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March 13, 2005
Continuity in the use of 'Son of God'
As I go through Climax of the Covenant by N. T. Wright a second time, I must pause to make a preliminary observation of a particular passage. In Chapter 3, Wright is arguing for an incorporative sense of 'Messiah.' This is not merely Jesus' last name, but carries the idea that the Messiah is "the one in whom the people of God are summed up, so that they can be referred to as being 'in' him, as coming or growing 'into' him, and so forth" (41). One of his lines of argument struck me as particularly worth noting, and that is Paul's references to Jesus as 'Son of God.' He shows that this same title is used for Israel, for Jesus, and for the church.
As is well known, one of the most striking Old Testament uses of this phrase is to denote the Davidic king: Psalm 2.7 and 2 Samuel 7.14... indicate that, although not frequent, this usage had at least a clear royal connotation, which correlates closely with the idea of Israel herself as God's Son (Exodus 4.22, etc.). This might be thought a mere irrelevance, or at best an odd coincidence; but there are good reasons for thinking that it had become thematic for Paul. In a passage like Galatians 3-4, for instance, the argument hinges on the promises to Abraham--promises about the family that God would give him--being fulfilled in the coming one, the Messiah.... When, precisely in that context, we find references to Israel as the young son who now comes to maturity, and at the same time to Jesus as the son in whom the promises are fulfilled, and to the church as the sons who now become the beneficiaries of those promises (Galatians 4.1-7), there can be little doubt that a whole train of thought is being evoked, in which Jesus, precisely as [Xpistos], Messiah, represents and draws together in himself the physical family of Abraham, in order then to be the focal point of a new community, the renewed people of God.
This is a brilliant observation from Galatians 4. Israel under the Old Covenant was God's son in immaturity. The law gave explicit guidelines for every facet of life. This is exactly what good parents do for younger, immature children. But the church is now God's son in maturity. God has given the church the responsibility to exercise discernment as a mature body. She looks to the requirements of her days of immaturity and uses them as guides in making decisions. But alas, the implications of these truths go far beyond the simple observation I'm making here.
Beside the point that Paul is making concerning the 'Messiah," I am satisfied with this line of thinking concerning continuity. I remember reading an article once by Kenneth Gentry called "Must God Stutter?" His basic thesis was that God doesn't need to repeat himself in the New Testament in order for his commands to remain in effect, and I appreciate the point he is making. This is the basic approach that most people took when I became persuaded of covenant theology. But if I remember correctly, Gentry applied this line of thinking not merely in refutation of dispensationalism but also in promoting a theonomic application of the law. And again, whereas I certainly sympathize with his passion for taking all of Scripture seriously, I don't believe the transition from the Old Covenant to the New can be explained quite so simplistically. There are a great number of ways in which Israel and the Church are identical, but much has changed as well! The cross did much more than change a few things here and there that happened to be specifically mentioned as having changed in the New Covenant. All that to say, I appreciate Wright's approach to continuity, which is rooted in exegesis of relevant texts and concepts.
Posted by jhyink at 09:32 PM | Comments (0)
March 12, 2005
Life Continues
I just wanted to make a quick post to give an update of life at the Hyink household. We have recently moved to Dunwoody, GA (a suburb of Atlanta) because of my job. It's the best thing that could have happened to us. Last year was a very difficult year, full of commission-only related stress and other disappointments.
We are maintaining our ties to the Greenville area, however. It sounds crazy, but we still attend Holy Trinity Reformed Evangelical Church (CREC) every weekend. We usually drive up (for 2 and a half hours) on Sunday morning, but sometimes we stay at someone's home on Saturday. We love our church very much, and the travel is well worth it. Also, we decided not to sell our house in Simpsonville. We hired a property management company, which found a renter for us in less the 30 days! For ourselves, we found a very cozy 3 bedroom apartment in a very nice setting. Although we are surrounded by neighbors here in Atlanta, the way our particular apartment is set up keeps us pretty secluded. I live within walking-distance from work, so we sold our Suburban. That is saving us a lot of money from gas, insurance, upkeep, etc.
I also am beginning to re-establish an organized and discipline life. I have started exercising in the mornings again. And though the mornings are still pretty cold, I am able to run and lift weights in our apartment complex's exercise room. I also have been able to do some more reading. I just finished Climax of the Covenant by N. T. Wright, and I am in the process of gathering my thoughts about that. I intend to increase my amount of studying (and, hence, blogging). So I'm excited about the Lord's working in our lives, even though it has been quite a long road.
Posted by jhyink at 09:15 AM | Comments (0)