Welcome back to Theology Thursday!

Here is your bite-sized lesson in orthodox biblical doctrine in 3 simple steps:

ONE concept explained

TWO concise definitions that must be kept distinct

THREE Scripture passages to meditate on

Concept: God’s Covenant

When speaking of the Christian religion, we often emphasize a “relationship” with God. Do we realize what we’re saying? Think about it. How does that happen exactly? Last I checked, no creature can see Him and live to tell the tale, let alone dwell with Him. In the first verse of the Bible, we’re struck with an infinite gap. How can we know that we have a relationship or communion with the King of Creation? If the gap between creatures and the Creator looms large, what guarantees His promises to us, or any meaningful relationship, for that matter? The Bible answers this with one word: Covenant.

Covenant Theology teaches two things: 1) how God enters into a relationship with mankind, and 2) an interpretive framework (hermeneutic) that unites the entire story of Scripture, which details God’s relationship with man through the man Christ Jesus. A Covenant speaks of an agreement, a sworn oath, or a promise between two parties. When made by God, they are sovereignly imposed, congeal with “you will/I will” statements, are secured by divine sanctions or threats to ensure unbreakability, and are typically accompanied by physical signs (Rainbow, sacrifice, circumcision, baptism, communion, etc.). Most importantly, they reveal God’s faithfulness. The word "covenant” should point you to a God who never ceases to fulfill His oaths or promises to His people, though His people continually break theirs. What God says, He will do, and our relationship with Him, therefore, will be unbreakable.

Definitions/Distinctions:

Overarching Covenants: The Bible’s own superstructure or system for interpreting the whole redemptive story, which climaxes in Christ. More clearly taught in Paul’s letters, redemptive history can be categorized under the three overarching covenants: the Covenant of Works, the Covenant of Grace, and the Covenant of Redemption. These covenants span the entire Bible and help us conceptualize the unfolding plan of redemption through the other Biblical covenants.1

Historical Covenants: The covenants laid out explicitly in Scripture between God and various covenant heads or representatives. These include the covenants made with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and King David. These covenants serve to preserve the line of promise that brought us our Messiah, and unfold the one covenant of grace secured by the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.

Passages:

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.’ Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, ‘Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations…’”

Genesis 17:1–4

“Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of [the] promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”

Ephesians 2:11–12 (Emphasis mine)2

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.”

Romans 5:12–17 (Emphasis mine)3

Purchase Here

Follow the instructions provided to download the episode on the Apple Podcasts app.

Feel free to share and subscribe!

*CORRECTION in the podcast: The Hebrew scholar who teaches at Westminster Theological Seminary is Jonathan GIBSON, not Jonathan Leeman.

I rehearse with my kids (almost) daily (especially when they seek to be sovereign over our home) that God is in charge of everything. Most agree with that statement. Christians often declare in hard situations, “God is in control!” But how far does his control extend? How pervasive is His care over His world? Is He in control of the natural and fleshly evil in my life? This is where many followers of Jesus start to squirm.

Thomas Boston once wrote, “Happy is the people whose God the Lord is: for all things shall work together for their good. They may sit secure in exercising faith upon God, come what will (193).”

How did he get to such a confident conclusion?

Boston Looks Back

Looking back at Boston’s life and the regular afflictions he would undergo, observe what he views as the source of his lot: “And here began more remarkably my bearing of the yoke of trial and affliction, the which lay on in my youth, has, in the wise disposal of holy providence…”

When reflecting on his mother’s death, he says, “…it pleased the Lord to remove my mother by death” (16).

When reflecting on his father’s recovery, he writes, “But it pleased the Lord that I was comforted in the recovery of my father sometime after” (16).

When he gets his first job working alongside a notary and hones his writing skills, he writes, “The favourable design of providence therein, then unknown to me, I now see, since it could not be but of some use to help me to the style of papers” (17).

Upon graduating from a school of theology, his deepest desire was to be licensed to preach through the Presbytery of Stirling, but “Considering the course of Providence,” he ended up being licensed to preach as an itinerate minister through the Presbytery of Dunse and Churnside, the place of his nativity (30).

Looking back on the first three major points of his life, from his birth to grammar school, grammar school to graduation, graduation to being licensed to preach, he summed up his life by saying,

“And looking on myself as a child of providence, and considering the manner of my education, I cannot but observe the kind conduct of that providence in carrying me through sundry states of life, and parts of the country, in that short time allotted for me, in the character of a student” (31–32).

He spoke of providence personified, comparing it to a father who raised and shaped him. This is precisely what Thomas Boston believed about his life—he was the product of the sovereign hand of God. Nothing, thought Boston, came about in His life apart from the Fatherly, meticulous providence of the author of all creation.

Boston’s Beliefs

As the sun rises, birds begin their songs as they fly over roofs, gardens, and trees. Have you ever seen one of them overtaxed over what they will eat? God’s constant care for them ensures they are not deprived of daily sustenance. Boston draws our attention to this as he opens his section on God’s Providence, commenting on the Westminster Shorter Catechism.

Jesus said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father” (Matthew 10:29).

Boston comments,

“Sparrows are of a mean price and small value; and yet, for as mean as they are, God preserves them, guides and disposes of all things concerning them, so that one of them cannot fall to the ground by shot or any other way, without his sovereign ordering and disposal” (186).

He seeks to expound this doctrine from the scriptures and masterfully weaves together four aspects of God’s providence: Its reality, its object, its actions, its properties, and its everyday fruit.

To highlight only three aspects, we’ll look at how he understood its reality, its actions, and its fruit in everyday life.

The Reality of God’s Meticulous Providence

Boston takes an interesting turn to prove that there is a providence. After quoting very general Scriptural statements about God’s kingship and sovereignty (Psalm 103:19; Acts 17:28; Ephesians 1:11), he writes that providence can be seen in a “three-fold scripture-emblem.”

That three-fold emblem is first, Mount Moriah, “which upon occasion of the miraculous preservation of Isaac, and a ram to be put in his room in order to be sacrificed, was called Jehovah Jireh, i.e.. The Lord will provide, (Gen. 22:14)”

Second, “Jacob’s ladder, on which God appears managing all things, (Gen. 28).”

Third, “Ezekiel’s wheels, where there was a wheel in the middle of a wheel, denoting the agency of the first cause, and the superintending and directing providence of God, (Ezek. 1)” (186)

As a helpful and simple way to introduce this topic, Boston draws upon both kinds of God’s revelation, namely, God’s wisely ordered creation and the numerous fulfilled prophecies that would not have happened unless God’s meticulous providence was true. This leads to the actions that God takes in providence.

The Actions of God’s Meticulous Providence

This coin has two sides: Upholding (sustaining) and governing. Boston helps us sum up Providence with those two words alone.

God sustains all things. As the author of Hebrews puts it: “…He upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Heb 1:3). Boston notes, “This act of providence is so necessary, that nothing could subsist one moment without it” (188).

Here, most Christians find themselves resting in a comfortable place. It’s with the next action of Providence that most take issue: God doesn’t merely sustain all of creation and, therefore, all of history, but He governs it; He exercises control, seeing to it that end from the beginning becomes what it becomes (Isaiah 46:10). Here we find that distinction between God’s decree and His providence. God’s decree is the reality that everything that comes to pass in history originates in God as the primary cause of all things. He unchangeably and infallibly planned everything that came to pass or will come to pass. On the other hand, Providence is God’s execution of the decree; God’s decree is the blueprint, and providence is the building project.

Boston shows how this arises from the text of Scripture. We see not only God’s providence throughout history and over big events like the cross of Christ (Isaiah 46:10; Acts 4:27-28) but over small and seemingly insignificant chance circumstances: “Prov. 21:1 ‘The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will, Prov. 16:33 ‘The lot is cast into the lap: but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.’ Chap. 16:9 ‘A man’s heart deviseth his way; but the Lord directeth his steps’” (188).

A king’s heart, the outcome of a lot being cast (like the casting of dice), and man’s plans—at the end of the day, God is the one steering all of these things for His glorious ends.

As Boston quipped,

“God does not make man as the carpenter doth the ship, which afterwards sails without him; but he rules and guides him, sitting at the helm, to direct and order all his motions: so that whatever men do, they do nothing without him: not only in their good actions, where he gives grace, and excites it, working in them both to will and to do of his good pleasure: but also in their evil actions, wherein they are under the hand of Providence, but in a very different manner” (189; emphasis mine).

Purchase Here

Welcome back to Theology Thursday!

Here is your bite-sized lesson in orthodox biblical doctrine in 3 simple steps:

ONE concept explained

TWO concise definitions that must be kept distinct

THREE Scripture passages to meditate on

Concept: Divine Providence

God’s providence, His “purposeful sovereignty,”1 is the second way God executes the blueprint of His sovereign plan. The plan or decree of God takes place in eternity; providence takes place in history. You can sum up providence by using two words: upholding and governing. Providence is God’s external act of upholding and governing all of creation, including all humans and all of their actions. God doesn’t just let the world exist; He is its captain, guiding and steering it to the end goal for which all things were created: His glory displayed in the redemption of His people.

This means that even when things feel like they are out of control, they actually aren't. Even when it feels like God has forsaken you, He has not once departed from you; He has been upholding and governing all things that you may know and grow to be more dependent upon Him. Who can improve upon the description of providence laid out in the Heidelberg Catechism? “The almighty and everywhere present power of God; whereby, as it were by his hand, he upholds and governs heaven, earth, and all creatures; so that herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, meat and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, yea, and all things come, not by chance, but by his fatherly hand.”

Definitions/Distinctions:

First Cause: This refers to the order of causality in which the creator and the creature operate. Our creator God operates in the order of first causes, and man, as a creature, operates in the order of second causes. God is the first and distant cause of all things, since He decreed all that comes to pass before time began.

Second Causes (Concurrence): Humans are the secondary and immediate cause of what comes about in the world. Individuals act with intentionality, whether good or evil, and bring about certain effects so that God cannot be charged with wrong, though He ordained that it would come about as the first cause. God accomplishes His will, but rarely does He do so apart from ordained human means (Typically called “concurrence”). It’s not as though either God does it or man does it. Though mysterious, these two things are compatible. Man freely acts according to their deepest desires, but God providentially brings about His plan through those very actions.

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

Genesis 50:20

“King Rehoboam spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by God that the Lord might fulfill his word...”

2 Chronicles 10:14–15

“…for truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your plan had predestined to take place.”

Acts 4:27–282

Introduction

The great chocolatier Willy Wonka is portrayed as a creator and an inventor. He creates wonders that one can only conceive by pure imagination. But to what end? It’s clear: love for chocolate takes logical priority over inventing. He became an inventor so that he could create chocolate. His act of inventing serves chocolate-making.

God is the creator; He is the fountain of all life and being. To what end? As the story of Scripture unfolds, a divine intent emerges:

God creates, not because He’s needy, but so that He might display His glory in the person and work of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Let’s survey Genesis 1 from two angles to understand the narrator’s intent and, therefore, the chief end(s) of creation: 1) A cosmic temple-building project and 2) The stage for the redemptive drama.

Creation: Cosmic Temple-Building

Contextual Clues of a Cosmic Temple in Genesis 1-2

In Genesis 1-2, we see God crafting a “cosmic temple” for His own glory. A temple is a dwelling place for God—a place to house the glory encountered by and ascribed to Him by His creatures. Later, the Bible calls the temple the “house of the LORD” (1 Chronicles 22:2). Though the word “temple” is not present in Genesis 1-2, the concept is.

“Temple” may have hovered in a thought bubble above Moses’ head as he wrote Genesis 1 in the wilderness of Sinai, in the presence of a mobile temple called the Tabernacle, or the “Tent of Meeting.” Additionally, he wrote this in a surrounding pagan culture where temples housed pagan gods.

Therefore, to reveal God’s transcendence and secondarily, to write a true account that deflates the pagan creation myths of the day, he writes:

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…” (Genesis 1:1).

Moses’ God-centeredness is revealed to us in the first verses of the Bible. The ancient audience is to behold God, not necessarily the creatures He forms.

If we start with God, we reason our way down to the cosmos to see a Kingdom and a grand theatre that displays His character. All things are creatures that have their being only through Him and are, by definition, in submission to His rule.

As God speaks, all things come into existence. He desires to dwell with His creation, and He is the centerpiece of it all. Even the Sun is not the source of light at the beginning, but God Himself, revealing that the power of light rests in His very hand, not in a star.1

God is revealed as the self-existent, self-sufficient one who is Father, Son, and Spirit. Why else would He create other than to form others to encounter and enjoy His eternal glory?

God performs His act of creating through a rhythm of lighting, forming, lighting, and filling. This rhythm reveals God progressively moving from outer layers of space to the expanse He calls “heaven,” all the way to the inner layers of the earth itself, crafting a garden that would be the epicenter of His presence. This is revealed in the apex of all of His creation, mankind, as they are set in a Garden-temple:

“So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:26–28).

Then on the seventh day, He “rested.” New Testament Scholar, G.K. Beale, points out that this is not a resting in the human sense of the word, but a ceasing that leads to God’s enjoyment and enthronement above all that He has made: “…this resting is unlike our modern conception of rest. God’s resting after six days entails his climactic enthronement as King over the cosmos (Gen 2:2; cf. 2 Chron 6:41; Is 66:1) since ‘it is connected to taking control in his role as sovereign ruler over the cosmos.’”2

This cues us in once again to the idea of a cosmic temple, since as you zoom into the most focused layer of creation—the Garden of Eden—we find God “walking” in the garden in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8). This speaks of God’s manifest presence.

God primarily dwells in a most holy place called the third heaven, but He dwells (in part) among His creatures, and thus, Eden is the temporal picture of that most holy place. Eden itself is the place from which God’s glory flows.

God and man, man and His maker, creator and creature: No separation, no need for mediation. Not yet. Only perfect communion. Adam and Eve were created to encounter, and encountered, they did.

Beale continues, “Why does God graciously construct a cosmic temple? He desires to rule and reign over the created order, but he also wants to dwell intimately with it.”3

Here, we find God ruling a temple to store the experience of His presence, delegating dominion to man to tend it. This is exactly what a temple would later be made for, the kind of landscape on which it would be located, and exactly what priests would be tasked with doing.

Subsequent Biblical authors concur as they read Genesis 1-2.

How the Rest of the Biblical Authors Read the Creation Narrative

The clarity you’re hoping for about now will come from later revelation.

The idea of creation as a cosmic temple comes about when we apply the principle that later revelation clarifies earlier revelation. Subsequent authors of Scripture write of a dwelling place for God, under the mediation of a priest, something necessary because of the separation between God and man caused by sin.

This dwelling place for God, the Tabernacle, was likely already made when Moses wrote,

“And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night…” (Genesis 1:14).

This language is used to describe the temple-builders as they construct the lampstands in the holy place. Beale comments:

The word lights in the creation narrative is peculiar, as the same term is applied to the lampstand in Israel’s tabernacle: “the lampstand that is for light with its accessories, lamps and oil for the light” (Ex 35:14; cf. 39:37; Num 4:9). The lights within the cosmos, therefore, function as cultic luminaries that shine throughout God’s cosmic temple, just as the lights on the lampstand illuminate the Holy Place of Israel’s temple…Several scholars have even compared the construction of Israel’s mobile tabernacle to the creation of the cosmos, concluding that God is indeed fashioning a cosmic temple in Genesis 1–2.4

Moreover, from the outer court to the Holy of Holies, each layer of God’s dwelling pointed to some aspect of God’s original creation—the furnishings, the curtains’ colors, the priest’s robes, etc.5 Thus, what can we conclude about the Biblical author’s understanding of creation? Genesis 1-2 was a narrative about a cosmic sanctuary and, most of all, its Builder.

This becomes even clearer when examining Eden itself. As noted above, Eden was the first temple, being the prototype of what the entire globe was to reflect by the work of Adam and his bride.

Adam, therefore, was the first earthly priest, since he was called to “work” and “keep” the garden, the same two Hebrew words used of the priests in Numbers 3:6-10.

Since the Temple of God was considered to be on God’s holy mountain (2 Chronicles 3:1), Ezekiel later calls the Garden of Eden a temple by referring to it as “The garden of God…the holy mount of God” containing “sanctuaries” (Ezek 28:13–14, 16, 18).

Ezekiel also prophesies a future temple with a river of life flowing from the sanctuary, meant to point the reader back to Eden, where the river flowed, giving life to the rest of creation.

Lastly, even the Psalmsists read the creation account and concluded,

“He built his sanctuary like the high heavens, like the earth, which he has founded forever” (Ps 78:69).

And in Psalm 148, the Psalmist commands that the LORD be praised, not just by humans, but by all of creation. From the sun and moon, to the waters above the heavens, to the cedar and fruit trees—all of creation is commanded to praise Yahweh, the Lord of life. What does this all mean? All of creation praises God simply by existing.

After all,

“The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1).

Beale concludes:

“Why is it important that we understand Eden as a sanctuary created for God’s glory? This insight reveals two important points: God ultimately wants to dwell with the created order in all his fullness, and Adam and Eve play a critical role in accomplishing that goal.”6

Therefore, all of creation is God’s cosmic temple, Eden being the most holy place, which would be cultivated to escalate all of creation to its true consummation.

Purchase Here

Creation: The Stage for The Redemptive Drama

Not only is Genesis 1 about God building a temple for all His creation to draw near and have fellowship with Him, but it also concerns a God who made the world for consummation. Even before Adam and Eve sinned, the world was made “very good” but incomplete. God had a greater goal for creation, something better than the beginning, namely, glorification.

Hence, God’s six-day creation: He was setting up the week to consummate in a day of rest, which set up the trajectory for all creation to be brought to “a state of mature and permanent glory.”7 God created His cosmic temple in six days to bring it to an eternal sabbath (consummation) through the work of one man and his bride.

If the Sabbath day was spring training, the eternal sabbath is the full swing of the season. If the sabbath day was the dress rehearsal, the eternal sabbath is the true display. If the sabbath day was the temporary enjoyment of God’s unique presence, the eternal sabbath is the full enjoyment that never ends.

Adam, as the first priest of creation, was meant to spread the glory of Eden across the globe so that the glory of the Lord would cover the earth as the waters cover the sea:

“And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth’” (Genesis 1:28).

They were created for eternal glory; they were given a mission to take creation there, but Adam failed, forfeiting their right to the tree of life, a life they could have enjoyed and given to all of their offspring. Man fell from that glory to be obtained by their obedience (Romans 3:23) and landed in the pungent, entangling swamp of sin.

Who will bring redemption? Who will deliver our souls and all of creation from the curse of sin? Enter stage right, Jesus of Nazareth.

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible…all things were created through him and for him.”

(Colossians 1:15–16).

Back up, read that again. All things were created through Him, and for Him.

God is weaving even the fall of man into His glorious Plan A, not fixing up a secondary Plan B. God’s decree for all of creation and history was always meant to reach its climax in the coming of the true temple of God, Jesus Christ, the lamb slain from the foundation of the world (John 2:19; Revelation 13:8).

Through one Man and His bride (the church), the mission of bringing all of creation to it’s consumate sabbath rest would be accomplished. He does so here and now spiritually, and later physically in a new heavens and a new earth. Thus, this glory is already seen dimly through Christ’s Word and Spirit through His church, but it is not yet fully realized.

Christ, by His life, death, and resurrection on behalf of guilty sinners, brings rest to our souls, and creates for Himself a people, a “bride,” a new temple, His new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Jesus’ work embodies, in some sense, the creation week. Jesus accomplishes His work through His active obedience and is then crucified on a Friday. He sleeps in the tomb through the Jewish sabbath, but then on the first day of a new week, He rises or enters His rest, inaugurating the new creation which guarantees, first, a spiritual then a physical, eternal rest for all true believers.

Now, through faith alone, the church becomes the temple of the living God. The church is the present foretaste of the eternal sabbath to come, when Christ gathers His people from every tribe and tongue into a new creation wherein righteousness dwells.

Through one man and his bride came sin and death. Through one Man and His bride comes redemption and life.

Conclusion

To what end did God create the world? To put it in the form of a catechism:

Q: What is the chief end of God’s creation?

A: God’s chief end is to glorify Himself through His creatures enjoying His Son in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit forever.

Through leaning into God’s intent in Genesis 1, we can live in this glorious cosmic temple, no longer looking around with wonder and dismay, being struck with a sense of purposelessness; we can step with both feet into the purpose of knowing, experiencing, and imaging the glory of our Creator.

That revelation of glory climaxes in the coming of the true temple, Jesus Christ, who builds a spiritual temple of God on earth—the Church—where mankind can, by the power of the Spirit, see and savor the glory of God anew, since,

“…you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5).

We respond worshipfully to the Savior, awaiting the day when He will come again to bring us back to His sinless cosmic temple. The new creation will be better than the first one—a temple without walls with glory that covers the earth as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14).

Shop Coffee

Welcome back to Theology Thursday!

This one takes a different shape, with a two-fold goal: to give you a (not-so) bite-sized lesson in Orthodox Biblical doctrine and to promote unity in the gospel amid secondary disagreements.

Concept: The “Days” of Genesis 1

Genesis 1 is essentially about three things: God, space, and time. Or to add a fourth, it’s about how God acts in space and time.1 The question we wrestle with is “What kind of time is it about?” Thankfully, Christianity wasn’t invented last Tuesday, so we’re not the first to think through this matter. In fact, it’s been answered by godly, orthodox Christians in slightly different ways throughout the centuries. Here are 7 (or 8) different orthodox views:

View #1: Instantaneous Time

This view teaches that God created the universe (as the name suggests) in an instant. The universe came into being all at once. The days of Genesis 1, then, are simply God’s method of revealing His creative work to us so we can understand it.

Most popular proponent: St. Augustine

View #2: Revelation Time

This view does not see the days as 24-hour, ordinary days, but merely what God said about what He made, so that the six days are merely the time God took to tell His creatures about creation. In other words, God made all things in a moment, but took six days to tell us.

Most popular proponent: PJ Wiseman

View #3: Indefinite Time (Day-age Theory)

This view teaches that the “days” of creation are not to be interpreted literally, but are figurative expressions of indefinite periods of time. Each “day” equals an age of potentially millions of years.

Most popular proponents: Ireneous; Basil; Origen; Thomas Aquinas; Timothy Keller; Sir William Dawson.

View #4: Gapped Time (Gap Theory or Theories)

This view holds that Genesis 1:2 indicates a gap of millions of years between the beginning of creation (Genesis 1:1) and the first day of creation (Genesis 1:3). After Genesis 1:1, Satan fell and was judged, causing a formless and void world, necessitating God to continue his work of cultivation and creation. Another variation of this view is that there are multiple time gaps in between the days as creation progressed. This is sometimes called “Intermittent time.” (That last line could point to a distinct view from the rest, but I lumped it with the gap theory due to the similarities)

Most popular proponents: Thomas Chalmers; C.I. Scofield; John C. Lennox

View #5: Framework Time (Framework Theory)

This interpretation sees the days of creation as arranged in a topical fashion rather than a chronological one. They are not six literal days that move successively, but Moses, in this view, intended to arrange certain creation days to correspond to other creation days.

Day 1 = Day 4 (Light—>Sun & Moon) Day 2 = Day 5 (Skies & Waters—>filling the sky with birds and sea with fish), etc. If there is any chronology in this view, it emphasizes six topically arranged days followed by one climactic day—the Sabbath.

Most popular proponent: Meredith Kline

View #6: Analogous Time

This interpretation sees the days of Creation as “days” from God’s perspective or “God-days.” God doesn’t have “days” like He doesn’t have an “arm,” etc., since He is immaterial and eternal, not bound by time. Thus, these are not ordinary, literal days, but God simply communicates the creation days to us analogically or in human terms so that we might understand them. The “days” in this view are anthropomorphisms (Attributing human attributes to God so that we would understand his works in the world).

Most popular proponent: W.T. Shed; Jack Collins

View #7: Literal Time (The traditional view)

This interpretation sees the “Days” of Genesis 1 as referring to ordinary, literal 24-hour days. This is the view I hold. Here are a few reasons.

First, I believe the Hebrew prose of Genesis 1 is historical prose. Hebrew Scholar, Jonathan Gibson, points out that, while this is likely “highly stylized Hebrew prose,” there are 55 wayyiqtol verbs (simple past tense verbs, e.g. “And God said…”) that appear continuously from Genesis 1:1-2:3 with no break that takes us off the mainline. This is a key feature of literal historical accounts. Therefore, we have a chronology of six consecutive days (day 1, followed by day 2, etc.) with no break in the narrative, leaving us with no possibility to insert gaps or dechronologize them. As Gibson points out, readers have virtually never dechronologized consecutive days with continuous wayyiqtol verbs since the beginning of the world, so let’s not attempt to do that now with Genesis 1. To do so would be a disservice to the text.

Second, the word “yom,” translated “day” in Genesis 1, is used elsewhere in historical narratives as referring to a literal 24-hour day, so it would be reasonable to conclude that yom in Genesis 1 refers to the same.

Third, later revelation clarifies that Genesis 1:1-2:3 speaks of the absolute beginning of history. The phrase “In the beginning” refers to the absolute beginning of creation and humanity. Jesus and the apostles speak of created things and place them at the “beginning”—Creation of the world (Matthew 24:21; 2 Peter 3:4), male and female in marriage (Matthew 19:4), the work of the devil (the serpent) as a liar and murderer (John 8:4).

In many a debate, there is a ditch on both sides: treating the Bible as a manual that speaks authoritatively on all things science.

While it’s right to see that science and Scripture are in total harmony, what if trying to get a scientific record from Genesis 1 is not the point? What if Genesis 1 is not the science manual God gave us to take down Darwinian Evolution and determine the exact age of the earth? These issues have been placed front and center in our modern minds, giving rise to a loss of the beauty Moses intended to communicate.

The Bible is not a science manual, so we ought not treat it like one. While it speaks accurately and inerrantly whenever it touches those subjects, the doctrine of the Bible’s sufficiency teaches us that the Bible is only sufficient for that for which it was given. That is, to reveal to us who God is and His work of redemption.

I hope to demonstrate this in my next post. I’ll continue my study on creation, and point out the intent of Moses when he wrote, and how later revelation clarifies the intent of the Divine Author when He inspired Genesis 1.

Purchase Here

Welcome back to Theology Thursday!

Here is your bite-sized lesson in orthodox biblical doctrine in 3 simple steps:

ONE concept explained

TWO concise definitions that must be kept distinct

THREE Scripture passages to meditate on

Concept: The Doctrine of Creation

The beauty of our world strikes us: The light breeze on our face, the sight of leaves hanging and falling, the push and pull of the ocean’s roar, the birds soaring through the air, the whale speeding through the deep. Most of all, we prioritize people with whom we share love, meals, embraces, friendships, and life-long vows. All of this has come solely from a Creator, a Creator who, with great precision and intelligence, designed the world by His very word, and all very good.

God is the eternal, uncaused first cause of all things. He created all things visible and invisible out of nothing (not building upon preexisting matter or “stuff”) in the space of six days, and on the seventh day, He rested. The creative decree of Father, Son, and Spirit emphasizes His transcendence: He is vastly above all His creatures. In fact, Christian Theology centers on the distinction between the Creator and the creature. It also emphasizes His self-existence or asiety. He depends upon nothing and no one for His existence. Rather, He is the fountain of all life and being. Lastly, it grounds the doctrine of revelation. Geerhardus Vos summarizes, “A God who by a self-conscious act of freedom brings the universe into existence cannot desire to do anything other than to reveal Himself directly in an unmistakable way to the world thus created.”1 Thankfully, in the person of Jesus, we behold the Creator who became flesh, dwelt among us, and infallibly revealed who God is. To behold Christ is to behold the Creator God.

(How are we to interpret the “days” of Genesis 1? Next week, we’ll explore the various views of creation that good, godly men and women have held throughout the centuries, and I will share my personal view and why I hold to it. For now, let’s not miss the point of Genesis 1, which is “Cosmic temple-building.” The Triune God is the Creator of all things, and thus, He is God, and we are not.)

Definitions/Distinctions:

Immanent Trinity (ad intra): Ad intra is a Latin phrase used to describe how Scripture reveals the inner life of the Triune God—God’s very essence—which none can fully comprehend except God alone. God is ontologically one essence and three persons. Thus, the acts of God ad intra (the personal relations that distinguish persons of the Trinity) are eternal, have no reference to anything outside of God, and cannot be bound by space, “days,” or time.

Economic Trinity (ad extra): Ad extra is a Latin phrase used to describe how Scripture reveals the Trinity’s external works in the world. God reveals Himself economically and externally in the acts of creation and providence. Thus, the acts of God ad extra happen in time and have reference to everything outside of God Himself, namely, to creatures, with whom God cannot be compared.

Passages:

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.”

Genesis 1:1–3

“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,

The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,

What is man that You are mindful of him,

And the son of man that You visit him?”

Psalm 8:3–4 (NKJV)

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

Colossians 1:15–17

Purchase Here

Welcome back to Theology Thursday!

Here is your bite-sized lesson in orthodox biblical doctrine in 3 simple steps:

ONE concept explained

TWO concise definitions that must be kept distinct

THREE Scripture passages to meditate on

Concept: Election or Predestination unto life

Believers in Jesus are described as many things. One is that they are chosen by God. The Doctrine of Election teaches that out of God’s sheer mercy, before there were ever stars in the sky or fish in the sea or humans on the earth—before time itself—God chose to save and adopt a multitude of guilty sinners with nothing about them serving as a condition or cause moving Him to do so. He chose His children merely out of His free grace and love, for His own glory. The Bible says this is according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, and for obedience to the Lord Jesus and sprinkling with His blood.

What comes to your mind when you read that? Some think of it like a black hole of mysteries that is to be avoided, while others treat it as a battering ram to beat down their opponents. But what should come to your mind? When Peter wrote to a group of struggling, persecuted, and suffering Christians, what did he want them to know as soon as they received his letter? “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to God’s Elect…” (1 Peter 1:1 NIV). Our minds should ascend to God’s majestic plan of salvation, and we should be humbled as well as comforted. In light of our sinfulness, it’s a wonder that God would choose anyone at all. Additionally, we must marvel that one of the many reasons God won’t forsake us in our suffering is that long before there were stars in the heavens, He set His love on us. These may sound like sappy love song lyrics. But rather, this is a literal doctrinal truth to rejoice the heart.

Shop Coffee

Definitions/Distinctions

Foreordination or Decree: This is an umbrella term that refers to what God determined before creation would take place in time and history. This refers generally to all that comes to pass, but it is tied to predestination, which includes (among other things) God’s election of His church.

Foreknowledge: In the Semitic world, to foreknow means to forelove. Adam knew Eve, which speaks of a deep, intimate relationship. When God’s sovereignty in salvation is attributed to the foreknowledge of God, this does not refer to mere events that God knows will happen; the object is people. God foreknows and set His distinguishing relational love on a specific people whom He has determined to show mercy.

Passages:

“To those who are elect exiles…according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood…”

1 Peter 1:1–2

“In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.”

Ephesians 1:11

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”

Romans 8:29–30

Purchase Here

We live in an unprecedented time, where all the problems of the world demand our constant attention and immediate judgment on social media. Through technology, we’re connected to events all over the nation and the world. Very quickly, people are polarized into those who are “for” and those who are “against” whatever controversy happens to be raging this week. We are expected to make a quick decision based on limited evidence and with limited impact upon our life or upon the lives of people near us. Some people seem to get a thrill out of the controversy and “taking a stand,” and making their voice heard, while others are exhausted by it all.

This raises an important question. Are we responsible for every controversy? And if we’re not responsible for it, should we even be weighing in? What things are our responsibility and what aren’t?

1. Moral proximity

This biblical principle teaches that you are responsible for problems that are closest to you, beginning in your family, then in your church, then in your local community, but the further out you get in terms of relationship, distance, and time, the less personally responsible you are.

This moral principle is partly based on a clear understanding of human nature. Human beings are limited creatures with limited powers. We are simply not capable of exercising responsibility over all the problems of the world. And to the degree that we try to do so, we do it very badly, and often make matters worse than had we not interfered at all. Therefore, the Bible teaches that we live within spheres of responsibility which correspond to our powers within those spheres.

Consider a few passages of Scripture that teach this principle of moral proximity.

1 Timothy 4:8 says, “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for the members of his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” In other words, we are responsible first for our own family unit, and only after that, to our relatives in extended family.

Galatians 6:10 says, “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” Notice that we are to do good to everyone, if we have the opportunity to do so. But this is not commanding us to do good to people if we don’t have the opportunity. While we are to do good to all, the Bible says that we are especially to do good to other Christians. So, if we must choose between doing good to a non-Christian and a Christian, we must choose the Christian. This principle is further narrowed to one’s own local church, as illustrated by the “one another” passages which are directed to particular local churches.

Christ’s parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:35-37 illustrates the doctrine of moral proximity as well. When the Samaritan walked into physical proximity of the man beaten by robbers, he became responsible to do what he could to save his life. He had the power to do something; so, he did. Before the Samaritan was in moral proximity, he had no responsibility to do anything about the man beaten by robbers.

Jeremiah 29:7 says, “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare, you will find your welfare.” After our families and churches, we are responsible within our local municipalities to do good, and to look after the welfare of our neighbors.

The Westminster Larger Catechism, Q99, A5 says, “What God forbids is at no time to be done; what he commands, is always our duty, and yet every particular duty is not to be done at all times (Matt 12:7).” This implies that while we are to serve the poor, feed the hungry, and work for justice, we aren’t to do this all the time, but only according to our moral proximity and our station and calling in life.

2. Problems with ignoring moral proximity on social media

Problems arise when people don’t observe this biblical teaching about moral proximity. The Bible warns, “Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears” (Prov 26:17). That is, bad things tend to happen if we fail to observe moral proximity.

Negative repercussions

People who weigh in on every social media debate sometimes have a false sense of accomplishment. They think because they give their opinion on an issue, they are dealing a blow for justice. But in fact, they have done very little. Worse, they sometimes feel like they’ve done the right thing and even honored the Lord, when in fact, they have not.

On the flip side, some hear about injustices on social media, and they feel tremendous guilt that they can’t do more. They have a feeling that they should do something, but they don’t know what to do. Even after “speaking out,” they still feel anger and guilt because speaking out didn’t actually accomplish anything.

People who forget the doctrine of moral proximity have the weight of the whole world resting upon their shoulders when they have no real power to be able to do anything about it. They also often invest a tremendous amount of time and energy into problems they have no power to resolve. If they invested the same amount of time and effort into matters morally proximate to them, they could actually do much more good because they would have much more influence.

Gossip and slander

One of the problems with trying to “do justice” on social media is that good information is nearly always lacking. By its very nature, social media is reductionistic. It lacks context. It has become easier and more common for people to fabricate injustices just to create outrage. Misrepresentation abounds, not only from internet trolls, but from news agencies and official sources.

Well-meaning people see allegations of injustice on social media, and they feel outrage. They feel compelled to speak out publicly, and they might even condemn the accused in the name of justice. But the Scriptures give warning about hasty conclusions in controversies. The Bible frequently speaks of the need for two or three witnesses (Deut 19:15; Matt 18:16; 2 Cor 13:1), or two or three independent lines of evidence to establish a matter.

Scripture gives a strong warning against gossip and mob justice in Exodus 23:1-3, saying:

“You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness. You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many so as to pervert justice, nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit.”

It’s far better to remain silent than to become a gossip or a slanderer. The word “Satan” means accuser. The word “Devil” means slanderer. Christians shouldn’t repeat a matter unless they have followed the biblical procedure for verification.

3. Faithfully discharging moral proximity

How then should we exercise our moral responsibility? We should invest most of our personal energy into our homes, our churches, our workplaces, and our local communities. Yes, we should be educated on national issues and try to vote wisely, but comparatively, our influence on national issues will ordinarily be quite small compared to our ability to influence things more locally. And certainly, there may be some controversies and matters of justice in which social media can be a useful mechanism. But Christians need to be careful to remember its dangers and limitations.

Author:

This article is from the blog of Pastor Tom Hicks (used with permission).

Purchase Here

Recently, I preached on The Great Commission. It’s the task given to the church to serve Christ by making disciples who are centered on His sufficiency. This presupposes the need for and beauty of the church—a covenant community of baptized believers under the preaching of the Word.

This all sounds great. And it is!

We neglect the community of believers to the detriment of our own souls and those around us. There is great joy to be found as you commit yourself to God’s people.

But wasn’t it the great American philosopher Mike Tyson who said, “Everyone’s got a plan until you get punched in the mouth”?

So what about when you’re wounded by the church?

Something I see and hear often is a reluctance to commit to God’s people because of the wounds we have received at the hands of other believers. I’m not just talking about those who are professing to be believers but are not true Christians. No, I’m talking about actual believers who hurt us.

This is a very real thing. Being in a family comes with its fair share of conflict and wounds. It would be enough to have the world, the flesh, and the devil to deal with, but when Christians hurt us, it’s a whole other level of overwhelming.

I fear that if we don’t deal with these hurts biblically, we toe the line between the two sins: bitterness or utter despondency.

Today, I want to draw your attention to a wounded disciple—Jeremiah. More than just a learner of God’s truth, he was a preacher of God’s truth. He was called by God to go to the southern kingdom of Judah and be a prophet who calls them to repentance. Jeremiah was set apart from his mother’s womb.

It was a beautiful yet difficult calling because along with the calling came the promise that everyone he preaches to will not listen and will not change.

Israel is in a horrible spot. God’s covenant people have rebelled by worshiping false gods. Though God had graciously given them the promised land, like Adam and Eve in the garden, Israel’s unfaithfulness will lead to them being kicked out of their paradise. Things have gotten so bad that God had already told Jeremiah to stop praying for them because they had reached a point of no return.

This increases Jeremiah’s hurt. He’s burdened. He’s despairing. He is hurt by his own people. And in Jeremiah 15, he pours it all out to His God.

Yet Jeremiah’s story is meant to point us to the greatest Prophet who would come to Israel, weep for them, be wounded, and yet establish the new covenant and accomplish the mission of renewing the heart.

The point we see in this passage is simple:

Though following Christ comes with temporary wounds and hardship, our Savior sustains us with eternal hope.

1. The Wounded Prophet

In chapter 15:15-21, Jeremiah reaches a breaking point.

First, he curses the day of his birth. He pronounces woe on his mother for giving birth to him because of his painful life.

He calls himself a man of strife and contention.

Second, we see that he is cursed by all. Literally, the whole land of Judah ridicules him and hates him for the message he is preaching. Later, they will throw him into a pit of mud because of their anger. Essentially, they try to kill him.

Yet even in this moment, God reminds Jeremiah of something essential: he is still under divine protection.

God assures him that He has been with him and has plans to preserve a remnant. But God also doubles down on the judgment that will come upon Judah. No one will stop the Babylonians. Bronze in Scripture often represents God’s judgment. Babylon will be a tool of that judgment.

2. The Complaint of a Wounded Prophet

Jeremiah pours out his heart to God.

“O LORD, You know.” (v15)

He declares that it is for God’s sake that he is suffering. He bears reproach—taunting and shame from others.

Then he appeals to his past faithfulness.

“God, I love your word! I’ve done nothing but steward this calling faithfully. I didn’t partake in their sinfulness. I’ve been a good guy. This can’t be happening to me.”

He blames God for his loneliness and anger. In other words: “So this is what I get for serving you?”

Then Jeremiah says something shocking. He calls God a deceitful brook (v18)—like a mirage in the desert that promises water but fails to deliver.

You are like a mirage to me, God.

When I read those words, I cringe. Here are two reasons why:

First, Jeremiah is a prophet who knows the true character of God. How can he accuse the faithful God of unfaithfulness? Who does He think He is?!

The second reason I cringe: his words remind me so much of my own. I have prayed like this. I’ve questioned God’s ways in the world and even in the church.

This is what it means to give into despondency. We are filled with self-pity and bitterness because of what others have done to us. We can even blame God.

How can we not relate?

God, I loved that pastor, and he treated me with contempt. How could you let that happen?

God, I loved that church member for years, and now they stab me in the back. How could you let this happen?

I remember receiving my first hate letter in ministry. I knew it was coming eventually. But I was bitter, hateful, and despondent. I wanted to quit the ministry right there.

In the midst of serving Christ, I saw a deep tendency in me to become bitter toward others or even toward God. And watch out, that bitterness can pollute the stream of ministry that flows out of you.

3. The Restoration of a Wounded Prophet

God responds to Jeremiah. Aren’t you glad that He doesn’t forsake His children even when they go off the rails? In the depths of our honesty, He retrieves us.

God’s cure for the wounded disciple comes in three ways: repentance, resistance, and reassurance.

Repentance

God begins with a surprising word:

“If you return…”

In other words: repent.

You might think, “But Jeremiah loves God! He’s a prophet no less!” Yet evidently, you can be far from God even when you’re serving Him.

Yes, others have hurt us. But God reminds us that vengeance belongs to Him. He calls us to repentance even when we’ve been wronged because there are areas of our character that need refining.

Our culture gives different advice. It tells us to wrong others in return, assert ourselves, or adopt a victim mentality. When we’re wronged, we often focus entirely on ourselves, and bitterness sets in.

But when we respond poorly, God lovingly calls us back to Himself.

Wounds only get worse when we keep picking at them, and bitterness stops the healing process.

When wronged, repentance is crucial because we are looking to Christ and His righteousness alone.

This provides the mindset shift needed for those who expected to never bear a cross in this life as followers of Jesus.

Amy Carmichael wrote:

“Have you no wound? No scar? Yes as the master shall the servant be and pierced are the feet that follow me. But you are whole! Could he have followed far who has no wound, no scar?”

When wounded, we conform to the Christ-pattern of death and resurrection; we share in His sufferings and glory. No one knows what it is to be wounded by His own people more than Jesus Christ.

He is the true weeping prophet. While He was wounded by His accusers, He cried out, “Father, forgive them.”

Because He forgave us when our sins nailed Him to the cross, we can walk in healing and forgiveness toward others.

Resistance

Next, God strengthens Jeremiah; namely, God strengthens his resistance.

God says he will become a “fortified wall of bronze”—impenetrable and mighty.

People will fight against him, but they will not prevail. He will be attacked but not broken.

By healing Jeremiah of his sin, God gives him a soft heart. By strengthening him, God gives him thick skin.

God wants to build you back up, Christian. If you’ve been broken down by sin or church hurt, God wants to restore you. He calls you to humble yourself to receive His strength.

Reassurance

Finally, God reassures Jeremiah with a promise:

“For I am with you to save you and deliver you…I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless” (Jeremiah 15:21).

Jeremiah might have asked why he had to endure these trials. God never answers that question. Instead, He answers the who question.

Remember Job. After asking “why?” again and again, God revealed His glory but never explained the reason.

“Job never got an answer to the ‘why?’ question, but he saw God—and that was enough.”1

You may never receive an answer to why you received certain wounds. But you always get God. And knowing He is with you will always be enough.

Paul said the same thing near the end of his life when many forsook him: “But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me.”

God also reassures Jeremiah with the promise of deliverance. Jeremiah knew the stories of God delivering Joseph and rescuing Israel from Egypt. These promises strengthened his faith.

But we have an even greater assurance.

These themes of redemption and deliverance reach their climax in Jesus Christ, who was wounded to redeem us from sin, death, and hell.

One day Christ will return and make all things new. Every tear will be wiped away. No more pain. No more conflict. No more sin.

We will behold our Savior face to face and see the One who was both wounded more than any of us and sympathizes with all our weaknesses.

Final Encouragement

So have you been hurt, Christian? Have you been hurt by other disciples?

God wants to bring you back.
He wants to build you up.
He wants to bolster your faith.

He calls you to repentance, strengthens your resistance, and provides constant reassurance.

Though following Christ comes with temporal wounds and hardship, our Savior sustains us with eternal hope.2

“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).

How many of us have heard this verse? It’s one of those coffee-cup Bible verses—found on plaques, t-shirts, and memes. But it’s also one of the most misunderstood verses in Scripture.

This typically happens when we miss the various contexts in which a verse appears. We treat the Bible like our personal promise book to meet our felt needs. Instead of allowing Scripture to set the agenda, we bring our agenda to Scripture and bend it to our will. We desire personalized revelation rather than what God has always intended to communicate.

To faithfully understand this passage, let’s follow the pattern in the previous posts:

1. Its normal misunderstanding

2. Its surrounding context(s)

3. Its faithful applications

Its Normal Misunderstanding

This verse is often presented like this:

“If you train your child the right way, check all your biblical boxes, your child is guaranteed to walk with God. Sure, they might wander, but they’ll come back. After all, it says right here they will not depart.”

I’ve heard people tell struggling parents, “Don’t worry—what does the Bible promise you?”

If treated like this, the verse can be discouraging at best and utterly debilitating at worst. It can crush parents whose children walk away. It can make them doubt their labor and even doubt the Savior.

How did we get here?

It is likely because Proverbs is often treated like a book of fail-proof promises instead of what it actually is—a book of proverbs, short sayings and principles that lead us in the knowledge of God and man, two things which are part and parcel of true wisdom.

The Surrounding Context(s)

The Immediate Context

Proverbs 22 is a collection of short sayings from Solomon. If you read verses 1–6, you’ll notice there isn’t a tight argument tying everything together. We move from good reputations to riches and poverty to parenting.

What we’re seeing are principles—truisms—generally true statements about how the world works. These are not iron-clad guarantees. They illustrate God’s ideal design.

The Book of Proverbs

Proverbs is considered wisdom literature. It is an invitation to pursue a path of godly wisdom. The contrasts of lady folly and lady wisdom are instructive—those who follow folly walk toward destruction; those who follow wisdom walk toward life.

But Proverbs gives general principles, not promises. It shows the ideal. It does not always factor in life’s complexities, God’s providence, or the fallenness of the world.

Other wisdom books like Job and Ecclesiastes highlight those exceptions. Job shows a righteous man suffering. Ecclesiastes shows the complexities of life even when lived wisely. It’s as if Proverbs shows the ideal, and Ecclesiastes shows what’s real.

Here’s an illustration:
If I say, “If you put your key in the ignition and turn it, your car will start.”

What’s your first thought? “Well, yeah! That’s how things work!”

But is that a promise? No. The battery could be dead. The engine could fail. The statement is generally true—but not fail-proof.

So when Proverbs 22:6 says to train up a child, and they will not depart, we must understand it as God’s ideal—a general principle—not a guaranteed outcome.

This takes a weight off. It reveals wisdom in training our children. It gives a general expectation that parenting shaped by God’s Word normally leads to good outcomes. But it does not guarantee salvation. It does not guarantee moral success. It does not mean it all depends on you.

Using it like a vending machine verse—good parenting in, good kids out—is actually foolish. It can produce discouragement if your child departs, or pride if they don’t. And pride is just as dangerous.

This proverb—like all of Proverbs—should point us to a wisdom outside ourselves that we must depend upon.

The Story of Redemption

If we stay only at the level of “try harder, be wiser,” we might begin to think our Christian identity depends on how wisely we parent.

But zoom out.

Wisdom is not merely an abstract principle. Wisdom is a person.

Proverbs 8 describes wisdom present before the foundations of the earth. And 1 Corinthians 1:30 tells us that Christ became to us wisdom from God—righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.

Christ is the Wisdom of God on display. He was wisdom in the beginning with God. He created all things. And the only wise God was treated like a fool on the cross and rose again to bring us into union with Himself.

The gospel is not: “Become a wise parent and you’ll be accepted.”
The gospel is: “You fool, look to Christ—wisdom incarnate—Who brings you back to your heavenly Father.”

Salvation and perseverance in godliness belong to the Lord.

So when we approach parenting, we do so not as people trying to secure God’s favor, but as people who already possess everything Christ is for sinners.

Faithful Applications

What can we learn from Proverbs as it relates to parenting? We learn three kinds of foolishness we must avoid:

1. To think it all depends on you.

2. To become passive and entrust training to someone else.

3. To not be trained in Scripture yourself.

Don’t entrust your child’s whole training to the government, the public school system, or other parents. And don’t assume Sunday is enough while neglecting their discipleship at home.

Children are a blessing from the Lord. There is no greater privilege than working with God in raising a human soul—thankfully, He equips us with the right means to do so.

Paul reminds Timothy of the sincere faith that dwelt in his mother and grandmother, and how, from childhood, he had been acquainted with the sacred writings, able to make him wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. So here are some principles for resting in Christ that lead to fostering family discipleship:

Pursuing Daily Rest

Family worship—read (Scripture or books that expound Scripture), pray, and sing for fifteen minutes a day. For my family and me, this typically happens right before bed.

If you are not discipling your children, the world will. If you’re not leading them to the green pastures of God’s Word, they will look for something lush outside of the home.

Pursuing Weekly Rest

Every family ought to pursue weekly worship on the Lord’s Day (Sunday) with the body of Christ and in the home.

Sunday is a gift—a weekly holiday given by God. Your children ought to see that the gathering of believers is not optional but necessary. They should see you sitting under gospel preaching, taking the Lord’s Supper, and practicing your gifts in the body of Christ.

I remember reading somewhere, “If you only attend church when it is convenient, you train your children to grow up to do the same thing.”

Men, God has called you to lead your family to a local church with qualified shepherds. The church is the safety we need in a hostile world.

Women, you have a vital role too—submitting, supporting, encouraging, and using your gifts for the flourishing of your husband and children in the body of Christ.

A Culture of Discipleship

Finally, avoid passivity in ordinary moments.

Build a culture of discipleship in the home where you don’t shy away from the random existential question that only appears just before the kids need to go to sleep…it’s hard, but we must embrace those moments!

Final Encouragement

Proverbs 22:6 is not a fail-proof promise, but a principle—something generally true in life.

Knowing this helps us look to Christ, the true Wisdom from God. It strengthens us when we are discouraged. It leads us to depend on Him for power and ongoing wisdom.

We do not put our hope in our parenting. But we do parent with hope.

We trust that the means of grace we lead our children to may do God’s work in His time—because this is what God has promised to bless.1

This series of articles is designed to help the reader avoid the errors that come from taking verses out of context to fuel the subtle desires in our hearts for personalized revelation.

Remember that toy where you press your hand into the metal pins, and it takes the shape of your hand or face (And we wonder where COVID really came from…)?

When we take verses out of context, that’s what we’re doing to Scripture—we’re molding it into our own image. But when we put Scripture back into its context and read it faithfully, the Holy Spirit does that to us—He presses His impression upon us. Christ, by the Spirit, conforms us into His image so that we become all He has redeemed us to be. This is what’s at stake when we misuse Scripture.

So let’s look at Philippians 4:13. Perhaps we’ve missed just how wonderful it truly is.

Let’s follow the same outline from the last post:

1. Its normal misunderstanding

2. Its surrounding context(s)

3. Its faithful application

The Normal Misunderstanding

“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Really? All things?

When reading/teaching the Bible, sometimes we enjoy saying, “All means all, and that’s all that all means.” If that’s the case, then we could conclude that through Christ’s strength we can literally do anything—pursue any goal, accomplish any task, heal ourselves, or even jump off a building and fly.

Those are absurd conclusions. “All things” cannot mean “all things” in this verse. Yet this is how the verse is often used in popular Christian culture: a Christian can do anything they set their mind to because Christ gives them strength.

But when we apply the verse this generally—“I can accomplish any goal because Christ strengthens me”—we miss Paul’s point and bend Scripture to our own desires.

Paul is not saying a Christian can literally do any task (spiritual or otherwise). He is speaking about something far more specific. The “all things” that Christ strengthens him to do are actually focused on “one thing.”

The Surrounding Context(s)

The Book

Philippians is a letter written by Paul the Apostle to believers in the Roman province and European city of Philippi. Paul writes from a Roman prison cell on his third missionary journey.

Why did he write? To express thanks and love to a church that supported his missionary work. The whole letter is filled with themes of gospel mission, partnership, and joy in Christ.

Paul emphasizes the centrality of Jesus Christ. Encountering the risen Christ is why Paul left his old life, why he labors in mission, and why he can rejoice even in suffering and imprisonment.

The Chapter

In chapter 4, Paul exhorts believers to rejoice in the Lord always. Notice—rejoice in the Lord—Paul is already hinting at a joy that is rooted in Christ, constant even in volatile circumstances.

In verses 10–14, Paul speaks about receiving financial support from the Philippians, but he is careful not to appear needy. Instead, he emphasizes thanksgiving and explains that he has learned the secret of being content.

He knew what it was to have little and to have much, yet in every circumstance, he was content. Contentment means finding joy and satisfaction in Christ in every situation. It doesn’t mean the absence of trouble or that life goes the way we want.

Paul is saying he can rejoice always because in all circumstances he is content.

How is that possible? Only through Christ Who strengthens him.

The Greek helps clarify this. It doesn’t say “all things” (though, of course, that can be a logical translation). It literally reads: “I am able, all, in Him strengthening me.” The “all” refers back to the circumstances in the previous verse. We could paraphrase it like this:

“I can be content in all my circumstances through Christ who continually strengthens me.”

And how does Paul know this? Many miss that we can’t understand Philippians 4:13 without Philippians 4:19, “My God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

As a Pastor friend of mine helpfully summarized, “Because God meets my every need in Christ, I can be content in every circumstance.”

The Story of Redemption

Does this not point us to how God has cared for His people throughout redemptive history? From the beginning, God has supplied every need of His people. Even basic needs like food, clothing, and shelter have always been connected to His larger plan of redemption.

God cared for Abraham when he left his homeland.
God cared for His people through Joseph in Egypt.
God preserved them in slavery and multiplied them under oppression.
God delivered them through Moses and sustained them in the wilderness—bread from heaven, water from a rock, and clothes that did not wear out.

All of this led to the coming of Jesus Christ, who, through His death and resurrection, brings us back to God. In His presence is fullness of joy—contentment, satisfaction, life.

In Christ, we have everything we need for life and godliness. God doesn’t give His blessings piece by piece—we already have all we need in Him, and thanks be to God, He’ll even provide our practical needs so that His redemptive work continues to form a people for Himself. According to the riches of Christ, we are fully provided for.

Faithful Application

1. Contentment Is Found in Knowing the Shepherd

When we know the Shepherd as He is offered in the gospel, we can say with David, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.”

This is the gospel-logic of true joy: The gospel brings us to God, and in His presence is fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11).

2. Contentment Is Learned

Contentment is not an event; it’s something that is learned. He learned it through two semesters in the school of contentment:

Semester one—having much.
Semester two—having little.

We must go through both semesters as well. In seasons of plenty, we thank the Giver for His gifts. In seasons of need, we look to Christ as our sole satisfaction. In both, we learn that God supplies every need. We have all we need in Christ instantly, but the experience of contentment grows over time as we learn to trust Him.

There’s someone who learned this in great difficulty.

A woman named Louisa M. R. Stead was once on the beach enjoying a day with her daughter and husband, when her husband suddenly ran into the water to save a drowning man. As with many drowning victims, he pulled Louisa’s husband under the water, and her husband drowned with him, right in front of Louisa and their daughter.

It was in this time of intense pain and loss that she penned the words:

“I’m so glad I learned to trust thee,

Precious Jesus, Savior, friend.

And I know that though art with me,

Twill be with me till the end.”

3. Contentment Comes Through Dependence on Christ

Whatever circumstance you are in, you can submit it to Christ, who placed you there. Dependence looks like prayer—pouring out your heart to God and asking Him to help you trust Him, knowing all the while that strength is only found in Him, the fountain of all life and blessedness.

Indeed, you learn contentment. You learn to trust Him. But you learn that you can only do this through Him who strengthens you.

Final Encouragement

Philippians 4:13 is not about achieving your dreams or accomplishing any goal you set your mind to. It is far better than that.

It is about having unshakable contentment in every circumstance because Christ is sufficient.

Never forget: because God meets every need in Christ, you can be content in every circumstance.

“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”1

We often enjoy treating the Bible like our personal promise book to meet our felt needs.

Instead of reading through the Scriptures systematically and in context, we bring our felt needs to our favorite feel-good verses for a massage. Thus, we don’t let the Bible set the agenda—we bring our agenda to Scripture. We pull verses out of their context because they make us feel good in a moment. It’s very natural for us to do, especially in our overly individualistic American context.

Some may think, “What’s the big deal?”

The reason this matters is that when we repeatedly treat the Bible like this, it can mislead our hearts or reveal something about them. It can reveal that we don’t submit to the authority of Scripture. Rather than allowing the Scriptures to bend us to God’s will, we bend the Scriptures to submit to our will. And most false teaching comes not from a complete rejection of the Bible, but from a misreading of the Bible.

Worst of all, Bible verses ripped from their context and used in contradiction to their intended meaning are no longer God’s Word—we’re simply robbing language to propagate our word. God’s Word is the meaning of any verse in light of its context and what the author intended to convey.

So consider one of the most misused verses in the Bible: Jeremiah 29:11. You’ll find it on plaques, pillows, mugs, and paperweights. As the most searched for Bible verses on the internet, it’s often taken as a fail-proof promise that God will bring about nothing but good things in your life—that God wants to bless your plans.

Is that what the verse means?

My brother-in-law, Pastor Skylar Dunham, once humorously called a series on misused Bible verses, “Coffee Cup Theology: Sipping on the Clarity of Context.”

So let’s drink deeply together: We’ll take a look at its common misunderstanding, its surrounding context(s), and its faithful application.

The Common Misunderstanding

When taken apart from its context, Jeremiah 29:11 can sound like this:

“God wants you to know everything is going to be fine. He will bless you and prosper you, and all your dreams will come true if you just believe.”

This turns the verse into a personal promise we lay claim to: “God wants to bless my plans.”

There were false prophets in Jeremiah’s day preaching something very similar. They cried “Peace, peace!” even though there was no peace. They promised good news based on temporal prosperity.

This same distortion shows up today in what is often called the “prosperity gospel” or, in more modern terms, the “God exists to fulfill my hope and dreams” gospel. It makes us the centerpiece of the Bible and distorts the true gospel. It presents God as a Santa Claus figure who gives out free stuff rather than a Father who knows, cares, and disciplines.

This false gospel avoids suffering, ignores self-denial, and misunderstands God’s timing. It repackages the American dream and makes us want God’s gifts rather than God Himself, like marrying someone just for their money.

So the question is: what does Jeremiah 29:11 actually mean?

The Surrounding Context

We must interpret any verse in its context—the chapter, the book, and the whole storyline of Scripture.

The Chapter

Jeremiah 29 is a letter from God to the exiles taken from Jerusalem to Babylon. God tells them to settle down, build houses, and seek the welfare of the city. He tells them to reject the lies of false prophets.

Then comes the key: God tells them they will be in Babylon for seventy years—A very bleak existence. But after that, God will bring them back.

Then He says, “For I know the plans I have for you… plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

God does have plans for them—but not to make life easy or fulfill all their dreams. His message is that God’s people must trust His plan even when things are hard.

The word translated “welfare” is the Hebrew word shalom, a rich word meaning wholeness, peace, everything being the way it was meant to be. God essentially says, “My plans for you are shalom.”

The Book

In the book of Jeremiah, God is judging Israel for idolatry. Yet He promises to restore His people—not just to land, but to Himself. Here we start finding hints of the fullness of this promise.

First, His promise, like a lot of the promises in Jeremiah, is primarily corporate, not individual. The “you” is plural.

Additionally, the promise is not merely material but spiritual. God promises a new covenant—a new heart (that will love and obey Him), the forgiveness of sins, and new power.

Finally, this promise is not merely for now, but for the future. Some of those exiled would not live to see its fulfillment. Yet the future is bright because God’s promises extend to a new heavens and new earth.

The Story of Scripture

From Genesis onward, God promised redemption through the skull-crushing seed of the Woman who will restore the covenant that God’s people broke. That promise is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who establishes the new covenant through His death and resurrection.

The good news was never primarily material blessing—it was the reconciliation of guilty sinners to God.

Jesus Christ is the true fulfillment of Jeremiah 29:11 because only Jesus can restore the shalom that sin destroyed.

Faithful Application

Jeremiah 29 contains a beautiful promise: we can remain faithful in exile because, despite our pain, God is sovereignly working out His plan for our good and His glory. Though this verse was not written to us, it was written for us.

Receive This Promise as a Body

The “you” in this verse is in the plural—it’s not an individual promise. This promise belongs to the corporate, gathered people of God. God’s plan for His people is peace—an inner peace that cannot be shaken by difficulty.

The promise of peace is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of God with His people. He uses the church to comfort, strengthen, and build one another up.

Resting in God’s promises is a community project.

Apply It Spiritually in Light of the Gospel

Like Israel, we are exiles in a foreign land. We await our heavenly home. This life will include pain and struggle, but we must trust God’s plan.

Any gospel that leaves no room for suffering or self-denial is not the true gospel. Pain is often how God shapes us and causes us to persevere.

So yes, claim Jeremiah 29:11—but claim it in Christ. The gospel is not that all your career dreams come true, or that your finances are blessed, or that you will avoid pain, or that every desire will be fulfilled. God may bless you with those things, but they are not the good news.

The gospel is a person—Jesus Christ—who gave Himself for us, entered our suffering, and reconciled us to God. God’s plan for your life is not for you to build your own kingdom, but to thrive under His.

Look to the Ultimate Future

A day is coming when all God’s promises will be fully realized. Christ will return, every injustice will be made right, death will be no more, and every tear will be wiped away.

That day is not yet here. For now, God sees every tear and knows every pain. Not one tear falls unnoticed by your heavenly Father.

Final Encouragement

Jeremiah 29:11 does not promise God will fulfill your hopes and your dreams. It promises you something far greater:

God Himself—His sovereign plan, His redeeming grace, and a future hope that cannot be taken away.

To state the obvious, God knows what He is doing. As pastor Jeremy Treat put it, God had a wonderful plan for Job’s life. But Job lost everything, including his family, for a time. God had a wonderful plan for Peter’s life, who, church tradition tells us, was killed and crucified upside down. God had a wonderful plan for Stephen, who ended up being stoned to death.

But in every instance, God worked these things for good according to His eternal plan to keep, renew, and strengthen His people. I believe it is the same for us despite our present pain.

Be encouraged, “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”1

Purchase Here

“There is law and gospel in the Old Testament, and there is law and gospel in the New. The law comprises everything in Scripture which is a revelation of God's will in the form of command or prohibition, while the gospel embraces everything, whether it be in the Old Testament or in the New, that pertains to the work of reconciliation and that proclaims the seeking and redeeming love of God in Christ Jesus.”

-Louis Berkhof (1873-1957)

Law and Gospel—God’s two distinct words which live in both the Old and New Testaments.

Get this distinction wrong, and you’ll often get preaching wrong, your Bible reading wrong, and potentially cripple your Christian life.

John Calvin’s successor, Theodore Beza, rightly observed, “Ignorance of this distinction between Law and Gospel is one of the principal sources of the abuses which corrupted and still corrupt Christianity.”

One fruit of law/gospel confusion that still poisons Christianity is called moralism.

It grows when God’s people walk away from a sermon or Bible reading, (unintentionally) believing that those justified by faith are actually justified by faithfulness. The remedy lies in distinguishing between what God commands (law) and what God graciously provides (gospel)1, as reflected in differentiating scriptural indicatives and imperatives.

This process will keep the church from moralism, eliminate self-sufficiency, direct attention to Christ as the ultimate fulfillment of the law, and enable true obedience.

Indicative/Imperative Paradigm

Rightly dividing the Word of Truth entails that the believer knows the difference between scriptural indicatives and imperatives. Indicatives are statements of fact; imperatives are commands that could naturally flow from that fact. One could say, “The room is dark.” That’s an indicative statement. The imperative would necessarily be, “Turn on the light!”

Often in scripture, these two elements are connected by the word “Therefore.” You have indicative statements from Paul (gospel)—those in Christ are not condemned, and nothing can separate them from the love of Christ (Romans 8), and then he’ll proceed with law, “therefore… present your body as a living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1).

Gospel indicatives empower us by declaring what we have received; only then does the law guide us in what we ought to do. Thus, many New Testament imperatives can boil down to: “Be who you already are!” In sum, as Dr. Justin Holcomb put it, “Imperatives grow in the soil of the indicatives.”

The Scriptures are filled with imperatives and positive human examples. True Christian discipleship would not be a reality if others were not being taught to obey all that Christ had commanded (Matt. 28:20).

But moralism grows when discipleship is divorced from the gospel's indicatives and from union with Christ. What makes Christian discipleship, well, Christian is that it is rooted in gospel grace. Dennis Johnson eloquently defines moralism in preaching as the

homiletical practice of issuing ethical demands without grounding them in the gospel or showing how they are integral to a grateful response to the redemptive work of God in Christ. The result of such moralistic preaching is that hearers come away with the impression that God’s favor towards them rests to some degree on their (always imperfect) performance of obedience and love rather than wholly on the perfect obedience and vicarious suffering of Jesus Christ.2

Have you sat under this kind of (well-intentioned) preaching? Perhaps this is the cause of man-centered Bible reading.

Apart from Christ, it is natural to desire a moral code to achieve one's status. In the gospel accounts, Jesus reveals how Pharisaic legalism is symptomatic of a deep problem in the heart. The Pharisees drew near to God with their lips while their hearts were far from Him (Matt. 15:8). This kind of living is exalts man rather than God; man is now the focal point, and the worship of God is redirected, resulting in either pride or despair. Geerhardus Vos put it well:

“Legalism lacks the supreme sense of worship. It obeys, but it does not adore.”3

Test Case: Nehemiah

For instance, someone will read the text of Nehemiah, drawing straight-line applications from his life to the lives of people, and go no further. The applications can sound something like, “Nehemiah was a man with a broken heart for people; you all should be broken-hearted over lost people and seek to go reach them.” Or “We should be a Nehemiah to our communities–stepping up to be strong leaders amid much opposition.” Of course, this is not wrong. The Apostle Paul tells us that the things written in the past were written for our example so that we may learn (1 Co. 10:11), but subsequent revelation shows us that Christ is the fulfillment of these themes and characters.

Take a look at Nehemiah chapter 8: God restores the spiritual lives of His people after restoring the city walls. We then see Nehemiah, a compassionate man, leading well and, in essence, shepherding them towards deep joy in God by telling them to “Drink sweet wine” and that “The joy of the LORD is your strength” (8:10). The people are then seen pursuing God through confession and obedience to His law.

But one will quickly find, in the book's rather abrupt and obscure ending, that human leadership is insufficient. The covenant people of God break their covenant with God. They are taking foreign wives and not living out the commands of the Torah. Nehemiah is then seen responding in violent and harsh ways to reprimand the people.

What the text looks forward to is the new heart that is needed, and therefore, the only One who can effectively lead the charge. A better leader who is both God and man, who leads with perfection, humility, and boldness, is the kind of leader needed to restore true covenant faithfulness and true joy.

Jesus Christ is the one who wept over the city of Jerusalem and extended compassion towards the broken (Luke 19:41–44).

Jesus Christ is the one who restores and rebuilds His people (Matt. 16:18).

Jesus Christ is the restorer of true joy and displays this as He begins His public ministry, not by offering sweet wine, but by turning water into wine (John 2).

At the wedding in Cana, He declares in full measure what Nehemiah only gave in part: He alone is the restorer of true joy and the one who shepherds His people into all of God’s promises. After all, they find their “yes” and “amen” in Him (1 Cor. 1:20). Nehemiah points us to a Messiah who, because He is both God and man, can accomplish true restoration because He took the place of those who can’t restore themselves at the cross. Despite the opposition facing Him, He conquered the ultimate enemies of sin and death and took upon Himself the infinite weight of the wrath of God. Three days later, He rose again, securing and providing new life for all of those who would trust in Him.

He is the leader that men desperately needed.

Conclusion

This Biblical distinction enables believers to look to Christ and His grace alone, not only for their justification but for their sanctification. Application of Scripture can shift from, “Here’s what Nehemiah did, be like him,” to, “Here’s what Nehemiah did. You can’t accomplish this. Look to Christ as the one who did this perfectly, and through your constant trust in Him as your substitute, you not only have a desire to carry out these commands, but you have new power.” Or as Paul put it, “You were darkness, now you are light in the Lord (indicative). Walk as children of light (imperative)” (Eph. 5:8).

Dear believer and preacher, don’t settle for easy-listening legalism4; let the law be the law, let the gospel be the gospel, and never confuse the two, and thereby safeguard the church from legalism/moralism. Put yourself under preaching that upholds these two words with enthusiasm and watch a crippled church walk in vibrant obedience by the Spirit. As Pastor Justin Purdue often says, “The law demands everything and gives nothing. The gospel demands nothing and gives everything.”

Showers taken. Teeth brushed. Bedtime is near.

My son and daughter, now in their jammies, are jumping and swaying as the speaker plays, “Oh, oh! Your way’s better!”

In the Zacchio household, after the bedtime routine, it’s extremely typical for a speaker to be playing music for our impromptu dance party. And it’s not untypical for Forrest Frank to be part of the playlist. We know the words. We saw him live—needless to say, we’re fans.

But isn’t this just eye-roll worthy, shallow CCM music? Why does his music seem to resonate with so many, even deep thinkers?

We hear his music on the radio, church social media pages, and even Reformed Baptists and Theonomic Presbyterians are giving him more than just a nod. I’m not about being “trendy” or following what’s popular. But when someone has such a broad reach and enormous influence, we had better pay attention.

Here are 3 reflections on this huge sensation among the next generation.

A Personal Reflection

Growing up in the broader, non-denominational world in NYC, I was introduced to Christian hip hop at a young age. Guys like Ambassador, Crossmovement, Lecrae, Trip Lee, Shai Linne, and Beautiful Eulogy shaped me as they lyrically provided a robust theology of God, Christ, and His salvation. I couldn’t get enough.

As I got older, my passion for music only grew when I learned to sing and play guitar. From that point forward, the Lord was pleased to use me in music (or worship) ministry for 15 years. While in high school, I grew to like most of the CCM music, but Christian hip hop began to crest. To this day, things are just not what they used to be. Jaded, I turn off a lot of the new stuff (Thank you, Shai Linne and a few others for still holding the line!).

Enter stage right, Forrest Frank.

He officiated a marriage between two genres that I loved since I was a kid. Is he as precise as he should be on other doctrines? No. Could his music be perceived as shallow? Perhaps. He comes from a different church tradition than mine, and I have disagreements. But I’m not convinced that “shallow” is the right word. What’s often dismissed as shallow may actually be simple.

The Psalmists paint not only with deep colors but also truly simple ones. Psalm 131 and Psalm 117 are extremely short, filled with praise, and simple enough for a child to understand. Simple songs, when added together, form a corpus that is filled to the brim with truth to drink deeply from. I wouldn’t sing these songs while gathering on the Lord’s Day, but during the week, it’s a part of my enjoyment of Christ. In fact, I’ve found that the longer I walk with the Lord—and the more steeped I am in Scripture—the more meaningful these simpler expressions become. They give new believers something solid to stand on, and seasoned believers something warm to return to.

Recovering a Theology of Gift

Another reason he resonates with the next generation is that he is displaying how to enjoy the things of life, without turning them into idols, something my generation (perhaps) was not taught to do very well. In other words, music like this can help Christians recover a theology of “gift.” In his song “Good Day,” Forrest talks about enjoying his family, living in the present, but roots his ultimate happiness in the fact that God knows his name.

Pastor Joe Rigney points out how, on the one hand, we know that God transcends all. He’s supreme and should be the supreme object of our love and delight.

And yet on the other hand, we see the good around us, whether in material blessings or creation (what we sometimes call “Common Grace”), and we like them, but we don’t want to like them too much. So, the overreaction is to stiff-arm God’s blessings, a kind of “asceticism.”

This comes from what Rigney calls the merely “comparative approach” to the world around us. Meaning, we compare God to His gifts, and we rightly declare, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Ps. 73:25–26). This is absolutely true; it’s the first step!

But this isn’t the only approach.

We can “keep Jesus first” and still enjoy all of His secondary gifts in this life. Rigney calls this the “integrative approach.” We enjoy everything in God and enjoy God in everything since all the gifts we have point us to His character. Indeed, “The heavens declare the glory of God,” and His divine nature has been “perceived since the creation of the world” (Ps 19; Rom. 1:20). It all points us to His infinite majesty, and, for us who know Scripture, they remind us of the gift of His only begotten Son.

Everything in reality is an invitation—our food, our family, music, hiking, baseball—to enjoy and know God more deeply. There’s a way to worship the Creator without worshiping the creation; that’s why you need a theology of “gift” that helps us look through the gift and out to the gift-giver. Forrest is helping us recover that.

A Recapitulation of Ecclesiastes?

Related to this, Forrest gave me a renewed appreciation for the book of Ecclesiastes. In another Forrest song, “Live Your Life,” he sings,

“Joy comes with the morning sun
Just look what God has done

Hey, you’re gonna be okay
Don’t let a little gray sky
Rain on your parade
Hey, you’re gonna be alright
Don’t spend all of your daylight
Waiting for the night.

Just go live your life.”

You may roll your eyes. But here’s the thing: the younger generation is latching on to this for a reason.

You may well know that Gen Z is an increasingly anxious and depressed generation. No doubt due to societal pressures, economic collapse, and social media, one study1 found that High school students report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness (42%), which is much higher than in earlier generations at the same age.

Thus, when a young artist comes out singing songs that give people a vision of living in and enjoying the good things God has made, this is a breath of fresh air.

It’s very…how do you say…Ecclesiastes. Whether or not he acknowledges it, his songs are very much echoing the shouts of this obscure book of the Bible:

“I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man” (Ecc. 3:12–13).

The point of Ecclesiastes (I believe) is to point to the utter elusiveness of life. From wisdom to riches to pleasure, everything is a mere breath (hebel), and to seek ultimate satisfaction in them is like “grasping for the wind.” But if we live in light of death, we can fear God and enjoy this life as God’s gift. We are called to “live life backward,” so to speak,2 recognizing that the brevity of life enables us to stay in the moment with Godward joy. In other words, you don’t truly experience life to the full until you live it backward, living in light of the end and the satisfaction that is ultimately found in fearing God and keeping His commandments.

Eternal matters are the end of the matter, which is all that really matters (Ecc. 12:13). While having that as a backdrop, we can live “in the present—not woulda, shoulda, or could.” Life is painfully short, and Ecclesiastes shows us how not to live every moment as if the other shoe is about to fall.

We can enjoy this life as a “gift,” not as an ultimate “gain.” While we seek to find our true gain only in Christ, our anxieties dissipate as we pursue our hobbies, swing our kids around, go to class, and have a picnic—all to His glory and for our joy.

Take the advice above. Quit spending all of your daylight waiting for the night. Recognize that life is a breath, God created you for His glory, and therefore, you can enjoy Him while enjoying the day.

Dear Failure,

In times past, I have “paid the fare” because of sin. You have too.

In the moment of temptation, the costliness of sin can completely evade our memory. Thankfully, there is eternal hope for the backslider.

A Man Who Paid the Fare

Once there was a man named Jonah who was called to preach to God’s enemies, and Jonah sinfully ran to Tarshish. The opening chapter of Jonah emphasizes many shocking things. One thing that should shock the reader is that Jonah paid a price for his rebellion—he “paid the fare” (Jonah 1:3).

Of course, sinful straying shouldn’t shock us. We know we are inherently sinful beings; we are “prone to wander.”

But is it not shocking that, to sin against God, Jonah worshiped convenience, then immediately inconvenienced himself in the area of his money? He didn’t pay the cost of following God, but paid the cost of following his own desires.

Our Costly Straying

Just know that when you make your journey into sin, you also pay the fare. We can be nonchalant toward the things of God. After all, the cost of discipleship seems pretty high. But oh, we jump through hoops to sin, don’t we? I know I have.

Some believers sit in church, put on a smile, say “churchy” things, but their heart is pounding because they know that when they leave, they are going to take the road of sin.

They may entertain that email chain or text thread, which is cultivating a sinful, adulterous relationship, costing them their family.

As a student, they may cheat on that test or project and deceive others, costing them their integrity.

They may disregard the body of Christ and neglect the calling on the church to make disciples, costing them a life that counts for the glory of God.

They may give up on prayer and become prayerless, costing them communion with God.

Don’t forget, when pursuing sin, we are paying the fare.

This is the shock of sin: not that we commit it, but that we’re so willing to sacrifice for it.

As the Puritan John Owen said, “Sin dethrones reason.”

Translation?

Sin makes us stupid.

The text says, Jonah went “down to Joppa,” “down” to the ship, and “down into the inner part of the ship.” Every step towards sin is always one more step away from God—it’s always a step “down” in life. And by the time we realize the price we paid, it’s already too late.

The Remedy

But if we have paid the fare, what is the remedy? What we may have missed is, like the lost son in the prodigal son story, this prodigal prophet was brought to his senses even before the ordeal with the “great fish.” It’s because God, by His discipline, lifted Jonah’s eyes to see the magnitude of His mercy.

When the storm and the sailors woke him up, God showed Jonah his own misery and how he must be absolutely dependent upon his Creator. Jonah deserved to die in the storm. Instead, Jonah learned of the merciful presence of God even when he thought he outran it. He learned by experience what he only knew intellectually: “Where can I go from your presence? Where can I flee from your Spirit? If I fall to the depths of the sea, even there your hand will lead me…” (Psalm 139:7-10)

For us, we especially know this because of Christ. Because God’s holiness is enormous and his purity infinite, He requires total perfection to enjoy His presence. But we have not been faithful to our Lord. We have not loved Him totally as required. And any sinner who unrepentantly runs down the path of sin will reach a door, beyond which is the pit of eternal suffering away from God’s presence.

Therefore, God Himself pursued us by taking on flesh. He was faithful to the mission and was cast out of His Father’s favorable presence on the cross, so that by His providence, we can be brought safely back in.

The story of mercy unfolds this way for everyone who trusts in Jesus Christ for eternal life: We pay the fare and try to undo it, but our hard work will never cut it. We try jettisoning the cargo, we try steering the boat through storms, to no avail. And yet, in our spiritual bankruptcy, we forget that God loved us with an everlasting love and paid the highest price to reconcile us to the Father. Even as Christians, when things fall apart, God restores them again. We find ourselves broken; God puts us back together again. We find ourselves dirty; God cleanses us yet again. We run from Him, so He runs after us.

Maybe all of the painful consequences won’t be taken away, but take heart, dear believer, who is a failure just like me, God will never be unfaithful to His own, no matter how many times we’ve been unfaithful to Him. Spiritually speaking, He’ll restore our hearts, our character, and our capacity to bear fruit for His glory as we take the off-ramp of repentance.

Jesus was the true prophet, the greater-than-Jonah, Who fulfilled His Father’s mission. Why? To restore us into the Father's care so that we’ll grow to delight in His presence instead of fleeing from it. So, repent. Come back to Him. Watch Him receive you as before.

Thankfully, He pursues us because the sinners He paid for are forever His possession.

Purchase Here

Welcome back to Theology Thursday!

Here is your bite-sized lesson in orthodox biblical doctrine in 3 simple steps:

ONE concept explained

TWO concise definitions that must be kept distinct

THREE Scripture passages to meditate on

Concept: God’s Decree

The Triune God is the self-sufficient One, a perfectly pure spirit, who is infinite in being and perfection, and who is love itself. Thus, God is revealed as the ultimate reality and the one who truly has free will; He is “most free.” God freely decides to create and redeem a people for Himself, bringing them into the union and fellowship that God enjoyed even before creation. It's as if the perfect love shared between the three Persons of the Trinity brimmed over, resulting in a design for creation and human history. This is what theologians have called God’s “decree.” A decree speaks of a command or an official order given by an authority. So God’s decree refers to His authoritative, determined plan for all creation and human history, which was decided before time began. The Bible is nothing less than the story of the decree of a King and His kingdom, which extends over all things. It is aimed at His own glory, it is eternal, wise, universal, and infallible; all things come about exactly as God planned it. Now we know that nothing comes about randomly or by mere chance. Nothing is purposeless. He knows what He is doing simply because He has already planned what He will do. Your story is situated within a grander story that transcends your every desire, action, or pursuit. The God who cannot lie and always does what is just is the cosmic Author of your small existence, and few things should comfort us more deeply.

Definitions/Distinctions:

Necessity of Infallibility: This refers to God’s decree as it unfolds. Though it was planned before creation in eternity past, it comes about infallibly in time and space. In other words, all things, including the actions of free creatures, come about exactly as God planned. It can be nothing else; the blueprint cannot be modified.

Necessity of Coersion or Coaction: Not to be conflated with the definition above, this refers to forcing someone to do something against their will, or to act for someone. Just because God’s will always happens exactly as He planned does not mean His decree excludes the free actions of His creatures. Some things in God’s decree come about by a necessity of nature (the earth cannot freely decide to stop revolving around the sun), and some things come about contingently or freely (such as man’s actions).

Passages:

"I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’”

Isaiah 46:9–10

“The heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.”

Proverbs 16:9

"His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done?’”

Daniel 4:34-35

Purchase Here

[This is an excerpt from the appendix in my book where I seek to provide concise answers to the most common questions about God’s decree and regeneration as it relates to free will.]

Concise Answers to Curious Questions

Q: Is all evil attributed to free will?

A: Yes, in one sense, but no in another sense. Evil came about by a voluntary act of our first parents (Adam and Eve) to disobey the revealed will of God. This is the direct and immediate cause of all evil. However, evil can be conceptualized as the absence of something rather than the presence of something. Evil is the absence of God and His goodness. Like the hole in a t-shirt cannot exist unless the t-shirt exists, so evil cannot exist unless God exists in the first place, because God is the standard of all true morality and goodness. When God removes His hand of goodness from a situation, evil ensues. He decreed to permit the first fall to happen, and every other evil that followed.

Q: Is God the author of sin and evil?

A: No, God is not the author of sin and evil if what we mean by that is He is the immediate cause of a person’s sin and therefore, morally culpable. However, He does stand behind evil, just not in the same way that He stands behind good. Evil is actively decreed by God but comes about by His divine permission (not a bare permission as if he passively watches events unfold). While He sovereignly decrees all that comes to pass, He does so in a way that neither makes Him the direct cause of sin nor compromises His perfect holiness. He actively allows evil to come to pass, and at the same time, sin arises from the creature’s own will, not from any creation of evil by God.

Q: Did God decree the fall of man? Or did He merely know it would happen and leave it up to Adam’s free will?

A: God decreed the Fall, not merely by foreknowing it, but by ordaining it as part of His eternal plan for His glory. However, He did so in a way that did not violate Adam’s will—Adam fell freely, choosing to believe the deception of sin employed by the serpent. God’s decree ensured the Fall would certainly come to pass, but the responsibility remained with Adam because Adam did what He wanted to do.

Q: How is the will free in heaven if they can only choose good and cannot choose otherwise?

A: True freedom does not consist in the mere ability to choose between opposites like good and evil, but the unhindered ability to choose according to one’s nature. In heaven, the will is perfectly free because it is fully aligned with God’s holiness. Just as God is supremely free yet cannot lie, the glorified saints are free in the truest sense when sin is no longer plaguing their desires.

Q: If God has to grant us the gift of faith to be saved, how can a person still be held responsible for unbelief?

A: Man is responsible for unbelief because his nature is fallen, and he/she willingly reject God; they are merely doing what they want to do. Though faith is a gift of grace, unbelief is the sinner’s own doing, and they do so by default because of Adam’s sin.

Q: If God has to cause someone to be born again before believing in Christ, how is this not forcing people to believe against their will?

A: Regeneration does not force someone to believe against their will; it transforms and frees their will. In his fallen state, man freely rejects Christ, but in regeneration, God graciously grants a new heart, making him willing to believe. The sinner does not come kicking and screaming—he comes joyfully because his eyes have been opened to the gospel of Christ.

It ends shockingly. He essentially shuts down the conversation, presenting us with these two options: either people have the full ability to accept or reject Christ of their own volition and God’s saving love is bestowed on everyone equally, OR we’re left with Islamic determinism. Those cannot be our only two options.

Above, I try to respond to this claim. I think there is a better way forward, and it is (what I believe is) the Biblical understanding of free will. I don’t have all the answers; I’m nowhere near as good a scholar or apologist as Frank, but I pray my response helps people understand the true nature of the will and the infinitude of God’s love, as revealed in Scripture.