Feeding on Christ

Herman Bavinck’s Reformed Dogmatics: Supply vs. Popular Demand

Joel Heflin — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:10:44 +0000

It’s been more than 2 months since we ended our year long series in Herman Bavinck’s Reformed Dogmatics. We covered two of the volumes and some material from ‘Philosophy of Revelation’ and ‘The Certainty of Faith.’ As the new year takes shape it feels like the work is only half done. Personally I can’t read Bavinck without some sense of guilt for not sharing it.

So if we get ten positive responses from those interested in more Herman Bavinck we will bring back the series. Please post “yes” to the comment field on this post between now and Friday for continued articles on Bavinck’s Doctrine of God (vol. 2). Cheers

Text, Context, Cultures PHD Program

Nicholas T. Batzig — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:56:34 +0000

Texts, Contexts, Cultures is a new departure in graduate research and training in Ireland. It offers candidates a multi-disciplinary PhD programme delivered in co-operation between Arts and Humanities research institutes at Trinity College Dublin, University College Cork and NUI Galway. The programme investigates the most basic component of Arts and Humanities research – the text as material object.

Texts, Contexts, Cultures offers a structured research path to the completion of a fourth level degree. It allows candidates to engage with the research knowledge and skills of scholars from three universities. It encourages candidates to develop their research interests, ideas and skills in challenging, supportive interdisciplinary contexts. Their research interests develop through a series of foundation year modules which are delivered at participating institutions by online learning media and video conferencing. PhD candidates have the benefit of wide-ranging guidance from supervisory panels comprised of leading scholars in discrete and related fields, as well as opportunity to share and present research at unique academic events.

Texts, Contexts, Cultures offers candidates extensive opportunity to develop national and international research networks through a series of seminars and colloquia. Across the network of participating institutions, students participate in the events and programmes of the Long Room Hub (the international resource for Arts and Humanities research at Trinity College Dublin), The Moore Institute for Research in the Humanities and Social Studies at NUI Galway and at The Graduate School of the College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences at UCC. Participants also take advantage of the postgraduate exchange scheme available through the island-wide collaboration, Humanities Serving Irish Society.
Texts, Contexts, Cultures is designed to prepare students for life after graduation. Participants benefit from a career training scheme that provides thorough preparation in research skills transferable to a wide variety of settings. They also have access to placements and mentoring systems in a broad range of some of the most exciting contemporary organisations in media, the cultural and creative industries, public administration and academe.

Candidates must apply directly to the institution from which they wish to graduate, and may apply for its relevant funding schemes. The closing date for all schemes is 1 April 2010. Full details are available at www.textscontextscultures.ie.

The Puritan Exegesis Project: John Trapp on Ecclesiastes 11:5

Joel Heflin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:12:49 +0000

Handing out resumes and shuffling investments have two things in common: uncertainty and Ecclesiastes 11:6. John Trapp (1601 – 1669) noted that the only works guaranteed to succeed in this life are pure acts of mercy and kindness. He’s right. But it can be such a frustrating answer to those who have lost 1/3 of retirement or can’t get even one interview. For those of us asking, “What is God doing?” Trapp’s exposition needs attention. Trapp’s concern here is the contrast between the wonder of uncertainty and the comfort of faith against the anxiety and despair of unbelief.

Ecclesiastes 11:5 contrasts two kinds of knowledge: natural phenomena and the knowledge of God. Ancient Israel did not have pediatric science or the technology to predict the weather forecast for a whole week as enjoyed today. The point is not the difference between scientific progress and religious faith. The point Ecclesiastes 11:5 is making is something like, “the more we learn the less we know.” This is especially true when it comes to knowing God. Writing in a post-Hamlet climate Trapp places the progress of his age on par with Qoheleth’s: what a work is man! The microcosm of life in the body is, “and abridgment of the visible world, as the soul is of the invisible.”

Like most Puritans, Trapp was not caught in the headlights of uncertainty. The mystery of life presented in the text does not stop at unknowing but acknowledges trust in God as the antithesis to the works of God’s providence:

“Do thou that which God commandeth, and let things fall out as they will, there is an overruling hand in all for the good of those that love God (Prov. 3:5; Isa. 58:7). The Apostle (2 Cor. 8:2) useth a word for liberality, which properly signifieth simplicity; and this he doth in opposition to that crafty and witty wiliness of the covetous, to defend themselves from the danger, as they take it, of liberality (generously*).”

* Sincerely is likely the meaning of aplotes. See Kittel’s TDNT for a defense of generously.

The Acts of the Ascended Christ

Nicholas T. Batzig — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:57:53 +0000

New Covenant Presbyterian Church had its first morning worship service yesterday. We began a series on the book of Acts. The first sermon was titled “The Acts of the Ascended Christ.”The text was Acts 1:1-11. You can watch the video below.

The Progress of Doctrine

Nicholas T. Batzig — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 20:23:46 +0000

If you have never read T. D. Bernard’s The Progress of Doctrine you really must do so as soon as possible. It is a treasure chest of rich theological exposition with regard to the development of doctrine in the New Testament. It is a New Testament introduction of sorts. This work was highly commended by Reformed Presbyterian ministers at the time of its release, though Bernard was himself an Anglican minister.

Jonathan Edwards on Christ’s Purchase of the Spirit

Nicholas T. Batzig — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:01:41 +0000

In his Apocalyptic Writings (WJE Online Vol. 5) Jonathan Edwards explained that the Holy Spirit is the principle blessing purchased by Christ in the work of redemption. He wrote:

The sum of the blessings Christ sought, by what he did and suffered in the work of redemption, was the Holy Spirit. So is the affair of our redemption constituted; the Father provides and gives the Redeemer, and the price of redemption is offered to him, and he grants the benefit purchased; the Son is the Redeemer that gives the price, and also is the price offered; and the Holy Spirit is the grand blessing, obtained by the price offered, and bestowed on the redeemed. The Holy Spirit, in his indwelling, his influences and fruits, is the sum of all grace, holiness, comfort and joy, or in one word, of all the spiritual good Christ purchased for men in this world: and is also the sum of all perfection, glory and eternal joy, that he purchased for them in another world. The Holy Spirit is that great benefit, that is the subject matter of the promises, both of the eternal covenant of redemption, and also of the covenant of grace; the grand subject of the promises of the Old Testament, in the prophecies of the blessings of the Messiah’s kingdom; and the chief subject of the promises of the New Testament; and particularly of the covenant of grace delivered by Jesus Christ to his disciples, as his last will and testament, in the John 14, John 15 and John 16 chapters of John; the grand legacy, that he bequeathed to them in that his last and dying discourse with them. Therefore the Holy Spirit is so often called “the Spirit of promise,” and emphatically “the promise, the promise of the Father,” etc. (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4 and Acts 2:33, Acts 2:39; Galatians 3:14; Ephesians 1:13 and Ephesians 3:6).

This being the great blessing Christ purchased by his labors and sufferings on earth, it was the blessing he received of the Father, when he ascended into heaven, and entered into the Holy of Holies with his own blood, to communicate to those that he had redeemed. John 16:7, “It is expedient for you, that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” Acts 2:33, “Being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear.” This is the sum of those gifts, which Christ received for men, even for the rebellious, at his ascension. This is the sum of the benefits Christ obtains for men by his intercession (John 14:16–17). “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth.” Herein consists Christ’s communicative fullness, even in his being full of the Spirit, and so “full of grace and truth” [John 1:14], that we might of “this fullness receive, and grace for grace” [John 1:16]. He is “anointed with the Holy Ghost” [Acts 10:38]; and this is the ointment that goes down from the head to the members. “God gives the Spirit not by measure unto him” [John 3:34], that everyone that is his “might receive according to the measure of the gift of Christ” [Ephesians 4:7]. This therefore was the great blessing he prayed for in that wonderful prayer, that he uttered for his disciples and all his future church, the evening before he died (John 17): the blessing he prayed for to the Father, in behalf of his disciples, was the same he had insisted on in his preceding discourse with them: and this doubtless was the blessing that he prayed for, when as our high priest, he “offered up strong crying and tears,” with his blood (Hebrews 5:6–7). The same that he shed his blood for, he also shed tears for, and poured out prayers for.

New Year’s Sermon

Nicholas T. Batzig — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 02:53:50 +0000

I had the privilege of preaching a New Year’s sermon for 2010 at Kirk of the Isles (PCA) in Savannah, GA. The text I preached was Exodus 12:1-30. the institution of the Passover. The title of the message was New Year’s Redemption. You can listen to it here.

On Biblical Numerology

Nicholas T. Batzig — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 01:54:40 +0000

There is a legitimate, as well as an illegitimate, approach to a biblical theology of numbers in Scripture. The majority of those who have approached this subject have, by and large, delved into the realm of the speculative and imaginative,–perplexing or leading astray their readers. O.T. Allis, first Professor of Old Testament History and Exegesis at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia (1929-1930), wrote a small booklet on the subject of numerology in which he noted the commonly occurring abuses in some of the more well known attempts to make sense of numbers in the Bible. You can read his work here. An abuse, however, ought not necessitate an abandonment of the subject. In fact, it must be argued that a large portion of our Bibles (specifically the ceremonial portions of the OT, and the symbolic books of the Old and New Testaments) can only be understood accurately by employing principles of biblical numerology. The purpose of this post is to help give several principles to help guide the interpreter of Scripture in this regard.

The starting point, in seeking a biblical theology of numbers, is to consider the very first place numbers are found in Scripture. This is, of course, Genesis 1–the first chapter of the first book of the Bible. In “six days” the Lord “created the Heavens and the Earth and all that is in them.” It is there that we learn that God rested on the “seventh day ” and “blessed and sanctified it.” The pattern of a seven day week, in which work is done on six and rest is obtained on one, is established at creation and is reiterated in the promulgation of the Decalogue (Ex. 20; Duet. 5). The number seven stands out at once for its obvious uniqueness in the creation account. It is the day of completion or perfection. The Living God completed His eternal plan for creation, and then pronounced a blessing on the following day. There is an eschatological purpose to the Sabbath day as well. The idea of rest intimates fulfillment and completion. Adam was to enter into the Sabbath rest that lay before him, by his obedience to the commandment of God. He would have entered that rest by fulfilling his labors–even as God entered His rest by completing His work. The number seven appears throughout the Torah with regard to the ceremonial feasts and festivals in Israel’s typical redemptive system. Festivals often lasted seven days, and, in some cases, an eighth day of celebration came on the heels of the fulfillment of the seven day observance. The seventh was, of course, the day of consummation. The eighth day, received its significance in relationship to the seven that preceded it.

In the Torah, the eighth day is first mentioned at the institution of the covenant sign of circumcision. The LORD commanded Abraham to circumcise all the males of his house, from the youngest to the oldest. If a new born child came into the family, he was to be circumcised on the eighth day. Some have sought to explain the significance of this by saying that clotting was the highest on the eighth day, therefore, God chose that day for the act of circumcision. That sort of argument is less than satisfactory. It presupposes that God’s actions are according to the course of nature and not according to theological significance. God does not act arbitrarily, now does He act with determination because of the laws of nature which He set. When God acts in redemptive history, there is theological precision and meaning to His decrees. The eighth day, on a seven day week, is the first day. The first day denoted beginning or creation. The eighth day denotes a new beginning or a new creation. In the New Covenant, the Sabbath is changed from the seventh to the first. Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week. The apostle John tells us that He appeared to His disciples “eight days later.” Resurrection day was the first (or the eighth) day. When God commanded circumcision on the eighth day He was promising to bring about a new creation–to cleanse the heart of man–through the cutting away of the filth of the flesh, through the circumcision of Christ. The cross was a bloody circumcision. Our sins were washed away by His blood. Far from being a scientific or a arbitrary, the command to circumcise on the eighth day pointed forward to the redemptive work of God.

The book of Revelation, for instance, cannot be understood without a biblical numerology. The express employment of the number 7 (i.e. 7 Spirits, lamps, stars, trumpets, bowls, seals, etc.), multiples of 10 (i.e. ten horns, 1000 years, etc.), multiples of 12 (i.e. 12 tribes and 12 apostles = 144[000] etc.) must be understood as having spiritual significance (for a detailed treatment of these numbers see G.K. Beale’s the Book of Revelation and William Hendriksen’s More than Conquerors).

While so much more could be said about the theological significance of numbers in Scripture, what has been said ought to suffice as proof that this is no mere fanciful speculation. Abuse of a numerology must be jealously guarded against, but not the exclusion of a legitimate approach.

Jay Adams on Rescuing Straying Sheep

Nicholas T. Batzig — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:43:37 +0000

This is a 3:21 excerpt of a talk that Jay Adams gave at a NANC Conference. It is based on the last two verses of the book of James. The introduction to this message is pretty funny!

When the Man Comes Around

Nicholas T. Batzig — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:19:51 +0000

Have you ever noticed that just about every song Johnny Cash wrote with Scriptural lyrics comes from the book of Revelation?

George Scipione on Drunkeness vs. Disease

Nicholas T. Batzig — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:30:30 +0000

Euan Murray, Rugby and the Lord’s Day

Matthew Holst — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:52:51 +0000

Most of you have probably not heard of Euan Murray. He’s a rugby player (a real man’s sport). He’s a Scotsman. And he’s a Christian. Unlike many Christian athletes he has reversed the trend of playing sports on Sunday. He used to, but doesn’t any more.

Murray plays rugby at club level for Northampton and at international level for Scotland. This Sunday he will be sitting out the international game between Scotland and France–a game for which he would otherwise have been selected. He won’t be watching it on the TV either – he says “Christ doesn’t want [rugby games] to be played on Sundays”. Read the rest of a remarkable interview with him here.

Euan is an encouragement to British Christians – he’s taken a public stand for the Lord. A few years ago another high profile Christian, British athlete, by the name of Jonathan Edwards (Olympic gold medallist, world record holder) started competing on the Lord’s Day having once made a public stance to the contrary. You can read about Edwards’ apparent apostasy here. Is it wrong to conclude that the first seeds of this rebellion against God were sewn when he changed his mind over competing on the Lord’s Day? God alone knows where the decline began, but its a legitimate question nevertheless.

Pray for Euan Murray (and for Jonathan Edwards!) that he might be kept by our gracious God from turning away from His commitment to Christ by dishonoring the Law of God. And pray that his witness, small though it may be would be blessed by God.

The Puritan Exegesis Project: John Trapp on Ecclesiastes 11:6

Joel Heflin — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 04:59:46 +0000

John Trapp’s (1601 – 1669) commentaries were Spurgeon’s personal treasure. As biblical scholarship progresses the minister and serious student continue to benefit greatly from consulting Trapp’s thought, suggestions and devotional contributions. For years I waited patiently for a set of Trapp. After finally obtaining one, my dad–equally thrilled at my find–asked to borrow it. Now, having waited so long, I’ve finally re-obtained the set and hope to add Trapp to our project on Puritan exegesis.

Ecclesiastes 11:6 has a peculiar phrase not found elsewhere in the OT: “This or that” (hazeh ʾow-zeh). The labor of sowing seed as a literal representation of agricultural life or figurative of procreation does not contain certainty. We can’t know, says Qoheleth, the intimate details of the work of God, (i.e. we can’t predict the success or failure of our work.) The knowing or not knowing the outcome of one’s industry in ‘this or that’ is here compared to God’s knowledge. The human perspective is drastically limited: one act or another may succeed, or perhaps both will. There’s reason to diversify.

For Trapp the solution to life’s uncertainty is simple. “At all times be prepared for every good work (Tit. 3:1) … sow mercy in the morning, so it likewise in the evening, as those bountiful Macedonians did, to the shame of those richer but harder Corinthians (2 Co. 8:3; Phil. 4:16).” Nothing is more certain, says Trapp, than the fruits of love’s labor. The advance of blessedness is accompanied by God’s superintendence (Heb. 6:10) even if only one leper in ten returns the favor.

IPC Lord’s Supper Conference

Nicholas T. Batzig — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:33:17 +0000

Independent Presbyterian Church, in Savannah, GA, will be hosting a conference on the Lord’s Supper this Thursday, February 4^th and Friday, February 5^th. Dr. Hughes Oliphant Olds will give three lectures dealing with Calvin and Knox on the doctrine and administration of the Lord’s Supper as well as presentations from Terry Johnson and Ron Parrish. If you are anywhere near the Savannah area, I would highly recommend this conference. The schedule is as follows:

Thursday – Feb 4

-starting at 4pm – Dr. Olds – “Calvin’s Doctrine of the Lord’s Supper”

-starting at 7pm – Dr. Olds – “Calvin’s Celebration of the Lord’s Supper”

-Reception following from 8-9pm

Friday – Feb 5

–starting 9am – Terry Johnson – “The Theology of the Lord’s Supper and Its Administration”

–starting 10:15am – Ron Parrish – “John Willison and the Evangelical Use of the Lord’s Supper”

–starting 11:30am – Dr. Olds – “John Knox and the sign of the Table”

Eric Alexander on the Work of the Spirit in the Book of Acts

Nicholas T. Batzig — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 19:16:31 +0000

Eric Alexander very wisely notes the foundational and temporary functions of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts:

If we are to understand the New Testament’s teaching on the Holy Spirit we must concentrate on the teaching of Jesus in the Gospels, and on the systematic exposition in the Epistles—rather than on the narrative in the Book of Acts. A great deal of confusion in our thinking has been derived from a sense that the full range of experiences described in the Book of Acts ought necessarily to be our own. We have to remember that the narratives in the Book of Acts are primarily historical, and not doctrinal, treatises. For this reason we must try to gather together some of the teaching of John’s Gospel on the ministry of the Holy Spirit; and out of all the riches there to focus our attention upon four titles given to the Holy Spirit.” (Eric J. Alexander The Work of the Holy Spirit in Our Hearts)

The Cross and the New Division

Nicholas T. Batzig — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 19:12:41 +0000

The apostle Paul was dealing with the problem of division in the church in 1 Corinthians 1. He introduces the idea of Christian unity with the words, “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you?” This conflict sets the stage for everything that Paul goes on to write in the remainder of the chapter. Believers in Corinth were once part of the lost and perishing world, divided into two groups–Jews and Gentiles. That division was seemingly irreparable. Paul proceeds to explain that the Gospel was weakness to the Jew, on the one hand, and foolishness to the Gentile, on the other. The one thing that these two groups had in common was their spiritual opposition to the Gospel. God was creating a new division through the death of His Son. That new division consisted of those perishing and those being saved. Christ broke down the middle wall of separation and made, out of the two groups, one new man. By doing so He has drawn a new line in humanity (Gen. 3:15). The cross is the great divider. It now divides, everywhere, those who are being saved from those who are perishing.

Feeling Like Christ Is All And Acting Like Christ Is All

Joseph Randall — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:36:21 +0000

In his book, The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis wrote:

“We have a tendency to think, but not to act. The more we feel without acting, the less we will ever be able to act, and, in the long run, the less we will be able to feel.”

I have often thought and felt a lot of things while listening to sermons or while reading Bible-saturated books or while looking at horiffic pictures of starving children on the internet or while watching footage of disasters like the recent earthquake in Haiti. During these times I have felt conviction of sin, joy in Christ, sorrow for the hurting, and compassion for the needy.

But how persistently do I act Biblically and faithfully in response to what I have felt while hearing, reading, and seeing? How persistently do you?

May our great and merciful Heavenly Father have mercy upon us for the sake of Christ. May He supernaturally cause us to act as we should for His great name sake so that Jesus Christ will truly be shown to be all in all in our lives. Oh LORD, what would you have us to do? Please grant us the grace to do it, no matter what.

Adolph Monod: Five Discourses

Nicholas T. Batzig — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:25:47 +0000

Adolphe Monod’s Living for the Hope of Glory has been one of the most influential Christian works I’ve read. Deeply affected by Monod’s story as well as the spiritual mindedness with which his writings are marked, I have returned to his writings time and time again. Most of Monod’s writings remain in French, though I recently discovered one that was translated into English in the mid-19th Century. You can read and download Monod’s St. Paul: Five Discourses on Google Books. Thomas Peck, a great 19th Century Southern Presbyterian theologian, recommended Monod’s discourse on Fatalism out of this work. Enjoy!

Echoes from a Geneva Pulpit: The Sermons of Calvin 500

Michael Dewalt — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:45:17 +0000

In case you didn’t have the $6000 plus it cost to attend, you can now buy the sermons preached this past summer in 2009 from John Calvin’s pulpit from Ligonier. The Speakers include none other than my buddy Joel Beeke, and many more like; Iain Campbell, Bryan Chapell, Ted Donnelly, Ligon Duncan, Sinclair Ferguson, Robert Godfrey, Martin Holdt, Hywel Jones, Steven Lawson, Peter Lillback, Henry Orombi, Philip Ryken, Derek Thomas, and Geoffrey Thomas.

Can a centuries-old pulpit still broadcast life-changing messages? These do. If the life of one who is dead may still speak (Hebrews 11:4), there is little reason to think that echoes of that earlier message cannot enrich still. July 5–10, 2009 witnessed an international quincentenary of the birth of John Calvin, called Calvin500, purposefully held in the church building that witnessed so much of his reform. Fifteen expository messages were delivered during Calvin500, and they provide both models of preaching as well as a primer to re-introduce Calvinism to a modern world. Some of these preachers are at the apex of their ministries, others still on the ascent. The echoes continue; after all, in the beginning was the Word. That Word which was with God and that was God is proclaimed by these sermons. The truths from this Genevan pulpit are the same as those trumpeted by Calvin himself. Our prayer is for this Word to return to God with his intended blessings.

A New Addition to the “Texts & Studies in Reformation and Post-Reformation Thought” Series

Jeffrey C. Waddington — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:11:59 +0000

Many of our readers will already be familiar with the Texts and Studies of Reformation and Post-Reformation Thought series ably edited by Richard A. Muller. This is a valuable series that has contributed greatly to a better understanding and appreciation of the details of Reformation era theology and theologians and the profound riches of the Reformed Scholastic era as well.

The latest addition to this august series is Reformed Thought on Freedom: The Concept of Free Choice in Early Modern Reformed Theology. You can find the book here. Co-edited by Willem J. van Asselt, J. Martin Bac, and Roelf T. te Velde, the book has an excellent introduction explaining the recent growth in post-Reformation studies and the context of Reformed scholastic discussion of free choice.

The remainder of the book contains chapters of primary source material by Girolamo Zanchi, Franciscus Junius, Franciscus Gomarus, Gisbertus Voetius, Francis Turretin, and Bernardinus de Moor. These were theological heavyweights in their day and we are the poorer for not having read them. The book concludes with a helpful summary.

This is an excellent series and this volume in particular will add to our understanding of this contentious issue. My own experience with reading Reformed scholastics is that you come away amazed at the comprehensiveness of their treatment of a subject. One may not agree with them but one must reckon with their analysis.