Charles e Whisnant, Teaching Adult Bible Class: March 31 21013 Video and Notes

Overview': The Central Core Theme of the Old Testament: A Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testament.

Charles e Whisnant, Teacher

The study that we will be using

THE PROMISE-PLAN OF GOD

Walter C. Kaiser, Jr.

Before going into any kind of detailed look at how the book unfolds, let’s look at Kaiser’s proposed theme for the unity of Scripture. Since Kaiser is presenting a biblical theology rather than a systematic theology, the whole book traces the chronological development of the theme of the promise-plan of God. In his own words,

The promise form of biblical theology focuses on one all-embracing divine word of promise rather than on its many scattered predictions (which is what most think of when they hear the word “promise”), and it traces the growth of that declaration of God in the larger teaching passages in each era of divine revelation.

A definition of promise:

God gave a promise to Abraham, and through him to mankind; a promise eternally fulfilled and fulfilling the history of Israel; and chiefly fulfilled in Jesus Christ, he being that which is principal in the history of Israel (19).

Expanding on this, Kaiser then gives his own definition of the promise-plan of God:

The promise-plan is God’s word of declaration, beginning with Eve and continuing on through history, especially in the patriarchs and the Davidic line, that God would continually be in his person and do in his deeds and works (in and through Israel, and later the church) his redemptive plan as his means of keeping that promised word alive for Israel, and thereby for all who subsequently believed. All in that promised seed were called to act as a light for all nations so that all the families of the earth might come to faith and to new life in the Messiah .

From here, Kaiser gives 10 distinctives of his promise-plan proposal;

1. The doctrine of the Promised Messiah is found throughout all the Scriptures and not just in isolated or selected passages as understood by the Promise-Fulfillment Scheme
2. The Old Testament Messianic teaching was regarded as the development of a single promise (Grk. epangelia), repeated and unfolded through the centuries with numerous specifications and in multiple forms but always with the same essential core
3. The New Testament writers equate this single, definite promise as the one made to Abraham when God called him from Us of the Chaldeans
4. While the New Testament writers occasionally speak of promises, using the plural form of the word, the manner in which they manner in which they do so does not weaken the case for a single definite promise in the Scriptures
5. The New Testament writers regard this single, definite promise, composed of many specifications, to be the theme of both the Old and New Testaments