite the fall and all the evil that is ushered in. What we see in the generations of Genesis is that “through the dark and bloody history of human sin and violence, God continues the line of the promise.”[27]

b. Second, it becomes obvious that “by the work of their hands” Adam and Eve cannot cover their nakedness in the garden suitably. This implies the truth that they “could not restore the unity they once had with God, nor could their works shield them from the judgment of God.”[28] Yet, after the fall God clothes Adam and Eve with more suitable garments than fig leaves, he provides them with coverings made of animal skin. In the same way, God later provides righteousness through Christ so that His people may be clothed in righteousness which will shield them from the wrath of God.

The ‘Seed of Satan’ and the ‘Seed of Woman.’

In executing the punishment that was to befall creation God declared;

I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring (offspring = seed);
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.[29]

Notice that God mentions two lines of offspring in this declaration, one line from the woman[30] and one line from the serpent. The bruising of the serpents head[31] points forward to the defeat of Satan[32] by a future descendant of the woman, namely Jesus Christ[33]. Jesus prevailed and thus fulfilled the call given to Adam. In the declaration of Genesis 3:15 and in these two lines we catch our first glimpse of God’s purpose for redemptive history, the gospel of Jesus Christ.[34]

In Genesis 4[35] we see how this plays out. Cain represents the seed of Satan, and Abel represents the seed of woman. The enmity between the two seeds is shown between the Brothers when they both offer a sacrifice to God and only Abel’s is looked upon with favor. Goldsworthy writes;

“Cain refuses God’s verdict in which his offering is rejected and his brother’s accepted.[36] He responds in anger directed at Abel and kills him. Human conflict is thus shown to be the consequence of broken fellowship with God. There is anger at God when it [favor] is shown to another.”

The anger provoked in Cain distinguishes him from Abel as one who receives God’s kindness. “The slaying of Abel by Cain illustrates a rapid development of sin, issuing into murder in the second generation.”[37]

What cannot be overlooked is that it was in God’s gracious mercy that Abel was shown mercy. There was no essential difference between Cain and Abel; they were both equally depraved by sin.[38] But something happened in Abel’s heart that permitted him to respond to God in faith. It would seem that the only reason Abel offered a sacrifice that pleased God was that God had given him a new heart.[39]

Therefore, Abel was willing to give up the most valuable of his flock in faith[40]. The difference was simple;

Abel “was banking his confidence for an eternally happy and fulfilled future upon God, Cain [it seems] had placed his confidence in himself, in his energy and skill in getting the land to yield crops.”[41]

When Cain kills Abel in anger we see a further display of his evil heart.[42] Notice that God judges him with a similar judgment that his father Adam received.[43] Yet God shows Cain mercy also by protecting him from the vengeance of men to preserve the human race. This grace shown to both brothers is representative of the kindness of God that will be shown to humanity all throughout redemptive history.

The Seed of Satan: Note a few observations about Cain and his descendants[44];

a. First, Cain and his descendants build a city in attempt to live dependently from God, and to find refuge from those who would kill him. In Biblical literature cities often become concentrations of human wickedness.[45] “It is not that human society itself is wrong, but the use of it to escape the implications of God’s rule.”[46] Fuller observes that “a city gathered together many people with a wide diversity of valued skills, and as each benefited from the others abilities, they all enjoyed a much higher standard of living and felt less need to depend on God.”[47] Only in the heavenly Jerusalem will human society function properly when brought into prefect relationship with God, through Christ.

b. Second, Cain’s descendants are known for the domestication of animals, art, music, and for violence.[48] But, “in spite of their unlocking of the potential of God’s creation, they remain rebels.”[49] Here we see the evidence of God’s goodness[50] continuing in a world of wicked people. We should not make the mistake of stamping society itself and its demonstrations of creativity as inherently evil. “By the grace of God human society continues, but within it are seeds of self-destruction in the breakdown of human relationships. This grace is the gift of preservation of the race for a time, but it is not the grace that acts to redeem and to restore a people to friendship with God.

The Seed of Woman: While Abel was murdered by Cain, God continued the seed of woman through Adam and Eve’s next son Seth.[51] It was through Seth’s[52] line that people began to “call upon the name of the Lord.”[53] So, in Genesis 4:1 Eve[54] is not only rejoicing that she has bore another son, but that God is remaining faithful to His promise to bring about judgment upon the evil one.

Now, in Genesis 6 we see the climax of human wickedness. The “sons of God” begin to marry the daughters of men which brings about the judgment[55] of God.[56] The “Sons of God” in this verse is a reference to the Sethites[57] (those in Seth’s line). So men in the Godly line of Seth began to marry women from the ungodly line of Cain. Therefore, these marriages increased the Cainite-types in the earth at the expense of the godly Sethites. “How opposite this filling of the earth with violence was from God’s purpose in creating it. He had intended to fill the earth with His glory by having people made in His image”[58] reflect His order.

The wickedness increases and God was sorry, and grieved over the violence in the earth which He had created as pure and good.[59] In other words, God had enough with the wickedness in the world, and thus declares the judgment of the flood.

The Kingdom and the Fall

Because of God’s ultimate purposes He does not withdraw His love from creation. However, sin has had devastating effects between God and creation, man and creation, and creation in general. But God is still sovereign and human rebellion will not thwart his purposes.

We need to distinguish between the kingdom of God and the fallen universe. The fallen universe is the very opposite of the kingdom. Only through salvation will the kingdom be restored. In salvation Christ will bring all relationships back to their proper place. This is the supreme irony of the cross, that Satan’s apparent victory in the fall was his defeat.[60] The cross was in God’s plan for redemption history before creation[61] as the plan for restoration. Now, “it is the task of Biblical Theology to describe the way the Bible reveals this restoration taking place.”[62]

A Course On Biblical Theology

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Add comment January 28, 2010

Biblical Theology- Part 2: Creation

Note: This series comes from the notes of a course I am teaching on Biblical Theology at Calvary Baptist Church. This material is organized similar to Graeme Goldsworthy’s book According to Plan.

In the narrative of creation we see God set the stage for the story of redemption. Goldsworthy writes that in the beginning we see “the preamble and theological presupposition of the main aspects of salvation history.”[1] But before we examine the beginning of human history we must look into eternity past to see the purpose of creation;

Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.[2]

God’s Purpose in Creation

God has always been. The scripture attests to the doctrine of God’s eternal nature or God’s timelessness.[3] God has no beginning, He has always been. Not only that, but God has always been absolutely complete, delighting in Himself as the perfect Trinity. Among the persons of the Trinity there has been perfect love and fellowship for all of eternity.[4] This is called the doctrine of God’s independence.

Why then did God freely[5] choose to create? Daniel Fuller makes an interesting observation concerning the purpose of creation when he asks, “why was He (God) not perfectly content to remain simply as the fully happy Trinity?”[6] This question reveals, at the very least, that there must be an underlying purpose for all things God has created. The Apostle Paul addresses this query in the Scripture;

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.[7][8]

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.[9]

First we see that God created to make Himself known. Secondly, we see that Jesus Christ is the agent of creation and also the beneficiary of its existence. We must avoid the arrogant ‘man-centered’ assumption that earth exists solely for our use and enjoyment. The primary reason creation exists for the praise and glory of its creator God.[10]

We know from the creation account that everything was made ‘good’[11] to reflect the glory of God in its own way. “Part of the meaning of the goodness of creation in the Bible is that it testifies[12] to the God who made it, reflecting something of His good character.”[13] In fact, creation is only good by virtue of standing in appropriate relationship to it creator.

Simply put, the end for which God created the world was to glorify Himself.[14] This truth is often hard to swallow because it seems vain, and it removes us from the center of existence. But God is the only being in the universe for whom self glorification is not vain. Think about it, if God is the greatest being in the universe, the most precious gift, then displaying Himself in creation is an act of love, He displays His own glory for our joy. John Piper writes;

In all of redemptive history, from beginning to ending, God has this one ultimate goal: that God be glorified. The aim of God in all that he does is most ultimately the praise of his glory. All of redemptive history is book-ended by this amazing purpose. And in the middle of that redemptive history stands the greatest event in the history of the world, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.[15]

The primary reason God created was to make His glory known, and His glory is known most fully in Jesus Christ. The Scripture testifies that all things were created through Christ and for Christ. So “Christ is not only the origin of the cosmos; He is also its goal. All things were created for Him, i.e., to be subject to and to glorify Him.”[16]

God Created, Orders, Sustains, and Communicates By His Word[17]

“Foundational to Biblical Theology is the conviction that God has spoken.” God has spoken “through His word, and God has revealed Himself and His will…on behalf”[18] of creation. More importantly, we believe that “God reveals Himself and His ways in the created world and in His deeds in history, but His word is essential for a proper understanding of what creation and history reveal.”[19]

a. God Creates by Word

At eight points in Genesis 1 God speaks creatively: “And God said, Let…”[20] God commands and it is so. Why is it significant that God created by His word?[21] At least “the very effortlessness of the fulfillment indicates God’s sovereignty.”[22] It is also notable that God created all things out of nothing.[23] In other words, there was no ‘raw material’ present until God brought all things into existence.

b. God Establishes Order by Word

The word of God established order within creation, and does so with a purpose. So creation is not only a question of beginnings, but also of purpose and relationships. In Genesis we have two creation accounts, the first in chapter 1 and the other in chapter 2. These two accounts provide different perspectives on the structure of the one creation event.

“The Genesis accounts tell that there is a structure to the creation which is described first in terms of the main elements of the universe and their relationships (Genesis 1), and second in terms of human beings and their relationships (Genesis 2).”

Creation is presented in this way by the writer of the Pentateuch to show that there is order in the universe. In other words, everything has a proper function and relationship which impacts everything within creation order.

c. God Sustains by Word

God not only created and established order in the universe but also governs it.[24] “This providence, or continued government of the universe by the Creator becomes a prominent feature of the biblical understanding of the ultimate purpose of God which nothing, not even sin, is allowed to frustrate.”[25] So, by setting structure to all things within creation and designating their functions, God sustains His purposes.[26]

So, on a very general level, the Genesis creation accounts tell us about how things began, and explain the relationships between things. How things relate is closely tied to their purpose. “These relationships, which were later confused by sin, are at the heart of the gospel by which God is restoring all things to their proper relationships.”[27]

d. God Communicates by Word

Since God reveals His character and purposes, it is part of His relationship with His people. God freely chooses to relate to creation by His word. In keeping with this is the fact that when He creates the human pair He blesses them by addressing them with a spoken word. This is unique for humanity that God can address us with words and we can understand them. The word that God speaks establishes and interprets the context within which human beings exist and relate to everything else in creation.

These truths are amazing and reveal some astonishing realities; Goldsworthy points out that;

  1. The greatness of God is shown by His needing only to say, “Let it be…” for things to be brought into existence.
  2. Creation by word also shows us that God has chosen to relate to all things by the means of His word.
  3. The rule of God over His creation through His word shows the real distinction between God and creation.[28]

What does this have to do with Jesus Christ? The writer of Hebrews declares that;

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.[29]

God’s mode of speaking changes in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the word of God in flesh. “In His person and work Jesus becomes the ultimate form of God’s communication.”[30] In fact the gospel of Jesus Christ we receive the message of a new creation and restored order.[31]

Creation and The Kingdom of God

Our creator king loves His creation. In Genesis we see that God has created all things and established them in a fixed order of relationships, to which he declares “they are very good.” These words are significant.

“The free act of creation and God’s approval indicated by the words “very good,” point to a loving and immensely strong commitment on God’s part towards creation” which becomes more fully understood as the drama of history unfolds.[32]

This loving relationship begins with the opening announcement of the Bible narrative: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The God who created also rules over His creation, creation is therefore established as the “Kingdom of God.” Goldsworthy elaborates on God’s Kingdom as follows;

“God’s rule involves the relationships that He has set up between Himself and everything in creation…the focus of the kingdom of God is on the relationship between God and His people. Man is subject to God, while the rest of creation is subject to man.”[33]

So, we may understand the Kingdom of God as following: “there is a King who rules, a people who are ruled, and a sphere where this rule is recognized as taking place.”[34] So we have;

  1. God’s people
  2. In God’s place
  3. Under God’s rule

In the Garden of Eden we are introduced to the Kingdom of God[35], a theme that extends over the whole of the Bible. In the Garden of Eden the pattern for the Kingdom is established. Here we see an innocent people of God living in a perfect environment for them called paradise, where the rule of God is expressed by His word, which provides us with the pattern of the Kingdom of God.

“God establishes a perfect creation that he loves and over which he rules…The kingdom means that everything in creation relates perfectly, that is, as God intends it should, to everything else and to God himself.”

In Jesus the Kingdom comes. Jesus words bear witness to this fact, “the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”[36] Goldsworthy argues that “He was at once both creator and creature, king and obedient servant, word of God and listening servant. Thus Jesus…not only brings the kingdom, He is the Kingdom in Himself.”[37] One day, God’s Kingdom will be fully consummated at Christ’s return.

The Creation of Man in the Image of God

In Genesis[38] we are told that man is made in the image of God, yet we are not told exactly what that means. At the very least this shows “the remarkable distinctiveness”[39] of man compared to the rest of creation. Human beings are unique among creation and have been given a distinct relationship to God in being ‘made in His image.’ Here are some observations based on that relationship;

a. Humans Represent God: Being created in the ‘image of God’, as the climax of creation, man has a specific role to fill. The image for “Man mediates between the Creator and the created world which he is part. In man God deals with His creation personally.”[40] Man was created in such a way that he is able to represent God on earth “like an ambassador from a foreign country.”[41]

b. Humans Reflect God: The image of God can be also be understood as being created in ‘the likeness of God.’ As a mirror reflects, so man should reflect God. “Another way of putting this is to say that in man God is to become visible on earth.”[42] In man we should see a reflection of God’s love, justice, grace, etc.

c. Humans Rule Under God: Another aspect of being created in the image of God refers to our dominion over creation. Therefore, the image of God shows that man is set directly under God in the order of creation.[43] Only man is addressed as one who knows God and is created to live purposefully for God. Man’s responsibility as an image bearer is tied to his dominion over creation.

“When man falls because of sin the creation is made to fall with him. In order to restore the whole of creation, God works through His Son who becomes a man to restore man. The whole creation waits eagerly for the redeemed people of God to be finally revealed as God’s perfected children, because at this point the creation will be released from its own bondage. This overview of man as the object of God’s covenant love and redemption confirms the central significance given to man in Genesis 1-2.”[44]

While the Bible does not clearly define (in exact terms) what is meant by being created in the ‘image of God’ at the beginning of creation, we can look to look forward to Jesus Christ as the ‘true image of God.’

What we see in Christ tells us what we should be like, which reveals shame on our part, it shows us that something is not right. In other words, we do not represent, reflect, or rule on earth in the way we were created to do, the way that brings ultimate glory to God. But Christ did. When Christ was on earth He was;

  1. Wholly directed towards God.
  2. Wholly directed towards neighbor
  3. Ruled over nature

So the image of God in humanity was not only brought about by Christ in creation but was also patterned after Christ.[45]

Man a Created Creature Who is Ruled

The creation account shows us that everything we have is a gift from God. This is one of the central truths of creation that destroys modern man’s idea that ‘he/she is in charge of their lives and destiny.’ As God’s creation we are totally dependent on Him for everything;

  1. We are dependent on God for His continual rule over creation.
  2. We are dependent on God for His providential care.
  3. We are dependent on God for the production of food.
  4. We are dependent on God for drawing our next breath.
  5. We are dependent on God for the next beat of our hearts.

The list goes on and on. There is nothing in this universe that is self sustaining except God. Every moment of our existence shows God’s grace in that He sustains the very substance of creation. If Almighty God were to withdraw His powerful word from creation the universe would cease to exist, there would be no order, nothing to sustain the universe;

“This is why man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God[46]. So Christ, as the creative Word of God, sustains ‘all things by His powerful word’[47], and ‘in Him all things hold together’[48].”

We have already argued that man is unique in creation as being created in the image of God. Part of being created in the image of God tells us that “humanity does not truly exist apart from[49] a special relationship with God.”[50] It is in relationship with God that we, as human beings, understand our function within creation. Human beings are uniquely responsible to God in that we must answer to our maker.

Within creation humans were given dominion over the rest of creation.[51] “Human life is defined by its God given freedom and by bounds and sanctions”[52] which makes humanity responsible creatures. But, we only have sanctioned freedom. We are not completely autonomous beings, we do not have ‘free will’ is the absolute sense. God is the only free being in the universe.

“In Genesis 1:28 it is implied that we are created to make real choices between real options, even though this freedom is bound by the prescription to be fruitful and rule the earth. Without freedom to make real choices it would be impossible to rule…[but notice] they have no freedom as to the consequences if they eat of the one forbidden tree.”[53]

Thus with freedom and responsibility comes a test of obedience in the prohibition placed on eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God designated this tree “as off limits as the means of showing the difference between good and evil.”

Conclusion

Remember, Jesus Christ is the center of history, which means He is the center of creation. Jesus was not only involved in the original creative act, but is also intimately associated with God continued providential care of creation. As the ‘true image’ of God, Jesus Christ is the point of contact between the creator and creation.[54]

A Course On Biblical Theology

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Add comment January 21, 2010

Jesus and Religious Legalism – A Call for Pastoral Wisdom

“You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

In studying Mark 7:1-23 last week I was reminded of the elusive nature of self righteousness. I am working through Mark while reading a study written by Tim Keller. I have quoted a few sentences from it below.

In this passage the religious leaders charge that Jesus’ followers had defiled themselves by not holding to their religious traditions. In other words, the religious leaders had developed a ‘fence’ of strict rules that moved beyond the Bible in order to guard themselves from breaking the broader principles of Biblical law. Their reasoning was simple, “if you are truly devoted to God and committed to holiness, you will be eager to go the extra mile to be absolutely sure you have not been defiled.”

Jesus refused to have his followers bound by such legalistic extra-biblical traditions.

While the extra rules might, at first, seem to protect the people and honor God’s law, in the end it undercuts the point of the law. Specific rules provide the opportunity to ‘fully comply’ to the law externally without dealing with the real issue of sinfulness.

“By creating a hundred minor procedures, it becomes possible to feel that you have fully complied and to feel righteous in doing so…(plus) all the emphasis shifts to outward conformity and external behaviors.”

I fear that many people in the church today live their lives in the bondage of religious tradition and external conformity to sub-cultural norms. Often we knowingly or unknowingly perpetuate this mentality as pastors. We need to be careful not to destroy our gospel witness.

It is quite possible that by adding to Biblical mandates that we “concentrate on lots of specific rituals” and distract from seeing the depth of our sin and the beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ. One possible implication is that many church goers look to their ‘religious activity’ or ‘moral uprightness’ instead of Christ for their closeness to God.

I would even go as far as to argue that keeping ‘religious rules’ does not develop wisdom, character, and virtue but a subtle legalism that is ‘anti-gospel.’ When we set up religious rules that move beyond what the Bible teaches, those rules become an end in themselves. Then we can simply prove to others that we are good and moral, which “strangles us and those around us.” We need to use wisdom in our leadership not control. Remember the words of our Lord Jesus;

“There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”

Read the passage here.

1 comment January 20, 2010

Biblical Theology- Part 1: Introduction

“It is possible to know Bible stories, yet miss the Bible story.”[2]

Edmund Clowney

An Introduction to Biblical Theology

Imagine that you are standing at the edge of a very large and very thick forest. You are adamant about reaching a specific destination on the other side. You have no map. Obviously, once you enter the forest it would be very hard to gather your bearings, to see exactly where you are in relation to the destination, and so forth.

In this situation it would be crucial to have a ‘birds-eye view,’ a map to direct you. See, a good map reduces any area that is too vast for us to understand from a limited perspective. Seeing the whole keeps us from ‘missing the forest for the trees’, which often happens when we read our Bibles. The point, the Bible as a whole is a ‘unity.’ It is one great story, with a story line that traces an unfolding drama.

J.I. Packer masterfully illustrates why this truth is so astonishing;

“The Bible consists of sixty six separate units, written over more than a thousand years against a wide variety of cultural backgrounds, by people who for the most part worked independently of each other and show no awareness that their books would become canonical Scripture…Books written centuries apart seem to have been designed for the express purpose of supplementing each other and illuminating each other.”[3]

In other words, Biblical theology explores the rich and multi-sided presentation of the Bibles unified message. What Biblical Theology allows us to do is “follow the line of the plot and offer a guide to the underlying story of all stories”[4], namely the story of Jesus Christ.

Biblical Theology will not only strengthen your understanding of the Bible, but will also strengthen your faith in the sovereignty of God. It quickly becomes apparent that only God’s sovereign hand in history could maintain a unified drama that stretches over thousands of years.

What is the Discipline of ‘Biblical Theology’?

The word ‘Theology’ can simply be defined as “teaching or discourse about God.”[5] God can only be known through God. He has chosen to reveal himself in His Word.[6] Although “Scripture is our theology”[7] it is not necessarily evident that Christian theology is presented in an organized way in the Bible. In one sense, all true Christian Theology must be Biblical Theology. But Biblical Theology as a discipline has a specific function. Traditionally “Theological Disciplines” are divided into three camps[8] that refer to a particular way of doing theology.

  1. Systematic Theology: This is the most popular of organizational theological systems.[9] Systematic Theology is primarily concerned with “organizing and synthesizing theological doctrines”[10] under headings and topics. Systematic Theology asks the question ‘what should we believe about an aspect of Christianity?’ with the aim of formulating doctrine.
  2. Historical Theology: This approach seeks to organize theology under its historical development. Simply put, Historical Theology is the “study of the changing face of theology across time.”[11] Historical Theology asks the question ‘what have Christians believed about their faith at any given time?’ with the aim of providing a record of the development of Christian doctrine.
  3. Biblical Theology: “This approach is principally concerned with the overall theological message of the Bible.”[12] Biblical Theology asks ‘by what process has God revealed himself to mankind?’ with an aim at properly relating the whole of the Bible to our Christian life now.

Biblical Theology occupies an important position in the study of theology. What makes Biblical Theology unique among other theological disciplines is that stands extremely close to the Biblical text by allowing the scripture to dictate its organization[13] by the guidelines of historic progression.

Biblical Theology provides a map to helps us understand the overall unity of the Bible and helps us see that there is a central message to the Bible rather than a number of ‘unrelated stories and themes.’ Biblical Theology operates under the premise that the Bible is a unified history of God’s progressive revelation to mankind.

How can Biblical Theology be Helpful?

1. Proper Interpretation

First, Biblical Theology helps us correctly interpret the text within the context of the whole Biblical cannon. We often hear people argue that ‘we must understand the text within its context.’ But this comment is often made in reference to the immediate context of the passage (i.e. – the book which we find the passage in). But the “context must include the whole Biblical revelation, as well as the book in which the text occurs.”[14]

“Biblical theology focuses on the storyline of scripture—the unfolding of God’s plan in redemptive history, so that in every passage we consider the place of that text in relationship to the whole storyline of the Bible.”[15]

One of the most important questions Biblical Theology helps us ask is “by what process has God revealed himself?” The answer to this question will help us properly apply the Scripture. Only Biblical Theology will guard us from misusing the Bible, as we read each text in the context of the progressive revelation of God’s redemptive work.[16]

God has chosen to reveal Himself in a “long series of successive acts,”[17] therefore we should seek to understand all things in the Bible within the ‘History of Redemption.’[18] So, Biblical Theology is concerned with how the revelation of God was understood in its time, and what the total picture is that what was built up over the whole historical process.”[19] What we begin to see is that “there is something growing before our eyes; there is a plan, purpose, and progress.”[20]

Second, Biblical Theology helps us understand and resolve many difficulties we might have in hard to understand passages. Some parts of the Bible are difficult to understand. Some parts of the Bible seem to lack a sense of consistency when compared to what the Bible teaches elsewhere. Some of them are just strange because we, as modern people, do not live in the world of the Biblical writers. For example;

  1. Some passages use figures of speech or images that are hard to grasp without understanding their background.
  2. Some passages are capable of having different ranges of meaning, and the context often helps us understand what it actually means.
  3. Some passages seem to present moral difficulties and are simply hard to believe.

Christians with very similar convictions about the Bible can disagree over what the Bible teaches on certain subjects. I am not going to suggest that studying Biblical Theology will solve all of our interpretive problems. But, I agree with Graeme Goldsworthy when he argues that;

“Any Christian who wants to develop a sound method of approaching the text of the Bible in order to find out what it really says and means, needs an understanding of Biblical theology.”[21]

2. Proper Application

First, understanding and applying the Old and New Testament can be difficult and is often applied in inappropriate ways. Biblical Theology helps guard us from making this mistake. To illustrate this point lets consider a few ‘problems’ in interpretation that Biblical Theology will provide the proper framework to think through these issues;

  1. The Old Testament is pre-Christian and never mentions the distinctives of the Christian faith. The people of Israel are not Christians and cannot be said to live “Christian” lives. How then do we properly view the relationship between Israel and us?
  2. The Old Testament contains many distinctives that we do not observe. Consider that some Christians attempt to distinguish OT laws as either “ritual” or “moral.” By what means do we understand how these passages apply to us?
  3. Every part of the Old Testament (prophecy, law, narrative, wisdom sayings, and psalms) needs to be understood as Christian scripture. If the Old Testament is a preparation of the New Testament, then why is the religion of one so different than the other?
  4. Jesus is does not simply function as our moral example. How then do we understand the unique person and work of Jesus Christ in relation to us?
  5. There are events in the New Testament that do not seem to be the normative pattern for us today. How then do we discern these events in light of our current context?

Biblical Theology examines the development of the Bible story from the Old Testament to the New, and seeks to understand the interrelationships between the two parts. Biblical Theology argues that there is coherence to the Bible as a whole.

Second, there is another difficulty which is more elusive and often becomes the most problematic in interpreting the Bible. This is the art of discerning ‘personal application.’

“Paying attention to Biblical Theology is an effective means of turning people away from the destructive postmodern question ‘what does this text mean to me?’ to the more fruitful question ‘what does this text mean?’”[22]

One of the hard truths that we are confronted with in Biblical Theology is that “the Bible is not about you and I.” Yet this is often how the Bible is read, understood, and applied. Biblical Theology equips us to properly approach the Old and New Testaments through the lens of Jesus Christ.

Only when the primary question of the text’s meaning is answered can the other, secondary question of the application of the text to our lives be addressed properly. This prevents our application of the text from becoming a “formality or springboard for…moralizing exhortations.”[23]

Jesus Christ Interprets the Whole Bible

If every part of the Bible needs to be understood as Christian scripture as a coherent unit, where do we start?

“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he [Jesus] interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”[24]

Jesus - “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.”[25]

One of the central problems we have in interpreting the Bible comes from a failure to interpret the texts by the definitive event of Jesus Christ’s gospel. In dealing with what happened before Christ and what happened after Christ, we need to interpret those events through Christ. Jesus Christ provides meaning for all the events in history before and after him.[26]

Jesus is God’s Final and Fullest Revelation

If Jesus is the central subject of the Old Testament we cannot correctly understand it without Him. In fact, Goldsworthy writes;

“The Old Testament does not stand on its own, because it is incomplete without its conclusion and fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. No part can be rightly understood without him. In this sense it is about Christ. God’s revelation is progressive, moving in stages from the original promises given to Israel, until the fullest meaning of these promises is revealed in Christ…Thus Christ, interprets the New and Old Testaments.”[27]

Simply put, the gospel of Jesus Christ is needed to interpret all texts by showing us their goal and meaning.[28]

Therefore, the relationship of Jesus Christ to Scripture is that he sums it up, brings it to fulfillment, and interprets it. So the Bible is God’s inspired testimony to the living Word, Jesus Christ.[29] This is important for our understanding; “No one[30] is able to understand Christ without God’s Word and the Holy Spirit.”[31]

There is the Philosophical argument that ‘historical facts do not always interpret themselves’, I believe that this applies to correctly interpreting the whole of the Bible. The facts of the Bible make up the larger story of God’s progressive revelation of himself and his kingdom. God revealed himself in stages.

Goldsworthy (the ‘grandfather’ of Biblical Theology) rightly admits; “I know it will not always be a simple matter to show how every text in the Bible speaks of Christ.” But that does not alter the fact that it does. In fact Biblical Theology is based off the premise that ‘Jesus is the final and fullest revelation of what the Bible is actually about.’ Tim Keller provides some excellent examples of ‘how’ we can look at certain events in the Biblical narrative in relation to Christ;

  1. Jesus is the true and greater Adam who passed the test in the garden and whose obedience is accredited to us.
  2. Jesus is the true and greater Abraham who answered the call of God to leave all the comfortable and familiar and go out into the void not knowing wither he went to create a new people of God.
  3. Jesus is the true and greater Isaac who was not just offered up by his father on the mount but was truly sacrificed for us. And when God said to Abraham, “Now I know you love me because you did not withhold your son, your only son whom you love from me,” now we can look at God taking his son up the mountain and sacrificing him and say, “Now we know that you love us because you did not withhold your son, your only son, whom you love from us.”
  4. Jesus is the true and greater Jacob who wrestled and took the blow of justice we deserved, so we, like Jacob, only receive the wounds of grace to wake us up and discipline us.
  5. Jesus is the true and greater Joseph who, at the right hand of the king, forgives those who betrayed and sold him and uses his new power to save them.
  6. Jesus is the true and greater Moses who stands in the gap between the people and the Lord and who mediates a new covenant.
  7. Jesus is the true and greater Job, the truly innocent sufferer, who then intercedes for and saves his ignorant friends.
  8. Jesus is the true and greater David whose victory becomes his people’s victory, though they never lifted a stone to accomplish it themselves.
  9. Jesus is the true and greater Jonah who was cast out into the storm of God’s wrath so that we could be brought in to safety.[32]

Jesus is the Link between every part of the Bible and Ourselves

Remember, “the Bible is not about you and I.” As believers we should be concerned with the proper interpretation of the Bible so we can understand what God is saying to us through His word. Without some understanding of the overall structure of the Bible it is very difficult to correctly apply the Bible to our own lives. When reading any Biblical passage it is critical that we ask two questions before attempting to apply the text to ourselves;

  1. How does this text relate to Christ?
  2. How do we relate to Christ?

The Bible is very clear that Jesus is the one and only mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5), therefore God’s word must be mediated to us through Jesus Christ. “Even the words of the Old Testament are mediated through Christ in that we only know what God is saying to us through them when we see them fulfilled in Jesus Christ.”[33] Jesus Christ is the link between every part of the Bible and us.

With this in mind we examine the Word of God for the content of Christ’s gospel and for clues to its relationship with all other parts of the Bible. The gospel is the word about Jesus Christ and what he did for us in order to restore us to a right relationship with God. The historic event of Jesus Christ is God’s fullest self-discloser to mankind. Christ brings to full clarity the promises and shadows of the Old Testament. Christ is the starting point and the goal towards which we will move.

Appendix to Session One

The Bible is the Divine-Human Word of God

All of Biblical history finds its goal and meaning in Jesus Christ. The Bible is God’s testimony to Christ. The Bible is a divine-human Word. It is a word given through human beings within their own history and culture. Goldsworthy writes;

“The Bible bears all the marks of its authors. Their language, thought forms, literary styles and forms. Their culture shapes the actual way the messages were given. So, God acted by his Sprit to inspire the biblical authors so that the humanity of the Bible would be exactly what was needed to convey the truth of God without error. When we speak of the Bibles infallibility we mean that it conveys exactly what God intended it to. God does not allow human sinfulness to interfere with his communication of the truth.”[34]

Jesus is the Divine-Human Word of God

Jesus was fully God and fully man. He is the Word incarnate, which means ‘Word in human flesh.’ In Christ we have God who has always been (John 1:1) taking upon himself complete human flesh (John 1:14). This has specific implications on the discipline of Biblical Theology.

a. Jesus is fully God

He comes from the Father with whom he is one. To have seen him is to have seen the Father. God who established every fact there is, and who can interpret all things, has become man. In Jesus we have the absolute truth of God. Everything revealed to us in Jesus is truth, and he is our ultimate source of truth.

b. Jesus is fully man

God communicates to us through his humanity. He lived in history. This means that he spoke, acted, and thought as a first century Jew of Palestine. Being fully human he experienced the full range of human emotions, suffering, and temptation. “The significant exception was that he was untouched by original sin, and committed no sin.”[35] Therefore he lived in perfect harmony with the Father.[36]

Our aim in Biblical Theology is to “see the Lord of the Word in the Word of the Lord”[37] so that we “take account of the full drama of redemption, and its realization in Christ”[38] as the final and definitive installment.

Note: This series comes from the notes of a course I am teaching on Biblical Theology at Calvary Baptist Church. This material is organized similar to Graeme Goldsworthy’s book According to Plan.

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Add comment January 14, 2010

Thoughts on the role of Apologetics in Evangelism

Throughout church history ‘Apologetics’ has been practiced by Christians in order to provide a reason for their faith. There are many occasions where we can trace this activity to the apostles. In Acts Paul defends himself before the mob in Jerusalem (22:1ff), before the Jewish Council (23:1ff), before Felix (24:1ff), and before Festus and Agrippa (Acts 25:1ff). There are also several instances where Paul is recorded ‘reasoning’ with the Jewish leaders. While each of these scenarios provide plenty of material for discussion, I would like to focus on the proper place of apologetic reasoning in evangelism.

Apologetics (‘to give an answer’) finds its meaning from the ancient legal system of the Greeks where a person would attempt to defend themselves against a charge by making a strong apology (apologia), ‘a reasoned case for claiming innocence’. The apology was an attempt to ‘speak off’ the charge given. Furthermore, in classical and Hellenistic-Greek literature the word dialegesthai (translated ‘reason’) mostly means “converse, discussion, and that for Socrates, Plato and Aristotle it means the art of persuasion and demonstration…in the form of question and answer.”[1] This seems to follow the method of Paul in Acts. Longnecker writes;

These accounts “emphasize that Paul’s preaching consisted of both proclamation and persuasion. It was their custom to visit the local synagogue where Paul found a prepared audience to speak of the things of God…It is interesting to note that Paul ‘reasoned’ with them over a span of three days. More than that, Paul “reasoned with them from the scriptures.”[2]

Those around Paul were most likely in search of truth. For the “synagogue was not so much a preaching-house as a school, in which education was carried on by discussion.”[3] This is a good start.

It might help to make a distinction between two words. L. Russ Bush once wrote, “An apology refers to a specific defense whereas apologetics refers to the science of making an apology.”[4] A Christian apologist is simply one who actively seeks to give an answer for the Christian faith. In today’s church there are very few people who are able to make a reasonable defense for their faith. It might be that the church has a whole has failed to adequately train parishioners, or that parishioners have seen the role of providing an ‘apology’ to those labeled ‘apologists’.

Also many Christians are unable “to answer their modern critics”, but find comfort in that fact that they have been “touched in their hearts by the Holy Spirit”[5] and fall back on anti-intellectual faith as their hope. This ‘subjective’ anti-intellectualism stresses the experience of a personal faith rather than a reasoned defense of the content of Christian faith. Is this a Biblical stance?

The Apostle Peter urges the church in his first letter to “always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” In this case it seems that Peter was talking to a group of believers who had been delivered from a pagan background. This being the case- much training would have been needed, and Peter was making this need apparent in his exhortation.

In order to ‘make a defense’ one must understand what it is he/she believes. Also, one must (at the very least) be aware of the basic assumptions of other worldviews. Rosas is correct in stating that there is a positive and negative aspect of the apologetic task, “theological interpretation must take place before any defense can be given. The basic affirmations to be defended must be set forth. Negatively, an apologist must seek to encounter false charges and misconceptions raised by the detractors of the Christian faith, as well as expose weaknesses of their worldviews.”[6] This being said we can turn to the question at hand.

What is the role of apologetics in evangelism? I would agree with Bush here, that while apologetic reasoning is an important aid to evangelism, it is not essential. It might help to clarify why. When we speak of ‘reason’ it is in reference to a mental process. By reasoning we mean, “the ability of the mind to question, challenge, and analyze ideas. We also mean the capacity of the mind to distinguish between viewpoints, and the seemingly inherent assumption of the mind that considers truth to be that which it in fact the case, and the further persuasion that truth is better than non-truth.”[7] In most cases[8] human beings communicate using rational processes.

Now, in the case of Christian evangelism we would argue that a reasonable defense of the faith would be a “set of knowable facts corresponding to biblical claims about nature an about history.”[9] While it is true that the rational mind is capable of being persuaded by truth claims, it is not always the case. Furthermore, we need to be careful is assuming that someone is saved when they make a mental assent to the Gospel facts. “People are not saved merely because they verbalize the truth. They must also believe in their heart (Romans 10:9-10); that is, they must truly find an internal conviction in their soul regarding these matters.”[10] “Not everyone comes to Christ at the end of a logical argument.”[11]

Therefore we need to understand the proper role in Apologetics in evangelism. “The persuader who manipulates is not an evangelist who is making Disciples of Christ”, some are making disciples of themselves.[12] In some cases, those who manipulate only accomplish getting others to confirm their own conclusions. When reasoning with someone you must acknowledge that you “do not perform the spiritual transaction,”[13] it is God who saves. Yet, even if the truth spoken does not succeed in the goal of persuasion, the evangelist should not be disappointed. We are expected to proclaim the gospel, the Apostle Paul argues that “no one can believe if he or she has not heard” (Romans 10:14).

Are their cases where someone has believed and not heard a full apology? Are there cases where someone has heard a full apology of the Gospel message and not received it as that which ‘converts’ the soul? Obviously the answer is yes. “Apologetic arguments cannot generate faith, but the Christian can answer the false charges of the unbeliever so that obstacles to hearing the gospel are removed.”[14] Derek Radney rightly pointed out in a conversation a while back that “human reason is not neutral.” What he means is that our minds, ‘the ability to reason’, have been affected by sin. Not to the extent that it is totally destroyed, which is obvious when we observe the progress made by humanity in the Sciences. But on a spiritual level we are blinded to the truth. This helps us understand the role of apologetics in evangelism. Apologetic reasoning is a battle to tear down the barriers of the natural mind, but it alone cannot generate faith. It is also our defense, as Christians, against allowing ourselves to be influenced by false doctrine. It is thus an important part of spiritual growth and evangelistic persuasion.

Only the regenerate mind and a tender heart can proper conviction of sin, and recognition of the consequences of sin be brought to light. This comes from God’s spirit, and is the true essential for evangelistic persuasion. Therefore, have confidence in God as the sovereign evangelist. Be encouraged while at the same time labor to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.

  1. Dieter Werner Kemmler, Faith and Human Reason, 20.
  2. Richard Longenecker, Acts, 468.
  3. Kemmler, 21-22.
  4. Joseph Rosas, Evangelism and Apologetics, 114.
  5. L. Russ Bush, Christian Apologetics and Intentional Evangelism, 255.
  6. Rosas, 114.
  7. Bush, 256.
  8. I am not implying, for example, that those who are mentally handicapped or unable to communicate for one reason or another are any less human than others. Bush rightly notes that it is the “genetic structure of cells rather than mental performance that is properly used to define” the human species. (256)
  9. Bush, 257.
  10. Bush, 258.
  11. Bush, 259.
  12. Bush, 258.
  13. Bush, 258.
  14. Rosas, 115.

Add comment January 9, 2010

The ‘Gospel Growth = People Growth’ Conference

Recently Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Matthias Media teamed up for a conference titled “Gospel Growth = People Growth.” The idea is simple, “Gospel growth happens in people and through people.” While the idea is simple, the implications are profound for how you do ministry. Here is a paragraph from the conferences website:

“It happens in people. You can have growth in numbers, in budgets, in programs, in activities, in staff, in baptisms, in buildings, in reputation, and even growth in the quality of preaching, but unless individual people are growing in knowledge, in faith, in godliness, and in love as disciples of Christ, it’s all a noisy clanging gong. Are your people really growing? How would you know whether they are or not? Who is discipling each person in your congregation?

Gospel growth also happens through people. Jesus commissioned every disciple for disciple-making, and a pastor-teacher’s job is not only to Proclaim and to Pray but also also to equip, train and mobilize People for the task. Gospel growth multiplies as Christians get involved in the three P’s: in prayerfully speaking God’s word to other people, in whatever way they can, large or small, at home or at work, in small groups or one-to-one. Is this happening where you are? Or is the ministry basically done by the staff? How many people in your congregation, for example, would be willing and able to do the foundational personal discipling work of following up a new believer and establishing them in the basics of the faith?”

I first saw an advertisement for this conference a while back in a magazine and thought, “I hope they publish the audio files online.” Well, they have, so here are links to the audio files from each of the sessions (from their web site);

I encourage you to listen to each of these, as will I. The topics look well worth the investment.

Add comment January 2, 2010

“The New Year, The New Man, and Men Made New” (Luke 3:21-4:13)

“Christ, the true and greater Adam.”

Introduction

Now that Christmas has passed we look ahead to the New Year. The New Year, as a celebration has always been so odd to me. I have yet to see why we, as a people, make such a big deal over it. I was reading Charles Spurgeon recently and he expressed well what I mean;

“There is no real difference between New Years and any other day, yet in our mind and thought it is a marked period, which we regard as one of the milestones set up on the highway of our life.”[2]

New Year’s is celebrated internationally, by people all around the world. It’s a celebration not connected to any specific faith, sub-cultural tradition, or specific people group. Although ‘New years’ may be celebrated on different days in different cultures. It is a shared human experience. One of the reasons a New Year is such significant event, a milestone for us, is because we as humans (corporately) share in this moment together.

It’s almost as if we celebrate the coming of a new year in the same way we would our own birthday. In that sense, the New Year represents another ‘birthday’ in the life of humanity. – It’s a marker in our history as a people.

The coming of each New Year comes not only with a sense of anticipation, but also of reflection on the events that will be added to our history as a people. As you read the paper, listen to the radio, watch tv, and browse the internet over the next few days you will undoubtedly see and hear “year end reviews”, “the top stories of this past year”, and other reflections on the past years events. These reports always have a mixture of the good and the bad. As we reflect on the past year, and what has happened in the human family there are stories that give us a sense of honor, and there are the stories that give us a sense of shame.

  1. We are reminded of evil actions that cause us to mourn when human life has been abused or taken maliciously.
  2. We have stories that give us a sense of honor when we are reminded of the heroic efforts of our fellow man to bring about good to this neighbor.
  3. We reflect on stories that make us cringe at the thought that another person, just like you and I, could do such horrible things- have such evil motives.
  4. We also have joyful stories that serve as positive examples of human ingenuity to overcome obstacles and do what was thought to be impossible.
  5. We have also seen many those we uphold in our culture as heroes fail morally over this past year.

This if anything, causes us to ask one simple yet profound question about us, as human beings. How is it that mankind can in one moment exhibit such qualities of goodness towards others, and in another perform completely unjust acts of cruelty? We are faced with the awful reality that human history is marked by both good and evil, I believe this exposes the great “human paradox.”[3] The human race, as a whole, is very inconsistent – This tells us that something is not right. Things don’t seem to be as they should. The reality of such inconsistency at the very least reveals a great underlying problem.

Now, as Christians we understand that this underlying problem, this inconsistency with the whole of the human race finds its origins in the fall of man in Genesis.

The Christian Explanation of Such Origins

We understand from the beginning that Adam, the first son of God, was the first man created by God’s caring hand. Logically, from Adam and Eve, all of the human race would descend – so, in a larger sense we are all brothers and sisters in the human family. Therefore our history is a shared history- it’s our story. Adam was the first head of the human race, the first son, this was a pivotal role. Adam, the son of God, was tested in his obedience too his Father and Creator in the garden, and he turned his back on God, and sinned. What we cannot miss is that Adam represented all of those who would come from him.[4] He held the destiny of all his descendants in his hands. So, when Adam sinned, he ushered in sin, which cut all of humanity off from our relationship to God which brought condemnation to all. Sin also brought devastating effects on our relationships to one another, and had catastrophic effects on all of creation.

From this, we understand why the world is as it is. But we cannot forget that God, in his sovereign plan for human history, had greater plans for the redemption of mankind. There would be a new man, who would be one of us, “a greater son than Adam”, but who would also be one with God. While human history is marked with sin, inconstancy, and destruction – there is one man who can redeem us, and creation, from all that has gone wrong. This is where we pick up in Luke. Over the past few weeks during the Christmas season, many have studied the Birth of Christ, the beauty of this story is that it is only the beginning of the significance of Christ.

The Genealogy of Jesus (Luke 3:23-38)

One of the things that’s often overlooked when reading through a Gospel is that there is a close connection between the audience and how the author structures the account. Remember that “the Bible bears all the marks of its authors. Their language, thought forms, literary styles and forms, and their culture shape the actual way the messages were given.”[5] In other words, when reading these accounts we must acknowledge that there is meaning in how these accounts are presented.

In our day, genealogies do not play such a pivotal role in our understanding ‘who we are’ as individuals. But, ancient societies were organized around family; therefore it was important for every one to know their ancestral lineage, their pedigree. For ancient people ones heritage was very important to their identity. Lineage was important for several reasons;

  1. Such “family trees” determined a person’s role social relationships. In other words, a genealogy shows who a particular person identifies with. This serves a crucial function in determining membership to a specific kinship group.
  2. Also, Kings and rulers used genealogies to justify their power, rank, and status. Another way of saying this is that one’s lineage was proof of one’s inheritance. Lineage indicates the rights of an inherited status.

You will notice that if you turn to Matthew, he places the genealogy at the beginning of his gospel account. Yet Luke places it right here in the middle of the gospel narrative – which seems a bit odd. What’s going on here? Well, notice where Luke places Jesus’ genealogy, it is ‘right in the middle of two very significant events in Jesus life’. He does this for a specific purpose. (Click Here for a brief treatment on the differences in Matthew and Luke’s genealogy.)

What comes before the genealogy? – Jesus baptism. In the account of Jesus baptism (3:21-22), “a voice from heaven”, being God, says “you are my beloved Son.” – The point, “Jesus stands alone as the designated son of God.” After pointed out this divine affirmation, that Jesus is the Son of God; Luke interrupts the progression of the story. In 3:38, Luke breaks into the narrative with Jesus’ genealogy.

I want you to take notice of something very important in this genealogy. Notice who the Luke traces Jesus lineage back to, he goes back to the beginning with Adam. In 3:38 Jesus is shown to come from “the son of Adam, the son of God.” Now, one of the overarching themes in Luke’s gospel account is to demonstrate that the gospel message is “for all people.” What is Luke saying here in the genealogy?

Luke was showing us that while Jesus stands alone as the designated Son of God (baptism), ‘Jesus also stands with us, the entire human race, as being truly human family.’ Now, why does this matter? Well, we know from the account of the fall that Adam and Eve were tempted. Behind these efforts stood the devil, enticing Adam and Eve to turn from God. This is the same devil “who now steps out from behind the curtain for a direct confrontation”[6] with Jesus. Moving from the genealogy to the temptation is intentional. Jesus stands not only as human with us, but for us. Where Adam was counted as the head of humanity, Christ now stands as the head of a ‘new humanity.’

Luke’s primary focus is on Jesus as the “Son” who will be obedient in a way that all others, starting with Adam- have not been. With that knowledge there is a sense of victory as we move into the temptation accounts and watch this cosmic drama unfold. As our commander and chief straps on a helmet, comes down from the high office and jumps in the trenches of war.[7]

The Temptation of Christ – Luke 4:1-13

a. The Temptation to Doubt God’s Provision (4:3-4)

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. (The verb tense ‘being tempted’ indicates that Jesus was tempted during the whole forty day fast. What we see here is the culmination of the whole drama!) And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. (Notice here, the forty day fast is up. So its not that the devil is attempting to make Jesus break his fast, he is going after him at his ‘weakest’ human physical point.[8]) The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone”

The ingredients of the setting are important. Jesus’ fasting has most likely resulted in near starvation, so his immediate need is obvious, food. Notice the Devils words; “if you are the Son of God” provide food for yourself. The devil is not denying that Jesus is the son of God, but is exploiting this status by urging Jesus to use his power in a way that is against the will of the Father. But remember, it was God’s Spirit that led Jesus into the wilderness, and it is God who will sustain him. Satan’s proposal was simple, “Jesus, provide food for yourself by miraculously turning this stone into bread.” In order for Jesus to have done this, he would have to turn from God’s provision and protection. Jesus reply is simple, human livelihood consists of more than the mere meeting of daily needs.

Jesus quotation of Deuteronomy is very instructive here. This passage was a call to Israel to have faith that God will remain faithful to his promises. In Exodus 4:23 Israel is also called “God’s Son.” (The designation given to Adam, and Christ) After Pharaoh had let the Israelites go, God led them in the wilderness for 40 years. “In this context God reminds the Israelites that, through feeding them supernaturally on manna, [He was showing them His] ability to supply nourishment”[9] in His own ways. The parallels are here are striking as we reflect back to Adam the first son. Adam, the first son, “like Christ, was our representative; what he did affected all of us.”[10] So, Adam’s failure in the test of the garden points us towards the hope of Christ’s temptation in the wilderness. Let me explain the contrast;

  • In the garden we have Adam who had not fasted at all and had plenty at his disposal, while Jesus had suffered a lack for forty days.
  • Adam could eat from any tree in the garden but one, Jesus was denying himself all food – and had none in this wilderness setting.
  • Adam was in paradise with an abundance of food and resources, Jesus in the barren wilderness.

If environment was the determining factor in overcoming temptation, Jesus was seemingly at a great disadvantage from our perspective. But Jesus is the true and greater son, and this temptation was endured because he fully trusted in God’s  provision and care. What God’s son Adam had failed to do, what God’s son Israel had failed to do, Christ accomplished.

Jesus is the true and greater son of God, the ‘new man.’ Through his obedience where Adam failed, Jesus conquered.

b. The Temptation to Rule Apart from God’s Plan (4:5-8)

The second temptation begins with a glimpse of all the kingdoms of the world. Jesus is given a perspective from above- which allows him to see a great expanse of territory. In this territory Jesus was able to view all the inhabited earth, and all earthly power was presented to Jesus.

And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written,

“You shall worship the Lord your God,
and him only shall you serve.”

Remember that Jesus is fasting, this is a time when he has nothing to his disposal, and Satan shows up and offers him everything. Satan’s words are emphatic; “Look, Jesus, at what can be yours! All earthly kingdoms under my authority can be yours!’ – just bow down and worship me! – It’s that simple!” In this temptation, Satan was calling Christ to seize all power apart from God’s plan. But, Jesus knew that there was only one source that could make this offer, and it was not Satan. See, whatever the devil exercises is that which is allowed him by God; he can only delegate to Jesus what has already been delegated to him. This attempt was in many ways, an exaggerated offer, an oversell.

Jesus responds by quoting Deuteronomy, these words refer back to Israel’s failure in the wilderness when they began worshiping idols. Where ‘God’s son’ Israel failed, the greater Son Jesus will succeed. The parallel to the temptation in the garden is also striking. “Adam had been given dominion over the world by God…Yet Satan suggested that greater dominion was possible.” They could become like God! Now, if Adam and Eve had not been blinded by their own desires, they would have questioned the authority of the serpent to make such promises. But by obeying the evil one our parents aligned themselves with Satan, and against God. But Jesus’ desires were one in the same with His Father’s. And Jesus replies that God alone is worthy of allegiance. While Satan’s temptation was an attempt to break the Son’s relationship to the Father, Christ shows us that they are perfectly aligned. It’s beautiful to consider the cost here.

  • Satan offered Jesus the kingdoms of the world by simply bowing down to him, so simple.
  • But Jesus knew that the only way to gain the power and authority of all kingdoms was to endure the lashes of death, to endure the torture of the cross.
  • Jesus knew that he would be exalted in the highest once he consumed the wrath of God for all of us who are now in God’s family. Thank God that Jesus remained faithful, where Adam failed.

Jesus is the true and greater son of God, the ‘new man.’ Through his obedience where Adam failed, Jesus conquered.

c. The Temptation to Test God’s Protection (4:9-12)

This third temptation involves another vision-like experience. Satan takes Jesus to the temples pinnacle in Jerusalem, which is a place that, if he were to jump over the edge, it would take miraculous protection for him to emerge from the fall alive.

And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written,

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to guard you,’

and

“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Notice the devils request, again, “if you, Jesus, are truly the Son, cast yourself down.” The devil is attempting to convince Jesus to make a “flashy display of his power to prove that he is truly the Son of God.” In this attempt Satan is quoting 91, and asking Jesus to fulfill it right there, on the spot. What’s interesting is that Psalm 91 is addressed to those “who live in the shelter of the most high.” The temple is a significant place for this test. For the Semitic Jews, the temple was a location that embodied God’s shelter. It is a place of refuge and protection.

Simply put, Satan is asking Jesus to step out from under God’s shelter and jump to see if God will actually protect him. This would be a move to confirm his position as God’s son. Citing Deuteronomy Jesus refuses to jump. This passage in Deuteronomy was a reminder to Gods son Israel, as it entered into the promise land. In Exodus we read that Israel complained that they never should have left Egypt to wander in the wilderness for 40 years- in the wilderness they began to doubt God. While in doubt the Israelites began asking God to “prove himself,’ to show that he could be relied upon.

Satan was proposing that Jesus say to God, “In order to prove that I am your beloved Son I will place you in a situation where you must prove it.” Jesus refused; God had already proclaimed that Jesus was his son in his baptism, and Jesus was fully confident in that promise. Rest on that promise he did, it was what empowered Him to endure the torture of the cross. Once again, notice the contrast to that of Adam in the garden. In the temptation account Satan calls Adam and Eve to doubt God’s word. Satan tells them that if they eat of the fruit, they will “surely not die.” In a way, Adam and Eve tested God’s faithfulness by eating of the tree. “Satan wanted Christ to challenge God’s faithfulness in a much less direct way…[Think about it] There would be no other reason to leap from the temple roof except to determine once and for all, whether God would keep his promise.”

“To Adam and Eve, Satan said eat, you will surly not die- for God has lied to you. To Christ he said, jump, you will surely not die- unless God has lied to you.”[11]

Yet again, where Adam failed Christ conquered.

Jesus is the true and greater son of God, the ‘new man.’ Through his obedience where Adam failed, Jesus has overcome. Furthermore, He is the only one who is able to bring us back into fellowship with God, and sustain us as ‘men made new.’

Application

These are glorious truths about Christ, but some of you are probably asking – how does this affect me? What I am I to do with such truths? Well, you and I are part of the human family- born into Adam’s lineage. While the events in our lives may never make the national stage as events that marked this past year, our faults and battles are very real. When we examine our lives – our failure, our faults, the inappropriate way we have responded in certain situations;

We know deep down inside that something is not right, that we are not right. Things don’t seem to be as they should, and we often fail to respond as we should. – See being born in the line of Adam we are “spring-loaded for evil.”[12]

  • Let me assure you that there will be times in the coming year when you doubt God’s provision.
  • There will be hard situations when you seek to assert your own control over circumstances, and fail to trust in God, and his plans.
  • There will be times when you are also tempted to doubt that God actually cares about you, and you find it hard to hold on to hope.

But your failure, our failure, is not the end of the story. See, Christ not only conquered where Adam failed. He conquered where all of Adams descendants have failed and will fail. When you place your faith in Christ you are adopted in to his family, you are adopted into the family of God.

  • As a Christian your family tree becomes a cross, where your sin and shame were paid in full.
  • As a Christian, you can have the hope that your family grave is empty. That’s a promise from your Father.
  • As a Christian you know that one day things will be as they should. Christ brings us back into fellowship with our Father, where Adam locked us out. – A place free of sin, death, disease, disaster, failure, and ten thousand other things that make this life the hard battle it is.

So I call you to wage war against the doubt of God. Fight to trust in the promises of God. And know that Jesus, cares for you deeply, as Hebrews 2:18 tells us;

“Because He himself has suffered when tempted, and is able to help those when they are tempted.”

And even when you fail, know that Christ has succeeded, and will stand as your representative before the Father. Let me remind you of two promises concerning this matter from Scripture;

Romans 5;

“Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”

1 Corinthians 15

“For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”

Oh church, Believe and continue to believe that Christ is the ‘New Man’, and in Him, ‘Men are Made New.’

Closing Prayer

Father, we thank you for your perfect Son, who conquered sin and death knowing that He held the destiny of all your children in his hands.

  • Father, there may be some in this room who are still under the curse of Adam. I pray that you would move in their hearts right now and adopt them into your family.
  • Father, there are also many of your children in here right now who have had a horrible year, and worry about what this next year brings. I pray that you would lovingly comfort them right now with your Spirit to know that despite the reality of our sufferings, you love and care for us.
  • Father, there are also many of your children here that are surrounded in comfort and have lost the blazing heart of worship that you alone deserve. I pray that you would begin to show them where they have placed their hope and trust, how those things will fail, and how you alone are worthy of our allegiance.

We know that the book of Luke was written long ago to sustain our brother in Christ Theophilus, that he “may have certainty concerning the things he had been taught.” I pray that you would grant us with that same certainty here today, as we rest in the promise of salvation through Jesus Christ, the new man. And let us live now, ‘as men made new.’

Amen.

  1. Isaiah 40:8
  2. Charles Spurgeon, A Sermon for New Year’s Day, 1885.
  3. Will Metzger, Tell the Truth.
  4. Edmund Clowney, The Unfolding Mystery.
  5. Graeme Goldsworthy, According to Plan.
  6. Darrell Bock, Luke.
  7. John Piper used this analogy in his sermon “Christ in Combat: Defense by the Spirit” on Luke 4:1-14.
  8. Timothy Keller points this out in his sermon “The First Temptation of Christ” on Luke 2:34-35; 4:1-13.
  9. Geerhardus Vos, Biblical Theology.
  10. Anthony Hoekema, Created in God’s Image.
  11. Edmund Clowney, The Unfolding Mystery.
  12. Thomas Schreiner, New Testament Theology.

I also benefited greatly from the following commentaries on Luke’s gospel;

  • Joel Green, Luke
  • Leon Morris, Luke
  • Walter L. Liefeld, Luke

Note: This is the edited manuscript of a sermon I preached at Calvary Baptist Church on December 27th.

Add comment December 29, 2009

Review of Jim Belcher’s ‘Deep Church’ – Part 3

Note: In this three part series I have devoted two posts to summarizing Part 1 and Part 2 of Jim Belcher’s book Deep Church. In this post I offer some concluding thoughts.

Whenever a book review was assigned in seminary I would search for previously written book reviews to help me process the ideas presented in the book. Conversing with other thinkers on theological works has always been a high priority in my study habits, whether in conversation or in reading others thoughts. In preparation for presenting my thoughts on Deep Church I read reviews by Kevin DeYoung, Greg Gilbert, Steve McCoy, Scott Armstrong. I have posted some of their comments in the footnotes.

Let me start off by saying that the main desire that prompted Belcher to write this book is obvious, to see a ecumenical movement develop between those in the emerging church and those in the traditional camps, the vision is for “Christian unity, civility, and the desire for the church to move beyond the in-fighting to powerful mission in the world.”[1] I appreciate Belcher’s honesty and thoughtfulness in considering the possibility of such unity. I am glad that Belcher makes it clear that he rejects the most tragic theological flaws of some of the leaders in the emerging movement. This is where I doubt whether or not such unity is possible. When it comes to the ‘emergent’ camp I cannot see unity as a possibility when some of them are abandoning the essential doctrines of the Christian faith. Sure, some of these are hard doctrines but the implications of rejecting such biblical truths not only cross the line into heresy, but also have massive implications on these churches as a whole. Belcher’s account of the meeting between Piper, Jones, and Pagitt serves to illustrate the point.[2]

With that said, I do think that Belcher offers some very helpful thoughts on ‘points of dialogue’ between the emerging and traditional camps. I agree with Belcher when he writes that we can learn from others even when we disagree with them. It’s funny, as I read blogs and reviews of the book I think Belcher has accomplished what he set out to do, which is provide conversation points for discussion.

Let me stick to the issues that have brought ‘controversy’ to discussions on this book. Belcher has caught some criticism on his definition of the ‘gospel.’ Here is his definition;

“The “gospel” is the good news that through Jesus, the Messiah, the power of God’s kingdom has entered history to renew the whole world. Through the Savior God has established his reign. When we believe and rely on Jesus’ work and record (rather than ours) for our relationship to God, that kingdom power comes upon us and begins to work through us. We witness the radical new way of living by our renewed lives, beautiful community, social justice, and cultural transformation. This good news brings new life. The gospel motivates, guides, and empowers every aspect of our living and worship (121).[3]“

What I believe Belcher has done in his definition is attempt to ‘bridge the gap’ between the individual and corporate aspects of the gospel. In order to fully understand why Belcher expands his definition of the gospel beyond its individual aspects read Tim Keller’s article “The Gospel in All its Forms.”[4] In this article Keller writes that many have focused too much on the “simple gospel.” (The ABC’s of salvation)

“There are today at least two criticisms of this simple formulation. Many say that it is too individualistic, that Christ’s salvation is not so much to bring individual happiness as to bring peace, justice, and a new creation. A second criticism is that there is no one “simple gospel” because “everything is contextual” and the Bible itself contains many gospel presentations that exist in tension with each other.”

This not only helps one understand why Belcher expands his definition of the gospel, that the Good News is not only the forgiveness of sins but the promise and hope for new-creation, but also why he writes of “contextualizing the gospel for his community.” I think Belcher is saying here that Christians are to live as ‘Kingdom people’ in their communities. Therefore, the community that one seeks to penetrate with the gospel often shapes how the gospel is presented in ‘word and deed’. It’s not that the gospel message is changed, but the message is contextualized for that specific place, time, and people. There are different nuances to how people communicate physically and verbally in different cultures; these factors must be considered when one wants to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Belcher recently wrote in an interview;

“When you study Paul’s missionary journeys in Acts you see that he preached the gospel very differently to the Jews than he did to Gentiles. He presented the message differently in the cities than the small towns. He was contextualizing the Gospel…my former professor John Frame says, “Should we, then, preach in Hebrew, or Greek, or Serbo-Croatian? Should we make the gospel as obscure as possible so as to avoid catering to fallen pride? Should we present it as something irrational, in order to maintain the offense of the cross? Perhaps we should not preach at all, in order to let God do the work.” Of course Frame is using some rhetorical hyperbole but the point is that Paul thought we needed to “translate” the message to each unique audience. I think that it is what we are called to do.”

Belcher is exactly right when he says that the deepest division between the emergent church and evangelicalism is about the gospel itself. The gospel is where we find unity as believers, but if different groups cannot agree on the essentials on that message – unity is not possible in the greater sense.

I am on the same page with Steve McCoy, he says that Deep Church resonated with him in a personal way. I encourage all pastors and church leaders to read this book. While you may not agree with every single detail or thought, its wonderful to ‘walk alongside’ Belcher as he wrestles with these issues himself.

Belcher provides an excellent analysis of the main issues being considered by the next generation of church leaders. While I doubt that the ideal ‘deep church’ Belcher longs for is possible theologically for the Church. I will say that this book could serve as a catalyst to help us as Christians have deeper dialogue among the Church as a whole. Also, many of these principles will challenge you to think different about ‘how’ you are doing ministry in your own context.

Click here for Part 1 and Part 2 of my review.

  1. http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2009/11/30/a-conversation-about-deep-church/
  2. I agree with Gilbert when he writes, “Piper is right: To reject the idea of Jesus dying in the place of sinners, taking their punishment on himself for their sins, is to reject the gospel” totally.
  3. DeYoung notes that Belcher leaves out sin, the cross, and the resurrection. These “three items give no specific mention in Belcher’s definition of the gospel. This is a problem.” I think he is right to point this out.
  4. In this article Tim Keller defines the gospel as follows; “Through the person and work of Jesus Christ, God fully accomplishes salvation for us, rescuing us from judgment for sin into fellowship with him, and then restores the creation in which we can enjoy our new life together with him forever.”

Add comment December 29, 2009

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