To my fellow Christians.
This note is going to be slightly different than most notes i have written previously. For one of the first times ever i am going to address the political situation in the United States. I have been reading and listening to people for the past couple months since our president, Barack Obama took office and though i gave him the benefit of the doubt, i must say that he went way beyond my worst fears in regards to his political ideology in practice, and not just him, but the current regime over our land.
Rapidly now the United States is becoming socialistic, i think we need to go beyond the immature dismissals, naive excuse, and childish denial to admit and acknowledge the politics of our federal government. Nationalized health care (that supports abortion), restriction of Gun rights, cash for clunkers, regulation of the hiring practices of religious institutions, the 'hate crimes' amendment (still pending), stimulus packages, nationalization of GM and much much more. Not to mention that Green is the new RED, environmentalism is becoming the new and greatest excuse for nationalization because of global warming (the false presupposition that mankind can determine his own destiny). I think we can stand back and safely say that the United States is becoming a socialist republic.
So there are some definite questions we all have right now...What is going on here?! What do people think can be done? What are our options? What is the solution? Well that is what i intend to address in this note.
1. WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!
Well, that is not an easy question to answer...the best way to surmise it is the progression of society as it has been infused and influenced by various forms of philosophical ideology. As they have infected the thinking of ignorant people and ignorant people that think they are intelligent, we have seen society change its views and policies on all areas of life starting at the individual moving through the definition of a 'family' to assembly, religion, government etc.
The corrupt roots of this nation have made corrupt fruit, the philosophical ideologies (act utilitarianism, social darwinism, etc) have caused us to depart from the use of God as the source for all practice, including politics....this of course is not necessarily the fault of these systems in and of themselves since they would not have even come into existence if it were not for people who lived in 'hobby Christianity.' "For a long time now Christianity has been a part of peoples lives," that may sound like a decent statement, but it isn't, Christianity should BE peoples lives, not a part, for some reason gnosticism has slipped in the cracks of Christendom and caused people to create a dichotomy between faith and the rest of their lives whereas the reality is that everything flows from and belongs to Christ. This compartmentalization of Christianity has caused the American education system and therefore the American mind to categorize religion, specifically Christianity, as a single aspect of a person's life that is distinct and inconsequential to the other aspects surrounding them. This leads to an atheistic view of science first, then politics and economics via the various ethical theories that flow out of contemporary socio-biology (social darwinism and act utilitarianism are some of the most common conclusions). Hence we have political-economic theories that are devoid of the acknowledgment of Christ's supremacy, kingship, and authority.
Unfortunately our founding fathers did not go far enough to make clear that our nation was a nation under the kingship of Christ, though i do firmly believe they based our nation's system on Scriptural principles, their one 'fatal' mistake was not openly acknowledging Christ's crown rights, and that the Christian worldview is the one in which all things consist and flow from. For the Christian, our worldview's validity is not proved over and against other 'worldviews.' rather the Christian worldview is the only true worldview and is self-validating by the inconsistency and self refuting natures of all other asserted positions that are contrary to biblical Christianity.
Currently our government and our fellow Americans, christian or not, have denied this supremacy of Christ as an assertable fact over all areas of life and practice and therefore have allowed these other inconsistent and false presuppositions room for validity and assertion when they have none, as a consequence we have hyper-liberal radicals that are in obvious contradiction to scripture referring to themselves as 'Christians' as though there were no contradiction, and a political system that has no sound basis for reason, laws, and equality while trying to assert all three. blind and depraved are we, that is where we are at and it is all because of a lack of acknowledgment to the objective truth of Christ.
Our regime is doing things without a basis, and the things in which it is doing are antithetical to Christianity, there is no room for compromise, our rights are not definable without God, so therefore if left to determine our 'rights' the will of sinful man becomes the determination of such things. That is sum is where we at and why our government is over stepping its bounds....it has no basis and does not acknowledge Christ's authority, hence tyranny and anarchy are viable options and nothing can stop them as possibilities.
2. WHAT DO PEOPLE THINK CAN BE DONE? (INCORRECTLY)
There are a lot of competing perspectives right now so i will go through them, as i have seen them.
1. The Republican Savior, false hope:
This next point reminds me of Derek Webb's song: "savior on capitol hill," that in the next election we will have a redeemer from the republican that can totally reverse this whole ordeal. Well we all saw how the last republican ran things (no offense to bush fans) but i would argue that the republican party is part of the problem in that, though many republicans are conservative and right-wing they too hold to many false presuppositions and do not openly acknowledge Christ in their politics. Another problem with this solution is the state of the Republican party as of current, a dwindling party that was devastated by the bush administration and even most conservatives who would vote for lets say Ron Paul, a republican, do not even put 'republican down' for their political info here on face book, rather they put 'libertarian' which even if being more accurate is a testament to how we view the republican party as young conservative Americans. whereas the liberals have no qualms with calling themselves democrats. the last problem with the republican party is that it is inconsistent with politicians ranging from Bush to Paul in one party neither acknowledging indefinitely the utter authority of Christ in politics, so even if they did win, they would not only be able to reverse all of what is being done (including the last 50 years of damage to American politics as caused by false views see my first question), but would only be a temporary solution and minor set back to the progression of the American government into atheistic communism. Only by creating an equal and opposite reaction to atheistic communism will we ever see real change for the benefit of God's people.
2. Political Activism, a futile but honorable endeavor:
Another very common solution i have been seeing is protesting and letter writing, and senator calling by Christians against the current regime and its politics. Though i consider this a noble effort in many respects, i also see it as a too-little too-late matter, if we were a direct democracy i can see more of a value in this, but the fact is that the American people elected REPRESENTATIVES to do this for us, and that representation is mostly democrat and even if they aren't they have little power in and of themselves as does the individual sending them an email. Hence many of these Christian activists will resort to the above republican hope solution once these four dark years come to a close. I would also like to add that most efforts in politics at this point must work from the ground up changing the minds of the people that put these ignorant puppets in office, and who run for office themselves, working top to bottom will not create a lasting change, but only a lasting head ache for those who want change, rather everything must be reconstructed from the ground up for Christ (this is something i will be addressing later in more detail).
3. Submission with Prayer, 1/2 biblical 1/2 apathetic: (CORRECT BY RIGHT REASON AND EXTENT)
another very common Christian attitude is based on a mild and reserved support for Obama (the support caused by a dislike for bush, propaganda, and adult peer pressure, and the reservation from conviction based on a knowledge of obama's politics), or is based upon a relatively passive attitude that is in many ways one that is Biblical (tho it has been grossly distorted), which basically would read as: "to submit to government like it or not." Both persons (the reserved supporter and the passive discontented) are earnestly praying for our new president, as i am as well, and are submitting to his laws and regulations, to this i agree since i too am doing so, but at the same time i also disagree because more often than note this attitude they have is based on defeatism or a misunderstanding of Christ's kingship and the victory of Christianity over all powers of the world. This attitude is fairly apathetic in that is inactive politically, does not openly condemn and strive against the powers that be (not referring to activism or rebellion), and uses a biblical aspect (submission and prayer) to justify its own unbiblical defeatism or wrongful support of Obama. We are to pray for our leaders, pay our taxes, and submit to authority, but not to the point where we do not condemn this sinful regime, willingly submit to laws and teachings anti-thetical to Christ, and not strive to make things change. Yes we are to pray and submit, but not for the wrong reasons and to the wrong extent. Our submission is one in which we reveal to others the power of Christ in us and our trust in His justice, and our prayer is that the government will see this and will also also change to honor God's law and punish wrongdoing and uphold righteousness. This is part of the means for Christian citizens, not the end....keep in mind this is a means and not the end, now is a time we rejoice in our suffering b/c we are in Christ, we submit and pray for change and actively strive to accomplish it.
4. Shoot Obama- i think the mental retardation behind this as a solution is apparent so i will NOT be going into more detail about this anytime soon.
3. WHAT ARE OUR OPTIONS?
I have just revealed three options that i honestly feel are in and of themselves misguided, i am now doing two different, more positive ones, This first one is one which i feel can be good or bad, the last will be a definite good.
1. Succession from the Union?
Lately in history three states, to my knowledge, have declared sovereignty (Texas, Tennessee, and Oklahoma), they have done so, and for good reason, because the current federal regime is usurping its authority over both state governments and the American constitution. In declaring sovereignty these states have made clear they are not obligated to obey such directives that flow from such unamerican thinking. Sure, this is not succession or a civil war just yet, but its the start in that direction. The reason i agree with these declarations is one that is more philosophical than anything. We as Americans acknowledge certain states rights and the authority of the constitution; therefore, any entity that denies and usurps such is not recognized by the same and therefore is not in the authority and outside of 'America.' In this, the states are not required to obey any regime that is not recognized as the American government. In this sense i can agree as an American in succession from the union; however, i am skeptical that this goes far enough, on what basis can the U.S government be defined by these principles laid out in the constitution if they are the writings of mere men and not the inspiration of God? what would constitutional loyalty profit us in preventing this very same thing from happening again? Is such a rebellion even Godly? Not to mention do the states (referring to the south since they seem to be the ones declaring sovereignty) have the power, resources, and (ehem) balls to succeed and declare war? Though i would more than likely join a succeeding America than stick with one that will restrict the preaching of churches, independence of private business, and home defense, I am at the same time skeptical and realistic about the concept and possibility of succession as an absolute option.
2. Reconstruction, slow and steady wins the race...
Christian Reconstruction is in reality the only decent option left, one in which the Gospel of Christ changes the hearts and minds of people and therefore the politics of an entire nation, this has been the way Christianity has succeeded in bringing nations into subjection to Christ before, but preaching the gospel and unifying the Church is a goal nearly all Christians already, and has been for awhile, so why aren't we seeing progress here in the U.S and abroad? are things getting worse and worse heading for a rapture? I think not...i will now proceed to the solution of the problem as i see it...
4. WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?
The solution is the not simply 'preach the gospel,' but acknowledge the power of the Gospel, and the Lordship of Christ in all areas of life and practice. The Lord Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the OT prophecies and of the types and shadows of the old covenant administration. We Christians, those of faith, are the heirs of all the blessings promised to Abraham (Gal 3). all things in this world belong to Him and in all areas of life we are to acknowledge and glorify Him (Col 1, 1 Cor 10). This was the issue i mentioned at the beginning of the note, we as Christians if not making the truth of God EVERYTHING in our lives and applied in everything in our lives, than we have missed the point of the Gospel, the freedom of the gospel, and the authoritative power of God over every aspect of the world and therefore our lives. We were utterly depraved and dead in our sins, but God through Jesus Christ became the final and true sacrifice for Sin, His body the temple was destroyed and rebuilt in three days offered by Himself as a perfect offering to the Father, then He rose again on the third the victorious King in fulfillment of the covenant made to David (Heb 7, Mat 27, Heb 10, Joh 2, Acts 2, 1 Cor 5).
The Solution is not the reconstruction, but that we understand the truth behind the reconstruction, the truth behind the Gospel of Christ and assert it as absolute and practice it as though it were so. The truth about His crown rights are so, and in this we have hope and confidence:
"Act 2:25 For David says concerning him, "'I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
Act 2:26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope.
Act 2:27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.
Act 2:28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.'
Act 2:29 "Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
Act 2:30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne,
Act 2:31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.
Act 2:32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.
Act 2:33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.
Act 2:34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, "'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand,
Act 2:35 until I make your enemies your footstool.'
Act 2:36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."
This Jesus Christ, is the risen King, the ascended Lord who has all authority and power given unto Him (Heb 1,1 Cor 15, Rev 11). By this total authority and by this total authority alone can we preach the Gospel of Christ, knowing that He has authority and dominion over all things.
Act 2:37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
The beauty of application from the theology, and people wonder why men such as myself care so much about the truth of Christ in eschatology? ;-)
"Act 2:38 And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Act 2:39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself."
God's will and purpose of Salvation is definite to those predestined from before the foundations of the world (Mat 1, Eph 1, Rom 8 and 9), for them and them alone is salvation possible through Jesus Christ made manifest by faith and good works and marked out by baptism the seal of this great covenant we have in Christ (Col 2, Rom 6, Gal 3) a people of God set apart without boundaries or ethic ties, Husbands and Wives reflecting this work as it was imparted to them (Eph 5) and raising their children in the admonition of the Lord (Prov 22, Eph 6) to whom the promise applies as marked in baptism (Acts 2, Gen 17).
In this we are God's people saved by Grace through faith in Christ alone according to scripture alone to the glory of God alone. the solution is acknowledging this, something the people of God have long forgotten, its not just preaching the gospel, but preaching the gospel with authority and living by it....Fundamentalists and right wing politicians who are 'conservative' and yet antinomian, denying the power of Christ's kingdom NOW have it dead wrong, my fellow presbyterian brothers who limit Christ's kingship and the authority of God to the church and subjectivity have it dead wrong. Brothers and sisters in Christ, hear me! all things from math, to science, to grammar, to the worship service, to the gospel presentation, to roles in marriage, raising children, the sacraments, and political ethics belong to God and His son the King, Jesus Christ!
If we acknowledge this and unify around this than we will have a foundation in which to preach the Gospel and cause a change in this darkened land. No this is not 'take back america' because we never had America, we never acknowledged the crown rights of Christ here, but we shall for our hope is in the subjection of all things to whom they belong, Christ.
In this I ask for you all to assert these things, and preach the gospel and reconstruct this nation from the ground up based on such assertions. We must delight in God's laws in every area of our life and application, unify the Church around such, and make them the standard so our government will honor the will of God and be the sword of His wrath against evil doers by implementing His laws as prescribed in Scripture which are the only standards of righteousness. (Ps 1, Rom 13). We must remember the abiding validity of God's law in all areas of life, even politics, and that that law alone is the standard of justice that will prevent tyranny and evil like what we see now in our current regime. Remember that only by asserting the objective reality of Christ can such things be accomplished. So i leave you with a reminder of His law and the hope we have in Him.
"Mat 5:17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
Mat 5:18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
Mat 5:19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
"Eph 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
Eph 2:5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--
Eph 2:6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
Eph 2:7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
Eph 2:9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Eph 2:11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands--
Eph 2:12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Eph 2:14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility"
The Great Commission WILL be completed and will be successful, let us work towards it brothers and sisters:
"Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."
"Hab 2:14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea."
I am now going to reemphasize my main point:
"If we acknowledge this and unify around this than we will have a foundation in which to preach the Gospel and cause a change in this darkened land. No this is not 'take back America' because we never had America, we never acknowledged the crown rights of Christ here, but we shall for our hope is in the subjection of all things to whom they belong, Christ."
To Christ be the Honor and Glory.
- Shaggy Johnson 08/02/09
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Christian Marriage and Limited Atonement: Inseperable
To some this is going to seem like a note containing two very different topics; however, the Scriptures unify the two concepts of Gender Distinction “complementary roles,” and the Reformed Doctrine of Limited Atonement “a.k.a Victorious Atonement.” In fact, on this note I am going to argue the inseparability of the two. This type of argumentation is very systematic and in fact R.C Sproul would argue, that that is the point of systematic theology, to unify doctrines into a net “so-to-speak” of interconnected concepts that are inseparably bound to one another and traceable back to God and His sovereignty.
To begin this off I am going to argue a couple of basic premises:
1. Complimentary gender distinction is overwhelming supported in Scripture with countless passages, and such a distinction in roles is made clear as to being vital to all areas of life not limited to marriage. In fact everything from household functions to worship to Church leadership to civil government are touched by a complimentary and therefore Biblical view of gender roles.
It is important to keep in mind that Complimentary Roles do not argue the personal inequality of individuals, to hold such a view would be to misrepresent the Scriptures and the position I am arguing. To the Secular world, ‘Complimentarianism seems like a Christian way to say “sexism,” (quote by Chatti Frear) but of course such a view is one that is based on an enlightenment view of individual equality or egalatarianism which is a very erroneous and incompatible with the Christian view. Essentially the Christian view is that, “Men and Women are Equal in spiritual and personal significance, but different in function in all areas of life.” How can I say that men and women are equal if I am a complimentarian?
“Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.”
Some attempt to argue that these doctrines are only culturally significant and not authoritative today. Of course these views are easily refuted from both the Creational reasoning Paul uses in his arguments, and by both psychological and biological proofs, but for Christians specifically the section of Scripture I am going to cover is going to make complimentary roles, at least In marriage, unquestionable.
2. Limited Atonement is the ‘L’ in TULIP and this view of the Atonement is very controversial amongst Christians today. Limited Atonement or Victorious Atonement (as I like to call it) is the idea that when Christ died on the Cross he secured Salvation for those predestined before the foundations of the world, better known as the true Israel of God or the invisible Church. Some of those opposed to Limited Atonement like to sight passages that refer to the general world or were used to indicate that salvation has come to ‘all the world’ meaning no prejudice or limitation to its reach in regards to type of peoples or land masses in which they dwell. The differing views of the atonement essentially come down to two illustrative examples used by Loraine Boettner:
For the Calvinist the Atonement, “is like a narrow bridge which goes all the way across the stream; for the arminian it is like a great wide bridge that goes only half way across.”
The Reformed view is that the Atonement is limited in that It secured the salvation for certain sinners whereas, the Arminian view argues that the atonement only made possible the salvation for all men. Wonder which one is Biblical?
“Mat 1:21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
Hmmm, but if that is not enough, than you should read the rest of my note for I feel this passage is one of the finest cases for Victorious Atonement.
In this Section of Scripture it is plain to see that Paul intimately links the Atoning work of Christ to Christian Marital roles, read carefully.
Eph 5:22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
Eph 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.
Eph 5:24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
Eph 5:26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
Eph 5:27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
Eph 5:28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
Eph 5:29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church,
Eph 5:30 because we are members of his body.
Eph 5:31 "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."
Eph 5:32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
Eph 5:33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Paul’s argumentation is profoundly and entirely rooted in the Atonement. Paul here uses Victorious Atonement as the Theological foundation for Christian Marriage and the distinctive roles therein.
Eph 5:22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
Eph 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.
Eph 5:24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
The First part is addressed to Wives. Submission is to be her role, which in the Greek portrays the idea of obedience and rank, “put under obedience.” This concept is directly connected to the Atonement, so lets think about the Church’s submission to Christ shall we?
Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
Eph 2:9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
This goes back to our predestination, we have been “created in Christ Jesus for good works.” those who have been Justified by Grace through Faith are now being made obedient by the work of the Holy Spirit. We are obeying his law and submitting to His authority doing good works that are pleasing to him because of the work he has done in us, those whom he has saved.
Back to the practical side, For the Wives of Christian Men, they must realize that just as they and the whole of God’s chosen are obedient to Christ they personally must be obedient and submissive unto their own husbands. Of course this is not easy, this too is a parallel to the Church.
“Rom 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.
Rom 7:15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.
Rom 7:16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good.
Rom 7:17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
Rom 7:18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.
Rom 7:19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.
Rom 7:20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
Rom 7:21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,
Rom 7:23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
Rom 7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
Rom 7:25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.”
Sin dwells in a man yet though he is being sanctified the curse is still in his flesh causing distress and tension against the law and Grace of God. This is no different than the curse set upon a woman in Genesis:
Gen 3:16 To the woman he said, "I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you."
All Wives will struggle to be obedient and submissive to their husbands, but that is equally reflective of the Church unto Christ. We are being sanctified by the work of God yet we still being of the flesh are weak and both sin and rebel against God though we are declared righteous by Him; however, the Holy spirit convicts us to obey God and we are progressively becoming more holy and set-apart. We obey and serve God out of love because he first loved us, so too wives ought to love their husbands based not only on their husbands love for them, but also in remembrance of this Scriptural command and its relation to the love of Christ FOR His Bride the Church on the Cross of Calvary.
Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
Eph 5:26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
Eph 5:27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
The Second part is addressed to Husbands, Love is idea here and is directly reflective of Christ’s atoning work once again. (let me address husbands as we since I am one) We husbands are to reflect the work of Christ in our own marriage. This is quite a duty if one were to contemplate it. We are to love our wives as Christ loved the Church, Christ died and atoned for the sins OF THE CHURCH! This becomes a fidelity issue as well, if unlimited atonement were true than we would have to love all women as we love our wife and give ourselves for whoever would have us. Sounds more like an adulterers version of the atonement. Christ gave himself for the Church and secured Salvation for the true Israel of God, the Invisible Church, the Bride of Christ.
We Husbands by loving our wives sacrificially are in essence making our wives “holy” setting her apart from other women as Christ has set us apart from the unregenerate heathen of this world. Our love is one that is to the death and one that is totally sacrificial keeping in mind the work of God on the Cross. No matter the faults of our wives or how unfaithful they may be, we should not forsake them and keep in mind the work of Christ in our own lives despite the fact we remain unfaithful to our own master in our sins. Lets look how God illustrated this love to Hosea:
Hos 3:1 And the LORD said to me, "Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins."
Hos 3:2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley.
Hos 3:3 And I said to her, "You must dwell as mine for many days. You shall not play the whore, or belong to another man; so will I also be to you."
Hos 3:4 For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods.
Hos 3:5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the LORD and to his goodness in the latter days.
Lets look again to the focus of our study here:
Eph 5:28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
Eph 5:29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church,
Eph 5:30 because we are members of his body
This also is tied into a proper understanding of God’s motive in the Atonement and the salvation of sinners, “if we remain consistent in our interpretation,” lets remember the Five Solas of Protestantism:
We are Saved:
By Grace Alone
Through Faith Alone
In Christ Alone
According to Scripture Alone to
THE GLORY OF GOD ALONE!!
The all caps is my emphasis on this point. Christ died for the Church and secured its salvation to the Glory of God alone. Himself! God loves himself therefore Christ loves himself and this is reflective of his love for the Church. Christ died and loves the Church because he first loved Himself as God glorified in eternity.
Eph 5:31 "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."
Eph 5:32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
Eph 5:33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Ah, this is Paul’s conclusion to the topic, he refers back to Creation with his quote of Genesis in verse 31, and then says IT REFERS TO CHRIST AND THE CHURCH!! In this saying it was equally indicative of God’s love for us as it is our love for each other. Then verse 33 sums it up in a conclusive practical application!
Paul makes clear that the Atonement is intimately tied with the idea of Christian Marriage because Christ’s relationship to the Church is just that, a marriage. Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection is the bar set for the love of a husband to his wife, and the submission to Christ by those who are truly His “the Church” is the standard for Christian Wives.
If you deny Complimentary Roles in Marriage you deny in words Christ’s atonement, and if you deny Limited Atonement you make adultery acceptable and practically nullify the institution of marriage!
Think that’s a stretch? It most certainly is not! Christ’s Atonement and the dynamics of Christian Marriage are interwoven concepts. Keep this in mind brothers and sisters in Christ!!
To begin this off I am going to argue a couple of basic premises:
1. Complimentary gender distinction is overwhelming supported in Scripture with countless passages, and such a distinction in roles is made clear as to being vital to all areas of life not limited to marriage. In fact everything from household functions to worship to Church leadership to civil government are touched by a complimentary and therefore Biblical view of gender roles.
It is important to keep in mind that Complimentary Roles do not argue the personal inequality of individuals, to hold such a view would be to misrepresent the Scriptures and the position I am arguing. To the Secular world, ‘Complimentarianism seems like a Christian way to say “sexism,” (quote by Chatti Frear) but of course such a view is one that is based on an enlightenment view of individual equality or egalatarianism which is a very erroneous and incompatible with the Christian view. Essentially the Christian view is that, “Men and Women are Equal in spiritual and personal significance, but different in function in all areas of life.” How can I say that men and women are equal if I am a complimentarian?
“Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.”
Some attempt to argue that these doctrines are only culturally significant and not authoritative today. Of course these views are easily refuted from both the Creational reasoning Paul uses in his arguments, and by both psychological and biological proofs, but for Christians specifically the section of Scripture I am going to cover is going to make complimentary roles, at least In marriage, unquestionable.
2. Limited Atonement is the ‘L’ in TULIP and this view of the Atonement is very controversial amongst Christians today. Limited Atonement or Victorious Atonement (as I like to call it) is the idea that when Christ died on the Cross he secured Salvation for those predestined before the foundations of the world, better known as the true Israel of God or the invisible Church. Some of those opposed to Limited Atonement like to sight passages that refer to the general world or were used to indicate that salvation has come to ‘all the world’ meaning no prejudice or limitation to its reach in regards to type of peoples or land masses in which they dwell. The differing views of the atonement essentially come down to two illustrative examples used by Loraine Boettner:
For the Calvinist the Atonement, “is like a narrow bridge which goes all the way across the stream; for the arminian it is like a great wide bridge that goes only half way across.”
The Reformed view is that the Atonement is limited in that It secured the salvation for certain sinners whereas, the Arminian view argues that the atonement only made possible the salvation for all men. Wonder which one is Biblical?
“Mat 1:21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
Hmmm, but if that is not enough, than you should read the rest of my note for I feel this passage is one of the finest cases for Victorious Atonement.
In this Section of Scripture it is plain to see that Paul intimately links the Atoning work of Christ to Christian Marital roles, read carefully.
Eph 5:22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
Eph 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.
Eph 5:24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
Eph 5:26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
Eph 5:27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
Eph 5:28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
Eph 5:29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church,
Eph 5:30 because we are members of his body.
Eph 5:31 "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."
Eph 5:32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
Eph 5:33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Paul’s argumentation is profoundly and entirely rooted in the Atonement. Paul here uses Victorious Atonement as the Theological foundation for Christian Marriage and the distinctive roles therein.
Eph 5:22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
Eph 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.
Eph 5:24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
The First part is addressed to Wives. Submission is to be her role, which in the Greek portrays the idea of obedience and rank, “put under obedience.” This concept is directly connected to the Atonement, so lets think about the Church’s submission to Christ shall we?
Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
Eph 2:9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
This goes back to our predestination, we have been “created in Christ Jesus for good works.” those who have been Justified by Grace through Faith are now being made obedient by the work of the Holy Spirit. We are obeying his law and submitting to His authority doing good works that are pleasing to him because of the work he has done in us, those whom he has saved.
Back to the practical side, For the Wives of Christian Men, they must realize that just as they and the whole of God’s chosen are obedient to Christ they personally must be obedient and submissive unto their own husbands. Of course this is not easy, this too is a parallel to the Church.
“Rom 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.
Rom 7:15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.
Rom 7:16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good.
Rom 7:17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
Rom 7:18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.
Rom 7:19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.
Rom 7:20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
Rom 7:21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,
Rom 7:23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
Rom 7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
Rom 7:25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.”
Sin dwells in a man yet though he is being sanctified the curse is still in his flesh causing distress and tension against the law and Grace of God. This is no different than the curse set upon a woman in Genesis:
Gen 3:16 To the woman he said, "I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you."
All Wives will struggle to be obedient and submissive to their husbands, but that is equally reflective of the Church unto Christ. We are being sanctified by the work of God yet we still being of the flesh are weak and both sin and rebel against God though we are declared righteous by Him; however, the Holy spirit convicts us to obey God and we are progressively becoming more holy and set-apart. We obey and serve God out of love because he first loved us, so too wives ought to love their husbands based not only on their husbands love for them, but also in remembrance of this Scriptural command and its relation to the love of Christ FOR His Bride the Church on the Cross of Calvary.
Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
Eph 5:26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
Eph 5:27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
The Second part is addressed to Husbands, Love is idea here and is directly reflective of Christ’s atoning work once again. (let me address husbands as we since I am one) We husbands are to reflect the work of Christ in our own marriage. This is quite a duty if one were to contemplate it. We are to love our wives as Christ loved the Church, Christ died and atoned for the sins OF THE CHURCH! This becomes a fidelity issue as well, if unlimited atonement were true than we would have to love all women as we love our wife and give ourselves for whoever would have us. Sounds more like an adulterers version of the atonement. Christ gave himself for the Church and secured Salvation for the true Israel of God, the Invisible Church, the Bride of Christ.
We Husbands by loving our wives sacrificially are in essence making our wives “holy” setting her apart from other women as Christ has set us apart from the unregenerate heathen of this world. Our love is one that is to the death and one that is totally sacrificial keeping in mind the work of God on the Cross. No matter the faults of our wives or how unfaithful they may be, we should not forsake them and keep in mind the work of Christ in our own lives despite the fact we remain unfaithful to our own master in our sins. Lets look how God illustrated this love to Hosea:
Hos 3:1 And the LORD said to me, "Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins."
Hos 3:2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley.
Hos 3:3 And I said to her, "You must dwell as mine for many days. You shall not play the whore, or belong to another man; so will I also be to you."
Hos 3:4 For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods.
Hos 3:5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the LORD and to his goodness in the latter days.
Lets look again to the focus of our study here:
Eph 5:28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
Eph 5:29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church,
Eph 5:30 because we are members of his body
This also is tied into a proper understanding of God’s motive in the Atonement and the salvation of sinners, “if we remain consistent in our interpretation,” lets remember the Five Solas of Protestantism:
We are Saved:
By Grace Alone
Through Faith Alone
In Christ Alone
According to Scripture Alone to
THE GLORY OF GOD ALONE!!
The all caps is my emphasis on this point. Christ died for the Church and secured its salvation to the Glory of God alone. Himself! God loves himself therefore Christ loves himself and this is reflective of his love for the Church. Christ died and loves the Church because he first loved Himself as God glorified in eternity.
Eph 5:31 "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."
Eph 5:32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
Eph 5:33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Ah, this is Paul’s conclusion to the topic, he refers back to Creation with his quote of Genesis in verse 31, and then says IT REFERS TO CHRIST AND THE CHURCH!! In this saying it was equally indicative of God’s love for us as it is our love for each other. Then verse 33 sums it up in a conclusive practical application!
Paul makes clear that the Atonement is intimately tied with the idea of Christian Marriage because Christ’s relationship to the Church is just that, a marriage. Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection is the bar set for the love of a husband to his wife, and the submission to Christ by those who are truly His “the Church” is the standard for Christian Wives.
If you deny Complimentary Roles in Marriage you deny in words Christ’s atonement, and if you deny Limited Atonement you make adultery acceptable and practically nullify the institution of marriage!
Think that’s a stretch? It most certainly is not! Christ’s Atonement and the dynamics of Christian Marriage are interwoven concepts. Keep this in mind brothers and sisters in Christ!!
The Supremacy Of Christ: Now and Forever
This note is going to be about Christ’s Supremacy. That title alone of course could not even begin to describe my topic specifically, but the idea behind my note is most definitely about Christ’s Supremacy in His fulfillments of Old Testament types and shadows. This note is not meant to be an apologetical note, but it will also serve that purpose. This note is going to make clear reference to Christ’s Supremacy Now as he currently stands because of His work on Calvary and how that work was finished in his life, death, burial, and resurrection. That completed and fulfilling work is not a future eschatological occurrence that represents the climax of redemptive history, but Christ’s work at the cross which is the climax of redemptive history. Christology is the core and center of all Biblical sciences and the ground in which this note will stand is in opposition to other theological systems that deny such a Christology. It is NOT a small matter, nor is it one that is really debatable from Scripture, either you are for us or against us ( “us” being covenantal reformed) after reading this note, but the words of the Prophets, Christ, and the Apostles are clear.
The First part of my note will be broken into Four sections:
1. Christ is the Final Sacrifice for sin: Now and Forever.
2. Christ is our True Temple: Now and Forever.
3. Christ is our High Priest: Now and Forever.
4. Christ reigns as King: Now and Forever.
This note is already going to be huge, so I recognize the difficulty in attempting to put all of the Scriptures together that speak of this first part. Also there are many other fulfillments Christ has made (Prophet, Jerusalem, Land, Manna, etc) that I am not going to go into in this note, for the sake of length. My first part therefore, though being the most central, will probably be shorter than I would like.
1. Christ is the Final Sacrifice for Sin: Now and Forever:
“Heb 10:1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.
Heb 10:2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins?
Heb 10:3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.
Heb 10:4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Heb 10:5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me;
Heb 10:6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.
Heb 10:7 Then I said, 'Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.'"
Heb 10:8 When he said above, "You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings" (these are offered according to the law),
Heb 10:9 then he added, "Behold, I have come to do your will." He does away with the first in order to establish the second.
Heb 10:10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
“1Co 5:7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”
What amazing Scriptures we have here, (like I said before they are only a drop in the bucket) These texts make a clear statement about Christ’s work on the Cross. He was a sacrifice that fulfilled the ceremonial laws of the Old Covenant era.
“Heb 10:1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.”
What is the true reality that fulfilled these shadows? Christ.
“Heb 10:8 When he said above, "You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings" (these are offered according to the law),
Heb 10:9 then he added, "Behold, I have come to do your will." He does away with the first in order to establish the second.
Heb 10:10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
Christ fulfilled these sacrifices which were only shadows or ‘ante-types’ that look forward to the work of Christ on the cross. God took no pleasure in burnt offerings or the shedding of the blood of bulls or lambs, rather all this was meant as a sign pointing forward to Christ; however, let me make clear to my Dispensational brothers an important point to ponder on. If we were to read the Old Testament Law with its institution of these ceremonial laws as a closed entity, would we have immediately thought of Christ? No of course not, but later I will show this is not limited to Christ’s sacrifice. The New Testament is of the better covenant (Hebrews 8) which is better revelation after Christ, which reinterprets the Old Testament’s law and prophecies. If we were to read the Old Testament’s Sacrificial laws as a closed entity we would be still immersed in Judaism believing that these sacrifices did something that Hebrews claims they NEVER did. Sacrifices NEVER cleansed us from sin, only regeneration by Grace through faith alone could do that whether it was like Abraham looking forward to Christ or Paul looking back.
“Joh 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
“1Co 5:7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”
Christ is our Passover lamb, He is our eternal sacrifice, no more do we have to offer up sacrifices to God which serve as shadow of the things to come. To even argue so is blasphemous against God. Its over, its finished. One of the biggest problems we face through dispensational thinking again is the idea that sacrifices will be one day be reinstituted in their “pre-millennial era.” The problem with a system that sees Jews (ethnical) as distinctly different from God’s redemptive plan for His people (non-ethnical) is seen clearly on the issue of Christ’s atoning work as a FULFILLMENT OF OT SACRIFICES!!! An accurate dispensational deduction would be that: “Well the Church does not have to offer up sacrifices, but in the premillennial kingdom, the Jews will have to offer up sacrifices because Ezekiel speaks of a reinstitution of such sacrifices.” I will delve into that later with a quote by a prominent dispensational theologian, but quickly in one section of Scripture I can say that we do offer up sacrifices, say what?! Look and see:
“Rom 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
2. Christ is our True Temple: Now and Forever
In the next to points I am going to tie in what my first point was about with the concept of a temple and priesthood. These concepts are NOT disconnected from one another, if you remove one, you remove them all. If there are NO MORE sacrifices, then there can be no temple and priesthood either reinstituted in the future. Hopefully I will be able to make this abundantly clear in my next two points. First for this I must reveal their intertwining as concepts based on Old Testament Prophecy.
This can be done by reading restoration verses in Isaiah 2:2-4, Micah 4:1-5, Isaiah 56:4-8, and of course Isaiah 66:20-21 which discusses sin offering, the temple, and the priesthood being renewed and that sacrifices once again, according Zechariah 14:16-19, will one day be acceptable to the Lord God.
All of this prophecy created an image in the minds of the Jews when Christ came, but did Christ reassure them? Did Christ tell them what they were expecting when it came to fulfillment of these prophecies? Absolutely not, the Jews did not expect Christ!
Joh 2:17 His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me."
Joh 2:18 So the Jews said to him, "What sign do you show us for doing these things?"
Joh 2:19 Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."
Joh 2:20 The Jews then said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?"
Joh 2:21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body.
Joh 2:22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
“Heb 8:2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.”
I wonder what this could mean? could it be anymore clearer who the Temple is? Christ who died and rose on the third day is the Temple of God. Then through him we have all become temples of the Holy spirit, that Spirit once dwelt in the physical temple behind the veil in the holy of holies, but upon His crucifixion with the veil being torn in two, all those in Christ can now, though the holy spirit dwelling within them, come before God and His Glory through Christ our only mediator, the True Temple, our heavenly temple Now and Forever.
“2Co 6:16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, "I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
I wonder how anyone could ever say that the Jewish physical temple could ever be rebuilt, and how such a rebuilding could ever be considered honoring to God?! It has been torn down and rebuilt in Christ and his work on the cross. For His own Glory and For the benefit of all those who were to believe in Him for Eternal Life.
3. Christ is our High Priest: Now and Forever.
This will hopefully wrap up this entire first part of Christ’s fulfillment of the specific shadows and ante-types relating to His work on the cross as a sacrifice, His work as our mediator, and the worship of Him NOW by His own people based once again, on his work at the Cross.
Christ is our High Priest who fulfilled the flawed and completely inadequate levitical priesthood which was finite and flawed by sinful man. In this next point it must be made clear once again the New Testament will reinterpret the old in order for this doctrine and concept of Christ’s work as our mediator now and forever to make sense.
The only way one will truly understand the depth of the Priesthood of Christ would be to read all of Hebrews 7, but for sake of space I am not going to quote the entire chapter.
“Heb 7:21 but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him: "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, 'You are a priest forever.'"
Heb 7:22 This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.
Heb 7:23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office,
Heb 7:24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.
Heb 7:25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
Heb 7:26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.
Heb 7:27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.
Heb 7:28 For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.”
Heb 9:24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.
Heb 9:25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own,
Heb 9:26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Heb 10:10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Heb 10:11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
Heb 10:12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,
After reading this I do not think there can be any doubt that Christ utterly and completely fulfilled what had been laid out in the Old Covenant. His authority is completely guaranteed. He was The Temple torn down and rebuilt in three days, the final sacrifice to end all the old covenant bloodshed, and the Priest that offered that sacrifice who now makes intercession on behalf of His people.
Now let me get to the Dispensational hope that lies in total contrast with this concept:
J Dwight Pentecost is a prominent dispensational author and theologian who’s works are highly circulated at Word of Life Bible Institute. In his own words he reveals the blasphemous position that is in TOTAL opposition to the texts of Scripture we just went through:
“The glorious vision of Ezekiel reveals that it is impossible to locate its fulfillment in any past temple or system which Israel has known, but it must await a future fulfillment after the second advent of Christ when the millennium is instituted The sacrificial system is not a reinstituted Judaism, but the establishment of a new order that has its purpose the remembrance of the work of Christ on which all salvation rests. The literal fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy will be the means of God’s glorification and man’s blessing in the millennium.”
A LITERAL fulfillment! How literal can a biblical interpretation be if it stands in contradiction to the idea that CHRIST is the fulfillment of sacrifices. When the Prophets speak of a restoration of the Temple, Sacrifices, and a Priesthood, they speak of Christ Himself! This of course also effects our view of the millennium which I will now get into:
4. Christ is our currently reigning King: Now and Forever.
The question really comes down to this, Is Christ’s Kingship as a fulfillment of the Davidic covenant occurring now, or is it yet to come?
“2Sa 7:12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
2Sa 7:13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
2Sa 7:14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men,
2Sa 7:15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.
2Sa 7:16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.'"
Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
Psa 2:7 I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, "You are my Son; today I have begotten you.
Psa 2:8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
Psa 2:9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."
This is the Prophecy of David’s Kingdom yet to come, but was it fulfilled in Christ completely in His life and death? You tell me after reading the following:
Luk 1:30 And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
Luk 1:31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
Luk 1:32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,
Luk 1:33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."
Act 2:29 "Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
Act 2:30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne,
Act 2:31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.
Act 2:32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.
Act 2:33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.
Act 2:34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, "'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand,
Act 2:35 until I make your enemies your footstool.'
Act 2:36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."
1 Co 15:23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.
1Co 15:24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.
1Co 15:25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
1Co 15:27 For "God has put all things in subjection under his feet." But when it says, "all things are put in subjection," it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him.
1Co 15:28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.
How could anyone say that Christ did not totally fulfill the Davidic Covenant in his life, death, and resurrection? The Apostles themselves interpret it to be so, for Christ’s Kingdom has been ushered in, and is now in authority over all nations and peoples. Is there any doubt? What does Christ Himself say?
Mat 12:28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Mat 12:29 Or how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house.
The Kingdom is upon us NOW! Christ Jesus reigns now and forever at the Right hand of God, after making his eternal sacrifice he sat down beside the Father and continue to make intercession for His people. Who are His people? Those who are Saved by Grace through Faith.
Mat 1:21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
“Gal 3:6 just as Abraham "believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"?
Gal 3:7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.
Gal 3:8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed."
Did you not realize that the Power of the Gospel is the administration of the Kingdom, only with Satan currently being defeated and Christ reigning can the Gospel go forth out from the land of Canaan to the outermost parts of the Earth, it is the power of the Kingdom that causes this only with the Lordship of Christ and Defeat of Satan. Satan was defeated at Calvary and his kingdom rule was abolished so that the Kingdom of Christ would commence over the Gentile nations. In fact the preaching of the Gospel is made contingent on the fact that Christ is currently reigning as King.
Right after Peter speaks of Christ’s fulfillment of the Davidic covenant, he goes on:
Act 2:36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."
Act 2:37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
Act 2:38 And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Act 2:39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself."
Did you catch that? 1st Christ is NOW King in fulfillment of the Davidic covenant, 2nd is the transition to the application = “BROTHERS, WHAT SHALL WE DO?” 3rd is the application based upon Christ’s Kingship= "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Act 2:39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself."
Brothers in Christ can it be anymore clearer? Christ is reigning now as King over this world which does not await some distant future millennium, Christ is King Now and Forever and this fact is integrally tied with the idea of Him being our Great High Priest, our Heavenly Jerusalem, our Temple, our Eternal Sacrifice for the our own sins, our prophet better than Moses, and our Promised land ALL because of His work on the Cross and ALL as a fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy.
The Commission to go out and make disciples of all nations and peoples is based strongly on the idea of Christ’s current kingship, the idea that we do not have to make sacrifices etc etc etc, all because of Christ’s complete victory at the cross!!! How can there be any doubt? How can a dispensationalist say that sacrifices will be reinstituted in any manner later on? How can a person say they seek to preach the gospel if they deny the current power of the kingdom which grants them authority to do so? If you do not acknowledge the current Kingship of Christ you cannot preach the gospel, if you deny His final sacrifice you speak blasphemy against His own flesh and blood, If you deny His one true people then you deny the power of His atoning grace, If you desire a rebuilt temple in a false future then you deny the destruction of his body and resurrection.
This is a serious matter brothers, do not be hasty in your responses. meditate on the things of God i have presented before you.
The First part of my note will be broken into Four sections:
1. Christ is the Final Sacrifice for sin: Now and Forever.
2. Christ is our True Temple: Now and Forever.
3. Christ is our High Priest: Now and Forever.
4. Christ reigns as King: Now and Forever.
This note is already going to be huge, so I recognize the difficulty in attempting to put all of the Scriptures together that speak of this first part. Also there are many other fulfillments Christ has made (Prophet, Jerusalem, Land, Manna, etc) that I am not going to go into in this note, for the sake of length. My first part therefore, though being the most central, will probably be shorter than I would like.
1. Christ is the Final Sacrifice for Sin: Now and Forever:
“Heb 10:1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.
Heb 10:2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins?
Heb 10:3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.
Heb 10:4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Heb 10:5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me;
Heb 10:6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.
Heb 10:7 Then I said, 'Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.'"
Heb 10:8 When he said above, "You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings" (these are offered according to the law),
Heb 10:9 then he added, "Behold, I have come to do your will." He does away with the first in order to establish the second.
Heb 10:10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
“1Co 5:7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”
What amazing Scriptures we have here, (like I said before they are only a drop in the bucket) These texts make a clear statement about Christ’s work on the Cross. He was a sacrifice that fulfilled the ceremonial laws of the Old Covenant era.
“Heb 10:1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.”
What is the true reality that fulfilled these shadows? Christ.
“Heb 10:8 When he said above, "You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings" (these are offered according to the law),
Heb 10:9 then he added, "Behold, I have come to do your will." He does away with the first in order to establish the second.
Heb 10:10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
Christ fulfilled these sacrifices which were only shadows or ‘ante-types’ that look forward to the work of Christ on the cross. God took no pleasure in burnt offerings or the shedding of the blood of bulls or lambs, rather all this was meant as a sign pointing forward to Christ; however, let me make clear to my Dispensational brothers an important point to ponder on. If we were to read the Old Testament Law with its institution of these ceremonial laws as a closed entity, would we have immediately thought of Christ? No of course not, but later I will show this is not limited to Christ’s sacrifice. The New Testament is of the better covenant (Hebrews 8) which is better revelation after Christ, which reinterprets the Old Testament’s law and prophecies. If we were to read the Old Testament’s Sacrificial laws as a closed entity we would be still immersed in Judaism believing that these sacrifices did something that Hebrews claims they NEVER did. Sacrifices NEVER cleansed us from sin, only regeneration by Grace through faith alone could do that whether it was like Abraham looking forward to Christ or Paul looking back.
“Joh 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
“1Co 5:7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”
Christ is our Passover lamb, He is our eternal sacrifice, no more do we have to offer up sacrifices to God which serve as shadow of the things to come. To even argue so is blasphemous against God. Its over, its finished. One of the biggest problems we face through dispensational thinking again is the idea that sacrifices will be one day be reinstituted in their “pre-millennial era.” The problem with a system that sees Jews (ethnical) as distinctly different from God’s redemptive plan for His people (non-ethnical) is seen clearly on the issue of Christ’s atoning work as a FULFILLMENT OF OT SACRIFICES!!! An accurate dispensational deduction would be that: “Well the Church does not have to offer up sacrifices, but in the premillennial kingdom, the Jews will have to offer up sacrifices because Ezekiel speaks of a reinstitution of such sacrifices.” I will delve into that later with a quote by a prominent dispensational theologian, but quickly in one section of Scripture I can say that we do offer up sacrifices, say what?! Look and see:
“Rom 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
2. Christ is our True Temple: Now and Forever
In the next to points I am going to tie in what my first point was about with the concept of a temple and priesthood. These concepts are NOT disconnected from one another, if you remove one, you remove them all. If there are NO MORE sacrifices, then there can be no temple and priesthood either reinstituted in the future. Hopefully I will be able to make this abundantly clear in my next two points. First for this I must reveal their intertwining as concepts based on Old Testament Prophecy.
This can be done by reading restoration verses in Isaiah 2:2-4, Micah 4:1-5, Isaiah 56:4-8, and of course Isaiah 66:20-21 which discusses sin offering, the temple, and the priesthood being renewed and that sacrifices once again, according Zechariah 14:16-19, will one day be acceptable to the Lord God.
All of this prophecy created an image in the minds of the Jews when Christ came, but did Christ reassure them? Did Christ tell them what they were expecting when it came to fulfillment of these prophecies? Absolutely not, the Jews did not expect Christ!
Joh 2:17 His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me."
Joh 2:18 So the Jews said to him, "What sign do you show us for doing these things?"
Joh 2:19 Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."
Joh 2:20 The Jews then said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?"
Joh 2:21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body.
Joh 2:22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
“Heb 8:2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.”
I wonder what this could mean? could it be anymore clearer who the Temple is? Christ who died and rose on the third day is the Temple of God. Then through him we have all become temples of the Holy spirit, that Spirit once dwelt in the physical temple behind the veil in the holy of holies, but upon His crucifixion with the veil being torn in two, all those in Christ can now, though the holy spirit dwelling within them, come before God and His Glory through Christ our only mediator, the True Temple, our heavenly temple Now and Forever.
“2Co 6:16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, "I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
I wonder how anyone could ever say that the Jewish physical temple could ever be rebuilt, and how such a rebuilding could ever be considered honoring to God?! It has been torn down and rebuilt in Christ and his work on the cross. For His own Glory and For the benefit of all those who were to believe in Him for Eternal Life.
3. Christ is our High Priest: Now and Forever.
This will hopefully wrap up this entire first part of Christ’s fulfillment of the specific shadows and ante-types relating to His work on the cross as a sacrifice, His work as our mediator, and the worship of Him NOW by His own people based once again, on his work at the Cross.
Christ is our High Priest who fulfilled the flawed and completely inadequate levitical priesthood which was finite and flawed by sinful man. In this next point it must be made clear once again the New Testament will reinterpret the old in order for this doctrine and concept of Christ’s work as our mediator now and forever to make sense.
The only way one will truly understand the depth of the Priesthood of Christ would be to read all of Hebrews 7, but for sake of space I am not going to quote the entire chapter.
“Heb 7:21 but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him: "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, 'You are a priest forever.'"
Heb 7:22 This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.
Heb 7:23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office,
Heb 7:24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.
Heb 7:25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
Heb 7:26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.
Heb 7:27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.
Heb 7:28 For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.”
Heb 9:24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.
Heb 9:25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own,
Heb 9:26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Heb 10:10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Heb 10:11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
Heb 10:12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,
After reading this I do not think there can be any doubt that Christ utterly and completely fulfilled what had been laid out in the Old Covenant. His authority is completely guaranteed. He was The Temple torn down and rebuilt in three days, the final sacrifice to end all the old covenant bloodshed, and the Priest that offered that sacrifice who now makes intercession on behalf of His people.
Now let me get to the Dispensational hope that lies in total contrast with this concept:
J Dwight Pentecost is a prominent dispensational author and theologian who’s works are highly circulated at Word of Life Bible Institute. In his own words he reveals the blasphemous position that is in TOTAL opposition to the texts of Scripture we just went through:
“The glorious vision of Ezekiel reveals that it is impossible to locate its fulfillment in any past temple or system which Israel has known, but it must await a future fulfillment after the second advent of Christ when the millennium is instituted The sacrificial system is not a reinstituted Judaism, but the establishment of a new order that has its purpose the remembrance of the work of Christ on which all salvation rests. The literal fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy will be the means of God’s glorification and man’s blessing in the millennium.”
A LITERAL fulfillment! How literal can a biblical interpretation be if it stands in contradiction to the idea that CHRIST is the fulfillment of sacrifices. When the Prophets speak of a restoration of the Temple, Sacrifices, and a Priesthood, they speak of Christ Himself! This of course also effects our view of the millennium which I will now get into:
4. Christ is our currently reigning King: Now and Forever.
The question really comes down to this, Is Christ’s Kingship as a fulfillment of the Davidic covenant occurring now, or is it yet to come?
“2Sa 7:12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
2Sa 7:13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
2Sa 7:14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men,
2Sa 7:15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.
2Sa 7:16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.'"
Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
Psa 2:7 I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, "You are my Son; today I have begotten you.
Psa 2:8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
Psa 2:9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."
This is the Prophecy of David’s Kingdom yet to come, but was it fulfilled in Christ completely in His life and death? You tell me after reading the following:
Luk 1:30 And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
Luk 1:31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
Luk 1:32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,
Luk 1:33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."
Act 2:29 "Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
Act 2:30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne,
Act 2:31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.
Act 2:32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.
Act 2:33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.
Act 2:34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, "'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand,
Act 2:35 until I make your enemies your footstool.'
Act 2:36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."
1 Co 15:23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.
1Co 15:24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.
1Co 15:25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
1Co 15:27 For "God has put all things in subjection under his feet." But when it says, "all things are put in subjection," it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him.
1Co 15:28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.
How could anyone say that Christ did not totally fulfill the Davidic Covenant in his life, death, and resurrection? The Apostles themselves interpret it to be so, for Christ’s Kingdom has been ushered in, and is now in authority over all nations and peoples. Is there any doubt? What does Christ Himself say?
Mat 12:28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Mat 12:29 Or how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house.
The Kingdom is upon us NOW! Christ Jesus reigns now and forever at the Right hand of God, after making his eternal sacrifice he sat down beside the Father and continue to make intercession for His people. Who are His people? Those who are Saved by Grace through Faith.
Mat 1:21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
“Gal 3:6 just as Abraham "believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"?
Gal 3:7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.
Gal 3:8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed."
Did you not realize that the Power of the Gospel is the administration of the Kingdom, only with Satan currently being defeated and Christ reigning can the Gospel go forth out from the land of Canaan to the outermost parts of the Earth, it is the power of the Kingdom that causes this only with the Lordship of Christ and Defeat of Satan. Satan was defeated at Calvary and his kingdom rule was abolished so that the Kingdom of Christ would commence over the Gentile nations. In fact the preaching of the Gospel is made contingent on the fact that Christ is currently reigning as King.
Right after Peter speaks of Christ’s fulfillment of the Davidic covenant, he goes on:
Act 2:36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."
Act 2:37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
Act 2:38 And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Act 2:39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself."
Did you catch that? 1st Christ is NOW King in fulfillment of the Davidic covenant, 2nd is the transition to the application = “BROTHERS, WHAT SHALL WE DO?” 3rd is the application based upon Christ’s Kingship= "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Act 2:39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself."
Brothers in Christ can it be anymore clearer? Christ is reigning now as King over this world which does not await some distant future millennium, Christ is King Now and Forever and this fact is integrally tied with the idea of Him being our Great High Priest, our Heavenly Jerusalem, our Temple, our Eternal Sacrifice for the our own sins, our prophet better than Moses, and our Promised land ALL because of His work on the Cross and ALL as a fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy.
The Commission to go out and make disciples of all nations and peoples is based strongly on the idea of Christ’s current kingship, the idea that we do not have to make sacrifices etc etc etc, all because of Christ’s complete victory at the cross!!! How can there be any doubt? How can a dispensationalist say that sacrifices will be reinstituted in any manner later on? How can a person say they seek to preach the gospel if they deny the current power of the kingdom which grants them authority to do so? If you do not acknowledge the current Kingship of Christ you cannot preach the gospel, if you deny His final sacrifice you speak blasphemy against His own flesh and blood, If you deny His one true people then you deny the power of His atoning grace, If you desire a rebuilt temple in a false future then you deny the destruction of his body and resurrection.
This is a serious matter brothers, do not be hasty in your responses. meditate on the things of God i have presented before you.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Seeing Christ in the Old Testament
Christ is the true Adam, the father of a lineage of righteousness and life rather than sin and death
Christ is the true Abraham, leaving behind the riches of Ur to follow the calling of God.
Christ is the true Melchizedek, a priest, once for all.
Christ is the true Moses, mediating between a sinful people and wrathful God.
Christ is the true Israel, wandering forty days in the wilderness as the nation did forty years, but keeping the law with perfection.
Christ is the true serpent in the wilderness for those of faith to look up to and receive healing.
Christ is the true Joshua, leading the people of God into conquest over the land of Canaan - the world, and driving out the chaff from his storehouse.
Christ is the true David, ruling over the people of God as King.
Christ is the true Prophet, fortelling the glories of the kingdom now and forever.
Christ is the true tabernacle and temple, the place where God meets with man.
Christ is the true manna, the bread given from God to His people.
Christ is the true Lamb of God, bearing the sins of the world on Himself.
Christ is the true Abraham, leaving behind the riches of Ur to follow the calling of God.
Christ is the true Melchizedek, a priest, once for all.
Christ is the true Moses, mediating between a sinful people and wrathful God.
Christ is the true Israel, wandering forty days in the wilderness as the nation did forty years, but keeping the law with perfection.
Christ is the true serpent in the wilderness for those of faith to look up to and receive healing.
Christ is the true Joshua, leading the people of God into conquest over the land of Canaan - the world, and driving out the chaff from his storehouse.
Christ is the true David, ruling over the people of God as King.
Christ is the true Prophet, fortelling the glories of the kingdom now and forever.
Christ is the true tabernacle and temple, the place where God meets with man.
Christ is the true manna, the bread given from God to His people.
Christ is the true Lamb of God, bearing the sins of the world on Himself.
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