Themelios 4:3

by The Gospel Coalition

Publisher:

Gospel Coalition

, 1979

Overview

Themelios is an international evangelical theological journal that expounds and defends the historic Christian faith. Its primary audience is theological students and pastors, though scholars read it as well. It was formerly a print journal operated by RTSF/UCCF in the United Kingdom, and it became a digital journal operated by The Gospel Coalition in 2008. The new editorial team, led by D.A. Carson, seeks to preserve representation, in both essayists and reviewers, from both sides of the Atlantic. Each issue contains articles on important theological themes, as well as book reviews and discussion—from the most important evangelical voices of our time.

• Structural Analysis, by Carl Armerding
• Jesus and the Law: An Exegesis of Matthew 5:17–20, by David Wenham
• The Vital Question, by J.I. Packer
• Preaching in Worship, by R.T. Kendall

Contents

Top Highlights

“Banks argues that the Greek word translated ‘fulfil’, plerosai, should not be interpreted to mean ‘establish’; rather it means to ‘fulfil’ all that the law pointed forward to, and thus to transcend and replace the law. The law, like the prophets, pointed forward to Christ, and now that Christ has come the law is included in and superseded by him.” (Pages 92–93)

“Matthew 5:17–20 is not concerned to teach the abiding validity of the Old Testament law so much as superiority and authoritative character of Jesus and his teaching.” (Page 93)

“And what the doctrine of the Incarnation says is that the Triune God loves sinners, and therefore in unity with God the Father and God the Spirit God the Son has come to us where we are and identified wholly with the human condition in order to save us.” (Page 84)

“The key to the interpretation of the verses seems to me to lie in a recognition of the context in Matthew’s gospel and also of the probable context in Jesus’ ministry. In Matthew 5 the preceding context in v. 16 is a call to good works, and the subsequent context in v. 20 and the verses that follow is a comparison of Jesus’ standards of righteousness with those of the scribes and Pharisees. Matthew’s concern then in this section of his gospel, and indeed elsewhere, is for righteous living. It is not unlikely that Matthew is answering a Jewish accusation that Jesus’ way represented a departure from Jewish moral standards and a destruction of the law; so Matthew emphasizes Jesus’ righteousness and his condemnation of anomia (e.g. Matt. 13:41; 25:31f., etc.).” (Page 94)

Product Details

• Title: Themelios 4:3
• General Editor: D. A. Carson
• Consulting Editor: Carl R. Trueman
• Managing Editor: Charles Anderson
• Administrator: Andrew David Naselli
• Publisher: The Gospel Coalition
• Publication Date: 1979
• Pages: 31

About The Gospel Coalition

Brian J. Tabb (PhD, London Theological Seminary) is academic dean at Bethlehem College & Seminary and an elder of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He also serves as managing editor for Themelios, published by the Gospel Coalition, and is the author of Suffering in Ancient Worldview.

D.A. Carson is a research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He has been at Trinity since 1978. Carson came to Trinity from the faculty of Northwest Baptist Theological Seminary in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he also served for two years as academic dean. He has served as an assistant pastor and pastor and has done itinerant ministry in Canada and the United Kingdom. Carson received a bachelor of science in chemistry from McGill University, the master of divinity from Central Baptist Seminary in Toronto, and the doctor of philosophy in New Testament from the University of Cambridge. Carson is an active guest lecturer in academic and church settings around the world. He holds membership on the Council for the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. Carson has also written many books that have garnered international acclaim, including his award-winning title The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism.

Daniel Strange is academic vice president and lecturer in culture, religion, and public theology at Oak Hill College, London. He is the author or coauthor of several other books, including The Possibility of Salvation Among the Unevangelised: An Analysis of Inclusivism in Recent Evangelical Theology.