The hermeneutical process underlying Paul’s exegesis of Exodus 17:6 and Numbers 20:7–11 in 1 Corinthians 10:1–4. In this article, Paul’s use of the Old Testament in 1 Corinthians 10:1–4 comes under scrutiny. In contrast with the theory of some modern scholars that Paul uses, ‘fanciful analogies’, ‘startling figurative claims’ and metaphors that ‘should not he pressed’, in reaching his conclusion that ‘the rock was Christ’, in 1 Corinthians 10:4c, it is indicated that Paul is indeed taking the original text, the Old Testament’s interpretation of the text, and the Jewish tradition of the interpretation of the text, seriously, in the light of the Christ-event. To prove this claim, research of the text (Exodus 17:6 Numbers 20:7–11), that Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 10:1–4, is followed by research of the ‘world in front of that text’ (Deuteronomy 32, the Psalms and Second Temple Judaism).Contribution: The conclusion that is reached indicates that Paul established within the context of contemporary Jewish practices, a true dialogical relationship between an intertextual handling of the text, and his interpretation thereof in the light of the relevance of the Christ-event for the conflict in the Church of Corinth.
The Torah as the key to the understanding of the relationship between God and man: A covenantal-Christological perspective. This article indicates that the understanding and handling of the law of Moses, as found in the federal theology of the Westminster Confession of Faith, can easily lead to the relationship between God and man being understood as a legal relationship in which the covenant acquires the character of a bilateral contract. This article questions this view after looking at the nature of Moses’ law as Torah. Such understanding indicates the inextricable unity between law and covenant. As a next step, it is therefore indicated that Jesus Christ fulfils this Torah to such an extent that it can be said that he himself takes on the function of the Torah in the life of the Christian. Indeed, Jesus is the Torah under the new covenant. In conclusion, the implications for the life of the New Testament Christian are briefly touched upon.
The nature of law in the Pentateuch: A critical-canonical perspective with New Testament implicationIn this study, the question is asked whether the nature of law in the Pentateuch corresponds with the view of the nature of the law as expressed by the Westminster Confession of Faith. The article also explores whether Calvin’s view of the law, as sometimes emerged in his discussion of the guideline for the Christian’s life of gratitude, may not be more in line with it, especially when he sees Christ and the law as interchangeable when it comes to a guideline for Christian life. In the search for an answer to this question, the article looks at researchers’ critical investigation into the authority that legal material in the Pentateuch actually had in the practice of Israel and Judah, in conjunction with a canonical investigation into the nature of the legal material in the Pentateuch. After indication of an implication of this findings for the New Testament Christian, the article comes to the conclusion that Calvin was indeed at times closer to the nature of law in the Pentateuch than the Westminster Confession of Faith.
Heinrich Bullinger’s doctrine on covenant and election in response to the problematic nature of TULIPIn this article, the question was raised whether a new appreciation and application of Heinrich Bullinger’s doctrine of the covenant and of election could give rise to a more pastoral and non-rational way of thinking in relation to election/predestination as reflected in the five points of TULIP. Responses to TULIP within current evangelical theological circles were examined. Specifically Dave Hunt’s book, ‘What love is this’ and the New Calvinism, were scrutinized in this regard, before it was indicated why Bullinger’s view of the covenant and of election were chosen as the answer to the problem mentioned above. After investigating Bullinger’s theology with regard to the covenant and election in contrast to later developments, it was shown how his view of the central place of the covenant in the history of revelation influences his doctrine of election to such an extent that his historical and Christological focus brings a more biblical version of election than that of TULIP to the evangelical discussion. Finally, some implications of his theology, especially for evangelical theology, are addressed.
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