The Gospel in all of Scripture

Christ’s grace does not wait until the last chapters of Matthew to make its first appearance, but rather is the dawning light increasing throughout Scripture toward the day the Savior came. Jesus himself made this clear when he spoke to the religious leaders of his day, saying, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39; see also 1:45). After his resurrection, he spoke similarly to the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Luke records Jesus’ conversation this way: “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27; see also v. 44).

Bryan Chapell, ed., Gospel Transformation Study Bible Notes (Accordance electronic ed. Wheaton: Crossway, 2013), n.p.

Put on Christ

To “put on Christ” is to derive all of one’s righteousness from him, both for justification and for sanctification. That is not only because he is the eternal Son, but because he is the justified covenant head of his people, “and was declared to be Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead …” (Ro 1:4). In Christ, our rags are exchanged for robes of regal splendor, and we are seated at the same table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Horton, Michael S. (2010-12-21). The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way (Kindle Locations 16818-16821). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

Redeem me from man’s oppression

Your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them. The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple. I open my mouth and pant, because I long for your commandments. Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is your way with those who love your name. Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me. Redeem me from man’s oppression, that I may keep your precepts. Make your face shine upon your servant, and teach me your statutes. My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law. - Psalm 119, ESV

1 Peter 1

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. - ESV

Luke 10

In that same hour He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and the learned and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, because this was Your good pleasure. All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son desires to reveal Him.” HCSB

As goes the King, so goes the kingdom

Therefore, union with Christ is to be understood in covenantal terms. The Messiah not only saves; he is the corporate head of the people whom he represents and makes to share in the spoils of his victory. As goes the King, so goes the kingdom. As the firstfruits of the whole harvest, Jesus Christ is not merely an example to be imitated by his followers, but the head of a covenantal body to be incorporated into by the Spirit. Whatever is true concerning the King must also be true in principle concerning his people. This is what it means to be baptized into Christ.

Horton, Michael S. (2010-12-21). The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way (Kindle Locations 15814-15818). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

In Christ

Thus, union with God-in-Christ is not the goal to which the soul aspires in its striving ascent, but the freely-given communion that every believer enjoys from the very beginning. Believers live from this union, not toward it, and it is a forensic and relational reality: a communion of persons and their gifts rather than an exchange (much less fusion) of essences.

Horton, Michael S. (2010-12-21). The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way (Kindle Locations 15785-15787). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

Isaiah 65

I was sought by those who did not ask;  I was found by those who did not seek Me. I said: Here I am, here I am, to a nation that was not called by My name. - HCSB

I made myself available to those who did not ask for me; I appeared to those who did not look for me. I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’ to a nation that did not invoke my name. - NET

I answered (< allowed myself to be sought by) those who did not ask (for me); I revealed myself to (< allowed myself to be found by) those who did not seek me. - Bruce K. Waltke and Michael P. O’Connor, An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax (Accordance electronic ed. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1990), 390.

Faith is clinging to Christ

Evangelical faith — that is, faith as defined by the gospel — is the specific conviction of the heart, mind, and will that God is gracious to us in Jesus Christ on the basis of God’s Word. Faith is clinging to Christ.

Horton, Michael S. (2010-12-21). The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way (Kindle Locations 15246-15248). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

Isaiah 19

In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.” ESV

Jesus died for his brothers

When Jehoram had ascended the throne of his father and was established, he killed all his brothers with the sword, and also some of the princes of Israel. Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. - 2 Chronicles 21, ESV

2 Corinthians 3

Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. - ESV

They saw God

Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank. - Exodus 24, NIV

Feast of Tabernacles

So all the assembly which had returned from the exile constructed temporary shelters and lived in them. The Israelites had not done so from the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day. Everyone experienced very great joy. - Nehemiah 8, NET

Passover

The king ordered all the people, “Observe the Passover of the LORD your God, as prescribed in this scroll of the covenant.” He issued this edict because a Passover like this had not been observed since the days of the judges; it was neglected for the entire period of the kings of Israel and Judah. But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah’s reign, such a Passover of the LORD was observed in Jerusalem. - 2 Kings 23, NET

Luke 8

And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that 'seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'" ESV

Luke 7

For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him, a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ NET

The Context of the Old Testament

Although both pertain to God’s covenant relationship with Israel, these two historical blocks (i.e., the Primary History and Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah) present two distinct theologies. The former reviews the history of the people of God leading up to the exile to explain why God sent his people into exile. The latter assures the returnees that they, not the “bad figs” left in the land, are the principal heirs of Israel’s preexilic heritage and emphasizes their need for faithful worship, purity, and trusting obedience.

Bruce K. Waltke and Charles Yu, An Old Testament Theology: An Exegetical, Canonical, and Thematic Approach (Accordance electronic ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007), 59.

Papal Edict, 1301

We declare, state, define and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary to salvation for every human being to be subject to the Roman Pope.

 - Pope Boniface, unam sanctam

Interpreting Scripture

The salvation history represented in both the primary and secondary history of the Old Testament moves toward the goal of fulfillment in Jesus Christ and everything after him, including the Gospels, which represent the church’s reflections on Jesus, a developing interpretation of him in the canon of the New Testament. In other words, Jesus is the hinge on which the Old and New Testaments turn. This entails that all Scripture should be interpreted in light of the Lord Jesus Christ as represented in historically conditioned sources.

Bruce K. Waltke and Charles Yu, An Old Testament Theology: An Exegetical, Canonical, and Thematic Approach (Accordance electronic ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007), 53.

Proverbs 16

Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.

The wise of heart is called discerning, and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.

Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it, but the instruction of fools is folly.

The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious and adds persuasiveness to his lips.

Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.

 - ESV

John 5

You pore over the Scriptures because you think you have eternal life in them, yet they testify about Me. And you are not willing to come to Me so that you may have life. - HCSB

Galatians 3

Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. ESV

Knowing God

God surpasses human understanding and speech. The person who knows God best is he who recognizes that whatever he thinks and says falls short of what God really is. - Thomas Aquinas

Leviticus 27

These are the commandments that the LORD commanded Moses for the people of Israel on Mount Sinai. ESV

Luke 17

Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” ESV

Psalm 4

Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!

You have given me relief when I was in distress.

Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!        ESV

Psalms

The psalmist, herein, celebrates the theological truth that fundamentally divides Christianity and naturalism. When people get the origins of life wrong, then man the master will wield his usurped power in tyrannical destruction of human life. When people get those origins correct, then they must eventually fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But not only are we His by His right as our Creator, “We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture” (Ps 100: 3). Unmerited by will or work, in direct defiance of our deserving, we have been chosen by God to be the objects of His unwearying affection. God pitching His sovereign grace on such undeserving rabble as we are is the root of all worship, the bedrock of all praise, the unwavering foundation of all gratitude. As we ponder, with the ancient psalmist, this great truth about salvation, we too should clamber to “enter his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise” (v. 4). We will feel that there is nothing we would rather do than use up every hour of our days on this planet and every ounce of energy in our frame, every drop of blood in our veins giving glory to Him and blessing His most glorious of all names.

Neste, Ray Van; C. Richard Wells (2012-09-19). Forgotten Songs (Kindle Locations 1494-1499). B&H Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Luke 6

But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your comfort. Woe to you who are now full, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who are now laughing, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when all people speak well of you, for this is the way their ancestors used to treat the false prophets. - HCSB

Psalms

I am sure all Christians would profit from a more deliberate effort to use the psalms in their worship. I have been a guest in churches that pride themselves in their heritage, rooted in the theology of the Scottish Reformation, while at the same time the Psalms are utterly absent from their worship. How unlike those psalm-singing Covenanters! The result is a truncated life, without the divinely given molding of their inner lives to embrace the width and depth of God’s purposes in the world. The psalms, properly taken in, will not allow us to retain a privatized and individualized faith. They help us to yearn to see God’s lordship enjoyed in all of His world.

Neste, Ray Van; C. Richard Wells (2012-09-19). Forgotten Songs (Kindle Locations 682-684). B&H Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Psalm 40

I waited patiently for the LORD, and He turned to me and heard my cry for help. He brought me up from a desolate pit, out of the muddy clay, and set my feet on a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD. How happy is the man who has put his trust in the LORD and has not turned to the proud or to those who run after lies! LORD my God, You have done many things— Your wonderful works and Your plans for us; none can compare with You. If I were to report and speak of them, they are more than can be told. You do not delight in sacrifice and offering; You open my ears to listen. You do not ask for a whole burnt offering or a sin offering. Then I said, “See, I have come; it is written about me in the volume of the scroll. I delight to do Your will, my God; Your instruction lives within me.” I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; see, I do not keep my mouth closed— as You know, LORD. I did not hide Your righteousness in my heart; I spoke about Your faithfulness and salvation; I did not conceal Your constant love and truth from the great assembly. LORD, do not withhold Your compassion from me; Your constant love and truth will always guard me. For troubles without number have surrounded me; my sins have overtaken me; I am unable to see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my courage leaves me. LORD, be pleased to deliver me; hurry to help me, LORD. Let those who seek to take my life be disgraced and confounded. Let those who wish me harm be driven back and humiliated. Let those who say to me, “Aha, aha!” be horrified because of their shame. Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; let those who love Your salvation continually say, “The LORD is great!” I am afflicted and needy; the Lord thinks of me. You are my helper and my deliverer; my God, do not delay. (HCSB)

Leviticus

The LORD called Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying . . . (Leviticus 1:1 ESV)

These are the commandments that the LORD commanded Moses for the people of Israel on Mount Sinai. (Leviticus 27:34 ESV)

Psalm 37

The steps of a man are established by the LORD, and He takes pleasure in his way; when he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, for the LORD upholds his hand.

Praying Psalms

Praise God that the Bible offers us not only injunctions to pray but also models of faithful prayer. Praise God for prayers like: “The Lord is my Shepherd”; “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord”; “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good”; “Have mercy upon me, O God”; “O Lord, my heart is not lifted up”; “Our help is in the name of the Lord”; and so much more. Praise God for the journeys that the psalms model for us— journeys from lament to hope, journeys that explore the beginning of God’s work to the end. May God’s Spirit use these phrases and these patterns to sculpt our souls, to shape our desire, and to deepen our capacity for communion with God and one another.

Neste, Ray Van; C. Richard Wells (2012-09-19). Forgotten Songs (Kindle Locations 430-433). B&H Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Alexander Nevski (1219-1276)

Nevsky made peace with the Mongols and paid tribute with them, but he refused to have dealings with Western Catholic powers. This is because the Mongols, although they were not Christians, allowed Russian Orthodox believers the practice their faith; by contrast, Western Catholics forced the Orthodox to submit to the papacy, as they had done in Constantinople. With bold defiance Nevsky declared to the ambassadors of the pope: "Our doctrines are those preached by the apostles. We carefully keep the traditions of the holy fathers of the seven ecumenical Councils. As for your words, we do not listen to them, and we do not want your doctrine."

 - N. R. Needham, 2000 Years of Christ's Power, Part Two, The MIddle Ages, p. 227

Psalm 15

LORD, who may be a guest in your home? Who may live on your holy hill? Whoever lives a blameless life, does what is right, and speaks honestly. He does not slander, or do harm to others, or insult his neighbor. He despises a reprobate, but honors the LORD’s loyal followers. He makes firm commitments and does not renege on his promise. He does not charge interest when he lends his money. He does not take bribes to testify against the innocent. The one who lives like this will never be upended. - NET

The Messages of the Gospels

Matthew

Book of the history of Jesus Christ, 

the son of David, the son of Abraham.

 - Matthew 1:1

Mark

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, 

the Son of God.

 - Mark 1:1

Luke

In as much as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.

 - Luke 1:1-4, NASB

Luke 5

And amazement took possssession of everyone (including the scribes and the Pharisees) and they glorified God, and they were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen remarkable things today.” rls

Genesis 4

And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. - ESV

Zechariah 8

In those days, 10 men from nations of every language will grab the robe of a Jewish man tightly, urging: Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you. - HCSB

Religion

Religion is one of the chief ways we cover up our shame without actually dealing with the guilt that gives rise to it. And we project a god who will satisfy our suppression of the truth about ourselves. “Idolatry is not an accident,” Jenson notes, “as if some of us just happened to hit on wrong candidates for deity.” It is the result of a willful suppression of the truth in unrighteousness (Ro 1:18). Not only in our immorality and lying but even in our proud moral striving, self-confident religious devotion, and sincere pretensions, we are storing up God’s wrath against us.

Horton, Michael S. (2010-12-21). The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way (Kindle Locations 11326-11330). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.