In this one hour video teaching, Pastor Joel Ellis of Reformation OPC, Apache Junction, AZ gives a basic and very helpful introduction to Dispensationalism from a Reformed perspective.
Dispensationalism Examined
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Monthly Archives: December 2020
Long Reading First
Pastor Jeff Wiesner:
When preparing to study a book of the Bible, I find it most helpful to move from “forest” to “trees” to “leaves.”
Forest: Read the entire book in one sitting, multiple times in multiple sittings, until a “melodic line” begins to emerge—one controlling theme (or related themes) that tie the entire book together.
Trees: Divide the book into textually-warranted sections, keeping the flow of the entire book in mind. Look for clues such as narrative devices (e.g. “these were the generations…” in Genesis), transitions in the setting or characters, changes of theme, etc.
Leaves: Now you’re ready to study verse-by-verse, paragraph-by-paragraph. Always be aware of what immediately precedes or follows your passage. Occasionally revisiting the entire section in which a passage is found, and always keeping one eye on the “melodic line” of the book.
Too many make the mistake of starting with leaves, ignoring trees, and end up missing the forest altogether. This may feel more “productive” at the start because you’re doing serious verse-by-verse Word-work right our of the gate. But this often proves less effective in the end.
Do the hard, patient work of long reading at the beginning and you’ll find your more detailed study to be much more fruitful.
Where Doctrine Should Take Us
The following excerpt from D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones comes from his series, Studies in Ephesians.
“What foolish creatures we are! Many of us are not interested in doctrine at all; we are lazy Christians who do not read, do not think, and do not try to delve into the mysteries. We have had a certain experience and we desire no more. Others of us, deploring such an attitude, say that, because the Bible is full of doctrine, we must study it and grapple with it and possess it. So we become absorbed in our interest in doctrine and stop at that. The result is that, as regards this question of the love of Christ, we are no further on than the others because we have made doctrine an end and a terminus. In this way the devil trips and traps us and robs us of our heritage. If your knowledge of the Scriptures and of the doctrines of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ has not brought you to this knowledge of the love of Christ, you should be profoundly dissatisfied and disturbed. All biblical doctrine is about this blessed Person; and there is no greater snare in the Christian life than to forget the Person Himself and to live simply on truths concerning Him.
It is for this reason that some of us have always had a feeling that it is dangerous to have examinations on scriptural knowledge. Some of the Reformers held that view, Martin Luther especially. Some of the Puritans also held it. There should never be such a thing as a ‘Degree in Scriptural Knowledge’. This is so, not only because it is wrong in and of itself, but also because it tends to encourage this tendency to stop at truths and to miss the Person. We should never study the Bible or anything concerning biblical truth without realizing that we are in His presence, and that it is truth about Him. And it should always be done in an atmosphere of worship. Biblical truth is not one subject among others; it is not something that belongs to a syllabus. It is living truth about a living Person. That is why a theological college should be different from every other kind of college; and that is why a religious service is essentially different from every kind of meeting the world can organize. It is always a matter of worship; we are in the presence of a Person.”
David Martyn Lloyd-Jones,
The Unsearchable Riches of Christ—Studies in Ephesians, Chapter 3
Glorious Mystery!
For me, the mystery of the Trinity is way more than my mind can handle. Way more!
Here is what we know: there is one God and yet three Divine Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Father is not the Son; the Son is not the Spirit; and the Spirit is not the Father. All three members of the Godhead possess the attributes of personality.
In the garden, the Lord Jesus prayed “not My will but Yours (Father) be done”. This speaks of yet another mystery – Christ is one Person with two natures, one truly human, the other truly Divine. At Gethsemane, Jesus prayed as the God-Man – His human will wishing to avoid the agonies of the cross and all that this would mean in terms of the Father’s wrath being poured out on Him (“this cup” as He called it), yet submitted Himself to the will of the Father.
In glorious, majestic, beautiful, divinity, the Father, Son and Spirit are one in mission. There is never opposition of will between the Members of the Trinity. There has never been a single argument between them – they are forever united in what they intend to do and from eternity have acted in complete unity always, even as they have distinct roles to carry out for the purpose of our redemption. It is the Father who sends the Son into the world; the Son lives and then dies for us; and the Spirit applies the work of redemption to those God elected and the Son died for. Amazing beyond words! And that is about as far as my mind can go and prove from Scripture.
Beyond the boundaries we find in God’s revelation of Himself in Scripture there is only speculation and the treacherous fall off the cliff of orthodoxy into heresy and damnation. As Calvin rightly said, “Where God closes His holy mouth, I will desist from inquiry.”
Two final thoughts:
- One in essence, three in Persons; one “what” and three “who’s” – while fathomless mystery, is no contradiction.
- God has revealed all He has about Himself that we would have more than enough to forever stand in awe of Him and find boundless joy and delight in all He is as our glorious Triune God, for eternity.
Pastor John Samson