Blog https://www.gcclascruces.com Thu, 28 Mar 2024 17:22:23 -0400 http://churchplantmedia.com/ Water Baptism | Stephen J. Wellum https://www.gcclascruces.com/blog/post/water-baptism-stephen-j-wellum https://www.gcclascruces.com/blog/post/water-baptism-stephen-j-wellum#comments Wed, 01 Nov 2023 13:32:59 -0400 https://www.gcclascruces.com/blog/post/water-baptism-stephen-j-wellum

DEFINITION

Water baptism is an ordinance or sacrament instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ, to be practiced until the end of the age, which signifies a believer’s union with Christ in his life, death, burial, and resurrection, and one’s membership in the church, God’s new covenant people.

SUMMARY

This article will discuss the importance of water baptism as an ordinance or sacrament of the church. After discussing different views of baptism within historical theology, it will turn to what the New Testament says is the meaning and significance of baptism. The article will conclude on a couple of reflections of where evangelicals agree and disagree on the meaning of baptism.

Christian Baptism is one of the two ordinances or sacraments which our Lord Jesus Christ, the head of the church, has instituted for the church’s life and health, until the end of the age. As such, water baptism is to be practiced today in obedience to his command (Matt. 28:18-20).

In Scripture, the purpose of baptism is at least twofold: a sign of initiation and entrance into the church, which should precede one’s participation in the Lord’s Supper, and a declaration of faith and surrender to Christ’s lordship. The New Testament does not know of a Christian who is also not baptized. Evidence for this is found in the book of Acts. From Pentecost on, everyone who believed the gospel was baptized, thus publicly testifying of their faith in Christ (Acts 2:41; 8:12-13, 36-39; 9:17-18; 10:47-48; 16:14-15, 31-33; 18:8; 19:5). The church fails in her calling when she does not make disciples, by baptizing them and instructing them in the truth of the gospel.

But a legitimate question arises: What exactly is baptism? Anyone familiar with historical theology knows that disagreements over the meaning of baptism, its proper subjects, and its mode have a long history. Given these debates, we must not relegate baptism to a secondary issue. Baptism is commanded by our Lord and is a visible proclamation of the gospel. Also, underneath baptismal debates are crucial biblical-theological issues. Baptismal polemics reflect entire theological systems. They function as test cases for how one puts together the Bible, especially how one understands the nature of salvation and the relationships between the biblical covenants. Before we describe the basic meaning of water baptism, let’s first describe a spectrum of views regarding it, with some views being more consistent with the gospel than others.

Views of Water Baptism

First, there is the sacramental view of baptism reflected by Roman Catholicism. This view argues that the act of baptism regenerates the person being baptized from spiritual death to life (infants and adults), even apart from faith in Christ (ex opere operato, “by the work performed”), and it’s necessary for our salvation. The act of baptism removes the person’s original sin, makes them spiritually alive by the infusion of grace that begins the transforming process of making a person righteous. In this view, Christ has given authority to the church and her officers to effect saving grace in people through the administration of the sacraments, beginning in baptism and culminating in extreme unction.

A weaker sacramental view is taught by Lutheranism. Similar to Roman Catholicism, Lutherans argue that baptism regenerates a person, yet they insist that faith is necessary for God to justify the person who is baptized. Lutherans do not speak of an infused grace in the act of baptism; rather, by Word and sacrament God creates faith in the individual and makes them a living member of Christ’s church. For Lutherans, the subjects of baptism fall into two groups: believers who have come to faith in Christ, and infants, in whom God mysteriously creates an unconscious faith which they later confirm as they reach an age of maturity. Yet, in both cases, faith is present in the regenerative act of baptism and our justification before God.

Second, there is the covenantal view of baptism reflected by Reformed, covenant theology. This view denies that baptism is regenerative and that it’s effective in an ex opere operato way. Instead, baptism, which, under the new covenant replaces circumcision as a covenant sign, is similar to circumcision in what both signify. Both signify God’s “sign and seal” of his covenant promises that those who believe the gospel will be justified. Baptism objectively brings a person (infants and adults) into the visible church, at least, in the case of infants, in the sense that they are “in” the covenant, but not necessarily “of” it. Baptism does not effect a saving union in itself. It’s only by God’s grace, the Spirit making us alive and granting us faith and repentance, that we experience true salvation—the reality to which baptism points. That is why, parallel to the Old Testament, even if infants are baptized under the new covenant and considered covenant members, they are only truly the elect (and part of the invisible church) if they exercise saving faith in Christ.

Third, there is the view of believers’ baptism as reflected in Baptist and the believers’ church tradition. In agreement with the covenant view, this view denies that baptism is regenerative and necessary for salvation. Yet, unlike the covenant view, baptism is only to be applied to believers. Baptism is not merely a sign and seal of God’s promises that anticipates one’s faith in Christ. Instead, baptism is an outward sign of an inward spiritual reality that the believer has already experienced by faith in Christ. Baptism, in contrast to circumcision, does not point forward to the need for a circumcision of the heart. Rather, baptism is a new covenant sign that communicates the grace of God to those who have been regenerated and thus have faith in Christ. Baptism is a public testimony that one has entered into faith union with Christ, and it marks and defines those who believe in Christ. That is why baptism is only to be applied to those who confess Jesus as Lord, who have experienced his power, who are, by faith and spiritual rebirth, Abraham’s true spiritual seed. Baptism is a new covenant rite for the new covenant people of God.

Meaning and Significance of Water Baptism

Much could be written regarding the meaning and significance of baptism. Moreover, it’s at this point that major differences surface between baptismal views. However, let’s think through what baptism is by unpacking four truths, which must be affirmed to be true to the New Testament teaching.

First, baptism is one of the primary means God has given the church to declare publicly our faith in Christ as Lord and Savior. Is this not part of what is going on at Pentecost in Peter’s exhortation to the people who cry from their hearts, “What shall we do?” (Acts 2:37)? Peter has just demonstrated that the coming of the Spirit in power is evidence that redemption has been accomplished; that Jesus is Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36); and that the promised new age from the Old Testament has now finally arrived (Joel 2:28-32; Ezek. 36:25-27; Jer. 31:31-34). What response is necessary from the people? It is repentance and baptism, administered in the name of Jesus, signifying a person’s submission to Christ as Lord (Acts 2:38). This truth is important, especially today when altar calls, confirmation, public rallies, and so on, have taken the place of baptism in our public confession of Christ. Baptism beautifully and powerfully pictures our submission to Christ and the truth of the gospel, which no subsequent church rite can replace.

Second, central to the meaning of Christian baptism, in contrast to Jewish proselyte baptism or John’s baptism, is that it signifies a believer’s union with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection (Rom. 6:3-7; Col. 2:11-12) and all the benefits that are entailed by that union. For this reason, in the New Testament baptism is regarded as an outward sign that signifies an inward reality, namely that a believer has entered into the realities of the new covenant that Jesus inaugurated and sealed with his own blood on the cross. As such, when received in faith, baptism signifies Spirit-wrought regeneration (Titus 3:5), inward cleansing, renewal, and forgiveness of sins (Acts 22:16; 1Cor. 6:11; Eph. 5:25-27), and the abiding presence of the Spirit as God’s seal testifying and guaranteeing that the believer will permanently be kept secure in Christ (1Cor. 12:13; Eph. 1:13-14). In fact, so close is the association between baptism and new covenant blessings in Christ, many have argued that in the New Testament, baptism functions by metonymy for the entire conversion experience.

For example, in Galatians 3:26-27, Paul can say: “For in Christ Jesus, you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” The language of “putting on” Christ refers to our union with him. But note how Paul can ascribe union with Christ both to faith (v. 26) and to baptism (v. 27). He does so, not by affirming an ex opere operato view of baptism, since Paul is referring to people who have repented of their sins and believed in Christ. It’s only the truly converted who have put on Christ. But, by metonymy, baptism can stand for conversion, and thus an outward sign that signifies this fact.

We find something similar in Romans 6:1-4. Paul sees water baptism as uniting the believer to Christ in his redemptive acts—his life, death, burial, and resurrection. No doubt, in this text, Paul is not primarily giving a theological explanation of the nature of baptism. Instead, Paul is concerned to rebut the charge that the believer should “remain in sin” to highlight grace. He uses the language of “realm transfer” to show how inconceivable this suggestion is. Christians, Paul insists, have “died to sin” (v. 2b) and thus are no longer “in Adam” but are “in Christ.” Yet, Paul can say that this realm transfer occurred in our baptism (v. 3), by which we were united to Christ. Again, Paul is not affirming that the act of baptism unites us to Christ apart from faith. Rather, as in Galatians 3:26-27, baptism is shorthand for our entire conversion experience. By itself, baptism does not effect regeneration, nor is it even necessary for salvation. In the New Testament  baptism always assumes faith for its validity, and true saving faith leads to being baptized although faith and baptism do not enjoy the same logical status of necessity (cf. Eph. 4:5; 1Pet. 3:21).

Third, water baptism signifies a believer’s entrance into the church. In Galatians 3:27-28, for example, Paul can immediately move from “putting on” Christ in baptism to how we are one in Christ’ body. Or in Ephesians 4:22-25, Paul can use the baptismal imagery of “putting on” and “putting off” to speak of the kind of behavior we should have as individuals and as “members of one body” (v. 25), certainly a reference to the church. Baptism, then, is the defining mark of belonging, as well as a demarcation from the world (cf. Acts 2:40-41). Thus, in baptism, not only does Christ appropriate to himself the one who is baptized in his name and incorporate him into his body, but the person who is baptized also openly identifies with the Lord and his people.

Fourth, water baptism is a promise and glorious anticipation of the fact that all things will be consummated by Christ. Although there are a number of questions surrounding John’s baptism, one thing is clear: John’s baptism was an eschatological ceremony, anticipating the coming of the Messiah, the kingdom of God, and the entire new covenant era. Christian baptism is also eschatological, but, in contrast to John’s baptism, what John anticipated and pointed to, has now come in Christ. Christian baptism, then, signifies that the believer has entered into the dawning of the new creation and the new covenant due to our union in Christ. This is why Paul can say: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come” (2Cor. 5:17). As such, water baptism looks backwards and forwards: backwards to the inauguration of the new age in Christ’s first coming, and forward to the consummation at his return. By baptism, we participate in these realities. In truth, baptism is our entry into the eschatological order of the new creation that we now experience due to our covenantal union with Christ and being sealed with the Spirit for the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30).

Agreement and Disagreement on Baptism

Certainly more could be said regarding the meaning and significance of baptism, but these four truths highlight much of the New Testament ’s teaching regarding it. Evangelicals across a wide spectrum of denominational affiliation should agree on these basic points. For example, we ought to agree that every Christian should be baptized in obedience to God; that baptism is the sign of the gospel realities of union with Christ and all the benefits of new covenant; that baptism is tied to our incorporation into the church; and that the act of baptism, against the ex opere operato view of Roman Catholicism, does not regenerate. Instead, baptism is effective only by grace alone, through faith alone, and in Christ alone.

However, a point of division still remains, especially between the covenantal and believer’s baptism view. Since baptism is not effective apart from faith, why should we baptize infants? Obviously, the divide over this issue is vast and a resolution of it is probably not forthcoming soon, and the reason why is important. Ultimately, the dispute is not over a few texts, but entire biblical-theological arguments, especially one’s view of the relationship between the covenants.

Those who advocate infant (paedo)baptism admit that although there is no explicit command in the New Testament to baptize infants, the practice is still warranted. Why? For the following reason: (1) There is an essential continuity of “the covenant of grace” from Abraham to Christ. (2) Since infants were included in the old covenant by circumcision as an outward sign of entrance into the covenant community, and baptism has replaced circumcision in the new covenant, then believing parents are required to administer baptism to their children. (3) In the old covenant, circumcision did not entail that the child was one of the elect; they still needed to exercise faith to know their election. So in the new covenant, baptism does not guarantee that children are the elect, but it’s still required to administer the covenant sign to them prior to faith. (4) Support for the practice of baptizing infants is found in the household baptisms in the New Testament.

On the other side, those who affirm a believers’ baptism argue the following: (1) Baptism is only effectual by faith in Christ, hence the New Testament pattern of the proclamation of the gospel, conversion, and then baptism of believers. (2) No doubt there is continuity between the old and new covenants due to the one plan of God, but there is also a lot of discontinuity as well. For example, under the old covenant, there is necessarily a distinction between the locus of the covenant community and the locus of the elect, with circumcision being the sign of the former. Yet, under the new covenant this distinction has been removed. By definition, those who are in the new covenant are those who have had God’s law written on their hearts, been born of the Spirit and forgiven of their sins (Jer. 31:31-34), and as such, the church, as God’s new covenant people is a regenerate community. This truth suggests that baptism, as the sign of the new covenant, is only to be applied to those who are in the new covenant, i.e., believers. (3) Circumcision, under the Abrahamic and old covenants do not signify the same realities as baptism does under the new covenant. (4) The examples of household baptisms are arguments from silence and they fail to see the covenantal distinctions between the old and the new. In fact, when we look at the examples closely, we see that in a number of them there are indications of saving faith on the part of all those baptized.

So where does this leave us? It leaves us with honest discussion about the differences among us but also emphasizing what unites us in the gospel. No doubt, infant and believers’ views of baptism are not simultaneously right, and given the importance of baptism the establishment of local churches and denominations that teach one of the views to the exclusion of the other is necessary, given our commitment to biblical authority. Yet, we must also never lose sight of what unites us. We have to find ways of showing our unity in Christ while not downplaying our differences. In fact, we must find unity in that to which baptism points, namely the glory of Christ and the truth of the gospel of God’s sovereign grace. Despite ongoing differences, more than anything else, this is what must captivate our thinking, our lives, and our churches.



]]>

DEFINITION

Water baptism is an ordinance or sacrament instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ, to be practiced until the end of the age, which signifies a believer’s union with Christ in his life, death, burial, and resurrection, and one’s membership in the church, God’s new covenant people.

SUMMARY

This article will discuss the importance of water baptism as an ordinance or sacrament of the church. After discussing different views of baptism within historical theology, it will turn to what the New Testament says is the meaning and significance of baptism. The article will conclude on a couple of reflections of where evangelicals agree and disagree on the meaning of baptism.

Christian Baptism is one of the two ordinances or sacraments which our Lord Jesus Christ, the head of the church, has instituted for the church’s life and health, until the end of the age. As such, water baptism is to be practiced today in obedience to his command (Matt. 28:18-20).

In Scripture, the purpose of baptism is at least twofold: a sign of initiation and entrance into the church, which should precede one’s participation in the Lord’s Supper, and a declaration of faith and surrender to Christ’s lordship. The New Testament does not know of a Christian who is also not baptized. Evidence for this is found in the book of Acts. From Pentecost on, everyone who believed the gospel was baptized, thus publicly testifying of their faith in Christ (Acts 2:41; 8:12-13, 36-39; 9:17-18; 10:47-48; 16:14-15, 31-33; 18:8; 19:5). The church fails in her calling when she does not make disciples, by baptizing them and instructing them in the truth of the gospel.

But a legitimate question arises: What exactly is baptism? Anyone familiar with historical theology knows that disagreements over the meaning of baptism, its proper subjects, and its mode have a long history. Given these debates, we must not relegate baptism to a secondary issue. Baptism is commanded by our Lord and is a visible proclamation of the gospel. Also, underneath baptismal debates are crucial biblical-theological issues. Baptismal polemics reflect entire theological systems. They function as test cases for how one puts together the Bible, especially how one understands the nature of salvation and the relationships between the biblical covenants. Before we describe the basic meaning of water baptism, let’s first describe a spectrum of views regarding it, with some views being more consistent with the gospel than others.

Views of Water Baptism

First, there is the sacramental view of baptism reflected by Roman Catholicism. This view argues that the act of baptism regenerates the person being baptized from spiritual death to life (infants and adults), even apart from faith in Christ (ex opere operato, “by the work performed”), and it’s necessary for our salvation. The act of baptism removes the person’s original sin, makes them spiritually alive by the infusion of grace that begins the transforming process of making a person righteous. In this view, Christ has given authority to the church and her officers to effect saving grace in people through the administration of the sacraments, beginning in baptism and culminating in extreme unction.

A weaker sacramental view is taught by Lutheranism. Similar to Roman Catholicism, Lutherans argue that baptism regenerates a person, yet they insist that faith is necessary for God to justify the person who is baptized. Lutherans do not speak of an infused grace in the act of baptism; rather, by Word and sacrament God creates faith in the individual and makes them a living member of Christ’s church. For Lutherans, the subjects of baptism fall into two groups: believers who have come to faith in Christ, and infants, in whom God mysteriously creates an unconscious faith which they later confirm as they reach an age of maturity. Yet, in both cases, faith is present in the regenerative act of baptism and our justification before God.

Second, there is the covenantal view of baptism reflected by Reformed, covenant theology. This view denies that baptism is regenerative and that it’s effective in an ex opere operato way. Instead, baptism, which, under the new covenant replaces circumcision as a covenant sign, is similar to circumcision in what both signify. Both signify God’s “sign and seal” of his covenant promises that those who believe the gospel will be justified. Baptism objectively brings a person (infants and adults) into the visible church, at least, in the case of infants, in the sense that they are “in” the covenant, but not necessarily “of” it. Baptism does not effect a saving union in itself. It’s only by God’s grace, the Spirit making us alive and granting us faith and repentance, that we experience true salvation—the reality to which baptism points. That is why, parallel to the Old Testament, even if infants are baptized under the new covenant and considered covenant members, they are only truly the elect (and part of the invisible church) if they exercise saving faith in Christ.

Third, there is the view of believers’ baptism as reflected in Baptist and the believers’ church tradition. In agreement with the covenant view, this view denies that baptism is regenerative and necessary for salvation. Yet, unlike the covenant view, baptism is only to be applied to believers. Baptism is not merely a sign and seal of God’s promises that anticipates one’s faith in Christ. Instead, baptism is an outward sign of an inward spiritual reality that the believer has already experienced by faith in Christ. Baptism, in contrast to circumcision, does not point forward to the need for a circumcision of the heart. Rather, baptism is a new covenant sign that communicates the grace of God to those who have been regenerated and thus have faith in Christ. Baptism is a public testimony that one has entered into faith union with Christ, and it marks and defines those who believe in Christ. That is why baptism is only to be applied to those who confess Jesus as Lord, who have experienced his power, who are, by faith and spiritual rebirth, Abraham’s true spiritual seed. Baptism is a new covenant rite for the new covenant people of God.

Meaning and Significance of Water Baptism

Much could be written regarding the meaning and significance of baptism. Moreover, it’s at this point that major differences surface between baptismal views. However, let’s think through what baptism is by unpacking four truths, which must be affirmed to be true to the New Testament teaching.

First, baptism is one of the primary means God has given the church to declare publicly our faith in Christ as Lord and Savior. Is this not part of what is going on at Pentecost in Peter’s exhortation to the people who cry from their hearts, “What shall we do?” (Acts 2:37)? Peter has just demonstrated that the coming of the Spirit in power is evidence that redemption has been accomplished; that Jesus is Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36); and that the promised new age from the Old Testament has now finally arrived (Joel 2:28-32; Ezek. 36:25-27; Jer. 31:31-34). What response is necessary from the people? It is repentance and baptism, administered in the name of Jesus, signifying a person’s submission to Christ as Lord (Acts 2:38). This truth is important, especially today when altar calls, confirmation, public rallies, and so on, have taken the place of baptism in our public confession of Christ. Baptism beautifully and powerfully pictures our submission to Christ and the truth of the gospel, which no subsequent church rite can replace.

Second, central to the meaning of Christian baptism, in contrast to Jewish proselyte baptism or John’s baptism, is that it signifies a believer’s union with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection (Rom. 6:3-7; Col. 2:11-12) and all the benefits that are entailed by that union. For this reason, in the New Testament baptism is regarded as an outward sign that signifies an inward reality, namely that a believer has entered into the realities of the new covenant that Jesus inaugurated and sealed with his own blood on the cross. As such, when received in faith, baptism signifies Spirit-wrought regeneration (Titus 3:5), inward cleansing, renewal, and forgiveness of sins (Acts 22:16; 1Cor. 6:11; Eph. 5:25-27), and the abiding presence of the Spirit as God’s seal testifying and guaranteeing that the believer will permanently be kept secure in Christ (1Cor. 12:13; Eph. 1:13-14). In fact, so close is the association between baptism and new covenant blessings in Christ, many have argued that in the New Testament, baptism functions by metonymy for the entire conversion experience.

For example, in Galatians 3:26-27, Paul can say: “For in Christ Jesus, you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” The language of “putting on” Christ refers to our union with him. But note how Paul can ascribe union with Christ both to faith (v. 26) and to baptism (v. 27). He does so, not by affirming an ex opere operato view of baptism, since Paul is referring to people who have repented of their sins and believed in Christ. It’s only the truly converted who have put on Christ. But, by metonymy, baptism can stand for conversion, and thus an outward sign that signifies this fact.

We find something similar in Romans 6:1-4. Paul sees water baptism as uniting the believer to Christ in his redemptive acts—his life, death, burial, and resurrection. No doubt, in this text, Paul is not primarily giving a theological explanation of the nature of baptism. Instead, Paul is concerned to rebut the charge that the believer should “remain in sin” to highlight grace. He uses the language of “realm transfer” to show how inconceivable this suggestion is. Christians, Paul insists, have “died to sin” (v. 2b) and thus are no longer “in Adam” but are “in Christ.” Yet, Paul can say that this realm transfer occurred in our baptism (v. 3), by which we were united to Christ. Again, Paul is not affirming that the act of baptism unites us to Christ apart from faith. Rather, as in Galatians 3:26-27, baptism is shorthand for our entire conversion experience. By itself, baptism does not effect regeneration, nor is it even necessary for salvation. In the New Testament  baptism always assumes faith for its validity, and true saving faith leads to being baptized although faith and baptism do not enjoy the same logical status of necessity (cf. Eph. 4:5; 1Pet. 3:21).

Third, water baptism signifies a believer’s entrance into the church. In Galatians 3:27-28, for example, Paul can immediately move from “putting on” Christ in baptism to how we are one in Christ’ body. Or in Ephesians 4:22-25, Paul can use the baptismal imagery of “putting on” and “putting off” to speak of the kind of behavior we should have as individuals and as “members of one body” (v. 25), certainly a reference to the church. Baptism, then, is the defining mark of belonging, as well as a demarcation from the world (cf. Acts 2:40-41). Thus, in baptism, not only does Christ appropriate to himself the one who is baptized in his name and incorporate him into his body, but the person who is baptized also openly identifies with the Lord and his people.

Fourth, water baptism is a promise and glorious anticipation of the fact that all things will be consummated by Christ. Although there are a number of questions surrounding John’s baptism, one thing is clear: John’s baptism was an eschatological ceremony, anticipating the coming of the Messiah, the kingdom of God, and the entire new covenant era. Christian baptism is also eschatological, but, in contrast to John’s baptism, what John anticipated and pointed to, has now come in Christ. Christian baptism, then, signifies that the believer has entered into the dawning of the new creation and the new covenant due to our union in Christ. This is why Paul can say: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come” (2Cor. 5:17). As such, water baptism looks backwards and forwards: backwards to the inauguration of the new age in Christ’s first coming, and forward to the consummation at his return. By baptism, we participate in these realities. In truth, baptism is our entry into the eschatological order of the new creation that we now experience due to our covenantal union with Christ and being sealed with the Spirit for the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30).

Agreement and Disagreement on Baptism

Certainly more could be said regarding the meaning and significance of baptism, but these four truths highlight much of the New Testament ’s teaching regarding it. Evangelicals across a wide spectrum of denominational affiliation should agree on these basic points. For example, we ought to agree that every Christian should be baptized in obedience to God; that baptism is the sign of the gospel realities of union with Christ and all the benefits of new covenant; that baptism is tied to our incorporation into the church; and that the act of baptism, against the ex opere operato view of Roman Catholicism, does not regenerate. Instead, baptism is effective only by grace alone, through faith alone, and in Christ alone.

However, a point of division still remains, especially between the covenantal and believer’s baptism view. Since baptism is not effective apart from faith, why should we baptize infants? Obviously, the divide over this issue is vast and a resolution of it is probably not forthcoming soon, and the reason why is important. Ultimately, the dispute is not over a few texts, but entire biblical-theological arguments, especially one’s view of the relationship between the covenants.

Those who advocate infant (paedo)baptism admit that although there is no explicit command in the New Testament to baptize infants, the practice is still warranted. Why? For the following reason: (1) There is an essential continuity of “the covenant of grace” from Abraham to Christ. (2) Since infants were included in the old covenant by circumcision as an outward sign of entrance into the covenant community, and baptism has replaced circumcision in the new covenant, then believing parents are required to administer baptism to their children. (3) In the old covenant, circumcision did not entail that the child was one of the elect; they still needed to exercise faith to know their election. So in the new covenant, baptism does not guarantee that children are the elect, but it’s still required to administer the covenant sign to them prior to faith. (4) Support for the practice of baptizing infants is found in the household baptisms in the New Testament.

On the other side, those who affirm a believers’ baptism argue the following: (1) Baptism is only effectual by faith in Christ, hence the New Testament pattern of the proclamation of the gospel, conversion, and then baptism of believers. (2) No doubt there is continuity between the old and new covenants due to the one plan of God, but there is also a lot of discontinuity as well. For example, under the old covenant, there is necessarily a distinction between the locus of the covenant community and the locus of the elect, with circumcision being the sign of the former. Yet, under the new covenant this distinction has been removed. By definition, those who are in the new covenant are those who have had God’s law written on their hearts, been born of the Spirit and forgiven of their sins (Jer. 31:31-34), and as such, the church, as God’s new covenant people is a regenerate community. This truth suggests that baptism, as the sign of the new covenant, is only to be applied to those who are in the new covenant, i.e., believers. (3) Circumcision, under the Abrahamic and old covenants do not signify the same realities as baptism does under the new covenant. (4) The examples of household baptisms are arguments from silence and they fail to see the covenantal distinctions between the old and the new. In fact, when we look at the examples closely, we see that in a number of them there are indications of saving faith on the part of all those baptized.

So where does this leave us? It leaves us with honest discussion about the differences among us but also emphasizing what unites us in the gospel. No doubt, infant and believers’ views of baptism are not simultaneously right, and given the importance of baptism the establishment of local churches and denominations that teach one of the views to the exclusion of the other is necessary, given our commitment to biblical authority. Yet, we must also never lose sight of what unites us. We have to find ways of showing our unity in Christ while not downplaying our differences. In fact, we must find unity in that to which baptism points, namely the glory of Christ and the truth of the gospel of God’s sovereign grace. Despite ongoing differences, more than anything else, this is what must captivate our thinking, our lives, and our churches.



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An Approach to Extended Memorization | Dr. Andrew M. Davis https://www.gcclascruces.com/blog/post/an-approach-to-extended-memorization-dr-andrew-m-davis https://www.gcclascruces.com/blog/post/an-approach-to-extended-memorization-dr-andrew-m-davis#comments Thu, 19 Oct 2023 17:40:37 -0400 https://www.gcclascruces.com/blog/post/an-approach-to-extended-memorization-dr-andrew-m-davis An Approach to Extended Memorization
Dr. Andrew M. Davis

The Value of Scripture Memorization

There are numerous spiritual benefits to the memorization of Scripture. A proper assessment of these benefits begins with understanding the role of the written word of God in our spiritual development. Jesus Christ openly stated that our spiritual existence depends upon the word of God: "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4) The words of God are written in only one place: the Bible. Also, according to the Apostle Peter one of our ongoing responsibilities is to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ," (2 Peter 3:18) and that we are to "make every effort to add to our faith goodness, and to goodness knowledge…" (2 Peter 1:5). But how are we to grow? Growth in the Lord is called "sanctification," the process by which we become more and more like Jesus Christ and more and more separated from the world. Jesus Christ says that happens by the Word of God: "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth." (John 17:17) However, the Word of God must enter us through our MIND—through our understanding—in order to change our hearts. Thus we are to meditate deeply on Scripture in order to understand it better, so that our hearts may be changed. And we are to meditate on "every word that comes from the mouth of God." There is no more useful discipline to this careful process of verse by verse meditation than memorization. Memorization is not the same as meditation, but it is almost impossible for someone to memorize a passage of Scripture without somewhat deepening his/her understanding of those verses. Plus, once the passage is memorized, a lifetime of reflection is now available through ongoing review… while driving on long trips, while walking on beaches, while conversing with friends, memorized verses can flow from you and cause a deepening of understanding.

Furthermore, these verses also sanctify us by causing us to hate sin and to determine to fight it vigorously. Through memorization, we are able to stand in the moment of temptation through the "sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." (Ephesians 6:17) Therefore did the Psalmist say, "How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." (Psalm 119:9,11)

In addition, the word sanctifies us by transforming our entire worldview from secular to heavenly: "Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will." (Romans 12:2) The "renewing of your minds" happens by the flow of Scripture through them like a pure river. As this river flows through your mind constantly, you will see things more and more the way God does, if you are a child of God… for "we have the mind of Christ." (1 Corinthians 2:16) This gives us more and more wisdom to deal with this world.

However, this benefit does not merely bless US in our own growth and development, but it becomes a treasure trove for the growth of the church as well. The Scripture memorizer will be used mightily by God to teach and encourage other Christians, with an apt word from the perfect Word of God: "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom…" (Colossians 3:16) How better can you obey Colossians 3:16 than by Scripture memorization? The "word of Christ" will indeed "dwell in you richly" as you memorize it, and then work it over in your mind through meditation. Then you will most certainly be useful to God to "teach and admonish" another brother or sister. Scripture builds the Church to its final doctrinal and practical maturity (Ephesians 4:13-16), and God uses those who memorize it to do this building in a powerful and eternally fruitful way.

Finally, the memorization of Scripture enables us to bless lost people with a powerful and vivid presentation of the gospel of salvation. "Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." (Romans 10:17) Those who memorize Scripture obey Peter’s command in this regard: "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have." (1 Peter 3:15) The "preparation" Peter had in mind is best done by memorizing Scripture. Remember that it is Scripture which is "able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." (2 Timothy 3:15) The evangelist who stores up Scripture on the life of Christ, for example, can vividly retell the miracle stories to a generation which is Biblically illiterate, which knows very little about the life of Christ. That person can also give the theology of salvation from Paul’s epistles, if they have memorized those books. In short, Scripture memorization makes one a much more powerful and effective evangelist.

There are other benefits… comfort during trials and bereavement, power and wisdom for counseling, the development of heavenly-mindedness, the manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit, conviction over indwelling sin, fruitful passage of time while waiting for delayed plane flights, etc. Suffice it to say that this is well worth our time.

When Judgment Day comes, we will regret the waste of a single moment not used for the glory of Christ. We will, however, not regret one moment we spent diligently studying God’s Word and hiding it in our heart. We will only wish we’d spent more moments doing this.

Memorizing Books Is Better Than Memorizing Individual Verses

Jesus said, "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4) Paul said "All Scripture is God-breathed, and is useful for teaching rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness…" (2 Timothy 3:16) Paul told the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:27, "I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God." Memorizing individual verses tends to miss intervening verses that the individual does not feel are as significant. If we continue to focus only on our "favorite" passages of Scripture, we may well miss something new that God wants to say to the church through a neglected portion of His Word. God does not speak any word in vain, and there are no wasted passages of Scripture.

This approach also aids in the proper teaching of the Word. The best mode of teaching and preaching is expository—setting forth in good order what God says. Preaching topically, while necessary from time to time, is not the best standard mode of ministry, for the pastor/teacher will tend to say no more than what he already has understood from those "favorite" verses. But a teacher who goes through the entire passage will undoubtedly open up a new world to his hearers, exciting them with observations they are not likely to have seen before. Thus, memorizing books leads to a constant discovery of new insights, which keeps love for the Word vibrant and thrilling.

Also, since most of Scripture is written to make a case, there is a flow of argumentation that is missed if individual verses are memorized. But memorizing entire books verse by verse enables the person to go easily from the "trees to the forest" and back again. This person will be able to tell you the overall flow of the book of Galatians, for example, as well as how each paragraph fits into this flow, and how each verse contributes to each paragraph. Thus, there is far less likelihood of taking verses out of context when entire books are memorized. But those who memorize individual verses are particularly prone to taking verses out of context.

Making the Commitment Before God

Go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him if He wants you to invest time in Scripture memorization. Listen to Him, confident that He will guide you. Once you have that sense from God, ask Him humbly for help from the Holy Spirit. Ask Him to protect you from spiritual pride… God HATES pride in every form (see Isaiah 2:6-22 and Luke 18:9-14), and while knowledge of the Bible is absolutely essential to spiritual maturity, yet Biblical knowledge without love for God and neighbor "puffs up" a person (1 Cor. 8:2) and is useless to God and actually harmful to the church. God is well able to take away your ability to memorize if you use it for your own glory. Then, humbly make the commitment before God that you will invest time in scripture memorization. Later, after you choose your book to memorize, you will have the opportunity to make a written covenant before God concerning your commitment.

Choosing Your First Book

Once you have sensed God’s leadership and have made the commitment before God that you will memorize a whole book of the Bible, the next step is to choose the book. This, too, should be done with prayer and a sense of the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Some practical concerns should guide your choice as well:

  1. Not too long (or too short?): Your first book should not be too long, lest you get discouraged in the way and give up. The greatest obstacle to lasting achievement in this arena is lack of perseverance… just giving up. We give up usually because the way seems too long and we feel we lack the strength for the rest of the journey. Just as one who someday wants to finish a marathon does not begin simply by running 26.2 miles but must rather work up to that level, so it is also with extended Scripture memorization. You must get the discipline deeply rooted in your daily habits and you must develop your memory skills before you can attempt a really long book. Start with one around 90-160 verses long. There are shorter books of the Bible, but 2 John or 3 John may not have the same impact on your life as one of the longer epistles. However, all Scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16), and therefore God may call you to start with 2 John.
  2. One that stirs your passions: Choose a book that God has used in the past to minister to you, and that you think would be most useful in your personal walk with Christ and in your ministry to others. You should also choose a book that still has some mysteries to you (as all Scripture should and does!), and that you see as an adventure in learning.

After you have assessed your options, bring various options before the Lord in prayer and listen to His voice. Ask Him to guide you, and He will direct your choice.

Surveying the Terrain

The next step is to survey the entire book for length, and decide how quickly you feel you can memorize it. Perhaps you can start at one verse per day, six days per week. I always recommend taking one day off per week so you don’t get burned out, or to take up the slack for days in which you are sick or exceptionally busy.

The way you survey the terrain is this:

  • Count the number of verses in the entire book.
  • Divide that number by the number of verses you will memorize per week. This is how many weeks the book should take you.
  • Look at a calendar and determine a tentative finish date.
  • Add 10% so as to not feel under tremendous pressure until you get used to this lifestyle (i.e. If you are doing Ephesians—155 verses—at the rate of 6 verses per week, it will take you 26 weeks, or exactly 6 months; add 10%--3 weeks—for a total of 29 weeks)
  • Make a covenant before the Lord that, with his help, you will memorize this book by this date:

"Lord, having sought you in prayer, I believe that you have led me to memorize (name of the book). I now dedicate myself to begin this task with your help and for your glory. I commit myself to memorizing this by (date)."

Sign and date the covenant, and put it in a place where you can get to it regularly when the times get tough. The purpose of surveying the terrain is to mark out a reasonable pace which will make achievement of your goal a probability. It will teach you how much you need to do every day, and when you should finish. The survey leads to a covenant that helps you keep persevering.

Daily Procedures

Priority of reviewing old verses: Always give priority in your mind to the retaining of old verses even over the learning of new ones. What’s the point in going on to new ones if you don’t hold onto the old? This doesn’t mean you should re-memorize the old ones… just that you should begin every day’s work with review of old verses. Look on that as what you need to do to earn the privilege of acquiring some precious new verses. (Work before play!)

Repetition over time: Saying a verse 100 times in one day is not as helpful as saying it every day for 100 days. The absolute key to successful Scripture memorization is repetition over a long time period. This is how you retain old verses while learning new ones.

Memorizing the verse numbers: An important note is that it is well-worth the extra effort to memorize the verse numbers as if they were part of each verse. This will help prevent you from dropping out verses or even whole paragraphs when you’re reciting the book all the way through. It will also help you in being able to pick individual verses out to quote to someone for ministry or evangelistic purposes. Finally, it will help you to be able to recall the verses as you are reading Christian books that cite them… you won’t have to look them up! Ephesians 1:1-3’s verse numbers would be said like this: "One-one. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus; One-two Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. One-three Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…" etc. Longer verse numbers are no different… Ephesians 6:11 would be "Six-eleven. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes." Acts 27:25-26 would be "Twenty-seven twenty-five. So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. Twenty-seven twenty-six., Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island." DON’T SHORT-CUT THIS DISCIPLINE!! It actually makes memorization easier in the long run!

Photographing the verses with your eyes: Memorization is partly visual. This is not to say that blind people can’t memorize the Bible, but just that the memorization process is connected very closely to the eye. Read each new verse ten times, covering each words as though photographing it with your eyes. I can still remember where some particular verses were on the page of the Bible I first used to memorize them. Burn each verse into your brain with your eyes.

Say it out loud: Another help in memorizing is to say the verse out loud to yourself. The additional sensory input to your brain helps the memorization process. It doesn’t have to be very loud, just loud enough so you can hear it. Also, try putting some feeling and interpretation into reciting the verses… this is actually a form of meditation on the verses as you are learning them.

Sample daily procedure: The following is an example of how someone could go about memorizing Ephesians at the rate of one verse per day:

  • Day one: Read Ephesians 1:1 out loud ten times, looking at each word as if photographing it with your eyes. Be sure to include the verse number. Then cover the page and recite it ten times. You’re done for the day.
  • Day two: Yesterday’s verse first!! Recite yesterday’s verse, Ephesians 1:1 ten times, being sure to include the verse number. Look in the Bible if you need to, just to refresh your memory. Now, do your new verse. Read Ephesians 1:2 out loud ten times, looking at each word as if photographing it with your eyes. Be sure to include the verse number. Then cover the page and recite it ten times. You’re done for the day.
  • Day three: Yesterday’s verse first!! Recite yesterday’s verse, Ephesians 1:2 ten times, being sure to include the verse number. Again, you should look in the Bible if you need to, just to refresh your memory. Old verses next, altogether: Recite Ephesians 1:1-2 together once, being sure to include the verse numbers. Now, do your new verse. Read Ephesians 1:3 out loud ten times, looking at each word as if photographing it with your eyes. Be sure to include the verse number. Then cover the page and recite it ten times. You’re done for the day.
  • Day four: Yesterday’s verse first!! Recite yesterday’s verse, Ephesians 1:3 ten times, being sure to include the verse number. Again, you should look in the Bible if you need to, just to refresh your memory. Old verses next, altogether: Recite Ephesians 1:1-3 together once, being sure to include the verse numbers. Now, do your new verse. Read Ephesians 1:4 out loud ten times, looking at each word as if photographing it with your eyes. Be sure to include the verse number. Then cover the page and recite it ten times. You’re done for the day.

This cycle would continue through the entire book. Obviously, the "old verses altogether" stage will soon swell to take the most time of all. That’s exactly the way it should be. The entire book of Ephesians can be read at a reasonable rate in less than fifteen minutes. Therefore, the "old verses altogether" stage of your review should not take longer than that on any given day. Do it with the Bible ready at hand, in case you draw a blank or get stuck… there’s no shame in looking, and it actually helps to nail down troublesome verses so they will never be trouble again. Therefore, your 60th day should look like this:

  • Day sixty: (eight days off in that span means you’re on your 52nd new verse, which would be Ephesians 3:7) Yesterday’s verse first!! Recite yesterday’s verse, Ephesians 3:6 ten times, being sure to include the verse number. Again, you should look in the Bible if you need to, just to refresh your memory. Old verses next, altogether: Recite Ephesians 1:1-3:6 together once, being sure to include the verse numbers. LOOK IN THE BIBLE IF YOU NEED TO, SO THIS PROCESS WON’T TAKE TOO LONG!!! Now, do your new verse. Read Ephesians 3:7 out loud ten times, looking at each word as if photographing it with your eyes. Be sure to include the verse number. Then cover the page and recite it ten times. You’re done for the day.

Long-Term Retention

Assuming you continue this procedure in Ephesians with no missed days (other than your one day off per week), you should be done with the whole book in 26 weeks. When you have learned Ephesians 6:24, "Six twenty-four. Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love." you should stop to celebrate!!! Get on your knees and give thanks to God for His goodness to you.

But after your celebration is done, you need to get back to work. If you have done the "old verses altogether" stage faithfully, this next stage should not be overly burdensome, even though it may seem like it will. RECITE THE ENTIRE BOOK FROM MEMORY FOR 100 CONSECUTIVE DAYS. If you have done your work well, after about the second week you probably won’t even need the Bible anywhere near you while you do this. Thus, you can do this step while in the shower, while driving, while washing dishes, while walking down the road, while exercising… IT WILL ADD NO EXTRA TIME TO YOUR BUSY SCHEDULE!! What is more, it is in this stage that you begin to see the scope of the entire book of Ephesians (or whatever book you have memorized). You will see large themes that unite chapters together, you will see the flow of the argument, you will discover new things that you never knew before.

Be tough with yourself… 100 days without missing a single one! You can do it, and you’ll be glad you did. When that is over, then stick the book in a slot (Monday morning, let’s say), and recite on Monday morning for the rest of your life. You will never forget it. However, don’t forget to weed the garden… as I will describe now:

"Weeding the garden": As you recite a book over a long period of time without looking at the Bible, you will gradually being to make little mistakes or leave verses out. Again, this is why memorizing verse numbers is so essential!!! However, to "weed the garden," simply take one of your Monday morning times after the 100 days (perhaps every other month) and just read the book by sight all the way through. This will correct errors… this will "weed the garden."

Now, you are ready to memorize your next book!!!

Memorizing Long Books & Memorizing Faster

After you’ve taken six months with Ephesians at the rate of one verse per day, you may feel that you’re ready to memorize a longer book. If, for example, you memorized Romans, you would be looking at 432 verses. At the rate of one verse per day, that’s close to a year and a half (with a 10% fudge factor in there). That may be too long for you… you’re ready to pick up the pace. When I memorized the Gospel of Matthew, I did it at the rate of 36 verse per week… six per day, six days per week. It took me about 9 months, since I didn’t maintain that pace the whole time… but Matthew is 1068 verses long… a verse a day would have been much too slow. Let’s look at how to do multiple verses in a single day:

  • Day one: Read Matthew 1:1 out loud ten times, looking at each word as if photographing it with your eyes. Be sure to include the verse number. Then cover the page and recite it ten times. Repeat for verses 2 through 6, being sure to include the verse numbers. Then, recite the whole six verse section, Matthew 1:1-6, ten times. You’re done for the day.
  • Day two: Yesterday’s verses first!! Recite yesterday’s verses, Matthew 1:1-6, ten times, being sure to include the verse numbers. Look in the Bible if you need to, just to refresh your memory. Now, do your new verses. Read Matthew 1:7 out loud ten times, looking at each word as if photographing it with your eyes. Be sure to include the verse number. Then cover the page and recite it ten times. Repeat for Matthew 1:8-12. Then, recite the whole new six verse section, Matthew 1:7-12, ten times. You’re done for the day.
  • Day three: Yesterday’s verses first!! Recite yesterday’s verses, Matthew 1:7-12, ten times, being sure to include the verse number. Again, you should look in the Bible if you need to, just to refresh your memory. Old verses next, altogether: Recite Matthew 1:1-12 together once, being sure to include the verse numbers. Now, do your new verses. Read Matthew 1:13 out loud ten times, looking at each word as if photographing it with your eyes. Be sure to include the verse number. Then cover the page and recite it ten times. Repeat for Matthew 1:14-18. Then, recite the whole new six verse section, Matthew 1:13- 18, ten times. You’re done for the day.
  • Day four: Yesterday’s verses first!! Recite yesterday’s verses, Matthew 1:13-18, ten times, being sure to include the verse number. Again, you should look in the Bible if you need to, just to refresh your memory. Old verses next, altogether: Recite Matthew 1:1-18 together once, being sure to include the verse numbers. Now, do your new verses. Read Matthew 1:19 out loud ten times, looking at each word as if photographing it with your eyes. Be sure to include the verse number. Then cover the page and recite it ten times. Repeat for Matthew 1:20-24. Then, recite the whole new six verse section, Matthew 1:19- 24, ten times. You’re done for the day.

The ongoing review (the "old verses altogether" stage) will get unwieldy once you’re at chapter 7 or 8. At that point, start leaving off chapter 1, then chapter 2, then chapter 3 etc. as you continue to move through the book. Limit the amount of time you spend on the "old verses altogether" stage to fifteen or twenty minutes. Review the chapters you leave off (chapter 1, then 2, then 3) once per week. By the time you get to Matthew 28:20, you will have to divide your long-term review into reasonable portions. This is the "High School Method" of long-term review:

The High School Method of Long-Term Review (using The Gospel of Matthew as an example):

  1. Read Matthew with a stop watch, and time out ten minutes of verses, reading at a normal rate. This may be Matthew 1-5, depending on your normal reading rate. Let’s take that as an example. (I average about 125 verses for 10 minutes). NOTE: Stop at major chapter divisions… don’t do Matthew 1:1 thru 5:37 for example. Dig deep and get to the end of the nearest chapter, even if it’s 11 minutes of reading for you.
  2. Recite Matthew 1-5 every day for 25 days. After about 15 days, you should be able to do it without the Bible, if you did your work well the first time you memorized these verses. Then just do it in the shower or while driving, etc. This shouldn’t add anything extra to your day.
  3. On the 26th day, add the next "ten minutes" of Matthew. Let’s say this is Matthew 6-8. Recite Matthew 6-8 every day for 25 days, while continuing Matthew 1-5 for this time. At the end of this period, you will have done Matthew 1-5 for 50 straight days, and Matthew 6-8 for 25 straight days.
  4. On the 51st day, add the next "ten minutes" (i.e. 125 verse or so) of Matthew. Let’s say this is Matthew 9-12. Do these chapters for 25 days, while continuing Matthew 1-5 and 6-8. At the end of this period, you will have done Matthew 1-5 for 75 days, Matthew 6-8 for 50 days, and Matthew 9-12 for 25 days.
  5. On the 76th day, add the next section… perhaps Matthew 13-15. Do these chapters for 25 days, while continuing Matthew 1-5, 6-8, and 9-12. At the end of this period, you will have done Matthew 1-5 for 100 days, Matthew 6-8 for 75 days, and Matthew 9-12 for 50 days, and Matthew 13-15 for 25 days. As in a high school, Matthew 1-5 is your "senior class", Matthew 6-8 your "junior class," Matthew 9-12 your "sophomore class," and Matthew 13-15 your "freshman class." The entire reciting process should take no more than 45 minutes, if you’ve done your timing right. ALSO NOTE… by this time, you should be able to recite Matthew 1-12 at least with no Bible at all… thus, it can be done while you do other things… thus, you will be sitting and doing nothing but memorization for no more than 15-20 minutes at most.
  6. On the 101st day, you can "graduate" Matthew 1-5, and stick it into a "Monday slot" to do it for the rest of your life… you have done it so many times at this point, you could recite it in your sleep! (Perhaps you do!) Simply recite it every Monday, in addition to the ongoing work you’re doing… or, of that’s too much, just review it once a month to keep it fresh.

Now, add the next "ten minutes" of Matthew, to replace the "senior class" that just graduated… perhaps its Matthew 16-19. Keep on going with Matthew 6-8 (your new "senior class"), Matthew 9-12 ("junior class"), and Matthew 13-15 ("sophomore class"). At the end of this next period, you will have done Matthew 6-8 for 100 days, Matthew 9- 12 for 75 days, Matthew 13-15 for 50 days, and Matthew 16-19 for 25 days.

  • On the 126th day, "graduate" Matthew 6-8, add Matthew 20-22, and continue. At the end of this next period, you will have done Matthew 9-12 for 100 days, Matthew 13- 15 for 75 days, Matthew 16-19 for 50 days, and Matthew 20-22 for 25 days.
  • On the 151st day, "graduate" Matthew 9-12, add Matthew 23-25, and continue. At the end of this next period, you will have done Matthew 13-15 for 100 days, Matthew 16- 19 for 75 days, Matthew 20-22 for 50 days, and Matthew 23-25 for 25 days.
  • On the 176th day, "graduate" Matthew 13-15, add Matthew 26-27, and continue. At the end of this next period, you will have done Matthew 16-19 for 100 days, Matthew 20- 22 for 75 days, Matthew 23-25 for 50 days, and Matthew 26-27 for 25 days.
  • On the 201st day, you can "graduate" Matthew 16-19, and finally add Matthew 28 to your review cycle. Continue on, but add no new verses. Go until you have finished your 100 days on Matthew 28 (the 300th day!!). After about 25 days of doing Matthew 28, you should be able to recite the entire Gospel of Matthew at a good rate of accuracy, totally from memory. At that point, you can fall on your knees and give thanks to God for His goodness to you. But keep doing your work until you’ve finished your 100 days for all verses.
  • Review each section one a week or once a month as you feel the need, in order to keep it fresh.

It is my prayer that God will raise up a generation of people who do this labor, thus presenting themselves to God as those approved, workmen who do not need to be ashamed, and who correctly handle the Word of Truth. (cf. 2 Timothy 2:15) The lost in our nation and the weak and immature churches which have so proliferated are in deep need of the meat of the Word and those qualified to give it to them. May God bless your diligence and hard work!

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An Approach to Extended Memorization
Dr. Andrew M. Davis

The Value of Scripture Memorization

There are numerous spiritual benefits to the memorization of Scripture. A proper assessment of these benefits begins with understanding the role of the written word of God in our spiritual development. Jesus Christ openly stated that our spiritual existence depends upon the word of God: "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4) The words of God are written in only one place: the Bible. Also, according to the Apostle Peter one of our ongoing responsibilities is to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ," (2 Peter 3:18) and that we are to "make every effort to add to our faith goodness, and to goodness knowledge…" (2 Peter 1:5). But how are we to grow? Growth in the Lord is called "sanctification," the process by which we become more and more like Jesus Christ and more and more separated from the world. Jesus Christ says that happens by the Word of God: "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth." (John 17:17) However, the Word of God must enter us through our MIND—through our understanding—in order to change our hearts. Thus we are to meditate deeply on Scripture in order to understand it better, so that our hearts may be changed. And we are to meditate on "every word that comes from the mouth of God." There is no more useful discipline to this careful process of verse by verse meditation than memorization. Memorization is not the same as meditation, but it is almost impossible for someone to memorize a passage of Scripture without somewhat deepening his/her understanding of those verses. Plus, once the passage is memorized, a lifetime of reflection is now available through ongoing review… while driving on long trips, while walking on beaches, while conversing with friends, memorized verses can flow from you and cause a deepening of understanding.

Furthermore, these verses also sanctify us by causing us to hate sin and to determine to fight it vigorously. Through memorization, we are able to stand in the moment of temptation through the "sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." (Ephesians 6:17) Therefore did the Psalmist say, "How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." (Psalm 119:9,11)

In addition, the word sanctifies us by transforming our entire worldview from secular to heavenly: "Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will." (Romans 12:2) The "renewing of your minds" happens by the flow of Scripture through them like a pure river. As this river flows through your mind constantly, you will see things more and more the way God does, if you are a child of God… for "we have the mind of Christ." (1 Corinthians 2:16) This gives us more and more wisdom to deal with this world.

However, this benefit does not merely bless US in our own growth and development, but it becomes a treasure trove for the growth of the church as well. The Scripture memorizer will be used mightily by God to teach and encourage other Christians, with an apt word from the perfect Word of God: "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom…" (Colossians 3:16) How better can you obey Colossians 3:16 than by Scripture memorization? The "word of Christ" will indeed "dwell in you richly" as you memorize it, and then work it over in your mind through meditation. Then you will most certainly be useful to God to "teach and admonish" another brother or sister. Scripture builds the Church to its final doctrinal and practical maturity (Ephesians 4:13-16), and God uses those who memorize it to do this building in a powerful and eternally fruitful way.

Finally, the memorization of Scripture enables us to bless lost people with a powerful and vivid presentation of the gospel of salvation. "Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." (Romans 10:17) Those who memorize Scripture obey Peter’s command in this regard: "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have." (1 Peter 3:15) The "preparation" Peter had in mind is best done by memorizing Scripture. Remember that it is Scripture which is "able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." (2 Timothy 3:15) The evangelist who stores up Scripture on the life of Christ, for example, can vividly retell the miracle stories to a generation which is Biblically illiterate, which knows very little about the life of Christ. That person can also give the theology of salvation from Paul’s epistles, if they have memorized those books. In short, Scripture memorization makes one a much more powerful and effective evangelist.

There are other benefits… comfort during trials and bereavement, power and wisdom for counseling, the development of heavenly-mindedness, the manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit, conviction over indwelling sin, fruitful passage of time while waiting for delayed plane flights, etc. Suffice it to say that this is well worth our time.

When Judgment Day comes, we will regret the waste of a single moment not used for the glory of Christ. We will, however, not regret one moment we spent diligently studying God’s Word and hiding it in our heart. We will only wish we’d spent more moments doing this.

Memorizing Books Is Better Than Memorizing Individual Verses

Jesus said, "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4) Paul said "All Scripture is God-breathed, and is useful for teaching rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness…" (2 Timothy 3:16) Paul told the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:27, "I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God." Memorizing individual verses tends to miss intervening verses that the individual does not feel are as significant. If we continue to focus only on our "favorite" passages of Scripture, we may well miss something new that God wants to say to the church through a neglected portion of His Word. God does not speak any word in vain, and there are no wasted passages of Scripture.

This approach also aids in the proper teaching of the Word. The best mode of teaching and preaching is expository—setting forth in good order what God says. Preaching topically, while necessary from time to time, is not the best standard mode of ministry, for the pastor/teacher will tend to say no more than what he already has understood from those "favorite" verses. But a teacher who goes through the entire passage will undoubtedly open up a new world to his hearers, exciting them with observations they are not likely to have seen before. Thus, memorizing books leads to a constant discovery of new insights, which keeps love for the Word vibrant and thrilling.

Also, since most of Scripture is written to make a case, there is a flow of argumentation that is missed if individual verses are memorized. But memorizing entire books verse by verse enables the person to go easily from the "trees to the forest" and back again. This person will be able to tell you the overall flow of the book of Galatians, for example, as well as how each paragraph fits into this flow, and how each verse contributes to each paragraph. Thus, there is far less likelihood of taking verses out of context when entire books are memorized. But those who memorize individual verses are particularly prone to taking verses out of context.

Making the Commitment Before God

Go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him if He wants you to invest time in Scripture memorization. Listen to Him, confident that He will guide you. Once you have that sense from God, ask Him humbly for help from the Holy Spirit. Ask Him to protect you from spiritual pride… God HATES pride in every form (see Isaiah 2:6-22 and Luke 18:9-14), and while knowledge of the Bible is absolutely essential to spiritual maturity, yet Biblical knowledge without love for God and neighbor "puffs up" a person (1 Cor. 8:2) and is useless to God and actually harmful to the church. God is well able to take away your ability to memorize if you use it for your own glory. Then, humbly make the commitment before God that you will invest time in scripture memorization. Later, after you choose your book to memorize, you will have the opportunity to make a written covenant before God concerning your commitment.

Choosing Your First Book

Once you have sensed God’s leadership and have made the commitment before God that you will memorize a whole book of the Bible, the next step is to choose the book. This, too, should be done with prayer and a sense of the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Some practical concerns should guide your choice as well:

  1. Not too long (or too short?): Your first book should not be too long, lest you get discouraged in the way and give up. The greatest obstacle to lasting achievement in this arena is lack of perseverance… just giving up. We give up usually because the way seems too long and we feel we lack the strength for the rest of the journey. Just as one who someday wants to finish a marathon does not begin simply by running 26.2 miles but must rather work up to that level, so it is also with extended Scripture memorization. You must get the discipline deeply rooted in your daily habits and you must develop your memory skills before you can attempt a really long book. Start with one around 90-160 verses long. There are shorter books of the Bible, but 2 John or 3 John may not have the same impact on your life as one of the longer epistles. However, all Scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16), and therefore God may call you to start with 2 John.
  2. One that stirs your passions: Choose a book that God has used in the past to minister to you, and that you think would be most useful in your personal walk with Christ and in your ministry to others. You should also choose a book that still has some mysteries to you (as all Scripture should and does!), and that you see as an adventure in learning.

After you have assessed your options, bring various options before the Lord in prayer and listen to His voice. Ask Him to guide you, and He will direct your choice.

Surveying the Terrain

The next step is to survey the entire book for length, and decide how quickly you feel you can memorize it. Perhaps you can start at one verse per day, six days per week. I always recommend taking one day off per week so you don’t get burned out, or to take up the slack for days in which you are sick or exceptionally busy.

The way you survey the terrain is this:

  • Count the number of verses in the entire book.
  • Divide that number by the number of verses you will memorize per week. This is how many weeks the book should take you.
  • Look at a calendar and determine a tentative finish date.
  • Add 10% so as to not feel under tremendous pressure until you get used to this lifestyle (i.e. If you are doing Ephesians—155 verses—at the rate of 6 verses per week, it will take you 26 weeks, or exactly 6 months; add 10%--3 weeks—for a total of 29 weeks)
  • Make a covenant before the Lord that, with his help, you will memorize this book by this date:

"Lord, having sought you in prayer, I believe that you have led me to memorize (name of the book). I now dedicate myself to begin this task with your help and for your glory. I commit myself to memorizing this by (date)."

Sign and date the covenant, and put it in a place where you can get to it regularly when the times get tough. The purpose of surveying the terrain is to mark out a reasonable pace which will make achievement of your goal a probability. It will teach you how much you need to do every day, and when you should finish. The survey leads to a covenant that helps you keep persevering.

Daily Procedures

Priority of reviewing old verses: Always give priority in your mind to the retaining of old verses even over the learning of new ones. What’s the point in going on to new ones if you don’t hold onto the old? This doesn’t mean you should re-memorize the old ones… just that you should begin every day’s work with review of old verses. Look on that as what you need to do to earn the privilege of acquiring some precious new verses. (Work before play!)

Repetition over time: Saying a verse 100 times in one day is not as helpful as saying it every day for 100 days. The absolute key to successful Scripture memorization is repetition over a long time period. This is how you retain old verses while learning new ones.

Memorizing the verse numbers: An important note is that it is well-worth the extra effort to memorize the verse numbers as if they were part of each verse. This will help prevent you from dropping out verses or even whole paragraphs when you’re reciting the book all the way through. It will also help you in being able to pick individual verses out to quote to someone for ministry or evangelistic purposes. Finally, it will help you to be able to recall the verses as you are reading Christian books that cite them… you won’t have to look them up! Ephesians 1:1-3’s verse numbers would be said like this: "One-one. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus; One-two Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. One-three Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…" etc. Longer verse numbers are no different… Ephesians 6:11 would be "Six-eleven. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes." Acts 27:25-26 would be "Twenty-seven twenty-five. So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. Twenty-seven twenty-six., Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island." DON’T SHORT-CUT THIS DISCIPLINE!! It actually makes memorization easier in the long run!

Photographing the verses with your eyes: Memorization is partly visual. This is not to say that blind people can’t memorize the Bible, but just that the memorization process is connected very closely to the eye. Read each new verse ten times, covering each words as though photographing it with your eyes. I can still remember where some particular verses were on the page of the Bible I first used to memorize them. Burn each verse into your brain with your eyes.

Say it out loud: Another help in memorizing is to say the verse out loud to yourself. The additional sensory input to your brain helps the memorization process. It doesn’t have to be very loud, just loud enough so you can hear it. Also, try putting some feeling and interpretation into reciting the verses… this is actually a form of meditation on the verses as you are learning them.

Sample daily procedure: The following is an example of how someone could go about memorizing Ephesians at the rate of one verse per day:

  • Day one: Read Ephesians 1:1 out loud ten times, looking at each word as if photographing it with your eyes. Be sure to include the verse number. Then cover the page and recite it ten times. You’re done for the day.
  • Day two: Yesterday’s verse first!! Recite yesterday’s verse, Ephesians 1:1 ten times, being sure to include the verse number. Look in the Bible if you need to, just to refresh your memory. Now, do your new verse. Read Ephesians 1:2 out loud ten times, looking at each word as if photographing it with your eyes. Be sure to include the verse number. Then cover the page and recite it ten times. You’re done for the day.
  • Day three: Yesterday’s verse first!! Recite yesterday’s verse, Ephesians 1:2 ten times, being sure to include the verse number. Again, you should look in the Bible if you need to, just to refresh your memory. Old verses next, altogether: Recite Ephesians 1:1-2 together once, being sure to include the verse numbers. Now, do your new verse. Read Ephesians 1:3 out loud ten times, looking at each word as if photographing it with your eyes. Be sure to include the verse number. Then cover the page and recite it ten times. You’re done for the day.
  • Day four: Yesterday’s verse first!! Recite yesterday’s verse, Ephesians 1:3 ten times, being sure to include the verse number. Again, you should look in the Bible if you need to, just to refresh your memory. Old verses next, altogether: Recite Ephesians 1:1-3 together once, being sure to include the verse numbers. Now, do your new verse. Read Ephesians 1:4 out loud ten times, looking at each word as if photographing it with your eyes. Be sure to include the verse number. Then cover the page and recite it ten times. You’re done for the day.

This cycle would continue through the entire book. Obviously, the "old verses altogether" stage will soon swell to take the most time of all. That’s exactly the way it should be. The entire book of Ephesians can be read at a reasonable rate in less than fifteen minutes. Therefore, the "old verses altogether" stage of your review should not take longer than that on any given day. Do it with the Bible ready at hand, in case you draw a blank or get stuck… there’s no shame in looking, and it actually helps to nail down troublesome verses so they will never be trouble again. Therefore, your 60th day should look like this:

  • Day sixty: (eight days off in that span means you’re on your 52nd new verse, which would be Ephesians 3:7) Yesterday’s verse first!! Recite yesterday’s verse, Ephesians 3:6 ten times, being sure to include the verse number. Again, you should look in the Bible if you need to, just to refresh your memory. Old verses next, altogether: Recite Ephesians 1:1-3:6 together once, being sure to include the verse numbers. LOOK IN THE BIBLE IF YOU NEED TO, SO THIS PROCESS WON’T TAKE TOO LONG!!! Now, do your new verse. Read Ephesians 3:7 out loud ten times, looking at each word as if photographing it with your eyes. Be sure to include the verse number. Then cover the page and recite it ten times. You’re done for the day.

Long-Term Retention

Assuming you continue this procedure in Ephesians with no missed days (other than your one day off per week), you should be done with the whole book in 26 weeks. When you have learned Ephesians 6:24, "Six twenty-four. Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love." you should stop to celebrate!!! Get on your knees and give thanks to God for His goodness to you.

But after your celebration is done, you need to get back to work. If you have done the "old verses altogether" stage faithfully, this next stage should not be overly burdensome, even though it may seem like it will. RECITE THE ENTIRE BOOK FROM MEMORY FOR 100 CONSECUTIVE DAYS. If you have done your work well, after about the second week you probably won’t even need the Bible anywhere near you while you do this. Thus, you can do this step while in the shower, while driving, while washing dishes, while walking down the road, while exercising… IT WILL ADD NO EXTRA TIME TO YOUR BUSY SCHEDULE!! What is more, it is in this stage that you begin to see the scope of the entire book of Ephesians (or whatever book you have memorized). You will see large themes that unite chapters together, you will see the flow of the argument, you will discover new things that you never knew before.

Be tough with yourself… 100 days without missing a single one! You can do it, and you’ll be glad you did. When that is over, then stick the book in a slot (Monday morning, let’s say), and recite on Monday morning for the rest of your life. You will never forget it. However, don’t forget to weed the garden… as I will describe now:

"Weeding the garden": As you recite a book over a long period of time without looking at the Bible, you will gradually being to make little mistakes or leave verses out. Again, this is why memorizing verse numbers is so essential!!! However, to "weed the garden," simply take one of your Monday morning times after the 100 days (perhaps every other month) and just read the book by sight all the way through. This will correct errors… this will "weed the garden."

Now, you are ready to memorize your next book!!!

Memorizing Long Books & Memorizing Faster

After you’ve taken six months with Ephesians at the rate of one verse per day, you may feel that you’re ready to memorize a longer book. If, for example, you memorized Romans, you would be looking at 432 verses. At the rate of one verse per day, that’s close to a year and a half (with a 10% fudge factor in there). That may be too long for you… you’re ready to pick up the pace. When I memorized the Gospel of Matthew, I did it at the rate of 36 verse per week… six per day, six days per week. It took me about 9 months, since I didn’t maintain that pace the whole time… but Matthew is 1068 verses long… a verse a day would have been much too slow. Let’s look at how to do multiple verses in a single day:

  • Day one: Read Matthew 1:1 out loud ten times, looking at each word as if photographing it with your eyes. Be sure to include the verse number. Then cover the page and recite it ten times. Repeat for verses 2 through 6, being sure to include the verse numbers. Then, recite the whole six verse section, Matthew 1:1-6, ten times. You’re done for the day.
  • Day two: Yesterday’s verses first!! Recite yesterday’s verses, Matthew 1:1-6, ten times, being sure to include the verse numbers. Look in the Bible if you need to, just to refresh your memory. Now, do your new verses. Read Matthew 1:7 out loud ten times, looking at each word as if photographing it with your eyes. Be sure to include the verse number. Then cover the page and recite it ten times. Repeat for Matthew 1:8-12. Then, recite the whole new six verse section, Matthew 1:7-12, ten times. You’re done for the day.
  • Day three: Yesterday’s verses first!! Recite yesterday’s verses, Matthew 1:7-12, ten times, being sure to include the verse number. Again, you should look in the Bible if you need to, just to refresh your memory. Old verses next, altogether: Recite Matthew 1:1-12 together once, being sure to include the verse numbers. Now, do your new verses. Read Matthew 1:13 out loud ten times, looking at each word as if photographing it with your eyes. Be sure to include the verse number. Then cover the page and recite it ten times. Repeat for Matthew 1:14-18. Then, recite the whole new six verse section, Matthew 1:13- 18, ten times. You’re done for the day.
  • Day four: Yesterday’s verses first!! Recite yesterday’s verses, Matthew 1:13-18, ten times, being sure to include the verse number. Again, you should look in the Bible if you need to, just to refresh your memory. Old verses next, altogether: Recite Matthew 1:1-18 together once, being sure to include the verse numbers. Now, do your new verses. Read Matthew 1:19 out loud ten times, looking at each word as if photographing it with your eyes. Be sure to include the verse number. Then cover the page and recite it ten times. Repeat for Matthew 1:20-24. Then, recite the whole new six verse section, Matthew 1:19- 24, ten times. You’re done for the day.

The ongoing review (the "old verses altogether" stage) will get unwieldy once you’re at chapter 7 or 8. At that point, start leaving off chapter 1, then chapter 2, then chapter 3 etc. as you continue to move through the book. Limit the amount of time you spend on the "old verses altogether" stage to fifteen or twenty minutes. Review the chapters you leave off (chapter 1, then 2, then 3) once per week. By the time you get to Matthew 28:20, you will have to divide your long-term review into reasonable portions. This is the "High School Method" of long-term review:

The High School Method of Long-Term Review (using The Gospel of Matthew as an example):

  1. Read Matthew with a stop watch, and time out ten minutes of verses, reading at a normal rate. This may be Matthew 1-5, depending on your normal reading rate. Let’s take that as an example. (I average about 125 verses for 10 minutes). NOTE: Stop at major chapter divisions… don’t do Matthew 1:1 thru 5:37 for example. Dig deep and get to the end of the nearest chapter, even if it’s 11 minutes of reading for you.
  2. Recite Matthew 1-5 every day for 25 days. After about 15 days, you should be able to do it without the Bible, if you did your work well the first time you memorized these verses. Then just do it in the shower or while driving, etc. This shouldn’t add anything extra to your day.
  3. On the 26th day, add the next "ten minutes" of Matthew. Let’s say this is Matthew 6-8. Recite Matthew 6-8 every day for 25 days, while continuing Matthew 1-5 for this time. At the end of this period, you will have done Matthew 1-5 for 50 straight days, and Matthew 6-8 for 25 straight days.
  4. On the 51st day, add the next "ten minutes" (i.e. 125 verse or so) of Matthew. Let’s say this is Matthew 9-12. Do these chapters for 25 days, while continuing Matthew 1-5 and 6-8. At the end of this period, you will have done Matthew 1-5 for 75 days, Matthew 6-8 for 50 days, and Matthew 9-12 for 25 days.
  5. On the 76th day, add the next section… perhaps Matthew 13-15. Do these chapters for 25 days, while continuing Matthew 1-5, 6-8, and 9-12. At the end of this period, you will have done Matthew 1-5 for 100 days, Matthew 6-8 for 75 days, and Matthew 9-12 for 50 days, and Matthew 13-15 for 25 days. As in a high school, Matthew 1-5 is your "senior class", Matthew 6-8 your "junior class," Matthew 9-12 your "sophomore class," and Matthew 13-15 your "freshman class." The entire reciting process should take no more than 45 minutes, if you’ve done your timing right. ALSO NOTE… by this time, you should be able to recite Matthew 1-12 at least with no Bible at all… thus, it can be done while you do other things… thus, you will be sitting and doing nothing but memorization for no more than 15-20 minutes at most.
  6. On the 101st day, you can "graduate" Matthew 1-5, and stick it into a "Monday slot" to do it for the rest of your life… you have done it so many times at this point, you could recite it in your sleep! (Perhaps you do!) Simply recite it every Monday, in addition to the ongoing work you’re doing… or, of that’s too much, just review it once a month to keep it fresh.

Now, add the next "ten minutes" of Matthew, to replace the "senior class" that just graduated… perhaps its Matthew 16-19. Keep on going with Matthew 6-8 (your new "senior class"), Matthew 9-12 ("junior class"), and Matthew 13-15 ("sophomore class"). At the end of this next period, you will have done Matthew 6-8 for 100 days, Matthew 9- 12 for 75 days, Matthew 13-15 for 50 days, and Matthew 16-19 for 25 days.

  • On the 126th day, "graduate" Matthew 6-8, add Matthew 20-22, and continue. At the end of this next period, you will have done Matthew 9-12 for 100 days, Matthew 13- 15 for 75 days, Matthew 16-19 for 50 days, and Matthew 20-22 for 25 days.
  • On the 151st day, "graduate" Matthew 9-12, add Matthew 23-25, and continue. At the end of this next period, you will have done Matthew 13-15 for 100 days, Matthew 16- 19 for 75 days, Matthew 20-22 for 50 days, and Matthew 23-25 for 25 days.
  • On the 176th day, "graduate" Matthew 13-15, add Matthew 26-27, and continue. At the end of this next period, you will have done Matthew 16-19 for 100 days, Matthew 20- 22 for 75 days, Matthew 23-25 for 50 days, and Matthew 26-27 for 25 days.
  • On the 201st day, you can "graduate" Matthew 16-19, and finally add Matthew 28 to your review cycle. Continue on, but add no new verses. Go until you have finished your 100 days on Matthew 28 (the 300th day!!). After about 25 days of doing Matthew 28, you should be able to recite the entire Gospel of Matthew at a good rate of accuracy, totally from memory. At that point, you can fall on your knees and give thanks to God for His goodness to you. But keep doing your work until you’ve finished your 100 days for all verses.
  • Review each section one a week or once a month as you feel the need, in order to keep it fresh.

It is my prayer that God will raise up a generation of people who do this labor, thus presenting themselves to God as those approved, workmen who do not need to be ashamed, and who correctly handle the Word of Truth. (cf. 2 Timothy 2:15) The lost in our nation and the weak and immature churches which have so proliferated are in deep need of the meat of the Word and those qualified to give it to them. May God bless your diligence and hard work!

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Progressive Covenantalism | Stephen J. Wellum https://www.gcclascruces.com/blog/post/progressive-covenantalism-stephen-j-wellum https://www.gcclascruces.com/blog/post/progressive-covenantalism-stephen-j-wellum#comments Thu, 19 Oct 2023 15:53:25 -0400 https://www.gcclascruces.com/blog/post/progressive-covenantalism-stephen-j-wellum PROGRESSIVE COVENANTALISM
Stephen J. Wellum

All Christians agree that the idea of covenant is fundamental to the Bible’s story. At its heart, covenant speaks of God entering into relationship with his creation and specifically his people—“I will be your God and you will be my people.” All Christians also agree that God’s redemptive plan is progressive, namely, it has occurred over time, and that the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan is in Christ. As such, all Christians acknowledge some form of redemptive epochs or dispensations across history demarcated by the biblical covenants, and that the fulfillment of God’s saving purposes in Christ has brought some kind of change or discontinuity from past eras.

Christians differ, however, on the exact relationships between the covenants. This is not a new debate. In the early church, the apostles grappled with the implications of Christ’s new covenant work, especially in contrast to the errors of the Judaizers (Acts 15; Gal 3–4). In fact, many NT authors wrestled with how the covenants relate especially the old and the new, and to Jew-Gentile relationships (Acts 10–11; Rom 9–11; Eph 2:11–22; 3:1–13). Today, there are still disagreements on these issues such as debates on the newness of what Christ has achieved; how the law applies today in Sabbath observance; how previous promises are fulfilled; and the larger discussion of the Israel-church relationship and the role of national Israel in God’s plan.

Within evangelical theology, people tend to answer these questions from either the view of covenant or dispensational theology. I will argue for a third view: “progressive covenantalism.” Before I outline my view, it is vital to remember that in central gospel issues, we agree on more than we disagree, yet significant disagreements remain that require resolution. With that in mind, let me outline my view before I develop it further.1

Progressive covenantalism argues that the Bible presents a plurality of covenants that progressively reveal our triune God’s one redemptive plan for his one people, which reach their fulfillment, telos, and terminus in Christ and the new covenant. Each biblical covenant, then, contributes to God’s unified plan, and to comprehend the “whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27), we must understand each covenant in its own context by locating that covenant in relation to what precedes and follows it. Through the progression of the covenants, we come to know God’s glorious plan, how all of God’s promises are fulfilled in Christ (Heb 1:1–3; cf. Eph 1:9–10), and how we are to live as God’s new covenant people.

In accentuating the covenants, we argue that covenants are more than a unifying theme of Scripture but the backbone to Scripture’s entire storyline, the relational reality that moves history forward according to God’s design and final plan for humanity and all creation, similar to covenant theology. However, unlike covenant theology, the biblical covenants are not divided into two categories: “the covenant of works” or “the covenant of grace.” Rather, God’s one plan unfolds through a plurality of covenants, first starting with Adam and creation and culminating in Christ. The creation covenant is viewed as laying the foundation that continues in all the covenants and is fulfilled in Christ and his obedient work. God’s plan, then, moves from creation in Adam to consummation in Christ.

Concerning the Israel-church relationship, I argue two points. First, God has one people, yet there is an Israel-church distinction due to their respective covenants. The church is new in a redemptive-historical sense precisely because it is the community of the new covenant. Second, we must think of the Israel-church relationship christologically. The church is not directly the “new Israel” or her replacement. Rather, in Christ, the church is God’s new creation, composed of believing Jews and Gentiles, because Jesus is the last Adam and true Israel, the faithful seed of Abraham who inherits the promises by his work. Thus, in union with Christ, the church is God’s new covenant people in continuity with the elect in all ages, but different from Israel in its nature and structure.

This way of viewing Israel-Christ-church differs from dispensational and covenant theology in two areas. First, unlike dispensationalism, Jesus is the antitypical fulfillment of Israel and Adam, and in him, all of God’s promises are fulfilled for his people, including the land promise realized in the new creation (Rom 4:13; Eph 6:3; Heb 11:10, 16; cf. Matt 5:5). Second, from covenant theology, Jesus’ new covenant people are different from Israel. Under the old covenant, Israel, in its nature and structure, was a mixed community of believers and unbelievers (Rom 9:6). Yet the church is constituted by people who are united to Christ by faith and partakers of the blessings of the new covenant, which minimally includes the forgiveness of sin, the gift of the Spirit, and heart circumcision. Thus, in contrast to Israel, the church is constituted as a believing, regenerate people.2 For this reason, baptism, the sign of the new covenant, is only applied to those who profess faith, and circumcision and baptism do not signify the same realities due to their respective covenantal differences.3

How do I draw these conclusions? Let me proceed in three steps. First, I will outline my basic hermeneutical assumptions. Second, I will sketch my view of the progression of the biblical covenants. Third, I will address how the biblical covenants are fulfilled in Christ Jesus and the new covenant.

HERMENEUTICAL ASSUMPTIONS: READING SCRIPTURE AND DOING THEOLOGY

At the heart of Christian theology is the attempt to “take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Cor 10:5). How, then, do we exegete biblical texts, draw theological conclusions, and know that our theological proposals are biblically warranted? This question is not new, and it is not as easy to answer as many assume. All of us have experienced diversity of views in the church, even among those who affirm Scripture’s full authority. In theological debates, adjudication between views is often complicated since theological positions involve more than appealing to one or two texts; entire positions operate with assumptions of how texts are to be read, how these texts relate to other texts, and how they fit in the canon. How do I approach Scripture and draw theological conclusions from it? Four points will summarize my overall hermeneutical approach.4

Scripture is interpreted according to its own claim to be God’s Word written through the agency of human authors. My purpose is not to defend this claim; rather I give two hermeneutical implications that follow. First, since Scripture is God’s Word, I expect an overall unity and coherence, despite its diversity. As applied to the covenants, I assume that the covenants are not independent and isolated from each other, but together unfold God’s one plan centered in Christ (Eph 1:9–10).

Second, since Scripture is God’s Word through human authors, we discover God’s intent through the writing(s) of the human authors (by grammatical-historical exegesis), but given the diversity of authors, a canonical reading is necessary to discover God’s ultimate intent.5 We can even speak about the “fuller sense” (sensus plenior) of Scripture if understood along the lines of G. K. Beale. Beale argues, “The Old Testament authors did not exhaustively understand the meaning, implications, and possible applications of all that they wrote,”6 yet, as God gives more revelation through later authors, we discover more of God’s intent concerning his plan, and how the parts fit with the whole.

For this reason, the NT’s interpretation of the OT is definitive, since later texts bring greater clarity and understanding. The NT shows us how the OT is fulfilled in Christ. The NT’s interpretation of the OT may expand the OT author’s meaning in the sense of seeing new implications and applications. However, later texts do not contravene the meaning of the earlier texts, “but rather develops them in a way which is consistent with the Old Testament author’s understanding of the way in which God interacts with his people”7 in previous eras of redemptive history. Scripture as an entire canon must interpret Scripture. The later parts must “draw out and explain more clearly the earlier parts,”8 and theological conclusions are determined exegetically from the entire canon.

Scripture is interpreted according to what it is, namely, a progressive revelation. Revelation, alongside redemption, occurs progressively and is largely demarcated by the biblical covenants, which reach their telos in Christ. Hebrews 1:1–3 teaches this truth. “Long ago,” the author says, “God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,” and he did so “at many times and in many ways.” God’s Word-act revelation took place over time, and it pointed beyond itself to something more to come. In fact, the author makes this point by the expression “at many times and in many ways,” that is, not only was the OT revelation repetitive, it was also incomplete. In the progress of revelation, God’s plan was unveiled, pointing forward and culminating in Christ. But now, “in [the] Son” (ἐν υἱῷ [en huiō] v. 2), the last days, which the OT predicted, are here, underscoring the truth that Christ is the final and full revelation. There is no reduction of the OT’s authority; rather, the OT is incomplete and intended by God to point beyond itself to God’s full self-disclosure in his Son. In Christ, all of God’s revelation and redemptive purposes culminate.

What hermeneutical implication results from progressive revelation? We interpret Scripture by tracing God’s unfolding plan—the task of “biblical theology.”9 Biblical theology is the exegetical and theological discipline that attempts to “put together” the entire canon in terms of its redemptive-historical progression. Scripture consists of many literary forms that require careful interpretation, but what unites biblical books is an underlying storyline that unfolds God’s redemptive plan, beginning in creation and culminating in the new creation. Our task is to read Scripture according to the Bible’s own presentation (“on its own terms”), which is tied to the progression of the covenants.

Scripture is interpreted according to three horizons or contexts. Scripture unfolds God’s plan over time, so Scripture must tell us how the parts fit with the whole, and what theological conclusions are warranted by the entire canon. In this regard, Richard Lints suggests that we think of biblical interpretation in terms of three horizons or contexts: textual, epochal, and canonical.10

First, the textual or immediate context starts with any text in its context, which we interpret by grammatical/literary-historical exegesis. Second, the epochal context reads the text by locating it in God’s unfolding plan. Texts do not exist in a vacuum; they are embedded in a larger context of what precedes them. As God communicates through authors, there is a unity in his plan but also development, which preserves the balance between continuity and discontinuity in Scripture. Also, locating texts in God’s unfolding plan helps illuminate inter‑biblical links between earlier and later revelation. As later authors refer to earlier texts, they build on them, not only in terms of greater understanding, but also by identifying God-given patterns between earlier and later events, persons, and institutions (“typology”). By this means, but not limited to it, God’s plan unfolds and reaches its telos in Christ. As later authors draw out these God-given types, they do not arbitrarily make connections; rather, they develop these patterns according to God’s intent, which does not contravene earlier texts. We begin to grasp God’s unfolding plan as we read texts in their textual and epochal context.

How do we determine Scripture’s epochal points? This is a major debate within biblical theology.11 Scripture divides redemptive history in a number of ways. For example, in Romans 5:12–21, Paul divides all of human history under two heads: Adam and Christ. Under these two heads, Paul further subdivides history by the following epochs: Adam (vv. 12–13), from Adam to Moses (vv. 14–17), from Moses and the giving of the law-covenant to Christ (vv. 18–21). Or, in Acts 7:1–53, Stephen identifies three distinct periods: the age of the patriarchs (vv. 2–16), the Mosaic age, which included within it the time of the exodus and conquest of the Promised Land (vv. 17–45a), and the age of the monarchy (vv. 45b–53). Or, in the genealogy in Matthew 1, Matthew divides redemptive history into three distinct periods: Abraham to David (vv. 2–6a); Solomon to the exile (vv. 6b–11); and the exile to Christ (vv. 12–17). What is vital to note is that most of Scripture’s epochal divisions follow the unfolding of the covenants, thus my contention that covenantal progression is true to the Bible’s own internal structure.

Does placing texts in their epochal/covenantal context matter? Yes. In Romans 4, for example, Paul argues that Abraham is the paradigm of how God justifies us by faith alone for Jews and Gentiles. Warrant for this claim comes from Genesis 15:6, where God declares Abraham righteous by faith before he was circumcised (Gen 17). What does this prove? Against the Judaizers, Paul argues that Abraham’s justification was not tied to circumcision, as important as circumcision was as a covenant sign under the Abrahamic and Law-covenant. This is why Abraham is the paradigm for Jews and Gentiles. Paul’s argument against the Judaizers is that they have misread Scripture. To claim that Gentiles must be circumcised to know God, first is not true of Abraham, and second, it fails to grasp how circumcision pointed forward to our need for a circumcised heart.12 Now that Christ has come, circumcision’s role in the previous covenants is now fulfilled (1 Cor. 7:19). Paul’s argument, however, only works if he draws theological conclusions from texts in terms of what comes before and after them.

Galatians 3, a significant covenant text, illustrates this same point. Paul counters the Judaizers who, like many conservative Jews, “saw in the law given at Sinai not only a body of instruction but a hermeneutical key to the rest of Scripture.”13 The Judaizers viewed the law-covenant as permanent and not as a temporary means to bring us to Christ and the new covenant. This is why they insisted that for Gentiles to become Christians, they had to obey the law by circumcision. Paul rejects the Judaizers because they misunderstand Scripture. Paul argues that Christians are not under the law as a covenant.14 Rather, Jews and Gentiles are united to Christ by faith apart from the Mosaic law (vv. 1–6). Paul warrants his argument from Scripture. He first appeals to Genesis 15:6 to demonstrate that Abraham was justified by grace through faith (vv. 6–9). True children of Abraham are all who have faith in Christ, regardless of their nationality. Also, Jews and Gentiles now receive all the promised blessings of Abraham because of Christ, who is Abraham’s promised singular seed (v. 16).15 Furthermore, God’s declaring Abraham righteous was before the law-covenant (vv. 15–29). From this, Paul draws two further conclusions. First, the Mosaic law’s coming after Abraham did not nullify the previous promise that Abraham’s true offspring, identified as believing Jews and Gentiles, inherit the promised blessings via Christ. Second, given the placement of the law-covenant in God’s plan, God never intended for it to save. What, then, was the law’s purpose? Multiple answers are possible, but Paul focuses on one: the law functioned as a guardian over Israel until Christ came (vv. 21–24). Now that Christ has come, the law, as a covenant, is fulfilled, and in Christ the Abrahamic promise is given to believing Jews and Gentiles together as heirs (vv. 25–29).16

These two texts illustrate how important it is to “put together” God’s plan by locating each covenant in relation to what preceded and followed it. We risk theological error if we do not carefully think about texts in their epochal/covenantal location.17

Our interpretation of Scripture, however, does not end here. We must also read texts in terms of what comes after them, namely, the canonical context. Scripture is God’s unified revelation so texts must be interpreted canonically, which entails a grammatical/literary-historical-canonical method of interpretation.18

Theological conclusions are made from Scripture by reading the entire canon in context and unpacking the progression of the covenants. All of Scripture is for our instruction (2 Tim 3:15–17), yet we must carefully read and apply it. Central to biblical interpretation is thinking through the progression of the covenants. Although Scripture refers to many covenants, my focus is on the six main covenants: Creation, Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic, and the New. Before I summarize how the Bible’s storyline is unpacked through the covenants, I offer four hermeneutical points about the covenants.

First, God’s one eternal plan is unveiled through a plurality of covenants (e.g., Gal 4:24; Eph 2:12; Heb 8:7–13), and it is important to let each covenant contribute to the unfolding of that one plan. For this reason, progressive covenantalism does not deny the theological concept of “the covenant of grace” if one merely means “the one plan of God.” However, it contends that covenant theology too quickly subsumes the biblical covenants under the larger category of “the covenant of grace,” which results in a failure to account for both the continuity of God’s plan over time and significant covenantal differences, especially in the new covenant. Starting in creation and culminating in Christ, the covenants unveil God’s eternal plan for us and the creation, and it is crucial to let each biblical covenant contribute its part to God’s unified plan.19

Second, the progression of the covenants is the primary means by which God’s promises and typological patterns unfold and are fulfilled in Christ and his people. The promise-fulfillment motif is central to how Scripture glues the diverse epochs of redemptive history together. Yet, it is difficult to think of God’s promises apart from the covenants. By covenantal progression, the biblical authors speak of the continuity of God’s plan (tied to his promises) and its discontinuity (how fulfillment brings about God-intended changes). Furthermore, one way that the promise-fulfillment theme is developed is via typology, which also is unpacked by covenantal progression. Given disputes over what typology is, let me outline my view of the nature and importance of typology, which is important in the entire discussion.

A brief discussion of typology. Richard Davidson’s definition of typology will be employed, which is based on his study of typos in the NT (Rom 5:14; 1 Cor 10:6, 11; 1 Pet 3:21; Heb 8:5; 9:24). Typology is the study of the OT redemptive-historical realities or “types” (persons, events, institutions) which God has specifically designed to correspond to, and predictively prefigure, their intensified antitypical fulfillment aspects (inaugurated, appropriated, and consummated) in NT redemptive history.20 Three further points will develop this basic definition.

  1. Typology is a feature of divine revelation rooted in history and the text. It involves an organic relation between “persons, events, and institutions” in one epoch (“type”) and their counterparts in later epochs (“antitype”).
  2. Typology is prophetic and predictive. Typology is a subset of predictive prophecy, not in the sense of direct verbal predictions, but more indirectly in the sense of predictions built on models/patterns that God intends, that become unveiled as later texts reinforce those patterns, with the goal of anticipating its fulfillment in Christ. As indirect prophecy, typology corresponds well to the Pauline sense of “mystery” (see e.g., Eph 1:9–10; 3:1–10).21 Given typology’s indirectness, it requires careful exegesis in its immediate context, and it may not be fully recognized as a type until later authors pick up the pattern. Yet, typology is in the text, exegetically discovered, and we come to know types as God-intended patterns as later OT authors repeat the pattern, before it reaches its fulfillment in Christ and his people.22
  3. How does typology work? There is a threefold character to it. The first aspect of typology is repetition of a person, event, or institution so that types are repeated in later persons, events, or institutions, thus allowing us to discover a pattern. However, ultimately the types reach their antitypical fulfillment first in Christ and then his people.23

For example, Adam is a type of Christ (Rom 5:14; 1 Cor 15:21–49), the covenant head of the old creation. In God’s plan, Adam anticipates the coming of Jesus, the last Adam, and the head of the new creation. How do we know this? In the immediate context of Genesis 1–3, there are exegetical clues that speak of Adam’s significance and through the covenants “other Adams” appear who take on Adam’s role (e.g., Noah, Abraham, Israel, and David). Yet, none of these “Adams” are the ultimate fulfillment, though they “predict” the last Adam to come. Furthermore, in Christ (the last Adam) and his work, we, as his people, are restored to our Adamic role as image-sons in relation to God and the creation (Heb 2:5–18). Thus, through the covenants, Adam, as a type, takes on greater definition until the last Adam comes.

Or think of the nation of Israel. As God’s son (Ex 4:22–23), Israel not only takes on Adam’s role in the world, but anticipates the coming of the true Son, the true Israel/servant/vine, namely, Christ (see, e.g., Is 5:1–7; Hos 11:1; Mt 2:15; Jn 15:1–17). Furthermore, in union with Christ, God’s people participate in the typological pattern. Thus, in the case of Israel, Christ is first the “true Israel,” and in him we are the eschatological people of God. The church is not the antitypical fulfillment of Israel in the first sense; Christ is. Yet in Christ, the true Son/Israel, we become adopted sons (Gal 3:26–4:7), the “Israel of God” (Gal 6:16), Abraham’s spiritual offspring (Gal 3:29), restored to what God created us to be (Eph 4:20–24). In this way, the new covenant promise given to the “house of Israel/Judah” (Jer 31:31) is applied to the church.

A second feature of typology is its “lesser to greater” (a fortiori) character as the type is fulfilled in the antitype. For example, through covenantal progression, as one moves from Adam or David, to the prophets, priests, and kings, to the last Adam, the true Davidic king, the great high priest, the antitype is always greater than the previous types. Yet, escalation across time does not occur incrementally from the original type to each installment and then to Christ, as if there is a straight line of increase. Rather escalation fully occurs with Christ’s coming. For example, Adam is a type of Christ, and “other Adams” arise, yet these “Adams” fail; there is really no increase, but they all anticipate the last Adam, who perfectly obeys. What is true of Adam is also true of other typological patterns whether they are various persons (Moses, Israel, David, prophets, priests, and kings), events (the exodus), or institutions (sacrificial system, tabernacle/temple). Is the a fortiori quality of typology important? Yes. By it, Scripture presents Christ’s unique identity and warrants the “newness” of the new covenant. In Christ, although his work involves an important “already-not yet” sense, major changes result, directly tied to his coming and the dawn of the new creation.

A third feature of typology is that it develops through covenantal progression. In fact, to think through the development of typological patterns is to walk through the covenants. For example, Adam and “other Adams” are associated with the covenants of creation, Noah, Abraham, Israel, and David. In these covenant heads, Adam’s role continues, and each one anticipates Christ, who by his obedience secures our redemption.24 Or think of the promise to Abraham regarding his “seed.” As the seed promise unfolds it does so in Isaac, Israel, the Davidic king, and ultimately in Christ, and then to the church as Abraham’s spiritual offspring.25 Or think of how Moses, who is foundational for the institution of prophets and who inaugurates the priestly role under the old covenant, is developed in terms of an entire institution of prophets and priests which ultimately culminates in Christ.26 More examples could be given: David and his sons, the entire tabernacle-temple structure, the exodus event that eventually anticipates a greater exodus to come, and so on. All of these types are tied to the covenants; one cannot think of them apart from wrestling with how the covenants relate to each other and how the covenants are fulfilled in Christ and the new covenant. In this way, OT history is truly prophetic and anticipates Christ’s coming and work (e.g., Matt 5:17–18; 11:11–15; Rom 3:21).

Returning to our discussion of the covenants, there is a third hermeneutical point. To categorize the covenants as either unconditional/unilateral (royal grant) or conditional/bilateral (suzerain-vassal) is inadequate.27 By this distinction, some argue that the Abrahamic, Davidic, and new covenants are unconditional, while the “covenant of works” and Mosaic law are conditional. Or some draw law-gospel contrasts so that the “covenant of works” and the old covenant are “law” (bilateral), while the Abrahamic,Davidic, and the new covenant are “gospel” (unilateral). This way of distinguishing the covenants is problematic since each covenant contains both elements. In fact, it is due to this blend that there is a deliberate tension within the covenants—a tension that heightens as God’s plan unfolds—and is only resolved in Christ.28

On the one hand, the covenants gloriously reveal our triune Creator-covenant Lord who makes and keeps his promises. As God initiates covenant relationships with his creatures, he is always the faithful partner—true to his own character and promises (Heb 6:17–18). Regardless of our unfaithfulness, God’s promises, commencing in Genesis 3:15, are certain. Yet God demands from us full devotion and obedience. In this sense, there is a bilateral aspect to the covenants. However, as the covenants progress, a tension grows between God’s faithfulness to his promises and our disobedience. Obedience is not an option for us. God is holy and just; he is the moral standard of the universe, but we have sinned against him. And in light of Genesis 3:15, God’s promises are tied to the provision of an obedient son, who will undo Adam’s disastrous choice. But where is such a son who fully obeys and meets God’s moral demands? How can God remain in relationship with us unless our sin is removed? It is through the covenants that this tension increases, and it is through the covenants that the answer is given: God himself—our covenant-maker and keeper—must unilaterally act to keep his own promise by the provision of an obedient covenant partner.

It is only by maintaining the dual emphasis of unilateral/bilateral in the covenants, leading us to their fulfillment in the unbreakable new covenant in Christ, that we appreciate Scripture’s glorious christological focus. The storyline of Scripture as told by the covenants leads us to him. Jesus alone, who is God the Son incarnate and our great prophet, priest, and king, can secure our salvation. In Christ alone, the covenants are fulfilled, and this built-in tension is resolved.29

Fourth, the new covenant is the fulfillment and telos of the biblical covenants. Since all of the covenants are part of God’s one plan, no covenant is unrelated to what preceded it, and no covenant makes sense apart from its fulfillment in Christ. No doubt, new covenant fulfillment involves an “already-not yet” aspect to it. Yet, what the previous covenants revealed, anticipated, and predicted through various patterns and instruction, is now “already” here. That is why Jesus is the last Adam and head of the new creation; the true seed and offspring of Abraham who brings blessings to the nations; the true Israel fulfilling all that it failed to be; and David’s greater son who rules the nations and the entire creation as king and Lord. In fulfilling the previous covenants, this does not entail that the earlier covenants have no value for us today or that we can jettison the OT from our Bibles. The previous covenants are forever part of Scripture, which is for our instruction and growth (2 Tim 3:16–17). Yet now that Christ has come, Christians are no longer under the previous covenants as covenants (other than the creation and Noahic until the consummation). This entails that we, as the church, obey all of Scripture, but now in light of the fulfillment in Christ and the new covenant we live under (1 Cor 9:19–21).30

THE BIBLICAL COVENANTS: FROM CREATION TO THE PROMISE OF THE NEW COVENANT

Through covenantal progression, the larger truth of “kingdom through covenant” emerges, which unites the Bible’s metanarrative from creation to consummation. Let me first introduce kingdom before I relate it to my overall understanding of covenants.

Kingdom through covenant. Graeme Goldsworthy argues, “The idea of the rule of God over creation, over all creatures, over the kingdoms of the world, and in a unique and special way, over his chosen and redeemed people, is the very heart of the message of the Hebrew scriptures.”31 Yet as Tom Schreiner demonstrates, God’s kingdom is not only central to the OT but also “of prime importance in New Testament theology.”32 I offer three initial points regarding kingdom.

First, Scripture begins with the declaration that God, as Creator and triune Lord, is the king of the universe (Gen 1–2; Ps 103:19; Dan 4:34–35; Acts 17:24–25). God’s creation work is the outworking of his eternal plan in time (Eph 1:11; Rev 4:11), which he directs to a specific eschatological telos. As history unfolds, God’s plan is unpacked vis-à-vis specific covenantal relationships, which all lead to a christological telos (cf. Col 1:15–20). Although the wording “kingdom of God” comes later in Scripture, the idea is taught in its first chapters.

Second, our triune God is the king, but the fall brings change. Before the fall, everything is “very good” (Gen 1:31), but now, in light of human sin, God’s rule over creation is rejected by his creatures. Sin is essentially rebellion against the king—moral autonomy—and now we stand under God’s condemnation and death (Gen 2:16–17; Rom 3:23; 6:23). Given the fall, the OT distinguishes between God’s sovereign rule over creation and his coming saving reign to make all things right. For God to save, he must act, which sets the stage for the Bible’s story of a coming Redeemer to set creation right and to usher in a new creation.33

Third, how does God’s saving kingdom come? It comes through the covenants in a twofold way. First, it comes through the covenant relationship God establishes with his image-bearers, that is, his priest-kings. Through this relationship, God’s rule is extended in his people and to the creation. Yet, sadly, we have failed in our calling. Second, God’s saving rule comes through the biblical covenants over time. Following the loss of Eden, redemption is linked to a promised human (Gen 3:15), which is given greater definition through Noah, Abraham, Israel, and the Davidic kings. Through the covenants, God reveals how his image-bearers ought to live and how he will establish his saving reign and restore creation through a promised, obedient Son.

Kingdom through covenant. Scripture organically ties kingdom and covenant together: it is through the covenants that God’s saving reign comes in Christ. Let me summarize the biblical covenants with the goal of showing how their progression culminates in Christ, and some theological implications that result.34

The creation covenant. Covenant theology refers to the covenant in Genesis 1–2 as the “covenant of works,” and dispensational theology rarely speaks of a covenant with creation, or at least it does not factor much into their theological system. For covenant theology, the “covenant of works” is made with Adam as the head/representative of the human race. To him and his entire posterity, eternal life is promised upon the condition of perfect obedience to God’s law. But due to his disobedience, Adam, along with all humanity, was plunged into a state of sin, death, and condemnation. God graciously did not leave humans in this condition but instead gave a saving promise, wherein he offered to sinners life and salvation through Christ as the last Adam.

Although this formulation is standard for covenant theology, some have questioned the validity of a “covenant of works” or any covenant in creation due to the absence of the word “covenant” (תיִרְבּ [bĕrît]) in Genesis 1–2 and the idea of Adam working to gain favor with God. One must demonstrate caution regarding the notion of works in this context, yet there is ample reason to contend for a “covenant of creation” with Adam serving as the covenant mediator for three reasons.

First, the absence of the word “covenant” in Genesis 1–2 does not entail that there is no covenant; context and later Scripture are decisive (e.g., Hos 6:7; Gen 2:19–25 [marriage]). Exegetically, there is a distinction between the words to “cut” (for the first time) and “establish” (continue) a covenant.35 In Genesis 6:17–18 and 9:8–17, God “establishes” (Gen 6:18; 9:9, 11, 17) a covenant with Noah, which implies a preexisting covenant relationship that can only be found in Adam and rooted in creation. Later Scripture confirms this point (e.g., Hos 6:7).

Second, contextually, not only are covenantal elements present such as the Lord/vassal relationship, the obedience-disobedience motif (Gen 2:16–17), but also God identifies himself by his covenant name: Yahweh (Gen 2:4, 5, 7, 8; Ex 3:13–15). God creates Adam as God’s image-bearer and son (Lk 3:38), which are covenantal terms and assume a covenant relationship.

Third, the canonical context reveals that the Bible’s storyline divides humanity under the headship of two individuals, Adam and Christ (Rom 5:12–21). Yet the new covenant headship of Christ as the last Adam makes little sense without the covenant headship of the first Adam. Adam represents the “old creation” and “this present age,” characterized by sin, death, and judgment. Christ represents the “new creation,” which, from the perspective of the OT prophets, is identified with the “age to come” of salvation, life, and restoration. As God’s royal priest-king (and son), Adam is given the mandate to rule over God’s creation, to put all things under his feet (cf. Ps 8), and to establish the pattern of God’s kingdom in this world. But, sadly, Adam disobeys, and the entire human race and the created order are affected. In Adam, unless God acts in grace and power, the original creation stands under divine judgment.

Starting with a “creation covenant” for understanding the Bible’s storyline is imperative for at least two reasons. First, the creation covenant is foundational for all future covenants since all subsequent covenants unpack Adam’s role in the world. Adam, and all humanity, is created as God’s image-son, a priest-king to rule over creation. Adam is created in relationship with God as he mediates God’s rule to the world; he does not need to merit favor before God. Yet God, as holy and just, demands perfect obedience from his covenant partner. All subsequent covenant heads will function as subsets of Adam, who, in God’s plan, will point forward to Christ. Even though the amount of space devoted to Adam is small, his role as the representative head of creation defines what comes after him and the entire work of Christ (Heb 2:5–18).

Second, the creation covenant is foundational for establishing various typological patterns that eventually reach their telos in Christ and the new covenant (e.g., the rest of the seventh day in Sabbath [Gen 2:1–3; Ex 20:8–11] and salvation rest in Christ [Heb 3:7–4:13]; Eden as a temple sanctuary which is fulfilled in Christ as the new temple; and marriage which points to a greater reality, viz., Christ’s relationship to his people [Gen 2:24–25; Eph 5:32]). All of these patterns will eschatologically be fulfilled in Christ and God’s new covenant people.

One last point: the “covenant with creation” must also discuss sin’s entrance into the world and God’s first redemption promise, a promise that receives clarification and expansion in subsequent covenants. Genesis 3 describes how, in history, sin entered the human race, which God alone can remedy. Humans, created to know God and to rule, now end in death—physically and spiritually (Gen 2:17; Rom 6:23). As the text unfolds, God’s punishment of our sin is swift, leading to God’s expulsion of Adam from Eden, and God blocking entrance to the Tree of Life, signifying that we are no longer in life-giving fellowship with the Lord. As God’s plan unfolds, we learn that the only way back to Eden is through God’s provision of the tabernacle/temple, and ultimately the one who fulfills it, Messiah Jesus (see Jn 2:19–21; cf. Rev 21–22), which subsequent covenants reveal in instruction and type.

Genesis 3 is also crucial in establishing God’s first redemption promise. Sin’s effects are disastrous, but God speaks a word of promise (Gen 3:15). Before God, sin creates a covenantal tension. Covenants allow God to be present with his people, and his people to enjoy rest. Yet how can sinners dwell in his presence? How can God be just and the justifier of the ungodly (Rom 3:25–26)? Scripture’s answer is glorious: God himself must save us—he must act in perfect justice and manifest his grace. And he must do so by providing a “seed,” yet a greater Adam and Son, who as God the Son incarnate, will perfectly obey even unto death, and thus pay for our sin, and reverse the alienating effects of sin by a new covenant (Phil 2:5–11; Heb 2:5–18).

The Noahic covenant. The word “covenant” first appears with Noah (Gen 6:18; cf. 9:9–11), but this covenant is a continuation of the prior creation covenant demonstrating God’s commitment to creation, especially in light of human sin. Given sin, humans and creation are threatened, but given God’s promise in Genesis 3:15 and now his promise as “the earth remains” (8:22), this covenant re-enforces God’s intention that humans will fulfill their role as image-bearers in creation. The “seed of the woman” will now come through Noah, the covenant mediator and his family, and it is he who will reverse the effects of sin and usher in a “new creation.” Noah is “another Adam” (Gen 9:1–7; cf. 1:26–30), and the universal scope of the covenant reminds us that God’s purposes encompass not just one people but all nations and the entire creation.

The Noahic covenant establishes two further points. First, Noah’s disobedience (Gen 9:18–28) demonstrates that our heart problem remains (see Gen 6:5–7 with 8:21–22), and that he is not the promised one. What we need is a greater heart transformation by the Spirit, tied to the forgiveness of sin, so humans will complete their role as image-bearers. Second, the Noahic covenant explains why fallen humanity simultaneously exists alongside God’s people until the consummation. In fact, given the Noahic promise, while Christ has already inaugurated the future age, the creation order and fallen humanity continue until the end.

The Abrahamic covenant. Given its textual-epochal context, the Abrahamic covenant comes after Genesis 1–11. Similar to the Noahic covenant, the Abrahamic presents anew the plan of creation over against God’s judgments on human sin (Gen 11). For this reason elements from the creation covenant are repeated in the blessing to Abraham: God’s promise of a great name and seed, the multiplication of progeny, the promise of the land, reconciled relations between God and humans, and blessing to the nations, and the restoration of the nations (Gen 12:1–3; cf. 15:4–5; 17:1–8; 18:18–19; 22:16–18). Yet, unlike with Noah, God does not destroy the human race. Instead, God allows the nations to exist and then calls Abraham out of the nations to become a great nation (יוֹג [gôy]), that is, a world political community, indeed a kingdom. God’s intent is to work through the covenant mediator, Abraham and his seed, to bring blessing to the nations by making him a great nation.

It is best to view the Abrahamic covenant as the means by which God will fulfill his promises for humanity, especially in light of Genesis 3:15 (cf. Gal 3:16). Abraham and his family constitute “another Adam,” a calling into existence of something new, parallel to creation, but in this case a “new creation” (Rom 4:17). The Abrahamic covenant functions as a subset of the “covenant with creation,” yet narrowed through one family/nation. In Abraham and his seed, first in Isaac, then in Israel, and then the Davidic king, all of God’s promises for the human race will be enacted—promises that God unilaterally keeps, as beautifully portrayed in the covenant inauguration ceremony in Genesis 15.

Within the Abrahamic narrative there is a hint that over time the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant will occur in two stages: first, in the nation of Israel who will live in the Promised Land and serve as a kingdom of priests under the Mosaic covenant (Ex 19:4–6; Deut 4:5–8). Second, in Christ, Abraham’s royal, singular seed will bless all nations (Gen 17:4–6; cf. 22:17b–18; 49:8, 10; Is 9:6). Even in Genesis, Abraham’s “fatherhood” is expanded “beyond ethnic Israelites to include the nations.”36 This seems to entail not only the promise of a global inheritance but also an expansion of the Promised Land “to include the planet and its numerous people (Gen 1:28; Mt 5:5; Rom 4:13; cf. Eph 6:2–3; Heb 11:13–16).”37 As Jason DeRouchie notes, “This kind of expansion is suggested in Gen 22:17b–18 where we are told that the unique, male deliverer will not only bless ‘all the nations of the earth’ but will also possess ‘the gate of his enemies,’ claiming once-enemy territory, his kingdom expanding to fill the earth (cf. Gen 24:60).”38 This makes perfect sense since, in covenantal progression, the Abrahamic covenant is the means by which God will fulfill his promises for humanity (Gen 3:15).

Two other elements of the Abrahamic covenant are important. First, it is multifaceted. It not only encompasses spiritual aspects that link it ultimately to the new covenant, but it also consists of national and typological elements that must be carefully unpacked through the covenants. Second, it also consists of unilateral/bilateral elements. God’s action in Genesis 15 is unilateral, yet God also demands full obedience from his covenant partner for the covenant to continue (Gen 17:1; 18:19; 22:16–18). And like Adam and Noah, Abraham fails to meet this demand. This growing tension between God unilaterally keeping his promises and demanding an obedient covenant partner is only resolved in the true seed of Abraham, Messiah Jesus (Gal 3:16).

The Mosaic covenant. In the OT, the amount of space devoted to the Mosaic covenant (or “old covenant”) is vast, yet Scripture teaches that it is a means to an end, not an end in itself. Scripture views the “old covenant” as temporary in God’s plan, and thus when Christ comes, it is fulfilled as an entire covenant package, and Christians are no longer under it as a covenant (Gal 3:15–4:7). What, then, is its purpose? The answer is diverse, but at its heart it revealed and intensified sin and prepared God’s people for Christ’s coming (Rom 5:20–21; 7:13; Gal 4:4). Additionally, three points are important in summarizing the nature of the old covenant and its place in God’s redemptive plan.

First, given its epochal/covenantal context, God calls Moses to deliver Israel from Egypt and establishes a covenant with them because of his promises to Abraham (Ex 3:6; cf. 2:24–25; Deut 4:36–38). God chose Israel because of his love for them (Deut 7:7) and his covenant loyalty to Abraham (Ex 19:4; Deut 7:8). Also, the old covenant, in relation to the previous covenants, reveals with greater clarity how Abraham’s “seed” is narrowed to the nation of Israel. Israel, as a nation (יוֹג [gôy]) (Ex 19:5–6), is “another Adam” and fulfills that role to the nations. It is through Israel that God fulfills his promise (Gen 3:15) to undo Adam’s sin. Further proof of this truth is that Israel, as a nation, is called God’s “son” (Ex 4:22–23). The “Father-son” relationship hearkens back to Adam and forward to the Davidic kings, tying the covenants together. Israel, as a nation, is called to serve as God’s son-priest-image. They were to reveal what it looked like to be God’s image-son, and through them to bring blessing to the world.

Second, the old covenant is an entire package. Scripture does not partition the law-covenant into moral, civil, and ceremonial laws; rather, it is a unit that governed Israel’s life, and now, in Christ, it is fulfilled.39 Also, as a package, the old covenant develops in greater detail a number of typological patterns that find their antitypical fulfillment in Christ and his people. For example, within the law-covenant, Israel, as a kingdom of priests, needs Levitical priests to represent them before God. In fact, one cannot think of the old covenant apart from its grounding in the priesthood (Heb 7:11), signifying the need for the forgiveness of sin. Related to the priesthood is the entire tabernacle-temple-sacrificial system, which not only served as a means by which Israel dwelt in God’s presence, but also pointed to their antitypical fulfillment in Christ and the full forgiveness of sin (Jn 2:19–22; Is 52–53; Heb 5:1–10; 7–10). The same is true of the role of the prophet and the anticipation of the king, two other offices that are fulfilled in Christ.40 Or think of the event of the Passover and exodus, which first establishes Israel in covenant relationship with God. Through the covenants, the Passover and exodus become patterns of a greater, new exodus/redemption to come, all of which is fulfilled by Christ.41

Third, although the old covenant is predominantly bilateral and God rightly demands an obedient covenant partner, it is more than this. As with all the covenants, God unilaterally keeps his promises, yet Israel is to be an obedient son. And like Adam, they failed. The old covenant heightens the tension in how God’s kingdom comes through fallen people. God will keep his promise to bring forth the offspring of Abraham, now through an Israelite. And yet, Israel cannot produce the son and faithful covenant partner that God demands. For this reason, the OT prophets anticipate a permanent, unbreakable new covenant to solve this dilemma (Jer 31:31–34). In numerous ways, the law-covenant was prophetic (Mt 11:13) since it pointed forward to God’s provision of salvation, but in the end, God’s righteousness comes apart from the law-covenant in Christ Jesus (Rom 3:21–31).

The Davidic covenant. The Davidic covenant is the epitome of the OT covenants; it brings the previous covenants to a climax in the king. There are two main parts to it: (1) God’s promises about the establishment of David’s house forever (2 Sam 7:12–16), and (2) the promises concerning the “Father-son” relationship between God and the Davidic king (2 Sam 7:14; cf. Ps 2; 89:26–27). The meaning of this “sonship” is twofold. First, it inextricably ties the Davidic covenant to the previous covenants, and second, it anticipates in type the greater Sonship of Christ. Regarding the former, the sonship applied to corporate Israel (Ex 4:22–23; cf. Hos 11:1) is now applied to the individual Davidic king, who, in himself, is “true Israel.” He becomes the administrator/mediator of the covenant thus representing God’s rule to the people and representing the people as a whole (2 Sam 7:22–24). This ]]> PROGRESSIVE COVENANTALISM
Stephen J. Wellum

All Christians agree that the idea of covenant is fundamental to the Bible’s story. At its heart, covenant speaks of God entering into relationship with his creation and specifically his people—“I will be your God and you will be my people.” All Christians also agree that God’s redemptive plan is progressive, namely, it has occurred over time, and that the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan is in Christ. As such, all Christians acknowledge some form of redemptive epochs or dispensations across history demarcated by the biblical covenants, and that the fulfillment of God’s saving purposes in Christ has brought some kind of change or discontinuity from past eras.

Christians differ, however, on the exact relationships between the covenants. This is not a new debate. In the early church, the apostles grappled with the implications of Christ’s new covenant work, especially in contrast to the errors of the Judaizers (Acts 15; Gal 3–4). In fact, many NT authors wrestled with how the covenants relate especially the old and the new, and to Jew-Gentile relationships (Acts 10–11; Rom 9–11; Eph 2:11–22; 3:1–13). Today, there are still disagreements on these issues such as debates on the newness of what Christ has achieved; how the law applies today in Sabbath observance; how previous promises are fulfilled; and the larger discussion of the Israel-church relationship and the role of national Israel in God’s plan.

Within evangelical theology, people tend to answer these questions from either the view of covenant or dispensational theology. I will argue for a third view: “progressive covenantalism.” Before I outline my view, it is vital to remember that in central gospel issues, we agree on more than we disagree, yet significant disagreements remain that require resolution. With that in mind, let me outline my view before I develop it further.1

Progressive covenantalism argues that the Bible presents a plurality of covenants that progressively reveal our triune God’s one redemptive plan for his one people, which reach their fulfillment, telos, and terminus in Christ and the new covenant. Each biblical covenant, then, contributes to God’s unified plan, and to comprehend the “whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27), we must understand each covenant in its own context by locating that covenant in relation to what precedes and follows it. Through the progression of the covenants, we come to know God’s glorious plan, how all of God’s promises are fulfilled in Christ (Heb 1:1–3; cf. Eph 1:9–10), and how we are to live as God’s new covenant people.

In accentuating the covenants, we argue that covenants are more than a unifying theme of Scripture but the backbone to Scripture’s entire storyline, the relational reality that moves history forward according to God’s design and final plan for humanity and all creation, similar to covenant theology. However, unlike covenant theology, the biblical covenants are not divided into two categories: “the covenant of works” or “the covenant of grace.” Rather, God’s one plan unfolds through a plurality of covenants, first starting with Adam and creation and culminating in Christ. The creation covenant is viewed as laying the foundation that continues in all the covenants and is fulfilled in Christ and his obedient work. God’s plan, then, moves from creation in Adam to consummation in Christ.

Concerning the Israel-church relationship, I argue two points. First, God has one people, yet there is an Israel-church distinction due to their respective covenants. The church is new in a redemptive-historical sense precisely because it is the community of the new covenant. Second, we must think of the Israel-church relationship christologically. The church is not directly the “new Israel” or her replacement. Rather, in Christ, the church is God’s new creation, composed of believing Jews and Gentiles, because Jesus is the last Adam and true Israel, the faithful seed of Abraham who inherits the promises by his work. Thus, in union with Christ, the church is God’s new covenant people in continuity with the elect in all ages, but different from Israel in its nature and structure.

This way of viewing Israel-Christ-church differs from dispensational and covenant theology in two areas. First, unlike dispensationalism, Jesus is the antitypical fulfillment of Israel and Adam, and in him, all of God’s promises are fulfilled for his people, including the land promise realized in the new creation (Rom 4:13; Eph 6:3; Heb 11:10, 16; cf. Matt 5:5). Second, from covenant theology, Jesus’ new covenant people are different from Israel. Under the old covenant, Israel, in its nature and structure, was a mixed community of believers and unbelievers (Rom 9:6). Yet the church is constituted by people who are united to Christ by faith and partakers of the blessings of the new covenant, which minimally includes the forgiveness of sin, the gift of the Spirit, and heart circumcision. Thus, in contrast to Israel, the church is constituted as a believing, regenerate people.2 For this reason, baptism, the sign of the new covenant, is only applied to those who profess faith, and circumcision and baptism do not signify the same realities due to their respective covenantal differences.3

How do I draw these conclusions? Let me proceed in three steps. First, I will outline my basic hermeneutical assumptions. Second, I will sketch my view of the progression of the biblical covenants. Third, I will address how the biblical covenants are fulfilled in Christ Jesus and the new covenant.

HERMENEUTICAL ASSUMPTIONS: READING SCRIPTURE AND DOING THEOLOGY

At the heart of Christian theology is the attempt to “take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Cor 10:5). How, then, do we exegete biblical texts, draw theological conclusions, and know that our theological proposals are biblically warranted? This question is not new, and it is not as easy to answer as many assume. All of us have experienced diversity of views in the church, even among those who affirm Scripture’s full authority. In theological debates, adjudication between views is often complicated since theological positions involve more than appealing to one or two texts; entire positions operate with assumptions of how texts are to be read, how these texts relate to other texts, and how they fit in the canon. How do I approach Scripture and draw theological conclusions from it? Four points will summarize my overall hermeneutical approach.4

Scripture is interpreted according to its own claim to be God’s Word written through the agency of human authors. My purpose is not to defend this claim; rather I give two hermeneutical implications that follow. First, since Scripture is God’s Word, I expect an overall unity and coherence, despite its diversity. As applied to the covenants, I assume that the covenants are not independent and isolated from each other, but together unfold God’s one plan centered in Christ (Eph 1:9–10).

Second, since Scripture is God’s Word through human authors, we discover God’s intent through the writing(s) of the human authors (by grammatical-historical exegesis), but given the diversity of authors, a canonical reading is necessary to discover God’s ultimate intent.5 We can even speak about the “fuller sense” (sensus plenior) of Scripture if understood along the lines of G. K. Beale. Beale argues, “The Old Testament authors did not exhaustively understand the meaning, implications, and possible applications of all that they wrote,”6 yet, as God gives more revelation through later authors, we discover more of God’s intent concerning his plan, and how the parts fit with the whole.

For this reason, the NT’s interpretation of the OT is definitive, since later texts bring greater clarity and understanding. The NT shows us how the OT is fulfilled in Christ. The NT’s interpretation of the OT may expand the OT author’s meaning in the sense of seeing new implications and applications. However, later texts do not contravene the meaning of the earlier texts, “but rather develops them in a way which is consistent with the Old Testament author’s understanding of the way in which God interacts with his people”7 in previous eras of redemptive history. Scripture as an entire canon must interpret Scripture. The later parts must “draw out and explain more clearly the earlier parts,”8 and theological conclusions are determined exegetically from the entire canon.

Scripture is interpreted according to what it is, namely, a progressive revelation. Revelation, alongside redemption, occurs progressively and is largely demarcated by the biblical covenants, which reach their telos in Christ. Hebrews 1:1–3 teaches this truth. “Long ago,” the author says, “God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,” and he did so “at many times and in many ways.” God’s Word-act revelation took place over time, and it pointed beyond itself to something more to come. In fact, the author makes this point by the expression “at many times and in many ways,” that is, not only was the OT revelation repetitive, it was also incomplete. In the progress of revelation, God’s plan was unveiled, pointing forward and culminating in Christ. But now, “in [the] Son” (ἐν υἱῷ [en huiō] v. 2), the last days, which the OT predicted, are here, underscoring the truth that Christ is the final and full revelation. There is no reduction of the OT’s authority; rather, the OT is incomplete and intended by God to point beyond itself to God’s full self-disclosure in his Son. In Christ, all of God’s revelation and redemptive purposes culminate.

What hermeneutical implication results from progressive revelation? We interpret Scripture by tracing God’s unfolding plan—the task of “biblical theology.”9 Biblical theology is the exegetical and theological discipline that attempts to “put together” the entire canon in terms of its redemptive-historical progression. Scripture consists of many literary forms that require careful interpretation, but what unites biblical books is an underlying storyline that unfolds God’s redemptive plan, beginning in creation and culminating in the new creation. Our task is to read Scripture according to the Bible’s own presentation (“on its own terms”), which is tied to the progression of the covenants.

Scripture is interpreted according to three horizons or contexts. Scripture unfolds God’s plan over time, so Scripture must tell us how the parts fit with the whole, and what theological conclusions are warranted by the entire canon. In this regard, Richard Lints suggests that we think of biblical interpretation in terms of three horizons or contexts: textual, epochal, and canonical.10

First, the textual or immediate context starts with any text in its context, which we interpret by grammatical/literary-historical exegesis. Second, the epochal context reads the text by locating it in God’s unfolding plan. Texts do not exist in a vacuum; they are embedded in a larger context of what precedes them. As God communicates through authors, there is a unity in his plan but also development, which preserves the balance between continuity and discontinuity in Scripture. Also, locating texts in God’s unfolding plan helps illuminate inter‑biblical links between earlier and later revelation. As later authors refer to earlier texts, they build on them, not only in terms of greater understanding, but also by identifying God-given patterns between earlier and later events, persons, and institutions (“typology”). By this means, but not limited to it, God’s plan unfolds and reaches its telos in Christ. As later authors draw out these God-given types, they do not arbitrarily make connections; rather, they develop these patterns according to God’s intent, which does not contravene earlier texts. We begin to grasp God’s unfolding plan as we read texts in their textual and epochal context.

How do we determine Scripture’s epochal points? This is a major debate within biblical theology.11 Scripture divides redemptive history in a number of ways. For example, in Romans 5:12–21, Paul divides all of human history under two heads: Adam and Christ. Under these two heads, Paul further subdivides history by the following epochs: Adam (vv. 12–13), from Adam to Moses (vv. 14–17), from Moses and the giving of the law-covenant to Christ (vv. 18–21). Or, in Acts 7:1–53, Stephen identifies three distinct periods: the age of the patriarchs (vv. 2–16), the Mosaic age, which included within it the time of the exodus and conquest of the Promised Land (vv. 17–45a), and the age of the monarchy (vv. 45b–53). Or, in the genealogy in Matthew 1, Matthew divides redemptive history into three distinct periods: Abraham to David (vv. 2–6a); Solomon to the exile (vv. 6b–11); and the exile to Christ (vv. 12–17). What is vital to note is that most of Scripture’s epochal divisions follow the unfolding of the covenants, thus my contention that covenantal progression is true to the Bible’s own internal structure.

Does placing texts in their epochal/covenantal context matter? Yes. In Romans 4, for example, Paul argues that Abraham is the paradigm of how God justifies us by faith alone for Jews and Gentiles. Warrant for this claim comes from Genesis 15:6, where God declares Abraham righteous by faith before he was circumcised (Gen 17). What does this prove? Against the Judaizers, Paul argues that Abraham’s justification was not tied to circumcision, as important as circumcision was as a covenant sign under the Abrahamic and Law-covenant. This is why Abraham is the paradigm for Jews and Gentiles. Paul’s argument against the Judaizers is that they have misread Scripture. To claim that Gentiles must be circumcised to know God, first is not true of Abraham, and second, it fails to grasp how circumcision pointed forward to our need for a circumcised heart.12 Now that Christ has come, circumcision’s role in the previous covenants is now fulfilled (1 Cor. 7:19). Paul’s argument, however, only works if he draws theological conclusions from texts in terms of what comes before and after them.

Galatians 3, a significant covenant text, illustrates this same point. Paul counters the Judaizers who, like many conservative Jews, “saw in the law given at Sinai not only a body of instruction but a hermeneutical key to the rest of Scripture.”13 The Judaizers viewed the law-covenant as permanent and not as a temporary means to bring us to Christ and the new covenant. This is why they insisted that for Gentiles to become Christians, they had to obey the law by circumcision. Paul rejects the Judaizers because they misunderstand Scripture. Paul argues that Christians are not under the law as a covenant.14 Rather, Jews and Gentiles are united to Christ by faith apart from the Mosaic law (vv. 1–6). Paul warrants his argument from Scripture. He first appeals to Genesis 15:6 to demonstrate that Abraham was justified by grace through faith (vv. 6–9). True children of Abraham are all who have faith in Christ, regardless of their nationality. Also, Jews and Gentiles now receive all the promised blessings of Abraham because of Christ, who is Abraham’s promised singular seed (v. 16).15 Furthermore, God’s declaring Abraham righteous was before the law-covenant (vv. 15–29). From this, Paul draws two further conclusions. First, the Mosaic law’s coming after Abraham did not nullify the previous promise that Abraham’s true offspring, identified as believing Jews and Gentiles, inherit the promised blessings via Christ. Second, given the placement of the law-covenant in God’s plan, God never intended for it to save. What, then, was the law’s purpose? Multiple answers are possible, but Paul focuses on one: the law functioned as a guardian over Israel until Christ came (vv. 21–24). Now that Christ has come, the law, as a covenant, is fulfilled, and in Christ the Abrahamic promise is given to believing Jews and Gentiles together as heirs (vv. 25–29).16

These two texts illustrate how important it is to “put together” God’s plan by locating each covenant in relation to what preceded and followed it. We risk theological error if we do not carefully think about texts in their epochal/covenantal location.17

Our interpretation of Scripture, however, does not end here. We must also read texts in terms of what comes after them, namely, the canonical context. Scripture is God’s unified revelation so texts must be interpreted canonically, which entails a grammatical/literary-historical-canonical method of interpretation.18

Theological conclusions are made from Scripture by reading the entire canon in context and unpacking the progression of the covenants. All of Scripture is for our instruction (2 Tim 3:15–17), yet we must carefully read and apply it. Central to biblical interpretation is thinking through the progression of the covenants. Although Scripture refers to many covenants, my focus is on the six main covenants: Creation, Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic, and the New. Before I summarize how the Bible’s storyline is unpacked through the covenants, I offer four hermeneutical points about the covenants.

First, God’s one eternal plan is unveiled through a plurality of covenants (e.g., Gal 4:24; Eph 2:12; Heb 8:7–13), and it is important to let each covenant contribute to the unfolding of that one plan. For this reason, progressive covenantalism does not deny the theological concept of “the covenant of grace” if one merely means “the one plan of God.” However, it contends that covenant theology too quickly subsumes the biblical covenants under the larger category of “the covenant of grace,” which results in a failure to account for both the continuity of God’s plan over time and significant covenantal differences, especially in the new covenant. Starting in creation and culminating in Christ, the covenants unveil God’s eternal plan for us and the creation, and it is crucial to let each biblical covenant contribute its part to God’s unified plan.19

Second, the progression of the covenants is the primary means by which God’s promises and typological patterns unfold and are fulfilled in Christ and his people. The promise-fulfillment motif is central to how Scripture glues the diverse epochs of redemptive history together. Yet, it is difficult to think of God’s promises apart from the covenants. By covenantal progression, the biblical authors speak of the continuity of God’s plan (tied to his promises) and its discontinuity (how fulfillment brings about God-intended changes). Furthermore, one way that the promise-fulfillment theme is developed is via typology, which also is unpacked by covenantal progression. Given disputes over what typology is, let me outline my view of the nature and importance of typology, which is important in the entire discussion.

A brief discussion of typology. Richard Davidson’s definition of typology will be employed, which is based on his study of typos in the NT (Rom 5:14; 1 Cor 10:6, 11; 1 Pet 3:21; Heb 8:5; 9:24). Typology is the study of the OT redemptive-historical realities or “types” (persons, events, institutions) which God has specifically designed to correspond to, and predictively prefigure, their intensified antitypical fulfillment aspects (inaugurated, appropriated, and consummated) in NT redemptive history.20 Three further points will develop this basic definition.

  1. Typology is a feature of divine revelation rooted in history and the text. It involves an organic relation between “persons, events, and institutions” in one epoch (“type”) and their counterparts in later epochs (“antitype”).
  2. Typology is prophetic and predictive. Typology is a subset of predictive prophecy, not in the sense of direct verbal predictions, but more indirectly in the sense of predictions built on models/patterns that God intends, that become unveiled as later texts reinforce those patterns, with the goal of anticipating its fulfillment in Christ. As indirect prophecy, typology corresponds well to the Pauline sense of “mystery” (see e.g., Eph 1:9–10; 3:1–10).21 Given typology’s indirectness, it requires careful exegesis in its immediate context, and it may not be fully recognized as a type until later authors pick up the pattern. Yet, typology is in the text, exegetically discovered, and we come to know types as God-intended patterns as later OT authors repeat the pattern, before it reaches its fulfillment in Christ and his people.22
  3. How does typology work? There is a threefold character to it. The first aspect of typology is repetition of a person, event, or institution so that types are repeated in later persons, events, or institutions, thus allowing us to discover a pattern. However, ultimately the types reach their antitypical fulfillment first in Christ and then his people.23

For example, Adam is a type of Christ (Rom 5:14; 1 Cor 15:21–49), the covenant head of the old creation. In God’s plan, Adam anticipates the coming of Jesus, the last Adam, and the head of the new creation. How do we know this? In the immediate context of Genesis 1–3, there are exegetical clues that speak of Adam’s significance and through the covenants “other Adams” appear who take on Adam’s role (e.g., Noah, Abraham, Israel, and David). Yet, none of these “Adams” are the ultimate fulfillment, though they “predict” the last Adam to come. Furthermore, in Christ (the last Adam) and his work, we, as his people, are restored to our Adamic role as image-sons in relation to God and the creation (Heb 2:5–18). Thus, through the covenants, Adam, as a type, takes on greater definition until the last Adam comes.

Or think of the nation of Israel. As God’s son (Ex 4:22–23), Israel not only takes on Adam’s role in the world, but anticipates the coming of the true Son, the true Israel/servant/vine, namely, Christ (see, e.g., Is 5:1–7; Hos 11:1; Mt 2:15; Jn 15:1–17). Furthermore, in union with Christ, God’s people participate in the typological pattern. Thus, in the case of Israel, Christ is first the “true Israel,” and in him we are the eschatological people of God. The church is not the antitypical fulfillment of Israel in the first sense; Christ is. Yet in Christ, the true Son/Israel, we become adopted sons (Gal 3:26–4:7), the “Israel of God” (Gal 6:16), Abraham’s spiritual offspring (Gal 3:29), restored to what God created us to be (Eph 4:20–24). In this way, the new covenant promise given to the “house of Israel/Judah” (Jer 31:31) is applied to the church.

A second feature of typology is its “lesser to greater” (a fortiori) character as the type is fulfilled in the antitype. For example, through covenantal progression, as one moves from Adam or David, to the prophets, priests, and kings, to the last Adam, the true Davidic king, the great high priest, the antitype is always greater than the previous types. Yet, escalation across time does not occur incrementally from the original type to each installment and then to Christ, as if there is a straight line of increase. Rather escalation fully occurs with Christ’s coming. For example, Adam is a type of Christ, and “other Adams” arise, yet these “Adams” fail; there is really no increase, but they all anticipate the last Adam, who perfectly obeys. What is true of Adam is also true of other typological patterns whether they are various persons (Moses, Israel, David, prophets, priests, and kings), events (the exodus), or institutions (sacrificial system, tabernacle/temple). Is the a fortiori quality of typology important? Yes. By it, Scripture presents Christ’s unique identity and warrants the “newness” of the new covenant. In Christ, although his work involves an important “already-not yet” sense, major changes result, directly tied to his coming and the dawn of the new creation.

A third feature of typology is that it develops through covenantal progression. In fact, to think through the development of typological patterns is to walk through the covenants. For example, Adam and “other Adams” are associated with the covenants of creation, Noah, Abraham, Israel, and David. In these covenant heads, Adam’s role continues, and each one anticipates Christ, who by his obedience secures our redemption.24 Or think of the promise to Abraham regarding his “seed.” As the seed promise unfolds it does so in Isaac, Israel, the Davidic king, and ultimately in Christ, and then to the church as Abraham’s spiritual offspring.25 Or think of how Moses, who is foundational for the institution of prophets and who inaugurates the priestly role under the old covenant, is developed in terms of an entire institution of prophets and priests which ultimately culminates in Christ.26 More examples could be given: David and his sons, the entire tabernacle-temple structure, the exodus event that eventually anticipates a greater exodus to come, and so on. All of these types are tied to the covenants; one cannot think of them apart from wrestling with how the covenants relate to each other and how the covenants are fulfilled in Christ and the new covenant. In this way, OT history is truly prophetic and anticipates Christ’s coming and work (e.g., Matt 5:17–18; 11:11–15; Rom 3:21).

Returning to our discussion of the covenants, there is a third hermeneutical point. To categorize the covenants as either unconditional/unilateral (royal grant) or conditional/bilateral (suzerain-vassal) is inadequate.27 By this distinction, some argue that the Abrahamic, Davidic, and new covenants are unconditional, while the “covenant of works” and Mosaic law are conditional. Or some draw law-gospel contrasts so that the “covenant of works” and the old covenant are “law” (bilateral), while the Abrahamic,Davidic, and the new covenant are “gospel” (unilateral). This way of distinguishing the covenants is problematic since each covenant contains both elements. In fact, it is due to this blend that there is a deliberate tension within the covenants—a tension that heightens as God’s plan unfolds—and is only resolved in Christ.28

On the one hand, the covenants gloriously reveal our triune Creator-covenant Lord who makes and keeps his promises. As God initiates covenant relationships with his creatures, he is always the faithful partner—true to his own character and promises (Heb 6:17–18). Regardless of our unfaithfulness, God’s promises, commencing in Genesis 3:15, are certain. Yet God demands from us full devotion and obedience. In this sense, there is a bilateral aspect to the covenants. However, as the covenants progress, a tension grows between God’s faithfulness to his promises and our disobedience. Obedience is not an option for us. God is holy and just; he is the moral standard of the universe, but we have sinned against him. And in light of Genesis 3:15, God’s promises are tied to the provision of an obedient son, who will undo Adam’s disastrous choice. But where is such a son who fully obeys and meets God’s moral demands? How can God remain in relationship with us unless our sin is removed? It is through the covenants that this tension increases, and it is through the covenants that the answer is given: God himself—our covenant-maker and keeper—must unilaterally act to keep his own promise by the provision of an obedient covenant partner.

It is only by maintaining the dual emphasis of unilateral/bilateral in the covenants, leading us to their fulfillment in the unbreakable new covenant in Christ, that we appreciate Scripture’s glorious christological focus. The storyline of Scripture as told by the covenants leads us to him. Jesus alone, who is God the Son incarnate and our great prophet, priest, and king, can secure our salvation. In Christ alone, the covenants are fulfilled, and this built-in tension is resolved.29

Fourth, the new covenant is the fulfillment and telos of the biblical covenants. Since all of the covenants are part of God’s one plan, no covenant is unrelated to what preceded it, and no covenant makes sense apart from its fulfillment in Christ. No doubt, new covenant fulfillment involves an “already-not yet” aspect to it. Yet, what the previous covenants revealed, anticipated, and predicted through various patterns and instruction, is now “already” here. That is why Jesus is the last Adam and head of the new creation; the true seed and offspring of Abraham who brings blessings to the nations; the true Israel fulfilling all that it failed to be; and David’s greater son who rules the nations and the entire creation as king and Lord. In fulfilling the previous covenants, this does not entail that the earlier covenants have no value for us today or that we can jettison the OT from our Bibles. The previous covenants are forever part of Scripture, which is for our instruction and growth (2 Tim 3:16–17). Yet now that Christ has come, Christians are no longer under the previous covenants as covenants (other than the creation and Noahic until the consummation). This entails that we, as the church, obey all of Scripture, but now in light of the fulfillment in Christ and the new covenant we live under (1 Cor 9:19–21).30

THE BIBLICAL COVENANTS: FROM CREATION TO THE PROMISE OF THE NEW COVENANT

Through covenantal progression, the larger truth of “kingdom through covenant” emerges, which unites the Bible’s metanarrative from creation to consummation. Let me first introduce kingdom before I relate it to my overall understanding of covenants.

Kingdom through covenant. Graeme Goldsworthy argues, “The idea of the rule of God over creation, over all creatures, over the kingdoms of the world, and in a unique and special way, over his chosen and redeemed people, is the very heart of the message of the Hebrew scriptures.”31 Yet as Tom Schreiner demonstrates, God’s kingdom is not only central to the OT but also “of prime importance in New Testament theology.”32 I offer three initial points regarding kingdom.

First, Scripture begins with the declaration that God, as Creator and triune Lord, is the king of the universe (Gen 1–2; Ps 103:19; Dan 4:34–35; Acts 17:24–25). God’s creation work is the outworking of his eternal plan in time (Eph 1:11; Rev 4:11), which he directs to a specific eschatological telos. As history unfolds, God’s plan is unpacked vis-à-vis specific covenantal relationships, which all lead to a christological telos (cf. Col 1:15–20). Although the wording “kingdom of God” comes later in Scripture, the idea is taught in its first chapters.

Second, our triune God is the king, but the fall brings change. Before the fall, everything is “very good” (Gen 1:31), but now, in light of human sin, God’s rule over creation is rejected by his creatures. Sin is essentially rebellion against the king—moral autonomy—and now we stand under God’s condemnation and death (Gen 2:16–17; Rom 3:23; 6:23). Given the fall, the OT distinguishes between God’s sovereign rule over creation and his coming saving reign to make all things right. For God to save, he must act, which sets the stage for the Bible’s story of a coming Redeemer to set creation right and to usher in a new creation.33

Third, how does God’s saving kingdom come? It comes through the covenants in a twofold way. First, it comes through the covenant relationship God establishes with his image-bearers, that is, his priest-kings. Through this relationship, God’s rule is extended in his people and to the creation. Yet, sadly, we have failed in our calling. Second, God’s saving rule comes through the biblical covenants over time. Following the loss of Eden, redemption is linked to a promised human (Gen 3:15), which is given greater definition through Noah, Abraham, Israel, and the Davidic kings. Through the covenants, God reveals how his image-bearers ought to live and how he will establish his saving reign and restore creation through a promised, obedient Son.

Kingdom through covenant. Scripture organically ties kingdom and covenant together: it is through the covenants that God’s saving reign comes in Christ. Let me summarize the biblical covenants with the goal of showing how their progression culminates in Christ, and some theological implications that result.34

The creation covenant. Covenant theology refers to the covenant in Genesis 1–2 as the “covenant of works,” and dispensational theology rarely speaks of a covenant with creation, or at least it does not factor much into their theological system. For covenant theology, the “covenant of works” is made with Adam as the head/representative of the human race. To him and his entire posterity, eternal life is promised upon the condition of perfect obedience to God’s law. But due to his disobedience, Adam, along with all humanity, was plunged into a state of sin, death, and condemnation. God graciously did not leave humans in this condition but instead gave a saving promise, wherein he offered to sinners life and salvation through Christ as the last Adam.

Although this formulation is standard for covenant theology, some have questioned the validity of a “covenant of works” or any covenant in creation due to the absence of the word “covenant” (תיִרְבּ [bĕrît]) in Genesis 1–2 and the idea of Adam working to gain favor with God. One must demonstrate caution regarding the notion of works in this context, yet there is ample reason to contend for a “covenant of creation” with Adam serving as the covenant mediator for three reasons.

First, the absence of the word “covenant” in Genesis 1–2 does not entail that there is no covenant; context and later Scripture are decisive (e.g., Hos 6:7; Gen 2:19–25 [marriage]). Exegetically, there is a distinction between the words to “cut” (for the first time) and “establish” (continue) a covenant.35 In Genesis 6:17–18 and 9:8–17, God “establishes” (Gen 6:18; 9:9, 11, 17) a covenant with Noah, which implies a preexisting covenant relationship that can only be found in Adam and rooted in creation. Later Scripture confirms this point (e.g., Hos 6:7).

Second, contextually, not only are covenantal elements present such as the Lord/vassal relationship, the obedience-disobedience motif (Gen 2:16–17), but also God identifies himself by his covenant name: Yahweh (Gen 2:4, 5, 7, 8; Ex 3:13–15). God creates Adam as God’s image-bearer and son (Lk 3:38), which are covenantal terms and assume a covenant relationship.

Third, the canonical context reveals that the Bible’s storyline divides humanity under the headship of two individuals, Adam and Christ (Rom 5:12–21). Yet the new covenant headship of Christ as the last Adam makes little sense without the covenant headship of the first Adam. Adam represents the “old creation” and “this present age,” characterized by sin, death, and judgment. Christ represents the “new creation,” which, from the perspective of the OT prophets, is identified with the “age to come” of salvation, life, and restoration. As God’s royal priest-king (and son), Adam is given the mandate to rule over God’s creation, to put all things under his feet (cf. Ps 8), and to establish the pattern of God’s kingdom in this world. But, sadly, Adam disobeys, and the entire human race and the created order are affected. In Adam, unless God acts in grace and power, the original creation stands under divine judgment.

Starting with a “creation covenant” for understanding the Bible’s storyline is imperative for at least two reasons. First, the creation covenant is foundational for all future covenants since all subsequent covenants unpack Adam’s role in the world. Adam, and all humanity, is created as God’s image-son, a priest-king to rule over creation. Adam is created in relationship with God as he mediates God’s rule to the world; he does not need to merit favor before God. Yet God, as holy and just, demands perfect obedience from his covenant partner. All subsequent covenant heads will function as subsets of Adam, who, in God’s plan, will point forward to Christ. Even though the amount of space devoted to Adam is small, his role as the representative head of creation defines what comes after him and the entire work of Christ (Heb 2:5–18).

Second, the creation covenant is foundational for establishing various typological patterns that eventually reach their telos in Christ and the new covenant (e.g., the rest of the seventh day in Sabbath [Gen 2:1–3; Ex 20:8–11] and salvation rest in Christ [Heb 3:7–4:13]; Eden as a temple sanctuary which is fulfilled in Christ as the new temple; and marriage which points to a greater reality, viz., Christ’s relationship to his people [Gen 2:24–25; Eph 5:32]). All of these patterns will eschatologically be fulfilled in Christ and God’s new covenant people.

One last point: the “covenant with creation” must also discuss sin’s entrance into the world and God’s first redemption promise, a promise that receives clarification and expansion in subsequent covenants. Genesis 3 describes how, in history, sin entered the human race, which God alone can remedy. Humans, created to know God and to rule, now end in death—physically and spiritually (Gen 2:17; Rom 6:23). As the text unfolds, God’s punishment of our sin is swift, leading to God’s expulsion of Adam from Eden, and God blocking entrance to the Tree of Life, signifying that we are no longer in life-giving fellowship with the Lord. As God’s plan unfolds, we learn that the only way back to Eden is through God’s provision of the tabernacle/temple, and ultimately the one who fulfills it, Messiah Jesus (see Jn 2:19–21; cf. Rev 21–22), which subsequent covenants reveal in instruction and type.

Genesis 3 is also crucial in establishing God’s first redemption promise. Sin’s effects are disastrous, but God speaks a word of promise (Gen 3:15). Before God, sin creates a covenantal tension. Covenants allow God to be present with his people, and his people to enjoy rest. Yet how can sinners dwell in his presence? How can God be just and the justifier of the ungodly (Rom 3:25–26)? Scripture’s answer is glorious: God himself must save us—he must act in perfect justice and manifest his grace. And he must do so by providing a “seed,” yet a greater Adam and Son, who as God the Son incarnate, will perfectly obey even unto death, and thus pay for our sin, and reverse the alienating effects of sin by a new covenant (Phil 2:5–11; Heb 2:5–18).

The Noahic covenant. The word “covenant” first appears with Noah (Gen 6:18; cf. 9:9–11), but this covenant is a continuation of the prior creation covenant demonstrating God’s commitment to creation, especially in light of human sin. Given sin, humans and creation are threatened, but given God’s promise in Genesis 3:15 and now his promise as “the earth remains” (8:22), this covenant re-enforces God’s intention that humans will fulfill their role as image-bearers in creation. The “seed of the woman” will now come through Noah, the covenant mediator and his family, and it is he who will reverse the effects of sin and usher in a “new creation.” Noah is “another Adam” (Gen 9:1–7; cf. 1:26–30), and the universal scope of the covenant reminds us that God’s purposes encompass not just one people but all nations and the entire creation.

The Noahic covenant establishes two further points. First, Noah’s disobedience (Gen 9:18–28) demonstrates that our heart problem remains (see Gen 6:5–7 with 8:21–22), and that he is not the promised one. What we need is a greater heart transformation by the Spirit, tied to the forgiveness of sin, so humans will complete their role as image-bearers. Second, the Noahic covenant explains why fallen humanity simultaneously exists alongside God’s people until the consummation. In fact, given the Noahic promise, while Christ has already inaugurated the future age, the creation order and fallen humanity continue until the end.

The Abrahamic covenant. Given its textual-epochal context, the Abrahamic covenant comes after Genesis 1–11. Similar to the Noahic covenant, the Abrahamic presents anew the plan of creation over against God’s judgments on human sin (Gen 11). For this reason elements from the creation covenant are repeated in the blessing to Abraham: God’s promise of a great name and seed, the multiplication of progeny, the promise of the land, reconciled relations between God and humans, and blessing to the nations, and the restoration of the nations (Gen 12:1–3; cf. 15:4–5; 17:1–8; 18:18–19; 22:16–18). Yet, unlike with Noah, God does not destroy the human race. Instead, God allows the nations to exist and then calls Abraham out of the nations to become a great nation (יוֹג [gôy]), that is, a world political community, indeed a kingdom. God’s intent is to work through the covenant mediator, Abraham and his seed, to bring blessing to the nations by making him a great nation.

It is best to view the Abrahamic covenant as the means by which God will fulfill his promises for humanity, especially in light of Genesis 3:15 (cf. Gal 3:16). Abraham and his family constitute “another Adam,” a calling into existence of something new, parallel to creation, but in this case a “new creation” (Rom 4:17). The Abrahamic covenant functions as a subset of the “covenant with creation,” yet narrowed through one family/nation. In Abraham and his seed, first in Isaac, then in Israel, and then the Davidic king, all of God’s promises for the human race will be enacted—promises that God unilaterally keeps, as beautifully portrayed in the covenant inauguration ceremony in Genesis 15.

Within the Abrahamic narrative there is a hint that over time the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant will occur in two stages: first, in the nation of Israel who will live in the Promised Land and serve as a kingdom of priests under the Mosaic covenant (Ex 19:4–6; Deut 4:5–8). Second, in Christ, Abraham’s royal, singular seed will bless all nations (Gen 17:4–6; cf. 22:17b–18; 49:8, 10; Is 9:6). Even in Genesis, Abraham’s “fatherhood” is expanded “beyond ethnic Israelites to include the nations.”36 This seems to entail not only the promise of a global inheritance but also an expansion of the Promised Land “to include the planet and its numerous people (Gen 1:28; Mt 5:5; Rom 4:13; cf. Eph 6:2–3; Heb 11:13–16).”37 As Jason DeRouchie notes, “This kind of expansion is suggested in Gen 22:17b–18 where we are told that the unique, male deliverer will not only bless ‘all the nations of the earth’ but will also possess ‘the gate of his enemies,’ claiming once-enemy territory, his kingdom expanding to fill the earth (cf. Gen 24:60).”38 This makes perfect sense since, in covenantal progression, the Abrahamic covenant is the means by which God will fulfill his promises for humanity (Gen 3:15).

Two other elements of the Abrahamic covenant are important. First, it is multifaceted. It not only encompasses spiritual aspects that link it ultimately to the new covenant, but it also consists of national and typological elements that must be carefully unpacked through the covenants. Second, it also consists of unilateral/bilateral elements. God’s action in Genesis 15 is unilateral, yet God also demands full obedience from his covenant partner for the covenant to continue (Gen 17:1; 18:19; 22:16–18). And like Adam and Noah, Abraham fails to meet this demand. This growing tension between God unilaterally keeping his promises and demanding an obedient covenant partner is only resolved in the true seed of Abraham, Messiah Jesus (Gal 3:16).

The Mosaic covenant. In the OT, the amount of space devoted to the Mosaic covenant (or “old covenant”) is vast, yet Scripture teaches that it is a means to an end, not an end in itself. Scripture views the “old covenant” as temporary in God’s plan, and thus when Christ comes, it is fulfilled as an entire covenant package, and Christians are no longer under it as a covenant (Gal 3:15–4:7). What, then, is its purpose? The answer is diverse, but at its heart it revealed and intensified sin and prepared God’s people for Christ’s coming (Rom 5:20–21; 7:13; Gal 4:4). Additionally, three points are important in summarizing the nature of the old covenant and its place in God’s redemptive plan.

First, given its epochal/covenantal context, God calls Moses to deliver Israel from Egypt and establishes a covenant with them because of his promises to Abraham (Ex 3:6; cf. 2:24–25; Deut 4:36–38). God chose Israel because of his love for them (Deut 7:7) and his covenant loyalty to Abraham (Ex 19:4; Deut 7:8). Also, the old covenant, in relation to the previous covenants, reveals with greater clarity how Abraham’s “seed” is narrowed to the nation of Israel. Israel, as a nation (יוֹג [gôy]) (Ex 19:5–6), is “another Adam” and fulfills that role to the nations. It is through Israel that God fulfills his promise (Gen 3:15) to undo Adam’s sin. Further proof of this truth is that Israel, as a nation, is called God’s “son” (Ex 4:22–23). The “Father-son” relationship hearkens back to Adam and forward to the Davidic kings, tying the covenants together. Israel, as a nation, is called to serve as God’s son-priest-image. They were to reveal what it looked like to be God’s image-son, and through them to bring blessing to the world.

Second, the old covenant is an entire package. Scripture does not partition the law-covenant into moral, civil, and ceremonial laws; rather, it is a unit that governed Israel’s life, and now, in Christ, it is fulfilled.39 Also, as a package, the old covenant develops in greater detail a number of typological patterns that find their antitypical fulfillment in Christ and his people. For example, within the law-covenant, Israel, as a kingdom of priests, needs Levitical priests to represent them before God. In fact, one cannot think of the old covenant apart from its grounding in the priesthood (Heb 7:11), signifying the need for the forgiveness of sin. Related to the priesthood is the entire tabernacle-temple-sacrificial system, which not only served as a means by which Israel dwelt in God’s presence, but also pointed to their antitypical fulfillment in Christ and the full forgiveness of sin (Jn 2:19–22; Is 52–53; Heb 5:1–10; 7–10). The same is true of the role of the prophet and the anticipation of the king, two other offices that are fulfilled in Christ.40 Or think of the event of the Passover and exodus, which first establishes Israel in covenant relationship with God. Through the covenants, the Passover and exodus become patterns of a greater, new exodus/redemption to come, all of which is fulfilled by Christ.41

Third, although the old covenant is predominantly bilateral and God rightly demands an obedient covenant partner, it is more than this. As with all the covenants, God unilaterally keeps his promises, yet Israel is to be an obedient son. And like Adam, they failed. The old covenant heightens the tension in how God’s kingdom comes through fallen people. God will keep his promise to bring forth the offspring of Abraham, now through an Israelite. And yet, Israel cannot produce the son and faithful covenant partner that God demands. For this reason, the OT prophets anticipate a permanent, unbreakable new covenant to solve this dilemma (Jer 31:31–34). In numerous ways, the law-covenant was prophetic (Mt 11:13) since it pointed forward to God’s provision of salvation, but in the end, God’s righteousness comes apart from the law-covenant in Christ Jesus (Rom 3:21–31).

The Davidic covenant. The Davidic covenant is the epitome of the OT covenants; it brings the previous covenants to a climax in the king. There are two main parts to it: (1) God’s promises about the establishment of David’s house forever (2 Sam 7:12–16), and (2) the promises concerning the “Father-son” relationship between God and the Davidic king (2 Sam 7:14; cf. Ps 2; 89:26–27). The meaning of this “sonship” is twofold. First, it inextricably ties the Davidic covenant to the previous covenants, and second, it anticipates in type the greater Sonship of Christ. Regarding the former, the sonship applied to corporate Israel (Ex 4:22–23; cf. Hos 11:1) is now applied to the individual Davidic king, who, in himself, is “true Israel.” He becomes the administrator/mediator of the covenant thus representing God’s rule to the people and representing the people as a whole (2 Sam 7:22–24). This ]]> Matthew: King and Kingdom https://www.gcclascruces.com/blog/post/matthew:-king-and-kingdom https://www.gcclascruces.com/blog/post/matthew:-king-and-kingdom#comments Wed, 18 Oct 2023 13:32:58 -0400 https://www.gcclascruces.com/blog/post/matthew:-king-and-kingdom Purpose: Matthew unveils Jesus Christ as...

  • The long-awaited Son of David, Shepherd-King who will rule over the kingdom of God (Eze. 34:23-24Matt. 1:1)
  • The promised offspring of Abraham who came to bring the blessing of salvation to the ends of the earth (Gen. 12:3Matt. 1:1
  • The new Moses who came to deliver God's people from the bondage of sin and bring God's final revelation to man (Matt. 1:2117:5)
  • "God with us," or Immanuel, who came to bring God's special, indwelling presence to His people (Matt. 1:2318:2028:20)

Key Verses: 

"The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham" (Matt. 1:1).

And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old” (Matt. 13:52). Many commentators believe that this is what Matthew is doing in his gospel: bringing out treasures from the Old Testament, as well as introducing new ones, as they reveal Jesus Christ as the One in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found.

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:18–20).

Outline:

  • Matthew 1: Identity and Arrival
  • Matthew 2: Adoration and Preservation
  • Matthew 3: Preparation and Baptism
  • Matthew 4: Temptation and Proclamation
  • Matthew 5: Blessedness and Righteousness
  • Matthew 6: Righteousness and Worship
  • Matthew 7: Warning and Judgment
  • Matthew 8: Power and Authority
  • Matthew 9: Authority and Mercy
  • Matthew 10: Calling and Cost
  • Matthew 11: Rejection and Rest
  • Matthew 12: Confrontation and Clarification
  • Matthew 13: Mystery and Kingdom
  • Matthew 14: Martyrdom and Majesty
  • Matthew 15: Tradition and Compassion
  • Matthew 16: Leaven and Confession
  • Matthew 17: Glory and Grief
  • Matthew 18: Greatness and Grievances
  • Matthew 19: Divorce and Discipleship
  • Matthew 20: Sovereignty and Servanthood
  • Matthew 21: Cleansing and Cursing
  • Matthew 22: Invitation and Astonishment
  • Matthew 23: Woe and Lament
  • Matthew 24: Destruction and Desolation
  • Matthew 25: Return and Recompense
  • Matthew 26: Devotion and Desertion
  • Matthew 27: Crucifixion and Death
  • Matthew 28: Resurrection and Commission
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Purpose: Matthew unveils Jesus Christ as...

  • The long-awaited Son of David, Shepherd-King who will rule over the kingdom of God (Eze. 34:23-24Matt. 1:1)
  • The promised offspring of Abraham who came to bring the blessing of salvation to the ends of the earth (Gen. 12:3Matt. 1:1
  • The new Moses who came to deliver God's people from the bondage of sin and bring God's final revelation to man (Matt. 1:2117:5)
  • "God with us," or Immanuel, who came to bring God's special, indwelling presence to His people (Matt. 1:2318:2028:20)

Key Verses: 

"The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham" (Matt. 1:1).

And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old” (Matt. 13:52). Many commentators believe that this is what Matthew is doing in his gospel: bringing out treasures from the Old Testament, as well as introducing new ones, as they reveal Jesus Christ as the One in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found.

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:18–20).

Outline:

  • Matthew 1: Identity and Arrival
  • Matthew 2: Adoration and Preservation
  • Matthew 3: Preparation and Baptism
  • Matthew 4: Temptation and Proclamation
  • Matthew 5: Blessedness and Righteousness
  • Matthew 6: Righteousness and Worship
  • Matthew 7: Warning and Judgment
  • Matthew 8: Power and Authority
  • Matthew 9: Authority and Mercy
  • Matthew 10: Calling and Cost
  • Matthew 11: Rejection and Rest
  • Matthew 12: Confrontation and Clarification
  • Matthew 13: Mystery and Kingdom
  • Matthew 14: Martyrdom and Majesty
  • Matthew 15: Tradition and Compassion
  • Matthew 16: Leaven and Confession
  • Matthew 17: Glory and Grief
  • Matthew 18: Greatness and Grievances
  • Matthew 19: Divorce and Discipleship
  • Matthew 20: Sovereignty and Servanthood
  • Matthew 21: Cleansing and Cursing
  • Matthew 22: Invitation and Astonishment
  • Matthew 23: Woe and Lament
  • Matthew 24: Destruction and Desolation
  • Matthew 25: Return and Recompense
  • Matthew 26: Devotion and Desertion
  • Matthew 27: Crucifixion and Death
  • Matthew 28: Resurrection and Commission
]]>
2 Peter: Until the Day Dawns https://www.gcclascruces.com/blog/post/2-peter:-until-the-day-dawns https://www.gcclascruces.com/blog/post/2-peter:-until-the-day-dawns#comments Wed, 18 Oct 2023 11:23:16 -0400 https://www.gcclascruces.com/blog/post/2-peter:-until-the-day-dawns Series: Until the Day Dawns

Purpose: To exhort the church of Jesus Christ to be devoted to the prophetic word so that they're able to be diligent when it comes to holiness and discerning when it comes to heretics.

Key Verses:

"And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts..." (2 Peter 1:19)

"You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen." (2 Peter 3:17–18)

Outline:

Chapter 1: The Saving Knowledge Within Us (2 Pet. 1:1-21)

  • The Source of this Knowledge (2 Pet. 1:1)
  • The Substance of this Knowledge (2 Pet. 1:2)
  • The Sufficiency of this Knowledge (2 Pet. 1:3-4)
  • The Assurance that Comes from this Knowledge (2 Pet. 1:5-11)
  • The Importance of Remembering this Knowledge (2 Pet. 1:12-15)
  • The Reliability of this Knowledge as it Relates to the Second Coming (2 Pet. 1:16-21)
    • The Apostolic Witness (2 Pet. 1:16-18)
    • The Old Testament Witness (2 Pet. 1:19-21)
  • Chapter 2: The False Teachers Among Us (2 Pet. 2:1-22)

    • Their Infiltrating Influence (2 Pet. 2:1-3)
    • Their Impending Judgment (2 Pet. 2:4-10a)
    • Their Iniquitous Conduct (2 Pet. 2:10b-16)
    • Their Injurious Impact (2 Pet. 2:17-22)

    Chapter 3: The Blessed Hope Before Us (2 Pet. 3:1-18)

    • Scoffers and the Inevitability of Judgment (2 Pet. 3:1-7)
    • Repentance and the Patience of God (2 Pet. 3:8-10)
    • Holiness and the Anticipation of a New Creation (2 Pet. 3:11-13)
    • Diligence and the Importance of Steadfastness (2 Pet. 3:14-18)
    ]]> Series: Until the Day Dawns

    Purpose: To exhort the church of Jesus Christ to be devoted to the prophetic word so that they're able to be diligent when it comes to holiness and discerning when it comes to heretics.

    Key Verses:

    "And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts..." (2 Peter 1:19)

    "You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen." (2 Peter 3:17–18)

    Outline:

    Chapter 1: The Saving Knowledge Within Us (2 Pet. 1:1-21)

    • The Source of this Knowledge (2 Pet. 1:1)
    • The Substance of this Knowledge (2 Pet. 1:2)
    • The Sufficiency of this Knowledge (2 Pet. 1:3-4)
    • The Assurance that Comes from this Knowledge (2 Pet. 1:5-11)
    • The Importance of Remembering this Knowledge (2 Pet. 1:12-15)
    • The Reliability of this Knowledge as it Relates to the Second Coming (2 Pet. 1:16-21)
      • The Apostolic Witness (2 Pet. 1:16-18)
      • The Old Testament Witness (2 Pet. 1:19-21)
    • Chapter 2: The False Teachers Among Us (2 Pet. 2:1-22)

      • Their Infiltrating Influence (2 Pet. 2:1-3)
      • Their Impending Judgment (2 Pet. 2:4-10a)
      • Their Iniquitous Conduct (2 Pet. 2:10b-16)
      • Their Injurious Impact (2 Pet. 2:17-22)

      Chapter 3: The Blessed Hope Before Us (2 Pet. 3:1-18)

      • Scoffers and the Inevitability of Judgment (2 Pet. 3:1-7)
      • Repentance and the Patience of God (2 Pet. 3:8-10)
      • Holiness and the Anticipation of a New Creation (2 Pet. 3:11-13)
      • Diligence and the Importance of Steadfastness (2 Pet. 3:14-18)
      ]]> A Prayer Guide https://www.gcclascruces.com/blog/post/a-prayer-guide https://www.gcclascruces.com/blog/post/a-prayer-guide#comments Tue, 17 Oct 2023 18:53:42 -0400 https://www.gcclascruces.com/blog/post/a-prayer-guide

      The condition of the church may be very accurately gauged by its prayer meetings. So is the prayer meeting a grace-ometer, and from it we may judge of the amount of divine working among a people. If God be near a church, it must pray. And if He be not there, one of the first tokens of His absence will be slothfulness in prayer. (Charles Spurgeon)

      As we gather together for prayer on Wednesday nights, it might be hepful to consider the whowhatwhenwherewhy and how of prayer.

      THE "WHO" OF PRAYER

      Who can pray?

      Only those who have been justified by faith alone in Christ have peace with God and access to His gracious presence (Rom. 5:1-2).

      Who are we praying to?

      The Bible instructs us to pray to God the Father (Matt. 6:9), in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:13-14, 15:16), in the power of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18; Jude 20).

      THE "WHAT" OF PRAYER

      What is prayer?

      Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart or soul to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit, for such things as God has promised, or according to his Word, for the good of the church, with submission in faith to the will of God. (John Bunyan)

      What is our pattern (or framework) for prayer?

      Pray then like this:
      Our Father in heaven,
      hallowed be your name.
      Your kingdom come,
      your will be done,
      on earth as it is in heaven.
      Give us this day our daily bread,
      and forgive us our debts,
      as we also have forgiven our debtors.
      And lead us not into temptation,
      but deliver us from evil. (Matt. 6:9-13)

      What should we pray for?

      Our Commitment to the Great Commission

      • That we would be committed to making and maturing faithful followers of the Lord Jesus Christ through the gospel (Matt. 28:19-20).

      • That God would open doors for sharing of the gospel (Col. 4:3).

      • That those in our midst who are always learning but have yet to repent, believe, and arrive at a saving knowledge of the truth would be born again, baptized, and brought into the kingdom of God.

      Our Spiritual Maturity

      • That we would all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, growing up in every way into Him (Eph. 4:13-15).

      • That we may be presented as mature in Christ and conformed to His image (Col. 1:28; Rom. 8:29).

      Our Consistent Attendance on Sunday Mornings

      • That we would consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as we see the Day drawing near (Heb. 10:24-25).

      Our Sanctification

      • That everyone who names the name of the Lord would depart from iniquity (2 Tim. 2:19), walk in the light (1 John 1:7), and strive for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord (Heb. 12:14).

      • That we would cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God (2 Cor. 7:1).

      • That we would abstain from the passions of the flesh that wage war against our souls (1 Pet. 2:11).

      Our Growth in the Grace and Knowledge of God

      • That we would grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ (2 Pet. 3:18), bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God (Col. 1:10).

      Our Humility

      • That we would count each other more significant than ourselves (Phil. 2:3), and clothe ourselves with humility toward one another, since God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (1 Pet. 5:5).

      • That we would be mindful that God looks to those who are humble, contrite in spirit, and who tremble at His word (Isa. 66:2).

      Our Leadership (Present and Future)

      • That God would raise up godly, Biblically qualified elders who are genuinely concerned for the church’s welfare (Phil. 2:20), seek the interests of Jesus Christ, and not their own (Phil. 2:21).

      • That God would bless us with men of proven worth (Phil. 2:22), and spare us from hirelings (John 10:13).

      • That God would give us exemplary leaders who will shepherd the flock of God (1 Pet. 5:2-3).

      • That God would open the door for our pastor to serve the church in a greater, full-time capacity in order to meet the growing demands and needs of the flock.

      • That the weekly sermons would come with power and precision, light and heat, bringing about regeneration in the lost and maturity in the lives of believers.

      Our Love

      • That we would bear the fruit of love and love one another earnestly from a pure heart (1 Pet. 1:22).

      • That we would patiently love the lost in our lives and communicate the gospel to them (2 Tim. 2:10).

      • That we would love God above all (Deut. 6:5).

      Where love abounds in a fellowship of Christians, many small offenses, and even some large ones, are readily overlooked and forgotten. But where love is lacking, every word is viewed with suspicion, every action liable to misunderstanding, and conflicts abound - to Satan's perverse delight. (Wayne Grudem)

      Our Marriages

      • That God would strengthen our marriages, empowering husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church and enabling wives to respect and submit to their husbands as the church submits to Christ (Eph. 5:22-33).

      • That our marriages would reflect the sacred and joyful marriage between Christ and the church.

      • That God would heal any broken marriages among us, granting help and repentance where repentance is needed.

      Our Singles

      • That God would bless and keep our singles, whether they desire to remain single or desire marriage.

      • That God would bring godly spouses to those desiring marriage.

      • That every single would be devoted to serving the Lord and His people.

      • That widows would be loved and cared for.

      Our Children

      • That God would save the children in our midst, transforming them into godly offspring (Mal. 2:15).

      • That our children will honor and obey their parents in everything (Col. 3:20), growing up to be bold, faithful witnesses of Christ in a crooked and perverse generation.

      • That the children of those in our church who are grown and walking contrary to the truth would be saved and united to their Christian parents through the gospel (Mal. 4:6).

      Our Perseverance

      • That the Father would keep us in His name, guard us from the evil one, sanctify us in the truth, and enable us to maintain our unity that the world may know that He sent His Son (John 17:11-23).

      • That we'd be kept by the power of God through faith until the last Day (1 Pet. 1:5).

      Our Purity

      • That we'd be a people who call on the Lord from a pure heart (2 Tim. 2:22), know and enjoy a sincere and pure devotion to Christ (2 Cor. 11:2), and effectively deal with sin in order to maintain our purity (1 Cor. 5).

      Our Steadfastness in Service

      • That we would be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord our labor is not in vain (1 Cor. 15:58).

      Our Unity

      • That we would walk in a manner worthy of our calling - with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love - eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:1-3).

      • That together we may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 15:6).

      Our Usefulness

      • That every believer among us will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, and ready for every good work (2 Tim. 2:21).

      Our Zeal

      • That we would not be slothful in zeal, but fervent in spirit, serving the Lord (Rom. 12:11).

      • That we would make the most of every opportunity and not bury our talents or waste our time with things of eternal insignificance.

      Our City and World

      • That God’s name would be feared and considered great among the nations (Mal. 1:11, 14).

      • That God would strengthen, sanctify, and sustain other local churches in our city.

      • That more gospel-preaching, Christ-exalting churches would be raised up in and around our city (Alamogordo, Deming, El Paso, Hatch, Ruidoso, Mescalero, Lordsburg, Truth or Consequences).

      • That Biblically faithful ministries would be raised up on the campus of New Mexico State University, ministries that connect students to local churches where they’ll be equipped for the work of ministry and life-long fruitfulness (Eph. 4:11-12).

      • That God would have mercy on our country and our leaders, leading them to make wise and righteous decisions (1 Tim. 2:1-2).

      THE "WHEN" OF PRAYER

      When should we pray?

      Our Lord Jesus taught that we "ought always to prayer and not lose heart" (Luke 18:1). The apostle Paul said that Christians are to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17). We're to pray when we're suffering (Jas. 5:13), sick (Jas. 5:14), distressed (Psa. 102:2), and under attack (Psa. 18:3). The sons of Korah spoke of prayer coming before God in the morning (Psa. 88:13), as well as the night being a time for "a prayer to the God of my life" (Psa. 42:8). We find Peter praying at noon (Acts 10:9). All these examples reinforce the reality that we're to "continue steadfastly in prayer" (Col. 4:2). As we gather on Wednesdays for prayer, we desire to lock arms with the early church who "devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers" (Acts 2:42).

      THE "WHERE" OF PRAYER

      Where should we pray?

      In a discussion about the acceptable place of worship, the woman at the well in Sychar said to Jesus, "Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship" (John 4:20). He responded by saying, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father . . .  the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:21, 23-24).

      By His substitutionary death and resurrection, Jesus opened up a "new and living way" to God (Heb. 10:20). His blood gives us "confidence to enter the holy places" where we "draw near to the throne of grace" (Heb. 10:19, 4:16). Whether we pray on a housetop (Acts 10:9), in a private room (Matt. 6:6), or on a beach with others (Acts 21:5), regardless of where we are physically when we pray, spiritually we know that we're seated with Christ in the heavenly places (Eph. 2:6). As the church, we are the temple of the living God who dwells and walks among (2 Cor. 6:16).

      THE "WHY" OF PRAYER

      Why should we pray?

      • Because we're commanded to (Col. 4:2)

      • Because we're expected to (Matt. 6:7-9)

      • Because Christ prayed and He's our example (Luke 5:16)

      • To know God (John 17:3)

      • To see His name hallowed (Matt. 6:9)

      • To see His kingdom come (Matt. 6:10)

      • To see His will be done (Matt. 6:10)

      • To see our daily needs met (Matt. 6:11)

      • To receive forgiveness for our sins (Matt. 6:12)

      • To avoid entering into temptation (Matt. 6:13; Mark 14:38)

      • To be delivered from evil (Matt. 6:13)

      • To receive the good things our Father wants us to have (Matt. 7:7-11)

      • To receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Heb. 4:16)

      • To be empowered for ministry (Acts 4:31)

      • To be equipped for warfare (Eph. 6:18)

      • To gain Biblical illumination and understanding (Psa. 119:18)

      • To receive wisdom from God (Jas. 1:5)

      • To intercede and help other believers (Eph. 6:18; 2 Cor. 1:11)

      • To see the sick made well (Jas. 5:15)

      • To give thanks to God (Col. 1:12)

      • To see doors open for the gospel (Col. 4:3)

      • To see sinners saved (Rom. 10:1)

      THE "HOW" OF PRAYER

      How should we pray?

      • Through Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18)

      • According to God's revealed will (1 John 5:14-15)

      • Ready to lift and pour out our hearts to God (Lam. 3:41; Psa. 62:8)

      • Ready to lay hold of Him and to seek His face (Isa. 64:7; Psa. 27:8)

      • Ready to ask, seek, and knock in faith (Matt. 7:7; Heb. 11:6)

      • Ready to ascribe to God the glory due His name (Psa. 29:2)

      • With boldness and confidence because of the blood of Jesus (Heb. 10:19-20)

      • With reverence and awe (Heb. 12:28)

      • With undivided devotion to the Lord (1 Cor. 7:35)

      • With humility and lowliness of spirit (Isa. 66:2; Psa. 138:6)

      • With the simplicity, genuineness, and dependency of a little child (Matt. 18:4; Rom. 8:15)

      ]]>

      The condition of the church may be very accurately gauged by its prayer meetings. So is the prayer meeting a grace-ometer, and from it we may judge of the amount of divine working among a people. If God be near a church, it must pray. And if He be not there, one of the first tokens of His absence will be slothfulness in prayer. (Charles Spurgeon)

      As we gather together for prayer on Wednesday nights, it might be hepful to consider the whowhatwhenwherewhy and how of prayer.

      THE "WHO" OF PRAYER

      Who can pray?

      Only those who have been justified by faith alone in Christ have peace with God and access to His gracious presence (Rom. 5:1-2).

      Who are we praying to?

      The Bible instructs us to pray to God the Father (Matt. 6:9), in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:13-14, 15:16), in the power of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18; Jude 20).

      THE "WHAT" OF PRAYER

      What is prayer?

      Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart or soul to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit, for such things as God has promised, or according to his Word, for the good of the church, with submission in faith to the will of God. (John Bunyan)

      What is our pattern (or framework) for prayer?

      Pray then like this:
      Our Father in heaven,
      hallowed be your name.
      Your kingdom come,
      your will be done,
      on earth as it is in heaven.
      Give us this day our daily bread,
      and forgive us our debts,
      as we also have forgiven our debtors.
      And lead us not into temptation,
      but deliver us from evil. (Matt. 6:9-13)

      What should we pray for?

      Our Commitment to the Great Commission

      • That we would be committed to making and maturing faithful followers of the Lord Jesus Christ through the gospel (Matt. 28:19-20).

      • That God would open doors for sharing of the gospel (Col. 4:3).

      • That those in our midst who are always learning but have yet to repent, believe, and arrive at a saving knowledge of the truth would be born again, baptized, and brought into the kingdom of God.

      Our Spiritual Maturity

      • That we would all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, growing up in every way into Him (Eph. 4:13-15).

      • That we may be presented as mature in Christ and conformed to His image (Col. 1:28; Rom. 8:29).

      Our Consistent Attendance on Sunday Mornings

      • That we would consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as we see the Day drawing near (Heb. 10:24-25).

      Our Sanctification

      • That everyone who names the name of the Lord would depart from iniquity (2 Tim. 2:19), walk in the light (1 John 1:7), and strive for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord (Heb. 12:14).

      • That we would cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God (2 Cor. 7:1).

      • That we would abstain from the passions of the flesh that wage war against our souls (1 Pet. 2:11).

      Our Growth in the Grace and Knowledge of God

      • That we would grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ (2 Pet. 3:18), bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God (Col. 1:10).

      Our Humility

      • That we would count each other more significant than ourselves (Phil. 2:3), and clothe ourselves with humility toward one another, since God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (1 Pet. 5:5).

      • That we would be mindful that God looks to those who are humble, contrite in spirit, and who tremble at His word (Isa. 66:2).

      Our Leadership (Present and Future)

      • That God would raise up godly, Biblically qualified elders who are genuinely concerned for the church’s welfare (Phil. 2:20), seek the interests of Jesus Christ, and not their own (Phil. 2:21).

      • That God would bless us with men of proven worth (Phil. 2:22), and spare us from hirelings (John 10:13).

      • That God would give us exemplary leaders who will shepherd the flock of God (1 Pet. 5:2-3).

      • That God would open the door for our pastor to serve the church in a greater, full-time capacity in order to meet the growing demands and needs of the flock.

      • That the weekly sermons would come with power and precision, light and heat, bringing about regeneration in the lost and maturity in the lives of believers.

      Our Love

      • That we would bear the fruit of love and love one another earnestly from a pure heart (1 Pet. 1:22).

      • That we would patiently love the lost in our lives and communicate the gospel to them (2 Tim. 2:10).

      • That we would love God above all (Deut. 6:5).

      Where love abounds in a fellowship of Christians, many small offenses, and even some large ones, are readily overlooked and forgotten. But where love is lacking, every word is viewed with suspicion, every action liable to misunderstanding, and conflicts abound - to Satan's perverse delight. (Wayne Grudem)

      Our Marriages

      • That God would strengthen our marriages, empowering husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church and enabling wives to respect and submit to their husbands as the church submits to Christ (Eph. 5:22-33).

      • That our marriages would reflect the sacred and joyful marriage between Christ and the church.

      • That God would heal any broken marriages among us, granting help and repentance where repentance is needed.

      Our Singles

      • That God would bless and keep our singles, whether they desire to remain single or desire marriage.

      • That God would bring godly spouses to those desiring marriage.

      • That every single would be devoted to serving the Lord and His people.

      • That widows would be loved and cared for.

      Our Children

      • That God would save the children in our midst, transforming them into godly offspring (Mal. 2:15).

      • That our children will honor and obey their parents in everything (Col. 3:20), growing up to be bold, faithful witnesses of Christ in a crooked and perverse generation.

      • That the children of those in our church who are grown and walking contrary to the truth would be saved and united to their Christian parents through the gospel (Mal. 4:6).

      Our Perseverance

      • That the Father would keep us in His name, guard us from the evil one, sanctify us in the truth, and enable us to maintain our unity that the world may know that He sent His Son (John 17:11-23).

      • That we'd be kept by the power of God through faith until the last Day (1 Pet. 1:5).

      Our Purity

      • That we'd be a people who call on the Lord from a pure heart (2 Tim. 2:22), know and enjoy a sincere and pure devotion to Christ (2 Cor. 11:2), and effectively deal with sin in order to maintain our purity (1 Cor. 5).

      Our Steadfastness in Service

      • That we would be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord our labor is not in vain (1 Cor. 15:58).

      Our Unity

      • That we would walk in a manner worthy of our calling - with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love - eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:1-3).

      • That together we may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 15:6).

      Our Usefulness

      • That every believer among us will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, and ready for every good work (2 Tim. 2:21).

      Our Zeal

      • That we would not be slothful in zeal, but fervent in spirit, serving the Lord (Rom. 12:11).

      • That we would make the most of every opportunity and not bury our talents or waste our time with things of eternal insignificance.

      Our City and World

      • That God’s name would be feared and considered great among the nations (Mal. 1:11, 14).

      • That God would strengthen, sanctify, and sustain other local churches in our city.

      • That more gospel-preaching, Christ-exalting churches would be raised up in and around our city (Alamogordo, Deming, El Paso, Hatch, Ruidoso, Mescalero, Lordsburg, Truth or Consequences).

      • That Biblically faithful ministries would be raised up on the campus of New Mexico State University, ministries that connect students to local churches where they’ll be equipped for the work of ministry and life-long fruitfulness (Eph. 4:11-12).

      • That God would have mercy on our country and our leaders, leading them to make wise and righteous decisions (1 Tim. 2:1-2).

      THE "WHEN" OF PRAYER

      When should we pray?

      Our Lord Jesus taught that we "ought always to prayer and not lose heart" (Luke 18:1). The apostle Paul said that Christians are to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17). We're to pray when we're suffering (Jas. 5:13), sick (Jas. 5:14), distressed (Psa. 102:2), and under attack (Psa. 18:3). The sons of Korah spoke of prayer coming before God in the morning (Psa. 88:13), as well as the night being a time for "a prayer to the God of my life" (Psa. 42:8). We find Peter praying at noon (Acts 10:9). All these examples reinforce the reality that we're to "continue steadfastly in prayer" (Col. 4:2). As we gather on Wednesdays for prayer, we desire to lock arms with the early church who "devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers" (Acts 2:42).

      THE "WHERE" OF PRAYER

      Where should we pray?

      In a discussion about the acceptable place of worship, the woman at the well in Sychar said to Jesus, "Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship" (John 4:20). He responded by saying, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father . . .  the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:21, 23-24).

      By His substitutionary death and resurrection, Jesus opened up a "new and living way" to God (Heb. 10:20). His blood gives us "confidence to enter the holy places" where we "draw near to the throne of grace" (Heb. 10:19, 4:16). Whether we pray on a housetop (Acts 10:9), in a private room (Matt. 6:6), or on a beach with others (Acts 21:5), regardless of where we are physically when we pray, spiritually we know that we're seated with Christ in the heavenly places (Eph. 2:6). As the church, we are the temple of the living God who dwells and walks among (2 Cor. 6:16).

      THE "WHY" OF PRAYER

      Why should we pray?

      • Because we're commanded to (Col. 4:2)

      • Because we're expected to (Matt. 6:7-9)

      • Because Christ prayed and He's our example (Luke 5:16)

      • To know God (John 17:3)

      • To see His name hallowed (Matt. 6:9)

      • To see His kingdom come (Matt. 6:10)

      • To see His will be done (Matt. 6:10)

      • To see our daily needs met (Matt. 6:11)

      • To receive forgiveness for our sins (Matt. 6:12)

      • To avoid entering into temptation (Matt. 6:13; Mark 14:38)

      • To be delivered from evil (Matt. 6:13)

      • To receive the good things our Father wants us to have (Matt. 7:7-11)

      • To receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Heb. 4:16)

      • To be empowered for ministry (Acts 4:31)

      • To be equipped for warfare (Eph. 6:18)

      • To gain Biblical illumination and understanding (Psa. 119:18)

      • To receive wisdom from God (Jas. 1:5)

      • To intercede and help other believers (Eph. 6:18; 2 Cor. 1:11)

      • To see the sick made well (Jas. 5:15)

      • To give thanks to God (Col. 1:12)

      • To see doors open for the gospel (Col. 4:3)

      • To see sinners saved (Rom. 10:1)

      THE "HOW" OF PRAYER

      How should we pray?

      • Through Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18)

      • According to God's revealed will (1 John 5:14-15)

      • Ready to lift and pour out our hearts to God (Lam. 3:41; Psa. 62:8)

      • Ready to lay hold of Him and to seek His face (Isa. 64:7; Psa. 27:8)

      • Ready to ask, seek, and knock in faith (Matt. 7:7; Heb. 11:6)

      • Ready to ascribe to God the glory due His name (Psa. 29:2)

      • With boldness and confidence because of the blood of Jesus (Heb. 10:19-20)

      • With reverence and awe (Heb. 12:28)

      • With undivided devotion to the Lord (1 Cor. 7:35)

      • With humility and lowliness of spirit (Isa. 66:2; Psa. 138:6)

      • With the simplicity, genuineness, and dependency of a little child (Matt. 18:4; Rom. 8:15)

      ]]>
      60 Things You Should Know About God's Word https://www.gcclascruces.com/blog/post/60-things-you-should-know-about-gods-word https://www.gcclascruces.com/blog/post/60-things-you-should-know-about-gods-word#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2023 16:00:00 -0500 https://www.gcclascruces.com/blog/post/60-things-you-should-know-about-gods-word The word of God...

      • converts the soul (Psalm 19:7),
      • makes the simple wise (Psalm 19:7),
      • rejoices our hearts (Psalm 19:8),
      • enlightens our eyes (Psalm 19:8),
      • endures forever (Psalm 19:9),
      • keeps our ways pure (Psalm 119:9),

      How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. (Psalm 119:9)

      • keeps us from sin (Psalm 119:11),

      • revives us (Psalm 119:25),

      • strengthens us (Psalm 119:28),

      • is as a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105),

      • gives us life (Psalm 119:107),

      • imparts light and understanding to the simple (Psalm 119:130),

      • is hated and feared by Satan (Mark 4:15),

      • will never pass away (Mark 13:31),

      • sanctifies us (John 17:17),

      • is like fire (Jeremiah 23:29),

      • is like a hammer that shatters rocks in pieces (Jeremiah 23:29),

      Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? (Jeremiah 23:29)

      • is like a sword that cuts and pierces hearts (Acts 2:37),
      • is sweeter than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb (Psalm 19:10),
      • nourishes us as rain and snow nourish the earth (Isaiah 55:11),
      • accomplishes God's purpose and succeeds in the thing for which He sends it (Isaiah 55:11),
      • is living and active (Hebrews 4:12),
      • is sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12),
      • pierces to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow (Hebrews 4:12),
      • discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12),
      • is the sword of the Spirit of God (Ephesians 6:17),
      • builds us up and gives us the inheritance among all those who are sanctified (Acts 20:32),
      • is at work in genuine believers (1 Thessalonians 2:13),

      And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. (1 Thessalonians 2:13)

      • is the instrument by which the Spirit of God regenerates dead sinners (James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23),
      • brings life to the dead and hopeless (Ezekiel 37:10),
      • gives us victory over the evil one (1 John 2:14),
      • equips the saints for the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:12),
      • builds up the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:12),
      • matures and establishes us (Ephesians 4:13-14),
      • has effectively cleansed us (Ephesians 5:26),
      • heals and delivers us from destruction (Psalm 107:20),

      All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. (Isaiah 66:2)

      • is able to make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ (2 Timothy 3:15),
      • is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16),
      • completes God's servants (2 Timothy 3:17),
      • equips us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:17),
      • is what we're to live by (Deuteronomy 8:3),
      • is what we're to hang upon (Luke 19:48),
      • is to be received (John 17:8),
      • is to be trembled at (Isaiah 66:2),
      • is to be hoped in (Psalm 119:74),

      Let your steadfast love come to me, O LORD, your salvation according to your promise; then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me, for I trust in your word. (Psalm 119:41-42)

      • is to be trusted (Psalm 119:42),
      • is to be made known (Colossians 1:25),
      • is to be declared clearly (Colossians 4:4),
      • is to be heralded (2 Timothy 4:2),
      • is to be unfolded (Psalm 119:30),
      • is to dwell in us richly (Colossians 3:16),

      Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16)

      • is to be our meditation (Psalm 119:148),
      • is to be desired more than earthly treasures (Psalm 19:10),
      • will judge the wicked on the last day (John 12:48),
      • engenders saving faith in the human heart (Romans 10:17),
      • is no empty word, but our very life (Deuteronomy 32:47),
      • points us ultimately to Jesus Christ (John 5:39),
      • brings about fruit in the lives of those who cling to it (Luke 8:15),
      • is to be praised and celebrated (Psalm 56:10),
      • is regarded by God to be just as sacred as His name (Psalm 138:2).

      I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. (Psalm 138:2)

      ]]>
      The word of God...

      • converts the soul (Psalm 19:7),
      • makes the simple wise (Psalm 19:7),
      • rejoices our hearts (Psalm 19:8),
      • enlightens our eyes (Psalm 19:8),
      • endures forever (Psalm 19:9),
      • keeps our ways pure (Psalm 119:9),

      How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. (Psalm 119:9)

      • keeps us from sin (Psalm 119:11),

      • revives us (Psalm 119:25),

      • strengthens us (Psalm 119:28),

      • is as a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105),

      • gives us life (Psalm 119:107),

      • imparts light and understanding to the simple (Psalm 119:130),

      • is hated and feared by Satan (Mark 4:15),

      • will never pass away (Mark 13:31),

      • sanctifies us (John 17:17),

      • is like fire (Jeremiah 23:29),

      • is like a hammer that shatters rocks in pieces (Jeremiah 23:29),

      Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? (Jeremiah 23:29)

      • is like a sword that cuts and pierces hearts (Acts 2:37),
      • is sweeter than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb (Psalm 19:10),
      • nourishes us as rain and snow nourish the earth (Isaiah 55:11),
      • accomplishes God's purpose and succeeds in the thing for which He sends it (Isaiah 55:11),
      • is living and active (Hebrews 4:12),
      • is sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12),
      • pierces to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow (Hebrews 4:12),
      • discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12),
      • is the sword of the Spirit of God (Ephesians 6:17),
      • builds us up and gives us the inheritance among all those who are sanctified (Acts 20:32),
      • is at work in genuine believers (1 Thessalonians 2:13),

      And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. (1 Thessalonians 2:13)

      • is the instrument by which the Spirit of God regenerates dead sinners (James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23),
      • brings life to the dead and hopeless (Ezekiel 37:10),
      • gives us victory over the evil one (1 John 2:14),
      • equips the saints for the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:12),
      • builds up the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:12),
      • matures and establishes us (Ephesians 4:13-14),
      • has effectively cleansed us (Ephesians 5:26),
      • heals and delivers us from destruction (Psalm 107:20),

      All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. (Isaiah 66:2)

      • is able to make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ (2 Timothy 3:15),
      • is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16),
      • completes God's servants (2 Timothy 3:17),
      • equips us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:17),
      • is what we're to live by (Deuteronomy 8:3),
      • is what we're to hang upon (Luke 19:48),
      • is to be received (John 17:8),
      • is to be trembled at (Isaiah 66:2),
      • is to be hoped in (Psalm 119:74),

      Let your steadfast love come to me, O LORD, your salvation according to your promise; then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me, for I trust in your word. (Psalm 119:41-42)

      • is to be trusted (Psalm 119:42),
      • is to be made known (Colossians 1:25),
      • is to be declared clearly (Colossians 4:4),
      • is to be heralded (2 Timothy 4:2),
      • is to be unfolded (Psalm 119:30),
      • is to dwell in us richly (Colossians 3:16),

      Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16)

      • is to be our meditation (Psalm 119:148),
      • is to be desired more than earthly treasures (Psalm 19:10),
      • will judge the wicked on the last day (John 12:48),
      • engenders saving faith in the human heart (Romans 10:17),
      • is no empty word, but our very life (Deuteronomy 32:47),
      • points us ultimately to Jesus Christ (John 5:39),
      • brings about fruit in the lives of those who cling to it (Luke 8:15),
      • is to be praised and celebrated (Psalm 56:10),
      • is regarded by God to be just as sacred as His name (Psalm 138:2).

      I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. (Psalm 138:2)

      ]]>
      Jesus, Our Immanuel (God With Us) https://www.gcclascruces.com/blog/post/jesus-our-immanuel-god-with-us https://www.gcclascruces.com/blog/post/jesus-our-immanuel-god-with-us#comments Fri, 01 Feb 2019 15:00:00 -0500 https://www.gcclascruces.com/blog/post/jesus-our-immanuel-god-with-us If Jesus Christ is merely a man and not God, the apostle Paul would not have said,

      Paul, an apostle - not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ. (Galatians 1:1)

      If Jesus Christ is merely God and not a man, Paul would not have said,

      For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 2:5)

      If Jesus Christ is merely an angel and not God, God the Father would not have said to Him,

      Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. (Hebrews 1:8)

      If Jesus Christ is not equal with God the Father, the Father would not have said of Him,

      Let all God's angels worship Him. (Hebrews 1:6)

      But because Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, the apostle John said,

      ...the Word was God...the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:1, 14)

      ]]>
      If Jesus Christ is merely a man and not God, the apostle Paul would not have said,

      Paul, an apostle - not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ. (Galatians 1:1)

      If Jesus Christ is merely God and not a man, Paul would not have said,

      For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 2:5)

      If Jesus Christ is merely an angel and not God, God the Father would not have said to Him,

      Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. (Hebrews 1:8)

      If Jesus Christ is not equal with God the Father, the Father would not have said of Him,

      Let all God's angels worship Him. (Hebrews 1:6)

      But because Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, the apostle John said,

      ...the Word was God...the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:1, 14)

      ]]>