The Reformation Fellowship Magazine Issue 7

The

ISSUE 07 | 2023

REFORMATION F E L L OWS H I P Magazine

GOD OUR SHEPHERD CHANCE FAULKNER SWEET COVENANT BLESSINGS MARTHA MARGARET COTTEN THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED IN TRINITARIAN THEOLOGY DONALD FAIRBAIRN

THE REFORMATION FELLOWSHIP MAGAZINE

A

2 Donald Fairbairn

1 8 Martha Margaret Cotten

The doctrine of the Trinity is not just a maths game or a philosophical challenge, a mental exercise to occupy great minds while the rest of us run and hide.

Fellowship with God is more than a warm, fuzzy feeling. It is more than simply being assured of a place in heaven. It is the satisfaction of the deepest hunger mankind can experience—hunger for the presence of God.

T H E R O A D L E S S T R AV E L E D I N T R I N I TA R I A N THEOLOGY

SW E ET C OV E NA N T BLESSINGS

Reformation Fellowship provides support and fellowship for all who would stand for the reformation of Christ’s church worldwide.

2 4 Christmas Evans

EDITORIAL BOARD Michael Reeves Daniel Hames Joel Morris Natalie Brand Managing Editor: Chance Faulkner Copy Editor: C. Rebecca Rine

T H E FA T H E R A N D S O N GLORIFIED The glorification of the Son by the Father implies all the honours of his mediatorial office—all the crowns which he won by his victory over the powers of death and hell.

DESIGN Something More Creative® somethingmorecreative.com

3 4 Rebekah Fox

reffellowship.org Reformation Fellowship is a ministry of Union Union Foundation, Bridgend, CF31 4DX Registered Charity Number 517324

8 Chance Faulkner

GOD OUR SHEPHERD

By claiming to be the Good Shepherd, Jesus is claiming to be the one Shepherd, truly God and truly man, who has come to shepherd his people.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

B

ISSUE 07 | 2023

G O D S H I N E S F O RT H : A B O O K T H AT S H I N E S I N THE DARKNESS Hames and Reeves explain that our mission begins with our vision of God. The more clearly we can see him, the more deeply we know him, the more fully we present him, and the more joyfully we will proclaim him.

THE ROAD LESS T R AV E L E D I N T R I N I TA R I A N THEOLOGY

The doctrine of the Trinity is often baffling and even intimidating to Christians. The main reason, it seems to me, is that we Western Protestants tend to approach the Trinity as an exercise in philosophical apologetics. We seek to define the concepts of “essence” and “person” and to justify how it is possible for threeness and oneness to coexist somehow within God. For those who thrive on such apologetics, this is an invigorating challenge. For the rest of us, it is something to be shunned at all costs. As a result, many of us tend to treat the Trinity as a doctrine to be affirmed but dispensed with as quickly as possible before we get into more familiar doctrinal territory such as the atonement or justification by grace through faith.

DONALD FAIRBAIRN

But a lot of the fog related to the doctrine of the Trinity might lift if we recognise that the apologetic questions—as important and valuable as they are—are themselves the product of a particular theological direction relating to the Trinity, one that has been chosen for us and that we as Protestants typically don’t even think about.

That direction, while understandable and potentially helpful, also obscures a different angle on the Trinity that might be even more helpful and

that would come from following a different set of theological markers.

Accordingly, in this article, I should like to sketch out two directions for Trinitarian theology. While we typically follow only one of these options, paying attention to the other may help us recognise that the doctrine of the Trinity is not something to mumble through as quickly as possible, but something to savour, to embrace, to cherish.

Starting at the Beginning The most fundamental revelation in the Bible is that there is one true God, who has a certain character—a picture of his characteristics/attributes is built up through the descriptions of him throughout the Bible. This one true God is perfectly holy, just, loving, all-powerful, present-everywhere, all-knowing. Unlike the socalled “gods” of the nations around Israel, this God has no competition from within—no competing tendencies or parts within himself that might pit one against another.

There is no biblical passage more fundamental to the faith of Israel than Deuteronomy 6:4—“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” The true God of the Bible has

“The most fundamental revelation in the Bible is that there is one true God, who has a certain character—a picture of his characteristics/attributes is built up through the descriptions of him throughout the Bible.”

2

ISSUE 07 | 2023

THE REFORMATION FELLOWSHIP MAGAZINE

3

no divisions within himself, and so our loyalty to him is to be undivided as well; we are to love him with all our heart, all our soul, and all our strength. In addition to this internal unity, the true God has no competitors from without—no other beings remotely comparable to him, and thus no others worthy of the name “God.” The Old Testament frequently makes affirmations such as “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods [that is, the so-called gods]?” (Exod. 15:11); “There is none like you among the gods, O Lord” (Ps. 86:8); and “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god” (Isa. 44:6). The true God, the Lord, is both united and unique. On this the entire Christian faith rests, as we well know.

The question then arises: Where do we go from here? How do we cope with what I sometimes call the “glorious complication”1—the fact that the Bible also describes the Son and Spirit as divine? There are two primary ways one could handle this complication, which I should like to consider in turn.

The Trinitarian Road More Traveled (among Protestants) First—and this is what we as Protestants often do—one could argue that the God of Israel, the God revealed in the Old Testament, consists of three persons, Father, Son, and Spirit. So we take the word “God” in Scripture to refer to the whole Trinity, and we seek a way to find the Father, Son, For my use of this phrase, see Donald Fairbairn and Ryan M. Reeves, The Story of Creeds and Confessions: Tracing the Development of the Christian Faith (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2019), 23–26.

1

4

and Spirit within this one God. In theological circles, the one God is sometimes equated with the “essence of God.” Ever since Augustine in the fifth Christian century,2 the Western church has stressed the essence as the centrepiece of its way of comprehending God, and from that starting point, Western theology has affirmed that the persons are God because each of them participates in the common divine essence.3

is that it pulls the doctrine of the Trinity towards what I call a “maths game,” an attempt to justify the juxtaposition of oneness and threeness within God while still affirming a true monotheism. When we unwittingly get pulled into a maths game, we have a tendency—surely unintentional—to depersonalise God. In fact, the ease with which we switch from talking about God himself to talking about natural analogies (like water in three phases at once) is a symptom of this depersonalising tendency.

This direction leads neatly to the great apologetic questions on which Western Protestant theologians often focus, and with which I began this article. If the persons are somehow within the essence, how can each of them be fully God, not just a part of God?4 If the essence is God, what are the persons, anyway? And if the persons are actually real, how can we say there is only one God rather than three?

Again, I want to emphasise that these questions are real, and they do matter. Addressing them apologetically, even philosophically, is valuable. But our Western Protestant enthusiasm for these questions can sometimes come at a significant cost. If we think of the doctrine of the Trinity as a maths game, or consider God to be an “essence,” or conceptualise God as something like water, ice, and water vapour coexisting at once, we may sense that there is something profoundly missing from this conception.

We may be left perplexed, or worse yet, we may dismiss the Trinity as something to be affirmed but not something related to the rest of the Christian faith. As a result, I think it is important for us to consider a second major direction for thinking about the Trinity.

These are important questions that have occupied the minds of many of Western Christendom’s greatest thinkers. But an unintended consequence of this theological direction The seminal discussion is in Augustine, On the Trinity 5–7.

2

Two especially striking examples of this pattern come in the Augsburg Confession (1530) and the Belgic Confession (1561). The Augsburg Confession, art. 1, states: “There is one divine essence, which is called and is God, eternal, without body, indivisible… .’ [Phillip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom: With a History and Critical Notes, vol. 3: The Evangelical Protestant Creeds with Translations (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Reprint, 1998), 7.] The Belgic Confession states: “We believe in one only God, who is one single essence, in which are three persons… .”

[Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, vol. 3, 389.]

3

The Trinitarian Road Less Traveled (among Protestants) From the starting point that God is both united and unique, there is another direction we might take in thinking about the Trinity. That is

Remember that Deuteronomy 6:4 implies God doesn’t have any parts.

4

ISSUE 07 | 2023

THE REFORMATION FELLOWSHIP MAGAZINE

to consider the revelation of God in the Old Testament to be the unveiling of a person, not of an essence or of some concept like “the whole Trinity.”

Who is this person? Well, we, as his creatures, call him “God,” or “Lord,” both of which indicate his relationship to that which he has made. But he is not most fundamentally our Lord, because we have not always been here. He is most fundamentally “Father,” because he has always had a Son. The Old Testament hints at a mysterious Son in a few passages (e.g., Ps. 2:7, Dan. 7:9–14), but the paradigm-breaking affirmation comes in John 1:1–2—“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” This “Word” is called the “Son” in most passages in the New Testament, and in John 17 he indicates that he has shared in joy, love, and glory with the Father before the creation of the world.

The Bible does the same thing with respect to the Spirit. Genesis 1:1–2 follows “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” with “the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters,” and several other Old Testament passages (e.g., Gen. 6:3, Neh. 9:20–30, Isa. 63:10) speak of the Spirit both in connection to and in distinction from God. Again, the New Testament is clearer, and in particular, Jesus refers to “the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name” (John 14:26). The New Testament descriptions of both Son and Spirit indicate that they are not created beings associated with God (for example, both were already there “in the beginning”), nor are they 5

lower divinities (they have the same characteristics that uniquely describe the one true God). Rather, the Son and Spirit are both God alongside God, identical to him in attributes and character, and yet distinct from him as well.

Notice from these brief summaries that the way the Bible presents this glorious complication is not by trying to find within the one God a Father, a Son, and a Spirit. Instead, the Bible finds next to the one God another, the Word or the Son, who is both with God and is God. This means that the one God, the one revealed in the Old Testament, should most properly be called “Father” rather than merely God or Lord. Likewise, the Bible finds next to the Father and the Son yet Another, the Spirit, who is both with God and is God. To state this most directly, the Bible does not follow the Western direction in conceptualising the Trinity. It takes a different pathway, one that keeps the focus on God (the Father) as a person at the forefront of the reader’s attention and leads the reader to grasp the Trinity by showing the Son and the Spirit as persons in relationship to the Father.

In fact, not only is the less traveled road the way the Bible unveils the Trinity to us, but it was also the dominant way of conceptualising the Trinity in the first several centuries of the church. In the middle of the fourth century, Athanasius of Alexandria penned perhaps the most succinct statement of this direction: “Therefore it would be more pious and true to indicate God from the Son and to call him Father than to name him from works alone 6

and to say that he is unoriginated.”5 This assertion is so central to the Christian faith that it has become something of a theme statement for Union Publishing. And toward the end of that century, Gregory of Nazianzus was even more direct when he wrote: “The old covenant made clear proclamation of the Father, a less definite one of the Son. The new covenant made the Son manifest and gave us a glimpse of the Spirit’s Godhead. At the present time, the Spirit resides amongst us, giving us a clearer manifestation of himself than before.”6 This direction was once the road more traveled in considering the Trinity. Only in medieval Roman Catholicism and subsequent Protestantism has it been replaced by a pattern in which we find three persons within the one essence.

God as the Father. For people who value philosophical precision above all else, this is awkward and sloppy, and it is terminologically cleaner to use the word “God” only of the whole Trinity.

But, in fact, using the word “God” in these two ways is exactly what the Bible does,7 so it is well worth our while to consider doing so as well.

What advantages might we gain from taking the road less traveled in Trinitarian theology? I suggest that they are considerable. First, the very fact that this way of thinking about the Trinity matches the way the Bible unveils the Trinity is a significant advantage. I suspect that part of the reason we shy away from Trinitarian theology is because we sense a disconnect between the way we are taught to describe the Trinity and the way we perceive the Bible to be doing so.

We should, I think, trust our biblical instincts more!

Why Take the Road Less Traveled If what I call “the road less traveled” is, in fact, the way the Bible unveils the Trinity to us, why did Western theologians generally adopt a different pathway? There are many historical and philosophical reasons, but perhaps the biggest one was a desire to use the word “God” only one way.

With the road less traveled, one must use the word “God” to refer both to the Father as a person in relation to whom one then describes the Son and Spirit, and to the Son and Spirit once one finds them to constitute the same

Most obvious is John 1:1–2, quoted above, in which John uses the word “God” both to name the one with whom the Word was, and to describe the Word himself. Notice also that some explicitly Trinitarian passages, such as 2 Corinthians 13:14, call the Father “God” rather than “Father.”

7

Second, thinking of the Son and Spirit in relation to the Father, rather than thinking of persons in relation to the essence, keeps our focus on persons in relationship. According to Jesus in John 17, at the very heart of all reality is the eternal relationship of love between the Father and the Son. Human beings were created to share in this love. This is the primary thing we lost at the fall.

This is the primary thing (although hardly the only thing) we are given anew in salvation. And this is what Jesus prays for all believers—that we should be one with each other and with God, just as he is in the Father and the Father in him (John 17:21).

The doctrine of the Trinity is not just a maths game or a philosophical challenge, a mental exercise to occupy great minds while the rest of us run and hide. It is a marker that points to the very centre of the Christian faith. From all eternity, God has loved his eternal, only begotten Son, and through the indwelling of his Spirit, God has made us adopted sons and daughters so that we too may share in their eternal fellowship. God’s only Son has become our brother, so that we might become his brothers, and thus sons of his Father.

Athanasius, Against the Arians 1.34, in The Trinitarian Controversy, edited and translated by William G. Rusch, Sources of Early Christian Thought (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1980), 96.

5

Gregory of Nazianzus, Oration 31.26, in On God and Christ: St. Gregory of Nazianzus, The Five Theological Orations and Two Letters of Cledonius, edited and translated by L. R. Wickham, Popular Patristics Series (Crestwood, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2022), 137.

6

ISSUE 07 | 2023

THE REFORMATION FELLOWSHIP MAGAZINE

7

GOD OUR SHEPHERD

herd-king (Ps. 80:1), whom all other earthly kings are to reflect—shepherds after his own heart.1

CHANCE FAULKNER

In the Prophets, the Lord used severe language against the appointed leaders, who should have been shepherds but utterly failed. He accuses them of feeding themselves and neglecting to feed the sheep (Ezek. 34:2–3, 8). They were harming the sheep when they should be protecting and caring for them. As a result, the flock is scattered and unprotected, becoming food for the wild beasts (34:5–6). There is no one to pursue them and search for them in their wandering (34:6).

G

od is our Shepherd. This is not a truth for mere intellectual assent, nor a kind of badge to hang on our own board of orthodoxy. To know the one who is Shepherd is a precious reality from which the believer draws strength, comfort, and life.

“Shepherd” is an intimate title used

by God’s people. For instance, take Jacob’s confession at the end his life: “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day” (Gen. 48:15, emphasis added). He is the one who makes the hands agile, who helps, and who blesses (Gen. 49:24–25).

In response to their leaders’ failure, God promises that he will be the shepherd of Israel (34:7–16). He will rescue his sheep from the shepherds’ mouths and will search out his sheep (34:10–12). He will bring the exiles home, back from the regions where

As shepherd, God is with his people all the days of their life (Gen. 48:15; Ps. 23:1–6; 28:9). Psalm 23 paints this most beautifully: “The Lord is my shepherd” says the psalmist, and his sheep have no want (v. 1). Why?

Though some have suggested David’s repentance is what made him a man after God’s own heart, a better understanding is that he had the heart of a shepherd. David is anointed as king (1 Sam. 16:13) as one who is a “man after his own heart” (1 Sam. 13:14, emphasis added), and who is a “shepherd of my people Israel” (2 Sam. 5:2; 7:7–17). This is especially seen in the David and Goliath narrative: though the people of Israel, along with King Saul himself, “were dismayed and greatly afraid” (1 Sam. 17:11), like sheep who tremble, paralysed at the fear of danger, waiting for a redeemer to rescue them from Goliath, David, who is a shepherd and used to protecting sheep, sees Goliath the Philistine as a predator. Goliath is a beast terrifying the people of God and defying the Lord (17:36), and as the Lord promised in his Word, and as David has experienced in the past, the Lord will deliver him (17:37). David, who is the true king (1 Sam. 16:13), is a shepherd king. As the good shepherd pursues wild predators who attempt to harm the helpless, dismayed sheep, David pursues Goliath, the terrifying predator of God’s flock. Israel is delivered. This is what a true king looks like—a shepherd king—a man after God’s own heart.

One Shepherd Not only will God be the shepherd, but he will set over them one Shepherd—“David” (34:23)—who will be a shepherd and prince among them (34:23–24). Through him, God will establish a new covenant of peace (34:25), banishing wild beasts so that his flock can dwell securely in the land (34:25–28). Israel will know that he is the Lord and that they are his people when he frees them from slavery (34:27, 30). They are the human sheep of God’s pasture (34:31).

A few chapters later, God promises again:

1

He provides (vv. 1, 5) He leads (vv. 2, 3) He restores (v. 3) He protects (v. 4) He is present (vv. 4, 6) God is with his people. Graciously providing, righteously leading, gently restoring, and ferociously protecting, he is their strength and a shield to their ever-fearful and cowardly disposition (Ps. 28:8–9). He loves them, and he is with them. He is their shep8

they were scattered because of their disobedience and unfaithfulness to the covenant (34:13). He will feed them, and they will lie down in good grazing land and rich pasture (34:14– 15). God will seek the lost, bring back the strayed; he will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak (34:16).

ISSUE 07 | 2023

THE REFORMATION FELLOWSHIP MAGAZINE

My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. ... I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them.

And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.

(Ezek. 37:24–28) God promises a new covenant—the promise of a new David who will be king, the one shepherd (37:24). In this, 9

the reader is left with a tension: God will be shepherd, and David will be shepherd, yet there will be one shepherd. No more slavery. No more exile.

The sheep will be protected, provided for, and God’s presence will be among his people. The prophets set up a cliff-hanger that keeps Israel on the edge of their seat until the time of New Testament, waiting to see how God’s promises will be fulfilled.

How will this be possible? Only in Christ.

The Good Shepherd Jesus said many things to ruffle the feathers of religious leaders of his day, but they couldn’t have been more unprepared for his claim in John 10: “I am the good shepherd” (vv. 11, 14).

This saying is given in Jesus’ interaction with the religious leaders of Israel. In chapter 9, a man born blind is given his sight by the gracious provision of Christ. Though this man was dungeoned in darkness, Christ, the light of the world, opens his eyes. The religious leaders do not give glory to God but, on the contrary, interrogate the man, accuse him of sin, bully him, and eventually expel him for his allegiance to Christ. Those who should have been shepherding God’s people are instead bullying them. They are devouring them. The Good Shepherd statement is on the cusp of this interaction, and Christ is speaking to these religious leaders. Christ sets himself forth in a glorious picture. He is the Good Shepherd.

If we want to know what it means for God to be shepherd, we need to look to Jesus. There, and there alone, do 10

we see the revelation of the Father shining out.2 The Shepherd’s Self-Sacrificing Love The first thing we see is the self-sacrificing love of the Shepherd: I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. (John 10:11–15) This statement gets Christ into hot water because, as we saw in Ezekiel, it is an exclusive claim. This claim is why his accusers call him a demon (v.

19), want to stone him (v. 31), and, a few chapters later, have him crucified.

is claiming to be the one Shepherd, truly God and truly man, who has come to shepherd his people.

What does he mean by “the good shepherd”? Jesus is claiming that he is the fulfillment of this long-awaited messianic, salvific promise that we read back in Ezekiel. He is the “fulfilment of God’s promise to shepherd his people personally and the fulfillment of his promise to appoint a Davidic shepherd ruler.”3 By claiming to be the Good Shepherd, Jesus

What does it look like to be “the good shepherd”? Four times Jesus says that the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep (vv. 11, 15, 17, and 18).

The love of the shepherd is revealed in his self-giving sacrifice for the sheep.

Unlike the religious leaders of the day, or leaders of the Old Testament, Jesus loves his sheep more than his life. He proves this love by sacrificing himself and laying his life down. The hirelings run away when they see the wolf coming. They don’t mind staying around when things are going well, but they flee the moment things go

See Daniel Hames and Michael Reeves, God Shines Forth: How the Nature of God Shapes and Drives the Mission of the Church, Union Series (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2022), 27.

2

Timothy S. Laniak, Shepherds after My own Heart: Pastoral Traditions and Leadership in the Bible, NSBT 20 (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2006), 211.

3

ISSUE 07 | 2023

THE REFORMATION FELLOWSHIP MAGAZINE

“By claiming to be the Good Shepherd, Jesus is claiming to be the one Shepherd, truly God and truly man, who has come to shepherd his people.” bad. But not the Good Shepherd. He loves his sheep, and not only stays in the battle, but fights to the death for them.

Notice a few things about the Good Shepherd’s death on behalf of the sheep.

A Willing Death First, it was a willing death. Jesus was not a helpless victim. He took the initiative. His death was voluntary. He 11

makes this clear three times: “I lay it down,” and “no one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own accord.

I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again” (10:18). He was meticulously and exhaustively in control. Not a hair on his head could be moved apart from his sovereign will. “For the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross” (Heb. 12:2).

Friend, are you discouraged by your sin? Perhaps you think God’s love for you teetertotters based upon your performance this week (or this month, or this year?) Maybe the Lord is grudgingly putting up with you? Take heart: Christ’s love for his people propels him to the cross, where he dies in their place. Where he dies in your place.

A Personal Death Second, Christ’s death was a personal death. Jesus did not die for an unspecific group of people. Christ’s death on the cross did not create a possibility for men to be saved. Christ’s work on the cross secured salvation for a particular people. His people: “I know my own and my own know me” (10:14).

Do you hear Christ’s voice? Have you entered in through him? Have you heard his voice, trusted and believed in him? Have you regarded him as your only hope in life and death? Then you are his. You have been given by the Father. Christ took your name to the cross. Christ took your sin to the cross. He did not die for the possibility of your salvation; he secured it. Salvation is personal because knowledge of Christ, union with him, is personal.

12

A Substitutionary Death Thirdly, Christ’s death was a substitutionary death: “I lay down my life for the sheep” (10:15, emphasis added). Left on our own, none of us wants God. Apart from his gracious intervention and initiative, none of us would be his sheep. We have all turned away. None is righteous, no, not one (Rom. 3:10–12). But from heaven he came and sought us. As both Shepherd and Passover lamb, he died in the place of sinful sheep (John 1:29, 1 Cor. 5:7). As Scripture says:

“He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned— every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

it; is cursed so that we should not be cursed, … is condemned so that we should not be condemned.”4

ISAIAH 53:4–6

The Shepherd’s Love for the Nations God’s intention in salvation from the beginning was never to redeem a specific ethnic people, but instead to use a specific people (Israel) as a kingdom of priests to be the means by which all nations would come under the loving lordship of the one true

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.”

He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isa. 53:4–6, emphasis added);

1 PETER 3:18

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God (1 Pet. 3:18, emphasis added);

This is how far love is willing to go.

I beheld God’s love displayed, You suffered in my place, You bore the wrath reserved for me, Now all I know is grace.5

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.”

4

1 CORINTHIANS 15:3

5

Donald Macleod, Christ Crucified: Understanding the Atonement (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2014), 85.

Jordan Kauflin, “All I Have is Christ,” 2008.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:3, emphasis added).

At the cross, Christ has done for us what we could never do for ourselves.

He has died in our place and for our sin, “the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1 Pet. 3:18, emphasis added). Christ the Shepherd is not just willing to die for his sheep, but he is faithful to carry it out, deliberately absorbing the suffering that we deserved: “He drinks the cup so that we should not drink ISSUE 07 | 2023

THE REFORMATION FELLOWSHIP MAGAZINE

13

Shepherd King, God (Exod. 19:6)6: “And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd” (10:16). He has those other sheep already, he will bring them in, and they will listen to his voice.

set upon one ethnic people, but upon the true offspring of Abraham, in whom “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female … circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free, for all are one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28–29; Col. 3:11).

Christ’s work on the cross is the means by which he will bring in the sheep, not just from Israel, but from every tongue, nation, and tribe (Rev. 7:9; 14:6). The Shepherd’s love is not

The Shepherd’s Authority in Resurrection But the scene doesn’t end with a dead shepherd. A dead shepherd is useless to the sheep. Sheep need a living shepherd. The death of the Shepherd was necessary. But it isn’t the end:

For a few examples: Abraham, the father of the nation of Israel, was called to be a blessing to all the families of the earth (Gen. 12:3).

God’s judgement on Egypt partly functioned so that “the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord” (Exod. 7:5; cf. 9:14; 20, 29; 14:18) and that “my name may be proclaimed in all the earth” (Exod. 9:16). Rahab, the Gentile, not only marries Nahshon, who was a prince of Judah (Num. 7:12), and enters into the people of God (Josh. 6:25; cf. Heb. 11:31), but from her Christ comes (Matt. 1:5). The people of Gibeon, who were Hivites (Josh. 9:7) and Amorites (2 Sam. 21:2) and therefore under the “ban” of people to be judged and devoted to destruction (Gen. 15:16), because of their fear of the living God, were allowed to live among the people of God and have access to the knowledge of the Lord.

Gibeon is given as one of the cities to the line of Aaron, the priests (Josh. 18:25; 21:17), and David eventually put the tabernacle in this city (1 Chron. 21:29–30). Ishmaiah of Gibeon became a mighty man among the thirty and a leader over the thirty (1 Chron. 12:4). Gibeonites are in the list of remnants who returned from exile (Neh. 7:25) and who help rebuild the wall (Neh. 3:7).

Furthermore, the Gentiles were part of Israel and were allowed to celebrate the Passover and worship with Israel (Num. 9:14; 15:13–16; 1 Kings 8:41–42; Lev. 24:22). Ruth, a Moabite, also enters into the people of God (Ruth 1:16), and through her comes Christ (Ruth 4:22, cf. Matt.

1:5). The prophets, time after time, promise the inclusion of the Gentiles (Isa. 18:7; 19:18–25; 23:17–18; 24:15; 55:1; 56:6–8; Amos 9:11–12). See also Jason S. DeRouchie, “Father of a Multitude of Nations: New Covenant Ecclesiology in OT Perspective,” in Progressive Covenantalism: Charting the Course between Dispensational and Covenant Theologies, eds. Stephen J. Wellum and Brent E. Parker (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2016), 7–38.

6

14

“... the wolf snatches them and scatters them. ... I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

JOHN 10:12, 29

This power is shown a few verses later: I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one. (John 10:28–30)

Then bursting forth in glorious day, Up from the grave he rose again!7 Death could not hold him. “I lay down my life that I may take it up again …

I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again” (10:17–18, emphasis added). If Jesus was not raised, there is no victory; he is only a victim of martyrdom. If Christ was not raised, “your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:17). We are not to think of the cross apart from the resurrection.

Jesus’ victory comes through his death-defeating resurrection.

Here, Christ expands on the consequence of being part of his flock—he gives his sheep eternal life, and they shall never perish. The same power that raised Christ from the dead is the same power that grants eternal life and is the same power that secures the believer. In contrast to the wolf who “snatches the sheep and scatters them” (10:12), no one will and no one is able to snatch the sheep out of Christ’s hand.

Why? Because “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (10:29).

The point of Christ’s death is not just to save you from the judgement of your sins—though it most certainly does that. The point is that he brings us to himself: “And this is eternal life: that we know the only true God” (John 17:3).

We don’t have a dead Shepherd. We have a living Shepherd.

ships, one second in heaven will cast all of these away. For finally, definitely, and securely, “the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Rev. 7:17).

Because Christ is the Good Shepherd, he is worthy to be loved, worthy to be worshipped, worthy to be trusted; we have no need to fear, because he is with us. He provides for all of our needs and protects us from the threats of Satan and sin. He leads us in paths of righteousness and tenderly brings us back when we wander. We love him because he first loved us. To know him is a precious reality from which we draw strength, comfort, and life.

Your sure provisions, gracious God, attend me all my days; Oh, may your house be my abode, and all my work be praise.

Here would I find a settled rest, while others go and come; No more a stranger, nor a guest, but like a child at home.8

As the Father is greater than all, so is the Son—they are one. And believers are in infinitely capable hands, held fast by the one who cannot fail.

Though believers may have a life of trials, temptations, sorrows, and hard-

Keith Getty and Stuart Townend, “In Christ Alone,” 2002.

7

ISSUE 07 | 2023

THE REFORMATION FELLOWSHIP MAGAZINE

Isaac Watts, “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need,” 1719.

8

15

Gospel-hearted training, wherever you need it.

We offer flexible degree programmes from BA to PhD to equip you for a lifetime of ministry and mission.

Enquire now by emailing admissionenquiries@ust.ac.uk

Validated by

16

ISSUE 07 | 2023

THE REFORMATION FELLOWSHIP MAGAZINE

17

SWEET C OV E NA N T BLESSINGS MARTHA MARGARET COTTEN

I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called “Not my loved one.”

I will say to those called “Not my people,” “You are my people”; and they will say, “You are my God.” HOSEA 2:23 NIV

W

hat does the sweet covenant relationship between Christ and his bride mean for our daily spirituality? How does our participation in the Trinity affect our souls and daily lives? We often use necessary legal terminology such as “justification,” “imputation,” and “propitiation” when describing Reformed salvation theology. Even the term “covenant” describes a legal transaction between two people or groups.

These terms are vital to accurately describe our great salvation, but they can also tempt us to think of our redemption as cold and distant—a begrudging verdict given from an aloof judge.

On the contrary, as believers in Christ, the preeminent blessing we receive from God in our salvation is the loving-kindness of restored fellowship with him. Our covenant of love with the Father through the blood of Christ is legal, but in the same sense that marriage is a legal transaction: salvation is a gracious transaction established in desire for intimacy.

18

ISSUE 07 | 2023

THE REFORMATION FELLOWSHIP MAGAZINE

Restored Relationship The covenant fruit of mankind’s fellowship with God begins as a budding seedling in the Bible.

It slowly takes root with Adam and Eve in the garden, growing and flowering all the way to the New Covenant in Jesus Christ.

Beginning in Genesis and lasting until eternity, God has shown faithfulness by binding himself to his people through covenant, a term O. Palmer Robertson defines as “a bond in blood sovereignly administered.”1 Robertson goes on to say that the result of this blood bond is relationship, and that is exactly what covenanting with God gives to mankind—restored relationship.2 In the paradise of Eden, Adam and Eve walked with God. He was their Father. They were in perfect fellowship and relationship with him. When Adam and Eve broke the creation covenant and lost eternal fellowship with the Trinity, God answered with the protoevangelium—promising a future grace when he would save them, make them holy, and bring them back into the blessing of intimacy with him (Gen. 3:15).

In the Abrahamic covenant, we again glimpse the hope of restored relationship. The Lord put Abram to sleep while ratifying the covenant and walked through the slain animals alone, invoking O. Palmer Robertson, The Christ of the Covenants (Philipsburg: P&R, 1980), 4.

1

2

Robertson, Covenants, 6.

19

We get a preview of how the Lord would solve this problem from the prophet Jeremiah, “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts” as well as Ezekiel, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Jer. 31:33 ESV; Ezek.

36:26–27 NIV, emphasis added).

the curse of breaking the covenant on himself (Genesis 15).3 Hebrews tells us, “When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself ” (Heb. 6:13). God promised Abraham a very great reward; he promised fellowship with himself. “And I will establish my covenant between me and you …, to be God to you and to your offspring after you” (Gen. 17:7 ESV). This great promise of intimate relationship continues to ring throughout the entire Bible: “I will be their God, and they will be my people.”4 The New Covenant in our second Adam, Jesus Christ, is what all the other divine–human covenants in the Bible anticipated. It fulfilled the prophecy given to Adam and Eve, the fullness of blessing promised to Abraham, and the eternal kingdom avowed to David. Because the Lord swore both sides of the oath on himself to keep the covenant, he had to be the one to fulfil it. Yet, the covenant was between God and man, so it required a man’s perfect obedience to be kept.

3

Robertson, Covenants, 146.

See, for example, Exod. 29:45, Lev. 26:45, Jer. 32:38, Ezek. 11:20; 14:11; 37:23, Zech. 8:8, and many others.

4

20

This New Covenant promises intimate and mystical fellowship: a profound indwelling of God himself. Only the God-man, the long-expected Saviour—Jesus Christ—could fulfil this requirement. In the New Covenant, we not only have restored fellowship with God but participation in him through his Holy Spirit. The paramount blessing of the New Covenant is being made right with God so that our fellowship with him, the fellowship Adam and Eve had in the garden, is restored. Fellowship with God is more than a warm, fuzzy feeling. It is more than simply being assured of a place in heaven. It is the satisfaction of the deepest hunger mankind can experience—hunger for the presence of God. Spiritual Hunger Do you ever feel an emptiness that is difficult to pin down or describe? Even though we may know we are in union with Christ and saved in the New Covenant, in our daily lives, our souls often feel distant from God. Hunger for God’s presence is subdued in our lives because

“Fellowship with God is more than a warm, fuzzy feeling. It is more than simply being assured of a place in heaven. It is the satisfaction of the deepest hunger mankind can experience—hunger for the presence of God.” ISSUE 07 | 2023

THE REFORMATION FELLOWSHIP MAGAZINE

21

it masks itself. Disguised by the enemy and our flesh, this void seeks counterfeit satiation. We experience a shadowy longing and mistakenly categorize it as a lack of purpose in our jobs, lack of fulfillment in our marriages, lack of friends who know and love us, or our own lack of devotion to God. In response, we try to fill that chasm with comforts of this world, or a renewed resolve to “do better.”

Deep spiritual hunger will be satisfied by none of those things. It is a Holy Spirit-given desire for God himself. Our spirit longs for our covenantal union with Christ to be a seen and felt reality, to experience the consummation that is coming at the end of time. Our ache won’t be satisfied with money, power, notoriety, or even a commitment to obedience. It will only be satisfied by Christ himself and the succour union with him brings.

“Our ache won’t be satisfied with money, power, notoriety, or even a commitment to obedience. It will only be satisfied by Christ himself and the succour union with him brings.”

Other times, the lack in our souls can feel less like hunger and more like anxious restlessness.

Another of the sweet New Covenant blessings is its guarantee (Heb. 7:22).5 Because it is written on our hearts rather than tablets, assurance of the love of the Father and our participation in the Son through the Spirit is never in doubt.

Jesus saves completely and eternally because he is perfect, immortal, and lives to intercede (v.

25). We are counted righteous before the Father in a faith secured by the sworn promise of God himself. He cannot lie, so our covenant with him Charles Spurgeon, Church to Covenant, vol. 5 of Spurgeon’s Expository Encyclopedia (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1985), 437.

5

22

ISSUE 07 | 2023

THE REFORMATION FELLOWSHIP MAGAZINE

through Christ cannot be broken. Peace and rest are ours to claim because we are wholly assured of his love for us and our complete salvation (Heb. 6:18–19).6 The sweetest blessing of covenant with God is life that is replete with him, overflowing with his presence, anchored in the Trinity, guided by the Scriptures, and covered in prayer. As we are adorned with holiness as a bride presented by the Father to his Son, Jesus, may we delight in the blessings of the New Covenant: seeing the radiance of Christ’s beauty, experiencing the fullness of the joy of the Holy Spirit, and savouring the beloved fellowship of the Father.

Ligon Duncan, “Promise + Oath = Hope,” sermon preached May 5, 2013. Transcript and audio available at liconduncan.com.

6

23

T H E FAT H E R A N D SON GLORIFIED

T

CHRISTMAS EVANS

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

JOHN 16:13–15

24

ISSUE 07 | 2023

he wonderful Providence which brought the Children of Israel out of the house of bondage was a chain of many links, not one of which could be omitted without destroying the beauty, and defeating the end, of the Divine economy. The family of Jacob come to Egypt in the time of famine—they multiply—they are oppressed—their cries reach to heaven—God manifests himself in the burning bush—Moses is sent to Egypt—miracles are wrought by his hand—Pharaoh’s heart is hardened— the firstborn are slain—the Passover is eaten—the people depart, led by the pillar of God—the sea is divided—and with many signs and wonders, the thousands of Israel are conducted through the wilderness to the Promised Land. Had one of these links been wanting, the chain of deliverance had been defective.

So in the salvation of sinners by Jesus Christ, all the conditions and preparatives were essential to the completeness and glory of the scheme. The Son of God must consent to undertake our cause, and become our substitute—the promise must be given to Adam, and frequently repeated to the patriarchs—bloody sacrifices must be instituted to typify the vicarious sufferings of Messiah—a long line of prophets must foretell his advent, and the glory of his kingdom—he must be born in Bethlehem, crucified on Calvary, and buried in Joseph’s new tomb— must rise from the dead, ascend to the right hand of the Father, and send down the Holy Spirit to guide and sanctify his church. Without all these circumstances, the economy of redemption would have been incomplete and inefficient.

THE REFORMATION FELLOWSHIP MAGAZINE

The last link in the chain is the mission and work of the Holy Spirit. This is quite as important as any of the rest.

Our Saviour’s heart seems to have been much set upon it during all his ministry, and especially during the last few days before his crucifixion.

He spoke of it frequently to his disciples, and told them that he would not leave them comfortless, but would send them “another Comforter,” who should abide with them forever; and that his own departure was necessary to prepare the way for the coming of the heavenly Paraclete. In our text, he describes the office of the Holy Spirit, and the specific relation which he sustains to the work of salvation: When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

These words teach us two important truths—first, that the Son is equal with the Father; and second, that the Father and the Son are alike glorified in the economy of salvation.

The Son Claims Equality with the Father “All things that the Father has are mine.” This sentence is very comprehensive and sublime—an unquestionable affirmation of Messiah’s “eternal power and Godhead.” The same doctrine is taught us in many other recorded sayings of Christ and sustained by all the prophets and 25

apostles; and when I consider this declaration in connection with the general strain of the inspired writers on the subject, I seem to hear the Saviour himself addressing the world in the following manner: “All things that the Father has are mine.”

His Names Are Mine I am Jehovah—the Mighty God, and the Everlasting Father—the Lord of Hosts—the Living God—the True God, and Eternal Life.

His Works Are Mine All things were made by me, and I uphold all things by the word of my power. My Father works before now, and I work; for as the Father raises up the dead, and quickens them, even so the Son quickens whom he will.

I am the author of universal being, and my hand moves all the machinery of providence.

His Honours Are Mine I have an indisputable right to the homage of all created intelligences. I inhabit the praises of eternity. Before the foundation of the world, I was the object of angelic adoration; and when I became incarnate as a Saviour, the Father published his decree in heaven, saying—“Let all the angels of God worship him!” It is his will, also, that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father—in the same manner, and the same degree.

He that honours that Son honours the

“I am Jehovah—the Mighty God, and the Everlasting Father—the Lord of Hosts—the Living God—the True God, and Eternal Life.”

Father; and he that does not honour the Son does not honour the Father; for I and my Father are one—one in honour possessing joint interest and authority.

His Attributes Are Mine Though as a man and mediator I am inferior to the Father; yet my nature is no more inferior to his than the nature of the Prince of Wales is inferior to the nature of the King of England. You see me clothed in humanity; but in my original state, I thought it not robbery to be equal with God. I was in the beginning with God, and possessed the same eternity of being. Like him, I am almighty, omniscient, and immutable, infinite in holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. All these attributes, with every possible perfection, belong to me in the same sense as they belong to the Father. They are absolute and independent, underived, and unoriginated—the essential qualities of my nature.

The Objects of His Love Are Mine He has given them to me in an everlasting covenant. He has given me the heathen for an inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for

a possession. They were mine by the original right of creation; but now they are doubly mine by the superadded claim of redemption. My Father, before the world was, gave me a charter of all the souls I would redeem.

I have fulfilled the condition. I have poured out my soul to death, and sealed the covenant with the blood of my cross. Therefore, all believers are mine. I have bought them with a price. I have redeemed them from the bondage of sin and death. Their names are engraved on my hands and my feet. They are written with the soldier’s spear upon my heart. And of all that the Father has given me, I will lose nothing. I will draw them all to myself; I will raise them up at the last day; and they will be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory—the glory which I had with the Father before the foundation of the world.

HIS NA MES, H IS WOR K S , HIS HONOU RS,

His Riches of Grace Are Mine I am the mediator of the new covenant—the channel of my Father’s mercies to mankind. I have the keys of the house of David, and the seal of the kingdom of heaven. I have

H IS AT T R I BU T ES, H IS R IC H E S OF GR AC E ,

“He that honours that Son honours the Father; and he that does not honour the Son does not honour the Father; for I and my Father are one—one in honour possessing joint interest and authority.”

26

come from the bosom of the Father, freighted with the precious treasures of his good will to men. I have sailed over the sea of tribulation and death to bring you the wealth of the other world. I am the Father’s messenger, publishing peace on earth—a peace which I have purchased with my own blood upon the cross. It has pleased the Father that in me all fulness should dwell—all fulness of wisdom and grace—whatever is necessary for the justification, sanctification, and redemption of them that believe. My Father and I are one in the work of salvation, as in the work of creation.

We have the same will and the same intention of mercy toward the children of the great captivity.

T H E OBJ E C T S OF H IS L OV E , ARE MINE. ISSUE 07 | 2023

THE REFORMATION FELLOWSHIP MAGAZINE

27

The Father and Son Are Equally Glorified The Father and the Son are equally glorified in the economy of redemption and the work of the Holy Spirit.

The Son Glorifies the Father. I hear him praying in the garden: “Father, I have glorified you on the earth; I have finished the work which you gave me to do.” I hear him again, amid the supernatural gloom of Calvary, with a voice that rings through the dominions of death and hell, crying: “It is finished!”

What mighty achievement have you finished today, blessed Jesus, and how have your unknown agony and shameful death glorified the Father?

“I have glorified the Father by raising up those precious things which fell in Eden and were lost in the abyss.”

I have raised up my Father’s law. I found it cast down to the earth, and trampled into the dust. I have magnified and made it honourable. I have vindicated its authority in the sight of men and angels. I have satisfied its demands on behalf of my redeemed, and become the end of the law for righteousness to all who will receive me as their surety.

I have raised up my Father’s name. I have declared it to my brethren. I have manifested it to the men whom he has given me. I have given a new revelation of his character to the world. I have shown him to sinners as a just God and a Saviour. I have restored his worship in purity and spirituality upon earth. I have opened a new and living way to his throne of grace. I have writ28

The Father Glorifies the Son He prayed in the garden: “And now, Father, glorify thou me with your own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” Was the petition granted? Answer, you Roman sentinels, who watched his sepulchre!

Answer, you men of Galilee, who gazed upon his chariot as he ascended from the Mount of Olives!

ten the record of his mercy with my own blood upon the rocks of Calvary.

I have raised up my Father’s image. I have imprinted it afresh upon human nature, from which it was effaced by sin. I have displayed its excellence in my own character. I have passed through the pollutions of the world, and the territory of death, without tarnishing its lustre or injuring its symmetry. Though my visage is marred with grief, and my back plowed with scourges, and my hands and feet nailed to the accursed cross, not one trace of my Father’s image has been obliterated from my human soul. It is as perfect and as spotless now as when I lay in the manger. I will carry it unstained with me into heaven.

I will give a full description of it in my gospel upon earth. I will change my people into the same image from glory to glory. I will also renovate and transform their vile bodies, and fashion them like to my own glorious body. I will ransom them from the power of the grave; and because I live, they will live also—the counterpart of my own immaculate humanity—mirrors to reflect my Father’s glory forever.”

The glorification of the Son by the Father implies all the honours of his mediatorial office—all the crowns which he won by his victory over the powers of death and hell. The Father raised him from the dead, and received him up into glory, as a testimony of his acceptance as the sinner’s surety— an expression of perfect satisfaction with his vicarious sacrifice upon the cross. It was the just reward of his work; it was the fruit of his gracious travail. He is “crowned with glory and honour for the sufferings of death.”

“Because he has poured out his soul to death,” therefore “God also has highly exalted him, and given him a name that is above every name.”

I W ILL CH ANGE MY PEOPLE INTO THE SAME I M AG E F ROM GL ORY T O GL ORY. ISSUE 07 | 2023

What an honour would it be to a man to receive eight or ten of the highest offices in a kingdom! Infinitely greater is the glory of Emmanuel. His name includes all the offices and titles of the kingdom of heaven. The Father has made him “both Lord and Christ”— that is, given him the supreme prerogatives of government and salvation.

“God has exalted him to be a prince and a Saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins.” He is “head over all things in the church”— Prime Minister of the kingdom of heaven—Lord Treasurer, dispensing the bounties of Divine grace to THE REFORMATION FELLOWSHIP MAGAZINE

“What an honour would it be to a man to receive eight or ten of the highest offices in a kingdom! Infinitely greater is the glory of Emmanuel. His name includes all the offices and titles of the kingdom of heaven. The Father has made him ʻ both Lord and Christ.ʼ” mankind—Lord High—Chancellor of the realm, and Keeper of the Great Seal of the living God; holding in his hand the charter of our redemption, and certifying the authenticity of the Divine covenant—Lord Chief Justice of heaven and earth, having all power and authority to administer the laws of Providence throughout the universe—the Chief Prince—the General of the army—the Captain of the Lord’s host—the Champion who conquered Satan, Sin, and Death; bruising the head of the first, destroying the power of the second, and swallowing up the third in victory. He has the keys of hell and of death. He shuts, and no man opens; he opens, and no man shuts. He bears all the honours of his Father’s house and concentrates in himself all the glories of Supreme Divinity, redeemed humanity, and “mediator between God and man.”

The Holy Spirit Glorifies Father and Son [The Holy Spirit] is procured for the world by the blood of the Son, and sent into the world by the authority of the Father; so that both are alike represented in his mission, and equally 29

glorified in his office. The gracious things which the Father gave into the hands of the Son when he descended from heaven, the Son gave into the hands of the Spirit when he returned to heaven. “All things that the Father has are mine; and he will take what is mine, and will show it to you.”

This is the object of the Spirit’s advent, the communication of the things of Christ to men. What are the things of Christ? His merit, his mercy, his image, his gospel, his promises, all the gifts of his grace, all the treasures of his love, and all the immunities of eternal redemption. These the Father has given to the Son, as the great Trustee of the church; and the Son has given them to the Spirit, as the appointed agent of their communication.

A ship was laden in India, arrived safe in London, and unloaded her precious cargo, and the goods were soon distributed all over the country and offered for sale in a thousand stores.

The Son of God brought immense riches of Divine grace from heaven to earth, which are all left to the disposal of the Holy Spirit and freely proffered to the perishing wherever the gospel is preached.

The Holy Spirit came not to construct a new engine of mercy, but to propel that already constructed by Christ.

[The engine’s] first revolution rent the rocks of Calvary and shook the rocky hearts of men. Its second revolution demolished the throne of Death, burst his prison doors, and liberated many of his captives. Its third revolution carried its builder up into the heaven of heavens and brought down the 30

W H AT A R E T H E THINGS OF CH R IST? H I S M E R I T, H I S M E R C Y, H IS I M AGE , H IS GOSPEL , H IS PROM ISES...

Holy Spirit to move its machinery forever. Its next revolution, under the impulse of this new Agent, was like “the rushing of a mighty wind” among the assembled disciples at Jerusalem, kindled a fire upon the head of every Christian, inspired them to speak all the languages of the babbling earth, and killed and quickened three thousand souls of the hearers.

The Holy Spirit is still on earth, glorifying the Father and the Son. He convinces the world of sin. He leads men to Christ through the rivers of corruption, the mountains of presumption, and the terrible bogs of despair, affording them no rest until they come to the city of refuge. He continues on the field to bring up the rear; while the Captain of our Salvation, on his white horse, rides victorious in the van of battle. He strengthens the soldiers “faint, yet pursuing”; raises

the fallen; encourages the despondent; feeds them with the bread of life and the new wine of the kingdom; and leads them on—“conquering, and to conquer.”

His work will not be finished until the resurrection. Then will he quicken our mortal bodies. Then will he light his candle, and sweep the house until he finds every lost piece of silver. Then will he descend into the dark caves of death, and gather all the gems of redeemed humanity, and weave them into a crown for Emmanuel, and place that crown upon Emmanuel’s head, amid the songs of the adoring seraphim!

Thus the Holy Spirit glorifies the Father and the Son. Let us pray for the outpouring of his grace upon the church. In proportion to his manifestation in our hearts will be our “knowledge of the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” Nor is this all; in proportion to the visitations of the Holy Spirit will be: the purity of our lives, the spirituality of our worship, the ardor of our zeal and charity, and the extent of our usefulness to the cause of Christ. Would you see a revival of religion? Pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon you, to sanctify your hearts and your lives, that your light may “so shine before men, that others may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

“When you hear the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall bestir yourself; for then the Lord will go out before you, to strike the hosts of the Philistines.” Brethren, this is the time. The mulberry trees are shaking. God is going before his people to prepare their way to victory. The hand of Divine Providence is opening a great and effectual door for the gospel.

The mountains are levelled, the valleys are exalted, and a highway is cast up in the wilderness for our God. The arts of printing and navigation, the increasing commerce of the world, the general prevalence of the spirit of peace, the rapid march of literature and science, and the correspondence of eminent and leading men in every nation are so many preparatives for the moral conquest of the world. The Captain of our Salvation, on the white horse of the gospel, can now ride through Europe and America; and will soon lead forth his army to take possession of Asia and Africa. The wings of the mighty angel are unbound, and he is flying in the midst of heaven.

Again, Christians are better informed concerning the moral state of the world than formerly. If my neighbor’s house were on fire, and I knew nothing of it, I could not be blamed for rendering him no assistance; but who could be guiltless in beholding the building in flames, without an effort to rescue its occupants? Brethren, you have heard of the perishing heathen. You have

“Would you see a revival of religion? Pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon you, to sanctify your hearts and your lives, that your light may ʻso shine before men, that others may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.ʼ” ISSUE 07 | 2023

THE REFORMATION FELLOWSHIP MAGAZINE

31

heard of their dreadful superstitions, their human sacrifices, and their abominable rites. You have heard of Juggernaut, and the River Ganges, and the murder of infants, and the immolation of widows, and the worship of idols and demons. You know something of the delusion of Mohammedism, the cruel and degrading ignorance of Popery, and how millions around you are perishing for lack of knowledge. Do you feel no solicitude for their souls, no desire to pluck them as brands from the burning?

What can we do? The Scriptures have been translated into nearly all the languages of the babbling earth.

Missionaries have gone into many lands—have met the Indian in his wigwam, the African in his Devil’s bush, and the devotee on his way to Mecca. We can furnish more men for the field, and more money to sustain them. But these things cannot change and renovate the human heart. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord.” This is the grand regenerating agency. He alone can convince and save the world. His aid is given in answer to prayer; and the Father is readier to give than we are to ask.

Mr. William Ward, one of the Baptist missionaries in India, in a missionary discourse at Bristol, said: “Brethren, we need your money, but we need your prayers more.” Oh, what encouragement we have to pray for our mis-

“Thus says the Lord: ʻI will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your seed, and my blessing upon your offspring.ʼ Let us plead with God for the accomplishment of the promise. ʻYou that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give him no rest until he make Jerusalem a praise in the whole earth.ʼ” sionaries. Thus says the Lord: “I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your seed, and my blessing upon your offspring.” Let us plead with God for the accomplishment of the promise. “You that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give him no rest until he make Jerusalem a praise in the whole earth.”

GLOR IOUS TI M E , W H E N, BE N E AT H M E S S I A H ’ S S WA Y , EV ERY TR I BE , IN EV ERY CLI M E , SH A LL TH E GOSPEL CALL OBEY!

Brethren in the ministry, let us remember that all our success depends upon the aid of the Holy Spirit, and let us pray constantly for his blessing upon the Word! Brethren in the church, forget not the connection between the work of the Holy Spirit and the glory of your Best Friend, and earnestly entreat him to mingle his sanctifying unction with the treasures of Divine Truth contained in these earthen vessels! “Finally, brethren, pray for us; that the word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified” and all the ends of the earth see the salvation of our God!

T H E N S H A L L WA R S A N D T U M U LT S C E A S E ; T H EN BE BA NISH ED G R I E F A N D PA I N; R IGH T EOUSN ESS, A N D J OY, A N D P E AC E ,

“We can furnish more men for the field, and more money to sustain them. But these things cannot change and renovate the human heart. ʻNot by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord.ʼ” 32

H AST EN, LOR D, T H E

ISSUE 07 | 2023

UN DIST U R BED, FOR EV ER R EIGN! THE REFORMATION FELLOWSHIP MAGAZINE

33

G O D S H I N E S F O RT H : A B O O K T H AT S H I N E S IN THE DARKNESS REBEKAH FOX

At twelve years old, I’d stay awake at night and think about what would happen if I didn’t tell my classmates about Jesus. From my second-story bedroom, I could hardly bear the crushing burden I felt over them spending eternity in hell, or the fear that Jesus would be ashamed of me because I had been ashamed of him in the schoolyard or cafeteria. After much agonizing, one night I worked up enough courage to tell my peers about Jesus over the phone.

With a thick phonebook on the desk in front of me, my stomach coiled tighter than the telephone cord. I gripped the phone and trembled as I dialed the numbers. As the phone rang, I spun circles in the desk chair and dreaded what I would say if anyone answered. I remember the phone ringing and ringing, and being so relieved when no one answered. Phew. What a relief! I hung up with a clear conscience, thinking at least I had done my part.

Early in my life, I saw evangelism as something to dread rather than enjoy—and I don’t think I’m the only one.

Authors Daniel Hames and Michael Reeves graciously recognize this very struggle that many Christians experience in their new book, God Shines Forth.

Hames and Reeves admit that though we long for people to know Christ, sometimes responding to the Great Commission doesn’t feel so great. And “While we’ve heard motivational sermons, sat in the ‘how-to’ seminars, and tried to crank ourselves up to initiating deep conversation with friends or colleagues, the whole enterprise tends to flood us with dread rather than enthusiasm. And that leaves us feeling awkward and ashamed” (15).

The authors add, “Any passion and boldness we may have in prayer apparently evaporates under the spotlight at the dinner table or on the coffee break. Our words dry up, our confidence deserts us, and we could wish we were almost anywhere else in the world” (16). For the few who do work up the courage to share the gospel, “Like stepping into a cold shower, we grit our teeth and get it over with.” And then we tend to “pat ourselves on the back for our moment of pious bravery” (20).

What is going on here? Why do we come to the Great Commission with the same enthusiasm we have to sit in the dentist chair, just wanting to get it over with? Is this

34

ISSUE 06 | 2023

35

really the fullness of what Jesus has commissioned the church to do?

The Invitation to Begin with God Hames and Reeves gracefully invite readers to return to the place, the only place, where true evangelism and mission can ever begin. And that’s with our first love: God himself.

They write, “Our aim is to set before your eyes God as he truly is: God who is so full of life and goodness that he loves to be known; not as a campaign to impose himself on us or on the world but to give himself and share his own life with the world (21, emphasis original).

For every believer who has struggled with actually living out the Great Commission, God Shines Forth is a joyful return to the One this mission is all about, the One who is so abundant he overflows from every drop of creation, who is so brilliant with light he enlightens our darkness, and who is so glorious that he shines through, and cannot help but shine through, even when all around us is darkness.

Look to His Light As Christians, it’s easy to look around at all the darkness in our world and feel so discouraged, even depressed.

Rather than wickedness inspiring us to action, it often has the opposite effect—despair. That’s because gazing at the darkness of this world does not propel us into mission: only light can do that. It is not the horribleness of this world that drives us, but the glory of God that fuels our mission. Therefore, it is only by looking to the light of Jesus Christ that we can have a hope-filled, joy-filled passion to proclaim him.

With so many believers disoriented by this present darkness, God Shines Forth could not have been written at a more necessary time. This book flings open the curtains, letting the sunlight pour into the dark rooms of our heart, waking us from our slumber and reminding us that we were born for this light. And this light is none other than the light of the world, Jesus Christ. He is the only place where this mission can begin.

If you’ve wandered into the shadows, this book is an invitation to step back into his beautiful light. “Even the darkness is not dark to [him]; the night is bright as the 36

ISSUE 07 | 2023

37

day” (Ps. 139:12). And he is the light who came sprinting into our darkness, as his birth was marked with light, a fulfillment of the light promised in Isaiah 9:2: The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.”

Therefore, it is to his great light we must look.

How the Glory of God Fuels Mission Hames and Reeves explain that our mission begins with our vision of God. The more clearly we can see him, the more deeply we know him, the more fully we present him, and the more joyfully we will proclaim him.

The reality of this truth is clearly confirmed in Isaiah’s calling following his own vision of God in Isaiah 6, where he writes: In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. … And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (vv. 1–3) It is an awe-filled scene as the foundations of the thresholds shake at the voice of him who calls and the house is filled with smoke. As Isaiah beholds the Lord in his glory, he cries out, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (v. 5) Here in the presence of the Lord, Isaiah is completely undone. Alec Motyer explains that the word “lost” here is a very powerful one, with the Hebrew term having the connotation of “silenced, as in the silence that follows a death.” As Isaiah encounters the weight of God’s glory, he is lost. Ruined. Undone. Silenced. Incapable of even joining in to this worshipful scene until the seraphim touches his lips with a coal from the altar, and his guilt is taken away, his sin atoned for (v. 7). It is only then that Isaiah hears the Lord asking, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for

38

ISSUE 07 | 2023

THE REFORMATION FELLOWSHIP MAGAZINE

39

us?” And it is in that moment that Isaiah cries, “Here I am! Send me” (v. 8).

the sunrise from on high (Luke 1:78), the dawning of the “sun of righteousness” with healing in his wings (Mal. 4:2). At the cross, God was giving himself to us. There we see God going, reaching, and shining out. (52, emphasis original)

It is precisely here, at the throne of God, where Isaiah’s mission begins, and so does ours. His throne, however, is not always as we would expect.

It is here, on the cross of Christ, that God shines forth.

High and Lifted Up Though we can’t see what Isaiah saw, we can see something even more clearly than Isaiah saw, “things into which angels long to look” (1 Pet. 1:12) We see the fulfillment of the promise in the person of Jesus Christ.

And nothing in all creation can quench his light; nothing can drown it out. While the watching world searches for meaning, identity, and something to fill the ravenous hunger of their souls (just as we once did), we know the God who satisfies our souls and fills all our emptiness with his overflowing fullness. As we enjoy the God who pours himself out and delights to give himself as a “ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28), how can we not share the greatest treasure of our lives—Jesus Christ? “How can we leave our friends, families, and colleagues in ignorance of the Lord whose purpose for all things is so good?” (160) When we see him this way, proclaiming him to the world no longer feels like our greatest dread, but rather our deepest joy.

As Isaiah 40:9 says,

Hames and Reeves point out something astounding about the phrase “high and lifted up” in Isaiah 6. While we expect it to mean something royal and kingly, the next place this phrase is used is in Isaiah 52, when he speaks of the suffering servant: Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. (v. 13, emphasis added)

Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”

Therefore, the language of “high and lifted up” is pointing directly to the moment where Jesus is hoisted up on the cross. It is here where the love of God is on full display, in the image of his Son as he lays his life down for us. The authors write, “Nowhere is the glory of God more tightly defined in Scripture … than on the cross of Jesus” (40).

If we are to gaze at the glory of God, then it is to the cross we must look. “[The cross] stands as the defining moment in God’s relationship to all creation—the pinnacle and epitome of all he desires to show us of himself. It is a self-assertion and a self-declaration, but one that is less like a political manifesto and more like a proposal of marriage.

God says to his people at the cross of Jesus: “This is who I am. All that I am I give to you, and all that I have I share with you” (55, emphasis original).

We Will See Him as He Is Living in the present darkness of this world can make us feel discouraged and deflated about our mission as the church. That’s why I am so thankful God Shines Forth has been written for such a time as this. Perhaps what you need is not another “how-to” manual or training seminar, but rather a fresh encounter with the Living God, the Lord of Hosts. This book takes you there, straight to his throne, that you may see him as he is, and be undone in his presence.

Jesus appears on the throne, not as a roaring lion, but as the slain Lamb. Hames and Reeves note:

As dark as this world may appear now, we have a King who is coming back—our true husband will return. He will come riding in like the dawn, and all darkness will be driven away forever. The earth will be drenched in “wave after infinite wave” (158) of his unquenchable light. At long last, he will appear: “There will be joy and wonder

When Jesus, himself the Glory of God, was lifted up on the cross … it was a real explosion of God’s mercy into our midnight. …

It was the light shining on the land of deep darkness (Isa. 9:2), 40

ISSUE 07 | 2023

41

we cannot imagine when, on that day, the skies are ripped open and we see him as he is, knowing fully even as we are fully known (1 Cor. 13:12)” (144, emphasis original).

In that day, “Not a single grain of sand or one blade of grass in all the world—and no hair on your head—will escape the tide of renewing blessing that will sweep over the earth. No lingering shadow of darkness will be unlit, no residue of curse and evil will cling on, and none of the goodness dammed up in the heart of our Father will be kept back from us” (152).

At last, we will see him as he is, “our own dear Lord Jesus, the radiance of the Father” (145), the one who is high and lifted up, the first and the last, the Living One, whose eyes are like flames of fire (Rev. 1:14), whose voice is like the roar of many waters (1:15), and whose face shines like the sun in all its brilliance (1:16).

And we shall see, “Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth” (Ps. 50:2, emphasis added).

42

ISSUE 07 | 2023

43

FROM T H E N ICEN E CR EED

W E BELIEV E I N ON E GOD, TH E FA T H E R , T H E A L M I G H T Y, M A K E R O F H E AV E N A N D E A R T H , O F A L L T H AT IS SEEN A N D U NSEEN

H E H AS SPOK EN T H ROUGH T H E PROPH ETS. W E BELIEV E I N ON E HOLY C AT HOL IC A N D A POSTOLIC CH U RCH.

W E BE L I E V E I N T H E H OLY S P I R I T, T H E L O R D , T H E GI V ER OF LIFE, W HO PROCEEDS FROM T H E FAT H E R A N D T H E S O N .

W E AC K NOW L E D GE ON E BA P T ISM FOR TH E FORGI V EN ESS OF SI NS.

W I T H T H E FAT H E R A N D T H E S ON H E IS WOR SH I PPE D A N D GLOR I FI ED.

W E LOOK FOR THE R ESU R R ECTION OF TH E DEA D, A N D THE LIFE OF THE WOR L D T O C OM E . A M E N.

44

ISSUE 07 | 2023

THE REFORMATION FELLOWSHIP MAGAZINE

45

DELIGHTING IN THE TRINITY WITH MICHAEL REEVES

46

ISSUE 07 | 2023

THE REFORMATION FELLOWSHIP MAGAZINE

47

48

ISSUE 07 | 2023

THE REFORMATION FELLOWSHIP MAGAZINE

49

50

ISSUE 07 | 2023