Class 3: Introduction to Biblical Theology

We're going to start. Good morning.

Good morning.

Let's open up in a word of prayer, shall we?

Our Father in heaven,

Lord, great are your works, studied by all who delight in you.

Father, let us study your works, but ultimately we pray

that your Spirit would help us to delight in you,

the Lord of creation.

Father, and Jesus is the firstborn Son of a new creation.

Lord, help us to look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.

And Lord, on this Reformation Day, Lord, we thank you for the Reformers

who recovered the Gospel, and for saints, men and women,

who have stood firm in the face of opposition

to declare your Gospel, the good news of what Christ has done.

May we be people like that, Lord, who stand on the truth of the Gospel.

We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

The Bible, as you might know, uses different imagery

to help us to understand our relationship with God.

Christ is the King.

If we trust in Christ, we are citizens of His kingdom.

Christ is the Husband, and the Church is His bride.

Jesus came to reclaim that bride.

He is the Good Shepherd.

We are the sheep.

And He leads His sheep into green pastures.

He is the farmer.

We are divine.

He is the warrior.

He goes to war to save His people.

He is that kinsman redeemer.

He redeems us out of slavery as His inheritance.

He is the rock and a solid foundation to build our lives.

He is our Savior.

And Jesus' name literally means Yahweh saves.

Jesus is our Savior.

He is our refuge and fortress

and an ever-present help in time of trouble.

He is a fire.

And He not only burns in wrath,

but He also purifies His people.

He is the firstborn from the dead,

and that's the start of the new creation.

And finally, He is a Father,

and we are His children,

where we can cry,

Abba, Father.

All these are profound images

that God gives us

to help us think about our relationship with Him.

Today, we'll be talking about the new creation,

which is a different way to describe

the same reality we discussed last week.

that God would establish

a truly just and righteous kingdom

in which He is the King.

And in week one,

we define the discipline of biblical theology

as understanding how the diverse parts of the Bible,

66 books in total,

fit together into one grand story

centered on Christ.

And when we talk about the major storyline arc

of the Scripture,

people often rightly say

the Bible can be summarized in four words.

All right?

Creation,

fall,

redemption,

and restoration.

So that's the storyline of the Bible,

and that's called a metanarrative.

It's a way of describing

that storyline.

So the Bible is bookended

by the creation in Genesis 1

and the new creation

at the end of Revelation.

So for this class,

we'll have five sections.

First,

we'll start at the new creation

in Revelation 21.

Second,

rewind to the original creation

in Genesis 1 and 2.

Third,

the fall and the effect of sin.

Fourth,

redemption

by looking at

the Exodus

and then the prophesied second Exodus

and God redeeming creation.

and then finally back

to the new creation.

So five parts.

So part one,

the new creation.

The new creation.

So turn to the end of the Bible

to Revelation 21.

Revelation 21,

Revelation 21:1–5

verses 1 to 5.

John says this,

Then I saw a new heaven

and a new earth.

For the first heaven

and the first earth

had passed away

and the sea was no more.

And I saw the holy city,

a new Jerusalem,

coming down out of heaven

from God,

prepared as a bride

adorned for her husband.

And I heard a loud voice

from the throne saying,

Behold,

the dwelling place of God

is with man.

He will dwell with them

and they will be his people.

And God himself

will be with them

as their God.

He will wipe away

every tear from their eyes

and death shall be no more.

Neither shall there be mourning

nor crying

nor pain anymore

for the former things

have passed away.

And he who is seated

on the throne said,

Behold,

I am making all things new.

Right?

The Bible ends

with the new creation.

And our attention there

is drawn to a beautiful city

coming down out of heaven,

the new Jerusalem,

prepared as a bride

adorned for her husband.

And this isn't just

a holy land

located in the Middle East,

but a new heaven

and a new earth.

Every tear

will be wiped away

and God will again

dwell with his people

face to face.

And one of the glories

of this new creation

of heaven

will be that

we will never need

to say goodbye again.

We at Trinity

know the pain

of having to say goodbye.

Don't we?

Goodbye to saints

who have gone home

to be with the Lord

or goodbye to close friends

that have moved on elsewhere.

So perhaps the Lord

is whetting our appetite

here at Trinity

for the day

when we never need

to say goodbye again.

Right?

And this new creation

will be glorious.

God is concerned

with the renewal

of the entire world.

Creation itself

will be healed.

And this is a vision

John gives us

to show where

the Bible story ends.

The new heavens

and the new earth

is a great act

of new creation.

So if we trust in Christ,

this is our glorious future.

And John,

as you might have imagined

at this point

in our series

in biblical theology,

John is using imagery

that is similar

to another part

of the Bible.

The recreation

reminds us

of the original creation

going back

to the very beginning.

So turn with me

to Genesis 1.

So let's look

at the original creation.

God's original creation.

In Genesis 1,

familiar to us,

we read about

God creating the world.

He created the heavens

and the earth.

Right?

And then God created

Eden, the garden,

as a place for man

and God

to dwell together.

At the end

of the sixth day,

God saw all

that he had made

and it was very good.

From the smallest

subatomic particle

to the largest

galaxy in space,

everything was good

in God's creation.

Now, if you have questions

about how to understand

the creation account

in light of

scientific evidence,

Luke Batty,

Lord willing,

will be discussing this

in the next series.

So stay tuned

if you want to learn

more about the science

and creation.

But you know,

God didn't need

to create the world.

He didn't need

to create the world.

God was perfectly happy

in eternal bliss

before the world

was ever created.

God wasn't lonely.

No, he didn't need us.

He was perfectly happy

within the Trinity,

the Father,

Son, and Spirit.

So why did he do it?

Why did God

create the world

in the first place?

Well, God created

the world

for his own glory.

The heavens

declared the glory

of God

and the skies

proclaimed the work

of his hands,

Psalm 19 tells us.

Through Isaiah,

God says,

bring my sons

from afar

and my daughters

from the ends

of the earth,

everyone who is called

by my name,

whom I created

for my glory,

whom I formed

and made.

God created Israel

for his own glory

and God created

the world

for his own glory.

So creation exists

to show that

the author of creation

is absolutely glorious.

That's why he did it.

And Genesis 2

zooms in

and we see

the creation

of man and women,

the pinnacle

of God's creative work.

So if we were there,

we would have been

witnesses to the very

first marriage.

Adam and Eve,

a bride adorned

for her husband

and the husband

passionately loved

his bride.

Genesis 2.23

is the very first

love poem.

Adam said of Eve,

this is now

bone of my bone

and flesh of my flesh.

And so friends,

it is no accident,

right,

that we find marriage

in the beginning

and end of the Bible.

So when God

instituted marriage

in the account

of creation,

he was providing

the means by which

we might understand

the joy

of an exclusive

covenant love.

So throughout the Bible,

God frequently

addresses us

as people

in the language

of a husband.

Right?

And Paul says

marriage images

the relationship

between Christ

and his church.

And the marriage

ceremony in Genesis

is preparing us

for that great

marriage ceremony

that will happen

in Revelation 21

between Christ

and his people.

When Jesus came

to gather

to himself

the people of God,

he revealed himself

as the bridegroom,

come to claim

his church

as his bride.

In Revelation 21,

John sees that bride,

the church,

adorned for her husband

as Christ marries her.

So Jonathan Edwards

once said,

there may be

many ministers

in the church,

but the church

has only one husband.

A servant

who seeks to gain

attention to himself

is flirting

with Christ's bride.

Right?

You never flirt

with another person's spouse.

Right?

And rather,

servants of Christ

must point the bride

to the husband.

As John the Baptist

said of Jesus,

he must increase,

but I must decrease.

The best man

doesn't take attention

away from the groom

at the wedding.

Right?

And the church

is Christ's

beautiful bride.

Proverbs 31 says,

an excellent wife

who can find.

She is far more

precious than jewels.

Or Proverbs 12,

an excellent wife

is the crown

of her husband.

So if Solomon

could say that

about his wife,

how much more

does Christ love

his church?

Right?

So friend,

the church isn't perfect,

but it will be

once Christ returns.

You know,

perhaps when the church

doesn't live up

to its calling,

it should make us

more frustrated.

It's like seeing

our children misbehave.

Like, I love you

too much to see you

misbehave that way.

And perhaps you felt

that way about the church.

But let me ask you,

though,

do you love the church

the way Christ

loves his church?

The church is Christ's

beautiful bride.

He died for her.

He has an exclusive

covenant love

for his bride.

Friends,

do we love the church

that way,

the way Christ

sees the church?

And so that marriage

between Adam and Eve

is preparing us

for the joy

of that wedding celebration

on that last day

when Christ returns.

Come, Lord Jesus.

All right?

And Genesis 3.8

describes God

walking and talking

with Adam and Eve.

The dwelling place

of God is with man.

And both were to spread

that glory

to the ends of the earth,

filling the earth

with image bearers,

as we discussed last week.

That's paradise.

Everything's good.

Everything's perfect.

It's the pinnacle

of God's creative work.

But of course,

as we know,

tragedy strikes.

In the Bible,

Genesis 3,

tragically,

Adam and Eve

rebel against the God

who gave them

paradise and creation.

They are exiled,

exiled from the garden,

from God's very presence,

thrust into a deep darkness,

into a violent world.

So every good story

has a tension in it.

A problem must be resolved.

And what's the problem

in the Bible?

What's the first problem

that happens?

It's the devastating effects

of sin on creation

and God's original intention

in creation.

So because of sin,

all of creation

was subject to death

and pain.

The old creation

came into the world

through Adam's sin.

The old creation

was subject

to frustration

and futility

because of it.

all of creation groans.

Thorns,

thistles,

and pain

are the consequences

of sin.

Corruption

and death

characterizes it.

So in Tolkien,

the Lord of the Rings,

the two towers

were Saruman's

Isengard

and Sauron's

Mordor.

The two towers.

In the Bible,

death and sin

reign as the twin towers,

as cosmic powers

over the world.

So in Adam,

all die.

And because of Adam's

one sin,

all people enter the world

condemned spiritually dead

and as sinners,

as Paul says

in Ephesians 2.

Human beings

are not only subject

to sin,

in the old creation

they are slaves

to Satan,

who is the prince

of the power of the air.

As the sons and daughters

of Adam,

human beings

are by nature

children of wrath.

The root sin,

the most fundamental sin

in the old creation,

consists in the refusal

to give praise

and thanks

and glory to God.

Sin gives all glory

to self,

refusing to believe

in God's word,

trusting in our own wisdom.

Faith gives all glory

to God,

believing that he will

carry out what he promised.

And the symptom

of this sickness

of sin is boasting,

which is exalted

ourselves over God.

But that distorts reality,

doesn't it?

There is nothing falser

than exalting ourselves

over the creator God.

But Adam,

Eve did this,

you and I do this.

Pride or boasting

is the mark

of the old creation

with a refusal

to trust in God.

So nevertheless,

death is not the final word

in these opening chapters.

Right?

God gave that first

gospel promise

in Genesis 3.15.

The proto-evangelium

we discussed last week.

We see the promise

of victory

over the serpent.

The offspring of Eve

will crush the serpent.

The triumph over evil

is pledged

at the very beginning

in that gospel promise.

The chosen offspring

of Eve

will crush the serpent

one day.

And this is

the proto-evangelium.

In Genesis 3,

the new creation

is promised.

So it sets up

multiple conflicts

that propels

the narrative forward

in the Bible,

the proto-evangelium.

The first conflict

in this

is between Eve

and the serpent.

Right?

And that started

with the serpent's

deception of Eve.

The second conflict

is between

the woman's offspring

and the serpent's offspring.

Right?

Your offspring

and her offspring.

So all the offspring

of Adam and Eve

come into the world

as offspring

of the serpent.

But those who are

the offspring of Eve

are those who are

recipients of God's grace.

And the third conflict

is between

the specific offspring,

the male descendant

that will come.

And the heel

of the Savior

will be bruised,

but the Savior

shall crush

the serpent's head.

So from this point on

in Genesis,

Genesis depicts

two lines of seed

at war with each other.

The offspring of Satan

want to murder

the offspring of Eve.

And the offspring

of the serpent

are enemies

of the offspring of Eve.

So the point

isn't to say here

that Satan

physically conceived

these children.

The Bible is saying

the children of Satan

emulate his characteristics.

They share the same nature

as Satan,

the serpent.

And so this theme

of hostility

between the two lines

will now characterize

the biblical narrative

going forward.

So we begin to see

the rapid rise

of the serpent's offspring.

Eve said of Cain,

I have gotten a man

with the help

of the Lord.

This son, Cain,

is from the Lord.

What a hopeful beginning.

It seems that Eve

may have even thought

that her firstborn son,

Cain,

was that promised offspring

that would crush

the serpent.

Everything began

with a wonderful promise,

just like Judas.

But it doesn't take long

before Cain's character

is revealed to us.

As Shakespeare once wrote,

looks like the innocent flower,

but there's a serpent

under it.

In a plot twist,

Cain was the offspring

of the serpent

and murdered Abel.

And 1 John exhorts us,

do not be like Cain,

who belonged

to the evil one

and murdered his brother.

And why did he murder him?

Well, because his own

actions were evil

and his brothers

were righteous.

Cain belonged

to the serpent,

the evil one.

And why did he murder

his brother?

Cain murdered his brother

because Abel

was righteous.

Cain is marked

by the old creation

from the line

of the serpent,

someone who is proud

who hates the righteous,

the offspring of Eve.

In Genesis 4.11,

God cursed Cain

just like he had done

to the serpent.

God said to Cain

in Genesis 4.11,

and now you are cursed

from the ground

like father,

like son.

And later in Genesis 12,

anyone opposed to Abraham

will be cursed.

And the word curse

is the same word

that God uses

toward Cain

and the serpent.

So the two lines

are going to be at war.

The line of Abraham's offspring

and the serpent

will be at war.

We see that early on

in Genesis.

Jesus would tell

the Pharisees

that they are the offspring

of the serpent

in John 8.44.

Remember that verse?

You are of your father

the devil

and your will

is due to your father's desires.

He was a murderer

from the beginning

and does not stand

in the truth

because there is no truth

in him.

When he lies,

he speaks out of

his own character

for he is a liar

and the father of lies.

Jesus is telling them

they, the Pharisees,

are the offspring serpent.

They are opposing him.

And John the Baptist

even calls them

a brood of vipers.

So the conflict

between the serpent's

offspring

and Eve's offspring

intensifies

in the New Testament

as Christ

now is actively battling

Satan face to face

in the wilderness.

And Judas, remember,

is possessed by Satan

and hands Jesus

over to be murdered.

So that ancient conflict

is unfolding

and intensifying

in the Gospels.

So it's not surprising

then, right,

when Jesus says,

if the world hates you,

know that it hated me

before it hated you.

If you are in Christ,

all the offspring

of the serpent

will hate you.

Just like in Genesis.

And so,

in the narrative

in Genesis,

it seems like

the offspring

of the serpent

were triumphing.

Cain goes on

to build an evil empire.

So that's the line

of Cain right there

in that Albi Seth.

The seventh generation

from Cain

is Lamech.

Right here.

Right here.

Who is the first

recorded polygamist

who even boasted

about killing a man

because the man

merely struck him.

So understanding

the narrative

between the two lines

helps us to guard

against us

from the era

of thinking

that polygamy

is acceptable

simply because

it's in the Bible

as people say.

Right,

the Bible is not

applauding polygamy

if you understand

how the story

is unfolding.

Lamech was a polygamist.

That doesn't mean

that God is approving

of polygamy.

So we have to understand

the narrative

of what's going on,

what's happening.

In Genesis 4.25

we read of the line

of the promise.

Eve bore a replacement

for righteous Abel

a son named Seth.

And to Seth

also a son was born

and he called

his name Enosh.

At that time,

verse 26,

chapter 4 says,

the people began

to call upon

the name of the Lord.

So there's the promised

line of the offspring

of Eve.

Seth's line

are the recipients

of God's grace.

in Genesis 1-11,

because of the offspring

of the serpent

were spreading so rapidly,

God had to destroy them

with a flood,

showing that God

rules and reigns

even when evil

seems to have

the upper hand.

So there is

a new beginning

of sorts

when God

destroyed the earth

in a flood,

a recreation

of sorts.

God hits

the reset button.

He gave them

away a covenant

showing that God

is committed

to his creation.

We discussed

the ins and outs

of the covenants

last week

if you're interested

in that.

He will not

destroy the earth

again by a flood.

But

the human race

fails

even after being

given a fresh start.

The Tower of Babel

is right around

the corner.

Humans continue

to demonically

reject God.

The reset button

did not solve

the problem

of the human heart.

So even with

an entirely

recreated world,

the human heart

had not changed

one bit.

So to solve

the problem

of this demonic

rejection of God,

we see early on

that this will not

come unless

humanity is given

a new heart.

That's the problem

the Bible is

presenting to us.

When Adam fell

in the garden,

the human heart

was profoundly,

profoundly polluted

by sin.

So Martin Lloyd

Jones once said,

our nature,

man's nature

is fallen.

Man is wrong

at the center

of his being

and therefore

everything is wrong.

He cannot be improved

for finally

nothing will suffice

but a radical

change,

a new nature.

Man loves darkness

and hates the light.

Man loves darkness

and hates the light.

As Martin Luther said,

there's a bondage

to sin,

a slavery to sin

that we all

inherit in Adam.

And that's the pattern

that's emerging.

Natural humans

love the darkness.

The fundamental

problem of the world

in Genesis 11

is within

the human heart.

Natural humanity

loves to sin.

It's not that they

just sin,

that we just sin.

It's that we love

to sin.

Our affections

are disordered.

And without Christ,

we love the darkness.

Jeremiah would say,

the heart is deceitful

above all things

and desperately sick.

From Genesis 3 to 11,

that's the pattern

that's emerging

in the narrative.

And I think this will

always be a pressure point

for hearers of the Bible.

Many reject the message

of the gospel

because it doesn't really

scratch an itch for us.

Why would I need

a savior to die

for my sin?

Why do I need

to be set free?

I'm really not that bad.

Really, come on.

I'm not bad.

And because we don't

understand the gravity

of the problem,

the gospel doesn't really

seem to apply to us.

But we know pride

is the deadliest

and most subtle form

of all sins.

Pride blinds us

to reality.

So if we don't think

we are lost

without Christ,

well, that's the clearest sign

that we actually are lost.

So Adam's sin

in Genesis

is like a virus

that has spread

to the entire human race.

So if our view

of sin is superficial,

then we will undoubtedly

have a superficial view

of salvation.

And that's what's happening

from Genesis 11.

And if we were there,

if we were in Genesis 11,

how in the world

are we going to get

to Revelation 21?

Where God's going to

wipe away every tear.

Where there is no longer

any sin.

How is God going to

recreate what was lost

by the fall?

So,

at this point,

there's a seed

of the new creation.

God will redeem creation

through a man,

Abraham.

At this point,

this one man,

in fact himself,

an idolater

in an evil world,

God called this man

out of darkness

and promised him blessing.

He was called

out of darkness

into light.

And this man is Abraham

who we discussed last week.

So I just said,

Abraham is in respect

a new Adam.

And the land of Canaan

would be the new Eden.

Abraham's descendants

would be the promised

offspring of Eve.

The offspring

that God promised to Eve

will now be a descendant

of Abraham.

And God's new humanity

would spread to the entire world.

All the families

of the earth

shall be blessed

through you, Abraham.

So right there

in Genesis 12,

God is going to

recreate the world.

So last week,

we traced the promise

of God recreating

the kingdom that was lost

in the garden

through Abraham.

But the citizens

of this kingdom

will also be the creatures

of, will be the people

of the new creation.

Right?

Paul says in 2 Corinthians

5 or 17,

Therefore,

if anyone

is in Christ,

he is a new creation.

The old has passed away.

Behold,

the new has come.

So if you belong to Christ,

you are a new creation,

friend.

And the new creation

is a different way

of describing

the kingdom of God.

Both are just different ways

of describing

the same reality.

So that's biblical theology

lets each part

speak with its own voice,

but all these

different ways

of describing it

fit into the overall

choir of Scripture

of God's going to

redeem all of creation.

So how does the promise

of the new creation

unfold in the New Testament?

Well,

unexpectedly,

it might surprise you,

but in the Pentateuch,

we see the promise

of a new creation

and the Exodus

are related events.

The pattern

of our salvation

is established

in the Exodus.

How is that?

How are they related?

Well,

God redeems

his people

out of slavery

and it leads

to the new creation.

The Lord

crushed Pharaoh,

that offspring

of the serpent

who attempted

to annihilate

the offspring

of Abraham.

And that pattern

will apply

in the New Testament

as well.

the Exodus

is the moment

in the Old Testament

which led

to the new creation

of the people

of Israel.

So the Exodus

is the moment

where God saves

his people

out of Egypt

and brings them

to Mount Sinai

and constitutes

Israel

as a new nation

and begins

to dwell with them.

So before the cross

there was the Exodus.

So whereas

John Stott

wrote the cross

of Christ

in the Old Testament

the Jews

would be writing

books titled

The Exodus

of Yahweh

or C.J.

Mahaney's

The Cross-Centered Life

they'd write

The Exodus-Centered Life

something like that.

So today

if we talk

to a person

and we want to say

look God is a redeemer

a deliverer

a savior

we would point

that person

to the cross.

But in the Old Testament

when the psalmist

wanted to praise God

and tell of God's

majestic acts

as a savior to Israel

the psalmist

tells of the Exodus.

So Psalm 105

recounts

the verses

within the Exodus

the

the

the facts

of the Exodus.

The psalmist

says this

He sent Moses

his servant

and Aaron

whom he had chosen

they performed

his signs among them

and miracles

in the land of Ham.

He sent darkness

and made the land dark.

They did not rebel

against his words.

He turned their waters

into blood

and caused their fish

to die.

Their land

swarmed with frogs.

Even in the chambers

of their kings

he spoke

and there came

swarms of flies

and gnats

throughout their country.

He gave them

hail for rain

and fire and lightning bolts

through their lands

and skipping ahead

He struck down

all the firstborn

in their land

the firstfruits

of all their strength

so He brought

His people out

with joy

His chosen ones

with singing

and He gave them

the land of the nations

and they took possession

of the fruit

of the people's toil

that they might

keep His statutes

and observe His laws.

Praise the Lord.

God saved His people

through the Exodus

and in the Exodus

God demonstrated

His power

above all the other

false gods

in Egypt.

So taking on

all the other

false gods

of the Egyptians

God proved

His majesty

and supremacy

in every realm

of creation.

He shows His power

and there is no one

above Yahweh.

The immenseity

of His power

is on display

in the ten plagues.

But if you read carefully

there is an echo

of God's work

in creation itself

throughout God's

saving act

in the Exodus.

The escape

from slavery

in Egypt

is a new creation story.

Not the creation

of the universe

but the creation

of a new nation

Israel

of God's

new humanity.

So in the ten plagues

in Egypt

God is reversing

the order of creation

as God brings chaos

and judgment

in Egypt

where He rescues

the Hebrew people.

Water is being

turned to blood.

Instead of giving

life to animals

animals are dying.

Rather than light

appearing

God is bringing

darkness

in Egypt.

And the touchstone

that God instituted

was the Passover meal

to remind them

how God

delivered them

the people

out of slavery.

And if the blood

of the lamb

was on the door

God's judgment

would not enter

but would pass

over the house.

The lamb

stood in place

of the firstborn son.

What a powerful image

of God's saving power.

And Lord willing

Nick presently

will be walking us

through the theme

of sacrifice.

That lamb

the Passover lamb

is picturing

the lamb of God

who came

to take away

the sin of the world.

And then at the Red Sea

as chaos

and darkness

threatened

to engulf

the people

the dramatic

crossing of the Red Sea

echoes the ancient

creation account

itself.

In this chaos

the God

who made light

shine into darkness

who formed the land

and sea

will do so

once again.

So at the sea

the waters

are divided

so that dry land

appears.

And the word wind

the wind blows

over the sea

and that word wind

is the same word

used for the spirit

hovering over the waters

in Genesis 1.

So the crossing

of the Red Sea

is a new

creative act

of God.

An act that

creates the new

people of Israel.

So the Red Sea

marks the moment

that Israelites

escaped slavery

and became

the people of God.

So as Baptists

this imagery

should really

resonate with us.

So this same pattern

applies to us

doesn't it?

In Christ

God's new covenant

people are free

from slavery

to sin

and judgment

in the Red Sea

and we come out

as God's

new creations.

And the waters

of baptism

picture that.

We go down

with Christ

in judgment

and we are

raised to new

life.

So the crossing

of the Red Sea

as we discussed

is typology

for baptism.

It's typology.

Remember we said

in the first week

we need to understand

this idea of typology

to understand how

the New Testament

apostles interpreted

the Old Testament.

here is such an example.

Listen to what Paul

says to the church

at Corinth

in 1 Corinthians 10

and how he interprets

the crossing

of the Red Sea.

So this slide

is the most exciting

thing that's going

to happen in this

class today

with the emojis.

For I do not want

you to be unaware

brothers

that our fathers

were all under

the cloud

and all passed

through the sea

and all were baptized

into Moses

in the cloud

and in the sea

and all ate

the same spiritual food

and all drank

the same spiritual drink.

Nevertheless

with most of them

God was not pleased

for they were

overthrown

in the wilderness.

So it seems

the church at Corinth

thought the act

of baptism

and partaking

the Lord's Supper

would save them

even if their lives

were filled

with idolatry

like some magic

antidote to poison.

So as long

as they show up

on Sundays

and take the elements

God's pleased with me

right?

No, that's not

how this works

Paul says.

Paul warns them

by explaining

the Israelites

had their own

form of baptism

and the Lord's Supper

right?

And nevertheless

they did not

please God

they were still

overthrown.

So typologically

when crossing

the Red Sea

the Israelites

were baptized

and Paul is saying

Israel's version

of baptism

and the Lord's Supper

did not protect

them from judgment

and so likewise

the Corinthians

taking the elements

of taking the Lord's

Supper

and getting baptized

will not save

them from judgment

if they are not

repenting of sin

right?

And that warning

still applies to us.

So as we learn

to interpret

the Old Testament

the way the Apostles

did you see how

important typology

is.

Now some see

this typology

and say

just like Israel

was saved

by passing

through the waters

of the Red Sea

the waters of baptism

actually save us.

So that view

is called

baptismal regeneration.

So Roman Catholics

and Lutherans

would point to the Red Sea

and say

see

the waters of baptism

save us.

Lutherans

they have different

slightly different ways

of explaining that

but in the end

they think

the act of

the waters

and baptism

will save

the people.

So they are using

a typology based argument

and it's a big one.

And before we move on

I don't think

we should view

the waters of baptism

as a thing

that saves us.

So water alone

has no power to save.

God through his spirit

saves.

So water imagery

is used elsewhere

to refer to the

sovereign work

of the Holy Spirit

to regenerate our hearts

and make us

into new creations.

So Titus 3.5

says

he saved us

not because of

works done by us

in righteousness

but according to

his own mercy

by the washing

of regeneration

and renewal

of the Holy Spirit.

So scripture

connects the work

of the spirit

with water.

So I think

we must ultimately

see the water

of baptism

as pointing

to the reality

of spiritual renewal

by the spirit.

And a second point

for anyone

inclined

for the view

of baptismal

regeneration

I think the Bible

clearly saves

clearly says

faith saves us.

Ephesians 2.8

By faith

you have been saved.

So if baptism

regeneration

were true

what saves us?

Is it faith

or is it

the waters

of baptism?

And of course

one can have faith

before being baptized.

So I think

baptism should

best be understood

as an outward

event that

depicts an

internal reality

where we are

already united

with Christ

in his burial

and in his resurrection.

So you see

how typology

based arguments

become important

and in fact

you can go

off the rails

with typology.

The Catholic Church

will use a lot

of typological

arguments

to argue

for the supremacy

of the Pope

for baptismal

regeneration

so it's important

that we understand

how they're

kind of constructing

these arguments

and you know

it can get

off the tracks

if we're not careful.

So what are we

meant to see

getting back

to Exodus

what are we

meant to see

by the intertwining

of the theme

of the Exodus

and creation?

So in the Exodus

we're meant to see

that through God's

salvation in the Exodus

God means to make

the new creation.

The pattern is established.

Salvation in the Exodus

will lead to the new creation.

So after the people

are saved

the Lord commanded

the people

to construct a tabernacle

showing that God

is now beginning

to dwell with his people again.

Not face to face

but in a tent.

So the people

are entering

into a new Eden.

A new Eden.

The land of Canaan

would be a new Eden.

So the song

of the sea

that Israel sings

after being rescued

shows this.

The song of the sea

is like a national anthem

written at the birth

of a nation.

This was Israel's

national anthem

they would sing.

And the Israelites

sing about how

Yahweh rescued them

from slavery

will lead them

through the desert

and into the land

of Canaan.

And God

will plant Israel

on his own mountain.

The place

O Lord

which you have made

for your abode.

So Ezekiel 28

will pick up

on this language

to describe

the Garden of Eden.

In the Exodus

Yahweh

would lead Israel

into a new Eden.

And

the prophets

Isaiah will pick up

on Exodus 15

as well

to show the promise

of Exodus 15

was not fully realized

once they were exiled.

The prophets

used the language

this language

now

to describe

a second Exodus

that would need

to happen.

So

we'll get into that.

That's just a preview

of what's going to happen.

But the Exodus

is the meaning

in the new creation

would be the end,

God's goal.

In the new creation

God

with his people

would be

there would be

an entirely new humanity

in the garden

in the land of Canaan.

God

leads the Israelites

to Mount Sinai

where God

gives the people

a set of laws

to live

by in the land of Canaan.

The law

was like a family

code

as God's

new creation.

So if you flip

the Deuteronomy

it's amazing.

Right before

Moses gives

the Ten Commandments

he recounts

the Exodus.

I am the Lord

your God

who brought you

up out of the land

of Egypt

out of the house

of slavery

therefore

live this way.

I have saved you

and I'll be a people

who obey my commandments.

So in the Bible

salvation

always comes

before obedience

or the indicatives

come before

the imperatives.

So it's amazing

to see how the Exodus

frames how Israel

would live

in the land of Canaan.

They would be

a kingdom of priests

and a holy nation

because the God

who saved them

was holy.

And in this new creation

there would be

a new people

meant to live

under God

and his word.

God is remaking

what was lost

in the garden.

So even as the Jews

looked back

at God's salvation

in the Exodus

it pointed forward

to an implied promise

of a new creation

a new humanity

God would create

where the people

are dwelling

with God once again.

But as we talked

about last week

there's a defect

in the laws

at Mount Sinai

or the Mosaic Covenant.

God gave the people

a set of moral rules

as God's covenant people

but not the power

to obey those rules.

So most Israelites

left Egypt unsaved

physically delivered

from slavery

but not spiritually.

Spiritually they were

still enslaved to sin.

And God would need

to do a supernatural work

in the people's hearts

to bring this about.

To truly be a new humanity

God would need to give us

new spiritual life.

Deuteronomy chapter 30

Deuteronomy 30 · chapter mention

The Lord your God

must circumcise your hearts

and the hearts

of your descendants

to love the Lord your God

with all your heart

and all your soul

so that you may live.

To truly be a new creation

the people would need

to experience conversion

a sovereign work

of the Holy Spirit

or as Jesus would say

in John 3

to see the kingdom

you must be born again

from above.

So we see the pattern

is established

Exodus

new creation

and the rest of Israel's history

is marked by

repeated disobedience

and a refusal

to do the will of the Lord.

Israel desperately needed

sin to be forgiven

for God to give him

a new heart

and without conversion

the promise

the promise

to Abraham

to be a blessing

to the nations

would never be theirs.

So now we're going to look

at the second Exodus.

The second Exodus.

Because of the continued rebellion

God exiled the people

from the promised land.

The old saying

history doesn't repeat itself

but it often rhymes.

Like Adam

was exiled

from the garden