Introduction To Salvation-History

4. Special revelation has been given to us, both through the Scriptures and through the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ.

Some philosophers teach that human beings can never really know God; we cannot even discover God’s will and commands for us. But the Bible itself shows us a God who acted to reveal His will and plans to all of us through His PROPHETS and apostles. In the Old Testament, He revealed his moral law through Moses (see General Article: The Purpose of the Mosaic Law). He also revealed what He was like in Himself by becoming human in Jesus Christ. Jesus was God Himself, acting from within history. So in both the Old and New Testaments, but primarily in Jesus Christ, we have been given a fixed norm or authority for our knowledge of God. The Scriptures do not reveal all there is to know about God, but God has revealed enough for us to know Him and His plans for our salvation. In addition, He has revealed much about the future, along with warnings and many promises (see General Articles: Prophecy and Predictive Words; Types and Predictive Events).

5. God will finally bring creation to perfection in obedience to Himself.

Through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, recorded in the New Testament, God fulfilled His plan to draw people to Himself, cleanse them from their sin, and rescue them from evil. At the end of history, the natural world will be restored in a new heaven and a new earth. Human beings who trust in God’s Son will be blessed and enter into ETERNAL LIFE with Him. Believers will be resurrected from the dead and given new bodies that will not die. Those who reject God’s Son will be condemned to remain separate from God forever (see General Articles: God’s Plans for the Unreached; What Happens After Death?).

The Advantages of Studying Different Opinions

Many of the General Articles discuss questions that arise from these five main points of Salvation-History. The general outline is acceptable to believers from all churches. But true Christians can, and do, disagree about many of the details of God’s work and plans. Disagreements do not arise over our central belief in Jesus Christ and him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2). All Christians agree with those doctrines which are crucial for our salvation.¹ But the Bible does not answer all the questions we can ask. This is especially true for the Old Testament. Because of this, most churches or denominations have not developed a single, firm answer for many of the questions that arise from studying the Old Testament. One of the advantages of this commentary is that readers can learn about viewpoints other than their own. This commentary is a Bible study aid, not a catechism or statement of faith for a particular church or denomination. It is not honest or fair to serious Bible students to keep them in ignorance of ideas that many true Christians believe are correct. Therefore, markedly different opinions will be presented in these articles.

While reading these articles, the Bible student should focus on the text of the Bible above all. In most of the articles, the main Bible verses related to the subject are presented first, followed by a brief description of the main viewpoints held by different Christians along with the biblical support for each viewpoint. Readers should go to their pastor or teacher for further instruction regarding their own church›s teachings.

A major principle of these articles is that people can be true spiritual Christians and yet have differing beliefs on secondary questions. Mature Christians have learned to allow for different opinions on such matters. Some of the General Articles discuss questions that were never clearly revealed in the Old Testament and remain unclear even after the New Testament was completed. For questions like these we must allow our fellow believers to hold a different point of view from our own. Indeed, we should hold our own views loosely enough to allow the HOLY SPIRIT to teach us more and more over the remaining years of our lives.

Summary

Both the Old and New Testaments are included in the Christian Bible. Both were inspired by the same God, and contain the same view of God’s work in Salvation-History. Both contain the same teaching about our need for salvation from sin and evil. The Old Testament contains prophecies about a Savior or MESSIAH who would reconcile God and humanity. The New Testament reveals that the Savior was God Himself, incarnate in Jesus Christ. Therefore Jesus is the central topic of the whole Bible. Jesus brings both Testaments together.

The writers of the New Testament recognized that the Bible’s unity is found in Jesus Christ. They quoted or referred to many Old Testament passages to support their proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ. Sometimes their use of the Old Testament may be hard for us to understand, but they were convinced that the same God who had spoken through the prophets had now spoken through Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1–2). And they believed that the same God was inspiring their own writings. Whatever questions remain, we can be sure that the God who inspired both the Old and the New Testament continues to use the entire Bible for our benefit today. God’s Holy Scriptures . . . are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:15–17).

1 See the list of nine cardinal (central) doctrines in the Introduction to the General Articles, in The Applied New Testament Commentary.