The Hegemony of the New Testament

Its hard to believe that so many aberrations of historic Reformed theology have developed in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Most of these aberrations can be cured by the application of two principles from the Scripture and from historic Reformed Theology.  These principles are:

1)  The New Testament reveals the hermeneutic for all of Scripture.

Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me."  And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.  Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  And you are witnesses of these things.  Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."     Luke 24:44-49

2)  The world-view of the New Testament is age-long.

"Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:9-14

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.  For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.  Colossians 3:1-4 

When these two principles are applied, all sorts of doctrinal distortions fade away.

Most of the aberrations that face Reformed theology rely on a judaizing hermeneutic which forces a foreign understanding upon the New Testament, originating from a false interpretation of the Old.  This, in turn, requires an implicit or explicit denial that the New Testament world-view is age-long.

The implications of these two principles are revolutionary for those caught in a false hermeneutic.

Under the Law -- Unredeemed

Galatians 4:4-5   4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,  5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 

This is amazing for several reasons.  Firstly, Paul takes the opportunity to object to Jewish complacency under the law, by the simple fact of stating that such people need to be redeemed!  Secondly, Paul makes it clear that (historically) redemption did not happen until Christ died and rose again.

Of course, even Abraham in ancient times before Christ was saved by his faith.  Christ was always the lamb slain from the foundation of the world.  The ancient saints were as secure as we are, but yet without us they were not made perfect.

Christ himself, in his appearing on earth, is the fountain of salvation and eternal life.  Everything else, even creation itself, is designed to lead to this fulfillment.  Before this point, redemption was in prospect only.  Only after this point is redemption accomplished.

This is a paradigm for thinking about Covenant Theology.  The "axis" of Covenant Theology is Christ, and his death and resurrection -- in history. 

All the other covenants are understood in terms of this one.

Hermeneutics and the Mystery of the Kingdom (v3)

And He [Jesus] said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, ...                     Mark 4:11

We are aware of how much the zealous Jews of Jesus' day looked for the coming of the Messianic Kingdom.  We are also aware of how their wishes did not seem to be satisfied by Jesus' deportment, even though he said that the Kingdom of God had come.  They did not see him or those associated with him organizing the army and all other things necessary to bring in that Kingdom in its fullness.  Jesus even said to Pilate that "my Kingdom is not of this world, else my servants would fight."

Jesus' answer to the common messianic expectation was to preach and teach in parables "so that those who were outside would not understand."  There are several astounding revelations made here.  For one, it is a clear premonition of what Paul (and Jesus) speak of, when they note that the Kingdom has been taken away from the Jews and given to the Gentiles until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.  The parables were spoken to the Jews, but only the rare elect, who were mostly personally instructed by Jesus, really understood them.  Secondly, the phase of the Kingdom of God introduced by Jesus' advent does not look like the Jewish Messianic expectation.  All this is covered by the term 'mystery,' to emphasize that there were developments in the manifestation of the Kingdom at Jesus' time which were not prophesied in the prophetic scriptures (Old Testament), and that these unrevealed aspects are more than important -- they are paradigmatic.  That is, the newly revealed (former) mysteries change the whole look and feel of the Kingdom in ways that could not be understood from the messianic prophecies alone.

Now, we need not overplay the 'mystery,' as if nothing about Gentile salvation and the nature of the future Kingdom were prophesied.  But there were many mysteries unrevealed, since those prophets desired to look into the things that they prophesied which pertain to us, but they were providentially limited in their understanding.  (1 Pet 1:10-12)  There were 'mysteries' of the Kingdom which were unrevealed to them, but which are revealed during the ministry of Jesus.

The Biblical-Historical hermeneutic to be drawn from this is that we must, in our Kingdom expectations and eschatology, be centered on the interpretation of the Kingdom which is provided for us in the New Testament.  The New Testament canonically elucidates and interprets the Old, not the other way around!

If this procedure is not adhered to, then a "judaizing" hermeneutic can pervade our interpretation of the scripture.  This judaizing can either disconnect the Old Testament from the church (as in dispensationalism), or (as in some elements of dominion theology) can color our expectations in this age to expect glory in worldly terms rather than seeing it to be hidden (but real), and experienced most often in our tribulations.

The lesson:  The New Testament teaching on the Kingdom of God must guide and direct our understanding of the prophets and the messianic age.

From Moses To Christ

After Moses exhorts the Israelites about their future apostasy, as seen in Deuteronomy 29, he follows this with a prophecy of their restoration in chapter 30.  He says:

Deuteronomy 30:9-16

9 "The LORD your God will make you abound in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your land for good. For the LORD will again rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers,  10 if you obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.  11 For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off.  12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, 'Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?'  13 Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, 'Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?'  14 But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.  15 See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil,  16 in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.

When Paul the apostle exhorts the believers, especially concerning the fate of the unbelieving Israelites, he uses parallel language:

Romans 10:1-13
  

Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.  2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.  3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.  4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.  5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, "The man who does those things shall live by them."  6 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' " (that is, to bring Christ down from above)  7 or, " 'Who will descend into the abyss?' " (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).  8 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach):  9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  11 For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."  12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.  13 For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved."

The parallel language between the two passages illustrates how the preaching of the Gospel is compared and contrasted with the preaching of the Law by Moses.  In other words, there is a parallel because of the similarity of language.  There is a similar "giving of the covenant."  But, there is also a contrast, because Jesus brought a change -- else, there would be no need for Paul to speak this way.

A comparison of the two passages shows that the contrast between them is the preaching of the Law on the one hand, and the preaching of the Gospel on the other.  The other contrast is connected with the phenomenal description of Israelite restoration in Deut 30.  How this happens is at that point a mystery.  The nation has just previously in chapter 29 been described as moving into idolatry and exile from the Land.  By some mysterious sudden transformation they are now prophesied to be restored.

That transformation that restores them is exactly the gospel of Christ that Paul speaks of in Romans 10, where he uses the parallel language to Moses.  The continuity of the covenant is that the people of Israel are restored, according to Moses' prophecy in Deuteronomy 30.  The discontinuity of the covenant is the method by which they are restored -- not under the administration of the Law, but under the administration of the Gospel.

By the Gospel, the righteousness of the Law -- the actual spiritual state called for in the Law -- is fulfilled by grace, through the Spirit, in the believers -- who are not under the Law.

The retroactive grace of Christ made believers in those old days, after the Fall and under the Law.  But the ministry was comparatively scant.  And, the Law, with its curses, threatened not only the disobedient but the godly.  The faithless were confirmed in their rebellion by God's good law.  Many, by their zeal for righteousness according to the law, became the worst enemies of Christ.  The "do this and live" revealed the sin of sinners.

But, when Christ came, with grace in place of the curse of the Law, the wholesale display of God's grace came.  The physical Israelites have been cut out of blessings, for the sake of the calling of the Gentiles, but that calling of the natural family of Abraham by God himself cannot be thwarted in the end.  By the power of the Spirit, the glorious picture of Israelite redemption will come true.

What is God's Real and Greatest Glory?

This is a vital question, and it resolves into important sub-questions, which, in turn, imply some things about theological systems.

1)  Is it God's greatest glory that he is served by his creation, or that he serves his creation?  Who made whom?  Who sustains whom?  Who saves whom?  Who feeds whom?  Who is the only giver?

2)  Is it God's greatest glory that he creates, or is it his greatest glory that he saves?  Is salvation Plan B, to fix up Adam's Fall, so that Plan A can proceed?  Or, is the provision of salvation really Plan A?  Which redounds to the greater glory of God?

3)  Is it God's greatest glory that he legislates obedience, and achieves that control over his creation which he originally intended, in spite of the Fall?  Or, is it that he forgives sin, and creates a new people, giving them the gift of the Spirit?  Who has the "name above every name" in all the cosmos, and what did he achieve to get it?  What is God eschatologically thanked for (Rev. 5).

The answers to these questions are intensely practical, and inform all our dealings with God.

There is also controversy here.

Some try to say that emphasizing salvation like this is man-centered, and that our religion should instead be God-centered.  His glory should be the highest thing, and not even our own salvation.

But, the Scriptures are plain that His greatest glory is to be the Savior and Sustainer of the world he has made -- the Taker of Nothing and the Giver of All.

For a long discussion about theological systems see here.

What is "Legalism"

The term "legalism" has a million applications :-).

But consider Paul's allegory:

Galatians 4:21 - 5:1   21 ¶ Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law?  22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman.  23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise,  24 which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar --  25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children --  26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.  27 For it is written: "Rejoice, O barren, You who do not bear! Break forth and shout, You who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more children Than she who has a husband."  28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.  29 But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now.  30 Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? "Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman."  31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.  5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

The idea is that the natural offspring -- those not "promised" -- are related to God via Mt. Sinai, whereas the spiritual offspring -- those "promised" -- are related to God via the Jerusalem which is above.  It is probably the case that one could say "Mt. Zion," by arguing from other passages (Heb 12, Rev 14).

Therefore, to be "legal" is to be related to God as a natural (unregenerate) person, as typified by Mt. Sinai.  To be "gracious," or "spiritual" is to be related to God via the Jerusalem above, or Mt. Zion.

To be related to God via the Jerusalem above has no correlation with being exempt from the requirement for Christian behavior.  It is not "anti-nomian."

The real issue concerning Christian behavior is whether converted Christian behavior is brought about by a relationship to God's good law, which is in the mode of the First Creation, now fallen, (and which is typified by Mt. Sinai), or whether converted Christian behavior is brought about by a relationship to God by the Spirit in the New Creation, typified by Mt. Zion and the Jerusalem which is above.

Paul spends considerable time explicating this difference, when he compares the legal "do this and live," with the spiritual "believe in the Lord Jesus Christ."

The alternatives of legalism and spirituality have to do with the nature of the spiritual power-relationships which are active in a person's life.  A power-relationship to "do this and live," is a power-relationship to sin:

1 Corinthians 15:56   56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 

A power-relationship to the Holy Spirit through the Gospel of Christ is a power-relationship that delivers from the bondage of sin and writes the Law on the heart!

We hear a lot said about the need for Christian character.  It's true we need this, and the Scriptures will instruct us.  But, perhaps we need to pay more attention to the need for Christian faith!  Faith -- in the Gospel of Christ -- is associated with that power-relationship that delivers from sin and ultimately produces Christian character.  Sin began in Eden as a loss of faith.

Legalism has nothing to do simply with wrong methods of using sets of rules, or with making rules too "harsh."  Legalism is the advocacy of a power-relationship to the "do this and live."

Spirituality is a power-relationship to Christ which is only received -- by believing the gospel.  Faith is not a work.

Righteousness Higher than the Law

It has been maintained that the holiness, righteousness and glory of God is far higher than anything revealed even in his Holy Law.   

It has been maintained that, before the Lord, even the holiness of the unfallen angels is inadequate.

This divine "extra" is certainly associated with the essential separateness of the divine essence of the Triune God from all his creation, but this is not all that is meant by this divine "extra."

We know that Christ overcame death -- a death mandated by the Law.  But, in overcoming death, the text of The Epistle to the Romans, Chapter 7:4-6 is clear that we, though now living, still remain "dead to the Law."  We are not simply delivered from its curse, but are also delivered into a new resurrection life -- a new way of life before God, married to Christ and producing his fruit by his whole Word and Spirit -- not just a renewed life under the Law.

We have a higher life than the Law could ever have delivered to even the unfallen Adam in the original creation.  We are in the New Creation.  We have been delivered into this creation by the divine power of the God-Man, Jesus Christ, in his death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of God.  And, we are in this New Creation only because we are in him, the God-Man.

By our union with Christ we receive entrance into a righteousness that is higher than the Law, and have a level of fellowship with God which is higher than any revealed in the First Creation -- a level of fellowship unknown to the angels, and which they must learn about by watching and caring for us!

Resurrection

Resurrection is not simply the reversal of death, though it's a right thing to say.  Death is certainly vanquished.  The curse is reversed and changed into blessing.

It is important to remember that there is only one Resurrection in the history of the cosmos.  This is the Resurrection of Christ.  We who are resurrected are only resurrected because we are in him.  We are not resurrected at the same time, since Christ is the firstfruits, but we, the full harvest, are resurrected only because we are in him.

In the first place resurrection only occurs after real death under the curse of the Law.  This real death, in our case, apart from Christ, would be an eternal death.  The wrath of God would abide (rest, dwell) upon us, forever and ever.

Christ did not escape this curse.  He did take the death we deserved, and we in him.  Except for his eternal power and Godhead we would both have remained in the state of death!  And, as far as the Law is concerned, we are still in that state.  Before the Law we are dead!  It has destroyed us for our depravity (Christ bearing our sins for us), and this destruction is eternal.  Our connection to the realm and age of the Law, as conveyed to us and to which we were bound in the original creation, is over.  There is no life for us, or for Christ, in that age any more.  The only exit from this terminal state is the Resurrection of Christ.

Christ has died!  Christ is risen!  Christ will come again!

Even now Christ himself, in his human nature, lives a new life in resurrection, and we live it with him, in him.  We live in a new way, not under Law, not lawlessly, but under Grace.  Spiritually, we are already in heaven, seated with Christ in the heavenly places.  When the birth-pangs of the New Creation are finished, we shall be like him, soul and body, for we shall see him as he is.

Until that day we only live by resurrection life that comes from him.  This is not just a life that doesn't face death any more, but it is a life in glory, moved by the grace of God in the New Creation, which longs for the day when Heaven and Earth will be one, wrapped in the majesty and glory of God forever and ever.

What is Plan A?

The material which is presented cryptically in this table is discussed at length here.

If Plan A was the original creation, then:

Plan A	Plan B	Result
Creation	Redemption	Restores plan A
Low (but definite) revelation of the trinity.	Trinity fully revealed only in redemption.	Full revelation of the Trinity was originally unnecessary for divine religion. Was, and is, the religion of “God.”
No Incarnation.	Incarnation, only to repair the problem of sin, and to restore the original creation.	Christology was originally unnecessary for divine religion.
Establish social and political order of the First Creation.	Restoration of the order of the First Creation.	The  order of the First Creation can now be implemented in the present aeon. No “deification” (2 Pet 1:4).
First Creation based on Law, not Gospel.	Restoration of the First Creation through the Gospel restores the effectiveness of the Law.	The Current (and Final) Kingdom is based on the restored Law.
The Old Testament is the Canon of Creation. No Messiah in the original creation.	The New Testament restores the Covenant and Canon of the original Creation through contingent Messiah.	The New Testament is not the normative revealer of God’s purposes.
		Not Redemptive-Historical

If the original intent of creation is actually redemption, then:

Plan Zero	Plan A	Result
Creation.	Redemption.	Implements plan A  (redemption).
Low (but definite) revelation of the trinity.	Trinity fully revealed only in redemption.	Full revelation of the Trinity is necessary for divine religion. Is the religion of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
No Incarnation.	Incarnation, to save mankind and elevate them to a higher level than the original creation.	Christology is truly necessary for divine religion. “Deification” possible (2 Pet 1:4).
Social and political order of the First Creation.	Elevation of the mankind to a new level in the New Creation.	The New Creation is fully inherited only in resurrection.
First Creation based on Law, not Gospel.	Redemption and Elevation of the First Creation through the Gospel, not the Law.	The Kingdom is based on the Gospel, not the Law.
The Old Testament promises the New, in the Person of Messiah.	The New Testament fulfills the Old, in the Person of Messiah.	The New Testament is the supreme revealer of the prophet, priest and king, in the Person of Messiah.
		Redemptive-Historical

Dead to the Law

Paul refers to dying to the law at least twice -- in Galatians and in Romans:

Galatians 2:17-21   17 "But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not!  18 "For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.  19 "For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God.  20 "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.  21 "I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain."

Romans 7:1-6  ¶ Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?  2 For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband.  3 So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man.  4 ¶ Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another -- to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.  5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death.  6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.

In both cases, it's clear from the rest of Paul's letters that he by no means disapproves of the righteousness described in the law, but makes it our goal:

Romans 8:3-4   3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,  4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

So what does Paul mean by this existential statement, that we are "dead" to the law?

Since Paul calls our old relationship to the Law (outside of Christ) a form of marriage, we have to conclude that the intimate relationship between Law and ourselves is a basic principle of either the original creation, or something we fell into by the Fall.  Since the law is holy, just and good, it seems to me to make more sense to describe the marriage to the Law as concreated with Adam.  Adam was to understand God's law, by creation, and live by it.  The intimate relationship between Adam and God's Law would produce the offspring of righteousness.  Adam would "do this and live" (the basic principle of the Law), and he would "do this" not to acquire merit, but to grow and mature in God's goodness.

However, when the Fall took place, the curse ensued.  Under this curse, the righteous requirement of the Law brought forth more rebellion, not as a fruit of the Law's goodness, but as a fruit and proof of man's badness and hate for the truth.  From this we had to be delivered.

Thus, our death to the Law.  This means more than forgiveness, though it includes that.  It means more than being disconnected from the Law as a covenant which is bringing death to sinners.  It means death to the aeon of the Law -- the original creation.  It means resurrection.

This is the origin of Paul's contrast between the Letter and the Spirit (Rom 7).  The "Letter" refers to the relationship to Law of the first creation.  Life by the Spirit is a new relationship of living which is not related to the Law of God in the same manner as in the original creation.

Having died to the Law of the original creation, we are born anew by the Spirit, and live in a truly new, resurrected way, under grace.  We are dead to the Law, but by the whole Word of God the righteousness of the Law is written on our hearts through Christ by the Spirit.

What St. Paul said about Nullifying the Grace of God

Galatians 2:19-21   19 "For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God.  20 "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.  21 "I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain."

It cannot be the case that the temporary epoch of the Law, given at Sinai, is referred to here by Paul.  Of course, it is a truism in Paul that "The Law" is most often a reference to the Law of Moses which came on Sinai.  However, it's hard to believe that Paul simply refers to the temporary, Israelite-bound economy of that Law from Sinai, when he states that it took the crucifixion of Christ to deliver him from it.  Furthermore, in the crucifixion of Christ, he sees the activity of the Law itself.  Christ gave himself unto the death of the cross, for Paul, in order to deliver Paul from the law.  Thus we conclude the the Law given from Sinai is representative of a bigger Law -- a Law so big that it required -- and got -- the crucifixion of the Son of God.

The administration of the Law under the Old Covenant truly is a temporary administration.  But, it is only temporary because Christ died.  "The Law" is not just a temporary administration of food laws, Jewish customs, and rituals of worship.  The deliverance that Christ brings is bigger than deliverance from "Jewish boundary markers."

It didn't take the death of Christ simply to free the Jews to have a ham sandwich (HT: Lee Meckley).

The Canon of the New Testament

A well-known teacher of the Restoration of the Law wrote that when the Kingdom comes, we'll know how to punish all those face-slappers who bother us now, and we won't have to keep turning the other cheek.

What he meant by this was that the New Testament ethic is temporary -- that there will come a time in the progress of the Kingdom when the personal ethic taught by Jesus in the New Testament will be superseded by one that is more "just."

This can't be right.

First, the courage that it takes to teach this way is boldly disrespectful to the authority of Christ.

Secondly, the doctrine of the canon of Scripture is reversed.  He intends the Mosaic case law to take precedence over the teaching of the New Testament.  Redemptive history runs backward.  The Old Creation is being restored, rather than the New Creation inaugurated.

This is all wrong because he has rejected the New Testament as the canonical guide for the interpretation of all Scripture.

The whole "look and feel" of the Christian religion is at stake here: our daily experience (often tribulation, and not glory), our future expectation (the return of the Lord), our ethic (forgiveness, servanthood), our preaching (the gospel), our life (mutual love, distinct from the world).

How vital a difference this makes to the whole spirit of Christianity !

The Mother of Jesus -- Theologian

It is interesting to see that in John's Gospel, the mother of Jesus is never mentioned by her name.  The motive is unknown to me.  He names the other Mary's in Jesus life.  John, of course, never names himself in his own Gospel.  Most believe that he avoided his own name in order to avoid drawing attention to himself.  Instead he refers to himself as "the disciple that Jesus loved."  Having said that, it might be even more important the he not mention his own name. Perhaps some of the same motives went into his policy of not mentioning Mary's name, the mother of Jesus.

In any case, this woman was a perceptive theologian. 

Remember that God waited for Moses to call for His Presence to accompany Israel -- even to the point of hearing Moses point out that the "Egyptians will say that You could not bring us out if you don't finish the job."  (Deut 9:25-28-29)  So, God the Son waited for his mother to make clear to him that it was time to begin his ministry of signs, as they are recorded in this Gospel.  See the text:

John 2:1-11 NKJ:

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine." 4 Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come." 5 His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it." 

6 Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. 7 Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water." And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast." And they took it. 9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. 10 And he said to him, "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!" 

11 This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.

Think how Jesus' mother understood that this wedding scene was a fitting spot for Jesus to introduce his ministry.  Think about how she understood the possibilities of this providential moment when the poorer wine, the water of Judaism, had run out, and the wine of the New Covenant was present and ready to be offered.  Think of what was taught later by Jesus and the apostles, concerning the Church as the Bride of Christ, and the coming Wedding Supper of the Lamb.  Think how much the mother of Jesus must have understood this at the wedding in Cana.  There seems to be no other motivation for her silent insistence that "now is the time."

As vs 11 indicates, it was the time.

This seer and theologian of the New Covenant saw rightly.

Legalism (Rom 5-8)

When Adam broke the Law, he brought death -- the curse of that broken Law -- upon all his posterity. None of them have escaped the curse.  No one born of Adam will ever escape it.  It will prosecute their cases unto death -- whether they are in the First Adam, or in the Last Adam, Christ.

When the Law prosecutes its case against a man in the First Adam, the doom is temporal and eternal death.  The smoke of conscious torment will go up forever and ever.

But, when the Law prosecutes its case through the death of the Last Adam, then Christ and all those who are in him endure the eternal penalty (Christ for us) and rise on the other side triumphant, exempt forever from any further prosecution for sin.

The varying relationships to Law reflect the Two Covenants with the Two Men -- Adam and Christ (Rom 5).

God was served in the old way in Adam.  The Law is the "husband" of those in Adam.  Their works, fathered by the law, were holy, just and good -- until sin was brought in.  Sin brought death. Then, the Law -- holy, just and good -- "fathered" the offspring of increasing rebellion in the rebellious offspring of Adam.

But God is served in a new way in Christ.  The resurrected Christ is the "husband" of those in him, powerfully bringing forth in us the fruits of life.  In him we have already triumphed over the death dealt out for our sins, and through the Spirit the dominion of sin is now broken.  We are triumphing over our sins now -- and will triumph fully in the end!  (Rom 7-8).

This transition of headship from Adam to Christ, which is a transition in relationship to the Law of God, is the deliverance from that relationship to the Law that Paul talks so much about.

The benefit of Christ is applied by God retroactively to all believers back to Adam, but the real deliverance from the curse (which did impend over all those ancient saints) did not take place until Christ did his work.  The glory of this work issues in the advent of the Spirit in a new way in the saints of God, glorifying them with the glory of God's grace in life by the Spirit.

So, have we done away with the Moral Law?  Surely, the new husband we have -- the author of the Law -- will bring forth fruits in us by his whole Word and Spirit, which are in accordance with his Law.  The righteousness of the Law will be fulfilled in us who walk in the New Way by the Spirit (Rom 8).

Is it possible for believers to walk in the Old Way?  Actually they cannot, but I think they can try.  However, they will be very unhappy.  They may find themselves more and more depressed and burdened by their sins.  They may wonder if they know the Lord.

But, the calculus of sanctification is not, at root, measured by the degree of conformity to the Law.  It is measured, first of all, by faith in Christ our husband.  Sanctification is a gift to such as these.  It cannot be earned by our works.

Infinitum Capax Finiti (Revised 7 Apr 2010)

See:

http://www.reformed.org/webfiles/antithesis/index.html?mainframe=/webfiles/antithesis/v2n4/index.html&mainframe=/webfiles/antithesis/v2n4/ant_v2n4_journal.html

and search on 'capax'.

Here's a "fair use" quote of that paragraph in the page (highlights mine):

Richard Muller is a scholar that reformed persons should know. In a recent book by Muller, Christ and the Decree: Christology and Predestination in Reformed Theology from Calvin to Perkins (1986, Labyrinth Press), his apology for scholastic orthodoxy, Muller makes this insightful remark, which is a good come-back to our Neo-Orthodox friends: "...the dictum finitum non capax infiniti (translated loosely as "the finite mind is unable to comprehend the thought of the infinite") used by later exponents of Reformed doctrine... does not appear to have been used by Calvin himself. Several modern scholars have argued that the phrase is not even a proper description of Calvin's doctrine.... The phrase finitum non capax infiniti is better rendered `the finite is unable to grasp the infinite.' As Oberman argued of Calvin, the inverse, infinitum capax finiti reveals the positive implication of the doctrine. The infinite God grasps finite human nature sola gratia" (p. 21). That's worth re-quoting.

End quote.

So, God the Son has grasped his human nature and

       ... in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;
                                                                   (Col 2:9)

The Works of the Man Christ

Notice how salvation and damnation are works of man -- that is, two men:

Romans 5:15 But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man's offense [Adam] many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.

Romans 5:18 Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.  19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.

1 Corinthians 15:21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.

1 Corinthians 15:45 And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 

1 Corinthians 15:47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.  48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly.  49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.

So, our transformation in soul, and ultimately in body, is due to our union with the Heavenly Man, who took our nature, lived, died under the curse for our sins, triumphed over all curse and death, rose from death immune to it forever, sits at the right hand of God, and reigns till all his enemies are put under his feet.  This Man subdues the cosmos to himself.

This union of the Second Person of the Trinity with our nature, for his glory and our salvation, is a cosmological change.  No, that's not enough.  It's higher than that.  It is not a change that only affects the entire cosmos.  It is a change which affects the one who created the whole cosmos.  The Second Person of the Trinity is now a man -- the God-man -- the theanthropos. Finitum capax infiniti.

One must conclude that the Incarnation of the Son of God, a mystery till it happened, institutes a new and magnificent salvation, promised from the beginning, but infinitely higher than was fully revealed to man and in man at the first creation. Adam was by the original creation the man of dust. Christ is the man from heaven.

Glory be to God.
 

Is Postmillennialism "Catholic"?

(I use the term "catholic" to refer to consistency with universally held Christian truth).

Historic Western eschatology has been "amillennial," or perhaps "present-millennial," for a long time -- some say since Augustine.  Since terminology for eschatological positions changes over time, one ought to ask whether the amillennial, or present-millennial, position is really any different from a moderate postmillennialism.  Perhaps it's not. 

This "amillennialism," or whatever it was, did not seem to hinder the establishment of the First Christendom.  No kind of extreme postmillennialism was necessary.

So what do I mean by "extreme" postmillennialism?  I mean any millennialism that focuses primary eschatological attention on glorious spiritual prospects to nations and cultures in this age, rather than primarily focusing such hope on the age to come.  I suggest that the balance is given in this passage:

Luke 18:29-30 So He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life."

There is a reward in this present age.  And, this "many times more" need not always be "spiritualized."  But, this reward is not the final reward of glory.  It is the call of grace in the powers of the age to come which gives life to our calling in the present age.  Our focus is always on that great day which ends this age and introduces this world to glory.

See my notes on Postmillennialism.

"This Age," and "The Age to Come"

A word search of the New Testament for the term "this age" and "age to come," in English (NKJ), yields a verse list, among which are found:

Mat 12:32 "Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

Eph 1:20 ... which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

These passages give an enumeration of the "ages."  There are two.

In the parable of the Wheat and Tares, it is said:

Mat 13:40 "Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.  The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness," etc., "and will cast them into the furnace of fire.  There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.  Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

Therefore, at the "end of this age" is the Final Judgment, after which the righteous will shine forth as the sun.

Luke 20:34 And Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.  But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage;  nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection."

This age, therefore, is not the age of resurrection, but the age to come is.

This age is dominated by foolishness and blindness:

1 Cor 1:20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

1 Cor 2:6 However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.

1 Cor 3:18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.
  

2 Cor 4:3-4   But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,  whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

"This world" (age) is the age dominated by the foolishness of worldly wisdom and rebellion against the spiritual truth of the gospel.  This age is the age made foolish by God.

It is also the age in which we fight a battle:

Eph 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

There will be victory in this battle all along.  But, the age of the full manifestation of victory will be the age of resurrection and eternal life!

Mark 10:29-30 So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time -- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life.

Luke 18:29-30 So He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life."

Heb 6:4-6 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.

Passages like these teach the life-style that we should expect in this age -- real victory, but in persecutions, having no visible glory of our own, but overshadowed to worldly eyes by the world's glory.  But, having tasted of the power of the age to come, we persevere unto that age of resurrection and glory when we shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of the Father.

Restitution of Creation vs. Resurrection of Creation

Thoughts on the Covenant of Works, Trinitarianism, Incarnation and Redemption

Here are some links to a collection of papers, some of which were developed in conjunction with a class on the Covenant of Works.  These papers describe how I believe the doctrine of the Covenant of Works can be exaggerated and improperly construed as a full paradigm for the redeemed life of the human race in the current age.  

In brief, my argument is that the redemption that is in Christ is an infinitely higher destiny for the race than even the fullness of life actually known from Scripture to have been held out before Adam.  These papers therefore discuss the vital differences which I see between an eschatology based on the "Restitution of Creation" and an eschatology based on the "Resurrection of Creation."

My discussion begins by treating what I believe to be the negative ramifications of Herman Bavinck's presentation of the Covenant of Works.  I complain about his exaggeration of the concept beyond the Scriptural data, and his using the spirituality of the original creation as the paradigm for the spirituality of the redeemed life.   He teaches what I call the "restitution of creation."

An entire treatise by Hodnett exists, similarly approving the substance of what Bavinck teaches.  See a link to his treatise contrasting the theology of A. A. van Ruler with the views of Jurgen Moltmann.  Van Ruler's view is quite extreme, and, in my opinion, quite contrary to the tenor of Scripture.  One of the more offensive sub-sections of the treatise is Number 10.  I have kept this in my possession for non-profit educational purposes only, in case these links disappear from the Internet.  The interesting thing to see in this argument pro van Ruler is that Hodnett accuses Moltmann that his theology isn't Christian -- just as Moltmann has accused van Ruler of the same.  These academic papers reveal that they have "seen a light" that one way or another decisively impacts the shape of Christianity.  This is no minor argument.

A more extreme presentation of the Covenant of Works as the paradigm for the redeemed race is seen in this seemingly well-intended (and hopefully accurate) description of Rousas Rushdoony's "Gospel of Restitution."  (You will have to view this page with Internet Explorer.)  The particular page linked to in this paragraph was taken from the Internet, but I cannot find it any more, so I cannot give the link.   The page is contained in this web site, and is used for non-profit educational purposes only.

Here is a brief presentation of my views on Incarnation, Covenants, and Eschatology.   This presents what I call the "resurrection of creation," by emphasizing the necessity of a redemptive-historical approach to the covenants in order to maintain a proper doctrine of the Trinity and the Incarnation.

My paper on distinguishing the varieties of postmillennialism shows the difference between a postmillennialism based on restitution of creation, and a postmillennialism based on the resurrection of creation.

A final review.

I hope at some future time to be able to consolidate the arguments into a single, longer paper.  I have one started, but it is not ready for the web site yet.

The Kingdom of the New Covenant

Within the Reformed heritage we have the unique opportunity to bring together in a unified vision all the covenants of Scripture, in such manner that the whole inscripturated Word remains accessible and edifying in the most direct manner for the whole church of God.  This point of view was certainly recognized by Calvin, when he claimed that the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament was a difference of administration more than it was a difference of covenant.  This same Calvin, however, went on to make the central covenant the New Covenant, as the title (by Calvin) of Institutes, Book II, Chapter VII makes clear:  "The Law was given, not to restrain the folk of the old covenant under itself, but to foster hope of salvation in Christ until his coming."  See materials in http://www.christocentry.net/Notes on Calvin's Institutes".  See also, in that place, a discussion of Calvin's teaching in Chapter XI of Book II ("The differences between the two testaments").  Calvin thus recognizes "progress" in the historic covenantal dispensations from the beginning of the inscripturated history until the end.  Christ is the axis of the covenant theology.

In later times, Calvin's implicit redemptive historicism has been explicitly developed by others.  It has now become a commonplace to explain the sequence of divine revelations and covenants in Scripture as each being part and parcel of a single big picture that has developed through time, as sequentially recorded in the inscripturated history.  This approach, called "Biblical Theology," emphasizes the development and progress of divine revelation, rather than just noting "differences" seen in the different portions of the Old and New Testaments.  This redemptive historical approach is not even limited to the Reformed.

All this material native to the Reformed movement helps us to focus our attention on the forward motion of revelation, on the "age to come," on the hope of resurrection, the first-fruits of which we experience now in our own souls, in Christ, though not yet in the body.

The Kingdom of God now manifest on earth is the Kingdom manifested in the souls of the believers, in the Church, and in the total life of the kingdoms of this earth insofar as they are permeated by the Gospel.  But, the Kingdom of God will ultimately be a Kingdom of total resurrection, in both soul and body.  This is our hope and heart's desire.

But, this view has competition.  It seems to me that there is also a strong movement among us which focuses on restitution of creation in this present age at the cost of primary emphasis on the hope of resurrection.

Now, it's certainly a fact that creation is restored in many ways, and the world is blessed by the present Kingdom of Christ.  But, the resurrection of creation in Christ is much, much more than the restitution of creation in this age.  Christ must be seen, and death must be banished.  Only this can satisfy our hearts.