SUNDAY CLASS: What Do I Do With That Verse – the lens of Christ

[0:00] All right, well, good morning. We're going to go ahead and get rolling. There's a lot to get to. I'm really excited about this one. It is the culmination of all that we've been talking about, because today we are talking about how Scripture points us to Christ and Christ helps us to interpret all of Scripture.

[0:17] So that's that's where we're headed today. Let me ask for the Lord's help and then we'll we'll dive in. Lord, we we come to you. Just want to pause and confess again afresh our need for you.

[0:30] We ask that you help us to understand these words. I pray that whatever I say will will be beneficial and whatever is not, it will be released from people's minds.

[0:42] But help help help us get a grip, get some traction points for how to to read and understand the Bible, the whole Bible in light of the glorious work of Jesus Christ.

[0:53] That's what we want to do. So we pray you help us that in now. Trust these few minutes to you. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Amen. Well, you should have gotten two things on your way in.

[1:04] One off of each of those chairs that everybody get the outline and the appendix. You got both of those. OK, good. So a passage that just kind of revolutionized my Christian life.

[1:18] I started to study and think about it was Luke 24. And I have the reference on your on your outline there. But if you know the context of it, the background is essentially so context. Here we go.

[1:32] You ready? Context and content. The context is the disciples of Jesus are downcast. Why are they downcast? Because the Christ has been crucified, the one they put all their hopes in.

[1:47] And now they're disoriented. They're trying to figure out what happened. Like, did we just put all of our eggs in this basket now? The basket's gone. What happened? We thought he was the Messiah and he got crucified. How could this be?

[2:02] And so it says actually in the text a little bit further up while they were discussing these things together, they're walking along. Their eyes were kept from recognizing this stranger, Jesus, who drew near to them.

[2:16] Jesus talks and what is this conversation that you're holding with each other as you walk? And it says in verse 17, and they stood still looking sad. That's that's the state of their hearts in this moment.

[2:30] They're so disoriented and they're so dejected and they're looking sad. So. They go on to have this conversation with incognito Jesus, and then Jesus actually challenges them.

[2:44] And this is what I have on your outline there. He said to them, oh, foolish ones and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?

[3:01] And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

[3:12] You see, what's happened in Jesus is taking the Old Testament, all the things that they're already acquainted with, already familiar with, all you have access to. And he's saying all of this is pointing to exactly what's happened.

[3:25] It's pointing to the fact that the Christ had to come and suffer and be crucified. And their minds are just blown. They're trying to process all of this information. And it goes on to say they drew near to the village to which they were going.

[3:39] Jesus acted as if he was going farther. But then he urged them strongly, saying, stay with us. And so they basically invite Jesus to hang out with them. And when he was at the table with them, he took the bread, blessed and broke it.

[3:52] And then he gave it to them. You see the shadow there? What is that pointing back to? That moment where he's breaking the bread and handing it out to the disciples. It's like a flashback moment for them.

[4:03] And they're like, what? What? And then it dawns on them. Their eyes were open in verse 31. And they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. And then they're looking at each other just in shock.

[4:17] And they said to each other, did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures? So what I wanted to draw out for you is this contrast in their affections based on their interpretation of the events unfolding around them.

[4:36] Back on the road to Emmaus, they're sad. They're disoriented. But then they have all the scriptures interpreted in light of who Jesus is and said he would be.

[4:49] And then it says at the end, by the end, their hearts are burning within them. This overwhelming joy and excitement. And they're oriented all of a sudden.

[5:00] So what I would like to present to you today is that Christ, Jesus Christ, is the interpretive key for understanding how all of scripture fits together.

[5:12] And it's same as true for our life. If you feel disoriented today, if you feel sad today, I want to point you to the reality that Jesus Christ is the culmination of our heart's joy.

[5:25] And he wants to he wants to stir you up no matter what your circumstances to see him as central to all of life. That's the only way you'll find satisfaction is to see him central.

[5:36] So Christ is the interpretive key. Jesus gives himself as the we'll call the hermeneutical grid, the way to understand scripture. He gives himself as the grid for understanding all of scripture.

[5:50] His life, his saving work are the epicenter of God's work and revelation in the world. Our statement of faith, I have it there for you. It says it this way. The gospel stands as the core message of the Bible, which in all its parts testifies to God's saving acts culminating in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

[6:15] All right. So tracking with me so far, all the parts pointing to this same culminating reality of Christ. Kevin DeYoung said it this way. We should read the end in light of the beginning and then the beginning in view of the end.

[6:33] So he's given us this hermeneutical framework, this way of interpreting the scripture. So we've got to note, we've got to look at the big patterns that link across the rest of scripture.

[6:47] That's how we do this, especially in light of the fulfillment of Christ. So, okay. Now we have all of that in our minds. We're like, all right, cool. Jesus is the center. We got that. So you may agree with that in principle.

[6:59] But what does that look like in practice? What does it look like to read the Bible like that? So if we're honest, if I'm honest, it could seem confusing when we open to a random page of the Bible, especially parts of the Old Testament, and we're trying to discern this Christ-centered nature of certain events or stipulations.

[7:21] How do we actually do this? I wish that I could have been with Jesus as he preached his sermon on the road to Emmaus. That would have been really helpful for how to do it, right?

[7:31] How can our reading be Christ-centered? That's what we want to get at. Peter writes that even the prophets and the angels long to know, just like us, how all these pieces would come together.

[7:47] In fact, 1 Peter, he's looking back in chapter 1, concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours, searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.

[8:09] It was revealed to them, all these prophets that predicted, it was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves, but you. And the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

[8:31] That's an amazing passage. And I want to start with just two encouragements for you based on what I've said so far. Here's some wonderful news for us. We are on the other side of the waiting based on this on this text here.

[8:48] We're on the other side. All that the prophets were confused. They're looking forward, trying to figure out how all these different pieces fit together. We are on the other side of the cross and looking back now.

[8:58] All that the prophets and angels waited for with bated breath. We have access to right now in the canon. That's what we have access to. So, Oren Martin, I think I have his quote on there for you.

[9:12] He says it this way, The process of analyzing and synthesizing, that means bringing things together, how the Old and New Testaments progress, integrate, and climax in Christ is incomplete until we study every passage in its final context.

[9:31] The canon of scripture, where God discloses the final meaning of his word. So what it's saying is, unlike the prophets who are all looking ahead, we have the fullness of the canon.

[9:43] We have everything. We have all the parts of the puzzle. And we have the picture in front of us. And now we are looking back at it. And we get the joy of being able to see the fullness of the picture in retrospect.

[9:54] So the first is an encouragement that we have the whole canon. This is good news for us. The second encouragement I want to start with is this. This may seem intimidating, overwhelming, or complicated.

[10:09] I get that. But let me encourage you with a word from theologian Stephen Wellham. His quote is here. He says, Yes, the Bible is complex. And in some sections, it can be quite complicated.

[10:22] But what if the Bible's complexity is not a hurdle to jump, but a scenic trail to run? What if the Bible's many characters and events and places are not in the way of getting to know Jesus, but are the way to get to know him?

[10:40] What if the Bible's numerous pages aren't a reason for intimidation, but a call for exploration? So the second encouragement I want to put forward is this is good work that we have in front of us.

[10:57] This is a call to an adventure, to an exploration of the goodness that God has for us in Christ, in Scripture. So I wanted those two things to be said outright, that we have the whole canon and this is good work that's ahead of us.

[11:11] And he has a wonderful thing for us. Oftentimes, whenever I read the Bible and I get confused about something, it's usually in the untangling of the threads that I get the greatest joy at the end.

[11:23] Like, oh, it's like finding, it's like mining for gems. And you're like, oh, there it is. And he has good for us. And he wants us to enjoy the adventure of exploring it together.

[11:34] So where are we headed today? Okay, so to read the Bible with this faithful interpretive lens, we will need to keep in mind some of the principles we've already talked about before.

[11:46] So a couple of weeks ago during our class on how to read with the whole canon in view, I introduced this concept of Scripture interprets Scripture. Do you all remember that? Some of you all were here for that.

[11:57] Scripture interprets Scripture. So what I'm going to do now is I'm going to try to press more deeply into that principle, especially the second one where I said that Scripture needs to interpret Scripture broadly.

[12:11] Because like Oren Martin said in that quote, we fail to understand that passage until we understand it in its final context in light of who Christ is.

[12:21] So just a brief overview of those Scripture interprets Scripture. It was interpret Scripture respectively. That means like if there's something that's more obscure, you interpret that in light of what's more clear, right?

[12:36] Interpret Scripture broadly. So we have to know these patterns and links across the rest of Scripture. That's where we're about to press in. And then harmonistically. So the idea of harmony, that if something seemingly is contradictory over here, we have to read it in light of the rest of Scripture to see how it harmonizes, because it doesn't contradict.

[12:56] It does progress though. So how are we going to read Scripture broadly with a Christ-centered lens? So just imagine my lenses with Jesus crosses in them.

[13:07] We need to read Scripture with a cross-centered lens. How do we do that? So we're going to explore three ways to do this. I'm going to give you some categories just broadly, so you can be looking for these as you read Scripture for yourself.

[13:21] Give you some examples of those. And then we're going to press into some principles. And I've got on that appendix like a case study that will really, I think, help illuminate some ways to read the Old Testament.

[13:32] And I've got some guidelines and resources at the very end, but I'll probably just hand those out to you. So the first category here, categories and examples of Christ-centered reading. So the first thing that we're going to be looking for are just this category of themes across the whole Bible.

[13:49] So as you're reading, you're going to look for ways that your passage that you're in fits into the major themes that stretch from Genesis to Revelation. There's themes like kingship, for instance.

[14:02] Where would you see kingship pop up or ruler pop up throughout the thread of Scripture? What are some examples where you'd see that from Genesis all the way through to Revelation?

[14:14] What comes to mind for you? Who's in charge of the world at the beginning whenever all things are made? It's not a trick question.

[14:27] This is the Sunday school answer. You can say it. God, yes, thank you. Excellent, good job. You get a star. Yeah, so God's the one that's the king.

[14:38] And yet we rebel against the king. He's the one that lays out the rules, has authority to do so, and we turn away from him, right? We're his subjects. He's the king, but we turn away.

[14:49] You see this thread kind of unravel throughout Scripture at that point, even up to the point where in Judges, if you remember the story of the Judges, what's the refrain in Judges, the book of Judges?

[15:01] Does anybody know? They did what was right in their own eyes. Yes. They didn't want a king, and they said everyone did what was right in their own eyes.

[15:13] It's just this explicit picture of what was happening in the garden. I'm going to call my own shots. I'm not subject to anyone. I'm going to call the shots here.

[15:24] Eventually, they want a king to be like all the other nations. They don't want God to be the king. They want to be king. They want to just look like everybody else, and so he puts someone that looks the part, and you have Solomon that looks the part.

[15:38] What happens to Solomon? I mean Saul. Excuse me. Saul. What happens to Saul? He looks like a really, externally a really good king, but then what happens?

[15:51] How'd that go, huh? He goes back and gets rejected. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He looks the part, but then he's rejected ultimately, but then David comes along, and how is he different from Saul?

[16:05] And Samuel says that he had a heart like the Lord. Yes. A heart after the Lord. Yes. So he sees himself, even as a king, subjected to a greater king.

[16:18] Right? So he's going to do the Lord's will. He's going to humble himself a number of times. He sins, but then he constantly repents of his sin, and so we see, we see this picture of, of David as being one whose heart is for the Lord.

[16:33] So you see this, this kind of thread that keeps going. And David points to a greater David. David points to a greater king who is going to come. And so you see this thread of kingship.

[16:44] It culminates at the end of all time for the coronation ceremony. Right? And then eventually the, the, the lamb who was slain, the one that was slain for, for sinners went to the cross is then vindicated and given this crown and given this steam and given the honor and all the nations who've submitted themselves to this king rally around the throne saying worthy, worthy, worthy, holy, holy, holy.

[17:10] Jesus Christ is who we worship for all time as our king. So you see the thread that goes. So we're looking for those kinds of themes threaded across all of scripture.

[17:20] Where are we in the storyline is a great question that you can ask. So other, other threads or themes that you can pick up on are themes like creation. Sacrifice is another one that will crop up a lot.

[17:33] Son, sonship, faith, grace, God's presence, glory. These are all themes that you can trace and see where you are in this, in the storyline.

[17:44] And the question you're going to ask constantly is how do these progress and culminate in Jesus Christ? So another example would be like God's presence as a theme. If we were to look at the very beginning of the story in the garden, we are with God.

[17:59] We're present with him relationships intact. Then we're separated by sin. So the presence is separated. Then a little bit later on, we have God moving towards us in the form of tabernacle, right?

[18:11] Now he's going to dwell amongst his people in this place of the tabernacle. And then eventually you have this picture of the Holy of Holies to be able to access God. You have to have a mediator to take you into this most holy place and to be able to dwell with God and hear from God.

[18:28] But eventually God breaks into the world in a new way in Matthew and the form of Emmanuel, which means what?

[18:41] God with us. Presence. God with us. His presence breaks in in a new way. And then Jesus even makes this claim whenever they're arguing about the temple.

[18:53] And he says, I'm going to break this temple down. He says he's going to destroy this temple and raise it up in three days. What is he talking about? Their minds are blown. They're like, what? You're going to break down our building and build it back in three days.

[19:04] You don't make any sense. What was he talking about? Talking about talking about himself, talking about his body. I'm, I'm the new temple.

[19:15] I'm the fulfillment of God's presence with his people. Veil is torn in two at the crucifixion. What does that veil represent? The Holy of Holies, this veil ripped.

[19:27] What does it mean? Before they were separated from God, from this place of the Holy of Holies, the access point to the one true God.

[19:41] And now the veil is torn in two. Why? Because there's a new, there's a new way to be connected with God. Finally and eternally through Jesus Christ.

[19:53] I will not leave you or forsake you. He says that presence of God, the Holy spirit, it's going to be with you. He's going to, he's going to guide you. He's going to lead you. He's going to comfort you.

[20:04] We're going to be present with the Lord revelation. By the time we get there, there's no more temple. The dwelling place of God is with man. That's the, that's the culmination of that theme.

[20:17] So do you see, see what I'm saying? So there's threads that we can trace all the way through scripture. The second way we can do this is looking for prophecy, prophecy. There's a few different forms of prophecy that might be helpful for you.

[20:30] So you're going to look back and you're going to look forward. I'll give you an example here. So acts eight, there's this Ethiopian, a unit. He's an official in the court of the Ethiopians.

[20:44] He come to Jerusalem to worship. And as he's returning, he's seated in his chariot and he's reading through the prophet Isaiah. So he's reading through the scroll of Isaiah. The spirit says to Philip, go over and join this chariot.

[20:57] So Philip runs over. I wish I could have seen this. It would have been a really funny visual. He's like running next to the, next to the chariot. What you reading up there? You know, do you understand what you're reading?

[21:09] And he said, how can I, unless someone guides me? And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. And the passage of scripture that he was reading was this like a sheep.

[21:22] He was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before it's shearer is silent. So he opens not his mouth and his humiliation. Justice was denied him who could describe his generation for his life is taken away from the earth.

[21:37] He's reading from Isaiah, the prophets 600, 700 years before this moment is transpiring. And the eunuch said to Philip about whom I ask you, does the prophet say this about himself or about someone else?

[21:52] Is Isaiah writing about himself or is this about someone else that he's writing about? Philip uses Jesus's diagnostic grid, interpretive grid. Philip opens his mouth and beginning with this scripture, he told him the good news about Jesus.

[22:09] He springboards off of this as a prophecy about one who is to come that will explicitly fulfill all that was said here. So that that's an easier trajectory to see in scripture.

[22:21] Sometimes you'll see that it's just like, here's a prophecy. And there's clearly only one way that it can be fulfilled over here. But there's also other types of prophecy. There's there's some that you can expect like a near fulfillment and a far fulfillment at the same time.

[22:37] So I'll give you an example. The prophet Samuel had a prophecy for King David that details a promise directly from God concerning David's son, his immediate biological son.

[22:52] So the Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you. When your days are over and your rest with your and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up for your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom.

[23:10] He is the one who will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. So David's son Solomon would become the next king.

[23:22] That was like a direct fulfillment. He's the next king. And he ultimately becomes the one that literally builds the physical temple. He builds the temple. So he partially fulfills this promise here.

[23:36] However, the complete fulfillment, the long view, the distant fulfillment is found in Jesus Christ, the son of David, which is how the gospels open.

[23:48] Jesus Christ, son of Abraham, the son of David. Fascinating. At the annunciation, the angel Gabriel said this about, about Jesus. The Lord will give him the throne of his father, David.

[24:01] So you see, it's not a direct link. He's not directly the next son, but he's a son in the, in the ancestry of David. So they see him as a son of David. He will reign over Jacob's descendants forever.

[24:15] His kingdom will never end. Do you see, this is the fulfillment in the distant future, the distant picture in the fuller, more, more grand way culminating in Jesus Christ.

[24:26] So right now, Jesus is building his church, a house for God's name. That's what's happening right now. As the fulfillment of this prophecy, he will become the eternal King on David's throne and establish the Holy city, the new Jerusalem, bringing honor to God.

[24:45] You see that? So that that's an example. Another way that prophecy often is fulfilled with this kind of near and far fulfillment. So Solomon was the partial fulfillment of Solomon Samuel's words, but Jesus is the greater than Solomon and the more thorough fulfillment as we see in Matthew.

[25:03] So prophecy is a category. Y'all tracking with me so far? Good. Okay. Another category to have in your mind as you're reading scripture is this category of typology, typology, English word for typical means something follows a certain pattern.

[25:21] Oh, that's typical of JD. He stands up in front. That's typical. He, he has that same spot he goes to, and I'm going to get it someday. I'm coming for your row. I'm going to get it, but that's typical is a pattern.

[25:32] All right. So typology analyzes patterns in scripture, which show up in a few different ways. And these are the highlights for us. It'll show up as a person, an event, or an institution.

[25:46] It's in the old Testament and it will point forward to fulfillment in the new Testament. So keep an eye peeled for people, events, or institutions.

[25:58] So types, types aren't just like things that you're like making connections like, Oh, Rahab, she lowered down this red scarf and red's kind of like the blood of Jesus. And so this is like a big symbol about the blood of Jesus.

[26:09] Like, no, no. Types are different. Types are patterns rooted in actual history designed by God. And it involves a progression towards Jesus Christ.

[26:20] And it's made explicit in the new Testament. This is what this is. Okay. So, so keep an eye out for this. It's not just allegories or metaphors you're coming up with. It's actual people, events, or institutions in history pointing towards Jesus Christ.

[26:34] Here's an example of a person. All right. A person. Let's just think of the person of Adam, Adam and Genesis. He is a, what we would say a type, a pattern pointing forward to Jesus Christ.

[26:51] So Romans five makes this clear. It gives us the culmination. So when Adam is first introduced, he represents the entire human race. That's what he does.

[27:01] He's at the very beginning. He's the, the, the forefather of all people to come. So Adam like people continue to carry on Adam's role through the covenants.

[27:12] We got Noah's covenant. We got Abraham. We've got Israel. We got David, which ultimately reaches fulfillment in Jesus who is called in Romans.

[27:22] The last Adam. He's referred to in this language, the last Adam. Look at Romans five. I think I have it on your sheet there. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who sinning was not like the transgression of Adam.

[27:36] Who was a type. There it is a type of the one who was to come, but the free gift is not like the trespass for. If many died through one man's trespass, talking about Adam, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man, Jesus Christ abounded for many.

[27:59] So you have these two representative heads, if you will, Adam and the new Adam, Jesus Christ. For if because of one man's trespass, death reign through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness, reign and life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

[28:19] So do you see? Adam's intended to be a type that points us toward a need for a savior, someone that can do what he could not do. He brought us into sin, but there's one who will bring us out in a definitive way for all who place their trust in him.

[28:36] So when we're reading about Adam, we need to have in our minds, oh man, this stinks. This is not good. This is not good for me, but that's not where we stay because we have the whole canon, right?

[28:49] We have the joy of looking back through the cross at the old Adam and know there's a better Adam coming. This is the one that represents me. I am not represented by this Adam anymore.

[29:02] I'm represented by this Adam, the new Adam, the one that definitively deals with sin. It's his representation that goes before God. You see what I'm saying? So there are types that are fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

[29:15] Okay. Pause there. Any questions so far? Is your hair blown back? Have you got hair? The next category to keep an eye out for is, is these events.

[29:27] So still in the category of types, there's people. Now we're talking about events. So many of the events in the Bible are significant in God's plan. They not only have meaning for the people of the day when they happen, but they also point forward and they anticipate Christ's coming and his work.

[29:46] One that comes up again and again is this theme of the Exodus, just as an example. In the Exodus, God redeems Israel through from Egypt through a sacrifice by which they escape God's judgment and experience deliverance.

[30:02] Do any of those things sound familiar to you? Because in the new Testament, Christ's sacrifice redeems us from slavery to sin and God's judgment.

[30:15] Incredible picture. You know, even, even whenever Jesus and his family flee from Herod, the persecution, they go down into Egypt. And then he comes back up from Egypt, out of Egypt.

[30:27] I called my son referencing Hosea, old Testament prophet. So in a new way, Jesus is representing the nation of Israel coming up and out of Egypt, but where they failed, Jesus succeeds.

[30:43] You see what I'm saying? This is the typology. It's, it's tracing the Exodus and there's a new Exodus. And now we have a savior, a sacrifice that brings us out of sin definitively.

[30:58] You'll also see it in institutions. It's the third category of typology institutions. There are specific institutions by their very nature, structure and purpose that point forward to the redeemer to come.

[31:13] So an example of this would be the priesthood. It's an institution. It's this way of operating the priesthood, the high priest was a mediator between God and the people and the entire priestly role.

[31:27] It looks forward to a redeemer who will fully deal with sin and bring full access to God. So I don't, does it, was anybody raised Roman Catholic in here?

[31:39] Anybody? Yeah. So this, this is what I love to talk with Catholic folks about because it, it bypasses this, this mediator of, you know, the structure of the church in the sense that we have one mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ, and he is fully and perfectly sufficient.

[31:59] I have direct access to God because of him, not because of another flawed, failed human. There's not a hierarchy of other Christians that they're more holy than we are. No, Christ is the one that makes us holy definitively because of his finished work at the cross.

[32:13] So we're looking back through the Canon, right through the cross at the priesthood. We have a new priesthood. We're the priesthood of God. We're all representing Christ, but he is our definitive priest interceding for us perfectly before the father right now.

[32:30] So y'all okay. Track and still. Okay. So another, another category to keep in your mind as you're reading through the Bible is this idea of continuity and discontinuity.

[32:42] Continuity. So this, this helps us with the, the seeming contradictions in scripture in some places. So for instance, we're asking this question, what is the same as before?

[32:53] And then what has changed? What is the same as before? And what has changed in light of the cross and light of what Christ has done? And so one example is the conversation about circumcision.

[33:04] So in Genesis 17, God's talking to Abraham. This is my covenant, which you shall keep between me and you and your offspring. After you, every male among you shall be circumcised.

[33:16] You shall be circumcised in the flesh or your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money shall surely be circumcised.

[33:37] So shall my covenant be in your flesh and everlasting covenant. So you see, that's that's to Abraham. How are we supposed to think about that? We're looking through the cross across the whole canon.

[33:51] What what does the New Testament have to say about how we should understand those promises back then? So Galatians six helps us. It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.

[34:11] So now Paul is talking to Jews and Gentiles and Gentiles are saying, how Jewish do we need to be? And he's saying, listen, things have changed. There is discontinuity here.

[34:22] Some people are going to try to make you do this, this ritual, but there's a new thing happening here. Verse 13, for even those who are circumcised, do not keep themselves, do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.

[34:39] That's what the goal is. They just want to boast in your flesh. Look, we got more converts, but verse 14, but far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world for neither.

[34:57] Here's our important line for neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision. This is not, in other words, what makes you right before God. It was a sign pointing to your need to have God make you right through definitively the work of Jesus Christ, his son.

[35:15] So circumcision nor uncircumcision count for anything, but a new creation. That's what you really need. You need, you need to be born again. You need to become something new.

[35:26] How do you do that? Through the cross of Christ, through faith and repentance. Verse 16, and ask for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy upon them and upon the Israel of God.

[35:42] He's applying Israel of God to Jews and Gentiles together. Who's really Israel here? It's those who are redeemed into the one new man, Jesus Christ, as Ephesians 2 tells us.

[35:55] So circumcision is, is eclipsed in a new way. It's brought to fulfillment in a new way in the person of Jesus Christ, according to Galatians. Okay. So those are some categories for you to keep in your mind as you're reading scripture.

[36:08] We're looking back across to the Old Testament saying, okay, how does Jesus shed some light on this? Here's our second big category. You guys ready?

[36:21] Principles. Principles in a case study. So one of the questions that comes up often is, okay, how should a Christian relate to Old Testament promises? Old Testament promises.

[36:32] So I'll fly through this part, but briefly, number one, Christians benefit from Old Testament promises only through Jesus Christ.

[36:46] So like in Genesis 22, promise being made, Abraham, I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of, of heaven. And as the sand that is on the seashore and your offspring shall possess, the gates of his enemies.

[37:00] And in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed because you have obeyed my voice. But then you see that progress, right?

[37:11] In Galatians. So that was a promise made to Abraham. But in Galatians, we see know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. So it's not just according to the flesh.

[37:22] It's those who are of faith, are sons of Abraham and the scripture for seeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preach the gospel beforehand to Abraham.

[37:32] Oh, that baffle your mind for a second. The gospel was preached to Abraham in the Old Testament. That's what this is saying. Saying in you shall all the nations be blessed. There's this trajectory pointing forward to something bigger and better that he couldn't even imagine at this point.

[37:48] Verse nine. And so then those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.

[38:00] As it is written, curse is everyone who is hanged on a tree so that in Christ Jesus, the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles so that we might receive the promised spirit through faith.

[38:13] Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say into offsprings referring to many, but referring to one and to your offspring, who is Christ.

[38:26] So he's, he's bringing clarity looking back to the promise made to Abraham that it's actually a reference in the longterm to Jesus Christ. He is the definitive offspring who fulfills all that's being said here.

[38:38] If you are Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring heirs according to promise. All the things promised to him apply to you through the cross of Jesus Christ.

[38:50] If you are a Christian, that's what he's saying here. Secondly, old covenant curses become new covenant curses. We're going to accelerate through this part.

[39:05] Thought we're going fast already, didn't you? All right. So we just got to do these headers. You need to go back and just look at these because I really want to get to the appendix. It's going to help you as part number three, as part of the new covenant, Christians inherit the old covenants, original and restoration blessings.

[39:21] So you see these principles and the last one, fourthly through the spirit, some blessings of the Christians inheritance are already enjoyed. Whereas others are not yet enjoyed.

[39:33] So I want to, I want to look at this appendix. You guys have the appendix, right? So those are principles just generally. Looks like this, looks like a contact lens or something.

[39:47] So we're talking about how we need to read with a Christ centered lens, like a filtering system. This is what we're talking about. And the question comes up. Well, all right. When, when Jesus fulfills the old Testament law and prophets, what is he doing for us?

[40:02] How should we read these things? He is actualizing. He is bringing into reality what scripture anticipated and achieving what God promised and predicted. So yes, every promise is yes.

[40:13] In Jesus, we see that in, in second Corinthians one 20. Yes. And while every blessing is ours in Jesus Christ, the way Jesus fulfills those old Testament blessings and secures them as a yes for us is not all exactly the same.

[40:28] And that's, what's represented on this little grid here. He fulfills them in different ways. He fulfills them in different ways. So we've got to approach these biblical promises through this kind of like, you know, we're paying attention to context.

[40:41] We're paying attention to Canon with Jesus at the center. And then the lens gives focus to the lasting significance of God's promises. So first is God, Christ transforms some old Testament promises.

[40:53] So he transforms some old Testament promises. So Christ fulfills some old Testament promises by transforming them. That is, he develops both the promises makeup and the audience through that filter.

[41:07] These promises relate most directly to shadows that clarify and point to a greater substance in Christ or these old Testament patterns or types. They find their climax in Jesus.

[41:19] So an example of this kind of what we were just saying, but these promises to Abraham, I will give you and your offspring land. This is a promise. So how are we supposed to understand land?

[41:31] And all of these promises made to Abraham in the old Testament, Genesis 26, the next scripture there, it says, sojourn in this land and I will be with you and I will bless you for to you and to your offspring.

[41:42] I will give all of these lands and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham, your father. I will multiply your offspring and I will give your offspring all these lands.

[41:53] Now it's plural here. Now it's broadened. It's not just land, it's lands. And in your offspring, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. When you look at the new Testament, Galatians 3, 16, we're looking back through the cross.

[42:08] Now at these promises, Galatians 3 says, now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, and to offsprings referring to many, but referring to one and to your offspring, who is Christ.

[42:22] So it's establishing Jesus as the interpretive lens that we're looking back at these promises to Abraham. And Romans 4 says this, for the promise to Abraham and to his offspring, that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

[42:38] So only in relation to Jesus Christ, the one who's the heir of all the promises to Abraham, he's the one that gets all the goodies. In other words, he's the one that's the right heir of the land.

[42:51] Even only through him, do the promises of land, seed, blessing, reach their ultimate fulfillment and all in Christ. Enjoy the full blessings.

[43:02] So in other words, when we talk about Palestine and Israel, this, this is going to be mind blowing potentially. You think about the conflict that's going on there.

[43:12] And the question usually is, well, does it belong to Jews or does it belong to the Muslims? Who does it belong to? The answer for Christians is neither. The land in the world actually belongs to Jesus Christ.

[43:28] It actually belongs. He's the heir of all the blessings. He's the heir even of the land. And ultimately he will be the recipient of all the blessings. As we see in revelation, he, he comes back to redeem the world.

[43:41] It's his world. And guess what? All who are in Christ are heirs with him. So yes, the answer is it belongs to Christians, but Christians are waiting and proclaiming the gospel to all who will listen because one day it will belong definitively to Jesus Christ.

[44:02] You know, so it's, we, we take a different position than what the world has to offer. It's not the answer. It's not the answer. It's not the same answer. It has to be filtered through the lens of Jesus Christ.

[44:14] So secondly, Christ maintains some old Testament promises, and there's not extension in some of these. He maintains some old Testament promises. So what this means is that he maintains them without any extension.

[44:27] It's not adding any further promise, any beneficiaries to the original promise. They're explicit restoration promises include a vision of a global salvation. It's just straightforward.

[44:38] He says in Daniel 12 to many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt. That hasn't changed.

[44:48] It's still through the filter of Jesus Christ, but it applies in the same way to all people, as it was said in the old Testament. So no extension there straight through. The next one would be Christ maintains some old Testament promises with extension.

[45:05] So sometimes he fulfills some promises. He extends the parties related to those promises. And so if you're looking at that lens, you can think of it in this way, like an Isaiah 49, six preach this sermon not too long ago during Christmas time.

[45:18] Is it, it is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserve of Israel. I will make you as a light for the nations that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.

[45:31] So there has to be a messianic fulfillment. Who is he talking about? Who's the person he's talking about here? Isaiah. He's talking about this messianic servant person.

[45:41] All right. So God would not only save ethnic Israelites in this promise, but he extends it. He broadens his reach also to some, to, to other nations, some from other nations.

[45:54] So you see this like extension process in that promise. So you see that in Acts 13, for the Lord has commanded us, Paul and Barnabas saying, I have made you a light for the Gentiles that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.

[46:10] So now he's not only talking about Jesus bringing, bringing, uh, salvation to people. Now he's talking about the followers of Jesus, extending the reach of the promise of salvation to people.

[46:21] You see what I'm saying? So it's like Jesus, but then it broadens out to followers of Jesus that are extending the promise of this, of this particular, uh, a promise.

[46:33] The last one is Christ completes some old Testament promises. He completes some of them have already been completed. It's pretty straightforward here. These are the ones that we typically think of, uh, that are like direct fulfillments.

[46:47] So, Oh, Bethlehem, who are you? Who are too little to be among the clans of Judah from you shall come forth from me, for me, one who will be the ruler in Israel. Who's coming forth is from of old, from of ancient to days.

[47:00] You have the direct fulfillment in Matthew at, in the birth narrative of Jesus. He's born in Bethlehem, just like he said, boom. So that's direct right there. Complete some of these old Testament promises.

[47:11] Okay. Clear as mud. I encourage you to take this sheet with you and it will help you. It will serve you. Last thing I was going to mention before we adjourn, we have some guidelines and resources on that last point there.

[47:27] I encourage you to go through that. Particularly a couple of things that will really help you. What is an ESV study Bible? If you don't have one already, I would strongly encourage you to get one.

[47:38] It's got notes, really helpful notes that will help guide you and bring out some of these types of things along the way. The next thing I was going to encourage you toward is a, is an article. I think Caitlin's got the article by David Pallison.

[47:52] Phenomenal article. It's really, really helpful. Four ways to read the Bible for personal application. You're like, okay, I get the what, but so what? How do I apply this to my life?

[48:03] Grab one of these things. I got 10 of them. I think printed up. Lastly, I've got four books. I want to give away. Here's my book guy. All right.

[48:14] So let's see. One is everyday gospel and everyday gospel Bible. These are hot off the press. This is from Paul trip wrote 365 daily devotions that thread old and new testaments together in Jesus Christ to encourage you.

[48:30] One is in like a daily devotion form. The other one is in like a Bible daily Bible reading for us actually embedded into the Bible itself. So you can be reading as you go. Who wants one?

[48:42] All right, Bryson, you just pick, go give it to someone. We got, we got one. That's a everyday guys. I've given them too much power. He gave one to his mom. Nepotism. Okay.

[48:53] But wait, there's more. I have another one. This might be helpful. If you're a mom with young kids and you don't have this yet, this might be for you, Megan, uh, this big one.

[49:06] Do you have the, uh, the biggest story Bible by Kevin DeYoung? Go give that to her right now. Yes. This, this is wonderful. You're going to love it. It's a, it's a daily devotion.

[49:18] Great for your kid's age. And then the last one is kind of more of a survey going in more deeply into this idea of Christ from beginning to end in the book called Christ from beginning to end.

[49:30] It tracks this idea of biblical theology and helps you put the pieces together throughout the Bible. Who would like that? Anybody? Boom. There we go, Brian. All right. Thank you guys so much.

[49:40] I hope you benefit from this. Grab some of those articles from Caitlin. If you'd like one, thanks for joining. Too much pressure.

[49:51] Too much pressure. Yeah. You had to give it to your mom.