This is my last post on Peter Jensen’s book The Revelation of God. The work’s strongest point is the connection between gospel and revelation. His basic point is this: God’s gospel in Christ is revelation and Scripture serves to give that revelation. The most helpful thing for me was the connection between covenant and revelation. Here are his points.
1. The fall was a rebellion against the kingdom of God; the covenant restores that kingly relationship with his people.
2. God’s covenant arrangements differed from time to time, depending on the developing state of his people. The covenant with Abraham bound a family to the Lord; the covenant through Moses bound a nation to him; the covenant with David bound a kingdom to him; the covenant through Jesus binds his people to him.
3. Well, these “covenantal people of God” have a book of the covenant (i.e Ex 24:7). The Old and New Testament are covenantal. There origin is in the Lord’s covenant with his people, and the book of the covenant (where his promises, blessings, hope, and judgements are recorded), is coterminous with the Scriptures since God carried the prophets and apostles along to record his covenantal dealings with his people.
4. The covenant origin of Scripture then reveals both the authority and the nature of Scripture. It is not a mere textbook, nor a merely a witness to the word of God. It is a witness and a description of God’s will because it is the record of God’s promises and judgement. So obviously the Bible read and preached gives both the message of grace and judgment.
5. The authority of Scripture is the personal authority of the Lord over the people whom he has saved.
6. Therefore, Scripture’s didactic function is exercised in the context of relationship with God (covenant). The authority of Scripture is the authority of the Lord, who exercises that authority first by redeeming his people and then by placing them in covenant loyalty to himself.
This truth is helpful. After all God is our Father, so when he talks to us it is because he is in relationship with us. All of the above can be found on pages 155-156.
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