Timing Is Everything
In last week’s article, I mentioned that I recently audited a class on Biblical Theology taught by author and Christian theology professor, Stephen J. Wellum. In addition to the timeline I wrote about last week, one of the big lessons I brought home is that when it comes to biblical theology, timing is everything. If we intend to interpret the Scriptures properly and make sound application to our lives, we need to consider all of the events of Scripture and all of its instructions in light of their biblical timing.
The Apostle Paul illustrates the importance of this when he bases his argument for salvation by faith in large part on the timing of Abraham’s circumcision:
“Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before [Gen. 15:6] he was circumcised [Gen. 17]” (Gal. 4:9-12, emphasis mine).
The fact that Abraham was counted as righteous before he was circumcised is not incidental; it is critical, and it is intentional. God declared Abraham righteous long before he was circumcised, because he wanted to make it perfectly clear that Abraham’s circumcision was not the basis for his righteousness; faith was. And in this we are expected to recognize that it is not circumcision, but faith, that makes someone a child of Abraham:
“Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith—just as Abraham ‘believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’?
“Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed’” (Gal. 3:5-8, emphasis mine).
By tracking the chronological order of events, Paul is also able to prove that just as the gospel of salvation for the Gentiles [Gen. 12:3] was promised to Abraham before the rite of circumcision [Gen. 17], so also it was promised before the giving of the Law. As a result, he can safely conclude that submission to the covenant of Sinai is likewise not necessary for salvation:
“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. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.
“Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made. . . the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” (Gal 3:16-19, 22, emphasis mine).
Did you spot that “until”? Because the Law came after the covenant of promise, we know that the promise cannot in any way be contingent upon it. And because of this, Paul could show that it was never intended as the means of salvation, even for Jews. The Law always pointed forward to an ultimate fulfillment, to the arrival of the Messiah, Abraham’s promised Seed, who would set free whoever trusted in him. So, “now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ . . . And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Gal. 3:25-26,29).
When we follow Paul’s method of interpreting Scripture we see that the roots of the New Testament doctrine of salvation by faith reach all the way back to Genesis. And this is only one example of how important it is to pay careful attention to the story-line of Scripture. In my next article I hope to share a simple way to see how all the covenants of Scripture point to and find their fulfillment in Christ.
