Journal(of(Dispensational(Theology(JODT((ISSN%1947*9492)%

Volume'20,'Number'59'(Spring'2016)'(formerly"The"Conservative"Theological"Journal)!

!Executive"Editor" " General"Editor"Patrick%E.%Belvill% % Ron%J.%Bigalke%

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Associate"Editor" " Book"Review"Editor%Miriam%Hayes% % Gary%E.%Gilley%

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Editorial"Committee"Josh%Bailey% Christopher%Cone%David%E.%Olander%%%%Michael%Stallard%

!The! Journal!of!Dispensational!Theology! is!published!three! times!per!year! (spring,!summer/fall,!winter)!by!the!Society!of!Dispensational!Theology!in!cooperation!with!Tyndale!Theological!Seminary!as!a!means!for!conservative!evangelical!scholarship!from!a!traditional!dispensational!perspective.!Tyndale(Theological(Seminary,"its"administration," or" its" faculty" does" not" necessarily" endorse" all" the"interpretative"views"represented"by"each"of"the"respective"authors.!!Correspondence! and!manuscripts! can! be! emailed! to! editor@tyndale.edu.! Please!avoid!formatting!articles!or!using!non@standard!fonts.!Authors!are!expected!to!use!The!Chicago!Manual!of!Style!and!A!Manual!for!Writers!(by!Kate!L.!Turabian)!as!the!style! manuals.! Wherein! there! are! differences! between! Chicago! and! Turabian!styles,!potential!contributors!are!encouraged!to!peruse!the!most!recent!volumes!to!observe! submission! guidelines! or! to! view! those! specifics! online! (tyndale.edu)! in!the!document!entitled,!“JODT!Submission!Guidelines.”!!Books!for!review!should!be!sent!to!the!following!address:!Editor,!JODT!701!W.!Pipeline!Road!Hurst,!TX!76053!!Change! of! address! notification,! subscriptions,! and! renewals! can! be! submitted!online!at!www.tyndale.edu/journal.html!or!through!written!communication!to!the!above!address.!!Subscription!Rates!United!States!non@Tyndale!student:!$25!per!year!Foreign!non@Tyndale!student:!$35!per!year!(includes!Canada!and!Mexico)!All!subscriptions!payable!in!United!States!currency!!©! Copyright! 2016! by! Tyndale! Theological! Seminary.! Printed! in! the! U.S.A.! All! rights!reserved.! Materials! in! this! publication! may! not! be! reproduced! without! prior! written!permission.!The!editorial!committee!reserves!the!right!to!reject!articles!and!advertisements!for!any!reason!whatsoever.!

!

!Volume!20!! ! ! ! ! ! ! Number!59!

!

Journal!of!Dispensational!Theology!!

Spring'2016''

Contents'!!Editorial…………………………..….…….…………….…………………………….…...7!!!The!Use!of!Imitation!in!Paul!and!in!Early!and!Later!Dispensationalism!with!Implications!for!the!Church…….....................................................13!

Daniel'M.'Starcevich!!!New!Calvinism,!Part!V:!Continuationism.........................…......................................................….....45!

Drew'Curley'!!A!Scriptural!Investigation!into!the!Identities!of!the!Nephilim….………………………..………………..….....69!

G.'Robert'Graf'!!Book!Reviews……………………………………………………………………….…..88!

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The'present'volume'is'dedicated'in'memory'of'Heath'Graf,'who'departed'this'life'on'Thursday,'the'7th'of'April.'

'Heath'was'previously'a'servant'of'the'Lord'in'North'Africa,'who'was'forced'

to'leave'that'country'for'treatment'of'a'glioblastoma'multiform.''

His'father,'Dr.'G.'Robert'Graf,'and'Heath’s'family'are'in'the'prayers'of'the'entire'Tyndale'family.'

!

!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 7!('

EDITORIAL''Economic! concerns! dominate! our! contemporary! times.! Politicians! are!frequently! cautioned! and! reminded! as! follows:! “people! will! vote! their!pocketbooks.”!The! church! also! can!be! lulled! into! religious! traditions! that!result! in! a! false! sense! of! security.! For! instance,! western! nations! tend! to!regard! themselves! as! impervious! to! threats! of! attack! and! thus! isolated!from!war.! Political! alliances! are! prioritized! to! keep! nations! exempt! from!the! devastation! of! war.! God’s! Word! cautions! one! against! developing!foolhardy!and!haughty!attitudes,!as!evident!in!claiming!exemption!from!the!Lord’s!day!of! judgment.!Nothing! can! impede! the!day!of! the!Lord!when! it!arrives,!regardless!of!a!nation’s!economic!resources,!geographical!location,!military! supremacy,! political! alliances,! or! religious! traditions.!Consequently,! the! people! of! God! are! to! trust! the! Lord’s! Word,! being!dependent! upon! the! Lord’s! power,! and! thus! are! able! to! receive! divine!blessings.!

Isaiah! 13—23! contain! a! series! of! messages,! which! are! primarily!oracles!or!judgments!against!various!Gentile!nations.!The!emphasis!within!the! prophecies! is! judgment,! and! thus! the! oracles! should! be! given! careful!attention!by!all!nations.!One!can!be! fairly!certain! that! the! foreign!nations!were!not! intended!to!read!the! judgments! that!God!had!decreed! for! them;!rather,! the! intent! of! the!messages!was!primarily! to! grant!prophetic! hope!for!the!people!of!God.!The!expectation!would!be!immediate!for!the!original!recipients! of! the! divinely! inspired! messages! in! the! days! of! the! prophet!Isaiah,! and! would! also! inspire! future! generations! as! they! observed! the!fulfillment!of!the!prophecies.!

The! prophecies! convey! two! general! principles.! First,! the! oracles!convey!the!truth!that!God’s!justice!is!both!absolute!and!holy.!Every!nation!is! accountable! to! God,! as! are! all! people! responsible! for! their! actions.! All!human! beings! know! the! existence! of! God! as! “evident”! because! the!individual!conscience!and!created!order!make!Him!known!to!all!humanity!(Rom!1:19W20);!therefore,!regardless!of!the!availability!of!the!Lord’s!special!revelation,! which! is! the! very! Word! of! God! (the! 39! books! of! the! Old!Testament! and! 27! books! of! the! New! Testament),! it! is! necessary! that! all!nations!conform!to!God’s!standards!(cf.!Matt!28:18W20).!

Second,!the!prophetic!fulfillment!is!confirmation!that!the!Holy!Bible!is!inspired!by!God.!The!truth!that!the!nations!of!antiquity!experienced!their!individual! destinies! precisely! as! prophesied! in! Scripture! is! corroborative!evidence! that! the!Bible! is! truly! the!very!Word!of!God.!For! instance,! those!Israelites! living! in! the! time! of! the! return! to! the! land–! who! were! led! by!

8( Editorial!'Zerubbabel,! Ezra,! and! Nehemiah! –! could! reexamine! the! prophecies! of!Isaiah! concerning! those! nations! in! existence! during! the! time! of! the!prophet’s! ministry! (740—642! BC),! and! with! relative! ease,! they! could!discern!whether!or!not!God!had!truly!commissioned!Isaiah!and!if!the!Lord!had!indeed!spoken!through!the!prophet.!

Within!the!eleven!burdens!(oracles)!upon!the!nations,!the!prophet!Isaiah! demonstrated! what! would! occur! throughout! the! ensuing! several!generations! in! the! Near! East,! as! a! consequence! of! the! Assyrian! invasion!force!whose!armies!were!marching!westward!with!a!yearning!for!conquest!and! vengeance.! Isaiah’s! contemporaries! would! be! able! to! evaluate! the!accurateness! of! his!message,! and! thereby! determine!whether! or! not! God!had! indeed! revealed! the! burdens! against! the! nations! and! was! speaking!those!oracles! to!his!people! through!the!prophet.!The!prophet!warned!the!southern! kingdom! of! Judah! not! to! become! dependent! upon! foreign!alliances;! rather,! the!nation!was! to! trust! in! the!sovereign!work!of!God!on!their! behalf.! God! revealed!his! plans! and!purposes! that!would! lead! to! the!demise!of!the!nations,!and!He!most!certainly!would!not!violate!his!Word!by!deviating!from!his!planned!and!purposeful!tactics.!

During! the! time! in!which! Isaiah!wrote,! the! great! enemy! of! God’s!people! was! Assyria,! and! thus! announcing! triumph! over! that! power! was!ultimately! a! foreshadowing! of! the! Lord! Jesus! Christ’s! eschatological!universal! supremacy! over! all! nations.! Much! confusion! occurs! with! the!interpretation! of! biblical! prophecy! due! to! a! failure! (or! refusal)! to!distinguish!between!Israel!and!the!church,!and!thereby!denies!any! future!to! national! Israel! and! equates! the! historical! throne! of! David! with! God’s!heavenly! throne.! The! former! rule! could! be! called! the! single,! unified,!mediatorial! kingdom! that! existed! historically! under! the!Mosaic! Covenant!and!was!prophesied!by! the!Old!Testament!prophets! to! be! restored! in! its!former!glory!at!the!second!coming!of!Jesus!Christ.!The!latter!rule,!which!is!eternal,!would!be!understood!as! involving!aspects!of!God’s!universal! and!spiritual!kingdoms.!

Christians! who! are! keen! to! appropriate! and! assert! the! future!blessings! of! a! redeemed! and! restored! national! Israel! throughout! the!kingdom!reign!of!Christ!from!David’s!throne!in!Jerusalem!are!not!willing!–!in!any!manner!–!to!accept!the!curses!and!judgments!that!were!associated!with! the! blessings,! and! which! have! been! fulfilled! literally.! Consistently!throughout!the!book!of!Isaiah!there!is!a!reference!to!a!future!King,!and!He!is!consistently!depicted!as!the!one!who!will!fulfill!the!Davidic!Covenant,!in!addition!to!sitting!forever!upon!David’s!throne,!which!existence!has!always!been!historical.!The!prophet!Isaiah!has!provided!an!intermittent!foretaste!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 9!!of!the!circumstances!in!the!last!days!when!the!nations!will!be!judged!once!again!for!their!actions.!

God’s!ultimate!plan!for!his!people!includes!both!the!judgment!of!sin!and!the!redemption!of! those!who!are!obedient!to!the!gospel!call.!Nothing!can! prevent! God! from! establishing! his! plan.! Therefore,! the! perennial!question! is,! “Who! will! trust! the! Lord! God! by! rejecting! all! that! is! false,!including! confidence! in! economic! and!political! powers! to! the!negation!of!God’s!supremacy”?!An!illustration!of!the!relevancy!of!this!question!can!be!found! in! Prince' Caspian,! which! is! the! second! work! by! C.! S.! Lewis! in! his!sevenWpart!Chronicles!of!Narnia.!

Prince'Caspian!begins!“a!year!ago”!from!the!prior!adventure!called!The'Lion,' the'Witch'and' the'Wardrobe,!with! the! realization! that!Narnia! is!now!many!centuries!older,!and!the!land!is!experiencing!deplorable!times.!A!race!of!men!(the!Telmarines)!rule!Narnia!despotically,!and!have!forced!the!citizens!of!Narnia!underground.!Caspian,!who! is!a!Telmarine!himself,! is!a!noble!prince,!whose! governess! secretly! informs!him! regarding!Aslan,! the!witch,! and! the! four! kings! and! queens.! Caspian! sympathizes! with! the!Narnians,!and!soon!his! life! is! in!danger! from!the! tyrant!Miraz,!who! is! the!prince’s!usurper!uncleWking.!A!battle!with! the!Telmarines!ensues,!and!the!Narnians! are! routed! and! imminent! destruction! awaits.! Caspian! and! the!Narnians!attempt! to!summon!help!by!using!Queen!Susan’s!horn,!which! is!successful,!yet!not!readily!apparent!as!subsequent!predicaments!develop,!with!a!few!being!unexpected.!

The!four!Pevensie!children!are!drawn!to!Narnia!by!the!blowing!of!the!horn,!and!eventually!arrive!to!help!Caspian,!who!is!the!true!heir!to!the!throne.! The! children! arrive! at! the! most! opportune! moment,! as! they! are!able!to!prevent!Caspian’s!amoral!advisor,!the!dwarf!Nikabrik,!from!making!a! dastardly! choice.! Nikabrik! is! angry! that! help! has! not! yet! arrived! from!either!Aslan!or!the!kings!and!queens!from!Narnia’s!longWago!Golden!Age.!A!badger! named! Trufflehunter,! who! is! a! loyal! Narnian! of! old,! advises! the!Narnians!to!“have!patience”!because!“help!will!come!.! .! .!and!may!be!even!now! at! the! door.”! Nikabrik! snarls! against! such! advice! because! “food! is!running! short”! and! “our! followers! are! slipping! away”! (C.! S.! Lewis,! Prince'Caspian![1951;!reprint,!New!York:!HarperCollins,!1994]!174).!

The! tyrant! Miraz! had! suppressed! the! Old! Narnians,! and! thus!Aslan’s! sacrifice! and! the! reigns! of! the! four! children! have! been! forgotten!and/or!relegated!to!myths.!Doubting!the!existence!of!Aslan!and!his!ability!to! send! the! old! kings! and! queens,! Nikabrik! remarks,! “The! stories! tell! of!other!powers!besides! the!ancient!Kings!and!Queens.!How!if!we!could!call!them'up?”!Caspian!inquired,!“Who!do!you!mean?”!

!

10( Editorial!'

“I!mean!a!power!so!much!greater!than!Aslan’s!that!it!held!Narnia!spellbound!for!years!and!years,!if!the!stories!are!true.”!“The!White!Witch!!Cried!three!voices!all!at!once.!.!.!.!“Yes,”!said!Nikabrik!very!slowly!and!distinctly,!“I!mean!the!Witch.!.!.!.”!

[Ibid.!178W79]!!

Jadis,!the!evil!White!Witch,!formerly!had!Narnia!under!a!spell,!which!made!the! land! “always!winter! and! never! Christmas,”! and! killed! Aslan,! the! true!King! of! Narnia.! Nikabrik! is! already! committed! to! using! black! sorcery! to!summon! the! Witch.! A! battle! ensues,! which! is! joined! by! the! Pevensie!children!and!Trumpkin!the!dwarf,!and!culminates!in!the!death!of!Nikabrik!and!his!allies.!

One!wonders!how!anyone!could!possibly!consider!the!White!Witch!as! someone!who! could! help,! especially! as! her! character! reveals! the! true!nature! of! Satan,! the! Devil.! Lewis! was! well! aware! as! to! how! easily! and!quickly!the!enemy!who!devours!and!enslaves!(as!opposed!to!empowering!and!liberating)!is!sought.!The!prophet!Isaiah!warned!the!Israelites!against!this! very! temptation,! which! would! involve! trusting! a! godless! nation! for!help! as! opposed! to! trusting! in! God! for! salvation.! God’s! people! needed! to!wait! faithfully,!patiently,!and!trustingly!for!God!to!accomplish!his!work!of!judgment!and!salvation.!

Lewis!demonstrated!a!remarkable!understanding!of!human!nature,!and!thus!depicts!Narnia!as!broken,!and!with!the!loss!of!belief,!will! lead!to!evil.!For!this!reason,!one!of!the!subplots! involves!Aslan!appearing!only!to!Lucy! and! instructing! her! to! bring! the! other! children! to! him,! whom! she!failed! to! convince! and! yet! is! still! too! fearful! to! follow! Aslan! alone,! if! the!others! still! refuse.!Aslan! later! admonishes! Lucy! and! forgives!her,! yet! she!will! never! know!what!would! have! occurred! had! she! first! been! obedient,!which,!of!course,!is!a!reminder!of!the!eternal!consequences!involved!in!our!choices.!

Lewis!serves!as!a!prophetic!voice!to!those!who!believe!all!hope! is!lost.!He!also!was!cognizant!how!despair!and!fear!can!cause!people!to!make!foolish! choices,! such! as! seeking! anyone! or! any! nation! who! appears!powerful! enough! to! provide! deliverance.! The! enemy! of! our! soul! uses!similar! tactics! by!making! dangerous! things! appear! safe.! The! enemy!does!not! seek! to! scare! us! to! death,! but! gives! a! false! sense! of! security! that! the!danger! of! a! spiritual! lapse! is! only! minimal.! For! this! reason,! 1! Peter! 5:9!exhorts!believers!to!be!resolute!in!their!faith.!The!prophet!Isaiah!likewise!encourages!God’s! people! to! pursue!his! divinely! given!mission!while! they!wait!for!the!Lord’s!timing!to!accomplish!his!plans!and!purposes.!

The!Lord!Jesus!is!the!believer’s!example!!“For!you!have!been!called!for!this!purpose,!since!Christ!also!suffered!for!you,!leaving!you!an!example!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 11!!for!you!to!follow!in!His!steps”!(1!Pet!2:21).!The!glory!of!God!is!allWinclusive,!and!the!aim!of!the!believer’s!life!(1!Cor!10:33).!Therefore,!the!Apostle!Paul!could!write,!“Be!imitators!of!me,! just!as!I!also!am!of!Christ”!(11:1).!Daniel'M.'Starcevich’s'article'concerning'“The'Use'of'Imitation'in'Paul”!encourages!Christian! leaders! and! pastors! to! “learn! from! Paul! about! how! to! present![themselves]! as! an! example,”! and! thereby! to! extend! that! means! of!“discipleship! in! the! local! church.”!Drew' Curley’s' concluding' article' in' his'series'addressing'new'Calvinism!demonstrates!concern!for!the!glory!of!God,!especially! in! terms! of! the! differences! between! cessationism! and!continuationism,! and! how! such! understanding! affects! a! local! church’s!approach! to! ministry.! The' final' article' written' by' G.' Robert' Graf! is! a!stimulating! biblical! analysis! “into! the! identities! of! the! nephilim,”!particularly! in!how!Moses!would!have!“used!a!variety!of!oral! techniques”!in! recounting! the! Genesis! account! to! provide! an! “encouraging! impetus.”!The!editors! trust! the!articles!herein,! in!addition! to! the!book!reviews,!will!dissuade!against!foolhardy!and!haughty!attitudes,!and!to!pursue!the!Lord’s!plans!and!purposes!for!He!“is!not!slow!about!His!promise”!(2!Pet!3:9).!May!we!all!be!found!in!“holy!conduct!and!godliness,! looking!for!and!hastening!the!coming!of!the!day!of!God”!(vv.!11W12).!!

—(Ron(J.(Bigalke,(Ph.D.(editor@tyndale.edu(

!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 13!!!

THE'USE'OF'IMITATION'IN'PAUL'AND'IN'EARLY'AND'LATER'DISPENSATIONALISM'

WITH'IMPLICATIONS'FOR'THE'CHURCH''

Daniel'M.'Starcevich'!In! several!of!his! epistles,!Paul!urged!his! readers! to! imitate!himself,! other!churches,! Christ,! or! God.! Modern! interpreters! of! Paul! understand! his!urging! in!a!variety!of!ways.!Andrew!Clark!saw!a!model!of! leadership!that!was! to! be! followed.1! Gordon! Everett! understood! this! to! be! part! of!evangelistic!followWup.2!Robert!Plummer!wrote!that!this!was!an!element!of!the! church’s! missionary! role.3! James! Samra! thought! that! this! was! the!equivalent! to! discipleship! after! Jesus’! ascension.4! Elisabeth! Castelli!believed!that!the!call!to!imitate!himself!was!a!strategy!Paul!used!to!oppress!and! coerce! the! churches.5! Are! all! of! these! interpretations! correct?! Does!God’s! Word! contain! a! coherent! and! consistent! Pauline! theology! of!imitation?! Is! there!a!distinctively!dispensational!aspect! to! the!application!of!this!theology?!How!can!this!inform!the!ministry!of!the!church?!

In! order! to! answer! these! questions,! this! article! contains! a!chronological,!contextual,!and!exegetical!analysis!of!Paul’s!use!of!the!term!μιμητής.!Subsequently,!there!is!an!evaluation!of!the!application!of!imitation!theology! in! early! and! later! dispensational! writers:! C.! I.! Scofield,! Lewis!Sperry! Chafer,! and! Charles! Ryrie.! The! article! concludes! with! some!recommendations! of! how! this! theology! might! be! used! to! inform! the!ministry!of!the!church.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*" Daniel" M." Starcevich," M.S.," Th.M.," advising" professor," Tyndale" Seminary;" vice<president"membership,"operations,"and"technology,"The"Pocket"New"Testament"League"(

1! Andrew! D.! Clark,! “Be! Imitators! of! Me:! Paul’s! Model! of! Leadership,”!Tyndale'Bulletin!49!(1998):!328.!

2! Gordon! L.! Everett,! “Relationships:! The! Missing! Link! in! Evangelistic!FollowWup,”!Bibliotheca'Sacra!142!(April—June!1985):!150.!

3!Robert!L!Plummer,!”Imitation!of!Paul!and!The!Church’s!Missionary!Role!in!1!Corinthians,”!Journal'of'the'Evangelical'Theological'Society!44!(2001):!218.!

4!James!G.!Samra,!“A!Biblical!View!of!Discipleship,”!Bibliotheca'Sacra!160!(April—June!2003):!218.!

5! E.! A.! Castelli,! Imitating' Paul:' A' Discourse' of' Power! (Louisville:!Westminster!John!Knox!Press,!1991)!37!

14( Use(of(Imitation!'

DEFINITION(OF(MIMHTHS"!The!μιμητής!word!group! is! rare,! as! it!does!not! appear!whatsoever! in! the!Septuagint.6!and! it!appears! just! four! times! in! the!Apocrypha! (4!Macc!9:23;!13:9;! Wis! 4:2;! 15:9).7! Outside! New! Testament! biblical! literature,! the!substantive!has!the!sense!of!one!who!represents!and!is!used!with!reference!to!an!actor!or!imposter.8!In!the!New!Testament,!unlike!classical!Greek,!this!term! is! always! used! in! a! positive! sense.9! The! verb! means! to! imitate,!emulate,!or! follow.!The!verb!is!used!only!11!times!in!the!New!Testament,!exclusively!in!the!Epistles.!The!writer!of!Hebrews!used!the!verb!twice!(Heb!6:12;!13:7),!whereas!only!once!by!John!(3!John!11),!and!8!times!by!Paul!(1!Cor!4:16;!11:1;!Eph!5:1;!Phil!3:17;!1!Thess!1:6;!2:14;!2!Thess!3:7,!9).!One!should! note! that! Jesus! never! commanded! his! followers! to! imitate! Him.!Samra! suggested! that! after! Jesus’! ascension! the! nature! of! discipleship!changed!and!this!term!was!used!in!place!of!the!invitation!to!be!a!disciple.10!!

ANALYSIS(OF(KEY(PASSAGES((Be!Imitators!of!Us!(1!Thess!1:6)!'Context'!First! Thessalonians!was!written! approximately! AD! 51! and! is! the! earliest!and!most! eschatologically! oriented! of! Paul’s! letters.! The! occasion!was! to!encourage!the!Thessalonians!to!live!in!a!manner!that!was!pleasing!to!God.!Specifically,! they! were! to! live! moral! (4:1W12),! confident! (4:13W18),!expectant!(5:1W11),!and!dutiful!lives!(5:12W25)!in!light!of!Christ’s!coming.!

In! the! introductory! section,! Paul,! Silas,! and! Timothy! sent! their!greetings! to! the! church! in! Thessalonica! (1:1)! and! they! commended! the!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!6!Gerhard!Kittel,!ed.,!Theological'Dictionary'of'the'New'Testament,!10!vols.,!

trans.! Geoffrey! W.! Bromiley! (Grand! Rapids:! Eerdmans,! 1974)! 4:663.! Michaelis!argued!that!the!idea!of!imitating!God!does!not!appear!at!all! in!the!Old!Testament!since!God!in!inimitable.!

7!The!noun!μίμημα!(“copy”)!is!found!in!Wisdom!9:8.!8!H.!G.! Liddell,!A'Lexicon:'Abridged' from'Liddell' and' Scott’s'GreekSEnglish'

Lexicon!(Oak!Harbor,!WA:!Logos!Research!Systems,!Inc.,!1996)!513.!9! H.! R.! Balz! and! G.! Schneider,! eds.,! Exegetical' Dictionary' of' the' New'

Testament,!3!vols.!(Grand!Rapids:!Eerdmans,!1980)!2:428.!10!Samra,!“Biblical!View!of!Discipleship,”!223.!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 15!!church! for! their! faithful!work,! labor,! and!hope! in! the! Lord! (1:2W10).! Paul!noted!the!certainty!of!their!election!through!the!message!of!the!gospel!(v.!4).! The! truth! of! the!message! had! been! confirmed! with!miraculous! signs!(δυνάµει),! the! Holy! Spirit,! and! their! sense! of! deep! conviction! (v.! 5a).! In!addition,! the! message! of! the! gospel! had! also! been! confirmed! to! the!Thessalonians,!who!had!lived!closely!with!the!apostolic!trio,!by!the!sort!or!kind!(οἷος)!of!lives!these!men!had!lived!among!them.!

What!sort!of!lives!did!they!live!there?!In!all!ways,!they!were!devout,!upright,!and!blameless!(2:10).!They!had!endured!suffering!and!opposition!in! order! to! bring! the! gospel! to! Thessalonica! (2:2).! They! had! acted! with!gentleness,! tenderness,! and! even! parental! affection! toward! the!Thessalonians! (vv.! 7W8,! 11)! and! worked! tirelessly! in! order! not! to! be! a!financial!burden!upon!the!community!(v.!9).!Their!goal!had!been!that! the!gospel!they!preached!would!be!confirmed!through!their!lifestyle.!

!Exegesis'Καὶ ὑµεῖς µιµηταὶ ἡµῶν ἐγενήθητε καὶ τοῦ κυρίου (Καὶ! continued!the!ὅτι! clause! from!verse!5!and!provided!another!basis! for!knowing! that! God! had! chosen! the! Thessalonians.! The! aorist! passive!ἐγενήθητε! focused! upon! what! the! Thessalonians! had! become! upon! their!reception!of! the! gospel.! The! verb! is! used!with! a! constative! aspect,!which!“describes! the! action! in! summary! fashion,! without! focusing! on! the!beginning! or! end! of! the! action! specifically.”11! Paul! thanked! God! that! the!Thessalonians!had!come!to!be!imitators,!that!is,!they!were!performing!the!work!that!they!had!observed!in!the!lives!of!others.!

Those!whom!they!were!imitating!were!identified!by!the!genitives:!ἡµῶν! .! .! .!καὶ τοῦ κυρίου.!At! first,! it!seems!somewhat!bold!that!Paul!paired!himself,! Silvanus,! and! Timothy! with! Jesus! as! those! whom! the!Thessalonians!were! imitating.!However,! this!should!not!be! too!surprising!in! that! Christ! is! the! center! of! the! gospel.! Therefore,! those! who! have!“received! the!word”!will! be! changed!by! their! exposure! to! it! and! emulate!the!manner!of! life! Jesus! lived.!Similarly,!Lenski! commented,! “Because! the!verb!is!placed!between!the!two!genitives,! the!second!genitive! is!the!more!emphatic! of! the! two.”12! In! other! words,! imitation! is! ultimately! of! τοῦ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

11! Daniel! Wallace,! Greek' Grammar' Beyond' the' Basics' (Grand! Rapids:!Zondervan,!1990)!557.!

12!R.!C.!H.!Lenski,!The'Interpretation'of'St.'Paul’s'Epistles'to'the'Colossians,'to'the'Thessalonians,'to'Timothy,'to'Titus'and'to'Philemon!(Columbus,!OH:!Lutheran!Book!Concern,!1937)!228.!

16( Use(of(Imitation!'κυρίου.!Everyone!else,!Paul!included,!was!dependent!upon!Him.!Therefore,!a! hierarchy! is! implied.! Balz! and! Schneider! have! observed,! “The! Pauline!statements!contain!a!certain!tendency!to!build! imitatio' into!a!hierarchical!system!(ranging!downward!from!God!to!Christ,!Paul,!the!congregation,!and!other!congregations).”13!

!δεξάµενοι τὸν λόγον !The! aorist! δεξάµενοι! is! a! participle! of! attendant! circumstance,! indicating!that!they!became!imitators!when!they!received!the!gospel.!One!should!note!that!the!usage!here!does!not!imply!that!the!Thessalonians!instantly!became!imitators!of!Paul,!his!companions,!and!Christ!at!the!moment!they!believed;!rather!it!is!simply!making!the!point!that!they!did,!in!fact,!become!imitators.!!ἐν θλίψει πολλῇ µετὰ χαρᾶς πνεύµατος ἁγίου !The!preposition!ἐν!was!used!here!as!a!marker!of!circumstance!or!condition!under!which! something! occurs.! The! circumstance!was! one! of! θλῖψις! that!involved! personal! suffering.! The! term! is! variously! translated! “affliction”!(KJV,!RSV),!“tribulation”!(NASB),!“trouble”!(TNT),!“trials”!(NAB),!“suffering”!(NEB,! NIV),! and! “hardship”! (NJB).! Paul’s! point! was! that! they! became!imitators!when!they!joyfully!suffered!as!a!result!of!believing!in!the!gospel.!Therefore,! their! imitation! of! Paul,! his! companions,! and! Christ!was! not! in!their! ability! to! bring! a! powerful! and! convicting! message! but! in! their!willingness! to! suffer! for! the! gospel! (2:2).! The! use! of!ὥστε! at! the! start! of!verse! 7! shows! the! result! of! their! imitative! endurance! of! suffering!which!was! that! they,! in! turn,! became! an! example! to! be! emulated! by! other!believers.! Their! endurance! was! also! imitative! of! the! churches! in! Judea,!which!had!also!suffered!(1!Thess!2:14W16).!!Summary'and'Analysis'(1'Thess'1:6)'!First!Thessalonians!1:6!contains!Paul’s!earliest!use!of! the!term!µιµητής;! it!was! used! as! part! of! a! commendation! and! in! the! sense! of! emulating! the!actions! of! Paul,! Silvanus,! Timothy,! and! Jesus.! The! referent!was! primarily!suffering! for! the!sake!of! the!gospel.!Such!suffering!was!the!second!of! two!proofs! which! Paul! provided! that! demonstrated! the! reality! that! God’s!elective!grace!had!been!extended!to!and!received!by!the!Thessalonians!(1!Thess!1:4).!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

13!Balz!and!Schneider,!Exegetical'Dictionary'of'the'New'Testament,!2:429.!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 17!!

The!Thessalonians!had,!in!turn,!become!an!imitable!example!for!the!sake!of!the!churches!in!Greece!(vv.!7W8).!Since!Jesus!had!also!suffered,!their!imitation! was! ultimately! of! Christ.! In! this! way,! Paul! established! a!community! of! suffering! and! hierarchy! of! imitation! which,! he! asserted,!proved!their!election.!The!prime!exemplar!of!the!suffering!of!the!elect!was!Christ!(v.!6c)!who!had!set!the!example!for!Paul,!Silvanus,!and!Timothy!(v.!6b)! and! who! was! imitated! by! the! Thessalonians! (v.! 6a),! who! were! now!being!imitated!by!the!churches!in!Greece!(vv.!7W8).!The!eschatological!hope!that!sustained! Jesus,! the!Apostles,!and!the!Thessalonians! finds!allusion! in!the!reference!to!“joy!of!the!Holy!Spirit.”!Although!they!were!suffering!now,!like!Jesus,!they!endured!it!for!the!hope!that!was!set!before!them!(1!Thess!1:10;!Heb!12:2).!

Consequently,!it!is!apparent!that!Paul!had!in!mind!much!more!than!emulation! of! himself;! instead,! he! had! a! cluster! of! exemplars! that! are!worthy! of! emulation.! The! cluster! contains! himself! and! his! group,! and!Christ.! Furthermore,! the! cluster! has! grown! to! include! the! church! of! the!Thessalonians.!All! these!were!willing!to! follow!Jesus,!endure!suffering! for!the!gospel,!and!provide!exemplary!testimony!of! the!truth!of! the!gospel!to!others.!To!follow!Christ!was!to!suffer!for!Him!as!the!Lord!promised!in!John!15:19W21.!!Be!Imitators!of!the!Churches!in!Judea!(1!Thess!2:14)!(Context'!After! thanking! God! that! the! Thessalonians! had! become! imitators! of!himself,!Silvanus,!Timothy,!and!Christ!(1!Thess!1:6),!and!that!their!example!had,! in! turn,! affected! churches! everywhere! so! that! the! news! of! their!commitment!to!Christ!had!become!widely!known!(vv.!7W10),!Paul!reminded!them!of! the!example!of!ministry! that!his!apostolic!band!had!set! for! them!(2:1W12).! Their! message,! Paul! wrote,! had! been! from! God! (v.! 2),! their!motives!were!free!from!deceit!(v.!3),!they!had!not!sought!to!please!people!(v.!4),!get!money!(v.!5)!or!glory!(v.!6)!but!instead!were!gentle!(v.!7),!loving!(v.!8),!hardWworking!(v.!9),!and!blameless!(v.!10).!Far!from!living!this!kind!of!life!for!selfish!reasons,!the!apostolic!group!lived!and!ministered!like!this!so! that! the! Thessalonians! would! have! an! example! of! redeemed! lives! to!follow! (vv.! 11W12).! From! gratitude,! the! Thessalonians! followed! their!example!which!moved! Paul! to! thanksgiving.! Not! only!were! they! grateful!but! also! Paul’s! group! was! in! constant! thanks! (v.! 13)! because! the!Thessalonians!had!also!imitated!the!churches!of!Judea!(v.!14).!!

18( Use(of(Imitation!'Exegesis'Ὑµεῖς γὰρ µιµηταὶ ἐγενήθητε, ἀδελφοί, τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν τοῦ θεοῦ τῶν οὐσῶν ἐν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ,!!The!conjunction!γὰρ! indicated!the!basis!for!the!statement!in!verse!13!that!they!had!received!the!word!of!God.!As!in!1:6,!the!Thessalonians’!imitation!of! others! suffering! proved! that! the! gospel! had! been! received.! The! aorist!passive!ἐγενήθητε!indicated!that!the!imitation!was!not!something!for!which!the! Thessalonians! had! striven;! instead,! it! was! an! imitation! that! had!occurred! to! them.! Their! exemplar! is! identified! in! the! following! genitival!clause:! the! churches! belonging! to! God! that!were! located! in! Judea! and! in!fellowship!with! the!Messiah.!The!point!of!comparison!was!delayed! to! the!next! clause.! Paul! intended! to! emphasize! their! emulation! of! churches! in!fellowship! with! God! the! Father! and! the! Son.! Paul! envisioned! a! united,!cohesive,! international! fellowship! bound! together! by! the! truth! of! the!gospel! for! the! sake! of!which! they!were! all! ready! to! endure! suffering.!No!wonder!Paul!and!his!associates!were!so!thankful!(1:2;!2:13)!for!the!church!in!Thessalonica.!!ὅτι τὰ αὐτὰ ἐπάθετε καὶ ὑµεῖς ὑπὸ τῶν ἰδίων συµφυλετῶν !The!use!of!ὅτι!was!explanatory.!The!root!meaning!of!πάσχω!is!“acted!upon”!or!“experience;”!however,!it!is!commonly!used!with!reference!to!suffering.!In!the!New!Testament,!only!7!instances!of!the!word!are!used!in!its!general!or! root! meaning;! 35! times! it! is! used! with! reference! to! the! suffering! of!Christians!or!of!Christ.!In!Paul’s!epistles,!it!is!used!in!1!Corinthians!12:26,!2!Corinthians! 1:6,! Galatians! 3:4,! Philippians! 1:29,! and! here,! in! 2!Thessalonians! 2:14.! Balz! and! Schneider! commented,! “In! the! earliest! NT!occurrence,! 1! Thess.! 2:14,! πάσχω! refers! to! the! suffering! of! Christians! in!persecution.”14!The!aorist!tense!is!constative,!describing!the!persecution!in!a! summary! way.! In! other! words,! Paul! had! in! mind! the! fact! of! the!persecution,!not!its!nature!or!duration.!The!agents!of!the!persecution!were!indicated!by!the!preposition!ὑπὸ.!Their!own!countryman,!fellow!Greeks,!or!perhaps! townsmen!had!persecuted! them.!The! fact! that! those!whom! they!lived!among!had!turned!on!them!must!have!heightened!the!sense!of!hurt.!The! persecution! in! view!may! be! that! described! in! Acts! 17:5W9.!While! in!Thessalonica!the!Jews!and!GodWfearing!Gentiles15!from!the!synagogue!who!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

14!Ibid.!3:51.!15! In! Acts! 10:22;! 13:43;! 17:4,! 17,! Gentiles! who! attended! synagogue! are!

referenced! as! godWfearers! (Walter! A.! Elwell! and! Philip!Wesley! Comfort,!Tyndale'

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 19!!were! interested! in! the! gospel! joined! Paul,!which! enraged! the! other! Jews!who!apparently!incited!a!Gentile!mob!against!Paul!and!the!church.!!καθὼς καὶ αὐτοὶ ὑπὸ τῶν Ἰουδαίων !The!imitable!element!of!the!Judean!churches!is!revealed!in!this!clause.!Just!as! those! churches! suffered! at! the! hands! of! their! neighbors,! so! the!Thessalonian!church!had!also!endured!the!abuse!of!theirs.!!Summary'and'Analysis'(1'Thess'2:14)'!In!1!Thessalonians!1:6,!Paul!thanked!God!for!the!Thessalonians!because!of!their! imitation!of!his! apostolic! community!and!Christ.! In!1!Thessalonians!2:13,!he!added!a!second!reason!for!thanks,!because!of!their!imitation!of!the!churches! in! Judea.! In! the! former! case,! the! Thessalonians! had! modeled!themselves!after!Paul,!Silvanus,!Timothy,!and!Christ.!These!men!had!set!an!example!of!sincere,!selfless,!faithful,!and!holy!service!(2:1W12).!In!the!latter!case,!the!Thessalonians!had!endured!suffering!from!their!own!countrymen!just!as!the!Judean!churches!had!suffered!at!the!hands!of!their!countrymen.!

The! instance! of! µιµητής! was! comparable! with! the! instance! found!1:6! in! several! ways.! First,! both! are! associated!with! passive! aorist! verbs.!Paul!was!clearly! looking!back!to!what!had!occurred!to!the!Thessalonians.!Through! the! grace! of! God,! they! had! become! imitators.! Second,! in! both!instances!the!endurance!of!“tribulation”!(1:6)!or!suffering!(2:14)!was!what!had! been!mimicked.! Third,! those!who! had! been! emulated!were! in! Christ!just! as! the!Thessalonians! too!were! in!Christ.!Therefore,! all!had!entered!a!fellowship!of!suffering!which!imitated!Christ.!

In!contrast,! in!1:6! it!was!Christ!and!Paul’s!small!band!of!apostolic!associates!who!provided!the!example!that!was!to!be!emulated.!These!men!had!lived!among!the!Thessalonians!and!they!had!personally!observed!their!way! of! life.! In! 2:14,! however,! it! was! the! remote! churches! of! Judea! who!were! the! example.! The! Thessalonians! must! have! heard! about! these!churches!from!Paul.!Perhaps!it!was!from!the!experience!of!those!churches!and!his! own! experience! during! his! first!missionary! journey! (Acts! 14:4W5,!19)! from! which! he! drew! the! warning! that! “we! were! going! to! suffer!affliction”!(1!Thess!3:4).!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Bible' Dictionary! [Wheaton:! Tyndale! House! Publishers,! 2001]! 544).! In! this! case,!two!groups!of!people!followed!Paul:!GodWfearers!and!Jews!interested!in!the!gospel.!A! third! group,! Jews! remaining! in! the! synagogue,! were! the! instigators! of! his!persecution.!

20( Use(of(Imitation!'Imitators!of!Our!Example!(2!Thess!3:7M9)!!Context'!Similar!to!1!Thessalonians,!2!Thessalonians!was!written!in!or!about!AD!51.!In! this! letter,! Paul! and! his! associates! encouraged! the! Thessalonian!community!to!persevere!through!their!persecution!(1:1W12).!They!did!this!by!providing!a!hope!for!the!future!and!instructions!for!the!present!(2:1—3:15).! First,! they! calmed! the!Thessalonian! concerns! about! having!missed!the!day!of!the!Lord!by!reminding!them!of!the!apostolic!teaching!they!have!heard,!in!order!that!they!may!have!hope!and!confidence!(2:1W17).!Second,!they!called! the!Thessalonians! to!prayer!and!to!disciplined! living,! in!order!that!the!community!may!remain!united!internally!and!with!the!rest!of!the!churches!(3:1W15).!

Drawing! to! a! close,! Paul! exhorted! the! church! to! pray! for! himself!and!his! coworkers! (vv.! 1W5),! not! to! be! involved!with! those!who! shunned!productive!work!(vv.!6W13),!and!not!to!be!involved!with!those!who!rejected!the! teaching! of! this! letter! (vv.! 14W15).! In! his! warning! concerning! those!living! disorderly! and! unproductive! lives! (v.! 6),! he! indicated! that! the!Thessalonians! were! well! aware! of! the! right! way! to! live! because! of! the!example! they! had! witnessed! (vv.! 7W10).! They! had! seen! Paul! and! his!associates! and! knew! that! they! had! not! lived! an! unproductive! life! among!them!nor!did! they! expect! the!Thessalonians! to! support! them,! although! it!was!their!right!to!demand!support.!On!the!contrary,!they!worked!diligently!(v.!8)!in!order!that!they!would!be!an!example!for!the!Thessalonians!of!how!a! holy! life! is! lived! (v.! 9).! Therefore,! the! Thessalonians! who! were!unproductive! were! to! settle! into! useful! work! while! the! faithful! were! to!continue!in!their!faithfulness!(vv.!11W13).!

!Exegesis'Αὐτοὶ γὰρ οἴδατε πῶς δεῖ µιµεῖσθαι ἡµᾶς,!!!The! conjunction!γὰρ!was!used!epexegetically! to! introduce!an!explanation!of!the!nature!of!the!tradition!or!instruction!(παράδοσις)!that!was!provided!by!Paul,!Silvanus,!and!Timothy!(2!Thess!2:1).!The!tradition!was!the!basis!of!the! command! to! separate! from! the!disorderly!brothers!and!sisters! in! the!church! (3:6).! The! perfect! tense! of! οἴδατε! makes! it! evident! that! the!Thessalonians! were! expected! to! be! acting! upon! what! they! learned! from!Paul! and! his! associates! during! their! stay! in! Thessalonica.!What! they! had!learned!was! that! they!were! to! follow!the!same!pattern!of! living! that!Paul!had! displayed.! Furthermore,! δεῖ µιµεῖσθαι ἡµᾶς! demonstrates! that! it! was!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 21!!incumbent!upon! the!Thessalonians! to!be! living!as! the!apostolic!band!had!lived!when!they!were!among!them,!hence!the!command!in!verse!6.!Clearly,!being! a! follower! of! Christ! and! Paul!meant!more! that! knowing! the! truth,!there!were!also!expected!to!be!living!the!truth.!!ὅτι οὐκ ἠτακτήσαµεν ἐν ὑµῖν !The!ὅτι!clause!explained!the!example!that!the!Thessalonians!should!follow.!First,!two!negative!examples!were!provided,!then!a!positive!one.!The!first!negative! example!was! that! they! had! not! acted! ἠτακτήσαµεν! among! them!(this! is! a! hapax' legomena).! Outside! the! Bible,! this! term! appears! in! the!Oxyrhynchus!Papyri!in!an!apprenticeship!agreement!where!a!father!agreed!that! his! son!was! to! recover! any! days!when! he! “plays! truant”! or! “fails! to!attend.”!Similarly,!in!another!instance,!a!weaver’s!apprentice!was!bound!to!recover! any! days!missed! from!work! due! to! idleness! or! illWhealth,! if! they!exceeded!the!twenty!days!off!that!he!was!allowed!in!the!year.!The!context!suggests! that! what! was! in! mind! was! an! irresponsible! shirking! of! one’s!responsibility! to! earn! one’s! living.16! The! aorist! plural! was! used!constatively,!depicting!the!action!as!a!whole.!Paul!and!his!associates!set!an!example!of!working!diligently!and!conscientiously! in!order!to!provide!for!their!own!needs.!The!Thessalonians!were!to!emulate!their!example.!!οὐδὲ δωρεὰν ἄρτον ἐφάγοµεν παρά τινος,!!The!conjunction!οὐδὲ!introduces!the!second!negative!example.!The!adverb!δωρεὰν! was! brought! to! the! front! of! the! clause! to! provide! force! and!emphasis.! Paul! emphatically! asserted! that! they! had! not! eaten! anything!without! paying! for! it! with! the! money! they! had! earned.! They! were! not!freeloaders! presuming! on! the! hospitality! of! the! Thessalonians.! Nor! did!they!exercise!their!apostolic!right!(1!Cor!10:3W14;!2!Thess!3:9)!to!food!and!housing;!instead,!they!worked!diligently!to!provide!for!their!own!needs!in!order!to!not!burden!the!Thessalonians!(1!Thess!9W12)!and!in!order!to!be!an!example!for!them.!!ἀλλʼ ἐν κόπῳ καὶ µόχθῳ νυκτὸς καὶ ἡµέρας ἐργαζόµενοι !The!phrase!here!echoes!τὸν κόπον ἡµῶν καὶ τὸν µόχθον· νυκτὸς καὶ ἡµέρας ἐργαζόµενοι πρὸς τὸ µὴ ἐπιβαρῆσαί τινα ὑµῶν!in!1!Thessalonians!2:9!where!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

16! James!Hope!Moulton!and!George!Milligan,!The'Vocabulary'of' the'Greek'Testament!(London:!Hodder!and!Stoughton,!1930)!89.!

22( Use(of(Imitation!'Paul! had! also! reminded! them! of! their! diligent! labor! on! their! behalf.!Apparently,! the! apostolic! band!did! not!want! to! burden! this! congregation!with!any!kind!of! financial!obligation!to!support! them.!The!truth!that! they!were!willing!to!receive!support!is!apparent!in!Philippians!4:16!where!Paul!acknowledged! the! Philippians’! financial! support! for! the! work! in!Thessalonica.! Therefore,! it! appears! that! Paul! and! his! associates! were!willing! to! accept! support! from! more! established! congregations! to! help!start! new! churches,! but! they! did! not! expect! new! churches! to! begin!supporting!them!until! they!had!achieved!a! level!of!spiritual!maturity! that!caused!the!church!to!volunteer!financial!support!(2!Cor!9:6ff).!!πρὸς τὸ µὴ ἐπιβαρῆσαί τινα ὑµῶν !The! preposition! πρὸς! introduced! their! purpose! for! such! diligent! work.!Furthermore,! as! in! 1! Thessalonians! 2:9,! their! purpose! was! not! to! put! a!financial! burden!on! the!Thessalonians,!which! is! in! contrast! to! those!who!were!not!following!the!example!of!the!Apostle!and!his!associates!(2!Thess!3:6).!Paul,!Silvanus,!and!Timothy!had!been!selfless!in!their!devotion!to!the!Thessalonians.! Their! desire! that! the! Thessalonians! follow! their! example!was!not! an! attempt! to! coerce! them!but! rather! a! plea! to! adopt! a! holy! life!where! each! person! was! bearing! the! responsibility! of! providing! for!themselves!so!as!not!to!put!an!undue!burden!on!others.!!οὐχ ὅτι οὐκ ἔχοµεν ἐξουσίαν,!!Their! selflessness! was! highlighted! by! the! fact! that! they! could! have!reasonably! expected! to! receive! financial! support.! The! noun! ἐξουσία!suggests!that!they!had!a!right!to!such!aid.!However,!they!relinquished!their!right!in!favor!of!not!putting!a!burden!on!the!Thessalonians!(v.!8).!!ἀλλʼ ἵνα ἑαυτοὺς τύπον δῶµεν ὑµῖν !Not!only!did!they!not!want!to!burden!them!but!also!they!wanted!to!leave!a!model!of!devout,!upright,!and!blameless!behavior!(1!Thess!2:10).!The!noun!τύπος!originally!referred!to!the!“mark”!of!a!blow!(cf.!John!20:25),!but!later!came! to! mean! the! “stamp”! or! the! “figure”! which! a! mark! bears,! and!therefore!a!“pattern,”!or!“model.”17!They!wanted!to!leave!the!Thessalonians!not! only! with! teaching! about! Christ! and! his! eschatological! plan! but! also!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!17!Ibid.!645.!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 23!!with!the!example!of!a!lifestyle,!which!had!been!stamped!upon!them,!and!to!which!they!were!also!to!conform!themselves.!!εἰς τὸ µιµεῖσθαι ἡµᾶς !The!preposition!εἰς! followed!by!the!articular! infinitive!µιµεῖσθαι!was!used!to! identify!Paul’s!purpose,!which!was! to! leave!an! imitable!pattern! for! the!Thessalonians.!!Summary'and'Analysis'(2'Thess'3:7R9)'!In! 2! Thessalonians! 3:6,! Paul! commanded! that! the! Thessalonians! not!fellowship!with! brothers!who!were! living! in! a!way! that!was! inconsistent!with! the! instructions! that! they! had! been! provided.! Beginning! in! verse! 7,!Paul!elaborated!upon!what!these!instructions!were.!They!consisted!of!the!imitable! life! that! the! apostolic! band! had! lived! while! among! them! (v.! 7).!Their! example! was! a! life! of! diligent! labor! at! making! their! own! living! in!order! to! not! place! any! sort! of! financial! obligation! or! burden! on! the!Thessalonians!(vv.!8W9).!Paul!repeated!that!this!type!of!life!was!an!example!for!them!to!follow!in!verses!7!and!9,!and!it!was!clear!that!there!were!those!living!within!the!community!who!were!idle!and!busybodies.!They!were!to!be!urged!to!live!a!quiet!and!diligent!life!(vv.!11W12).!

In!1!Thessalonians!1:6,!Paul!had!commended!the!Thessalonians!for!their!imitation!of!Jesus!and!the!apostolic!band.!In!1!Thessalonians!2:14,!he!commended! them! again! for! their! imitation! of! the! Judean! churches.!However,! here! he! found! it! necessary! to! issue! a! command! to! continue! in!this!lifestyle.!The!command!appears!to!have!been!directed!primarily!to!the!group!in!the!church!who!were!idle,!and!secondarily!as!an!encouragement!for!the!others!to!“not!grow!weary!of!doing!good”!(v.!13).!The!instruction!is!similar!to!the!rhetorical!strategy!apparent!in!1!Corinthians!4:16!where!he!urged!the!church!to!imitate!himself!as!a!corrective!to!factionalism.!(Imitators!of!Me!(1!Cor!4:16)!(Context'!Paul!wrote!1!Corinthians! (1!Cor!1:1W2;! 16:21)! in!AD!54! from!Ephesus! (1!Cor!16:8).!The!reason!he!wrote!this!letter!was!because!of!a!report!that!had!come! to! him! concerning! problems! and! questions! among! the! church.!Problems!included!personalityWbased!divisions!(chs.!1—4),!and!immorality!(chs.! 5—6).! Additional! instruction! was! needed! concerning!marriage! (ch.!

24( Use(of(Imitation!'7),! the! exercise! of! liberty! regarding! pagan! sacrifices! (chs.! 8—10),!orderliness! and! reverence! when! the! community! gathered! (chs.! 11—14),!and!the!resurrection!of!Jesus!(chs.!15—16).!

In! 1! Corinthians! 1:11W12,! Paul! addressed! the! issue! of! divisions!within!the!church!in!Corinth.!He!emphasized!three!things!in!his!response.!First,! in! verses!13W31!he! emphasized!unity! in!Christ!who! is! the! center!of!the!ministry!of!Paul!and!the!Apostles.!Although!each!of!them!had!a!distinct!role! (v.! 17)! this! did! not! mean! that! their! roles! were! conflicting! or!disconnected.! He! then! described! His! particular! role! as! focused! upon! the!preaching!of!the!cross!(vv.!18W25)!that!resulted!in!their!salvation!because!God!had!chosen!them!for!union!in!Christ!(vv.!26W31).!

Secondly,!he!emphasized!that!he!was!a!steward!of!God’s!wisdom!(1!Cor!2:7)!that!had!been!revealed!by!God’s!Spirit!(v.!10)!and!taught!(v.!12)!to!the!Corinthians!(v.!13)!with!the!result!that!they!all!share!the!mind!of!Christ!(v.!13).!Their!divisions!were!therefore!a!result!of!resisting!this!wisdom!and!the!mind!of!Christ!by!remaining!immature!in!their!thinking!and!acting!as!if!they!were!unredeemed!people!(1!Cor!3:1W4).!

Lastly,! Paul! emphasized! that! he,! like! all! people,! was! a! servant! in!God’s! household.! Each! person! had! a! specific! responsibility! that! was!assigned! to! them! by! God! to! build! his! temple! and! who! would! judge! the!results! of! their! work! (vv.! 5W15).! The! Corinthians! themselves! were! the!temple! that! God! was! building! through! the! Apostles! (vv.! 16W17).! The!Corinthians! therefore! were! to! assess! God’s! work! through! the! Apostles!using!the!mind!of!Christ!(2:16)!instead!of!through!the!wisdom!of!the!world,!with!the!result!that!they!would!recognize!their!unity!in!Christ!(3:18W23).!

In! 1! Corinthians! 4:1W5,! Paul! combined! these! three! emphases! and!told!the!Corinthians!no!longer!to!pass!judgment!upon!each!other!but!rather!to! learn! and! apply! the! lesson! of! the! way! that! he! and! Apollos! had!cooperated! in! their!work! on! behalf! of! the! Corinthians! (vv.! 6W7).! He! then!used! irony!and!sarcasm!to!persuade!the!Corinthians!of! their!comparative!spiritual! immaturity!(vv.!8W13).!His!motive!was! to!warn!them!as!a!parent!about!continuing!in!their!immature!ways!(νουθετέω).!

!Exegesis'Παρακαλῶ οὖν ὑµᾶς,!!Παρακαλῶ!referred!to!urging!and!encouraging!addressed!to!the!community!of! faith! which! was! “designed! to! lead! them! to! conduct! worthy! of! the!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 25!!gospel.”18!Paul’s!warning!in!verse!14!was!the!basis!of!his!exhortation!here.!The!οὖν!connects!this!to!verses!4:14!and!following,!where!Paul!designated!himself! the! father! of! the! readers.!With! fraternal! tenderness! he! urged! his!τέκνα! to! imitate! his! sacrificial! way! of! life.! The! Corinthians! were! not! to!continue! in! the! derisiveness! that! was! characteristic! of! their! spiritually!immaturity.!Therefore,!he!urged!them!to!conduct!themselves!in!a!manner!worthy!of!the!gospel.!!µιµηταί µου γίνεσθε !In! light! of! Paul’s! exhortation,! the! imperative! γίνεσθε! may! be! more! of! a!request! than! command.! However,! verse! 21! prevents! one! from! asserting!that! the! sense! of! a! command! is! altogether! absent.! Wallace! noted,! “On!occasion,! the! request! imperative! will! be! used! by! a! superior! when!addressing!an!inferior,!especially!when!one!in!authority!is!pleading.”19!The!way! that! the! Corinthians! were! to! pursue! spiritual! maturity! –! in! their!attitude! and! actions! –! was! to! adopt! a! crossWcentered! life! through! the!emulation! of! Paul.! The! previous! discussion! had! demonstrated! that! he!understood!the!wisdom!and!power!of!God!expressed!through!the!cross!and!was!living!by!it.!Likewise,!the!Corinthians!were!to!integrate!what!they!had!been!taught!with!how!they!lived.!

Not! only! Paul’s! preaching! but! also! his! life! embodied! the! gospel.!Consequently,! besides! being! the! instrument! through! which! God! had!brought! the! message! of! the! crucifixion,! death,! and! salvation! to! Corinth,!Paul! served! another! function.! He! provided! a! living! example! of! how! this!gospel!was! integrated!with! life,!which!resulted! in!spiritual!maturity.! “The!imitation!refers!here!not!only!to!the!humility!of!the!apostle!but!rather!—!as!the!description!in!1!Cor.!4:8–13!implies!—!to!his!entire!life!(which!is,!to!be!sure,! characterized!by!humility).!The! ‘ways’!of! the!apostle! (v.!17)!are! the!prescriptions! for! the! Christian! life,!which! he! had! given! in! his! instruction!(cf.! 7:17;! 14:33)! and! which! is! organically! connected! with! his! exemplary!disposition! (διὰ τοῦτο αὐτό! connects! v.! 17!with!v.! 16).!We!may!probably!view!the!imitatio'Pauli'in!1!Corinthians!4:16!and!following,!as!an!imitation!of! Christ,! insofar! as! the! description! of! 4:9–13! points! beyond! Paul! to! the!Lord!as!example!(cf.!11:1;!1!Thess!1:6).”20!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

18!D.!K.!McKim,!“Exhort,”!in!The'International'Standard'Bible'Encyclopedia,'rev.'ed.,!ed.!Geoffrey!W.!Bromiley,!4!vols.!(Grand!Rapids:!Eerdmans,!1979)!2:221.!

19!Wallace,!Greek'Grammar'Beyond'the'Basics,!488.!!20!Balz!and!Schneider,!Exegetical'Dictionary'of'the'New'Testament,!2:429.!

26( Use(of(Imitation!'Summary'and'Analysis'(1'Cor'4:16)'!First!Corinthians!1—4!addressed! the! issue!of!personalityWbased!divisions!within!the!church.!Paul!countered!this!situation!by!reminding!them!of!their!unity! in! Christ,! the! stewardship!he! exercised! over! the!word! entrusted! to!him,!and!the!service!he!had!provided!in!establishing!the!church!in!Corinth.!The!reminder!is!replete!with!examples!of!how!Paul!had!personally!worked!as!an!agent!of!God,!and!in!cooperation!with!Apollos!(and!others)!in!service!to!the!Corinthians.!He!closed!this!section!with!an!urgent!request!that!they!would! imitate! his! humble! actions! and! attitudes.! Instead! of! divisions,!therefore,! he! expected! unity! and! cooperation! in! the! growth! of! the!community,! and! careful! stewardship! over! God’s! Word! that! had! been!entrusted! to! them.! “In! calling! the! Corinthians! to! imitate! him,! Paul! is!pointing!to!his!life!of!weakness!as!the!way!to!embody!the!life!of!the!cross.!By!imitating!Paul! in!this!respect!the!Corinthians!will!adopt!the!manner!of!life!needed!to!live!faithfully!until!Christ’s!return.”21!

Unlike! the! Thessalonians! who! were! praised! for! having! become!imitators! and! urged! to! continue,! Paul! was! correcting! the! Corinthian!church.!They!had!not! incarnated!the!example!of!service!and!sacrifice!that!they! had!been! taught! and!which!Paul! had!demonstrated.! Therefore,! they!needed!to!pattern!themselves!after!what!they!had!witnessed.!!Be!Imitators!of!Me!(1!Cor!11:1)!(Context'!There! is! an! unfortunate! chapter! division! after! 1! Corinthians! 10:33.! The!prepositions,! Περὶ δὲ! at! 8:1! and! δὲ! at! 11:2,! distinguish! 8:1—11:1! as! a!division!within!the! letter.!The!section!addressed!how!to!balance!personal!liberty!with! love! for! one! another!with! the! goal! of! building! up! the!whole!body!of! Christ! (1!Cor! 8:1).! The! occasion! for! this! discussion!was!whether!the!Corinthians,!who!knew!that!there!were!no!other!gods!beside!the!Lord!(v.!4),!were!at!liberty!to!eat!food!that!had!been!sacrificed!to!a!pagan!deity!(vv.! 1,! 4).! In! response,! Paul! affirmed! that! the! redeemed! knew! that! there!was! only! one! God! (vv.! 4W6)! while! also! acknowledging! that! not! everyone!was!mature! enough! to! participate! in! rituals! related! to! the! pagan! temple!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!21!Stephen!E.!Fowl,!“Imitation!of!Paul/of!Christ,”!in!Dictionary'of'Paul'and'

his'letters,!eds.!Gerald!F.!Hawthorne,!Ralph!P.!Martin,!and!Daniel!G.!Reid!(Downers!Grove:!InterVarsity!Press,!1993)!428.!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 27!!(vv.!7W12).!The!way!forward!was!to!curtail!personal!liberty!for!the!sake!of!helping!the!weaker!or!immature!brother!(v.!13).!

In! 1! Corinthians! 9,! Paul! provided! his! own! actions! among! the!Corinthians!as!an!example!of!how! love! for! them!had!caused!him!to! forgo!his!rights!for!their!good.!In!9:1W7,!he!catalogued!his!right!to!eat,!drink,!have!a!wife,! and! to! receive! finacial! support.! In! verses! 8W14,! he! reasoned! from!Deuteronomy!25:4!that!the!Lord!had!affirmed!that! those!who!proclaimed!the!gospel!had!a!right!to!earn!a!living!by!the!gospel.!Beginning!in!verse!15,!however,!his!discussion!turned!from!his!rights!to!how!he!had!“used!none!of!those! things.”! Instead! he! had!made! himself! a! voluntary! slave! in! order! to!win!as!many!people!as!possible!to!Christ!(vv.!19,!22,!23).!He!concluded!this!discussion! by! making! a! comparison! between! himself! and! an! athelete! in!training.! Just! as! the! athelete! curtailed!his! own! liberty! and!disciplined!his!body!to!win!a!prize,!so!also!Paul!disciplined!himself!so!that!he!would!not!be!disqualified!from!rewards!for!his!ministry!(vv.!24W27).!

In!1!Corinthians!10:1,!Paul!turned!from!the!discussion!of!liberty!to!one!of!idolatry.!Drawing!from!the!example!of!Israel’s!idolatry!(1!Cor!10:1W13),!he!urged!his!readers!to!flee!from!idols!(v.!14).!Although!they!knew!that!idols!were!nothing!(1!Cor!8:4),!he!asserted!that!the!better!part!of!wisdom!was!to!have!nothing!whatsoever!to!do!with!pagan!practices!(1!Cor!10:14W22).! As! he! drew! to! a! close,! Paul! derived! a! precept! that! individual! liberty!must!be!set!aside!for!the!sake!of!the!spiritual!wellWbeing!of!both!believers!and!unbelievers.!In!other!words,!all!things!should!be!undertaken!with!the!view!to!magnifying!God’s!glory!(vv.!23W33).!

!Exegesis'µιµηταί µου γίνεσθε !As! in! 1! Corinthians! 4:14,! the! imperative! γίνεσθε! was! more! request! than!command,! which! was! particularly! true! here! since! there! was! no!accompanying!paternal!warning!regarding!a!possible!need!to!discipline!his!unruly! children,! as! there!was! in! 1! Corinthians! 4:21.! Paul! instead! offered!himself!as!an!exemplar!in!how!to!balance!knowledge!and!love!for!the!good!of!others.!The!truth!that!Paul!was!an!example!to!emulate!has!been!implicit!throughout!this!section;!however,!herein!he!makes!it!explicit.!!καθὼς κἀγὼ Χριστοῦ !The!comparative!adverb!καθὼς!alerts!the!Corinthians!that!in!following!Paul!they! are! actually! following! Christ.! Clearly! there!was! a! hierarchy! in!mind!here.!Christ!sets!the!example,!Paul!followed!Christ,! the!Corinthians!follow!

28( Use(of(Imitation!'Paul.! Spiritual! direction! and! growth,! therefore,! had! an! ultimately!Christocentric!goal!and!focus!and!looked!to!the!building!up!of!the!Church!which! Jesus! has! established.! “For! the! Corinthians! to! imitate! Paul! as! he!imitates! Christ,! the! one! who! calls! the! community! into! being! and! who!sustains!it!(1!Cor!1:30),!they!will!need!to!dedicate!themselves!to!the!task!of!building!up! the!body.! In! terms!of! concrete! action! this! imitation!demands!that!the!Corinthians!seek!the!wellWbeing!of!others!rather!than!their!own.”22!!Summary'and'Analysis'(1'Cor'11:1)'!Paul!offered!himself!as!an! imitable!exemplar!of!what! it!means! to!balance!individual!liberty!with!care!for!the!community.!Through!his!example,!Paul!provided!a!model!for!how!what!was!known!(8:4)!was!to!be!integrated!with!behavior!(9:1W18)!for!the!benefit!of!the!community!(8:13;!9:12,!19,!22,!32)!and! to! the! glory! of! God! (10:32).! His! example! included! making! radical!decisions! concerning! providing! even! for! his! own! needs.! In! 1! Corinthians!4:11W13,!he!said!that!he!lacked!the!basics!of!life,!supported!himself!through!manual! labor,! and!was! treated!with! distain! and! scorn.! Despite! his! acute!need,!he!willingly!surrendered!his!rights!to!food,!the!comfort!of!a!wife,!and!financial!support!(9:1W7).!Moreover,!he!did!without!these!things!in!order!to!make!his!message!as!winsome!as!possible!to!the!Corinthians.!He!compared!his! practice! to! an! athlete! who! willingly! subjected! his! body! to! rigourous!discipline!in!order!to!win!a!prize.!!Follow!My!Example!(Phil!3:17)!!Context'!Written!to!a!Roman!colony!in!Greece,!Paul!updated!them!with!regard!to!his!situation! (Phil! 1:12W26),! encouraged! them! to! maintain! unity! through!humility! (1:27—2:30),!warned! them! of! the! twin! but! opposite! dangers! of!Judaizers!and!antinomians!(3:1—4:1),!and!thanked!them!for!their!financial!support! (Phil! 4:2W23).! Paul! opened! his! letter!with! praises! to! God! for! the!Philippians!(vv.!3W4)!because!of!their!partnership!with!him!in!the!work!of!the!gospel!(v.!5).!Paul!was!certain!that!God!would!bring!them!to!spiritual!maturity! on! the! day! of! Christ! (v.! 6),! and! he! tenderly! and! affectionately!loved!them!(vv.!7W8).!Paul!prayed!that!their!love!may!result! in!knowledge!and! insight!(v.!9)!enabling!them!to!discern!what!was!best!(v.!10a)!and!to!live! in! holiness! (vv.! 10bW11).! Demonstrating! the! discernment! that! Paul!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

22!Ibid.!429.!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 29!!wanted!the!Philippians!to!have!(1:10a),!he!used!his!circumstances!to!show!that!testifying,!preaching,!and!exalting!Christ!were!by!far!the!best!things.!

Although!he!was! imprisoned! the! gospel!was! advanced! (v.! 12),! he!had! opportunity! to! testify! (v.! 13)! and! others! were! encouraged! (v.! 14).!Although!some!were!preaching!Christ!vindictively,!the!important!thing!was!that!Christ!was!preached!(v.!18b).!Finally,!although!convinced!he!would!be!released!(vv.!24W26),!Paul’s!joy!was!unperturbed!because!he!was!confident!that!even!his!death!would!result!in!the!exaltation!of!Christ.!

In! 1:27,! Paul! moved! into! the! paraenesis! of! the! letter! which! is!distinguished! by! the! phrase! “stand! firm,”! and! forms! an! inclusio! around!1:27!and!4:1.!Paul!began!his!exhortation!with!a!call!to!unity!and!to!contend!for!the!faith.!No!matter!what!the!circumstances!which!may!result!(v.!27a),!they!were!to!live!a!worthy!life!(v.!27b),!which!involved!a!life!lived!in!unity!within! the! community! while! they! contended! for! the! faith! with! those!outside!the!community!(1:27W30).!The!Philippians!were!exhorted!to!be! in!unity! through! tender! humility.! The! supreme! example! of! humility! was!Christ!who!did!not!use!his!prerogatives!as!a! reason! for!selfWassertion!but!instead!humbled!Himself!to!the!point!of!death!on!a!cross.!The!Philippians!were!urged!to!work!out!the!salvation!they!had!in!Christ!through!humility.!Paul,!Timothy,!and!Epaphroditus!were!offered!as!examples!of!such!loving!humility!being!worked!out!in!the!lives!of!believers!for!the!benefit!of!others!(2:1W30).!

In!3:1,!Paul!turned!from!the!subject!of!unity!to!contending!for!the!faith.! They! were! called! to! resist! (v.! 2a)! those! who! would! distort! the!message!of!the!gospel!(v.!2)!and!the!promise!of!salvation!through!faith!in!Christ! (v.! 3).! They! were! to! reject! those! who! would! put! confidence! in!genealogy!or!in!legalistic!achievement!(vv.!1W4a).!Instead!they!were!called,!through! example,! to! leave! behind! that! old!way! of! thinking! (vv.! 7W8)! and!press!on!toward!the!goal!of!their!call!to!salvation!(v.!14).!While!the!mature!would! agree,! the! immature,! who! are! those! who! disagreed,! would!eventually! be! made! to! see! the! truth! of! what! Paul! wrote! (v.! 15).!Nevertheless,!all!were!called!to!live!according!to!the!light!of!the!truth!they!currently! possessed! (v.! 16).! They! were! to! stand! united! against! false!teaching!which!contradicted!the!gospel!that!he!had!first!presented!to!them.!In!3:17W21,!the!Philippians!were!urged!to!work!out!this!call!to!stand!firm,!and!contend! for! the! faith! in! light!of! the!example!of!Paul!and!those!others!who!were!among!them!who!also!followed!Paul’s!example!(v.!17).!!!!!

30( Use(of(Imitation!'Exegesis'Συµµιµηταί µου γίνεσθε, ἀδελφοί,!!The!present!imperative!γίνεσθε!is!a!command!directed!to!the!ἀδελφοί.!The!use!of! this! latter! term! suggests!Paul’s! affection! toward! them.!As! in! other!instances,! this! also! softens! the! sense! of! the! command! to! be! more! of! an!urgent!and!heartfelt!plea.!Συµµιµηταί!is!a!hapax'legomena;!it!reinforces!the!plea!to!become!a!fellow!imitator.!The!prefix!συµ!–!if!it!were!directed!to!Paul!–!would!mean! he!was! asking! them! to! join! him! in! following! his! example,!which! is! redundant! and! bordering! on! nonsense;! instead! it! is! better! to!understand!the!prefix!as!designating!a!group!who!were!presently!imitating!Paul.! As! in! 1! Thessalonians,! Paul! was! inviting! them! to! join! in! a! band! of!others!who!have!joined!the!community!of!those!who!imitate!Christ.!Who!is!in! the! community! of! imitators?! Undoubtedly,! Timothy! and! Epaphroditus!are!in!this!group.!The!former!has!set!himself!apart!because!of!his!genuine!concern!for!the!welfare!of!the!Philippians!(2:21),!the!latter!is!to!be!held!in!high!regard!(v.!30)!because!he!had!risked!his!life!for!them.!However,!4:21!indicates!that!there!is!a!larger!community!around!Paul.!!καὶ σκοπεῖτε τοὺς οὕτως περιπατοῦντας καθὼς ἔχετε τύπον ἡµᾶς.!!The!verb!σκοπεῖτε!sets!off!another!present!imperative!clause.!Here,!in!3:17,!Paul!urged!the!Philippians!to!take!note!of!those!who!are!among!them!who!have! adopted! a! manner! of! life! that! emulates! the! model! of! the! Pauline!community.! In! 3:18W19,! Paul! called! the! Philippians! attention! to! those!among! them! whose! eschatological! future! was! damnation! because! they!were!engaged!in!a!life!of!sensuality!that!witnesses!to!the!fact!that!they!are!enemies! of! the! cross! (Phil! 3:18W19).! In! contrast,! Paul! envisioned! a!community! that!was! emulating! his!way! of! life.! A! joyful! life,! satisfied! that!salvation!in!Christ!was!preached!(v.!18),!is!centered!in!the!cross!(1:21),!and!seeks!unity! through!humility!and!perseveres! through! trials! (2:1W18),! as!a!life! lived! in! service! to! others! (1:23W26;! 2:21,! 29W30).! The! community’s!eschatological! future! was! to! be! in! heaven! with! Jesus,! whose! imminent!arrival!(4:5)!they!were!awaiting!(3:20W21).!!Summary'and'Analysis'(Phil'3:17)'!In! contrast! to!other! instances!where!Paul! called!upon!believers! to! follow!his!example,!in!this!instance,!he!used!a!rare!word,!συµµιµηταί,!to!summon!them!to!a!community!of! imitators!who!were!all!dedicated!to!working!out!their!salvation!as!God!was!working!in!them!(Phil!2:12W13).!The!community!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 31!!lived! in! stark! contrast! with! that! of! the! false! teachers.!Whereas! the! false!teachers!were!thoroughly!rooted!in!the!earthly!and!sinful!lusts!(3:19),!the!followers! of! Paul! were! citizens! of! heaven! (v.! 20).! The! future! of! those!following! the! false! teachers! was! one! of! condemnation! and! destruction.!Those!in!Paul’s!community!looked!for!a!heavenly!salvation!and!reward:!the!transformation!of!the!bodies!of!flesh!into!bodies!of!glory!(v.!21).!

As!in!1!and!2!Thessalonians,!Paul!was!writing!to!a!community!that!was!faithful.!His!affectionate!care!for!them!is!evident!as!he!addressed!them!as!“brothers”!at!the!beginning!of!verse!17.!Although!among!the!recipients!of!each!letter,!there!was!some!who!were!more!mature!than!others,!for!the!most! part! both! churches!were! commendable.! In! both! Thessalonians! and!Philippians,! the! churches!were! urged! to! emulate! not! Paul! alone! but! also!“those!who!walk!according!to!the!pattern!you!have!in!us”!(Phil!3:17).!

!Be!Imitators!of!God!(Eph!5:1)!Context'!After! a! traditional! salutation! (Eph! 1:1W2),! Paul! described! the! position! of!believers!in!1:3—3:21.!Paul!wrote!that!–!by!grace!–!believers!were!chosen!by! God,! redeemed! by! Christ,! and! sealed! by! the! Holy! Spirit! (1:3W14).! He!prayed!that!the!believer!may!understand!and!hope!for!the!riches!God!has!given!them,!and!that!they!would!know!the!power!of!God!that!was!at!work!(vv.! 15W23).! Although! dead! in! sin,! the! believer! had! been! saved! by! God’s!grace!and!seated!with!Christ!in!the!heavenlies!(2:1W10).!Having!been!saved!by! grace,! both! Jew!and!Gentile!were!now!united! into! one!new!body.! Jew!and! Greek! have! equal! access! to! God! through! the! Spirit! (vv.! 14W22).! Paul!again! prayed! for! the! believers.! He! asked! that! their! inward! self!would! be!strengthened,!that!they!would!know!the!indwelling!presence!of!Christ,!and!that!they!would!be!united!in!love!and!in!the!knowledge!of!the!love!of!God!(3:1W21).!

In! 4:1—6:9,! Paul! moved! into! the! paraenesis! of! the! letter! and!described! the! practice! of! believers.! Believers!were! to!walk! in! a!way! that!was! worthy! of! the! position! that! they! now! shared! with! Christ! in! the!heavenlies! (4:1).! They! were! to! preserve! the! oneness! established! by! the!Spirit! of! God! through! a! way! of! living! that! was! characterized! by! humble!gentleness!and!patient!bearing!with!one!another!(4:2W16).!Believers!had!an!obligation!to!respond!to!God’s!work!in!them!by!abandoning!the!ways!of!the!Gentiles,!which!was!their!former!manner!of!living!(vv.!17W24);!instead,!they!were!to!embrace!the!ways!of!God!by!abandoning!their!old!ways,!renewing!their!minds,! and! adopting! the! new! life! which! leads! to! godliness! (4:25—6:9).!

32( Use(of(Imitation!'Exegesis'Γίνεσθε οὖν µιµηταὶ τοῦ θεοῦ !The!inferential!conjunction!οὖν!relates!the!clause!to!the!exhortation!to!“put!on! the! new! self,! which! in! the! likeness! of! God! has! been! created! in!righteousness! and! holiness”! (4:24).! The! intervening! verses! 25W32! extend!what!it!meant!to!put!on!the!likeness!of!God.!Here,!in!5:1,!Paul!summarized!these!verses!into!a!gnomic!command!that!also!introduced!further!specific!instruction.! As! in! the! other! instances! of! the! use! of! the! imperative! with!µιµητής, γίνεσθε!(used!with!τέκνα! in!the!following!clause)!was!understood!as!more!of!an!urgent!and!paternal!plea.!

The!assertion!that!God!was!the!person!to!be!emulated!was!unusual.!As!noted!previously,! it!does!not!appear!in!the!Septuagint!and!is!only!here!in! the!New!Testament.! There! are,! however,! functionally! equivalent! ideas!and!phrases! in! the!Old!Testament! such! as! “following!God”! (Numb!14:24;!32:11W12;!Josh!14:8W9,!14;!1!Sam!12:14;!1!Kgs!11:6;!14:8)!and!particularly!in!the!Levitical!holiness!code,!such!as!Leviticus!19:2,!“You!shall!be!holy,!for!I! the!LORD!your!God!am!holy.”!Likewise,! there!are!equivalents! in!the!New!Testament,!such!as!in!Luke!6:35W36!and!Matthew!5:48!where!people!are!to!emulate!God’s!kindness!and!mercy.23!!ὡς τέκνα ἀγαπητὰ !No!doubt!Paul!intended!τέκνα!in!the!sense!of!an!endearing!way!of!referring!to!the!members!of!the!church.!However,!it!also!alluded!to!the!relationship!that! they!have!with!God,!which!was!the!basis!of! the!plea.! In!other!words,!just!as!natural!children!imitate!what!they!see!their!earthly!father!doing!so!the!Ephesians!were! to! imitate! the!actions!and!attitudes!of! their!heavenly!father.!Hoehner!commented,!“Each!Christian!should!be!an!imitator!of!God!because! he! is! God’s! child.! As! a! child! imitates! his! parents,! so! ought! a!believer!to!imitate!God.”24!!Summary'and'Analysis'(Eph'5:1)'!The!use!of!µιµηταὶ!occurs!as!part!of!Paul’s!exhortation!to!a!distinctly!holy!life.! The! members! of! the! Ephesian! Christian! community! were! urged! to!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

23!Andrew!T.!Lincoln,!Ephesians!(Dallas:!Word,!1990)!310–11.!24!Harold!W.!Hoehner,! “Ephesians,”! in!The'Bible'Knowledge'Commentary:'

An' Exposition' of' the' Scriptures,! eds.! John! F.! Walvoord! and! Roy! B.! Zuck,! 2! vols.!(Wheaton:!Victor!Books,!1985)!2:637.!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 33!!embrace!their!renewed!self!and!to!pursue!peace!and!reconciliation!among!themselves!(4:17W24).!They!were!called!to!imitate!God!who!through!Christ!had!removed!divisions,!reconciled!them!to!Himself,!and!created!from!them!a!new!man:!the!church!(2:14).!Likewise,!the!Ephesians!were!to!remove!any!divisive!behavior,!be!reconciled!to!each!other,!and!be!united.! In!the!other!instances! under! consideration,! the! readers! were! called! to! follow! the!example!of!Paul,!his!companions,!Jesus,!or!other!churches.!In!contrast,!Paul!called! the! readers! to! imitate!God,!which! is! very!unusual! since! such!a! call!does!not!occur!anywhere!in!the!Old!Testament.!

!PAUL’S(USE(OF(IMITATION(IN(PROMOTING(SPIRITUAL(MATURITY(

(Encompassed!an!Extended!Community!(A!striking!feature!is!how!infrequently!Paul!exhorted!the!readers!to!follow!only!himself.!Except!in!1!Corinthians!4:16,!the!readers!were!encouraged!to!follow!Christ! (11:1),! “us”! (1!Thess!1:6),!other!churches!(2:14),! those!who!also! imitated! him,! which! no! doubt! included! Timothy! and! Epaphroditus!who! were! mentioned! earlier! (Phil! 3:17),! and! God! (Eph! 5:1).! The! larger!context! of! 1! Corinthians! 4:16! suggests! that! even! in! this! instance! the!example! of! Apollos’! cooperation!with! Paul! is! not! altogether! absent! from!view.!

In! the! letters! considered! in! this! article,! there! are! 19! different!people! who! Paul! acknowledged.! An! analysis! of! all! the! Pauline! Epistles!shows! that!over! the! course!of!his! letterWwriting!ministry! (which! spanned!18!years),!he!named!70!different!people,!13!of!whom!were!women,!among!his! coWworkers! and! associations.! One!may! safely! assume! that!when! Paul!exhorted! his! readers! to! imitate! “us”! he! had! in! mind! that! group! of!associates.! Therefore,! it! is! evident! that! in! his! call! to! imitation,! Paul! was!thinking!of!more!than!creating!clones!of!himself;!rather,!he!had!in!mind!a!larger,! international! community! who! would! be! striving! together! to!incarnate!Christ!in!their!local!communities.!(Rooted!in!Familial!Care!(The!plea!to!imitation!was!both!personal!and!familial!in!Paul.!Consequently,!it!is!noteworthy!that!he!only!appealed!to!the!churches!that!he!had!founded!to! be! imitators! of! himself! and! others.! Since! he! had! lived! among! them,! it!was!those!churches!that!were!intimate!witnesses!of!Paul’s! lifestyle!(1!Cor!4:17;!1!Thess!2:5W10).!To!Paul,!sharing!the!gospel!was!more!than!an!act!of!verbal!proclamation;! it!also! included!sharing!his! life!with! those!whom!he!

34( Use(of(Imitation!'was! evangelizing! (1! Thess! 2:8).! He! was! careful! that! his! life! not! only!incarnated! the! truth!of! the!gospel! for! the!mature! (Phil!3:17)!but!also!did!not! put! a! stumbling! block! in! the!way! of! those!who!were! less!mature! (2!Thess!3:7,!9).!

Paul! frequently! used! familial! language,! relationships,! and! love! as!the!basis!of!his!appeal.!In!the!Corinthian!church,!for!example,!he!reminded!them! that! he!was! their! father! through! the! gospel! (1! Cor! 4:15),! with! the!clear! implication! that! they! should! therefore! follow! his! example! (v.! 17).!Likewise,! in! 1! Thessalonians! 2:5W12,! Paul! referred! to! himself! as! both! a!mother! who! nurtures! and! suckles! (v.! 7),! and! a! father! who! exhorts,!encourages,!and! implores!his!children! to!right!behavior!(v.!11).!Similarly,!in!Ephesians!5:1,!the!appeal!to!be!imitators!of!God!was!based!upon!the!fact!that!the!readers!were!God’s!children.!

Paul! stood! within! the! historical! norm! in! his! appeal! to! family.!Proverbs,! for! example,! uses! the! father/son! motif! and! Jesus! called! his!disciples!“children”!(John!13:33).!Keener!also!noted!that!the!application!of!father/son!language!to!followers!is!evident!in!multiple!extrabiblical!texts.25!Copan!noted,!“When!Paul!called!people!to!imitate!him,!he!was!acting!in!line!with! the! common! understanding! of! imitation! that! had! developed! in!antiquity,!in!both!the!Greek!as!well!as!the!Jewish!contexts.”26!

However,!recent!scholarship!suggests!that!Paul!was!not!motivated!by!tender,!familial!affection!for!the!stability!and!unity!of!his!churches.!For!instance,! Elizabeth! Castelli! wrote! that! the! call! to! imitate! “functions! in!Paul’s! letters! as! a! strategy! of! power! [and]! indicts! the! very! notion! of!difference,! and! thereby! constructs! the! nature! of! early! Christian! social!relationship:! Christians! are! Christians! insofar! as! they! strive! for! the!privileged! goal! of! sameness.”27! However,! as! is! apparent! in! the! foregoing!analysis,!Paul!was!not!compelling!the!churches!to!sameness!or!uniformity!as! a! condition! for! being! Christian.! On! the! contrary,! he! persistently!appealed! to! both! mature! and! carnal! believers! to! press! ahead! in! their!imitation! of! good! and! godly! examples.! Furthermore,! it! is! clear! that! Paul!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!25! C.! S! Keener,! “Family! and!Household,”! in!Dictionary' of' New' Testament'

Background,!eds.!C.!A.!Evans!and!!S.!E.!Porter!(Downers!Grove:!InterVarsity!Press,!2000)!357.!

26! Victor! A.! Copan,! Saint' Paul' as' Spiritual' Director' (Colorado! Springs:!Paternoster!Press,!2007)!220.!

27!Castelli,!Imitating'Paul,!15W16.!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 35!!was! not! the! central! figure! who! is! to! be! emulated28! but! rather! it! was!ultimately!Jesus!who!the!readers!were!to!follow.!

Paul! viewed! himself! as! an! intermediary!who!was! incarnating! the!gospel! of! Christ! in! a! local! church.! Moreover,! far! from! demanding!uniformity,!Paul!appealed!to!the!readers!to!emulate!a!farWflung!and!diverse!Christian!movement! that! shared! not! only! a! cohesive!message! but! also! a!cohesive! lifestyle.! Therefore,! he! called! them! to! be! imitators! of! not! only!himself!(1!Cor!4:16)!but!also!of!Christ!(11:1),!“us”!(1!Thess!1:6),!and!other!churches!in!Judea!(2:14).!

Lastly,! Paul’s! motives! were! primarily! theologically! motivated.! He!envisioned! a! Christian! community! united! by! God’s! grace! who! were!standing!together!through!suffering!as!a!witness!to!the!truth!of!the!gospel!and!the!power!of!God!just!as!Jesus!did.!“It!thus!appears!unlikely!that!Paul!intended!to!be!oppressive!in!his!use!of!mimesis!language.!He!places!himself!under! the! sovereignty! of! God,! his! motives! being! theological! rather! than!personal! and! his! ambition! for! the! Thessalonians! benign! and! nurturing!rather!than!malevolent!and!stifling.”29!

(A!Christocentric!Focus!(Paul!was!Christocentric!throughout!his!appeals!for!imitation.!Positively,!in!1!Corinthians!4:15!and!following,!it!was!“in!Christ”!that!he!had!become!the!father! they! should! imitate.! In! verse! 17,! his! lifestyle! was! “in! Christ.”! The!forgiveness! that! the! Ephesians! received! “in! Christ”! (Eph! 4:32)!was!what!the! readers! were! to! emulate.! The! Thessalonians! were! commended! for!having! become! imitators! of! the! churches! “in! Christ”! (1! Thess! 2:14).!Negatively,!those!who!lived!a!lifestyle!that!was!inconsistent!with!the!gospel!were!those!who!were!enemies!of!the!cross!of!Christ!(Phil!3:18).!

For!Paul,!Christ!was!at!the!peak!of!a!hierarchy!of!exemplars!of!how!to!respond!to!suffering!and!humiliation!for!the!gospel.!In!1!Thessalonians,!it! was! Christ! (v.! 6c)! who! had! set! the! example! for! Paul,! Silvanus,! and!Timothy!(v.!6b).!The!Thessalonians!had!imitated!those!men!and!now!were!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!28!Four!observations!support!this!assertion.!In!1!Thessalonians!1:6ff,!Paul!

referred!to!“us,”!and!throughout!the!epistle,!referenced!his!associates!and!himself!as!all!on!display.!Second,!Paul!approved!other!models!as!worthy!of!emulation!(Phil!3:17).! Third,! he! commended! the! Thessalonians! for! emulating! other! churches! (1!Thess! 2:14).! Lastly,! in! 1! Corinthians! 4:17,! Paul! sent! Timothy! so! that! they! could!imitate!Paul’s!example!in!Timothy.!

29! Marion! Carson,! “For! Now! We! Live:! A! Study! of! Paul’s! Pastoral!Leadership!in!1!Thessalonians,”!Themelios'30'(Summer!2005):!32.!

36( Use(of(Imitation!'being! imitated! by! the! churches! in! Greece! (vv.! 7W8).! Likewise,! in! 1!Corinthians! 4,! Christ! set! the! example,! Paul! followed! Christ,! and! the!Corinthians!were!to!follow!Paul.!

Furthermore,! Christ! was! the! root! of! the! eschatological! hope! that!sustained!the!readers!(Phil!3:20;!1!Thess!1:3,!10),!which!meant! it!was!on!Christ’s!authority,!not!his!own,!that!Paul!directed!the!Thessalonian!readers!to! separate! from! those! brothers! whose! lives! were! inconsistent! with! the!gospel!and!with!the!lifestyle!they!had!seen!in!him!(2!Thess!3:6,!12).!“All!of!Paul’s! references! to! imitation!of!himself!are!directly! linked! to!and! tied! to!Christ! and! his! gospel.! This! consistent! orientation! toward! Christ! and! his!gospel!functions!for!Paul!as!the!radiating!center!out!of!which!all!Paul’s!life,!thought,!and!ministry!orbited.”30!!

EARLY(AND(LATER(DISPENSATIONAL(USE(OF(IMITATION(IN(PROMOTING(SPIRITUAL(MATURITY(

(Scofield!!Scofield!displayed!a!misreading!of!Paul’s!call!to!imitate!Christ.!For!example,!he!seemed!to!have!mistaken!the!importance!of!Paul’s!Christocentric!focus!–!if!not!his!explicit!exhortation!–!to!imitate!himself!as!he!imitated!Christ!(in!1!Cor!11:1).!!

In! all! those!Epistles!which!have! to!do!with!our! standing! in!Christ!Jesus,! and!with! the!manner! of! life! which! should! result! from! that!standing,!there!are!but!three!references,!and!those!very,!very!brief,!to! the! earth! life! of! our! adorable! Lord.! This! is! a! very! marked!circumstance,! is! it! not?! How! easily! the! Apostle! striving! to! make!clear!the!Christian!ethics!in!the!Epistles!might!have!said!in!a!word,!“Look! at! the! Lord.! Imitate! the! Lord.! Be! as!He!was.! Study!His! life.!Conform!to!His!Spirit.”!He!never!said!that.!Not!once.31!!

Scofield!wrote!similarly.!!

Now,! there!are! just! two!theories!about! living! the!ChristWlife! in! the!world,! the! theory!of! imitation!and!the! theory!of!reproduction.!We!are! all! familiar! with! the! little! book! of! devotions! by! Thomas! a!Kempis,!Imitation!of!Christ.!I!have!read!it,!I!think!with!some!profit,!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!30!Copan,!Saint'Paul'as'Spiritual'Director,!222.!31!C.! I.!Scofield,!Where'Faith'Sees'Christ! (New!York:!Our!Hope,!1916)!11–

12.!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 37!!

but! the! whole! idea! upon! which! the! book! proceeds! is! radically!unbiblical.!We! are! not! set! to! produce! in! our! lives! an! imitation! of!Christ.!.!.!.32!

!Scofield!appeared!to!make!these!assertions!to!counter!the!mistaken!“moral!influence”! theory! of! atonement! that! holds! that! Jesus’! purpose! was! to!provide! man! with! a! positive! moral! influence! through! his! example.! The!assertion!herein! is! apparent!when! Scofield! insisted! that! Paul! understood!his! life!was! not! a!mere! imitation! of! Jesus! but! rather! an! outworking! of! a!change! that! occurred! within! him.33! Similarly,! when! commenting! on!Leviticus!17:11,!he!wrote,!“The!Scripture!knows!nothing!of!salvation!by!the!imitation!or!influence!of!Christ’s!life,!but!only!by!that!life!yielded!up!on!the!cross.”34!Likewise,! on! John!15:8,!he! remarked,! “The!minor!moralities! and!graces!of!Christianity! are!often! imitated,! but!never! the!nineWfold! ‘fruit’! of!Gal.!5:22,!23.”35!In!this!manner,!Scofield!defended!the!penal!substitutionary!nature!of!the!atonement.!!Chafer!!Chafer!also! interacted!with!Paul’s!exhortation,! in!Ephesians!5:1,!when!he!wrote!as!follows:!“No!human!being!is!asked!to!imitate!God;!he!is!asked!to!be! ChristWlike,! which! relates! to! Christ’s! adorable! and! perfect! human!perfections.”36! Echoing! the! words! of! Scofield! quoted! previously,! Chafer!wrote:!!

Divine! grace,! inwrought! and! imparted! by! the! indwelling! Spirit,!results! in! a!manifestation! of! the! very! graciousness! of! God! in! and!through! the!heart!of! the!believer.! It! is! in!no! sense!an! imitation! of!God’s!graciousness;! it! is!a!reproduction!by! the! indwelling!Spirit!of!that!graciousness!in!the!life!and!service!of!the!believer.37!

!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!32!Ibid.!56–57.!33!Ibid.!56.!34! C.! I.! Scofield,! ed.,! The' Scofield' Reference' Bible! (New! York:! Oxford!

University!Press,!1917)!150.!35!Ibid.!1137.!36!Lewis!Sperry!Chafer,!Systematic'Theology,!8!vols.!(Grand!Rapids:!Kregel,!

1993)!1:395.!However,!he!seemed!to!moderate!this!statement!somewhat!in!7:250!where!he!cited!Matthew!5:48!as!a!call!to!imitate!God.!

37!Ibid.!4:194.!

38( Use(of(Imitation!'

He! likewise! reproduced! Scofield’s! note! on! Leviticus! 17:11! in! his!Systematic'Theology!(5:178)!demonstrating!that!he!too!was!defending!the!doctrine!of!penal!substitutionary!atonement!against!the!“moral!influence”!theory.!When!discussing! the!nature!of! the!believer’s! responsibilities!with!regard! to! conquering! evil! through! the! power! of! the! Spirit,! Chafer!wrote,!“Again,! the! longing!heart! is!encouraged! to!believe! that! the!endearing!and!ChristWlike!property!of!gentleness!may!be!gained,!not!by!human!effort!or!by!useless!imitation,!but!as!a!direct!fruitage!of!the!Spirit.”38!!Ryrie!!Unlike! Scofield! and! Chafer,! Ryrie! acknowledged! the! importance! of!imitation;!however,!he!did!this!without!reference!to!Paul’s!use!of!the!word.!Ryrie! instead! drew! primarily! from! Johannine! literature.! For! instance,!commenting!on!1!John,!he!wrote,!“One!may!say!even!more!summarily!that!John’s! thesis! concerning! ethics! has! two! main! points:! ethical! conduct! is!based!on!sound!doctrine!and!results!in!the!imitation!of!Christ.”39!Later,!he!commented!on!1!John!2:1W11,!as!follows:!!

The!life!of!Christ!serves!as!a!pattern!that!the!Christian!is!to!imitate.!The!believer!is!to!obey!His!word!(2:3–5)!and!imitate!His!walk!(2:6).!It! is!necessary!to!obey!His!commands! in!order!to!perfect!our! love!for!God,!and!to!imitate!His!actions!in!order!to!prove!our!profession!as!followers!of!Him.40!

!In!another!work,!he!commented!on!the!standards!for!fellowship!in!1!John!1:1—2:27.! “For! example,! some! of! the! standards! for! fellowship! include!walking! in! the! light! (1:7),! imitating!Christ! (2:6),! and! separating! from! the!world!and!its!standards!(2:15–17).”41!!Summary!!In! attempting! to! defend! the! doctrine! of! substitutionary! atonement,! it!appears!that!Scofield!and!Chafer!“threw!the!baby!out!with!the!bathwater.”!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!38!Ibid.!6:211.!39!Charles!C.!Ryrie,!Biblical'Theology'of'the'New'Testament! (Dubuque,! IA:!

ECS!Ministries,!2005)!286.!40!Ibid.!313–14.!41! Charles! Caldwell! Ryrie,! Ryrie’s' Concise' Guide' to' the' Bible! (San!

Bernardino,!CA:!Here’s!Life!Publishers,!1983)!153.!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 39!!As!a!result,!they!neglected!Paul’s!doctrine!of!imitation!in!their!works.!Their!resulting!approach!to!the!spiritual!life!lacks!a!community!component.!Both!men!instead!focused!upon!the!inward!life!of!the!believer.!

Scofield!rejected!the!notion!of!attempting!to!imitate!Christ!when!he!wrote,! “Still!more! hopeless! is! the! notion! of! life! by! the! example! of! Christ.!“What!would!Christ!do?”!is!the!formula.”42!If!not!imitating!Christ!what!then!is!Christian!living!according!to!Scofield?!“It!is!Christ!living!out!His![Christ’s]!life!in!the!terms!of!our!personality,!and!under!the!conditions!which!environ!us.!We!do!not!ask,! ‘What!would!Christ!do?’!we!say! to!self,! ‘Let!not! I,’! and!yield!our!powers!to!the!sway!of!the!inliving!Christ.”43!

Chafer!developed!Scofield’s!concept!of!yielding!one’s!powers!to!the!inliving!Christ!in!his!Systematic'Theology.!“All!the!responsibility!resting!on!the!believer!with!respect!to!the!quenching!of!the!Spirit,!like!that!resting!on!him! with! respect! to! the! grieving! of! the! Spirit,! is! summed! up! in! the! one!word!yield.”44'The!central!focus!is!apparent!when!he!wrote,!“Thus,!yielding!to!God!is!seen!to!be!more!than!a!secondary!or!isolated!responsibility.!It!is!as! essential! as! the! whole! doctrine! of! experimental! sanctification! which!depends!upon!it.”45!

Ryrie! retained! the! Scofield! and! Chafer! theme! of! yieldedness! as! a!key! to! spiritual! living,! growth,! and! maturity! in! his! work! Balancing' the'Christian' Life.! However,! he! went! beyond! those! earlier! works.! First,! he!criticized!the!neglect!of!the!need!to!imitate!Christ.!!

In!his!conduct! the!spiritual!believer!will! imitate!Christ.!One!of! the!wrong! emphases! in! victorious! life! teaching! today! demeans! this!aspect! of! the! truth.! We! are! told! not! to! imitate! Christ! since! this!involves! striving! which! is! a! work! of! the! flesh;! rather,! we! should!simply!allow!Christ!to!live!out!his!life!through!us.46!

!Second,!Ryrie!recognizes!that!yieldedness!happens!not!only!internally!but!also! in! the! context! of! community.! He! wrote,! “This! is! genuine! and!wholesome! spirituality.! The! concept! is! that! a! mature! and! maturing!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!42! C.! I.! Scofield,!The'New'Life' in'Christ' Jesus! (Chicago:!The!Bible! Institute!

Colportage!Association,!1915)!30.!43!Ibid.!31.!44!Chafer,!Systematic'Theology,!6:253.!45!Ibid.!6:253–254.!46! Charles! Caldwell! Ryrie,!Balancing' the' Christian' Life.! (Chicago:!Moody,!

1969)!16.!

40( Use(of(Imitation!'relationship! to! the! Holy! Spirit! which! will! be! demonstrated! in! one’s!personal!life,!family!life,!and!church!life.!This!is!biblical!spirituality.”47!!

IMPLICATIONS(FOR(THE(CHURCH(!Pastoral!Leadership!(Paul’s! invitation! to! imitate! himself! and! his! associates! presupposes! close!association! and! interaction! with! the! churches! to! which! he! wrote.! Those!churches! had! observed! the! apostolic! band! work! in! their! midst.! The!Thessalonians,! for! example,! had! experienced! their! tender! care! and!affection.!They!had!been!the!recipients!of!their!solicitous!concern!for!their!welfare.!The!Thessalonians!had!also!seen!their!diligence!in!supplying!their!own!needs.!Similarly,!the!pastor!of!the!local!church!is!to!not!only!be!a!man!of! the! book! but! also! a! man! of! the! people.! In! imitation! of! the! apostolic!model,! he! is! to! be! visible! among! his! people! so! that! they! can! observe! his!interpersonal!manner,!know!personally!of!his!diligence!in!ministry,!and!so!that!they!can!be!recipients!of!the!personal!care!of!the!pastor.!

Paul’s!urging!the!churches!to!imitate!him!as!he!followed!Christ!can!seem! intimidating.! After! all,! if! the! pastor! offers! himself! as! a!model! to! be!emulated!will! he!not! be!perceived! as! an! egocentric! tyrant?! Conversely,! a!ministry! limited! to! Sunday! sermons! without! an! exemplary! life! from!Monday!through!Saturday!will!compromise!the!message.!Consequently,!the!pastor! can! also! learn! from! Paul! about! how! to! present! himself! as! an!example.! The! pastor! can! learn! from! Paul! and! publically! incarnate! the!gospel!that!he!preaches.!

“Paul! knew! he! wasn’t! perfect;! in! fact,! he! was! quite! prepared! to!admit! he! was! the! worst! sinner! of! all! (1! Tim! 1:15).! Nevertheless,! he!believed! he! imitated! Christ.! That’s! because! he! was! convinced! that! the!gospel!is!a!story!of!Christ!—!death,!burial,!and!resurrection!—!that!will!be!the!narrative!of!spirituality! for!all! time”48! In!his!own!life,! then,! the!pastor!can! show! his! congregation! what! dying! to! self! and! being! raised! to! live! a!new,!Christocentric!life,!looks!like.!

What! exactly! should! the! pastor! offer! to! others! as! imitable?! In! 1!Thessalonians! 1:6! and! 1! Corinthians! 4:16W17,! the! readers!were! urged! to!imitate! the!general! lifestyle! that! they!had!observed!between!Paul!and!his!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!47!Ibid.'24.'48!Rodney!Reeves,!Spirituality'According' to'Paul:' Imitating' the'Apostle' of'

Christ!(Downers!Grove:!InterVarsity!Press,!2011)!17.!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 41!!associates.!In!this!way,!they!were!seen!to!be!exemplars!of!how!to!integrate!the!spoken!and!embodied!truth!into!a!holistic!lifestyle.!

In! other! instances,! there! is! a! call! to! imitate! specific! virtues.!All! of!these! virtues! are! centered! in! Christ,! the! gospel,! and! the! cross.! Those!virtues!can!be!collected!under! two!headings.!First,! there! is! the!deliberate!rejection!of!the!culture’s!definition!of!wisdom,!strength,!and!honor!in!order!to! serve! others! in! bringing! them! the!message! of! Christ.! Second,! involves!rigorously!disciplining!one’s!life!and!surrendering!individual!rights!to!even!the! most! basic! necessities,! in! order! to! be! unhindered! in! bringing! the!message!of!Christ.!The!pastor!and!pastoral!staff!can!learn!from!Paul!to!be!examples!of!how!the! life!of!Christ!–!a! life!of!humility!and!sacrifice! for!the!sake!of!others!–!is!to!be!lived!out!in!a!particular!time!and!place.!

!Discipleship!!Paul’s!urgent!pleas!to!imitate!his!life!and!the!lives!of!his!coworkers!to!the!churches!he!had!established!provides!some!lessons!and!principles!that!can!be!used!to!inform!one’s!approach!to!discipleship!in!the!local!church.!First,!by! urging! the! churches! to! follow! Christ! through! his! example,! Paul!positioned! himself! as! a! member! of! the! larger! community! who! was!emulating!Christ.!In!other!words,!he!was!a!fellow!imitator!of!Christ!rather!than!a!spiritual!director!who!was!separated!from!and!somehow!superior!to!those!whom!he!wrote.! “The!unadorned!way!Paul! introduces!himself! in!1!Thess.!indicates!simplicity!and!directness!without!the!pretence![sic]!of!title!or!position.”49!Paul!approached!the!discipleship!of!his!communities!as!one!who!was!coWequal,!not!exempt!from!following!Christ,!a!playerWcoach.!

Paul!also!displayed!a! transWcultural!cruciform! lifestyle! that!can!be!adapted! to! a! variety! of! places! and! times,! and! this! is! because! Paul!understood! that! at! the! heart! of! all! lifestyles! that! were! not! centered! in!Christ!was! selfishness! and! greed.!Vices!were! to! be! rejected! and! replaced!with!a!resolve!to!die!to!any!desire!or!even!any!legitimate!need!that!was!an!obstacle! to! knowing! and! presenting! Christ.! “Sin! feeds! on! selfishness;!sacrifice! brings! God’s! glory.! This! is! why! Paul! wanted! the! Corinthians! to!sacrifice! food! (1! Cor! 8:10W13;! 10:14W33)! and! sex! (7:29W38),! all! the!while!putting! each! of! themselves! forward! as! the!model!worthy! of! imitation.”50!Like! the! Corinthians,! one! can! resolve! to! sacrifice! privileges! and!entitlements,! one! can! curb! his! or! her! appetites! and! desires,! and! even!demonstrate! sexual! purity! and! devotion! to! one’s! spouse! in! order! to!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

49!Copan,!Saint'Paul'as'Spiritual'Director,!244.!50!Reeves,!Spirituality'According'to'Paul,!69.!

42( Use(of(Imitation!'nurture!others!in!the!gospel.!To!the!extent!that!one!adopts!this!approach,!he!or!she!becomes!less!and!less!a!person!of!the!prevailing!time!and!culture.!

!And!that’s!when!Paul!stops!sounding!like!an!American.!The!idea!of!exercising!our!rights!is!deeply!embedded!in!our!national!psyche.!To!give! up! something! that! is! owed! us! seems! counterintuitive,! if! not!completely! wrong.! Our! sense! of! entitlement! is! so! strong! that! we!don’t!know!what! it!means!to!give!up!our!rights!as!an!example! for!others!to!imitate.!(Who!wants!to!act!like!a!“wimp”?)!No,!our!heroes!are!the!ones!who!fight!for!their!rights.51!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!51!Ibid.'152W53.!

!

!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 45!!!

NEW'CALVINISM,'PART'V:'CONTINUATIONISM'

(Drew'Curley'

!At! the! outset! of! this! article,! one! may! be! confused! as! to! how! the! new!Calvinist’s!desire! to!go!missionally! into!cities!has!anything! to!do!with! the!gospel.! The! confusion! is! due! to! the! fact! that! flooding! into! the! cities! is! a!central! tenant! of! their! understanding! of! the! gospel;! for! them,! it! is! the!gospel.!The!words!missionally!flooding!into!cities!are!specifically!chosen.1!The! focus! of! their! efforts,! at! least! for! some,! is! what! they! see! as! their!modernWday! Samaria,! places! where! nice! Christian! people! would! not! be!found,! paralleling! the! Jewish! sentiment! regarding! Samaria.! The! cities! are!an! unreached! mission! field,! but! new! Calvinism’s! theological! claims! are!unfounded.! For! example,! consider! The! Gospel! Coalition’s' confessional!statement!concerning!the!kingdom!of!God:!“living!as!salt!in!a!world!that!is!decaying! and! light! in! a! world! that! is! dark,! believers! should! neither!withdraw! into! seclusion! from! the! world,! nor! become! indistinguishable!from!it:!rather,!we!are!to!do!good!to!the!city.”2!

In!a!single!page!document!addressing!theological!beliefs,!there!are!few! groups!who!would! take! the! time! to!mention! cities! in! such! a! specific!way,! which! is! highly! telling.! For! new! Calvinism,! the! gospel! is!misunderstood! as! involving! social! action! or! cultural! redemption.! Chapell!explains,! in! one! of! The! Gospel! Coalition’s! booklets,! entitled!What' Is' the'Gospel?:'“if!the!King!comes!to!saves!sinners!and!if!their!salvation!includes!a!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*"Drew"Curley,"M.Div.,"Ph.D.,"associate"professor,"Carolina"College"of"Biblical"Studies,"Fayetteville,"North"Carolina!!

1! Of!Marsden’s! three!major! types! of! Calvinism,! this!missional! Calvinism!may! be! due! to! the! influence! of! Kuyperian/Dutch! Calvinism,!which! focuses! upon!cultural! reformation,! and! is! the! branch!of! Calvinism! that!would!produce! a!work!like!Grudem’s!PoliticsSAccording'to'the'Bible'(Grand!Rapids:!Zondervan,!2010).'See!George!Marsden,! “Reformed! and!American,”! in!Reformed'Theology' in' America:' A'History' of' its'Modern'Development,'ed.! David! F.!Wells! (Grand!Rapids:! Eerdmans,!1985).!

2! The! Gospel! Coalition,! “Confessional! Statement”! [document! online]!(accessed! 13! June! 2013)! available! from! http://thegospelcoalition.org/about/!foundationWdocuments/confessional.!

46( New(Calvinism!'renewed! heart,! an! empowered! life,! and! a! transformed! world,! then! his!purpose! and! theirs! is! truly! good! news.”3! With! consideration! of! such!statements,!it!now!becomes!necessary!to!discuss!the!biblical!gospel.!!

THE(BIBLICAL(WORD(FOR(GOSPEL(!The!standard!Greek! lexicon!defines!εὐαγγέλιον! in!a! threefold!manner:! “1)!God’s!good!news!to!humans,!good!news;”!“2)!Details!relating!to!the!life!and!ministry!of!Jesus,!good!news!of!Jesus;”!and,!“3)!A!book!dealing!with!the!life!and! teaching! of! Jesus,! a! gospel! account.”4! The! Greek!word! is! actually! an!amalgamation! of! the! words! εὐ! (“good”)! and! ἄγγελος! (“messenger”).! An!εὐαγγέλιον!then!is!a!message!of!good!news.!

The! verbal! form! εὐαγγελίζω! is! to! proclaim! the! message! of! good!news.! Spicq! claimed! that! the!news!does!not!have! to!be!unilaterally!good,!and! asserted,! “any! kind! of! news! at! all,! even! false! news”! can! be! the!reference! of! εὐαγγέλιον.5! The! assertion! is! certainly! true! of! the! biblical!gospel! because,! at! its! heart,! it! is! an! exclusive! message! since! it! does! not!proclaim!a!universal!salvation,!and!the!gospel!may,!in!fact,!be!bad!news!or!condemnation!for!some.!

The!Septuagint!used!εὐαγγελίζω!in!place!of!rc^B*,!which!is!not!to!say!that!this!is!the!biblical!gospel,!merely!the!announcement!of!good!news!in!a!more!generic!sense.!An!important!distinction!needs!to!be!made!here.!While!there! is! good!news,! that! is!not! the!gospel,! one! should!exercise! caution! in!using!gospel!in!a!nonWsoteriological!sense.!!The!Biblical!Gospel!!The!mission!of! the! church! to!proclaim! the!propositional! gospel! has! been!distorted!in!recent!times!by!buzzwords!like!gospelWcentered,!gospelWbased,!and!gospelWfocused.!Too!often,!the!gospel!is!seen!as!something!bigger!than!just!the!message!of!the!forgiveness!of!sin!and!the!individual!reconciliation!to! the!Lord.!With! that!being!said,! the!gospel!should!be! the!centerpiece!of!the! message! the! church! conveys! to! the! world.! Although! not! all! recent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3!Bryan!Chapell,!What' Is' the'Gospel?,!Kindle! ed.! (Wheaton,! IL:!Crossway,!2011)!loc!386W87.!

4!William!Arndt,!Frederick!W.!Danker!and!Walter!Bauer,!A'GreekSEnglish'Lexicon'of'the'New'Testament'and'Other'Early'Christian'Literature,!3rd!ed.!(Chicago:!University!of!Chicago!Press,!2000)!402.!

5! Ceslas! Spicq! and! James! D.! Ernest,! Theological' Lexicon' of' the' New'Testament,!3!vols.!(Peabody,!MA:!Hendrickson,!1994)!2:83W84.!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 47!!publications! involving! the! word! gospel! hold! a! specific! view,! the! gospel!message!should!not!be!confused!with!its!own!implications.!For!instance,!it!is! said,! “the! gospel! is! not! only! sufficient! for! justification! but! also! for!sanctification.”!What!is!needed!today!is!“people!constantly!preach(ing)!the!gospel!to!themselves.”6!

The! gospel! has! too! often! been! replaced! with! a! bigger,! missional!vision!of!the!gospel.!Since!missional!is!a!rarely!defined!term,!it!is!used!here!in!reference!to!the!promotion!of!a!specific!gospel,!which!is!larger!than!the!simple! proposition:! believe! and! live.! The! term!missional! is! a!message! of!collective!reconciliation! through! the! incarnational!ministry!of! the!church;!it! confuses! the!practical! ramifications!of! the!gospel!with! the!gospel! itself.!The!gospel!needs!to!be!outlived,!but!there!is!no!biblical!support!for!this!as!a!specific!part!of!the!gospel!itself.!Stallard!traced!much!of!the!origin!of!the!contemporary! emphasis! on! the! whole! gospel! to! the! wording! of! the!Lausanne!Covenant!(1974).7!Therefore,! it!should!not!be!surprising!that!in!the!postmodern!world,!which!abhors!propositional! statements,! there!has!arisen! a! movement! defining! the! gospel! as! experiential! in! addition! to!propositional,!which!may!be!an!outgrowth!of!the!emergent!church.!

At!this!point,!it!is!necessary!to!understand!the!biblical!usage!of!the!term!gospel!to!truly!comprehend!its!meaning.!Fortunately,!there!is!only!a!single!word!that!is!translated!as!gospel:!εὐαγγέλιον.!An!examination!of!this!word!will!help!to!reveal!the!biblical!concept!of!the!gospel.!!The!Propositional!Gospel"!The! New! Testament! usage! of! εὐαγγέλιον! falls! into! three! categories.! The!gospel!concerns!(1)!the!kingdom!(Matt!4:23;!9:35;!24:14),!(2)!Jesus!(Mark!1:1);!and,!(3)!God!(Mark!1:14).!All!these!usages!of!εὐαγγέλιον!appear!to!be!in!reference!to!a!specific!proposition,!which! is!because!of! the!presence!of!the! definite! article.! In! these! instances,! the! gospel! is! not! referenced! as! an!action! (i.e.! the!gospeling!of! Jesus)!but!a! specific!proposition.!Most!do!not!deny!the!propositional!nature!of!the!gospel!since!it!is!selfWevident.!Instead,!an!experiential!aspect!to!the!gospel!is!added!alongside!the!proposition.!

When! speaking! of! the! preaching! of! the! gospel,! Matthew! used!κηρύσσω!in!the!aorist,!not!present.!The!usage! indicates!that!the!gospel! is!being!proclaimed!(considering!it!as!a!whole!action)!and!not!as!something!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

6!Eric!Geiger,!Michael!Kelly,!and!Philip!Nation,!Transformative'Discipleship:'How'People'Really'Grow'(Nashville:!B&H!Publishing,!2012)'67.!

7!Mike!Stallard,!“Gospel!Centeredness,! Jesus!and!Social!Ethics,”!Journal'of'Ministry'and'Theology'15!(Fall!2011):!24.!

48( New(Calvinism!'which!occurs!continual!(which!would!necessitate!the!Greek!present!tense).!The! continual! aspect! of! the! present! must! be! used! if! the! gospel! is! to! be!outlived.!What!is!being!proclaimed!or!preached!is!not!social!reconciliation.!The!gospel!is!not!in!the!process!of!changing!the!world!and!reconciling!it!to!God.!

Mark! told! his! readers! (1:15)! to! believe! the! gospel,! not! live! the!gospel.! The! Apostolic! Fathers! universally! used! the! gospel! in! its!propositional!sense.8!The!gospel!is!never!the!object!of!any!verb!that!can!be!translated! as! to! live! or! to! outlive! (ζάω! or! κατοικέω).! As! a! result! of! this!understanding,!new!Calvinism!has!a!tendency!towards!the!social!gospel.!

The! social! gospel! is! defined! as! a! corporate! obligation! to! pursue!justice! in! broader! society.! One! new! Calvinist! stated,! “ministering! to! the!poor! is!a!crucial! sign! that!we!actually!believe! the!gospel”!and!elaborated,!“one!aspect!of! living!a!holy! life! is! treating! the!poor!with! compassion!and!pursuing!justice.”!9!These!visions!of!the!gospel!are!typically!removed!from!the! context! of! the! theocratic! kingdom! of! Israel! or! based! upon! a!misunderstanding! of! the! kingdom.! Unsupported! claims! are! often! found!similar!to!the! following:!“just!as!God!provided!manna!for!everyone! in!the!wilderness!(Ex.!16:18),!so!the!church!is!to!be!God’s!manna!equalizer!now.”!10!

Avoiding! the! term! social! gospel,! the! new! Calvinists! prefer!preaching! a! holistic! or! missional! gospel.! The! propositional! gospel! is!succinctly!summarized!in!a!few!places.!One!of!the!most!prominent!is!Acts!16:31.!When! asked! by! the! jailer! “what!must! I! do! to! be! saved,”! Paul! and!Silas!responded,!“believe!in!the!Lord!Jesus,!and!you!will!be!saved.”!In!giving!the!purpose!statement!of!his!gospel,! John!states!“these!have!been!written!so! that! you!may!believe! that! Jesus! is! the!Christ,! the!Son!of!God;! and! that!believing!you!may!have!life!in!His!name”!(John!20:31,!NASB).!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!8! See! the! following! for! comparison:! 1! Clement! 47:2;! 2! Clement! 8:2;!

Ignatius’!Letter!to!Philadelphia!5:1W2;!8:2,!9:2;!Ignatius’!Letter!to!Smyrna!5:1;!7:2;!Martyrdom! of! Polycarp! 1:1;! 4:1;! 22:1;! Didache! 8:2;! 11:3;! 15:3W4;! Epistle! of!Barnabas! 5:9;! 8:3;! Letter! to! Diognetus! 11:6;! and,! Fragments! of! Papias! 11:4! (in!Ignatius’s!letter!to!the!Philadelphians).!

9! Kevin! DeYoung! and! Greg! Gilbert,!What' is' the' Mission' of' the' Church?'Making' Sense' of' Social' Justice,' Shalom,' and' the' Great' Commission' (Wheaton,! IL:!Crossway,!2011)!174W75.!

10!Ibid.!168.!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 49!!Becoming!the!Gospel""Notice! Paul’s! statement:! “God! was! in! Christ! reconciling! the! world! to!Himself”!(2!Cor!5:19).!The!church!is!to!bring!the!message!of!reconciliation,!but! it! is! another! thing! to! claim! that! the! church! is! to! redeem!society.!Τὴν διακονίαν τῆς καταλλαγῆς! concerns! individuals! at! enmity! with! God.! Paul!further! asserted,! in! this! verse,! that! God! “θέµενος ἐν ἡµῖν τὸν λόγον τῆς καταλλαγῆς.”!God!has!committed! the!word!of!reconciliation! to! the!church!and! not! the! act! of! reconciliation.! The! message! is! concisely! stated,!“καταλλάγητε τῷ θεῷ”! (2! Cor! 5:20).! Kαταλλάσσω! occurs! in! the! second!person!plural! since! it! involves!persons!and!not! the! third!person!singular,!which!could!refer!to!society.!Although!this!may!seem!to!be!an!insignificant!point,! it! is! a! necessary!because! there! is! only! one! gospel! entrusted! to! the!church.!!Acts'20:24'!In!his!farewell!to!Ephesus,!the!Apostle!Paul!declared:!“But!I!do!not!consider!my!life!of!any!account!as!dear!to!myself,!so!that!I!may!finish!my!course!and!the!ministry!which!I!received!from!the!Lord!Jesus,!to!testify!solemnly!of!the!gospel!of!the!grace!of!God”!(ESV).!Although!there!are!very!few!evangelicals!who!would!deny!that!the!gospel!is!all!in!relation!to!the!grace!of!God!being!shown!to!man,!there!is!only!a!singular!usage!in!Scripture!of!the!phrase!the!gospel!of!grace,!which!is!in!the!book!of!Acts!and!is!attributed!to!the!Apostle!Paul.!The!gospel!of!grace! is! tremendously! important!as!a! topic!and! it!has!been!observed,!“one!could!scarcely!summarize!the!heart!of!Paul’s!message!better!than!the!‘good!news!of!God’s!grace.’”11!

The!Greek! construct! in! this!passage,! τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τῆς χάριτος τοῦ θεοῦ,! has! the! genitives! χάριτος! and! θεοῦ! modifying! the! accusative!εὐαγγέλιον,!which!means!adjectival!genitives!“grace”!and!“God”!modify!the!object,! “the! gospel.”12! The! second! genitive! identifies! the! origin! of! grace,!namely!from!God;!it!is!the!gospel,!which!is!God’s,!and!it!is!the!gospel!that!is!gracious.!Robertson!summarized!this!well!by!asserting,!“to!Paul!the!gospel!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11! John! B.! Polhill,! Acts! (The! New! American! Commentary)! (Nashville:!

Broadman!&!Holman,!1995)!425.!12!Although! the!words!grace!and!God!are!nouns! in!English,! in! the!Greek!

they!function!like!adjectives.!

50( New(Calvinism!'consisted!in!the!grace!of!God.”13!Likewise,!Lenski!stated,!“‘the!gospel’!is!the!good!news,!and!its!contents!is!‘the!grace!of!God.’”14!

The! gospel! is! absolutely! free;! it! is! unbound! from!merit! and! free!from! condition,! which! does! not! mean! it! is! free! from! obligation! once!received.! MacArthur! affirmed,! “it! must! be! noted! that! the! message! the!apostle!preached!and!all!preachers!echo!is!called!the!gospel!of!the!grace!of! God.! The! clear! emphasis! is! on! grace,! the! unmerited! favor! of! God! by!which!He!forgives!undeserving!sinners!the!totality!of!their!sins!and!freely,!mercifully!gives!them!the!complete!righteousness!of!Jesus!Christ.”15!Other!Calvinistic! expositors! affirm! this! statement.! For! example,! “Paul! did! not!preach! an! easyWbelievism! but! rather! the! necessity! of! faith! in! Christ! for!salvation,!which!results!in!a!changed!life.”16!Others!have!said:!“the!essential!feature!of!the!gospel!is!its!declaration!of!God’s!free!grace!to!a!guilty!world,!forgiving! sins,! and! imputing! righteousness! through! faith! in! Jesus! Christ.!The!distinctive!work!of!the!ministry!is!to!declare!that!grace.”17!

Works!do!not!complete! justification;!neither! is! it!a!condition!of! it.!Precious! time! and! energy! has! been! exhausted! “chasing! after! the! wind”!trying!to!necessitate!works!for!salvation!in!a!way!that!is!nonWmeritorious,!but!grace!is!free.!Unfortunately,!“some!call!their!preaching!‘gospel’!when!it!does!not!comply!with!Paul’s!description!in!whole!or!in!part.”18!!

EXCURSUS:(ROMANS(13:1^7(!A! believer’s! relationship! to! secular! government! has! been! an! issue! of!tremendous!importance!even!prior!to!the!institution!of!government!being!created.!Many!Jews!were!concerned!with!achieving!independence!from!the!Roman! Empire! and! revolutionaries,! like! Judas! Maccabeus! and! others,!attempted!to!make!this!a!reality.!Even!today,!the!believer’s!relationship!to!secular!government!remains!a!significant!issue,!which!is!especially!true!in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

13! A.! T.! Robertson,! Word' Pictures' in' the' New' Testament! (Nashville:!Broadman!Press,!1933)!Acts!20:24.!

14! R.! C.! H.! Lenski,! The' Interpretation' of' the' Acts' of' the' Apostles!(Minneapolis:!Augsburg!Publishing!House,!1961)!843.!

15! John! F.!MacArthur! Jr.,!Acts! (MacArthur! New! Testament! Commentary)!(Chicago:!Moody!Press,!1994)!326.!

16!R.!Kent!Hughes,!Acts:'The'Church'Afire! (Wheaton,! IL:!Crossway,!1996)!278.!

17! H.! D.! M.! SpenceWJones,! ed.,! Acts' of' the' Apostles,! 2! vols.! (The! Pulpit!Commentary)!(New!York:!Funk!&!Wagnalls,!1909)!2:146.!

18!Lenski,!Acts'of'the'Apostles,!843.!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 51!!the! United! States! where! a! believer! simultaneously! has! the! ability! to!participate!in!the!governmental!process!while,!at!the!same!time,!the!need!to!submit!to!the!governmental!authorities!placed!over!them.!The!excursus!is!included!here!because!it!relates!to!new!Calvinism’s!belief!that!the!church!is!called!through!the!gospel!to!be!agents!of!cultural!transformation.!!The!Command!!Paul! began! his! discussion! in! Romans! 13! by! giving! a! command.! The!imperative! serves! as! the!basis!of!his!discourse.!The!exhortation!does!not!occur! in! a! vacuum;! rather,! it! is! a! logical! outgrowth! of! Paul’s! previous!teaching!to!“never!pay!back!evil!for!evil!to!anyone!.!.! .![and!to]!be!at!peace!with! all! men”! (Rom! 12:17W18,! NASB).! Having! previously! discussed! this!instruction! as! it! relates! to! personal! interaction! with! others,! Paul! now!directed!his!attention!to!living!this!teaching!in!relation!to!civil!authorities,!and! this! provides! the! immediate! context! leading! to! the! command.!Everything! that! follows! this! command! can! be! categorized! in! one! of! the!following!three!ways:!reasons!for!this!command,!answers!to!an!objection,!and!practical!implications!of!the!command.!

Prior!to!considering!Paul’s!overarching!point,!it!is!important!first!to!examine!the!command!itself.!First,!it!is!given!to!every!person!(πᾶσα ψυχὴ).!One!could!easily!conclude!that!because!of!this,!the!command!applies!to!all!humanity,! but! it! is! not! equally! applicable! to! all.! In! the! context! of! the!passage,!Paul!was!clearly!talking!to!believers!only.!In!addition,!one!should!remember!that!neither!Paul,!nor!Scripture,!attempts!to!regulate!the!moral!behavior!of!nonWbelievers!during!the!church!age.!In!the!command!itself,!the!verb! occurs! in! the! present! middle! imperative! (ὑποτασσέσθω),! which!indicates! that! the! action! has! the! subject! acting! upon! himself.! Paul!commanded! his! readers! to! subject! themselves! to! something.! Along! with!this,! the! usage! of!ὑποτάσσω! instead! of!ὑπακούω! implies! that! this! is! to! be!done!willingly!by!the!subject.!The!believer!then!is!to!subject!himself!to!the!governing! authorities! (ἐξουσίαις ὑπερεχούσαις),! which! is! not! overly!specific! in! its! reference.! Furthermore,! it! does! not! apply! simply! to!presidents! and! congressmen,! but! to! all! those!who! have! been! placed! in! a!position!of!authority!or!power!over!another.!!Reasoning'!Having! just! commanded! the! believer! to! subject! themselves! to! those! in!authority!over!them,!Paul!now!gave!his!readers!the!reasoning!for!it.!Paul’s!argument! appears! like! a! tautology,! which! systematically! instructs! his!

52( New(Calvinism!'audience! as! to! the!basis! for!his! command.! In!other!places,! Paul!provided!his! apostolic! office! as! the! authority! for! a! command! (e.g.! the! introductory!material! of! an! epistle),! but! this! would! be! counterproductive! here.!Obedience! to! authority! cannot! reasonably! be! derived! from! claimed!authority,!unless!speaking!in!reference!to!God!himself.!In!addition!to!this,!it!is!important!to!remember!the!highly!controversial!nature!of!what!Paul!was!discussing!to!both!his!Jewish!and!Gentile!audiences.!Not!many!issues!were!as!volatile!as!the!believer’s!responsibility!to!governmental!authorities;!it!is!likely! because! of! these! circumstances! that! Paul! here! gave! a! more!reasonable!basis!for!his!instruction.!

Paul’s!argument!begins!with!an!assumption,!which!is!that!there!are!people!who! exercise! authority! in! some!way,! shape,! or! form! over! others.!The!assumption!is!almost!selfWevident.!If!one!is!going!to!give!a!command!in!regards! to! governing! authorities,! then! it! is! logical! to! conclude! that! there!are! in! fact! governing! authorities;! it! seems! like! an!unimportant!point,! but!this!assumption!plays!a!role!in!the!logic!of!Paul’s!argument.!The!first!major!part! of! Paul’s! actual! argument! is! that! “there! is! no! authority! except! from!God”!(Rom!13:1,!NASB).!The!clause!is!interesting!in!that!it!has!two!negative!adverbs! (οὐ γὰρ ἔστιν ἐξουσία εἰ µὴ ὑπὸ θεοῦ).!The! type!of!construct! is!highly!unusual! in!proper!English!because!it!has!the!effect!of!being!able!to!say! the! same! thing! in! positive! terms.! The! construct! could! be! rendered!equally! “all! authority! is! from! God,”! which! is,! in! fact,! the! point! that! Paul!made! in! the!next! clause.!The! reasoning!behind! this! arrangement! is! likely!because!he!was!guiding!his!audience! in! their!understanding!and!building!upon!an!easier,!and!less!controversial,!point!to!comprehend.!

There! are! no! exceptions! to! the! rule:! all! authorities! are! from!God.!Exceptions!are!where!people!naturally!go!with!any!rule,!but!Paul!broke!the!common!misconception! that! there!may,! in! fact,! be! governing! authorities!that!are!put!in!place!by!people!other!than!God.!Essentially,!Paul!stated!that!while!this!may!be!true!in!a!limited!sense,!it!is!not!true!in!its!ultimate!sense!because! of! God’s! providential! control.! From! here,! Paul!was! able! to! build!upon!his! idea! in! the!positive! sense.!Having!broken! the!misconception,!he!was! free!to!state,! “those![authorities]!which!exist!are!established!by!God”!(Rom!13:2).! Paul! then! brought! this! thought! to! a! conclusion;! he! stated,! if!God!has!established!governing!authorities,!then!disobedience!to!governing!authorities!is!to!oppose!God!himself,!which!would!have!struck!right!at!the!heart!of!Paul’s!contemporaries!who,!as!a!whole,!were!not!too!fond!of!being!subservient!to!Rome.!If!the!believer!is!not!to!resist!authority,!what!exactly!are! believers! supposed! to! do?! The! query! is! the! concern! of! the! practical!outworking!of!this!doctrine.!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 53!!

Modern! ears! dull! the! translation! of! διαταγῇ! as! ordinance,! as!with!the! New! American! Standard! translation.! Although! the! translation! is!accurate,! what! Paul! stated! is! that! resisting! authority! is! opposing! “that!which!has!been! specifically!ordered!or! commanded”!by!God.19!Therefore,!Paul! equated! the! commands! of! man! with! the! commands! of! God.! Man’s!obligation!to!each!is!the!same,!which!does!not!mean!that!man!is!obliged!to!follow! ungodly! moral! commands.! The! reason! is! because,! first! and!foremost,! the! “responsibility! of! the! Christian! is! to! obey! freely! and! fully,!unless! to! do! so!would! directly! violate! God’s! laws”! otherwise!man’s! laws!would! superseded! those! of! God.20! The! result! of! disobedience! to! the!governing! authorities! on! all! other! matters! is! condemnation! before! both!man’s!governing!judicial!authorities!and!God.!!Objection(!The! next! section! of! this! reading! involves! a! logical! objection! to! the!command,!which!Paul!gave!to!the!believers!in!Rome.!The!objection!is!never!explicitly! stated.! Instead,! Paul! raised! it! through! a! discussion! of! good!behavior! and! fear.! Essentially,! Paul! used! an! argument! based! upon! the!government’s! use! of! force,! which! is! not! too! surprising! since! Paul! had!already! established! the! depravity! of! man! in! this! same! letter.! Having!expounded!upon!the!sinfulness!of!humanity,!Paul!stated!that! if!one!is!evil!in! his/her! actions! they! have! reason! to! be! obedient! to! government! based!upon!fear!of!repercussions,!which! is!why!government!has!been!given!use!of! the! sword.! He! then! reversed! the! discussion! and! asked! concerning! the!believer! who! does! well! and! obeys! his! government,! but! still! receives! the!sword!from!it.!Constable!rephrased!this!in!the!following!manner:!“if![those!who!govern]!do!not!but!serve!the!welfare!of!the!people!as!they!should,!we!have!no!fear!of!them!and!can!submit!to!them!fairly!easily.!What!if!they!are!evil?”21!The!objection! is!whether!believers!are!to!obey!a!government!that!persecutes! the! church.! The! answer! is! a! resounding! yes.! The! obvious!exception! to! this! is! always!when! a! believer! is! forced! to! choose! between!obeying!the!governing!authorities!and!obeying!the!Word!of!God.!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!19!Johannes!P.!Louw!and!Eugene!Albert!Nida,!GreekSEnglish'Lexicon'of'the'

New'Testament:'Based'on'Semantic'Domains,! 2!vols.,!2nd!ed.,! elec.! ed.! (New!York:!United!Bible!Societies,!1996)!1:425.!

20! Charles! C.! Ryrie,!Dr.' Ryrie’s' Articles! (Bellingham,!WA:! Logos! Research!Systems,!2010)!141.!

21!Tom!Constable,!Tom'Constable’s'Expository'Notes'on'the'Bible!(Garland,!TX:!Galaxie!Software,!2003)!Romans!13:3.!

54( New(Calvinism!'

There!are!then!two!reasons!given!in!this!passage!why!the!believer!is! to! willingly! subject! himself! to! the! governmental! authorities.! The! first!involves!wrath,!which!the!government!has!been!given!to!enact!through!the!use! of! force.! The! government! has! the! power! to! punish! and! this! should!provide!the!believer!with!motivation!to!submit.!Paul!exemplified!this!in!his!own! life,! repeatedly! submitting! himself! to! the! force! of! the! government!through! imprisonment!and!physical!punishment.! If! this!were!not!enough,!Paul! previously! established! that! the! believer! is! to! submit! himself! to! the!governing!authorities!based!upon!the!fact!that!God!has!put!them!there.!One!must!remember!that!the!Lord!has!ordained!both!the!power!and!force!given!to!government.!Additionally,!they!have!been!given!this!power!for!a!reason.!Paul! earlier! asserted! in!Romans,! “God! causes! all! things! to!work! together!for!good! to! those!who! love!God,! to! those!who!are!called!according! to!His'purpose”! (Rom!8:28,!NASB).! Governments! have! been! ordained! for!man’s!good,! whether! they! are! to! be! praised! or! abhorred.! Luther! explained,!governments!“do!not!compel!us!to!do!what!is!evil,!but!what!is!good.”22!The!governing! is! in! light! of! depravity.! Having! answered! the! most! obvious!objection,!Paul!was!now!able!to!consider!its!practical!implications.!!Implications(!Paul!did!not!usually!just!give!a!command!and!defend!it.!He!also!built!upon!it! and! discussed! a! practical! implication! for! heeding! the! command.! The!practical! instruction! is! meant! to! challenge! the! reader,! which! is! deduced!from!the!previous!verse’s!conclusion:!διὰ τὴν συνείδησιν.!As!a!consequence!of!the!conscience,!or!the!desire!to!do!well!before!God,!the!believer!should!be!willing!to!submit!to!the!ruling!authority;!it!is!because!of!this!willingness!that! the! believer! is! to! pay! taxes.! Taxes! are! not! the! direct! topic! of! the!discourse.! Instead,! the! passage! deals! with! the! issue! of! a! believer’s!relationship! to! secular! government.! The! topic! of! taxes! is! a! practical!outworking!of!Paul’s!original!command.!

Paul’s!elaborated!to!assert!that!the!believer! is! to!pay!taxes! from!a!desire! to! do!well! before! God,! as! well! as! a! desire! to! serve! the! Lord.! One!could!then!conclude!that!this!is!a!form!of!worship.!Paul!already!established!earlier! that! believers! are! “to! present! [their]! bodies! a! living! and! holy!sacrifice,! acceptable! to!God,!which! is' [their]! spiritual! service! of!worship”!(Rom!12:1,!NASB).!In!this!way,!obeying!even!an!ungodly!ruler!is!an!act!of!worship!directed! towards! the!Lord.!While! these! rulers!do!not! knowingly!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!22!Martin!Luther,!Commentary'on'Romans'(reprint,!Grand!Rapids:!Kregel,!

1954)!181.!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 55!!serve! the! Lord,! Paul! used! the!word! λειτουργοί! because! they! are! persons!“who!render!special!service”!and!are!busily!engaged'in!this!endeavor.23!To!put! this! simply,! they! are! unwilling! and! unknowing! instruments! in! the!hands!of!God!to!accomplish!a!believer’s!sanctification.!

Paul! concluded! this! section! discussing! the! wider! practical!implications!beyond!the!issues!of!taxes.!The!issue!of!taxes!has!already!been!discussed! at! length! in! all! three! synoptic! gospels.! Paul! used! it! here! as! a!point!for!the!believer!to!examine!his!own!life.!Believers!are!to!pay!taxes!to!whom! they! are! due,! but! in! addition! to! this,! they! are! to! pay! custom! or!revenue!to!whom!it!is!due,!to!respect!and!finally!honor!to!whom!these!are!due.!Respect!and!honor!are!important!because!they!move!“away!from!the!realm!of!taxes!and!indicate!a!proper!regard!for!those!in!high!places.”24!The!implication!is!more!than!just!giving!a!denarius!to!the!government,!but!a!life!lived! in!humble! submission! to! all! authorities.!To!Paul,! it! concerned!more!than! a! coin,! it! was! in! regards! to! the! attitude! of! the! heart,! which! is!exemplified!in!giving!due!respect!and!honor.!!Conclusion(!The!believer’s!responsibility!towards!the!governing!authorities!has!always!been,! and! likely! will! remain! an! important! issue! as! the! Day! of! the! Lord!approaches.!Having! focused! upon! this! single! passage,! one!must! conclude!that! Paul! was! not! concerned! with! revolutionizing! the! government.! The!passage! stands! in! direct! opposition! to!modern! liberation! theology! or! the!social! gospel.! Instead,! it! focuses! upon! one! principle,! which! speaks! very!broadly!upon! the!matter.!The!believer! is! to! live! in!humble! submission! to!the! rulers!placed!over! them!by!God,!which! is! an! act! of! obedience! and!by!extension!worship!to!the!Lord.!The!believer!is!to!do!this!because!God!has!enthroned!rulers,!even!evil!ones,!and!He!is!sovereignly!using!them!for!his!own!purposes.!The!only!notable!exception!to! this!rule! is!when!a!civil! law!goes!against!one!God’s!direct!commands.!Even!then,!revolution! is!not! the!answer,! but! submission! to! the! penalty! imposed! by! the! state,! as! Paul!exemplified! repeatedly.! Shadrach,! Meshach,! and! Abednego! provide! great!examples! concerning! a! believer’s! responsibility! to! a! pagan,! ungodly!authority.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

23!Louw!and!Nida,!GreekSEnglish'Lexicon,!1:460.!24!Leon!Morris,!The'Letter'of' James! (Pillar!New!Testament!Commentary)!

(Grand!Rapids:!Eerdmans,!1988)!466.!

56( New(Calvinism!'

CASE(STUDY:(TIMOTHY(KELLER(!As! one! of! the! coWfounders! of! The! Gospel! Coalition,! Keller! has! played! a!major!role!in!new!Calvinism.!What!is!important!to!note!here!is!the!possible!influence! of! postmodernism! upon! his! form! of! Calvinism.!While! this! does!not!necessarily!characterize!every!new!Calvinist,!it!may!be!part!of!a!larger!overall! trend.! Many! within! new! Calvinism! seem! more! aware! of! the!implications! of! some! of! Keller’s! theological! statements.! Despite! this,! the!work!he!has!done!through!The!Gospel!Coalition!greatly!impacted!the!new!Calvinist!movement!as!they!seek!to!impact!the!world.!

Keller!is!also!known!for!founding!Redeemer!Presbyterian!Church!in!New! York! City.! Since! there! is! little! upon! which! Redeemer! Presbyterian!Church! stands! theologically,! it! is! possible! to! reproduce! its! core! values! in!their!entirety;! it! is! interesting!that!this! is!where!they!have!chosen!to!take!their!stances!theologically.!

!Redeemer!Presbyterian!Church’s!Core!Values!!1.!Gospel!!The! “gospel”! is! the! good! news! that! through! Christ! the! power! of!God’s! kingdom! has! entered! history! to! renew! the! whole! world.!When! we! believe! and! rely! upon! Jesus’! work! and! record! (rather!than!ours)!for!our!relationship!to!God,!that!kingdom!power!comes!upon!us!and!begins!to!work!through!us.!!2.!Changed!People!!The!gospel!changes!people!from!the!“inside!out.”!Christ!gives!us!a!radically!new!identity,!freeing!us!from!both!selfWrighteousness!and!selfWcondemnation.! He! liberates! us! to! accept! people! we! once!excluded,! and! to! break! the! bondage! of! things! (even! good! things)!that! once! compelled! us.! In! particular,! the! gospel! makes! us!welcoming! and! respectful! toward! those! who! do! not! share! our!beliefs.!!3.!City!!We!believe!that!nothing!promotes!the!peace!and!health!of!the!city!like!the!spread!of!faith!in!the!gospel;!it!renews!both!individual!lives!and! reweaves! the! fabric!of! entire!neighborhoods.!We!believe! that!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 57!!

nothing!moves! Christians! to! humbly! serve,! live!with,! and! love! all!the!diverse!people!of!the!city!like!the!gospel!does.!!4.!Community!!The! gospel! creates! a! new! community! which! not! only! nurtures!individuals!but!also!serves!as!a!sign!of!God’s!coming!kingdom.!Here!we! see! classes! of! people! loving! one! another! who! could! not! have!gotten!along!without!the!healing!power!of!the!gospel.!Here!we!see!sex,! money,! and! power! used! in! unique! nonWdestructive! and! lifeWgiving!ways.!!5.!Movement!!We! have! no! illusions! that! our! single! church! or! our! Presbyterian!tradition! is! sufficient! to! renew! all! New! York! City! spiritually,!socially,! and! culturally.! We! are! therefore! committed! to! planting!(and!helping!others!plant)!hundreds!of!new!churches,!while!at!the!same! time! working! for! a! renewal! of! gospel! vitality! in! all! the!congregations!of!the!city.!!6.!Serving!!Though! we! joyfully! invite! every! person! to! faith! in! Jesus,! we! are!committed! to! sacrificially! serving! our! neighbors! whether! they!believe!as!we!do!or!not.!We!do!this!by!using!our!gifts!and!resources!for!the!needs!of!others,!especially!the!poor;!and,!more!than!merely!meeting!individual!needs,!we!work!for!justice!for!the!powerless.!!7.!Renewing!!We! believe! that! the! gospel! has! a! deep,! vital,! and! healthy! impact!upon! the! arts,! business,! government,!media,! and! academy! of! any!society.!Therefore,!we!are!highly!committed!to!support!Christians’!engagement! with! culture,! helping! them! work! with! excellence,!distinctiveness,!and!accountability!in!their!professions.25!

!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!25! Redeemer! Presbyterian! Church,! “Core! Values”! [document! online]!

(accessed!5!September!2013)!available!from!http://www.redeemer.com/about_us!/vision_and_values/core_values.html.!

58( New(Calvinism!'The! document! is! a! manifesto! of! a! church! that! has! wholeheartedly!embraced!postmodernism;!it!appears!that!they!have!shaped!their!thinking!and! practices! in! an! effort! to! be! relevant! to! the! world! around! them.! In!Deconstructing' Defeater' Beliefs,' Keller! denied! the! sinful! heart! of! man! in!praxis!by!espousing!a!rationalistic!presentation!of!the!gospel.!He!perceives!that! the! mind,! and! not! the! heart,! is! the! issue! preventing! people! from!coming! to! a! saving! faith! in! Christ.! He! said,! “Christianity! is! disbelieved! in!one!culture!for!totally!opposite!reasons!it!is!disbelieved!in!another.”26!The!assertion! is!a!denial!of! the!essence!of!Calvinist!soteriology.!He!replaced!a!bold! proclamation! of! the! gospel!with! one! that!must! be! loving,! attractive,!and!nonWoffensive,!which!is!what!he!regards!as!“the!sandwich!approach”!to!the!gospel!and!is!more!a!baitWandWswitch!technique!than!a!presentation!of!the!gospel.!One!major!issue!is:!“the!word!of!the!cross!is!foolishness!to!those!who!are!perishing”!(1!Cor!1:18).!The!gospel!is!offensive!!Paul!said,!“but!if!I,!brothers,!still!preach!circumcision,!why!am!I!still!being!persecuted?!In!that!case!the!offense!of!the!cross!has!been!removed”!(Gal!5:11,!ESV).!The!cross!and!the!gospel!by!their!very!nature!are!offensive!and!exclusive.!

Keller! has! embraced! a! fundamental! flaw! connected! to! a!misunderstanding! of! hamartiology,! which! is! evident! throughout! his!theology!and!the!core!values!of!Redeemer!Presbyterian!Church.!Romans!3!explains!that!the!issue!preventing!people!from!coming!to!a!saving!faith!in!Christ!is!primarily!a!heart!issue.!There!is!not!one!unregenerate!person!who!would!desire! to! follow!God!even! if! the!gospel!was!presented! in! the!most!attractive! way! possible,! which! is! truly! the! Reformation! and! Calvinistic!understanding! of! the! depravity! of! the! human! heart.! All! the!contextualization!in!the!world!could!not!help!save!a!single!soul.!Keller!does!not!outright!deny!important!doctrinal!matters,!but!in!postmodern!fashion!he!does!not!appear!to!hold!them!absolutely,!which!is!part!of!the!paradigm!shift!in!new'Calvinism.!!Mission!over!Theology!!One!of!the!dangers!that!led!to!such!a!divergence!from!traditional!reformed!theology! is! the!emphasis!placed!upon!the!mission!of! the!church!over!and!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!26!Timothy!Keller,!“Deconstructing!Defeater!Beliefs:!Leading!the!Secular!to!

Christ”! [article! online]! (1! January! 2000,! accessed! 5! September! 2013)! available!from! http://www.case.edu.au/images/uploads/03_pdfs/kellerWdeconstructingWde!feater.pdf! (accessed! through! The! Gospel! Coalition! at! http://thegospelcoalition.!org/resources/entry/DeconstructingWDefeaterWBeliefsWLeadingWtheWSecularWtoWChrist).!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 59!!above!theology.!Notice!the!absence!of!the!doctrines!of!grace!in!Redeemer’s!core! values.! The! openness! in! theology! allows! for! a! diversity! of! new!Calvinist!pastors!and!theologians!to!maintain!a!closeWknit!fellowship.!If!one!selfWidentifies! as! a! Calvinist,! then! other! doctrines! are! seemingly!insignificant.!What!is!truly!important!is!the!missional!nature!of!the!church.!There!is!theological!indifference!as!long!as!one!selfWidentifies!as!a!Calvinist,!which! corresponds! with! the! postmodern! mindset! wherein! one! is! to! be!tolerant!and!not!to!judge!others.!

Redeemer! Presbyterian! Church’s! theology! is! so! open! one! can!hypothetically! reject! central! tenants! of! the! Nicene! Creed! and! still! be! in!agreement!with!their!core!values.!For!example,!although!it!mentions!Jesus!as! redeemer,! it! does! not! mention! his! divinity;! it! also! fails! to! mention! a!biblical! vision! of! salvation! mentioning! “Christ! gives! us! a! radically! new!identity,! freeing! us! from!both! selfWrighteousness! and! selfWcondemnation.”!The! statement! does! not! mention! that! this! new! identity! frees! man! from!condemnation! and! the! penalty! of! sin,! and! it! subtly! replaces! biblical!terminology! with! modern! philosophical! and! liberal! concepts.! The!postmodern! man! can! say! a! lot! without! saying! anything,! which! is!exemplified!in!Redeemer’s!Core!Values,!and!this!is!why!new!Calvinism!has!been! able! to! produce! such! ecumenicity.! In! speaking! with! regard! to!doctrinal!distinctives,!Keller!stated:!!

the! “already”! of! the! New! Testament! means! more! boldness! in!proclamation.! We! can! most! definitely! be! sure! of! the! central!doctrines!that!support!the!gospel.!But,!the!“not!yet”!means!charity!and!humility!in!nonWessentials!beliefs.!In!other!words,!we!must!be!moderate!about!what!we!teach!except!when!it!comes!to!the!cross,!grace!and!sin.!In!our!views,!especially!those!that!Christians!cannot!agree!on,!we!must!be!less!unbending!and!triumphalistic.27!

!One! can! discern! Ladd’s! influence! once! again! manifesting! itself.! The!already/not!yet!paradigm!is!expressed!in!ways!beyond!eschatology.!

What! is! more! important! than! theology! is! authentically! living! the!Christian! life;! it! views! Christianity! through! a! philosophical! lens,! the! best!possible!religious!system!to!follow,!and!not!as!absolute!truth,!which!is!why!they!are!so!concerned!with!manifesting!the!faith!and!minimally!concerned!with!standing!for!the!true!faith!doctrinally.!Hypocrisy!is!what!stands!in!the!way!of!postmoderns!in!New!York!City,!where!Keller!pastors.!They!need!to!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!27! Tim!Keller,! “The! Centrality! of! the! Gospel”! [article! online]! (accessed! 5!

September! 2013)! available! from! http://download.redeemer.com/pdf/learn/!resources/Centrality_of_the_GospelWKeller.pdf.!

60( New(Calvinism!'overcome! this!obstacle! in!order! that! souls! can!be! saved.! If! only! they!had!seen! a! church! and! a! people! living! authentically,! then! they!would! see! the!beauty!and!majesty!of!Christ’s!plan!at!work!and!be!compelled!to!believe.!

One! problem! is! that! many! churches! will! more! characteristically!resemble! the!Corinthian! church! than! the!utopian! ideal! of!Redeemer;! it! is!the! biblical! gospel! that! has! the! answer.! Man! is! sinful,! which! is! why! the!church!appears!hypocritical.!The!gospel!begins!with!man’s!depravity,!with!universal! guilt! and! universal! condemnation,! which! is! why! the! gospel! is!such!good!news.!The!gospel! is! the!message!of! salvation! to! those!who!are!perishing.! Keller! does! not! regard! sin! in! its! proper! biblical! definition.! He!chooses! instead! to! read! his! understanding! back! into! sin,! thereby!contextualizing!sin!improperly.!He!stated,!“the!root!of!every!sin!is!a!failure!to! believe! the! gospel! message! that! Jesus,! and! Jesus! alone,! is! our!justification,! righteousness,! and! redemption.”28! How! does! the! root! of! sin!apply!to!Adam!or!to!anyone!prior!to!the!coming!of!Christ?!

Keller! perverts! the! gospel! because! he! no! longer! regards! it! as! a!proposition:! believe! and! be! saved.! The! best! way! that! Keller’s! artificial!gospel!can!be!defined!is!a!GodWempowered!change!mechanism.!Jesus!is!the!redeemer;! the! believer! is! to! be! an! agent! of! redemption,! thus! the! gospel!concerns! redemption.! Observe! the! following! statements! concerning!Keller’s!view!of!the!gospel.!!

The! gospel! is! to! be! applied! to! every! area! of! thinking,! feeling,!relating,!working,!and!behaving.29!!The!main! problem,! then,! in! the! Christian! life! is! that!we! have! not!thought!out!the!deep!implications!of!the!gospel,!we!have!not!“used”!the!gospel!in!and!on!all!parts!of!our!life.30!!The!key!to!continual!and!deeper!spiritual!renewal!and!revival!is!the!continual.re0discovery.of.the.gospel!(emphasis!original).31..Paul!used!the!gospel!on!racism.32!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!28! Timothy! J.' Keller,! Center' Church:' Doing' Balanced,' GospelSCentered'

Ministry'in'Your'City,!Kindle!ed.!(Grand!Rapids:!Zondervan,!2012)!loc.!1755W56.!29!Tim!Keller,!“Centrality!of!the!Gospel.”!30!Ibid.!31!Ibid.!32!Ibid.!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 61!!

We!have!seen!that!the!gospel! is! the!way!that!anything! is!renewed!and! transformed! by! Christ—whether! a! heart,! a! relationship,! a!church,!or!a!community.33!!All! problems,! personal! or! social! come! from! a! failure! to! use! the!gospel!in!a!radical!way.34!!

The!final!statement!claims!that!the!root!of!all!the!world’s!problems!is!not!sin,!but!a! failure!to!use!the!gospel.!What! is!surprising! is!that!more!within!Reformed!circles!are!not!raising!their!voices!against!this!kind!of!theology,!which! is! what! occurs! when! a! movement! embraces! postmodernism! and!emphasizes! spirituality! over! doctrine! (viz.! it! inevitably! abandons! true!religion).!

In! succumbing! to! the! postmodern! mindset,! he! refuses! to! believe!there! is! any! nonWcontextualized! gospel.! He! believes! that! all! gospel!presentations!are!contextualized,!even!those!recorded! in!Scripture.!While!these!are!based! in!actual!events,!he!goes! to!great! lengths! to!demonstrate!that! Paul! in! one! place! is! sharing! the! gospel! to! Jewish! persons! and! in!another! place! sharing! it! with! Greeks.! He! emphasizes! the! discontinuity!between! these! two!gospel!presentations!over! and!above! their! continuity.!The! reason! is! because,! in! his! thinking,! the! church! has! failed! to! properly!contextualize!the!gospel.!He!never!goes!so!far!as!denying!the!historicity!of!the! gospel,! but! he! does! deny! that! the! gospel! can! be! expressed! in! a! nonWcontextualized!way,!which! is!of! great! importance!as! it!provides! the!basis!for!the!practical!outworking!of!his!theology.!He!claims!to!be!a!Calvinist,!but!it!is!difficult!to!perceive!Calvin!or!the!doctrines!of!grace!being!understood!in!his!theology.!He!stated:!!

contextualization! is! not! —! as! is! often! argued! —! “giving! people!what! they! want! to! hear.”! Rather,! it! is! giving! people! the! Bible’s!answers,!which!they!may!not!at!all!want!to!hear,!to!questions!about!life! that! people! in! their! particular! time! and! place! are! asking,! in!language! and! forms! they! can! comprehend,! and! through! appeals!and!arguments!with!force!they!can!feel,!even!if!they!reject!them.35!

!While!Keller!frequently!quotes!Luther,!this!statement!is!an!outright!denial!of!Luther’s! thesis! in!Bondage'of' the'Will.'The!work!was!perhaps!the!most!important!work!of!the!Reformation!and!a!great!foundation!upon!which!to!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!33!Ibid.!34!Ibid.!35!Timothy!Keller,!Center'Church,!loc.!2250W53.!

62( New(Calvinism!'understand! the! grace! of! God.! A! person’s! rejection! or! acceptance! of! the!gospel!has!nothing!to!do!with!the!way!it!is!presented,!which!does!not!mean!that!the!church!should!not!have!concern!for!how!the!gospel! is!presented;!rather,! she! most! definitely! should.! What! Keller! is! arguing! is! that! the!properly!contextualized!gospel!yields!the!best!results.!He!stated!explicitly,!“our! ministry! will! be! unfruitful! because! we! have! failed! to! contextualize!well.”36!He!also!said,!“it!is!possible!to!subscribe!to!every!orthodox!doctrine!and!nevertheless!fail!to!communicate!the!gospel!to!people’s!hearts!in!a!way!that!brings!about!repentance,!joy,!and!spiritual!growth.”37!The!reason!this!is! certainly! true! is! due! to! the! hardened! heart! of! the! hearer! and! not! the!ineffectiveness! of! the! communicator.! There! is! a! disconnect! between! the!ears!and!the!heart,!and!it!is!only!God!who!can!accomplish!these!ends.!!Social!Justice!!There! is! an! everWpressing! concern! within! new! Calvinism,! and! in! the!theology! of! Keller,! for! social! justice! to! be! enacted.! There! is! this! aurora!concerning!the!new!Calvinists!that!they!are!the!only!group!with!a!genuine!concern! for! the!poor.!While! the!church!carries!a!message,! it! is!an!offer!of!reconciliation! toward!God!and! it! has!nothing! to!offer!other! than! the! true!message! of! the! gospel.! If! the! church! abandons! this! message,! then! what!good! will! food! or! clothes! do! for! those! in! need?! The! church! should! be!concerned!for!those!in!need,!but!Scripture!explains!that!the!church!is!to!do!this!as!a!service!for!the!Lord.!As!Paul!said,!if!you!abandon!the!true!gospel!you! have! believed! in! vain.! All! social! work! is! in! vain! without! the! true!propositional!gospel.!

What! Keller! and! others! have! proposed! is! a! larger! vision! of! the!gospel!that!includes!social!action!and!racial!reconciliation.!Consequently,!it!is!as!if!those!who!believe!only!in!the!propositional!aspect!of!the!gospel!do!not! have! concern! for! social! responsibility! or! racism.! Keller! in! describing!the!Christian!life!stated,!“this!kind!of!life!(activism)!reflects!the!character!of!God.”38! Activism! is! a! part! of! the! Christian! life,! but! this! fails! to! take! into!account!Paul’s! teaching! in!Romans!13!or!Peter’s! in! chapter! 2! of! his! First!Epistle.!While!Christians!in!America!are!given!the!privilege!of!participating!in! government,! most! Christians! live! under! authoritative! governments.!These! same! Christians! are! not! given! the! freedom! to! participate! in! social!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

36!Ibid.!loc.!2259.!37!Ibid.!loc.!1847W48.!38!Timothy!Keller,!Generous'Justice:'How'God’s'Grace'Makes'Us'Just,!Kindle!

ed.!(New!York:!Penguin,!2010)!loc.!361.!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 63!!activism,! and! must! submit! to! their! governments! as! GodWordained!authorities.!

Keller! then! couples! social! activism! with! a! view! of! salvation!whereby,! “true! grace! always! results! in! changed! lives! of! holiness! and!justice.”39! One! of! Keller’s! contributions! to! new! Calvinism! is! to! add! the!phrase!“and!justice”!to!an!understanding!of!salvation.!In!another!work,!he!stated,!“the!implication!is!that!if!you!do!not!actively!and!generously!share!your!resources!with!the!poor,!you!are!a!robber.!You!are!not!living!justly.”40!Apparently,! one! is!not! a!Christian! if! he!or! she!does!not! share! generously!with! the!poor,!which! is! a!misunderstanding!of! the! lesson!of!Ananias! and!Sapphira.!Therefore,! it! is!not!surprising,!yet!still!shocking,! to!witness!him!claim,!“if!you!are!not!just,!you’ve!not!truly!been!justified!by!faith.”41!

Scripture!goes!to!great!lengths!to!demonstrate!that!there!is!no!one!good!except!God.! In! the! same!manner,! there! is!no!one!who! is! just!except!God! alone.! Keller’s! beliefs! could! be! a! logical! outworking! of! his! view! of!salvation.!Consequently,! it! is!easy! to!understand! that!when!one!begins! to!add!a!single!requirement!to!salvation,!it!is!much!easier!to!continue!adding!requirements.! Personal! salvation! is! not! enough.! What! must! be! done,!according! to! Keller! is! that! “we!must! retell! the! culture’s! story! in! Jesus,”42!which! is! something!he! regards! as! gospel! renewal.! There! is! a!major! issue!with!this!concept!of! the!big!gospel,!which! is!becoming!increasing!popular!today.! Perverting! the! gospel! is! a! serious!matter.! So! serious,! in! fact,! that!Paul! stated! unequivocally! “as!we! have! said! before,! so! I! say! again! now,! if!any!man!is!preaching!to!you!a!gospel!contrary!to!what!you!received,!he!is!to!be!accursed!”!(Gal!1:9,!NASB).!

Keller!claims!that!the!church!in!general!has!abandoned!or!forgotten!the!social!aspect!of!the!gospel.!If!the!biblical!gospel!truthfully!does!include!these! social! elements,! as! Keller! claims,! then! is! the! church! apostate! and!accursed?!The!biblical!ἀνάθεµα!would!need! to!be!pronounced!upon! those!who!Keller!is!speaking!against.!There!are!two!gospels!being!proposed.!Only!one! can! be! the! gospel;! the! other! gospel! is! false! and! Paul! pronounces!ἀνάθεμα! upon! it.! Stallard! explained! that! the! intermingling! of! the! biblical!gospel! with! the! social! gospel! “can! easily! lead! to! a! lack! of! clarity! in! the!giving! of! gospel! invitations! and! to! a! lack! of! evangelism! in! the! work! of!Christians.”43!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

39!Keller,!Center'Church,'loc.!387.!40!Keller,!Generous'Justice,!loc.!346.!41!Ibid.!loc.!1205W06.!42!Keller,!Center'Church,!loc.!3523W24.!43!Stallard,!“Gospel!Centeredness,”!6.!

64( New(Calvinism!'

In!his!magnum!opus!on!practical!ecclesiology,!Center'Church,'Keller!exhorted! the! contemporary! church!not!only! to!pursue! the! redemption!of!individuals! but! society! as!well.! He! spoke! of! the! church’s! approach! to! its!current!practices!in!unflattering!terms!saying:!“many!Christians!resist!the!idea!that!social!systems!need!to!be!dealt!with!directly.!They!prefer!the!idea!that! ‘society! is! changed! one! heart! at! a! time,’! and! so! they! concentrate! on!only!evangelism!and!individual!social!work.!This!is!naïve.”44!

One! looks! in! vain! for! biblical! support! for! Keller’s! statement.! His!theological! justification! is! inadequate!and!his!biblical! support! is!artificial.!He! developed! his! own! conclusion! of! the! Good! Samaritan! parable! as!follows:! “social! reform!moves! beyond! the! relief! of! immediate! needs! and!dependency!and!seeks!to!change!the!conditions!and!social!structures!that!aggravate! or! cause! that! dependency.! Imagine! a! sequel! to! the! Good!Samaritan! parable.! The! months! go! by! and! every! time! he! makes! his! trip!from! Jerusalem! to! Jericho! he! finds! another!man! in! the! road,! beaten! and!robbed.!Finally!the!Samaritan!says,!“How!do!we!stop!the!violence?”45!

He!also!looks!to!Israel!and!the!provisions!made!in!the!Mosaic!Law!for! the! poor.! He! said,! “Israel! was! charged! to! create! a! culture! of! social!justice!for!the!poor!and!vulnerable!because!it!was!the!way!the!nation!could!reveal!God’s!glory!and!character! to! the!world.”46!God!made! the!provision!for! the!poor! in! light!of! the! sinfulness!of!man,!which! is! the! same!with! the!provision!for!the!king!in!the!Pentateuch.!While!it!is!true!that!provision!was!made! in! the!Law!for!a!king,! this!was!not!God’s!desire! for! Israel;! rather,! it!was!created!with!the!foreknowledge!of! Israel’s!disobedience,!and!it! is! the!same!way! for! the! protection! of! the! poor!whereby! it! is! a! protection! from!man!and!not!a!mandate!to!eliminate!poverty.!

Keller!would!have!great!difficulty!reconciling!this!belief!with!Jesus’!rebuke!of!Judas!when!he!protested!that!Christ’s!feet!should!not!have!been!anointed! with! expensive! oil! (Matt! 26:6W13;! Mark! 14:3W9;! John! 12:1W10).!The!question!of!Judas!has!a!modern!twist!in!Keller’s!proposal,!which!is!not!to! say! that! the! church! is! to! be! indifferent! concerning! society,! but! it! is! a!reminder!to!keep!a!proper!perspective!regarding!social!injustice!being!only!a!temporal!issue.!Eternal!issues!are!of!much!graver!concern!for!the!church,!which! is! why! the! epistles! to! the! church! are! not! concerned! with! social!transformation.! Indeed,! Paul! wrote! to! submit! to! the! government! even!though!he!was! frequently! imprisoned! for!his! faith! in! an! empire! that!was!egregiously!unjust.!His!desire!was!never!to!reform!society.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

44!Keller,!Generous'Justice,!loc.!1491W92.!45!Ibid.!loc.!1472W75.!46!Ibid.!loc.!260W62.!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 65!!

Overall,!Keller’s!anthropology! is! reminiscent!of!postmillennialism.!He! even!made! the! claim,! “God! is! distressed! that! the! unity! of! the! human!family!has!been!broken!and!declares!his! intention!to!take!down!the!walls!of!racism!and!nationalism!that!human!sin!and!pride!have!put!there.”47!He!mainly!sees! the!goodness! in!man!and!not! the! true!depth!of!his!sinfulness!and!depravity.!He!says!that!he!believes!the!doctrine!of!total!depravity,!but!in!reality!it!is!denied!in!the!outworking!of!his!beliefs.!

The!city!itself!plays!an!important!role!in!Keller’s!practical!theology,!which!is!not!too!surprising!given!that!he!is!a!pastor!in!New!York!City,!and!is! important! to! him! because! “the! city! is! humanity! intensified! —! a!magnifying!glass!that!brings!out!the!very!best!and!worst!of!human!nature!—! it! has! a! dual! nature.”48! ! The! biblical! doctrine! of! depravity! denies! this!dual!nature!in!man!prior!to!regeneration.!While!it!is!true!that!cities!can!be!a! special! place! for! the! gospel,! this! is! because! of! the! concentration! of!humanity!that!occurs!there.!The!gospel!does!work!powerfully!in!cities!but!its!uniqueness! is! found!against! the!backdrop!of!a!city’s!utter!darkness.! In!the! dark! places,! the! light! can! burn! brighter,!which! is! not! to! say! that! the!suburbs!or!country!are!any!better;!they!too!have!their!own!distinct!issues.!What!is!necessary!is!to!break!down!the!romanticized!notion!of!Keller’s!that!God!works!especially!in!cities!and!to!protest!the!concept!that!the!city!as!an!entity!plays!a!pivotal!role!in!the!arc!of!redemptive!history.49!!Total!Depravity!!Keller!claims!for!himself!the!title!of!Calvinist,!but!he!does!not!truly!hold!to!the!doctrine!of! total!depravity.!What!this!means! is! that! in!his!attempts!to!reach! the! lost,! Keller! does! not! see! the! true! nature! of! the! unregenerate!person’s!heart! and!mind.!Part!of! this! results! from!an!overemphasis!upon!reason,!and!is!also!seen!in!his!estimation!of!the!problem!of!evangelism!(viz.!“gospel! preaching! that! targets! some! sins! but! not! the! sins! of! oppression!‘cannot!possibly!work!among!the!overwhelming!majority!of!people! in!the!world’”50).!There!is!an!indication!of!liberation!theology!in!the!assertion,!but!more! importantly! it!makes! the! response!of!man! to! the! gospel! contingent!upon!the!contextualization!of!the!one!presenting!the!gospel.!

Keller! has! often! sought! to! avoid! the! issues! that! have! plagued! the!church!growth!movement,!but!all!too!often!his!thinking!still!aligns!with!it.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

47!Ibid.!loc.!1430W31.!48!Keller,!Center'Church,!loc.!3684W85.!49!Ibid.!loc.!3693.!50!Keller,!Generous'Justice,!loc.!759W60.!

66( New(Calvinism!'Keller! pastors! a! very! large! church! that! he! planted;! therefore,! it! is! not!surprising!then!to!see!that!he!views!God!as!working!in!a!special!way!in!his!specific! church.!He! readily! admits! that! this! is! not! because!of! any! specific!methodology!that!he!has!employed,!but!due!to!his!church’s! fidelity! to! the!gospel.! They! take! the! beliefs! of! the! church! growth! movement,! “try! this!method! and! a! church! will! grow,”! and! simply! replace! it! with! “follow!Scripture,!as!we!see!it,!and!a!church!will!grow.”!Keller!repeats!the!heart!of!the! church! growth!movement’s! belief! that! churches! produce! growth,! not!the! Spirit.! Keller! even! suggests! that! the! pastor! is! to! be! judged!based!not!upon! numerical! growth! (as! in! the! church! growth! movement)! or! in! his!faithfulness! (which! is! a! naïve! dead! orthodoxy)! instead! he! “came! to! the!conclusion!that!a!more!biblical!theme!.!.!.!(for!evaluation!is)!fruitfulness.”51!

Obedience! in! ministry! will! inevitably! result! in! quantifiable! fruit;!otherwise! the! minister! is! ineffective.! In! one! statement,! he! even! said,! “if!gospel!ministry!was!going! to!be!productive.! .! .! .”! 52!The!productiveness!of!gospel!ministry,!as!he!sees!it,!is!dependent!upon!the!work!of!man.!Only!God!can!produce! fruit! in!ministry,!whether! it! is! through! the!pastor!or!even! in!spite!of!him.!While!he!derides!the!church!growth!movement!for!claiming!to!know!the!secret!behind!growth,!Keller!essentially!instructs!others!to!follow!his!method!because!it!is!more!biblical.!Keller’s!thesis!behind!Center'Church'is!that!what!is!needed!by!church!today!is!a!gospel!vision,!that!is,!a!vision!for!the! full! gospel! that! reaches! the! cities! and! renews! the!world.! The! church!needs! a! proper! contextualization! of! the! gospel! that! reaches! the!postmodern! world.! He! said,! “our! ministry! will! be! unfruitful! because! we!have! failed! to! contextualize! well.”53! He! completely! ignores! that! it! is! God!and!only!Him!who!makes!ministry!fruitful.!

One!area!that!explicitly!denies!the!depraved!nature!of!man’s!mind!and!heart!is!Keller’s!approach!to!evangelism.!In!his!“sandwich!approach”!to!evangelism,! he! said,! “first,! the! gospel! must! be! presented! briefly! but! so!vividly!and!attractively!(and!so!hooked!into!the!culture’s!baseWline!cultural!narratives)! that! the! listener! is! virtually! compelled! to! say! ‘It' would' be'wonderful' if' that'were' true,' but' it' can’t' be!’'Until! he!or! she! comes! to! that!position,!you!can’t!work!on!the!implausibility!structure!!The!listener!must!have!motivation! to! hear! you! out.! That! is!what! defeaters! do! –! they!make!people! super! impatient!with! any! case! for! Christianity.! Unless! they! find! a!presentation!of!Christ!surprisingly!attractive!and!compelling!(and!stereoW

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!51!Keller,!Center'Church,!loc.!96.!52!Ibid.!loc.!131.!53!Ibid.!loc.!2259.!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 67!!type! breaking)! their! eyes!will! simply! glaze! over!when! you! try! to! talk! to!them.”54!

The! “sandwich! approach”! ignores! the! nature! of! an! unregenerate!man’s!heart.!A!depraved!heart!is!enslaved!to!its!own!sinful!desires,!and!the!gospel!will!not!appear!attractive! to! the!unregenerate!man.!Somehow,! the!response! of! man! to! the! gospel! is! best! accomplished! through! Keller’s!technique!of!presenting!the!wonderful! things!about!being!a!Christian!and!then!only!later!explaining!to!them!the!implications!of!becoming!a!Christian.!The! approach! makes! it! seem! as! if! becoming! a! Christian! can! be! solely!achieved!by!human!means,!and!thus!seeks!to!manufacture!the!work!of!the!Spirit! artificially.!One!hopes! that! the! theological!world!will! recognize! the!missional!nature!of!new!Calvinism!for!what!it!is:!postmodernism.!

!CONCLUSION(

!At! the! outset! of! this! article,! one! may! be! confused! as! to! how! the! new!Calvinist’s!desire! to!go!missionally! into!cities!has!anything! to!do!with! the!gospel.! For! starters,!new!Calvinism!misunderstands! the!gospel! to! involve!social! action! or! cultural! redemption.! An! outgrowth! of! this! thinking! is! to!focus!upon!cities!as!their!primary!mission!field.!For!them,!this!is!the!gospel.!The!word!choice!of!missionally!flooding!into!cities!is!very!specific!because!they! focus! their! attention! very! purposefully! on! cities.! The! thinking! is!reminiscent! of! the! Dutch! reformed! tradition.! Cities! are! now! the! focus! of!their!efforts.!A!city!is!a!modern!day!Samaria:!a!place!where!nice!Christian!people! would! not! be! found.! Many! promote! this!modern! variation! of! the!social!gospel.!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!54!Keller,!“Deconstructing!Defeater!Beliefs”![online].!

'

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 69!!

'A'SCRIPTURAL'INVESTIGATION'

INTO'THE'IDENTITIES'OF'THE'NEPHILIM!!

G.'Robert'Graf'!This! article! provides! a! new! look! at! the! nephilim! by! proposing! that! the!Scripture!section!(Gene!4:1–6:8)!forms!a!single!lecture!whose!provenance!was!the!aftermath!of!the!abortive!invasion!of!Canaan!recorded!in!Numbers!13;! the! multiWchapter! section! could! be! entitled,! “The! Nephilim! Lecture.”!Regarding! this! passage! as! originally! oral! will! provide! the! interpretive!framework!for!unlocking!the!identification!of!the!nephilim!and!the!“sons!of!God.”! The! research! also! includes! a! special! section! addressing! “giants,”!because!of!the!confusion,!even!in!scholarly!circles!through!the!ages!and!to!this!day,!on! the!relation!of! the!nephilim! to!giants.!The!article!will! suggest!that!all!the!nephilim!were!giants,!but!not!all!the!giants!were!nephilim.!!

OVERVIEW(!This!work!will!be!a!scriptural! investigation! to!determine! the! identities!of!the! nephilim! of! Genesis! 6:1W4! and,! concurrently,! of! Numbers! 13:33.! The!story! of! Lamech! in! Genesis! 4!will! be! studied! in! some! detail,! and!will! be!integral!to!the!problem!of!identification,!and!to!its!solution.!After!a!section!on!oral!provenance,!the!author!will!consider!several!pieces!of!evidence!in!the! scriptural! record! that! can! be! interpreted! to! arrive! at! a! satisfying!conclusion.!The!pieces!of!evidence!are!found!in!Genesis!4–6,!Numbers!13,!and!Deuteronomy!1.!The!evidence!may!be!itemized!as:!!

• The!perpetrators!of!the!flood!!• The!daughters!of!the!Sethites!

o the!literary!thrust!of!Genesis!5!o the!familial!relationship!of!Naamah!

• The!tauntWsong!of!Lamech!!• The!sons!of!Lamech!!• The!use!of!“and!also!afterward”!in!Genesis!6:4!

o what!it!does!not!mean!o the!truncated!genealogy!of!Cain!in!Genesis!4!

!!

*"G."Robert"Graf,"Ph.D.,"instructor,"Liberty"University"Online!

70( Nephilim!'The!methodology! of! the! investigation! includes! a! strong! consideration! of!the! oral! nature! of! the! initial! presentation! of! the! story.! Some! of! the! oral!features! are! mnemonic! in! character;! those! mnemonics! usually! transfer!well!to!the!written!text.!Other!oral!features!are!simply!tones!of!voice;!those!features!have!to!be!kept!in!mind.!They!do!not!transfer!well;!one!has!to!look!for!contextual!clues!to!“hear”!such!tones,!and!those!clues!will!be!presented!throughout!this!article!as!the!evidence!is!interpreted.!

The! phrase! “sons! of! God”!will! also! be! explained.! There! are! some!arguments! holding! that! the! translation! in! Genesis! 6:2,! 4! should! be,!“angels,”! “sons! of! the! gods,”! “sons! of! gods,”! or! “sons! of! nobles.”!Wenham!noted!that!the!“angel”!interpretation!is,!at!once,!the!oldest!view!and!that!of!most! modern! commentators.1! Wenham! also! mentioned! a! “royal”!interpretation,! in! which! the! “sons! of! God”! are! rulers! who! accumulate!harems;2! he! cited! Kline,! who! suggested! many! years! ago! that! all! the!participants!were!human.3!Constable!offered!three!similar!interpretations,4!and! supported! a! “human”! view! of! the! “sons! of! God”! as! godly! Sethites.5!Wiersbe! concurred,! specifically! severing! the! link! to! the! Job! passages.6!Eslinger!also!supported!a!human!view;!he!claimed!(as!did!Kline)! that! the!“sons! of! God”! are! the! ungodly! Cainites.7! The! viewpoint! of! this! article!supports!the!latter.!

Moses! is! assumed! to! be! the! lecturer.! Deuteronomy! 1:27W29!indicates!that!Moses!spoke!to!the!people!regarding!the!Anakim;!contextual!clues! indicate! that! the!multiWchapter! passage! of! Genesis! 4:1–6:8!was! his!text.! Throughout! the! article,! the! idea! that! the! text! can! be! regarded! as!unified! in! its!original! form,!rather! than!splintered! in!authorship!and!then!compiled,!will!also!be!a!working!assumption.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1!Gordon!J.!Wenham,!Genesis'1–15!(Word!Biblical!Commentary),!gen.!eds.!David!A.!Hubbard!and!Glenn!W.!Barker!(Nashville:!Thomas!Nelson,!1987)!139.!

2!Ibid.!139W40.!3!Meredith!G.!Kline,!“Divine!Kingship!and!Genesis!6:1W4,”!The'Westminster'

Theological'Journal!24!(1962):!191W95.!4! Thomas! L.! Constable,! “Genesis”! [online]! (Sonic! Light,! accessed! 8!

September! 2015)! available! from! http://www.soniclight.com/constable/notes/pdf/!genesis.pdf.!

5!Ibid.!6! Warren! W.! Wiersbe,! The' Bible' Exposition' Commentary,! 6! vols.!

(Eastbourne,!UK:!Kingsway!Communications,!2001)!2:551W52.!7! Lyle! Eslinger,! “A! Contextual! Identification! of! the! Bene! Ha'elohim! and!

Benoth!Ha'adam! in!Genesis! 6.1W4,”! Journal' for' the' Study' of' the'Old'Testament! 13!(1979):!65W73.!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 71!!

The! article! goes! one! step! further! than! Eslinger’s! 1979! paper! in!which! he! identified! the! bnai' elohim! of! Genesis! 6:1W4! as! the! Cainite! line.8!The!research!herein!claims!that!Scripture!highlights!a!particular!subgroup!of! the! nephilim! as! the! descendants! of! Lamech.! Fockner’s! response! to!Eslinger!made!a! strong!case! for! the!conclusion! that! the!bnai'elohim!were!human.9! However,! Fockner! made! no! attempt! to! identify! the! nephilim!beyond!what!the!text!says!as!“mighty!men!who!were!of!old.”!In!this!work,!the!author!will!use!a!theme!from!Fockner’s!work:!he!used!the!principle!of!“participant!coherence”! to!argue!that!Genesis!6:1–8! is!a!unity;! this!article!will! identify! the! participants! of! Genesis! 6:1W4! as! persons! from!Genesis! 4!and!5,!thus!affirming!that!Genesis!4:1–6:8!is!also!a!unity.10!

The! section! concerning! giants! will! suggest! that! all! the!antediluvians,! including! the!nephilim,!were!giants.!After!Babel,!during! the!sparsely! chronicled! centuries! between! the! Flood! and! the! patriarchs,!human! heights! decreased! gradually,! but! memories! of! ancient! giants,! in!particular!violent!giants,!became!the!stuff!of!legends!and!myths.!!

ORAL(PROVENANCE(!Genesis!4:1–6:8!may!be!regarded!as!the!nephilim!lecture,!an!ancient!speech!given!by!Moses!after!the!rebellious!spies!at!Kadesh!Barnea!had!claimed!the!presence!of!nephilim! in!Canaan!(Scripture!confirms!that!Moses!responded!orally,! Deut! 1:29).! The! uses! of! specific! oral! phrasing! and! techniques,!including! irony! or! a! scornful! tone,! give! answers! to! several! challenging!interpretive!problems.!

One!may!easily!assume!that!tales!of!primeval!history!were!current!among! the! Israelites! in! Egypt,! just! as! Egyptian! tales! of! creation! were!current.! Perhaps! Moses! gave! lectures! of! Genesis! 1,! 2,! and! 3! to! correct!mythological!accretions!that!the!people!had!heard.!Consequently,!it!would!have! been! convenient! to! lecture! the! people! when! the! Exodus! journeys!ended!in!the!evenings.!When!the!tribal!spies!returned!from!their!espionage!in!Canaan,!the!people!discussed!invasion,!and!the!topic!of!nephilim!arose.!A!clarifying!lecture!was!necessary,!and!Moses!no!doubt!sought!the!listening!ears!of!his!audience.!

Tones! of! voice! do! not! transfer! well! to! the! written! text! in! PaleoWHebrew,! to! our! knowledge.! In! contemporary! English,! tones! of! irony! or!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

8!Ibid.!65W73.!9! Sven! Fockner,! “Reopening! the! Discussion:! Another! Contextual! Look! at!

the!Sons!of!God,”!Journal'for'the'Study'of'the'Old'Testament!32!(2008):!435W56.!10!Ibid.!443W44.!

72( Nephilim!'scorn!can!often!be!indicated!by!quotation!marks.!The!normal,!grammatical!interpretation!of!Genesis!6:2a!—!translated!and!presented!as,!.!.!.!the!“sons!of!God”!saw!that!the!daughters!of!men!were!beautiful!.!.!.!—!is!significantly!different! than! the! interpretation!of! that! segment!without! those!quotation!marks.!

Moses!would! have! used! a! variety! of! oral! techniques,! including! at!least! emphasis,! but! also!possibly! a! scornful! tone;! even! sarcasm!occurs! in!the!Scriptures!in!directly!quoted!speech,!as!in!1!Samuel!21:15,!but!it!must!be!interpreted!as!sarcasm!by!context.!Neither!emphasis!nor!a!scornful!tone!would!transfer!explicitly!to!the!later!literary!transcription,!but!both!would!be!extremely!important!to!the!initial!audience.!

The! account! of! the! return! of! the! spies! (Numb! 13! and! 14)! is!sobering.!After!the!second!report! from!the!bad!spies,! the!people!rebelled.!Moses,! Aaron,! Joshua,! and! Caleb! went! to! prayer;! the! Lord! responded! in!glory.!Moses! interceded! for! the!people,!and! the!Lord!responded!a!second!time.! The! bad! spies! died.! The! people! had! been!mourning! over! the! dead!spies! and! their! misjudgment,! but! they! were! encouraged! enough! to! plan!invasion!the!next!morning!(Numb!14:40).!How!did!that!occur?!The!words!of! the! Lord! regarding! their! sinful! disobedience! did! not! include! an!encouraging!impetus.!

The! encouraging! impetus! came! from! Moses.! One! knows! from!Deuteronomy!1:26W33!that!Moses!did!more!than!repeat!the!chiding!words!of!the!Lord.!Moses!spoke!to!the!people!concerning!the!Anakim!(vv.!28W29).!The!nephilim!lecture!could!well!have!been!included!in!“these!words”!which!set!the!people!to!mourning!greatly!on!the!one!hand!(Numb!14:39),!and!to!planning!an!invasion!on!the!other.!What!greater!encouragement!than!to!be!taught! that! the! nephilim! were! merely! human! and! more! importantly,!completely!dead!!The! lecture!would!not!only!have! identified! the!nephilim!as!Lamechites,!but!would!have!shown!the!Israelites!that!the!nephilim!were!no!longer!a!threat!—!they!would!all!have!been!destroyed!in!the!Flood.!11!

Orality!in!the!nephilim! lecture!provides!a!key!to!the!interpretation!of! the! address! and! the! written! passage.! If! there! is! a! scornful! tone,! the!passage!is!unlocked!and!clarified,!and!the!interpretation!becomes!plain;!if!there! is! no! scornful! tone,! the! passage! is! obscure! and! the! interpretation!flounders.!

The!interpretive!key!to!the!passage!is!as!follows:!Moses!uttered!the!phrase!“sons!of!God”!in!a!scornful!tone.!His!delivery!would!have!indicated!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11!The!idea!that!the!soWcalled!nephilim!do!not!appear!as!actual!antagonists!

in! the! book! of! Numbers,! was! suggested! to! this! author! in! an! informal! personal!communication!by!C.!Daniel!McCartney!sometime!between!1999–2001.!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 73!!that! the! “sons! of!God”!were! as! far! from!being! true! sons! of!God! as! it!was!possible! to!be;!Moses’!hearers!would! immediately!have!assumed! that! the!“sons! of! God”! were! human,! and! in! particular,! the! Lamechites,! whose!characterizations! and! activities! had! just! been!mentioned.! Even! if! the! Job!references!(1:6;!2:1;!38:7)!were!already!well!known!to!the!hearers,!in!fact,!especially!if!they!were,!the!usurpation!of!an!angelic!aura!by!the!Lamechites!would!solidify!their!arrogant!selfWidentification!as!“sons!of!God.”!!

INTERPRETING(THE(EVIDENCE((

The!Perpetrators!of!the!Flood!'In!Genesis!6:1W8,!the!judgment!of!God!fell!upon!humankind!and!spread!to!the! animals! and! birds.! One! is! reminded! of! the! human! interaction!with! a!snake! in! chapter!3.!The! ramifications!of! that! incident! in! their! totality!are!beyond! the! scope! of! this! article,! but! that! struggle! seemed! to! be! for!authority!over! the!earth,!and!man’s!position!of!authority!seemed!to!be! in!the! balance.! The! leitmotif! of! chapters! 3! and! 4! is! authority.! Eve! wanted!more! authority,! and! humankind! received! less.12! Instead! of! exercising!authority! over! the! animals,! Adam!yielded! to! the! suggestion! of! the! snake.!The!order!of!creation!was!inverted.!Instead!of!GodWmanWanimals,!the!order!became!animalsWman~God.!The!last!link!was!desired!but!not!fixed!—!man!wanted,! but! did! not! get,! equality! with! God.! The! humans! did! not! get!equality,!but!in!their!minds,!authority!was!still!a!working!assumption.!

Eslinger! argued! that! the! Cainites! considered! themselves! “sons! of!God.”!Comparing!their!behavior!to!that!of!the!rebellious!angels,!he!wrote,!

!From!this!perspective,!6:1W4!assumes!an! important!and!necessary!function! in! the! narrative! leading! up! to! the! flood.! The! attempt! by!man! to!become!more! than!he! is! results! in!his! becoming! less.! The!flood! comes! exactly! at! the! time! when! man! ‘abandons! his! own!position! and! leaves! his! proper! dwelling’! (Jude! 6).! In! response! to!man’s! subversion! of! the! created! order,! God! decides! to! destroy! it!completely.!His!threat!to!withdraw!the!ruah,!while!possibly!a!threat!to!withdraw! the! breath! breathed! into!man! at! creation! (2.7),!may!also! be! an! allusion! to! the! ruah’s! powers! to! dry! up! the! primeval!waters! (8:1W2,! 1:2).! By! withdrawing! the! ruah! God! withdraws! a!principle! of! order! and! allows! the! waters! of! chaos! to! destroy! the!chaos!of!man![which!has]!become!r?b![“morally!depraved”].13!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!12!Eslinger,!“Contextual!Identification,”!66,!72.!13!Ibid.!72.!

74( Nephilim!'!Eslinger!identified!several!contextual!links!between!Genesis!4!and!Genesis!6.!He!wrote,!“The!Cainites!had!been!banished!(lit.!‘cursed’)!from!the!face!of!the!hmda in! 4:11W14.! In! 6:1! the!multiplication! of!man! and!his! daughters!occurs! on! the! face! of! the! hmda,! increasing! the! likelihood! that! they! are!Sethites.”14!He!also!made! the! following!point:! “The!action!of! taking!wives!for! oneself! (6:2)! is! paralleled! only! by! the! Cainite! Lamech!who! takes! two!wives! for! himself! 4:19.”15! Perhaps! most! importantly,! he! noted! that! the!“sons!of!God”!were!also!human,!writing,!

!The! first! clue! to! the! identity! of! the! characters! behind! the! titles! is!6:3,! which! is! God’s! reaction! to! vv.! 1W2.! Since! God’s! reaction! is! a!reaction! against!man! !(אדם) who! is! flesh! (rsb)! one!would! expect!the!culpable!actions!of!vv.!1W2!to!be!human!actions.!Recalling!that!the!multiplication! of!man! in! v.! 1! is! in! obedience! to! the! command!and! blessing! of! 1:28,! ‘be! fruitful! and! multiply,’! the! objectionable!human! acts! must! be! those! of! v.! 2.! Since! the! subjects! of! all! three!verbs!are!the!bene!ha!‘elohim,!they!should!be!human.16!

!One!is!able!to!identify!a!powerful!literary!argument.!God’s!reaction!

was!against!humankind!because! they!were! flesh! (6:3).!The! “sons!of!God”!and! the! nephilim! would! have! escaped! punishment! if! they! had! not! been!flesh,! so! they! were! flesh! indeed.! If! the! “sons! of! God”! were! human,! they!would!have!died!in!the!Flood;!if!the!nephilim!were!human,!they!also!would!have!died!in!the!Flood.!!Daughters!of!the!Sethites!'The! title! of! this! subsection! is! somewhat! tautological.! After! the! death! of!Noah’s! wife! and! daughtersWinWlaw,! every! woman! in! the! world! was! a!descendant!of!Noah!and!hence!a!Sethite.!Only!in!the!preWFlood!world!does!this! title!make!a!proper!distinction.! In!those!days!there!were!at! least! two!lines!of!humans,!the!Sethites!and!the!Cainites.!

Eslinger! claimed! that! the! Cainite! line! had! no! daughters.! Fockner!objected.! The! relevant! passage! in! Eslinger! is! as! follows:! “The! birth! of!daughters!to!anyone!occurs!only!amongst!the!Sethites!of!Ch.!5.”!17!Fockner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

14!Ibid.!66.!15!Ibid.!16!Ibid.!65.!17!Ibid.!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 75!!wrote! that!Eslinger!had!committed!a! “factual!error,”! since!Naamah!was!a!sister! of! Tubalcain! “and! therefore! a! daughter! of! Lamech.”18! Fockner!may!have! failed! to! note! the! literary! structure! of! the! entire! tale.! Naamah!was!specifically!designated!a! “sister,”!and!not!a! “daughter.”!Fockner!made! the!biological! connection,! but! Moses! made! an! oratorical! point.! He! certainly!knew! that!Naamah!was! a!daughter!of! Lamech!—!he! just!did!not!want! to!refer!to!her!in!that!manner.!There!were!females!in!Cain’s!line,!but!as!far!as!Moses! the! lecturer! was! concerned,! there! were! no! daughters.! Moses’!emphasis!was!a!purposeful!oratorical!and!literary!ploy,!so!that! in!Genesis!6:1W2,! the! Cainites! could! capture! and!marry! the! daughters! of! the! Sethite!line.!

Wenham!noted!that!“daughters,”!when!they!are!later!mentioned!in!Genesis!6:1,!occupy!a!grammatical!place!of!prominence.19!The!line!of!Cain!and! Lamech! in! chapter! 4!was! carefully! designed! to! avoid! “daughters”! in!order! to!make! the! contrast!with! the! daughters! in! chapter! 5! explicit;! the!subsequent! identification!of!the!daughters!of!men!as!the!daughters!of!the!godly!line!was!thus!assured.!The!contrast!and!identification!affirms!the!fact!that! there! was! a! literary! and! oratorical! emphasis! and! purpose! at! work!throughout! these! chapters.20! As! an! oratorical! unity,! the! participants! in!Genesis!4,!5,!and!6!make!contextual!sense;!if!the!chapters!are!fragmented,!the!sense!and!context!of!Genesis!6:1W4!vanish.!

Naamah! was,! in! the! eyes! of! the! lecturer,! a! sister! instead! of! a!daughter,!while! Adah! and! Zillah,! the! other! named!women,! seemed! to! be!captives! from! the! Sethite! line;! this! will! be! made! more! explicit! in! the!following! subsection.! Moses! removed! all! the! named! females! in! Genesis!4:17W24!from!the!class!of!Cainite!“daughters.”!!The!Taunt!Song!!Three! aspects! of! a! tauntWsong!will! be!mentioned!here.! The! first! aspect! is!content.! The! obvious! feature! of! the! song! was! Lamech’s! overwhelming!hubris,!and!that!is!a!factor!in!identifying!the!Lamechite!line!as!“sons!of!God”!by!selfWdesignation.!Cassuto!remarked,!!

one!senses!a!kind!of!antithetic!parallelism!to! the!statement!at! the!beginning!of!the!section![4:1]:!I'have'created'a'man'equally'with'the'

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!18!Fockner,!“Reopening!the!Discussion,”!441.!19!Wenham,!Genesis'1–15,!139.!20! The! emphasis! and! purpose! is! a! literary! expansion! of! “participant!

coherence,”!a!theme!used!by!Fockner,!“Reopening!the!Discussion,”!443.!

76( Nephilim!'

Lord.!Eve!gloried!in!the!fact!that!she!had!formed!and!given!birth!to!a!man;! Lamech!prides!himself! on!having! cut! off! the! life! of! a!man.!The! earlier! vaunt! was! with' the' Lord;! the! later,! against' the' Lord![emphasis!original].21!

!Lamech!placed!himself!in!nearWequality!with!the!Lord.!

A! second! aspect! of! the! tauntWsong! is! its! audience.!Usually! a! taunt!song!is!sung!to!the!victims,!the!defeated!or!captured!ones;!so,!for!example,!Isaiah! 14:12W15! was! sung! to! the! spiritual! power! behind! the! king! of!Babylon,! and! Ezekiel! 28:2W10,! 12W19! were! sung! to! the! prince! of! Tyre;!Deborah!announced!her! audience! in! Judges!5:3.! In! this!Genesis!pericope,!Lamech!sang!his!tauntWsong!to!Adah!and!Zillah,!his!wives!(Gen!4:23).!

According! to! Cassuto,!Adah! probably!means! “pretty,”!Zillah! is! “an!allusion! to! the! sweetness! of! the! human! voice,”! [and! later]! “If! this! be!correct,!the!names!of!the!two!women!form!an!excellent!parallel,!pointing!to!the! two! charming! feminine! attributes! mentioned! in! Cant.! 2.14.! ‘a! sweet!voice! and! a! pretty! face.’”22! Their! names! were! sung! in! parallel! to! their!explicitly! stated! position! as! “wives.”! The! parallelism! tightens! the!classification! of! “wives”! and! might! suggest! that! Adah! and! Zillah! were!members! of! the! class! “any! they! chose,”! since! “any! they! chose”! were!beautiful,!at!least!to!the!eyes.23!

Adah!and!Zillah!were! therefore!members!of!a!separate!class! from!Lamech,!wives!possibly!taken!against!their!will,!as!the!statement!of!Genesis!6:1W2! infers.24! The! fact! that! two!wives!were! named! emphasizes! the! idea!that! Lamech! and! his! ilk! “took! wives! for! themselves,! whomever! they!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!21!Umberto!Cassuto,!A'Commentary'on' the'Book'of'Genesis,! 2!vols.,! trans.!

Israel!Abrahams!(Jerusalem:!Magnes!Press,!1964)!1:242W43.!Cassuto!delighted! in!the!unity!of!the!Torah,!and!this!present!author!shares!that!viewpoint.!

22!Ibid.!1:234.!23!Johannes!Gabriel!noted,!“Fast!alle!diese!Auslegungen!deuten!mehr!oder!

minder!darauf!hin,!dass!der!hl.!Autor!Lamek!als!einen!der!Sinnlichkeit!verfallenen!Menschen! zeigne! wollte”! (“Die! Kainiten! Genealogie:! Gn! 4,! 17W24,”! Biblica! 40![1959]:!417).!He!also!wrote!that!women!are!not!usually!named!in!Scripture!unless!they! figure! in! future!stories.! “Frauen!werden! in!der!hl.! Schrift!gewӧhnlich! ja!nur!mit!Namen!angeführt,!wenn!von! ihnen! im!Verlauf!der!weiteren!Erzählung!etwas!berichtet!wird”!(ibid.!418).!In!this!regard!one!might!think!of!Dinah,!for!example.!

24!Eslinger!highlighted!the!connection!between!how!the!sons!of!God!“took”!wives! in!Genesis!6:2!and!how!Eve!“took”!the! fruit! in!Genesis!3:6,!suggesting!that!both!actions!were!sinful!(“Contextual!Identification,”!66).!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 77!!chose.”25! Moses! designated! Lamech! and! his! children! as! the! logical!degeneration! (and! the! logical! endpoint! of! his! truncated! genealogy)! from!his! initial! point,! Cain,! who! “had! relations! with! his! wife”! with! no! further!details!(Gen!4:17).!

The! third! tauntWsong! aspect! to! note! is! the! violent! threats.! In!Genesis!4:23,!Lamech!asked!for!his!wives’!attention!because!he!had!killed!a!man! (using! the!Hebrew!particle! !כִי in!a! causative!sense).!The!request!did!not! simply! denote! the! importance! of! the! message;! it! contained! a! veiled!threat!! Lamech’s! taunt! song! had! two! threats!—! one!with! an! unspecified!target!and!a!specified!violent!act;!and!one!with!specified!targets,!Adah!and!Zillah,!and!an!unspecified!violent!act.!The!first!threat!was!a!review:!a!man,!anonymous,!was!slain,!which!was!a!specified!violent!act.!The!second!threat!was! unspecified! vengeance.! The! only! people!who! heard! that! unspecified!threat!were!Adah!and!Zillah.!They!were!being!warned.!The! tauntWsong!of!Lamech!was!clear!evidence!that!Adah!and!Zillah!were!captives,!“daughters!of!men”!taken!by!the!“son!of!God,”!the!prideful!Lamech.!!Sons!of!Lamech!'What!characterized!the!progeny!of!the!Cainite!line?!The!people!on!earth!in!the! second! generation! and! following! formed! two! classes.! One! scholar!wrote,! “God’s!call!was!not!simply! for!humanity’s!growth!and!oversight! in!the! world.! These! activities! were! to! be! performed! by! divine! image!bearers.”26!He! further!noted,! “the!storyline!progresses!and!narrows! focus!only! through! juxtaposing! two! competing! genealogical! lines,! the! rejected!and!the!chosen.”27!He!also!stated,!“Eve!praised!God!for!a!male!child!when!Cain!was!born!(4:1)!and!then!celebrated!in!Seth!that!an!offspring!was!given!to!replace!Abel,!whom!Cain!killed;!by!this!Cain!proved!that!he!was!not!of!the! offspring! of! the! woman! but! of! the! serpent.”28! Another! scholar! said,!“Within!the!broader!theological!significance!given!to!theological!succession!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!25!R.!Gilboa!rejected!lust!as!an!attractor,! focusing!upon!the!“goodness”!of!

the!women!as! their!chief!attraction!(“Who! ‘Fell!Down’! to!Our!Earth?:!A!Different!Light!on!Genesis!6:1W4,”!Biblische'Notizen!111!(January!2002):!74W75.!

26!Jason!S.!DeRouchie,!“The!BlessingWCommission,!The!Promised!Offspring,!and!the!Toledot!Structure!of!Genesis,”!Journal'of'the'Evangelical'Theological'Society!56!(June!2013):!226.!

27!Ibid.!227.!28!Ibid.!228.!

78( Nephilim!'in!Genesis,!Cain’s!bringing!his!brother’s!line!to!an!end!is!an!offense!against!the!design!of!creation.”29!

A!more! specific! characteristic!of! the!Cainite! line!may!be! found!by!considering!the!fame!of!the!two!lines.!Enoch,!son!of!Cain,!had!a!city!named!for!him.30!No!Sethite!descendant!in!Genesis!5!had!a!city!named!for!them.!In!fact,! the! ironic! entry! for! the! righteous!Enoch! in! chapter! 5! contrasts!with!the! entry! for! the! Enoch! of! the! unrighteous! line:! the! righteous! Enoch!walked!with!God! and! “he!was!not;”! the!unrighteous!Enoch!had!his!name!endure!as!a!city!designation.!The!formulaic!entries!for!Mahalalel!and!Jared!in!Genesis!5!may!be!compared!with!the!expansive!fame!of!Jabal,!Jubal,!and!TubalWCain! in! Genesis! 4.! The! former! two! are! simply! names! in! a! list;! the!latter!three!are!specifically!mentioned!as!being!the!wellWknown!“fathers”!of!metallurgy,! music,! and! nomadism/animal! husbandry.! Sarna! alluded! to!these! three! when! he! wrote,! “The! three! main! specializations! depicted! in![Genesis! 4]! verses! 20W23! are!well! illustrated! by! a!wall! painting! from! the!rock!tomb!of!Khnumhotep!at!Beni!Hasan,!about!160!miles!(257!km.)!south!of!Cairo!and!dating!to!ca.!1900!B.C.E.!This!portrays!the!arrival!of!a!caravan!of!Asiatics,!and!prominently!featured!among!their!baggage!are!livestock,!a!lyre,!and!bellows.”31!

Specifically,!Moses!referred!to!the!baggage!items!obliquely!in!Genesis!4:20W22,!as!comprising:!

!• livestock!—!naming!Jabal!as!the!father!of!herding;!• lyre!—!naming!Jubal!as!the!father!of!music;!and,!• bellows!—!naming!TubalWCain!as!the!father!of!metallurgy.!

!It! is!not!unreasonable! to! suppose! that! the! Israelites!would!have!heard!of!these!people!while!they!were!in!Egypt.!Sarna’s!reference!to!“Asiatics,”!and!the!scriptural!references!to!the!baggage!objects,!all!suggest!that!these!were!historic!humans.!The!three!were!some!of!the!“mighty!men!who!were'of!old,!men! of! renown”! referenced! in! 6:4.! In! other! words,! the! offspring! of!Lamech’s!line!are!some!of!the!nephilim.!

The! claim! in! this! article! is! that!Lamech! their! father!was!a! “son!of!God,”!and!Adah!and!Zillah,!their!mothers,!were!“daughters!of!men”!whom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

29!Robert!B.!Robinson,!“Literary!Functions!of!the!Genealogies!of!Genesis,”!Catholic' Biblical' Quarterly! 48! (1986):! 602,! as! cited! by! DeRouchie,! “BlessingWCommission,”!228,!note!34.!

30!Kline!also!noted!this!naming!(“Divine!Kingship,”!195).!31! Nahum! Sarna,!Genesis! (JPS! Torah! Commentary)! (Philadelphia:! Jewish!

Publication!Society,!1989)!37.!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 79!!Lamech! “took”! as!wives.!The! assertion! suggests! that!Genesis!4:1! through!6:8! is! a! tightly! constructed! whole,! with! Genesis! 6:1W4! recapping! the!genealogical! stories! of! chapter! 4,! and! referring! to! the! genealogies! of!chapter!5.!Lamech!surely!regarded!himself!as!a!son!of!God,!taking!wives!of!whomever!he!chose.!Eslinger!supported!this!identification.!He!wrote:!!

Besides!the!similarities!between!the!bene!ha!‘elohim!and!Eve!there!are!also!important!differences!that!reveal!the!eventual!degradation!resulting!from!the!type!of!actions!initiated!by!Eve.!Eve!sins!against!God!because!she!desires!the!divine!knowledge!of!good!and!evil.!The!bene! ha! ‘elohim! sin! against! God! out! of! lust.! The! title! bene! ha!‘elohim!may!be!seen!as!an!ironic!description!of!the!Cainites!whose!claims!to!divinity,!tenuous!even!by!pedigree,!are!further!weakened!by!their!actions!in!6:2.!These!“little!gods”!can!only!commit!their!evil!acts! of! transgression! by! acting! like! animals;! they! exhibit! their!divine! powers! by! fornicating.! .! .! .! The! continued! unrepentance! of!the!preWsubmissive!Eve’s!progeny!results! in! the!decline! from!Cain!to! Lamech,! the! bene! ha! ‘elohim! whose! crime! against! God! is! to!pollute! the! pious! Sethites! by! impregnating! them! with! the! evil!Cainite!heritage.32!

!Eslinger! mentioned! the! irony! of! the! identification.! The! present! author!claims!that!the!identification!was!delivered!scornfully.!Either!tone!will!do.!Neither! tone! transfers! clearly! to! a! literary! transcription.! One! has! to!consider!the!provenance,!the!situation,!and!the!original!orality!of!the!piece.!!The!Use!of!“and!Also!Afterward”!in!Genesis!6:4!'The! legendary! sons! of! Lamech! have! already! been! mentioned,! with! the!suggestion!that,!because!they!are!“men!of!renown,”!they!are,! in!fact,!to!be!identified! as! nephilim.! There! is! another! clue! to! this! identification.! The!children!of!Lamech!constituted!the!seventh!generation!of!Cain’s!line.!They!surely!lived!a!long!time!before!Noah.!They!would!have!qualified!as!“mighty!men! who! were! of! old,”! who! lived! in! those! days! of! yore! when! Lamech!“knew”! his! wives.! There! were! surely! several! other! generations! of! these!people,! but! they! were! not! mentioned! in! chapter! 4.! The! genealogy!terminated! abruptly,! as! has! already! been! noted.! However,! the! truncated!genealogy!served!its!purpose!—!it!identified!both!the!“sons!of!God”!and!the!nephilim;! it! was! unnecessary! to! identify! generations! of! evil! people! at!length.! Genesis! 5! served! the! purposes! of! identifying! the! “daughters! of!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!32!Eslinger,!“Contextual!Identification,”!71.!

80( Nephilim!'men,”!in!the!more!righteous!line,!and!of!indicating!that!the!survivors!of!the!Flood!were!from!that!line.!

Fockner!claimed!that!the!omission!of!“daughters”!in!the!line!of!Cain!was!due!to!the!fact!that!the!genealogy!of!Cain!was!not!a!true!genealogy,!not!a!true!toledoth.33!The!missing!generations!of!the!chapter!4!genealogy!find!allusion! in! Genesis! 6:4.! However,! the! phrase,! “and! also! afterward”! (/k{@-yr@j&a^)! refers! to! the!end!of! the! truncated! line!of!Lamech.!The!phrase! “and!also!afterward”!does!not!occur!again!in!Scripture,!while!the!phrase,!“until!this! day”! is! common.! If! Moses! had! wanted! to! express! the! idea! that! the!nephilim!were!still!extant!at! the!time!of! the! invasion!of!Canaan,!he!would!have!said,! “until! this!day.”!His!use!of,! “and!also!afterward”!meant! that!he!was! referring! to! a! prior' time,! a! time! prior! to! the! Flood.! Therefore,! the!phrase! “and! also! afterward”! referred! to! the! missing! generations! of! the!Cainite! genealogy.! All! these! unnamed! nephilim,! from! Lamech’s! children!“and! also! afterward,”! until! the! time! of! the! Flood,! died! in! the! Flood! or!earlier.!!

GIANTS(!Scholars! and! writers! from! the! Jewish! apocryphal! period! until! our! own!century! have! conflated! the! stories! of! the! nephilim! with! stories! of! giants.!Scholars!of!the!17th!century!translated!the!Hebrew!nephilim!as!“giants”!for!the!King!James!Version,!and!20th!century!scholars!kept!that!translation!for!the!New!King!James!version.34!Were!there!giants!in!the!biblical!record?!

What! are! we! to! make! of! the! nephilim! in! Canaan,! reported! in!Numbers?!Actually,!the!nephilim!did!not!exist!in!Canaan!during!the!Exodus!—! they!were!a! figment!of! the! imagination!of! the! ten!cowardly! spies.!The!spies! saw! giants! in! the! land,! sons! of! Anak,! and! assigned! them! the!appellation!nephilim!(this!can!be!deduced!from!the!wider!pericope,!Numb!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

33!Fockner,!“Reopening!the!Discussion,”!441.!34!The!use!of!the!word!“giants”!in!the!versions!is!unfortunate,!because!that!

word,!especially!in!tandem!with!a!misinterpretation!of!“sons!of!God,”!sends!some!scholars!scurrying!to!the!legends!(e.g.!1!Enoch!wherein!the!gigantic!nephilim!were!described!at!length).!The!“fallen!angels”!of!Enoch!instructed!the!humans!not!only!in!metallurgy,!but!also! in!the!application!of!eye!shadow!and!ointments!(James!H.!Charlesworth,! ed.,! “1! Enoch,”! in! The' Old' Testament' Pseudepigrapha:' Apocalyptic'Literature'&'Testaments![New!York:!Doubleday,!1983]!16).!Azaz’el!could!have!been!called,! “the! father! of! cosmetics,”! just! as! Jubal!was! called,! “the! father! of! all! those!who!play!the!lyre!and!pipe.”!The!theme!of!instruction!by!the!nephilim! is!common!to! both! the! biblical!nephilim! lecture,!which! is! truth,! and! the! legendary! Enochite!expansion,!which!is!falsehood.!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 81!!13:21W33).!In!verse!22,!the!three!sons!of!Anak!were!named,!without!special!designation.!The! spies! reported! their!presence! to! the!people! in!Numbers!13:28,!where!these!three!appeared!to!be!especially!strong,!but!again,!there!was! no! special! designation.! Caleb! was! not! frightened! and! suggested!invasion,! then! the! spies! gave! a! second,! bad! report.! Their! report! is!sometimes! translated! in! the!English! versions!with! an! editorial! or!Mosaic!parenthetical!explanation,!and!some!interpreters!also!mention!that!Mosaic!comment,35! but! those! parentheses! do! not! have! to! be! inserted.! The! bad!report!of!the!spies!in!Numbers!13:33a!can!be!translated!as,!“and!there!we!saw! the!nephilim,! the! sons! of!Anak,! from! the!nephilim.”! The! repetition!of!the!appellation!was! intentional!by!the!spies;! it!was!meant! to!enhance!the!terror!in!the!minds!of!the!people.!

If! the! nephilim! connection! had! been! editorial! and! parenthetical,!then!the!cowardice!of!the!spies’!report!would!have!been!weakened,!and!it!would!have!become!a!valid!excuse!for!them.!If!Moses!or!the!editor!thought!the! Israelites! were! to! be! opposed! by! nephilim,! it! would! have! been!reasonable! for! the! spies! to! fear! such! powerful,! possibly! otherworldly!characters!!However,!if!the!words!were!from!the!spies’!own!imaginations,!then!the!spies!were!magnifying!the!terror!inappropriately!by!appealing!to!mythological!amplifications!and!accretions.36!

The!latter!interpretation!fits!the!plot!of!the!narrative!better;!it!was!the! spies!who!were! the! cowards,!who!would!modify! their! story! to!make!their! argument,! who! would! invoke! the! nephilim! to! avoid! battle.! One!receives!the!full!force!of!the!terror!in!the!mouths!of!the!spies,!even!though!their! report! had!no! basis! in! truth.! The!Anakim! encountered! by! the! spies!were!definitely!tall,!but!Caleb!was!later!able!to!defeat!them!(Josh!15:14);!it!was!only! the! legendary! terror! that! removed! the!nerve!of! the! Israelites!at!Kadesh!Barnea.!

Moses!could!not!have!inserted!the!comment!that!the!sons!of!Anak!are! the!nephilim;! he! himself! referred! to! these! same! people! as! Rephaites,!not! nephilim,! in! Deuteronomy! 2:11,! 20,! 21.! Moses! did! not! assign! any!mythological! accretions! to! these;! he! did,! however,! refer! to! their! great!stature.!However,!if!there!were!no!nephilim!in!Canaan,!from!where!did!the!giants!originate?!

Legends! record! gigantic! people! in! ancient! days;! the! geographic!valley! of!Rephaim! in! Scripture!may!have!been!named! from!a! legend,! but!not! all! accounts! are! legendary.! A! people! group! of! great! height,! the!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!35!Constable,!“Genesis”![online].!36!Sarna!believed!the!word!nephilim'was!used!“for!oratorical!effect”!here;!

that!is,!the!spies!uttered!the!phrase!(Genesis,!46).!

82( Nephilim!'Rephaites,!are!in!view!not!only!in!Deuteronomy!2!as!previously!mentioned,!but! also! at! Genesis! 14:5,! 15:20,! Deuteronomy! 3:11,! Joshua! 12:4,! 13:12,!15:8,!17:15,!18:16;!and,!from!a!much!later!time!in!1!Chronicles!20:4.!Other!people! groups! with! individuals! of! great! height! were! the! Emites! (Deut!2:10),37!the!Zamzummites!(2:20),!and!the!Amorites!(see!following).!

Scripture!is!silent!regarding!the!heights!of!Adam,!Eve,!or!any!of!the!antediluvians! of! either! line.! The! simplest! suggestion! would! be! that! the!height!of!all!the!antediluvians!was!about!the!height!of!the!Rephaites!or!the!later! Amorites,! a! height! which! God! describes! as! “like! the! height! of! the!cedars”! (Amos! 2:9).! There! were! tall! people! in! biblical! times,! very! tall!people,!whom!one!today!would!call!“giants.”!

The!suggestion!of!this!author!is!that!Adam!and!Eve!may!have!been!very! tall,! with! gigantic! descendants,! including! Noah! and! the! other! seven!humans!on!the!ark.38! If!all! the!antediluvians!were!giants,! then!there! is!no!unique! link! between! the!nephilim! and! the! giants,! that! is,! all! the!nephilim!were!giants,!but!not!all!the!giants!were!nephilim.!Fockner!made!an!offhand!comment!that!is!significant!in!discussing!giants.!He!said,!“This!declaration![v3]! is! followed! by! a! parenthesis! informing! the! reader! that,! despite! the!vanishing!of!believers,! the!people!still!were!those!huge,! famous!heroes!of!old.”39!He!implied!that!everyone!was!gigantic.!

Even! if! Adam,! Noah,! his! children! and! their! wives! were! gigantic,!when! the! Flood! ceased! the! average! human! heights! in! succeeding!generations,!with!a!dispersed!gene!pool,!may!have!decreased!rapidly,!with!only! a! few! pockets! of! genetic! giants! remaining.! The! distant! memory! of!giants,! especially! of! violent,! evil! persons,! would! have! led! to! legends! and!myths.!!

CONCLUSIONS(!Among!the!meager!data!in!Scripture!identifying!the!nephilim!is!the!phrase!“in! those! days”! (Gen! 6:4)! which! suggests! that! the! earlier! chapters! of!Genesis!should!be!studied!for!clues.!When!this!is!done,!the!use!of!the!term!nephilim!in!Numbers!is!seen!in!its!proper!context.!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!37! The! group! was! first! mentioned! in! Genesis! 14:5,! with! no! mention! of!

excessive!tallness.!38!John!C.!Reeves,!“Utnapishtim!in!the!Book!of!Giants?”!Journal'of'Biblical'

Literature'112! (1993):! 110W15.! See! also,! a! rebuttal! by!Ronald!V.!Huggins,! “Noah!and! the!Giants:!A!Response! to! John!C.!Reeves,”! Journal' of'Biblical' Literature'114!(1995):!103W09.!

39!Fockner,!“Reopening!the!Discussion,”!455W56.!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 83!!

Moses!taught!Genesis!during!the!wilderness!wanderings.!He!would!have!wanted!to!discredit!the!ideas!of!the!spies!regarding!the!nephilim,!and!the! legendary! exaggerations.! Consequently,! he! taught! Genesis! 4:1–6:8! to!describe!the!kind!of!people!that!Cain!produced.!He!was!careful!to!include!a!particularly! arrogant! sinner!who! could! easily! be! imagined! as! “fallen,”! an!arrogant! one! who! would! easily! describe! himself! as! a! “son! of! God.”!furthermore,! this!one!“took!wives!of!whomever!he!chose.”!The!marriages!were! not! based! upon! love,! as! the! tauntWsong! indicated;! Lamech! was!bragging!to!captured!women!to!“keep!them!in!their!place.”!

Moses! carefully!omitted!any! reference! to!daughters! in! the!Cainite!line,! referring! to! Naamah! as! a! “sister,”! but! emphasized! them! in! every!generation!of!the!Sethite!line,!to!give!an!idea!of!the!violence!that!separated!the! two! lines.! Though! there! were! probably! deserving! and! renowned!members!of!the!Sethite!line,!they!were!not!mentioned!in!chapter!5!because!Moses! wanted! to! highlight! the! fame! of! the! Cainite! line.! Even! the!assumption! of! righteous! Enoch! is! only! given! one! line!! Therefore,! the!Cainite!line!had!the!famous,!violent!people!of!Genesis!6:4.!

Moses!also!contrasted!the!ungodly!line!of!Cain!ending!with!the!sons!of!Lamech,!the!nephilim,!and!the!godly!line!of!Seth!ending!with!the!son!of!Lamech,!blameless!Noah.!Both!these!lines!were!human,!to!give!point!to!the!contrast.!Clearly,!the!Cainite!line!was!corrupted!by!demonic!influences,!as!Genesis! 4:7! suggests.! Both! lines!were! human,! and! one!was! evil.! One! line!can!be!characterized!as!“fallen,”!apostatizing! from!God,!subject! to!sin!and!depravity,40! but! “sons! of! God”! was! their! selfWdesignation.! They! could! be!called!nephilim.!They!died!before!and!during! the!Flood.!God! judged! them!severely,!and!destroyed!them.!There!were!no!nephilim!remaining!after!the!Flood,!and!the! Israelites!did!not!need!to! fear! them!as! they!conquered!the!land.!There!were!giants,!but!they!were!not!as!evil!as!the!nephilim!had!been.!

Certainly!it!is!true!that!claiming!a!human!antecedent!for!the!phrase!“sons! of! God”! is! not! the! unanimous! interpretation.41! The! written! text! is!indeed!somewhat!obscure!on!this!point.!Enclosing!the!phrase!“sons!of!God”!in!quotes!would!be!helpful!in!current!English!versions.!When!studied!as!an!oral!script,!the!obscurity!is!clarified.!When!Moses!lectured!the!Israelites!in!the! wilderness! of! Paran,! when! he! made! a! speech! trying! to! upbraid! the!unfaithful! spies! for! their! shameless! invocation! of! the! nephilim,! when! he!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!40! The! prophets! Jeremiah! and! Ezekiel! used! the! participle! from! the!

consonantal!root!נפל'to!describe!pagans,!apostates,!and!defectors!(Jer!6:15;!8:12;!39:9;!52:15;!Ezek!32:22W24,!27).!

41!Wenham!said!such!an! interpretation!was!“to!say! the! least,!an!obscure!way!of!expressing!such!an!idea”!(Genesis'1–15,!139).!

84( Nephilim!'orally!related!to! the!people! this!revelation! from!God!(viz.! the!genealogies!and!stories! in!Genesis!4! through!6),! then!as!he!uttered!“sons!of!God,”! the!scornful! tone! in!his! voice!would!have! informed! the! Israelite! tribes!of! the!referents! of! the! phrase.! They! would! have! known! that! the! “sons! of! God”!were!the!arrogant!Cainites,!and!that!the!nephilim!were!their!descendants,!including!the!renowned!sons!of!Lamech.!The!“sons!of!God”!were!identified!as!the!prideful!Lamechites;!the!spies!were!caught!in!cowardly!deception.!

The! primeval! account! is! actual! human! history,! and! the! nephilim!were!humans,!evil!and!impressive.!Some!of!the!nephilim!may!be!specified!by!name:!Jabal,!Jubal,!and!TubalWcain,!mighty!men!who!were'of!old,!men!of!renown.!

!

!

!

!!!

Volume!20! ! ! Spring!2016! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!Number!59!!

Journal!of!Dispensational!Theology('

BOOK'REVIEWS''!Batterson,!Mark.!The.Circle.Maker…………………………………………………………………….…99!!Blomberg,!Craig!L.!Can.We.Still.Believe.the.Bible?……………………….……………………..……91!!Carson,!D.!A.!The.God.Who.Is.There………………………………………………………...……100!!Fazio,!James!I.!Two.Commissions…….…………………………………………………………….….89!!Hartch,!Todd.!The.Rebirth.of.Latin.American.Christianity……………………………..…95!!Keller,!Timothy.!Prayer…………………………………………………………………………………….…93!!Mancini,!Will.!Church.Unique……...…………………………………………………...………...….102!!McManis,!Clifford!B.!Biblical.Apologetics………….….…………………………………………………….97!!Satta,!Ronald!F.!The.Sacred.Text…………………………………………………………………….…105!!Vance,!Laurence!M.!King.James.and.His.Bible.and.Its.Translators,!2nd!ed.………………...88.

88( Book(Reviews!'(

BOOK'REVIEWS'((

King! James!and!His!Bible! and! Its! Translators,! 2nd! ed.!by( Laurence(M.(Vance.(Orlando,(FL:(Vance(Publications,(2016.(384(pp.,(paper,($19.95.(!It!can!easily!be!seen!from!King'James'and'His'Bible'and'Its'Translators!that!Laurence! Vance! has! a! passion! for! history.! This! book! is! not! a! proWKing!James!book!as!the!reader!might!think!initially;!it!is!simply!an!intricate!and!concise!history!of!the!King!James!translation.!This!is!the!second!edition!of!this! book! which! was! originally! published! in! 2006.! Vance! added! twelve!chapters,! which! had! previously! been! used! in! other! publications! on! the!subject,! to! this! updated! version.! The! purpose! of! this! work! is! “not! a!rephrasing!or!a!retelling!of!what!can!readily!be!found!in!a!standard!work!on!English!Bible!history.!In!fact,!some!of!them!are!designed!to!correct!the!errors! and! misconceptions! that! are! unfortunately! too! prevalent! in! the!material!written!–!by!friend!and!foe!alike!–!about!the!Authorized!Version”!(pp.!viiWviii).!

Throughout! this! scholarly!work,!Vance!gives! a!history!of!how! the!King! James!Bible!came! to!be,! starting!with!who!King! James!was!and!why!there!was!a!need!for!a!new!English!translation.!He!shows!that!the!basis!for!the!King!James!translation!was!the!Bishop’s!Bible!from!1602.!He!continues!to! identify!some!of! the!people! that! influenced! the!King! James! translation,!such! as!William!Tyndale.!He! quoted! from!The'King' James'Bible' after' 400'Years:' Literary,' Linguistic,' and' Cultural' Influences' (2010)' stating! that!Tyndale’s! “role! in! the! genesis! of! the! Authorized! Version! is! impossible! to!overestimate”! (p.! 40).!William! Tyndale!was! just! one! of!many!who! had! a!significant!influence!upon!the!King!James!translation.!While!some!of!these!men,!such!as!Giles!Lawrence,!may!not!have!even!lived!to!see!the!beginning!of!the!Authorized!Version,!his!knowledge!and!understanding!of!the!Greek!language!brought!a!significant!contribution!to!both!the!Bishop’s!Bible!and!the!Authorized!Version.!

In! light!of! the!commonly!heard!phrase!“King!James!Only,”!readers!will! appreciate!Vance’s! essay! entitled! “A! Standard!Bible.”! In! this! chapter,!Vance! shows! that! the! thinking!of! “King! James!Only”! churches! is!not!new.!He!even!stated,!“All!of!these!attempts!at!producing!a!standard!Bible!were!unnecessary! for! the! simple! reason! that! we! already! had! one! –! the! King!James! 1611! Authorized! Version! (p.! 205).”! Throughout! this! chapter,! he!shows!that!the!King!James!or!Authorized!Version!was!“the!Bible”!starting!all! the!way!back! in! the! seventeenth!century.!While! today! there!are!many!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 89!!“Standard”! Bibles! (NASB,! HCSB,! ESV,! etc.),! the! idea! of! a! “Standard”!translation!began!with!the!King!James!translation!of!1611.!

While!King'James'His'Bible'and'Its'Translators!is!not!an!easy!read,!it!is! certainly! a! worthwhile! read,! especially! if! one! has! a! fascination! with!history.!In!this!well!written!history!of!the!King!James!Bible,!Vance!included!pictures! from! the!Bishop’s!Bible,! the!Authorized!Version,! and!notes! from!the!translators!of!the!Authorized!Version!to!go!along!with!his!pain!staking!research.!Overall,!this!book!is!very!well!done!and!should!be!considered!an!excellent! reference! in! regards! to! the! King! James! translation.! No! matter!what! one’s! views! are! of! the! King! James! Bible,! this! work! gives! valuable!insight! into! the!efforts! that!go! into!putting! together!a! solid! translation!of!the!Word!of!God.!!

—(Justin(Watkins(Student,(Tyndale(Theological(Seminary(

!!

!Two!Commissions:!Two!Missionary!Mandates!in!Matthew’s!Gospel(by(James( I.(Fazio.(El(Cajon,(CA:(Southern(California(Seminary(Press,(2015.(112(pp.,(paper,($14.00.(!James!Fazio!serves!as!the!dean!of!Bible!and!theology!at!Southern!California!Seminary.! In! his! book! Two' Commissions,! he! sought! to! demonstrate! that!there!are!two!missionary!mandates!within!the!Gospel!of!Matthew.!The!first!is!found!in!Matthew!10:5!and!is!for!the!Jews!only,!while!the!second!one!is!in!Matthew!28:19!and!concerns!“all!the!nations”!including!the!Gentiles.!One!should!note!that! the!aim!of! this!book! is! to! take!an!exegetical!approach!to!understanding!both!of!these!passages.!For!part!of!the!work,!Fazio!succeeds!in!this!goal.!

In! the! introduction,! Fazio! stated,! “This! study! will! present! an!altogether! different! perspective! concerning! the! Great! Commission! than!those!offered!by!adherents!of!covenantalism!and!dispensationalism.!This!is!not!to!say!that!novelty!is!the!chief!aim!of!this!book,!for!it!is!not”!(pg.!9).!One!has!to!wonder,!if!this!is!not!the!“chief!aim”!of!the!book,!why!tell!the!readers!that!you!are!presenting!an!altogether!different!view!of!these!passages?!

In!chapters!two!and!three,!Fazio!gave!a!thorough!explanation!of!the!two! passages! in! question,! with! chapter! two! focusing! upon! Matthew! 10.!While! for! the!most!part!he!did!a!good! job!of!exegeting! the!passage,! there!are! some! questions! that!might! be! raised! based! upon! things! that! he! said.!For!example,!when!addressing!the!statement!“the!kingdom!of!heaven!is!at!

90( Book(Reviews!'hand”! in! Matthew! 3:2,! and! 4:17! he! stated,! “The! specific! identity! of! this!kingdom! has! been! debated! by! expositors! and! theologians! down! through!the!centuries!.!.!.!it!goes!beyond!the!intent!of!this!study!to!bring!a!definitive!resolution! to! this!age!old!controversy”! (p.!21).!However,! just!a! few!pages!later!he!quoted!Grant!Osborne!who!said,!“In!the!Messiah!the!kingdom!has!arrived,!yet!the!events!have!only!been!inaugurated,!and!the!final!stage!is!in!the!future”!(p.!24).!

The!author! is! clear! that!he!does!not!believe! that! the!kingdom!has!been! fulfilled;! however,! he! does! believe! that! it! has! been! inaugurated.!Scripture! teaches,! instead,! that! by! Christ’s! resurrection! and! ascension! to!the!Father’s!right!hand,!He!has!been!declared!“the!Son!of!God”!(Rom!1:3W4;!Acts! 13:33;! Ps! 2:7),! but! it! will! not! be! until! his! second! coming! that! the!formal! inauguration! of! his! kingdom! occurs.! Matthew! made! it! clear! in!chapter!25,!verse!31,!that!only!when!Christ!returns!to!sit!on!the!throne!of!David!will!his!kingdom!begin,!which!means! that!Fazio’s!understanding!of!the! inauguration!of! the!kingdom!is! faulty!and!this!alone!should!cause! the!reader!to!call!into!question!the!other!ideas!presented!throughout!the!book.!While! Fazio’s! premise,! in! chapter! two,! that! Jesus! and! his! disciples! were!preaching! the! kingdom! of! heaven! to! the! Jews! is! correct,! his! assumption!that!the!kingdom!of!heaven!has!been!inaugurated!is!inaccurate,!according!to!Matthew.!

Throughout!the!book,!Fazio’s!objective!is!to!show!that!“Matthew’s!Gospel!has!provided!sufficient!background!to!understand! two!discernible!missionary! mandates! where! Christ! sent! His! disciples! to! two! different!people!groups!with!two!evidently!distinct!messages”!(p.!83).!Fazio!claimed!to!use!an!exegetical!approach!to!understanding!these!passages,!and!yet,!he!presented! a! different! answer! than! the! classical! dispensationalist! with!regard! to! how! one! would! understand! these! two! commissions! given! in!Matthew! 10! and! 28.! He! stated,! “the! classical! dispensational! perspective!was! one! which! asserted! that! Matthew’s! Great! Commission! was! not! a!directive! to! be! carriedWout! by! the! Christian! church! today”! (p.! 90).!While!there!may!be!some!classic!dispensationalists!that!affirm!this!view,!it!is!this!reviewer’s!opinion!that!the!majority!of!classical!dispensationalists!believe!this! passage! is! speaking! to! the! church! (as! the! disciples! here! are! the!foundation!for!the!future!church).!

Surely,!the!commission!given!in!Matthew!28:19W20!was!what!Luke!was!referencing!in!Acts!5:42,!“And!daily!in!the!temple,!and!in!every!house,!they!did!not! cease! teaching!and!preaching! Jesus!as! the!Christ”! (NKJV).! In!the!appendix!of!the!book,!Fazio!had!a!conversation!with!a!fellow!professor!regarding!what!he!has!written! in! this! volume.! In! this! conversation,!Fazio!made! it! clear! that! he! does! not! side! with! the! covenant! theologian! or! the!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 91!!classic! dispensationalist! view! of! these! passages.! This! brings! us! back! to! a!statement!quoted!earlier!where!Fazio!said,!“This!is!not!to!say!that!novelty!is!the!chief!aim!of!this!book,!for!it!is!not”!(pg.!9).!It!would!seem!that!while!it!is!not!the!chief!aim!of!the!book,! it! is!one!of!the!goals!that!he!has!set!forth!throughout!the!book.!

James! Fazio’s! efforts! in! compiling! this! work! are! commendable.!However,! it! falls! short! in! its! goals.! Fazio! clearly! does! not! align! with! the!classic! dispensationalist’s! view! on! these! passages.! This! book! should! be!avoided,! especially! by! the! new! Christian.! If! students! of! Scripture! are!looking! for! a! unique! opinion! on! the! commissions! in!Matthew!10! and!28,!this!book!certainly!provides! that.!Fazio!quoted!many!great!authors,!some!of!which!are!classic!dispensationalists,!but!the!most!important!parts!of!this!work!fall!outside!the!views!held!by!most!classic!dispensationalists.!!

—(Justin(Watkins(Student,(Tyndale(Theological(Seminary(

!!

!Can! We! Still! Believe! The! Bible?! An! Evangelical! Engagement! with!Contemporary! Questions( by( Craig( L.( Blomberg.( Grand( Rapids:( Brazos(Press,(2014.(287(pp.(+(XVI,(paper,($15.90.((Given!the!many!recent!challenges!to!the!reliability!and!trustworthiness!of!Scripture,! most! notably! by! Bart! Ehrman,! volumes! such! as! this! one! are!needed.!Craig!Blomberg,!long!time!professor!of!New!Testament!at!Denver!Seminary,! has! the! scholarly! credentials! to! deal!with! this! topic.! Blomberg!believes,!contrary!to!popularized!skepticism!concerning!the!Bible,!that!new!studies! and! findings! have! actually! provided! greater! reasons! to! trust!Scripture.!

There!are!six!such!areas!that!he!wanted!to!identify!(see!pp.!7W12),!and!he!devoted!long!chapters!to!each.!It!should!be!mentioned!at!this!point,!that! some! of! Blomberg’s! most! important! thoughts! are! found! in! his!endnotes.!Given! this! fact,! a!better! choice!would!have!been! to!place! these!comments! in! footnotes.! Constantly! flipping! back! to! the! endnotes! is! time!consuming!and!annoying!but!necessary!if!the!arguments!of!the!book!are!to!be!understood.!

The! first! chapter,! and! the! best! in! the! book,! deals! with! textual!criticism!and!variants.!The!chapter!entitled!“Aren’t!the!Copies!of!the!Bible!Hopelessly! Corrupt?”! provides! an! excellent! introduction! to! the! issues!

92( Book(Reviews!'involved!in!textual!criticism!and!a!powerful!and!informed!refutation!of!the!type!of! skepticism!that!Ehrman!and!others!have!popularized.!The!second!chapter,!dealing!with!canonicity,!is!of!almost!equal!value!offering!a!wealth!of!information!on!the!canonization!process.!Issues!such!as!the!Apocrypha,!Gnostic!texts,!and!Mormon!and!Muslims!scriptures!are!also!addressed.!The!chapter! is! somewhat! marred,! however,! by! an! unfortunate! digression! in!support! of! integrationism! and! criticism! of! the! biblical! counseling!movement!(pp.!71W81).!These!many!rants!are!easily!the!greatest!weakness!in! the! book.! Had! Blomberg! stayed!with! a! narrow! scope! –! defending! the!trustworthiness!of!the!Bible!–!this!work!could!be!highly!recommended!but!such!is!not!the!case.!

Chapter! three!deals!with!translations,!offering!a!good!overview!of!the! history! of! modern! translations! and! the! three! major! philosophies!behind!translations.!This!chapter!is!weakened!by!the!author’s!view!that!all!translations!available!today!are!good!except!for!a!few!cultic!ones!(pp.!83W85,!104).!Also!his!harsh!criticism!of!those!who!do!not!take!his!view,!such!as!Al! Mohler,! was! unnecessary! yet! revealing! of! Blomberg’s! own! views! (pp.!110W13).! As! a! matter! of! fact,! Blomberg! often! denigrated! those! he! calls!conservative!Christian!leaders!(pp.!7W8,!10,!77,!210W17).!While!criticism!of!some!who!are!defending!extreme!positions! is!warranted,!Blomberg!often!goes!to!his!own!extremes!in!devaluing!their!views.!

Inerrancy! is! the!subject!of! the!next! two!chapters.!He!opened!with!an! attack! upon! those! he! deems! on! the! far! right! of! the! evangelical!community,!such!as!Norman!Geisler,!Robert!Thomas,!and!David!Farnell!(p.!120,!cf.!pp.!142W43,!166W68).!These!men!are!concerned!with!regard!to!the!drift! they! see! today! in! the! area! of! inerrancy! as! defined! by! the! Chicago!Statement! on! Inerrancy! (p.! 123),! a! drift! that! Blomberg! denies.! Good!material!is!found!in!these!pages,!but!Blomberg!works!hard!to!convince!the!reader!that!believing!in!inerrancy!does!not!mean!accepting!a!literal!Adam!and!Eve,!a!young!earth!(pp.!150W55),! Job!or! Jonah!as!historical!characters!(pp.! 155W63),! the! single! authorship! of! Isaiah! (pp.! 160W64),! nor! the!traditional!view!of! the!authorship!of! the!New!Testament!books! (pp.!169W71).!He!personally!accepts!some!of!these!things,!such!as!theistic!evolution,!and! rejects! others! (p.! 177),! but! sees! none! of! these! issues! as! germane! to!inerrancy!(p.!164).!

Blomberg!turns!to!miracles!in!the!last!chapter!as!a!support!for!the!trustworthiness! of! Scripture.! He! defended! modern! reports! of! the!miraculous! including! trips! to! heaven! and! resurrections! (pp.! 180W86),!believes!that!Joel!2:28W32!was!fulfilled!at!Pentecost!(p.!203),!is!enthusiastic!concerning! Pentecostalism! and! the! charismatic! movement! (p.! 209),! and!delivered!a!scathing!attack!upon!cessationism!(pp.!210W11).!In!addition,!he!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 93!!seems! to! believe! that! there! are! two! billion! true! Christians! on! the! planet!and!200!million!of!them!have!participated!in!some!way!with!a!miracle!(p.!218).! He! also! affirms! that! some!Mormons! are! saved! (p.! 272).! This! is! all!very!disturbing.!

Returning!to!inerrancy!in!the!conclusion,!Blomberg!believes!only!a!minority!of!Christians!have!ever!accepted!it!(p.!221W22),!and!it!is,!thus,!not!particularly!important!in!the!big!picture!of!the!Christian!faith.!As!a!matter!of! fact,! the! one! affirmation! in! the! Chicago! Statement! that! he! rejects! is! a!warning! concerning! the! grave! consequences! of! rejecting! inerrancy! (p.!273).!Clearly,!Blomberg!sees!inerrancy!as!a!good!but!dispensable!doctrine,!which! is! truly! unfortunate! in! a! book! defending! the! trustworthiness! of!Scripture.!

The! value! of!Can'We' Still' Believe' the' Bible?! seems! to! diminish! as!one!reads!through!the!book.!There!is!some!excellent!information!within!its!covers.! However,! due! to! the! caveats! previously! mentioned,! this! book,!which! is! one! of! Christianity' Today’s' 2014! books! of! the! year,! is!recommended!only!to!those!who!have!a!good!understanding!of!the!issues.!

!—(Gary(E.(Gilley(

Southern(View(Chapel((Springfield,(IL)(!

!(Prayer:! Experiencing! Awe! and! Intimacy! with! God! by( Timothy( Keller.(New(York:(Dutton,(2014.(336(pp.,(paper,($9.99.!!Popular! pastor! and! author! Timothy! Keller! is! influential! in! evangelical!circles! today,! and! his! views! on! prayer! will! shape! the! understanding! of!many.! Therefore,! it!was! reassuring! to! find! that!Keller’s! take! on!prayer! is!biblical,!for!the!most!part.!It!was!encouraging,!for!example,!to!find!he!often!challenged! both! the! “soft”! mysticism! of! traditional! evangelicals! and! the!classical!mysticism!found!in!the!spiritual!formation!movement!(pp.!51W52,!57W59,! 181W82).! He! also! gave! illustration!warnings! of! such! luminaries! as!George!Whitfield,!who!elevated!impressions!to!the!level!of!revelation!to!his!own! harm! (pp.! 63,! 995W96,! 295).! He! rejected! what! he! calls! “mantra”!meditation! (p.! 51)! and! Roman! Catholic!mysticism! (pp.! 13,! 38W40,! 56W59,!149W50,! 291).! Keller! rightly! proclaimed! that! God! speaks! to! humanity!through!Scripture;!one!speaks!to!Him!in!prayer!(pp.!45,!52W54,!64,!66,!123W24);! and,! Scripture! is! sufficient! (pp.! 275W76).! He! included! an! interesting!historical! perspective! regarding! the! struggle! between! the! Puritans,! who!

94( Book(Reviews!'modeled!the!meditative!view,!and!the!Quakers!who!sought!revelation!from!God!more!from!an!“inner!light”!than!from!the!Bible!(pp.!123W24,!305).!

Given!this!biblical!foundation,!Keller!suggested!the!Lord’s!Prayer!as!the! believer’s! model! (pp.! 108W19)! and! then! offered! numerous! practical!insights!and!methods! to!aid! the!reader! in! their!prayer! life.!As! is!common!with!Keller’s!writing,!he!draws!as!much,!if!not!more,!from!famous!Christian!leaders! as! from! the!Bible.! Luther,! Calvin,! C.! S.! Lewis,!Martin! LloydWJones,!John!Owen,! and! Jonathan!Edwards! are! given!much! attention! (pp.! 22,! 90,!97W107,! 111,! 152W62,! 264W66).! Keller! identified!many! types! of! prayer! (p.!60)!and!what!he!calls!the!touchstones!of!prayer,!which!explain!what!prayer!is!(pp.!120W41).!This!is!one!of!the!most!helpful!and!practical!sections!in!the!book.!

There! is! much! to! commend! in! Prayer,! but! there! are! concerns! as!well.! Keller! often,! in! his! writings,! affirms! the! teaching! of! highly!questionable! individuals.! In! Prayer,! he! touted! Roman! Catholic! author!Flannery!O’Connor!(pp.!10,!276),!existentialist!Soren!Kierkegaard!(p.!138),!emergent! leader! Phyllis! Tickle! (pp.! 244,! 247,! 319),! and! even,! to! some!extent,!Carl!Jung!(pp.!38,!282W84).!These!individuals!may,!on!occasion,!give!interesting! quotes;! but! their! overall! teachings! need! to! be! exposed! as!spiritual! poison,! not! offered! as! those! who! can! teach! us! something!regarding!prayer.!

Keller’s! honesty! in! not! overly! elevating! experience! is! to! be!appreciated,! and! he! admitted! that! dryness! in! prayer! is! common.! On! the!other!hand,!and!without!biblical!support,!he!claimed!that!prayer!brings!one!into!the!presence!of!God!(pp.!101,!134)!and!even!instructed!the!reader!to!ask!the!Lord!for!his!presence!(pp.!252W53).!He!apparently! is!not!speaking!positionally! (for! the! believer! is! always! in! the! presence! of! God,! who!indwells! the! Christian),! but! experientially.! In! support! of! this!understanding,!Keller!quoted!Edmund!Clowney!who!wrote,!“God!does!not!merely!speak!.!.!.!he!is!present.!Prayer!is!steeped!in!the!awareness,!often!an!aweWfilled! awareness,! of! the! presence! of! God”! (p.! 132).! Couple! this!statement!with!illustrations!from!Pascal!and!Moody!(p.!167),!and!one!has!the! makings! for! unrealistic! expectations! for! prayer! life! that! could! easily!lead!to!disappointment!and!prayerlessness.!

Keller! repeatedly! distanced! himself! from! the! mystics! of! the!spiritual!formation!movement,!including!contemplative!prayer!(pp.!13,!27)!and! Lectio' Divina! (pp.! 149W50).! He! even! demonstrated! the! similarity! of!Buddhist!and!Roman!Catholic!mysticism!(p.!291).!He!believes,!with!Luther,!that!meditation!is!the!bridge!from!the!Bible!to!prayer!(p.!40))!and!offered!John! Owen’s! stages! of! meditation! as! a! model! (pp.! 152W62),! carefully!distinguishing!Owen’s!method!from!Lectio'Divina! (pp.!308W10).!Yet,!sadly,!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 95!!he! did! not! close! the! door! on! mysticism! altogether.! He! seems! to! speak!positively!of!Lectio! at!one!point! (p.!144)!and!advised!reading! the!mystics!with!caution!(pp.!284W86).!Buried!in!footnote!number!300,!he,! in!essence,!claimed! that! the!modern! “centering!prayer”!movement! is!wrong!because!its! leaders!have!attempted!to!dumb!down!the!true!mystical!system!found!in!The'Cloud'of'Unknowing.!The! implication! is! that!modern!mysticism!has!gutted! the!original!of! its!depth.! If! the!believer!will!but! turn! to! the!earlier!teachings! of! this! fourteenth! century! book,! they! will! find! helpful! insights!concerning! prayer! and! connection! with! God.! To! that! end,! Keller!recommended!a!handful!of!books!supportive!of!contemplative!spirituality!(p.!274).!This!is!highly!disappointing.!Others!have!noted!Keller’s!vacillation!toward!mysticism!(see,!for!example,!“Tim!Keller!promotes!Catholic!mystic,!rejects!Genesis!1!as! literal! truth![blog!post]![My!Word!Like!Fire,!accessed!17!March!2016]! available! from!http://mywordlikefire.com/2015/04/13/!timWkellerWcontemplationWandWteresaWofWavila).!

Perhaps!Keller’s!philosophy!is!best!understood!when!he!claims!that!it!is!better!to!be!doctrinally!imbalanced!but!have!a!vital!prayer!life!(p.!182).!Of!course,!the!biblical!approach!is!to!be!theologically!astute!and!committed!to! prayer,! so! Keller’s! statement! is! shortsighted.! While! temporally! a!seemingly! passionate! prayer! life! may! trump! doctrinal! soundness,!eventually,! theological! error! will! morph! prayer! into! something!dishonoring! to! God! (witness! the! modern! centering! prayer! movement).!Theology!must!inform!and!guide!prayer,!not!the!other!way!around.!Prayer:'Experiencing' Awe' and' Intimacy' with' God! has! a! number! of! excellent!features,! but! it! is! plagued! with! the! concerns! previously! mentioned,! and!should!be!read!with!discernment.!

—(Gary(E.(Gilley(Southern(View(Chapel((Springfield,(IL)(

!!

(The! Rebirth! of! Latin! American! Christianity! by( Todd( Hartch.( Oxford:(Oxford(University(Press,(2014.(304(pp.,(paper/cloth,($26.95/$105.00.!!Christianity!is!on!the!rise!in!Latin!America,!Africa,!and!Asia!and!in!decline!in!Europe!and!North!America!(pp.!xiiiWxiv,!1).!What!form!of!Christianity!has!emerged! in! Latin! America,! and!what! has! shaped! it! during! the! past! sixty!years?! Answering! these! questions! is! the!mission! of! Todd! Hartch’s! book.!Hartch! believes! that! Latin! American! Christianity! has! been! reborn! during!the!last!six!decades,!and!as!a!result,!Christianity!in!Latin!countries!is!vastly!

96( Book(Reviews!'different! from! the! 1950s! and! before.! There! have! been! five! forces! behind!this!rebirth.!!

This!book!argues!that!Christianity!in!Latin!American!was!reborn!in!five! ways! reminiscent! of! the! vital! church! of! the! early! colonial!period:! (1)! as! a!movement! of!witnesses! and! evangelists,! (2)! as! a!prophetic!movement!committed!to!the!poor!and!the!oppressed,!(3)!as! a! Pentecostal! movement! oriented! toward! spiritual! and!emotional!religious!experience,!(4)!as!a!lay!movement,!and!(5)!as!a!universal! religion.! Each! of! these! areas! is! treated! in! two! chapters!that! examine! the! issue! first! in! general! terms! and! then! in! more!specific!examples![p.!18].!

!The' Rebirth' of' Latin' American! Christianity! is! an! excellent! historical! and!analytical!work!with!a!minimum!of!authoritarian!evaluation!and!comment.!It!connects!many!dots;!is!well!researched;!and!explains,!in!detail,!the!many!moving! parts! of! Latin! Christianity.! However,! some! of! the! five! ways! that!Latin!American!Christianity!has!been!reborn!could!be!more!clearly!named.!

What!Hartch! called! “witnesses! and! evangelists”! is! the! invasion! of!Protestantism!and!the!changing!of!Catholicism!in!response!(which!is!in!the!subtitles! of! chapters! one! and! two).! Prior! to! 1950,! Protestantism! was! a!small! fraction! of! Latin! countries! and! Catholicism! took! the! form! of! “folk”!religion!(pp.!7W8,!chs.!nine!and!ten)!which!blended!official!dogma!with!local!paganism,!so! that!Catholicism! little!resembled! the!church!of!Rome.!While!folk!Catholicism!(what!Hartch!called!“sandwich!religion,”!p.!177)!still!exists!in!Latin!countries,! the!Catholic!Church! today! is!considerably!more! in! line!with! Rome! than! in! the! past.! Protestantism! and! Catholicism! have!inadvertently!spurred!one!another!to!change!and!growth!(pp.!3,!18,!48,!56,!168,!210).!

The!prophetic!movement!of!chapter!three!and!four!would!be!better!titled! the! “Rise! and! Influence!of! Liberation!Theology”! (see! also!pp.! 4,! 18,!37,! 45,! 133W37,! 153W61,! 184W85,! 193W96).! The! leadership! of! Gustavo!Gutierrez!(the!recognized!father!of!liberation!theology)!is!documented!(pp.!63,! 66W68,! 71W72,! 88,! 153,! 194W96),! as! is! the! supporting! role! played! by!Vatican!II! (pp.!14W15);!and!to!some!degree,! the!Lausanne!Conference!(pp.!71W72)! among! other! things.! In! recent! times,! this! has! led! the! growing!movement! toward! the! social! gospel! among! evangelicals! who! now! are!regurgitating!much!of!the!rhetoric!of!the!founders!of!Liberation!Theology.!

The!Pentecostal!movement! (chs.! five!and!six)! is!well!named.!Both!Protestantism! (ch.! five)! and! Catholicism! (ch.! six)! have! been! radically!changed! by! the! insurgence! of! Pentecostal! doctrine! and! practice,! some! of!which! are! radical! to! the! extreme.! NeoWPentecostalism,! or! the! prosperity!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 97!!gospel,! has! become! widely! popular! and! is! doing! much! damage! (pp.! 54,!102W12,! 220).! Catholic! Pentecostalism! adds! the!worship! (they!would! say!veneration)! of! Mary! (pp.! 114,! 123W25).! Exhibit! “A”! among! NeoWPentecostalism!in!Latin!America!is!the!Universal!Church!of!the!Kingdom!of!God,!which!began!in!Brazil! in!1977!and!has!spread!around!the!world!(pp.!102W03,!187W93,!205).!

Chapters!seven!and!eight!are!well!titled!“Rise!of!the!Laity.”!The!vast!changes! in! Latin! American! Christianity! are! largely! the! result! of! a! lay!movement,! spreading! from! the! grassroots! rather! than! from! the! top.! It! is!true!that!Protestant!and!Catholic!missionaries!laid!the!foundation,!but!the!native!people!have!done!most!of!the!building.!

The! final! section,! titled! “Universal! Christianity”! (chs.! eight! and!nine),! is! written! in! regard! to! the! standardization! of! Latin! American!Christianity.! That! is,! it! has! become! less! a! “folk! religion”! and! more! “a!religion!for!all!people,!everywhere,!containing!truths!and!ethical!standards!applicable! to! all! human! beings”! (p.! 167).! Included! in! these! chapters! are!three! particularly! disturbing! movements.! On! the! Protestant! side! is! the!expansion!of!Brazil’s!Universal!Church!(pp.!189W93).!On!the!Catholic!side!is!the! spread! of! the! cult! of! the! Lady! of! Guadalupe,! the! dark! skinned! virgin!Mary! who! supposedly! first! appeared! in! Mexico! in! 1531! (pp.! 196W201).!Common! to! both! is! the! influence! of! liberation! theology! (pp.! 193W196).!Three! forces! –! radical! neoWPentecostalism,! the! growing! cult! of!Mary,! and!liberation! theology! –! have! not! only! shaped! much! of! Latin! America’s!Christianity!but!are!continuing!to!change!it!today.!

Everyone! involved! in! ministry! in! Latin! American! countries! or! to!Latinos!in!other!countries!should!read!and!study!this!book.!It!is!also!helpful!in!understanding!some!of!the!related!influences!in!American!and!Western!Evangelicalism.!This!book!is!highly!recommended.!

—(Gary(E.(Gilley(Southern(View(Chapel((Springfield,(IL)(

!!

(Biblical!Apologetics:!Advancing!and!Defending!the!Gospel!of!Christ(by(Clifford( B.( McManis.( Bloomington,( IN:( Xlibris( Corporation,( 2012.( 634(pp.,(paper,($23.99.!!McManis! believes! that! the! five! traditional! apologetical! approaches!(classical,! evidential,! cumulative! case,! Reformed,! and! presuppositional)!make!major!mistakes.!Each!approach!attempts!to!defend!the!Christian!faith!by! largely! ignoring! the!Bible!and,! instead,!offering!philosophical!answers.!

98( Book(Reviews!'Even! presuppositionalism,! with! which! McManis! identifies,! tends! to! be!mostly!philosophical!rather!than!biblical.!Therefore,!the!author!provided!a!sixth!view!which!he!calls!“biblical!apologetics.”!He!wrote,!“In!the!following!pages! I! propose! that! apologetics! needs! to! be! explained! from! a! biblical!perspective,! not! a! philosophical! one”! (p.! 28).! He! defined! biblical!apologetics! as! the! “biblical! mandate! for! every! Christian! to! advance! and!defend! the!gospel!of! Jesus!Christ! .! .! .! exposing!and!subjecting!all! contrary!beliefs!to!Christ’s!revelations!as!found!in!Scripture”!(p.!29).!

Throughout! the! book,! McManis! exposed! in! great! detail! what! he!sees! as! flaws! in! the! five! major! apologetical! views,! offering! numerous!quotes! from! key! apologetics! within! each! system.! He! especially! dislikes!natural! theology! to! which! he! devoted! a! long! chapter! (72! pp.).! Natural!theology!“is!the!practice!of!philosophically!reflecting!on!the!existence!and!nature! of! God! independent! of! divine! revelation! or! Scripture;! thoughts!about! God! developed! through! discursive! reasoning! and! ratiocination!without!the!contribution!of!the!Bible”!(pp.!141W42).!

One! of! the! primary! weaknesses! of! traditional! apologists! is! their!tendency! to! ignore! the! effects! of! sin,! depravity,! and! spiritual! blindness.!Thus,! they! attempt! to! preWevangelize! the! lost! (something! the! author!rejects)! through! use! of! philosophical! arguments! and! logic,! rather! than!through! Scripture,!which! is! God’s!means! of! creating! faith! and! belief! (pp.!255W95).!Unfortunately,! this!philosophical! approach!has!deep! roots!going!all! the!way! to! Justin!Martyr!and!continuing! to! the!present! (pp.!293W369).!However,!McManis!believes!both!Luther!and!Calvin!rejected!philosophical!apologetics!and!held!views!similar!to!his!(pp.!343W58).!They,!like!McManis,!drew! their! apologetical! views! from!Scripture! and! took!Romans! 10:17W18!seriously!(pp.!389W418).!Faith!does!not!spring!from!reason!and!logic,!but!is!a!gift!from!God!and!a!byWproduct!of!special!revelation!(pp.!424W29).!

The! author! does! not! totally! reject! evidences! but! sees! them! as! a!means! of! helping! and! edifying! the! saints! rather! than! tools! to! convince!unbelievers!(p.!453W56).!Since!many!today!see!the!problem!of!evil!and!pain!as!the!major!obstacle!to!the!Christian!God,!McManis!devoted!chapter!ten!to!explaining!that!evil! is!not!a!problem!for!God,!and!that!He!allows!it! for!his!own!purposes!(pp.!479,!489).!However,!many!traditional!apologists!today!are! denying! the! historical! Fall! of! man,! and! McManis! believes! that! the!historicity!of!Christianity!cannot!be!maintained!if!one!rejects!the!historicity!of!the!Genesis!account!(pp.!494W95).!

The! final! chapter! is! devoted! to! the! importance! of! the! gospel! in!apologetics.!Sadly,!most!apologists! ignore!the!gospel! in! their!systems!and!seldom! address! 1! Corinthians! 15:1W4.! Not! only! does! McManis! carefully!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 99!!exegete! this! central! passage,! he! also! offered! five! essentials! of! the! gospel!(pp.!552W74)!as!found!in!the!New!Testament.!

Biblical' Apologetics! could! use! some! editing.! While! it! approaches!700!pages,! the!print! is!unusually! large!and!spacing!between!the! lines! too!much,!making!it!difficult!to!read.!There!is!some!redundancy!that!could!be!eliminated!as!well!as!several!colloquialisms.!With!such!editing,! the!actual!pages!may!be!reduced!by!half.!This!aside,!the!volume!is!a!good!apologetic!work,!and!McManis!is!on!target.!He!has!taken!presuppositional!apologetics!and! added! a! needed!biblical! foundation.!Hopefully,! this! book! is! read! and!absorbed!by!many.!!

—(Gary(E.(Gilley(Southern(View(Chapel((Springfield,(IL)(

!!

(The! Circle! Maker:! Praying! Circles! Around! Your! Biggest! Dreams! and!Greatest!Fears(by(Mark(Batterson.(Grand(Rapids:(Zondervan,(2011.(217(pp.,(paper,($14.99.(!Mark!Batterson,!lead!pastor!of!National!Community!Church!in!Washington!D.C.,!is!offering!a!new!way!of!praying!(see!advertisement!on!p.!233)!based!upon! a! Jewish! legend! of! Honi! the! Rainmaker,! also! called! Honi! the! Circle!Maker!(pp.!11W13,!226).!Honi!supposedly!drew!a!circle!in!the!dirt,!stepped!into!that!circle,!and!prayed!for!rain!to!end!a!devastating!drought!in!the!first!century! BC.! God,! according! to! the! myth,! answered! that! prayer.! When!Batterson! discovered! this! story,! one! which! is! almost! certainly! per! myth!and!not!historical,! it! forever! changed! the!way!he!prayed! (p.! 21).!Now!he!circles!his!prayers,! either!by! stepping! into!a!drawn!circle! like!Honi!or!by!walking!around!the!object!of!his!desire,!as!the!Jews!walked!around!Jericho!in!the!Old!Testament.!

By! circling! our! prayers,! apparently! they! are!more! likely! to! come!true,! producing! a!miracle.! The!word! “miracle”! is! seen! around! 166! times,!averaging!almost!one!appearance!per!page!of! actual! text.!While! certainly!God!can!and!does!accomplish!miracles!today,!Batterson!has!cheapened!the!meaning!and!reduced!it!to!the!accomplishment!of!an!improbability!rather!than! the! reversal! or! defiance! of! the! laws! of! nature! that! the! Lord!established.! Walking! on! water! is! a! miracle;! the! purchase! of! a! piece! of!property!that!was!difficult!to!obtain!is!not.!Batterson!does!not!distinguish!between!the!two.!

100( Book(Reviews!'

The' Circle' Maker! is! much! like! The' Prayer' of' Jabez.! Both! promise!miracles! if! one!will!but! follow! little!known!and!obscure!prayers! found! in!the!past.!Despite!the!fact!that!these!prayers!are!not!taught!or!mandated!in!Scripture,! and!not!even!drawn! from!Scripture!as! in! the! case!with!Honi,! a!unique!system!of!prayer!is!based!upon!these!stories.!

There!are!several!concerns!with!The'Circle'Maker,'in!addition!to!the!fact! that! the! whole! system! is! based! upon! an! ancient! myth! and! not!Scripture.! The! reader! is! told! that! every! promise! in! the! Bible! is! theirs! to!claim,!no!matter!the!context!(pp.!15,!17,!41,!53W55,!59,!89W90,!100W01,!128,!131,!151,!199).!Prosperity!theology!abounds!(pp.!15,!51,!71,!180W88,!197W98).!Drawing!circles!around!what!one!desires!will!grant!miracles!and!fulfill!personal! dreams.!After! all,! “God! said! it,! I’ve! circled! it,! and! that! settles! it”!(pp.!16,!23,!37,!64,!79W80,!94,!129,!138).!God!will!apparently!prompt!one!regularly,! and! the! prompting! and! revelations! carry! the! full!weight! of! his!promises.! It! is! these! subjective! promises! that! one! can! claim,! not! just!biblical! promises! (pp.! 17,! 26W30,! 40W41,! 63,! 67W68,! 76,! 93W95,! 107,! 115,!117W21,! 125,! 131,! 154,! 200W02,! 208).! New! age! and! prosperity! teachings!concerning! visualization,! plus! faith,! in! addition! to! claiming! what! one!desires! are! evident! (pp.! 24,! 25,! 185).! There! is! continual! distortion! of!Scripture,!the!most!blatant!of!which!is!Habakkuk!2:1!(p.!159),!in!which!the!author!inserts!“circle”!into!the!verse!to!support!his!theology.!

Batterson! is! clearly! misguided! in! The' Circle' Maker,! yet! he! is!endorsed!by!John!Ortberg!and!Rich!Wilkenson!(Peacemakers!founder)!and!is! friends!with!Louie!Giglio! and!Andy!Stanley! (p.! 36).!The'Circle'Maker! is!not! a! standWalone! book;! it! has! generated! an! industry! including! a! video!series! as! well! as! student! editions,! prayer! journals,! and! more.! No! true!Christian! wants! to! minimize! the! power! of! prayer,! which! is! perhaps! the!central! theme! of! this! book.! However,! it! must! be! prayer! as! taught! in!Scripture!not!based!upon!myth!or!invented!by!people.!!

—(Gary(E.(Gilley(Southern(View(Chapel((Springfield,(IL)(

!!

(The! God! Who! Is! There:! Finding! Your! Place! in! God’s! Story( by( D.( A.(Carson.(Grand(Rapids:(Baker(Books,(2010.(233(pp.,(paper,($16.99.(!Don!Carson!admits!in!the!beginning!that!this!book!is!not!for!everyone.!It!is!not! bumper! sticker! theology,! yet! it! is! aimed! at! those! who! have! little!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 101!!acquaintance! with! the! Bible! (p.! 9).! The! author’s! approach! is! to! “run!through! the! Bible! in! fourteen! chapters.! Each! chapter! focuses! on! one! or!more! passages! from! the! Bible,! unpacks! it! a! little,! and! tries! to! build!connections!with!the!context,!drawing!the!lines!together!to!show!how!they!converge! in! Jesus”! (p.! 9).! The! combination! of! these! features!makes! for! a!unique!volume,! tracing! the! storyline!of! the!Bible,! and! revealing! its!major!themes! for! the!novice,!while!providing!challenging!concepts!and!exegesis!for!even!the!most!competent!of!Bible!students.!However,!it!is!at!this!point!that!the!objective!of!the!book!seems!to!break!down.!

A!great!deal! can!be!gained! from!much!of!what!Carson!wrote,! and!the!book!is!recommended!to!serious!students!of!the!Bible.!However,!if!the!target! audience! is! unbelievers! or! even! believers! with! virtually! no!knowledge!of!Scripture,!many!would!not!wade!through!this!heavy!volume.!Perhaps!Carson!is!familiar!with!a!scholarly!subset!of!unbelievers!who!will!do! that,! but! one! would! be! hard! pressed! to! find! someone! who! fits! that!criteria.!Still,!the!book!has!much!to!offer.!

In!a!systematic!way,!Carson!travels!through!the!Bible,!beginning!in!Genesis!1!at! creation!and!ending! in!Revelation!22!with! the!new!creation.!His! subject! in! each! chapter! is! God! and! his! great! plan! of! comprehensive!redemption.! This! is! not! an! attempt! at! a! complete! biblical! theology,! but!rather,!a!tracing!of!the!thread!of!God’s!plan!for!his!creation!from!beginning!to! end.! Some! of! the! major! themes,! in! addition! to! creation,! include:! the!giving!of!the!Law!and!its!purpose,!the!sovereign!and!wise!reign!of!God,!the!incarnation!of!the!Son!leading!to!the!offer!of!new!birth!on!the!basis!of!love,!the! cross! and! resurrection,! justification! and! transformation! of! believers,!the!righteous!anger!of!God,!and!his!plan!for!the!future.!

Along! the!way,!many! insights! await! the! reader.!There! is! excellent!analysis!of!a!number!of!biblical! texts!such!as!Genesis!3!and!John!1!and!3.!Theological! issues! such! as! creation,! the! Trinity,! God's! judgment,!regeneration,! and! sanctification! are! also! addressed.! One! may! not! agree!with! some! of! his! symbolic! presentation! of! creation! and! the! new! heaven!and!earth! (Rev!21—22),!but!overall,! even! if!one!does!not!draw! the! same!conclusions,! Carson! offers!much! to! consider.! As! Carson! promised,! this! is!not!light!reading,!but!for!those!who!persevere,!much!will!be!gained.!

!—(Gary(E.(Gilley(

Southern(View(Chapel((Springfield,(IL)(!

!(

102( Book(Reviews!'Church!Unique:!How!Mission!Leaders!Cast!Vision,!Capture!Culture,!and!Create! Movement! by( Will( Mancini.( San( Francisco:( Jossey^Bass,( 2008.(271(pp.(+(XXVII,(cloth,($16.99.!!Will! Mancini! leads! Auxano,! a! team! of! church! consultants! (although! they!prefer! the! word! “navigators”)! who! are! training! pastors! on! how! to! “do!church”!in!the!21st!century.!Church'Unique!presents!the!ideas!and!goals!of!Auxano.! In! many! ways,! Church' Unique' is! much! like! many! church!management! books! written! in! the! last! fifty! years.! It! emphasizes! vision,!teaches!how!to!form!and!implement!strategy,!and!virtually!insures!success!if!one!will!but!follow!the!principles!within!the!book.!

Mancini! is! a! motivational! writer,! par! excellent.! His! use! of!superlatives! is! extensive.! Indeed,! they! are! used! so! often! as! to! lose! their!effect;! after! all,! not! everything! can! be! mindWblowing! and! earthWshaking.!Like! other! books! of! this! genre,! Church' Unique! is! also! complicated.! To!actually! work! Mancini’s! system! well! from! the! book! alone,! would! be!extremely! difficult,! if! not! impossible.! Those! serious! about! applying! these!ideas!will! no! doubt! need! to! hire! Auxano! as! consultants.! As! such,!Church'Unique! serves!as!a!great!advertisement! for!Auxano,!at! least! to! those!who!are!excited!about!its!vision!for!the!church.!

Mancini! claims! that! he! will! engage! in! all! the! great! ideas! and!opinions! regarding! the! church! today! and! offer! the! missing! link! of! his!strategy!(p.!xix).!The!purpose!for!writing!the!book!was!“to!challenge!you!to!find!your!‘Church!Unique’—that!is,!to!live!a!vision!that!creates!a!stunningly!unique,!movementWoriented!church”!(pp.!xxii,!cf.!p.!77).!The!promise!is!“to!present! ideas! on! how! to! discern! your! ‘corporate! grace’! and! surrounding!microculture,! as!well! as!how! to! synthesize! these! into! your!unique!Vision!Pathway.!More!than!that,!it!gives!you!a!Vision!Integrated!Model”!(p.!xxiv).!

As!became!evident!throughout!the!book,!Mancini!sees!past!church!vision!and!strategy,!primarily!as!found!in!the!seeker!model,!as!not!updated!with!the!times.!These!strategies!worked!in!their!day!but!no!longer!(pp.!xxv,!17W26,!46,! 137,!147).!Mancini! is!not! so!much!depreciating! the!vision!and!strategies! of! Rick! Warren! and! Bill! Hybels! (pp.! 28W33,! xxviWii)! as! he! is!offering! an! “alternative! to! classic! strategic! planning”! (p.! xxv).! The!important!notion!to!grasp!is!that!if!church!leaders!want!to!always!be!on!the!“cutting!edge”!they!must!be!chasing!the!culture.!This!means!that!if!Church'Unique! is! presenting! the! latest! and!most! hip!modern! church! strategy! for!today,! it!will!be!replaced!soon!by!a!new!system!that! is!more! in!tune!with!tomorrow’s! culture.! Ultimately! it! is! culture,! not! Scriptures,! which!determines!the!direction!of!the!church.!

!

JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 103!!

Church'Unique! is!presented!in!four!parts!(see!pp.!xxviWii).!Part!one!exposes! the! nature! of! the! vision! vacuum! in! churches! today.! Part! two!clarifies!vision.!“Clarity!is!the!preoccupation!of!the!effective!leaders.!!If!you!do!nothing!else!as!a!leader!be!clear”!(p.!51,!cf.!pp.!52W55).!Part!three!offers!five! components! that! will! articulate! vision! which! are! unique! to! a! given!church.!Part!four!teaches!leaders!how!to!advance!their!vision.!

It! is! interesting! how! often! the! author! criticizes! the! ideas! and!strategies!of! the!past! church!marketers!and! replaces! them!with!his! ideas!and!strategies,!merely!changing!the!terms.!He!rejects!the!vision!statement!of! the! church! growth! era! then! offers! his! own! (pp.! xxv,! 19W22,! 28).! He!rightly!depreciated!the!leadership!conference!era!(p.!xxvi)!but,!in!essence,!replaced! it! with! the! church! consultant! era.! He! often! downplayed! the!“nickels!and!noses”!number!game!as!a!measure!of!success!(pp.!23,!34,!37,!80,! 105,! 193,! 220)! but! then! touted! Andy! Stanley’s! “clarify! the! win”!principle! that! is! all! about! numbers! (pp.! 38,! 65).! He! replaces! the! vision,!mission,!and!purpose!statements!of! the!past!with!“kingdom!concepts!and!vision!frame”!(pp.!84,!166)!and!“developing!your!own!brand”!(p.!237),!via!snappy!logos!and!strategy!icons!(pp.!237W42),!and!use!of!secular!marketing!firms!(pp.!223W24,!cf.!pp.!65W66,!93).!

Due! to! the! rapid! changing! culture,! long! term! planning! is! now!obsolete! according! to! Mancini! (pp.! 24W26,! 36,! 45,! 47,! 165).! Each! church!must! now!develop! its! own!unique!mission.! This! is! an! improvement! over!Rick! Warren’s! “church! in! a! box”! which! attempted! to! clone! successful!churches,! such! as! Saddleback,! throughout! the!world.! How! are! leaders! to!determine! their! unique! vision?! In! addition! to! examining! their! specific!culture!and!determining!what!they!do!better!than!anyone!else,! they!must!hear! the! voice! of! God.! Apparently,! if! leaders! listen! carefully! enough,! and!learn! to! distinguish! the! voice! of! God! from! all! other! voices,! God!will! give!leaders!their!unique!vision!(pp.!12,!72,!171W72).!That!vision,!however,!will!almost! certainly! look! like! the! “simple! church”! concept,! as!popularized!by!the!book!by! this!name,!and!epitomized!by!Andy!Stanley! (pp.!22,!60,!136,!141W44,! 149).! The! simple! church,! in!which! attendees! are! expected! to! do!only! three! things! (attend! a!weekend!worship! service,! join! a! small! group,!and!get!involved!in!one,!and!only!one,!ministry),!has!replaced!the!programWoriented!seeker!church!of!the!recent!past,!as!Mancini!perceives!it.!

It!is!important!to!note!that!it!apparently!matters!little!what!vision!a!church!chooses,!as!long!as!it!is!unique:!“The!central!strategy!you!choose!is!not! as! important! as! whether! there! is! ownership! and! integration! around!whatever!strategies!you!choose”!(p.!xxvii,!cf.!pp.!88W89).!Of!course,!in!order!to! work! out! this! new! vision! those! pesky! “pirates”! (i.e.! church! members!

104( Book(Reviews!'stuck!in!the!past)!who!do!not!accept!it!will!have!to!be!eliminated!(pp.!xxvii,!212W13).!

Mancini! introduces,! but! expounds! little,! on! a! number! of!questionable! theological! concepts:! the! ancientWfuture! movement! (p.! 76),!the!fiveWfold!ministry!view!drawn!erroneously!from!Ephesians!4:13!called!ADEPT! (p.! 95),! that! the! church! exists! for! those! on! the! outside! (p.! 124)!which! is! a! faulty! ecclesiology,! and! red! letter! Bible! study! (pp.! 160W61).!These! ideas! and! others! should! be! expected! since! Church' Unique! is!published!by!the!emergent!JosseyWBass!and!is!one!of!the!books!offered!by!the!Leadership!Network,!which!publishes!books,!by!Brian!McLaren!(pp.!xi,!xviiWiii).!He! also!mentions! favorably!Mark!Driscoll! (p.! xxiv),!Rob!Bell! (pp.!58W61),!St.!John!of!the!Cross!(p.!63),!Leonard!Sweet!(p.!176),!Dallas!Willard!(p.!184),!and!Erwin!McManus!(p.!232).!

Mancini!rarely!engages!with!Scripture,!and!when!he!does,! it!often!misses!the!point!due!to!his! faulty!hermeneutics!(see!pp.!25,!44W50,!89)! in!addition' to!his!emphasis!upon!redWletter!study!of! the!Bible,!as!previously!mentioned.!This!leads!to!a!fatal!flaw!in!Church'Unique:!it!does!not!draw!its!understanding! of! the! church! from! Scripture! but! rather! from! culture! and!what! is!working!today!(pragmatism).!The!overall!message!that!each! local!church! should! look! for! its!unique! thumbprint! and!make!good!use!of! that!DNA!(pp.!xxiii,!6W7)! is!helpful.!However,!when!an!author,!organization,!or!church!begins!(and!ends)!with!culture!rather!than!Scripture!to!develop!its!DNA! for! the! local! church,! it! will! stray! from! God’s! design.! Culture! is! not!unimportant,! but! when! one! develops! a! local! church! around! culture! –!creating! vision! and! strategy! as! a! result,! without! first! consulting! in! great!detail!God’s!vision!and!strategy!for!the!church!–! ,!one!will! inevitably!miss!the! point.! This! is! what! Church' Unique! does,! as! did! its! predecessor,! the!seeker!church.!!

—(Gary(E.(Gilley(Southern(View(Chapel((Springfield,(IL)(

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JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 105!!The!Sacred!Text:!Biblical!Authority! in!NineteenthMCentury!America!by(Ronald( F.( Satta.( Eugene,( OR:( Pickwick,( 2007.( 116( pp.( +( xv,( paper,($18.00.!!It! is! commonly! taught! in! evangelical! scholarship! that! the! doctrine! of!inerrancy!was!invented!and!developed!by!A.!A.!Hodge!and!B.!B.!Warfield!in!1881!with!publication!of!their!paper!“Inspiration”!(see!pp.!xi,!33).!Ronald!Satta!proves!in!this!small!work!that!such!was!not!the!case!—!that,! in!fact,!conservative! theologians! going! back! to! the! Reformation! (pp.! 2W3,! 9)! and,!indeed,! to! the!Church!Fathers! (p.!54)!have!held! to!a!wellWdefined!view!of!both!the!authority!of!the!Scripture!and!inerrancy!of!the!Bible!in!the!original!autographs.! Satta! carefully! surveyed! the! commonly! held! views! by!conservative! Christians! during! the! nineteenthWcentury! in! America! and!concluded,! “the! assertion! that! inerrancy! is! a! novelty! is! exposed! as!incorrect.! Rather! than! innovators,! fundamentalists! are! cast! as! the!standardWbearers! of! the! ascendant! theory! of! biblical! authority! commonly!endorsed! among! many! of! the! leading! Protestant! elite! in! nineteenthWcentury!America”!(p.!xv).!

As! higher! criticism! invaded! America! in! the! early! 1800s,! two!alternative! and! deficient! views! to! inerrancy! and! inspiration! were!developed.! The! “partial! theory”! taught! that! only! certain! passages! of!Scripture!were!inspired!(p.!17).!The!“degree!theory”!maintained!that!only!the! thoughts! were! inspired! and! that! there! existed! different! levels! or!degrees! of! inspiration! (p.! 20).! In! both! views,! the! human! interpreter!ultimately!functioned!as!the!judge!of!Scripture!(pp.!43W47).!In!addition,!the!gap! theory,! dayWage! theory,! and! localized! flood! theory! gained! popularity!for!the!same!reason!(pp.!36,!38,!44).!By!1900,!liberals!had!abandoned!the!accuracy! of! the! text! of! Scripture,! and! the! modernistWfundamentalist!division!became!inevitable!(p.!43).!

The! rise! of! theological! liberalism,!which! Satta!discussed! in!depth,!including!elevating!experience!above!truth,! is!similar!to!what!is!occurring!within!modern!evangelicalism!(pp.!60W71).!Just!as!many!theologians!in!the!nineteenth! century! claimed! to!believe! in! the!major! tenets!of!Christianity,!while! rejecting! inspiration,! leading! eventually! to! rejection!of! those!major!tenets,!so!one!finds!21st!century!evangelicalism!traveling!the!same!path.!

The' Sacred' Text! concludes! with! the! heresy! trial! of! Professor!Charles! Briggs! in! the! late! 1800s.! Briggs! taught! the! partial! theory! of!inspiration!and!rejected!inerrancy!(p.!75),!even!as!he!endorsed!inspiration!and!affirmed!Scripture!to!be!the!Word!of!God!(p.!90).!He!was!found!guilty!of! heresy! and! defrocked! as! an! ordained! minister! in! the! Presbyterian!Church!(p.!93).!Briggs!serves!as!a!reminder!of!how!easily!an! individual,!a!

106( Book(Reviews!'church,! or! denomination! can! travel! down! the! slippery! slope! toward!liberalism.!The'Sacred'Text! is!a!must!read!for!Christian!leaders!today!who!are!serious!in!regards!to!defending!the!faith!and!standing!firmly!upon!the!inerrant!Word!of!God.!!

—(Gary(E.(Gilley(Southern(View(Chapel((Springfield,(IL)(

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JOURNAL(OF(DISPENSATIONAL(THEOLOGY(–(Spring(2016( 109!!!

AN(APOLOGY(TO(OUR(READERS((!While!evaluating!submitted!articles!for!publication,!it!became!evident!that,!at! least,! two! articles! from! the! same! individual! were! plagiarized.! Entire!sections! from! the! prior! works! of! other! individuals! were! identified! as!lacking! any! proper! attribution,! and! thus! appeared! to! be! intentional! as!opposed! to! being! careless! or! negligient.! Concern! arose! regarding! articles!from! this! individual! that! were! already! published! in! the! Journal' of'Dispensational' Theology.! Apprehensions! were! confirmed! that! the! same!individual! –! Jacob! Gaddala! –! plagiarized! two! previous! articles:! “The!Cultural! Background! of! the! Pentateuch! in!Defense! of!Mosaic!Authorship”!(April! 2011);! and,! “Critical! Evaluation! of! the! Theology! of! Karl! Barth”!(August!2010).!The!latest!article,!“Analysis!of!Vows!in!the!Book!of!Judges”!(December!2011),!does!not!appear!to!be!plagiarized.!

The!first!approach!was!to!contact!Jacob!Gaddala!for!the!purpose!of!addressing! the! plagiarism!with! repentance! and! understanding.! Secondly,!the! institution! (Piedmont! International! University)! from! which! Mr.!Gaddala! obtained! a! Ph.D.! was! contacted.! Piedmont! confirmed! that! our!assessment!was!correct!by!reviewing!several!of! the!articles!he!submitted!to! the! Journal' of' Dispensational' Theology.! Piedmont! International!University! supports! academic! excellence,! and! immediately! commenced!their!own! investigation!of! the!papers! submitted!by!Mr.!Gaddala!while!he!was!a!student,!which!indicated!that!portions!of!his!dissertation!were!also!plagiarized! (even! though! expectations! and! requirements! were! overtly!explained).! Piedmont!has!been! gracious,! outstanding,! and!professional! in!addressing! this!unfortunate! issue,! and! is!pursuing! their!own!decisions! in!response! to! the! plagiarism;! they! are! as! deeply! saddened! as! Tyndale! in!needing!to!formulate!a!response.!

We! (the! editorial! committee)! apologize! to! you,! the' readers,! in!addition! to! the! authors' of' the' works! that! were! plagiarized,! for! the! two!published! articles! from! Jacob! Gaddala.! Tyndale! does! not! condone!plagiarism!in!any!manner,!and!we!have!offered!to!do!whatever!we!are!able!to!accomplish!to!assist!Jacob!Gaddala,!as!a!brother!in!Christ.!