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Simon Wartanian | 10,152 views | 1,586 words | 0:08:30 hours | 17 June 2014 21:44

...everyone” must be understood in the light of the context and of the results of Jesus’ death described elsewhere in Hebrews. It refers to the “many sons” whom God brings to glory (v. 10), whom Jesus calls “brothers” (v. 11). Those for whom Jesus tasted death were made holy and perfect once for all by His sacrifice (10:10, 14), their consciences cleansed from acts that lead to death (9:14), so they are freed from the fear of death (2:14, 15). By contrast, there are those (even within Christian congregations) who do not trust the Son but subject Him to ridicule (6:6). For them, “there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of Judgment” (10:26, 27). Thus “everyone” here includes all those (but only those) who persevere in trusting Jesus (3:6, 14).

John Gill said the following about the phrase “for everyone/man”:[4]

that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man; that is, Christ was made a little lower than the angels by becoming man, and assuming a body frail and mortal, that he might die for his church and people: to "taste death", is a Jewish phrase, often to be met with in Rabbinical writings; [See comments on Mt 16:28] and signifies the truth and reality of his death, and the experience he had of the bitterness of it, it being attended with the wrath of God, and curse of the law; though he continued under it but for a little while, it was but a taste; and it includes all kinds of death, he tasted of the death of afflictions, being a man of sorrows all his days, and a corporeal death, and what was equivalent to an eternal one; and so some think the words will bear to be rendered, "that he by the grace of God might taste of every death"; which rendering of the words, if it could be established, as it is agreeable to the context, and to the analogy of faith, would remove all pretence of an argument from this place, in favour of the universal scheme: what moved God to make him lower than the angels, and deliver him up to death, was not any anger towards him, any disregard to him, or because he deserved it, but his "grace", free favour, and love to men; this moved him to provide him as a ransom; to preordain him to be the Lamb slain; to send him in the fulness of time, and give him up to justice and death: the Syriac version reads, "for God himself through his own grace tasted death for all"; Christ died, not merely as an example, or barely for the good of men, but as a surety, in their room and stead, and that not for every individual of mankind; for there are some he knows not; for some he does not pray; and there are some who will not be saved: the word "man" is not in the original text, it is only υπερ παντος, which may be taken either collectively, and be rendered "for the whole"; that is, the whole body, the church for whom Christ gave himself, and is the Saviour of; or distributively, and be translated, "for everyone"; for everyone of the sons God brings to glory, Heb 2:10 for everyone of the "brethren", whom Christ sanctifies, and he is not ashamed to own, and to whom he declares the name of God, Heb 2:11 for everyone of the members of the "church", in the midst of which he sung praise, Heb 2:12 for every one of the "children" God has given him, and for whose sake he took part of flesh and blood, Heb 2:13 and for everyone of the "seed" of Abraham, in a spiritual sense, whose nature he assumed, Heb 2:16.

[1] http://youtu.be/m6sRlCZCWDY

[2] ESV Study Bibl...

1 Timothy 2:4 & Titus 2:11, 'desires all people to be saved'

Simon Wartanian | 16,086 views | 2,692 words | 0:14:11 hours | 07 September 2014 16:04

Limited Atonement Timothy 2:4 Titus 2:11 Universalism Intercession The Cross ESV Study Bible MacArthur Study Bible Reformation Study Bible NLT Study Bible

.../strong

Heb 9:24-28 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. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 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. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes Judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

In the book of Hebrews we see Christ’s High Priestly work. We see also that Christ intercessory work is rooted in His cross-work. He saves to the uttermost those who draw near to God, but then the question arises: Who draws near to God? The answer from Jesus’ lips is recorded in John 6:44 – No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. And on their behalf does He make His intercessory work. Imagine the Risen Lord of Glory interceding for someone for whom He did not died and for a one whom the Father had no chosen, He would fail miserably, but it’s impossible for the Lord of Glory to be rejected by the Father or for God to fail.

Commentaries

All Kinds of People

The ESV Study Bible explains: [3]

1 Tim. 2:4 Evangelistic prayer for all people is rooted in the fact that God desires all people to be saved. It appears that Paul is countering an exclusivist tendency in the false teachers or at least their downplaying of the importance of evangelizing the Gentiles (along with their emphasis on the Jewish law). This statement figures prominently in theological disagreements over the extent of the atonement. It cannot be read as suggesting that everyone will be saved (universalism) because the rest of the letter makes it clear that some will not be saved (4:1; 5:24; 6:10; cf. Matt. 25:30, 41, 46; Rev. 14:9–11). Does that mean God desires something (all people being saved) that he cannot fulfill? Both Arminian and Calvinist theologians respond that God “desires” something more than universal salvation. Arminians hold that God’s greater desire is to preserve genuine human freedom (which is necessary for genuine love) and therefore he must allow that some may choose to reject his offer of salvation. Calvinists hold that God’s greater desire is to display the full range of his glory (Rom. 9:22–23), which results in election depending upon the freedom of his mercy and not upon human choice (Rom. 9:15–18). However one understands the extent of the atonement, this passage clearly teaches the free and universal offer of the gospel to every single human being; “desires” shows that this offer is a bona fide expression of God’s good will. Come to the knowledge of the truth highlights the cognitive aspect of conversion, i.e., individuals must come to understand key truths in order to be converted. “The truth” occurs often in the Pastorals as a synonym for the gospel (cf. 1 Tim. 3:15; 4:3; 2 Tim. 2:15, 18, 25; 3:7, 8; 4:4; Titus 1:1, 14).

ESV Reformation Study Bible[4]

2:1 all people. As can be seen from the next expression (“for kings and all who are in high positions”), this does not mean “every human being,” but rather...

A Short Review of Sam Waldron's Modern Exposition of 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith

Simon Wartanian | 6,351 views | 606 words | 0:03:08 hours | 23 February 2015 19:14

Review Book Review Sam Waldron Modern Exposition Of 1689 Baptist Confession Of Faith 1689 Reformed Baptist

...to identify myself as a Reformed Baptist.

What I loved about Dr Waldron's work is his way of explaining the Confession and going through the biblical evidence (as I have been reading Grudem, I would have loved it if Dr Waldron would cite portions of the passages that he was using as proof, rather most of the time, only references were given).

When I started studying the Confession I didn't realizes that a confession is actually a Systematic Theology! :)

Dr Waldron explained things very well, I especially liked his extensive treatment of chapters 29 (Of Baptism), 31 (of the state of man after death and of the resurrection of the dead) and 32 (Of the last Judgment). There he interacted with the other side and provided some answers. With the explanations he went also through more detail.

During my study of the 1689 I left some comments about my thoughts on each paragraph that can be viewed here: https://www.thecalvinist.net/post/1689-Second-Baptist-Confession-Of-Faith-With-Commentary-And-Highlighting/922

Also I have opened a new section wherein I try to go in detail to explain why I agree with the formulation of doctrines in the 1689. The section is found here: https://www.thecalvinist.net/1689

Few minor problems with the book

One thing that was frustrating me, was the load of typos there. It's not that I'm a grammar nazi, but the quality of the work is so great that the multitude of the typos, wrong headings above pages (pages 103, 381), no spacing between words, wrong numeration really were the only downside, which could have been prevented. Hopefully, they will update it in the future, otherwise we'll just have to wait for James Renihan's exposition of the 1689 that is in progress!

Footnotes

^ Here is a picture of my baptism back when my hair was long.

...

1689 Baptist Confession Chapter 4: Of Creation - Commentary

Simon Wartanian | 18,803 views | 6,589 words | 0:34:34 hours | 04 March 2015 21:12

The 1689 Second Baptist Confession Of Faith Confession Commentary Reformed Baptist Chapter 4 Creation Young Earth Creationism Image Of God Imago Dei

...tutes righteousness, holiness, and knowledge (Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10). This was also true at the beginning of the creation. Redemption restores the fallen image of God in us to its original and perfected state. Man was made upright (Eccl. 7:29) and possessed a law in his heart by which he knew what it meant to be upright. By virtue of the fact that man is made in the image of God and possessing the law of God, man is morally accountable to God. This is not true of the immaterial creation or for the animals, for example. Every single man and woman will stand before the throne of God to give an account for their lives (see chapter 32).

Man is able to communicate similar to how God communicates. Man is able to love similar to God. Man is able to be just, be angry and so on. We are able to think similar to how God does. We are able to know God. We are able to be holy. As we learn more about God and how He is like, we likewise learn more about what it means to be made in the image of God. Notice that we reflect God in some way and we do things analogous to God, but never the same way. Our knowledge is not the same as God’s, neither is our love, justice, anger or moral purity. This likeness to God is also carried over. In Genesis 5:3, we read, “When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.” The same words, likeness, and image, which were used of man originally in Genesis 1:26, are repeated here. Adam’s son, Seth, is in Adam’s likeness and after his image. He is like his father, but is not identical to his father. This helps us to understand that being made in the image of God means that we are like God in some ways, but we are not identical to Him and we certainly are not God. Dr. Wayne Grudem observes:

Seth was not identical to Adam, but he was like him in many ways, as a son is like his father. The text simply means that Seth was like Adam. It does not specify any specific number of ways that Seth was like Adam, and it would be overly restrictive for us to assert that one or another characteristic determined the way in which Seth was in Adam’s image and likeness. Was it his brown eyes? Or his curly hair? Perhaps it was his athletic prowess, or his serious disposition or even his quick temper? Of course, such speculation would be useless. It is evident that every way in which Seth was like Adam would be a part of his likeness to Adam and thus part of his being “in the image” of Adam. Similarly, every way in which man is like God is part of his being in the image and likeness of God.^[8]

This cautions us to not restrict the meaning of “image of God” to specific things or qualities in man. Rather, the image of God is everything and every way that man is like God. An important observation to be made is the fact that man does not possess the image of God as something extra, but man is the image of God. It is a matter of identity. 1 Corinthians 11:7 says that man, specifically, male man “is the image and glory of God”. Dr. Richard Barcellos observes, ‘In this text, whatever “image of God” means, it is what man is, not what man possesses.’^[9]

All that we’ve said above is concerning man prior to the Fall. Is there anything changed after the Fall? Is man still in God’s image? Even after the Fall, Scripture still affirms that man is in the image of God. Genesis 9:6 says, ‘“Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.’ ...

1689 Baptist Confession Chapter 11: Of Justification - Commentary

Simon Wartanian | 25,254 views | 23,400 words | 2:03:21 hours | 04 March 2015 21:54

The 1689 Second Baptist Confession Of Faith Confession Commentary Reformed Baptist Chapter 11 Chapter Eleven Justification Justification By Faith Alone Sola Fide Sola Gratia Imputed Righteousness Infused Righteousness Roman Catholicism Protestantism

....^[4]

A little further, Strong observes:

It is worthy of special observation that, in the passages cited above [Deut. 25:1; Prov. 17:15; Matt. 12:37; Rom. 5:16, 18-19; 8:33-34], the terms “justify” and “justification” are contrasted, not with the process of depraving or corrupting, but with the outward act of condemning; and that the expressions used to explain and illustrate them are all derived, not from the inward operation of purifying the soul or infusing into it righteousness, but from the procedure of courts in their Judgments, or of offended persons in their forgiveness of offenders.^[15]

The Judge of the Universe, because of the atoning death of His Beloved Son on our behalf, declares us to be righteous. Our union with Christ makes it so that His death becomes our death, His resurrection our resurrection, His life our life, His righteousness our righteousness. Although we have not yet been perfectly conformed to His image, we are certainly predestined to that end (Rom. 8:29). In other words, God will make us righteous, but this is not what the New Testament speaks about for our salvation. Rather, this is sanctification in which the Holy Spirit works to change us into Christ’s image, but it is a life-long process of ups and downs (see chapter 13).

Blessings of Justification

What is accomplished by God through justification? First of all, as the Confession states, “pardoning their sins” is one of the blessings coming from our justification. For example, Paul says:

Rom. 4:4-8 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: 7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; 8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”

Notice how closely is justification tied to the forgiveness of sins that Paul calls upon Psalms 32:1-2 as evidence for the fruit of justification. In this passage, we come also to the second blessing of justification, namely, our faith being counted as righteousness (v. 5), or to state it in another way: “accounting and accepting their persons as righteous”. We spoke about this above (see here). In this connection, we should observe that justification does not only consist of the forgiveness of sins but also is tied to the fact that we are accounted righteous. Matthew Poole comments on v. 5 as follows:

This testimony is taken out of Psa 32:1, and it is well enough accommodated to the occasion, for those two, to remit sin, and to impute righteousness, are inseparable. The one is put here figuratively for the other. They mistake, who take occasion from hence to make justification to consist only in remission of sin: the text will not bear it. The apostle’s design is, not hereby to declare the full nature of justification, which he had done before; but only to prove the freedom of it from any respect to works, in the instance of this principal and essential part of it. Remission of sin and the imputation of righteousness differ, as the cause and the effect. Remission of sin presupposeth imputation of righteousness; and he that hath his sins remitted, hath Christ’s righteousness first imputed, that so they may be remitted and forgiven to sinners.^[16]

Philip Schaff comments on the blessedn...

1689 Baptist Confession Chapter 18: Of the Assurance of Grace and Salvation - Commentary

Simon Wartanian | 14,650 views | 7,284 words | 0:38:12 hours | 05 March 2015 19:23

The 1689 Second Baptist Confession Of Faith Confession Commentary Reformed Baptist Assurance Of Grace And Salvation Assurance Of Salvation Eternal Security Perseverance Of The Saints Assurance Of Heaven

...faith, because it is not. True faith perseveres and justifies forever. We may compare these temporary believers to the people who used to go to church, heard the preaching of the gospel in a manner that sounded good to them, they were called to come forward and repeat a prayer after the preacher. They did not know much about the faith, they had not been presented a clear and biblical gospel and after repeating a prayer they were told that they were saved. Such people are told to “accept” Jesus into their hearts and pray (or better, repeat after the preacher) the Sinner’s Prayer to be saved. They have no root, they have not been confronted with their sin, righteousness, and Judgment. For all that we know they may have heard a false and vile prosperity message and told that God will make them happy, healthy and successful. These people profess to be believers for a while. They may even have assurance in them that they will go to heaven, but their assurance consists of, as the Confession says, “false hopes and carnal presumptions of being in the favour of God and state of salvation”. They look back to a card they signed, to a date and time, to the fact they repeated the Sinner’s Prayer and etc., which true conversion and assurance does not consist in. They have been deceived and they deceive themselves with this false assurance. But, as the parable says, after testing, when these promises which were made to them about what God will do, do not come to pass, they reject their previous profession of the Christian faith. When trials come, they fall away and go back to the world. It does not mean that they truly believed because they had no root. But it does mean that they made some kind of profession at a particular time. Their assurance and hope are false because it is carnal and not based on the true gospel and Christ’s work. See here for more on temporary believers.

Assurance In The State of Grace

In contrast to the temporary believers, it is said of the elect that they may “certainly [be] assured that they are in the state of grace”, but what is this certainty based on? This certainty is first of all based on their faith and love for the Lord. The apostle John writes “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). Those who now believe in the Lord Jesus may now know that they now have eternal life (see here about the present possession of eternal life and perseverance). This assurance comes to us by faith. It is not wishful thinking, but rather we reflect on the object of our faith and what He has done for our sake. The faith of the elect is said to be true and therefore everlasting, unlike the temporary believers’. The elect do not merely believe in the Lord Jesus, but they “love him in sincerity”. He is their hope and delight. They hate sin and desire to walk in a manner worthy of His name and calling. They know they do not yet love Him as He deserves to be loved and they war against sin, but one thing they also know is that they are loved more than they can ever imagine by their Redeemer and friend. True love moves to action. The Lord told His disciples that true love shows itself in obedience saying, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). You cannot rightly love God and not desire to keep His commandments. Desiring to keep His commandments is part of the very nature of the New Covenant wherein the law of God is written on ...

1689 Baptist Confession Chapter 20: Of the Gospel, and of the Extent of the Grace Thereof - Commentary

Simon Wartanian | 13,404 views | 3,261 words | 0:17:00 hours | 05 March 2015 19:57

The 1689 Second Baptist Confession Of Faith Confession Commentary Reformed Baptist Chapter 20 General Revelation Special Revelation The Necessity Of The Gospel The Work Of The Holy Spirit

...;πολογήτους (anapologetous, G379) is because of the fact that God Himself is the One Who has revealed Himself to all people. The things about God and His power are “plain to them” and the reason why they’re plain is “because God has shown it to them.” When we doubt the validity of general revelation, we doubt the power and word of God. They know God for certain, but by sin, they suppress that truth. Because of God’s self-revelation in creation, they are without a defense—they are without an apologetic. This general revelation will shut the mouths of people on the Day of Judgment who never heard of the gospel. There is here not a word about people having an excuse because they never heard the gospel. In fact, at the time when Paul was writing, the majority of the living humans then had not yet received the message of the gospel. Nonetheless, Paul still declares all people to be “without excuse.” They’re without an excuse not because of what they do not know, but because of what they do know. They God from the created world and they have rejected Him. They will not be judged because they’ve rejected the gospel, but because they’ve rejected the God Who has clearly revealed Himself in creation. John Calvin comments on Romans 1:20—

So that they are inexcusable. It hence clearly appears what the consequence is of having this evidence — that men cannot allege any thing before God’s tribunal for the purpose of showing that they are not justly condemned. Yet let this difference be remembered, that the manifestation of God, by which he makes his glory known in his creation, is, with regard to the light itself, sufficiently clear; but that on account of our blindness, it is not found to be sufficient. We are not however so blind, that we can plead our ignorance as an excuse for our perverseness. We conceive that there is a Deity; and then we conclude, that whoever he may be, he ought to be worshipped: but our reason here fails, because it cannot ascertain who or what sort of being God is. Hence the Apostle in Heb 11:3, ascribes to faith the light by which man can gain real knowledge from the work of creation, and not without reason; for we are prevented by our blindness, so that we reach not to the end in view; we yet see so far, that we cannot pretend any excuse. Both these things are strikingly set forth by Paul in Act 14:16, when he says, that the Lord in past times left the nations in their ignorance, and yet that he left them not without witness (amarturon ,) since he gave them rain and fertility from heaven. But this knowledge of God, which avails only to take away excuse, differs greatly from that which brings salvation, which Christ mentions in Joh 17:3, and in which we are to glory, as Jeremiah teaches us, Jer 9:24^[3]

General revelation is sufficient to condemn, but not to save. That is why the Confession stresses the need for the special revelation of the gospel for salvation. Men cannot be saved merely by general revelation, they need special revelation. General revelation is not able to save not because it is bad or unclear, but because that was never its purpose and it could also be distorted by sinful man. Furthermore, Christ is not revealed by general revelation, but by special revelation in the Holy Scriptures. It is true that history may tell us about Him. His ministry, His crucifixion even that some had reported that He had risen, but history cannot give us the theological explanations which we need for our salvation....

1689 Baptist Confession Chapter 25: Of Marriage - Commentary

Simon Wartanian | 12,804 views | 4,518 words | 0:23:28 hours | 06 March 2015 19:40

The 1689 Second Baptist Confession Of Faith Confession Commentary Reformed Baptist Chapter 25 Chapter Twenty-five Marriage One Man One Woman Homosexuality

...rinthians 7:9. This concerns the one who cannot keep his lust in control. They should marry and thus fulfill that desire of theirs within the lawful bounds of marriage. From here, we also see that the apostle does not instruct us to find a girlfriend and fulfill our desire with her, but rather that the person who does not have self-control in this area should marry. Hence we learn that every sexual bond outside of marriage is sin and not permitted by Scripture.

§3 It Is The Duty Of Christians To Marry In The Lord

It is lawful for all sorts of people to marry, who are able with Judgment to give their consent; 1 yet it is the duty of Christians to marry in the Lord; and therefore such as profess the true religion, should not marry with infidels, or idolaters; neither should such as are godly, be unequally yoked, by marrying with such as are wicked in their life, or maintain damnable heresy. 2
1. 1 Cor. 7:39; 2 Cor. 6:14; 1 Tim. 4:3; Heb. 13:4
2. 1 Cor. 7:39; 2 Cor. 6:14

It is lawful for all sorts of people to marry and this marriage has to be with their consent, i.e., not against their will or forced. But it is the duty of Christians to marry in the Lord (1 Cor. 7:39; 2 Cor. 6:14), meaning that Christians should only marry other Christians. Therefore, Christians, who profess the true religion, should not marry with infidels, or idolaters neither with they who are wicked in their life, or maintain damnable heresy. In other words, Christians should only marry other good-standing Christians. The Westminster and Savoy confessions say “infidels, Papists, or other idolaters”, therefore, it is most likely that Roman Catholics are included in the category of idolaters, otherwise in the category of they who maintain damnable heresy.

It’s stupid to think that it sinful for a white woman to marry a black man, or vice versa because both are children of Adam, created in the image of the one true God. But the Confession and the Bible command us to marry in the faith. I can’t understand Christians who marry those who are not. To be honest, I’m often lead to questioning their commitment to the Lordship of Christ. Is Christ Lord over every aspect of your life or only some? What if your partner wants to do something that is sinful for a Christian? What if your partner wants your children to be raised in a way that is not pleasing in your or God’s sight? How dominant is Christ in your life? Isn’t it terrible to not be able to share the most important part of your life, your faith, with your counterpart? The principle of marrying in the Lord from 1 Corinthians 7:39 applies no less to those marrying for the second time, than for those marrying for the first time. If you are Christian, you are to marry a person who shares your faith commitment. It is a direct violation of God’s command to knowingly marry an unbeliever or one from a different religion. “But...I can be an influence on him” says the girl, “and then he could come to Christ.” Where is such a thing commanded in Scripture? Is Paul not clear that we should only marry in the Lord? Why find excuses? In 1 Corinthians 7:13, the apostle deals with a wife who was married to a man, yet she comes to faith and her husband is still unrepentant. Paul does not call for divorce, yet if the unbelieving partner wanted out, she may accept the divorce and be free to marry another (1 Cor. 7:15). This deals with a situation not of a believing woman marrying an unbelieving husband, but a situation whe...

Ephesians 1:10, 'unite all things in him'

Simon Wartanian | 7,396 views | 1,426 words | 0:08:13 hours | 21 April 2016 23:32

Ephesians 1 Predestination Calvinism Universalism Salvation Sovereignty Lordship

...the Lord Jesus is the head of all rule and authority (Col 2:10); everyone will bow down to Him, whether as servants or as defeated enemies (Phil 2:10). See also the use of Colossians 1:20 by Universalists or Universal Atonement advocates here. That is a text which to the sovereignty of Christ much like this passage here.

There seems to be no reason to think that this verse refers to salvation beyond the grave, after given an amazing display of God’s predestination to salvation in the opening verses (Eph 1:3-6), salvation by grace through faith (2:8-9). After death comes the Judgment (Heb 9:27). All things will be put under His feet and they already are actually— since all authority is given to the Lord Jesus (Mt 28:18), He already is Lord both of the living and the dead (Rom 14:9) and He upholds the universe by His omnipotence (Heb 1:3).

Commentaries

Let’s take a look at few commentaries and see how they understand the word “anakephalaiomai,“ shall we?

Here is what the Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible says:[3]

Gather together in one , [ anakephalaioosasthai (G346)] - 'sum up again (in their original unity) for Himself under one head;' 'recapitulate.' The 'good pleasure which He purposed' was 'to sum up all things [ ta (G3588) panta (G3956): 'THE whole range of things'] in Christ' [ to (G3588) Christoo (G5547): 'the Christ']. God sums up the whole creation in Christ, the Head of angels, with whom He is linked by His invisible nature; and of men, with whom He is linked by His humanity; of Jews and Gentiles; of the living and the dead (Eph 3:15); of animate and inanimate creation. Sin has disarranged the creature's relation of subordination to God. God gathers up all in Christ (Col 1:20). Alford, 'The Church is subordinated to Him in conscious and joyful union; those who are not His spiritually in mere subjugation, yet consciously: the inferior creatures unconsciously;-objectively, all are summed up in Him.'

The Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges says the following:[4]

ἀνακεφαλαιώσασθαι τὰ πάντα ἐν τῷ χριστῷ, ‘to sum up the universe in the Christ.’ These words define the ultimate end of the Gracious Purpose, the ‘one far off Divine event to which the whole Creation moves.’ ἀνακεφαλαιώσασθαι, properly a word in Rhetoric, Lat. collectio, describing the rapid repetition and summarizing of an orator’s points previous to his practical conclusion. St Paul uses it (Rom 13:9) of the relation between the command ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself’ and all the commandments of the Second Table. Strictly, therefore, the words mean “to bring together each separate element in Creation in such a way that ‘the Christ’ may be the fitting description of the whole.” This meaning helps to explain the presence of the article τῷ χριστῷ, ct. Eph 1:3, ἐν Χριστῷ. Otherwise it would be difficult not to believe that, however incorrectly in point of etymology, St Paul, in speaking ‘of bringing the universe together under one head,’ was thinking of Christ not as κεφάλαιον, but as κεφαλή, cf. Eph 1:22. A further development of the thought I owe to a note communicated by my friend Canon G. H. Whitaker: ‘Plutarch says ἡ πόλις οἴκων τι σύστημα καὶ κεφάλαιον οὖσα (Cat. maj. 454 A). Now a well-planned city explains the point of the several houses. It is an ordered whole. You see why the houses were placed as they were, when you see the city from a balloon. So, in a well-written article, you c

......

A Review of O. Palmer Robertson's The Israel of God

Simon Wartanian | 8,363 views | 3,313 words | 0:17:02 hours | 19 January 2017 22:25

Book Review O. Palmer Robertson Israel Of God Eschatology Covenant Theology Dispensationalism Kingdom Of God

...se of redemption by reconstituting the cosmos. In this way, paradise will be restored in all its glory. The blessing of land that humanity first experienced will finally be graciously given back to him. (p. 10)

Another thing which is often missed by our Dispensational brethren is the fact that the land promises were completely fulfilled as recorded in Scripture by the time of Joshua, David and Solomon (Josh 23:43-45; 1Chron 18:14; 1Kgs 4:1, 20-21; c.f. Gen 15:18-21). Furthermore, the Mosaic Covenant regulated the blessings and the possession of the land (see for example Deut 28; Lev 20:22-23). When the people disobeyed and broke the Lord’s covenant, He brought Judgment upon them and exiled them away from their homeland. This is a point which is, in my opinion, often missed by those who contend that the land of Canaan is for the Israelites forever from a theological perspective. Seeing that the Mosaic Covenant is abrogated, the regulations which existed for the possession and blessings of the land are also done away with. Not only that, we should not forget that the New Testament teaches us that the land was typological.

Much more could be said, but simply read the chapter. It is really mind-opening.

Its People

When we speak of Israel, whom do we actually mean? How does the Bible define Israel?

In chapter 2 Dr. Robertson deals with the question of who are the heirs of the land promise. Who is Israel actually? As a covenant theologian and not a Dispensationalist, one can already expect the answer. The Israel of God are all Jewish and Gentile believers in the Messiah.

There is nothing special in the ethnicity of the Jews, which makes them more holy or more special than Gentiles. Robertson notes that ‘Abraham was originally nothing more than another pagan “Gentile” before being called by God’ (p. 34). Abraham is the root of Israel and he was a mere pagan idolater before his calling (Josh 24:2). Seeing that this is in fact so, there could be nothing special in ethnicity which sets them apart. Robertson quotes the Jewish commentator on Genesis, Benno Jacob, who says:

Indeed, differences of race have never been an obstacle to joining Israel which did not know the concept of purity of blood. . . . Circumcision turned a man of foreign origin into an Israelite. (p. 35)

I found this very interesting coming from a Jew. Circumcision is what made one an Israelite and not ethnic origin. We know that in the New Covenant that fleshly circumcision is no longer required, but a new creation is what counts (Gal 6:15-16), i.e., circumcision of the heart (2Cor 3:3; Rom 2:25-28; etc.).

The glory of the New Covenant is in the fact that the people of God are not only gathered from Israel, but from “from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev 5:9). The distinction between Jew and Gentile no longer applies under the New Covenant (e.g. Gal 3:28). In fact, Paul explicitly says that Jew and Gentile believers have been made one in Christ in Ephesians 2.

There was a helpful discussion and exegesis of the text from which the book gets its name, Galatians 6:16. Dr. Robertson shows how the “Israel of God” in the entire context of Galatians cannot mean anything but all believing Jews and Gentiles. I found his exegesis and discussion on the text very helpful (pp. 38-46).

Dr. Robertson argues that a return to the old land is a return to the shadows of the Old Covenant which are done away with in Christ. Moreover, D...