Understanding and Teaching the Bible

' ...we have not stopped praying for you, and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.' Col.1:9

2. The Nature of the Trinity (follows immediately after this contents list) - explaining clearly the nature of the Trinity as a unity and the work of each person of the Trinity in our salvation.

3. How Roman Catholic Belief on Justification differs from Protestant Belief This is the key issue which divides Christendom: this article uses documentary evidence to explain exactly what the Roman Catholic Church teaches in answer to the question "How is a person saved?". It also clarifies the answer to the question for all Christians.

4. Augustine's Mistake and Luther's Rediscovery The mistaken belief on Augustine's part that the Greek word for 'to justify' meant 'to make righteous' instead of 'to declare righteous' led to a major misunderstanding that persists to this day. It wasn't until the Reformation that the true meaning was rediscovered.

5. What is the Gospel? (1) The Gospel is Christ's perfect and complete work FOR US (2) How Scripture describes the Gospel (3) What is not the Gospel? (4) The Gospel is the power for salvation (5) The Content of the Gospel - Outline by Dr J.Packer

7. Christ - the Wisdom of God In what way is Christ wisdom from God - is it just that he spoke God's wisdom or is there more to it than that?

8. Four Sessions of Preparation for Anglican Confirmation (1) What is the Gospel? (2) Becoming and Being a Christian (3) Growing as a Christian - the Holy Spirit and the Church (4) Growing as a Christian - Confidence in the Authority and Use of the Bible.

9. The Importance of Biblical Theology A brief article explaining what Biblical theology is and giving examples of how it helps us to put together a fuller understanding of the interpretation of biblical events.

10. The Cross of Christ This comprises three major seminars (1) Rediscovering the centrality of the Cross. (2) At the heart of the Cross. (3) Our life under the Cross. With three accompanying resource studies (1) 'The Cross as Rejection and Sacrifice' - a study in Mark's Gospel. (2) 'Our Saviour King' - a study in John's Gospel (3) 'Priest and Sacrifice' - a study in Hebrews.

11. The BIG Words of Salvation Pithy explanations of Grace, Atonement and Propitiation, Regeneration and the New Birth, Justification, Redemption, Reconciliation, Adoption, Sanctification, and Glorification.

Further sections will be added from time to time: please e-mail us (address on the home page) if you would like some help with a particular doctrine. We will attempt to provide you with some useful material.

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There is no passage in the Bible that we can turn to which tells us 'the Trinity is like this ...' but there are plenty of references which enable us to compile an understanding of it. The plain fact is that Jesus taught us about the Trinity. I suppose it is true to say that we will never understand how God can be three and yet one, but we can learn how to handle the idea, particularly when reading the Bible. One thing we must be clear on, is that The Trinity is not just a way of thinking about God - but actually what He is like.

The idea of the Trinity is revealed progressively in the Bible. In the OT there are only hints - like Gen1:26 - God said ”Let us make man in our image”. The name for God “Elohim” is a plural word. In Psalm 110, David says “The Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand” - who are these two Lords? - and there are many other examples of plural thinking about God.

But it is in the life and teaching of Jesus that we meet the Trinity full-on. Let’s take two prime examples: 1. Jesus’ Baptism in Mark 1:9-11 - the Father’s voice, Jesus the Son in the water, the Holy Spirit descending. 2. Jesus speaking in John 14:15 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counsellor .. the Spirit of truth”. Paul frequently speaks of the work of the Trinity: typical is Titus 3:4-8a . These verses spell out how each person of the Trinity has a vital part to play in our salvation. It is the love, kindness and mercy of the Father; the saving acts of the Son, and the washing and new life from the Spirit.

There have been many attempts to use analogies to explain the Trinity, (such as a three-leafed clover) but they all fail. It is much better to learn how to handle the idea and to recognise it when we are reading the Bible.

* Each person of the Trinity is fully God; no person of the Trinity is more God or less God than any other person.

* Each person of the Trinity has the same attributes as are spoken of as belonging to God as a whole

The Spirit witnesses to Christ, awakens our dead souls, gives new life, and delivers to heaven

But the personal distinctions are not something added onto God's essential being.

It is not the Son's work to call and awaken our dead souls. It is not the Father's role to die on the cross. It is not the Spirit's role to call us or to die for us.

But every member of the Trinity is involved whenever any one member does something.

Whenever one member of the Trinity is doing something, then all members are involved in doing it, but we must emphasise that member whose particular work it is to do that thing.

This working definition allows us to understand two types of bible verse (1) those that speak of the distinctive work of one member of the Trinity, and (2) those that express the united action of the Trinity. Examples include:

Col.1:27 '... the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you ...' although it is the distinctive work of the Spirit to be in us: Christ is at the right hand side of the Father! We should be on the look-out for verses of the two types - those which express the distinctive work of each member and those which speak of the united work of members in the same work.

Although the members of the Trinity are equal in every way, there is an order among them.

The Father sent the Son (John 3:16); the Father and the Son sent the Spirit (Acts 2:33).

(That 'order' can exist with equality in the Godhead may be helpful in thinking about the man-woman relationship in the Bible)

The very nature of God is missionary in character: the roles of each member described above are all orientated towards mankind. The implication of this is that God's People should be missionary too.

It is vitally important that we understand what the Gospel is. In particular we must not confuse the Gospel with the results of the Gospel in our lives. Why? Because the Gospel is perfect, but the results in us are always imperfect and disappointing. We must be very careful about recommending the Gospel by the resulting experiences we attribute to it in our lives.

Consider this: a Christian lady called on a neighbour whom she knew to have been in some sort of distress. The neighbour opened the door and from the look on her face was clearly feeling much better. 'How are you?' the Christian asked. 'Oh I feel so at peace and full of joy' was the reply. 'Wonderful' said the Christian 'you must have become a Christian!' 'Oh no' said the neighbour ' I've been to see the guru'. What does the Christian say now?

There is no doubt that being a Christian can result in experiencing a peace that 'transcends all understanding' (Phil.4:7) but the measure of peace that we feel cannot be the authentication of the truth and efficacy of the Gospel. It would be no good at all for the Christian in our little story above to get into the game of saying that her Christian peace was superior, deeper or more long-lasting, than the peace from the guru. The neighbour need only say that she knows how wonderful her present peace is, for the discussion to go nowhere fast.

The results of the Gospel in us will always be disappointing, whether it is measured by the peace and joy we experience, or the level of holiness we achieve, or the depth of meaning it gives to our lives. For one thing our low experience of these may be entirely our fault - are we going to saddle the Gospel or even God himself with the blame for it? And for another thing each of those things may be very subject to how we feel ie to our state of health. So are we to conclude that the Gospel is less affective when we are not well? We must not include within the Gospel any claims of what it will result-in in our lives.

We must detach from the definition of the Gospel all vestige or our performance or experience. Otherwise we shall just spoil it or distort it!

'The Gospel is the miraculous birth, perfect life, sacrificial atoning death, bodily resurrection and ascension to the right hand of God, of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, on behalf of all those who put their faith in Him, so that they can be forgiven for their rebellion against God and reconciled to Him.'

(Although this is a precise definition of the Gospel obviously a great deal more emerges once anyone begins to ask questions about the gospel eg simply 'why do we need Jesus to do this for us?' See below for further comment on the content and implications of the Gospel by Dr J. Packer.)

Notice that this definition has nothing of our experience or performance in it to spoil it! It is ALL of God. THIS is the Gospel we are to proclaim. Our hearers can argue against it, ridicule it, and finally disbelieve it, but our poor or indifferent performance as Christians is not part of it.

By the way, do not give way before unbelievers' criticisms of Christians as a reason for not believing the Gospel. The game of football is played very well by some teams but very badly by others, but no one dreams of saying that football itself is a bad game because some aren't good at it!

Of course, the definition of the Gospel above needs to be further explicated or unpacked in order for anyone to understand it fully. But it is a precise statement against which to check what else we say about it. For example, we may use the shorthand 'Jesus Christ died for our sins so that we can go to heaven' or 'Jesus died on the cross for our sins.' But sooner or later we are going to have to explain the rest of the definition to clarify what the Gospel is. Let's go on now to examine the Gospel in Scripture, constantly bearing in mind the definition of it above.

the Grace of God (Acts 20:24), Promise (Rom.1:1,2), the Glory of Christ (2 Cor.4:4), the Word of Truth (Col.1:5), Salvation (Eph.1:13), Peace [with God](Eph.6:15), the Kingdom of God (Acts 8:12).

2. But it is not popular: 1 Cor.1:18,23 it is foolishness and a stumbling block; Why 2 Cor.4;3,4?

The three persons of the Trinity work together in union (Titus 3:4-7 are prime verses) but Scripture puts the emphasis on God the Son (Mark 1:1, 2 Cor.4:4, 1 Tim1:15, 2 Tim 1:9, 1 Jo.2:1, Rom.5:1, Rom.6:23,8:39, Jo1;17, Acts 5:42, Rom.3:24. (See the previous article on this web page for more on the Trinity.)

Some erroneously teach a Gospel of God the Father - the incarnation more important than Calvary

Some erroneously teach a Gospel of the Spirit - emphasis on the work of the Spirit in us; man-centred, experience-centred. The here and now overshadows Calvary.

Being born again is not the Gospel, because this is something that happens within us.

Having faith is not the Gospel. Faith takes place within us, it looks to the Gospel. Faith is not a vague mystical thing. It cannot exist without an object. Faith is believing, thinking and living on the basis that the Gospel is true.

If we entertain the idea that anything in us is included in the Gospel then we are back in the realms of natural religion, not in the revealed religion of the Scriptures.

Rom.1:16 says 'salvation' not 'conversion'! We must always look outward to Christ not inwards to ourselves. Christ is at the right hand of God Col.3:1 not in our hearts. Col. 1:27 "Christ is in you" is a Trinity-union verse. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to indwell us. 2 Cor.4:18 and 5:7 we walk [live] by faith (in Christ at the right hand of God) not by sight (of our own experience). It is Christ's 'full-surrender' and Christ's 'victorious living' that matter. If we keep looking at ourselves we shall always be disappointed, but if we keep looking at Him we shall have assurance as we stand on the Rock. This is true Christian liberty Jo.8:36, Gal.5:1.

(recently taught at the 2002 Annual Conference of 'Reform'. This is a direct quotation from a handout Dr Packer provided.)

In the Bible the Gospel is the entire saving plan of God, all revolving round the person, place and power of our Saviour Jesus Christ, the incarnate, crucified, risen, reigning, returning Lord.

Preaching or teaching the gospel requires us to show how Jesus Christ relates to every part of God's plan, and how every part of it relates to us who are savingly related to the living Christ through faith. Evangelism involves explaining life in Christ as well as inviting sinners to him. Preaching pastors and itinerant evangelists will have different emphases, but we all must preach the gospel in this same broad and inclusive way.

The one God who made and rules everything is revealed as three persons through his plan of salvation. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit love us and work together to save us from sin and make us holy. Jesus Christ, God the Son incarnate, is Lord over all the powers of evil, as of all other powers. Any other view is idolatry.

We were made for God, to bear his image and be like him in moral character, but sin controls and has spoiled us, so that we need to be brought back to God to be forgiven and re-made. Jesus Christ, who brings us back, is himself to the model of true godliness. Any other view is deception.

Step by step, as Scripture tells, God has been working to establish his kingdom in this fallen world. Jesus is the king, and our lives are to be his kingdom. King Jesus is also Judge, and those who have not bowed to his kingship here will not share his joy hereafter. Trusting, loving, and honouring Jesus, and serving others for his sake, is true godliness at its heart. Any other view is error.

Jesus Christ, our sin-bearer on the cross, now from his throne, reaches out to rescue us who are lost in the guilt and shame of sin. He calls for faith (trust in him as Saviour) and repentance (turning to him as master). He sends his Holy Spirit to change us inwardly so that we hear his call as addressed to us personally and respond whole-heartedly to it; whereupon we are forgiven and accepted (justified), received as God's children (adopted), made to rejoice at our peace with him (assurance), and made to realise that we are living a new life in Christ (regeneration). Any other view is deficient

Christians belong in the church, the family of God, sharing its worship, work, witness and welfare, and enjoying its worldwide brotherhood in Christ. Any other view of the Christian calling is sectarian.

Helped by the ministry in the church of word and sacrament, prayer and pastoral care, spiritual gifts and loving support, Christians live in our constantly hostile world as travellers, heading for a glorious destination. Led and inspired by their Saviour through the Holy Spirit, they seek to do all the good they can as they go, and to battle all forms of evil that they meet. Any other view of the Christian life is worldly.

All this is permanently and universally true, transcending all differences of colour, race, culture, age, gender, health, economic standing, social position and political background. As the Father, Son and Holy Spirit sustain us all, so the gospel levels us all, teaching us to know ourselves as great sinners saved by God's greater grace, and to see all non-Christians as needing that same grace themselves.

The meaning of Holy Communion divides Christendom and may even divide Christians in the same local congregation. Church members may sit side by side or kneel at a communion rail and yet differ on what they think is actually happening and what they are doing! The whole meaning and conduct of Holy Communion will be the subject of a later major article, but here we shall just concentrate on the so-called 'words of institution' ie what Christ actually said to his disciples at the Last Supper.

The heart of the matter is the question 'how is Christ present?' The Roman Catholic Church believes in 'transubstantiation' by which is meant that the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Christ while appearing to remain bread and wine. Presumably the RC Church regard this as the only adequate understanding of Christ's words "This is my body"..... "This is my blood of the new covenant...".

By comparison the Protestant understanding is that the bread and wine are symbolic but that Christ is present in a special way because the act is a remembrance of Christ's supreme sacrifice. The exact nature of this presence appears not to be susceptible to clear explanation but it is emphasised as being in the believer not in the bread and wine. Some Protestants would not want to emphasise this 'spiritual' or 'mysterious' presence at all.

However, the focus of the difference is clearly what Christ meant by His original words. In his helpful book "Know the Truth" p.235 (a general book for everyman on Christian belief) Bruce Milne observes that since Christ would have spoken in Aramaic, in which the verb 'to be' was omitted in spoken language, He would not have said 'This is my body...my blood' at all. He would have said simply 'This my body...this my blood' leaving the hearer to infer what he meant.

In private correspondence Milne has explained that this explanation is based on the words of Ralph Martin in his book 'Worship in the Early Church' p.116 first published in 1964 (but more recently re-published, by Marshall, Morgan and Scott). The proposition then is that Jesus actually said "This - my body" and This - my blood.." leaving His hearers to deduce what was meant. So what would they most naturally have deduced? Since the Jews were culturally so used to symbolism and since Christ's real body and blood were right there in front of them, it is most likely that the disciples thought Jesus meant that the bread and wine 'stood for' or 'represented' his body and blood. And Jesus knew that was what they would think. After all Jesus had already taught them that He was 'the door' and 'the true vine', for example.

Martin points out that in the process of the Passover meal the Jews were quite used to bread and wine 'standing for' or 'representing' the past redemption in the Exodus. The startling new revelation in what Christ said, was not that the bread and wine were literally Him, but that down through the centuries the Passover had been pointing to His sacrificial death. It probably took a long time for this to dawn on the disciples and may have been part of Christ's teaching to them between His resurrection and ascension.

A last observation: many of those who support the literal meaning 'This is my body' point to Jesus' teaching in John 6:53,54 where He says "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day". He repeats the message in the next verse. This is truly an enigmatic statement: it offended many of his hearers and some of His disciples left him.

However, Jesus does give some explanation. In vs.50,51, having talked about the manna in the desert (Ex.16) he refers to himself as the superior 'living bread' that has come down from heaven. Earlier He called himself 'the bread of life'. It is important to note that all these enigmatic sayings are used in the context of 'faith'. Having said He is the bread of life Jesus continues ..'he who comes to me will never go hungry and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.' (v.35). So all this eating and drinking (of His body and blood) must be understood in the context of faith, indicating that the eating and drinking are spiritual in nature.

We must be clear that in John 6 Jesus is not primarily or actually talking about Holy Communion. But at the last Supper He may well be referring back to His earlier teaching in John 6. Neither passage gives any warrant for supposing that Jesus is talking about anything but the Christian's spiritual appropriation of the benefits of His death and the Christian's on-going need for spiritual sustenance in order to live the Christian life.

The actual nature of this spiritual feeding will be the subject of a later article on this web site.

Was there any special significance in the fact that it was shepherds and wise men who came to see Christ as a baby? Was there some half-hidden significance in these two types of visitors? Of course, we know that shepherds were considered to be the lowest of the low - signifying that Christ had come for the poor and the outcast, as He was later to confirm. Also the wise men were gentiles, signifying yet another feature of Christ's coming work. And the gifts they brought were astonishingly significant. But is there more?

It surely isn't a coincidence that Jesus' Himself claimed in John 10:11 that He is the Good Shepherd. But that leaves another question: why THE ... GOOD ... shepherd? What is the significance of that?

We find the answer in Ezekiel 34:22-31 where God promised that since the leaders of Israel had proved to be false shepherds of His People, He Himself would be their shepherd. In Ez.34:23 God says He will send His servant David to be their shepherd, but of course by then David had been dead for 100's of years. So this must have been a promise of the Messiah - Son of David. In John 10 Jesus is claiming nothing less than to be the fulfilment of that promise (the GOOD shepherd as opposed to the bad ones of Ez.34).

So what about the wise men? 1 Cor.1:24 says "Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God". So the wise men were called to see Christ because the wisdom of God had come, although they did not realise it at the time. But note what that wisdom was to mean - the gold for a king, certainly, but also myrrh for suffering - thus would be the extra-ordinary wisdom of God. Read 1 Cor.1:18-2:5..."so that your faith may not rest on men's wisdom but on God's power."

But what is biblical wisdom? We must put out of our minds the idea that biblical wisdom is a theoretical, philosophical thing for clever people to endlessly debate in the university common room. Biblical wisdom is intensely practical: the Hebrew word used for wisdom simply means 'skilful' and is used of craftsmen. It means knowing how to live. The Christian faith is intellectually supportable and satisfying (we don't have to jettison our minds when we believe), but it is also essentially practical. So with Jesus: what He had to say was indeed wisdom from God, but so was what He did. The extra-ordinary sight of the Saviour of the world hanging on a Roman cross in agony, is first and foremost God's wisdom solving mankind's problem in the only way that would satisfy God's perfect justice. God substituted Himself to save us. That is God's wisdom!

In the OT the Hebrew words for 'wisdom' or 'wise' are used 273 times, mostly in the books of Job(!), Proverbs and Ecclesiastes - known as the 'Wisdom Books'. There are also recognisable wisdom forms of writing in Psalms and elsewhere. The search for wisdom in OT times was not confined to Israel. It was a common pursuit in the Royal Houses of the near east and beyond for many centuries. For example, in Gen.41:8 we read of 'wise men' as a category of advisers in the court of Egypt. Remember the Queen of Sheba who visited Solomon because she had heard of his wisdom? Wisdom literature in the ancient middle east was written in three main ways: 1. proverbs - short pithy sayings about personal happiness and welfare, 2. monologues, and 3. dialogues - both probing into the meaning of human existence. We can easily recognise these forms in the biblical wisdom books.

Once wisdom became written down (in Egypt about 2500 BC) literary devices became common and are evident in the OT. For example, the used of doublets and poetic parallels, see (positively) Prov.18:10 and (negatively) Prov.10:1. Also 'comparison' - Prov.12:1; 'numerical sequences' - Prov.30:7,15,18,21,24,29; 'alliteration' or 'acrostics' - Ps.37 and Prov.31 in which each letter of the Hebrew alphabet is used to start the phrase. 'riddles' 1 King 10:1 - the Queen of Sheba had 'hard questions'; parables and allegories.

Hebrew wisdom concentrates on how a person may relate to real life - to human existence, the material creation and above all to YAHWEH. In Hebrew history, wisdom came to its height in the days of David and Solomon. Hence the wisdom to be found in the three wisdom books (Job, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes), in Psalms, and in the description of Solomon's reign in 1 Kings. (note what happened when he became unwise by deserting YAHWEH) Read 1 Kings 4:29,30,34.

For an example of wisdom, read Prov.8. Here we find all reality; God, human existence, and the created order.

The Book of Ecclesiastes frequently asks the question 'What is the meaning of life?' and since the writer appears not to know God, he is in constant despair (12:8) "Meaningless, meaningless, says the teacher, Everything is meaningless." There is just one sight of the answer in 12:1 "Remember your creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come ..." then v.6 "Remember him" and 13,14 "Fear God".

Now look at 1 Kings 8:22 - Solomon's prayer of dedication of the new temple, much of it wisdom teaching ... to do with how people are to relate to God esp. in vs 39,40 .. "So that they will fear you".

So what does Prov.1:7 say is the beginning of wisdom? - the fear of the Lord! Again in Prov.9:10. Again Prov.15:33 and Job 28:12,23,28, and Ps.32:8.

The connection of all this with the Jesus Christ is not difficult to see. He has revealed the nature, the intentions and the plans of God. See even God's ultimate aim in Eph.1:9-11. The wisdom of God has come in the person and the acts of Jesus Christ. Jesus came as the ultimate wise man - see Is.11:2. When the wise men came to worship the Christ child, what did they do? They brought symbols - gifts, which spoke volumes. When we read Prov. 8 it seems to speak of Jesus, see vs. 4-6,23,27.

In His own teaching, Jesus used wisdom-teacher methods - short pithy sayings (the Beatitudes), parables. The beatitudes are prime wisdom sayings, many with parallels in Proverbs. See what Jesus said of Himself in Matt.12:42.

Can you think of a man in the NT who Jesus said was 'wise' ? - the man who built his house (figurative for building his life) on the rock - of Jesus' teaching ('my words'). Can you think of a man whom Jesus says was a fool? - the man who built on sand, of course, and also the man who built bigger barns and yet left God out of his reckoning - Ecclesiastes answers him!

So Jesus was the ultimate wisdom. He was the only perfectly wise man who has ever lived. But it wasn't only or even primarily in who He was that Jesus was 'wisdom from God'. For we can hardly separate who He was from what He did! That is what Paul is teaching us in 1 Cor.1:30. The cross which was 'foolishness to those who are perishing' (v.18) was the supreme act of God's wisdom. We must see everything now through the lens of the Gospel which was God's wisest act. It is the gate to living wisely to please God. In the OT the beginning of wisdom was 'Fear of the Lord'. In the NT it is 'Repent and believe' which is surely the same thing. In Col.1:9 Paul prays that his readers will be filled with "spiritual wisdom and understanding" - v.10 "in order that you live" ... (in some spectacular way? No!) .. v.11 so that you may live a worthy life, bear fruit, grow, be strengthened, endure and be patient, joyfully giving thanks.

In the NT, James is said to be most like an OT wisdom book. See 3:13-18. Finally let's read 1 Cor.2:6-16.

These notes were compiled for use by adults preparing for Confirmation. The leader was free to add related comments as the study proceeded. The candidates were also reading John Stott's "Your Confirmation" as background. The studies usually took one hour and a half to complete, including questions from the candidates.

Gospel means “Good News”. But why do we need Good News - what is the ‘bad news'?

Perhaps we cannot see this now, but what do we see? Genesis 3:22-24 and Romans 5:12

In view of His perfect holiness and implacable justice, what would we expect to be God’s response? Hebrews 9:27 ………………………….

The Good News is that God sent Jesus (the) Christ to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. God was not obliged to do anything: He could have just left us to await judgement. But out of His perfect love God has provided a way in which His love and His justice can both be satisfied, but it cost Him!

To ‘justify’ means to …declare righteous; to acquit ……………………

(it does not mean to make righteous, even gradually! (See Article 3 this page). We continue to be sinners)

To be justified means to know today what God’s verdict on us will be on the LAST DAY!

This justification is gained by faith, by believing in Christ and what He did. (See Galatians 3:6-14)

Jesus died on the cross, on our behalf, to pay the penalty for our sins, so that we need not.

Jesus lived a life of perfect obedience to God, on our behalf, because we could not.

See 2 Cor.5:21: Christ takes our sin and gives us His righteousness. See also Rom.4:23,24 - God credits us with Christ’s perfect life.

This is the ‘Christ Event’. We contributed nothing towards it - except our sin.

That is why, contrary to all other religions, the essence of the Christian faith is “done” [by Christ], as compared with the ‘do’ [you do this, you do that] of other faiths.

‘Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.’ 1 Peter 3:18

‘In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.’ 1 Peter 1:3.

‘Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.’ John 3:36

So the reception of the Gospel is an intensely personal matter. See next time for how it can become real and personal.

Last time we defined mankind’s problem before God and saw how in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, God provided a way for us to be forgiven for our sin and reconciled to God. But how does this become personal? How must we respond?

Jesus taught that we have to enter the kingdom of God, we are not part of it already by any aspect of our being - see Mark 10:15 (He is referring to the simple but absolute trust of a child)

But where is the kingdom of God? Look up Luke 17:20,21....... so we belong to it spiritually.

- by ....................................... which is being sorry for our sins and turning from a life which ignores God and to a life in which we seek to please Him (for an example see 1 Thess.1:9b).

v.17 - what does the man ask Jesus for? .................................................

v.23 - what does Jesus say it is hard for the rich to do? ...............................

v.26 - what do the disciples ask about? ...................................................

So these three expressions: 'gaining (inheriting) eternal life', 'entering the kingdom of God' and 'being saved' each refer to the same outcome of repentance and faith in Christ. Jesus adds another vivid description in John 3:3 - 'being born again'. What does each of these descriptions contribute to our understanding of what becoming a Christian means?

Some people progress slowly into a commitment to Christ. They may never be sure of the time when they entered into a full relationship with Christ. But they must be sure now that they are relying on the right foundation - only on repentance and faith in the atoning death of Christ, and not on anything else.

Many others have come to a specific moment in their life when they have needed to commit themselves to Christ.

Yet others are not sure they have done it. The important thing is to make sure! See the prayer at the foot of the back page which is typical of the sort of prayer we can use to commit ourself to Christ.

To have faith in Christ is to believe He is the only One who can save you, to commit yourself to Him as Saviour and Lord, and then to live on the basis that it is all true.

To have doubts about this can sap our faith and our ability to live for God. So we need to know for sure that we belong to Christ.

Who brought us to spiritual life? Did we do it ourselves? See Ephesians 2:4-6. Who did it? …………………………….

In fact, every member of the Trinity is involved in bringing someone to faith - see this in Titus 3:4-7. What does each member of the Trinity do?

So we did not earn our salvation and we did not bring ourselves to spiritual life; it was a ............................... Ephesians 2:8,9.

We know that we are imperfect, that we still sin: we can only say "to the best of my intentions and the ability to know my own heart I have put my faith in Christ. God please help me to mean it: I rely on your promise to receive me." In John 6:37 Jesus says 'whoever comes to me I will never drive away' and speaking of the inner conviction that Christians have, Paul says in Romans 8:16 'The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.’ (We will think about the Holy Spirit next time)

Can we expect to feel any different? That rather depends on the circumstances of our coming to faith. We could feel intense relief and joy that our stand before God has so wonderfully been resolved. Some feel a sober sense of re-assurance. But we do not need to rely on feelings; lack of emotional feelings does not mean that we haven't become a Christian. That is not to say that we may not often be deeply moved by a reminder of how much God loves us!

But gradually we begin to realise that there are new intentions stirring in our souls. In John's first letter (1 John 2:15-17 and 3:11-24) he tells us that we can expect to experience a desire to live more as God wants us to. So we will want to read the Bible more and increasingly understand our faith. We will want to mix with other Christians and enjoy their companionship (we call it 'fellowship'). Those are the healthy signs that we should look for.

When we become a Christian our acceptance with God has been settled once and for all (our ‘justification’), but we have to learn to live increasingly in the way God wants us to (our ‘sanctification’). This is a life-long process and is never complete - we will die a sinner - but a redeemed sinner! See 1 Cor.1:2.

Please turn to 2 Cor.1:21,22 and Eph. 1:13,14. What do these vs. tell us God has done and why?

1. ………………………… 2. …….........……… 3 ………..........……..…

The NT does not teach that we need to have a second ‘crisis’ reception of the Holy Spirit to have the Spirit fully. But there will be times when our appreciation and appropriation of the Spirit’s work will make substantial advance.

……………………………….........................................................

But note the “be transformed”. This is in the ‘passive imperative voice’ - it tells us that we will be transformed (by the Spirit) but we must make sure it happens. In other words, that we must co-operate with the Spirit’s transforming work.

Sanctification is hard work! There will always be a tension between what the world tells us and what God tells us. And there will always be a tension between what we might expect NOW and what is in store for us THEN in heaven. We belong to the Kingdom of God, but we still experience the earthly regime of sin, suffering, corruption and decay. But we have an unshakeable hope 1 Peter 1:3-5.

‘Scripture knows nothing of solitary religion. No one can be reconciled to God without being reconciled to the people of God among whom his experience of God has immediately set him.’ Bruce Milne in ‘Know the Truth’.

Article 19 of the Church of England says “The visible Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful people, in which the pure word of God is preached, and the Sacraments duly administered.”

Being part of the local congregation of believers will give us support and help us to grow as Christians. The church is described by the NT as: a chosen people, a holy nation, a people belonging to God (1 Pet.2:9); the body of Christ (1 Cor.12:27); God’s temple (1 Cor.3:16); God’s household (Eph.2;19); God’s flock (1 Pet.5:1,2); the family of believers (Gal.6:10). So what should the church be like to belong to?

See also Eph.4:25-32 which describes the calibre of the fellowship and caring we should experience together.

The church (in the fullest sense of its activities) will also give us opportunities for service. As Christians, we turn from sin to serve (1 Thess.1:9).

1. Living lives that please Him (1 Thess.4:7) - worshipping and learning with other Christians helps us to do that

2. Doing good deeds (Eph.2:10) - apart from the contexts of our homes and work, the church can direct us into avenues of service

3. Telling others about Christ (2 Cor.5;18)- the church can help us to learn how to do that, support us and provide opportunities for our friends, neighbours and relatives to hear the Gospel.

4. Helping to build up the church (Eph.4:11,12) - we have the responsibility to support one another, pray for one another, and to widen and increase the church’s impact in the community.

But the church’s true nature, role and work is defined by the Bible, and our individual lives must be conducted in the light of the teaching of the Bible.

So knowing what the Bible teaches is vital both for the church and for us individual Christians. So next time we will examine what the Bible is, and how to learn from it ourselves.

SESSION 4: GROWING AS A CHRISTIAN (2) - CONFIDENCE IN THE AUTHORITY AND USE OF THE BIBLE

The Bible is a truly remarkable book. In fact, it is a library of 66 books, letters and documents, written over a period of about 1,300 years. It was written by a wide range of authors, most of whom never met each other - and yet it is ONE STORY.

Let's read a fundamental verse - 2 Timothy 3:16 - then and 2 Peter 1:21. The writers were real people. God used their personalities to convey His message. Think of Jesus Christ: He was both human and divine at the same time - so is the Bible. Christ's humanity never got in the way of his divinity; so it is with the Bible.

By saying the Bible was inspired, we are saying that God ensured that His message is faithfully conveyed by it. We believe that the Bible IS the Word of God: it is infallible as originally given and for the purposes it was given. It is reliable and will not lead us into error of any kind. (It is not enough to say that the Bible 'contains' the Word of God. People who use that phrase usually mean that they do not accept ALL the Bible as inspired by God, but pick and choose what they regard as formative for Christian belief and conduct.)

(a) The Old Testament tells of God’s dealings with Israel. The OT is about God, not Israel. Through His people and the moral and ceremonial law God progressively revealed aspects of the new covenant He was going to establish with his Son. The Apostles had no doubt that the OT was inspired. Eg. in Acts 1:16 Peter proclaims that the Holy Spirit spoke through David.

(*About 250 BC a Greek translation of the OT was undertaken by a group of 72 scholars in Alexandria. This is known as the 'Septuagint' and is signified in foot notes in the Bible by LXX. Sometimes quotations for the OT in the NT are taken from the LXX and therefore may differ slightly from our OT which was translated straight from the Hebrew.)

DEUTERONOMY - Moses writes the Law again to prepare for entering the promised land

To witness the dynamic of the OT, see how Joshua (in Josh.1:8; 26:3) tells the People to live by the Book of Deuteronomy. And in Jer.30:2 God tells Jeremiah to write down all He has said to him.

After Malachi there were 400 years of silence from God since no prophet appeared on the scene ....

(b) The NT contains four accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus, plus apostolic letters and other documents. The 'church' did not in any ‘official’ sense give us the NT. The books we have in the NT were those recognised by the people of the early church as having apostolic authority. The modern church has no authority to change the Bible or its message.

The books of the NT were all written by AD 100, the earliest gospel by AD 65 and the last of Paul's letters by AD 60 (an interesting fact). It is important to know that there are over 22,000 complete or part fragments of early documents dating back to AD 200-300, none of which throw any doubt on the text we have.

Article 6: ‘Holy Scripture contains all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of faith.’

So the teaching of the Bible is to control the life and teaching of the Church both nationally (organisationally) and locally. It is the Bible (not men’s ideas) that must be taught in the local church (Art.19).

(It is sad to have to relate that unfortunately this is not true of all the clergy and people of the Church of England. At their ordination today, clergy [priests*] only have to assent to the 39 Articles in that they are a statement of what the church believed when they were written. So, many clergy, including bishops, do not believe that the Bible is the Word of God and do not teach and preach the Gospel and the faith outlined in these four sessions. Universalism (the idea that everyone goes to heaven anyway) is widespread: many believe the incarnation to be more important than the atonement. It is not uncommon to find bishops and priests who believe that we have moved-on from the teaching of the Bible, or even that the church is at liberty to change the meaning of the Bible. Those who take this view are known as 'liberals' since they are liberal [in the sense of not being bound by its authority] with Scripture.

The doctrine considered in this short course is characteristic of 'evangelical' belief, and within this category those who believe the Bible to be the infallible and inerrant Word of God, are know as 'conservative or reformed evangelicals'. The word 'reformed' refers to the newly rediscovered biblical belief of the Reformers of the 15th and 16th century. The chief feature of this belief is the doctrine of Justification by faith alone, in Christ alone, through grace alone" and the final authority of Scripture.. [The basis of faith of this website is reformed or conservative evangelical.]

* The continued use of the word 'priest' is an unfortunate incomplete reformation of the orders of the Church of England. By 'priest' in the Book of Common Prayer Cranmer meant 'presbyter' which is the NT name for those set aside for teaching and pastoring the church, but the word was not changed. All evangelical clergy regard themselves as presbyters, although the church still calls them priests.)

If the Bible is God’s word to us, then it stands to reason that we ought to read and study it. We must therefore go to church to hear it expounded and must also read it for ourselves. We should attend Bible study groups where we can discuss its meaning with other Christians. We will wither and die spiritually if we do not do these things. The Holy Spirit uses the Bible to change us (Rom.12:2 ‘be transformed‘). We will always find something in the Bible to teach us and satisfy us. We do not worship the Bible: but we know God will speak to us through it.

We should read the Bible sensibly. Christians down the centuries have found that they do best when they read a small part of the Bible everyday. Today there are many forms of Bible-reading aids. One of the best is ‘Explore’ produced by The Good Book Company. They are produced quarterly and cost £2.50 (which works out at about 3p per day!). The discipline of using notes help us to be regular in our reading.

Psalm 119:105 ‘ Your word is a lamp for my feet.’ Heb.4:12 ‘For the word of God is living and active….’.

Most Christian people could not be expected to know what ‘technical’ theological titles and phrases might mean. They usually have no reason to know. But it can be instructive for them to get behind the theological terms to discover what they mean and how their own understanding can benefit. ‘Systematic’ and ‘biblical’ theology are two cases in point.

'Systematic theology' is the study of what the Bible says about specific biblical subjects. For example, examining what the Bible says in various places about the Trinity and bringing it all together into one comprehensive discourse is an activity of systematic theology. So also is the study of God, or man, or the person and work of Christ, or the Holy Spirit or the Church, and so on. These studies result in ‘doctrine’ - what the dictionary calls ‘a principle of belief’.

Examples of books about systematic theology are (at the more comprehensive and theological level) - 'Systematic Theology' by Louis Berkhof [Banner of Truth] which has been around for many decades, or a more recent one, 'Systematic Theology - An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine' by Wayne Grudem [IVP]. At the popular level the front runner must be 'Know the Truth' by Bruce Milne [IVP] and 'In Understanding be Men' (originally) by T.C. Hammond.

‘Biblical Theology’ is quite different. Its purpose is to help us understand the message-story of the whole Bible and how it all fits together. It helps us to relate one event or series of events to others, or to the whole biblical message. It helps us to grasp what is going on, especially in the Old Testament. Indeed the OT will be something of a mystery to us unless we see how it relates to the revelation of Christ in the NT. Here are some useful definitions by significant practitioners.

Biblical theology is principally concerned with the overall theological message of the whole Bible. It seeks to understand the parts in relation to the whole and, to achieve this, it must work with the mutual interaction of the literary, historical, and theological dimensions of the various corpora, and with the inter-relationships of these within the whole canon of Scripture Biblical theology may be defined as theological interpretation of Scripture in and for the church. It proceeds with historical and literary sensitivity and seeks to analyse and synthesize the Bible's teaching about God and his relations to the world on its own terms, maintaining sight of the Bible's overarching narrative and Christocentric focus. B. S. Rosner, New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, (IVP, 2000)

Biblical theology, as its name implies, even as it works inductively from the diverse texts of the Bible, seeks to uncover and articulate the unity of all the biblical texts taken together, resorting primarily to the categories of those texts themselves. In this sense it is canonical biblical theology, 'whole-Bible' biblical theology; i.e. its content is a theology of the whole Bible, not a theology that merely has roots in the Bible, or merely takes the Bible as the place to begin. D. A. Carson, New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, (IVP, 2000)

From the evangelical preacher's point of view, biblical theology involves the quest for the big picture, or the overview of biblical revelation. It is of the nature of biblical theology that it tells a story rather than sets out timeless principles in abstraction. It does contain many timeless principles, but not in abstract. They are given in an historical context of progressive revelation. If we allow the Bible to tell its own story, we find a coherent and meaningful whole. G. L. Goldsworthy, Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture, (IVP, 2000)

Here is an example: take the account of David and Goliath. At first sight this event is about the man of God (actually only ‘a boy’) overcoming the big problems of life (‘the Goliaths’) by trusting totally in God. That is certainly a useful lesson to learn. But Biblical Theology teaches us to see much more than that. First, it tells us to see David as a foreshadowing and anticipation of Christ. Despite his short-comings, David and the way his kingdom comes into being, is very instructive about Christ and the way HIS kingdom comes into being.

But second, Biblical Theology helps us to take this understanding a stage further and see in the Goliath event that when David is Israel’s champion he foreshadows Christ as OUR CHAMPION. It is Christ who has overcome our biggest Goliaths - sin, death and the power of evil. These Goliaths are enormous and much more significant than the problems that loom apparently so large in our lives. So Biblical Theology can bring much greater meaning into our study of the biblical record.

Another illustration of the importance of this approach to the Bible is seen in the words of John the Baptist in John 1:29 'Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!..' and again in v.36 'Look, the Lamb of God!' Here John is certainly connecting Jesus with the Passover lamb in Exodus 12 and possibly also the lamb of the daily offering ( Num. 28:4) and the lamb in Is.53:7 'he was led like a lamb to the slaughter..'.

And with reference again to the Passover, biblical theology helps us to see in the Exodus, God's redemptive pattern for the whole of His biblical revelation and plan of salvation. When we seek to answer the question 'Why did the people of Israel need to be saved by the blood on the doorposts, because wasn't it the Egyptians that God was to judge?' we begin to uncover a very important biblical/redemption principle.

Approach the answer this way: the people of Israel were sinful sons and daughters of Adam - there was no way they were going to enter the Promised land without first being redeemed from their sin. If they had not needed redeeming first, that would have indicated that there must be another way into heaven apart from being redeemed by Christ. No one enters heaven without first being redeemed by the blood of a lamb without blemish. This is using the thinking of biblical theology to get at the right interpretations of what the Bible reveals.

It is not over-stating it to say that Biblical Theology enables us to interpret any part of the Bible as God’s word to us. In fact it can greatly increase our confidence in the Bible - because it shows us how the scriptural record progressively reveals the one great story of God’s plan of salvation. This approach to theological understanding underpins the whole of this web site.

Without doubt in my mind, the best book to read to really fill out this understanding, and to grasp the full significance of it, is ‘According to Plan - the unfolding revelation of God in the Bible’ by Graeme Goldsworthy, pub. in the UK by IVP [ISBN 0-85110-955-1]; and in Australia by Lancer [ISBN 0-85892-483-8].

Jehovah's Witnesses will not agree that Jesus Christ was divine. They believe that he was a special creation with a special relationship to God, but refuse to believe that he was God Himself. Hebrews 1:8 is therefore a particularly difficult verse for them to be able to handle.

Starting at v.5 we note that the text is referring to what God did or did not say. Again in v.6 it refers to what God says. So in v.8 it is clearly speaking of what God says. The text reads ..

How can the JW's cope with this? When they call at your door, gently ask them what they understand this verse to mean.

We cannot ‘prove’ that Christ rose from the dead in the same way that we can ‘prove’ that water is made of oxygen and hydrogen - by carrying out an experiment. We would have to have been there at the time and met Jesus after his resurrection. So the question is can we trust the account of the apostles who claim they DID meet him then? Were they deluded or just hopeful or carried away? So let’s consider some other explanations which have been proposed:

1. The apostles got it wrong or at worst made it up.

At this point it is important to realise that at the time of the resurrection, the apostles were disbanded, dispersed and frightened, wondering what would become of them now that their beloved leader was dead. They had been so full of hope, but now it had all been blown away by Christ‘s trial and crucifixion! The news of the resurrection came to them like a bolt out of the blue. They were not expecting it. It was only later that they remembered and realised that Jesus had told them he would rise again. But it so transformed them that after only a further 5 weeks (during which Christ instructed them about himself and the gospel) they were boldly proclaiming his resurrection to the crowds in Jerusalem (Acts 2) and beyond. Their preaching throughout the Book of Acts is dominated by the resurrection. Are we to suppose instead that in that time they hatched a plot, made it all up and then went ahead to spend their lives for a cause they knew to be a complete falsehood? Some of them suffered greatly and even died for that cause. Surely that does not stand up if it was all a lie?

But there is another point here: if Christ did not rise from the dead why didn’t the authorities kill off this new movement by producing his body? That would have exposed the apostles as liars. But the authorities did no such thing. If we were to propose that the apostles had stolen the body and hidden it, that would only compound their crime of deception. Such a proposition is not consistent with the later behaviour of the apostles.

2. There was no body in the tomb because the authorities, or someone else, stole it.

This returns us to the same point as previously made. If the authorities had the body then why didn’t they reveal it to squash this new movement they so much hated? Actually to have removed the body might have started rumours of resurrection which the authorities would certainly not have wanted. And who else would have wanted to steal it? There really are no other groups of people who had any interest in the matter: only the authorities and the apostles. And remember the tomb was guarded by soldiers. The tomb was empty.

3. Jesus did not actually die on the cross but only swooned.

The soldiers who crucified Jesus were experienced at crucifixion. They knew how things went. To ensure that the victims did die the soldiers broke their legs to increase the asphyxiation. But when they examined Jesus with a view to hastening his death, they found he was already dead and did not break his legs. The thrust of the spear into Jesus’ side would have been enough to guarantee death: it was un-survivable. Later when Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for Christ’s body to bury it, Pilate asked if Jesus was really already dead and the Centurion confirmed it (Mark 15:43-45). But even supposing they were all mistaken we have to explain how a body ravaged by a cruel beating, then hung on a cross for many hours, then placed in a cold cave, would then revive of its own accord. Impossible surely? Incidentally, the so-called swoon theory is the official teaching of the Muslim faith regarding Jesus’ reappearances after his death.

4. The apostles only had visions or hallucinations.

It is supposed that in a excited mental state the apostles had visions of Christ alive again. But they were not in an excited state. As previously noted they were defeated, frightened and disillusioned. In an attempt to spiritualise this possible explanation some have proposed that God sent the visions to enliven the apostles and encourage them to preach fearlessly. But how can this be right? Does God stoop to such deception to achieve His purposes - especially to encourage them to preach about a bodily resurrection when it wasn’t true! Of course, the vision theory ignores the empty tomb.

Further comments.

The post-resurrection appearances of Jesus take some explaining away! (See Article 10 on the Information, Application and Implication page which lists these appearances). If the accounts given are falsehoods or mistaken then the words of John (that most prominent of apostles) in 1 John 1:1-3 are indeed hollow ….

‘That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched - this we proclaim concerning the Word of Life. The life appeared, we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim what we have seen and heard, ….’

But this is clearly not only sincerely meant, but the New Testament record has all the hallmarks of the truth. It does not admit of falsehood or mistake. It rings true.

The resurrection, as an event that took place over 2,000 years ago is not subject to ‘proof’ in the normally accepted sense, but the evidence of probability based on the written record and the examination of possible other explanations, is overwhelming.

The problem with people believing the resurrection really took place is not that the evidence is not convincing, but that they do not want to face the consequences of believing in it.

Further reading

1. The most famous book is ‘Who Moved the Stone’ by Frank Morison. (Reprint: Grand Rapids 1958). Morison was a lawyer and sceptical about the resurrection. He set out to examine the evidence in the expectation of disproving it. He came to the conclusion that the resurrection did take place.
2. Another lawyer J.N.D.Anderson wrote ‘The Evidence for the Resurrection’ (IVP 1966). This booklet has been widely used.

3. A more recent book is ‘The Son Rises: The Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus’ (Chicago: Moody 1981) by William Lane Craig. This is a more detailed examination.

4. ‘Evidence that Demands a Verdict: vol.1)’ (Here’s Life Publishers, 1979) by Josh McDowell includes an extensive collection of arguments from recognised scholars supporting the overwhelming evidence for the resurrection.

15. THE HUMANITY OF CHRIST AND THE BIBLICAL CONCEPT OF ‘THE KINSMAN REDEEMER’

1. The NT Witness to the Humanity of Christ.

A central truth of the Christian faith is that Jesus Christ was both God and man at the same time. But why is His complete humanity so important? By the time the Apostle John wrote his first epistle (letter) there was an heretical teaching going around in the church that Jesus was not , after all, a man. This is called docetism which comes from the Greek dokeo meaning ‘to seem to be’ or ‘to appear to be‘. Lurking behind this idea is the Greek concept that the flesh is inherently evil. Hebrew culture, through which God chose to reveal Himself, never took this view of the body. Indeed according to the New Testament the Christian can expect the resurrection of the body. The idea that Jesus was not truly a man was so abhorrent to John that he wrote in 1 John 4:2,3 ‘By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit which does not confess Jesus is not of God.’ (my italics) In the opening Chapter of John’s gospel, v. 14, we read ‘ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling amongst us.’ But why was Jesus’ humanity so important?

Grudem (1) and others identify seven reasons:

1. To obey God as our representative: From Adam onward, man’s sin has been not to do what God commands. The first sin in the garden of Eden was archetypal ‘Did God really say …..?’. So Paul was able to write ‘Then as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men. For as by one man’s disobedience many were mad sinners, so by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous’ (my italics). Jesus is ‘the man’ who acted righteously and obeyed God totally, for us
Note 1 Cor.15:45-48 in which Paul calls Adam the ‘first Adam’ and the ‘first man’, and Jesus the ‘last Adam’ and the ‘second man’.

2. To be our substitute sacrifice: In the book of Hebrews 2:16-17, the writer says ‘Therefore he had to be made like his brethren in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.’ (my italics) Since it was man that had sinned it was necessary that a man should bear our punishment.

3. To be the one mediator between God and man: because of our sin and consequent alienation for God, we need a mediator as a go-between, someone to earn our reconciliation for us. Paul says ‘There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. (1 Tim. 2:5)

4. To be a sympathetic high priest: Since Jesus was a man he knows by personal experience what the world is like to live in; what it is like to be human with its struggles; and knows what temptations are. Thus the writer to the Hebrews in 2:18 can say ‘Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.’ and in 4:16 ‘ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin.’.

5. To be our example of how to live ( and die): Again, the writer to the Hebrews reminds us in 12:2,3 ‘Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith …. so that you will not grow weary and lose heart’ . John tells us in 1 John 2:6 ‘Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.’. (‘walking’ in the NT means ‘living’) In 1 Peter 2:21 we are told ‘Christ also suffered for you, leaving an example, that you may follow in his steps.’ The work of the Holy Spirit in us is to make us more like Christ, so that (Rom. 8:29) ‘For from the very beginning God decided that those who came to Him ……should become like His Son ..’ (Living Bible translation).

6. To be the pattern for our resurrected bodies: Jesus is declared to be the ‘first fruits’ from the dead (1 Cor.15:23). In the same chapter, v.49, we are told ‘Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.’ In Col. 1:18 it says that Jesus was raised as man to be the ;first born form the dead’. He has paved the way for us. Just as Jesus was raised a ‘spiritual body’ (1 Cor.15:42-44) so will all believers.

and finally, one that most of us would not think of, but for which we are grateful to Grudem1:

7. To fulfill God’s purpose from the beginning that Man shall rule over creation: In Genesis 1:27-30 we read that God gave Man the right to ‘fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves on the ground.’ And ‘I give you every green plant for food.’ After the flood, recorded in Gen.9:2,3 God confirms his earlier permission but strengthens it, ‘The fear and dread of you will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and birds of the air … fish of the sea; they are given into your hands. Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.’

Now, of course, mankind continues to sin, to exploit the earth, to selfishly waste or overuse its resources in the name of progress. But God’s plan will not be defeated. In Matt.28:18 Jesus declares that ‘all authority in heaven and on earth’ has been given to him. Also ‘God has put all things under his feet’ (Eph.1:22). God’s original purpose will be fulfilled.

One last word before we turn to the OT pick up the ‘Kinsman Redeemer’ theme. Nowhere in the NT does it tell us or even hint that Jesus has ever given up his humanity. He rose from the dead as a resurrected man. He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9) as man. He did not somehow change into a non-human heavenly being. So there is a man seated at the right hand of the Father. In Acts 7:56 we read of Stephen declaring at his death by stoning that he could see ‘the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God’.

So does the Old Testament foresee this aspect of ‘the One who is to come’? Yes, through the concept of the Kinsman Redeemer which we will now see woven into God‘s provision for His people.

2. The Old Testament Provision of the Kinsman Redeemer.

Most prominently, the role of the Kinsman Redeemer is found in the book of Ruth which tells the beautiful story of how Ruth, a Moabite woman, was incorporated into the People of God. [Moab the man was the son of Lot, Abraham’s nephew. The story takes place during the time of the Judges. The Land of Moab was to the east of the Jordan and was excluded from Israel when the People settled in Canaan because they had refused Israel passage and sustenance during their journey from Egypt. The Moabites are mentioned often by the Prophets and divine judgement declared on them for their opposition to God’s people.]

Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi travelled to Bethlehem as refugees after their husbands died in Moab. They were poverty stricken so Ruth went into the fields to glean corn (2:2) as was provided for by the OT social law to help the poor (see Lev.19:9,10). She discovered that the field was owned by Boaz who was from the clan of Naomi’s husband Elimelech. When Naomi discovered where Ruth had been gleaning she declared (2:20) ‘The Lord bless him! He has not stopped showing kindness to the living and the dead. That man is our close relative; he is one of our kinsman-redeemers.’

Later, after Ruth had made herself known to Boaz and requested his protection, he said (3:12) ‘Although it is true that I am near of kin, there is a kinsman-redeemer nearer than I.’ Boaz approached the other next of kin, he had mentioned, in the presence of the elders of Bethlehem, but after some negotiation that man (unnamed) declined and urged Boaz to buy a field that had belonged to Elimelech, and to take both Naomi and Ruth under his care. Note that a cost was involved in this form of redemption. This Boaz did, and in so doing maintained the name of the dead with his property, so that his name would ‘not disappear from his family or the town records‘. You can read about his in Ruth 4:1-12. Ruth married Boaz and became the great grandmother of David, the great King of Israel. So she became a part of the ancestry of the Messiah: Matthew mentions her in his genealogy of Christ (1:5).

So we have seen the provision of the protection of the Kinsman Redeemer in action. But where does this arise? For the answer to this we must turn to Lev.25:25.

The ownership of the actual land area of Canaan was a very important to God. He gave it to the people of Israel but only as tenants - God said ‘The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and tenants.’ (Lev.25:23) Then ‘Throughout the country that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land’ (Lev.25:24).

The ensuing verses spell out what should happen if a man is poor and sells some of his land. It prescribes that the man’s nearest relative should redeem the land by buying it back. Principally the purpose of the provision of a kinsman redeemer was the preservation of a family (name). Thus God built into the warp and woof of the social law for Israel this means by which family names and family prosperity could be sustained for future generations. The concept of 'redemption' was already strongly embedded into Hebrew thinking from before the Exodus - ' I will redeem you with an outstretched arm' (Ex.6:6). And the redeeming of precious things (Ex.13:13,15), of servants, of life when a man is guilty of a crime, and of firstborn sons (who were always dedicated to God), were also an integral part of the community and religious law. Hence God in many ways prepared for the perfect Redeemer who was to come.

This may be carried forward into the NT context of the humanity of Christ, who as ‘one of us’ redeemed us; bought us back for God by the shedding of his blood. Thus preserving the people or family of God. The enormous significance of the humanity of Christ has been spelled out above. The OT kinsman redeemer was a foreshadowing of this great fact.

Please note that the Greek word for redemption in the NT is apolytrosis a comparatively rare word elsewhere in Greek literature. It is found ten times in the NT but only eight times elsewhere in Greek literature. This may underline the Apostles’ belief that Christ’s sacrificial death was unique. Furthermore it confirms what the Apostles understood by the meaning of Christ’s death. If they had seen it as solely in terms of a ‘deliverance’ they would have used the word rhyomai, which means ‘rescue’. The one they did use apolytrosis definitely carries the meaning of deliverance on payment of a price.

We do well to close with 4 significant quotations:

‘There is no difference …. all have sinned … and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.’ Rom.3:22-25

‘For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us in to the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.’ Col.1:13,14.

‘For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.’ Mark 10:45

‘You are not your own; you were bought at a price.’ 1 Cor.6:20

(1) Grudem Wayne, Systematic Theology, pub. by IVP, Leicester, England and Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan.