The Sovereignty of God to Elect
Notes
Transcript
The First Question: Has God Failed to Keep His Word to the Jews?
The First Question: Has God Failed to Keep His Word to the Jews?
They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
Answer: NO!!!!
We see EIGHT proofs of how God kept His word:
He adopted Israel
He revealed His glory to Israel
He established the covenants with Israel
He gave Israel the Law
He gifted Israel with the privilege to worship
He gave numerous promises to Israel
He established a history with Israel through the patriarchs
He gifted Israel with the lineage of the Messiah
He adopted Israel Nationally
He adopted Israel Nationally
The Purpose of God’s Adoption of Israel:
To Demonstrate His Power:
In revealing Himself
In calling and covenant
In rescuing a people
In redeeming a people
In caring for a people
In longsuffering and patience
In faithfulness to His word and promises
To Use His People:
As examples of God’s compassion
As witnesses of God’s works
As priests to the nations
As stewards of God’s word
As the pipeline for the emergence of the Messiah
The Bible is for you, but it is not about you—it’s about God!
He revealed His glory to Israel
He revealed His glory to Israel
God Revealed His Glory Through Presence: (The Shekinah Glory)
Shekinah: Transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning “the one who dwells” or “that which dwells.” The term enters Christian theology from its use in the Targums and rabbinic literature to describe the immanent presence in the world of the transcendent Deity. Although the word is not itself used in either Testament, it clearly originates in OT passages which describe God as dwelling among a people or in a particular place (Gn 9:27; Ex 25:8; 29:45, 46; Nm 5:3; 1 Kgs 6:13; Ps 68:16, 18; 74:2; Is 8:18; Ez 43:7–9; Jl 3:17, 21; Zec 2:10, 11); God, whose dwelling is in heaven, also dwells on earth. In its narrower uses the term is applied to the “shekinah glory,” the visible pillar of fire and smoke that dwelled in the midst of Israel at Sinai (Ex 19:16–18), in the wilderness (40:34–38), and in the temple (1 Kgs 6:13; 8:10–13; 2 Chr 6:1, 2)... Shekinah became a comprehensive term for any form of the presence of God; it could be used as a designation for God or as a circumlocution for references to the face or hand of God... The NT frequently alludes to the concept of the Shekinah, even though the term itself is not used. God’s presence in the NT is frequently associated with light and glory (Lk 2:9; 9:29; Acts 9:3–6; 22:6–11; 26:12–16; 2 Pt 1:16–18). John’s Gospel emphasizes both the concept of glory and of dwelling. When the word became flesh, he dwelled among men who beheld his glory (Jn 1:14). The Spirit of God remained on him (v 32) and would be with his followers forever (14:16). He would abide in those who abide in Jesus (15:4–10). The same themes of dwelling in Christ and of his dwelling in his people occur repeatedly also in John’s letters (1 Jn 2:6, 14, 24, 27, 28; 3:6, 14, 15, 24; 2 Jn 9). Paul also identifies Christ as the Shekinah of God. All the fullness of the godhead dwells in him bodily (Col 1:19; 2:9). The dwelling of Christ in the church constitutes the saints as the people of God (1:15–23). Paul’s message was the “gospel of the glory of Christ,” for God had caused light to shine to give “knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Cor 4:4–6 niv). Finally, the writer of Hebrews sees Christ as “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his nature” (Heb 1:3 niv). (Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible)
The story of Israel is the story of God’s fourfold manifest and abiding presence:
Visible Non-human: The Shekinah glory of God
In the Guiding Cloud
At the Mountain
In the Tabernacle
In the Temple
Human-like Expressions:
Visible: The Angel of the Lord
Theophany
Christophany
The Father is not Visible (John 1:18)
Vocal: The Glory that Speaks
From the burning bush
From the cloud
As it passed by Moses
The train of God’s Robe in the heavenly temple (Isaiah)
Supernatural Empowerment of Others: The Anointing of the Spirit
To perform miracles (Moses, Elijah, Elisha)
To prophesy (Saul, All the Prophets)
To interpret dreams (Joseph and Daniel)
To powerfully fight and defend Israel and to uphold the glory of God (Eleazar, David,
Decreed Word: The Prophets gave the word of God that was:
Inviting
Instructive
Authoritative
Perfect
Permanent
Powerful
Convicting
Present on their lips, hears, and hearts
God Revealed His Glory Through Deliverance:
From Egypt
From Various Enemies During the Judges and Kings
From Severe Discipline and Chastisement
Ultimately… from SIN!
Through Signs and Wonders:
The 10 Plagues
The Crossing of the Red Sea and Jordan River on dry ground
The Mana, the Quail, and the Water
The various acts of the prophets
The fulfillment of various prophecies
God Reveals His Glory Through Shepherding: His People
Physical Needs: He perfectly provides for His people
Relational Needs: He shows His concern for how we interact with others (The Law)
Emotional Needs: He comforts the brokenhearted (the Psalms)
National Needs: He protected Israel from their enemies
Spiritual Needs: He redeems from sin
He established the covenants with Israel
He established the covenants with Israel
Abrahamic = To be a nation (Gen. 12:1-3)
Mosaic = To be priests to the nations (Ex. 19:5-6)
Davidic = To be the line of THE KING (2nd Sam. 7:12-17)He gave Israel the Law
He Gave Israel the Law
He Gave Israel the Law
They are recipients of God’s prophetic, corrective, and instructive law (We see part of His plan)
The Law points to Jesus
The Law reveals sin
The Law corrects misunderstandings about God
He gifted Israel with the privilege to worship
He gifted Israel with the privilege to worship
They are invited to know God
They are invited to seek God
They are invited to love God
They are invited to abide in God
They are invited to find hope in God
They are invited to find strength in God
They are invited to find refuge in God
They are invited to find life in God
He gave numerous promises to Israel
He gave numerous promises to Israel
They are recipients of some very amazing promises (+7,700 promises God makes to man)
The Abrahamic Promises = To be numerous and have a land
The Mosaic Promises = To be prosperous through worship
The Davidic/Messianic Promises = To see a king reign over the whole world
He established a history with Israel through the patriarchs
He established a history with Israel through the patriarchs
The Basis of Hope is not the present, but the past work of God:
Abraham
Isaac
Jacob
We see more clearly in the past than we do in the present, and in the present more so than we do in the future.
When the work of God seems opaque and not present in the moment, we look at our testimony to trust Him.
When our testimony seems uncertain, we look to others testimonies of God.
When others testimonies seem uncertain, we look to the ironclad testimonies of the patriarchs.
We do this, not because God is unclear, but because we are both sinful and limited.
The challenges of life are incredibly confusing
The lies of Satan are incredibly distracting and believable
The word of God is fixed and irrefutable
He gifted Israel with the lineage of the Messiah
He gifted Israel with the lineage of the Messiah
He chose them as stewards of His self-revelation so they would see He is their redeemer!
God chose a man (Abraham) to illustrate salvation/redemption/blessing is His choice
God made them a nation to illustrate how the Messiah would bring His people into a kingdom
God gave them a Prophet (Moses) to illustrate the Messiah drawing people to God
God gave them insight in how to worship through gifting the Law
God gave them a High Priest (Aaron) to illustrate how to the Messiah would mediate for the people before God
God gave them a purpose—to be priests to the nations
God gave them the sacrificial system to show how the Messiah would be the LAMB of GOD that takes away their sin
God gave them a King (David) to illustrate how the Messiah would care and shepherd the people
He chose them to be at the center of salvific history so we would see He is our redeemer!
He called a people
He blessed a people
He dwelt a people
He guided a people
He redeemed a people
He invites us to become His people
The Jews misunderstood their purpose!
The Jews misunderstood their purpose!
With all of this in view, the sad truth is that Paul recognizes how his Jewish audience vastly misunderstood the work of God and what God expected (We see that we do not clearly see!).
God chose to reveal Himself to humanity—and He did so through the Jewish people
God chose to reveal our need of Him—and He did so through the Jewish people
God chose to send a Redeemer—and He did so through the Jewish people
God chose to teach a Covenant Salvation—and He did so through the Jewish people
God chose to reveal spiritual truths through physical manifestations—and He did so through the Jewish people
The problem is the same as it ever was
The problem is the same as it ever was
The problem Paul addresses within ancient Jewish belief is STILL a problem we experience:
Over Exclusion
Physical Focus
Ignorance of the Word of God
Misunderstanding the Word of God
Wrong Conception of the Attributes and Nature of God
Broken Views = Broken People
Broken Views = Broken People
When we—like the Jewish people—find ourselves mired within these problems, several things surface in our lives:
We expect from God what He has not promised—so God looks like a failure
We view God in a manner that is incorrect—so God looks corrupt or undesirable
We view God’s expectations in a skewed manner—so God looks overly demanding and harsh
We view ourselves in an elevated manner—so we think we can do more than we are capable of
We view others as the problem to our happiness—so we divide and war with others