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1689 Baptist Confession Chapter 31: Of the State of Man after Death and Of the Resurrection of the Dead - Commentary

Simon Wartanian | 30,830 views | 63,926 words | 5:35:37 hours | 06 March 2015 23:27

...endless doom, yet for the believing, death is the key to eternal bliss with the Savior. Although death is still bad and an enemy, yet even this dreadful enemy serves the purposes of God for His children’s final sanctification and ushering into endless life. Louis Berkhof writes, “It is quite evident that the death of believers must be regarded as the culmination of the chastisements which God has ordained for the sanctification of His people. While death in itself remains a real natural evil for the children of God, something unnatural, which is dreaded by them as such, it is made subservient in the economy of grace to their spiritual advancement and to the best interests of the Kingdom Of God.”^[4]

A very important aspect of physical death is the fact that death fixes our eternal destiny. There are no second chances after death. Once you die, you will either go into the presence of God in glory or out of the peaceful presence of God into misery. Hebrews 9:27 declares, “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,“ this means that the judgment which fixes our eternal destiny, not the Final Judgment, comes directly after death. Matthew Poole noted on that passage:

But after this the judgment: in order, after souls by death are separated from their bodies, they come to judgment: and thus every particular one is handed over by death to the bar of God, the great Judge, and so is despatched by his sentence to its particular state and place with its respective people, Rom. 14:12. At the great and general assize, the day of judgment, shall the general and universal one take place, Act 17:31, when all sinners in their entire persons, bodies and souls united, shall be adjudged to their final, unalterable, and eternal state, Rom. 14:10; 2Co 5:10; Jud 1:6; Rev. 20:11-15.^[5]

Some take the judgment spoken of in Hebrews 9:27 to be the final judgment. To be sure, there is no definite article for “judgment” in the Greek and this is correctly translated by the ESV, in contrast to translations which supply a definite article (e.g., KJV, NKJV). The definite article makes the idea that this passage is speaking about the Final Judgment more appealing, yet the definite article is not in the original. But a stronger case that death fixes our eternity destiny can be made from Luke 16:19-31. There is a chasm that separates the saved in heaven and the damned in Hades in the Intermediate State. No one can cross over and this takes place after physical death. That’s why death should be terrifying to those who do not know God and who have not obeyed the gospel of our Lord. There are no second chances. All that awaits those who have not put their trust in Christ is doom and misery.

The Souls Of The Righteous In Heaven

Already in the Old Testament believers were expecting a blissful existence with God after their physical death. David says, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (Ps. 23:6; cf. Ps. 16:10-11; 17:15; 73:24; 115:18). He expects to ever live in the presence of God. He did not only live with and for God in his earthly life, but he believes that God’s presence will always be with Him. He will dwell in His house and this is said at a time when the Temple was not yet built. Elijah is said to have “went up by a whirlwind into heaven” (2Kings 2:11). Jesus shows that there will be a resurrection from the fact that Abraham, Isaac, and ...

1689 Baptist Confession Chapter 7: Of God's Covenant - Commentary

Simon Wartanian | 42,194 views | 65,864 words | 5:42:00 hours | 04 March 2015 21:27

The 1689 Second Baptist Confession Of Faith Confession Commentary Reformed Baptist Chapter 7 God's Covenant 1689 Federalism Westminster Federalism Presbyterian Covenant Theology Covenant Of Works Covenant Of Redemption Covenant Of Grace Nohaic Covenant Abrahamic Covenant Mosaic Covenant Old Covenant Davidic Covenant New Covenant

...

Samuel Renihan – From Shadow to Substance: The Federal Theology of the English Particular Baptists (1642-1704) & The Mystery of Christ, His Covenant, and His Kingdom.

Jeffrey D. Johnson - The Fatal Flaw (see my review) and the Kingdom Of God.

I don’t pretend to have an answer to every question or have all the details worked out, but Lord willing, I will update this commentary if I become persuaded of some things that I think are necessary to mention. It is a subject that has fascinated me and it’s a subject I want to learn more about. In this chapter, I will try to lay out all the major covenants of the Bible and see how they are fulfilled or still await fulfillment in Christ and His people. The covenants that I would like to deal with are the following:

The Covenant of Redemption [§2] [here]
The Covenant of Grace [§3] [here]
The Covenant of Works [§1] [here]
The Covenant with Noah (Noahic Covenant) [§3] [here]
The Covenant with Abraham (Abrahamic Covenant) [§3] [here]
The Covenant with Israel through Moses (Mosaic Covenant) [§3] [here]
The Covenant with David (Davidic Covenant) [§3] [here]
The Covenant with the church (New Covenant) [§3] [here]

What Is A Covenant?

Before going into the specific covenants, let us define what a covenant actually is. A covenant may simply be defined as: A commitment with divine sanctions. To add more input, it may be said this way:

In the general sense, a covenant is simply a binding agreement or compact between two or more parties; in legal terms, it is a formal sealed agreement or contract.^[3]

Simply said, a covenant is the way that God communicates with man. It must be noted that the covenants made by God are made up by God—what I mean is that God doesn’t ask people’s opinion about what they think of the covenant, blessings, and curses. It is something imposed by God. It is a sovereign arrangement. This is seen in Nehemiah Coxe’s definition of Covenant, which is...

“A declaration of his sovereign pleasure concerning the benefits he will bestow on them, the communion they will have with him, and the way and means by which this will be enjoyed by them.”^[4]

Walter Chantry defines a covenant as “a sovereignly given arrangement by which man may be blessed.”^[5] A. W. Pink defines it as:

Briefly stated, any covenant is a mutual agreement entered into by two or more parties, whereby they stand solemnly bound to each other to perform the conditions contracted for.^[6]

From these definitions, we observe that a covenant seeks to bring man to a better state of existence or being. It doesn’t seek to leave man in the place he was prior to the covenant. Dr. Richard Barcellos observes:

Think of the Noahic covenant. Prior to its revelation as found in Genesis 6-9, the earth was potentially subject to a universal flood due to the justice of God being executed on the earth against the wickedness of man. We know this for certain because that is exactly what happened. The Noahic covenant, which includes man (Noah and his descendants), also involves every living creature (Genesis 9:9-10, 15, 16). It embraces and benefits the earth as well (Genesis 8:22...Genesis 9:13...Jeremiah 33:20, 50...). That divine covenants are revealed to man for “the advancing and bettering of his state” [Nehemiah Coxe] can also be said of all other divine covenants with man throughout the Bible. Abraham (along with his carnal and spiritual seed) was better off for the covenant revealed to him. The Israel...

1689 Baptist Confession Chapter 8: Of Christ the Mediator - Commentary

Simon Wartanian | 42,980 views | 75,562 words | 6:40:27 hours | 04 March 2015 21:39

The 1689 Second Baptist Confession Of Faith Confession Commentary Exposition Reformed Baptist Chapter 8 Christ The Mediator Prophet Priest King Definite Redemption Limited Atonement Arminianism Universal Atonement Hypostatic Union Humanity Of Christ God-Man

...ing about justification. Comp. especially 1Co. 15:17, “If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins”—i.e., you have no guarantee that your sins have really been remitted; if the death of Christ had not been followed by His resurrection, the inference would have followed that it was merely the death of an ordinary man, and without any special saving efficacy.^[10]

Here I end our brief study of Christ’s resurrection.

The Ascension of Christ

Luke tells us that the Lord Jesus taught His disciples about the Kingdom Of God for forty days between His resurrection and ascension. With the same body, He blessed His disciples and was taken up from them:

Acts 1:8-11 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

The account is straightforward. As the Lord was speaking with His disciples, the time for Him to depart came. Therefore, He blesses them and gives them the promise of the Spirit and then is carried by a cloud into heaven. It was necessary for the Lord to depart so that the Holy Spirit would come. The Lord told His disciples—

John 16:7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

Indeed, after ten days, on Pentecost, the Spirit did come in power and glory. The ascension of Christ demonstrates that His mission was complete. He did what He was supposed to do on the earth. Now He will continue His work from heaven through the Holy Spirit. The resurrection and ascension of our Lord are connected with His enthronement as the King of the Universe. In Matthew, before departing He says—

Matt. 28:18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

All power is in His hands. It is He Who now sits on the throne of God (Rev. 3:21) and at the right hand of Power and Majesty (Acts 2:33-34; 5:31; 7:55-56; Rom. 8:34; Col. 3:1; Heb. 1:3; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2; 1 Pet. 3:22). The right hand symbolizes the place of power and authority, and that is exactly what the Lord Jesus has. His ascension was also the inauguration of the kingdom given to Him in Daniel 7:13-14. As Daniel describes, the Son of Man went up to the Ancient of Days in His throne room, that is, God the Father and He received from the Father the kingdom and glory that belongs to Him and that He deserves. After His humiliation the Father highly exalted the humiliated Lord to the high position, so that everyone would bow down before Him and confess that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:5-11). On earth, was His time of humiliation, but now He reigns in majesty, power, and glory waiting for all His enemies to be made a footstool for His holy feet (Heb. 10:12-13). See also John 17:5.

That He is now in heaven does not mean that He is doing nothing, rather Scripture teaches us that He is the High Priest in heaven (Heb. 9:24-25). He exercises His priestly office ...

1689 Baptist Confession Chapter 26: Of the Church - Commentary

Simon Wartanian | 32,589 views | 38,282 words | 3:19:22 hours | 06 March 2015 23:00

The 1689 Second Baptist Confession Of Faith Confession Commentary Reformed Baptist Chapter 26 Church Church Government Elders Deacons Members Universal Church Local Church Congregationalism Polity

...ievers. Apostleship is not a continuous office of the church. It was given once for all for the upbuilding of the whole body of believers. This is the church (or temple) which is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets” (Eph. 2:20).

In these ways, we see that the church is a universal and spiritual body of born again believers. Therefore, A. H. Strong defines the church as:

The church of Christ, in its largest signification, is the whole company of regenerate persons in all times and ages, in heaven and on earth (Mat. 16:18; Eph. 1:22, 23; 3:10; 5:24, 25; Col. 1:18; Heb. 12:23). In this sense, the church is identical with the spiritual Kingdom Of God; both signify that redeemed humanity in which God in Christ exercises actual spiritual dominion (John 3:3, 5).^[10]

Later he adds, “Union with Christ is the presupposition of the church.”^[11] Stephen J. and Kirk Wellum explain this truth beautifully:

Through its union with him, the new covenant church is a new assembly and new temple who are born, empowered, and indwelt by the Spirit. The church is not a mixed entity but a regenerate, believing community precisely because all whom Christ calls come (John 10:27). And all who come he keeps (v. 28). Those who are not his sheep don’t hear and don’t come (v. 26).^[12]

Apostolic Attributes of the Church

In the Nicene Creed, the church of all ages has confessed:

We believe also in only One, Universal, Apostolic, and Holy Church

The Apostles’ Creed speaks of “I believe in...the holy catholic church.” These attributes speak of the church which Christ established—the community of His elect people. These attributes describe what the church is. These attributes speak primarily about the universal and invisible church, while secondarily, the local church. We will briefly take a look at these attributes biblically speaking.

Unity of the Church

The unity or oneness of the church is, first of all, grounded in its unity in and union with Christ. The believers, who make up the church, are all united to Christ. They belong to one Head and therefore, they are united with one another through their Head. The Lord Christ prays for union and oneness among His people in John 17. He prays that we “may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us” (John 17:21). In John 10:16, the Lord’s desire is to gather all lost sheep into one fold. Therefore, believers all around the world belong to one fold, which belongs to one chief Shepherd (1 Pet. 5:4). They are one because they believe in the same God. Paul speaks of the Corinthians as those who are “called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours” (1 Cor. 1:2). They are “together” because they are called to be saints, they call upon the name of Christ and He is their and our Lord also. The metaphor of the body as used in 1 Corinthians 12 points to the unity of the church. There is one Head, the Lord Jesus Christ. But the body has many members.

This unity of the church extends not only after the cross, but also before Christ with the faithful in the Old Testament. In worship, we come to “Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect” (Heb. 12:22-...

1689 Baptist Confession Chapter 19: Of the Law of God - Commentary

Simon Wartanian | 41,152 views | 77,737 words | 6:42:45 hours | 05 March 2015 19:46

The 1689 Second Baptist Confession Of Faith Confession Commentary Reformed Baptist Chapter 19 Law Of God Law Of Moses Law Of Christ Moral Law Decalogue Ten Commandments Thomas Watson John Calvin Robert Dabney Westminster Standards Catechism Civil Law Judicial Law Ceremonial Law Threefold Division Of The Law

...le="height: 13.8359px;"You shall not steal. Swindlers (v. 10, 11) 9 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Swindlers (v. 10, 11), reviler (v. 11) 10 You shall not covet. Greedy (v. 11), swindlers (v. 10, 11)

1 Corinthians 6:9-10

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom Of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the Kingdom Of God.

#	The Ten Commandments	Vices
1	You shall have no other gods before Me.	Idolaters (v. 9)
2	You shall not make for yourself a carved image.	Idolaters (v. 9)
3	You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.	Idolaters (v. 9)
4	Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.	-
5	Honor your father and your mother	Drunkards (v. 10; cf. Deut. 21:20)
6	You shall not murder.	-
7	You shall not commit adultery.	Sexually immoral (v. 9), adulterers (v. 9), homosexuals (v. 9)
8	You shall not steal.	Thieves (v. 10), greedy (v. 10), swindlers (v. 10)
9	You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.	Revilers (v. 10), swindlers (v. 10)
10	You shall not covet.	Greedy (v. 10), swindlers (v. 10)

Galatians 5:19-21

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom Of God.

#	The Ten Commandments	Vices
1	You shall have no other gods before Me.	Idolatry (v. 20)
2	You shall not make for yourself a carved image.	Idolatry (v. 20), sorcery (v. 20)
3	You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.	Idolatry (v. 20)
4	Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.	-
5	Honor your father and your mother	Drunkenness (v. 21; cf. Deut. 21:20)
6	You shall not murder.	Enmity (v. 20), strife (v. 20), fits of anger (v. 20), rivalries (v. 20)
7	You shall not commit adultery.	Sexual immorality (v. 19), impurity (v. 19), sensuality (v. 19), orgies (v. 21)
8	You shall not steal.	-
9	You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.	-
10	You shall not covet.	Jealousy (v. 20), envy (v. 21)

1 Timothy 1:8-11

Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.

See above for our discussion on this passage.

#	The Ten Commandments	Vices
1	You shall have no other gods before Me.	Ungodly (v. 9), sinner (v. 9)
2	You shall not make for yourself a carved image.	Ungodly (v. 9), sinner (v. 9)
3	You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.	Unholy (v. 9), profane (v. 9)
4	Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.	Unholy (v. 9), profane ...

The Kingdom Of God

One of the very ups of this book was the extensive study of the Kingdom Of God in the New and Old Testaments. My understanding of the Kingdom Of God was really expanded.

A Definition of the Kingdom Of God

Dean Davis defines the Kingdom Of God as:

In essence, the Kingdom Of God is the direct reign of God the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit, over his redeemed creatures; creatures who have been rescued from every spiritual and physical enemy, and restored to every spiritual and physical friend that God planned for them in the beginning. Also, the Kingdom is the blessed realm that this redemptive reign creates, and over which it forever rules. Page 65.

This he does not merely assume, but ably goes to prove it from the Bible, here is a summary of his five points:

The Kingdom is the direct reign of God the Father (Mt 6:10)

The Kingdom is a sphere of wholeness and blessing (Mt 9:35; 10:7-8; 12:28)

The Kingdom is mediated by the Son of God (John 5:19, 30; 6:38; 8:28; 12:49; 14:10)

The Kingdom is effected by the Spirit of God (Mt 12:28; Acts 1:4-8)

The Kingdom is a realm beneath a reign (Mt 13:41-42; Rev 11:15)

Thereby is indeed the definition that he gives is justified and satisfactory.

The Two-Staged Kingdom

Amillennarians see the Kingdom Of God coming in two stages, separated by the Parousia of our Lord:

The Kingdom of the Son (already, the present Era of Proclamation)

The Kingdom of the Father (not yet, the future World/Age to Come)

Now, the terminology used here is not meant to give the idea that the Son has no share in the second stage of the Kingdom or that the Father has no share in the first, but rather is taken from 1 Corinthians 15:24-28 where we learn that at the Coming of our Lord, the Lord Jesus will deliver His Kingdom, His consummated Kingdom to God the Father and will be subjected to Him. Thus, seeing a difference between the present Kingdom of the Son (which is to be delivered up to the Father) and the coming Kingdom of the Father (which is the eternal World to Come). This terminology is also supported by Matthew 13:41-43.

The two-staged Kingdom is seen from Jesus’ own contrast of this present age and the age to come. Here is a table I made for myself:

Verse	This age	The age to come
Mt 12:32	…will not be forgiven, either in this age	or in the age to come (compare Mk 3:28-30)
Mk 10:30	…receive many times more in this time,	and in the age to come eternal life. (Lk 18:30)
Eph 1:21	…far above all rule and authority…not only in this age	But also in the one to come
Lk 20:34-36	The sons of this age marry…	but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection… neither marry… they cannot die anymore… equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of ...

... their unbelief is “natural” and expected given the fact that they are not being drawn by the Father. It is God the Spirit Who is the Agent in regeneration, while the flesh, i.e., man and his will, do nothing and are set on sin:

John 1:12-13 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

John 3:3-8 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the Kingdom Of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom Of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Rom. 9:16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

Indeed, man has no active role in regeneration but is wholly passive as the Spirit raises the spiritually dead sinner to life in Christ. Verses 64-65 give the reason why these people remain in unbelief. It is because the Father has not given them to the Son. That’s the reason that they remain unbelievers and rejecters of God. Jesus is comforted and not discouraged by the fact that some do not believe in Him, as this was the good pleasure of God the Father.

Matt. 11:25-27 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Turned back

The doctrine of sovereign election has never been popular and loved, even in Jesus’ day it was opposed. Those supposed disciples of Jesus, whom He fed just a day ago, who crossed the sea to see Him, are now turning back. Peter’s confession comes not from His own mind or his own abilities, but from the good pleasure of God:

John 6:67-71 So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” 70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” 71 He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the Twelve, was going to betray him.

In Matthew, the Lord blesses Peter and counts him blessed because God has revealed the Son to him.

Matt. 16:16-17 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

As we are finishing chapter 6, let’s ask the question: What about Judas? Indeed, the text says that Judas was among the twelve who were chosen. But let us notice that Jesus is speaking here of choosing them as disciples and not choosing...