SERIES: Christ at the Center: The Fulcrum of Biblical Covenantalism – Introduction: Part 1a, 1b, 1c Jesus and the New Covenant: Part 2a, 2b, 2c, The Covenant God Incarnate: Part 3a, 3b, The Role of Jesus, the Word, as the Ground of Meaning and Significance: Part 4a, 4b, 4c,4d Christ and the Triadic People of God As the One by whom and for whom everything was created, and who holds it all together for Himself, Jesus’ place in the middle …
Category: Articles
Recently, I have (not for the first time) been immersing myself in the works of writers who would disagree very strongly with the views espoused at Veritas and by traditional dispensationalists in general. Trawling through these big books, paying attention to each argument and their use of Scripture, and repeatedly coming across assertions that seem to make God guilty of double-talk is, to be brutally honest, a sort of self-imposed torture. So why do I do it? I read …
Christ at the Center: The Fulcrum of Biblical Covenantalism – Introduction: Part 1a, 1b, 1c, Jesus and the New Covenant: Part 2a, 2b, 2c, The Covenant God Incarnate: Part 3a, 3b, The Role of Jesus, the Word, as the Ground of Meaning and Significance: Part 4a, 4b, 4c The Hermeneutics of Jesus (Part Two) The Lord Jesus constantly assumed His hearers could grasp His meaning and, where necessary, do it (e.g. Lk. 9:44; 10:26-28; 11:28; 18:17). John ends his Gospel …
Part Three This is my final installment in my lengthy review of G. K. Beale’s A New Testament Biblical Theology. During the previous three parts of the review I have tried to provide the thrust of Beale’s “already-not yet new creational” model with few critical remarks (though, as a “Dispensationalist” I clearly have a bias against the author’s new way of presenting covenant theology). In this piece I shall enter into criticism more plainly. I had envisaged a detailed critique …
Christ at the Center: The Fulcrum of Biblical Covenantalism – Introduction: Part 1a, 1b, 1c, Jesus and the New Covenant: Part 2a, 2b, 2c, The Covenant God Incarnate: Part 3a, 3b, The Role of Jesus, the Word, as the Ground of Meaning and Significance: Part 4a, 4b The Hermeneutics of Jesus (Part One) We have seen that everything in the biblical outlook is centered on Jesus Christ. Naturally, I’m not the only one who says such a thing, but virtually …
Christ at the Center: The Fulcrum of Biblical Covenantalism – Introduction: Part 1a, 1b, 1c, Jesus and the New Covenant: Part 2a, 2b, 2c, The Covenant God Incarnate: Part 3a, 3b, The Role of Jesus, the Word, as the Ground of Meaning and Significance: Part 4a Christ and Interpretation As the Word issued by God in the act of creation Christ turned thought into deed and brought about, through the Spirit, the physical universe in which we dwell. This physicality …
Part Two As we continue to the end of this impressive book we come to the second part of Beale’s two chapter treatment of supercessionism (although the doctrine permeates the whole work). The author is among those who believe all the phenomena in Joel’s prophecy recited by Peter on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:16-21 came to pass, even though it didn’t really. But that is ancillary to his argument, which is that the prophecy was aimed at Israel …
Most of our English Bible versions translate Hebrews 9:16-17 this way (I have provided vv.15 and 18 for context): And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. 16 For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. 17 For a testament …
Part One The Argument of the Book (continued) I said in the first part of this review that Beale is a supercessionist (he believes the Church is the “true Israel”), and the second half of the book makes this crystal clear (although it is not absent from the first half). Although building on things said in the first half, I found the allusions and Beale’s interpretations of them (especially in light of what was overlooked in the contexts), to be …
A Review of G. K. Beale, A New Testament Biblical Theology, Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011, xiv + 1047 pages, hdbk, $54.99. G. K. Beale is among the most prominent evangelical scholars. He is acknowledged in the evangelical world as being something of an expert on the relationship of the OT to the New. Together with D.A. Carson he is the general editor of the Commentary of the Use of the Old Testament in the New, and the subtitle of …
