I am a Reluctant Dispensationalist. If someone wants to know what my general outlook on the Bible is I will tell them it is Traditional or Classic Dispensational. I then feel compelled to qualify this confession by making it clear that I do not follow the Tim LaHaye’s and Hal Lindsey’s of this world. Where our theological paths cross I might find myself in agreement with them a fair bit of the time. I would not agree with their Arminianism …
Category: Biblical Covenantalism
Series so far: Christ at the Center: The Fulcrum of Biblical Covenantalism – Introduction: Part 1a, 1b, 1c, Jesus and the New Covenant: Part 2a, 2b, 2c, The Covenant God Incarnate: Part 3a Although it is not within the design of the present series to demonstrate it, the incarnation of the Christ, the Son of God, is a watershed event eagerly anticipated in the Old Testament. What has begun to be shown is that Christ’s relationship to the New Covenant …
Series so far: Christ at the Center: The Fulcrum of Biblical Covenantalism – Introduction: Parts 1a, 1b, 1c, Jesus and the New Covenant: Part 2a, 2b, 2c The Covenant God Incarnate We have seen that Jesus Christ is both the Instrument of Divine Creation (Jn. 1:3; Col. 1:16a), the Owner (Jn. 1:10; Col. 1:16b), Upholder (Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3), and Savior (Jn. 1:29; Matt. 19:28a) of that Creation. We shall also see that Christ will rule over that which is …
Series so far: Christ at the Center: The Fulcrum of Biblical Covenantalism – Introduction: Parts 1a, 1b, 1c, Jesus and the New Covenant: Part 2a, 2b Christ is the New Covenant! (Isa. 49:8) Several passages in the Bible are crucial for studying the New Covenant. In the OT, along with Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 36 there is in particular Ezekiel 11 and 37, as well as early notices of the need for inner renewal in Deuteronomy 30:5-6. The NT references …
Series so far: Christ at the Center: The Fulcrum of Biblical Covenantalism – Introduction: Parts 1a, 1b, 1c, Jesus and the New Covenant: Part 2a When one examines the Old Testament’s unilateral covenants a picture emerges which shows how each covenant: the Noahic, the Abrahamic, the Priestly, and the Davidic, are bound together in their future fulfillment with the New Covenant in Jesus Christ. This feature of the covenants is plainly present in two important prophetic passages, Jeremiah 33 and …
Series: Christ at the Center: The Fulcrum of Biblical Covenantalism Introduction: Parts 1a, 1b, 1c Jesus Christ and the New Covenant In my Introduction I showed that Scripture places the Person of Christ in the middle of everything. Not only did God create through the Son (as the Word or Logos, of which more to come), but everything was made for Christ. We may, therefore, view creation as a gift of the Father to the Son. Seeing it this way …
Previous Post I have reduced my Introduction down to three shorter pieces for ease of reading and digestion. This brief piece finishes off the exposition of Colossians 1:13-20 and leads into a preamble on the New Covenant. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. 19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20 …
Continued from last time on Colossians 1:15b There is a great deal which might be said about the term “firstborn.” Primarily of course it concerns right of inheritance and prominence among brethren. As the examples of Isaac and Jacob and Judah and Solomon show, the first to be born is not the main idea in “firstborn” (prototokos). The primary idea involves status, not physical birth. Notice how this is true in Psalm 89:27, ” I also shall make him My …
Introduction To The Series There are all sorts of places one can launch out from when writing about the grand scheme of things in the Bible. Certain passages are just packed with theology! This has been seen and utilized by many writers down through the ages. From John Calvin to John Stott men have built solid arguments from expounding a few verses and establishing connections with the Biblical worldview. For all his faults Karl Barth is often a master at …
Introduction What I call “The Rules of Affinity” are a relatively straightforward device whereby a theological proposition (e.g. that a sinner is justified by faith) is compared with the texts of scripture by which it is supported to disclose how closely those passages agree with the proposition in question. Thus, a theological proposition may be adduced which has either direct “one-on-one” relation to a text of the Bible (e.g. justification by faith, or that God created the world), or strong …